It took Shinra nearly three days to find a psychic Izaya actually knew—or didn't know—if he was fake or not. Over the days, Shinra would call and bring the names up. Izaya would then look for information on the man. So Izaya had told Shinra "No." twenty-eight times.
But twenty-nine was lucky to be famous enough, or not famous enough, to make it on Izaya radar.
During those three days of waiting, Shizuo did not get much sleep.
Nor did he punch Izaya who kept him up.
He all in all felt numb by the time Izaya agreed to a psychic meeting.
The nights after the first were hell. It may have merely been three days but four nights were spent with the carpenter and debt collector making sure no one came to attack the informant. By night two Shizuo was painfully certain there was no stalker—as much as he hated to agree with the flea (although the bastard Izaya wasn't allowed to know that). No one ever tried to break in and Izaya was still getting new scars on him. One of the most noticeable new ones was one on the side of his neck. Long and white, it was very hard to miss. If it weren't for the fact that the two of them had been in close proximity for a while now, Shizuo would have thought it was always there but he knew for a fact it wasn't on the day they had started this horrible sleepover.
Kadota and Shizuo had come to an agreement that they would not allow Izaya to stay up. As much as they disliked being woken up by a screaming flea, they also didn't want to take the chance that Izaya's mind would start to deteriorate due to lack of sleep and start hallucinating. The two of them would not be there to keep an eye on him during the day, since they all agreed they would continue to do their respective jobs, and if the raven hallucinated no one would be there to help him.
Night one was absolute hell. There was no mistaking that since Shizuo messed up and tried to wake the flea. He learned from his mistake—mostly because he didn't want to clean up someone else's urine again. Izaya had woken them up at three and they all managed to get to bed by 5:30.
Night two was a bit more manageable. Kadota and Shizuo agreed that they wouldn't wake Izaya up, just let the nightmare finish on its own. After an hour of screaming and walking around, Izaya finally sat down on the couch and woke up. However, seeing Kadota sitting next to him caused the raven panic and he tried to punch him and run away. Izaya ended up cornering himself before they were able to calm him down. Once he was calm, the raven refused to sleep. He didn't even try to hide the fact he was scared, holding onto Kadota so desperately and begging him not the make him sleep. The carpenter ended up having to lay with Izaya, soothing him and telling him it was okay before the raven finally drifted off. Izaya had woken them up at three and they all managed to get to bed by 6:40.
Night three was far better. When Izaya started walking around, Kadota and Shizuo went up to Izaya's bed and lied down. At that point, they didn't care about Izaya's "no homo" comment and just wanted to catch a little extra sleep. It was mostly them resting their eyes, staying half awake so they could periodically check on Izaya. Whenever it went silent, Kadota would wake up and check, or he would wake Shizuo up and make him check. The screaming lasted longer than usually on that night, Izaya not waking up until nearly five in the morning. Once it again, became silent, the two watchers came down, turned on the light and let Izaya know he wasn't alone. The raven held Kadota close and merely repeated, "I almost got away. We almost got away. I was so close." It didn't take as long as before for Kadota to convince Izaya to lay back down. Izaya had woken them up at 3:20 and they all managed to get to bed by 5:15.
Night four, they had started to develop a rhythm. Izaya seemed to wake up at around three every night. However, this night something different had happened. Once three hit, Shizuo actually woke up before Izaya made any noise, seemingly out of habit now. Instead of trying to go back to sleep like normal, he sat up and looked around. He had spotted someone hunched over Izaya's desk. He had turned on the lamp and seeing it was Izaya, had woken up Kadota. The raven had a pen in his hand, holding down a piece of paper with his other, and was scribbling fiercely. The two had stood and gone over to him, calling out to Izaya questioningly since neither of them knew if Izaya was awake. When they came over, Izaya had finished his drawing and had pushed the paper to the side, drawing on another piece of paper. The two had not seen Izaya do something like this before, so neither really knew what to do. Eventually, they decided to stop Izaya's mad drawing. Kadota had reached out and moved his hand away from the paper. Izaya still tried draw and began scribbling on his desk until Kadota raised his hand away from the tabletop. Shizuo took the pen from him and put it in the desk so the raven couldn't use it as a weapon then made the raven stand. Once he was standing, the raven returned to his usual way of night action and began screaming. Izaya had woken them up at 3, Kadota at 3:15. They all managed to get to bed at 5:45.
