I Need Your Help

[UndergroundGod]

It was a typical early afternoon in the office of Izaya Orihara. As he consumed his mildly interesting lunch, he perused through the most menial routine of the day, checking websites, email, and the Dollars message board. Some days he would find something interesting and other days he would START something interesting, but today he felt like neither. The weather outside was dreary, clouds darkening the sky and threatening rain, and the overall feel of it put Izaya in low spirits.

It wasn’t often that Izaya felt drained, but the weather could certainly do it. Izaya wasn’t necessarily a fan of the sunlight, but there was something about that bright glow missing from the sky that just dragged him down. However, the feeling wouldn’t last for very long.

When the information request came across his desk, via Namie’s ever-enthusiastic delivery, Izaya’s eyes scanned over it and it only took a moment for a grin to stretch across his face. Oh, so they wanted to know about HIM, hm?

The people Izaya dealt with rarely had good intentions; Izaya had long since jumped over that mental hurdle of morality, if he’d ever had such a thing to begin with. He no longer blinked when someone wanted a case of poison, or information on someone’s whereabouts. He knew the information he dealt and the things he traded caused death, destruction, and depression, and destroyed lives throughout the city, and perhaps throughout the entire country. Appropriately, he didn’t deny responsibility for such things.

Izaya loved humans, but he was bright enough to know he couldn’t stop them from hurting one another, so he might as well make a profit off the terrible things that would happen with or without his assistance.

Now this particular request… it would get him into trouble and he knew it. More trouble than he was currently in, though he supposed the consequences of his actions couldn’t grow any worse.

After all, Shizuo was already going to kill him. It’s not like he could possibly hate him more. Even if this was traced back to him, the worst that could happen would be that Shizuo would pay a little but more attention to him for a while.

And besides, this was incredibly easy money. Usually Izaya would have to spend some time researching and compiling information. He’d had to hack into websites, hit the streets, tap into hidden resources, but this… this was too simple. Izaya already had most of the information he needed, as this was a subject that had been under his careful observation for many years. It was too beautiful a chance to pass up.

He hopped back on his computer to pull up the necessary files, delete the information they weren’t paying for, and update it with the next two days of the target’s very detailed schedule. After hitting a few more keys, he arrange for a file transfer that would allow them to see the information as soon as the money they promised appeared in his account.

With that, Izaya had had his fill of mischief for the day. He was almost certain to have just supplied himself with trouble for the rest of the week, so now… he just wanted to rest. He had a very strong feeling that he was going to need it.

After all, Shizuo went crazy whenever his brother was involved.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo was waving bye to his boss as they parted ways. He sighed and looked around as he turned the corner and blinked. He'd managed to find himself in front of Russian sushi. His stomach grumbled letting him know that it had been awhile since his last meal. He nodded and waved to Simon as he walked in and sat down somewhere off to the side.

Once he had his fill he checked out of the place. After exchanging a few words with Simon he nodded and turned and walked away from the black Russian. He pushed his sunglasses up and looked around.

He had noticed people earlier in the day walking around with umbrellas, but he never gave it much thought. That was till he heard the thunder. He sighed heavily. There was no way he was going to make it all the way back to his apartment, so he ducked under the over hang of a building just before it started to sprinkle. Not that he minded the rain all that much really.

After debating about it for almost five minuets, knowing this cause of the clock that ticked away on a pole just across the street from him, he decided he'd try and head home. The rain hadn't gotten harder yet. It had actually lightened a bit.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he then walked out from the over hang and headed home.

It was a rather long and boring walk; he was just getting ready to walk into a local store when his cell phone went off.

"What now," he muttered under his breath and then moved out of the way of people going in and out of the store and pulled it from his pocket, flipped it open and raised it to his ear.

"Yea?" He said rather annoyed.

"We got him. Your brother. If you want him it will cost you."

Shizou blinked as he heard the words, then he heard it. His brothers muffled voice in the background. He gripped the phone tightly, overly temped to break the damned thing right then and there. Before he could though...

