(Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, we had finals, then the holidays came up, and ahh it was a mess OTL I'll try uploading more frequently though! ^ ^ Also thank you guys so much for your reviews, they mean the world to me and keep me writing! ^ ^ THANK YOU ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE)

"Oh, I think they're finally waking up," Shinra's voice muffely drifted to Shizuo's ears, making the blond stir from his slumber. He wanted to punch Shinra's annoying butt already, and the day just started! He hated being woken-up before he did so himself. Then again, most people did. And considering he was awoken from a very peaceful sleep, he really considered punching the doctor right now. But as he moved to get it, he stopped instantly, feeling a small, warm body against his. Ah, that's right. He fell asleep with Izaya. He actually got to cuddle with Izaya! His dream really wasn't a dream after all!

'I knew it couldn't have been,' he smiled, gazing down at the raven's slumbering face to see his small hands clinging to his shirt. It made a blush bleach his face, not knowing how to control himself. Izaya went from being scared of everyone touching him to clinging to Shizuo willingly. That was a huge step up, Shizuo couldn't even describe how happy he felt at the moment.

"Neeee, what do you wantttt," Shizuo whined in a whisper, trying not to wake Izaya up. But it seemed inevitable, as the raven began stirring against his chest. The blond instantly shot a glare over at the doctor, who, like always, didn't seem to notice.

"Izaya's inhaler came in, we need to give him a spray to see if it's a strong enough prescription." Shizuo didn't even know there were other prescription types for inhalers, but didn't want to start doubting Shinra. Shinra was the doctor, not Shizuo. "They have a higher dose and one lower, just in-case this one doesn't work. But they have to leave in a few minutes and need to know." The doctor slowly went to the bedside where Izaya's back was facing. He didn't seem to want to be near Shizuo, so he must've seen the glare the blond had cast after all. "Is he awake?"

Shizuo really didn't want to wake his baby boy, but this would really help him. He didn't want to, but he'd have to be the bad guy. The blond didn't want to be helpless again when Izaya started having another really bad asthma attack. That would kill another part of him.

Sighing in utter defeat, he turned his attention back to the slumbering raven. "Iziiii," he gently murmured into Izaya's ear, nudging his raven hair with his nose, or rather, his face. The raven seemed to stir a bit more, his little groans of protest breaching the surface of his throat. It made Shizuo smirk, finding the sound adorable. Wait no, Izaya was the his definition of adorable.

"Iziii, come on Flea, gotta get up, at least for a few minutes." Slowly but surely, Izaya's eyes began opening, his small fists grasping Shizuo's shirt as if he had lost hold of it a long time ago. "Morning Izaya, sorry to wake you," he frowned, gently kissing his forehead.

"Shi-Shizu-chan's still here...?" He asked in a rather shocked voice. It made Shizuo snuggle the raven's hair again, making Izaya giggle a bit.

"St-stop, that tickles," he giggled tiredly, but showed no intentions of letting go of Shizuo just yet. The blond smirked at this, determined to make him so ticklish he'd have to let go.

"What if I want to tickle you, hm~?" Izaya didn't even get time to process the question and meaning behind it as Shizuo snuggled him again, bringing more laughter to Izaya's mouth.

"St-stop, Shizu-chan!" He unconsciously pulled his body closer to the brute's, resting his head against his warm chest. Shizuo was about to make the music sound off again when Shinra cleared his throat, drawing them both out of their game. Izaya's face immediately blushed over to a tomato, not even knowing that Shinra was there in the first place.

"Sorry to bother you Izaya," Shinra apologized, acting like he hadn't just seen the little tickle competition the two were just holding. It was for the better, as Izaya hoped and rather believed Shinra saw nothing. God-dammit, Shizuo was going to give that doctor a lecture later.

"We received your inhaler today, we just need to see if the prescription's high enough." To their shock, Izaya rather quickly unburied his head from Shizuo's chest, turning his head to gaze over at Shinra. His eyes were wide, yet pleading at the same time.

