Izaya skidded to his knees and hooked his fingers under the shelving. Shinra wasn't moving, and Izaya feared the worst when a small trail of blood trickled down the boy's forehead. Izaya gritted his teeth and pulled against the heavy bookcase. "Shinra, can you hear me?" he managed to say as he tried to push up with his back. No good. He wasn't strong enough. Weren't humans supposed to get extra strength caused by adrenaline in situations like this? "Damn it! Move you piece of-"

"Izaya!" The raven looked up at the one who yelled his name. Shizuo ran toward him, and he sighed in relief.

"Shizu-chan, help me. I can't lift it." Shizuo pulled Izaya away from the bookcase, and with what looked like little effort, he threw the large bookcase up, splitting it in half. Izaya was there again in an instant, pulling Shinra half on his lap. "We need to call an ambulance."

Shizuo knelt down beside them and assessed the situation. "I don't think he's badly hurt. I think he's just-"

Izaya's narrowed eyes snapped up to him. "Just do it!"

Shizuo frowned at him; why was Izaya yelling at him? It wasn't like it was his fault.

…

Kadota and Shizuo turned their attention to the door when Izaya walked through, looking annoyed. He sighed and took a seat at the desk, rubbing his temple and swiping a hand through his hair, wincing when he brushed over a tender spot on his head where the book had collided. "What did the doctor say?"

Izaya glanced at Kadota, acknowledged his question, and turned to the computer. He typed in several commands and pulled up the footage. "They said he'll be alright, and that he was most likely knocked unconscious by the heavier books more than the case itself. He's got a concussion, and they want to keep him in for a forty-eight-hour observation, but he hasn't sustained any further injuries. His dad is with him now."

Shizuo leaned against the chair. "I was right, that's good."

Izaya snorted. "What do you want, a medal? Congratulations, Shizu-chan."

Shizuo gritted his teeth, hands clenching around the back of the chair. "I didn't mean-" He straightened. "Tsk. Whatever, if you want to act like an asshole right now then I'm outta here before I kick your ass."

Izaya rolled his eyes, still focused on the screen as he scanned the previous readings. "My best friend is in the hospital, so I'm not exactly going to skip around the room."

Shizuo narrowed his eyes. "I get that, but it doesn't mean you can blame other people."

Izaya spun around, glaring at the blond, clenching his fist over the keyboard. "Are you saying it's my fault?"

"I didn't say that! How was what happened anyone's fault!"

Kadota stood between them, raising his hands up. "Come on, guys, we've got a job to do, and we can't let what happened to Shinra get to us."

Izaya turned back to the monitor, stopping any further conversation between them. Shizuo swerved on his heel and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Izaya tutted, but he regretted the exchange of words almost immediately when the blond left. The raven sighed; they had already forgotten they were meant to be a couple, or maybe they had gotten too used to hiding it.

"Anything unusual?" Kadota said, leaning in beside Izaya.

Whatever Kadota wanted to say, he was considerate enough not to. "Define what's unusual under these circumstances?"

Kadota gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, alright, I see your point. What did you find?"

Izaya clicked on the footage and watched with annoyance. I was right there. I should have pushed him out of the way. Izaya furrowed his eyebrows. "Check the temperature readings we picked up during the accident. I'm wondering if there might be two different readings."

Kadota moved over to the other computer and clicked on the playback in sync with the footage. "What makes you say that?"

"Sometimes, objects can get warm during a poltergeist incident."

Kadota checked both readings. "Not sure about two, but the temperature around the room definitely dropped to a low degree."

Izaya scooted over to him and checked the results for himself. He nodded and swiped over the screen with the cursor. "What about the audio? You said there was static earlier."

Kadota nodded. "Yeah, but that was before the lights went out." Izaya picked up the headphones and plugged the audio jack into the aux socket. He placed them over his head and scrolled back to the beginning. Static, just like Kadota said. Izaya frowned as he listened. "Something wrong?"

Izaya placed his finger on his lips, asking for quiet. The static grew louder and distorted, but Izaya could hear something else. He lifted the headphones off and gave them to Kadota. "Here, let me know if you can hear that strange sound in the background." Kadota placed the headphones over his head, and Izaya skipped back a few frames. He watched for the teen's reaction, and Kadota nodded as he took off the receivers. "It's separate from the static, right?"

"There's definitely more than one noise."

