(Shizuo's POV)
Hana just rushed out of the house for her so called work. I guess this would happen more often . . . I mean she does need to earn money for the essentials, now including feeding Izaya and I. This must be very hard for her, one person earning for three of us.
I stood there awkwardly with my hands in my pockets, watching Izaya and Eri. Izaya kept himself hidden under the covers so that you could only see the top of his head. Eri kept looking back and forth between me and Izaya.
"Okay then, how about we start the check ups. That way I won't have to bug you about it later," Eri suggested.
"Sure," I said.
"Then I'll start with Izaya."
Said person sat up in the bed. He rubbed his eyes, making me notice that the skin around them were slightly red. Is he okay? Was he crying? If he was, was it because of me?
Eri took a seat on the edge and I sat on the corner of the mattress. I watched Hana's friend pull a thermometer from his bag and stick it in Izaya's mouth. After waiting a minute, he pulled the thermometer out and took a look at it.
"Good. You only have a slight temperature. Now, did anything happen yesterday that you thought was weird?" Eri questioned.
Izaya opened his mouth to answer, but I beat him to it, my brown eyes staring into his crimson ones.
"He wouldn't respond to Hana or I. When I picked him up, he didn't even react."
Eri looked towards, and at being given the chance, Izaya gave me a slight nod to thank me. Huh, I sure didn't expect that from him.
Izaya picked up from where I left off.
"I felt like I wasn't really there. Like there was a thick wall separating me from my body. And before that, when Shizu-chan and I were playing our game, I began to tire really quickly. My muscles burned and my breathing went irregular at times. It was almost like my senses were failing me. That never happened before . . ."
Back in Ikebukuro, Izaya would usually ask for something to give out information. He kept whatever he knew to himself, and only handed it out at a price. But now . . . I don't think I understand him anymore.
Eri is kind of like that underground doctor Shinra. Back in Ikebukuro, he would fix up my injuries. I remember seeing the flea at his apartment getting fixed up. Eri is like Shinra. So maybe that's why. Maybe Izaya talked to Shinra like that, without hesitation.
"Okay. What I would suggest for you is to not to run around too much. Let your body rest. Got it?" Eri asked.
Izaya nodded, so Eri turned to me.
"Please give me a few minutes. I'll check up on you in a bit. I just need to do something. It might take a while . . ."
"I'll be here," I assured.
Eri walked out of the room, and it was just us again. I stared at the floor a bit before looking towards Izaya. His eyes refused to meet mine, instead resorting to staring at his hands. They weaved together in and out, in and out. Lacing them and pulling them apart. Back and forth, back and forth.
I decided to ask him about what happened earlier.
"Hey, flea."
Izaya's fingers grew still and his head moved up, his eyes darting around instead of looking directly into mine.
"Were you crying when I left earlier?"
Silence.
Izaya only stared at me. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. I sat there, waiting for his answer. The silence continued and I became impatient.
"Answer me."
More silence. Izaya moved back a bit as I began leaning forward.
"JUST ANSWER ME DAMN IT!"
He flinched back in fear and stared at the blankets.
"Is it that hard to answer?!"
I tried to calm myself. He was shaking slightly, his eyes wide, and his arms wrapped tightly around his chest. It sent me a clear message that Izaya really was . . . scared of me. I needed to leave, so that he could calm down.
Despite my better judgment, I climbed onto the bed and crawled closer to Izaya. His eyes widened even more - if possible - and backed away from me. Izaya's back hit the headboard, so he started edging over to the other side of the bed.
As soon as I got close enough, I put my right arm against the headboard in front of Izaya. He froze, his eyes staring at my arm. He was breathing fast and his body trembled. It looked like he was desperate to get away from me.
I sat down, keeping my arm in place, and placed my left hand at the back of his neck, pulling him towards me. Izaya flinched again and struggled against my hold. I wrapped my other arm around his back and my fingers went through his hair, gently rubbing his back and head. Izaya continued to fight me, trying to get out of my grip.
"Would you PLEASE stop struggling?!"
Izaya froze, instead becoming limp, and began leaning against me.
I'm hugging him. What's wrong with me? Why am I doing this? What is this burning feeling in my stomach? Do I like it?!