To say Shizuo and Kadota looked exhausted by day four was an understatement. The two were able to have brief intermissions of time to nap during the day but it wasn't much. Kadota was able to sleep in the back of Togusa's van after he had finished his job for the day while the driver and the two otaku's went and did their daily businesses. It was only an extra two hours at best but it was enough. As for Shizuo, he would stay up all day, eating and being active to keep himself awake, then once Tom said it was time to call it a day—which Shizuo had noticed their days had gotten a bit shorter with the more exhausted he began to look—he would head home, take a nap until eight at night then head over to Shinjuku. It was an hour of sleep at most, but at least it was something.
Now, neither of them were with the flea as he sat on Shinra's couch. A folder sat on the coffee table in front of him while his foot tapped erratically against the ground—although both legs were still damaged, he only winced every now and then.
"He's late." Izaya grumbled.
"Just have patience. He'll show up."
Izaya just huffed.
As if on cue, the front door opened. But it wasn't who they were waiting for.
"Hey, flea, Russian Sushi's okay, right?"
"Eh? You actually bought me ootoro?"
"You said you were hungry, didn't you?" Shizuo huffed and held the plastic bag out to him.
"Yay!" Izaya pulled the bento out and dug in.
"How about a thank you?"
Izaya's cheeks puffed with food. He then put a hand over his mouth. "I'ada'imash."
Izaya giggled before swallowing heavily.
Twenty minutes after Izaya finished eating, the psychic finally showed up.
"Sorry I'm late. I ran into traffic."
Izaya didn't say anything.
"Are you Orihara Izaya-san?"
"Yeah."
He nodded and sat down in front of Izaya, looking him over.
"I'm Shikazu Ryojo. So, you're friends told me you've been having nightmares."
"Yup."
"And you have scars that you stated were from the dream."
"Yup." Izaya crossed his arms and glowered.
"...I get the feeling you're irritated with me."
"Yup~."
"Stop being difficult." Shizuo karate chopped his head.
Izaya waved his hand away. "Stupid. That hurt."
"It did not."
"It did too!"
"Shut up already, you flea."
"You shut up, you—"
"Did you draw these?"
Izaya turned back to the psychic, who was looking through the papers in the folder.
"Yeah…"
"You're quite talented."
"I know."
"Are these the things in your dream?"
"...Yeah."
"Hmm."
Shizuo came around to look over the psychic's shoulder at the pictures. He cocked a brow at seeing a creature with no arms standing hunched with its feet pointed inward. It had no face, as well, and there was a gaping hole in its chest, some black liquid gooping out of it.
"Out of all these monsters, which one shows up the most often?"
He handed the folder over. Izaya sighed in exasperation and skimmed through them. He pulled out two pictures.
"The Pyramid Head shows up a lot."
"And who's the little girl?"
"I don't know her name. She's always there."
"What does she do? What's her significance?"
Izaya shrugged. "She's just a little girl. In that hell, I don't think about anything but surviving so I take her with me when I come across her."
"...I see…" He stared down at the paper.
"Is there something special about her except she's a pedophile's dream?"
He glanced up at him. Then let out a dry chuckle.
"Do you remember drawing this picture?"
Izaya tilted his head to the side. "Of course…"
The psychic stared at him. "Then I ask this. Do bad things happen when you're around her?"
"Eh?"
He leaned forward, looking at Izaya with serious green eyes.
"Have you died because of her?"
Izaya's sneer faded in an instant. He started to look uncomfortable as he fidgeted slightly.
"Why do you ask?" Izaya muttered.
He rested the picture on his lap, tracing his hand over it. "This girl is evil."
"Evil? She's just—"
"She is not. A demon in the guise of an innocent."
"Excuse me?"
He leaned forward. "This child radiates evil. The grotesque pictures you showed me were plain and normal but this one." He held up the picture, "is giving off a strange feeling. A bad aura if you will. As if the demon used your body to draw this."
