One week later;
Friday, 3pm, Raijin Academy, club room
Izaya and Shinra had decided to postpone their stakeout in the building, at least until they were more organised. The last of Izaya's worries, concerning Shinra's sudden friendship, disappeared. It had been made obvious that by now, Shinra wasn't going to leave him alone and took their friendship seriously.
Between their schoolwork and home life, they hadn't much time to setup the room. Shinra was getting impatient and Izaya had to admit, he was keen to know what secrets that building held. Izaya placed two boxes full of school equipment down in the corner, pens, wads of paper, folders etc. Izaya turned to the door as a table was being brought in, he simply grinned and watched. "How did I end up carrying all the heavy stuff?" the one carrying the table said.
"Ah! It's because Dotachin is stronger~" Izaya replied playfully.
Yeah, it seemed as though, that not only Shinra was becoming his friend. Kyohei Kadota was too. The boy who he had previously thought was picking on Shinra. He didn't know when it happened, Kadota seemed very much down to earth, he was pretty easy to get along with now that Izaya had spent a bit of time around him. In all honesty, Izaya kind of loved to tease him, even more then Shinra. Kadota responded without tease though, he would just get annoyed for a few seconds and then brush it off.
"Please! Please please. We're not going to get a lot done if it's just the two of us" Shinra whined. The day after their discussion about the building, Shinra had opted to try to get Kyohei to join them, Izaya couldn't control whom Shinra chose to be friends with. Since Izaya didn't have the same chosen class as him, it was only natural for Shinra to try and befriend another for company.
"We don't really need it Shinra, the help I mean"
"Come on! I know you'll get along! I promise!"
Izaya rolled his eyes as he plucked out the fatty tuna from Shinra's bento box. "How do we know he'd be willing to join anyway?"
"Well, I asked him"
"And?"
"He said he would"
Izaya chuckled "Just like that? And you just believe him?"
"I can tell he's serious! Just give him a chance"
So, Izaya did. He didn't regret it either, Kadota had proved to be very committed, he was also rather excited when Shinra told him about their plans for the building.
Kadota placed the table down in the centre. "A little to the left" Izaya told him, Kadota scowled at him and Izaya laughed "I'm kidding Dotachin~"
The brown-haired man sighed "Will you stop calling me Dotachin" Izaya shrugged, he never listened, so Kadota wondered why he bothered asking. "I'll go get the last table" and then he left the room again, Izaya simply chuckled at his annoyance. He began emptying the boxes and setting out the writing equipment on the table. He walked to the already placed file cabinet and slipped all the folders in one draw and the spare paper in the one below. It seemed strange to him, this school was a lot more open about it's after school clubs, especially knowing what they were researching. Izaya didn't know why, maybe it was just more encouraging to their students? As if they thought that whatever they were up to, would take them far in their future. The head seemed optimistic, willing to donate some desks and office equipment that wasn't being used. He had even given them a second model computer from the old faculty lounge. Izaya wondered if the head was just trying to keep his students out of trouble, Izaya's little stunt on the roof had certainly gone around the school rather quickly, it wasn't his intention to get a reputation as such, but he didn't really care either way.
With Kadota around them now, the bullies seemed to pick on Shinra even less then before. Seemed their new friend had a bit of a protective streak, Izaya was grateful, that someone else, other then him, was looking out for Shinra.
Shinra panted as he walked through the door, holding two chairs. "I- I thought…you…helping" he breathed out as he set the two chairs down beside the desk.
Izaya looked at him with amusement "I am"
Shinra pouted "I meant physically"
"You and Dotachin are doing a fine job on your own, I'm the better organizer, the better brains," Kadota grunted as carried the other desk into the room just as Izaya was finishing his sentence. "Isn't that what you wanted to pump me for?"
Kadota almost dropped the table, he set it down with a thud and choked. "What?!"
Shinra glared at Izaya who just laughed at his discomfort. "You're so cruel!" he whined
Kadota simply stared at the two, waiting for an explanation. Izaya looked over at him and waved his hand dismissively. "Relax Dotachin. It's not what you think. I was just joking, simply saying that I'm the brains, while you're the muscle"
Kadota merely shrugged "If you say so"
Shinra pouted again "Hey. So what does that make me then?"
Izaya shrugged and then grinned as he pushed the table against the other, creating an L shape. "Bait, I guess"
"Bait?! For what?"
"Ghosts? Just encase we need a decoy or something"
Shinra whined and stomped his foot "That's horrible!"
