☣ application: somarium
[Player name] Laenavesse
[Age] 23
[Personal Journal] laenavesse
[Other characters currently played]
too many
Tamaki // Ouran Host Club // baka_tonou
Ace // Heart no Kuni no Alice // knightofchanges
Cid Highwind // Final Fantasy VII // smokesinspace
Oerba Yun Fang // Final Fantasy XIII // rendtheskies
Raven // Tales of Vesperia // rainofheaven
[Character name] Shizuo Heiwajima
[Age] 24
[Canon] Durarara!!
[Point in time taken from canon] Post volume 5 SPOILERS: HIGHLIGHT TO READ: While he's chilling up on the skyscraper after being chased by the Awakusu-kai and stumbling upon the murder scene at the Awakusu office. Let's say he took a short nap.
[Background]
[ Note: Most of his BG is novel based, but the anime covers volumes 1-3. There are very few discrepancies between the two mediums, though the anime changed the timeline slightly to better fit its medium. Regardless, I'll be sticking to mostly the novel events and information since he is coming out from the novels rather than the anime. Since volumes 2 and 3 haven't been translated yet (because of the anime covering it), I'll be drawing some details there. I'll make distinctions and notes where the novels and the anime differ, but it really won't affect it all that much.
ALSO: Durarara!! basically runs off the concept of synchronicity. All of the events that occur will at some point or another affect the others in the main cast, Shizuo included. So while I focus on the events involving Shizuo, I also make brief allusions/summaries to any of those plots. ]
Despite what people may initially assume, Shizuo grew up in a warm, well-loving and caring family living in Ikebukuro, Japan. He had a mother, a father, and a younger brother, Kasuka, whom he cares for and who also cares for him. They were your typical nice family. However, it was also because of his brother that Shizuo became the highly short-tempered, anger-filled, dangerous, and extremely powerful man he is today.
Everything started when he was nine years old. He had had a minor quarrel with his brother, but in a fit of rage, he tried to lift up a full-sized refrigerator to throw at him. Of course, this didn't happen. Instead, he suffered multiple dislocations and extensive muscle damage. One would think a child would learn his lesson and never attempt to perform such actions gain, but the problem was Shizuo couldn't control his temper. Once the fuse was ignited, it was hard for him to restrain himself. Another incident of such escalated violence occurred during school when he threw a desk full of books at another student. This was the result of another student picking a fight with him and had thrown compasses at him. Fortunately the boy survived with just a scraped wrist. The desk had flown past him and had embedded itself into the wall behind him.
He was still nine.
So how was he able to do this? It all stems back to the muscle damage he suffered from the attempted refrigerator throw. There is a natural mental limiter that the body places on the human muscle so that they aren't overused and risk damage. Usually during times of extreme crisis, however, these limiters are released. This allows for the body to perform miraculous and superhuman feats. Because of the muscle damage, however, the limiters no longer exist for Shizuo. He doesn't need to be in an extreme situation to use the full potential of his muscles.
The downside, however, is that without these limitations, he has no control over his strength when he fully taps into it. This causes his muscles to deteriorate further and strain his own heart. This is made worse by his temper. He couldn't control his own anger, and in turn the power became his anger that would continue to grow. He soon developed a mindset that he had to destroy anything that pissed him off, that it was just natural. So he started to go down this spiral where he no longer placed any self-restraints and allowed the self-destruction. As time would go on, however, he would try and restrain himself somewhat. Particularly after a certain incident involving him losing control while trying to help a woman who had given both him and Kasuka some milk. Not only did he accidentally get her hurt in the fray, he also caused her trouble. Since then, he drank milk (which would help his bones) and it served as a reminder for him, a tactic Kasuka used when they were still living together at home.
He attended the same middle school and high school (Raijin Academy) as Orihaya Izaya, Kishitani Shinra, and Kadota Kyouhei. Shinra would follow Shizuo around like a puppy, thinking his extraordinary superhuman strength was amazing and wanting to learn more. He was also the reason how Shizuo first met Celty, the Headless Rider.
It was during this time he first met Tom and acquired his "delinquent" look. In short, Tom had stumbled upon Shizuo when he was still in the middle school. Gangs were still picking fights with him, and Tom came in just in time to catch the tail end of a particular fight. After convincing Shizuo to help bring the fallen to the hospital, Tom treated Shizuo to a meal. It was there that he suggested Shizuo should portray himself like a delinquent so as to lower the number of people who would come after him. This included the hair dying, but Shizuo refused, saying he could change the hair color his parents gave him. From then, Tom continued to give Shizuo some advice to help him not get picked on by gangs so much.
A month or so later, Shizuo was napping on top of the school building when he overheard a conversation between Tom and some of the upperclassmen. They were essentially trying to get Tom make Shizuo like their own dog, but true to his nature, Tom refused. After he left, the students started to make threats to take Tom hostage to make Shizuo join their side. Unfortunately, they didn't know Shizuo was listening in until they heard a strange hissing sound behind him. Shizuo had detached one of the water tanks and after yelling at them, kicked it down at them.
A few months after that, that same group targeted Tom. Shizuo arrived on the scene just as Tom finished beating them up, though he was rather injured himself. When Shizuo asked him why he didn't just use him like the others wanted, Tom just said that Shizuo had said himself he didn't like violence and that it would be better if he didn't fight. After that, Shizuo started to dye his hair and after the rumors spread, he had a peaceful period in his life as not as many people came to pick fights with him.
But of all the people he had met during his school years, it was Izaya who would have the most impact on his life. He was the one who ruin his peaceful life. While Shizuo would not start any fights or conflicts, he usually found himself caught up in them. This was usually Izaya's fault. Upon first seeing Izaya's face, Shizuo immediately disliked him, and the two would have constant fights and chases. Mostly chases as Izaya tended to just run away laughing. At some point in high school, Izaya had started to gather "worshipers" for his own purposes. These were usually girls, and soon there was a conflict between the various Izaya fans from other Ikebukuro high schools. Despite not wanting to have anything to do with the conflicts, Shizuo got dragged into the very center of it and rose to local fame because of it. Gangs and bullies would continually try to fight him, only to be defeated with explosive results. He would later become known as a contender, if not the person, to be the strongest fighter in Ikebukuro.
These years were known as the "Izaya and Shizuo" years, and Raijin Academy's reputation deteriorated until it would later merge with another school to become Raira Academy years later.
Of course, this would not be the end of Izaya and Shizuo. When Izaya became wanted by the Ikebukuro police, he framed Shizuo for co-commiting the crime. When the police attempted to arrest Shizuo, he threw a vending machine at the police car. He was later cleared of all charges after investigations.
He was under eighteen.
After that, he chased after Izaya with only one intent in mind: to kill him. He learned parkour just so he could catch Izaya, as the young man had also learned parkour to escape Shizuo. Whenever Shizuo even caught a glimpse of Izaya's face, he would grab the nearest large object and hurl it at him before running after him.
At one point, Shizuo was also scouted to be a model. He had the looks for it, however he had no inclination of becoming one. In fact, he almost killed the talent scout, but his brother, Kasuka, saved the poor, unfortunate fellow. This actually landed Kasuka a spot in the modeling business, and he would later become an actor.
Shizuo was also the reason why one of the colored gangs, the Blue Squares, disintegrated. They picked a fight with him and effectively lost. He would later join the Dollars group, a growing "colorless" gang that was rising through Ikebukuro, through an invitation by Simon.
He did attempt to a hold a job, but they normally didn't last long mostly due to his temper. Before his current job, he was a bartender. Even though Kasuka gave him twenty bartender suits in hopes he would actually keep it, Shizuo was framed by Izaya yet again, and it cost him his job. Currently he works under Tanaka Tom as a debt collector for dating sites. More specifically, as a bodyguard. Unlike his previous bosses, Tom actually knows how to handle Shizuo and Tom also had been an upperclassman, so the two at least knew each other. Tom also didn't "mind" Shizuo beating up the clients, just so long he didn't kill them. It was costly, though, and the business somehow put up with Shizuo's destructive tendencies. (Probably because despite destroying everything, he would also be able to get the money out of them)
VOLUMES 1-3 / ANIME [time zero]
Shizuo's first major appearance in the current canon timeline was a run-in with Izaya. Izaya was talking to Ryuugamine Mikado, Kida Masaomi, and Sonohara Anri. When he saw Izaya, he threw a trashcan at him, nailing him in the head. At this point in time, a gang who claimed themselves to part of the Dollars had gathered around because they wanted to get back at Izaya for a prior incident. One of them had the misfortune to attack Shizuo even though he knew who Shizuo was. Shizuo beat them up, and as Izaya tried to escape, attempted to hurl a vending machine at him. But then Simon dropped in to intervene and stop them (when I say "dropped in", I mean that literally. Simon just appeared out of nowhere from a nearby building several stories up). Though Izaya was able to get away, Shizuo beat up Simon before finally leaving.
Other than his brother, there are only a few people who are "close" to him, and the Headless Rider, Celty Sturluson, is probably the one he's closest to. She is also one of the few he considers important. Even if she didn't have a head, she could still communicate through written means, or her PDA in the modern times. But even so, she would always listen to whatever he had to say and would not make unnecessary comments or take what he said as more than what they were supposed to mean. He knew everyone was afraid of him, but Celty wasn't. So he enjoyed talking with her whenever the chance arose. He knew who she was (but not that she's a Dullahan; all he knows is that she's the Headless Rider), but he didn't particularly care.
Because of this close affinity to her, he was always more than willing to help her. When she came to him asking if he knew a street artist who supposedly had drawn pictures of a Dullahan, he not only told her where the artist was, but also offered to come along and help, saying it would be easier than her just trying to communicate with the PDA all the time.
Another time he helps her out is when they see a girl with what Celty identified as her head. Of course, Shizuo had no idea the truth about Celty's reaction to chase her, but he follows and helps out anyway. When Seiji appears and stabs him with pens, he holds the guy back, telling Celty to leave everything to him and chase the girl. Though he has no idea what's going on, he knows Celty is interested in that person, and that's all that mattered. He let Seiji off pretty lightly, knocking him out with a headbutt.
