A/N: *With bandaged forehead and shin resting on a pillow* Here's a really fast update. And here's also a warning for the chapter – though nothing explicit. Check chapter one's list of possible warnings and take your pick.

I also promise that things will get better in a couple of chapters... we're reaching the climax and the last angst bomb. ;P

I fled.

I took off down the alley, emerging from the empty mouth - Kai's remaining men were just a couple of seconds too late. I practically burst around the corner, shoving myself between two darkly dressed people before taking off down the sidewalk, sparing a quick second to glance over my shoulder. I had a hunch that the people I had just run past were late – Kai was smart enough to block off both entrances, after all.

Two of the three men were staring at me in confusion, the third encouraging them to hurry up because "he might get away!" Guess my hunch was right. It was in that moment that the other three figures the ones who had been stalking into the alley and apparently out to get me, emerged from the alley as well, accidentally slamming into their own men.

Two of them went down to the ground while the remaining people quickly figured out what was going on. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"Grab him!"

Pfft. Like I would make it that easy.

I was already twenty feet ahead of them because there was no way that I was stupid enough to stop and observe my humans while they were trying to kill me. Again. At least I have a head start for once. It was a pleasant feeling, having a fighting chance. I might make it, after all.

And then Shiki and I would sit down over a nice cup of tea and have a very nice chat about our business relationship.

Or what was left of it.

I abruptly made a sharp turn down the next street, sprinting down to the end before turning once again. A little bit of wasted energy now could aid me in the very near future. I just had to keep my wits about me, and play my cards right. If there was anything that I was confident about, it was my skills at losing my pursuers – not that Shizu-chan was the sharpest tool in the shed and a good example for me to use in this case.

He'd probably get lost following a blood trail.

A series of yells sounded behind me, and I took the next random corner as fast as I could. They were following me with no problems, and my stomach was already cramping up. The demon was taking up too much space, limiting my lungs and only adding unnecessary weight to my normally agile figure. I felt slow. Clumsy. Legs burning, adrenaline pumping, I was definitely out of shape and already tired.

Still. I can do this!

And when the demon suddenly rolled, serrated spine grating against me painfully and possibly shredding my insides, I almost went crashing to the ground. "Stop... moving!" I managed to hiss, one hand flying to my stomach as I turned yet another corner with only a few stumbles. I hunched over mid stride, struggling to keep my balance and speed. Now was definitely not the time to collapse, or be inconvenienced by some demonic little shit that shouldn't have even existed.

How cruel, Izaya, I thought we were better friends than this.

I scoffed, righting myself even though my body was beginning to sting.

Good. Keep that stubborn attitude. I'm not your worst nightmare right now. Evil cackling erupted in my mind, and it was not my own. It was sick, twisted, and terrifying. "Shut... up!" My breath was already coming out in heavy pants, legs struggling to keep my pace as I continued on. Now was not the time to give in.

This was no problem. I could lose them.

Around the corner, two figures appeared from one of the alleys further up and started running towards me. So they got smart, hey? I dashed into the alley that I had almost passed, satisfied with my unpredictable route, running straight from one end to the other. I was planning to pull same stunt I had with Shizu-chan – back tracking so that they would lose my trail. If everything went according to plan, I should come out of the alley just in time to see their backs turning the last corner I had made. A perfect loop, and the ones who had seen me would still be far, far behind me.

But then again, last time I had tried this, it hadn't worked out so well.

Breathing hard, I emerged from the entrance, glancing quickly to my right just in time to see two of the other men run around the corner, just as I had planned. Hah hah! Idiots-

Something heavy and solid collided with me, and next thing I knew, I was falling face first onto the sidewalk, hands extended to try and at least try to save myself. Another body landed heavily beside me, but I didn't have the time to register what had happened. Pain flared up from my lower stomach, the demon shifting violently as I landed on it hard, squishing it beneath me. It pinched at my insides with claw like protrusions, an aggressive growl erupting from within me.

Moaning, I quickly rolled over onto my side, fighting against the need to curl into myself in favor of sitting up and onto my knees. The pain could wait. This pain was nothing compared to what could and most likely would come to me.

The man I had collided with was already picking himself up, nose bleeding and cheek just as bloody from meeting the sidewalk. He used the back of his hand to smear the blood from his face, creating a larger mess in the process. "I got him!" He yelled into an ear piece – shit, these guys were very organized – before barking out our location as he rushed towards me. A hand reached out to grab my hood, but I ducked, springing to my feet in the opposite direction of his momentum and then took off running once again, my pace considerably slower.

