Well after this I have to re figure out how I was going to wrap this up. I was so happy with the original but I don't remember it to well, just some key scenes. I wish I at least still had the dialog. Xp
Took me a bit since I went back and did some minor editing on the AO3 version while I reread the story so I can get a better idea of how to wrap up.
Anyway, this chapter is Shizuo's POV and he's cutting onions, before guilt kicks in~
Chapter 20
It had been nearly an hour since Shizuo's confrontation with Izaya in the park. The quite murmurs of the small bar he now sat in barley registering as he stared unblinkingly into his untouched glass.
He though drinking a bit would help him forget. He'd calmed a bit since the fight with the raven and yet still the events of the day right up until he left that park, plagued his mind relentlessly.
He'd been so pissed at the time. Perhaps he'd gone a bit too far, but Images of his little flea lying dead in his arms that evening kept playing though his head making it hard to regret what he had done to the man.
Izaya's mocking voice the moment he showed up there in the park had been the last straw. Izaya being alive or how didn't even seem to register. He'd been so sure the man would never wake up, just an empty shell kept alive on life support, hidden away in Shinra's apartment, dead in every way that mattered.
Then on the same day he'd found his lifeless pet, the man he thought dead just showed up out of now where and the first thing out of his mouth was about a kitten he should have known nothing about. Izaya's tone had been mocking, not unusual but with the context of Shizuo's dead kitten the implication the raven had done something was hard to ignore. The pest even admitted to it when Shizuo had asked.
Everything had been good lately. With the help of Flea, Shizuo's life was slowly getting back on track. But then the moment Izaya was back in the realm of the living the blond's life fell apart. That was never a coincidence when the informant was involved.
The day had started normal, same as any other. A few assholes pissed him off at work, spewing nonsense as to why they couldn't pay their damn debt's, nothing out of the usually.
But when he had gotten home something instantly felt off. His little Flea didn't pop out from any of his hiding spots.
No surprise pounce from his mischievous little pet that he had become so used to getting upon arrival. His little flea never missed an opportunity, the little creature loved being a brat every chance he got.
In the morning Flea had jumped him as usual, but when he got back from work there was no sign of the little guy laying in wait.
At first he had just hopped the kitten had tired himself out during the day, fallen asleep somewhere and just hadn't heard Shizuo return.
Pacing around his apartment Shizuo had called for his pet, getting more panicked as the minutes turned into an hour with no response. He'd quickly checked the toilet worried he'd maybe fell in again like he had on the first day. The little guy had never done it again but he worriedly checked just in case.
He then started checking all his kittens hiding spots hopping to just find him conked out somewhere. He was starting to fear the curious little guy had managed to get out of the apartment again.
Finally he got to the side table. It was not far from the front door and one of the kitten's favorite spots to jump out form to pounce on Shizuo's feet when he got home. But it was also a spot he was sure the little guy would have woken right away from when he heard the door or when the blond started to call him.
When Shizuo got to the side table by the coach he took a deep breath before he cautiously kneeled down to get a good look under in hopes of seeing his pet.
At this point he would be relieved if it had all been a trap, and the tiny creature latched onto his face. At the back he saw what he hoped for; a ball of black fur was tucked at the far back.
Relief washed over him at the sight. Perhaps his little Flea had fallen asleep waiting for him just as he had thought. He was still a kitten, only a year old and still so incredibly tiny. So maybe he had worn himself out to the point he was dead to the world.
A smile curls the corner of the blonde's lips. What a silly creature.
"I'm home Flea. It's time to wake up, it's time for super." He spoke softly as he reached out to scope the little kitten out from under the table, trying not to startle him.
But when he reached under the table to gently wake his sleeping pet he flinched back as his fingers met cold stiffness beneath that soft fur.
"Oh no… Oh Flea…"
Choking back tears he slipped the still kitten out from his hiding place and placed his cold little body on his lap. Tears started to pour down his face as he gazed at his dead pet curled in a tight ball on his lap. Through misty eyes he gentle pet through his Flea's cooled fur. There was no warmth to the little guy. There was nothing he could do for him anymore.
