Old stuff

[Deleted]

It wasn’t like Kida didn’t know he wouldn’t end up in a vulnerable position. A small, hidden part of him had always expected it. It was this excitement, this desire for the rush of adrenaline that had tied him to the life of a gang leader. This combination was also the culprit behind his stay in the hospital. The wants of a young male were as toxic as hydrochloric acid.

Still, despite the fact that he couldn’t move out the uncomfortable and unnerving confines of his hospital bed, the boy had something to look forward to: visits from his girlfriend. Yes, he thought that’s what they were now…again; if they had even broken it off in the first place. His subconscious made him feel terrible for leaving her, for ever telling her that he was looking at other girls. What sort of boyfriend was he? Even when Izaya had confronted him, he couldn’t even make the man pay…No, he had to wait for Saki to release herself from the man’s addiction. All the time he was out flirting, having fun with his friends.

Saki still came to see him everyday. Of course, at first, he was shocked to learn that she could walk on her feet. For awhile, he had felt betrayed that she had never confided in him. All that time he had spent laying awake at night, allowing the silence to echo that horrendous crunching sound had seemed in vain. However, as a couple of days past, happiness and love gave fruit to forgiveness. Kida never expected Saki to be perfect. No part of him wanted her to be. Compared to him, she was a goddess.

Masaomi spent the days in the hospital with Saki, laughing, joking around with her. Making her panic and grab at him by messing with the controls on his bed…Asking nurses if they had a bed shortage so Saki could share his. When she left however, his mind wandered. What would he do after his hospital stay was up? He couldn’t remember when he had last attended school. Better yet, how could he ever go back to school? Now that he knew of Mikado and Sonohara’s alternate personas, it seemed that the connection between them had shattered. Kida had built his entire fake existence around protecting Mikado’s innocence from gang violence. As for Sonohara…..He didn’t want to get into that. The awkwardness would be insurmountable. Even if they visited him, even if he spoke with them…It would never be the same again.

A slight moan escaped the boy’s lips as he began to awaken. He had never been one for getting out of bed, and when he was little his parents would often leave him to get ready for school on his own. Annoyed, he rolled over, tugging the I.V. in his arm, which rolled the limb back towards the drip in protest. After a large yawn, his almond eyes flickered open lazily, only to be met with Saki’s laughing ones.

How embarrassing.

In the past, it had never really occurred to Kida that Saki was truly beautiful. She was a lot better than many of the girls he had hit on. For a minute, he just stared at her, but as soon as she found it funny, he rolled over in mock-anger.

“I know I’m hot, but if you want to spend the night with me, you should PARTICIPATE”
He smiled, turning back to look at her when a voice shocked him into motionlessness.

“Masaomi”

The words were chiding, sarcastic. Only one being in the whole universe was capable of language as warped as that. How dare that thing even mutter his name? It hadn’t been long at all since he had last faced Izaya Orihara, and frankly, the man was like radiation. A tiny portion of him was dangerous. A large portion would mutate a man. Too much of the slime and it could kill someone. Of course, the slender man himself was not to blame, just his isotopes.

Kida sat up quickly, refusing to let the man see him in a weak position. The man’s face was bruised rather badly, and if the boy had been presented that image in any other setting, he would have laughed openly. The bastard deserved it. Subconsciously, Kida looked at his girlfriend, horror filling his heart. What if Izaya had said something to her? The girl’s face was calm, but Kida realized she was only being courteous. The infamous manipulator hadn’t been in the room long, and Masaomi didn’t plan to allow him to stay.

“What do you want, Orihara?” The words were a snarl, and managed to contain the greatest threat a boy in a hospital gown could muster.

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya’s smile widened at the way the boy jolted upright in his bed. The man didn’t doubt that he probably still felt some discomfort from his injuries, but just the sight of him in the doorway had made Kida jump like his bed was on fire. He didn’t want to be caught looking weak in front of him, and Izaya could understand that.

