The chill of autumn began to seep into the air of Ikebukuro, effectively nipping at anyone's skin who even dared to dress stupidly in this weather. Leaves began to fall, the cherry blossoms fell from their high thrones, and Heiwajima Shizuo sat peacefully underneath it all, a slightly frosty park bench that bared his weight scratched with the names of lovers, couples and children. Arms slung over the back of his seat, a cigarette dangled between his lips, and he let the nicotine fill his lungs, in and out, in and out.

Students rode past on bikes, mothers walked home with their children in tow, and business people made their way home hurriedly, not wanting to be caught in the bitter chill of night. Watching the city life pass him, Shizuo surprisingly felt at ease with his eyes closed behind his blue shades, a white scarf made of rich cashmere being his only resistance to the cold, courtesy of his brother Kasuka. It was times like these; Shizuo sat back and enjoyed the peace and quiet around him, the only remaining sounds being small chatter, footsteps, the occasional ring of a bicycle bell and the chirps of birds. He enjoyed these days, and they surprisingly came around often these past few years.

Opening his eyes to the sky above him, Shizuo thought in these times of quiet. He thought about happy memories, angered ones, amusing ones, and his mistakes. His mistakes usually made it to the top of the list, nagging at him and coming back to haunt him for his stupidity. Shizuo did not take lightly to his mistakes and cursed himself for it, growling low in his throat at a particular memory from not too long ago.

Pushing them to the back of his mind again, his good mood was ruined and he exhaled angrily before dropping his cigarette to stomp it out. Picking it up and flicking it into the nearest park bin, he began his trudge back home through the rather large park, winding cobble stone paths that led you through trees of beauty in spring, past a fountain of youth, through a playground of children, and soon, Shizuo knew from experience, a winter wonderland.

But a grin was plastered onto his face again when he realized why he enjoyed the peace and quiet so much these days.

He hadn't seen Orihara Izaya for about 4 years now.

The disappearance of the informant came as a shock for everyone, but Shizuo was not in any way, upset. Begrudgingly, he will admit that he was slightly lonely and bored without him, but he realized his days without him were for the better…

And felt much better too.

Ikebukuro felt at slight peace without having to worry about several obstacles, vending machines and throwing knives coming their way, though they were still wary about Heiwajima Shizuo. Gangs who heard of his peaceful nature attempted to challenge him to it, but were proved he was a-okay once they flew across the whole city. But many things had become much better, leaving a smile on Shizuo's face more often than not.

Celty and Shinra properly consummated their marriage.

Erika and Walker are in a proper relationship.

Kida Masaomi and Mikajima Saki were engaged.

Ryuugamine Mikado and Sonohara Anri were dating.

And though Shizuo didn't care to remember any of the above's names or what they did, he himself had entered and exited a healthy relationship. One of his co-workers from work, a Russian blonde named Vorona, but they broke it off nicely after declaring the feelings just weren't there anymore.

Oh! And Shizuo saw Kasuka more often now. His brother had taken to talking slightly more now, and opening up. A shock to Shizuo, but a welcome surprise it was. Life was good. It was perfect. It couldn't be any better.

But unbeknownst to Heiwajima Shizuo, sometime in the near future, he would have wished he never stopped to help the child that was crying over at the cherry blossom trees to his right, because that child was the catalyst to his perfect life.

Of course, he did not know this at the time, so he tentatively stopped and listened for the voice of a child that cried and called sadly, and was probably lonely too. Feeling some sympathy, Shizuo looked around before venturing further into the trees until he found a clear opening surrounded by the raining pink blossoms. There, standing in the middle was a small child, arms down by his side and his face raised to the sky as he called shakily.

"Momma?"

Shizuo felt strings pull at his heart, his recent calm nature kicking in over his violent instincts. The child's call came once again, pitiful, wailing and sad. He stepped forward, small rubble and leaves crumpling under his footsteps, alerting the surprisingly sharp child. And what he saw made his heart stop and his windpipe constrict.

Izaya.

Was standing right there.

But… not there.

Small in height, couldn't possibly be older than 5, was a mini Orihara Izaya, the only difference being the age, the clothes, the eyes-

They weren't the same blood red he remembered.

The bright magenta hue of the eyes held him in a wide, teary stare, and he couldn't break eye contact with this kid. Dressed in a white coat with double breasted pink buttons, the fur of the hood and sleeves was reminisce of a memory he rather wanted to have repressed for possibly… oh say, forever? His inky black hair fell about his face, too similar to a face he wanted to punch years ago. But without breaking eye contact, the child called out once again, louder and higher this time-

"Momma?"

On the verge of breaking down, the child broke eye contact, sat down where he stood and let large drops of tears roll down his cheeks, down to his pudgy child hands, and to the cold cobblestone floor. Clearing his throat, but not believing his eyes, he tried to rack his head of possibilities.

