A/N: It seems that none of you noticed that the code numbers Izaya gave for his safe were, respectively, Shizuo's birth month and date. ;P Anyway, here's your next update, late because I was/still am sick.

And something happened to this chapter. Half got deleted, but I found it after I posted and. Idk. Good luck x)

I spilled everything.

All of it.

It came out mostly in a jumble of incoherent sentences, and my story didn't end until after Shinra had finally closed the massive wound on my stomach with almost forty stitches, deeming my life safe. It was a silent order that I wasn't to move - in case I ripped the wound back open - not that I was overly trying to do anything besides cry. A large white-now soaked red bandage was covering the gash, a dirty towel dabbing at my face in a vain attempt to clean it. Either that, or Shinra was just nervously trying to keep his hands occupied, especially after all I had said. His hands weren't steady anymore, and he had even mis-stitched me twice.

When I was done talking, I had both hands pressed to my face in a vain attempt to stop the tears. Last I had seen, both Shinra and Shizuo were several shades paler than they had been originally, and neither of them had interrupted me as I went through everything. Being bored. The whole Replica ordeal, screwing it up by sending it to Kasuka, and getting set up by Shiki. Dying. Going to Hell. Meeting and being raped by Satan. The demon. The fears, one through five. The problems that they caused. The need to change my fate. Agreeing to meet Kai. How Hajime tortured me, and what his whole group did to me, to to try and get the real head.

And now this.

Attempting to cut out the demon because it had seemed like a good idea; a better option than dealing with everything above.

I didn't really want to see their faces. I didn't want to see their disappointment or the disgust. The shame and humiliation was enough for me.

I've had enough.

Awkward silence passed over us, and slowly I slid my hands from my face, solemnly glaring at the ceiling above. The demon was being quiet despite the fact that I had just both literally and figuratively spilled my guts. Shouldn't it have tried to stop me? Shouldn't it have said something, anything? The silence was boring into my soul, and it was painful, just like the chill that settled into my bones.

I almost thought that they didn't believe me.

Shinra was the first to recover, his face a mix of worry and stress. "Let's... just get you patched up for now." He said quietly, eyeing my still bloody torso. I didn't blame him for deciding not to talk about it. I didn't want to talk about it anyway. He had never been asked to remove a demon from someone's body before, after all. He had wiped most of the dirt and gasoline from my face, but I still felt dirty, almost like I would never be clean again.

Shizuo had yet to move. He was sitting cross legged by my drawn knees, hands sitting limply in his lap while he stared at the floor beside me. His face was pinched as he thought, clearly unsure of everything that I had just said. I wasn't sure if he even udnerstood, but I didn't have the energy to tease him. I didn't have the energy to even function. I wasn't sure why I even cared about what he thought; he would just leave me and move on because we were enemies, right?

Shinra sighed, sitting back to grab himself another clean cloth. The previous ones were all red and black from me and my problems. "I need you to understand that I actually don't know what to say for once." He glanced at me sadly, confusion evident on his face. "I honestly don't know. It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that... you should have told me! All of this could have been avoided! You know I could have helped you, right? How many times have we gone through this already?" He looked mad, but the concerned kind of mad. Like he was genuinely scared for my life. Like if he had known any of this before, he would have forced himself in my way to stop me from destroying myself.

I cringed, looking away.

"Why do you always wait until the worst possible moment to admit things or ask for help!?" Shinra knew better then to yell at me. He knew... but then again, I also knew better too. I knew I should have told him everything in the beginning. I should have just put aside my pride and told him. And for that, I was guilty.

But I was petty enough to keep this fact to myself.

Shinra went quiet when my eyes suddenly crinkled up, shame once again passing over my chest. Everything that happened tonight could have been avoided. Therefore it was my fault. I didn't even care if my logic was weak. I sniffed, hands clenching as I tried to will away the guilt of my thoughts, my mind honing in on one specific even that I had briefly mentioned. Was that my fault too? I wasn't even sure if Shinra had heard that part.

"Izaya... I'm sorry." Shinra sighed, hand resting on my arm. He had refused to let me sit up or move, due to the stitches, and so I couldn't even pull away if I wanted too. I was too exhausted to even try. "I didn't mean to yell, you're okay. It's not your fault. I'm just glad that you're telling me now, instead of stubbornly holding out still."

I was already shaking. Swaying my head from side to side, I couldn't quite understand why certain things had happened."No... I'm... sorry." I whispered, eyes stubbornly glaring up at the ceiling. The apology was like a burden coming off of my tongue. When was the last time I had apologized? To anyone? For anything I had done? "I'm just - really bad at..."

