Everything was going so well. All the customers were pleased, Shizuo was getting good tips, and he hadn't had a single outburst all night.

A small smile was on the blond bartender's face, a cigarette poking out of the side of his mouth as he prepared a glass of vodka for a beautiful young lady.

"Thank you~!" she said, giggling as she took the glass from him, making sure her fingertips touched the bartender's. She then walked away with her glass, heading to the table where her friends were waiting.

Shizuo sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth to puff out smoke.

Just when it seemed everything was perfect, a certain raven-haired, red-eyed barista walked into the bar. It was as if the entire bar acknowledged his presence. Couples dancing against the wall paused to glance at him, friends stopped talking to eye him, and even drunks who were acting foolish toned down their foolishness as they gaped at Izaya Orihara.

He didn't acknowledge them with half the amount of attention they gave him, his deadly eyes focused on the bartender across the room.

Some people actually got up from their tables and left the bar, knowing the place became a hundred times more dangerous with Izaya occupying it.

"Dammit," Shizuo muttered under his breath, pulling out a cloth and wiping the counter as Izaya slowly approached him.

The flea took a seat at the stool right in front of Shizuo. "Good evening, Shizu-chan~."

Shizuo placed the wet cloth under the counter, not replying to Izaya and instead taking the order of someone behind him, "What can I getchya?"

"Banana daiquiri."

Shizuo nodded. Daiquiris were one of his favorite drinks because of their sweetness, so he knew how to make those very well.

He took out the bottle of light rum and the small bottle of triple sec. He then reached for the fruits, grabbing a banana and a cherry, and finally took out the lime juice and sugar.

Rummaging through the shelves, he had trouble finding what he needed, cursing under his breath.

"Electric blender's on the top right shelf," Izaya said smugly.

Shizuo glared and reached for the shelf, grabbing for the electric blender and connecting it to the outlet. After doing so, he poured in an ounce and a half of light rum, the same amount of lime juice, a tablespoon of triple sec, another tablespoon of sugar, and then added the banana. He then brought out the bucket of ice, filled a cup of it, and poured it into the blender, blending at a low speed for a few seconds and then at a higher speed. As he waited for the drink to blend, he could feel Izaya's eyes on him the entire time, but the bartender kept his own eyes focused on the blending drink, not wanting anything to do with this annoying flea.

When it was well-blended, he took out a champagne flute and poured the beverage into it, adding a cherry on top.

"Here you go," he said, passing the drink over and taking the money from the man.

"Keep the change as tip," the man said, taking his drink and leaving contentedly.

Shizuo nodded, charged the man at the cash register, and stuffed the change, quite a good amount of money, into his pocket.

Dammit. It's close to closing time, so there aren't many customers. Now I'm stuck with this stupid flea.

"So, Shizu-chan," Izaya started, "how was your first day of work~?"

"It was good. Until now." Shizuo grabbed for the blender and washed it out, placing it back where it belonged.

"Aawww, why~?"

"Because you're here," Shizuo said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. His eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "Why the hell are you here?"

Izaya raised his eyebrow. "Well, I just got off work at the coffee shop, so I dropped by here to unwind. I come in here quite often. Or at least I used to. Heh, people actually adjusted to me not being here for quite a bit. I'm glad I returned to set things back in order."

"You chased away customers," Shizuo growled.

"I chased away weaklings," Izaya retorted, smirking proudly.

"Whatever," Shizuo grumbled. He moved away from the counter, busying himself with arranging some of the spirits lined up in a row to the side.

Just then, Shiki walked in with another man with sleek, red hair. Wearing colored sunglasses, he was dressed in a black suit with a red undershirt and holding an intricate, handcrafted cane in his right hand. The two men walked into the bar confidently. It was almost as if Izaya came to weed out the first half of weaklings, and Shiki and the red-headed man came to weed out the second half. There were still several people in the bar, but a lingering sense of danger and mistrust loomed over the room.

The two men sat beside Izaya. Shiki spoke first, saying politely, "Hello, Izaya."

"Hello, Shiki," replied Izaya, nodding at the red-head. "Hello, Akabayashi."

Akabayashi nodded once as he adjusted in his seat. Shizuo noticed the prominent scar on the man's right eye.

Shizuo nodded at the two men and asked, "Can I get you two anything to drink?"

Akabayashi shook his head, saying quietly, "No, thank you."

"I'll make your life easy. Just beer," said Shiki.

Shizuo brought out a beer glass and poured the beer out from the keg, handing Shiki the drink. Shiki handed Shizuo the money as well as a minimal tip.

The bartender placed the money into the cash register and stuffed the tip into his pocket. After a long moment of silence, Izaya said, "Aren't you going to ask me what I want to drink?"

Shizuo groaned, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth and pressing it into the ashtray, putting it out. "What do you want to drink?"

Izaya smiled gleefully, placing his elbows on the counter and cupping his face with his hands as he said, a teasing glint in his eyes, "I want a blue blazer."

Shizuo gawked. "What the hell, Izaya?! A blue blazer?!"

Izaya nodded quickly.

"That's a flaming drink. It's almost closing time."

Shiki cut in, "You must serve the customer whatever he or she likes, Shizuo…"

Akabayashi nodded slowly, looking curiously at Shizuo.

Shizuo sighed and brought out the bottle of Scotch. He then turned on the heating surface at the bar and placed a small pot of water on it, waiting for it to boil. As he waited for it to boil, he kept throwing dirty glares at Izaya, knowing the flea did this on purpose just to test out his skill and try to embarrass him in front of Shiki, the man who hired him.

Izaya maintained his gleeful smile, not once blinking or looking away from Shizuo.

When the water finally boiled, Shizuo brought out two silver mugs and poured an ounce and a half of the boiling water into one of the silver cups. He then added two ounces of Scotch and some sugar. This is when being a smoker comes into use, Shizuo thought as he pulled out his lighter and flicked it on. He tried to block everyone else out: Shiki, Akabayashi, Izaya… He tried to focus just on what he was doing right now. He knew his bartending skills were rusty, so he had to concentrate very hard to make this perfect. He brought the lighter close to the mix and kept the fire against it. Suddenly, it was on fire, and Shizuo quickly grabbed for the other silver mug. He then rolled the mix into the silver mug and skillfully poured it back and forth four times. There were a few flaws: some of the mix dripped onto his hand, the fire wavered slightly, and the pouring was too slow. But he did not mention them, and the people watching did not notice. He quickly poured the mix into yet another cup, added a lemon peel, and placed one of the silver mugs on top of it to extinguish the flame.

When he was finally finished, he passed the cup to Izaya. "There. Blue blazer."

Shiki held a neutral expression as he examined the drink, and Akabayashi looked quite impressed.

Izaya blinked several times. The gleeful smile had disappeared from his face, but he quickly forced it back on as he said, "Good job, Shizu-chan~! I'm so proud of you!"

Something told Shizuo the flea didn't actually mean that.