Author's Note: This is probably the longest, bloodiest chapter in the story, so consider yourself warned. It came out very well though, I think, so please read and review.

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Jerome ran quickly along the riverbank, dirt and snow being kicked up by his paws as they flew over the ground, and his eyes darted in every direction as they looked for their target. Ronin had run further down the river than Jerome had expected, and he had lost sight of him around a bend only moments ago, but he was determined to stick with him, to prove that Gin's trust in him had not been misplaced. The Shepard went over a hill and then ran around another curve in the canyon, nearly slipping into the fast-moving water as he increased his speed more.

'Where the hell is he?' Jerome thought. 'I was right behind him!'

Suddenly, as he was passing a large rock on his right, his senses went wild and he just barely leapt aside in time as powerful jaws snapped shut right where his face would've been had he kept the same path. Lunging after him, Ronin bit at him again and then slashed at the only available escape route for Jerome, forcing the Shepard to make a powerful leap out across the river, landing just barely on the other side, panting as he turned to face his opponent. Ronin straightened up as he glared at him and then began pacing back and forth in an arrogant swagger.

"You're lucky you we're an assassin." he hissed in a snake-like voice. "Two more steps and you would've had no face left."

"You said you wanted no witnesses, Ronin." Jerome growled, locking gazes with him. "Well here you go. We're alone. Now let's end this."

"Fine by me." Ronin said. "This time you don't have Gin to save you."

"The only one he saved last time was you." the Shepard said. "I've survived enemies far worse than you could ever be."

"And yet you chased me this far." the Malamute responded. "Why would you do that if I'm no threat to you?"

"Because you're a threat to others." Jerome said angrily. "And because you deserve to be punished for what you've done. What you did to those dogs in Hokkaido, what you did to Hook, gouging out his eyes like that."

Ronin tilted his head with an almost surprised smile and Jerome growled again.

"Yeah," the Shepard said. "I knew it was you. Scimitar may have given you the order to hurt him, but gouging out his eyes was all you. You did it to all of the dogs you killed before this started, you bastard. It was like your signature move. That's why they called you Ronin the Butcher."

Ronin flashed him a triumphant smirk.

"Good boy." he grinned. "I wondered if anyone would ever put it together. And doesn't it kill you that you could've stopped it? You Ohu dogs are all the same. You're arrogance and stupidity wrapped up in nobleness and strength. You think you're better than everyone and that made you easy to manipulate. All I had to do was get a tear in my eye and pretend I was sorry, pretend I was afraid. That was all it took to get you to show your collective weakness and spare me. And you know what? I'm glad. It gave me a chance to have my fun."

Jerome narrowed his gaze hatefully and dug his claws into the ground below him in anger. Ronin snorted.

"Oh don't look so put out, Jerome." he said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the Shepard's name. "We both knew that they had it coming, all of them. Don't treat their deaths like some sort of tragedy when they meant nothing. They all died exactly how they lived: worthlessly."

Anger surged in Jerome the like of which he hadn't felt in years, and images of Hook flashed through his head, of the guilt that had tormented Weed after he let the monstrous dog live. Enough was enough. Without thinking, he lunged at the Malamute with a snarl of rage…and nearly ended the battle right there. Ronin let out a triumphant laugh and leapt into the air as well, and as they met in midair over the rushing river, Jerome felt Ronin kick him downwards towards the water below, and he almost panicked. Utilizing his assassin training and speed, though, he kicked off of Ronin as he tried to leap away, using him like a springboard and aiming for a large rock protruding from the river's deadly current. When he reached it, he bounded off of it with a powerful kick and landed almost in the exact same spot he had started in. On the other shore, Ronin looked over at him, then glanced down at the small cuts in his side that Jerome had caused with his claws. The Malamute snorted.

"What do you know?" he said smugly. "This might actually be a challenge."

Jerome tensed his limbs up and readied himself silently, his teeth bared and his gaze murderous. For a moment, they just stared at each other, mentally sizing one another up and looking for weaknesses they could exploit. Then, with a sanctimonious little smirk, Ronin suddenly bolted down the riverbank back the way they'd come. Jerome leapt after him, pumping his legs quickly to match the other dog's speed.

