A/N: Chapter 23 of Ginga Densetsu Alayus. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own. Ginga Densetsu Weed belongs to the rightful owner.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 23: The Assassin's Dagger
Weed's group...
The Ohu army journeyed towards Kishu, Rocket and Missile's hometown where there was believed to be a clan of dogs that have not fallen to Hougen's reign. Now the group stared out towards the lights that indicated a city as they awaited their leader's orders.
"What should we do?" Kagetora asked, "It'd be a night journey...should we keep going?"
"Well, I'm getting tired after running all this time..." GB stated right beside him, "it's about time we have a rest...!" He released a yawn to prove his point.
"GB," Kagetora admonished slightly, "that's pitiful for an Ohu Soldier..." He didn't get to finish his sentence when he had an unsuspecting yawn.
"Kage, look who's talking!" Ken said with a smile.
"It's GB's fault!" Kagetora replied hastily, seeing his friend's grin. "It's contagious."
"You're blaming me?!" GB snapped but then the three of them turned their attention to Weed who released his own yawn. The young leader stopped himself and looked at the dogs behind him in embarrassment.
"Sorry!" was his reply which was met with laughter.
"It can't be helped, everyone's tired." Jerome nodded his head in agreement. "Let's rest tonight." Rocket joined along until something reached his ears. Motioning for the others to keep quiet, he listened carefully as the sound rebounded from the mountains. It sounded like a train but Rocket couldn't be sure.
"You guys stay there." Rocket called back to them, stopping them from following him as he made his way down to a dirt path. "I'll go check things out and be back by morning. Don't worry, this is my hometown! Leave it to me." He reassured them when he noticed some disapprove looks. "If I don't come back, please go on ahead and I'll catch up later."
"Then we'll go on ahead." John spoke out loud and motioned for Missile to follow him. "We will rendezvous at the next place." With a nod and a flick of a tail, the German Shepherd and the Collie disappeared.
"We'll wait for Rocket then, John and Missile can take care of themselves in the meantime." Weed told the rest of his group just as thunder rumbled overhead. Rocket ran along the trail, stepping through a river just as the rain came down in a light drizzle. Soon the smell of blood hit his nose and he carefully made his way through the underbrush. Nose to the ground, he slowly peeked his head out to see a group of strange dogs eating chicken. The sound that he heard was the sound of these guys stealing from humans. Because he was so caught up in the scene as well as wondering who these dogs belong to, he failed to notice a looming figure behind him until it was too late. The mysterious dog grabbed Rocket by the scruff and threw him to the ground, lightning cracking over head to illuminate his yellow eyes as he stared at the prey underneath his claws.
Morning...
Weed and his group descended down in search for Rocket who didn't return. The young leader sent a scout to meet up with John and Missile to give them a message just in case they were late at the rendezvous point.
"He crossed this way...crap I lost it." GB muttered as he tried his best to recapture Rocket's trail. The scent let them to the river where the Collie crossed last night.
"Hey hey. What's wrong you lot?" The group turned to see a German shepherd mix standing on the other side, he sounded friendly enough so they decided to chat with him.
"Are you a local?" GB asked and the male nodded his head. "We got separated from a friend of ours...his name is Rocket. Do you know him?"
"Rocket? Yeah, he's a friend from the past. I saw him yesterday..." The dog said.
"Really? Where is he now?"
"He got injured in the Mountains. He's resting in our territory." The stranger explained.
"Injured?" Weed asked, worry washing over him. "Is he okay?"
"It's no big deal. Follow me, I'll lead you to him." The dog wagged his tail and disappeared. Weed and his group tried to follow him the best they could but at some points they lost track so he slowed down a tiny bit for them to catch up.
Something strange about him...Jerome thought as he kept his eyes on the dog's form. Suddenly the dog appeared near the side of the road and released a howl, capturing the attention of a couple of humans with guns. When they turned to look at him he knew the plan was going to work so he fled in other direction just as the Ohu army made their presence known.
"He's gone..." Weed looked around as he came across the cliff face, losing sight of the male.
"Wait! Something smells bad...I smell iron..." Jerome growled and he looked up. His eyes immediately went to the humans who had their guns trained on them.
"This isn't good...everyone hide!" Weed yelled and the humans started to fire. The army huddled behind the trees or stayed very still in the open, ducking their heads when bullets whizzed past their ears.