"I-inhaler? Y-you guys got me an inhaler?" Shinra was a bit shocked seeing the rather happy look on Izaya's face, but quickly let himself smile for the teen's sake.

"Of course, your case of asthma is severe, anything can set it off. Which is why we have to be sure we have the right prescription before we stock-up." Slowly, Izaya detached himself from Shizuo, crawling over to the side of the bed where Shinra was standing. The two of them were shocked. Izaya willingly went up to Shinra, he's never done that to anyone but Shizuo.

"I-I can use it? When I can't breath?"

"Uh, of course, that's what an inhaler's for," Shinra nervously smiled, handing the small device to the raven. He carefully held it in his hands, as if it were a delicate piece of glass that could break even at the slightest bit of miss-handling.

Shizuo slowly sat up, still feeling where the raven had been laying only moments ago. He could swear he could still feel Izaya's small fingers clenching his shirt, his chest up against his own, and his head buried in his shoulder. His warmth was still there, making him miss him when he was only a few inches in-front of him. God, just remembering how lonely he had been before finding him again... Shizuo didn't know how he ever lived like that. - Well, obviously without his memory, but that also showed just how hurt he had been.

Ahh, now he needed a little pick-me-up, and nothing was better then milk. Maybe he would get some for Izaya too, milk was supposed to be good for the bones. Izaya didn't even look like he had functioning bones at the moment, he was literally a walking skeleton.

'Milk, need to get him milk,' he repeated to himself, carefully sliding one of his legs out of bed.

"NOOO!" Izaya suddenly whipped around, slipping on the blanket as he turned and falling forward. Shizuo quickly reached out, catching Izaya in his arms. He didn't even get a chance to open his mouth when Izaya began clinging to him for dear life, clenching his long sleeves.

"Please don't leave me!" The raven cried, his body beginning to tremble a bit, most likely due to the pain he probably just triggered. Shizuo wanted to mentally stab himself, so at least he'd be able to feel some pain with Izaya. He didn't mean to scare him like that – Shizuo would never leave his little Izaya!

- Well, to get milk yes, but that was to help both of them! Ahhh. It wasn't like he was going to just get up and leave Izaya all alone for more then three minutes... Did Izaya think he would leave him like this? Was he afraid Shizuo would just get up and leave one day?

Slowly, he leaned down, wiping the stray tears from Izaya's pale-cheeks with his index finger. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," he said in the soothing voice, running his fingers through Izaya's hair. He wanted to go get some milk, but after the little outburst, he couldn't find it within himself to part from Izaya. The milk wasn't going anywhere, he would just wait until they ate. "I wouldn't leave without you. " The raven slowly felt himself beginning to calm a bit, leaning into the hand like always.

"Now go ahead, try your inhaler," he ordered, hesitantly pulling his hand back. Izaya nodded with those dreamy eyes, sitting up with the help of the blond.

"He was forced to get me one of these..." Izaya began, a frown enveloping his face. Shizuo immediately began massaging his hair once again, trying to numb the memories. "He'd tease me with it, when I couldn't breath... only when I passed out from the lack of air would he even spray a drop in my throat." Izaya held the small machine up, marveling it like it was gold.

"You use it whenever you can't breath," Shinra made sure Izaya understood, his voice being stern. "I mean it. As soon as your breathing gets rapid, use it. It may just save your life." The raven's twinkling eyes nodded, bringing it up to his mouth and spraying some. Izaya seemed to choke and splutter a bit, grasping Shizuo's hand and squeezing it for comfort. But in less then a minute, Izaya's eyes widened, tears falling down his cheeks like small rivers.

"I-I can breath," Izaya cried. "I can breath Shizu-chan!" Shizuo warmly smiled, giving him another kiss on his forehead.

"I'm glad."

"Is your throat burning, itchy, dry? Anything feel weird?" Shinra asked, studying the raven closely. Izaya thought for a few minutes, but ultimately shook his head.

"I-I feel... normal for once." His flabbergasted smile wavering a bit, his face contorting in disbelief. "I-is it okay to be normal?"

