Orihara Izaya was about to be proven wrong.
One of his skills was of course knowing precisely what kind of reaction he could invoke from people. It was believed that Izaya was annoying for the purpose of putting people ill at ease but it was something of a misunderstanding. He did not approach everyone in the same way, it was part of his method to always interact based on a personal assessment of the person in question. Even if all he had to go by was appearance of a screen name. Everything was information as long as one knew how to dissect it. And Izaya made a point out of always zeroing in on that.
By knowing how people would react he made them predictable and thus reassured his ability to overcome issues and always come on top. The one that could connect the many dots and read order through apparent chaos was the winner by default. And that was precisely who he needed to be.
"Say, about Izaya…"
Shizuo snorted loudly at the name.
"Filthy louse. Hate his guts."
Kadota sighed but kept on going through his notebook.
"I've been wondering, doesn't he always come 'round about the same times?"
"No idea."
"Try to remember. You always know when he drops by Ikebukuro, don't you?"
Shizuo frowned slightly and chewed on the steak in front of him.
"I guess…yeah, now that you mention it. Fucking flea."
It had become such a habit to attach insults to any mention of Izaya's name that Shizuo did so even when it had no connection to whatever was being said. Kadota nodded and showed him the neatly filled notebook.
"Here. What do you make of it?"
"Dunno."
"I've been asking around town and there is a pattern to Izaya. He appears at specific times. Almost as if he has a log of sorts."
Shizuo shrugged.
"He's a weirdo anyway. Creepy, too. But I dunno about that, I see him all the bloody time. Morning, noon, afternoon, all the bloody time."
Kadota nodded.
"That's just it, the pattern is sort of hidden. Takes a while to break it down. But for example, when did he appear today?"
"At ten. Thought I'd have a break after work but no, fucking Izaya had to screw it up for me."
Kadota's interest in Izaya's zany personality had become something of an unlikely hobby. He was curious about such a power player and that Kadota had a history with Izaya made him even more curious. He had realized that in asking about Izaya Shizuo's memory was the most reliable. Shizuo nurtured such a hatred that he seemed to remember every single thing about his object of profound loathing. It was one of the strangest things Kadota had ever seen.
"And today is Friday. Yesterday, what time did he drop by?"
"Nine."
Kadota scribbled on his notepad.
"And the day before?"
"Eight"
"And the day before that?"
"Six."
"And the day before that, that'd be Monday."
"Four."
Kadota scribbled madly.
"See, there is a pattern. Monday, four; Tuesday six; Wednesday eight; Thursday nine; Friday twelve. There's almost a chronological order to it…but something is still missing."
Shizuo peered at Kadota's neat handwriting.
"I guess. Never noticed it."
"But he skips a few. Is there a logic to it…four, six, eight, nine, twelve. But he could be counting them as sixteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty one, zero. Hmm…"
Shizuo took a sip of strawberry milkshake.
"He's annoying other people in the hours between. Fucking hate him."
Kadota got up.
"That's it!"
"Huh?"
"If you forget the zero for midnight, the numbers he is skipping are prime numbers. Five, seven, ten! Or seventeen, nineteen! The zero is a wildcard so it doesn't count but this can't be a coincidence."
"Ya making my head hurt."
But Kadota knew he was on to something.
"The question is why. What is it about prime numbers? Some symbolic meaning? Or maybe it's part of an even greater pattern. Maybe there is some sort of code? But why? If there is, what is the point? Maybe to gloat at the fact that no one seems to even notice let alone crack it?"
"Yeah, I bet that's it. That's what a smartass like him he'd do. Thinks he's so bloody smart."
