I'd like to thank xKanra, Nizuna Fujieda, TTY7, penwing, animemangafan123, Eoura, Mazgrl98, Vixx loves this story, zxFallenAngelsXz, omgpink, W. Lynn, and Flaming Eagle.
Arisa's jaw opened in a silent scream of horror, and she slapped her icy hand to the cheek where Orihara's mouth had just rested. The nerve! That—that—utter, unbelievable, despicable, absolute… donkey! She almost—almost felt the bile rise in her throat, and she felt her face heat up. She chomped down on the lollipop that was dangling out of her mouth due to her distress.
Every word out of his mouth had been an insult. Hell, he had almost murdered her in less than thirty minutes, sliced open her arm for payback, and had stolen her phone! And he had the nerve to say that she had issues?
In her frustration, Arisa stamped up and down like a three-year-old before flinging her chewed-up lollipop as far as her strength could manage. She felt the adrenaline of fury, or AOF as she had labeled it, course through her veins. Clenching her fists, her mind began to churn with ideas of repayment. If he wanted a cat and mouse game, she would make sure that she was in the panther role. An insane, Cheshire grin crossed her face and she raced over to the edge of the building to look below. She had the entire city to use at her disposal! Oh, the wonderful city of Ikebukuro! She continued to muse to herself for several moments before she remembered the girl whose identity she had stolen.
Whoops.
She made her way over to Suki Arisawa, ignoring the fact that the girl shrunk under her gaze. Arisa immediately replaced her half-crazed expression with a serene, kind smile.
"What am I doing here?" the girl asked, shifting uncomfortably. Her grey jacket rustled with the wind that combed through the night air.
Arisa stopped in front of her. "Honestly, I have no clue. Why don't we go get something to drink and talk about what happened?"
The girl's eyes widened in fear and she stuttered a refusal.
Arisa's shoulders slumped in mock disappointment. It would have been so useful to discover Orihara's methods.
"Come on, Suki," she grinned reassuringly, noticing with dismay that the girl flinched at the sound of her name coming from her mouth. Arisa frowned. "It'll be on me. How about it?"
Suki sighed, glancing worriedly to the side. Arisa could predict the thoughts that were racing through her mind. She was probably terrified of her, but she also wanted to know why she had been kidnapped. On the other hand, perhaps she could discover her and Orihara's identities and report them to the police. And to top it off, she was thirsty.
Arisa felt a flutter of excitement when Suki finally agreed. She breezed by her to hold the door as the startled kidnappee entered through.
"Thanks for surrendering, Orihara!" Arisa crowed quietly to the empty night air. She was so smug that she did not even notice when she ran into the glass door down in the lobby. At least that evoked a reaction from the girl who was still texting.
"So, you're telling me that they just asked you your name and then kidnapped you?" Arisa asked, gaping at the girl across the table. Thankfully, she had managed to convince her that she had nothing to do with the incident. According to her fabricated tale, Orihara was a suicidal psychopath that was her father's patient. He had escaped from the asylum earlier that week and had already tried to break into the prime minister's mansion to work as a janitor.
The wheels in her head were churning and she furrowed her brow in concentration. Obviously, Orihara had been intelligent enough to research Suki. He had even found the authentic person and had gone through the trouble to kidnap her. But why? Just to mess with her head? Arisa grimaced—what a sicko. What if Suki really was suicidal? Would Orihara have encouraged her to jump? Her stomach twisted as she realized that was exactly what he would do.
Suki nodded. "But why did they bring me to you?"
Arisa widened her eyes and gulped quickly at her hot chocolate that contained half the chocolate plus another third. "He's is pretty mental. He's been causing us a lot of trouble lately."
She looked at her watch, bored with the conversation. She had gotten the information she needed and it was already nine thirty. "I gotta bounce, Suki-san. Again, I apologize on behalf of my patient. I'll be sure that he makes proper amends."
The cool air combed through her hair as she exited the café. She took three steps and then promptly fell down, sprawling out on the pavement.
Groaning in pain, she raised her head and searched for the source of the attack.
"Look what you did, Walker!" a high voice scolded. "Hey, are you all right?"
