Izaya woke up approximately two hours later to an empty apartment, a cold cup of tea and a bowl of soup whose contents appeared remarkably similar to stagnant dishwater that had developed a film on top. He wrinkled his nose in distaste and tipped them both down the kitchen sink. He could probably have reheated them, but he didn't trust Namie's cooking or the unappetizing appearance of the dish. His fridge yielded no better options, although a mouldy avocado was a close competitor. Eventually, he decided that he'd just swing by Russia Sushi. There were plenty of other restaurants that he could eat at in Shinjuku, but the places that he trusted to obtain his sustenance were strictly limited to Russia Sushi and the supermarket. He had enemies everywhere, and Izaya was pretty sure that all it'd take would be some cash pushed in the direction of the waiters or waitresses for him to end up spiked, or even poisoned. He'd heard tales before of yakuza traitors being poisoned with anti-freeze, and it wouldn't surprise him if one of his own enemies decided to employ a similar tactic. Although it'd probably be Nakura that they'd end up killing instead of him...
"Hmmm...perhaps I should give my dear friend Nakura a call." Izaya's face split into a sadistic grin as he settled himself at his desk chair, thoughts of food forgotten
RING. RING. RING. RING. RING. RI-
"Hello?"
"Is that my dear friend Nakura-san~?" Izaya sang, twirling his switchblade between thin fingers and positively beaming.
"What do you want this time?" Nakura's tone of voice immediately switched from neutral to hostile.
"Now, now - I'd be a little more polite if I were you, Nakura-san."
Nakura fell deathly silent, goosebumps breaking out over his skin at the ice in Izaya's tone.
"How do you feel about a little meet-up, Nakura-san? You're clearly in the spirit of reunion after all, and I must say, I'm a little hurt that I didn't get an invite."
"What - what are you talking about?"
"Why, Amphisbaena of course! I assume that you're still in contact with our most treasured friend?"
"W-who...who do you mean?"
"Ahh, Nakura-san, your stupidity never ceases to amaze me. Let's play a game, shall we? What feeds on detritus and crawls underground?"
"Um, a worm? Earthworm?! I...how...you don't know what you're talking about!" Nakura hissed, gripping his phone more tightly. "You've never even met her."
"You don't have to meet somebody to have a strong interest in them. Just look at Ruri-chan and all her fans! Besides, I'm sure you know that from being on the receiving end of such a feat, Nakura-san."
"Stop messing with me! Just tell me what you want."
"I want you to trap Earthworm."
"Trap her? But how?"
Izaya felt more powerful with every word. Not having control of his own life was so secondary and unimportant when it took only a few words to have Nakura shaking and desperate to follow his every whim.
"I'm sure you already have an idea of what I'm going to say. Of course, you recall that Earthworm had somewhat of an obsession with you, and probably still does. Use that to organize a 'date' of sorts. It's up to you how you do it. You can get her drunk enough that she'll blindly follow you to the warehouse where I wish to meet her, or you can slip something into her drink. I have a feeling that Nakura-san will go with the first one though - he always wanted to be a leader, didn't he?"
Nakura swallowed nervously. He hated Orihara Izaya. He hated him more than anything.
"When?"
"Within the next day." Izaya hung up, feeling incredibly smug and wholly deserving of some otoro. At this rate, he might even have some drinks of his own. The two hours sleep had improved his mood dramatically, and seeing his plans fall into place gave him an adrenaline rush like no other besides being chased by Shizuo. Ahh, maybe it was time to pay a little visit to Shizu-chan...
Heiwajima Shizuo was in a very conflicted mood. On the one hand, he didn't have any food in his fridge, and after being sent another bill from the council for public property that he had broken (with warnings of legal action this time) it was a pleasant relief that Celty had invited him for dinner. For a being that had no need to eat or drink, her cooking wasn't all bad - and even though Shinra could be highly irritating, Celty kept him under control for the most part. What bothered Shizuo was the fact that Shinra and Celty were talking about Izaya.
"Sleeping pills?" Shizuo asked unenthusiastically, swallowing some bibimbap (Celty was on a Korean cooking drive at the moment).
"Yeah," Shinra nodded "he came here this morning asking for them. Who knows what he's got planned this time!" He sighed dramatically, pouring another cup of sake for Shizuo.
[I took him to his apartment this evening, actually. He didn't look very well at all.]
