Title: Life
Genre: Romance/Slice of Life
Rating: Teen for adult themes

Fully Summary: As the saying goes, "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious." This rings true for certain individuals in Ikebukuro. But who's having all the fun and what are the games? And who finds someone's pain to be laughable? The first to find out will be Izaya. (ShizuoxOCxIzaya)

Author's Note: Story is best viewed in 3/4 layout, but to each their own. The story begins before Mikado moves to Ikebukuro. Plot will focus on a female OC and her speculations of what is going on around her. It will follow the anime and light novels, but will also contain added content. A handful of chapters will be flashbacks that take place when Shizuo, Izaya, and Shinra are in high school.

Chapter One: Nothing Lasts Forever

It was a regular day in Ikebukuro. Nothing was out of the ordinary. People lived their lives, repeated mundane routines, paid no mind to the faceless crowd around them, and focused only on themselves. The Yellow Scarves were beginning to excel in numbers, matching up to the Blue Squares. Russia Sushi fliers were scattered all over the streets. The air carried the fresh scent of grounded coffee beans. Where did this aroma come from? From a shop called "The Indigo Lounge" or "Indigo" for short—known for its outlandish purple furniture and house specialties: home-brewed Violet Black Coffee and Violet Milk Tea, a royal taste for common folks. There was not one person in Ikebukuro that hadn't gone there, pockets full of money or not.

Shizuo was strolling through the city, enjoying the peace he rarely experienced. Taking one final drag of his cigarette, he later tossed it into the trash. After he burned out the end, of course. He made his way over to a young woman standing outside of Indigo. Her silver-dyed hair was tied into a high, side ponytail and she wore a waist apron over a mini, violet Chinese dress. She was offering samples to people walking by. Shizuo managed to sneak up on her and called her name.

"Yuzuki," he said.

She turned towards him and her brown eyes immediately lit up.

"It's been a while, Shizuo. Would you like to sample our new blend?"

He took a plastic cup from the tray and downed the sample in one shot. He tasted hazelnut and chamomile. Indigo had a knack for combining strange flavors.

"It's a little bitter," he said.

"You think so? I thought it was fine."

"Well, I'm free. Did you want to do something?"

Yuzuki smiled and hopped up and down ever so slightly on her toes. "Do you want to come in? Today's afternoon special is hot chocolate coffee."

As long as it wasn't something with flowers drowning in it, Shizuo was fine with hot chocolate coffee. They went inside. The interior was all very purple. Indigo drapes hung from the windows, obviously for decorations since the windows were tinted. There was golden embroidery sown along every purple cushion and piece of fabric in the store. Even the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were a dark purple. Yuzuki seated Shizuo at a table close to the front counter so they could talk.

A customer left when he saw Shizuo, most likely because Shizuo had beaten him up before. There were always customers like that and many who asked Yuzuki how she wasn't afraid of Shizuo. She never gave an honest answer. They wouldn't understand if she did. Yuzuki had attended middle school and high school with Shizuo. They got along fairly and very well during those years. After they graduated, she used to let him stay at her apartment when he was jumping from job-to-job. What he liked about her was that she didn't judge. If he needed a place to stay, she'd let him in without asking questions. If he was bleeding at her doorstep, she would patch him up and that was it. For the more ghastly wounds, he went to Shinra. Yuzuki didn't like to probe under his skin for bullets or sharp objects.

Yuzuki poured him a cup of hot chocolate coffee and gave him a serving of melon bread to go with it. She then went to wipe down the bakery counter. Shizuo leaned back in his seat and waited for the coffee to cool. There weren't a lot of servers on staff today. It was oddly quiet for five o'clock. Indigo was a "quiet" place in Ikebukuro, where one could escape from all the fights, the city noise, and the gossip. The entrance bell rung. Shizuo looked over to see two teenagers hooking arms: a blond male and a brunette. Sipping his coffee, he looked away. A lot of high school couples came to Indigo. As long as they weren't too loud and didn't cause problems for Yuzuki, he didn't care. The couple occupied a table away from him.

"Saki, what do you want to eat?" the blond asked.

"Anything's fine," the girl replied.

The boy went over to the counter.

"Hello, Yuzukiiiii!"

"Kida-kun? It's good to see you. Did you come by yourself?" asked Yuzuki.

"Nope. I came with my girlfriend." He pointed at the brunette sitting by herself. "Can I get two pumpkin cheesecakes?"

Yuzuki was too caught up in Saki to hear his order. Saki looked very familiar to her. She just didn't know why. Kida knocked on the counter to get her attention. Snapping out of it, she apologized and rung him up. She messed up and charged him for two slices of regular cheesecake instead. He didn't mind the confusion. After erasing his order and starting anew, Yuzuki organized a tray for him and personally delivered it to his table. Kida introduced Saki to her. His girlfriend laughed at one point and mumbled something. Yuzuki didn't quite catch it, but knew it had something to do with her.

The afternoon drifted away and the shop closed early. Shizuo offered to take her home.

"Hey, Shizuo. Can I ask you something?" Yuzuki said as they walked side-by-side in the dark.

He stopped and looked at her. It was uncommon for her to ask for permission to speak. She only did that if she felt as though she were overstepping her boundaries or poking her nose into other people's business. Even though they've known each other for years, there was always this gap between them that neither of them spoke of. He motioned for her to go on.

"Hasn't Ikebukuro been changing? There's been a lot of yellow and blue coming in and out of the store," she said.

"Don't trouble yourself over it."

"Mmn..." She bit down on her lip, wanting to say more. "It might just be me, but it feels as though this peace won't last."

Before Shizuo could say more, his cell phone rang. His boss called, requesting him to take on a sudden shift. "Sorry. Got to go."

Yuzuki seemed disappointed for a second, but quickly hid it with a smile. "Take care," she said. And with that, he was gone. She heaved a heavy sigh before continuing home. It had always been like this. Arriving at her apartment complex, she saw someone sitting on the outside steps. "Simon?"

He looked up at the sound of his name.

"I been waiting," he said in a botched up accent. It was difficult to take him seriously when he wasn't speaking Russian (not that she could understand Russian).

"Waiting for me?" Yuzuki was confused.

"Yah. Heard about what happened to Indigo."

She shifted uncomfortably.

"I caught culprit, taught them robbing is no good. Bad."

"Who was it?"

"Yellow Scarves." Simon touched her shoulder reassuringly, but she politely brushed him off. She sat down on the steps and lamented the news. Both of them knew something was happening to the city. Something was brewing behind the scenes. Seeing Saki and Kida together only affirmed Yuzuki's suspicions. Though he knew she wasn't going to like it, Simon handed her a take-out bag of sushi, free of charge.

"From Izaya," he said.

With that one name, the peace Yuzuki knew and loved ended.