A month passes by, time healing Izaya's wound completely. He had hoped that since he was feeling even better than before, Shizuo would be tempted to come out and play. He was bored and decided to try to lure Shizuo out of his room after their period of silence. He figured surely whatever had happened a month ago would have passed and Shizuo would be normal again. He approaches the door and slowly knocks on it.

"Shizuo?" No response.

"Do you want to go exploring? Or maybe ride our bikes around the town? I don't see you anymore, please come out the door. All I do is frown."

"Go away Izaya." A soft voice states from behind the door.

"Ok… bye."

As time passes by Izaya constantly tries reconnecting with his friend. Every time he'd be lucky enough to find Shizuo outside of his room he'd try attracting the boys attention, slowly developing what works and what doesn't.

"Hey Shizu-chan~" Izaya states with a coy smile. Shizuo's eyes widen.

"Leave me alone." His voice was defensive, but he wasn't quite ready to retreat yet.

"But Shizu-chan, I love you~ Don't you love me too~?" Shizuo's face turns bright red which pushes him over the line, causing him to quickly retreat back to the safety of his room. Izaya started catching onto what makes him react, what makes him get noticed. From that moment it only gets worse. Izaya constantly tries to annoy Shizuo, finding new ways to agitate him. To him, it's the only way to talk to his friend. It's his only form of connection left.

Shizuo's parents start to notice what's going on between the two boys and begin to constantly worry him by reminding him of the day Izaya was injured.

Kichirou and Namiko are in Shizuo's room, the door locked behind him so that Izaya cannot enter.

"You have to control you anger, you can't let this get to you." Kichirou states.

"If you do, you can hurt those around you, like Izaya. You have to turn off your emotions." Shizuo stands in the center of the room, his hands pressing against his head.

"I can't! I don't want to hurt him, I never wanted to!" Tears threaten Shizuo's face, pricking the corner of his wide eyes. His mouth in a snarl as he presses his head tighter. "Aaargh!" He falls to his knees, bending over and slamming his face against the floor. "Make it stop!" The young boy was visibly shaking, making the parents more worrisome for their child.

"Don't show your emotions! Don't feel them, just ignore them!" Shizuo stands to his feet, picks up his nearby bed and throws it across the room.

"GET OUT!" Shizuo screams at the top of his lungs. His parents are struck with fear at their son. This was not the child they knew nor the child they raised. Shizuo breathes heavily, glaring at them. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" He picks up a chair and throws it near them, causing it to crash into the dresser.

"A monster… you're a monster." His parents tremble, immobilized like a deer in front of headlights. Shizuo grabs a plank from the floorboard and rips it out with ease, a small hole left where the board once was. The parents run out of the room, making sure the door is locked behind them.

Shizuo stands in his room completely alone. He lets his thoughts go through his mind. As his reviews his thoughts his grip on the plank only tightens harder and harder until he finally snaps and begins to hit himself in the face with it.

"Go away." He states in a whisper as he hits himself in the face repeatedly. "Go away, go away, go away." The more he repeats this the louder he becomes and the harder he hits himself.

"Go away, go away!" Tears finally start to roll down his face. "GO AWAY!" Shizuo roared as he hits the plank one last time, breaking it in half. He drops the board, panting heavily. His body drops, curling himself into a ball on the floor. A small knock emits from the door.

"Shizuo?" A small voice states from the other side. Shizuo lies quietly, letting the tears stream from his face. "Are you okay?" He asks. "I heard a lot of noises and screaming, are you hurt?" Shizuo touches his forehead, which is now scraped and bleeding. "Please, I need to know if you're ok." The doorknob starts shaking. Shizuo clenches his teeth, forcing himself to stop trembling.

"I'm fine." Shizuo states as calm as he can get his voice.

"Why are you rejecting me? Do you hate me?" Shizuo doesn't respond. After a few moments of silence he hears the footsteps walk away from the door.

Izaya walks back to his room solemnly. The door closes behind him, back into his lonely room. He stands there looking at the ground, his bangs covering his eyes. Tears start to prick the corners of them. He proceeds to walk over to his bed, grabs a pillow, and flops onto his side. He hugs it tightly trying to push back his emotions.

"You liar…" Izaya's grip becomes even tighter. "You lied to me, you said that I'd always have you. So what did I do to make you hate me so much?" The boy refuses to let himself cry, he wasn't going to let this beat him. One way or another he was going to get Shizuo to come out, he was going to make them become friends again.

Over the next few years Izaya masters what makes Shizuo tick. He doesn't like being called by his nickname, Shizu-chan. He also seems to hate being taunted, being reminded about their previous friendship. If Izaya really wants to get his attention, reverting back to the 'don't you love me?' method will normally work.

Shizuo's parents will, from time to time, access the boy's room. Normally it's to inform him of any current changes, like the towns people asking where the prince had gone. Or, it would be to couch Shizuo on his feelings, which would almost always end with Shizuo raging harder than before and scaring his parents half to death.

Although he tried separating himself from others, he was naturally a sociable person. From time to time he would walk among the streets, watching those around him, but mostly trying to keep to himself. He would also walk around the castle, especially at night when no one else was up to bother him. Izaya caught on though, he would stay up late just to hear Shizuo's footsteps in front of his door. When he became especially bored and couldn't fall asleep he would follow Shizuo, sometimes even letting his presence be known. Although, whenever that happened Shizuo would instantly become defensive and wouldn't look or act like the boy from before. Izaya liked watching Shizuo at night because it was the closest he got to being with his old friend. He cherished those moments.

Shizuo on the other hand desperately tried to avoid Izaya. He missed him all the same, but his fear of once again injuring the raven overcame his sadness. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt the boy he had once saved on the streets. He figured Izaya would grow tired of Shizuo ignoring him, or he would get the message that he didn't want to be bothered and would move on. Though, Izaya staying persistent did make Shizuo happy because it meant that Izaya still cared for him. Even through the harshness Shizuo displayed towards Izaya he wanted to reconnect, he wanted to be friends. His parents weren't that concerned with keeping a relationship, they were more worried about their appearance in the public's eye. Although they too always missed the sweet boy before the accident.

Izaya stands in front of the door of his previous room, now being only three years older and fairly accommodated to their new relationship. He debates whether or not to bug Shizuo, seeing as he hasn't tried talking to him in a few days. Instead of his usual tactics he tries something new, peeping through the keyhole of the door. The room his dark so it was hard to see, but he could make out a figure lying on the floor in the center of the room. After a few moments his eye adjusts to the darkness and it becomes clear the the lying figure is Shizuo, but he's not lying by himself. He holds a pillow in his arms, hugging it tightly while he sleeps.

Izaya smiles to himself. The sight reminds him of years ago, and almost gives him hope that things will get better. He just has to break Shizuo and get him past of whatever happened. Izaya felt confident that he could do it, clearly Shizuo misses him, it's just a matter of time before he cracks. After all, time heals all wounds.