Sorry for the wait! I've been so busy and I've taken a small break from writing. It's good to relax your fingers! xD But we're back to business, and here's Izaya~!

It felt good to be back in Ikebukuro. As much as traveling the country with no direction in mind was thrilling, nothing could beat the lively energy of the city. Izaya stood on the roof of his apartment complex, precariously balancing on the edge as he stared down on his beloved humans.

"Did you miss me?"

Ahh, he knew they missed him. He turned on his phone again for the first time in two months, and was bombarded with calls and e-mail messages from angry clients. They truly needed him, and he let them go so easily.

That's just how Izaya was. He never made bonds between others. Never let himself get close. To be shackled down by emotions and relationships was something Izaya never wanted.

He was born to be free. To be his own being; thriving high above the others.

Hopping off the ledge and back onto the safety of the rooftop, he walked briskly to the stairwell. The raven knew he couldn't laze around all day staring at the unaware people below him. He had work to catch up on.

With a sigh, Izaya skipped down the steps until he was on his apartment floor. He quickly let himself in, glad to see that Namie hadn't destroyed everything while on his leave. Although she did leave all the lights on - was she trying to raise his electricity bill?

No matter. He went about his business - making himself coffee as he nibbled on some sugar free vanilla cookies.

Vanilla. He used to hate vanilla - so bland and unexciting. Yet, he had been eating them more in the past month. He didn't know why they seemed to appetizing to him all of a sudden. He knew tastes changed over time, but this was a little unexpected.

He walked to his fridge, peeking inside to see if he had anything else to eat. He refused to eat airplane food, and the lack of nourishment left him starving. It seemed like Namie had eaten everything - save for the foods she didn't like. Thank God she left the ootoro alone - although he was sure it had gone bad by now. Along with the strawberry milk in the back.

Oh.

The brunette reached in and grabbed the spoiled milk, throwing it viciously into the trashcan, along with his package of vanilla cookies. He didn't want to have any of that crap in his sights again.

He poured himself coffee, taking a scalding sip to burn out the lingering sweetness of vanilla on his tongue, and sat down at his desk. He turned the computers on, waiting impatiently for them to start up.

Dammit, why did that damn brute have to constantly sneak his way back into Izaya's life? He didn't have to be there in order to get under Izaya's skin.

Was that how Shizuo had felt all these years?

Izaya shook his head, refusing to believe he now had compassion and sympathy for Shizuo's feelings.

As soon as the computer was awake, he opened up his internet browser and logged onto Dollars. He was sure there were some juicy rumors going around that he could dig his hands into. Anything to keep his mind occupied and off the brute.

-Kanra has just logged in-

[Hello everyone!~]

"I can't believe it! Do you really think it's true?"

{They said he was already checked in.}

/Hii there! /

{Oh, hey Kanra.}

(Hey)

"Hi! Long time no see!"

[I see you're already talking about something. Mind if I hop in?]

/Of course not!/

"Hey, Kanra, have you heard?"

[Nope! I've been out of town for a while, so I have no idea what's been going on! ;A; ]

{Then you're in for some juicy gossip}

Izaya grinned. Perfect. Just what he needed.

[Just what I need! Spill!]

(Well, the rumor around is that Shizuo Heiwajima is in the hospital!)

What..?

Did he just read that right?

[Ahahahaaa~! No way!]

/Yeah! It's been the talk of Ikebukuro for a few days now!/

{Although it was meant to be private information.}

(What would make you say that?)

Izaya couldn't help but laugh to himself. Shizuo, in the hospital? It was a miracle! A dream come true! Finally that brute was going to-

"Someone said he's going to die…"

/I know! I don't want him to die!/

[Why not? He's a real monster. So scary! \oAo/]

(I'm not sure…)

What? What? Did they truly think he wasn't some sort of twisted monster? Izaya growled to himself, typing faster.

[Of course he is!]

{He doesn't seem like it. Well, he is when he's pissed, but not all the time.}

"Yeah! He was the librarian at the library I went to!"

[Librarian? Hahahaha, you're gotta be trolling me! There is NO WAY he'd be a librarian!]

Izaya was starting to get angry. These good for nothing kids, telling him nothing he wanted to hear. Yet, he couldn't stop himself from going along with the conversation.

/No, it's true! I went there and checked out a book. He was friendly, although a bit quiet./

(He also used to work at the bar I went to on the weekends. Seemed kinda mellow.)

{Do you think he's doped up?}

[No.]

What? Why did he just type that so ferociously? Why did he quickly go against what they said?

{Why not?}

[Shizu-chan doesn't seem like the person who would get himself doped up on something.]

/Shizu-chan?/

(What the hell kinda of nickname is that?)

[The best kind. ;3]

-Bakyura has just logged in-

*Tch, sounds like Kanra has a crush*

/Bakurya!/

{Hey man!}

[Oh, hello there Bakyura-kun~]

*Go die*

[Ouch, that hurts~! Baku-chan is so mean to Kanra-chan! oAo]

*Shut up*

-Kanra as just opened a Private Chat with Bakyura-

[Masaomi.]

*What do you want?*

[What do you know about this rumor?]

*Why should I tell you? I don't work for you anymore.*

Dammit. He just had to cut Kida loose too soon, didn't he? Of course, he wasn't planning on this turn of events. Or rather…he wasn't expecting to be so adamant about Shizuo's condition.

[I'll pay you double what I used to. This is very important.]

*I don't know why you're so worried about him. It's not like you ever cared.*

Why did that hurt more than he thought it would? It made Izaya grit his teeth with annoyance. That brat had no right to read into his life.

[This is purely business. And I've been on leave for a while and need to catch up. So spill.]

*…you'll pay double?*

[Triple if I have to.]

Anything to get him to…

*Alright.*

Yes!

For the next half hour, Izaya read as Kida spilled the beans on the biggest rumor to hit Ikebukuro: That the great Shizuo Heiwajima was sick in the hospital. Those who had the misfortune to run into the blonde claimed that he seemed to be a different person - one who showed signs of depression and despair. Despite his temper lashing out, he seemed not to care much about what others thought.

And of course, one of the biggest rumors that no one really believed to be true was that Shizuo had recently gone through a break up. Izaya figured that girls - aka Erika and the like - had come up with that theory. Unfortunately, they had to be right.

As for Shizuo being in the hospital, Kida had told Izaya about his own experience. Shizuo had smelled of tobacco when he and his friends came across him. He was coughing heavily, spotting blood into a handkerchief, and seemed feverish and really worn down.

The news came as a shock to Izaya. Yet…he couldn't truly believe it. After all, these were rumors. The only person he could contact and get solid information from would be from Shinra.

But was he really willing to go that far?