Absence from whom we love is worse than death, and frustrates hopes severer than despair. –William Cowper.
•••••
Recap:
"Damn, you're too tall."
That comment snapped the little control Shizuo had over the situation and over himself.
Shizuo provoked those lips; challenging the pink tongue to fight back, and recollected those sweet noises for his heart's content. His hands pulled the smaller closer, not wasting time to inspect every inch of soft skin available. Shizuo was behaving like an addict. He wanted more, he needed more. More of those lips, more of those sounds; Shizuo needed to feel more of his skin and his smell.
"Let's go to my place…"
Shizuo was gravitating hopelessly towards Izaya.
•Etched reality•
{Now for breaking news. Yesterday, on the Yamanote subway line, at 10:15, the emergency brakes of the train cars were pushed before they could reach the next station in Takadanobaba. Seconds after, what apparently seemed to be an explosion in the electrical system occurred, enabling all the system's directions in the trains. Thirty-two people in all were sent to a hospital with minor injuries for medical care. The cause of the explosion is still unknown; the police force is still looking for a suspect...}
The TV was on, but he wasn't paying attention to the news of the city. Shizuo just wanted to fill the silence with noise.
{…Hanejima Yuuhei is going to perform the sequel of his most recent movie with the participation of Hijiribe Ruri, the location…}
Shizuo did hear the news of his brother coming to the city. But as soon as the news of his brother was over, he stayed in some sort of reverie, aloof to the voices of the reporters.
{…An announcement has come from the Keishichō city police station. Hours ago, a rough fire was started by unknown causes in Shinjuku Central Park. The office workers, who were still inside the buildings, and passers-by were witnesses of the spontaneous blazing of the trees. The flames were spreading only to the highest points of the trees. This is another one of the inexplicable fires that had been set around the centre of the metropolitan area in these past few weeks. Fortunately, rain showers fell across the foliage, resulting in a decreased activity on the three fires. However, this may be an act of terrorism−}
The TV was suddenly turned off.
Alone.
He felt more alone than he'd ever felt before.
Shizuo had woken up alone again in the morning two weeks ago. Sleeping with someone in the night and waking up alone was suddenly beginning to become a routine. Shizuo didn't appreciate it very much. It was already night when Shizuo came back from work. He kicked his shoes off, loosened his necktie and unbuttoned his shirt, after removing his waistcoat.
He just felt like he had all the right in the world to do nothing.
The icy silence was still present, though; he shouldn't have turned the TV off. But then, he just didn't feel like changing that fact at all.
"Ahhhrgh," Shizuo made a noise between a sigh and a growl.
How could such an annoying little pest perturb him in such a way? Meaning, of course, that Izaya had, like always, a switch to blow his cool. Though, Shizuo shouldn't have felt surprised about it. Ever since they met in High School, Izaya had had a thing to stir something within him. Up to these days, that thread that bound them together hadn't changed much. Of course, until that happened between them.
Shizuo frowned. Now that he was too tired to even get the chance to get angry at the thoughts he didn't want to confront, he thought about it. In reality, he hadn't had a single opportunity to ask Izaya about that night. When the raven came to his house soaked in rain and pale like a ghost.
What was it that could set Orihara Izaya in such a state?
Shizuo hadn't reflected on that matter enough. He'd been too occupied worrying about the increasing of his heartbeat to even care about others things. However, the fact that the thing that set Izaya into such emotion was the cause of that that occurred between them was intriguing.
Well, to clear his doubts, the only thing he could do was to talk to Izaya.
But the solution itself had become a problem.
Shizuo just couldn't simply call him to ask about it. Well, in fact, he could do it, and he had the right to do it, but the correct statement was that Shizuo didn't find the power to press the keys of his cell phone and talk politely with Izaya. Since the fact was that neither of them had once talked normally to each other, and that when Shizuo thought about calling Izaya, he'd break into a cold sweat and become a wrecked ball full of anxiousness.
Okay, that was exaggerated, but it was close to the feeling anyway.
Shizuo sigh-growled again. He didn't have an appetite, nor the willpower to try to make something for himself. Lately, eating alone was even bitterer than before.
