Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Come on, Shizuo!" Shinra whined as he pulled on Shizuo's arm. Shizuo shook him off with a grumble, walking away from his supposed friend. "If you're not going trick or treating with us, the least you can do is go to this house with us!"

There was a house just up and around the hill; it was quite far, but Shinra was still insisting. The house was said to be haunted by a ghost who passed away a few decades ago. 

"I have better things to do."

"If I get Kadota to agree, would you come too?" Shinra plead, and after hearing only silence from Shizuo, he whined even more, pulling his arm much more harshly.

"Let go."

Surprisingly, he did with a sigh. "Fine, I didn't want to have to use this, but... I told Kasuka to meet us there—"

Shizuo grabbed Shinra's collar and lifted him in the air in an instant. Shinra cried out but Shizuo ignored him, his fist right near the other's face.

"Hey, hey— wait!" Shinra grabbed Shizuo's fist, knowing it was futile. "He's— He'll be waiting outside. He's probably there right now. So if we don't hurry—"

Shizuo grimaced as he loosened his grip on Shinra's collar, still dragging him.

"You're dead as soon as we get back."

Shinra smiled, despite everything.

—

"Where's Kadota?" Shinra asked once they reached the house, taking a look around. "Maybe he already went inside? That's unlike him though."

Shizuo stayed silent as he eyed the bag on Shinra's back, wondering what he brought to a place like this. He glanced around and noticed Kasuka wasn't around.

"Hey—"

"You think I actually told him to come here?" Shinra answered Shizuo, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "But unless I lied, you wouldn't have— hey, don't leave!"

"I'm going home."

"But Kadota's inside! Don't make me go alone. What if the ghost has possessed him?" Shinra begged, his hands together as he pleaded for Shizuo to stay. "Pleaseeee."

Shizuo let out an irritated sigh as he wrangled out of Shinra's grip. Since they were all the way here anyway, he might as well indulge Shinra a bit.

"Ghosts aren't real—"

Shinra screamed as he pointed up at the window on the second storey. "That—That's..."

Shizuo followed Shinra's gaze as he looked up. By one of the windows, he found a pale looking man standing by it, the curtain pulled to the side so he could look down at the two intruders. His eyes were red and Shizuo could've sworn he could see through him.

The man just stared, he didn't do anything else. He didn't say anything. He just watched the two of them, as if waiting for them to make a move.

Shizuo turned towards Shinra. "Shinra—"

"Kadota's in there!" Shinra whisper-yelled as he sobbed, his eyes now downcast. "Ghost— Kadota.."

"Listen, it's broad daylight. There's no way that that ghost—"

Shizuo froze when he looked back up at the window and saw no one. He didn't believe in ghosts. There was no way they existed. This all just had to be a joke.

"There's no way," he repeated, shaking his head. "Let's just go get Kadota and get out of here. There's no ghosts, but there's something off about this place."

Shizuo headed towards the door with Shinra following closely behind. He broke the lock of the door as he walked in, observing how eerie everything was.

The walls were black and there were these old candles rather than actual light bulbs. There were some windows, so at least some light was coming in. The rugs on the floor ran down the hall, but it felt weird to step on them.

"Kadota— ow!"

Shizuo covered Shinra's mouth. He wasn't sure why. There was obviously no one else here. This was an abandoned house, no one was allowed to live here, according to public safety. The figure they saw by the window was probably just their eyes playing tricks on them.

So why did he cover Shinra's mouth?

Shinra didn't seem to question it. He nodded his head towards Shizuo, letting him know he'll be quieter.

"We wouldn't want to attract any more spirits, now would we?"

Shizuo ignored him as they climbed the spiralling staircase. The house was really elegant, Shizuo thought, observing the decor on the walls. It was a shame that no one lived here anymore. He wondered what exactly about this place made it unsafe to live.

When they finally got to the top of the never ending stairs, Shizuo observed the long corridor, noticing a million doors. He wasn't even sure if Kadota were on this floor or the one below, but Shizuo wanted to look here first.

—maybe they might find the pale figure from before—

Shizuo began opening the doors, one by one. Some were locked, some weren't. Shizuo opened every single one, noticing that the locked ones weren't even hiding anything. One of the rooms, however, seemed inviting. The chandelier in the room was swinging slightly and it was the only room with its candles lit.

