New Age

The prequel to A Tough Start, but can easily be red alone. Not much to say other than; enjoy ! ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own the original characters showing up through this story, nor do I own the rights and I'm making no profit with my writing.

Warning: Much harsh language and violence.

A slender, brawny body connected with the dusty ground with a heavy thud. Limbs shaking uncontrollably and fur coloured by large amounts of blood. The male tried to calm his racing heart and the pain in his body, he couldn't ignore. He raised his head, blood cascading down from the corners of his thin lips. He laid his ears back against his neck and attempted to snarl menacingly at his attacker, but the sound died out and all that came was a gurgle, as he throttled on a breath. His face burned; the large and deep gash slant across his face, had clawed out his right eye and taken his left ear along as well. Blood gushed out relentlessly, running downwards his shredded skin, pooling on the ground beneath him. The pool became bigger and bigger as each second passed, and he knew he was done for.

"So.. Minazuki of Mutsu, some last words?" an ominous, monotonous and calm voice spoke above him, making him blink his only remaining eye in confusion.

"Come on, you must have something to say," the voice continued, but all Minazuki paid attention to, was the almost silent sound of droplets of his blood spilling from the speaker's lips and landing on the ground before him.

"You.. You'll be sorry. Ou won't allow this," Minazuki wheezed out hoarsely, proud of the confident tone in his voice. He panted quietly, each intake of breath painful to his bruised throat.

"Well said, Minazuki!" another voice, this time below him. He turned his head with great difficulty and found himself lying very close to the edge of the enormous crater of Mutsu. If his attacker didn't kill him, the fall would certainly crush him.

"Uzuki is on his way to Ou! They'll make that scum regret what he did to you!" the same, much kinder voice yelled. He easily recognized the voice as Hazuki's. Minazuki looked down through his blurred vision and saw the entire Mutsu platoon and an Ou platoon led by a wolf with a scarred face, captured down in the depths of the steep crater. Hazuki, among many others were shouting to him, making promises to make his attacker pay for his deed, but Minazuki only heard Hazuki.

"You won't get away with this, Shane!" another strong voice reached Minazuki's ears. The Ou soldier, Great. Apparently, Great knew the person, whom had ruthlessly beated Minazuki half to death.

"Just because your uncle betrayed Ou, doesn't mean you have to follow in his footsteps! Stop this madness, before it's too late!" Great howled at the top of his lungs, sounding highly in despair.

Minazuki's attacker, Shane stifled a chuckle at Great's cry. He took a glance down at Minazuki, gaining the husky's complete attention.

"'Before it's too late'," Shane echoed, shaking his head at the stupidity of it. He then averted his eyes, staring straight down into Great's brown eyes, even from the large distance. Then, in a smooth whisper, but with a hard firmness to it, he spoke: "It became too late the day my uncle died by the fangs of an Ou dog."

Great recoiled as the words hit his sensitive ears. "You're mad, Shane! You're doing all this for revenge?!"

Hazuki narrowed his eyes, but couldn't make out the features of Shane. In the short time Minazuki had been fighting Shane; Hazuki had not been able to truly look upon him because of the distance and limited sight. Now, he happened to be curious about this male's appearance. All he could see was brown brindle fur, unlike anyone else's of that breed he had encountered.

"Minazuki! You won't die for nothing!" another voice reassured Minazuki loudly, this time unmistakably Kisaragi's. Minazuki knew perfectly well he was going to die either way, so he appreciated that his leader and friend didn't beat vaguely around the bush like Hazuki did.

"Enough of this," Shane said above him, and Minazuki received a powerful, well-aimed kick in his chest. Before he knew it, he couldn't feel the ground underneath him and he heard his friends in the crater scream his name in anguish. From there, there was nothing but painful darkness.

Brown eyes flickered around, eyeing their surroundings with a steadiness even evident in those captivating orbs. Glossy silvery grey fur with faint tiger-stripes adoring the pelt. Brawny and strong frame, sharp, but young facial features and three scars across the figure's forehead. The tail was carried high and curled over, touching the back. It was easy to see that the male was a purebred Akita Inu.

