Ghost hunt club

by thedollars666

"My name is Izaya Orihara, I'm fifteen years old and I can see ghosts. Heh. Maybe I should start from the beginning" This is an AU fic. Yet I've tried to keep to the characters personalities as much as this story allows

22. The trip

AN: So sorry to have kept you all waiting!

I hope it was worth the wait.

Shinra groaned as he shifted in the covers, he turned his head tiredly to the side, eyes opened groggily. He turned over on his back, letting out a short breath and turned his head to the side, smiling as he did so -

His smile faded though, he sat up in the bed, covering himself with the duvet when he remembered that he was - in fact, naked. His eyes roamed around the unfamiliar room -

That's right, he was in that building wasn't he, the abandoned one, the previously haunted one. Shinra frowned, because he hadn't been alone, he hadn't fallen asleep alone, of that he was sure of. The previous warmth that radiated off him during the night was a reminder of that, and yet -

"Izaya?"

Izaya was gone.

His belongings were gone.

His switchblade was gone.

It was almost as if he was never there to begin with.

Shinra shook his head, it couldn't have been a dream this time, Izaya was here!

Wasn't he?

Shinra sighed, smiling despite the sadness in his heart.

Yes, Izaya was here, but Shinra was a fool to think that he'd still be here when he woke up.

Not after what they did.

There would be no chance of finding Izaya again now, the raven would make sure of that.

...

Shinra almost gasped in surprise –

Because the very next day –

Shinra blinked as he stood in the doorway of his homeroom, there he was, in his usual seat -

There was Izaya.

Shinra rushed over to him, Izaya looked up at him with mild surprise and then something akin to guilt flashed across his face. "Izaya? you're back at school?"

Izaya looked around himself, as if to make it a sure point that Shinra was being stupidly obvious, before saying, "Looks that way to me."

Shinra tilted his head and then crouched beside him. "Does that mean you went back home?"

Izaya frowned. "No. What makes you think I would ever go back there?"

Shinra nodded and then sighed. "Where did you go?"

Izaya turned his attention to the front, eyes casting over to the doorway when he spotted Shizuo and Kadota enter the classroom. "That's not your business. I'm fine, so don't worry."

Shinra frowned, not his business? Izaya had almost slit his wrist yesterday, and if he weren't there, Izaya might have -

Damn right it was his business!

Shinra was trying not to get angry as he said, "I thought something happened."

Izaya turned to him, his eyes narrowed. "Nothing happened. Nothing at all. Yesterday was a mistake, on my part mostly, I admit that. But you knew that already, didn't you? otherwise you wouldn't have told me not to do anything I'd regret. So, in a way, we both made the mistake. Nothing happened. You knew I'd regret it and you were still fine to continue; I knew I'd regret it but merely took advantage of the situation."

Shinra's eyes widened. "Izaya... I - what we did - did it not mean anything?"

Izaya almost laughed. But he couldn't, he simply couldn't. He hadn't been himself since Shizuo had said those three words - oh, one letter, two words - that's what he told the blond after all. "You should not have looked for me. I did not want to bring you into this, so that's on you. I wasn't myself yesterday, you knew that too, you knew that what we did wouldn't mean a damn thing, if you thought otherwise then that's not my fault. I let things continue because I thought that you could handle it, I guess I was wrong, I'm sorry for that. But it didn't mean anything, nothing happened, end of discussion. I'm here only because I need the grades."

Shinra clenched his fists. He knew that wasn't entirely true, Izaya was already a top student, and he excelled in all the subjects. "What about... what about the business?"

Izaya shrugged. "You'll get by without me. The equipment will be enough to see you through a case, and then you'll get enough experience and gain what you need to take on better cases in the future."

Shinra's fists shook, he knew that what they had done was a regret, he had known from the start, that it wouldn't mean a thing -

But it still hurt.

"Izaya - are we not-"

And just then, Kadota and Shizuo had made their way over quickly, Shizuo was frowning, well, glaring at the raven. Izaya turned his head to meet their gazes. Kadota was the first to ask, surprised to even see him here. "Izaya, you're back?"

Izaya nodded. "I'm here only for the education, everything else is moot now."

Kadota raised an eyebrow quizzically. "What do you mean by that?"

Shinra frowned and clenched his fists tighter. "He quit the business."

Shizuo slammed his fist on the desk and pulled Izaya up by his shirt. "How can you be that selfish!? If you're quitting because of us, why does everyone else have to suffer!?"

Izaya snorted, frowning. "That's not even it, you don't know what you're talking about Shizuo. There are more important reasons then you, so that makes you the selfish one here."

Shizuo pulled him closer. "What does that mean!?"

Izaya's eyes glanced over at Shinra and the bespectacled boy blinked at him for a second, wondering if there was some hidden message displaying in his eyes. He was obviously not going to tell Shizuo about his and Izaya's encounter yesterday; so, was he talking about the issue with his parents?

Shinra then realized -

Izaya was quitting because of what his parents had said to him. That had to be the reason, right?

Then again, everything had become incredibly awkward between them all; Izaya and Shizuo weren't even acting like friends anymore -

And he and Izaya? They had made the biggest mistake, and it caused them their whole friendship, probably.

