Chapter 1: What Lies Under the Cherry Tree

The town of Ikebukuro, mixed of the Western culture that was slowly infiltrating the small island nation and the traditional culture. If there was something peculiar about this town, it was them, the people that resided in the town. If one would use peculiar in this town, one must be specific. How peculiar, what kind of peculiar, peculiar as the black cloak clad woman who comes knocking at people's door with deliveries and parcels, as peculiar as the little girl wielding the cursed katana, or as peculiar as the dark skinned slurry speaking foreign cook at the small sushi shop, or perhaps as peculiar as him—as Heiwajima Shizuo. Heiwajima Shizuo's existence is as peculiar as the black cloak clad woman. As to why or how he is himself, nobody knows…or maybe somebody does, however he himself has no concrete idea as to how a supposedly normal human like him become as he is.

Maybe it was some kind of curse, or maybe it was a blessing, or maybe a kind of mutation in his body, at some point people stopped and got tired of trying to explain the nature of his existence and just accepted the fact that Heiwajima Shizuo, is Hewaijima Shizuo.

Hewaijima Shizuo came from a fairly normal family, a soft spoken mother and a blacksmith father coming from a fairly average family with a single younger brother. Upon his birth it was already apparent that he was special. His hair was golden like a slightly burning amber, while his eyes were of lighter shade of brown, like caramel, it wasn't like any of his parents, nor his ancestors. As he grew up things become stranger for the boy, if it wasn't enough that the boy was temperamental for no reason, he was stronger than kids his age—a medical mystery, his friend would say. His bones were no different from others that's what most physicians who looked at his condition would say, his muscles were same as well, however his bodily capabilities were beyond normal. And as he ages through the years, the abnormality went beyond his strength.

And Shizuo came to the moment that this abnormality had become normal, being feared by normal and average people become an often occurrence. It had become so normal for people to be wary of the Monster of Ikebukuro—a name he was given after he became a mercenaries—that it made Shizuo confused as to why someone would have taken a liking in hiring him because of that very fact.

Sitting in the empty parlour of a fairly massive estate in the outskirt of Ikebukuro—one Shizuo had never heard of until today—the young blonde mercenary looked around. The room was spacious with only a few antique vases situated in the rooms. Two days ago, the black cloak clad courier came bearing a letter, an invitation and proposal for a job in an estate—this estate and ironically, that black cloak clad courier is one of the few friends Heiwajima Shizuo has. The courier handed the letter that had no name of the sender, only a seal that looks like a crescent moon in red wax.

The job description was fairly vague, and as difficult it is to believe the so called Monster of Ikebukuro has at least some politeness in his system to at least meet his probable future contractor. Heiwajima Shizuo waited in the room as instructed by the house servants, not that Shizuo would wander around, he would probably end up getting lost in the maze like hallways of the estate. In the silence of the room accompanied by a kettle and cup of tea, Shizuo tried to make a mental image of the owner of the estate, in the far off corner something akin to an insignia was embroiled in a red silk that hung there, at its foot were a simple ikebana—perhaps an old maiden, or an old traditional man. But the question stood among those thoughts.

WHY HIM?

And as if the Gods had heard his agonizing trail of confusion and bewilderment, the door slid open, a female house servant stood by the door, never meeting Shizuo's eyes, bowed her head and gestured to someone as she stepped aside. Shizuo's eyes then fell to the person stepping in the room, soft sounds of silk grazing the tatami mats resounded in the room accompanied by the soft and gentle steps. A man with ebony black hair slowly stepped into the room, he was wearing a slate colored kimono paired with a dark blue obi and white stained haori. The man's hair was fairly long, tied in a lose ponytail that hung in his shoulder down his chest. He was in no way compared to how Shizuo imagined him.

"Ah Shizuo-kun you came!"

Shizuo flinched as he heard a familiar migraine inducing voice, suddenly and unceremoniously a familiar bespectacled physician popped out from behind the regal looking man. Shizuo suprresed a sigh slipping his lips and the urge to slap himself in the face—of course, this has to do with him, he thought bitterly.

The physician was one of the few people who became infatuated by the fact that Shizuo is not normal—which is not normal, but that was fine by him. Kishitani Shinra, that's his name. The young man was fairly neither older nor younger than Shizuo, for all he knows they were around the same age, but Shinra always had been exceptional in the fields of medicine. He was born from a family of doctors, his father was a prominent figure in discovering peculiar ways to cure diseases and discovering many facets of humanity—or to be more specific, the human limitations and capabilities.

