Due to the overwhelming response of this fanfic, I've written a new chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. Don't forget to review it and tell me what you think at the end.

Chapter 6: Separation

"And one by one the nights between our separated cities are joined to the night that unites us."

IZAYA

Izaya just simply nodded mundanely not really wanting to know what he was about to do to his body. He couldn't care less about the methods used to cure his nightmares, he just needed them to go away. It was as simple as that. Izaya laid on the bed shivering a little from the cool metal that touched his skin upon laying down. Getting the informant to sleep on some uncomfortable material was a little hard since he was scarred from sleeping in the first place, not wanting to close his eyes and picture his death again. He wasn't all psyched up for it but he wasn't really given a choice.

This was the only option he had.

Shinra quickly attached wires across their bodies and slowly Izaya drifted to sleep after being injected with some anesthetics. Once his consciousness was gone, the nightmare began, all too fast for his brain to comprehend what was going on. All he remembered was the pain he felt from encountering his own death and he was scared nonetheless. The fear he felt was real.. So very real..

Izaya was pulled into the nightmare yet again. Every moment seemed to replay itself every single time he left his conscious state. There he was on the floor, trapped under the ruins of a destroyed building where he met his end. It gave him chills every time he saw that nightmare. What was worse was that instead of playing Izaya in that little nightmare of his, he was seeing the whole thing happening right before his eyes.

Instead of looking at his own figure cringing in pain from the immense amount of cemented structure pounding on him, he focused on the surroundings trying to get clues as to why or where they were. It was then that his eyes caught something. This place was indeed familiar beyond his belief. It was Ikebukuro no doubt. Call it strange but Izaya never imagined to die in a place like Ikebukuro. It would be tragic to die before the monster did anyway. Izaya ignored the fact that the brute seemed to just be staring at his lifeless body as blood spilled from his body and focused on what building it was that seemed to come crumbling down on him. He hopped around seeing that it wasn't near his apartment but instead it was a little far from where he usually hung. How mysterious... He examined Shizuo's expression in his dream. He seemed shock and colour had been withdrawn from his skin. It seemed like they weren't playing their usual game of cat and mouse.

So why was he there...?

Izaya glanced over at his pathetic state "Tch.. How pathetic.." The moment the figure breathed his last, Izaya pulled out of his subconscious state and woke up, startled to find himself bathed in cold sweat, a blur vision of a brunet doctor came into place. His head throbbed slightly and he couldn't help but feel irritated at Shinra for the side effects of the experiment.

It was indeed a horrible experience to see your own death appear in front of you.

Some might say its a blessing in disguise knowing how you are going to die but really, its more of a curse. A curse that Izaya wanted to lift at all cost.

He listened intently as Shinra rambled on about his theories. He couldn't focus due to the throbs his head had after the experiment but judging from how excited he was about the whole thing... He must have solved it. 'The sooner this is solved, the better' Izaya mumbled his mind. Izaya hopped off the bed and searched for his apparel, putting it on before following the doctor to his supposed office.

SHIZUO

"Ah..." Shizuo replied intelligibly, understanding most of the part of what was going to happened between him and Izaya as he watched the brunette placed the wires on the other male first. To think that one day fate had played a trick on them like this, placing them in this blank room surrounded by machines to be tested on. It made him shudder involuntarily at the thought of it, how they were easily coaxed in to doing this that both of them would never imagine to take part of.

But it was for their own sake. For the sake of having peaceful nights and dreams that they had once lost, as well as for the sake of knowing on to why fate had implore this cruel game at them. He sighed, slowly calming himself down as Shinra was done wiring him. Now, all that's left is to go back to sleep, reliving those horrid nightmares for the underground doctor to solve.

His body slowly left its conscious state, gradually revealing to him the sight that he once thought to never will he encounter again. It was the sight of the male fighting for his life, wheezing and coughing out blood as a poorly constructed building toppled down on him this time. He didn't look pay any much attention to the other for now, not wanting to see the informant at a flimsy state as he focused his concentration instead at the surrounding area presented to him. The illusion decided to take them to a destructed ruins this time, where every building or tall structures were degraded of its strength. The landscapes around them also seemed to lose their luster, every bit of it looked as if they were thrashed or tattered down.

