Chapter 7 The intractable parasite

It wasn't until after his lunch break that Shizuo had a chance to check his phone and he did so while on his way outside for a cigarette break. There was one unread message from Tom-san.

sent 11:40 [Hey, Shizuo. I'm doing well, thanks for asking. That sounds awful about what happened. Of course you can stay over as long as you need. I have an extra room, but it's filled with a lot of my things. I'll just need to clear it, but I'm coming home late around nine. If you want to come earlier, I can ask Fuwa-san, the landlord, to open the door. You know where I live, right? Same as last time. Let me know if this works out for you.]

It was a relief that something worked out after this hectic day. He stopped to the side and wrote a reply.

[This is more than enough. It's not necessary to clear up your space. And I can meet you after 9. This really helps me a lot, thank you. I'll see you later tonight then.]

He was putting away his phone when he heard a familiar voice.

"Yo, Shizuo." Kadota called as he came down the hall. Following him were Karisawa, Yumasaki, and Togusa. Together like this, Shizuo wondered how they all managed to fit in one ambulance and get away with it. He'd heard the stories of some of their more wild antics. It must have been because Kadota could hold his ground so well. They stopped near the vending machine that he was next to.

"Hey." He nodded.

"It's pretty rough out there," Kadota said.

His cluster of friends gave Shizuo his space, and Shizuo had always suspected that Kadota had said something about not crowding him and for that he appreciated it. "Though you probably noticed by now."

"Yeah." Six patients admitted with the same condition in one day was sure to raise eyebrows.

Karisawa put in some coins and picked a drink. The orange Fanta bottle clattered as it fell.

"It's just like that show I was watching. The one with the samurai. The victims are defeated, but no one ever dies." Yumasaki said. "Maybe it's a copycat."

"Yeah," Karisawa said. "They say it's from a katana."

"You guys have been going on about this the entire ride here." Kadota shook his head though his tone wasn't mad or anything.

"Yeah, but Shizuo may not have heard, right?" Karisawa asked.

"He's been here all morning, he's heard." Kadota said and was trying to get her attention. She wasn't looking at him though.

"Well, I'm going back to the ambulance because someone," Togusa pointedly stared at Karisawa, "stuffed one of the draws with manga. Yeah, I was watching from the rear mirror and that's where we put the non-rebreather masks and I don't care how essential to life manga is to you, but it's not more important than breathing."

"Ahh, but it's much better where it is now than before. I promise they won't fall out again like last time. And you never say anything about Yumacchi's goods—"

"Hey!" Yumasaki covered Karisawa's mouth.

"Find somewhere else," Togusa was about to leave when Karisawa made a strange, high pitched noise.

"Is that him! The new guy?" Karisawa grabbed Yumasaki's arm and shook it. She looked down the hall and Shizuo immediately zoned in on Izaya who was coming there way. "Hey, hey, do you know him? Shizuo, do you know him?"

"Unfortunately." Shizuo said and frowned. Shit, he probably didn't have enough time to smoke now if Izaya was looking for him so soon. Fuck, what a clingy pest. He'd been roped in to another lunch made by the flea, but he slipped away as quickly as possible.

"Please introduce us!"

Shizuo hoped she wasn't fooled like most of the female staff who had been acting strange whenever he passed. Yeah, Shizuo had been noticing that recently and it was beginning to annoy him. They had no idea how despicable he was behind that grin.

"Trust me, you don't want to know him."

This seemed to have the opposite effect and she grinned all the wider, eyes dilating in the light as if she had symptoms of a head injury.

"Hey, Shizu-chan, are these your friends?" Izaya asked as he sauntered over. Shizuo cringed at the nickname, and Karisawa grabbed Yumasaki's arm harder and repeated that dumb nickname.

"Don't call me that." He grumbled, but Izaya ignored him and stood next to him a little too close and Shizuo inched away. Goddamn flea.

Kadota had a brow raised. He was one of the few people who knew him back in school and knew just what he could do when provoked. Shizuo wouldn't have been able to offer an explanation to him anyway. "Yeah," he continued. "I know them."

