AGKamon: Well, because my writers' block for my other two fics is still running rampant, I decided that this will be my resort for when I have the dreaded block because ideas for this little series of oneshots seem to randomly flow to me. Also, I still have no actual name for the Okane no Inu. Or age. Or really anything about her except that fact that she's probably mute, lives in a warehouse, possibly has some form of agoraphobia (according to Tom Tanaka), and runs the Orange Belts.

Anyway, Tom and Shizuo aren't in this one - although Tom is mentioned - because I was trying to figure out how Inu interacts with Izaya.

I don't own Durarara! or any characters or events associated with it; I only own Okane no Inu and her gang, the Orange Belts.

Pipes and Annoyances

Ikebukuro's relatively famous Money Dog strolled the perimeter of her territory once again today. For a reason she couldn't place, her entire being felt on edge, as if someone was going to try invading her sanctuary. Again. She would've thought that the rumors flying around the city about the last person who tried that would scare all potential intruders away. Even though those same rumors were quite exaggerated.

After all, she'd only given the man a black eye and a bloody nose; she hadn't actually beat the crap out of him like most said.

Scratching behind the ears of the pair of canines following her as a form of reassurance, she continued to maneuver around the occasional piece of random debris left behind from the people who'd been here before her. She really should have cleared it up a while ago since she'd been living in this area of 'Bukuro for five years now, but with running the Orange Belts and trying to keep herself from falling into debt, the time to do so just couldn't be found.

And she couldn't ask her members to do such a task for her, this was something she should do on her own. Besides, they did enough for her as it is.

Hearing a growl sound from the throats of each of the dogs, she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up. She really hoped this intruder didn't carry a gun; she had never found use for a weapon and preferred using her fists, but even she knew that she couldn't easily win a fight against someone with a gun.

"Ah~ Inu-chan~ it seems your little doggies have found me, eh~?" She flinched, instantly recognizing that voice and cursing its owner's existence, hoping he'd go away as she thought horrible things about him. It was such a shame that things never worked out that way.

She whirled around to face the voice, narrowing her eyes at the black-haired man before her, Izaya Orihara. Expectantly raising an eyebrow silently, she crossed her arms and tapped her foot, wanting him to give her a reason not to punch him. She'd been able to accomplish such an action a few times, but he was fast, so she didn't doubt that he'd probably be able to slither away like he usually did.

"Inu-chan, why are you so hostile towards me? Whatever did I do~?" He chuckled darkly after each sentence, informing her that he really didn't care about her silent threat or about why she wasn't his biggest fan. Breathing out some air in a sigh that didn't make a sound, she stepped forward - fists clenched tightly - and attempted to land a punch on the young man's face that probably would have caused a fairly severe nosebleed and a bruise that would last for a while.

Alas, her target bounded away - rather unlike the snake that he was - laughing the entire way.

"Aw~ Inu-chan, you're so interesting, but why won't you talk to me~?" Turning away from the annoying man, she continued on her patrol even though she now knew who'd been prickling her nerves. After all, Izaya didn't actually want to cause any harm to her, she suspected that he just wanted to annoy her. That was all he ever did when he came around; she didn't allow him in willingly, but she couldn't honestly find a way to keep him out.

When her annoyance came closer, one of the dogs barked, baring its teeth and sending Izaya bounding away again. He just seemed to randomly pop up when she was on patrol, and then he'd vanish before she made it back to the warehouse she called home. It was weird, she had to admit, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"It seems your doggies don't enjoy my company, Inu-chan~ What about you? Do I bother you~?" Stopping in place and turning her head to glare at him, she flicked his forehead, causing him to flinch slightly, before continuing on her way. As she walked, she grabbed an old-looking piece of pipe and wrote in the sand and dirt that covered what used to be cement.

'Yes you do, Izaya, now go away,' was what her words said.

"Boy, you sure are blunt, Inu-chan, but that's part of why you're so interesting~! Not to mention that I happen to find your silence and willpower to keep it so amusing, especially when you obviously want to say something. You do want to talk, don't you~?" Grip tightening on the pipe she was still holding, she swung it out to her side, not wanting to deal with a bleeding person in her territory but really wanting to scare Izaya away so he'd never come back.

"Ow! Hey, that actually hurt, Inu-chan! What the hell was that for?" As she turned back to him, her mischievous grin quickly turned into a frown when she noticed that she'd somehow managed to actually land a hit.

How had she done that? Either way, Izaya was still bleeding, and she didn't want to deal with a possibly dead person on the property that she considered to be hers. After all, she'd heard from some of her unluckier followers that jail really wasn't a fun place to be, but she didn't want any proof of that.