Shizuo walked in as Shinra complained.

"Shinra, how did you find out about this place?" Shizuo asked when he saw some blood on the floor. Upon closer inspection, he could probably make out a figure's outline on the floor, as if it were a crime scene.

"I just googled it and heard some people talking about this, but," his voice trailed off as he looked around, stopping at the blood. "No one had actually managed to find it."

"What?" Shizuo asked as he began turning around. "What do you—"

Shizuo froze at the sight of the pale figure shutting the door. Shinra turned around when he noticed Shizuo staring. He nearly screamed as he hid behind Shizuo.

"Who're you?" Shizuo asked, hearing Shinra rummage through his bag.

The figure opened his mouth but quickly shut it when he felt someone splat water onto his face. He looked at Shinra.

"Does holy water work on ghosts?" Shinra asked Shizuo in a whisper, noticing the pale figure trying to clean the water off with the sleeve of his shirt.

"I'm not a ghost," the figure eventually said. Shizuo observed his pale skin again and thought he was pale because of the lack of sunlight. It all made sense. They just intruded someone's home—

But the blood.

Shizuo pretended he didn't see it.

Shinra let out a sigh of relief as he walked up to the other man. "Oh, that's great then! We thought our friend might've been possessed or something."

The man frowned when an arm was placed on his shoulders. He shrugged it off. "Friend?"

"Yeah, he got lost, so we were looking for him?"

The man narrowed his eyes, suddenly becoming wary of the two. "In my home?"

Shizuo felt a sudden chill run down his spine, having this feeling that something was about to happen. Something bad.

Shinra, the idiot, must've noticed too, for he backed away immediately with a nervous laugh.

"Well, he's clearly not here, so I guess we should be leaving now—"

"Then why the hell did we come here in the first place?" Shizuo argued with a hiss, grabbing Shinra's collar.

"He's a teenager— he'll be fine."

"Then why waste my time—"

"If," the man's voice interrupted their conversation, seeming hesitant. His hands were behind his back, but Shizuo could see a bit of trembling in his hands. "If you wish, I may be able to aid you."

Shinra perked up at that, not noticing the uneasy atmosphere anymore. "What, really? That would be great."

Shinra aimed to hug the man, but the latter only stepped out of the way. "We have to be quick though. If we don't find him before—"

The man opened the door, only to see another man towering over him menacingly. Shizuo glared at the newcomer; with Izaya, sure, he felt suspicious, but this man was something else entirely; Shizuo could feel the evil oozing off of him.

"Izaya," the newcomer greeted, giving a name to the man they had been talking to.

Shizuo could've sworn he saw Izaya flinch.

"Shiki..."

"I thought I told you, you could call me father," Shiki laughed out, but that laugh was so unsettling. Shizuo wanted to leave, especially when Shiki's eyes met his. "Would these be your friends?"

"They were just leaving."

"That's not polite." Shiki walked around Izaya, holding his hand out to Shizuo. "I'm Shiki, the owner of this house."

"Shizuo," he introduced back, reluctantly shaking his hands. Shiki then stretched out his hand to Shinra, who seemed more than happy to shake it.

"Would you guys care for some tea?" Shiki asked as he headed out the door.

"No."

"Yes!"

Shizuo glared at Shinra, telling him to disagree too. They had to get out of this house— whether it was haunted or not, it was oddly suspicious. And the blood on the floor seemed to be getting brighter in Shizuo's eyes, almost as if it were warning them too.

Shinra finally seemed to understand that Shizuo really wanted to leave. "We should probably be going home. Our friend's waiting for us outside."

Shiki gave an eerie smile, giving Izaya a look before he left. Once he was gone, Izaya glared at the two of them as he grabbed their hands and pulled them to the window.

"Hey— what do you think you're doing?" He grabbed Izaya's collar when the other boy picked up a piece of rope. Izaya tried swatting Shizuo's hand away, but to no avail.

"I don't want any more intruders in my house," he explained, glaring at Shizuo. "We're on the second floor, so it isn't too high up. You'll break your legs at most of you land badly."

"Why are you so urgently chasing us out?" Shinra asked as he stopped Izaya from tying the rope around his waist. Izaya paused and looked into Shinra's eyes. "We can just go through the front—"

"No, you can't." Izaya opened the window, pushing Shinra towards it. "Once you leave, don't come back. You especially," he said, turning towards Shizuo. "Your brain capacity baffles me."

