Impossible...

That was the first thing Kadota thought after he heard what Simon said. It couldn't be Izaya, there's no way it could be him, not after absolutely nothing for five years.

Kadota still remembered the day they noticed. It had been a few weeks, and there had been no sign of the informant. Nobody thought about it too much, Izaya had a tendency to disappear when he needed to.

Then, Shinra grew worried. He called his friend, messaged him online, but he never got anything back. Eventually he convinced Celty to search his apartment, where they discovered the truth.

According to his secretary, it wasn't a disappearing and going underground act. One day he was there, and the next day he was gone, without a trace, as if he had just faded from existence, as if he'd never existed in the first place.

It was easy to assume he had died, Izaya lived a reckless and cruel life. His job was a dangerous one, and he had made many enemies in his twenty-three years, it was very likely that he had been killed.

Nobody seemed to care. The world, though a little less chaotic, didn't seem to change much. The city still was busy with hustle and bustle, and people carried on with their lives.

Kadota remembered how Shinra had still looked for him for over a year before admitting defeat. He remembered Celty, who had never liked Izaya, still comforting her beloved once he had finally given up.

It made him feel guilty... None of them really looked for him, why would they? He had never been a friend to most of them, either an enemy or someone who sometimes appeared in their lives.

But Shinra had always insisted that, deep down, Izaya had the capability to love and be kind. After he was declared dead Izaya's sisters, who always claimed to hate him, cried over his loss many times. There had been people who cared… But it didn't matter, Izaya was dead.

At least, that's what they had all thought. Now, over five years after the informant had disappeared, Simon was staring down at a human from Outer Space, with a look that Kadota had never seen from him before.

"Izaya? Is it really you?"

Kadota felt his blood run cold and his heart seize. He turned towards his three friends, but they were just as shocked as him, even Walker and Erika had lapsed into silence. They didn't know what to do, all they could do was turn to see their newest companion's reaction.

He was expecting to see confusion or fear, but the Returner was staring at Simon with wide, hopeful eyes of his own.

"That- That's-" He stepped forward, even closer to Simon than before. "Do you- Y-you know me! You know my name!"

Simon's gray eyes immediately shimmered with tears, and he pulled the raven haired man into a tight hug. "It is you!" He let go of the raven, his smile back and wider than it had been in years. "I knew you'd come back, I always knew!"

Kadota's heart beat faster and he stumbled forward. For the first time since they had run into each other, he focused all his attention in one place and looked at the man.

The inky black hair, even with the odd red streak, was familiar. Those red eyes, though they glowed strangely now and one was damaged, looked exactly like the ones he remembered. The scars were hard to ignore, but that face was the same as he remembered. He wasn't as scrawny as he remembered, there was some muscle on him now, but Kadota saw past that. He'd bet money that there are some knives stashed somewhere in that flight jacket. It was all so, so familiar…

"No way…" Kadota breathed, his own hand now landing on the long lost man's shoulder. "It really is you!"

Those mismatched eyes whipped around to the beanie-clad man. "You know me too?!" He glanced at the others, then back at Kadota. "W-why didn't you say anything?!"

"I didn't kn-" Kadota cut himself off and frowned. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

Izaya seemed to falter at the question, and his red eyes dimmed with hurt. He frowned and turned to glance towards the ground, his expression uncertain. "I… B-because I don't-" He paused, and fiddled with the ends of his sleeves. "I-Is there someone else who should hear this? I… don't want to have to explain it more than once…"

Kadota frowned. Was this an attempt to stall? Part of him wanted to grab the man and shake him, to demand answers right now. But then he looked at the haunted look in those eyes, and the painful scars that marred the once unblemished face, and realized that whatever story he had to tell was probably not a completely happy one.

"Shinra." Was the first name that came to mind. If anyone deserved to know that Izaya had come back, it was him. "We can go to Shinra's house, and you can explain there."

Erika sent him a nervous glance. "But Dota-chin, today is the-"

"I know, I know." Kadota returned with a stern look. "But Shinra needs to know, we need to go there now."

He didn't need reminding that there was supposed to be a hot pot party today. They happen quite frequently now. Sometimes it was a monthly event, but they scheduled some in-between for many different reasons. Whether it was the trio graduating from Raira, to cheer Shinra up about Izaya's supposed death, or the current reason which was to calm Celty down about the imposing arrival of humans from space.

