My dog has run into trees before. Happens.
"I'm Ume, the last canine warrior! I like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain…"
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? Everyone got a cool intro six chapters back except for me! So here I am making up for it…"
"JIN!"
Without warning, Tei pounced on the unsuspecting Shiba Inu and pinned him to the ground. He bared his teeth, his face inches from Ume's. "We're doing one-on-one combat and I'm against you." He growled, "Ready to see if you're still the best fighter?"
Ume didn't respond; He just lay there stunned. Tei didn't move, glowering down at him. "Erm…" Ume said uncertainly, "O-okay, you can get off now..."
"I don't see why we have to do this when we're fighting Orochi. It's not like he's a dog." Chi whined, watching the exchange between Tei and Ume with little interest.
"Oh, come on," Hayabusa said, looking excited, "It's good practice. You never know when you'll have to fight. Besides, it's like a tournament! I'm totally gonna win…"
Ninetails and Oki were sitting away from the dogs, watching them with amusement as they argued amongst themselves. "No you won't, I will!" "You? Don't make me laugh!" "Shut up both of you! I'm the real winner!" "Is there a prize?" "Yeah…bragging rights!" "But I wanted bacon…"
Ninetails chuckled softly, and then turned to look at Oki. "Oki…you sure know how to handle them."
Oki looked up at Ninetails, his eyes wide with surprise. "…The Canine Warriors? You're pulling my leg, Ninetails."
"Does this look like the face of someone who's lying?" Ninetails said, trying to look as innocent as possible.
"I don't know. I can't see your face. You're wearing a mask."
Ninetails laughed. "Well I think you know how to handle them, because you're able to get them motivated to fight Orochi! You tapped into their competitive instinct to get them going!"
I'll regret this… Oki thought, as he told the kitsune, "You're not too bad yourself, Ninetails. Would you mind working with the more experienced canine warriors while I work with the others?"
Ninetails gave an excited hop. "Really? Me? Okay!" Completely thrilled, he gathered the four skilled warriors with a sweep of his many tails. "Come on! Since you guys are experienced, we'll start with play-fighting and go from there!"
"Yay Ninetails!" Ume cheered, racing after his newest friend. The other three hung back, looking uncertain.
"Go on." Oki urged them, "Do as he says."
Reluctantly, Hayabusa, Take, and Tei followed the other two. Oki watched them go, heading up a hill away from them. Then he turned to look at the remaining warriors. They all had hopeful expressions, like maybe he had forgotten about them, but snapped to attention when he said, "As for you four…come at me."
They sat there, looking dumbfounded. Chi was the first one to speak up, sounding unsure, "Come at you? W-what, like…just…attack you?"
Oki nodded.
"Go ahead, Chi." Rei invited. "Ladies first!" He and the others laughed nervously. They had all stepped back a couple feet, leaving Chi to deal with Oki. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, making the males cower. Then with a huffy breath, she turned to face Oki.
He sat there, staring at her. She tried to focus, to take her eyes off his hot bod and figure out a way to approach this new situation. She stared at his blue legs, with neat little red rings around the ankles. I'll aim to knock him off his feet… She thought. Then she dashed forward, diving low, with a loud, high-pitched scream.
Oki easily leaped high above her head, a split second before she reached the spot he had been standing in. She looked up in surprise as he sailed over her hand, and then landed on her back with a loud thump.
"Ow!" She protested, as he pinned her underneath him.
"Your eyes betrayed where you were going…you mustn't let your opponent know what you are going to do next." Oki said in the confident voice of a teacher mentoring a student.
Chi sighed dreamily from underneath him, "Even though that was totally embarrassing, I can't regret it."
"Who would like to go now?" He looked at the three males.
"I'll go!" Ko said, stepping forward bravely. Oki stepped off of Chi to face him. Ko stood there, staring at Oki. Suddenly, he started trembling all over. His mouth opened and he began to gasp frantically, as if he couldn't get enough air.
"Ko…" Oki said, sounding worried, "Are you okay?"
As if in response, Ko stopped gasping and started drooling crazily, his eyes wide and staring. He just stood there, shaking, not saying anything. Oki was wondering what to do when—
"Gotcha!"
