Author's Notes: Since Stray Dog was such a hit I decided to go ahead and make a sequel to this hit story. And tada! This is the result! x3 Enjoy reading it because I sure enjoy writing it! :D

Chapter One

Coming of Age

Prologue: In the Oasis town known as Morroc there was a young girl known as Tobias. Her brother, Ashi, had mysteriously vanished one night and was never heard from again. The young girl aged and with time she began to train herself in the ways of a gunslinger to survive in the world while she had her one true goal; finding her brother. She had left Morroc with her pet baby desert wolf Sabaku on a journey to Einbroch.

On her quest she had met a female ninja Keoki with her pet Bongun Yamai. With her help Tobias managed to escape the tunnels of Ant Hell, but a fearsome monster of the desert sent them to an early grave in Niflheim. It was here that they met the fearless knight Kaze and the young girl Angel. The group managed to escape the clutch of the reaper, the Lord of Death and returned to Prontera where Tobias met Fire, a gunslinger like her brother.

Having gained new friends, the novice now made it to Einbroch where she would take the test to become a true gunslinger. In the face of death she passed the test, and now as a fresh new gunslinger she began to travel the lands in search of her brother, facing many dangers and obstacles along the way. Their travels brought them to many places before the snowy town of Lutie, where Garm, the ferocious frozen wolf posed threat. With teamwork and help from her brother, they slew the beast and Tobias was reunited with her sibling.

After recovering from battle wounds Fire proposed to Tobias to spend the rest of his life with her, to protect her always. With the resentful permission of her brother, the two were to be wed, and so everyone made the journey back to Prontera, where the wedding would be held. To keep away from the hurtful memories of missing her brother, the two agreed to stay in the capital city, while their friends journeyed on back to their homes.

While Kaze kept his home in Prontera, Keoki and Yamai returned to Amatsu, and Angel had at last found her parents thanks to a lot of research. Their lives had returned to normal for the most part and for a little while Tobias and Fire got to live in peace with occasional visits from the knight. However in the three years time the group had been separated, a new danger was rising in the world, and it would soon bring the group out of retirement, to this time become heroes of Rune Midgart.

--

The sun hung high in the sky over the ninja village Amatsu as birds flew off in the distance. The air of spring felt cool and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, giving a romantic haze about the town. It was days like this that felt the best to the Bongun, Yamai closing his eyes to feel the light breeze. He stood on the porch of Keoki's house, enjoying the spring evening, but dreaded the wait of something even more dire to him.

Over the last year Keoki had found a boy she seemed infatuated with, this of course broke Yamai's heart, but he couldn't gain the courage to say anything against it. For a while the two ninja went on dates, and today was another of them. Yamai, being lost without Keoki, would follow them in secret, watching and learning as to what maybe he could do to change her mind.

"I'm heading out Yamai, please keep an eye on Dai-sensei for me." Keoki said with a smile as she waved to Yamai, passing him on her way down the steps. The Bongun watched her with a small frown, it seemed ever since she had been going out with this other man she was starting to get distant from him. He gave a reluctant nod as he watched her go, then looked back as Daichii came out from the house, watching Keoki hum a little as she headed out. Yamai lowered his head as he debated whether to follow her or not, but stumbled forward a bit as the old man gave him a light push.

"You're a strange one Yamai." He said, but still had a smile on his face. "I've notice that ever since I first met you. You should fight for what you want, isn't that what Keoki taught you?"

"U-Uh..." He blinked before he looked back down. It was one of Keoki's morals, to fight tooth and claw for what you wanted. Maybe that was something he needed to do. It was like he was given an invitation and he quickly took up on the offer, he stepping down off the porch quickly to make sure he didn't get too far behind Keoki.

The young ninja smiled a little as she stood under one of the cherry blossom trees, awaiting her date to arrive like he had. Sure enough it was like a small gust of wind blew, the petals now swirling around a figure next to her. As the petals fell to his feet, the brown haired ninja smiled lightly at her, holding out what looked like a blue rose. Keoki's eyes widened before she smiled, taking the rose from him before smelling it a little.

"A beautiful blue rose, for a beautiful young lady." He said with a smirk. From beyond his tree of hiding Yamai scowled a little. He couldn't stand him, for more then one reason.