'Here we go.' he thought as he saw Ronin getting ready to make his move. 'Here we go…'

Scimitar let out a hiss as he walked, the cliff edge just far enough away for him to feel at ease. He had exited the canyon only minutes ago and had made his way back up to its top, reentering the forest that surrounded Gajou and moving slowly back towards the great stone structure. He could faintly hear the sounds of the battle from where he was now and when he heard a particularly loud shriek of agony come from its direction, he snorted and grinned triumphantly, marveling at what he had started. As soon as he did, he felt blood erupt from his nostrils again and spatter on the ground below, making him suddenly feel lightheaded, a sensation he was not used to.

"FUCK!" he screamed in fury, wiping at the streaming red liquid with his paw.

If only he had more time. With his body deteriorating as fast as it was, Scimitar doubted that he would have the opportunity to kill all the Ohu dogs, like he wanted to. Some of them would live if he didn't find a way to accelerate the process. He was concentrating so hard on his thoughts as he walked that he nearly missed what was on his left. When he finally saw it, he stopped dead in his tracks. Human belongings and tools lay scattered in a small clearing only feet away, and their strewn and haphazard appearance told him that whatever humans had owned them had left in a hurry, possibly after hearing the fight start over at Gajou. He felt instinctively uneasy as he spotted two guns lying forgotten in the dirt, and mentally decided that it had been a small hunting party of some kind. That feeling faded, though, as something else suddenly caught his interest more. In the dead center of it all roared a large fire, probably set to keep the humans warm from the biting wind, and it continued to hiss and crackle threateningly within its boundaries as he looked at it. Then Scimitar felt a grin spread over his muzzle. Moving silently, he stalked up to the fire and then stopped when he was only inches away. For a moment, he just stared at it, the flickering orange light dancing in his bloodshot eyes. Then he tilted his head and looked towards the sounds of the battle in the distance, licking the blood from his fangs triumphantly as he suddenly saw a way that he could still win. Scimitar smiled.

"Here's to Paradise." he said softly.

Then he whirled and kicked hard at the fire with his hind legs, sending burning pieces of wood flying into the underbrush nearby. Moments later, it all erupted in flames with a sinister 'WHOOSH', igniting the low hanging branches above it as it did, and then spread quickly to nearby trees as the dry timber fed its hunger. Though it had worked better than he'd hoped, the fire's liberator only watched for a moment. Then, with a satisfied grin traced on his lips, Scimitar the Kinslayer walked away.

Tesshin stood at the ready, his powerful body statuesque as he stared into the dimming light amongst the trees, his highly tuned senses waiting for any sign of movement. He had heard the battle start over at Gajou, and hoped silently that his friends who were there were okay. The noises that floated to their ears from the battle zone were the only source of news he had to go on, and judging by what he'd heard thus far, it was a stalemate, and it was bloody. He hoped Gin and the others could push the tide in their favor, because if they got in trouble, then they were alone. He and his group were about to have problems of their own to deal with. Beside him on one side stood Izou and Suzaku, both of them keeping the troops behind them at ease, and on the other stood Sasuke, who as one of the pack's smallest members seemed a little out of place beside the larger soldier dogs around him. Still, Tesshin was glad that he was with them. Sasuke may not have been much of a fighter, but he was determined, and was trusted by everyone there. To Tesshin's left, Suzaku glanced at Izou.

"Anything?" he breathed quietly and Izou shook his head.

"Not yet." his fellow Husky answered. "But they're there. Be on your guard."

"Shh!" Tesshin hushed them suddenly.

Frowning, the ninja dog lowered his head and put his ear to the ground, listening for anything that would give their enemy's position away as the silence around them seemed to thicken, occasionally broken by the yells and howls from the Gajou battlefield. Then he heard a low, steady rumble begin and as it got gradually louder, Tesshin lifted his head again, watching as small stones in the dirt beneath them jumped and danced back and forth with the vibrations from the growing noise. Tesshin glanced at his comrades.

"This is it." he said, dropping into a battle stance. "Get ready!"

All the dogs behind him prepared themselves as well and looking forward, Tesshin saw dark silhouetted forms growing larger with the rumble as they moved swiftly through the trees towards them.

"If anyone sees Takeshi, yell for me!" he commanded loudly. "None of you can take him on!"

Then he glanced over his shoulder at them all.

"Let's give these bastards a fight they'll remember!" he yelled and everyone there yelled back in support.

