Izaya opened his eyes to extremely bright light; stepping forward, it felt like he was floating, nothing substantial beneath him. As he looked at his surroundings, he frowned, nothing but a white void appeared in his view. What just happened? He tried to remember what he was doing before this, where he had been…. he couldn't remember anything! "This has to be a dream," he muttered to himself, only, he didn't remember going to sleep at all. He turned in a full circle, there was – nothing. Swiping a hand through his raven hair, he tried to keep calm, this wasn't the first time he had been in trouble. "I just have to look for a way out."

"You're right, there is a way out."

Izaya jumped and spun around, he reached into his pocket – no switchblade! Narrowing his eyes, he took a step back, he wouldn't let his guard down, would fight them off barehanded if he had to. There was a laugh then, and it didn't sound at all threatening, where had he heard that laugh before?

Then she appeared, Izaya's eyes widened upon the realization –

It was that woman!

"You-" she walked toward him with a somewhat sad smile on her face. "It's you – you're that old woman from before…." Izaya frowned because he couldn't even remember where he had seen her.

"Oh dear, I had hoped I might have been wrong this time." Izaya placed his hands in his pockets, hoping that his knife might be there after all. The woman chuckled at him, and he glared at her with irritation. "There are no weapons on your person, but do you really think you would need them?"

Izaya glanced around again, he had a million questions to ask, but he had no idea where to begin. This place, it was so – lonely, he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness; he didn't want to be here! Turning back to the woman, he tried his best to laugh, but his voice crackled. "Are you going to tell me what I'm doing here?"

She tilted her head and then looked around them; with a sigh, she smiled at him. "You don't like it here?"

Izaya raised an eyebrow, now he really was starting to think she was insane. Had she fucking kidnapped him? What the hell was with that smile! This was really it, wasn't it? This was how he was going to die, captured by an old woman inside a seemingly endless room. He laughed because he just couldn't do anything else. "I guess looks can be deceiving after all; I certainly wasn't expecting this outcome. I'm a little shocked, who knew I would be offed by an old woman. You'll have to help me out though, I'm having a hard time remembering our encounter, what's your reason for revenge?" he laughed again, this was ridiculous!

The woman shook her head, she could only imagine how foggy his mind probably was. "Your memory will come back to you eventually," she said.

Izaya tilted his head with a wide grin. "Is that your way of saying I've been drugged? Is that how you managed to capture me, it's a little original, but congratulations."

"Would you please be quiet, sheesh. I never kidnapped you, and I'm most certainly not here to kill you." Izaya frowned, his grin faded, his heart was – wait. Slowly, he lifted his hand up to his chest, laid his palm over his left side. She watched him for a moment, he then gave her a questioning look, and she suspected that he might have figured it out, so she nodded. "You're already dead."

Izaya's eyes widened, no no no no, it couldn't be! How the – fuck no! his eyes narrowed; how dare she say something like that! He dashed forward and grabbed the old woman by her blue dress. "You're lying!"

She didn't react to his anger, because as she looked into his eyes, she could see them glisten. It was as if he already knew, he wasn't naïve, he had great perceptiveness, she wasn't about to let this one go, not without doing something. She wanted to help him, from the moment she saw him, he was an open book to her. "I'm sorry," she told him, and she truly meant that. "I knew this would happen."

Izaya didn't let her go, he wasn't going to believe her, this had to be some type of cruel revenge. Despite thinking this, he couldn't help but respond to her statement. "You – are you telling me that you knew I was going to – and you didn't say anything?"

She remained calm, still unaffected by his anger; she gave him a brief smile. "But I did warn you, I told you to heed my warnings, do you remember that?" Izaya frowned, he searched through his memories, tried to pinpoint when he had met her. "It's okay, you know, as I said, your memory will return soon. Do you know your name?"

Izaya looked up at her and snorted. "My memory isn't that foggy."

She gave him a knowing grin. "Then would you care to tell me what it is?"

Izaya opened his mouth to speak, and then – nothing, he clenched a fist, it was right there, right on the tip of his tongue! "I – don't know…." How could he not even remember his own name! She probably already knows it anyway.