"And it's always my favorite color." Keo said with a smile. In an almost gentleman way her date held his arm out for her to take, and once she did they began to head off. The Bongun watched them before slowly making pursuit, the same way he had done many times before. The male ninja led Keoki to their favorite spot, the bridge that overlooked the waters, right next to the Amatsu Shrine. Keoki held the flower in her hands as his arm went around her, they looking down into the water. Yamai now kept himself hidden in a bush as he watched them, a frown on his face.

"Today is a lovely day, don't you think?" Her date asked her. Keoki nodded, but blinked once his finger was placed under her chin to redirect her gaze to him. "But ... nothing could ever be as lovely as you."

"U-Uh!" A blush swept over her face as she looked into his eyes, he leaning in slowly as their eyes began to close. Yamai bit his bottom lip a bit as he watched, he couldn't take it much more, his heart ached at every moment. They were drawn in close before the ninja pulled away, taking a shuriken and throwing it in Yamai's direction.

"NUH!" The Bongun yelped out as he jumped back once the blade landed in front of him, and with eyes narrowed, Keoki's date stepped in front of her, his hand held out as he blocked her.

"I had a feeling we were being followed. Why don't you go back to the cave you came from Bongun?" He growled. Yamai seemed hurt by those words, but ... they were true, that's all he was, he was a Bongun, not human ... he wasn't real. Keoki looked over his shoulder to Yamai before she pushed past him, walking up to the frightened bongun on the ground.

"Yamai, I told you to stay with Daichii-sensei." She said with a small sigh. "What are you doing out here?"

"You know this monster?" The ninja asked, scowling in Yamai's direction.

"Yes, he's my pet, not a monster." She seemed to glare back at him as she spoke in defense of her partner. Yamai looked at her with a blank stare before he straitened up once she looked back to him. "Now, please go back ho--"

Keoki's words were cut short when there was a sudden explosion coming from the shrine, one of the shrine maidens rushing up to her as they whimpered.

"Keoki-san! Sorai-san! The shrine is under attack by a monster! We tried sealing it away but nothing is working!" She panted out as she stopped in front of the ninja. Looking up at the smoke rising from the roof, both of them got ready to defend, Keoki looking back to Yamai before she leaped off.

"Yamai stay here okay?" She asked of him, but before he could answer both the ninja were gone, he looking down a little with a small sigh. He couldn't stay there, he had to be next to her knowing she could be in possible danger. He made a look of determination as his hands went into fists, he getting up before rushing off after them on foot and into the shrine.

Deep within the shrine now stood Keoki and Sorai, the female ninja kneeling down a little as she picked up a few broken pieces of the building. Looking them over she made her way to a hole that led down into the underground part of the shrine. Whatever was attacking the shrine must have came from inside the shrine it's self. She dropped the wood before she started to descend into the hole, but stopped once she saw Sorai giving her a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she looked up at him.

"We're going IN there?" He said, pointing into the hole.

"Well yeah, how else are we going to find out what happened? Geeze." Keoki huffed before slipping down into the hole. The male ninja watched her before giving a small gulp, slowly following her deeper into the shrine. Once they had gotten farther down Keoki took one of torches off the wall and used it to light the way, stepping lightly to not make much noise so they could listen for anything out of the ordinary.

The ninja held the flame out, looking down at the ground which had scattered debris all around. Most of it was wood and some plant life, but among it was was looked like a small trail of dark liquid. She leaned down before dipping her fingers into it, causing Sorai to make a disgusted look. Feeling it between her fingers she seemed to glare at it, then looked off into the darkness, holding the torch out as she followed the trail with her eyes.

"It's some kind of ink." She said, looking back at Sorai. He looked around as he got closer to her, but it seemed out of a little fright.

"Ink? What kind of monster would leave behind a trail of ink?" He asked.

"Just have to follow it and find out." Keoki replied, walking away from him as she headed in deeper. The male ninja seemed to stare in disbelief before reluctantly following after her. Deeper in the surroundings got darker before everything was pitch black, not even the light from the torch was bright enough to light more then a few inches around them. Sorai suddenly gave a yelp as something dripped onto his shoulder, causing Keoki to turn before staring up a bit. More of that black liquid was everywhere, coving the ceiling, walls, floor. It was the cause of the darkness in the tunnel.

