Izaya gasped loudly. The sight of fire was gone with the blink of his eyes, along with Alessa. The raven panted heavily as if he had just woken from a horrible dream and pushed his bangs out of his face with both hands. A chill went down his spine.
'Alessa…wants me to protect her? A demon wouldn't need protection. A demon can protect itself. Then what is that? Who is she? A ghost? A premonition?'
Izaya looked around himself to make sure Alessa was truly gone.
'Whatever that was, it vanished.'
"Orihara-san, are-are you alright?"
Izaya looked over his shoulder at the albino blond, who was standing in the same spot looking scared.
"I'm fine."
'He probably didn't see any of that.'
"I'm coming back."
"O-okay."
Izaya turned to face the beams.
'I need to find the real Alessa. She'll have all my answers.'
Izaya leapt the first beam easily, standing confidently on it. He then pushed off, this beam not wobbling at all, and landed on the middle beam.
Then, all too suddenly for Izaya to immediately comprehend, something was bombarding him. He let out a short scream and lost his balance out of surprise.
"Orihara-san!"
Izaya managed to fall forward, wrapping his arms around the beam he had been standing on. However, his feet dangled, and he couldn't pull himself up just yet. He opened his eyes long enough to see what attacked him, what came flying up from the hole beneath him, what was scratching and hitting him. It was a flock of pigeons, desperately trying to fly out of the building through the broken ceiling above him. Izaya tucked his head into his arm to try and protect his face.
When the sound of flapping wings ended, Izaya finally looked up.
"Are-are you okay?" Tsuki called.
"Do I look okay?" Izaya growled.
Tsuki flinched and fell silent.
Izaya scoffed before groaning to pull himself up. Once safely back on the beam, he looked up, as if to glare at the pigeons that were no longer in sight.
'What the hell was that about?'
As if answering his question, a storm siren began going off, echoing around the room they were in.
"Or-Orihara-san…" Tsuki said nervously.
"Shit."
Izaya looked down at the next beam and leaped. Only this time, he made sure to land on his hands and knees to counteract the wobbling. Once it stopped, he quickly stood and leapt to the intact floor. He landed on his hands and knees again but quickly pushed himself up and grabbed Tsuki's hand.
"Come on!"
The two immediately began to run back the way they came.
Shizuo and Roppi locked eyes as it registered to both near simultaneously what that siren signaled.
"Run, go." Shizuo turned Roppi around, who was already in the process of turning anyway, and ushered him to the door. "Go."
They left the store behind. However, as soon as they entered the main lobby, the whole sky went black. Shizuo grabbed Roppi out of reflex when he could no longer see as he grabbed his flashlight with the other hand. He turned it on and looked around.
The walls were peeling like before, falling to the ground in a wet heap. Doors dissolved away, pieces of the floor crumbled.
"Hey, we can use the fire escape door." Roppi said as he tugged on Shizuo's arm.
"Ye-yeah."
The two turned to do just that.
However, they paused to cover their ears as a piercing screech echoed throughout the mall. They looked over their shoulders. And saw a giant moth fly up from the lobby.
'What the hell?! It was a worm! Not a caterpillar—'
The moth screeched again, flapping its humongous wings to stay airborne. The wind from the movement was powerful enough to push the two Asians. Their shoes skidded across the ground, Shizuo wrapping his arm around Roppi's waist to keep him steady.
Then the moth charged them. Shizuo reacted before thinking and pushed Roppi to the ground, landing on top of him. The moth reached for them, but was too big to fit in the hall, especially since they were lying down. So, with another screech of rage, the moth was forced to turn around and return to the lobby.
"Get…off of…me!" Roppi said in a strained voice.
Shizuo obeyed, sitting up on his hands and knees. Roppi pulled himself out from under the blond only slightly before Shizuo was sitting on his knees and pulling him up. The blond pushed himself to his feet, grabbed Roppi's arm, and pulled him to this feet. The blond was running and forcing Roppi to run.
"Let go—get off!" Roppi yelled as he was leaning more on Shizuo than running.
The blond pushed Roppi in front of him. The raven stumbled and managed to keep himself afoot. Within three steps, he regained his balance and was running to the door, Shizuo following closely.
They both heard the moth screech again. But neither decided to turn around to see what it was doing.
Roppi pushed through the fire escape, a alarm going off—to both of their surprise. But neither worried about it as the two turned the corner to head down the stairs.
Shizuo flashed his light pass Roppi. Then gasped.
"Roppi, stop!"
Shizuo reached out and grabbed the raven's arm, slamming his feet into the ground to stop himself. Roppi jolted back with Shizuo but not before one of his feet met empty air. However, he merely fell into a sitting position with his leg dangling off. The staircase leading down was completely gone, nothing but blackness was left.
"Shit." Shizuo cursed as he looked around.
"There might be a fire escape outside." Roppi said as he scrambled back and stood.
"Up it is then!"