His little kitten was gone. The coldness of his body indicting he had passed hours before he had returned, alone, waiting for Shizuo to return, in his dark little space under the side table. Had he gotten a hold of something? Did he pass in his sleep? He was curled so tight, had he been in pain?
"I'm sorry I wasn't here Flea…" He said solemnly, petting the tiny kitten as if trying to comfort him, though it was much too late now.
Shizuo had sat like that for hours, the sun had long since set.
Finally he stood up and walked out the door, still cradling Flea in his arms.
Soon the blond found himself at that same park he always went to when he was feeling remorseful about Izaya, the one near that dreadful intersection.
Shizuo wanted to bury his Flea somewhere he could visit him. He knew he wasn't supposed to burry a pet in a park, but it was dark and he was so small, no one would know. His little Flea wasn't garbage, he deserved a nice resting place, to hell with stupid laws.
He found a nice secluded spot around some trees and knelt down. It didn't take long for him to dig a hole large enough for his Flea. The little guy was a bit of a runt, around a year old now and he didn't really grow any since the day he picked him up.
After carefully covering the tiny body with handfuls of dirt he placed a flat rock on top, effectively hiding the freshly dug dirt of the little grave. Shizuo pulled a sharpie from his breast pocket, carefully he wrote out 'Flea' in small lettering on the smooth top of the stone.
Shizuo could only sit and stare at where his lovable little pet now rested, he just felt numb now. It was hard to accept his little companion was now gone for good when he had seemed perfectly fine just hours ago that very morning.
That's when Izaya showed up, at first Shizuo was stunned to see the raven up and about. Actually alive and conscious, as the months had passed he had lost all hope for the man survival. Even Shinra didn't have much hope that Izaya would ever wake up. Yet there he was.
In the middle of the night he appeared like a specter, grinning at Shizuo in amusement in the darkness of the park lit only by the light of the moon. It was that amused look that brought the first sparks of anger as his surprise at seeing the other faded.
His anger flared at the raven's mocking tone and when he questioned if Izaya was involved in the kitten's passing only to be answered with a smirk and confirmation, anything else said after that admittance was a blur. His body moved in silent rage. He could only focus on Izaya's words that seemed to imply he had something to do with Fleas death, it was too much. Even if Izaya's words had been vague, he let his own mind poorly pieced together a scenario.
The blame could be entirely unwarranted, but at that point he could care less. He just wanted Izaya to hurt like he was hurting and so he chose to bury him alive in a makeshift grave of his very own.
Shizuo now sat in a bar roughly fifteen minutes away from that park, drinking his sadness and anger away as he thought through the events. Physically he found nothing wrong with his Flea, perhaps Izaya had poisoned him? He wasn't sure, but he was sure the raven had been trying to tell him something as he was being buried. All he could remember was panic and fear in his voice. But none of the words came to mind, just that nothing else he said seemed to be mocking.
Shizuo sighed, placing his head in to his hands. He probably shouldn't leave Izaya buried like that for too long. How long could he even stay alive like that? How long till the air ran out and he suffocated? How much dirt did he even throw on top on the man, could he have been crushed?
Shizuo already knew he didn't want to be a murderer. He'd have to go dig him back up soon. He felt a little guilty now that he was calmer.
When he really thought about things it was very unlikely Izaya had done anything to his Flea, no matter how mocking his words sounded. But he had admitted to it right? There was no other way to interpret how Izaya had answered right?
Still, for some reason Izaya seemed genuinely confused when Shizuo had attacked… Did he really hurt Flea? Was he just trying to mess with him without knowing he'd lost his kitten?
He should probably go get him. He should probably check to make sure Shinra was at home. Shizuo would likely need to take Izaya to him, he vaguely remembered a sharp crack when he'd tossed the smaller man into the tree. The blond was also a little worried exactly how long he could be left underground like that.
Pulled his phone from his pants pocket Shizuo paused to see a missed notification from Shinra, it was a few hours old. In all likelihood he probably missed it while he was mourning the loss of his pet. It was from Shinra, so he opened the message chain to reply and ask his own questions. He froze at the words, words that made what he did so much worse.