I mostly stumbled away, chest heaving, while the average looking goon in a bandanna honed in on me. Ragged and in pain or not, I wasn't getting caught this time. I was still moving faster then some of them, but if I ran any slower, I would definitely get caught. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see the rest of his gang regrouping. I didn't look for any longer than I had to though. I needed to focus.

This chase might be longer than I had originally anticipated.

I wasn't going to look twice.

I took off running back down the street. I was Izaya Orihara, and slow or not, I could lose them in twenty minutes.

The demon laughed the entire way.

Two hours.

It was getting darker by the minute, the sun threatening to finally disappear over the skyline and rob me of my much needed sunlight. I pressed myself up against the brick wall of some dirty dead end alley, my breathing painfully ragged and my lungs burning worse then ever before. The demon was ominously silent, and it had been for the majority of the chase. I had been all over Ikebukuro, even daring to head towards home for some time until I got corner, and herded away.

They were tag teaming me like fucking hunting dogs.

I only had a couple of seconds left to rest, but I needed to plot. I needed a plan. They were constantly on my tail – their organization was bigger than I had originally anticipated. I had noticed a switch after the first half an hour; the glimpses of their faces were changing, new members switching out to take over in the spot of their tired comrades, and they had a communication system going to make sure that they were always nearby.

Just how big was this? Did they want the head this much? Was this actually another of Shiki's elaborate plans? How could I trust him so easily!?

It didn't matter, though, because they weren't getting Celty's head, whether they liked it or not.

I pushed myself from the wall, breathing still extremely uneven, and I tried to take a few steps forward. Exhaustion was threatening to consume me like the shadows of the night as they rose from the dead. I couldn't deny that I was tired.

But surely they were too. I just had to hold out until they gave up.

Stumbling to the mouth of the alley, I grabbed the wall in an attempt to support my shaking form. Still heaving – but not nearly as hard as a couple of minutes ago – I poked my head around the corner to check if the coast was clear. To be honest, I was beyond surprised that I had even made it this far.

Was this just a test?

It was getting darker, and I had this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something very, very important, but the sidewalks were empty save for a few of my less violent human beings. There were no large goons dressed in black or dark bandanas anywhere to be seen, but that didn't mean that they weren't nearby. The sleek black cars were just another problem to add to my current list, driving around like they were patrolling.

Luckily for me, cars couldn't climb fire escapes or jump from rooftop to rooftop.

Sighing, I retreated back into the shadows to keep my location secure, pulling out my cell phone. I was done playing. Ready to go home. Tired. A simple call and a quick explanation, and surely Celty could pick me up and whisk me away. I hadn't had a chance to pull out the device until now, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

They were good. They were actually pretty good. No wonder Shiki had been so reluctant to let Kai and his team go. Either they had finally lost my trail, or they were tired of chasing me. Pfft. I didn't trust that they had given up, and I wasn't about to step from the safety of my current haven to try and prove that idea. They could always be trying to lure me out.

And that was my newest problem; the paranoia, but hey, it was definitely better to be safe than sorry.

I flipped open my phone, the light all but blinding me as I clicked onto my contacts icon, and began to scroll through my terrible list of terrible nicknames. 'Transporter' was all I needed. Transporter, a brief explanation, and then I would be free. It would be much easier to convince Celty to help me than Shinra. Shit. What am I supposed to say to Shinra? The demon suddenly snickered, momentarily catching my attention.

"What is your-"

And then they struck.

Black tendrils suddenly wrapped around my limbs, moaning and groaning and emerging with need and desire – spirits formed from the recesses of the shadows and quickly grabbed onto me, lengthy limbs wrapping around my exposed body. They pulled my back into the brick wall with enough strength to knock the air out of me.

I dropped my phone – possibly pressing a button or two – with a loud gasp escaping me as I realized what it had been that I had forgotten about. My name was quietly being whispered as the shadows suddenly seemed to grow darker, mist passing over my eyes and blinding me.

"N-no!" Slapping at the tendrils, I began to shift and fidget, their grip growing tighter with each passing second, hissing loud like a train suddenly slammed into the air around me, their hate and despair filling my ears, filling my thoughts, promising to steal my soul. I could feel myself sinking closer to the ground, my knees buckling beneath me as the shadows wrapped around my face and my eyes. Between the hysterical laughing in my stomach and the laughing in my ears, I gave up on trying to keep my facade. My heart and stomach were going to burst, tears pricking my eyes as I began to panic and suffocate in my own terror.

There was no need for pretending.

