Chapter 7

The week went on, as days tended to do that. The sun was halfway setting when Celty had finished an errand for Shinra. Being a courier meant many busy nights, but surprisingly, tonight was not.

She saw Shizuo on the sidewalk. A cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth. He nodded when he saw her approach on her bike.

"Hey, Celty." Shizuo waved.

[You seem energetic.] It was true. Shizuo had been attempting to perfect the art of smoke rings before she came up.

"Really?" Case in point when he blew out a wiggly ring into the air.

[Did something good happen?] When it came to Shizuo, Celty felt inclined to find out.

Shizuo nodded. "Tom and I wrangled a payment from a guy who withered by my glare alone. I didn't even have to raise my hand."

Amused at Shizuo's proud puff of his chest, Celty patted his shoulder in congratulations. She knew exhibiting violence wasn't Shizuo's preferred choice of persuasion. The fisticuffs came with the job.

[Success! Your day went well.]

Shizuo's forehead wrinkled in spite of Celty's praise and he glanced at her arm.

[That didn't make your day?] Maybe Izaya met him afterwards.

"No, it did," he replied rather absently. No mention of Izaya, so perhaps not. He nibbled on the end of his cigarette. "I just remembered I told someone else about a job well done, too."

[Not Tom?]

"Nope."

Now Celty was really getting interested. If it wasn't for business...

Not atypical for someone who prided her head, Celty wished she had the broad range of human facial expressions to use. Playful teasing would be her choice for this instance. [Rea-lly? Who?]

Celty waited expectantly for an illuminating answer, but it wasn't forthcoming. Shizuo kept wordlessly smoking.

[Tell me, tell me!] His meaningful -it had to be- silence made her egg him on.

"Are you bored?"

[Absolutely.] Even though Celty wasn't. [Was it a girl?]

In addition to puffing on his smoke, Shizuo turned his head away.

Celty got him. He had to look back at her to read her question. [Was it Arisa?]

Shizuo chomped harder on his cigarette. "Yeah. I saw her at work."

[Russia Sushi, right?] At seeing the dead giveaway on Shizuo's face, Celty added, [It's hard to miss her in that adorable outfit.]

" 'Adorable?' " Shizuo repeated in incredulous belief, but he reddened slightly at Celty's chosen adjective, nonetheless.

[You think so?] Celty appended an extra large wink to the end of her sentence.

"You're as bad as Shinra, you know?" Shizuo tossed his partly burned smoke into his cigarette case and pocketed it. "She was passing out flyers and it reminded me of all those crappy jobs I had to do before being a bodyguard."

[Right.]

"Being employed at Simon's restaurant isn't bad. I mean, Simon's a good guy and isn't some scum of a manager. It's just... I watch Arisa standing out in the rain and sun day in and out whenever I pass by with Tom to go to the office. I keep telling her to keep doing a great job. I feel like an idiotic answering machine, playing the same message, but I can't stop."

Shizuo was about to continue, but Celty leaning very close to his face caused him to cut off. He backed up a step. "W-What?"

Celty would be grinning from ear to ear if she could. [You called her Arisa. I haven't heard you say it.]

The last rays of the dwindling sun caught Shizuo's blush. "Everyone has a name."

[What do you think of her?]

Shizuo stared at Celty's screen. It took a long moment for him to compose a response. "She hates me, but I think of her. Is that screwed up or what?"

[Hates you? What makes you say it?]

Shizuo took in a deep breath. He struggled to find the right words. "Sometimes she'll look at me like I'm a disgusting person. It happens so fast I almost don't catch it. Then we might talk for a bit and everything's all right. I even forget about those weird looks. It could be my imagination." Shizuo sighed. "I'm reading way too much into all this, huh?"

Celty studied her friend. Saw the crease of his brows and the thin line of his mouth. [If something is important to you, it must not be nothing.]

Shizuo still had distraction on his face. He rubbed his neck, mumbling, "I want to do something, but I don't know what yet."

Celty's hand lightly squeezed his shoulder again. He would figure out a solution.

Shizuo, though preoccupied with possibilities and worries, smiled back.

Fruitful. Today had been absolutely fruitful. Izaya gaily hummed as he keyed the lock to his apartment. The information business was booming and his tactfully placed tips for a specially touchy client netted him abundant praise, as Izaya had expected.

His lights were on, but it came as no surprise to him. He had a guest; an important guest. Izaya hung up his coat and twirled into his living room.

The TV was on and his lovely guest sat on the couch. Izaya knew he would be ignored.

But not tonight. He wanted to share his good news. He bounded over to the couch and met his stubborn visitor at eye level. He dropped a quick, uncharacteristic kiss on her cheek. The unexpected greeting startled her enough to finally stare at him.

Izaya grinned at having got her attention. "I'm home, Arisa-chan."