[I just can't understand you. Why would you lie about such a thing?]
Izaya was very aware that in order to properly control the damage done he needed to exploit her insecurities when it came to reading humans in general. It occurred to him not for the first time that exploiting weaknesses was integral to his calling and probably second nature.
"My reasons cannot be sounded. Isn't that how it is with every person?"
[You think so?]
And just like this Izaya shifted the subject from himself in particular to the vast mass of human persons.
"If you stop to think about it, can you really know what motivates people? What makes some of them take the plunge while others don't, what makes some toss some spare change to the beggar on the street corner while others look the other way, what makes some of them hunger for revenge when they perceive they have been wronged while others opt for forgiveness. Ultimately it is impossible to ever discern why people act the way they do. Their likes and dislikes remain a mystery."
Izaya was pleased with this polished bit of rhetoric. Celty seemed to be gathering her thoughts before typing a reply.
[Even if you were just joking, fact remains that you're different]
"How so?"
[The way you've been talking with Shizuo, for example. Something must have happened to you]
Izaya smiled cryptically.
"Perhaps. Does it matter to you? Since you hate me."
[Normally I hate you, yes. But at the moment- not so much]
"Must be because of my recent misfortune. By the way, have you read Death Note?"
If Celty could have blinked she would have done so now. It was one Izaya's prime tactics of suddenly changing the topic in apparently random ways that were in reality extremely deliberate and timed in just the right way to corner his opponent into reacting so that Izaya was in perfect control of the entire exchange.
It worked remarkably well.
[The manga? I heard about it]
"It's amazing how many people have not been exposed to the wonders of Death Note despite its popularity. Here, I got the first volume here. You'll be hooked on the first panel."
Celty leafed through it, her cat eared helmet tilted to the side as she inspected the contents and read the blurb at the back.
[A notebook that kills people?]
"Just like the title says. Very descriptive, isn't it? 'Death Note' is just what it states, unlike, say, 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'. Can't grasp what that is at all from the title."
Celty's body swayed slightly. It took Izaya a while to realize that this was her version of laughter.
[People have such wild imaginations! Look at these shinigami, how bizarre!]
"I don't suppose Ryuk is a cousin of yours?"
[Izaya, don't push your luck. I may not hate you but still]
Izaya held up his hands in a gesture of mock surrender.
"I apologize for my rudeness. I meant kinship in a thematic sense since you are both representatives of death gods. Along with say, Hades and Anubis."
[You really know your myths]
"Mythology is humanity's first attempt at explaining the world. Call it incipient philosophy, cosmology, natural history, if you will."
[And you sure like showing off.]
"Guilty as charged."
[Can I really borrow this?]
"Go right ahead. Death Note is making a come back with the yakuza so why not widen the fan base to include fairies?"
She turned the volume in her hands, curious.
[So this is the kind of thing you read. Is this your favorite manga?]
"I like it but it's not my absolute favorite."
[What's that?]
Izaya smiled his most innocent smile.
"Liar Game. It's just as the title states, too."

'Liar Game' ticked all of the boxes to reach the position of Izaya's all time fave. It was increasingly brainy, stocked with characters that covered a wide range of moral tones, loaded with psychological conflict and on top of it all the entire premise was something of a experiment on human motivations and behavior under stress.
A rare case of truth in fiction. Even if the scenarios in themselves were beyond unlikely, the reactions were believable and conveyed the paradox of human existence: everyone was utterly unique and yet essentially the same.