Jokes, Whims, & Coincidences

By: Aviantei

Chapter Twelve, Fully Enveloped

Orihara Izaya: Setting the Field


I met up with Sosa at the front of her apartment, springtime sunshine starting to break over the tops of buildings. True to her offer, the something interesting she had offered was present as well in the form of Susanuma Aiako-chan. She was in a different dress today, one that looked less like it was made from patchwork materials, though her sleeves were still long enough to cover her hands and ballet slippers remained her choice of footwear. She also screamed and hid behind Sosa the second she saw me.

There would be some work to be done, but I would have to live with that sort of reaction for now.

"You didn't tell me Scary Guy-san would be coming," she hissed to Sosa accusingly. My employee only stepped aside, removing Aiako's shield without hesitation.

"You're gonna have to get used to him eventually," Sosa declared, pushing to keep Aiako from entering hiding again. "He's my boss! Plus, he's like, one of the only fun people in Tokyo. Emersion therapy is the way to go for fears like this!"

Aiako stood in one place without trouble, though she still trembled. Her eyes finally locked on me, and she let out a whimper. It was probably for the best that Sosa had chosen math over the psychology department; I could only imagine the chaos she would wreak in out-patient practice. "Can he at least not talk any?" Aiako asked, panic staining her voice. "I told you what he sounds like."

"Now I'm afraid I can't comply with that request," I said, finally at a personable distance to the two. It was a miracle didn't bolt off at the sound. She at least had some guts buried under the fluff. Either that or Sosa had made this outing sound incredibly worth it. "Not talking interferes with my job, not to mention my basic human rights." Sosa snorted. "I'm sure you'll adjust, Susanuma Aiako-chan."

Aiako looked to Sosa for help, the older woman draping an arm around the small girl. "Now, now, Izaya-kun," Sosa said, wagging a finger at me, "even I can't make someone useful if you go straight for the gut like that. This is, like, Aiako-kun's level one! No way she can take on a boss raid like you!"

I supposed there were worse standings to be considered than a boss raid and shrugged. Sosa nodded and patted Aiako's back. "Alright, then, proper introductions," Sosa urged. "Hop-hop!"

Maybe Sosa's definition of a boss raid was pretty skewered, but Aiako took a deep breath, looked significantly like she was about to fall over, then whispered her name even though I had clearly just said it within the past minute. She even added a bow. It was so polite it was almost adorable.

"Orihara Izaya," I said, skipping the physical formalities. Aiako was too busy staring at the ground to be bothered and Sosa wouldn't care about my lack of manners anyway. "I normally wouldn't encourage skipping school like this, but when you're young is when you have to have adventures, so I'll allow it. Heck, I'll even defend you if the cops notice, so no need to worry."

"Based on your psychological profile you've probably run away from home at least once," Sosa remarked. "With my estimate of your level of ingenuity, you probably did multiple times. And were successful to boot! But why waste time running around when living off your parents at that age is so much more comfortable?"

Well I wasn't about to confirm or deny that curiosity for her. "And I assume you did?"

Sosa shrugged. "Nah." There wasn't really a point to her lying in this situation, so I would take the words as truth and confirm them later. "I dunno about you, but my folks were loaded. Running off into the streets just to get some kicks didn't really appeal to me. Nah, messing with my school was more my style, you know?"

Ah, I did remember reading that particular anecdote in her basic profile. As appealing as the topic was, however, we had gathered for a completely different reason today. "What about you, Aiako-chan?" I asked. Ever run away from home before?"

To her credit, the girl only flinched this time, not try to hide in terror. Either she was adjusting incredibly fast or was trying to perform well for Sosa. "N-no," she stammered. Well, Sosa probably would have mentioned it otherwise. She had been pretty thorough. "Though I did miss a bunch of school before…"

I smirked. I knew the reason, and the effect it would produce was more than worth it. "Alright, as much as I love listening to my second- and third-most-favorite people, we didn't come here to talk all day!" Sosa said, stepping into the literal middle of our exchange. And who was her number one favorite person then? "I promised Aiako-chan fun and adventure, so I'm counting on you to deliver, Izaya-kun!"

"So I have to cover for your failure to plan anything?" I asked with a mock sigh.