"Shit...why are we being shot at?!" Kyoshiro snarled as a bullet lodged itself in the bark of a tree he was hiding behind.
"Weed!" Jerome yelled at the leader. "At this rate, we'll be killed! Come on!"
"Jerome!" Weed shouted as the dog ran off.
"It's alright! If you run straight, you won't get hit!" Jerome replied as the bullets flew harmlessly by him.
"Everyone follow Jerome!" Weed raised his voice over the sound of gun fire. "Hurry up, go over that cliff!" The army quickly followed his lead, running for their lives until they made it over.
"Shige! Katsutoshi!" Kyoshiro's panicked voice caught Weed's attention and he looked back to see the other leader yelling at two dogs who were stuck where they were, trembling in fear. "Hurry up! Do you wanna die?!"
"Kyoshiro!" Weed carefully made his way up to the other leader who scoffed at his subordinates.
"They're so scared they can't move...what a pain..!" The two of them shot out from behind the tree just as two hunters slid down the cliff to greet them.
"Hey, two are coming this way!" One man spoke to the other and leveled his gun. The two dogs stopped in their tracks, realizing that the guns were trained on them. Suddenly Jerome burst out from hiding and grabbed onto one of the guns, making the bullet miss.
"Jerome!" Weed yelled as the German shepherd wrestled the weapon away.
"Don't just stand there! Hurry up and get out!" Jerome snapped at them after throwing away the gun. "Even a dog like me has one life!"
"You..." The hunter stammered as his buddy took aim at the animal. From the other side another shape shot out and bit the man on the leg.
"Ouch! Why you...!" The man yelped as the dog proceeded to grind its teeth into the flesh. Pulling his gun back the man swung the butt end of his weapon hard against the dog's head, smirking as he heard a satisfying crack. The dog let go as it tumbled across the ground with a yelp, leaving drops of blood from where the gun hit it. Snarling Jerome launched himself against the man and sunk his teeth into the man's arm.
"You fool!" Kyoshiro snapped as he towered over his subordinates who flinched under his harsh tone. "Get it together!"
"I'm sorry!" Shige yelped as he felt his leader embed his fangs into his hind quarters.
"Get off damn it!" The man wailed, trying to dislodge Jerome from his arm. His buddy had retrieved his gun and was trying to aim carefully so that he wouldn't shoot his partner by accident. Knowing that he couldn't shoot the other hunter decided to use his weapon as a club and aimed for Jerome's head.
Wha-? Jerome thought as he felt something grab him by the scruff and he was hauled back into the forest before the gun could crush his skull in. "You-?!" He didn't take a good look at the dog as it ran back out, barking and started to climb up the rocks to get to the main road. The rest of the humans moved out of the way as the dog took off running down the road.
"Who was that dog? I feel like we've met before..." Jerome mumbled as he returned to Weed's side.
"Jerome? Are you okay?" Weed asked.
"Weed, don't waste the opportunity that dog just gave us. Let's get going!" Kyoshiro said once he made sure that Shige and Katsutoshi were moving. Nodding Jerome and Weed followed him and the three of them disappeared over the cliff leaving the frustrated humans behind.
"Weed there's something I want to check out. I'll be right back!" Jerome said and broke off from the two leaders, running back to the main road. Weed didn't say anything as he watched the Shepherd disappear before returning to his group.
"So, they were able to escape...the Humans couldn't even kill one of them..." An dark shadow commented as he watched the entire scene from above. Behind him stood a group of dogs that Rocket found yesterday and among them was the strange dog that led Weed and his group into the trap. "I guess I have to handle it myself. Prepare yourselves Ohu clan! I'll rip your heads apart!"
On the road...
Alayus kept running, her tail streaming out behind her. The wound to her head wasn't as severe as it could have been; back there her senses were on alert and she moved a few inches back so that the gun smacked her with the blunt edge but it still hurt. Hearing the sound of a car coming she jumped into a nearby bush and watched the police car go by with its siren wailing. She ran non-stop to reach Weed's group after splitting up from the leader, running days and nights until she finally reached the outskirts of Kishu. The only reason she got there fast enough was because she managed to have some locals help her get onto a train bound for the city.