"$400,000.00 that is the final amount. You have thirty-six hours. We'll be in touch."

Shizuo blinked and then his eyes narrowed as the phone went dead. He then gritted his teeth and crushed the phone in the palm of his hand. As the pieces fell to the ground he bolted away from the store.

He was actually heading to the store to get milk for when his brother stopped by that evening. He actually knew he was in town this time before he saw it all over the news and was going to get to see him and not have to worry about things. A million things flew though his head as he ran.

He was almost there when he stopped and looked around. 'Who would do this?' 'Why would they take him' 'Was the money really the only thing they cared about?' He growled as the thoughts crossed his mind before he then grabbed the nearest newspaper stand and then threw it down the road into on coming traffic.

He watched as the cars braked and swerving just slightly. He turned around and then reached out and grabbed at the nearest street sign. He then gripped it and twirled it around as he vaguely heard more screams rang out in the streets.

"KASSSUUUKKKAAAA!!!!" he screamed as he hurled the sign over onto the street.

It managed to miss everyone, but he still wasn't happy.

He then growled and darted back down the streets running the rest of the way home.

Once he was inside he looked around, quickly removed his soaking wet shoes and then started to look around his apartment. He had no idea what he was searching for until he found it. It was a picture of him and his brother from the last time he was in town, less then a year ago actually. He sighed and then set it aside as he felt himself relaxing a bit.

He pulled his vest off and pulled his shirt out of his pants and unbuttoned a few of the top buttons. He'd dry off and then try and think.

After things were handled and he was dry and in his night clothes he sat on the couch, tapping his foot and staring at the picture of him and his brother. Shizuo reached out and grabbed the beer he had in the fridge and took a long drink before he set it back down.

"Kasuka...What am I going to do?" he asked and then leaned forward and ran his hands through his hair before he looked back to the picture.

"How am I going to come up with-well no. I know how I can get that kind of money." he said softly to the picture. "I refuse to do that." he added and then looked around his small place.

He knew that deep down there was only one person he could go to for help. There was only one person he could go to that would have the information he needed on this. He growled and sighed right then, suddenly regretting the fact that he crushed his phone. This just meant he'd have to wait till tomorrow to go and see the Eskimo.

It was much later into the might when he laid on his bed, tossing and turning. He might have managed a few hours of sleep, but it wasn't much.

After the birds where up and chirping he got out of bed and got ready. He slipped his glasses on and then his other pair of shoes, since his first ones where wet and all still. Then he walked out of his door, locked it and left.

It was around ten in the morning still when he found himself standing outside of the man's apartment. He hated this man, more then anything.

His plan was to stomach him long enough to get the information he needed and to leave. Well, that was the plan anyway.

Shizuo found himself just outside of his door, actually hoping the informant was home. This would only be the second time he had ever appeared on Izaya Orihara's doorstep.

[UndergroundGod]

Because of his early catnap the day before, Izaya hadn’t gotten much sleep that night, though it wasn’t as if Izaya ever slept particularly well. He knew he woke up more often during the night than most people did, and had many times woken up at an angle completely obtuse to the one he had fallen asleep in, one or more of his limbs dangling off his bed. Of course, despite his sleeping habits, it wasn’t as though he felt tired often, so it was never really a problem.

Izaya woke up much earlier than he had intended (he usually liked to sleep late, as long as it didn’t interfere with his schedule), though that too wasn’t uncommon, not when he actually slept at his own apartment. Though the bed was comfortable and the atmosphere under his control, he just… didn’t feel at ease there. He had a tendency to sleep better on the couch at his office, or in a strange hotel room. He was never quite sure why.

Either way, he sat up with a vague grimace, stretching his arms high above his head in the room that was only dark because of the heavy blinds. The green print on his alarm clock informed him that it was only a few minutes after nine, and though the time wasn’t unbearable, he’d had preferred to have slept for another hour, at least. He didn’t usually get to his office until nearly noon, which always gave him more than enough time to arrange his schedule for the day, plus plan in any of the fun he wanted.

