Izaya pressed his back against the bookshelf, mouth in a firm thin line and his eyes closed. This was definitely not part of the plan. This definitely hadn't been included in Fuzen's email, either. He swallowed dryly, the almost silent foots steps seconds apart as they slowly crept closer. He tried to keep his breathing even, trying to ignore Shinra's frantic breaths in the ear bud as he rushed to his rescue. Idiot. You should be leaving!

He didn't have the time to think about how he could chastise the doctor. He needed a plan, and he needed one now. He could just sit still and wait for the monster to pass him, and just pray that the beast didn't have a sense of smell like Shizu-chan. Or, he could...

"Izaya?" Shinra asked, disrupting Izaya's thoughts. The broker almost groaned, but instead whipped his head to the side, too worried to move away. He opened his eyes even though it was pointless. He couldn't see anything. If that thing heard him...

Shinra went quiet again, seemingly satisfied just to hear Izaya breathing. There was another soft foot step in the room, closer this time. Maybe right beside the bookshelf, the beast almost on him. Izaya couldn't help the tremble in his knees, though he simply chalked it up to excitement. He could run. In the worst case scenario, if the thing didn't pass by and decided to attack, Izaya could still run. Even in the dark. He had outrun Shizuo in the dead of night on multiple occasions. This would be a breeze.

Right?

He flinched when the floor creaked right beside him, like the beast was leaning over, hovering above his head. He couldn't officially determine if that was what the beast was doing, but it had stopped moving, the slightest rasp of a breath floating from above. Izaya quietly covered his mouth with his hand. Could it see in the dark? If it could, he wasn't doing a very good job at hiding. If it could, he was sitting right there in plain sight. If it's lived here since the nineties, it's probably adapted to the dark by now. If it could see him, and he couldn't see it, maybe he didn't have a chance to run after all. If it was anything like Shizu-chan, it would be an incredibly close call.

It suddenly grunted, slamming it's foot down right beside Izaya and he tensed, hand still partially covering his mouth as he glanced over into the darkness. The emergency exit light, far behind him, wasn't providing enough for him to get around with and he couldn't even see an outline of the foot that had slammed into the carpet, let alone slip around it. He couldn't tell if the hairs rising on his neck were because it was staring down at him, like a cat spotting a mouse, or if it was just because of the fear of the unknown.

The beast didn't move. Izaya was ninety-nine percent convinced that it could see him, and that is was staring at him right then, looking down and licking it's lips – if it had any – ready to devour him. It was probably waiting, letting the adrenaline kick in and the fear settle, before it pounced. Maybe it was waiting for him to move, waiting for the thrill of the hunt instead of the easy prey of the unaware. Izaya was shifting on his feet while his heart began to pound painfully, getting ready to run. He could bolt. Maybe he could even out run it? It couldn't be faster than Shizu-chan – only he was faster than Shizuo.

It slammed it's foot down again and Izaya jumped, almost springing up and taking off. It was either threatening him, or trying to scare him out of hiding. Can it see me or can it not? It took a step closer, and Izaya decided that yes, it logically made sense that the creature could see him in the dark. He got up on his heels, ready to bolt.

But that one percent came through, and Izaya was momentarily happy when he heard the slight creaks coming out from the hallway. Something had moved, shifted, fallen over, whatever, and the beast above him gasped quietly. The creaks had caught the attention of the beast, distracting him from his original goal. There was a footstep away from Izaya, and Izaya internally cheered.

Izaya could work with that.

But Izaya couldn't really work with Shinra being the new target.

"Izaya!?" He heard the doctor call out softly, probably cowering somewhere in the hallway lest the beastly human see him. His voice trickled in through the door, as well as through the ear buds. Is he trying to be a distraction? Izaya didn't think Shinra was that stupid... until he yelled. "Hey! Izaya!"

"Hmm?" Izaya practically saw through the darkness, the beast turning to glance his way when Shinra yelled, the echo and static in his ear buds loud enough to catch its attention. Izaya felt the world shift, the tables turn, when he went from being the invisible shadow to being laid completely bare. He didn't see me! He suddenly felt dizzy. His breath caught in his throat and following his instincts, he dashed forward out from his hiding place in the aisle, not caring that he was giving away his location.

