Izaya still remembered the first time he saw them.

It had been that first day in the hospital after his unfortunate stabbing incident. When he had woken up for the first time, a kind nurse had checked his vitals and asked him a few questions before leaving. A while later the door opened again, and three people had walked in.

One was a middle aged police officer wearing a golf cap, the other a younger, shaggy haired officer, and the last one was… Strange. She was a young girl with long, black hair who wore a pink, flowered kimono. Though she came in with the officers, they didn't seem to pay her any mind. She settled in the corner of the room, glancing between Izaya and the police officers curiously.

The informant in the hospital bed didn't have much of a chance to question her presence, as the two officers were quick to begin questioning him. They wanted to know why he had been attacked and who the perpetrator had been. Well I can't tell them that, can I? Where's the fun in that?

"A random attack, you say?"

"Yes. I have no idea who it could've been…" He looked towards them, and did his best to give an innocent smile. "Never mind me. Please find the perpetrator as soon as you can, so the people of this city can live their lives in peace."

The two officers blinked, and shared a glance of disbelief. Based on the way they were acting, they likely found the knife in his secret pocket. If that was the case, neither officer said anything about it. They simply thanked him for his time and left.

They know I'm lying… Izaya thought with a sigh. How troublesome… I'll probably have to deal with them again later. Police officers always stick their noses where they don't belong.

Movement in the room caught his eye, and he was quick to focus on them. It was the girl again. She had moved from her spot in the corner, and was now approaching his bedside. She stared down at him with a curious expression, not saying a word. After a long and awkward silence, Izaya felt a twinge of annoyance. What is that kid doing here anyways?

"Can I help you?" He asked her in a clipped tone.

The girl let out a shocked squeak and jumped back, her wide brown eyes staring at him in disbelief. She stared at him, and then looked around the room, before turning back to him. "A-are you speaking to me?" She questioned, pointing a shaky finger towards herself.

Izaya furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Who else would I be talking to?"

She let out another gasp. "Oh my gosh… Y-you can! I-I've never- I can't believe-" She clapped her hands over her mouth, letting out an excited squeal. "You can see me!"

"What in the world are you talking about?" Izaya questioned, his composure thrown off even more by her odd behavior.

Instead of an answer, he was left with more questions as the girl let out another excited noise and, right in front of his eyes, floated upward and flew straight through the wall. Suddenly, the room was empty, as if she had never even been there.

"What?!" Izaya jerked up in disbelief, only to cry out and clutch his side as his stab wound protested the movement. He gritted his teeth against the pain and stared directly at where the girl had vanished.

The room still seemed completely normal, the wall had no sign that someone had just walked through it. But she had, I saw it! She did it right in front of me! In all his years in Ikebukuro, he'd never seen someone do that. "How did that…"

"Orihara-san, what are you doing?!"

Izaya whipped his head away from the wall to see the frantic nurse hurrying towards him. She carefully removed his hand from the stab wound, and gently pushed him back down on the bed. "You must be more careful!" She chastised with a stern expression. "You could tear your stitches if you try to get up too soon!"

"Oh… Sorry…" Izaya murmured in a daze. He let his red eyes drift back towards the wall, and frowned.

Part of him wanted to ask the nurse about what he had seen. Maybe she knew someone who matched the girl's description, but he couldn't bring himself to speak. How would he explain what he had seen without sounding like he had lost his mind? There's no way he could say anything.

As he made small talk with the clipboard holding nurse, he forced himself to push what he had witnessed to the back of his mind. I was stabbed last night, now I'm on painkillers. I'm probably not thinking straight. I shouldn't waste my time on whatever happened. Yeah... I was just seeing things…

With his confusion settled down somewhat, he set his mind on something different. "Come to think of it, do you know if my stabbing made the news or the papers?"

It was later that day that Izaya found himself already bored. He was still supposed to stay laying down as much as the nurse ordered him, but he had managed to sweet-talk his way into getting a magazine from the nurse.

He flipped through the pages over and over, skipping past several colorful articles about the newest anime or the latest gossip. Eventually, he settled on a random article that seemed boring instead of dreadfully boring, and tried to ignore the constant ticking of the clock in his room.

