A/N: Third of the gift oneshots that has turned into a multichapter. This one is for borderlineizaya, whom I thank for a wonderful prompt: highschool!Shizaya in which Izaya is a pre-transmission transgender boy. There was something more to this prompt, but I'd spoil the story for you if I told you, so I won't. I hope you enjoy it!

I'd like to apologise to everyone who like this story so far, but the new installment on it will be added whenever I'm finished with the rest of the oneshots. The reason for this is simply because this prompt is too inspiring for me and I'd have troubled writing anything else if I keep writing it :P

I'd like to thank asbestosxposure for keeping me company and pointing out some mistakes along the way :) You're wonderful.

Disclaimer: Neither the characters, nor the setting of this story is mine.

Warning: This story contains mentions of abuse and transgender-hate. Please keep that in mind while reading it.

Also, I want to be clear. This story contains transgender!Izaya. If this makes you uncomfortable, for whatever reason, please, do not read it.

Beautiful Flower

Chapter 1

It was Heiwajima Shizuo's first day of high school, and he found it completely and utterly boring. Seated almost in the exact middle of the class, seeing Shinra's back in front of him - of all desks, I had to seat close to that guy - and waiting for his turn to say his name come… It was seriously boring. Not that the blond boy complained; he preferred boring to annoying. At least with boring, he wasn't tempted to demolish the classroom.

"My name is Orihara Izaya."

Shizuo looked up from his desk, gazing in the direction of the skinny boy seated by the window. He had short, raven hair, brownish-red eyes, delicate, almost feminine face and an air of anxiousness covered in overly confident attitude.

"Izaya's my prefered name, so please call me by it."

It took the teacher some time until he consulted his student's list and stared at Izaya's birth name. He then looked up at the young boy, still standing by his desk.

"Um… Orihara-san… It says here you're a-"

"I'm sorry, professor, but it's -kun."

The teacher blinked. Shizuo could see the boy clench his fists softly, and yet his face remained impassive, almost blank.

"It's Orihara-kun, professor." he clarified. "I will be grateful if you use that honorific."

The teacher looked at the name again and at the rest of the class; whispers started to spread, and Shizuo could see - he didn't know how, but he could - this guy's, Izaya's, expression harden behind his mask. Finally, the teacher sighed.

"Please, stay after class, Orihara... kun. I would like to talk to you."

"Yes, professor."

…

"Hey, have you heard? That one, Orihara…"

"I know! He's actually a…"

"What a freak! And to the teacher…"

"I talked with one guy… So in middle school, that Orihara…"

"Have you heard?"

"Have you seen?"

These and other whispers filled the school the next day. They could be heard whenever a certain raven made his appearance, or whenever he left what the whisperers considered a hearing distance. But Izaya's ears were sharp, and he heard more of these whispers than he could ever wish for.

The raven was currently walking the corridor, trying desperately for his emotionless mask not to slip. He promised himself he will no longer let people look at him through his birth sex. Starting high school with coming out was supposed to be the turning point in his life. It was supposed to be a change for the better, when he will be finally free to be who he is. He already had the money saved for transition; for now, testosterone and binders did the trick. All he had to do was stand up and say it. He expected the bullying. He didn't expect for the whole school to be against him.

Izaya clenched his fists, moving to the bathroom door. He needed a quiet place to let his mask slip for a minute or two, to be alone. Before he could enter, though, an arm appeared in front of his face, blocking the entrance. Izaya looked up at the bulky jock who stood there, along with three friends. They looked like they had combined muscle of a bull… And the shared intelligence of one.

"This bathroom's for men, freak."

Izaya didn't let any emotion show on his face.

"I'm sorry, but if that's the case, I'm not long enough in this school to show you to the right one." he answered in a sneer, and waited, in slight amusement, until the muscleheads digested his words and converted them into something a bit simpler-sounding.

But once they did, Izaya's hidden amusement was gone.

"What did you say, bitch?!"

The punch came as a surprise, and as such, Izaya couldn't evade it. His petite body hit the wall, but what hurt the most was the silence, or even small chuckles, from everyone in the hall. Oh, no. One person spoke up.

"Are you stupid, doing it here? Teacher's gonna come."

Izaya wanted to laugh. The muscleheads came closer to him, pulling him up by his collar.

"We'll finish later." they growled, and Izaya grimaced; first at the smell from the leader's mouth, second from the pain he felt from his broken lip. Then, finally, he was left alone.

The raven sighed and gathered his things, opting for going to the roof instead. He heard Raijin Academy had one that was open to students, but not many people went there, since it was a long way upstairs and during breaks nobody cared enough to run few stories up and then down for few minutes on the roof. It was alright with Izaya. He wasn't going to appear in the next class, anyway.

It took him some time to climb all the stairs, and finally, the raven arrived to the roof; a large, open space, bordered with a metal net, so that no student will fall, or try to jump. There were few benches, but they were all empty.

Except for one.

Izaya bit his lip when he saw another muscular - though not overly this time - male laying on one of the benches and staring at the clouds, a carton of strawberry milk by his side. The raven sighed, wondering if he should just leave. He wasn't in a mood for any more bullying. But really, where would he go?

"Uh… Sorry, do you mind if I join you?"

The blond head raised a bit, and honey-like eyes looked at him with a slight surprise. But Izaya didn't care for the emotions flickering in these eyes at the moment. He was too busy trying not to fall over, as his legs suddenly felt weak and his hands began to sweat. God… This guy was… gorgeous…

The blond stared at him in recognition, before laying back down in a 'oh, that's you' reaction. "There are like, three more benches besides the one I'm laying on. Why the hell are you asking my permission? The area's open for students, you know."

Izaya blinked, seriously grateful the blond looked away, because he felt a bit more blood than usual rush to his cheeks. "I, um… It's just… Nevermind." he mumbled, wanting to slap himself. Him, Orihara Izaya, not knowing what to say?!

The raven sat down on one of the free benches, taking out some tissues from his backpack. He needed to stop that lip from bleeding… and see if there's any damage apart from that. Suddenly, something bumped his knee. Bumped, not hit. He looked in surprise, and saw a very neat little package consisting of band-aids, bandages, disinfectant, painkillers… Even needle and special thread for stitches. He looked up in surprise, but the blond was laying just as he was a second before, looking into the sky.

"Thank you?" he murmured hesitantly.

"You're welcome. My brother packed it into my backpack, because I always get hurt, but it's not like I'm using it anyway. Just take whatever and give it back." came the response. Izaya nodded slowly, taking things he would need and standing up to hand the little first-aid kit back. He stood over the blond, grateful for the chance to look at him a bit more.

"I'm…"

"You're Orihara Izaya, right?" Izaya's heart skipped a beat when they blond guy opened one eye and reached his hand to take the package, and used his name. "We're in class together. I'm Heiwajima Shizuo."

"Nice to meet you."

"I don't like you."

Izaya's heart sunk. So… In the end… He was no different from the others, was he. The raven mustered a smirk on his face, laughing mockingly.

"Oh…? And we could have so much fun together~ Shizu-chan~" and he turned his back, skipping to the exit from the roof, followed by Shizuo's enraged don't call me that.

Orihara Izaya decided he didn't like this school. At all.