Shinra tapped his fingers against the desk in his room, waiting for someone on the other end of the phone to answer. He lifted the sheet of paper and glanced over at the printed words. Nothing about this ad made much sense, but Izaya had asked him to find anything he could, and he was very proud of his achievement if a little shocked.

The phone clicked off, and Shinra frowned. Well, Izaya had said he was looking after his sisters. Shinra tried again. The ad seemed pretty important to Izaya, so you'd think he'd at least answer his damn phone for five minutes!

Izaya groaned, stirring awake from a faint ringing sound. The annoying tone stopped, but the ringing in his own ears didn't. What the hell had happened? He remembered seeing the ghost of that girl again and asking her a question. Where are you? Izaya's eyes widened when he recalled her response. What was in that room? Was that - was that where she? Izaya winced: why did his head hurt so much? Izaya gasped. Something had hit him, and it seemed darker than he remembered. "Am I in that room?" he whispered. He didn't want to panic, but he felt fear creep up his spine and couldn't help but feel restricted. Wherever he was, it was extremely stuffy.

Izaya moved to sit up, only to yelp immediately when his head collided with something solid. "Wha-" He reached up with his hand, but his knuckles grazed the hard surface.

Now, he was panicking. His hands shook as he slowly placed both hands in front of him, solid met his palms. Izaya moved his hands beside him, reaching out, but the same thing happened. "Where…?" and then he knew. "No…."

He was in that coffin!

Without wasting a second, he began banging his hands against the hardwood, palms, fists, and then started kicking at the edges. Nothing budged the lid, nor did the wood around him splinter. Panic set in full force, and he hit out harder, yelling out. "Please! Let me go! Let me out of here!" Izaya pounded his fists as hard as he could against the wooden lid. "Get me out! Somebody! Help me!" His heart hammered in his chest until that annoying tone from before sounded. His phone! But - it sounded far away…. "Shit…" He'd left it on the desk when he found the projector.

He planned on taking pictures of the files….

But if his phone was unreachable, how was anyone supposed to know where he was?

Shinra and Kadota didn't even know he was here!

Izaya tried to kick out again, shimming down slightly to kick harshly at the bottom. Why wasn't it budging? "Let me go! Please! Let me out! I don't…." Izaya choked back a sob, realization dawning. "I don't want to die…."

Shinra sighed with irritation; he'd been trying to reach Izaya for almost three hours now. It was so unlike him to not answer his phone, even if he was looking after his sisters. Shinra frowned. Something wasn't right. He didn't know why, but something felt off. Shinra quickly called Kadota and sighed in relief that it didn't take him long to answer. "Oh good, you answered!"

Kadota blinked in confusion. "Yeah? What's with you? You sound freaked."

"Er. Well, Izaya asked me to see if I could find that ad for the boarding school since he's been researching more into the building."

"Yeah, me too, but nothing came up. It's strange."

"Well, I did find the ad."

"Really? How? I mean, that's great, but-"

"I know, thanks. Thing is, I called Izaya to tell him, but he's not answering his phone."

"Maybe he's busy, he'll get in touch soon, no need to worry."

Shinra shook his head. "He said he was looking after his sisters."

He heard Kadota sigh. "He's busy then. He'll call when he can, I'm sure."

"Yeah… It's just that - when he asked about the ad, it sounded important to him, so I figured he'd answer right away, or at least return my calls!"

Kadota thought for a moment. Izaya had been rather intrigued by the building, and if he was still researching at home, it meant he hadn't left the matter alone. "Look, he's probably engrossed in his search. Have you tried his home number?"

Shinra pouted and groaned in dismay. "He never gave it to me. He said it wasn't necessary because he always answers his phone!"

Kadota had to laugh a little. Izaya probably didn't want Shinra bugging him so much. "Can't you get it from the school's student files? You are the class rep."

Shinra smiled. "That's right! Okay, I'll look it up, and get back to you when I finally talk to him."

Kadota shook his head. It was kind of sweet how Shinra worried for his friend's safety. "All right."

The two hung up, and Shinra pulled up the school's site and logged in with his personal password. It didn't take him long to find the right number, and feeling a little relieved, he keyed in the number on his phone and waited for someone to answer. Someone did answer, but it definitely wasn't Izaya. "Oh…. hello, Mrs. Orihara… it's Shinra."

