A/N: Thanks for the reviews! :)

LooneyDooney: I appreciate that thumbs up~

Stahlut: Whew, glad to hear I've kept him IC. He's so freakin' difficult to write sometimes... most of the time... okay, like all the time.

Sepsis: Aha, when isn't he suspicious..

Khael: Intriguing? Good, I must be doing something right then!

Vivvy09: Yeah, this was my attempt at being original – we'll see how that goes, haha.

Random Fan: Probably mean things – he is an evil know it all!

Arik: I worry about being repetitive with my words, and sometimes it happens without me really realizing it – but I'm happy to hear you think I've avoided it so far! Again, thanks for the reassurance they're IC~

Fate's Design: This isn't exactly soon, I'm just lazy and go out way too much! :( And I feel the exact same way about him; he's mean, he's a douche, but there's still something about his character you can't help but love. And Cruelty does sound a whole lot better, but I got the title from a song, so I might as weel keep it true to that, haha. Thanks though!

Iagid672: Happy to hear you think Yukari's realistic and likeable – her personality's still somewhat in the works, but I figure that in real life, well – I, for one, wouldn't sass Izaya, and I'd probably be wimpy and do whatever he said...

xLilim: You're definitely not dumb! I ask myself questions about what the hell's going on in this story, too, and that's pretty bad since I'm supposed to be writing it. I tend to throw caution to the wind, write, and hope it all works out in the end! :x

Miss CatLover Chii: Thankfully everyone says they're all IC – such a relief... And it's good you have questions, since it's supposed to be mysterious, ha~

KHRDRRRlover: Thanks! :)

..Rebels: I'm also a sucker for Ocs~ And yeah, I didn't want her to be smitten at first sight or anything – hopefully I can keep up with that! And I loveeee long reviews, please don't apologize!

This is kind of a boring chapter – and it's short, too, so I'm sorry! Still trying to set up the story, I guess (Excuses, excuses!)... Either way, I hope everyone enjoys reading this.

high on cruel

TWO

Yukari warily glances at the building Izaya is pointing out, doubt beginning to coil together in her head. She begins to think that this is all a big mistake, that she had heard about him through gossip because it was only just gossip and nothing else. Maybe he's pulling the wool over her eyes because she's gullible. Maybe he needs a good laugh.

Then again, he knew her sister's name before she had even told him – but this she attributes to having given him her own name. Since he's an informant, she supposes it isn't farfetched at all for him to know such a thing.

He starts to make his way across the street when she hesitantly taps him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, Izaya-san? … What are we doing at a sushi restaurant?"

The informant turns back to her, hands leisurely stuffed into his pocket. He raises a brow, almost as if she should know why they're there – the condescending look in his eye doesn't really make her feel any better about speaking out. "Do you have a problem with sushi, Yu-chan?"

"No, I just – well -" She stumbles over her words, then stares at her feet. "I don't see what a sushi restaurant has to do with …" She trails off, suddenly unsure of her protest. Furthermore, if she makes him mad – there's the possibility he might back out, and she cannot let that happen.

"Oh, it doesn't! You're so silly." He laughs and begins to resume his path, and she blinks. She doesn't really know what to say to that, but even if she did, he stops again and speaks before she can.

"I'm just hungry. Specifically for some ootoro - you can tell me about your sister over some food, hmm?" He looks at her furrowed brows. "Really, have some trust in me!" Walking again, he throws over his shoulder when she still doesn't move, "Coming, Yu-chan?"

"Trust. Right …" She mutters before following suit across the street.

They're greeted by a large, dark-skinned man who's waving a sign around and yelling out the daily specials. Izaya seems to know him, and the strange look the man gives to her doesn't go unnoticed by her. However, it's quickly gone, and he redirects his attention back onto her companion.

"You are behaving, yes? Sushi help you behave." The huge man says, and she's pretty sure there's something almost menacing underneath his friendly tone. He scares her somewhat, and subconsciously, she edges behind Izaya.

"Why, Simon!" The informant gasps like he's offended, a hand splayed out on his chest. "I'm always on my best behavior." He tosses out a grin before shoving her forward. "Simon, this is Yu-chan. Yu-chan, Simon."

"You are friend of Izaya's?" He asks her in broken, choppy words.

Yukari shrinks back a little, looking from Izaya then back to him. "Um …"

"I happen to be helping her out, Simon. Though, perhaps we will become friends in the future!" The dark haired man puts his arm around her and squeezes her tightly. "Isn't that right, Yu-chan?"

"I … m-maybe?"

Yukari doubts it. She swallows and tries to nonchalantly shrug him off. His grip is a lot stronger than she would expect from someone so slender; he does not let go, and instead, guides her towards the door.

"See you inside, Simon!" Izaya waves with his free hand before they go inside, and he doesn't release her until they're inside a small enclosed booth.

She isn't hungry – there's no way she could eat right now, being so close to the start of this so called investigation, so she gets some tea instead. After Izaya orders, an awkward silence falls over them. Yukari isn't so sure it feels that way to him, however, judging by the relaxed look on his face.

"Tell me about yourself, Yu-chan." He drums his fingers on the table, resting his chin on his other hand. "After all, who knows how long we'll be working together?"

She shifts around in her seat and bites her lip. "There's not much to tell, really …" Yukari clears her throat before reaching for her tea, taking a small sip.

