Hello everyone!

There is a perfectly good explanation for why this fic was not included in the list of upcoming fics on my profile.

This was a newly-made plot in my head this morning when I was having breakfast. I was skimming through my anime pics and the Kurobas & DRRR! ones caught my attention. And VOILA! Miracles Do Exist was born.

And then I remembered the dozen or so drama anime I watched last month *sniff* I decided to do my first try to write a drama (somehow) fic.

R & R.

Enjoy!

*I just added a little scene near the ending. I also want to clear it up that Izaya has TWO first names (because I felt like it), but I won't say more because it would spoil the story~. I'll put the rest of the explanation on the Author's Note down below.

Edited: 8/8/13

Today was his grandparents' death anniversary.

It had been nine years since they died, and Shizuo decided to visit their grave. Kasuka already went to them that morning, because he had a photoshoot that afternoon.

The Fortissimo of Ikebukuro was staring at the names on the gravestone.

Heiwajima Kazari

Heiwajima Naoto

They were one of the most precious people in his life. Besides his parents, brother, and a few others, they were the only people who saw not as a monster; but simply as Heiwajima Shizuo. Just thinking about them and all the memories they shared made the ex-bartender want to cry, but he didn't want to appear sad in front of his folks. He promised to be happy for them, after all.

During that bout of silence, he suddenly picked up on an infuriating scent.

The blond looked around and saw a mop of midnight black hair and a fur-trimmed jacket in the horizon. There was also a pink-haired girl wearing a middle school uniform standing behind him. His hands clenched in anticipation and the surge of anger flowed through his blood. His teeth gritted harshly and his eyebrows twitched uncontrollably. What was he doing here?

How dare the flea destroy his peaceful day!

"IZA— ya…?"

He stopped his infamous yell when he saw a rare expression on the flea's face. The raven-haired male was gazing down at another tombstone; his face was solemn and his eyes reflected pure melancholy. Shizuo felt his anger deflate, opting to stare at the informant in wonder as if he was an alien with two heads. But you couldn't blame him for feeling so. Was he… really Izaya?

It certainly wasn't everyday for him to see his most hated person in the world, acting like the human he was for the first time.

After a while, Izaya walked away and he was left staring at the retreating man's back. Shizuo scratched his head and fished out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Damn, he badly needed a smoke right now. He must be hallucinating. There's just no way that Izaya of all people, would act like that!

"No smoking on cemetery grounds. This is a sacred and tranquil place!"

At that moment, someone grabbed the cancer stick from his hands before he could put it into his mouth. He glared at the person who dared to pick a fight with him—

Only for his vision to be met with nothingness. Shizuo looked around, swerving his head in all directions. Hell, he even turned to look behind him! Was he… picked on by a ghost?

"Hey, you! Down here!"

He felt something poking him on his ribs. He glanced down to see a pink-haired girl glaring daggers up at him, her finger hovering between them. It was no wonder he didn't see her, she only reached up to his chest. There was something familiar about her, though…

Wait a minute.

This was the girl with Izaya!

Why didn't he see her approach him? Was he so surprised to see Izaya that he forgot about his surroundings?

She was still looking at him angrily. Shizuo felt a shiver down his spine. He would never admit it, but angry women scared him. A lot. Especially that Erika girl and Vorona.

The pinkette threw the cigarette on the ground, harshly stomping on it before pointing her finger directly to his face. "You should stop smoking, or in the cemetery at least. Show some respect for the dead!"

"Alright, alright. Sheesh…" The blond rubbed the back of his head. He really didn't want to pick a fight with a kid, and a girl at that. Her voice was grating and shrilly, too! "Anyways, what was the flea doing here?"

A confused looked was on the girl's face. "Flea? What are you talking about?"

Oh, right. If she was hanging out with the informant and didn't recognize him as the strongest guy in Ikebukuro, then she probably didn't know about their rivalry. "Err… you know. The guy who was just with you— Orihara Izaya?" Her confusion subsided and she nodded in understanding.

"I see. You should've told me that you were asking about Izaya-kun in the first place. That certainly is a new one. I've never heard of that nickname before." She giggled before placing her hands on her hips. "Why were you asking for him, though?"

"I didn't expect to see the flea in a place like this."

"Well, we were visiting the grave of our friends. I'm his friend, too, by the way."

Her statement surprised Shizuo. Friends? The flea had friends?! He never entertained the possibility! If there had been a person that has a remote chance of being such with the informant, it was probably Shinra. He didn't know that there were others who would see the flea as one.