Could… could Mairu or Kururi have possibly had a child? He didn't remember anything of the sort, but quickly pushed down the lump in his throat to help the child in distress despite the itch in his fists.

"Uh… hey… kid? Are you… lost?" the deep voice of a stranger made the child jump, but he made no move to stand up and face the man. Clearing his throat once again, his peaceful nature he had trained over the years had come in handy. "Hey… I could find your mom if you want-" And despite his strength, he was unprepared for the ball of fluff that suddenly charged out of nowhere onto his chest. Bawling, the large eyes he had considered to be cute a moment ago suddenly became unattractive and not so cute when the little button nose was sniveling and snot began to fall uncontrollably along with the large tears.

"I want momma!" the child cried. Shizuo could actually feel his air leaving his throat as the child refused to let him breathe. The small arms squeezed tighter and tighter around his neck until he tore the kid off by the collar, holding him at arm's length. Feeling a familiar bubble of irritation rise again, Shizuo glared at the child, and then took deep breaths.

His face.

It was exactly like the flea's!

Why? Why, why, why-

"Hey mister?" the kid questioned, sniffing. His short arms and legs flailed in the air as he looked at the blonde in the eyes, above the shades that were drooping down his nose.

"Oh... uh, right. Your mom. Um… what's her name?" The child blinked owlishly at him before shaking his head.

"I don't have to tell you momma's name… Just look for someone who looks like me!" the child chirped. Shizuo's brow twitched at this, grumbling in his mind 'just tell me her damn name.' "But my name is Psyche!" he added as though he could sense the irritation rolling off the man. Sighing, Shizuo decided to give it a go anyway.

"Is your mom's name either Mairu or Kururi?" A pregnant pause stilled itself between the two and Shizuo was losing his patience.

"Who's that?"

Twitching in annoyance, Shizuo was tempted to drop the kid. And so, he gently lowered the child, and dropped him on his feet, promptly turning on his heel. Annoying, annoying, annoying-

"Hey! Mister!" the child cried out, almost angrily. Shizuo turned back around and glared down at the child who barely reached his thighs. Huffing, the child opened his plump lips again while crossing his arms. "You said you would help me. Where are you going?" Eerily, the child looked as though he was extremely intelligent for a brat at the age of 5, but what scared Shizuo the most was the determination that shone in his cherry blossom eyes.

The child's determination looked exactly like his own.

Feeling slightly freaked out and curious and frustrated beyond reason, he sighed loudly and picked up the child. Squealing in happiness the child himself wouldn't have been able to describe, Shizuo felt… odd. He didn't know what to call the feeling, he didn't know what the hell the hormones in his body were making him feel, but he wanted answers. Clinging to him like a mini koala, Shizuo felt… complete. Fulfilled even.

Having second thoughts and judging whether or not the child was warm, Shizuo handed his cashmere scarf to the chubby cheeks and effectively covered the bottom half of Psyche's face as he wrapped it around with one arm. An appreciative pink rose to match the child's eyes as he chirped a 'thank you!' after popping his face above the scarf. Unused to being so hospitable, Shizuo felt a heat creep up to his cheeks despite the cold, and nodded. Cuddling rather happily to a stranger, Psyche grinned and wiggled closer to the warmth.

"Hey, aren't you getting a bit too close to a stranger?" Shizuo asked warily, though his arms didn't move to loosen their grip on the child. Shaking his head and nuzzling his face into the broad, warm chest, he replied-

"I don't think you're strange."

Snorting, Shizuo said nothing, but continued his way to the main path in Ikebukuro's park, starting his search for a woman that may or may not look like Izaya. Who knows, Shizuo mused in his head. Maybe the flea settled down and started a family while he was gone.

…

That's kinda freaky actually.

Shaking his head, Shizuo continued walking and watched the small ball of fluff in his arms from time to time. Finding nothing to do at such a great height in the monster's arms, Psyche began to fiddle with the bowtie after becoming bored with the scarf, mumbling a shy 'oopsie' when he undid it. Shizuo didn't mind though, and simply continued walking without a sense of direction, but he didn't particularly care either. Having almost none to little experience with children, Shizuo didn't think he'd make the best babysitter out there, but with the small child in his arms, he just didn't want to let go. He began to become accustomed to the lightweight child, the way the small ball of fur tucked against him perfectly, the perfect chubby cheeks of an angel and the eyes of-

Hell he didn't even know where these thoughts were coming from, this was probably Izaya's kid! Snap out of it Shizuo! He berated himself in his head. He made it towards the busy streets of Ikebukuro, walking along the side paths and attracting a hell of a lot of attention with the child in his arms. Whispers spoke of the similarity to Izaya, disapproval was murmured from others, but Shizuo only focused his gaze on those who dared, and they were effectively silenced. Walking for quite some time in silence, Shizuo realized something was wrong.

