"Morning." Shizuo greeted her shortly. He was in a real crappy mood and didn't feel up to chatting much. Chihiro made her way to where he sat; from her bag she presented him with a donut and a small carton of milk. Shizuo seemed to perk up slightly and motioned for her to sit across from him in the cafe's booth. Chihiro smiled at him kindly; she liked Shizuo's company and she was glad to make an effort to cheer him up when he was in a bad mood.

He smiled back at her almost shyly. "So what brings you here? Izaya bugging you again?" he asked; Shizuo's voice darkened at the end of his sentence. He hated Izaya with a passion and he wanted nothing more than for him to disappear forever. Chihiro usually tolerated him as well as she could, but today her anger could almost rival Shizuo's.

"He's been more of a pain in the ass than usual. He keeps calling instead of messaging me; if I don't pick up he'll keep on calling, but if I do he just rambles on about nothing or asks stupid, random questions!" she ranted.

Shizuo placed his hand on top of her head and patted it carefully; it calmed her down somewhat. Chihiro found it funny how easily Shizuo seemed to calm others down.

"If that bastard sees he's getting to you, he'll just enjoy it. Try not to let that flea get you down Chihiro." he advised pulling his hand away and proceeded to eat his donut happily.

"After all, I may not be able to control myself, but you're stronger than that."

She smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks Shizuo. You're the only person I can really talk to about this. I hope you know how much I appreciate your company."

Shizuo grinned slightly. "Same here. It's nice hanging out with you too."

"By the way, did you hear about Kasuka's new movie? He's doing another sequel with the vampire series." she mentioned casually.

Shizuo's face was lit up with pride. "Yeah, he seems really excited about it. Well, as excited as he can be about anything" he remarked; Chihiro was happy Shizuo was so close to his brother. He needed normal interactions with other people.

"You must be so proud of him! He really is an amazing actor. Not to mention as handsome as his big brother." she commented teasingly.

Shizuo chuckled quietly; Chihiro were one of the few people he had no problem talking to about Kasuka. He felt relaxed with her and he was glad she was no longer afraid of his strength, although she hated when he got into fights. Shizuo admired how she dealt with Izaya; how anyone could put up with him without killing him was a mystery. The mere thought of that bastard was enough to make him want to throw something.

The fact that Izaya wouldn't leave Chihiro alone made him furious, but she did her best to assure him she was doing okay. Besides, she didn't want her outings ruined by Izaya when he wasn't even present. Sensing her discomfort, Shizuo put a hand on her shoulder lightly.

"Don't worry so much. I'll try not to lose my temper; for now anyway. It's not like that bastard even knows where we-"Shizuo was cut off by the café door slamming open; Chihiro was sure she heard the glass cracking.

"Well, well, well, what have we here? You two seem to be getting comfy! Care to explain why you're hanging around with Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked her cheerfully. Without warning, he charged at Shizuo with knife in hand; Shizuo took a hold of his arm and threw Izaya through the glass window by the booth. The glass shattered and a piece cut Chihiro missing her right eye by a few centimeters.

She backed away from the window and ran out the café to the other side. Shizuo advanced toward Izaya, who struggled to get up from the sidewalk. He had several cuts of his own, some bleeding profusely. His smile was still in place.

Shizuo smirked menacingly. "Getting sloppy are we? Since when do you charge in like that?" he frowned. "What the hell are you even doing here?" Izaya's smile widened; his gaze was full of hostility as he straightened himself up.

"I was in the neighborhood." he replied as if the answer was as clear as day; he brushed glass lightly from his coat.

Shizuo's glare narrowed and he noticed Chihiro out of the corner of his eye. "Whatever. I'm out of here. I'll kill you later flea." he turned and started to leave before he called out to Chihiro who couldn't stop shaking.

"Well, talk to you later. Sorry for the mess. Thanks for the donut." he waved goodbye. She waved back dumbly.

"Talk about unexpected." she commented lowly; she couldn't help smiling bemused. Shizuo rarely walked away from a fight, much less one involving beating up Izaya; he was getting stronger.

"Are you done swooning over that animal?

Chihiro turned to face Izaya; he was struggling somewhat to keep standing. She sighed. "My car's right over there. Get in." Izaya complied without fuss; his smile returned with a vengeance.

"Is Chi-chan going to take me to her place to tend to my wounds? You do care." he said sweetly.

"No. I'm taking you to Shinra's; he'll be able to patch you up just fine." she retorted; she was not in the mood for his bullshit and it showed.

Izaya's smile turned to a fake pout. "But I didn't eat yet. Let's go to your place and you can make dinner for us! I'm in the mood for pasta." he suggested.

"Dinner?!" she exclaimed angrily. "You ruin my date with Shizuo and now you want me to play nurse and then feed you? You've got some nerve." Chihiro seethed. Izaya had stiffened but remained smiling.

"Date, huh?"

"Ugh, not that kind of date, you idiot! We were just hanging out; it was fun until you showed up." she added. "I'm surprised Shizuo didn't kill you right then."

There was silence for a few minutes as Chihiro drove.

"Don't say his name."

She sighed again as she parked in front of her apartment complex; she helped Izaya out of the passenger's seat, although she was mildly tempted to drop him and run. Chihiro could've sworn he was leaning into her for support.

"I only have so many band aids you know." she complained as she cleaned his cuts; most were minor and the deeper ones had stopped bleeding. "I don't see why you always have to pick fights with Shizuo; both your lives would be easier if you just stayed out of each other's way." Chihiro put away the box of band aids and poured dry noodles into the boiling pot of water on the stove. Izaya remained silent.

"Why can't he always be this quiet?" she wondered. "If he kept his mouth shut, no one would be able to guess how fucked up he really is." she prodded the noodles deeper into the water; suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her waist; you felt Izaya's chin rest on top of her shoulder.

Chihiro wanted to hit him, but she knew from past experience he'd just dodge it; besides, if she managed to land a hit, he'd just whine that she reopened his wounds and make her patch him up again.

"He's a monster." Izaya stated. "He'll hurt you."

She frowned. "Shizuo isn't a monster and he'd never hurt me intentionally. I wouldn't have gotten cut if you hadn't provoked him." Chihiro found herself being quickly turned around; Izaya studied her face urgently.

"Now he's Mr. Serious? I'll never get this guy." she thought wearily. His finger lightly traced over her cut; he pulled back after a moment and frowned.

"I told you so Chi-chan. That fucking monster." his eyes narrowed and he smiled dangerously. It sent chills up her spine when Izaya got like this; when he showed her his true face.

He seemed to be so far off somewhere else, Chihiro wasn't so sure if he was still talking about Shizuo. He sat down at the table and rested his arms on its surface; he began to pick at one of the cuts on his hand. Izaya seemed intent to reopen it. She stared at him for a minute and then turned to finish making the spaghetti.

"How was your day?"

Izaya looked up at her almost in awe; she never asked him about his day. His posture relaxed and he smiled slyly once more.

"Now this is more like it." Izaya thought as he rambled on to her about his day. Chihiro served the food and sat down next to him resigned to be subjected to his one sided conversation; an amused smile played on her lips.

He had her full attention.