He wouldn't be surprised if that really was the whole reason Izaya was quitting.

"Answer me flea!"

Izaya turned his attention back to Shizuo, almost flinching at the nickname, spat with such anger...

Izaya couldn't stand to see the hurt in the blond's eyes, despite his anger, Izaya could see beyond that. I'm not even worth feeling hurt over. Shizu-chan and Shinra, they should just - Izaya then grinned. "Because I don't care. I don't care about you, about the work, I don't care. I never wanted to do this in the first place, it was just something to pass the time, to get some money together so I could leave. See? I used everyone to my advantage." With every word he spoke, Izaya could see Shizuo get angrier and angrier. Izaya glanced up at Kadota; him too, though Izaya knew he was trying to figure him out. He didn't care what Kadota thought, he glanced at Shinra for a moment and then back at Shizuo, it was only them –

Now for the final blow. "And just to get your amoeba brain to understand, our relationship didn't mean as much to me as I thought. Turns out, I didn't care about that either," Izaya stood up when Shizuo finally let him go, the blond was no longer angry it seemed, but a deep frown was etched onto his face. He was too shocked to spiral into the fit of rage he wanted to; Izaya shrugged. "It was only physical after all," Izaya turned to Shinra. "Right, Shinra?"

Shinra froze, did Izaya just –

Shinra frowned, hands clenched and then glanced over as Shizuo and Kadota were looking at him with a questioning gaze. Shinra shook his head. "N-no…. that's not-"

Shizuo blinked in confusion, because what Izaya had said just now –

Couldn't be what he thought it was, right?

Did Izaya and Shinra –

Kadota looked between them all, he could only think of one possible conclusion, but saying it out loud was only going to make things worse, he wasn't sure how long Shizuo's temper was going to last.

Shizuo narrowed his eyes, it finally clicked in his brain. "Physical huh. So you really didn't care who it was with, you'd have taken any offer, but since Shinra was convenient at the time I guess, you took advantage of him because you knew how he felt about you."

Izaya's grin dropped slightly, because he hadn't expected Shizuo to put it into words like that. And fuck it hurt. He wasn't like that, he really wasn't…. Shizuo might as well have called him a slut. Shizuo didn't know what he was feeling, what he had been feeling, he sought Shinra's embrace because it was him. He wouldn't have done that with just anyone, he was sure of it! But now that Shizuo had said it, he was beginning to question that. But the blond had no idea what happened! He didn't know the reasons! He didn't know that if Shinra didn't show up, he would have –

He would have –

Ended it all.

No. this was what he wanted now; he couldn't allow Shizuo to see how much those words affected him.

Shinra and Shizu-chan, should just hate me. Because I deserve it.

Izaya shrugged and smirked. "Pretty much. Yes, that's exactly it."

Shizuo gritted his teeth, fists clenched, his eyes shone with hate and then darted over at Shinra, when they then flashed with something else entirely, betrayal.

Shinra looked at him, Shizuo gave him the look he himself had given when he'd first found out about Shizuo and Izaya. This was different though, because he and Izaya weren't ever a couple to begin with.

Shizuo and Izaya however –

"Shizuo…. I'm sorry."

Shizuo clenched his fists tighter, glaring between the two. "You deserve each other." And then he stormed out of the classroom, the teacher looked around at him as he walked into the room, barely able to call Shizuo's name as the blond disappeared.

Izaya shoved his hands in his pockets, to try and stop them from shaking. There was no turning back now, he had lost everything; his friends, his partner, his family…. There was no one left….

He was completely alone.

Shinra couldn't believe Izaya had told Shizuo, just like that! Without any shred of guilt. "I guess you finally got what you wanted, you got me to leave you alone."

Izaya looked at him, he wanted to take back his words, he really did, he opened his mouth to say something – but he closed it before he could do so, nothing he said would be enough, so why bother. He watched Shinra walk away from him, it would be for the last time, wouldn't it? Not even he would give him another chance, not after this. Izaya looked up at Kadota, the brunet was glaring at him.

"Proud of yourself?"

Izaya almost flinched, no he wasn't proud, not one damn bit. But they'd get over it, they would hate him for sure now, it was all he deserved –

His life was a joke –

He was messed up, and he didn't want to bring those he cared about down with him.

I really screwed up.

….

Shinra sat on the edge of the roof, his legs dangling down; for the first time in over a year, he was sat by himself, eating his lunch alone. Shinra glanced down at his bento box, biting his lower lip as he stared at the fatty tuna – untouched. Shinra knew he should be mad at him, angry, and should never want to see him again. "I should just forget about him…. He doesn't care, he wants this after all, he-" Shinra frowned, and suddenly, the thought confused him for a moment, Izaya wanted this….

Shinra's frown deepened.

Why?

Why did he want this, why now?

Why did he want everyone to hate him?

Shinra's eyes widened –

Because if everyone hated him, then no one would care.