What the hell? Shizuo didn't even do anything. Instead of punching him, Shizuo clenched his fists as he stayed quiet. He raised an eyebrow at Shinra when the other stared out the window, confused.

"Excuse me, can we try another window? I only know our way back from the front of the house," Shinra sheepishly explained, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. His laugh only became more nervous when he saw the look on Izaya's face.

"That is the front of the house."

"No— I don't remember there being people riding horses in our modern day and age." Shinra shook his head. "We definitely do not have carriages."

At those words, Shizuo shoved Shinra out of the way and gaped at what he saw. The outside world was definitely not what they were used to.

"...What year is it?" Shinra asked eventually.

"1864," Izaya answered, his eyes narrowing at the two as he backed up. "I knew your clothes were off. Who are you?"

Before Shizuo realized, a knife had passed him, embedding itself into the wall behind him. Izaya seemed to have at least three other knives ready in his hands.

"We... well," Shinra looked at Shizuo for help, but quickly realized that he wouldn't be any help in this situation. "There was an urban legend that this house was haunted. We decided to mess around a bit and—"

"You came here... to mess around?" Izaya dropped his stance and laughed. There was this conflicted look on his face that Shizuo didn't really understand too well. "Don't you realize what's happening?"

Izaya put his knives away as he walked back to the window. Shizuo grabbed his wrist, causing Izaya to meet his eyes.

"We can't leave."

"Why?"

Shizuo didn't know how to answer the question. It was obvious that Kadota wasn't here, and with the atmosphere of the house, they probably shouldn't stay here any longer.

But there was a look in Izaya's eyes. They couldn't leave.

"Our friend," Shizuo lied. "He might've come in."

"He did not. I'm aware of who comes in and who goes out," Izaya explained, trying to wrestle his wrist out of the blond's grip. "If you stay here, you'll face something worse than death."

"Don't worry about that!" Shinra slapped Shizuo's back, ignoring the growl he received. "This guy can lift up to probably four trucks with one arm. We'll be fine."

Izaya didn't seem to believe them, but he let up with a sigh. "Fine, stay here or don't. I don't care."

Izaya began leaving the room. Shizuo wanted to chase after him, but he kept his feet in place. He wasn't sure why he was acting out of the ordinary, but there was something about Izaya that caused him to feel this way.

"What do we do now?" Shinra asked, looking out the window again. "Do you think they're experimenting on people at this house?"

"What?"

"Think about it," Shinra gestured wildly as he spoke, "We'll face something worse than death? The 1800s? And don't you just get a vibe from this place?"

Shizuo couldn't argue with that. He didn't say anything, choosing to leave the room instead. Shinra followed, knowing that they were probably both thinking to look around the house.

They checked every room again, but there was no change. They decided that the basement was probably their best bet in figuring out what was going on with this place.

They quietly walked down the staircase, looking out for Shiki and Izaya. Shizuo hoped that he would see Izaya soon. He seemed afraid of something and Shizuo could've sworn he saw a glimmer of hope at one point.

Maybe Izaya needed saving. Shizuo didn't think he was much of a saviour, but he felt the need to help Izaya out.

Reaching the bottom of the basement stairs, they stopped when they heard some shuffling and some voices. Peaking down, they found Shiki's hand on Izaya's wrist, holding it so tightly that his skin was badly bruised already. Shizuo narrowed his eyes and nearly stepped out of their hiding to move Izaya away from the man.

Izaya was locked in a cage looking thing. He didn't seem too reluctant, almost as if he were used to it, but he was still obviously upset by it.

"Can't you just kill me?" he heard Izaya ask in a small voice. Compared to earlier, Izaya seemed like a completely different man; sure, he was kind of quiet before too, but the way he spoke now was hopeless. 

"You know I can't," Shiki replied in a smug voice. With his sleeves rolled over his elbows, he leaned against the cage. "You stay here while I find those two."

"He— eep!"

Shizuo immediately put his hand over Shinra's mouth. What an idiot, he thought, giving Shinra a glare. It was obvious Shiki was talking about them, Shinra didn't have to make it easier for him by giving away their location.