Rolling her eyes, she yanked Izaya up by the arm and began dragging him towards her warehouse.

"Oh~! Never expected to hurt me, did you, Inu-chan~?" Silent as ever, she simply tugged a little harder on his arm and trudged more quickly through the lot that no one who didn't have permission - except Izaya - dared to venture through. She wasn't sure who was more of an idiot right now: Izaya for annoying her while she was holding something metal, or herself for using said metal object to hit something. No wonder she was so against using weapons unless completely necessary; they always caused more problems.

At last, after enduring who knows how long of Izaya ticking her off even further, she opened the door to the warehouse and shoved him through the entranceway before storming off to find some disinfectant and bandages. She really shouldn't be helping such an insufferable jerk, but she didn't like hurting people, especially when there was blood involved.

Hence why the man who tried to spy on an Orange Belts meeting only got a black eye and a bloody nose, she had threatened him with worse afterwards and was extremely happy when he ran away with his non-literal tail between his legs.

"Hey~ Inu-chan, can you hurry up~?" As she mentally complained about the slimy man probably settling himself at her kitchen table she thought that she really wished she didn't have to stay silent, just so she could tell him off - just once.

Gathering the piece of gauze, roll of medical tape, tissues, and disinfectant, she walked out of her bathroom, kicking the door open for herself before laying out the materials on the table. Sure enough, Izaya was sitting there with a line of blood on his forehead, his chin resting on his folded arms as he looked ready to fall asleep.

Then again, what if she'd given him a concussion?

Frowning more deeply than ever, she smacked him on the top of the head with one hand as she wet one of the tissues with the disinfectant she always had a steady supply of. Dabbing the substance on his injury and not caring when he cringed, she noticed that the cut wasn't as bad as she'd initially thought. Still, she had the supplies out, so she might as well finish what she was doing.

Izaya, seeming strangely toned down, drew circles on the table with his index finger as the young woman held the gauze to his forehead and used the medical tape to keep it in place.

Despite the irritation that she associated with him, the Money Dog didn't actually dislike Izaya, he just bothered her to no end. Once again pulling him to his feet, she proceeded to drag him circles around the large room, hoping he'd get the message so she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of finding a paper and a writing utensil to literally spell it out for him.

"Ah~ You're fearing I have a concussion, right?" he asked lazily. "Why don't you just let me call Shinra? He'll take care of this~"

Having heard her friend, Tom, mention this 'Shinra' before, she relented, hoping that this person would get Izaya away from her. She wasn't used to having him around for so long, and she didn't want him to gather that she held no bad feelings towards him, only irritation.

Holding out her hand, awaiting him to hand over his cell phone - which he did - she found her way to his list of phone numbers and eventually discovered a number which was labeled with name 'Shinra Kishitani' and pressed the call button. She held the phone out to Izaya again, who took it back and wandered aimlessly - stumbling a few times - around the room as he chattered to the person on the other end, explaining the situation in an extremely long and drawn-out explanation.

"Okay~ I'll be expecting her then, thanks Shinra~" With that, he snapped the phone shut and turned back to the Okane no Inu with a grin and a nod in her direction before walking towards the door. Hoping that, even in his obviously confused state, Izaya had some idea of what he was doing, she only watched him from the doorway. He stood on the invisible border that separated her territory from the rest of Ikebukuro, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

Eventually, just as she was about to drag Izaya back inside, a figure in a black outfit riding an equally black motorcycle halted in front of him. Izaya mounted the bike, and the pair rode off to who knows where. And quite honestly, the Money Dog didn't care, she was just happy that she didn't have to deal with Izaya for the rest of the night.

Looking towards the clock, she let out another exhale of air; it was late, exceedingly so, and Tom was visiting early tomorrow. She had to check the safe to make sure her money was there, not to mention that she did need some sleep.

She glanced out the window, nodding at seeing that the dogs from earlier had gone back to whatever they usually did and weren't waiting for her for some reason, and then she headed up to the second floor of the warehouse.

Letting out a yawn as she settling into bed after changing into something more comfortable, she decided that tomorrow was going to be a really, really long day.

AGKamon: Yeah, I think I'm going to make this into a series of little oneshots - or something like that. But I have to say that I really do like writing for the Money Dog, and yes, Okane no Inu and Money Dog will be swapped often; sometimes I'll call her one name, sometimes the other. Although, the people of Ikebukuro just call her Inu - or in Izaya's case, Inu-chan - for short.

Anyway, thanks to Randompie for reviewing and giving feedback on whether to make Inu mute or not. I'm leaning towards her being mute, but I still want one more opinion on the issue.

Also, did I get Izaya in character?

So, review and I hope you enjoyed reading.