A/N: :)

We ended up in a cafe.

I had slowly managed to exhaust myself to the point where I couldn't even walk, and so we had to take a short break. We were only ten minutes from Shizuo's apartment, but I couldn't make it. My stomach was hurting, actually, my entire abdomen was hurting, and I wasn't sure why. But my legs especially were screaming at me to sit down, and so Shizu-chan made the oh so generous recommendation that we were to stop for a moment. In a cafe. That had coffee and tempting food.

"I'm not buying anything." He stated as we sat down, eyes strictly averted from the pastry case, which was displaying many a cake and sweets. We were sitting in a booth by the huge window, a gentle sigh escaping my mouth as I practically melted into the cushions. There were just enough people that we were ignored, but the place wasn't too crowded. It was nice. "I'm not buying anything." He repeated, and I understood that he was trying to convince himself of that idea. He took off his sunglasses and idly began to rub them with the bottom of his shirt, head shaking. "Not buying anything. Are you feeling better?"

I decided to take his mind off of the food. "Not too bad. Just a bit tired." I lied. My legs were practically burning, and I could understand why. Dumbass. You haven't walked anywhere in quite some time now. What I didn't understand, was why my stomach was hurting so bad too. Maybe I ate too much? But no, it had been hurting since I had gotten up, and I had only eaten breakfast, even though Shizu-chan tried to pester me into lunch before we left. "I think I just need to sit for a bit, and then we can go, alright?" I grinned, trying to do my best to look okay.

Shizu-chan wasn't buying it. Finished with wiping his glasses, he propped them up on his head for later when we went back outside. "You're lying." His voice was even, and he didn't sound mad. He looked irritated, but it wasn't reflected in his voice. It was peculiar. Maybe this was what it meant to have Ikebukuro's beast warm up to you. It was an exciting thought. "I've fucking chased your ass from one side of Ikebukuro down to fucking Shinjuku. A short little walk shouldn't have you sitting. And you'd normally be stubborn enough to hold out until we got back. What gives?"

He sounds worried~ I swallowed dryly, lacing my fingers over my stomach. "I'm fine. Just a bit worn out. I've been locked inside for quite some time, remember?" I doubted that I could reason with him. He was a simple brute, after all. "Don't you remember? Shinra told me take it easy, and this is probably why. He said something about weakening muscle mass, due to my chronic lazing about. I've underestimated my condition. That is all." I knew it sounded too sure when it left my mouth.

"Bull shit." His eyes narrowed, before he dropped his chin into a hand and glanced back over to the pastry case. Perhaps the mere idea of smashing cake kept him restrained. What good would cake be to him if it was destroyed? "You stink when you're up to no good or lying. I shouldn't have let you out."

I pouted. "But it's so worth it!" I grinned right after, deciding to tease, "And awwh, so Shizu-chan does care about my well being. He's even taking responsibility!"

He scoffed, eyebrow twitching before looking back over to me.

And then he sighed. His face relaxed, the tension slowly easing out. "You're so fucking annoying." He said, with a little too much affection in his voice to sound intimidating.

I chuckled, opening my mouth to retort, when a human who happened to be passing by the window caught my eye. I froze, face and body going stiff and rigid.

It was a kid. His face was tense with worry and fear, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket as he strode by, eyes stiffly fixed on everything that passed before him. He was that kid who had been with Hajime's group. That kid who had been in the van. The one who looked too young to be a part of a Yakuza gang. If there's one of him, then there might be more near by. This could be bad. I felt safe with Shizu-chan by my side, but this still could be bad.

Both curiosity and panic sparked in me, and I watched as he walked by with his back to me, until he disappeared from sight behind Shizuo's form.

And then I realized that Shizuo was staring at me, eyes narrowed, teeth mashing together, and he suddenly looked pissed. "Looks like you've seen a ghost, I-zay-ya-kuun." He snapped, gaze shifting back to the window, eyes flickering about each human. "Someone out there I need to introduce to my fist?"

