The Triangular Theory of Hate

Pairing: Shizaya

Rating: M

Disclaimer: DRRR is not mine.

Warning: Swearing, Trolling, basically Izaya and Shizuo being themselves and weird breaklines.

Note: This is a sequel of the Suspension Bridge Effect... (Yeah, I know it has been a while, I'm so sorry for taking so long, but it's finally there!) So if you didn't read it, this one wouldn't make much sense... Also it will be a three-part story.

Also English isn't my first language, but Rushi-sama was kind enough to correct most of it for me, so special thanks to her!

Enjoy!

I – Intimacy:
encompasses feelings of attachments, closeness, boundedness and of being connected.

CHATROOM

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Kanra-san has joined the chat.

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Kanra: Yohooo! Kanra-chan desu! ~

Setton: Good evening, Kanra-san.

Saika: Good evening.

Tanaka Taro: Hi!

Kanra: So I heard that you're having a secret meeting without me? *gasp* Are you conspiring behind my back?

Saika: Sorry.

Kanra: EH!? So it's true? You're so mean ~ And here I thought we could be friends!

Tanaka Taro: Lol, Saika-san why are you apologizing? And please don't be mad Kanra-san, we're not conspiring or anything… It was just an unexpected meeting.

Kanra: Really? You're not secretly plotting to take my position as admin of this chatroom? Because I won't surrender my crown and throne without fighting first, no sir! (((￣へ￣井)

Setton: LOL

Tanaka Taro: Ah, Ah, no really we were just talking about Izaya-san and Shizuo-san.

Kanra: …. Eh….

Setton: Actually, we were wondering if you knew anything about what happened today, since you always seem to know everything.

Kanra: Humpf, flattery will get you nowhere, but yes, I do know what happened between them…

Setton: Really? Do tell!

Kanra: Well the general consensus seems to be that Orihara was mad at Heiwajima, which was why he didn't come to Ikebukuro for four days, right?

Tanaka Taro: Yes.

Kanra: Well that's totally true!

Saika: Hm…. Izaya looked mad when I saw him.

Kanra: Eh? So you were there, too?

Saika: Yes. But I didn't see Shizuo-san, so I don't really know what happened between them.

Kanra: Well that's probably for the best, a lady shouldn't have to hear such words…. Really it shocked my virgin ears! （/｡＼)

Setton: Eh? What do you mean?

Kanra: Hm. I was close to them… Like really close, you know? And I heard them arguing… or rather I heard Orihara say in a voice with so much poison that it scared me! "Don't you dare bring that thing any closer to my ass, Heiwajima Shizuo, because I swear the next time you even attempt to do so, I'll cut it off and make you eat it." Brr… Scary, right?

Setton: …

Tanaka Taro: …

Kanra: One would think that Orihara, as a fellow specimen of the male species, would show some scruple at uttering such a threat, right? But I guess he was way too mad to care… Or maybe he's secretly a woman? Anyway, do you realize what this means?

Kanra: It means that…

Kanra: HEIWAJIMA SHIZUO SUCKS AT SEX!

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Tanaka Taro: EH!?

Setton: Σ(O_Oil!) sноск!?

Saika: ⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

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Izaya (◞ꈍ∇ꈍ)◞⋆**✚⃞ྉ Shizuo［(－－)］zzz

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Ikebukuro, Shizuo's apartment, 5:00.

Some part of Shizuo had just known that his little stunt – or what he preferred to call a spark of inspiration in outwitting the flea – would come back later to bite him in the ass. Because the flea was a sore loser and a vengeful little shit like that. However, he hadn't expected 'later' to mean 'the next damn morning'!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The blond grit his teeth and angrily scratched his head as he slid out of bed, dragging himself across his apartment, towards the door half-heartedly. He had briefly considered ignoring the loud knocking coming from the entrance, but it had only grown louder, which was really pissing him off. He didn't even need to look at his clock to know that it was too damn early in the morning, and he swore that if it was another gang leader banging at his door for a fight, he would literally throw the bastard all the way to Shinjuku, directly into the damn flea's apartment!

He swung the door open – careful not to break it again – and was about to bark at whoever could be at his door. He was half-expecting to see some kind of weapon attacking him, but to his utmost surprise, was met with empty air.

Shizuo scowled. Was this some kind of prank?

In his mind the word 'prank' was immediately connected to a certain shitty flea and his scowl deepened.

That bastard! The sun's not even up yet!

He looked around, expecting to see that fur-trimmed-jacket-wearing-bastard popping out of nowhere with his shitty stupid smirk. But, even after a whole twenty seconds there was still no shitty flea in sight, no annoying laughter and no stinking smell either.

What the hell?

Swearing under his breath, Shizuo was about to close his door with the firm intention of getting some more sleep before having to get up again to go to work, when the sight of something on the floor caught his eye.

It was a delivery box.

A standard delivery box.

A standard delivery box that had been innocently put in front of his door.

A standard delivery box that had been innocently put in front of his door at five AM.

A standard delivery box that had been innocently put in front of his door at five AM by a bastard that had run away.

A standard delivery box that was just waiting to be picked up.

Shizuo snorted.

Yeah right.

And he slammed the door, not even bothering to check what was inside the box – for all he knew it could be some kind of bomb that would explode in his face as soon as he picked it up – and then he promptly went back to bed, because it was too damn early to deal with all this shit. He'd take care of that bomb-box later.

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BAM! BAM! BAM!

Shizuo's eyes snapped open and he cursed loudly, as he realized that someone was knocking on his door again. A quick glance at the clock told him that it was six AM.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

This time, he didn't even bother to wait and see if the banging would stop after a while. Because he knew that if the flea was really behind this – and he probably was – then there was no chance in hell that it would stop unless Shizuo made it stop.

So with that in mind, he all but jumped out of bed and ran to the door – ignoring the slight dizziness caused by the sudden action and the fact that his body was still half-asleep – and for the second time that morning, he swung the door open. And once again, there wasn't anything to be found – unless you counted the second delivery box that had been placed on top of the first one.

Shizuo growled, scanning his surroundings and sniffing the air, then closing the door. But instead of going back to bed like last time, this time, Shizuo didn't move an inch and closed his eyes, mentally counting and focusing on his hearing.

1...2…

There was no way someone could run away or disappear this fast – unless it was the flea, but Shizuo had checked and there was no stench in the air, so the flea hadn't been anywhere near his flat yet – so it could only mean one thing: whoever this bastard was, he was still here.

