Chapter 85: Best horse
"Izaya!" a joyful expression like no one but Shinra could possibly muster after having been kidnapped and put into a goddamn cage flashed Izaya the second he entered the jewelry store. What was the size of that thing?
Two by two meters? Not much more than that for sure.
If it were Izaya, being trapped in such a small confinement would probably drive him crazy if extended for a longer period than just a day.
Not Shinra.
Beaming at his visitor as though he was enjoying some kind of voluntary vacation he seemed to be more concerned about his old friend than his own current situation.
Having adjusted into a position that allowed for his wound located on his thigh to heal, his back aligned perfectly with the bars of his cage as well as something that looked like a pillow.
Izaya sighed a short sigh of relief as he approached the cage.
So he hadn't been injured further. Or tortured. Hadn't been killed either. Or abused for experiments.
The possibilities of humankind's gruesomeness were endless and Izaya had come up with more downsides than upsides when it came to Shinra's capture.
"Are they taking good care of you?" Crouching down in front of the cage, his relief must have shown on his face because Shinra only grinned that much wider when he spoke.
"I'm getting food twice a day and they bring me water, it could be worse," the doctor shrugged, "It's boring as hell in here though." A moment of hesitation lowered Shinra's smile for just a second as he met Izaya's eyes. "What about you?"
Fair question.
Looking past his shoulder Izaya glanced towards the guy that had led him here. Five minutes was what he was getting, and he doubted they would allow even a second longer. He was within hearing range and the words they could exchange were awfully limited.
To any other person this might have been an issue, but not to Izaya and Shinra.
The guard watching Izaya stood behind his back and he realized with satisfaction that might be able to hear everything they said, but his vision was a different matter.
And so Izaya pulled the sleeve of his shirt up just a bit- and revealed his already healing bite mark to the doctor.
"Couldn't be greater actually, we were made to go on a mission, fetch a teddy bear, could you believe it?" he continued with a voice made for a casual conversation.
Shinra's face slipped. Just for a fraction of a second. Too little for the guard to suspect anything, but enough for Izaya to understand that the doctor had seen what he wanted him too.
A short blink brought Shinra's smiles back as he quickly let his expression shift.
"A teddy bear? What's that supposed to mean?" he laughed, and to Izaya's ears that laugh didn't just carry amusement but also relief.
Shinra was a doctor.
Izaya figured he would need no further hint than to look at a bite mark that was already two days old to conclude what Izaya was trying to convey.
"An actual plushie. The leader wanted one, it seems he has quite the odd tastes. Well not like I don't understand, I got myself a little ray as well."
Of course Shinra had already spotted the plush animal carried around by Izaya. But so far he had paid it no mind. As far as the doctor was aware it could have been brought along by the priest's orders for some thwarted reason. Not that Izaya mentioned it, he suddenly recognized its importance and quickly nodded.
"Ray, like the underwater animal?" he asked, and Izaya nodded quickly.
"They are cute. Fast. Live in caves where they are safe and seen by no one, smart creatures don't you agree?" Izaya continued his small rant of incorrect assumptions and his eyes didn't fail to show Shinra their true meaning.
Shinra was no biologist of marine life, but even he should know that rays didn't sleep at all. They were active their whole lifes long because their gills required a steady flow of water in order to not suffocate.
If they wanted to speak about matters that truly mattered, then they had to be smart about it. And this was the best Izaya could come up with at the pharmacy when he saw the plush toys.
"Completely. There is hardly anything smarter out there," Shinra agreed with the authenticity of a sea biologist.
The guard didn't seem to suspect anything either and so Izaya smiled.
"Right? I decided to name it Aphaireo, which means knowledge in latin."
Another misinformation.
Aphaireo was a Greek word that implicated loss or the act of taking something away.
But most importantly, it was the base for "apheresis" as the machine was constructed with the purpose of removing blood components.
Apart from the similar sound of their names he figured this quack knew the difference between latin and greek.
And Shinra smiled.
"But what about Sir Segregar?"
Izaya blinked. Now it was his turn to decipher Shinra's words.