"Hmm?" Izaya said and looked them over with renewed interest. "I'm Orihara Izaya, recently transferred here. It's a pleasure."

Thankfully, there wasn't enough time to chat beyond the initial introductions when the hand-held radio that Kadota wore went off, meaning they had another call to respond to.

"Sorry, we have to go." Kadota was pushing back the others who were complaining about having to go back out again so soon.

"Yeah, same. See you around." Shizuo said.

"Nice meeting you," Izaya waved. When they were far enough away, he said, "they seem nice. Not really what I'd imagine your friends to look like."

"They're more like acquaintances. I've known Kadota for a long time though." There wasn't anything he could do about his missed cigarette break. He couldn't complain either for Izaya trailing after him, since they were going in the same direction. "Oh, and I found a place to stay the night."

"You staying with one of them?" A few heads turned as Izaya walked past.

"No, someone else."

"Heh. Shizu-chan sure is popular."

Shizuo refrained from elbowing him hard in the ribs. "Don't call me that, please. And I'm not popular."

"So you say," he said with a cryptic smile.

Something brushed his leg—the end of Izaya's long coat as they walked. Since the majority of his schooling years, almost everyone had avoided getting within his reach. They'd go out of their way to sit as far away from him or leave him alone, which was fine because that's how he preferred it. It was incredibly rare to have gotten an arm thrown over his shoulder, or elbows or knees knocked into him in gestures of friendship like so many of his classmates.

Strange too that Izaya knew first hand how dangerous he could get, and yet here he was sticking to him like a flea.

"Hey, about the recent patients we've been getting," Izaya began and he matched Shizuo's long strides that were an attempt to put distance between them. "I think there could be a connection."

"What connection?"

"To your apartment. And to whoever is the culprit."

"You're kidding. You think one of them did it?"

"No, not one of them, but who ever or what ever did this to them. Don't you think it's strange that so many people are getting stabbed and then there is your apartment which was broken into and blood was thrown everywhere? Someone dangerous is out there. Maybe it was a warning to you and someone is targeting you."

Shizuo stopped and Izaya walked into him, probably on purpose. Shizuo took a deep breath and pointedly stared at the menace next to him. "Yeah, tell me something I don't know."

Izaya smiled up at him. "I'm still looking into it, but I'll find the source in a few days." It didn't look like Izaya would own up to what he did, and Shizuo headed to where he was supposed to go with the flea-devil by his side. The rest of work didn't get any better, but he was busy the entire time and it passed quickly.

He had a few hours before he had to meet Tom-san, so he went to a department store to buy some clothes and supplies and afterwards went to Lotteria for dinner. He still had three hours to spare which he spent he spent at a park. He headed over to Tom's when it was half past eight and waited at his doorstep. It was while he was sitting there that he completely forgot to get a gift for him. By now most of the shops and bakeries were closed. Mr. Donut was about to close but the young worker at the front allowed him in and he got twelve of the remaining donuts. His phone vibrated and he saw he had one new message. [Be there in five]

He responded to Tom. [same]

He was lucky then that when he returned, Tom-san was opening the door to his apartment.

"Tom-San," he said in greeting as he got closer.

"Ah, Shizuo, sorry it's so late."

"No, it's fine."

Tom opened the door and turned on the lights, and Shizuo gave him the box of donuts. "Sorry for intruding."

He took the donuts and was a little surprised. "How'd you know I didn't eat yet? Thanks. Would you like anything to eat or drink? I just bought some milk."

"Yeah, milk sounds good."

Shizuo felt better now. He set his things in the hall and followed Tom to his kitchen. Tom looked sharp in his suit. He took off the coat and under that was his red striped shirt that he undid some of the buttons to at the cuffs. He got some water boiling and set up some plates and a glass of milk for Shizuo. Tom offered him to choose the first donut and Shizuo was reminded just how much he neglected hanging out with his sempai. "So how have you been, Shizuo, besides the recent accident at your apartment?"

"It's okay," he said, "how was your day?"

"The usual. There was a little problem when one of the people I was looking for ran. It's the third time he's given me the slip."