Shizuo also showed up at the giant Dollar's "meeting", confirming that he was indeed part of the Dollars, and witnessed Celty's crazy ride down a building. Again, he doesn't know that she's a Dullahan.
By this time, the "Slashers" and events with Saika were becoming more prominent in Ikebukuro, and he became a central figure in the plot. He would feel as if someone was watching him, but whenever he turned around to look in the direction, whatever it was disappears. When Celty told him that she had been attacked by one before, he immediately decided to kill the Slasher and even hopped on Celty's bike, telling her to go so he can do exactly as he said. Fortunately, Celty talked him out of it since he was still on working time, so he resigned to her wishes. That didn't mean he wasn't still mad about the whole affair.
Some time later, Shizuo was with Celty, again wanting to kill the Slasher, when the two saw some members of the Yellow Scarves staring at them. Already in a "not good" mood, Shizuo walked over and promptly beat them up for staring at them. Afterward, while riding around through the streets, Celty heard a commotion and promptly turned to where Anri and the van gang (Kadota and the others) were. Niekawa Shuuji, a reporter who had tried to (and got thrown for) interviewing Shizuo had been possessed by the demon blade Saika and was trying to stab her. Though the van gang had hit him with the van, he still managed to get up and made for a round two. Celty landed a hit with her motorcycle, but it wasn't until Shizuo ripped off Togusa's van door and slammed it into Shuuji that it was over.
After that, Shizuo went to Izaya's apartment to call him out to "play". And by play, he meant "Let me smash your face into the wall and kill you, you flea" play. As the two were about to fight, handguard rail poised and ready, Celty arrived to show Shizuo the chatroom where someone under the username "Saika" kept asking for Shizuo. She then took him to South Ikebukuro Park, where the two found themselves surrounded by over a hundred "children" of Saika. They were people who were being controlled by the demon blade Saika and all were proclaiming their "love" for Shizuo, the one who was determined to the strongest man alive. And to show their love, they wanted to stab him.
So after that lovely confession, Shizuo proceeded to beat the crap out of everyone. Miraculously, no one died, and he actually managed to stop himself in time from continued the pummeling once the Saika's "hold" over the people was released. He could never control his strength, so being able to stop in time was important to himself.
Now for a prime example of synchronicity. All is fine for a day or so, but at some point during the later afternoon-early evening, Anri was being chased by the Yellow Scarves, and the Dollars were just flying all over the place helping her. She eventually wound up in a park, and was confronted by a group led by Horada, a person of brief "significance". Upon noticing her well-endowed chest, Horada got a nosebleed. At that very moment, Shizuo was passing by, yelling at his cellphone because of all the notifications from the Dollars members. So when he turned and saw Horada staring at him with that face, it was no surprise that Horada was sent flying and the rest scattered. Shizuo was the endnote for the slew of convoluted events of the day, a pattern that tends to recur throughout the series. Celty, as well as the van gang, showed up just in time for the show, and once the deed was done, Shizuo left, saying he was turning off his cellphone for the rest of the night.
However, later that night, Horada confronted him and actually shot him in the leg and abdomen. There is some slight difference in the details of the events in the anime. There, Shizuo is by himself, but in the novel, Tom is with him. Either way, Horada left while saying that someone named "Kida Masaomi" was the one who ordered Shizuo to be shot. Apparently Shizuo didn't even realize he had been shot. He thought he had tripped and fallen, so by the time he came to again, they were gone. Again, some discrepancies between anime and novel: in the novel, Tom tells Shizuo to go to a doctor, but in the anime, since Tom isn't there, Shizuo goes on his own.
So Shizuo went to Shinra's to be treated. As always, unlike normal people who would be unconscious during the whole procedure, Shizuo stayed conscious and grumbled about the whole situation. At some point Anri had arrived, though he didn't remember who she was. But when she heard him talking about killing Kida Masaomi, she took off right after Shizuo left.
And then Shizuo once again pulled off the finale stunt for a rather large, crazy event. There was a lot of crap going on between the Dollars and the Yellow Turbans, with Horada being the one to help instigate the whole thing. But anyway, after the fight and them losing, Horada and his crew fled the scene. To their horror, waiting on the highway with an uprooted highway street exit sign was the one and only Heiwajima Shizuo. He promptly sliced the roof of the car off as they flew past, and they were taken in by the traffic cop, Kinnosuke.
One would assume things would settle down, and for a year it was relatively quiet. But of course, this would not last.
VOLUME 4. [approximately a year later, or at least several months]
After the novel introduction about the "Killing Machine" (Russian assassin) and "Hollywood", a "rising" serial killer, the scene opens up with the two fighters facing each other off. In this very scene, Tom and Shizuo were actually eating on a nearby bench when the "Killing Machine" and "Hollywood" started to fight nearby. The duo didn't really pay much attention to them.
Until the assassin took Tom's attaché case.
Shizuo promptly ripped up the very park bench the duo had been sitting on and slammed it into BOTH "Hollywood" and the "Killing Machine". "Hollywood" was sent flying out of the park (literally) and the "Killing Machine" was slammed to the ground. Fortunately, Tom stopped him from delivering the final blow to the "Killing Machine", and after a short exchange, Shizuo calmly jogged out to see if the nearby supermarket had any attaché cases.
So two lessons the two killers learned that night: robbing is no-no and don't mess with the strange man in a bartender suit.
Shizuo had purchased a new attaché case for Tom, and the two were continuing on their way when one of Izaya’s twin sisters, Mairu, literally jumped on his back in greeting. Much to Tom’s surprise, Shizuo just gently pulled her off his back, holding her up by the nape of her collar. They were asking for directions to the Russian sushi bar for, ironically, the very man Shizuo had just beaten up: the "Killing Machine". Prior to meeting Shizuo, the twins happened upon the man. However, since the twins never said why they were going there, Shizuo had no idea and carefully gave them the directions. During this time, the topic of his brother came up, and the scene ended with Shizuo thinking that a call from him once in a while wouldn’t be bad.
Incidentally, Shizuo is the reason why Kasuka meets "Hollywood." Remember when he slammed that park bench and sent the killer flying? She landed on the very road Kasuka was driving on (ironically, in some attempt to see if he could find his brother). Just yet another prime example of synchronicity.
This may not seem important to note, but it actually will make sense in the Volume 5 section. There are a lot of various circumstances that can't all be explained here, but that following night, the majority of the Durarara!! cast were entangled in the most ridiculous motorcycle/car chase that involved a few different gangs and the traffic police. Tom and Shizuo were not part of the actual chase, but some members of the involved gangs later came up to the duo and actually tried to hit Tom. Though Tom managed to dodge the attack, the pipe tore the sleeve of Shizuo's bartender suit. So in a fit of anger because those clothes are the most precious gifts his brother ever gave him, Shizuo literally sent them flying in return.
VOLUME 5 [one month later]
At a hamburger stand, Tom witnessed the commotion brought up by a new character: Rokujou Chikage. He told Shizuo he should be careful because Chikage was the leader of the Toramaru motorbike gang and is probably out to avenge his guys. But to Tom's surprise, Shizuo had actually already met the young man the previous night.
Chikage had come up to Shizuo, basically challenging him to a fight to see how strong he was. Shizuo didn't fly off the handle because Chikage had been direct and straightforward about it. While Shizuo was talking and was about tell him something, Chikage had already taken the opportunity and delivered a near impossible hard kick to Shizuo's face, followed by a punch. However, much to his surprise, all it did was move Shizuo's face a fraction of an inch. He probably didn't even feel much of it, if at all.
What Shizuo was trying to tell Chikage was all he wanted was to spend the rest of his days in peace. So without further ado, and bidding the man "Good night" (in a way), Shizuo just punched Chikage square in the face. He told Tom it took four punches before Chikage was actually knocked out. Here Shizuo briefly referenced someone else who was just as strong, and in all likelihood it was Nile from Baccano!. Afterward, he took Chikage to Shinra.
While the two were talking about Shizuo's love life -- or rather, the lack of one and Tom trying to encourage him to try and find a girlfriend -- Tom noticed a little girl staring at them through the window. More specifically, at Shizuo. Even more specifically, her whole face was pressed up against it.
Wondering who she was and what she wanted, Shizuo walked outside. Immediately the girl started to run toward him, which only made the man even more confused. He was starting to get a bad feeling about the girl, and was proven right when she suddenly yelled "Die!" and jabbed a stun gun right into Shizuo's abdomen. While this would send any normal person to the ground, or possibly killed as apparently it was modified to increase the strength, all it did was just send the electric shocks through Shizuo's body and make him feel pain. He did feel it, and it hurt, but other than that he was fine enough to push her away.
While the girl was crouching on the ground, Shizuo had picked up the stun gun, wondering what it was at first. Unfortunately, this made one hell of a misunderstanding scene, so under Tom's orders, they bolted. But at some point along the way, the girl had managed to latch onto Shizuo's back.
After some quick deliberation, Shizuo took both the girl and Tom to Shinra's to hide, much to the doctor's displeasure. She ended up having a fever, and the trio talked while she slept. Or rather, Shinra prattled along trying to figure out who the girl was and why she wanted Shizuo dead.
The next morning, after Celty had brought Anri to the apartment due to unrelated events that would later become related, the girl woke up. When Shizuo entered the room, she immediately went to the corner and asked if she was going to be killed, too. After a comment from Shinra, Shizuo asked him if he would like to be the first kill on his record, suggesting that while Shizuo had been in countless fights and had sent most if not all of his opponents to the hospital, he had never killed anyone.
Shinra managed to coax (though somewhat sickeningly in Shizuo's opinion) some information about the girl. Though she didn't tell them her last name, they learned her first name was Akane. In truth, she was Akane Awakusu, granddaughter of the leader a large mob organization called the Awakusu-kai. But no one knew of this yet. When asked why she wanted to attack Shizuo, Akane answered it was because someone told her that Shizuo was an assassin who was going to kill her father and grandfather.
Already the room became tense as Shizuo was going through his silent "getting mad" process. Both he and Shinra had an idea of who that "someone" was, and it was confirmed after Akane responded to the question: "Izaya onii-chan."
Orihara Izaya.