I screech. Twisting and jerking violently, shadows stretching, tearing, and even ripping from my violent force. I ripped my arms free, hands flying to my face to claw at the shadows. I twisted, head jerking and legs tripping up on me and suddenly I was falling, landing on my cellphone and violently trying to roll away. Kicking, I managed to free my ankles before rolling onto my hands and knees and forcing myself to stand, to fight against the force that was trying to hold me back. I automatically grabbed for my spare pocket knife, the blade flipping open immediately and swiping violently upwards.

My face was released. The tendrils recoiled into themselves in shock. I needed to get away. I needed to find light. I couldn't give them a chance to try again.

I turned and ran, breath even more ragged then when I had stopped. Bursting from the alley, I almost tripped. I stumbled into the street, eyes honing in on a light post, the shadows growling and pulsating around it teasingly, like they were beckoning for me to rush towards them, to try and push past them, to try and reach the only spot where they themselves could not reach me. With my knife still clutched in my left hand, I only felt slightly safer. At least I could fight, kicking and screaming.

But I didn't have time for that.

"I see him!"

Really. They just couldn't give me a break, could they?

Resisting the call of the light, I twisted around and took off again down the street just like earlier, just now, arms were reaching out to try and grab at me, shadowy tendrils attempting to trip me and stop me, chaotic voices screaming as I flew by. There was a tunnel up ahead for one of the rail trains, but there was no way I was going under it. "No," I turned, fleeing into an alley, and slowly but surely I was coming to hate the sight of gravel and brick. A mantra of my name was being whispered as I ripped past reaching fingers, and I could hear the heavy slaps of shoes behind me again. They were catching up. I wondered just how much longer I could last.

I am not being dragged to Hell today.

After this, I was locking myself in my apartment and not coming out.

Running out from the back way, I bolted back onto the streets of Ikebukuro, and once again slammed into a human being. We fell to the ground violently; he grabbed me mid fall and somehow ended up twisting our limbs together. My shoulder slammed into the pavement, and I landed underneath him, back sliding against the rough surface. My jacket was probably torn, judging by his own sleeve, and I could feel the stinging bite of a deep cut.

He didn't let go. Please be someone I know, please be someone, Dota-chiin. Shinra. Simon. Even Shizu-chan, I don't care. Wheezing painfully, I squinted.

"Hey Orihara, how are you?"

Ansen Hajime.

Fuck! Energy suddenly surged through my bloodstream, and I thrashed in his grip harder then I ever thought possible. I managed to break his hold around my waist, but instantly felt myself on my stomach with my head pinned to the ground, cheek scraping against the sidewalk.

"Fancy meeting you here." He grabbed for my left hand and I swung, blade still clutched in my grasps like it were the only thing keeping me alive. I caught his forearm, metal sinking deeply into his skin and then tearing when he recoiled from the swipe. He swore, fingers curling into my face and grabbed onto my wrist. He squeezed painfully until the knife fell from my hand. They're working together! I knew this! You knew this Izaya! You idiot! How did you not see this coming!? "A little panicky, are we? Clouding up your better judgment, I see."

Foot steps slapped on the road, several panting humans coming closer. Hajime hoisted me up to my knees with my arms held behind my back, both of his hands threatening to crush my bones. I let my head hand as I panted, eyes still narrowed into slits. I wasn't going down without a fight still.

"Where's the car?"

"They're coming, sir." One of Kai's – Hajime's – whoever was behind this chaos' – henchmen briskly walked up to me, grabbing onto my arms and switching places with Hajime.

Hajime cracked his knuckles, walking around me before stopping in front of my face. "I hear you clipped Kai." He said matter of factually, like it was a rhetorical question. His rolled his shoulders, before crossing his arms. Like that intimidating display would get to me.

I glanced up with a snarl. Should have stabbed him. Him and Kai both.

"I hear that you also declined his proposition."

I shifted, trying to wiggle out of the grasp that held me. He wasn't going to get the better of me. Not this time. I glared as hard as I could, but it seemed as though I was merely a harmless wet cat caught by the scruff of the neck.

"I don't see that blonde bartender around either, this time. Or that headless rider. So I take it you actually came unprepared?" His smile stretched the scar on his face, but my shivering was due to the gentle coils of shadows that were beginning to wrap around my limbs. We were on the dark street, in the middle of Ikebukuro, and conveniently there was not a human soul to be seen.

