Hi, all. This chapter's a little shorter than originally intended. Honestly, it was because I was considering changing some things in the next chapter, but if I added it all, it would have been far too long. So, I nipped it short.

"Izaya! Shizuo! Welcome!"

"God, what is she? Simon's albino sister?" Izaya mumbled, feeling a headache coming on from all the Saki he'd consumed. Shizuo just pushed him forward into the apartment doorway as Anja gestured them forward.

"Come in, come in! Please, have a seat!"

They both accepted her offer and sat down on the aged, but well kept couch, which seemed to be the largest piece of furniture in the rather small living room. Shizuo glanced about, as he leaned back into the cushions. It seemed to be about the same size as his apartment, but very crowded in comparison. Anja, it appeared, was a bit of a pack rat, and had many strange oddities cluttered about. Shizuo saw stacks of books piled in the corner, most in a language he could not read, and there were many bits and pieces of rocks and geodes strewn across the mantel, accompanied by statues of varying sizes, most of whom Shizuo did not recognize. Small crystals dangled from the light fixture, casting rainbows across the walls. They both jumped at a squawk from the corner behind them, and turned to see a small parrot perched on the curtain rod.

"What did that guy do?" Izaya asked, sarcastically, as he nodded his head in the bird's direction.

"Oh, Izaya! So funny!" she laughed, clapping her hands. "Is no human. Come here, Peter!" she called, holding out her arm. The bird, with another horrid squawk that made both men startle again, flew to her. "You go home now, yes?"

"Yes?" the bird repeated, bobbing it's head up and down. "Snack?"

"Later, Peter. You, home, now!" Peter squawked again, and flew out of the room. Anja shook her head. "That bird! More like pig! He will stay in cage, now. Ah, I so glad you are both here! There someone I much like to introduce you both too." At the quizzical looks she received, she continued, "My niece here to stay with me."

"Hooray..." Izaya mumbled, folding his arms and leaning back along with Shizuo. For his part, the bodyguard just tried to be extra polite.

"Sounds great. And you have a very nice home, Anja," Shizuo smiled. "You sure must read a lot."

"Oh, yes! I do, I do! But books not what you here for, yes? You want me to have look at something?" she smiled, knowingly. Izaya cast an annoyed, sideways glance at Shizuo, as the blonde man cleared his throat.

"Actually, Anja, we're having a bit of a predicament. Izaya came into possession of this violin," he pointed to the case near the informant's feet. "And it seems to be haunted."

Anja looked curiously at the case, and reached out her hands. Without a word, Izaya picked it up off the floor and placed it in her open palms. Looking it over, curiously, a moment, Anja popped the locks on the edges and opened the case. She stared down at the smooth and polished wood, inhaling, deeply and seemingly reluctant to even touch it. "Oh, Izaya..." she whispered, almost awestruck. "Where you find this?"

"In an estate sale from an online ad, but they didn't want to sell it. They just wanted to give it away...why?"

"Is very sad, sad thing..." she sighed again, and her blue eyes glanced up at Shizuo. "Is not haunted...Sometimes, when people feel very strongly, they leave feelings behind on things when they die." She slowly lifted the violin out of its case and turned it to the side. Shizuo could suddenly see a few dark spots that he'd never noticed, before. From the look on Izaya's face next to him, the informant hadn't seen the spots, either. Unless one was staring directly at it, the tiny splatters might appear to be a bad varnishing job, or perhaps water damage. The sinking feeling in Shizuo's stomach told him that it was neither.

"Is that...blood?" Izaya wondered, his eyes wide.

"Yes," Anja nodded.

"Whose?" Shizuo croaked, his voice suddenly very dry.

Anja didn't reply. She gently placed the violin back in it's case, closing the clasps once more and handing it back to Izaya with a frown. Shizuo and Izaya frowned with her. "These feelings are very bad. We must find reason behind the bad feelings, only then can we soothe them."

"What happens if we can't?" Shizuo pressed. Izaya looked at him a bit peevishly, clearly not wanting to hear about that part.

"I cannot say for certain. I no feel a curse, but I have been wrong before... But no worry so much!" she quickly added at the completely doomed look on the informant's face. "We will figure something out, yes?"

"Did you see anything?" Shizuo pressed. "Anything at all? I've been having dreams, but I don't know what happens at the end."

Anja shook her head. "I see very little. I feel pain, as you do. I also feel darkness. But Shizuo, you seem to have calming effect," the old woman mused.