"Now, am I supposed to believe that? Everyone has something interesting to tell," Izaya smiles, "Mostly."

"Maybe I'm just one of the people that doesn't, Izaya-san." She offers shyly. Something about him makes her afraid to give him an answer he doesn't want to hear, like he's a shark whose jaws will close down on her as soon as he wills it.

"I see." He leaves it at that. "So what about your sister? Was she interesting, or just as boring as you are?"

And to Izaya's slight surprise, for someone that seems as timid as Yukari does, she doesn't look hurt or offended at his words. Instead, she smiles. It's happy and reminiscent - and so very sad and utterly pathetic looking at the same time, he thinks.

"Eiko-nee was always more interesting than I was. That's how it's always been. She's always been smarter, too." Then, her face falls a bit. "Was."

Izaya makes no comment on her mistaken tenses. "Any thoughts on why she would want to commit suicide?" She almost flinches at the carefree way he asks, like he's simply chatting about the weather.

Yukari hesitates. "Eiko-nee was really happy. But …"

"But?" He prods her, leaning towards her.

"I did something horrible to her …" Saying it out loud doesn't make the guilt go away or lighten; it makes her feel foolish and childish for what she had done, even if there's the possibility it has nothing to do with her death. Still, every instance she'd ever wronged her sister – they pile up until she feels like it all has to do with it.

"Well, go on!" He urges, "Enough of all these pauses, Yu-chan."

"… Almost two years ago …" The next words won't budge from her throat, but reluctantly, she tries to spit them out. "I-"

Simon lays down a large platter of ootoro in front of Izaya, saving her from those dreaded words – at least, for now. He gives Izaya the same look as he did out front, before asking her if she wants more tea. She shakes her head, and he walks away – but she gets a look, too, and she dares to think it may have been pity. After all, she's seen that expression on people too many times for comfort after Eiko's death.

An hour later or so, they're on top of a building. She's never been there in person, but she knows of it. Her heart hurts and feels too heavy to be inside of her chest, and she stays, feet glued to the ground, by the metal door. After all, it's the place where her sister's body – no, there wasn't much of a body left – remains were found.

"Why so far away, Yu-chan?" Izaya's leaning on the railing, beckoning her with a ringed hand. "Come closer so we can talk!"

She gulps down an overwhelming wave of nausea and wills her feet to move. He's tapping his foot impatiently by the time Yukari reaches him, but she still stays a few feet away from both him and the railing.

"You know what this place is, I'm sure," He says softly, but there's a strange look she can't decipher on his face – all she knows is that it does not match the tone of his voice at all.

"Yes." That's all she can muster out; then, "Why are we-"

"You ask so many questions," Izaya sighs, waving his hand about. "It should be me doing that, am I correct?"

"… Yes," She whispers out. He's right, really, she tells herself. She's the one who wanted this – she should have known that some things would be unavoidable, though she never felt any desire to be here. Yukari still doesn't. "You said we were going somewhere she went a lot. But this is …"

"I wasn't lying, Yu-chan. My sources," He turns around to face the skyline over the railing, spreading his hands out on the metal bar before gripping it, "Tell me she came whenever she wanted to think. You should accept there's some things you didn't know about her, mm?"

She stays quiet. Izaya faces her again before grabbing her arm and pulling her next to him – and as much as she doesn't want to, her body feels all too unstable, and she wobbles a bit, ribs pressed against the railing. Against her will, her eyes drift down to the pavement way, way down below. There's large, dark stains in the alley, so dark they look black.

Yukari can only gasp like the frightened girl that, right now, she truly is – before wide eyes catch his. He's saying something to her, but she can't understand. Everything goes quiet, like she's pressed some sort of mute button. She feels her knees weaken even more than they already were, and her lids flutter.

The last thing she sees before she goes to the ground is those dark, dried blood eyes staring at her without a shred of emotion, and the hint of a smile curling the sides of his lips.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Izaya chuckles at the girl slumped on the ground, shaking his head. She seems so very weak and fragile, laid out before him – but that's because that is exactly what she is. He had thought that maybe this would happen, but he had also given the whole appearances can be deceiving thing a shot, considering she still seemed eager enough to even delve further into her sister's case than she had to.

"Apparently not," He says aloud to himself.

Izaya doesn't quite feel like lugging her all the way back to Shinjuku, and he could bring her back to her house; he knows where she lives, after all. Still, he figures it might be worth it to see her reaction when she wakes up, and what he thinks will probably be stuttered out apologies.

Along with that, he guesses there will be pleas; don't give up on her, she can bear it, she really, really can - yes, that sounds about right. He kneels down to heft her over his shoulder, scrunching his nose when her hair brushes his face. Izaya swats her hair away before making his way to the roof's door and the stairs inside.

"Some girls," He sighs to no one, "Are really all the same."

Izaya never even got to badger whatever she had been about to say earlier out of her, either. It doesn't matter too much, since he already knows, but that's besides the point. The point, obviously, was to see her squirm uncomfortably.

He wonders how long he can keep up the game. To see how long it takes her until she finds everything out – of course, by everything, he means the truth he'll eventually tell her piece by piece. He'd see how long it would take to realize she placed her trust in the same exact person whose fault it was.

Because even though some girls are really all the same – all the same, they're always fun to break.

A/N: Um... please review! :D