It took me over twenty minutes for me to calm down; over twenty minutes for me to be able to breathe properly and stop shaking. Over fifteen of those minutes were spent with Shizuo rubbing the pad of his thumb over the back of my hand, a gentle hum the only thing sounding in the room. The demon hadn't shifted; no sign of life to threaten my peace.

I didn't move even after I was calm. I just laid there, staring at the ceiling, my previous stress still lingering in the back of my mind. It was rational. Everything about it was rational. To be scared in such a situation made perfect sense. But what I couldn't figure out was why me. Why did this happen to me?

Shinra was the one to break the tense peace, entering the room quickly and striding over to me without even stopping to say 'hi'. The tension and concern on his face was enough to quicken my heart rate. "And how are we feeling now?" he asked, stopping beside Shizuo and doing a quick once over of me, like he expected me to be bleeding and battered. Shizuo's hand over mine didn't go unnoticed. He only flashed it a quick look before checking my heart rate and pupils.

"I'm alright." I said tightly, the suggestion of panic still present in my voice. Shinra glanced to my other hand, which was tightly clenching the fabric over my torso. He wasn't smiling, not enjoying my situation himself. When he deemed my symptoms manageable, he stood up with a contemplative hum.

Eyes still trained on my torso, he gently flicked my hand away and slid my shirt up, peeling back the gauze to take a quick look at the wound. "Looks good still," he said quietly, cool fingers landing on my skin. I flinched, but he didn't remove his hand, a look of concern coming over his face. I inhaled shakily. Is it bigger? He suddenly moved his hand over my stomach and I shuddered, grabbing it and stopping it with a dark look.

"Sorry," he said, before pulling away with an apologetic smile, gears turning and tension easing now that he could see that I was okay – or that I would live for at least another day. "Um. Anyway, Dad called me with some of your results." He grinned just for show, replacing my shirt and patting my knee. "So you're malnourished. Like really malnourished. That's why you're starting to have trouble walking."

I groaned, staring back at the ceiling. This was bad. Very bad.

"He also got a clearer picture of you little friend," Shinra's glasses glinted mischievously, "you can see if you want."

"No thanks." I said quickly. I did not want to see what the little shit looked like. No thanks. That would be the finally thread to snap in convincing me that this was all real, and that I couldn't get rid of him, and that there was actually something to remove, and – my heart rate picked up again just thinking of it. I was going to have a heart attack before the demon could kill me. "Can he get rid of it?"

Shinra nodded. "He's working some theories right now. But regardless, we can't do surgery if you're too weak, so I'm finally ordering you to bed rest. Okay?" He shot Shizuo a serious look before returning it to me. "That means no walking if you can help it. I didn't realize it had gotten this bad. You're also going to have to eat on set intervals, I'm sending some emails to get you a proper meal plan. If we can't get your weight up, you're running risks I'm sure you'd rather not take." He was serious. Dead serious. He was talking life or death, and it had nothing to do with the spawn of Satan growing in me.

I smiled, but it was fake and obviously so. "Tell your father to hurry up. I may be running out of time."

Shizuo's hand squeezed mine, and Shinra sighed heavily, pretending to not notice. "Alright. But for now, your mom has to leave, and she wants to see you before she goes. So behave and relax, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed, staring back up at the ceiling. "Am I allowed to sit up, Doctor-san, or am I supposed to remain lying here?"

Shinra snorted. "I shouldn't let you even move a finger. You can move, just don't move around too much. You keep popping stitches, but it's all mostly healed up. You're going to have a nice scar after this."

I shifted in the bed, sitting up slowly while Shinra suddenly took an interest in Shizu-chan. Shizuo took back his hand, watching me with some form of interest, and pretending like the doctor wasn't intently staring at him, gears turning behind his eyes.

Shinra was plotting something, and I really hoped it would end the little demon.

I glanced back to Shizu-chan, an awkward sort of silence settling over us as Shinra seemed to forget what he was doing. It was strange, being in the same room as my enemy and having him care. Perhaps he was only doing it to make sure that I lived long enough for him to kill me himself. Like the good old days.

"I'll be right back!" Shinra startled the both of us, and briskly disappeared from the room, skipping into his living room to go and collect my mother, who was finally leaving, after causing unintended drama. Thank Valhalla.

Sighing, I adjusted the blankets around me, fluffing them and tucking them in while I leaned against the headboard. Getting comfortable, I sighed heavily. "Say, Shizu-chan?"

He hummed in response.

