Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara!

"Still no luck, I guess," Shinra sighed as he watched the morning news recap. No fresh revelations played across the headlines except for the occasional "expert" brought in to rehash one of many previous theories. They had still not found Kasuka's assailant, and the trail only grew colder as the days passed. It was all he could do to reassure Shizuo that the actor was out of the danger zone, but the recovery was progressing excruciatingly slowly.

In addition, there was still no word from Shiki since the man had hauled Izaya's nearly lifeless body out of his apartment that same day he operated on Kasuka.

Shinra replayed the way his friend's wounds had closed right before his eyes as soon as he pulled the bullet out of the man's chest, the cuts he had so meticulously sliced mending into flawless skin. It must have been a recent transformation since the last time Izaya had come to him with an injury, courtesy of Shizuo, the man healed like any normal human. Shiki had promised him an explanation as soon as things settled down, but almost two weeks had already passed with no contact from the other.

He had prepared himself for years for the day Izaya would inevitably get himself gravely injured, but even he could not predict that the other would ever end up choosing to become something inhuman. Shinra remembered vaguely that the man was searching for some way to become immortal recently, so there was the slight possibility that the other could have somehow rationalized the decision.

"But, a vampire?" he mused aloud, crossing his arms. He didn't have the slightest clue on how to treat a vampire's injuries. Or, perhaps once Izaya recovered, the man would no longer require his services at all.

The idea was strangely vexing.

A steaming cup of coffee suddenly appeared in front of him, and he looked up to see his headless girlfriend standing between him and the television.

"Thanks," he said as he took the cup gingerly, blowing away the steam carefully to cool its contents.

"Are you thinking about Izaya again?" Celty asked as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Shiki said there was a risk of Izaya attacking us when he woke up, but in retrospect, maybe I should have insisted more. I could have run some more tests and not have to wait for him to contact me."

He read up a little on vampires during his free time and their supposed violent transformations. He was certain that Izaya had been dead the moment he stepped into the surgery room that day, and it was a miracle that he even felt the man's heartbeat in the first place. Shinra grimaced when he remembered the report on the five bullets he had sent off for analysis.

They were all made of silver, just like the one he had pulled out of Kasuka.

He could sense Celty's disapproval. "So you would have experimented on him."

Shinra chuckled. "It would've been a good opportunity to learn more about vampires. I've never treated one before."

Her shoulders dropped in a sigh, likely used to his usual antics. "I really thought you were joking when you told me what happened to Izaya."

"Right?" he agreed. "How interesting for things to take such a turn, for someone who claims to hate monsters so much to become one himself." He took another sip of the coffee, wondering just how long he should wait before he contacted Shiki about Izaya. It was highly likely that the yakuza executive was the one who turned him, given how much the other seemed to know about vampires.

It didn't quite make sense though, since Shiki moved around just fine in sunlight. Shinra supposed that he had never seen the other injured in the slightest despite all the clients the man had personally brought in, and he hadn't paid particularly close attention to the man's canines.

Shinra sighed, supposing that he'll find out sooner or later when Shiki decided to finally contact him. "By the way, how's Shizuo? I missed him the few times I went to check on his brother."

"Same. He's at the hospital when he's not working. He says things haven't changed with Kasuka…"

He nodded. "I think we'll just have to wait and let Kasuka's body heal on its own. His reflexes are all still there, which is a good sign. It's just been hard to get him to wake."

"I hope it's soon. Shizuo's barely hanging on."

"Yeah…"

Shinra's phone vibrated on the table, and he picked it up to check the messages, wondering if another job had already popped up for the day.

"Oh?"

"What's wrong?"

"It's a message from Shiki!"

.

Tsukumoya: [Have you thought about letting Heiwajima see him?]

Tsukumoya: [That's probably the fastest way]

Shiki: [I'd like to keep my apartment intact, thank you.]

Shiki: [Shinra's coming over this afternoon.]

Tsukumoya: [He's just going to poke and prod and tell you everything looks fine]

Tsukumoya: [Although, it is strange that he still has trouble walking]

Tsukumoya: [You gave him the entire unit of blood, right?]

Shiki: [Yes.]

That was the other problem Shiki faced. Izaya didn't seem to be showing any signs of thirst yet, but if the man had inherited the same traits as him, then Shiki should have only a few more days left before the bloodlust started to manifest again. If Izaya's cycle was shorter than that, then he'd have to think of other ways to obtain his supply while the man was still indisposed.

He knocked lightly on the door to check on his guest and found Izaya in the usual spot on the bed reading a book.

