Ginga Densetsu Weed: Traitors
Snow was falling, quietly, into the night. A lone dog was slowly making his way through the snow heading deeper into unknown territory. It was much of the same to him, he was of course, a nomad. He never stayed in one place too long. He narrowed his single eye and peered ahead. Two mutts were standing guard over... nothing it seemed. They were just standing there, waiting. Shrugging his heavy shoulders, the Great Pyrenees moved onwards, slowly approaching the dogs.
"Oi, oi! Where do you think your going?"
One barked, while the other attempted to look threatening. The stranger didn't even bat an eye, and continued walking.
"I am just a wanderer."
"That doesn't matter! No one enters Hougen-sama's territory unannounced!"
He kept moving closer. His single eye narrowed slightly in contempt.
"I don't give a damn whose territory it is."
"Bastard! We'll teach you respect!"
The world seemed to move in slow motion as the Pyrenees ducked underneath the attacking mutt, and castrated him. The mutt fell back in pain, while his companion just stood in there in shocked silence.
"I have no time for small fries like you."
He said simply spitting blood out of his mouth.
"Y-you! I won't forget this!"
The other mutt cried, carrying his friend off in another direction. The Pyrenees looked up at the still falling snow, towards the mountains.
"Hougen of the Alps, huh?"
–
Shouji flexed his claws against the tree trunk and pushed his way upwards, until he could rest comfortably on a large branch. They had lived here their whole lives, and hadn't gone off to Ohu simply because they were to young to become soldiers. Shouji had disagreed with this, knowing he was every bit as good (maybe a bit better) at fighting than his cousins Harutora, Nobutora, and Kagetora., not to mention they were only just the tiniest bit younger than them. He and his brothers had been itching to join in the battlefield, however their uncle Kurotora seemed determined to keep them here.
He could understand, why his uncle was over protective of him and his other uncle, Akatora, had died in the war against Akakabuto. And their father... Shouji sighed. Their father was dead because of him. If he hadn't been so reckless...
He pricked his ears, someone was approaching. He relaxed when he realized it was his youngest brother, Shigure. Out of them all, he had to admit Shigure was the most fragile. He wasn't too good at fighting and shy, not quite confident In himself. As the oldest, Shouji had vowed to do his best to protect his younger brothers, Shigure in particular. They all had been trained to protect themselves, but even so... he felt as if he had to step up to protect his siblings.
Shigure was calling for him now. He said that their uncle was looking for all of them, and had something important to say. Shouji clawed his way down the tree trunk and joined his brother, wondering what could be so urgent to his uncle.
As he and his three brothers faced their uncle, the dark colored Kai nodded his head. Two strangers came forward, one a large Great Dane, the other a Saluki. Both dogs appeared rather elderly, and Shouji noted the Dane had a blank look in his eyes, indicating he was blind.
"Ben, Cross, I'd like you to meet my nephews. Shouji, Buru, Dodo, and Shigure."
They each greeted the two dogs in turn.
"They told me their old territory had been taken over by some dumbass named 'Genba'. So they're going to be hanging around here for a little bit."
"I see, these are the dogs you've told us about."
Dodo replied, now recognizing these dogs as some of the original platoon leaders in Riki's pack. Buru nodded in agreement, his tone humble,
"It's a honor to be in your presence."
Cross laughed lightly at the formal attitude of the young Kais.
"You don't need to be so formal, Buru-chan."
"Haha, looks like Kurotora has really humbled you lot!"
Ben rumbled, his voice deep and low.
Kurotora snorted half-heartedly, though he had to admit, he was proud of his nephews. They had helped fill in the void he felt at the deaths of Harutora and Nobutora, along with his remaining son leaving for Ohu. Still, he knew his nephews were young and eager for battle. He knew they would be going off to Ohu soon and that they were itching to join in their first battles... they were descendants of the devil dogs of Kai of course. It was to be expected. And he would send them off proudly.
–
Once the full moon rose into the night sky, a young female Kishu snuck away from her resting place. Her green eyes scanned the area warily before leaping high into the trees, carefully weaving her way through to the only secluded spot. The only area safe from Hougen's eyes and ears. She wanted this time to be alone, to reflect on her job. She had been a part of a lesser dog pack before Hougen had started gathering boss dogs in the area, and she had wound up in his pack. Now, she was in a difficult position. She had been employed in the Alps to keep an eye out on danger, for the Ohu soldiers. She and her other five siblings each had been sent off into different parts of Japan to be their father's eyes and ears. They hadn't heard word from him, or each other, since they had been sent off.
She pawed her muzzle and looked up at the moon, wondering desperately how her siblings were doing. If she had ended up in a pack as dangerous as Hougen's, where could they be? And her father...
"Is it all clear?"