"Stop," Shinra rubbed my hand, before glancing over to Shizuo and clenching my figners. Shizuo hadn't shifted, hadn't even looked up. I worried that he was taking the news worse then I had when I remembered everything. "Let's just get you patched up, okay? We can talk about all of this later. What matters right now is that you're safe, and I can help you. Shizuo, stay with him, I need to grab another bag." He stood up carefully, fingers untangling from mine and he quickly turned to disappear from the room.

I sighed heavily, eyes closing. My heart rate was still terribly fast, like it had been when I was running. I had refused any sort of medication from Shinra, besides the freezing, and now I was starting to consider accepting it. Panicking was one thing. Pain was a whole other.

"So..." Shizuo slowly came out of his daze and scooted closer to me, that same confused and slightly angry expression plastered to his face. "When you said that they..."

I looked away. "As in..." I knew he was referring to the part of the story where I got raped by Hajime, and his gang, "multiple..."

A hand was suddenly gripping my arm, and I carefully glanced over at Shizuo. He wasn't looking at me again, his face a mix of worry and frustration. He wasn't squeezing too hard, minding his strength against mine. I grabbed onto his hand with my free one and squeezed back, reveling in the fact that I couldn't hurt him. Why are you beating yourself up over this? "You didn't know." I said quietly for some reason, feeling the need to make sure that he knew that this wasn't his fault, "You never could have made it."

He sighed again, shaking his head instead of answering me. He was doubting himself.

"I'm sorry, I was dealing with an emergency." Shinra quickly came back into the room, startling whatever mutual acceptance me and Shizuo had going on, with his phone pressed to his ear. I glanced up, letting go of Shizuo who did the same in return while Shinra softly kicked the door closed behind him. "Yes, a medical emergency. My apologies. What do you need?" His voice was clipped, eyes working their way slowly over to me, "Hmmm? Have I seen your informant?"

I shuddered. He looked calm and collected on the outside, but there was a dark flicker of anger hiding behind his eyes.

"Yeah, I've seen your informant." He snapped, "He was just bleeding out on my bathroom floor not even five minutes ago." He dropped the bag he was carrying beside me, cringing when I flinched from the sound of the impact, before shuffling down and onto the floor, knee knocking into Shizuo's. He scuttled beside him, the two of them sitting very close to me. I couldn't say it was awkward. "Oh? You what? Didn't think this would happen? I'm sorry for the lack of formalities, Shiki, but I need to attend to his still present wounds."

Shinra was glaring darkly, his face crinkling. Shizuo's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, if you only knew. I have to go."

I looked away. I was really causing them all way too much trouble. Would now be a bad time to mention how much pain I was in? My stomach was throbbing, and so was my head and back. I sort of just wanted to curl up into a little ball and die.

"Yeah. Okay. Good-bye." Shinra heaved out a sigh, clipping his phone closed almost violently. "Izaya, I am giving you strict orders that you are not to go back to work until you are better, both mentally and physically. If Shiki even suggests that you defy me, you better call me, do you understand?"

I groaned, not exactly saying anything. An angry Shinra was a scary Shinra.

"Okay, Shizuo! You are going to have to leave now!" Shinra looked way too happy, perhaps delirious with rage, and I shifted uncomfortably as Shizuo's eyes suddenly bore into mine. They were knowing. "I have some delicate work to do, and I can't have you in here." We all knew what he was talking about.

It took Shizuo a couple of seconds to come to an agreement. He huffed before standing up, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Good luck to both of you." He said quietly, before padding over to the door, gaze averted like he was the one responsilbe. "I'll just go talk to Celty for a bit."

Shinra nodded in approval, though I hated to admit that I didn't want to see him go.

As soon as the door the was closed, Shinra turned back to me, one hand patting my shoulder. His smile was gentle, but it didn't help ease my stress. I trusted that he knew what he was doing, but judging by the slight shake in his always sturdy hands, I knew that I had hit him a little too hard with all of this. "How are you feeling?" He took a quick glance to my knees, which were bent and pressed together where I lay.

"I've been better." I said quietly, looking away, reaching up to grasp the hand resting on my shoulder. This was the awkward part. Would I need stitches down there? The mere idea of Shinra looking at that mess had me shivering, and feeling sick to my stomach. My pulse quickened, and I shivered.

Of course he noticed. Shinra inhaled deeply through his nose. "I know, this might be a little hard, but we should get this done and over with now, okay?" With his hand still on my shoulder, he glanced to me for a confirmation. It didn't look like he wanted to be the one to do this.

