Storms of yesterday

by thedollars666

Izaya and Shizuo lose their memories of their romantic relationship and ultimately forget they became anything more then enemies. Forced to confront their feelings; Izaya denies everything, but Shizuo starts to realize that their maybe something more between them. Can their friends help them remember before its too late? Sequel to Winds of Change. RECENTLY REVISED AS OF 13/02/20

9. Broken

Dark clouds of thick smoke continued to cover the night sky as several fire-fighters desperately tried to extinguish the harsh flames of the building. The first three floors were successfully evacuated, and people were being treated among standby ambulances for mild burns and smoke inhalation. The explosion had sent the people of Shinjuku into a mass of panic, the news of the fire quickly spread throughout the city as reporters hurried to the scene. Civilians within a three-mile radius were evacuated as a safety precaution due to the thickness of the smoke.

It was becoming difficult to keep that safety however; due to the reports on the news, friends and families were beginning to crowd the area, searching for their loved ones, hoping to find them safe. The police had begun to arrive, and caution tape spread out fifteen foot from the building to avoid further harm. Shinra stood shaken on his feet, clutching the yellow and black tape, the flames reflecting in his glasses. There was no authentic way to tell if Izaya was in that building, it wasn't clear to any of them, yet Celty had wanted to make sure he was okay.

Shinra wasn't even five blocks away from reaching the apartment complex when he'd heard the rumble of an explosion from a distance. He stared up at the very place that was Izaya's, the very top floor, he could hardly see a thing between all the angry flames. There was no doubt in his mind, that the explosion had to have originated from that very apartment, because even though the fire crew were doing a surprisingly good job of keeping the flames partially contained, the windows on the first floor - being those of Izaya's - were the only ones that appeared to be shattered.

He bit his lip, if Celty were here... it would be easy for her to extinguish the building's deadly flames. He didn't dare attempt to go in, he wasn't cut out to be the heroic type, furthermore, Celty would kill him. Shinra clenched his fist, but this was his best friend - if there was even the slightest chance that he'd be able to save him... If it were Celty in there, trapped in a blazing death trap, there would be no hesitation crossing his mind. This was different though; this was a friend - his best friend - but still. He loved Celty, he was forever in love with her, love outweighed all sense of reason. It was hard to distinguish the love of a partner to the love you feel for friends, he did love Izaya - not in the same way - but the friendship kind, he'd discovered that a long time ago. Neither one would openly admit to something that sounded completely ridiculous, friendship love was commonly expressed more between girls.

Yet, he had risked his life before, when he stood in front of him to stop the knife attack from Nakura - what was the difference now? Nakura. Shinra always wondered if one day, there'd come a time when their estranged classmate might rise to get revenge on what he knew Izaya put him through. Izaya was the first real friend he had, besides Shizuo of course, and he loved him like an annoying eccentric brother.

Just as Shinra was about to throw all caution to the wind, he heard the yelling of voices which sounded awfully familiar. Despite all the loud chaos surrounding them, their voices overlapped everything else.

"Let me go! You don't understand!"

Shinra blinked in mild surprise at first and then his feet were moving of their own accord. Mairu.

"Let us pass."

Kururi.

"It's not safe Miss! No one is going anywhere near that building."

Mairu and Kururi struggled in the grip of a police officer, doing their damnedest to break free. "That's my brother's building! He could be trapped in there, let us go!"

Mairu kicked upwards and clocked the police officer in the head and made a run for it, Kururi right behind her. "Mairu! Kururi!"

The twins froze and turned to where they heard their names being called. "Shinra?"

Shinra ran toward them, stopping as he reached them and pulled on their arms. "Don't be reckless, you know it's too dangerous."

"But - Izaya, he could be trapped..."

"I know. Believe me, I want to fight the flames to save him too, but you know the situation wasn't clear, we don't know if he was even here. What would he do if he finds out his little sisters burnt asunder trying to rescue him?"

"What if he is inside?" Kururi was keeping it together a lot more than her sister was doing.

Shinra smiled sadly at them. "The fire-fighters know what they're doing, they're trained for this."

Shinra pulled them backwards slowly. "Shinra, he's all we have..."

Pulling them back behind the tape, Shinra wrapped each of his arms around them as they waited for any signs of survivors appearing.

Another set of sirens approached the area and stopped abruptly to the side of an ambulance. Satoshi got out of the car and stared wide eyed at the flame engulfed building. "Christ..." he breathed out, he wasn't expecting this, even when he received a notification on his news feed, he didn't think anything to be so... gut retching. "Shit, Izaya..." Satoshi gritted his teeth and turned to see what he could do to help with the panic. You better not have been in there; I swear to god.

Mairu then pointed over at the car. "Look! It's Satoshi!"

Shinra and Kururi look to where she had pointed, Shinra lifted his hand up. "Satoshi! Over here!"

Satoshi stopped and turned to see three familiar faces, he sighed in relief, at least the twins and Shinra were safe. He ran toward them, stopping long enough to show his ID badge to the other officers, before he could pass through to the other side. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Mairu explained. "We were on our to see if Izaya was okay... when we got here, the building was already up in flames."

"I was about five blocks away when I heard the explosion," Shinra added.

"Us too, except from that way," Mairu jerked her thumb behind her.

"I didn't want to believe it when I spotted the news cast. Do we know if-" Satoshi cut off; panicking wasn't going to help them.

Shinra shook his head. "It's really not clear, but I can tell you, I'm sure this wasn't a building accident."

"Yeh? I sort of had a feeling you were going to say that. You guys did say that Izaya logging on to the chat was suspicious. Since Namie hadn't seen him since yesterday evening."

"Does that mean that someone hacked his alias, making it look like he was fine?" Mairu asked.

Satoshi looked at Shinra and the doctor nodded. "Think it was this Nakura guy?"

"Maybe."

"Do you think he stole the name, knowing one of us was likely to check on him?" Kururi asked.

"Well they clearly know a lot more than we do," Mairu said with a frown, "it had to be someone who knows us all pretty well."

Satoshi sighed. "Is Nakura capable of all this Shinra?"

Shinra thought for a moment, he could barely think straight with all the noise. "I don't know, I haven't really seen him in a long time. If anyone is likely to pull off his personality, it'll probably be him, since he's known Izaya for as long as I have. I don't think even Izaya had any idea it would be Nakura."

"I'm just going to go by that assumption, for now at least, it's been our best lead anyway." The four flinch and crouch as some of the other windows shatter. "Dammit, this fire could burn for hours."

"They're beginning to get control of it though. It was worse when I arrived."

Eventually, the bottom half of the building became stable enough to enter, fire-fighters prepared to fight the rest of the flames from within, and the search for survivors began.

…...

Hours had passed by, the flames destroying the complex had finally been defeated. Only a few of the tenants had been rescued and pulled from the building, they were injured, but Shinra suspected they'd live. Personally, he didn't care, he just wanted to know if they'd found him... there was a sick feeling in his gut though, had he been at the forefront of the explosion, within the actual apartment, there most likely wouldn't be a body to find.

Shinra preyed he was away from the apartment, that he'd left just in time to avoid the worst of it, that the explosion was timed and not triggered. "Shinra..." Mairu gasped and clenched his arm when the fire-fighters began to carry out those they'd found after the fire was out. Bodies of those that were less likely to have survived. The ambulance crew took their cue and checked them one by one as they were lowered to the ground.

Shinra saw them shake their head, there was a sudden scream as a woman darted under the tape and collapsed beside one of the bodies. It was amazing, hardly any of the bodies that were brought out looked recognisable, yet someone had.

It was horrible, but Shinra only wished they didn't find his body. He couldn't bear the thought of Mairu and Kururi seeing him... the way that woman saw.

"Is that all we could find?" Shinra vaguely heard one of them say.

Another replied sadly, "I think so-"

"Wait," the first one who had spoken interrupted as he peered into the building. "There's someone else. They're bringing them out now..."

"... Is it-" Satoshi couldn't finish his sentence, all four of them tensed. Mairu and Kururi held onto one another tightly.

"Was he found on the top floor?"

A paramedic ran toward them as they lowered the person on the floor. "He's alive!"

"That's incredible...and, and there's not as much damage as there should be... I mean..."

The paramedic frowned as he checked the man's pulse. "His pulse is extremely weak. There might not be a lot of outside damage, but he's likely inhaled a lot of smoke and there's swelling on the right side of his head. We're going to have to get him to the hospital fast."

Shinra placed his hand on Mairu's shoulder. "Wait here..."

Kururi held onto Mairu as she clutched her chest. "Izaya...please..."

Shinra walked toward the paramedic as another one darted passed him. Together they lifted the unconscious man onto a stretcher and carefully lifted him from either end. "Wait...I need to see!"

"We don't have time! We're taking him to Shinjuku hospital if that helps." The paramedics skimmed passed him, but it was enough for Shinra to see a blur of blond hair amongst the ash and blood. He also managed to catch a glimpse of the torn and charred bartender suit.

"Shizuo..." Shinra stared after them in shock, he had a feeling it wasn't Izaya, but he hadn't expected... He snapped out of his shock and ran, stopping only to shout to the girls. "Call Celty! I'm going in the ambulance!"

"Shinra! Is it Izaya!?"

"It's Shizuo!" Shinra ran past them and made it just in time to get in the van.

"Shizuo? But...then, where is-" Kururi caught her sister before she could collapse to the ground. "Where is he..."

Satoshi breathed out a sigh and placed his hand on the small of Kururi's back. "Come on girls. I'll drive you to the hospital, okay? You can call Celty on the way."

"Don't you have to stay here?"

