I handed the menu to the two men. "Tell me if you want anything in particular," I said, tying an apron around my waist.

"Parfait," Heiwajima-chan answered instantaneously. Tom-san looked it over a bit more before simply saying that "anything was fine."

I began to make the orders while Tom-san kept up a conversation with me. "Have you heard about the recent attacks around the Sunshine Front Intersection? That place is always so packed, it's hard to believe they're having difficulty finding witnesses."

"Ah... I heard about that on the news this morning. It's not too far from here, actually," I stated. "Didn't they say it was because of the 'Dollars'? That's such an interesting name for a gang..."

I saw Tom-san shrug from the corner of my eye. "They also said it could be the 'Yellow Scarves'--"

"'Yellow Scarves'?!" I exclaimed, dropping what I was holding and turning to face him. "Do they seriously wear yellow scarves?"

Tom-san's surprised face relaxed and he nodded. "Though I think I've seen a few who wore other yellow articles of clothing."

"I've only seen scarves," Heiwajima-chan said with near certainty. "Why are you so surprised? All this gang-stuff is a widespread topic."

I gave them what they ordered and sat across from the both of them. "I just moved here," I answered. "On my first night, I found myself eavesdropping on a few people... and they were wearing yellow scarves." Resting my chin in the palms of my hands, I put on a grin. "I fought them; one versus three," I informed proudly, ignoring the fact of Orihara-san's later appearance.

Tom-san shook his head in disbelief, but still smiled. "So that's why you had bandaging on your head..." he mumbled. "Are you alright?"

"I don't really know... If I wasn't alright, then I wouldn't be making you food. But if I was alright, then I wouldn't have back-sassed Heiwajima-chan..."

The bartender let out an annoyed grunt. "Stop calling me that! The '-chan' reminds me of a certain piece of trash."

I laughed. "Then, what about 'Heiwajima-chin'? 'Heiwajima-senpai'? 'Heiwajima-dono'? Oh, Heiwajima-dono, how humbled I am by your gratifying presence, you magnificent specimen of a god, you."

"Oi. How'd you manage to make all of them sound bad?"

"Oh? I thought they were pretty good."

"No, you fucked up."

This continued for a while until they finished the desserts and decided to leave. Apparently, Tom-san is a debt collector and Heiwajima-dono's his body guard. I guess it makes sense. Tom-san waved while exiting, saying that the cake I made him tasted really great, and that I was doing well--which, of course, made me very happy.

The blonde man followed behind Tom, stopping to tell me that the parfait was good, and he asked me to make some for him again. Before he left, he turned around once more, but didn't even look me in the eye. "Oh, and (-Last Name-)-san... You can call me 'Shizuo'," he said before leaving the hotel's kitchen.

I smiled and cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted after him, "You can call me '(-First Name-)'!" Once they left, the hotel staff appeared, let out sighs of relief, and resumed their work.

Returning to my room, I just sat on the floor and stared at the television despite it being turned off. Random act of murder around Sunshine Front Intersection, huh? I thought to myself. There were the Yellow Scarves and--what was it?--the Dollars? With these thoughts in mind, I resorted to my computer for research. Immediately upon typing in "Dollars gang", I came across a website, but I couldn't get in since the first thing it did was ask for a password.

I cursed under my breath and decided to search for the Yellow Scarves instead. This time there were several noticeable results; most depicting locations and different cases where they were involved--including the news from this morning. While this morning's mystery remained unsolved, there was still a multitude of others; it seemed like there was a large, indefinite amount of members in this gang. The same applied to the Dollars, but more so.

To my surprise, I received a text message. It consisted of nothing but a website and a password. Immediately thinking that it was sketchy, I decided to check it out later or get one of the guys at my workplace to go on while I watched from afar. Snapping my phone closed, I shoved it into my pocket and decided to head out. Putting on some casual clothes, I brought myself to the sidewalk for a little stroll as if I were looking for something... or someone. Apparently, somebody felt the same way; I was being followed. I sped up my pace until I was practically running through the streets. Damn! I can't lose them!

I had been fluidly dodging people left and right, so it came as a shock when I bumped into someone. "A-ah! Sorry," I said with a small bow. The person was younger than me, and he put on a small smile.

"Don't worry about it," he said. I smiled back until my eyes wandered.

A yellow scarf was tied around his neck in pride. Him? In a gang? He's so young! I thought to myself. But as my (-Eye Color-) orbs surveyed the crowd, I was stunned to find more people with similar apparel. Yellow scarf. Yellow scarf. Yellow scarf. Yellow scarf. Everywhere; and in some places, they were in groups. I turned on my heel and bolted off once I remembered that I was being tailed.