The article droned on for a while, talking about something called the 'Tokugawa Buried Treasure Incident' that he didn't really care about, but reading the magazine was more interesting than doing nothing but looking at the bland ceiling. Maybe I should ask for something else, I'm sure they have some around-

Izaya's thoughts were cut off as a strange, new feeling flooded him. It was sudden and overwhelming, and felt like he could see everything around him without looking with his eyes. It was because of this odd feeling that he could tell someone was coming towards his room. Who is it? Shizu-chan? Yodogiri Jinnai? Another enemy? Have they come for me?

As quick as he could, Izaya whipped his head around to face the intruder. Instead of one of his many, many enemies, he found himself letting out a undignified yelp of surprise at the sight of someone floating in the air by the side of his bed.

"What the hell?!" He cried out before he could stop himself.

The floating person, a middle aged man with glasses, let out an excited noise. "Oh, wow! Atsuko, you weren't kidding! He really can see us!"

The young girl from before suddenly appeared again, phasing through the wall just as she had earlier in the day. Her brown eyes were bright with a similar eagerness as she looked at the man. "See? I told you!"

Izaya's wide red eyes flickered between each of the figures, his heart pounding against his chest as he tried to rationalize what he was seeing. Not only were they floating, but they had a gentle blue glow surrounding their transparent forms. What is this?! Rubbing his eyes didn't make them disappear, neither did pinching his side. Does that mean they're real?!

"No. No way!" Izaya quickly muttered, shaking his head, and turning away from the apparitions. "I'm seeing things again, that's what this is!"

His attempts to avoid facing the hallucinations didn't work as the girl, Atsuko, suddenly phased through the floor that he was staring at, and floated up to be face to face with him. "But you're not seeing things, mister! We're right here!"

The second one appeared again, entering his vision from the side. "Don't worry, kid, just because you can see us, that doesn't mean you're crazy!"

"Somehow that doesn't fill me with confidence!" Izaya snapped at the floating figure, motioning to them both. "What even are you?!"

"Spirits!" The man helpfully supplied. "We're Spirits!"

Atsuko nodded in agreement, floating higher in her excitement. "Yes! And we've never met an alive person who has been able to see us before!"

Then, she did something new. She reached forward, grabbing Izaya's outstretched hand and squeezing it. This simple act sent Izaya's heart rate skyrocketing all over again, because he could feel it. Even though she was a spirit, a ghost, he could feel her ice cold hand squeezing his.

Oh my god… Oh my god… Izaya found himself at a loss for words, his mind running on overdrive as he stared down at their connected hands. She… She's touching me, that shouldn't be possible!

He still desperately wanted to deny that the spirits in front of him were real, and claim they were still just some hallucination created by his mind. The ice cold touch forced him to face the facts. He couldn't deny it any longer, the Spirits in front of him were real.

"I… I…" Izaya swallowed a lump in his throat, yanked his hand out of her grip, and looked away. "C-could you both please leave me alone for a while?"

Atsuko's face quickly fell, saddened by his reaction. She looked down at her hand, the one that had held his moments before, and she lowered her head. "Oh… Okay… I-I'm sorry…"

Izaya's mouth moved without his permission. "I'm not mad at you." He said in an attempt to comfort the girl. "I just… Need to take this all in. Just give me some time, okay?"

The older spirit placed his see-through hand on Atsuko's shoulder, and nodded towards Izaya. "Don't worry, we understand." They turned, and the elder gently led the young girl away

Izaya refused to look at them any longer, but he could hear the man speak again before they vanished. "Don't worry, Atsuko, we just need to be patient and give him some time, okay? It's scary for a living person to see Spirits. I'm sure he'll speak to us again when he's ready."

Once they were gone, the strange feeling that had announced their arrival was gone, he allowed himself to slump down with a heavy sigh. He ran a hand through his hair and, when he pulled his hand back, realized how badly he was shaking.

