Maemi had yet another work shift only that her co-worker had asked to switch with her that week. So Jane had to do the mornings; thanks to Maemi's annoying habit of not being able to say 'no'. The woman was tiredly covering her face with foundation, which was more on the pinkish undertone side rather than her natural orange traces. She lightened her brows, slightly contoured her cheekbones and chin – touching the nose was too risky. And then finally the long light chestnut colored wig. The woman spilt it in two and put the loose curls into twin tails behind her ears.

"You're a nineteen-year-old girl. Shy and respectful. You don't get in other people's way. You keep your head down and live a normal life. You've moved away from your parents for better work and education – when you are able to money-wise. This is not your house; a family friend is letting you rent it. And your name is Maemi Shimizu," the woman under the disguise muttered as she stared into the girl's eyes in the mirror.

Ever since Izaya had his spiel of her unorganized brain, to put it lightly, Jane had difficulty in pulling Maemi Shimizu out. It was like she had become a stranger. Before Jane met Izaya, she had no problem in keeping Maemi on the exterior – and to some degree the interior – from when she first put the mask of makeup on to when she removed it. She didn't always do it and admittedly avoided it sometimes, but she could if life required her to do so.

In the beginning, when the woman was new to changing herself mentally she'd list attributes that the identities had. All the facts- All the lies she could think of about them helped her pull the character from deep inside of her. Or at the start of the beginning, she just stepped into someone else's shoes. When did that change? When did the real her get mixed up with everyone else? When did this all happen? Was she that good at lying to herself that she didn't even fucking know? What the fuck was wrong with her?

Her thoughts lingered on Izaya's rant and how disturbingly correct he had been. And yet, in ways, how he was utterly wrong. Part of the brunette wanted to ignore how jumbled she was. Deceive herself into believing it was normal. People always have mixed emotions, after all! That's all it was. She didn't have actual problems. Well, she did… but not those types of problems. It's not as if she had multiple personality disorder or borderline personality disorder and certainly not bipolar. She had done research, alright!

And yet the other side of her wanted to understand herself but it was so hard; who was she, why was she like this, how and when? Which one was she?

None. She was no one anymore. Just Jane Doe. Maybe it was the easy way out but she didn't care. Easy was better than difficult. Being no one was better than attempting or – in other words – failing to find herself. Questioning every word she uttered, a cry of pain, a shriek of fear, mumbled whimpers from weeping, or more commonly a snarl of hatred. Questioning her every move, that habit of glancing to the side, her tucking hair behind her ear or tousling it to be in her face, the sudden urge to go buy cigarettes. Even the fucking way she stood! Closed frame, open frame, confident strides or shuffling dragging feet. Questioning all of it, whether it was her or someone she made up, it's too much. It's exhausting. It's hard. She never received the answers anyway so why bother going through it. Easy was better than difficult. It's easy to not question it… no matter how much she wanted to.

Maemi checked the time on her wristwatch covering the circling scars, "Oh! Better go." And the girl sped off to work.

It was a rather busy morning. Costumer after costumer, coffee after coffee. It had gone rather fast and the girl was ready to go to sleep by the time she had five minutes left. The last few minutes always went so slowly. Maemi was preparing cutlery when she heard the door open. The woman turned and greeted the guest softly, warmly as Maemi Shimizu would. "Good afternoon, may I assist…" When she spotted black hair and a wide grin her words trailed off. Izaya? "Oh, hey-" Jane caught herself. Her mask had slipped; she placed it back on firmly. "H-Hello, Orihara-san." Maemi's voice was gentle as she gave that welcoming smile.

Izaya's up-turned lips curled still more catching how her act had slipped at the sight of him but easily made her comeback, "Hello, Mae-chan! It's been a while," he wasn't even lying. It had been a while since the unknown woman pulled Maemi out in front of him. She agreed shyly glancing to the side from feeling a little awkward. Was that Jane? … Izaya had come to the conclusion. No. More so, Jane was in the habit of doing so because of Mae-chan.

