[Izaya's POV]

"Yeah.. no.. Yeah, sorry Shinra. Maybe, uhm… Friday night? Yeah, Friday would work. Kay.. Yeah, okay, alright. Cya then." the informant mumbled into the phone, finally hanging up after about 20 minutes of pointless chatter. At least he'd gotten to plan something for him and Kasuka to do after tomorrow, since Izaya put off their chances for a date tonight. I probably shouldn't have ignored Kasu-kun like that.. He does make me feel better, and he wouldn't really ask me about Kyouko if I told him I didn't want to talk about it, either. Too late now.. he thought to himself, looking at the phone in his hand for another moment before turning his gaze to the computer in front of him.

He'd already gotten a whole assignment done in less than 2 hours, which made him confident that he could finish another by the end of tomorrow, but he really didn't feel like working anymore. Sure, he'd used it as an excuse because he really did want to distract himself from family affairs, but now that he'd already gotten something done and Kasuka had effectively cheered him up, he knew there was really no point in drowning himself in work again.

Izaya sighed softly as he took another bite of ootoro, a box of it sitting next to his computer on the desk, while he picked up his phone again and started texting his boyfriend, letting him know that Shinra and Celty wanted a double date on Friday night. I hope this still counts as a special date - he was probably hoping for us to go out alone. he worried to himself, setting it back down as he got into a chatroom, pleasantly surprised to find it almost full. Well, it is almost 7. Most would be out of school by now.

Izaya glanced at the username he was using for a second, trying to remember which attitude he used for it before turning his attitude into a bubbly one, smiling to himself as everyone else in the chatroom reacted freely to the mass of emoticons he stuck after a sentence. So gullible for a few smiling characters on a screen. Pathetic. The informant continued chatting for a while as he hummed to himself, still waiting for a reply as he aimlessly watched a group of teenagers nag about a new game that wasn't as good as expected, a school dance that had gone wrong, someone cheering about good grades while another was passively listening, most of the comments from that listening student being sarcastic. He tabbed out for a second and started looking for a song to listen to before coming back to the chat and directing the conversation towards activity in the city, asking about any mishaps and casually starting rumors to make something happen instead.

Nothing, absolutely nothing. Not a word about Dragon Zombie, the Blue Squares, the Yellow Scarves.. The city's been creepily dead for a while, I wonder what's going on…

Another user logged in and joined in the conversation soon after, chattering away with the others about what they thought of the lull in action lately. Everyone seemed to agree with him that it was odd for nothing to be happening, like it was an omen or something. Not that he believed in omens, but if they did then he would certainly type his agreement, as long as it kept them talking. Someone, at some point, mentioned that "Ikebukuro's Strongest Men" hadn't been seen much as of lately, and even more rarely been seen together or fighting. Someone noted that the last time they were seen together, they were both running, but it didn't look like a normal fight.

The informant laid back for this part of the conversation, only typing the usual agreement or question as he watched the lot of them bicker about what could be happening to them or between them. One person suggested that they both had just gotten tired of fighting, of being near each other; another suggested that both of them had gotten dragged into something much worse in the underground and were currently too busy for chasing each other, which wasn't far from the truth; another person suggested that they had started to like each other. That comment almost made him throw up his ootoro, and in response, he quickly typed a rejection followed by quite a few statements reasoning how this couldn't be very possible.

Ick… If people are gonna start thinking anything of me, it's not gonna be that I'm friends with him. he told himself, a scowl on his face as he adamantly typed away the situation, relaxing a little when most seemed to agree with him and his reasoning before ending that part of the conversation. He switched it back to the useless chatter about school-life before excusing himself to bed and logging out, sighing as he leaned back in his chair. There was a moment of nothing before his phone finally went off to let him know Kasuka had texted him back, the informant checking and smiling lightly as Kasuka said he couldn't wait for Friday, once again apologizing about being busy tomorrow.

[It's alright, really. I have something to do tomorrow too, so don't worry about it.]

[What are you up to?]

[I'm going somewhere with my sisters, that's all.]

[Oh. Did you go see them today too?]

Izaya frowned a little as he pondered whether to deny it or tell the truth, not really wanting to tell him about his mother or his grandparents, at least not while they were still in town. If he started to tell him everything then Kasuka would ask questions, and knowing how well Kasuka could get him to talk, the actor would get him to spill just about everything that he was upset about concerning his mother. Then he'll just ask more questions and then we'll get to the topic of dad or I'll tell him that she's the one that made me work like this and then he'll probably get mad at her and/or demand to see her… That's way too much baggage for him.. I'll let him know everything once they're gone, maybe. It'll be easier. the informant decided, biting his lip as he told him, [Yeah, I did. I didn't stay long though, they went out shopping for city fashion.]

[Cool. And sorry about this, but the director invited me and my manager out tonight, so I won't be able to text much for a while..]

[That's fine. Have fun, don't get drunk, try to get home before 4 am, all that stuff. Goodnight, Kasu-kun.] he sent with a smile, knowing Kasuka was probably already counting the minutes until he could get home again from his outing. The actor always hated going out on work events, especially ones where you eat or drink or do karaoke; it was like a punishment to him, despite it really being the opposite.

[Goodnight, Iza-chan~]

Izaya smiled at his phone one more time before sending a text to his sisters finally, asking where they wanted to meet up the next day. He got back to work with a content sigh, feeling 20 times better already.

Chapter 106!

Yaaay, some more filler!

Kind of, not really, but yeah really.

It's more just a chapter to show what's going on in the city and with the people in it than with them, though I did try to keep it interesting with them chatting like lovey-doves.

Hope you guys aren't bored yet…

I hope you all liked this chapter! Favorite, follow and review to see more!