"Your Last Breath"

Pairing: ShizuoxIzaya
Genre: General/Drama/Romance
Rating: M for sexual content and possible triggers
Status: Complete

Shizuo falls ill after years of smoking and is slowly wasting away. As Izaya observes from afar, he can't help but worry for his enemy. But is it from a desire to not lose his play toy? Or because of a fondness for the blonde he never knew he had?

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"Dammit dammit dammit dammit…"

The same chant kept spewing from the blonde debt collectors mouth, as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Head low, eyes glued to the ground, Shizuo focused on anything other than that trembling excuse of a man he just had to deal with.

He could still hear Tom attempting to reason with the bastard who was trying to weasel his way out of payment. God, Shizuo hated those types of people. The type who lied and cheated and scammed to raise themselves up, only to try and slip out of the problems they have caused. They just radiated an ignorance Shizuo couldn't stand. He grit his teeth and dug his heel into the ground, pushing his blue tinted sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. The thought just disgusted him.

"Fucking bastard…" he grumbled as he pulled out a cigarette from his chest pocket, slipping the stick into his mouth. He snarled and kicked a rock across the pavement as he flicked his lighter. The flame shot out angrily, lighting the end of the cigarette in a flash. In a way, it resembled the blonde's temper.

Sudden. Hot. Angry.

Shizuo leaned against a wall, letting his head fall against the cold bricks as he took a deep drag. The soothing nicotine instantly flowed through him, calming him a bit as he let the world dissolve away. Closing his honey colored eyes, he released the smoke from his mouth slowly, imagining that he was also blowing away his rage.

"Hey Shizuo."

He glanced over, seeing his boss and long time friend, Tom, coming back from the run down apartment he had just broken the door down to.

"Yeah?"

Tom shrugged, gesturing over toward the broken door, "He paid up. It's all good now." Shizuo nodded in understanding, taking another drag. "Hey, you alright?" Tom asked as he stepped beside Shizuo, tapping the slight bulge in his pocket where the cigarettes were. "You've been smoking those a lot more lately."

"Huh? Oh yeah, just stress. I'm fine." Shizuo assured, smiling a bit as he blew out another puff of smoke before holding the cigarette loosely between his pointer and middle finger. "Do we have another job?"

"No, not today. Mr. Ohayashi was the last for the day."

"Ah, cool."

Shizuo sniffed, coughing a bit at the tickle in his throat. Tom raised his brow, but Shizuo just shook his head, covering his mouth with his fist as he started to walk towards Sunshine 60. He knew Tom worried about his habit. But there was really nothing to worry about. He never got sick. His immune system was superb, according to Shinra who had done more tests than Shizuo felt comfortable with. He had to admit, the cigarettes calmed him down after a stressing day of work. He absentmindedly lifted his hand to his mouth, puffing at the cigarette lightly as he stared ahead, keeping his gaze above the crowd. He licked his lips lightly when he smelled something lingering in the air. Something other than his cologne and tobacco.

Something he really disliked.

"Hey Tom."

"Yeah?"

"You smell that?"

Tom stopped, sniffing the air slightly, and shook his head. "Nah, you sure you smell something?"

"Positive."

Shizuo stood up taller, his head easily going over the crowd as he looked around. A tight knot formed in his gut as the smell grew stronger. It wasn't exactly an odor per say. It was more like the essence of something. Something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Now he remembered where he smelled it.

It was that sense of arrogance. The type that emanated from shitty people who always dug themselves into something they shouldn't. Like that bastard he and Tom had to deal with. He grit his teeth and growled, biting into the filter of the cigarette that still stuck between his teeth. He took in a rushed breathe, needing another puff of tobacco to calm him down. He really didn't need to get into another fight with someone picked off the street, just because they seemed arrogant.

That's when he saw it; a flash of tan fur, the tips of raven colored hair, and the glint of devious carmine eyes.

"Iiiizaaayyyyaaaaaa….."

He spat out his cigarette, stepping on it roughly with his foot, grinding it into the dirt. Tom stiffened next to him, grabbing his shoulder to stop him. But the beast within Shizuo was already set off. His stormed through the crowd, heading toward the person he hated most with clenched fists.

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<b>Want more? Continue here: Your Last Breath - Arc 1 CH 1: The Chase Begins [Warning: 100 Chapters] </b>