Chapt. 1

Tom pulled the blonde by the arm, leading him through the crowds of people and colourful tents. The circus was in town in Ikebukuro and Tom had just decided on his own that Shizuo Heiwajima could have a rest day to check it out since he seriously needed a break or something like that, apparently. Said male cursed as someone bumped into his shoulder for the thousandth time since they arrived 5 minutes ago, messing up his crisp, black vest and pure white dress shirt. He swore that the next person who came within a foot of him would receive a serious blow to the head, accompanied by a concussion of course.

"Hey, this is fun, isn't it?" Tom laughed, eyeing a man who walked past them on stilts. The place was bustling with people, adults and kids alike, and filled with noise and good cheer.

"No. It's hot and I'm getting Kasuka's clothes dirty," the blonde replied tersely, tugging his arm out of Tom's grasp.

"Hmm, there you go about your brother again," his companion sighed melodramatically, throwing his arms in the air. "I think it's about time you find someone else to occupy your time with."

Shizuo narrowed his eyes behind his shades, trying to figure out what Tom was getting at. "What do you mean?"

Tom grinned, a playful expression passed his face. Without a word, he grabbed the blonde's arm and began to drag him off somewhere. Shizuo's questions were left unanswered as Tom kept focus on finding something. Finally, they reached the end of the road where a tiny little tent, almost a teepee, really, stood alone. It had a more mysterious air about it as compared to the joyous ambience of the tents further in the heart of the carnival.

"Tom, what the hell?"

Tom didn't bother replying him but instead led him into the mysterious tent through the narrow opening. The tent was a lot bigger than it looked and inside sat a woman on a mat. She wore some sort of turban or scarf around her head, covering all her hair, save for a few curls which managed to escape the cloth confines, and she wore a yellow robe, her wrists decorated with beaded bangles. There was a small table in front of her with a crystal ball sitting on its centre.

"Yes, gentlemen, what may I do for you?" She spoke grimly.

Tom was unfazed by the queerness of the situation and took a seat opposite the woman in front of the table. He gestured for Shizuo to join him. With a grunt, Shizuo compelled.

"My friend here needs a little boost in his love life."

"What—" the blonde began but was cut off when the woman started jingling her beads.

"Ah. What you need is a love spell," she responded, digging under the table for something.

Shizuo, getting uncomfortable, leaned towards his companion. "Tom, I think this woman is legit. Is this safe?"

"Sure. Witchcraft is completely fine if used for harmless means," he replied, eyes focused on the woman who had taken out a cinnamon stick, a bowl and a small bottle of fluid. Without a word, she began mixing the ingredients together with her bare hands, chanting in a strange language which couldn't pass off as Latin or African. The two males were transfixed at the sight, mouths hanging agape and eyes widening.

After a while, she stopped. The tent went quiet as no one moved a muscle. Then, suddenly, the woman smiled brightly, eyeing Shizuo. "Alright then. Now, a love spell has been cast on you. The first person you touch with your bare hands will fall in love with you, that's how the spell works. So don't go around touching people unnecessarily, this spell will only work on one person only."

Shizuo glanced down at his hands. They still looked exactly the same, but just to be safe, he stuffed them into his pants pocket. That would be easy enough, he assumed. They thanked the strange woman and left the tent, the sunlight and noise hitting them again once they were out. Shizuo lit up a cigarette.

"Now, that wasn't so bad," Tom commented, patting the blonde on the back. "Now just touch some pretty girl and she'll be all over you. You lucky guy."

Hmm.

If anything, this was definitely interesting. But Shizuo hardly knew what he would use this 'power' for. He wasn't interested in other humans; he wasn't like the flea who adored them, spending every minute of his day fantasizing about them. Really, for a full time informant, he sure had a lot of time on his hands. He was everywhere Shizuo was, always trying to piss him off, and succeeding in that.

Shizuo got angry even thinking of him and suddenly, as if on cue, a familiar voice rang out. "Shizu-Chan!"

The blonde felt his eye twitch and started looking around for the damn flea. He knew it was too good to be true that he wouldn't be here today. Finally, he spotted the brunette standing on the top of a 3 storey building, waving his pocket knife around dangerously.

"Izaya!" Shizuo screamed. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I love carnivals; there's always so many humans," Izaya replied leisurely.

"Well, get out. I don't like you being here."

"Mm, make me." And in a blink of an eye, Izaya was speeding off the roof, flashing Shizuo a cheeky grin as his ran away. Shizuo felt his blood boil as his cigarette snapped between his fingers, and was thrown on the floor.

"Aw, man," Tom began. "Shizuo don't—"

Before he could finish, the blond had already taken off, chasing after his arch nemesis.

