Everything intensifies as Izaya finds out a plausible clue to what he is dealing with. Time of uprising against the nightmares! To those who noticed and failed to notify me, Izaya's sister's name is Mairu not Marui (my bad). I'll be re-uploading the revised version of Chapter 2 sooner with only Mairu's name as the thing changed. I'm also happy about the performance of the first three chapters. I really appreciate it, guys. ^^ Keep the reviews coming onegaishimasu!

Disclaimer: I do not own DRRR! Man, approaching much wilder yaoi scenes… here or further chapters. Shizaya rocks!

Warnings: Yaoi, horror, gore and fancies!

…

Rain of Despair

…

"I didn't think you're a type to give in to kisses so easy."

"Izaya? Why aren't you picking up? What time are you going home?"

"What seriously is going on…?"

'Heiwajima is screwed. I have lots of works to do. No time to deal with your psychedelic, homosexual dreams.'

"Ever since then, deaths have become contagious. Like it's a damn airborne disease."

…

Rain of Despair

One nightmare after another… and all I get are shaky legs…

…

"Sit tight, Shizu-chan." Shizuo groans up from the bed and then he holds his head for a little headache. He breathes heavily while sitting up and recovering from shock of what he just has seen. He then looks around and sees no Izaya littering around like how he used to. It is the first night that Izaya has never come back to his house… ever since he did start coming. However, Shizuo does not have the time to contemplate of possible scenarios as to why the flea is not with him… and it is not like he wants the guy to be. But on the contrary, he has never experienced dreaming so bad whenever Izaya is around him… well, literally.

"This guy loves fainting." Shizuo sighs as he finishes getting dressed, preparing futons, and laying Izaya at one of them. Just earlier that day, a little girl seems to attack Izaya and has made him lose consciousness. Despite his inclusion in the brunet's horrible day nightmare, he does not know why Izaya fainted and as to why he has scratches, wounds and bruises all over his body. He knows the flea will not die from it… but it seems that the ghost is making him suffer mentally and physically. It cannot be as simple as a ghost haunting people… it has to be something more in order to have the guy become manipulated to the extent of almost dying, if Izaya is just a normal bastard.

And before he knows it, he is already stroking at Izaya's hair particularly at those that are left astray on his face. He blushes a little yet he continues doing it, thinking that Izaya will not be awake in a matter of seconds. He then brings himself down at the other futon with his hands under his head. Too bad that Izaya destroyed the pillows earlier that day and now he is lying down without any while he has folded Izaya's jacket to cushion the unconscious' head. The blond sighs and then he closes his eyes and tries to sleep everything through. Until he feels light movements at his side, probably Izaya moving around… and trying to snuggle him again. He opens his eyes and glares at his side, "Seriously? Do you want to die?"

"…" No answers come from the brunet… who really did move to snuggle Shizuo. His arms are above the blond's chest again and his head lies at the blond's arm. He just wants to remain hidden by the covers that he pulls to cover him and just around Shizuo's shoulder. Shizuo then uses his other hand to raise the cover and see Izaya looking back at him with a smile that he wants to be a grin but cannot. The blond sighs and talks while he resumes staring at the ceiling, "How long have you been awake?" Izaya chuckles and huddles closer much to Shizuo's ignored protest, "Just seconds ago. I thought you were already asleep." One of his hands then finds its way to the blond's further shoulder to clutch at, "I can't deny it… I feel much better when we're close."

Shizuo suddenly blushes for reminiscing such an embarrassing scene… yet he can admit it does feel better when they are close to each other. And maybe Izaya's absence is starting to get to his head… now that he never did see Izaya yesterday. As much as Shizuo thinks for the contrary is as much as the truth starts to squish through his mind. Right now, all he ever wanted is to see… no, crush Izaya. He must enforce that his only mission is to kill the flea. But unlike his plans, his heart starts to ache and falter whenever he thinks of how Izaya looked and talked the last night he was with him. The words coming out from his mouth seems to be NOT so Izaya… like he is definitely disoriented.

"I can't deny it… I feel much better when we're close." His words echo in the blond's head and then it gets enough to irritate him. He then gets up and readies himself for work… and a time to vent out his anger for the ghosts and the dreams that are fucking with them to the bastards who won't just pay their debts. He gets out of his house in full gear and then he starts heading to where Tom is usually waiting for him. And along the way, voices keep on calling him… however, he is able to resist their calling and ignore them for the rest of the day. And even though he wouldn't admit, he does not have the time to mess around… until he finds Izaya.