…3…4…

And was probably just hiding somewhere, waiting for Shizuo to close the door so he could hightail it. Which meant that wherever that bastard was hiding, he couldn't run away until Shizuo had closed his door, which meant that if he tried to run, Shizuo would have seen him immediately.

…5…6…

So, Shizuo didn't need to find where the bastard was hiding, he just needed him to come out of whatever hole he was hiding in to catch him…

Which should be some time around ….

Shizuo's eyes snapped open when he heard the sound of light footsteps coming from the other side of the door.

… Now!

For the third time that morning, the blond swung his door open violently and felt a feral grin spread over his face as he finally caught sight of the bastard who had prevented him from sleeping properly.

Or rather, Shizuo amended, as said bastard let out a pitiful, terrified squeal and nearly jumped out of his skin, his face paling considerably, the poor bastard that got caught up in whatever scheme the flea has to prevent me from sleeping properly.

Shizuo almost pitied the bastard, since it was pretty clear that he was all but a sacrificial pawn in the flea's twisted games – because he was pretty sure that if the flea gave a damn about him, he would have at least given him some advice on how not to fall into easy traps.

Almost.

Because sacrificial pawn or not, the guy had still knocked on Shizuo's door at fucking six (and maybe five too) in the morning. And Shizuo's tolerance for that kind of bullshit (or any kind of bullshit) was even lower than usual. In fact, he remembered Shinra telling him once, back when they were in high school, that (not considering the Izaya-factor) Shizuo's level of tolerance tended to naturally rise or lower according to the position of the sun in the sky: which meant that it was pretty much in the negative right now.

"You find it funny to knock on other peoples' doors at fucking six in the morning, HUH!? You knocked on my door, knowing that I would be sleeping, SO your intention was to prevent me from sleeping properly, RIGHT!? It means that you wanted me to go to work sleep deprived, RIGHT? Do you know that sleep deprivation is one of the major reasons behind fatal accidents, HUH!? SO you were trying to indirectly KILL ME, RIGHT?! SO, NO MATTER WHAT I DO TO YOU, YOU CAN'T COMPLAIN RIGHT!?"

Shizuo moved forward, picking up the first thing at hand – which just happened to be the second delivery box – and was about to throw it at the face of the bastard who had dared to put it there in the first place, when the guy yelled – or rather wailed: "STOP! Please, don't kill me, I… I can explain!"

The blond paused, catching the box in mid-air before it had a chance to touch the man's face (well now Shizuo was pretty much sure that the box wasn't a bomb, since it hadn't exploded even when jolted around so much) and mentally patted himself on the back for managing to stop himself.

Unbeknownst to the majority of Ikebukuro's inhabitants, Shizuo's rampages weren't as random or unreasonable as people imagined. There was always a reason behind him beating someone to death. True, most of the time the only reason was because they had somehow pissed him off, but that was still a good enough reason in Shizuo's book!

And Shizuo was a fair man – like he had said to the flea yesterday – he didn't beat up puppies (unless they attacked him first) and even if he was pissed off and at a minus ten tolerance level, he would always be willing to let the bastards explain themselves (if they asked and if their name wasn't Orihara Izaya). But that was pretty much a double edged sword, because even if they managed to delay their upcoming doom it would only backfire ten time worse for them if they didn't manage to convince Shizuo fast enough (if they did at all) that he shouldn't kick their ass into oblivion.

Shizuo inhaled, "Okay, old man, explain but make it short. It's not that I'm busy, but I'm tired and pissed off, and I'm only willing to give you about one and a half minutes more of my time. So hurry the hell up!"

The guy let out a pitiful sob and started to babble annoyingly – something about him being indebted to the flea (actually, he said 'someone', but Shizuo was 99% sure that it was the flea) because he had apparently helped his pregnant wife by taking her to the hospital when she had started to go into labor in the middle of the street (what a nine months pregnant woman was doing walking alone in the street in the middle of the night in the first place was quite a mystery, but it wasn't as if Shizuo cared enough to ask) ...

Wait! What?

… and had stayed by her side in her hospital room until the guy – who had been delayed for four and a half hours because of some weird succession of accidents – had arrived. Feeling forever grateful towards the flea, and after 'accidently' overhearing him talking to someone on the phone and asking them to drop the box at Shizuo's apartment (which the flea had been about to do before encountering his wife, but was currently unable to because he had to go on some urgent business trip in less than an hour) the man had volunteered to deliver it for him as soon as his baby was born. Which just happened to be at six in the fucking morning, and the reason why the guy had been trying to hide from Shizuo was because Izaya had told him that it would be better if Shizuo didn't see him.

Shizuo inhaled slowly.

His first thought after the story was that he really wanted a cigarette right then. His second and less off-topic thought was to wonder where and how the hell Izaya had managed to find a pregnant woman in distress on such short notice. There weren't any doubts in Shizuo's mind that Izaya was also behind that 'weird succession of accidents'. And that story about an urgent business trip? It smelt like bullshit from miles away!

Had he not been the target and Izaya the instigator, Shizuo would have sincerely doubted his conclusion, and would have passed it off as a coincidence, blaming it on his significantly increasing paranoid tendencies due to prolonged exposure to flea's bullshit. Because who in their right mind would take the time to track down a pregnant woman in labor, while triggering, on his way to the hospital, a few 'random' accidents that would successfully delay the husband of said pregnant woman and then make him feel grateful enough to deliver a suspicious box to the door of the strongest man in Ikebukuro at an ungodly hour, just because he wanted to deprive Shizuo of a few hours of sleep? The answer was no one, except Orihara fucking Izaya, of course.

Shizuo let out a sound that was halfway between a heavy sigh and a growl. It was really way too early for all this shit.

"HIIIE! I'm sorry!"

The blonde blinked. Ah yeah, he had completely forgotten about the bastard – who in fact wasn't really a bastard – in front of him. Why was he still here, anyway?

"Ok." Shizuo said, gathering the little bit of patience that was still left within him, "I get what happened now, and it's not really your fault you've been trick by the flea, and you've got a baby and a wife waiting for you, so I won't beat you."

The man let out a sob of gratitude, nodding frantically and was about to hightail it, when Shizuo's words finally seemed to sink in. The man paused and looked at the blonde in confusion, finally growing some backbone now that his life wasn't apparently in immediate danger anymore.

"The flea?"

"Ah. That guy you were indebted to. You were totally fooled by him, by the way, and if you know what's good for you, then you'll never approach him again."

"Eh? B-But…. How could that be? He… he helped my wife."

