Summary: Their first meeting was comparable to the Big Bang itself. It was explosive, to say the least, one party throwing words just as sharp as his knives, the other throwing literal vending machines and street posts.
And yet, that was how Ikebukuro's most dangerous couple was formed.
Big Bang
Posted: 20/11/2020
Status: Completed
Author's note: This is a rewrite of an older fic of mine "Ikebukuro's Mushiest". I've decided to separate each little story into one-shots and sometimes small chaptered fics, rather than all in a single fic. I think it'll be easier for me in the long run, especially since I won't have to worry about chronology and stuff.
It is common knowledge in both Ikebukuro and Shinjuku : there are two men you should never ever cross.
The first one is Heiwajima Shizuo, the Fortissimo of Ikebukuro, with a rage as powerful as a hurricane and a body just as strong. Under no circumstances should you provoke him, or you will be sent flying in the air. The second is Orihara Izaya, the Informant of Shinjuku, with a wit just as impressive as his information network. Say the wrong thing, and you will be ruined.
Both dreaded and infamous, both incredibly dangerous. But the worst thing is : if you anger one, you should be ready for the other to strike in retaliation.
For you see, those two are a packaged deal.
…
Their first meeting was comparable to the Big Bang itself. It was akin to an explosion, one party throwing words just as sharp as his knives, the other throwing sometimes vending machines, and sometimes street posts.
The start of it all was thanks to a boy who, as it turned out, had absolutely no sense of timing whatsoever : Kishitani Shinra. His dearest wish, second only to marrying his beloved Celty, was for his only two friends to meet and, hopefully, become friends as well. So he did just that. After all, the three of them were all outcasts in their own way so, he thought, why not? Except he had the lovely, bright idea to introduce them right after one of Shizuo’s rampages, when adrenaline was still flowing high in his body, and rage was still simmering, just waiting for another catalyst to boil over once more.
So, introducing his sharp-tonged friend to his easy-to-anger one right then? Bad idea. In his defense, Izaya honestly hadn’t meant to provoke him with his clapping, he had been truly impressed by this human’s amazing strength, but Shizuo, in his rage-filled tunnel vision, took it as mockery, and the rest was history. They had gone on a chase that had ended up destroying as unholy amount of both public and private property. Shizuo had even ended up being run over by a speeding truck…only to immediately stand back up and return to chasing the one he would later call “the Flea”.
(Izaya would never admit it to anyone, but seeing someone shrug off something like that had made his heart skip a beat)
Now, Izaya knew his way around Ikebukuro quite well, and he’d planned to lose Shizuo and get his injuries treated at Shinra’s because the beast had managed to graze him with an uprooted street sign, and he’d rather be safe than sorry, you never know what diseases he could catch from the rusted metal of the sign. But, as he found out that day, an enraged Shizuo was nothing if not persistent. It was quite problematic, in his opinion.
Exhaustion had ended up leading to him having the tiniest lapse in judgement, and he found himself standing right at a dead-end, predator right on his heels.
Well then.
Shizuo hadn’t waited a second to throw the insect against the brick wall, one hand keeping him flat against it by pressing on his chest, the other holding up both his hands, effectively keeping that damn knife away from him. Then, everything was silent for a few seconds. The only sound being their ragged breathing. They observed each other with intense gazes filled with pure adrenaline.
… Then, teenage hormones did the rest of the work. The next thing they knew, Shizuo’s lips were crashing against Izaya’s in a violent, messy kiss. It tasted of blood and sweat, was inexperienced, awkward, and honestly terrible in general.
In other words, it was awesome .
…
They never went to Shinra’s, opting instead to kiss some more for the rest of the evening, only parting when the sun had started to set. It was only the hundreds of unread messages on Izaya’s phone that had reminded him that, yes, they did ditch Shinra to chase each other and later make out in some alley. Whoops.
The next morning had been more awkward than expected. They had met each other at the school gate and paused. They didn’t really know how to act around each other after that little circus of theirs. Should they ignore each other? Greet each other? In a friendly way? Or a more provocative one? No doubt, if the blush on Shizuo’s face (and his own, Izaya guessed from the heat on his cheeks) was any indication, images of their little make-out session were playing back in full HD glory in both their heads.
They didn’t get to ponder on it very long thanks Shinra and his poor sense of timing. He accosted the both of them, mildly inconvenienced, and bombarding them with questions like “Where did you guys go yesterday?” “Don’t think I can’t see those bandages, why didn’t come see me?” “Why didn’t you answer my mails or just tell me you guys were alive? It’d be unfortunate if I suddenly was friendless, you know!”
They both tuned out Shinra and looked at each other, then proceeded to ignore him and go to their lockers side-by-side, earning a few wary and perplexed glances from the other students. After all, they had been at each other’s throats just the day before, hadn’t they been? They said nothing, but Izaya’s satisfied smirk, and Shizuo’s embarrassed expression were telling enough.
…
Surprisingly, but perhaps not so much, it was Shizuo who ended up bringing it up, weeks later.
They had established some strange friendship, and with it a routine that had suited them both. Right now they were both sitting on the roof in companionable silence, Shizuo lying down, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight while Izaya sat nearby, reading an overly-complicated looking book (that appeared to be written in… was that Russian ?) sitting in his lap.
“Hey” Shizuo had started, breaking the comfortable silence.
Izaya replied with a non-committal “hm”, clearly more focused on his book.
“We should go out.” Shizuo said simply, still looking at the clouds, using his own arms to cushion his head.
There were a few seconds of complete silence.
Izaya blinked, lifted his gaze from the book to Shizuo’s gradually reddening face, and answered him with a flat “What”.
“I-I mean!” Shizuo tried to clarify, flustered, “I think it’d be nice! Cuz’ you’re cool when you’re not being a jerk, and you’re smart! And you’re not scared of me, but it’s not like Shinra you know? He’s kinda weird about it, with all the dissection talk… Anyway I think it’d be nice, since I kinda, huh, like you…r personality, and you’re kinda, huh, pretty, as well? I don’t know if I should say that about a guy but yeah you’re good-looking, and I really like the ki-ki…kiss—”
“Shizu-chan.” Izaya interrupted Shizuo mid-rant.
“Y-yeah?” Shizuo stuttered. Izaya didn’t think he’d ever seen him look so nervous before. It was, dare he say, pretty damn adorable.
“Need I remind you of the fact we tried to kill each other on our first meeting?”
At that, Shizuo finally moved his gaze from the sky to Izaya’s face, cheeks still red.
“I mean yeah, but we also kissed immediately after. So.” He answered matter-of-factly, like it wasn’t an issue at all.
Izaya stared at him some more, face expressionless aside from his gradually pinking cheeks. He put a bookmark on the page he had been reading minutes ago, gently closed the book, then averted his gaze to the side.
”… Sure, I guess.” He muttered.
From his peripheral vision, he saw Shizuo immediately sitting up and beam, becoming brighter than the sun itself. It was a good thing that Izaya wasn’t looking at him directly, or he’d be blinded, he thought.
And thus, Ikebukuro’s most dangerous couple was formed.