The girl bent down to look at her and ogled. "Oooh, she could totally cosplay Ino Yamanaka!"
"No way! She looks just like Misa Amane, or Milly Ashford!" a second voice exclaimed in the same hyper manner.
Arisa flinched when she heard that. Why was she compared to possibly the ditziest dolts in the world? And why the hell were these two idiots gawking at her instead of helping her up? She bit her thumb at them, hoping they would understand the archaic insult.
She was on her hands and knees and was struggling to get up, when the girl attacked her in a tight hug, effectively pinning her to the sidewalk again. Arisa wheezed in discomfort as Thing One and Thing Two continued to argue about whom she should cosplay.
"What about Misuzu? She kind of looks like her, too, Erika!"
"Oooh, or Renge!"
Arisa groaned and took her thumb out of her teeth. "Could you get the hell off of me?" she demanded, pushing the girl away. Hurriedly getting to her feet before they could tackle her once again, she finally took a good look at her assailants.
The girl was dressed in a fitting black dress and a beanie type cap. She had pale, almost ghostly, skin, and large eyes that were brimming with obsessions of manga. Arisa would not be surprised if stars appeared as soon as she mentioned "Baccano!" Walker was wearing the same kind of sweatshirt that Masaomi had sported that morning. His hair had been dyed a dark blond color, most likely in emulation of one of his manga heroes.
She was bombarded with questions such as, "Do you go to anime conventions?", "Who's your favorite Bleach character?", "What's your favorite manga?", and "You should cosplay Misuzu!"
"Come with us to the next convention!" Walker pleaded.
Arisa sighed, exasperated. "Actually, I am attending one!"
"Really?" the girl named Erika exclaimed. "Which one? When is it? I haven't heard of any coming up!"
"Yeah… it's during the blue moon," she replied seriously.
"That sounds totally awesome! When is the blue moon?" Walker demanded.
"I've never heard of a blue moon… do you think it's some kind of manga expression?" Erika wondered.
"It's probably from Soul Eater. Yeah, I think I remember that!"
"Totally!" Arisa countered, having no idea what Soul Eater even was about.
"I knew it!" Erika shouted.
"So you're an otaku, too?" Walker asked eagerly.
"Oooooh, this is going to be awesome!" Erika squealed, latching her arms around Arisa.
"We need to get her some cool cosplays!"
"But first we have to decide who she should be… how many days until the blue moon?"
"Shut the hell up, you two," a new voice ordered from behind them.
Arisa spun around and was greeted by the sight of a white van; a man in his early to mid-twenties was jumping out and walking toward them.
"Aww, come on Dotachiiiin, you're no fun!" the girl in black complained, latching herself onto him and squeezing his midsection in a tight hug.
"Don't call me that! It's Kyohei," he mumbled, peeling the girl's hands off his back. He nodded toward Arisa. "You all right?"
"Yeah, fine, Dotachin," she added complacently, delighted when Kyohei cringed. It was just too much fun!
"But who are you?" Thing One demanded, her statement sounding more like an exclamation than a question.
"KAGAMI ARISA!" a voice bellowed from across the street. It sounded angry. The sixteen-year-old spun around and felt her heart sink when she caught sight of her uncle marching across the street, a determined glint in his eye. He looked quite wrathful, and Arisa was not sure to what extent his ire could go. Frankly, she did not want to find out, but she sighed wistfully and accepted her inevitable fate.
"Arisa-saaaan!" Walker shouted gleefully, and he and Erika again engulfed her in an embrace.
"MY GOD, it's the slasher!" Arisa bellowed, pointing at her uncle. He immediately jerked his head, staring wide-eyed behind him to see if there really was a red-eyed butcher preparing to murder him.
Thing One and Thing Two promptly screamed bloody murder and ripped themselves away, running blindly into the white van. Erika tumbled over Walker in her attempt to get inside, and Arisa could not help but chuckle quietly to herself as the black-clad girl stepped on his head in her haste.
"Well, see ya, Dotachin!" she waved, now jogging over to her uncle, who was about to cry with mixed anger and frustration.
Kyohei looked as if he might explode with exasperation.
