Preface

The Hound of the Baskerville's had nothing on the legends of the White Hound – a ghostly apparition with red eyes that stalked the streets at night, larger than a Great Dane and more silent than the distant stars.

Monster, ghost, or real dog – no one knew for sure, but his coming and going could always be felt by the complete stillness preceding his arrival, and the return of the night sounds as he left.
He was the reason children were scared in to going to bed at night and stayed asleep till the sun rose again, and why prayers were muttered before sundown at every home built shrine.

Sometimes, a preternatural howl carried on the wind in the distance – to which old ladies muttered darkly of death and doom. Their superstition was to never whistle in the streets at night lest you called the Hound of Death upon you.

Rin was a playful girl, who loved to talk to anything and anyone – her favourite scenario was enacting conversations with ants and any insect she could find, creating little worlds of her own.
Her mother would let her out to play in the evening when she got home from work after dinner, and Rin would run to the small park next to their apartment complex to indulge in her imagination.

The turn of the season was coming, when the warmer days gave way to the icy gusts of the Kyushu island winter, and Rin wore her little pink jacket and matching boots. She found a stick in the park and began her playtime by tracing patterns in a patch of dirt and talking to the ants that scurried in the subsequent rivulets.
Rin wandered with her stick to the far end of the park and with a small gasp, noticed something white and glowing on the ground under her favourite tree in the shaded corner. She slowed her steps, remembering her mothers' words about staying away from strange things, and yet kept approaching with the impulsive curiosity of a child.
It was what appeared to be an animal – and Rin gasped again at the beauty of it. As she came closer, she saw that it was a dog of some rare kind, and the second thing she noticed was its rapid breathing.
Rin then quickened her pace and came to the side of the dog, falling to her knees. The poor thing was injured – froth came from its open mouth and sagging tongue, and its foreleg seemed to have deep gashes in it.

Rin began crying, and the animal raised its head sporadically and snarled viciously at her.
The little girl did not move, but placed a hand on its head, and touched its impossibly soft white fur, incurring greater wrath from the fallen animal. Rin hushed and cooed.
'I won't hurt you, you're safe now'

The dog glared at her with ruby eyes, and Rin remembered learning about albino animals at school.
'I will get you some bandages'

Rin got up and ran back to the complex, running as fast as her tiny little legs could carry her up the six flights of stairs, and crashed in to her home to the bathroom. She fumbled about in the lower drawers for the bandages and some cream, which her mother had used on her open wounds before. It always stung – but mother said it killed the bad things.
'What are you doing, Rin?' Her mother called after her as she dashed back outside after grabbing a blanket.

She was, for some reason, scared the dog would disappear. She had never seen an animal like it before, let alone in her homely quiet park.
She saw the glow of his fur, and came by his side once more with all the supplies spilling out of her arms; she'd picked up a water bottle as well as some dinner scraps.

Rin squeezed some of the antiseptic cream on to her fingers and said in her childish voice, echoing her mother:

'This will sting, but it will kill the bad things'

The hound eyed her with a hatred and coldness, then snarled as the cream contacted his leg wound, causing a burning sensation to fill his shoulder area.

'It's ok' Rin cooed as though playing with her dolls or speaking to the ants.

She began to rather inexpertly wrap the bandages around his leg, down to the paw, and secured it with a lot of medical tape.
Rin moved to feeding him, and unscrewed the water bottle cap. She poured some of the cool liquid in her small cupped hands and put it right under his nose, but the dog turned its head away in disgust.
Undeterred, Rin offered him some food, to which the dog also snarled at.
'You must eat!' Rin huffed, annoyed. 'Mum always makes me eat when I'm sick, and it helps me feel better even if I don't feel like it'

She sat with the dog until her mother came calling for her – and Rin promised she would return the next evening, leaving the water and food with the animal. She hastily covered the large animal with the blanket she had taken from the living room.

Sure enough, and to her delight, he was still there the next evening, half raised from his lying position. He was not so much foaming from the mouth anymore, though his panting still seemed laboured.

