Author's Note: Chill out a bit with this chapter, pals. It's the calm before a storm. :)

"You've been working too hard today, (-Last Name-)-chan," said Tokunaga-senpai, the head chef at Swallowtail. "Why don't you take a quick break? I can take over for now. We're only prepping for lunch, after all."

He treats me as if I were his daughter even though he's only about ten years older than me. Thank goodness I finally have someone in this city who lets me relax.

I nodded. "Thank you, senpai." He smiled and continued working while I pulled up a stool next to the kitchen counter and took a seat. "I'll be here if you need me."

I closed my eyes, letting them rest. I wonder if Orihara-san got his jacket back. In return for his "hospitality", I kind of sent someone to deliver his jacket to him. After all, I have to work and I wouldn't have enough time in the day to give it to him. I don't think he'd mind me passing it off to someone else... I grinned menacingly for a second, but stopped once I remembered that I was at work.

"(-Last Name-)-san!" I could hear Yamada-kun calling.

I opened my eyes and sat up straight. "What's up?"

He was now standing in front of me, fiddling with his fingers nervously. Just watching his movements makes me feel like I scare him. Poor thing. "I figured that having a girl in the staff can help when choosing accessories, so--"

"Thats a gender bias," I interrupted, thinking back to the outfit I wore yesterday which consisted of a T-shirt, a jacket, and sweats. Not to mention the fact that I left my hotel with one coat and came back with three.

"Sorry, sorry!" he frantically apologized. I laughed and told him it was fine. "A-anyway... since most of our customers are female too, I thought that you might be more familiar with their preferences. Should I wear a top hat, a monocle, glasses, or...?"

I shrugged. "Does it matter? You always wear gloves, so just go ahead with it as always." I hadn't noticed that this cafe had so many props for the butlers, but I guess they need it to appeal to every customer.

Yamada-kun gave me a bright grin and bounded off to find his pair of gloves. Soon, people began filing in one after the next; others waited outside simply because they came early to their reservation. Now hard at work beside Tokunaga-senpai, I was put to the task of arranging the food nicely on each plate. Luckily, the restaurant specializes in "tea time", so the dishes are small desserts or sandwiches and such. Not too complex.

Tokunaga-senpai later inquired of me about what ingredient could be used as a substitute for paprika. Apparently, we had a female customer who was allergic to paprika, so one of our sauces had to be altered accordingly. I let him know that cayenne pepper could be used as a replacement if it's sweetened a bit. He looked at me with surprise gleaming across his features. To that, I simply told him that I knew someone with a paprika allergy as well. He just smiled broadly and went off on a bout about how glad he was that I was hired. I listened to his praise as I worked, slowly getting full of myself.

Not long after, I was pulled to the side by one of the butlers. He was a bit elderly and played the role of head-butler, so I found myself treating him as such whenever I spoke to him. "What can I do for you, Iwai-senpai?" I asked him, ready to accept orders.

"We have a customer that would like to give you their compliments," he said with unease, "and to meet with you. They mentioned something about... paprika...?"

I looked down at my feet in deep thought. The problem is the fact that I'm a female, and I can't go out to meet the customer, risking the secrecy of me working here. "Can we send out Tokunaga-senpai? He's the head chef. They should fall for it."

"They won't. They said that they already know you work here."

I was perplexed. I hadn't told anyone where I worked. Was it Erika and Walker again? It can't be Shizuo or Tom-san; I remembered the customer being called a female at some point. "Can't we just reject them? I can't go out there."

Iwai-senpai chuckled unsurely as he rubbed chin with his thumb. "That would not be a very good idea. It would seem as if we're hiding something horrible." I couldn't deny that.

We decided to bring the customer around to the back and into the break room since it was confirmed that they already knew me. My coworkers marveled in exaggeration, saying that I was so popular. I waited patiently to meet with this customer, only to be brought to disappointment. True; there was a woman. She was pretty, and her demeanor seemed mature and direct. However, unfortunately, she was accompanied by Orihara-san.

I looked to the woman with a kind expression. "I am very grateful for your compliments. I hope your experience here continues to be satisfying. I'm (-Last Name-). Feel free to call to me if you have any issues or even requests. We pride ourselves in your comfort." I turned toward Orihara-san, my face involuntarily forming a scowl. "How do you know where I work? Get the hell away from me."

The woman's face morphed into one with amusement as she soon introduced herself as Yagiri Namie. "You must be (-First Name-)-san, the new toy this bastard has been obsessing over," she said with an almost uncomfortable monotony as she combed through her dark hair with her fingers. "I'm his secretary. However, quite frankly, I can't stand him. It's upsetting that I had to even go out into public with this idiot."

"My, my~! You two sure do get along well with each other," Orihara-san spoke up. "Time to say goodbye!"

