I Need Your Help

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo mentally groaned loudly. Was he really expecting him to go dumpster diving for his phone? He just wanted to throw Izaya out the window and call it a day, but he really couldn't at this point. There was some short mumbles and then a nodded.

Once outside he shoved his hands into his pocket then dug out his cigarettes and pulled one out of the pack with his lips then light it taking a long hard drag. He removed it from his mouth then walked in front of Izaya for the most part. Taking hits from his smoke when he remember that Izaya was behind him all this time.

They where outside Russia sushi before he knew it,

“I'll be back when I get the phone.” he said softly as he waved to Simon like nothing was going on.

With a slight sigh he headed back down to where he was at when he'd gotten the phone call. A million things swimming through his head as he walked. Seemed being alone was worse then being around Izaya. Not that he would admit that out loud, ever.

He stopped on the side walk, people moving all around him as he stood there like a ass looking for something that might not even be around here. Once he skimmed the area he headed away from the area then stopped dead in his tracks.

“Dumpster.” he grumbled under his breath then headed over to it and flipped the lid up. He groaned and stepped back from the smell that leaked from it.

“Damn it.” Shizuo muttered as he walked closer then and covered his nose. He looked around the top and sighed. There wasn't really any other choice at this point.

After almost a entire twenty minutes digging threw the green dumpster, he crawled out and looked at the SIM card. He knew it was is only cause he actually had to pull it out of the main part of his old phone. With a light sigh he shoved the card into his pocket and headed to the phone company.

After some odd looks and barging with the phone company, he stepped out of the building with a new phone. It was just a updated version of his old one, in which now he had attached his phone charm to, turned it on then pushed it into his pocket.

His next plan of action was to go home, shower, then meet with Izaya at Russia sushi. So then he began his walk home, new phone safely in his pocket.

It was almost another hour and a half, before he nodded and waved to Simon as he walked into the shop. Glad that he no longer smelt of a gritty dumpster. He stood just inside the entrance as he looked around for the darker haired male before he finally found him. He walked over to him, sat down at the table, ignoring people as they stared and whispered softly.

He reached up and removed his sunglasses before tucking them inside his vest. He then shifted around and pulled his phone out of his pocket and set it on the table before him

“It has the same number and it's turned on.”

[UndergroundGod]

As they walked down the street, only a few steps apart, Izaya couldn’t help but be amused by the looks they were getting. Some people, of course, didn’t give them a second thought, but others… there were shocked and horrified faces all around at the sight of Izaya Orihime and Shizuo Heiwajima walking down the street next to each other… without trying to kill each other.

Surely, the world must be ending.

The smirk played on Izaya’s lips, keeping the gap between him and Shizuo as slight as possible to keep up the surprised looks. He just barely kept himself from chuckling.

Even Simon seemed fairly surprised to see them walking semi-casually together (though Shizuo was obviously looking tense). Shizuo gave a nod of greeting to the Russian and kept walking, and Izaya cried out a friendly, “See you later!”

When Simon’s strange look turned towards him, Izaya just shrugged at him. He didn’t really want to explain everything that was happening, because he was sure that if Simon knew the circumstances of their pseudo cooperation, he would suspect that Izaya was really the one behind it all… and while that was partially true, Izaya hadn’t planned on Shizuo coming to him for help, forcing them to spend all this time together.

Simon might call him out on his plan… or he might call him out on the real reasons that Izaya seemed so elated about all this. Izaya didn’t look forward to either and so sought to avoid the conversation by ducking inside the restaurant.

And that was where he sat for nearly two hours, sipping unsweetened teas, and buzzing around the internet on his phone. He did a little research online to see if he could figure out where exactly Kasuka might have been taken, but all he uncovered was that the account Izaya’s money for the information had been transferred from was located at some bank in Hong Kong, which didn’t particularly help him at all. He supposed his only option was to wait for Shizuo to return and wait for the kidnappers to call.

When Shizuo finally did return, Izaya ordered two sushi specials and took the phone from the table as soon as the man set it down. To test it, he quickly made a call from his own phone to Shizuo’s—it rung successfully, and he flipped his phone closed, satisfied.