"Wha… Why am I reacting this way?" Izaya asked aloud as he gripped the hand with his other. The one that Atsuko had touched still felt freezing cold, and made him shudder. "I've seen things like this before, Shizu-Chan has crazy strength, and Celty is a Dullahan! Why is this freaking me out!?"

He sighed, letting his hands drop onto his lap. "That's different… Celty and Shizu-Chan can be seen by everyone. This…" He glanced towards the wall where the two spirits had vanished. "Nobody else sees them… Am I the only one who can see them? Why?"

For the first time in his life, the informant broker wasn't sure how he could find an answer to his questions.

It was two days later that Izaya was finally able to walk around. He was absolutely relieved, because being stuck in that bed had been a nightmare. Boredom he could deal with, but now the only thing that plagued his mind was his strange new ability, and the encounter with the two spirits.

The memory ran through his mind like a broken record; Not even thinking about the rumors he had stockpiled, possibly taking off had been able to cheer him up or make him forget about the event for long.

It certainly didn't help that they were still there. They were leaving him alone like he had asked, but only just. His strange new ability helped him sense where they were; Sometimes around the corner, sometimes just outside his hospital room. No matter what, they were never far.

"How annoying…" He had thought to himself, only to sigh and shake his head seconds later. "But any human would do the same, wouldn't they? If I really am the first person who has been able to see them, that is a long time to go without speaking to anyone other than the other spirits here…"

Izaya said 'other spirits' because he knew there were more than the two who had spoken to him. When he was taken by the nurses to get checkups or to leave the room for a bit, he saw them in the halls, in waiting rooms, everywhere.

Some of them were young, some old, some wearing tattered rags, some wearing professional clothes. All the spirits he witnessed were very different, but they all had one thing in common: They all watched him obsessively.

The two he had spoken to must have spread the word, which he wasn't upset about. Even in death, humans were social creatures, why wouldn't they let the other spirits know there was someone who could see them? Despite this, they all seemed to also agree with his request to be left alone for now, which he was genuinely thankful for.

Now that a few days had passed, and he was allowed to walk, he had a plan. It wasn't much of a plan, but he hoped it could possibly help him get an explanation for this sudden new ability. That plan's name: Celty.

Celty is a Dullahan, and according to their folklore, Dullahan are the ones who draw souls from those due to die, they are like a grim reaper in that way… Izaya reminded himself as he slowly walked down the hall, IV in hand. Celty hates me, and she may not believe me if I tell her what I'm seeing, but perhaps I can find a way to ask her if she knows anything about spirits without arousing suspicion.

Once he made it to the nurse desk, he asked for a phone, and dialed Shinra's phone number. It rang twice before he heard the click of someone picking up, and then suddenly he jolted from his calm stupor at the sound of a heartbroken scream. He stared at the phone's receiver for a moment, confused. "Hello-"

"Who the hell?!"

Izaya couldn't help it. After a strange few days, hearing his best (and only) friends' voice was a relief. "Who the hell?" He repeated as he leaned back casually. "I've never heard such a dynamic greeting before."

"Oh, it's you, Orihina-kun. See you."

A panic burst through him, he couldn't hang up when Izaya had an important question to ask! "Hey, don't hang up on me." He sternly stated, and decided to keep talking before Shinra could do anything. "I finally got to borrow a phone at the hospital, you see…"

"Hospital? Have you been hospitalized?"

"Didn't you see it on Daiou TV?" Izaya asked, before deciding to set aside the reason for his hospitalization. "That's not why I called, I needed to ask you for a favour-"

"Ah it'll have to wait, I'm on a date with Celty! See you!"

Then, with a click, Shinra hung up. Izaya frowned immediately, upset by being ignored. "What a piss-poor excuse for a friend…" He grumbled.

Why did Shinra have to act like that? Was his annoying date with Celty really so important that he couldn't speak to Izaya for a few minutes? Not even that! I just wanted to ask Celty something important!

He turned away from the nurse's desk, and noticed the two officers from before. They quickly turned back to the newspaper the younger had, but Izaya had still seen them.