Her eyes widened and she crawled further back, hoping to stay out of view. Who was that? Why were they here? She listened in carefully, knowing that as long as she didn't get their attention, they wouldn't look up and spot her.
"Did you hear, Roshi, Tomi? Those prisoners they captured... it's Gin-sama and John-dono!"
Her father's comrades? She subconsciously leaned closer.
"Really, two of the top three leaders?"
"Our leaders?"
The black dog nodded, his eyes narrowed.
"I heard it from the guards... we have to do something!"
"Like what?"
"Somehow... we have to get them out!"
"Do you understand what your saying here, Lefty?"
"What if we get caught? What use will we be if we end up dead?"
"He has a point."
The Kishu female called out, nimbly leaping out of her hiding place. All three dogs, Lefty, Tomi, and Roshi, crouched back in a mixture of anger and fear.
"You were listening? Who are you?"
"Ah... my name's Suki. And believe me when I say, I want to help."
Roshi tilted his head sideways, confused.
"You do?"
She nodded.
"Those guys... they're friends with my dad. I know what Hougen does to his prisoners, and if he has my father's friends..."
Her claws gripped the ground below, her temper growing.
"I won't let him hurt them."
The three males looked back at each other, then Tomi spoke up,
"We need to think of a way to get them out..."
Suki lifted her head, eyes twinkling.
"That won't be a problem. We just need a good distraction and proper timing..."
–
Not too far outside of Ohu, Akame was still running as fast as he could manage. He had been running for almost three days straight, and he was beginning to tire. He feared he would collapse out of exhaustion and black out if he didn't find any Ohu dogs soon. He knew he had to at least find a place to stop and rest, lest he loose consciousness in the snow and freeze to death. At least, he noted, it wasn't snowing now, not that it mattered any. He knew this place by heart, and his winter coat had long come in to help block out the wind and ice.
He panted hard, and looked up. Gajou was in the distance. He tried to push himself further, but at last, his legs could not take any more. He fell to the ground and struggled to maintain his breathing. Slowly, he pushed his body upwards, only to fall back again. His eyes narrowed. So he wasn't as strong and enduring as he used to be. But he could still make it. Akame lifted one paw and pushed against the earth, slowly dragging himself towards Gajou. He would drag himself the rest of the way there if he had to.
The time seemed to crawl by, and it took him hours to even see Gajou in detail. Finally, he gave himself a moment to rest, hoping some dog would come along soon. He knew that he no longer had any strength to continue crawling, and he was dehydrated... he had spent all his time and energy running to Ohu. But, he knew he could hold on for just a little longer.
Patience was his element, after all.
–
"Oi, Ken, take a look at this!"
Kagetora cried out, beckoning his older friend closer. The Dane-Saluki mix looked ahead at a white Kishu, steadily staring back at them. He hadn't moved or said anything since Kagetora stumbled upon him while looking for prey. Ken recognized him instantly, however. From his description, and piercing red eyes, he knew this had to be Akame.
"Kage, how could you not recognize him? That's Akame-sama!"
"Akame?"
The Kishu inu nodded at his name, and finally rasped,
"I was sent by Gin... please take me to his son..."
Ken, however, quickly stopped the older dog before he could move.
"C'mon old man, you're outta breath!"
Kagetora crowed, turning back the way they had come,
"I'll go fetch him for ya instead. Ken, you get him some water."
"Oi, who do you think you are, cheeky bastard?"
Ken questioned, but did as the Kai ken had asked and went searching. He found an old tin can that would provide a container for the stream water not too far from here, and quickly filled it. He set it down in front of Akame and waited as the Kishu drank eagerly.
A moment later, Kagetora returned with Wilson, Weed, GB, and Shinku. They all gathered around Akame, waiting patiently.
"Ah... it's good to see you again, Wilson."
"And you."
He looked at the puppy in the center of the circle, who did not look even a year old.
"This is him? Weed?"
The puppy nodded at his name, tail wagging.
"It's good to meet you, Akame-san! Wilson told me all about how you became friends with my father!"
He smiled lightly, but in the back of his mind, he was already doubting Weed's strength. Gin of course, had been a puppy himself when he had joined Riki's pack... he even became the leader at a year old. But despite his age, Gin had shown courage and power. Intelligence and speed. This puppy... seemed all too innocent. Too fragile to lead a pack.
"Ah, I have a message for you, Weed. Your father, he wanted me to tell you that he's been captured, by Hougen. He's in the Alps, and in trouble. He sent me here so I could tell you this."
His message was finally received, and he could rest now. Finally, Akame allowed himself to fall into unconsciousness. He could just barely hear the echos of the Ohu dogs calling his name, but they quickly receded into silence.