The image of Izaya raising that damn blade to his skin, back in the building – if he hadn't of been there –

"It – fucking – hurts Shinra. I-" Izaya turned his head and ran over to the draw, he grabbed his flick blade and placed it against his wrist -

Shinra had never moved so quickly, he reached Izaya and grabbed his hand. "Izaya no!"

Izaya's breathing was heavy, tears running down his face. "It hurts! I don't know what to do anymore!" Shinra wrapped his arms around him, and Izaya collapsed to the floor taking Shinra with him. "Shinra…" Izaya grasped his arm and sobbed into his chest. "Please…make it stop hurting…"

Shinra shook his head, no, Izaya wouldn't do that, he wouldn't!

Izaya had been at school for the entire week, so there was that. But today –

He wasn't.

No one had spoken to him, Shizuo avoided him like the plague, and Kadota – well, he wasn't sure how he felt about everything, but he had stuck by Shizuo ever since, he hadn't spoken to him either.

Shinra hated what he had done, how could he have betrayed Shizuo like that! But the worst part, was how Izaya had told him, just told him – Shinra was mad for that, extremely mad, but –

He didn't think Izaya's intention was to get them mad at him too, because they hadn't spoken or hung around him either. Izaya's only intention then, was to get everyone to hate him, not Shinra, and why?

Shinra knew Izaya, better than anyone, and he couldn't figure it out! It was driving him crazy, why, why did he do that!

"Why…." Shinra gripped the bento and then threw it off the rooftop. "Why dammit!"

That look –

The one that Izaya sent him, right before he told Shizuo, Shinra couldn't place it at the time, there was something though, something in his eyes. Guilt, shame and – and vanquished, he had given up.

"Why did you do that…. why Izaya…" Shinra gasped, hadn't he done something like this before? Back when Shizuo had thought he'd told those students a trusted secret? Izaya took the blame, even though it wasn't his fault, because why bother telling the truth? This wasn't quite the same, but Shinra had figured something else about Izaya that day; anytime he done something wrong, he had this weird roundabout way of accepting any rebuke, even if he had to create that in the first place. Shinra's eyes split wider. "Because he knows he deserves it…."

Izaya said what he said, to cause those around him to hate him, because it was the only way he felt that he deserved. Izaya couldn't stand everyone forgiving him so easily, he couldn't stand the pity, he responded to the anger much better than anything else.

Shinra clenched his fists, couldn't believe it had taken him this long to understand.

Shinra got up from the edge, he had to find him! He had to find Izaya!

The bespectacled boy spun around and started to run –

But then he froze.

Someone stood in front of him, just blocking the way to the exit, well, not just someone, three.

The middle one grinned and said, "Well, seems like your, 'friends' have finally come to their senses. I knew they'd get tired of you eventually, figure out what a loser you are."

Great. It was those bullies; didn't they get tired of this? Were they ever going to stop tormenting him? They had though, once Izaya, Shizuo and Kadota were always around –

But now –

No! he didn't have time for this! Izaya –

He had to find him!

"So, Kishitani – what are we going to do with you now?"

Shinra gulped, but he clenched his fists, he could throw a punch, right? Izaya said so himself.

"Touch so much as a hair on him and I'll cut you to shreds."

Everyone blinked. Who had said that just now?

Shinra's heart skipped a beat when the three turn to the right, and then he could see him. The one standing there, glaring at the bullies, now blocking the doorway, the one that said those words –

He had found him!

Izaya!

Izaya walked toward them, his knife glinting in the sunlight as he raised it in front of him. "You've got a problem with him? Take it up with me."

Shinra remained frozen, he couldn't believe Izaya was just here, he really thought –

There seemed to be a stare out, neither one was willing to back down, but Izaya's confidence had always been high, he could bluff his way out of anything. The three knew Izaya was strong, not Shizuo strong, but enough, they knew he could take them.

The middle one snorted, looked behind him at Shinra and then back to Izaya. "You're wasting your time with this one. He's pathetic, which reflects on you, runt."

Izaya smirked and chuckled. "If wasting my time with him, stops me from acting like you, then I'd gladly stick around."

Shinra shook, not out of fear, but – happiness, what Izaya said just now –

Did he mean it?

The three pushed past Izaya, the raven chuckled and watched them disappear through the exit. He turned back to Shinra, smiled at him and then –

He collapsed.

Shinra shot forward, skidding on the ground beside him. Izaya was hunched over, barely sitting upright. Shinra pushed against his shoulders, forcing the raven to look at him. Izaya grinned weakly, Shinra frowned, wondering what was wrong. "Izaya-"

"Sorry for the interruption…. Wasn't sure if you could take care of it…"

That was not an issue right now! That was not what he should be concerned about! Shinra's eyes roamed over him and that's when he noticed, blood, dripping to the ground, Shinra's eyes widened, the blood was coming from inside his sleeve, dripping from his hand between his fingers. "Izaya…. what did you do?"

Izaya smiled at him. "Yeah… I was going to – I did, but then I heard them, I couldn't do nothing ne?"

Shinra couldn't believe it! Izaya had been here all this time!

"Izaya you-"

"I heard you, and I thought it would be better if I just – heh, I guess you needed me after all…."

