I'm sorry if the last chapter wasn't really long enough ;-; We're just coming to the end, and there isn't much more to do, you know? All loose ends are (hopefully) tying up. I expect...4 more chapters roughly. I can't believe this is almost over! ;A;

Hey, he's waking up!

Awake…

Shizuo-kun! Can you hear us?

Shizuo blearily opened his eyes, this world blurry and bright as he dragged himself from unconsciousness. He vaguely recognized the slurred voices that echoed in his head, but he couldn't put a name to them until he saw two familiar faces hovering above him.

"Mai…ru, Kuru...ri…" he murmured, trying to get his voice to work again. It was hard to speak at first, and he sounded nasally thanks to the breathing tubes in his nose. He could feel air being pumped into his lungs from the ventilator attached to him. The rest of his body felt tingly and numb, and it was almost suffocating how he couldn't feel his chest rising.

"Shizuo-kun! How are you feeling?" Mairu asked, leaning against the bed. Shizuo blinked a few times, trying to shake off the grogginess.

"Ahh…like I just got out of a coma." he grumbled, trying to push himself up into a sitting position. Kururi pushed on his arm gently, trying to keep him down.

"Rest…" the shyer twin mumbled, and Shizuo nodded in agreement and laid back into his bed. It felt better to not move anyways.

"How long was I out?"

"Not too long. Only a few hours. Everyone has been coming in to check on you, but you haven't been awake. We just got lucky!" Mairu giggled, sitting back down into a chair beside the hospital bed.

"Surgery…well." Mairu said with a soft smile, and Shizuo couldn't help but smile back.

"So I'm fixed, huh?" He chuckled as he lifted his blanket to peek at the stitches. However, he was greeted to a still partially open wound with thin tubes sticking out of his body. He felt his stomach lurch at the sight and he instantly dropped the blanket to hide it. "W-What the hell?"

"Oh, don't touch those!" Mairu scrambled to grab Shizuo's hands, keeping them away from his side. Unaffected at the slightly gruesome sight, she peeked under the blankets again, "Shinra said those were to clear out any fluids from your lungs. They'll be removed in a few days."

Shizuo couldn't believe that the small girl was unfazed at the fact tubes were sticking out of his body, pink tinted fluid being slowly drained from his chest as fresh air was pumped to his lungs.

"Doesn't that gross you out?"

She shook her head, pigtails flipping around her face, "Nah! It's really cool!"

"You're a weird kid." Shizuo snickered, shaking his head slightly, "I guess all you fleas are weird."

"Not weird…" Kururi said with a small frown, "…Unique." Mairu sensed her twin's insecurities and patted her head lightly.

"Don't mind her. She just doesn't like being told we're weird or different. 'Cause we're really not…we just like different things. That's what Iza-nii said," Mairu explained.

Izaya had told them that? It was strange to hear Izaya saying something…supportive about his family. Even in high school, he didn't seem to talk much about his relatively normal family. Shizuo had always assumed that Izaya was the black sheep. Apparently it had rubbed off on his sisters.

"He's right." Shizuo decided, nodding with assurance, "You two are just fine. Nothing weird about you."

Kururi smiled a little at that, and Mairu simply beamed. "You really think so?" the more outgoing of the two asked. Shizuo nodded curtly, and laughed lightly when she spun around happily. "That's great to hear Shizuo-san say that!"

"Izaya-nii-san…weird?" Kururi asked. Shizuo didn't need Mairu's translation of her sister's broken sentences. He had spent enough time with them to learn her speaking patterns.

"Um…" Well yeah, Izaya was weird. Hell, "weird" didn't even cover the complexities that defined Izaya.

Izaya was…exceptional. There wasn't another living thing on this planet that seemed to be just like him. He wouldn't fit into a status quo or a certain clique. He ruled his world with a completely unique point of view.

He was classy and elegant in his own sadistic way, and had both the street smarts and book smarts to launch him into a successful life. His confidence was skyrocketing, and his ego was as big as the moon. Yet, Shizuo had seen a less secure and uncertain side of the flea. He had seen a side he'd never thought the louse could possess.

Kindness. Thoughtfulness. Affection. Warm traits he though an ice cold person like Izaya would never be able to share. Yet two months ago, this is what Izaya was showing Shizuo on a daily basis.

Shizuo loved that. Adored that gentle side that proved that Izaya was as much of a human being as he was. He wanted it back…

Shizuo sighed, feeling the twins' eyes locked on him - waiting for an answer. He smiled a bit, "Your brother is one of a kind."

"The good type of 'one of a kind'?"

"Yeah, the good type."

The twins seemed to be happy with that answer, giggling amongst themselves. Shizuo could only imagine what they were so giddy about. It wasn't like he said anything amazing. Of course, he would have probably sworn to kill the louse the next time he saw him. Now, he'd probably just be silent and uncertain.

"Ne, Shizuo-kun?" Mairu asked with a little pout, folding her arms on the side of the bed and resting her chin on them.

"What?"

"Do you miss Iza-nii?"

Why did he have the strongest urge to open up the tiny brunette? What made her seem so…safe? Like she wouldn't think badly of him? Maybe it was the fact her big brown eyes shone with childish innocence. Yet they still had that glimmer of mischief he had grown to love in Izaya's gaze.

"…A bit…"

"Yeah…I think he misses you too." she murmured solemnly, glancing over at her sister who nodded.

"Gone…"

"Gone?" Shizuo asked curiously. He knew the flea had been keeping himself out of Ikebukuro…but gone? What did she mean by that?

"Izaya hasn't been at home for a while. He just left." Mairu said with a sigh, "We don't know when he'll come back home."

Shizuo furrowed his brow, "And you think that has to do with me?"

Mairu shrugged, "Probably. He might feel kinda bad about what happened."

"Tch, as if."

Kururi scowled, softly smacking Shizuo's arm in retort. He blinked with surprise and stared incredulously at her.

"Feelings…"

Shizuo took a moment to soak that in and groaned, "Yeah yeah…I know he has feelings. But still, he kinda tossed my own feelings behind him without a care. Why should I bother to feel bad for him?"

Mairu stood up, slipping her hands into her pockets, "Iza-nii doesn't run off often. Only when he needs time to think about something he did." She glanced at the clock, tugging on Kururi's arm. The quieter girl stood up beside her sister, who seemed to stand up taller compared to her look-a-like. "We've gotta go. We promised we could leave and let you rest if you were awake by seven."

"Oh…ok." Shizuo mumbled. He found that he was enjoying their company, even if he would have preferred his brother or a closer friend.

"Return." Kururi said with a smile, and he sister nodded eagerly beside her.

"Yeah, we'll come back! You just have to sleep and not move around and stuff. And eat! Although the food here is crappy."

"Oh, I know the food is shit." Shizuo said with a chuckle. It felt weird to laugh, with the tubes sticking from his body. "I'd rather sleep."

"Then sleep well, Shizuo-kun!" Mairu exclaimed for the both of them. They turned to leave, but just before they slipped out the door, Mairu peeked in once more. "And…just try to forgive him. We know you haven't in the past…but maybe you can now?"

Shizuo glanced over at her, sighing and nodding, "I'll try." It was a white lie. He wasn't sure if he could ever forgive Izaya. But…he'd try for them. That is, if Izaya decided to show his face again.