Another signpost slammed into the ground, joining the many others that littered the streets. There was debris all around them, the crowd that stood on the outside stared at the two men in a mixture of awe and fear. Celty standing just beyond the meadow of signposts, her body language tense and hands held up in shock.
Shizuo barely noticed any of it. The only thing he could see right at that moment was Izaya. The bastard that ruined his life countless times, who kept coming back like a flea, who tried to hurt his brother, and who just wouldn't die.
Red eyes met brown, and Shizuo couldn't stop the growl of anger that slipped past his lips. He was gasping for breath with sweat dripping down his head, but the flea was just standing there with that stupid smirk on his face. Was the man not even tired?! It was nearly sunset! Why won't he just die?!
As if hearing his thoughts the flea's disgusting smirk grew even bigger, he let out a little chuckle, and then he spun around on his heel and took off down the streets without looking back.
Shizuo didn't even hesitate. "Wait!" He yelled, clenching his fists, and taking off in a dead sprint after his hated enemy.
He was going to do it this time. Shizuo wasn't going to let the informant broker slip away like he always did. No matter how fast the flea tried to run, he could catch him. Even if the chase lasted far into the night, he wouldn't let the bastard win.
They sprinted across a crosswalk. Shizuo didn't even look before he followed, these cars were smart enough to stop at the sight of the oncoming chaos. Even if the cars had been moving he wouldn't have stopped. He'd watched the flea vanish after a trick drove in front of him. If he took his eyes off him too long, he'd get away and Shizuo wasn't about to let that happen.
Past the sidewalk they dove through more alleyways and curved around another. Citizens were much calmer here but still eyed them with familiar anxiety as they sprinted past a banner with an image of a steaming bowl.
As he passed the sign, the flea looked over his shoulder at Shizuo with that smirk still on his face. It wasn't different from any of his other smirks, but Shizuo could hear the quiet alarm bells going off in the back of his head.
Something was familiar about this chase. This route, had he chased Izaya down it before? Ah who cares! Shizuo's rage shoved away the cautious thoughts. I've chased him hundreds of times! I don't care if we've been this way before, I'm going to kill him this time!
The flea picked up speed and dashed out of the alleyway, Shizuo followed as fast as he could in fear of losing his enemy. He turned the corner and stopped, backing up a few quick steps as a memory hit him. Wait, I know where I am now-
It was too late. A loud honk blared in his ears, then suddenly something huge slammed into his back and sent him flying through the air. The light of the setting sun beamed on his glasses, turning the whole world white as for a moment everything seemed to stop.
Shizuo stared at the whiteness in front of him, thinking of how he had just fallen for the same trick he had in high school. The flea had tricked him again, he'd probably gotten away again.
I hate that bastard so much. He thought in a strangely serene rage. I swear, next time I see him, he's not going to get a chance to run away. He's dead meat.
Then, his body hit the ground, and everything went black.
When Shizuo woke up, he was immediately hit with a wave of confusion. Firstly, he had passed out. That had never happened before. Not even when he had been hit by that truck the first time. It was strange, and he hated it.
Secondly, he felt comfortable. Everything was warm and plush, it was quiet, and the sunlight was not hitting him. What the hell? Where the hell am I? Wherever he was, it definitely wasn't the middle of the road.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and carefully examined his surroundings. Any anxiety he had vanished in an instant. He recognized this room, it was one of the rooms where Shinra took care of his patients. Shizuo had spent time here before, but never because he needed a bed. Did the truck really hit me that hard?
If it did, he certainly didn't feel it. In fact, he felt fine. The strained lungs and sore limbs that he'd already been gaining from the day-long fight were nonexistent. He felt hungry and his throat was a little dry, but other than that he felt perfectly fine.
Shizuo moved to stand, only to feel something resist against his arm. He looked down in his arm, finding an IV inserted. Without hesitation, he ripped it out. He didn't have time for Shinra's stupid check ups, he had a stupid flea to find.
Unfortunately he yanked out the IV a little too hard, his strength causing the drip it was attached to to fall forward and crash on the floors with a loud, ear piercing clatter that shattered the room's silence. Shizuo winced at the loud noise, and groaned at the sound of hurried footsteps coming his way.
The door was shoved open so fast that the two people on the other side nearly tumbled into the room. It was Shinra and Celty, both looking equally as disheveled as the other.
Shinra was the first to recover as he went into 'doctor mode' and quickly hurried over to him. "Shizuo! You're awake!" He glanced down at the IV drip, and back at the blonde. "Did you pull that out?! Why did you do that?!"