Sosa only grinned. "Don't tell me you didn't plan for contingencies anyway." Aiako looked like she didn't like the sound of that at all. "Don't disappoint me now; we're only just beginning!" Sosa's expression dropped to a pout.

"Well, if you insist." Sosa nodded, completely oblivious to Aiako shaking her head. "I was planning on saving this for when you were on official duty, but there were a few clients you could check up on. Remember that lending agency we were looking at?"

"All work and no play makes Izaya-kun a lame employer," Sosa muttered in English, as if I couldn't understand her.

"What was that?"

"Pay me overtime for unexpected work hours!" she said, like that had been the point the whole time. "In fact, pay Aiako-chan, too! She's pretty much gonna be an intern at this point. Ah, does Raira allow part time jobs?"

"Yes," Aiako said, "but I already have a part time job…"

Sosa gasped in excitement. "You didn't tell me that." While that had missed her initial information sweep it certainly hadn't missed my follow up one. Sosa had provided most of the interesting stuff, but had a tendency to skip over more mundane facets of detail. "Oh, where is it, where is it? I wanna visit Aiako-chan at work!"

The proclamation was ended with a hug, leaving Aiako smothered. "It's a cosplay café… Ransom… If you come by you gotta help out, okay?" Given Sosa's structure, she probably could drag in a fair amount of customers and bring in a decent profit margin.

"Deal!"

"Sosa-chan? Your assignment? Hayashi-san is a very impatient woman you know," I reminded.

"Which brings up the question of why you're sending me solo, right?" Sosa grinned. I hadn't thought it was possible for Aiako to go any paler, but there it was. Tossing a middle schooler directly at a loan shark wasn't the kindest move, but it would do her good. "Alright, Aiako-chan, you get to watch and learn, okay? You'll be a top-notch protégé in no time!"

"Wait, I'm a proté—uwah!"

Sosa jerked Aiako's arm, rushing away from her apartment at breakneck speed. Despite being a fraction of Sosa's height, Aiako was able to keep up on those quick legs of hers, though her ballet slippers were still questionable footwear. I gave them a maximum of ten minutes before they collapsed on each other. That combined with the travel time to Hayashi's front gave me at least a few hours to kill.

I reached for one of my phones. Might as well pay Shiki-san a visit then…


"You're usually not one to initiate unscheduled meetings."

"And you're not usually one to accept unscheduled events without an emergency, Shiki-san."

Shiki kept me in his same deadpan expression as always. Outside the car windows, Ikebukuro skylines float past streaks of highway. While I've been inside Shiki's meeting office on a number of occasions, it's much more common to hold our discussions in a car, armed driver included. There have been a number of people who've entered Awakusu-kai cars and never stepped out of them.

In my five years of service, I've been lucky enough to avoid such a fate.

"I was heading towards a negotiation anyways," Shiki answered, turning his gaze to the back of the seat in front of him. The only reason he was letting that slip was because I already knew. The Fujimoto-kai had been looking to expand their territory, but they were at least doing it the smart way. It would take a lot of guts or stupidity to directly oppose the Awakusu. "I assume you had something interesting to share that you'd make a request like this?"

I looked out the window to a relatively peaceful mid-morning in Ikebukuro. Of course, when it's most peaceful things can be set up to their full capacity. You need concentration to line up dominos, after all. "I take it you've already heard of the Dollars?"

"Not interested." Shiki shot me down with precision. If we were sitting across from each other at a table, he'd probably light up a cigarette. A long time ago he had told me he doesn't smoke in cars out of courtesy to the client and to whoever else in the group might use the vehicle after him. Personally, I was grateful. "I don't have time for a bunch of kids playing around. I have real business to take care of."

It was just fishing, but that confirmed what I knew: the Awakusu-kai didn't consider the Dollars a threat, and, in their current state, he was correct. They were nothing but an undefined nebula.

Of course, the undefined things always have interesting ways of defining themselves.

"Like the Fujimoto-kai, huh?" I asked. "I hear their heiress is something else. Still in university but helping run the family on the side. She even takes part in major negotiations. You think you'll see her today?"

"The Yakuza Empress, huh?" Impressive title for someone not even my age. "I haven't met her face to face, but that's what her family calls her. If she's done half the things they say she's done, she'll be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Right now, though, she's still a child. I've been in this business for more years than she's been alive."

