(Quick Author's Note: The picture is proof of "Doogle". I will refer to Doogle, so rest assured; I'm not the one original enough to have come up with it. Have a nice day~)

"Another victim, please!" I exclaimed in frustration. "Is that too much to ask for?!" At this time, I was laying on my bedroom floor with my laptop--well--on top of my lap. I had been looking, searching across the whole world wide web just to find even a single hint about the Taggers; as Kanra dubbed them on the chat. Mainly, I was looking for word of another victim, but nothing has been mentioned whatsoever since the time at Animate Central. Suddenly, I heard a banging on my door. I had thought of ignoring it at first, but whomever was out there really insisted on seeing me.

"Yes, yes. Hold on! I'm coming, dammit!" I yelled at them.

I got up to open the door, but then I heard the person reply, "Whoa, whoa~! Ferocious first thing in the morning, eh? (-First Name-)-chan?"

"Freaking stalker," I muttered under my breath, before sitting back down. From the other side of the door, a prolonged silence of Orihara-san just waiting for me to open it resounded. I wondered if he realized that I wasn't going to. Of course, he started whining like an abandoned cat; I swear, I think he even scratched at my door. Then there was a long pause; a pause so long that I thought he gave up.

"(-First Name-)-chan! It's been awhile!" he finally chimed again. I turned to find my window swung open and an Orihara-san climbing into the living room area.

I face-palmed, already feeling stressed from simply seeing his face. "How'd you even find out where I live?"

He simply looked me up and down before sitting on the couch. "Can't you wear something cuter? Aren't young girls supposed to be wearing revealing pyjamas around the house--like tank tops and short shorts?" He rested his forehead on his hand as if in distress.

"Perv..." I glanced down at my clothes. (-Color/Print-) T-shirt and (-Color-) sweats. I shrugged. "Your disappointment is your own fault. Get out please."

"You hung out at my place, so I'm having you return the favor! Now... where's your T.V. remote~?" he asked, looking for it on my coffee table.

He had an unfortunately fair point with repaying the favor, I had to admit. I put on my coat. "The remote's in the cabinet under the T. V. Feel free to do whatever. Don't ask for room service, don't snoop around, and don't eat my food or I will kill you. I'll be heading out." He started whining about me leaving. Goddammit. "Stop whining!" I snapped at him.

"Haaa~~? So you get more annoyed when people whine? I learned something valuable today~!"

I scowled. Doesn't everybody? Plus, I was especially ornery.

"Just wait, (-First Name-)-chan!" He pulled off my coat, urging me to stay and sit. He then rushed for the remote before turning on the television and sitting back down on the couch beside me. "Look," he instructed with a deep, demanding tone to his voice.

There it was on the screen--what I had been searching for: a lead. A hospitalized victim from the first attack recovered and he was telling reporters what had happened to him. "Okay, I'm going," I said, about to leave again.

Orihara-san looked confused, but he was trying to hide it. "Where are you going? They haven't said anything yet!"

"Out, obviously. It'll do nothing if I just watch from here." He smirked, which I assumed meant that he was catching on to my intentions. "And you? What are you going to do?" I asked with an eyebrow raised, showing that I was expecting an actual answer. "Are you gonna leave now, Orihara-san?"

"'Leave' what? If you're referring to this hotel, then yes. If you're referring to yourself," he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around me, "then no."

I observed the coat in any way I could by looking it over several times. While handing it back to him, rejecting the offer, one of his flick-blades slipped out from under the fur-trimmed cuff and clattered against the ground. We stared down at it for a few split moments and I gave him a questioning gaze.

"I had forgotten about that..." he commented. He picked it up and shoved it into his pocket. "Shall we go?" I looked down at my outfit once again. I don't necessarily care about how I look, but wearing a T-shirt and sweats would get me more easily noticed than if I were trying to be stunning; which I'd prefer to avoid. Orihara-san noticed me being trapped in my train of thought, then grabbed my hand, dragging me toward the door. "(-First Name-)-chan, you're fine." He winked with another classic smirk. "I'd rather stick around and stare at you all day too, but we've got business to tend to. Don't you agree~?"

