Chapter 16: His Freedom Was Coldly Taken Away

A week had passed since the party. Shizuo has been visiting less now but whenever he got the chance to come over he would try to ignore Izaya but instead end up talking to him; talk to him until they got used to each other's presence and eventually communicate. It somewhat had a vibe of danger itching around. But could one honestly believe their senses all the time? You believe your senses from time to time but on suspicious days it felt like a wise choice.

Izaya wasn't stupid. He knew that Shinra would not let him go until he is fully healed physically... and mostly healed mentally. Izaya still had nightmares to which he would go into a non-stop shrieking and thrashing frenzy to where it would take around half an hour to fully awaken from Shinra firmly shaking him.

The nightmares have been getting worse like an infection but it comes rarely. Izaya is never the type to give in to such ridiculous measures but he took in and considered Shinra's hospitality. Shinra had been doing all of this to keep Izaya out of harm's way and having that 'disgrace of being forced upon' be forever buried. But that could never happen because it was do traumatic that he couldn't just push it out of his life like it was nothing.

Izaya couldn't let go because he was afraid. He was afraid it would happen again. Afraid of being kidnapped and forced to pleasure disgusting demons.

Izaya indeed despised Shizuo to the point he calls him nothing but a brute; monster. But those creatures you would dare call 'human beings' are far worse than Shizuo could ever be. Izaya knew Shizuo was unpredictable and could have many things up his sleeve. Who knows, one day he might be swallowed up in his own anger and either kill Izaya... or do what those monsters have done to him as well. Having that thought sent shivers crawling down his spine. He would rather be murdered on the spot instead of being abused and raped like an animal trapped in a cage.

The outside was dripping with cold chills and breezes. Snow had been coming and going more frequently and that was a good thing, but yet another bad thing for Izaya. He has sensitive skin that could easily give him a sickness and meant more time with Shinra's hospitality.

Izaya hated being pitied on. Despies it with his very soul. Spider-like fingers crawled up to his trembling shoulder, unaware that he was even shaking. It was cold indeed. The snow and frost ate the rest of the warmth that the streets of Ikebukuro had left. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go out of that door and be done with this and save Shinra the burden. His heart might be shielded with tough and brittle thorns but a large hole was torn in- all rippled and shredded.

Corrupted and stained on the inside by a rotting decay eating away at his being both physical and subconsciously. The images burned within his memories and would forever stain. But there was Shinra and Celty. Izaya didn't take much of a liking to Celty nor took much time to communicate with her, but she is a great ally to work with and might as well be said, a 'pawn'.

But what about old Shizu-chan? He wasn't a friend- far from it in fact. But something began to resonate from inside his chest. His black thread of hate was no longer as strong as he once had it for the man. No matter how many times he denied the fact that he couldn't feel this specific emotion again, it truly was gone.

Izaya did not feel hatred for Shizuo. He never did. He only chose to hate Heiwajima because he is someone out of the ordinary. Someone who can't be manipulated by the likes of Izaya. Someone who is inhuman.

Someone who is special.

The more he thought the more time had passed. The more breaths he seeped into his lungs, the more minutes passed until eventually hours until it was mid-dusk. Izaya did not go out at all. His sudden tension and gut-turning sensations brought him to a high aspect of anxiety and fear. At the afternoon, all he heard was knocking from the front door and Shinra yell that he was coming to a silent halt. He thought he was safe. The next thing he knew, strange men came in and a white cloth had slipped around his mouth and intoxicated his lungs making him drowsy. He fought back but the next thing he knew was th st everything was shrouded with black. The next thing he knew,

His freedom was ripped away in less than a blink of an eye.

...

...

Shizuo was on his way with Tom off of his break and to their next job. The next scum was probably another guy who would refuse like he didn't own any thing and try to brush them off. In Shizuo, he hated liars the most.

They lied and tricked people, hurt people to unsustainable points. He hated them. He wants them all to perish. But he had one thought- feeling that he could not understand.

He hates Izaya. Hated Izaya...