Izaya turned back to the screen, clicked the mouse, quickly typed in a command, and split the audio playback into two waves. "I'm hoping this will highlight the distinction between them. Hopefully, it will clear up the interference from the static."

Kadota was impressed; he didn't realize how good Izaya was. "Is there anything you're not good at?"

Izaya shrugged, placed the headphones back on, and played the second split wave. There was silence for a few moments, and then he heard it.

Heavy breathing.

Izaya's eyes widened as he listened closely when the breathing became heavier and stopped abruptly. Izaya handed them over to Kadota and played back the same audio. An almost shiver ran through Kadota as he listened. "That's kind of creepy."

"If it were me or Shinra, the sound would have been much closer."

"What now?"

"We'll keep an eye on the readings. We still have to set up the micro camera's in the two corridors. I'd also like to start asking everyone some questions. We should start with Setton's classmates."

"Good idea, but I think it might be best if we questioned them here. They're more likely to open up if they're not around others." Izaya nodded. "I'll set up the cameras."

Izaya leaned back in his chair. "Alright."

…

Izaya sighed and stretched in the chair. He'd questioned four students already, and they'd barely told him anything so far. It didn't seem like they really paid attention to the girl, indicating she wasn't that popular. Izaya looked up when a tall thin girl came in with long brown hair, dressed in school uniform. Izaya studied her; even her walk screamed, 'look at me wrong, and I'll kill you.' A small grin graced his features, and he motioned for her to sit down. He could have some fun with a girl like her. I should remain professional, I suppose. "I just want to ask you some questions about Setton."

The girl popped a bubble with her gum and sat down with a frown. "You're like, a year older than me, who gave you permission to lord authority over our heads?"

Izaya chuckled. "Your principal. For the record, I'm actually two years older." He was in a month, but she didn't have to know that. "Anyway, what can you tell me about her? I get the feeling you weren't friends."

She snorted. "Like I would be friends with a weirdo like her. Thinks she was better than everyone else because she got high grades."

Ah, the common jealously, so predictable. "Why don't you answer my question. What did you know about her?"

"Loner. Always hung out in the library like a nerd."

"Did you ever interact with her?"

She rolled her eyes, popping another bubble. "What did I just say? She was a loner. Like I would even let her talk to me."

Izaya tilted his head with a slight grin. "Of course not, because that would ruin your "graceful" attempts to remain popular."

She gave him a forced smile. "Not exactly sure what you're getting at, but I'm not the only one at this school who didn't like her."

"I would presume so. Just one of the many sheep following the herd. Are you the shepherd and they follow your example and do whatever you ask them to?"

"Where do you get off talking to me like that, runt. So what if I ignored her. It's not my fault she killed herself."

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "You keep avoiding my direct questions. There are many suicides that have been the result of bullying, Miss Ichika."

"Whatever. I ignored her and might have shoved her a few times, but I hardly think that's bullying."

"If you say so."

"You can't just come here and start accusing people of bullying."

"Actually, I'm only accusing you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What evidence do you even have to support that?"

Izaya grinned. "I don't think I need any. Your in-opposition is more than enough." She blinked at him for a second, and the raven knew she was turning that phrase over in her head. "It means you're highly defensive toward the accusations. Most people react in such a way because they've been discovered."

"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot! And I resent the accusation. What you're doing is bullying."

"Bullying is lame. Besides, I'm not here. That is why most of you are, isn't it? Behavioral problems?" She stood up and stormed out of the room. Izaya sighed and muttered, "Well, so much for staying professional."

….

Izaya glanced up from his laptop when the door opened and closed again. Shizuo frowned at him and sat down in the opposite chair. Izaya turned back to the screen. "You're an asshole," the blond commented offhandedly, interrupting the silence.

Izaya rolled his eyes. "Noted."

Shizuo snorted and made his way over to Izaya, grabbing him by the shirt and lifting him up from the chair. "Don't you have anything else to say?"

Izaya's eyebrows rose a little. "Like what?"

"How about an apology?"

"For what, did I insult you?"

Shizuo frowned. "No…"

"Then what exactly am I apologizing for? For being worried about Shinra, or perhaps for not reaching him in time-" Izaya realized Shizuo had tricked. "Damn it."

"Yeah, thought so. It wasn't your fault you know, and I only meant it was good that I was right since Shinra didn't come off worse."

