Shizuo was sitting on Shinra's couch with a comical look of discomfort on his face. The blonde squirmed, "Please, you are sitting way too close to me and-wait, are you sniffing me?!" He scrambled away from the other male and plastered himself to the arm of the couch, "WHat the hell are you doing?!"

The man with the faded blue bandana around his neck, who Shizuo thought looked like a homeless person, frowned, "You smell like cat...I don't like cats..." he could swear he heard a french accent.

Shizuo cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well, yeah. I have a cat, actually. Her name's Misha..."

The man grunted, but thankfully got off the couch and stalked off towards the kitchen.

Rachel walked in and took his place.

Now, in the short time that Shizuo had known her (about two days) he had come to know a few things about her. For one, (and quite obviously) she had a short temper-kinda of like himself. The boy that Shinra was currently checking for a concussion was her little brother, Buck. The man earliar was Vincent, her boyfriend-who came back to sit between the two of them with a bowl of the rice Izaya made.

Rachel sighed and ruffled her lover's shaggy hair, "So, the good news is that Buck doesn't have a concussion."

Vincent looked over at her with a mouthful of rice, "What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that when he woke up he puked all over Marie's shirt, so Mrs. Kishitani gave her one of her shirts to wear."

Celty choked on her own spit in the doorway to the examination room, "I-I'M NOT SHINRA'S WIFE!"

Said doctor, while inwardly squealing with joy, hissed from his position by Buck's beside, "Shhh! Izaya's sleeping in the other room, remember?"

"S-Sorry...'m not your wife..."

Shizuo sighed and turned to Rachel, "Where's the rest of your...gang?"

She shrugged, "Most of 'em went back to try to fix the van, but Maria's with Izaya and I think Ian's in the bathroom."

Something suddenly flared in his chest and he dashed over to Shinra, "A-Are you sure she should be in there with him?!"

"SHHHH! She's just sitting next to him just in case he has another nightmare. He shouldn't have been walking around this morning with all his injuries, his sisters' visit didn't help. Besides, last night he had so many nightmares that Celty and I couldn't sleep at all! It should be fine."

A flush of a toilet and Ian walked into the bedroom, giving Buck a nod, "Are you alright, Buck?" The boy shrugged with a wince, "I have a few bruises, but I'm fine, I guess."

Rachel stood up from the couch and smacked Ian on the back of the head, "No thanks to your stupid van."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for that van I wouldn't be stuck wearing this shirt that says "Aliens can suck it""

Buck visibly wilted when Marie came stomping in, his face flushed in shame, "Sorry...Marie"

She shook her head, "Don't worry, it's not your fault. Hey, where's Shizuo?"

Am I jealous-no, not jealous just worried-wait, why the hell am I worried?! I hate the flea!

Nevertheless, Shizuo peaked through the door to take a look at Izaya's sleeping face. Maria hummed something quietly as she stroked the boy's hair. His eyes darted under his eyelids as he dreamed. Maria suddenly stopped her petting and Shizuo looked closer and saw that Izaya was beginning to break out in a sweat. His tongue moved behind his parted lips and he clenched the blankets in his sleep.

I'm sorry

Why are my hands so warm?

I'm sorry

Why is it so dark?

I'm sorry

What have I done?

I'm sorry

Why am I crying?

I'm sorry

Where are you?

I'm sorry

What have I done?

I'm sorry

"TSUKISHIMA!"

Shizuo was honestly surprised that he was having trouble pinning the spasaming Izaya to the bed. He was strong enough to rip out stop signs from the concrete and lift vans with one hand, and yet the informant was able to actually put up a fight. Is the flea as strong as me now!? How is that even possible?! What the hell happened to him!? All the commotion had alerted Shinra and the others, who were currently bursting through the door to help. Shinra ordered everyone else out of the room, save for Maria and Shizuo, and fumbled with something on a cart. "It's a sedative!" he called over Izaya's screams, "What did you do to him?!" Shizuo gaped angrily, "Me?! I didn't do anything! He just had a nightmare and-argh!"