"Me? I do?"

"Yes! The nearer you are to violin, the more I feel its energy quiet. It recognize something in you, hm?" Izaya threw up his hands and let out an agitated sigh.

"It'll be the latest reality show! The violin charmer! Riveting!"

"Shut up, flea!" Shizuo warned. "This is serious!"

"I am serious!" Izaya insisted. "You'll change your mind once we make millions!" If he had tried, the informant could not have made his voice any more sarcastic.

"What the f-...HELL, Izaya? I didn't ask for this, you know? You're the one who went and picked up the stupid violin!"

"That loves you and apparently wants me to die!"

"Boys!" Anja chided. They both obediently turned their heads toward her and shut their mouths. "No fighting! Izaya, the violin not want to kill you! It just have bad feelings."

"Well, what can we do?" Shizuo asked.

Anja rubbed her chin, thoughtfully. "We could...ask master of violin... I feel his spirit linked to it."

"You mean...?" Shizuo didn't even feel like he could say his name right now. "But how?"

"Three of us, four together with my niece, could possibly call spirit from other side."

"Are you suggesting a séance?" Izaya blinked. "Here? Now?"

"Yeah, Anja, I dunno if that's such a good idea..."

Anja nodded, though she didn't fully understand their shared concern. "It may be risky..."

"As in...screwy?"

"Flea!" Shizuo warned.

"Risky, because I know not how spirit will behave. Feelings were imparted at time of death, and I uncertain how spirit remains affected. But, I fear is only way to know for sure."

Shizuo looked to Izaya, whose face had grown very pale. After a moment of reflection, the informant silently nodded to him, and Shizuo turned to Anja. "Okay, just tell us what to do."

"As soon as my niece returns, we begin. Four is better than three, yes?"

Shizuo didn't really know, but either way, not much time was spent waiting. The blonde man had been silently praying that Anja's niece would walk through the door as soon as possible, lest Izaya back out of the plan, and thankfully, as soon as the sun had set, a pretty and young blonde woman unlocked the front door, carrying a bag full of groceries.

"Tyotia!" she cried. "You didn't tell me we were having visitors!" She tossed her keys on a side table, and walked toward them.

"Ah!" Anja smiled, brightly. "Vorona, this Shizuo and Izaya. I tell you they come by soon, no?"

"Yeah, but I thought you were just trying to bedazzle me with your magic, again," Vorona laughed, shaking her head. She gripped the bag in one hand and reached out a slender arm toward Shizuo. "Hi, I'm Vorona. It's nice to meet you. Tyo- Auntie talks so much about you."

"Yeah, hi," Shizuo said, somewhat awkwardly, as he took her hand. Izaya was quick to jump directly beside him, bumping him to the side.

"So, Vorona, ready for a séance?" he practically chirped. Shizuo glanced down at him and noted he was smiling his very wide, very creepy smile. Poor girl. She really should have tried to shake his hand first.

"A what, now?" the woman raised her eyebrows and glanced suspiciously at her aunt, who seemed to suddenly be looking everywhere except at her relative.

"I think I make tea, first..." the older woman mumbled, scooting off toward the kitchen.

"Tyotia! What the hell is going on?" Vorona dropped the bag to the couch and, after rolling up the sleeves to her white blouse, put her hands on her hips, her golden, bangle bracelets jingling with the sharp motion.

"N-nothing! Well, maybe little something," Anja tried to explain, holding up her thumb and forefinger to demonstrate just how little. Vorona's frown deepened, and Izaya barked a laugh.

"Vorona! No need to look so upset! We're only summoning the spirit of possibly one of the most ruthless Nazis who ever lived!"

"W-WHAT?"

"Shut up, flea!" Shizuo practically slapped him up the side of his head. "You know this is the only way to help! Why are you making this harder than it has to be?"

"Because you're just so damn lovable!" Izaya yelled, before stalking off to the kitchen. Both the women in the room immediately looked at Shizuo, who was currently gaping like a fish out of water.

"Um...well...ahem!" Shizuo cleared his throat, not really knowing what that was all about. "Maybe we should get started?"

"Oh, no!" Vorona shook her head. "I want no part of this hocus-pocus nonsense. You have fun. I'll just wait here in the living room until you're finished."

"But Anja says it'll work better with four people! Please Miss Vorona! My friend can be kind of a jerk, but he's in really big trouble if we don't get to the bottom of this!"