To be honest, Arisa felt quite terrible for causing such worry to her uncle. He looked so disappointed as he walked beside her down the dark streets. She had tried to strike up a conversation with him, but he had gotten even angrier when she let slip that she had eaten sweets exclusively all day.
In fact, Hideki could not believe how many sweets she had eaten. He was dentist, for heaven's sake, and his niece gobbled up candy like a monster.
"You know what I'm in the mood for?" she demanded of her companion as she skipped backwards down the sidewalk. "Milk! Well, to be precise, chocolate milk. But, seeing that you wouldn't permit that, plain milk would be all right."
"If you want milk, go ahead and get it," he consented. They were in front of a small grocery store, and he handed her several hundred yen. "I'll wait out here. Do you think you can handle yourself alone for a few minutes?" he asked, a warning lilt to his tone.
Arisa looked at him weirdly. However, she did not reply and instead entered the small produce store
Several meters away, she saw that there was one more bottle of milk left in the fridge. She walked faster, her eyes focused on the bottle of frothy, thick, creamy, mottled, viscous, cowish, gross milk. Well, she had brought it on to herself.
Then, a figure blocked her view of the cow's waste. It opened the door of the refrigerator. Its hand was reaching out to grip the cold, refreshing bottle in its hand. There was absolutely no way that she was returning to her uncle empty-handed. Arisa shot across the last few feet and snatched the bottle up by the neck right before the figure could curl its fingers around it. She cradled it to her chest and watched with interest as the hand curled into a fist that looked as if it were about to pummel someone… namely her.
She looked up through a blonde curtain of hair and into the face of a giant. Her jaw dropped.
"Whoah," she said bluntly, as she gaped at a large brute of a man with golden blonde hair. He was actually very good-looking. Behind his blue-tinted sunglass, she thought she could see honey-brown eyes that looked quite similar to her own. He was dressed in an elegant bartender's suit that accentuated his lean figure.
The man was breathing heavily, and he slammed the refrigerator door so hard that the glass from the window cracked and plummeted to the floor.
"Impressive!" Arisa exclaimed, twisting the cap off her bottle.
The man ripped the cigarette out of his mouth and snapped it between two fingers. Then, he threw it on to the floor and ground it under his feet, the glass crackling along with the nicotine and paper.
"You realize someone else was reaching for that, right?... So you should know it wasn't yours, right?... If you know this, you realize you just stole someone else's property, right?... Therefore, you can't complain if you're punished, right?" he demanded slowly.
Arisa shrugged. "I guess that's fair, but if I don't walk out of here with this, then my uncle will kill me anyway!" She took a sip of the milk, made a face, and swallowed with difficulty.
The man in front of her growled like a feral animal. It seemed as though he was trying extremely hard not to punch her across the room so that she landed in the pile of tomatoes that was set up by the entrance door.
She went on. "I mean, really, bartender-kun. If I had the options of being murdered and potentially critically injured, I think I'd choose the latter, wouldn't you?"
She took a tentative sip of her milk, watching the tall blonde bartender as she did so. She grimaced. "But I usually don't prefer milk. I personally prefer hot chocolate or something sweet like that. This evening my uncle Hideki forbid me to eat or drink sweets in front of him….Such a shame—you really like it, don't you? I'm sorry there's none left for you, but I suppose that's—"
Arisa stopped rambling when she saw that the man had picked up the entire refrigerator and was holding it above his shoulders. He was glaring at her like a bull that had just been released in an arena.
"On the other hand, I suppose we could, you know, share?" she offered, holding out the bottle in a friendly gesture. She gave a small, guilty smile.
The man growled again, and the smile faded.
"How about the entire bottle?" she squeaked.
"Who the hell are you?" he thundered. Arisa now noticed the audience of customers who were keeping at a safe distance, pointing and whispering with giggly horror.
She opened her mouth and stared at this superhuman… specimen before her. The huge display fridge was balanced precariously on his shoulders, and she could not help but be reminded of a magnificent titan.
"Glorious," she breathed, and pointed at him. "You know who you remind me of? The titan Atlas! You know—the titan that was overthrown by the gods Zeus and Hera and was forced to hold up the sky for eternity? Wait. You probably would not know… seeing as this is Japan…."
