Kirou was feeling lost. Not physically no, for he knew the dirty backalleys of Rukongai as well as only one who grew up in them could. No he was feeling emotionally lost. It's been a whole week since he left the Black Raiders, his old gang, and decided to start a new life. Rukongai was not an ideal place to start a new life though, people still saw him as a fearsome bandit. He ignored their looks of fear and aprehension as he walked through the streets with his head hung low and his shaggy black hair slightly covering his eyes. He had grown up near here in the 11th District as a thief and a pickpocket. He had always had a high level of reiatsu and had gone hungry a lot. Living off whatever scraps he managed to collect, he had built up his reiatsu and eventually learned not only to control his own power but also the name of his zanpakutou. He glanced at the wakizashi hanging at his hip from its red sash. "Well old friend, where to now?" he inquired quietly to his only companion, his only salvation from the loneliness that tugged at his heart.

Suddenly he recognised the sounds of a scuffle taking place. Turning in the direction of the sounds, he noticed a group of four men surrounding a old man in blue rags. Anger flashed in his hazel coloured eyes as he walked over to the group of men, bandits no doubt. They were all very large and dressed in dark purple outfits. The tallest one, who appeared to be the leader, was branishing a hunting knife with a wickedly curved blade at the old man's throat. "It's easy old man. Just give us your money and you can go." he said with a menacing smile.

Kirou inched closer, taking in the situation. There were four bandits. Two had knives with them. One had a large wooden pole and the other one was unarmed. They were standing in a circle around the old man. Kirou went to stand behind their leader and grabbed his wrist in a vice grip. The leader whirled around in surprise and glared at the young man gripping his wrist. The harsh, unforgiving rays of the sun had given him a tanned complexion and the daily struggle for survival had built up his muscles. "What the hell is your problem kid? Let go before we kick your ass!" the leader growled at Kirou, trying to pull his wrist free. Kirou only tightened his grip and narrowed his eyes. In a low voice he replied, "Try it." The leader wrenched his wrist free and lashed at Kirou with his knife. Kirou sidestepped around him and delivered a swift kick to his head. The unarmed bandit attempted to grab him from behind but Kirou, having anticipated the move did a neat backflip over the man. The bandit with the pole, who had been planning to hit Kirou with it while his comrade held him still, was too late to pull back his swing and hit his partner instead. As the unarmed bandit doubled over in pain, Kirou lunged forward and punched the other one in the stomach. With his leader knocked out and his other two comrades writhing on the ground, the fourth bandit turned to flee. Kirou growled and tackled him to the ground and drew his own weapon, the wakizashi with the red hilt and black guard. "Please don't kill me." the bandit whimpered. Kirou scoffed and replied, "Kill you? You're not worth it. Hand over what you stole" The bandit handed the old man's small bag of coins to Kirou who punched him in the face and broke his nose. Blood spurted down his face and Kirou wiped his hand on the unconcious bandit's shirt. He walked over to the old man and held out the bag to him. "Here." he muttered gruffly. The old man accepted the bag with shaking hands. "Thank you..." he began but let out a scream when he noticed Kirou's attire. Kirou was still wearing his Black Raiders outfit since it was the only set of clothes he currently owned. "You're a Black Raider! Stay away from me!" the old man backed away from Kirou with a terrified expression. Kirou sighed, shook his head and muttered under his breath, "Yes let's completely ignore the fact that I just saved your ass old man." He looked back to the old man and noticed the terrified stares of the other people in the street.

With a sigh he turned and began walking away. He hadn't noticed the bandit leader stirring and leaping at him from behind, intending a sneak attack. He turned around and saw a flash of blue and white knocking the bandit away. The figure landed on his feet and was revealed to be a small boy with snowy white hair tied into a ponytail. He was wearing a loose blue shirt and baggy pants, a darker shade of blue. He held a straw hat in his hand which he placed back on his head before turning to Kirou. Kirou rubbed his neck and said, "Nice move."

