A/N: Chapter 26 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 26: Blizzard!
Gajou...
"What?! They stopped you from gathering females?!" Genba's voice rose in anger from within the structure, glaring at the group of subordinates cowering before him. Kamakiri and Hougen stood by his side in silence though they also looked a bit displeased.
"I'm sorry!" One of the dogs spoke up for the rest of them. "It was Akame and that old Kai...and somebody else named Hook..."
"Dumbasses!" Genba roared. "How pathetic, especially with so many of you! Kamakiri," He turned to the Wolfhound beside him. "kill them! We don't need these cowards!"
"Yeah." Kamakiri responded without delay and started walking towards the terrified group.
"Please wait!" The group backed up as the giant dog prowled towards them. "Give us another chance..!"
"Hold on." Hougen spoke, causing everyone to look at him. Usually he would agree with his brother without any arguments but he looked calm and collective, "Even though they were useless, they're still soldiers. It was probably too much for them to handle."
"But..." Genba stilled wanted to argue but it was only because he didn't understand his brother's intentions.
"We have over 700 dogs on our side." Hougen assured his brother. "I'm sure there are a couple that are exceptionally strong. Let's use them to determine our top generals."
"Ah, good idea, brother!" Genba nodded his head in agreement.
"Gather those who are confident in their strength." Hougen ordered the group hurried to carry out his plan. "Let's get fired up with a festival of bloody fighters, shall we? Ahahahaha!" Soon the inside of Gajou turned into a battle arena, the air filled with bolstered yells and chanting as the members watched the fights of the confident fighters, egging them on.
"Even like this, I'm still the Grand Champion of the dog fighters." A massive dog spoke as he held his opponent down. The blood from his opponents were splattered all over his face, giving him a dangerous appearance. "I'm of a completely different caliber from you."
"You. What is your name?" Hougen asked.
"A stubborn Tosa. I'm Toube, the Demon." Toube answered.
"A Demon, huh? Then kill him."
"Are you serious?" Toube quirked an eyebrow in question, this was the first time he was forced to kill a dog in a match. Back when he was in the dog fight, most of his opponents either lay down or were too injured to move.
"He wanted to help decide who the head generals are." Hougen replied. "It's better to die than live in disgrace, no?"
"In that case..." Rearing up Toube delivered the final strike and the cry from his opponent filled the air before calming down into silence. After that was finished, Toube stood tall over the dead dog with pride.
"Alright. With this the four have been determined." Hougen grinned as the four winners padded forward. "Toube, Kite, Bat, and Buruge. You're the army's head generals! From today, you're permitted to live in Gajou!" Soon the yells from the army reached the little hiding spot where Akame and the others were sheltering in. The white Kishu had his ears raised as he honed in on the sound.
"What a terrifying bunch." Kurotora spoke, even at his old age his hearing was still top notch. "We can hear the uproar at Gajou all the way from here..."
"Don't be too surprised, they're under military rule." Akame replied. "It sounds like they have chosen their tops by pitting them against each other. They'll probably try to go to the villages again...but this time, with their generals."
"How dare they..." Kurotora growled.
"We should prepare to go as well." Akame said. "Kurotora. Hook. Let's go. Everyone else please stay here."
Weed's group...
Mel, who was with Akame and the others was sent to meet up with Weed upon Akame's order. Upon joining up with the Ohu army he rely the message that Akame told him. For two days, Weed and his army ran nonstop until at last, they'd arrived near Futago pass.
"Weed, let's rest here for a bit." Tesshin stated as the dogs looked at the outline of Futago pass looming some distance away. "Everyone's spirits are strong but their physical strength is close to their limit."
"Yeah." Weed agreed with him. "Everyone do that. I'm going to go ahead."
"Hey hey, do you know what you're saying?" GB chastised him.
"Are you gonna treat us like extra baggage?!" Kyoshiro asked angrily.
"No. I just want to assure Akame-san as soon as possible." Weed replied before looking at Futago Pass. "From here onward, it'll be enemy territory. Since we aren't going to fight right away, I only want a few escorts."
"I see. Then I will go too." Tesshin said. "I am familiar with this place."
"Then Kage and I will come too." Ken said as he and Kagetora padded forward with eagerness.
"No. Ken and Kagetora should stay here." Weed told them, "Since you know this area, if something happens, I want you to lead everyone out of here."
"If you say so..." The two dogs bowed their heads with disappointment.
