With Shizuo gone, Shinra was finally able to visit Izaya. He'd been worried sick about his friend ever since he heard that Izaya was letting Shizuo stay in his apartment and he couldn't understand for the life of him why someone would choose to put themselves in danger like that. Luckily, Izaya looked surprisingly fine for someone who had spent some time caring for a monster. "Are you sure he didn't hurt you?" Shinra asked again, finding it hard to believe that no incident had taken place during that time.

With a roll of his eyes and a long sigh, Izaya reclined against the back of the couch until he was staring at the ceiling. "Nothing happened besides Shizu-chan being his usual idiotic self."

Shinra's eyes narrowed into slits as Izaya words reached his ears. "So something did happen!" he hissed. "What did he do?"

Izaya shook his head, still not looking at Shinra. "It wasn't a big deal."

"If it wasn't such a big deal, then telling me what happened shouldn't be a problem."

"We had an argument and he chased me around the apartment," Izaya finally revealed since he was too tired to argue with Shinra.

"Did he touch you? I warned him not to touch you!"

"I said I'm fine!" Izaya snapped and raised his head to look at Shinra, no longer in the mood to talk about something he didn't want to recall. "We argued and he chased me around the place but nothing happened." Shinra might've seen him at his worst, but Izaya was still not comfortable with telling the doctor that he had panic attacks even though he assumed that Shinra already knew or at least suspected. "Anyway, how are you?"

With Izaya no longer willing to talk, Shinra thought it'd be best he changed the subject since he didn't want to anger his friend. "I'm sad, so very sad!" Shinra complained in a whiny voice. "I barely see Celty anymore since she's always going out, either looking for Kasuka on her own or with Ruri."

Izaya chuckled darkly and picked Yuigadokusonmaru who was trying to get his attention. "I think Celty is trying to make it up to Shizuo by finding Kasuka. She thinks she's been a bad friend this whole time. What I'm more curious about is how she's going to make it up to me."

Shinra tore his eyes away from the cat to look at Izaya. "Why do you think that?"

"Because that's how Celty is," Izaya said as he rubbed his cheek against Yuigadokusonmaru's head.

"You're right," Shinra agreed, frowning. Celty was a kind soul and someone like her couldn't take Shizuo's side after what her friend had done, which meant that she had no choice but to either help both or neither of them. It was the only way to lessen the guilt and to help out her friend. That aside, there was one thing bothering him. "What are you doing with Kasuka's cat?" Shinra couldn't help but ask because he was certain that it was Kasuka's cat and yet it made no sense for Izaya to have it.

"Ruri wanted Shizu-chan to take care of it for a few days but he wasn't here when she dropped by so I convinced her to leave Doku-chan with me."

Shinra blinked a few times in disbelief. "Try not to kill it, okay? Kasuka cares about Yuigadokusonmaru a lot and he'd be heartbroken if something were to happen to it."

"If he's even still alive," Izaya mentioned it since there was a high probability the actor was already dead.

Shinra was about to argue that wasn't necessarily the case when they heard a knock on the door and Izaya got up to see who it was.

"Shizu-chan, what are you doing here?" Izaya asked, surprised, since he didn't think the mutt would come looking for him so soon after kicking him out.

"I went to the police station to declare that you weren't the one who stabbed me, but when I tried to go back to the apartment, I couldn't find it," Shizuo mumbled as he walked past Izaya and into the apartment, not really bothering to wait for an invitation. That's when his eyes caught sight of a frightened Shinra moving away from the couch and he saw red.

"You!" Shizuo growled and started running after a terrified Shinra who was screaming like someone was cutting into him. When compared to Izaya, Shinra seemed to be running at a snail's pace, so it didn't take Shizuo more than a few seconds to get his hands on the sadistic doctor whose bones he vowed to break if he ever caught him. Before Shinra even had a chance to beg, Shizuo grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall, hard enough to almost knock him out.

"Shizu-chan, stop!" Izaya screeched when he realized that Shizuo might actually kill Shinra with how angry he was, but the beast wasn't stopping and was instead squeezing Shinra's arm.

"I can't," Shizuo hissed as he struggled to fight the impulse to break Shinra's arm. He wanted to do it so badly but Izaya was telling him not to and for some reason he didn't want to upset Izaya more than he already had.