Shizuo heard footsteps, but by the time he looked back, Shiki already had a grip on Shinra's hair. Shiki dragged Shinra towards the caged Izaya, a smirk on his face.

"Hey!" Shizuo walked up to them, ignoring Shiki's bored look towards him. "The hell do you think you're doing?"

Shiki stayed quiet for a moment, glancing at Shizuo's arms. "I don't think I would be able to take you on in a one on one."

"He's super strong!" Shinra exclaimed, nodding his head fiercely.  "He won't hurt you if you let us go."

"You two aren't the smartest, are you?" Shiki sighed as he tightened his grip on Shinra, the latter letting out a groan. "I'll let you go if the blondie can down a bottle of something I've been working on."

Shizuo's eyes furrowed. "Why would I do that? I can beat you in—"

"Think about it, will you?" Shiki let go of Shinra. "You can beat me in a fight, but can you beat Izaya?"

Shizuo froze at that question. Izaya? He stared at the pale, skinny man, who seemed to look at him with somewhat bored eyes. Shizuo figured that technically no, he wouldn't be able to fight Izaya, but only because he didn't think Izaya would last through the fight.

"How about this?" Shiki grabbed Shinra's hair again, ignoring the other's screech of pain. "You can choose. Either you down the drink, in which I'll let you and your friend go. Or you can stand there and watch, and let your friend be sacrificed. If you go for the latter, I can promise no harm on Izaya."

Shizuo opened his mouth, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say? He wasn't going to choose between two lives. All he had to do was down this drink, and then he and Shinra were free to leave. Where, he wasn't sure, since they travelled back in time. But at least they would be alive.

So why was he hesitating?

Why did he not say anything as Shiki opened the cage?

He just stood there as Shinra was held in front of Izaya, who was eyeing the blond worriedly, as if he were begging him to down the drink instead of whatever was about to happen.

Shizuo couldn't do it.

He didn't know Izaya. Why was he saving his life over Shinra's?

He ignored Shinra's panicked eyes and just watched as Shiki bared Shinra's neck. Shizuo didn't even question when Izaya opened his mouth, two fangs growing.

All he did was watch as Izaya's mouth was on Shinra's neck. Shizuo closed his eyes, but Shinra's moans of pain screamed louder in his mind.

Shizuo didn't know how long that went on for. All he knew was that, eventually, it got quiet. There was no whimpering, no sounds of pain. Just some heavy breathing from Izaya.

Then, Shiki laughed.

"You're amazing!" he applauded as he turned towards Shizuo. "You're insane! You gave up your friend's life for a lowly vampire?"

Shizuo bit his lips and clenched his fist as he stared down at his feet, every limb of his body was trembling.

He could've overthrown Shiki, pushed him aside and run away with Shinra and Izaya. He was strong enough to do it, so what stopped him?

Was it the fear of Izaya possibly not following after him?

Shizuo bared his teeth at the thought. Why was he prioritizing someone he knew for a few hours?

"You two stay here," Shiki ordered as he wiped his hands with a towel. Shizuo looked away from the red colour that overtook the towel. "I know you won't try anything, right Shizuo?"

Shizuo stayed silent, but that must've been enough of an answer. He heard the steps of the staircase getting fainter and fainter, and eventually, he heard nothing.

He finally dropped to his knees with bile at the back of his throat. He probably would've thrown up if Izaya hadn't spoken up.

"How stupid can a person be?" Izaya scoffed, shaking his head. "Now we're both stuck here with a rotting body."

"Shut up."

"You protozoan— seriously." Izaya took a deep breath, looking away from Shizuo. It seemed like he had a lot of questions, but didn't think he'd get much of an answer out of him.

"Why are you here?" he asked Izaya, wondering why the didn't put up much of a fight as he was dragged to the cage, why he  drank practically all of Shinra's blood while obviously reluctant to do so.

"Maybe he's got something on me." Izaya shrugged as he let out a small laugh. "Or maybe it's all for fun."

Shizuo doubted the latter but didn't say as much. He sat down properly, crossing his legs over another.  He really stared at Izaya, trying to observe and engrave every feature about that man.

"I can break you out."

"I can break myself out."

Shizuo scoffed, scooting closer to the cage Izaya sat in. He looked so comfortable, one  wouldn't believe he was trapped until they looked into his eyes.

