Power Shift - Chapter 1

Summary:

It was a day like any other, nothing about it foretelling the shift in power that was about to occur between two of the strongest forces in Tokyo. One of them was Heiwajima Shizuo, a man with a short fuse and inhuman strength, while the other was Orihara Izaya, an Information Broker who claimed to love all of humanity, except Shizuo of course. In his eyes, Ikebukuro's beast was not human.

"IZAAAYAAAA!" Shizuo roared, the people around him quickly making themselves scarce.

It was common knowledge that when Heiwajima Shizuo ran into Orihara Izaya, public property would get damaged and/or destroyed, along with anyone who happened to stray within the path of these two terrifying forces of nature.

Izaya immediately turned around and assumed a defensive position, the switchkblade he swiftly pulled out of the pocket of his fur-trimmed jacket poised to attack at a moment's notice. "Shizu-chan, fancy seeing you here," he said, his mouth set into the signature smirk that he knew Shizuo hated with a fiery passion.

"Cut the crap; I'm not in the mood for your shit today," Shizuo barked and took a drag from the cigarette. For once, his day at work had gone well, him not having to bash anyone's head into a wall in order to get them to pay their debts. It had actually gotten to the point where his name alone was sometimes enough to scare people into paying. He couldn't decide whether that was good or bad, but he didn't have to break bones as often as he did before, and that was always a good thing.

"But Shizu-chan, I go where I'm needed, and my work requires me to be here today. Some of us have serious jobs, you know?" Izaya innocently pointed out.

"And what job is that, hah? Screwing up people's lives? Everyone knows you're a little shit who'd sell his mother for the right price," Shizuo accused, his eyes darting around for something that he could use to squash the insect into the ground.

Izaya sighed. "Now I'm offended, Shizu-chan. Is your opinion of me that low?" he asked, his expression taking on an air of mock-hurt.

"No, my opinion is actually lower than that. Don't kid yourself, flea, you are scum, and I will dispose of you."

"Oh my, Shizu-chan is using such fancy words! Don't try too hard, ne? Your protozoan brain might explode from the sheer effort of trying to sound smart when you obviously aren't," Izaya mockingly advised him.

"Shut the fuck up, flea! I warned you to stay out of Ikebukuro," Shizuo growled, his eyes burning with rage behind the purple-tinted sunglasses. No matter how many times he kicked the bastard's ass it never seemed to be enough. Izaya was a disgusting insect, and Shizuo had no plans of ever giving up on trying to snuff its life once and for all. The flea was a menace to every inhabitant of Ikebukuro, and Shizuo was not about to let this plague called Orihara Izaya run amok on his territory.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Ikebukuro does not belong to you," Izaya graciously informed him before he broke into a string of giggles.

Shizuo was done talking. "KILLKILLKILL!" he said before breaking his cigarette in two and dashing towards Izaya, the man turning around and running in the opposite direction. Izaya had always been fast, which made him really hard to catch, but Shizuo never let that stop him. It had been hard in the beginning, back when they were still in high school, when he wasn't used to the flea's fighting style, but the more time passed, the better Shizuo got at chasing the bastard out of Ikebukuro. His dodging skills had also improved over time, the years of practice he had from avoiding getting slashed by Izaya turning him into a proficient fighter. Even without his strength, Shizuo was confident that he could kick the flea's ass back to Shinjuku any time he wanted.

"Ne, Shizu-chan, when are you going to stop acting like such a brute?" Izaya shouted so that Shizuo could hear him through the sound of their footsteps.

"How about you stay out of Ikebukuro?" Shizuo roared while trying to grab a street sign in order to pull it out and smack the annoying flea with it until it'd stop buzzing, his fingers slipping as the force of the momentum kept him moving forwards, the metal pipe-like object remaining deeply rooted into concrete. He only threw the street sign a confused glance but kept running, not exactly giving the failed attempt much thought.

"Aren't you tired of chasing me around?" Izaya asked, pouting, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. He was hoping not to run into the brute, but it was a risk he was willing to take in order to get the information he needed. The businessman who had hired him was willing to pay a hefty amount of money, his only condition being to get the job done in less than a week; Izaya wasn't about to lose that much money because of an idiotic brute.

Shizuo grit his teeth in annoyance, Izaya always succeeding in getting on his nerves. "What a dumb fucking question," thought Shizuo and increased his speed in the hope that he could catch the flea and bash his head into the nearest wall until the insect would stop twitching. Of course he didn't like chasing the bastard all over Ikebukuro, but the man never left him alone, always looking for new ways to provoke him, starting from the time when they were back in high school and Izaya always sent gangs after him. In Shizuo's opinion, there was obviously something wrong with the man's head. "Aren't you tired of the same old shit?" Shizuo asked, wondering what it was about him that made the flea so obsessed with his person. Sure, he had inhuman strength, he knew as much, but that shouldn't have been a good enough reason for the Informant to keep coming back and mess up his life, as though getting him fired and arrested hadn't been enough already. Celty was a bigger monster than he was, but that didn't make Izaya run around and actively try to piss her off. Izaya was a freakin' enigma, and Shizuo doubted that anyone could ever guess what exactly went on in that screwed up mind of his.

