Now that Jane-chan had gotten all Izaya's knots out of his back, the male was feeling a thousand times lighter. However, his neck still twinged every so often when he turned it too fast or too far back. Still, he could have sworn Jane-chan had magical hands! How else was it possible to feel this fricking good after his terrible fucking morning?

The awfulness only adding when he received a call from Shiki-san. Izaya had forgotten all about Shiki-san's request to find a certain member of the Awakusu Kai. What did he think Izaya was? Some kind of detective? The raven chuckled at his own joke. He vaguely wondered if Jane, who was making breakfast, heard him but apparently not. She just kept on humming a melancholic tune. Izaya had definitely heard it before but couldn't pinpoint it for the life of him. No! Focus! He needed to focus!

The due date for all the info was tomorrow. Luckily for him, Izaya had already found and even interacted with the guy. The adult wannabe, Kumaru Awakusu was the foolish boy who got a peek in the dark at Jane-chan's face during the failed kidnapping. He obviously had no idea how to use a gun but kept a pistol tucked into the belt of his ridiculously tight pants. Wasn't it supposed to be 'cool' nowadays to have unreasonably baggy pants that were almost falling off every time when taking a step, displaying half of whatever was underneath. Whether one wore boxers or briefs or was simply free-balling it. Izaya had to disagree on the look but come on. How was Kumaru-kun ever comfortable? Go on, guess… That's right. Never! Of course, he was going to be so tense all the time with his dick being crushed! … Unless he just had a really small pen- Nevermind that. The point was; what the hell was with these humans and their crappy fashion sense! It being too baggy or tight.

Even the monsters disguised as humans did it; looking like they were in a fucking costume stomping around in that 'fancy' vest and bow-tie which screamed 'I'm gay!' from ten million miles away. Izaya understood that Kusuka had bought a few sets for Shizu-chan and all, but what did that matter? And how many of those get-ups did the little idol buy? Surely by now, they would have all ripped and stained with all the fights Shizuo got into, whether it being Izaya's doing or not. The raven was sure that the ex-bartender sat home alone sewing up the pieces of rag or scrubbing vigorously until the blood washed out of the white button-up shirt. Ridiculous! If Mairu and Kururi had gotten Izaya a new jacket, even if it looked the same as he fur-trimmed one, he wouldn't wear it. It would undoubtedly be booby-trapped! Thumbtacks in the pockets or something.

… When and how did he swerve off the tracks this far?

Anyway, back to the gun. It was currently in Jane's possession; however, Izaya had no clue where it was, nor the other firearm from Hisashi Sasouharu. Not that he really cared about the weapons. At least Jane-chan knew how to use the damn things. Speaking of Jane-chan, her sense of clothes practically didn't even exist. Izaya even wondered how long it had been since she went shopping… Wait… When did he last do that? He had been wearing that particular jacket for a while now, washed of course! But he couldn't that it was so credibly comfy; not to mention the convenient inner pockets where he could stash throwing-knifes if he needed them that day.

There he went again! Focus!

The unfortunate part of the dwindling mission was that he hadn't seen Kumaru-kun since that time in the café where Nakura was hilariously attempting to gain followers to overpower Izaya. As if that could ever happen! But anyway! Kumaru-kun seemed a little hesitant to join Nakura's operation and since Izaya had interrupted their meeting, the human could have gone either way. Join or say 'forget it'. However, it didn't change the fact he had completely gone off the rails after that. He was being searched for by the Awakusu Kai and their connections. And he most certainly suspected Izaya was searching for him too, and sure, Izaya was but not for the reasons the boy thought. He was simply hired to. The raven wasn't out for blood or something as silly as that. But with that irrational thought in his mind, the human was bound to choose the stupid option. Turn to Nakura. It had already been a week or so ago. Shit. If there was any time at all, then it wouldn't be long before Kumaru did just that. Izaya had suspected it to happen from the start but had pushed back for later… until 'later' was forgotten.

It really wasn't like Izaya to forget or to even leave any tasks, especially Shiki-san's assignments for last minute! But he couldn't help that he was… distracted… No, not distracted. Just busy. Busy with his own interests and self-assigned tasks. There was so much to do, so much to uncover about Jane Doe. Izaya didn't care about this missing Awakusu. The adult wannabe was so dull and boring! All Kumaru-kun wanted was to show initiative to his yakuza crowd and prove that he wasn't a useless coward… which he kind of was. But he did surprise Izaya when the eighteen-year-old agreed, with very little persuading, to his recruitment for the kidnapping of 'Maemi Shimizu'. Of course, he only did it because Izaya made sure to get under his fragile skin with the young Awakusu's inferiority complex. However, his true cowardice stole him in the moment of truth, having a gun pointed directly to his head.