"Don't worry, this happens."

Izaya blinked at her, and then he got annoyed. "What do you mean by that?" his eyes suddenly widened, something she had said earlier, began to sink in. "I'm really dead, aren't I?"

She expressed a look of sympathy and slowly nodded. "Not all your memory is foggy, you were rather adamant that this must be a type of revenge; therefore, you know that deep down that you deserve it."

Izaya snorted and placed his hands in his jacket. "I'm not that transparent."

The woman chuckled. "Oh you are, you really are. You're one crazy man, you know that?" she smiled. "You've done a lot of bad things, and you know it."

He shrugged. "Maybe I have, but not everyone I messed with was innocent."

She then laughed louder. "Is that your justified argument?"

Izaya grinned. "Not really, I don't care, innocent or not – they're still humans, and human beings are fascinating no matter who they are."

The woman's smile widened. "Is that so?"

Izaya rolled his eyes. "I love humans, that's all. There's no justification, I put anyone in a situation for my own personal amusement, I just like to see how they handle it."

She chuckled and shook her head. "You can say what you want, but I know you're lying, and far be it for me to convince you of that."

Izaya stared at her, this woman, she was insane – that was really all there was to it. This was all just a strange dream, or maybe he really had been drugged and kidnapped, who's to say he wasn't hallucinating right now? He smirked then, what did it matter? She was human, he might as well have some fun, even if it was something his mind was creating. "Are you going to tell me that this place is the doorway to heaven or hell?"

The woman sighed, she knew he was starting to disbelieve her again, and what she was about to say was probably not going to convince him either. "This place is actually a representation of your soul."

Blank –

And then –

He laughed loudly; honestly, he had never heard something so – desperate. "I have to admit, you almost had me convinced there."

She ignored him and looked into the endless void above them. "It's lonely." Izaya stopped laughing because what she said cut him more profoundly than he thought it would. He had felt it himself, when he first woke up in this place, he didn't want to be here. It was as though every part of his being was part of this void, just – there. All the emptiness, all of the negativity he kept locked out of his heart or tried his best to. "Nobody likes to see what really lies deep within their soul, one of the reasons why those I help prefer an alternative."

Izaya snorted. "Given my options, I don't see a whole lot of alternatives." He then registered the other thing she said. "Others?"

She smiled and nodded. "I'm a guardian angel, thought that much would have been obvious by now."

Izaya stared at her in surprise, at first, he thought she was just crazy. Now, he wondered just how fucked up his mind must be, hallucinating guardian angels? If he ever got out of this mess, he was going straight to a doctor to – doctor! "Shinra," he voiced quietly with a thoughtful frown.

"Who is Shinra? Is that your name?"

Izaya shook his head. "No, he's – he's a friend of mine actually," he avoided her gaze. "He's the only one I have, the only one I would ever consider a friend." Then he huffed a laugh, damn it, this place was making him vulnerable.

"I see, and do you remember your name?"

Izaya looked at her then, and suddenly, it just came to him. "My name is Izaya Orihara." She nodded with a smile of approval, Izaya frowned. "You knew, didn't you."

The woman walked toward him as she replied, "I did, but it is always best to have the other remember on their own." She held her hand out to him, he looked at it with skepticism, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know you don't trust anyone Izaya, but unfortunately, you don't have a choice this time unless you want to stay inside your soul some more?"

Izaya hesitated, he lifted his hand toward her and then stopped. "Where am I going?"

"Where would you like to go?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but he wondered if it was a trick question.

Realizing that he wasn't going to answer, she decided that she was going to have to be a lot harsher with him; she didn't like it, but what else could she do to make him realize the seriousness of the situation? "Even if I do end up in a hell surrounded by pain, as long as I get to exist, I wouldn't care." Izaya's eyes widened, because what she said just now…. "Do you remember that? It came from your very mouth, therefore where you go doesn't matter, does it?"