Blinking, I realized that my face had morphed into one of worry, of fear. Cracking a smile, awkwardly breaking onto my face, I tried to laugh it off. "No." I said simply, pulling out my phone instead. My hand was shaking, but I kept it under the table where Shizuo couldn't see. "I can get it taken care of." He didn't miss the way my voice shook. That kid was just a kid. There was no reason for me to be scared of an ambush. Shiki said he had him, right? I had assumed they rounded up everyone... but then again, a group that large would be too hard to control.

Hajime wouldn't send the kid for revenge, would he? He probably wasn't happy that I killed Kai. Or got him caught by Shiki. Or let the Yakuza do what they wanted with him. Did they even let him go yet? Shiki said he'd text me...

It was at that moment that I wished I had asked for more information. I had been so set on getting Shiki to let me off the hook, so I could quit without causing a scene or trouble, that I hadn't bothered to ask for the details. Pulling out my phone, I quickly constructed a text message with the address. [Looks like you missed on of Hajime's guys. I was under the impression that you were cleaning the entire house.] I felt sort of bad for selling the kid out – but he had been more than willing to obey and hurt me. I shivered at the mere thought. A young teen that cruel would only grow into a terrifying adult. Perhaps I was doing future humans a favor.

"You have that look again." Shizuo growled, sunglasses falling back onto his face.

"What look?" I asked, attention snapping back to him and – my breathing was becoming labored, oh no, - I wasn't sure if now was the appropriate time to leave, or the right time to stay. What was I worried about? I didn't need to worry about my safety. But then again, not even Shizu-chan could protect me from a bullet. I suddenly became very conscious of how big the window was beside us.

I could be dead within a heartbeat.

The demon stirred uncomfortably in my belly. Go. Safety. Glad to see it was looking out for me. "I don't have any look on my face. Actually. I think we should head back now."

He scoffed, standing up, the tone in my voice obvious to him. "Who spooked you. I'll go punch him."

I laughed, shakily getting up before he drew too much attention. "Ah ha, Shizu-chan is so concerned. How cute," I slunk a little bit closer to him, suddenly feeling exposed. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I quickly fished it out just as we began to make our way out of the cafe – no thanks to Shizu-chan basically dragging me in a hurry. It seemed he didn't want to stick around for any trouble with me. He was leaving, and that was all there was to it.

The message was from Shiki, and I suddenly felt relieved. That was quick.

[We've got him. We were on his tail, but you've made our job easy again. My thanks.] I didn't feel quite as threatened anymore, and so I allowed Shizu-chan to lead me down the sidewalk – unfortunately in the kids direction. I cleared my throat, trying to slow us down and stall for a bit. If Shiki and his men were hunting in Ikebukuro, and if they had caught the kid so fast, then they were guaranteed to be close by. "Are we going the right way?"

Shizuo grabbed onto my arm, glancing back at me irritably. "I know where I live." He said, trying to usher us back. The walk should have been a quick five minute stroll down the block, but with my pace, we both knew it would take at least ten. "I'm not dealing with any trouble." He warned, just as we turned a corner. I mentally sighed in relief. "And if you're hurting, we need to go back. Shinra wants to know when and if and how your condition changes, and I'm not getting blamed when you finally croak."

I swallowed thickly, the last part of his sentence hitting me harder than I had expected. I tried to laugh it off. "Nice."

He glanced back my way, face contorted as he contemplated what he said. "Shit, I mean... sorry."

"It's fine, Shizu-chan." He was dragging me now, my legs reminding me that I hadn't sat long enough. "Let's just get back to your place. Quickly." Yawning, I trailed after him, my heart pounding in my chest. We wouldn't run into any trouble, would we?

Of course we would.

It was the last corner, a bit too close to Shizu-chan's apartment for comfort, that I spotted him.

Him as in Shiki. He was leaning against a wall by an alley, a smoke hanging from his lips. Shizu-chan – oblivious to my employer, which is too be expected I suppose – didn't even break stride, even as I ripped my arm from his grasps. He simply let me go, certain that I would keep up. He strode past, giving Shiki a sideways glance for a moment before stopping in the mouth of the alley, staring down it's length when something caught his attention. "The fuck."

