A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and stuffs I appreciate it~! As thanks I will update as fast as I can. So prepare yourselves! (ര̀ᴗര́)و ̑̑

P.S: Look who learned how to use lines~.+:｡(ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾞ

CHAPTER 2: It's Not Supposed to End Like This

The minute Izaya spun around and that stupid bartender was no longer focusing on him, his smile dropped. His feelings were a bit mixed right now, irritating the young man a bit. He stuffed his cold hands into his coat pockets for potential warmth, not caring about the open wound still on his forehead, just assuming it'll freeze up or scab over from the cold weather. His right hand hurt, sore from Shizuo holding onto it too hard when he was thrashing the raven about. What was his problem anyway? All he did was hit his head on a pole, perhaps making a deep gash so he felt extremely dizzy and mostly in pain.

Well….that did sound pretty bad. But why would the monster care? He's his enemy. His arch-nemesis as cliché as that sounds. They hate each other. They loathe one another so bad, that they want each other dead.

"You should probably have Shrina stitch that up for you. You're obviously too damn clumsy to take care of it yourself."

"Tch, stupid protozoan. You don't know me." Izaya huffed as he walked his way to Shinjuku.

Yes, he was going back to Shinjuku. Because he sure as hell wasn't obeying the idiots orders and getting help. It's not like he needed any.

"Go to Shinra. Get your head fixed and head home, flea. I'm letting you off free this time. Scram."

He kicked a pebble, watching it fly into one of the many bushes around him. "Silly Shizu-chan, why did you let me off free after all the times you've tried to kill me~? Did you really feel sympathy for me? Pity?" His eyes narrowed. "I don't any pity…from you!" He kicked another one, harder this time. It shot into one of the building walls and broke. He was dissatisfied by that, expecting the rock to last longer. But it was just too weak. He sighed and continued on, trudging through the increasing amount of snow the farther he walked. The trains and subways were probably down in this weather, he assumed. Plus, the walk isn't too long if he entertains himself with something.

But that isn't so easy when the last thing that happened is your fucking rival worrying about you. Oh don't get him wrong, he would love to forget about what happened. Except he can't stop asking why.

Why oh why ohwhywhywhyWHYdid that asshole of a bartender tell him to get it fixed?

It shouldn't anger him this much, yet it did. The monster of Ikebukuro shouldn't have a heart. Out of all things he should definitely not show it to Izaya. Even if it was only a slight sense of worry, simply telling the man to get it checked out and scram, he didn't like it. And he never will like it either. Sure, he was vulnerable. He never planned to hit his forehead on a pole after all. But the monster could've just beaten him up right there. The raven was cornered; dizzy. For a brief moment, he wasn't in a state to defend himself.

And yet, the blonde just gave him a short lecture and spared him.

At this point in thought, Izaya felt his ankles getting exponentially cold. He looked down at his boots and noticed that the snow has gotten up to the level of his ankles. He frowned and raised an eyebrow at this. "Hmm…guess I lost my chance to frolic in the snow for a while. What a bummer~" He shrugged and chose to walk faster to his apartment, deciding not to risk getting caught out in the unfortunate weather. He chose to get his mind off the earlier topic by counting the snowflakes falling down. He knew it was a useless activity, seeing as how there's millions of snowflakes falling down which make it impossible to count them all. Yet he did it anyways, because it was soothing and refreshing. He hummed once more as he walked in the snow, eventually coming up to his apartment building.

He took the elevator up to his floor and used the key in his back pocket to open the door to his place. It was definitely warmer than outside, that's for sure. He happily walked in and shut the door, earning a groan from Namie. Looking where she was standing, he noticed that she was turning up the temperature. Her index finger was pressing the up arrow rapidly, it was fast enough for Izaya to think that she might break the thing if she presses any harder. The raven walked over to his workplace and gracefully planted himself into his swivel chair.

"Try not to turn my apartment into a boiler room, Namie-san~!" Izaya teased as he gazed out the large windows, lips curling into his usual smile.

The woman slammed her fist against the wall, facing Izaya in annoyance. "It's impossible to make this place into a boiler room! Damn thing won't go higher than 70 degrees!"

The informant broker shrugged, spinning circles in his chair. "I feel totally fine ~! Don't be such a pessimist~"

"Ugh, you're unbelievable! I'm done with my work here anyways, I'm going to see Seiji!" Namie growled as she gathered up her things and went out the door, slamming it closed.

Izaya stared at the door for a while. It was quiet now, zero disturbances present. Nobody could bother him while he did his work. He still kind of wished she stayed longer, though. Having somebody to keep him company in general wouldn't hurt. But sadly, she left. The raven gave a slightly disappointed sigh and turned his computer on, checking the chat first to see if anyone was on. It showed that nobody logged in all day to his dismay, and he slumped back in his chair now disgruntled. Great, now there wasn't anything to entertain him at all. No humans are outside, the chatrooms are empty, and his attendant left because the heater wouldn't work to its full potential.

