Chapter One: Fridge or Cupboard?

Why was Izaya always trying to piss me off?

I don't have anything against Izaya personally. If anyone actually paid any attention to what I do, they'd realise that I don't hate Izaya more than anyone else. Anyone who pisses me off is gonna get yelled at, and if they keep going, they'll get hit. If Izaya just left me the hell alone… We wouldn't fight at all. We could walk past each other on the street so casually, and that damn flea knows it! Izaya…

What are your motives…?

**Izaya's P.O.V**

I looked down at the city of Ikebukuro, as I usually did. The humans were running as the sun began to set, and the shadows made by the tall buildings began to fade. So many people… All of their lives were in my hands. I loved humans, so I didn't want anything to happen to these innocent people. The people down there… They had no idea what was going on in this city. They were so carefree. If only I could get away from this burden… If only –

My phone rang.

I moved to my desk, but it was my private phone that was ringing. With fear, I picked up the silver flip-phone and opened it before placing it next to my ear. "Hello?" I asked into it, trying to hide my mild fear. "Hello, Kanra." The deep voice welcomed. It reminded me of Darth Vader, and I had known for a while that the voice was not legitimate. Whoever kept contacting me was using one of those voice changers… That's why I, the information broker of Ikebukuro, was officially stumped on this one.

"Y-you…!" I stuttered, and the voice on the other end chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, get over it." The voice said. He had told me to address him as "Neo", but I hardly did. A name like that seemed too innocent for a being of such power. "What do you want, Neo?" I asked, and he chuckled again. "The usual." Neo replied bluntly. "I'm still recovering from the last encounter with Shizuo…!" I reminded him, referring to the bandage around my right forearm, where a "STOP" sign had come a little too close for comfort. "Do you think I care?!" Neo yelled, making me flinch. "Unless, you want the whole town of Ikebukuro to go up in flames…" Neo threatened. He always did this. "N-no, I – " "Just imagine all of those burning corpses. So many innocent people brutally murdered. They'll be screaming and bleeding and –" "Stop, please!" I begged, and Neo chuckled. "I'll do it…" I finally whispered, giving in. "Take your knives with you, Kanra. Shizuo seems pretty pissed today." Neo instructed, hanging up before I could argue.

I sighed. Here I go again. If I didn't do what Neo said…

Ikebukuro would go up in flames.

**Shizuo's P.O.V**

My phone rang on my bedside table. Dammit, I was just getting to sleep! I lazily picked it up and pressed it against my ear. "Hello…?" I asked tiredly. "Hey, hey, Shizu-chan~~!" Izaya's voice rang in my ears. "Don't call me that, it pisses me off!" I yelled, sitting up. If he was calling, that usually meant that something was up. He was probably waiting for me at my front door or something. "Shizu-chan, where do you keep your peanut butter~~?" Izaya asked cheerfully. "WHAT?!" I asked. If that damn flea was in my house…! Izaya sighed. "Cupboard or fridge, I mean. What, did you think I was in your house or something~~?" Izaya asked, laughing at the suggestion. "I'm allergic to peanut butter. I don't have any." I lied. I was too tired to talk about this sort of crap. "Liar!" Izaya yelled, then seemed to cheer a little. "Ha! I found it! It was behind the mayonnaise~~!" Izaya called out. I stood bolt upright, throwing my phone on my bed, yelling out. "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU DAMN FLEA!" I yelled, and I heard Izaya giggle from the kitchen. I walked in to find him spreading peanut butter on a piece of bread, like it was his own house!

Izaya looked over at me, throwing me half a sandwich. "You're lucky I like sharing, Shizu-chan~~!" Izaya chirped. I let the sandwich hit the tile behind me, and I glared at him. "You're lucky I don't beat the crap out of you now. You're in MY HOUSE!" I reminded him as he put down his half of the sandwich, which was now more of a quarter. Damn, he didn't take his time eating that, did he? Izaya ran past me, picking the sandwich off the floor. "You'll get ants, Shizu-chan~~!" Izaya said worriedly. "I'm already dealing with a flea…!" I muttered to myself as Izaya threw the unwanted sandwich in the bin. "What was that, Shizu-chan~~?" Izaya asked, leaning in with his right hand cupped over his ear. Nope. That's it! Screw this!

I grabbed Izaya's wrists and pinned him to the wall. His usual response would be to just sit there and grin, but that wasn't what I got today. Izaya's right hand balled up into a fist shakily, and he flinched, whereas his left hand seemed fine. Izaya seemed to look at his left arm, and I looked at him quizzically. I cautiously let go of his right hand, and pulled down the sleeve, exposing his right arm. "H-Hey!" Izaya protested, moving to hit me with his left hand, but I caught it. Now that his sleeve was pulled down, it would stay there…

Because it stuck to the bandages.