"Like I said Shizu-chan, I'm here to work, so be a good sport and go home," Izaya suggested as he suddenly stopped, pulled a blade out of the pocket of his jacket and threw it towards Shizuo's shoulder who in turn dodged the sharp object and smirked.

"You still think something like that can stop me, I-za-ya-kun?"

"How about you let me go today?"

They were both panting heavily, their chase having lasted more than they had expected.

Shizuo pulled out the pack from his pocket and lit up a cigarette, his lungs burning for some much needed smoke. "How about you fucking die?" Shizuo spat and took another drag from the cigarette.

Izaya sighed, then shrugged, his switchblade still pointed in Shizuo's direction. "This is why I don't like you, Shizu-chan, I'm not that good at dealing with unpredictable beasts."

Shizuo growled and snapped the cigarette in two again, the flea's annoying voice grating on his brain hard enough to make him lose track of what he was doing. "I might be a monster, flea, but so are you."

"Tch!" was all Izaya said before he attacked. He feigned going for the usual chest slash, waiting for Shizuo to lean backwards in order to avoid getting cut, giving him the perfect opportunity to stab him in the thigh and hopefully slow down the brute enough so that he could get away. That had been his plan, "a good plan," he thought, until Shizuo raised his leg and kneed his forearm hard enough to make him lose his grip on the switchblade. He immediately jumped backwards, Shizuo crouching down and retrieving the lost weapon with a sadistic smile on his face.

"You're nothing without your toy," he said and pointed the switchblade in Izaya's direction.

Izaya was more stunned at not having the bones of his forearm obliterated than at having lost his weapon. A hit like that from Shizuo usually meant broken bones and heavy hospital bills, along with a few weeks of painful recovery. He chuckled, not willing to show Shizuo his confusion. "You insult me, Shizu-chan," and he smiled, "that's just a quirk of mine. I can fight you just as well without it. I'll prove it to you."

Shizuo snorted. "Whatever." Without another word, he switched the flickblade to his left hand and attacked, Izaya immediately dodging the first hit, his moves as fluid and slippery as always. Shizuo had never took his archenemy seriously in a fist fight, and it turned out to be his downfall when Izaya grabbed his fist, twisted it hard, then threw him on the ground with a swift kick to his legs. For a fraction of a second they were both too stunned to react, but Izaya recovered first, a second switchblade now digging into the skin of Shizuo's throat. He still had the other switchblade in his hand, but he didn't dare move when Izaya's eyes were glowing so dangerously. Shizuo knew that he was strong, but he wasn't immortal, and a clean cut to the throat would certainly be enough to end his life.

"I love it when people underestimate me," Izaya chortled and pushed the sharp edge of the blade a little deeper until it drew blood.

Shizuo grit his teeth and kept quiet, his survival instincts kicking in.

Izaya stared at him for a long time, a sort of creepy curiosity hidden behind the hateful gaze. "What's wrong?" he finally asked, this strange feeling that something was not right bothering him a lot more than he would've thought possible.

"Huh? What the fuck are you talking about?" Shizuo grunted in confusion. The pressure on his throat relented a bit, and a few moments later Izaya gave him a crazed look that made a shiver run down his spine. For a second he thought that Izaya would push the blade in and finish the job, but the man removed the it from his throat and got up.

"I win this round, Shizu-chan, so how about you let me do my job while you go home and take care of that cut? Pretend you never saw me if that'll make you feel better," Izaya smirked before waving and walking away, leaving a wide-eyed Shizuo to stare at him in both surprise and extreme confusion. There was something wrong with the protozoan in Izaya's opinion, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly that was. He would have to keep an eye on him until he solved the mystery of how exactly he succeeded in gaining such a decisive victory against the man that could've easily ripped apart his limbs one by one without breaking a sweat. Izaya could've killed him, he had a great opportunity to do so, but getting rid of the beast was not one of priorities. Shizuo was a nuisance, but not that much of a nuisance to push Izaya into killing him. Besides, his life would most likely be a lot less interesting without the beast around to amuse him once in a while. He giggled, his heart leaping at the prospect of playing some more with Shizuo and maybe kicking his ass again. "Wouldn't that be humiliating for the brute?"

Shizuo kept staring at Izaya from his spot on the ground until the man went around a corner and disappeared from his sight. He had no idea what just happened, never before finding himself at the flea's mercy. Izaya could've slit his throat and walked away without sparing him a second glance, leaving him there to bleed on the ground until he'd give his last choked breath. That was mindfuck in itself, but the fact that the man succeeded in throwing him to the ground was just as unsettling. Was Izaya on steroids or something? He got on his feet and pocketed the switchblade, knowing that it was not a good idea to leave it on the street where kids might find it. He dusted himself off then turned around and went home, hoping that some food and perhaps a good night's sleep would help him clear his head.