It had been two days since then, and thanks to Tom Tanaka, Mayumi got a job at Russia's sushi. Simon was more than happy to take her in, since there were only few employees in that store. Mayumi worked there for six hours, and went back home before it was too dark. Mayumi saw more of Shizuo nowadays and she smiled every time she saw him. Although Shizuo did maintain distance from her.

Something Mayumi didn't notice, but Tom did. "You avoiding your girl for a reason?" Shizuo sighed and said, "That's exactly why I'm avoiding her. You think she's my girl." Tom chuckled and placed his hand on the blonde man's shoulder. "Of course she is. You threw a trash can on her and nearly killed her, and yet she's head over heels in love with you!" Shizuo sighed.

Of course he knew what Mayumi felt toward him. It was no secret anymore, although the girl believed her feelings were unknown. He confirmed his suspicions when she hugged him the day he was shot. Mayumi was a nice girl, very kind, and an ideal wife material. But, Shizuo didn't want to get too close.

"You're gonna miss a gem of a wife if you let her go, Shizuo. Remember, she's the woman who loves you even after you almost-"Killed her, right?" Shizuo snapped and Tom sighed. "That's exactly why I need to stay away from her"

Tom understood what he meant and stayed quiet. Shizuo was afraid. He didn't want Mayumi getting too close because he was scared he'd hurt her again. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her, and if she chose to stay with him, she'd be in the middle of danger. There were people who wanted Shizuo dead, or just plain suffer. If they knew Mayumi was someone Shizuo cared about, then she'd get into things she's better off being out of. Shizuo Heiwajima believed he was a demon, and someone as angelic as Mayumi had to and must stay away from him.

Mayumi knew she was in love with Shizuo. She loved everything about him, and it was when he got shot she realized it. He was all she could think about, and he was everything she wanted. It didn't matter to her whether he had anger issues, everyone had their flaws. 'God knows I've got several of my own.' Mayumi thought regrettably. She walked home from work one day when she heard clapping from behind her. Mayumi turned to see who it was and gasped. "I-Izaya." She said, and backed away.

"Why, hello there doppelganger." He said, smirking. Mayumi wanted to get away from there as fast as she could. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want to be near this man, he scared her more than anything in her entire life. "Do I scare you, Mayumi-chan?" Izaya asked, smirking and Mayumi breathed fast.

"I'll take that as a yes." He said, stepping closer to her. "But, tell me this Mayumi-chan, do I scare you more than that night?" Mayumi's eyes widened. She knew which night he was talking about. The night her house caught fire. The night her parents died.

"P-Please, leave m-me alone." She said, her sentence coming out like a whisper. Izaya chuckled and twirled his finger with Mayumi's hair. "We have the same hair color." He said, his breath on her face. Mayumi's heart dropped when her back touched the wall and she let out a squeak. Izaya stared into her eyes, and smirked wider. "I know about what you did, Mayumi-chan." He whispered. Mayumi's heart beat rapidly.

"I d-didn't do anything."

Izaya laughed.

"How ironic! That's what you did! You didn't do anything." He said, emphasizing the last sentence. Mayumi took a deep breath and bit her lip before she let out a shriek. Izaya closed his right eye and whistled. "You're loud, Mayumi-chan, why did you scream?" He mocked and Mayumi sunk to the floor.

No one came.

'Help me.' She thought and closed her eyes. Izaya grabbed her by the hem of her dress and pulled her to him and whispered in her ear. "Your secret isn't safe with me, Mayumi-chan. I wonder what your precious Shizu-chan would do when he finds out."

"He'll rip you apart, that's what he'll do." A voice said, before Izaya went flying.

Mayumi sunk to the floor, and sobbed. It was the one thing she wasn't proud of. It was the one thing she wanted to keep to herself till she went to the grave. It was the one thing that made her think she was the biggest demon alive. Shizuo grabbed the sign post and ran toward Izaya, who laughed and ran for his life.

Mayumi stood up slowly, her entire body shaking.

Mayumi hated herself for it.