The beast let out an angry and feral roar, the sound vibrating under Izaya's feet and in his shoulder when he jumped too far and crashed into the wall. It was a lot closer than he remembered, and he cried out from the jolt and creak of his shoulder as well as the bookshelf that suddenly went crashing to the ground. A file flew up, hitting in him the face, several more flying everywhere with the sound of rippling paper all around him. He tried to dash towards the door, his left fist pressed to the wall for both guidance and support, but he tripped over a box of files that had toppled over in the chaos. He gasped, throwing both of his hands out and bending his knees automatically to try and break his fall, but his fall was broken by the fabric around his neck suddenly constricting, yanking back and pulling him up to his feet so fast that the world – had it not been dark – would have violently spun.

"Izaya!?" Shinra sounded closer, his voice loud and clear in his ear bud, but Izaya wasn't paying attention to that. Instead he was scrambling about, legs kicking when he was held up from the ground by nothing other than a fist curled around the neck of his jacket. Izaya had one hand holding onto a wrist – a very large wrist – while he coughed, the other fumbling about in response to his frantic ideas on how to get away. "Izaya!"

Izaya was panting hard, unable to breathe through the constriction of his throat while his kicks were still connecting with something rock solid every few swings. He tried to speak, tried to scream, but instead he was brought face to face with the monster, his only indication being the rank breath that suddenly blew into his face. He gagged when the giant growled, his breath smelling like sewer water, and his hand finally managed to unzip the pocket of his jacket, fingers clawing in to find something sharp and protective.

The beast rumbled, bringing Izaya closer and opening his mouth to growl out a single hollow word. "Go."

Izaya whimpered in it's face, that one word sending violent trembles straight down his body. Izaya's fingers didn't find his favorite flick blade like he had thought they would, but what they did find would have to be good enough. Izaya ripped the flashlight out from his pocket, thumb flicking the switch before he could pass out, the beam lighting up the face of his attacker and blinding him in the process. The giant screamed and flinched away, Izaya torn between throwing up and crying when he saw its face, before it threw him in an attempt to swat the light away.

The ear bud was ripped from his ear while the cord tore through his pocket. He crashed into one of the bookshelves right in front of the exit light, hard enough to knock it over with a soundless cry escaping from him. Files flew up as he went down with it, boxes exploding and the creak of metal echoing throughout the room. Izaya rolled onto his side, eyes blurry with unshed tears as he stared out for a moment, waiting for his head to stop spinning. Izaya was lying halfway across the book case, his hips supported by a shelf while his torso sagged in against the files. He was lucky nothing was broken. His entire right side was sore from hitting the bookshelf so hard, but it was a pain he was willing to deal with.

The giant screeched again, picking up and throwing the flashlight towards the open door like it had personally harmed him – his screech halting when the flying flashlight momentarily lit up a stunned looking Shinra in the doorway. Shinra disappeared when the flashlight landed a foot away, rolling and coming to a halt, shining the light in a direction useless to all of them.

"No!" The giant screamed through the darkness, it's voice rising in pitch and volume. It sounded angry all of a sudden, much more angry than it had been before. "Doctor! No!" It's foot suddenly slammed onto the ground and a shelf went hurling through the air, crashing noisily into the darkness behind the flashlight. Izaya gasped, finally finding the will to push himself up. Did it hit Shinra!?

It started to run, heavy footsteps slamming onto the ground with more force than necessary, the mere power behind them weakening Izaya's resolve to flee. If Shinra was critically injured, he knew it would guilt him later to just leave the doctor behind.

A bright white light suddenly shone in Izaya's face and he gagged, turning away. Izaya's head was swimming, his body tossed between throwing up and passing out, but Shinra wasn't going to give him the time to choose. "Izaya, we need to go!" Shinra's phone light had led him the way, and he grabbed onto his friend, pulling him off from the fallen bookshelf. Izaya groaned when Shinra pulled on his arm, dragging him shakily to his feet.

Five seconds. It took five seconds to get Izaya standing, lightly swaying where he stood, but it also took five seconds for the giant to clear the room, advancing upon them like a lion finally striking it's prey.

Shinra shoved Izaya and the informant went blindly stumbling towards the doorway before crashing to the ground. Shinra, still armed with the phone light, ducked out of the way just in time to miss the giant's swinging fist. He tried to dash over to Izaya – parkour wasn't his thing – but instead found himself awkwardly crouched in the giant's way.

In the process, the beast tripped over him, kicking him hard enough in the side to wind him. Shinra found himself rolling on the ground from the force before landing in a heap, gasping for breath before pushing himself back up on shaky arms. The camcorder hanging from his neck had slammed hard against his trachea, resulting in him choking for a precious moment. He broke out into a fit of deep and violent coughs before shakily trying to stand up.

