Chapter 14: Dinner with a demon

Izaya didn't really know what he was supposed to expect.

Slow and even steps, executed with utmost caution, approached the demon at his personal fireplace.

He felt as though he was nearing a wild animal. One wrong move and this type of creature wouldn't run but probably kill him.

His entire body had already felt quite heavy from the additional gravitation in hell, but right now with tension adding to that pressure Izaya had a hard time moving.

What did Shizuo want? Why did he ask him to walk over?

Casually as if having not the slightest care in the world, Shizuo sat there at the fireplace. Meat was pulled in the form of strings from the inside of the claw's shell and Izaya bit back an expression of disgust as it disappeared in Shizuo's mouth.

Teeth.

He hadn't noticed earlier but he owned a set of sharper ones. Sitting left and right they ripped away at what appeared to be quite tough meat.

Eyes suddenly turning towards Izaya, the demon suddenly met him with an expression of annoyance.

"Are you going to keep standing?"

So he was no meal.

Feeling a bit of the tension fade from his body, Izaya's limbs unfroze.

If there was anything Izaya absolutely hated, then it was following orders he didn't understand or know the reason to. And even if he knew the reason there would be a high chance he wouldn't carry one out.

But now? Looking at someone that could rip out his heart in under a second?

He had no choice but to act as he was told.

Well, at least this situation had one perk to it.

Legs meeting the now heated ground Izaya shortly relished in the warmth that sept into his skin from below.

Grunting noises followed from the demon and Izaya figured he had mumbled words of approval between his rough bites on his dinner.

Tossing the empty shell of his meal aside he quickly raised the back of his palm to wipe at his lips.

Glaring seemed to be the demon's standard setting as he directed his gaze back at his newfound shadow.

"You are creeping me out crawling around in the dark like a bug. Stop that," he suddenly announced and Izaya couldn't help but show light perplexion.

Usually he was no man of hesitation, and right now there were a lot of things on his mind that he could retort, but none of them were safe for survival so he quickly chose a different set of words.

"... you asked me to stay out of sight," he reminded carefully, with not a shred of sarcasm in his words.

He couldn't risk getting on Shizuo's bad side. Not when he had no idea what kind of personality this demon was holding.

What if he was the proud kind? The kind that absolutely hated to be corrected? People with power, be it of a natural one or of political one, were mostly pretty quick to punish anyone that dared to second guess their words.

Maybe this view was the best for now.

Nobility. If anything then Izaya should put out as much care as he would when conversing with a noble. Seeing as Shizuo seemed to be at least on the stronger side of demons it was the only logical conclusion to draw.

And Shizuo blinked. A bit surprised Izaya might have said- but that surprise was quickly exchanged with an expression of displeasure as he turned his attention to the second claw he had torn off the creature's body. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked and Izaya felt his blood freeze.

Bad question.

Looking for the demon lord? He couldn't tell that right from the bat. He had no idea of social standings down in hell.

In the best case Shizuo was devoted to the demon lord and willing to arrange an audience with the ruler of all evil.

But worst case?

Shizuo might as well hate the demon lord's guts and take the mistaken opportunity to kill one of his acquaintances.

Namely Izaya himself.

But an answer had to be given, and the further he strayed from the truth the worse the outcome might be.

"I'm looking for someone," he mouthed carefully, and the demon stopped ripping at the outer shell of the creature's claw for a second.

Those intense golden eyes directed themselves at Izaya with perplexed curiosity. "Who?"

The fire crackled, and the flames surged for a small second before descending again.

Going any further than this- was a bad idea.

Izaya's hands had been resting left and right to his body, serving as support on the ground. Now those palms curled into light fists as Izaya's body tensed.

"Does it matter?"

He had to avoid the question at all costs. And he hoped Shizuo wasn't going to pry. The demon seemed to be a fan of minding his own business anyway. So maybe this was enough to shut off his sparked curiosity.

A moment of silence followed and the demon tilted his head. Izaya felt the tension in his body rise and his limbs ready to jump to their feet.

But then Shizuo shrugged, "... not really." and Izaya slowly released the breath he hadn't realized he had held.

For better or worse, this demon actually didn't seem to be out to kill him.

Tolerating Izaya's presence at a distance was one thing, but going so far as to not pry into matters Izaya didn't want to talk about was another topic entirely.