"O-okay." It was harder to say yes than I thought it would be. The word cracked on my tongue, leaving the both of us cringing.

"I don't want to move you yet, so I'll just make sure it's nothing bad. I don't want you on your stomach though, not with that wound, so this..." Shinra chuckled more in frustration than in humor, sliding down towards my hips. "This will be a little bit awkward."

"Ah," I looked up, squeezing my eyes closed.

"As for..." Shinra touched my belt and I automatically flinched. "Relax. As for the little critter you were describing, I think... I'll get my father to take an x-ray, and we'll see if we can... remove it. Somehow. It might take a few days."

"Okay," I was groaning, glancing worriedly at Shinra in anticipation. He was trying to focus, but the intense stare had me moving, a fine tremor working it's way up and into my hands. He' knows what he's doing, he won't hurt me.

"Stop shifting." He glanced down at me, before pinching the bridge of his nose and sitting back on his heels. He shut his eyes, and I could see the tension building up in his forehead. "Look, I think it would be better if I get someone else to do this."

I almost scowled, noting how conflicted I felt about the whole thing. "I don't-"

"A woman. Maybe my step mom. She's good at these kinds of situations, like these situations, and it would be easier. For both of us."

"How would that be easier?" I asked, almost incredulously. Judging by Shinra's face though, I suspected that he couldn't really handle any more of this. I couldn't even handle anymore of this, and the more I considered Shinra removing my pants, the more awkward and uncomfortable and stressed I felt. And to top it all off, the pain was becoming unbearable, a nice, fiery, searing rip straight through my abdomen. If the demon shifted, I would probably cry out.

"Well..." he sighed in exasperation, "look, I've dealt with cases like this before, where multiple people have ganged up and... Izaya." He met my eyes seriously. "It's not pretty or comfortable. It will be easier if a woman does it. Trust me. I mean, if you really want me to, I can do it, I won't make you see someone else, but..."

"It's okay."

I was getting tired of just dealing with this.

The entire debate resulted in Shingen and Emilia coming over. By the time they got settled in and ready to work, Shinra had deemed me 'survivable', and then his incredibly young step mother had had the honor of taking care of me. A nice dose of painkillers later and I was relaxing enough to not be too stressed for the actual procedure. Eight more stitches later, and Emilia was struggling to tell me how lucky I was, and how much worse it all could have been. Thankfully, her terrible Japanese didn't last too long, because Shinra had quickly excused her, determined to keep me somewhat sane.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite human being." Shinra quietly closed the door behind him so that he could creep over and sit in the chair beside me. "So? How was my advice? Do you feel better about this whole thing now?"

"No." I told him blatantly."I feel more tired now. And your step mother is younger than you. Not that I am overly complaining about any of it."

He nodded, not at all surprised. "I know, I know. I just want to go over a few things with you, and then you should sleep. First of all, are you at least feeling better? Please be honest."

"In a way, I am." I sighed, gripping the blue blanket that was once again wrapped around me. How long had it been since I had last been here? "I feel... lighter in a sense."

Shinra nodded, visibly pleased." Mhmm, okay good! We can work with that. I mean, I'm no psychologist, but I do know that you shouldn't avoid things like this! You need to talk about them, and if you;re already feeling a bit better about it all then that means that you have a better chance at recovering - or something like that. Anyway! Next up, how much am I telling my Father?"

Oh Valhalla, I was going to get a killer migraine by the time this conversation was done. Is he nervous? Why is he so nervous? I raised an eyebrow. This was a tricky question. "Umm," I felt my face creasing as I considered the possibilities. "Just enough. Just tell him the problem. He doesn't need the back story."

Shinra nodded. "So, I'll just say: 'Oh hey, so Izaya somehow ended up with a demon in his stomach. Mind if you take a look?'"

I was too tired to laugh. "Yeah, something like that."

Shinra smiled. "Okay. I'll keep your secret a secret. And also, Celty told me that everything was true. She was there, remember? I can't believe you left her with such a burden! I mean, not that you weren't burdened either, but still! You should have said something! She should have said something! You should talk to her about it... Oh! Speaking of which! I need to talk to you about something else too!"

His grin told me that it wasn't going to be anything pleasant. "Go on." I eyed him suspiciously.

"I want you to promise me that you'll talk about this." He was dead serious. I felt a sickening flip in my stomach.