"Shinra!" Izaya was suddenly grabbing onto Shinra's forearm, dragging him to his feet while the giant growled menacingly from where he had landed. Shinra struggled to grab his fallen cellphone, taking the liberty of shoving it securely into the pocket of his jeans. Izaya's hand latched onto Shinra's wrist and he dragged him, first stooping down to grab his thrown flashlight and then pulling him into a run towards the door.

They burst out, Shinra already panting, and Izaya whipped around for a split second, shining the flashlight high back into the room to check their situation and hopefully once again blinding the beast to keep him down longer. It was as tall as Egor, maybe even taller, but like Shinra had said, the giant was built like Simon on steroids. His body was made of solid protruding muscles, and he had crushed the entire bookshelf when he had fallen onto it. His skin however, his skin was gruesome and sickly colored enough that even Shinra would throw up.

But the beast wasn't struggling to stand up like the slow oaf it should have been. Izaya didn't shine the light straight into it's face momentarily blinding it once again. Oh no. The giant wasn't even struggling to get up from the shattered bookshelf. Instead it was standing at the door, the light dancing across burned and peeled skin, breathing heavily enough to outline bones and muscles along its chest. It might have been huge, but it was physically fit.

It was also ready to chase them into the pits of hell. "Go!" It bellowed, growling menacingly before bursting from the door at an angle to cut off their escape route back up to the first floor.

Izaya didn't have to be told twice, and as much as he'd regret the decision later, they could always back track. He grabbed onto Shinra's hand, lacing their fingers tightly, and then bolted with the flashlight still firm in his grasps so they wouldn't trip. He all but dragged Shinra down the hallway at top speed, the giant's thick laughter trickling down the walls like a demon as it gave them a head start. "Tag!" It yelled, and the second Izaya made the left first corner, he could hear it chasing after him. Its footsteps sounded like thunder ricocheting down the hallway at a speed much faster than even Izaya himself could muster.

They wouldn't make it anywhere.

Panicking, Shinra suddenly squeezed Izaya's hand before changing their direction, yanking the informant roughly – almost pulling him right off his feet – and dragging him through an open doorway. As soon as they were in the room, Shinra kicked the door back and it creaked mostly closed, leaving nothing more than an inch gap. Izaya flicked the flashlight around quickly, trying to light everything up, until Shinra was pulling him again and towards one of the many lockers lined up against the wall. It looked like a small, messy medical storage room with a wall full of lockers, and a counter with a sink on the other wall, cabinets hanging from above. The room wasn't empty, but Izaya didn't have enough time to take everything in. There were a few benches that they had to climb over, an over turned chair, and what looked like cups and garbage all over the floor.

They picked the locker that had been closed, throwing it open and both of them crammed inside, Shinra sinking to the floor with his back flat against the wall and Izaya with his back flat against Shinra's chest. The camcorder was sitting over Izaya's shoulders, now proving to be a burden to their situation. The flashlight went off and the door was pulled closed with a squeak by Izaya's fingers, his knees pulled back against his chest as far as they would go. Shinra grabbed onto his ankles, keeping them close. His legs were already going numb, and it was only a matter of time until one of them got tired and slipped out to kick the door back open.

That really wouldn't help them.

Shinra took in a deep but quiet breath before letting it out incredibly slowly, trying to ease the wheeze out of his throat before the giant showed back up and heard him. Izaya was panting, and he could feel his elevated heartbeat through his back. Shinra let go of one his ankles, trusting that he wouldn't do anything stupid and that his already aching muscles wouldn't give out on him, and placed a hand on Izaya's shoulder.

They could hear the heavy footsteps come crashing around the corner. The giant came to a halt. Exactly three steps were made down the hallway before everything went silent. They were easily hiding twelve running strides down the hall. Out of all the rooms, the beast shouldn't pick this one.

Hinges creaking, the first door in the hall was ripped away and thrown, crashing down past their own door and skidding into the darkness.

Shinra squeezed his hand. Izaya flinched, glancing over hesitantly before relaxing, the tension in his shoulders easing out a little bit more than they had been. His panting slowly came to a stop as the seconds ticked by, the silence gnawing at their ears and whispering lies. Shinra's hand slipped over to Izaya's neck, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze as he sighed. Perhaps the oaf had missed them?

