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Sakura smiled politely at Shizuo. "Yes! Nice to meet you again Shizuo-kun!" She said, pulling Yuu away from the man, trying not to show that she was scared for the child's safety.
"Nee-chan you know him..? I thought he just mixed up papa." Yuu asked, holding the woman's hand.
"Shizuo and I met the other day at a friends place." She told him, ruffling his hair. Yuu nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Shizuo stared at the child then looked at Sakura. "Are you the mom?" He asked. Sakura shook her head and laughed.
"No he isn't mine. My friend adopted him and I'm babysitting while he's working." She answered, still laughing a bit.
Shizuo nodded in understanding. "Sorry for assuming. So how have you been?" He asked, surprisingly calm.
"I'm good. Shinra is still quite the handful." She joked, chuckling a bit.
Shizuo smiled. "That's good. He hasn't been cheery in a long time, I'm glad he's doing fine." He said with sincerity.
Sakura got confused, Shinra was happy all the time from what she saw. "What do you mean?" She asked him.
"His close friend died around a year ago... I was insensitive and made him mad... He's been unwell since then...so I'm glad he's back to how he used to be." Shizuo said, clenching his fists, angry with himself.
"I can't help but feel guilty..." He added quietly. Sakura smiled and pat his shoulder comfortingly, despite him being taller.
"I'm sure he doesn't hold resentment to you. Maybe apologize if the subject ever comes up, I'm sure he'll forgive you!" She said, allowing Yuu to hug the tall man.
Shizuo chuckled and ruffled Yuu's hair. "Thanks for the comfort you two. You aren't so bad." He directed the last part at Sakura.
Sakura put a hand over her heart in mock offense. "I thought we bonded!" She said jokingly, not able to hide her smile.
Yuu laughed at Sakura while Shizuo just watched them, amused. "Sorry Shizuo but I should get Yuu home before his dad gets worried." She said, grabbing Yuu's hand once more and leading him back to their homes.
Yuu looked back at waved at Shizuo until he was out of view. Shizuo waved back at the child, smiling softly.
He was surprised, he had never felt warmth when talking to children, not even the little girl that seemed attached to him when Vorona was still around.
He quickly replaced his smile with a frown. It wasn't like him to feel like that, he was usually angry at the smallest things. Children usually annoyed him but he didn't feel annoyed when Yuu was around.
Of course he wouldn't attack a child but he still preferred to stay away from them. Despite his attempts to frown he couldn't hide the smile on his face as he walked to Russia Sushi.
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[The next weekend]
Izaya woke up feeling strange. He wasn't sick or dizzy but something felt off to him. When he checked in on Yuu, who was sleeping soundly in bed, Izaya didn't feel the same way he usually did.
He felt like lying to Yuu, manipulating him to do something, maybe even leave Yuu alone in the apartment and go to the signing he was to attend that day.
All those feeling scared him. He was reverting back to his old ways, that wasn't a good sign. Izaya quickly woke up Yuu and carried him next door to Sakura's place. 'Please be awake, please be home.' He thought as he frantically banged on the door of the doctor's apartment.
Sakura answered the door, already dressed for work. "Iza? Yuu? Why are you two here so early?" She asked before noticing the worried look Izaya had on his face.
"Sakura...we need to talk." Izaya said, putting Yuu down so the 7 year old could go play in Sakura's living room. Sakura led Izaya into her office and closed the door so Yuu couldn't hear the conversation.
"What is it Iza?" She asked worriedly, grabbing her clipboard.
Izaya's hands were shaking. "Help me. Th-this morning I checked in on Yuu a-and bad thoughts e-entered my head." He told her, voice shaking.
Of course Sakura knew Izaya reverting back to his old ways was a possibility, but she didn't think it would happen after all the time that had passed.
"Iza, just breathe. It's going to be okay." She said, making him pace his breathing to help him calm down. She put on a brave face despite how upset she was seeing her best friend break down in front of her.
"I g-got s-so scared. I don't want to go back. Th-the old me w-went through so much pain, I c-can't do that again." Izaya said, holding his head in his hands while crying.
Sakura went to comfort Izaya but the door opened to reveal a concerned Yuu. "Nee-chan... Why is papa crying...?" The little boy asked, running to Izaya and hugging him.
Sakura looked away from them to prevent herself from crying. "Iza wasn't a good person before you met him... He was...very bad...but you and I helped him become better." She told the child, not making eye contact.
Yuu nodded while hugging his father. "But why is he sad now?" He asked, not able to put two and two together due to his young age.
"This morning the bad thoughts came back... He doesn't want to be bad anymore but the past can't be erased..." She explained. She couldn't hold back her tears and started crying as well, which triggered Yuu to cry too.
The little boy didn't want Sakura and Izaya feeling sad anymore. They had so much fun stuff to do, they couldn't be sad. "Papa... You don't want to go back! That means you won't!" He said, trying to knock some sense into Izaya.
Izaya wiped his tears. "You're right Yuu-chan. I won't go back even if the bad thoughts are there." He wiped away Yuu's tears too.
"Cheer up now. We have a manga signing to go to!" He said, picking up Yuu.
Sakura wiped her own tears and giggled. "Have fun! I'll meet you there after work with Shinra and Celty." She said as they left her apartment.
'I won't let the past torture Iza anymore.'