He wanted me to talk about it? About what happened? "We'll see." I said quietly, looking towards the window. Would I ever be able to face my precious humans again? Would I ever be able to enjoy them in the same way I had before?

"No, not we'll see. You need to agree. I'm not asking for much, Izaya. You didn't talk about the shooting, and I feel like I should have made you. We could have potentially avoided all of this, because trauma causes problems. You know this. I know this. I need you to promise, or we're back to square one."

I swallowed thickly, looking away. Back to square one? As in he is so irritated with me that he ignores me?

"And look, if you tell me who did what, I swear to Celty that you will never have to worry about seeing their faces again, okay?"

I blinked at him, suddenly imagining him taking all twelve of Hajime's guys, with Hajime and Kai present too, and then giving them all plastic surgery to look like Celty. "Pfft," I cracked a smile, hands suddenly wrapping around my torso as I tried not to laugh, because I knew it would hurt, but I also couldn't hold it back. I started laughing, before shaking my head. "Fine. I promise. I'll talk. Happy? I should charge you for this information.

Shinra chuckled, a little confused about my sudden burst of laughter. "Sure, sure. Of course, get some sleep, alright? Me and Celty will definitely be here when you wake up!"

I nodded, Shinra standing from my bedside in good humor. He quietly made his way to the door, but paused before he opened it. Glancing over his shoulder, he smiled again. "Oh and hey?"

"Yeah?" I glanced back over to him, not quite ready to get comfortable beneath the blankets. The struggle sounded too intense for my liking. I suddenly perked up at Shinra's continued silence; he didn't immediately answer me like he normally did.

He didn't say anything, but his eyes drooped in some unspoken sadness. He turned away, opening the door. "Have a good sleep."

I wonder what he wanted to say.

Screaming. I was screaming.

I was running through the streets of Ikebukuro, my thighs burning from the strenuous effort. My lungs were heaving, threatening to just stop working all together and give out on me. What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to make it!? My shoes were slapping against the cold hard pavement, leaving behind an audible trail for my pursuers.

There were so many of them.

Shadows were running through the night, faceless creatures who did nothing but moan out my name and all the sins that I had committed against them. They were chasing me, setting the city ablaze as they went.

I refused to listen to them. I refused to understand. What they said didn't matter - all that mattered was that I was getting further and further away from them every every step and shuddering breath I took, even if my heart couldn't take it.

I turned down an alley, some stupid plan forming in my mind to carry me to safety. But I didn't make it.

The air around me was suddenly shouting, the remnants of an echo registering in my ears while the little prick in my chest spoke volumes.

My pace suddenly came to a halt, knees buckling from beneath me, my body dropping to the cold hard stones, scraping and cutting against my skin when muscles refused to support me. A simple little prick like the end of a needle suddenly exploded into panic enduing pain.

I hurt. I hurt everywhere.

Shoes crunched in the gravel, carrying a large body to hover over mine before the figure dropped down and onto his heels, breath reeking of the worst kind of cigarette smoke.

"Eh, Orihara?"

It wished the scent had been Shizu-chan's.

"Think you've won?" A hand reached out and gently threaded through my hair, pulling softly before all out gripping my bangs. I gasped as my head was snapped up, no one other than Ansen Hajime crouching before me. "Eh, you're pretty cute when you're all beat up, you know?"

"Let me go." I snapped, heart throbbing painfully in my chest.

"Guns. Fire. Sex. Dark. Speak." His face split into a menacing grin as he repeated the sentence again. "Guns. Fire. Sex. Dark. Speak." The five fears. "Aren't they fun? they're still here."

He suddenly let go, my face dropping to the ground. He tapped the back of my head with a short laugh. "These five things can kill you, you know. But you think you've won, because you told, right? Explained? Because you have spoken about the Hell that has crippled you? Do you think you went against the fear? That you've overcome it?"

There was more laughing, the pain in my chest suffocating me and riddling me motionless. My stomach flipped, a shuddering echo of amusement rippling through my abdomen.

"Baby, baby, and don't forget your baby! He'll ruin your only true love: humanity. Oooo~"

I let out a shuddering sigh. this was a dream right? I was okay.

He couldn't hurt me.

My stomach suddenly pinched, and I cringed, fingers trailing through the gravel to try and put pressure on it - to stop it from eating me alive. "No."

Hands suddenly grabbed my shoulders, and I was thrown onto my back. Panic instantly rose in my chest, and I widely lashed out as the figure stepped over me. "You can't do this!" I growled, wiggling as I was straddled, voice becoming hoarse from screaming again. "You won't win! I always win!"

