Note: This is based off the hotpot party scene from the 4th volume/2nd season's 4th episode/OVA. Also, the ending might be a bit rushed - it's been a while since I uploaded anything from this fic, after all.

[Hey, do you happen to be good at cooking by any chance?]

Anri remembered the words from Celty's PDA when the Headless Rider appeared on her doorstep. Knowing that she was a terrible cook, Anri shook her head regrettably. If she were to lay a hand upon any kitchen equipment, who knows what could happen? A five-star meal would be out of her reach, that's for sure.

And somehow, the lack of culinary skill followed the bespectacled girl all the way to Celty's apartment. Pretty soon, she found herself observing the culinary exquisiteness of Mika Harima, along with Erika Karisawa and Seiji Yagiri; and soon after, she heard the newly-arrived Shinra Kishitani announce that they were going to host a hotpot party and invite a lot of their friends in the process.

At first, Anri didn't know how to react - she rarely ever attended parties, much less a hotpot one. In fact, she didn't even know how to properly act in such a festive setting. It was only after the arrival of Erika's gang and Shinra's stepmother - as well as Mikado confirming his invitation over the phone - that Anri truly began to feel comfortable eating food with some familiar faces.

However, the arrival of another familiar face had put Anri's complete ease to the test.

"Ah, Shizuo! You're here!"

Anri immediately jolted upon hearing Shinra answer the door with welcome arms, only for the blonde man to return the greeting with a small grumble. Heiwajima-san is here, too? she quickly thought. It was only the reminder that Shizuo was closely acquainted with Shinra and Celty that prevented her from asking why he was here (but not for hostile reasons).

Anri was serving drinks to various tables before she decided to take a brief look at the host and his new-found guest. Trying not to cause attention, she quietly crept away from the party-goers until she was near the hallway's entrance. Cautiously, Anri placed herself behind one of the entrance's sides, and tilted her head slightly so that she could see without exposing herself too much. What she saw was the jolly host repeatedly expressing his gratitude for the surprising appearance, while the dapper guest simply brushed off the enthusiastic comments as he tucked his blue sunglasses in his pocket.

Seeing the bartender without his sunglasses, Anri remarked on how relaxed Shizuo's features were. No bulging veins, no irritable scowl, no piercing glare - none of that at all. Instead, all he had was this serene look in his exposed amber eyes. It was quite a while ago since Anri last saw him, so she wondered if Shizuo had somehow changed by any chance.

Her observation didn't last long though - Shizuo quickly took notice of her protruding from the hallway's sides, causing the girl to cower in alarm. She hurriedly darted back to the party, trying to recover her composure.

Anri felt her heart pounding, but she couldn't figure out why. Was it the possibility of Saika going haywire again? Was it the possibility of seeing Shizuo again at a time like this? Or was it the possibility that the two would just brush paths again like she always expected?

He's going to ignore me again, she sadly thought.

Just then, a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Ah!"

Anri, startled by the sudden touch, promptly turned around to see whose hand it belonged to. The hand belonged to a dark, supernatural being alright.

Just not the bartender.

"C-Celty-san!"

Celty Sturluson had noticed Anri creeping away from the party, and had observed the girl's face when she was darting back. Knowing that she hardly acted like this, the Headless Rider typed on her PDA, [Anri, what's wrong?] Reading the question, Anri didn't know how to respond.

"Um... umm... it's, uh..." As she struggled to find the right words, Anri shifted her sights on Shizuo, who was now sitting with Erika's gang across the room. Soon, Celty looked in the same direction.

[Is it about someone who's here?]

"Uh, well..." Without coming up with a proper response, Anri slowly nodded. It only took a few seconds for Celty to figure out who was Anri worried about.

[Is it about Shizuo?]

Surprised by how Celty quickly deduced the point-blank reason for her anxiety, Anri pursed her lips and looked downwards. What the bespectacled girl didn't know was that the Headless Rider also noticed how she ran away around the same time the bartender entered the festive scene. Embarrassed, Anri didn't want to cause problems with the co-host about her closest friend.

Then again, Celty knew that Anri was the wielder of Saika. She also knew that Saika was obsessed with Shizuo and tried to take possession of him, only to fail spectacularly in the process. And since Shizuo made complete sure to put the cursed blade in its rightful place, it didn't seem likely that Ikebukuro would suffer another Saika outbreak again.

Come to think of it, Celty remembered of how Anri got upset as soon as Shizuo left after the Dollars' successful rescue mission. Maybe something bad happened between them? Celty would be shocked if they shared any bad blood, because she knew that both of them weren't hostile people - well, Shizuo's not if someone didn't actively piss him off. Whatever the case, the party seemed like a good opportunity for the two to patch things up, and maybe even get to know each other better.