"I'm not even remotely close to being finished--"

"Namie, your work here is done. Thank you," he interrupted her. She clicked her tongue quietly.

As she left the cafe, Yagiri-san mumbled a 'Thank God', causing Orihara-san to say 'You're welcome' in reply. Now it was quiet.

"Is she your girlfriend?" I asked him teasingly. "I didn't think you'd ever score."

"How rude, (-First Name-)-chan! I don't mean to brag, but I was quite popular in highschool due to my incredible intellect and extremely good looks! Needless to say, I still have both~"

"I didn't think you'd be the type to tell jokes either." He put on a frown as I grinned in return, clearly proud of my comeback.

Orihara-san leaned on the table beside me. "How do you know Shizu-chan?" he asked, with a disturbed look moving onto his features that was forced to disappear just as suddenly as it arrived.

There it is, I thought to myself. "He's my friend. I spilled a parfait on him and then made him one as an apology."

"Ah, I didn't think you had such connections... Though I'd greatly appreciate it if you wouldn't use that monster as means of returning my jacket to me..."

FLASHBACK

Orihara Izaya went strolling down the Sunshine Front Intersection late last night. Suddenly, something was thrown at his face. He raised his hands to feel it, only to find that it was just his jacket which he lent to (-Last Name, First Name-) earlier that day. He smiled with the jacket still strewn across his face, knowing that she was certainly the person who threw it.

Feeling no sense of urgency, he slowly pulled off the jacket. Right as he did so, he saw Heiwajima Shizuo bounding down the street towards him--only a few feet away now. Orihara Izaya narrowly dodged the bartender's fist and broke into a run to get away from his mortal enemy.

The night was spent with a chase.

FLASHBACK END _(:3」∠)_

I broke out into laughter. "He's amazing!" I sputtered out between giggles.

Honestly, I didn't even ask Shizuo to deliver Orihara-san's jacket. He just saw me walking around with it and once I described the circumstances, Shizuo snatched the coat and ran off. I had a vague idea of what he would do, but having it told from Orihara-san's perspective was much more entertaining.

Orihara-san shook his head at me. "(-First Name-)-chan, it's not funny."

"It is," I sputtered out. "It is very."

"No, it is not!" he complained in frustration. I paused for effect before lightly punching his arm and mouthing "It is". He buried his hands into his pockets. "Hm... It didn't occur to me that you'd tame a beast so easily."

"Oh, please," I scoffed. "Shizuo is not a beast. He's actually more humane than Erika and Walker..." I said, mumbling the last part after realizing that Orihara-san might not know them. "Besides, you're far worse."

A vacant stare replaced his usual domineering gaze. Then there was a moment of silence for our dead conversation. Not used to hearing nothing come out of his mouth, I slowly began panicking. My head was jumping to conclusions, thinking that I offended him and he was going to tell my boss, and I would be fired for mistreating a customer.

"O-Oriha--" I began.

"Did you already know someone who's allergic to paprika?" he asked suddenly. I was surprised by his sudden interest in the topic.

"Yeah. I do. That's how I was able to substitute it in the recipe for your girlfriend."

"Haa~? You say 'your girlfriend, your girlfriend' even though you know her name. Are you jealous of her?" he jokingly asked with a stupid grin before standing up straight. "You're such a bad employee, (-First Name-)-chan~! Chatting away with me when you should be working!" Ahh, shit. He's right, I thought to myself. "I'll get going now, Slacker-chan!"

"All right," I stood up as well to see him out. "Unfortunately, I'll probably see you later, Aho-rihara-san."

He smirked and pat my head as if I were a towser. "How mean, (-First Name-)-chan! Well, at least you're learning..."

I rolled my eyes and started shoving him out of the break room. "Okay, okay. Get out now, you big asshat."

"You're always so vulgar, (-First Name-)-chan," he muttered, acting like my language was causing him distress. "Ah, but I'd like to let you know..." he trailed off before turning to face me. Leaning over to match my height, he held his hand up next to his mouth as if he were whispering a secret into someone's ear. "...Namie's not my girlfriend. Besides, she likes younger boys."

You are younger than her... in manner, I thought to myself. I proceeded to shove him out of the break room. "Yeah, okay. Good on her. Time to go, Orihara-sa--"

"Call me 'Izaya', (-First Name-)-chan~!" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? Did your heart just race~? It did, didn't it?"

"No."

"You call Shizu-chan by his first name."

"Shizuo's my friend," I explained, not knowing the purpose of why I'm even trying to explain it.

"Then what about me~?" he asked, sporting a glimmer in his eyes that seemed false.

