To Bear the Brunt or the Beast / Chapter 7
Masaomi kicked a rock, watching it launch into the air, then settle back down. What was Mikado's problem? Masaomi had left Saki behind so that he could protect him - from what, he wasn't entirely certain, but it was Mikado. Masaomi would die for him, no matter the circumstances.
But Mikado had run away from him.
He pulled his hood up and over his blonde hair and marched away.
"What the hell is going on?"
Mikado's fingers were a blur to Shizuo. The kid really knew how to type, he guessed. He still had to use two fingers, one letter at a time, but Mikado punched out letters and numbers like his life depended on it, all ten fingers in near constant motion. The blue of the screen cast a eerie glow over his face, his blue eyes trained on each page as it loaded, mouse veering left and right. Shizuo hovered over his shoulder, not quite sure what to do. After Mikado had hugged him - he had liked that part, it was nice - he had immediately taken over Celty's laptop, and Shizuo had been pretty much left in the dark since.
"You know how you keep saying that my place is a dump?"
"Yeah? But what does -"
"And you know how I haven't been there very much lately, unless you're there?"
"Yeah but -"
"And you know that I'm the Dollars leader and in trouble if most people find out this fact?"
Shizuo was starting to get frustrated. "Yeah but -"
"But nothing. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have been so distracted, I should have kept an eye on Izaya." Shizuo was surprised by how steely Mikado's voice was. Was this the same boy who had minutes ago been entangled in his arms? Because, as he turned around, he suddenly reminded him of Izaya, cold and calculating, down to the edge in his voice and the way his expression morphed as he scrolled page by page, each minute passing by making his face darker and darker.
He didn't like it.
Admittedly, he was aware that he'd known Mikado for only a short while. Hell, he'd known the flea longer! But it was still disconcerting to see his perfect image of Mikado waver. He was being downright creepy, and Shizuo couldn't wrap it around his mind. Mikado was helpful, bashful, straight-forward in his own kind of way. Where was he, underneath all this?
"Just tell me what is going on!" he roared, finally snapping.
Mikado flinched back, looking Shizuo in the eye for the first time since he had logged on. Shizuo couldn't say why, but his expression was more...human. More normal. More Mikado. "No, it's okay," the teenager said, voice low. "I would be mad too, in your position."
Shizuo ran his fingers through his hair and chewed his lip. Had Mikado really been acting that way or was he just going crazy? The latter option seemed more plausible. Mikado was sweet and shy, smart too. Sure, he was socially awkward and a bit excitable but Shizuo found it kind of cute. Like an energetic dog or something.
Though he didn't think admitting that to Mikado would score him any points.
"Just…just tell me what's wrong, okay?" he finally said. He dropped his hands from his hair and let them grip the cushion of the swivel chair Mikado was sitting in. He gently turned Mikado around. "That's what couples do, right? They tell each other stuff, even the bad stuff." God, he sounded like a bad romance novel.
"Ah...you are right."
"I am?" Shizuo blinked.
Mikado actually laughed - not even bitterly, or anything! There was progress, at least. "You are."
"Oh. Good." He let go of the chair, taking a step back. "Now tell me what's going on," he grunted out.
Mikado's fingers writhed in his lap. "It's...complicated, but I'll try." He spun back to face the computer screen. With a few clicks, he had brought up the Dollars board. Shizuo had long since given up navigating anything more complex than a text message, but he peered intently at it. Was this going to give him some answers he could understand?
"Someone hacked me."
"The hell?" He furrowed his brow.
Mikado's fingers shook on the mouse. "That's what I was trying to explain earlier. I was so caught up...with you...and everything else, that I didn't pay full attention to what was going on with Dollars. A war started on my own website!"
Shizuo watched as Mikado navigated through the site. "Most of it has remained the same, which is why I didn't notice anything. I didn't log into my admin account, I just skimmed through the information, since I only use that account to post when I have to. But now, I can't log in. Someone changed the password - from my computer, more than likely." His fingers started to shake on the keyboard. "The time stamp says it was today, which is why why no one managed to get in contact with me. I don't have my cell phone and I haven't been on the computer. It's almost like they know my schedule!" Mikado slammed his hand on the table. "And whoever has done all this, has used the admin account to post this."
Shizuo narrowed his eyes as Mikado clicked on a link, bringing forth a thread. He squinted at the text - he didn't have to for long. Right at the top, the original poster, named Admin, had put in large, bold type -
"-Color War?"
He saw Mikado wrinkle his nose. "A play on Cold War, I'm sure. Read farther."
Shizuo focused back on the page. The longer he read, the angrier he got. He had to pull back before he smashed the computer to pieces. "That little shithead, whoever it is I'm going to -"
"No."
Shizuo paused. "What do you mean, no?"
Mikado stood up, planting his palms on the table in front of him. He didn't turn Shizuo's way. "Whoever this person is, I want to meet them."
Shizuo sneered, his hands turning into fists. "Fine," he said shortly, "we'll meet them. We'll do it your way."