THUMP!
Ko stood on top of Oki, his tail wagging triumphantly, his tongue lolling. "I did it, I did it!" He woofed proudly.
"Very clever, Ko." Oki said crouched underneath the collie. "I'm impressed…however…" He easily flung the canine off of him, then grabbed his sword and held it over him.
"Owowowowoww…" Ko whined, rubbing his nose with his paws.
"The battle isn't over until it's over…you must always be on your guard! Also, don't expect a trick like that to work on an enemy…they don't care about your well-being like I do. Anyways…next one!" Oki turned to the last two.
Rei shoved Shin forward. Shin stumbled a couple feet, turned, and glared at the Pointer. "Don't push me!" He growled.
"You heard him, it's your turn!" Rei bared his teeth.
"No, it's your turn! Go on!"
"Why you…" With a frustrated snarl, Rei sprang for Shin. The boxer dodged to the side, sending his opponent crashing to the ground, his heavy paws splayed out in front of him.
"Be light on your feet, Rei!" Oki called to him. "That way your attacks will be quicker!"
Rei jumped back onto his feet, shaking his head to clear it. Then he turned and gave chase to Shin, a loud growl ripping through his teeth. Shin ran, looking over his shoulder to make sure he was outdistancing Rei. As he was doing this, he crashed headlong into a tree. Then he just sat there, looking dizzy and in pain. Rei halted, looking concerned. "Are you okay…?" He whimpered.
"Learn to pay attention to your surroundings Shin." Oki droned on, "An enemy could finish you off easily if you don't. Now I'm going to show you a couple battle techniques I picked up while training in Kamui…"
Chi was sitting next to Ko, hissing in his ear, "Rei and Shin were sooo faking that lame battle. They never fight! I bet they did that to get out of fighting Oki."
Ko tilted his head to the side, ears pricked. "I wonder what the others are doing?"
Tei was snarling an extremely ugly snarl, his lips drawn back as far as they could go. His eyes were narrowed and gleaming, his nose wrinkled, and his head lowered dangerously. Ume wasn't phased. He growled right on back, his face taking on the same gruesome features as Tei's. Hayabusa and Take were sitting off to the side with Ninetails, their eyes bright with interest.
"Readyyy…fight!" Ninetails shouted.
Tei leaped forward, his jaws shutting like a trap. Ume dodged, rearing onto his hind legs. Tei didn't hesitate a second, and dove forward, ramming his head into his opponent's stomach. Ume managed to dig his claws into Tei, catching himself, and then buried his jaws into the fighting dog's scruff. Tei retaliated, biting at Ume's lower back. Blood flew in flecks. Ume yelped, letting go of Tei.
Tei refused to let go. There are many different styles of fighting for dogs…some dogs attack quickly, zipping to different spots on their prey to find the best and safest place to attack. Other dogs grab hold, dig their teeth in, and stay true to that hold. Tei was doing the latter, refusing to be shaken. Ume rammed the hound into a nearby rock repeatedly until he was forced to let go. Tei was only on the ground a second, before they were back up, both rearing onto their hind legs, letting loose doglike roars. Then they crashed into one another and were tussling back on the ground.
"Tei looks like he's ready to fight to the death." Hayabusa noted.
"Ha. Too bad for him he's going to lose." Take said, starting to look bored.
"I disagree." Ninetails said with a grin, "Tei is doing well. Plus he has age and experience on his side."
"Maybe a little too much age…" Take snickered, signaling to Tei's gray muzzle.
"Just watch, Ninetails;" Hayabusa agreed, "Ume has a secret weapon. Watch…there he goes…"
Ninetails's eyes widened with disgust. "What the-? Ume, that's disgusting! You're in the middle of a battle, now's not the time to be taking a-!"
BOOM!
"Told you."
Tei landed on the ground at their feet, charred.
Ume pranced over to them, curled tail wagging. "Did I win? Did I?"
"Looks like it…but what the heck happened?" Ninetails said, eyes still wide.
"I used a Poo Bomb!" Ume said proudly.
"WHAT?"
"It's my secret weapon. I can make my crap explode!" Ume said, with an insane look on his face. The other housepets looked rather embarrassed.