Arisa ducked as the appliance hurtled past her, barely grazing her head as it slammed into the glass window of the grocery store. She burst into hysterical laughter as the line of spectators scattered to make room for the airborne object.
"You know it's rude to point, don't you?" he said dangerously. "And are you implying something with your stupid comments?"
Implying something?
Arisa jumped when she caught sight of her uncle rushing through the door. Obviously, word had gotten around on the streets that there was a dispute occurring in the quiet market. Then, she caught sight of the broken window and realized that he had probably seen the shattered glass and assumed that she had everything to do with it. How disappointing!
Despite being in mortal danger, Arisa could not prevent the amused, "Sure," to escape from her lips. The man ripped up a fruit stand in his ire, and she eagerly watched the workings of his muscles. He did not even seem to have such strength at first glance! He defied the laws of physics, for heaven's sake!
"Arisa-chan," her uncle buzzed worriedly, cautiously stepping forward.
The man turned on him. "You know this girl?" he demanded, his hand tightening on another crate of melons.
"She's my responsibility, Heiwajima-san," he said, shaking with fear.
"Heiwajima?" Arisa repeated, frowning. The name sounded familiar, and then she almost heard the click resound in her brain. "Right… so your name is Heiwajima Shizuo. According to Kida, I should steer clear of you!"
Her uncle closed his eyes and took her arm in a vice-like grip.
She looked up from her uncle's hand and was startled to see that Heiwajima was prying another crate off the ground. It was full of red, juicy strawberries.
"Not the strawberries!" she pleaded, running forward and kneeling in an attempt to rescue the lovely, little mouthfuls of joy that were spilling out of the crate. Heiwajima looked murderous. His muscles rippled as he prepared to release his anger on the poor strawberries.
"Shizuo-san!" a curt voice barked, and both Arisa and Heiwajima turned as a classily dressed man with dreadlocks jostled through the crowd of spectators. "No! Look at whom you're attacking!"
He reached the pair and placed a steadying hand on Heiwajima's shoulder. It ended up being a pretty comical image, as he had to extend his arm quite high in order to reach it. The blonde man's vision seemed to clear and his breathing steadied after several moments. He now took a closer look at the girl he had almost killed.
"I never attack girls," he mumbled, throwing the crate of strawberries down at his feet.
"That's right," the man replied, a firm edge lacing his voice.
Arisa looked down and tentatively picked up a particularly ripe strawberry. She stood up, still staring at the piece of fruit in her hand, and walked forward several steps until she was right in front of Heiwajima.
"If you forgive me… this strawberry is for you," she told him, offering him the fruit that was resting on her palm.
Heiwajima blinked.
"I'll also buy you a whole carton of milk. Every day for an entire day!" she told him earnestly.
The blonde looked at her like she was the dumbest person he had ever met. Hmm, so he obviously took the trolling seriously. Arisa took his large hand and pressed the strawberry into his palm. He did not get angrier, so she took this as a good sign.
"You're pissing me off," he told her honestly, but his voice was steady and much calmer than before.
"All right," Arisa consented. "I'll buy a gallon for you every day for an entire week. How's that?"
"Arisa-chan, I think we're finished here," her uncle said nervously, ready to sprint for the exit.
"It starts tomorrow, little girl," Heiwajima ground out, his fist curled into a trembling ball. Obviously, he was trying extremely hard not to destroy everything in close proximity.
After setting down Heiwajima's cartons of milk on his front step, Arisa peered up at the small, modest house that hosted the huge super-human. It resembled a normal, benign abode—there were even pretty flower pots scattered about on the porch and in the small lawn!—so Arisa assumed he lived with his mother, or maybe grandmother.
Despite her uncle's profuse advice not to run into Heiwajima again, to just set down the milk and get out, Arisa hesitantly rang the doorbell. Perhaps a kind old lady would answer the door.
She waited several seconds and decided to press her ear to the wood of the green door. It suddenly swung open, and Arisa fell forward onto the wooden floor of the foyer, choking as her lollypop nearly was shoved down her throat. The figure stepped quickly aside and picked up the milk that she had left on the front step.
"What do you want?" he asked gruffly while lighting a cigarette that was dangling out of his mouth.