Shizuo grabbed Roppi's wrist and ran up the steps.
Izaya came to a screeching stop once they entered the hallway. The building they originally came from was on fire. There was no way they could go that way.
"Or-Orihara-san…"
"Shut up." Izaya turned around and went back inside.
The darkness had completely consumed the room. The raven turned on his flashlight and quickly looked around for another exit.
Instead of an exit, he found Alessa.
Or at least the guise he had been seeing this entire time. The little girl was standing on the catwalk, looking down at the two of them.
Not to Izaya's surprise, as soon as the two made eye contact, Alessa turned and ran. Izaya gave chase without hesitation.
"Orihara-san!" Tsuki ran after them. "Don-don't leave me behind! Please!"
Izaya rushed up the catwalk, shining his light around to try and find her. He spotted her streak of movement running in front of him, off the catwalk and through a door that wasn't there before.
Izaya followed quickly with Tsuki on his heels.
Shizuo burst through the door of the roof with Roppi closely behind him. The raven slammed the door shut while Shizuo looked around. Most of the roof was a glass dome, working as a skylight for the mall. But there was cement structure around it that they could walk on. There was a water tower on their left, and streams of huge pipes leading over the edge. The blond flashed his light around to look for the desired fire escape.
However, his search was cut short as the glass dome shattered in an array of metal beams and shards of glass. Shizuo turned and shielded Roppi out of reflex. Something—a beam—slammed into Shizuo's shoulder. The blond cringed in pain before he shrugged the beam off.
Followed closely by the destruction of the dome was the ear-splitting screech neither wanted to hear. Shizuo quickly looked over his shoulder.
The blond was immediately grabbed by giant insect legs. Shizuo screamed as his feet left the ground. Roppi's eyes widened as the two were separated. The moth had Shizuo in its grasp and was flying away.
The blond kicked and squirmed. "Let me go!"
The moth only screeched.
Seeing he was only getting farther from the roof, Shizuo decided getting violent was his only option. With a roar of rage, Shizuo wrapped his arms around the closest leg and pulled. There was a sickening pop and the insect screeched. Shizuo only pulled more and more until the limb popped off with an array of red blood following. The screech turned into a shriek as all other legs released him.
Shizuo dropped the limb and gasped as he began to freefall. He let out a short scream when he realized he was going to fall into the empty dome. He was already a story off the ground, if he fell into the lobby not even he knew if he'd survive. So, he quickly reached out and grabbed a broken beam. His chest slammed against the metal, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to cough. But he kept his grip, wrapping his arms around it.
Another screech drew his attention to the sky. The moth was divebombing him.
'Shit!'
A loud bang sounded and a hole appeared in the moth's wing. The insect shrieked yet again and careened to the side as if off balance. The bug missed Shizuo completely and was forced to land on the roof.
Shizuo looked over to see Roppi had pulled out his gun, which was aimed at the insect. The moth turned its furry head to glare at Roppi. The raven didn't hesitate to pull the trigger three more times, all three bullets disappearing in the huge target. One in the head, one in the shoulder, and the last in the same wing as before.
Roppi pulled the trigger one last time to hear the gun click. The raven's eyes widened before he pulled the gun back and began unloading the empty clip.
The moth let out an outright roar as it pushed off and charged Roppi.
Shizuo reached quickly, pushing himself up into a jump. He managed to wrap his arms around the Moth's neck. Unbalanced, the moth tilted to the side Shizuo was on, allowing the blonde's feet to touch the cement. Shizuo dug his feet into the ground, the structure caving in around his shoes with how hard he was pushing. The moth screeched as its side skidded against the beams.
The blond held onto the neck tightly. He skidded to a stop a foot or two in front of Roppi. The moth struggled in his hold, kicking and trying to roll over to use his wings and even trying to bite him. Roppi quickly backed away, tripping backwards to fall on his rump. Now on the ground, Roppi pulled a clip out of his pocket and shakily tried to put it into the butt of the gun.
"Shoot it!" Shizuo yelled, trying to hold the beast still. "Shoot it in the head!"
Roppi finally loaded the gun. He pulled the top of the pistol back, giving a satisfying click to indicate it was loaded. The raven pointed the gun, his hand moving to follow the movement of the moth. However, he hesitated. Shizuo knew why. If the moth moved the wrong time, it would be Shizuo taking the bullet to the brain instead of the monster. But time was running short.
"Hurry, Roppi!" Shizuo screamed. "I can't hold on much longer!"
The raven knitted his brow in a scowl, clenching his teeth. His hand continued to follow the moth's movement. And finally, he fired.
The moth's head jerked back with a shriek. Shizuo was forced to let it go as it shook its head and fell back. Shizuo jumped over to Roppi. The moth rolled into the glass dome in its flurry of movements. There was a brief echo of the moth's screech before the whole building shook, a loud thud also echoing through the mall.
