"IZAYA!"

The familiar call echoed over Ikebukuro, though not a single person looked up. Everyone in this town had grown so used to this that it could almost be deemed "normal."

A slight, skinny man with black hair tore through the busy streets and sidewalks, skillfully dodging any obstacles in his way. There was a grin on his face, even as a trash can whizzed past his head and into the wall of a small deli, falling to the ground.

Bypassers took care to stay out of the way, but nobody thought too much of it. They knew this game all too well, but nobody knew the reason behind it.

And, frankly, they didn't care. Why would they?

Izaya Orihara, the one being chased, rerouted his path and sprinted down the alley on the other side of the deli. Not too far behind him, a much taller blonde man persued him with a stop sign in his hands.

Izaya snickered, sparing the infamous Shizuo Heiwajima an over-the-shoulder glance. That sadistic mixture of a grin and smirk never faltered, even as he turned his head to face forward again.

"You've never even come close to catching me before, Shizu-chan! What makes you think you're strong enough to obliterate me now~?"

The words were an antagonistic poison; and yet, they were so playful and relaxed that you might think this was a game between buddies.

Childsplay.

And to Izaya, it was. He approached the end of the alley and stopped abruptly, turning to face his persuer once more. Shizuo was still pretty far down the alley, but this didn't come as a surprise to the informant. Shizuo had never been as quick and nimble as Izaya, so he relied on weapons to chase him with.

Hence, the stop sign.

As Shizuo got a bit closer, he hurled the stop sign at Izaya-and with perfect aim. Not even the least bit concerned, Izaya hopped to the side, easily avoiding the stop sign in its entirety. Just like he did every single time.

And that pissed Shizuo off to no end.

The blonde lunged for Izaya, fist raised, ready to pummel him to nothing. But Izaya just stared and smirked, stared and smirked. When Shizuo got close, the informant just dodged him again. No hesitation, no problems. Shizuo's fist hit the alley wall, and you could almost hear the sickening crunch as his wrist and arm fractured.

Izaya snorted and trotted dangerously close to the blonde to get a better look. He laughed and clapped, obviously pleased with himself. "Aha~! Just like old times, eh Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo growled under his breath and again lunged for the informant. Never missing a beat, Izaya moved back just in time to miss a bloody fist to the mouth. He grinned and snickered, shaking his head. "You're just gonna make it w-"

And then, it happened. Shizuo caught the small man mid-sentence, thrusting him against the wall with both hands. He winced slightly, but not enough for Izaya to notice. He smirked, but not enough to let on how proud of himself he was for finally managing to catch the little flea.

But Izaya just smirked. Why? Well, because he was conniving; a master of trickery, quick-witted, and an experienced con artist.

Of course, this also pissed Shizuo off. "What the hell are you grinning for?!" He demanded, and Izaya snickered. "I'm not stupid, Shizu-chan."

He grabbed the blonde's damaged arm and twisted it just enough to send a volt of pain through his body and make Shizuo cringe right then and there-just for him. The informant smirked and snickered again gleefully. He was a freaky little sadist, and he'd proudly admit it to anyone-if they didn't already know.

Shizuo growled. "I'm going to kill you-" Izaya applied a bit more force, and the blonde winced again, "-Damned flea!"

Izaya didn't let go of his arm. He knew that he was close enough to Shizuo that, if he tried to escape as he was now, then Shizuo could easily catch him again. He had to somehow stun him, if only for a couple of seconds...

...And then he had it. The info broker leaned up, his face so close to Shizuo's that he could feel the warmth of the other's body. "Like I said, I'm not stupid." He sealed the gap between them with a kiss. It was only a mere peck, and it only lasted about half a second, but it was a kiss nonetheless.

Plus, it worked. Izaya released Shizuo's arm and darted down the alleyway in his confusion. He stopped about halfway down and turned to him, grinning and waving. "Catch me if you can!"

And then he disappeared around the corner.

Shizuo stood there for a moment, baffled. But then, he grabbed the stop sign that he'd already basically destroyed and went after the informant yet again.

The nerve of that guy.

"IZAYA!"