Something was circling my back. I looked down to see Izaya's arms wrapping around my torso. He's hugging back! He turned and hugged me tighter, burying his head in the crook of my neck. I felt a wetness there and noticed that Izaya was shaking.
Is he crying on me?! Why would he do that?! And WHY am I LETTING him?!
But I continued holding him, rubbing different shapes onto his back as he cried. Suddenly, Izaya fought out of my grip and turned around, curling into himself so that his back was facing me.
"Go away!" Izaya yelled, forcing back sobs.
"PLEASE! GO AWAY!"
Stunned, I climbed off the bed and walked out the room.
(Izaya's POV)
After Shizuo left the room, I calmed myself. It was hard, all those thoughts and feelings going round and round my head. Sadness, emptiness, cold, vulnerable . . . mostly great sadness. I can't believe that I liked that hug. It was nice, but . . . it was Shizu-chan! My nemesis! He hugged me! And I liked it?!
I decided not to think about it much. Nothing would come out of over-thinking the situation. All I needed to do was stay away from Shizuo.
I never once thought of myself as human. More like some kind of god or something like that. I've always been able to have power over humans. Not having most of the feelings that people have. Like sadness, or vulnerability, or the feeling of liking someone. I never had those feelings.
But when I came here, to wherever this place was, I felt those feelings. I felt human. An equal to humanity. Feelings that I never had before . . . I ended up experiencing. It was strange, feeling human for the first time.
I need to be strong. To forget those feelings. To control my emotions and become as powerful as before. And to do that, I need to get away from Shizu-chan. He made me experience those feelings, so all I need to do is avoid him as much as possible.
My stomach grumbled. I climbed out of the bed and made my way to the kitchen. Looking through all of the cupboards and drawers, I pulled out a bowl and a spoon from each and placed them on the table. Then I grabbed a cereal box off a shelf and sat down, pouring myself some of its contents.
After eating, I placed the bowl and spoon in the sink and ran back to the messy bedroom. I laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. So many stars, planets, galaxies . . . I could see different planets circling suns and millions of white stars all bunched up in clusters. This gigantic image of the night sky made me think of something.
What if all of this wasn't real? What if everything that I'm doing is . . . just a dream?
Nah, it has to be real. My dreams wouldn't be so vivid and have random people in it, and Shizu-chan never comes up in them.
I looked out the window. The sky was a bright blue, the sun shone its light and warmth, and the tree leaves rustled in the wind. The trees outside the garden lost most of their leaves already. Leaves the colors of red, yellow, and brown flew up from the grass and into the wind. It looked so nice outside; I wanted to take a walk.
But if anyone were to see me . . .
Sighing, I turned to the side so that I was facing the window. I wanted to explore this new world. To see the humans and their reactions. Oh, what a wonderful day that would be.
(Shizuo's POV)
After I left the messy room, I went straight for the kitchen. I opened the glass door and stepped outside. The garden fences were about 1 foot shorter than how tall I was. If anyone looked over they would see me, so I took a seat on a bench.
I pulled out a cigarette box and a lighter from my pocket. Quickly lighting it, I breathed in the smoky air.
Ahhhhh.
My thoughts slipped from my mind as I continued breathing in the smoke. All I felt was the freedom that the nicotine gave me.
A tree stood a ways away from me. The trunk stood tall and proud. It's branches spread out like an open hand with the palm facing up. Some of the branches began close to the ground. Leaves fell from the tree, one after another. Their colors were yellow, red, and brown. Such pretty colors . . .
(Eri's POV)
(E for Eri, H for Hana)
E: Izaya needs to rest. Don't make him move around a lot. That's all I can say.
H: Thanks Eri.
H: I don't know how I'll be able to feed them.
H: Not with spending money for college and buying new furniture.
E: ?
H: Look in the guest bedroom.
E: Oh . . .
E: Who did that?
H: Shizuo.
E: Dang. He did all that?
E: Anyways,
E: I'll give you some of my money. You don't have to pay me back.
H: No way! I can't accept that! It's your money, use it for yourself.
E: I will not accept no for an answer. Almost all the money I earn goes into my bank account.
E: You have a friend who's willing to help you out for nothing in exchange. Take that chance Hana.