He smirked for a moment as a plan formulated. This will be a good way to get back at Shinra! Imagine an underground doctor getting called by the cops, that would be hilarious!

Just before he could bring the phone back up to his face to begin his charade, the strange feeling returned, and his red eyes caught sight of the spirit girl once more. What was her name? Right, Atsuko… She was watching him like the other spirits, hiding around a nearby corner.

He glanced at the phone again, but found that the desire to ruin Shinra's stupid date was gone. He wanted answers as soon as possible, and his best bet would be to get them straight from the source.

But not here. Too many people, talking to a spirit only I can interact with in front of the nurses sounds like a good way to be stuck here longer than I'd like. He handed the phone back with a thanks, and then walked down the hall, towards where the phone booths were. He didn't ask the girl to follow, he knew she would.

To his relief, the phone area was completely empty. He rolled his IV into the small indent, and leaned back against the wall. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes, only having to wait a few seconds before he felt the spirit girl appear nearby, in the booth next to him.

"I know you're there." He calmly declared,"You can come out."

When Izaya opened his eyes, Atsuko was floating in front of him, wringing her hands together with a hopeful smile. "Are you wanting to talk to us now?" She asked him. "I have been super super patient, like Kazuo-san said to be!"

Kazuo must have been the older spirit I met that day… Izaya thought with a tilt of his head, deciding to answer the girl's question before her rambling continued. "Yes, I would like to speak to you now, I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

Atsuko paused and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well… I dunno how many I will know the answer to, but I can try!" She finished with a hopeful smile.

Izaya wondered if he could ask her to find a spirit who could answer him, but that smile caused him to stop, a feeling of sadness overwhelming him.

How long had the girl been here, without anyone to speak to other than the spirits? She had been so sad when he asked her to leave before, he couldn't do that again. Not yet, at least.

"So…" He carefully began, tapping his fingers against his arm, wondering what question he should start with. Instead of coming up with anything worthwhile, words tumbled out without his permission. "Spirits are real…"

Atsuko looked a little confused by his question, but quickly nodded her head. "Mm-hm! Sometimes when people die, they become spirits!"

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "Only sometimes? Not all the time?"

"Nope! It's kinda confusing…" The girl sheepishly admitted. "Some of the older spirits say that everyone is a spirit for a little bit, but some people move on, and some people never do."

"Move on…" Izaya repeated with a raised eyebrow, even more curious. Seconds later, it clicked. "Ah, so then there must be an afterlife?"

Atsuko nodded with a bright smile. "Yeah!"

"How do you get there?" Izaya leaned forward eagerly, ignoring the twinge in his side due to his sudden movements. "Is it a test? Do you need a key?" Is my plan the real answer?

All his questioning left the girl confused. "Huh? I-I don't think you need anything like that… I've never been there, but I saw another spirit go one time!" She sighed, her brown eyes awed. "It was so pretty… She turned into a gold color, she was like a bright sun! Then she just disappeared…"

Izaya was intrigued by the description of someone moving on; and at the same time he was disappointed. If the spirit was being truthful, and he had a feeling sure she was, then it sounded like… Oh… I understand.

There was no special way to die, no magic key to the afterlife… You just died. Getting to the afterlife didn't require starting a war or taking Celty's head to a warzone to transport dead warriors to Valhalla… It just happened.

"All this planning, all this chaos… What's the point?" He felt himself start to sink, his body suddenly cold with sadness as he was forced to face the truth: He had been wrong all along.

"Then what am I doing all this for?" Izaya wondered quietly.

Atsuko's happy smile turned into a concerned frown. "M-mister? Are you okay?"

Izaya pressed his hand up to his suddenly throbbing temple, the room beginning to spiral. He gripped his hair and pulled "If everything I have been doing, all of this is for nothing… Then what is the point? What am I here for?!"

"Mister! Please calm down!"

"If not that, then what?! What is my purpose?! Who am I?!"

The world began to blur, and suddenly it spun on its side. The overwhelmed Izaya collapsed to the ground, his IV clattering at his side as his head collided with the hard floor. The last thing he heard before giving into the darkness was Atsuko's panicked scream.