"Yes, normal is very good," Shizuo reassured the raven, handing the inhaler back to Shinra. "He will be able to carry that around with him, right?"

"Yes, I just need to bring the code back to the service agents so they can fill out the forms and leave a few crates of inhaler medicine here." Shizuo didn't understand why they needed so many crates, but once again, he didn't want to question the doctor, so he nodded, pretending to understand. "You can rest more if you want Izaya, Celty's ready to make you food whenever. - Oh, do you need any pain medicine?" Izaya looked up at Shizuo, as if wanted to ask if he was hungry, but no words traveled out of the eighteen year-old's mouth. He just leaned against the blond, a small smile playing on his lips.

"N-not that much pain right now, j-just a small tummy ache because of the medicine last night..." he tiredly spoke. Shizuo slowly wrapped an arm around his waist, being sure to bring warmth to the his tummy. Izaya hadn't thrown-up yet, and hopefully Shizuo could help keep it that way. Even when Izaya was little, whenever his stomach was cold, it hurt so bad. The blonde never really understood, and still didn't, but never complained.

"Okay, I'll come back later to apply the medicine to your wounds. Rest well!"

Surprisingly, Izaya slept for half the day, curled up into Shizuo's chest. Not like the blond minded, he missed being this close to his raven, but he was just shocked. He hadn't slept this much since they left the hospital.

Was something wrong? Izaya didn't feel like he was running a fever, not that Shizuo could tell in any case. Was something else wrong, that he and Shinra didn't know about? What if he was in some kind of pain, and they were doing nothing to help him?! Ugh, just sitting around and waiting was so stressful, Shizuo didn't know how he could continue to do this. He just wanted Izaya to be happy again, with no pain.

"Rest is good for the body Shizuo," Shinra continued to preach quietly at the bedside, looking into a foreign bottle of pills. Shizuo had never seen them before, and neither had Shinra, obviously. He had gone to work five hours ago and came back with those. The pills were rather big and colorful, being three colors, blue, red and white. They sort of resembled extra strength Tylenol, but Izaya already had different pain killers. "Sometimes rest heals wounds faster then medicine."

"Oh," Shizuo plainly sighed, taking a deep breath of relief. At least he knew the rest was a good thing, at least. But the mysterious bottle still bothered him. "What's that you're holding?" The blonde asked. For some reason, he wanted to snatch those pills away from Shinra and throw them out the window. He didn't know why, but he just wanted too. It probably had something to do with the fact that they were giving Izaya so much medicine already, anymore would make him feel drugged-up.

"These are the pills the Psychiatrist prescribed to Izaya," Shinra replied in a rather monotone voice. The answer made Shizuo twitch. He didn't trust that bastard one bit. Izaya had been so scared of him, that meant he had to be bad, right? Though, if it wasn't the counselor, who could it be? It had to be one of his allies, they swarmed the downstairs on the day of his 'big release'.

- Oh god, that man wanted Shizuo to leave the room. What if he hadn't been able to go in at all – What would he have done to Izaya then? What if the blonde was forbidden from entering the room like everyone else, who would have protected Izaya from that man? He was so cruel to Izaya, making him cry and shrivel up against his arm. Just thinking about the possibilities made Shizuo's stomach churn, nearly throwing up. He probably would have too if he wasn't cradling the raven.

"Throw them away," the brute hissed, pulling Izaya closer to his body as if he was a mother being threatened to lose her child. That comparison was close enough, because it was hard losing a child, but it would be lethal to the brute.

Shinra just sighed, pushing his glasses up the ridge of his nose. "I don't want to give them to him either, he seems to be doing fine. But we need a valid reason why." A valid reason why? That meant there was a way to get Izaya out of needing to take the pills? Shizuo was definitely all for that. "- Hmmm, that's it!" The young doctor smirked to himself, jiggling the pills in the bottle. "If he does well through the night, we can probably make the excuse that he's become 'sound of mind', due to the fact that he's been staying with friends."