"Family comes first."

Kururi smiled and coaxed her sister to move as they followed Satoshi into the car.

Izaya sat on the wall with his leg carefully propped on slightly raised terrain rock. A thick layer of Celty's shadow wrapped around it in a makeshift splint. Izaya wondered if she had paid attention to Shinra's work during the time they had been together. He grimaced as he leant back on his palms, feeling the short grass that was layered behind him. His body fucking hurt, he was physically and mentally exhausted, all he wanted to do was find Shizuo, embrace him tightly for all he was worth and sleep for two days. He looked up as those from the group stumbled out of the building, unaware they had been tricked. Following them was Anri and Celty. He smiled tiredly at them. "Everything okay?"

Anri nodded with a smile. "Yes. They're all going home, or wherever they first came from, I was worried there for a moment, I thought I might have been too late to finish my instructions."

Izaya smiled. "You did fine; what about the other three?"

Celty showed him her phone. [I called an ambulance. I did my best to stop the bleeding on the girl's leg. They're going to turn themselves in. They didn't take the news of their brother all that well, but I think they'll be okay.]

Izaya shifted and hobbled forward with a few stumbled moves. He placed a hand on Anri's shoulder. "Thank you Anri, I really mean that, I couldn't have done it without you."

Anri chuckled, fresh tears appearing at her eyelids. "It was nothing. I'm glad I could help." Anri wrapped her arms around him for a moment before looking up at him. "I'm also glad that you're okay. Thank you for saving me."

Izaya smiled and placed a finger to his lips. "Just don't tell Shizu-chan."

Anri laughed and Izaya joined her amusement, Celty's shoulders jolted, showing she was laughing too. Izaya's laugh was cut off when a jolt of pain reminded him of his body's condition, he fell forward, but Celty and Anri were there to catch him. "We need to go to the hospital."

"I'll be all right... Shizu-chan awaits." Izaya tried to chuckle but he wheezed and then coughed.

"Izaya you fell through a glass roof! You're seriously hurt. We're going to the hospital right now!"

Izaya blinked and pouted over at Celty. "She's mean." He could only assume that she'd rolled her 'eyes' by the way she had tilted her helmet back slightly and then shook it in his direction. "All right, but I'm not the one that's going to tell him I'm there."

The two help Izaya walk toward Celty's awaiting bike. "Izaya?"

Izaya gritted his teeth before replying, he over did it. "What is it?"

Anri smiled. "I've never had a gay best friend before."

Izaya smiled and laughed lightly, the jolt of laughter causing his body to tense. "Oi, don't make me laugh."

"Oh, sorry."

Izaya then glanced at Celty. "You better tell Shinra you're safe. He'll only whine and I'll end up getting the blame."

Shinra. Celty stiffened and Izaya had to hold himself up when she moved away from him to talk. [I almost forgot! Before I left, Kanra appeared in the chatroom.]

Izaya's mouth opened in surprise. "It wasn't me. I've been here, when was that?"

[Just over an hour ago. Your sisters noticed it. We thought it was suspicious because Namie said she hadn't seen you since yesterday.]

Izaya tilted his head, not surprised by the communication between them all. "She's right, I haven't been to my apartment since, except to get my knife."

"But if you didn't post anything who did?" Anri started to have a bad feeling.

[I was about to go and check on you. Everyone was worried, that's when I got the message from Anri; Shinra went in my place.]

Izaya frowned. "If someone hacked my name, then they were most likely in my apartment. Did you call him?"

Celty slumped. [I did, but I have a feeling he left it at home.]

"Tsk. Typical Shinra. I often told him he was a scatter brain sometimes." Izaya pulled out his own phone, the screen was cracked, but otherwise, it was working, much to his relief. "Let me check the log. I might be able to-" Izaya froze.

"What's wrong?"

"It's an email." Izaya clenched the phone when he saw the receivers address. His eyes widened and then he gasped at the content.

"Izaya, what is it?"

Izaya's hand shook. "It's... it's my apartment, the building..."

Anri and Celty peer down at his phone, Anri let out a light cry of shock. "It's in flames!"

[This can't be! What about Shinra! What if he was-]

Izaya gritted his teeth. Nakura, you son of a bitch. The raven groaned as he clutched his head. "This is... all my fault."

"Don't say that!"

"I talked to him, just yesterday, I thought he was done... I thought I'd scared him off for good."

[Who are you talking about?]

"Nakura... he's responsible, for everything."

[That's what Namie said, but you don't think he'd - I mean I know he stabbed Shinra-]

Izaya looked up at her in surprise. "You know?"

[Shinra told me the truth.] Celty shivered. [We don't know anyone was in your apartment though!]

Anri nodded. "She's right, we don't know-"

Izaya clenched his fist. "It's an obvious trap. He knew someone would go to the apartment. He's already been there once already."

[What do you mean?]

"It's how he knew so much. He even told me himself. He broke into the apartment, bugged the living room, and tracked my recent activities through my computers. He stole the drug - but I didn't believe that he would..." Izaya hissed as he almost collapsed.

"Izaya..." Anri held him tightly, she was struggling to bare his weight with her small frame. "We can't think the worst yet. Even if it was deliberate, we don't know if any one of our friends was there."

Izaya tried not to think about those it could have been, had they gone to check on him. Namie and Shinra, it seemed they were the likeliest. That didn't leave a lot of their friends left. Izaya shook, trying to ignore the clenching feeling in his heart. What if it was his sisters? Concerned enough to visit him without a single warning of danger. Shizuo wasn't as likely, there was no way of him knowing what was happening, he had stayed away from the chatroom and kept to himself since that night.

Even so, Izaya couldn't shake the fear... all of them, they meant more to him then he often let on, even Namie, who had become like a sister to him. The more he thought about it though, the more it seemed like it could have been Shinra, Celty had confirmed that was where he had been heading.

[Anri is right. We can't jump to conclusions just yet. We should get you to the hospital first, then I'll go and find out what I can.]

Izaya nodded slowly, Celty moved his arm around her shoulder and they continued to walk back to the bike.

With her free hand, she laid her palm across the seat and it changed into a carriage. Her phone rang and it startled her, Anri helped Izaya lean against the carriage as he hopped forward. Even though Celty couldn't verbally answer, those who often called her knew the signals.

"Celty! It's - it's Mairu...I'm - I just, I don't know what to say." Celty stiffened, she almost broke her phone with the way she was clenching it.

Shinra, please don't let him be-

"Celty. I know you can't answer, but we're at the hospital in Shinjuku. Izaya's apartment... there was an explosion and - the whole building went up. Shinra was with us, we arrived almost at the same time. I just - do you know where my brother is? I need to speak to him... please... please tell me you know if he's okay, I have to talk to him."

Celty shook. Shinra, he's okay, he's alive.

Izaya looked over at her. "Celty?"

Celty held her hand out and Izaya gave her his phone and she typed. [It's Mairu.]

Izaya paled. No, no way... please god don't let her be - "What?"

Celty then realised how that sounded and she shook her helmet vigorously. [On the phone! she's on the phone. She really needs to know you're okay, she wants to talk to you!]

Izaya breathed out a sigh of relief, then he clasped her elbow. "Shinra?"

Celty nodded. [Shinra is okay.]

Another sigh and then he took the phone from Celty, shifting with a grunt of pain, he didn't think he could remain standing much longer. He took a shuddering breath before placing the phone to his ear. "Mairu?"

Within the reception area, Mairu, Kururi and Satoshi were sat on a three-seater couch. Mairu froze at the sound of her brother's voice, it felt like forever since she'd heard it. "I-Izaya? Is that you?"

Izaya huffed a laugh, thanking god she was okay. "It's me, calm down."

"You're okay? You're-"

Izaya smiled. "I'm - I'm all right. I mean, I'm not a hundred percent physically, but mentally... Mairu, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, for everything I said..."

"No! It wasn't your fault... I'm - I'm happy to hear your voice, I saw the building - I went to come and check on you, you were logged in as Kanra and-"

"Hey, it's okay. Nothing happened to me, at least not - did you say you were there?"

"I'm all right. Nothing - nothing happened to me either."

"Kururi is safe with you?"

"Yes, we both are, Satoshi and Shinra too. We're at the Shinjuku hospital, Satoshi drove us."

"What, why are you at the hospital?" Izaya's heart began to pound in his chest, something wasn't right, something had happened. Anri and Celty waited impatiently, Anri held her breath, a horrible feeling came over her. Izaya swallowed the lump forming in his throat, Mairu wasn't answering him. "Mairu...why are you at the hospital, are you sure you and Kururi are okay?"

"We're all right. Izaya...I - there were people being carried out of the building and – and-"

Izaya sighed, they were probably in shock. "It's okay. Everything is all right now. I'm-" he looked to Celty for confirmation and she nodded, that she would take him to the hospital in the other city. It wasn't a great idea - given Izaya's physical state - but he needed to be with them now. Izaya smiled. "I'm coming to you, okay? I'll be there soon, just calm down."

"I'm not finished! Just listen okay?"

His smiled faltered, his heart tightening again. "Okay."

"They - carried out people from the building, there was a survivor - he was unconscious and-" Izaya could hear her sniffling, there weren't many people his sisters would be so upset over. "Izaya - it's Shizuo."

Izaya's eyes widened, his body shook, he couldn't breathe. Shizu-chan, what the hell were you doing there? "Mairu, is he okay?"

"Shinra is with him and some other doctors... but they think he suffered a lot of head trauma... he's in a coma."