Kadota laughed "He's kidding. Come on, we all know you got the brains too"
Izaya chuckled as he led Shinra out of the room "Come on, I'll help bring the other chairs up" he said and then called over his shoulder. "Dotachin~ can you bring up the computer equipment!"
Kadota snorted. Izaya knew very well that the computer boxes were heavier. "God damn it, what a pain he is"
Friday, 9pm, abandoned building
All three newfound friends were to meet at the old building at exactly 9:30. Izaya leaned against the fence, checking his phone, it had full battery and his backpack contained any essentials he might need. He looked at the building, wandering how they were going to get in there. He had brought wire cutters with him, but began second guessing that idea, he didn't want to get in trouble for trespassing. But the building was blocked off for a reason, and Izaya wanted to find out why. "I'm early. I wander if I should get a head start?" he said to himself as he eyed the fence, trying to decide if he could scale it. He shrugged and took a few steps back, then lunged himself up the fence, clinging onto the wires and pulling himself up. He may be small, but he was a good climber. He pulled himself over the top, grateful for no sharp wires sticking out. He chucked his bag down first and then made a graceful landing as he jumped from the fence.
Izaya picked up his pack and fished out his torch; zipping up the bag, he slung it back over his shoulder. He took a breath and began to walk the distance to the building. He flicked the torch on the moment he stepped up to the door. He cringed as the wood beneath his feet creaked and he'd be willing to bet the whole building was like this. They'd been able to research the building to a certain point. It was at least seventy years old and was built with nothing but wood and nails, not exactly the sturdiest of buildings, even a short span of seven decades wouldn't take long for it to begin rotting away. Given the change of seasons over time, Izaya was amazed it was still here. They couldn't get a floor plan, so they would just have to search blindly. Izaya didn't mind, it was the whole point of coming here after all, to figure out what used to be here.
He found it rather sceptical though, since they only managed to find half explanations as to what this place really was. It seemed as though nobody really knew, the articles they'd found each suggested a different purpose. Izaya got the feeling, that those who made up sketchy comments, didn't want to talk about it. He pulled his phone out, sending a quick text to Shinra and then placed it back in his jacket.
Izaya placed the lit torch in his mouth to free up his hands, he pushed against the wooden door, placing all of his weight against it. It creaked open as he had suspected, and he pushed until the door was fully open. He shone the torch around as he made the first steps inside. The entrance itself was bare, nothing but an old dusty rug lay in the middle, in fact, there was dust everywhere, and a lot of cobwebs. To be expected Izaya thought nonchalantly.
Shinra smiled as he ran to meet Kadota at the fence, dead on 9:30. "Hey" Kadota greeted first. "I just got here, no need to rush. Still waiting on Izaya"
Shinra smiled nervously "Yeah. About that. He's already inside"
Kadota's eyes widened a fraction "Seriously?! This a habit of his? Just goes on in alone like that?"
Shinra laughed "I don't know about that. But he's definitely not the type to scare easily"
Kadota sighed "God damn it" he then looked up at the fence. "He probably scaled it. I don't see any self-made holes anywhere"
Shinra pouted "I was afraid you'd say that. Gym was never my strong suit, and just so you know, it still isn't"
Kadota chuckled and shuffled his bag on both shoulders as he jumped up at the fence, getting a good first grip. "Come on. I'll help you"
Shinra looked up at the fence again, between Izaya and Kadota, the two of them were bound to get him into trouble at points in their friendship. Snapping out of his thoughts, he realized Kadota was already halfway up, waiting for him, reaching his hand down. Shinra took a deep breath and then jumped as high as he could. He managed to climb toward Kadota only to begin slipping, but Kadota grabbed his hand before he could fall and together they made their way to the top. Shinra panted, he was so not made for this, he wasn't exaggerating when he said gym wasn't his strong suit. He watched then, as Kadota jumped off and landed with a slight stumble, looking up at him, telling him that it was his turn. He just made it look so easy
"Your turn" Shinra whined and then closed his eyes, letting go and landed on his feet, only to stumble forward rather pathetically until he landed on his face. Kadota snorted, trying hard not to laugh. "You ok?"
Shinra lifted his head, wiping off the dirt from his face and groaning as he stood up. He then sighed and said "Let's go see where Izaya is. Make sure he's not getting into trouble somewhere"
Kadota looked at the building "You really think we'll find anything?"
Shinra shrugged "Probably not. But the information we gathered about the place sure seemed fishy"
Kadota nodded "You're right about that"
The two made their way to the entrance, each retrieving their torches.
