Chapter 86: Only two

Figures. Figures and shapes.

Red, green, mixed colors of brown and black.

Faces. Which faces? Izaya couldn't tell.

All he saw were faces merging, shifting and creating more. Some familiar, some of an unknown kind.

The priest. Shizuo.

Ah, even Karisawa. Voices and sounds formed a cocktail of chatter and noise and suddenly Izaya felt it.

The familiar touch of fur. Soft. Warm. Cozy. It pressed against his cheek like an angel's kiss and slowly, but surely, Izaya's eyes opened.

White belonging to Karisawa's bed flooded his senses with a much too bright color. The sun was at fault as there was a small window settled upon the opposite wall of the van, allowing for a ray to pass right through. It had been the warmth of said light that caused the heated feeling and caused Izaya to stir in a moment of confusion.

It was when he tried to place his palm against the mattress that he noticed they were already occupied.

The ray.

Looking at him with the sweetest eyes of black the plush animal had apparently snuggled up to him without asking.

Right.

He had fallen asleep. The day before apparently as the sun seemed to be in more of a rising state than a setting one.

How long was he out of it? Sixteen hours?

The smell of cooked beans and bacon lingered in the air, seeming tastier than anything Izaya had gotten the chance to consume recently as he shifted into a vertical position.

"Ah, you are up." Groggy beyond belief, but exceedingly well rested, Izaya glanced towards the source of the sweet voice.

Karisawa. She was right next to him, shifted to the head of the bed in order to make room for Izaya and had managed to sit up straight while leaning against the bedrest. A gentle smile decorated her expression and Izaya frowned slightly.

"What-"

"You fell asleep." Namie was the next to speak, direct and with not a hint of charm. She was sitting in the middle of the room. Or rather. The ground, as there the places to sit in were vastly limited with the number of six people inside the van.

Maps of the area were layered upon each other along with a few sheets of paper and scribbled notes written by an old roller pen she had found. "Don't worry, everything is fine, nothing happened," she added unceremoniously while taking a bite of a piece of bread resting in her left palm.

She seemed calm. Much calmer than anticipated and Izaya felt himself calm down quickly.

He hadn't really shown it, but waking up in confusion wasn't exactly soothing in an environment like theirs. But surrounded by peace like this he was quick to assert their current situation.

Kadota and Vorona were sharing the bed Namie had been sitting on the day before. Simply looking at them gave away that they had probably been chosen as guards for the night. After all, they were still inside the priest's territory, and no one guaranteed that they would lift a finger in case a few fungi decided to attack their van.

But instead of sleeping they appeared to be resting instead. Probably because of the light.

Was hard to fall asleep with everyone awake and buzzing around.

Shizuo had joined Namie on the ground for some reason and held one of the sheets in his own hands. A short glance was cast towards Izaya the second he woke, and a smile, telling everything Izaya needed was exchanged.

It was funny, but Izaya needed nothing more than that to understand their current situation and his body relaxed.

Only by chance did he accidentally brush Karisawa's feet and the woman quickly retracted them in order to create more room.

Eyes trailing to the woman Izaya looked towards her wound. The bandaids on her neck stood out like a sore thumb. The vast amount of blood seeping from her shoulder was still imprinted in Izaya's mind, but right now she seemed fine. More than fine actually. Her complexion had vastly improved and her eyes were missing the faint taint of pain.

"You look better," Izaya pointed out and the woman rewarded him with a smile.

"I feel better," she confirmed, but hesitated as she lifted her left arm to her right shoulder. "Well, as long as I don't move," she added and glanced towards the small table inside the van. The painkillers Izaya had collected were resting on top of it and she met Izaya's gaze once more. "Thank you. Namie told me you fetched them for me."

Right.

So Namie had given them to her even without being ordered to.

"Slept well next to your friend?" said woman suddenly spoke with the slightest hint of sarcasm swaying in her words. She was talking about the ray that still happened to rest in Izaya's arms. A tease of course. Meant to embarrass him. But Izaya wasn't that easy to tease. Smiling back with his brightest expression he pulled the stuffed animal closer before nuzzling into its back.

"Of course I did, he is my new best friend after all."

The soft snort escaping Karisawa's lips only added to the humor of the moment and the soured expression on Namie's face as she clicked her tongue.

Attention brought to the stuffed toy Karisawa pointed towards the creature.

"I was wondering, why do you have that?"

Right. The ray.

They had been ordered to fetch a teddy bear, not this marine animal. Its presence had to depict quite the funny picture and Izaya snorted.

"Reasons."

It was then that Izaya's glance met Shizuo's. He had been helping prepare their breakfast it seemed and his silent but full blown attention rested on Izaya from the moment he woke.