Shit. Shit, shit shit!

"Heiwajima-san." The tone was warning, screaming: walk away, you saw nothing. I caught up quickly, ready to tame the beast that was about to be unleashed. Shiki then looked genuinely surprised to see me trailing behind him. "Oh? And Orihara-san too? Hello."

"Hi," I said conversationally before walking past Shizu-chan. "Good work, but there's nothing to see here." I nodded to Shiki politely, before turning to Shizuo to try and get him to follow me. "Shizu-chan. There's nothing to see." I emphasized the words, trying to strike the shell of his tyrannosaurus sized brain. I wasn't sure what was going on in the alley, but if Shiki wasn't witnessing it – and from what I could see, there was a van parked down there, and what looked like fresh blood splattered onto the side wall – then it wasn't good. "Shizu-chan."

A man suddenly emerged from behind the van, carrying in his arms a body bag that was obviously full. He slid open the side door of the van and none too gently deposited his haul. I swallowed thickly, glancing to Shiki. "There's a few more, and they know where you've been hiding." He said warningly, nodding towards Shizuo to indicate that there were people who knew I was rooming with the beast. Shiki gave me one of those looks, eyes lingering with the glint of power, and he simply blew smoke. "Carry on." He said casually, and I gladly took my leave. I nodded before walking ahead.

"Heiwajima-san. Carry on." He had to repeat, and to my ultimate surprise, Shizu-chan listened. His face was a shade paler, but Shiki's words must have triggered some sort of understanding in his brain. They know where I'm staying. He had to jog to catch up with me, my pace suddenly normal and my walk absolutely perfect in the presence of someone other than Shizuo. To Hell and back if I would let Shiki see me weak. Again.

Shizuo didn't say anything when he caught up with me, his expression guarded for once and blank as he contemplated what he had just seen.

We walked back to the apartment in silence.

I was winded by the time we got back. It took too long for Shizu-chan to open the door, and too much effort for me to even get my shoes off. I collapsed onto the couch out of exhaustion, resting my head back as I tried to catch my breath the second I was free to do so. My heart was pounding in my ears, and I couldn't really focus. I must have over done it. I felt light headed, maybe even a little bit stressed. Maybe I should take a nap.

Shizuo was shuffling about, but still, he didn't say anything.

I suddenly got an anxious feeling, and I lifted my head to look at him. there was tension growing in the room, the kind of tension that normally had Shizuo ripping doors of their hinges and throwing them at me. Is he ignoring me!? He shuffled into the kitchen, ripping open the fridge, grabbing a bottle of milk and downing it almost in one go. He looked irritated. Angry.

It wasn't until he turned to come back into the living room that he met my gaze.

He was pissed.

"Shizu-chan-"

"The fuck was that?" He asked, voice suddenly loud and threatening – the Shizu-chan I knew who yelled at me and chased me down the street. I swallowed thickly, tensing at his tone. He looked suddenly livid. "Was that a murder!?"

I shrugged, looking away.

"You caused that." He accused, eyes narrowing. I shot a dirty look back at him, my heart rate picking up a little too much for comfort. "Didn't you?"

I shrugged, opting to meet his gaze and stare right back. It's wasn't exactly my fault. I just happened to have triggered the scenario. "It's not like I told Shiki when and where and how to do it. They take care of things in their own way. I simply rounded up a loose end." I tried to defend myself. Because why wouldn't I? Kid or not, he needed to be punished for his crimes, and I knew from past experience that the ones who get away always come back with an army.

And I did not want an army trying to snuff me out.

Shizuo's face twitched, and he narrowed his eyes at me. "And that is a good enough excuse to have someone killed, even in a round about way? Fucking louse. You never get your hands dirty, do you?"

"What happened to being all nice to each other?" I glared at him pointedly. "Look. We don't know the kid's dead, okay? You just saw what you think you saw. You don't know for a fact. They could have just drugged him. It could have been a set up. It's shady Yakuza business, Shizu-chan. You pretend like you don't know what you know, and you don't witness what you see. Do you understand?"

