Author's Note: Hello, friends! Thanks for following along so far. I don't want to ramble on too much, but I did want to give you guys a heads-up - this chapter gets pretty triggery, so please try and keep that in mind while you read. Anyway, um... I hope you like it? ^_^;;

PS: the next few updates on this and SCaStS might take longer, as finals are next week and I really need to study for my Chem 1 exam or I'm not gonna pass the class. Wish me luck! ;w;

Izaya's phone buzzes for what seems like the hundredth time, causing him to sigh and put the cap back on his highlighter. Checking his text messages has started to feel like a game of Russian Roulette; even though there's about a seventy-five percent chance that it's a client or aquaintance, the other twenty-five percent...

'hey sexy ;)'

When he doesn't answer right away, his phone buzzes again; it's the fourth he's switched to today, and still not a single one has turned out to be secure. Sighing, he shuts it off and retrieves a fifth phone from the box of spares he keeps in his bedroom closet - not even a minute after he turns it on, he gets a notification telling him that he has yet another new text from yet another unknown number.

'u know, its not very nice to ignore people :('

'It's not very nice to sexually harrass them, either.' Izaya types back, finally freaked out enough to say something. 'What exactly are you hoping to achieve by doing this?'

'maybe i just wanna get to know u'

'Do you honestly expect me to believe that?'

'its tru tho'

'What. Do. You. Want?'

'to be ur friend :)'

'How naive do you think I am?'

'u should really learn how to take a compliment :('

'You should really learn how to give one!'

'what if i was shizu-chan? would u take it then?'

'the compliment, that is ;)'

Izaya has to try very, very, very hard not to let the very mention of the beast push him over the edge. 'What exactly are you trying to insinuate?'

';)'

There's another buzz, this time in the form of a multimedia message. He knows he probably shouldn't open it, but his common sense has never stood much of a chance against his curiosity; he regrets it the moment it finishes loading, disgust churning his stomach when he sees what is undeniably the picture of a very large, very erect penis. 'You better PRAY I don't find out who you are, because when I do, I'm going to kill you in the most agonizing way I can think of... and I have a VERY vivid imagination.'

'so do i ;P'

'You don't scare me.'

'but shizu-chan does, doesnt he? :)'

'Shizu-chan has nothing to do with this.'

'do u think hes ever jerked off to the thought of raping u?'

Shutting that phone off, Izaya switches over to a sixth one. He doesn't bother putting the box back.

'its not like ud be able to stop him if he really wanted 2'

And then a seventh.

'do you think hed force u 2 suck his cock first?'

And an eighth.

'how many phones r u gonna try before u give up?'

And a ninth.

'im like an std, baby. u cant get rid of me that easy ;)'

His tenth and final phone is the one he keeps around for paranoia's sake; he never even bothered to set up its voice mailbox, let alone given out its number. He unravels the charger and plugs it in to the closest socket, turning it on once it has enough battery power to function. When several minutes have gone by and he hasn't received any more text messages, he starts to believe he might actually be safe...

...and then, the phone starts to ring.

And ring.

And ring.

It rings until Izaya can't take it anymore, letting out a frustrated screech and pitching it at the wall as hard as he can. The impact shatters the screen and sends the battery skittering halfway across the room, but it does nothing to make him feel any better; the only time he can remember feeling even a fraction as creeped out as he is right now was when the informant called Tsukumoya had somehow managed to get his hands on a video game he'd designed in high school... despite the fact that he'd given the only copy of it to Shinra. There's a moment where he wonders if it could actually be Tsukumoya sending the texts, but from the conversations he's had with him in the past, he just can't imagine him stooping this low.

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?

Pacing back and forth, Izaya wracks his brain for ideas. Asking Tsukumoya for information isn't possible, because he doesn't want to risk the chance that his mystery stalker might be able to hack into his private network; if he somehow managed to find out the passwords to his various email accounts, it could ruin everything.

"Come on, Izaya, think! You can't use your computer, you can't use your phone, and you don't know how he's doing it but you're pretty sure you're being monitored. You have to figure out something to do, now focus..." He closes his eyes.

You live on the ninth floor. It's unlikely he's broken in to one of the other suites, which means he'd need equipment with a ridiculously long range; an amateur wouldn't be able to afford that kind of thing, let alone know how to use it without getting caught...

Vincent is the only person he can think of that might have had the money to buy it, the intelligence to use it, and the chance to place it in his office... but it couldn't be him, either, because the American hadn't even had his phone in his hand when Izaya had gotten the message during the meeting.

Maybe it's someone working for him? He did seem oddly interested in learning about me after our first encounter...

Whatever the case may be, it's not safe for him to be here anymore. Grabbing his jacket and keys from off the hook next to the door, Izaya leaves for Ikebukuro.