"How's a lanky guy like you going to do anything?" Shizuo touched the cage gently, as if afraid that he'd break it if he held too tightly. Honestly, he really would've broken the cage, but something told him that Izaya wouldn't speak to him if he did.

"Did you already forget the past five minutes. Your friend is still lying right there," Izaya said, wildly gesturing to the area where Shinra was. Shizuo frowned, not looking to where Izaya was pointing to. He didn't need another reminder that he let his friend die.

"Do we know each other?" he asked, thinking back to how familiar Izaya was to him. Truthfully, he just wanted there to be a reason for his actions. The look Izaya gave him told him that there essentially was no reason.

"Aw, do you want to be close to me?" Izaya teased, a small laugh escaping his lips. "Your name was Shizuo, right? Then, I'll call you.... Shizu-chan. That should show how close we are, right?"

Shizuo felt his eyebrow twitch as he glared at Izaya. "I'm being serious!"

The look on Izaya's face fell.

"....You were probably just in shock," Izaya explained, looking away from Shizuo. "Sometimes, a physically strong person is weak mentally."

Shizuo didn't think too hard about what Izaya said, but he accepted that he probably was just in shock. That slightly lifted his guilt, but he still couldn't get the idea of Izaya out of his head. There was something compelling about Izaya.

Since they were stuck here, he thought that he might as well speak whatever was on his mind, especially since Izaya didn't infuriate him the same way everybody else did. It was playful, and Shizuo was glad he could be himself without someone walking faster so they could get away from him.

"You remind me of myself," he admitted with a sigh. "I can hate myself but I can't hate you."

"Well, Shizu-chan, I hate you."

"Hah?" Shizuo glared, rattling the cage as he reached for Izaya's neck through it. Izaya scrambled to the other side and stuck his tongue out.

"What reason do I have to like you? You broke into my house, made me drink the blood of your friend—"

"I didn't make you do that!" Shizuo argued.

"Maybe not directly, but you two broke into my home! If you didn't, I wouldn't have had to—" Izaya stopped himself as he shut his eyes. "We're getting nowhere with this. Just don't talk to me."

Shizuo hesitated to speak, it was probably better to shut his mouth, but he was never great at controlling his emotions.

"If you hate drinking blood and being here so much, why don't you leave?"

The room was quiet, other than the occasional steps they would hear from upstairs. Shizuo felt like Izaya could probably hear his heart beat from this distance, but he couldn't help it; there was just this anxious feeling he couldn't let go of.

"I'm a vampire," Izaya surprisingly replied.  "He gives me blood without me needing to do anything. Why would I leave?"

Shizuo frowned. "But that's not it, is it?"

After a bit of nervous fiddling with his sleeves and fluttering eyes around the room, Izaya shut his eyes and answered in a small voice.

"He has my sisters."

Shizuo felt the unexplainable rage  rise within him again, thinking about all the different ways he could end Shiki. He had never met such a horrible man before, and Shizuo wasn't just going to let him walk away.

"I can help you," Shizuo genuinely offered. He couldn't imagine Kasuka being held hostage against him; for once, he wanted to save someone.

"Your friend died," Izaya repeated. "How do you not feel anything?"

It was Shizuo's turn to stay quiet. He couldn't answer that even if he wanted to. Izaya seemed to know this too, but he asked again anyway.

"....Break the cage."

Shizuo was surprised at the request, but he didn't think twice about it. In an instant, he broke apart the cage, a hand reached out  for Izaya.

Izaya's fingertips touched the palm of his hand, and Shizuo noted how cold they were. He let go of his hand as Izaya walked in front of him.

Izaya led them upstairs, his eyes watching the halls for any signs of Shiki. He gestured Shizuo to stay close.

"Outside this door...." Izaya placed his hand on the front entrance's doorknob, his fingers nearly falling off with how gently he held on to it. "There's this office about five kilometres north from here. It's where Shiki keeps all his important files, including a document on my sisters. It's a red file with the title 'Experiment XX.'"

Izaya took his hand off the knob, looking at Shizuo with shaky eyes. Shizuo was tempted to hold his hand again, but he held himself back.

"It's daylight outside."

Shizuo didn't need to be told anything else. Izaya's pale skin made so much more sense now.

"I need you to..."

"Okay," Shizuo agreed, no doubt in his voice. "A red file, right? I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."