Never liked that man. He was a liar himself and would manipulate and control for his own entertainment. That's what Shizuo's always thought of him, but what if there's a side of him that has yet to be shown? He's seen the man scared to death and shrieking blood curdling screams from just a simple nightmare. His eyes were stricken with nothing but fear, terror. He could not see a glimpse, not even a gleam of courage.

Izaya was actually scared and Shizuo witnessed it for the first time. Shizuo wanted to doubt his feelings but he really wanted to run up to the crying flea and ask him what's wrong. Ask him what happened. Hug him, straddle him, anything! Shizuo felt useless just watching him like that and it pained him. Where did the flea he knew go!?

...Could it be...

That he misses and longs for Izaya? Or at least his old self?

Hell no! But that night... what was I thinking?

"Shizuo, if you're not feeling up to it today then maybe we can do it later?" Tom said as he examined his friend with worry. "Nah, I'm fine. I've skipped too many days before so I'm gonna have to deal with today as make up." This was the least he could do for Tom. He missed out on so many days worrying and helping Shinra with Izaya. Especially for some reason,

He worried for Izaya a whole lot now.

"Alright. If you say so." The dread-locked man shrugged and proceeded to walk with him to their next location. "Be aware of this guy. His name is Kyo Tatsuji. A thug from another gang and refuses to do any of his debts."

"I can tell he's going to be a pain."

They made their way through the crowds of people storming the streets and sidewalks. "Hey, aren't you at least cold out here? It's freezing to death with all this snow around..." Tom shivered. "Well my body adapts quickly and I have tough skin so I guess I can keep warm." He replied huffing out a puff of warm breath. Today was very cold but he didn't mind. It didn't effect him in anyway.

It was dastardly cold though.

They arrived at the address and what they could see was expected. The place was all run down and had chips and cracks flaking all around the walls. The door was rusty and bone-chillingly cold like a block of ice. Makes sense why a bum who doesn't pay his debts would love here, it's poorly made for anyone who has w decent job. It did not carry a very pleasant scent either.

The door looked as if it would explode down if Tom just knocked on it but he decided to still did it. They stood in silence of couple of seconds before a clicking sound was heard and the rusty door began go slide open with an eerie sound. There stood a man who looked incredibly tired and wore a sickening grin on his face. His hair was a dirty messy black. His clothes were those of gang members, tattered and had cuts while he wore a ring on each finger. "We came here for your debt-"

"Is that so?" The man cut him off rather in a teasing way that spelled danger. "Heh, come on out guys." He said as he moved aside revealing a good five other guys stepping out and circle around the two. They wore nasty smirks on their faces, teeth all dirty and clothes having ripples in them and same matching scarves. "If you're the debt collectors then that means this guy is Heiwajima." One of them crept closer to Shizuo trying to look tough and give face-to-face but appeared to be too short for. Shizuo's level. "Hey! Say something Mr. Tough guy!"

"Up close you're not so scary or tough lookin." The guy chuckled as the others laughed.

"Tom, you should probably move,"

"Roger." Tom began casually walking away ignoring the taunts he was receiving. "Yo, you think you're so tough you sent off your boss friend away to deal with us? Strongly... pathetic!" They all roared with disgusting laughter, rage building up inside the blond like a geyser.

"Oh before you get hurt maybe you should consider thinking about people who care about you; don't want to make any girly girls cry over a beast like ya!"

"He's probably got a smokin' hot babe! Hah!" Shizuo's eyes widened slightly before turning into dangerous shaped slits.

"Tell ya what? Run away like pussy that you are and we'll spare ya, probably take the gal too. If you even have-"

Faster than the speed of lightning an arm slammed against the man's face pounding him straight through his walls, tumbling and crashing. The laughter immediately ceased. They were standing on ice that was about to break or at least knew an avalanche was about to hit them.

"...So you guys wanna know who the real monster is, DO YA!?" Every one of them prepared their weapons; wooden planks, baseball bats, pocket knives, metal pipes but all shared the same face. The face of fear and discouragement. The face of realizing they done fucked up.

