Story: Masks of Deception, Chapter 1

Summary: "Hey, you wanna be friends?" "Not interested. Sorry." That was the first verbal exchange between Orihara Izaya and Kishitani Shinra. "Ah, okay. I'll just ask again tomorrow." Eventual Shinzaya. AU. I hate me for this just as much as you do.

Note: If you guys actually WANT it and can help me think of some other supernatural ideas aside from Headless Horsemans and Demon blades, so maybe I can hope to evolve something from it) and events that led up that didn't happen, so that includes Saika(I love her too, so I'm so sorry!), and that is all.

Anyway, this is what I think; if Shinra had never met Celty and had fallen in love with somebody else, no matter who it was, I still think Shinra would still be same old Shinra down deep, no matter how you look at it. I still love ShinraxCelty, and truly accept it as an OTP in canon.

But I can also sort of reason with some of the onesided IzayaxShinra(as well as many other) theories out there that I've read, so I just randomly decided to start this story, because I like to imagine Shinra giving a shit. It will be a fairly slow build ShinraxIzaya AU.

In this AU, Izaya still 'loves' humans, and if you look close, I still tried to keep the characters themselves.

And if you do have any ideas for possible friendships or pairings, that would be great, and I don't judge(literally, I'm probably the most unbiased person you will ever meet), I may or may not use your idea, though.

Warnings for future story: Gangs, some bullying, both heterosexual and homosexual pairings, anime references(is that a warning? -)some future abuse, swearing(?), likely some minor homophobia(I don't agree with it, but once in a while there are valid things that lead up to it), some darker themes, drug abuse, violence, some blood, and possibly some other minor new warnings in the future. That stuff. Nothing will be too blatantly explicit, but this story will probably contain some elements that wouldn't normally be recommended for kids(Well, it IS Durarara), so...

Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara!

...

Izaya had always loved observing humans, even in elementary school. Always doing so from a 'safe distance', he was never particulary loved, nor particularly hated, and was more or less just your 'average good student'. Though he often appeared appeared as a bit of a loner, with how he would often prefer to sit the back of the class, and stayed in the library instead of going outside to play with the other kids, unless invited to follow them.

But, the truth was, he didn't feel dejected by being left out, for it just felt natural to him. The idea of intimately involving himself with other humans felt odd, because he really just preferred to remain detatched. Not that he wasn't amused when people dragged him along wherever. It just didn't normally happen unless people noticed him there. And when it happened, he never seemed to quite know how to handle himself.

He was now attending Raijin Chugaku in Ikebukuro, and the first day had come and gone, and thinking back, he had already aquire the names of the people he was most interested in watching, as he was prepared to once again go about beginning his everyday observation just like he had every other year.

That was all until some brown haired bespectacled boy, about his own height, had suddenly approached him. At first glance, there was nothing that seemed extraordinary about him, and he had looked fairly normal, albeit giving a typical 'nerdy' appearance, so he hadn't really thought much of him before that. He did, however, remember the other male introducing himself in his self introduction by the name of "Kishitani Shinra".

But he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't at least slightly surprised when that same boy had walked up to him that day several hours after school was over. He had just closed his locker, throwing his bag over his shoulder, as he turned around, finally preparing to leave for the day, and that was when he was immeditely met by the eyes of the innocent looking brunette, who was standing right before him and beaming.

He was little too close for comfort, so Izaya backed up a bit. "Excuse me."

He assumed Shinra probably didn't even hear his muttered apology, and moments later he felt his suspicions were confirmed.

"Hey, do you want to be friends?" The other suddenly asked him. Izaya didn't know what to think, but he got the odd feeling that something about this Shinra guy was most assuredly 'off' and not normal by his standards.

"Not interested. Sorry." He said flatly, walking past him, as he walked around him, and headed down the hall to make his way to the back exit.

And that was the first verbal exchange between Orihara Izaya and Kishitani Shinra. He had been speaking with the vice principal about some paperwork which had needed to be filled out and a parent or guardian's signature on it. His parents weren't around that often, and as such, it was hard to get them to sign anything for a while until they came back. Because they were both very busy and traveled overseas. A relative of his had been keeping an eye on everything, but he was nowhere to be reached at the moment.

He had been there for about three hours since school was over, so he was sure that most of the students had went home by now, and not very many staff members were even still there, either. Could he have really been staying behind that whole time just to meet him?

"Who actually asks to be friends with somebody? That's really so not normal."