Then, as he saw the enemy dogs get to almost within striking distance, their fangs dripping and bared, Tesshin charged. Almost as if they had been tuned into his thoughts, his comrades charged at the exact same moment, right as their opponents reached them with howls and snarls of bloodlust. Then it began. Tesshin dodged left and right in between enemy dogs, slashing his fangs back and forth and feeling almost no resistance as flesh tore and ripped open in their wake. His ninja dog senses were in high gear, and he used the tree trunks around him as tools, ricocheting off them in mid-lunge and tearing an enemy dog's side clean open before leaping to another one. Across from him, he saw Tsukikage, one of his Koga subordinates and friends, doing the same as him, and already enemy dogs were falling rapidly to their combined assault.

As he landed though, Tesshin was tackled by a whole group of opponents and was forced to take the fight back to the ground, biting the leg clean off one of them and using his scream of pain as a distraction to knock the others aside and get away. Looking over at his comrades, he saw Izou fighting 2 dogs at once and Suzaku beside him doing the same. Tesshin's fellow Koga dogs were battling alongside the two Huskies' respective packs, and though their combined strength gave them an advantage, the enemy dogs were holding their own and the fight was getting fiercer by the second.

"Tesshin!"

Tesshin's head whipped around on his shoulders towards the source of the shout, which had sounded frightened and urgent. He found it just in time to see Sasuke, who was running towards him as fast as his legs would move, get tackled from above, stumbling as the sudden weight on his back became too much for his limbs to handle. He saw immediately that it was Takeshi, but had no time to react as the evil ninja dog grabbed Sasuke by the ear with his teeth and threw him hard at a tree, ripping it clean off as he did. Tesshin watched as Sasuke bounced off the tree's trunk hard and landed in a heap, whining and yelling in pain as he pawed at the bloody stump that used to be his ear, and he quickly leapt to his aid, landing in front of him protectively as Takeshi almost casually tore the throat out of another Koga dog as he tried to intervene as well. Only then, afterwards, did he finally notice Tesshin. As soon as he did, Takeshi jumped high into the air, springing off a nearby tree and coming to rest on one of it's low hanging branches. Tesshin looked up at him murderously as their gazes met, and the other dog's very presence seemed to inflame his rage. Behind him, he heard Izou approach, throwing off an opponent and kicking him into another as he did. Without taking his eyes off Takeshi, Tesshin tilted his head towards the Husky.

"Get Sasuke out of here!" he said in an inarguable tone and Izou simply nodded and picked up the Shiba Inu gently, helping to support him as they moved quickly away.

Then the two ninja dogs were alone, the battle around them having moved back through the trees towards Gajou. For a moment, neither one said a word. Then Takeshi smirked, leaning against the trunk of the tree he was in.

"You look exactly the same as I remember you, Tesh." he said. "It's been a long time."

Tesshin's eyes flashed angrily as he heard the other dog's voice, and that alone brought back memories that he had tried to suppress. He shook his head as he stared at him.

"I knew you were a monster, Takeshi," he growled. "But this is beyond anything even I thought you were capable of! Do you have any idea what Scimitar's planning to do?!"

"You think I care?" the other dog answered. "He can kill every dog in the world for all I care. What matters to me is that I've got you right where I want you."

"If you think for one second I won't kill you for what you've done, then you are massively underestimating me!" Tesshin spat, fighting to control his temper. "Those dogs you killed did nothing to you! You're twisted and evil and you've always been a disgrace to the Koga clan! Killing you would be justice and I swear to god I would do it in a heartbeat!"

Takeshi snorted lightly.

"I think you really mean that." he said tauntingly. "Heh. Your father would be proud…or so I'm told."

Tesshin nearly winced. The words stung badly, because it was only then that he realized the full extent of his own hatred. What made it worse was that the insult about his father was not altogether untrue, and his anger intensified as a result. Remembering Jerome's words to him to not become what he fought, he mentally calmed himself and tried not to let the other ninja dog know that he was getting to him. Takeshi walked back out to the more narrow part of the branch he stood on.

"You're right, though." he said, sounding completely serious. "They did me no wrong. I had nothing against them at all, Tesshin. You were the one who wronged me. I guess they just had to pay for it."

"How did I wrong you in any way?!" Tesshin growled.

"By being Chourou's favorite!" Takeshi suddenly snarled violently, and Tesshin held his breath, sensing that the evil dog was finally telling the truth. "You were the son of Kurojaki, the adopted son of Gin of Ohu! You were always put above the rest of us, given more opportunities simply because of who you were! I could have led the Koga ninja dogs if anyone would've given me a chance, but they didn't! All they ever saw was you! Because of that, you became the great Tesshin of Koga and I was left with nothing!"