Izaya's eyes widened before he regained his composure. "Don't get ahead of yourself. They're all powerful men. Your friend might've been impressed by your strength, but these men are mafia. Be cautious."

"I will."

Izaya nodded as he bit his lip. "There's a window, I think. On the left side of the building that leads directly to the office room with the files. There's a lot of security, so you'll have to knock them out before they alarm anybody else. As soon as you get in, leave."

"Have you been there before?"

With the way Izaya was describing it, Shizuo assumed that he had attempted this before. Maybe this was why he had given up so early in the past.

And the look in Izaya's eyes answered his question; he didn't need any verbal answer.

"I'll be back then," Shizuo said, opening the door. Some sunlight trickled in, touching Izaya's bare skin. Shizuo noticed his skin immediately going red and wondered how long he could last in the sunlight. He looked right into Izaya's eyes, and with as much devotion as he could gather,  he stated, "Wait for me."

Shizuo immediately left after that, running what he assumed to be North. He noticed that the streets of 1864 were emptier now, the roads void of any horses or carriages. It was just a road with some old buildings. Shizuo ran past it all, refusing to accept the fact that he had gone back in time and lost a friend.

He knew where North was, only because on their way here, Shinra had pointed out all the directions fifteen times. He had been very clear, he made sure Shizuo understood. Shizuo was glad Shinra was afraid he'd get lost.

He ran and ran until he saw an odd looking building. It looked like it would be three rooms max, yet there were many guards around, and they seemed to immediately notice Shizuo.

Shizuo's ran up to them and slammed their heads on the floor before they could call anyone. He made sure they were unconscious before heading through the front door, ignoring Izaya's tip. Shizuo decided to just knock everyone out just in case.

They were easy. They weren't anywhere near as strong as Shizuo had thought. Sure, they put up a fight, but not a difficult one. It was more of a nuisance than anything.

Looking in every room, he found one that seemed important, with documents on the desk, shelves, and the floor. It seemed like a really scattered room, but an important one. Shizuo noticed a few cameras and heard a noise like an alarm in the distance.

Dammit, he thought as rushed towards the files, flinging them off the desk when he couldn't find the right one.

It's got to be here somewhere, right?

Yet, each file he picked up was neither red or had the title he was looking for. They all the same manilla colour.

He scanned the room really briefly, his fingers tapping against the desk anxiously. His eyes landed on a safe in the wall, so obviously there. How could he have missed that in his haste?

He walked towards it and fumbled with it a bit. In the end, he decided to punch straight through it. It was difficult and he did get bruised knuckles, but there it was. A red file with the title Izaya had mentioned.

He heard some footsteps behind him and sighed deeply, turning around to face the newcomer. However, before he could fully turn around, he felt some bullets pierce his legs. He groaned, not letting the pain stop him. He faced the man, hoping that once the guy saw him still standing after being shot, he'd run away in fear.

Instead, the man stood there with a smirk on his face.

Shizuo hadn't been shot before, but he had been pierced with knives and pens and such. He barely ever felt them, and he didn't think a bullet would hurt much either, but he felt a bit of unbearable pain in his legs.

He cursed in his mind again as he walked up to the guy, who tried to move but Shizuo was quicker, grabbing his neck and only letting him go once he proved to be unconscious.

Shizuo took a step forward but nearly fell when he felt his legs sting.

"Freaking hell."

He watched the blood seep through his pants. He couldn't stop now, he thought as he continued stumbled towards the front door, hoping he'd make it out before any reinforcements got here.

He managed to make it back into the woods where he came from, ignoring the pain in his legs. He was so close to helping Izaya out, he was almost about to save somebody.  He couldn't let some bullets stop him.

He ran, ignoring the rain that began to fall. He was glad that file was in some type of sealed bag, so at least that was okay. The droplets didn't help him at all, especially as it hit his legs. The pain was excruciating, Shizuo didn't know why; he could only guess that they poisoned the bullets or something.

He finally made it to the house and smiled. His smile only grew when he saw Izaya peak through the door. When Izaya's eyes widened and ran towards him, Shizuo grew afraid, his eyes shooting to the sky. The rain, however, covered the sun by its clouds.

"Shizu-chan..."

Shizuo felt his eye twitch. Whatever, he disregarded as he held up the file.

