Flashing blue lights once again attracted attention to the Shinjuku middle school. The teens stood to one side after the police questioned them. Given the cause of death, the police suspected it was just a horrible accident. Tachigama fell down the stairs and broke his neck.

Izaya stared at the coroner's van and couldn't help but feel relieved. He knew about spirits who got their revenge because he had been a victim of said revenge when Gen Aoi shoved him down the stairs. That could have happened to me.

Tachigama was dead now, and Setton's spirit would finally stop haunting the school. The raven frowned. Tachigama deserved what he got for murdering the girl in the first place, and he should be satisfied it was over. Then why do I feel guilty?

"He got what he deserved, I guess," Shizuo said as they watched the coroner's van drive off with Tachigama's body.

Izaya didn't reply and continued to frown after the van until it was out of sight.

"Maybe," Kadota replied. "But I still can't help but feel responsible somehow."

"The hell for? Setton took it upon herself to get revenge because she wanted to be at peace. He murdered her, so I think she had every right."

Kadota sighed. "Shizuo, we're not supposed to be happy about that. Despite what he did, we're supposed to stop this sort of thing from happening. If we just let all the spirits take their revenge regardless of whether or not the person deserves it, we're no better than them."

Shizuo frowned and shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't help but feel relieved. She can rest in peace now."

Izaya gritted his teeth, feeling angry with himself. "Shizuo shut the hell up," he hissed, turning to the blond gaping at him in surprise. "Don't you understand? We failed. We didn't exorcise the spirit at all, and now someone else is dead because of us!"

Shizuo blinked. "Izaya, he-"

"We're supposed to prevent things like this from happening! We're supposed to cleanse the spirit, not help it kill people!"

Shizuo stared at Izaya's narrowed eyes and defensive posture. He's really angry.

Uwasaki walked toward them with a smile, wondering whether he should approach them since they seemed to have quite the argument. "Sorry to interrupt, but the police want me to go with them to give a formal statement about Tachigama. Are you kids alright?"

Kadota nodded. "We're okay. Thanks, Mr Uwasaki. Our equipment is still in the school, so we're going to pack up and then we'll leave."

Uwasaki nodded. "Don't stay too long. It's still a crime scene at the moment. I'll let you boys know when it's okay to come back."

Shizuo turned his attention from Izaya to the principal. "You still want us to investigate?"

Uwasaki looked at him. "Despite Tachigama's accident, whatever is wrong with the school still needs to be addressed. Are you willing to continue?"

Izaya looked at him. Uwasaki wasn't to know the spirit wouldn't haunt the school anymore, and maybe he could use that to his advantage. "Just call us when we're allowed to return," he told him, causing his friends to gape at him.

Uwasaki nodded. "Thank you." Then he left.

"Why didn't you tell him the spirit already left?" Shizuo said, still somewhat worked up from their last argument, and judging by Izaya's narrowed eyes, the raven was too.

"Because he doesn't know anything about what Tachigama did, and therefore, wouldn't understand how we knew. We'll just tell him that while we were packing up, we did a final check."

Kadota didn't like covering everything up. He understood why Izaya was angry, and if he was honest, he was too, but even though Izaya possessed incredible abilities, it didn't give him the right to play with the truth when it suited him. "Even though Tachigama is dead, don't you think Setton's parent's deserve to know the truth?"

Izaya sneered at him. "That their daughter was murdered, and how we know this based off some spiritual events and an accident? Care to share what evidence we're presenting?"

Kadota opened his mouth to reply but stopped because Izaya was right.

Izaya turned back to the school, glancing at Shizuo, who frowned at him and followed after their friend. Izaya sighed; great, now Shizuo was angry with him. He hadn't meant to turn against the blond like that.

…..

Izaya stared at his bedroom ceiling, hands tucked behind his head. He couldn't sleep, and how could he? Everything about the case told him something still wasn't right. Kadota talked him into a final check with their equipment before they left, so at least that part was true, but they found nothing.

Eri Setton's spirit was gone.