The boy with the teal coloured eyes glared at him and asked, "Are you really a Black Raider?"

"Used to be. Not anymore though." The boy stared at him. He was wearing the Black Raider outfit although the sleeves of the shirt had been ripped off along with the Black Raider sign that was on the left shoulder. His black pants were ripped at the knees and he wore sandals without the socks. The boy nodded and held out his hand, "I'm Ryusuke Diamondblade. People just call me Ryu." Kirou was slightly startled at how bold the boy was but took his hand and shook it. "Kirou Inukage. Thanks for the save but you should go home now kid."

Ryu shook his head. "Not until I'm completely sure you're not a Black Raider." Kirou studied the boy with his hazel eyes. It took him a while but realization finally dawned on him. The Black Raiders were famous for many horrible things, targeting farmholds was one of them. This boy, Ryu, had to be from one of the nearby farms. "Look kid, if I was a bandit do you think I'd be here talking to you?" Ryu just shrugged and as Kirou began walking away he trailed after him. Kirou ignored him and decided that if he just kept walking, the boy would eventually grow tired and leave him alone. He had no such luck as the boy kept following him through the 6th District all the way to the 10th. The 10th District was right next to the river that ran around one half of Rukongai. They finally stopped when Kirou heard what sounded like someone's stomach rumbling. Turning around, he raised an eyebrow at Ryu who was clutching his belly. "You hungry?" he asked in surprise. He hadn't figured the boy for someone with high reiatsu but now that he stopped and observed him closely, he noticed his high spiritual pressure. It was lower than his own but startlingly strong for someone so small. Kirou fished around in his pocket for some coins and walked over to a food stand where he bought a small loaf of bread. Ryu watched him curiously, he was becoming more and more convinced that this man wasn't a bandit. Kirou returned with the loaf of bread and indicated for them to go sit on the river bank. As they sat down Kirou broke the loaf in half and handed one of the halves to his small companion. Ryu muttered a quick thanks and they ate in silence. Afterwards Kirou and Ryu sat on the riverbank, quietly watching the sunset. "Shouldn't you be going home? Your parents must be worried." Kirou asked after a while.

"No, I told them I was going to be late today." Ryu replied, not taking his eyes off the sunset.

"So what's your story? You're obviously not just some farmboy."

"I don't know. I mean I don't remember much. I was just wandering around the Rukongai. Exhausted and hungry I collapsed in front of a farmhouse nearby. The farmer and his wife took me in. They let me work for them as payment for my lodging and food. They're good people really. They're good to me and treat me like their own son. What about you?"

"I don't really have a story to tell. I was just an orphan like you though I wasn't lucky enough to be taken in by strangers. I had to survive on my own. I had to do some things I'm not proud of too. But I'm trying to leave that life behind. That's why I fought those bandits. I don't want to be a menace to the people of Rukongai anymore. We've already got hollows, bandits and jerkface shinigami to deal with. I want to protect them I guess."

Ryu smiled slightly. "You must be pretty strong though. If you survived on your own this long."

Kirou looked at him and felt a small smile tugging at his lips. "You're pretty strong yourself, pup."

Ryu's teal coloured eyes widened slightly. "Pup?"

Kirou let out a small chuckle and said, "Yeah. You remind me of a puppy. Small and cute but also tough and fierce."

Ryu smiled and stood up, "Well if I'm a puppy then I guess that makes us dogs. The dogs of Rukongai." he added sadly.

Kirou dragged himself to his feet as well. "The dogs of Rukongai." he mused. "I like it. C'mon let me walk you home."

"You have a place to sleep?"

"Well actually I'm traveling around Rukongai so I don't really have a permanent home. I usually just stay the night at an inn."
"You could come to our farmhold. The farmer won't mind if you stay for a while."

