He quickly finished and ate breakfast, heading out the door right on time. Though, he was disappointed with the fact Kasuka hadn't responded. He must've had to do something, his brother always responded.

Later that afternoon...

"Nee nee Shizu-chan, that's just unfair!" The raven pouted, trying to reach the hat Shizuo held too high for him to reach. "Give it back!" Usually Shizuo was against bullying, but something seemed different about this; there wasn't a smile on his face.

"No it's not! You don't have to cover your face with this stupid thing," Shizuo sternly said, clenching the hat even tighter. It was shocking, really. He actually cared if this kid wore hats because he was self-conscious? Usually he preached those people.

The raven stopped jumping, crossing his arms angrily. "It's my hat, I can do whatever I want!"

The burrnett suddenly leaned forward, being only inches away from the raven's face. "Not if it means hiding your face, you need to be you, not someone else; besides, it's too beautiful to hide~"

"Shizuo?" Tom's voice finally rang in his ears, snapping the blond out of his thoughts. Had he dozed-off into another daydream? He didn't even realize it. Ahhhhh.

"S-sorry, didn't get much sleep," he sighed, casually taking out a cigarette and lighting it. At least he didn't manage to cross the road when there was a red light or something insanely stupid like that; he'd manage to do it.

Tom watched him for a few moments, studying his every movement. "Really? That's not like you. Something bothering you?" He pulled out a cigarette as well, lighting it as they walked.

Shizuo inhaled some of the nicotine before blowing it out, staring blankly forward. He never liked getting others in his business, but this was his boss after all. "Nah, just some old memories have been bugging me, that's all."

"Old memories? Like what?"

Shizuo sighed, taking another dose from his cigar, trying to calm his nerves; he didn't want to have another panic attack, not with Tom here. "Just an old friend of mine, guess I've forgotten him."

"Ahh, that's always the worst," Tom sighed, putting his cigar out. He didn't even know why he lit one, he didn't like smoking. "If this person really matters to you though, they'll come back." Shizuo didn't say anything, and kept quiet throughout the duration of the job. They didn't even have to call an ambulance this time, which was quite shocking. Either way, Tom was thankful, paperwork was time consuming.

"See ya in a hour, have fun," Tom waved Shizuo off as the body-guard strolled down to the cafe where he was supposed to meet his friends. He'd been waiting for this all day, especially since his brother hadn't responded. Not that he minded, he was always busy, but he just wanted to know.

As he entered the cafe, he didn't have to search long, Celty stuck-out like a sore thumb; no offense to her. It wasn't everyday you saw someone wearing a helmet; a bright yellow one at that.

"Shizuo! Glad you made it!"Shinra cheered, holding his drink up and nearly spilling it on Celty. "O-oh, sorry Celty." Shizuo shook his head. He didn't understand how Kadota was able to put up with him. Then again, he could ask the same thing, but about him.

"How much of this did you have to put up with?" Shizuo asked Kadota, who was smiling up at him. He liked Kadota, he was cool and actually understood him. He also knew how to put up with the doctor, which to him, was great respect.

"It wasn't all that bad, he's worse when he's drunk," Kadota laughed, taking a sip of his drink. "You're lucky you've never seen him drunk."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shizuo chuckled, taking a seat. The waiter came around, seeing the new comer, but even she couldn't hide the terror written on her face.

"Wh-what can I get you sir?" She tried her best not to stutter, but failed. The whole table got silent, all of them looking at Shizuo with sad looks. They hated when people treated their friend with such terrible respect. Ahhhh.

Shizuo dropped his gaze, staring out the window without letting any of his emotions of the situation out. "I'll just take some ice tea and a chicken sandwich." The waitress rushed off, not even saying the usual good-byes. The blond was okay with that, as long as he wasn't being scared-down like a freak, he was happy.

"So," Shinra coughed, trying to start up another conversation. At least Shinra knew when to act, he did have some good points about him other then being a pretty good doctor. "How you been Shizuo? Celty and I are doing fine, a lot of new customers, and Kadota found himself two new friends."