Well honestly, Shinra was in no way similar to his father. Shinra is not interested with the human limitations and capabilities—Shinra was interested in the likes of Shizuo, those that humans would not consider as normal.

Shizuo stood to greet the man standing there in front of his friend and across him, the man graced Shizuo with a smile. Looking at the man, Shizuo could see that the massive estate was not just to gloat, this man smelled the scent of someone of noble birth or something akin to that. His eyes glint of wisdom and experience of the real world, almost like an aging centennial man, however his body suggested otherwise.

"Welcome Hewaijima-san." The man said as he stepped in, "Kishitani-sensei mentioned you to me."

Shinra with his goofy smile bounced in his feet as he walked behind the man. It never amused Shizuo how on earth was able to woo the black cloak clad courier, they were too different.

"Shizuo-kun, this is the head of the family and the estate," Shinra gestured to the man, "Orihara Suichiro, one of Tokyo's best informant."

"I-Informant?" Shizuo muttered, what the heck is an informant anyway.

"You could say that I work as a spy for the country, Heiwajima-san." Suichiro said smiling. "I sell information to the government…and sometimes, for other landlords as well."

Then it clicked to Shizuo, this man…was the one who needs his service. It wasn't new that he was hired by people to protect them, the pay was bigger. However, something doesn't seem right. When Shinra is involve—something always isn't right. The man walked towards the low table and sat on the cushion with a grace of noble. Shizuo followed his suite and sat.

Up close Shizuo found himself staring at the man's eyes, it was usually impolite to do so, however curiosity got ahead of him. The man's eyes were pitch black. It was slight being covered by his hair however, Shizuo was sure his eyes were black. He had never seen someone with those kinds of eyes—it was like the color of black pearls.

"Anyways," Shinra chirped, "Shizuo-kun I recommended you for this job."

Suichiro nodded and hummed in agreement, "With these matters, I always trust Kishitani-sensei's conviction. I would like acquire your service as a swordsman and someone exactly like you. I do believe no one else could do the job except you, Heiwajima-san."

Shizuo sighed and ran his hand through his hair before looking right at his friend, "I do hope that Kishitani-sensei," Shizuo emphasizes this friend's last name and title as if challenging the doctor with his decision, "that I am not quite the most careful and gentle tool in the box."

The man laughed and shook his head, "Oh go rampant all you want here Heiwajima-san, I am very and readily aware of that fact. Kishitani-sensei did inform me of that matter and that I came to the decision that you are indeed what I need for this job."

"Well I do understand why you need my service." Shizuo replied, "But I still don't understand why me of all."

This time Shinra chuckled, "Oh trust me, only you can do it Shizuo-kun."

The man smiled at Shizuo, and somehow something told Shizuo that the smile he just gave him was sincere. The man bowed his head much to Shizuo's surprise.

"Please accept the offer Heiwajima-san."

.

.

.

Heiwajima Shizuo was ten years old when the son of Kishitani Shingen—the town's doctor—came to live with his father. The boy was Kishitani Shinra, a child prodigy or so his father said. Shinra was not like any kids his age, no, not in terms of peculiarity like Shizuo. Shinra just didn't have much of an interest with people as much as his father did which was expected from someone who was to be expected to inherit his father's profession. Shinra is interested with things that were not normal—which is how they met.

Honestly, Shinra was a migraine in flesh, the moment Shizuo showed the other his temperamental and exploding anger accompanied with lifting a whole cart with one hand, the dark haired boy never stopped pestering Shizuo on how, why, what could have caused this abnormality in his system. He was one of the few who never really got tired of trying to figure out why Shizuo was himself, why he could lift cart weighing five times his weight, or how could he flick someone's forehead and send them flying a mile across? However, Shinra was also one of the few who dare never to call him monster. Rather he would use the word fortissimo to describe his temperamental persona.

And partly his treatment of him was influence by her existence.

However the matter at hand was not that, the matter at hand was the fact that his friend probably had gotten him in some serious business—and serious business never really meant good when it involved someone who dislikes the mediocre life. Shizuo was dismissed much to his surprise, however what made the blonde mercenary even more shock was the fact that the man dismissed and left saying—"Kishitani-sensei would show you the station of your job." This only meant that despite Suichiro being his official contractor in this job, his job does not revolve on the man, but someone else.