This is strange. She thought with concern as she started to lick her paws and drew it over an ear, washing away some of the blood on her fur. The humans have made such a fuss about this disturbance. It can't only over Weed's group...The dog that was leading them...She remembered seeing the dog in front and knew immediately that he didn't belong with them, he must have had the intention to lure them directly in front of the humans...What's going on? She looked out to see a semi-truck drive by and in the back were a bunch of dog corpses. Running out into the street she followed the truck into an area where there were a lot of humans. A sign was posted out which said, "Stray Dogs prevention headquarters."
"Is it true that you found these in the mountains?" One human said to the driver, pointing at the bodies.
"Yeah there must have been a fight between the dogs." The driver replied. "Those chickens were stolen because the dog's numbers are increasing. There's not enough food to go around." They finally left to join the other humans and Alayus hopped up into the back, carefully treading on the bodies.
How horrible...she thought as she looked around. There weren't many dogs in this pack but what caught her eye was a dog with intense puncture wounds on his chest and his eyes were gouged out. This guy is a Boss dog, whoever made these wounds must have sharp fangs. Could be a giant breed...
"Damn that bastard...he fooled us!" Ken growled as GB had his nose to the ground trying to catch the scent of the traitor. Most of the dogs escaped unscathed but they were a little shaky since it was their first experience with guns.
"He knew about Rocket...he must know something about where he is..." Kagetora said as they continued to follow GB.
"Hey, want something from me?" The group lifted their heads to see the dog from before, grinning at them mischievously.
"Because of you, we were almost killed!" Kyoshiro snapped angrily.
"What are you planning?" Ken ordered.
"Who knows..." was the answer as the dog ran off.
"Wait you bastard!" GB shouted causing the entire group to follow the sneaky devil. They arrived at some sort of waterfall cliff-thing, the dog was looking over the ledge into the water below. "Ha! You're cornered like a trapped mouse."
"The ones who are cornered are you lot! Guys! They fell for it!" The dog shouted and more enemies showed up, a much larger army surrounded the small group and blocked off their escape route. They were waiting between the rocks in hopes of ambushing the group.
"What are your intentions!?" Kyoshiro yelled as the dog hurried to the other side.
"I appreciate your efforts Stone." Another voice spoke and Weed gasped as a huge dog stepped forward. He was a giant compared to the others "There's no intentions here, dumbasses!"
Hmm? Something's wrong...Alayus ducked down as all of the hunters piled into one truck and rolled out of the area. She peeked out to see it disappear around the bend and something with in her knew that it couldn't be good. Hopping out she immediately followed the vehicle at a safe distance.
What's that noise? Jerome looked up with interest. He was trying to follow the familiar scent but the road started to shake under his paws. He quickly hid to the side and watched as a truck rolled by. Those are the hunters...Oh no! Weed and the others are in danger! He panicked and ran as swiftly as he could through the undergrowth, letting his nose guide the way. I must alert them!
Back to the waterfall...
"Let me fill you in on the situation. Don't even try to resist. Surrender unconditionally!" Kamakiri ordered as his lackeys laughed behind him.
"Please hold on." Weed padded forward until he stood in front of the Irish Wolfhound. "I'm Weed, the leader of this pack." Kamakiri's eyes narrowed with interest, none of the prey that he had faced ever spoke to him in a polite manner. "We came from Ohu with a cause. We didn't come to your territory looking for a fight." He knelt down, flattening his ears in front of everyone. "About half of my pack are kids who know nothing about fighting. Please forgive us for intruding."
"Not bad, you little runt." Kamakiri smirked as he walked up to the submissive leader. "As I expected, the rumors I head about the Leader of Ohu's son are true. However, when you bow your head down, you need to keep your eyes locked onto your opponent!" He lifted his paw and pushed Weed's head into the dirt.
"Weed!" Kagatora and Ken spoke simultaneously as they watched with fury.
"I'm Kamakiri from Bingo." The giant addressed himself. "I don't have a connection or a relation to this land. I'm an invader!" He turned around and gave Weed a swift back kick to the jaw. Weed flew back to his own group, paws up in the air as he coughed out some dirt.
"Hold it you scum!" A voice spoke and every single dog looked up to see a dog not from around the area, his giant fur coat which bristled in anger, helped him through the tough terrains and he was missing an eye. "I thought as you got older, you would have gotten better, but you haven't changed one bit! Kamakiri! I'll kill you!"