"This ink is everywhere!" He cried out, trying to get it off him. Keoki just seemed to ignore him as she held the light out. She stopped though once she heard something like a hiss, she reaching out and slapping Sorai to get him to shut up. He whimpered, placing his hands over his mouth once she hit him, his eyes going wide as he looked up. Above them were a pair of red eyes, gleaming down at them as the hissing got louder. Keoki's eyes narrowed as she held grabbed a kunai, holding it out in defense. A second pair of eyes opened underneath the red ones, causing Sorai to shriek out once a sudden force slammed Keoki into the wall.

"AUGH!" She cried out, hitting the ground once she slid down it. Her entire side was black, covered in ink from the walls. Wincing a bit Keoki stood, reaching out for the torch. In the dim light she looked up to see a snake like creature who seemed to be wearing a lord like hat. It was wrapped around what looked like a dark round ball which also had eyes and the snake seemed to be gripping tight to a jar of ink on one side, and a large paint brush on the other. As she reached out for the light the ink from the jar rushed out, grabbing her wrist before throwing her to the side. Again Keoki hit the wall, shaking from the impact.

"S-Sorai! Don't just s-stand there! Help! ... Sorai?" Keoki called out, but blinked once she heard footstep rushing off back down the hall. That cowardly fool had abandoned her! She growled as she stood, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. Slithering could be heard behind her, and instinctively she jumped to the side, avoiding more of the ink that tried to grasp her. It was time to focus on her senses since sight was no longer an option. Panting lightly she closed her eyes, focusing all her thoughts as she listened. She could hear the footsteps of the creature, they seemed to be far from her like it was searching for her in the dark.

If she could buy some time from this, she might be able to figure out just what it was. She had pretty good knowledge of the creatures in the area, but this one she had never even seen here before. It didn't belong here in the first place, so the matter now was how and why it made it's new home within the shrine. As she thought she began getting lost in her thoughts, her focus was now straying from keeping eye on the creature, and thus failed to notice the sound of slithering right next to her. Her failure to notice this would not go unpunished for before she had time to react the ink from the creature whipped out, grabbing her around the neck.

Keoki choked out, quickly grabbing at the ink to try and free herself. It was proving a task more difficult since the liquid was formless and proceeded to simply move around her grasping hands. More pressure was applied as she was pushed up against the wall, she starting to lose her breath. The more she grabbed and hacked away at the ink, more seemed to take it's place, covering her mouth, nose. What a way to go, strangled to death by ink. Her grip began to loosen, arms falling to her sides. Was this it? Before she had time to give a last thought she heard the quick sound of footsteps, the sound of a sword being brought out before it slammed down into the ink. A screech filled the air as the liquid arm fell apart, letting her fall to the ground.

"Ack ... S-Sorai?" Keoki coughed out, blinking a little once she felt herself being picked up. There was something different ... there was no warmth to this body, but it felt very familiar. This wasn't Sorai at all. Quickly she was swept up into the figure's arms where she felt them running off, away from the creature and towards the faint light that came from the remaining torches. In the flicker of light she could see his face ... her savior wasn't Sorai, but someone who cared more for her then anything. The Grave Keeper's rested against his back, it was then she knew ... Yamai had saved her.

His face could be seen from the light which was growing brighter, it was almost like a dream. He looked so determined to get her out of here, to keep her safe. Keoki found herself blushing just being in his arms. Yamai kept running as fast as he could to get her away from this place, his teeth gritted as he used every ounce of energy he could to power himself forward. It wasn't enough however, for enraged the snake creature threw more ink out, grabbing his foot and causing him to trip forward, falling on Keoki.

"UH!" Yamai whimpered, pushing himself up and off of her before he looked down. He blushed madly as he scooted away from her, shaking in nervousness but it was quickly lifted as he used his sword to cut away the ink. Keoki watched as he tried blocking the blows from the liquid, it shifting form to turn into blades quickly cutting away at the poor Bongun and causing him to fall back, cut and bleeding.

"Yamai!" Keoki cried out, reaching out to him as he took her hand, getting up with her help, but remained in front of her, protecting her with every fiber of his being.

"I won't ... let anything happen to you..." He whimpered out, holding her hand a little tighter. She looked down as he held her hand like that, but glanced back up once the monstrous beast stomped towards them.