"So we're friends?"

He shot me a glare, before looking back over to the door. He wasn't going to answer me.

My mother bust into the room, face still tear streaked and a look of genuine worry mixed with guilt mashing her features. At least she was aware that she had caused me unnecessary stress.

"Honey, I'm so sorry," she all but threw herself by my bed, and I had to look away in embarrassment. I also got my dramatics from her, but she was just embarrassing about everything. Shizuo had to get up and move to the back of the room, because she had thrown herself too close for his comfort. "I didn't mean to cause you too much stress." Standing up, she pat my head before kissing my forehead noisily, fussing over the blankets I had tucked in around my hips.

My face twisted while turning red, and I would have reeled back if I could. "It's fine. You've come, you've made your point, so I will see you next time." The faster she left, the faster my heart rate would slow down.

"Oh dear," She grabbed onto both of my shoulders, lightly jostling me. Her face a mix of understanding and motherly concern, "Now you better promise me to talk to someone, okay? You better promise."

I shrugged. "I'll see what I can do." I said quietly, glancing away to stare out the window. How long had it been since I had appreciated my humans? I needed a distraction from all of this. Perhaps I could get someone to take me to the park. Even though I'm on bed rest.

She shifted, her hands leaving my shoulders. I thought she was giving up. There was a moment of silence before, "You're Shizuo Heiwajima, right?"

My eyes moved but my head didn't. From what I could see of Shinra, he was grinning. I couldn't see Shizuo or my mother, and suddenly, that worried me. She won't stoop to embarrassing lows just to get me to promise, will she?

She had when I had been younger...

"Uh, yeah," Shizuo said awkwardly. He was probably running a hand through the back of his head like he always did when he was flustered. I couldn't blame him. My mother left everyone flustered.

"Oh," my mother said, in that tone, the tone that had me glancing back her way because she sounded mischievous as fuck, "you turned out to be quite the stud."

Poor Shizu-chan, he glanced to me unsure with his cheeks turning red, before awkwardly spitting out a thank-you. My face was creasing as I glared, suddenly not sure how I felt about her continued presence, and heat was flaring in my chest at the simple comment. I could have sworn Shinra snickered.

I was pretty sure now was the best time for her to leave.

I cleared my throat, but she spoke before I could. "You two used to fight all the time in high school, right? I can't imagine where all of that tension went to lead you guys as friends now." She had a hand on her hip, a genuinely contemplative look slapping onto her face.

A look of horror crossed over both my face and Shizuo's. "Mom, stop that..."

"I mean, you seem to be kind of attached. It's cute. Izaya really needs a strong guy like you to keep him in check." She was grinning that shit eating grin that had my blood boiling. She turned to me, her face suddenly going sad, "I don't want to see you get hurt, honey. I really don't. But if you can't promise me something as simple as talking to a friend, then what am I supposed to do? Big 'Shizu-chan' here can help you. Shinra can help you. You have people who can help you, so why are you being so difficult?"

I shrugged, eyes narrowing. "I will talk to someone, okay? Happy? Why is this such a big deal anyway?" I was uncomfortable, and they all knew it. If I could walk – and trust me, I couldn't at that moment – I would have fled.

"It's a big deal because you get yourself into more trouble when you pretend like you're fine." Shinra cut in, arms crossing over his chest. "And if I had to drag your mom down here to somehow convince you, then obviously it is very important for you. Because it just goes to show how much you're avoiding it, which is equivalent to how much it impacts you."

I scoffed, looking away. They were ganging up on me, how cruel was that? "Okay, I will talk. Please leave." My words were not friendly, but they seemed to entertain my mother.

"You have to be specific, honey. You're a very slippery kind of guy, and you'll talk yourself out of anything and everything, I know." She sighed, arms crossing. "I don't want to stress you out, but I need to know that you'll be okay. I guess the whole reason why I'm here is because you're too stubborn and good with your words and meanings to just do what needs to be done." She suddenly grinned, glancing over to Shizuo. "I mean, I could just tell your friend Heiwajima here some of the things you said about him back in high school. Will that convince you?" She shrugged like it was no big deal.

"What, like how much I hated him and wanted him to die?" I asked, shooting Shizuo a dirty look only because he was the root of the current problem and possibly my near downfall. He seemed amused by my exasperation, but embarrassed still. Mom just go, I'll deal with this. I'll fix it.

She shrugged, "Yeah maybe like how much you hated him, or stuff like that one day when he apparently dyed his hair a 'gross' shade of yellow, and you were going off about how much you liked it better the other way."

