A/N: Chapter 35 of Ginga Densetsu Alayus. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OCs. Ginga Densetsu Weed along with the other Ginga series belongs to the rightful owner.
Special thanks to the reviewers and to the readers who Fav/Alert this story, I really appreciate it.
Chapter 35: Fire and Snow
Hot spring...
"Mmmm..." Alayus' ear twitched as she soaked up the water, feeling the energy rejuvenate every inch of her skin. She didn't realize how long she sat in the hot spring itself but seeing her father's rugged outline as he sat guard told her she didn't have to worry much. It was soothing to say the least and she enjoyed every moment of it. "Hey Dad, how do you think the others are doing in Gajou?"
"I'm sure they're doing just fine." came the gruff voice. "You worry about healing and getting better. Only when that is accomplish can you start worrying about the others."
"How can I not worry about them in these desperate times? When a dog such as Hougen is allowed to run wild and threatening the lives of others?" Alayus hummed before turning to look in the direction where the fighting was taking place. "Everyone is fighting for the sake of bringing peace to Paradise, a place where you fought Akakabuto and the other bears...or at least that's what mom told me..."
"Oh I just loved talking about my younger days to your mother." John laughed as he remembered, a grin upon his face. "She loved listening to them and begged me to retell them over and over. I lost count how many times she asked."
"Did mom really do that?" Alayus grinned.
"You bet she did." John padded over, dragging his tongue over the top of his daughter's head and even behind her ears. "Someday I'll tell you every single one of them and you'll never be sick of hearing them!"
"Haha! I can't wait!" She replied.
"By the way, what's Gin been up to?" John questioned. "I haven't heard from him since we were locked up at Hougen's base."
"Last I heard he's traveling around gathering some more soldiers. Although I'm sure he's on his way back." Alayus told him. "There's only so many dogs willing to put their lives on the line, some may only want to stay with their human masters and live the luxurious way."
"Mmmmm...of course, everyone has a choice whether they want to fight or not. We can't all have what we want but we all share the same burden no matter where we go. Life's a funny thing."
"I'm surprised to hear you say that, dad." Alayus laughed before getting out of the hot spring. She let out a quick sneeze and shook the water off her coat. Shaking out the rest of her limbs she padded to the entrance and gazed around. "If I take off now it shouldn't take me long to get to Gajou. Besides I've sat in there long enough, don't want to wrinkle up like a raisin."
"So you plan on leaving just like that?" John stood beside her and grinned. "That's my girl."
"Are you going to stay here then?" She asked him, her tail wagging just a bit. "It'll be pretty lonely."
"Who do you think you're talking to? I'm perfectly fine by myself!" John huffed before smiling, humoring his child. "My bones aren't like they used to be but I'll be right behind ya. Okay?"
"Okay dad." She touched noses with him before turning around and left, bounding down the steps and ran off towards Gajou. The old Shepherd sat down and watched her leave with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Gajou...
"That bastard...slipping away when he got the chance." Akame snarled as he, Weed and Rocket looked over the cliff Hougen jumped into. Unknown to them Kite, another general for the Great Dane was watching them closely. The greyhound mix had just finished up knocking away some Ninja dogs when he spotted them amidst all the snow.
"Just as we planned, Rocket and I will go after him. Akame-san please stay here and direct the rest of our army."
"Alright, but...will you two be alright alone?" The White Inu asked with concern. "This is Hougen we're talking about."
"To go after Hougen is my duty." replied Weed. After getting an understanding nod, he and Rocket jumped down to confront Hougen. Akame himself disappeared to do Weed's bidding, still obvious to Kite who had watched the whole exchange.
"Hey..." The general whispered to one of his subordinates. "I'm going to go after their leader. Can you handle this?"
"Absolutely sir, I won't fail you!" Nodding his head Kite left the battlefield and followed after Weed and Rocket. He spotted the two dogs hopping down a few feet ahead of him before coming to a stop. Following their line of sight he soon found the reason and inched closer.
"Kid, you followed me just as I predicted!" Hougen called out when he recognized his opponent standing before him. He didn't go that far, in fact he stood right near the edge of a waterfall and greeted his guests. "And you brought someone that was not so welcomed...but that's fine. I'll take the two of you on myself."
"Hougen..." Weed growled, his ears flattening against his head.
"Oh? Wait a minute..." Hougen paused, his eyes widening briefly as he gazed over the dogs' heads and he smiled. "I guess there's no need."
"Huh?" Weed and Rocket turned to see another dog on the ledge, awaiting Hougen's approval. "When did he...?"
"Rocket, Kite will look after you. You'll be glad to know you're in safe paws. Kid, you'll fight me."
"Fine I accept your conditions." Weed agreed as Rocket prepared to fight, turning his back on the Great Dane. "Hougen, before we begin, I would like to ask you something. Why are you doing all of this?"
"What?" Hougen blinked, caught off guard by the question.
"Are your desires only to spread evil throughout this world?"
"Tch. My ultimate target is the humans." He replied, spitting on the word like it was some foul meat. "They act on impulse, and do what they damn well want. They kill us without regret, and make us experimental tools. To oppose the humans and have revenge on them is my ultimate objective. Got that, kid?!"
