{Eidolon's POV}
Aaah...
¿Y tú, Fate?
"Lost again..." I sighed, putting one hand on my head and the other on my hip as I looked around.
We had been going for a walk after eating at Russia Sushi. Somewhere along the way, I'd gotten separated from my parents. And— just my luck— Izaya had my jacket, which had my phone in it.
Logically, I should've just stayed put and waited for them to find me... But no... I'd tried to backtrack and find them, only getting more lost and confused.
I looked up. A trio of red and yellow fast-food signs hung over me. Picking a direction at random, I swung left.
OOOOooooOOOOooooOOOO
... Was... not... working...
I sighed, wondering how many times my parents and I had unwittingly passed each other.
"You're Eidolon, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
It took me a second to recognize Masaomi. But then I nodded, a tad wary of him.
"Why're you here?"
His tone was accusatory. I frowned a little. "I was walking with Izaya and Shizuo, but managed to get separated from them. So I'm lost. Again." I replied, keeping my voice monotone.
Masaomi's eyes narrowed. I suppressed a shiver, reminded of the golden-eyed shadow that was Eve.
"You don't belong in Ikebukuro. None of you do. You should just stay in Shinjuku." Masaomi growled, voice hard and cold.
My eyes narrowed now. "Aren't you a little young to be making threats? You seem like a good person, and I'd hate it if that image was suddenly soiled." I informed him, an edge of ice creeping around my own voice.
"I'm older than you. Mikado talks a lot about you, but you're just like Izaya, aren't you?"
So it was Izaya he didn't like...
"In real time, yes, you are, but technically speaking, I'm two years older than you. And I have no idea what you mean when you say that, because there are many different aspects to Izaya." I said, crossing my arms behind my back to hide their quivering. The attitude this guy was taking with me was all too much like the ones of the fuckers who pushed me around at group back at Omega...
"What I mean is that you're a manipulative bastard who's only interested in fucking up other people's lives for your own amusement!"
I turned and walked away, my nails digging into my skin.
"Don't you walk away when I'm talking to you, you sonova bitch!"
I spun back around. "If I don't leave, I can't guarantee your safety. Your attitude is becoming too much like those of people who got a kick out of sending me to the medical bay daily." I warned as he strode closer.
"..."
"..."
No words were exchanged, but our gazes locked fiercely. You could almost see the lightning sparking between us.
"... What do you want?" he hissed.
"What do I want? What do I want?! What the hell do you want?! You're the one who randomly stopped me in the street and started accusing my parent and I of shit! Maybe Izaya used to be like that, but he's changed, and I'm rarely allowed outside, so how could I 'fuck up the lives of others,' for my own fucking amusement when I only know a grand total of twelve people other than my parents?! Riddle me that!" I snapped, ripping my hands away from my bruised arms to form fists that hung angrily by my sides.
He looked a little taken aback, blinking.
Before either of us could speak again, a flash of orange caught my eye. I spun around with a gasp.
At the corner of the block, a man in a white coat stood talking to another man. I took several steps back, not really registering what Masaomi was saying. My eyes darted to the other man.
His hair was orange. Even from here, I could see that his eyes were green. He wore bifocals, a green turtleneck, and khakis. Spotting me staring at him, he looked confused. Slowly, he raised a hand and waved.
I nodded slowly, turning around, unable to suppress my shivers. It couldn't be Tyrone. It couldn't be. There was no way. No fucking way.
"What the hell spooked you?" Masaomi sneered.
In a rush, my anger came roaring back. I turned to him, glowering, and said, "Fine, let's subject you to being the plaything of someone you can't touch on pain of getting turned into a lab-rat for the remainder of your short, painful life! See if you're still so cocky about everything!"
"I really don't believe that OSI just took them."
I took a step back.
"They probably went of their own accord, volunteered for those 'experiments' that resulted in you."
Joseph ran through my mind, eyes dead and arms limp as he fell forward. The man who'd helped us escape, Tyrone latched onto his neck as he grappled with him to buy us time, followed after. It didn't stop, continuing to the fear of Izaya never coming back when he was sick, the blue-lit hallways the led to so many places I got scared wondering about each room.
Volunteered? Who in their right mind would volunteer for that?!
I had to go. Otherwise I would snap his neck.
But my legs refused to move, and I could only clench my fists and grind my teeth, shaking my head. "Wrong... You're wrong, you're wrong, you're so fucking wrong!"
"Izaya and Shizuo don't just go missing." he shot back.
"Nobody just goes missing, prick... And saying any of us volunteered for that shit—"
"Eidolon."
I gasped, and Masaomi stepped back as Izaya's arms draped around my shoulders.
"Eidolon, what's going on?" Izaya asked.
"You heard... I can tell, you heard...!" I said, grinding my teeth.
"Calm down. Here. Take your jacket, go get lost again." Izaya instructed, reaching down to tie the jacket snugly around my waist. Still, my legs refused to budge, glued to the ground. "Eidolon, go." Izaya said, more fiercely, giving me a push.
That push was all I needed to be spurred on into a run.
OOOOooooOOOOooooOOOO
{Masaomi's POV}
Izaya gave him a push. Before he could fall, Eidolon caught himself and began running. I spun around to watch as he tore through the crowds, without regard for what was in his way.
"So... we volunteered, did we...?" Izaya said softly.
I gulped a little, turning slowly back. "... I wouldn't be surprised." I told him bitterly.