Shinra shook his head, blood was staining the sleeve, he reached over and grabbed Izaya's arm. "What did you – Izaya-"

"I think I might have made a mistake…."

Shinra glared at him. "You think!? You think you made a mistake!?"

Izaya flinched, his eyes averting away.

Shinra grabbed his shirt. "Look at me dammit!" Izaya's eyes widened and he was forced to look at his friend. Shinra's eyes clouded. "How could you possibly think this would be better! How could you just – you can't fucking just – Izaya, just because you think it's what you deserve, it doesn't mean it's true!"

Izaya stared at him. "You – you figured it out…"

Shinra nodded. "I did. I know why you said those things. You wanted us to hate you, right? Because you think that's what you deserved. That's why you quit, that's why you told Shizuo all that stuff, that's why you-"

Izaya watched in surprise as Shinra carefully lifted his sleeve up, the blood smeared across his arm as he raised it. Izaya had cut, but not his wrist, the vein in his cubital fossa, except that –

Izaya looked at it, he smiled lightly, but wasn't sure why. "Ne, I think I missed."

Shinra frowned up at him. "Yes. You did. The blade just missed the vein, dammit Izaya…. what the fuck were you thinking…"

"Must have gotten distracted by those idiots."

Shinra narrowed his eyes. "Please tell me that was a joke. Tell me that you're not disappointed that you missed."

Izaya looked down at his arm, there was a lot of blood, but nothing close to being life threatening, as he had originally thought. "No, I guess not. I'm not disappointed…."

Shinra sighed in relief. "The cut is deep, so it makes sense that you nearly passed out. Of course, lack of food mixed with that would definitely cause you to collapse like that."

Izaya tensed, Shinra held his hand over the deep gash, trying to put some pressure on, to stop the bleeding. "How did you-"

"Come on Izaya, the only way we could get you to eat anything at lunch was if you stole it from ours, and since you got everyone mad at you, you stopped…."

Izaya smiled, Shinra really did know everything, he was such a perceptive friend, he knew him…. really knew him. His smile faded, because what he had done, not only fucked his own friendship's up, it had caused Shinra's too. "I didn't mean to make them mad at you…that wasn't my intention."

Shinra shrugged. "I was alone for so long before you guys came along, wasn't hard to get used to that again. I should be mad at you though for-"

"I know. For saying what I did, for doing this shit…."

Shinra blinked at him and then shook his head. "Actually, I was going to say, I should be mad at you because you were actually going to do this," Shinra pointed at his arm. "Right here, right within plain sight…. And I wouldn't have even known…"

Oh. That's what he meant. Izaya sighed. "I'm sorry Shinra…."

Shinra stood up, pulling Izaya with him. "Come on, this needs treating."

Izaya didn't know what to say, why, why was Shinra still fucking here? He didn't deserve this! He thought for sure this time, that he would – "…Hate me."

Shinra looked up at him. "What?"

"Why…. why don't you hate me…"?

Shinra sighed, was he seriously still questioning himself? Was he still doubting his worth to him? "Because I love you."

Izaya stared at him, wide eyed, his breath hitched. "Shinra… no, I-"

Shinra continued. "I know. I know you don't feel the same. It's not like that."

Izaya tilted his head. "It's not?"

Shinra chuckled. "Ok, it is. But hear me out. It's ok that you don't love me back, it's ok that you never will, and it's ok if you don't ever return those feelings to anyone."

Izaya's eyebrows creased slightly. "Shizu-chan?"

Shinra smiled. "Yeah, him. It doesn't matter because, deep down, I know that you care, the type of care that makes it just as special. Your heart is fragile, but it's full of so much loyalty, so much passion, when you put effort into something, it's a hundred percent. Whether it be the business, your friendships, or – or even your relationship."

Izaya's eyes become wide, his mind frazzled at the words Shinra was telling him, they were so damn honest, so truthful, Shinra believed every word, didn't he? "Shinra…."

"I love you Izaya, so don't you dare fucking leave. Please."

Izaya bit his lip, tears clouding at his eyelids and then –

Izaya wrapped his arms around Shinra, hugging him tightly, he cried, he just cried.

Shinra returned the embrace, they really should get him to a hospital, that cut needed stitching, but right now, Izaya needed to let this out. The raven's hands clutched the back of his shirt, his body shook as he sobbed. "It's ok, Izaya, it'll be ok."

Izaya's voice cracked, he screwed his eyes tighter. "I'm such a fucking mess…. Shinra…why, why am I like this?"

Shinra just chuckled. "Because you're an idiot. You just need to get used to what a true friendship really means. It's not anything bad, there's nothing wrong with you. You're just you."

Izaya huffed a laugh then, his sobs ceased a little, he pulled back, smiling slightly through his tears, "I don't think that's a compliment, Shinra."

Shinra laughed. "Not for anyone else, but to you it is, right?"

Izaya smiled. "I guess so."

"Good," Shinra placed his hand on Izaya's shoulder. "It will be ok, I promise. I'm here for you, I always will be."

Izaya breathed out a shaky sigh, he should have known that, he really should have. "I'm an idiot. You were right."