Izaya was already making his way through the first floor of the building, he had found several rooms, all set up exactly the same, as far as he could tell. He found no pictures on the walls or anything that suggested the rooms had even been occupied. The beds in the rooms he'd searched were made, and but a single two chest draw lay next to it.
He reached the end of the hallway and found the first staircase, as he stepped up he suddenly felt something harshly brush by him. Startled, he dropped the torch, his breathing becoming heavy for a moment. He gripped the banister to calm himself. When the panic past, he picked up his torch, noticing that it had clicked off. He clicked it again, but nothing happened. "Shit" not willing to go back and just wait for the others, he placed his hand back on the banister and used the wall to feel his way up the stairs. It probably would have been a lot easier to have done this during the day. He reached the top of the stairs, and again, he was met with a long corridor. "How many rooms does this place have?"
"Izaya! Are you here!?" Shinra.
Took them long enough Izaya thought, he looked down to see Shinra and Kadota at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm up here" he told them.
"Just what were you thinking? Going off alone" Kadota said as they ascended the stairs.
Izaya grinned "I got here early. Don't worry, nothing happened"
Shinra shook his head "And what if it did?"
"Then I suppose you'd have to come help me"
Kadota rolled his eyes "You could worry a little you know"
Izaya chuckled and carried on in the direction he had been about to head in.
"Did you see all the rooms downstairs?" Izaya asked after a few seconds.
"Yeah" Kadota was the first to reply "Kind of weird. Like they hadn't even been used"
"My thoughts exactly"
Shinra nodded and they decided to split up and search the second-floor rooms, since there were so many.
Izaya took the first four on the left, Kadota the first four on the right, and Shinra took the four further down, two left on each side.
After the last room was searched, Izaya came out and met Kadota back in the hallway. Izaya handed Kadota an old book that he'd found in one of the rooms. "What is it?" Kadota asked, flipping the first page. "Some kind of passage?" at least, that's what it seemed at first glance.
"I thought it was a rule book. I'm starting to think this place might have been some kind of boarding school"
"Really? What makes you say that? I mean, you're right about this book, from what I can make from it, there's a lot of rules in here"
"I found one in every room I searched"
Kadota tilted his head "Really? I didn't find anything like this"
Izaya checked one of the rooms Kadota had searched and noticed the difference. "Perhaps this side was for the teachers, and the other the students?"
"Maybe, would explain the rule book only being in the rooms you searched" Kadota flicked the pages of the book and stopped when he found something. "Hey, there's a name here" he said as he showed it to Izaya.
Izaya looked at it "Harima, Mika" they then searched the other rooms again, looking inside the books. They both came out again. "I also got Kamichika, Rio and Mikajima, Saki" he informed him
"I also found Niekawa, Haruna"
Izaya touched his finger and thumb to his chin in thought "All girl names"
Kadota nodded "Yeah. Maybe an all girl's school?"
Izaya looked up at him "Possibly"
All of a sudden, they heard a loud scream, they looked at one another, coming to the same conclusion. "Shinra!"
Izaya and Kadota ran down the last stretch of corridor, just as they were about to enter the room to which they believed Shinra was in, Izaya tripped. Kadota halted and knelt down. "Izaya! Are you ok?"
Izaya's eyes widened as he looked down, but he couldn't see anything. "S-Something is grabbing me; it's got my ankle"
"What? I can't see anything, are you sure?"
Izaya nodded, trying to yank his leg back. "Something has hold of me!" he shouted in panic. Kadota grabbed Izaya from under his arms and pulled, he felt the tug and gasped in surprise.
"Shit" he pulled Izaya toward him, but whatever had hold of his ankle wasn't willing to let go. It was then they heard the scream again. "Dammit!"
Izaya pushed at Kadota's leg "Get Shinra!"
"What?! I gotta help you first"
"Who knows what's happening to him! Get Shinra first!"
Kadota clenched his fists, not overly happy with the decision, but he relented; Izaya was probably right, Shinra could be in worse danger. He ran into the room and froze. Shinra was against the wall, trying to fend off some kind of invisible source. He was clawing at his neck, as if whatever it was, was trying to strangle him. "Shinra!" Kadota grabbed hold of Shinra and the speckled man coughed as he in took air. "Are you all right!? What happened!?" Kadota tried desperately to search the room, but he couldn't see anything. "This isn't good. We should get out of here"
Shinra rubbed his neck "But we're no closer to finding anything about this place. Something definitely grabbed me, I was so scared…"
"You're safe now. Izaya thinks its- oh shit! Izaya!" Kadota then ran out of the room, leaving Shinra to blink in confusion after him.