Shizuo raised a confused eyebrow. How was Izaya sleeping through the night going to help prevent him from taking pills? He was sleeping at the hospital. Maybe not all through the night, but he was still sleeping, with Shizuo at his side. He was his friend. "How does this make any difference? He was sleeping at the hospital."

That smug grin suddenly crossed Shinra's face, that grin that always meant the bubbling doctor was excited to share information. Ahhh, if only he had known he would've kept his mouth shut. "Nightmares can be seen as someone who has an unstable mind, and in Izaya's case, that could mean he may have a cause of insanity. Since he's showing no other signs of mental-illness, going through a few nights without nightmares proves that he's just fine."

Shizuo couldn't help but smile at the sudden realization. This was going to be the second night out of the hospital, they would still need one more to prove he was free of mental-illness. But he wasn't going to give up hope. "Two more nights, you mean." Shinra looked over at Shizuo, a bit confused as he thought to himself for a moment. Sometimes the doctor's days all blended together, he was always a busy person. Shizuo couldn't blame him, sometimes the days never seemed to end.

"Oh right, I thought this was the third day already." Shizuo couldn't help but frown at the doctor's statement. How did it feel like the third day already? The days never seemed to end, as if they were in a never ending chapter book that took place all in the same day. For all he knew, his mind created this chapter book he was now in, as a form of punishment for not helping Izaya sooner.

"Well, I better propose this to the hospital so they can run it by the people in charge of Izaya's case, and the psychiatrist."

"Wait, people in charge of Izaya's case?" Shizuo couldn't help but ask, stunned. There were people who were trying to help capture Izaya's kidnapper? Of course the police would be trying to find the counselor, but a whole team?

Shinra's face seemed to darken a bit, glasses darkening to the point where Shizuo couldn't even see his eyes anymore. Oh no... this couldn't be good news. Shinra looked so angry, so frustrated, so guilty. To be honest, Shizuo didn't know if he wanted to hear this or not.

"Can you, come with me for a moment, Shizuo?" The blonde gulped, as Shinra's voice was stern and cold. It was as if someone had just murdered Celty, which wasn't possible. Shizuo could feel the blood slowly freezing over. He didn't want to hear whatever Shinra had to say. He didn't want anything to do with what Shinra wanted to say. But he didn't have much of a choice, as the doctor got up from his stool and waited by the doorway. Shit. Shizuo really didn't want to know, especially if he wanted to tell him away from Izaya.

Hesitantly, he leaned down to the raven's ear, who was slowly stirring from his sleep unwillingly. Shizuo didn't mean to keep Izaya awake by talking to Shinra, it just, sort of happened.

"I'll be right back, okay Izi?" Shizuo gently whispered into Izaya's ear. The raven seemed to awaken a little more, but not opening his eyes. "Shinra needs to talk to me. But I swear I'll come right back to you."

Izaya's body seemed to stiffen at the words, those deep-tired eyes suddenly staring into Shizuo's mocha eyes. It was obvious the raven didn't want him to go, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice. "Ottaaayy..." Izaya mumbled, mispronouncing the word. God, he was just so adorable, he could nearly melt away all his worries; almost.

"I'll be right back," Shizuo promised, slowly untangling himself from the small raven. Izaya seemed to shiver with the cold as he lost his Shizu-chan, and the blonde felt a little bad. Whatever Shinra had to say better be good.

Pulling up the covers closer to Izaya, he softly kissed his forehead before following Shinra out of the room. They went past the kitchen, past the living room, and out on the balcony. Shizuo was completely appalled. Why do they have to be so far from Izaya? What if something happened to him while they were out here?

Shinra took in a deep breath, as he stared out at the city below them. "Izaya wasn't Aion's first victim."

Everything seemed to stop functioning in Shizuo's body, his heart, his blood flow, everything. He couldn't hear, and he couldn't even see Shinra or anything else move at all, as if a still image was forever burned in his eyes. Izaya wasn't, his first victim...?

What?

How, what-?