Either this Shinra guy didn't care about typical, etiquette at all, or he wanted to get close to him for some reason.

-"What I am I thinking? He probably just asked me because I seem so much like a loner, anyway."

A minute later, Shinra caught up, but the latter didn't seem to be discouraged at all by his rejection to their friendship, and in fact kept smiling as if he was suddenly even happier, as he began following behind.

"It's alright if you don't want to be mine, but I'm already yours now, so I'll forgive you." said Shinra.

"Alas, acquaintanceship is a mutual thing. Why are you being so stubborn? I already confirmed we're not friends, ne?" Izaya didn't look back.

"Ah, okay." Shrugged Shinra, and the raven-like haired boy expected him to immeditely leave it at that just as most would, and found himself somehow disappointed at that thought.

"I'll just ask again tomorrow."

Izaya stopped at that, now turning around.

"Wait, what?" He studied Shinra, baffled for a moment and unsure of what to think. The only intuition or reading he could get off of him was that something, once again 'was not right'. A simple 'no' evidently didn't even remotely register in his mind. Or if it did, he didn't seem to care and would just continue to press his luck practically without a care in the world.

"And I'd just say the same thing again tomorrow, so why would you even bother?"

"Well... it's like this. I want to get to know you," Shinra tried to reason. "so I'm gonna keep asking as many times as I have to. Plus, I'll still never know unless I do keep trying, right?"

"...Your sense logic is too flawed. Really, are you some psycho stalker I should be aware of? Nowthat would be interesting. No offense." Izaya just turned around, starting to walk again.

Well, there was no offense intended, but...

"None taken."

There was that expression again. Void of anxiety, as if nothing at all even phased him, yet it was somehow unreadable. He couldn't tell what he was thinking. He couldn't understand the other's intentions at all. What could he do to get rid of him?

Well, he could probably do a lot if he really tried, but then again, considering that he'd never really partaken in any kind of conversation like this before, a question suddenly arose in his mind and threw him off once again.

Did he actually want to get rid of him?

"I know this all probably seems pretty odd to you, doesn't it? You're probably wondering something like, 'why in the world would this weird Kishitani Shinra guy, whom I no doubt just met today come up to me and suddenly ask my permission for 'friendship' of any kind?' You may even wondering if I only asked you because you look lonely, but to be honest, I actually only asked you because you seem like the type of person that if I simply approached you and said hi, you might say hi back, but you'd quickly end up dismissing it as something like common courtesy, you know?..."

Izaya had suddenly stopped walking after his first few sentences, but Shinra had continued, though slowed down.

"So I decided that asking you outright was the only way you'd be forced to take my request at face value, you see? That's also the only way you'd listen to your heart. But even if you reject me over and over and over again, it's fine, cause I'll just keep asking until you're forced to say yes." The brunette finished confidently, now having somehow utterly gained the full attention and confusion of Orihara Izaya.

Despite himself, something in the way Shinra had spoken intrigued him. Not that he would admit it, but never in his lifetime would he have thought his way of life, "never to get too close nor too far", would crumble around him so easily within a single conversation from somebody else. This boy; he had seen right through him, as if he, himself, was practically transparent, and he briefly worried, wondering if there could be others just like him here, but figured it was just Kishitani Shinra who was different and not normal.

"Why are you so intent on bringing me into troublesome situations? Look, surely you have other friends, ne?"

"Yeah, I do have plenty, but I don't really care about any of them at all." Shinra spoke with such honesty that even Izaya found it a bit unsettling.

"...If that's the case, I find it hard to believe that you'd have any. And why would I want to have you as a friend if you don't care?"

"Because you're different than them. There is this one guy named Shizuo too, though, a friend I made in elementry school, but he's at a different middle school this year, so... Oh, by the way, your name is um... Izaya, right?"

Said preteen blinked. "Huh? You're asking to be somebody's friend yet you're not even-?" He began to inquire, before sighing, as decidedly dropped the matter, at noticing Shinra's expecting expression. "forget it. Yeah, it's Orihara Izaya, and whatever name you decide to use, go for it, really."

It was true. He didn't care, expecially not for some unimportant formalties.

"Any name? Really? Okay, I'll call you... Um... Zaya-chan, or Izachin, or Izaya-chan... or Izaya-senpai? Actually, that all probably just feels really awkward to both of us. I guess I'll just stick with Izaya, then."

And that's when it dawned on Izaya.

"Why are you still here, anyway?" He didn't really feel like giving Shinra the opportunity to ask into personal details about himself right now, so he decidedly changed the topic, hoping to get at least a somewhat satisfying reading on who this Shinra guy really was.