'What a stupid reason to leave, she could have at least tried to fix it.' Izaya thought. Pulling up a couple of tabs containing files on people, he chose to do his work. He didn't know how many hours passed as he did it, but after what seemed like a decade he finished it. It's the first time he caught up on his work in a while, actually. So for the second time, he was truly bored. He glanced around the room, searching for things to do, concluding on getting up and turning on the TV. He stretched his limbs out, liking the way he felt as the muscles relaxed and straightened out. Maybe there was a show on that he could watch, or the news. Though, that's always his last resort. It's not really his favorite channel, but if it would create some noise in the house that would be nice.

He reached for the remote and powered on the television set, the news being the first thing that appeared on screen. The woman spoke at a faster pace than usual, either nervous or in a hurry to get home, the raven couldn't pick out. It was probably both. He settled on leaving it on this channel, as he set the remote down. He walked over to the kitchen and looked in the fridge, listening to the woman at the same time. As he took out a leftover plate of pasta and some orange juice, his gaze switched to the TV when he heard the woman mention "heavy weather" in Shinjuku. His eyes slowly shifted over to the window. It's not that bad is it? Like, it can't be-

Izaya's eyes widened at the sight. It wasn't snowing lightly with snowflakes, the sky clear and the air frosty. No, it was a storm out there. He couldn't even tell the placement of any of the buildings or sidewalks -it was too unclear. The snow was pouring down harshly, wind whipping around and hitting trees, making the smallest ones topple over. How long had he been on his computer for? Surely a long time. There's no way a blizzard could be hitting so hard so quickly.

All of the sudden the lights went out. It was pitch black. The woman got cut short when the TV's power cut off. The male knew he had no candles or flashlights. He was never prepared for this sort of thing. The power always came back in a few seconds anyways.

…..But it never did. The lights never came back on, the electricity was still out. He opted for thinking positive, and ignored the darkness of the room. He was still hungry though, so he ate his leftover meal anyways, even though it was cold. Just to get something in his stomach. After that was through, he took out his phone for the small amount of light it was able to give off. At least he wouldn't trip over anything. But he noticed it was becoming gradually colder in his apartment. Ah….no electricity meant no heater, that's right.

Well, so he has to walk upstairs and retrieve a blanket. What's the harm in that?

THUD

Izaya jumped a foot, eyes looking around in the darkness warily. He can't see anything, but what could've made that noise? Nothing, probably. He was the only person in this house. Though It still….wasn't comfortable. He decided not to dwell on it for too long. So he continued his journey upstairs, using his phone to light the staircases so he doesn't stumble over any steps. Once upstairs, he made his way to his room and opened the door to shiver. His room was especially colder than downstairs, shoes stepping on cold floorboards as he swiftly tore the blanket off the perfectly made bed. He zipped up his jacket and put his hoodie on, instantly wrapping himself in his soft blanket.

"That's a little better…." The raven breathed out in relief. He reached his hand out from under the blanket just enough to light the floor again with his phone. It didn't help to see that his battery was near dead, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He walked back downstairs, listening to the sound of his feet patter against the wood as he made his way to the couch. He curled up on the furniture, trying to scoop up as much warmth as possible. He looked at his phone to see a flashing red bar before watching it shut down. He set it down on the table next to him and attempted to get some shut eye. He turned to the side on the couch and closed his eyes.

THUD

Izaya's eyes shot open and he sat up. Guess he wasn't getting any sleep anytime soon.

THUD THUD THUD

"What is that…?" The raven looked in the direction of the sound; the window. He stared at it to see what was causing the noise. A blurry ball suddenly came into contact with the glass, startling Izaya. He squinted, trying to make out the figure. Until another one crashed against the window.

THUD

So…..it was hail. As far as Izaya knew, hail can get bigger. It can get harder.

It can break things.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, somehow forgetting how to breath in the process. How does one do it? Breath in….breath out….

Yeah, that's right. He's got it now.

However, his heart always seems to stop when one of those death balls hit the window. He would go rigid when a noise or presence would make itself known somewhere in his house. The informant broker clutched his blanket tight, pulling it around him more. It's getting colder. It's getting darker. He shuffled to the end of the couch, huddling up into a ball-

SNAP

He froze. Did a spring go loose in his couch? Did his couch break!? He didn't even want to check! But….he didn't want his couch broken. So he carefully leaned over the side of his couch and looked under it to come face to face with- A RAT!? Izaya leapt back into the couch and dove into his pocket frantically. Feeling the cool metal on his hands, he took out his pocket knife and flicked it open. The rat was out from under the couch now, it was staring at him across from the room. He pointed it threateningly at the rodent, hands trembling slightly.

"Don't…go near me!" he yelled. It all went unnoticed by the rat though, as it only crawled closer to the raven. It made his skin crawl, and he scooted back to the other side of the couch.

"Leave me alone…!" He jabbed the air between the rat and him with his knife. The animal took a step back…and then scurried away. Izaya breathed out in relief and lowered his head onto his knees. His hand dropped to his side, still clenching the metal handle with all his might; knuckles white.

"…..Heh…" He chuckled. Why was he so scared of a rat of all things? It was so silly. There was no reason to be scared of it. So why?