When the silence continued on for a couple more minutes, Shinra finally sighed. Izaya relaxed beneath his hand, his knees slipping down until his toes almost touched the door without popping it open. Several more minutes passed in silence. Nothing stirred, nothing else was ripped from it's hinges, and nothing was kicked – a situation both reassuring and alarming. Shinra sighed heavily, leaning his head forward and bumping into Izaya's skull.

A couple of seconds later and Izaya's shoulder was violently twitching. Shinra would have thought the informant was crying had it not been for the little squeaky noises he was making.

Appalled, Shinra sat back, his mouth dropped open. "Are you... laughing?" He whispered before cracking a smile himself. Izaya snorted, placing both of his hands over his mouth in an attempt to keep quiet, shaking his head in disagreement even though he was evidently laughing.

Laughing after he had been attacked and then almost chased down by the scariest looking man he had ever seen, and laughing that they were now cramped up and hiding in a locker. Izaya's laughter was contagious, and Shinra almost went down into the hysterics with him had the sound of hinges creaking not stopped him. He squeezed his hand hard, Izaya gasping from the unexpected pressure on his neck and Shinra slapped an extra hand over Izaya's mouth to keep him quiet. He held his breath, as did Izaya, and all they could do was stare at the darkness ahead of them.

Shinra was almost convinced he had imagined the creaking sound. Nothing else moved, nothing else made noise. The seconds turned into a solid minute.

But Izaya tensed under his hand, pushing himself back and grabbing onto Shinra's calves like something was looming in his face.

Shinra held his breath, one hand dropping down and into the pocket of his lab coat just in case. He stared ahead at the swallowing depths, eyes darting back and forth even though he couldn't see much. One of Izaya's hands let go, disappearing into his own pocket, and Shinra took a gamble at which attack Izaya would make. The flashlight or his blade? Shinra had a pretty good idea, but he hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

The locker made a gentle scratching sound right in front of Izaya. The door creaked as it slowly popped open, Izaya's and Shinra's feet pulled back far enough away to not be responsible. Izaya's heart rate suddenly picked up, and Shinra willed his not to match it.

The door ever so slowly swung away, the eerie scrape of metal on metal going straight into the depths of Shinra's stomach and making him want to vomit. The creak lasted until the locker door was completely open, cooler air blowing in, chilling Shinra's skin and bringing with it a rancid smell.

"You're it."

Izaya was moving too fast for Shinra to follow, the flashlight out of his pocket and shining in an instant to blind their attacker once again. He threw himself forward and onto his feet to flee, one hand reached back and grabbing Shinra's, but he immediately froze up and halted, Shinra falling against his back in confusion.

Izaya's hand was shaking in Shinra's.

The giant was kneeling in front of the locker blocking their exit, one hand over his eyes as if he had been expecting the light and a large toothy smile splitting across his face. He had double rows of yellow, pointed teeth behind a torn set of lips, his grey skin sporting long strands of coarse hair peeling off his body in flakes. His index and middle finger suddenly separated, a large glassy black eye rolling in their direction, almost cleanly popping from it's socket.

Shinra was the next to react.

He grabbed Izaya's head and pushed it down, swinging his other arm out in an arc rival to Izaya's own, the glint of the flashlight reflecting off of cool metal. The giant squeezed his eyes shut just in time, Shinra's scalpel catching skin and sliding, slicing a perfectly straight line from the giants wrist straight down to the tip of his middle finger.

It wasn't deep, but it was shocking enough.

The giant yelped in surprise and Izaya shoved the flashlight into his face, bashing the metal end off of the top of the beast's shiny head. It lurched back and away from the attack and both Izaya and Shinra jumped forward, shoving with both hands to force the giant over and onto the floor so they could get out and run.

The monster lurched away screaming before swinging his arm, catching Izaya by his legs and sending him crashing to the ground. His death grip on Shinra brought the doctor down too, his weapon hand opening to try and catch himself before he fell. Izaya suddenly screeched an octave higher than the any pitch Shinra had ever heard from him, before he crashed down onto his back. The flashlight went flying, skittering across the floor and playing scary shadows of monsters and creatures against the wall as it rolled.

It came to a stop, lighting up the monster who was already on his feet, stomping unnecessarily over to the two fallen men. "Go!"