Rin had encountered her father when she came home from school that day, and he had been drunk as usual. A little girl who had inconvenienced his life was an easy target.

The red eyes of the hound seemed to scan Rin, and the girl looked in to its elegantly pointed wolf-like face.

'I'm so happy you're a little better' she couldn't stop her joy from bubbling in to a smile. Though the water and food had gone untouched, maybe the cream had stopped the bad stuff. Rin gasped as the hound moved its head forward and licked under her eye where the cut from her father's hit bled a little.

Rin's little hand touched her eye, and most of the pain seemed to have gone. She thanked the dog and pulled more food from her pockets. She had been more prepared this time with hunks of meat – she thought a dog might prefer that. Holding it out to him, the animal did not take it, and so she put it at his paws, before plopping herself down next to his raised head.

'I've never seen a dog like you before. You're very pretty. You know your fur glows in the dark! I was thinking it's mean of people to make rumours about you that aren't true'

The dog suddenly looked at the girl as she sat happily next to him.

'They always try and scare us with the story of the White Hound, but you aren't scary at all'

The hound bared its large teeth to her and snarled.

Rin looked wide eyed at him for a moment, then burst in to giggles. 'You don't scare me'

The dog seemed annoyed and snorted, flinching when the girl put a careless hand on his head and began stroking his large fluffy pointed ear. He tried to seem as though it did not feel nice.

'I wonder who did it to you?' Rin pondered aloud, looking at his bandaged leg 'if it was some of the people who make mean things up about you, I swear to hurt them when I'm older'

The dog's eyes looked again at the cut under her eye.

'I don't want to go back home' Rin said suddenly. 'I feel at home here'

Slowly, Rin's head bobbed with tiredness, and she dropped against the dog's body, snoozing.

Rin awoke in her own bed the next morning, and that evening, the hound was nowhere to be seen.

*5 years later*

There was not much the little girl could do against the rage of an alcoholic father.
Rin and her mother had gone to find her father when a friend had rung them as they sat at home, saying they'd seen him stumbling down a street in the city.
Rin and her mother eventually found him in argument with a security officer, and her mother had dragged him away with profuse apologies to the man in uniform, ignoring the many insults her husband hurled at her.
Rin was now eleven and used to her father's abuse.

'Stupid slut, that fucker was pissing me off and you interrupt me!'

Rin's father spluttered as he was dragged by her mother down a dimly lit alleyway, away from the censorious public stare.
She knew he would hit her here, but that was better than making a display and having to spend a night in the nearest police station.

Winding through back ways and alley ways, Rin alternately ran and walked to keep up with her parents and tried to cling close to her mothers' skirt.

'Fuckin' – whore' her father hit her mother on the back of the head, but they kept going. No taxi would take them, and it was at least an hour walk home.

Her father was still swigging from a beer bottle, and once he finished, he swung and hit his wife on the head with it, the treacle coloured glass breaking all over her – and Rin watched as her mother stumbled and fell – hitting her head hard a bollard on the way to hitting the pavement. Rin's timeline seemed to freeze, and her body pulsed with shock. Within her, she envisioned two red eyes and soft fur as she gazed in horror at her father.

'Don't look 'tme like that!' Her father made to swing at Rin in a frenzied cry – but her eyes were blinded by luminescent white, and she heard her father scream; - she saw blood spurt across the concrete wall of the alleyway, and Rin fell to darkness.

When she came to – the first thing she saw was a dog, twice the size of her or so it felt – sitting as though it were statue across from her.

'I – its you!'

Rin sat up and gazed in wonder at the white hound she had tended to all those years ago. He seemed bigger, his mane of fur paler.

The dog turned its head and seemed to pierce a gaze in to the darkness. It had taken her to a dimly lit room in some apartment complex, and she had been dumped on a pile of old blankets. How it had carried her, Rin did not know, though as horrifying trauma from before refused to settle in her young psyche, she pondered it for some minutes.

The dog looked back at her, and it seemed to almost be human, such was the intelligence in its eyes.

Rin could not move, and she felt her throat constricting.

The dog came to her and licked the blood from her face; her breath came easier and the little girl clung to the white fur of the animal.