Celty continued typing, making Anri break from her downward gaze. [Hey now, don't get so worked up.]

"Huh?"

[We're at a party right now, so you'll feel better if you stay relaxed at the moment.]

"Oh, right..." Anri eased herself upon realizing where she was. In order to help her ease even further, Celty typed down a surprising request.

[For starters, why don't you offer him something to drink?]

Anri blinked upon reading the request. "A drink?"

[Yes, a drink.]

"I'm not so sure..."

[Don't worry. Shizuo may seem like a grump most of the time, but deep down he's a really nice person.]

Despite some hesitations, Anri ultimately decided to trust Celty. The Black Rider was Shizuo's good friend after all. "Is that so..."

[You'll like him, I promise. And I can also guarantee that he'll like you too.]

Anri couldn't help but flush a bit by her words. Celty probably meant it in a friendly way, but still...

Meanwhile, Shizuo was across the room, ignoring the otaku babbling coming out of Erika and her friend Walker Yumasaki's mouths. Chatterboxes were another button that set him off, but he ultimately decided to spare them just for Kyohei Kadota's sake. Besides, Saburo Togusa already got that part handled.

"Dammit, when will you two ever stop blabbering about your anime obsession just for freakin' once?!"

Shizuo let out a resigned sigh. He knew that Togusa was never going anywhere with those two, them being stuck in their 2D dreamland after all. It was times like these that Shizuo wished there were more peaceful folks at the party, like Kadota or Celty.

Or maybe that girl he noticed earlier...

Speaking of which, a soft, feminine voice called out to him.

"H-hello..."

Shizuo broke from his train of thought and looked up to see who it was.

"It's been a while, Heiwajima-san." She was standing like a shy waitress, clutching a tray to her chest.

"Oh, it's you. Uh..." It was hard for him to resist the urge to ask her name again.

"Anri Sonohara," the girl quickly said, bowing slightly as a form of politeness. "I mean, that is my name - Anri Sonohara."

Shizuo was stunned. Did this girl predict exactly what he was going to say? He really needed to improve the way he introduces himself to her.

"Um, may I get you something to drink? Juice? Beer?"

Not wanting to come off as more awkward than before, Shizuo gave his brief answer. "Milk would be fine. Please."

Milk? thought Anri. It surprised her to hear a request like that, since milk wasn't something typically served at hotpot parties. But Anri didn't have any objections, so she headed to the fridge to get the carton of milk. Returning back, she delivered the carton to him. "Here you go."

"Thanks," replied Shizuo. As he opened the carton, he brought himself to ask Anri a somewhat obvious question. "So, uh... not to sound blunt, but... how did you know what I was gonna say next?"

"Hmm?"

"Just earlier, when you introduced yourself to me."

"Oh, right..." said Anri. A small red tint appeared on her cheeks. "It's just that, well... you would always ask for my name whenever we met, but I was never able to tell you. So here I am now, telling you who I am." Anri bowed again. "I'm sorry if I came off as too abrupt though."

Like Shizuo thought, he really needed to improve the way he introduces himself to the girl. "No, if there's anyone that should be sorry, it's me. I suck at remembering names, that's all." If his words weren't sincere, then his regretful expression certainly was.

Anri's blush intensified. While she had humble thoughts, she felt surprisingly touched in how the bartender had actually regretted not remembering her name. She always thought that he didn't care for her much; but even then, she didn't hold any grudges against him. "Y-you don't have to apologize! We never saw each other often, so I thought it was expected for you to not get my name the first time!"

"Or the second," muttered Shizuo, who still recalled the time when the girl expressed concern for his gunshot wounds.

"It doesn't matter! I wasn't bothered by it at all, really!" Well, not completely, but Anri didn't want to put all the blame on him. "Sonohara isn't a name to be easily remembered anyways!"

"Well, can I just call you Anri?"

Anri's heart skipped a beat. They weren't even close friends, yet already he was asking to refer to her by her first name. But considering Shizuo's nature, and the fact that her name was short enough for him to remember, she might as well go with it. "Y-yes..." answered Anri, breathlessly.

With that confirmation, a small, relieved smile appeared on Shizuo's lips. "Anri, huh? Not a bad name, now that I think about it."

Anri felt that she did more than enough to serve the bartender. "Um, if you need anything, I'll just be over there..." She turned around and was about to leave the table.

"Hey," Shizuo called.

Anri turned to face him.

"When this is over, do you wanna chat outside?"