Shizuo's eyes widened at that statement. The image of Izaya furiously scribbling the night before entered his mind.
'No way. It can't be…'
Izaya didn't respond. Instead, he simply glared at the man.
"I have a feeling...that what I said upset you?" He reached forward and touched Izaya's hand.
Izaya slapped his hand away.
"Izaya!" Shizuo reached forward and grabbed Izaya's wrist tight. "What's wrong with you?"
"Don't touch him, sir."
"You don't know her!" Izaya yelled, trying to yank his wrist free. "So what right do you have to say she's evil. I didn't die because of her! I died to protect her! She's not evil! She's just a little girl!"
"...I'm sorry to have offended you."
Izaya huffed.
'What the hell?' Shizuo thought, a little surprised.
"You three are his friends, correct?" The psychic stood and gestured to Shizuo, Shinra, and Celty. "I would like to speak with you, privately."
They followed the psychic out onto the balcony, leaving Izaya to glare after them.
"We're really sorry about that. He doesn't usually get upset like that." Shizuo explained.
"Is this a recent development?"
"I would say so." Shizuo said.
He glanced back at Izaya.
"Why?"
"I think you're friend has come in contact with a demon."
"Hah?" Shizuo cocked a brow.
"I know that seems far-fetched but what I said about that drawing was true. And when I touched his hand, I became very lightheaded."
Shizuo and Celty cast each other a 'look'—more of Shizuo looked at Celty with skepticism and assumed since the helmet turned towards him, she was thinking the same thing—while Shinra just smiled as if he knew that was bull but didn't want to state it.
"So, you think he's possessed?" Shizuo asked.
"No. I believe there is a demon in his life that is warping him. He has the power to send it away because it does not control him but he's choosing to keep it in his life."
"And why would he do that?"
"He may not be aware of it. It's most-likely a subconscious desire."
"And why would he want that?"
"I wouldn't be able to tell you that. Only he could."
Shizuo was not convinced.
"He's told us he had these nightmares since he was a child." Shinra said. "But he started taking a medicine that was keeping him from having them."
"...Hm." He pondered that for a moment. "It's possible the medicine he was taking had an ingredient that repelled demons, like a high concentration of iron."
Shizuo was definitely not convinced. 'So what, whenever Izaya eats a veggie shake or steak, he should be impermeable to demon attacks?'
"This demon may be getting closer to him with every dream." The psychic said, drawing Shizuo's attention back. "Similar to those that show up in mirrors. Is it alright if I do some tests?"
Shizuo didn't really believe what this man had to say anymore. Starting the conversation with something as unbelievable as a demon interaction made the blond believe this man was a phony. And he made sure Celty knew by the look he cast her.
Celty typed on her PDA and showed it to Shizuo. :We've got nothing else to lose by trying this.:
Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Okay." He looked at the psychic. "As long as these tests don't hurt him then go ahead."
The psychic nodded and returned to the raven.
"Orihara-kun, I would like to run some harmless tests."
"How harmless?"
"Completely. They're very simple." He reached into his bag and pulled out a mirror and a camera. "You see, evil spirits and ghosts are invisible to the naked eye so see, these tests are very simple."
"You think I'm possessed?"
"No. I believe you have something following you. And these tests shall prove me right or wrong." He held the mirror up. "Now then, what do you see?"
"...Me."
"No one else?"
"No."
"Sir," He gestured to Shizuo, "Will you sit with him?"
"...Sure…"
Shizuo sat down next to Izaya.
"Now both of you, what do you see?"
"Shizu-chan and I."
Shizuo's eyes widened.
"Shizu-san?"
"Um...j-just me and Izaya…"
Izaya cast him a quizzical glance.
'Is Izaya lying?' He wondered, staring at the little black-haired girl standing behind them. He glanced at the raven in question. 'Why would he lie? Is she making him lie? Or can he really not see her?'
"Let's get a third opinion." The psychic said. "Sir?" He beckoned to Shinra.
Shinra walked over and leaned over the couch, brushing arms with the ratty girl.
"I just see Izaya, Shizuo-kun, and myself."
