Namie sighed.
"Fine, let us assume this will come to pass in the future,"
"Oh boy, oh boy, I can hardly wait!"
True to his words Izaya bounced on his seat.
"Either way, fact remains that this scenario does not match the first time we had sex. Your lying is apparently incorrigible."
"Ha! Reality was almost as amazing as my fantasy! How many rounds was it?"
"Four before I put a stop to your excessive libido."
"Four it was!"
"As if you did not remember."
"I wanted to hear you say it, Namie!"
The therapist turned to Izaya.
"Orihara-san, could you tell us what actually did happen? Starting from the start and there's no need to go into detail about the sex itself."
"Why not, talking about it is almost as fun as the real thing!"
"It's better if I tell it otherwise we won't get done anytime soon."
"Go ahead, Yagiri-san."
"There is not much to tell. After months of harassment I figured it would profit me more to just sleep with Orihara here than to kick him."
"'Orihara here', that's so cold...at least make it 'Izaya here'..."
"Still, it wasn't entirely bad. Human beings should engage in some sexual activity in order to remain healthy and Izaya is as good a partner as any other."
Izaya perked up and cast a very fast glance at the therapist.
"Doc, you were telling me about this article the other day. Remember? Scientific American, I believe."
It seemed that Izaya was not ready to let his go. If a strategy failed before it was properly implemented then one might as well bide one's time and re-use it to its fullest advantage.
"I remember, it stated that sex three times a week was conductive to a healthy living."
"Hmm...are you sure it wasn't once per day?"
"No, it wasn't. I'm sure."
At least in this the therapist was not about to let himself be bullied by Izaya.
"Orihara-san, did you say four rounds...?"
The woman spoke for the entire group in an awed and slightly hushed voice.
"That's right! My stamina is remarkable. Just imagine how the honeymoon will be!"
"Funny, I watched you on TV and Orihara-san said he didn't care for marriage..."
Izaya did not miss a hearbeat and answered the group at large instead of focusing on the particular speaker.
"Indeed! Truly, I do not need society to sanction my love. But I keep thinking, imagine if I run into some accident and end up on the IC unit. Since I am not related to Namie she could not visit me. How sad that would be!"
Quite a few of the women were teary eyed themselves. Namie swung her foot in the air, the pointy heel vaguely menacing as it hovered above the floor.
"That's ridiculous. If that happened I wouldn't visit you, I'd join the medical staff and join in the efforts to save your life. Don't forget that I am qualified to provide such treatment."
For once Izaya was completely taken by surprise. His expression became blank for the second, and if he could not decide whether he was hearing these words out loud instead of the echo of his delusions, then melted into a smile so bright that it swayed the entire therapy group.
"Namie! You do love me! Not that I doubted it but it's so sweet to hear you say it!"
Izaya had shot to his feet and was not holding Namie's hands and peering into her eyes.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"You mean your undying devotion to me?"
"No. No, I don't. I mean that my livelihood depends on your being alive. If you died I would be forced to scramble for employment and I would rather not. As painful as it is the fact remains that I am stuck with you."
"Instead of 'stuck' let's say 'committed'. You are committed to me!"
"Can you let go of my hands now?"
Izaya did so with a flourish, a twirl and a deep bow.
"Yagiri Namie, I truly love you."
The group burst out clapping.
"Can I have a raise, then?"
"A raise? But of course! The world economy may be on recession but Orihara Izaya is not! Oh yay!"
The therapist could tell that Izaya was about to hop about crazily as he wont to do.
"Orihara-san, you should give it some thought before you just agree to a raise like this. If you give your verbal agreement now you will have to honor it and it is obvious Yagiri-san is emotionally manipulating you."
"That's okay, doc!"