H: . . .
H: I'll think about it. Can you take that?
E: Fine.
H: Gtg. Boss is coming. Bye!
E: Bye.
I closed my phone, stuffed it in my pants pocket, and began looking for Shizuo. He was sitting in the backyard on a wooden bench, smoking.
"Hey! Shizuo!"
He looked over at me, his cigarette held between his teeth. I stepped out into the backyard and took a seat next to him. Shizuo held the drug in his hand as he blew smoke from his mouth.
"Did you really do all that in the guest bedroom?"
He sighed.
"I got pissed at someone, and when I get mad, I go on some sort of rampage. Throwing things around, things that a normal person can't throw."
Shizuo brought the drug back to his mouth and breathed in deeply. I leaned forward, trying to see if he was lying.
"You mean that you actually threw the table across the room?!"
"Yeah."
"Wow . . ."
I leaned back in my seat, surprise and amazement etched on my face. Is he really that strong? If he is, how much can he lift?
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. It read: going to be late, tell Iza and Shizu I got the book for them
"Did Hana text you?" Shizuo questioned.
"Yeah, she did."
"What did she say?"
"It says that Hana got a book for you guys, whatever that means."
Shizuo abruptly stood up.
"I need to tell Izaya."
"Wait! What's so important about the book? Wait a second!"
I got up and tried catching him but he had already run off. I sighed and plunked myself down heavily.
(Shizuo's POV)
I rushed towards the messy bedroom, determined to leave as soon as I told him about the message. Whatever these feelings are, they should disappear if I stay away, right?
When I arrived at the room, I saw Izaya laying on the covers with his back facing me. I tried to stop my loud pants and walked up to him.
"Izaya."
No answer.
"Hey, flea."
Nothing.
"Damnit! Why every time I come to this room you're asleep?!"
I grasped his shoulder roughly and shook him, lifting him up as my anger grew. My patience was disapearing, I needed an answer NOW!
Suddenly, I stopped. I released his shoulder and watched his body fall back down onto the bed limply. Izaya's eyes were open, blinking slowly, but the pupils were dilated. His breathing was slow, as if he were in a deep sleep. Sweat collected around the sides of his forehead. Izaya looked really pale. Like paper. He was fazing out.
He really is sick. I need a docto- ERI! I NEED TO GET ERI!
Rushing out of the room, I ran through the house and almost crashed into Eri in the kitchen. I stumbled over my words trying to explain that Izaya needed help, but he wouldn't understand. So I ended up grabbing his arm tightly and dragging him all the way back to the room where Izaya lay.
As soon as I pulled Eri into the room I shoved him towards the bed and let my emotions run loose.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIM?! FIND OUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM AND MAKE HIM BETTER!"
Eri turned around and put his hands on my shoulders, trying to push me into a chair. I towered over him, using my strength to resist his efforts.
"Shizuo I need you to calm down. I can't help if you're freaking-"
"JUST HELP HIM! Make him get better! You're the doctor, so FIX HIM! I'm not going anywhere until you fix him!"
"Okay, I'll help him. Just sit down and take deep breaths. I'll take care of him."
I collapsed onto the chair, my elbows on my legs, my head in my hands. Eri worked quietly, sometimes muttering words under his breath.
"Shizuo."
"Mm?"
"Was this what happened yesterday?"
"Somewhat. He wouldn't respond, but his eyes weren't dilated. Now do you know what's wrong with Izaya or not?"
Eri sighed and stopped doing his work. He turned around and faced me,
"I'm really sorry, but I don't know what is wrong with him. It looks as if he doesn't respond to anything at all."
Eri began talking to himself, saying things that I couldn't understand. I asked him if there was some way to help Izaya get better, or to get him to snap out of it.
"All I can think of is to wait it out. There's nothing much either of us can do about it. Maybe he should stay in bed and only move around if needed. I'm really sorry that I can't help anymore that this."
"It's okay, Eri. I'm sorry for freaking out on you. You did your best," I said.
I sat there, in the chair, even after Eri left the room. There was nothing else to do. Izaya slept, or blacked out or something. I stayed in the chair, and ended up falling asleep on it, waiting for something, anything to bring me home.