Chapter 6
Lulu had not been lying when she said she had once been treated as Hajime's pet. The Border Collie bitch was 9 years old, and for a few years, she lived outside of the kennel with Hajime himself. Because dogs were quite observant towards their humans, Lulu could pick up on things specific to Hajime himself, one such thing being when he fell asleep. Now, Lulu had a limited knowledge of the human concept of time, but had often found herself watching Hajime in her youth, counting down the seconds until he fell asleep. It was almost always 360 seconds, or 6 minutes. So when Lulu's strong ears picked up Hajime getting into bed that night, she was quick to start counting.
Around her, dogs yawned and whispered "good night" to each other. Her ears pressed against her skull; she wanted nothing to distract her and make her lose count. When she was at 195, the only sound that could be heard was the gentle snoring of her kennel-mates. Her counting continued until she reached the lucky number, and she could hear the sounds of sleep coming from the upper part of the house. Everything was going perfectly.
As quietly as she could, Lulu crept towards her kennel's door. She lifted a paw and slid it through one of the spaces, and pawed at the latch. Remembering Hajime's hand movements, the Collie managed to unlock her kennel. She stepped out and turned to Kintora's kennel. The puppy was fast asleep in a corner, unaware of Lulu's plan for her.
"Hey, kid," Lulu whispered as she approached the pup's kennel. Kintora began to stir, gazing up at the older bitch with tired eyes.
"Huh? She murmured. "Lulu?"
"Yeah, kid, it's me," replied Lulu. Kintora's eyes widened.
"H-How'd you-?"
"You learn a few things when you spend all your life with humans," Lulu cut off, a careless tone in her voice. "That's not important anyway. I'm getting you out of here."
"Really?" Kintora chirped, getting to her paws and wagging her curly tail. Lulu nodded. "Oh, thank you!"
"Heh," the Collie bitch laughed softly. "Don't mention it. Our, uh, little talk earlier got me thinking...maybe just accepting this life as the norm isn't as good as I thought it was. I know it's a bit late for me to learn this lesson now, but, I want to spend the few years I have left as more than just a baby-making machine. I want to be loved again. But it's not just me who wants to return to happier times. You've got to get back to your family, back to Ohu...I'm giving you the chance to go back. Please...don't waste it."
"I won't," said Kintora with a grateful nod. "I promise."
"Good."
With that, Lulu unlocked Kintora's kennel. Together, both dogs walked upstairs. Kintora's ears tilted towards Hajime's bedroom, hearing him snore.
"Don't worry," said Lulu. "He's a deep sleeper; he won't catch us. Come on." Lulu led Kintora across the dark living room to the front door. As they approached, Kintora noticed the small square shape at the door's base. She gazed up at Lulu curiously.
"That's called a "doggy door"," explained the old bitch. "Humans let their dogs come in and out of the house with it. You can leave through here."
"Won't you come with me?" asked Kintora. "We can be free together. We'll go to Ohu, and Daddy can let you be an Ohu warrior!"
"Nah," Lulu shook her head. "I've got to stay here. Someone's got to help Hajime become a better man." Kintora made a face.
"You still wanna help that jerk?"
"Yes. The man I once knew is still in there. I'm going to get him out." Lulu then smiled. "Besides...if this all works out, maybe you'll see me again. Like I said, Hajime comes from Akita. Maybe I'll see you killing a demon bear or something."
Both bitches laughed, before Kintora faced the doggy door. She stared back at Lulu one last time.
"Goodbye, Lulu."
With that, she sprinted out into the night, darting across Hajime's lawn and running down the street. Lulu watched from the living room window, waiting until she had completely gone from sight. Without a word, Lulu got off the couch, walking to Hajime's slightly-ajar bedroom door. As his snores grew louder, so did the pounding of Lulu's heart.
Creeeeeeeak….
The door swung open with the push of a paw, and Lulu stepped inside. This was it...she was going to do something she hadn't done in years. Hopping into the bed, Lulu walked to Hajime, lying down at his side, her head on his chest. Her ear twitched; his heart sounded so...soothing...It wasn't long before Lulu was lulled to sleep.
Kintora's eyes fluttered open the next morning, a yawn escaping her maw. Where was she? She couldn't be sure; all she remembered was running as fast as her legs could carry her. She entered a large, bright place, and...well, it seemed she had just been too tired to continue on.
Looking around, Kintora noticed she was in a large, shadowy alley, surrounded by odd-looking (and even odder-smelling) containers. Loud noises were coming from the alley's end. Zooming past the alley entrance were the human vehicles: cars, trucks, and the like.
"Is this..." murmured Kintora. A city?" She got to her paws, walking to the alley entrance and looking out. The sight nearly took her breath away. Buildings taller than she'd ever seen stretched to the sky, and throngs of humans walked along the sidewalk. Kintora yelped as a man clad in a suit nearly stepped on her.
"Hey!" cried the man. "Stupid dog..."
Kintora retreated back to the alleyway, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath. Mentally, she berated herself. An Ohu dog such as herself had no business running from things; she had to start her journey as soon as she could.
Grrr...
Kintora glanced down at her stomach. She decided that she would have a quick breakfast, then make her leave.