"Well, if she has that high of a rating from you, Shiki-san, I'll have to keep an eye out for her."

"I'm not paying you if you're not going to tell me anything interesting."

I shrugged. Sosa was working on the contact that would cover her and Aiako's pay for the day—ah, I'd have to work Aiako into the documentation then. Sosa seemed to like numbers enough, so maybe I could convince her to play bookkeeper.

"Think of this as more of a courtesy call," I mused, making eye contact with the driver. He didn't even shift his gaze away from mine. That one has definitely been around a while. Newbies were a lot more fun to mess with.

Shiki sighed. "So you're wasting my time," he assessed. As if he was doing anything productive with his car ride. "You're in good graces right now, Orihara. Don't push it."

"Then I shouldn't tell you about my new assistant?" Shiki raised an eyebrow. I grinned. "I managed to pick up a new employee a few weeks ago. She's still learning the ropes, but I think she'll be helpful in the future. I might even send her on a few errands."

Shiki rotated a ring around his index finger. "I never pegged you as the type to actively expand your internal network," he remarked. "You're not worried this assistant of yours isn't gonna run off with your information are you?" His tone deepened just a bit. The risk of his organization's personal data was enough to get serious over.

"Sosa-chan isn't stupid enough to make an enemy of a group like you," I reassured. She had even called referred to Shiki as -no-danna when I had mentioned him before, which was a lot more than she had given anyone else. "If you'd like to see her information and set up a meeting with her, then I'd be more than happy to comply."

Shiki grunted. "Try coming back during open business hours," he said.

I snickered. "If that's what you'd like, Shiki-san. Though it won't do you good to be so serious." Sosa would probably need some etiquette reminders before I took her into Awakusu territory, though. Even if she was actively ignoring social standards, that didn't make her frequent disrespect any less dangerous.

And this is the woman insisting I give her overtime?

The car slowed down as it exited the highway, then further as it approached an empty bus stop. Making sure to stay out of the illegal parking zone, the driver stopped the car and even unlocked the doors for me. "I take it I'm not invited to your little meeting then?" I asked.

"You'll get your usual input report by the end of the evening," Shiki answered. "You'll get the rest of your payment once you give us the usual intel."

"Much obliged, Shiki-san."

"Don't slack off too much."

"I would never."

I stepped out of the car. The door was barely closed before the driver reentered traffic, and I took steps to the sidewalk. Dropping me off at a sizable distance from the negotiation had been quite the detour for them. The driver would be scolded for a lack of courtesy, but his attention to timeliness would keep him in good standing.

Though that kouhai's grown up quite a bit. Yakuza Empress, huh?

What a ridiculous title.

At least the meeting notes would keep me busy this evening. My contract with the Fujimoto-kai dictated roughly the same thing as the Awakusu-kai's: internal information and reflection on what the other organization was looking at. All things considered, the Fujimoto-kai probably wouldn't get any big payoff from this one, but the long-term benefits were worth it.

Now, I just had to be sure to tip those benefits so they were also in my favor.


The downside to my side trip was that it had taken me farther from Hayashi-san's place that I intended; thankfully Sosa had run off without establishing a rendezvous place or time so she couldn't complain too much. Considering the time, she should have finished up the meeting by now, and had probably mandated her own company lunch break. With that in mind, I settled down at a nearby sushi restaurant to tuck into my own meal.

Not even two bites of otoroo in, Sosa called me.

"Izaya-kun," she sang, "I'm taking Aiako-chan out for some KFC. You want any?"

"Sosa-chan," I sang in turn, "I didn't expect you to offer to treat me, so I decided to eat on my own."

"Again, is it really treating you of you're the one who signs my paychecks?"

Not bothering to justify the recent output Sosa had managed to carve from my income, I took a bite of my sushi.

Otoroo's the best, hands down.

"Okay, keep your weird foodgasm away from my ears, Izaya-kun." Honestly, had the woman even heard herself once sugar was involved? "Anyway, lunch aside, I figured we could meet up soon. I can tell that you've got something else planned for the day way more exciting than which loan shark is scamming who, so I want in!"

"How is Hayashi-san by the way?" I asked. Considering the din of the restaurant, I wouldn't have even had to worry about being overheard if Sosa was running her mouth in person. "Business seems to be up lately. Debt collectors all over the place." At least I had avoided Shizu-chan today. It really was the little things that made life good.

