It was as if everything went to hell in mere seconds. New faces had appeared in town and it quickly peaked Izaya's interest as these faces began a not-so-much 'legal' business; though sometimes it was better to leave things alone.

Running with all the strength of his body, Izaya tried his best to escape death by cutting corners and run in circles. He had stirred op things that he couldn't control and now some maniac had a hit on him. Izaya's breath was out of control and his vision was too blurry for him to truly know where he was going. He could hear voices somewhere behind him, heavy steps following him like stomping elephants. He used a hand to clench at bleeding wound on his side. After the first gunshot Izaya had stuck his tail between his legs and after the second one he started losing blood.

He cut another corner, finally getting to more populated areas where his nimble body worked better than the stomping elephants. Three blocks later and a few turns then he finally had his chance. He spotted the perfect guy at just the right time.

Izaya nearly ripped off his fur-rimmed jacket and swung it around a guy around his height. This guy was blond but the hood would cover that op. "Run! Take whatever money there's in the jacket, just run! Run about five blocks through crowded area and dump the jacket somewhere – doesn't matter where, just run – NOW!" Izaya swiftly got his pocket knife out of the jacket before he kicked the guy on his behind to get him moving. The pocketknife was probably enough to scare the kid into running for his life…

Izaya only watched the guy run for a few seconds before he heard the stomping elephants getting near him. He turned around to disappear into the alleyway behind him so he could hide. He barely got his nose into the darkness before his body was slammed against what felt like an unmovable wall. Izaya blinked a few times as he tried to see what was blocking his way. It was tall and had a humanoid form; it wore black and white clothing, and smelled of both nice cologne and too many cigarettes. Blonde hair… It was unmistakable even though Izaya was unable to make out any details with his current vision.

"Shizu-…"

He cut himself off as the angry, stomping elephants got close again. He felt Shizuo's body shake and throb with anger, but it was worth the risk. Quickly he spun around Shizuo and hid behind him. Shizuo tensed and nearly growled as he felt Izaya lean against him from behind, but he didn't act upon his anger. Izaya was once more able to clench on his wound to lessen the bleeding as he leaned his forehead against Shizuo's back.

Shizuo's black vest got wet spots from Izaya's rabbid, damped breath and from the sweat that trailed down his face. He could feel Izaya's breathing increase as the voices got louder and louder, and when they past the two then Izaya stopped breathing for a few seconds. In that very second Shizuo could have ratted Izaya out, which would have been the end of him – but as the voice slowly lost their volume Izaya finally realized that Shizuo had protected him for a few seconds.

Almost a minute went by before Shizuo finally started moving. His body tensed even further from his undying anger and veins started to throb. It was such a characteristic move of Shizuo, and Izaya couldn't resist a small giggle as the blonde took off his sunglasses and shoved them into his chest pocket. Izaya gentle pushed himself away from Shizuo as he broke his cigarette in half and threw it on the ground. Izaya couldn't see it, but hear it as Shizuo stomped on the cigarette before he turned around in one quick spin – but it was too late. Izaya managed to focus his blurred vision and watched the most beautiful thing he had seen in days.

Shizuo turned just in time to see Izaya begin falling – but that wasn't what drove away the feral look in his eyes. There was blood dripping from Izaya's chin and the lack of visible injuries confused the blonde giant while the flee just smirked at him. Shizue reached out for Izaya to grab a hold of him before he would fall or run away but Izaya beat him to it. Before Shizuo had a chance to do anything then Izaya had grabbed a hold of Shizuo's upper arme, keeping himself from falling any further. Despite his weakened state then he still had a fairly strong grip on Shizuo for those few seconds it lasted. Slowly the grip loosened and Izaya started to loose his consciousness. His hand glided down the length of Shizuo's arm, slowly descending to the ground till Shizuo in the end grabbed his hand and saved him a soft landing.

Shizuo curiously studied the flee as he helped him down without further injuring him, but something slightly worried him. As Izaya had grabbed hold of Shizuo he had also drenched his sleeve in blood. Slowly he knelt down beside Izaya and held two fingers against his neck to measure his pulse. Shizuo picked up his phone and searched his contacts before making a call.

"Hello?"

"Hi, got time?"