Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara!

"Finally decided to show your face, eh?" Shizuo growled as he tightened his grip on Izaya's arm, holding back the innate urge to snap the fragile bones under his hands. He didn't believe for a moment that the flea wasn't somehow involved with what had happened to Kasuka, and his heart pounded at the prospect of finally finding a lead on the man responsible for his brother's injuries.

He waited impatiently for the usual witty comebacks, his irritation growing as he glared at the other through his sunglasses. Shizuo pulled Izaya up roughly to face him when the informant continued to remain silent, in no mood to play along with whatever scheme the flea had conjured up in that twisted mind of his.

"Don't you ignore me!" he snarled, only to find himself suddenly staring into a pair of wide blood red orbs, the intensity of the color momentarily pausing his rage.

Shizuo was certain the flea's eyes were never this bright, having spent so much of his life chasing them through the streets of Ikebukuro. If he didn't know any better, he would have labeled the current expression on Izaya as fear, but he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind.

The flea was an excellent actor after all.

"Say something!" he demanded, giving the other a shake for good measure.

To his surprise, those sharp eyes he abhorred so much suddenly dilated and glazed over, and Izaya simultaneously curled in on himself, pulling Shizuo with him towards the ground.

"What the hell?" The sudden deadweight caught him by surprise. "Stand up!"

Izaya gazed back up at him at those words with an expression that reminded Shizuo of a lost child. To his credit, the flea did make an attempt to stand before a shudder ran through the other.

"Izaya?" Shizuo called out, instinctive worry beginning to set in despite his rational mind telling him that there was no reason to panic. The flea's breaths were quick and shallow, the man's eyes now clenched shut against the dreary light trickling through the overhead clouds.

It was then that he heard footsteps running towards them, and he looked up to see none other than Shiki and Shinra rounding the corner.

"Orihara!"

Shiki reached them first, kneeling down beside the unresponsive informant and pulling the furry hood over the man's face.

"What's going on?" he asked Shinra when the doctor finally caught up.

"Izaya climbed out the window," the other stuttered between breaths.

Shizuo raised an eyebrow at that explanation. "Doesn't he do that all the time?"

"He…" Shinra gulped, and he sensed that the other was hiding something. Sometimes the doctor was a pretty bad liar. "Is he okay?" Shinra asked instead, turning to Shiki for help.

"He's burning up," the man muttered.

"Ah, we should get out of the sun then."

"It's probably because of the sudden stress. If he were really reacting to the sun, he'd be dead by now," the yakuza replied in a low voice.

"What are you…" Shizuo did not appreciate the apparent unspoken understanding between the two, but the look on Shiki's face stopped him.

"Izaya," the man repeated gently, and those blood red eyes peered up from under the hood for a brief moment before closing. It was then the flea finally collapsed, and Shizuo held on instinctively to prevent the other from hitting the concrete. Shiki moved simultaneously, throwing an arm around the informant's shoulder.

The man finally looked up at him, expression unreadable. "If I promise to explain the situation to you later, will you let us take Izaya without making a scene?"

"I'd let you take him even if you didn't," Shizuo told him.

Shiki nodded and lifted the man up in his arms effortlessly, almost as if the informant was no more than a slip of paper. Shizuo watched as the other took Izaya away, grimacing as he recalled the bizarre scenario in his mind.

"Ah, um, I'll contact you later," Shinra said, bowing apologetically before running after the other.

Shizuo suddenly found himself alone before he finally took note of his surroundings. He realized he had chased Izaya into one of the alleyways, away from prying eyes. Shizuo clicked his tongue at the fact that he didn't even have any onlookers to verify the bizarre scene that had just played out in front of him.

He sighed at the inconvenience and lit a cigarette, deciding to just let the matter rest for now. He could always squeeze the information out of Shinra if Shiki didn't contact him later as promised.

"Are you done already?" Tom asked when he found his friend back at the main street where he had left the other after spotting Izaya.

"He got away," Shizuo muttered, which was partially true. He reasoned that if the yakuza were truly involved, then it was best that he didn't involve his employer.