Izaya frowned and shook his head. Why am I dwelling on this? He really did get what he deserved. The memories from his dream flashed through his mind.

The mask.

The tattoo.

Izaya's eyes widened, and he sat up in the bed.

Only one thing would put his mind to rest.

Izaya stood from the bed, took off his baggy clothing, changed into a tight-fitted black-sleeved shirt and his black pants, and slipped his hands into a pair of gloves. Slipping on his shoes for gym class, Izaya quietly opened his window. I'll be back before dawn anyway. He gently opened his drawer and took out a black leather case, tucking it between the hem of his pants. Smirking to himself, he pictured Shizuo's face every time he hacked into a system. The blond always told him how illegal it was, and Izaya used to think he was dramatic, but now he really was about to break the law. If he was caught, he really was done for.

Izaya climbed over the window's ledge and quietly made his way down the trellis, grinning when another memory of Shizuo appearing from there a few days ago entered his mind. The blond would have a heart attack if he knew what Izaya had planned, and the raven felt bad for how he'd left things between them at the school. He would apologize once this was over, and hopefully, Shizuo would forgive him.

Izaya stepped onto the grass and ran across the yard. Opening the gate would make too much noise, so he climbed the fence. The morgue was an hour's walk from his house and not far from the hospital, so he'd have to be careful. The mortuary had no cameras since it breached medical confidentiality, so if he reached there without a fuss, then he'd be fine.

….

Izaya walked casually past the hospital, the car park's lights shining overhead. A few parked cars scattered around and were probably owned by the nurses and doctors on the night shift. Izaya tried to avoid walking directly through the hospital's car park and opted to walk around the outer edge.

Izaya sighed in relief when he finally passed the hospital, and, looking back for a moment, he hesitated, wondering whether this was such a good idea. Shaking his head, he continued. Even if what he expected to find - or rather - not find was revealed, he couldn't tell anyone anyway, but the point was that he knew.

A smaller building appeared ahead of him in the shape of an L. Both sides were long in length, and he saw the neon green entrance sign in view as he stepped beside a low wall. Not wanting to risk getting discovered by outside cameras, Izaya ran behind the wall until he was as far back as possible.

Izaya stopped and took a running start before jumping up and grabbing onto the edge of the wall. Izaya pulled himself up and sat on the top to catch his breath for a few minutes. Since he left his house, he hadn't stopped, and the fear of getting caught made him feel more out of breath.

He took a deep breath, jumped the small distance, and landed softly on the grass. With a sigh of relief, Izaya saw the back of the building, and the low lighting was enough to help him see. Running across the short distance of the field, Izaya scanned the edges quickly and ducked behind two large dumpsters. After another few minutes, Izaya climbed onto one of the bins, trying not to think about what went into them. Almost chuckling, he dismissed the thought entirely. It wasn't as though they would have dead body parts in them, but the thought still freaked him out. Standing upright, Izaya tiptoed and peered into the window. Darkness was a good sign. A window like this one had a small lock on the handle.

He'd just use his flick blade.

Twist the lock.

And voila!

Pocketing his knife, Izaya pulled the handle up and stepped back when the window opened outward. He crawled inside, swung his legs, and jumped, landing almost with perfect balance on the shiny, smooth floor.

He was inside the morgue, and now there was no turning back.

"Okay," he whispered. "Just find Mr. Tachigama, look at his arms and leave." His heart pounded in his chest, and adrenaline pulsed through his veins when he started searching the names marked over the chillers. "This is morbid. I should not be this pumped." He soon caught sight of a familiar name. "There you are." Izaya reached up toward the handle, his hand hovering over it. "I shouldn't do this…." Before he changed his mind, Izaya grabbed the handle and pulled hard against it. The chiller hissed, and cold air fogged out. Izaya shivered and waited for the icy fog to clear. With a shudder, his eyes roamed over the corpse of Mr. Tachigama. Bruises decorated his neck from the fall, but that wasn't why he was here. Feeling slightly nauseated since this was his first time seeing a dead body up so close and recent, Izaya pulled back the white sheet

covering the body down to his low waist. Gently and slightly grimaced, he checked both of Tachigama's arms.