He approached me, patting my cheek with his injured hand. Apparently I hadn't got him as nicely as I thought I had. "So, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Shiki wants peace between us, seeing how I promised to join his force if you make me happy. So this entire plot is resting on you." He grinned broadly, and I scrunched my face in response. "Ah, I can't kill you this time even if you choose the hard route, but trust me," he leaned forward to whisper, cheek pressing against mine and his hot breath hitting the shell of my ear, "you'll ask me to kill you when I'm done."

There was something so disgustingly promising in his voice that I shuddered, eyes unfocused and stubbornly staring ahead of me. He must have felt my jaw clench, because suddenly he laughed and pulled away, both hands slapping onto my shoulders.

He stood tall, crossing his arms again. "So, Orihara, are we doing this the easy way, where you just give me the object I so desire, or are we going to do this the hard way?"

"Why do you need it?" I questioned; it was the only thing I could really do without giving in. From what I could tell, there was no way out of this. There were about ten of them, and one of me. And a demon. But the demon was useless.

At least my breathing had evened out.

"Well, I did run a department back at Yagiri," he said snidely, suggestively. Like experimenting was a hobby or something. "So, what will it be?"

Namie must know this bastard. I would have to torture her later and demand that she tell me everything about him later. He had to have some weak point. Some Achilles heel. Some flaw. I wanted nothing more than to shoot his high horse and crush him beneath the sole of my shoe.

"No," I snarled. He couldn't kill me. I wouldn't die. So I could defy and deny him.

I wasn't going to back down. If I could survive this long with a growing demon and five ridiculous fears trying to murder me every chance they got, Shinra picking and prodding and Shizu-chan being stupid and nice, then I could say 'no' to know-it-all Ansen and his fucking posse of high-school drop outs.

Even if they were smart.

The demon snickered at my internal display of childishness, and the scowl reached my face. "No." I repeated it, just to make sure that he knew my answer, loud and clear.

He punched me.

My nose cracked like that night when Shizuo slammed me into some dirty wall. Pain exploded into my forehead, and my eyes squeezed shut on their own accord. I gasped, struggling against the grip on my arms.

"Get him in the car. We're drawing some attention."

I was hoisted to my feet, two henchmen dragging me away from Ansen's crime scene. I opened my eyes just in time to get shoved into the back seat of a car, handcuffs slapping around my wrist and clamping shut painfully. Ansen and one of his guys got in the back with me, situating me in the seat between them, while the driver and a passenger were already present.

"That Orihara?" The driver's eyes flickered to meet mine in the rear-view mirror, before they narrowed at me accusingly.

"Yeah," Hajime said casually, checking out the slash mark I left on his arm.

I was shivering in the seat beside him, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. There wasn't anything I could really do. My hands were cuffed. The shadows were antagonizing me with my own name, their tendrils wrapped around me stiffly like they were aiding in my misery. The numbers may have been down, but it was still four against one, and not to mention that fact that I was utterly exhausted.

What could I do?

Ha, Izaya, you could cry, ne?

Tempting, but no.

We drove in silence, Hajime wiping the blood off of his arm and then disregarding the wound like it had been a mere paper cut. My throat felt like it was closing up, my lungs refusing to expand. The entire battle was one sided, and the only reason why I lost was because of my stupid fear of the stupid dark because there were mean spirits trying to damn my soul.

My thoughts eerily remained blank after that.

We drove for maybe five minutes – not too far away from Shinra's, I noticed – before pulling onto the highway and then disappearing into an underground parking lot. We parked beside a van, and then nothing seemed to happen.

I was only thankful that there was light - the shadows dispersing as soon as we rolled in.

The driver slumped back into his chair, the passenger glancing out the window and at the van. Ansen decided to check his message, his phone lighting up the wry smirk on his face, and his subordinate mimicked the passenger by simply looking out the window.

One minute in silence, and I couldn't help but fidget. What is he doing? I had been expecting him to drag me out of the car and beat me, force me into giving him Celty's real head, like I had originally promised at the very, very, very beginning of this stupid game.

I had promised him a fake, shipped it off to start a war, and now he was sided with the opposing team and demanding the real thing from me. Why did I get myself into this?

I shifted, shooting him a dirty look.

He met my gaze and chuckled, the phone disappearing into his pocket. Shit! I left my phone back in that alley! "We have all night, Orihara. I'm not letting you go until you give me what I want."

So we were just going to sit here? Play the waiting game? Was that what he had in mind?

I could play this game all night – I had twin sisters, after all.

I sneered, staring back in front of me, and I ignored how amusement lit up his face at my response. He was probably hoping that the silence would unnerve me, or stress me, maybe even crack me. To be completely honest, I had used the silent treatment on more than one occasion to get information.

