YOU GUYS I AM SO SORRY.

I ended up with a LOT of issues in my first semester of college, which pretty much stunted my writer's and artists block some. Now I am a lot more chill, so have a chapter for now!

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Disclaimer: Not mine

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With cute streaks through her hair, clear brown eyes, and a perfect figure, Shiraishi Katsue counted herself lucky as she worked her first shift of the day.

The teen worked at a chain store in Ikebukuro as a part-timer after classes, comfortably situated in a location near the main roads which welcomed many customers daily, especially students from the local Raijin Academy who dropped by the large convenience store for a snack to go on the way home.

She herself wasn't from that particular school, and she didn't mind, always having an opportunity to meet cute, smart boys who seemed to always be attracted to her natural charm and looks as she helped ring them up behind the counter. It wasn't even limited to the high schoolers; the co-workers Katsue was hired along with were partly composed of older ladies, most of which had their own families or children. They treated many of their young customers with a gentle smile, with a touch of motherliness, which other teens replicated with a respectful pipe of "Thank you" once their transaction was completed. The rest of them, however-

Young and single men.

In Katsue's point of view, it was quite fortunate.

So as the youngest girl in the store, it was easy to flash smiles and watch as her male coworkers returned it, occasionally complimenting her as the women brought her sweets and gaining favor even with the manager. It was a comfortable atmosphere where she was the center, and Katsue greatly enjoyed it-

Until her boss put a "HELP WANTED" sign at their window-

-_- xXx … xXx -_-

He was a student from Raijin, the first to answer the advertisement. Their manager introduced him to them as a part-timer as well, who was going to work with them for a few hours three times a week. "He will start immediately," he said, patting him in the shoulder, "as his senior coworkers, I expect you all to answer any questions about our environment we may have and to treat him well."

They were sitting in the breakroom, listening to their boss as the new employee stood beside him. It was a slight break in time before the rush hour of students leaving school and the adults' lunch hour, their busiest time, and they were taking the time to meet the new hire.

He was a nice thing to look at that was for sure.

Androgynous features were evident in the young student's face, and with his petit figure and slim body he was obviously very attractive. The manager gave him another clap on the back for encouragement, reminding them again to look after him some before stepping back out to his office, allowing them some time to know one another a little before having to get back to work.

With inky hair that fell to perfectly cradle his face, brilliant roses for eyes, and that simple and sweet smile, Katsue couldn't help but notice how several of the other males stared at him, unmoving, as he tilted his head rather cutely and introduced himself, eyes lapsing shut in the midst of his pleasantries.

"My name is Orihara Izaya, please take care of me~!"

-_- xXx … xXx -_-

"Orihara-san, I have extra portions of lunch would you like them?"

"Orihara-san, would you like a ride home?"

"Orihara-san, let me handle that for you it must be heavy!"

'Orihara-san' this, 'Orihara-san' that, Katsue was getting sick of it!

It had been no more than a week since Orihara Izaya began working after school, although she could hardly call it working seeing as most of the men were running behind him, ready to pick up and place items ready to be restocked in their shelf before he could even touch the boxes. However, that wasn't the main part of what she considered the issue-

"Sasaki-san, you don't need to do that! It's my job anyway-"

"It's okay!" Sasaki Izumi smiled at him, crouching to stack boxes of hard candy in their corresponding shelf, "it must be tiring for Orihara-san to spend so much time bending like that after all." Izaya smiled delicately in return, pristine hands clasping together, "then thank you for the assistance!"

AND THERE IT WAS-

Izumi flushed red, the change coming without missing a beat as he shyly turned away, mumbling a feeble "It's no problem," as he finished packing the merchandise in place, standing tall with the box in hand, tugging on the tape keeping it in place and offering the shorter boy another smile, "don't hesitate to call for help, it must be hard to take care of the restock-"

"Stop bothering Orihara-san, Sasaki," from the other side of the store, another of the younger males scowled, shifting to a concerned expression as he switched his attention towards the smaller teen, "Is he bothering you Orihara-san?"