Who else-

What? He couldn't think straight. No coherent thoughts ran through his mind, he was in complete shock, complete denial. If Izaya wasn't his first victim, what did that mean? That he got away with this before, and no one has caught him yet!?

"There were around seventeen more children in that house... all of them dead-"

No.

"Six of them were buried in his backyard-"

No.

"A half-rotten corpse was found in the basement where you found Izaya-"

No.

"Small bones were found in the kitchen pluming system-"

No.

"Two sets of child-sized skeletons were found at the bottom of his outside pool-"

No.

"One under Aion's bed-"

No.

"Four scattered in the walls with his fingerprints-"

No.

"And one buried in the walls with Izaya's prints on the plaster-"

NO.

N.O. This, had to be false information, right? They had investigated the wrong house- yes, that's what happened. Why would he need all those children when he had Izaya – Wait, WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING?! What was happening to him? His thoughts, they all slammed against each other, making his mind pound into a serious headache of confusion. He didn't even know when he started ripping out his hair, or when his stomach started churning, or when he started to heave-over. He didn't even realize when Shinra stood there, watching him, and when he finally went to his side and tried to calm him down. All he could concentrate on was his thoughts, and all the possible scenarios that played through his mind.

Izaya being forced to watch someone else who had been kidnapped be beaten to death.

Being forced to starve and suffer with another child, and watching him stop moving one day.

Being forced to just stand there and help Aion kill one of them.

Being forced to help Aion bury them.

Being forced to bury some himself.

Being forced to endure that pain, that physical and mental pain. Shizuo felt like he was there, watching it, watching Izaya as he slowly grew emotionless and insane.

And it was all his fault.

"Brother, you there?" A voice slowly began pulling him out of his disillusion thoughts. It was a voice of reason he forgot to listen to a long time ago.

"Ka-Kasuka?" Shizuo questioned, his voice full of uncertain emotions.

"Brother, you alright?" That was definitely Kasuka's voice, but wait, where was he and how long was he there for? Slowly, his eye-sight returned to normal, but his brother was still nowhere. - Wait, was that, throw-up he was sitting in? It was his, wasn't it? His throat was burning a bit, along with his nose. He smelled awful, and he could swear someone had tried yanking his hair out- Oh wait, he could feel multiple strands in his hands right now. Did he, do this to himself...?

"I-I," Shizuo stuttered, not sure how to answer that. He didn't want to worry his brother, but at the same time, he was pretty sure he knew. There was this rare sting of emotion in the back of his brother's voice that was hardly there at all. That was enough to make him realize there was a phone pressed to his ear by Shinra; he didn't look so well either...

"I am now, thanks to you and Shinra," he honestly sighed, taking-in a shaky breath. "S-sorry for scaring you."

"It's fine, as long as you're alright." Wow, Kasuka must be really worried about him if he was showing this much emotion. Then again, after what he had to watch Shizuo go through after Izaya was taken, he couldn't blame him. "I heard you found Izaya."

Found him- Yes, yes they did. Izaya was just fine, half-asleep in his own room, patiently waiting for Shizuo to return. He was safe and sound, where Aion wasn't able to touch him anymore. Shizuo needed to remember that. "Yeah, I did. And he even remembers me."

"I'm glad brother. - Actually, do you mind if I come down to visit sometime? We just finished filming one of the major parts and are able to take a break. - Of course, I'll come without telling anyone else." Was Shizuo hearing him right? His brother wanted to come down to visit? He hasn't seen him in a good year!

"Sure!" A small smile began creeping on Shizuo's face. Now he was really excited. Being able to see his brother would be just like the old times, and maybe, just maybe he would even make those pancakes Izaya loves.

"Well I better go, time to finish some of my voice overs. Talk to you later brother."

"Bye," Shizuo smiled one last time before Shinra took the phone away from him. His brother was going to come down here, ahh he couldn't wait to tell Izaya! Wait-

-Izaya! He was supposed to be back soon. But how could he go back all covered in his own puke? What was wrong with him? He was stronger then this! He was Shizuo Heiwajima, the brute of Ikebukuro, he shouldn't be reduced to this!