"Hello! How are you?"

Shinra raised an eyebrow. "Fine. Erm, is Izaya there?"

"No. I thought he was with you. I got called into work today, and my daughters are at a sleepover, so when I came home and he wasn't here, I figured he arranged to hang out with you."

Shinra nearly dropped the phone, and a chill suddenly ran up his spine. If Izaya wasn't home, then where the hell was he? He soon realized that his silence might start worrying the woman, and he laughed nervously. "Oh, that's right. H-he must have left already then - he messaged me half hour ago because he was bored, and I said it would be okay for him to stay over. I hope that's okay?"

Kyouko sighed and huffed a laugh. "You don't have school at least. I just wish he'd left a note."

That little statement seemed to worry him more. Wherever Izaya had gone, not even anyone at home knew where. Shinra swallowed the lump of fear and laughed. "Yeah, he's pretty forgetful like that sometimes."

"Be sure to give him a scolding on my behalf," Kyouko joked.

"I will."

The two hung up, and Shinra's hands shook; he almost didn't want to call Kadota back. The boy took a deep breath, called the recent number, and waited. The phone connected. "Let me guess, he yelled at you?"

Shinra only wished he had. "No, I didn't talk to him."

"What do you mean, he hung up on you or something?"

"He wasn't home. I talked to his mother. She said he wasn't home when she got back from work."

"If he wasn't home, does that mean he left his sisters by themselves?"

Shinra rolled his eyes. Izaya wasn't that irresponsible. "That was a lie. Apparently, they're at a sleepover, so when his mom got home, she naturally assumed he'd arranged to hang out with us."

Kadota suddenly wasn't so calm. "What did you tell her?"

"I sort of agreed. I told her that he'd messaged me half hour ago and was coming to stay over. I didn't want to worry her."

"That's probably a good idea. I really hate to ask, but when was the last time you actually spoke to him?"

"Hold on." Shinra tapped the hold button, checked his recent call log, and scrolled down to the most recent connected call to Izaya. He bit his lip and brought the phone back to his ear. "The last time we spoke was over six hours ago."

Kadota clenched a fist. "You're kidding. What the hell is he-"

Noting his friend's hesitation, Shinra got even more worried. "Kadota?"

"Shinra. You don't think he went back to that building by himself, do you?"

"What! He wouldn't! No way!"

"Shinra, you saw how fascinated he was. You saw him in that room. Izaya saw something there."

"But - he almost, we almost didn't make it out the first time. He wouldn't go back in."

Kadota sighed. "You've known him a little longer than me, so maybe I'm wrong. But in the time I have known him, he doesn't forget about things that easily. You said it yourself that he's been hung up on that building since the first day of high school, right?"

Shinra huffed. "You're right. He did ask me about it almost right away."

"I really think we need to assume that's where he might be."

"There has to be a phone signal because it rang. What if he can't answer!"

Kadota tightened his grip around his phone. Damn you, Izaya. "Don't panic yet. Meet me there outside, and we'll go look for him."

"Okay."

…..

"It's dark now, good thing I brought a torch," Kadota said as he and Shinra made their way into the building. "I can't believe this place is still standing after last night."

"I know what you mean. You'd think that one room collapsing would be enough to bring the whole place down." Kadota nodded as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "He could be anywhere."

"He could, but I bet I know where to start."

"But there's no floor there anymore!"

"It's Izaya, I'm sure he'll find a way."

Shinra wasted no more time and hurried up the stairs. "Izaya! Are you here!"

Kadota soon ran up after him. "Yo! Izaya! Can you hear us?" They reached the landing, and Kadota grasped Shinra's arm. "Shinra, look. The windows…"

Shinra stopped and turned away from the room. "They're shattered."

Kadota clenched his fists. "Something definitely isn't right, come on." Shinra followed his friend, and they carefully entered the room. "Izaya!" he called out, his voice echoing.

"Kadota, look, there's a door over there. I didn't notice that before."

"Probably because we were too busy watching what Izaya was doing."

"You don't think he got across there?"

Kadota seemed to work out the distance and tested the weight with his foot along the edge. "The edge is small, and kind of weak, but someone of Izaya's build would probably make it across."

Shinra bit his lip. There was no sign of anyone going through the door. "What if he made it to the door, got in, but for some reason, it closed on him, and he can't get out again?"