"He can go and die for all I care - it'd be nice to have him out of my hair for once."
[But you don't really mean that, Shizuo.]
"I do." Shizuo jabbed his chopsticks viciously into a piece of meat, conversation about the Flea making him feel as though he should find him and kill him with his bare hands with immediate effect.
"Hasn't he been 'out of your hair' for a while now, Shizuo-kun? When did you last see him?"
"About three weeks ago, I think?" Shizuo paused, chewing thoughtfully. "It's the longest he's stayed away since I met him…he must be planning something big this time."
[Or there really is something going on with him.]
"I thought that you didn't like him, Celty?"
[And I thought that you did, Shinra.] Celty scolded.
"Hmm, well I wouldn't say that I like him, but he is my friend I suppose."
"Why did you take him back to his apartment? I thought that he usually just stunk up the trains instead." Shizuo quipped darkly.
[I was worried about him. He seemed really out of it, and he pulled his knife on me - he said that he had a migraine when I asked what was going on.]
"He pulled his knife on you?! That's it, I'M GOING TO KILL THE FUCKER!" Shizuo squeezed his sake cup so hard that it shattered, the liquid pooling on the glass table.
[Wait, Shizuo! I don't think he knew who I was when he threatened me.]
"That's no excuse." Shizuo growled, feeling slightly embarrassed that he had once again managed to break Shinra's tableware. "Maybe he's been taking drugs or some shit, it wouldn't be the first fucked up thing he's done." Oh, how he would love to see the Flea become addicted to something other than fighting with him.
[That's enough! I'm genuinely concerned about him, and none of you are taking me seriously. What if something happens to him? What if he pulls a knife on the wrong person next time?]
"He shouldn't be carrying weapons around anyway. With all due respect, I didn't come here to talk about the Flea. I'd be glad if something happened to him after all that he's done to me - he's been going out of his way to ruin my life since I met him, and it's about time something shitty happened to him too so that he can get a taste of his own fucking medicine!"
"Shizuo-kun! Mind your language at the dinner table, please."
[Look, Shizuo - I know that you and Izaya-kun have a bad history together, but maybe you should consider making amends? This warring can't go on forever...all of these council bills are causing you a lot of financial strain, and I'm sure that fighting with him makes you feel stressed all of the time.]
"On the contrary, the exercise that Shizuo gets from chasing Izaya releases adrenaline and endorphins linked to positive mood, which consequently affiliates them with stress relie-OW!" Shinra clutched his arm with a face of mock hurt as Celty abruptly cut him off with a sharp blow to the bicep. He sighed and turned back to Shizuo, fiddling with the arms of his glasses.
"In any case, I agree with Celty. I mean, look at how you reacted to what my darling said." Shinra plucked the broken cup from Shizuo's hand and pushed it towards the edge of the table.
"I don't know how you think I'm going to become friends with someone who's been fucking me around for years."
"We're not suggesting that you make friends - just that you make...a truce!" Shinra smiled encouragingly and looked at Celty for reassurance, but Celty was busy gazing at her phone (if you could call it that) before she began tapping a new message frantically, her shadows moving chaotically as though struck by gale force winds.
[Anri-chan is missing. Mikado-kun says that she wasn't in school after lunchtime, and when they went to her home to see why she'd left school early she wasn't there either. She isn't replying to any of her messages.]
"Missing? Isn't it a bit soon to say that? There's probably a simple explanation; perhaps Anri-chan went to the shop and forgot to take her phone with her?"
"But she wouldn't be at the shops for hours on end. It sounds like that Mikado kid has been trying for a good few hours."
[Longer than that. Mikado-kun and Kida-kun have been trying to get in contact with her since 1 pm.]
Shizuo looked at the clock on the wall with a frown. It was nearing 9 pm now.
[I think that we should go and look for her.]
The movement of the train was enough to make Izaya feel sleepy again, but the ringing of his phone quickly snapped him back into reality before he could nod off. The number on the screen was listed as withheld, but, as Izaya was accustomed to receiving such calls, he thought nothing of it as he pressed the answer button.
"Orihara Izaya." The voice came before he had the chance to say hello, and sounded decidedly mal-intentioned.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I know what you want.
There was a pause as Izaya looked around the train carriage suspiciously, failing to notice Akabayashi discreetly tucked into the crowds.