Izaya paled, the phone slipped from his hand and his legs buckled under him. Anri tried to catch him and crouched beside him. "Izaya! What happened? Is everyone okay?" Izaya couldn't speak, his mouth opened but no words came. "Talk to me."

Celty picked up her fallen phone and ended the call - they could worry about that later - Izaya was in shock, his eyes unblinking as he stared at her blankly when she knelt beside him. [Izaya, what happened?]

Izaya clenched his fists. "Shizu-chan... he-"

Anri gasped. "Shizuo? Is he okay?"

[Tell me he's okay!]

Izaya shook his head. "He's - in a coma..."

Izaya clenched his fists and stood up, batting Anri's hand away as she tried to help him. "Celty...let's go." Celty looked at him for a moment and then nodded as she quickly mounted her horse. Izaya turned and stepped up into the carriage, using his good leg to prop himself up. Anri didn't dare try and help, she could tell he was struggling to hold himself together. She waited for him to be seated and then got in herself.

...

Satoshi stood in front of the girls and handed them a small steaming cup of hot chocolate. "Here."

They both took it with smiles. "Thanks." Mairu cradled the cup, remembering how Izaya used to bring them the beverage on chilly winter nights when they were little, it was one of the rare times that he was nice to them, back when they were living at home.

Kururi looked over at her and placed her head on her shoulder, balancing her own drink in her lap. "Are you okay?"

"Is it - is it horrible that I'm glad it wasn't Izaya? I just-"

"I don't think so. We know Shizuo would have wished the same thing. He'd rather it be him then Izaya, so don't feel bad."

Satoshi sat beside them. "She's right, besides, Shizuo will come out of this. Nothing can kill him, he's practically immortal. I don't know him as well as you do, but I know that much at least."

Mairu nodded. "You're right." Though she agreed, her mind doubted it, even if Shizuo always seemed indestructible, he wasn't immortal, he was still human.

Kururi looked up as they saw Shinra walk into the reception. Shinra smiled at them, he looked tired. "Hey guys." He pushed up his glasses.

"How is he?" Mairu asked.

"Hard to say. Shizuo isn't like other people, his body is a pretty quick healer, but he's been running off adrenaline all his life, his body is tough, but unfortunately, his head wasn't as tough. I've seen him endure so many blows to the head even I couldn't believe it. For him to be in a coma, he must have been caught right in the explosion, but I'm really not all that surprised he's alive."

Mairu frowned. "Why are you grinning?"

Shinra blinked in surprise, was he grinning? He then coughed and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I get excited every now and then. Old habits."

Kururi smiled. "Izaya used to say that you were the more warped person between the two of you."

Shinra pouted. "Is that so? Tsk, I use to say the same about him."

Suddenly, the automatic doors beside them slid open and Izaya stumbled into the hospital, holding his side and practically hopping. "Izaya? What the-"

Mairu and Kururi placed their cups down on the floor and jumped out of their seat. "Izaya!" they ran toward him.

Izaya smiled in relief when he saw them. "Mairu...Kururi. I'm glad you're safe."

The twins launched themselves at their brother and he barely flinched as he laid his hands on their backs. "Us too," Mairu mumbled, trying her best not to cry.

Shinra walked toward them, he could see some of Izaya's cuts and bruises, but judging by the way he'd stumbled into the building, there were other injuries. "Izaya, what happened? Where have you been?" Just then, Anri and Celty ran into the hospital. "Oh, Anri, good to see you safe." Shinra then broke into a smile. "Celty!" He went to hug her, and she cast shadows across his face.

[Not the time!] [I'm glad you're safe though. I was worried.]

"What happened?"

[It's a long story. More importantly-]

"Where is he Shinra?" Izaya gently pushed the girls off and looked at him.

"He's alive, but - well, there was extensive tissue damage, surgery was necessary to prevent further complications like bleeding. They were able to relieve the pressure of swelling, but after the surgery he slipped into a coma."

Izaya gritted his teeth, it was not his question. "Where – is – he?"

"He's upstairs, room 14, ward 2." Shinra stepped toward him, wondering why the hell he just told him that. "Izaya, I should really look at you, get those injuries properly treated."

"I'm fine..."

Celty tapped Shinra's shoulder. [He's being stubborn! He fell from a building into a glass ceiling protecting Anri. He was shot and his right leg is broken!] [I wrapped them as best I could, under the circumstances.]

Shinra sighed and wondered just how the hell Izaya was even walking. In fact - "You shouldn't have even moved after you first fell. I'm amazed you're even alive, you really should have called an ambulance."

Izaya rolled his eyes and then smiled. "You know me better than that, don't act so surprised."

Shinra frowned. "I'm serious Izaya, who knows the full extent of what a fall like that could have done."

[It's not all his fault. I should have thought about the situation more carefully.]

Shinra smiled at her. "Don't feel guilty. He always was a bit of a masochist, he used to walk all the way to our apartment with all sorts of injuries, grinning like a Chester cat while ignoring the pain."

Izaya snorted. "I don't like pain Shinra, have you always said that about me? You're such a poor excuse for a friend."

Shinra shrugged and then grinned. "You know it's true," the raven frowned at him. "Regardless, you really need to be treated-"

Izaya stepped back. "I'm not going anywhere except upstairs to Shizu-chan."

"No, you're coming with me so I can treat your injuries."

Shinra stepped forward and grabbed his friend's arm, Izaya's eyes narrowed and he drew his flick blade and slashed Shinra's arm. "Don't!" Celty caught Shinra as he stumbled backwards, gripping his arm tightly. Anri glared at Izaya and he seethed at her. "Don't even try it." Izaya then turned and broke into a run, disappearing down the corridor.

"Izaya!"

Izaya grabbed the stair rail as he ascended the stairs, almost skipping every other step. Luckily it was only the second floor, he hissed as the last step felt like the hardest. He stumbled forward but continued to run through the next corridor. In the back of his mind, he knew this was a bad idea, he could feel something grating between his thigh and his hip, he didn't care, he just wanted to see Shizuo.

He harshly pushed open the double doors in front of him that divided the corridor into two sections, he didn't stop as he glanced up and read a sign that said rooms 7-14. Izaya almost skidded as he knocked over a wet floor sign, cursing. He stumbled forward again and tried to stop himself from falling flat on his face, his right leg went first on instinct when he made a grab for the doorway.

Izaya's eyes widened when he heard a loud crack. He fell with an agonising yell and rolled onto his back, covering his eyes with his forearm. All adrenaline shot out of him and he was left only with blinding pain, he couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, and he was only fifty percent sure he was at the right room. Breathing harshly, he gritted his teeth as he stared up at the sign on top of the door, as pain burned sickeningly from his leg up and around his hip toward his lower back, blackness began to take form around the corners of his vision as the 1 and 4 blurred.

Izaya could barely lift his head, he craned it up toward the only bed occupying the room, his vision made an outline shape of someone laying across it. He could vaguely see the ECG screen close to the bed and the bleeping sound of the heartbeat detected was the last thing he heard before darkness overtook him completely.

…...

Izaya opened his eyes and quickly shut them as his aching head protested to the sudden light shining from the ceiling. He could feel something covering his mouth and lifted his IV covered hand to confirm an oxygen mask. He was painfully aware that he could barely move, so he gave up on the idea of removing the offending item, and let his hand fall limply back to the bed. Izaya opened his eyes more slowly, allowing time to adjust before glancing down when he realized his other hand felt heavy.

His sister, Mairu, lay with her head tucked in between her left arm while her right hand curled around his left one. She was asleep, he didn't want to wake her, but he really needed to talk to someone, someone that would tell him just how the hell he'd gotten here. The sound of his own heartbeat on the monitor beside him jerked him more into awareness.

"Shizu-chan..." His thoughts at once went to his partner, his first reaction was to get the hell out of this bed. The second he tried to sit up, pain shot down his lower back through his leg. His whimper was muffled by the mask and he was grateful for that. His body's protests cleared his clouded thoughts, remembering - to some extent - details of his injuries. Izaya was no doctor, so in simple terms for him, he had a broken leg - he grimaced when he remembered the loud crack he'd heard before collapsing - possibly in two places, some deep laceration on his side - something about a bullet?

An image flashed in his mind of himself falling through a glass ceiling off a roof, it would make sense as to why his back felt like he'd been rammed by a truck.

"Izaya?"

Izaya was startled out of his thoughts as he glanced back down to find his sister staring at him. "Mairu... sorry, did I wake you?" Mairu shook her head, her hold on his hand tightening as she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. Izaya managed to move his hand to brush her chin with his forefinger and gave her a small smile. "Hey, it's okay, don't cry."

Mairu wiped her eyes across her sleeve. "I'm sorry, it's just - we've been so worried."

"I'm all right, I think. Maybe I was a bit reckless earlier... sorry."

Mairu scowled. Earlier? "Izaya you-"

Before she could finish her sentence Kururi come running into the room, Izaya gave her a small wave. "Kururi..."

Kururi froze and stared into the eyes of her brother. "You're awake..."

"I blacked out, I guess..."

Kururi looked at her sister and Mairu shook her head, she nodded in understanding. "I'm glad you're awake."

"My body isn't liking the awareness." He lifted the hand that was attached to an IV drip. "Whatever pain relief was going through my system, is quickly wearing off." The twins gave him a sympathetic smile, he knew that much at least. Izaya raised an eyebrow, they were acting strange, seemingly uncomfortable talking to him. At first, he figured it was the shock of the day's events, but there was something else, something they weren't telling him. "Is... is Shizu-chan okay?"

Mairu nodded. "He's the same, I mean, he hasn't woken up or anything..."