Apparently, I said something wrong, because the crease lines in his face suddenly got deeper, his eyes suddenly harder, and that look or absolute loathing appeared back in his eyes. "Kid?"

Oh. Shit.

I swallowed, brain scrambling to come up with a cover as one hand slipped to my abdomen. It hurt, and it was starting to hurt more. "He's not a kid if he's in a gang. I just meant newbie. He looked younger than the rest, typically we call them the kids' of the group." I lied. That kid? He was probably fifteen, sixteen at most. "Probably my age. Maybe a bit younger. Typically that counts as a 'kid'. Shizu-chan, don't get so angry. I didn't specifically do anything to him. I just happened to give away his location."

He looked mad again. "You're lying through your teeth louse." He snapped, stalking forward and grabbing me by the front of my shirt. He hauled me up from the couch, and I could see the conflict in his eyes. He was a good guy at heart, and I was a bad guy at heart. And I was a bad guy at heart. That was who we were what we do. Rather, this was who I was and what I did. I planned on leading a more... legal life in my future, and apparently Shizu-chan liked new me a lot better than old me.

But the problem right now was that I was still in the transition phase. He's going to have to deal with some of my quirks.

"Did you get the rest of them killed off too?"

I shrugged passively, face remaining stoic.

He looked conflicted, and gently let me go, giving me a little shove and watching as I dropped boneless back onto the couch. Torn between life and death. Torn between the repayment for one's actions. He had threatened to beat them himself, but I knew he would never kill someone. He hated violence. That was a fact. We didn't know the kid was dead, scratch that, he didn't know the kid was dead, and that was the point I was going to try and make him see.

"We don't know what happened." I snapped, crossing my arms and turning away, eyes sliding to the corners to continue our little stare down. "And what does it matter, what happens to him? It didn't matter what happened to me. They almost set me on fire." I reminded, hands suddenly trembling even though they were clenched. That had been a close call. I couldn't even begin to imagine what I would have done after living through that.

And the scars. The scars would have been terrifying, and there would have been nothing I could do.

I probably would have had to move away, to take up a new name and pretend to be someone else simply because I couldn't look at myself in the mirror. And if that had happened, would I have failed? I would have failed my new mission. I would have landed back in Hell broken beyond recognition, and I would consciously ceased to exist.

Shizuo huffed, anger plastered on his face, and suddenly he was grabbing me by my shoulders, pulling me back to my feet, and shoving me through the small house. "Fucking louse. You just have to screw things up, don't you?"

"Excuse me? What gives!?" I snapped, not liking the way he was manhandling me. He simply growled in response, shoving me a little too quickly through the apartment. When he kicked open his bedroom door and shoved me in though, a little spark of panic rose in my chest. I stumbled into the room, turning back defensively just to see him follow me in, grabbing onto my forearm and forcing me to move further in. I was practically clawing at him by the time he shoved me onto the bed. "Sh- Shziu-chan!"

But he didn't drop over me, didn't force himself upon me like my panic was leading me to believe. "Did you know this whole time that there were people looking for you!?" He yelled, voice intimidating for the first time, probably ever.

I shuddered, turning a shoulder to him. "No! If I had know, I would have told you, and then we would have gotten rid of them."

"We?" He asked, stepping forward just suddenly enough to make me flinch, "Not we. Me. Because you're supposed to just be sitting down and relaxing your ass until Shinra and his Dad get an idea on how to get rid of that thing." He pointed to my stomach, finger swirling in annoyance, "I am not having your blood on my hands because you were too stupid to tell the truth."

"I'm not lying!" I sat up, face suddenly hot and irritated. "I didn't know, Shizu-o, and Shiki would have found and done away with the kid anyway – that wasn't my fault. Maybe if you weren't so stupid, you could understand that shady business happens even when you don't see it! Even if you went and reported it, there wouldn't be any evidence by the time you got back. It doesn't matter who you are, kid or not, he'd take you out if he had to."

"Like fuck he would."

"I'm not lying!" The demon churned irritably, muttering something about calming down. "Shut up!" I yelled at it, but Shizuo didn't hear what the demon said.