Izaya gasped – in pain or fear, Shinra didn't know – and struggled to get himself up and onto his knees. The only explanation he could think of for that word was that it wanted a chase. A game so to speak. Shinra was a second behind Izaya, his lack of exercise getting the better of him. His was only on his hands and knees when the giant sprinted the last two steps, a gargantuan hand wrapping around the back of Shinra's skull, fingers not even bothering to pull on the hair but squeezing against the bone itself, hauling him up.

"My temporal bone, my temporal!" Shinra whined, hands reaching up to grab onto fingers and a wrist as he struggled to get free, panic taking over. He ended up on his feet, shaking his head and almost losing his glasses in the process. Celty would go on a rampage if he was killed, and he definitely would like to live.

The beast above him growled, holding Shinra where he stood on his feet instead of lifting him up. Izaya was on his feet, his right hand bleeding profusely from the scalpel lodged straight through it, glancing over with wide eyes at his friend. He didn't doubt for a second that the giant could and would crush Shinra's skull. Even for a monster, it's disfigured nose was pulling back in disgust, lips turning down and pulling disgustingly at the skin, more flaking and peeling away. It was displaying an ugly human emotion, an emotion Izaya knew incredibly well."Doctor. No!"

Izaya didn't necessary think. He just responded. He responded to the facial expressions and the body language, the way the giant was holding Shinra at arms length and leaning back against his hips, like the mere sight of the man both disgusted and threatened him. But mostly, Izaya was reacting to the look on his face, the same look Shizuo got whenever he saw Izaya in Ikebukuro. The same look Shizuo got right before his hand clenched, twisting and deforming metal until it was nothing more than an unrecognizable mass between his palms.

Izaya didn't realize he was yelling. He just shot forward, hand swiping out from his pocket and driving his flick blade in and sinking it between skin and bone, before using both hands to the best of his ability to slice it downward. His slit open the front of the giant's hand, that hand instantly going limp with fingers unclenching. Shinra ducked forward, trying to move out of the way before the giant recovered – it would be stupid to assume that the hand was no longer a threat, but Izaya's lunge had put him directly in the path of the monster.

The giant's other hand came up, punching Izaya in the jaw hard enough to send the informant flying back into the lockers with a small yelp. One of the doors slammed shut against his weight, the heavy thud sounding painfully loud in the small room when the locker was slammed shut. Shinra dashed for the flashlight, picking it up and whirling it around at the giant, simply enraging him. He dashed over to the nearby medical counter, grabbing the cabinet door to swing it open, hoping that maybe there was a sedative or even poison to use. The cabinet door came off in his hands, the metal rusted and the wood decayed, and so he simply opted to throw it towards the approaching giant.

The door simply bounced off the giants chest, not stopping him one bit.

Shinra gasped, his brain running around in circles trying to come up with a plan. He turned back, hands swiping at the cabinet contents, but there was nothing even remotely useful. He whirled back, the giant already towering over him and salivating angrily at the mouth. "Izaya!" He tried to run off to the side, to run around the giant, but the beast moved with him, blocking off his path like a brick wall.

"No! Doctor!" It hissed lunging forward and Shinra had the thought to scream. Nothing came out but he did flinch away, scuttling out of harms reach while the golem of a man barreled into the wall, crushing the medical counter with his weight alone. The monster turned, storming closer once again. Shinra stumbled back and closer to the door, his breath ragged and sides hurting, and the next thing he knew, he was falling onto his back, staring up with no idea how to escape. He could run and just leave Izaya to die.

He could, but he wouldn't.

There was a flicker of black against the flashlight and Izaya rushed up, sinking another blade into the back of the monster's knee. The giant went down, Izaya skillfully hopping over his shoulder and landing by Shinra's feet. "Get up!" He yelled, reaching forward with his good hand and grabbing Shinra's extended one, hoisting him to his feet with one harsh pull.

The giant was already getting back up, huffing and puffing and generally sounding irritated before he bellowed again as the two took off, back into the hallway. With heavy footsteps splintering the floor, he chased after them, screaming down the hall.

Izaya was back tracking, dragging Shinra behind him with the sporadic flashlight to guide their way. Shinra was heaving, but managing to keep up as they took down the hallway, making a left turn and sprinting. Izaya was panting, Shinra pulling against his hand when he glanced over his shoulder to check how close the giant was...

"Izaya!" Shinra was trying to stop, to slow down, suddenly halting and using both hands to pull Izaya to a stop too.