Izaya began to panic, she couldn't mean – "Wait!" utter desperation in his voice and then –

Searing hot pain burned across his skin, sharp jolts of agony pierced through him over and over. He screamed loudly, but he was ignored, he tried to open his eyes, but the heat burned them, causing his eyes to water. Wrapping his arms around himself, he attempted to block out the pain, but it was too intense.

For a split second, he thought it was over; he gasped, trying to breathe. It was not over, and the pain began again, but this time – from the inside. Izaya cried out, tears falling from his face, he didn't want this – he just – he just wanted to end. "Let me go!"

With a massive gasp, Izaya was thrown back into the safety of the white void that was his soul. He crouched low, whimpering, arms wrapped around himself tightly, he was shaking…. never imagined experiencing something so – there wasn't even a word he could think of to describe it. A hand touched his shoulder, and he startled, sitting up with a move so quick it caused a headrush. The same hand then found its way to his own, and he realized it was the woman sitting in front of him. "You're okay, Izaya, it's over now," she said in a calm, soothing voice. "I'm very sorry for putting you through that, but please understand, I just wanted to make you see…." Izaya gently pulled his hand away, still slightly shaking as he pushed himself to his feet. She rose with him and gently touched his arm before speaking again, "That isn't what you truly want."

Taking a deep breath, Izaya placed his shaking hands in his jacket. "No…."

"I don't wish that fate for you either Izaya, this is why you're here, I want to help you. I can't bring you back to life, but I can help you move on peacefully."

Izaya looked at her, and for the first time, he truly understood what she meant. He was really dead, wasn't he? There was nothing he could do about that now, but if what she said was true also, could he really move on peacefully, did he deserve to? An amusing thought came into his head then, and he chuckled. "Is this where you tell me that you're going to help me earn my wings?" it was meant to be a joke because there was a lingering doubt in his mind that this was all too – unrealistic.

"In simple terms, yes, I am, but I'm certainly not going to take you to Valhalla."

Izaya gasped then, eyes wide as he remembered, he remembered how he met her.

"You there, spare me a moment, would you?"

Izaya glanced at the table situated in the right corner of the hallway he was in. There was a woman, old-looking, wearing a light blue dress, large hooped earrings, and her hair was tied back with a bandana. Izaya snorted when he saw what was in her possession on the table she occupied. "I'm busy right now." Damn, now he wanted to humor her, he just couldn't help it, he could have some serious fun with someone like her. "All right," he said as he walked over to her. "You have my attention."

The old woman smiled at him and held her hands out to the crystal ball. Izaya rolled his eyes, sometimes he thought his humans were just a few cards short of a full deck. "There is a bleak future awaiting you, heed this warning of danger not to be taken lightly."

Izaya laughed. "I just bet you say that to everyone to keep things interesting." He laughed, because the bleak future she was talking about, hadn't been ruled out, in fact, there was a fifty percent chance of it being inevitable. Speaking of his future, he decided to humor her just a little further. "You wouldn't happen to see a road that looks like it might lead somewhere…. Like, say, Valhalla?"

The old woman laughed. "Valhalla? Ha! You're living in a fantasy kid!"

Izaya sneered then, leaning closer to her, though he kept his grin in place. "Coming from the one that claims to tell fortunes?"

The woman looked at him, not laughing anymore. "I only speak the truth, Izaya Orihara."

Izaya's eyes widened, shit! "You – you know who I am?"

She smiled at him and nodded. "I do indeed. I recommend that you heed my warnings, also," she leaned forward. "Your very soul will depend on someone you least expect."

Okay, maybe not a joke, she wasn't kidding. Izaya frowned; a tremor vibrated through his body when he recalled what had just happened to him, anything was better than that. He then shrugged, a grin forming on his face if only to hide his fear. "So, what do I have to do to 'earn my wings?'"

The woman smiled, she nodded with happiness, because she had finally gotten through to him. "Let's get out of here first, shall we?" she then held her hand out, just like before. She watched him hesitate again, but this time she just grabbed his without waiting. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"How can you say that so casually to a dead person?"

She laughed. "Well, at least you're a lot quicker at accepting it than others. Good for you."

Before Izaya could reply, everything went black and complete darkness overcame him.