Going to Shinra's apartment was not Shizuo's ideal way to spend his evening. If he really wanted to spend time with Celty then he could always find her wandering around the streets. The most common reason for Shizuo to go to Shinra's is if he was injured. Even then, he didn't like burdening Shinra too much if he could help it. His trusty friend Super Glue could do the trick. Therefore, the fact that he is there lying on Shinra's couch as Shinra blabbers about something stupid, should tell you how much he is currently suffering. If you could take three guesses as to when else is involved in Shizuo's current condition, and they went as followed:

Izaya Orihara Izaya Orihara

And

Izaya Fucking Orihara

Ding! Ding! Ding! You'd be absolutely right. That dumbass can't leave him alone for one goddamn day.

Just kill him.

He tosses the intrusive thought away. Yes, he hates the flea. Yes, he would definitely like him dead. No, he would not like to actually murder someone. Though the occasional thought still arrives. He could never out loud tell someone that he would never kill Izaya. He's a sneaky bastard so somehow he would find out and test his patience even more than he does now.

Wincing as Shinra tugged on his leg, Shizuo was yanked out of his thoughts. Shizuo and Izaya had been fighting a lot more recently so he couldn't imagine how stressed he'd been making Shinra and Celty. Guilt welled up inside.

Celty sauntered over to me and by her body language, I could tell she was absolutely pissed.

[Do you understand that this would make it the third visit from you two in the past WEEK?!]

Shizuo's guilt continued to grow as he read the message. He knew he was being a burden; that his anger was ruining other people... He wished he could leave it behind, but running from something inside of you was hard. He needed to say something to try and fix it. Anything.

"I'm really sorry…" Shizuo sighed. "He just pisses me off and then I lose myself. I wish he would stop fucking bothering me all the time."

He fucked up. Rest In peace Heiwajima Shizuo. That had to be the worst thing to come out of his mouth. Where was a sincere apology when you needed it? Why couldn't he apologize as he meant it?

He knew she wouldn't be, but Celty definitely didn't look appeased. She shoved her PDA towards Shizuo's face, obviously irritated

[I know he's an asshole. He's creepy and something is just… Off about him. However, HE is not the only one to blame. You were involved too.]

The dullahan pulled the device back after a few moments to type another message, however, her figure appeared visibly more relaxed this time.

[Shizuo, you are a WAY better person than Izaya. Prove it.]

Somehow those words struck a chord. Shizuo had an idea. However after vocalizing, it turned out, it was not a very good or healthy idea and was turned down very quickly.

"Shizuo? Are you even listening to me?" Shizuo was once again ripped out of his thoughts as Shinra gave another painful tug on his leg.

Shizuo huffed, crossing his arms and leaning back further into his friend's couch. Between Izaya and Shinra, Shizuo rarely got a moments peace. Even back in high school he had to deal with the flea's antics and Shinra's constant blabbering.

"As I was saying…" Shinra huffed in mock indignance. "You both need to stop these frequent quarrels of yours. This is the third set of reinforced scalpels I've gone through for you this week!" Shinra exclaimed animatedly as he proceeded to tend to Shizuo's leg.

"I'm not saying you're the only one at fault here though. Izaya starts most of it with his teasing and scheming. Someone should to stand up to him sometime... knock him off of that 'holier than thou' pedestal of his; teach him a lesson or something." He continued to ramble on about Izaya, however Shizuo was only half heartedly listening. His earlier idea had been reignited by Shinra's rant. ' Teach the flea a lesson, huh? '

No. He couldn't possibly go through with it… Could he?

"Finished!" Shinra exclaimed as he stepped away from Shizuo and eyed his handiwork. The debt-collector's leg was neatly wrapped in pristine white bandages, save for the few specks of dried blood in a few places. "I would go home and rest up that leg. Not that you need it, but just to be safe."

"Thanks. Shizuo calmly replied before waving farewell to Celty and half-walking-half-limping out of Shinra's apartment door.

As he hobbled out from the complex, Shizuo began to make the long trek back to his own apartment. The discomfort in his leg wasn't too bothersome save for a few winces here and there if pedestrians accidentally bumped into him, in which case they would bow and apologize profusely before hastening away. The debt-collector took his time through the streets, not only because of his injury, but because as the sun began to descend in the orangish yellow-pink sky, the serene atmosphere of Ikebukuro's lights and families sounds of the nighttime emerged.

' No sign of the flea… ' Shizuo thought as he turned the knob to his apartment door. He didn't ever feel the need to lock his door while he was out. His reputation had been enough to keep intruders at bay, along with the painful fact that Shizuo didn't have anything of value to steal anyways. He lived modestly with a couch, a small tv and DVD player to watch his brother's movies, and a few kitchen appliances along with a bed. He didn't need much more. He rarely had guests or family over so nobody to impress. Shizuo lived on his own.

Exhausted from visiting the seedy and shady parts of town to collect debts with his senpai, Tom, and his kouhai, Vorona, Shizuo didn't bother with dinner and made his way right to his bed. He didn't have anything left to eat anyways besides a few cartons of possibly spoiled sweet milk, and so he decided to skip it completely. He would go to the store tomorrow.

For now, Shizuo flopped onto the mattress, his face buried in the pillow as he tried to drag the blanket over his body and get comfortable. He fidgeted a few times before finally settling, his breathing slowing and his mocha eyes weighed down with sleep.