"Fuck!" Izaya skidded to a halt not soon enough, and collided chest first into a dead end. He had turned the wrong way at some point in the maze. He was supposed to turn right, wasn't he? The stairs? Where were the stairs? He turned around frantically, "Which hallway did we... shit!"

The giant was already halfway down the hall, his sprint dropping down into a slow trot. Still holding hands, Shinra backed against the wall, the flashlight shakily splaying over the monster blocking their way. Izaya took a step back, free but bloody hand groping his pockets for any more blades. He had some in his pants pocket, but genius him had worn the long jacket. He started pulling at the fabric with his injury, trying to hike it up high enough to delve into one of the pockets. It hurt like hell, but he didn't have time to succumb to pain.

"Hey!" Shinra yelled, flashlight still shaking as he tried to stall. The giant took a few steps forward, eyes widening so far that they became perfect circles, just slipping far enough from their sockets to be truly unnatural. "Stay there!"

The giant growled, slamming his feet down in anger as he took a couple of steps closer, a deep rumble vibrating against the floor. "No! Doctor!"

"I don't think he likes you," Izaya hissed in warning, his hand shaking bad enough to lose his clutch on his jacket. He tried to pull his hand free of Shinra's, but the doctor had a death grip on him. "Hey! Big guy! How about we go get some coffee and discuss this, okay?"

The giant's response was an ear splitting roar. He pointed a finger at Izaya, screaming "Go!"

"Go where?" Shinra asked. He had pressed back into Izaya's shoulder, his knees threatening to give out. This wasn't the kind of excitement he had been looking for.

"Out!" The giant screamed still pointing at Izaya, before whipping an accusatory finger in Shinra's direction. "Die!" He stomped forward, feet slapping the ground more for the intimidating effect than anything else. Neither Shinra nor Izaya doubted the creature's intelligence despite his Japanese.

Izaya returned the death grip on Shinra's hand, the jacket being hiked up at a much more frantic speed and Shinra had half the mind to drop the flashlight, searching for a blade of his own. The light rolled when it hit the ground, casting nothing but eerie shadows over all of them He had brought a few scalpels and dishes just in case he found some bodies and could get samples – he couldn't let them cross contaminate, after all. He was probably just as armed as Izaya was.

Before either of them could grasp their weapons, the giant stormed forward at a much faster pace, throwing his arms out as if he meant to grab them when he suddenly stumbled. It fell forward, hands slamming right beside Shinra and Izaya's heads respectively. Both men yelped, leaning further back into the wall as that rancid stench filled their nostrils. Shinra was sure they were going to die, grabbing onto Izaya's sleeve with his free hand and looking away from the giants death glare. Izaya's face was stone cold, but his breathing was dangerously panicked.

A look of betrayal flashed across the giants face like they were the root of all his problems, right before the floor gave out.

Izaya yelped, grabbing onto Shinra's arm as a sizable crater split the floor. The giant caught Izaya's ankle, and the next thing Shinra knew, they were free falling when the entire floor collapsed. The old wooden boards of the next floor did nothing to keep the heavy giant up, and he crashed down, the informant and doctor simply trailing after him. One, two, three, four floors down and the giants fall was finally broken. He only made a dent, the wooden panels buckling but still supporting his weight. Izaya and Shinra came crashing down over his head, taking him down with them, both of them clutching the other like a life line. They hit the ground and rolled, their hold on each other ripping apart and sending them flying in different directions, the flashlight falling almost as an after thought and crashing into the giant's head. He was already landing on his hands and knees, the sound of wood splintering beneath him. The flashlight rolled out towards Shinra, as he propped himself up on his elbows and blearily glanced out. His glasses were missing from his face so the giant looked like a massive grey blob. Suddenly, everything got ten times scarier when he couldn't see.

"Go!" The giant yelled again, trying to get to his feet, but the floorboards were too weak. They cracked beneath him and he fell to his hips, stuck in the floor. With one last bellowing roar, the rest of the panels gave out with a splintering crack and he was falling into the basement depths of the asylum.

Shinra sighed heavily, flopping forward onto the floor. His forehead was throbbing from the earlier assault, and he was somewhat flustered that Izaya had been so quick to save him. He let his cheek rest against the floor boards, breathing in the dust and stale air of the basement before chuckling.

That had been close.

Izaya coughed near by, and the doctor suddenly realized that they still weren't safe. There could be more giants for all they knew.