"Well now that we've agreed on that, let's get your arm treated."

Shinra pulled Izaya with him toward the exit. Izaya stopped him, grabbing his wrist, Shinra turned to look at the frown that was now etched on his face. "Don't tell them anything. Dota-chin and Shizu-chan, I'm not ready to explain everything to them yet,"

Shinra smiled. "I wasn't going to."

Izaya sighed. "I just – I can barely handle the fact that you've forgiven me. I don't think I can take theirs too, not that I think they would, or that they should…. Just," Izaya huffed a laugh. "One at a time, ok?"

Shinra nodded. "I understand."

…

Izaya turned his head to the sound of a giggle; he was sat in his art class, yeah, art. Shizuo had moved seats, and Izaya glared over at the reason why. That giggle was fucking annoying. And that damn smile he was giving her, she had always been in this class, but only recently – three weeks to be precise, three fucking weeks! She had approached him, spouting shit about how she had always thought he was nice and cute, and had always had a crush on him. Izaya hadn't believed his eyes at first, she did it, right in front of him! And what did Shizuo do? He fucking blushed, smiling that smile – the one that – the one he had used for him before… the only one he showed to him, and now, now he was feeling the same about someone else. At least, that's what it damn well looked like, of course, he wasn't jealous, not one bit, nope.

Izaya clenched his fist when she giggled again, Shizuo laughed too and then she leaned on his arm with a smile. God, he just wanted to fucking –

Izaya blinked, he hadn't realized he had even balled up that piece of paper, the piece of paper that had just hit the side of the girl's head. Whoops.

She looked down at her desk and began to unravel the ball, she wouldn't find anything written there, because he kept that piece on his right, out of his textbook.

Izaya grinned down at it, but his grin faded when he realized –

The page was blank –

Which meant that – Izaya looked over at them, she had the other one. Heh.

Izaya chuckled at her loud screech. "That's horrible!" oh well, serves her right. "Who would draw something like that."

Shizuo frowned at the paper when she showed him. It was a drawing, of her, obviously, he could tell; the version of her, however, was depicting her somewhat – decapitated.

Ok, maybe that was a bit much, but she honestly wasn't meant to see it, he hadn't meant to throw it at her, and he certainly hadn't meant for Shizuo to see it either. Izaya glanced up as Shizuo stood up and come storming over to him. "What?" Izaya tilted his head, giving him the expression of innocence, as though he hadn't thrown that paper just now.

Shizuo gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the desk, he ignored the teacher's protests and shouts for him to sit back down. "What the fuck was that Izaya?"

Izaya smiled, though it was more like a grin, but this was the first time in nearly two weeks that Shizuo had said any words to him, whether it was out of anger or not, he didn't care. Shizuo was talking to him – well, he was shouting, but that wasn't the point. "What was what?"

Shizuo was about to grab him by the shirt –

And then the bell rang.

Izaya chuckled and jumped out of his chair. "Saved by the bell!" he then dodged Shizuo's hand to grab him and grinned over his shoulder as he ran out of the classroom, knowing Shizuo would chase after him.

Except –

Izaya ran down the corridor and then slowed to a stop, looking back when he realized –

Shizuo wasn't chasing him. Izaya frowned as he stared down the corridor, his hands clenched when Shizuo emerged from the classroom, with the girl in tow, lightly sobbing against him, his arm wrapped around her in comfort. Izaya snorted, seriously, was Shizuo really attracted to that type? Clingy, over sensitive, air head –

"Izaya?"

Izaya blinked and turned to who had called his name. Shinra. "What?"

Shinra tilted his head and stepped beside him. "Who are you trying to burn holes into?" then he saw them, Shizuo and – Kimori? He was quite sure that was her name, Ai Kimori. "Oh, I see. They're getting along really well, aren't they?"

Izaya glared at Shinra. "That's not what your supposed to say Shinra."

Shinra laughed nervously. "Heh. Sorry." Izaya continued to glare at him, Shinra sighed. "I'm sorry Izaya, I know this is hard, but I think he really likes her."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "She's not right for him. She's too-" Izaya stopped when Shizuo and Kimori neared them, Shizuo glared at him.

"Stay away from her, flea."

Izaya narrowed his eyes as the couple made their way down the stairs. Shinra looked at him with a questioning gaze. "What was that about?"

Izaya snorted. "She turned on the water works just because of a drawing; I didn't think it was that bad."

Shinra chuckled as he shook his head. "Stop being mean. It's only going to get you in trouble, Shizuo is the last one to forgive you, so if you keep doing stuff like this-"

"No. he's moved on, Shinra, it's too late for us, he won't forgive me now, I've just got to accept that."

Shinra's expression grew sad. "Izaya…"

Izaya smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine. There's no point in explaining anything to him, it's done."

Shinra sighed. "So, that's it?"

Izaya shrugged. "That's it. Given how we started out, our relationship was doomed from the start."

….