'I hoped you would come' she whispered hoarsely, almost inaudibly.

The hound didn't react in any way, and when it had finished licking her face, the wolfish creature disappeared in to the night, apparently on some errand once it knew the child was alive.

Rin wondered if it had appeared in answer to the call of her mind's eye as a form of repayment for caring for him those years ago.. silent tears coursed down her face.

She never saw her parents again, and neither did she see the Hound – for a good long while.

Rin had been found by missionary workers, who seemed to miraculously discover her in her hidey hole.

From there she was placed in a missionary orphanage and adopted out to a family quickly due to her natural sweet nature and appealing cuteness.

The brain of a child is remarkable in its ability to block out horrendous memories, and for all intents and purposes, Rin seemed to be a normal child. Her adoptive parents knew otherwise however, as she showed symptoms such as long bouts of muteness, pulling at her hair, rocking back and forth, sleeplessness – and strangest of all – obsessively drawing a demonic creature repeatedly – the accursed White Hound. Sometimes she drew a ghostly white shape, and other times – two red dots like eyes – and blood dripping from its maw. The blood of her father.

Both of Rin's biological parents were buried together, but Rin never knew where. The memory of her mother was a dim but gentle one, and the one of her father was one she could barely recount. She was now 18, working at a cafe and studying a Bachelor of Political Science at the top university of Tokyo, due to a scholarship.

Strength of mind may be attributable to her achievements – but Rin believed something in that white dog's aura, or whatever he possessed, healed not only her cuts, but the inner trauma – to an extent. She had to attend therapy sessions as part and parcel of being an orphan, but she rather became friends with her counselor than client.

She was saving up to live on her own soon, in the next few years – once she had a job secured after graduating.
Her ambitions were rather high and her experiences in life spurred her to become fascinated by the socio-political system and its effect on the Japanese people, as well as how best to ensure protection to those suffering any kind of violence.
The Yakuza were a big issue, and she believed a lot of domestic violence and social oppression originated from these ruthless gangs.
They propagated the arms race and built dens of iniquity for women to be debased within their walls and sold living humans as cartel.
That was just the beginning – but Rin believed she could begin to effect change if she pursued a career in politics; - even, if she could gain access to the Prime Minister himself via the Legislative Branch – the National Diet.

She worked 4 nights a week and studied all week, both at university and at home. The café she worked at was only 5 minutes from her adoptive families' home in Tokyo, and she usually walked to and from the place.

The owner was a friend of her adoptive mother, and Rin was her 6 month trial period for the job.
She had to do her best to retain the position and not put her mother to shame; the woman was not unkind, but she rarely showed appreciation or pride in her children, and Rin worked hard to win her silent approval.
She was also a very religious lady, which Rin found strangely in contradiction with the older woman's very stoic persona, but her prayers seemed to have warded off further evil from Rin's life thus far and to that, she was thankful.
School had been uneventful, and she had not encountered further heart break as she had as a child. She thought on the last few years as she began the walk to work for the night shift, passing the old shrine and subsequent temple on the left side of the road. She always bowed as she passed it out of the habit her adoptive mother had put her in.

Rin remembered the White Hound and wondered where the creature was at this moment – local legend still lived on about her old friend even in the futuristic city of Tokyo, far from the island city of Fukuoka in which she had lived as a child.

She arrived at work, and bowed to her employer, straightening her skirt and blouse and changing shoes. She pulled her long brown hair in to a pony tail as she threaded it through the cap she had to wear. The café was a bakery, at the same time as a street vendor and small sit in restaurant.

Rin dashed behind the counter to relieve the day staff worker.

'How was university Rin-chan?' her employer, Kaede, asked.

'I had an interesting lecture on the succession of the Imperial line'

'Oh? The Emperor is nothing but a face for the government now'

'Yes – though it was similar when the Shogun ruled under the Emperor. Now we have the Prime Minister instead of the Shogun'

'I always thought it strange that the Prime Minister now performs all the duties of the Emperor – do we really have an Emperor, in fact?'