Izaya chuckled lightly, his mask fogging for a moment. "I doubt... even Shizu-chan can wake up from a coma in a day." Mairu and Kururi looked at each other, unable to maintain eye contact with him. "What's wrong?"

Before either of them could open their mouths, Shinra walked into the room, he stopped for a moment, realising that his friend was awake. He then returned Izaya's smile with a scowl as he placed his hands on the girls' shoulders. "Give us a few minutes okay?" he told them, they looked eerily at their brother and then at Shinra.

"Don't be too hard on him," Mairu said and they left the room quickly.

Izaya watched Shinra walk to stand at the edge of the bed, the doctor's stern expression told him his friend was not happy with him.

Shinra slammed his hands against the metal edge, causing Izaya to flinch. "What the hell were you thinking!?"

Izaya struggled to find the meaning to Shinra's question, he answered with the first thought that came to his head. "There wasn't much time... it was either me, or Anri."

Shinra clenched his hands around the bar. "Not that, do you have any idea what damage you could have caused?"

Izaya stared at his friend in confusion. "You've lost me."

Shinra sighed in frustration. "Your ability to be so careless with your injuries is astounding."

"Shinra-"

"When you fell, you fractured your femur - the upper thigh-"

Izaya rolled his eyes. "I did take biology you know."

Shinra pointed a finger at him. "Don't interrupt me! I'm not in the mood for your quips right now."

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "Are you that mad at me?"

Shinra glared at him and Izaya decided to close his mouth and kept quiet. "The sacrum bone - the lowest part of your back - was bordering the same way. You should have stayed exactly where you were and called an ambulance, but of course, Celty had no way of really knowing that. Given the height of the fall, you could have seriously damaged your spine." Izaya opened his mouth to speak, he was starting to get worried, yet Shinra held his hand up.

"I'm not finished. When you got here, your body was so consumed by adrenaline that it was the only reason you were even standing and walking around. A sensible person would have allowed their doctor to treat them right away, but that has never been your forte has it? So what did you do?" Shinra slammed his hands against the metal again. "You ran! I mean you full on ran, not just a little bit, but pushed your body into full speed. You even ran up a flight of fucking stairs! Forgodsake Izaya, do you ever think before you act!?"

Izaya remained quiet, Shinra was really pissed and he began to wonder what damage he'd caused himself. Shinra saw the fear creeping into Izaya's eyes and he managed to calm slightly. "No Izaya, as much as it might have been expected, you're not paralysed." Shinra sighed. "You did manage to add another fracture to your leg, the fibula bone couldn't handle the extra pressure from your already weakened leg, and it snapped."

Izaya grimaced. That would explain the loud crack I heard.

"I imagine your sacrum bone had already given way, most likely when you ran up the stairs." Shinra was calmer now, as if the relief of saying it all out loud assured him of Izaya's recovery. He moved around to the side and sat down on the chair. "Even though we can rule out paralysis, physical therapy is a vital part to your recovery, mostly because of your leg. I'm not going to lie, it's going to take time, and a lot of effort on your part. The operation you had was successful, you will make a full recovery."

Izaya blinked in confusion. "Operation?"

"Bones don't just slide back together themselves."

Izaya grimaced. "Spare me the details."

Shinra chuckled. "You were out of it for two weeks, but that was good for the healing though, it helped the braces along."

"Braces?"

"Your leg has two metal frames supporting it from both sides, they're nailed into the bone to help keep them together while you heal. There's also a metal plate in place for now, to help your spine."

Izaya stared up at the ceiling, this was all too ironic for him, he took a deep breath. "I see. Do I have a choice?"

Shinra blinked. "Huh? About what?"

"Therapy."

"What do you mean, you are going to take it aren't you?"

Izaya smiled sadly. "I think that perhaps this is what I deserve."

Shinra frowned. "Are you seriously still doing this? After everything that you've been through, you're still punishing yourself?"

Izaya sighed. "Even if those around me can forgive me, it's never going to end. Something always comes and reminds me; it doesn't let me forget. This is a perfect example."

"What does that mean?"

"Shinra, I couldn't protect Shizu-chan the way I wanted to; I didn't even know what was happening. By the time I found out, I was already helpless to do anything, that's why."

"But that's not your fault!"

"In a way it is. No matter my intentions, it all links back to me one way or another. Nakura got revenge because of what I did to him so many times, therefore, I might as well have planted the bomb that sent Shizu-chan into a coma myself."

"You're wrong Izaya!"

Izaya chuckled. "You're only getting defensive because you know it's true. 'You can run from your past all you want, but it will always follow you. Your guilt will be your past and that will be your god.'"

"Huh?"

"I said that very thing to Masaomi once. Words have never related to me more, it made me realise, that the worst of what I did, I did to him and Saki. What I put Masaomi through that day was what I felt when I found out about Shizu-chan. The irony part is that Saki was almost unable to walk because of what those scumbags did, that was my fault too. I was also the one that told her to pretend like she couldn't ever walk again."

Shinra stared in disbelief. "Izaya..."

Izaya shrugged. "I think this is just karma at its finest."

Shinra shook his head, he refused to let Izaya do this. "So, are you saying that what happened to Saki is what you deserve, that's why you're going to refuse therapy?"

"I can't absolve for everything, but, if I can give someone this much, then that's what I'll do."

"Izaya! This isn't atonement! This is your health we're talking about, there are plenty of ways to make up for wrong doings."

"Maybe, but opportunities don't always come to me like this."

"What about Shizuo? What about your sisters? How'd you think they'd feel about your decision?"

Izaya smiled. "They'll be fine. Everyone will get used to it eventually. It's not like I'm dead."

Shinra glared and leaned over the bed, his face half cast in shadow from the setting sun, he then grabbed Izaya's shoulder, hard. "You really are something else. You honestly think I'm going to be onboard with this ridiculous idea? Not everything you did was a mistake." Izaya winced when Shinra gripped harder. "Your actions now are still selfish. So I guess maybe you haven't changed."

Izaya's eyes widened. "Shinra..."

"Not everyone holds grudges. If people like Anri and Shizuo can forgive you, then do you really think this is what'll make everything better? I didn't think you were that complex." Shinra released his hold and practically stormed out of the room. Izaya stared after him in surprise and then hissed as pain danced in his vision for a moment. He stared up at the ceiling again.

"You're wrong Shinra. I deserve everything I get."

…...

A week later, Izaya's recovery was slow, he refused any treatment that related to therapy. Even though he was still a way off to be able to receive therapy, he made it clear when the topic was brought up. He'd had a few visitors over the week, Kadota and his gang dropped by, happy to have him back. Celty sometimes sat with him in the evening and they'd play a game or two of chess, then she'd spend the rest of the night beside Shizuo.

He was grateful for that, since he couldn't be at his side himself yet; that thought annoyed him, it wasn't like he'd asked for this, he'd promised Anri that she wouldn't get hurt. True to his word, which was the reason he took the fall and not her. It still didn't change his mind, he knew this is what he deserved, the situation was too convenient.

Anri and his sisters visited often, he'd listen to them, talk about their days at school and even gave Anri a little advice about her feelings toward Mikado. She had opened-up a little to him about how her feelings conflicted with that of those she felt toward Masaomi. It wasn't as if he was in any position to be giving her love advice, his only genuine experience was with Shizuo. She seemed to take that onboard, it took one of them to almost die to realise that they loved one another. It was strange to talk to Anri, yet refreshing, they spoke like they'd been friends since the beginning.

Mairu, Kururi and Anri tried every day to convince Izaya to accept therapy when the time came. He simply declined with a smile and told them that it was okay, that he'd still be here.

Shinra was the only one that hadn't come to see him, not since that evening, the doctor - his best friend - couldn't understand his decision. Izaya hadn't known him to be this way before, Shinra use to shrug off almost everything Izaya did, telling him how fascinating it was. I guess we really have changed. Even if Shinra never came to see him, he was certain that he would visit Shizuo and for that, he didn't mind if Shinra shut him out completely. Maybe he'd come to accept my decision, in time.

…...

Another two weeks passed by, visits dwindled, but for both patient and visitor, there was only so much of one another they could take. Izaya didn't mind, it gave him a break from the idle chatter, even though by now, he was bored out of his mind. There wasn't anything going on that interested him as of late, even if it did, there wasn't much he could do about it.

Namie accepted a few jobs on his behalf, it gave her the excuse she needed to visit, he helped her when she asked - giving her a nudge every now and then in the right direction. He'd make a few phone calls here and there; he didn't need fully functional legs to always get the job done. He felt grateful to her, the jobs she'd accepted followed the rule of his promise to Shizuo, one day, he'd tell her that her work was appreciated.

Despite refusing the obvious treatment, he was happy, his recovery was getting him closer to being able to get out of this god-awful bed. His arms stayed a strong point of his, so he was able to lever himself up when he wanted to. he'd have to use a wheelchair, so he couldn't let his upper body strength waver as well.

Izaya was sat up in the bed when Anri next came to visit, his back supported by pillows as he focused on lifting the light weights. The doctor on the ward warned him about too much strain so soon, so he agreed to only exercise with ones he honestly felt comfortable with. Izaya stopped his movements when he saw Anri enter the room.

"Hey, I don't think School is quite over yet, don't tell me I'm becoming a bad influence on you." Anri shook her head, not moving any closer to him. "Something wrong?"

"Everyone is trying to accept your decision..." she clenched her fists. Izaya sighed, he didn't want to talk about this anymore. "I can't Izaya."

Izaya smiled. "I don't want you to be upset about it. It's really all right."

"Shinra told me what you said. You shouldn't make those kinds of choices, it's not fair, you don't get a second chance only to throw that away by punishing yourself."

