A/N: High school sucks. Sophomore year is terrifying. 4 AP classes, here I come.

So, guys. You might've been wondering why this idiotic author hasn't been updating… well, I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, wanted to update too. But as my introductory complaints above, my AP classes haven't been leaving me alone. I've been nominated as the class representative for my grade, and things have been tough all over. But here is the update!

P.S.

I'm sorry for the lack of Shizaya in recent chapters… but don't worry, it's all gonna come in real soon. Believe me.

Chapter 8 – Perception

Kishitani Shinra believed that he knew what he was doing. He was a skilled human being. Saving a kidnapped friend shouldn't have been much of big deal, more or less a major predicament to fuss over.

Apparently, that wasn't the case.

"Not this one… not this one… not this one!" He jammed his fist through the desk, although failing in fully penetrating the wooden object. Celty, who was quietly (she was always quiet, but as in, restraining her smoke flying all over the place to represent the anxiety she was feeling) watching at the sidelines, put her cup of coffee down abruptly and rushed over to the unlicensed doctor.

[Shinra, you need to calm down.]

"I know, Celty, I know." He slumped down on his spinning chair. "But I can't help it. It normally never takes me three days to find something so simple like a mere location. Truly frustrating – is this how Watson felt when Holmes would ramble on and on about the theories but never reaching the main point?"

[Well… that's a considerable analogy, yes. But you have to note the fact that we are not here saving a normal person from a normal kidnapper. This is Izaya and one of the most influential figures in Japan we are talking about.]

"Touché." Clucking his tongue, Shinra leaned back on his chair. "By the way, Celty. Have you, by any slim chance, know what happened presumably about… twenty or so years ago with my dad, Heiwajima-san, and Orihara-san?"

The woman froze for a while. This wasn't out of realization or a shocking discovery – it was just her in deep thought. Smoke simmered out of the surface of her uncovered neck, as she held her index finger up like an antenna.

[I do know the fact that they used to be very close. The only time where they were truly separated was at Kyouko-san's funeral.]

"Great. At least that one's confirmed. The thing is, I've been checking Ikebukuro Hospital's medical records involving the overall examination of the anatomy of Mitanozuka Kyouko by hacking into the Police Security System and looking through the files around then. It turns out that she did not die from a car accident – it was Orihara Shirou that manipulated the power of the broadcasting forces and 'transformed' the truth." Shinra placed his fresh cup of coffee down on the desk. Celty seemed interested.

"It actually turns out that she had been murdered by another man – I found it rather unsettling, when I made this particular discovery – but apparently she had many affairs going on."

Celty's smoke twisted in the opposite direction. [Affair? You mean…]

The young Kishitani nodded grimly. "She was cheating on Orihara Shirou, essentially saying. According to the interview notes, she had seven affirmed boyfriends, and two others that didn't state themselves. That makes a total of nine boyfriends she was in a sexual relationship with. Three were ordinary young businessmen, each working for different companies that were affiliated with the Orihara Inc. One was a middle-aged professor that taught Japanese Literature at Tokyo University- oh, and he was also married then. One was a kindergarten teacher, the other a vet, and the last confirmed one recorded in the interview was an industrial engineer."

[Which one of those seven killed her?]

"The police arrested two suspects – it turned out that one of the businessmen, his name was Ushiko Endo, by the way – have murdered her by stabbing her lower abdomen, resulting in massive blood loss that eventually led to death. He basically turned himself in to the police, because he couldn't take the pressure. He was also the first one that found out about Kyouko's lifestyle and her various affairs."

Celty shook her head pitifully. [Something's always not right about that Orihara household, isn't it?]

Shinra seemed to be in agreement on that part. "I have to admit, the Orihara family line does have a rather… unlucky reputation for their romantic affairs. Orihara Shirou's father was also known as a drug addict, and his mother inflicted mental abuse on her son and then committed suicide, possibly out of whim. Orihara Shirou thought he found true love, but his wife revealed her actual identity as a cheating bitch. And Izaya…" He trailed off, as the last portion of his invisible sentence was explanatory.

[We'll just have to pray that he's going to be safe.]

"Oh, we're not praying. We're not religious anyway. And thanks to you, I had some time to clear up my mind. I think I know where to begin. You're always so helpful, Celty." Shinra twirled around in his chair, and faced the computer. "Take a guess – who do you think I will go for, first?"

Celty merely paused, and then held up the device. [I don't know, the murderer of Kyouko?]