"As runners and messengers, I need Rocket and GB to come with me. Also Kyoshiro, John-san and Jerome as bodyguards." Weed looked at the comrades that he picked and nodded his head with affirmation. "Let's go!"
"I could have also been a bodyguard..." Hiro spoke as they watched the small group run off towards the snowy path.
"If you could run fast." Kagetora replied.
"That's true." Hiro nodded his head in agreement. "Maybe I should go on a diet."
"Impossible!" Ken and Kagetora spoke simultaneously as they stared at the large dog. Meanwhile, Genba and his group of males traveled on their way to the villages to pick up more females. The only addition to their team was Toube, the fighter dog who padded after the Great Dane faithfully.
"Those bastards, they're off gather females again..." Hook growled as he, Kurotora and Akame watched from above.
"Hmph. Should we chase them back to where they came from?" The old Kai laughed at the thought.
"No. Look at who is in the lead." Akame drew their attention to the main dogs. "Genba and that fighter dog, he's dangerous."
"Genba-sama," Toube spoke as he glanced from side to side, "it seems like Akame hasn't attacked us yet."
"Ha!" The Great Dane scoffed. "He must be afraid of me." He then chuckled much like his brother.
"What are they up to those perverted dogs..." Kurotora spat as they watched Genba's army walk below them.
"We need some sort of plan." Akame replied as he looked up, his senses tingling and he had an intuition that something massive was about to unfold.
"Akame-san..." Hook's urgent voice caused him to look at the dog. "Over there!" He and Kurotora looked at where Hook was looking and noticed a pack of seven dogs running towards Genba from the other direction.
"Shigure!" Kurotora exclaimed as he noticed his nephew running at the head of his pack.
"Shit! At this rate..." the gears in Akame's mind were grinding against one another just as Shigure's pack rounded the corner. Skidding to a stop, the dogs saw a much larger army in front of them.
"You're...!" Shigure snarled as he saw Genba.
"Shigure," A Siberian Husky with olive-colored eyes and a black-light brown coat, looked at the Kai dog who was bristling in anger. "who are they?"
"These bastards, they're the ones that killed my brothers!" Shigure replied, not taking his eyes off of Genba as the deaths of Shouji, Dodo and Buru ran through his mind, their death cries ringing in his ears.
"You make me laugh." Genba smiled, "You've brought back more friends to have them get killed like last time? Toube, it's your turn." The massive fighter dog padded forward until he stood between Shigure's pack and Genba's.
"I'm the Twelfth Heavyweight fighting dog champion. Toube, the Demon." Toube introduced himself.
"Doesn't matter!" The Siberian Husky from before responded to the challenge, "We're the six sons of Kisaragi of the four of Mutsu! Izou!"
"Shirozaku!"
"Shinsaku!"
"Shintaro!"
"Kogoro!"
"Hichinosuke!" One by one the sons each spoke their names even though it was meaningless against Genba who just scoffed at them.
"Toube, kill them!" The Great Dane ordered. Immediately the two packs went straight at each other as Akame, Hook and Kurotora rushed down to help. Soon the area exploded into a battle ground as Shigure's pack flung themselves at their attackers. Shigure himself went straight for Genba only to have the Great Dane grab him by the scruff of his neck and fling him against a wall of snow.
"Shigure, are you alright?" Kurotora ran up as his nephew rolled over, shaking the snow from his pelt.
"Uncle, I've brought the guys from Mutsu." Shigure replied.
"Good, well done!" The old Kai praised him.
"Genba! I, Akame, will be your opponent!" With his speed, the white Kishu slammed into the Great Dane, knocking him into the snow.
"So, you're Akame." Genba growled as he got back to his feet. "You've finally shown yourself." Lunging forward, he tried to get a hold on his opponent but Akame proved to be too fast for him. "You're nothing." He lunged forward only to be stopped by the two Kai dogs.
"You're opponent isn't just Akame!" Kurotora growled as he and Shigure fought to keep Genba down. Suddenly Shigure got distracted when Izou screamed in pain. Toube had his fangs lodged in the Husky's neck and started to toss him around like a rag-doll. Taking advantage of the distraction, Genba rose up and shook the Kai dogs off easily.
"Izou!" Akame rushed to help but the Great Dane pinned him down, shoving his head into the snow.
"Akame-san!" Hook yelled before he was buried beneath two of Genba's minions.
