A/N: I'm so sorry for this update taking way longer than I originally said it would. I got caught up with school work and was unable to work on any of my stories for a while. Plus, I ran into a bit of writer's block. Not that I didn't know what I wanted to happen, but more how to write it I guess. I began to second guess how my characterization of Izaya was going. I think this came out well though. Let me know if you catch any mistakes, I'll always go back to look over whether I need to edit something. Constructive criticism and just plain positive praise is always welcome. I hope you like it since I was a little unsure about some things.

Chapter 6

Sora didn't tell Akira about the conversation she had with Izaya. What was the point? The issue wasn't whether or not Akira believed Sora. No, the real issue here was how tranced Akira would be around Izaya. It wasn't unusual to crush hard on someone, but this felt like something else. Sora didn't know how to describe it but it scared her. She hated feeling powerless. Sora had been fighting that feeling of powerlessness for a long time. As far as she knew, Izaya hadn't actually done anything to Akira since their conversation. However, she still took seriously the unspoken threat Izaya had given Sora.

After Izaya overheard Sora asking basically how to take Izaya down, Sora all of a sudden found herself becoming even busier than she had before. Some anonymous source had leaked online how apparently most of the sushi places in the area had lied about their rating from the health department. This lead to Russia Sushi becoming busier, and Sora needing to take on more shifts. That change along with her scheduled martial arts lessons meant that Sora would not be able to walk home with Akira at all anymore, and that Akira would practically be alone during those afternoons.

Just thinking about it made Sora want to curse as she headed to work that day. She had no evidence to support it, but Sora felt that her previous conversation with Izaya was too much of a coincidence for him to not be somehow involved in this. There had actually been a brief period where Sora had actually thought that Izaya was done with messing with her life. Pfft, guess she was wrong. This was much worse than before though, simply because of who it affected. Akira.

Akira truly had no idea that Izaya was making arrangements just so he could be alone with Akira. The thought never would have occurred to her. Honestly, Akira still had a hard time trying to convince herself that what had already occurred between the two wasn't an incredible dream. It just didn't seem possible to her, and yet it happened. He had actually approached. He had actually kissed her. This type of thing never happened. She really liked him, but was unsure what to do in this situation.

Akira hadn't seen Izaya as she walked home from school that day.

But I mean, why should she expect to run into him anyways? It's not like he ever said that he would walk her home every day or anything like that. He was a busy guy after all. Probably has way more interesting things to do anyways besides humoring a pathetic stuttering girl like herself.

She nearly expected him to be right next to her apartment door, like he had been that one time before he came in and kissed her for the second time. He wasn't here this time. She mentally scolded herself for being disappointed as she opened the door to the apartment. If he wasn't in the places he normally had been, she probably wasn't going to see him that day.

She shouldn't expect to see him at all anyways. He was an information broker, she was just a high school student. Maybe this meant she could reassure Sora after all. This was probably a better way to get over him anyways. If she could convince herself that she wouldn't see much of him anymore, she could motivate herself to get past this unreachable guy and focus on things she should like school.

Kiko meowed and rubbed against her leg as Akira got started on her homework. This was for the best after all. She needed a reality check after all. Akira just wished she could truly convince herself of the words she was repeating to herself.

Some time later, when Akira was almost done with her homework, the doorbell to the apartment rang. Akira looked at the time.

Strange. It was way too early for Sora to be done with work, and Sora's parents always got back late. Akira wasn't expecting anyone. Akira opened the door and found the last person she expected to be standing in front of the door.

Izaya Orihara. He was in his usual get-up. Red-brown eyes seemed to twinkle and his usual smirk rested on his face. Akira's eyes widened in shock, and she felt her face warm to a very bright pink.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-Izaya-san! W-w-what are you doing here!? I-I mean, not that I don't want you here or anything, in fact i-it's g-good to see you. Um, I-I mean, well, not that it would ever be bad to see you or anything, I mean, um…" Akira continued to stutter nonsense before realizing the uselessness of it and gave up, hiding her face behind her hands again. From in front of her Akira could hear a muffled giggle again.

"Well~, to answer your question, I finished the job I was on, which happened to be near here, so I thought I'd stop by."