The pinkette continued to blink at his stupefied expression. Was it really so unfathomable that her older friend could have other friends? Then something dawned upon her. She hadn't introduced herself yet! "Ah, I completely forgot! My name's Momoi Satsuki, what's yours?"

The ex-bartender stared at her blankly, still in quite a daze. "Shizuo. Heiwajima Shizuo. So… friends? Who're they? I never thought that the flea would have some."

Momoi giggled. "It's not entirely impossible, you know? Izaya can be insensitive and harsh, but he's not always like that. He can be caring and gentle, too!"

He was sure that this girl was out to give him a heart attack.

Izaya could be caring and gentle? Bullshit!

If that ever happens, it could be the end of the world!

"Not really. It already happened and we're all fine." Shizuo's face turned red after accidentally voicing his thoughts out loud. Fuck, he was embarrassing himself in front of a girl; a middle school girl. Why was the world unfair to him.

"You're doing it again, Heiwajima-san," Momoi sighed. "Well, it was nice meeting you, but I have to go now. See ya!" He was feeling very curious right now and he'll be damned before he let her go, leaving him out of the loop. The Fortissimo really wanted to know more about Izaya. It wasn't everyday that he learns something about the informant and Shinra, despite his happy-go-lucky attitude, is very tight-lipped about such things.

She turned around, but before she could leave, the blond grabbed her hand. "Wait, before you go, could you tell me about the flea… Izaya? Don't get the wrong idea!" He shouted at her when he saw a familiar glint in her eyes. Shizuo already saw that once with Erika during her 'fangirl mode'. "I only want to know about his friends!"

Momoi simply smiled at him. It was nice to know that someone else cared for her raven-haired male. "Okay, okay. Why don't we meet here again tomorrow on the same time? I really am in a hurry, Heiwajima-san."

The blond nodded. He was looking forward to tomorrow.

Shizuo was standing in front of his grandparents' grave, waiting for the pink-haired middle schooler to show up. Where was she, anyway?

"Good afternoon, Heiwajima-san!" He turned around to see the girl, waving enthusiastically at him. When she stopped in front of him, she panted after jogging. Maybe she had been too energetic about the notion of someone else wanting to know more about Izaya.

"You're late."

She bowed sheepishly. "Sorry for that, but I only got late because of this!" She whipped out a photo and shoved it into the blond's hands. When the ex-bartender got a look, he saw a photo of seven middle schoolers with hair colors that represented the rainbow. There was something also awfully familiar about them, but the blond couldn't remember.

The picture showed a boy with deep red hair and matching eyes sighing as he stared at the six other people. There was a green-haired glasses-wearing guy who was holding a nyan cat plushie and a tall purple-haired male with snacks in his arms and a lollipop in his mouth. Was he even a middle schooler?

Next was a blonde-haired guy with a model's looks laughing, a tanned blue-haired guy with his arm around a shorter, deadpanning male whose hair was a lighter shade of blue. Momoi was also in the photo, her arms linked with the shorter guy's left arm. He looked around for a raven-haired informant, but found none. Where's Izaya?

Shizuo carefully scanned the picture again. There really was no sign of the flea.

"Are these your friends? Where's the flea?"

"It's not surprising for Izaya-kun not to be there. He was the one who took the picture, after all."

Ah, that explained things.

"Well, I probably should tell you about my friends. All of us used to be in the basketball team of our middle school. Izaya-kun's a special case, being older than all of us." Shizuo listened attentively. Finally, the story started!

"The red-haired guy is our Captain and Point Guard, Akashi Seijuro-kun. The glasses boy is Midorin, the Shooting Guard. Full name, Midorima Shintaro. The tall guy is Murasakibara Atsushi-kun, and he's also the Center. The blond one is Kise Ryouta-kun, Small Forward." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"My childhood friend is the tanned one, Dai-chan, short for Aomine Daiki. He's the ace of Teiko, our school, and the Power Forward. Last is my boyfriend," She giggled and fangirled at that moment. The ex-bartender's eyebrows twitched at the high-pitched sound. He was also sure that the girl is only the guy's self-proclaimed girlfriend. "Kuroko Tetsuya, our pass specialist and sixth member. I call him Tetsu-kun."

"What about you?" Shizuo really wanted her to hurry up with the story.

"I'm the lovely manager, of course! And Izaya-kun's our strategist." Momoi proudly stated. The Fortissimo rolled his eyes and snorted. "Just get on with it." The pinkette pouted.