Unaffected by his attempt at flattery, I nodded. I quickly took my coat, along with my laptop in its bag. As we left my place, I began to take the lead. I had studied Ikebukuro through DoogleMaps last night; I basically know where all the important places were. Well, I mainly knew about the hospitals on certain streets because I had done a shit-ton of research about the Taggers--which included where their victims were being hospitalized and where they were attacked.

I stopped walking after a short distance away from my hotel in order to gather my thoughts in a strict focus. "There's Higashi-Ikebukuro for the Hospital..." I mumbled to myself. "That one's closest to the attack. We have to go to... hmm... Let me think... Maybe... still Higashi-Ikebukuro, but for Mizuniwa..." I looked around and caught sight of Ikebukuro Hospital. "We'll be taking a long walk. We're going to Mizuniwa Clinic."

"Why is that?" Orihara-san asked with interest. "Ikebukuro Hospital is closer and more hyped than Mizuniwa Clinic, so why aren't we going there? There are other hospitals around, too, like Otsuka or Nagashio for instance. Why a simple clinic?" He sounded as if he already knew my answer, so I considered not replying, but I wound up doing so anyway.

"There are several hospitals around here, as you said. The more outstanding ones are likely to already harbor many patients even without having to treat the injured gang members. There was more than one hospital that sent out ambulances especially since there were as many as twenty seven victims including three casualties. But, of course, they are gang members; even if they were injured, some of them probably fled the scene before cops or ambulances could get there. Since the news was big enough to attract news reporters to the victims, they're probably laying low and getting treated at a 'simple clinic' because the worst possible injury for them is probably a broken arm or leg--which, in this case, would simply need a cast. But that's just worst-case scenario for them; their injury might just be a scrape or a sprain. As for the news reporters, they are stuck at Ikebukuro Hospital because the ones who obtained worse injuries were probably brought directly to the nearest hospital. Since they were more badly injured, they're likely to be traumatized or even angry, leading to some pretty interesting stories for the press," I explained, taking a breath at the end.

"So we're going to a clinic further away because the events are less likely to be warped... Very good, (-First Name-)-chan~!" Orihara-san praised. "But you said yourself that the patients are likely to have small injuries. If that's the case, they'd be done with having to visit the clinic. Why are we going there anyways? No one would be there."

Don't ask if you already know the answer, I scolded him in my head while taking a big sigh. "Information, obviously. News reporters wouldn't give out confidential information unless they got permission to do so. Hospitals won't do it either, but they have files or a computer that records appointments that are easy to access if you know how." And I know how, I thought to myself.

"Hm... I have a better idea," Orihara-san chimed. "Come to my place again~"

"..."

"..."

"Disgusting little..."

Orihara-san waved his hands around. "No, no. Not like that! How lewd, (-First Name-)-chan~! I meant it so I could show you a better way to find someone's identity."

I pondered the idea for a second. He's definitely letting me use him, which is going to be a trap some way or another. If he pulls something funny, I'll finally call the cops on him--although I really should have done that a long time ago. For now, however, I need all the help I can get. Plus, it doesn't seem like the police can really do anything to stop him.

"Sure," I obliged, letting him lead the way. We started walking, but it took me a short amount of time to realize that the route we were taking was strange and he was moving so quickly. Once in a while, I'd catch a glimpse of a familiar area, but it'd pass by the instant we walked back into an alleyway. We were no doubt headed to his place, but we took so many twists and turns that it was hard to believe that we were still in the same city. Sometimes when there was more than one way to turn, I had to do a full three-sixty turn just to spot him again. "Hey, Orihara-san..." Seeing that I was frequently getting lost, he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me around. "Why are we moving around so much?"

"Because there's a bartender running rampant, (-First Name-)-chan~" he informed, turning his head slightly to give me a glance.

"Ah... Shizuo?" I asked, hoping for the actual identity. Almost flinching, Orihara-san hesitantly nodded. I wondered if Shizuo really was coming after us. If he was, then I shouldn't be running away; he's finally my friend after all. The guy I was walking with right now is actually more of an enemy to me than the strongest man in Ikebukuro. Wow... What a strange person I am.

"(-First Name-)-chan, focus on what you're doing right now," Orihara-san said in a shockingly stern voice. I gave a small nod even though he was looking away and unable to see it.

