Chapter 4

Weed followed the six other dogs to a large broken down room, where a giant shredded mattress of a bed stood upright. Upon the bed lay a black Shikoku, whom seemed to resonate a certain power but also an aura of unease. His left ear was slightly torn at the tip and his right eye was nothing more than a cross-like scar.

"Kurojaki #1," Jerome greeted the other dog with respect, "we've found someone. Another one of our numbers."

"One of our numbers?" Kurojaki asked suspiciously. He looked from the corner of his only eye at Weed, with the same single eye glimmering with anger. "What is this little brat doing here?!"

"Father, wait!" Tesshin leaped in front of Weed protectively. "He's one of us!"

Kurojaki stood off from his bed and leaped down toward Weed's height, examining him with heavy caution. His black nose carefully sniffed the Akita puppy, his lips rolling back in a silent snarl. His single eye narrowed at Weed with utter distain, though the sight of Weed's Tora-Ge fur caught a slight gleam of interest in his mind. He narrowed an ear toward Weed's chest, listening for the sound of a heartbeat.

Possibly trying to see if I'm real or not, Weed thought to himself. He looked as the black Shikoku lifted his ear away from his chest, seeing Kurojaki growl.

"Which one of you found him?" Kurojaki demanded.

"Akatora," Jerome responded calmly, "though he sacrificed himself to save Weed. Had he not have done that, we wouldn't have found the last of our resistance against Kaibutsu."

"You saw that Kaibutsu-bastard take off with our comrade?!" Kurojaki growled, instantly picking something off of the ground and swing it at the Akita pup furiously. "And you didn't do a damn thing about it?!"

Weed, having finally seen that Kurojaki was holding a scythe, whirled around and ducked beneath the vicious looking blade, having it caught tight in one of the bed posts. While the black Shikoku struggled to free his blade, Weed took the initiative to slam his head hard into Kurojaki's flank, causing him to roll around while Weed landed perfectly on his paws. Kurojaki recovered from his fall, but was met with a much harder headbutt and became dazed and confused for a brief millisecond. However, Weed was more than ready and – before the Shikoku could even think about moving – leaped for Kurojaki's neck; or so the Shikoku thought. As soon as Kurojaki leaped, Weed swung his body around and aimed a hard kick to the single-eyed dog's face, causing him to impact his back with the very same bedpost that held his scythe. Finally, with a final breath of exhaustion, Kurojaki collapsed to the broken-up wooden floor, knocked out.

"Damn!" John breathed, honestly impressed by Weed's skill and speed. "Little kid can kick some ass!"

"He could've been a great Ninja-dog," Tesshin agreed.

Ken and Kagetora were also in awe of Weed's prowess. "What a kid!" they gasped at the same time.

Moss, though he was heavily muscular, gazed at Weed nervously. "I might be Monster of the Misty Mountains," he said, "but I know true strength when I see it. Little kid's got guts!"

Jerome approached Weed, deeply interested. "What was your name again?" he asked, more curious than anyone else.

"Weed," the Akita puppy responded. He glanced nervously down at the floor. "I'm sorry for attacking your Leader," he apologized, "but I was doing what I meant to do – defending myself in the heat of battle."

"Ha ha ha!" Kurojaki stood up from his unconsciousness and grinned at Weed. "Well, well, well, Weed. I must say I'm impressed. You might be no Ninja-Dog, but you're very fast and skilled in battle, despite being a mere brat."
"I'm no brat," Weed barked. "I'm Weed, the son of the Legendary Gin, Leader of Ohu!"

"Whom has died," John hissed, causing Weed to look at the black and beige Shepherd with confused horror. "That's right, Weed. Your father had given his life to defend the dogs of Ohu while fighting with Kaibutsu. He lasted a lot longer than what was originally planned, but in the end, the monster took his life."

"My father?" Weed gasped.

"I thought it was time you knew about such a tragedy," Jerome said grimly. "That's why Kurojaki was so suspicious of you. He thought you were going to end up like your father – skilled and brave but also very foolish. He didn't want to have another Gin-double sacrificing his own life for a monster he couldn't stop."

Weed, who could've cried over his father's sudden death, instead smiled proudly. "At least, I knew he was a brave Leader," he finally told everyone. "If giving your single life for one dog race wasn't true loyalty and bravery, then I don't know what is. That being said, I am proud to have been born from a courageous father such as Gin."

"You're not upset?" John asked, utterly shocked. "You're not going to get revenge?"

"Not for my father," Weed told the Shepherd, to everyone's shock. He then leaped high towards the window above and looked out towards the distance. Disgusting pale clouds surrounded a tall mountain looking structure.

"But," the Akita proceeded with a brave face, "we can't let Akatora suffer the same fate as my father, especially since he was so close as to surrender himself to the monster in order to save me." He leaped down from the window and stood in front of his fellow dogs, saying something that shocked them all, "I say we choose our best warriors and head out to save Akatora!"

Damn, Weed! You're really taking initiative! What do you think of Weed's reaction to his father's death? I understand that it wasn't completely understandable, but Weed's not the type to go after others in revenge (most of the time).