This was the easy part.

Minutes passed by silently, and I was just about to chastise the demon for shifting his freaking scales or spine or whatever that protrusion was into my stomach, when Hajime decided to speak again.

"You know, I get bored of games easily." He said, knocking on the window. The van suddenly opened up beside us, and his gang got out, leaving the side door open with one guy sitting inside. I counted twelve people total, not including me. Could I escape them? Hajime stretched, elbowing me in the process. "You see, I like to play easy at first. You know, like warnings." He grinned, and I glared beneath my bangs back at him, keeping my mouth firmly shut.

Now was not a good time to provoke him, considering his earlier warning. My spine crawled at the thought. I still had hope that I could escape. But how?

"Let's call this warning one; the silence game." His smile split his face as he popped his door open, grabbing me by the upper arm and dragging me out of the car with him. "Now we will proceed to warning two, and then warning three. And then I would like to show you the ropes. A little bit of pushing around so that you understand what you're in for, you know?"

I was met with the damp stench that normally accompanied underground parking lots. Once again, I noticed that is was devoid of human life. Good luck, Izaya. I wasn't sure if it was me or the demon, but we definitely had the same idea going.

The door slammed shut, and Hajime pushed my back against it, pinching my hands behind my back painfully. "So?" His voice rose, echoing throughout the parking lot but I managed to suppress the flinch that came with it, "are you going to give me what I want, or no?"

I shook my head instantly. I was already this far in, I might as well hold out.

"Of course." He murmured, smiling. "Well, then, it would be a shame if," he kneed me in the stomach and I groaned, folding over as pain spread through me. The demon shifted quickly, searing pain threatening to spill out vocally. "I were to beat in that pretty little face of yours?"

I didn't respond, trying to catch my breath.

"You think you're so slick, informant. Always running away like a coward, playing with all of your puppets from behind the stage, right? Do you really think this story is going to go the way you want it to? That you can prevail and survive anything? That you don't have any fears?" I righted myself when I caught my breath, weakly glaring. Damn. I was really tired. "Well it's not Orihara. You're at my mercy, and even though I can't kill you for my own benefit, I can still disfigure you. I can still render you handicapped." He reached up, grabbing my face in his massive, clammy hand and he tilted my head back painfully, forcing my eyes to meet his. "I can cut off your legs, or even burn you alive. And what can you do, besides scream?"

He snorted, blue eyes narrowing in challenge.

Demon, don't move.

I bashed my forehead into his face.

He yelped, reeling back in surprise, hands flying to his nose as it started to bleed once again. He took a step back and then glared at me, but I was already moving around the front of the car, hands restricted or not. The moment of vertigo had left me momentarily blinded, but I could maneuver well enough. If I didn't run now, then I would only beat myself up later for not trying. I had merely seen an opportunity and took it.

Run straight!

The demon seemed to be entertained, and as long as he was entertained, I could trick him into helping me. I tried to make a run for it just as my vision started to clear back up.

But my escape plan was instantly ruined, hands wrapping around my waist securely before hoisting me into the air and throwing me over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I kicked and wriggled, growling loudly while glaring at the open drivers door, the brute carrying me back to the waiting group of thugs. I was out of breath again by the time we got back, and the body guard threw me down and onto the cement floor without mercy. Pain flared in my wrists, and I groaned, but pried open an eye just to make sure that no one was about to stomp on my face.

Hajime was hovering above me and looking pissed, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"Little shit." He spat, reaching down and pulling me up to my feet by my hair. I yelled, trying to get my feet underneath me to take away the pressure. "Get out of the van." He snapped at the kid who had been sitting in the van, the punk suddenly scuttling out of Hajime's way. He looked too young to be caught up in a Yakuza war. And glanced at him carefully, not that processing information would help me at the moment.

I was shoved forward, torso slamming onto the floor of the van while my legs remained securely on the ground outside, bent over like a quick fuck. Hands were suddenly shoving my jacket up and around my waist, and I glanced over my shoulder in a panic.

Hajime's face almost knocked into mine as he pressed me into the floor, his chest to my back. "We're skipping warnings two and three." He snarled, hands sliding over my belt.

"Wait," Fear coiled in the pit of my stomach, and I tried to struggle, only to encourage the little spark of excitement going on in his pants. My lower half was suddenly bare, and I shivered, calloused palms sliding over me. "No-"

"I'm going first, and then the boys can all have a round. Maybe you'll be more compliant and understanding when we're done."

I didn't even have time argue. He took me as aggressively as he could.