Seven Ghosts
Even Deeper
Seven Ghosts
Part One
Chapter Two
Even Deeper
{[Heiwajima Shizuo]}
“He has refused treatment and counseling, like I said. This may affect how his pain prescriptions are dealt with. Unless you agree to take responsibility for them...”
The words were almost like a physical blow.
Izaya the pest.
Izaya the invincible.
Izaya the unscathable.
Izaya has cancer.
Izaya is going to die.
And I’m not going to be the one to kill him.
I snapped back to the present moment, where the Izaya's on duty social worker was discussing with the doctor some medical jargon I couldn't quite follow. “I'll take responsibility,” I told them suddenly.
What am I doing?
“Good, good,” the ER doctor told me. “We recommend a follow-up appointment with his specialist, though he hasn't attended anything scheduled beyond the initial evaluation and consultation according to his records. We can't release him until we know he'll be supervised. Will you be able to care for him?”
“Uhh...” That was asking a bit much.
“Shizu-chan...”
I turned to the weak voice behind the curtain and parted it, seeing an awake Izaya. He'd heard every word and had done nothing to stop me from taking hold of his medical decisions. “Izaya-kun...”
“Get me out of here,” he asked quietly.
“Why should I?” I snorted. I shouldn't be the one doing this. I shouldn't be here at all...
He closed his eyes and shrugged. “Fine.”
“Tch.” I signed the release. “Come on pest, let's go.”
Izaya was quiet as we walked out of the hospital and as soon as we were off grounds I lit up a cigarette, fully intending to just leave him. Let him die by his own hands, I decided. I could give a crap anymore.
To my surprise, he continued to follow me. My guard was up. It would be just like him to try and kill me in this moment, despite the fact that I had just saved his ass from weeks of isolation in the mental ward. “I'm immensely curious, Shizu-chan. Why'd you help me out back there?”
“I dunno,” I told him coldly. “Maybe I decided that you could go off yourself for all I care.”
“How considerate of you,” he chuckled.
“You're a fucking idiot.”
“Ne~?”
“You've got fucking brain cancer. It explains a few things in my opinion, but …”
“Oh, don't get all patronizing on me,” he snorted. “You want to see me dead just as bad as I do.”
“No, that's not ...” I sighed, struggling for words. “I don't even know why I bothered. Go do your thing I guess. Just know I’m not a totally heartless monster.”
“Strange words from you,” he snickered.
“Take this seriously, would you?! You're gonna die, moron!”
“Don't you think I don't realize that, Shizu-chan.” He stopped walking and I did too, a little baffled at the quiet tone in his voice with me. He kicked a rock on the sidewalk and shrugged. “Thanks I guess. I’d rather go out on my own terms. Fucking with the medical community is fun and all, but it's more fun from the outside.”
“Just go throw yourself off of a building or something. Leave me out of it.”
“Will do! Catch you later, Shizu-chan!” he called cheerfully, freerunning over some bulldozers engaged in some street construction.
Good. Saves me the trouble.