…

Rain of Despair

Rei Haruno —Sakura no Imooto

Chapter 4: Obituaries

…

With the stylus pen clicking impatiently against the desk until it breaks, Izaya expresses his agitation and impatience. His computer has suddenly broken down and now he's left to buying another phone and having his research done like that. Just yesterday morning, he has met with the little girl that has first bothered him big time. She has granted his little request and the things he experiences are nothing compared to what Shizuo sees which he does not enjoy seeing at all… maybe just because that girl is beyond his control. Everything that makes the people suffer should be under his control… that is how he loves humans. Apparently, that ghost girl is one big-ass nuisance to his love.

Basically, he is on to that Shinjuku incident Bacula (or also known as Masaomi) has mentioned at the chat room… however, everything he checks are giving irrelevant information and all the important ones are getting blocked out. Researching about just some fat-ass massacre should not be this hard for the information dealer such as himself… yet being on it for almost two days now and gathering nothing concrete make him impatient and mad. Just one night ago, the boggling things have taken the best of him… making him appear so weak in front of Shizuo. So baffled and disoriented, it is such a shame. Yet Shizuo's response forces a smile to his lips amidst the humiliated and impatient face.

"I can't deny it… I feel much better when we're close." Izaya chuckles and then Shizuo blushes… only to kiss his forehead much to Izaya's surprise, "Forget about it. Just sleep, you bastard."

Boom! A loud and sudden sound of breaking in destroys Izaya's trance and the brunet cannot help but to fish for his knife inside his jacket with a very angry face, "Who would—?" A sudden thought pops in his head and then he erases his anger with anticipation and excitement. He drops the new phone at the desk and hops off the desk only to welcome his guest… which is really who he expects to come, "Shizu-chan!" Shizuo grunts as he hears Izaya and sees him lounge at him for a hug… with his hand covering Izaya's face as he seems to kiss the blond, "Uh. What the fuck have you been doing in here?" Izaya tries to take off Shizuo's hand without unwrapping his hands around the blond's neck, "Everything starts malfunctioning so… that's how they end up." The blond looks around Izaya's office where there are a lot of broken devices littering around, "Your secretary should be cleaning this."

"It's fine." Izaya let goes and walks back to his desk as Shizuo follows suit, "Namie is in, uhm, a vacation and she won't be around these days. Business suddenly grows pale and I don't have anything to get busy with…" He then settles at his seat and Shizuo sits at the desk as he tries to check what Izaya is doing. The brunet then shows him a headliner at a newspaper in Shinjuku through his cellphone, "But this." Shizuo takes his phone and then browses through the article as Izaya stands up to place his chin at the blond's shoulder, "Look here. That girl that is holding a bear." Shizuo twitches and hisses as he glares at Izaya for the awkward position, "She's the child ghost a day ago."

"Apparently… I don't think she's the only one responsible for what's happening…" Izaya gets off to look for something along his things and then Shizuo stares at the whole family picture and spots another little girl at the portrait, "Little girls? No, you are talking about a whole family?" Then Izaya dangles an old small coin amulet at the blond's face, "Everyone who finds this at Shinjuku is getting affected by somewhat we can assume a curse. I'm still looking up for how things work for them… but apparently, the curse is the one contagious." The blond looks at the brunet and then Izaya walks back to his seat and swirls the seat, "And it won't stop until the holder of the amulet dies."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean 'the curse is contagious'?" Shizuo hisses as he gives back the coin back to Izaya who duly answers, "Those ghosts attack the holder's mentality… and as long as s/he has someone to lean on and borrow strength from, they cannot really kill them. And to break the barrier, they also resort to torture the ones that the holder… loves… or who loves him or her." He shrugs and then turns around with the back of the chair facing Shizuo, "That other little girl talks about you loving me… so she comes after you. And the other members of the family bug me… the one on the phone must have been the mother."

"You dragged me into this?" Shizuo groans as he hits the desk with his fist, "Do you know what—?" Izaya swirls around again to face Shizuo with a serious face, "To be honest, I asked that girl to show me what she is making you see every time. And I was actually bothered." The blond clutches at the desk which the unfortunate area duly breaks and then Izaya stands up to explain much more, "However, to be able to pass it around, people need physical contact or communication at least. As long as you don't talk to your brother, he'll be safe from the curse." He then goes back to his chair to erase the serious face with an arrogant grin, "However, everything I said is just out of my own conclusions… since I was not able to access anything about it. Every important info is getting blocked out… these ghosts are surely troublesome."