Classes from the second years were stood in lines outside on the parking lot, with their homeroom teachers in front, waiting to step into the designated buses. They were going on a field trip today, to some popular museum or something, Izaya wasn't sure which one, he didn't care much for field trips. Izaya narrowed his eyes when he heard that annoying giggle; they were stood in pairs, chosen, 'field trip buddies,' Izaya was stood next to Shinra, Kadota was behind them, paired off with the unfortunate kid who got travel sick. Shizuo and Kimori were in front, one couple down from them.

"Shizuo, you're so funny!"

Izaya snorted, placing his hands in his pockets as they began to get on the bus. His voice took on a slightly high pitch as he said, "Shizuo, you're so funny." Shinra chuckled.

Kadota clapped a hand on his shoulder, poking his head between the two. "Could you be anymore jealous?" Izaya knew he was teasing him, his cheeks tinted lightly, he was making it kind of obvious wasn't he.

"Shut up Dota-chin, I hope that kid is sick on you."

"That's harsh."

Somehow, Kadota had forgiven him, Izaya wasn't sure how he did it, but Kadota had a good sense of intuition, he was mad for sure, but when Izaya explained a few things, not the entire story, but enough; eventually he was forgiven. He knew it would be a while before he could regain their full friendship, but it was a good start.

The students took their seats in their pairs, Kadota had to sit at the front since his trip buddy always got travel sick. He felt a little abandoned, not that he would blame Shizuo, the blond was happy it seemed, but it had always just been the four of them. Even when Izaya and Shizuo had been together, it had still just been them, Shinra would sit next to Kadota after they'd become a couple, sometimes they switched. But now, now Shizuo was with someone else entirely, she didn't try to become part of their circle, it was as if she was taking Shizuo away from his friends. Given her personality, she probably wasn't doing it on purpose, she was just extremely clingy, she needed all Shizuo's attention. He liked to think that Shizuo was his best friend, he'd always been there for him, and the other way around. He glanced at the kid beside him, slumping in dismay. And I get stuck with this kid.

Shizuo gritted his teeth, closing his eyes, counting to ten in his head, a vein popping out on his forehead. The buses had already left the school, now on their way to the museum, he could not seriously start a fight on the bus. He clenched his fists, why, just why, why did he have to sit right in front of Izaya and Shinra, god fucking damn it. The raven was kicking his chair, on fucking purpose! Again! Just like he used to do in art. Not his chair directly, hers. but Shizuo could feel the vibrations anyway, it might as well be his own.

Shinra tapped Izaya on the arm, whispering, "Izaya stop it."

Izaya chuckled. He slouched slightly and booted under the chair with a grin.

Before Shizuo could turn and punch him, Kimori turned around, popping her head between the seats.

"Excuse me, Izaya-san?"

Izaya raised an eyebrow, his expression amused. "Yes?"

"Um, you're kicking my chair."

Izaya had to refrain from laughing, he glanced at Shinra who was glaring at him, he then turned back to her, his expression turning into confusion. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize."

Shizuo glared at him from over the top of his chair. You know damn well that you were, asshole.

Kimori smiled at Izaya. "No problem, I just thought I'd let you know. It's ok."

Izaya rolled his eyes when she turned back in her seat. Jesus fucking Christ. Izaya looked over at Shizuo, and smirked. "Something you want to say, Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo held a firm grip on the chair. "Leave her alone. I'm warning you."

Izaya shrugged and then raised his hands in mock surrender. "Whatever you say."

…

Free to walk around the museum, if they stayed in their pairs and took notes of what they had seen. There were many sections, mostly displaying different Buddha statues; displaying extinct animals; information about the wars in Japan and other countries, there was even a side section – the dungeon. It was darker than the rest of the museum, but it was supposed to be that way, to give off the eerie vibe. No one had to go in there, it wasn't a mandatory section.

Izaya and Shinra met up with Kadota and his buddy, they knew Kadota would want to look around the section, surprised to hear that even the sick kid wanted to. Shizuo walked past them, Kimori was talking to him about something they'd seen at some point. Kadota raised his arm up to catch his attention. "Yo! Shizuo!"

Shizuo stopped and turned around with a smile, they walked toward them. "What's up?"

Kadota shrugged. "Nothing much," he gestured his thumb behind him. "We're checking out this section, looks cool, thought you might wanna join us. It's about the old punishment laws and prisons I think."

Shizuo stepped forward, nodding that he'd go with them, a pull on his arm stopped him. Shizuo looked behind, Kimori shook her head. "I don't want to go in there, it looks creepy."

Shizuo smiled and kissed the top of her head. "You don't have to. You can wait out here, ok?"

Izaya clenched a fist, was Shizuo just that fucking ignorant, or was he doing this on purpose? How dare he display that shit – that affection right in his face!

Kimori rubbed her arm shyly. "Wait out here, by myself?"

Shizuo looked up and nodded over at the group of girls near the samurai swords. "Your friends are there, wait with them, I'll be out soon, I promise. Then we can check out that indoor garden stuff you wanted."

Izaya rolled his eyes, everything about her just pissed him off. "Stay with her Shizu-chan, or she might start crying." The words slipped out before he realized, Shizuo glared at him and he glared right back, like hell was he going to feel bad for that.

"Shut the hell up, Izaya."

