Underground Heart (Izaya Orihara x Reader) Durarara!!

Five: Information Broker

A quiet rustle of paper clashed through the spacious, though minimalistic room. A woman clad in black, tight-fitting jumpsuit nodded as she finished counting the banknotes. She put the money back into the brown envelope, unzipped the collar of her suit, and hid the package under the clothe. All this was done with such nimbleness that it resembled a series of drilled movements rather than a deliberate action. This woman was, without doubt, someone one would call a professional.

She was slim and fit - even though almost no parts of her body were exposed, it was somehow obvious for anyone who saw her that she had to be a truly beautiful girl. Was she really?

Nobody knew.

Actually, even the woman herself didn't know the answer to that question. There were times, lots of them, when she would try to imagine what her face had once looked like. She would search through her memories as far as she could in desperate attempts to get hold of the tiniest reminiscence of her past life, but all of her efforts would always end up in vain. The oldest image she could recall was some shadowy lane and her black motorcycle bathing in a strong moonlight. However, at that time her head was already gone.

The woman sighed - at least that's what she'd do if she could. She turned around and made her way towards the exit. Her steps were fast and swift. She wanted to leave the room as soon as possible. She didn't like this place and getting outside would always make her feel relieved.

"Still cautious, aren't you? You should trust your employer after this much time, Celty", the man, who was sitting by a large desk, smirked.

The woman, apparently called Celty, stopped walking and turned towards the source of the voice. What she met was a pair of brown, intelligent eyes with large amount of undeniable wit hiding in them. Even so, Celty didn't like using the term 'intelligent' when thinking about the eyes of this particular person. She would call them differently every time - cunning, shifty, sly, crafty, there were many possible ways to describe them. But the one she considered the most accurate was simply: devious. It held just the right level of negative overtone to imagine the man's intellect and overall nature.

"I believe you already know this, but I will never trust you, Izaya", the woman wished she could say that with her own voice, but all she could really do was write the message on her phone and show it to the person she was talking to.

Smile didn't wash away from the man's face. He raised his hands and shrugged in surrender.

"But I've never tricked you when it comes to money, have I?", he replied in a as-a-matter-of-fact voice. "Well, but I guess the only person you are able to trust is Shinra, am I right?", he added and threw a quick glance at Celty. His perceptive eyes could easily catch a glimpse of her body giving a light shiver.

"Haha, you're surely a strange couple", he laughed. "I always say that humans are fascinating but Shinra wins it all. Running around and eventually winning a heart of a monster - he's such a hilarious guy". He gave the woman a provocative look, one of those she knew all too well. Normally she would ignore it but not this time. Not when Shinra was being insulted.

"Izaya, you can cuss me out all you want and even be right about it, I don't care, but don't you dare say anything about Shinra", she punched the desk in front of the man and pushed her phone towards him with such an impetus that it nearly hit his face. His eyes widened, but the surprise they were showing was most probably fake just like everything he was saying and doing.

"My, my, so that's what you call 'love', huh?", his tone was lenient and lighthearted, his gaze indulgent. He moved away on his chair to distance himself from the enraged woman.

"Don't ask me. You know everything about emotions, don't you?", the woman typed as she calmed down. "You have to know to be able to manipulate humans as deftly as you do", she didn't hide her contempt.

"I know from observations. I don't need them for myself, though. Just look at how fragile humans get when threatened to lose something they love. They'd do anything if it meant saving their precious ones. And this 'anything' can take infinite number of forms. The choice of these forms is what makes humans fascinating", suddenly, the man slanted over his desk and rested his head on the hand. His smile widened in a mischievous way. "I wonder what you'd do if Shinra was in danger".

He barely finished the sentence when something black and sharp like a blade appeared in front of his neck. The thing was made from a shadow just like Celty's clothes, but despite its material, it could really hurt someone if this was what the woman wished for. And, oh, how she wished to slice this man's throat.

She started typing on her phone.

"Is this a warning?"

"Of course not", the man replied, still keeping up his smile. "I have no interest in hurting my precious friend", his voice held an ironic tone, but somehow Celty could say that what he had said was true. The shadow disappeared.

The man called Shinra a 'friend', but their relationship was nothing like that of the typical friends. They knew each other from junior high school and somehow ended up in one club. They've never treated each other like enemies but what connected them wasn't also camaraderie. It was something without a name, but for the sake of convenience they called it a 'friendship'.

"You know, Izaya", Celty typed, "I bet there are many people who wish to see you struggling as you try to protect someone you love".

The man snorted.

"Then I have to apologise for getting their hopes up in vain", he replied.

"You're pretty confident", the woman noticed. "You're a human, you're not immune to feelings, after all. Or are you perhaps asexual?"

The man's face contorted in amusement.

"Clearly not", he said.

"Well then, I'm waiting to see you struggle", one last message appeared in front of the man's face. The next thing he saw were the doors closing.