A/N: Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites :)

Anon Reply:

Midnight: Thanks! I've thought about adding in Shizaya already. Thanks for the suggestion, but I have something epically planned for those two that I'll reveal soon…maybe in this chapter if I don't have anything else to put in. teehee. :)

May Eighteenth.

This particular day was special to many people in the city of Ikebukuro. Birthdays, death anniversaries, a first kiss, a job interview, an author's deadline…

It also happened to be a special day for a particular magazine, Lantern, to release their latest May issue.

It also happened to be that this particular issue featured a particular person.

It also happened to be that this particular person was widely known and dubbed as "Ikebukuro's monster."

It just so happened to be this man who responded to the name "Heiwajima Shizuo."

This man was currently holed up in his apartment, too scared and angry to leave the house.

Mostly scared, although he'd never admit it.

He sat slumped in his couch with a dead, sinking feeling in his chest. He smeared his cigarette in the ashtray absently, drowning in his thoughts.

About a week ago, his brother had informed him of the exact day of the magazine release date: May Eighteenth. Shizuo had an uneasy feeling about the reaction of his fellow Ikebukurians they'd have if they ever saw it. He quickly dashed the thought away and called Tom to see if there was any work. There wasn't.

By Wednesday, the blonde was driven up the wall from the lack of work. He called Tom everyday to hear the same routine of Tom apologizing to him in his usual laidback way.

On Thursday, another thought occurred to him.

What if the flea saw it?

From there, his anxiety jumped from fairly worried to gotta-uproot-trees-and-roar worried. (Shizuo may or may not have thrown the harmless tree that had grown in front of his apartment complex.) He really just needed something to do to forget about it. Normally it would have been his job, except, problem:

There was no work.

There was nothing Shizuo could do. For sure his friends would recognize him. He trusted them to not spread it around…too much. He was banking on the fact that he didn't wear his trademark bartender suit and sunglasses. The people who know of him shouldn't be able to recognize him. Only those who know him should.

The flea would.

God who knows how long the inhuman bastard would hold that against him.

(From that thought, he may or may not have walked to the park and uprooted another tree.)

Morning of May Eighteenth, a street in Shinjuku

Orihara Izaya had on his usual sly smile as he hummed jovially down the road. It was still early morning, and he decided it was a great day to take a walk. Swinging his arms widely with a jumpy gait, he seemed almost childish. He stopped his exaggerated walking abruptly when something caught his sharp line of vision. He stopped in front of a convenient store, one of the select few stores that were open at this time. Through the glass, there were featured magazines shelved and showcased for passerbyes to see.

Izaya entered the store with a cheerful greeting. He made a beeline to the magazine racks. Without looking at any other ones, he grabbed the Lantern magazine May issue. On the cover was of Heiwajima Kasuka, the brute's younger brother. He was back to back with another man whose face wasn't visible at the angle of the camera. The headlines wrote in large, colorful fancy font: A collab with Hanejima Yuuhei! A new jewel found! Just who is it…?!

He didn't know why his body was coursing with burning curiosity—he didn't give a turd about the showbiz—but it was. Flipping the magazine open to a random page, Izaya stilled, his blood running cold.

Orihara Izaya was very good at hiding his feelings.

Very, very good. Even as a child, when he still lived with his mundane parents. For as long as he could remember as a child, he owned a cat. The cat wasn't fond of him a single bit—maybe it had sensed Izaya's buried twisted nature—but Izaya was fond of it. The five-year old Izaya had not known this until he saw it get run over by a truck with his own eyes. He felt something stir within him but hadn't reacted at the sight of his cat's mangled body lying on the street at all. No, his facial expression did not change even the slightest. He simply walked back home with a small smile on his face.

Orihara Izaya was very good at hiding his feelings.

But this…this was really putting his skills to test.

May Eighteenth, at various places in Ikebukuro

The front door of a large apartment was yanked open. Storming in with a shout, a man who leaned towards the short side with girlish features ran into his room. His doctor's coat billowed after him as he waved his arms frantically. He held a rolled up magazine that was opened to a specific page. "Celty! Celty!"

A feeble arm lifted up a phone from under the covers of the bed. [What? Tell me when I'm awake]

The doctor, Kishitani Shinra, shook his head. He said with a whine, "Celty, you are awake. Seriously, look at this! It's crazy!"

The person under the blankets shifted. The bed sheets fell around the figure as the person sat up slowly. Under the blankets revealed a woman with a beautiful body. She had curves on all the right places that showed prominently from the skin tight black leather she wore. But that was just a side note people normally never saw until they got over something else about her.