"So basically, this thing has to remain a secret to keep it from spreading across Ikebukuro." Shizuo speaks and then Izaya looks at him with a smile, "Right. No one should know that we are both suffering from nightmares. And based from my own investigations, you're almost putting Celty and Simon in trouble. However, you haven't been affected when you were talking to them so I suggest you can't do it again." The blond widens his eyes and then he takes a deep breath to restrain his anger and come up with a clear chitchat, "You said this will only stop when the holder dies. Would that mean his loved ones will die first before he does?"

Izaya twitches and then he stares at him for a while… only to stand up and lean closer to Shizuo with his arms stretched towards the desk as support. With a maniacal grin at the brunet's face, the blond knows that he is again up to something well-planned and dangerous… or perhaps something drastic in cases like this. "Those ghosts attack one's mentality. If the holder breaks down and kills himself before someone else dies because of him, the curse will still stop." He then leans closer yet Shizuo glares back and not even moving a bit… making Izaya's nose an inch before his, "I maybe a psycho but I'm not going to get myself killed. So how about we purify those bitches?"

The blond twitches and then Izaya pulls back to stroke at his chin, "However, I have to identify the identity of these ghosts and the very play of their modus first. Let's talk about this again when I have concrete information… it's kind'a hard to work without anything I can use for my maximum benefit." The blond hums and then prepares to leave, "Tch. Fine. I'm going." The brunet twitches and then he grabs his cellphone and pockets it as well as his knife, "Shizu-chan, wait for me." Shizuo glares at him and starts hissing, "What do you mean 'wait for you', huh? I don't like walking with you, you bastard." The brunet grins and chuckles maniacally, "It wounds me, Shizu-chan. I just wanted to go out of my office with you."

Without any protests that he finds futile, Shizuo kicks the door open again and walks out with hands at the pockets… with Izaya waking behind him doing the same. As they wait for the elevator, Izaya looks back at where his office is… only to find the little girl with the bear peeping from the corner. The brunet frowns at her and then she speaks without a voice, her lips moving so definite as to what she wants to say, 'Don't come home… please.' The information dealer grins in malice as he starts to have a much definite differentiation about the ghosts. The elevator dings and then the two walk in, leaning their backs at the wall of the elevator. And before the double door closes, they see the girl standing before the elevator and she suddenly stretches her hand, "Please don't come home!" The doors cuts her hand off… leaving nothing but blood staining the doors and the area nearby. Shizuo hisses and then Izaya grins, "I won't…"

…

Rain of Despair

…

"I guess I have to ask for her assistance while we're on it." Izaya whispers as he types in a message to Namie while waiting for the elevator to reach the bottom. The signal is usually distorted in elevators so it is nothing that alarms the both of them. What makes it suspicious is that the elevator is taking too long to descend from every floor which pisses Shizuo off. However, kicking or destroying the elevator might get them in trouble. And within this closed space, a strong breeze of awkward feeling envelops the two… both of them thinking about everything that has been happening. Izaya then moves closer to the blond and he whispers, "I wonder what we will do when we meet at your house again." Shizuo glares at him and then hisses, "I have work to do. Go and stick your ass somewhere else."

"I know." The brunet finishes typing and waits for the damn elevator… yet time gets longer and longer every time it passes by a floor. The brunet then frowns at the floor meter and whispers with a grin, "This can't be good, Shizu-chan." The blond scoffs at the idea and prepares himself for punches again, "I guess they're here to play again." The brunet fishes for his knife and then the elevator opens at a floor where a woman is waiting. She wears a green shirt and pink long skirt… her eyes showing wonder at the scary-looking guys at the elevator. Izaya then smiles at her and she goes in, staying as far as she can from the two guys. The elevator closes its doors and Izaya starts talking to the woman, "I have never seen you around here. Are you here to visit someone?"

"Y-yes." The woman whispers as an answer, still trying to get cautious around them. Shizuo then stares elsewhere like the wall at his side… only to notice something strange and weird. Izaya then continues to talk to the woman to make her feel comfortable or secured at least, "Hm. You don't look like a client for business, brought someone lunch maybe?" The woman then smiles and looks at Izaya with a reassuring smile, "I was looking for my daughters. I just thought I might find them here." Shizuo then looks at the woman and then Izaya starts staring at her… finally feeling something is amiss from the way she now looks at them. She then continues to talk, "And you know what? I found one of them already…"

"It's the mother!" Shizuo then exclaims as a sticky blood-looking red-black thing coats the walls of the elevator. Izaya draws out his knife and then the woman begins to bleed everywhere possible, "There you are, Izaya. I have been looking for you. Why won't you come home? You're leaving me no choice but to hunt you down, dearie." Her face then begins to distort and then her head grows terribly bigger as if trying to gulp one person wholly in one bite, "IIIIIZAAAAAYAAAAA!" She then moves and attempts to bite Izaya's head off if only Shizuo has not gone in front of him and holds the teeth to keep her mouth open, "Oi, Izaya! Don't just stand there!"