Izaya gritted his teeth as he held onto one of the door frames, whatever it was, it was determined. He then looked back at his ankle, that's when he saw it, the spirit from the window. he yelped as his fingers slipped from the frame and he was dragged across the floor. He tried to grab another door frame, but the grip tightened, and he slid across the last stretch of hallway, his eyes locked onto the door in front of him across the landing. The spirit had no intention of stopping and Izaya covered himself as he was forced through the door. "Agh!"
Kadota shouted in dismay. "Shit!"
Shinra came out of the room, hearing Kadota's panicked voice. "What? What's wrong?"
"He's gone" Kadota gritted out
"Don't worry, he's probably gone to another part of the house already"
"No! when we heard you scream we both ran to get you. but Izaya tripped, it seemed like something was pulling on his ankle. He told me to get you first"
Shinra's panic soon set in, "But then- if he's not here…then-"
"Something dragged him off"
"We have to find him! He could be hurt or trapped or-" Shinra began to hyperventilate, Kadota grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
"Shinra! Calm down, we'll find him!"
Shinra tried to get his breathing under control "But-"
"We'll find him…" Kadota repeated more calmly, he was worried too, but seeing as Shinra was already losing it, someone had to be the collected one. "Where's your torch?"
Shinra sighed "I dropped it; I think it's broken"
"Stay close to me" Kadota said as he clicked his torch back on and made their way to the end of the corridor, he froze then "Shinra…." He called in a whisper. "The door…"
Shinra poked his head around him "Its been busted through, almost as if…"
Kadota frowned "Yeah. Izaya was probably dragged through there"
Izaya groaned as he sat up, his back was feeling some bruising. He looked around, he could barely see anything and then he remembered that his torch wasn't working, he fished out his matches that he'd used to search the rooms with. He stood up and hissed as he fell backwards against the wall. He glanced down and struck a match, letting the light near his foot, he lifted up his trouser leg and sure enough, there was a lot of swelling. Fear crept up his spine, the swelling didn't bother him, but something else entirely. There was a handprint, an angry red handprint. He yelped when the match burnt down to his fingers as he hadn't been paying attention to it. He jumped when a sudden loud banging noise sounded around the walls.
"Did you hear that?" Kadota asked
Shinra gulped "Very much so"
"Izaya!" Kadota ran across the landing, he threw open the door and almost sighed in relief. Izaya looked over, seeing his two friends by the door, grateful to see Shinra was ok too. "Are you hurt?"
"My ankle. I can't move it, but I'm ok" Kadota and Shinra made their way into the room, with the light of Kadota's torch, Izaya could see better. "It looks like a-" the two turn to him, wandering why he stopped.
"Izaya?" Shinra called, Izaya was looking up, they followed his line of vision and saw a rope, tied into a noose. "Oh…"
Kadota stepped closer to it, "Don't think this needs to be voiced, we all know what happened here" he said solemnly
Izaya flinched when he spotted the spirit at the back of the room, he tried to remain calm, he then noticed a darker patch on the spirit, a ring around her neck. Izaya looked at the rope and then back at her.
"Hey, Izaya," Kadota called "you ok? what are you looking at?" Izaya was about to reply when the loud banging sounded again, rattling the walls. They all jumped, Shinra latched onto Kadota's arm since he was the closest to him, to which the man didn't blame him. Izaya's eyes were glued to the back of the room, where the spirit-that only he could see-was still present. It seemed to lock eyes with him, and Izaya felt as though it were looking straight into the depths of his soul. Suddenly, the temperature in the room grew cold. "Let's get out of here, it's getting dangerous, I feel like I'm about to get frost bite or something"
Izaya pushed off the wall and limped across the room, toward where the spirit was, it pointed at the wall. Shinra watched Izaya carefully, it was as if he was looking at someone, but there was nothing there. "Izaya….let's get out of here, ok? come on, you're hurt" Shinra told him.
"Not yet. I think there's something-" all of a sudden, the floor creaked loudly, there was an echoing splitting sound. Izaya froze, looking down at the floor. He swallowed back the fear, but his heart was hammering against his chest. "D-Dotachin…."
"Shit, Izaya…don't move, ok? I'm coming to you…"
"Izaya!" Shinra called in panic
Kadota screamed behind him "Shinra! Stay back!"
Shinra backed up, staring at them with worry.
Izaya glanced at the spirit, he could have sworn it was trying to tell him something. The floor cracked around him slowly, he didn't dare move, he turned his head slightly without moving his body. "Dotachin….help"
"I'm here. it's ok. When I say so, I want you to reach out and grab my hand ok? I'll pull you back"
"I'm gonna fall…."