Shizuo had heard a little about Tom-san's debt collecting agency. He had been a little worried for him when he had first started out, but Tom-san was tougher than he looked. Back in middle school, his sempai had treated him well and on one occasion stood up for him. And because he didn't fear Shizuo's company, he sure as hell wasn't scared of a lot of people.

"You know, if someone's giving you a tough time, I don't mind helping you after work."

Tom smiled fondly. "I wouldn't want to make you do something you hated, but I appreciate it. I've been looking into hiring a bodyguard. So far the applicants aren't exactly what I'm looking for."

"I see," Shizuo said. "I hope you find someone soon then."

"Yeah."

Shizuo enjoyed his chocolate covered donut with milk. The texture was glazed and the inside was nice and gooey. There was nothing better than pastries after a long day of work, especially when with good company.

"So what happened to your apartment, anyway? You said someone broke in?"

"Yeah, they trashed it and it's getting repaired now. It will take five days, but I'll find somewhere else to stay since I only said for tonight."

"Nonsense, you're more than welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Thanks." A small grin worked it's way to his lips and he covered it with a sip of his milk.

"So anything new going on at your workplace? Any new lady co-workers catch your eye?"

"Actually there is this guy," Shizuo said slowly and realized what he said right after he said it. His face grew hot. "Who I hate," he amended quickly, and he looked up at Tom-san to see if he noticed the slip up. If he did, he didn't appear to care, but Shizuo didn't want to send the wrong message so the words tumbled out of him, and he was extra careful not to touch anything so that he didn't accidentally break Tom's things.

"He's nothing but a pest. I don't know what his problem is but he's been annoying me and likes to get under my skin. I think he's the one who ruined my apartment. No, I know it's him. Everything about him is messed up, but no one but me sees it. He even got my schedule changed so that he spends the entire day with me. It's so confusing because he also makes me food and he acts all nice but it's completely fake. I don't know how much more I can keep going like this. I want to punch him so bad but I know I shouldn't."

"That sounds tough." Tom frowned in thought. "Can you report him to your supervisor?"

Shizuo's face hadn't completely cooled down, and he really didn't want to get into the details of the more embarrassing things Izaya had done to rile him up. "He's already convinced everyone he's the greatest thing that's ever happened to the hospital. No one would believe me."

"Have you tried talking to him?"

"Yeah. I went to his place and tried to kill him. It didn't solve anything. I also tried to kill him at Baskin-Robbins, but there were kids watching so I couldn't go through with it. Sneaky bastard tricked me."

"No, I mean talking? Asking what he wants."

Shizuo scrowled. "I think I've asked him that, but he never gives a straight answer. He's probably just bored."

Tom munched on his donut. Shizuo took a hasty bite of his and the flavor wasn't as good, more like chocolatey plastic in his mouth. He swallowed it down with milk.

"He makes you food?"

Shizuo frowned. Had he said that? "He made me some meals and bought ice cream for me. But it doesn't make sense 'cause I'm sure he hates me."

"You're right, something doesn't add up. Are you really sure he hates you? From an outside perspective, it sounds more like the opposite actually."

It was a good thing he wasn't holding the cup because Shizuo would have shattered it completely. Instead, his donut was squished and the filling spilled between his fingers. "Sorry," he muttered. Tom handed him a few napkins and Shizuo wiped away the mess. It gave him a few seconds to think about what Tom said, but he really didn't want to go there. "Ah, I don't think so. Let's talk about something else. It pisses me off to think about him."

"Of course." Tom said without missing a beat. "You know there's this popular bakery that I've passed a couple of times, it's down by the theater. I've been meaning to text you the address, but I haven't gone myself so I wasn't sure if it was good or not."

Shizuo was calmer. He was surprised that Tom had been thinking about him, he was grateful but he also felt awful for always causing trouble. "No, I don't think I've gone there. Send me the address, please."

He didn't get angry again while finishing eating, and he tried to stop thinking of the pest. It almost worked until he was alone in the spare room and trying to sleep.

Shit, the only thing worse than that rotten pest hating him would be him liking him, and that was something unfathomable. It wasn't until after much violent tossing and turning that Shizuo eventually fell asleep.