Arisa shot up and peered into his face. "Do you live alone?"
He stiffened. "Yes."
"Are you lonely?"
He paused and seemed to debate if he should throw her out of the house or give her a semi-civil response. He went with the latter and replied, "No."
Arisa shrugged. "Okay. Well, I'm feeling kind of lonely. Will you walk me to school?"
"No."
"Shizuo-kun?" an elderly voice called from the other room.
Arisa's ears perked up and she watched with wide eyes as a kind looking woman shuffled into the room.
"Grandma?" Arisa assumed, raising an eyebrow.
"Who's this young lady, honey?" she asked him.
Shizuo looked like he wanted to bolt out the door by the way he was gnawing on his cigarette in impatience.
"I don't know what the hell her name is, but she's pissing me off!" he growled.
"My name is Kagami Arisa!" she interrupted sunnily. "I owe him milk for the entire week, and came to drop it off before school."
"Oh, isn't she sweet!" the elderly lady cooed, reaching out to take Arisa's hands. "Shizuo-kun, I want you to walk her to school now, especially after everything she's doing for you."
Arisa nearly burst into laughter at the ironic turn of events. Over his grandmother's shoulder, she smirked at the large blonde, enjoying his frozen state of shock. She watched, transfixed, as he yanked the cigarette out of his mouth and snapped it. He threw it to the ground in the same fashion as last night, and stomped on it with his foot.
"Oh, please, Heiwajima-san?" she grinned at him as he filled with rage.
"Come now, some fresh air will do you good," his grandmother turned around to look at him. She frowned at his state. "Now, now, dear, it's not a big chore. You should be thrilled to escort this young lady to school."
Arisa could not stop the giggle that erupted from her throat and smothered it with a cough. His grandmother could not fathom why Shizuo was so disinclined to walk with her. She obviously did not know what had transpired the night before.
"Very well," he mumbled, digging his hands in his pockets in defeat. He slouched, another cigarette firmly in place, and marched out the door.
They made an odd pair as they walked through the streets. Arisa was walking slightly ahead of Heiwajima, a permanent grin etched into her visage; Heiwajima, on the other hand, scowled incessantly. The people around them left them a wide berth, staring nervously at the taller blonde as they passed by.
"So, Heiwajima, who are some of your friends in Ikebukuro? Enemies? I want to know everything about you!" Arisa goaded, walking backwards and staring up at her companion.
His frown deepened as he stared back at her, but it looked a little more thoughtful than before.
He did not answer for some time.
"What, has the cat caught your tongue? Or in this case, ciggy?" she laughed at her own joke, even if it was terrible.
"I add a new name to my list of enemies once in a while. Do you want to know who just was listed as number two?"
Arisa stared wide-eyed at him; she was quite certain as to whom that was.
"No, but I want to know who's number one," she replied, turning around so she was walking right beside him.
He paused for a split second and looked down at her. Then he shook his head and continued walking.
"Shizuo—can I call you that?—now you've really heightened my curiosity. That's possibly the worst thing to do if you don't want me to bother you. You told me you had a list of enemies but you didn't tell me who they were. Obviously, I won't stop bugging you until you divulge the list!"
"Kid, why don't you go ask anyone on the street who's my worst enemy," he replied gruffly.
"Excuse me, sir?" she stopped a short, balding man who was trying to run past in his fear.
He halted and stared shiftily from Shizuo to Arisa.
"Do you know who Heiwajima Shizuo's number one enemy is?" she demanded.
The man stuttered. His eyes shifted to the right and to the left before he gasped out, "From wh-what I've heard, it's that info broker from Sh-Shinj-j-juku, O-orihara I-izaya!"
Arisa's eyes narrowed, and the man sprinted away. She looked up and realized that Heiwajima was quite far ahead. To be honest, she was quite grateful, lest he lose his temper at hearing Orihara's name. Jeez, that stalker really did top most people's lists of enemies. So was Orihara Izaya the antagonist of Ikebukuro? Well, that was interesting.
She was speeding to catch up to her escort, and had almost reached his side, when she noticed it—or him.
