Turnover

Chapter 28.5: Birthday Special

"I think...you should....ask someone else? I'm not good with relationships...or whatever you two have."

Celty playfully punched Shizuo's arm. 'You suck at humor but thanks for trying. I'll try to stay strong enough for the both of us until he gets back to normal. I want the old Shinra back.'

Shizuo nodded. "You and me both. It's weird to see him so..."

'So void of emotion?' Celty tried to guess what Shizuo was trying to say.

"Yeah. I kind of miss his stupid jokes, now he doesn't even talk when he's patching me up. It's...strange."

Celty nodded, her helmet acting as a head. 'I do too, it's better than seeing him with those empty looking eyes. I've never seen a person so void of happiness. I just want to make him happy again.' The dullahan's shoulders shook, Shizuo knew that she would be crying if she was able to. He didn't blame her, he'd feel that way too if he was in her situation.

'I want to help him but I don't know how...he'd know what to do.' Shizuo winced when he read that sentence, he knew exactly who Celty was talking about.

"I can't believe I'm saying this...but I wish I hadn't killed the louse." He didn't like seeing Celty worried and he hated the fact that Shinra was suffering because of what he had done.

Celty put a gloved hand on his shoulder. 'If it wasn't you, it'd be someone else. It isn't your fault. Besides, your underling hurt him too. You don't really know if you killed him or not.'

Shizuo knew she was right, she was always right. He didn't have time to be depressed but he couldn't help it. "You're right, I hope Shinra gets better soon. Take care of him, he needs you more than you think." Shizuo gave her a forced smile before stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking away.

Celty watched the ex-bartender walk away. 'Shizuo...I hope you stop blaming yourself soon. It isn't like you to be depressed...' With that thought, she hopped on her motorcycle and began driving home.

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Izaya hid in his room with his coffee, the two loud and energetic people in the living room were just too much for him. He had spent the whole morning trying to find a proper job to make some money, he didn't want to be stuck taking care of children for zero pay.

"Iza~!" He heard a very obnoxious voice call his name from outside his door.

"I swear- yes Sakura?" Izaya chugged the last bit of coffee he had in his mug before opening the door.

Sakura smiled and handed him a piece of paper. "Yuu-chan drew it for you but he was too shy to give it to you. He thinks you'll hate it. I personally think it's adorable so we should definitely put it on the fridge."

"Why put drawings on the fridge?"

"Back home, whenever I got an award or drew something, my parents hung it on the fridge. It's like telling your guests 'my kid is the best' and makes the kid more confident since their art and achievements were being put on display." The pink haired woman explained with a smile.

Izaya nodded even though he didn't really understand. "Okay, let's put it on the fridge. By the way, your hair was blue this morning. When did you dye it?"

"Oh, the pink." She picked up her braid and looked at it as if she herself had only just noticed the change in color. "I picked up Yuu-chan and he accompanied me as I went to the salon to get it changed. He's very popular with the stylists, I even paid to get his hair trimmed. He was so excited and adorable!"