"THEN I'LL SHOW YOU WHO IS THE REAL MONSTER HERE!" Shizuo outburst caused the flooring to shake. His fist landed in one man's abdomen sending him flying and spouting a small dose of blood while the other swung at him with his metal pipe instantly hitting his head but it didn't seem to effect him. The man immediately tried to run away but was grabbed and swung into another one of the members sending them skidding across the snowy pavement. The other two were keeping their distance- they tried running away.

"OH YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY THAT EASILY!" He shouted as he found a very close Stop sign; ripping it out of the strong cement and hurling it towards the fleeing duo. It directly hit making them stumble and trip among the floor. Shizuo, now raging like an overflowing volcano stomped over with the force of an elephant, breathing rapidly and growling. "L-l-l-listen! We're sorry okay!? We'll give ya the money- j-just don't hurt us!" He pleaded for his life. Shizuo grabbed the hem of the man's shirt and lifted him up to the point his feet could not feel the ground. He struggled and possibly let out a couple of shrieks filled with fear. The blond brought his face close to the man's. Golden colored eyes shaped into slits glowing with a dangerous glare were stabbing holes in his very soul. "You better fucking listen."

"Say any of that shit around me ever again and I will fucking rip your limbs off one BY ONE UNTIL YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD. DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME!?" He shook the man violently as he whimpered. "O-okay w-we're sorry alright!? T-t-the money's in the black bag at the table! P-p-please don't hurt me!" He plead again, complete utter horror streaming from his tired eyes. For a long notice of time Shizuo continued to glare at the man with the urge to rip his head off but let the fabric of the man's shirt slip from his fingers.

The guy hit the ground hard with a loud thud making the other gang member flinch. "Let's get outta here!" They scattered as fast as they could like mice.

Shizuo didn't move once they did. He didn't even move a muscle. He was so overcome by anger that he still wanted to lash out at something, someone, anything. He tried to calm down by thinking of happier thoughts or controlling his breathing but that did not help as much as it always did. Something was plaguing his mind and he could not handle it. Tom came rushing to his side as if something horrible had just occured- and it did. Shizuo almost killed someone.

"Shizuo, are you alright? I've never seen you this mad before." He said as he tried to calm the blond down. Shizuo began to relax and find his calming state but the face of disgust continued to linger on his face, eyes still glaring daggers at the direction the cowards fled off to. "...Yeah, I'm fine." He huffed out an angered breath before breathing normally once again. Shizuo just walked past Tom like he didn't exist or didn't see him and headed back to the front of the door. He completely ignored Kyo who was still slammed through his wall leaving an enormous gaping hole. Just went inside and grabbed the bag and handed it to Tom.

"Uh... Shizuo? You sure you're alright man?" The dread-locked man questioned trying to keep up with his friend. Shizuo continued to stay silent before snapping out of whatever he was in and finally noticed Tom. "O-oh. Sorry. Got a little carried away there." He said sheepishly. "Right... we'll head for another break and see who else is left and then we're done. Whew..." Tom sighed exhaustively. Still what worried him was that Shizuo seemed unresponsive to the world and his surroundings like he was in a trance or some kind of dead state.

They made their way through the streets carrying on their objective but Tom kept his eye on Shizuo. He still looked troubled or at least had that deadly intent pouring from around him. Was he still thinking about those scum bags earlier? If so, just because they said that why would he be this mad...?

...Wait a second.

"Hey Shizuo?"

"Hm?"

"You gotta girl or something?"

"...No I don't. What's up with the sudden question?" Shizuo turned over to his friend, confused. "Well I heard they were over talking about you having a babe or something." He sighed. Although he kept walking, Tom didn't notice that Shizuo had stopped walking for a couple of seconds before catching up. "Oi, you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, just having some shutdowns..." he said continuing to walk trying to hide his troubles. The darkening setting of dusk was consuming the chilled sky leaving the once happy bumping streets getting less happier. It was getting late and soon night would come. And it did. Soon enough Tom let Shizuo go after their break since they had no other scumbags to go after, plus how troubled and bothered Shizuo looked didn't settle with Tom. He knew something was wrong through these weeks because Shizuo was getting more angrier than usual and eventually end up almost killing someone which is not like him.

