Shizuo had given up searching for Izaya and now stood in front of Shinra's apartment. He was bleeding fairly heavily but it didn't really hurt that much. He knocked on their door and Shinra opened it with a smile that instantly melted into a frown.

"What happened this time?"

Shizuo sighed

"The flea was acting weird, I finally caught him but he stabbed me and ran off."

Shinra nodded and led Shizuo farther into the apartment. Celty waved at him and Shizuo smiled. She typed into her phone.

-Izaya was acting strange? How so? –

Shinra began stitching up his arm and Shizuo shrugged.

"I don't know really. Besides the stabbing he was kinda less annoying than usual? He was being his usual shitty self and I told him to shut up. That's about when he started acting weird. He started to say something but then didn't? He looked kinda worried."

Shinra jolted at his sentence and Celty fumbled her phone. Shizuo frowned

"What is it?"

Shinra just started to laugh. Celty pinched him and showed him a text Shizuo couldn't see. He felt annoyance creep in.

"What the hell is it?"

Celty and Shinra shared a look and Shinra just shrugged.

"Izaya won't exactly be thrilled about it but it's not like Shizuo wouldn't figure out eventually."

Celty's shoulders drooped slightly and she typed another message just for Shinra. Shinra laughed.

"He might! You'll protect me right Celty?"

Shinra tried to hug Celty but Shizuo pulled him right back away and growled.

"Tell me what's going on right now. Is that asshole planning something?"

Shinra actually had the nerve to laugh at that, as if Shizuo would hesitate to wring his neck. After Shinra finished his giggle fit he beamed.

"Trust me, Izaya's in more trouble than anybody else."

He reached over to the table and handed Shizuo a book.

"Everything you'll need is in here."

And then he went back to stitching Shizuo's arm. Shizuo looked at the book. It was about common myths and it was bookmarked. Shizuo frowned and shot Celty a look. Celty typed quickly.

-The bookmark is at the page you'll need. –

Shizuo nodded. A little annoyed and confused at all the secrecy. Shinra wiped the blood from his arm and sighed.

"All done. Have fun reading~"

Shizuo nodded and stood up. Celty waved at him as he left. Apparently, he had a book to read.

Shinra sat next to Celty on the couch with a smile.

"Izaya's not going to be happy at all."

His phone dinged and he checked his messages, sighing as he read Izaya's text.

"So Izaya can't talk right now huh? That's got to be torture for him."

Celty tilted her helmet and typed.

-I'm still worried. But I suppose now we know why it happened. –

Shinra shrugged, sending Izaya a text back.

"They're stubborn but Shizuo's not going to just let Izaya die. It'll work out."

Celty shook her helmet.

-I hope you're right. –

Izaya frowned as he read Shinra's text

= Sorry, can't help~ Try to get your soulmate to undo it if it's that much of a problem. =

He dropped his phone to the couch and sighed. At least the ache in his throat only happened when he tried to talk. He could make noise just no words. It was infuriating.

It had sunk in slowly and the more he thought about it the more it hurt his head. Shizuo was his soulmate. The very thought was atrocious. At least he could take comfort in Shizuo not knowing.

He'd have to find some other way to get his voice back. Surely it wasn't impossible! He grit his teeth and picked his phone back up, it was a long shot but maybe if he did some more research? There had to be a way. He wouldn't rest until he found one.

Shizuo set the book down to look at after he made some dinner. All the anger had left him hungry. He made some cup ramen and picked the book back up. He opened to the page and started to read as he ate.

Soulmate Bonds

This myth holds that every person has a soulmate. A person meant just for them. There are two types of soulmates, romantic and platonic. Romantic soulmates are said to be the perfect couples. Platonic soulmates are friends for life and will always be there for each other.

In very rare instances, and for romantic soulmates only, some soulmates will become incompatible along the course of their life and fate will attempt to fix it. The half of the couple that will be most submissive and/or least likely to accept the bond will be cursed by fate. A black band will appear around their neck and their other half will be able to give them orders and affect their mood at will. Eventually the bond will be complete and the couple will find balance. Only then will the band fade and complete free will be returned.

Shizuo scoffed as he read it. Soulmates? Curses? Shinra had to be joking. He put the bookmark back in the book and turned on his tv. He couldn't get the thought out of his mind though. He hadn't seen anything on Izaya's neck but then again, he hadn't looked… He'd have to try it out next time he saw the flea. If he yelled at him to hold still and the flea did…. Well, he'd get the chance to beat him up! It's not like any of it was actually real but it wouldn't exactly hurt to try either.

Shizuo shook his head with a sigh.

"That flea better hope it's not true."