Sorry this is a day late. I might have to slow down between updates for the next few chapters. I'm falling behind! (I promise there won't be too long between them! I have this written up to chapter 37 and I like to stay at least ten chapters ahead, and since I've been busy, I haven't been writing.)

Oh, and I know I said that I wouldn't be including anything from the novels, but… There will be a bit of Akabayashi later. Kudos to those of you who know why. :P

Anyway… Have some Shiki. :P

...~-~…

"Orihara-san? Is everything okay?"

"Hm?" Izaya's eyes snapped back up to look at Shiki sitting across from him in the car.

He had been staring at nothing in particular for what was apparently enough time to attract the Awakusu executive's attention.

"Ah, yes. I'm fine." Izaya responded a bit too quickly.

Shiki shot him a skeptical look. "Are you sure? You're looking a bit inattentive today."

A small smile reached Izaya's lips. "I'm just a bit tired is all. But I assure you, it's nothing."

Hah. He wished it was nothing.

After the two hours of sleep Saika had permitted, Izaya hadn't slept a wink for the remainder of the night.

He had spent his time working on creating the file that Shiki now held in his hands. The meeting today was going to be with a rival yakuza group, and so Izaya had been asked to dig up some information on them.

Being a new group to Tokyo, apparently this new group—the Nakamura-kai—had been doing business in Awakusu territory. They claimed it was a mistake, and wanted to hold this meeting to make a deal.

Izaya's job had been to look into the group and find out if their "mistake" was really that. He hadn't found much to suggest that it was anything other than a simple mishap in the Nakamura-kai's information on territory, but of course, Shiki and the rest of the Awakusu were still a bit apprehensive.

Shiki wanted Izaya to attend the meeting mainly to be another set of eyes. Shiki was nothing less of a master at reading people—even Izaya could admit that—but Shiki also acknowledged Izaya's abilities as well. According to Shiki, having two people reading the actions of their enemy was better than one.

Izaya agreed, despite his brain telling him it was a terrible idea considering how distracted he'd been lately.

"Orihara-san? Are you listening?" Shiki's voice broke into his thoughts.

Shit.

"Terribly sorry, Shiki-san. Could you repeat that?"

Shiki sighed, closing the file in his lap. "Orihara-san, I don't think you're prepared for this meeting. I've never seen you so distracted."

Izaya lowered his head. "I just haven't been sleeping well. I can handle this though."

"I wish I could believe that, but you should know that lack of sleep hinders focus. And going into a potentially dangerous meeting without focus is unwise."

Damn… Shiki was right.

"However," Shiki continued, "I still stand by the idea that I need someone with a level head like you, and with Akabayashi busy tonight, you're my best option."

"I'm honored to hear you say that, Shiki-san." Izaya flashed a smile.

"Just make sure you're focused."

…~-~…

He wasn't really sure what happened.

One minute, the Nakamura-kai members were calmly working out a deal with Shiki and his men, and then the next, everyone was aiming their weapons at one another.

Izaya followed instructions as Shiki signaled for him to stay put. He had been standing between two of Shiki's men in the background, simply paying attention to the Nakamura-kai members.

He should have seen this coming when he noticed how one man's eyes were constantly darting between the Awakusu and his comrades. He had brushed it off as a nervous tick until he saw the flash of metal from each man's pockets.

Luckily, the Awakusu-kai were not simpletons, and had come prepared for such a case.

Izaya however, had only his flick blade.

A flicker of fear shot down Izaya's spine when one of the Nakamura-kai members aimed his weapon directly at him.

Looking down the barrel of a gun was a whole new type of fear. He was frozen on the spot with only one thought running through his head:

'If he pulls that trigger, I'm dead.'

Although, it seemed to be more of a warning than anything as the man made no move to fire the weapon in his hand. He merely aimed it at Izaya probably in an effort to keep him from going anywhere.

This situation was all too real for him. He was an informant. This wasn't his territory. He worked in the background, away from all the action, and now here he was, shoved right into the middle of it all.

Slowly, the two men on either side of him began to inch closer to each other until Izaya could no longer see the weapon that could ever-so-easily take his life.

"Stay behind us, Orihara-san," one of them whispered, "we can't afford to lose you."

To say he felt relieved at having his own bodyguards was an understatement.

However that relief was short lived when the sound of a gunshot rang out clearly in the large room.

His instant reaction was to get down, which was vocalized by the two men standing in front of him.

No one had to tell him twice.

But he was curious.

Risking a small glance from his hiding place, Izaya peered out at the other side of the room. He was overwhelmed by shock at what he saw.