Seeing how Shinra was starting to turn blue with how hard Shizuo was squeezing his neck, Izaya knew that if he didn't act soon, his friend might die, so he did the only thing he could think of that didn't involve stabbing Shizuo in the back. "Bad Shizu-chan!" he admonished him with a hard smack on the head, surprising Shizuo enough to make him release Shinra who collapsed on the ground, struggling for air.

"What the fuck, flea?" Shizuo exclaimed in surprise since he couldn't believe that Izaya had just treated him like a dog in front of Shinra. If anything, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so embarrassed.

"You were killing him!" Izaya snapped as he pointed at Shinra who was coughing and struggling to breathe, at the same time hoping that he hadn't angered Shizuo enough to get attacked himself.

Shizuo gasped, feeling somewhat offended that Izaya would think him capable of killing Shinra. "I was not!" he tried to defend himself, but when his eyes fell upon a still rather pale-looking Shinra gasping for air, he realized that he might've used too much force.

Izaya shook his head and pointed in the direction of the upstairs bedroom. "Go wait in there for a while, until you've calm down."

"But I―"

"Go!"

"But―"

"Shizu-chan, go or so help me, I will stab you in the face," Izaya growled the warning as he pulled out his switchblade and flicked it open. Luckily, Shizuo seemed to have gotten the message since he headed in the direction of the stairs, mumbling about killing as he usually did whenever someone pissed him off. As soon as the beast was out of sight, Izaya crouched in front of Shinra to inspect the damage. "Are you okay? Can you get up?"

Shinra couldn't even nod let alone speak with how badly his throat hurt, so he grabbed Izaya by the arm and his friend helped him up. He almost couldn't believe that he was still alive, seeing how Shizuo had beat up people into unconsciousness for a lot less while he himself got him tortured and nearly killed. Shinra took the glass of water Izaya offered him with a trembling hand and slowly sipped on it, thanking the heavens and any forces that might be for getting to live another day after angering Ikebukuro's monster.

Upstairs, Shizuo was pacing the room, still trying to calm down after nearly breaking Shinra's neck and arm. He felt no regrets towards attacking Shinra, not after what the sadistic doctor had done to him. If anything, he still regretted not having broken at least one of Shinra's arms, but then he remembered that he had actually broken one of Shinra's arms in the past and decided to simply let it go. Besides, when they finally have found Kasuka, they might need Shinra's help. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too long before Izaya found something which could lead them to Kasuka and the kidnapper.

Speaking of Izaya, Shizuo couldn't help but notice that the flea still hadn't changed the sheets since kicking him out of the apartment. If anything, the bed looked untouched, as though no one had slept in it, so either Izaya had been too tired to change the sheets or the flea was crazy enough to throw out the bed and buy a new one. One again he felt like shit for having intruded on Izaya's life like that. At least that meant he wouldn't have to keep standing, so he stopped pacing and was about to sit down on the bed when he heard a scratching sound at the door. Curious as to what it was, he opened it slowly and that's when he saw what looked exactly like Kasuka's cat.

Confused, he picked it up in his arms for a closer inspection, thus confirming that was indeed his brother's cat. "Hey, Yuigadokusonmaru, what are you doing here with Izaya?"

The cat meowed and climbed up to Shizuo's shoulder and then on top of his head. Shizuo could do nothing but frown and wait for Shinra to leave so that he could ask Izaya what he was doing with Kasuka's cat. Luckily, he didn't have to wait for long since Izaya showed up less than ten minutes later, wearing an irritated expression on his face.

"I can't believe you―" Izaya started but suddenly stopped when he noticed the cat sitting comfortably on top of Shizuo's head. Despite the shitty mood he was in, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Ahh ha ha ha! This is priceless," he said as he fished out his phone and snapped a picture of Shizuo. "Just priceless!"

"What the fuck, flea?" Shizuo growled as grabbed Izaya by the front of his T-shirt and raised him high in the air until Izaya was barely standing on his toes. Sadly, it didn't look like Izaya cared since the bastard couldn't stop laughing. "Why did you take a picture of me? Give me that phone!" Shizuo snapped and tried to snatch it out of Izaya's hands, but the flea flicked open his switchblade and pressed it to his neck before Shizuo even saw him take it out of his pocket.

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't touch me without permission," Izaya reminded him.

"But you took my picture without permission!" Shizuo argued.

Izaya's frown turned into an innocent smile. "I took a picture of Doku-chan who just so happened to be sitting on top of your head."

"But I'm still in the pic―"

"That's no different than Doku-chan sitting on my desk or the couch," Izaya continued in a sweet voice even as he pressed the blade harder. "Now let go before I slit your throat."