"Anyways, our team was really good and we won the championship twice in a row. After the tournament in our second year, the team went on a celebratory trip to Kyoto. There was an accident and… everyone died." There was silence. "Only Izaya-kun survived that day. He may not look like it, but he's blamed himself for their deaths since that day."

Momoi continued on with her tale, but Shizuo couldn't register it in his head. All that was imprinted on his mind was that Izaya and his middle school friends were in an accident and he's the only one who survived, beating himself up everyday in guilt and misery.

The blond certainly knew how it feels to bear the burden of someone's pain on your shoulders, or in the flea's case, deaths of his closest humans.

The pinkette smiled knowingly at the older man. Her eyes softened at the sight of sympathy and concern etched on the male's face. 'Izaya-kun, you may not realize it but there are others who love you, too.'

This was what she had been waiting for a long time ago, and Momoi could only hope that the blond would be the one to mend the informant's broken heart. He had never been the same after the accident.

If Shizuo was truly Izaya's new-found love, then all is well and she can finally take a breather.

Sometime that day, he saw Izaya on the outskirts of Ikebukuro. After knowing about Izaya and his past with the middle schoolers, he felt a twinge of sympathy for the flea and so, he didn't attack when the informant was in the vicinity. Subsequent to that, the flea didn't bother him, too. Shizuo figured that it was probably because he was still mourning for his most precious humans.

The flea was currently talking to an old lady across the street, both sitting on a bench. The lady's hair may be white, but you could see the hints of blue streaks in her locks.

"It's nice to meet you again after all these years, obaa-san." The informant bowed in front of the elderly woman. The nice old lady simply waved it off and smiled endearingly at Izaya. "You don't need to look so guilty whenever we meet. It's not your fault, you know?"

She stared upwards. "If Tetsuya had been here, he would say it straight to your face that you shouldn't blame yourself— that you never wanted that accident to happen."

"I know, obaa-san, I know. He's always been too blunt for his own good."

"Say—" And their conversation continued.

Izaya also stared at the sky, smiling peacefully and lost in the memories of the past. It was very clear and blue today. Just like Tetsuya's hair.

Shizuo was stunned by the sight of his rival's smile. It was too much for him to take. Heat flooded up to his cheeks. He never thought that the flea could look so… so… angelic. 'It's beautiful. He should really smile more.'

Surprised by his own thoughts and feeling that he was intruding in their private time, the Fortissimo left in a hurry, stumbling slightly because the informant's face remained in his mind. He was really adorable. 'I don't think he's cute, dammit!'

From the bench, Izaya stared at the empty space across the street. "I swore there was someone watching me. Oh well, it was probably some random human passing by," He mumbled.

Tetsuya's grandmother stared at her companion. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing at all."

For the past week, Shizuo and Momoi have been meeting at the cemetery on the same time. But one day, all of a sudden, the pinkette never showed up. She was gone. And the next day, and the day after that.

What happened to her?

The blond decided to ask the gravekeeper about the girl.

"Have you seen a pink-haired girl about this high?" He gestures towards his chest. "Her name's Momoi Satsuki and she's a middle schooler."

The old man shook his head. "I always see you here everyday, but I never saw a girl with you. You were always alone."

It made him angry at the guy, insinuating that the pinkette never came by. He was very much worried about the girl. What if she got into an accident? What if something bad happened to her? He wouldn't forgive himself if Momoi got in trouble because she was out of her house to share her stories with him. "What did you say?" He grabbed the man by his collar and growled at him.

"I-I-I r-really don't k-know who y-you're talking about, sir!" He squeaked in terror. "Please don't hurt me!"

The Fortissimo released the man and stormed out of the cemetery in a fit of rage. The flea was nowhere to be found by this time of the day, he knew, because he went there before to get revenge on the informant and he wasn't in his apartment in Shibuya nor was he in Ikebukuro. He was most likely out on his information dealings.

Maybe…

"That's right. Shinra might know something!" Shinra may be no Izaya, but he knew the flea who in turn, knew Momoi. Maybe the informant told him about the girl. And so, he headed straight for the doctor's house.

The bespectacled man sighed as he tried to placate the obviously worried (and very mad) blond in front of him. He placed his cup of tea on the table and adjusted his glasses. He stared passively at the Fortissimo.

"Shizuo, calm down." He rubbed his temple, trying to fight an oncoming headache. The ex-bartender just wouldn't stop blabbering. The doctor knew he was very worried and upset about someone, but he should really pull himself together in times like this. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened." It ticked the blond off that the other treated him like a little kid. But there was no time for that right now.