"We all have one." Hayabusa muttered, trying to force a smile. "I can dig big holes while Take pees on enemies to weaken them."
"I would prefer if you called it "golden fury" rather than pee." Take growled, ears flattened.
Tei climbed to his feet shakily, his fur fluffed up aggressively. "You think you're a better fighter than me just because of your so-called secret weapon?" He growled at Ume, "Come fight me again, you poor excuse of a warrior! I'll show you who's the rightful leader of this pack…"
Ninetails rolled his eyes. "Not now, Tei. I want to see these other moves…"
"NO!" Tei roared dramatically. "Jin has challenged my leadership. They all think they're better than me!" He glowered at them. It sounded ridiculous, but he was completely serious.
Hayabusa frowned. "For howlin' out loud Tei, you know none of us have any interest in being leader!"
Ume gave a large sigh. "Okay, if this will make you feel better…" And shut you up… He added silently. He walked right up to Tei then flopped on his back, exposing his belly and letting his tongue loll to the side. "You're the alpha and I'm a lowly omega!" He whined pitifully, almost humorously. Tei stood there dumbfounded. Take stifled a snicker.
Tei gave the smallest of smiles. "I suppose that does make me feel a bit better…" He admitted sheepishly.
"Great," Ninetails interrupted, "So now that Tei is done with his tantrum…" Tei's smile disappeared and was replaced by his usual grumpy expression. "…why don't we see some "golden fury" action from Take."
Take turned his back on Ninetails, scowling. "Can't we save this for another time…" He grumbled, his fur feeling hotter than normal.
"Oh come on, you should be excited to have a secret weapon." Ninetails said, starting to go off on a tangent. "Just look at me! I can freeze time, take on any shape I want, create illusions, become a constellation, control any of the elements, paint…"
"If you're quite through bragging…" Hayabusa cut him off. "I really think we should get on with the training…it looks like it's going to storm."
The group had been so focused on their conversation; they had just noticed the dark storm clouds starting to move in from the distance. A faint rumbling of thunder could be heard, miles away. Ume gave a nervous shiver from his spot on the ground. Ninetails looked unimpressed. "Hmph. I can handle a storm just fine. Take, demonstrate your attack on Hayabusa so he shuts up. Do it or I'll start demonstrating some of my moves."
Hayabusa narrowed his eyes. Take curled his upper lip to reveal his teeth. "Fine." He said unpleasantly, making it clear that he wasn't going to enjoy this. Just as he started demonstrating the move on Hayabusa, Oki came prowling up the hill.
"All right everyone, time to wrap up." The Oina warrior was saying, "There's a bad storm on the way so let's find shelter…" He trailed off at the scene before him. Take was poised with his leg out over Hayabusa as if he had just peed on him. Hayabusa was lying on the ground passed out. Ume was also lying on the ground, in front of Tei, and there was Ninetails with a guilty grin on his face. Oki made a face. "I'm going to pretend that I didn't see that, and when I walked up, you were training like you were supposed to be."
Take gathered himself and started to protest, "But we were! We…aww, what's the use of argu-!" A loud clap of thunder cut him off. Ume gave a startled yelp. A fierce wind began to blow.
"Come on!" Oki said urgently, shouting over the wind. "The others are in a cave down the hill. We-!"
"That won't be necessary…" Ninetails interrupted, clutching his sword in his teeth. It sparked with electricity. "You guys keep training. I'll redirect the lightning."
"It's fine, Ninetails, you don't have to do that for us." Oki said, trying to move everyone towards the cave.
"Aww, but lightning's my specialty!" Ninetails protested. Oki looked surprised at these words, so the fox went on. "Out of all the elements I can control, it's my best!"
Oki didn't say anything to that. He hesitated a long moment, then said, "Ninetails, stay here with your lightning. The rest of you, come with me." Then he turned away and took off down the hill, just as rain started to pour down from the sky. The four warriors were right behind him, running as fast as they could go. Ninetails stood back, looking confused, then shrugged, and began to redirect the lightning. A stray bolt almost hit the group on the way back, but veered off into a nearby tree, shattering it.
"That was close!" Hayabusa gasped, racing alongside the others, "I think that one almost hit us!"
