-๑-๑ ஜ ๑-Chapter 41: The hero -๑ ஜ ๑-๑-
Run-
Run-
Run-
Heapes of hot breath forced themselves out of Shizuo's lungs as his body strived to new heights. His head turned left, right-
One alley, the next-
Just where?!
Rain was pouring down relentlessly against his skin, soaking his clothes and hair to the bone. Stopping, mid air, just about every few seconds.
He was running.
Izaya had to be.
From the police, chasing him.
Lungs screaming in pain Shizuo couldn't give less of a damn about his diminishing stamina.
The intervals grew longer. The time spans in which time stood still shorter.
And the knowledge of Izaya having been shot only settled so much worse in Shizuo's bones.
Where?!
Just where was he?!
.
.
.
It hurt.
Each step moving forward shot surges of excruciating pain through Izaya's veins.
He hadn't reacted.
Not even flinched.
The gun was drawn faster than his mind was able to catch on. The men in black had screamed at him.
Hands up, they had said.
Really funny assholes. Shooting someone in the side and then telling him to move his arms.
Horrifying warmth started to drive away the freezing cold clutching the rest of his body. His left hand pressing to the side did close to nothing from keeping the blood from leaving his veins.
He could see the lights casting shadows on the alley's walls. Policemen were screaming orders to each other.
He wasn't very far from his apartment.
How could he be?
He deserved an award for reacting with his newest ability in the first place. After the pain had caught up with his head he immediately used it.
And not a second too late.
Scared as the police were of Incubi they had shot another time. Just to be sure of course.
The bullet hovering mere inches away from his shoulder Izaya could do nothing but let himself sink against the wall of the elevator.
A few seconds. That was the limit.
To the police it must have seemed as though he had dodged the bullet with massive speed.
It had only horrified them further.
A monstrosity. That's what he was in their eyes.
Feeling his legs give out underneath his weight, Izaya let his shoulder crash into the rough wall of a dark alley.
His sight was blurry.
He couldn't see shit.
Where was he even supposed to go?
A harsh sting of dull pain caused his thoughts to disarray. Lips were bit in an attempt to keep awake.
He couldn't think straight.
He was slipping in and out of conscience already as it was, if it continued like this-
Stepping forward, he tried to move on.
Dots black and white were starting to invade his sight. He didn't know what to do-
The ground was starting to tilt.
Barely he managed to grasp the concrete wall next to him before heavily crashing into it.
His knees were growing weak but he kept upright.
He couldn't stop here.
They would find him.
They would kill him-
Intense horror clutched his mind- Was he going to die?
This time for real?
And suddenly he heard steps from afar.
With the last left of his powers he tried to stop time- just once more. He would fling himself into a bin and hope they wouldn't find him. Hope he won't die from the blood loss.
But he was finally worn out.
Teeth grit he tried to move forward, using the wall as support.
This was it. He was at the end of his strength.
He couldn't go further.
With weary eyes he felt all strength leave his body.
The alley was dark. Darker than it had been before.
Only blurry he could make out a man that rushed into the alley.
Blond hair.
Wait, blond?
"Izaya-" a quick hiss caught his ears and suddenly there was a flashlight approaching from the other end of the alley.
A familiar pair of hands slipped behind his knees and for a second Izaya braced himself to fall down. Crash into the ground with his head, but no there was another arm at his back quick enough and he felt himself being lifted.
Fast, and uneven breaths caught his ears and he barely opened his eyes to see that he was being carried away from the light and noise.
It was only then that it finally clicked in his mind.
"Shizu-chan-" he breathed out, and as if the man was confirming his suggestion the hold on him tightened just the slightest bit.
"Don't worry, I got you."
Relief, pain, frustration and love flowed through the raven at that single moment.
There was so much to say, so much to do, but his lips didn't move as his body grew limp. The dark spots took over and his vision was gone.
"Izaya?"
Stopping dead in his tracks, Shizuo halted. They were far from safe as he had merely advanced down two more streets. But the way Izaya's body grew slack was more alarming than any police nearby.
"Hey-" Panic flashed in his eyes as Shizuo backed into a corner. Izaya's face was brought closer to his own. His eyes were closed.
Instantly Shizuo's ears pressed against his chest.