"He helped me Kudara-kun, don't be such a meanie!" the raven laughed charmingly, sticking his tongue playfully at the second male.

As expected, he paused for a second, blushing darkly the next from his place sweeping up near the register, puffing his cheeks in embarrassment as he continued pushing the broom along the tiled floor. Izaya giggled to himself, clearly amused, completely missing the look of jealousy that crossed Izumi's face as he finished breaking the last bit of adhesive, breaking down the container with a particularly hard snap.

Scenes like this happened often now, more that several times a day, with the handsome Tsukiya-san, a little older than the rest of the boys and in university, constantly slinging an arm around the younger male (he hardly touched anyone before other than a pleasant smile and handshake) or Yasuda-kun, the closest to her age, who constantly changed shifts with him in case he needed time to study. Most were like Sasaki or Kurada, who did little favors for him, until one time when Koichi-kun helped him with taking inventory the first time. Izaya had excitedly hugged him in gratitude, not realizing that more than half of the staff was watching in silence from the break room's open door.

"Such nice boys," Michi-san next to Katsue on the other register smiled, "it's good that they look after Orihara-kun so much."

Katsue huffed a little, resting against her curved palm, mumbling under her breath.

-_- xXx … xXx -_-

The women were no exception, offering him sweets like homemade breads and puddings. She used to be the main recipient, usually offering her the bulk of the items and giving one or two to the boys as a taste.

But now-

"Orihara-kun, why don't you have some sweets? I made them just this morning!"

Izaya smiled pleasantly, that winning smile that seemed to capture everyone's hearts, "it's okay Sachi-san, I'm not overly fond of sweets," he held his hands up, only for Sachi to take them and deposit a wrapped bag of sweet cookies in his cupped palms. "No need to be so modest Orihara-kun, take them! If you don't like them, then feel free to share them with a beloved!"

"Why thank you Sachi-san, you're so kind-"

"Shouldn't we be getting back to work?" Katsue couldn't help but blurt out, annoyed by the attention bestowed on the new worker. Izaya turned to her, dahlia eyes calm, "Katsue-san is right~" he sang, tucking the little packet in the apron given to all workers of the chain store, "rush hour is about to begin~~"

xXx

"And 200 yen is your change, thank you for shopping with us!" Katsue turned on the charm as she worked, receiving flustered reactions from highschoolers who were lined up at her register. It was already well into the afternoon, and the store employees were tending to the last few teens before getting ready for the adults coming in soon for lunch break. The ones on shift since earlier were having a brief break before getting back to work, and a few others were tidying up after the crowd of highschoolers and children came through the doors. And of course-

"Orihara-san is fine working by himself?"

"Orihara-kun, do you need help with that?"

"Isn't that too heavy Izaya-kun? Let me help you!"

Izaya waved his co-workers off, "It's fine I can do this by myself! You guys have been helping me all this time anyway!" he tore the several boxes of merchandise open, starting to fit items into shelves as the sliding doors of the business chimed to life, a figure in blue dashing in just to smash right into the raven. Katsue blinked in shock, hearing scandalized gasps from the other males on duty.

-_- xXx … xXx -_-

"IZAYA H-HE'S TRYING TO GET ME-!"

"COME HERE SHINRA-"

Another shriek from the uniformed teen and he promptly spun Izaya on his heel, using him as a human shield as a tall blond dressed in identical school clothes strode right in, followed by yet ANOTHER, although this one was calm compared to his wilder counterparts. Katsue stared at them.

Except for the screaming one, the other two were pretty cute-

"Shinra get off!" Izaya elbowed him harshly, forcing him off as Shizuo tried to close in on him from the sides. The brunet let out a second yelp, curling into a ball on the floor with his jacket over his head as Izaya smacked the blond away.

"FLEA-"

"No Shizu-chan, bad!" Izaya pointed a finger at his incredulous face, "not during my work hours!"

"But you don't even know what he did!"

"I said no Shizu-cha- SHINRA!" Izaya kicked the megane who started clinging to his legs, "let me work!"