It wasn't long afterwards that we arrived at Orihara-san's apartment. Again, I followed him inside. Again, I admired the decor. Again, I allowed myself to sit on the red couch beside the game board after removing my jacket and setting it down on the armrest. Orihara-san retreated to his desk, whirling in his office chair once before going on his computer. I examined the game board intently. "You haven't played since the last time?" I asked, noticing that the board was set up the way it was when we left off.

"Nope! I quite liked the outcome of our game, so I kept it," he explained, cracking his knuckles before he began typing rapidly. I stared at his hands for awhile; he was so fast at typing that it almost became entertaining. I got a sudden sense of feeling left out, so I pulled my laptop out of its bag and decided to look for more leads on the Taggers in the Dollars website. Orihara-san, seeing me at work, asked what I was doing, curiosity filling his voice to the very brim.

"I'm stalking the Dollars website," I answered simply. "You?"

"Haha~! Stalking is a recurring thing for you, isn't it? I'll show you what I'm doing in a bit," he promised. "Hey, hey... How did you manage to get the password?"

"I found out that my coworker is a Dollar, so I threatened him into giving me the password," I admitted easily.

"And how'd you know he was a Dollar?" he asked, growing more intrigued now.

I thought back to what I said to Yamada-kun. "I told him something along the lines of 'Our customer is an American. Make sure you take yen, not dollars.' From the mere mention of the word 'Dollars', I expected that I'd get a reaction from him, and I did; he flinched as if I jump-scared him." Orihara-san laughed at this and complimented me for being so sneaky. "So?" I looked up at him. "Remind me why I'm here."

Orihara-san held up a hand, signaling for me to wait a moment. After hitting a few things on the keyboard, he turned his computer so that the screen would face me. "Lookie~" he instructed childishly. My eyes scanned the computer screen from afar, but I stood up in shock regardless. I bounded over to see the information up close. My sight darted from his content expression to the screen, back and forth and back again.

"No way. You didn't." I wanted to grin so badly, but I refused to show him even a peek of my satisfaction. "Did you...? Did you hack the clinic?"

He shrugged smugly. "You could say that I did or I didn't or I partially did."

I couldn't help but to let out a short giggle. "'Just a touch of every color in a rainbow', huh, Orihara-san?" I grinned, referring to what he said during our first meeting. He responded with a deep-throated chuckle, and I had to admit, we both seemed pretty maniacal at that moment. Scrolling through all the neatly organized data collected in front of me, I located the most recent entry. "'Doi... Doppo'...?" I pronounced with uncertainty. "Doi Doppo... Doi... Doppo. Doi Doppo."

Orihara-san chuckled again. "You seem so fascinated by that name, (-First Name-)-chan~"

I shrugged. "It's just... such an interesting name no matter how many times I look at it or hear myself say it. Doi Doppo."

"Truly the work of a gangster."

"Definitely," I agreed sarcastically. Orihara-san laughed again, but it was obviously sincere this time. I creepily watched him laugh as if I were surprised to see him wear a real joyous mien. I smiled back unintentionally as I leaned back on the desk. "You are far better when you're actually being human, y'know."

I guess I kind of surprised him with that one because he looked back at me with partially widened eyes for a second before giving one more chuckle that seemed nervously forced. "Heh~ I appreciate the comment, but I am a god, (-Last Name-)-chan~!!" he stated, reverting back into his natural act.

"Yeah, yeah..." I nodded passively, taking a piece of notepaper from his desk and jotting down the information I need. "Thanks for everything, Orihara-san!" I said appreciatively, bowing my head to him. "I'll be going now! See you later," I foretold, expecting that I'd come in contact with him again eventually. He waved cheerily in return.

I packed up my laptop and wandered out the apartment, into the open street when Orihara-san stopped me to wrap my jacket around me which I had left behind by accident. Right after, he retreated back into his home while I very uninterestingly frolicked the streets to locate Doi Doppo-kun's address. It was quite a way's away, but I could reach it by walking. I found myself trying to maneuver through the city via alleyways, but I ended up getting caught in something very reminiscent of my second night in Ikebukuro. Yellow Scarves haunted the exit of an alley I was going to exit through, and it seemed like I had just walked myself into an interaction that was meant to be kept confidential.