"Bet the little demon boy is getting a kick out of this, I-zay-ya. You sure you're just not crazy?" He turned, finally reaching his boiling point.

I could see that he was about to do something stupid, but of course, I couldn't keep my comments to myself. He didn't have to go say that! "It, is an it and you are going to become an it too if you don't get out and shut the fuck up. You're not listening to me! I said I'm not lying. I will happily stay in your little monster den as long as it makes you feel better, okay?"

"You. Stay in here before I hurt you. Fucking pissing me off. Always making me so fucking mad and wanting to hurt people." He snapped, anger not wavering even as I flinched in response, his words almost incoherent when he suddenly turned around and stalked out of the bedroom. He paused at the door, glancing over his shoulder. "Don't fucking come out until I come get you, I don't care if the little demon shit is clawing it's way out or not, you're not leaving." He slammed the door behind himself, leaving me to stare and gape at it stupidly.

What a childish bastard! Scoffing, I righted myself from my landing and got up shakily. I stormed over to my bag, which had been relocated after earliers clean up to the bedroom, and dug out my laptop, face burning and eyes stinging. He'll get over it. Probably won't take him long. I stalked back to the bed, getting myself comfortable with a pillow on my back, to the head board, and then I booted up my laptop. I could entertain myself for hours. Angrily if need be. However long it took for the beast to calm down and not murder me.

Snorting, and brushing away the wetness in my eyes, I set out to research natural remedies for aches and pains. The beast would come back for me. He always did.

Apparently he could hold out until one in the morning.

I stirred in my sleep, eyes prying open to see that I had passed out at some point during my research. Blinking tiredly, I pushed myself up from the mattress and glanced around suspiciously. My laptop was sitting closed on the end table, the blankets pulled up and wrapped around my form to keep me warm. Also on the end table, a lamp was on – it looked suspiciously like the one that had been in the living room earlier – while the main bedroom light was off. The door was also open.

So Shizu-chan came back for me after all. Grinning, I pushed myself into a sitting position, rubbing at my eye with one hand, and my stomach with another. My hips were aching, my back sore, and I decided that I would be better off not moving around too much. Groaning, I laid back down and shifted onto my side, face snuggling into the pillow while drawing the blankets closer to my face. Now was not the time to talk to him. He'd probably just be mad at me for waking him up. Plus, I could use the sleep. We can do whatever we need to do in the morning. It couldn't be that bad, right? For the record, Shizu-chan had been pretty calm around me long enough to warrant a freak out or two.

But sleep did not return, for the creature inside my stomach suddenly stirred, calling my name gently.

Izaya...

"What." I muttered, eyes fluttering shut as an irritated huff left me. Of all time for it to get chatty again.

You need to wake up Shizuo.

I opened my eyes again, blinking in the dark. They narrowed shortly after. And why would I do something stupid like that? He already told me not to leave. My heart rate slightly spiked, a feeling of unease and wariness washing over me.

You need to wake him up. He needs to call Shinra.

A feeling of dread replaced the unease and I forced myself to sit up in the bed, sheets tangling around my legs. And why should I listen to you? Getting up to my feet slowly and carefully, I gently stretched my arms over my head before heading out to the bathroom.

Because I am more aware of you health than you are.

"Why so chatty?" I muttered, hesitating at the door to the bedroom and listening. There were no moaning spirits or flickering shadows in the hallway, from what I could see. But the hallway light was off in the dark. If I turned the hall light on too, I'd only wake Shizu-chan up, and judging by the snoring, he was passed on the couch. After a careful, paranoid glance, I finally got irritated and just braved the dark by myself.

The spirits left me alone. Which didn't really surprise me. Their harassment had been becoming more scarce, but the fact that they weren't present at all left me a little anxious. Something was up, something wasn't right.

I don't want to die. If you die, I die.

Rolling my eyes, I flipped on the light and did my business in the bathroom, washing off my face for good measure afterward too. I didn't bother answering until I was done, heading back into the hall. "I'm not going to die, so please stop talking." Slipping back into Shizuo's bedroom, I located my jogging pants in the corner and on the floor, and changed out of my jeans. I had to carefully bend over to get the sweats on, my body sore and my stomach too full and hard for me to bend properly.