They had been preparing for it before they ran into the long lost informant. It meant that there might be people there already, there might be certain people there. A lot of things could go wrong, but they couldn't wait. Shinra deserved, more than anyone else, to be reunited with his friend.

"I come too." Simon declared quickly, his eyes never moving off Izaya. "I want to know too, I will bring sushi for party! Good sushi!"

Izaya glanced between all of them, his mismatched eyes narrowed. He seemed a little suspicious of them, until Simon spoke. Then, his gaze softened, and he sighed. "I'll come with you to Shinra. I… I'll do my best to explain when we're there."

Kadota had never seen Izaya behave like this before. Whenever he thought of the informant, he imagined him skipping around with that mischievous smirk on his face. You could never tell how he was really feeling, because he'd never let you see the real him.

Now, he was like an open book. His body was tense, he fiddled with something in his jacket pocket, his eyes darted between them anxiously, and his face was pinched with worry. It was bizarre, and Kadota wasn't sure how to feel about the whole situation.

The sooner they got to Shinra's, the sooner that their long lost companion could shed light on the situation. So, with a deep, steadying breath, he gave the group a firm nod.

"Alright, let's go."


[But they're usually early! What if something bad happened to them?!] Celty's shaking hand held her PDA close to Shinra's face. [What if they got abducted and we're just sitting here doing nothing?!]

"Celty, I'm sure they're fine. Erika and Walker probably got distracted by a manga sale again."

[But what if they didn't?! What if they're the first victims of the Galactic System's secret, evil plot?!] Celty frantically demanded.

Shinra knew that the news of aliens had gotten his wife worked up. She had always been a little afraid of them, so when news came out that Earth was in contact with real aliens, she freaked out.

Shinra hadn't even known until she came barreling into his office with news articles on her computer and shadows pouring out of her head. Even after they thoroughly read the articles, she was still suspicious about this strange Galactic System and their intentions.

[It could be a cover-up to try and enslave the entire world!] She had theorized one night.

"Maybe… But if that was their intention, couldn't they have done it before we had the technology to contact and acknowledge their existence?" He had asked, slipping into his doctor persona.

Celty faltered at that, but quickly came up with an alternate hypothesis. [They wanted to wait until we were more intelligent so training us would be easier!]

Obviously, she was still not enthused at the thought of aliens and humans from space on the planet, even after nearly a week with no sign of any attack plans. All communication with the Galactic System had been peaceful and easygoing.

In fact, from what he read, the Officer of Intergalactic Relations wanted to begin discussions on bringing Earth into the system as soon as possible. A spot in a Galactic Union that promised trade deals and literal space travel in the future, that was a good thing for planet Earth.

He knew that Celty's fears were likely shared by plenty of others. People always tended to be scared by something different or new, they just needed some time to get used to and accept it.

Still, his beloved was nervous, so he set up a Hot Pot party a few weeks earlier than usual. That way she could see all her friends and be comforted by their (non-brainwashed by aliens) presence. Now, if only the last of those friends would actually show up. What is taking them so long?

Shinra set the knife down on the cutting board, his full attention on his wife. He took her shaking hands in his and smiled gently. "I'm sure they're fine. But if they aren't here in the next half hour, you and Shizuo can go looking for them, how does that sound?"

Celty took a few seconds to soak in his promise. Her shoulders slumped, the tension in her body faded, and she nodded her helmet at him. [Okay.] She then glanced furtively around them, then discreetly held up her PDA again. [I'm going to discuss possible battle strategies with Shizuo.]

The underground doctor chuckled, knowing that the only strategy Shizuo knew was 'punch and throw things', but allowed her to rush over to the blonde.

Alone at the counter, Shinra leaned back and let his brown eyes scan across the room. The friendly chatter filled every crevice of the space, the delicious smell of fresh food warmed his heart, and the familiar faces pulled a genuine smile onto his face. Celty, Shizuo, the Raira kids, Saki, Tom...

It's almost perfect, but… Shinra frowned, the constant pain in his heart returning full force. I wish you could have been here too… I know that with Shizuo, it would have been impossible but… I still wish… He sighed, and lowered his gaze to the floor. I just wish you were still here.

The feeling of a gentle hand on his shoulder made his thoughts pause, and he found Celty was once again at his side. She didn't speak, she knew who he was thinking about, she simply let her gentle touch ground him.

"Thank you." He whispered to her through the noise. He didn't have to say it, Celty knew how thankful he was to have her as his wife, but sometimes it was nice to say it out loud.