He was still breathing.
He had passed out.
Warmth of horrifying kind soaked the midsection of his waist and Shizuo felt his blood run cold. The fact that he had been shot suddenly became very real in his mind.
He wasn't going to bleed to death, right?
No way-
No-
Again he heard them advance. The police. Dogs. Sirens.
Fuck-
Tugging the flea up close he dashed on. A bakery passed, people underneath umbrellas rushed past.
It was a quick leap of faith when Shizuo dashed out onto the street.
It was pouring, not many people were outside and considering the relentless downfall the rain almost served as a curtain.
But where was he supposed to go?
Home?
His apartment was probably not exactly the first place the police would turn upside down.
The fact that the two didn't get along at all was omnipresent in the streets.
It was the last place they would search.
Pressing the slack body close, Shizuo's expression drowned in worry.
But that wasn't even the issue.
Izaya had lost blood. Way too much to just walk it off.
He needed medical treatment.
Quickly.
A very vivid image of Shinra popped up in Shizuo's mind. Always getting patched up he was the first they would go to, but did he know about Izaya?
Did he know about him being an Incubus?
And if not, was he even willing to treat him? Humans shunned Incubus, Shizuo knee that as a fact- what if Shinra did as well?
It was a thought that stung, but sadly entirely possible.
Heart beating out of his chest Shizuo's legs came to a momentary halt.
He was already halfway back to his flat. The shops were growing scarce and roads started covering the majority of the ground.
Backing into the narrow space underneath a bridge leading across the main road, Shizuo pulled out his phone.
A soft curse ripped from his lips as the light's setting blinded him momentarily.
He had no choice.
He knew of no one that could help Izaya except Shinra. If Shinra wasn't willing to then-
Shaking his head softly he cast the thought aside and dialed the number.
He had to.
He was their only chance-
Like the sounds of a lifeline the ring filled the silence.
"Come on pickup-" Curses of unknown nature slipped from Shizuo's lips as he held the flea close.
And then the call connected.
"Shinra-" relief of unknown intensity surged through the blond. He had picked up- he would help Izaya for sure, Shizuo just needed to-
"Ah, Michael! I knew you would call me!"
…
Michael?
Rain fell violently from the sky and for a moment nothing but the thrumming sound filled Shizuo's ears as his guts took a skydive.
He has called with his own phone. His own number. Shinra had heard his voice-
Shizuo's blood froze as his lips moved slowly.
"... Shinra, are you alone?" A short moment of silence followed in which Shizuo begged this was not what he thought it was.
But he was disappointed.
"No, the movie was set at five if I remember correctly."
No.
He wasn't alone.
Five.
Five policemen were at his place.
"I really hate the fact that they added subtitles though. It was so hard to pay attention to the movie," Shinra went on without wasting a second, rambling right through the tightening knot in Shizuo's stomach.
Movie?
"What are you-"
"The plot? Something about a hero who can heal himself. In the trailer he stopped an entire airplane from crashing with his bare hand- the arm flew off but seconds later he had it back!"
… what?
"Ah, but he did have to remove a window fragment stuck in his chest first, I think."
And suddenly it clicked in Shizuo's mind.
The bullet.
Shinra was trying to tell him what to do.
Subtitles.
Read between the lines.
Remove the bullet.
Body jerking into action Shizuo tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear as his hand flew to Izaya's waist.
The coat was lifted, the shirt torn from the flesh as it had started to stick to the wound. It was equally horrifying as it was disturbing.
Feeling his guts drop even further, Shizuo forced himself to look at the wound.
It was surprisingly small. Clean as if someone had cut the hole in his side with precision - Shizuo had never seen a shot wound before. It was nothing like he imagined, but at least better than what he had feared.
The blood was making everything seem worse than it was, especially at the back.
Lifting the raven with care, the reason became apparent.
"Shinra, he lost a lot of blood, the bullet went through-"
Resembling the entrance wound like the other side of a coin there was an exit wound right at the raven's back.
Without missing a beat Shinra continued.
"On the plane? Yeah the air pressure was a problem, the passengers almost all got sucked out of the plane by the stream of air! The hero had to use quite the force to seal the hole."
Thoughts ran wild as Shizuo tried to interpret his words.
