"He might seem cold-blooded, but he's more human and his heart more brittle than anyone else. So much that if you fill it with love or betrayal it will break easy. That was why he decided to avoid it from the start… Do you understand?"

-Durarara Volume 13

The rain pattered against his umbrella roughly, falling on the sidewalk and concrete around him as well. Izaya listened to the sounds silently, his fuzzy hood covering his head and his jacket zipped up as far as it could go, protecting him from the biting cold air. Orihara Izaya huffed in annoyance, feeling tired from a long and exhausting day of working for Shiki. Of course his boss had to choose the coldest day in the world to make him walk there and back.

Even with the cold rain, some people were still outside anyways. Though most of them seemed to be doing the exact same thing Izaya was doing, going home as fast as they could. That was what he wanted to do too, thankfully, he was almost there. Ah, how frantic humans could be when something changed that they didn't like.

Izaya chuckled slightly, a strained smile coming on his face. Ah, his humans were so amusing.. Izaya couldn't help but listen to the grumbles that seemed to be escaping so many of them.

But that's when a different noise caught his ears. It wasn't the patter of the rain, the footsteps of people, or the angered voices of grown adults. It was something much smaller, much shriller. It caught Izaya's sensitive ears, and sent his curiosity spiraling.

Izaya moved closer to buildings, walking slower as he found himself following the noise. The shrill sobbing led him in front of an alleyway, where it seemed to grow louder and more frantic. Izaya's red eyes narrowed suspiciously, his eyes darting around for anything out of place. At first, he saw nothing.

But then, something moved.

It was a dirty, soaking wet cloth on the ground. It seemed to be covering something bulky, that was fighting to break free of the blanket. Izaya stared at it for a moment, before crossing into the alleyway, and holding the umbrella over the bulk.

The raven knelt down, ready for anything, as he lifted the sopping wet blanket to peer under it. What he saw made him hesitate for a moment, before throwing the blanket aside. It fell to the ground with a wet plop, and the shrill screams stopped as it did.

It was a baby. A small thing with wet, dark hair in a torn, ratty old onesie that was as soaked as the box the baby was laying in. His little body seemed to have some bruises too. His crying had stopped, and his striking blue eyes seeming to stare straight into Izaya's soul. But the child didn't sniffle, didn't even whine, he just continued to stare at Izaya curiously.

Izaya looked at the baby, his head tilting to the side. There was no identification on the baby, not even a name. The child was probably abandoned in this alleyway by someone, possibly a few days ago, possibly a few hours ago.

"How fickle the human race can be," He said to the baby, who stared back silently,"You have done nothing wrong, yet you seem to be the one punished. It is the strange way that society works, it is always quite interesting to see who will end up being the scapegoat."

The child did not respond, and Izaya continued,"You see, humans that are desperate always seem to be willing to do anything to get what they want or think they need. Some of them will even hurt innocent beings such as animals, or babies like yourself. Creatures who have done nothing to warrant such pain, but simply get the short end of the stick because they are seen as weaker, easily manipulated, easily disposed of. Sad to say, it is quite true in most cases."

The baby's small hands seemed to curl into fists, he relaxed in the box he was in, and slowly his eyes slumped closed. Izaya simply watched him, and deduced,"I see the markings on your arms, they are probably on other parts as well. I believe that your mother was probably a foolish human, wishing to indulge herself in pleasures before realizing her mistakes. Humans do that all the time, truly hilarious really. She couldn't get an abortion, so she had you and then dumped you. It is strange to see a mother so easily ignore a person of her own flesh and blood. But then again, no human can live an honest life."

Izaya took a stand, noticing how the child's eyes seemed to snap open, watching him with confusion. "It seems fate has dealt you a cruel hand, and though I usually mess with fate, but I don't seem to care now, perhaps it would be better for an innocent creature like you to move on, instead of becoming like all those other silly humans. I love them very much, but all of them are jaded. Maybe if there is a heaven, you'll end up there," He told the baby, who began releasing frantic noises.

Izaya paid no heed to it. The baby was not his problem, it was not his baby. If the world wanted the baby to die, why should he care?

The baby's violent, shrill cry suddenly exploded again. Nobody was on the streets to hear it, yet everything seemed to slow for Izaya. His legs locked up, he couldn't seem to move. It was like the child's cry was blocking him from leaving.