"So we volunteered for nightmares, level-four diseases, a psychotic woman who wanted to marry Eidolon, for one of our friends to be murdered the second we escaped, and the man who helped us to be brutally murdered?" he asked coldly, hair falling in his eyes. "How on earth did you guess?"
I didn't answer, glaring.
"This is how Eidolon was made, Kida-kun. He was a doll, one of at least thirty, lined up behind glass. All of them, children, teens and adults, were pale. Their eyes were closed. They had no hair, no identifying marks, nothing. Incomplete dolls, waiting for the toymaker to come back and finish them. We were forced to choose one. We chose a teenager— someone who understood the complexities of life, but still had the spark of childhood.
"Then they drew blood from both of us— I imagine both of us have scars from how many times we were stabbed with those needles— and took the body. Since we asked, Shizuo and I got to watch. The blood was put in a machine I'd never be able to name. The lifeless body was put on the table next to it. IVs, electrodes, wires, things were attached to the nameless body. Then they turned everything on.
"It HURT him. He was screaming, back arched, heartbeat racing, sweat pouring down his body as he cried in agony. From there, he was manhandled until his mind had woken up, and then he was locked in a box.
"How would you like that, Kida-kun? Put through as much pain as he was— so much you're half-asleep— just to be shoved in a box that was to become your home? They watched us, monitored our brains, they knew everything we did! We were shut in a box with no privacy, dragged to and from a room where everyone else was our enemy, forced to do everything or risk dying. And if we volunteered for that, I'd hate to see what'd've happend when we resisted."
I was... startled, to say the least.
I'd never seen Izaya look so...
... scared...
He was grabbing onto my shoulders, eyes glistening, face hunted. His voice had gone up in pitch throughout his speech, and he was trembling.
"Don't accuse Eidolon of messing with people's lives. I have trouble thinking of that now that I've been through that. Now, excuse me, I have to find my son."
With that, he took off in the same direction that Eidolon had.
... Izaya had been shaken...
Izaya was never scared. He never acted like that.
... Shit.
OOOOooooOOOOooooOOOO
{Eidolon's POV}
Oh, look at that... Those three signs again...
I stopped, leaning up against the wall. My breath came in shuddering pants. My eyes were burning, and my face was damp with tears.
I shouldn't be so upset... I knew none of that was true... He was just being an asshole... He just didn't like Izaya for some reason... But...
There shouldn't be people so cruel in the world.
I shook my head, ridding it of that thought. If I really thought that, might as well go back to Omega! Hi, bastards! I'm home! Sorry for running off! Can I marry Eve now?
A forced, strained chuckle escaped me.
He just... didn't... understand... That was all... Why did it sting so much...? Those accusations... They bit hard...
"Eidolon!"
Oh, no, you didn't!
I took off running again, pushing off the wall and plunging into the crowd.
OOOOooooOOOOooooOOOO
{Shizuo's POV}
"Shizuo!"
"About time..." I muttered, turning around. Eidolon darted across the street, the light turning red the second his foot hit the sidewalk. "Where have you been—"
"Eidolon!"
Everything suddenly happened in a blur:
The Raira-kid chasing after Eidolon stepping into the street.
The car screaming.
Eidolon vanishing from my side.
The screams.
The thud.
"EIDOLON!" I yelled frantically, bolting to his side. He lay curled up, breath shaking as blood stained his clothes and the pavement. "Hey, Eidolon, look at me... Eidolon...!"
He coughed painfully, uncurling and lying eagle-spread against the blacktop of the street. His eyes cracked open, peering uncertainly at me. "... If Masaomi... ain't okay... I'll kill 'im." the teen forced out between pants.
The Raira student...?
I turned my head. The blonde stood uncertainly a few feet away from us. "He's fine. I guess you got there in time." I said as Eidolon forced himself to sit up.
A bit of a crowd had gathered, yells for an ambulance and murmurs of, 'Look, it's THEM,' filling the air. I growled, keeping the lot of them at bay while Eidolon shook his head.
"Ow, fuck. I'm gonna kill him anyway..." he growled, hand going to his side and ripping a hood-ornament out of himself.
It sounded like he'd be alright... That would've been the attitude I'd've taken...
"Here, lemme see..." I sighed. Eidolon pulled the hem of his shirt up, letting me examine the wound.
"Why the hell... Why'd you do that?!" the kid demanded.
"Shut up." Eidolon growled. I got the feeling these two had had an argument recently.
"Why?! After what I said?!"
"I said shut up, Masa— aah! Get your fingers outta my ribcage, Shizuo!" Eidolon hissed, jerking away from me as I lightly pressed my fingers to the wound.
"It doesn't look too bad, but we should probably take you to see Shinra anyway..." I murmured, shaking the blood off my fingers.
"Eidolon, tell me why!" the Raira-kid demanded.
"Because you're wrong!" Eidolon hissed, getting to his feet.
The smaller blonde flinched, and I grabbed Eidolon's shoulder. He turned into me, burying his face in my chest.
... Aah, jeez...
OOOOooooOOOOooooOOOO
{3rd Person POV}
Crimson eyes watched the drama unfold from within the crowd.
Orihara suddenly arrived, pushing forcefully through the crowd to the Heiwajimas. Plenty of the crowd was taking pictures or videos using their phones. Others were just watching in awe.
Voices became raised for a brief moment. Shizuo took the smaller blonde and steered him away, telling Izaya to take Eidolon to a doctor. The crowd began to disperse.
... Soon...