'Shinra can't see her either? So…'
"Um, question." Shizuo started. "The mirror shows us what's really in the room. So, is the ghost or whatever able to hide itself?"
"...Not that I know of. Why? Do you see something, Shizuo-san?"
"...No. I was just curious." He cast his eyes to the ground.
'What is going on?'
"Hmm. Alright. Let us move onto the second test."
The psychic turned on the camera.
"You two can move." He gestured to Shizuo and Shinra.
The two moved out of the shot as the psychic pointed the camera at Izaya.
He flashed a photo. Then looked at it.
His eyes squinted.
"Hmmm."
"What?"
He looked up then back down at the camera.
He then handed it to Izaya.
There was a wispy black smudge over Izaya's head.
"Is your lens dirty?" Izaya scoffed.
"Let me try again."
Izaya handed it back and the psychic took another photo. This time the black mist was in front of Izaya's legs.
The psychic glowered at the photo.
"Is it still there?"
"It moved."
Izaya didn't answer.
"Orihara-kun, I would like to do a summoning."
"Excuse me?"
The psychic put the camera down.
"I would like to talk to this spirit."
"...And how do you do that?"
"I would like you to fall asleep. And when you do, I shall ask the spirit to gain entry."
"...So, you're going to ask this whatever to possess me."
Shizuo didn't know how Izaya figured out that's what he meant but he didn't question it.
"...In a way." The psychic said. "I'm going to conjure it and it will momentarily take ahold of your body but I will have a countenance so it can't stay."
"..." Izaya pursed his lips.
"I don't think that's safe." Shizuo said.
"Don't worry." The psychic turned to the blond. "The countenance will make sure that nothing can take hold of his soul. Once I'm done asking it my questions, it'll be expelled from the body. There will be no harm done to Orihara-kun."
Shizuo only glowered at him then glanced at Izaya. The two made eye contact. They were obviously thinking the same thing from the skepticism in their expressions. But Izaya tilted his head in a way that seemed to mean he was okay with trying it and turned back to the psychic.
"Kay, go ahead."
The psychic pulled out a marker. "Lie back."
Izaya still looked hesitant but he obeyed, lying fully on the couch.
The psychic drew a sigil of some sort on Izaya's neck. The raven twitched and swallowed then held his breath so he could draw without issues.
"This sigil will keep the spirit from possessing you. So now just close your eyes and let your mind go blank."
Izaya stared up at him then cleared his throat and obeyed.
The psychic let his hand hover over Izaya's face.
"I conjure and command you. Let yourself be known. I conjure and command you. Let yourself be known. I conjure and command you..." he repeated.
For a good five minutes, the psychic just stated the same phrase over and over and over. Nothing was happening, except for Izaya who every once in awhile twitched and turned his head to the side. Shizuo sat down in one of the chairs, watching the psychic intently.
Then, suddenly, Izaya gasped loudly, arching his back as he coughed. Shizuo jolted in surprise at the sudden noise, so did the psychic before he steeled himself and leaned forward.
"Are you the spirit that plagues Orihara Izaya?"
Izaya only wheezed.
"What do you want?"
"...He-help…"
"Do you want help?"
Izaya gasped.
"What is your name?"
"Ale-Alessa Alessa Gilles-Gillespie 'lessa Gill…"
"Alessa Gillespie. What is your origin?"
"Help...me...It hurts. I'm...burning…"
Tears streaked down the side of Izaya's face as his hands gripped the couch tightly. His eyes moved sporadically under his closed eyelids.
Then Izaya let out a blood-curdling scream. His feet kicked, his back arched, his hands gripped and slammed against the couch cushions.
Izaya!" Shizuo lunged forward.
"Shizuo, don't!" The psychic yelled.
Shizuo's hand fell on Izaya's chest.
Izaya's eyes flared open. His rusty brown eyes were completely black.
"Wha…"
Then darkness encased Shizuo's vision.
Shizuo's eyes opened groggily. He felt like he had been sleeping for a month and his head rang with a slight headache. He groaned and propped himself on his elbows, rubbing his hand over his face. Then he looked up to take in his surroundings.
His eyes widened.
Hell.