"It felt annoying" Shizuo bluntly stated, then looked down at where he had ripped it out to see a steady stream of blood dripping onto his bare arm. Oh, oops.
Shinra made a frustrated noise and then pushed the blonde towards the bed. "You're not leaving until this is done."
The bodyguard was tempted to argue, but then he saw Celty taking a bouncer-like stance in front of the door. Damn. Though the doctor and courier didn't always see eye to eye, when they agreed on something they presented an unstoppable united front. I'm not going anywhere right now, I guess.
With a defeated sigh he sat down on the bed and held out the bloody arm. The doctor quickly began work on bandaging it, but not without commentary.
"I thought we talked about this, Shizuo." Shinra grumbled. "You can't just rush off after you get injured. I know you heal super fast but I'm still your doctor, it's important that I give you the all clear first."
Shizuo rolled his eyes. They definitely hadn't had any conversation like that. Or maybe they did, Shizuo tended to tune his friend out when he was being annoying and descending into doctor ramblings. "I get it."
"I'm serious." Shinra said, more sternly. "Especially after what happened, I want to monitor you for a while."
That got Shizuo's attention. He glanced between them both. "What happened?" He questioned. "I remember the truck and then nothing after that."
"A truck?" Shinra glanced at Celty, confusion furrowing his brow as he met the bodyguard's eyes. "Shizuo, you've been unconscious for almost a week."
The blonde frowned, yanking his hand back. "What the hell are you talking about?" He snarled at the doctor. "That's bullshit, it has to be! I've dealt with way worse, getting hit by that truck wouldn't have hurt me that bad!"
[Shizuo, are you sure you're okay?] Celty interjected. [There wasn't a truck. We were at Russia Sushi, and you just fainted out of nowhere!]
Shizuo frowned and shook his head as he lurched upwards, losing his patience quickly. "If this is a joke it's not funny! There was a truck, I was chasing that stupid flea and then- and then it hit me! That's what knocked me out! I didn't fucking faint while eating sushi!"
"Well we hadn't actually ordered yet-" Shinra quickly cut off his correction at the glare Shizuo sent his way. He smoothed out his features and took on a more concerned expression. "Okay, okay. It seems we're having some conflicting stories. But no matter how it happened, you were still in a coma. You need water, food, and rest. I want you to stay here at least for the night. So I can make sure you're okay. Please?"
The debt collector wanted to refuse. He wanted to snap at both of them to get out of his way and go find that truck and throw it at the flea as hard as he could. But, he could see the genuine concern on Shinra's face and the steely nerves of Celty. If he really had been out for a week, he should at least give them a day. Plus, Celty would probably stop him either way so it wasn't like he really had a choice.
"Fine." He muttered through gritted teeth. "But I'm not staying in this stupid room."
They quickly agreed to his request, thankful he didn't try to fight them on their demands. Once they had moved, Shinra quickly gave him some water and a rather tasteless jello cup. Shizuo wanted to complain about the lack of sweetness but he was suddenly so hungry he didn't even care.
Once eating was done, Shinra double checked his vitals and then left to go make what he called an 'important phone call' and asked Celty to keep an eye on him. Shizuo knew they meant well and probably wanted to make sure he didn't vomit out his bland food, but he still grumbled about being treated like a child.
[So… You really don't remember?] Celty asked.
"No." Shizuo bluntly stated, trying to keep his temper in check. "Or maybe you don't." She was there after all, shouldn't she remember?
As she typed out her response, he took a chance to look around. For some reason, the usual feelings of Shinra's apartment felt off. Things were different, but only just enough to notice. He could see cookbooks piled on the countertop, stuffies and knick knacks from different countries on shelves, and a lot more photos hanging on the walls and in frames than he remembered. Did they redecorate or something?
The PDA reappeared in front of his face. [Sorry. This must all be confusing for you. But don't worry, I'm sure we can find a way to jog your memory.]
Shizuo let out an annoyed huff. "It doesn't need jogging. I know what happened. I was hit by that truck, and now I need to find the flea and-"
[Oh! Don't worry!] Celty quickly interrupted. [Shinra is taking care of that right now!]
Taking care of it? Shizuo thought, confused. Is Shinra going to kill the flea? No, he wouldn't do that. They're friends… somehow. So what does she mean by that?
