Part one – Meetings and growing relationships

Chapter seven

If she wasn't so pissed right now, Kanra would be laughing at the unguarded look of shock on Izaya's face as she accepted going on a date. Not with her crush Shizuka, instead it would be with her brother Shizuo who happened to be Izaya's target. In all the scenarios she had played out in her head, after all the careful movements and holding back, this was one thing she hadn't seen coming.

It wasn't that she wanted to go on a date with Shizuo, far from it. But if she refused Shizuka might avoid her, since the twins were so close. Really? Thank you Kanra. I'll let him know. With that she hung up the phone, feeling a glare against her now turned back. "What game are you playing? Kanra." Shaking her head she dropped the phone on the bed. "I don't play games, that's you Izaya."

"Is that so? Then what possible reason could you have accepting a date with my Shizu-chan?" Did he realise how jealous he sounded right now. Slumping down next to her brother, she let out a sigh. "Shizuka asked me, she sounded so happy. I couldn't say no." She couldn't risk their relationship. If the blonde had to pick between friend and brother, then it was a no brainer. "So this is what you get when you take the safe route."

"Cancel it." Resting an elbow on her knees, Kanra looked up meeting the older twin's gaze. "No. I can't. Its already too late." Before it could be taken, she snatched her phone out of Izaya's reach, slipping it into her pocket. "You are not going on a date with the protozoan." Whether she wanted to or not, she was going. "Back off Izaya. I already agreed." She was left alone in her room, the bedroom door slamming shut. Why didn't he realize he was in love?

No. That would be too easy. Izaya had never been in love before, sure he had played around and brought girls back to the apartment, they were quickly thrown out as soon as he had gotten bored. Her brother believed he was above all of that, his head was in the clouds looking down on everyone with something akin to a god complex. When he finally realised what that feeling was... Well Kanra was looking forward to it.

The older twin hadn't left the bedroom, no doubt rearranging that game of his or cutting something to shreds. Supposedly it was her turn to make dinner. Lifting her arm she stared dubiously at the bespoke cast. Was she going to have to take it off again? Leaving the bedroom, the door to Izaya's room opened at the same time. "Looks like I'm making dinner." Kanra said nothing, seeing that her brother had his mask up.

Both of them were silent while they ate around the small table. "When is it?" Shrugging her shoulders she took the phone from her pocket. "Shizuka will probably text me the details." Izaya made a sound of acknowledgement before returning to his food. "I don't know where this has come from, Shizuo doesn't have any feelings for me. I would have noticed." He hadn't seen this coming either. Why were the blonds so unpredictable?

"Maybe you were too wrapped up in Shizuka-chan to notice?" This was not a favourable outcome. "I could find out." Swallowing his mouthful Izaya glared at the phone. "Find out what?" The screen lit up, no doubt with the time and place. "I'll be alone with Shizuo. I could find out why he hates you so much." The raven paused, he would find out through Kanra what had happened after they had left. "He's still my Shizu-chan." His sister grinned, holding up the phone. Is tomorrow lunch okay?

"I only want Shizuka. Anyway it looks like its just lunch." Knowing that didn't make him feel any better. "Remember that." It worked two ways, since Kanra was going on a date with his protozoan, then he would keep Shizuka-chan company. "What are you grinning about?" As if he would let her find out this early. Ignoring the question completely he turned his attention to a more troublesome problem.

The annoying childhood friend, tonight they would break into yet another gallery and leave a trace that they had been there. It was the only way to keep the police officer busy and he was confident that they wouldn't be found out. Stealing was as easy as breathing. Some called him a genius, really he just moved onto the next thing to learn every time he got bored. Hacking, lock picking and his agility, all skills gained back in high school with no reason to use them.

Everything was either too easy or not worth doing. His hobbies would last a short period of time, his last one breaking cell phones was less than a minute. His interest in his humans was what prodded him to take psychology, which he quickly absorbed everything he needed to. The only reason he hadn't dropped out of university was because it would destroy his cover. But even the suffering of his humans only sustained his interest for so long. "I want to see Shizu-chan."