"There was this middle school girl at the cemetery—"

"Shizuo, you sly dog, I never took you for the type to go after young girls. I was thinking along the lines that you liked Izaya—"

"Shut up and let me finish first, Shinra. And I don't like the flea that way, heck, I don't like him in general."

"Sure, you don't," Shinra rolled his eyes and whispered. "Tsundere."

"Anyways, I've been talking to this girl for the past week. She's been telling me stories of her friends and a couple of days ago, she stopped coming." He ran a hand across his hair, stressed out. "When I asked the gravekeeper, he told me he never saw her. I won't forgive myself if something bad happened to her because she's been meeting up with me."

"Well, you definitely went to the right guy!" The underground doctor gleefully chirped. "So what's the name of our missing damsel in distress?"

"Her name's Momoi Satsuki."

Shinra's smile froze. "Wait, did you say Momoi Satsuki?! But she's— you… how?"

"What? Spit it out, already." What was wrong with the doctor and why was he acting scared all of a sudden?

"She's Izaya's friend back in Teiko, just a year before he transferred and I met him in third year middle school."

The ex-bartender didn't get. Why was the doctor making such a big fuss about it? "And so?"

"Shizuo, Momoi's been dead for nine years."

He felt his blood froze at that statement.

"What?!" How could she be dead? He was talking and meeting up with her for the past week! How can that be?

"I'm not lying," Shinra held his hands in surrender before standing up, heading straight for his shelf. He rummaged through the books before taking out a piece of paper in-between two textbooks. He handed it to the bartender. "That's the news that featured a car accident in Kyoto after second year in middle school— the same accident that killed Izaya's old friends."

He waited a minute for the blond to get a hold of himself. "Do you know about the Generation of Miracles? The basketball team that took the tournament by storm?"

"Of course, I know about that! I mean, who doesn't? Even rural schools know about the six genius players who died nine years ago!" His eyes widened. Nine years ago—

The time of the accident.

Izaya's old buddies in a basketball team.

Momoi was wearing her middle school uniform.

The familiar faces of the teens in the picture Momoi had.

Something else dawned upon him. His grandparents also died nine years ago and they were in Kyoto at that time, too. That means—!

"The flea, Momoi, and the rest of their group are the infamous Generation of Miracles?!"

He was so stupid! How could he not remember that? The car accident in Kyoto was caused by a drunk driver, hitting and killing his grandparents who were walking on the sidewalk, and also crashing onto a car in front of him; which was apparently the car in which the legendary basketball team was riding on. But where does Izaya fit in the picture?

As if reading his mind, Shinra sighed and decided to elaborate. "Yeah. That accident was also the reason why Izaya's parents divorced. It's not surprising that you thought Izaya's not in the picture, having a different surname and all."

"Huh?"

"You shouldn't worry too much. If you really did meet Momoi's spirit, then she's watching over Izaya and everything is fine." He grins widely at the Fortissimo.

"Besides, his name isn't Orihara Seijuro Izaya for nothing."

Izaya stared at the mirror, seeing red appearing on the roots of his hair. "I guess it's time to dye my hair again." He hadn't been bothering his blond protozoan for a while because he's still mourning about his loss, nine years ago. The informant rummaged along his drawer for the black hair dye and a case for contact lenses. He removed his colorless lens from his right eye and a red one from his left, revealing heterochromatic orbs.

Ever since the accident, he may not have died, but his left eye was damaged— changing and lightening the color of the iris, as well as making his vision quite blurry. He could not stand to see his red hair because it reminded him too much of him.

"You have pretty hair. I really like the red color."

"Thank you, Tetsuya. That… means a lot to me."

"Huh? Did you say something, Akashi-kun?"

"Nothing. Forget about it."

The image of a blond-haired ex-bartender replaces the face of a deadpanned blue-haired boy. Izaya smiles at the memory. His humans may not see past his exterior, yet that person doesn't care one bit.

Even if the pain of the past persists, he can always look forward to the future.

"Though he may be a monster, I guess Shizu-chan can make my worries go away."

It was a sunny day for the Teiko basketball team. The Generation of Miracles were enjoying themselves as they finished their vacation. They were heading home to Tokyo right now. Akashi, the Captain, decided to sit beside their Phantom player. While everyone else was busy talking to each other, the redhead made sure that no one was paying attention to them before whispering to the other.

"I have something to tell you." Though his face may be blank, there was a twinkle of curiosity and anticipation in his light blue eyes. That was one of the things that Akashi liked so much about him.

"What is it, Akashi-kun?"

"Tetsuya, I lov—"

Pain entered his senses.

There was a crash.

