Durarara!! Vol. 5

Chapter 1.2

(CONTINUED FROM PART I)

“……So you just put him to sleep as usual?”

Tom sipped at his coffee and said. Shizuo sucked up his vanilla milk shake as he said:

“Yeah, that’s right. Afterwards I took him to a doctor I knew.”

“It’s rare that you would take someone to the doctor, Shizuo.”

“I’d be in trouble if he died. And I don’t hate that type of guy. Had it been that flea Izaya I would have given him the final blow right then and there.”

“I think a first blow from you kind of works as a last as well, though.”

Tom laughed hollowly. Shizuo, however, gave a surprising reply.

“Four.”

“Huh?”

“It took four punches from me for him to fall.”

“……You kidding?”

Tom’s eyes popped to the size of saucers as the sugar pack he had been twirling between his fingers fell.

“Yeah. When I was about to punch him a fifth time he said ‘Ah, and I have girls willing to tend to me when I’m in the hospital bed. Are you jealous now?’……Something like that. His tooth broke so I wasn’t able to hear very well. After that he just fell to the ground with a thud.”

“……I heard he was pretty tough, but I never thought……”

“There are actually quite a few guys out there who are like that. That foreigner* I got into a fight with a while ago took me quite some time as well.”

* Probably Baccano’s Nile.

“Well, I guess the world is a big place and has all sorts of people to offer……but still, he’s something for being able to walk on his feet like that when he’s only just been beaten up by you last night. I was wondering how his face got injured, but I guess I see why now……”

“But to be quite frank, I am jealous of him for having women who would take care of him.”

“Yeah…speaking of which, you are lacking a girlfriend. I know we’re at work and all, but aren’t you tired of eating with a guy day after day? You could probably use an oasis of the heart as well, ever thought about that?” 

Tom had raised a pretty sharp question. Anyone who knew Shizuo enough to be smart would have avoided asking such questions out of fear, but Tom, who had known him for a relatively long time, knew that it actually fell within the safe zone, if only barely.

He was right. Shizuo did not look displeased; instead, he nodded with an “Mmm,” and began to say things that sounded like a complaint.

“Not that I haven’t heard people say ‘I love you’ to me…but I don’t even know if they counted as women or not.”

“Hmm? Have you been going to gay bars or transsexual clubs?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…I mean, they hardly counted as humans to begin with……more like sharp objects……”

“Sorry, but I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Tom looked puzzled while Shizuo simply continued with the story of his adolescence.

“Actually, no women have ever been willing to get close to me. I know that’s partly my personality’s fault, but there’s no one close to me save that fucking flea and the weird guy in glasses. The flea was always sweet-talking some woman into following him somewhere, and the glasses guy creeped women out as well since he had that twisted personality.”