Izaya clenched his hand around the weight. "Anri...I - don't know how else to make it right."

Anri frowned. "I forgave you because you changed, you proved that to me by being honest, you didn't need to risk your life saving me, because I already forgave you before that. You apologised, not the way most people do, you didn't ask for forgiveness, that's how I knew you meant it."

Izaya shook his head. "Not everything I've done can be fixed the same way...that's why I have to accept this."

"Stop it!" Izaya blinked at her, surprised by her outburst. "You don't deserve this! Why can't you see that!?"

"Because it's just not enough... it's never going to be enough."

Anri then looked down at the floor. "Maybe you won't listen to me, or your sisters, or our other friends. I know someone who just might convince you." as Anri stepped to the side, Izaya's eyes widen as a familiar girl came into the room, he spoke her name almost in a whisper.

"Saki..."

Saki smiled at him, tilting her head. "Hi Izaya."

Anri then made her exit, allowing the two to catch up, Saki walked toward the bed and smiled as she sat down on the chair.

Izaya simply stared at her, not quite believing she was here. "Saki...what are you doing here?"

"Masaomi really started to miss his friends, I bugged him for hours about it, talked him into moving back... he's going back to high school."

Izaya nodded and looked out of the window. "That's good. Anri misses him too."

"I know. She's not the one that called me first though."

Izaya looked over at her. "Shinra?"

Saki smiled. "He's not that aware of our past, is he?"

Izaya shook his head and then sighed. "Dota-chin..."

"He looked out for Masaomi a few times. It was sort of strange that he called me, I don't think I've ever really spoke to him that much. He had a lot to say."

Izaya grimaced. "I bet he did."

"He wasn't willing to go into a lot of detail; I pried the rest from Anri."

Izaya lay back against the pillows, wincing at the sudden pull of his stitches on his side. "I should write a biography."

Saki chuckled and then lay a hand across his. "I didn't think I'd have to visit you in the hospital one day."

Izaya removed his hand. "Why did you?"

Saki tilted her head. "Because you came to see me."

Izaya shook his head. "You and I both know that was different, I didn't go to be nice."

Saki bit her lip, Masaomi wouldn't think so but she believed differently. "What happened wasn't all your fault. I believe that. I also think you really did care about me, in your own way, but I think that you just wanted to hide it. You know, I felt kind of guilty that I ratted on you to Simon, I didn't mean to betray you Izaya..."

Izaya blinked in surprise, her betray him? He shook his head. "No...it was me, I betrayed you Saki, you trusted me a lot, I let you get hurt, I was an asshole back then."

Saki swung her legs back and forth for a moment. "Maybe, but even so, I could tell you cared about me, enough."

Izaya sighed and brushed his hand over hers. "I'm sorry, for everything."

Saki covered his hand with hers once more. "Idiot..."

"Nothing I say will ever-"

"Izaya, I don't want to hear those words from you, ever. It's not who you really are."

Izaya smiled. "You don't know me anymore Saki."

Saki smiled in return. "I know, but I do know this," she stood up, "you don't deserve whatever it is you think you do."

Izaya shook his head, he was trying so hard to keep calm, because he feared he might breakdown. "You don't understand-"

"No? I think I understand better than anyone. I kept racking my brain trying to figure out why I was punishing Masaomi by pretending that I couldn't walk."

"You know the reason, because I manipulated you into it."

"For a while that was the case, but afterwards, I did it to punish myself, that maybe I deserved it, for whatever I put him through."

Izaya couldn't believe what she was saying. "You did nothing wrong Saki. All you did was trust in someone that you thought would protect you. That should have protected you, I could have done that."

Saki smiled. "And let me risk losing the two people I loved?"

Izaya blinked at her. "What?"

Saki giggled. "Yeah, I love you; I don't know why. I mean, not the same kind of love that I feel for Masaomi. I cared about you enough to love you, messed up huh?"

Izaya chuckled and shook his head. "You could say that."

Saki smiled. "I know what you're doing Izaya. Because I did the same thing."

"But I-"

She shook her head. "Not everything you did was always bad, I had fun too."

Izaya clenched his fists, he didn't understand, why was everyone being this way? "Saki..." tears threatened to fall now, he was losing the battle with himself. "I don't deserve your kindness, nor do I deserve your forgiveness."

Saki held his hand. "Then do for me one thing-" Izaya looked up at her. "Walk. Make it up to me and walk, okay?"

Izaya looked down and tightened his grip in her hand as tears suddenly fell from his cheeks, he nodded, and Saki smiled in relief. He couldn't do it anymore; he couldn't hold it in. "Saki, I don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore... I can't lose him. I won't survive..." Saki gaped in surprise and then she crawled up onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him, his hands came up and clenched her shirt and he cried, letting his emotions go. Saki simply held him, wondering how long he'd wanted to make things right with her. Whoever this Shizuo is, he must be something special.

"It's okay, it's okay now, we're here for you, I'm here."

"I'm so sorry Saki..."

"I know. You'll be all right, you can overcome this, I'll make sure of it." Saki held onto the broken informant, embracing him tightly.

A short blond figure stood in the shadows of the doorway, watching the two with a frown upon his face. "You can't fool me twice. You're not going to hurt Saki's heart again Izaya."

…...

After two long boring months of recuperating his body, making sure he was strong enough to withstand the exercises, Izaya kept his word to Saki and started therapy. She was there every day to help support him, the first week consisted of leg exercises, bending it slowly back and forth. The professional therapist was strict, but Izaya didn't mind, he preferred it that way, it meant he wasn't pitied, and the woman was aware of his pain tolerance. She knew exactly how much he could endure, despite his protests of the pain.

The woman reminded him of Namie, if he was honest, so in a way, it made him feel comfortable. He even began to strike up a re-pour with her, he'd tease her and bicker with her, insult her and she would give as good back. He spent the next two days using his leg muscles to push forward, he would sit on the edge of the bed and use her hand to push against it.

Sometimes she'd place an object in front of him and he'd move it with his legs, she'd scold him often for using two, and would even hold his good leg to prevent him from doing so.

Saki and Anri sat on the bed watching as Izaya shuffled slowly forward across the parallel bars. They could see the pained expression on his face and the concentration of his steps. The woman, Lera was her name, frowned as she stepped backwards from in front of him. "You're not using your legs enough, you're cheating."

Izaya grit his teeth, managing to glare up at her. "How - can you - cheat at this?"

Lera tilted her head. "You are using your arms too much, I can tell, you are putting most of the pressure on your upper body, you may as well be on monkey bars."

Izaya snorted at her comment but took it into account and relaxed his arms slightly. She grinned at him, her point proven when he stumbled and fell flat on his face. He lay his forehead against his hand. "Bitch."

She crouched in front of him, still grinning. "Well that was rather pathetic."

"Shut up. I hate you."

"Good." Lera stood up and tapped her foot. "I was getting worried that I was going soft on you." Izaya seethed as he lifted his hand out for the bar, but she grabbed hold of it before he could touch it. "Bend your leg, put those push exercises to use." Izaya glared at her, gritting his teeth as he tucked his leg underneath himself, his palm fell flat on the floor when she let go of his hand. "Don't crawl."

Izaya rolled his eyes and pushed himself up with both his arms but placing most of his weight on his leg. He hobbled and hissed at the shooting pains in his lower back toward his leg and then steadied himself.

Saki leaned toward Anri. "She's kind of mean, isn't she?" Anri nodded, but both herself and Saki knew Izaya would respond well to the harshness, even if he whined and complained like a five-year-old.

"Why can't we just use crutches?"

Lera flicked him on the forehead and he pouted at her. "It's the same thing as cheating, how do you expect your leg to gain back its full strength by using those things? Besides, your spine isn't strong enough for those yet."

"But this is much better?" Izaya grinned, shuffling forward. "I think you might just like to watch me suffer, little witch."

"You know those pathetic insults are useless. I'm simply doing what my job requires. It's been made perfectly clear to me, your relationship with pain is something of an enigma. Who's the real sadist here?" Izaya kept quiet, still glaring at her with a somewhat curve of his lips, he was about to shuffle forward and she placed a hand on his chest. "From the beginning."

"Why?"

"You fell. You know the rules. You fall during the walk, you start again."

"Are you sure you're not here to kill me?" Izaya complained and stuck his tongue out as he placed strength on his arms and used his hands to go back to the start.

Lera shook her head, she'd dealt with stubborn people a lot in her years as a therapist, but never had she dealt with someone like Izaya before. Stubborn, yet extremely childish, it was a wonder anyone could put up with him, he could also be very observant and insulting at times. It was one of the good qualities that made Lera good at her job, she wasn't quickly fazed, it took a lot to bring her down.

When they first started, he told her about Shizuo's condition and that he was in a coma, but he didn't want to see him until he could walk there. It had been the only time she saw him honest and open. She understood his implications, she told him that no matter what, she'd make that happen, he respected that. He knew, that if it were Shinra or even Namie, they'd just give in to him to stop him whining. Even though he insulted Lera, he commended her for her own stubbornness, no matter how mean he thought she was.

Another week passed and Izaya had adapted to his new routine and was now walking without the help of bars. Lera wouldn't admit it, but she was impressed with his progress, it took most people double the time it had taken him to get where he was now. She stepped back from him each time he stepped forward, when he stopped, she would make some remark about weakness to egg him on again.

She wondered half the time whether he wanted to catch her and strangle her, but she knew he drew the line when it came to hurting females. Though he knew that any given chance, she would knock him on his ass at any time. His palm lay flat on the wall once they'd reached the other side, out of breath, he huffed a laugh. "You don't hide your surprise as well as you think..."