The blond was slowly becoming an obsession, a game piece on the board that couldn't be defined... Yet. Bit by bit he would get inside the protozoan's head and learn everything he had to. Take him apart piece by piece, until the interest in his new found toy passed and he could once again move onto his next obsession. "Then why don't you? You aren't the one faking a broken wrist." Tilting his head to the side Izaya dodged the cast as it went to come down on his head. "That's not nice, Kanra."

"Right. Because you're a gentleman. Are you planning another break in tonight?" Ah yes, another move to keep the interfering cop away from his target. "I can do it on my own tonight." This time Izaya didn't dodge, getting whacked across the back of the head. "I'm coming." Of course she wanted to, they had always been together, no matter what their parents had done to try and separate them.

Shizuka placed the empty plate on the table, another sigh leaving her closed mouth, lips set in a thin line. It felt like all of her energy had been drained. "Something wrong?" Glancing up her brother picked the plate up adding it to his own and taking them into the kitchen. She didn't follow. Looking at the older twin gave her a twinge in her chest. Instead the blonde remained seated, listening to the clattering of pots and pans as her brother washed them up.

She should be happy. Shizuo who had never so much as shown interest in a girl was now looking that way at her new friend. To make two people that she cared about happy, it should be elation in her heart, instead there was nothing. A dull ache and emptiness. Even if for some reason she regretted it, it was too late. "Shizuo!"

"Yeah?" The call had already been made. "I spoke to Kanra, you have to meet her tomorrow for lunch." If she knew her brother as well as she thought she did, he wouldn't have a clue what to do on a date. "Fine, I'll make something." Shizuka put a stop to that idea. "No. I'll be staying home, it will just be you two." Why wasn't she feeling happy for them?

Shizuo blinked slightly confused. He only needed a quiet word with the girl. "Kanra likes ootoro so firstly take her to Russian Sushi. She likes art and being competitive, oh don't make her do too much because of her wrist." His sister continued rolling off a long list of what he could and couldn't do, though he was no longer listening. If anything the quiet word he had wanted had started sounding like those soppy romantic movies that he had been forced to watch. "...Shizuka. What did you ask Kanra?"

"Don't worry I didn't say much, you can tell her about yourself when you talk." His fingers twitched. This was seriously sounding like a... "I know this will be your first time, so I have the whole of your date arranged." Damn it. So it was a date. Rubbing a hand through his hair, he let out a sigh, every bad word in his vocabulary passing through his head. "A date?" it couldn't get much worse. "No need to panic, follow my instructions exactly." There was no way this was going to end well.

"Can't you cancel?" The steely glare he was given gave no room for argument. "No way. You can't ask a girl out and then cancel." He didn't want to point out that he hadn't asked, the younger twin had misunderstood. "Kanra is my friend. You have to do this seriously. Don't hurt her." Somehow it looked like he was going out with the flea's sister tomorrow. "Fine. Leave the instructions on my bed. I have to get to work."

Pulling his vest on, Shizuo adjusted his bow tie. "Another bar-tending job?" There was a bitterness in his sister's voice. Why was she in a bad mood? Unless her strength had built up again. Maybe he needed to have another chat with that guy. "Hopefully I'll keep this one." Especially since he had to take Kadota's advice. "You'll be fine as long as you don't lose your temper." Scooping up his keys, they were dropped in his pocket. "Don't stay up too late. There's some snacks in the fridge. Don't touch my pudding."

The bar he would be working at was a small place, a simple sign hung over the top. Nothing flashy or loud. Maybe he could stay here. The door squeaked as he pushed it open. His footsteps sounded across the floor that could do with a dust. An old jukebox filled the bar with music. The bar itself was a small counter, behind him was shelving that looked like it had seen better days. Still he couldn't complain, the woman in charge had given him a chance.

"Heiwajima-san. You showed up?" His lips twitched at the question in her voice. Didn't she know who he was? Why was she smiling at him? "Thank you. I won't keep you too late. This is a rough area." It looked like she didn't. No one else would worry about him like that. "Where do you keep the cleaning supplies?"