A sigh passed his lips; there was no going back to sleep now, so he didn’t bother trying.

Instead, he hopped out of his bed and drifted lazily into the shower, taking his time. He wasn’t hungry and there weren’t many things he loathed more than showing up at the office much too early. The very thing he liked about being an information broker was that he did what he wanted, and worked when he felt like it. He didn’t want to even think about working until ten, unless the profit in it was somehow fantastic.

He finished showering and dressed, then skipped downstairs. It was still too early for him to be hungry, but maybe he would stop by Russia Sushi. They had a bittersweet mecha tea that Izaya was nearly addicted to, if he could be reduced to such behavior. It was a wonderful thing to treat himself to in the morning, and as much as he would never admit it, Simon’s presence had and eerily calming effect on him that was also surprisingly enjoyable. If nothing else, it was impossible for Izaya to harbor any ill feelings towards the Russian, even after that nasty black eye he’d given him hardly so long ago.

But just as he pulled open his door to leave the apartment,, he nearly ran into a rather solid figure blocking the way, and almost instantly jumped back

It was Shizuo.

Izaya was genuinely surprised, both at the man’s presence and at the fact that he was just… standing there. He certainly didn’t look as if he had any intentions of busting down Izaya’s door to kill him. Though Izaya had been expecting an appearance from Shizuo, he hadn’t been sure it would be such a docile one. Not that Shizuo didn’t seem angry, just… obviously not at him, not right now.

Which must mean he didn’t know about Izaya’s connection to any of this, a circumstance that was perfectly acceptable to Izaya, and one with which he would run. He didn’t fear Shizuo’s wrath, never, but he certainly wouldn’t mind finding out what this was all about and perhaps getting a chance to pull a string or two.

“Shizu~,” he said with a grin. It was a smile that concealed everything he needed it to; his surprise, his guilt, his amusement. It hid the fact that he already had some idea as to why Shizuo was at his doorstep; it was such an innocent grin that he knew Shizuo would never believe it, and the fact that it would piss the blond off only added to Izaya’s amusement. “What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you this morning?”

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo blinked as the dark haired man bumped into him. He shockingly wasn’t swinging at him or screaming his name. At least not yet anyway, he had stumbled back a little at the collision before he regained himself. Had to keep reminding himself that he was doing this for his brother, all of it was for his brother.

Then Izaya spoke. With out much of a second thought on his brother, Shizuo pulled his hand from his pocket and withdrew it before he swung at the man. Feeling the breeze as he missed and his fist then slammed really hard into the door frame. He pulled his hand back and looked at Izaya as he watched him stand back up.

The same hand that had made contact with the doorframe was now raised up to push Izaya back into his apartment. At least it was till he saw the blood on his knuckles. He looked up at the door frame and saw the nice dent in it. It would seem he hit it a lot harder then he thought.

“Hmm…” he mumbled softly as he looked from his hand back to Izaya. “I’m coming in.” he nearly barked and then pushed past him and walked into his place. He looked around and then spotted a sink and walked over casually to rinse his hand and maybe find where he cut himself at.

After a few moments he had a paper towel over the nice gash that lay over his middle knuckle. He looked from the back of his hand to Izaya as he spoke,

‘We need to talk….about my brother and the people that might have…might have…” he stopped and looked away. It was time to admit it, “Might have taken him.’ He said.

Why was the urge to punch this guy in the face not there? Where was the desire to throw something heavy and large at his face? His mind must have been far to preoccupied with how to get his brother back un harmed to even really notice that it was Izaya Orihara. The man he hated right from the moment he met him. The man who’s face he wanted to beat in as soon as he saw him. All that hate and anger seemed to have melted away. It was like the last snow before spring. It seemed he was growing rather pathetic when it came to things that dealt with his one and only brother, Kasuka.

He leaned back against the counter holding the paper towel over his hand. He’d stop bleeding soon enough, the towel was more for the fact he didn’t need dripping his blood all over Izaya’s place. With a light mental sigh he looked back up into the face that oddly didn’t anger him in the moment and spoke once more.