"Who the hell are you?" The Irish Wolfhound asked as the dog jumped down to stand before him, his one eye glaring daggers at his enemy.
"I'm not gonna let you say you forgot about me." The dog replied, "Dogs who run into me know me as 'the ballsnatcher'. A murderous bastard like you do not deserve to know my real name but since you clearly forgot I'll give you a reminder."
"As if I need to know your name, you're just an eyesore. Now get out of my way so I can kill that runt!" Kamakiri snapped.
"Many years past, my father Yukimasa was the Boss Dog of Hiroshima and led a pack of 30 dogs. He was a kind, rightful and wise leader, everyone respected him." The dog continued, standing between him and Weed. "Everything was perfect until one day three dogs within the pack turned everyone against my father. The leader of the three challenged my father to a fight. He fought bravely and even when he was lastly outmatched, he begged for his son to be spared but his son didn't listen and attacked, losing his right eye as a result. Though the father was killed with honor and dignity, his son still lives with a goal to grow big and strong to get revenge on the murder who killed his father. I am Hiro, the son of Yukimasa and he was killed by you Kamakiri!"
"...I don't recall such a thing, stop spouting nonsense! It's pointless to bring up a past when it has no meaning whatsoever! I don't even remember you!"
"I see you're still following this piece of shit, Stone." Hiro turned his attention to the dog who had Rocket pinned down. "Knowing that you'd follow Kamakiri to the depths of hell even after death...that doesn't surprise me one bit you traitor!" He turned his attention back to Kamakiri. "I'll make you remember me even in Hell. Fight me!"
"Well I don't know about that. Stone!" Kamakiri said, calling his right hand dog to his side. Stone returned but this time with Rocket as hostage.
" Everyone, these are Hougen's followers!" Rocket said once he saw them, "The locals here were all massacred by these guys!"
"Indeed. I've joined forces with Hougen." Kamakiri nodded his head in agreement. "As a present to him, I tried to make the locals here followers of Hougen, but they didn't obey. But, Kishu is a great place. And after all that tasty chicken meat, the Ohu army will become the prey!" He tilted his head back with laughter.
"I see...so you're the guys who're responsible for everything that's been going on." Weed replied with a calm voice but his comrades could see that he was angry. "I won't forgive you. I absolutely won't forgive cowards that walk all over others to live!"
"Keep yapping to yourself Kid." Kamakiri scoffed. Suddenly Jerome sprang into action, knocking Stone away so that Rocket could escape.
"Thanks!" Rocket said.
"Let's go!" Jerome replied and the two of them ran towards the other side.
"What are you guys doing?!" Kamakiri roared at his subordinates as he watched them get away. Jerome turned back as Rocket kept going, his eyes trained on the Wolfhound.
"I'll cool you off a bit!"
"A big-headed Shepherd like you?" Kamakiri spat as he rose up to the challenge. "Do you really think you even have a chance against my fangs?!" In that instant he ripped off Jerome's ear but that didn't stop the dog from retaliating, hitting the Wolfhound from the back.
"No matter how sharp your fangs are, it takes more than just biting my ear off to kill me you idiot! Even a rabbit could kick your ass if all you can do is rip an ear off!" Jerome taunted as blood dripped from his wound. Kamakiri spat the ear out and growled angrily.
"Kamakiri! This is for my Father!" Hiro roared as he threw himself at the giant, sinking his teeth into the shoulder
"Let's go!" Stone ordered.
"Everyone listen!" Jerome roared, making both sides hesitate. "The humans will be here any second. If both groups don't get out of her, you'll all be shot dead!"
"Don't listen to that bullshit!" Kamakiri said around a mouth-full of Hiro's fur. "He's bluffing!" Believing their leader, Stone and two others rushed in to bite Hiro, making it a four on one fight.
"That's not fair, Kamakiri!" Weed roared as he sunk his fangs into the Wolfhound's snout, making him release the Great Pyrenees. "Kamakiri, if you're a real dog, try fighting fair and square!"
"You brat!"
"There they are!" Immediately human voices were heard causing all of the dogs to look up in fear as the hunters aimed their guns at them. "Fire!" The sound of bullets ricocheting off the rocks terrified both groups.