Three of the Nakamura-kai's men were shooting at their comrades. A quick glance confirmed that each of the three men had glowing red eyes.

Everything seemed to slow down for a moment as guns continued to fire, and confused shouts came from both groups.

It was complete chaos, and Izaya was stuck right in the middle.

Izaya found soon himself being dragged out of the room by the two men who had been guarding him.

The Awakusu-kai were outnumbered, and so it seems that everyone came to the same conclusion at once. They fled the scene as the Nakamura-kai were still in shock about their traitors.

Shiki's men managed to get Shiki and Izaya into the car first before jumping in themselves.

As the car began pulling away from the scene, Shiki glanced around at the others in the car.

"Is everyone here?" he asked with his usual commanding tone, following with another question, "Is anyone hurt?"

Izaya sat next to Shiki, staring at his feet. Apparently the entire thing had been a set up. He should have expected that…

Hell, he should have found that while creating the file on Nakamura-kai.

He messed up.

He—Orihara Izaya—messed up.

"Shiki-san, I—"

"Are you all right, Orihara-san?"

Izaya sat still for a moment trying to comprehend what Shiki had just asked. Why was he not already scolding Izaya for his mistake? He was supposed to be the best informant in Tokyo—maybe even Japan—and he had miscalculated.

"I—I'm fine," he said quietly, "But, Shiki-san, about what happened, I—"

"It wasn't your fault. Don't worry about it."Shiki said simply, "You said yourself that you're tired. I can excuse it this time because nobody was hurt, but next time, make sure you get some sleep."

Izaya nodded in response.

"Right now I'm more concerned about why those three men turned on them…" Shiki continued, resting his elbows on his knees, "They seemed to be one-hundred percent allied with the Nakamura-kai until that moment…"

Izaya tensed. Maybe Shiki hadn't noticed their eyes…

But knowing Shiki, he would probably hand off figuring this out to—

"Orihara-san, I want you to look into those three men. You had their names in the file, yes?"

Closing his eyes, Izaya took a deep breath to calm himself. "Actually, Shiki-san, I think I know what happened."

"Oh…?"

Izaya looked up at the others in the car. "Did any of you see their eyes?"

"Now that you mention it…" one man began, "their eyes looked like they were glowing red just like…"

"The Slasher?" Shiki finished.

"I recall a similar thing happening with the Yellow Scarves a few months ago," Izaya said, "The gang members were turning on each other because of the Slasher's influence."

"So those men must have been victims of the Slasher… Which also means that they were lying to us and have been in Ikebukuro for quite some time." Shiki concluded, "The only missing link is why they would pick that moment to turn on them. Why did it happen when we were there…?"

"That I don't have an answer for, Shiki-san." Izaya lied.

He couldn't just tell Shiki that it was because of him. That Saika lived inside him and whispered to him… That Saika had probably possessed those men the instant it realized the danger its host was in…

He waited as Shiki studied him for a brief moment. It was a huge risk to lie to Shiki's face, but he didn't have much of a choice.

Keeping his breathing level and his body relaxed seemed to work well enough as Shiki shifted his gaze away from him.

"Yes, well… It's not required of you; however, if you can find what might have caused this, don't hesitate to let me know." Shiki said.

"Will do, Shiki-san."

…~-~…

Izaya spend the rest of the night lying in bed, reflecting on what had happened.

Saika still hadn't said a word about it, and in fact, hadn't even shown itself at all.

He vaguely wondered if the fear he had felt when things went sour had been enough to make Saika stronger.

It probably was…

For the first time in his life, Izaya cursed his cowardice.

Saika could essentially feed off of something he had no control over, and it pissed him off.

Turning on his side, Izaya tried to get some sleep. He couldn't think straight anymore, and it was beginning to show in his work.

Unacceptable.

He'd gotten lucky that Shiki was so forgiving this time. He shuddered to think what would have happened to him if people had gotten hurt because of his mistake.

Actually, Saika saved his ass in more than one way tonight. Not only did it prevent him from getting hurt by the Nakamura-kai, but it also allowed the Awakusu-kai to escape unharmed; thus, saving him again.

Closing his eyes with a sigh, Izaya tried to relax. He pulled the covers up over his head, and curled up into himself.

Just as he began to drift off into a light sleep, his head began throbbing once again, forcing him awake.

"Damn it, Saika!" he said through gritted teeth, "Please. I need to sleep. Please…"

Great. Now he was begging.

But he couldn't take it anymore. The lack of sleep was causing a lot of strain on his body and mind.

In the end, it seemed that Saika wasn't willing to cooperate, leaving Izaya to sit through yet another sleepless night.