The word etched into his mind by his own set of vocabularies was very ominous, someone else smelled like trouble for Shizuo. He always wanted to meet his subject the very first thing he accepts the job, and having someone else involve aside from him and his contractor doesn't sound good at all. Shizuo would have twisted Shinra's neck and punch the daylight out of him if he wasn't his friend for bringing him again in something akin to crossing the river of the dead. Despite the tranquil atmosphere surrounding the estate, Shinra's presence in this house didn't fit it at all. It only meant something strange is in here. It wasn't a few more steps until Shizuo realized that they were starting to head to the East-most part of the estate, and fewer servants seem to come passing them.

"We're close." Shinra said out of the blue.

Shizuo felt something tugged his attention, and he came to halt. He turned and found the garden in his right. The stone garden was neatly kept, and was adorned by…

"Are those…spider lilies?"

Shinra stopped and turned to where his friend's line of sight was, "Oh, yeah." He replied.

"Why…spider lilies I mean…"

"Well let's just say he has a poor taste in humor?"

Shizuo wanted to ask who his friend meant however he was beaten to it when the other asked him to follow him. As they continue walking Shizuo realized the silence had become more deafening, only the sounds of the leaves and grass swaying against the winds could be heard and their faint footsteps against the floorboards. This part of the estate looked extremely gloomy as well, not much like the rest of the estate. Shinra stopped as he found a woman standing by the porch overlooking what seems to be a garden.

The woman seems to have spotted them and sighed before she flicks her long hair from that hung from her shoulder. She had what seems to be a permanent scowl in her lips making Shizuo slightly wary of her presence—she does not look welcoming at all. She wore a lime green kimono and a matching red obi that didn't quite look right. She stormed towards the two looking angrier.

"What took you so long?" she asked Shinra with an authoritative tone. She opened her mouth to say something again when his eyes fell on Shizuo, and slowly down to the weapon fastened in his waist. A mercenary she thought to herself.

The woman was Yagiri Namie, (un)fortunately she is currently the head of the estate's concubine. The woman came from a long and respectable line of herbalist. She would lie if she would say that she married and agreed to live with Orihara Suichiro due to love. Romance has nothing to do with all of this. It could be money, but surely not love. Suichiro was just…free, and she needed somewhere, a protection of sort from all the stupid things she came up with in the past.

"Ah, I see you have the answer to your question now, Yagiri-san." Shinra said chuckling before motioning to Shizuo, "This is him. Heiwajima Shizuo-kun."

Namie's eyes went from Shizuo's head to toe, and with a smug grin she replied, "Doesn't look so angry to me."

"Eh, isn't that good Shizuo-kun, Yagiri-san doesn't think you look scary!"

Shizuo wanted to argue, he doesn't look thatangry always, however he was again beaten to it by Namie introducing herself.

"I am the head of the estate's concubine, Yagiri Namie. Welcome to Orihara estate…and good luck."

The last part felt like an omen, as if the other was saying 'start singing your prayers' and that doesn't seem right. What was he dealing with anyways? Shizuo was itching to know.

"Eh, don't say it like that Yagiri-san, I am starting to think that you're one of the reason why no one stays long enough." Shinra said with his usual smile, however this time he sounded offended. "You scare them."

"I don't." Namie replied frowning, "He does."

He? Shizuo blinked rapidly, oh…so it's a boy?

"Oh come on, you might be just rough on him."

"I am not," Namie replied, "I am merely stating facts, he tried to poison his former attendants by giving them a tea made of the stems of lycoris!"

Shizuo stared wide eye at the other's story while Shinra merely chuckled—albeit awkwardly.

"Well, what can we do, he's a curious person."

"Or evil."

"Now, Yagiri-san that's not really nice."

"I don't plan on playing nice." Namie huffed, "Anyhow, since you are here, I assume I have no reasons of watching that evil incarnate in trying to plot the end of humanity. I shall take my leave."

Shinra waved at the woman who walked pass the two males.

"Don't mind her, she loves exaggerating." Shinra said with his smile again. As soon as Namie was out of sight Shinra walked towards where Namie stood earlier before she came towards them.

The soft wind blew as Shinra came to a stop and faced the garden. Shizuo turned to where his friend was looking. The garden was unlike all those around the estate, it was filled with green grass, a gazebo stood in the midst of it, and a lone cherry stood there blooming despite being out of the season. Shinra didn't say anything and went down to the garden. The grass rustled underneath his weight. Shizuo followed his friend, and then he found himself stopping midway.

A figure.

There was someone standing in front of the cherry tree.

"You know there's a saying…under the cherry tree there is…a dead body." Shinra said. The gloomy words seemed to be in a form of jest whenever it comes from the doctor, even Shizuo didn't know which did he intend to deliver. Shizuo followed Shinra as they approached the figure seemingly unaffected by their presence nor Shinra's stupid humor. "Come on, some reaction would be nice, I know you can hear me perfectly."