Her head was missing.

Black wisps floated around the area of where her head was supposed to be instead. Celty Sturluson was a dullahan, or a Nordic Valkyrie to some. But that was a whole other story to tell.

Her fingers danced across her phone quickly as she typed on her phone. [This better be good.]

Shinra nodded vigorously in agreement. He climbed onto the bed with her and wrapped both arms around her body in a caressing embrace. Still holding the magazine, he unrolled it and smoothed the crinkled paper.

Celty Sturluson dropped her phone in shock.

Tanaka Tom sat in his office with the May issue of Lantern opened on his desk. Taking one long look at it, he burst into laughter.

Ryuugamine Mikado and Sonohara Anri walked side by side in silence. Both wore the dull light blue uniform of Raira Academy, a private high school located in central Ikebukuro. They passed a large advertisement poster that hung in front of a clothing store. Mikado stopped his tracks and stared at it. It took him a moment to realize who he was looking at. "Ah, that's…" His timid voice trailed off.

Anri noticed his sudden stop and turned back to him, following his gaze to the poster. She tilted her head slightly, feeling as though she had seen the man on the ad before.

Her eyes widened when she remembered who he was.

…Heiwajima Shizuo.

Later, in Shinjuku

Orihaya Izaya laughed almost hysterically as he spun around in circles in his plush office chair. He put a foot on his table to stop himself. He slammed the tip of his knife down hard on the table at the photo of a cool-headed Heiwajima Shizuo looking down at him with a disdainful scowl.

Orihaya Izaya was confused.

He was not confused as to how the brute landed himself a model job of all things, no. It was easy to deduct that Hanejima Yuuhei had dragged him into that, considering their relationship and the fact that it was collab with him. None of the staff would have likely recognized him because Yuuhei's agency was located in East Nakano. Another factor was that Shizuo must've wore something other than the bartender suit he always wore, which was his defining characteristic that even Ikebukuro citizens could not identify him without.

What he was confused about was howHeiwajima Shizuo, the monster who had ruined his life, could make such a face.

This smug and self-assured expression he had never seen the man make before.

Izaya knew Shizuo was not the simple minded man who tore things apart without a thought that he made himself to be. The Monster of Ikebukuro was actually a very complex person. He was just as human as the rest of them, for the most part.

He could be angry. He could be calm.

But he couldn't be angry and calm at the same time.

That's never how it worked with the brute.

So just what was that look Shizuo wore in the magazine then?

In Shizuo's flat

Heiwajima Shizuo had never felt so distressed in his entire life. He had just received calls from Shinra, who acted like his typical annoying self and was basically asking Shizuo to kill him and Tom, who sounded amused over the phone.

Both of them asked about the photo shoot.

Celty sent a text that said: [Lookin' good. ( ¬ ◡ ¬ )づ Shinra showed me.]

He didn't know what to say to any of them.

Shizuo sighed and scratched his head. He dialed his brother's number and put his cell up to his ear.

"Hello, Brother."

"Hey Kasuka." Shizuo paused. "So, do you know how much I'm getting paid?"

"I gave the director your number. He will probably tell you soon. Also, I paid off your debts to the city."

Shizuo stood abruptly. "Wait! You paid them all?"

"Yes."

"I'll pay you back, 'kay? At least half of the fines, since that was the agreement."

In the same emotionless tone, Kasuka replied, "It's okay. I think you deserve it. You did much better than I thought you would."

Shizuo chuckled dryly. He said teasingly, "Thanks for the vote of confidence, bro." Becoming serious once more, he continued, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He was glad. It was a hefty debt that had quickly accumulated. Shizuo didn't like shouldering onto his brother, but he promised himself to owe up to him eventually. "Thanks, Kasuka. I owe you."

"You don't owe me anything; you're my brother."

Shizuo didn't argue, but he wasn't going to just forget about it. So he just said, "'Kay."

"My manager is calling me. I'll see you later." With that, Kasuka hung up.

He snapped his phone shut. His fingers twitched for a cigarette, but Shizuo ignored his craving. He lay on the sofa staring up at the ceiling in thought.

He blinked, breaking out of his momentary trance. Reaching for his sunglasses and phone, he finally decided to leave the house.

Shizuo walked into Sunshine 60 Street and stuffed his hands in his pockets, finding them smaller than usual. He cursed when he realized he had forgotten to change into his normal clothes. He was wearing an old light green T-shirt and sweats. He mentally debated whether to go back and change. Shizuo sighed deeply, continuing his way down the crowded street.