No tattoo.

Izaya was almost sure.

"It wasn't him…." Setton was at peace because she believed her killer to be Tachigama. Izaya came here to give himself peace of mind.

And yet, somehow, it hadn't.

"You were perverted, but - I guess you didn't deserve to die after all…." Izaya sighed and pulled the sheet back over, and shut the chiller. A sudden noise caught his attention, and he saw a light switch on from the corridor behind the door. "Shit." He looked at his watch; surely no one was around yet.

It was 5:00am.

Izaya had to get out of here.

The raven ran to the countertop, quickly climbed back to the window, checked to see if he'd left anything behind, and lowered himself to balance on the ledge before shutting the window just as the door opened. Izaya sighed in relief, only for his heart to skip a beat when the small slab of the wall crumbled under his foot. The raven fell, and a loud thud echoed when he hit the dumpster with a hiss and toppled off onto the gravel. Biting his lower lip, he crawled behind the bin and peered over when the window opened. Izaya ducked and held his breath, waiting….

"Damn cats," he heard someone mumble and close the window.

Letting out the breath he held, Izaya stood up and ran for it. Once he was over the wall, he stopped to catch his breath, slumping down. "Too close…."

By the time he slipped through his bedroom window, the sun was poking its damn head into the sky. Shutting his window, Izaya collapsed across the bed in exhaustion.

Izaya couldn't have closed his eyes for more than an hour before the alarm on his phone went off, muffled by his pillow. Izaya groaned in dismay, regretting that trip for an entirely different reason. He placed his arm over his face, blocking the light to ignore the forming headache due to lack of sleep.

He had to go back to school today and was positive he would fall asleep in his first class. He could just skip, but he needed someone to talk to; he couldn't keep his previous cognitive dream a secret anymore.

Dragging his tired body up from the bed, he decided the only one he wanted to talk to, and the only one he usually told everything to, was Shinra. If he left now, he could see Shinra before heading off to school.

…..

"You broke into the morgue!" Izaya flinched and quickly shut the door to Shinra's room. He explained everything to Shinra and told him pieces of information he had yet to reveal to the others. He felt guilty about it, but the weight was lifted off his shoulders.

"Shhh. Damn it, are you trying to get me caught?" Izaya took his seat again on the edge of Shinra's bed with a sigh and swiped a hand through his hair. Shinra could see Izaya was exhausted and had clearly been up most of the night. "We don't deserve the money, Shinra…."

Shinra sat up and crawled over to sit next to his friend. "What do you want to do?"

Izaya frowned down at the floor. "Uwasaki needs to know what we found. Even if he can't do anything about it."

"Do you think that will help? Maybe leave out the murder part. You can always tell him the reason you're not accepting the money is because you failed to exorcise the spirit because it left on its own."

Izaya clenched his fists, suddenly aware of Kadota and Shizuo's feelings. "But how does that solve the problem? That means whoever did kill Setton is getting away with it."

Shinra smiled. "You said it yourself, Izaya, we're not the police. We're just ghost hunters, and even though we failed this time, our part in this is done. There's nothing more we can do. We simply don't have any real proof."

"I know, and you're right…. I just - I'm so angry with myself."

"Why?"

"Because we didn't finish our job in time - and someone died as a result."

Shinra frowned and nudged the raven. "Hey, don't go blaming yourself for that. Besides, it sounds to me like Setton believed it too, so she made the real mistake, not you."

Izaya looked at him, and a wave of guilt crashed down on him because there was something he was keeping from Shinra, and it had nothing to do with their job. Izaya wondered if now was a good time to tell him. They were alone, and things were calm. "Shinra, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about…."

Shinra tilted his head and chuckled. "That sounds more ominous, what's up?"

"I-" Then his phone rang. Sighing, he pulled his phone out. "It's a message from Uwasaki."