"The bottom of what?"

"It's the violin. It's cursed," Shizuo said, his voice grave.

Vorona's eyes flickered to the violin case on the floor. "Looks pretty normal to me, and your friend seems spunky enough. All he's suffering from is denial."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean!" Shizuo roared, taking a step forward and balling his fist.

"That he's obviously in love with you!" Vorona yelled back. "And I think that's just fine! Hooray for gay love! Power and rainbows to you, but I'm not helping you encourage my aunt with these silly notions!"

"You don't know anything about us!"

"Please!" Anja cut in. "Such mental energy would be better spent summoning owner of the violin, yes?" They both stopped, but stared angrily at one another. "Vorona, I know you no believe. You no have to sit with us."

"Yeah, we don't want you there, now, anyway!" Shizuo barked.

"Oh, I'll be there!" Vorona challenged. "I'll be there letting you all know just how stupid you are!"

"Why you little-" Shizuo reached for her just as Izaya finally came padding back from the kitchen, and upon the sight, immediately took the nearest vase and threw it against Shizuo's head, shattering it. "Argh!" Shizuo brought a hand to his injured head, and growled.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Shizu-chan!" he warned, pointing an accusing finger. Vorona almost started laughing before his finger swung in her direction. "Shut up, whore!"

"Wait, what?" Vorona cried. "You had better watch it! I'll fucking knock your head off your shoulders!"

There was a flash of steel as Izaya drew a knife. "Bring it, bitch!" he smiled, dangerously. All of the anger immediately left Shizuo, as he realized blood was about to spill. Feeling the same tension, Anja gripped his arm in concern. Not knowing what else to do, he quickly grabbed Izaya by the hood of his coat, just as the informant lunged, suspending him in mid air. Vorona took a step back, her blue eyes wide with surprise and anger.

"Okay, I think we all need a time out..." Shizuo reasoned, awkwardly, as Izaya flailed in his grip, slashing wildly in her direction.

"Let me go, neanderthal!" he warned. "I will cut your grabby little hands off!"

Shizuo's reply was to give him a firm shake. "You need to settle down! It wasn't what you thought!"

"It most certainly was NOT!" Vorona huffed, folding her arms.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Shizuo asked, a little offended.

"Means you're the bitch in your relationship, obviously! And I don't date bitches!"

"What the- ACK!" Shizuo quickly plucked the knife Izaya had flung back to throw in her general direction with his free hand.

"How about tea, now?" Anja asked, hopefully.

Vorona sighed. "Okay, truce?"

Shizuo put Izaya back down on the floor, and the informant dusted himself off. "Tea sounds lovely. Let's get this shit over with. I never want to see you again!" he hissed at the blonde woman.

"The feeling is more than mutual, Little Lord Fauntleroy."

"Stupid c-"

"VORONA! Help me get tea, yes?"

Izaya grinned at her as, Vorona heaved a sigh. "Fine."

A half hour later, after the tea had been drunk, they were seated around Anja's small, kitchen table, with the violin placed prominently in the center. Anja held her purple, billowy sleeve back as she lit two wax candles on both ends of the table. Shizuo and Izaya sat on one side while she and Vorona sat on the other. For her part, Vorona was already looking bored, as she tipped back in her chair.

"Don't we have to dim the lights or something?" Shizuo asked. He thought that was the usual way things proceeded. Anja blinked at him, curiously.

"What for?" she asked.

"Because it's creepier that way..." Izaya muttered, already trying to hide how nervous he was. Shizuo, himself, wasn't quite as scared. He'd seen enough of Zola to know not to fear him. He put a hand on Izaya's, currently, bouncing knee to still it and hopefully calm him. Instead, it had quite the opposite effect, so he quickly withdrew his hand and decided to use his words, instead.

"Nothing bad's gonna happen to you," he comforted, folding his arms so that his hand wouldn't sneak over to his knee again.

"Oh, come on!" Vorona sighed, rolling her eyes. "You're not actually scared, are you? Nothing's even going to happen!"