“Did you check your voicemail?” he asked, but didn’t wait for an answer, knowing the man hadn’t. He scrolled through the phone’s menu and called the voicemail, put it on speakerphone, so that Shizuo could hear as well, and the recorded voice began.

“You have… two unheard messages. Message one, twelve, oh, four, am…” The voice is followed by about fifteen seconds of silence before Kasuka’s voice is heard. “…Shizuo?”

“End Message. Message two, eleven, fifty-nine am…” There were another few seconds of silence before Kasuka’s voice was heard yet again, obviously reciting words he’d been directed to say, “Shizuo, answer the phone. They’ll kill me if you don’t. They’re going to call back in an hour, you have to answer.”

“Hmm,” Izaya said thoughtfully. It was five minutes of one now. “You have impeccable timing. Now do you want to answer, or do you want me to?”

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo’s heart sank at the sound of his brother’s muffled voice. What were they going to do to him? He stared intently at the phone then as it begins to play the second message. His chest tightened as he looked around for the time franticly worried he missed it then he heard a faint voice, it was Izaya. He blinked and then looked at the man as he told him that he had five minutes. There was a sense of him relaxing when he learned he had some time yet.

He looked up to the man that brought them the sushi and gave him a nod. He dismissed the weird looks the man gave him then Izaya. Without thinking beyond the point that there was food in front of him, he picked up a piece of sushi and popped it into his mouth. He actually physically relaxed with the taste of food finally being placed into his stomach. Even when he had gone back home to shower, he just had a glass of milk. Not that he had a lot of food in the apartment anyway.

While he stared at his phone, waiting for it to ring, he popped another piece of sushi into his mouth. That would figure, just as he had food in his mouth the phone rang, he reached for it and then blinked as it was snatched up by Izaya. He blinked and watched as he casually flipped it open and answered it. He quickly chewed his food and then swallowed and leaned in a little trying to listen a little.

“Well?” he mouthed a few times before being waved off. Shizuo sat back and sighed as he listened to Izaya talk to whoever was on the phone. All of a sudden, he realized that his brother’s safety was in the hands of his enemy. What was he thinking going to Izaya, but then again? Had he not gone to him when he did, he might have missed the phone call. Even if he wasn’t him that was talking right now, granted he would have freaked out and screamed something at the person by now, on making the situation worse. So, dare he actually think that it was best that Izaya answered the phone?

Shizuo grumbled a bit at the thought crossed his mind, he pushed it aside then waited for Izaya to get off the cell phone and tell him what was going on with his brother and the situation.

[UndergroundGod]

Once their sushi specials arrived, Shizuo dug into the tray, obviously starving. Izaya almost felt a little bad for him; usually, when people are worried, they lose their appetite. Shizuo was obviously so hungry that worry was not an issue (or perhaps he was a stress eater, Izaya mused). Either way, as Shizuo stuffed his face, and didn’t answer his question, Izaya languidly munched on one piece, then a second. He was mostly keeping an eye on the time, assuming they would call almost exactly on the hour, and not wanting to be caught with a full mouth when they did call.

Speaking of full mouths, when the phone finally did ring, about three seconds after the phone’s clock flipped over to one o’clock exactly, Shizuo had just stuffed a large piece of sushi into his mouth. Well, Izaya didn’t think that waiting more than a ring to answer was all that smart, and the last thing he wanted right now was for Shizuo to choke, so he did the only logical thing he could; he answered it.

“Hello?” he asked casually.

There was a pause on the other end before a gruff, obviously disguised voice asked, “Is this Shizuo Heiwajima?”

“You know it’s not,” Izaya replied, “but he’s right here. Go on and finish your ransom message, 36 hours, $400,000, I’m guessing no police involvement, but no worries, no one here wants them involved. Did you want that money in unmarked bills or through wire transfer?”

The man was silent—Izaya could hear his shock through the phone—before he stuttered out, “Bills.”

“Okay, can do,” Izaya said compliantly, then noticed Shizuo mouthing something at him, but he waved him off. He’d answer any of his questions later on. “Now, I want to set up a meeting with a representative of your group, maybe arrange for some negotiations, preferably sometime this evening at a location of your choice. We can disucss the final payment and the tradeoff point and everything. We’re willing to make a $10,000 cash down payment at the meeting site.”