In the glass window of the fourth floor of an office building, a man dressed elegantly in a black outfit stood over the crowd. He was holding a pair of binoculars up to his eyes and was focusing them on the street below.
Once again, Arisa narrowed her eyes and quickly looked away in case he saw that she had noticed him. Running up to Heiwajima, she gripped his sleeve.
"Shizuo, thanks for this, but I think I can make it from here," she said seriously.
Perhaps it was from her strange tone, or just that he wanted to leave, but Shizuo looked down abruptly. He asked, "You sure?"
Arisa nodded. "Thanks again. I like you. You're quite nice. I knew you were really a big softie," she crooned, patting his hand.
His lips twitched around his cigarette, but then they returned to their usual frown. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Or maybe I won't. Don't ring the doorbell tomorrow."
Arisa displayed an expression of mock hurt and sniffed. "I'll do as I please!"
She reached into her backback and pulled out a grape lollypop. She held it out for him to take. "Maybe you should switch to lollypops. They're just as good, if not better, than those cigarettes you like so much. Plus, they won't kill you!"
"They'll kill my teeth, though," he pointed out, gesturing to her own permanently stained lips.
"Better than your heart, eh?" she commented, placing the candy stick into the pocket of his bartender coat. "See you later!"
"Later," he said dully as she sprinted off in the opposite direction. He briefly wondered if she knew what she was doing before he was distracted by the grape lollypop. That was unexpected.
Meanwhile, Arisa calmed her pace and tried to blend in with the crowd as she entered the office building. She quickly found the stairs and started up them, taking them three at a time.
When she reached the fourth floor, she quietly opened the door and peered down the empty corridor. She navigated her way around the several corridors before she finally saw him. It had been several minutes since she had first noticed him while outdoors, and he was in the exact position as before.
Arisa quietly walked up behind him, noticing the absence of his customary jacket.
Then, she pounced up right beside him and snatched the binoculars out of his hand.
Unfortunately, Orihara did not even appear flustered. He simply peered pleasantly down at her.
"Good morning, Risa-chan! I knew you could not stay away!" he crooned.
"Yes, good morning, Orihara. I do hope you're enjoying spying on people. Tell me, how does it feel to live as a reputed stalker and enemy of the city?"
A thoughtful look crossed his handsome—extremely handsome—face. The bright morning sun shone directly onto his pale skin and lit up his auburn eyes so that they resembled orbs of fire. Well, that was an aspect of him that the dark hid quite well. She briefly wondered what his face would look like if there were a full moon in the sky. Too bad it had been a new moon the previous night, she thought mournfully. Then, she realized how stupid her thoughts were and returned to the task at hand.
"Please, call me Izaya, dear. To respond to your question, it feels… refreshing," he said with relish. "It's so addicting! Like a drug you can't stop taking! It's like a permanent high! It's so addicting, it's so addicting!" he exclaimed, spinning around in his excitement.
"Kind of like coffee, right?" she said dully, assuming by the constant smell of coffee that he seemed to emit.
"Or lollypops," he replied, smirking down at her.
Arisa ignored his last comment and raised the binoculars to her eyes. She leaned over and peered down into the crowd below. The absolute detachment from the ground and the bird's-eye-view made her feel godlike. This must be why he came up here and did this.
"So, you either come up here to feel like a god, or to watch people secretly masturbate," she told him, catching sight of a certain case of said action directly below her.
Orihara burst into laughter. "That's a unique way of describing it," he commented. "I call it observation."
She waited for him to stop cackling.
"You owe me fifteen thousand yen," he remarked out of the blue.
Arisa gaped at him. "For what?"
He stared at her like she had lost her mind. "For ripping my jacket, of course! I had to bring it to the tailor, then to the seamstress, then to the dry cleaner! You don't think you can just get away with that, now, do you, Risa-chan?"
Arisa smirked at him, emulating his own condescending trademark. "Well, that's too bad, because I have no money. You'll just have to pay it yourself."
Orihara returned the smirk. "Believe it or not, Risa-chan, I don't want your payment in money… rather, I want you to pay with something more… useful to me."
Her heart stopped. He didn't mean… no.
"Jeez… I'm sorry to burst your bubble, Orihara, but I'm not giving you anything pertaining to erotic pleasures," Arisa replied, venom lacing her tone.