Her nose pressed against the ground and she began to search. She was led to one of those smelly container things. Kintora really didn't want to have to rummage through disgusting trash, and was almost tempted to change her mind about eating, when her stomach growled again. Sighing, she realized she had no choice.
Kintora hopped into the container, tearing at trash bags and pawing at their contents. She winced as stains formed on her once beautiful pelt, the sweet shampoo Hajime used on her being masked by a musty odor. The humans were behind this, no doubt; Kintora was really starting to hate them.
"Aha!" the puppy yipped as she tugged a bone from the trash. It tasted like bird, not one she had ever eaten, but it still tasted pretty good. She found another, and another, and another. Soon, she had a small pile of bones at the base of the garbage can, ready for her to eat. Kintora settled with her breakfast and chowed down happily.
She hadn't gotten three nibbles in, however, when a low, raspy voice caught her attention.
"Heheheh...what do we have here?"
Kintora looked up to see three large mongrels stalking towards her, their wild eyes glowing with murderous intent. Kintora felt herself tremble slightly, but despite this, she put on a brave face. The trio stopped, towering over her small body. There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Kintora stared at the three strangers, trying her best not to look away in fear.
"Those are some nice lookin' bones y'got there, kid," the leading mutt purred, his tongue running against his fangs.
"Yeah?" replied Kintora, resting a paw over her meal. "So?
"So...I was just thinkin'..." The large male dragged his claws against the pavement, the noise causing Kintora to flinch. "How's about you hand 'em over to us? We're starvin'."
"N-No way," said the pup. "I worked hard to get these bones. G-Go find your own."
The three dogs glanced at one another, before laughing cruelly.
""G-Go find your own!"," mocked the second dog. "Ha! That's rich."
"We should keep her," said the third. "I could use a laugh like that more often." Kintora let out a little growl.
"H-Hey, I don't want any trouble, ok? I-I don't wanna have to use my special attack on you guys." The trio laughed again.
"You? A special attack? And what would that be, runt?"
"The Zetsu Tenrou Battouga, the attack my grandfather, Gin!"
There was another silence. The three mutts now looked confused.
"Gin?" repeated the leader. "That Japanese dog from those old stories?"
"Those aren't just stories!" snapped Kintora. "They're real! Gin killed the Demon Bear, Akakabuto, with his special attack! I'll do the same to you if you don't back off!"
"You sure got an active imagination, kid." The leading mutt edged closer to Kintora. "But I have more important things to worry about than stories about spinning dogs. I'm hungry. Beat it, or I'll have you for dessert-ACK!"
The stray stepped back, blood trickling from his nose. Kintora growled up at him, ears lowered and hackles raised. The stray stared down at her, the violent glow in his eyes brightening.
"Alright, kid...you asked for it."
He suddenly lunged forward, his jaws wrapping around her small body. Kintora couldn't scream, the grip was so tight. She could only make strained grunts as the stray shook her body mercilessly. He threw her, and she slammed into the brick wall of the building nearby. She slid down to the ground, lying motionless. The scarlet flow of blood ran from the gash that had formed on her head. A tear fell from Kintora's eye as she realized that this was going to be the end. The stray advanced on her, pressing his paw down on her body.
"Die, brat."
With a fierce snarl, he lunged again, preparing to deliver a killing bite. But before Kintora could feel the sharpness of his fangs, the body of another dog collided with him, knocking him away. The stray yelped as he was pushed into his followers, and they landed in a heap of fur. Kintora looked up in awe at her savior. It was an Akita, like herself, but she was larger than the average Akita female. Her body was mostly white, with dark brown on her back, shoulders, and head. A warmness shone her eyes as she gazed down at the puppy.
"Hang on," she said comfortingly. "I'll protect you." Kintora could only nod, dumbfounded. The older Akita glared at the mongrel trio. The leader managed to get to his paws, glaring daggers at the bitch.
"Mona," he snarled.
"Ronald," Mona replied, her voice rich with contempt. "Attacking more innocent pups, I see."
"Heh...it's not like Cujo wouldn't do the same," said Ronald. "I was going to kill her quickly. Cujo...you know how he likes to torture 'em."
"You're both disgusting." Mona lashed her tail angrily. It only caused Ronald and his comrades to laugh.
"Careful what you say, girlie. Cujo may want you as his mate, but if he hears about you going against his rules and insulting him…"
"I don't care," the Akita growled. She stepped over Kintora's body protectively. "I'm not going to sit around and let any more innocent children die because of that monster."
"Is that so? Well, Cujo would be very interested to hear that." Ronald looked to his two followers. "C'mon. To the boss."
The trio slinked passed Mona, flashing her ugly sneers as they vanished into another part of the alley. Mona sighed, glanced down at Kintora.
"Are you ok?" Kintora nodded, too weak to speak. "Come on, let's take care of those wounds of yours."
Kintora looked off in the direction the three mongrels walked off in. Mona followed her gaze, and chuckled.
"Don't worry about them. I won't let them or Cujo hurt you. My name's Mona. You can tell me yours later. For now…" Mona leaned down, carefully picking Kintora up by the scruff. She walked off, with Kintora being completely at her mercy.
