-๑-๑ ஜ ๑- Chapter 49: God's will -๑ ๑-๑-

It was funny. He should be feeling a sense of loss. Regret. Or maybe even embarrassment?

Shizu-chan and him left the group they finally found. Shinra, Celty- even Namie the stuck up bitch.

He should feel regret, after all they spent so much time alone thinking most of the others might have already died anyway. Well he bever believed Shinra died- but everyone else obviously. Meeting Kadota for example had been sort of a surprise. Same for his friends and Celty. With this virus raging going on he had thought she would be one of the firsts to die, trying to save someone.

And yet, despite all this he simply felt nothing. No regret. No embarrassment for letting Shizu-chan see just how much this shit affected him- nothing.

Instead there was just this immense sense of camth spreading through every fiber of his body as he pushed himself up from their makeshift bed.

Another very welcome aspect was how he immediately noticed that he wasn't hurting anymore. The patched up wound from Shinra had done its work healing after he had been knocked out by the quack for days.

Sure he still had some bruises from yesterday's encounter but nothing nearly as bad as his injury had been.

Rays of sunlight pushing their way past the dozens of books filling the shelf that blocked the window, met Izaya's face straight on.

It felt almost as if the sun wanted to cheer him on as well.

Honestly, as if the world wanted to say, hey Izaya, be happy, everything is gonna be alright.

Pushing himself up he carefully slipped out of the bed. Shizu-chan was still snoring like the beast he was and he doubted he could actually wake him up just by a little bit of noise or movement, but seeing what the blond had done for him he somehow had the urge to treat him with extra care.

Nothing had been said but it was clear these days that Izaya had been out of it, had taken quite a toll on the blond.

The constant fear of him turning into a zombie- the fear that someone within their group might kill them, actual zombies faster than the nightly bastards appearing and killing them all-

A shudder traveled down Izaya's spine.

Well, the last one was probably rather his own fear than Shizu-chan's.

Eyes traveling towards the headmaster's desk that they had carried into the library his gaze fell onto his last recent failure.

Or rather the mess his workplace had become.

For a moment the raven felt averse to even touch anything there. After all, there was nothing noteworthy that he had accomplished- all his research had brought misery.

And yet as he cleared away the remnants of his failure he couldn't help but feel oddly refreshed.

His goal hadn't changed, but maybe just his way of approaching the topic.

The sound of rustling filled the peaceful space moments later together with the familiar noise of pages being flipped. Now book by book was drawn and brought from the shelves.

At times like this it came in fairly handy that their hideout was a library. Izaya didn't even have to leave the room to emerge his nose again into the captivating world of chemistry.

He didn't exactly discover any new findings right off the bat, but they had time hadn't they?

He felt oddly at peace.

Soft sounds of snoring that had indicated the blond was still tight asleep, came to their end soon after the raven had finally found a good position to read three books simultaneously in.

Yawning was to be heard and the raven redirected his eyes to the couch for a brief moment before returning to his books all the same.

"Finally awake?" Izaya questioned while turning one of the many thin pages.

Rough bed hair with a sprinkle of childlike confusion met the question as Shizuo moved his body out of bed. Quizzical stares met Izaya as a shadow cast onto his array of literature.

"What are you doing?"

Standing in front of the window while the sun struggled to rise really created an intriguing picture as the rays passed Shizuo left and right like some sort of powerful archangel.

An archangel with bed hair that is.

"Researching," Izaya shrugged, letting his chin rest on his elbow. "Someone's gotta save this world right?"

Ah. There it was again. An expression of worry crossed Shizuo's face as he glanced at the books. Working again straight off the bat seemed to not have been what he had expected the raven to do. Nor did he seem to appreciate it.

But he kept those obvious thoughts to himself as he crouched down to look at the new findings.

"Do you regret leaving?" He questioned, while picking up one of the papers. Izaya hadn't written much yet, just taken some notes on findings that might prove useful later.

"... no. Not really." He felt like continuing their game of pretense wasn't going to do them any good.

And what good would it bring to make things more complicated?

"Meeting up with Shinra only makes sense once I have something to show for." He quickly explained, as rational as the thought was.

"A cure?" Shizuo asked, picking up a book about calculation of molecular bindings. Admittedly it was a bit funny to see Shizu-chan try and read highly complicated mathematics.

"For example, or a decent theory," he agreed, while feeling his lips curl into a soft grin as Shizu-chan visibly realized what kind of boring topic the book he held was about.

"That might take a while though... " he seemed fairly concerned. Well, the book he had just dropped after a second of reading had probably shown him just how alone Izaya was with this.

"A fairly long time, yeah," Izaya agreed, returning his attention to the findings at hand. Right now he was in the middle of his favorite activity. Gathering information. The last attempt had not worked out so well, but if he did some proper, longer research he would eventually stumble across something that would give him a lead.

"Can I help?" Blinking, Izaya glanced up once more.

"... not really I fear." Izaya already had this massive chunk of information surrounding all topics of biology and chemistry inside his head. If anyone was going to draw a connection for a possible solution then it was him.