Kadota looked at the door. "It's possible." The two glanced at each other and tried calling out again. "Izaya! It's us! We're here! If you're in there let us know you're okay!"

"We're gonna find a way to help! We're here! Give us a sign, anything to let us know you're okay!" There was no answer, and the two grew extremely worried. "Maybe he isn't in there."

Kadota frowned in thought. "What if he didn't go through the door…."

Shinra stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"What if he tried, but-" Kadota knelt down, leaning over the edge. "He fell…maybe."

Shinra's eyes widened. "Are you serious!" Shinra knelt down with him. "We don't know how far down it goes! If he fell, he might be really hurt."

"Calm down, I was just theorizing. It's possible, which means we'd need to get down there somehow." Kadota

Shone his torch, leaning as far over as he could, lying flat on his stomach for safety. Shinra squinted. "I can't tell what I'm seeing."

Kadota sat up. "I can't see much either, but it doesn't look as far down as we thought." He looked at Shinra; the boy was a worried mess. "You said his phone rang when you called, right?" Shinra glanced up at him and nodded. "Call it again." Kadota sighed. "Whatever happened, we'd be able to hear it if he really is down there, then we'll know we're on the right track."

Shinra pulled out his phone and located his friend's number with shaky fingers. They waited. Then a faint sound was heard. "That's his phone!" Shinra panicked. "Izaya! Can you hear me!"

Kadota shimmied to the edge, his legs dangling over. Shinra turned to him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going down there. It doesn't look that far, and I think I can make the jump safely. Doesn't look much higher than the fence outside."

Shinra followed his moves. "I'm coming with you."

Kadota shook his head. "No, you should stay here. Go see if you can get some rope or something. Or get some help."

Shinra frantically shook his head. "No way! Besides, the stores are probably all closed by now, and if anyone knew we were here, we'd be in big trouble, and we might even get done for trespassing."

Kadota rolled his eyes; they didn't have time to argue. "Shinra. No one even cared enough to even search this building. I really don't think trespassing is relevant here."

Shinra frowned. "I'm not leaving him. He's my friend."

Kadota smiled and nodded. "All right. Just follow my example. Push off the edge and bend your knees as soon as you hit the ground."

Shinra nodded, and for once, he wasn't scared. Kadota went first like he said, and Shinra watched him go, the torch's light following him. He waited a few seconds. "Kadota! Are you okay?"

Kadota stood up, brushed himself off, grabbed the torch from the ground, and peered up. "Yeah, I'm fine! It's not that bad, come on."

Shinra took a deep breath. "Okay," he breathed out and pushed off the edge. He bent his knees like Kadota had told him and stumbled back, falling on his butt. "I'm alive…."

"You okay down there?"

Shinra looked up and gave his friend a small smile, nodding at him. Kadota reached down and pulled him to his feet. "At least he didn't get knocked out by the fall," Shinra pointed out. "That was definitely his phone. So where is he?"

"I don't know." The two began to search around quickly. "Izaya! Are you here! Answer me!"

"That light, is that a projector?" Shinra said, making his way over to the desk. Shinra looked down and gasped. "I found his phone!" He turned to Kadota, showed him the phone, and froze. "Kadota?" Shinra followed his friend's line of sight. "It's - it's a coffin…."

Kadota took a few steps closer. "What the hell is it doing down here?"

"Do you think one of those spirits….one of those girls are - in there?"

Izaya opened his eyes. Had he passed out? His throat was tremendously sore from all his screaming. He didn't think he could utter another syllable. His hands felt swollen and sore to touch. How long had he been in here? He figured that he had savored the little oxygen by passing out. Izaya weakly dragged his fingers against the wooden lid. He had no fight left in him; his whole body was exhausted. I'm gonna die. He bit his lip, tears prickling at his eyelids. He clenched his eyes shut, but then he heard a voice. His eyes snapped open. That voice was familiar, muffled by the coffin, but familiar.

"Izaya! Where are you!"

The voice got louder. It was Shinra! No mistaking it!

"Hey, Shinra, look, there's a door there. Maybe that leads somewhere else-"

No! He had to get their attention. He had no idea what was behind that door, but they'd never find him if it really did lead them somewhere else. Izaya opened his mouth, but it was so dry. But…. With a new burst of energy, Izaya hit against the lid, ignoring the pain in his probably already battered hands. "Shin…ra." it was barely a whisper. His throat was hoarse and painful.

