It had been months since Rio Kamichika had seen 'Nakura.' While any sane person would have called the police and sued for his influence, Rio liked keeping her secrets. Sure, her father might have been unfaithful and her mother was woefully unsuspecting, but Rio forgave them for that. Her parents always had loving smiles lit on their faces and Rio never doubted their love for her. It ad been merely a year since she had seen those atrocious pictures in her mailbox, but she was okay. If her parents wanted to split, they would have done so, but they would have told her first. Never again would she try to interfere with private affairs because she had problems of her own.

For instance, she had troubles picking out her favorite sushi.

"You like? Come try!" The big Russian boomed as he held up a big tray of foodstuffs. He had on a big smile and his foreign eyes bore down onto her hazel orbs. While Rio usually avoided him in the past, Nakura had convinced her to become friendly to other misjudged folk. Besides, she had heard good reviews about the eatery.

The young girl smiled as she pointed to an item on the menu that she was given. They name was weird, but it seemed exotic and it was easy on Rio's wallet. She had recently started working for an artist, the ornery man who loved a dullahan's head, whatever that meant. She was paid to gain customers and to choose the next site to paint. In return, he paid her a low wage, which she didn't mind, and gave her free lessons. The man was a genius with pastels and Rio became even better at portraits. If she was lucky, she could earn a job as a mangaka or an animator.

"Ah, this? You sure?" The foreigner asked in his broken Japanese. He held up the fragile paper in his meaty hand, but despite his threatening exterior, he still cradled it gently. Flipping through the pages, he pointed to another sushi option.

"Why, is it bad?" Rio asked worriedly. Were the rumors of human meat used on Saturdays true? Or was it Discount Human Thursdays, she mulled in her head. However, she looked to the menu to where he pointed in consideration…she paled at what she saw. That was way over her budget!

"No, no thought you might like," The Russian laughed jovially. He sobered for a second as he observed Rio for a few unnecessary seconds as the girl tried not to shrink at his piercing gaze. After a few moments of uncertainty, he said," Try, give you discount!" he flashed her a pearly grin and before she could protest, he lumbered off to prepare her dish. She shrugged. She came here to try something new. Besides, he probably knew loads more about the dishes and their ingredients because he was one of the co-founders of the restaurant.

The girl spun around in her seat, admiring the lovely décor of the restaurant. Contrary to the rumors that Rio heard within the walls of her school, the establishment was quite…comfortable. There weren't any dead bodies lying around or torture devices. The only weapons that were present were the knives that the two chefs were using to cut up the sushi. While the eatery was quiet, due to the lack of willing customers, Rio felt it was quite serene. However, there was that nagging feeling of being alone. Maybe, if she brought people here to dine, it wouldn't be so bad.

In fact, Rio thought with a determined air, she should prove to the few friends that she had that Russia Sushi wasn't very frightening! While she was waiting, she dug through her purse that dangled at her side, and pulled out her cell phone. Clicking on the 'camera' icon, she waited to start taking pictures. Once that application booted up, she spun around in her chair to start focusing on the food that was arrayed nicely on the counter.

Should she try landscape or portrait…She pursed her lips in frustration as she tried to figure out what type of picture she wanted. As she was contemplating the camera's functions and the lighting, she barely noticed when the door opened and closed and how barely there footsteps glided over to her. Her ears didn't pick up on the spoken conversation between Simon and the new customer and she certainly had no idea that he was giving her an amused smile behind her.

"My, my, you're not trying to ruin the reputation of this sushi restaurant, are you?" The girl froze as she accidentally dropped her phone on the counter. She slowly craned her head around to see her former pen pal looking at her with bemused eyes. Even though there was still a fair amount of distance between the two, Rio couldn't help but think that he was too close, too close for comfort. As if he was sensing her distaste, he sauntered closer to her, towering over her small frame.

Rio had ceased breathing when he leveled her a slow and easy smile. Was it possible to still have a crush on a person who nearly forced her to commit suicide? Apparently, it seemed that it was so because Nakura's face began to grow even wider with mischief and her heart proceeded to beat loudly.