"Sounds like a medieval knight," he snorted in a moment of faked amusement and Shinra laughed.
"Is that so far off? Knights sometimes carried spears covered in toxins and considering a sting ray's tail has some of the most potent one it's quite fitting."
Tired eyes followed the conversation at hand and Izaya continued to speak as he doubted the guard would root suspicion in their words.
"I doubt my plush ray is poisonous, Shinra."
He had received instructions. Clear ones too. Leave it to Shinra to transmit processes of such a high level with such simple words.
A quick shrug was given, and a smile much broader and mischievous than the ones before spread across Shinra's face as he suddenly spoke.
"Anyway, I think the ray suits you. It's free and gracious, just as we are."
Surprise depicted in Izaya's expression, as well as … confusion.
"Hey, your five minutes are over," the guard suddenly announced and Izaya rose from the ground with faked reluctance.
He had heard everything he needed to and Shinra waved, knowing that he could leave everything else in Izaya's very capable hands.
"See you~"
Switching positions the guard waited for Izaya to overtake his position before following him through the halls he had come from.
Their surroundings were fascinating, and yet right now Izaya's mind was occupied with much more important matters.
The hints he had been given were simple, yet finely crafted. Especially considering he had had a lot of time to think about what to say when bringing the Ray. Shinra had had not more than a few seconds to come up with a secret message on the spot.
Leave it to the not exactly sane doctor to react as quickly as he did.
Narrowing his eyes Izaya moved on, down the corridors and into the fire escape.
Sir Segregar.
Latin.
Separate.
The ray's toxin.
Toxin inside a human body.
In other words an antigen.
Antigens induce an immune response. In particular the production of antibodies.
In other words, Shinra wanted him to separate the antigen in Izaya's blood.
Replicate it.
The instructions were as clear as daylight, what confused him more was the last sentence Shinra had offered.
Free and gracious as we are.
We.
What an odd word to use for someone who had been literally locked up inside a cage.
He would use a lot of adjectives to describe Shinra's situation, free was none of them.
Except-
And suddenly the door leading back to the outside opened and Izaya smiled as he realized what Shinra meant to say.
He didn't know, nor why, but apparently Shinra knew exactly how to get out of that cage and mall if he so wished.
Meaning, he was staying by choice.
Not the worst decision considering his injury.
He was just waiting for himself to heal up without having any unforeseen events risk his life. A smart move. Locked in a cage there was probably nothing that would be able to worsen his physical state.
"Get out," the guard suddenly said and Izaya moved back into the bright glimmer of the centered sun.
Peaking above them with the entirety of its might it seared their surroundings with bright light.
Shizuo's face was the first he looked for, and spotted, as he had remained exactly where he stood earlier and his stance relaxed. A glare had settled upon it and he seemed ready to run amok any second.
Ah.
He was probably already thinking about how many of these bastards he could kill before getting put down like a damned dog in case they decided to harm him.
"How is he?" Namie was actually the first to speak as Izaya arrived back at the car. She had finally gathered her remaining guts and slipped out of the driver's seat.
"Shinra is good, better than expected actually," Izaya snorted and it appeared his words had been loud enough for the priest to perceive as he grinned from the top of the mall.
"I keep my promises, just as I said."
Turning his gaze back at the psychopath ruling this institution Izaya raised his voice to a more audible volume.
"And now?" he questioned- already expecting another mission right off the bat.
After all, to the priest their group was nothing but a pile of errand dogs that could be used at any convenience as long as they had their hands on Shinra.
A smile grazed the priest's lips, however, and he shook his head in what was probably supposed to look like generosity.
"Gather some strength. Rest. And wait for further orders," he smiled, and with that he turned.
And so did the rest of his members.
The dogs' barks dissipated into thin air and the people spiking the top of the mall retracted back into their hideout like a snail after accidentally bumping a stalk with its feelers.
A quick glance was cast towards Shizuo and the blond spoke quietly.
"Is he really fine?" Good question.
Izaya had gone inside the mall, came back out alive too, but none of that spoke any definite details about Shinra's condition.