The blond scrubbed the floor clean until the polished wood work shone through, next was the jukebox that looked like it had never been cleaned. His new boss stood behind the bar watching him. "You're wasting your time cleaning like that." The way she nibbled her lip looking around the decrepit bar, it was like she had given up. Turning up the music, he selected a more upbeat song.

It wasn't long before the bar was spotless, the glass stains on the counter were scrubbed away. Taking a seat on one of the small stalls, he looked around seeing that no one had entered yet even though the open sign was hung up. "Its usually this quiet. We get maybe a few customers, like I said its a rough area."

Less than an hour later Shizuo met with those that caused trouble. His kind hearted boss flinched as there was a loud thud outside, the door slamming back against the hinges. "Hey hey gimme a drink." It was high school all over again. A bunch of no good delinquents, thinking they were strong because they wielded a baseball bat. There was only six of them, he could easily take them. Scratching his head he let out a sigh. He would be breaking yet another promise. "Thanks lady." In seconds the glasses were emptied, smashing on the floor. "Oops. We'll have another."

Reaching over he clamped a hand down gently on the trembling hand. "Heiwajima-san?" All six brats were staring at him. "Do you want them here?" He completely ignored them focusing on his boss. "...No." Good enough. The first he picked up by the throat tossing him out of the broken door. Everyone stared at him opened mouth. One of the idiots slammed a baseball bat down on his head. It smashed into two, the wood splitting and leaving just the handle. "M-monster!" it was when they paled he knew they realised. "Heiwajima. S-Shizuo."

The brats turned tail and ran. It looked like he was out of another job. "I didn't know." Well she did now. "That was amazing! The way you chased them off. You'll stay right?" Shizuo nodded slowly not trusting himself to speak. "Great." Her new lively attitude threw him off, watching as she cleaned up the broken glass. "Those weren't the only ones, its worse than this every night. But with you here. I might be able to run this place again." For once his strength had actually helped someone.

It gave him an odd feeling in his chest. "See that space over there? There's a pool table in back. Could you set it up? Do you want a drink?" Shaking his head he forced a smile. "I don't drink." For his own sake and those around him. The back room was just as cluttered as the guest room at home. The pool table was shoved away in the corner, bags piled on top. Tonight he had been given yet another thing to protect.

More than three more gangs showed up, each one running with their tails between their legs. His boss was happily arranging the balls on the table placing them into a black triangle, no longer afraid of the violence around her. "Times nearly up. You can go home now." The wistful smile told him that something wasn't quite right. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow night."

Shizuo breathed in the cold air, beginning his walk home. His fingers played with the phone in his pocket, already it was in his hand his finger pressing speed dial. His call was picked up almost immediately, the voice on the other end wide awake. Shizuo-san. What can I do for you so late at night?

A loud ringing sounded in his ears, making him reach out to try and smash the source. "Shizuo! Are you breaking another alarm?" That baseball bat must have hit him harder than he thought. The noisy electronic was saved from death, his sister switching it off and holding it out of reach. "Why are you up so early?" It was a Saturday, the day when both of them could have a lie in. "Did you forget you have a date with Kanra today?"

Ugh that was right. Somehow his twin had misunderstood him and arranged a date, still at least it wasn't with the flea. Something stirred inside him at the thought. "You could've woken me up later." It was the wrong thing to say. "Shizuo. Get in the shower. You have to make some effort." The covers were thrown back, Shizuka pulling him out of bed. "Shower. Now."

The problem with the younger twin, was that she was a nightmare when she set her mind to something. Shizuo almost wished she would be transfixed with her sketchbook again. His eyes closed as he heard her yell through the door. "Make sure you wash everywhere." It was going to be a long day. "And put some cologne on." A horribly long day.

Shizuo wrapped a towel around his damp body, letting water drip from his hair. "What are you doing?" All of his drawers had been pulled out, a mountain of clothes piled on his bed. "Finding something for you to wear. You need to go shopping." Picking up his ripped jeans and a shirt, he held them up. "I don't need to worry about that." The bundle was smacked out of his hand. "You are not wearing those."

Right now his dear sister was terrifying. He had been forced into the smartest pair of black jeans he owned, the damn things hugging his ass and crushing his balls. He should have burnt them when had the chance. Fixing the small belt that wasn't needed, he raised his gaze watching Shizuka iron a crisp white shirt. Usually it was a pain to get her to help out with chores. Dropping down on the sofa, the remote was in his hand as he channel flicked.