The girl was again acting so different. Izaya knew he'd be in for a treat to see her at work. He had brought his laptop to make notes and everything~ "Can I get a long black, extra shot, large in the takeaway cup but I'm going to stay here. Table eight," he told her. Izaya always did that, getting his coffee in the lidded cups. There were many reasons being; if Shizu-chan came waltzing in at least Izaya could take his coffee and make a break for it, same if it was anyone else attempting to inflict harm upon him which actually happened rather often… Hmm… Oh well! Another reason being, the takeaway cups kept the coffee hot a lot longer than the mugs. And with how slow the male drank it he needed all the heat-reserving he could get.

Maemi repeated the order back to him. "Is that all, Orihara-san?" He was skipping lunch, wasn't he?

He thought with a small hum, "For now, yes. You're working until close, right?"

It seemed he was unaware of her working hour's adjustment. "No, actually." She gave somewhat of a smirk. What was the bet he hacked into the manager's email? To go through the trouble and not find the reward he was looking for, it was hilarious. However, if Izaya was perturbed by this, he didn't let it show his up-turned lips still in place. "In fact," Jane glanced at her watch. "I finish in one minute," she said a matter-of-factly. Jane noticed a few pairs of eyes upon Maemi in her peripheral vision. Her co-workers. 'Shit! You're Maemi Shimizu. Shy and sweet.'

"Oh?" Izaya mused, also spotting the eyes on them, giggling, "You want something then? You can join me~" He just had to keep her here. Watching Jane-chan's struggles was too much fun! Why was she having so much trouble? Was it just because he was here? Or was she like this all day? Or perhaps, for a while?

The woman threw Jane's thoughts of Izaya just wanting to see Maemi in public and her strain, out of her head. She couldn't let her or anyone other than Maemi be on the exterior. And so, the woman delved deep and dragged Maemi Shimizu out to have full control, "U-Umm, I wouldn't want to impose." Maemi's cheeks had filled with brilliant color.

"Not at all, Mae-chan," Izaya said. Hmm… was it just in his head? Was she actually not having any problem at all?

"A-Are you sure?" The male nodded. "O-Okay, umm…" 'Damn it! Maemi! Why can't you fucking say no!' the woman furiously thought. She really shouldn't have trusted the young girl with this. "An ice-coffee sounds n-n-nice. I don't know w-why but I'm feeling a little hot." The girl was stammering all over the place.

The co-workers' strange looks melted into ones that said 'she's so cute… and totally clueless.' At least that's what Izaya was imagining they'd be thinking. Oh, the irony. If only they knew what this woman was capable of. Izaya giggled mischief evident in his eyes though he made sure to keep it from his voice, "Put down anything you want, you're too cute to say no to." The male was having so much fun messing with the girl in front of him. He just knew that Jane was ready to punch him in the face while Mae-chan was utterly red all over wide-eyeing him, her mouth even slightly agape.

"O-O-O-Okay. Th-Thank you, Orihara-san." Maemi's fingers trembled as she punched in what she wanted. Jane made it the most expensive coffee the café had to fucking offer. A large iced-coffee, two extra shots, white chocolate syrup, almond vanilla ice-cream, almond whipped-cream on almond milk with chocolate syrup drizzled on top. Maemi's thoughts of this being so wrong and immature were drowned out by Jane's rage. 'Fuck you, Izaya! Making me stay here! And how dare you call me cute! You know I fucking hate it! I'm gonna beat the living shit out of you when we're alone!'

Maemi smiled sweetly and gave him the price. He was a rich man, as if that was going to get to him; the idea was laughable and so… Izaya gave a chuckle and placed the money in the money tray. The woman really could be so childish. She counted the cash and put it through the till. "Please take a seat, I'll be with you in just a second," said Maemi in an angelic voice.

Izaya found the eighth booth, sat comfortably and opened his laptop. The café had calmed down so it was no surprise that a few minutes later Jane-chan or Mae-chan came, placing down his coffee and slightly bowing. She then sat opposite to him holding her overly priced iced-coffee, still a hint of color in her cheeks.