Izaya's eyes darted to the side, avoiding his gaze, and then lips were on his. Izaya's arms snaked around Shizuo's neck, and he deepened the kiss. Pulling away, Izaya grinned at him. "Apology accepted." Shizuo clicked his tongue. "Wanna put me down now?"

Shizuo returned the grin. "Not yet." They kissed for another minute, and the blond released him.

Izaya chuckled. "Back to work. No fooling around on the job."

Shizuo laughed and, teasingly, said, "Come on, the boss isn't here."

Izaya rolled his eyes and shoved him. "And if he saw that he'd have a breakdown, so hands off."

Shizuo huffed. "Oh, so it's okay for you to grope me under the table – with your foot - but I'm not allowed to kiss you in an empty room?"

Izaya looked up from the laptop. "Correct. At least when I did it, it wasn't noticeable. Anyone can just walk in here."

Shizuo turned his attention to the screen. "What are you looking at anyway?"

"The ones I questioned weren't much help. Setton wasn't very popular it seemed, so neither of them knew much about her except that she was always in the library and was quite smart. That triggered a lot of jealously."

"So she was bullied."

Izaya gave a small shrug. "For now, that's what it looks like."

"Kadota told me we picked up a strange noise from the audio."

Izaya nodded and said, "Heavy breathing, nothing else. Could be nothing, could be something." Izaya suddenly frowned.

Shizuo noticed the change in the raven's expression. "What?"

"I'm looking at Setton's file."

"Seriously? Do you ever not do anything illegal?"

Izaya clicked his tongue at the implications. "You make me sound like a criminal. Anyway, it says she was seeing a school councillor."

"Well, it didn't seem to help much."

"I would imagine not, since the councillor she was seeing was Mr Tachigama."

Shizuo growled. "That fucking asshole is a councillor!"

Izaya shrugged. "Apparently so. He also teaches Math, and he's Mr Uwasaki's second."

"It's a wonder that no one else has committed suicide if he's the councillor."

Izaya chuckled. "You just hate him because of what he said to you."

"Shut up. I also got the impression he barely liked any of the other kids here either."

Izaya stood up and said, "Well, regardless of that, we should-"

Kadota suddenly burst into the room. "You should come and see this." Izaya and Shizuo shared a glance and followed their friend outside. Kadota led them down the corridor and into a classroom. The students stared at the chalkboard in horror. "I was on my way back to you after double-checking the cameras when I heard screaming, and then this happened."

Izaya and Shizuo stared at the display on the board. The raven stepped closer to it. "Are you saying this wasn't done by anyone here?"

Kadota shook his head. "No, I saw it with my own eyes. A piece of chalk moved by itself."

Shizuo tilted his head. "What is it?"

Izaya took his phone out and snapped a picture of it. "I don't know, but it's a symbol of something."

…

It was late, and the school was empty of students aside from the three teens. It would be easier to pinpoint any paranormal occurrences without crowds of people around. The school was quiet. Kadota remained in the storage room, keeping an eye on the cameras and readings.

Shizuo walked around the school performing small incantations to try and cleanse Setton's spirit. He didn't like wearing the shozoku, but Izaya insisted and said it 'sets the mood,' whatever that meant. He'd been doing this for an hour now, and nothing seemed to drive the spirit out, so he wasn't sure his attempts at cleansing were working.

Izaya was in the classroom where the symbol appeared, Setton's homeroom. Izaya walked around the desks, wondering which one was hers. He checked them one at a time, looking inside and underneath, and as he knelt down to check another, the door to the classroom slammed shut. Startled, Izaya cursed when he smacked his head on the edge of the desk. He sighed and wondered if he would get a concussion by the end of this case. He stood up, rubbing his head, and gasped. Izaya swallowed and backed up a step, and the chair behind him moved. "You're Eri Setton, aren't you."

Suddenly, the lights flickered and blew with a loud pop. Izaya covered his head from the small fragments of glass that showered from the ceiling. He looked up again, and she was gone. Izaya ran to the door and stopped to slowly pull down the handle. He stepped into the corridor with a sigh, only to find the whole school in darkness. "Great." He touched his earpiece and said, {Are the computers still running, Dota-chin?} Instead of a response, all he received was interference, then – "Ah!"