The blond blinked as the screen was filled with flashing lights. Welcome to the stage Red Raven. His thumb quickly turned down the volume hearing the audience scream as two men came onto stage clinging to each other as they began to sing. "Shizuo. You're supposed to be getting ready." With a sigh he turned the tv off. "Give me the shirt."

"No. First I need to do something about that bird nest." Shizuo scowled as the brush pulled his hair. "What's wrong with it?" It was tugged more harshly. "You didn't bother. Look its still wet. Wait here while I get my hair dryer." It was currently seven o'clock. Lunch wasn't until midday. He had plenty of time.

"Hold still." His sensitive nose twitched as the younger twin moved closer. "It's your own fault. I said to put some on." A loud sneeze left him as the scent sank into his skin. "I think you're ready." Another sneeze left him in reply. Still it wasn't over, Shizuka yanking him in front of a mirror. It was horrible. "Almost." It was even worse when a single pink rose was placed in his hand. "Perfect." Shizuo frowned, muttering under his breath. "What not going to put make-up on me too?"

"I'll make breakfast." His sister glared at him. "No way. What if you spill it down yourself?" No breakfast it was then. "Fine, I'll be outside." His hand barely fit in his pocket, his cigarettes were in his room. "I know that look. You're going to smoke. Do you want your clothes to stink?" His eye twitched. No smoking either? "Here you can have one of these." A strawberry lollipop was shoved in his mouth. "Now we can go through the list."

"Ready to go?" Kanra stepped out of her room grabbing her coat. "You dressed up." Looking down at herself she glared at the small black dress, that showed off her thin legs. "It was in my wardrobe." She could feel Izaya's gaze on her. "Hm. Remember Shizu-chan is mine." Had he realised he was jealous yet? "You say that like you expect me to fall for him."

"You might." Slipping on her heels, the raven left the apartment, hearing Izaya behind her. "I won't. I love Shizuka." And her brother loved Shizuo whether he wanted to admit it or not. "So you say. We're more alike than you realize." Turning around to ask what the meant, she could see Izaya skipping ahead, walking across the wall like it was a tightrope.

It was stupid, she was only going on this date for Shizuka. Knocking loudly on the door she waited. The sooner it was over the better. When the door opened, her mouth dropped open. So she wasn't the only one who had dressed up. "You're early. Come in." It couldn't be helped, the shirt outlined his torso perfectly, her gaze dropped to his ass. Unlike certain others she could admit it, Shizuo was hot. "You were saying?"

Her eyes snapped out of their trance looking guiltily at her twin. "I was admiring the effort." Izaya scowled, though she could see exactly where he was staring. "Kanra!" Her crush swept down the stairs smiling. "How's your wrist?" It was like her tongue had swelled making her unable to talk. She couldn't lie to Shizuka, not face to face. "Well then, you two don't want to be late." Why was her brother helping? Shouldn't he be trying to stop her?

Crimson eyes narrowed, seeing a slim arm wrap around her crush. "I'll stay here to keep Shizuka-chan company." No! He was getting too close. "Shizuka?" The blonde smiled, not pushing Izaya away. "Its fine. Enjoy your date." It was on purpose, this was her punishment for agreeing to something she shouldn't have. "We will." Slipping her hand into the larger one, she wrapped her fingers around Shizuo's. It didn't go unnoticed. "Come on, Shizuo." A smirk tugged at her lips, feeling the glare on her back.

Izaya raised his mask, watching as the pair left. "You can let go now." It wasn't all bad, he had the chance to question the blonde. "What should we do then?" There was no answer, the girl slumping on the sofa. "Do what you want. I'm going to watch tv." How boring. Still she did say do whatever he wanted to.

Leaving Shizuka's room alone, he began to explore the blond's bedroom. It looked like the room had just been cleaned, the bed was neatly made. Dropping down on the covers, he took a deep breath, inhaling the scent. It wasn't enough, things were moving too slowly, since when did he become so impatient? Tearing himself away from the bed, he began looking under the bed, seeing if there was anything he could learn about his target.