Akira looked up from her hands, and managed to calm her breathing slightly, relieved that he didn't comment on how much of a complete fool she had just made of herself. After a moment, she still didn't respond to what he said. Izaya leaned forward slightly so that their faces were inches apart.

"May I come in~?"

Akira, looked away from his eyes again, still blushing.

Sora had made it very clear that Akira was not to just let Izaya into their apartment. Akira may not be the greatest at heading advice, but she still respected Sora's wishes.

But, what could she possibly say to him though? Simply asking him to leave without telling him a clear reason would be rude. After all, he had made the time to go over to her apartment when he didn't need to. Was she just supposed to tell him that she had been warned about him? Wasn't that kind of rude too? Plus, if he really wanted to come in, it's not like there was much she could do to stop him. Surely Sora knew that.

That and despite the dangerous vibe Izaya gave off, Akira couldn't help but feel like he wouldn't hurt her. Maybe it was stupid. She barely knew this guy after all. It certainly would not be the first time that Akira's decisions were led by wrong assumptions. Grr. She didn't know what to do. She also didn't realize how long she had just stood there not saying anything, lost in her own thoughts.

Only Izaya's sigh brought her out of her own internal conflict. She noticed he was reaching inside his pocket, where she had seen him reach when he showed her his knife. Akira tensed but simply watched him as he brought his knife out. Yet, he didn't open it. He held it closed, palm up, and held it out towards her. She gave him a confused look.

He grabbed her hand, pulled it up, and placed the closed switch blade into her hand. Then he held his hands up as though he was surrendering something.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Akira."

Normally Izaya would never part with his precious flick blade. Especially when he was playing a game with someone. But, this human was completely harmless in every sense of the word. There was absolutely no danger from her what so ever. Plus, scare tactics would not work if he wanted to get to her. (That is, scare tactics where he would be the one feared.) Seeing that he had noticed she was typically scared a lot of the time anyways. No. The secret to this human was not to try to scare her, but to get her to trust him. He didn't plan on breaking this one. He didn't find the need. There was a different way he would pick her brain, and apparently this way would be more pleasing to him as well.

She just stared at the closed switch blade for a moment, and then silently stepped aside so he could enter the apartment. Having the knife in her hand though just gave her the shivers. Akira didn't like weapons. Despite having no intention of actually using it, Akira still felt uncomfortable being entrusted with something like this. Weapons were just so dark and caused so much pain. Akira closed the apartment door and immediately placed the closed knife on a nearby countertop, glad she was no longer holding it.

Akira turned to face Izaya and felt incredibly awkward again. Izaya was leaning nonchalantly against the side of the couch as though he were completely oblivious to the awkward air. Seeming to not even notice that Kiko the cat was hissing viciously at him, and circling Akira's ankles in a defensive way. Akira sighed.

"D-do you, um, w-want anything to drink I-Izaya-san?"

He shot her another charming royal smile that made her knees feel weak.

"No thank you. I'm good right now. Thank you for offering though." He prodded over to the couch and sat on the end closest to her.

"Y-you're welcome." Akira replied quietly. He looked up at her expectantly and tilted his head towards the empty seat on the couch next to him. Akira glanced nervously away from him and bit her lip before slowing making her way over to the seat Izaya indicated, having to step over Kiko as she did so.

"Did you have any homework you had to do, Akira-chan~?"

"Um, w-well I did, but I'm pretty much done now t-though."

Akira didn't notice the mischievous grin on the informant's face. She was still avoiding his eyes.

"Oh, so you have the rest of the afternoon free then?"

"Um, y-yeah."

"Then that means you can surely hang out with me then."

Akira looked up again.

"D-doing what, Izaya-san?"

Izaya put a finger to his chin as though thinking it over.

"Well~, we can start by just talking I suppose."

"Uh, o-okay."

Because she did so well talking with him so far, Akira thought sarcastically to herself.

"Alright then. Have you heard about the disappearances that have happened lately?"

That was definitely not something Akira expected Izaya to say.

"Um, n-no. I can't say that I have. I'm not exactly good about keeping up with these things." She replied, unable to hide the surprise in her voice from the topic of conversation.