Tesshin's jaw dropped, words nearly failing him.

"Y-You did all this because of a childhood grudge?!" he howled in fury. "You killed all those dogs because you were fucking overlooked?!"

"I did it because I enjoyed it." Takeshi responded bitingly. "Every last second. And now…it's your turn."

Tesshin dropped back into his battle stance. He had never been so angry in his life. All those lives wasted because of something so trivial. He bared his teeth at the other ninja dog as Takeshi did the same to him, neither one making a move. Then, as if he couldn't wait any longer, Takeshi leapt out of the tree, flying with a roar right at his opponent. Tesshin tensed, feeling his powerful legs responding instantly to his commands as he crouched lower to get more height in his jump. Then, as Takeshi was nearly on him, Tesshin lunged.

Lydia trembled as she stared at the scene before her. Tears slid down her furred cheeks and burst apart on the cold stone beneath her paws as she looked at the body that had been brought into the cave only moments ago, the body that had once been Kagetora. When Gin, Akame, Ken, Shigure, and Kurotura had arrived, the latter carrying the younger Kai dog's body on his back, they had laid him gently on the ground by the wall, treating him almost like a sleeping pup, before reluctantly turning away. Shigure and Kurotura had gone back outside to help with the fight, a newfound determination present in both of them, and the others had stayed behind, the two elder dogs talking to each other urgently as Ken laid down by Kagetora to rest his obviously broken leg. Lydia, though, couldn't take her eyes off of the body of her friend. Somehow she had known who was responsible for it the minute she'd seen him.

"That monster…" she said in a furious, shaky voice. "That horrible, evil monster! How did it happen?!"

Ken didn't answer her, but he wouldn't have had a chance to anyway, because at that moment, Weed leapt through the entrance, spattered with blood from snout to tail and looking worried. He met their gazes as he saw them.

"Father," he said, looking at Gin. "Is everyone here all right? We've managed to drive them away from Gajou a little."

"Weed – " Gin started to say.

"And do you have any idea where Scimitar – " Weed started to say, but then he looked over at the wall and his eyes fixed on Kagetora. " – went…"

Ignoring his father's protests, Weed walked over slowly to his friend's body, looking as if he didn't quite believe what he saw. When he finally saw the horrible truth clearly, his legs gave way beneath him.

"No…" Weed moaned in horror, falling onto his stomach on the cave floor. "Oh god, no…"

"Leader," Akame said quietly, walking up beside him. "I'm sorry, but – "

"D-Did Scimitar do this?!" Weed asked in a weak voice, tears beginning to come from his eyes.

Akame didn't respond as suddenly Mel ran into the cave, panting and looking frightened.

"Leader!" he said urgently. "We have a problem! The forest around Gajou is on fire!"

"What?!" Gin barked in shock. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes, Gin-sama." Mel responded with an emphatic nod. "And it's spreading fast. It's headed this way and into the area where Tesshin and his troops are! What are your orders, leader?"

The last question was directed at Weed, but the younger Akita didn't even respond as he stayed by Kagetora's limp form.

"Leader!" Mel barked louder. "What do we do?"

Weed snapped out of his reverie and stood shakily.

"I – I – " he stammered, clearly overwhelmed.

"Hold your ground." Gin jumped in commandingly. "There's not much directly around Gajou itself for the fire to burn, so everyone stay close to Gajou and hold. your. ground. How are we doing outside?"

"I'm not sure, Gin-sama." Mel admitted. "We seem to be turning the tide, but we've lost a lot of good dogs, including Kin."

Reika let out a noise that was halfway between a scream and a sob at that news, and Mel clapped his paw to his muzzle in shock.

"Oh god," he said. "Reika, I'm sorry, I thought – "

"Get back outside and tell them to keep defending our home!" Gin said loudly and Mel nodded as Reika broke down crying, with Koyuki trying to comfort her.

Then Gin whirled on Weed.

"Weed, I'm sorry about Kagetora." he said, clearly more sad than angry. "Believe me I am. But you're the leader! Those dogs' lives depend on you, so in situations like this you need to act like one!"

Weed straightened up and glared at him.

"You don't think I know that?!" he shouted suddenly. "I know what's at stake, father, you don't need to lecture me! Especially now!"

"Clearly I do because otherwise you would've given those orders! Not me!" Gin yelled back.