-And yet he had been. Huh...

"You can use my shower," Shinra couldn't help but smile gently at Shizuo, as if reading his thoughts. "I'll leave you a new pair of cloths on my bed. Celty and I will distract him." Shizuo wanted to retaliate, but he honestly didn't have any other choices. He wanted to be with Izaya so much, but he couldn't like this. Guess this is what happens when you keep everything in for too long...

Shinra quickly escorted Shizuo into his room, turning on the shower for him and going through the small suitcase Celty brought from Shizuo's house yesterday. It was full of his bartender outfits and assorted pajamas, even his toothbrush. He'd be sure to thank her later.

Jumping in the shower, he rubbed the shampoo and conditioner in his hair at the same time. He himself hadn't had a shower in a while, so he might as well get this part over with. He then grabbed the strawberry-lemon scented body wash and scrubbed his body to the bone. There was no way Shizuo was going to let Izaya even smell a hint of puke on him at all. The raven didn't need to worry about his welfare, he needed to focus on getting better.

When Shizuo was sure all the signs of puke was gone, he wasted no time jumping out of the shower. Normally he didn't bother using a towel on himself, but he didn't want to be hugging Izaya half wet, which also meant he would have to dry his hair.

Dammit, this was never easy, was it- Wait, he could still smell the horrible stench. - Of course, he needed to scrub his mouth to the bone as well. The world never took it easy on him, did it? Of course not.

It was a good fifteen minutes later when Shizuo was finally fully dried and rid of the puke smell in his mouth. A full fifteen minutes. Man, and he thought girls took long showers. He was going to smother Izaya with cuddles when he got to him.

Running down the hall, he came up to Izaya's room and spun in, only to have his heart stop once again. Shinra and Celty were desperately hovering over Izaya, the bumbling doctor holding a flashlight up to the raven's eyes, while Celty held and stroked Izaya's hand in soothing circles that didn't seem to be calming the raven down at all. Izaya was trembling really bad, and his breathing was completely uneven. It literally mirrored the state he had been the day the found him.

Without wasting another second, he slid over to Izaya's side, gently grasping the raven's free hand like fragile glass. The sudden contact made Izaya squeal in complete terror. It sounded as if his stomach was being cut open as he desperately, though weakly, tried pulling his hand free from the brute's grip. Shizuo was so shocked by the rejection, he released his grip. Izaya... didn't realize it was him? The person he was waiting for only a few moments ago?

Why? Why was this happening? He had been so happy before. He was laughing, smiling, enjoying himself a bit. It was the first night Izaya slept without nightmares, the first night where he didn't have to worry about being found again. So why did this have to happen? Why was some entity out there so bent on ripping the happiness away from the raven?

"What happened?!" Shizuo finally managed to find his voice, taking deep breaths. He wanted to be furious at the doctor for not getting him sooner. Shizuo had taken at least an hour-long shower!Shinra should have told him what state Izaya was in! - Though, even he could see through his blinding worry the reason for keeping him in the dark. The body-guard wouldn't have been able to do anything to help Izaya, especially if he still smelled like puke. There was no reason to get him, if he couldn't help. Shinra had done the right thing, even though it pained Shizuo.

Shinra ignored him at first, continuing to shine the flashlight in Izaya's eyes. He was holding up one figure that followed the light, trying desperately to get Izaya to follow the light and his finger. It was obvious that Izaya wasn't listening. "We came in here and he was on the floor like this." Shizuo quickly looked over to the side where Celty was, only now noticing all the pills and shattered glass cup on the ground. The brown-wooden table was knocked on its side as well, which meant Izaya probably tried grabbing a hold of it for support when he fell over. This was all Shizuo's fault. Izaya probably went to go look for him, for taking so long, but just couldn't walk on his own. DAMMITT!

"Did you give him any medicine?!" Shinra probably already did, but Shizuo just wanted to talk. It seemed like the only thing that would help him keep his sanity. He wasn't going to be able to do anything to help, again. Again! He was rendered useless and forced to watch Izaya suffer once again, not even knowing if he'd be able to make it through this in time. DAMMITT, why was he always so freaking useless when Izaya needed him the most!? He was growing so sick of himself. UGHH.