Now, Izaya knew about it, and Mayumi re-lived everything inside her head. The voices of her parents as they screamed for help. The change in their skin's texture as the fire burned them. The way her mother yelled out her name and screamed in pain. The way her father, so strong in heart, cried and shed tears as his life left his body.

And the way Mayumi just stood there, watching them die.

And as she held the scalpel her father had gifted her.

And as she turned to see the phone by the side of her bed, and how she didn't call the police.

One phone call and her parents would've been alive.

The very next day, Mayumi was elected student council president in her school, and she remembered smiling and laughing about it.

She remembered how she hid the fact of her parents' deaths for five years from her grandfather. And now, Izaya knew everything. He knew she was a demon. He knew she was a murderer.

But, even if she tried to tell herself that she wasn't at fault. Even if she told herself she didn't do anything wrong, Mayumi knew she was the reason her parents were dead. Her parents forced her through so much, when she was just a child, and as they burned to their deaths, Mayumi could only see how much she had suffered because of them.

And when her parents were dead, her body moved on its own.

It was then, she screamed.

Mayumi leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, letting the last bit of the tears fall, and the girl sighed. She licked her lips and continued walking, when she heard someone call out her name. It was Shizuo.

He was catching up to her, but she didn't want him to see her. She didn't want him to see how much of a mess she was. She loved Shizuo, and she knew he thought of himself as a monster, but he wasn't the true demon here. She was. And she wanted him to stay away right then. Mayumi saw everything over and over again in her mind.

Their burning corpses.

Their screaming voices.

She heard them, she could feel them.

And that was when she collapsed.

Shizuo saw Mayumi fall down on her knees and she was shaking. The male knelt down to her level and saw that she was at a state of shock. Shizuo cussed knowing Izaya was the reason for this, and he carried her in his arms. Mayumi didn't struggle, she just shut her eyes, and clutched onto Shizuo, like her life depended on it. Her fingers bore into his shirt, so hard that she tore them slightly. Shizuo knew she was affected somehow, and he frowned hard.

And then she said the strangest thing ever.

"With the help of a small knife…you can take away a life…it is murder." Shizuo ignored what she said, and took her home. Her grandfather let him in, without questioning him since he was still afraid of Shizuo. The man placed Mayumi on her bed, and covered her with the blanket. "What the hell is with you?" he spoke to himself and grunted. He had to kill Izaya for doing this to her. He walked out of the room and heard her grandfather say, "She's always been emotionally very weak, son." Shizuo listened.

"Mayumi has been that way ever since she could utter a word. She used to stammer you know?" Shizuo knew that if a child stammered then their childhood was bad. He listened to Momoru. "And for her tenth birthday, her father taught her how to perform a live post mortem." Shizuo's eyes widened. "What?" Momoru sighed. My son-in-law was a wacko. He and my daughter were both doctors. My son-in-law was a surgeon, my daughter a gynecologist. They wanted the best for my granddaughter, Mayumi. They wanted a perfectionist. So they taught her, no, forced her to know things like how to perform post-mortem and operate on people before she even turned twelve."

Shizuo hated what he heard.

"You were her grandfather right?" The man nodded. "You're supposed to love her, right?" Momoru was confused. "Of course I love her-"Shizuo grabbed the man by his collar and pushed him to a wall, across the table which flew to the other end. "You could've helped her!" Momoru coughed out blood and said, "Y-You don't know anything." He said and Shizuo grabbed him once again and banged him to the wall, repeatedly. He was furious.

Mayumi's childhood was tragic.

Her parents were psycho.

Shizuo felt remorse.

And he felt another thing.

Pity.

And sadly, the man mistook it for love.

A/N: Mayumi = Dark background.
When I was writing her past, I got goosebumps.
Really.
And, I'm a psychology student so such things are very intriguing to read about. How the mind works in such tragic situations. Hence, Mayumi's character as a shy, soft-spoken and scared individual.
Hence the shaking.
She feels guilt.
Review my loves, I always love reading your reviews. :)