He had nearly finished searching the entire room, it was a normal boring bedroom. Pulling open the last drawer, a smile touched his lips seeing a manilla envelope buried under a bunch of junk. Found it. "What are you doing?" At last the blonde had decided to check on him. Picking up the envelope, the flap was ripped open. "I'm doing whatever I want, just like you said." Tipping the corner, he let the contents spill into his hand, blinking in confusion when it was several strips of pills. "No. Don't touch those."

The envelope and the pills were snatched away and held protectively. "Is Shizu-chan sick?" Why else would he need medication? "No. He was supposed to throw them away. They aren't needed any more." It only made him more curious, for now he let the subject drop, skipping past the panicked blonde. "Lets see what's in this room."

"You can't go in there." Too late, his quick fingers had already picked the lock, the door swinging open. "Stop. That's my parent's room." Flicking open the first drawer, an eyebrow raised as he lifted the simple looking music box. "Izaya. Put that down!" The girl's hand slammed down on the dresser. "Is it that important to you?" Opening the box, his gaze fixed on the ring inside. A whistle left his lips, quickly calculating how much it was worth. Taking the ring, he let the box fall from his fingers. "No. That belongs to Shizuo."

Crimson eyes blinked, seeing the box still in his grasp, the ring now laying on the floor. Why did he catch the thing? "I don't think such a big ring suits Shizu-chan." Both of them were put back in the drawer. "The ring is mine. The music box belongs to Shizuo." So it was important to the blond. "Don't make me kick you out." As if she could.

"Computer games? Really Shizuka-chan." He was getting bored already. "If you can beat me, I'll answer a question." Izaya smirked. "So what are we playing?" If things went well he would have everything he needed to know before his sister and the protozoan returned. "How are you at racing games?" There was one thing that stood out. "You aren't drawing today?" The girl shook her head. "I don't feel like it." Really now?

The silence between them stretched, becoming increasingly awkward. What did he say? Shizuka had only written where he was supposed to go. Looking up he caught Kanra's eye, sitting opposite each other in Russian Sushi. How had a simple conversation become so complicated? "Shizuo? Are you okay?" Handing her the almost crushed flower, he struggled to find something to say. "How's your wrist?"

"Its healing. It's a bit awkward doing certain things, I can't paint or draw." Damn she was as obsessed as Shizuka. He shouldn't have asked. "Sorry." The collar on his shirt felt too tight. "No, It's fine. Thank you for bringing me here. Ootoro is my favourite." Just as his sister had said. As soon as their order arrived, he began shovelling food into his mouth, wishing it was a bit sweeter. Why was he even here? Shit. "Are you okay eating or do you need help?"

The raven smiled. "It's fine. Is it okay to leave Shizuka at home with my brother?" Something squirmed in his chest at the mention of the flea. "She'll be fine. Most likely she's in her room drawing or kicking his ass on computer games." There should be nothing to worry about. "I see. She seemed really happy."

Shizuo laughed bitterly. "Yeah, she's spent all morning bossing me around." Crimson eyes widened. "Shizuka made you dress like that?" Was it bad? "And the rest, she's planned everything." The raven sighed. "That's great. That was close. Shizuo do you have any feelings for me?" He couldn't lie. "Sorry. I don't." He didn't know what he would do if she started crying. Shizuka would kill him.

"That's great." Huh? "I don't feel anything for you either. Shizuka told me you wanted to go on a date." Yanking at the collar, he loosened his shirt seeing no point in carrying on. "I wanted to talk to you, my sister got the wrong idea." It was so much easier now to talk to her. "What did you want to talk about?" Pushing his food aside he pointed at the cast. "That."

"What about it?" Kanra dropped her arm from view. Did the blond know she was lying? "I didn't mind Shizuka having friends over. If you want to remain friends then you need to be careful." Swallowing her mouthful she met coffee eyes. "I like Shizuka. I'm not leaving her side." She would spend every moment with her crush if she could. "Then I need to tell you something. Don't repeat it to her, she has her own version."