"Close," The doctor grinned. "But no." He began typing away on his laptop madly, opening several tabs at once and scanning through them. "You see, Celty. There's a twist to every single savory story. The marriage between Orihara Shirou and Mitanozuka Kyouko was… well, it was a happy one. Supposedly happy. At least, according to my father and Shizuo's, it must've been. Both sides were joyful. But a certain idea occurred to me – what if… what if there was a component that caused Kyouko to change, transform? What would it be?"

Celty waited amongst Shinra's conspiracies.

"I looked through the edited family records of the Orihara family, Celty. Orihara Shirou had a twin – an identical male twin that looked just like him."

Izaya ran.

No, he limped.

Or maybe walked.

It didn't matter which verb he was putting into action. The important thing was that he was moving. He couldn't afford to stop. It was an opportune moment – a miracle that happened after his torture of longevity. Pain? Who cares about it? Elusion was the focus of this game. If he lost it, it was all over.

His pants rung in his very own ears, as his fingers clawed on the wall. He probably broken a bone or two, and broken bones hurt. He groaned, grasping his blood-soaked shirt. If Shizuo was here-

No. Izaya stopped himself. I can't possibly do something as horrid as bring up Shizuo into this matter again. Get yourself together, Orihara Izaya.

His footsteps stopped when he heard a conversation from a few meters away, edging closer and closer to his very location. Great. Pushing himself backward, he placed himself flat on the wall and tried to calm his heavy breathing by biting on a bruised finger. To soothe one pain, it was always good to focus on another.

"… And so, about the family records…"

"Really? I always thought…"

"No, his real name is…"

Albeit only being able to pick up a few words, it was sufficient to perk his interest. Real… name? Just then, his foot moved forward and lightly tapped a metal box in front, making the stack lose balance and fall over.

"Shit-" Izaya hissed, as he dodged the falling objects that crashed on the floor.

"Who's there!" The men exclaimed, as Izaya made his run for it. His luck was so great that he wanted to cry.

Calm down. Izaya forcefully held down his exhausted pants, trying to slow down his heartbeat. Think, Orihara Izaya. You're a smart guy. This is a gamble. It is a do or die game. If Shirou finds me out, I'm dead. I could seek assistance from that mysterious person that wrote down the password, but… no, I don't have enough time for that. I need to plan an escape out of here… while fleeing from those men. They don't seem very strong, but in this state… I'll be overpowered, both by strength and number.

"… Number?" An idea sparked in his mind. "If I hack the records right now…" Whispering, Izaya edged further towards the nearby room. Quickly checking if its unlocked, he twisted the doorknob and silently entered. Which reminds me… why are the security cameras on this floor removed? His father was a man of perfection. There was no way that he could've missed out an entire floor, or even a single camera.

It's somebody's doings… presumably the identical person that carved the numbers on the floor. He scanned the room – judging by how deserted it seemed, it obviously hadn't been in major use for quite a while – Izaya estimated about seven months. There was, however, electricity running in the room, as he could hear the cacophony of the auto fan blowing.

"A laptop…" He dragged himself around, reaching out for the device that was lying sideways on the floor. The male frowned. ID NUMBER: 0504. "The same number…" Quietly muttering those words, Izaya blinked in confusion. "May 4th." The connection was easily made, once his mind was clear and empty of myriads of thoughts.

0504. This number couldn't possibly be a coincidence. There was somebody behind this supportive plot – and they were hopefully, on his side. He turned the laptop on, that was thankfully functioning as it normally would. He entered in the password – both username and password were 0504.

If the system is connected with all other laptops, it means all laptops also have the ability to hijack the surveillance and security system. If I just figure out the right code to delete this file and replace it with something else… Rapidly scrolling down through the millions of files, Izaya's brain started running at the speed of light. Albeit being quite the sadistic crook, he was a prodigy. He relied on mere brainpower and skill. It is likely that Shirou didn't plant his guards on certain stations, but created a simultaneous movement of various cameras so that his men can gather in one place at once when necessary. Therefore, if I can distract them my replacing the current camera screens with records of the old savings, then I can earn some time for my escape…

His attention wholly focused on the screen, Izaya pressed [Enter], as the fifty-two rectangles of security cameras transformed into a totally different sight. It was his chance. He had to run – as fast as he could.

The aches and pain in his body resonated like a gentle tide at first, and then burst into a vicious tsunami that attempted to take his body over. His body felt feverish, as adrenaline began to run through his legs. His shirt that was no longer distinguishable as white was now soaking again with crimson, and his mind blanked out. His top priority was to escape, elude from this prison. One nanosecond wasted, and he might not make it.

Whipping his head around to search for the exit, Izaya swung his body around and dashed downstairs. He could make it. Nobody had discovered the odd positioning of the cameras, neither the fact that he had replaced them with the recordings made a year ago.