"IZAYAAAAAA!" He screamed as he went, searching for a vending machine anywhere. He found one to his right, picked it up and threw it at Izaya. He dodged it swiftly though, jumping off the roof onto the street and weaving his way through the crowd. Shizuo followed, wishing looks alone could kill because if they could, no doubt Izaya would be sprawled dead on the floor by now.

He picked up everything along his way and threw it at the brunette who still managed not to get hit. Shizuo was getting frustrated by now and vowed that he would kill Izaya with his bare hands once he got him.

They were nearing the opposite end of the road where a dead end stood. Izaya got prepared to leap up the wall onto one of the buildings when he slipped on a melted ice cream cone and fell down. He really hated kids sometimes. Shizuo, on the other end, was thanking his lucky stars as he drawer nearer to the other brunette. Izaya, his back against the wall and with no more room for a fine lift-off to reach the top of the wall, held his hands up.

"Ok, Shizu-Chan, you got me," he smirked.

Shizuo kept his face grim. "You're damn right you fucking louse."

"Now, let's just forget this and go enjoy the carnival, ne?"

"You wish! You're trapped, Izaya." He stepped forward until he was an arms distance away.

"You don't wanna do tha—"

Shizuo cut him off by wrapping his hand around the shorter male's neck, pressing him further back against the wall, trapping him by his throat. Izaya gagged, clawing at the blonde's arm, but he refused to let go. He loved watching the flea squirm under his grip. Though he left enough space for Izaya to be able to breathe, it was just enough to have him suffocate too. He was sadistic, so sue him. Just as it looked like the brunette was going to pass out or something, Tom interrupted them frantically.

"Oh, God..." he managed out between breaths. "Shizuo, sto—oh shit, the spell!"

"What spell?" Shizuo turned back, ready to wallop Tom for interfering, when his eyes widened, coming to a realization. "Oh holy Fuck!" He released Izaya, who fell to the ground coughing. Both males watched as he recovered from his coughing fit, waiting for a reaction. Shizuo prayed the spell had all been a hoax, that nothing had happened.

Izaya got up clumsily, rubbing his throat. He glanced up and looked at Tom and Shizuo, his eyes slightly glazed over. "...Shizu-Chan?" His voice still sounded normal, nothing strange there. He seemed surprisingly calm for someone who had almost been strangled to death, but the oddness of his reaction could probably be from the lack of oxygen to his brain. Soon, he would be grinning and shooting annoying remarks again, Shizuo convinced himself.

Those hopes were dashed, however, when Izaya latched himself onto the blonde all of a sudden, hugging him tightly.

Shizuo recoiled as if he had been struck. "Oi, Izaya. What are doing, you louse! Get away from me."

Izaya looked ready to cry. "Wh—what? But I love you."

Ooh shit.

Shizuo started cursing himself for being so careless. Just then, Tom burst out laughing, pointing a finger at the blonde's face. "Oh gosh, Shizuo, you should see your face right now!"

Glaring at his companion, he growled, "Shut up, Tom. We are going to find that gypsie lady right now and get this mess fixed!"

Tom agreed with a shrug, but as they began to walk away, Izaya followed behind them, trying to grab Shizuo's arm. "Hey, Izaya, let go."

The brunette shook his head defiantly.

"Look, I'll only say this once: you are not in love with me."

"I am. You're the handsomest, most amazing person I've ever met."

"No—"

"Shizuo, let it be," Tom interjected, shaking his head. "Let's just hope there's some kind of antidote for this."

They reached the teepee at the end a few minutes later and made their way in hurriedly; Shizuo sat down noisily to get the woman's attention whilst Tom and Izaya sat quietly by the side. Not bothering with greetings, Shizuo got straight to the point. "Hey lady, remember that spell you put on me? How do you get rid of it?"

The woman looked up. "You mean the love spell?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. It's working fine. That's what's wrong with it."

The woman was about to ask when she saw Izaya clinging on to the blonde and began to put two and two together. "Ah, it's only been 10 minutes and you can't even keep your hands to yourself, eh."

Shizuo clenched his jaw, not wanting to admit that she was, technically, right about that. "Look," he sighed, "just tell me how to undo it and it'll be completely fine, ok?"

"You can't undo a spell."

"Isn't there any way? Like, you could give me a hate spell or something to cross it out. Or maybe I could touch someone else and..."

"None of those things will work. I warned you, this spell works on one person and one person only."

"So there's absolutely no way to get rid of it?" Shizuo groaned.

"There's only one way to get rid of a love spell. The spell will go away only when you fall in love with that person as well."

"WHAT?"

"You heard me."

"The only way I can wear out the spell is if I fall in love with him?" The blonde spoke in disbelief. That was completely impossible!

"That's right," the lady smiled. "Now, if that's all, I wish you the best of luck."