When Shinra turned around to see Shizuo's reaction, he was stunned in disbelief. For lo, Shizuo's expression wasn't one of a demon about to destroy a city, but one with a very soft, smile. Shizuo told Akane that "Izaya-kun" was mistaken and that they were "friends". They just had a little fight and told her to wait there while he made up with him.
So after a wink and whistling, he left the apartment with Shizuo, leaving Shinra speechless. Tom commented on Shizuo's acting skills, to which Shizuo replied that he was going to be gone for a few days to kill Izaya.
However, after reaching Izaya's apartment, he was only greeted by a "WE'VE MOVED" sign. This of course sent Shizuo over the edge and back again, but he managed to not kick down the door and instead left. Unfortunately, this had been a ruse set up by Namie. It was Izaya's apartment, and they were still there. But Shizuo was unaware of the simple trick, so Izaya was able to live for yet another day.
So he went to the address listed on the sign. However, instead of finding Izaya, he found three corpses sprawled about the office. He was still wondering what was going on when a young man confronted him for trying to break in. But when he saw the sight, he automatically assumed Shizuo was the culprit. In the ten seconds that it took for the guy to make a phone call, Shizuo had exited the building stage window. Yes, he used the window as a means of departure. He had no idea that the building and office he had stumbled into what was the office of the Awakusu-kai. That's right, the very same organization that Akane's grandfather led.
VOLUME 6 [same day]
So the whole gang tried to get back at him, still believing Shizuo had killed the three men. Shizuo didn't really want to fight so he just used his parkour skills and climbed up a skyscraper and chilled there for a while.
He would be stuck up there for some time before some other events would send him back down, but before all that happens, he took a nap and woke up in Somarium instead.
[Personality]
Shizuo is more than just a short-tempered violent man. In fact, he doesn't even like violence. He hates it. Most of the time the violence comes to him rather than him provoking fights. The only reason why he would ever initiate an attack without any prior immediate provocations -- as in, he just saw the person and threw a vending machine at them without warning -- would be because either the person is Izaya, or the person is someone who had harmed anyone he cared for and was already marked on his hit list. This would be the only reason why Shizuo would actually seek out and start a fight. Otherwise he tries to stay out of it.
This hatred for violence more than likely stems from the fact that he himself is the embodiment of violence. In fact, his general outlook and appearance is the opposite of what one would believe to be as the "strongest in Ikebukuro; Ikebukuro's Automatic Fighting Doll". He's neat, has a calm disposition, soft spoken (until angered), and generally keeps a "loner" air about him. Combined with his rather lean body without any bulging muscles as a visible sign of his strength, Shizuo looked more like your average, but good-looking, Joe.
In truth, what Shizuo longs for the most is to be loved. Because of his violent nature and build, he knows that he is a very dangerous man and could actually cause more trouble and hurt to anyone who becomes close to him. He just wants someone to accept him as who he is. He also admits that he is actually a coward. He is afraid of his strength because he knows what it can do. But he's slowly starting to accept more of himself as he continues to try and control his unnatural powers.
Shizuo likes to keep to himself. He enjoys his quiet, calm moments, including peaceful sunsets or just chilling somewhere with a smoke. When the circumstances are relatively normal to which he can keep a calm, steady mindset, he's more aloof and distant than provocative. If someone comes up to speak to him, so long as they aren't being a bother and are to the point, he will give the person some time of his day (usually around three minutes). Longer if they're making a point. He can be generally cooperative so long as nothing is happening that could annoy him.
This means the person must be doing most, if not all, of the following in order to not instantly get thrown into the air and get beaten to a near-death pulp:
However, as Tom states, Shizuo does have a fast cool down period. Once he snaps out of his "kill kill kill kill" mode, he will quickly return to his more quiet and calmer disposition. It basically would leave any witnesses be like "....What. What just happened---how did---why---I don't---".
When Shizuo is fully angered, the following words flood his mind:
kill kill kill kill kill destroy kill kill break crush snap kill kill kill destroy destroy destroy, etc. etc. etc.
He also can be rather scary when he's reached that ultimate boiling point. He doesn't just immediately break out into some kind of nonsensical rage. Depending on the situation, he will retain his calm, quiet outlook, but its obvious by the sudden tense aura, colder smile, and chilling tone that he's snapped. In fact many would prefer if he would start shouting off the bat instead of later. Usually how his act of rage works is he starts off with the chilling calmness before yelling with rage.
He'll also seem to be borderline psychotic when he speaks. It will start off in a calm even tone before it rises with acceleration and rage. But it's not just the tone and his expression that reflects a touch a craziness. It's also what he says. He'll talk quickly, usually saying statements that involve the other person wanting to die because they attacked him. It's almost as if he's rationalizing why he should try to kill them in retaliation, even if it doesn't usually make any sense. Everything becomes emotionally charged.
Even so, he still seems rather quiet. It's hard to describe, really. He doesn't make flailing body movements. Even when he's fighting in a frenzy, he doesn't just attack blindly. There's a sense of some tight control. This is the same for whenever he's yelling in rage. He's not moving his arms or anything. It's a cold disposition, and his body is more like a wound up spring just waiting to be released. So on the one hand, Shizuo will explode. However, as dangerous and wild as his explosions are, there is some sense of containment.
When he just automatically attacks, it's fast. There's no prolonged "slow kill" or anything like that. A punch, a kick, a throw -- it's instant, and over in a flash. That's one of the reasons why he's able to catch people off guard so easily: they have no idea what happened until after the fact.
As mentioned before, one of the ways Shizuo tries to show some kind of self restraint from becoming violent is to just try and walk away from the situation. There's also another step, and another way for him to try and calm himself down. It's by focusing and saying the words that flood his mind. Yes, the streams of "kill" and "destroy" and all those variants. He believes there is power in words, and he finds that if he can focus and do that, it will eventually "appease" that anger and calm him down.
That said, as mentioned in the beginning, Shizuo doesn't want to be in conflicts. In fact, he'd rather avoid them, and if some conflict like an argument or misunderstanding comes up, he'll try to calmly diffuse it via talking/explaining first (of course if it doesn't work he'll blow up). This is even if he wants to help someone for some "greater" cause or anything that's not directly involved with him. For example, if something happened with the Dollars, while he wouldn't mind helping, he wouldn't necessarily help. If he hears something, he might pass some info along, but otherwise he won't be actively helping. He's not really that close with anyone. It's only until something happens to someone close to him that he would engage in the activity. He also has never killed anyone, just sent them down the road to the hospital. So while he is violent and usually has the intent to kill, it doesn't always follow through.
Shizuo is also rather strong headed, which is only natural for someone who is angered easily and also very strong. Once he makes up his mind about something, he will act upon it and will do what it takes to succeed. Only those who are good at talking him out of such situations will be able to break through that stubbornness. It also fits with his preference for the direct and straightforward.
Just like he expects others to be direct with him, he will be direct to them. While he does have a quiet, thoughtful tone, he will say only what's necessary. This might result in shorter sentences, but that's just probably because that's all that's needed. No need for longwinded sentences or anything like that. Sweet, simple, and straight to the point. He hardly ever, or perhaps never, says anything that could mean something else. What he says is what he means. But he can be quite the talker himself. He might not prattle on like Shinra, but he seems more than willing to talk about himself or engage in conversation if it's interesting and asked by certain people (and in the right mood).
And last but not least, Shizuo does have a "fluffy" side. Despite his "loner" outer appearance, he does have a personality, and can be pretty "playful" and reveal a somewhat spunky and somewhat "adorkable" expressions and reactions. As mentioned before, he can also have tender moments. He can also be a little bit of an awkward turtle, particularly around Kasuka. He loves his little brother, and treasures the bartender suits that Kasuka had given him. He can also be surprisingly childish about some things. So Shizuo really is a nice guy, but most people don't see that.
In short, Shizuo is a lot more than what he seems. Many see him as the violent man with the short fuse, but he's a lot more than that. He has a gentler, quieter side. Even though he is in constant battle with the Anger that still consumes him and knows it's probably best that he keeps some distance away from people, in the end he really does want to be close to others. Just because he lives a lonely life doesn't mean he enjoys it. But he can't control his violent temper, and often questions why he ended up like this. He hopes he himself isn't the reason, otherwise he would never forgive himself.
He doesn't mind growing strong, but all he wants is to be able to control his power.
[Abilities]
It's pretty obvious that Shizuo's is unnaturally strong. Without the limiters, he has nothing to stop him from using all of his natural strength at 110+%. He can pick up large objects with ease and throw them great distances. These usually are about the size of large vending machines, though he has thrown a giant elephant shaped slide before and a car. Motorcycles are cake. He can also rip off a guard rail and wield it. And he's uprooted a full grown tree and flung someone out of it like a basseball bat. Essentially, he has the strength to rip off a lot of things no matter how they're attached and use it as a weapon. Sign posts are a particular "favorite", mostly because they're usually around and are just handy.
Of course, there is a deadly downside. It was briefly touched upon in the background section, but without the limiters, there's no natural restriction being placed on his muscles. Instead of only using the natural reserves and saving the excess energy for dire situations, he can tap into that full power with no problems. This meant that his muscles would become more strained and become vulnerable to tearing. As his temper also is quick to flare and he would be almost just as quick to use his power, this meant that his muscles could not heal properly. So he would be using his full strength even when his muscles could be in critical condition.
Even if he felt pain, he wouldn't stop. In fact it would infuriate him even more and possibly unlock even more strength within him. The only time he would stop a fight other than by fulfilling his goal of beating the living daylights out of them is if someone manages to talk him out, injures him enough in a fight, or he simply drains himself to complete exhaustion and almost kill himself. But because of this lack of control and restraint, he creates even more stress on his heart. If he pushes himself too hard, it is quite possible that he could kill himself from overusing his muscles. Fortunately, due to his parkour training, he does have stronger muscles so it can withstand the brutal beating, and he apparently has very thick abs. Izaya stabbed him there once. He was fine. But that doesn't make him immortal. Guns are very effective. It's still a very major weakness, and coupled with the fact that he can't control it even if he wanted to, still life threatening. Despite knowing all of this, he can't do much about it.