"Did you hear that?" Kadota asked, his hand leaving the handle of the door.

"H-hear what? Don't say things like that!"

Shinra was talking to someone. Kadota! It had to be. He'd be the only one Shinra would ask help from. Izaya kicked out, banging his fists and scratching the wood. "Dota….chin…. Shinra…. help."

Shinra jumped. "Okay! I heard that…."

Kadota frowned. "Sounded like scratching."

Izaya hit against the wood; he didn't want to pass out again, but he was so tired, and it was becoming hard to breathe again. Izaya started to get really hot. "Please….get me out…." He couldn't make his voice no louder than a whisper.

"And banging," Shinra said as he hid behind his friend.

"Sounds like it's coming from – that." Kadota pointed at the wooden coffin.

Shinra gulped. "Don't say that!" Kadota stepped forward, and Shinra stumbled after him. "What if a spirit attacks us?"

Kadota frowned, hearing the noise again; it almost sounded desperate. The sounds were too fast and came only after they spoke. His eyes widened when he finally figured it out. "Izaya!" He rushed over, leaving Shinra standing there open-mouthed.

"Kadota?" Shinra watched him panic suddenly, hands flat on the box's surface.

Kadota looked up at his other friend. "Shinra! I think Izaya is in here!"

Shinra stumbled forward. "What?"

"Izaya is trapped in here!"

"No way! That's not possible!"

Kadota clenched his fists, looking around until he spotted something metal off to the side. "Hand me that hook!"

Izaya sighed; they were getting to him out. He swallowed thickly, but…. Maybe…too late. He felt exhausted, and his eyes drooped closed, his body feeling so light….

Shinra ran back over to Kadota, and the teen snatched the hook from him and smashed it into the edge of the lid. "Izaya! Can you hear me! We're getting you out! You're safe now!" Kadota looked at Shinra when they couldn't hear any response, and the knocking had ceased. Kadota growled and pushed down on the metal, and eventually, the lid pried off. Kadota pulled the hook upwards, the lid splintered, and he pushed it to the floor.

"It's him! Izaya!" Shinra cried out.

Kadota grabbed the raven's shoulders. "Izaya, can you hear me?" Izaya didn't react, and Kadota took note of his bloody hands and fingernails and glanced at the lid. Scratch marks covered the inside. "Izaya, talk to me!" Kadota shook him a little, but he wouldn't wake up.

"Oh god…" Shinra seemed to tremble; he had no idea Izaya was in this much trouble. He should have reacted sooner. Should have figured it out!

Kadota lifted the small raven out of the box and placed him on the floor. He took his jacket off and bundled it up, placing it under Izaya's head. Kadota noticed the dried blood by his temple. Someone, or something, had knocked him out and trapped him in there. "Izaya, come on…." Kadota placed his index and middle finger to the raven's neck, and his eyes widened, head snapping up to Shinra. "Shinra, CPR!" When it appeared Shinra was in shock, Kadota snapped. "SHINRA! HE'S NOT BREATHING! CPR, NOW!" Shinra blinked, shaken out of his stupor. Shinra nodded and quickly knelt down with them, but before he could press his shaky hands on Izaya's chest, Kadota stopped him. "Wait. Calm down first. If you act too hastily, you might break his ribs."

Shinra swallowed. "You're right. I'm okay." Shinra pressed against Izaya's chest more calmly and with steadier hands, counting. "One, two, three, four, five." They waited, but the raven didn't respond. Shinra tried again. Nothing. "Come on, Izaya. Please…."

"Shinra. You're going to have to use mouth to mouth! Chest compressions aren't enough!"

Shinra bit his lip; if it weren't for the situation….he shook his head. This situation was bad no matter what. He nodded. "Izaya, I'm doing this to save your life, so don't be mad," Shinra said as he pressed down against his chest, pinched Izaya's nose, lifted his head back slightly, and placed his own mouth over the other's.

Kadota clenched his fists; why wasn't he waking up? He looked at Izaya's hands again. They had no idea how long Izaya had been in there….what if they were too late? "Come on…. please."

