The question embarrassed Shizuo more than it should. Mostly because he did not know how to answer and was suddenly afraid of hurting Izaya's feelings. But Izaya was quietly arranging the cooking utensils on a counter. Shizuo did not know whether to be relieved or disappointed.
"Oh, no."
"Want some pointers? I am full of tips."
Shizuo's embarrassment was cut short as class began. He was not exactly a natural and ended up slicing right through the board cutting vegetables. In the end he was rather depressed.
"It's a lot harder than I thought, this cooking thing."
Aoba waltzed by.
"Well, hello."
Shizuo was immediately on the defensive.
"Kuronuma-san, I prepared something. Will you be so kind as try it?"
"Of course."
Shizuo was rather hurt despite himself but soon enough Aoba was coughing, tears running down his cheeks.
"You witch! What the hell is this?"
"It is my special wasabi ball surprise."
Kida giggled as Aoba attacked the water faucet to quench his burning throat. Aoba decided to leave, an angry glare on his wake.
"Izaya, just what exactly is that thing?"
Izaya's smile was blamelessly sweet.
"It is a surprise, Shizuo-sama."

Sonohara Anri was glad to have Izaya in her class. In the pecking order Izaya was even below her and that meant that she was safe from the vicious attacks of bullies. It was so until something changed. All of a sudden the new student became Izaya's bodyguard and no one dared as much as look at him the wrong way. And so it came to be, that she was again dead centre in the target for cowardly anger. But much worse then that was the feeling of her own unreality. It had never been absent but she could feel it developing in the opposite way a photograph did. Instead of the image gaining definition it lost it and became vague until it faded altogether.
Anri went through the days unsure of whether she existed. Even when she was acknowledged she could not quite shake the pervading fear of becoming invisible. She was running such thoughts through her mind when she received a letter. Something about a grand prize for the winner of a duel. Anri could feel an inner switch flipping. It flooded the landscape of her heart with strong light. The prize did not matter but dueling was a solid proof of her existence. It was putting it on the line and the only way of reclaiming it.
Anri was rather indifferent as she slipped on the black rose crested ring but she did feel a chill run down her spine as she picked up a wooden sword. Forget about revolutions, she had her own demons to slay.

That evening Shizuo and Izaya had chili for dinner, courtesy of Izaya's cooking skill.
"Wow, this is real good."
"Thank you, Shizuo-sama."
"No wasabi, huh."
Izaya's smile was very thin but gracious.
"I prepared chocolate mousse for dessert."
"Cool. You're a great cook, huh."
Shizuo devoured everything in sight.
"Ah, I'm full. Izaya, can you explain this part? I didn't really get it. I'm so bad at math."
Shizuo was almost bashful as he produced a book and leafed through it.
"This equation, Shizuo-sama?"
"Yeah…the teacher talks to fast, and I didn't have the heart to ask. Cuz it'd make me look stupid, you know?"
Izaya actually blinked and immediately arranged his glasses.
"Perhaps it helps to think of it as a puzzle. You need to find the missing pieces 'x' and 'y'."
Shizuo peered into the book alongside him, elbows almost touching.
"A puzzle? As in, something fun?"
"Yes, Shizuo-sama. For example, 'x+3=5'. What value does 'x' have?"
"Hmm…2?"
"Yes, Shizuo-sama. This is the basic process."
"Man, when you put it like that I feel like I can totally figure it out. But then I see these long lines of numbers, and parenthesis and letters and my head starts hurting."
Izaya's smile became limpid and almost translucid.
"You need only solve everything bit by bit."
"Yeah, that's good. Thinking ahead is not my thing. Say, have you been adding mistakes all the time?"
"Yes, Shizuo-sama."