"What's it say?"

"~Thank you for all your help. I have the rest of your payment if you want to come and collect it before school."

Shinra looked at him. "Izaya, it's up to you. I'll support your decision, and I think you'll find that Shizuo and Kadota will too."

Izaya knew that to be a fact. "Thank you."

"What about the deposit?"

Izaya shrugged. "It's a deposit for a reason. We didn't complete the job, but our time and effort should still be noticed. We did put ourselves at risk."

"Okay. So, what was you going to tell me?"

Izaya blinked. "What?"

"Before, you wanted to tell me something."

Izaya opened his mouth with all the intention of telling Shinra the truth about him and Shizuo, but something entirely different came out instead. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened in the library."

Shinra sighed. "Is that all? You had me worried there for a minute. Don't blame yourself for that either. It wasn't your fault. It would have gotten both of us even if you had reached me in time."

Izaya gave him a tight smile. "What time do you get discharged?"

"My dad is picking me up around four."

"Then I'll come meet you."

Shinra nodded and smiled. "Okay." Izaya turned for the door, only to be called back by his friend. Izaya turned to face him. "It's the right decision."

"Thank you."

…..

Izaya reached the Shinjuku middle school with a yawn, becoming more tired with every step he took, and the day had barely begun. Glancing up toward the entrance ascending the steps, he gasped. "Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo looked over at him from his leaning point against the wall. "Hey…"

"What are you doing here?" Izaya said once he reached the top.

"Shinra text and said you were gonna tell Mr Uwasaki to keep the rest of the money. S'pretty admirable."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "We did nothing admirable here."

Shizuo gritted his teeth and sighed. "Look, I didn't come here to argue with you. I wanted to meet you here so we could talk. I - I wanted to apologize, I guess…."

Izaya raised an eyebrow. "What for?"

"Just - you know - for kinda getting angry again. I should have sided with you."

Izaya shook his head. "Just because we're a couple, Shizu-chan, you don't have to take my side. You have a right to an opinion, even if it is different to mine."

Shizuo frowned. "I still shouldn't have gotten so angry."

Izaya placed his hand over Shizuo's arm. "You were right, Shizu-chan, and I was wrong. Nothing we can do about it now, ne?"

Shizuo covered Izaya's hand with his. "We were both right."

Izaya smiled. "Let me just tell Mr Uwasaki about the money, then we can catch a train and head to school."

"Are you sure you wanna do that?"

"It's only fair."

Shizuo realized they weren't on the same page. "I was actually talking about school. I mean, you look exhausted."

Izaya gave him a small smile. Yeah, he felt completely washed out but wondered if Shinra had told Shizuo about his little late-night trip. Probably not. The blond would have freaked on him when he saw him at the school. "I'll be fine."

"That wasn't the slightest bit convincing. Why don't we get the train back to Ikebukuro, and then just hide out at my place? The bed is pretty comfortable." Shizuo blushed when a grin appeared on Izaya's face. "For sleeping!"

Izaya chuckled. Sleep sounded so very tempting. "Are you really suggesting to skip a school day?"

Shizuo rolled his eyes, knowing Izaya really didn't have a problem with it. "You skip classes all the time."

Izaya shrugged and kissed him. "Alright, we'll go to your place. Because I really am tired." A frown of concern etched onto Shizuo's face, but Izaya smiled and said, "Be right back."

Shizuo huffed when Izaya entered the school and leaned back against the wall. "Damn flea." He smiled. "Turning me into mush with that stupid kiss of his."

…..

"…. That's why it wouldn't be fair to accept the money, and if Tachigama's accident was the same kind like that of the student from the library, then I guess we really did fail," Izaya said, standing in front of Uwasaki behind a classroom desk on the second floor.

Uwasaki looked at him with surprise. "I see, but you know, the spirit did leave, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did."

"Then maybe you really did do something to drive the spirit away."

Izaya shook his head. "I don't think that's the case, so in my honest opinion, the rest of the money isn't acceptable."