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Erika was jumpy the whole day, unable to contain her excitement. She and Walker managed to get copies of the finale so they could get them signed by Psyche.
Walker was just as excited as Erika but was able to contain it so Kadota didn't have to deal with two adults freaking out over manga. He couldn't contain his excited smile though.
Kadota just laughed at Erika's fangirling. He was happy for her and Walker, even he had to respect Psyche for being able to get such a large following in such a short time.
Saburo sighed as he drove to the building the signing was being held. He sighed once more as he saw the long line of people waiting. "Erika, Walker, you better appreciate the suffering I'm about to go through for you two." He told them.
Erika nodded. "You can Dota-chin are the best! But you can leave us here if you really don't want to go." She offered. Walker nodded along, agreeing with her offer.
"It's fine Erika. We should be here in case anything happens." Kadota said, not trusting the two to stay out of trouble by themselves. Knowing them they would try to sneak into the after party.
Erika smiled and got out of the van, Walker, Saburo, and Kadota following suit. They group got in line, prepared to wait for hours just for Walker and Erika to get their manga's signed by a mangaka who's never even shown his face.
"Erika, Walker, Saburo, Kadota?" Called a voice. The group looked over at who called their names and saw Masaomi with Mikado and Anri.
"Anri-chan!" Erika called, hugging the young girl.
"Hello Erika-san..." Anri greeted the hyper woman with a small smile.
"What are you three doing here?" Kadota asked the trio, he didn't expect any of them to be manga readers.
"Oh, Anri wanted an autograph from the author!" Mikado said. Anri blushed and looked away, embarrassed.
"Erika-san told me about the series so I decided to read it. She seemed to enjoy it so I read it... the story telling is good and the characters are very interesting." She explained shyly.
Erika hugged her again. "Aw you're so precious! I'm glad you like the series! You remind me of Irna! (Anri spelled backwards) Maybe you should try cosplaying him!" She said excitedly.
"M-maybe one day..." Anri said, trying to escape Erika's tight grip.
"Erika let the poor girl go. You're going to suffocate her." Kadota said, laughing.
"OKAY PSYCHE-SAMA WILL START SIGNING!" A worker called out.
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Izaya had Sakura and Yuu wait in a seperate room while he signed autographs. After a long wait the first group of people came up to the booth that was set up.
One by one he greeted his fans and signed their copies of the manga. He was glad that so many people liked his work. He couldn't have asked for a better fanbase, a the fans were so kind.
Meeting everyone in such a happy and positive environment made him forget about what had happened that morning. He was content in his own little world and he couldn't be happier.
"Oh my gosh Psyche it's so good to meet you!" A familiar voice called out. He was expecting the person to arrive sooner or later, he looked up and saw Erika and Walker, Saburo and Kadota standing behind them.
"It's nice to meet you too!" He said, taking the manga from her hands and begining to write a message "Can I get your name miss?" He asked her, even though he already knew her name.
"My name is Erika!" She practically squealed. Izaya chuckled as he wrote a small note for her, something he didn't do with the others.
He handed her the manga back. "There you go Erika-san. I'm glad you enjoy my work." He said before going to sign Walker's manga. Walker was just as excited as Erika but didn't squeal like Erika did.
"What's your name sir?" Izaya asked, preparing to write a small message on Walker's manga as well.
"I'm Walker. It's a pleasure to meet you!" He answered excitedly. Izaya smiled and gave Walker his manga after signing it. "Thank you so much!" Walker said before running off with Erika.
Izaya smiled and waved politely at Kadota and Saburo. Kadota felt a chill go down his spine when he saw Psyche's smile, it reminded him of something but he didn't know what.
Izaya could tell Kadota was unease and mentally cursed. 'Did I smile too much like I used to...? He wouldn't have been uneasy unless he recognized me through me smile somehow..." He thought as he signed the next fans manga.
"Psyche sir! My friend here would like your autograph." A familiar voice called out.
Masaomi pushed Anri to the booth. Anri shyly handed Izaya her copy so he could sign it. "N-nice to meet you sir..." She mumbled before her eyes turned red.
She gasped and took a step back. Izaya acted oblivious to her Saika situation. "Are you okay miss?" He asked worriedly.
Anri nodded and held her head. "I'm fine, I just got dizzy. I'll be okay." She reassured him.
Izaya signed her manga. "What's your name ma'am? I'll write a little note for you since you aren't feeling well." He offered.
"I'm Anri sir... thank you for being kind..." She said, grabbing Mikado's hand for comfort. She felt uneasy around 'Psyche' and her eyes kept turning red. Mikado looked at Anri worriedly but said nothing.
Izaya finished writing and gave Masaomi the book for Anri. Masaomi handed her the manga and the trio left. Izaya continued signing until nobody was left in line.
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[That night: The group chat]
Saika: I met the manga author Psyche earlier!
Taro Tanaka: That's so cool! Me too! Well I only went because my girlfriend wanted to go and she is shy.
Setton: My boyfriend managed to get me into the after party!
Saika: Wow, that's so cool!
Bakyura: Taro I didn't know you had a girlfriend~
Taro Tanaka: But... You did know..?
Bakyura: I'm just messing with ya!
Setton: Wait look who's typing!!!
Taro Tanaka: No way..
Kanra: GUESS WHO'S BACK! (≧∇≦*)
-Sky