"Hey Oki," Ume panted, "How does one control lightning? It seems impossible…"
"Not impossible for someone who can freeze time." Oki said simply as they arrived at the cave and dashed inside. "There you guys are!" The four others sighed in relief, "Get in here, quick!" Everyone filed inside and stood in a huddle, shivering.
"We thought you were toast!" Rei said, licking his lips, "You don't happen to have any with you, do you…?"
"Stop thinking about your stomach, Rei. Where's Ninetails?" Ko asked, a little nervously.
"Betcha he got struck by lightning!" Chi giggled playfully. Then she paused and looked around, as if she really hoped that was true.
"He's outside directing the lightning…which is what I want to talk to you about…" Everyone looked at him questionably. The blue wolf sat down on his haunches, choosing his words carefully. "I want to take a vote on how many of you think Ninetails should help us train with the rest of the elements…"
"WHAT!" Everyone shouted in collective disbelief.
"You gotta be kidding." Tei said, motioning outside. "Just look at him!"
Everyone peered outside, squinting through the rain. There was Ninetails on the hill, cuddling a cute white bunny, keeping it dry from the rain. He was saying something to it. "And I shall call you Fluffy and I will keep you warm and dry and I shall love you forevermore."
Oki turned back to Tei. "Tei, don't be so hard on him, he's just…"
"Look again." Tei growled.
They looked back. With a roar, Ninetails launched himself at the bunny, jaws wide as he screeched, "DEATH TO ALL WHO OPPOSE ME!" There was a squeal, the snap of teeth, and silence. Everyone returned to the meeting, not quite sure what to think.
"Look, I know he's had a past of evil…" Oki said slowly, "But his powers could really prove essential in training for our battle with Orochi. Let's take a vote, and if it's a no, then it's fine by me."
"Then the answer is no." Came Tei's voice. He stood up, eyes burning with ferocity. "I think I speak for everyone when I say there is no way we can trust that sly, fox-faced creep!" Take nodded his agreement from behind.
Ume, however, stood up at this statement. "You don't speak for me when you say that." He said firmly. Then his ears lowered, and his eyes glazed over with the memory of the night before. "Ninetails saved my life. If that isn't enough to earn someone's trust, I don't know what is!"
"I agree with Ume." Hayabusa said, stepping forward. "We need Ninetails's help to learn the rest of the elements to defeat Orochi. Plus, we would only have seven warriors if not for him." He smiled at Ume. The Shiba Inu wagged his tail happily, looking gratefully at his best friend.
"Well I don't." Take disagreed. "Ninetails is dangerous…remember what happened at Kusa Village's windmill? There's no way I would let him train with us after that…"
"So that makes two yes and two no…you all make very reasonable arguments." Oki said truthfully. He looked at the remaining warriors, who hadn't voted. "What do the rest of you think?"
Shin, Rei, and Chi all looked to Ko to speak. He looked flustered at being put on the spot. "Oh! Um…well…you know what they say the more the merrier!" Then he grinned, as if satisfied with his response. Everyone had a sweatdrop moment. "I guess that's a yes?" Oki wondered.
Chi sidled up to the blue wolf, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Well I say no. Ninetails scares me. Oki's such a good teacher, we don't need him anyways!" Then she blushed and giggled nervously. Oki didn't react.
Hayabusa looked doubtfully at Chi, wondering if she was just sucking up to Oki. "You realize we want Ninetails to train with us because he can control the elements, right?"
"Oki can only control ice and there's no ice head." Shin pointed out.
"Of course I…!" Chi started to say, but then she just gave a huffy growl and shut up.
"So I say yes, we can trust him. He didn't get mad when we killed a fox so I don't think he's as bad as you think." Shin concluded his reasoning with a nod.
"I agree!" Rei grinned. "If Ninetails wanted to kill us, he would have done so already. I say we can trust him!"
"Very well." Oki nodded. "I'll notify Ninetails of our decision." He turned and padded out of the cave, silently praying that this was the right choice.
The dogs watched him go. As his footsteps faded, Take said suddenly, "If this gets us all killed, I vote we blame Ko."
"-?"
"Agreed."