Shinra tried the procedure again, and his mouth closed over Izaya's, and he breathed into him, desperation clinging to his heart. Izaya suddenly coughed, gasping out and making Shinra jump. "Izaya! You're alive! You're okay!" Shinra couldn't help the tears forming.

Kadota sighed as he smiled through glistening eyes. "You gave us a scare," he said.

Izaya coughed weakly, and Shinra helped him to sit up. Izaya clung to him, almost afraid of slipping back into the darkness. "It's okay, you're okay now. We're here. You're safe." Izaya tried to talk, but he couldn't get any words out. "Kadota. There's water in my bag," Shinra ordered. Kadota quickly unzipped his friend's bag still attached to his back, pulled out the bottle, and handed it to Shinra. Shinra unscrewed the lid and held it against Izaya's lips. "It's water."

Izaya glanced up but complied, opening his mouth as Shinra gently tipped the bottle. Satisfied that Izaya was drinking normally, he took it away and set it aside. "Izaya-"

Kadota couldn't help but get angry. "Are you insane! What the hell were you thinking! Damn it, Izaya, what if we hadn't found you! You-" Flashes of the marks on the wood, the raven's hands, and how shaken and pale Izaya looked caused him to relent. Kadota closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down. He realized just how scared Izaya must have been. He must have been calling for help and struggling for hours. "I'm sorry. I've no right to yell. Not after that."

Shinra pulled his rucksack off and pulled out his first aid kit. Izaya flinched away when Shinra tried to look at his hands and hid them under his arms, curling up slightly. "Izaya, I need to check them. They could be broken - I should at least clean them."

"Hey, Shinra, leave it for now. I think he's in shock. Let's find a way out of here and worry about it later."

Shinra frowned and looked up at Kadota with a nod before turning back to the raven. "Izaya? Is there another way out of here?" Shinra sighed when he didn't get a reply. He was worried about his friend's state of mind; he'd been practically buried alive, and who knew what that might do to a person.

"What about the door we saw up top? There are stairs over there."

"But there's nothing but a giant hole on the other side. You said it yourself, Izaya is probably the only one light enough to get across." Shinra looked at his friend and back to Kadota. "And I don't think he's in any state to even do that right now."

"Let's see if the door will actually open anyway."

Shinra nodded and looked back at Izaya. The raven seemed to have curled up, hugging his knees, just staring blankly. "Izaya?" Shinra looked worriedly at his other friend, and Kadota pointed a thumb in the door's direction.

"Come on. Give him a bit of space. Might need your help with this door if it's locked. Bring that hook with ya."

"All right." Shinra stood up, bringing the metal hook with him as he followed Kadota toward the stairs.

Izaya glanced over, keeping an eye on his friends, his chin touching his knee. The raven hugged his legs tighter; he couldn't stop shaking. What if he became withdrawn? He didn't even know if he could speak properly. He wondered if what he went through might cause him mental trauma. "I'm probably claustrophobic now…." Izaya blinked. That was one good thing; he hadn't lost his voice. Maybe Kadota was right; he might just be in shock. Does someone even know when they're in shock? Are they aware of it? Izaya knew one thing - he didn't want to remain here anymore. Izaya glanced to the side, flinching at the sight of the coffin. He certainly didn't want to be near that thing anymore. Izaya stood up on shaky legs, stretched out his arms to get some feeling back in his body, and winced when he flexed his fingers and shook the numbness from his hands. Izaya let out a hiss when he placed his weight on his bad ankle, which had probably worsened due to trying to kick the coffin open.

Izaya limped toward the desk and picked up one of the files.

Something brushed by his arm, and Izaya jumped and swerved to the left.

The spirit from before was standing by the other door, and suddenly, Izaya knew why he'd only seen two spirits. Because Rio hung herself and Haruna fought back, in a way, those two were at peace; they died their way. Saki and Mika didn't, so their spirits were unable to rest. They wanted someone to find them, to discover what happened here. Mika - the girl with the ring around her neck, chose him for the job because she was aware of his ability to see her. Saki, the girl he was looking at now, wanted him to find them.

Kadota grunted, followed by a crashing sound. "Izaya, we got the door open-" Izaya paused in his approach to the other door, his back facing his friends. "What are you doing?" Kadota and Shinra ran toward him. "Hey, let's get the hell out of here. Izaya?" Izaya clasped the handle of the door, unwilling to turn back now.