Akame jumped in between them as they turned to fully face each other.

"Stop it!" he barked, but Weed didn't listen.

"Fine!" Weed yelled at Gin, looking alternately anguished and furious. "FINE! You want leadership, Dad?! Here's some! Keep fighting off Scimitar's forces until you beat them once and for all, and then gather everyone together around Gajou and take shelter from the fire in here! Meanwhile, I'll go find that son-of-a-bitch and kill him! Is that good enough for you?!"

Then he whirled and leapt back out the entrance as Gin shouted his name repeatedly after him, the expression on his face one of combined anger, guilt, and hurt. Then he turned to Akame, who had been holding him back.

"Akame," he said, sounding tired and sad. "Help Kurotura, George, and the others outside end the battle quickly. I'm going to get Jerome down by the river. Hopefully Tesshin and his group can finish their fight and get back here soon too."

The old ninja dog nodded, then dropped his head a little and looked at his friend gently.

"Gin," he said. "Weed's just overwhelmed. He loves you. Just give it some time and you'll both be fine later. I know it."

Gin didn't respond and quickly ran out the entrance, heading for the river immediately. Then Akame, after pausing for a moment to look after him, departed as well, leaving Ken, Lydia, Koyuki, and Reika alone in the cave, able to do nothing but wait.

Jerome saw Ronin jump up onto the cliff face again, leaping from one rock to another with the skill of an assassin dog and getting higher and higher off the ground as he did. The Shepard matched him move for move on the other side of the river, and when they got high enough, both pushed off from their respective walls and lunged at each other. As they met in mid-air, Jerome slashed at Ronin with his fangs and felt them connect with his opponents shoulder. Then he felt a sharp pain in his own shoulder and they both fell to earth, landing on their paws on opposite sides once more.

Not bothering to slow down, Jerome leapt at him again and found out immediately that Ronin had been faster. Twisting to avoid the Malamute's fangs, he fell as he landed, coming to rest near a rock on his own side of the river. Then Ronin was on him. Closing his jaws around the side of the Shepard's neck, Ronin bit hard and began repeatedly slamming Jerome's head into the rock's jagged surface, cutting his scalp and making blood stain the stone, the spatter growing larger with each consecutive hit. Jerome grunted in pain at each impact, but suddenly grabbed Ronin by the ear and pulled as hard as he could, feeling immense pain in his neck as he did. Ronin screamed in pain as his ear was torn off, but instead of slowing down, he went at Jerome again.

The Shepard dodged left and right, avoiding the Malamute's bites, and smacking him to the ground with his paw. When he dove on him and tried to bite his neck, he didn't get a good grip, and Ronin rolled them so he was on top. Then, unable to bite Jerome back, the evil dog began kicking between the Shepard's hind legs with his own hind leg, causing Jerome to yelp in pain and release his bite. Before Ronin could bite at his throat though, Jerome jumped away, moving despite the pain from his wounds. As he did, his opponent connected his sharp fangs with his side, tearing large, deep slashes in it as Jerome's own momentum worked against him, causing the Shepard to land with a painful 'THUD' on his back on the ground. When Ronin leaped at him again, trying to take advantage of this, he took a page from their previous fight and kicked at him with his hind legs, once again connecting with the Malamute's lower jaw. Immediately rolling to his paws as Ronin fell in a heap, Jerome grabbed him by the side and threw him at the river, knowing that the river's fast flowing current would probably be the end of him. Unfortunately, right before he released his jaws and sent Ronin flying, the evil dog managed to twist and bite Jerome right on the muzzle. The momentum from his attempted throw kept them moving, though, and suddenly Jerome found himself falling into the river along with his enemy, the water engulfing him with a loud 'SPLASH'.

Kicking madly, Jerome managed to surface with a gasp, looking around at where they were. The current was much faster than he had thought, and all the rocks from here on out were underwater, so they couldn't be used to leap off of and to safety. Where was Ronin? Suddenly, he felt pain in his hind leg and yelped as something pulled him down, submerging him once more. Caught off guard, he felt himself get flipped over underwater and managed to see Ronin's face through a haze just before the Malamute's paw stomped down on his neck, and he was used as a living floatation device for the evil dog. Feeling his head bouncing right and left off underwater rocks, Jerome gasped in pain and felt water fill his mouth, causing him to choke and cough for air. Panicking, dazed, and still unable to get Ronin off him, Jerome thought of Lydia… and the family he was going to have.