"No, I can't." Shizuo opened his mouth, about to say something else until the words finally slapped him in the face. Wait, Shinra hadn't given him medicine? What the hell was he thinking?! Izaya obviously needed it, so why hadn't he given it to him yet!?

"What the hell do you mean?! Give him that medicine you gave him last time!"

"I can't!" Shinra snapped this time. It wasn't until now that Shizuo noticed the stress and extreme worry streaming on the doctor's face and and swelling in his eyes. Shinra looked frantic, as if he was losing a patient- No, that couldn't be happening. They weren't going to lose Izaya, ever.

"What do you mean?" Shizuo gulped. He had a hunch... but he hoped he was wrong.

"It seems like he tried taking medicine when we were gone and overdosed himself." Now it was Shizuo's turn to start trembling uncontrollably. Izaya overdosed himself? How much pain had he been in to even think about giving himself medicine? There were lots of different bottles of pills, he should have waited! Why the hell did he and Shinra have to go outside to discuss- Okay he saw why they had to go outside, but they should have had Celty stay with Izaya! DAMITT DAMITT DAMMITTTT!

"Isn't there something you can give him?! Anything? People go to hospitals to be cured of overdose!"

"There is never really a cure, but there might be a way to flush it out," Shinra quickly responded, fleeing from the room. Shizuo had no idea where the doctor was going, but had to believe it was for the better. Shinra knew what he was doing, he was a unlicensed doctor! Shizuo still had to do something while Shinra was gone, doing nothing was going to drive him insane.

Think. Think. Think. Last time, he was able to calm him down, eventually. At least, that's what Shinra said. Shizuo still believed it was the medicine, but he had to try something! Izaya wasn't going to make it if he didn't calm down soon.

First off, he'd have to make sure Izaya was as comfortable as he could be, which meant he couldn't be touching him. Check! Now he just needed make Celty let go of him. "Celty," Shizuo called to her. The black rider looked up at Shizuo, more so because she herself didn't know what to do. "I need you to trust me and let go of Izaya." The Dullahan seemed hesitant, as she looked over at Izaya before back up at Shizuo. She was so lost, not sure what to do. Shizuo understood, she didn't want to be useless either, no one ever wanted to be. "I can bring him back, I've done it before." The black rider looked up (or what Shizuo would assume was her looking up) before releasing the raven's hand. Just like before, the raven seemed to calm a little bit more, now that the foreign hand was away from him. Well, step one was complete. Now he needed to come up with a step two; Shizuo would have to slowly reach out to him, like last time.

"He-hey Izi," he sniffled, taking a shaky breath. "Sorry it took me so long, to come back," he apologized sincerely. "I-I had to take a shower, since I smelled pretty bad, a-and I didn't want you to be forced to smell me." Wow, that had sounded so much better in his head. Oh well, it was said, and he didn't even think about taking it back now. But Izaya didn't seem to stir out of his state much at all. Dammiitt, he needed to try harder. He didn't know how much time Izaya had left. The brute just needed to concentrate on that fact.

"It's okay Izi, it's okay...," he trailed off with his soothing voice, just like he had done in the ambulance. Reality seemed to be slowly fading away from the brute Shizuo's whole body suddenly began trembling uncontrollably, and small tears began welling in his eyes once again. Man, the strongest man of Ikebukuro, being reduced to this once again. He really was weak when it came to Izaya. "I'm here, I'm not going to let him take you r-remember? I'm here, always will be." The raven seemed to flinch a bit, as if trying to focus on Shizuo. The feat however seemed nearly impossible, but the brute was going to keep reaching out to him.

