Guilt (Shizuo X Izaya)

Chapter 23: Finale

Shinra POV

I pace back and forth in my apartment, biting my thumbnail and glaring daggers at nothing in particular.

Will you just calm down? Celty types irritably. They'll be back.

"I have a bad feeling, Celty." I mutter. "Shizuo hasn't come barging in here since he raided my filing cabinet! It's been two days and there's been no sign of either him or Izaya!"

Celty doesn't respond but I can tell she's upset. My good-husband instincts take over and I immediately feel guilty.

"Sorry, sweetie, I know you're probably worried, too." I say and tackle her in a hug.

A rigid knocking interrupts our tender embrace, urgent constant knocks. I look with reluctance at Celty, who's below me and looking rather flustered. She gestures for me to answer the damn door and sighing, I follow her orders.

"Okay, who is-"

A woman stands before me, blonde and pale. She holds her arm at her chest and one look and I can tell it's broken. Red and purple rings line her wrists and upper arms.

"V-Vorona!" I exclaim, eyeing her up and down and panicking. "What happened, where have you been? Wait, just come in first."

"I can't," she says, her thick Russian accent even harder to understand. "But I need a favor of you."

"What's wrong?"

"Go to this address," she says, shaking as she pulls out a slip of paper. "I need to go, back home. But maybe you can save them before it's too late."

Vorona, I don't know what's going on, but you're injured, Celty types, peeking from the edge of the door. Can't you get some medical help before you leave?

"Sorry, but it was a lot just to get here. Please, just hurry to this address."

Alright, if you're sure.

Vorona nods and scampers aways down the hallway, holding her arm close to her side. I exchange looks with Celty, sharing brief concern before simultaneously gathering our belongings in search of Shizuo and Izaya.

•••

My bad feeling increases the farther we get from Ikebukuro.

I'm used to riding on the back of Celty's bike; the heads turning to watch, people taking out their phones to snap photos or record us. They get no clues due to the black smoke rippling around us and the helmet around my head of the same material.

"You are so cool," I whisper to her, clutching a little tighter against her back. She shudders, which I only take as embarrassment.

We're almost there, Celty types. I don't exactly know what Vorona meant by save them before it's too late, but we should be prepared for anything...

"I know," I say. "They might both be as dense as a pile of bricks and they never listen to reason. But they're passionate in a way neither of us can understand as well as dramatic."

As we approach our destination, I notice something a little off with the building near the horizon. It's strangely simple for a style so close to the city, with no parking lot, street lamps, or anything. It's almost as if anyone who's in there would be living there. Eerie....

We skid to a stop, eyeing our surroundings. I take a deep breath when I notice a large opening near the back, crumbling pieces of stone and paint blowing our direction with the wind. It's too quiet.