"Tell me. I want to know." Shizuo sighed glancing around the place. "We should go somewhere a little quieter." Kanra nodded in agreement. "I'll come back here again with Shizuka." She would continue the planned date with the organizer. Her heart skipped at beat seeing how much effort her crush had put into everything. But Shizuka wasn't here, so she didn't want to be.

Kanra was led to what looked like a run down bar. "Where are we?" The door was held open allowing her inside. "Its where I work." The woman behind the bar waved at the both of them. Glancing around it wasn't actually that bad. "Those weren't there before." The curious raven watched the blond head for the corner sofa. "What wasn't?" There was no reply. "I really shouldn't tell you this, Kadota will be pissed." Kanra bit her lip, he would tell her anyway.

High school third year

"Shizuo, Shizuka get your asses out of bed." The two twins scrambled out of bed, bumping into each other as they ran from their rooms. From the bottom of the stairs their mother smiled up at them. "I made pancakes." Both of them grinned racing each other downstairs and into the kitchen, where two plates of pancakes sat. The two of them fought over the bottle of syrup, Shizuka was already in possession of the bottle of chocolate.

"Why are you guys up so early?" Their father lounged in the doorway. "Its the school holidays." Shizuo shrugged, swiping both bottles. "Mum woke us up." Another pair of hands grabbed the bottle as he tried squeezing some out. "Ah that's right. Our holiday, I almost forgot." Their mother had always been the more serious of the two. He turned away cringing as his parents kissed. Why were they so loved up in the morning?

"I want you two packed within the hour. And clean up this mess." Guiltily they looked at the scribbles of chocolate and syrup over the table. "Shizuo started it." Kicking his sister's shin, the blond shoved a mouthful of pancake in, savouring the taste. His eyes widened as the younger twin retaliated. "Well if you two are done playing. I'll take these." Their was a gleam in his father's eye, the pancakes were gone.

They didn't even make it out of Ikebukuro. The door was locked, their luggage in the trunk of the car. Both he and Shizuka had chosen their favourite clothes to wear. They hadn't had a family holiday in so long. "Did you switch everything off?" Pulling his seat belt across, his mother's words filled the car. "Yes dear. I double checked everything." The woman smiled, her face reflected in the mirror. "Good. Lets go then."

As usual his parents spoke in low voices thinking they couldn't hear. Both twins glanced at each other, grimacing at the display, a silent message between them. "Don't think we couldn't see that you two." Shizuo leaned back in his seat sticking his tongue out, unwrapping one of Shizuka's lollies. His father laughed. "Well then I guess we should ignore the detour and keep going?"

"Detour? Where were we going?" His mother looked back and smiled. "We thought Kadota could come along. Since you two are always together." Shizuo felt like punching his fist in the air, but that would lead to a hole in the roof. "We already cleared it with his parents." His childhood friend would be coming with them.

They never made it. His father had always been a careful driver, he was number one on road safety. At the intersection the light turned green, they were happily talking away, all of them excited when a large truck ran the red light. After that his memory had been hazy. His body was thrown back against his seat, his head thrown back into the window. Shizuka screamed next to him. It felt like the car was flying, making a sickening crunch as it smashed into the side of them. His arms wrapped around Shizuka holding her tight.

His head hurt as he opened his eyes. Blood dripped from his head, the seat belt choking him as it cut into his neck. "S-Shizuo?" They were upside down, the windows shattered, he couldn't make out the rest of the car. "Mum? Dad?" Neither one answered him. His fingers shook as struggled with the seatbelt ripping it out. The remaining glass cut into his jeans and the back of his t-shirt as he hit the roof and crawled out of the window. "Hang on."

Shizuo wiped the blood from his eyes, ignoring the pain in his palms as he gripped onto the window edge, turning the car the right way up. The entire driver's side was caved in. The damaged door flew off, his sister kicking it open and scrambling out. The two of them checked on their parents, Shizuka barely having to touch their father's side. "Shizuo. He's not breathing. Why isn't he breathing?"