"How's Tolstoy?"

"Fascinating," Izaya placed the heavy volume of "War and Peace" down on his lap. "I seem to have read this before, so I keep anticipating the next scene. You have a nice collection of books."

The comment made him smile somewhat. He had always found it amazing how humans had cultivated their literary works over the years, and Shiki ended up collecting more books than he should on a few occasions. He always suspected that Izaya might hold the same taste in literature, but he had assumed that the man worked too much to actually enjoy reading.

Then again, if Izaya was himself, the man would have asked for a computer instead of a book the moment he woke up.

It was quite a refreshing side of Izaya.

"It sounds like it's triggering at least a few of your memories," he commented, eying the heavy volume.

The informant answered with a small lighthearted laugh. "It's like learning about myself all over again. Every new emotion is so vibrant," Izaya nodded to the book almost fondly. Even with only snippets of his memories, the man's innate curiosity was the one trait that seemed to shine through. "I wonder what will happen when I finally remember everything."

"I'm sorry I cannot offer more," he replied, and he meant it. He knew it was dangerous to give Izaya too much without knowing what information about him the other might have had before.

The informant met his eyes, those blood red orbs boring into him. "But it's a conundrum, correct? I might use any new information you give me now against you when I regain my memories." Shiki did not immediately offer his opinion on this statement, and Izaya smiled almost a little dejectedly, likely knowing he had hit the mark. "I must have been quite a terrible human being."

"I didn't save you because you had information I needed, if that's where you're going," he interjected before Izaya could continue following that train of thought.

Izaya's eyes brightened just a little, and Shiki breathed out a sigh as he scratched his head at what to do. He really did want to tell Izaya a little more about the current situation, but he had also known the other long enough to know that it could turn out much worse if he didn't play his cards right.

Izaya seemed to sense his unease and leaned back on the pillows, picking up the book. "Don't worry about me. I'll be patient and wait for Shinra. You've done enough as is, Shiki-san."

If only he could feel the same as Izaya about the situation, Shiki thought to himself.

.

Shinra took a deep breath to calm himself before ringing the doorbell. He didn't expect Shiki to request for him to come to the man's apartment of all places, since its location had always been a well kept secret. He jumped when the door opened to reveal the man in question with Izaya nowhere in sight.

"Thank you for going out of your way to come here," Shiki greeted him as Shinra entered the spacious penthouse.

"Pardon my intrusion." Shinra kicked off his shoes and stepped onto the wooden floor of the living room. "You said Izaya woke up a few days ago?"

The yakuza executive nodded. "He doesn't remember anything, and he's having trouble walking."

"And, you've been keeping him here?" Shinra couldn't help but ask, kicking himself immediately for the question. He hoped it hadn't come out too accusatory, but Shiki didn't seem to notice.

"The ones who hurt him are still out there. I can't risk them finding him."

"Makes sense."

He followed Shiki across the apartment, noting the floor length windows that were currently covered by a thin set of blinds. The blackout curtains were drawn back against the corners, and some light trickled in from the overcast sky outside. Shiki stopped at the first door in the adjacent hallway and knocked softly before turning the knob to peek inside.

"Kishitani-san is here," he announced as Shinra entered the guest room after him to find Izaya already sitting up in bed and looking much healthier than the last time he had seen the man.

"I'll leave you two alone," the yakuza executive told them before closing the door behind him, leaving Shinra alone with the patient. He found himself staring into blood red eyes as he approached the bed, the wide pupils reminding him of the Izaya he had known in middle school, when some of that innocence still remained.

"Good afternoon," the man greeted him, the formality making him jump. "You must be Kishitani-san."

"Just call me Shinra. We've known each other since middle school."

"Shinra, then," Izaya repeated his name carefully.

It was a strange sight indeed.

"How are you feeling, Izaya?" he asked as he placed his doctor's bag on the table and sat on the chair left next to the bed.

"I'm afraid my recovery has been progressing slower than expected."

"Shiki told me you've been having trouble walking." He observed the way Izaya's fingers curled around the sheets. "Are you able to feel your legs?"

The man nodded. "I feel apprehensive whenever my feet touch the ground, like I need to run. There's also this pain that suddenly comes, but I suspect it's all in my head."

"Where is the pain?"

Izaya pointed at his thighs, and Shinra instantly remembered the splotches of blood he had seen that day. Shiki had removed some of the bullets before he got to Izaya, so he can only infer that that was where the man had previously been shot.

"I'm going to run some tests, if that's ok with you?"

