W-whoa...three of you guys are BRAND NEW READERS? You seriously spent hours reading 90 chapters? Oh my god oh my god oh my god...that means so much to me I can't even think straight. Just...just oh my god. H-here, have an update you lovely people oh my god I love you all. SO MUCH RABU!

As Celty pulled up to the curb, she was texting furiously onto her PDA. She hurried up, her shadows quivering with worry. [Shizuo! Are you ok? What's wrong?]

Shizuo was unable to reply as another fit of coughs took his breath away. Anri continued to rub his back softly, unable to help much. His perception of the world around him was fading out as he struggled to catch his breath. Voices became slurred, vision became blurry, and his head spun. Not to mention the blood burning his already scratchy throat.

He felt cold shadows wrap around him, and looked up at Celty who held out her hand for him to take. Normally, he wouldn't want help, but his legs felt weak and he accepted the help without discussion.

The dense shadows around him formed a jacket and helmet, keeping him warm as they mounted Celty's horse and sped off to Shinra's place. He clung to Celty tiredly, feeling too weak to even do that as he weaved through traffic. The speed didn't help his spinning head.

By the time they made it to Shinra's, he had tunnel vision and there was a ringing in his ears. His stomach churned, his head pounded, and his breathing was coming in short pants.

Celty eased him off her horse, holding him up as he struggled to stand. Her shadows seemed to flicker with surprise when she felt how hot his skin was, despite being in the cold for so long. She hurried them upstairs, pausing when Shizuo stopped to catch his breath.

Shizuo could feel her shadows around him, quivering with worry as she lead him up to Shinra's door. If he thought hard enough, he could imagine her saying that "everything is going to be ok". It was reassuring to him.

"Shizuo!" Shinra said as he threw open the door at their arrival. He stepped out of the way, pointing toward the couch, "Celty, lay him down there!" The headless rider nodded and guided Shizuo to the couch, setting him down gently.

She typed something that Shizuo couldn't see and held it for Shinra.

"No, don't take away his jacket just yet. He looks like he's freezing to death…f-figure of speech, Celty!" Shizuo chuckled, coughing hard. Shinra hurried beside him, taking a thermometer and thrusting it into Shizuo's mouth.

"C'n I hve smmthin to drnk?" Shizuo grumbled, rolling the thermometer in his mouth. Shinra nodded, watching the time on his watch.

"After we figure out your temperature. Then you can eat and drink till you're stuffed." After the time was up, he pulled out Shizuo's thermometer and frowned. "You have a fever."

"I'm not surprised." Shizuo grunted, sitting up - only for Shinra to push him back down.

"You're staying here."

"Shinra!"

"Don't complain!" He barked, his voice tight with anger and worry. "You put yourself in this spot."

"Like hell I…"

Shinra held up the package of cigarettes for Shizuo to see. His honey eyes widened at the sight, and he wondered briefly how he swiped them off his person. Celty must have done it with her shadows when he wasn't paying attention.

"You started smoking again."

Shizuo sighed, "It was because of-"

"I don't care why you did it! The point is that you did, and that's why you're in such bad shape!" Shinra said sternly, throwing the cigarettes into the trashcan. "Do you know how much this has pushed back your recovery?"

"Not a clue."

"Easily by a few months. Depending on how bad the damage is."

"Damage where?"

Shinra rolled his eyes, "In your brain, apparently. Because you're not acting too smart."

"Shut up! You don't understand the shit I've gone through the past few months!" Shizuo growled, clenching his fist. Shinra shook his head and grabbed the glass of water from the table, handing it to Shizuo with a handful of the pills Shizuo had neglected to take.

"I really don't give a damn. Why the hell did you stop? Where the hell is Izaya, he's supp-"

"I don't know where he is."

"Excuse me?"

Shizuo sighed, all of his annoyance dissipating as grief and depression washed over him. He took the pills in one gulp, not caring how they scratched at his already raw throat on the way down. "I don't know where he went. He just left."

"God dammit Izaya…" Shinra grumbled as he reached for his cell phone.

"His cell was disconnected."

The spectacled man stared hard at Shizuo, before his features softened slightly as he sighed. "Shizuo…what on earth happened?"

"A lot of stuff…"

Shinra sat down on the table, slipping off his glasses to rub at his eyes tiredly. "I'm not specialized in the therapy field, but it'd probably be best to just talk about it?"

Shizuo paled in complexion, except for his cheeks which still burned red from the fever. "I…I don't know if I…"

Celty tapped Shizuo's shoulder, causing him to look up at her PDA.

[You don't have to worry. We'll understand. We're your friends.]

With the reassurance from the dullahan, Shizuo broke out into his story. He talked about how he met Psyche online, only to find out it was Izaya. He explained their bet, which was soon called off - or at the very least, forgotten. He vented about their night at Shinra's party, and how their relationship seemed to change from that moment on. Suddenly, Shizuo was feeling things he hadn't experienced since high school, and he was starting to enjoy being with Izaya every day.

Bashfully, he said they were intimate, which gained a look of surprise from Shinra. Celty's shadows seemed to expand and constrict rapidly - an expression of shock. Although they both seemed to understand when Shizuo kept talking about how he thought he was growing feelings for the flea.

And he ended with their last night together. How he had felt. What he was thinking. And how Izaya had broken it off suddenly, leaving him with nothing to hold onto for support. Izaya had broken him down, and now Shizuo felt like he had no reason to try.

Shizuo blinked with surprise when he felt a tears streaming down his cheeks. He couldn't understand why he was suddenly crying. Was it from humiliation? Heartbreak? Relief of getting this off his already heavy chest?

He wiped them away, shaking his head. "I just…I've had a hard time the past two months…and smoking was the only way I could cope."

Shinra held a lot of sympathy for Shizuo. He knew how brutal Izaya could be, and knew there was a risk of Izaya manipulating the blonde into smoking again. However…he never imagined Izaya would go this far.

"Shizuo…I know that this is hard for you…and I know that smoking might seem like the answer, but-"

"I know it's not. I know it won't help me. It'll only kill me." Shizuo said softly, staring up at the ceiling from his spot on the couch. If the smoking didn't kill him, he was sure the lingering heart ache would.

"You need to stop."

"I will."

"Will you cooperate, and let us help you?" Shinra asked, standing up so he looked down at Shizuo. "I can't help you with Izaya…but I can try to save your life."

Shizuo nodded, "I'll cooperate."

"Good. Now we need to do some tests to try and figure out how badly you damaged yourself." Shinra gathered his supplies, taking the tv remote to hand to Shizuo. "I would suggest resting here for the night, and in the morning we'll take you to the hospital where I'll run a CT scan and some X-rays on your chest. Sound good?"

"Yeah." Shizuo murmured as Shinra went to the backroom to put away his materials. Celty walked up beside Shizuo, handing him her PDA.

[Is there anything you need?]

"No, I'm ok for now. Just water is fine."

Celty nodded, taking her PDA back and sliding it into the sleeve of her jacket, turning to refill Shizuo's glass of water.

"Hey, Celty."

She looked back toward him, tilting her helmet to the side slightly.

"Thanks…for dealing with me."

She slid out her PDA again, typing quickly for him to read. What he read made him smile, and brought a little hope back into his life.

[We care about you, Shizuo. We don't want you to die. So we'll do everything we can to make sure you're ok.]