I'm a high schooler with no job. Do you really think I own DRRR ?

"So, you're back." His maroon eyes glinted in a way that made her shudder.

"Looks like it." She kept her voice steady and devoid of any emotion that he could use against her. She knew how this man worked, and she knew that it was suicide to give him any information.

"Does Shizu-chan know?" The tone in his voice made it obvious that it wasn't a question she needed to answer.

"What's it to you, broker?"

"You never call me that." The manic laugh she abhorred bubbled out from his throat. She cursed herself mentally, kicking herself for slipping up, and she knew that things could only go downhill from here. His voice, calm after his fit, shook her out of her self-deprecating thoughts. "Maybe I should tell him; I'm sure it he'd be upset you didn't let him know you've come back to us." Her eyes widened, and she silently hoped he wouldn't notice.

"Or… Maybe I won't…" A smirk danced across his lips as he pushed away from the desk with just enough force to send him, and the spinning chair he loved, a few feet away.

His fingers slowly threaded themselves together, and he peered at her from behind lying eyes. "What is it worth?" He rose from his chair with a dancer's grace. "What would you give me not to tell him?"

Shit. She should've known better than to come and visit him, even if he was the only one with the information she needed.

"Why should you bother to go out of your way to talk to him?" She needed to get out, now, before he found out why she was truly here.

"Oo. Good point there, tanuki!" Her teeth ground together at the nickname, but she kept up the smile she'd plastered on when she'd first walked into his office.

"Well, first of all, tanuki, it might just make him interesting." His voice turned into sugar-coated steel. "And it might just make him break."

She felt as if her heart was about to beat it's way out of her chest, but she knew better than to show any signs of that, so instead, she just smiled, and sipped thoughtfully at the tea he'd given her

"Maybe. But what if you're wrong? What if he just breaks you instead?" Take the bluff, Izaya, take the bluff.

He was too smart to fall for that pitiful lie, however, and it only made his smile widen.

"I forgot how fun it was to play with you, tanuki! You always were my favourite human." He didn't seem to care that she didn't consider herself a plaything he could amuse himself with. But why would he? He loved her, just like he loved every human (with the exception of a certain blonde strongman), and wasn't that enough?

"I suppose I should thank you for that." To deny her status as a toy would only serve to amuse him farther, and nothing was scarier than a happy Izaya.

"So, your payment." Scratch that; Izaya in business mode was ten times more terrifying. At least when he was happy, he tended to let things slide, but not now; he was watching her like a hawk.

"Why should I accept your terms? What if I don't care if he finds out I'm back?" Another pathetic bluff.

"If you didn't, you would have left a long time ago, tanuki, and you would've complained about that tea." A predator's grin tugged at his lips as he spun deftly in place.

She slowly licked her lips, trying to think of something, anything, that would get her out of this office alive and not in debt with the notorious information broker.

"I love watching you humans think! It's so endearing!" He had stopped fiddling with his modified chess set, and he was now a few feet away from her, leaning against the huge Plexiglas window that peered into the heart of Shinjuku.

A foul taste invaded her mouth, and it had nothing to do with the tea. She was trapped, and there was nothing she could feasibly do to escape this situation.

"Fine. Name your price."

Aww yee!

It's an update, bby! It's a short one, but it's better than nothing, right? :D

Sorry it took so long, guys, but I've been unsure as to where I want to go with this story, and I'm still kind of iffy as to the exact details, but I've definitely got the ball rolling.

I hate to leave you guys with a cliffy of sorts, but I need to work out exactly what I want to happen next.

Leave any thoughts, ideas or hypothesis' in the comments!

~Peace, love and cheeseburgers.