35 minutes earlier
A motorcycle, black as night and silent as a shadow. To many, its appearance was a sign of doom and despair; to others, the black motorbike was an unfathomable mystery.
To Shizuo, it was a friend.
He was happy to wave it over when the infamous Black Rider pulled to a stop on the side of the road. The bartender was on one of his numerous smoke-breaks of the day (it was easier to call them 'smoke-breaks' than it was to call them 'if-I-don't-leave-the-room-right-now-I'm-going-to- beat-the-shit-out-of-something-breaks'). He'd known the legend personally for eight years now, and he could almost perceive its expressions. Not nearly as well as his acquaintance Shinra could, but it was still something.
"Hey," Shizuo greeted the rider with a nod, "What's up?"
The apparition pulled a PDA from the inside of its suit and typed in a quick sentence. Then it held the device up for the bartender to see.
[Not much, just a quick job. You?]
He shrugged.
"I'm on break."
The rider tilted its head (Shizuo recognized this as either curiosity or internal debate). It tapped a finger against its PDA a few times, but didn't write anything. The bartender raised his eyebrows until eventually it started to text.
[Actually, would you like a bottle of milk?]
Shizuo thought for a moment and then replied, "Sure." He wasn't going to say no to a free milk, but it was sort of unusual for it to have one.
The Black Rider continued to text and display.
[Shinra gave me a bottle before I left this morning. I'm not sure why; I guess he forgot that I can't drink. I thought you might like it, though.]
Shizuo watched as a large black bubble rose from the motorbike and floated towards him. The rider flicked its wrist and the blob began to dissipate. The bartender held out his hand until the wrapping vanished completely, revealing a glass bottle filled with white liquid and sealed with a pink ribbon. It dropped harmlessly into Shizuo's grip.
"Huh," Shizuo said. "Thanks."
[No problem. I've got to get going now- have a nice day!]
Shizuo waved his hand and the rider regained its position on the bike, which brayed loudly as it picked up speed. The bartender smiled to himself as the inky shadow grew fainter and fainter. There was not a long list of people who wished him a nice day, 'people' or otherwise.
However…something about that bottle irked him. He thought about it as he headed back to work, walking the streets of 'Bukuro. While his observational skills were nothing to speak of, Shizuo understood character very well. And he knew that it was very unlike Shinra to forget anything about his roommate, much less something as obvious as its inability to ingest liquids. This whole thing…didn't seem right.
Still, he didn't see the harm in a bottle of milk.
The bartender uncapped his drink and took a sip, shaded eyes searching the crowd for his dreadlocked boss. Tom was exceedingly lenient with Shizuo's "smoke-breaks", but that didn't mean he was lazy in the slightest.
Unfortunately, Shizuo's search did not progress far. Instead of a pair of glasses and a striped suit jacket, the bartender found a messy shrub of dark hair, a grin, and a fur-lined coat. Shizuo nearly vomited his milk at the sight.
"Izaya!" He growled lowly, fists clenching at once. Izaya returned his stare eagerly, even nudging his way towards the furious bartender. Shizuo used his last ounce of self-restraint to put his bottle on the ground. After all, it was a gift from Celty, and he didn't want to accidently crush it.
There was something else he really needed to crush right now.