Sosa mumbled something to Aiako. Was she really ignoring me because I had brushed off her own question? "Hayashi-chan says that she needs some new location hits on a couple of debtors," the woman reported, sounding bored in the process. "I already sent the text over to your third email. She also is really good at hiding the fact that she hates my guts under professionalism and wouldn't let Aiako-chan into the room. Plus, she refused to tell me her given name. It's lame, Izaya-kun."

"Maki," I supplied. Hayashi-san would definitely glare at me net time we met, but I was too valuable a resource for her to replace. "And that's a shame you couldn't bring Aiako-chan along. Hayashi-san certainly loves seeing what kids she can scam."

"Isn't giving loans out to minors illegal?"

"Hayashi-san is a very creative woman."

"Roger that."

A few minutes passed with general eating noises coming from both ends of the phone. Since it was lunchtime, too, that meant afternoon was coming. All the half-day schools would be letting out at this point. The city would get little bit more crowded as schoolkids enjoyed their temporary freedom. Aiako could rest easy that her little truancy from school had passed without much trouble.

"You know, Sosa-chan, about that something interesting you mentioned," I said, taking a drink of tea to reset my palette afterwards ("I knew it!" she hissed), "it's probably going to happen in the next couple of hours. You wouldn't want to miss that, now would you?"

"Not for the world, Izaya-kun! Aiako-chan is up and ready to roll, too!"

"Then be sure to meet me at…" I rattled off a rough location in the central shopping district. Sosa agreed, asking Aiako for directions in the middle of hanging up, and I returned to my meal. Within thirty minutes we had reconvened, Aiako looking as wary of me as before. They both followed me dutifully enough, though, Sosa chattering in excitement.

It took a little bit of time, but ultimately we found them crowded around an alley: a girl with curly dark hair I didn't recognize, one boy I had met before, and the one I had come to meet. Standing as our own triad on the other side of the street, Aiako let out a small gasp:

"Ryuugamine-senpai…?"


[Avi's "It's About Damn Time" Notes]

For some reason, this chapter was a major bitch to write. Sorry for the delay.

You know what isn't a bitch, though? All of you guys! Thanks to VampAngel62, LiLy Resh, yama-chan82201, sobasicallyme, TheLazyHacker, Red of Dawn, Atemxyugi kfXjinx, Thrill-Pair-All-The-Way, AkaNeko-chan, J. M. Weezy, ultron emperor, Copacetically, kageneko461, AlaskaWoods, Melissa Fairy, calupa67, Yami Fumetsu, hannahjoma, Danillyria, anotherfairytale, kinbarii. tan, LadyCathryne2, Yopu is Crying, randomindividual467, CrazyCatLady234, Savy54, RoseGirl99, BleachedCat, Reclun, and Waltzing Shadow for your multiple favorites and follows since the last update! I really appreciate it and I hope to hear some of your thoughts on the story in the future.

As for where I've been... A lot has happened since the last chapter like moving, school, writing original projects, and miscellaneous writing challenges. One of those challenges in particular, [Shibuya Operation - Story Storm], is ongoing right now. I am writing a The World Ends with You Crossover with the delightful Chronic Guardian this winter! The title is Faded Lines and Future Signs and is currently being posted by the Sauce Project Collective account. Check it out if that stuff floats your boat!

Anyway, with all that crazy life stuff going on, this chapter is to celebrate the fact that I have completed my half of the collab and am ready for posting days here on out (hooray)! Updates are still gonna be a bit finicky, but I'm taking steps to finish up some of my smaller fics so that I can start to take time and work on bigger projects (like this one) and finish up storylines I've started. I'm hoping to start hacking away on Save State next, but those sorts of details can be found on my Wordpress blog. As always, I give assurance that this story isn't dead, it's just slowly creeping along until I'm in a more optimal position to update it regularly.

But enough about that! This chapter was tricky because I kept getting stuck on dialogue. Funnily enough, I always knew this chapter would exist, just never got around to pulling it off. So I went ahead and foreshadowed a lot of later events and tossed in some clues. Hopefully that should wet your whistle for more.

I'm sure you're tired of me rambling, so let me just say this: next chapter will cover the events of episode three! Please look forward to it!

[01.25.2017]