“I crushed my phone after all called, so I have no idea how they are going to get a hold of me and I figured…” Shizuo grumbled, “That if anyone knew anything it would be you. So, I guess I just need to know your price on the information that you have. Which better be damned good.” he added as his eyes narrowed onto the man that stood before him.

Shizuo walked around and then sat down on his couch, he really was rather brain scattered over the whole thing. Or else there was no way that he’d ever have been here as long as he had been, and would have sat on this couch. The couch that belonged to the man he would rather deck in the face then… He sighed, his brother needed him and that was why he was here.

‘What I’m saying is. I need your...assistance, Izaya. Will you help me?”

[UndergroundGod]

It was hardly an unusual thing for Shizuo to take a swing at him. Even now, when Shizuo wasn’t in a rage (though clearly fuming), having the man try to hit him was common. It would have been unusual if Izaya hadn’t ducked, right on cue.

But of course, his reflexes were too quick for such a strike and he heard the crunch of his poor door frame giving beneath Shizuo misaimed fist. He grimaced momentarily—if Shizuo destroyed Ikebukuro, Izaya really didn’t care, but when he started damaging his apartment… well, Izaya had to pay for those repairs, and even though the expense was trivial, it was the principle of the thing that mattered.

He’d make Shizuo pay for the damages one way or another.

Izaya didn’t bother arguing as Shizuo barged into his apartment, knowing that doing so would be pointless. The man had never been inside his apartment before, but Izaya was amused to see that Shizuo had no problem intruding. He stomped right across the living and into the kitchen without asking for anything and Izaya watched him passively as the man cleaned the blood from his self-inflicted wound, leaning against the doorframe and watching Shizuo’s back and shoulders moving in front of the sink.

After a moment, the taller male turned back to him, and Izaya kept his face impassive, unreadable beyond the smug grin that was his norm as Shizuo talked about his brother being abducted.

The information dealer had to admit, it was a bit… disconcerting, almost. Izaya truly though that if Shizuo ever ended up inside his apartment, it would because he’d pushed things too far and the man really was just going to kill him. It was strange to be holding what was nearly a conversation with this man, when he had yet to make a single death threat. Even with that punch to make things not completely unthreatening… well, it just wasn’t the same. It was actually a little eerie for Shizuo to be standing in his apartment… asking for his help.

Then Shizuo brushed past him, sitting down on the couch in the living room as if he owned the place. Izaya was a bit surprised by how forward Shizuo was, though he realized he shouldn’t be. He’d never really talked to Shizuo beyond the death threats. It was hard to get to know someone when they wanted you dead, and Izaya had never had any time to get to know the way Shizuo behaved when he wasn’t trying to kill Izaya

Izaya remained where he face, facing Shizuo as he propped himself against the door frame into his kitchen, his arms folded across his chest casually.

“I suppose I could help,” he said airily, in a way that suggested helping Shizuo was more of a hindrance then anything else, then added with a widening smirk as he purposely looked Shizuo dead in the eyes, “if the price is right.”

Before Shizuo could reply to his taunt, he returned to the lighthearted, vaguely annoyed tone, “So, what do you know then? What were you asked before you destroyed your phone?”

[tossingtrashcans]

“Look how about you just tell me the information I need to know before I walk over there and kill you where you stand, how about that?” Shizuo shot at him out of a fit of anger before he turned his gaze and actually looked at Izaya. What was he thinking? As much as he didn't want to admit it, he needed this guys connections and intake on the situation. This seemed to be a little harder then he had planned.

He turned his head once more as he looked down and moved the towel from his hand. The bleeding had stopped but the stupidity of the act was still there. His eyes scoped out the room before he spotted it. The nearest trash can. With a swift movement he got up from the couch and walked over to discard his blood covered towel. After he watched it drop down he turned back to face the dark haired man.

“I'm not fully sure.” he said, his anger having gripped him and he kind of spaced out.