Shizuo felt a wave of irritation hit him once again. Had he at some point given this guy the impression that it was okay to stay here and chat with him? Didn't he already say that he only had a minute and a half of his time to waste on him? THEN WHAT THE HELL WAS HE STILL DOING HERE!?

He grit his teeth. He didn't know if he was more pissed off at the flea for once again involving innocent people in his convoluted schemes – which meant that Shizuo couldn't even beat them up since they were innocent – or at himself for even thinking something like that in the first place.

"Look. I bet that louse didn't even tell you his name, right?"

"N-no…." the man stuttered, "But he said it was because he didn't want people to recognize him, because his name was quite famous around here…But, I can't believe it… He seemed a little bit weird but –"

Shizuo snorted. A little bit? That was the understatement of the century.

"…but to think that someone with such a beautiful face was – HIIIIE!"

Shizuo snapped before the man had even finished his musing, grabbing the front of his shirt and shaking him violently.

Forget about not hurting innocent people, this bastard is DEAD!

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING BEAUTIFUL, HUH!? LISTEN HERE, OLD MAN! THE FLEA IS A DISGUSTING SHITTY TWISTED MANIPULATING ASSHOLE. BUT EVEN THEN, YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO CALL HIM BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE HE IS A FLEA, GOT IT?!"

Shizuo was distantly aware that what he just said probably didn't make any sense to other people (but it made sense to him and that was good enough) and that the man only nodded out of sheer panic and desperation to save his own life, not because he agreed or even understood what Shizuo had yelled at him, and, well it didn't really matter.

And without so much as an afterthought, Shizuo tossed the bastard away, but not as hard or as far as he would have liked – after all the man was still innocent (but had apparently ogled at the flea long enough to notice that he was beautiful) – so the man only landed a few dozen meters away from Shizuo's flat.

Huffing and feeling his flaring anger start to settle down now that there wasn't any particular target for it anymore, he glared down at the box in front of him, as if expecting it to disappear if he stared long enough.

Might as well pick it up too. Knowing the flea, it could be dangerous if a neighbor opened it accidentally, Shizuo thought gloomily, as he balanced the second delivery box in one hand – he had been holding it all this time and it had miraculously survived Shizuo's recent fit of anger – and bent down to pick up the first one, which was considerably heavier. But it wasn't really a problem for him – though he was pretty sure that if it had been the flea in his place, he would have had some trouble lifting it. A small smile spread over his face as he wondered if the reason the flea hadn't made the delivery himself was because the box was too heavy for him.

What the hell did he even put in here, anyway? Rocks?! Shizuo wondered as he went back inside, closing the door with his foot.

He then put both boxes down in the middle of his living room (so that in case it was some harmful device, it would explode as far as possible from any walls) and, looking at the clock, which indicated 6:03, he decided that he wanted a cigarette first before trying to deal with the flea's suspicious packages. Spotting his pack on his coffee table, Shizuo pulled one out and lit it before sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the boxes.

Inhaling slowly and relishing the nicotine rush, the blond stared hard at the box.

Okay…. What now? Knowing the flea it could be anything from rocks to bombs.

Shizuo munched thoughtfully on the white stick.

But I must say… For the flea to pull the same trick twice in a row is quite unexpected… Does the bastard have insomnia or something?

Shizuo knew he had a default mode of always blaming anything strange (or not so strange) happening to him on the flea, but it was because it really was because of the flea. And it was pretty much the same on the flea's side too. Shizuo knew that if Izaya was unhappy (or happy for that matter) about something, he would always somehow manage to link it back to Shizuo, no matter how indirectly, and the bastard would then proceed to take it out on Shizuo, because he was a vengeful little shit like that. With the flea's logic everything was Shizuo's fault, the same way it was always the flea's in Shizuo's mind, as if it was some cosmic rule that made them systematically get in each other's way.

Anyway – it was usually hard to determine because the flea was so damn complicated, but on his more straightforward days, the flea's 'retribution' would be something along the same lines as his 'offense'. A weird mixture of something like 'misery loves company' and 'if I fall down, then I don't see why I shouldn't drag you along with me'. Tch, that shitty bastard.

But even then, it was unlike the flea to do the same thing twice… So, odds were that his goal this time wasn't to prevent Shizuo from sleeping properly – that was merely a 'bonus' – but something else? Which meant…

Shizuo's eyes again focused on the boxes, and he scowled as he reached for the heavier one, cautiously opening it, half-expecting something to jump out and attack him.

But nothing happened, so he leant down slightly to see what was inside and…

…well it wasn't rocks, or insects, or even bombs….

Why the hell would the flea send me books, of all things? Shizuo wondered, his brows knitting together in confusion. Don't tell me there are books in the second one, too.

Quickly tearing the second box open and peering inside, Shizuo's eyes widened and he pushed the box away, making it collide violently with the wall, as if it had burnt him. The hell is that!?

Now looking at the books with new, suspicious eyes, Shizuo picked one up and opened it.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPP! Was the sound of the book being torn in two, about fifteen seconds later.

"IIIIIZAYYAAAA! YOU'RE SO FUCKING DEAD!"

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Shizuo Щ(◣д◢)艸... Izaya (˳˘ ɜ˘)˳

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Ikebukuro – Eight hours later, 14:15.

Izaya was humming happily, skipping down the streets of Ikebukuro, when he spotted a familiar face nearby.

"Oh, Dotachin!" He waved childishly.

"Don't call me that." Came the immediate answer, in a resigned tone.

The informant just grinned at that, both of them knowing that if a trash can hitting him right in the face wasn't enough to prevent Izaya from continuing to call Shizuo by that annoying nickname then Kadota's half-assed complaining would just fall on deaf ears.

"You… look happy." Kadota noted, in a cautious tone. From his experience, a happy Izaya wasn't really a good sign, because more often than not it was synonymous with a pissed off Shizuo. Just in case, he quickly assessed his surroundings and relaxed slightly when he confirmed that there was no raging blond man in a bartender suit around – or suspicious flying objects coming their way.

Izaya tilted his head innocently, though his twitching lips betrayed his mischievousness "Eh? Really?"

Kadota nodded, "You're not planning on starting any big fights soon, are you?"

"Define 'big'." The smaller man answered with an amused smile and a devious glint in his eye.

Kadota sighed, wondering why he even bothered to ask. "No… forget it, I don't want to know. Just try to leave me out of it, okay?"