"Yamai ... why are you--" she began, but was cut off when he turned to face her.

"K-Keoki ... I ... I love you!" Yamai said, biting his lip a little afterwards.

"What?"

"Sorai doesn't deserve someone like you! You barely know him, but I ... I know ... I'm just a Bongun ... I'm just your pet ... but ... I love you ... more then that. More then him!" Yamai whimpered as he stared at the ground. "I didn't want to say anything ... I wanted you to be happy... I'd do anything for you ... and your happiness."

"..." Keoki paused as she stared up into his eyes. She had never heard him talk like this, let alone say so much. He had just confessed his love for her, said he'd do anything for her. She could feel her face heating up in a deep blush, the same one that covered Yamai's. Her eyes closed as she leaned up, her arm going around him as she held him tightly and placed her lips to his. Surprised by this Yamai's eyes widened a little in shock, but swept in the moment his eyes closed with hers as he leaned down, returning her kiss as his arm went around her, holding her close. It was the moment he waited for, the moment he dreamed of. It finally was coming true. Who cared what happened now, he was together with her, and it was all he needed. The monster started to surround them with ink as it crawled up the walls, ready to encase them in the thick black liquid.

Don't ever ... let go of me...

--

Birds flew over head over the capital city Prontera, the spring air was cool and cherry blossoms fell from the sky, indicating the season. The town was busy as normal, merchants out on the street selling their wares. All classes could be seen out and about but there was one small figure among the crowd. A little girl in a black lolita dress, the sleeves wide at the ends, not connected to the dress but still remained on her arms. It was decorated with lace, making the outfit seem fitting for this young girl. Green eyes stared down at the ground as she sat on one of the benches in the middle of town, watching a bird peck at the ground. Her wild black hair seemed only tamed by the two pigtails that fell down in front of her. She looked to be only three years of age, but with the way she was dressed one might guess she was older.

The girl seemed to be waiting for someone, her hands in her lap as her eyes followed the bird once it flew away. The sound of nails clicking on the cobblestone walk could be heard, stopping in front of her. Bushy tail wagged as she glanced up, looking to see a desert wolf standing in front of her.

"... Saba..." She said quietly, the wolf leaning in and nuzzling her lightly.

"Aria-chan!" Sabaku barked as he hopped a little. Over the years he had indeed grew full size, no longer a pup but still acted like one. His tail wagged more as he knelt down, Aria looking to him before slowly slipping off the bench and grabbing hold of his fur. With a little help she now rode on his back, holding him around the neck as he began to trot off with her.

"Your mommy and daddy are still busy shopping, but Sabaku will watch you." The wolf said with his eyes closed in a happy look. Aria was an odd girl, for she seemed to rarely smile even though she wasn't sad. It was perhaps one of her characteristics. He began to take her towards the city limits, though he stopped once he noticed one of the guards having trouble with something. Slowly he made his way towards him, but stepped back as the guard was shoved to the side, the female ninja growling as she shoved her way past the guard.

"GET THE FCK OUT OF MY WAY!" She growled, storming inward, behind her slowly followed the bashful Bongun. She stopped once to look at Sabaku, then the girl riding on his back before she did a kind of double take as she walked up to him. "... Sabaku?"

"Keoki!" Sabaku barked, his ears perked up as his tail wagged. Keoki gave a bewildered stare at him as she stood, her head tilted a bit.

"Woah ... it must be longer then I thought..." She said, then shook her head as she looked around. "But never mind that, where Tobias? You know what, never mind, I'll find her myself."

"B-But wait!" Sabaku blinked a little as she rushed past him. He didn't have time to ask her why she and Yamai looked battle worn, but it was sure to be something important, so making sure Aria still had a grip he began to trot after them as Keoki combed the crowd for the gunslinger.

"Grr, only time I actually want to find her and I can't..." She growled, pushing past a few people, Yamai flinching a bit as he apologized for her reckless behavior. Seemed even after those years Keoki hadn't changed much either. After looking past almost everything she finally saw that familiar red coat, she smiling as she rushed up to her, only to smack Tobias across the back of the head. Taken by surprise the gunslinger flew forward into a fruit cart, the produce going everywhere as Tobias face planted into a watermelon.