"Well, there's been a lot of them lately. Especially in Ikebukuro recently."

"Oh…" She said very quietly.

"Yeah, nobody knows what's happening to them. Although it's usually people like illegal immigrants though. I did hear though that there was a girl from your school who disappeared."

"Oh, um, r-really?"

"Yep."

Akira tried to calm her breathing and shivers. That's so s-scary.

Izaya took note of the way Akira reacted fearfully to the topic being discussed.

"I don't think you have to worry about it though. The disappearances usually occur at night anyways. Surely you're smart enough to not walk home alone at night, right?"

"Of-of course not. I-I mean, of course I know not t-to do that."

"No. I figured as much. Although, it is certainly curious the kind of rumors that are going around about what happens to those who have disappeared."

"W-what sort of rumors?"

"Oh, I don't think you want to know. I don't exactly want to take responsibility for scaring a pretty, innocent girl like you."

Akira blushed at that. Did Izaya Orihara j-just call her pretty?

Her reaction amused Izaya again. She really was just too much fun.

Akira felt Izaya's arm go against the back of the couch over where she was sitting.

"What about the Dollars? Have you heard of them?"

"T-The Dollars? I think so."

"They're becoming pretty big now. Nobody knows for sure how many members there are. Especially since they are like a colorless gang."

"Oh really?"

Akira never thought she would be discussing something as ordinary (well, ordinary for Ikebukuro that is) as local news with Izaya Orihara. However, with Izaya, things never stayed ordinary.

"So yeah, clearly a lot of interesting things going on in this city. And yet, you seem to have stayed away from the excitement, right?"

"Um, well, I guess."

"But, you were there the first day we saw each other. You saw my confrontation with Shizu-chan?"

"Yes." Akira confirmed quietly.

"When you heard the convenience store trash can crashing, why did you run towards the sound instead of away from it?"

"Um…I don't know actually."

"You're afraid of the crazy things that happen and yet curious about it." Izaya was looking at her as though he was trying to stare into her very soul. Despite how uncomfortable it made her, she found herself unable to move away. Like she was paralyzed. Even though she didn't answer, he continued as though she had.

"Is that like how you feel about me? You're excited by the concept of me but become filled with nerves whenever you're even close to me?"

Akira didn't know how to answer because she didn't even know. His face moving closer to hers was beginning to muddle her thinking.

"What if I were to kiss you right now? Which one would win out more? Your fear or your excitement?"

Akira wasn't sure if she could breathe.

"I think I know the answer more than you do, Akira-chan." His nose was almost touching hers now. They just stayed that close for a moment, neither one of them moving.

"Do you want me to kiss you Akira-chan?"

Akira opened her mouth to answer but no words would come out. Why was talking so much harder all of a sudden? His breath against her face seemed to be overwhelming her senses. Izaya chuckled shortly at her lack of response.

"Somehow, your silence is louder than almost anything you've said tonight."

He stayed there for a moment, almost like he was teasing her. Then he pulled away and began to stroke her hair. Then he stroked the side of her face. Gently, he pushed her down so that her back was lying on the couch. He was lying on top of, tangling his fingers in her hair, and smiling at her mischievously. She felt the warmth of his body as he laid on top of her. It felt nice, but…strange.

Akira gasped in surprise after landing on her back on the couch. She didn't know what was going on. Did she like it? She couldn't exactly say that she hated it. But despite that, she still felt very nervous.

What was the plan here? Akira didn't know what any of this meant. Was he going to kiss her? W-what else could it be?

Seeing her panicked expression caused Izaya to somewhat find pity in her. He soothingly moved his hands up and down her sides to calm her.

Akira felt herself relax somewhat into his gentle touches. They actually felt kind of nice.

Izaya then pressed a sweet kiss against her forehead. Then he began to slowly and gently kiss down the side of her face. He kissed her cheek, and then kissed along her jaw line. He paused just above her lips again. Akira let her eyes close as familiar lips pressed into hers.

It started as a sweet peck first. Then he pulled away briefly before threading his fingers into her hair and coming in for more of a kiss.

