I only had one more job to take care of after the scumbag that I had punched in the face. That's the most people I've had to deal with in just one day in about two years. It was getting dark as I walked toward Shinra's house. At least the last scumbag had only lived a little over two blocks away from him. When I reached the bottom of the stairs that led to his apartment, a thought made me pause. Why do I want to rescue Izaya? What has he ever done for me? But then I shook the thoughts out of my head. No one deserved to be kidnapped and held, not even the flea. And it was my fault that he was in this situation. With my recovered conviction, I stormed up the stairs and through Shinra's door.

"All right, where are those bastards keeping Izaya?"

"Shizuo, at least sit down first." These words caused me to pause for a second and notice a certain someone sitting in the chair across from Shinra.

"What the hell is she doing here?"

"I have a name. It is Namie. I don't get paid unless I have a boss, so I'm going to help you."

"I have to go in alone or they will kill Izaya."

"Okay, Shizuo, just sit down and I will explain the plan." Shinra urged, doing hand motions that he must have thought were calming. I obeyed and took a seat, looking up at him expectantly.

"Ahem, now, you will go in alone. I am going to set up a back-up team, but we will wait a block away."

"But…"

"Shizuo, just listen. I'll explain it. We won't get him killed. We will wait a block away. You will have an earpiece. We can talk to you if you get in a tight situation. If we hear signs that you are not going to make it out with Izaya, we will head in. However, we cannot storm in before you free Izaya. I'm afraid you are on your own until then."

"I told you that I could do this on my own. We don't need to put anyone else in danger."

"We will not put anyone else in danger unless you are too beat up to take Izaya and get out. Izaya may also be baggage instead of an asset. We don't know what they have done to him."

"What do you think they've done?"

"Hopefully they've done nothing, but that's unlikely since they seem to have a bone to pick with him."

Then Namie pulled out the ear device. She may not show that she cares about her boss's well-being but it was evident in her cutting off the topic that she didn't want to hear of the possibility of him being hurt.

"I can turn it on for you before you go." Namie said, putting the earpiece back in its case.

"Thank you."

"Okay, they have Izaya in a warehouse on the outskirts of Shinjuku. We will drive by it before you go in." Shinra explained.

"Anything else I need to know? When do I have to do this?"

"They want you to be there at eight tomorrow night. So be there by seven."

"Okay, I'll call Tom and ask for tomorrow off."

"I'll let you go home and rest. Try to get some sleep."

"I will. See you tomorrow."

. . . .

I was about half way home when I remembered that I needed to call Tom. I just hope he is still awake since it's pretty late. I pulled out my phone and called him, hoping he would answer. He didn't pick up the first time, but my phone rang after a few minutes. I feel bad about asking off, but I need to be 100% ready tomorrow night. I dug my phone back out of the pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello." I stopped and leaned against a building. I started to watch all the people walking by. I can see how Izaya finds this interesting.

"Hey. Sorry I didn't answer a minute ago, I was in the shower."

"Don't worry about it, it's my fault for calling so late."

"No, it's fine. What did you want?"

"I know this is really late notice, but can I have tomorrow off?"

"Yeah, I think the amount of people we took care of today is enough to count for two days."

"Yeah." I let out a nervous chuckle.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, something just came up that I have to take care of tomorrow."

"You need help?"

"No, that's fine. Just helping out a … friend." I heard him laugh on the other end and briefly wondered if he had somehow figured it out, but there was no way he would know. It must just be me being paranoid.

"If you need help with anything, call me. I'm happy to help out a friend too."

"Okay, I will Tom. Thank you."

"No problem, bye." I flipped my phone shut and shoved it back in my pocket. Instead of continuing on my way however, I stayed leaning against the rough brick wall. Maybe I'll try this people watching thing more often.

Of all the people who are passing me, a few stand out. A mother walks by with her daughter. The daughter is smiling, practically glowing in the dark. She looks as if she is lost in a story. The mother looks happy, but has a little concern written in the lines of her face. I imagine that the daughter has probably fallen head over heels for somebody and is telling her mom about them. Being a mother, of course she is happy that her daughter is happy. The concern could be that it could end up not working out. Her daughter could end up getting her heart broken.

People watching is fun. After all, you can create stories behind the way they look in a few passing seconds. Wait…. When did I become a romantic? And since when did I start enjoying something that Izaya enjoys? People watching is creepy; an invasion of privacy! I don't have anything in common with that filthy flea! I need to get home and rest.