“Just something about $400.000 dollars and then they would be in contact and I had like 30 hours? But that was almost twelve hours ago now.” He said softly and blinked behind his blue sunglasses, wondering what Izaya was up to.

The man's casual manner for dealing with this was far to lax for his liking, and really. It was starting to piss him off. Before he even noticed he he was stalking towards the man. His eyes narrowed as his blood began to nearly boil over from within him.

“Listen here you little maggot!” Shizuo barked at Izaya as he reached out and grabbed the man's shirt and pulled him close against him.

“Either you help me with what you know about these people and getting in touch with whoever would want to harm my brother. Or I'm going to send you flying out that glass window. Let me tell you, the ending result, wont be all that pretty.” He added his face still hardcore serious. He was pissed off that someone would take his brother, then he was even more pissed of that this little flea would just stand there with that smug look on his face.

There was no second thought to his next actions, he had pushed Izaya's back against the corner edge of the frame he was standing against. His face never falter as he stood there, hand gripped tight on the male's shirt, his face nearly dripping with anger from just about everything that surrounded him right now. Mainly the man who's shirt he had a hold of.

[UndergroundGod]

Shizuo’s reactions were as exuberant and amusing as ever. Izaya expected it, of course, as Shizuo was always ruffled around him, and particularly when it concerned his brother, and it certainly couldn’t help his temper that he’d been reduced to coming to his arch nemesis for assistance. Even still, Izaya couldn’t help but wonder why Shizuo ever thought that he could be threatening to Izaya, and why he thought threatening him now was a good tactic for getting information out of him.

In in all the years that Shizuo had been threatening to kill him, he’d very rarely even come close to accomplishing the task. Izaya had hardly even been injured more than the occasional scrape or bruise as he ran from Shizuo (and those injuries were mostly things he’d done to himself, as he was still learning the crazy jumps and flips that he’d perfected over time). Did the man really think that threatening to kill him now was somehow going to intimidate Izaya into helping him? If anything, shouldn’t Shizuo be down on his knees, begging for his help?

Of course, Izaya reasoned, Shizuo probably just couldn’t help himself. He’d resorted to violence for so long that he had no choice but to resort to it now as well, even when Izaya could very well wave him off and give him nothing at all.

Now, normally, Izaya wouldn’t have let Shizuo get so close to him. On the street, he would have hopped out of Shizuo’s way before the man could lay a finger on him, much less pin him against a wall like this, with a death grip on his shirt; but this time, Izaya knew he was in control of the situation. He could say or do anything he wanted, and any way he wanted to, so long as he told Shizuo he’d be willing to help him find his brother. After all, if Shizuo killed him, he’d never get information out of him.

Pressed back against the corner of the frame, Izaya raised his hands defensively, shrugging slightly, turning his head in an offhanded way, a slight smirk dancing onto his lips. “Now, Shizu, there’s no sense in getting angry at me because you crushed your phone too quickly to hear any useful information, like a rendezvous point or a meeting time or anything like that.”

Again, pulling the strings of Shizuo’s emotions as best he knew how, he quickly retreated from the demeaning statement and added, “But the last thing I want to see is your handsome young movie start brother to be injured or worse. Just let go of me and I’ll be willing to help you.”

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo loosened his grip on Izaya's shirt and then let his hand fall down as he took a step back. The man was right; he wasn't going to get the answers he needed if he continued to act like a brute. It seemed the more he thought about it the less he remembered in the phone call. The details were vague, just muffles of his brother in the background. That was really all he did remember. He raised his hand up to his face and ran his fingers through his hair a little before he covered his face as he moved back away from him, his eyes darting around a million movements a minute.

He just simply wasn't letting his brain process the information that was running through it. It was starting to worry him that he was acting out without a second thought.

With another step back, he looked down at Izaya as he adjusted his sunglasses.