She squeezed his shoulder gently in confirmation of his words. Then, the sudden chime of their doorbell turned that soft hold into a painful grasp that made him wince.

Celty quickly nudged him forward and frantically motioned towards the door. [Check through the door first, don't be fooled by fakes, and watch out for signs of brainwashing!]

"I will, I will, don't worry!" Shinra promised as he put on a theatrical brave face. He couldn't help it, Celty was so brave and strong, he didn't get any chances to be the man on the front lines for her. He'd have to enjoy it while he could.

The extra frantic ringing of the bell hurried him along. Wanting to calm his beloved, Shinra checked through the door first, and saw Kadota and his friends… And Simon! Too excited to check for alien brainwashing (however you do that), he quickly pulled the door open with a wide smile.

"Ah, you guys made it! So glad you came!" He opened the door further and motioned them forward. "Come in, come in! We just started serving the food!"

They didn't follow right away, which made him pause. He watched them glance between each other, and then Kadota looked into his eyes with a strained, anxious expression on his usually stoic face.

"Um… Sorry, we know this was a special hot pot for Celty, but…" Kadota glanced behind them, and then lowered his voice even further. "We had a… situation on our way here…"

Shinra straightened right away, and his eyes scanned them for any sign of injuries. When he saw none, a slight frown appeared on his face. "I don't understand… What's the situation? Is it like an injury or gang war or a…"

He trailed off as Kadota and Saburo moved aside, revealing a sixth person that he hadn't noticed through the peephole. As their eyes met, Shinra felt his heart come to a stop, and let out a shocked gasp.

I know that face. I've known it since middle school. Even after you disappeared, even after so long, I could never forget my best friend.

"Izaya?" Shinra croaked as his eyes grew misty. He reached a hand out nervously, desperately. "I-Izaya?"

The raven haired man looked back at him with a posture that radiated nervousness, and slowly raised his hand in a small wave. "Um… Hi?"

Shinra couldn't hold himself back any longer. He practically lunged towards his long-lost friend, capturing him in a tight, frantic hug. "Izaya! It's you, it's really you!"

The chatter that had previously filled his apartment vanished as people moved to see what was going on, but he didn't care, all he could focus on was Izaya. He couldn't believe it. He's right here, he's alive, he's alive!

"I- I'm sorry…"

He heard the man he was hugging whisper, his strange tone pulling Shinra back to the present. He looked up at his friend and paused at the strange expression on his face. He had never heard Izaya speak like that, what happened to him?

Izaya stared back at him, his face morphed by shame. He let out a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry.. I.." He lowered his head, his voice growing so quiet it was barely a mumble. "I- I don't remember…"

Shinra felt his blood run cold. Had he been wrong? He scanned the face again. No, no this is Izaya! I know it is, there's no way I could mistake him for someone else. So… He slowly let go, and took a few steps back. "Y-You don't… What do you mean you don't remember?"

His best friend grew even more tense, but he still stood tall. "I… I don't remember you…" He turned and looked back at Kadota, Simon, and the others. "I don't remember any of you… I don't have any memory of Earth..."

The underground doctor's heart seemed to shatter all over again. He doesn't remember me? His best friend? How could this have happened? He had always been so good at reading Izaya's moods, so he looked again. There was pain in those eyes, but he didn't know what could have caused it. I do know one thing for sure, I'm not losing you again.

He reached out again, taking the man's hands in his own. The right one was soft, but the left one was rough and badly scarred. How far up do these scars go? He wondered for a moment, and then turned his focus onto his nervous friend.

Shinra did his best to smile. "Please, come inside." He didn't say anything else, it was an open, hopeful invitation towards a friend he had thought he would never see again. He wanted to talk with him, he wanted to understand so badly what had happened after five years of sadness.

Then, to his relief, Izaya returned the small smile and gave a slight nod. Shinra felt his shoulders slump in relief and quickly pulled the man further into the apartment, the other five arrivals eagerly followed behind.

When he turned around, he was startled by the sight of all his guests staring wide-eyed at the long-lost Izaya, each of their expressions varied. Celty was shocked, Mikado was curious, Anri and Masomi looked a mixture between anger and curiosity, Saki and Tom were uncertain, and Shizuo's reaction was the strangest of all. There wasn't a sign of anger from him, he simply looked confused.