The raven just couldn't help but chuckle again. After all, was it two days ago? Two days ago, she had been describing what it felt like to stab a man over and over and how blissful it was. This woman had major mental problems; Izaya didn't even need to mess with her when she was already… like that. Nevertheless, she was still extremely entertaining. In fact, maybe that's what made her so amusing. "How was your shift, Mae-chan?" Izaya grinned knowing this was such a mundane question and yet Jane-chan had probably never heard it before.

"A-Alright, I guess. I didn't break any dishes and umm… I was able to make a few coffees." Her answer came out easier than expected on Izaya's part. Was it because he was fully speaking to Mae-chan? Was Jane even conscious of this conversation?

"Isn't that the barista's job?" he casually teased.

"Well, y-yes but I enjoy it. I only made three, but that's enough. I wouldn't want to step on someone else's toe." She smiled shyly but seeming more comfortable now with her flush dissipating. It so strange to see her that way before, it didn't fit at all. But Izaya guessed her actions weren't meant to line up with Jane-chan's. Because it wasn't her… whoever she was. "Actually… I made that one." She pointed shakily at Izaya's long black that he hadn't tried yet.

The male's first thought was, 'Jane-chan made it bad on purpose, didn't she?' He picked it up and bravely sipped. It was strong, yes, but that's how he liked it. The blend was smooth and not too earthly like others were. He could tell that the coffee machine was cleaned regularly and properly set so the shot was nothing less than perfect. And the temperature was just right. "Well done." He said pleasantly gazing at the cup's lid that had a swirling pattern printed on it. His reddish eyes finally glided up to the girl's, no, the woman's. Jane was smiling not needing to hind her genuine glee as it was in character. But Izaya knew the difference somehow, now that he was getting used to it.

"That's good," the woman whispered as she wrapped her pink lips around her straw and sucked up the contents for the first time. Jane had said and done the same thing when she cooked that udon noodle soup for him.

It really was her. That confirmed it.

She was conscious when being Mae-chan. Did that apply to her other 'selves'? The garnet-eyed male couldn't think of a reason for it not to be. He guessed he'd have to find out for sure in due time. After sipping on their cups for five more long minutes, Izaya closed his laptop, saving first of course, and stood. "Let's go, Ja- Mae-chan." Maemi blinked and then slowly raised herself nodding.

The two left the café, Jane couldn't help but notice the eyes of her co-workers. This was a little uncharacteristic to leave side by side with someone, not to mention that someone being an older male. She could only imagine what they were thinking… Fuck it. The open-maniac and the secret-maniac headed for Jane Doe's humble abode. The weather had finally cleared after the downpour yesterday. However, its memory was clear and fresh, the small puddles in ditches on the street's path made sure of that. Ikebukuro really was a nice place. Very busy with people everywhere but at least it wasn't so bad… like Shibuya. That place was just a little too much. Fucking awful to be honest.

"Izaya," the woman deadpanned. The male carelessly hummed in reply. "Why did you have act all flirty in there? It was weird." Jane blurted in annoyance her face looked as if she had tasted something very sour or perhaps something that had long passed its expiry date. She couldn't fucking believe him. What the actual fuck?

Izaya giggled, "The other humans were thinking I was something along the lines of 'love-interest' so I decided to play along! It was rather funny. You really wanted to hit me, didn't you? Like SMACK!" he forced his right fist to his opposite palm harshly.

"'Wanted'? Why are you speaking in past-tense, Izaya? I still want to punch you in the stomach," she muttered darkly.

"Ooo~ Scary~" he cooed. Jane rolled eyes but for some reason, she had the urge to smile but bit her lip to keep it down. For the rest of the way, she made sure to slightly shuffle her feet and keep her eyes on the ground just like Maemi Shimizu.

When the unknown woman unlocked her front door and quickly entered she had to come to a halt. The raven head was still looking behind them. He had a feeling someone was watching him for a while now. And thankfully, it wasn't someone to be too worried about. The transporter could be so annoying at times, but usually, she wasn't this nosy to actually stalk him. Jane tried beckoning him inside, aware of the presences lurking what seemed to be every shadowy corner.