"HEY WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?!" Tobias blurted out, turning around as she yelled. She blinked a little as she looked through the seeds to see the ninja glaring down at her. "Holy crap you look awful..."

"That doesn't matter right now, you and Fire need to come back to Amatsu with me! Some snake beast thing with ink has taken over the shrine and it won't be long before it does something to the town!" Keoki said, holding her hand out to help her up. Tobias took it before dusting herself off, wiping the melon from her face then holding a finger up.

"First off..." She began, then growled as she smacked the ninja over the head with a large paper fan.

"OW! DAMMIT!" Keoki burst out, reaching out and grabbing her cheeks before stretching them out. Tobias did the same, the two standing there in the middle of the street pulling on each other's cheeks. Sabaku blinked as he made his way through the gather crowd, watching the two fight. He should have figured the moment the two saw each other something like this would happen. Aria let out a small whine as he felt her grip his fur more, he looking back to her before laying down to let her off.

"Ermhm..." There was the sound of someone clearing their throat, the two stopping their pulling to look up at Fire who stood over them holding bags in his arms. "Err ... what's going on?"

"Fire!" Keoki smiled, shoving Tobias in the other direction before she stood. "You have to come help us! Amatsu's under attack!"

"YOU DIDN'T LET ME FINISH!" Tobias roared out, pushing her aside.

"Oh boy..." Fire sighed as he looked off to the side.

"We can't go." The gunslinger growled, crossing her arms.

"W-What?! Why not?!" Keoki said in a state of shock. It wasn't like she was doing anything important. What was more important then the safety of a friend?! The little girl from before rushed up to them before grabbing hold of Tobias' leg, whimpering as she held tightly to her. Suddenly it all made sense ... the green eyes ... wild black hair. "Wait a minute..."

"I have a bigger responsibility now..." She sighed, her hand gently resting on the top of Aria's head.

"This ... she is ... uh..." Keoki stumbled on her words, looking down at the girl as she clung to Tobias' leg still.

"This is Aria, my daughter." Tobias looked at her before leaning down, picking up Aria and holding her in her arms as the little girl hid her face in her chest.

"Wow... I certainly missed out on a lot of things. But you can't, you have to help! There is not enough help in the village to tackle this thing!"

"We can't just let Amatsu fall prey to a monster." Fire said, looking to his wife. She looked down a little, holding Aria close as she did.

"Come on ... I need all the help I can get..." Keoki said with a sigh, looking down. Yamai watched her a little before stepping up, bowing down before Fire and Tobias.

"Please ... help us. Please do it for Keoki." He asked of them. The two looked at each other before back down at him. Tobias sighed, her head tilted to the side as she closed her eyes.

"Fine, just get up please." She groaned a little as she stared off to the side. "Sheesh, way to use a secret weapon Keoki."

"Oh shut up! You should be grateful to help after all the things I've done for you!" Keoki snapped back. Tobias narrowed her eyes before setting Aria down, she then smiling at her as she pet her head a little.

"Alright, listen to Mommy. I want you to stay with Sabaku no matter what, okay? He will keep you safe." She leaned down, kissing her forehead a little.

"... Saba?" Aria said, pointing back at Sabaku.

"That's right. Stay with him." It was so weird to see Tobias doing all these motherly things, Keoki was used to the half witted gunslinger she used to know, but times had changed ... 3 years had passed and already in that time Tobias had started a family. Keoki sighed lightly as she looked to the ground, however she began to blush as she felt Yamai take her hand. Perhaps she wasn't too far behind in changing her life, but there would still be problems in what this relationship would bring.

Once everyone was ready they met outside the gates, ready to head out. Once more Tobias and Fire had their weapons at hand, something they hadn't had over the time they were together. Aria rode on top of Sabaku's back, the wolf seeming eager for adventure once more. It wouldn't take long to get to Amatsu if they kept at a steady pace, but something seemed to be missing, or rather someone. This wouldn't go unnoticed however, for as soon as they were about to leave they were stopped by the sound of a Peco Peco squawk. Keoki glance up before her eyes narrowed, Kaze looking at her from atop his mount.

"What's this? Going somewhere without me-- UH!" He began to talk but was jerked forward as the ninja pulled on the reins of the bird, guiding him along as they started out. Looked like the knight was coming along for the ride, whether he wanted to or not.