Izaya. You don't understand.

"Shush," I groaned when something pulled in my stomach, the demon shifting and fidgeting more than it had in days. I pulled the strings to keep the sweats up, and then pat myself on the stomach. "Stop moving."

Izaya. Wake up Shizuo.

Shut up. I went back over to the bed, carefully crawling in and lying down on my side again. I'm not waking him up just because you're being a pest. I snuggled back into the blankets, getting comfortable, when the demon abruptly shifted, claws and back searing across my insides. Groaning loudly, both hands dropped down to my stomach, pressing hard. I curled into myself, eyes squeezing shut in pain. "Stop that." I choked out, face tensing and eyes narrowing. "Stop it."

There's no more time. You need to wake up Shizuo.

What. "No more time?" I wrapped my arms around myself, glaring at the lamp. I wanted to turn it off, but at the same time, I was starting to feel stressed. It would stay on until the demon went back into it's slumber. "Is this because we got into a fight?"

The details don't matter. The only thing that means anything is that I'm strong enough to survive on my own in your realm now. Izaya, listen. I'm attached to your life force, and I will be for a while once I get out of here. You can't die. I won't let you die.

That dreaded feeling washed over me again in a wave, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Get out of here? It needs to get out? The demon's panic was starting to stir my own, and I sat up again, breathing coming out heavy and labored. What the hell was it even talking about? "Explain. Now."

I didn't think it was this bad. You're body is too weak, Izaya. This is going to be bad. I slept too much through these last stages to help you. You need to wake up Shizuo. You need to wake him up.

"So you keep saying, just explain yourself dammit, what's happening?" I rubbed at my belly irritably, trying to sooth the panicking beast and the pain that it had caused me. It needed to stop, it needed to stop talking and shifting and existing. Oddly enough, warmth spread over the internal tears, like the beast was licking my wounds, trying to make them better. I couldn't tell if I felt sick or flattered by the action. To wrap a demon around my finger, that would make me powerful. It was a joke, and nothing more than a joke.

Just like this whole ordeal. "Stop that."

There's no more time. Instincts have kicked in for me to make my way out, but there's no way for me to get out. It licked at my insides again, I shuddered, hands pressing hard against it. Stop pressing on me. I'm out of space as it is.

Shaking was the next step in my downward spiral of my oh shit, I'm gonna die phase. Rubbing my belly a little bit lighter than before, and chewing on my bottom lip, I shook my head. "What do you mean? Out?" My voice was nothing more than a ghost of a whisper. "You can't leave. What are you talking about?"

I mean you're not a woman and it's time for me to leave, but there's nothing connecting me to the outside. It will start soon. You're not ready. Wake up Shizuo. Wake him up now.

Too stunned and shaking too hard, I couldn't think straight, let alone get up.

Izaya!

I shook my head. "What? What am I supposed to do?"

You're supposed to wake up Shizuo! Did you get stupid over the past few days? An ominous chuckle had my heart rate rising, and I pressed harder on my stomach. The demon wasn't my friend, hell, the demon only cared about itself. But if it needed me to live, then it would do everything in it's power to make sure that it survived, right? You need to call Shinra. I need out before I suffocate. As soon as this thing breaks, we're both fucked. You need to call Shinra.

Fuck. This was the part where it clawed it's way out of me and ripped me into pieces. My hands began to violently shake as the situation dawned in on me. It was time? It was time for all of this to come to some sort of end, and apparently I wasn't going to live through it. I'mgoingtodie, I'mgoingtodie, ohshit -

Wait! Calm down, please. It shifted, more warmth spreading on the inside. No, no, no, I can't do that, I won't claw my way out. You need to be alive. I need you alive. And that is the catch. Actually, that is probably the joke about all of this. You still need to live even when I get free. Okay? Understand? That means that you need to live, and I will keep you alive. But if you refuse, and decide to leave me trapped in here to die, I will crawl up and tear everything open Izaya. I will lodge myself in your chest and tear everything to shreds, you hear me!? Warmth spread over the previous wound once again. I was trembling where I sat. It was lying, right? This wasn't actually happening.