"You piece of shit..." Genba growled as he held Akame down, the dog was trying his best to get out of the grip but it proved to be futile. "I'll take your life right now!" A loud war cry filled the air, dragging Genba's attention off of Akame. Weed himself flew at Genba and sunk his fangs into Genba's head.
"Who the hell are you?!" Genba roared as he stood up, shaking the offender off. Somersaulting forward, Weed landed on his feet and glared at him.
"This is the Paradise that my father created. I won't forgive any scum who tries to destroy it!"
"We've been waiting for you, Weed!" Akame spoke after he tumbled away from Genba, shaking the snow from his head.
"What? Weed...?" Genba looked closely at the dog. "Gin's son!?" Soon Weed's group jumped in, immediately attacking Genba's army.
"GB!" Hook exclaimed as he saw the English Settler toss his opponents away with ease. John and Jerome raced side-by-side, slashing their opponents with their fangs while Rocket caught the stowaways who managed to escape the fangs of the German Shepherds.
"The Ohu Army," Kyoshiro snarled as he threw down a dog, "has arrived!"
"Quickly, let's go!" The brothers of Mutsu, regained their strength to fight rushed Toube and knocked the fighter dog onto his back. Latching on, they started to rotate their bodies much like what they'd do if they encountered a bear.
"Weed, I'm Hougen's little brother, Genba." Genba introduced himself, not something he would do normal but for courtesy between army leaders. "If you're the Leader, then fight me."
"Yeah, I will." was the quick response.
"Wait, Genba!" A voice spoke just as the Great Dane was about to attack first. Looking over he saw a dog with white fur on his head. "Weed is our Leader. Perhaps he should fight Hougen, but I won't allow him to fight an underling like you!"
"Who the hell are you?" Genba snarled.
"Tesshin, a Ninja dog of Koga. I am more than enough of an opponent for you." Bracing himself, he stood fast in anticipation of Genba's first strike.
"I don't give a shit about one Ninja dog idiot. I'll chew you up and spit you out alive." Genba licked his fangs and jumped, paws outstretched. Dodging to the side and with the speed taught to him by Akame himself, Tesshin raked his fangs against Genba's shoulder, causing the Dane to tumble back. Genba was shocked and couldn't wrap his head over what had just happened. One of the runners who was put as a scout watched as Genba struggled. Acting quickly, he raced off back to report to Hougen and to beg for reinforcement.
"Stand up Genba." Tesshin ordered, watching his opponent grovel in the snow. "I'm sick and tired of your shit, always boasting about being Hougen's younger brother!"
"You think you've won because of this little scratch?" Genba snarled and got to his feet. "You're too naive!" With the same strategy only because Genba was recklessly throwing himself at him, Tesshin made countless strikes against Genba, his fangs slashing multiple wounds along the Dane's body while Genba himself couldn't make a single strike. All around them, the sounds of dogs fighting dogs continued to fill the air.
"Die, you worthless shit!" A dog growled as he sunk his fang into Izou's side, tearing at the flesh. Because of the damage Toube dealt him, Izou couldn't fight back as effectively.
"Bastard! Can you only fight against fallen opponents?" Weed leaped in, tossing the dog back and forth with anger. "Are those Hougen's orders? How unfair can you get?"
"Thanks..." Izou said.
"Are you alright?" Weed asked him. " I'm Weed, Gin's son."
"Oh, you're the one!" Izou stated in excitement. "I'm Izou from Mutsu. What bad timing for us to meet..."
"You brat!" The dog from earlier was back up and was running to attack Weed. Without batting an eyelash, Weed dodged him, grabbing the back of the neck and flipped the dog over. The dog has a look of surprise on his face before being slammed into the ground.
"What are you doing?" Izou asked when Akame walked over and grabbed him gently by the scruff of his neck.
"Don't worry, I'm just taking you somewhere safe." was the reply and Akame dragged the Husky out of the battle ground. Once he had determined that it was safe, he let go of Izou's scruff. "It's almost time."
"Huh?" Izou looked at him. "What do you mean? It's almost time for what?"
"It's almost time for the Mountain God to howl." Akame said as the winds were starting to shift. Back in the battle, the sons of Kisaragi were trying to make at least a decent scratch in Toube's hide but the fighter dog's skin was tough. Rolling around, he dislodged his opponents with ease.
"I don't fight small fries like you." Toube stated as he stood up. "My only opponent is the son of the Leader. Only him. Son of Gin!" He started to run at Weed, "Fight me!" In an attempt to run out of the way, Weed tripped, causing him to fall straight into the snow. He watched as Toube soared over him.
