Durarara!! Vol. 5

Chapter 2.2

An upscale apartment building on Kawagoe Highway

Sitting on the living room sofa, Shizuo drank tea from a stainless steel cup and tilted his head as he wondered aloud:

"Speaking of which, Shinra, do you always wear that white coat even when at home?"

Shinra, upon hearing that only-to-be-expected inquiry, straightened up proudly for some reason and replied:

"Ahh, that's because Celty always wears her black rider suit. If I'm dressed in the contrasting color, we'll be like light and shadow, won't we? On the surface light and shadow are polar opposites, yet like a pair of love birds they never appear without each other! In manga and movies they always go the Dark Side this and the Dark Side that, but that's just the Dark Side being royally tsundere. You can say that being tsundere is another form of being possessive but I won't mind at all if Celty wants to possess me bofuu!"

"Shut up."

All Shizuo did was flick his finger at the Shinra's forehead, yet the underground doctor felt like he had been hit by a bamboo katana. 

"And you had the guts to say that you were the light? Next to Celty you're more like a Dark Side guy inside and out."

"If you know what a verbal comeback is, could you avoid using a physical one? Personally I find that better for the sake of world peace."

Tom, who had never met Shinra before, muttered to himself as he listened to the conversation:

"I see. He does sound like a freak……"

"What……what's with that confirming tone? Shizuo, what were you telling your colleagues about me!? ……Well whatever. If expressing my love for Celty makes me a freak, than a freak I shall be. Freakiness too will transform into love."

Shinra covered his swollen red forehead with his hand and repaced his breath - 

"So, should we hear now what you have to say about the situation?"

His gaze fell on the little girl crouched up in a corner of the room.

"I had to let you bring her in since you said you'd explain once we were inside, but I don't think I can watch any longer with indifference. See how scared she is?"

Shinra exhaled deeply and scrutinized Shizuo with dead serious eyes:

"Why did you kidnap her?"

"We didn't."

Tom was the one to reply almost immediately.

He must have kept track of Shizuo's mood and was therefore trying to stabilize him by quickly answering the question for him. It worked: protruding veins were already visible on Shizuo's face but they were going back to normal. 

The man named Tom continued to give Shizuo looks meant to forestall his anger as he proceeded to tell Shinra - who was just beginning to realize how close he was to being killed - exactly what had happened.

♂♀

30 minutes ago, Sunshine 60 Street

"Die!"

 - Argh?

Shizuo, being tall, was not able to catch what the little girl had said while flying straight towards him. 

Tom did, however, as he followed Shizuo out of the restaurant; his expression immediately changed to one of disbelief as he began to question his own hearing. 

Unfortunately, there was nothing wrong with Tom's ears. The little girl kept smiling while pressing something she had been holding tightly in her hands to Shizuo's waist.