Chapter 25- Awakening
BYR: I am SO SO SOOO SORRY for leaving this story for so long! I have been working literally non-stop this entire summer and FINALLY got a new laptop! So, started my first day at a university today! Pretty scary stuff but I managed to survive! And to celebrate, here is the new, overdue chapter! Enjoy~
(Where am I? What's going on?)
Izaya stood alone in a cold, white space, with nothing but emptiness that laid for miles in front of him. He was wearing a set of clothes he was sure he'd never worn before. It consisted of a black, fur-trimmed jacket, black t-shirt, dark gray jeans, and a pair of black shoes. Looking down at his new outfit, he frowned as he pulled at the clothes and scanned his body.
"Why do I look so depressing…."
Stuffing his hands inside the jacket pockets, the brunet pulled out a switchblade knife that fitted perfectly in his hands. Disregarding that he had a weapon in his palm, Izaya shoved it back where it came from and began walking straight, or at least, what he thought was straight.
"Seriously, where am I? Is this heaven, or maybe its hell? Am I dead?"
"Not yet, but you will be soon."
The brunet turned around and saw his own reflection standing before him. He was a bit shocked at the twin appearing out of nowhere. Cautiously, he looked at his mirrored version up and down. (He looks just like me… but there's something… off about him..)
"Who are you?"
"Really, did you really just ask that? I'm YOU, idiot."
"Well I wouldn't call myself in idiot."
"Touché."
"Where are we?"
"Inside your mind. This is where a person resides when they're stuck between life and death."
"So, I'm dying?"
"Kind of."
"What do you mean, 'kind of'? And why are you here?"
"To take back my body."
Silence. Izaya was so taken aback by the comment, that he wasn't even sure what so say next.
"T-Take back your body? What are you talking about? I thought you were me?"
"I am. But I'm the better version of you."
"What? Better?"
"Yes. Better, smarter, stronger, faster, more cunning, less trusting; Better."
"….but…I'm so confused."
"Let me break it down. I'm basically your other half. You, you're the nicer half. Me, I guess you can say I'm the 'evil' half you pushed aside."
"Evil?"
"Yeah, and I'm seriously tired of seeing all these disgusting things you've been doing with our body. This person, Shizuo, he's hindering you. Making you weak. Making ME weak. Love, it's making US weak."
"I-"
"I'm here to take back control. Izaya, you're not needed anymore."
"What-"
You're going to disappear. Once you wake up, you'll be gone. I'll replace you, and life will be just BETTER."
The shocking news hit hard for the brunet. His body shook lightly, fear radiating out of him. (Is what he's saying true? I mean… I have been struggling with how I've been thinking for a while. I feel as if I could be much crueler to people… Is this what I truly am?)
"Look Izaya, let's just make things easier for the both of us. Just give up. Let me take over and you rest. You've done enough damage already. At least let me fix what can be mended."
"No…."
"Come now, I thought you were at least a reasonable person. Give up, Izaya."
"I won't! You!... You're not…. You're not me!"
"But I AM you. You can't hide it. You know you're messed up."
"No! No, I'm not! Just go away! Leave!"
"You can't escape it. I will come back."
The twin faded away into the white oblivion, leaving the original Izaya to himself. Suddenly, the entire scenery changed and shifted around him. He was now inside of what looked like a sushi shop, a dark skinned male speaking in broken Japanese greeting him. Confused, he was about to leave when he heard someone call out to him. Shizuo was waving his hand for him to come over to one of the private party rooms they had. Seeing as he didn't want to lose something that was familiar, he walked over to the open door and peered inside. There he saw Shizuo, Kyohei, and Shinra sitting around the small table, smiling up at him.
"Dude, what took you so long?", Kyohei said.
"Hurry up and sit down."
The blonde patted on the cushion next to him as Izaya took off his shoes and climbed in. Sitting next to SHizuo, he saw that he also was dressed differently. The tall blonde had on what looked like a bartender suit, and looked rather nice in it too. Shinra was wearing a white lab coat, while Kyohei was sporting a black beanie and a teal sweater. Though all of this made no sense whatsoever, Izaya felt happy. Just as he was about to reach under that tablet to grab Shizuo's hand, the scene again changed without warning.
"Wait!"
The brunet was now surrounded by darkness, not a person in sight. A cloud of smoke then materialized in front of him, and his twin emerged from the darkness. He sported a wide, malicious smirk on his face as his harsh tone tormented Izaya.
"Nice little fantasy you were having. Too bad it'll be the last time you'll ever see them."
"What are you talking about?"
"Come on, I know you're not as dumb as you're putting yourself off to be. Face it, you've lost this fight."
"No…"
Izaya grabbed the sides of his body, trying to calm his trembling body. The facts were starting to sink in; he could feel his presence slowly fade away. (This can't be happening! I can't just disappear! Shizu-chan… I haven't told him how I felt! I haven't apologized…. There's still things I have to do! I can't give up, I can't die here!)
"I refuse to believe this; to believe ANY of this!"
"Tch! Really? Look at yourself."