[Hey Shizuo, though I'd text ahead just in case. Izaya woke up this afternoon, about an hour ago. He just left and he's heading your way. He wants to talk to you about something. Please go easy on him, just hear him out ok.]
The message had been set while he was burying his kitten. Izaya had only been awake for an hour prior to the message and only just left Shinra's when it was sent. Flea had already been long dead by the time Izaya left Shinra's care.
If Izaya hadn't really done anything and Shizuo had beaten and buried him just for being his usually dick self then… Izaya who had already experienced death, he'd just made him face it again. Even though he had no plan to actually let him die, Izaya wouldn't know that.
Damn, he was starting to feel horrible if that was the case.
Shizuo typed out a quick question to Shinra, hoping he wouldn't ask too many questions about the strange inquiry.
[Hey, how long can someone survive being buried alive?]
[What? Um… Well that depends, should I be worried that you are even asking this? A smaller person in a coffin can live for around 5-6 hours at most as long as they don't panic and conserve air. Maybe longer it they are unconscious.]
[And without a coffin?]
[Well again that depends on several factors. Like if they were conscious, how much space for air they could conserve, how deep they were buried. The more dirt, the more crushing weight and the chest wouldn't be able to expand even with air present... ten min an hour maybe if the conditions are just right and they know enough to keep calm. Why?]
Shizuo jump up from the bar, stuffing his phone back into his pocket as it buzzed consecutively with more messages. He threw down some bills on the counter and ran out the door, booking it back to the park as fast as he could.
Shit he hoped the stupid louse was still alive in that hole.
By the time he reached the park another 5 minutes had passed. He glanced at his watch, shit, Izaya had been buried for about fifty minutes now and it had started pouring at some point. If the bastard didn't already suffocate he'd soon end up drowning in his shallow grave. If poor bastard was still awake he was probably scared shitless.
Shizuo quickly kicked the tree he'd left on top of where he had buried Izaya, rolling it off the fresh grave. He started digging through the top layer of mud. Fuck, the water was quickly soaking through the loose dirt making a muddy mess that quickly filled the hole he was digging.
He felt intense relief the moment his fingers broke into the small dirt pocket of compacted earth and touched the raven mans huddled figure. Within a minute he finished pulling Izaya's limp, muddy body free, the rain steadily washing away the dirt from his lax face.
"Hey louse? Izaya? Hey, wake up." He kept lightly shakings the still man, but Izaya remained unresponsive.
Checking him over the raven was still breathing, though very shallowly, likely having passed out from lack of air. The small pool of water that had leaked into his space had luckily not filled enough to start drowning him, but he wondered if Izaya had noticed his grave filling with water before passing out.
He pulled out his phone again to contact Shinra now that he had Izaya out of the ground and confirmed he was still alive.
He had several missed texts from Shinra that had gone unnoticed during his panic to unbury the raven.
He read through the messages from Shinra.
[Should I be worried? Did you kill someone?]
[Shizuo, about what I wrote you earlier, you never responded. Did Izaya drop by yet?]
[Shizuo? Your last messages are worrying… Please tell me they had nothing to do with Izaya going to see you?]
[Shizuo? My lovely Celty is very worried, so I'd appreciate an answer so I can put her mind at ease.]
Shizuo stare at the messages and then glance at the unconscious man on his lap, before typing back a reply. He was going to have to drop by with Izaya like this so it was best to confess now.
[Yeah... we met. He is unconscious right now. I'm bringing him to your place.]
[Really Shizuo? You couldn't have just heard him out first? What happened? I need to know what equipment I need to have ready for when you get here. He was nowhere near any condition to fight.]
[Well you remember my previous question... That.]
[I was afraid of that... Seriously... hurry up then. Let's just hope he didn't get any brain damage.]
Shizuo sighed as he tucked his phone away. He looked down at Izaya, out cold and soaked in chilled rain. He could smell blood in the air. He must have injured him or reopened old wounds at some point.
He didn't have time to just sit around like this. Shizuo carefully unwrapped the bent metal from around Izaya body, freeing his bound limbs and making sure not to cause anymore damage. When the raven was free he gently lifted him against his chest and made his way towards Shinra's.
Next chapter is almost done, I'll have it written up and edited for next weekend. Bye~