"No, you're not. I'll grab you; I won't let you drop"
Shinra wanted to call out to them, tell them to hurry up, but he could see the fear radiating from his friend's body. "Izaya…." Shinra whispered, why couldn't he be more fearless? Why couldn't he be there, be there for his friend when he needed him the most.
The floor suddenly gave way and Kadota lunged forward just as Izaya turned around and reached out his hand. "Izaya!" Kadota grabbed his wrist tightly and pulled him back just as the floor collapsed. He then shouted for Shinra to run, coaxing Izaya to climb on his back. Kadota ran with him and they made a dash down the stairs, they heard the rest of the floor collapse behind them from the room. Shinra was the first outside, followed soon after by Kadota, with Izaya clutching onto him. The two panted. "What the hell was that?"
Shinra shook his head "I don't know. It's a sure sign of paranormal activity. Creaking floors, banging…"
"I wasn't talking to you" Shinra blinked up at him
"Oh"
Kadota felt Izaya tense "Hey. What was that about? Why didn't you listen to me? What were you doing? You almost got yourself killed!"
Izaya pushed against him "Let me down" he said, trying to hide how shaken he was
Kadota sighed and gently knelt down, easing Izaya off to sit on the wooden step. "So? What happened back there?" Izaya remained quiet, wrapping his arms around his knees, ignoring the ache in his ankle. "Answer me! Izaya! What did you think you were doing? You're lucky I caught you!"
Shinra frowned and stepped between them "Hey. Lay off will you?"
Kadota glared at him and turned away from them, he then sighed, trying to calm down. After all, Izaya wasn't to know that the floor was going to collapse, was he? And right now, he was probably in shock. "Sorry…. I get protective about my friends"
Shinra then smiled "It's ok, we're lucky you were there" he then turned and knelt beside Izaya, he didn't say anything, but he motioned for his ankle. "Can I take a look? I brought bandages" Izaya merely nodded and leant back on his palms, holding his ankle out. He hissed when Shinra took his shoe off and then his sock. "I don't think it's broken, but it's definitely sprained"
Kadota turned around "How'd you know?"
Shinra laughed lightly "Well. My dad is a doctor. He wants me to follow him someday, but, my interests lie elsewhere. I feel like this is my calling, the paranormal world is too fascinating"
Izaya chuckled then, as if coming out of his shock. "Screaming like a girl notwithstanding?"
Shinra pouted "I screamed a manly scream!"
Kadota joined in the laughter and then sat beside the raven as Shinra began to bandage his ankle. "Sorry for the outburst" he said, admitting with slight embarrassment
Izaya shrugged "Ne. You're protective, you look out for people, not a bad trait to have, I guess"
"Think so?"
Shinra nodded with a smile, setting Izaya's foot down gently. "Absolutely. I mean, who knows what would have happened in there. See Izaya, I told you we needed him"
Izaya smacked him upside the head "Shut up"
Shinra rubbed his head, poking his tongue out. Kadota brought out his phone. "It'll be light soon. We better head home" Kadota stood up, he then looked down at Izaya. "You gonna be ok getting back?" Izaya nodded and Kadota helped him to his feet. They walk toward the fence as the sky was slowly getting light, Izaya looked up hesitantly toward the top, Kadota nudged him with a small grin. "You know, it's not a bad thing to ask for help, you're gonna have a bit of trouble walking around for a while as it is, I doubt you're feeling up to the climb, am I right?"
Izaya avoided his gaze, but he sighed "I'm pretty beat" he admitted
"I'm not surprised!" Shinra exclaimed "You were dragged through a door for crying out loud! And you nearly collapsed with the floor! Of course I was almost strangled to death, but I guess you did get worse off"
Izaya scowled in annoyance "Was there a point to that?"
"No. I guess not" Shinra grinned at him and Izaya rolled his eyes.
Kadota knelt down a little "Get on"
Izaya lowered his head, clearly embarrassed, but reached an arm around Kadota's neck and the other lifted him with ease onto his back. Kadota began the climb, being more careful then before, he soon swung over the other side and climbed down, he lowered Izaya to the ground and started back up. "Better help the idiot over, don't wanna have him sprain an ankle too, we'll never hear the end of it then"
Izaya nodded with a chuckle
"Hey!" Whined Shinra "I heard that!"
After helping Shinra down, the three friends look toward the building. "That was intense. I've never experienced anything like that before" Kadota said seriously
"I'd be lying if I said I had" Izaya replied with a frown I'm not giving up yet, something happened in that building that no one was meant to know, I'm going to found out what that is
