Izaya felt his small screams slowly come to a stop, the burning sensation finally stopping. But his body ached at the new wounds and fatigue. He wasn't in a good shape earlier, well now he was next to death's door now. It was so tempting to just let it take him; it was tempting enough. Yet, there seemed to be something that held him back.

'Shizu-chan,' he cried, clenching his own shoulders with much difficultly. He didn't want to move much, especially since it conserved energy. But he just felt so lonely right now, so alone, so dead.

'I'm sorry I couldn't stay with you, Shizu-chan...' he trailed off, seeing a small figure in the distance. It looked rather short dragging something closely behind it. Had someone else survived the fire as well? It'd be weird, considering he was the only lost person there.

"Ello there Lostie," a small girl's voice rang, bringing a small smile to the raven's face. He remembered her!

"Heyy, haven't see you around," he smiled, unable to hide the pain his his voice. The little girl seemed to notice this, groaning.

"You got hurt, Misaki isn't the brightest. That's why we call him a monkey butt." Izaya raised a questioning eyebrow, but decided to just drop it. He needed to pass on already anyway.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, but I'm afraid I have to go."

"Go?" The girl asked, tilting her head, allowing those golden curls to dance. "Go where?"

Izaya shifted uneasily. "I can't go back, I don't have enough energy," he frowned, wishing he could embrace the girl to make her feel better. "So I'm going to see the angels."

"You can't die sillyyy, there's still a way out."

The raven looked over the girl suspiciously. "This whole place just ashes. I'm pretty sure we're done for."

The girl simply shook her head. "You know, even the smallest things can grow and blossom into something beautiful."

"Is that some kind of saying?" He wondered, kind of liking the sound of it. It reminded him much of himself, being as short as he was.

"Yes, and no."

Such a strange little girl. "Well, what is it then?"

"It's the present. - Think, what's the present you've been given?"

"Present?"

The girl nodded. "It can come in all shapes and sizes... Figure this out, and you can find your way back!" She giggled before running off. Izaya wanted to reach out for her, beg her to stay with him, but she was too fast. Maybe it was for the better because he didn't understand a word she just said.

Present... Present... He had to figure out a present he got that didn't have to be a object. Well, he lost his body, he thought he was invisible, so if those qualified as a present, he didn't want them. 'This is pointless,' he sighed, staring off into space. The only thing he really got out of this was... was...

Izaya's eyes widened, a small smile crossing his face. That was it. The small present he got was his friends, his life, Shizuo, Shinra, and Kadota. They were there watching his body while he's been away, and they were there to sacrifice themselves when Misaki was trying to use him.

Slowly, he felt a warmth in his chest, soothing his entire body. He had no idea what it was, but he liked the feeling of it.

'The most important present I got this year, was my love for Shizuo...' Slowly, his world faded to black, the warmth too intense...

Celty brushed away some of the ashes from the burned tree, finally finding the dirt that was there before the wreckage. But even then there wasn't a sign of any parts of it being untouched by the dancing flames.

'There has to be a way to bring him back,' she stressed, letting some of the sand sink through her fingers. She nearly jumped when she saw something sprout from the dirt, rising up as if it had only been buried.

'Wh-what the-' she awed, watching as a tree erupted from the ashes, branches, twigs, and leaves intertwining themselves in the burned branches. It seemed as if it was gently hugging it, supporting it as best as it could.

Quickly, she took a rock and hit Shizuo in the head with it. The blonde turned to her with a rather annoyed expression before eyes widening at the sight. "Wh-what the heck is that?" His hands fell limp at his sides, gazing up with mouth wide as it stopped growing a bit higher then the original tree.

Celty was about to type something on her phone before something began phasing through the tree. The black rider couldn't help but take a step back in utter shock, watching as a small body drifted out of it.

"I-it can't be!" Misaki gasped in utter shock. "It's, it's Izaya!" Shizuo quickly sprang up, darting over to where he could see a disorienting background and lead the small boy in his arms. Surprisingly, he seemed to stay there, as if he were a fragile piece of paper that could be easily ripped.

"Ha, ha- It really is him!" Shizuo cried, tears flooding down his eyes. He never thought he'd ever feel the small raven again, even if it was his spiritual form. He just hoped it wasn't too late.

"I've got you now," Shizuo whispered down to the raven, tempted to nuzzle his hair with his chin. But it wouldn't matter if he did or not; he wouldn't be able to feel it. He didn't even want to tell Izaya about the state of his body. God, what if he was in pain when he got back? What if... his body was dead?

The blonde nearly jumped feeling Celty tap him on the shoulder, turning to read the text. 'He's not moving Shizuo, he's in the same state his body is.'

Shizuo's face paled over, looking back down in attempt to see the raven, but to no avail. "Then, then what should I do?" He urgently asked, feeling adrenaline coursing through him. He could feel his breath become uneven, wanting to grasp his aching heart. But he didn't want to drop him.

Another tap vibrated his shoulder, making him turn to Celty once more. 'Try putting him back in his body... You never know, it might work.'

Shizuo ground his teeth, letting his bangs sweep over his face. "B-but, he'll probably be in pain..."

