Monstrous Love [Shizaya (Sequel to Psychopathic Love)]

Chapter 17: Dog

I wait outside Zenko's school. I got done with work early today so I figured I'd take him home. Once I see kids file past me, I stand up to see Zenko.

"Daddy!" I hear him yell and run over to me.

He has to cross the sea of children, but when he does, he reaches out his arms to hug me. Another kid follows him.

"This is my friend, Ryu," he introduces me to the young kid with black hair. Then he turns to his friend, "And this is Daddy Shizu."

He refers to me as Daddy Shizu?

"Nice to meet you," he bows slightly.

"Can he come over, Daddy?" Zenko pleads.

"Well, are his parents okay with it?" I ask. I'm not sure if our house is suitable for multiple children. Izaya is not a good influence for them.

He nods, "They'd be fine with it, but I could always call to make sure," He pulls out a phone. Wait, kids have phones at his age? Should we get Zenko a phone, too?

"Go ahead and ask your parents first," I tell him, but then my own phone rings. I see the called ID and sigh, pressing the accept button. "Hello?"

"Shizu-Chan, you need to come get me," Izaya says frantically.

"What the hell did you do this time?"

"Nothing! I was minding my own business," he defends himself.

"Sure you were," I says sarcastically. "Where are?"

"I don't know," he tells me.

"You don't know? How do you not know?"

"Well I'm in a tree, but I don't think that helps at all!"

"Why the hell are you in a tree!?"

"I was walking, but then all of the sudden I heard dogs barking. Then they started getting closer to me, so I tried to run away from them, but they started chasing me. Then after a while I ended up in a tree. You happy?" He complains, flustered.

"Pfft!" I try to contain my laughter. I still find it hilarious that the one thing he's scared of is a dog.

"It's not funny!"

"Yes it is. What kind of person gets chased up a tree? Are you a stereotypical cat?" I pause for a second, but before he can interject, I say, "And you better not say anything about a cat fetish."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Shizu-chan," he purrs. I guess pissing me off makes him happy even in stressful situations.

"I'm going to fucking strangle you," I growl.

"I'd rather that than get eaten by these dogs," he complains.

"Are they even still there?" I ask.

"Yes they are!" He argues. "Can't you hear then?"

"No, I can't," I tell him.

"Well, they're here," he yells angrily. "They are fucking here!"

"Where do you think you are? Think about the sounds, other than the dogs, where you were headed, and how much you ran."

I hear a slight buzz, as he stays silent. "I don't fucking know!"

"Izaya," I say sternly, "tone them out."

"I don't hear anything else! I went North from our house and stayed on the path until I found a tree. I don't think I'm far from home. I didn't get very far and I sure as hell didn't run very far."