"I'm ending this."

"What do you mean, ending this? Izaya, come on," Shinra whined, though he was happy that Izaya was talking.

"I'll explain everything soon. Just trust me."

Kadota frowned but placed a hand on Izaya's shoulder. "We're with you."

Izaya nodded, and though his smile seemed forced, Shinra returned it. The raven took a breath and pulled on the handles, and Kadota helped him pull the door open the rest of the way. Shinra stepped behind them, daring a glance inside, half expecting to see rotting corpses, but remembered how much time had passed since this happened. They saw four human skulls, with other scattered bones in the large - what most likely was a storage room.

Izaya stepped forward, feeling sick and angry. He knelt down on the floor, lightly grazing his damaged fingers over one of the skulls. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Kadota and Shinra shared a glance, looking down with sorrow. "So, whatever happened to these girls, whoever put them in here, didn't even have the decency to give them a burial?" Kadota said angrily.

Izaya clenched his eyes shut; flashes of what he'd seen on the projector and what he'd read went through his mind. He wondered if he'd ever be able to sleep again. Kadota and Shinra still didn't know what really happened, did they? Izaya thought about what Kadota had said, and he knew what he wanted to do. He knew it would finally help lay the spirits of these girls to rest. Izaya stood up. "Shinra. Dota-chin. I need your help."

The three teens discovered a flat terrain that hadn't been overgrown with moss and weeds in the gardens toward the back. They'd emptied four of the filing cabinet draws and tore up an old sheet they'd found in the storage room. As gently as they could without damaging them, they moved the skeletons of the four girls and wrapped them in the fabric. Getting out of the basement was easier and less painful than getting down. They took advantage of the storage room, discovering a very long length of rope to their delight. Izaya took the rope with him, and even though Kadota and Shinra protested since he was in no shape to shimmy across the edge of the room above, Izaya succeeded and tied the long rope to the stair rail just outside. Kadota climbed up first, leaving Shinra to tie the other end to the four cabinets so they could lever them up without any trouble. Once Shinra was safely above, they each made their way out of the building with the four cabinets - Kadota carrying two - and found a nice patch of terrain to give the girls the burial they deserved.

Izaya didn't say a word throughout the whole process, and his two friends wondered if maybe Izaya shouldn't have helped with it, given what he'd gone through, but their raven friend was determined to finish this, whatever that meant. It took a while since they only managed to find one shovel. Shinra and Kadota took turns. Izaya tried, but his hands were bothering him, and he couldn't keep his grip for long.

They found bark planks around the area, so Izaya sat down and carved out their names with a screwdriver they'd found while Shinra and Kadota finished digging.

Izaya became irritated when another thing crossed his mind. If he had brought his switchblade with him today, he might have been able to get out of the coffin a lot sooner, maybe even right away. Izaya almost always carried it with him, but he figured it wouldn't be used against spirits anyway, and he didn't want to lose it. Izayw vowed to never ever leave home without it again.

Once the holes were deep enough, Izaya helped his friends lower the cabinets into them and shoved the mud back into the hole, sealing them up and flattening the terrain as much as possible. They couldn't know which of the skeletons belonged to whom, but Izaya didn't think that mattered, and he dug each of the barks in the ground above the burials. They stood in silence for a moment out of respect.

"Izaya?" Shinra called after a few minutes. "Are you ready to go?" Izaya looked up and spotted two of the spirits by the back of the house. He wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he saw them smile right before they disappeared. Izaya tilted his head up, watching them fade away. "Izaya?"

Izaya nodded, and they made their way back to the front. Once they reached the fence, they stopped to take a rest. Sitting and leaning against the wired barricade. "I know you're mad at me," Izaya spoke softly. He had serious explaining to do, and after literally saving his life, he owed them the truth about everything.

"Don't worry about it," Kadota began, "the important thing is that you're safe, and we got to you - relatively in time." He took a gulp of water.

"I don't deserve forgiveness that easily. There's some things I should have told you before, and maybe if I had, what happened today might not have happened at all."

Shinra spoke. "Izaya, it's okay, don't be hard on yourself, we're just happy you're okay."

Kadota sensed Izaya's stubbornness and encouraged his friend to continue. "All right, explain it to us."

Izaya clenched his fists. "You - you don't have to believe me…."