Shizu-chan didn't seem all too happy about his reply though. What Izaya had taken as a generous offer was probably more of a wish to be useful than anything else.

….

Certainly just sitting around patiently and waiting for Izaya to save the world wasn't something the blond wanted at the moment. He had made it pretty clear that he wanted Izaya to get those nightly creatures and everything out of his mind. And so he started speaking.

"The first time around I tried to create a cure by analyzing the virus, which didn't really result in anything," he simplicized, trying to get the blond at least involved somehow. "But then whatever the hell got mixed up on this table created what might be an antidote."

A nod was given and a frown cast as Shizuo met Izaya's eyes.
"... you still think what you injected yourself with might be a cure?"

Hope reflected in the blond's eyes, whereas a shiver trailed down Izaya's spine.

"Either that or the dose was small enough so my body didn't respond like the others who got turned into those creatures."

Yet.

That was the one word he couldn't bring himself to say aloud in front of Shizu-chan. Not after he declared his love for him, after everything he had done and the constant worry that seemed to torment him. Once Izaya noticed anything changing about his body he would have to talk to Shizu-chan about the possibility. But not now.

Clearing his throat he shrugged. "Anyway, I don't feel like I will get anywhere with my first method of trying to create an antidote. So instead I am analyzing my own blood."

Shizuo nodded but seemed not really elated by Izaya's plan.

"You don't want me to research?" Shizu-chan obviously felt caught as his eyes quickly flicked back up from the books and to Izaya.

"No. I mean, yeah but-"

Hoh? Shizu-chan being at a loss for words? That was new. But Izaya had already expected complaints.

"Shizu-chan I'm not going to use myself to experiment again." Spelling the blond's fear out loud seemed fairly cruel, especially considering what kind of shit Izaya had already pulled on him, but how else was he supposed to address the matter?

A slightly disbelieving glance crossed Shizuo's expression.

"But then who will you try it on?"

Ah.

Izaya was surprised he still remembered what he told him

about how he needed a live subject to test his findings. It had been a while ago- and to be honest he hadn't thought the blond had actually listened.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

Shizuo had a point. And they both knew it.

"Well when that day comes I will look forward to you capturing me a live sample," Izaya tried steering the conversation away from his self sacrifice but his words only achieved to backfire double as he realized what his suggestion brought on.

Capturing a live sample huh.

Just the thought caused goosebumps to race down his back.

No.

Actually he did not look forward to that. It meant danger for both of them. Just trying to fetch some blood from a nightly zombie had almost gotten Shizuo killed- trying such a thing again…..

Suddenly Izaya's vision was blocked as a certain mob of blond hair invaded his sight.

Quick, like a butterfly's wings, a soft kiss was placed softly on Izaya's lips.

Flabbergasted Izaya looked at the blond that now resumed picking up a book to skim through as if nothing had happened at all.

"...what was that for?"

Izaya asked, stupefied, although not displeased. A shrug was all that followed.

"Just because. Now what exactly are you looking for?"

Shizuo knew Izaya was already trying as hard as he could. If he wasn't able to help the flea even a bit then he was at least going to make sure he wasn't wrecking his head about shit that obviously upset him.

"Anything I should look out for?" he asked again, seeing as the flea had yet to respond.

"Ah. Yeah, uhm, sections that revolve around viruses. Bacteria, the immune system, fluids and transmission of illnesses. Just anything that could be of relevance." Izaya quickly mumbled, only interrupted by the sound of his stomach as it softly grumbled.

"Hungry?"

"A little, yeah. But more importantly I'm losing my focus." Izaya sighed as he got up from the ground. Somehow now his focus was lost- he might as well fetch something to eat for both of them and more. "I saw coffee in the cantine," he informed curtly, feeling stupid for not having taken it upstairs with them earlier when they got comfortable in the tiny space.

Shizu-chan merely cringed as he mentioned the bitter beverage. "Without milk?"

"And no sugar."

"Sometimes you creep me out more than the zombies."

The raven snorted as he pushed the library's door open. Shizuo followed unceremoniously as the flea went on.

"Ah, yeah, I'm pleased to know I still trigger at least some aversion in you. I thought it was weird, getting along after such a long time spent in pure hatred." Izaya nodded to himself and skipped the last set of stairs that was leading down to the dining hall and subsequent school kitchen.

"Might as well have been the reason." Shizuo mused, taking the safer way as he passed the stairs step by step.

"What? Did you frown at me because I was accompanied by the sweet fragrance of freshly grinded coffee beans?" An eyebrow was cocked as Izaya skipped behind the dinner lady's counter. Sitting down at one of the many abandoned chairs and tables, Shizuo merely shrugged.

"Might be an explanation for that stench you had." Rummaging was to be heard from the back as Izaya was already out of sight, searching for his shot of caffeine.

"Had? Past tense?" Shizuo heard the raven's question, voiced louder to make sure he was properly understood.

"Has been a while since you grossed me out," Shizuo replied in the same fashion, but that was not needed as he faced a victorious flea, reemerging from the room and with a can of coffee powder at hand.

An eyebrow was raised and Izaya's expression spelled amusement.