It proved a certain amount of manners. Of perception. And maybe even empathy if he dare concluded.

Anyway, his answer took a load off Izaya's shoulder, and he failed to hide that fact. "You seem awfully relaxed," Shizuo spoke and Izaya froze.

Wary eyes met golden curiosity once more.

Casually taking a bite off the insides of the second claw Izaya realized this demon was actually trying to lead a conversation.

"Do I have a reason not to be?" he asked carefully, and Shizuo shrugged.

"You are weak." It was funny, the words might have sounded like an insult, but the way Shizuo said them rather seemed like a statement of facts than sarcasm, "That subclass almost did you in already."

Subclass, huh?

The words etched more dread into Izaya than he liked to admit.

He didn't want to appear unknowing since apparently Shizuo thought he was one of his kind.

"So?" he asked, acting as if he had been aware of that all along.

Shizuo merely shrugged while ripping open the last part of the claw.

"Well, considering we are surrounded by critters far more dangerous than this I would expect at least a healthy dose of being on guard."

A shudder traveled down Izaya's spine at that. The way Shizuo described their encounters with the fashion of having seen some insects made his skin crawl.

Just what kind of dangers did hell contain that Shizuo would address as something greater?

But despite taking the warning to heart Izaya figured it was wrong to respond with fear. And so he shrugged. As naturally as possible.

"I see no issue."

Perplexion caused Shizuo to stop midbite as he had been about to devour the rest of his meal.

"How so?"

Izaya smiled softly. Shizuo wanted him to elaborate? He could do that. And he could do so in a way that would benefit them both.

"Aren't you the most dangerous of all? If so I should have been trembling in fear the moment I met you."

His words were a compliment in disguise. He was not acting negligent from the warning Shizuo had spoken earlier, but at the same time he was lifting the demon's ego by praising his strength. It was one of his best skills.

Manipulation and garnering sympathy.

And it seemed he had hit bull's eye as the demon's expression shifted to one of unexpected praise.

He didn't seem to disagree and for a moment Izaya expected a humble reply.

Well.

That wasn't what he got.

Shrugging shortly, Shizuo merely confirmed his words, "You should. I could easily kill you."

Well- that wasn't what Izaya had expected. It was the truth of course, and Izaya was aware of that fact. Ripping out that creature's guts had more than just proved his words. But he had somehow thought Shizuo would possess more modesty.

Then again he figured a demon ripping out guts left and right without caring to properly wash off said meals blood was anything but dignified. He was raw down to the core with fascinating fasettes. It was tricky to pin the demon's personality down, and yet somehow he had a feeling he was starting to understand this demon in front of him.

"But you haven't. Afraid I might be stronger than I look?" It was a bad bluff, one that was so obviously exaggerated that even a child should be able to understand its sarcastic character.

And for a moment Shizuo blinked- and suddenly he laughed.

It was a reaction as unexpected as it was appreciated. And also, oddly charming.

In a weird demonic way.

Those horns that sat left and right of Shizuo's head glittered in the flames of fire and even the blood grazing Shizuo's skin here and there somehow suddenly didn't seem as threatening as it had before.

He was capable of reasoning. Of laughter. Of sarcasm and a certain degree of empathy. Of course he was also very much capable of killing whatever came into his way without mercy, but somehow instead of the gruesome images he had been presented with, Izaya suddenly found himself thinking about how that sugar glider had landed on top of Shizuo's head.

And suddenly he found himself assessing this demon in a different light.

With this kind of strength-

It had probably been a while since Shizuo saw anyone capable of thought not shrivel in fear at his sight.

What was the social life of a demon like? Did they form groups? Act in order? There was a demon lord, what did that say about their ruling system?

Why was this one all alone?

Due to his strength?

And suddenly this demon sitting at his very own made fire, seemed extremely lonely to Izaya.

Was that what this was?

The request to come over? The demon seeking company?

The fire crackled on without burning the stone it was set on and Izaya couldn't help but feel his curiosity about this demon grow by the second.

What had his life been like? How long did demons live in the first place?

What had he seen? Done? How did he attain such strength and why?

And it seemed he wasn't the only one who was getting more intrigued by his company as he suddenly noticed Shizuo's stare meet his own.

Gaze trailing up and down Shizuo was suddenly looking at him with unclear intention.

And for a second Izaya felt a different kind of fear as he realized he was playing with fire.