A speeding car from behind bumped into theirs. The BMW tumbled and swerved to the side as everyone was being tossed inside like toys in a box. Akashi held Kuroko in place, his hands turning white from his grip on the shorter male. He vaguely registered the pain when his head crashed onto the glass on the side door, nor did he notice his other teammates. All that mattered to him right now was the blue-haired player.

When their car (or van) rammed into a fence and stopped moving, the red-haired Captain tried to assess the situation. The driver and Midorima who were seated in front were all stabbed by shattered pieces of glass. Kise, Aomine, and Momoi were crushed between the seats, because they were sitting in the middle. Murasakibara, who was seated across Akashi, was impaled by a big wooden plank.

While he was horrified by what has transpired (and currently writhing in pain), Akashi glance downwards to check on his last teammate. His eyes widened when he saw him.

The Phantom player was between him, and the car that crashed onto them. He had taken the brunt of the impact in order to lessen his pain. It was effective. Akashi managed to survive with only a gash on his head and a few scratches. Kuroko was leaning towards him—dead, oh god, he was dead—with a smile on his face.

For the first time, the red-haired male sobbed. Everything that Akashi Seijuro Izaya wasn't known for, he had contradicted it. He cried for his, dare he say it, friends. He cried for the tradegy that had befallen them. And last, he cried for the death of the one he loves the most.

It wasn't supposed to end like this.

They should've been fine.

They should've returned with smiles on their faces.

And Tetsuya… he shouldn't have left him alone.

Why did it have to happen?

Akashi continued to cry— not bothering to know how long he had been trapped in the car, not bothering to pay attention to the rescue team, not bothering to respond to the medics that lead him to an ambulance.

The only thing in his mind was Kuroko's peaceful smile and the unfairness of it all.

He never even got to say that he loved him.

"Don't worry, Tetsu-kun, everyone. I assure you, he is in safe hands. Heiwajima-san will positively take care of Akashi-kun— no… Izaya-kun."

From the cemetery, a pink-haired girl crossed her arms as she read the names of dead.

Momoi Satsuki

Aomine Daiki

Kise Ryouta

Midorima Shintaro

Murasakibara Atsushi

Kuroko Tetsuya

Her eyes softened at the last name. "And here I thought it was impossible for him to get over our deaths, especially yours." As she faded away, Momoi gave one last grin.

"I guess miracles do exist."

We only wish for you to move on and be happy with someone else.

And that's a wrap!

As I said above, just to clear the entire thing up, Izaya has TWO first names because I felt like it, that's why his name was Orihara Seijuro Izaya. In Teiko, everyone simply assumed that his ONLY name is Seijuro. :))))

Timeline/Facts:

1. The accident happened nine years ago, during second year middle school after the championship. Momoi died along with the rest of GoM. Only Akashi survived.

2. The accident was the reason why Akashi's parents divorced, he has heterochromatic eyes, and he dyed his hair black. Sometime in his third year of middle school (in which he transferred out of Teiko), he met Shinra and his mother also married for the second time, changing his surname to Orihara. Mairu and Kururi are his stepsisters.

Did you enjoy the idea of Akashi!Izaya (or Izaya!Akashi)? There were too many uncanny similarities between them. There's the normal manipulative attitude, the smirks, the red eyes, the possibilities of being a yandere, the shogi board (or in Izaya's case, his weird chess board), and their absolute views on others? They could be related, but I can also see Izaya as a TYL!Akashi or something.

Momoi is a restless spirit. She couldn't rest in peace until someone manages to make Izaya/Akashi heal from the scars of the past. Why her? It's for the suspense. I wanted everyone to think that GoM are Izaya's friends (who happened to be younger) and Momoi's existence can serve as a proof. Still, I practically threw the evidence right there and then that she's also dead and Izaya is not just an outsider of the Teiko basketball team. Oh, and I only stated that she was behind Izaya. Shizuo thought she was with him. Izaya also left, not saying a word to Momoi, indicating that he didn't know she was there = Momoi is a ghost and Izaya can't see her, only Shizuo did (and he also entertained the idea that he was being picked on by a ghost). Befriending her was a test for everyone's favorite protozoan.

Izaya as the strategist? Well, Akashi (with his Emperor eyes and manipulative nature) is the strategist of Teiko along with Momoi, so technically, she gave Shizu-chan a half-truth.

I made Izaya/Akashi sad. Waahhh, I'm so sorry for killing the GoM!

I also made Akashi's eye change a result of the accident/trauma, along with Izaya's holier-than-thou personality.

Ciao ciao~! -Flonne.