Orihara Izaya stalked down the street, half in the shadows, desperately cold but not wanting to show it. He coughed involuntarily and scowled.

"God, I hate winter…"

He muttered to himself sourly as he slipped down an alley to escape the glances he received from others on the street.

As he reached a secluded area, he gave into his desires and began miserably shivering, wrapping his arms around himself in a futile attempt to increase his body temperature.

There was a crash a little farther down the alley but he ignored it.

Then, a sleek black cat padded over to him from the direction of the crash.

"Shoo, feline," Izaya hissed.

The cat looked up at him, his eyes sharp and bright, as though challenging him.

Izaya sighed heavily. "I said go away."

The cat, in reply, crept towards Izaya and huddled against his legs.

Izaya rolled his eyes and knelt down. He untangled his arms to wave the cat away.

The cat, seizing the opportunity, jumped into Izaya's arms and nestled into his jacket.

Izaya gritted his teeth but didn't object—the cat was quite warm.

He sat on the cold, hard ground with the cat in his arms for a few minutes, silent.

The cat started purring and the vibrations eased through Izaya's body.

Izaya sighed, again. "Hey, cat. Do you have an owner? A human who serves you under the illusion that you serve them?"

The cat squirmed.

Izaya furrowed his brow. "Do you have a home?"

The cat poked its head out from Izaya's jacket and stared at Izaya. The gaze was blank but rich: a depth that was a murky mixture of emotions and experiences. It was almost reminiscent of something you would see in the eyes of a human.

Izaya thought for a moment. "Are you a stray? A lost cause? An entity born and raised independent but helplessly lonely? Bound to the shadows and convinced you live for danger, when you're really just suspended in it with no hope of escape?"

The cat blinked at him.

"Is that what you are?"

The cat rested its chin on Izaya's chest, and Izaya could feel its heartbeat pulsing in sync with his own.

"Is that it, cat? Are you lonely?"

The cat nuzzled Izaya fondly.

"Are you like the feline version of everything I am and will be?"

"Because I'm sort of a stray, myself. I didn't mind it, at first, I thought it was sort of exciting as a lifestyle. But now... it's really just lonely for me. Just like you seem to be."

The cat didn't react.

"Since you'll probably die in solitude out on the streets or in a catfight or get hit by a car, does that mean I'll die like that, too? I'll die pointlessly, forgotten?"

His expression turned sad, and he rubbed the cat's ears.

"Is that our fate?"

A siren pierced the air and startled both Izaya and the cat.

Izaya looked up and blinked.

A sudden wave of realization dawned over him. "What, am I crazy? I'm talking to a f***ing cat."

He stood up abruptly, throwing the cat off of him, and took off. "What the Hell was I thinking?"

He didn't really know where he was going, he was just heading in some random direction, but he ended up on a bench in some sort of square. He laid down on the bench and exhaled, his breath turning white.

"Why does it have to be so cold..?" he uttered.

He sat there for nearly half an hour.

He then got up and resorted to returning home.

He stumbled into his room and out onto the balcony, leaning over the railing, weak and fatigued.

He gasped for air and let the snow that was now falling sprinkle his face.

It felt good.

"Neko-chan!"

Izaya looked down, directly below the balcony and inhaled sharply.

Heiwajima Shizuo was walking through the snow, searching for something, looking under benches and behind signs. "Neko-chan, where are you?" he called.

"What's he doing in this weather? It's snowing for God's sake," Izaya mumbled to himself, watching Shizuo.

Shizuo looked around and sighed.

Suddenly, a black cat ran up to him from behind.

It was the same black cat from before.

Shizuo turned and noticed the cat.

He knelt down and lifted the cat. "Neko-chan!"

Izaya's breath caught in his throat.

Shizuo embraced the cat and placed the cat on his shoulder. "I thought I'd never find you. You have to stop running off, especially in such cold conditions."

Shizuo was smiling affectionately at the cat, and the cat was rubbing against him. For a second, Izaya thought the cat had looked up to the balcony and given him a pointful glance.

After their light-hearted reunion, they walked off into the distance and Izaya stared after them.

He then allowed a small smile to form, but hid it with his hand.

"So is that it, then?"

He retreated into the warmth of his room and fell onto his bed.

"If I keep 'running off'… does that mean I'm only as lonely as I choose to be? There's always someone waiting for me at home, should I ever return? Someone willing to take me in despite every mistake I may have made?"

He closed his eyes.

"Psh."

A reluctant tear rolled down his cheek.

"Of course not. No one's waiting for me."

His lips curled into a pained smile.

"I knew it was stupid to talk to cats."