A rough shake had me prying my eyes open.

"Let me go!" For the second time since the whole incident, I was screaming upon waking up and swinging my left hand out, fist solidly connecting with what felt like concrete.

And for the second time since the whole incident, Shizuo was trying to calm me down.

"Stop, louse! Just sit!"

I gasped for breath, glancing around the spare room a little disoriented once again. Oh good. I was still at Shinra's. Sighing deeply, I put a hand to my forehead to regain my bearings. It was just a dream, just a dream again. Was it the same one? Pain was stinging in my stomach by the cut - I probably tore out another stitch - and the demon was restlessly shifting once again. He was mad about something. Irritated. More so than usual. Stop moving!

"You good?" Shizuo asked, glancing over at me worriedly. He was sitting in that chair again, right beside my bed with a conflicted scowl on his face.

I would have slapped that look right off if I could. And enemy shouldn't look at another enemy like that. "Yeah, I'm just peachy."

It had been two days since the... event. I had spent most of yesterday sleeping, and today was my first day back in 'ordinary time'. I wasn't quite as out of commission as I had been when I had been shot, but I wasn't exactly on 'friendly' terms with my doctor. and the most surprising thing about the situation was how casual everyone was with it. No one touched me, and so I felt myself not as stressed as I had expected to be. I felt... comfortable. Neither of them had yet to really mention it, or pester me about it, but once again Shizuo was attached to my hip.

It was almost not annoying.

As if on cue, Shinra opened the door with a steaming bowl in his hands. Upon seeing me alive and awake, he smiled brightly. "Ah, I was going to wake you, but I see that you're already up. Good. I brought you some breakfast."

I groaned, eyeing the bowl suspiciously before glancing back to shizuo. As long as it wasn't toast slathered with margarine, I would survive. I might survive. Scratch that, as long as Shinra didn't make it, I would be fine. "Can't I have an actual minute to recover from waking up to this monster's face?" It was already becoming a habit, that upon waking up I would pester Shizu-chan, who was always sitting at my bedside like some lost little puppy.

Shizuo scoffed, leaning back in the chair. "Fuckin' louse." Shinra chuckled, striding further into the room. He wasn't even being as cruel as he had been during the shooting. Instead of forcing me to eat, he was trying to work with me on it. "It's nothing fancy. Just some oatmeal." Beaming, he sat at the edge of the bed.

I could understand and appreciate that he was trying to get me into good habits, but this was ridiculous. I accepted the bowl without complaint - it was less tiring this way - and glanced into it apprehensively. How are you feeling, little shit?

Eat that and find out.

Someone was moody today. Again.

I glanced at Shinra and grinned. "So. What's on the schedule for today?"

"Well, I'm taking you to the lab tonight. Dad finally cleaned up his schedule to fit you in." He chuckled, both of us aware that the scientist was more than excited to see what was going on with me. I was a little... worried? Scared? I wasn't sure how I felt about actually seeing my growing hellion. "But besides that, we just have some chatting to do. Oh, and Shiki wants to visit, but I really don't want Shiki to visit cause I might be on his hit list because of what I said to him the other day. And I've been trying to keep Namie out but she already knows you're here."

I nodded with mild interest. Shiki wouldn't hurt Shinra. Not after his massive mistakes. "Speaking of Namie," the last time I had seen her, she had been stubbornly waiting up for me at the apartment, "that night," I glanced over to Shizuo, seeing how he had been the one to find me and all, "how did you know to come looking for me?" It had been on my mind since the moment Shizuo had found me.

How?

Shinra sighed, answering for me. "You called me. I heard screaming. I told Celty, who eventually told Shizuo, and just like a bloodhound, he sniffed you out." He shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. I nodded, remembering when I had dropped my phone in the alley.

I shuddered, like a chill from that alley had passed through me. Maybe I shouldn't think about it. "Makes sense. So what's the plan?" I didn't dare look at the rapidly cooling oatmeal, lest Shinra force me to eat it. Instead, I rotated the bowl in my hands, just for something to do. I was still on pain killers, so at least I didn't hurt. Too bad.

"You're not going anywhere, louse." Shizuo explained gruffly. He pat the arm of the chair irritably, "You're staying right here, and no one is coming in unless I say so, and you are not leaving." He grinned, baring his teeth at me like an animal. I couldn't tell if he was happy or mad.

Though, for Shizu-chan, those were probably the same emotion.

"How charming, babysitter." I commented, glancing Shinra's way. "Anything else?"