–
And so Kagetora, Wilson, and Ken had decided to move out of Ohu. They left Akame behind with Mel, who had promised to take good care of the Kishu while they went out in search of more soldiers. They knew they would have no luck in the immediate Ohu area, as most of those dogs were pets that had either no wish to become involved or had already joined up with their army previous to Kaibutsu's attack. So they decided to travel towards the Alps, picking up whatever soldiers they could along the way. Wilson still remembered some old friends of his that had packs of soldiers that were considered Ohu's allies. However, only a couple of these packs were in immediate reach, some allies, would take more than a month to reach... if they were traveling non-stop.
Weed determinedly pushed on, however, and did his best to increase his stamina. He was barely keeping up however, but tried to look on the bright side of things as days and days of nearly endless running went on. Occasionally, he caught a glimpse of the meetings between pack leaders. He noticed that more often than not, Ken and Kagetora would begin fighting with the other dogs. Wilson had explained to him that his father had earned the respect of his allies this way, by proving his power and fighting skill in order to earn their loyalty.
As these fights grew more frequent, he made his decision. Late one night, he sought out Jerome, who was quietly sitting underneath a bare tree.
"Jerome-san?"
"Hm?"
Weed nervously clawed the ground.
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Go on."
"Will you teach me how to fight?"
He asked. Jerome gave him a perplexed expression.
"Anything in particular that brought this on?"
"Well... everyone's always talking about how I'm the son of this great leader and fighter... and how much my father accomplished when he was just a kid so..."
"You feel as if you need to rise up to their expectations?"
He nodded, glad that the Shepherd could read him so easily. Jerome stood up and stretched out his back legs.
"It's true that you have a reputation to keep up... but I wouldn't recommend pushing yourself too hard to surpass your father. In time, everyone should accept you for who you are, and not your legacy. In the meantime however... we better get started on your training."
Elsewhere, Rocket the Borzoi was listening quietly. So... he doesn't even know how to fight? Interesting.. this leaves us with the advantage.
Quickly, he slipped out of sight and ran back to his brothers, where he relayed the information he had just heard.
"Heh, that's no surprise, is it, aniki? He's just a brat after all."
"Missile's right, bro. It's only a matter of getting close enough now."
He nodded.
"We will surely gain Hougen's respect once we bring him that pup's head. He didn't seem at all pleased once he found out Gin had a son."
"So, we should form a good plan. We'll only have one shot at this."
"Jet's right. We have to be careful..."
So it went on, with them traveling by day and resting by night. Of course for Weed, he spent that spare time training with Jerome. Often GB and Shinku would be woken by the young puppy collapsing between them, falling instantly into sleep after hours of training. GB had questioned Jerome more than once on how far he was pushing the puppy, but he had merely shrugged and said 'He will never learn otherwise'. But for all the harsh training, Weed grew stronger. Ken and Kagetora now noticed the puppy was keeping up with them, and was gaining more stamina. To Ken and Kagetora, this was a definite plus. They would now be able to stop less frequently and run much faster than they had been. However, they were having trouble finding more dogs willing to join their rescue army. They had at least thirty now, which wouldn't do against Hougen's much larger army. Wilson was running out of places for them to search as well. Ken decided they would rest in a clearing for the day and move on to some neighboring prefectures to continue looking.
At the moment, Weed was sleeping on Shinku's front legs. He had been up until sunrise fighting with Jerome. Even though he was making progress in his training, the Akita Inu was still loosing pretty badly to the German Shepherd. While he had been told it was understandable and that Jerome had been trained to fight from birth, it didn't do a good thing for his pride. He would still get frustrated whenever he didn't master a move quickly enough, or tired out long before his mentor. For the time being though, he could relax. They weren't running anymore, not for awhile at least. So he took this time to nap. However, the quiet peace would be shattered, as a shadow flickered out of the edge of Shinku's vision. She turned her head, but found nothing there. Feeling uneasy, she shifted slightly and listened hard. It was oddly silent.
Then, out of nowhere, a black and tan mutt rushed out into the open, heading straight for the still asleep puppy. Before she could react, he grabbed the puppy's scruff and ran off. He didn't get far, for an even faster dog jumped in front of his path. The stranger was a Borzoi with a light coat, and he knocked the mutt down easily. With a harsh growl, he forced the mutt into a corner.
"What do you think your doing, attacking a kid like that?"
"Shut up! That kid will be as good as dead when I deliver him to Hougen-sama!"
"I should kill you right now!"
"Wait!"
Shinku called. She had rushed to check on Weed after the mutt had dropped him, he had woken up, but was unharmed. Now, she went to the Borzoi's side.
"Let him go."
Both the Foxhound and Borzoi were surprised when Weed spoke up. The Borzoi looked back and forth slowly, and when Shinku nodded, he backed off with a growl.
"Alright, you heard the kid. Get out of here. Now."