'Try' being the keyword, because Izaya generally left Kadota out of his shady business (the exact reason how and why Kadota managed to achieve this status of diplomatic immunity was a big mystery even for him, but he certainly wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth) but since Izaya was the type that liked to throw natural disasters and biohazards together just to see what the outcome would be, it was quite safe to say that his plans always caused dozens of ripples (expected or not, though Kadota suspected that if someone asked him, he would probably answer that everything had been planned since the very start), which naturally led to collateral damage and casualties. And Kadota's diplomatic immunity certainly didn't extend to those.

"Of course, Dotachin." The informant answered good-naturedly, looking around curiously, "By the way… Is Erika-chan with you, today?"

"She went to the nearby library with Yumasaki… Something about a new –" He paused trying to remember what the otaku duo had rambled on about – he was pretty sure that the words 'banana', 'microwave' and 'time travel' had been involved, but for the life of him, he couldn't see how those three things could possibly be related in any way. He finally made a dismissive movement, "…something, whatever. They should be back soon, though. Why?"

"Hm… Well, I just need to have a little discussion with her." Was the answer he received.

The words had been spoken in a very casual tone, but Kadota knew better than to rely on something as tricky as Izaya's tone to understand him. Which was why he felt the slightest feeling of dread rise up inside of him at the potential implications behind those words.

Had Karisawa done something to annoy Izaya? He knew that Karisawa tended to be a little bit extreme and unreasonable when she went into 'fujoshi mode', but surely she wouldn't be that unreasonable…

"She isn't… in trouble, is she?" He asked cautiously, and a little uneasily.

Izaya blinked, then laughed, as if Kadota had said something particularly absurd, while waving dismissively with his hand. "Ah, not at all, don't worry, Dotachin. I really just want to talk with her." His voice then took a mischievous edge, as he added, "We've got some business to take care off, you see."

That made the taller man gulp, the feeling of dread still present in his gut – very much so – but for a completely different reason this time. Because his gut-feeling and his sanity were both yelling at him that an Izaya-Karisawa combo could only be the trigger to numerous disastrous situations. In fact the only worse situation he could think of right now would be an Izaya-Shizuo combo. If Izaya and Shizuo were ever on the same side, they would either annihilate all their enemies or… they would fight against each other so much that they would self-destruct (and probably destroy the earth along with them).

"What kind?" Kadota asked, as his mind whirled with many apocalyptical scenarios.

"The R-18 kind."

"Huh?!"

"Just kidding." Izaya said, but the glint in his eyes told a completely different story.

Before the taller man had time to say anything, they heard a familiar voice behind them: "Eh? What do you mean you're kidding, Iza-Iza!? That's so cruel, don't get my hopes up like that!"

Iza-Iza!?

Kadota glanced sideway, trying to see how Izaya would react to the nickname. But as it happened, compared to Shizuo and Kadota (much to his own irritation) the informant was gifted with a much better tolerance for weird nicknames, and didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"You were getting your hopes up?" Izaya chuckled, as he turned around to greet the otaku duo. "Hi there, Erika-chan, Yumasaki-kun."

Karisawa nodded frantically, "Of course! As high as a pile of 365 Super Deluxe Illustration Limited Edition Books! "

How high is that? Kadota thought, sweat dropping.

"Huh, I see." The informant answered thoughtfully.

You do!?

"Anyway…" Karisawa said in an excited tone, stars in her eyes, "Did you read them?"

"EHHH!" Yumasaki suddenly exclaimed, recognizing the symptoms "Don't tell me, you actually sent him your stuff?! You seriously didn't expect Izaya-san to read them, right?"

Kadota couldn't help but agree with that statement.

Karisawa nodded distractedly at him, while her eyes were firmly locked on Izaya, "So, Iza-chin, did you read them? Did you read them?"

"I did." He answered leisurely, not looking at all perturbed by her intense look.

"No way!" The other two males interjected, completely dumbfounded by the informant's answer.

"And so? And so?!" Meanwhile the only girl of the group was practically jumping in her place, totally ignoring her friend's interruption, "Which one?"

For the first time since the start of the conversation, Izaya's smile faltered a little bit at the question, and Kadota saw his former schoolmate's hand twitch slightly behind his back – proof that he wasn't as unperturbed as he wanted people to believe. Kadota relaxed, comforted by the idea that Izaya's sudden new interest in 'Erika's domain of specialization' wasn't due to him being possessed by the ghost of a fujoshi or replaced by aliens, but merely because those were somehow involved in one of his 'evil plots', which made it more acceptable and in character behavior for Izaya.

"Six, eight, eleven and twenty are definitely out, ne? Two, five, nine and ten are big no-nos. One and three were alright, but it would be better to go with something along the lines of four, seven and thirteen."

Three things happened immediately after his statement, almost consecutively.

Karisawa suddenly went beet red – because of a sudden nosebleed – with stars sparkling in her eyes as she let out a high pitched fangirl squeal. "Kyaaa! I knew it! I knew it!"

Then in a blink her face became gloomy – as in a yandere-ish, creepy psychopathic fashion of gloomy. "Understood I'll put them away." Another blink and her face changed to a pensive and deliberating expression. "Um… You sure are a hard customer to please, Iza-tan."

There should be a limit to how many mood swings a single person can have in such short interval, Kadota thought exasperatedly. And if you're so set on calling him by weird names at least stick to one nickname!

Izaya however, just smirked as if it was totally normal to change behavior every fifteen seconds. Kadota paused. Considering the fact it was Izaya they were talking about, it was more than likely that it wasn't strange for him.

"But that's not a problem for you, ne?"

"Course not." Karisawa answered with a determined glint in the eyes, that lasted for about three seconds before she started to drool and giggle "Eh, eh…It just means more new material for me."

Kadota felt himself sweat drop at that, and a glance sideways told him that the other two were reacting similarly, though Izaya was better at hiding it. Which led back to the question as to why Izaya was doing this in the first place… how could BL material be of any use in his plans anyway? Kadota knew that back in high school, Izaya used to scheme up 'evil master plans' with the most random things around, but even for him, this was a little bit too random.

He frowned, or was it?

He was distractedly aware that the otaku almost-trio (almost because Izaya's status on that matter was still debatable) had started to talk again, but he tuned them out. Considering the fact that Karisawa's eyes were filling up with stars again while she mass produced blood from her nose, while Yumasaki looked like he was having a very animated one-sided conversation with her back in an admirable attempt to save her mind from the dangerous influence of Otome Road, it was safe to say that even if Kadota had paid any attention, he wouldn't have understood a damn thing anyway. So he let his mind muse freely over the oddity that was Izaya's new behavior.