"Tch! Looks like you got lucky Son of Gin." Kamakiri growled and ordered a retreat. His army gratefully followed suit, disappearing beyond the rocks and into the bushes. Weed's army took advantage of the vacant spots or tried to out run the bullets by running back to the forest, bullets flying overhead.
"Everyone! Get the kids to safety first!" Weed said as the older members rallied the smaller members to hiding places, using their bodies as shields if necessary.
"Weed! Watch out!" Jerome yelled when he noticed that the same hunter from before had his gun trained on the leader. A blurry shape darted out once the trigger was pulled. A sound like thunder and the smell of blood filled the air as the mysterious dog yelped and lost its footing, falling to the ground with a whimper.
"Weed!" GB shouted as the leader was pushed aside.
"Ken, Kagetora! Get Weed out of there!" Jerome yelled as he took cover.
"Weed let's go!" GB urged as Ken and Kagetora grabbed him and the four of them hurried to find hiding spots. Jerome stayed hidden but his eyes widened in surprise when he realized who the mysterious dog was. Darting out of his hiding place when the hunters were reloading he rushed over to her side, wagging his tail slightly.
"Alayus! Are you okay?! Are you hurt? Where have you been?! I missed you so much!" He covered her face with licks and kisses while showering her with questions.
"Now's not the time Jerome." She growled lightly but returned some of his affection with short licks. The clicking of the guns caught their attention and Jerome stood in front, his eyes trained on the barrels. The hunters froze in fear when he suddenly bared his teeth and snarled at them, his lips pulled back to show off his white fangs.
"It's you two!" One of the hunters growled and keep Jerome in the middle of the cross-hair of his scope. "I'll pay you back for that time you interfered with our work! You'll pay me back in full!"
"You're gonna regret putting a bullet in her leg!" Jerome snapped, his fur bristling with anger. Of course the humans couldn't understand what he said but heard angry barks. "Even if I go to Hell, I'll come back to rip you to shreds!"
"...no...we need to go. There are more important matters that we need to deal with than those dog hunters." Alayus whimpered and tried to run away but the pain in her leg prevented her from going anywhere. Snapping his fangs with irritation Jerome grabbed her by the scruff and jumped off the cliff into the water below. The hunters yelled with frustration but realized that there was nothing else they could do so they drove off without another word. The water swept the two Shepherds downstream with Jerome holding onto Alayus and dragged her ashore. The bullet in her leg was giving her so much pain that she didn't have the energy to move.
"Are you okay?" He asked, licking her ear as a comforter. A noise caught her attention and he noticed dark shapes coming their way. "Kamakiri's followers?!" He stood over her, baring his teeth. "Come! I'll kill you all."
"No...they're not..." Alayus uttered breathlessly as two dogs appeared before them. "quickly Jerome...follow them..." She weakly pawed the ground before Jerome hoisted her over his back. The two dogs watched them calmly before leading them towards the mountain.
"Jerome!" Weed yelled as he followed the water current with GB behind him. The scent led them to a small clearing where large puddles of blood could been seen on the pebbles and the grass. "Quick! There's patches of blood here!"
"Is it Jerome's?" GB asked as he watched his leader sniff the blood carefully.
"They must have swam down here after falling from that cliff..." Rocket said as he caught up with them, analyzing the situation with his sharp mind. "Besides, he wasn't the one that was shot."
"Were they both taken away?" Kyoshiro asked.
"It looks like it..." Weed said as they looked at the blood trail which stained nearby rocks. "Of course knowing Jerome, he probably tried to carry the other dog or protect it from the enemy."
"There's no scent of any humans here." Hiro announced. After determining that the Ohu army were against Hougen, he joined them but on one condition: He would be the one to take down Kamakiri, no one else may have him.
"Then...who did it?" Weed asked.
"Hey!" GB's voice rose up and they saw the Settler nosing around some bushes. "Over here! The blood trail goes on even further! It's going towards the mountains!"
Jerome...please be safe. Weed prayed as he led the group after the trail. When they got closer to the mountain range, GB took the lead as the others glanced at their surroundings. There were jagged formations and the steam from the nearby hot-springs were unbearable; the dogs with longer fur were panting non-stop.