The mutt didn't need to be told twice. He ran off without a second thought, leaving the Borzoi to introduce himself. He said he was called Rocket and that he had been looking for Gin's son. Needless to say, he joined their army without hesitation. Weed instantly took a liking to the Borzoi, though Shinku couldn't help but be unsettled. Something about the Borzoi seemed odd. She thought it was because of his eyes... they seemed rather intimidating. All the same, she pushed aside her misgivings and did her best not to be too judgmental. That didn't stop GB however, from noticing. He approached her one afternoon, and had asked what was wrong.
"I don't trust him."
She admitted finally. GB however, had brushed it off, and life went on. A few days later, Wilson split the group into pairs to hunt. Weed was left alone, as he was still tired from the rough training he had undergone the last night. It was then Rocket saw his chance. He knew an opportunity like this would not come again for awhile. There was a rustle in the bushes, but he did not react. He knew that it was Missile and Jet. Yet Weed still was resting, unaware of even Rocket's presence. Silently he gave the signal, and his brothers exited. He licked his lips. While his brothers were setting up a false scent trail... he could make his move. Weed had fallen asleep and was dozing lightly on his side. Rocket slowly moved forward, and opened his jaw, preparing to sink his teeth into Weed's neck...
–
Jerome paused, and twitched one ear. Shinku, his hunting partner, turned her head to look at him.
"Something wrong?"
Jerome sniffed the air, and replied,
"There's this strange scent..."
Shinku realized what he meant. She found that the scent seemed like Rocket's, but also, not. More importantly, didn't Rocket offer to stay behind to look after Weed? What would he be doing here? Unless...
"Follow me!"
She took Jerome's lead as they both raced back towards Weed, each fearing the worst. When they got there they found Rocket... with his fangs buried in Weed's neck. Jerome reacted first, rushing towards the Borzoi at lightning speed. Rocket, however, was faster. He dodged Jerome's attack and ran off, leaving Jerome and Shinku struggling to keep up.
How, how can he be so fast?
She wondered, panting as she was falling farther and farther behind Jerome and Weed. Finally, she ran out of breath and was forced to stop. However, she quickly thought of another idea. Recognizing Ken's scent, she ran off to get him, hoping that Jerome would manage to rescue Weed while she got help.
Finally, Jerome cornered the traitor who still held the struggling Weed in his grasp. He narrowed his eyes and growled, issuing his final warning. Before he could step in, however, Weed twisted out of Rocket's grasp, landing back in the snow.
"I... I trusted you!"
And without warning, the Akita puppy lunged towards Rocket. The Borzoi however, merely smirked and dodged out of harm's way. Two other Borzois, both darker in color than Rocket, leaped out into the open to protect their brother. The darkest one kicked Weed out of the way while the lighter of the two kept Shinku back. Rocket smirked.
"This shows how soft you are Weed."
He paused and swiped his tongue around his muzzle.
"It seems you only share your father's looks... there's no way you'll ever inherit his warrior spirit!"
Jerome stepped forward once more, eyes blazing.
"Weed may be young, but he shows great potential. As his mentor, I will fight for his honor!"
Rocket tilted his head, and his brothers leaped to his side. Jet crouched down,
"Alright, face us all!"
The Borzoi then quickly clawed Jerome's shoulder, a wound that was not deep but very large. Blood trickled out of his slowly as the Shepherd staggered. Missile, seizing his chance, also lunged for Jerome's right side, adding another gash to his wounds. Stumbling backward, Jerome still managed to keep his ground. Then Rocket came last, heading for Jerome straight on. The Shepherd's reflexes kicked in, and he pushed himself forward into a vicious headbutt. They both fell back then, but Jerome still managed to take the blow. Rocket shook his head, then signaled once more to his brothers.
"Jet, Missile, it's time for our unique attack!"
He called, doubling back with his brothers. Jerome waited patiently, lowering his body into a defensive stance. The Borzoi brothers started running into line, Rocket in front. One brother leaped from the left and bounced off a tree before heading for Jerome. However, the Shepherd dodged underneath, but then was hit in the side by another Borzoi who came from the right. Rocket dealt the last blow, a deep cut to his cheek. But, Jerome wasn't finished yet. He mentally smirked, knowing that the Borzoi triplets had just given him the secret to beating them. As Rocket and his brothers fell in line again, he waited patiently for the first attack.
He intercepted the jumping Borzoi by headbutting his stomach, and dodging quickly to his left as the other came from the right. Finally he waited for Rocket. When he did not see him, his instincts kicked in and he ducked just as the eldest Borzoi flew over his head. He saw his chance, and pinned Rocket down, fangs bared. He hesitated just the slightest bit, then loosened his grip a little bit. He had to resist his instincts. He had to. He wouldn't give in... Weed would tell him what to do. But the urge to kill, to serve his original purpose... it was still there. Jerome blinked briefly, trying to shut out the voice telling him to kill.
"Jerome... let him go."
He stepped back, and walked away. Somehow, he knew this wasn't going to be the end of this.