Why did he have the feeling that he was missing something obvious? But that couldn't be it – Izaya didn't do 'obvious'. He was all for 'complexity' and 'layers of hidden meaning'… except…

Kadota's eyes widened as he let out a blunt "ah!" of realization.

And it would appear that he had an extraordinary sense of timing too, because at the exact moment that the sound flew out of his mouth, as if it were a sign sent from a higher power to prove Kadota right, an unidentified object, flying in at high velocity, crashed to the ground right next to Izaya, narrowly missing him.

The unidentified object – which happened to be a stop sign – was followed by a howling voice: "IIIIIIZZZZZAYAAAAAA!".

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Shizuo (۶ૈ ᵒ̌ Дᵒ̌)۶ૈ=͟͟͞͞ ⌨ Izaya（＾ｖ＾） （￣.￣；）Kadota (*p*) Erika (－‸ლ) Yumasaki

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Kadota sighed, resisting the urge to facepalm. Izaya didn't do obvious, that was true, except when he was dealing with one Heiwajima Shizuo. In the informant's logic, all means were apparently fine, as long as he got to piss the protozoan off.

Speaking of informants and protozoans, Kadota focused back on the situation at hand. A fraction of second after the impromptu crash, and the raven was already on his guard, his hand sliding into his pocket, where he was probably hiding his switchblade, ready to fend off the oncoming blond hurricane. As for the otaku duo, they thankfully had enough sense to move slightly aside to let those two have some room.

"IZZAAAYAA YOU BASTARD! FORGET ABOUT OOTORO! YOU'RE SO FUCKING DEAD!"

"Shizu-chan," the raven answered, his tone perfectly pleasant and polite (but if you listened more closely, you would have noticed the irritated edge). "Maybe later, ne? In case you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of something right now."

Shizuo growled threateningly at that, his fist tightening around a bent lamppost. "As if I care, you can go back to do whatever you're doing after I kill you!"

"That doesn't make any sense, Shizu-chan!" Izaya told him exasperatedly. "Stop being unreasonable!"

"You're the unreasonable one, you shitty flea!" The blond yelled throwing the lamppost at Izaya as if it were a dart. "I know you're the one behind it!"

No, no, as far as unreasonable goes, the both of you are pretty much off the chart!

Kadota watched as the raven effortlessly sidestepped the projectile and grinned teasingly at his counterpart. "Now, now, you need to be a little bit more specific, Shizu-chan. I'm behind a lot of things…"

"Kyyyaaa, that's live! I've got live BL! Go, go!" Karisawa exclaimed excitedly as she tried to move closer to the fighting duo (but was restrained by Yumasaki).

"You'll die if you get in between them, Karisawa-san!"

"Iya iya! But, but….. Wah he is pitching them! He is pitching! How can I not want to get closer?"

"That doesn't make any sense, Karisawa-san. Please at least try to be quieter, they can hear you!" Yumasaki answered, sliding one arm around her waist to prevent her from moving away, while his other hand was busy trying to muffle her mouth. "Kadota-san! Please do something, she'll get herself killed."

Kadota's eyes flickered toward the otaku duo and then went back to the fight. "Ah, it's fine. Just make sure to dodge any stray projectiles, and you'll be alright," he said knowingly, "Those two won't hear a thing anyway."

And true to his word, Shizuo and Izaya were still bickering loudly, while taking turns throwing and dodging dangerous weapons and projectiles, not caring one bit about Karisawa's comment.

Kadota was pretty sure that Shizuo hadn't even noticed they were there, let alone been angered by Karisawa's nonsense. As for Izaya, despite his claim of 'being in the middle of something', his dealings with Karisawa were possibly the last thing on his mind right then. It was something that he had noticed after watching these two fight so often. Whenever Shizuo caught sight of Izaya, he would stop whatever he was doing at the time to charge at him with whatever makeshift weapon he could get ahold of. And Izaya would ditch whoever he was with, even if he was 'in the middle of something' to go taunt Shizuo. Because that was just how those two worked. They were at the very center of each other's attention spans, like two very destructive planets that couldn't help but jump into the other's orbit whenever they were close. And as a result, it created a sort of impervious bubble around them, as if isolating them from the rest of the world…

If he had to describe it, then, as surprising as it might sound, the word 'intimacy' would ultimately come to his mind. There was just this closeness about them, this sort of instinctual reaction to each other in the way they knew exactly how to shift according to the other movement, it was like an oddly beautiful and tumultuous chorographical dance, which could only come with years and years of knowing and interacting with each other… It was the sort of beautiful intimacy that made you stop and stare in a mixture of shock and admiration (though admittedly the flying public equipment and parkour movement may have been a huge factor too)… The sort of precious bond that you couldn't help but feel envious of.

Well for those who noticed it of course. During their high school years, when the shock and novelty of seeing inhumanely huge projectile defying physical laws and gasoline drums rolling down the corridors wore off and he had begun to pay more attention to his surroundings, he had noticed that each time Kishitani had been watching them too.

'Is it alright not to stop them?' he had asked, as it seemed that Kishitani knew them both quite well, but didn't seemed bothered by the sight of his two friends trying to kill each other.

But Kishitani had just tilted his head to the side, making a contemplative noise before grinning, 'Eh? Why? It looks like they're getting along quite well?'

That answer had dumbfounded him at first (and made him wonder if there was something wrong with Kishitani's glasses or just his sanity in general) but then after a while, Kadota had begun to understand and see it too. That intimacy. Not quite hidden, but rather entwined with layers and layers of animosity, melted so much into each other that it was hard to distinguish, but still undoubtedly there.

It was there, in the way they seemed extra aware of the other's presence. It was there, speckled all over their body language. It was there, lingering under all those silent conversation they seemed to be able to have.

It was the sort of intimacy, which wouldn't be strange to be found between two old friends.

But they weren't though.

The idea of using the label 'friend' in itself was incongruous and ridiculous in the first place. No one spending more than three seconds in their presence could ever mistake them for friends.

Oh no, Orihara Izaya and Heiwajima Shizuo weren't friends, not at all.

But damn if they weren't the closest enemies Kadota had ever seen.

Ugh!

Right after that analysis crossed his mind, he immediately felt mortified at himself for thinking it. And he was quite glad that no one could have heard it except him, because damn it had been so very embarrassing and cheesy, he didn't know what had come over him!

Okay let's forget about that and focus.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Those… those things!"