The rest of the day passed by excruciatingly slowly as the two of them went through their list of debtors. Shizuo knew at least one of them deserved a fist to the face, but he was in no mood to carry out his usual retributions, letting most of them slide with nothing but a glare. At least none of their clients were dumb enough to pull out a weapon this time around, and if Tom had any comments on his aloofness, the man kept it in.

Shizuo finally bid his senpai farewell shortly before dinner, and the two went their separate ways. He found himself wandering through the streets of Ikebukuro aimlessly, his mind still on the scene from earlier in the afternoon. He had never seen Izaya in such a state before, and the way the man had collapsed somehow brought a bad taste to his mouth. Perhaps the informant was sick, he thought. As much as he hated the other, he'd rather the flea was at full health when he chased the other through Ikebukuro.

Hunting a sick man was just in bad taste.

Shizuo nearly started when his phone vibrated and took it out of his pocket to find a text from an unknown number. He frowned at the brief message, wondering if it was a good idea to meet a yakuza so casually like this. Then again, at the rate he was going, he was going to get no answers on Kasuka or Izaya, and he was certain now that the two incidents were somehow connected.

He gritted his teeth and typed in his reply to the invitation.

Shizuo: [Sure]

If anything, Shiki might be able to provide him with some information on just what was going on.

.

The directions on the navigator led Shizuo to an unassuming underground restaurant, its location just a few blocks away from the flashing lights of the main street. He descended the steps cautiously and pushed open the heavy oak door to find a rather intimate dining room complete with a bar. Shizuo peered around at the warm wooden decor, briefly taking note of the few patrons seated throughout the restaurant before one of the waiters approached him.

"Good evening, sir. We have been expecting you," the man greeted him without even asking for a name.

Shizuo nodded wordlessly before following the other to the interior of the restaurant to a private room away from the prying eyes of the other diners. He spotted the familiar white suit immediately upon entering and took a seat across from the other, eyes darting to the sole exit in the room.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice, Heiwajima-san."

"Sure," he swallowed thickly. Shizuo wondered if this was going to be like one of those yakuza movies where he would have to fight everyone in the bar to escape should he make one wrong comment. Shiki seemed to pay his nervousness no mind as the man picked up the menu.

Shizuo followed suit and opened the booklet, holding back a grimace when he saw the prices for the dinner plans. He didn't make much to begin with and didn't particularly feel like dropping ten thousand yen on a meal that he knew he would have trouble enjoying, given the current circumstances. The waiter returned promptly with a glass of wine for Shiki and filled up their cups with water, oblivious to Shizuo's plight.

"What will you have?" Shiki inquired. "And, don't worry about the tab. I was the one who picked our meeting place after all."

"I'm not that hungry," Shizuo lied, not wanting to owe the man anything. He eyed the wine list warily, knowing that as much as it might help him relax, it would do him no favors when he was fighting his way out.

Shiki smirked, likely reading his exact thoughts. "Their recommended course is not bad. I'll order that for us just in case you change your mind."

The waiter wrote down the order as Shiki spoke before turning to Shizuo pointedly. "Would you like anything to drink, sir?" the man inquired.

"I'll just take water," Shizuo muttered in defeat.

The waiter bowed and softly closed the door, leaving him alone with the yakuza once again. Shizuo took a deep breath, not knowing where to start. He could not fathom how he was now so hesitant when he had been so fired up for answers prior to coming.

"Thank you for your cooperation earlier," Shiki saved him the trouble by speaking first. Shizuo found himself staring into sharp eyes, suddenly reminded of Izaya's blood red irises despite the difference in color. "I acknowledge this may be a little strange for you, meeting me like this. I can assure you that this is a safe space to talk, and the food really is good."

Shizuo let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding, guard still on high. "Is he okay?" he found himself asking the first thing that came to mind. It wasn't that he was actually worried about Izaya, he tried to tell himself. He was just curious and was owed some explanation for the flea's strange behavior earlier.

"Izaya is currently resting."

"Did you take him to Shinra's?" He asked although he knew the answer. If Izaya had been at Shinra's at all this past week, he would have known.

"The doctor's apartment is unfortunately known to many in the underground. It is not quite ideal at the moment."