It looked like hell.
Buildings were burnt or burning, their walls leaking blood and glomps of what looked like flesh peeling off them and pooling on the ground. Shizuo leaped to his feet, looking around wildly. The ground under his shoes were burning hot and not even a foot in front of him the cement faded away into grating, fire and molten metal spewing up from the openings.
'Where am I? Where is this? I was at Shinra's—'
The ground under Shizuo's feet shifted precariously, making him leap back. The cement was starting to crumble.
Shizuo turned and ran.
'This place can't be Izaya's dream, can it?'
As if to answer his question, a gigantic sword swung out of the alleyway at Shizuo's side. Shizuo leaped away, the tip of the blade slicing his biceps. He called out in surprise as his white sleeve turned red with his own blood.
His eyes widened at seeing a man near seven feet tall staring down at him. But it wasn't staring at him. At least, Shizuo couldn't see his eyes. Because a huge metal pyramid was over its head. The kilt that wrapped around its waist and reached to its ankles looked like flesh that had been stitched together, which made Shizuo feel nauseous. What's worse, it looked as if it had no feet, just disgusting lumps of meat that were swarming with huge insects.
Shizuo backed away as the grotesque man took a huge lumbering step towards him.
The blond turned and ran.
'What IS that? It's not human! A monster!'
Shizuo didn't care where he ran, so long as it was away from that thing! He ran and ran with his wild eyes constantly looking around himself for some way to escape. He couldn't hear the thing coming after him but he did not dare to look back.
Then all too suddenly the ground crumbled out from under his feet. He gasped and attempted to step back but that did him no good. He screamed, his arms flying up due to gravity as he fell down into a burning mineshaft.
He continued to scream as he fell story after story down. His arms flailed to try and level himself, to try and make it so he didn't fall on his head and die from the impact. But no matter how he moved, he could not fix his position.
'Shit shit shit shit shit—'
Just when he started to resign himself to his fate of slamming into the burning floor, a hand grabbed his wrist. Shizuo instinctively gripped the hand in return and was jerked to a sudden stop. However it was short-lived as it caused his shoulder to pop sickeningly and the person who grabbed him was wrenched from his post. Now both Shizuo and his savior were falling. But the sudden jerk from before had stopped Shizuo from descending to his death to descending to his feet. The soles of his shoes slammed against the ground hard—any normal person would have definitely broken their ankles, but not Shizuo—and slipped out from underneath him, causing him to fall to his back.
The wind was knocked out of him not once but twice: once when he slammed against the ground, and the second when the person who saved him landed square on his chest. He hacked and coughed, his arms wrapping around his savior subconsciously.
"Are you okay?"
Shizuo just wheezed.
Izaya rolled off Shizuo and sat over him, looking around with worry.
"What—*cough*—what was that...thing?" Shizuo hacked.
"Which one?"
"The...triangle head..."
"Red Pyramid was after you?"
Shizuo nodded as he sat up.
Izaya looked up to the top of the mineshaft.
"Come on. We have to move." Izaya grabbed Shizuo's arm and tugged him to his feet.
"Wh-why?"
"What do you mean why? When Red Pyramid has a victim in sight, he won't stop till he's got it."
Shizuo's eyes widened and he quickly leaped to his feet, letting Izaya hold his wrist and lead him into a side hall. As they ran, Shizuo noticed Izaya was looking for something, his eyes always casting around to find it.
'Alessa? Is he looking for her?'
Suddenly, Izaya stopped, Shizuo colliding into him and knocking them both to the ground. He expected Izaya to bicker about how Shizuo needs to watch where he's going but the raven remained silent under the blond, listening and looking around intently.
Then Shizuo heard it.
The sound of a child crying.
Shizuo pinpointed it before Izaya but he didn't move from his spot.
"A demon in the guise of an innocent."
'The girl is the one causing this. Is she really just a little girl? Or—'
Izaya struggled to get out from under Shizuo.
"Get off me, you brute!"
Izaya somewhat successfully pushed Shizuo off and was to his feet in a heartbeat.
"Wait, Izaya!" Shizuo grabbed the raven's wrist.
"What are you doing?"
