Shelby glared out of the bars of her cage, making no sound as she stared at the broker sitting on the couch in front of her. He was returning a mean stare of his own now that he had to press an icepack into his aching groin to relieve the pain. Neither party budged from their spots. While this was happening, Shinra paced behind the couch as the two engaged in the brutal stare-down, lost in his thoughts.

Shelby could still be a very well-trained dog, but things were becoming increasingly difficult for him to explain. There was also the way the dog stared at Izaya, which was starting to freak him out, too. He was relieved not to be on the receiving end of such an intense gaze, especially now that he knew she wasn't afraid to take cheap shots. Shinra had also noticed the hair along the dog's spine standing on end again during this latest staring contest, something that only seemed to happen when Izaya was looking directly at her.

It could be the general stress of her situation, sure, but maybe there was something more to it. "Her fur," Shinra started, stopping his pacing to look at the caged dog curiously, "Does it always stand on end like that during your encounters?"

"Not as far as I've noticed," Izaya grumbled, not taking his eyes off Shelby, "But she's almost always been behind me, so it's hard to know for sure."

Shinra nodded and continued, "I just ask because it could be a sign of fear." Izaya scoffed at the suggestion, "Fear? I highly doubt she's biting me because she's afraid of me, I mean, she seeks me out just to do it!"

"Well, with her history, this just might be her way of dealing with her feelings," Shinra explained, "Though why she seems to seek you out… that might be harder to figure out."

Izaya sneered as he leaned in close to the dog in front of him, "There's nothing hard to figure out about it, she's a personal demon sent from Hell." With a snarl, the Bernese lunges forward, nearly tipping her crate again and making the broker jump back and land in his seat with a pained hiss, quickly fixing his icepack.

"It doesn't help to antagonize her, either, you know, especially when you're already hurt." Shelby barked lightly at Shinra as if she agreed with him. Nonetheless, Izaya continued to frown at the dog, "What do you suggest I do, then? Make friends with her?"

"Yes, actually," Shinra replied, moving around the couch and back to the crate, catching the dog's gaze. "You're not going to let her out, are you? She's probably not too happy with either of us right now, let alone me," Izaya noted. Oh, he didn't think of that, realizing that Shelby was glaring at him now, almost giving him the same stink-eye she gave Izaya.

"Maybe I'll call for backup instead…"

Back in the heart of Ikebukuro, a familiar bartender sits crouched near a plate of food and a bowl of water. His shift had ended well over an hour ago, but he'd been hesitant to leave without seeing the dog he'd been feeding. Her appearances were erratic when he first began leaving food for her, but it was unusual for her to be this late at this point, let alone miss a meal period. "Still waiting on dog?" Simon asked as took a break from handing out fliers, approaching Shizuo, "Yup."

"There's lots of reasons she's not here tonight," Simon reassured with a smile, "Don't worry too much!" Shizuo nodded along, but he suspected there was a reason the dog hadn't shown her mug, his gut told him something more sinister had occurred; he just wasn't sure what. Suddenly, a loud, otherworldly revving sounded not far from Russia Sushi, causing many heads to turn to look in its direction.

Shizuo quickly rose from his spot and dashed to the roadside, where he joined a small crowd hoping to see the infamous Black Rider as she rode by. His goal, on the other hand, was to try to flag her down and ask her a few questions — she gets around, maybe she's seen the dog? Shizuo waves his hand as if hailing a cab, hoping to catch Celty's attention and get her to stop.

As she speeds by, it doesn't appear that she has noticed him, at least not until he sees her slow down and take a turn nearby. Shizuo moves away from the crowd and in the opposite direction, hoping to see her again. Fortunately, he comes across her parked on a street corner after a hurried trot, her head turning just in time to see him approach.

"Hey, Celty," he greeted, "I got something important to ask you." She took out her phone and began typing, subsequently showing him the screen. 'It must be pretty important if you risked getting hit by traffic. What's on your mind?'

"Well, it's probably not that important, actually being a bit of an odd question, but have you seen a dog around here lately?"

'There's a lot of dogs around here,' a new message read, 'Though I have a feeling I know which one you're talking about. Big black dog, rust and white markings, red scarf?'

Shizuo appeared surprised she knew which dog he was asking about, but with all the work Celty does, he probably shouldn't be too shocked, so he continued, "Mhm, that one; she didn't show up to eat tonight, and since I know she tangos with the flea, maybe you'd know something..?"

Celty nodded, piquing Shizuo's interest, and concern, as he waited for her to type out her next line. 'I should keep things quiet, but I've been worried about her safety. Izaya has her holed up in his apartment — Shinra's there, too — and they called me to come help them with something.'

"Oh, I see," Shizuo huffed, "Guess I can't be surprised he'd eventually try and pull something, but maybe she's still all right if they're calling you in… hopefully."

'If you're truly concerned,' the next message read, 'You're more than welcome to follow me there. It's hard to tell what those two have done.' Shizuo decides to accompany the rider, nodding in agreement before allowing her to hop back on her bike and lead the way at a steady pace.