“Look. I need help getting a new phone as quick as possible, then I would like all the information you have as to why someone would want to kidnap my brother. Focus on the who, 'cause I intent on punching in their faces 'til I get my brother back,” he grumbled and then sighed as his fists tensed up and he forced himself to relax.

When he had to force himself to chill out, it normally took a lot out of him. He'd gotten better at maintaining and controlling it as he got older, but that didn't make it all that much easier.

“About the payment,” he stopped and sighed. “Look, just tell me what you want before I get information out of you." he said flatly as he looked Izaya in the eyes.

“What is it you want from me that would be worth this information?”

[UndergroundGod]

He let out a soft huff as Shizuo released him. It had been a bit uncomfortable being pressed against the corner with it digging into his back like that. Glancing down at the shirt, he frowned to see that the front was now a bit wrinkled from Shizuo’s death grip. He tugged the shirt down, trying to flatten it out for a moment before going any further.

Well, at least Shizuo seemed to comprehend the position he was in. It would be silly of him to think that he was the one in control here. Izaya pulled all the strings here, he was the one with the wealth of information at his fingertips. He was the one that Shizuo was going to have to rely on if he wanted his brother back, especially since the Neanderthal had destroyed the kidnappers’ one way of getting in contact with him. Without that, they couldn’t plan an ambush, or a fake out, though the kidnappers had to know who they were contacting, whose brother they were taken hostage. They had to have planned how they were going to get the money from Shizuo and still manage to escape alive.

After all, he was the one who had supplied the kidnappers with the information they had asked for, and he’d been well compensated for it.

“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. His finger pressed against his lips as he considered what this would be worth to him. Whatever should he charge Shizuo for the information he would have to find in order to figure out exactly what had happened to his brother. Because Izaya honestly didn’t know who had hired him. His clients were often confidential and he rarely gave such things a second thought. He normally never needed to figure out who he was selling information to.

Unless someone else paid him to figure such a thing out, of course.

“I’m not going to decide what you owe me right now,” he decided after a long moment, waving Shizuo off. “Normally, I’d charge someone twenty percent of what the kidnappers were asking for. But for you, I’ll cut you a deal; if you restrain yourself from trying to kill me until we get your brother back, and it’ll cost you less than five hundred. How easy this ends up being depends on how much less. Sound like a reasonable offer?”

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo sighed lightly at the man. Why was he not naming a price right up front? Was he trying to toy with him? Either way he, shrugged and took a much bigger step away from him. There was no way he was serious about the deal he was trying to cut with him. This was Izaya after all and he never cut anyone a deal like this. So why was he doing it for him?

“So all I have to do it try not to kill you for however long it takes to get Kasuka back,” he said softly and then closed his eyes a moment before he reopened then and nodded. If that was what he had to do then, he was going to do all he could to make sure it happened. He had to get help from someone on how to save his brother.

“I’ll do it,” he muttered under his breath before he ran his hand over his face and then turned around, his back to Izaya. Before he knew what he was doing, he had begun to pace back and forth. There were things that kept running through his head, things he needed to do. Like get a new phone.

After a bit, he stopped, turned on his heel, and faced Izaya once more.

“What is the first order of business?” he asked as his hand reached up and moved the sunglasses off his face. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be here too much longer, but wearing them inside was starting to bother him. Shizuo folded them up, moved his vest forward then pushed them down inside of the pocket. He let out a light sigh once more before his hands dropped back down to his sides. He was now waiting on the darker haired male to speak. Any other time, he would have done all he could to keep that from happening. Right now, his brother’s wellbeing depended on the words that came from his mouth.

[UndergroundGod]

Honestly, Izaya wasn’t even completely sure why he wasn’t charging Shizuo more. Maybe it was because he didn’t really need the money, or maybe it was because he felt a bit guilty, knowing his involvement in all this (though that certainly couldn’t be it). It was possible that he really didn’t think the job would be all that hard, or that he didn’t think Shizuo really had the money to bleed on such things. Maybe part of it was that he liked the idea of giving Shizuo this break and having the man feel indebted to him.