"Uh… hey kid? Um…" What was his name? Weird name um… Tyke? Psyche! "Psyche!" Jostling the bundle in his arms, the head of the child comically lolled backwards, a trail of drool connected from the corner of his mouth to the wet patch on his vest. Eyes peacefully closed and body completely lax, Shizuo frowned and twitched in annoyance. Shaking the bundle a bit harder, he called louder. "Oi! Psyche, we have to find your mom-"

That smell.

That nostalgic, yet comforting and irritating smell.

As though Psyche had smelt the same thing, the small child bounce back to life, eyes darting and ears perked, nose sniffing around. Shizuo froze on his spot, paralyzed. Afraid, that if he moved, his life would change, he would meet that flea again, his life would fall into catastrophy-

"Psyche!" a desperate voice called loudly.

But he knew it was too late already, the moment he set eyes on the boy, he should've known better than to ruin the peace of his life by picking up this small-

"Momma!" Psyche responded quickly, ripping out of Shizuo's arms.

"Hey-!" Shizuo protested. But the child, despite having fallen quite a long way for his height, was fine and started running.

"Psyche!" the voice continued calling, but Shizuo didn't need to see the owner of the voice, the smell and sound of the voice was enough to alert him-

Izaya was back in town.

But wait-

"Momma! Momma! I'm here momma, momma I'm here!" the tears rolled forwards once again as the small toddler/child hobbled/ran through the legs of people to find his beloved-

Mom? Shizuo exclaimed in his mind. This didn't make sense. How was Izaya a mom? How is a he a mom? Was this child taught wrong from the start? Unexpectedly, as Shizuo pushed through the crowds to find the child again, he didn't know what to think when he heard the unbelievably happy squeal that came from the previous informant broker.

"Oh my god, Psyche!" Rejoicing laughter rung in Shizuo's ears and he stopped, the people of Ikebukuro pushing past him and the man back in town warily. He could only watch, fascinated as he stared at the trademark jacket of Orihara Izaya flutter, said man picking up and twirling the chubby mini version of himself around and bringing him closer for a tight hug. "You're terrible for doing that to me Psyche! Don't do that to mommy again! Never ever leave my sight again!" Bawling and letting out incoherent babbles, the baby hurriedly agreed, nodding his head furiously.

"I never want to lose momma again!" and his crying continued, as he nuzzled his wet face into his 'momma', Izaya's eyes searched the crowd around him.

I've missed Ikebukuro. Izaya grinned, happy to have returned after so long.

"Momma, momma!" Psyche tugged on the fur hood, attracting Izaya's attention again. Nuzzling his own face into the baby's soft locks, Izaya let out a small 'hmm?' to show he was listening. "The nice mister over there took me to you! He even gave me this scarf!" Izaya paused, and apprehensively looked at his child and the scarf before scanning the crowd.

"Really now…? Who?" the flickblade in his pocket was not forgotten, and Izaya, if needed, mentally ran through a small plan to slash the man if he was some pedophile with candy and planned to do naughty things-

"Oh… He went home…" Psyche said dejectedly. Izaya raised a brow and looked back at his child who looked so… sad that this mister went home. Izaya shrugged and hugged his child closer, beginning to walk back to his well preserved loft in Shinjuku.

"That's okay. If we ever see him, mommy will thank him personally okay? Now let's go home, have a nice bubble bath together and have fatty tuna for dinner!"

"YAY!" Psyche squealed, bouncing up and down. "Bubbles and fatty tuna! Bubbles and fatty tuna!"

Izaya smiled and hugged the child tightly, unwilling to let him go after the scary rush of losing his child had happened mere moments ago. But despite the happy smile on his face, he had hoped, though silly it was, that returning to Tokyo would not have him run into his beloved 'Shizu-chan' ever again.

He should have known it was an impossible thing to wish for. The two were attracted begrudgingly like magnets to each other. Keeping that distasteful thought in mind, he went back to observing his child to see if a hair had gone out of place. The only difference was the scarf, and as Izaya felt the material, his eyes widened slightly.

Cashmere… nice. I suppose it's basic manners to thank whoever found my son for me...

Back under the trees at his own park bench, Shizuo smoked through the 5th cigarette in that hour. After seeing the last person on earth he wanted to see with a child he was just getting attached to, he knew he couldn't stay. He didn't know for sure if he was seen, but he sure as hell hoped he wasn't. But what the hell. Shizuo tried to calm his nerves despite the questions that swam around in his head. Mom? Izaya? He's back? And with child? But what, and who-

What the hell is going on.

Tada! This is the first installment of a series I've had in mind for quite a while now actually, I've got little twists and turns planned out already ^^

Though I'm sure you'll all agree that this was quite boring, I myself was snoozing through this thing while editing it. But I'll try to update regularly, seeing as I have a hectic year at school this year. I only hope this story will get better as I continue on typing, but until then-

Reviews and Criticisms are appreciated :)