The majestic Akita stood on the top of Gajou, watching as his pack followed their usual routine. His eyes spoke of nothing but grace, power and experience, gliding around in their sockets as he kept a watchful eye on everything that occurred below him.

"Gin?"

The youngster's head turned towards the speaker, a gentle smile curled onto his lips. He whirled around completely, facing the newcomer and offered a nod with his head to indicate that he was listening fully.

"It seems Retsuga and the others are having trouble up north, near Mutsu," The other's voice was powerful and wise, though smooth and silky as he spoke of one of the platoon's trouble.

The voice belonged to stunningly white Kishu male with eyes radiating such a rich glow of red, that it was hard to miss.

Gin's youthful, but highly prudent eyes widened as the Kishu informed him. He averted his gaze a tad, already having conflicting thoughts banging through his skull.

"Morgan and Corbin have already gathered a platoon to help them, but I think sending some more experienced fighters is wiser," The Kishu continued, gazing at the younger with concern and respect.

"I think you're right, Akame," Gin answered, a faint smile flashed in Akame's direction. "How many are we up against, then?"

"That I can't say, but Uzuki said help was urgently needed. Seems like the enemy know of the Mutsu domain and Retsuga's platoon is now trapped in the massive crater," Akame replied, a short memory of the fateful fight Ou once had against the Mutsu generals, rousing up in his mind.

"What of Kisaragi?" Gin's voice was now with a tint of frustration. If the Mutsu generals had been defeated, help was more needed than first expected.

Akame exhaled deeply, drawing in an equally deep breath, before uttering: "Kisaragi and Hazuki are trapped as well, but Minazuki is most likely dead. Uzuki managed to escape and he arrived here only a few minutes ago."

Gin held in a sigh. If the captured Ou soldiers were out-numbed, which they probably were, it was almost impossible to escape. Also, the faster help arrived, the better.

"Send Morgan's and Corbin's platoon to Mutsu this instant. Ask Moss and Mushashi to accompany them," Gin's gaze wavered as it encountered Akame's calm one. Akame had noticed the slightly insecurity in Gin's smooth voice, but paid no attention to it. He knew Gin was still young, but he trusted him fully as the leader of Ou.

"But that's not all, Gin. Kurotora and Chutora haven't reported back from Kofu as planned. I fear that something might have happened to them," Akame realized how out of place that sounded. Only a month ago there was absolute peace in Ou, but now an important platoon was under attack and another was practically missing.

Gin heaved his head up, casting a short glance across the field in front of Gajou. "Who can we spare to check that out?" he questioned the elder male, brown eyes narrowed in that determination he was known and admired for.

"I'm afraid there isn't many who can be spared. As you know, someone needs to guard Ou and Gajou.." Akame knew it wasn't necessary to say that. It was his duty to advice, not to lecture the male, he knew was more than capable of handling such a situation.

Gin's gaze dropped as he considered it all. Of course, he could send Akame and John to Kofu and stay to guard Ou, but a tiny voice inside him screamed for him to travel out on another thrilling adventure.

"What do we know of the attackers?" he questioned, watching as Akame frowned in thought.

"All Uzuki mentioned about the enemies in Mutsu, was that the commanding dog was a male by the name Shane. It wouldn't surprise me if this 'Shane' person is behind Kurotora and Chutora's disappearances," Akame replied, eyeing the young Akita; awaiting Gin's next words.

Gin considered any possible scenarios in his mind, finding that only one would end successfully. He turned fully to Akame, speaking softly, but firmly:" Find our fastest messenger and have him get a hold of Hakuro. Hakuro and his pack could be very useful against the enemies in Mutsu. You, John and I will go to Kofu as soon as possible. Wilson, Smith and Jaguar will guard Ou together with the remaining pack members."

The prologue, I hope you enjoyed reading it .p

They'll be four chapters in total and they'll be posted as soon as possible.