The Happiest of Man

Chapter 5

Contrary to what Shizuo had said, he treasured his life more than anything. The only reason why he had bravely entered Ikebukuro was because he knew he was going to get away from a brute like him and the harmful environment that was filled with gangsters and the like – it was the truth if he were to claim that they didn’t know who they were up against. He may not be as strong as Shizuo, but he had a few tricks up his sleeves. 

“Iiiizaaayaaaaa! I’m not letting you get away!” At that moment, Shizuo threw the sign post at Izaya’s direction and although there was a jerk in the informant’s movements, he noticed that there was something odd about it. Instead of dodging quickly, Izaya fell to the ground as he remained there until the weapon flew past his head. 

Was this a new dodging technique of his? But, anyone was capable of doing that much if they were confident the thrown object wasn’t flying too low. 

“Damn flea, the hell are you getting at?!”

Running towards him, Izaya finally got up, appearing to run towards Shizuo as well. The moment he had ran past him, Shizuo felt something slash against his flesh as he felt a warm liquid running down his cheek. Not only that, it seems that Izaya had lost his grip on his flickblade as it flew into the dark alleyway and there was a look of great discomfort upon his expression thanks to that.

“Damn . . .” 

Shizuo turned his head quickly after hearing that slip from Izaya’s mouth, but before he could do anything (like punch him in the face), the informant ran into the dark alleyway. The blond simply followed after, but by the end, he couldn’t find him anywhere.

“Fucking bastard got away again . . .”

He never was the type to probe deeper into the meaning of things, especially when it came to actions and the words of others. If they were not straight-forward enough, he won’t care to try and decipher them. It was not all that difficult to be honest, so he couldn’t sympathize with those who resorted to such methods. 

So, when he had seen Izaya fall like that to the ground and his flickblade flying right out of his hand, he began to question what he had witnessed. Until it was proven that the informant was putting up an act, he couldn’t help but to feel a bit bothered by what had occurred. If he recalled correctly, the majority of their fights never consisted of that much clumsiness. Not even from him. 

“Ah, doesn’t matter. Could have killed him right there if he’s like that. I’ll get him next time.”

Dismissing the matter altogether, he walked away, feeling the rain soak him even more.

- -

Izaya felt his heart beat against his chest as he pocketed his flickblade, looking over his shoulder that one last time to make sure that he wasn’t being followed. Despite that, he kept running. A part of him knew that he couldn’t take risks, especially under his condition – whatever that may be. 

The hood over his head that sheltered him from the rain flew right off as he felt the ends of his pants dampen with every step he took. It was rare for Izaya to be out of breath, but there was a sense of fear that risen from within. If he didn’t fall to the ground at that moment, what may have happened to him? That sign post was thrown at quite a speed and he knew that he may have passed out if it were to hit him. Or would he have internal injuries? He knew that if he allowed Shizuo to hurt him, it would cause a dramatic setback to his plans. Izaya had a strange fixation for his enemy and he knew that he would have probably spent the majority of his time trying to plan out his revenge against the blond. Their relationship was awfully petty – even he couldn’t deny it, but he wasn’t about to openly admit it to anyone.