'No!' he thought. 'I won't die here!'

Desperately, he pushed off of Ronin's underside, making himself go deeper, but giving Ronin nothing to stand on. Then he kicked off the river's bottom and surfaced with a sputtering gasp, coughing up water painfully as Ronin fought the current futilely near him. Suddenly, Jerome looked over and saw a dog running alongside them on the shoreline. When he saw who it was, he gasped.

"Jerome!" the dog yelled urgently.

"Gin!" he shouted back. "Why are you here?"

"The waterfall's up ahead!" Gin responded, not answering him. "You need to get out of there now!"

The Akita ripped a branch off one of the trees growing out of the rock face beside him and rushed to the water's edge, dangling it over top of it.

"Jerome!" he shouted again. "Grab on!"

Jerome stretched mightily and managed to just barely bite down on the branch. Once he had, Gin began directing him to shore with it. Suddenly, though, Jerome felt something land on his back and looked up just in time to see Ronin bite down hard on the back of his neck. Wincing in pain, Jerome saw Gin struggling to hold the branch as they rounded a corner in the river…and saw the waterfall right there. The Shepard yelled in pain as Ronin slowly bit harder and tore deep slashes in his flesh. He heard the Malamute laugh.

"There's another scar for your collection!" he said and Jerome growled.

Then, as if on cue, he finally saw a rock that was protruding from the water's surface right near them and, steeling his will, let go of the branch long enough to slam Ronin head first into it. The impact caused the Malamute to lose his grip and Jerome saw him grab onto the rock desperately at the same time he did. Getting enough of a grip on the rock to gain his footing somewhat, Jerome stamped down on the Ronin's paw and looked him right in the face.

"Here's one for yours." he growled.

Then he bit down on the top of Ronin's face as hard as he could, hearing a horrible scream as the Malamute's flesh tore free, taking both of his eyes with it. Then Ronin fell back off the rock and was swept towards the waterfall, gaining speed in the water. Jerome watched long enough to see him hit a group of razor-sharp rocks and get torn literally in half by them, the current sweeping what was left of him over the side seconds later, one piece at a time. Wincing in pain, Jerome grabbed back onto the branch Gin was holding and kicked his way to shore. Once he had, Gin pulled hard and yanked the Shepard up onto land, his fur soaked, dripping both water and blood onto the ground below.

"Are you all right?" Gin asked and Jerome met his gaze exhaustedly.

"I hate rivers." he said and Gin couldn't help but smile slightly, knowing he would be okay.

Then, without waiting for Gin to explain anything, Jerome followed him as he bounded back towards Gajou, both eager to end the war and see their friends and home safe once more.

Tesshin leapt to another branch as he dodged, narrowly avoiding the sharp stick that Takeshi had thrown at him like a javelin, and gained higher ground as he did. He narrowed his eyes, feeling them watering from the smoke. The fire had seemed to come out of nowhere and had already engulfed the entire forest around them. Tesshin could feel its intense heat on all sides even as he traded blows and slashes with his former ninja dog comrade, and the smoke that it was causing was making it hard to breathe. He could still hold out for a while longer though, and he looked around to try and find his opponent.

He saw Takeshi leaping at him from another tree and he met the evil dog in midair, biting him hard on the side of the shoulder and driving his paw equally as hard into his ribs. The Shikoku-ken/Husky mix took the blow though and leveled him across the face with his own paw, ripping slashes in his neck with his fangs as he did. Tesshin ricocheted off a tree trunk and kicked Takeshi in the stomach with his hind legs, knocking the air out of him and sending him to the ground below with a painful sounding 'THUD'. When he jumped down as well, though, landing gracefully despite the fire, a burning branch broke off from the tree above him and fell with a sinister crackling sound, forcing Tesshin to leap sideways to safety quickly…right next to Takeshi.

The evil ninja dog bit him on the face and ripped three bloody slashes in his cheek with his fangs. Then he drove his paw into his throat and threw him as hard as he could into a nearby tree, knocking all the wind clean out of him as he did. Choking and gasping for air, his eyes burning, Tesshin grimaced in pain as he saw Takeshi walk up to him, a sadistic grin plastered on his muzzle.

"Tesshin," he panted. "Did you know that there's a cluster of nerves right where your neck meets your shoulders? Right here?"

He gestured to it on himself, making sure that Tesshin saw him as the other finally began catching his breath.

"Now, what do you think happens when you puncture it?"