"Iz-Izaya, we have to get out of here."
"I know that! Can't you hear her?! There's a little girl—"
"Leave her." 'She's only going to trick you.'
Izaya's eyes widened. "You...damn coward! You'd let a child die to save your own skin?!" Izaya jerekd his arm.
"Of course not!" 'She's not a child!'
"You sicken me!" Izaya yanked his arm free. "Cowardly monster!"
With that, the raven turned and ran.
"Izaya, wait!" He gave chase.
'Who are you calling a coward? You're the most cowardly out of the two of us! You're the one who always runs from our fights instead of taking my punches! You're the one who's always screwing peoples lives up from afar! So why are you acting like a hero now?! You stupid flea!'
Izaya ran through a doorway, the door falling off its hinges, and disappeared inside. The room was pitch black so Shizuo couldn't see anything. Anxiety crept up his core, keeping him from stepping into the room.
But then Shizuo had to worry about something else. He heard an inhuman metallic moan behind him and quickly turned around.
The Red Pyramid had his scapel-like blade raised high above his head in a powerful swing. Shizuo dropped to his knees, the blade shortening his hair by a centimeter and indenting into the wall.
Shizuo could see an opening to escape right in front of him. If he were to run forward under the monsters arm then he could get away with no issues. But if he did then he'd be leaving Izaya to face this thing alone. So instead Shizuo balled his fist and slammed it into the creatures triangular head. The monster let out a strangled sound of pain as it fell away, it's metal grating on the side indenting from the blow.
"Izaya!" Shizuo called.
Even before he finished his word, Izaya came into light, a little girl clinging to him desperately.
"What are you still doing here—"
"Shut up! Lets go—"
Shizuo's words fell into a call of surprise and pain as a huge hand grabbed his hair and pulled him back.
"Shizuo!"
Izaya was at his side in a moment, the little girl sitting on the ground in a fit of tears. Izaya slammed his foot hard into the creatures chest. It proved ineffective and only allowed the pyramid head to grab Izaya by his throat.
Shizuo clenched his teeth as he saw the little girl look up at them.
"Stay...way..." Izaya choked , kicking his feet that were nearly a foot off the ground.
'You're still only worried about her? Idiot...'
Shizuo growled as he stood on his feet, still holding the monsters hand that was on his hair. Then with a call of rage, he pivoted on one foot and slammed the other into Red Pyramid's chest.
It screeched and fell back, it's hold on Izaya releasing but not on Shizuo's hair. However, Shizuo's feet were firmly planted on the ground so Red Pyramid ended up ripping out a clump of blond hair.
Shizuo screamed in pain and held his head.
"Are you okay?!" Izaya grabbed Shizuo's biceps.
"Fine! Come on!" He grabbed Izaya's wrist and tugged.
"Wait, Alessa." Izaya pulled his wrist free and scooped the girl into his arms.
Shizuo led the way through the maze of halls and burning mines. His eyes searched for some form of escape in every mineshaft they came to but every ladder was either broken at the top or at the middle. And more than once they came across a locked door.
When Shizuo felt like there was no way out, he finally spotted something.
A metal patio sat blocking one of the hallways. But it became a pedestal to a large vent.
"Up there?" Izaya called a second before Shizuo.
The two men rushed over quickly.
"Here, you first." Shizuo said.
"No, you. If it can't hold your weight then it won't hold any of ours."
Shizuo wanted to argue with him but the clanking of a sword against the ground shut him up in an instant. They had no time to argue!
Izaya put Alessa down and cupped his hands against his knee. Shizuo stepped in the mold and used his shoulders for balance as the raven, with a hefty grunt, hoisted him up to the edge.
Shizuo pulled himself up and distributed his weight over the stand. It creaked but didn't give out.
"It's okay!" He turned around to the edge—
And saw Red Pyramid lumbering towards the two.
"Hurry!" Shizuo lied on his belly and reached down to them.
Izaya grabbed Alessa and tossed her up to Shizuo. Shizuo easily pulled her up and desperately reached for the raven.
Izaya jumped up. Their hands locked. Shizuo tugged.
Red Pyramid reached for Izaya.
And missed.