Uwasaki smiled. "You are truly professional. You'll go far, Mr Orihara. Good luck with your future."

Izaya nodded. "Thank you, sir." Izaya left the principal to continue shuffling and grading his papers.

Izaya's hand froze over the door frame.

His heart skipped a beat, and he felt his blood run cold. That tune. Izaya turned slowly around. Uwasaki wasn't even aware he was still here and just continued grading papers, humming that damn tune! Izaya felt his palms sweat, and before he could stop, he whispered, "It was you…."

Uwasaki looked up at him, tilting his head. "Something wrong?" He mistook Izaya's expression and laughed. "Don't mind me. I often sing to my little boy before he goes to sleep. Sometimes, the songs just get stuck in my head. Silly, right?"

Izaya couldn't believe it.

It was Uwasaki.

The man stood up with a frown. "Are you okay? You look so pale, maybe you should sit down." Izaya couldn't move; he was in too much shock. The raven flinched ever so slightly when he realized Uwasaki was right in front of him, but he still couldn't move his damn legs. "I should send for the nurse. She should be in now," he said as he placed his hand over the door.

That's when Izaya saw it.

The tattoo. The three interlocked triangles.

Izaya's breathing picked up, and he tried so hard not to let it show. He needed to get out of here before Uwasaki realized Izaya knew what he'd done.

The principal followed Izaya's line of sight and smiled. "Had this tattoo for a while. Pretty cool huh, it's called valknut. Norse mythology. You interested in that sort of thing?"

That's it, just keep talking casually like I'm not on to you. Izaya couldn't stop his legs from shaking. He tried to shrug it off, and before he could attempt to leave with a hearty goodbye, Uwasaki's eyes narrowed, and Izaya knew. I'm fucking done for. Izaya flinched when the door suddenly slammed shut. Izaya's hand slipped casually into his pocket, reaching for his knife, but before using it, the man grabbed his shoulders and kneed him hard in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. Izaya's eyes screwed shut, and he crashed into a few of the desks before skidding across the floor.

"Should have left sooner, boy! I'm truly impressed you figured it out. How did you do that by the way? There was certainly no evidence pointing to me. I thought I'd be safe, because after all, Tachigama created this mess in the first place, didn't he."

Izaya's eyes widened as he pushed himself to stand up. "You knew…."

"About how he fell in love with Setton and made a move on her? Yes, I did."

Izaya frowned. "She came to you for help, and you-"

Uwasaki just grinned. "I couldn't very well have a story like that get out, could I. That would have been a disaster. I evidently saved myself, the school, and Tachigama's career."

Izaya backed up against another desk, his flick blade hidden behind him, waiting to strike. "I'm sure he didn't see it that way."

Uwasaki laughed. "Well, he didn't know. As far as he was aware, Setton committed suicide before she could tell anyone. And perhaps he felt bad, looking like he was the reason why. Oh well, what doesn't kill him - Ha! Well, I guess it did."

Izaya's grip tightened on the knife, gritting his teeth.

"And now the same thing will happen to you. How does this sound. Dear mum and dad, and my friends. I truly regret being unable to save Mr Tachigama from the spirit haunting the school. I couldn't cope with the pressure of being responsible for such a dangerous job. I can no longer live with the struggle of this life. I hope you can understand. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Izaya Orihara." Uwasaki smirked. "Good right?"

Izaya's determination left him when the reality of what the asshole in front of him had done made him feel sick. He wrote a suicide note for her. Izaya didn't realize his grip had loosened on his knife until it fell to the floor with a clink. Izaya glanced down and kicked it to the side, stopping Uwasaki from retrieving it himself. The man glared, grabbed him by the shirt, and lifted him up. Izaya pulled back his fist and smashed it into Uwasaki's face. The man released him with a howl, and the raven dashed for the door, only to find it locked. Izaya frowned and tried to pull it. How? He heard a laugh behind him and turned to see Uwasaki dangling a key as he held part of his face with the other hand.