Tesshin growled, trying to force himself to stand faster and not succeeding.

"I don't either." Takeshi said as if Tesshin had answered him. "Let's find out!"

Then he hit Tesshin across the face, making his head snap to the side, and bit him hard right on the neck, exactly where the nerves were. A shockwave of pain hit Tesshin all at once and the fierce ninja dog of Ohu, who very rarely lost his cool in a fight, screamed loudly in agony, trying unsuccessfully to throw Takeshi off of him. Takeshi let go himself seconds later though, and Tesshin found himself flying through the air once more. The next thing he registered was hitting a second tree hard and coming to rest on the ground in a heap, his shoulder throbbing and blood streaming from numerous wounds. He sensed Takeshi rushing him again, and steeling his will, Tesshin forced himself to his paws and leapt out of the way, making Takeshi's jaws close down on the same tree trunk he had hit moments before instead.

Before Takeshi could release his bite, Tesshin kicked his lower jaw with his hind legs as hard as he could, and he heard a whine of pain as all of Takeshi's main fangs snapped off in the hard wood of the tree. Before he could do anything to end the fight though, Tesshin heard another loud 'CRACK' and looked up in time to see a second large burning branch hit him right in the face, sending him crumpled to the ground. Bleeding profusely, his vision hazy, and his head spinning, Tesshin pushed himself to his stomach and looked up to see Takeshi advancing on him.

"T-Takeshi…" he slurred. "I'm giving you this one chance to surrender. Take it."

"Never!" the Shikoku-ken/Husky mix snarled. "One of us dies today, Tesshin, and it's going to be you! You're helpless! There's nothing you can do to kill me now!"

Tesshin was about to answer, then looked up above his opponent's head. He snorted.

"I don't have to kill you, Takeshi." he said as a loud, ominous cracking noise sounded from very nearby. "I just don't have to save you."

Takeshi looked confused and opened his muzzle to respond, but suddenly the tree to his left, which was fully engulfed in flames and very large, came crashing down right on top of him, and Takeshi looked up at it in fear long enough to register what was happening before it landed right on him with a sickening 'CRUNCH' and he disappeared underneath tons of burning wood and licking, scalding flames. The fight was over. Tesshin panted, still too dizzy to stand straight and feeling more blood start flowing from the fresh slash through his right eye, which he suspected made him look very much like his father. There was no way he was getting out of here alive. Suddenly, he felt someone lifting him to his feet forcibly and steadying him as he stood, and before he knew what was happening, he was being half-escorted, half-dragged back away from the fiercer part of the fire towards Gajou. When he looked over at his rescuer, his vision coming back slowly in his newly scarred eye, he was shocked to see a familiar Shiba Inu.

"S-Sasuke?" he asked in confusion. "W-What – ?"

The smaller dog, now sans one ear, looked up at him with a smile.

"Even ninja dogs need help sometimes, Tesshin." he said. "You saved my life before. I'm just returning the favor."

Tesshin felt a happy grin spread over his muzzle and he rested more of his weight on his friend.

"Thank you." he managed to say weakly.

Then, with Sasuke supporting him, Tesshin headed back home to help the rest of his friends, leaving the last demon of his past burning in the fire in his wake.

Weed felt his anger growing with each passing moment as he ascended the side of Gajou, jumping from rock to rock and quickly nearing its apex. Images of Kagetora filled his mind; of the home they loved that now burned more ferociously than anything he'd ever seen, as if the heaven's themselves wanted it all to melt away. Suddenly, as he reached the top, hearing the combined noise of the battle below and the flames around him, he saw a figure standing on the edge of one of the highest rocks, a figure that would've been nothing but a silhouette in the dim light if not for the fire, which lit up his face just enough to see it. When Weed saw him, he felt a rush of hatred go through him and he froze, only feet away. Scimitar… The wolf took a deep breath, breathing in the smoke.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he asked, his normally soft, cold voice now coming out as an almost musical rasp. "The fire? Once it's unleashed, anything can burn…even your Utopia. So how about you join me?"

He looked over his shoulder at Weed, his once icy blue eyes now glazed and almost totally blood red.

"We can witness the end of an age…" he finished in a malevolent singsong voice.

Weed didn't move and locked gazes with him, and it was impossible to tell which face showed more hatred. Scimitar smirked, and stared at him a long time before finally saying one last thing.

"Hello Weed." he said. "Welcome home."

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