"You're my stalker," I said blatantly. "And staying at my workplace only makes that statement more true. Bye-bye..." He finally complied and led himself to the exit with a mock-pout on his face. "...Uzaya (Annoying+Izaya)," I muttered right before he opened the door. I saw the faint glimmer of a smirk, but instead of spouting his usual snide remark, he just waved and left. Just saying 'Uzaya' didn't quite feel right, so I silently decided to continue calling him 'Orihara-san'.

Thankfully, I finished work without any problems. I was certain that I'd get scolded for the random break, but nothing happened. They probably figured that it was okay since I was conversing with a customer. Tokunaga-senpai, however, sent me to only wash dishes for the rest of my shift.

My mind trailed back to Yagiri-san. About two-percent of people with allergies have a spice allergy. I found it surprising that I now knew two people who were both allergic to paprika. What a random happenstance. This made my train of thought go off its rails into too many different topics. From people's allergies to people's dislikes, I began to think about why Shizuo hates Orihara-san so much... but thinking back to my first encounter with the raven-haired asshole--and even my current ones, I can clearly see why. It just makes me ponder the story behind Orihara-san referring to Shizuo as a monster.

I said goodbye to my coworkers as I clocked-out and prepared to go home. Why is Orihara-san not in jail...? I asked myself whilst exiting the café. I guess even the cops can't get to him.  These thoughts proceeded to pop up in my mind until I was able to remind myself that I have more pressing matters to be concerned of. For example: "Who's stalking me?" And I mean besides Orihara-san.

Of course, I didn't just sit down for tea when I went over to Doppo-kun's place. I had legitimate questions that absolutely needed to be answered.

Striding into my hotel room and locking the door behind me, I didn't even remember the walk over here since I was so deep in thought. I threw my bag on the armchair and dragged myself onto the bed. In a few swift motions, I had my laptop sitting open in front of me and my notepad laying right beside, ready for research. I admired my hardworking-self for a quick moment. I had never worked this hard before; not even to cram-study before a test when I was in school.

I glanced quickly at my notepad. There, I made note of different things; different clues. I had everything: the time of the car crash, the scene of the Taggers' crime, the chat log, and even the names of all the Yellow Scarves members that were with me yesterday. Most importantly, as of now, I had the Q&A with Doi Doppo. There were some stuff he couldn't answer, but the stuff he did answer was what mattered.

》Doppo-kun, I'm going to ask you a few questions about what happened during the attack on Sunshine Front Intersection. I'll need all of you to swear that you will not share or leak any details of this interrogation to anyone beyond the confines of these walls. Also, you cannot say or withhold any information at any time after this is over.

》We swear.

》If just one of you breaks this promise, I'll break something of each of yours. Let's proceed.

I logged onto the Dollar's website. This was by far the most helpful source of information available to me.

Q: What did your attacker look like?
A: I couldn't see them. It was dark.

I didn't have to search very far to find a forum titled "Taggers". The Dollars must have been given a hard time due to them being falsely accused for killing the woman whose body was found near Animate Central. I clicked on the forum and read a few posts. Apparently, the Dollars have been keeping a close eye on this new gang even before they were framed. Here, they're sharing the information I need without me having to dig through the news. For instance, I didn't know the exact time of the fight on Sunshine Front Intersection that Doppo-kun was in, but there it was--in plain white text--in the forum. 2:41 a.m.. I wrote it down in my notepad just in case.

Q: "Them"? What do you mean by "them"?
A: There was more than one person. Way more.

I scrolled a few times. Not a single person was able to answer how many attackers there were. I guessed that they had long since vanished before anyone can count how many there were. Some people believed it was a fight within the Yellow Scarves gang; like a civil war.

Q: Okay, then. Exactly how many people attacked you?
A: I saw about ten attackers fleeing... I can't be precise... But there was enough for all of us Yellow Scarves to get double-teamed. I know I was.

I reread Doppo-kun's last answer a couple of times. This can't be right, I thought, flipping through the pages of my notes. I had it written down here somewhere...

Q: Did all of the Yellow Scarves members go to a nearby hospital?
A: I don't know, but some people said that they didn't need to go to the hospital. They managed to not get beaten up! I'm envious...

This should be the page.

Q: How many Yellow Scarves were with you?
A: Including me, we had fifteen.

My eyes skimmed the page almost hungrily like a bird searching for prey.

A: But more Yellow Scarves members showed up out of nowhere.

My index finger kept track of each line I read one by one.

A: I guess they came to help out!

Found it.

I read out loud to myself triumphantly the last piece of information I needed. Lucky that I had it. Glad that I wrote it down. Impressed that I remembered.

 "There were twenty-seven victims at the Sunshine Front Intersection."

=Author's Note=

I gave you lots of clues. Now, solve it! Tell me what you learned from the ending sequence!

It shouldn't be too difficult. You're Reader-chan! I believe in you~! :D

        -!n@

P.S. Before we continue, I REALLY recommend checking out the Reader-created character if you haven't already.