"Stop licking me." The words were so quite that I couldn't even hear them. "Just stop, I'll get up, just give me a second." I shakily tried to rise to my feet, but my knees ended up giving out, landing me back where I sat. "I don't understand what you're saying." My voice sounded pathetic even to me, and I was only half conscious of the sting in my eyes.

Look, I didn't want to be mean but you need to listen to me, okay? I don't want to die, and I know you don't want to die either. We don't have to, death can be avoided. It shifted slightly, fidgeting nervously and I could feel it. And the only way for me to live is for you to live, okay? Do you understand me?

"Yes, I get it." I snapped, breathing becoming more labored. "How long until...?"

I'm not sure, but you'll know when it starts. If it gets to the point where I suffocate and die, I will kill you. It shifted again, more gently this time, but I gagged. I leaned over my knees and gagged, one hand sitting over my mouth. You need to wake up Shizuo. The details don't matter, okay? It's all just a bunch of hormones triggering reactions. I can't stop them. I'm sorry. Shinra can just cut me out. Just call him. Wake up Shizuo, Izaya. Do it now.

There was something wrong about this entire situation. My gut reaction was telling me not to believe the little thing, but what did I know? Throughout the course of growing this thing inside of me, what did I know about it? Who was I to make a decision based on knowledge. All I knew was what it told me, and I had the fleeting suspicion that I would never know the full truth.

But what was I supposed to do? Right at this moment? When panic and nausea were keeping me down. How was I supposed to -

Muscles in my stomach suddenly clenched and I gasped, the demon groaning in unison. What was that!?. Lie down. I shook my head, there was no way I was going to lie down now – not after everything the thing had just told me. It had just threatened my life, after explaining that it was leaving. Like I had a little door that it could just crawl out of, pain-free. The little shit couldn't order me around. I could agree now that I at least needed to wake up Shizu-chan, and I could also agree that he should probably call Shinra. But the little shit wasn't murdering me today, and who knew what it would do to me once it got out. I needed someone. Something. Even if Shizuo was mad, he would help me, right? There was something wrong, and I was going to be sick. I was going to violently ill. I need to calm down. I wasn't hyperventilating yet, but it wouldn't be long.

I tried to stand up, but the wave of pain hit me first, muscles clenching and cramping, and generally the pull in my hips got ten times worse, like gravity was trying to shift down all of my internal organs. It was so intense and so sudden, that it had me dropping to the floor with a silent scream, arms wrapping around my torso protectively, like I could hold everything in. It was worse than anything I had ever endured. Slashing, I could feel muscles tearing apart from their own violent convulsion. It lasted only a second, but the lingering effects had my brain spinning. I couldn't see anything, couldn't tell which was was up. I couldn't even tell if I was conscious or not.

Breathe.

I gasped, choking on my own air supply as I rolled over onto my side, face pressed into the floor. I was breathing too fast, choking on my own throat as the panic took over. My chest was hurting simply from the force of my own pounding heart. Was this what it meant by I wasn't ready?

Get up.

Finally listening, I struggled to get up on my hands and knees, my limbs violently shaking. I was going to fall. My vision was clearly, but I could hardly see anything. It was too dark, the floor and walls spinning. I doubted I could make it very far.

You've got some time, but the next one will be worse. You need to take it easy.

The pain was going to come back? Using that as motivation, I managed to support myself against the wall, shakily getting onto my feet and leaning heavily. Slowly, ever so slowly, I made my way out of the bedroom and into the living room. It took several minutes for me to get that far, my breathing not evening out, and my heart rate refusing to slow. A five second walk took me five whole minutes, and by the time I made it to living room, I couldn't go any further. I stopped at the back of the couch, my arms dropping forward to shakily support me. My knees were shaking hard enough to break, and I doubted they would carry me any further. I was close enough to him, his head was resting on the opposite arm rest.