Of course, Izaya couldn't inform Shiki-san that he was the instigator of the operation however it was downright dangerous to lie to the Awakusu Kai. Then again Izaya rather enjoyed taking risky gambles; he'd happily skip away on an incredibly thin rope. Then again, when it got close to snapping, he'd always make sure he was out of harm's way. Always. He'd rather not die, thank you very much.

Izaya paused his rapidly-paced typing on his laptop's keyboard taking a sip of a hot cup of coffee. Jane-chan obviously didn't go all the way to Shibuya to get one each for them both but she did make him an instant coffee which was better than nothing. He didn't know why, but for some reason, it was more enjoyable than what he could make for himself. Magic hands, indeed. Izaya gazed into the dark substance seeing a grin ripple on the surface. Why was he smiling?

Once the male heard steps coming his way he set his half-full mug down, going back to hacking the recordings of security cameras near the café in Shibuya. In the corner of his eye, he saw Jane place two small bowls of Miso soup with mushrooms, pickled tofu, and wakame seaweed. Soon, white rice was added to the table, as well as rolled omelet on the side. The alluring smell alone was enough for the male's mouth to salivate even though he really wasn't hungry. But with that aroma teasing his nose, he wouldn't be able to help himself.

"Why so… healthy?" he asked cheekily giggling in the process.

"Because we had shitty two-minute noodles last night," Jane reminded him simply.

Izaya closed his laptop scooting over to the traditional Japanese 'banquet'. With the first bite, the raven knew he was never going to taste anything better than this… except otoro. Of course, he couldn't cook anything as delectable as what Jane was capable of; but Izaya meant the meals from those high-end restaurants he commonly visited. Nothing was ever going to beat this… except otoro. "Jane-chan, you seriously need to consider becoming a chief." At the suggestion, Jane snorted. "What? It's soo~ goo~ood!" Izaya moaned chomping on a rolled-omelet piece.

She connected her golden gaze with his, "Umm… Thanks," she spoke softly with a warm smile. "That's good. I'm glad you like it," the woman mentioned quickly before starting to spoon the soup into her mouth.

The male's laptop's battery was running on less than forty percent, not having a charger with him. It wasn't like he suspected that he was going to stay with Jane-chan this long. In fact, why hadn't he left yet? Sure, she had taken the day off for him but it wasn't as if he felt any obligation to stay. And they weren't even talking much; Izaya had made it clear that he had work to do. At first, Jane didn't believe him but once he opened his laptop and showed her the system he was trying to hack into, the woman blinked mumbling something to herself before simply shrugging her shoulders. She watched him a little longer before deciding she was bored and went to fold in the recliner.

At the moment, Jane was finally trying to tackle all the washed, waiting-to-be-folded clothes in the rather large basket. She had gotten halfway through when Izaya's grin slipped off his face and grew into an intense and serious stare at the screen. He had broken through the system agers ago and had searched for Kumaru, Nakura and the scrawny twig in the recordings, even attempting to spot himself and 'Kyoko Orojima' but nothing.

"Izaya?"

Izaya was there! He knew the times, the places they were and even the fucking song playing in the background of the café. But nothing. The footage had to have been tampered with. Shit!

Jane raised a brow at being utterly ignored. She finished folding a sweater and set it on the folded pile, making her way behind Izaya's chair at the dining table. "You're getting rather serious there," she chuckled. He was finally kicked out of his own mind as he looked back at her. Her hands rested on either side of his chair's headrest. "You having trouble?"

Izaya huffed out a laugh before speaking, "Of course not, Jane-chan. Everything's under contr-

"Hey, that's Shibuya, right?" the woman asked staring at the screen.

"Yes it is!" he cheered, a sure sign that everything wasn't under control.

"So what's the problem? You've got through and," the woman pressed 'Alt' then 'Tab' on the keyboard to see his other tabs.

"Hey! Jane-chan~" he whined. If Shiki knew Izaya didn't keep this confidential, the thug wouldn't be very… happy.

"You've got a lot of security camera recordings of Shibuya on the… '19th of April'" she read slowing down at remembering that day. "Ohhh… So that's what's wrong," the woman chuckled.