Nodding quickly, Izaya dissipated the fear that had rested in Namie's as well as Shizuo's eyes and circled back to the camper.
It hadn't been attacked from what Izaya could tell, nor had anyone tried to forcefully pry it open.
A quick set of knocks met the cold back of the iron material and as if having waited for a signal the door flew open.
"Izaya-" Karisawa's voice was the first to be heard, and Vorona's face the first to be seen. They had obviously witnessed their return, but didn't dare to come outside in fear of what might happen if they moved in a way the priest disliked.
Quickly slipping inside the van, Izaya left the eerie sensation of being watched behind.
Karisawa had been the first to speak and so his attention quickly fell on the injured woman. Relief was written all across her forehead and a bit of sweat stuck to her bangs as she pushed her back up from the bed.
Of course her injury hadn't magically healed overnight and so she flinched and her expression took on one of pain as soon as she did.
"Don't move too much," Kadota scolded gently, but helped her nonetheless as his hands quickly aligned with her shoulders and back.
A soft nod was given by her, while Vorona looked up and down Namie's body as though she had never seen it before.
"Are you okay?" Worry thickly layered her voice and the scientist quickly confirmed her request.
"In perfect condition," she smiled at her and Vorona showed the same as her stiff shoulders relaxed.
"Did you run into trouble?" Kadota was the next to ask questions and Izaya sighed as he approached Karisawa's bed.
"Not really, you are talking to professional zombie survivors here." It was half a joke, half an answer and caused Namie to snort with slight amusement.
"I wouldn't say there was no trouble at all, but nothing unmanageable."
The mattress on Karisawa's bed shifted as Izaya sat down at the bottom end. ONe leg was brought up and his back met the van's wall as he let his eyes slip shut for a second.
He didn't need to instruct Namie and further to know she wouldn't start talking about their hideout or what they did with the apheresis machine. The less their group knew, the better.
Arms crossed, Izaya tried to find a comfortable position as he tilted his head.
"What about here? Anything we should know of?"
"Nothing. Ever since you left that bastard retreated back into his mall," Vorona was quick to deliver the pieces of information he sought although Izaya suspected she was only giving them because Namie appeared to be as curious about their situation as him. "We saw no people, no flatworms, not even a fungus or anything else."
Humming to herself Namie seemed to lose herself in thoughts as he brows furrowed. "They must be clearing the surrounding area pretty regularly," she whispered, and Izaya yawned.
"Of course they do, how would you like it if your garden was infested with vermin?"
Namie snorted at that, but couldn't agree more.
"You say that but I wouldn't put it beyond the bastard to have developed a weird sense of love for these creatures."
Closing the door leading to the back Shizuo finally slipped inside the can as well.
He had stayed behind for a few seconds longer, just to be sure that none of the bastards on the mall's roof decided to act against them after all.
Namie's words were the first he heard and his expression showed one of confusion.
"Love?" he cringed, and the scientist shrugged.
"You saw him, talked about the virus like it's some godsent gift. The dogs too." She shuddered, "Who is to say he doesn't plan for all of us to die at some point?"
Vorona seemed to dislike the newest theory but couldn't quite deny its truth.
"His own men too?" she questioned and Namie nodded.
"He is a psychopath that uses infected people to his advantage. At this point I would trust him to do anything."
A short moment of silence filled the van as the futility of their situation was brought to light. It was something they knew but admitting the truth served quite the bitter taste.
"... then what do we do? Get Shinra and flee?" Kadota suggested.
The words were well spoken, and a legitimate plan.
After all, none of the people present wanted to interact with those psychopaths. The only reason they couldn't run was because of the captured doctor.
Nodding to herself Vorona nodded, as if she were agreeing with Kadota's plan.
"How would you do that?"
Kadota was more of a man of ideas, less one to act and so he quickly raised his hands in defense.
"I don't know, I'm just trying to make sense of this situation."
Speculations were Namie's forte. Especially when it came to leading this group.
Before Izaya and Shizuo had joined it had been sort of a cooperative peak between her and Shinra that decided what they were going to do and when.
But right now?
"What do you think we should do?" Vorona asked her, but Namie couldn't offer much more than a sigh.