"I see," Shizuo muttered before taking in a mouthful of water to ease his dry throat. He supposed it must be safe to prod further when the other did not show any signs of irritation at his earlier inquiry of the informant's wellbeing. "So, what happened to him? He was having some kind of attack earlier."

Shiki swirled the wine glass slowly, dark eyes unreadable as the man stared at its contents. "He was kidnapped by the ones responsible for your brother's attack."

Shizuo barely remembered to restrain himself at the last second, managing to let go of his cup of water before it shattered in his hand. He watched as Shiki took a nonchalant sip of the wine and set the glass down.

"I have an idea of what information they wanted from him, but it was something he did not possess, unfortunately."

"That's hard to believe," he grumbled. As much as he hated to admit it, Izaya knew all the inner workings of Ikebukuro.

"They shot him five times for it." He looked up at the other, waiting to see where Shiki was going with this. "Both legs, arm and shoulder, and…" Shiki motioned to his own chest.

Shizuo blinked at the gesture. "Wait wait. He looked pretty alive to me earlier." The informant he had seen today was completely intact, save for whatever ailment the man had. If anything, Izaya was nearly flying through the streets like usual before he spotted the flea and gave chase. Even if the other wasn't injured to the point of dying, it didn't make sense for the informant to be moving around at all with any of the wounds such as the ones Shiki described.

He didn't know why, but the look the yakuza gave him made his stomach drop.

"What did you do?" the words escaped from his lips before he could stop himself.

"I may have taken some desperate measures."

"What do you mean?"

Shiki took another sip of the wine, and he swore that he caught a glimpse of the red in the man's eyes this time, along with what he thought might be fangs. "I'll let Izaya tell you later if he decides to do so." Shizuo blinked, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary with Shiki's appearance.

He decided to inquire about his brother, given that the man was not about to disclose more about Izaya's condition to him at the moment. "Wait, you said they shot him because he didn't have the right information. Why did they go after Kasuka instead then?"

"Izaya had no involvement in them targeting your brother, if that is what you are implying. Besides, they were after someone else. Your brother just happened to be in the way."

Shizuo frowned, going through the list of people who were close to Kasuka. His brother had always been a private individual, surrounded by a multitude of fans and…

"Ruri," he suddenly realized.

"I'd suggest you don't draw too much attention to yourself in your search for the culprit. They were able to take out Izaya, after all."

"I will find them," he growled before a knock on the door interrupted them, and the waiter entered with their appetizers.

.

Tsukumoya: [How's Izaya?]

Shiki: [He's still sleeping.]

Tsukumoya: [It sounded pretty bad from how you described it.]

Shiki: [Have you found out any information on Lycoris?]

He directed the conversation away from Izaya for the moment, not wanting to deal with one of Tsukumoya's moods given that he hadn't done an adequate job at protecting his new charge. Shiki was relieved when the other seemed to hold off on raging about how he had let Izaya run into broad daylight.

Tsukumoya: [I don't understand]

Tsukumoya: [They're hiding themselves very well from me]

Shiki: [I wonder if they suspect you.]

Tsukumoya: [Impossible]

Shiki placed his phone down when Tsukumoya did not continue, knowing he had struck a chord. Not many knew of the other's true nature, but it was a completely plausible explanation, given how the group had suddenly fallen off the face of the earth after he had rescued Izaya. They must be waiting for his next move, and he only hoped that there were no onlookers in the crowd today.

He supposed he was lucky that the inhabitants of Ikebukuro tended to run the other way whenever Izaya and Shizuo clashed, but word of their short chase must have already made its way around the underground, especially since the informant had not been seen for more than two weeks.

.

Izaya slowly opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling, unable to contain the shivers that seemed to spread to every bone in his body as he sat up. He felt parched, like all the water in the world could not satiate him, and he stumbled out of bed, vision hovering in and out as the thirst came in waves.

He heard the door open, revealing a faint trickle of light outlining the shadow of a figure. Izaya knew it was speaking to him, but he could not make out the words through the haze.

"W-Who…" he tried to ask, taking a tentative step towards the man, but it was then that his body decided to completely disobey his semi-lucid mind and lunge itself at the newcomer. The other was faster, catching him roughly on the shoulder and forcing him back down on the bed.