"What's so funny?" the male pouted. Jane took a seat in the other chair giving him a guilty smile. "You're the one who replaced the footage," he drawled not even a question. She scrunched up her face and nodded. Izaya sighed, what was he going to do now? He needed some kind of evidence that Kumaru was alive and to prove that Izaya hadn't abandoned the task so he could save his own ass. "You don't happen to have a copy of the real thing?" he asked already knowing the answer. Jane shook her head left to right and bit her lip, though it looked more like she was trying to stop herself from laughing.

"Why do you- pff- you need the footage anyway?" by the little giggles in between her words Izaya was confirmed to be right.

He quickly lifted his face with a smirk, realizing that it had switched off, "Why did you get rid of the footage?" he countered.

"Because 'Kyoko Orojima' isn't meant to be in Shibuya," she answered simply.

"You do realize you've made my job harder than what it has to be?" he remarked bitterly. "I could've completed this a day, you know."

"If you don't want to do it that badly then don't. Seriously, I don't see why you put yourself through all this stress," she drawled leaning back and slouching in her chair.

"Stress? I'm not stressed," Izaya chuckled out.

"From all the knots in your neck, shoulders and back that, let me remind you, I massaged out I'd say you're really fucking stressed. Just chill, dude! You're rich, you don't have to make a million yen every week," she exclaimed now comfortably kicking her foot up on the edge of her chair.

At that, the male's eyebrows raised. "I don't do it for the money, Jane-chan," he truthfully told slightly shaking his head in disbelief.

"Exactly!" Jane clicked her fingers and pointed to the ceiling. "So it's okay to take a break once in a-

Izaya interrupted, deciding to get to the point. The point being she was, satisfyingly, wrong. "I was hired by Awakusu Kai and they want shit done by tomorrow. While I have practically nothing for them. So, no, I don't think I can take a break. Otherwise, I'll have a bullet go through my head, parts of my brain blown out on the side of a sleek black car, lying on the dirty hard ground of some abandoned building. Then Shiki-san will nonchalantly demand to have his car cleaned of my blood as he steps over my motionless body," Izaya announced with a grin on his face. "I'd rather not be that, so if you please, leave me to my work." He turned back to the screen typing whatever came to mind so it looked as though he was busy. He didn't know if the scenario he just rambled out would actually happen but Izaya was damn sure Shiki wouldn't hesitate if Izaya did the wrong thing. The gangster would give him one chance but… that one chance was most likely already used up.

Jane stared at the male typing away, golden eyes wide. She knew how the Awakusu's could be… Shit. "Do you want help?" at her question his fast fingers halted for only a millisecond before continuing as if he had never stopped. "I can try to recover what I deleted… but I'm deleting it again when you're finished," she added quickly.

That smirk arose once more, "If you can recover it, you mean. Don't get so cocky~" the male cooed lowly. Jane let her mouth gape open pressing a hand to her lips expressing such 'offense' to his words, before standing and leaving for her laptop that she rarely ever used. It obviously wasn't the same one as she had during her… life before Maemi Shimizu, since she had utterly destroyed it. She came back quickly setting the new laptop up and getting to work.

Quite some time passed in silence, only tapping and clicking from each of their laptops. In all honesty, Izaya couldn't do much without knowing where Kumaru had gone after the café incident. He supposed he could type notes on what he could tell Shiki the next day and think of any questions the gangster would touch on and as a result, be ready for any outcome. But he had already finished doing that… mostly. Izaya's mind was beginning to wonder again. And since the pair were sitting across from each other, the male couldn't stop his gaze from drifting up and past his screen until his eyes landed on Jane. Her chocolate hair was still in a tangled mess… Should he tell her? Naa~ It was actually weirdly cute… Was that considered another 'weird thought'? Oh, fuck it. Izaya could think what he wanted about his humans! It didn't matter that he knew Jane had a pretty face. The raven turned his eyes back down to his screen.

With all humans, the male could tell whether they were considered to be beautiful or hideous but that didn't necessarily mean he personally had an opinion. Izaya had never felt any real 'attraction' to any human! The idea was unfathomable! Not to mention, it would be unfair for them. He couldn't go having favorites! No. That's not how loving humanity worked! Izaya just simply gave some humans more attention than others.