"Oh, and what's that?"
"I think you already know. Meet me at the bar opposite Russia Sushi. Half nine, sharp."
"I'm afraid I already have other arrangements." This was a lie of sorts. Izaya's evening plans consisted of having some otoro in Russia Sushi and watching his humans, but the voice on the other end of the line compelled him to hide the truth. There was something vaguely familiar about it, yet the ambiguity of the message was so enticing Izaya was almost tempted to go and see what it was all about.
"And I'm afraid that you'll have to cancel these arrangements if you want to get what you want." Akabayashi watched Izaya's reflection in the window morph from one of interest to a scowl as Akabayashi ended the call abruptly. He watched as Izaya immediately began to text somebody else.
[Nakura-san. I know what you're trying to do.]
Nakura fidgeted uncomfortably on the stool in Russia Sushi where he sat with Earthworm.
"I wanted to warn you before he gets to you."
"Oh?" Earthworm smiled sweetly, sipping her drink as she gazed at Nakura with interest. He was a plain looking man, lacking any defining features. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Medium height. No freckles, no piercings of note, no tattoos, no gap between his teeth, nothing. Earthworm remembered how when she had known Nakura in middle school, he had identical moles on either side of his face. Those were gone now. Still, Earthworm felt drawn to him. There was something about somebody so ordinary and featureless that made them the most precious of goods - easily malleable and easy to mark as her own.
"And how exactly did he plan to 'get' me?"
Nakura's eyes darted around, as though he was expecting to see Izaya any minute.
"He wanted me to drug you and bring you to a warehouse." He mumbled eventually, fingers tensing as he gripped his own knees.
"I see. He knows where our base is. So the rumours about him are true." Earthworm's long, painted nails tapped along the stem of her wineglass, smiling as though she were playing a highly amusing game.
"He's going to regret ever messing with you, Nakura-san. Now, what does he usually drink?"
"It depends. We haven't met very often...one time he didn't have anything to drink, the next he had bottled water and the other time he had whisky."
"Is there a pattern to this?"
Nakura frowned, scratching his head absentmindedly. "The two times he had nothing or water were in the day, and the time that he had whisky was here in the evening, but he'd ordered it before I arrived. I think he'd just finished eating."
"And were the other two times elsewhere?"
Nakura nodded. Seeing her chance, Earthworm acted quickly.
"Excuse me, Simon! Can I see that bottle, please?" She asked, pointing at an expensive looking whisky bottle on the shelf.
Simon handed it to her, watching as her fingers delicately traced the characters.
"I've heard great things about this whisky! Do people order it a lot?"
"Yes, it's favourite with regular customers."
"Do you have lots of regular customers?"
"Dotachin, Erika, Walker, Togusa, Mikado, Kida, Anri sometimes, Shizu-o, Izaya…"
"Ahh, Izaya. I'm a friend of his. It's his birthday soon, but he's so mysterious I never know what to get him!" Earthworm pouted, pretending to think before continuing. "I was thinking of getting him a bottle of something…" She trailed off, looking at Simon hopefully.
"He like this!" Simon gestured towards the bottle, beaming happily. "I thought birthday in May, you get present too early." He moved away as the chef beckoned him, and Earthworm nudged Nakura hard in the ribs.
"The drug!" She hissed. Nakura dug the bottle (which looked like a Calpol container) out of his pocket, and snatching it under the counter, Earthworm decanted a generous serving into the whisky bottle, pouring far more than necessary for good measure.
"What if somebody else drinks it?" Nakura whispered, strained.
"It'd be a small loss. There's not much left in the bottle, anyway." She whispered back replacing the bottle on the counter. "Thank you, Simon!"
She laughed shortly. "That was too easy. Now we go to the bar over the road and wait until we see him come out. It takes about 15 minutes for it to work."
Approximately 25 minutes later, Orihara Izaya mistook his feelings of drowsiness and dizziness as symptoms for his lack of sleep.
30 minutes later, the last thing that Orihara Izaya saw before his eyelids fell shut was a blurry-faced Nakura and a blonde woman named Earthworm.
Akabayashi watched from the safety of his car as Nakura carelessly hefted Izaya over his shoulder and began to walk deeper into the maze of back alleys with a woman clad in a revealing purple dress.
"Shiki-san? Yes. They've got the informant."