"Tch." Izaya turned his back and then dragged Shinra toward the entrance of the dungeon. Fucking brute.

Shizuo looked at Kadota and said, "I probably should stay with her."

Kadota sighed. "All right. Talk to you later."

Shizuo watched him jog to catch up with the other two, he felt bad, he knew he hadn't spent much time around his friends lately. He really did want to go with them, but –

"I'm sorry Shizuo, I feel bad now. I don't want to keep you away from your friends."

Shizuo smiled at her. "It's not your fault."

Kimori looked at the entrance and held onto his arm, a determined frown on her face. "Let's go in."

Shizuo blinked. "What? Are you sure?"

Kimori smiled. "You want to, don't you?"

Shizuo nodded and glanced at the section, then back to her. "But I know you won't like it."

She gripped onto his arm tighter. "Just don't leave my side, ok? I don't want to get lost in there."

Shizuo chuckled. "I won't. I promise."

Halfway through the dungeon – Izaya, Shinra and Kadota were a few feet ahead of Shizuo, the raven kept glancing back at them, every time he did, he rolled his eyes, she had her eyes closed the whole fucking time!

Izaya smirked and stopped to speak. "I heard someone got trapped here a long time ago," he looked purposefully back at the couple, Shizuo frowned. "Not anyone specific, just a tourist; see, after the museum shut, he stuck around to come down here," Izaya nodded over to the guillotine. "Got stuck in one of those," he walked over to it, crouching as if to inspect it. "The poor fool tried to get himself out, but the damn thing was broken and – bam! It came down on him," Izaya stood up and smirked over at her, she was shaking. "Rumors suggest that he's still here, looking around for his head…It's right here!" Izaya then threw something at her or tried.

Kimori screamed loudly –

Shizuo caught the object, it was a skull, a prop, obviously.

Izaya laughed hard.

Shinra and Kadota shared a glance, and then Shizuo snapped.

The blond stalked up to the raven who was still laughing, he grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him against the wall. "Cut that shit out!"

Izaya wrapped his hand around Shizuo's wrist. "It's not my fault she's a coward."

Shizuo slammed the skull into the wall beside Izaya's head, it crumbled into pieces. "Aren't you being a fucking hypocrite!? All the crap you've been through and your pulling shit like this? Don't you think you should show some damn sympathy!?"

Izaya narrowed his eyes, what Shizuo was talking about was not the same, he was way off! How fucking dare he! "Get the hell off me Shizuo!"

Shizuo slammed him against the wall again, Izaya winced. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, I don't know why you're being such a dick, but just leave her the fuck alone, got it!?"

Izaya clenched his fists, god damn it, couldn't he see how much he was hurting? Couldn't Shizuo tell that seeing them together was killing him? Didn't he care at all? Izaya's next words came in a whisper, barely audible. "She's not right for you…."

Shizuo loosened his grip slightly, he frowned as Izaya looked at him, his smirk was gone. "You broke up with me, Izaya."

Izaya swallowed the lump in his throat, he was about to say something, tell him that he missed him, that he couldn't fucking stand to see him with that girl, that he –

"Or is it that because you can't love me, then no one else can either."

Izaya's eyes widened, had Shizuo really just said that – Izaya then glared and shoved him off.

Shizuo stepped back, wondering if maybe he'd said something out of line, he began to regret it, but why should he? Because it was exactly how Izaya was acting right now.

"Fuck you!" Izaya pushed him back again. "I hate you! Don't ever speak to me again! Go fuck her for all I care!" Izaya stormed past him and dashed toward the way they had come in.

Shizuo stared after, he'd never seen the raven so angry at him before.

Kadota and Shinra gaped in shock, they looked back at Shizuo, Kadota asked the question. "Sh-shizuo? Are you ok?"

The blond clenched his fists. Shit. He then walked to Kimori, she looked at him with sympathy and he led her back toward the entrance.

…..

Shizuo, Kadota and Kimori were inside the gift shop, it felt wrong not to leave the museum and not buy a souvenir. Kimori was browsing the trinket section while the two boys were looking at figurines.

Shizuo picked up the statue of a samurai warrior, he peered underneath it and whistled at the price. "Damn, that's expensive."

Kadota chuckled. "You really like that one huh?"

Shizuo nodded. "Kind of like swords."

Kadota smiled. "Is that one of the reasons that attracted you to Izaya?" Shizuo half glared at him, but he could see Kadota hadn't meant to upset him. Kadota hunched his shoulders. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Shizuo shook his head. "S'all right. But yeah, you're right, I guess."

Shizuo and Kadota looked behind them when they heard Kimori speak. "Why can't I buy that? Is it that expensive? Is that why it doesn't have a price tag?"

Kadota tapped him on the arm, "I'm gonna go back to the bus with the sick kid, ok?" Shizuo nodded.

Shizuo walked up behind Kimori and lay his hand on her shoulder.

"Something wrong?"

Kimori nodded and pointed to the black box that was on the shelf by the cash register, it was decorated with a red rose and there was a lock dangling from it. It reminded Shizuo of a memory box, or a jewelry box. "He said I can't buy that, it's pretty, but he said I can't have it."