"Please do," Izaya told him.

Shinra took out his stethoscope from his bag.

He listened to Izaya's heart and lungs, finding no difference between that and a normal human's. The bullet wounds had healed over as if they were never there. He had Izaya swing his legs over the bed and tested the man's reflexes, which all seemed intact. The only thing that was odd was how the other would freeze and slightly grimace before putting his feet on the floor and taking a few steps.

He retested Izaya's heart rate afterwards and found that it had gone up significantly, so he didn't doubt that the other must be feeling something whenever he tried to walk.

"Can I see your teeth?" he mustered up the courage to ask towards the end of the physical exam.

Izaya opened his mouth in response, and Shinra could see the unmistakable fangs that now replaced Izaya's once relatively short canines. The tips were sharper than he had imagined, and he decided not to touch them with his finger in case he accidentally drew blood.

"That will do."

Izaya leaned back against the pillows and looked at him expectantly.

"I didn't find anything wrong with you physically. Do you feel any different?"

"I don't quite remember how I felt before, so that would be a difficult question to answer," Izaya replied.

"Ah, my bad. That was insensitive of me."

"It's okay. I'm sure it will come to me eventually."

Shinra proceeded to put his equipment away, wheels turning in his head as he went through the next possible steps. It was a moment before Izaya suddenly spoke, prompting him to look up at the other. Izaya's eyes were fixated on the windows, the heavy blackout curtains drawn shut in this room.

"I mostly remember shadows," Izaya muttered, and it was then that Shinra really noticed just how vibrantly his friend's eyes shone red. It was hypnotizing, even more so than before when Izaya had some scheme up his sleeve. "I was ready to step through a door, but they grabbed me and pulled me back. Now, the door is locked."

Shinra opened and closed his mouth, unsure of how to respond.

"Are you regretful that the door is locked now?" he finally asked.

"I'm not sure." Izaya slowly pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head against them. "I don't know anything, Shinra. Shiki-san's been kind to me, but I know he's hiding something. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at me."

Shinra supposed that there were many things that Shiki could be keeping from the informant, given the nature of their previous relationship. He also knew that the yakuza executive was excellent at hiding his emotions, so it did surprise him that Izaya was still able to sense something was off even without knowledge of his past.

"Shiki's told you a little about your past, right?" he asked carefully.

Izaya shook his head against his knees. "Only my profession and that he is one of my clients. He doesn't offer more than what I can recall."

"Maybe he doesn't want to give you what you didn't know previously. You knew a lot of secrets."

"That's what I deduced, so I didn't try to ask."

Shinra considered the other for a moment. "Do you want to remember?"

.

Shinra sighed as he exited the room and closed the door gently behind him, his conversation with Izaya spinning in his head. Shiki had called him here knowing that he had the potential to trigger the man's memories, so it wasn't like the yakuza executive was taking advantage of the man's lack of memories. He supposed the other could also just be extra cautious with what happened.

"Would you like some tea before you leave?" the man in question asked when he entered the living room.

"That would be appreciated." He supposed he could try to figure out more of the situation before he offered his opinion on how to proceed.

"He's been like this since he woke," Shiki commented as Shinra took the steam cup from the man. "I was hoping that seeing someone he was close to would trigger some sort of reaction." Shinra inwardly smiled that his observation had been correct. The man was just being extra cautious.

Shinra took a careful sip, noting the high quality of the leaves. "In that case, you might need Shizuo."

"I'd rather not take him outside. I don't know how he will react to the sun." Shinra suddenly thought of the blinds in the room.

"Oh, so your kind really doesn't do well with sunlight," he observed. "But you…"

"I fortunately have a slight tolerance. I'm not sure if that trait has passed on to Izaya, and I don't wish to harm him to find out."

Shinra found himself smiling. "You're pretty protective of him, huh?"

"I'm just taking responsibility for my actions." Shiki looked at him as if the man were daring him to ask more. Shinra decided that he didn't want to test the other any further, at least not now.

"Anyways, I can try to bring some items from his apartment like one of his jackets?" he offered. If Shiki wasn't willing to let Izaya venture out on his own, then this was the next best step.

"That might be a good place to start."

"Ok! Time to break in!" Shinra clapped his hands.

"His secretary has a key."

He blinked at the other, surprised by the revelation. "You've been in contact with her?"

"Yes. I don't want his assailants to think he was out of commission."

"I'm surprised you can juggle so many jobs."

"I have help." The look that Shiki gave him kept him from prodding deeper.