Izaya seemed surprised, as if he didn't actually think he'd do it. Shizuo grew concerned when he saw Izaya's eyes grow worried and his hands tremble.

Shizuo furrowed his eyebrows as he eyed Izaya one more time. "What's wrong?"

Just then, he heard some clapping.

Looking towards the door, he saw Shiki with the biggest grin on his face.

"You actually did it," he stated as he walked towards the pair, ignoring the rain wetting his clothes. He stopped behind Izaya, a hand on the other's shoulder. "You can just hand that over to me."

"Hey!" Shizuo held the file back when Shiki reached out to it. "It's for Izaya. I'm getting him out of here."

Shiki paused for a moment before he laughed in the most mocking way Shizuo had ever heard. "You think you're some saviour?"

Shizuo gritted his teeth, grabbing Izaya's wrist as he pulled him behind himself. He handed him the file, glaring at Shiki.

"You're pretty stupid, aren't you?"

Shizuo ignored Shiki's words, but grew confused when he felt the warmth of Izaya leave his back. Shizuo reached for him but he was already by Shiki's side again, a conflicted look on his face.

Shizuo realized what was going on.

"Your sisters," he began, narrowing his eyes at Izaya. He felt angry, but not at Izaya exactly. He didn't think he could ever get angry at Izaya. "Was that all a lie?"

Shizuo knew it wasn't, not with the way Izaya refused to meet Shizuo's eyes. He didn't say anything, but Shizuo understood.

"That file, then," he asked, "You wouldn't trick me to bring your sister's information to their kidnapper."

"Oh, this?" Shiki wiggled the file in his hands, his grin widening. "This is what's going to change everything."

Shizuo stilled, his eyes narrowing. "The hell you taking about it?"

Shizuo didn't want to listen to whatever it was that Shiki was going to spout out, but there was something about the maniacal look on his face that kept Shizuo's feet planted.

"Have you heard the story of Frankenstein's Monster?"

Shizuo did, but what exactly was he getting at here?

Shiki smirked.

"It's that story of where Dr. Frankenstein creates a monster of various body parts, the one where he goes 'It's alive! It's alive!'" Shiki summarized, the hand on Izaya's shoulder visibly tightening. "My great, great, great, great grandfather or so gathered body parts for one of his experiments and assembled them together to create The Monster that you know of."

Shizuo's mouth fell agape as he listened to the story, many questions going through his mind. The story was real? And it was Shiki's ancestor who was behind it? And...

Wasn't the Frankenstein story created in the early 1800s? If so, then what year were they currently in?

"The Monster that he created, it reproduced. And its child had a child. It went on and on. But do you know what they had in common? They all had superhuman strength," Shiki paused when he saw Shizuo's eyes widen as he spoke. "Tell me, does that sound familiar?"

The pain in Shizuo's legs had gone dull at his words. He felt his hands shake, forcing them into a fist to stop them.

He stayed quiet, knowing that whatever Shiki was saying was complete and utter crap. He wasn't some descendant of Frankenstein's monster— the story wasn't even real!

There was no way.

"Every single child that came from that bloodline has resisted. They had no remorse for humans, so they wouldn't listen if I ever took someone hostage, but you," Shiki spoke as his hand wrapped around Izaya's neck. "You won't let him die, would you?"

Shizuo didn't like how he was right.

Shizuo stared at Izaya, who stared back. He didn't move— he didn't even attempt to. The look on his face only showed a bit of guilt.

"After all," Shiki laughed out, his hand tightening around Izaya's neck. "It runs in the family."

Shizuo didn't think he could take any more shock. He stepped forward angrily, ready to make Shiki shut up, but his eyes caught on Izaya. He stopped, glaring as fiercely as he could towards Shiki.

"What do you want?" he uttered out through gritted teeth, wanting to get this over with. But something told Shizuo it wouldn't be that quick or easy.

"You're not even going to ask which one of your ancestors fell in love with him, hm?" Shiki loosened his grip, grabbing Izaya's chin instead. "What if I told you it was every single one of them?"

"Shut up!" Shizuo yelled, lunging forward fast enough to grab Shiki's neck, pulling him away from Izaya. Shizuo slammed him against the floor, straddling him to keep him from moving. Shiki seemed unbothered by it all.

"Shizu-chan."