A high-pitched noise came through the earpiece, causing him to collapse. He immediately took it off and threw it down the corridor. "Shit!" Covering his ear with his hand, he pulled it away and was relieved when he couldn't feel any signs of damage. Izaya pulled out his phone and frowned when he realized it was dead. "What's going on?" Standing up, he moved over to the wall and felt his way back. "Should have taken my torch," he muttered. Walking past the staircase, he stopped abruptly when he heard footsteps. Swallowing thickly, he took a step back. "Shizu-chan, is that you?" The steps became louder and were almost in sync with his beating heart.

Izaya let out a yelp when something touched his shoulder, and he spun around, throwing a fist out of instinct. "Izaya! Whoa, it's me." Izaya's breathing was loud in his ears, and he struggled to control his heart rate. "Are you okay?" Eventually, he realized it was Kadota, and there was a light shining from a torch in his hand.

Izaya let out a shaky breath. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry. When the lights went, I got worried. Is your phone off too?"

Izaya nodded and took the other torch offered to him. "Did you hear a high pitch noise just now?"

Kadota shook his head. "No, why?"

Izaya frowned. "Never mind."

"Did you?"

Now that there was light to guide him, Izaya started downstairs, and Kadota followed. "I heard it through my earpiece, and I swear it almost burst my eardrum." The two walked down the steps slowly and turned when they reached the first corner. "Have you heard from Shizu-chan at all?" Izaya tried his best to keep the concern from his voice.

"No. The whole equipment malfunctioned so I don't even know where he is right now."

"Any feedback before that?"

"Way more static than before, and I thought I saw something on camera, but that's when everything shut off."

Izaya shone his torch down the corridor when the two left the staircase. "I saw her."

Kadota blinked in surprise. "Where?"

"The classroom that symbol appeared in."

"Did she attack you?"

"No, but that's when all the power flickered out, and the lights on the ceiling blew."

"Damn, I wasn't sure you would even see this one."

"Me either. I sent a picture of that symbol to Shinra earlier. Since he's not allowed to leave the hospital, he wanted something to do. Maybe he can find out what it is."

When the two turned the corner, Shizuo stood in front of the library, and Izaya felt relieved. Izaya frowned when they stopped beside him, and the raven glanced up at him, looking slightly bewildered. "Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo pointed inside the library. "Look." The two turned their attention from him and gasped. They watched as books flew off the shelves, skidding across the floor. "I was reciting a chant in here, then this happened. I didn't wanna get hit by books like Izaya, so I came out here."

Izaya clicked his tongue at the reference. "That would explain why the equipment malfunctioned." Once it stopped, Izaya stepped into the library, followed by the other two close behind. Shining his light, the raven picked up the books scattered over the floor. Izaya showed them the books. "Notice anything?"

Kadota frowned. "They're all Math books."

Izaya nodded and gestured to the others on the floor. "Grab those. We'll keep these with us for now."

…

While waiting for the power to come back, Izaya checked the books, looking for any signs that might link to their spirit. "These books all have one thing in common at least," Izaya said.

"You mean besides being the same subject?" Shizuo replied, sitting with one leg propped and leaning against the wall.

"Yes, Shizu-chan," Izaya replied with a little annoyance; he knew the blond was bored, but he didn't have to be so snarky. "All of these were checked out by Setton. Different dates over time."

Kadota tried to get the backup power in their equipment to work, and he raised his head from the computer and said, "You said she was a top student, right? Would make sense she checked out the most books."

Izaya nodded; they could see each other thanks to their battery-powered LED lights. "I also said Mr. Tachigama taught Math."

"Think she was in his class?"

Izaya shrugged. "Who knows, maybe." The power flickered back on, and the computer systems hummed to life. Izaya stood up, scraped his chair, and walked toward the door, turning to Kadota. "See if the feedback we picked up before the power went is still there, and if so, check the audio and split the wavelengths like I showed you. There might be other background noise like there was the first time."

"Alright."

"It won't work if there isn't another noise."

Kadota nodded. "Got it."

Shizuo stepped beside Izaya. "Where are you going?"

Izaya smirked. "The councillor's office. I'm feeling troubled."

Shizuo rolled his eyes. "Tsk. Is that so. You know it's probably locked."

Izaya left the room as he said, "Not a problem."

Shizuo sighed, thinking his boyfriend might be a criminal, before turning to Kadota.