Once again, I bumped into someone, but this time he was familiar. Orihara Izaya. "Whoa~!" he grinned. "(-First Name-)-chan! What are you--" I ignored him and kept moving, but he grabbed onto my wrist to hold me back. Suddenly, he had on a frown. "Hey! Answer me. What are you doing?"

I whipped my head around to face him. He made a slight sound of shock; probably due to the fear behind my eyes. I tugged on my own arm, trying to free myself from his grasp, but he only tightened it, making me wince. "Let go!" I shouted, calling attention to the both of us. He refused. "Let go of me, I said! Orihara-san! Leave me alone! Damn you!"

Giving up on struggling, I twisted my body and slapped him across the face which loosened his grip. I slid away and sprinted off, aiming for a place to hide out at. For some reason, Russia Sushi was my safe haven; I guess it's because Simon was there. He was standing outside advertising when he saw me approaching.

"Oh! (-First Name-)-san, good afternoon!" I slowed down my panting breaths and looked up at him with pleading eyes. His face turned serious for a moment, but he put on a joyous grin once again. "Come inside! Come! Enjoy yourself! I treat you to sushi!" he said, urging me into the restaurant.

I took a seat at the counter and heaved a sigh, tucking some (-Hair Color-) hair behind my ear. Simon stood across from me beside Dennis. "What is matter? You not looking well."

"I spent some time running..." I spun in the bar stool several times, dizzying myself. "I don't know if I could tell you anything, so please put up with my vagueness for now."

Simon nodded and served me a Fatty Tuna roll. Oh, wait... I thought as I stared at the roll, I slapped Orihara-san... Pondering whether or not I should apologize later, I thanked Simon for the food and began eating. Just as I was about to take a bite, a person appeared beside me, stealing the roll with their mouth. The person who took it was obviously none other that the one I had been thinking about just moments ago.

I blinked slowly and scooted away, pushing the plate toward him. "You enjoying that?"

"Very much," he said, taking a seat next to me. "Tell me what happened back there."

"No, thanks."

"That wasn't optional, (-First Name-)-chan," he stated with a few spins in his chair. "I need to know," he smirked and placed his hand under my chin, forcing me to look at him, "because you're interesting."

"You have rice on your cheek, Orihara-san," I muttered, pointing at it. "And all of my business is none of your business."

His eyebrows went flat as he squinted his brown-red eyes at me and let me go. He licked the grain and jumped off his seat with his arms swinging childishly at his sides. "You're wrong, (-First Name-)-chan," he whispered in an eerily deep tone. "Everyone's business is all of my business. And my business isn't anyone's business."

I scoffed and faced the counter again. "Why are you so interested? You could live without knowing."

"No, I love knowing! I have to know!" He began laughing uncontrollably. "Everything that happens here is wonderful! I love it! I love all humans!" He turned his head towards me with a smirk. "I love (-First Name-)-chan too~! Oh, but you're a bit more special."

I raised my eyebrow. "What kind of job do you have that lets you act like this?"

His deep red eyes seemed to darken in color, making him look more menacing. "Now, look at who's being nosy. Didn't I say that my business isn't anyone's business?"

"Didn't you say I was special?" I argued.

"You're too keen of a girl. I dislike that." He smirked. As he began inching closer towards me, I held up my fists and readied myself for an attack of some sort. Orihara-san grabbed hold of my arms and forced them to my sides. I turned my head so that I wouldn't have to look at him directly.

He leaned his face close to mine; his breath brushing against my cheek. "Don't bother, (-First Name-)-chan~" he whispered. "I'm stronger than you, I'm smarter than you, and I could easily place you into losing battles like a chess p--WHOA!!"

Simon had picked him up by the back of his collar. "Izaya, it not good to harass women. You should not do that! (-First Name-)-san already not well! She is scared--"

"Simon!" I exclaimed. "Don't tell him anything! ...And I'm not 'scared'!"

Simon sighed. "Honesty good, (-First Name-)-san. If scared, you should tell."

"How mean, (-First Name-)-chan~!" Orihara-san complained, "You told Simon, but not me?"

"I am not scared! And I didn't even tell Simon anything!"

"Lying not good, (-First Name-)-san."

"Hey, tell me too~!!"

"Izaya, too much curiosity not good."

