Chapter 3

"Wake up, pal," a friendly voice called to Weed.

"Careful, Ken," another voice warned. "He might be dangerous."

A third voice scoffed. "Please. What can one measly puppy do against me?"

A fourth and calm voice responded with, "John, hold your tongue. Let's see what he has to say about our missing friend, Akatora."

"I say let's bring him to our Leader Kurojaki," a fifth deep voice suggested. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind another dog in our small army."

"And let a mere puppy run in our resistance?" John's – whoever he was – voice scoffed. "For all we know he could be one of those monsters' scouts."

"John," a calm, but cold voice snapped, "it's wrong to judge others by their looks alone. Let's see what the puppy has to say."

Weed, finally deciding what to do, carefully opened his eyes and witnessed six dogs – two German Shepherd, a pale grey Kai-Ken, a brown Great Dane, a Shikoku, and a muscular Mastiff – surrounding him, each one of them bearing their own expressions on their faces.

"Where am I?" Weed asked, deeply confused. "Who are you? What's going on?"

"It's a long story," the Shikoku responded calmly and politely. "I believe you know Akatora. Do you have any idea where he might have gone?"

"He was taken away by some large monstrous German Shepherd," Weed told the Shikoku grimly. "He fought like real dog, showing no fear whatsoever." He then got back on track. "Are you the resistance he mentioned?"

"Yes," the Kai-dog stated proudly, "we're the K-9s. The last defenders of this city of rubble and ruins." He pointed to his collar. "I'm Kagetora #3, young pup. This–" He gestured to the Great Dane "–is Ken #4, my best friend."

"My name is Jerome #5," the white German Shepherd responded.

"I'm Moss #8," the Mastiff greeted.

The other Shepherd scoffed. "John #7," he introduced himself with an arrogant grin.

"Ninja-Dog Tesshin #6, at your service," the Shikoku met Weed with a gentle smile.

"I'm Weed #9," the Akita puppy said softly. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." He paused. "What's the reason you're all here? Why aren't there more dogs?"

"Our owner Oroshi," Jerome explained, "had died in order give all nine of us, including you, the task of exterminating the monster known as Kaibutsu. Aside from our Leader Kurojaki, we're the only dogs in said resistance."

"What happened to all of others?" Weed asked, fearing the obvious answer.

"Dead," Tesshin replied with calm fear, sending a bolt of horror through Weed's entire body, "as Kaibutsu killed all but our small group. We're literally the last dogs on Earth itself."

"And your mission to kill this Kaibutsu?" Weed asked.

"So far," Jerome told him, "we've never seen a weakness in such a monster as that. His skin is incredibly tough, tougher than ours. His entire body – as you've seen – is massive, fifteen times the size of any mere Mastiff. He is vicious beyond comparison."

"Wait!" Weed remembered, his ears shooting up in recognition. "There might be a weakness in him! Akatora had grabbed the monster by the left unskinned flank and easily tore a chunk right out of him! Maybe, if we can at least attempt to rip out his heart, we'll win this battle!"

"How are you so sure?" John questioned suspiciously. "Did you actually see Akatora do such a thing?"

"Yes." Weed's bright blue eyes – filled with honest determination – didn't lie, even for a brief millisecond. He soon hesitated. "How many of you are strong fighters?"

"We all are," John replied arrogantly. He smirked at Moss. "Though Fatso might be a bit slow in his inability to move out of the way."

"Watch your tongue, John-bastard," Moss warned jokingly, but held his head up high to make his appearance even more intimidating. His appearance even made John stare warily at the Mastiff and slowly back away.

"Who is your leader?" Weed asked. "Can I see him to find out what this is all about?"

"Of course," Tesshin replied, politely bowing his head. Eventually, Weed and the rest of the dog resistance followed suit, the Akita puppy having no idea of who this "leader" was, but eager to see what kind of dog he was.

What do you think so far? Is it getting good? Do you like the numbers I picked out for each Ginga dog? Does each Ginga dog represent their numbers exactly?