"I didn't mean to-"
"I get it." He averted his eyes. He wanted desperately to punch something, but he couldn't disappoint Mikado like that. Not when the boy was already stressed out and frazzled. Not when he'd been so angry, so dark before. He never wanted to see that again. "I'm not angry with you, or nothing. Just pissed at this person."
He felt a hand uncurl his, and spread his fingers wide. He looked down. Mikado's fingers locked with his.
"We'll figure it out. Together."
Shizuo grunted. He reached out and kissed the top of Mikado's head, tucking his face into his chest.
Whoever had done this was going to pay.
"You don't have to go in alone. I can go with you."
Mikado turned; his hand remained fixed on the doorknob as he said, "I know." The copper was slippery under touch, so he tightened his grip. How many times had he walked through this very door? How many times had he been alone? He furrowed his brow, staring at a scratch in the door. He reached out, stroking it. It was a perfect slash. His hand went limp as it fell to his side, just imagining the knife gouging the wood, the face of the man who had done it, the glint of the metal as it dug through the wood and now him.
"You don't have to prove anything either."
"I know."
Shizuo grunted, changing position. The wood of the stairs creaked with his weight, protesting the giant's movements. Mikado could just imagine him glaring, pissed off at being shut out. "I'll wait out here then. Call me when you need me."
Mikado nodded, not bothering to correct him. He didn't need him - not right now, anyways. When Shizuo hit pavement, leaning against the pole at the bottom of the stairs, Mikado turned the knob and walked in.
He let out a sigh as he scanned the area. He had been half-thinking a knife would be at his throat at this point. He rubbed at his neck, walking past the shoe rack and the kitchen, which looked just as bare and dreary as it had before. He'd need to get some food soon, if he wanted any lunch, he thought. He'd barely eaten anything the day before and his stomach started to rumble as he stepped into the living room.
"What the...?"
He bolted to the table, running his hands frantically over the surface. He grabbed for his futon, unraveling it at record speed. He was starting to sweat, and his eyes bulged out. He turned to each corner, but like the kitchen, it was bare.
He ran back, flinging every cabinet door open, checking under the sink, even opening the refrigerator door. His stomach had stopped rumbling, and instead felt like it was curling in on itself. He bit his lip as he checked behind his front door, the only place left.
He scowled at the note tucked all the way back, near the hinge. He peeled the tape off, and brought it up to his face. His mouth formed the words as he read, his frown growing with every word painstakingly spelled out. When he reached the end, he looked at the back of the door, reaching out to it again.
"Shizuo!"
Anri frowned at her phone before tucking it back into her jacket. She cast her eyes down to the ground. Her classmates had long since headed in, leaving her to stand in front of the school, a solitary figure. She was distantly aware of gazes turned towards her, watching her through the safety of the glass. She longed to pick her head up, eyes blazing, but withheld the urge, if only barely. Saika wasn't going to win, not now especially.
She took her phone out once more. She clicked through all of her messages, then back to the clock. The numbers slid higher and higher still, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She fired off a quick text, her fingers punching the keys like never before.
"Where are you?"
She rolled her hands into a fist, her cell phone creaking. She headed towards class.
She didn't even notice until she reached her seat that her cell had been vibrating.
"It'll be okay, Celty, I promise."
Shinra watched her shadows punch out her message, glad that he had thought of a PDA to communicate. Prior to that had been a pain he didn't care to remember. [You don't know that! This is a war!]
"I'll protect you. You'll be fine." He moved to hug her, but she started typing harder, thrusting her PDA in his face. He blinked.
[That's not what I'm worried about. Are we always going to have to deal with this? Will we always be subject to Izaya's wims? How much are we going to take before someone snaps and kills him? Shizuo already hates him, but now that he has Mikado and he's in the line of fire, he may just take it a step further!]
"Woah, woah, Celty, you have to calm down!" He gestured wildly, but she just stood up, pacing between the couch and the table. Her shadows were flying this way and that, and if she had her head, he could just imagine the turmoil on her face. She paused in front of him, then showed him her PDA as it wobbled back and forth.
[He's your friend. Talk to him!]
"What? Celty, you know Izaya won't listen to me. He does what he wants, he always has."
[We have to do something! Did you see the way Mikado was trembling when he left? Shizuo even said that he wouldn't let him go in the apartment with him. He only got to go in when Mikado screamed for him. Whatever Izaya wants, it has to do with those two. They're our friends, Shinra. We can't let them fend for themselves.]
Shinra sighed. He leaned forward, cupping his hands together between his legs. He closed his eyes. "If it will make you feel better, I can try. I like Mikado-kun and Shizuo too. And I certainly don't like seeing you so anxious."
He opened his eyes to watch Celty's shadows slowly recede back. He smiled, standing up. He placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place as he brought his face up to her neck. "I will protect you, Celty," he repeated, his hands coming to rest at her waist. For once, she didn't hit him, or pull back. "I will protect you."
I will protect you at all costs.