Izaya frowns and then tries to figure out what to do with a monster trying to eat the two of them. The tongue then crawls out and wraps around Shizuo to crush him with it, "You get away from my daughter and die." The blond endures the crushing and throws the gigantic head to the side, making the mother squeal in pain and earn a big-ass wheal at the left side of her face. He also pulls on the tongue to let go of him but it unwraps itself and lashes at Shizuo, slamming him at the wall. Izaya then grins and tries to get near and kill the woman with a heart stab… however, when he jumps off, her arm extends and grabs his ankle and slams him at the floor, "Izaya, you shouldn't play with blades. They are dangerous."

"Shit." Shizuo whispers as he coughs and wipes off blood from his mouth for getting hardly pummeled at the wall. The arm then shortens as it drags Izaya and the head gets lift up to bite the holder of the amulet, "Bad girl. I see why you're not coming home, dearie. Sorry, I'm not letting you elope with a boyfriend." She then readies to bite him but then her teeth break at the same semi-invisible ball protects Izaya from her, "AHHHH! Die! Die! Die!" Her other arms then tries to lash out at Shizuo but the guy gets up and dodges the attack. The mother groans again and then Izaya uses his knife to slice her hand off her wrist and his ankle. The woman then starts crying, "WHYYYYYYYY? Why won't you come home, baby? Mommy just… Mommy just…" She fades out as well as the sticky blood at the walls of the elevator. Izaya gets up and tends to Shizuo… until the elevator suddenly slides down the shaft to destruction.

…

Rain of Despair

…

"There. There. Good as new." A familiar voice speaks far away and it feels like someone has been watching him. But the gaze gets lifted as he hears Shizuo talk at about the same distance, "Psh. Shitty elevators." He opens an eye and sees Celty sitting beside him and then Shizuo and Shinra are talking at the seats across. His reddish orbs stare at the blond's multiple wounds and then he realizes that he cannot even move at all. He then looks down at his form… filled with bandages at almost everywhere and in different clothes. There are also casts embracing his one arm and leg… probably from the fatal fall they had. Based from what he remembers, after they have dealt with the mother ghost, the elevator suddenly crashes down without any probable reason.

Miraculously, they are still alive and then a cellphone blocks his view, "Are you feeling better now, Izaya?" He then looks at Celty who seems to be smiling back at him. She then types in for Izaya to hear her thoughts, "Shizuo said that the elevator you two are in suddenly fell off. To be honest, I was surprised he can still carry you and walk here after the accident." Izaya grins and then notices that his face must have patches as well… and then Celty adds up, "You shouldn't move much. You should rest some more." Shizuo and Shinra then look at them and then the doctor speaks, "Wow, Izaya's awake. Does he need redressing?" Celty types in, "Not really, but I think we can't just move him."

"It's enough." Shizuo stands up from the chair and speaks, "He'll be fine. Thanks, Shinra." He then kneels beside Izaya, "Oi, we're getting out of here." Izaya grins a bit… feeling a bit awkward just because he can't even speak. Celty tries to stop Shizuo and insists to have him stay for a while since Izaya has just awakened. But Shizuo carries him for a piggy-back again and walks away, "Don't worry, this flea won't die." Carefully walking around to avoid Izaya's fractures to be hit by anything, Shizuo takes him and then Shinra just lets them go after covering Izaya with his somewhat-bloody jacket, "Like I said, Shizuo, no fighting in your condition."

The two are magically quiet as Shizuo makes their way back to his house… both of them knowing that staying there might endanger the live-in couple. As they reach the house, Shizuo lays him down at a corner and prepares a futon for him again, "Tell me that this must be the most dangerous thing you have dragged me in." The brunet twitches and then he tries to talk, "Heheh, why don't you leave me at a hospital like before?" The blond hums and then he answers, "Hospitals won't probably release us less than a week. We can't wait that long to deal with those fucking ghosts." Izaya grins yet again and tries moving despite the advice, "You're right. I should ask Namie to gather information for me if this is the case."