Very gently, and cautiously, Shizuo grasped Izaya's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. The raven seemed to tremble a bit more, but not as much as last time. "Just concentrate on my warmth, okay? I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you." Shizuo could feel Izaya's hand twitch, the trembling slowing a bit. Was he, remembering? His face was cringed to a rather sour look, but determination was flowing through his veins. "As long as we feel each others warmth, we'll always be real, remember?" Once more, he cautiously crawled a little closer to Izaya, running a hand through the silky, black hair. In response, Izaya seemed to shiver, not tremble this time; Shizuo of course knew the difference.

"Concentrate on my warmth... Concentrate..." Very gradually, Izaya's trembles were slowing to the point where it seemed like he was just a bit cold. Honestly, the blonde thought this was going to be the calmest Izaya was going to get, and that was okay with him. At least he was able to help sooth his little raven.

"There you go," Shizuo couldn't help but give a small smile, leaning down and pressing his lips softly against Izaya's forehead. Maybe Shinra had been right, maybe Shizuo was the one that calmed him down, and not the medicine after all...

The sounds of metal and plastic banging against each other suddenly filled Shizuo's ears, making the brute look up from the raven. What did he get, a vacuum?!

"Someone please find his vein while I set this up," Shinra ordered, coming up to the door frame. Shizuo could now make out the equipment, which consisted of a large metal stand with a small IV bag on it. Oh duh, why didn't the blonde think about an IV in the first place, of course that was the only way to flush out the medicine. Izaya seemed to realize this as well, looking weary-eyed at Shizuo.

"I know I know, shots aren't fun," Shizuo frowned. He knew Izaya hated needles, and this one would have to stay in him, just like the hospital. "But you won't have to keep this one in for a long time, just until you're all drained-out." Izaya didn't respond, so Shizuo gently kissed his forehead. "I'll warn you."

The doctor slowly made his way over to the bed side, checking everything on the wrack to be sure it was in order. It took really no time at all to find Izaya's veins, as he was just skin and bones. Ahh, his heart must have dropped in his chest, he felt heavy.

Rubbing alcohol on his arm, Shinra got the needle ready, determined to stick him right the first time. "Ready?" The blonde quickly returned back to his position from early, petting his hair gently as Shinra began the countdown. It pained Shizuo so much, feeling the raven cringe and stiffen-up beneath him. Dammitt, he couldn't do anything to sooth him could he? "One, two, and-" Izaya suddenly squeezed Shizuo's hand as the doctor injected the Iv, not even seeming to do it consciously.

"There we go, all done," Shinra smiled with a glimmer of hope. But Izaya's small and weak whimpers drew him out of their hopeful moment. His eyes were completely closed, his head tossing and turning ever so slightly, but still in pain. His grip on Shizuo hadn't failed, and the amount of strength he had at the moment was unbelievable.

"You should start feeling better in three hours, at least." Izaya once again didn't respond, but they completely understood. He didn't have to, he just needed to rest.

"Good," Shizuo smiled to himself, pulling his body closer to Izaya's, but being sure to keep a distance. He didn't want to hurt him, as his body would be in obvious pain. And tugging on his Iv on accident...

The day past by rather slowly after that. Shinra and Celty finally finished cleaning up all the pills and were now cleaning them off. There was at least four hundred dollars worth of pills in that mess, and Shinra was definitely not going to waste it. Shizuo didn't even have to worry about him not cleaning them all the way though, because the doctor was so paranoid about that.

"Shi... Shizu-chan...?" Izaya's small voice suddenly filled his ears, snapping the blonde out of his thoughts instantly. The raven had been sleeping the past few hours, not waking up in for any sound in the world. And as he looked over at Shizuo, the blonde could see his sparkling red eyes held less pain in them then earlier, and a small, but still a smile decorated him lips. That's what Shizuo liked to see.

"Yeah?" He asked, smiling himself.

"Thank you, for coming back to me..." Shizuo was completely taken aback for a moment, not wanting to believe what the raven had just said. He'd always come back to Izaya, no matter what. Then again, he kind of failed to prove that.

But next time, he was going to be determined to prove it to him. couldn't help but pull the raven closer to his body, but being sure he wasn't going to mess with the iv.

"I'll always be right here, right at your side..."