Shinra leaned his head back. "After everything that happened, why wouldn't we?"

"I can see spirits," Izaya blurted out. "I - can see them. Ghosts, sometimes apparitions. I have been able to for a while now. Since back when I was in middle school." Shinra and Kadota stared at him; they were surprised, but neither was truly angry. At least, not Kadota anyway. "I saw a spirit in the window on my first day walking home from school. That's why I wanted to know more about the building, and that's why I-" Izaya glanced at Shinra, and the bespectacled teen realized.

"That's why you joined the club, just so you'd have somewhere to research, and you knew I'd help you."

Izaya tilted his in confusion. Shinra had misunderstood him. "Shinra, that wasn't the only reason I joined. It was a reason, but not to use you in the way you think." Shinra smiled sadly at the ground and stood up.

"Well, it's over now. You know about the building. I guess this means we can go our separate ways now."

Izaya frowned, stood up, and grasped Shinra's arm. "You've got it all wrong. Just listen to me. I didn't use you. I wanted to be your friend. I thought we would become good friends by investigating the building together. No one I've known shared the same passion about the paranormal like you do, and then - we got Kadota too, and - I realized that I liked having you both as friends."

Shinra turned to Izaya, and hearing him open up that way, how could he not believe him? "You could have told me. I would have understood. I know how hard it is to make friends. I also said that I'm the type of friend you can share anything with. I might poke fun a little, but I can be counted upon."

Izaya grinned a little. "And I said you should leave people to figure it out for themselves."

Shinra smiled. "And you did."

Izaya smiled back. "I suppose I did."

"When I asked you if you saw anything that day you were pushed down the stairs-"

Kadota blinked. "Wait, you were pushed down the stairs?"

Izaya looked over at him. "Middle school," he told him, then looked back at Shinra.

"You saw something, didn't you?" Shinra asked.

"I did. I only lied because I wasn't ready to tell you about that part of my life. But I should have told you a lot sooner than this."

Shinra placed his hand on Izaya's shoulder. "I'm sure you had your reasons. Maybe you thought that I might tell others."

Izaya nodded, feeling caught. "That's partly true. Though I didn't know if you'd actually believe me."

Kadota was confused and had no idea what the two were talking about before, but he knew one thing…. "I believe you, Izaya. But that doesn't mean I'm not mad about what happened. You could have at least told us you were coming back here."

Izaya lowered his head, nodding slightly, biting his lower lip. "Yeah, I'm kind of mad at me too."

Kadota huffed. "Good. We honestly thought you were gone."

Izaya grinned up at him, and the two were unsure whether or not the raven was simply trying to bottle up his feelings on the situation, but it didn't matter right now. "Ne, you can't get rid of me that easily, Dota-chin."

Kadota rolled his eyes and shook his head with a laugh.

"Izaya? Did you find out what happened to the girls?" Shinra asked.

Izaya tensed, and his grin faded when he finally explained his findings.

Kadota clenched his fists in anger. "Damn it, how could anyone do that?"

"I don't know, but they wanted me to know. That's why I went back. I - I had a dream, more like a memory, but the memory wasn't mine."

"How's that possible?" Kadota said; he was totally lost now.

"It was like I was reliving one of their memory's, but through myself. I looked it up, and it's real thing, but I didn't think it could happen."

Shinra threw his arms out wide in shock. "No way! Are you talking about post cognitive dreams?"

Izaya blinked, not overly surprised Shinra knew about it. "I had one last night. It's never happened before, but that's how I knew the room below had something to do with it all."

Kadota shook his head. "Okay, what?"

Shinra turned to him, ready to explain. "Post cognitive dreams. Or rather, retrocognition. Knowledge of past events which could not have been learned or interfered by normal means."

Kadota looked at Izaya. "And you have that?"

Izaya wasn't sure how to answer because it could have been a one-off. "I don't know. Like I said, it hasn't happened before."

"So, you can see spirits and you have retrocognition? So not fair."

Izaya chuckled. "I'm sure your knowledge on the paranormal is greater than mine."

Shinra pouted. "Now you're just making fun."

Becoming serious again, there was something Kadota still wanted to know. "Do you think those spirits attacked you out of anger?"

Izaya looked at him and shook his head. "The spirits of the girls weren't responsible for my entrapment."

"Huh? How do you know?"