The man behind the register shook his head. "She can't have it, because it's not for sale."

Shizuo tilted his head with a frown. "If it's not for sale, then why is it out here in the shop?"

"It's a display only. Not to be sold to anyone."

"Maybe you should put it in the encasement then."

The man waved him off. "I think your class is about to leave, it's time you left too."

Shizuo wasn't going to argue over it, he looked at Kimori and smiled. "Ready to go?"

Kimori pouted and then looked up at him. "But I haven't brought anything yet. I promised my Mom that I'd get her a gift."

Shizuo looked outside, he could see that the other students were leaving, and he sighed. "All right, I'll go tell the teacher to wait some more."

Kimori jumped in excitement. "Thank you Shizuo!" She then kissed him, and he chuckled and left the shop.

###

Izaya stood outside the restrooms, waiting for Shinra, he casually glanced inside the gift shop. He could see Kadota and Shizuo looking at figurines, god he missed him so much. Izaya stepped a little closer to the shop, just so that he might hear them.

"Damn, that's expensive."

Izaya chuckled quietly to himself.

"You really like that one huh?"

Izaya saw the figurine that Shizuo had picked up, the blond loved swords, there was even one hanging in his bedroom, it was the only thing he really owned.

"Kind of like swords."

"Is that one of the reasons that attracted you to Izaya?"

Izaya froze then. Damn it Dota-chin, why did you have to be so blunt now.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"S'all right. But yeah, I guess you're right."

Izaya's eyes widened, he never knew that, Shizuo hadn't told him that before. Just one of the reasons? Izaya was curious about the others. What else had Shizuo not told him that he liked about him?

Izaya then narrowed his eyes when he watched the exchange take place between Shizuo and Kimori. His heart clenched painfully when she kissed him and then he jogged out of the shop, out of the museum, without even noticing him. Izaya became curious, he stood behind the wall of the shop and peered inside, watching her. She was just browsing the display of trinkets and charms, nothing unusual.

Kimori looked up at the shop keeper when he turned his back to restock the items behind him. She chewed her lip as her fingers edged closer to the black box. Izaya's eyes widened as he watched her quickly snatch the box from the shelf and put it in her bag. No way – she didn't just –

Kimori smiled and called out cheerfully. "I'm sorry if I was pushy Mr., I had a great time here. Thank you!"

The man turned to her with a kind smile and bowed. "Come again soon."

She giggled and jogged out of the shop. "I will!"

Izaya reached over and grabbed her wrist, he pulled her back and pinned her to the wall. She let out a squeak of surprise and clutched her bag. She then relaxed when she saw who it was. "Oh, Izaya-san, it's you. You scared me."

Izaya leaned toward her. "That's theft you know."

Kimori's eyes widened and her eyes darted side to side, looking for someone. Yeah, Izaya knew exactly who she was looking for. "W-what are you talking about?"

Izaya grabbed her bag. "You took something from that shop. I saw you!"

Kimori yanked her bag back. "I didn't take anything, I swear Izaya!"

Izaya gritted his teeth, he just fucking watched her take it! "What else doesn't he know about you?" He placed his hand beside her head, glaring at her.

"It's not like that! I didn't take anything!"

Izaya slammed his palm on the wall. "I just saw you!"

#punch#

Izaya skidded across the floor, wincing as he touched his fingers to his lip. He stared up at Shizuo in surprise, blood trickled at the corner of his mouth. "Shizu-chan…. She-"

Shizuo glared down at him. "I don't want to fucking hear it!"

Izaya stood up, his fists clenched. "She just took that black box from the shop!"

Shizuo glanced at her and she shook her head vigorously. "I didn't! I swear Shizuo, I didn't take anything…" She clung to his arm and her eyes watered.

Shizuo rubbed her arms. "It's ok, I believe you."

Izaya snorted. "You've got to be kidding me… Shizu-chan, if you don't believe me then check her bag! Check the shop!"

Shizuo narrowed his eyes at Izaya. "Has it really come to this? You're lying now? Do you really hate me that much?"

Izaya opened his mouth to say something, but Shinra called his name and he glanced over.

"…. What's going on?" Shinra looked confused, looking between them.

Izaya glared at Shizuo and Kimori and then shrugged, fine, he didn't care anymore. To hell with them both! If Shizuo wanted to believe her, whom he known five fucking minutes, then so be it! Izaya stormed past them, causing Shinra to look toward Shizuo and then run after him.

Shizuo sighed, he glanced down at Kimori. "You ok?"

Kimori smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "I thought he was going to hurt me…" Shizuo frowned the slightest bit as he wrapped his arms around her. He doubted very much that Izaya would hurt her like that, but – that didn't excuse him for accusing her of theft.

"Don't worry. He won't hurt you."

Kimori nodded, and, unbeknownst to Shizuo –

She grinned.

AN: I really really hope this chapter was ok, I just love a jealous Izaya :)

But seriously, I hope you all approved. Was worried about this one tbh. I enjoyed writing it though.

Anyway, I promise there is one more Arc to come next, Kimori is relevant to this, and maybe it has something to do with the black box ;)