It is some time before Shizuo even leaves his apartment. He cleans his wound and stitches just as Shinra had instructed him and exchanges the old bandages with fresh ones after a few days. He rations whatever remains in the fridge for the next week and shaves regularly, and overall, he keeps himself well; the overflowing ashtray at his bedside table, however, says otherwise.

When he eventually does step outside, it's to visit Shinra's — he feels that he's been needing a haircut, but the annoying little bubble of a doctor refused to come to Shizuo's place, so the blond is forced to embrace clean air and the morning delights of a real breakfast.

"It's healing well," Shinra says as he sits up from inspecting the scabbing and forming scar. His slightly distracted tone shows he was fully engrossed in his work. "The stitches can be removed now. Would you like me to take them out for you here or let them come out on their own?"

"Take 'em out, s'fine."

Shinra finds his pliers, pulls out the threads, and places them in a stainless steel tray. They're beige, almost yellow, but stained a rustic red and brown. Shizuo winces at the sliding sensation from each thread moving shallowly through his flesh.

"Really," Shizuo snorts. "Why do we always do this on the couch?"

An amused chuckle from behind — right behind his shoulder close enough to tickle his ear — makes his blood run cold. Shizuo can't even move, and his heart races so fast he thinks his wound might burst open from the dangerous blood flow that rushes from his face and turns him starkly pale.

"Context, Shizu-chan~!"

Shinra frowns. "Izaya, I told you to let me know when you're going to visit."

The raven beams. "I was just in the neighborhood."

"Could've been out."

"I can see the light from the window."

Izaya places a hand on Shizuo's shoulder — a tender, delicate presence that is anything but subtle; to the blond it creates another wound, a lacerating burn that has his skin crawling and arm paralyzing down to his very fingers. He stiffens completely, back straight up and off the couch, and all he's able to do to communicate is by flitting his eyes to Shinra with a terrified stare that can only whisper, Help me.

Izaya's fingers squeeze Shizuo's shoulder and he may as well have severed the muscle with how much he's hindered his ability to move. Shizuo can't help but subconsciously still his breathing, as if he's hiding from a demon that can hear every breath, every shift, every nerve signal that tells his body to do something other than die.

"Shinra, I know you're a bit busy right now, but… can I borrow him?"

"Izaya—"

"Just for a minute."

Shinra's eyes lower and he nods hesitantly. "Alright. Let me know when you're done."

The word 'no' is fired off in Shizuo's mind like a deafening warning bell that Shinra unfortunately cannot hear. The blond can breathe again when Izaya removes his touch, but the choking feeling returns as the raven circles the couch to sit directly across from him, not in the chair, but right on the coffee table. He listens to the clock ticking along, and though it seems like several minutes go by, Izaya waits a mere eight seconds, just staring. Like he's sitting him down for an interrogation, like Shizuo is innocent but all the evidence still points to him.

And then Izaya moves. Shizuo nearly jumps off the couch, though he doesn't have the capacity to do so. He can only jerk violently, despite the fact that Izaya has merely moved his hand from inside his own thigh to his knee. His hand lifts up towards Shizuo, carefully, and Shizuo still can't move a muscle of his own free will, move, dammit! Izaya is watching him all the while, never tearing those blood-tainted orbs from Shizuo's wide eyes.

Izaya's finger brushes just the tips of the hairs on his cheek. It's enough. Shizuo doesn't know how long he's gone without breathing, but then it escapes him with a shudder and he can't tell if he's taking air in or breathing it out.

"Just like an animal." His voice holds a sick fascination, the way it seems to shine and ring, the way he's heard Shinra's when he talks about the human body. His lips curve into a smile, and the transition is so slow that Shizuo barely notices. "But you're a different kind of animal now. Small." His finger drifts down. "Helpless, fragile…" To his chin, tapping it ever so slightly upward, but he may as well have stabbed his throat. "…prey."

His hand practically crawls along Shizuo's chin to his mouth. His lips are dry and Izaya's touch is fire, burning and stinging the pink skin in its wake as the oil of his fingertips seeps into the cracks and open cuts of habit.

Shizuo wants to breathe a sigh of relief when his hand leaves him, only to come back to the blond's chest. His palm embraces the left side.

"And here. I can feel your heart beating, it's beating so fast… There's only so much flesh that separates my hand from what's inside… I could just take it, you know?"

"Don't…" Shizuo whispers pitifully, so quietly that Izaya barely catches it.

"Oh? Shizu-chan doesn't want it, ne?" He chuckles. "And I thought animals liked to be shown affection."

His touch is suddenly brought to the knife wound's scar. Shizuo's scream is silent, a useless cry from his lips as a few tears forms in his eyes.

"There are so many things I want to just… take, from Shizu-chan." His fingers toy and play with his healing skin. "Shizu-chan has many things that I should get to have, too… Don't you–"

"What do you want?" Shizuo's eyes are unseeing even as Izaya raises his head to stare back at him, analyzing his expression. "I-I'll give you anything, just… leave me alone…"

Shizuo can taste the salt of the tear that finds its way down his cheek and around to the corner of his mouth.

"Ah, but you see, that there is the problem…" His skin burns even hotter where Izaya drags his knuckle up his face, catching the tear and wiping the moisture away. "I can't leave you alone, because what I want… is you, Shizu-chan. So, in that case…"

Shizuo could die, right here and now, from the way Izaya is cupping his face as if in a loving gesture.

"What do I have to do in order to get what I want?"

It's been three minutes since Izaya arrived. His departure proves to pass as a mere fraction of that time.

"Think about my offer, Shizu-chan~