Izaya had never cared about children before, but this shrill cry was clawing at his tiny black heart, reminding him of his baby sisters. But that wasn't the only thing calling out to him. It was something deep, something internal, something deep down inside him he still couldn't seem to reach.

The feeling was strange, but it told him- no -demanded that he not leave. Izaya turned his head, looking at the rain falling on the sobbing baby. When his blue eyes caught sight of Izaya staring at him, he let out a blubbered sob, and reached out one tiny hand for him.

That feeling clawed at his heart again, and Izaya couldn't make it stop. He turned back around, walking briskly over to the baby. Once he came back, the baby's breathing calmed down, and he let out a calm gurgle.

Izaya stared at him, before giving a crooked smirk. "I believe that if you knew who I really am, baby, you wouldn't be so relieved for me to come back," He said, before reaching out his hand to pick up the baby,

The child was soaked, and shaking violently. Izaya frowned, noticing his slightly blue lips. The raven then moved his hand away, causing the baby to whimper again, and reach out. "One moment," Izaya declared,"I'll put you in my jacket, then I can take you to child services, they can take care of you from there-"

A sudden violent, loud flash of lightning and clap of thunder caused Izaya and the baby to jump, the small thing in the box shrieking in fear with the howling winds. Izaya suddenly had second thoughts of walking around in this weather.

With an exaggerated sigh, Izaya unzipped his jacket, placing the umbrella down for a moment before lifting the baby with both hands. He placed the small, and way too light, baby in his jacket. He supported the baby with one hand, zipping the jacket up and going to pick up his umbrella again.

Aaand his umbrella was gone.

"Great, this is just great," Izaya grumbled, finding his annoyance growing. He sighed, using his free hand to yank his hood down farther before standing up. He used both hands to support the baby, and walked as fast as he could to his penthouse.

Every strike of lightning and clap of thunder sent the baby into another crying fit, and Izaya would pat his back as gently as he could. He told himself the angry feeling in his chest was from the loud noises of lightning and the baby's wails, and not the fact that they were scaring the baby. That totally wasn't it, not at all.

Izaya finally reached his house, his own jacket now dripping wet, with a nice wet spot from the soaking baby. Thank goodness Namie wasn't here, he didn't need to hear her snarky comments right now.

Locking the door, Izaya unzipped his jacket as he walked upstairs. Using one hand, he held the baby close and removed his jacket with skill. The baby was still shivering, and Izaya sighed. "Okay, you can't stay in that ratty old onesie, I'm worried that-," Izaya quickly cleared his throat,"I don't want to wake up to a dead baby."

The baby just stared at him, not seeming to notice the slip up, as he reached out his little hands, and released a few gurgly noises.

The raven ignored it, setting the baby on the bed and taking off the onesie. Underneath it were many bruises, which brought that clawing emotion back at his heart. Izaya frowned at the baby's body for a moment, before shaking the feeling off. No, he didn't feel anything at all.

After that, Izaya's nose suddenly caught the smell of the diaper. "Oh god, that's rancid!" He exclaimed, stumbling back, and pulling up his shirt over his nose. The baby's blue eyes stared at him, before giggling at Izaya's reaction.

"Don't laugh, it's disgusting, not funny!" Izaya exclaimed, attempting to undo the diaper. It took several painful tries, and loud whines from both Izaya and the baby. But once the nasty, overflowing diaper was off and thrown into the nearest bin, Izaya could see the nasty rash on the child's lower bottom.

Izaya frowned, and said,"That needs air, for sure. But at least I now know for sure you're a boy." The shivering child looked at him, and Izaya frowned, not really knowing what to do. "What? I don't have any baby clothes!"

The baby began to shuffle on the bed, whimpering again. "Okay! Okay!" Izaya exclaimed,"I'll think of something!"

Grumbling, the raven picked up the baby and walked to the dresser. He then pulled out two of his black long sleeved shirts. He took one, and placed it around the baby. The child looked like he was drowning in the fabric, but at least he wasn't naked or cold anymore. Izaya changed into his own shirt, tossing the other one on the floor. He was too tired to care.