Shinra snickered, probably because he could remember me having the exact same conversation. Both me and Shizu-chan stared. Hard.

"It made him look more like a monster the other way," I said, trying to save myself, "and Shizu-chan is a monster, so there was no need for him to go and look like a human."

Shizuo looked confused.

"But what about the other times? You talked about his hair a lot, Izaya. 'It's so messy', and 'think he'd catch me if I stole some', and 'I'm surprised it was so soft, I thought it'd be more like a dog,' and stuff like that. That's why I find it suspicious that you guys are now on good terms, given how you used to like him and all. I mean, I could go more into that, and that little journal you kept."

I could literally feel my face going red, cheeks probably turning a nice shade of cherry, and Shizuo was staring at me, torn between confusion, amusement, and horror.

I was going with horror. I felt horror. I felt the first cracks of embarrassment flushing over my face since the day in first grade when I found out the terrifying reality of what made girls female. "Mother," I said dangerously. She knew too much about me I realized – the only person who could blackmail me and bend me to her will. "I will talk. Alright? I'll talk. And if I don't, Shinra here is being given the permission to call you again, okay? I promise, so you can leave now."

"I heard that." Shinra grinned, big and wide like he had just won the lottery or something. "Did you hear that?"

"I heard that too." Shizuo nodded, a small albeit unsure smile forming. "Louse promised. Can't break them."

I wasn't satisfied with the result, but I just wanted her to leave. She needed to leave. It was that time. My mother ruffled my hair once again, my face burning in irritation. "Good. Thank you." She said softly, kissing my forehead once again. "I will go now."

I swallowed, a strange feeling suddenly swallowing my chest whole. The demon shifted uncomfortably, and the pain was easily read on my face.

"Relax," Shinra came up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder and rubbing it until my features relaxed. "I'll walk you out, Mrs. Orihara. Izaya needs to rest a bit more."

She nodded, eyes getting teary again when she looked at me. I worried for a moment that she was going to argue, and refuse to go. Shinra moved beside her, motioning for her to follow. She was finally leaving – hopefully. "Bye honey, I love you, I'll make sure to call – Oh!"

An eyebrow rose as she suddenly remembered something.

"We're having a family get together next month, and I wanted to know if you would be coming." She smiled easily. Wait for it. Her eyes suddenly went cold. "Your father's lovely parents will be there, and all, so I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss all the drama that will surely happen."

So my mother hated half the family. Wasn't that normal? It was quite entertaining, if I did remember correctly. Hopefully I'm still alive and kicking by then... "I'll let you know." I said quietly, hand rubbing at my stomach because there was something being pinched.

Izaya, lied down.

I groaned, rubbing a bit more. I smiled, just to try and encourage her to hurry up and go.

"You can even bring a date, if you have one." My mom winked, head nodding towards Shizuo, and I groaned. "I'm sure that will cause a commotion, and I know how you like to cause scenes. You might be able to give you great grandma a stroke, finally, and then we can cross her off of our Christmas cards list."

I chuckled, Shizuo suddenly looking unsure. Shinra merely laughed. "Bye mom." I said, flinching at another pinch.

"Bye honey," she said, looking worried, before Shinra looped his arm with hers to coax her out of the room. She went willingly enough, waving as Shinra finally dragged her out. "I love you, take care. I'll call you with the date and time, alright!?"

By the time they were gone, I was panting.

"You good?" Shizuo went to settle back into his chair, but stopped before he sat down. "Izaya." He put a hand on my shoulder, just as I wiggled closer to the edge of the bed, and then sat down beside me.

"I..." On your back. "... breathe..." Face contorting, I managed to slip my legs off the edge, sitting painfully before leaning forward to try and gasp. I choked on my breath, it was knocked out of me as I leaned forward, before sitting up. I was just making it worse. Just do it! I fell onto my back, gasping at the ceiling, hands still pressed to my stomach.

"Shit, I'll grab Shinra." Shizuo hurried out of the room, but he didn't need too.

The demon shifted, the pressure was released, and I could breathe again.

Sighing in relief, I dropped my hands beside my head as the pain and panic began to fade. "What was that about?" I asked, just as Shinra burst through the door with my hated-not-hated enemy.

I got stuck.

I groaned loudly before throwing an arm over my face. You got stuck!? Are you fat or something!?