Turning back to her and smirking like a fool, "What? Trying to protect me?" he teased lightly.

"Yep," she answered simply. Jane grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the threshold of her home. A small unwanted grunt spewed from his lips before the male cut himself off. The woman locked the door unaware or unfazed of the quiet yelp of surprise. "Do you know who it is?" the woman spoke on edge, however, she was focused on the presence outside.

Izaya easily composed himself again and his lips returned to that feigned expression. "Indeed, I do."

"Are they dangerous?" she asked narrowly her eyes but not at him. It was as if she was glaring through the door and at the 'offender'.

"Oh yes. Deadly," Izaya whispered lowly not wasting any time in chortling after. The unknown female relaxed a little. He wasn't in immediate danger, no action needed; the woman assessed. Izaya took note of her tensed muscles slackened."It's not a joke, Jane-chan," he told her. She gazed at him for a moment, deciding whether to believe him or not, before questioning who their follower was. "I'm sure you've heard of the Headless Rider."

Silence was now the follower, "… You're kidding." Izaya just grinned; it didn't meet his eyes. "Wow. Okay, you're not kidding."

"Yes. I'm afraid I'm not on the transporter's good side." Though the words expressed shame and disappointment his tone had none of the sorts. In fact, it sounded as though he rather liked his current position on the headless stranger's blacklist.

Headless… Was that really true? She wouldn't really be too surprised. Jane had seen many strange things that defied logic; that demon sword holder, Jane could have sworn that young pop idol in the gothic lolita was a vampire, or at least half or maybe quarter. Oh! And the head that was alive at Shingen's laboratory years ago… Wait a second… Did Shingen- Internally sighing Jane brushed the thought off. It didn't really matter. That man was so alien-like that something like this was ordinary for him. Realizing she had been standing there silently, the woman thought back to what they were talking about, "Wait… Transporter?" Jane blinked.

"That's the headless horseman's occupation," Izaya noted, "Come on, Jane-chan. Did you really think she drives around for no reason?" he teased.

Jane guessed everyone had to make a living somehow, "She…" the woman noticed the pronoun, "I knew it!" she suddenly exclaimed. Izaya hummed in question somewhat surprised she even thought of it. "Come on, Izaya!" the 'chestnut' haired woman mimicked his tone. "She has huge breasts, of course, she's female." The woman nodded in enthusiasm, glad to know she was right.

"I'm not interested in observing a monster's breasts," Izaya said dully losing his grin and sharpening his eyes.

It was the perfect opportunity. "Hmm… That's strange," the woman obviously didn't think so, her tones giving it away. "Why point out she's a headless monster? Why not just say you're not interested in observing breasts all together? Huh?" she mocked.

Words got caught in Izaya's throat, "Ah-" he closed his mouth so no other unwanted sounds came up. Instantly the image of Jane asleep being cradled in his arms, her baggy sweater exposing part of her womanly features sprung from the back of his mind where he threw and condemned it. Damn it! He had sworn to keep that memory far far away from his foreground mind. He took a small breath suppressing his unwelcomed reverie, "What non-

"… nonsense are you going on about'?" Jane interrupted. The male was getting irritated, maybe that was enough. She giggled, "Come on, that was better than being punch when you're already injured, right?"

Izaya stared at her, "How did you know that I'm… a little ouchies?" he hated the idea of being injured. It made it sound worse than what it was. Not to mention the word made him feel… weak, vulnerable. Izaya Orihara was anything but.

"You were walking rather stiffly. Did Shizuo chase you around town again?" she didn't really need to ask.

He gave a bitter laugh at the sound of that name leaving her lips, "Yep!"

The woman sighed, "Well, come on. Let's sit down. My legs are so sore." She yawned while slipping off her shoes. Izaya asked about their company outside. "If she decides to make a move we'll just have to be ready. But she hasn't given any signs that she wants to harm us." The woman slummed down to the couch and sighed. "That's better."

Izaya soon joined her staring where a window was but the curtains were closed. 'What are you going to do, transporter?'

Umm... Sorry for the delay. With longer chapters, it's harder to meet the week's deadline...