She had trouble placing how to describe what came over her when Izaya was kissing her.

Why do they seem so desperate? Could anyone really desire any part of her so much?

So sweet, warm, gentle yet fierce. The speed of the kiss seemed to be increasing more so than it had before. She couldn't even think about why, already being too overwhelmed by just how close he was to her everywhere.

She felt a smirk against her lips before he deepened the kiss. She gasped which caused him to deepen it even more. She made a surprised sound from the unexpected intrusion, which was muffled by their kissing.

W-what was that doing in there? A-and why? She couldn't exactly say she didn't like it. Somehow, she did, but it still took her off guard. She felt her heart rate speed up even more at realizing just how little she really knew about this kind of thing, and it scared her. He soothingly moved his hands over her sides, arms, and other areas of her body to relax her. She felt herself calm down again and allowed herself to give in.

She always ended up letting her guard down around him. Somehow his presence always made her feel protected and safe despite how much excitement he could bring to her while they were with each other.

He tilted his head so the kiss went even deeper.

This was definitely different, but maybe that was okay.

She began to lose track of time. How long were these things supposed to be? Had it been a while or barely any time at all? Her uncertainty of this just made her feel even more embarrassed. She felt like she was in a trance. Maybe even a dream. Could this even be real?

He pulled away for a moment and bit the bridge of her nose playfully.

"You know, Akira, I've noticed the only time you seem to not stutter around me is when I'm kissing you."

Akira felt herself blush and Izaya's giggles sent a strange warmth to her chest. Even though he wasn't kissing her at the moment, she kept her eyes closed, too overwhelmed and entranced to bother opening them.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything. You're just simply fascinating."

His warm lips brushed against her ear.

"And I find every part of you simply adorable." He whispered in a husky voice then blew warm air into her ear causing her to shiver.

"And I simply just can't get enough of it."

Could he really mean that? Could anyone truly feel that way about her?

She felt him nuzzle against her neck and then sniff her there, tickling her slightly. Another smirk was felt against her skin. He kissed her neck there and then began sucking and licking it there causing her to feel a strange sensation. Akira felt like she was becoming overwhelmed with all these strange new sensations. It scared her, so why couldn't she get him to stop? He wasn't forcing herself on her. She had made no indication that she didn't want any of this. Maybe she did want this, but she didn't exactly know what this was that she wanted. Kissing? Being physically close with anyone at all? Sure, she had never experienced anything like that before. After all, Izaya was her first kiss. She knew that wasn't the reason she was so torn though.

He pulled away from sucking on her neck and wrapped his arms around her so he was more embracing her now. Resting his head on her shoulder, yet his face was still touching her skin. She could feel he was breathing hard, although not as much as she was. She felt like she could hyperventilate right now. A hand reached up and stroke the side of her face as though sensing this. She felt herself involuntarily leaning into his touch, allowing the warm feeling it gave her. He smiled against her skin.

She felt him move up so that his forehead was resting against hers again. Slowly, almost teasingly so, he moved down to kiss her on the lips again, immediately going in for a deep one. It was gentle, and not as fast as the previous one. Like he was taking his time kissing her tenderly, deeply, and slowly. It made her melt more than the fast-paced kiss. Shyly, she began to kiss back, hoping she wouldn't disappoint him or anything. She really didn't know what she was doing, yet she tried to kiss him back deeply as well hoping she was doing it right. This seemed to encourage him though since he pulled her closer against him and kissed her even more.

She felt his arms trail down so they were resting on her hips. He slowly traced lazy circles against her hips then moved his hands inside her shirt, yet just above where they were before on her hips. Not going any higher up. He traced the same lazy circles on her skin, yet this time she could feel the warmth from his fingers more. They tingled in a nice way.

Akira felt her restraint melting away even more so and allowed herself to kiss back less reluctantly. The new kind of kissing he had seemingly introduced to her was beginning to come to her more naturally, despite how unsure she still felt about doing it correctly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him more into her. After her forward move, she felt him chuckle softly against her lips. Slowly he pulled away and disentangled himself from her arms.

"Maybe~ we should stop with that for now."