"I'll admit, I am a little impressed."

Izaya laughed. "Oh it shows. You might just be meaner than my secretary, I wonder who would win if you two fought."

Lera rolled her eyes. "Gay or not, men will always get some kick out of two women fighting."

Izaya grinned. "I'd wager my money on you~"

Lera snorted. "Aren't you a gentleman."

Izaya chuckled. "Not really, I just like to mess with her, she can be scary though."

"I feel sorry for her then, working with you must be exhausting. I'd be shaking her hand, not fighting with her."

"Gripe all you want, but she gets suspicious if I'm too nice."

"I expect that's the case with most people around you."

"Maybe."

Lera put her hands on her hips. "Then you better get yourself in fully functional shape, so that you can keep surprising them."

Izaya grinned.

…...

After three more weeks of therapy, Izaya was almost recovered, he was able to walk without any help and could even run short distances. The screws in his leg had been removed and the plate that supported his sacral had also been removed. Everyone was amazed and overwhelmed with his speedy recovery, it was thanks to Saki that he had even tried it. He spent most of the day and the evening by Shizuo's bedside, he knew most people found a comfort in talking to their comatose loved ones.

Izaya thought the notion was ridiculous, he didn't suspect that Shizuo could hear him, he simply sat beside him and held his hand. The first day he'd come to see him, he'd froze, never did he think he'd see Shizuo in this kind of state. It had been an extremely hard sight to deal with, he didn't know how anyone else had dealt with it.

Izaya wondered how Kasuka had dealt with it, he knew that Shizuo's brother had come to visit, even if it only had to be for a brief time. Kasuka had a busy lifestyle but he wouldn't not visit him.

The first night, Izaya lay his head upon Shizuo's chest and cried himself to sleep.

Izaya looked down at their hands linked together as he threaded their fingers, smiling to himself. Shizuo had his ring back on, knowing he must have placed it on after gaining his memories back. "When you wake up we'll make it happen. I promise, I'll marry you Shizu-chan." Izaya chuckled lightly. "You better wake up. After all, I spent months in painful therapy with a witch, so it's the least you could do." Izaya stood up and kissed the top of Shizuo's head. "I love you."

"Painful isn't it?" a voice from behind startled him. "Seeing someone you love in such a bad way, being helpless to do anything."

Izaya turned and clenched his fist, but he soon relaxed, he didn't want to start any arguments or fights. "Masaomi."

The seventeen-year-old blond shoved his hands in his pockets to hide his own clenched fists. "So what's your angle here? Is this your new way of tricking people?"

Izaya walked past him. "I don't blame you for thinking it, but I'm not tricking anyone."

"You and I both know that's bullshit."

Izaya lifted his head in agitation and turned in the boy's direction again. Hands in his own pockets. "I didn't ask for Saki to come here, that's why you're really here, isn't it?"

Masaomi turned to glare at him. "You just stay away from her!"

Izaya smirked for a moment and then it disappeared. "I told you, I didn't ask her to come. She said she wanted to, she said she felt obligated because I often visited her."

"To manipulate her and feed her a bunch of crap!"

Izaya shrugged. "That's what I said."

"She should have - what?" the boy blinked in confusion for a moment.

"I told her she didn't have any favours owed, she insisted though."

Masaomi frowned. "That's because she's too nice, even after what you did."

Izaya turned for the door. "I don't expect your forgiveness, nor am I going to ask for it."

"Good! Because I will never trust you, I don't care what everyone says, you will never change. I'm sure Shizuo will come to his senses eventually, I can't believe he's fallen for your tricks."

Izaya narrowed his eyes and turned back to face him. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know that he fucking hates your guts. What'd you do, hypnotise him?"

Izaya snorted, he wasn't going to be goaded by a kid. "Think whatever you want."

Masaomi studied him for a moment, the sly tone wasn't evident in his voice, and the sinister grin Izaya always had was gone too, he almost backed off, but he just couldn't forget the past, he couldn't forget what he'd done. "Shizuo would be better off if he didn't wake up."

Izaya snapped, he lunged forward and pinned the boy to the floor, his flick blade was out and pressed firmly against his throat. "Say what you want about me, yell, beat me, whatever, but leave Shizu-chan out of it."

Masaomi blinked in surprise. He really loves him. "I guess you really did find out what love really is. I didn't think someone like you would even understand it."

Izaya snorted and stood up, he pocketed his knife. "I'll keep my distance from Saki if that's what you want, but I can't control what she wants, you know you can't stop her if she wants to see me. Just tell her that I said thanks for her help." As Izaya turned for the door once more, the heart monitor beside the bed began to pick up speed, he and the boy turned toward the bed. "Shizu-chan?" Izaya took a shaky step forward and then froze when the blips became long toned, no breaks in between. Izaya fell to his knees, barely flinching at the dull pain the sudden drop caused him.

Masaomi ran from the room and shouted down the hall. "We need some help in here! hurry up!"

Two doctors came rushing in and instantly sprang into action, the covers were pulled back and they flicked a couple of switches. One of them grabbed the two paddles from the defibrillator.

"Charging!" there was a small high-pitched noise and then, "Clear!" a loud shock was heard as the doctor pressed the paddles against Shizuo's chest. The other doctor, in charge of checking for a pulse, shook his head.

"No pulse, go again."

Izaya's heart clenched painfully, he stood up on shaky legs, he couldn't watch, he couldn't watch Shizuo slip away from him. Izaya turned on his heel and sprinted out of the room. Masaomi tried to make a grab for him but wasn't quick enough, he slid into the hallway. "Izaya!" but the informant had already bolted out of sight.

Shinra and Celty were passing through the reception when Izaya zipped passed them, Shinra and Celty turned to stop him but neither was able to. "Izaya! What's wrong?"

Celty flashed her phone at Shinra. [Shizuo!] they both dashed into the corridor and quickly made their way to the stairs.

Izaya ran outside and then collapsed behind a bed of flowers that were growing on top of a round wall. He fisted his hands and screamed as he hit the wall, tears streaming down his face. He let out a cry of anguish, continuously hitting the wall with his fists. "Shizu-chan!" Izaya slid to the grassy ground, heavy breaths and aching knuckles, his heart pounded painfully against his chest. He felt sick, tears continued to fall from his face, his eyes shut, and he did nothing to stop his mournful loud sobs.

"You...can't... leave me..." Izaya threw back his head with a howl of emotion. "You can't die!" pounding his fist hard against the wall, his breathing slowed, and his body shook as his sobs quietened. "I...can't...live without you... Shizu-chan..." Izaya stared up at the building, tears burning his eyes as the wind gently blew in his face. He took a deep breath of anger and ran toward a set of metal steps that spiralled around the corner of the building.

Shinra and Celty stood in the room, the two doctors were still trying to get their friend back. They'd stopped shocking for the moment and were performing CPR. Celty clutched her chest as Shinra held onto her. "Don't leave us Shizuo...please don't leave us."

Izaya stepped through the door of the building's roof, his legs burned from the harsh use of them, but he didn't care anymore. Tears blew from his face as they reached the end of his cheeks, his breath hitched, his body continued to shudder with silent sobs as he walked toward the ledge.

One of the doctors stopped pushing against Shizuo's chest, there was a couple of seconds of silence and then the monitor suddenly bleeped back to life. "There's a pulse! We got him!"

Celty shook and grabbed Shinra tightly, her relief was as obvious as the happy tears in his eyes. Even Masaomi sighed in relief as he slid down the wall. "Wait a second!" the doctor shouted, Celty and Shinra stiffened. "He - he's awake, I mean, he's waking up."

"Are you sure?" Shinra, Celty and Masaomi ran toward the bed. Shinra helped take off the respirator and Shizuo opened his eyes. "Shizuo?"

"He's really awake." The boy was shocked, as far as he knew, Shizuo had been in a coma for at least five months. That was what Saki told him anyways.

"Shizuo, can you hear me? Do you know who I am?" Shinra was concerned, he knew about coma patients. Their brain was sometimes damaged from the trauma or they were unable to recover from being in the coma.

"You think he's all right?"

"Shizuo?"

Shizuo moved his arm and pushed himself up, it startled the other two doctors. "Whoa! Easy there Mr Heiwajima, you're not well."

Shinra held his hand up. "It's okay guys. Shizuo, how are you feeling?"

"Damn..." Shizuo held his head, it was pounding, like he was extremely hung over. "What happened? Where the hell am I?"

"It's okay. You're in the hospital in Shinjuku city."

Shizuo looked over at him. "Shinra? The hell is going on. One minute I'm-" suddenly, everything came rushing back to him, the chat logs, his conversation with Tom. "I was at Izaya's apartment...I think, is he all right? Has anyone seen him? Didn't he take the cure? Where is he?"

Shinra smiled, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Relax Shizuo...you've been in a coma for five months."

"What! That's impossible!"

"Hey, I thought so too, we all did, and to be honest, none of us expected you to wake up."

Shizuo snorted. "Well thanks."

[Do you know what happened?]

Shizuo shook his head and gritted his teeth. "That's what I've been trying to ask."

[You were caught in an explosion. Someone hacked Izaya's Kanra chat to lure one of us to his apartment.]

Shizuo narrowed his eyes. "Who!? I'll kill them!"

[That's not important right now. There was a bomb, it triggered when you opened the door.]

"You mean, the whole fricking place blew up!?"

Shinra nodded. "Yeh, it was pretty bad. People died in the fires that the bomb caused, they dragged you out last, you were alive, and we operated, but you went into a coma."