'We do – perhaps he wishes to conceal his identity for some mysterious reason. No one even knows his name'

'The Prime Minister sure has his hands full. I don't think we've had a real Emperor for a hundred years'

'Then who do you think appoints the Prime Minister and others in the Cabinet?' Countered Rin 'If they were appointing themselves, surely there would be an uprising somewhere. We certainly don't vote for people to fill those positions as we do with lower ranking politicians.'

'True' her employer mused, pausing as Rin served a customer. It looked like they would get busy tonight with the warm food enticing customers against the cool air.

'And apart from ceremonial functions, he doesn't do much more than that' Rin concluded. 'But the Emperor is still vital. He is the only reason we are classed a monarchy'

Her employer offered her some food 'eat this when you have spare time'

'Oh thank you Kaede-san' Rin was actually very hungry, as she hadn't eaten since breakfast. She became so involved with her studies that she often forgot to hear her own stomach, but despite this she was by no means skinny, to her disappointment.
Kaede and her adoptive mother always made sure Rin made up for her food intake at home and at work; so that she had filled out nicely as she progressed through puberty. It seemed her hormones had favoured growing her chest and hips rather than her height and was rather vertically challenged - but it was true what they said – small things were just as dangerous, like dynamite. Rin's hair even glinted with gusset red in the sunlight, though its shade was still quite dark.

The night quickly became busy and Rin went through a flurry of orders, both at the street front vendor and in the restaurant. She noticed Kohaku from high school come in again, looking lean and genial.

'Hi, Rin!' Kohaku greeted her informally.

'How are you Kohaku!' Rin enjoyed his friendship greatly.

'Studying like crazy' Kohaku laughed, scratching the back of his head.

'Me too' Rin smiled, and took his order. She wished to sit with him and chat, but she had to finish her shift. Rin clocked off normally at 10pm, but Kaede came up to her and said 'you can finish at 9:30 if you like – ' the old lady looked knowingly in the direction of Kohaku. Rin looked shocked, and protested, not wanting to shirk any of her duties and earn her pay.
'Shush! It's an order!' Kaede would not be argued with, and Rin thanked her gratefully. She mouthed '9:30!' to Kohaku, who smiled back.

It came faster than Rin imagined it would – and this is why she preferred business over boredom.

Untying her apron and taking off her cap, Rin stepped around the counter and joined Kohaku outside.

'Busy night' Kohaku remarked, and Rin nodded in agreement.

'It's getting cold again' Rin spoke 'I always preferred the cold'

'Would you like my jacket?'

'No, its fine, I'm very hot from the kitchen! This is refreshing.'

Kohaku playfully said 'you are very hot'

Rin blushed, eyes flying to his, but quickly laughed and pushed him playfully.

'Do you want to sit on this bench?'

'Yeah sure. Here – I brought some more food. I'm pretty hungry' Rin gave him some dango and ate some herself.

'Thanks Rin, between you and my Auntie I'm going to be fit for sumo wrestling soon'

Rin chuckled 'I know what you mean, I forget to eat when I'm by myself, but the older women in my life make up for my memory and then some'

'Are you happy with your choice in degree?' Kohaku inquired.

'Oh yes. I just can't wait to graduate and get in to the real world'

'I understand that. University feels like an incubator, just sheltering you from what's actually out there'

'Mm' Rin began eating the second dango.

The two watched as three suited men in hats passed them by, and Rin narrowed her eyes. It was certainly common to see suited men in these parts, but she saw the edges of tattoos on all of their wrists under the cuffs, and their silence held an aura she did not like. They walked towards Kaede's café just twenty metres away.

A few moments later, Rin almost choked on her food.

For trailing behind the men was a large white dog.

'H- hey!' was all she could manage, and the white dog paused, looked at her for a few moments with its ruby eyes, and continued.

'What a beautiful creature' Kohaku exclaimed 'I have no idea what breed of animal he is!'

'He's the dog, Kohaku – the one I told you about – the one who I met when I was only five or six, and the one who rescued me from my own father!'

'No way!'

Rin got up and followed the animal, with Kohaku close behind her.

