Did I Say You Could Speak?

9: Are you...

"Are you okay?" Shizuo asked him. He figured he might as well just come out with it. The question had been plaguing his mind for the past...well...however long it had been since he properly sat down with Izaya Orihara. 

Izaya, the man himself, spit out his carbonated beverage. The liquid rested on Shizuo's face, delicately falling off of those perfectly sculpted cheeks of his. Shizuo took off his sunglasses to clean them. "Am I what now? I think you'll have to narrow down the question a bit. Am I 'okay'? Okay as in...sane? Normal? Of the common folk? Or 'okay' as in...to my state of normal?" 

"Do you know Hachimenroppi?" 

"Oh," Izaya chuckled, "that's what this is about. So, you've met Roppi-Chan?" 

"Hachimenroppi," Shizuo corrected. "He doesn't like being called that." 

"Of course he doesn't but that's why I call him that," Izaya shrugged. "Hachi-Chan as a nickname was already taken, you see, for a different...well...me." 

"Are you going to explain where these alternate versions of you come from?" Shizuo frowned. 

"Oh, Shizu-Chan, are you that interested? If I tell you that takes all of the mystery out of it. But, I suppose," Izaya rested his chin on his hand. "They're me and they aren't me. I am them but I am not them. You see? It's acting but it's not acting. I don't have different personalities, per se, it's more of...if I felt these things how would I act? And so, I act as if I have felt these things. In some cases, it does spark me to feel certain things so I've continued to do it." 

"How do you know how to act if you've never felt what you're acting?" 

"Shizu-Chan," Izaya shook his head, "I've spent a lot of time observing. I've spent countless years of my life putting people in situations and creating data of their reactions. Cause and effect. It's not that hard to understand." 

"You're the Devil aren't you?" Shizuo frowned. 

"If I'm Satan, what does that make you?" Izaya chuckled. "You fell in love with the Devil."

"It makes me human," Shizuo sighed. "Considering that's what all humans do."

"Fair enough, I suppose." 

"Master Orihara," the door opened cautiously and carefully. A male with white hair, tiger ears, and tail, stood. "There is someone to see you now. He made an appointment." 

"What is the name?" 

"Phantomhive." 

"Dear me, it has been a while, show him in for me." The door closed and Izaya shooed Shizuo away. "I have business to attend to, Shizu-Chan. Take your inquiries elsewhere." 

"I'm not leaving," Shizuo crossed his arms. "You've ignored me far too long. Is this about what I said?" 

Izaya shook his head, "Shizu-Chan, Shizu-Chan, Shizu-Chan, not everything is about you. Such a narcissist. I'm actually quite busy satisfying the needs of the people," Izaya gestured to the city below. "Lots of people are making requests. Floors are being remodeled to suit these requests." 

"Requests?" 

"Requests."

"What kind of requests?"

"What kind do you think? Sexual fantasies, my dear, I aim to please," Izaya snickered. 

"Are you being requested?" 

"Shizuo Heiwajima," Izaya's eyes stared into his soul. His voice in a low growl, "you do not own me." 

"Sorry to interrupt, darling, but I believe I've waited long enough," a gentleman, by all sense of the word, glided into Izaya's office. He wore various shades of blue. A royal blue button-up shirt. A vest, pocket watch too, with a striped pattern of blue stripes. His pants navy. His hair a remarkably odd color. Shizuo's mouth threatened to drop. The dapper man was a stark contrast to the casual clothing Izaya wore. Shizuo glanced down at his attire, suddenly it felt lacking in quality compared to this man.