Shizuo was ready to go to bed when a ruffle outside his window caught his attention.
Knock, knock, knock.
It was a polite call… at the window.
Shizuo was standing in the middle of his living room, looking stupefied by it.
"Shizu-chan, I know you're there. Stop standing like an idiot and open the window. I think I'm slipping…"
In less than two − no, three seconds− the window was open and Shizuo was helping Izaya climb in.
"What the hell were you doin'?" was Shizuo's irritated question. "You could've used the door!"
Izaya smiled, "I was going to, but I thought it would be fun to use the window~! Though, I forgot that the walls were slippery from the rain, so I almost fell! Twice!"
"Are you crazy? You wanna break your neck? !" Shizuo wanted to, literally (precisely), hit some sense into that head.
"I'm not quite myself these days, am I?" Izaya's smile in that moment was unreadable.
"What'd you mean?"
"Have you heard about 'Hauser's Memory'?"
"I'm no-good with names."
"It's a story about transferring memories into other people. Like if I was to copy my memories into your brain. Memory tends to be the accumulation of knowledge and experience itself, so if memories get transferred, it might even change the person's entire personality. Memory is supposed to be connected as a single line, not a scattered set of dots. But they might just be fragments that the brain recognized as a single line…"
"I'm not into sci-fi…"
"Let me finish," Izaya laughed lightly, instead of getting angry. "Where I was…? Oh, right. So there's a chance you might not even notice another person's memories slipping into your own. On the other hand, the person with the new memories might not notice that their personality has changed, even though everyone around them sees the difference. Or the memories might clash, and refuse to become one."
"…Hm," Shizuo said.
"Hehe, maybe that's what happened to me~" Izaya wore that unreadable expression again. "Don't you think, Shizu-chan? An aliens' experiment or something~."
"I doubt it."
"Eh? What's with the serious answer?"
"'Cause, you are still you. Annoying as ever. And you're not weak enough to let somethin' like that to happen to you."
"…This is surprising, you have more faith in me that I, wait, I've never thought you had faith in me to begin with! Hahaha!"
"See? You are still you…" −Which is somehow reassuring.−
"Whatever." The ruffling sound from earlier was the plastic bag Izaya had been carrying while still climbing the wall. "Let's eat!" Izaya said cheerfully.
•••••
{−The official report of the Keishichō city police department is inconsistent. The fact that a spontaneous combustion on the top of the trees occurred with this weather is ridiculous. The most feasible answer is some sort of chemical previously prepared−}
Each time the channel was changed, the same problem was discussed by the reporters.
{−Theories say that it's an undercover for a new weapon developed by−}
They couldn't talk about anything else.
{−The government is hiding the truth! This is a clear display of pyrokinesis−}
The TV was turned off.
"Hey!" Izaya complained.
"You were watching the news with a weird face," Shizuo said, glancing at him, mildly serious.
"…I wasn't…" Izaya answered slowly. "…I didn't make a weird face."
"Yes, you did," Shizuo said.
"…" Izaya didn't say more and slumped on the couch, lost in thought.
Shizuo tried to understand the sudden mood. Izaya was restless, maybe even worried. But why?
Now was his chance to ask about everything.
"Hey, Izaya. Tell me−" Shizuo was interrupted by Izaya getting up from the couch and walking to the window.
"Well, I have to go."
"Huh? What? Wait!" Shizuo yanked Izaya back by the collar of his shirt.
"Oi! Don't ruin my clothes!" Izaya complained, and was turning his head over his shoulder to glare at Shizuo when the word fuck settled in his mind. Shizuo pulled the shirt harder.
"What the hell is this?" Shizuo asked in a dark tone, looking at the big tattoo across Izaya's shoulder blades with the words Ignis Fatuus.
•••••
"Tell me the truth, dammit!"
"I told you for the umpteenth time already! I'm not into that stuff!"
"Liar," Shizuo said angrily. "What the hell is this shit on your back then, huh? !"