The questions swarming his mind were obvious. Was he okay? Did he sleep well? Was there anything Shizuo should know about? Any hidden danger approaching in this moment of peace?

It was funny how many characteristics similar to Izaya, Shizuo had taken up over the course of the time they spent together. And even more so did their understanding of each other increase.

A small nod paired with a smile.

That's all Izaya needed to answer the entirety of Shizuo's questions and his expression relaxed.

Izaya would still need to scold him later for not waking him earlier though.

"... what are we going to do now?"

It was Kadota's voice that tore the peaceful mood of the morning and caused the rest of the group to fall silent.

For a brief moment Izaya was left slightly confused as to what he was talking about, but reading everyone's expression he quickly concluded that he was not talking about this morning but their general situation.

"What do you mean?" he asked casually, feigning to not see the issues at hand.

He was searching for ideas mostly. Plans that they had come up with. Less to replace his own but more as an inspiration for future actions.

"They have Shinra. They are using us. I don't know about you, but I dislike this situation," Vorona announced and Namie shot a knowing glance towards Izaya.

Right.

She probably had a hunch about what it was that he was trying to do.

But not only her eyes were glued to his presence. Karisawa's too. Kadota's. And of course Shizuo's albeit for different reasons.

A short smile spread across Izaya's lips as he raised an eyebrow in mild amusement.

They were obviously waiting for him to steer them into the right direction.

"What? Since when did I become the mastermind?"

Funny how much things could change in such a short timespan.

Groaning exasperatedly Vorona pushed herself from the edge of the bed. "Cut the games we know you have a plan."

Izaya merely laughed at that. "Of course I do."

And it seemed Vorona had referred to Namie and her only when she talked about plural as Karisawa showed a very surprised expression. Kadota, too.

"And?" he mouthed quickly, hoping to urge Izaya on in his speech.

But nothing except a smile spread across Izaya's lips as he grinned.

"Secret."

General annoyance displayed in Vorona's expression, while Kadota seemed awfully composed considering the let down. "Is there a reason you are not telling us?"

Smart.

"Yes and no." Izaya saw no use in trying to hide the truth and it seemed his old friend appreciated his honesty.

A deep sigh left his lips and his eyes closed for a second as he nodded.

"Fine by me. I don't need to know everything," Kadota announced, much to Vorona's bewilderment.

"Seriously?" She complained almost immediately, but the man didn't let her reaction get to him.

"Just give me a heads up if anything I do is interfering with them."

Izaya grinned, "I'm glad you are so understanding Dotachin!"

He was ready to face a ton of complaints. Especially from Vorona, maybe even from Karisawa who seemed much more curious than healthy.

But their conversation was cut short instantly at the sound of metal crashing harshly into scraps of stone.

Jerking their heads around the group faced the only small window revealing the outside, but it was facing the wrong direction-

"What was that?" Namie asked, her body as tense as when that fungus had appeared before her and Izaya quickly skipped past her.

"Not part of my plan at least," he announced quickly and the back of the van opened slightly.

A variety of options came to mind. Joe's hoes doing some kind of experiment with no announcement was one of them. An attack of fungi or even flatworms another.

Kadota had rushed to Karisawa's side and grasped the first object in sight.

Shizuo did the same, just that it was Izaya who he quickly joined.

A quick nod was cast towards the group residing inside the van and with a last glance exchanged with Shizuo, Izaya slowly pushed the backdoor open.

Dust was moving in gushes across the paved street.

Izaya expected grunting noises, violence and a certain degree of military power surfacing from the roof of the mall.

Only the latter seemed to apply as more and more of Joe's hoes appeared by the edge.

Expressions of annoyance laid bare, indicating that whatever had happened just now was not endangering but rather inconvenient.

Slipping out of the van with more speed than Shizuo liked, the blond quickly hissed Izaya's name before following right after.

But Izaya was circling to the front of their van, and finally he saw what had caused the explosive noise earlier.

A car.

Rammed into the side of a nearby building the driver seemed to have missed the street by a slight margin.

Blood was splattered across its surface and two people who had apparently been passengers on the ride were sitting next to the crashed vehicle.

All in front, the priest.

Izaya had expected a lot, but for him to descend first was certainly not one of the options in his mind.

Wild gestures were signed up and down as Izaya caught only scraps of their conversation.

"We had to leave him behind-"

That was the only meaningful sentence Izaya caught between a few sets of harsh breaths and the priest's expression darkened.

"Seems they fucked something up," Izaya whispered to answer Shizuo's confusion.

But the main question remained.

What exactly had happened?

These two looked pretty wasted. If Izaya had to guess he would say they had been surprised by fungi or flatworms while outside. And leaving behind- they had to be talking about a third man in their rows.

Stepping outside the van, Namie looked around as well. The back was opened fully and the rest of the group relaxed as they realized there was no immediate threat nearby.