The ambulance finally arrived, the two of them sat huddled by the car, their mother's breathing was faint. "I'm sorry. Time of death..." Their father was pronounced dead at the scene. Shizuka screamed next to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. His gaze raised towards the large truck, the driver was slouched against the window. Getting up, Shizuo ripped open the door ready to confront the man. Several cans fell from the seat, wordlessly he reached down to pick one up. A hand rested on his. "Leave this to us."

The blond left it to the young looking police officer, joining his sister in the back of the ambulance. Shizuka was still crying. His own gaze was focused on his mother's blood stained clothes. She didn't make it. The pair of them were left in the waiting room, while voices shouted over them. Clenching his bloodied hands together, he didn't want to look up. "I'm sorry. We couldn't save her." That was the day they had lost both of their parents.

When asked who they could call, both of them broke down. Their parents were the only ones. From then on they would be alone. Staring blankly at the floor, his mind felt numbed. It wasn't possible. "Shizuo! I heard what happened. Are you okay?" Kadota. His friend's arms wrapped around him. "...That's him. Isn't it?" Hearing the anger in the younger twin's voice, Shizuo lifted his head. The drunken idiot who had... who had... "Shizuo that hurts."

It was his sister that followed the happy looking man back into his hospital room. Why was there no cops around him? Why was he allowed to wander around freely? "Its just a few scrapes. I'll get the discharge papers and then you can go home." The cop from earlier was next to the bed. "...Why? Why haven't you arrested him?" The man looked back at them coldly. "For what? He's done nothing wrong. I'll see you in the car."

"He was drink driving." The cop lowered his hat and smiled. "There was no evidence in the truck and his breathalyser test was fine." Shizuo clenched his fists. "Maybe you kids should sit down, you've been through a lot." The cop left the room. "Yeah, sorry about that. Still no harm done?" Before he could do anything, Shizuka growled lunging for the man.

Back with Kanra and Shizuo

Kanra listened as the blond spoke with his head bowed in a monotone voice. "What happened?" Her hands clenched wanting to meet the corrupt bastard. "Shizuka lost it. It was the first time we had seen her use her strength that much. She was usually the calm one. She broke every bone in the guy's body, he barely had time to scream. My sister took out all her rage on him." The raven shivered wondering if the bar had heating. "He was okay though?"

"No. He'll never walk again. The bones in his legs were basically dust. I'm not sure why Shizuka doesn't remember. Whether it was shock or because I had to knock her out with a vending machine to stop her I don't know. When she woke up we decided it was best not to tell her." Now she understood. "You took the blame."

"Yeah. I was the monster out of control. She didn't say a single word to me for three months, Kadota was the go between for us." Three months? "How did you make up?" The blond was silent, avoiding her gaze. So he didn't want to answer that question. Glancing down she could see his fingers twitching. "What happened to that man?"

"As far as I know he was taken to a mental hospital. Our parents death was brushed away, they put it down to our father's reckless driving. The cop came to the high school and tried to arrest us, I think I threw his car at him when he tried taking Shizuka. Do you understand why I wanted to talk to you?" Glancing down at her wrist, she had an idea. "She became overprotective?"

"Her temper is unstable. Every time anyone she cared about got hurt, she would put the culprit in hospital. Either me, Kadota or that guy stops her. She never remembers. Kanra if you want to stay Shizuka's friend you need to look after yourself." Kanra lowered her head. Shizuo had been nothing but honest with her. Now it was her turn. "I don't want to be Shizuka's friend. I want to be her girlfriend."

It was hard to keep a straight face with the look she was given. "I've loved her since the first time we met. I want to stay by her side. Shizuo?" The blond sucked in a breath, messing up his hair. "Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you be saying it to my sister?" Shaking her head she smiled sheepishly. "I can't tell her yet. When I'm with her my heart beats faster until its almost painful. She's all I can think about, especially when we're apart. I would never hurt her"

"...I-isn't that hatred?" Blinking in confusion Kanra locked gazes with him. "I could never hate her. Are you going to tell me to leave her alone?" Shizuo shook his head slowly. "Its not up to me. Its fine as long as you don't mean her any harm. Are you sure you don't hate her? It sounds like you do." What? Why was he asking that? "Shizuo?" The blond's hands were shaking his face getting paler by the second. "...Kadota said-" Crimson eyes widened. It couldn't be...