Izaya watched the baby yawn, rubbing his eyes. Shit, where did he put the baby to sleep? He didn't want to share the bed, that couldn't work..

Izaya moved back over to the dresser, shuffling all his clothing around to make a little nest, using two shirts as a blanket. This could work for one night, right? Yeah, of course it could.

The raven went to place the baby down, but his tiny hands clutched to Izaya's shirt and refused to let go. Izaya didn't want to hurt the kid, but he tried to use a little more force. The baby let out a loud noise of refusal, whining and clutching tighter.

"Listen, I have work to do, I can't hold you against my chest, I need both hands to work tonight!" He declared, taking his shirt in his hands and yanking it from the baby's.

The baby let out a loud, shrill cry, and frantically grabbed for Izaya's shirt again. Izaya panicked at the loud noise, and stumbled back, sitting on the bed. "Whoa whoa, hey, shhh," He quickly whispered,"Jeez, fine, you can stay. I still have to work though, I'm not tired." Pulling the baby forward and letting him clutch Izaya's shirt. The baby then buried his face against Izaya's chest, his eyes drooping. After a few minutes, the baby's body slumped against him, completely asleep.

Izaya found himself yawning as well. He wasn't tired a few minutes ago.. Maybe it was because of everything that just happened. Usually, Izaya would just ignore his sleep deprivation, or pretend it wasn't there. But looking at the sleeping baby against his chest, Izaya felt his exhaustion creep up.

Maybe he could sleep.. That way he wouldn't be as tired tomorrow, and he could also keep an eye on the baby. "Tomorrow.. We'll go to child services.. And I'll get rid of you, and I can go back to my normal life," He slurred out with sleep. He then asleep above his sheets, legs dangling, and a baby clutched to his chest.

Little did his Izaya know, thanks to this little baby, his name would never be the same again.

Tarō Tanaka joined the chat

Setton: Hey Tanaka!

Sakia: Hello

Bakyura: Finally! We were waiting on you!

Tanaka: Sorry! I was reading about the storm that's supposed to hit

Tanaka: It's supposed to be the biggest snowstorm Tokyo has ever seen!

Bakyura: I hope nobody had any important plans, everything is going to be closed!

Saika: Bakyura is right, I hope nobody did

Bakyura: Oh, speaking of planning

Bakyura: Has Kanra been on today?

Setton: Wasn't she the one that wanted to chat tonight?

Bakyura: Heh, probably off spreading gossip or causing trouble!

Tanaka: Bakyura-kun, that's not nice!

Saika: It's probably true..

-Private Mode-

Bakyura: Mikado, do you know if Izaya is trying to start anything?

Tanaka: Um.. I don't know actually.

Tanaka: He's been gone for almost a week, nobody has seen him

Bakyura: That bastartd! He's gonna do something again! I swear-

Tanaka: Masomi-kun, the snow will shut down the trains

Tanaka: The only way he could get to Ikebukuro is to walk, not even Izaya is that crazy

Bakyura: …

Bakyura: Fine, but if he does anything, I won't hesitate to stop him

- Bakyura has left the conversation -

- Exit Private Mode -

Bakyura: Well, I have to go, we're having hot pot tonight

Setton: How funny, me and Saika are too! Have fun! I should go get ready

- Setton has left the chatroom -

Saika: I'm going to go have dinner with Setton, goodbye you guys

- Saika has left the chatroom -

Bakyura: Remember what I told you, they're up to something, something dangerous

Bakyura: We can't let them get away with anything anymore, they'll hurt more people

Tanaka: I know, we will

Bakyura: You'd better, or I'll do it myself

Bakyura: Have a nice night

- Bakyura has left the chatroom -

- Taro Tanaka has left the chatroom -

- The chatroom is empty -

Mikado stared at his screen with a frown. Was Masomi right? Could Izaya be up to something? Maybe, he had been really quiet, and whenever Ikebukuro was peaceful, something bad was bound to happen.

Maybe he should look into it a little, just to be safe. After all, whenever Izaya-san was quiet, he was always up to something dark and dangerous.

Mikado resolved to worry about it tomorrow, turning off the computer screen and crawling to his futon. He buried himself deep in the covers, knowing he would need all the warmth he would if the snow storm was as bad as the news predicted.

He sure hoped nobody had any important plans tomorrow..