He stayed near the door way, creating distance to make Kida feel safe. It was natural for Izaya to employ tricks of human psychology, and this was just one of many. Defensive body language, distance, looking injured… it was all an illusion to give Kida the feeling that he has some control over what he was doing and saying, when in actuality every single move was the creation of some string for Izaya to tug. It was all part of a greater scheme.

The greatest threat a boy in a hospital gown could mustered turned out to be not much of a threat at all. At least not to Izaya—though it took quite a bit for Izaya to feel threatened, so he was perhaps not the best person to consult on such matters.

“Calm down, Kida,” he said sensitively, “I’m not here to hurt anyone.” And it was true. Though sometimes people were hurt because of things Izaya had led them to do… he never actually went out of his way to hurt others.

He took one small step into the room and offered with a casual grin, “I’m here to offer you both a job.”

[UndergroundGod]

When Erika began to laugh, Izaya was slightly irked at first, afraid that she was mocking him again… but then she explained her reasoning and he was ready to return the sentiment. He'd love to be there to see that firsthand, Shizuo hurling a vending machine at Mamoru's creepy face, or whacking him in the gut with a stop sign and sending him flying. It would certainly be priceless, though Izaya would distinctly prefer spending as little time as humanly possible in Mamoru's presence.

But suddenly a voice that Izaya wasn't expecting to hear until the following afternoon drifted through the busy restaurant with surprising clarity and Izaya's heart skipped too many beats to be considered healthy.

Fuck. He couldn’t be seen here with Erika, not after this afternoon. It would blow everything—when Erika looked at him and asked him what they would do, he only had one option, and he mouthed at her quickly, "Get under the table."

The length of the booth, the length of the table cloth, and Erika's thankfully dark clothing should be enough to keep her concealed until Izaya could come up with something more effective—he'd have hidden himself, but it was safer for him to be seen than for Erika to be seen, so he'd just have to stay above the table and take his chances at being recognized.

However, knowing who Mamoru was talking to, Izaya wasn't nearly as scared as he thought he'd be. Simon may seem dense at times with his single minded obsession for hawking sushi, but the Russian man was anything but.

Because Mamoru was an obvious creep… and Simon wasn't an idiot. When it came to reading people, Simon was as good as Izaya was, though he was more compassionate about his findings than Izaya could ever be. It would take Simon all of four seconds to instinctively know that the man in front of him was up to no good, that there was true evil swirling around that twisted little brain of his. Izaya was almost completely confident that Simon wouldn't sell them out to such an utterly disturbing person and he held his breath, waiting to hear the answer Simon would give…

"Erika Karisawa, eh? No. No good. Don't talk on empty stomach, yes. Eat sushi! Then talk. Sushi's good! Table this way!"

Izaya finally sucked in a deep breath as he watched Simon lead Mamoru in the opposite direction of their table, over towards one of the private rooms, where he nudged Mamoru inside, insisted he read the menu, and shut the door behind him, something strange clicking into place.

Izaya hadn't been aware that the doors could lock, but he didn't doubt that Simon would want such a precaution, considering his background.

The Russian man peered across the restaurant with a serious expression and when his eyes moved pointedly from their booth to another empty private room, Izaya took the hint. He said sharply to Erika, "come on," grabbed his plate and drink and weaved quickly to the room while Simon stood guard outside Mamoru's door.

[unicornhunter]

Erika ducked under the table and curled herself into a ball. She bit her lip to keep her from making any noise and tried to convince herself to continue breathing. This was horrible, why did this have to happen right then? Right when things started to look like they were going right? This was bad, this was bad bad bad!

She listened to the footsteps of her father and Simon get farther and farther away.... Then Izaya spoke to her, and she crawled out from under the table, grabbed her things, and hurried to the empty private room with Izaya. She quickly deposited the things she was carrying onto the table, then closed the door shut. She heard it click, then turned around and sat down, curling up into a ball again. She forced a whimper down, and she looked right at Izaya once again.

"I guess we're gonna be here for a while...." She whispered.

All of a sudden, she felt like vomiting, and the little food she had left no longer looked the least bit appealing.