"Well Miss Magenta," the man questioned as he slid on the bar stool next to her. "It's not polite to keep a gentleman, like myself, waiting."

Even though Rio was tongue tied, the leftover indignation from her first encounter with him rose to full force. She wasn't a puppet with strings that he would play with! She was not going to fall for his seductive charms. Never again, the young brunette thought resolutely.

"Gentlemen don't dangle women off of buildings." Rio retorted, surprising both herself and Nakura.

"Hm, you're right," the brunette agreed as he peered at the working chefs, their knives flying with startling accuracy. "Gentlemen dangle suicidal teenagers off of buildings!" He smiled wickedly at her then, a sure sign that something bad was going to happen to her. In an effort to preserve herself, she turned away from her companion and faced forward. She prayed to high heaven that Simon would come back with sushi soon.

Izaya smirked as he realized that one of his precious humans came up with the splendid idea to ignore him. It was funny how humans worked sometimes. The last time someone ignored him got a scar somewhere on his body…and that was him being merciful towards the poor fool. However, she was a girl and he wasn't going to harm right away.

He tsked quietly to himself as he further into her personal bubble without her knowing. However, that wouldn't do because, as he began to breathe down her neck, she should know who to threat him with respect.

The pigtailed girl blanched when she realized that while she enabled herself to put up her defenses, she still helplessly fell into his trap. While she was sure she wasn't going to get harmed, it was a still a blatant disregard for her rights and that had to be rectified. With an ease normally given to those with irritable siblings, she deftly pushed his face away from her without blinking.

"Leave me alone," she muttered crossly. Was it the lighting from the decorations? Was it the rich smell of food that made her stomach roil in turmoil? Whatever it was, it was giving Rio a sense of power and bravery. She was an introverted person who rarely spoke up. Rio surmised that the only reason she was acting so boldly was that Nakura did provoke her months before, now she had an outlet for that pent up anger that she had been successfully hiding.

Instead of leaving her alone like Rio wanted, Izaya merely laughed it off before he picked up a menu that was lying on the counter.

"Trying new things? It's about time that you did, I thought my calculations were off."

"You're still spying on me?" Rio all but shrieked. The girl thought it was coincidence she had to meet the man here, but she began to think of different thoughts. If he was spying on her now, did he also stalk her to school and to other places? Had he seen her doing some private things? Ears and neck started to burn.

What would it take for him to leave her alone?

"Don't flatter yourself too much, Miss Magenta," Izaya said in a low tone. His eyes narrowed as he something on the menu that he probably didn't like. "Conceit is not a likable thing in a woman from what I have head." Ignoring her protests that she wasn't conceited and that he should be arrested for getting her kidnapped, he dropped the menu on the counter and turned to face her.

They were both seated on bar stools, their bodies barely touching. Now, with Izaya leaning forward to examine her, the young girl thought her heard was going to stop by how rapidly her heart was beating. She had long since ceased her ranting and threats for him to stop because she intuitively knew that it was of no use.

"How troublesome," Izaya seemed to mutter as he placed a finger on his chin in contemplation. His eye narrowed as his eyes—deep brown with flecks of red—settled on her forehead. "Not only are you conceited, but you seemed to have a lack of self-consciousness." Without any hesitation, the man brought his hands to her forehead and pushed some hair away from her eyes.

Rio's face burned as she kept her eyes focused on him in confusion. What was he getting at?

"Look, Mr. Nakura," Rio tried not to stammer. His fingers were still caressing her face and she felt that she was going to do something insane… because most people would like to kiss their suicide buddy after a second meeting. "If you want something, just tell me!"

An eyebrow was raised, as Izaya seemed to stare at her in fake incredulity.

"Again with the conceit," Nakura groaned jokingly. While his voice suggested that was he was sorely disappointed by her actions, his dark devil eyes said that he was clearly enjoying this. The petite brunette felt cold by the look of the evil in front of her. "Why would I want anything from you? What can you offer me?"