He cast a cursory glance towards a group of girls crowded around something ahead of him. As he neared them, his eyebrows raised, realized they were looking at a poster of…him. Shizuo straightened in surprise and looked around quickly. That's when he saw.

Hibiki Shun was everywhere.

The "hit debut of Hibiki Shun" Shizuo read above the girls' heads.

Shizuo almost blushed. In that photo of him, he was half naked in white long pants while sitting on the couch with assorted accessories like various necklaces and bracelets. He looked liked a pimp.

In that set, he was hesitant to showcase his body to the world half naked at first. Kasuka told him it was just a job, and no one would know it was him. Shizuo had caved in quickly, glad that he wasn't naked waist below, too. The director had squealed again for the thousandth time that hour, exclaiming in a grossly high voice for a grown man that he had the "perfectest body in this universe."

Grimacing, Shizuo picked up his pace. He didn't want to see it, hear it, or think about it.

He spotted the tall African Russian man clad in traditional Japanese chef clothes easily from the crowd. As usual, Simon Brezhnev was outside Russian Sushi, trying to lure in customers.

"Hey, Shizuo, are you to eat Russian Sushi today? Please come~" His deep voice sounded friendly. He would have sounded very serious except for his strange Japanese accent that warped his speech.

Shizuo gave him a small smile. "Yeah. I did say I'd come soon before."

"Good that you keep your promises! Today you wear something different. I did not recognize until you came closer. Are you switching jobs? I see you as a model in photos all over the city."

The blonde chuckled, shaking his head. "No, it was just a one-time thing. I don't plan on doing it again." Ever.

Simon nodded with a grin, ushering him in the door. "Enjoy your happy sushi! Eat and be happy!"

A couple days later, Shizuo's apartment

Shizuo really didn't think "Hibiki Shun" would be such a huge hit. Apparently the director was spot on about his "appealing bad boy" image.

The first day of the release wasn't that bad compared to the next day. He was on the front cover of multiple fashion and gossip magazines, and of course, the internet, after the day of his debut. All of them were wondering about this new star who had suddenly shown himself to the world.

Yes, for the first and the last time. Shizuo thought with a grumble. He wanted to go back to debt collecting already! He was not the slightest bit interested in that area at all. The first time may have gone better than he'd thought, but things weren't going to move so smoothly next time.

Debt collecting let him do what he was best at: being a monster. If he was born with this curse, at least he should utilize it to its fullest. Plus, Tom had given him this job. He didn't want to dismiss his friend like that.

Submerged in his thoughts, Shizuo jerked in surprise when his cell rang loudly on the table.

"Hello?"

"Ah, Hibiki-san! It's me, the director."

"Good afternoon. Is there something you need?" Shizuo tried to be polite as possible.

"Yes, I do! Good good news for you, Hibiki-san!" The man sounded jumpy over the phone. "First off, added onto the fifteen thousand, you get a ten thousand bonus because you were so amazing! I knew it would turn out great!" The director's voice dropped a fraction. "Although I wished I could have presented you in a more dramatic fashion…like a big BOOM! And then all of a sudden you'd be the hot topic. That would have been awesome."

"Sorry, director, but this was just a favor for Kasu—I mean Yuuhei. I'm not doing it again." Shizuo tried to sound apologetic.

There was a heavy pause. "Ah, is that so. That's too bad. I was going to offer you to come for another photo shoot that I was doing in Kyoto…" His voice trailed off. "Well, the money will go to your bank."

"Thank you."

Shizuo heard the director sigh. "Are you sure you don't want to try it again?"

He knew he would somehow mess things up, like he always would. "Yes, I'm sure. Thanks for the offer, though."

After exchanging quick farewells, Shizuo hung up and stuffed his phone back into his pocket with his own sigh.

At the same time, Izaya's office

Orihara Izaya, glasses placed lowly on the bridge of nose, faced the screen of his computer with a serious frown. His fingers were lightly touching the surface of his keyboard as he navigated his mouse somewhere on the screen and clicked.

His eyes wandered off and glanced towards the side for a second before his face tightened. Izaya was very close—this close to cracking.

For the last couple days, he'd only gotten a minimal amount of work done. He was behind.

It wasn't bad enough that he was unable to inform his clients, of course. He was always ahead of the game no matter what.

But it was still bad.

Hibiki Shun was bad.

Heiwajima Shizuo was bad.

And Orihara Izaya needed to get rid of bad.

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I've been busy these recent weeks. I actually had most of the chapter sitting here for two weeks o.o

So, Shizuo still isn't getting any work from Tom—why?! And Hibiki Shun is the talk of the city woot woot. Just what is Orihrara Izaya planning…?

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

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