"Izaya, are you okay?" Shinra was in my face, pulling at my arm. He looked incredibly worried again, a nice wrinkle running across his forehead. I was starting to feel bad for him.

"Yeah," I muttered, letting him remove my arm and then glancing at him irritably. "It apparently got stuck."

Shinra looked momentarily baffled. "Stuck?" He asked, hand landing back on my stomach and I was getting annoyed because he kept touching it even though he didn't need to. I flinched uncomfortably, trying to slap his hand away. "What do you mean stuck?"

"I don't know," I lifted my head to glare at my belly, "How about it? What do you mean stuck?"

I'm running out of room.

My face went white.

"Izaya?" Shinra looked worried, "Izaya," Shizuo sat in his chair finally with his hands clasped together. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression, but I knew he wasn't thinking anything good. I'm probably dying. "What did it say?"

"It's running out of room." I said quietly. We had already been over this. "But it's also... it's a liar. It's a demon. It's just here to make me fail! To send me back to Hell!" I was yelling, but I was almost panicking again. I gripped onto Shinra's forearms, heart rate increasing yet again.

Hmmm? Have I lied to you? Or have I just told you the cold hard truth? This won't end well for you, regardless what you try and do. And you're running out of time.

Gasping, Shinra coaxed me to sit up by pulling on my arm. "Izaya, just take a deep breath."

I threw my head into my hands before falling over – pain free this time – and trapping my hands between my face and thighs. I was done. I didn't want this anymore. "I want to go home." I said quietly, the tell tale signs of a breakdown flooding my brain. "I just don't - "

Shinra dropped to his knees and pulled me into a hug. I could hear his heart beat through his shirt, and somehow it was calming. It reminded me of sleeping next to the beast last night. A larger hand was placed on head, ruffling my hair, tension easing away just slightly.

"Hey, just breathe, okay? You'll be okay."

"I can't be okay." I shoved Shinra away, sitting up and still holding on to everything within me by a single thread. "It's real. It's getting bigger. And I'm running out of time. It's been a month and it's gotten this big. Even if it doesn't claw it's way out, it will still grow big enough to tear me open if it keeps this up."

Shinra tried to comfort me by rubbing my arms. "Listen. You'll be okay. We'll get it out one way or another, alright Just calm down. And until it is gone, no one can hurt you. Shizuo will protect you." The man in question stiffed only slightly, clearly torn between agreeing and disagreeing. "Look, I can give you something so you can relax, but you need to know that you aren't in danger. Even if it is telling you that you're in danger, you're not. You're fine, Izaya, everything is okay."

The bedroom door quietly opened, Celty sticking her helmeted head in. Shizuo simply nodded at her, Shinra not even reacting for once. I didn't pay her too much mind as she slipped in, my mind still going into over drive.

"Like you said, it's a liar. And it's feeding off of you, so you need to calm down. Think of this as the ultimate mask. You need to fend it off by not letting any of your worries or fears get in it's little hands or claws or whatever they are." Shinra was shaking me lightly, and I was shaking my head.

How was I supposed to shut my true feelings out from something living in me -

"It's feeding off of my emotions." I said suddenly, like a slap in my face; the light bulb going off. I glanced down to Shinra with wide eyes. "That's what it's living off of. That's why it doesn't matter if I eat or not. Every time something bad happens it gets..."

Shinra stood up slowly, his face heavily guarded as he struggled to find words to comfort me.

"...bigger..." I glanced down to my lap like it had betrayed me. So my struggles had been in vain this entire time!? "That's why earlier... I was fighting with...mom.. and it..."

"Hey," Shinra lightly tapped my shoulder. "Never mind it. Don't worry, okay? We'll do something about it. Now I'm going to get you something to help you out, because you're thinking too fast and too hard. You need to relax. Right now, you're fine. Right now, it doesn't matter, okay?"

I tried to nod, tried to do anything, but my body was refusing to cooperate.

I didn't think it'd take you so long... to figure that out. The demon snorted, breathless, and I wrapped my arms around it out of instinct. It didn't move, but all of this was getting to scary. I was running out of time, and meeting Shizuo's eyes, I felt ten times more conflicted. To accept help in my final moments or to push it away.

That was what I needed to figure out.

Shinra quickly headed out of the room, Celty coming in and sitting beside me in his place. She quickly tapped out a message, holding it up for me to see. [Don't worry about it. I may know a secret or two.]

I glanced to her, suddenly hopeful.

She had that air about her that was happy. [Until that night, I didn't know that I could travel to the other realms. So I did some investigating...]