"Well, here goes," Kadota said, "we saved the feedback and the audio split, so it picked up something during all the static." Shizuo stepped closer to listen, and Kadota clicked the playback.

Silence.

Silence.

And then –

A spout of whispers sounded through the speaker.

'-will suffer.'

'Murderer…'

'Murderer….'

And then the voice grew louder.

'Save me!'

'Mom!'

Kadota and Shizuo jumped slightly, and the audio clicked off. "Okay, that wasn't nothing," the brunet said as he turned to look at Shizuo.

Shizuo frowned. "Does this mean she was murdered?"

"I don't think we should jump to that conclusion just yet."

"What conclusion! Didn't you hear what she said!"

"I did, but the police already confirmed the suicide, and even if it's true, we need more than this."

"It's solid evidence, Kadota!"

"From a ghost that was only picked up by the audio feed. Who's going to believe that?"

"Can't we just show them? If they hear what we just heard-"

Kadota shook his head. "Even if they do hear it, who would they arrest? For all we know, she could just think she was murdered. She might not even remember committing suicide. If she was bullied, she might just want to blame someone."

Shizuo sighed in frustration. "What now?"

"Wait until Izaya gets back from whatever he's doing. He might find something else useful."

…

Izaya frowned in concentration as he flipped through the pages of Tachigama's sessions with Setton. Since their conversations were typed and not audio recorded, it took a while to find anything remotely helpful. The sessions started off with mentions of peer pressure from other students. She wanted to fit in but got shunned because of her too kind personality and intelligence. There were talks of encouragement in her subjects, and Izaya found out she wasn't originally in Tachigama's Math class. She was transferred. Izaya read the conversation more carefully.

Tachigama: My class is more advanced than the one you're in, but I think you can handle it. This way, you won't be the only smart one in your class, and others won't pick on you there.

Izaya turned the page. Well, that explains all the math books she checked out.

Setton: You can do that?

Tachigama: I can. You know that I care about your well-being.

Izaya frowned; something about that statement had him feeling nauseous.

Luna: Thank you, Mr. Tachigama.

Tachigama: Not a problem, my dear.

Izaya noticed the rest of the pages were blank, but something told him the sessions continued long after. A loud thud caused him to jump, and a small hiss escaped him and brought his finger to his mouth to suck on the small papercut. "Damn it." The thud came again, vibrating off the table he was sitting on. Izaya closed the file and placed it back in the cabinet. Tachigama wouldn't even know he was in here. The door would be unlocked when the man came by the next morning, but he was confident Tachigama would think he just forgot to lock it. Standing up, Izaya decided to head back to Shizuo and Kadota; the blond would only start to worry. The light in the room flickered for a moment. "Not again."

Then he heard something.

No, not something, someone.

'Hush little darling, don't say a word,'

'You won't ever wake up to the sound of birds,'

'And if you do, I promise one thing,'

'No one will be around to hear you sing.'

Izaya's blood ran cold when the voice echoed inside his head, humming the rest of the tune. He edged closer to the door, slowly shuffling his feet, and the moment he turned to run, the door slammed shut. Izaya tried the knob, but it was locked. Izaya pounded his fists against the door, pulling and kicking it. "Shizu-chan!"

The raven stilled when he heard a noise behind him and spun around, backed against the door. The noise came from the back of the room, and his heart raced as he took a few steps forward. Izaya was thrown backward when flames burst forth. He watched them cover the wall and slowly caught the chair behind the desk. Wood burnt easily, and the chair went up instantly, sparks hitting the desk. Stumbling to his feet, Izaya threw himself at the door, banging his fist on it. The room was small, and he knew it wouldn't be long until he passed out and the flames engulfed him. Izaya coughed, trying to cover his mouth. "Shizu-chan! Dota-chin!" Coughing harshly, Izaya's eyes drooped, and his movements became slower. "I - can't…. stay…awake – help…." He slid down the door and fell to the floor, eyes closed, and he blacked out.

…

Shizuo growled to himself, getting worried now. Kadota watched him pace back and forth. "Damn it, he's taking too long. I'm going after him."

Kadota nodded, standing up to follow, but the fire alarm rang through the school as they prepared to leave. The two shared a concerned glance before cold dread filled them. "Shit."

Shizuo's eyes widened. "Izaya!" The two ran from the room just as the sprinklers from above hissed and rained down.