That's when Shizuo noticed something in the air. He sniffed, then sniffed again. There was a rotten smell wafting through the apartment. It was stale, but he knew who it belonged to. That bastard… Did he come here to see me and gloat?!
It would be just like Izaya to do that, too. Finally knocks Shizuo out but instead of killing him, Izaya spends as much time near him as possible to make him feel weak and stupid for falling for such an obvious trap. He could have ended Shizuo's life but he didn't because he was a smug bastard who liked power over others and wanted Shizuo to know he had won.
That bastard! Shizuo seethed, his fingers digging deeply into the wooden coffee table. That rotten bastard! When I get my hands on him, I'll-
The sound of Shinra's doorbell jolted him from his angered mutterings. He saw Celty perk up, delete whatever she had been typing, and show him a new message. [He's here already! That was fast! He must have run all the way here!]
"Who?" Shizuo asked. Kasuka? Or maybe Tom? But as he turned around, he found his eyes widened at the sight of a very familiar, hated face.
It was Izaya. His bangs were plastered to his forehead with sweat, his fur coat barely hanging off his shoulders, he had a clear grocery bag in his other arm, and his chest heaving. When he caught sight of Shizuo, he suddenly brightened and gave the most genuine-looking smile the bodyguard had ever seen.
"Shizu-chan!" He rushed forward, his eyes bright with happiness. "You're okay!"
For some reason, those three words made his snap, a blind rage taking over. He lurched forward and grabbed the bastard by the throat, pulling him forward and raising his fist. "Okay?! OKAY?!" He roared. "After what you did to me?! And then you think you can just waltz here and act like this?!"
Shinra let out a panicked cry. "Shizuo! Stop it! Let him go!"
Izaya choked out frantic noises in a very convincing fearful tone, but Shizuo saw right through it.
"You should know you can't trick me by now, you stupid fucking flea!" Shizuo squeezed him tighter. "Now you won't ever get a chance to do it again! YOU'RE DEAD!"
Before he could either punch the flea, snap his neck, or throw him out the window, he was stopped by the feeling of Celty's shadows wrapping around his limbs and pulling him back. Involuntarily he dropped his prey, and began furiously struggling.
"Let me go, Celty!" He yelled. "Let me kill the bastard once and for all!"
[Shizuo, what the hell is wrong with you?!] She snapped back, surprisingly angry. [I know you don't remember some things, but why would you want to kill him?!]
"He's Izaya!" Shizuo answered in a frustrated tone.
Celty didn't even hesitate with her next furiously typed message.. [He's also your boyfriend, idiot!]
Shizuo paused at that, shocked. He almost wanted to laugh. Because it was a joke. It had to be. There was no way in hell he and the flea would ever be that. This had to be an elaborate, harsh prank. Right?
He looked back at where he had dropped the man. Shinra kneeling next to him, the flea was gripping his throat and coughing, his expression pained and tears in his eyes. Then, those red orbs suddenly looked into his eyes. The red orbs he had come to know only to display evil were now wide and open. The window to the soul was swirling with so many emotions he never associated with the informant broker. Love, confusion, hurt, and fear…
Then he noticed something spreading on the floor. He glanced towards the bag that Izaya had dropped when he had been grabbed, and realized that there were shattered milk bottles inside. For me? Shizuo suddenly felt a twist of guilt, and then more confusion.
"This doesn't make any sense…" He muttered aloud without realizing it. "We- We never… We didn't date ever… We hate each other!"
Shinra carefully helped Izaya off the floor, the latter stumbling a bit and rubbing his throat.
"Whatever you think about Izaya right now, you aren't going to attack people in my home or destroy my apartment." He led the flea towards the hallway. "I'm going to check his throat. Celty darling, can you see if our ice packs are still frozen and if we have any pain medicine left?"
Celty quickly pointed at Shizuo, not needing her phone to ask Shinra if it was a good idea to leave him alone.
Shinra quickly nodded. "Don't worry. He won't try that again. If he does, he'll deal with both of us." The sunlight seemed to shine over his glasses as he gave the ominous threat, and then he hurried his newest patient down the hallway.
Celty was quick to turn to Shizuo. She pointed two fingers to where her eyes would be if she had them, then pointed them back at him. With her own silent threat stated, she hurried off to find the requested items.
Alone, Shizuo watched the growing puddle of milk on the floor for a moment as everything sank in. It had all happened so fast he wasn't sure what to do. Izaya seemed strange. He looked scared, he brought him milk, but could they really be… that word Shinra used, boyfriends?