"Drugs; brute, have nothing to do with this! And for the record, I can do whatever I want with my body! That includes tattoos!" Izaya glared, fighting to put his shirt back on but unable to do so because of Shizuo's inconsiderate tugs.
Shizuo was lifting Izaya's shirt to get a better view of the disgusting black letters on Izaya's skin. "Erase it," Shizuo spat. "Now."
"What? You, I can't believe it! Let go of my shirt already, idiot!" Izaya yelled, annoyed. "Are you insane? It's just a tattoo! Just ink!" Izaya was finally able to put his shirt back on and moved a few steps away.
But his retreat was stopped by Shizuo's hands on either of his wrists.
"You unreasonable twit." Izaya said through clenched teeth, "Let me go."
"Oh, no. You're not goin' 'till you explain yourself." Shizuo felt very confused and angry and kind of betrayed, for some reason.
The sky outside drummed with thunder. At the same time, the lights were getting dull, losing their energy. Until the blackout happened.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Something fell on the kitchen's floor, on the living room and apparently in the contiguous room. For a fraction of second, Shizuo's attention was diverted, giving Izaya the opportunity to sneak away.
The window opened and in mere seconds, Izaya was sliding down.
"Oi!" Shizuo shouted. "Wait!"
Shizuo ran across his living room, stumbling a few times into a nightstand, his couch, his shoes and finally smacking (and partially breaking) his door.
Izaya was long gone by then.
"Shit!"
•••••
"Eeek! Don't hurt me!" Shinra squirmed under the dark gaze. "I really don't know!"
"Stop lying. You're his doctor. You have to know where he's living," Shizuo growled.
"Y-Yeah, but he usually changes his address like he changes his shoes." Shinra defended. "I don't know if he's moved."
"Don't care. Tell me." Shizuo answer was final.
Shinra scratched the back of his head. "OK, I'll give it to you, but don't blame me if you don't find him there."
"…"
"What are you going to do?"
"Give him what he deserves…"
•••••
The door of the apartment was ajar. There was a lot of commotion in the city. Noise, noise, noise.
"Izaya, calm down, it's okay. I'm here. "
Izaya was grabbing Kadota's neck for his dear life. His head was a mess, he felt exhausted and his back was burning, literally. He just wanted the pain in his head to go away. He wanted that comfort he'd felt before with that person, he just wanted him by his side. Izaya wanted "Shizu…chan…"
Izaya whispered pleadingly, right into Kadota's ear.
Kadota couldn't help but stop, stand in the middle of Izaya's office and let him cling to him. He didn't move, he didn't speak, he didn't ask more than, "What did you say?" He was holding his waist and back with his arms.
"You can't leave him alone, can you?" an angry voice growled from the doorframe.
Shizuo entered the apartment, walking to the office where Kadota and Izaya were standing.
"The same goes for you," Kadota said with mild animosity.
"…hurts…" Izaya mumbled against Kadota's clothes.
Kadota brought his attention back to Izaya. "It's okay, I'll get you something for the pain." Kadota dragged the almost dead weight to the nearest chair.
"What the hell happened to him?" Shizuo asked.
"It's none of your concern, is it?" Kadota replied.
They were having a very dangerous argument.
Shizuo grinded his teeth, gripping Kadota by the collar and bringing him close to his face.
"It is my fucking business!"
Kadota just wore a serious look, replying evenly, "Why?"
"Because he's!" Shizuo said. "He's my…"
"He is what to you, Shizuo?" Kadota pressed more. What was he trying to do?
In the background, Izaya was muttering quiet, silence, stop, until he couldn't take it anymore. He shouted.
"Shut up!"
As the words left his lips, the lights of his apartment shattered. Like in a shockwave, all the lights died and pieces of glass fell all over the floor. Above that, on the window's surface, cracks and fissures moved, appearing along the panes. The electricity and noise had escaped, leaving an absolute silence behind.
Still holding his head between his hands, Izaya spoke, "Don't get out." Shizuo and Kadota were frozen stiff; their bodies weren't responding, their minds weren't thinking, their hearts were barely beating. Though the feeling was foreign to both of them, they couldn't help but feel a sheer thrill running through their veins.