“A meeting with you or with Mr. Heiwajima?” the man asked.

“With me. Shizu… isn’t much of a negotiator, as you may know. He’s more apt to crush your face than have a civil conversation with you. You’re much safer talking to me, trust me.”

“One moment,” the man said, and Izaya could hear the phone being muffled at the man went to consult whatever higher up he needed to in order to arrange the meeting. After several long moments, he got back on the phone, “Fukudome’s Bar and Grill, tonight at eight pm. Ask for the Takahashi private room and bring the cash. Leave Heiwajima behind.”

Izaya grinned to himself. “Sure thing,” though behind meant he’d leave Shizuo waiting outside the restaurant. “Just bring your cell phone and be ready to convince me that the little brother is alright.”

“Alright. But if this is a trick, or if you send the police in, know that Kasuka is finished.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” Izaya said sagely. “See you tonight.”

And with that (not expecting a cheerful goodbye from the man), Izaya hung up and grinned at Shizuo. “Alright, your brother’s fine and I’ll be meeting with some spokesperson of the kidnapper group later tonight on your behalf. We’re going to arrange payments and how we’ll be getting your brother back and everything.”

[tossingtrashcans]

Oh he was just trying to push his buttons and his piss off. He narrowed his eyes at Izaya as he spoke, but all Shizuo did was sit there. There was no real reason for him to fly off the handle right now, other then the fact that the very site of the man across from him pissed him off to no end. That, however was a different matter. One that he'd deal with later, if push came to shove.

“He's alright?” he said eyeballing the phone and then looking back to Izaya. He sighed as he shifted around and sat back down. He leaned forward and rested his head on the palms of his hands for a bit before running his one hand through his hair as he looked back up.

“Why is it that you have to talk to them? I'm fully capable of talking to the people that kidnapped my brother.” he said through a grumble.

It wasn't till after the statement had been made, that he realized he knew exactly what he would do tot he people that dare take his brother hostage. He'd pummel their faces in so hard and so fast, that he was almost sure he'd not get any answers out of them about where his brother was and how he was doing.

With another sigh, he looked at his plate of sushi. He then started to eat once more, this time slower and less panicked. He knew it was better that Izaya meet with the people, even if he wasn't about to admit that out loud, there was no way any of the men in the room would come out a live if he went to see them.

As he continued to eat, he pondered over the state that his brother was in. If he was hurt at all, they people that took him will get more then just money. They would also get a few black eyes and a couple broken bones for even thinking of hurting him.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at the fish over rice on his plate. He looked up then waved someone over and ordered some sake. He couldn't take it anymore, his nerves where getting to him.

Once it arrived at the table he pour two, one for himself and Izaya. He didn't even know if Izaya drank, but none the less. He picked it up swirled it around then drank the liquid from the small cup and set it back down and took one calming breath. There was a good chance he'd be taking another, but he wasn't sure if Izaya would, if any at all.

Shizuo sat there and looked from the cup he pushed in front of Izaya to Izaya's face.

“Cheers.”

[UndergroundGod]

“You know as well as I do that you’d kill them all before you could even start talking, which would just get your brother killed. I know you hate to admit it, but you need me to do this,” Izaya said somberly. He held himself (secretly) partially responsible for the kidnapping, so he planned on doing what he could to help Shizuo get him back. Not to say that Izaya accepted full responsibility. He knew that if he hadn’t given the kidnappers the information they needed, someone else would have, and them some other random person would have received payment for such simple services. No, it was a chance that Izaya hadn’t been able to pass up.

But he was absolved of any of his sins as long as he saw that Kasuka was returned safe and sound.

Beyond repenting, and the payment he was going to get from Shizuo for his assistance, there were a few fringe benefits that he was quite tickled about. The time he was getting to spend with Shizuo had him amused to no end. He actually liked watching the man like this, when he was trapped, and couldn’t simply lash out at Izaya. He liked being able to observe him this close without a direct worry that Shizuo would punch him in the face. Sure, observing from building tops and from around corners had a certain thrill but… trying to study something that one couldn’t get close to was frustrating. This little happenstance was turning into quite an experiment for him.