Shinra shrugged, a coy smile on his face that suggested something secretive. "Like I said, we'll be chatting."

I groaned, knowing what that meant. Sighing, I glanced out the window, feeling slightly stressed. What was I supposed to say? "You're not forcing me to be bed ridden again, are you?"

"No, but you need to take your medication and you need to take it easy. I expect you to stay here for a while, or at least until I agree that you should leave." Shinra explained with a bright grin. "And you need to talk to us. Or me. Or Celty. Or anyone. You understand what I'm saying, right?"

Normally I would have laughed and gone straight home. But now? After everything that had happened? I guess I could trying listening for once. What a boring chore. "Yeah, yeah," I said quietly, "I get it."

"Good!" Shinra beamed, jumping up. "Now eat up, I have a job or two to attend to, and Shizuo has oh so kindly agreed to play friendly with you."

I grumbled. Shinra left the room. I placed the bowl on the end table and leaned back against the mattress with a deep sigh.

"You're not going to eat it?" Shizuo glanced at me suspiciously. Who knew we could be civil? Weren't you surprised last time too?

I shook my head, sitting up and throwing the blankets off of me. "No, I'm not feeling -" I stopped, rethinking what I was about to say, "it, doesn't sound too happy today. I'd rather not get sick first thing." I slid out of the bed, standing up carefully by myself. I was trying this whole 'tell the truth and not manipulate the truth' thing and it was hard.

Unnatural almost.

"It?" Shizuo glanced at me oddly, before shaking his head. "You know what, I don't want to know. Never mind." He stood up with me.

"Of course not." I snickered, easily walking towards the door, one hand sitting protectively over my stomach. "Shizu-chan is too much of a bird brain to understand the complexity of what has been happening to me."

Shizuo growled, but otherwise didn't threaten me as he followed me into the living room. Did Shinra leave already? "Where are you going?" He asked, instead.

I carefully sat down on the couch, making sure that I didn't rip any more stitches from my stomach. Grabbing the TV remote and grinning as my favorite monster sat down at the opposite end of the couch, I flicked on the TV. "I'm going to watch something enthralling, to take my mind off of things." Because I just wanted to get better, and get rid of the monster, and then burn the men who thought they could get away with literally fucking me.

Shizuo sneered, eyes travelling down to my stomach. "So does it have a name?"

I glared, lips pulling back as I flipped the channel to something more appealing.

Like a kids anime.

"Yeah, I gave it a lot of names, but I'd say that 'little shit' is the most common one." The demons swirled in my belly, You think you're so cruel, echoing in my mind, just as it bit me. I cringed, jerking forward with a hand pressed to my stomach. Fresh, warm blood was seeping between the stitches. It was getting so big that it could actually physically hurt me.

Maybe even crawl out.

Pushing away my panic, I shot Shizuo a death glare, which he returned rather easily given our still awkward relationship, and I turned back to the TV. I decided not to mention the fact that I was bleeding. It would stop. Eventually.

Shinra suddenly bounded out from his office, bag in hand and an unnatural grin spread across his face. "Play nice guys - oh! My darling Celty will be back in a few hours! Do you need anything before I go?" He said, eyeing me in particular. "Where's the bowl?"

"I left it in the room." I said casually.

Clearly understanding and the remembering what happened last time he had tried to force feed me here, he sighed in defeat. "Just, drink something, okay? I'll be back in a bit. Don't hurt each other."

He waved with a gentle smile.

Once the door was closed, I glanced over to Shizuo annoyingly. "He has so little faith in us." I grinned, glancing back to the TV screen where nothing could hurt me.

Shizuo hummed in agreement, before pulling out his phone. He seemed intent on ignoring me, once again.

"So..." I said openly, leaning back against the couch. "Why are you staying, again? Don't think I'm crazy yet?"

"I already knew you were crazy." Shizuo muttered, glancing at the TV. "My best friend is headless, and you, I always thought that you were basically Satan," he didn't see me cringe, "so why the fuck not, right? You have a demon in you. What's so weird about that?"

I was appalled. "What's so weird about that?"

"Yeah, what's so weird about that? Something real happened, and you even said so yourself the other day that you want to change. So why the fuck not?" He still wasn't looking at me, avoiding me, his attention solely stuck on the TV even though I knew he didn't like my sort of shows.

I studied him briefly, the way his face was tense and the way he hunched his right shoulder away from me, like the entire cushion separating us wasn't enough. "What are you getting at."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe we can finally be friends."

A/N: Who's down for a happy Shizaya ending? :D