"Lucky kid." Toube stated before Weed latched onto his snout. Shirozaku, Shinsaku and Shintaro also joined in, latching onto Toube but it only pissed the fighter dog off even more. "How many times do I have to say it?" Toube irritably stated as he pinned Shinsaku down with a paw and threw the others off. "I don't fight small fry."
"Toube!" Genba yelled, taking his gaze off of Tesshin for a split second, "Come here and back me up!"
"Why?" The fighter dog asked as he shook Weed off. Looking around he noticed that most of Genba's group had been defeated by Weed's friends.
" You're the only one left who can stand."
"What are you gonna do now, Genba?" Tesshin asked. "Face us and lose? Or withdraw and survive?"
"No. I won't let that happen!" Shigure snapped as Toube padded over to Genba's side. "He murdered my brothers! I'm against letting him go!"
"Toube, who'd ever have thought I would have a companion like you to go to hell with me?" Genba smiled gleefully.
"If you're going to hell, go by yourself." Toube responded. "I ain't going with you."
"What a comrade you are. Fighter dogs can't even take jokes?"
"What's it going to be, Genba?" Weed walked forward, "If you give up, we'll treat you as a prisoner of war."
"What're you saying? Treating him like that is too soft!"
"Kurotora, Weed is the Leader now." Akame scolded the old Kai for his input. "Don't say anything unnecessary."
"You're right. Shigure, bear with it." Kurotora said and his nephew looked away in disgust.
"It won't be long..." Akame looked up and muttered the same words once more. "Weed, let's hurry..."
"Yes. Answer me, Genba!" Weed ordered.
"Shut up!" The Great Dane snapped, blood dripping from his multiple wounds. "Who the hell do you think I am? My answer is 'live or die'! As if I would surrender!" Suddenly from the top of the hill came roaring voices and the combating armies looked to see Kamakiri and his lot charging towards them. "How lucky. It's the reinforcements, Toube. You're the one that's going to die, Weed!"
"This is bad! With that many of them, we can't possibly win!" GB whined. Roaring Genba went after Tesshin and the two of them dashed up to higher ground away from the others.
"Tesshin!" Weed shouted as he and Shigure raced after them.
"Kid, your opponent is me!" Toube said as he charged after him. Weed skidded to a halt and stood to face Toube as Shigure continued after Genba. The Great Dane had almost caught up with the Ninja dog and just as fate would have it, Tesshin's paw got caught on an unsuspected rock hidden underneath the snow. Pouncing on him, Genba immediately drove his fangs home, biting into Tesshin's neck.
"It's over. Once I have a hold of the scruff of your neck, it's a one way ticket to the other world."
"Genba! Your opponent is me!" Shigure came up right behind and head-butted him off of Tesshin. The Dane rolled over and glared at the two dogs standing before him.
"Think it over Genba. Will you surrender?" Tesshin asked him one last time.
"Shove it, you persistent shit!" was the reply.
"In that case...are you ready, Shigure?" Together they leaped at Genba and in that moment a massive gust of wintery storm hit the Dane in the face, blinding him for a second. That was all the chance Shigure and Tesshin needed as they grabbed ahold of him and forced him off the ledge. The three of them started to tumble, gaining speed and momentum.
"It's here!" Akame shouted just as Kamakiri's army reached them. The massive storm blew over them, causing both parties to stop what they were doing and brace against the cold winds. With the winds raging both parties were immobilized and rendered unable to continue fighting.
"Genba, accept your punishment for your evil actions!" Tesshin said as he spotted a target through the veil of snow. When the time was right but he and Shigure jumped out of harms way and, because Genba couldn't stop himself from tumbling, hit his head hard against a jagged stone. The impact crushed his skull and he disappeared underneath the blanket of snow.
Soon the storm blew over, and thanks to Akame's help Weed's army managed to find shelter in a nearby secluded cave. They waited anxiously for two others.
"I knew you'd be here." Tesshin said as he and Shigure padded up to them.
"Where have you been, Tesshin?" Weed asked.
"After fighting against Genba, we ended up in the valley." Tesshin explained. "We were waiting for the snowstorm to end."
"Uncle, I got revenge for my brothers." Shigure said, puffing his chest a bit with pride.
"Then that means...!" Kurotora grinned, "Well done, Shigure!"