"But Izayaaaaaaaaa-" he wailed, curled against his friend's back, "I didn't mean to spill juice on his notes! I already said sorry!"

"Are they bothering you Orihara-san?" Kurada called from the end of the aisle, having run over when he started to hear yelling. Izaya waved him away, "I know them, it's okay, Shizu-chan eat some sugar and cool down!" he shoved the package of sweets at him, "Shinra, go organize the noodles!"

"Isn't that your job?"

"Do you want him to get at you?" he pointed at the blond who was curiously inspecting the treats.

"YOU WANT THEM BY BRAND OR BY FLAVOR-"

XxX

Katsue subtly fixed her hair, combing her fingers through light tangles, taking the break from the influx of customers to take out her compact and touch up her lip gloss; she never needed anything more than color to her lips, so she didn't mind the lack of powder or mascara. She finished up by unbuttoning her shirt a little, just as Izaya began having issues with the items at the highest shelf.

"I'm going to go help Orihara-san," Yasuda muttered, about to take a step when he was jerked backwards with a sharp tug. "You crazy? I'll go help Orihara-san, you go back to work-" Kurada pulled again at the back of Yasuda's apron, forcing him another step before he too met the obstacle of another coworker.

"You guys are too short, I'll go help Izaya-kun, you continue working," Tsukiya strode only three steps before being grabbed by his fellow employees. "Fuck that!" Kurada looked angry, a light dusting of red across his face, "I said I was going to help him, so back off!" Tsukiya scowled in return, "Why so defensive? I said I was going to do it, so if you know what is better for you, you'll get back to work, you and Yasuda-" he continued, practically running with them hanging off of him, having more strength than the two combined, barely managing getting three feet within range when they all started talking at once, smacking each other away in a manner not unlike a cartoon fight cloud.

"Orihara-san needs help?!"

"I WILL HELP YOU ORIHARA-SAN!"

"THESE TWO ARE TOO SHORT I WILL HELP IZAYA-KUN-"

"Stupid flea-"

The unfamiliar voice drew their attention, the three turning just in time to see the blond that came in just a while ago press against Izaya's back, munching on the sweets the raven gave him earlier, nudging the item precariously perching between the edge of the shelf and his fingers in place, "you're obviously too short for this."

The blush dusting Izaya's features was an obvious sign of defeat.

-_- xXx … xXx -_-

OMAKE:

"So~"

Kyohei was a little surprised by the feminine voice next to him, having been too distracted by Izaya shrieking that Shizuo was getting crumbs in his hair and Shinra chatting up the older ladies at the register about his two friends' non-existing romance. The girl was pretty cute, a smile lacing her face and her posture shy and coy as she edged closer to his side, arms crossed beneath her chest.

Speaking about her chest-

"So, what's your-"

"Miss, your shirt is unbuttoned-"

"Eh?"

"Your shirt," he repeated, pointing at her chest, "the buttons are undone."

"H-HUH?!"

"Ah, sorry, excuse me, I have to shut my friend up over there.. SHINRA THEY'RE GOING TO HIT YOU AGAIN-"

"Oh yes, and Shizuo-kun is so sweet to Izaya-kun, true love Sachi-san, really true love! Not as true as mine, but close enough…"

-_- xXx END CHAPTER xXx -_-

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed C': Once again, sorry for the massive delay, but enormous writer's block, massive issues with college that weighed me down so badly, and a lot of personal issues simply gave me no desire to even work on anything.

A lot is fixed for now, but I still have to make college my priority C: I will still try to update (because you guys were massively responsive to stalkers), but yeah, just letting you guys know.

If anyone is still reading this, I am grateful for your support!

ALSO:

In my absence, I grew to ship Izaya's stalkers Atsushi and Maxwell NOT SORRY NOPE THEY'RE MINE I CAN DO THAT- (if anyone wants I am willing to make the slice of gay I dug up available to you guys, but until then NOPE-)

I even wrote some gay for them XD

Thank you again and expect this to still be updated~!

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ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SHIZUO PRECIOUS BABY!