Izaya had somehow broken free from Shizuo's gasp and, with a single lunge, had knocked him off the bed and was straddling his waist. Slim fingers wrapped around his throat and Shizuo dimly noted that there was an absence of nails digging into his flesh. Are his fingernails...gone? Pressure on his windpipe broke his thoughts. "A-Ack!" Izaya was clearly awake-and yet the look in his eye made Shizuo realize that he wasn't actually "here". He's not seeing me-he's seeing someone else! "Burn!" Izaya's voice was wild. "Burn burn burn burn burn! BURN IN HELL YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Shinra had injected the serum into the man's arm, and yet the grip that was slowly dimming Shizuo's vision, was still there. Water dripping on his face alerted Shizuo to the fact that Izaya had started crying. "G-Give her back! Give me back my sister! Give Kanra back! Damn you Hakuro! I'll-I'll-ah~"

Shizuo gasped for air when the hold loosened from his throat as Izaya toppled over, unconscious. Shinra helped him sit up and Shizuo stared at the man out cold on the floor. His hair was splayed around his face and tea tracks were evident on his face. His lips were slightly parted and he caught sight of Izaya's teeth. The canines looked sharped than he remembered. He trailed his eyes to Izaya's hands and tried to hold down the sickening feeling in his stomach. "H-His hands-" Gone. On both hands his fingernails were gone-instead replaced by scar tissue. "No wonder he wore gloves.." Shizuo muttered.

"He...He said Hakuro...right?"Shinra and Shizuo turned their heads to Vincent, who looked paler than usual and was using the door frame to hold himself up. Rachel came up behind him and put a comforting hand on his cheek, "Vincent, Vincent look at me...is Hakuro the one who..." Vincent nodded and covered her hand with his own. "What the hell is going on here? Do you know anything about this? Do you know where the flea's been for the past year?" Vincent bit his lip, "I...I think I should get Ian to get the others...we're going to need all the help we can get if that bastard's still alive."

I'm sorry

So much blood...

I'm sorry

Is it my blood...?

I'm sorry

No...

I'm sorry

It's Kanra's...

I'm sorry

Stop that...

I'm sorry

Stop saying that, Kanra...

I'm sorry

It's not your fault...

I'm sorry

It's not your...

I'm sorry

It's not...

I'm sorry

It's...

I'm sorry

It's mine

"Say what?"

"I said, Hakuro Kamidachi is the head of Chimamireina Pharmaceuticals. It's a company that deals solely in distributing vaccines internationally. But that's just the cover up, Hakuro is actually the director of the E.G.H.R.T.F , the Experimental Genetic Human Research Testing Facility in Moscow, Russia. It's...for lack of a better term...a human farm. There's a joint facility in Paris, France...it's an orphanage. There are actually several of these scattered all over the globe...but I lived in the aforementioned. Hakuro takes orphans and injects them with certain experimental drugs and moves them accordingly. If they react, they're taken to the EGHRTF-if not they remain in the orphanage..."

The room went quiet. Shinra, Celty, and Shizuo had moved the couch and coffee table out of the living room so that the thirteen of them could gather in an lopsided circle. Shizuo's world stopped, "So...Izaya was...what? What happened to him? How are you involved?"

Vincent shook his head, "I don't know anything about your friend, but as for myself...I was one of the few orphans who reacted to S-0983."

Shinra frowned, "S-0983?"

The other bit his lip and looked nervously at Ian, "Ian? Is this okay? Can...Can we trust them?" Celty gave a reassuring smile, "Whatever you have to say, we promise we won't repeat it to anyone...you can trust us."

Ian looked at the three suspciously for a moment before sighing in defeat, "Fine, go ahead Vincent." He narrowed his eyes at them, "But if you breathe a word of this to anyone and endanger my family, I will not hesitate to end you."