Shizuo, Izaya, and Anja all shared a glance, and neither of them were willing to take her up on that statement. She would see, soon enough. Anja gripped her hand firmly, and held out her other to Izaya. With much hesistation, the informant took it tightly in his grip, snatching up Shizuo's other hand. Shizuo immediately bit back the enormous smile threatening to consume his face, and decided to distract himself by grabbing his least favorite person in the room's hand...which would be Vorona's at the moment. He heaved a heavy sigh and waited for Anja to begin. The old woman closed her eyes, and began mumbling. What she said, no one could hear. Shizuo looked about the room, anxiously. His heart rate sped up when the candles began to flicker, but it was impossible to tell if it was the air flow in the room, or something else. After half an hour of Anja's quiet chanting, Izaya startling at every noise, and Vorona's sighing, Shizuo was beginning to think Vorona may have been right. As if reading his mind, Vorona piped up.

"Ready to admit how dumb this is, yet?"

"Argh!" Anja let out a frustrated grunt. "I not know what wrong... This spirit very hard to call... I think he no want to come..."

There was silence around the table for a moment. Shizuo furrowed his eyebrows. So, Zola was being difficult? Why was he not surprised? He was amazed that people could retain their characteristics so well in death. "We need to find something else to draw him here," he finally decided, voicing his opinion out loud.

Anja nodded. "But what, Shizuo?"

Shizuo only had to think a moment, before he looked at Izaya. The informant's eyes had been darting around before settling on Shizuo's. At first, his eyebrows shot up in question, but Shizuo could see a mental process play out over his face, before a deep frown settled there. "You want me to...?" Shizuo nodded his head. Izaya took a deep breath, and with shaking hands, reached out for the violin. "I don't know if I can," his voice was unusually honest, and shook a little, unable to belie his fear.

"Just try," Shizuo nodded. "If anything could bring him here, it's that song."

Izaya swallowed the lump in his throat and slowly removed the violin from his case. Still trembling, he brought the bow up and tentatively began to drag it across the strings. He only succeeded in making the violin shriek, angrily, as he was far too shaky to properly play. Everyone covered their ears from the pain, but Izaya grit his teeth and willed his hands to still. Suddenly, those sad and familiar notes began to seep into Shizuo's ears, but this time, it was different. Before, Izaya had slipped here and there, making many mistakes, but now, his playing quickly transformed into almost exactly as Shizuo had heard it in his dreams. Beautiful and haunting, Izaya closed his eyes and let the bow dance across the strings, almost effortlessly. Vorona's mouth fell open in shock at the performance, as Anja began to quietly chant, anew. Shizuo was far too distracted with the sight of the dark haired man, swaying to the music he played, at his side. With his rusty colored eyes closed, it was impossible to tell the difference between them, and Shizuo's mind flickered between his dreams and reality just as the candle flames danced wildly on the table. He didn't notice that as Izaya played, the lights in the room dimmed, and the windows grew dark, as if they had been boarded shut. Vorona was looking around, frantically, and she gripped Shizuo's hand so hard, it almost hurt.

"What the hell is going on?" she said in an unsteady voice. Her tone brought Shizuo out of his trance, and he looked about at the unstable lighting and sudden darkness pervading the room. He felt a cold chill running down his body, and noticed with a jolt, that as he exhaled, his breath came out in a frosty stream. Suddenly, time seemed to slow, and his eyes almost lazily dragged over Izaya's elbow, slowly bending as he continued to play, over to Anja, who was still chanting, and Vorona, who had let go of his hand and was gripping the table with a panicked look, as if she'd flee at any moment. Feeling almost drugged, a sudden movement in the far corner of the room caught his eye. Looking over the women's shoulders, he could barely make out a black silhouette, slowly rising from the floor. A shiver ran down Izaya's spine, and he slowly lowered the violin and opened his eyes in the direction Shizuo was looking. Noting both of their blank stares over her head, Vorona quickly twisted in her chair before falling out of her seat in shock. "Oh, shit!" she breathed, scrambling backward. "Who is that?"

"It's Zola," Shizuo confirmed, before the dark figure began advancing towards them. The summoned man walked with his back perfectly straight, taking long and confident strides. Every time the heel of his boot struck the wooden floor, everyone in the room, except for Anja, who was still concentrating, heavily, jumped.

Walking into the circle of candle light, the man who stood before them looked exactly like the picture from the history book. He stood taller than Shizuo remembered from his dreams, and his presence imposed an overwhelming kind of suffocation, as if no one in the world held power as he did. The blonde man could hear the creak of the spirit's leather gloves, as his grip tightened on the saber to his side, and his burning, icy eyes swept over the scene before him. His hair was slicked back, a few stray, black strands splaying from beneath his cap across his extremely pale forehead. Blood covered the left side of his face, and as he turned his head to gaze at the violin in Izaya's hands, Shizuo realized with a shock that there was a large and gaping hole through his temple. His black, leather boots flashed as he came to an abrupt halt in front of Vorona on the floor.