"Shizu-chan you really manage to surprise me anew from day to day. To think it was the bea-" but suddenly the flea full stopped mid sentence.

All color was lost from his face as an emotion of direness straightened his body into tension.

"Shizu-chan-" he hissed in a quick whisper. But even without the call the blond had already realized something was wrong and whipped around fast enough to send the chair he had been sitting on flying.

His eyes darted around, searching for one of the monstrosities. A zombie, two or even one of the nightmares. But no faces of rotten flesh were to be seen. Instead a very much living one greeted the two of them with a smile.

"Oh hello, fancy meeting you here. Do continue your banter."

Adjusting his glasses with the same arrogant glance he always seemed to own, their new visitor demonstrated just how unfazed he was by the discovery of his presence.

Shizuo's eyes narrowed. He already didn't like the guy one bit. Sitting up high on what seemed to have been some sort of tribune for speeches from the headmaster he looked back and forth between the two chin resting on his hand.

"I really wouldn't have imagined you would get along with that monster one day, Izaya."

Glancing past his shoulder Shizuo looked at the flea. Did he know the guy? If so they didn't seem to be on friendly terms as neither his frown nor the way his body tensed had changed.

Meanwhile Izaya was left to curse himself.

They hadn't been to their hideout for a week. Why didn't he check whether they were actually alone? Not once had the obvious thought and precaution crossed his mind.

No matter the impact seeing the nightly creatures had left on him, this was something he could have avoided.

"Shijima Hiroto. Former second head, or should I say leader of the Heaven's slave group? Why are you here?" Izaya asked at least giving the blond a name of their counterpart.

A snort was merely given as the guy called Shijima shrugged.

"Why so cautious, Izaya?"

Why, he asked. Wasn't it obvious? Just sitting here, watching them without a word- if he were sane he would have called out to them right away. Maybe ask to team up, maybe ask for food, for shelter, for anything about the situation at hand.

Just staying still without a word was more than odd.

He didn't seem happy to see another breathing living human being

more like he was waiting to find one.

"Have you been bitten?" It was the first option coming to Izaya's mind. He might already be doomed. Maybe he was starting to go crazy. Wanted to scare them just for the hell of it- maybe he was just looking for his own death. A sooner one than an infection would bring. Or he wanted to infect them as well so he wasn't alone when it was time to die.

But again Shijima merely shrugged.

"Not that I know of."

Danger radiated from the guy and Izaya didn't like the way he relaxed despite knowing both Shizu-chan and his own reputation while facing them both.

Not even waiting for the guy to answer he shot the more important question.

"What do you want?" Shijima tilted his head mockingly.

"Do I want something?" A nod was given to himself as he crossed his arms in front of his body. "To help god, I suppose."

Feeling his hair stand on end, Shizuo glanced at the flea.

"What is he talking about?"

Warily keeping an eye on the guy, Izaya moved closer.

"Remember how I told you there are maniacs who think the virus is a plague from god?"

Dull, the memory resurfaced from Shizuo's mind. Something about liking the virus, killing other people or getting them infected to help god cleanse the world.

Laughter bellowed from the stage.

"Please, I am not insane. It is you who needs to realize what a gift has been given to us." Shijima threw his arms into the air in a sign of gratitude and satisfaction.

"By all means shouldn't you be dead too according to your god's wishes?" Izaya backfired, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Of course, but all in due time, after all there are others that still need to be converted."

"You mean killed." Shizuo clarified in a pissed voice.

Shijima seemed about to argue for his own sake- but stopped halfway. A grin, so broad it sent Izaya on high alert, spread along his lips.

"May the lord be with you, it seems it's finally your turn."

And suddenly Izaya realized what the maniacs goal was. He seemed off, like he wanted them dead but still kept his distance, far up and out of reach.

For not only the two of them.

This was a trap.

Eyes flicking around Izaya frantically searched.

"What?" Shizuo merely asked, not realizing what was going on.

"Look around! There-" Izaya had been about to tell the blond what was going on. To tell him about the possibility that one of those creatures or even the nightmares was inside the school. But he stopped mid sentence. Too late he saw the movement. Too late he realized just how close Shizu-chan was to the tables.

Too illogical had the idea been for one to crawl its way towards them underneath.

And suddenly it charged.

"SHIZU-CHAN!"

to be continued~

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN XD A sadistic cliffhanger fresh from the Shizaya bakery~ and YAY finally the Real plot is starting xD yes starting. This is far from over xD

Sorry I took a while to update btw but I ended up more busy than I thought xD

Crafted myself some wings for my albedo cosplay from overlord and built some blasters for Kai'sa from League of Legends xD Yes, me n my sis are both League addicts in tft and sr hahahaha but no flaming just gaming C;

Anyway~

Gonna be on the Aninite, an anime convention in vienna next weekend xD I'm gonna do Shen'he from genshin too haha gosh how I love all these hot chicks

ANYWAY XD

The plot thickens and everything will get really interesting soon haha

SnS and Impostor is updated as well and the rest will follow tomorrow/Thursday

I hope you have a nice summer xD

With that being said see you again in the next update on 1st of September 2022! :3