And on top of that… there was just something… nice about getting to spend time with Shizuo, more than just for psychology’s sake.

As the man went back to eating, Izaya continued to explain what was going to happen later that night.

“I’m going to grab a $10,000 down payment of sorts for the meeting tonight, but don’t worry about handling that,” he said dismissively. Izaya didn’t know how much disposable income Shizuo had, but he doubted the man had that much. In fact, he was completely unsure as to how Shizuo was planning on paying the ransom. “I’m gonna go into the restaurant alone, but I’d like for you to be waiting outside somewhere close by, either in an alley, or a restaurant. We’ll figure out where. You’ll be sort of like my back up. I’ll go and hash out how much money they want, see if I can get us some more time before the deadline, and figure out where the exchange will occur.”

His eyes widened with interest as Shizuo ordered the sake. It was awfully early to be drinking… but under the circumstances, Izaya wouldn’t blame the man. Especially not if he was sharing.

Once the man passed the bottle across the table, he poured himself a cup and raised his glass to Shizuo’s.

“Cheers,” he replied with a vague grin, and tipped the glass against his lips.

[tossingtrashcans]

It wasn't more then another drink and the rest of his food that he sat back and sighed. His body glad for the food and alcohol that was just consumed. He ran his hand over his face and through his hair softly before he glanced up at the clock. He had seven hours to deal with. Though for the most part, he agreed to Izaya's plan on the met up. Truth was, that was the truth. He would beat them all to a bloody pulp. It was just as he was, he reacted before thinking. His crushed phone was recent proof of his.

After the bill was paid, he stepped out into the afternoon sun with Izaya. He reached back for his wallet and then pulled out a few bills. He shoved his wallet away then handed the money for the saki, and the saki alone, to Izaya.

“It wasn't agreed upon.” he said softly as he pulled his shade on then shoved the cash to Izaya.

He jumped when his phone went off and scrambled to pull it out of his pocket. His suddenly tense face relaxed as he flipped the phone open,

“Yea.” he said casually turning around as if looking for something. He stopped his profile showing to Izaya as he stood there.

“Alright.” he said again then pulled the phone back and snapped it closed, as he turned back to face the dark haired man.

“Something just came up.” Shizuo said as reached into his vest then pulled his sunglasses out and slipped them onto his face.

“I'll meet you at across the street from Fukudome's around seven. That way we can revise the plan, then go from there.” he nodded to Izaya as he then dug out a cigarette from his pockets. He light it up then tilted his head up and exhaled the smoke before he placed it back into his mouth and put the lighter away.