Izaya tilted his head to the side, his lips curling into a mocking smile, "Is that the most specific you can get? That's kind of pitiful, you know, even for a protozoan."

A vein in Shizuo's forehead popped and throbbed, as his hand hovered above the guard rail just to his left.

!?

"Who." Shizuo's hand gripped it forcefully. "The hell." He tightened his fist and pulled up. "Is." Two or three screws popped out of their bearings. "Pitiful." The ground under it cracked. "HUH!?" And in the next second, the guard rail, which had previously been securely fixed to the ground, was being raised threateningly above the blonde's head.

Uwaa, he really did it! Is he really planning to use that to hit Izaya!?

("Waaahh! What's that! Shizu-Shizu's thing is huge!"

"Like I said, Karisawa-san, shh! Shh! Your voice is too loud!")

Izaya chuckled, seeming quite amused by the situation, and as he pointed his switchblade toward the blond, he asked: "Ne, Shizu-chan, doesn't this situation remind you of something? Just like that other time, ne? Do you think Celty'll come and interrupt again?"

"She won't," Shizuo assured him darkly, with an ominous smile "'Cause I'll kill you before that!"

And with that, he rushed forward aiming his new weapon like a particularly big, curved spear towards the raven.

"O-oops!" Izaya exclaimed, jumping backwards to dodge the oncoming attack, "So scary ~ Aren't you overeacting a little? Seriously, all this ruckus over a few books…"

"So you do know what I'm talking about!" The blonde growled, furiously, swinging his enormous weapon around.

A smug expression crossed the informant's face as he raised an eyebrow. 'Of course, I knew, duh' was almost written across his face.

And Shizuo probably saw it too, because he heatedly added: "And that wasn't just a few, you shitty bastard, there was a WHOLE box of them!"

His words were closely followed by a fierce swing that narrowly missed Izaya's head and went crashing into the side of a nearby parked car – leaving an enormous dent in it.

Fortunately, Togusa isn't here today… Kadota couldn't help but think, as he glanced at the destroyed car. Or his van would be in danger too.

"I don't see what's so wrong with that." Izaya said casually, though the look on his face told them that he in fact knew quite well what was wrong. "You should really read more, Shizu-chan, that way you could improve that abyssal vocabulary of yours, ne?"

"My abyssal vocabulary is doing just fine without them!" Shizuo spat.

"So ungrateful… Did you even read them?"

"Of course not, who would read that disgusting trash!? Take them back and go die!"

"Eeeh? To think that I went through the all the trouble of picking out books with pictures just for you."

"I DON'T FUCKING NEED THEM!" Shizuo yelled, red spots appearing on his cheeks.

("Ne, ne, Yumacchi, don't you think those two are awesome? They can fight and talk at the same time!"

"Ah. That's true. Must be a special skill or something, right?"

"Hm, Hm." Karisawa nodded, and then grinned, "If they can talk when they fight, it means that they can talk while doing it too, right? Right?"

"GAh! Karisawa-san, not this again! Just when I thought that you were back to normal!")

Kadota felt a trickle of sweat run down his face, suddenly experiencing a strong feeling of déjà-vu. Back in the days when they were all in high school – those two had been fighting just like they were now, too. Without a care for the situation or their surroundings. And usually for the most random (and stupid) of reasons. So unreasonable, the two of them. To think that even after all these years, no scratch that, to think that even after being a couple, those two still –

His thoughts suddenly screamed to a sudden and screeching halt as the realization hit him hard.

A couple. A couple! Those two were together!

And unfortunately, along with this disturbing-but-not-really-that-unbeleivable-when-you-stop-to-think-about-it realisation, his mind also provided him the means to make another very disturbing and totally undesirable connection. Taking into account the fact that those two were together, then Izaya's sudden interest for BL stuff brought a completely different meaning to the whole thing.

And Kadota's face became suddenly white. Because, no, no, there was no way he had just thought something like that, and was hit with the sudden urge to smack his own head into the ground until he forgot about it completely.

Wait… Shizuo said something about Izaya sending him books… Couple…..BL Stuff… Books…. Geh!

"O-Oi, Izaya, don't tell me you send him porn!?" Kadota blurted out loudly, without thinking.

Apparently it was loud enough to pop the invisible bubble surrounding them, because just after those words left his mouth, both Izaya and Shizuo stopped in their tracks and turned to stare at him.

Well shit.

("Uwaa! He cockblocked them! Dotachin just cockblocked them!"

"Karisawa-san!"

"But! But! Dotachin just totally ruined the mood! He – no wait…it can be a threesome…A three-man Ouroboros! Shizu-shizu/Dotachin/Izayan…. Or Shizu-Shizu/Izayan/Dotachin….hm…."

"Please don't say ridiculous things like that with such a serious and thoughtful face!")

"Kadota?" Shizuo blinked, obviously surprised to see him there, which corroborated with Kadota's theory of him not even noticing their presence up until now.

"Eh? Come on, Dotachin, who do you think I am?" Izaya said at the same time, looking positively offended. "There's no way I would send Shizu-chan trash like that."

Kadota felt a little less traumatized after that – just a little bit though, because they are things that you absolutely don't need or want to know or even think about your former high school mates – and was about to let out a slight sigh of relief, but was interrupted by Shizuo that had spun around to glare at the informant again.

And just like that Kadota's presence was shoved out of his mind, as if there wasn't enough room for someone other than Izaya in there. And their 'bubble', or whatever it was that they used to separate themselves from the rest of the world, popped right back into place.

"AAh? Then what do you call those books with those disgusting shitty pictures, HUUUH?"

The sigh that Kadota had been about to let out? It promptly crawled back inside of him, choking Kadota with his own saliva in the process.

Izaya answered in a sweet voice, "They're called educational books, ne?"

"There's no fucking difference!"

"Ah, ah, interesting choice of words Shizu-chan."

"Shut up! Drop dead!"

"You die." was the informant's quick and immediate reply, as if it was an automatic response engrained by years and years of repeating it.

I'm the one who wants to die right now.

"And for your information, the difference between educational books and the trash that you can find pretty much anywhere, is the accuracy, quality and the amount of reliable information you can get from them."

"I don't need some shitty books to accurately find where your damn ass is!" Shizuo yelled, with a violent swirl of his enormous makeshift weapon, which once again missed its target and lost one third of its length in a collision with an unfortunate wall. Though the blond didn't really look bothered by his now-shortened weapon, maybe because it was still pretty big and monstrous or maybe because something else distracted him. Mainly the fact that he seemed to realize how his words could have been interpreted – most likely because he saw the way Izaya's lips had curled in a lewd way Kadota really wished he hadn't noticed – and quickly added, "To reliably kick it!"