Akira just looked at him in confusion as he sat up, but he was giving her a warm smile. She had never seen him with a smile like that before. It wasn't his usual sexy smirk…did she just say sexy? Even in her own thoughts the word made her feel embarrassed and flustered. Anyways, despite it not being…like that, she decided she liked it. She almost felt like she was seeing something on the informant's face that very few got to see. Akira immediately tried to brush away such a ridiculous thought though.

This wasn't a rejection, she realized as her mind came back to the current situation, and blushed brightly again at her actions. He reached down for her, and she let him pull her back up to a sitting position. He gently placed her head so that it was resting against his shoulder, encouraging her to lean against him. The both of them slumped against the backs of the couch. It was nice and relaxing. The two of them just sitting there, being in each other's presence. Akira knew she was letting herself enjoy this more than she should be.

"I know you may find this hard to believer, Akira, but I actually do enjoy your company." Izaya started quietly. "I find it…"

There was a hesitation there.

"Refreshing you could almost say."

Akira wanted to just smile and accept the warmth the current moment was giving her, but for some reason she couldn't. There was still something bugging her that she just couldn't seem to forget. Carefully Akira lifted her head off of his shoulder and up to face him, despite how nerve-wracking it was to meet his eyes.

I mean like seriously, those eyes…

They were almost intimidating, but not in a scary way if that made any sense. He watched her with a glint of curiosity at her supposedly unexpected actions. She sighed and readied herself for what she was about to say. It was definitely embarrassing to say out loud, but she needed to know.

"I-Izaya…san- "

"I think at this point you can drop the formal honorific Akira-Chan~." Izaya stated with a chuckle, still eyeing her curiously. Why was he watching her like that? Akira blushed brightly again and took in a deep breath.

"Alright, um, I-Izaya- "Her voice shook as she said that, unsure how she felt about losing the honorific. This just caused him to laugh warmly again and she gave a small smile in spite of herself. Akira cleared her throat, asserting herself with what she was about to say.

"Why me?"

He raised an eyebrow at that, amusement still seeping into his facial features.

"I-I, mean, um, well…y-y-you could have any girl in the city…" She lost her resolve and avoided eye contact again yet continued to speak her mind, "S-s-so, w-why w-would you even bother with me? W-with a girl like me? W-why would you even bother paying me any attention? I know you know I like you. Sora's told me so many times in the past how painfully obvious I am, a-and I've heard from others that you're very smart. Especially with what you do for a living. In fact, some people were surprised that you didn't make a show of stomping on my heart. For some reason, I wasn't surprised that you hadn't done this to me, B-but I am surprised that you pay me any attention at all. T-that you kiss me…" Akira trailed of as she looked up to see his reaction. He looked as though he was contemplating something.

"Hmm~, well, I'm not sure if there's a simple answer to that Akira."

She shot him a confused look.

"I mean, there isn't one definite reason for why I interact with you I suppose, Akira. There's many factors. I typically don't favor any one person over the others, but I have found you more interesting than some other people lately. I'm not sure if that was the answer you were looking for, Akira-Chan, but it's the truth. You're interesting, and there's more than one reason. I mean," He leaned in close to her face again causing Akira's breath to catch. He chuckled at that.

"Your reactions to the things I do are simply adorable~." He chuckled some more as her blush burned again. He pulled his face away again.

"I imagine that I probably won't tire of you anytime soon." He stated quietly. Akira raised an eyebrow, not fully hearing or understanding what he said.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Oh nothing. Nothing at all. The point I was trying to make is that I enjoy being in your company, whether it be your innocent yet very sincere kisses or simply talking with you. Like with you being so new to the city."

Akira gave a small nod and looked down at her lap.

"Might I inquire what caused you to ask me that?"

"Um, well-well, uh…" Grr, would she ever stop feeling so mortified around this god-like guy?

"I-I just wasn't sure. I-I mean, you're j-just so attractive and I'm…" Akira answered in a very quiet voice, unable to finish her statement."

"Akira, I meant what I said-" The door to the apartment could be heard unlocking. That was either Sora or Sora's parents. Great. Akira did not look forward to having to explain this.