Painfully, he dragged himself up and to his hands and knees, reaching out for the flashlight and then shining it around. He spotted his glasses – only because they reflected the light straight back into his face and made him squint – and crawled over the whole foot and a half to pick them up. On his face, he was relieved the see that they hadn't cracked. Looked like his father's version of scratch resistant was actually shatter proof.

Shakily, he hauled himself up to his feet, wobbling over to his friend whom he spotted crippled on the floor. He dropped to his knees right beside him, Izaya glancing up through half lidded eyes. A small smile split his lips and he giggled, before coughing. "That... was fun."

"Heh," Shinra snorted in return, "I think I've had too much fun today, are you okay?" He asked, setting the flashlight down beside him and reaching out. He gently pushed on Izaya's shoulders, giving him a once over. Izaya's jaw was completely black from the punch he took earlier, and his bleeding hand, clenched tightly in his good one, was slick with blood.

Izaya groaned before rolling over onto his back. "My hand hurts." He complained, forcing himself to sit up. He brought his forearm up to his head, taking in a deep, shuddering breath. Shinra was suddenly worried that he had a concussion.

"Here," Shinra reached out, catching Izaya's wounded hand carefully by the wrist. The informant seemed to be painfully sore as opposed to critically hurt. "Let's go find another medical room so I can fix this up." He said. He brushed at Izaya's hair, watching as dust and dirt came flying off.

Izaya gave him a weak smile, nodding. He held out an elbow, not willing to give up his good hand. "Yeah, let's go."

- % & ~ -

Out in the car, Namie dropped her book to her lap and huffed. She glanced out into the darkness of the night, eyes narrowing. The wind was still blowing, the leaves on the trees rustling and the long grass swaying in unison. There was no sign of movement, no sign of her employer or his annoying friend, not even sign of birds or wildlife.

It had to have been an hour already.

She pulled her phone out of the center cup holder, pressing the button so it would light up and sighing. It had been almost forty minutes. She quickly sent a text to her brother – not that he would respond, as usual. Izaya's little sisters had been stalking him and that girl for quite some time, but she had found herself growing more and more irritated by her brother's growing affections. He wasn't supposed to actually love Mika, dammit!

Huffing again, Namie glanced back to her cellphone in her hand. That was when everything had started to get weird for her. She still loved Seiji – Gods knew she always would – but he was starting to genuinely fall in love with Mika. The more time he spent with her and not with the real head, the more he seemed to become fixated on her, the closest thing he could get. And, as much as it irritated Namie, it was becoming genuine. Instead of the stalker initiating the affection, Seiji was starting to do it out of his own interests.

Perhaps he was just getting older.

"Seiji..." Namie sighed, glanced back down the erotica book her lap once again. She liked to imagine the characters as her and Seiji instead. Perhaps it was time to remind him that he loved the head and only the head, and only his sister, dear Namie, knew where it was. She was the real light in the dark, not Mika.

But then Izaya happened.

Scoffing, Namie threw the book into the passenger seat and picked up her cellphone. It was stupid. It wasn't like her. And yet it had happened. There were just some things she'd rather not think about, and to be completely honest, she felt like she had betrayed herself. Scrolling through her contacts list, she landed on Izaya's name. They needed to hurry their asses up so she could leave and go home. There was only so much sitting she liked to do before she got tired of trying to make sense of the madness going on through her head. She had liked it better when her love was simple.

Narrowing her eyes, she suddenly contemplated on whether or not to call him.

Was it really necessary to rush them? Izaya was an ass, and he would only tease her anyway. Oh? Is my dear secretary worried? He would probably say, much to her chagrin because yes, for some unbeknownst stupid reason she was worried. She knew he could handle himself, and Shinra was quite capable as well, but there was something in the air. Something heavy and foreboding. She liked to think that she was only worried for her safety, but the little voice in the back of her head continued to remind her that Izaya was a complete idiot, and that between him and Shinra, they would probably be too busy acting like dumbasses to realize that they were even in danger.

Or maybe she was just over reacting.

Dropping her cellphone into her lap, she reached back for her book. Izaya and Shinra had exactly nineteen minutes to get their asses out before she called them and threatened to leave them stranded.


A/N: Thanks for the comments so far! I do appreciate their length, and they do help motivate me to update! I am really bad at responding to comments/questions so feel free to PM me if there's anything concerning.

Also, I am glad that you guys are finding the beginning cliche. ;) I also hope that you have cliche expectations as to where this story is going to go, so I can ruin them and surprise you. xD