Izaya had a plan. Izaya had fetched the machine, had prepared that hideout. Izaya had been the one to talk to Shinra too and despite absolutely hating the idea, this time it wasn't her to lead the group.
"Hey, why don't you say anything?" she hissed from the side, but received nothing but a hushed whisper.
Karisawa had put her finger against her lips and signed for Namie to be quiet.
The reason why, suddenly very apparent.
Izaya had fallen asleep.
Dozed off on Karizawa's bed end.
As soon as Namie noticed, the rest of the group did too.
Slow and evenly Izaya's chest rose and his head leant against his own shoulder.
Of course. Shizuo wasn't surprised to finally see him knocked out.
He had been pushing himself way too hard.
Ever since they woke up, down in the cafeteria break room, Izaya hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.
The previous night too.
Instead of switching shifts Shizuo had woken up to the announcement of morning and Namie's expression mirroring that of a good night's sleep.
"He stayed up the entire night." He whispered into Namie's direction and the woman's expression softened for once.
Hatred, annoyance and many more negative emotions were what she held for this bastard of a man, but right now she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
Izaya saved her ass.
By killing the fungus in front of her. He could have simply let it bite her, but he didn't.
Same for Shizuo.
Beating the flatworm that had rushed for her could be taken as a reflex of some sort, but at the end of the day it had been out to degut her alive and it was Shizuo who prevented that from happening.
Moving towards their sleeping leader, Vorona was about to wake him by shaking his shoulder, but Namie quickly held her back.
Surprise reflected on her expression as the scientist shook her head.
"Let him sleep, he deserves it."
A light frown grazed her eyes as they narrowed.
"... did something happen?"
Something, huh?
Sighing deeply Namie shrugged and swallowed the remnants of her pride. "Enough to make me realize that this bastard is what we need if we want to get out of this mess."
Quick silence spread in the van like fog on a meadow, but it was a pleasant kind.
Shizuo could tell by the way everyone's expression shifted.
Most of the people present were still alive because of Izaya's actions. Namie would have been shot and raped. Vorona sustained a concussion and could have bled to death without Izaya's quick actions. Karisawa appeared to have had her own set of adventures with Izaya when they went out to fetch some medicine.
Even Kadota, who had yet to maneuver himself into direct danger, seemed more than ready to agree on the unspoken fact that this group was still alive due to Izaya.
And Shizuo liked that.
"I will watch," Kadota announced with a quiet whisper and nodded to the back of the van.
Moving further up Karisawa tried to make more room for Izaya without waking him as Vorona sighed. "Me too."
Within seconds everyone moved into their designated roles and Shizuo sighed as he let his own body slump onto the mattress of the bed opposite to Karisawa.
All plans and ideas had been put to rest and delayed to a new morning with new possibilities and most importantly, Izaya's valuable insight.
"You should sleep too."
It was Namie who had whispered those words, sitting down right next to Shizuo.
She seemed quite exhausted herself, probably more from her fear than any physical exertion, but Shizuo understood.
A smile grazed his lips as he shook his head.
"Thank you."
Blinking shortly Namie showed a quizzical expression upon the unexpected gratitude.
"For what?"
Shizuo shrugged and looked towards Izaya. His expression was beyond peaceful. His chest rose evenly and relaxed and he smiled before looking at Namie.
"For not insisting we shoot Izaya."
She could have. With everything that happened Izaya still killed her brother. The hatred Izaya had sown the day he told her about that had never ceased to grow. Shizuo had expected nothing from Namie that would remotely support Izaya in any way. That's why he was even more grateful now as it seemed she decided to let the topic go.
A short snort followed and the woman sighed, "Don't get me wrong, I still hate his guts," she said, and Shizuo couldn't help but snort. "But I'm not stupid enough to shoot the best horse we have in the competition."
to be continued~
Yo~ Sorry for skipping a weeks updates xD I ended up getting sick for the entire week C': It sucks to have fever when it's already way too hot lmao fuck hell's season, I want winter xDD Anyway~ here we are, I got almost everything except SD, but no worries that one will get an update next week again xD