Or maybe there would just be something priceless in being able to say whatever he wanted to Shizuo, knowing he could get away with it, and the older man would just have to grin and bear it. That was probably more valuable than any lump sum of money he could be paid.

Really, overall, it was a pretty fair deal. Of course, Shizuo had no choice but to accept the terms.

It was obvious the man was torn about it though. The stressed look on his face, the anxious pacing; Izaya watched it all with an intense intrigue. This was turning into an unintentionally interesting experiment. Normally, just stirring Shizuo into a murderous rage was enough to keep him amused, and Izaya didn’t bother trying for anything more complex than that, but… something about watching Shizuo pace like a wild animal trapped in a cage piqued Izaya’s interests.

And the best part was that the man had just sealed his fate into giving Izaya a front row seat to all of this.

“Well, the first thing we need to do,” he said, an exasperated tone in his voice, his hand falling to his hip, “is get you a new cellphone. Preferably with the same number, so that you can still be contacted by the idiots who took your brother. Did you keep the phone you crushed?”

[tossingtrashcans]

Did Izaya honestly think he stopped to pick up crushed pieces of his cell phone? The man honestly had to have some screws lose in his head somewhere to lead him to think that.

“No.” Shizuo said with a light sigh. “I crushed it in my hands then heard the bits and pieces as they fell onto the sidewalk then I ran.” There was no way he was seriously expecting him to have kept it. Of course as the time passed, he seemed to regret leaving them behind. Not that it all really mattered anyway; it was over and done with.

“So what do you suggest now?” he questioned as he narrowed his eyes on Izaya. He was just dying to know what other bright ideas the eskimo had to offer him. There was no way anything could beat what he had offered to do thus far.

Shizuo stood there waiting for a moment and then blinked and looked down at his stomach as it made noises at him. He then realized he’d not eaten anything since the sushi last night. By this point in the day, it was near lunch time. He needed to get some information from Izaya quicker then he was getting it. He now had a grumble stomach to deal with on top of an immature man, whose face he still would like to pound in.

“Well fine then, Izaya. Enough games, what information do you have right now on the people that kidnapped my brother.” His eyes were intense as he stood there before the darker hair male.

“Tell me already.”

[UndergroundGod]

He let out a long breath. Of course Izaya knew better than to think that Shizuo would have done something intelligent. He would have been surprised to hear that Shizuo had thought his actions through and gathered what was left of the phone to see what was salvageable.

“You oaf,” Izaya said with a roll of his eyes, “calm down, would you? How am I supposed to suddenly have some information beyond what you’ve told me so far? All I know is that some people took your brother, want $400,000, and gave you until noon tomorrow to get it to them. You really think I just pull information magically out on my ass when I do these things? There usually a lead of some sort, something more than generic information to go off of.”

He crossed his arms, and huffed, narrowing his eyes at Shizuo as he spoke, “This is precisely why I can’t stand you, you never think things through. It’s so hard to deal with you.”

Izaya was only partially telling the truth. It did frustrate him that Shizuo was all reaction, no thought… but it was also the very thing that Izaya loved best about the man. He was primal and strong and… interesting. Shizuo listened only to his gut (which was currently grumbling, from what Izaya could hear). Shizuo hated violence, but was forced to life with it every day of his life. The man was strong in all the wrong ways, as far as Izaya was concerned, but he was ever curious as to whether or not there was anything he could do to fix that.

“Now if you just shut up and listen for a minute, I can explain how this works.” His voice was firm—not aggressive, but assertive. It was the parent tone, the teacher tone, the you-will-listen-to-me-because-I’m-the-one-you-are-relying-on tone. It demanded attention. “First of all, we need to do everything in your power to get your phone back immediately. Phones have SIM cards that can be put in other phones through the same carrier, so you’ll have all your contact information. Do you know what crushing your phone seems like to the kidnapper? It just seems like you’re not answering. If you’re not answering your phone after they threaten you, it seems like you’re not taking them seriously. Do you have any idea what kidnappers do to hostages when they aren’t being taken seriously?”