Everytime his foot came in contact with the floor, he had to resist a groan seeping out of his lips. His lungs were desperate for a need of decent amount of oxygen, but Izaya was merely desperate to discharge himself from this hell. He could withstand the pain. Blood loss was a matter he could seriously contemplate about once he got out.

Double glass doors entered his vision, as Izaya smirked. He made it. It was still night – he had been encaged for quite a while, after all. As soon as he slammed the doors open, an alarm went off – but Izaya cared less.

When he turned to his left, he saw a sign that read: "Welcome to the district of fun and entertainment, Shinjuku!"

"Shinjuku… huh. If I take the train it only takes about ten minutes… but I don't have money." Clucking his tongue, Izaya was glad it was midnight. With his current outlook, he would attract too much attention for his own good. Shinjuku to Ikebukuro was not far, only about five kilometers. It was a distance that was capable of walking. Of course, the challenge lied in the area of whether he would be captured and discovered by Shirou's men, or if he would faint of blood loss before anything happened.

I miss Shizu-chan… It was these times, where he felt weak. Reliance was helpful, only if your life wasn't meant to be solitary loneliness. Orihara Izaya had always been alone. He wasn't used to having a place where he could let his guard down completely, or meeting a person where they genuinely cared about his wellbeing. Shinra was one occurrence, and so was Celty, but they were a totally separate case from Shizuo's status. This Heiwajima Shizuo was special. He ruptured through his perfect façade, and embraced his flaws like they were the easiest problems to handle.

He dug his fingers into his scalp, massive amounts of pain returning to him. The ground felt so cold, so harsh, so cruel, which only resulted in an increase of craving for Shizuo's warmth. He was fully aware that he had no time to sit around and do nothing, but he couldn't help it.

His body instinctively flinched as he heard footsteps from behind. Fuck… they already caught up? Lying flat on the ground, Izaya hid in a nearby alley. He had no other choice, as his legs were starting to give up at the pressure of gravity. Exhaustion felt like a powerful drug by itself, luring him to sleep.

"Hey, do you think we need to search this alley?"

Nope, just please go past.

"Well… it couldn't hurt to check."

Yeah, it won't hurt for you. For me, sure.

"Alright then."

Izaya sucked in a willful breath and muttered a soft curse. It was all over now. He was confined in this intoxicating vicinity, and his father was going to officially kill him. Not figuratively, but literally. He gradually forced his body on his feet, as the men came to pause in their movement.

"Boy, you sure gave us some trouble. Who allowed you to escape?" One of the men laughed impassively, as Izaya smirked.

"I wonder. Maybe the level of idiocy on how easily you let a high schooler break through your security system?" Ah, he hated how his sense of arrogance and humor just wouldn't die out, even in the worst of situations.

A tick mark appeared on the man's forehead, and Izaya knew shit was going to go down. "Now you got me." He cracked his knuckles – man, this guy was huge. He would've been happier being a volleyball player or something. But unfortunately, he was here ready to beat the fuck out of Izaya's ass.

His fist punctured his stomach. A cry rung out in the streets, as the other silent man that seemed to be the one that suggested the horrid idea of checking out the alley kicked his chin, sending Izaya's head upward. His body was screaming without a noise, and his ears were muffling out the sound of his own bellows. This was no longer mere pain, but torture.

"Ugh…" Coughs kept on coming, his whole mouth tasting like iron. His arms felt lifeless as they bent in an odd angle that Izaya didn't want to imagine. He almost felt senseless, as the men just continued to shower ruthless blows on his worn out body. Izaya was convinced that he was going to die – and if he was, he wished the death god made it quick.

"Shirou-sama wants you alive, but you kind of ticked me off awhile ago… so I'll just do one more kick and I'll be finished with you." The same man cackled with devilish mannerisms. Izaya's index finger twitched, as his eyes blurred, and refocused on the ground. He closed them reluctantly, waiting for the pain to come once again, and finish him off to eternal blackness.

"AGH!"

"Wha- "

The raven's eyes fluttered open at the sound. One man was down on the cement, his arms wrapped around his leg that appeared broken. The man that was trying to kick him was now being tackled on the ground, and thrown to the wall. The shadowy figure that saved him just looked too familiar to be true. Izaya didn't dare to blink, until his suspicions were confirmed.

"Don't you fucking dare touch him."

A stingy sensation crawled through his whole body, as he saw Heiwajima Shizuo, possessing the fiercest eyes he had ever seen, clenching his fists together. Gleams of sweat were sliding down his flesh – he probably had been running like mad, once again, just like that time he had got him out the house after Izaya's phone call.