"My name is Vincent, male, age 23, born in Paris, France...otherwise known as test subject 079. Okay, how do I start this...uh...my parents died when I was six in a car crash. I had no living relatives. Naturally, I was taken to an orphanage...Hakuro's orphanage...I had no idea what was about to happen to me. The second I got through the door they dragged me aside and injected me with S-0983...it is a formula of genetic mutation...I don't really know exactly what it does...only that it fucks you up. I reacted to it immediately...my personality and appetite changed...I became more agressive...more prone to violence...On the third day I was transfered to Moscow...for twelve years I was used as a lab rat...S-0983 turned me into a monster...it mixed my DNA with that of an animal...I became angry and I was always hungry...They starve you, torture you, rape you, inject you, and destroy you...What you saw me eating back at the warehouse was a stray cat that I caught on the streets. I think that the animal DNA in S-0983 is of a dog or a wolf because everything about me has become canine. My sense of smell is beyond advanced, I'm strong enough to lift a truck with one hand, I'm fast, I've the intelligence of a genius, and hateful...Hate is the strongest emotion that I feel...so much that it's become another side of me. One day during training, they make you fight and train with other subjects, I snapped. My mind went blank and I apparently killed my opponent and destroyed half of the facility. I don't remember most of it, if I try I just draw a blank. Ian and the others found me half dead in the snow...Ian I think you can take it from here..."

"Alright, I'm going to say it outright...none of us are human, except for Buck-but that's another story. Maria and I came first. We don't know what we are. My first memory was of Jesus being crucified on the cross. Yes, I'm immortal-bullets can't kill me and neither can time. I age excruciatingly slowly. Maria was with me from the beginning. I'm stronger than the average person, and I'm faster too. But that's about it. Maria is the same. We've entertained ourselves by fighting in wars. The American Revolution, the World Wars-you name it, we were in it. That's how I met Victor."

"Yes, what side were you on, again? Oh-now I remember, you were with the Americans and I was with the British. I think you threw a tank at me...My name is Victor and I'm from Romania. I'm a vampire. Not like those freaky pansy vampires from Twilight. Those are gay. I'm not gay. I'm the adopted child of Vlad Tepes, Dracula. He wanted an heir for when he died. After his death I abandoned my post, I've never liked how human blood tastes,I prefer deer-no, not like Twilight. I can surive in the sun and silver doesn't affect me, neither does garlic or wooden stakes. The sun only makes me tired. I'm a special type of vampire-a very rare breed. I immediately joined Ian and Maria-I longed for change. The next person we came upon was Miyuki."

"Hello, my name is Miyuki and I'm a Kitsune from Japan. I was a shrine goddess who grew bored of the worship I recieved-you tend to grow dreadfully lonely after three hundred years of nothing but psalms and coin givers. I can control the elements and can turn into a fox-not those perverted versions where I have ears and tails, I'm a woman with class thank you very much. I met Victor when they were traveling through my village, and it was love at first sight. I've been traveling with them every since. Our goal is to establish a "family" for misfits-supernatural beings-like ourselves. We "adopted" Dolores and Verona next."

"Hi, my name is Verona, I'm 178 years old-Dolores is 182. We grew up together in Little Rock, Arkansas. I'm an Energy Vampire, meaning I survive off other people's energy-not their blood, that's Dolores' thing. Dolores doesn't like to talk-and when she does it's usually mean. She's a cold pers-ow! Don't hit me! Anyway, we're the type of vampires that become human during the day-that's the only time we can be killed. Silver, garlic, and steaks doen't affect us either-stupid myths. We joined because we we're being chased by a bunch of vampire hunters and needed to escape. We've been with the gang for 56 years. We "adopted" Marie 14 years ago."

"Yo! My name's Marie and I'm 19. I was born in Rhode Island and these guys found me when I accidentally blew up my house (it was empty, thank God). I was an orphan with no family and I had the power to control things with my mind-I must've done something with the microwave or heater or something like that (I was only 5!). Miyuki raised me and we've been best friends ever since. We found Rachel and Buck 6 years ago."

"Hey, I'm Rachel-this is my younger brother Buck. I'm 22 and he's 19. We're from Germany. We joined because our ancestors were in WW2 training camps-jewish-and were injected with something that gave them the ability to "mind dive". It allows me to see people's pasts or control them-I can read minds too. It was genetic but only passed to the women. I have it-but Buck doesn't. We joined because we had just lost our parents and had nowhere else to go, I just couldn't abandon Buck so we brought him with us. We found Vincent 5 years ago."

"So there you have it...any questions?"