Along with the large object throwing, Shizuo can fight with his bare hands. Despite his parkour training, he still moves on instinct. There's no actual refinement or style to his actions. He just does what needs to be done. If he sees an opening for a punch, he'll punch them. If there needs to be a headbutt, he'll headbutt them. It should be noted that he does have the strength to not only punch someone flying, but also knock their clothes off. Not kidding.
Also, despite his great strength, he never has one-hit kills. Knock outs such as to make someone unconscious, yes, but not kill. The victims are just beaten to a bloody pulp, but they survive. Somehow.
[Other important stuff]
His name, Heiwajima Shizuo, translates to "peaceful island" and "serene man", respectively by last name/first name.
He wears a bartender outfit even though he's a debt collector.
He has dark bluish/purplish/blackish sunglasses and smokes.
He likes vanilla milkshakes and drinks milk whenever he can.
He will rip out anything that's nearby to throw at Izaya. This doubles for anyone who is pissing him off and there is one handy.
He is so tough, it takes several scalpels to actually cut his skin.
He calls Ryuugamine Mikado "Ryuugasaki" sometimes.
He was the reason why everyone believed a UFO appeared over Ikebukuro in episode 12.5. (he threw some guys out the window of his boss's office into the sky. The victims were covered in iridescent paint. Note: once again he provided a grand finale for a ridiculous plot that involved most of the cast, and they had no idea they were all related/a part of it.)
[Sample post]
[First Person]
[let's pretend this is one-on-one with a person. ...which means his temper is already being tested.]
[Do you prefer adventure or the peaceful life?]
It wouldn't be so bad to go out every once in a while...but I'd rather live my life in peace.
[You have two options: either save your friend who is hanging from a cliff, or chase after the bad guy who put them in a position. If you choose the former, the bad guy will get away and it will be hard to catch him. If you choose the latter, the cliff will crumble and the friend will fall to the spiky rocks below. What do you do and why?]
[slight eye twitch. what kind of question is that?] I'd save my friend first. Then I'd go after the fucking bastard and kill him. He was trying to kill someone else, so it's obvious he doesn't care about his own life.
[Someone is trying to rob you! What do you do?]
Beat 'em to a pulp.
[If someone provoked or attacked you, what would you do?]
...Look, I hate violence. I'd rather not fight at all, but if the bastard is coming at me seeking a death wish, then I'll give it to him.
[You just got a challenge to fight from one of the strongest gang leaders around. Do you accept or reject? Why?]
... [he's starting to see a trend in these questions and is not liking it one bit.] I told you, I don't like violence ...I'd rather stay out of it. But if they're right there and upfront about it, I'll just settle it quickly. [via punching them hard in the face once and walking away]
[Murder. What is your opin--]
[the question is never finished asking. instead it's replaced by the sound of a desk being raised]
I said...I DON'T LIKE VIOLENCE!!!!
[and slam goes the desk into the stupid interviewer]
[Third Person]
It had been a few days since Shizuo arrived into Somarium. First he had to fend off some weird scarecrows, then he was told he was in some "dream world", and then he learned that a certain flea was in said "dream world" and he had no doubt that this was all that stupid flea's fault. Dream world or not, he was going to kill Izaya Orihara no matter what. So he had spent the past few days trying to track him down, but with no success. There were just too many cracks and holes the man could have slithered into, but Shizuo was determined to find him and finally smash his face into a blood pulp and kill him.
That was why he was currently walking through the streets of the fourth district. Not the best part of town, but a perfect setting for a bastard like Izaya. He could just feel that familiar irritating sense whenever Izaya was around. Annoying.
Feeling his mood taking a turn for the worse, Shizuo thought about his current situation. Having only focused on getting his hands around Izaya's neck and snapping it like a twig, he had forgotten that this wasn't Ikebukuro, Japan and was some other place entirely.
Somarium. That was what he had been told. But was this really some kind of dream world? It was like something from a video game or one of those weird fantasy manga or novel stories that Kadota's friends always blathered about. As he cast his eyes around, taking in the scene from the streets, it really looked no more different than a modern city like Ikebukuro.
In many ways, it didn't make much sense. Sure, he had been infuriated when people were spouting that nonsense in the beginning, but now that he had actually been in this world for some time, there wasn't much he could do about it now. He'd figure out what to do after he found Izaya.
Upon reaching a quiet alley, Shizuo stopped mid-walk and paused for a smoke break. "...I wonder how Tom-san is doing," he said aloud, his voice calm as he turned his gaze upward. "I'll have to apologize when I get back." Not only was he always causing problems with the city damages, but now he was stuck in some foreign world. He had to wonder how Tom could always put up with him.
He was not really paying much attention to what was going on around him, still lost in his own thoughts, when he felt the presence of some people gathering around him; three people. He didn't pay them any mind.
At first anyway.
"Haha, what the fuck is this, a bartender walking around town?" a voice jeered from his left.
An eye twitch. Even here there were scum like gangs. It wasn't something he was not used to, so he just tried to ignore them. Starting up a scene here wouldn't be--
"Hey, hey, he might be one of those people from a different world."
"Then he really must be fucking stupid. He's even wearing sunglasses. Is he trying to look cool or something?"
"Stupid."
"Hey, Mr. Bartender, can you serve me a drink? Are you carrying some kind of mini-bar on you?"
Without saying a word, Shizuo just gritted his teeth and started to walk away. As much as he wanted to just beat the living daylights out of them, he was aware that he was in different world and he should show deference to the local citi--
"Hey, where're you going!? We're not done with you yet!"
One of the young men had drawn a knife and made to slice at him. Shizuo just stepped to the side, dodging the attack.
But in the process, he had grabbed the assailant's arm. "Since you used a knife, you attacked to kill, didn't you?" Shizuo said in a chilling, cold voice as he glared through his sunglasses.
As his grip tightened, there was a sickening crack of bone, to which everyone just stared in horror. They didn't even notice the screams.
"Then," he continued, his voice growing louder as he single-handedly lifted the man, "you don't care if you die, either!" he roared as he flung the poor bastard into the others. He used so much force, the other two were sent crashing into the dumpster right behind them.
With one final glare, Shizuo let out an annoyed "T'ch" before turning on his heel and walked away. He hated using violence, but they had asked for it. He had tried to just calmly walk away since he could already feel himself losing it, but no. The guy just had to pull the knife on him.
As he passed a clock, he glanced up and noticed the time. "...Guess I should eat lunch," he said to himself, his voice once again calm. He then proceeded to enter the nearest restaurant. It had been no longer than five minutes, and it was as if the whole event had never happened.
No one would ever suspect that the average looking, young man wearing a bartender suit and sunglasses had sent three people to the hospital with one throw that very day.
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] This is, what, my third time putting the guy on reserve? This time I'm actually going through it since the anime has long since finished and a substantial amount of the novels have been translated. Anyway, real reason is I just love playing this guy and I apparently have a penchant for characters who have double personalities (sort of). Having a cast is a plus, but even without one, I'd like to see how he'd interact with all the different characters that's in Som already. I'd just really like to have Shizuo have a chance to make more connections with more people. ...Unfortunately he won't get the "peaceful life" he wants, but with Somarium's setting and the changes that are bound to follow, it would also be a good opportunity to see how he continues to cope and deal with his abnormal strength and unwanted violent nature.
...I believe this answer is the longest we've had so far ahahaha XD
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] Hmm let's go for something different. Using permissions. It makes players more aware of what can and cannot be done, and makes for player communication.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?] My head.
[Any questions?] Lari don't kill me. Also, apologies for future city damage expenses :Da; and I'm always the one crying about Somarium being destroyed SOB.
[Age] 23
[Personal Journal] laenavesse
[Other characters currently played]
too many
Tamaki // Ouran Host Club // baka_tonou
Ace // Heart no Kuni no Alice // knightofchanges
Cid Highwind // Final Fantasy VII // smokesinspace
Oerba Yun Fang // Final Fantasy XIII // rendtheskies
Raven // Tales of Vesperia // rainofheaven
[Character name] Shizuo Heiwajima
[Age] 24
[Canon] Durarara!!
[Point in time taken from canon] Post volume 5 SPOILERS: HIGHLIGHT TO READ: While he's chilling up on the skyscraper after being chased by the Awakusu-kai and stumbling upon the murder scene at the Awakusu office. Let's say he took a short nap.
[Background]
[ Note: Most of his BG is novel based, but the anime covers volumes 1-3. There are very few discrepancies between the two mediums, though the anime changed the timeline slightly to better fit its medium. Regardless, I'll be sticking to mostly the novel events and information since he is coming out from the novels rather than the anime. Since volumes 2 and 3 haven't been translated yet (because of the anime covering it), I'll be drawing some details there. I'll make distinctions and notes where the novels and the anime differ, but it really won't affect it all that much.
ALSO: Durarara!! basically runs off the concept of synchronicity. All of the events that occur will at some point or another affect the others in the main cast, Shizuo included. So while I focus on the events involving Shizuo, I also make brief allusions/summaries to any of those plots. ]
Despite what people may initially assume, Shizuo grew up in a warm, well-loving and caring family living in Ikebukuro, Japan. He had a mother, a father, and a younger brother, Kasuka, whom he cares for and who also cares for him. They were your typical nice family. However, it was also because of his brother that Shizuo became the highly short-tempered, anger-filled, dangerous, and extremely powerful man he is today.
Everything started when he was nine years old. He had had a minor quarrel with his brother, but in a fit of rage, he tried to lift up a full-sized refrigerator to throw at him. Of course, this didn't happen. Instead, he suffered multiple dislocations and extensive muscle damage. One would think a child would learn his lesson and never attempt to perform such actions gain, but the problem was Shizuo couldn't control his temper. Once the fuse was ignited, it was hard for him to restrain himself. Another incident of such escalated violence occurred during school when he threw a desk full of books at another student. This was the result of another student picking a fight with him and had thrown compasses at him. Fortunately the boy survived with just a scraped wrist. The desk had flown past him and had embedded itself into the wall behind him.
He was still nine.
So how was he able to do this? It all stems back to the muscle damage he suffered from the attempted refrigerator throw. There is a natural mental limiter that the body places on the human muscle so that they aren't overused and risk damage. Usually during times of extreme crisis, however, these limiters are released. This allows for the body to perform miraculous and superhuman feats. Because of the muscle damage, however, the limiters no longer exist for Shizuo. He doesn't need to be in an extreme situation to use the full potential of his muscles.