Disturbed by Izaya's creepy smile, Shizuo finally let go. "Bastard," he muttered as he shoved his hands inside the pockets of his pants. "Is Shinra gone?"

"I called a cab for him and told the driver to take him to the hospital. I also called Sakamoto and told him to take a look at Shinra. He wasn't very happy about it," Izaya recalled as he approached Shizuo and picked up Yuigadokusonmaru.

"Oi, what are you doing with my brother's cat?" Shizuo asked, frowning.

"Ruri came by because she needed you to take care of Doku-chan for a few days, but since you weren't here, she left him with me," Izaya told Shizuo who was just standing there like an idiot, most likely finding it hard to believe that Ruri would trust him with Kasuka's cat. "I don't enjoy torturing animals, just so you know."

"Oh, right, you only enjoy torturing humans; I forgot that," Shizuo replied sarcastically.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who gets off on someone else's pain," Izaya hissed before he turned on his heels and walked out of the room, body trembling with how angry he was.

Shizuo cursed under his breath and followed Izaya down the stairs, feeling completely guilty for having upset him again. "Just give me the address and the cat and I'll go," Shizuo said as he stopped in front of Izaya's desk and watched the man pet Yuigadokusonmaru's head.

"Doku-chan stays with me," Izaya announced without so much as looking at the beast threatening to take away the one thing he enjoyed having around. "I said that I will take care of him and I will. I actually love cats, so you don't have to worry about me hurting him, seeing how I even took care of the mutt I most despise," Izaya reminded him as he shot him a nasty glare. He then took out his phone and sent a message to Shizuo's phone. "I just texted you the address, so be on your way now, mutt."

Seeing how Yuigadokusonmaru appeared to be well taken care of, Shizuo conceded that perhaps it was best for Kasuka's cat to remain there. Besides, he didn't know how to take care of it anyway. "Fine, you can keep Yuigadokusonmaru, but if something happens to it, I'll fucking kill you."

"Ha! As if you could afford to kill me!" Izaya mocked, smirking. "You're just a mutt, lower than even Doku-chan in status."

Shizuo glowered but said nothing.

"That's what I thought~" Izaya said in a sinsong voice as he raised a hand and pointed somewhere behind Shizuo. "Don't let the door hit you on your way out."

Without another word, Shizuo turned around and left, eye twitching in irritation. "Damn you, flea," he muttered only after he closed the door. "Damn you."

.

Shinra was hoping that he wouldn't have to see Sakamoto, but the man was already waiting for him outside the hospital when the car stopped. Irritated, he slammed the door a bit too hard and headed in the doctor's direction.

"It's good to see you too," Sakamoto greeted him in a sarcastic voice as he extended a hand and pulled at Shinra's collar to have a better look at the bruised neck. "You really made Shizuo angry this time, huh?"

Since talking still hurt too much, Shinra took out his phone to type. [I regret nothing,] he told the doctor who shook his head, grabbed him by the lab coat and started pulling him towards the door. [I don't need anything. I'm fine.]

"Izaya asked me to take a look at you and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

[I already said I'm fine. I should know since I too am a doctor, remember?]

Frowning, Sakamoto pulled him inside the elevator. "I'm only doing what Izaya asked, so stop giving me a hard time."

[Since when do you do what Izaya asks of you?]

"Since he threatened to slice me up real good if I don't make sure you're okay," Sakamoto muttered and pulled Shinra out of the elevator when the door opened.

All Shinra could think of as Sakamoto dragged him in the direction of his office to better inspect the damage was that Izaya was being too overprotective and that for some strange reason, he didn't really mind.

.

The sun had only just set when Slon went back to check on his prisoner and found Kasuka still lying on the floor, violently trembling and with his arms tightly wrapped around his bruised stomach. Worried that the actor might really die, he picked him up in his arms and then carried him over to the bed where he laid him down gently and pulled away skinny arms to inspect the damage he'd caused earlier that day when he lost his temper.

"D-Don't t-touch me!" Kasuka snarled even though he knew he sounded pathetic.

"Calm down; I'm only going to take a look at your injuries," Slon said in nicest tone he could muster since he couldn't help but feel horrible for bringing Hanejima Yuuhei to such a deplorable state. Unlike his previous victims, Kasuka was someone he liked and while at times he couldn't help but explode and hurt the man, he still didn't want to kill him. "I'll be right back," he promised and stormed out of the room, not even bothering to close the door. He came back a few minutes later, carrying several clothing articles in one hand and a blanket in the other.