"I know. I also received a message from Kasuka. He said he'll be back in a week and he wants to see me." Shizuo glares at the brunet as he gazes at him. "I'm not going there as long as this curse is still on me so we better end this quick." The brunet smiles and then the blond comes to get him, "I wonder… if your brother gets affected as well… will there be somebody to give him strength aside from you?" Shizuo looks at him and attempts to drop him instead of bringing him down, until he smirks for same level of disturbing answer, "One of your sister or both of them. Nobody loves them so probably it'll just go around like that." Izaya laughs out despite the pain and then he grins at Shizuo, "That's right. Marui and Kururi will probably take advantage of this."

"You sound like you will still enjoy what will happen." Shizuo glares at him harder and then Izaya answers as he stares straight at the blond's eyes, "Shizu-chan, you're just going to make it harder for yourself if you think about your brother too much. They are using him to get your head spinning and your mind broken." The blond then grabs the brunet's collar and then he hisses at him… controlling himself to prevent sending Izaya back to comatose again, "What do you mean? How can I—?" The brunet presses his finger at Shizuo's lips to prevent him from talking, "Listen, as long as you think about your brother to get through this, the more they use his face to dishevel your composure." The blond lets him go and then Izaya continues, "That's why I say stop loving your brother. Love me instead."

A grin comes after from the brunet and then Shizuo looks at him with a glare and mad smirk, "Are you fucking kidding me?" Izaya leans closer the blond and whispers with seduction, "Why, Shizu-chan? Don't talk like you wouldn't want to make out with me again." He then wraps his better-feeling arm around the blond's neck, "It's the only way that we're going to survive this." The blond then grabs his collar again and expresses more anger in his writhing face, "Izaya… you freaking faggot. You're the only one who would benefit from that fucking love you are talking about." Izaya smirks at him and then he leans some more, making his lips brush against the blond's, "Oh. You can benefit from it, too. I can relieve your anxiety every time you feel so bad. I can also keep those nightmares away from you…"

The blond then twitches and lets him go before blushing and heading for the fridge, "Fine." Izaya then lies down the bed made for him and watches Shizuo do something at the kitchen. His sight starts to get blur and his lashes start to flutter in fatigue. The brunet closes his eyes and lets unconsciousness get the best of him. However, likewise every time he sleeps without Shizuo close to him, there he stands in another hollow world of black. He then sighs in getting used to and then the little girl with a bear stands before him, "Mama… almost got you. Are you okay?" Izaya hums in wonder and then he answers, "I am physically not okay but you don't have to worry."

"Let's just run away, Izaya. We can't go back home now… Papa is. Papa is…" The girl stutters and then Izaya asks as he walks near her, "What is really happening? Why are you guys killing people? For your information, the way you play with humans is not productive and amusing." She then gets nearer and embraces Izaya's legs, "I don't want to go back home. I don't want to go back home. Papa will be… Mama will be…" Izaya frowns and then he cups his hand at her head, "If you vanish then you won't bother yourself in going home." The girl looks up and she smiles as she reaches out her hands at him, "Izaya… let's vanish together then!"

"Sorry, I don't plan on vanishing just yet." He declines with hand gestures and then the girl grows mad… the pain of Izaya's wounds starts to resonate around his body, "You… you are planning to go home, are you? Are you going to help them make me suffer!? You're the worst sister ever! You should die, too!" Izaya then breaks down in pain again and he holds himself tightly… yet he grins in developing victory, "Heheh, I don't care about you, little girl. And why is everyone calling me daughter, sister or something? I'm a guy." The girl then starts hitting his head with her bear, "Everyone wants me to suffer! Even if I die more than twice, people still spat at me! Why do you all sell yourselves for money!? Why does everyone wants to kill innocent children!? You… you all must have given yourself to PAPA!"

"What? Little girl, listen to me." Izaya laughs out and he tries to sit up despite the rippling pain waving along his body, "I am Izaya Orihara and I am the only one who can control everyone. I don't fall puppet to someone else. Don't expect me to do that, I will only surrender my body and soul to one person. The person that I hate and love the most" He then smiles calmly at her and reaches out to the child ghost's heart, "I want to promise you something. Can you first tell me what your name is?" The girl twitches and her agonizing aura begins to fade as she holds his hand with hers, "Rain… Rain Todo." Izaya grins bigger and speaks some more… testing and risking all his wits in probably tricking and using even non-human beings, "Okay, Rain. How about I help you disappear?"

…

End of Chapter 4

…

"You tricked a monster ghost? Not new for a monstrous flea like you."

"Now, want to continue where we left off?"

"I guess they address everyone daughter or sister. What a shame."

"How? How are you able to live up like this? How?"

"I'm so sorry. And thank you."

"You're not capable of loving people. That's just as simple as that."

Chapter 5: Hearts

"Your love is a nuisance. I don't need it…"