“See you then.” he said casually as he turned back in the direction he had face earlier then started walking, his hand reaching up for the cigarette as his other was shoved into his pocket. He had spotted Tom from where he had been and was now going to distract himself with work.

~~~

Shizuo cracked his back as he sat on the bench that was across the street from the meeting place. He had a rather eventful afternoon. Being able to swing light posts and streets signs at people for money did wonders for his anger that had built up from being around Izaya. Simply all in a good day's work.

He glanced up and looked at the clock, it was five past seven. Granted he had just shown up himself, he was having trouble with Tom's last debt for the day and it took a little longer then he was expecting. Even though he was a few minutes late, Izaya was nowhere to be found. He figured the little flea would show up at some point. So, he waited.

He shifted around and pulled his pack of smoked out and sighed,

“Damn. One left.” he pulled it out with his mouth, lit it up then relaxed, waiting.

In the back of his head he made a mental note to stop on the way home for the night to get a couple more packs. It had seemed that this was wearing on his nervous more then he had been willing to admit. Seeing as a pack of cigarettes normally lasting him more then a day and a half. Either way, he knew he'd need more then usual and as long as he didn't keep smoking this many after Kasuka was safe, he should be fine.

He exhaled the smoke and moved his sunglasses as he finally saw that black, fur-trimmed coat in the distance.

“About time.” he muttered under his breath as he took another hit from the cigarette.

[UndergroundGod]

They finished their meal in relative peace and Izaya let Shizuo finish the rest of the sake he’d ordered. To be honest, Izaya wasn’t much of a drinker. Though he could hardly be considered straight edge, Izaya actually preferred not to engage in the consumption of mind altering substances. He’d tried several drugs before but… he hated the way his brain functioned on them. His thoughts became too random and disorganized; he couldn’t stand not being in control.

He wasn’t a fan of alcohol really at all. He’d been drink once or twice, but he honestly had no need to have his inhibitions muted. Izaya was as uninhibited as he liked on a regular basis. He certainly didn’t need any substance to put him out of control of himself.

As a result, Izaya didn’t have much of a tolerance. More than a drink or two was likely to have him toppling all over himself, which was just unacceptable.

After the meal, Izaya had been fully intent on hovering around Shizuo for the rest of the day, as he figured that, without a babysitter, Shizuo would bite someone’s head off. But when Shizuo answered his phone, Izaya figured that if he had work to distract him, the rest of Ikebukuro should be safe from Shizuo’s wrath.

Izaya spent the rest of his day at his office, ordering Namie around and seeing if he could dig up any more information about the kidnappers, but only the first of the two activities yielded any results. Around half past six he left his office to head towards where he would meet Shizuo across the street from the designated restaurant.

He found himself there just a few minutes behind schedule (he’d run into Dotachin on the way there and was practically required to stop and tease him a bit), arriving to the sight of Shizuo sitting on a bench, smoking casually as he waited for him.

Izaya smiled at the man as he took scope of his surroundings. It appeared as though there was a little café just one store front away from the small restaurant, one with a few little outdoor tables. That was the perfect place for Shizuo to set up camp during the meeting. He could get a seat facing the door of the restaurant and watch who was coming in and out.

“Sorry, sorry, I got a little caught up,” Izaya said, waving him off a bit. It wasn’t like they had that much to convene over anyway, so the lost ten minutes wasn’t going to hurt them at all. “Let’s head over to the café over there, that should be a good place to wait, okay?”

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo looked up at him as he exhaled the smoke from his mouth. He casually uncrossed his legs then stood up in one easy motion. Taking another hit from the cigarette, he lifted his shoe and put it out against the leather sole. Once he was done he walked over to the waste bin and tossed the bud away. He looked over his shoulder at Izaya.

“Well, let’s go then.” he said casually before he walked on. Shizuo looked both ways then crossed the street. He walked over to the small café and waved for a waitress. He then muttered something to her then watched her as she bounced off. He pulled a chair out and sat down, watching the entrance to Fukudome’s Bar and Grill.

Shizuo glanced up as he watched Izaya casually flop down in the chair across from him. His eyes shifted and looked at the clock; they still had plenty of time before the meet up. He felt himself getting a little nervous by the fact that he was letting his worst enemy handle something that was so important. His little brother’s safety was in the hand of Izaya, Ikebukuro’s own trouble maker.

It wasn’t too much after he looked at the clock that the waitress showed back up and set a glass of iced caramel coffee down before him. He looked up and nodded his thanks to her and watched her as she turned to Izaya seeing if he wanted anything.