It was when the scientist turned towards Kadota that she snorted in mild amusement.

"Is that supposed to be a weapon?" she asked, pointing at a small lamp that had stood besides Kariswa's bed and Kadota quickly put it back in place. "There was nothing in range," he mumbled, slightly embarrassed and Karisawa chuckled.

It was then that the priest's attention drew towards the small group and for a second Izaya regretted stepping out of their safezone.

"Perfect time to prove your worth yet again." The sweetest smile sat properly in place as the holy man approached Izaya and Shizuo with open arms.

Almost instantly dead silence laid upon the inside of the van and Namie's eyes narrowed.

Slow strides only accentuated the importance this damned priest held over this place as he spoke his order with loud confidence.

"Save him."

What an order.

Details were abundant and the dangers included sheerly endless.

"Save who?" Izaya questioned quickly while Shizuo's body visibly tensed.

Shizuo was obviously anything but happy about the priest's order.

Moving off the bed Karisawa motioned to move outside the van as well, but Namie was quick to hold her back.

Awful silence layered upon the group as they waited for the priest's instructions.

A sleek smile spread across his lips as he abandoned the poor souls that had just arrived at their hideout.

"Our dear comrade. It appears a few of god's servants surprised our faithful believer. He should receive another chance to redeem his faith, don't you agree?"

Disbelief and disappointment reflected in Izaya's expression as he directed his gaze towards the sad bunch of men that had just arrived at the scene.

"You left him behind?"

He hadn't really expected a lot of teamwork or courtesy in general when it came to this sect, but leaving someone behind to die was on another level.

Tongues were clicked and the culprits averted their gazes as the priest continued.

"No matter the circumstances, we would very much like for our dear lamb to join us back in our rows," a meaningful glare was directed towards the priests said lambs.

"Westgate bridge. Below." One of them mumbled, as if having received a secret order and the priest smiled as he turned towards Izaya.

Great.

It appeared this was the order they just received. There was not much else to know. The goal was clear, the destination too, and the option to turn down the priest's request, nonexistent.

"Guess it's time to move again," Izaya sighed and turned, much to Kadota's surprise. Having followed the two out of the van he now looked at Izaya in mild bewilderment.

"I will join you, I-" but Izaya shook his head quicker than Kadota was able to rectify his decision.

"We will be enough, right Shizu-chan?" Izaya announced, and Shizuo recognized the tone as one that didn't stand for any complaints. A simple nod was given, much to the priest's surprise.

"Alone? Are you sure?" the bastard asked with a feigned hint of care. A snort escaped Izaya's lips as he looked towards the joke of a leader.

"I assume efficiency is also in your interest? In case we fail you still have the others."

A quick laugh followed the crude answer and the priest quickly agreed.

"Certainly, feel free to act as you please."

Perfect. At least Izaya could work on his own terms and not some stupid limitations made to show off the priest's authority.

"Time limit?" he inquired, but to his satisfaction the priest shook his head again.

"None. I trust you will not keep me waiting longer than necessary."

Any other time Izaya would have retched at the way this bastard smiled at him with utmost satisfaction. But right now, pleasing this man was the best shot they had at survival and so Izaya quickly moved into the van.

Worried gazed and unspoken complaints lingered in the air as the group eyed him with tense expressions.

They were exhausted. Maybe not physically as most had gotten a decent amount of rest by now and were healing from the injuries they suffered, but mentally.

Looking around Izaya quickly dug for one of the maps scattered on the ground.

His decision had been simple.

It was easier to move in small groups and the more stayed behind in case of an emergency the better.

Izaya and Shizuo were way better at acting against the fungi as well as the flatworms. He realized as much when Namie froze on sight upon facing one of those monstrosities.

This entire group was made of decent people, but they were no fighters. Except for Vorona maybe. Instead they were buffs to their team. A different kind of asset and skills, which was fine.

But everyone should do what they are most proficient in.

Even Namie seemed to understand as much as she approached Izaya with lack of malice. "Make sure you come back."

Surprise flashed across Izaya's eyes as he glanced at the woman that was supposed to hate him from the bottom of her guts. And yet he spotted no hint of a joke in those words.

And so he smiled a smile, full with the confidence the rest of the group was lacking and sneered.

"Of course we will."

to be continued~

Will they? C: xDDD Next up~ A fun trip into the zombie zone and some nice new revelations~! xDD

Sorry for disappearing for the past three weeks everyone Cx I actually got pretty sick xD Got some pneumonia and was down with high fever and not much of an active conscience hahaha The whole of August and September was like, fuck you and your health xDDDD

Anyway~! I'm back and I intend to update every Saturday again as usual haha C:

With that being said, see you next Saturday~! Cx