"Don't get out." Izaya repeated those words over and over again, like a mantra trying to conceal a demon, like a tamer trying to control a wild beast. Something wasn't right. Something had been lost. Something was about to happen.
Suddenly the words stopped, and Izaya slowly removed his hands from his face.
Izaya glanced at them with boredom. Shizuo and Kadota's hearts skipped a beat; their bodies felt hot and their breathing quickened.
They could only stare at Izaya with utter ecstasy.
Fire spread through floors and walls, crimson flames danced their way through the space.
Hued red eyes were glowing in golden light.
"Kishishi…"
•••••
{…Chaos and panic engulfed the metropolitan area in Shinjuku tonight, the destruction was caused by an intense fire. The numbers of the victims are still unknown. This is a fatidic day for Tokyo…}
•To Be Continued•
A/N: I've been gone like forever. I'm sorry. But many things have happened, and I've been sick, damn, I thought I was going to die! Seriously, D-I-E. But, I'm fine now (somehow)! So, I brought a lot of stuffs (probably too many!) for you guys. Also, we are reaching the end of this plot-line. So very close to the end...
•It's just a suggestion but you should read the first chapter(s) again, for several reasons that I'm too lazy to explain.
If you find some kind of mistakes in the 'News' that I presented before, please tell me so. Even more if it's related to the locations of the stations and the places. I did my research though, so I'm not making things up from the air.
•'What the hell was Kadota doing in Izaya's apartment? !' Explanations in the next chapter.
Ignis Fatuus (Fuego Fatuo/ Will-o'-the-wisp/Corpse candle/jack-o'-lantern/etc.) is the folklore term for a ghostly light sometimes seen at night or twilight; it has many meanings in many cultures, from Fairies, spirits of the dead, pixies, snakes, demons and so on through all the world. I can't define it here (too much typing already). I'm just going to use the only related thing with all of the myths; the element of Fire. And the fact that that light behaves xxx and its purpose is xxx (I won't give spoilers, go Wiki it).
•If you remember, Tsugaru said in chapter 6 "Aut viam inveniam aut faciam/I shall either find or make a way." It has a specific purpose.
No, it's not just for decoration; it has to do with his powers. Hibiya, Delic and Izaya-kun (the other Izaya in Izaya's dreams) also have theirs. Think of those phrases as triggers for their hidden powers. In my head it's more complicated than that though, but the word 'trigger' simplifies it correctly.
•So, to make a long explanation short, Izaya's power is pyrokinesis: derived from the Greek words πῦρ (pûr, meaning "fire, lightning") and κίνησις (kínesis, meaning "motion"), it was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind, which he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in 'Firestarter'.
Several works of fiction explain pyrokinetic powers as being the ability to excite or speed up an object's atoms, increasing their thermal energy until they ignite. Not necessarily objects, but also air particles.
It is said that how someone who is pyrokinetic starts fires is that they use their minds to speed up the atoms in something until it has enough heat energy to the point that it ignites. Although, in order to make the atoms move with one's mind requires the ability of telekinesis, which can be defined as the displacement of matter with the mind. So theoretically, pyrokinesis in itself is just a form of telekinesis, because you are moving atoms with your mind to start a fire, and moving fire with the mind, which is a gas, which is a form of matter. So in order to move fire with the mind, one must possess the ability of telekinesis.
Yeah, that is what it is. I hope you didn't find the explanation boring… and if you did, here:
"Foe yay!"is such a wonderful term:
−Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.
−You'll be in a padded cell forever.
−Maybe we can share one. You know, they'll be doubling up, the rate this city's inhabitants are losing their minds.
(LMAO XD) You guess who said this. Also, does it remind you of someone(s)? Hm?
And last: "It should be noted that in troll language, the word friend is exactly the same as the word for enemy." –Andrew Hussie, Homestuck.
•I hope this was an exciting chapter! Thank you very much for all your favorites and reviews! Reading them sure encourages me to write more! ALSO! Welcome new fans (?) of this story! Please, don't be shy and express yourself with a comment! (I know who you are "nameless" reader! Drop one review at least! :/)