Fear of Falling (Izaya Orihara)

Chapter 8: Stitches

It only took a few minutes for Shizuo to calm down. "Uh...Hey, Shizuo? Now that you've calmed down, do you mind taking off your shirt?" I asked.

"...huh?" Shizuo looked at me surprised.

"D-don't take this the wrong way. I just want to get the blood out of your shirt!"

"Even if you get the blood out, the shirt is ruined. You should just throw it out." So that's what he does with this ripped shirts. My eyebrow twitched.

"That's a waste of money! I can probably sew it if I can get the blood out, so strip and hand it over!"

Shizuo blinked a few times, then shrugged nonchalantly and started unbuttoning his shirt. "Here." He passed me his shirt.

"Great. Thanks." I took it from him, noting he had fantastic abs. I turned away quickly and headed to the laundry room.

"Oh man." I sighed, looking at the shirt. It was worse than it looked. Up close, I could see all the tears and scuffs. Even if I could get all the blood out, the fabric itself was going to be hard to save. Shizuo was right, my efforts were probably going to be futile, but I wasn't going to throw it out until I had at least tried to save it.

I opened one of the cabinets looking for stain remover and found it on the same shelf as some medical supplies. "Ah, that's right. I need to patch up his wounds." I quickly tossed the shirt in some warm water and returned to the living room to find Shizuo lazing around without a shirt on. I sighed and shook my head, but I still found it a little hard not to stare.

"Is there any particular reason you're staring at me?" Shizuo asked.

"H-huh?" I asked in surprise. I've been caught?! "W-well, I was going to patch up your wounds. They seem to have stopped bleeding, but can I at least disinfect them?"

Shizuo sighed. "I said I'm fine...You don't need to pout like that." He sighed again. "Fine. If it'll make you stop worrying about me."

I smiled softly and sat next to him. I turned Shizuo's head to the side. Ugh. That wound on his head looks bad. I'll just...try not to look at it.

"This might need stitches." I said, examining the gash in his head. I could see the skin peeling up. Just thinking about it made me queasy.

"It's fine."

"No, I think it needs stitches. Where do you keep the needle and thread?"

"I don't have any."

"Seriously?!" For the amount of times he got injured, you'd think he'd at least have something to stitch his wounds with. I mentally added 'needle and thread' to the ever growing list of things I needed to buy for Shizuo. I was kind of glad I was living here now. That idiot couldn't take care of himself properly.

I sighed. "Forget it. I'm calling Shinra."

"You don't need to. I'm fine, so stop worrying."

I ignored him and pulled out my phone. I hope Shinra hasn't changed his number...

"Hello. Kishitani Shinra speaking. What do you need?"

"Hey Shinra. It's Hikaru."

"Ah! Haru, it's fine." Shizuo tried to grab my phone, but I jumped off the couch. Shizuo moved to get up, but decided getting up was too hard and sat back down. Looks like I'm safe. That was easy.

"Hikaru? Hikaru Misae? What a surprise. I haven't gotten a call from you in a while. What's up?"

"Well I'm back in Ikebukuro and staying at Shizuo's place. He came home with a nasty head injury. It might be ok, but you know how Shizuo is with his injuries. I just want a professional over here."