"Tesshin..." Weed looked at them in explanation, hoping that what Shigure just said didn't mean what he thought it meant.
"Don't worry," Tesshin assured him. "we didn't kill him. However, he'll probably never be able to return to the battlefield." Meanwhile Kamakiri's group and Toube quickly dug Genba out and stood horrified at his condition. Genba, with his skull smashed in and blood running down his face, rose and sunk his teeth into a nearby recruit but not deep enough to draw blood. Every single soldier freaked out as Genba was dragged out. Kamakiri knew once he realized that Genba would never recover that things were about to change and that he would be promoted to number 2 in the ranks.
Somewhere else...
Alayus and her group made good progress, crossing over the mountains just as the sun peeked out of the clouds after the storm. Luckily for them, the storm didn't affect them as much as it did for the Ohu army but they were still forced to find shelter once the wind picked up. There weren't any other major bumps or conflicts along their way so that made their travels that much smoother.
"We're here." Ryo spoke as they stopped running to catch their breath. Before them was a giant cave that could have hosted a few bears back in the day. "Wait here. I'll see if they're in." Alayus nodded and sat on her haunches to wait as he disappeared into the cave, covering her paws with her tail much like John does.
"Is what you're saying true Ryo? Paradise is being threatened by some punk?" A deep voice spoke as a huge dog padded out of the cave, flanked by two more plus Ryo. There two scars on his face but he had a lot more all over his body which rippled with muscle. There was also a collar around his neck that told her that he was once a pet. They stopped in front of their guests, eying them with curiosity. "And who might you be?"
"How do you do Moss-san?" Alayus bowed her head with respect in front of the old English Mastiff. "My name is Alayus, daughter of John and Rue."
"Oh ho! John's child! This one's polite and not as arrogant as her old man, a trait from her mother perhaps?" Moss looked at Ryo who nodded his head. "Have you met my son?" He turned to a smaller built brown Mastiff on his right. "Where are your manners boy?"
"Dad I was about to introduce myself so there's no need for you to push me to it." the dog said with a huff before looking at the German Shepherd. "My name is Jaguar."
"Then I should state my name as well. Nice to meet you, my name is Musashi." Another brown dog, a Tosa on Moss's left side introduced himself. There were darker marks of fur around his eyes and mouth. "I see you have met members of my group."
"Wait...so there are two separate groups here that make up most of your pack?" Alayus asked.
"Ahahaha!" Moss laughed. "Actually I recruited Musashi while I was on a walk through the town. So you can think about it as two separate groups but actually Musashi is one of my sub generals."
"You're a little bit off Dad, I was the one who actually brought up Musashi because he was a well-known fighter around this area." Jaguar corrected him. "After that you went on your walk to find Musashi. Then when you didn't return I took a couple of the guys to check up on you and low and behold, you and Musashi were in a match. We thought you were in trouble."
"It wasn't too bad." Musashi grinned. "It was just a playful match and I wouldn't deny the offer from Moss himself. So my band of followers decided to join up and here we are."
"Spare me the lecture child, no one wants the little details of how things work." Moss dismissed them both with a wave of a paw.
"If I may interrupt, would you please lend a hand to Weed and the Ohu army? They are in desperate need of more comrades." Alayus said looking at Moss expectantly after the father-son banter was over. "I'm not sure if you've heard but Hougen has taken over the Paradise set up by the Leader. Right now, his son Weed is in the process of gathering followers in order to combat Hougen. Will you help us?"
"What do you think? Musashi? Jaguar?" Moss glanced at the two dogs in question.
"Think about it Dad..." Jaguar said, "if this scum Hougen takes over our territory as well, we'll have to fight against him and a lot of our comrades will have to lay down their very lives for Ohu's sake. Remember that fight against Akakabuto? This could be another war just like that."
"I agree." Musashi added. "Thanks to Gin, this era of peace is just what us dogs longed to have. Letting Hougen ruin this is a travesty and imagine if the Humans were added into the mixture. This equation has disaster written all over."
"Very well." Moss nodded in agreement. "You have all spoken and I couldn't have agreed with you more. Musashi, round up everyone. We're going to where Weed is."
"Moss-san!" Alayus said with happiness and he grinned. Musashi reappeared with the rest of Moss's pack, a strong group of 35 males.
"Alright you males!" Moss turned to address his pack. "We're off so I don't want to hear any complaints along the way. Futago Pass is not far! Our objective is to assist the leader's kid and take down Hougen. Let's go!"