The downside, however, is that without these limitations, he has no control over his strength when he fully taps into it. This causes his muscles to deteriorate further and strain his own heart. This is made worse by his temper. He couldn't control his own anger, and in turn the power became his anger that would continue to grow. He soon developed a mindset that he had to destroy anything that pissed him off, that it was just natural. So he started to go down this spiral where he no longer placed any self-restraints and allowed the self-destruction. As time would go on, however, he would try and restrain himself somewhat. Particularly after a certain incident involving him losing control while trying to help a woman who had given both him and Kasuka some milk. Not only did he accidentally get her hurt in the fray, he also caused her trouble. Since then, he drank milk (which would help his bones) and it served as a reminder for him, a tactic Kasuka used when they were still living together at home.
He attended the same middle school and high school (Raijin Academy) as Orihaya Izaya, Kishitani Shinra, and Kadota Kyouhei. Shinra would follow Shizuo around like a puppy, thinking his extraordinary superhuman strength was amazing and wanting to learn more. He was also the reason how Shizuo first met Celty, the Headless Rider.
It was during this time he first met Tom and acquired his "delinquent" look. In short, Tom had stumbled upon Shizuo when he was still in the middle school. Gangs were still picking fights with him, and Tom came in just in time to catch the tail end of a particular fight. After convincing Shizuo to help bring the fallen to the hospital, Tom treated Shizuo to a meal. It was there that he suggested Shizuo should portray himself like a delinquent so as to lower the number of people who would come after him. This included the hair dying, but Shizuo refused, saying he could change the hair color his parents gave him. From then, Tom continued to give Shizuo some advice to help him not get picked on by gangs so much.
A month or so later, Shizuo was napping on top of the school building when he overheard a conversation between Tom and some of the upperclassmen. They were essentially trying to get Tom make Shizuo like their own dog, but true to his nature, Tom refused. After he left, the students started to make threats to take Tom hostage to make Shizuo join their side. Unfortunately, they didn't know Shizuo was listening in until they heard a strange hissing sound behind him. Shizuo had detached one of the water tanks and after yelling at them, kicked it down at them.
A few months after that, that same group targeted Tom. Shizuo arrived on the scene just as Tom finished beating them up, though he was rather injured himself. When Shizuo asked him why he didn't just use him like the others wanted, Tom just said that Shizuo had said himself he didn't like violence and that it would be better if he didn't fight. After that, Shizuo started to dye his hair and after the rumors spread, he had a peaceful period in his life as not as many people came to pick fights with him.
But of all the people he had met during his school years, it was Izaya who would have the most impact on his life. He was the one who ruin his peaceful life. While Shizuo would not start any fights or conflicts, he usually found himself caught up in them. This was usually Izaya's fault. Upon first seeing Izaya's face, Shizuo immediately disliked him, and the two would have constant fights and chases. Mostly chases as Izaya tended to just run away laughing. At some point in high school, Izaya had started to gather "worshipers" for his own purposes. These were usually girls, and soon there was a conflict between the various Izaya fans from other Ikebukuro high schools. Despite not wanting to have anything to do with the conflicts, Shizuo got dragged into the very center of it and rose to local fame because of it. Gangs and bullies would continually try to fight him, only to be defeated with explosive results. He would later become known as a contender, if not the person, to be the strongest fighter in Ikebukuro.
These years were known as the "Izaya and Shizuo" years, and Raijin Academy's reputation deteriorated until it would later merge with another school to become Raira Academy years later.
Of course, this would not be the end of Izaya and Shizuo. When Izaya became wanted by the Ikebukuro police, he framed Shizuo for co-commiting the crime. When the police attempted to arrest Shizuo, he threw a vending machine at the police car. He was later cleared of all charges after investigations.
He was under eighteen.
After that, he chased after Izaya with only one intent in mind: to kill him. He learned parkour just so he could catch Izaya, as the young man had also learned parkour to escape Shizuo. Whenever Shizuo even caught a glimpse of Izaya's face, he would grab the nearest large object and hurl it at him before running after him.
At one point, Shizuo was also scouted to be a model. He had the looks for it, however he had no inclination of becoming one. In fact, he almost killed the talent scout, but his brother, Kasuka, saved the poor, unfortunate fellow. This actually landed Kasuka a spot in the modeling business, and he would later become an actor.
Shizuo was also the reason why one of the colored gangs, the Blue Squares, disintegrated. They picked a fight with him and effectively lost. He would later join the Dollars group, a growing "colorless" gang that was rising through Ikebukuro, through an invitation by Simon.
He did attempt to a hold a job, but they normally didn't last long mostly due to his temper. Before his current job, he was a bartender. Even though Kasuka gave him twenty bartender suits in hopes he would actually keep it, Shizuo was framed by Izaya yet again, and it cost him his job. Currently he works under Tanaka Tom as a debt collector for dating sites. More specifically, as a bodyguard. Unlike his previous bosses, Tom actually knows how to handle Shizuo and Tom also had been an upperclassman, so the two at least knew each other. Tom also didn't "mind" Shizuo beating up the clients, just so long he didn't kill them. It was costly, though, and the business somehow put up with Shizuo's destructive tendencies. (Probably because despite destroying everything, he would also be able to get the money out of them)
VOLUMES 1-3 / ANIME [time zero]
Shizuo's first major appearance in the current canon timeline was a run-in with Izaya. Izaya was talking to Ryuugamine Mikado, Kida Masaomi, and Sonohara Anri. When he saw Izaya, he threw a trashcan at him, nailing him in the head. At this point in time, a gang who claimed themselves to part of the Dollars had gathered around because they wanted to get back at Izaya for a prior incident. One of them had the misfortune to attack Shizuo even though he knew who Shizuo was. Shizuo beat them up, and as Izaya tried to escape, attempted to hurl a vending machine at him. But then Simon dropped in to intervene and stop them (when I say "dropped in", I mean that literally. Simon just appeared out of nowhere from a nearby building several stories up). Though Izaya was able to get away, Shizuo beat up Simon before finally leaving.
Other than his brother, there are only a few people who are "close" to him, and the Headless Rider, Celty Sturluson, is probably the one he's closest to. She is also one of the few he considers important. Even if she didn't have a head, she could still communicate through written means, or her PDA in the modern times. But even so, she would always listen to whatever he had to say and would not make unnecessary comments or take what he said as more than what they were supposed to mean. He knew everyone was afraid of him, but Celty wasn't. So he enjoyed talking with her whenever the chance arose. He knew who she was (but not that she's a Dullahan; all he knows is that she's the Headless Rider), but he didn't particularly care.
Because of this close affinity to her, he was always more than willing to help her. When she came to him asking if he knew a street artist who supposedly had drawn pictures of a Dullahan, he not only told her where the artist was, but also offered to come along and help, saying it would be easier than her just trying to communicate with the PDA all the time.
Another time he helps her out is when they see a girl with what Celty identified as her head. Of course, Shizuo had no idea the truth about Celty's reaction to chase her, but he follows and helps out anyway. When Seiji appears and stabs him with pens, he holds the guy back, telling Celty to leave everything to him and chase the girl. Though he has no idea what's going on, he knows Celty is interested in that person, and that's all that mattered. He let Seiji off pretty lightly, knocking him out with a headbutt.
Shizuo also showed up at the giant Dollar's "meeting", confirming that he was indeed part of the Dollars, and witnessed Celty's crazy ride down a building. Again, he doesn't know that she's a Dullahan.
By this time, the "Slashers" and events with Saika were becoming more prominent in Ikebukuro, and he became a central figure in the plot. He would feel as if someone was watching him, but whenever he turned around to look in the direction, whatever it was disappears. When Celty told him that she had been attacked by one before, he immediately decided to kill the Slasher and even hopped on Celty's bike, telling her to go so he can do exactly as he said. Fortunately, Celty talked him out of it since he was still on working time, so he resigned to her wishes. That didn't mean he wasn't still mad about the whole affair.
Some time later, Shizuo was with Celty, again wanting to kill the Slasher, when the two saw some members of the Yellow Scarves staring at them. Already in a "not good" mood, Shizuo walked over and promptly beat them up for staring at them. Afterward, while riding around through the streets, Celty heard a commotion and promptly turned to where Anri and the van gang (Kadota and the others) were. Niekawa Shuuji, a reporter who had tried to (and got thrown for) interviewing Shizuo had been possessed by the demon blade Saika and was trying to stab her. Though the van gang had hit him with the van, he still managed to get up and made for a round two. Celty landed a hit with her motorcycle, but it wasn't until Shizuo ripped off Togusa's van door and slammed it into Shuuji that it was over.
After that, Shizuo went to Izaya's apartment to call him out to "play". And by play, he meant "Let me smash your face into the wall and kill you, you flea" play. As the two were about to fight, handguard rail poised and ready, Celty arrived to show Shizuo the chatroom where someone under the username "Saika" kept asking for Shizuo. She then took him to South Ikebukuro Park, where the two found themselves surrounded by over a hundred "children" of Saika. They were people who were being controlled by the demon blade Saika and all were proclaiming their "love" for Shizuo, the one who was determined to the strongest man alive. And to show their love, they wanted to stab him.
So after that lovely confession, Shizuo proceeded to beat the crap out of everyone. Miraculously, no one died, and he actually managed to stop himself in time from continued the pummeling once the Saika's "hold" over the people was released. He could never control his strength, so being able to stop in time was important to himself.
Now for a prime example of synchronicity. All is fine for a day or so, but at some point during the later afternoon-early evening, Anri was being chased by the Yellow Scarves, and the Dollars were just flying all over the place helping her. She eventually wound up in a park, and was confronted by a group led by Horada, a person of brief "significance". Upon noticing her well-endowed chest, Horada got a nosebleed. At that very moment, Shizuo was passing by, yelling at his cellphone because of all the notifications from the Dollars members. So when he turned and saw Horada staring at him with that face, it was no surprise that Horada was sent flying and the rest scattered. Shizuo was the endnote for the slew of convoluted events of the day, a pattern that tends to recur throughout the series. Celty, as well as the van gang, showed up just in time for the show, and once the deed was done, Shizuo left, saying he was turning off his cellphone for the rest of the night.