"You were in such shock that you didn't even see me lock the door, did you?" Uwasaki walked toward him and kicked a desk. Izaya jumped out of the way and ran behind Uwasaki's desk. He dashed across the classroom, jumped a table, and knelt down to grab his knife. Spinning around, Izaya shoved the knife into Uwasaki's hand just as it reached for his throat. The man screamed and stumbled backward, falling over a chair.

Izaya glanced at the window and suddenly remembered. Shizu-chan! With new determination, Izaya heaved a chair from the floor and threw it with all his strength at the window.

Shizuo snapped his head up when glass suddenly shattered above him, eyes widening when a chair came flying out of it and splintered apart on the ground. "What the hell!" Shizuo frowned. "Damn it." He ran into the school, taking a mental note of the room's location. He didn't know how he knew, but Izaya was in trouble!

Izaya panted heavily from exhaustion and turned around, expecting to see Uwasaki crouched on the floor, but no, the man had already taken the knife out of his hand and was on him in a second. Izaya tried to dodge him, but he was so tired and wasn't fast enough.

Sharp pain sliced through him, and he collapsed with a breathless gasp of agony.

Uwasaki sighed in annoyance; he hadn't expected Izaya to be this capable, and now his plan of suicide wouldn't work. "Well, I'll just have to kill you and burn your body." The door to the room broke from its hinges, splitting in two. The man jumped and looked in horror to see the blond teen gritting his teeth in anger. "Now then…. just - just take it easy."

Clenching his fists, Shizuo picked up a desk with little effort and stalked toward the man now cowering in fear. His instincts flared when he saw the knife in Uwasaki's hand. "You bastard!"

Before Shizuo could throw the desk, Uwasaki shouted, "I won't be going to jail! Not today!"

Shizuo sneered. "You keep telling yourself that."

Uwasaki grinned. "Not today… not ever." Before Shizuo could knock him straight out with the desk, he watched in horror as the man ran, took a leap, and jumped from the broken window.

Shizuo ran over and stared down at the fallen body. Blood splattered the pavement below, and he grimaced. "Shit…" He was pulled from his nausea when a light groan of pain caught his attention. Throwing the desk to the side, he skidded beside the raven. "Izaya!" Gently, he rolled him over. Izaya hissed, and Shizuo could see the blood covering most of his hand as Izaya cradled his wound. "Izaya! Talk to me!"

Izaya's eyes fluttered open, and he smiled weakly. "H-hey…Shizu-chan…."

Shizuo gritted his teeth, frowning deeply. "Don't move! You're gonna be fine…."

Izaya winced and tried not to move like Shizuo said, but he could feel his shirt sticking to his side, and it fucking hurt. "Shizu-chan…my side….feels wet."

Shizuo frowned. "It's okay, you're fine. You'll be fine. I'll call an ambulance, and they'll-" he took note of the blood and helped Izaya put some pressure on it, causing the raven to hiss. "You'll be alright," he repeated, and Izaya didn't miss the sentence change.

"It's…bad…right? Don't… don't lie to me."

Shizuo shook his head. "No, I told you, you're fine…."

Izaya frowned. "Shizu-chan…"

"No, damn it! I told you! Shut up!" The raven watched Shizuo take out his phone and call the ambulance. Shizuo yelled everything at the poor person unfortunate enough to take his call. Izaya couldn't help but smile. "Tsk. What are you smiling at?" Shizuo said after hanging up, hoping it might keep Izaya's mind off the wound. Everything would be okay.

"That poor operator…."

Shizuo huffed a laugh; if Izaya was making a joke, he couldn't be that bad, right? Shizuo frowned when the raven's eyes slowly began to close. "Oi! Stay awake! Izaya! Stay with me!"

Izaya's eyes opened for a moment. "Sorry…. I'm just - so tired…." And then they closed again.

A wave of panic swept over him, and Shizuo clenched his fist. "Izaya! Wake up! Stay with me!"

….