'It's better then having him die.' The blonde's eyes drifted away from the text, falling dark. He really didn't want to do this. He really didn't want Izaya to feel any pain all because of him. But if he didn't, he could die...

"I'm sorry, about this," he sniffled. Hesitantly, he strode forward to Izaya's unmoving body, though feeling extremely guilty. He really didn't want to do this, but he knew he had to.

"Hey, it'll be fine," Shinra's voice soothed, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Shizuo looked up at the smiling doctor who's tears were silently falling, but his smile gave him courage.

"Please, forgive me," he begged, letting the small boy go. He could see the surroundings and cloths disorient themselves before it went back to normal. But there was still no change.

"Why-Why isn't he moving yet?" Shizuo gulped, running a nervous hand through his sweaty-hair. He could feel his own heart slowing, trying to find a reason to continue to beat if Izaya wasn't going to be there.

"It'll take his body a while to adjust, if it accepts him," Misaki muttered from where he sat, slowly getting up. Shizuo wished he could beat him to a pulp, but knew the effort would be in-vain. At least he calmed his nerves, even if it was slightly.

"Celty, you ready to transport Izaya to the house?" She nodded, giving them a wave before running off. She had to fetch her motorcycle, or rather, horse. The wait was already beginning to get to him, he wanted to punch something or someone.

"He'll be alright, right Shizuo?" Shinra asked, snapping the teen out of his thoughts .Was that really the doctor? The one that's been trying to cheer him up through this whole ordeal? He sounded so hopeless now.

"He's going to be, just like back then," the doctor answered himself. He seemed to be trying to convince himself of the words he's been saying all along. For some reason, it hurt a part of him.

"Like back when he was stabbed?" The blonde asked, eyes gazing down at the doctor. He watched with some jealously as Shinra brushed some hair out of Izaya's closed eyes. He wanted to embrace the boy, sending him the warmth he's been missing out on. But he was scared of hurting him any further. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the ground, leaning on one of his hands.

"You know, you can hold him, if you'd like," Shinra smiled through his tears, obviously seeing the envy.

"N-no, I don't want to hurt him anymore," he cried, leaning more into his hand. Shinra couldn't help but frown, this attitude sounding frightening familiar.

"Don't stick with this old act again," the doctor pouted, tugging on his school-uniform sleeve. "You don't want Izaya to feel alone again, do you?" Shizuo's mocha eyes dropped open, trembling at the reality. The whole reason why the raven got caught in this mess was because he was too much of a coward to talk to Izaya. Yes, he did like him, but the fear of hurting him, like this, always held him back. He couldn't just leave him so alone; not again.

"Never, never again," Shizuo cried, crawling over to the raven's side and running his fingers through that dead-swept hair. A soft smile slowly grinned across his face, feeling his body no longer foreign. He really was back .

"I hope you're not in pain," the blonde quivered, gulping nervously. He didn't know if Izaya could hear him or not, but it didn't matter. He needed to let this out. "I-I couldn't bear it if you were," he sighed, taking a deep breath. He was going to be sure Izaya knew he'd never be alone again.

Gently, and very carefully, he pulled the raven on his lap, earning squeaks of disapproval from Shinra. But Shizuo already knew he had to be careful with his head; he couldn't afford hitting it.

"My warmth is your warmth, always," Shizuo sniffled, recalling some of Izaya's last words with a rack in his throat. He then wrapped his strong arms around the small boy, letting his head lean motionless against his chest. It worried him that he couldn't feel his chest rising and falling at a normal speed; it was barely existent at all.

"S-so, you need to come back back to me, unless you can't feel meee," he whined, slowly leaning his head down, breathing against his ear. He couldn't believe he was about to say this, but he had to let Izaya know how important he was.

"Come back to me, Izaya, I like you too!" He cried, pressing his forehead against that hair, allowing his tears to seep down his cheeks and drift onto the raven. It was taking everything in his being to hold back his sobs. "A-and I've learned I can't live without you," Shinra's eyes widened, completely confused. He's never seen the blonde cry; not like this. He really seemed to be breaking down, his trembling nearly out of control.

"Shizuo...," he quietly spoke, smiling slightly at the boy. He knew Shizuo felt differently about Izaya, and knew how Izaya felt around Shizuo. It was about time the blonde revealed his true feelings for him, Shinra was beginning to wonder what it would take.

Shizuo nuzzled his hair, though being careful not to even go next to the back of his head. He wished he could hear the raven's laugh, echoing as he did this. He wished he could hear that adorable voice and see that breath-taking smile of his.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't take you away from all this," he sniffled, feeling a small hand lightly grip the blonde's shirt. Could that really be Izaya's hand? It couldn't be anyone else's.

Slowly, he looked down, seeing pale fingers gripping him with much effort. However, his breathing hadn't changed a bit, his eyes hadn't even stirred, and he didn't even groan.

How was this even possible?

"Hey, Celty's here," Shinra patted the blonde on the back, getting up from the floor. Shizuo nodded in understanding, letting out a long sigh. It was almost time to find out if he was going to make it, the mere thought of it was making his heart ache.

Carefully shifting the raven in his arms, he climbed on the back of the motorcycle before they drove off...