"Of course." Izaya agreed diplomatically, though his voice was literally dripping with a mix of sarcasm and amusement. "Because you're such a genius, and a natural at 'ass-kicking', ne?"

It was around that time, that Kadota was reminded of the fact that even if his body had diplomatic immunity, his mind certainly didn't. And he sincerely hoped that when the both of them were done he wouldn't be traumatized beyond help – if they'd ever be done at all. From his experience, they were only a few ways to end their fights. They would either stop on their own (after an indeterminate amount of time that could range from ten minutes to six hours) with Izaya managing to escape – or Shizuo letting him escape (as for which one it was, it was still up to debate as of now – Kadota believed it was both, while Kishitani thought it depended from time to time) – or someone had to stop them.

Of course, not everyone could stop them even if they tried. Kadota had lost count of how many times some stupid – and suicidal – people (teachers and cops included) or gangs had tried to butt into their fights. No need to say that it didn't end well for them. In fact, as of now – and to his knowledge – there were only three people that could (more or less) confidently manage such a feat: Simon, Shishizaki-sempai and Kadota himself. Kadota was pretty sure Kishitani could be on that list as well but the underground doctor was just far too entertained by their fights to bother trying to stop them. That or he just didn't really care.

Wait… Izaya had mentioned 'Celty' interrupting them earlier… So Kadota should probably add the headless rider to his mental list too.

Anyway, back to topic. Neither Shizuo nor Izaya looked like they'd get bored any time soon, Simon and Celty were nowhere to be seen, Shishizaki-sempai… well Kadota hadn't seen him since high school, which only left Kadota to try to stop their fight. But considering the topic, Kadota was very much reluctant to do so, because he suspected his mind wouldn't survive the encounter.

Shizuo bristled. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well taking into account your reaction, I would say that you understand quite well… It means exactly what you think it means, Shizu-chan."

"Oooh?"

Shizuo's voice dropped to a deeper, more feral and threatening tone. It was a tone that clearly yelled 'danger, run now' or 'Why don't you shut up and drop to your knees, then maybe – if I feel like it – I'll let you appreciate one more minute of your despicable life before I crush your face into the ground' to anyone with a semblance of common sense and preservation instinct. But clearly those traits were faulty somewhere within Izaya (maybe it was a side effect of being inside that bubble of theirs?), because he merely quirked an eyebrow in defiance (though for a short moment he swore he had seen Izaya shudder).

("Ooooh My god! Shizu-Shizu has a switch mode! What will you do now Izayan?! Don't let his seme-pheromone affect you too much! Try to override your instinct! Do your best!"

Yumasaki sighed, clearly knowing a lost cause when he saw one. She was way too far under the influence of Otome Road to be rescued now.)

"Are you saying that I'm not able to give you Ootoro, Izaya-kun?"

Ootoro? Kadota echoed, utterly confused, what does Ootoro have to do with anything? Wait… Come to think of it, Shizuo did mention something about Ootoro earlier…

Izaya stiffened slightly. "Why, I already told you yesterday, ne? I don't intend to let myself be caught long enough to let you shove your disgustingly poorly made Ootoro down my throat."

Shizuo growled. "And I already told you, that I'll catch you, no matter what. And what the hell's with 'poorly made Ootoro'!?"

"Well you can't really expect someone who's never made Ootoro in his life to become a Sushi chef by sheer will and an unhealthy amount of enthusiasm on his first try," The informant answered sweetly, "No matter how adamant that person is on the matter. Making Ootoro requires skill and technique, ne?"

Shizuo scowled and glared at the informant, "What's so damn complicated about Ootoro!?"

"The simple fact that you have to ask that is the undeniable proof that you indeed need those instructions, Shizu-chan."

("Eh!? So what, all this time, the two of them were arguing about Izaya-san sending him books about Ootoro?" Yumasaki exclaimed, dumbfounded and looking slightly relieved. A feeling, that Kadota readily shared with him, though some treacherous part at the back of his mind suspected that there had been more to the conversation than what appears at first glance. "For one second I thought –"

He trailed off, not wanting to admit aloud what he had been thinking. But Kadota knew what he meant and nodded.

"…"

"Uh… Karisawa-san, what's with that thoughtful face?"

But she didn't answer, her eyes narrowing, as she glanced at the bickering couple.)

"Why the hell do you even care if I can make Ootoro properly or not, huh?" The blond muttered. "I thought you said it wouldn't happen?" Then a smirk spread across his face, "Eeeh, admitting defeat flea?"

Izaya's composure faltered for a short moment, as he gaped at Shizuo. But he quickly regained control of himself so that anyone not staring too closely at him would have missed it. "Hardly." He answered, in a slightly clipped and forcedly pleasant tone. "But one has to be prepared for anything, ne? I'm merely taking precautions so that if I find myself in a situation where I am being force-fed Ootoro by Shizu-chan, I wouldn't die of food poisoning. So please don't look too closely into it, ne?"

"Don't look too closely, my ass!" the blond scoffed. "It's little bit hard, when your 'precautions' woke me up at fucking five AM and came in the form of a whole damn box with fucking pictures!"

"It's called being dedicated, ne?"

"No, it's called being an asshole!"

Izaya rolled his eyes, but then shrugged. "Whatever…You said you didn't need the books, but do you even know how to make Ootoro?"

"Wh- Of course, I know!"

"Eeeh…Then by all means please enlighten me."

"You…" Shizuo went slightly red and mumbled something that Kadota didn't manage to catch from where he was.

Izaya quirked an eyebrow looking quite amused. "You'll have to speak louder, Shizu-chan."

The blond growled and mumbled again, averting his eyes. "You put the… the tuna in the… rice … and…er… sauce…."

The informant sighed exasperatedly. "Are you even trying? I didn't hear a thing!" though the evil gleam in his eyes and the twitching of his mouth made Kadota think that Izaya had managed to understand what the bodyguard had said perfectly well, but that he was only trying to rile him up.

And apparently, it was working, because in the span of two seconds Shizuo's face went from slightly embarrassed to completely pissed off, which was probably what prompted him to bellow his next few words at the top of his lungs.

"YOU'VE JUST GOT TO PUT IT IN, WHAT'S SO FUCKING DIFFICULT ABOUT THAT, HUH!?"

