-๑-๑ ஜ ๑- Chapter 53: New allies -๑ ஜ ๑-๑-

"What?" A silence of unsettling kind bloated the vast space of the cafeteria.

"I mean technically it was but-" killing intent Izaya only thought was known to Shizuo filled his mind. That bastard had cone with one sole mission in mind: to kill them both.

His nightly creatures hadn't succeeded, but Shizuo might still die.

It was frustrating, infuriating and most of all incredibly sad. Izaya didn't know what to do with that storm of feelings when he glanced at the unconscious Shizuo.

He was still on the ground, wrapped in bandages.

Nothing but killing intent seemed to fill his mind.

His lips were tight and rage laid in his eyes, "I'm going to kill that bastard."

Shinra seemed more unsettled by his words, than his attitude.

"Who?" he repeated.

"There was a maniac. A psychopath, talking about how god brought this upon us and how he needed to help him."

God.

As if.

If something like that existed then awesome- it had to be a sadistic asshole. The kind of child that would throw its hamster into a ventilator and laugh as it implodes.

To think people were stupid enough to believe in some kind of paradise they would be sent to if they followed their gods orders was a certain type of crazy Izaya had been proud to never understand.

Those guys would do everything to fulfill their mission, even-

And suddenly Izaya jerked.

Right.

They weren't done.

Their assault on Shizuo and himself had failed. They didn't know Shizuo was close to dying. Which only left one conclusion-

"We have to get away from here. He might return," Izaya quickly hissed, keeping his voice low as he scanned the inside of the cafeteria.

Shinra tensed as well, but shook his head.

"You can't move him like this. It might worsen any interior injuries."

Right-

"Fuck-"

But then what?

They would definitely return. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow- but how long would it take for Shizuo to recover? Would he even-

Frustration ruled Izaya's face as Shinra looked around.

"Have you actually settled inside a school?" he questioned, trying to ease the mood a bit.

"Yeah. Silly, I know." Izaya merely replied.

Shinra couldn't blame him.

From what he had seen their relationship had become something neither would like to admit.

Shinra knew without needing anyone to tell him just from looking at Izaya's despair.

"Rather nostalgic… and safe," Shinra mumbled softly, while pulling his walky talky out of his pocket. "Kadota, Karisawa. Ikebukuro, West academy. We are moving here, take everything you need." A soft sound returned from the other end which seemed to be some kind of confirmation as Shinra put the device away again.

A deep frown had drawn across Izaya's expression.

"What are you doing?"

"Sorry, I guess we will be intruding a little," Shinra explained as he moved over to check on Shizuo's vital signs. A pair of fingers was pressed against Shizuo's jawline and the doctor watched his wrist watch. "Shizuo's condition is far beyond good. This will need days if not weeks. We can't move him alone and dawn is breaking," Shinra enlightened further as he moved to Shizuo's eyes next, lifting the lids shortly before letting them shut close again. "You said that maniac is after you, what will you do once he turns up with more zombies?"

Izaya swallowed.

Shinra was right.

At this moment, right now, he could be returning. With more people, more creatures.

"Sorry, I know you hated it, but this time you can't handle them alone."

Izaya frowned.

"Them?"

No way.

The way Shinra spoke seemed almost like-

"That group? We met them too. They almost killed Karisawa."

So it was indeed like Iuaya had feared.

Raiding his hands to his temples he tried to get rid of the upcoming headache. He had feared something like this ever since he told Shizuo he found Simon's corpse.

It had been shot.

Not zombified.

And while the conclusion that he ended his life himself after having been bitten seemed viable, a far more dangerous option had immediately sprung to Izaya's mind.

People were gathering.

The fact that he hadn't met anyone alive? It meant everyone had been killed, or followed that group.

Like Shinra's group, which was set on surviving. Just that this group was out to kill.

And considering they went for Karisawa and everyone…

Suddenly changing their camp made a lot more sense.

Lifting his gaze shortly Izaya glanced at his friend.

"... can I ask you something?" Shinra smiled a tired smile as he closed his eyes.

"I don't know where she is."

Celty.