Shizuo then reached out and grabbed four packets of sugar ripped the tops off then dumped all of them into the iced coffee. He took the straw off the table; un-wrapped it then stirred it till well blended. Leaning in he touched the end of the straw to his lips and took a long drink before he pulled back and made a face. Grabbing two more packets of sugar and pouring them into the ice coffee. He tasted it afterward and nodded in satisfaction. He was then finally pleased with the taste.

[UndergroundGod]

The man followed Shizuo across the street to the café, taking a seat opposite him. At the other tables, there were two young couples, obviously on dates (or finishing them up). The two teens behind Shizuo were feeding each other bites of their desserts, giggling and falling all over each other when they missed one another’s mouths. To be honest, it was a little sickening.

Izaya never had been one for sweets.

It was almost as sickening watching Shizuo dump three pounds of sugar into his coffee—which already had caramel in it. Izaya shuddered a little and ordered a black coffee from the waitress. She brought it back promptly and without adding sugar or milk, Izaya raised the glass to his lips to sip at it. Izaya never added sugar to the brew, and rarely added milk. He preferred the complex and bitter taste of freshly roasted and ground coffee beans to that of the syrupy sweet drink Shizuo had created for himself. Why ruin a perfectly good cup of coffee with all that sugar?

Among the other people congregated at the café (both the two young couples outside and the few Izaya could see through the glass-paned front of the building), they were the odd pair out. From across the street, Izaya hadn’t really noticed, but from where they were now sitting, it was obvious; this café was apparently a teenage dating hotspot. There were too many giggly girls and flirting boys sitting in pairs for it not to be, and here, Shizuo and Izaya were now seated among them.

Izaya leaned in, his elbow on the table, his face propped against his hand, and he grinned at Shizuo. Oh, what a spot to have picked, Izaya thought to himself. If that Erika girl had picked this moment to walk by (Izaya was quite aware of what Dotachin’s friend thought of him and Shizuo, as she had been so bold as to ask him about it—he’d given her a very ambiguous answer at the time, enough to fuel her fangirling for weeks to come), she would have gone positively crazy.

At the moment, the nighttime lighting didn’t give Izaya and Shizuo away to the busy passerby on the streets and Izaya was fine with that. He never minded strange looks, but he’d prefer not to have too much attention called to them at the moment.

Just the idea that someone could mistakenly assume he and Shizuo were on a date, though, was amusing, and he wondered if Shizuo had realized just what was going on around them.

“So,” Izaya said casually, but he lifted the coffee cup to his lips to sip before continuing, “we have about 45 minutes to kill before I head over there. Any ideas? Or any comments, questions, concerns, or threats for me?”

[tossingtrashcans]

The blond man was far to focused on getting the sugar ratio evened out in his drink, to even pay attention to his surroundings. He scoffed at the strong smell of the black coffee that had arrived and looked up and blinked behind his shades as he watched him drink it. Interesting, straight up coffee. He made a useless mental note of the information. He reached out and pulled the glass up to his mouth and took a long drink as he crossed his legs, casually sitting there.

Shizuo played with the straw a little as he sat there, sipping once in awhile. It was about half gone when he looked up at Izaya. He lightly reached up and adjusted his sunglasses before he spoke.

“Not really I guess.” he said lightly, before he started to think about it. His elbow on the table as his hand hung down over the glass, he began to play with the straw again. A nervous tick, seeing as he was forced to stay still.

“Well, hold on a second. I do have something to ask.” he said then looked up to Izaya as he shifted and crossed his legs the other way.

“What is the escape plan? You walk out of there after everything, then what? Do I just go home or what? I'm going to want to talk to you about what had happened, but us being seen together here like this. Wont it be to suspicious?” he swallowed hard before he took a sip of the cool liquid.

Shizuo wasn't sure what the round up plans were after the exchange, he had no idea what was going to happen and how he was going to deal with the fact that the bastards that took his brother were in the bar that was right next to where he was. His hand let the straw go, just as his hand started to turn into a fist and tensed tightly. His eyes narrowed at the bar, it took all the strength he had not to barge in there and start demanding people give him his brother back.

[UndergroundGod]

The only thing more surprising than how much sugar Shizuo put in his drink was how quickly he consumed it afterwards. The drink practically disappeared before Izaya’s eyes while he had only managed to take a few sips of his own drink. He wasn’t sure how Shizuo had managed it and he wondered vaguely if the man was drinking decaf. Izaya, though not a fan of it, had to drink decaf after a certain time, or the caffeine would keep him buzzing for hours and he would be unable to sleep. He slept poorly enough as it was.