However, later that night, Horada confronted him and actually shot him in the leg and abdomen. There is some slight difference in the details of the events in the anime. There, Shizuo is by himself, but in the novel, Tom is with him. Either way, Horada left while saying that someone named "Kida Masaomi" was the one who ordered Shizuo to be shot. Apparently Shizuo didn't even realize he had been shot. He thought he had tripped and fallen, so by the time he came to again, they were gone. Again, some discrepancies between anime and novel: in the novel, Tom tells Shizuo to go to a doctor, but in the anime, since Tom isn't there, Shizuo goes on his own.
So Shizuo went to Shinra's to be treated. As always, unlike normal people who would be unconscious during the whole procedure, Shizuo stayed conscious and grumbled about the whole situation. At some point Anri had arrived, though he didn't remember who she was. But when she heard him talking about killing Kida Masaomi, she took off right after Shizuo left.
And then Shizuo once again pulled off the finale stunt for a rather large, crazy event. There was a lot of crap going on between the Dollars and the Yellow Turbans, with Horada being the one to help instigate the whole thing. But anyway, after the fight and them losing, Horada and his crew fled the scene. To their horror, waiting on the highway with an uprooted highway street exit sign was the one and only Heiwajima Shizuo. He promptly sliced the roof of the car off as they flew past, and they were taken in by the traffic cop, Kinnosuke.
One would assume things would settle down, and for a year it was relatively quiet. But of course, this would not last.
VOLUME 4. [approximately a year later, or at least several months]
After the novel introduction about the "Killing Machine" (Russian assassin) and "Hollywood", a "rising" serial killer, the scene opens up with the two fighters facing each other off. In this very scene, Tom and Shizuo were actually eating on a nearby bench when the "Killing Machine" and "Hollywood" started to fight nearby. The duo didn't really pay much attention to them.
Until the assassin took Tom's attaché case.
Shizuo promptly ripped up the very park bench the duo had been sitting on and slammed it into BOTH "Hollywood" and the "Killing Machine". "Hollywood" was sent flying out of the park (literally) and the "Killing Machine" was slammed to the ground. Fortunately, Tom stopped him from delivering the final blow to the "Killing Machine", and after a short exchange, Shizuo calmly jogged out to see if the nearby supermarket had any attaché cases.
So two lessons the two killers learned that night: robbing is no-no and don't mess with the strange man in a bartender suit.
Shizuo had purchased a new attaché case for Tom, and the two were continuing on their way when one of Izaya’s twin sisters, Mairu, literally jumped on his back in greeting. Much to Tom’s surprise, Shizuo just gently pulled her off his back, holding her up by the nape of her collar. They were asking for directions to the Russian sushi bar for, ironically, the very man Shizuo had just beaten up: the "Killing Machine". Prior to meeting Shizuo, the twins happened upon the man. However, since the twins never said why they were going there, Shizuo had no idea and carefully gave them the directions. During this time, the topic of his brother came up, and the scene ended with Shizuo thinking that a call from him once in a while wouldn’t be bad.
Incidentally, Shizuo is the reason why Kasuka meets "Hollywood." Remember when he slammed that park bench and sent the killer flying? She landed on the very road Kasuka was driving on (ironically, in some attempt to see if he could find his brother). Just yet another prime example of synchronicity.
This may not seem important to note, but it actually will make sense in the Volume 5 section. There are a lot of various circumstances that can't all be explained here, but that following night, the majority of the Durarara!! cast were entangled in the most ridiculous motorcycle/car chase that involved a few different gangs and the traffic police. Tom and Shizuo were not part of the actual chase, but some members of the involved gangs later came up to the duo and actually tried to hit Tom. Though Tom managed to dodge the attack, the pipe tore the sleeve of Shizuo's bartender suit. So in a fit of anger because those clothes are the most precious gifts his brother ever gave him, Shizuo literally sent them flying in return.
VOLUME 5 [one month later]
At a hamburger stand, Tom witnessed the commotion brought up by a new character: Rokujou Chikage. He told Shizuo he should be careful because Chikage was the leader of the Toramaru motorbike gang and is probably out to avenge his guys. But to Tom's surprise, Shizuo had actually already met the young man the previous night.
Chikage had come up to Shizuo, basically challenging him to a fight to see how strong he was. Shizuo didn't fly off the handle because Chikage had been direct and straightforward about it. While Shizuo was talking and was about tell him something, Chikage had already taken the opportunity and delivered a near impossible hard kick to Shizuo's face, followed by a punch. However, much to his surprise, all it did was move Shizuo's face a fraction of an inch. He probably didn't even feel much of it, if at all.
What Shizuo was trying to tell Chikage was all he wanted was to spend the rest of his days in peace. So without further ado, and bidding the man "Good night" (in a way), Shizuo just punched Chikage square in the face. He told Tom it took four punches before Chikage was actually knocked out. Here Shizuo briefly referenced someone else who was just as strong, and in all likelihood it was Nile from Baccano!. Afterward, he took Chikage to Shinra.
While the two were talking about Shizuo's love life -- or rather, the lack of one and Tom trying to encourage him to try and find a girlfriend -- Tom noticed a little girl staring at them through the window. More specifically, at Shizuo. Even more specifically, her whole face was pressed up against it.
Wondering who she was and what she wanted, Shizuo walked outside. Immediately the girl started to run toward him, which only made the man even more confused. He was starting to get a bad feeling about the girl, and was proven right when she suddenly yelled "Die!" and jabbed a stun gun right into Shizuo's abdomen. While this would send any normal person to the ground, or possibly killed as apparently it was modified to increase the strength, all it did was just send the electric shocks through Shizuo's body and make him feel pain. He did feel it, and it hurt, but other than that he was fine enough to push her away.
While the girl was crouching on the ground, Shizuo had picked up the stun gun, wondering what it was at first. Unfortunately, this made one hell of a misunderstanding scene, so under Tom's orders, they bolted. But at some point along the way, the girl had managed to latch onto Shizuo's back.
After some quick deliberation, Shizuo took both the girl and Tom to Shinra's to hide, much to the doctor's displeasure. She ended up having a fever, and the trio talked while she slept. Or rather, Shinra prattled along trying to figure out who the girl was and why she wanted Shizuo dead.
The next morning, after Celty had brought Anri to the apartment due to unrelated events that would later become related, the girl woke up. When Shizuo entered the room, she immediately went to the corner and asked if she was going to be killed, too. After a comment from Shinra, Shizuo asked him if he would like to be the first kill on his record, suggesting that while Shizuo had been in countless fights and had sent most if not all of his opponents to the hospital, he had never killed anyone.
Shinra managed to coax (though somewhat sickeningly in Shizuo's opinion) some information about the girl. Though she didn't tell them her last name, they learned her first name was Akane. In truth, she was Akane Awakusu, granddaughter of the leader a large mob organization called the Awakusu-kai. But no one knew of this yet. When asked why she wanted to attack Shizuo, Akane answered it was because someone told her that Shizuo was an assassin who was going to kill her father and grandfather.
Already the room became tense as Shizuo was going through his silent "getting mad" process. Both he and Shinra had an idea of who that "someone" was, and it was confirmed after Akane responded to the question: "Izaya onii-chan."
Orihara Izaya.
When Shinra turned around to see Shizuo's reaction, he was stunned in disbelief. For lo, Shizuo's expression wasn't one of a demon about to destroy a city, but one with a very soft, smile. Shizuo told Akane that "Izaya-kun" was mistaken and that they were "friends". They just had a little fight and told her to wait there while he made up with him.
So after a wink and whistling, he left the apartment with Shizuo, leaving Shinra speechless. Tom commented on Shizuo's acting skills, to which Shizuo replied that he was going to be gone for a few days to kill Izaya.
However, after reaching Izaya's apartment, he was only greeted by a "WE'VE MOVED" sign. This of course sent Shizuo over the edge and back again, but he managed to not kick down the door and instead left. Unfortunately, this had been a ruse set up by Namie. It was Izaya's apartment, and they were still there. But Shizuo was unaware of the simple trick, so Izaya was able to live for yet another day.
So he went to the address listed on the sign. However, instead of finding Izaya, he found three corpses sprawled about the office. He was still wondering what was going on when a young man confronted him for trying to break in. But when he saw the sight, he automatically assumed Shizuo was the culprit. In the ten seconds that it took for the guy to make a phone call, Shizuo had exited the building stage window. Yes, he used the window as a means of departure. He had no idea that the building and office he had stumbled into what was the office of the Awakusu-kai. That's right, the very same organization that Akane's grandfather led.
VOLUME 6 [same day]
So the whole gang tried to get back at him, still believing Shizuo had killed the three men. Shizuo didn't really want to fight so he just used his parkour skills and climbed up a skyscraper and chilled there for a while.
He would be stuck up there for some time before some other events would send him back down, but before all that happens, he took a nap and woke up in Somarium instead.
[Personality]
Shizuo is more than just a short-tempered violent man. In fact, he doesn't even like violence. He hates it. Most of the time the violence comes to him rather than him provoking fights. The only reason why he would ever initiate an attack without any prior immediate provocations -- as in, he just saw the person and threw a vending machine at them without warning -- would be because either the person is Izaya, or the person is someone who had harmed anyone he cared for and was already marked on his hit list. This would be the only reason why Shizuo would actually seek out and start a fight. Otherwise he tries to stay out of it.
This hatred for violence more than likely stems from the fact that he himself is the embodiment of violence. In fact, his general outlook and appearance is the opposite of what one would believe to be as the "strongest in Ikebukuro; Ikebukuro's Automatic Fighting Doll". He's neat, has a calm disposition, soft spoken (until angered), and generally keeps a "loner" air about him. Combined with his rather lean body without any bulging muscles as a visible sign of his strength, Shizuo looked more like your average, but good-looking, Joe.
In truth, what Shizuo longs for the most is to be loved. Because of his violent nature and build, he knows that he is a very dangerous man and could actually cause more trouble and hurt to anyone who becomes close to him. He just wants someone to accept him as who he is. He also admits that he is actually a coward. He is afraid of his strength because he knows what it can do. But he's slowly starting to accept more of himself as he continues to try and control his unnatural powers.