Why! Even his first time, Mikage-chan, he didn't feel anything! The raven knew she was regarded as 'sexy' back then with her slim and less muscular shape than now, and her body's curvy features, but that's it. It was okay to think such things because it was just a fact. Not a shred of opinion. In fact, if he allowed himself to add his opinion, it would be that he thought the boyish woman's breasts were, ironically, too big. Was that weird? Men seemed to adore a woman's large chest. Izaya had spotted them countless times seeming to not have control of their eyeballs as a big-breasted lady passed by, even when their own woman was standing next to them. Izaya for one had always looked into humans' faces, not their chest area. And after being fucking smothered in them for an unbearable twenty minutes with sweat, hot breath and nails scratching his back, he certainly wouldn't go for it again. Although…

Garnet eyes had made their way back up to the woman across from him… Jane-chan didn't have a large chest… Was that considered a weird thought? No. It was… it was just a fact. Jane probably didn't even fit into a B-cup. And that was probably deemed as unattractive or not sexy. Would Izaya allow himself to think his opinion? Absolutely not. Did unwanted thoughts hit him in the face anyway? Absolutely… not!

"Izaya?" the woman spoke up, wondering why he had been giving her a look every so often in their silence. The raven blinked out of his… rather disturbing thoughts and hummed in question. Jane quirked an eyebrow, "Are you that surprised that I'm helping you?" she asked completely misjudging his intense gaze. It was strange. She'd always lose her ability to read him when he was thinking… inappropriate things. No! It was just facts!

Yeah. Facts that didn't need to be brought attention to. Izaya stopped the argument there with a reply, "Well, I thought you wanted to get away from this dangerous lifestyle, no?" He was speaking part of his mind, just not the louder portion. "It is a teensy bit… Mmm…" Izaya trailed off deciding what to say. "It's just…" the male found himself chuckling at not being able to come up with something without sounding… kind of bleak and blue. He laughed more trying to stop so he could speak, "It's- pff! It's just thaha- that for someone to do this, I'd need to threaten thehehee~ them or something!" he exclaimed guffawing so hard his stomach hurt.

Jane, on the other hand, didn't find the comment laugh-worthy on any level. She slowly rose from her chair dragging it over to sit by him. Izaya's giggling fit gradually coming to an end as the brunette silently watched. Once he calmed down once more Jane reached out to his hand on now on his lap. Again, it took so much self-control to stop himself from flinching away. What was with her? Why did she do the things she did? Izaya needed to stop this. But instead of removing his hand from her's, Izaya just let his gaze fall upon the woman's dainty hand that rested upon his, palm down. She was slowly slipping her fingers between his for them to intertwine.

"What are you doing, Jane-chan?" Izaya smirked narrowing his crimson eyes.

"Trying to comfort you," she told him.

"I don't need…" This conversation sounded familiar. "I don't need it," Izaya continued anyway.

He was twisting and tweaking his words again. Sure, Izaya didn't want to lean on someone's shoulder, but he did need it. Jane's discovery that morning had proved it. The woman abruptly stood back up to gave the dumbfounded male a quick hug before realizing the awkward position. Izaya's face being lower than a comfortable level. "Oh! Ahh…" The woman glanced to the side feeling rather embarrassed. At least she was wearing a bra now. The raven's narrowed eyes had apparently been thrown out the window, widely looking up at her. Jane quickly apologized going back to restoring the footage. It was a little alarming how much she let herself be in contact with the male but it wasn't as if he going to think of it in a… dirty way, right? The woman peeked over her screen only to connect with his gaze that was regaining composure. Izaya slipped her a smirk before bringing his eyes down; deep red gliding along as if he was skim-reading.

Okay… Maybe, maybe he thought Jane-chan's… shape wasn't too bad. Well, he didn't choke on breasts so that was a plus. But enough about that! This was the perfect opportunity to tease her. "Perhaps, Mae-chan's naivety is catching up to you, Jane-chan~" he cooed.

"Perhaps, you're immaturity is getting to you, Izaya-kun~" the female hissed back. Izaya let a chuckle escape his lips only for it to quickly disappear as his laptop's screen went out. Oh shit. Apparently he was being way too readable as the brunette asked, "What?" Jane's hiss was swiftly removed, now concern upon her features.