Shizuo swept a hand through his hair. "Shit." He then looked at them, something felt off. "If five months have passed, then... where is he? He must be okay now right?" Shizuo tensed, they weren't answering him. He clenched the metal bars of the bed and bent them. "Answer me!" Shizuo's eyes then widened. "Wait - did he - did he get caught in the explosion!? Is he-"

Shinra waved his hands. "No! No, he's not! - I mean he's fine, I think-" Shinra rubbed the back of his head.

"What do you mean you think!? Shinra, where is Izaya!?"

"He ran off!" a shout from the doorway caught their attention.

Shizuo looked over at him, tilting his head. "You're that...kid, I forgot your name, Izaya told me about you..."

Kida frowned. I bet he did. "Masaomi. Anyway, we were arguing and then your heart started going crazy and then you flatlined, the doctors came in-"

Shinra nodded. "He ran past us in the reception."

"So, let me get this straight-" Shizuo swung his legs over the bed and stood up, slightly wobbly, the other two doctors were just gaping at this point. "This sounds like I died or something."

"Well, you did, I suppose." Shinra smiled nervously. "Just for a few minutes."

Shizuo clenched a fist. "Does Izaya think I'm dead!?"

Kida sighed. "I tried to call him back, but he looked pretty shaken up."

Shinra paled. "I think you're right; he couldn't have known you were going to come back. He ran off and - I mean, we didn't even think you were going to make it."

"Where the hell was he running to, what the hell has been happening!?"

Just then, Mairu, Kururi, Anri and Saki ran into the room. They froze when they saw Shizuo standing up. "Shizuo?" Anri gasped in surprise.

Shizuo looked at her, he knew this girl. "Oh, hey. It's – damn it, sorry, I forgot your name."

Anri smiled. "Anri."

"Yeh, that's right."

Mairu stomped her foot, she shouted in panic. "Hey! We don't have time to chatter!"

"Izaya's on the roof!" Saki shouted next.

"Why is he on the roof?" Shinra asked.

"How the hell should we know!?" Mairu shouted.

Saki frowned. "Wait, if Shizuo is awake, why isn't Izaya here with him?"

Shizuo growled and pointed at Shinra and Celty. "They think he thinks I'm dead."

Saki blinked. "Why?"

"I dunno. I don't quite know how it all works. Something about flatlining, I might have died for a minute or two."

Saki gasped. "I can't lose him... I won't survive..." suddenly, she started panicking, Masaomi looked over at her.

"Saki? Are you okay?"

"Oh god, I think he's going to jump!"

Everyone stared at her in surprise, Masaomi laughed. "Come on, he's not that type. He doesn't love someone enough to be that crazy, he's too much of a coward to take his own life."

Saki frowned and stormed up to him, but Shizuo beat her to it. He lifted the boy off the floor, growling as he pulled him toward his face. "You oughta watch what you say kid! I'll hurl you into orbit you little runt! Whatever history you and Izaya have, you better learn to let it go, he's not the person you remember. What he did to you was awful, but you should know that no one feels worse about it then he does."

Kida shook, mainly because Shizuo scared the crap out of him, but also because what the man said seemed genuine. Had Izaya really told him what he did?

Saki sighed and faced Shizuo with a sorrow filled expression. "He was pretty unstable when he thought you might not pull through before. He loves you, I can tell, the thought of losing you - his heart won't take it."

"He's going to jump!" Anri shouted, she knew Izaya was capable of a lot of things. What Masaomi said might have been true before, but Izaya loved Shizuo too much, that if something took him away, he wouldn't know what to do with himself... how to live.

Shizuo's eyes widened, no way, no way was Izaya – he turned to Shinra. "What's the quickest way to the roof!?"

"Top floor, there's usually a fire exit, but you shouldn't even be-" Shizuo darted out of the door without hesitation, "running around." Well it wasn't as if anyone could stop Shizuo anyway.

Izaya stood at the ledge of the roof, looking down as the wind gently blew across his face. Tears still clung to his eyes, he clenched his fists and bit his lower lip. "You weren't supposed to leave me... you promised you'd never leave me." Izaya's legs shook, he was fully recovered, at least for the most part. Mentally, he had been holding on to a thread of hope, that Shizuo would pull out of his coma, which was the only thing that drove him on. Shizuo was the only one in his life that he'd truly ever loved, he took a chance on him, based on the thought that nothing could kill him.

"I was wrong... I should have never trusted my emotions." Izaya choked on his sobs. "But you made me love you... I just couldn't help it. You gave me a new life, what am I supposed to do without you?" He stepped forward, his feet hanging over the edges now. "I can't live this life without you here, if I do, I'm scared I'll go back to who I used to be. I don't want to... I don't want to ever break my promise."

Izaya tilted his head up, tears falling once more as he took one last step forward. "I love you Shizu-chan...wait for me." As Izaya stepped off the ledge he heard a loud voice.

"Izaya!"

Izaya's eyes snapped open as he felt the wind whip passed his face. Shizu-chan? Time suddenly slowed, he didn't understand what was happening, someone shouted his name, the only one who ever called his name like that. It couldn't have been...

Shizuo darted forward but reached for him a split second too late. He watched in absolute distraught, he couldn't save him, he didn't get there in time... how was it fair? Why would fate allow him to wake up from his coma only to take the only one he loved away from him?

Coldness wrapped around his body tightly, it seemed right enough, yet something was missing. Maybe this was supposed to be what happened, but he felt no pain, nothing in his body felt broken - and he would know of course - was this what was supposed to happen? Death was certain, maybe it was supposed to be quick, so quick that it was painless. It wasn't true, even if you jumped from that height, you had to feel something, you had to feel excruciating pain - even if for a few seconds - before death took you after.

Izaya was sure of it, yet he felt nothing, just coldness, like dark hands clinging protectively around him... he was fully aware of this, like shadows... shadows! Celty's shadows!

Shizuo's heart almost leapt in his throat. Celty's shadows had never looked so damn beautiful before. He watched them spread out like a spider's web, wrapping securely around his lover in a shield, making sure nothing harmed him. Shizuo's tears fell as he choked out a sob when Celty caught Izaya, instantly stopping his fall, lowering him slowly to safety. "Shit..." Shizuo fell to his knees, his heart still hammering against his rib cage as he clutched his chest. "Izaya...what were you thinking?"

Izaya opened his eyes, he felt ground beneath him then, yet there was still no pain, and he could move! Was his intuition correct, did Celty save him? He frowned, he didn't ask to be saved, this time, he didn't want to be saved. As he sat up, her hand lay on his shoulder and a bright light flashed in his eyes, from that of her phone. [Are you crazy!? What were you - you could have died!]

Izaya looked away from her. "That was the point."

[I barely made it in time! What was I going to say to your sisters, to Anri and Saki!?]

Izaya stood up abruptly and backed away. "I didn't ask to be saved! I didn't want to be saved..." Izaya clenched his fists. "I don't want to be in this world... can't you understand? It hurts too much... I don't want to go back to the way I was... but I will if I try to live without him... I can't do that to them. We've created this life together; I don't want to screw it up. This is how I want to be remembered now, Shinra will know what I'm talking about. Tell him, that I consent if he still wants to perform that special dissection he was always rambling on about." Izaya smiled. "He'll know what that means too."

Celty stood up. [Stop talking like that! You think everyone was just going to accept this decision!]

Izaya smiled sadly at her. "I want them to understand, but it's okay if they don't, I want them to remember me, as I am now... if that's not too much to ask..."

Izaya held her hand. "You've been a good friend to me, I didn't deserve that, but thank you, look after Shinra. Please lookout for my sisters, they can be trouble, but they're good kids."

[Izaya! You don't have to-]

"Please don't follow me." Izaya turned away from her, he didn't even take two steps away before an angry voice bellowed out to him.

"Just what the hell was that!? Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack!? What the hell made you think that was a good idea!?"

Izaya stiffened, and then slowly, he turned around, his eyes stared wide at the familiar blond storming up to him. "Shizu-chan…. but - but you-"

Shizuo gritted his teeth when he neared the raven. "You think I was just going to up and die and leave you here by yourself? You can't even last five minutes without me, this is proof enough!"

Izaya blinked back tears, it couldn't be, he watched the doctors try to revive him... "I thought... fuck!" Izaya fell to his knees, tears rolling down his face. "I thought I'd lost you... I thought that you left me...alone."

Shizuo yanked him up by the shirt, pulled back his fist and punched him. Celty startled but didn't make a move to intervene, Shizuo had held back enough. "You idiot!"

Izaya stared up at him, rain had started to pour, gently washing away his split lip. His body shook, a delayed reaction to what he'd almost done. "I'm...sorry, Shizu-chan, I'm so sorry..."

Shizuo knelt and yanked him up by his shirt again, this time, he embraced the informant tightly. "Don't you ever do that again. I don't ever want to see you that way... please-" Shizuo clutched at his clothing, "don't leave me Izaya..."

Izaya shut his eyes and wrapped his arms around him, finally. It felt like a lifetime ago since they'd held each other. "I won't, I promise...as long as you don't leave me."

Shizuo huffed a laugh into Izaya's shoulder. "Who the hell is going to stop you from doing stupid crap like this if I do?" Izaya pulled away to look Shizuo in the face, the blond rubbed a stray tear from his face with his thumb. "I love you."

Izaya smiled and pulled Shizuo forward and crashed their lips together as the rain turned into a fine shower.

Celty sighed silently in relief, she could finally relax, they all could, because Izaya and Shizuo belonged together, no matter what, nothing could tear them apart. It had been proven on more than one occasion, what ever happened to them, it only made them stronger.