I almost felt sick I was so happy. She was looking into this for me!?

Don't expect much from her, now.

[Don't listen to it. Whatever it says, don't listen, but use your judgment. It's a demon, it will do everything in it's power to make sure that it survives... because this is a two way relationship. It will lie, but it will also tell you the truth, and you need to know which is which.]

I nodded, cracking a grin despite my ragged breath. "I've gathered as much." I said quietly.

She quickly tapped out another message that almost had my heart stopping, just as Shinra came back into the room with a pill bottle and a glass of water. [You need to be alive in order for it to be alive. I caught part of the conversation coming in, and you need to know that it can't kill you. Demons need a host until they are mature enough to exist on their own, and even then, it still needs you to be alive until a certain point after it comes out.]

My fingers stopped trembling in my lap, my eyes scanning over the message again. I sighed heavily the third time I read it, my head hanging and a small smile appearing on my lips. "How did you find out?" I asked, looking up.

Shinra placed the items on the end table, a small grin flashing on his face. "Did my dear Celty cure you of your anxiety already?"

I nodded, one hand to my chest as my heart rate slowly decreased. Celty was still trying to find the right words to explain.

[I can feel their presence now.] Celty admitted, removing her helmet and setting it on the bed. [I did some prodding around... and the spirits that you've been seeing, I can see them if I want to, which really isn't that surprising.]

My eyes widened. "Are they still trying to kill me?"

Celty seemed to laugh. [They can't kill you either. But they can make physical contact and they can pass through the boundaries that restricts our realm from theirs. So you still need to be careful. Some of the older ones are surprised you've survived this long. Most people go crazy.]

I sighed, feeling slightly proud of myself.

Shinra motioned for Shizuo to get out, and suddenly they were both standing, moving across the room, a gentle "I need to discuss something" clearly heard as Shinra closed the door behind him. I was a little suspicious, but Celty wasn't done.

[I've been trying to help somehow since Shinra told you everything the other night. I'm sorry, I should have told you everything and that I knew sooner.]

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter now. What matters now is that I get rid of this thing and overcome all of this." I grit my teeth, eyes narrowing. How do I do that though?

Celty nodded, typing again. [Fair enough. You need to be careful with the shadows though. They can still do harm. But the demon, don't worry about it. Don't listen to it, and just focus on relaxing. Shinra and Shingen are working theories, and they're talking pretty optimistically. The demon needs you to live, and if it starts to tell you to do things like relax, or sit down, it's worrying about your safety, because you're state will be harming it.]

I glanced to her slightly impressed. "Have you been practicing voodoo, talking with spirits lately or what?"

Celty seemed to laugh, smoke billowing out. [Well Shinra doesn't know, it's our little secret. But I found some books in his office on communications with demons and stuff, and seeing how I'm a Dullahan, I can just skip all the hard stuff and get straight to the questioning. Demons normally posses people, and live in their houses, and Shingen's resources are outstanding. They're all liars, Izaya, the demons, and it's easy to see the truth when they all tell me different stories for the same questions.]

I laughed, genuinely laughed, because they sounded just like people. "Aha, Celty you could easily do what I do. You could claim to be an Esper! No one would have to know that you're headless!"

More smoke billowed out and she held up her phone. [Oh no, that would be terrible! And it wasn't that hard, I mean, what sort of creature would admit that it can be killed?]

I sighed heavily, rubbing my belly. "So they all talk the big talk, just to sound scary? When really this little shit needs me to be alive just to house it? Sounds like my humans." I smiled, glancing down. So you know more than you're letting on. "I should interrogate it. It's being awfully quiet again."

Celty shuddered.

"Bet Shinra will be pleased to hear that his significant other has been spending her free time with the wrong crowd." I winked, simply teasing. My panic was gone, and that alone was amazing.

[No! They can't hurt me, I'm a Dullahan. I am a superior being to them apparently; not that I will ever spend any time on that side. I just did some digging, but trust me, your case is special. I have no help for you on that. From what I've heard from the scary parts of the town is that you'll probably know when the time comes. The demon can't hurt you, and we can both speculate why, and when it comes time for it to do whatever it needs to do to get out, you will know. So until then, just relax, alright? Do some easy things.] Celty's shoulders slumped, and she slapped a hand onto my shoulder. [You'll be okay. It probably isn't as dramatic or bad as you think it is. It needs you to live, after all. You'll be fine. We're all here for you.]