"The girl who fought back was supposed to go into that coffin to finish the experiment, but they accidentally killed her before it was complete. She was the last one. They probably tried to lure more here, but whatever ad they put out had become suspicious by then so they most likely gave up. I don't know how either of those responsible died, but the spirit left behind was still trying to complete the experiment. That was most likely the spirit who attacked Shinra."

"And when you - when it trapped you, the spirit left."

Izaya hid his hands under his arms, almost self-hugging, and nodded. "It knocked me out somehow, and I woke up – there."

Silence ensued around them, neither one knowing what to say next. "Its really late. We should get out of here," Kadota said.

Kadota helped the raven over the fence and remained on the top to help Shinra.

They stared at the building.

No one would ever know.

It was just an abandoned building to everyone else, but it was a death trap to them. "At least they can finally rest in peace now," Shinra said quietly. The other two nodded in agreement. "Oh, by the way, Izaya?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get mad, but when I was worrying about you, I got your home number from the school's information site." Izaya raised an eyebrow. "It was Kadota's idea!"

Kadota half gasped. "Hey!"

Izaya just chuckled.

"You're not mad?"

"Not really. I'm surprised you haven't done that before now."

"Your mom answered. She got home, and you obviously weren't there, and that's how we knew something was wrong."

"What did you tell her?"

"She actually assumed you were hanging out with us, so I just went along with it. You'll have to stay over now since I told her that you were."

Izaya shrugged. He wouldn't admit it, but he didn't think he could handle being alone right now.

"All right," Kadota said with a stretch. "I'll see you two at school Monday. I think I'm going to relax for the rest of the weekend."

Shinra smiled. "Bye. See you Monday, and thanks for the help."

Kadota raised a hand. "No problem."

Izaya grabbed his wrist, stopping him from walking away. "Dota-chin…" Kadota looked back at the small raven. "Thank you. If you hadn't - I wouldn't be here now…."

Kadota sighed and placed his hand on Izaya's head. "Just promise me one thing. Don't do anything stupid like that again."

Izaya gave him a smile. "I can promise to try?"

"Good enough. And get Shinra to look at your hands."

Izaya didn't reply, but Kadota knew he would eventually.

….

The two teens were settled in Shinra's room for the night. Izaya lay wide awake on a spare futon on Shinra's floor while the other slept soundly on his bed.

He couldn't sleep.

Every time Izaya tried, he'd wake in fear that he hadn't left that box and would have to sit up and walk around the room to reassure himself he wasn't trapped. When Izaya's eyes finally drifted shut for more than an hour, he bolted upright when a more vivid nightmare woke him. He shook against the bed and leaned against it, grasping the sheet. The figure above him shifted, and Izaya tensed. "Shinra?"

"Izaya? What's wrong?"

"I - didn't mean to wake you…."

"It's alright. Have you been awake this whole time?"

"I tried to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes….it was like I was - still trapped. I had a nightmare just now - that you found me, but I - I didn't wake up, and you buried me…. right where we buried those girls."

Shinra sat up, fully awake now. "Izaya. You're safe, and you're alive. We didn't bury you. Besides, even if you - no way would we have done that. Only your family has that right, and we wouldn't have left you in that garden alone."

Izaya wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. But this was Shinra, and you always got a blunt answer, but the teen meant well. "I don't want to sleep down here…." Izaya pulled his legs up to his chest.

Shinra wondered whether that might have been an issue, and he had tried to insist Izaya sleep on the bed. "We'll switch. I tried to tell you that being on the floor might not be a good idea."

Izaya crawled up on the bed and got into the covers. Shinra smiled and swung his legs over the bed but felt a hand on his wrist, stopping him. "Sleep here." Shinra looked back at his friend and realized that what happened to Izaya had truly scared him. Izaya let go. "Sorry, never mind."

"Izaya, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm here, okay?"

Izaya sat up, shuffled across, and wrapped his arms around his friend. Shinra turned on the bed and held him close. Izaya needed to release his emotions. Shinra could hear Izaya's quiet sobs muffled into his shoulder. "I was so scared…."

Shinra's hold tightened. "I know."

After a while, Izaya ceased his crying. "Shinra?"

"Yeah?"

"My hands hurt. Can you take a look at them now?"

Shinra huffed a laugh. "Of course."

63