"… Shizu… chan." He croaked his lover's name, as Shizuo's fiery orbs snapped towards his direction. Although Izaya knew that the anger was not for him, he was intimidated by the violent aura of the latter.

But Shizuo's expression softened, as if nothing happened, once he spotted Izaya on the ground. His hand gently placed Izaya's head on his lap, his right arm cradling the wounded body of his boyfriend. "I'll beat the sense out of you myself once you recover." Shizuo muttered, pulling Izaya closer to himself. "Why the fuck do you always worry the hell out of me…" Before the raven knew, Shizuo was desperately hugging Izaya, like a kid that was afraid that he would be stolen of his favorite toy.

"Shizu… chan…" The black-haired male chuckled. "You… worried? Aw, did… young Shizuo… cry?" His words were slow but still teasing otherwise. The only catch was that he didn't expect the absence of a response from the other male, as he just buried his head further into Izaya's shoulder, his arms tightening around the fragile figure. "… Shizuo?"

"Shut up." A growl tickled his skin. "I'm charging my battery."

Izaya was hesitant to answer that. "I'm not your personal charger… Shizuo. And answer my question."

"Why is that you suddenly become better at talking when you want something?" Grumbling, the blonde caressed his hair. "Yes, I was worried. Of course I was fucking worried. Everyone was. Kururi and Mairu were scared the shit out, and they came to us screaming and… yeah, it was fucking hell. Satisfied?"

"Haha… sounds like you. I –"

"Don't." Shizuo sucked in a deep breath, as Izaya paused, feeling the male's lips on the surface of his bloody shirt. "Don't disappear on me like that. I thought… I thought I was going to have a heart attack. You're a fucking idiot that just always tries to resolve all problems through your own willpower. I'm trying to help you out, but you never request for my assistance. Do you know how terrible it feels to have someone you love vanish after one night? I thought you were going to die, after how much Kururi and Mairu were frantically explaining the situation and your condition before they fled the area, and –"

"Shizuo." Izaya put his hand carefully on Shizuo's head, as the blonde panted for air. "I'm sorry." When the Heiwajima didn't reply, the raven went on. "I bet sorry wouldn't cut it, but I am really sorry. You know it wasn't my intention to make this situation direr than it already is. It's just… I didn't want to involve your family in further trouble –"

"That's exactly the annoying thing I'm talking about." Shizuo cut him off. "It's fucking okay to get me in some trouble, Izaya. I'm a fucking monster like you said this whole year, and it's not like that's gonna change. I'm not going to die off that easily, Izaya, unlike you."

Although the Orihara knew perfectly well that this wasn't timing to be offended, he was, anyway. It felt as if he was being underestimated, despite the fact that Shizuo was indeed correct.

That was when Shizuo decided that he made up his mind, and carried Izaya in his arms, the ideal way girls wanted to be transported by their boyfriends – the bridal style. Unfortunately, this usually wasn't the ideal way boys wanted to be treated, wounded or not. "Shizuo, put me down." Izaya hissed, but Shizuo ignored him quite skillfully.

"With your legs, I doubt you can even limp." He remarked, and Izaya couldn't argue to that. "Let's go home, Izaya. Everyone's waiting."

And finally, peace arrived.

"How is he?"

"Out gone like a dead man. The moment I washed his injuries and wrapped his bruises, he dropped to the bed and just slept."

The youthful males and fathers were all gathered at the Kishitani's household. The parents all came to a conclusion that this particular location was safer than the Heiwajima's, as Shingen could request for support from his organization in the States. Kichirou also held some connection with massive companies in Japan, due to his occupation in Bar Hibiscus.

"That boy," Kichirou shook his head, as he lighted a cigarette, "is better at worrying people than his father."

Emilia opened the windows. Shingen slumped down on the couch and grinned. "Oh, Shirou was easy. His father passed away during his second year of high school, anyway. Luckily enough, his mother left a great deal of money to his name in her will, and so did his father, as he had no other heir."

"Speaking of Orihara Shirou… I need to consult something with you personally, dad." Shinra cleared his throat, as Celty stopped wandering around the room. Shingen frowned underneath his oxygen mask.

"My, my, does my son have girl problems already? Which one did you get pregnant now?"

"Dad, I did not impregnate another woman. This is serious business."

Shingen stared at his son, and then stood up from the couch.

"Then, serious business it is."

It was going to be a long fight… the one that was out first lost.

A/N: I know it's pretty short compared the other chapters, but I'm sorry, I really didn't have enough time for anything, so I just crammed in as many words as I could.

Please leave some words of support… I need inspiration right now.

Copper Nitrate