The two adults sighed in relief as Shizuo pulled the raven up all the way.
But their triumph was short lived.
With an inhuman call of rage, Red Pyramid swung his blade. The grates under Izaya's sprawled out left leg was cut away. And blood sprayed from the raven's limb.
Izaya's scream of pain was deafening.
Shizuo quickly tugged Izaya away from the now careening edge and towards the vent. He motioned for Alessa to go on into the vent first as Shizuo had to drag Izaya to safety. Izaya groaned in pain with every movement while clinging to Shizuo desperately.
Even when they were in the safety of the vent, Shizuo continued to drag Izaya further inside. Till his back met empty air.
Shizuo reached his arm out to grab something to catch himself but all he managed to do was knock Alessa down with them. Quickly he reached around and curled his arm around the little girl and brought both Alessa and Izaya to his chest.
He landed shoulder blades first on solid concrete. He groaned, not in pain but because with his back hitting the floor and two people landing on him, it knocked the breath right out of his lungs—again. But he quickly tried to cough it off when he felt his shin's getting wet with what he knew was Izaya's blood.
"Iza—*hack*—Izaya. Izaya!"
Shizuo moved the two off him and automatically turned to Izaya.
His eyes widened in horror.
Izaya's leg...
Was split in two.
In many shows Shizuo had seen, people lose their legs by someone cutting it off and making it a stump. But Izaya didn't have that privalege. His leg was split down the center, cut in half along the lines of his bones all the way up to his hip. Half of his shin was missing, having dislodged from his shattered knee cap.
And in the next moment, Shizuo heard it rolled out of the vent and fall to the ground behind them with a sickening splat.
Shizuo felt like he was going to puke. No, he knew he was going to puke.
He turned away and did just that, coughing and retching.
'This really is hell! Izaya goes through this every time he sleeps? No wonder he's going crazy!'
Shizuo was pulled from his thoughts as something similar to a baby's cry and a cat screech filled the vent shaft. He looked around quickly but couldn't see anything coming, although the noise was getting closer and closer.
"Shit..." Shizuo looked around for an escape.
"Run..."
Shizuo's eyes widened at hearing Izaya speak. He thought the raven had fallen unconscious. Izaya's been awake this whole time with that gushing injury!
The screeching got louder and Shizuo looked up again, this time to see shadows cascading from one of the vents.
"Fuck!" Shizuo looked around again, spotting a vent opposite the one with monsters. "In there. Go." He barked to Alessa as he stooped to pick up Izaya.
"Get out of here." Izaya groaned.
"What?"
"Get out. Hurry."
"I am. Come on, flea—"
"I'm dead, Shizuo."
Shizuo's eyes widened.
"When the femoral artery is cut, a person automatically collapse's due to the blood pressure drop and they'll bleed out in less than a minute. By the time we get to a safe location for you to tend to me, I'll be dead. And dead people can't protect anyone."
"What are you—"
"Protect Alessa." Izaya's breathing started to become raspy. "She'll die without someone there for her. And I'm now useless."
"You—YOU CAN'T BE—"
"HURRY UP AND GO! You don't have time!"
The screeches grew louder, something sharp scraping against the metal walls.
Shizuo looked from the bleary-eyed raven to the scared little girl. She was the real monster of all this, wasn't she? She's the one who was controlling this dream, controlling the monsters, controlling when Izaya died and what manner he died in. Why should Shizuo protect her? Izaya was all he cared about and the other monster's wouldn't attack her anyway.
Right?
"Izay—"
"Protect Alessa." Izaya wheezed. "She needs you. Please?"
Shizuo clenched his teeth.
'Dammit.'
Shizuo turned and shoved Alessa to his chest. He turned to the vent and crawled away from the dying raven.
Once they made it around the bend, Shizuo put Alessa down and made her crawl beside him.
They turned around another bend and froze as Izaya's scream of agony echoed off the walls, followed by the sounds of inhuman screeching and something splattering against the metal.
Shizuo's eyes widened in horror.
'He's still alive! Those things got him! Why—'
Izaya's screams turned into choking and coughing. Shizuo covered his ears to try and drown out the noise but no matter how hard he pressed against them, he could still hear that scream.
