Celty Sturluson sighed in relief as she opened the door to her apartment. She had just finished a tough escort job that had taken her the whole day. Her arms ached tiredly as she took off her motorcycle helmet. She placed it on the counter in the kitchen and sat down on the couch in the living room. She turned on the TV and flipped through several different channels before turning it off again. To any normal person, the sight of a headless woman watching TV would have made even a grown man faint. However, Shinra was use to the sight by now and came to sit beside her. Celty Sturluson was indeed not human, for she did not have a head. She is a Dulahon, a fairy from European folklore that rides on a black horse that also does not have a head. But by some unknown circumstances, she lost her head many years ago. She followed its scent to Japan hoping to recover it and her lost memories. It was here she met her lover Shinra who accepted her even without her head. They had decided two years ago to stop looking for her head and make new memories together, but even now there was still a nagging feeling in her chest that told her to continue looking for it.

"Tough day huh?" Shinra asked from beside her, the black smoky shadows that came out of Celty's neck warily in response to his question. Because Celty didn't have a head, she couldn't speak. For this reason she could only communicate by writing or typing out messages. Celty took out her PDA and typed out a reply.

Yeah, Izaya gave me a tough escort job that took me the whole day.

Just the thought of the mysterious and cruel informant made her shudder. She erased the reply after Shinra read it. "If it's too much for you, you can always take a break, Celty." Shinra said, touching her hand in a comforting way. Celty's black smoke puffed out in a heart shape and she typed another reply.

I appreciate your concern Shinra, but I have to help you pay for food and rent. And don't say you can pay for it yourself because we both know that you haven't gotten a request in a while.

Shinra's face fell when he read her reply, but he nodded to her in understanding. "Well, I was just starting to make dinner. It'll be done in a few minutes." He said, getting up and walking back into the kitchen. Celty turned back to stare at the TV before pulling out her laptop. She signed in to her friend's chatroom and saw who was online.

-Setton logged in-

[Kanra]: Hey~

[Setton]: Hi Kanra, How's it going?

[Kanra]: Pretty good. What's up with you?
[Setton]: Nothing much, had a hard day at work.

Kanra was a friend of Celty's who she got to know through the internet; She was kind of weird and creepy at times, but she is a pretty nice person in general.

-Seika logged in-

[Kanra]: Hey Seika~

[Setton]: Hi Seika!

[Seika]: Hey guys…

[Setton]: Something wrong?
[Kanra]: You seem down.

[Seika]: Well, I think someone is following me.

[Setton]: What?!

[Kanra]: Like a stalker?

Celty knew Seika in real life. She was a girl by the name of Anri Sonohara who went to Raita Academy in west Ikebukuro. She was pretty close with the girl because Anri possessed a demon sword called Seika, which Celty later found out was the sword used to cut off her head. Anri was really good friends with another friend of Celty's. His name was Mikado Ryugamine who was also a student at Raita Academy and is the founder of the Dollars. The Dollars are a colorless gang that was started as an online group and turned into a worldwide group that keeps to the shadows. In Ikebukuro, there are gangs that differentiate themselves by wearing different colors; they are called Color Gangs for short. The Dollars has no color, but is considered a gang. In fact, Celty is part of the Dollars and is one of the few that know Mikado is the leader. The fact that her friend may be being stalked worried Celty greatly.

[Seika]: They have been following me for the past two days. The first time I thought it was just a coincidence, but now I know they're following me for sure.

[Kanra]: That's pretty scary~!

[Setton]: Have you told anyone else?

[Seika]: No. You guys are the first people I've told.

-Seika would like to Private Chat with you-

{Private Chat} [Seika]: Celty, it's starting to scare me a lot

{Private Chat} [Setton]: I understand, I'll look into it. Be safe and make sure you're never alone until I've handled it, ok?
{Private Chat} [Seika]: I think this person is like us. When they were following me, Seika felt like she was trembling.

{Private Chat} [Setton]: Trembling? As in afraid?
{Private Chat} [Seika]: Yes. I've never felt her react like this before.

{Private Chat} [Setton]: I see…That is very strange. Don't worry Anri, I'll handle it for you.

[Kanra]: You guy's still here?
[Setton]: Yeah

[Seika]: I just remembered something I have to do, bye guys.

[Kanra]: Bye!
[Setton]: Be safe!

-Seika logged out-

-Shiryō logged in-

[Kanra]: Hey a newbie!

[Setton]: Hey Shiryō

[Shiryō]: Knight takes Rook

[Kanra]: …Huh?
[Setton]: Is he talking about chess?

[Shiryō]: Checkmate

-Shiryō logged out-

[Setton]: That was strange

[Kanra]: Yeah, really strange…

[Kanra]: Well I gotta go, Bye Setton~

[Setton]: Bye!

-Kanra logged out-

[Setton]: Guess I should go too…

-Setton logged out-

{System Message}: Nobody is in the Chatroom at this time.

In an apartment in Shinjuku, a black haired informant stared at his computer screen. "Izaya, I'm leaving." Namie, the informant's secretary, called as she put on her coat. Izaya made no sound, his gaze fixed on the new user's comments. Izaya spun around in his chair and looked out of the window at the setting sun. The info broker's face was stoic, he didn't move until Namie had shut the door behind her. He got up out of his chair and went over to his chess game, where it sat on the coffee table in his living room.

Knight takes Rook.

Izaya picked up the black knight piece and knocked over the white rook, it was after he placed the knight in the rook's spot did he notice what Shiryō had meant. The black knight had the white king cornered, and Izaya felt his eyes narrow a fraction of an inch. He picked up the white rook and studied it, then tossed it aside. The informant looked at the board once more, except his gaze was now filled with a new intensity of analysis. His lips quivered into a small smirk as realization dawned upon him. He fell back onto his couch as a laugh escaped him. The raven haired man laughed for quite awhile before laying his eyes back on the board. Whoever this Shiryō person was should be satisfied with himself; they had just beaten Izaya Orihara at his own game of chess. Izaya felt another laugh escape him. "You've got my attention now…Shiryō." He whispered as he picked up the black knight once again and tossed it up and down in his hand.

"Show me what you can do."