Izaya gazed down at his body and realized that he could see-through himself. His ruby eyes grew wide from shock and he let out a horrible scream.
"Wh-what's happening?!"
"I told you, you're disappearing. You can't escape from it. You've grown weak, and I wouldn't miss this chance in the whole world to reclaim that body of yours."
"Why? Why are you doing this?!"
"Because it's the only way we can both survive. You were willing to throw your own life away for someone so… repulsive. I won't let that happen. Don't worry, you won't completely disappear. You'll live right here, inside my head."
The copycat pointed to his temple and smiled widely at Izaya. Then he walked over to the other male and roughly grabbed him by the throat. The brunet tried to pull the evil twin off, but along with his body fading away, so was his strength.
"It's over, Izaya. Your time is up. "
Tightening his grip, the double ganger smirked as he crushed the brunet's pretty little neck, and watched as the real Izaya fade into dust between his fingers.
Izaya suddenly awoke from his a coma, gasping for air as sweat trickled down his pale face. He gazed up at the ceiling, mesmerized for a moment before bringing his hands up in front of him. The brunet smiled and covered his face with both hands, tears running down the sides of his face as he laughed quietly to himself.
"I'm alive. I'm free…. I finally did it. I finally broke free…"
Pushing himself off of the bed, the brunet shuffled towards the bathroom and turned on the lights. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, and could faintly see the older version of himself in his eyes. Smirking at himself, Izaya broke into a maniacal laugh, doubling over the sink. When he was finished, those blood red eyes peered straight through his soul once again before he said,
"Goodbye, Izaya Orihara…."
Shizuo walked down the familiar hallway of the hospital, a frown on his face. It's been more than two weeks, and Izaya still hasn't woken up. The doctors have been saying that his condition has gotten better, but oddly enough, the fact that he hasn't risen from his sleep was troubling to everyone. Finals were shortly arriving as well, so the blonde was just having stress building on him.
"Hello Shizu-chan."
The sound of the brunet's voice echoed in the small, white room as Shizuo froze at the door he'd just opened. Looking at the bed, he saw Izaya sitting upright, a small smile on his face.
"I…Izaya?"
"Hey."
"H-hey… are you alright?"
"Mmmm, a little light headed, and the burns still hurt, but other than that, I'm alive."
"Don't joke about things like that."
"Hehehe, sorry."
The smaller male lightly laughed as he apologized to the blonde. But Shizuo could tell something was off about him.
"When did you wake up?"
"Sometime late last."
"I see…"
"How's everyone else?"
"Worried, it's been two weeks."
"So as I've been told….
The two of them stood there in the room, an awkward silence rubbing between them. Shizuo had moved into the room, but stood near the door. You would've expected the blonde to be right next to the other male, but strangely enough, they were acting as if they were strangers.
"Who are you?"
"Huh?"
Izaya glanced over at the blonde, surprised at the question. He arched one of his eyebrow in confusion before responding,
"What do you mean?"
"Cut the bull crap, I know you're not Izaya."
"Shizu-chan, you must have hit your head or something. Look at me, do I not look like Izaya Orihara?"
"You may look like him, but you're not HIM. You're different…."
"What makes you say that?"
"You're aura… it's… dark… Izaya didn't have that kind of darkness. He was kind, happy. You didn't even shout my name in excitement, even though you haven't seen me in over two weeks. I know Izaya, how he would react."
"Fufufuu.,…. Ahahahahahahaha!"
The brunet burst out in a hysterical laugh, one of his hand covering his eyes as if to hide. Shizuo stood there puzzled at the smaller male. Once Izaya had calmed down, he looked over at the blonde and glared at him.
"Well, it seems like you're not as dumb as you look, Shizu-chan."
"What?"
"You're right, I'm not really Izaya. Well, I am but, I'm not the weaker version of him."
"I….what the hell?"
"I'm the new and improved version of him. You see, the coma gave me time to think to myself, and I realized how much pain I had put myself through just to make others happy. Well, not anymore. I'm tired okay, I'm done. Done with people, done with drama, and especially, done with you, Shizu-chan."
Shizuo stood there, confused out of his mind. For some odd reason, the urge to kill the injured male was pulsing through his veins. He hated this "new version" of Izaya. This wasn't the person he loved.
"What have you done to him, the real Izaya?!"
"I AM the real Izaya. The weaker side of me has vanished. He's gone, dead I can even say."
"Liar!"
"Believe what you want Shizu-chan, it doesn't matter to me."
The phone in the room suddenly rang and the brunet reached to pick it up.
"Hello?... Mhmm… Okay….. I'll be right there."
Hanging up, Izaya swung his bandaged legs over the side of the bed and stepped onto the tiled floor.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go see the doctor before I can get discharged."
He walked slowly passed the frozen blonde and out the door. But before disappearing down the hall, he glanced over his shoulders and said in a mischievous tone,
"Goodbye, Shizuo."
A/N:
And so, this is where our beloved Izaya turned into the psychotic informant his is known for today! Whatcha think? Be sure to REVIEW this chapter and I will hopefully have another one up soon!