To her surprise, he started laughing again. "Did you really think that's what I meant? How deliciously naïve you are!"
Her breath caught in her throat when he leaned in close to her. "I'll just be requiring your services for an indefinite period of time. It's undecided yet. Buuuut I'll be calling you soon to inform you of your assignments."
"You do realize this is involuntary servitude, don't you? Thus, you're making me your slave?" Arisa demanded.
"Of course not!" Orihara looked offended. "You're simply repaying me for the trouble you put me through. I spent a lot of money on you, you should realize. You're practically my property now!"
"Well, if I'm your property, then I think you're mine too. I saved your life, didn't I?" she reminded him, snatching the binoculars that he had retrieved seconds before.
"Very well. Why don't we just wait to see who wins this little game, hm?" he suggested. He reached up and twirled a piece of her hair between his long fingers.
"I do like games," she said thoughtfully. She sized Orihara up. "If I have to do services for you, then I think I can demand things in return, correct?"
"Now that you mention it, Risa-chan, you'll actually be getting paid! How's that?" he said excitedly. "But that's mostly to appease your uncle, who will probably start prying into why you don't come home as soon as school is over."
"Yeah—wait, how did you know I live with my uncle?" she demanded, outraged.
"Risa, darling, you know I'm an info broker. I can dig up anything I want about you!" he said gleefully, twisting the same lock of hair. "I like you. Much more than most people, actually, and I like most people immensely! That means you're quite special to me."
Arisa rolled her eyes. What a weirdo. "We just met," she deadpanned.
"Which makes you even more exceptional," Orihara provided, grinning a Cheshire cat smile.
"To be honest, Orihara, you're pretty weird. I'm not working for you."
Orihara continued to smile and reached around her head to gather all her hair. Arisa felt her neck tingle when his cool hands brushed against it, and she grudgingly noted that it was not unpleasant.
"Now," he breathed into her ear as he combed through her locks. Arisa shuddered as his warm breath danced across her cheek; however, she scrunched her nose at the stench of sugary coffee. "Do you like me, Risa-chan?"
A strangled sound escaped her throat from his close proximity. She had not felt this way last night—or any time for that matter. She felt… strangely safe, even if she was concerned for her company's sanity. Despite the warmth in the corridor, she felt a cold tingle where his hand was brushing her neck as he combed her hair.
"No. You give me the jitters," she said. The last half was the truth, but in a completely different—worse way.
Orihara chuckled. "That's fine by me! You're very enjoyable company, Risa-chan! You'll soon find that we will be very compatible co-workers!"
Inwardly, Arisa groaned.
Arisa is NOT related to Shizuo in ANY way. That would be ridiculously clichéd! And just to clarify, I adore Shizuo to pieces. I guess it's just her personality to piss everyone off initially. I hope to develop their relationship enough so it eventually will resemble rival siblings, in a way. I'm not sure yet.
I had an amazing review given to me by one reader that really helped me see the last chapter with a new perspective. I realize that Izaya is, in fact, a psychopath; so how can Arisa fall in love with someone whom she considers very creepy? In the manga, Shinra is the only person Izaya considers a friend, and that is because they share a very detached outlook. The fact that he has a friend in itself brings out Izaya's own hidden humanity. I think that Arisa's personality is similar enough to divulge this even more. Relationships are never perfect. I guess Arisa will love his human side, and eventually, come to love the crazy side as well. I hope to expose some of this human side in their upcoming encounter.
Arisa and Izaya are trolls to the extent where they perform unnecessary, dangerous risks, just for their own amusement. There is no material gain. Another difficult factor for me to consider is that Izaya is perhaps one of the most complex manga characters I've ever encountered. He has so many layers, and that is why he is so challenging to write.
Penwing: Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate your input. I hope that I can continue to hold your interest! And I do hope Arisa won't become an obnoxious OC! (I realize she is quite trollish and annoying, but hopefully, not in a bad way!)
Vixx loves this story: Thank you! I'm glad you think she's funny. She's very difficult to develop. I think her interactions with Izaya are the most difficult, but at the same time, the funnest part of writing this fic!