Shinra returned the next day with a change of clothes he had swiped from Izaya's apartment, including one of the fur trimmed jackets the other always wore and a switchblade he had dug out from one of the drawers.

"I hope the secretary didn't give you any trouble?" Shiki asked as the man let him into the apartment.

"Not at all!" Shinra grinned, recalling how Namie had grimaced at him when she let him into Izaya's apartment and told him he had a 15 minute time limit before she had to leave.

He knocked on the guest room door with the items in tow.

"Hi Izaya!" he greeted the other cheerfully.

"It's nice to see you again, Shinra."

He beamed. "I brought you a change of clothes." He placed the folded pile on Izaya's bed with the jacket on top. "Oh, and this." Shinra pulled the switchblade out of his pocket and set it neatly on top of the fur.

He watched as Izaya reached for the blade first, curling his fingers slowly along the handle. Izaya ran a finger along the mechanism tentatively.

"This is mine?" Izaya asked him, eyes unreadable.

"One of many." Shinra sensed that he may have triggered something and studied the man's movements intently.

However, Izaya did not respond and instead continued to stare at the blade.

"I'll give you some time if you want to change," he offered after a moment. "It might help if you were in something you were familiar with."

"Yes." Izaya did not look up. "Yes. I think I'll do that."

"Call me if you need help!"

Izaya still did not rise from the bed as he left the room. Shinra closed the door gently behind him to see Shiki watching apprehensively from the living room.

"Any luck?"

"He had a slight reaction to the knife. He's going to try changing to see if that does anything."

Shiki looked away, and he wondered just what was going through the man's head. He had always known the yakuza executive to be a by the book sort of man, so he couldn't fathom just what Shiki had planned for the informant after this was over.

There was also the slight possibility that the man was genuine in his concern, Shinra supposed, remembering the expression the other had given him after he expressed his surprise that Izaya had consented to being turned into a vampire.

They heard a loud crash from the room, and Shiki rushed past him immediately before he could even react. Shinra followed suit, peeking from behind the man to see an empty room with the blinds drawn wide open, the wind from the open window blowing them softly through the air.

Izaya was nowhere in sight.

.

He needed to run. That one thought permeated his mind as he raced through the unfamiliar streets, the sun he hadn't seen for days blinding him as he pulled his hood further down over his eyes. His legs ached with the lack of use, but the muscle memory was all there. Instinct alone kept him moving.

He felt as if his memories were just on the brink if he took another step.

Yet, the light seemed to beat down on him like a weighted blanket, beckoning him to the earth.

"I-za-ya-kun!" A voice stopped him in his tracks, and his breath hitched. He remembered blond hair and sunglasses covering angry brown eyes. A rush of air prompted him to instinctively duck, and he watched in awe as what looked like a vending machine flew above him, barely missing him by mere centimeters. His body turned to run, but his momentary lapse allowed the creature to catch up and a strong arm grasped his.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

Izaya stared blankly at the other, his mind a flurry of emotions he didn't recognize until a singular fear broke through the haze, cutting through everything else as he suddenly remembered nothing but the pain and darkness that surrounded him.

The man hovered over him with the smoking gun as Izaya doubled over, gasping from the impact of the bullet.

"That's what you get for withholding information from us."

He still didn't understand what they wanted. As far as he knew, vampires were one species that haven't been stalking through Ikebukuro for one reason or another. Other than Ruri and whoever was related to her, which the men apparently already knew, there should be no one else.

"Let me ask you again, who is the vampire hiding in the Awakusu-kai?"

"I really don't…" he gasped when he suddenly thought of those long car rides, tinted windows blocking out the strong rays of the sun. He had always enjoyed tracing the man's sharp silhouette against the backdrop, imagining the power that hid beneath the crisp white suit the other always wore.

His moment of hesitation earned him another bullet, this time in the shoulder, and he collapsed completely on the ground, vision spinning from the pain.

"What a waste of time," the man hissed.

"Want to try Ruri? They say she's been spotted," one of the others offered. "We can leave someone here to guard him in case the vampire comes for him."

"Yeah, he's going to wish that the beast will come for him, or he'll never walk again."

"How terrible! Is that why you shot his legs first?"

Izaya listened as the voices faded away and the door slammed behind his kidnapers. They hadn't even bothered to bind him, but that was probably why the man had shot out his legs from under him before negotiations even began.

He closed his eyes to block out some of the pain, refusing to cry. He told himself that it was something he should have expected, something that had been ingrained into him for all of these years.

Izaya knew that no one was going to come for him.

He was going to die here, alone.

Thank you for reading!