He knew what Izaya wanted to ask before speaking about it aloud.

The doctor's eyes were bitter and Izaya bit down any comment.

Suddenly Izaya knew just all too well how his best friend was feeling.

The thought of Shizuo dying was suffocating.

To think Shinra didn't know where Celty was…. it had to drive him insane.

It came as much as a surprise as it was welcomed when Izaya's arms pulled the doctor close.

To say Shinra was surprised would have been an underestimation. And yet- it was just comforting.

Nuzzling into Izaya's shoulder the doctor buried his face in his shirt.

No words were spoken.

The brown spiky hair tickled Izaya's neck.

Shinra might have cried, might have not.

Izaya didn't know.

Didn't care.

Right now he just wanted Shinra to take a break from the act of the cheerful quack.

Izaya didn't know how much time had passed. A few minutes? An hour?

The sun was starting to set, that was the only sure evidence of time moving as the door to the cafeteria cracked open.

Instantly on high alert Izaya jumped to his feet.

Was it the bastard? His friends? Did they come to finish the job?

Only upon seeing the familiar face of Karisawa, did Izaya relax.

"Careful-" she spoke in a hushed voice as she helped Kadota get past the door.

His upper arm was still drenched in blood as Shinra had dropped his treatment right then and there to follow Izaya.

"Where were you?" Namie was in a similarly bad condition as Vorona lent her an arm to move on. Pain and annoyance were written all across her expression as she looked at the doctor.

Surprise lifted the bad mood for just a second, only to worsen right after as her eyes fell on Izaya.

"Ah. Too bad I thought you died." Of course she had addressed Izaya with that insult.

It was nothing unexpected yet somehow he found himself slightly annoyed at the response.

He couldn't care less whether the woman liked him or not but seeing how he had saved her sorry ass he had at least expected a bit of peace.

Vorona seemed at least somewhat grateful as she quickly spoke up, ending the woman's rant before it could start.

"What happened to him?" She was asking about Shizuo.

Laying sideways on the ground with blood all around it was a based question.

A deep crease caused Izaya's expression to grow sour.

"Zombies," he replied, and it was the first time he called them that way.

So far he had refused to resort to such unscientific terms. They were infected humans. Quite pike rabid dogs.

But after what he had seen today - after seeing that pet zombie… no.

Those things weren't humans anymore.

He refused to believe so.

"They were here. The godsent," Shinra explained further, seemingly serving the one piece of information that managed to unsettle every last person in the room.

"Sick bastards-" Karisawa cursed under her breath, while Kadota reached for the wound on his arm with a stern expression.

"We have been warned, they won't get us like this anymore," Namie announced all too confidently, actually trying to raise the group's morale it seemed.

… or maybe she was just fed up and out for revenge.

"If we can find a place to stay safe that is," Vorona added softly, causing the mood to dim once more.

Right.

Their camp had been busted, Celty was gone too.

"Where did you stay?" Quietly the whisper reached Izaya's ear. Shinra had spoken low enough for him to hear but no one else to notice.

"Library. Top floor."

Hands were clapped and the doctor moved his cheerful smile back in place.

"Alright everyone~! Now if you would please head over here, we have a body to carry," Shinra pointed towards the unconscious Shizuo.

Namie's expression only darkened at the suggestion.

"I'm not touching that corpse," she announced, disgust conveyed in every syllable spoken.

"He isn't dead yet, Namie-san," Shinra quickly threw in, not exactly helping to convince her. "He might as well be, look at how much blood he lost."

To be honest the words felt like a punch in the gut. Izaya knew about Shizuo's condition. It was no secret that he was on the verge of death.

But having her spell the obvious out aloud just caused the despair over that fact to intensify to a level Iuaya couldn't quite stomach.

Quickly moving over to Shizuo Izaya checked for his breathing.

He was still breathing, right?

Yes. He was.

Softly his chest rose and fell and Izaya felt as though his own chest grew a bit lighter at the sight.

"I'll help," Kadota quickly announced, moving over to Izaya's side.

"Me too!" Erika was next. Even Vorona as she abandoned Namie.

"Anything we have to look out for?"

