Back in Izaya's apartment, the two men stand side by side, staring at the caged dog, unsure what to do with her next. Shelby gazes between them, huddled in the farthest corner of the cage and lightly growling. "Maybe… You should take a look at her? She has to be in good condition," Izaya suggested.
"Oh, right," Shinra said, leaving the broker's side to approach Shelby's cage, but not before remarking, "You probably should've asked me to do this earlier." Izaya shrugged, having been far more concerned with not getting bitten than Shelby's overall health. Shinra crept up to Shelby, kneeling to her eye level, softly cooing, "Hi, Shelby..! How are ya, pup?"
Surprisingly, the dog didn't respond, and while her attention briefly shifted to the man closest to her, it eventually returned to Izaya. "Shelby?" Shinra called, snapping his fingers in an unsuccessful attempt to regain the Bernese's attention, "Hm…" Shinra decided to go ahead and try to best assess Shelby's condition without letting her out of the cage, regardless of whether the dog's attention was on him or not.
Despite being on the run in the city for over a month, she appeared to be in excellent health from the outside. Her coat was shiny and well-kept, her eyes were clear and bright, and her claws, while a little long, were dull and round. There was a small indent in her lip that appeared to have been there for much longer than she'd been in Japan, and the dog was wearing a red bandana. Shinra couldn't see her gums for the final inspection, but he assumed they were probably nice and pink based on everything else.
"And you said she was never accompanied by anyone, right?" Shinra inquired, clearly skeptical that she had been free for as long as Izaya claimed. "Yes, I'm sure of it! If someone was ever with her, I would have made sure they wouldn't have set her on me again."
"Mhm," Shinra nodded, standing up to quickly fetch a bowl of water from the kitchen, assuming she was thirsty. With Shinra's back to her, Shelby's growls continue as she licks her chops, showing off her razor-sharp teeth while eyeing the broker — a clear threat. To him, at least. It's enough to make him swallow harshly and turn away, going over to the doctor and grabbing his arm, trying to lead him out of the apartment. "Can we talk outside for a minute?"
Shinra refused to budge at first, nearly spilling the water. "What? Why?"
"It's important," Izaya stated, looking back at the dog, "And I don't want her to hear."
"You're being ridiculous," Shinra retorted, "But all right; head out and I'll be there in a sec, I'm going to give her water, at the very least." Izaya nodded and quickly exited, closing the door behind him. Less than a minute later, Shinra joined him, "Alright, what's so important that not even the dog can hear it?"
It wasn't even a moment after the question left Shinra's mouth that he realized that the broker looked… nervous? He knew before that Izaya was anxious about apprehending the dog, but why would he be so shaken now? "...Izaya? What's wrong?"
Refusing to look at the doctor again, Izaya reluctantly sighed, "The whole trip back, and despite how it should've felt, my stomach kept twisting into tighter and tighter knots…"
Shinra appeared perplexed, especially since Shelby seemed to be well-contained and didn't put up much of a fight. What could possibly go wrong at this point? "But she's caged and muzzled, how could she get the upper hand on you now? She's pretty much powerless!"
Just then, a strange sound came from within the apartment, grabbing both the men's attention. "Huh… maybe she knocked her crate over?" Shinra reached for the knob but was quickly stopped by the broker. "If you open that door, I'm done for."
"W-what?"
"I know she's loose in there, she wanted this..!"
"Oh, for God's sake, Izaya," Shinra huffed, opening the door while staring at his opposite. "She's a dog! There's nothing… she can… do..?" Shinra returned his gaze to the apartment and was met with an unusual sight. The crate had been tipped over, but it seemed deliberate, especially since it was now empty and the dog's muzzle was snagged on an outstretched bar of the cage, still swaying.
She was loose.
Shinra entered the apartment quickly, kneeling to inspect the muzzle with curiosity before returning his gaze to the broker, who was clearly now thoroughly spooked. "Now, there's probably a good explanation for this," Shinra said, picking the muzzle off the cage, "You did say she was a circus animal, right? She might've been taught how to escape..!"
It was a reasonable explanation, but Izaya knew better. His gaze was drawn to his bedroom door, which was now slightly ajar, "Bedroom. She's in the bedroom." Shinra turned to face the door and rose to his feet, slowly approaching it. Shinra cautiously peers into the room, trying not to startle Shelby if she is out in the open, and notices that Izaya's bed has a sizable gap underneath. Maybe she was hiding there?
"Shelby," Shinra called calmly, creeping up to the bed before getting down on his hands and knees to inspect underneath, "Are you there? It's okay to come out..!" Before Shinra realizes the space under the bed is empty, the dog bursts out of the closet behind him, shooting right past him and out of the room, donkey-kicking the door behind her to temporarily halt Shinra's pursuit. This obstacle doesn't stop a muffled shout from escaping the room, "Izaya! DOG!"
Shelby had slipped free of Shinra and zipped through the apartment, lunging upward at Izaya, just as he feared she would. The broker was only able to snap out of his fearful trance at the last second, raising his arm to take the brunt of the bite, but her weight knocked him to the ground. Shelby stood on top of him, shaking his arm until she abruptly released... and then quickly moved backward. The dog, in no better position, took advantage of his downed state and clamped onto his groin instead.
He didn't make a sound, but he was certainly trying, the painful bite being more than enough to take his breath away. Izaya's entire body tensed, curling around the dog as his shaky hands tried to pull Shelby off, all while she tugged and pulled backward. Shinra, as swift as ever, opened the door and was met with a horrifying sight. "OH–!" A little shaky under the pressure, Shinra prepared one of the syringe sedatives he brought along.
He quickly headed over to plunge the needle into Shelby's side, pushing the plunger of the syringe down as fast as he could as the broker tried in vain to get Shelby to release. Shelby let Izaya go with a yelp, her attention quickly shifting to Shinra, the needle still dangling from her side. Shelby bared her teeth and snapped her jaws at Shinra, possibly threatening to do the same thing to him now as the broker curled up into a ball behind her, clutching himself.
As Shinra slowly backed off and Shelby advanced, her eyes began to flutter and her growls trailed off. And almost as quickly as it all had happened, the dog's legs buckled and she toppled to the floor, completely out cold. With Shelby temporarily dealt with, Shinra stepped over the dog and knelt down next to Izaya, "Are you alright?!"
Izaya didn't answer, only able to whimper after such a devastating attack. "Okay, uh, just stay here for a minute — I'll get her back into the cage and then we'll deal with your… situation." Shinra was now left dragging a large dog back into confinement while Izaya gradually recovered.
At least now Shinra was starting to believe there may be more to Shelby than meets the eye, too.