Izaya flipped the two of them with a snarl that he did not recognize before instinctively diving in for the throat and sinking his teeth into the pale skin. The metallic taste against his tongue was a nectar, an unlikely cure for his ailment as the overwhelming thirst miraculously subsided with each swallow. Izaya let out a breath of relief, and it was a few seconds before he realized the flow of blood had stopped. He licked up the remainder greedily, finding it somewhat strange that the punctures he made had already healed.

By now, he realized he could see quite clearly in the dark, and it was another moment as his mind cleared that he realized his target had not fought back. Izaya pulled away slowly, finding himself staring into familiar intense eyes.

"S-Shiki?" he mouthed before the weight of all that had happened suddenly hit him like one of Shizuo's rare punches. He leapt off of the other, back slamming against the opposite wall as he wiped at the dampness on his chin. Izaya pulled his hand away slowly to stare at the blood that stained it. His breaths quickened at the sight, and the image started to wax and wane before him.

"Orihara," he could hear his name through the haze, muffled as if a blanket had been thrown over his head.

"Izaya," Shiki repeated, and he looked up at the other helplessly. He allowed the man to guide him back to the edge of the bed and sat, trying to slow his rapid breathing.

"Relax, just breathe," he could hear the other clearer now, and it seemed like an eternity before Izaya finally opened an eye to find that the room had not changed. He didn't know what was worse: the fact that Shizuo had been the one who triggered all those unpleasant memories back or the fact that the first thing he did when he woke was jump on Shiki.

He remembered the past few days clearly now and held back the wave of nausea that threatened what little contents were in his stomach. He hated the fact that he had been so helpless in front of one of his clients, that the man had even gone so far as to seek aid from Shinra for him. Izaya's mind went into overdrive as he started running through the many reasons an executive of the Awakusu-kai could possibly have for keeping him alive like this.

Yet, nothing checked out. If anything, Shiki would have benefited from his death since quite a while ago. Izaya swallowed thickly. If the other had kept him alive for this long, then there must be some kind of reason.

There was only one way to find out.

"I've always been looking for a means for immortality. This was not quite how I envisioned it," he finally let out a small laugh, listening to the sound reverberate through his chest as he wondered if the statement was enough for the other to conclude that he had regained his memories. Izaya didn't particularly want to delve into them too deeply at the moment. He could still remember the pain, the feeling of his own blood trickling out of him as he dangled in and out of consciousness in that dark room, and he shuddered involuntarily, cursing his weakness.

"Your memories are back?" As predicted, Shiki picked up on his intended message instantly.

"Disappointed?" he returned, hating the way his voice quavered.

"Would you believe me if I said I was starting to get concerned?"

Izaya chose not to answer that question. Of course he didn't believe that anyone would be concerned about him, especially in his line of work. He looked at his hands instead, closing and opening them slowly. They felt normal enough, he supposed. It was hard to believe that he had ever been shot on the arm with how smooth the skin was.

Yet, the sudden memory of pain still swept through his subconscious, and he gritted his teeth.

"Does it still hurt?"

"No," he lied.

"They used silver bullets, so the healing process was much more complicated."

"Silver?" The possibility that this was all staged by Lycoris crossed his mind, but he did not put the suspicion to words. It would mean that Shiki had fallen directly into their trap, choosing to rescue him when the latter could have just easily left him to die.

"I had thought that it might have also been the reason for your temporary amnesia. It seems that we were fortunate that Heiwajima-san was able to trigger your memories back."

"Leave it to Shizu-chan, that brute," he groaned, remembering the entire fiasco. It was still a little fuzzy, but he could clearly picture the firm grip on his arm keeping him upright.

"He was surprisingly cordial earlier."

Izaya grimaced at the thought. Shizuo was supposed to be a monster, power incarnate capable of destroying anything in his path.

He looked at the blood on the back of his hand.

"I apologize for attacking you earlier. I wasn't myself."

He supposed he was the monster now. Izaya swallowed the wave of frustration that had threatened to spill over. He was adaptable, he reminded himself. He will find a way through this.

"I'm sorry," Shiki's apology caught him by surprise, and he looked up at those words, not even bothering to hide astonishment on his face.

Thank you for reading!