"Why did I feel so uneasy...? Hehe….how stupid. Have I really stooped down to such low levels?" His small chuckling continued, before it turned into full blown out laughter. He didn't know why he was scared, why he was laughing, why he was so tense right now. The laughter came to a stop, eventually. It's just so….empty in his apartment. So dark. So alone. Even the slightest noise was unsettling, making his heart stop in an instant. It was different…being in a place freezing as hell, darkness creeping around him as he sat there idly. He looked at the window and noticed that halfway up it was blocked with snow.

Was he going to die?

Soon enough the whole window will be covered. His whole apartment caved in by snow. He'll have no way to get out. So he was going to die, wasn't he?

"…I don't want to die….not yet…" He pulled the blanket over his head, trying to warm himself up even more. He doesn't want to die now. Not here, without anyone near him. Without anyone noticing he's gone. He still has so many things to do. So many people to still watch. So many chases he has to have with Shizuo.

"Shizu-chan….I don't wanna die here…you still have to kill me, remember? If I die, it has to be…by your hands..." Izaya almost whispered. His breathing was starting to become a bit ragged. No one was there to listen to him. He's been talking to himself this whole time. And he may be talking to himself for his last words, at this rate.

"I don't….I don't want to die alone…." Oh god, he really didn't want to die alone. It's such a horrible way to go. It seemed to be coming at a fast pace, though.

CRACK

Izaya bolted up and pointed his blade towards the noise. No chances will be taken. Though, now looking a bit closer…the glass was cracked. Wait, can glass even crack under snow? Izaya sighed and rolled his eyes at himself.

"Well no shit…Sherlock.." It was right in front of him, so it's definitely proven. Not that it reassured his chances of survival at all. If something cracks, it's breaking later on. And letting snow into his apartment wasn't on his agenda for the evening. He pulled back and curled against the cushions of the couch again. Maybe he can try sleeping again. Feeling himself drift away….finally getting some relaxation for the day…

THUD

CRACK

He jumped in his seat, interrupted as he was right on the edge of falling asleep.

THUD

Izaya held his hands over his ears, not caring that he accidentally cut his cheek with his knife, it still being held onto in the middle of his palm for dear life.

H

His eyes widened in horror, not daring to look at the window now. Because it….

It just broke, didn't it? That fucking cracked part of his window broke. Hail probably hit directly, and broke right through it. Now there's probably snow coming in slowly. But it doesn't matter how long it will take, because if he's trapped in here, it could take a year and he would still die of hypothermia.

At that last thought, he completely lost it. He squeezed his eyes shut, wrapping the whole blanket around his body tightly. Someone please come for him. He doesn't want to be alone anymore. He needs someone right now. Someone warm. Just someone.

"….Help me…"

The walk to Shinjuku was quite treacherous. The wind was loud and harsh, hitting against Shizuo's coat and messing up his hair. The snow was in deep too, it's a good thing he has a tall frame. Anyone smaller than him would be in trouble. And…that didn't sound very good considering he was trying to bring back Izaya.

"I'm can't believe I'm even doing this. Dammit Shinra...I'm going kill you when I get back," he barked.

It took longer than he expected, but he eventually came across the informant broker's apartment. Or rather, what looks to be it. Half of it was piled with snow already, which wasn't a good sign. He walked over to a stop sign and pulled it out of the ground. Then, jogging to where he suspected the entryway of the place to be, he used the stop sign to shovel the snow out of the way. With his strength he cleared the entrance of the building easily, and went inside.

It was as cold inside as it was outside. With the electricity off there was no way he could use the elevators either. So he used his phone to light the path towards the stairs. Coming to the door, he opened it and used his special shortcut he learned in chasing Izaya: Using the rails to boost him up. It made it twice as fast to get upstairs.

Once he got onto the right level, he instantly knew what door number was the ravens'.

"I know his door number way too well…." he commented, stopping at the correct door and opening it. He walked into the pitch black room carefully. Who knows if the sly flea could just pop out of nowhere and slice his neck open? Shizuo highly doubted that was it though, feeling the coldness of the room and…wait -now that he shone his phone light on it was that a cracked window? The snow's coming in steadily too. He needs to get the stupid informant broker out of there fast.

"Flea! Come out here!" The bartender yelled into the darkness.

No response.

The blonde sighed and decided to look for the man himself. He walked around and started shining his light everywhere. The tables, the floor, upstairs, the couc-

Wait, was that him? That small lump on the couch that's slowly moving up and down and…..yeah that's him. The guy can smell him from where he's standing.

Shizuo stood next to the couch. "Oi, flea."

He heard a groan and the lump turned to him, showing that it was indeed Izaya, and that he did not look well. "Why are you here..?" he said irritated. 'Anyone but Shizu-chan would've been nice, thanks.' The man thought.

"I'm here to take you back to Shinra's." Shizuo answered calmly.

Izaya stared at him with a straight face for a moment before turning away. "Fuck you, I'd rather die."

So…it's gonna be the hard way, huh? Alright, fine.

Shizuo cracked his knuckles. Bring it on.

A/N: So, how was that? Turns out some people have hidden fears, ohuhuhu~ ╭〻◕`w´◕〻╮ (sorrynotsorryforIzayahahaha)