"What the hell is that rotten smell?!" Kyoshiro gagged as his nose picked up a whiff of sulfur...or rotten eggs.
"It's an odd smell..." Hiro agreed with him. "Who's that?" He looked up because he saw a faint shadow of a dog.
"What's wrong?" Kagetora asked him.
"There's someone on the other side of the rocks!" When everyone looked up there was nobody there. Suddenly they saw that there were a bunch of dogs surrounding them.
"Who's there? What's your intention?!" GB yelled only to have the mysterious group run off through the steam. The entire group followed after them but they were soon cut off as the steam obscured their field of vision so they ended up treading in the dark. Soon Weed heard the cries of his friends and tried to follow their sound but with the steam he didn't know where he was going.
"AHHH!" Weed yelped as the ground disappeared from underneath his feet. He tumbled and fell with a splash into some warm water. Rising to the surface he shook his head in shock and looked around to see that everyone had fallen into the warm water just like him. They were either looking around in confusion or tried to think of a way to escape.
"To be easily tricked like that..." A voice spoke to them and they looked up to see the shadows once more. "you are too clumsy. How in the world do you think of defeating Hougen?"
"Who the hell are you guys?!" Kyoshiro snapped at them.
"Don't get too excited Kyoshiro., they are friends." A familiar voice caught their attention and the steam lifted just enough to see the owner of that voice. "Yo." Jerome spoke impassively. He was laying next to the edge of the water, his paws dipped in the warm liquid.
"Jerome!" Weed said with relief before noticing the another shape in the water next to Jerome.
"Yo." Alayus copied what Jerome said, grinning cheekily at Weed's shocked expression.
"Weed! Did you find Jerome yet?!" GB yelled, snapping Weed's train of thought. The English settler, who for some reason didn't end up falling in, was looking over the edge and wagged his tail when he spotted them. "Oh hey! You're alive! Whoa! Even Alayus is with you?! Hang on, I'll go call the rest of the guys!" GB disappeared to call the rest of the army. "They're all right! They're all right!" The dogs just chuckled as they heard more voices in the distance.
"Well then Weed," Jerome said as he lazily drew a paw over his damaged ear, "I believe we should rest here for the day."
"I better go before the rest of the Army comes here." Alayus said and hoisted herself out, whimpering as she placed her leg down. Realizing that she shouldn't put any weight on it, she just held her leg off the ground and slowly shook the water out of her fur. Rocket looked down in shame as the others tried to call her back but she just smiled and limped off. Jerome excused himself and went after her just as GB reappeared with the rest of the crew. Soon the hot springs turned into a party as the dogs all got in and let it heal their wounds and fatigue.
"Hey wait up!" Alayus turned her head to see Jerome padding up to her side with a sad look on his face. "Why don't you stay?" He asked her when they were sure that everyone else were out of range. "I'm pretty sure Weed would let you rejoin the army...I'll vouch for you."
"Jerome that's really sweet of you but...I can't, at least not yet anyways." Alayus replied and stepped back, looking at him with downcast eyes. "You understand don't you? With my leg the way it is I'll just slow you guys down."
"...I understand." He spoke softly. "It's just..."
"Hey, it'll be okay." She said and leaned in to nuzzle his fur. "I'll get better and join up with you later." She then nosed his injured ear. "Your ear looks terrible...it must've hurt." She lightly drew her tongue over it.
"We're ready for you, Alayus." The two dogs looked up to see Tesshin standing not too far with a few of his ninja dogs right behind him. "We have to remove that bullet before it gets infected and eventually...you will be unable to walk permanently."
"I have to go." Alayus whispered and she broke away to limp towards the other males who kindly showed her where she needed to go. Jerome and Tesshin followed them but lingered outside to have a small chat.
"I'll take good care of her, you have my word." Tesshin said once he made sure that she was comfortable. "In the meantime I believe that it is essential that your group should rest and heal for now. Weed stated that you guys will leave in 3 days, that'll be more than enough time for me to teach him a move that his father would've wanted him to perfect. Now if you'll excuse me..." He bowed his head toward Jerome before disappearing into the small cave and the two ninja dogs on duty placed themselves at the entrance, forbidden anyone from entering or disturbing their master. Jerome watched them calmly before returning to the others and just hoped for a swift recovery.