Losing air pressure-
Losing blood right?
Ripping the ribbon he was always wearing on his bartender suit off his neck he untangled the fabric.
Thank god Kasuka had always opted for real bows and not ready made ones.
While he wrapped the fabric around the two wounds Shinra continued.
"Yeah, I tell you! He had to gather all his strength! He thought he was going to ruin his body but he didn't!"
This time the message was clear.
More force.
It needed to be tight.
Done.
Hand imperceptibly trembling, Shizuo raised it to brush his bangs out of sight.
Everything was splattered with blood. Izaya's clothes, his own, his face, his hands- the further he followed Shinra's orders the worse the situation seemed.
But Izaya didn't bleed as much as before.
Soaking the black material the blood loss had slowed down considerably.
"Ah, now that you ask, I think it took place in Antarctica. Yeah, the hero almost froze to death. The cold can really be dangerous."
Freezing.
Shit-
Pulling off his vest the blond took an panicked attempt to retain at least a bit of warmth.
"Shinra he is unconscious, he is cold and he lost so much blood-"
"Ah, no, no I tell you, his superpower was his healing! No matter how often he got injured, as long as he was warm he stood up again! And then-" and suddenly the call cracked.
A whelp was being heard and suddenly a rough voice replaced the soothing tone of Shinra.
"Who is there?"
The police.
Feeling his hair stand on ends the blond's mind fished for a quick response as his eyes narrowed.
"I'm Michael, who are you?" His lips were freezing, the words stuttered like a guilty criminal.
Strangely enough the officer seemed to not see through his act.
"Call again later, Dr. Kishitani is busy right now."
The call was cut. Just like that.
Fishing the phone from his neck the blond threw it onto the street.
They noticed. Or at least they suspected something otherwise they wouldn't have cut the conversation.
They had probably waited for Izaya to call to get his location.
Urgency driving his body into motion the blond pressed the raven to his chest before dashing off the scene.
Home- as fast as he could.
Shinra's words repeated over and over inside his head.
He needed to keep Izaya warm.
And the hero's superpower was his healing?
He repeated it twice-
Did incubi heal faster?
Fuck, Shizuo had no idea- their parents had died before he had the chance to ask them anything-
Warmth.
That was one thing he understood. Shinra emphasized how Izaya had to be kept warm-
Fuck, Izaya was anything but warm-
Street lamps rushed past his sight. Streets, alleys-
It didn't take long for Shizuo to near his destination.
Eyes looked back and forth, scanning the area he carefully approached the apartment complex that contained his flat.
No one was outside-
For now they seemed safe.
Pressing Izaya closer to his chest he made his way up the stairs- through the door-
Safe.
Carrying Izaya to his bed, Shizuo tore the wet clothes off his body. A blanket was left next to the heater- as much as it was a stupid habit to leave it there after waking up, Shizuo was glad he did as he pulled the warm cover over the freezing raven.
Izaya was still terrifyingly out of it. Pale all in front, but his brows were furrowed into a thin line.
He was alive.
And bloody hell Shizuo was going to make sure it would stay that way.
to be continued~
Hoho! Just one day late with this update- x'D But yo, I said once per week, and I did it xD
I also managed to get Impostor chapter 5 almost done, which you can expect to be uploaded in a few hours- or tomorrow at the latest xD
Huff, last week ⅕ updates made- this week ⅖ - if this trend continues I might be able to update 5 outta 5 by Christmas xDDD
On the more informative side, writing is now my "job" x'D Currently I have to sustain basic finances with a small side job, but from the looks of it I will be able to actually live of writing *^ *
That means for you: More updates xD Frequent updates- and most importantly new stories! Because the faster I update the faster the current stories will end xD
I already have 2 fresh plots from my shizaya bakery, ready to be served xD
One fanfiction called, "Go to hell" which will basically be a fic about Izaya dying and getting reincarnated into a world with magic, fairies, demons, holy magic and such- and well, let's just say, the phrase "go to hell" will be taken quite literal there xD
As for the other one "Love knows no boundary", will be a very mysterious one, soaked in frustration, love and hey, a slight sprinkling of - ah dear me, now I almost spoilered C;
Anyway, with that said see you next Friday with another update on SD and hopefully 2 more on the other stories xD