Izaya was somewhat delighted. He hadn't expected any help at all-

But then he realized.

Of course.

They didn't care about Izaya or what he wanted.

But they knew Shinra, they knew Shizuo. They were doing it for these two, and Izaya couldn't be more glad.

"Wait, wait, not so fast guys-" Shinra quickly intervened as the group was down and ready to just hoist the man up.

Quickly giving out orders Shinra explained how to proceed. One of the tables was grabbed, upside down and placed next to Shizuo.

In a united effort they heaved his body over without actually moving the blond too much.

Successfully even.

No stitch ripped and no further blood spread from the injured. And that's how they made their way up to the library.

Upon entering Izaya felt almost as if he had been thrown back in time. The library hadn't changed. Of course- it had only been a couple hours since the incident.

Looking at the books in the corner that Shizuo had tried to read Izaya couldn't help but feel his throat close up.

They had just gone down there to get some coffee for him. Nothing important.

After researching for hours it had been just a small treat Iuayavwas looking forward to.

He wasn't stupid enough to blame Shizuo's injuries on his wish to get some coffee - no that maniac would have waited for another opportunity.

And yet- somehow he felt as though he could have prevented all this from happening.

"... what is this?" Namie asked as soon as they entered.

"A hideout?" Karisawa assumed correctly, as she looked around. Of course the headmaster's desk and chair were still in there, the couch they had found too, obviously looking like a bed.

"Alright, if you would please lower him over here," Shinra ignored the question while moving over to the bed-like structure. "This is our new hideout."

"Fancy find," Namie mumbled under her breath as she took a seat in the headmaster's chair. "Someone else obviously stayed here for a long time."

"Not too long ago. There is some stew," Kadota agreed, pointing towards the pot in the corner.

"...did you say stew?" Erika repeated, her stomach growling at the mere sound of food.

"It's still edible, I cooked that yesterday," Izaya informed curtly.

A suddenly uncomfortable silence filled the space as realization settled.

"So this was-" Erika faded out as she glanced towards Shizuo.

Indeed.

This was their hideout until that bastard decided killing Shizuo was a top priority.

"We should take some safety measures," Shinra quickly threw in, pointing towards the huge window.

"Just get the books out, move the shelf over and put them back in." Izaya shrugged.

He should be glad they didn't need Shizuo to move the shelf, but somehow he just felt a little lost.

Without Shizuo there and having to share their only hideout it was as though everything Izaya could withdraw to was all of a sudden just gone.

"Izaya you said you saw a guy, do you know who it was?" Shinra asked, while moving over to pick books from the shelf.

"Yeah, it was Hirito Shijima. A former gang leader."

As if that sort of information would be of any use at this point in time.

What would just knowing his name do?

Nothing.

After that somehow all conversation fell flat. Noone said a word as the group started pulling books from the shelf in order to move it.

Time passed, the sun set, and after what had been an hour at most they sat around a few candles in the middle of the room.

Shinra had pulled out his medical devices and started finishing the job he had left undone as he treated Kadota's wound.

Namie was next.

While Kadota had only suffered a slight cut to his upper arm it seemed Namie had been injured worse as a broken leg was what Shinra set as a diagnosis.

It was good they were moving in a group, because if they had been any less than six people she would have had no chance to survive with an impairment like that.

Eating parts and bits of the stew Izaya had made the day before the group settled around the candles.

All except for Izaya.

Sitting beside Shizuo he was more comfortable listening to the even sound of his breathing than cuddling in meager candle light.

"Man, this really was one day though," Karisawa suddenly exclaimed, obviously trying to lift the awkwardness.

"A shit day, yes," Namie agreed, causing Erika to lose her momentum as she hesitated.

Poor girl.

She just wanted to lift the mood.

"Izaya-" Izaya blinked, directing his gaze towards Vorona. He didn't realize she had been looking at him.

"Why did you do that?"

to be continued~

C: C: C: Well well, the group has reunited- mini spoiler, they will stay united for longer this time than the last time they met xD

And uffff

good thing they do

I mean- ahh so much drama to come~ C: C: C:

See you next Saturday~! xD