"You shut the hell up." He glared at Izaya for a moment, his gaze only returning to Shiki once he began speaking again.

"With every child, we've tried getting them to comply, since we can't overpower them. Not a single one offered their neck to Izaya, not a single one thought he was worth it." Shiki laughed when Shizuo grabbed his head and slammed it against the ground. "You never thought it was suspicious with how strong you were? Or what about the inexplicable feelings you have towards Izaya? You think you were the only one of your kind to feel this way?"

Shizuo paused at his words. How did he know that Shizuo had inhuman strength in the first place?

At the thought, Shizuo felt a stinging pain in his head as his body was flung off of Shiki. Looking up as he held his head, he saw Shinra. Alive.

Shizuo felt his eyes stinging as he stared at the metal bat in Shinra's hands.

"Why..."

"Izaya biting him knocked him unconscious . When he came to, I asked him this: Do you really want to be on Shizuo's side when he offered you up so easily? Or would you rather work with us, with your girlfriend's head forever hidden away?"

Shizuo knew Shinra's girlfriend, Celty, didn't have a head. He never got any answers, but he learnt to accept the fact that she was alive with no head. Something told him that Shinra was hiding more than he thought.

He wasn't sure what exactly the importance of Celty's head was, but it was clearly enough to make Shinra switch sides.

Actually, Shizuo wasn't sure if that was what made him follow Shiki; it was probably because Shizuo didn't save him when he obviously could've.

Shinra refused to look into Shizuo's eyes, staring down at the wet grass. He refused to say a word to Shizuo, and frankly, Shizuo wasn't in the mood to speak to him either.

Shizuo laughed, slapping a hand over his face. He was losing blood, feeling dizzy but he still laughed. He didn't know what else to do. He caught Izaya's eye and couldn't help but glare again.

"I hate you," he uttered out as venomously as he could. It wasn't even Izaya's fault, he seemed like he didn't want to be a part for this, but from what it seemed like it, Izaya was forced to be a part of this for the last two centuries to be a part of the Shiki family's schemes.

"We know that's not true." Shiki stood up, wiping the wet mud off his arms. "It wasn't his fault you were so easily fooled by some hired actors and carriages with horses."

So it was all a set up. Shizuo glanced around and noticed they were around the grassy fields that Shizuo had first seen when he arrived at the wretched house. They didn't time travel, they were just messing with his head. 

What was even real anymore?

Shizuo stared down, refusing to look at any of them. Maybe if he shut his eyes hard enough, they would disappear.

They did not.

"Now, stand up," Shiki ordered. "We've been waiting for this day for a very long time. Since the day you were born, we've been planning this out."

Since the day he was born? That had to be a lie, there was no way they were making him live the way they wanted him to.

Right?

"Come, we're going to feed your blood to Izaya, using the file that you brought me."

Shiki held up the red, sealed file. Shizuo had never regretted anything more in his life.

"Why would you get me to steal something from your own office?" he asked,.

"Ha!" Shiki seemed so amused. Shizuo wanted to punch the smile off his face. "Because you broke into my competitor's office. These files are notes on previous experiments done on vampires and a bit on The Monster. These notes will help me further advance my studies."

"Which is killing Izaya by feeding him a monster's blood?"

"No, you misunderstand." Shiki walked towards Izaya, who was still quiet, refusing to utter another word. "I plan on making Izaya the greatest immortal. To do so, we need to find a way to transfer your strength to him."

"...What if I refuse?"

"You can. You can run away right now and forget about all this. As I said, we're not strong enough to overpower you, but..." Shiki grabbed Izaya's hand as he led him towards the house, "Will you really refuse?"

Izaya glanced back, his red eyes meeting Shizuo.

Shizuo shut his mouth into a thin line. He stood up, his legs wobbly from the bullets, which were probably designed to fight him off.

"Good boy," Shiki mocked when Shizuo stood in front of them. With his hand on Shizuo's shoulder, Shiki forced him onto his knees, moving his head to the side as he was forced to bare his neck. "This was a little too easy."

Izaya bent down too, his fangs out as he stared at Shizuo's neck with uneasy eyes.

"I hate you," he whispered to Shizuo.

Shizuo felt the same.

Shiki grinned at the sight, his arms stretched out wide as if welcoming Shizuo into his awful home.

"Now," he started, "Let's begin with the first trial."