Kirou looked at the small boy as they walked back to the 6th District in a comfortable silence. For the first time in a long while he felt like he actually had a friend. As for Ryu he felt as though he had finally found the older brother he never had. Both were pretty quiet and distant people and maybe that's what made them feel like they understood each other.

They arrived at the farmhold and just as Ryu had said, the farmer and his wife were kind and friendly people and offered Kirou a bed for a while if he was willing to help out on the farm. It was a pretty small farm and aside from a few crops there wasn't much. A small pasture stood out from the rest of the surroundings. There was a big tree right in the middle of it as well as several wooden training dummies surrounding it. The farmer explained that he had made the dummies for Ryu to train with. Since he had such high reiatsu he needed to learn to control it.

A few days later, as Kirou was preparing to leave on his journey through Rukongai again, he noticed Ryu standing in the pasture. He walked closer and leaned on the wooden fence surrounding it to watch. Ryu ran his finger over a small silver ring on his thumb and said, "Dance with the wind, Daiyaryu!" As soon as he did there was a flash of silver reiatsu and Ryu held two identical fans with silver metal lining in his hands. Kirou grinned and leapt over the fence. "How about a sparring match before I go, pup?" Ryu nodded and took a defensive stance. Kirou drew his zanpakuto and held it out horizonally in front of him. "Bite to death, Kiba!" The blade of the wakizashi cracked and chipped off until it resembled a row of teeth like that of an animal. Kirou gripped the crimson hilt and leapt at Ryu. Ryu spun around and blocked Kirou's next attack with one of his fans. Kirou kicked him hard in the gut and sent him crashing into the tree. Ryu barely had time to stand up before Kirou's wakizashi slashed at him again. He used both fans to block the attack this time. Kirou aimed a kick at his head but Ryu blocked it by lifting one of his arms. They leapt away from each other before charging again. Ryu streched his arms out and spun in a circle, a mini tornado forming around him as he spun. Kirou lifted one arm to shield his eyes from the bits of dirt the tornado sent flying. What looked like diamond shards gleamed with a blinding light in the tornado. Timing his attack perfectly Kirou sprung forward and struck Ryu on the side of his head with Kiba's hilt. Having lost his concentration, Ryu's tornado died down and Daiyaryu returned to its sealed state. The snowy haired boy rubbed the side of his head and looked at Kirou with a dumbfounded expression. "That's never happened before. I noticed my fans could control wind but I've never actually created a tornado before."

Kirou sealed his zanpakuto and seathed it. "It just shows that you have a lot of untapped power. You should find someone to train with more often."

Ryu nodded and said, "I've been thinking about that. I want to go with you. I want to help you protect people with this power I have. I already asked my parents and they said that it was a good idea."

Kirou frowned and said, "Sorry pup but I don't think that's such a good idea. Rukongai is dangerous even for strong guys like us. You'd be better off here." And without waiting for a reply, Kirou turned around and began walking away. He was stopped by Ryu who jumped up and wrapped his arms around Kirou's neck. "I'm going with you and that's that. You were the first real friend I ever made. My whole life I've been an outcast. I don't want to go back to that." Kirou's cold expression softened slightly. He knew what it was like to have the dark cloud of loneliness hanging over one's head. He sighed and replied, "Alright pup. If you're that set on it then I won't stop you."

Ryu let go of him and went to gather his things and say his goodbyes. Together the two of them left. One tall and muscular boy with shaggy black hair and one short and slender boy with long tied up snowy white hair and a straw hat. The first of the Dogs of Rukongai.

AN: Okay so I've got the first chapter up. I've decided to do a chapter for each member of the Dogs. A little background story of how they met Kirou and joined up with him. So this was how Ryu joined up. Next is Minami. For a detailed profile on the OC's I'm using refer to my Meet the Dogs where I'm taking OC's and listing the ones I'll be using. Please review and tell me what you think. I'd really appreciate constructive critisicsm, tell me what I'm doing wrong (or what I'm doing right). I have no idea when the next chapter will be up but it will be soon. So yeah please review!