Izaya opened his eyes to a dimly lit room. He caught the faint sound of bleeping and frowned in confusion. Where am I? A sigh of relief caught his attention, and a delicate hand wrapped around his, and he looked into the crying eyes of his mother.

"Oh, sweetheart… you're awake. We were so worried."

Izaya didn't know what had happened to him, but it must have been bad. Seeing the room more clearly, he realized he must be in the hospital. "W't… happened?"

His mother smiled at him and kissed his forehead. "Shh. It's okay, just rest. You'll be alright."

Izaya frowned at the familiar words and remembered. "Shizu-chan…?"

Her hand came up to stroke his face. "He called the ambulance, and he rode with you all the way here. He hasn't left your side. He's in the waiting room with Shinra and Kadota. You're friends are very attentive."

Izaya opened his mouth to correct her statement because if it weren't for Shizuo, he wouldn't be here now. "Shizu-chan is-" Not just my friend. He couldn't find the courage to tell her. "Yeah, they are."

"We were so worried when we got the call. Your father and I rushed over right away. Mairu and Kururi are with him in the cafeteria."

"I'm sorry…."

"Shhh. Don't worry about it for now. The doctor said with all the blood loss, your injury might have been mistaken for a stab wound because the cut was deep enough."

Izaya sighed in relief. It certainly felt like he'd been stabbed, and Shizuo panicked so much….. "Mom..?"

"What is it?"

"Did they find…." Seeing her son frown, she sensed what he wanted to ask.

"They did, and thanks to you, that girl's parents learned the truth about what really happened."

Izaya's eyes widened. "How did you…."

Kyouko smiled. "Shizuo made a statement to the police. They searched his house and found chloroform and a mask. They also found several handwritten suicide notes. It looked like he had practiced to get her writing perfect."

Izaya shuddered; that bastard had the nerve to tell him his own to his face! "I - I'm sorry."

"I've got a wonderful son. Brave, respectful and not afraid to take risks to do what's right. You're my little hero, Izaya. I love you."

Izaya was surprised she didn't even get mad; was she not even curious about why he had gotten involved with all this? He was too tired to worry about it anyway, and he smiled at her when she kissed his forehead. "Love you too…."

Kyouko smiled. "Get some rest."

…

Izaya sat up with a grunt of pain, and Shizuo rushed over to help, placing the food he'd gotten down on the table. "Oi, I thought you weren't supposed to move much yet."

Izaya huffed. While he appreciated Shizuo's concern, Izaya couldn't do anything without him turning into a worried mess, and it became annoying. "Shizu-chan… I'm fine. I was only sitting up, that's all."

Shizuo caught the slight snippiness of Izaya's tone and stepped away. "Sorry. Maybe I should leave you to rest."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "Don't get defensive. I just don't need your help twenty-four seven. It's kind of smothering. I get it enough from my mother." Shizuo avoided his gaze, and Izaya sighed and then patted the bed. "Come sit with me. I want you to stay…."

Shizuo looked up. "I was just worried-"

Izaya tilted his head with a smile. "I know, and it's okay." He patted the bed once more. "Shinra and Dota-chin?"

Shizuo sat on the edge of the bed, mindful of the cannula connecting to Izaya's hand. "Getting food. Be up in a minute."

Izaya curled his finger, and Shizuo leaned forward. Izaya lightly grabbed hold of the blond's shirt with his other hand. "Kiss me…" Shizuo smiled and gently pressed his lips to Izaya's, leaning his weight on his palm so that he didn't fall forward. They pulled away, and Izaya chuckled when Shizuo licked his lips.

The raven turned to the door, and his eyes widened.

Shizuo frowned at the sudden change and was about to ask what was wrong when Izaya spoke again, his tone a whisper of surprise. "Shinra…"

Hearing their friend's name, Shizuo turned his attention to the door, his mouth agape.

Shinra dropped the coffee, and the two caught the hurtful expression on his face before he ran off.

Shizuo turned to look at Izaya, who looked back at him in dismay, cursing in unison. "Shit."