The Happiest of Man

Chapter 35

It was fortunate that he didn’t run into his siblings, Namie, or even his enemies while he was in Ikebukuro. He could already imagine the chaos that will ensue between them. From what he had previously observed from the chat logs when his sisters were present and he absent, he knew how they really felt about him and he honestly did not blame them for it. Izaya never was the ideal older brother and he wasn’t necessarily ashamed of it. Perhaps it would have given him some closure to know that someone out there didn’t loathe him that strongly. It was just too bad, however. Someone like that probably doesn’t even exist.

Recalling the conversation he had with Masaomi, he was quite sure the two were under the impression that they no longer worked under him, especially since he up and left without informing them. However, it would be interesting to see whether they would do whatever he asked of them if he spilled a couple of bills right into their hands.

He listened to his stomach growl on his way home as he realized at the last moment that his nose was starting to run. Sniffles were heard from his end as he didn’t bother to wipe his nose since he didn’t even have a handkerchief. If he was still healthy, he would have rushed home and took a warm shower, but he was disabled, ill. Izaya wanted to feel this cold because he was sure he won’t feel it ever again. 

“You moved?”

Izaya stiffened in his seat as he wondered why he was suddenly incapable of sensing another person’s presence. Perhaps his runny nose was too much of a distraction.

“What makes you assume so?”

“This isn’t the direction to your place.”

“Who would have thought Shizu-chan was quite a stalker.”

“I’m not stalking you.”

“Yet you followed me all the way here to Shinjuku. How laudable.”

He watched something fall onto his lap: a brown plastic bag sheltering something inside. Looking into the bag, he noticed that it was a small case of sushi. 

“You were headed to Russia Sushi, right?”

“It would be embarrassing for you if that wasn’t my destination, I bet.”

Setting the bag to the side, he headed to the inside of the building as he felt warmer there. As expected, Shizuo followed after.

“That would be a stupid reason to get embarrassed about.”

Izaya had to agree. Getting embarrassed over trivial matters is like having little to no confidence. He knew nothing about Shizuo, so he wasn’t sure whether the man had confidence within himself or not. Well, it didn’t matter to him. It never did. That’s why it was easy to skip to the subject he brought up playfully just a moment ago.

“You know what’s funny? You say you’re not a stalker, but you almost fit the bill.”

“Ah? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re the one who always find me in the bustling streets of Ikebukuro, no? And, you have this amusing habit of following me everywhere. You even know where I live! Not many do, to be quite frank.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. Who would stalk you.”

Pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, Izaya pointed to a sign that indicated that smoking was not allowed. Shizuo was close to crushing the box in his hand, but instead of wasting his money on something trivial, he calmly placed it back into his pocket as he looked out at the see-through glass door.

“Then what would you call it, if not stalking?”

“Trying to kill you.”

“Sadly, I’m not dead. You never were good at catching me, so that seems invalid at this point.”

Izaya placed the plastic bag on his lap once more as he opened the box. His mouth began to water; he didn’t realize how hungry he was until now. Perhaps his appetite returned right after realizing that getting upset wasn’t going to change anything. 

“Hm, it would be polite to thank you for the meal.”

“Only if you mean it.”

“Ah, well, if that’s the case.”