He headed down the frost covered streets, cold chilly air brushing against his skin cooling him down. Dusk soon became a freezing night with lights illuminating the streets. Shizuo was finally off and he really needed it. But he thought it was strange. Usually he would give a small call or a check up to see how he was doing- which was pretty annoying to be in fact.

He walked through all of the streets and eventually found the building. How could you miss a building as tall as a sky scraper if it's your destination exactly? Yup. Talkin to you people who don't apparently know... somehow?

Shizuo knocked on the door and waited. No annoying high pitched 'Coming! Wait just a sec!' came through, not even a squeak. Shizuo knocked again but a little harder but to his surprise,

The door just slid open. It was open? "The hell? Did he forget to close and lock his door or something?" Shizuo grumbled before walking in slowly. It was too dark, no lights were turned on at all. Shizuo headed to the light switch and turned on some of the lamps lighting up the room. Shock slammed into him. The place was a wreck. The table was tipped over along with some stools and chairs fallen onto the sides. Broken glass shattered across the floor where the table was.

"What the fuck?"

He walked around until he heard multiple raspy coughs and saw a streak of blood staining the floor. Where the hell was Celty? And is anyone else here? He followed the blood trail and the sound of coughing which led to the back of the messed up couch... There Shizuo's eyes widened with disbelief.

A man was lying onto the ground all beaten and bloody, motionless. His shaggy brown hair was ruffled up and his appear to be glasses were shattered. Shizuo immediately ran over to the figure as soon as he figured who it was.

"Shinra!" Shizuo dashed over to the body and crouched next to him, shaking it lightly. "Oi, Oi! Shinra! Wake up!" He shook harder. The male doctor only coughed hard before opening one of his non bruised eyes. He wore the most saddest expression he could ever show. "...T-They..."

"...They took h-him..."

Shizuo could only guess who he meant. He immediately without any hesitation bolted to Izaya's room and slammed open the door.

...No one. Nothing. Just ruffled covers and messed up pillows. They really... no. No. HELL NO!

Shizuo paced around the place before he heard Shinra's weak call ; "...W-wait!..." stopping there and then rushing back to his side. "...I need to tell you first..."

"...Tell you w-what happened to him to occur this way-ngh..." He coughed out weakly before passing out in his arms. "Shinra! Dammit...!"

He heard footsteps getting louder from the door, guessing someone was coming. A feminine figure clad in black stormed in but came to an immediate halt. Celty was terrified of what she is seeing. She immediately wasted no time bolting over to the wounded doctor. Just by looking at her she was giving off a 'What the hell happened!? Who did this!?'. "We gotta help him!" Shizuo said as Celty nodded and casted shadows gently on Shinra lifting him up. She made sure that her beloved was not in any pain with his journey to the medical room. Celty tucked him in and applied some bandages upon his injures slightly while Shizuo stood at the door impatiently. Once she was done she walked over to the blond and pulled out her PDA.

[Do you know what happened!?] She types incredibly fast. Shizuo shook his head. "I was on my way here until I saw the door was open and he was scrambled on the floor bruised and bleeding..." he broke his gaze with her helmet and glanced down onto the ground. She gave a disappointed expression as well before typing again. [I can't believe this. Who could do such a thing?] She typed angrily shoving the keys in.

"No clue but Shinra said something."

[What did he say?]

Honey eyes lowered into a saddened gleam until he looked back at her. "He said they took him."

She looked confused at first but... [...Izaya?]

He slowly nodded. "I checked everywhere. He's not here, his rooms a wreck."

Celty tilted her head down in such a gloomy state. Why did this happen? Was Izaya the reason?

They stood in silence that neither of them could stand until they heard rustling of sheets. They both immediately turned over to see Shinra trying to sit up. Celty ran over to his side trying to put him back into his bed. "So you are awake. You should rest up-

"No. I need to tell you this." Shinra interrupted the blond with determination sparkling in his hazel eyes. "I need to speak with you in private." He said before his gaze turned to Celty. She knew right then and there that she should leave and did so, closing the door leaving the two.

"...Now then, you wished to know."

"I'll finally tell you. What happened to Izaya."

Hahaha, I get to play with people's feelings again! It's FINALLY here... hehehe...