Izaya grew eerily silent for a long moment, but before he would let Shizuo respond angrily, he answered his own question in a grim voice, “Let’s just hope there wasn’t a severed finger delivered in your morning mail.”

Honestly, why didn’t Shizuo come to him last night if he was so damn worried? This twelve hour time gap was going to make things much more difficult, especially considering kidnapper calls usually came in right around the twelve hour mark. Izaya wouldn’t be surprised if they were trying to contact Shizuo right now.

“So the very first thing we need to do, to keep your brother safe for now AND to save him, is make it possible for the kidnappers to contact you again. Our best way of doing that is to go look for your phone and pray to whatever you consider a god that it’s not completely destroyed. Then we need to take it to wherever you bought it and get you a new one. The sooner, the better. Now, come on, let's get your ass moving.”

[tossingtrashcans]

What he wanted to know was, how was he the hard one to deal with? He was lax calm and a go with the, well okay. He wasn't like that when it came to Izaya. He never had been and never will be. It really was that simple for him. He let the comment slid as he heard the darker haired male speaking again.

Something about his phone and a card or something, he was listening but he just didn't fully understand was was being said. With a sigh and a nod he just thought it best to agree with him at this point. Seeing as Izaya knew what he was talking about, for once.

He growled at the end of that. How dare he even put thought of his little brother missing a finger into his head. How could he, he wanted nothing more then to lay him out right then and there. His hand balling up at his side as he stood there. He knew thought, that if he did swing at him, that would only cost more money for him. So, he tensely stood there, staring at him.

So what, was Izaya expecting him to go dumpster diving for his cell phone bits? Was that what the man really want? With a heavy sigh he loosened his hand and nodded at him. He did agree that he needed a phone with the same number to let them get a hold of him. It did him no good not knowing if his brother was in one piece now. Granted, he knew that was his own fault for acting out before a logical thought crossed his mind.

That sure didn't stop Shizuo from grumbling at the thought of having to spend more time with this man. More time he he was really expecting to. At this point, he guess it really couldn't be helped. He needed the mans help to get his brother back, all fingers and toes attached.

With that he nodded again and then reached around and pulled his sunglasses out of his vest pocket and flicked them open. He slipped them on with one casual motion and sighed softly.

“Then it looks like I'm leaving. I'll be back when I find something or when I get the new phone.” With that being said, he stepped forward and walked right past him as he headed for the door.

[UndergroundGod]

It was funny to watch the emotions flickering across Shizuo’s face. Disgust, anger, resentment, loathing (both for himself, and for Izaya), but in the end… the overriding look was defeat. Shizuo wouldn’t give up, but he had given in and he would listen to Izaya, whether he wanted to or not.

As Shizuo was about to leave, trying to escape him, Izaya decided not to let him yet, hurrying up behind him, to fall in step behind the man after he had shut the apartment door behind them.

“I’ll tag along,” he said nonchalantly. “Not for the whole trip, though I probably should because you’re bound to screw something up.” Oh, it was like poking a tiger with a very sharp stick and Izaya was so tickled pink about it. At any other time, he’d be running for his life by this point, but… Shizuo was trapped and helpless right now. Without Izaya, he had nothing. Both of them knew it, and Izaya was all too eager to take advantage of his position.

Not to get him wrong—Izaya was still fully prepared to duck and dodge should he actually push the man too far. This was a lesson in self-restraint, but Izaya didn’t really expect Shizuo to learn anything.

“But I’m hungry, so I’m going to head to Russia Sushi,” he continued to tease. He grinned sidelong, but didn’t look in Shizuo’s direction. Honestly, he didn’t need to look in order to know the pissed off look that was on the man’s face. He’d heard the man’s stomach growling and knew he was hungry; Izaya was more thirsty than hungry, but that wasn’t nearly as much of a tease.

Then, to ease the blow of his taunting, he added, still smirking, “After you find your phone and grab the new one, meet me at the restaurant, I’ll treat you to something.”