Instincts

Chapter three

The minute Shinra walked into the room and saw a bloody man in Shizuo's lap, a million questions ran through his head. But instead of asking them he dashed from the doorway to the sofa, his first aid kit in hand.

"What happened?!" Was the first thing he said, looking down at the unconscious skinny male in Shizuo's arms. Shinra looked horrified. The blonde man looked up at the brunette, salty tears falling from his mocha eyes. "I d-don't know-w." He choked on tears as he spoke softly. Shinra looked confused.

"How do you not know?! And who exactly is this?"

"Just help! P-please," Shizuo paused to wipe away a few tears, "S-shinra. . . He's dying. Please. . . D-do something." Shinra's heart melted hearing how the usually quite brutal man was showing his weakness; emotions. The doctor nodded and kneeled down.

"Shizuo your gonna want to move."

The blonde nodded and carefully lifted Izaya up and off his lap before laying the skinny male down on the sofa. Shinra stripped the patient laying in front of him, only leaving his underwear and socks. He examined the wounds on his arms, legs, and chest. Izaya's arms were covered in what looked like scratches from a big clawed animal. The frail man had several bruises all over his body, mainly on the right side of his lower stomach, close to his hips. Those indicated a few broken bones. Along with the purple and blue bruises was a badly bleeding bullet hole in the rib area, a hint of sliver peeking through the bleeding flesh. Blood so red it was black was covering that side almost completely. Shinra looked up at Shizuo, who was looking away with tears pouring down his face.

The doctor sighed. "Shizuo, you might not want to be here when I start the surgery. By the looks of it he's been shot, and I can see the bullet. I have to get it out and I don't think you want to see that. Plus in order for this to work I need to numb him up. Which that isn't a pretty sight either. Especially if he's not unconscious like we think."

Shinra could see Shizuo cringe slightly from where he was kneeling. The blonde nodded before whispering so soft it was almost inaudible, "His name is Izaya." And with that he left the room, heading to his bedroom.

All Shizuo could do now was wait.

It had been at least five hours. Shizuo sat on his bed, worried sick about Izaya. He had no idea why he was so attached to the frail man. It's not like they were best friends or family. They barely even knew each other and yet here he was; so worried he could hurl. Millions of 'what ifs' ran through his head. What if Shinra can't help him? What if his wounds don't heal properly? What if the surgery goes wrong?

What if he dies?

Shizuo's train of thought was interrupted by a knock at his bedroom door. Shinra walked in, a sad look plastered on his face. It was the kind of look you have when something really bad happened. Shizuo didn't like that look. Not one bit. The doctor shut the door behind him and walked over to the blonde on the edge of the bed. The brunette took a deep breath.

"Shizuo. . . I'm sorry. I don't think he's gonna make it."

Shizuo's heart just about stopped. He felt a painful emotion shoot through him, making him feel numb. This wasn't what Shizuo wanted to hear, it was the exact opposite. No, this couldn't be true. "Tell me you're lying. God, please tell me this is just a sick joke!" The blonde shouted, tears shining in his eyes. Shinra shook his head 'no.'

Shizuo sunk to his knees. He still had no idea why he was so attached to Izaya. Maybe it was the way the raven's auburn eyes looked into his with that scared and helpless look. Or maybe it was the fact that Shizuo wanted to protect Izaya; protect him from whoever harmed him. All Shizuo knew was that he didn't want Izaya to die. The blonde had to admit he felt something when they locked eyes, when he held the frail man in his arms, and even when the raven called him a protozoan. It hurt to think that he might not be alive tomorrow. Unable to control them, warm tears fell from Shizuo's eyes. There was nothing he could do but cry at this point.

"He's still alive and awake right now. He's just a little woozy due to the shots I gave him. So like. . . If you want to see him. . Now's the time." Shinra said, looking at Shizuo.

The blonde nodded, wiping away a few of his tears, and stood up. He slowly walked over to his bedroom door and opened it. From the doorway he could see Izaya laying on the couch, covered in bandages. Shizuo quietly walked over to the couch and kneeled down by Izaya. The skinny male looked up at him.

"S-shizuo?"

The blonde couldn't help but smile. "So you remembered me?"

"H-how could I f-forget you? No one's ever s-saved me-e like that before." Izaya replied, his voice weak and raspy.

Realization hit Shizuo like a bullet. What Izaya said, "no one's ever saved me", and all the injuries he had, made it all so clear. Izaya has been abused. Shizuo felt his heart twist painfully in his chest. The look that Izaya had on his face was the same one as before; fear. The bleach blonde felt that protective instinct rise up in him again. He wanted to kill whoever did this. Make them pay for what they did to another living being. But it would be meaningless now, considered they would've already won. Because Izaya was dying. And Shizuo knew, no matter how hard he tried, he could never protect Izaya from death.

"S-shizuo," Izaya took a shaky breath, "I. . . I'm. . scared."

Shizuo's heart shattered into a million pieces hearing those words.

Izaya was crying.

"Hey. . Shhh, it's okay." Shizuo tried to comfort the other, but found himself more hurt by his own lies. Nothing was ''okay.'' That whole damn word was a lie. He could tell Izaya knew that too, considered the skinny raven-haired male was still crying, small whimpers escaping his lips. Shizuo barely even thought before he took Izaya's hand in his, using his thumb to rub soothing circles on the crying male's knuckles. Izaya looked up at Shizuo with a look of pure shock.

"W-why are you doing this f-for me?" The raven asked, tears still rolling down his pale cheeks. In all honesty, Shizuo still didn't know. But at the same time he did know. He wanted to protect Izaya, that's what he knew, but why was what he didn't know. It could be that maybe, just maybe, he did have feelings for the strange dragon boy that crashed into the window. Shizuo took a deep breath.

"You told me no one has ever saved you before. And well. . . I want to be the person that does."

Izaya smiled softly, hearing those words before closing his eyes, going limp against the pillow he was propped up on. Shizuo's eyes went wide with fear and he shook Izaya gently. When he got no response he shook him harder. Still nothing. "Izaya? Izaya! Wake up! H-hey! Izaya please, no! Come on! No! No no no! Izaya. . . P-please." Shizuo choked out as he cried helplessly, continuing to shake Izaya in hope of waking him up.

What could he do?

He already knew the answer.

There was nothing he could do.

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Author's notes: {Hi there! I'm Shiro and I'm the one making this cruddy fanfic! Any who, it's not over yet. In fact, it's far from over. This chapter came out a little later than planned because I unluckily caught the awful flu going around, so sorry 'bout that! I've been so tired lately I could barely think straight. But I hope you like this story so far. I got the inspiration to make this from the song "Elastic Heart" by Sia. It's a wonderful song, I recommend you listen to it. But anyway, thank you and I hope you enjoy my story! Arigato!}