'Damn it, just where the hell are we..?' He mumbled to himself, suddenly finding familiar streets and buildings to know the answer for himself.

'Is this... Ikebukuro?'

His snapped his attention back to the male once he was done observing the surrounding area, a pile of questions attacking his mind as he helped the frail-looking informant out of the debris' clutches. Why them? Why Ikebukuro? He could have understand the normality of earthquakes and tsunamis running down Japan, but this is Ikebukuro. There were somewhere in the middle of the bustling city of Tokyo where the structures didn't seemed to be disrupted for a few years, handing them over that the fact that earthquakes rarely frequent this place and even if a possibility of an earthquake attack this specific point of the city, how probable was it for Ikebukuro to be the epicenter of it while having the highest magnitude attacking them? It would explain that the lifeless streets and structures surrounding them.

Vague theories and thoughts were mindlessly swimming around him as he finally removed the final deformed block, only to snap out of his trance once again as he found himself staring back at the pristine ceiling.

"I see you two are up and about.." The brunette piped in as he gave one last look from the readings before removing the wires from the two of them.

He groaned tiredly, rubbing the back of his head as it throbbed in pain. "So? Did you find anything out or some shit like that?" He grumbled, hopping off the bed as soon as the male was done with removing the cords attached to him.

Shinra only gave him a reassuring smile as he moved on to removing the informant's wires next. "I'll tell all about it after you two get dress." The moment he got dressed, Shizuo didn't spend a second thought in staying in that room. He sighed, deciding to wait outside the halls instead of the seemingly spotless room. He never wanted to be a guinea pig to anything or anyone. The idea of having a peculiar array of surgeons or medical professionals cutting him open like some new specimen rocked his core with hate and disgust, making him hate his strength more than anyone.

But his purpose for this one has a different angle. He had repeated to himself time and time again that he was here with the informant to end those dreams once and for all, to return back to their usual antics after the whole unexplained happening between them will be solved.

Shizuo turned his head at the creak of the door, seeing the other two come out of the white space as the brunette closed the door behind the raven. "..We're both out of that damn room now, are you planning to tell us sooner or later or what!?" He growled impatiently, watching the young underground doctor locked the room before them. Shinra could only offer a weak chuckle, fearing for his safety at the presence of the the informant and the blond as he began talking.

"I'm getting to it. I'll talk about it while we're walking." And with that, the brunette began his stalking. "First off, do you two know how twins are said to have this unexplained 'connection' between them? You two are no different from that. For some unknown reasons, both of you are 'bonded', hence the explanation for Shizuo easily finding your whereabouts. Though I can't say specifically what kind of bond.. maybe there's secretly an affinity between you two or maybe it was caused by stressful events to have this kind of 'bonding', but that's just it. As for the nightmares, it's nothing to worry about. It might be just your bonds telling you guys to take a break from fighting and all~ Maybe loosen up a bit, hm?"

Shizuo could only drive his patience that long for such a ludicrous explanation. Him? Being 'connected' to the louse? Bullshit. He was starting to doubt this quack doctor's theories even as the other carefully explain it. Sure, it might be a reasonable explanation for him to find the other wherever he may be in Ikebukuro, but that was because the male stank of his scent. And it irked him to the core that he's the only one who could get a whiffed of that annoying stench. Great, now that damn brunette is advising the two of them to take a break or something. He maybe not a doctor, but Shizuo was 99% sure that something like they're connected nightmares weren't caused by stress. The blond had always been stressed or pissed because of that damn informant, so how could this be any different!?

"So you're telling me..." He folded and pocketed his glasses as he massaged the bridge of his nose. "That we're 'bonded' for some unknown reason with some unexplainable as well..?" His face contorted in to a scowl along with his temper readying to blow through the roof. "Don't give us any of that shit, Shinra! If it can't be explained or anything, it means that isn't the damn problem! So tell us what the fuck is wrong?!"

"W-Wait- Shizuo! There's no need for you to be angry about this-! Being pissed isn't going to solve anything..!" Shinra could only cower for his life as he slowly backed away with his hands raised in defense. His only hope now would be for Izaya to somehow convert the other to cool down or Celty coming here to check up on them.

