AN: Sincerest apologies for leaving this for so long, but my writing inspiration (for all my fics) just disappeared on me. Don't worry though; as long as I don't specifically say that it's abandoned, then it's not abandoned. I hope you like the chapter :).

Izaya was very interested in the information that his young new acquaintance wanted from him. What could this possibly-not-human teenager want to know, that he couldn't find it himself?

As it turned out, it was nothing earth-shattering; Ichigo had given him a list of names and the request to find out as much about them as possible. Or if they even existed.

The last bit had piqued Izaya's curiosity – why wouldn't they exist, if Ichigo knew their names and birthdays? Did his new friend have his own imaginary friends, perhaps?

That would be interesting.

But anyway, it wasn't a difficult request, especially with all the background information that Ichigo had provided. Izaya was getting much more out of the deal; normally something he would be perfectly fine with and would, in fact, be aiming for, but he actually wanted this kid to think well of him (all in aid of getting the answers that he wanted).

And so Izaya, after finding out that Ichigo had been spending the last few nights sleeping in trees and exchanging manual labor for food, had dragged the teen (and his list) back to his own apartment. It certainly played right into Izaya's 'keep him close' plan, and it meant his new friend wasn't a hobo anymore! A truly win-win situation, Izaya was proud to say.

Of course, the minute Izaya got him home, he'd sent Ichigo off to have a good, long shower, and settled straight in to work. He took his time perusing the list, wondering what was so important about these few people (aside from the obviousness of the first four) that it would send Ichigo on the hunt for the infamous underground informant, Orihara Izaya. He had certainly never heard of any of these people before.

Kurosaki Masaki – 09/06/1964

Kurosaki Yuzu – 06/05/1990

Kurosaki Karin – 06/05/1990

Kurosaki (Shiba?) Isshin – 10/12/?

Arisawa Tatsuki – 17/07/1986

Sado Yasutora – 07/04/1987

Ishida Uryū – 06/11/1986
(Ishida Ryūken/Ishida Sōken?)

Inoue Orihime – 03/09/1986
(Inoue Sora?)

Asano Keigo – 01/04/1987
(Asano Mizuho?)

Kojima Mizuiro – 23/05/1987

So Ichigo's family was missing, was that it? Izaya hadn't a clue who the others were, but that was okay.

He would soon.

Two, very frustrating, hours later, Izaya still hadn't found anything. To be completely honest, his pride had taken a massive blow when he failed to find anything within the first five minutes, and then it continued to decline from there.

At first, it had been slightly amusing; it was a challenge, the first one he'd had in a long while. The longer it went on without even a spec of information, however, the more pronounced his pout, and then his intense frown, became. Not to sound like an arrogant prick – which he most certainly was not – but it was literally impossible for Orihara Izaya to have a list of names this long, and not find a single detail on any one of them.

If these people had existed for even one second on this Earth, then Izaya would have known by now. And since he hadn't found one single thing, well. Ichigo had some explaining to do.

"Nothing? You didn't find anything on them?" The teenager's eyebrows furrowed even more deeply than they already were. He had spent the time that Izaya was researching simply lounging on Izaya's sofa, reading one of the mystery novels from the bookshelf. Izaya was a little miffed to find that the boy didn't look at all surprised.

Horribly lost and lonely, yes, but not surprised.

"Kurosaki-kun," Izaya drawled, leaning up into Ichigo's personal space. "You don't look like you expected anything different. It wasn't a wild goose chase that you just sent me on… was it?" Black eyes darkened as Izaya let just a smidge of his displeasure through.

In what was a rather refreshing change for Izaya, Ichigo didn't appear intimidated in the slightest. The vulnerable emotions disappeared in a heartbeat, irritation and offence taking their place. "Of course not," the kid said, frowning down at the older man. "I'm not a liar."

The struggle that Izaya went through to keep his expression in place took the majority of his iron will; he wanted to crow so badly over his newest obsession. Ichigo was just so interesting! After a moment or two of tension, Izaya let his dark aura fade as he beamed at the orange haired boy. He simply couldn't keep it up while he was so happy; when was the last time he'd been so excited by something?

"I believe you, Kurosaki-kun," Izaya assured him, stepping out of Ichigo's bubble and flinging himself back onto the sofa. Ichigo copied the action, cautiously returning to his previous seat. "But that still begs the question; what exactly is going on here?" He sent a razor-sharp smile Ichigo's way, watching those deep brown eyes narrow back at him.

"I-" Ichigo paused for a second, looking thoughtful. "I'm not too sure, actually. That's why I was looking for you. But if even you can't find them…" He trailed off. Something like desolation settled over that strong face, and Izaya felt his stone heart race.

Whatever this man-child was about to tell him was going to be beautiful.

"Hey, Orihara-san? Have you ever heard of a place called Karakura-chō, in Tokyo?" Ichigo was staring at him with an intense focus.

Izaya wracked his brain, trying to recall something that he knew for a fact wasn't there. He knew the names of every prefecture, ward, city and town in Japan; there was no Karakura in Tokyo. He said as much to his guest, who sat back with disappointment in his eyes (although Izaya could tell he was trying not to show it).

This was all getting very mysterious; imaginary friends and non-existent towns – Izaya loved it.

He leaned forward, attempting to stare into Ichigo's soul (something he would spend hours cackling over once Ichigo finally got around to informing him that he was, technically, a soul). "Maa, Kurosaki-kun, you're not crazy are you?"

The glare that Ichigo shot him could have scorched the sun. Izaya sat back again, raising his hands defensively. "Don't be mad, Kurosaki-kun~" he beseeched the teenager. "You're the one giving me names of people and places that don't exist."

That statement seemed to douse Ichigo's ire like a bucket of ice water. His whole body appeared to slump, even though he didn't move an inch. "They do exist," Ichigo murmured. "Or at least, they did."

Now, Izaya didn't have a clue what that was supposed to mean. If they had previously existed, if they had lived and died, he would have found something on them. So what was Ichigo trying to say?

Ooh. Obvious. And exciting.

"Does this have something to do with the fact that you have strange, supernatural powers, Kurosaki-kun?" Izaya questioned, rather more eagerly than he generally liked to appear. He eyed the two oversized blades that Ichigo had leaned against the back of his sofa. Although, thinking about it, strange didn't really apply, not when Ichigo at least had the excuse of being a non-human entity.

Shizu-chan was just a freak.

Ichigo huffed out a weak snort. "I guess it does," he muttered, rolling his orange head back to loll against the sofa. "And if I'm right, it probably doesn't matter if I tell you."

Izaya beamed. "I'm listening."

AN: Your guys' thoughts are always welcome! Let me know if you liked it :).

- Kelly