Shizuo likes to keep to himself. He enjoys his quiet, calm moments, including peaceful sunsets or just chilling somewhere with a smoke. When the circumstances are relatively normal to which he can keep a calm, steady mindset, he's more aloof and distant than provocative. If someone comes up to speak to him, so long as they aren't being a bother and are to the point, he will give the person some time of his day (usually around three minutes). Longer if they're making a point. He can be generally cooperative so long as nothing is happening that could annoy him.
This means the person must be doing most, if not all, of the following in order to not instantly get thrown into the air and get beaten to a near-death pulp:
- Do not be Izaya. Seriously, Izaya is the only person he hates with a concrete passion and actually wishes to kill and mean it. If he could get his hands on Izaya just long enough to snap his neck, he would. Unfortunately, every time he does encounter him, the bastard manages to escape in some fashion.
It should be noted that while he does hunt Izaya, he doesn't actually go around prowling the streets trying to find him. Even though he has an extreme hatred for the man and he has chased and tracked him down before, he currently isn't actively seeking him. Mostly this is due to the fact that he has a job. It also helps that Izaya isn't actually living in Ikebukuro and resides in a nearby town (Shinjuku). But whenever Izaya shows his stupid face and Shizuo happens to see him, things start flying. In fact, a lot of the time Shizuo is the one who starts their fights because he manages to find Izaya without the other knowing and Izaya generally doesn't want to be around him. He just has this "Izayadar".
This does not mean that those who are related to Izaya are also immediately hated. In fact, Shizuo has a good relationship with Izaya's younger twin sisters, Kururi and Mairu. Though part of it might be due to the fact that Mairu is a major fangirl of his younger brother, Kasuka, the real reason is that unlike Izaya, the twins are less complicated than Izaya and are more straightforward than he is. The twins are still kind of crazy and twisted like Izaya (arguably more so), and he still gets mad at them on occasion when they remind him of their older brother, but it's rare.
He doesn't judge people on their association, just on themselves. - Respect his distance. This is meant both physically and metaphorically. While this doesn't mean they have to keep a 100 yard radius around him, he's not really that comfortable if someone comes too close to him without prior recognition or permission. Of course, the occasional accidental bump can be excluded. Unless he's in a real foul mood. There are no guarantees on that. However, that aside, if one were to encroach on his personal bubble, Shizuo will already start to be annoyed. This won't send him into an immediate rage, but it lights the fuse. The longer a person stays in his bubble with nothing to redeem himself, the more pissed off Shizuo will get.
He also doesn't like it if people butt into his affairs unnecessarily. There may be some exclusions, such as any close friends and family members, though he would still get slightly annoyed. Shizuo leads a rather private life, and he doesn't like the idea of someone nosing in their way into his own business. This also means he wouldn't like it if any of his personal affairs were plastered everywhere. Fortunately, Izaya hasn't been stupid enough to do that, and hopefully no one will make the mistake of doing so. - Be direct and straight to the point. Shizuo hates anyone who beats around the bush, or tries to weasel their way out of a tough situation. He prefers for them to be straightforward and man up to whatever mistake they made. No going back on one's word or backpedaling in any kind of way.
This also means no shady tricks or dirty tactics. If there's another thing that Shizuo hates most, it's anyone taking advantage over someone through unnecessary and dirty means. He doesn't like the type of people who just plays with their emotions in any shape of form. This includes roundabout and over complex speech. This is one of the top reasons why he hates Izaya, and why Izaya will never catch a break. Like Shizuo is the embodiment of violence, Izaya is the embodiment of manipulation.
Going back to Izaya's younger twin sisters, Shizuo is actually rather tolerable with kids. This is mostly due to the fact that they are more direct and straightforward in what they do. Of course there are the exceptions of any who may try to be sly and sneaky and therefore fit right into the type of people he doesn't like. But in general, Shizuo can handle kids rather well and is actually rather nice and somewhat tender with them. - Do not harm any of the people he cares about. Since Shizuo does not have a lot of friends to begin with, he treasures the ones who do remain close to him. As mentioned before, he knows that people are wary of him, and finding people who could either handle him or not piss him off immediately are hard to come by. The moment he learns that one of his friends, especially Kasuka or Celty, has been attacked or hurt in any way, he will hunt the person down and kill them. With no restraint whatsoever.
These are the only people who ever see Shizuo's "real" side -- his nicer, quieter side, the side of him that's "normal". Even though they still are usually caught off guard whenever they see him not exploding, or see him behaving nicer to people when they would normally assume he would go off the handle, it's admittedly refreshing. In this way he holds a mysterious air about him. He'll only spill out his guts to the ones whom he considers important. He also likes having that kind of contact, and wouldn't mind it from those he can tolerate.
So there's also that internal conflict that he has to go through: he needs to keep his distance for the safety of others, but he wants to be close to people. He will take more of an effort to try and restrain his temper and power, but even those closest to him are not safe from his wrath. It might toned down a bit, but it'll hurt. - Do not damage anything that Kasuka gives him. In this case it would be his bartender suits. Shizuo loves his little brother, and knows Kasuka also cares for him. When he received those suits, he knew Kasuka was cheering him on in his own way. They were always close as brothers, and Kasuka always supported him. So not surprisingly, Shizuo treasures them and will get very, very pissed off if anything happens to them. Rip, stain, whatever, if someone damages those suits in any way, it's an instant trip to the hospital for them.
- Do not waste any of his time. Shizuo will grant a stranger around three minutes of his time (about the time to cook an instant cup of ramen) unless they have a good excuse to prolong his attention. If they do, they had better be upfront about it and not talk about anything boring or unimportant matters. This will otherwise try his temper and Shizuo will after a certain time (usually when he starts feeling his temper flare up) start to move away.
The only reason why he tries to leave first is because he knows he's starting to get mad. He doesn't want to resort to violence so he's trying to save the other person's life by leaving. However, if the person tries to keep him longer in any way and ends up provoking him, Shizuo will release his temper and become violent. So if someone seeks Shizuo's attention, they must be prepared beforehand and be careful with what they say.
However, as Tom states, Shizuo does have a fast cool down period. Once he snaps out of his "kill kill kill kill" mode, he will quickly return to his more quiet and calmer disposition. It basically would leave any witnesses be like "....What. What just happened---how did---why---I don't---".
When Shizuo is fully angered, the following words flood his mind:
kill kill kill kill kill destroy kill kill break crush snap kill kill kill destroy destroy destroy, etc. etc. etc.
He also can be rather scary when he's reached that ultimate boiling point. He doesn't just immediately break out into some kind of nonsensical rage. Depending on the situation, he will retain his calm, quiet outlook, but its obvious by the sudden tense aura, colder smile, and chilling tone that he's snapped. In fact many would prefer if he would start shouting off the bat instead of later. Usually how his act of rage works is he starts off with the chilling calmness before yelling with rage.
He'll also seem to be borderline psychotic when he speaks. It will start off in a calm even tone before it rises with acceleration and rage. But it's not just the tone and his expression that reflects a touch a craziness. It's also what he says. He'll talk quickly, usually saying statements that involve the other person wanting to die because they attacked him. It's almost as if he's rationalizing why he should try to kill them in retaliation, even if it doesn't usually make any sense. Everything becomes emotionally charged.
Even so, he still seems rather quiet. It's hard to describe, really. He doesn't make flailing body movements. Even when he's fighting in a frenzy, he doesn't just attack blindly. There's a sense of some tight control. This is the same for whenever he's yelling in rage. He's not moving his arms or anything. It's a cold disposition, and his body is more like a wound up spring just waiting to be released. So on the one hand, Shizuo will explode. However, as dangerous and wild as his explosions are, there is some sense of containment.
When he just automatically attacks, it's fast. There's no prolonged "slow kill" or anything like that. A punch, a kick, a throw -- it's instant, and over in a flash. That's one of the reasons why he's able to catch people off guard so easily: they have no idea what happened until after the fact.
As mentioned before, one of the ways Shizuo tries to show some kind of self restraint from becoming violent is to just try and walk away from the situation. There's also another step, and another way for him to try and calm himself down. It's by focusing and saying the words that flood his mind. Yes, the streams of "kill" and "destroy" and all those variants. He believes there is power in words, and he finds that if he can focus and do that, it will eventually "appease" that anger and calm him down.
That said, as mentioned in the beginning, Shizuo doesn't want to be in conflicts. In fact, he'd rather avoid them, and if some conflict like an argument or misunderstanding comes up, he'll try to calmly diffuse it via talking/explaining first (of course if it doesn't work he'll blow up). This is even if he wants to help someone for some "greater" cause or anything that's not directly involved with him. For example, if something happened with the Dollars, while he wouldn't mind helping, he wouldn't necessarily help. If he hears something, he might pass some info along, but otherwise he won't be actively helping. He's not really that close with anyone. It's only until something happens to someone close to him that he would engage in the activity. He also has never killed anyone, just sent them down the road to the hospital. So while he is violent and usually has the intent to kill, it doesn't always follow through.
Shizuo is also rather strong headed, which is only natural for someone who is angered easily and also very strong. Once he makes up his mind about something, he will act upon it and will do what it takes to succeed. Only those who are good at talking him out of such situations will be able to break through that stubbornness. It also fits with his preference for the direct and straightforward.
Just like he expects others to be direct with him, he will be direct to them. While he does have a quiet, thoughtful tone, he will say only what's necessary. This might result in shorter sentences, but that's just probably because that's all that's needed. No need for longwinded sentences or anything like that. Sweet, simple, and straight to the point. He hardly ever, or perhaps never, says anything that could mean something else. What he says is what he means. But he can be quite the talker himself. He might not prattle on like Shinra, but he seems more than willing to talk about himself or engage in conversation if it's interesting and asked by certain people (and in the right mood).
And last but not least, Shizuo does have a "fluffy" side. Despite his "loner" outer appearance, he does have a personality, and can be pretty "playful" and reveal a somewhat spunky and somewhat "adorkable" expressions and reactions. As mentioned before, he can also have tender moments. He can also be a little bit of an awkward turtle, particularly around Kasuka. He loves his little brother, and treasures the bartender suits that Kasuka had given him. He can also be surprisingly childish about some things. So Shizuo really is a nice guy, but most people don't see that.