Izaya continued his laughter weakly. "My battery died," he informed aloofly finishing his feeble attempt of giggles. He had spent the last of his battery thinking about breasts. What the actual fuck? He… was dead. He was so fucking dead. Shit! Did he save all that shit or not? He still had a chance, right? What if he informed Shiki about the break-in? not the full story of course. Ohh~ but then that would have to involve Jane-chan… wait… why did that matter? Why did that thought even occur to him? Oh too bad! He'd be telling them about 'Maemi Shimizu' not Jane-chan. However, Shiki will most certainly wonder why the group of four decided to target her. But it's not that he'd be more interested in her than Kumaru. So Izaya needed to distract the gangster with some false info. Well, not exactly 'false' just tweaked a bit. But if Izaya didn't have evidence then Shiki wouldn't believe; though he'd pretend as if he did. The raven never wanted Shiki to know about his special, yet troublesome, scapegoat. Nakura. But it looked like he had no choice.

He certainly couldn't tell Shiki that Kumaru and Nakura, and who knows how many others, were after the infamous Izaya Orihara. Though, there shouldn't be too many since humans knew not to mess with him. After all, he was disturbingly known as 'that guy who somehow always got away alive from Shizuo Heiwajima, the utter embodiment of violence.' But all the same, he should really slap down the 'get rid of Izaya' operation… but that's the next task. There was no time to handle multiple jobs! What could he tell Shiki? What was Nakura's, made up, reasoning for keeping Kumaru around? And what if Kumaru had actually not gone to Nakura by now? And what will happen to Nakura if Izaya played him as the bad guy? He couldn't die now. Nakura was Izaya's lifetime toy, he couldn't get him killed!

"Calm down. It's nearly done downloading, just give it sec, okay?" Izaya heard someone say. The male glanced up to the woman who was impatiently watching the screen's bar gradually fill with color. Tapping but not pressing her index finger on the letter 'J' over and over, Izaya inspecting her. That… didn't take as long as what he thought it would. He guessed that yet again Jane-chan's skills and talents exceeded his expectations.

"You're finished? Wow! You're nearly as good as me Jane-chan~" he smirked easily, pushing down his rambling thoughts.

"I'd appreciate a thank you, you know~" she hushed looking at him expectantly.

Izaya raised his brows, stilled for a couple of seconds before standing. From behind her in the woman's ear, he whispered, "How about something better than a thank you?" he smirked up to his little games again. Jane gave him a warning look to the side to back the fuck off but the male ignored any sign of faked hostility only focusing on the woman's index finger repeatedly tapping faster now. He moved closer once more, her finger intensifying the motion.

"If you lick my ear again, I will stab you," she declared staring at the 86% filled bar on the screen, seeming to give off a calm demeanor. However, with the vigorous drumming, the effect was ruined much Izaya's delight.

"Oh? Is that what you suspect me of doing? And if so, doesn't that mean you're saying getting your ears violated by my tongue is better than gratitude? How naughty, Jane-chan~" the male continued his teasing while the woman continued her violent assaults on the 'J' key. "Honestly Jane-chan, you should have just been open with me and say you were into those kinky-

"That's it!" Jane bellowed as she hopped up from her seat and tackled Izaya to the floor. "Punishment!" she proclaimed pushing his head to the side to show him the embarrassment and humiliation she felt. Payback! The time to attack was now! And with that, Jane forced the tip of her tongue on the idiot's ear.

Said idiot being somewhat dumbfounded yet again. The slickness of the muscle was beyond disturbing… however, a thought emerged to the surface of his brain. At least, it was Jane-chan… Izaya tried to dig the thought a hole to bury it deep within but other thoughts – such as his rational thinking of playing it cool, his ridiculous idea to pull her off him and bolt for the hills, and the thought of despising the feeling of her on top of him – fell into the abyss instead. Shit! Shit! Shit! Why was he enjoying it? Izaya didn't know whether he should consider it fortunate or unfortunate that Jane popped up, smirking widely under the impression she had just put him through a lifetime of trauma.

How wrong she was.

Author speaking! Oh my! It's been longer than two weeks, sorry! I got busy... And I was also writing another chapter... It's not done yet but you won't get to read it until Halloween. Hehee look forward to an AU Special! I'm so excited!

If you want, you can suggest what mythical beings each character should be! Except for Celty since she's already a Dullahan... Or for a twist, maybe she's the only one who's human! Oh my gosh! I like that idea! Tell me what for think!

Anyways, I've decided to stick with the long chapters if that's okay! Hehe bye for now!

Edit: Wow it's been a very very very long time. Sorry. I just wasn't happy with anything I wrote and reading this fic back I realized it's... well it's not good hahaha. So I've decided to rewrite it.