After that spectacular statement, an interesting array of reactions (which could be explained by each person's individual level of understanding regarding the previous conversation) could be noted.

Izaya – who, of course, was fluent in 'protozoanish' and had understood every level of innuendos – snickered loudly. "Are you making a habit out of yelling that kind of thing in the middle of Ikebukuro, Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo – who was allegedly speaking protozoanish as a first language and had realized what he had just said – flushed in a weird mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Shut up, you damn flea, it's all your fault!"

Karisawa – who didn't understand protozoanish, but did have a fujoshi-filter, so she easily managed to get the gist of the conversation– squealed loudly. "Kyyyaaa! Yes, put it in! Put it in! All hail Ootoro!"

Yumasaki – who was blissfully ignorant of any forms of protozoanish – tilted his head in confusion. "Eh? But isn't the tuna supposed to be on the rice?"

Kadota – who didn't understand protozoanish either but was more or less accustomed to Izaya-ish, and therefore understood enough to know that he should use his very strong mind-trauma-filter to consciously and conveniently forget what he understood– nodded toward his friend. "Yeah, that's strange…"

Celty – who didn't understand protozoanish, but had an excellent (or atrocious depending on who you were asking) sense of timing, and therefore had arrived at the scene just in time to only hear the last sentence – was completely startled and horrified by what her friend was saying, and promptly decided to let her shadows quickly slide toward Shizuo, suddenly restraining his movement and rapidly covering his entire body with a strange black substance. She then proceeded to snatch him away, rushing away from the scene with a big bundle of shadow that contained a struggling Shizuo on the back of her bike. [Sh-Shizuo! H-how can you say that! Even if it's Izaya, you should pay attention to your partner's needs!]

(Incidentally, when he heard about it later on, Shinra – who was unfamiliar with protozoanish, but was a closet expert on Shizuo-Izaya interaction, which enabled him to understand the integrality of the conversation and even more – laughed his ass off.)

The sudden and unexpected action was promptly followed by a very pregnant silence…

"…"

"…"

"Er…Is it me or did Shizuo-san just get kidnapped by the Black Bike, who just sort of popped out of nowhere…?" Yumasaki asked uncertainly, clearly not believing his own eyes.

"As unbelievable as it may sound… it does seem so." Kadota answered.

"Celty-san was totally trying to protect Izayan's virtue!" Karisawa claimed.

"Somehow I don't think that's the case." Kadota deadpanned.

He quickly glanced at Izaya, in the hopes of getting some kind of answer, but the informant looked as surprised as everyone else by Celty's impromptu intervention. Though now that he looked closer, he noticed that his former classmate looked slightly disappointed.

But then he suddenly started to cackle. "Ahah, well that sure was random. Can't believe Celty really did end up interrupting us, again. I wonder if I have the power to make a meteorite fall on Shizu-chan's house now…"

Kadota wisely chose to ignore the odd comment and cleared his throat, gaining Izaya's attention. "Your boyfriend just got kidnapped. Not going to go rescue him?"

Reddish-brown eyes widened slightly in disbelief, mouthing 'boyfriend' as if it was a foreign word, before their owner guffawed at the absurdity of that statement. "Eh? No way. It's more fun to stay back and gloat about Shizu-chan's misery. And well, he did bring it on himself."

"Huh? So you know why Celty acted like that?"

"Let's just say that Shizu-chan should really learn to keep such an opinion to himself, especially when Celty's feeling touchy about it." Izaya answered, with a smirk.

"If I didn't know any better, I would have said you planned the whole thing." Kadota said casually.

"Do you, now?" The informant looked amused, but didn't confirm or deny it. Then his gaze slid to the side where the Otaku girl was. "Ne, Erika-chan, think you can finish it before tonight?"

Karisawa who had been animatedly debating with Yumasaki about the motive of the headless rider's actions, paused to glance at him and grinned. "Sure thing!"

"I'll be waiting then." Izaya answered.

But then something seemed to click in Yumasaki's mind as he exclaimed, "Wait! So the 'stuff' Izaya-san borrowed from Karisawa-san were books about Sushi?!"

Izaya, who was about to walk away, paused. While Karisawa tilted her head to the side, her eyes glinting mischievously as she smirked, "Why, of course, it's about Ootoro what do you think it was?"

Yumasaki's eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights and averted his eyes, blushing "N-Nothing!"

Her smirked spread even more on her face, "Eeeh…" she drawled, knowingly, "Yumacchi has such a dirty mind! Eh eh!"

"It – It's because Karisawa-san is always talking about that kind of stuff!" He stammered, blushing even more, "Then what were all those numbers about!?"

Karisawa grinned, "There's so many different way to make Ootoro you know… when you're a little bit creative. Starting with the positions. And if you're a little bit adventurous you can even put some extra to spice it up."

At that Izaya made an odd strangled noise. But it was difficult to tell whether he was trying to hide a laughter or was actually choking with his own spit.

"Oh I see… you sure know a lot about it…. I didn't know you liked Ootoro so much, Karisawa-san."

"Eh, eh, I love Ootoro. Ootoro is probably the best thing created in this world, right, Iza-tan?"

"Indeed." Izaya answered cheerfully, though his expression seemed a little bit forced, "Well it's time for me to take my leave…"

He waved at them and started off down the street, but paused when Kadota called out to him.

"Oi, Izaya!"

"Hm?"

"That's actually the first time I saw you turning down Ootoro," He noted. "You still like it right? You usually jump to the occasion whenever I invite you to eat Ootoro at Russia Sushi."

For some strange reason, the informant looked at the leader of the 'Van Gang' in a mixture of disbelief and wonder for a moment (in the background Karisawa made a very suspicious squeal), before chuckling. " Ahah you're the best, Dotachin! But let me give you a little piece of advice: never say that in front of Shizu-chan, ne?"

"Eh?"

Izaya smirked knowingly.

And with that, Kadota's role and focus for this story was finally reaching its end, disappearing just like Izaya, around a corner.

And as for what happened to Shizuo –

＼(＾▽＾*) Izaya : Let's hope for the worst, ne?

TO BE CONTINUED!

And the first part is done! ^^ So what did you think? I hope it wasn't too boring or anything, since it was mostly from Kadota's PoV, but I wanted to try something a little bit different so yeah...

I'm still currently writing the next part... so I don't know when it'll be done... But I'll do my best to finish it as quickly as possible.

See Ya!

PS: Would anyone be interested in Beta-ing for me? I'd be foerever grateful.