Shizuo turned to Kadota with a questioning gaze. Two new friends? Not surprising, he always made friends with people, but Shinra was specific with 'two'. "Oh, do we know them?"

Kadota waved his hand, a look of embarrassment striking his face. "They're two crazy Otaku's, you don't want to meet them, trust me. They nearly followed me here just to meet you."

"Meet me?" Shizuo asked, a bit shocked. Then again, these were anime-fans. The brute was just shocked with the fact that Kadota actually called people Otaku's; he was usually really considerate.

"Yeah, they want to meet the man who's strength is that of Superman's, or whatever. They even know American shows." Shizuo couldn't help but giggle to himself, shaking his head. Some people never failed to cheer him up.

"So, how are you holding up? Being a body-guard must really suck sometimes." Shizuo moved uncomfortably, gaze drifting to the table just as the waitress put his order down. She didn't even say anything as she dashed away again. Ahhh, humans.

"Ehh, you get used to it. Besides, this is a job where I can beat people up and actually say I was defending myself." He took a sip of his drink, staring at the floating eyes considerably. Kasuka still hadn't text him back, guess it was time to ask his friends.

"Actually, I was hoping you guys could help me with something," he began, taking a bite out of his sandwich. The three friends looked at each other, a bit shocked, but smiled at him.

"We're always here to help you Shizuo," Shinra reassured. The blond nodded to them with that calming smile of his. Here it goes...

"I was wondering if you guys remembered me ever hanging out with a eight year-old boy with raven hair and pale skin-" he stopped, seeing how their faces contorted in fear. It was as if they had just seen ghosts! "What?"

The three of them stayed silent for a moment, unable to do anything but stare at the blond. It was making him feel uneasy. So they did remember him, and judging by their reaction, something really bad did happen to him after-all.

"Y-you don't remember- how, dear god, w-why didn't I notice?" Shinra's voice quivered, running a shaking hand through his dark-brown hair. "I-I should've guessed but, I-I just didn't pay much attention-" he went on and on, guilt hanging in that voice. Honestly, his reaction was scaring him.

"You guys do remember him, don't you?" He asked again, this time more firmly. He needed to know, unless he'd never be able to sleep again. "Tell me, tell me who it is, please!"

"We do Shizuo, but, but we can't, we just can't tell you who it is," Kadota's voice shook this time, bringing even more shock to the blond's mind. How? How could they not tell him what happened! If it was someone close to him, he wanted to remember him god-dammit!

"Why! Why can't you tell me!" He snapped, feeling his anger nearly veering out of control. Celty seemed to notice this as she fanned one of her arms down as she texted with her other, holding the phone up.

'Calm down Shizuo, this is hard on everyone.' The brute looked up from the text, and at the other two.

"I just want to know his name, at least tell me that!"

"W-we can't," Shinra cried. Shizuo turned to him with a scowl, but saw the doctor with his hair in his face and tears streaming down his eyes. "We can't afford to see that way again... please, please just, don't."

See him, that way? What the hell happened! It only teased him, fueling his anger. All he wanted to know was the name, that was it! Was that too much to ask for? But as he studied his friends faces, he could honestly see the pain in their eyes. They were being truthful, they really wouldn't be able to handle seeing him so hurt.

That only meant that the boy in his dreams really did mean more to him then Kasuka... he didn't even think that was possible.

"Please... please... - I-I wouldn't be able to handle it," Shinra sighed, wiping the tears from his face realizing that Shizuo was beginning to understand. "If you figure out yourself, that's good, we wouldn't be able to stop you from remembering what happened. But we're able to stop it now, and we'd rather do that." Shizuo opened his mouth to say something, but decided just to keep it closed. He learned a while back to believe in his friends, and that's what he decided to do. He'd figure out the name, sooner or later.

"S-sorry," he apologized, clenching his pant-legs under the table. "It's been bugging me, the dreams I have and all."

"It's fine..." For the rest of lunch, Shizuo didn't speak much, and his friends decided to honor that. It just really made him wonder, what did he do after that boy went away? Why did it scare his friends this badly?