The blonde and his friend both stopped a few feet away from the figure whose shoulders stiffened for a moment before a quiet sigh escaped the other's lips. And slowly the figure turned to them, and for the first time in his whole life Shizuo was mesmerized. His hair was black as a raven's feather, and his skin was as white as ivory, and smooth as porcelain, and his eyes…his eyes, most of all, were the color of blood, of lycoris. He was very skinny for a boy and for his height, he wasn't any taller than Shizuo but not smaller than Shinra either. The left hem of his red and black kimono decorated with what seems circular patterns was almost sliding off from his shoulders due to his size, and a gold hair ornament was clipped in the side of his head. If one wasn't trained enough, it would be easy to mistake this person as a female.

Shizuo almost flinched when he felt the hard and cold stare of those red eyes on him. What on earth was his problem?

"He's the same age as us," Shinra said to the blonde, "So…I guess its not gonna be that difficult."

Shizuo watched as the crimson eyed raven frowned even more, suddenly he raised his hands and made a series of gestures and signs to Shinra. Shizuo raised his eyebrow in complete bewilderment of whatever was happening between the two.

"Oh, no, no, you don't have a say in this Izaya-kun." Shinra said chuckling, the raven haired boy whose name was Izaya didn't look pleased with Shinra's declaration. "He will stay whether you like…or you will have to like it."

The raven haired made another gesture making Shinra laugh.

"Yes, you don't have a choice Izaya-kun."

Izaya eyed the new comer, if it wasn't enough that his father had taken his childhood friend as his personal physician, he even went as far as taking a permanently smug woman as his concubine, and now a mercenary as his personal attendant? Izaya wanted growl and whine, and roll over the dirt from all the ridiculous lengths his father is going through. And what qualified him to be here? Izaya made it sure to make it clear that no one is capable and will be able to protect him or at least take care of him other than himself.

"Shizuo," Shinra called his friend's attention, "from now on, Izaya-kun…will be in your care. He is the son of the head of the estate, and your job is to keep him safe, from everything. And by that, it means even from himself. He can be a handful and well…asshole but that's just him. Don't let him get to you. And also, you cannot allow him to leave on his own—if he insists, do everything to refrain him from doing so."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow, "Everything, are you sure you should be using that word?"

Shinra smiled, "Yes." The doctor replied nonchalantly, "And everything, we meant literally. Which is why we chose you."

Shizuo turned to the raven haired male who huffed silently before walking pass the two towards the gaebo. Shinra wasn't telling him everything, Shizuo thought quietly. First, how come he sounds so casual towards this guy, he seems to have known him for so long, and that doesn't add up. Shinra never mentioned this person before. Also why would someone hire someone who could do fatal damages to people to guard a lanky looking boy? What was he aside from the son of some informant? And why is this guy using Shinra here?

"I'm Izaya's personal physician if you may know." Shinra said as they both followed Izaya to the gazebo, "Since when? Since…hmm…since seven years ago."

Shizuo stopped and gave Shinra the usual are-you-kidding-me look, "You were eleven, seven years ago." Shizuo pointed out.

Shinra laughed, "I know Shizuo-kun."

"You can't possibly—"

"I took it upon myself." Shinra said in a much serious tone, "It's my decision to become Izaya-kun's attending physician, I used what I had back then for his betterment. I learn as I treat him."

The word choice of his friend rose suspicion to the blonde, he sounded sad and regretful, however, that Izaya doesn't look much of someone who is sick—except the fact that he doesn't seem to realize the existence of rice and protein. Izaya looks fairly normal, so why did Shinra sounded like this guy was in terminal stage of some disease?

Izaya suddenly turned to face the two and made a big and fast hand gestures.

"No, he will stay Izaya-kun."

"What?" Shizuo finally snapped, he didn't like this secret codes or whatever they were doing, what was Izaya saying and how come only Shinra can understand.

Shinra shook his head and sigh before turning to Shizuo , "He was asking why are you still here."

"How did you know that, he didn't say anything."

Shizuo was starting to think that Shinra has some kind of ability to understand stuffs that humans don't, is this guy like that person? How come can Shinra understand him, and yet Shizuo does not hear a word from the other, and what's with those coded gestures.

"It's a kind of communication we developed in order to understand each other without the use of word Shizuo-kun." Shinra explained. Shizuo noticed the raven frowning even more.

"Izaya's mute."