"What the hell did this to you?!" I questioned. "You did!" Izaya replied. Oh yeah. I remember now. I don't remember a lot of fights with Izaya. They were just a joke to me. But… Was I hurting him? He was always smiling and chuckling, so I had always assumed he left unscathed… I began to unwrap the bandage. I had to make sure he was okay. I didn't like violence. I just used it, but because I was strong, people usually get injured. It's not my fault. Izaya squirmed, trying to get away. "Stop!" He yelled. I wrapped my fingers around his wrists with more power, and Izaya winced under the pressure as I pinned him against the wall with more force. "It hurts, doesn't it?!" I asked, and Izaya seemed to shut up. I shook his arm around, making him wince. "Answer me!" I yelled. I'm surprised that the neighbours hadn't woken. "Y-yes…! It does…!" Izaya replied, forcing his head against the wall as he screwed his eyes shut. I released his left hand again, and began unwrapping the bandages, the blood soaking through. "I never said you could touch it!" Izaya protested, but he didn't raise his left hand to fight back. "Does it look like I give a shit?!" I replied, throwing the soaked bandages behind me. Izaya looked away from his wound, where I stared right at it. It was deep, but I only scratched his skin… just a scratch. The blood was crusting over, and it was all blackened, with tints of green and purple fading through the skin around the wound. I was no doctor, but this was pretty god damn obvious…

It was infected as shit.

"Who the hell wrapped your arm?!" I yelled. Shinra was usually the one to deal with wounds, but this looked like a dog tried to heal it! Izaya didn't answer, so I forced him to look at me by grabbing his chin with my right hand, so I could still hold his injured arm with my left. "Answer me!" I repeated. Izaya usually had so much to say, to tease me, but the flea seemed rather quiet now. Dammit, why did he always have to be such a pain?! "I – I did…" Izaya admitted sheepishly, trying to look away even as I forced his face toward mine. His eyes seemed focused on everything but me. "Well you did a pretty shitty job, even for a flea!" I yelled at him, making him flinch. Why the fuck was he scared?! He was usually so… annoying! He was usually so straightforward, and he even fucking smiled when I threw a fucking vending machine at him! "Sh- Shinra's visiting China…! I had no choice…!" Izaya assured, and I heard myself growl a little. Indeed, I remembered Shinra mentioning his vacation, but I had no idea that he had already left. Izaya filched, pressing himself into the wall even more. I sighed, letting go of his hand. "Sit down. I'll clean it." I instructed, heading over to my first-aid kit. Because I went around, getting cut and bruised, I learned to keep about a months' worth of stuff in there. Izaya stayed where he was, holding his arm with his left hand. "I said sit down!" I reminded him, and he hastily did so. I went over to Izaya, sighing. "Okay," I sighed, pulling out the disinfectant. "let's get started…"

**Izaya's P.O.V**

A sharp pain ran up my arm as Shizu-chan soaked it with what must've been pure acid, the way it burned. I cried out in pain slightly, trying to pull against his tight grip. "What is that?!" I asked. Shizu-chan clenched his teeth, dabbing on more of the stuff. "Disinfectant." He replied simply. "Wh-why does it hurt so much…?!" I asked. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger"?" Shizu-chan questioned, and I looked away. Of course I've heard that! It's a basic thing you learn in school! I'm the information broker of Ikebukuro, for crying out loud! Of course I know famous sayings! I looked back down at my arm, the skin around had turned yellow because of the disinfectant's colouring. Shizu-chan began wrapping my arm in bandages, but they were much neater than mine. Can you blame me? I had to use my non-dominant hand, after all! Shizu-chan tugged on the bandage, making me flinch again. "H-Hey! You're gonna cut off my circulation~~!" I cried out. Shizu-chan merely sighed and loosed them a little more before looking up at me. "There, you little flea." Shizu-chan offered angrily. Shizu-chan stood up, turning to leave. "Now get the fuck out of my house…!" Shizu-chan warned.

No…

No, no, no, no, no, no!

I-I can't leave! This'll be the third time in a row that I come back empty-handed if I do! Neo will… I don't even know. I reached out, grabbing Shizu-chan's sleeve, just above the elbow. Just after Shizu-chan turned to me with that pissed face of his, I realised what I had done. I looked down hastily, not wanting to meet his eyes. They would glare at me. I was scared of them. I forced myself to look at the tiles on the floor, and I felt painful tears forming in my eyes. I was… Crying?! The information broker… Crying?! No, it can't be! I am above humans! I cannot be weighed down by the same emotions that they are! Even when the whole town of Ikebukuro is in my hands, I'll still just be the emotionless shell that I am! That's the way it always is…!

But…

Is that a good thing…?