And it seemed like Shizuo was much too distracted to notice their situation. He had to be, because Izaya had no doubt that he would notice some sort of reaction on the blond’s face if he was paying attention. Izaya wasn’t sure if Shizuo even had the ability to mute his reaction to something like that. Or his reaction to anything, for that matter.

Izaya couldn’t help but notice that Shizuo seemed awfully fidgety, though whether that was normal, or if his behavior was being aggravated by the circumstances, Izaya couldn’t be sure.

Izaya did know that he felt relatively calm, though it wasn’t his brother that was in trouble. He was rather used to dealing with this whole negotiations thing, he was used to dealing with hostages and kidnappings and ransoms, so he didn’t really have any fears going into this meeting. He didn’t really think that all that much could go wrong, not when he had control of the situation. Now if he was sending Shizuo in… well, then Izaya would be worried.

Actually, worried implied that Izaya wouldn’t know what to expect. No, he knew that if Shizuo had tried to save his own ass in all of this, Kasuka was as good as dead. He had no doubts about that.

After Shizuo said he didn’t have any questions (which did surprise Izaya), everything was quiet for a moment… until Shizuo spoke up again and proved Izaya right.

Though the question he asked was surprisingly intelligent, considering who was asking. Izaya had expected something more along the lines of ‘if something goes wrong, you’re dead’ or some equivalent form of death threat directed at him or the kidnappers. He hadn’t expected such a comprehensive question, but Izaya had everything planned out, so answering wasn’t a problem.

“Well, they already know we’re working together, so it’s not like seeing us together will be a surprise for them. I talked with them earlier, and I’m going to the meeting for you, so I think they know what’s going on. And if they’re not complete idiots, they’ll assume you’re nearby, but that you’re not stupid enough to burst into the meeting,” he explained. Obviously, he already knew what was going to happen. That was the way he lived his life, always trying to be two steps ahead of everything and for the most part, he was able to stay on point.

He took another sip of the decaf brew and continued, “Just wait here and I’ll be out when everything’s done in there. Everything should go over smoothly, so don’t start freaking out if it takes a while. Just stay calm, order a dessert or something, and wait here for me. When I get back, I’ll tell you what went down and we can leave here together to discuss everything.”

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo’s mind had slipped it seemed. He had forgotten that they knew that they were already working together. So that wasn’t a bother. His mind however went back to the many what ifs. It was hard for him to work his way out of it. He needed a distraction. Finally looking up from his glass, that was now only one fourth of the way full, he blinked.

Where in the world had they taken post up at? He looked around, eyeing the couples here and there. Granted most of them had sat behind him, so he didn’t have to look at them. This meant that Izaya was the one that had to put up with the couples around them.

He was trying to think of other things as he sat there. Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted a couple sharing what looked to be a chocolate shake. He couldn’t help but crack a smile. They looked to be about Kasuka’s age, which made him looked at the table he sat at. There was a dull ache in his stomach as his mind started back up.

What was he going to do if something happened to his brother? No, he couldn’t let himself think that way. There was no way he could. He just had to swallow his pride and let Izaya handle it.

Shizuo leaned in and slurped up the last of his ice coffee, then he flinched a little as the waitress was right there. He ordered another one casually then nodded to the woman as she walked off. He shifted in the chair and sighed as he started to tap his fingers against the table. It seemed as time wearied on, the more nervous he got.

He was glad that the waitress interrupted his train of thought. He felt this thought crash as he reached out and took the straw from his old glass and slipped it into the new one. There was another light nod to the waitress as he pulled the glass up and took a drink. He sputtered and set the glass down, uncrossed his legs and coughed. It seemed that he forgot to add his three pounds of sugar to the mixture.

Finally snapped back to reality, he reached out and took four packs of sugar, ripped them open, dumped them in, then stirred the drink. He looked up to Izaya as he leaned in and took a slow drink. It was tastefully sweet, which was good enough for his second one. By the time that he left this place, he was going to be drinking just a plain iced coffee. It always seemed it started out super sweet and then slowly lessened his sugar in take in one sitting.

“I hope that your master plan works as well as you are hoping.” he said, crossed his legs then sat back. He was stirring his drink with the straw as he spoke.

“I wouldn’t want them hurting you and all, seeing as that is my job.” Shizuo said and gave Izaya a smirk. It was true; it was his job to harass and try to kill him. Not some punks that think they are hot shit because they captured his brother.

