Fear of Falling (Izaya Orihara)

Chapter 2: Reunion

Following the map on my phone, I made my way to the house of Shizuo Heiwajima (or is it an apartment?). He had been my friend for a long time. My parents weren't too happy about my choice of schools. They had wanted me to pick something more fancy, but I wanted the experience of a normal high schooler. So my parents dropped me off in a small house all by myself, spare the few maids and butlers they left with me. That was how I met Shizuo and Kasuka.

I stopped when the words "you are now at your destination" flashed across my screen. I turned my phone off and slid it into my pocket. Was this the right place? I felt a little bad not knowing for sure. Perhaps I should have tried to visit him more often I knocked on the door hesitantly. It opened to show, not my brother, but another man.

I blinked in surprise and looked at the stranger in front of me. Did I go to the wrong house? I followed the directions properly. Wait, did I? I should double check. But this guy's already at the door. What do I do?!

"What do you want?" The man asked. He didn't sound too thrilled to have me at his doorstep.

"Um. S-sorry. Shizuo lives here, right?" I mentally slapped myself for stuttering.

He nodded, seeming a little intrigued now. So I did get the right house. But why was this man answering the door? I decided I'd ask Shizuo later.

"I need to speak to him."

"This late?" The guy muttered quietly. "He's . . . busy"

Pfft. Busy? I'm sure he's not. "It's important"

"Just go home, girl. Come back tomorrow." He closed the door. Out of pure reflex, my foot flew out and wedged itself between the door and it's frame. The guy looked at me in a mix of surprise and confusion.

"I . . . I'm not leaving until I see Shizuo Heiwajima." I said. This time I was confident and powerful. The man must have seen my resolve in my eyes, for he nodded and called for Shizuo.

"Shizuo come here for a minute."

No response.

"Sorry, wait here." He said, going in the apartment. I frowned unsure as the door closed. Doubt began to fill my mind. Was he really going to get Shizuo?

"Shizuo, you've got someone who want to see you. A girl." Tanaka said.

"Yeah?" Shizuo asked in a bored tone. He had heard the knock at the door. Obviously someone was there. Whoever it was, he didn't care. It was late and he was tired.

"Tell her to leave." He said.

"I did, but she says it's important she gets to speak to you. She won't leave until you talk to her." Tanaka said. No response. "Geez" Tanaka sighed, seeing that the blond wasn't going to go outside. "Hold on a minute please." He called back.

"What does she want?"

"She wouldn't tell me, but it seems important." There was no response from Shizuo. He had lost interest as soon as he had showed it. "I guess I'll just say you're sleeping or something." Tanaka sighed in defeat.

Shizuo was satisfied with that. He listened to Tanaka's footsteps fade. He was satisfied until Tanaka called out "she said her name is Hikaru". At those words, Shizuo sprang from the couch like a startled animal. Multiple thoughts flew to his mind. Hikaru was here? How? Why? Did she need help?

Shizuo found himself face to face with Hikaru before he knew it. His feet had carried him to the door before he even thought about walking to it.

"Finally leaving the house, huh?" Hikaru chuckled. She wasn't injured from what Shizuo could see, but she had cut her hair. It was surprising, considering he had never seen her with the ends of her hair such a large distance above her waist.

Tanaka muttered an "I'll leave you alone", but it went unnoticed.

"You took your time." Hikaru sighed. Her voice was calm, but underneath it Shizuo could hear she was relieved to see him. "I knew you weren't sleeping. Surprised you're not injured though." She said. He smiled a little. He didn't get injured much anymore. At least, not as much as when he was younger.

Without uttering a word, Shizuo hugged Hikaru―gently, as though the girl might break in his arms. "Hikaru . . . It's good to see you."

Hikaru wrapped her arms around him in return―tightly, as though the man might disappear―before pulling back from the hug and letting Shizuo see her face. She was smiling when she said "you too".

"What are you doing here? I thought you were . . ." Shizuo trailed off, realizing he hadn't the faintest idea where she had been. What a great friend he was.

Hikaru chuckled, no doubt she knew what he was thinking. "I was with my parents in America. Stuff happened and . . . well, long story short, I'm here now."

Shizuo shook his head slightly. That certainly was a long story short. It was just like Hikaru to cut to the chase, She had always been blunt, never sugarcoating anything. That nature of hers had gotten her into trouble with quite a few people. Shizuo had always been there to protect her though.

"I just wanted to tell you I was here so you weren't shocked later on. I'd love to say and chat with you, but it's almost night time and I'll be a girl wandering alone on the city streets." Hikaru said.

"You can stay with me for tonight then." The words flew from Shizuo's mouth before he knew it. "I mean, it'll be a walk to the nearest hotel and it is getting dark―"

"Thank you, Shizuo." Hikaru cut off the blond, thankfully, saving him from rambling on like an idiot. Normally she wouldn't accept so quickly, but perhaps she had been planning that from the beginning.

Shizuo awkwardly stood still with shock before realizing he should probably let her into the house. When they entered, Hikaru slipped off her shoes, but left her socks on. There were only two sets of slippers. Shizuo was wearing one pair and Tanaka had on the other. Shizuo didn't get visitors often.

"Is that all the luggage you have?" Shizuo asked, referring to the backpack on her back. Shizuo could only assume it was filled with clothes and essentials.

"Of course not." Hikaru chuckled. "I had the rest of my luggage shipped to the post office. Actually, my butler said he'd get it done once I found a place to stay. He thought I was going to run out of clothes before I found a place to stay. Anyways, this is just my carry-on. I packed a bunch of stuff."

Shizuo just nodded and led Hikaru into the living room. Tanaka had taken the chair near the couch. When he noticed the girl trailing behind Shizuo, he quickly took his feet off the coffee table and looked at the girl in surprise.

"Hikaru, this is Tanaka. I work as his bodyguard. Tanaka, this is Hikaru. She's a good friend of mine and she going to be staying with me from now on." Shizuo said it all nonchalantly, as if he was simply saying 'hello' to the man.

"Only for tonight, actually." Hikaru said, glancing at Shizuo as if to confirm that statement.

The said blond caught her gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Really? Where are you going to stay?"

"Well," Hikaru paused for a fraction of a second. "I was going to go find an apartment . . . somewhere." Hikaru said, running the pad her thumb over the tops of her polished nails.

It was a nervous habit she had. The smooth feeling was always calming to her. People used to ask why she wore nail polish only on one hand, but it had gotten so annoying she started to wear clear nail polish to thwart them. She knew it was a habit of hers, but she never knew she was doing it until someone pointed it out.

"Pfft. Good luck with that. Stay here until now." Shizuo said. It was hard to find cheap, decent apartments that were in the right neighborhoods.

With such a blunt statement, Hikaru found it useless to argue. It was rare, but when Shizuo made his mind up about something, it wouldn't change.

Hikaru smiled. "Thank you, Shizuo!" All of a sudden, she was hugging Shizuo tightly for the second time within less than 10 minutes. It was clearly a load off the girl's shoulders, so Shizuo let Hikaru hang onto him for a few more seconds. He could get used to having his best friend around again. It would be a real change, but maybe the company would help him.