Kasuka's eyes widened in disbelief and he would've rubbed at them to make sure he wasn't hallucinating but he no longer had the energy to even lift an arm let alone to get dressed by himself. Slon also seemed to be aware of that since the Russian proceeded to dress him himself, the man's hands luckily never lingering for too long in any one spot. The clothes were much too big for him but they were warm and that was more than Kasuka could ask for given the situation. He was still trembling and the feeling of ice sloshing through his veins was still very much present, but at least his body was no longer exposed to the Russian's hungry eyes and the cold air.

"W-Why?" he couldn't help but ask as he curled into a tight ball, hoping to warm up faster.

"You're useless to me dead," Slon told him as he wrapped the blanket around the actor. "I'll be right back," he then said and left the room, once again leaving the door open.

Kasuka looked at it for a few moments as he contemplated the idea of escaping, but he soon gave up on it knowing that he wouldn't get very far. His eyes then moved to the uncuffed chain lying on the floor and he laughed bitterly at the irony of it all. He was free to run away since Slon had uncuffed his ankle to put on the pants, and yet he had no energy to do so. That and he feared what might happen to him if he even attempted such a thing. In the end, he quietly sat there, waiting for his captor to return.

"I brought you some food," Slon said as he walked into the room around fifteen minutes later, carrying a bowl of hot instant soup and a sandwich which he placed on the small table near the bed. "I'll give you this food if you at least tell me one thing."

Kasuka's eyes moved from the sandwich and settled on Slon's bandaged face.

"You said that what happened back then wasn't your fault. Does that mean Izaya used you to take revenge on your brother?"

Seeing no harm in answering since Slon probably thought Shizuo was dead anyway, Kasuka nodded slowly before his eyes moved back to the sandwich.

Now that Slon knew for a fact that Kasuka was completely innocent, he felt more than a bit guilty for doing this to the actor, but he still couldn't let him go before finding out the whole truth. In the meantime, he had to make sure the actor didn't starve or freeze to death, so he sat down on the bed next to him, picked up the spoon, scooped some soup and raised it to Kasuka's mouth who was looking at him as though he'd gone mad. "Eat."

Kasuka's dry mouth watered a bit at the sight of the spoon filled with hot soup hovering in front of his face but he didn't open it even though he was dying of hunger. He'd been humiliated too much already and he doubted he would ever be able to live it down even if he ever got out of there alive.

"Open your mouth," Slon ordered and moved the spoon closer to Kasuka's face until it was touching what looked like almost blue lips.

When the hunger finally won over his own pride, Kasuka swallowed the saliva gathered in his mouth and slowly parted his lips, eyes nearly turning in his head when he was assaulted by the strong taste of what he could only describe as the most delicious soup he had ever tasted. He didn't even care that he was being fed by his kidnapper, and he continued to eat even though he was feeling full and his stomach was starting to hurt. "Sandwich p-please," he requested in a low voice.

Slon picked up the sandwich and brought it to Kasuka's mouth, but his prisoner only took three bites out of it before turning his head to the side and refusing to eat. "You don't like it?" he asked with a frown as he placed the sandwich back on the plate and picked up the spoon again, thinking that the actor preferred the soup over the sandwich he'd made for him.

"Full," Kasuka said in a tired voice as he closed his eyes.

Slon was about to argue that Kasuka hadn't eaten much, but he realized that the man's stomach had probably shrunk after going without food for twelve days. In the end, he concluded that what the actor needed was some sleep instead of more food. He knew better than to underestimate Kasuka though, so he picked up the chain and cuffed it to the man's ankle before helping him lie down and covering him with the blanket. "We'll talk again tomorrow."

Kasuka heard the door close and then Slon locking it but it didn't bother him as much as it did the past couple of weeks since for the first time in a very long time he was feeling like a human being again instead of an animal or a piece of meat. As he lay there in bed, curled into a tight ball and enjoying warmth he hadn't felt since he fell asleep with Ruri in his arms, he blinked rapidly to chase away the tears threatening to fall. Whether it was because he was sad or because he'd been shown kindness just as he was starting to believe that he was going to either die of hunger or cold and that he would never get to see his loved ones again, he did not know, but what he did know was that he didn't want to die and that he was grateful to Slon for having treated him like a human being if only for that one afternoon.