"Well, I sort of... Earlier, some kid bumped into me and I sort of tripped down the stares and hit my head. There wasn't any blood or anything, so I told everybody I just wanted to rest in the infirmiry, and that's where I've been for the past few hours now, but then the nurse told me I had to leave a little while ago after gathering all my paperwork from my teachers. And then I was headed down here, and you were there. So what a coincidence, ne?" the latter explained seemingly carefreely, before ever-so-briefly averting his gaze a bit.

"You... You're sure it's alright for you to be walking around, then?"

"He fell down the stares after some kid bumped in to him? Bullies...?" Izaya pondered it for a moment. Come to think of it, it seemed like hehad something about a 'fall' like that earlier, but hadn't payed it much mind to it.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It was just a bit of a fall, anyway."

"I find that hard to believe."

"...Whatever," he sighed pushing his doubts aside, not wanting to get too deeply involved with some other human's life. He was sure it was nothing much to worry about just like he said. "why are you so insistent on being friends with me, anyway? Specifically with me?"

"Because you peeked my interest. Actually, I did also hear some things about you from a couple other kids that said they went to your elementary school, as well, though, so..." Shinra explained, before trailing off into silence.

"Interest? You really are a stalker, after all, aren't you?" Izaya deadpanned.

It was only meant as a non-hostile remark, but that didn't mean he wasn't actually considering if this boy really could be some kind of stalker, after all, or if was he just extraordinarily even better at picking up on details than himself.

"Stalker...? Well, Shizuo-kun did once say that I seemed a bit too clingy, at times, so maybe you're right."

"Oi, what kind of 'interest' did you mean a minute ago?"

"Hm? Everything about you! I'm interested in all of it." Shinra proclaimed, not ashamed at all.

"'Everything'... Should you really be saying those things aloud? Doesn't that sound a little too... weird? That also hurt my ears." Izaya told him.

No way... This boy...

"Sorry about that. Anyway, you love to observe humans, right?"

"Huh?" Izaya uttered in question, completely dumbfounded by what this suddenly interesting human was on about.

"In your self-introduction, you said, "I like observing people of all occupations". Shinra reminded him.

"But what does that have to do with being somebody's 'friend'?" Izaya asked, obviously annoyed and not following.

Of course he remembered that, but didn't know why this classmate was bringing it up.

To top it off, that was what he had said that day because to say, "I love observing humans" and just leaving it at that would have seemed less-than-tactful, but nor had he thought that somebody would approach him or much less ask to be friends with him because of it.

Izaya's love for humanity wasn't what one would normally call 'love', per say, but it was more of a twisted fascination for their many different ways of lives. Though he knew it was becoming even more of an obsession by the day, he typically didn't let it show, and his observations were never really ill-mannered, but they weren't typically at all for the 'goodness' of humanity, either. It was just fascinating to him to watch how they'd handle themselves in all everyday, joyous, hopeless, and horrifying situations alike. He usually didn't personally get involved, but instead always just liked to observe them from the shadows as they 'evolved', and that was all he was willing to admit that it was to him.

Yet, he knew this twisted nature of his wasn't normal thus why he had never once really talked about it to anybody, including his parents and teachers and especially other students. He was also aware that his obsession would only ever get worse, and that somebody might even potentially get hurt because of it in the future, but he had no clue how to change it, and he didn't even know how to explain it himself, so he didn't even care to try.

Beside of that, if everybody realized the true meaning and intent behind his words in his introduction, he would no doubt be looked upon with disgust for his 'apathy'. Not that he had ever minded being ignored, but if he could help it, he didn't particularly like the idea of those he claimed to 'love' harboring such malicious feelings for him. Even so, he only cared to recognize his feelings for 'his humans' as 'love' because that was the only hobby he had that he really knew of, and human observation and reading people's actions was all he was even willing to say he was remotely good for, because he didn't like boasting much. He'd never enjoyed focusing on himself while he did enjoy giving everybody else 'attention', so his 'hobby' fit right along with that, as far as he was concerned.

Still, if Shinra had somehow connected even a few of those dots he knew it could be potentially troublesome to involve himself with this guy. But, despite this knowledge and much to his chagrin, something about Shinra had captivated him and something inside him made him want to stay and hear him out.

"What does my self introduction have to with what you're bugging me about, Shinra?" He asked, moments after he spoke last.

"Everything, of course." said person answered easily.