Shizuo stood panting as he stared at the dome. Only silence resounded up the hole. The blond looked at Roppi then back to the dark chasm. He turned on his flashlight and carefully, cautiously, walked over. He heard Roppi following.
Shizuo knelt down and peered over the edge.
Suddenly, a gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth shot up towards Shizuo's face. The moth was still alive—Shizuo could see the bullet imbedded in its right eye—and was extremely pissed. The insect was out for blood and revenge and Shizuo was the closet one. The blond jolted back with a scream as he put his arms up in defense.
Another shot went off. The moth jerked its head back with a screech as blood sprayed. Shizuo scrambled away during its distraction and rushed over to Roppi.
The raven had his gun at the ready, again, and was holding it steady, pointed at the moth. Once the moth stopped moving, turning back to glare at them, Roppi fired again. The moth shrieked, this time stumbling and falling on its side. Roppi pulled the trigger again. The moth jolted again, this time a small trill coming out as it folded its wings and legs in.
The raven fired one last time. The bullet disappeared in the center of its head. The moth jerked its head back once again, the last momentum needed to roll it back into the broken dome. Only silence followed until the mall shook again with another loud thud. Then, all was quiet.
"Is it over?" Shizuo asked. "Is it—is it dead?"
Shizuo looked up at Roppi.
His eyes widened.
The raven was pointing the gun at Shizuo's face.
"…Roppi…?" Shizuo breathed.
He pulled the trigger.
Izaya burst through the door, the metal swinging and slamming against the wall. He had followed Alessa through the door, which had led to a staircase. The raven saw her heading up and so he continued after her. To which he came across another door, leading to where he was now—on the roof of the building he was just in.
He looked around frantically for the girl.
'Even if she isn't the real Alessa, she still holds all the answers I need. I have to keep her safe if I want to know why I'm here—'
Someone slammed into him hard from behind. His head jerked back from the sudden impact before he fell forward on his chest with a heavy weight on his back.
"I-I'm sorry!" Tsuki called.
"You trying to give me whiplash?!" Izaya yelled, rolling over and pushing Tsuki hard. "Get off me, you moron!"
Tsuki fell on his side harshly. The blond winced in pain. Izaya just glared at him briefly before he stood and looked around.
The roof only had a ventilation system curving up and back down into the ceiling as the only coverage—besides the small cubical that made up the doorway. Meaning there were only two places Alessa could be hiding. He allotted to look behind the vent first since it was closer to the fire escape.
"Alessa?!" Izaya called as he rushed over.
And there she was, sitting huddled on the floor like before. But this time, no form of sobs were coming from her. She was completely silence.
"Alessa, are you okay?" Izaya asked, kneeling down. "You're not hurt, are you?"
She looked up to him. She didn't reply, only stared.
"Come on. Let's get somewhere safe." Izaya held his hand out to her.
Alessa looked at the offering in silence.
Then her eyes widened before she turned and ran.
"Ah, wait—"
Something hard slammed into Izaya's temple. The pain was sudden and searing, making him see pure white before his head met the concrete of the roof floor.
'Wha-what…happened?'
"God, you are such a dick, you know that?"
'Tsuki…shima…?'
"Here I am, this poor little lost soul. Doesn't have a clue where I am or what's going on. Meets up with you and thinks, gee, at least I'm not alone."
"Tsu…ki…"
"But as it turns out, I am alone. Cuz you don't care about me a wit, do you? You'd rather chase after some apparition, some little girl like a god damn pedophile!"
A foot slammed into Izaya's stomach. He hacked, his eyes going wide. The raven coughed as the wind was knocked out of him.
"You didn't care about me at all! You just left me in the water to drown cuz you'd rather talk to the girls on the beach! I'm lost and scared and you couldn't give two shits about me, could you?!"
Izaya was kicked again, winding him a second time, before he was rolled on his back with the no-longer timid blond sitting over him. A fist connected to his cheek, then another on his other side, and another, and another.
"Tsu—sto—" Izaya could only get fragments of sentences out before he was punched again and again and again. The raven couldn't even defend himself since Tsuki was sitting on his arms.
Finally, the blond got off him. Izaya coughed up blood as he rolled over. He was fairly certain his jaw was crooked and two of his teeth felt gone. His right eye was starting to swell shut already.
Tsuki kicked Izaya again, a heavy groan escaping his lips.
"Is Alessa so important to you that no one else matters? Not even your Shizuo friend who I look so much alike?"
Izaya's eyes widened. 'How does he know about Shizuo?'
"If that's the case then I should do us all a favor and get rid of her, shouldn't I?"
"Wha—" Izaya tried to get up, only for his arms to give out.
"Yeah, I think I'll do just that. She's the only reason you're here, so I'd bet it'd make you suffer if I killed her."
Tsuki walked away from Izaya, the sound of his feet crunching on the gravel deafening.
"N-no, Tsu-ki, do-don't."
Alessa screamed.
"Don't!"