The girl said nothing. Instead, she tried to jerk her face away from his light touches. However, Izaya was not done with her. If this little human wanted to play, then he was going to give her a good game. Hus fingers gently grasped her chin in a vice and his face neared hers. Rio knew this was all a show just for laughs and kicks, but she dared not provoke him. He was still the same person who had her jump off a building.

She also couldn't forget that he nearly succeeded.

"Is little Rio giving me the cold shoulder? That's not fair, you don't ignore an old fried like me." That's right, the girl thought as she tried not to hyperventilate under his touch. His breath was ghosting over her lips and her vision was getting blurry by the fear. After a year of talking to him, he knows all her secrets. All those things about her are like files in a computer. He could access information easily. Rio still kept her mouth closed so that she wouldn't embarrass herself further.

"But you, I'd rather you not think of me as a friend, why not something even more than that?" Rio flushed an even riper shade of scarlet as he completely embraced her and let his voice caress her ears. He idly let himself play with her fluffy hair, almost chuckling at her attempt to not tremble in his hold. "Hate me. Sear me into your memory." He tightened his hold on her noting at the slight gasp that left her luscious pink lips and the way she attempted to straighten herself.

"Why," Rio mumbled into the fur of Izaya's coat. "Why would I hate you when I could simply forget you?"

It seemed like the obvious solution. Rio hadn't given Nakura a second thought as she came to terms that life was unfair, but she still had to persevere even though death could appear to be a solution. If she left him alone, he should leave her alone. What could be so hard about that?

A low chuckle was issued from Izaya's throat as he roughly released her from his threatening hug.

"I guess you're just as pathetic as you were the last time I've seen you. You don't participate in any affairs and you barely have any friends to speak of." He gave her a steely glance at the girl as he leaned in close to her. " I shudder to think of what happened to your parents."

"They're still together," Rio angrily blurted. Nothing had changed in the Kamichika household and Rio assumed that her parents worked it all out. If they were fighting, Rio would have been notified, right? Her eyes hardened as she realized that the man was giving her an aloof smile. Everybody has the right to have secrets, the smug words echoed. Tch, as if she wanted to know what his smile meant. If was going to tell her information about her parents, fine. If he was going to annoyingly hint at something, then so be it. "And even if they weren't, what's it to you?"

"Looks like you're contradicting yourself," Izaya murmured delightedly. He sounded like a creepy scientist who realized that his experiment was blossoming in ways he wouldn't have expected.

The girl didn't skip a beat.

"How so?" The girl exhaled as she glared daggers at the older male.

"You told me that you weren't going to hate me, but when I mentioned your family you seemed to be doing just that." He leaned back on the bar stool and Rio had to physically stop herself from pushing him over. 'It's disgusting how people love each other so much…" He peered closely at her, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You're not following in Oedipus' footsteps are you?"

It took a second for the reference to kick in, but when she realized what he was insinuating, her fists clenched and her mind when to overdrive.

Without thinking, Rio launched herself at the man, in hopes of landing a slap or a kick on his face. However, everything seemed to backfire as the girl felt one arm restrain her around the waist and another held both of her frail hands in one large fist. Simultaneously, he had twirled her around so that her back was facing his chest. Stuck in a compromising position, Rio knew that this was ten times scarier than getting dangled off of a building. For one, the few people who came to Russia Sushi were openly staring at the couple. For another, Rio's stomach grumbled loudly.

"Today is not my day," Rio muttered. While one would think that someone would come to her aid, the rest of the general populace thought they were just a couple out on a date. How they could they ignore the way he was molesting her, the girl could not offer an explanation.

The man merely chuckled as he ducked his nose into her hair. Stiffening, the girl tried to comprehend the situation that she was on. Was he molesting her via cuddling? No, that wasn't right? Wasn't molestation unconsented cuddling? Wait…. wasn't cuddling reserved for boyfriends and girlfriends? She stopped herself from shaking her head to ward herself of these thoughts and decided to keep quiet for now. It was best not to cause a scene.