"Izaya! Shizuo!" Their kiss was eventually interrupted by the sound of familiar voices calling out to them. They pulled away and glanced over to see their friends and family running over to them. Mairu and Kururi darted ahead and Izaya was nearly knocked off his feet when the girls launched themselves at him. "Thank god you're okay..."

Izaya felt his heart constrict, guilt at almost leaving them. "I'm all right now, everything is okay, I promise."

"You can't ever leave us! Not ever. Both of you, you mean too much."

Shizuo placed a hand on Mairu's head. "Don't worry kiddos, I'm not going anywhere. Neither is your brother, not while I'm around anyway."

Izaya rolled his eyes but smiled.

While Mairu and Kururi held each of Shizuo's hands, happy to have him back too, Izaya stepped forward and embraced Saki and Anri with each arm as they hugged him. He looked up to see Masaomi frowning at him, he gently pushed the girls off and walked toward the boy. "I'm not going to hurt her again."

Kida tilted his head and looked over at Saki who was smiling with tears of happiness, he looked back at Izaya. "I don't trust you yet, but I'm glad you didn't die at least."

Izaya nodded and lay a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take it."

Kida smirked. "Good."

Izaya then looked over as Shinra stepped beside them, he gave him a hopeful smile. "Still mad at me?"

Shinra frowned and then sighed. "I should be." He then shook his head. "You're impossible to stay mad at these days."

Izaya grinned. "Sorry about that, blame Shizu-chan."

Shizuo grunted. "Oi, I can't be all to blame."

Izaya chuckled. "You kissed me first."

"I-" Shizuo then blushed. "Shut up."

Shinra clapped Izaya's arm, holding onto it for a moment. "You do mean a lot to me, you know, I should have told you that a long time ago."

Izaya grinned. "Don't go getting sentimental on me now Shinra. You know I was going to let you dissect me."

Shinra chuckled. "Wow thanks." Shinra glanced over at Celty who was tapping her foot and had her hands on her hips. Shinra smiled and tightened his hold for a second. "Seriously though, I'm proud of you, Izaya."

"You too. I guess we've both changed after all."

Shinra nodded and then embraced him, Izaya smiled and wrapped one arm around him. "I love you, you idiot."

Izaya huffed a laugh. "Better not let Celty or Shizu-chan hear you say that."

Shinra wrapped his arms tighter. "Shut up. You know what I meant."

Izaya winced for a moment and then grinned. "I know." Shinra let up his hold. "You too."

They pulled away and Shinra turned back to the hospital. "Come on, I better check you both over."

Izaya and Shizuo grimaced, the informant then grinned up at his lover. "Wanna make a run for it?"

Shizuo smirked. "Hell yeah!"

The two turned in the opposite direction and ran, Shinra turned to see the two just barely before they disappeared into the night. "Naw! Izaya! Shizuo!" Shinra sighed. "They're hopeless."

Celty's shoulders jolted, a sign that she was laughing. [Just let them be. They're fine Shinra. They're finally okay.]

Masaomi linked his hand in Saki's. "You okay?"

Saki placed her head on his shoulder with a smile. "I am."

The boy then grinned. "So, I knew you had kind of a weird devotion to him, but I didn't know you were in love with the guy."

Saki turned to him with a slight tinge to her cheeks. "Don't take it that way! You shouldn't have been eavesdropping!"

Kida laughed. "I was kidding." Saki punched him a few times. "Easy I swear I was kidding!" he continued to laugh, and the rest soon joined them.

…...

Izaya and Shizuo had stopped running when they'd reached a fair distance from the hospital. They were now both sat on a high wall. "Guess we can't go home," Shizuo said, breaking the silence.

Izaya chuckled lightly. "There's yours."

"Yeah, but I know you like the space."

Izaya shrugged. "It's not important right now, I do have another apartment though, I brought it during the time I was drugged."

Shizuo snorted at the convenience. "Takes care of that then."

"Of course, we don't have to use it. We can look for a place together, if you want."

"Seriously?"

Izaya shrugged; he was tired, and he really didn't care what they did. He just wanted to go wherever and sleep. "It's late, we'll spend a couple of nights at the other apartment, then we can look for a different place."

Shizuo didn't know what to say, he felt excited. "Are you sure? What are you going to do with the other one?"

"I was thinking about giving it to Namie."

Shizuo almost fell off the wall. "Did you hit your head or something?"

Izaya chuckled. "Like you're one to talk coma man."

Shizuo growled. "Shut up."

"I figured, she's been staying at hotels since she started working for me, it might just be easier for her to live there instead."

"Think she'll buy that? You know she doesn't trust you much."

Izaya chuckled. "I'll just tell her it's a holiday bonus, that she'll believe."

Shizuo laughed and then a sudden thought came to him. "Do you know if my brother came at all? I mean, did anyone tell him?"

"I don't know about how much he knows, but I was told he'd come to visit a couple of times."

"I should tell him I'm okay, that I'm awake."

Izaya pulled his phone out from his pocket and sifted through the numbers and then stopped when he landed on the right number. "Here."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell do you have his number?"

"Shinra gave it to me."

"How did he get it?"

"I think my sisters had it."

"How the hell - you know what, never mind." Shizuo sent a quick text. "He's always busy, so he won't mind if I just text him." Shizuo's fingers lingered over the buttons. "What do I say?"

Izaya sighed and grabbed the phone back. "You're hopeless." He then sent a text to Kasuka. 'I'm okay now. Shizuo x.' "There."

Shizuo shook his head in amusement. "Okay, he's going to know that's not me. I've never sent a fricking x on the end of a message, not to a family member anyway."

Izaya shrugged. "It still got the message across." Izaya then read the message that was replied. 'Thank you for letting me know Izaya. Tell Shizuo I'll see him soon.' Izaya chuckled and then showed Shizuo.

The blond laughed. "Yeah, I told you."

The two were silent for a moment, Izaya looked up at the sky, the rain had long since stopped. "If you don't want to talk about those times when we were drugged, we don't have to."

Shizuo looked at him and then down at the ground. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Izaya lay his head on Shizuo's shoulder. "Neither of us are to blame. I didn't mean what I said, back at Shinra's, you know...when you tried to strangle me."

Shizuo snorted. "We both said shit, whatever, maybe we deserved it."

"Maybe; still, I'm sorry."

"Me too." Shizuo laughed then. "We really do get into some serious shit, don't we? I can't imagine the damage we would have caused, if we'd have gotten along before."

Izaya smirked. "Maybe this is all a way of catching up."

"Yeah well, I think we've proved that no matter what happens, we can't be pulled apart."

The raven laughed lightly. "Alive or otherwise."

Shizuo tensed and turned to look at him. "I can't believe you would-"

Izaya smiled up at him. "It hurt a lot to let you in, you think I'd be okay letting you go?"

"I didn't think you would do something like that-"

Izaya's smile faltered a little. "I was scared of what I might become, given time..."

Shizuo understood what Izaya meant, he wrapped his arms around his small frame, noting he seemed a lot smaller since the last time he held him. "Shit, Izaya you're bony."

Izaya chuckled. "Give me a break, I haven't exactly been able to look after myself properly."

"What kind of excuse is that? You can still eat, damn it."

Izaya nudged him playfully. "I'll be all right, I always am."

Shizuo shook his head, Izaya always had a tough time taking care of himself, he knew he didn't do it on purpose, but it worried him sometimes. "We really have been through hell this last – what, nine months?"

"Ten. I think."

Shizuo growled, clenching his fists in anger. "I can't believe we spent almost a year apart like this... what if I - what if I really ended up hurting you?"

Izaya grabbed Shizuo's clenched fist. "You didn't, we're okay now, it's really over."

"I still don't understand how it all got solved, that part is confusing the hell out of me."

Izaya chuckled. "I'll explain it better later...for now-" Izaya lay his forehead against Shizuo's chest, relief flooding through him as he heard the strong beat of his heart, Izaya bit back tears, he refused to cry again, he'd had enough of that. "Can we just go home?"

Shizuo sighed in relief and wrapped his arms around him. "God yes." Shizuo held back his own tears. "I missed you, so damn much."

Izaya fisted Shizuo's blue shirt. "I know, but I'm here now, I missed you too." He then chuckled, realizing that Shizuo still had his hospital shirt and pants on. "Let's go, before anyone thinks you've escaped from a mental hospital." Izaya laughed.

"Heh, maybe you're right." Shizuo jumped down off the wall and then held his hand out.

Izaya pouted, he was so damn tired. "Do I have to walk?"

Shizuo rolled his eyes but didn't retort, Izaya did look exhausted, he pulled on his arm and Izaya wrapped his legs around his waist and lay his head on the strong man's back. Shizuo began to walk in the directions he was given. A smirk suddenly crossed his features. "By the way, that was some night before." he felt Izaya tense, oh yeah, the informant knew exactly what he was talking about. "I didn't realise how wild you were."

Izaya blushed and hid himself as he sunk his head. "Shut up, idiot."

Shizuo laughed. "So loud, so desperate, so…. Hot."

Izaya groaned in dismay. "Please shut up."

Shizuo chuckled. "Sorry, couldn't help myself, had to make a quip at that."

Izaya half smirked and then kissed him on the neck. "You enjoyed it too... don't deny it."

Shizuo growled lightly. "I'll drop you."

Izaya chuckled. "Now who's getting flustered."

"Damn flea," Shizuo said it playfully, he was just so relieved to have him back.

"Protozoan..." Shizuo then stopped and craned his head, Izaya leaned forward and they shared a long kiss.

236