Izaya knew he was attractive by nature, but sitting across a member of the kind that was said to lust after women and rape humans on whims he suddenly felt the gaze more problematic than the demon's sheer power.

If he so wished he could do anything he wanted with Izaya.

With that kind of strength- there would be no point in resisting once he pinned him down-

A hint of disbelief and morbid fantasy quickly cleared Izaya's mind as he felt a certain kind of thrill rush down his veins.

And yet- why did this feel so familiar?

The sight of disgusting strings of meat hitting the ground before Izaya distracted the thoughts that had forced themselves onto him.

A questioning glance was cast towards the demon and Shizuo nodded towards the creature's cooked innards.

"You can have some. Didn't see you eat anything so far."

Izaya felt his stomach do a backflip at the mere idea of even touching this glibbery and rough substance. Just looking at the claw and the leg it was attached to almost caused him to retch and he quickly regained his posture.

"I will pass," he announced perfectly politely, doing his utmost to not show his absolute and unrivaled disgust.

Of course the demon complained immediately, "What? It's perfectly fine meat."

"You dragged it through the dirt."

And this time Shizuo laughed out loud. "You are the first demon I hear complaining about a little dirt on its prey."

Crap- a sudden chill rushed down his spine as heat grazed his face.

He had slipped up- said something unfitting- but the surge of nervosity subsided almost as quick as it had appeared.

Shozuo didn't seem offended nor suspicious in any way. The opposite almost. His words seemed to have amused him and Izaya figured the demon put his words down as a peculiar personality trait.

"Oh well, do as you like," he shrugged and suddenly he inhaled. Fire of the same nature he had used to light the fireplace with suddenly gushed forth from his lips and directed towards his arm.

His body-

For a second Izaya was extremely confused by the action. Was Shizuo trying to burn himself? Didn't that hurt?

But this time he got answers fairly quick.

The blotches of blood staining Shizuo's arms and body were starting to disappear. Burning like the pyrolyse setting on a baking oven the flames served as a cleansing effect as it got rid of anything that was not Shizuo's skin.

It was an extremely fascinating process and impossible to look away from.

Did all demons do that?

Izaya couldn't help but remember how mice washed themselves with sand instead of water and figured that this was just what was most natural to demonkind.

Did that mean fire couldn't hurt him at all? Or did that just apply to his own flames?

Looking up and down Shizuo's body he could help but notice a few more details.

He was actually good looking for one thing.

Of course, with that kind of strength and body that wasn't hard, but also his facial features were quite intriguing

Almost familiar in a really weird way.

Soft patterns of red lit up on the edges of his horns and the tattoos almost appeared to be moving on his skin.

It was quite mesmerizing to look at and Shizuo noticed.

"What?"

Blinking shortly Izaya met the demon's gaze.

…. a real question or two wouldn't hurt, right?

"Was there a reason that monster attacked you?" he asked and Shizuo's brows dipped into a frown.

"Why are you asking?"

"Seemed like a suicidal idea. To charge you," Izaya quickly elaborated and Shizuo's face lit up with realization.

Ponting towards the shelled creature void of a heart he shrugged. "Homunclae have no conscience. They simply move when you step into their traps and try to survive. They are about as smart as a plant."

Izaya couldn't help but snort, "A plant with a heart?" And suddenly Shizuo's expression fell.

His gaze averted to the side and for a second he almost seemed mad.

"... is it so bad to have one?" he asked quietly and Izaya realized he seemed to have dipped into a double meaning he wasn't aware of.

Uncomfortable silence took over for a brief second as nonr if them spoke.

… did demons have hearts?

It was an idea Izaya wouldn't have thought of and yet the moment Shizuo asked it somehow sounded as though it was a sensitive topic.

And it made it sound as if Shizuo himself had one.

Whether that was something good or bad in human or demon terms, however, was nothing but an absolute riddle.

How did demon's get a heart? By evolving? Eating humans? Killing demons? What was the benefit of having one? Or the downside?

But no matter what it was he had said he seemed to have offended Shizuo in one way or another.

In a way that seemed to have hit harder than Izaya thought- it was charming in a way.

Shizuo possessed so much strength, but Izaya easily dealt a blow.

Made Izaya feel like the true demon here.

to be continued~

Way to go Izaya xD That might not be how to befriend a demon hahaha