It had to be impossible. There was no way he and that bastard would ever be a couple. This was a prank, it had to be. Another stupid trick. He could try and find out. He may not be a snotty informant broker, but he knew how to eavesdrop.
Carefully, he padded down the hallway until he found the only closed door to one of Shinra's patient rooms. He leaned forward, and listened. For a while there was silence other than muffled movement, and then Shinra began the conversation.
"How does it feel?" His tone was worried.
Izaya coughed slightly. "It's alright." His voice sounded awful. Croaky and scratchy.
Shinra set something down with a purposeful clang. "No it's not! Izaya, he choked you! He said he was going to kill you! That's not exactly a romantic reunion!"
"I know… but please don't get angry at him, Shinra." Izaya gently asked,"It's not his fault that he's not feeling alright."
Shizuo couldn't stop his eyes from going wide. Izaya was defending him? Did I hear that right? Did that truck run over my skull or something?!
Shinra sighed. "I know, but still… The way he reacted to you was completely wrong. It's like he doesn't remember you at all… Maybe it's a form of retrograde amnesia."
"Really?" Izaya asked, sounding more concerned than before.
I don't have retro-whatever amnesia! Shizuo wanted to yell through the door. I know what happened!
"That's the only thing I can think of at the moment." Shinra continued on, unaware of the silent protest outside the door. "He doesn't remember that you are a couple, he attacked you, it's like he's in high school all over again."
Izaya said nothing for a long time, and then sighed. "All this because he fainted?" He asked. "Did you find out what the cause of that might be?"
"There wasn't one that I could see. He was in perfect health when he first collapsed, and didn't even bump his head on the way down." Shinra paused for a moment. "Uh, although… He has been talking about being… hit by a truck?"
"A truck?" Izaya echoed, and then made an awkward noise. "Ah… I may know what that's about."
You may know?! Bullshit, you know what you did! Shizuo grumbled in his mind.
But then, Izaya continued. "On the day we first met, he chased me through Ikebukuro and I tricked him into running into the street and getting hit by a truck."
"Oh… Oh! I remember that now! And then you both showed up here at the same time and he ripped my door off the wall!" Shinra heartily recalled.
"But it was just that one time! We were dating before we even graduated! But I don't understand why he would be talking about that unless-" Izaya suddenly stopped himself.
Shinra continued slowly. "Unless… That's right around where his memory is now. It's possible that the last thing he can remember is you tricking him into getting hit."
It is! But that's because it just happened again!Shizuo wanted to rip the door off its hinges and scream at them. I'm not talking about high school! I'm talking about now, or a week ago, or whenever the hell that happened!
He hurriedly snuck away, too angry to listen anymore. He made it to the end of the hallway before he had to stop and breathe, his confusion threatening to turn into rage and make him launch something.
Unconsciously, his eyes moved to the photos on the wall. Several were of Shinra and Celty in different tourist spots, but there were several that were with Izaya and Shizuo included.
There was one with all four of them at the beach, with Shizuo asleep in the sand and a surprisingly detailed mermaid tail sculpted in the sand over his legs and the flea mischievous posing next to him, obviously the culprit of the sand sculpture. In another, Izaya and Shizuo were out with everyone eating hotpot. In another, they were on the couch with Celty and Shinra, leaning against each other as if there was no other place they'd rather be.
Slowly, Shizuo let the anger and denial melt away as he faced the facts. This couldn't be a trick like he had thought earlier. It was too elaborate, even for Izaya. Plus, the Izaya he knew probably wouldn't be able to fake being in a relationship with him for longer than ten seconds. To be fair, the idea still threw Shizuo off too.
Then what was happening here? He wondered as he picked up the last photo, staring at the bliss on the couple's faces. Do I really have some type of amnesia? Or… or is this something else? Maybe some kind of magic shit? He groaned and pressed his forehead against the photo frame. Ugh, I don't even know anymore.
It was hard to understand what was happening when it all had changed so fast. One second there was an evil smirk and a truck, and the next there were loving smiles and fearful gazes.
He glanced back at the hallway and, when he saw no sign of the informant broker or doctor, he got up and made his way towards the front door. He couldn't stay here, not with Shinra and a strangely compassionate Izaya that made him confused and angry.
Fuck what I promised Shinra. He decided at that moment. I need to figure out what is happening first. I can't do that when I'm stuck in this apartment.
Whatever was going on, the only real way he'd find answers was in his city: Ikebukuro.