Durarara!! Light Novel Volume 09/Chapter 03

"Do I really seem like such a hedonistic thrill seeker? I'm not as onmipotent or liberated as I would need to be to do any little thing that seems fun. Being a monster, you might find this hard to understand, but human beings live within many varied strictures. Total freedom is a luxury afforded only to those who are prepared to ride headlong to their miserable deaths. And I don't want to die yet."

- Izaya Orihara

Fleabrain is the third chapter of the ninth Durarara!! light novel.

Synopsis
Shizuo Heiwajima, Tom Tanaka, and Vorona are confronted by a man seeking information on Izaya Orihara after hearing rumors of a connection between Izaya and Shizuo. Shizuo gives the man time to run away, and when Vorona is playfully attacked by an admiring Mairu and Kururi Orihara on their way home from Rakuei Gym, Shizuo warns the twins to keep their connection to Izaya quiet out of concern they might become targets of Izaya's adversaries. At the same time, Celty Sturluson is meeting with Izaya to get the details of her next job.

In a nightclub VIP room, one of Hiroto Shijima's college-aged associates gives him the intelligence he had collected on Izaya's sisters from observing Shizuo earlier that day. Shijima, dissatisfied with his surveillance, sticks several darts into the man and leaves him bleeding, showing the rest of the room his own dart-inflicted scars, given to him by their boss, Kimoi, for their failure to eliminate the Awakusu-kai lieutenant Mizuki Akabayashi earlier in the summer. With his subordinates fearful and attentive, Shijima repeats their goal of working in the Dollars' shadow and stealing Amphisbaena's system for Heaven's Slave.

Chat Room
CallowCadet makes his debut in the chat room, introducing himself to Saika. They briefly discuss her relationship with Mikado Ryuugamine, and Anri explains to Shinra in private that she has not invited Mikado to the chat room because she is not ready to explain the username "Saika."

In a Dark Place 4
In Amphisbaena's bar, Earthworm continues to taunt Izaya, balancing a lit birthday cake on top of his covered head. As she recites some of his personal information, she begins to discuss the information she has acquired about his middle school days, which may be when his current personality began to form.

Character debuts

 * Hiroto Shijima

Cultural References

 * When mocking the naming system of the Raira schools, Earthworm mentions the widely-known American novel The Catcher in the Rye.