“Alright,” he shifted, “What if the meeting goes wrong? Are you going to call me and have me come in and rescue you? Or what if.” he started. “You’re behind this and you know it’s going to go so smoothly. Wait that’s crazy, you’re not that dumb. Are you?” he asked and looked at him.

[UndergroundGod]

Because Izaya had been watching Shizuo very closely, he noticed as the blond’s eyes finally focused on something other than his coffee drink or the man before him. His reaction was actually rather hard to read. Izaya had expected something a bit more… open. Surprise, disgust, anger, annoyance… something. A flicker of something passed over Shizuo’s expression, but it was quickly gone, gone before Izaya could quite name it.

Hmm, this whole ordeal might have meant he got to spend time with Shizuo, but the kidnapping was significantly altering the terms of Izaya’s experiments. When Shizuo was trying so hard not to explode with rage as his brother’s capture, it was affecting his reaction to everything else, and that was no fun at all. Izaya supposed that he would just have to get this over with quicker so he could get Shizuo back to his usual exuberant self, because he didn’t know how much longer he wanted to put up with this overly tense and fidgety creature before him.

Izaya’s eyes glanced back at the couple behind Shizuo and noticed that they were now holding hands on top of the table, smiling at each other with a sappy look in their eyes. He quickly looked away, back to Shizuo… wondering what that sort of thing felt like, before he told himself that he didn’t actually care, not even for psychology’s sake.

Before he knew it, Shizuo had gulped down his first drink and was quickly ordering another, putting quite a bit of sugar in that one as well and making Izaya flinch again.

He grinned a bit at Shizuo’s remark. Oh, so it was Shizuo’s job to hurt him? Well, he hadn’t been doing a very good job of that, had he? Izaya hadn’t been hurt by one of Shizuo’s rampages in a while now, and he hadn’t been seriously injured in years. Izaya would suggest that Shizuo needed to be fired for his poor on the job performance, but… he couldn’t think of any one he would want to take Shizuo’s place. No, if Izaya had been able to choose who would be hunting him, he would pick Shizuo for the position over and over again.

Either way, Izaya would keep that in mind as he went to converse with the gentlemen in the restaurant. Shizuo certainly didn’t need some goons upstaging him.

To be honest, Izaya had already thought through the number of ways this meeting could fail and he’d thought of ways to overcome him. That was what made him successful so frequently after all. It wasn’t all about confidence and believing he was right all the time; it was about branching out every possible outcome, envisioning every way the situation could turn… and devising solutions to make things go his way in the end. For every conflict, Izaya had thought of a solution, and for every objection, there was an answer. He was only so confident in himself because he was confident in his imaginations ability to plan for the worst case scenarios.

Oh, was the idea finally occurring to Shizuo that Izaya had planned this? While it was wrong, Izaya had actually expected that conclusion a while ago, he’d expected a much angrier accusation, though he was grateful not to have to deal with that. He decided to address that portion of Shizuo’s statement first. “Don’t worry, I didn’t arrange to have your brother kidnapped for such a stupidly low ransom. And if I did, I wouldn’t be contacting YOU to get paid, I’d have contacted his agent or something.

“I won’t need you to rescue me, no matter what,” Izaya said firmly. “I know this is going to go well because I think things through, that's all.”

And it didn’t hurt that he had a grand total of fifty thousand dollars on him to use as a bargaining chip.

[tossingtrashcans]

Shizuo looked at the man before he rolled his eyes. Did he really expect him to believe that he just knew things were going to work out? Either way, he had no choice but to trust him. The sooner he got his brother back the sooner he could go back to kicking Izaya's ass.

He shifted around a little more then sat up at the table. Leaning in slowly he took a drink, watching Izaya. Wondering what he had planned. Wondering if this wasn't just the tip of a ice berg to something else. Things with Izaya were always something more then they appeared to be after all. That was just how things worked with the darker haired male.

“I sure hope you know what your doing. Seeing as I would handle things differently, I'm going to just assume you know what you are doing.” Shizuo leaned forward and rested his head on his hand and sighed. He moved his face around, rubbing his hands against his face. He was stressed enough as it was, and to add to that the matter as to if this was going to work. It was starting to eat at him from the inside.

With another slow drink from his ice cold coffee he sat back in the chair and looked up at the darkening sky. He glanced over at the clock, they still had a bit of time before Izaya was going to leave him there.

“Alright mastermind.” he said softly and looked Izaya back in the eye, 'What's the plan then? You go in, hash things out with them. All the while I am just sitting here, waiting. Then after your done, you join me back here and we leave to go talk about whatever happened. Correct?” he asked, wanting to confirm things. Needing the ideal plan to be set before Izaya left.