I chuckled, nodding and ignoring the fact that we were now talking about the demon coming out before Shinra and Shingen removed it. It better not come down to that. "I've come to notice. I seem to have more humans who are fond of me than I realized."

She nodded, before hesitantly showing me her message. [Can I touch it?]

I hesitated myself, before nodding gently. "I suppose." She nodded too before awkwardly sticking her hand out. Gently placing it on my stomach, I felt the demon coil into itself, pressure alleviating from my swollen abdomen.

It felt nice.

She suddenly pulled her hand back like she had been bit. She shoved the phone in my face. [Thank you, and I'm sorry. Is there anything else that I might be able to help you with?]

I shrugged, looking away. "Shinra wants me to talk about all of my problems, but." I shrugged again.

Celty nodded, pushing the phone under my nose. [Understandable. You should talk to Shizuo. He could help you. As for everything that happened in when you died, feel free to talk to me.]

I nodded, suddenly yawning. I was tired again. "Alright, but first, I could use a shower."

Shinra helped me do just that. There was something just so disgusting about not washing and lounging around in the same clothes for days on end.

It wasn't until afterward, with me seated on his couch, that he decided to inform me of my new living arrangements. Shizuo and Celty had taken a quick trip out to go and get some supper – they were bribing me with fatty tuna – leaving me alone with the quack doctor. It had already been over half an hour, and they were running late.

"So you're going to be staying with Shizuo." Shinra said with a huge grin.

I had a hot cup of tea clasped between my hands, and I narrowed my eyes. "Why, and for how long?"

Shinra grinned, "Well, seeing how Shiki has been coming by more often, I'd rather not have you here, for recovery purposes. You'll be safe at Shizuo's, Dad's lab is nearby, and – did I mention that you'd be safe? And you just have to stay until all of this is over." Shinra put down his cup of coffee, lacing his hands together. "And I've contacted some of my colleges, I have a pretty good meal plan laid out for you. I want you to follow it. It's nothing intense at first, you just need to eat as much as you can of the listed foods, and slowly you should be able to build your strength back. I don't want you to lose all of your muscle mass, because that would make this whole situation more problematic. Not that it's particularly terrible right now, or anything, but you understand, right?"

I groaned, nodding my head in understanding just as Celty and Shizuo got back.

They had sushi, just as promised.

While I wasn't able to eat much, I did manage to eat enough for Shinra to deem approve-able. My stomach just wasn't feeling too great, and the demon was still making me damn nervous.

I didn't want to die.

It wasn't until later, after briefing Shizuo on my soon-to-be diet, that we were ushered out the front door with my bag of things slung over Shizuo's shoulder. He had called a taxi a while ago, and everything seemed to be set. Everything seemed to be looking up.

I practiced grinning again as we got into the elevator. Shizuo's emotion wasn't readable, but that didn't have me worried.

"Do you feel better?" He asked, as the elevator started to move downwards.

I nodded. "A little bit." I was still having moments of anxiety, but it wasn't anything I couldn't get over. "I have some things to do tomorrow." I said, the smile still on my face but not reaching my eyes. I needed to mask my emotions, so that the little hellion inside wouldn't feed off of them and get bigger. I'm going to stall your growth, you little shit. I will succeed. I would try my hardest until the day I died; my stubbornness was natural, after all.

I got a slight chuckle in response.

Shizuo groaned, shooting me a dirty look that easily could have killed. "You are doing absolutely nothing tomorrow." He said angrily, eyes narrowed.

I shrugged. "I just have to make a phone call to a certain someone, and..." I trailed off, the mask cracking. I looked away, hoping to repair it before he would see what I was finally trying to say.

Shizuo sighed. "You're talking tonight." He said sternly, like there was no way out of it. "Shinra said earlier when he pulled me out of the room that the little thing is probably feeding off of all of your feelings from what I saved you from. I want to know, who, what and why as soon as we get back, you hear me? It will make you feel better, it will give me faces to punch in, and it should help you in the long run. You'll sleep better. And if you refuse, I will drag you to your parents house myself."

I shivered, looking away. There were just too many things about what Hajime did to me that shouldn't be repeated.

I glanced down to my shoes. I could practice grinning later.

Tonight was going to be a long one.

A/N: Sorry for the crappy quality this time around. Next chapter will probably take longer, - no longer than a week - because I'm both really sick and in need of studying.

But you guys get to decide: Do you want a descriptive, explicitly detailed, flash back, or just a sob story in Shizu-chans bedroom? ;P