As Rio tried to move her head away from Nakura, his nose just kept burrowing into her hair.

"No, it's not your day," Nakura agreed. He placed his nose near the crook of her neck and smiled onto her exposed skin. "It's mine."

Rio didn't move an inch when he released her wrists and tucked a few wayward strands from her face. "Do you hate me now?"

Rio adamantly shook her head, repeating a mantra that he wasn't there, that this was all a dream and that it wasn't Saturday at all. However, Rio didn't know what to expect when Nakura wrapped a lanky arm around her neck and waist, effectively pressing her against him.

"So you don't hate me… that's too bad," he pursed silkily into her hair. "It' s a delicious emotion that would look stunning on most people…you'd still look a bit plain though."

Rio ignored that jab at her pride. After that polite insult, Nakura had let go and she had wobbly returned to her seat. Once she was settled, the girl refused to give her a companion a second glance. The man didn't try to clue her in on his awful behavior. It seems that every word that came out of his mouth was a riddle, but because he kept spouting them at a rapid pace, the girl couldn't solve them.

"But I guess that's why I love the human race so much. None of you are brilliant enough for me!"

"So why aren't you leaving me alone?" She was staring at her lap in contemplation, wondering why her sushi had taken so long. "You could find another person to call ugly and I won't have to put up with you."

The man looked mystified as she said that, but he put his mask on just as quickly.

"There you go again with misunderstanding me!" The man laughed as he leaned so far back on his stool, that Rio feared that he would fall. "I said you were plain, not ugly! And if you aren't going to put up with me, why haven't you left yet? Oh, that's right," the dark haired brunette pretended to realize," because you're a pathetic human who'll feel guilty for having Simon prepare something for you and you're not going to eat it!" His laughter sent chills down her back.

It was the laugh of a madman.

He sounded broken, and as the shards fell onto the floor, it pierced her ears that she thought her head would bleed.

She shook those sympathetic thoughts away as she breathed out slowly through her nose.

"That's not pathetic!" Rio turned on him, brimstone burning in her eyes. "That's being polite."

"No, it's disgustingly human, and that's what make me different," Nakura fought back. Although he didn't raise his voice, Rio got the idea that maybe; she should remain silent about her views for now. "And that's why I want you to hate me. "

He paused for a second as he leveled her a gaze that she normally didn't see on the man. His face…. his face didn't show anything. He was completely passive and that's what scared Rio most about him.

"Love is so shallow and so fleeting…but with hatred, you can nurse it for only a short while and it will grow much more powerful than that thing called love."

He smiled almost sadly and Rio felt like she should be honored to see that this Nakura was showing some unknown side to him. (Or, she thought miserably, he was probably lying.)

Before Rio could do anything, he tugged on one of her pigtails and left the booth.

"By the way, my name's Izaya Orihara!"

He gave one last wave without turning back.

Rio barely registered the swinging of the door before Simon's eyes met hers.

"Don't go!" His voice boomed so loud, that the girl thought her hair was windswept from the force. He had obviously thought that Rio was second-guessing her effort at trying something new. "I have food, see?" His meaty hands held out a platter of a variety of foods. While Rio's mouth salivated at the sight, her purse seemed to weigh her down.

"D-did I order all of this?"

"No, some nice guy told me you coming! Gave me tip on what you want and paid me!" Simon laughed as he patted her hair and commented on the benefits of young love.

"W-who?"

"Izaya, nice guy! Play with Shizuo a lot!"

Despite her lack of trust in the Orihara fellow, Rio took a bite out of the elaborate set up and winced. It felt bitter…but it felt right. She initially hated the flavor, but after swallowing, the taste began to grow on her. The young teen couldn't explain it, except that Na-Izaya had good taste.

Nope, she didn't like him, but she definitely didn't like him.

"Another to go, please!" To hell with her budget, she was going to buy some more for her parents.

I apologize if the characters here are regrettably OOC. I tried my best with the characterizations. I really did.

One-shot or continuation?