"Why have you called me here?" Shizuo couldn't tell if Zola was actually speaking out loud, or if he was just able to see the question within his mind. Feelings of bitterness and anger were rolling off him in waves so strong, it was enough to make the blonde man feel as if he were choking. Zola's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, as he held his hand aloft, before sweeping it to the side. With a yelp, Vorona's entire body flew in the direction of his hand, crashing into the cabinets under the sink and clearing a path straight to Izaya. "My violin... You were playing...?" his hardened stare softened for a moment, and Shizuo felt a remorse and longing that cut to the bone, before the look in Zola's eyes turned positively murderous, as they bore holes into Izaya's large, auburn ones. With a movement so quick, it was barely distinguishable, Zola drew his saber. "How did you know that song?" he demanded. Shizuo instantly knew, as Zola started forward again, that the informant was in grave danger. He was already half standing from the excitement, and quickly put himself between the two distant relations. Zola immediately drew his saber back, to either run his heart through or spill his guts, Shizuo had no doubt, when the ghost's eyes settled on his face. The saber fell to the floor with a clatter, and Zola stumbled back, clenching his fists, as recognition flitted across his features. Suddenly, his rigid posture dissipated, and he was the person the body guard had come to know so well through the eyes of Vincent. Shizuo must have looked more similar to the blonde man from his dreams than he thought. "Why are you doing this to me?" he whispered, clenching his face in his gloves, as if he'd been injured. Shizuo held out his hands in a calming gesture.

"We're not trying to torment you, Zola," he said, quietly. "We're trying to help you. We need to know what happened."

"You know what happened!" the ghost thundered so loudly that the room shook violently, causing all the pictures to fall from the walls and pots from the stove in a violent cacophony of shattered glass and clattering steel. "You stupid FUCK!"

He sounded angry, but Shizuo could sense the underlying grief behind his bitter words. He took a small step forward, still shielding Izaya behind him. "Please, Zola, I don't know what happened! I'm not Vincent! I need you to tell me what happened!"

"Why didn't you just leave?" If there was any doubt as to whether or not Zola was actually speaking, it was long gone. His voice shrieked so loudly, it was earsplitting, and he was obviously not hearing anything Shizuo had to say. "Why? WHY?" he began pacing back and forth across the floor in extreme agitation. "I tried! I tried to save you! And what did you do? You stupid fuck!" the ghost began to sob, shaking his head and sweeping his arm across the counter, knocking every appliance and glass to the floor. Vorona quickly moved out of the way of his rampage, huddling in a corner and shaking in fear. The more emotional Zola became, the more the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.

"Zola!" Shizuo cried, catching his footing on the shifting floor. "Zola, stop! You have to listen to me!"

"I LOVED YOU!" Zola screamed, causing all of the windows to instantly shatter as he hunched forward in the most agonizing kind of pain. Unable to stand the wild emotions rampaging through him any longer, Shizuo moved forward and gripped both of the ghost's shoulders in his hands, feeling the icy sting of death streak through his fingertips to his core. Upon his contact, the dead man slumped in his grasp and began to cry. The entire room began to fluctuate wildly, as if it would collapse at any moment. "You said you'd never stop loving me!" Zola's face hung low, as he quietly sobbed. "And you lied... And it's all my fault... It's all my..." Shizuo grimaced, the morose feelings tearing at his chest, and he brought his hand to Zola's chin, tilting his distraught face toward him once more.

"Shizuo!" Izaya cried, not knowing what the bodyguard was doing. Shizuo didn't quite know himself, but he went with his first instinct, the one thing he was sure would calm the raging spirit. Without giving himself time to second guess, Shizuo lowered his face and quickly pressed his lips against Zola's. Startled, the ghost stilled, as the coldness of his lips seared Shizuo's warm and living skin. A strange numbness spread across face and down his spine, until soon, the blonde man could no longer feel anything at all. He closed his eyes as everything around him began to fade. From far away, he could hear Izaya frantically calling his name, but he was unable to answer, as he felt himself falling.

"Why... Why can't you forgive me...?" The question flitted across Shizuo's mind as if he himself had thought it, though he knew better.

"Show me, Zola," he mentally implored as they both sank into a strange darkness. "Show me what happened..."