In short, Shizuo is a lot more than what he seems. Many see him as the violent man with the short fuse, but he's a lot more than that. He has a gentler, quieter side. Even though he is in constant battle with the Anger that still consumes him and knows it's probably best that he keeps some distance away from people, in the end he really does want to be close to others. Just because he lives a lonely life doesn't mean he enjoys it. But he can't control his violent temper, and often questions why he ended up like this. He hopes he himself isn't the reason, otherwise he would never forgive himself.
He doesn't mind growing strong, but all he wants is to be able to control his power.
[Abilities]
It's pretty obvious that Shizuo's is unnaturally strong. Without the limiters, he has nothing to stop him from using all of his natural strength at 110+%. He can pick up large objects with ease and throw them great distances. These usually are about the size of large vending machines, though he has thrown a giant elephant shaped slide before and a car. Motorcycles are cake. He can also rip off a guard rail and wield it. And he's uprooted a full grown tree and flung someone out of it like a basseball bat. Essentially, he has the strength to rip off a lot of things no matter how they're attached and use it as a weapon. Sign posts are a particular "favorite", mostly because they're usually around and are just handy.
Of course, there is a deadly downside. It was briefly touched upon in the background section, but without the limiters, there's no natural restriction being placed on his muscles. Instead of only using the natural reserves and saving the excess energy for dire situations, he can tap into that full power with no problems. This meant that his muscles would become more strained and become vulnerable to tearing. As his temper also is quick to flare and he would be almost just as quick to use his power, this meant that his muscles could not heal properly. So he would be using his full strength even when his muscles could be in critical condition.
Even if he felt pain, he wouldn't stop. In fact it would infuriate him even more and possibly unlock even more strength within him. The only time he would stop a fight other than by fulfilling his goal of beating the living daylights out of them is if someone manages to talk him out, injures him enough in a fight, or he simply drains himself to complete exhaustion and almost kill himself. But because of this lack of control and restraint, he creates even more stress on his heart. If he pushes himself too hard, it is quite possible that he could kill himself from overusing his muscles. Fortunately, due to his parkour training, he does have stronger muscles so it can withstand the brutal beating, and he apparently has very thick abs. Izaya stabbed him there once. He was fine. But that doesn't make him immortal. Guns are very effective. It's still a very major weakness, and coupled with the fact that he can't control it even if he wanted to, still life threatening. Despite knowing all of this, he can't do much about it.
Along with the large object throwing, Shizuo can fight with his bare hands. Despite his parkour training, he still moves on instinct. There's no actual refinement or style to his actions. He just does what needs to be done. If he sees an opening for a punch, he'll punch them. If there needs to be a headbutt, he'll headbutt them. It should be noted that he does have the strength to not only punch someone flying, but also knock their clothes off. Not kidding.
Also, despite his great strength, he never has one-hit kills. Knock outs such as to make someone unconscious, yes, but not kill. The victims are just beaten to a bloody pulp, but they survive. Somehow.
[Other important stuff]
His name, Heiwajima Shizuo, translates to "peaceful island" and "serene man", respectively by last name/first name.
He wears a bartender outfit even though he's a debt collector.
He has dark bluish/purplish/blackish sunglasses and smokes.
He likes vanilla milkshakes and drinks milk whenever he can.
He will rip out anything that's nearby to throw at Izaya. This doubles for anyone who is pissing him off and there is one handy.
He is so tough, it takes several scalpels to actually cut his skin.
He calls Ryuugamine Mikado "Ryuugasaki" sometimes.
He was the reason why everyone believed a UFO appeared over Ikebukuro in episode 12.5. (he threw some guys out the window of his boss's office into the sky. The victims were covered in iridescent paint. Note: once again he provided a grand finale for a ridiculous plot that involved most of the cast, and they had no idea they were all related/a part of it.)
[Sample post]
[First Person]
[let's pretend this is one-on-one with a person. ...which means his temper is already being tested.]
[Do you prefer adventure or the peaceful life?]
It wouldn't be so bad to go out every once in a while...but I'd rather live my life in peace.
[You have two options: either save your friend who is hanging from a cliff, or chase after the bad guy who put them in a position. If you choose the former, the bad guy will get away and it will be hard to catch him. If you choose the latter, the cliff will crumble and the friend will fall to the spiky rocks below. What do you do and why?]
[slight eye twitch. what kind of question is that?] I'd save my friend first. Then I'd go after the fucking bastard and kill him. He was trying to kill someone else, so it's obvious he doesn't care about his own life.
[Someone is trying to rob you! What do you do?]
Beat 'em to a pulp.
[If someone provoked or attacked you, what would you do?]
...Look, I hate violence. I'd rather not fight at all, but if the bastard is coming at me seeking a death wish, then I'll give it to him.
[You just got a challenge to fight from one of the strongest gang leaders around. Do you accept or reject? Why?]
... [he's starting to see a trend in these questions and is not liking it one bit.] I told you, I don't like violence ...I'd rather stay out of it. But if they're right there and upfront about it, I'll just settle it quickly. [via punching them hard in the face once and walking away]
[Murder. What is your opin--]
[the question is never finished asking. instead it's replaced by the sound of a desk being raised]
I said...I DON'T LIKE VIOLENCE!!!!
[and slam goes the desk into the stupid interviewer]
[Third Person]
It had been a few days since Shizuo arrived into Somarium. First he had to fend off some weird scarecrows, then he was told he was in some "dream world", and then he learned that a certain flea was in said "dream world" and he had no doubt that this was all that stupid flea's fault. Dream world or not, he was going to kill Izaya Orihara no matter what. So he had spent the past few days trying to track him down, but with no success. There were just too many cracks and holes the man could have slithered into, but Shizuo was determined to find him and finally smash his face into a blood pulp and kill him.
That was why he was currently walking through the streets of the fourth district. Not the best part of town, but a perfect setting for a bastard like Izaya. He could just feel that familiar irritating sense whenever Izaya was around. Annoying.
Feeling his mood taking a turn for the worse, Shizuo thought about his current situation. Having only focused on getting his hands around Izaya's neck and snapping it like a twig, he had forgotten that this wasn't Ikebukuro, Japan and was some other place entirely.
Somarium. That was what he had been told. But was this really some kind of dream world? It was like something from a video game or one of those weird fantasy manga or novel stories that Kadota's friends always blathered about. As he cast his eyes around, taking in the scene from the streets, it really looked no more different than a modern city like Ikebukuro.
In many ways, it didn't make much sense. Sure, he had been infuriated when people were spouting that nonsense in the beginning, but now that he had actually been in this world for some time, there wasn't much he could do about it now. He'd figure out what to do after he found Izaya.
Upon reaching a quiet alley, Shizuo stopped mid-walk and paused for a smoke break. "...I wonder how Tom-san is doing," he said aloud, his voice calm as he turned his gaze upward. "I'll have to apologize when I get back." Not only was he always causing problems with the city damages, but now he was stuck in some foreign world. He had to wonder how Tom could always put up with him.
He was not really paying much attention to what was going on around him, still lost in his own thoughts, when he felt the presence of some people gathering around him; three people. He didn't pay them any mind.
At first anyway.
"Haha, what the fuck is this, a bartender walking around town?" a voice jeered from his left.
An eye twitch. Even here there were scum like gangs. It wasn't something he was not used to, so he just tried to ignore them. Starting up a scene here wouldn't be--
"Hey, hey, he might be one of those people from a different world."
"Then he really must be fucking stupid. He's even wearing sunglasses. Is he trying to look cool or something?"
"Stupid."
"Hey, Mr. Bartender, can you serve me a drink? Are you carrying some kind of mini-bar on you?"
Without saying a word, Shizuo just gritted his teeth and started to walk away. As much as he wanted to just beat the living daylights out of them, he was aware that he was in different world and he should show deference to the local citi--
"Hey, where're you going!? We're not done with you yet!"
One of the young men had drawn a knife and made to slice at him. Shizuo just stepped to the side, dodging the attack.
But in the process, he had grabbed the assailant's arm. "Since you used a knife, you attacked to kill, didn't you?" Shizuo said in a chilling, cold voice as he glared through his sunglasses.
As his grip tightened, there was a sickening crack of bone, to which everyone just stared in horror. They didn't even notice the screams.
"Then," he continued, his voice growing louder as he single-handedly lifted the man, "you don't care if you die, either!" he roared as he flung the poor bastard into the others. He used so much force, the other two were sent crashing into the dumpster right behind them.
With one final glare, Shizuo let out an annoyed "T'ch" before turning on his heel and walked away. He hated using violence, but they had asked for it. He had tried to just calmly walk away since he could already feel himself losing it, but no. The guy just had to pull the knife on him.
As he passed a clock, he glanced up and noticed the time. "...Guess I should eat lunch," he said to himself, his voice once again calm. He then proceeded to enter the nearest restaurant. It had been no longer than five minutes, and it was as if the whole event had never happened.
No one would ever suspect that the average looking, young man wearing a bartender suit and sunglasses had sent three people to the hospital with one throw that very day.
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] This is, what, my third time putting the guy on reserve? This time I'm actually going through it since the anime has long since finished and a substantial amount of the novels have been translated. Anyway, real reason is I just love playing this guy and I apparently have a penchant for characters who have double personalities (sort of). Having a cast is a plus, but even without one, I'd like to see how he'd interact with all the different characters that's in Som already. I'd just really like to have Shizuo have a chance to make more connections with more people. ...Unfortunately he won't get the "peaceful life" he wants, but with Somarium's setting and the changes that are bound to follow, it would also be a good opportunity to see how he continues to cope and deal with his abnormal strength and unwanted violent nature.
...I believe this answer is the longest we've had so far ahahaha XD
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] Hmm let's go for something different. Using permissions. It makes players more aware of what can and cannot be done, and makes for player communication.
[Where did you hear about Somarium?] My head.
[Any questions?] Lari don't kill me. Also, apologies for future city damage expenses :Da; and I'm always the one crying about Somarium being destroyed SOB.