The three men entered her work place, and Rin watched from the shadows with Kohaku and her old beast friend as Kaede became a few shades paler and took them in to the back area behind a curtain.

Rin was worried for Kaede, yet shocked and amazed at encountering her guardian dog after so long.

'I wish you had a name!' Rin said to the creature, and it merely ignored her. Kohaku crouched and whistled to it – but that did worse than no good, as the hound let out a growl.

'Rin, are you sure he's friendly?'

'H – he's more what you would call passive, yet ready to pounce' she laughed a little, unease building in her gut at what may be transpiring behind that curtain.

'I have to go check' Rin said in constricted accents, and made to go, but the dog blocked her path with his body, and she was stunned to meet what seemed anger in his red wolfish eyes.

'What a strange creature' Kohaku whispered. Its fur glowed in the darkness, and despite its pale fur and red eyes – it was not an albino. There was no ounce of weakness in the hound's genetic makeup.

'The White Hound' Kohaku whispered in awe.

The curtain rustled, and the three melted instantly back in to the shadows and edged around the building to avoid the three men.

Rin sighed as they reached the adjacent alley way; the white dog wagged his tail low. She wanted to bend and hug him – but this was hardly the time or place to be cuddling a dog.

The three men's shadows spilled out of the doorway of Kaede's establishment, and Rin felt a rolling growl in the dog's belly. It vibrated under their feet.

All in a flash, Rin and Kohaku watched as the white hound made one leap and attacked the small group of men, bringing them to the ground in a matter of seconds, and ripping out their throats right in front of their eyes.

Rin couldn't help but let out a ghastly shriek and the large dog – who seemed to have grown in size – lifted its head and stared at the two humans, his red eyes glowing, and blood all over his pristine white coat. The animal barked at them in a short burst, as though ordering them to come to where he was. Kohaku went first, guiding Rin, only able to do the bare minimum after witnessing such horror.

Rin gazed at the dog in wide eyed shock, her brown eyes glassy with tears.

The hound merely placed his paws on each of the men's pockets. Rin noticed the old scars on his right foreleg from so long ago.

Kohaku bent, and retrieved stacks of money from the deep pockets.

'Holy shit' Kohaku muttered, looking at the stacks of bills to the dog and back. 'You really are a demon' Kohaku stumbled back, his intention to find Kaede and return her money.

Rin sunk to her knees slowly, at eye level with the creature.

'Yakuza?' She whispered, tilting her head toward the lifeless men.

The wild dog's eyes narrowed.

'Do you remember me?' Rin's voice rasped in her own ears as she couldn't look away from those fiery eyes.

The red eyes scanned her up and down. They seemed to recognise her.

'Why is there always blood when we meet?'

Rin held out a tentative hand, and the animal did not move when she stroked the top of his head.

'I thank you for what you did for me, seven years ago'

The dog looked at her a moment longer before looking at one of the bodies and indicating for her put it on his back with a movement of his head.

'C – can you carry it?'

Of course, he could. He carried her, a dead weight eleven-year-old not seven years ago as though it was nothing. She hauled one body on his back, and he made the same head movement. Another? She obeyed the creature but didn't quite have the strength for the second body. The hound lay down on its stomach still balancing the first body.

It made it easier, but it was no small task to drag and lift a dead man. The bodies seemed very precariously placed, but the hound stood as if nothing at all was on his back, and then picked the last one up in his great jaws. Giving Rin one last look, he bounded in to the night, not even leaving their blood behind.

'Did that just happen?' Kohaku returned to Rin's side. 'Where is all the blood – all the bodies, the hound?'

'He took it' Rin answered simply, hardly able to register how the dog managed it at all. He had saved her seven years ago, and now he had saved Kaede, her employer, from racketeers.

'How is she?'

'Shaken. She is currently praying to the White Hound'

'He is no ordinary animal' Rin still stared in to the darkness in which the dog had disappeared.

'I can't believe the legends are true! All these years of hearing of a ferocious gigantic white dog! And he is vicious – but he is not what he seems' Kohaku mused enigmatically, staring in to the same darkness Rin pondered.