Izaya was now getting a bit annoyed and was speechless at first for he still had no idea what Shinra was implying. "Can you please be more specific?"

"I'm a human too, so you can observe me all you want, see? I know I do seem pretty normal at first glance, but I'm actually sort of weird and out of place, and anybody who ever got to know me says I'm just too hard to read, So it should work out in your favor since I'll be a bit more of a challenge for you to do so. And, on the other hand, I'll get what I want. That seems pretty fair, doesn't it?"

"Okay, so you're saying is that you want me to standin for the true friends you don't have, then? What kind of reasoning is that?" He sighed, before speeding up, immensly disappointed, just hoping Shinra would back off at this point.

"I should have realized that. He's no different then."

"It's not like that, really." Shinra's voice suddenly insisted to his disdain, as he stepped out the back door.

"..."

"I've never really cared to be anybody's friend. You and Shizuo-kun are the only ones."

"I see." And Izaya smirked hollowly at that. Too many unsorted thoughts and emotions were going through his head at the moment, some of which were about his own twin sisters and where his parents were and above all, the idea of some kid suddenly asking to come into his life. It made no sense, and he didn't care to make sense of it, because it was just too confusing.

And just like that, his life-long concaved emotions suddenly empowered and overwhelmed him and he grew irritated at Shinra for no real reason.

"Alas, whoever this 'Shizuo' person is, I really quite pity him..., because you really are rather annoying, ne? I might even become a real loner if I did actually become your friend, Kishitani-kun. Bye now~!"

And with that snide remark, he had expressed disinterest to simply down the requested friendship from the bespectacled boy named "Kishitani Shinra" who had coincidentally asked to be the first and only friend he would ever have, and possibly more than he would ever get. And he was aware of that fact.

-"He's weird, so he'll probably figure I'm not worth it and eventually move on, anyway, so there's no use dwelling on it, I guess.. But maybe he will be angry at me, after all... Who wouldn't be? I don't really think I'd particularly like being hated by any kind of friend, but I guess it can't be helped now, huh...? Ah... Damn."

Those were his thoughts, as he headed away from the school that evening, not once daring to look back. Yet despite what he told himself, there somehow remained a slightly warm, yet sorrowful feeling within his chest, as he swallowed. Was he really regretting speaking in such a way to that boy when he had likely just been trying to be nice?

He couldn't believe it, but in just one day, he found himself experiencing so many emotions he had never once felt before, and ones that he thought he shouldn't have, as well ones...

That he felt he didn't even deserve to feel.

But, no matter what he tried to convince himself of, there was one thought he just couldn't somehow couldn't deny himself.

-"Ah... these emotions must be what my humans call... 'yearning', and 'remorse'..., but I don't really like either one of them, after all..."

~End of Chapter.

A/N: Review...? Please don't hate me! I'm a horrible person, I know! But I wanted to give this pairing a shot. Well, at least I'm not some heartless bastard who would have a character they hate(minus Takashi. That bastard is a flipping horrible person, and Dotachin could have died because of him! He's a pedophile and even Kujiragi recognized his actions as self love. And he thought about forcing Masaomi to strip naked and dance so he could expose him on the internet! And got Shizuo arrested, took advange of Haruna's emotions, and gave Mikado that terrorists gun!, and he was gonna use poor Tom as a hostage! He viciously stabbed Mikado over and over and over again out of anger when he got in his way to protect Anri, he wanted Anri, Shizuo and probably so many others to be under control of Saika, and I want Erika and Walker to get ahold of him! I hate him hate him hate him! He's selfish, narcisist, hypocritical, disgusting, sociopathic, psychopathic, self-concieted, pedophilic, illiberal, mean, ungenerous, narrow-minded, and self-seeking scum. To top it off, he's also a disgusting hypocrite and refused to listen to his own words "you reap what you sew"! even the-*bleeps out further mile long rants*) raped just to see the character they hate left in shambles. (Heck, I wouldn't even write it about that shit with Takashi Nasujima, but honestly, he deserves to die and rot in some hole, but I love Haruna, so I wish her luck and hope she'll have plently of fun at his expense. :3

For real! He's such a di-*cuts out even more rants*

So, anyways, I hope you all won't hate me too much for starting this, but if you do, I guess it can't be helped. Sadly, haters gonna hate. Y-Y

I'm making no promises about updates, because I have too many fanfictions(over 20) that I've started, and author's block is killing me! No matter what I do, the words just won't come to me! x

Any who, matane~!