Calm down, you're okay. Just wake him.

I wasn't okay. I was terrified. "Shizu-" Hardly a whisper. I tried to regain my breath before trying again. Could I even speak? What would happen if he didn't wake up? "Shizu-chan." Pathetic, but louder. Tears were by now freely running down my face. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. I was scared. These things were not of this world, and I had no information to comfort me except the possible lies that the demon had spoke. "Shizuo."

Breathe. You need to breathe.

He stirred on the couch, his form shifting slightly. I choked on a sob, arms threatening to give out on me even though the pain was lessening in my hips. I didn't want the pain to come back. It had felt like everything was falling out of me, a pressure and force so strong that it left me winded and on the ground. I couldn't even try fighting it. All that could be heard in the living room were my pants and choked cries, and they seemed to egg me on, encouraging me to wet my throat before the incident happened again. "Shizu-chan!"

He groaned, suddenly rolling onto his back and sitting up. There was enough light flickering in from the bedroom that he should have been able to see me, if not anything else. He sat up slowly, eyes narrowed and hair disheveled. He didn't even look awake, but the confusion might have been because of my state. He rubbed at his face before throwing the blanket off of himself, stripped down in nothing but his undershirt and boxers, and then glanced back over to me like I was merely a figment of his imagination. "Izaya?"

I tried to speak, tried to calm my breathing, but all I could do was stare. Stare, and crease my forehead, trying to convey everything with my eyes instead. I was silently pleading, a whimper escaping me when the demon licked at my sore insides, uncomfortably trying to ease my stress and pain. I was grateful for it now, even if it was doing this for itself in the long run.

"Are you..."

"Call." I sniffed, arms growing even weaker as the reality of the situation was brought to life. My trembling got worse, and my panic seemed to be spreading over to Shizuo. "Shinra."

He understood, getting up quickly and hurried over to the kitchen, grabbing the orange cellphone off the table and then coming back to me. His breathing too had increased, and the worry was evident on his face. He flipped it open, pinching the phone between his shoulder in his ear when he gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders, trying to guide me over to the couch because I couldn't make it on my own. I tried to stand up, but ended up leaning most of my weight onto him as we inched our way around the couch. He face was creasing, his heart was racing, but his hands were incredibly steady. Shinra didn't answer the first time, and so he tried again just as I was sitting down. I mentally tried to determine how many more minutes had gone by. I was starting to choke on my own breathing again, gasping for air in rapid, noisy succession. I didn't know when the next wave of pain was going to come, or how bad it would be, and it had already been ten minutes. How much longer?

"Is it..."

I choked, keeling over so fast that my insides tore against the demon because of my own doing, a spasm and shiver of muscles contracting taking over my insides while warm blood stung and leaked out of a wound that shouldn't have existed.

Suddenly everything inside of me felt like it was on fire. I cried loudly into my knees, holding onto my stomach as tightly as I could as the pain wracked through my body, sparring no inch. The demon didn't even complain again as I squished it, fingers clawing and pressing with bruising force as pressure squeezed throughout my insides, leaving me breathless so long that Shizuo was screaming my name.

I gasped for breath, the wave of disaster longer than the first, but finally over. I gasped like I had just run a marathon, my lungs threatening to collapse from the sheer force of my breaths. The demon simply tried to purr comfortingly and licked, gentle sparks of warmth rising up amongst the pain. You're okay. It kept whispering, and I felt sick with confusion. Sickly anxious, because demons were supposed to enjoy the pain of others. But if it really needed me to live, then it needed to do what it needed to do. Some demons had no bounds, after all.

A warm hand landed on my back, and Shizuo dialed Shinra for the third time. "Hey, hey, Izaya. Shh. Stop, you're alright." Circles were rubbed into my back, the lingering pain more intense then it had been the first time. Shizuo was pulling closer to him, my face practically on his knee while I cried. I was out right sobbing now. It felt like my insides were being torn apart, the pain so overwhelming and unbearable that I didn't care what needed to be done, it just needed to stop.

Izaya. You have exactly forty-five minutes.