"Idiot-Orihara-san (Author's Note: "Aho-rihara"), I'm not going to tell you anything!"

"Aw~ Why not, (-First Name-)-chan?"

"Shut up!"

"Not good to yell. Brings bad business."

"Simon, could you set me down~?"

"Don't set him down, Simon. He'll harass me again."

"I won't~!"

"Izaya, not good to harass--"

Dennis interrupted the scene by slamming his knife against the cutting board, making a big notch in the wood. His eyes were dark and glaring. "If you're going to argue, bring it outside."

I let myself out due to my fear of Dennis. Simon walked with me outside, but it was only to set Orihara-san down onto the sidewalk. Waving goodbye to Simon, I found myself standing plainly next to the curious raven-haired man. He looked a bit pleased with himself judging by his classic smirk despite receiving nothing from his attempts at making me talk.

"What's with you?" I decided to ask. "Why are you always..." I stopped. I didn't know what word to use. (Author's Note: Finish the sentence if you want. Humor me~ XD)

He laughed almost mockingly. Once he had settled, he looked down at me with a considerate tilt of his head. "None of your business... Remember, (-First Name-)-chan?" he said with a softened voice; almost like a whisper.

He had begun to walk away with his back straight, his hands in his pockets, and his head held up high. I followed behind him. He stopped. I stopped. He kept walking. I continued as well.

"My, my, (-First Name-)-chan~ Can't get enough of me now, can you?" he commented.

"No," I stated quickly. "In fact, I've had too much of you... But I can't be alone right now, so I guess I'll have to bear with it."

"Ah~ So you're being stalked, huh? But aren't you stalking me right now? Stalker-chan is being stalked? Amazing~!" He laughed to himself and started walking again, allowing me to follow. "I'm flattered that you decided to seek protection from me; really, I am, (-First Name-)-chan."

"Shut up, Aho-rihara-san. I had no choice." I closed my eyes, guiding myself through the streets with just the sound of his walk. The heels of his dark boots clicked against the sidewalk almost silently. Despite the murmurs of pedestrians and honking of car horns, his every step resounded through my ears like a calmly whistling breeze in a ravenous forest.

I hated to admit it, but I felt safe behind him. He was like an electric fence with barbed wire stringing through the top. I wouldn't dare get close to it, but it remained there and protected me. How stupid, I thought to myself, blocking off my thoughts.

In a sudden instant, his footsteps ceased. I couldn't stop myself fast enough, so I crashed into his back. He laughed again. I couldn't help thinking whether he was faking his laugh or if he genuinely found everything funny. Jumping back, I let my (-Eye Color-) eyes gaze at where I've ended up. An apartment building. The place looked gigantic; I felt uneasy as I inched inside.

I ended up following Orihara-san into a big, open room. Books lined the walls, a huge desk occupied the area near the wall made entirely of windows, red couches accompanied a table in front of a television, and there was still so much more. My mouth let out a sigh of admiration as I let myself in. Orihara-san chuckled at my sudden change of attitude, but I couldn't blame him this time.

"Make yourself at home~" he chimed as I took a seat on one of the red couches. Placed on the coffee table was some sort of boardgame. There, on a board, were pieces from the games chess, shogi, and Othello somehow combined into one. I tried to decipher some sort of pattern with the game, but I could see nothing.

"How do you play this?" I asked, genuinely intrigued.

Orihara-san sat at the other side. "Try." I did as was told and tried to move a piece. "You can't go there," he stated. After attempting to move several more pieces in different directions, I began to mentally complain. He just kept saying that I couldn't move any of them anywhere!

My hand rested on the white queen chess piece. He smiled. I moved it one space down the board. He moved all the other pieces accordingly. I moved the queen another space down. He moved all the other pieces to follow her. Eventually, my piece ended up at the edge of the board with all the other pieces blocking off any exit; a black pawn stood right beside my queen whereas the other pieces waited a few spaces back. I tried to move again. I wasn't allowed to.

"So, did you win?" I questioned him.

He grinned and placed an Othello piece on the other side of the board. Unlike all the others, this Othello piece was flipped to its white side rather than the black.

"Not yet."

=Author's Note=

I enjoyed writing that last part. It may seem like junk, but everything was so badass in my mind (My life's story...).

But please tell me if I got anything wrong. The boardgame? The characters? Is everything good here? CORRECT ME PLEASE IF IT'S NOT!!

Anyways, please vote, comment, and follow if you haven't already~ Also, please continue to read this!

Thank you, so far!!

-!n@