With all my 'frolicking', it was hard to immediately stop myself due to the momentum, so I made quite a bit of noise by trying to halt. Their attention was brought to me probably less than a millisecond afterward. They slowly began to approach me, their bodies swaying because gang members always seemed to move in such a fashion; I've always found it odd that they did... Of course, I stepped back and back and back again until I was running away helplessly. Finally, I was up against a dead end. My backside hit the clanging fence that prevented me from going any further, and I clenched my teeth. This was a one-way alley, the fence was too high, I didn't have a weapon with me this time, and if I were to try to climb, I would risk breaking my laptop which I absolutely cannot do.

As they moved forward dreadfully slowly with a slight quickening pace, spitting nasty insults here and there, I raised my fists, ready to protect myself when the time came that they would charge. Now that my arms were in front of me, I was able to see my wrists, and wrapped around them were fur-trimmed cuffs, fluttering in the small breeze. I wasn't wearing my jacket; I was wearing Orihara-san's. He did this on purpose. Why did he give this to me? He always has a reason for doing things. Where's the hint? I searched through my mind desperately. When did he first give me this jacket? I gasped... and thought back to what happened at my room.

One; he handed me the jacket...

He insisted on having me wear the jacket from the very start, didn't he?

Two; I gave it back...

No. Wrong. He knew I would decline the offer. I wasn't supposed to take the jacket at all.

Three; his flick-blade slipped out from inside the sleeve...

He wanted me to be aware of the fact that he had a weapon on him. He knew it'd fall out--of course it would.

Four; he picked it up...

I have a flick-blade with me, I thought to myself in clear realization. With a wide smile now, I tried to feel for it in the sleeve, but there was nothing. I would be able to feel the blade in my sleeve, but there wasn't anything to feel! My skin only touched the very fabric that was laid over it. The blade was gone! The soft, dark cloth is the only thing there; nothing more, nothing less. My heart dropped; I was in trouble now. They're getting too close! On the brink of panicking, I figured that something was missing. I left something out.

Five; he put the blade in his pocket.

My right hand shot into its corresponding pocket and whipped out the flick-blade. After fumbling with the mechanics of it, I was able to get the blade to pop out from within its handle. The gangsters shuffled to a stop, but laughed and pressed forward anyways. Idiots. I might not be as strong as you, but any weapon in my palm is enough to suffice. I was prepared to fight Shizuo with just a broken parfait glass, I reminded myself. You all are just shrimp compared to that.

"What are you guys doing?" a young voice called out, breaking the tense aura. The men turned around and acknowledged the person as their boss. I looked past them to see their leader as he sauntered over, his sneakers clapping against the concrete, until he was maybe only three feet away from me.

Dyed blonde hair matched with golden-brown eyes. His hands were tucked into his white hoodie, and a yellow scarf was wrapped around his neck. He's... "...A kid...?" I accidentally whispered.

"You!" he exclaimed all of a sudden, shocking me. "I bumped into you a few days ago when you were running down the street. Ah... I was wondering what a beautiful woman like yourself was doing in such a rush!" he purred with a wink. H-he's... a flirt?! I mentally shouted. "Now..." his tone grew threateningly deeper, "I'm curious.

"I'd like to hear the story, if you don't mind!"

=Author's Note (DAMN THIS ONE'S LONG! I dare you to read it O^O)=

HAPPY SINGLE'S--I MEAN--VALENTINE'S DAY!!!! ^-^

Don't look at me like that. I know I didn't update in awhile, and I'm sorry!! I made up for it, I think, 'cuz I introduced Kida.

You... you knew that was Kida, right? I know I didn't say it directly, but I figured it was kinda obvious. Tell me if his character is a bit off. I haven't come in contact with cheerful Kida in a long time, I almost forgot how cheery he was (I'm trying to achieve that happiness-feel, but I don't think I got it down completely even though he only said 49 words in this chapter.).

For those of you who actually read these Author's Notes, I want to ask you if you actually noticed the clue(s) or hint(s) I left. Like in the previous chapter when (-First Name-) mentioned "dollars." Or what about the'Just a touch of every color in a rainbow' reference to chapter one?

That was quite a long while ago, wasn't it? That's story progression for you, my friends.

Anyways, as always, please vote, comment, and follow if you haven't already, and I'll see you in the next one!!!

-!n@

P.S. Bonus: There was something regarding Orihara Izaya that I was wondering if anyone caught. Tell me if you think you know. MWAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!

Who knows; you might get it right~! ;D There's absolutely no prize if you do.