Shinra turned to face the room, Izaya's arm still in a tight grip as he motioned towards the people in the room. "I suppose introductions are in order then! Izaya, this is everyone! We have my wife Celty, Mikajima Saki, Kida Masaomi, Ryuugamine Mikado, Sonohara Anri, Tanaka Tom, and Heiwajima Shizuo!" He pointed a thumb towards himself. "And I am your humble best friend, Kishitani Shinra!"

Izaya chuckled and his smile grew wider. "Well, it's nice to meet you all. I assume you all know me already, considering the way you are all looking at me."

Still too shocked to speak, a few of the more lucid members of the silent group managed to give awkward nods of confirmation to the man's statement.

The underground doctor grabbed Izaya again, his brown eyes overflowing with curiosity. "I can't believe it! After all this time, over five years, I thought…" He quickly shook his head, he didn't need to think of that right now, there were more important things to ask. "Where have you been all this time?!"

Izaya brought up his scarred left arm and scratched awkwardly at his cheek. "Ah, well…"

Erika suddenly jumped into view, her whole body vibrating with excitement. "Where do you think, Shinra?! What just happened a few days ago? This whole time, he was in space!"

Shinra felt his heart jolt in surprise, and heard several surprised murmurs behind him. "You were?! That's incredible!" He couldn't help his curiosity about the humans from space, especially since he hadn't gotten to talk to any of them yet. Maybe Izaya will let me examine him! Bouncing on his heels, he asked,"How in the world did you get up there?"

Izaya cringed slightly at the question. "Ah, well… I don't remember everything. All I really know is that I was abducted and-"

Celty threw herself off her seat as if she had been lit on fire. She grabbed Shizuo and pulled him into a protective hug against her. She shoved her PDA into Izaya's face in what was likely an attempt to be threatening, but her shaking limbs broke the facade somewhat.

The long-lost human raised his eyebrows slightly as his red eyes scanned over the screen. "Um… I don't understand… Why would I try to eat your brains?"

Shinra managed to free his face from where it was squished against Celty's shoulder, and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Celty's a little nervous about aliens and what they're capable of. When Kadota and the gang didn't arrive in time, she thought they may have gotten brainwashed by the Galactic System."

Izaya snorted in amusement. "Oh, I get it! Well, don't worry. The Galactic System isn't up to anything suspicious. They really do want peace between planets, no brainwashing happens because of them."

[Maybe that's what they want you to think!] Celty challenged back, still shaking. [Maybe they brainwashed you too, and that's why you don't remember anything!]

The raven haired man quickly shook his head. "No they didn't! The Galactic System saved my life! They rescued me from the laboratory I had been held at. If it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

"Why did the abductors wipe your memories?" Kadota cautiously interjected into the conversation.

Shinra frowned, his own mind wandering to the few jobs he had done for Nebula, he had a feeling he knew the reason.

Izaya shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes staring at something none of them could see. "Well… If you don't have your memories, you will be easier to control and manipulate. And, if you do ever manage to get out, you likely won't remember who did those things to you, so they're free to keep hurting people without consequence. You can't stop them, and you can't go home…"

Shinra felt like his heart was being twisted inside of his chest. Those scars, that expression, the look in those familiar eyes… He could only imagine what Izaya had gone through during his time away. How much have you been hurt?

But, it couldn't have been all bad. Izaya had never smiled so openly, or allowed himself to relax and be carefree, even around Shinra. His friend was like a completely different person. He seemed broken, but happier. It was as if he had been shattered, but those cracks had been refilled with gold.

He managed to free his arm and motioned towards the gathering of people, and the steaming hot pots that scattered through the room. "We were just about to eat. Why don't you join us, and then we can all catch up?"

Izaya's sadness seemed to melt away somewhat as a warm, hopeful smile climbed onto his face. "I would love that!"

"Yes!" Simon agreed heartily as he pushed their group further towards the living room. "And I brought sushi! Cream cheese sushi, sour cream sushi, fatty tuna! I have all the sushi! Let's eat and celebrate!"

For a moment, Shinra deliberated on if it was a bad idea to let Izaya join when Shizuo was still in the apartment, and was staring directly at the long-lost newcomer with a strange expression on his face, one that the underground doctor couldn't discern.

It made him nervous. Even if the blonde hadn't instantly turned to violence, that didn't mean it wouldn't happen eventually. As quickly as that thought appeared, he snuffed it out with an internal shake of his head. Too bad, I don't care if Shizuo is angry. I finally have my friend back, I'm not going to take this second chance for granted, and I'm not going to lose him again.

Izaya was alive, and Shinra couldn't wait to get to know him once more.