IZAYA

Izaya couldn't believe what he was hearing. A bond? Between the two of them? He was joking right? Please someone tell him that the damn doctor was making a fool out of this experiment. As Shinra continued, it seemed like the theory was a fact. Izaya was bound to Shizuo in some way. Not physically but mentally. Izaya shivered at the thought. His mind disgusted thinking about being associated with the protozoan. It explained how the brute could actually 'sniff' him out, always claiming he stank but truly it was his senses telling him Izaya's whereabouts. How frustrating. Now Shinra is telling him to loosen up...

How is he suppose to 'bond' with the supposed men he was bound to hate all his life? He couldn't possibly be friends with someone he hated with all his heart. They were at each other's throats for all he could remember. The word acquaintance was also a far too nice of a word to put their relationship. They were public enemies and now Shinra was telling them they had to loosen up..? He could picture the end of the world in his head already.

Not that Izaya wouldn't believe that this hyothesis could be true but all his life, Shizuo has been on his tail. Chasing him to the ends of Ikebukuro and it was their job to play 'cat and mouse' upon every meeting.

Izaya didn't like this one bit, what more he can't stand is Shizuo overreacting at this matter. It was making his head explode. Guess that's why protozoans are so noisy. Izaya pinched the bridge of his nose and glared at Shizuo with his carmine eyes. "Could you shut up for one moment? Its not like I want this either"

Great. So all Izaya needed to do was stay away from his beloved protozoan so the nightmares would go away right? He could do that, not that he could guarantee Shizuo wouldn't barge into his house demanding to kill him for no reason at all. All fun and games had to end one day. Eight years of constantly chasing each other without even taking each other's life was pretty much all a game to Izaya. It almost seemed like they could be compared to Tom and Jerry that nobody knew the end to what happened to those two.

"Oi, Shinra, you guarantee this would work?" Izaya was answered with a quick nod by the doctor. With that, Izaya was satisfied, his legs quickly taking him out of the building, wanting to never see the protozoan again. He needed his sleep back, and he needed it back fast. Thoughts of agitating a certain monster was forcefully removed from Izaya's mind.

This was the only thing he had to do from this moment forward : Ignore Shizu-chan.

SHIZUO

He sighed inaudibly, taking a step back from the brunette as he shifted his hands back into his pockets. It's not like he can prove that him and Izaya weren't bonded either. The only choice they had at the moment was to take their friend's word for it. "Well..?" He grunted, continue to keep his scowl at the other. "Is the flea right or what!?"

"M-More or less..." Shinra cleared his throat, silently thanking the informant for calming the blond down. "It's only a possible solution though, since I really can't trace the cause of both of your repetitive nightmares.."

Damn it! Shizuo gritted his teeth, keeping his hands clenched as he forced himself from imploding. How could that flea accept this so easily!? It had no solid evidence that they were bonded except for those suspicious nightmares. His jaw just dropped at seeing the male do the unexpected. Izaya, the person who swore to make his life a living hell as well as taking his life when he gets the chance, quickly walking away from the bespectacled man's apartment as he ignored the blond who stood angered and confused.

Seriously? Did the louse just passed by him without making any snarky remark or even teasing about his level of intelligence equivalent to a protozoan..? The situation suddenly seemed surreal as he watched in silence the informant's departure with the young baffled doctor inching towards safety. He sighed heavily. Well there was no use other than do what their mutual friend said and hope for the best that their peculiar nightmares were caused by stress. And with a wave and a simple mutter of goodbye, Shizuo headed out of the brunette's apartment while wondering to himself if this abnormal phenomenon would cease to exist if they would follow what Shinra had said to them. The next few nights might- no, will answer his suspicions on this. Half willing that something this simple could be their ray of promise and half wanting to strangle the flea for causing this because ninety nine percent of the time that damn bastard certainly had some sort of involvement with this.

Shizuo: Damn flea...

Izaya: Woohoo~ No more Shizu-chan~!

Fushi-Sashimi: Ano.. You two will meet later and well let's just say, rather than a fight, -coughs- Wonderful things will happen~

Shizuo & Izaya: Wonderful things...?

Fushi-Sashimi: -grins- Yes, wonderful things~