Then he felt wind against his cheek. He opened his eyes, wondering if there was an opening somewhere. But instead he saw darkness flowing from the girl. Her eyes were pure black and a blank expression lied across her features.
Shizuo backed away. "What—"
"He's passed."
"Eh?"
Suddenly the whole world of Shizuo's was encased in black. He closed her eyes and shielded himself with his arms.
Then it was silent.
Shizuo peeked through the space in his arms.
Utter and complete black.
Where was he?
He looked around himself and rested his arm against the ground. Only to retract it when he felt his hand get wet. He pulled his hand up to inspect the substance, scared it was going to be blood, but there was nothing there. Then he noticed something else. It was pitch black yet he could see his hand as clear as day. So he wasn't blind, that was a good sign. That meant this place was pitch black by design. That still didn't explain where he was, however.
But his attention was quickly drawn away by the sound of someone gasping and choking.
Shizuo leaped to his feet and looked around, the squish of stepping on water echoing around him. He easily spotted Izaya lying on the ground some twenty feet away.
"Izaya, are you okay?!" 'Please don't be dead!'
Shizuo ran over as Izaya sat up, standing on his two feet. Not one-and-a-half but two.
'He's healed. Then are we awake? No. No way. We were at Shinra's house. But I can't be blind so where...?'
"Izaya!" Shizuo nearly strangled him, he was so happy to see he was alright, hugging him as tightly as he could. Then he quickly let go and looked to see if the injuries were truly gone.
"Stop groping me, idiot!" Izaya karate-chopped his head.
Shizuo held his cranium although it didn't hurt.
"Sorry, I was just—you're okay."
"Of course I am. None of my injuries transfer over into the real world unless Alessa touches them."
"But...this can't be the real world, can it?"
Izaya looked around. "I don't think so. I hope not."
"Then...where are we?"
His question was answered as barbed wire rose up from the water-like floor around them. The two looked around in shock before the wires aimed to wrap around them. Shizuo quickly grabbed Izaya, not to run but to shield him with his strong body.
The barbed wire wrapped around them, tightly, biting into their skin and tearing there clothes. Shizuo held Izaya tightly against his chest, trying to take the brunt of the cuts while the wires continued to wrap and wrap and coil around them like a snake that had caught it's prey.
Once the two were tightly bound, something else came out of the water. A person, covered in blood and dangling from his arms as if he was crucified with barbed wire.
It was the psychic.
Shizuo closed his eyes and buried his face into Izaya's shoulder. He didn't want to see anymore!
On the other hand, Izaya couldn't take his eyes away. The psychic's eyes were gone and his cheek had been torn to expose his molars and tongue. He was the epitome of grotesque but to Izaya it was bearable compared to the other disturbing monster that he had been exposed to.
The psychic floated over to him, the barbed wires seeming to push him toward the raven and his terrified blond.
When that deformed face was inches away from Izaya's, the psychic's lips pulled back into a grin, his rancid breath of blood and decay made tears come to Izaya's eyes.
"Come to Silent Hill."
Shizuo and Izaya's eyes widened as they both gasped, sitting up from their sleeping positions. Izaya was still lying on the couch while Shizuo was on his knees in front of it, his head resting next to Izaya's knee.
The psychic was lying on his back on the coffee table, head lolled back over the edge.
"Are you two alright?" Shinra called, keeping a safe distance from the two.
Neither answered as they looked at each other.
Then Shizuo rushed over to the psychic's side. He checked his pulse and sure enough, there was none.
"Call an ambulance!" Shizuo called, backing away from the body.
Shinra was confused but did as ordered and pulled out his phone.
Izaya just stared at the psychic from his place on the couch. While Celty ran over to Shizuo to counsel and question him. The raven then stood, a nagging suspicion drawing him to the psychic's mouth.
He forced his jaws apart and stared down his throat.
"Izaya, what are you doing?!" Shizuo yelled in near outrage as he tugged Izaya away from the corpse like he was a child that didn't know not to touch dead things.
But Izaya's suspicions were right.
There was barbed wire peeking out of the back of his throat.