"Yikes!" Weed dodged the lunge and made a run for it, feeling Hougen's fangs snapping at his heels. He's quick but I can still outrun him!
"Weed!" Rocket took his eyes off Kite for a minute before getting punched to the face. Rolling to a stop he quickly shook the snow off his pelt and looked at his opponent carefully. What strength he has...but that doesn't matter because I can handle it... While those two were fighting Hougen and Weed continued their battle, although the latter was doing his best to avoid getting caught by the former. Lightning and thunder rolled around in the skies, illuminating the ravine a couple of times.
"All you're doing is running away! What's wrong, Kid?" Hougen taunted, keeping his eyes on the fleeing form. "At this rate, I wouldn't even all this a fight!" As long as he's running, he won't be able to use that strange technique.
I have to find a way of using the Battouga! One way or another! Weed thought desperately. Running like this will only prolong the fight!
"There's a waterfall up ahead, what are you gonna do Kid?" Hougen laughed as he chased Weed. "Don't tell me you're gonna throw yourself over!"
"In that case...!" Leaping up, Weed began to run on the sides of the ravine. Noticing that Hougen paused he took the chance, pivoting on his hind leg and went straight towards his opponent. Curling up into a ball he began to spin. "Zetsu Tenrou Battouga!"
Hmph, don't think the same move is gonna work twice! Hougen smirked and hopped out of the way. This should stop your attack cold! There's no way you can hit me now!
"Shit! Weed, stop!" Rocket yelled as he watched their fight. However Weed managed to angle it around, making the Battouga rotate sideways instead of vertical.
"What-?!" Hougen's eyes widened with surprise.
"Take this! Hougen!" Weed sunk his fangs right into the Great Dane's neck before throwing him over the waterfall. As his enemy disappeared into the water with a loud splash, Weed himself ended up careening into a snowbank. Rocket and Kite stopped their own fighting to tend to the needs of their leaders.
"Hougen-sama!" Kite yelled over the roar of the waterfall, looking of the edge and scanning the riverbanks below. "Hougen-sama!" Hougen's head resurfaced, the Dane desperately gasping for air and treading water. "Hougen-sama! Any serious injuries? Hougen-sama!" Seeing that his leader was unresponsive, he turned his attention to the other two.
"Weed, are you alright?" Rocket asked.
"Yeah, somewhat..." was the weak response as Weed struggled to raise to his own feet. "Forget about me, get Hougen..."
"Eh?"
"I changed direction in the middle of the execution, so I only hit him lightly...He's still alive..." Rocket looked at him with wide eyes before noticing Kite approaching them, his eyes set on killing Weed.
Meanwhile...
In another clearing outside of Gajou, Ken and Kagetora's unit were busy cleaning up they're own mess. After splitting off from Weed and the others they happened to run into Bat's unit who were stationed in the forest area. Chaos ensured as dogs fought against each other, ripping clumps of fur and spilling blood upon the snow. The Kai siblings ran side-by-side while Ben rammed his enemy's head into a tree. As the sky lightened up, a lightning bolt crawled down from above and ripped the top off a tree, sending it crashing down into the clearing below.
"That was close!" Kagetora exclaimed, looking at the fallen object with wide eyes. He noticed his cousins standing not too far away, not a lot of scratches upon their bodies. "Any closer and we would've been squished."
"Hey you lot!" The Kai dogs turned to greet Kurotora, his fur fluffed out to block the snow that seemed to be falling a little harder. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine." Kagetora answered. "But don't over do it. I'm concerned about your well being considering your age."
"Yeah, you too, Dad." Ken padded up alongside his mother just as Ben dug himself out of the snow that had fallen on top of him. "Don't push yourself too hard."
"Huh?" Ben turned his head to hear the thundering of paws growing smaller and smaller, indicating the enemy's retreat. "Those bastards..."
"Haha! They're scared!" Kurotora crowed with excitement as he looked at his old friend and platoon leader. "Let's just take them out in one go!"
"No!" Shigure intervened, giving his uncle a pointed look. He knew that when a Kai dog has something on his mind, he will for damn sure go through with it even if he dies. That's how his siblings were, the spirit of their deceased uncle Akatora resided within them and gave them courage. "Who cares about the followers? We need to take Bat down first."
"Oooh, of course that makes a lot more sense." Kurotora mulled it over and nodded. While it was true that he didn't like letting his enemies leave it was better to conserve his energy to fight the dog in charge.
"I'm certain I saw him on the other side of that forest over there." The younger Kai pointed his nose in the direction where the trees split down the middle, making a natural path through the woods. "My nose doesn't lie."
"Then he's probably still there or further down depending on the situation." Ken replied before taking the lead, his paws throwing up little bits of snow as he ran. "Let's hurry."
"Father...and the rest of you, please stay here."
"What was that you little shit?" The older Kai dog spat in rage. "Care to repeat that a bit louder?!"
"The elders needn't push themselves too hard. Leave Paradise's peace to the younger generation!" With that Kagetora left, following after Ken and the other Kai dogs.
"Hey! Quit treating me like an old man damn it!" Kurotora screamed after his son, his eye burning a hole through the back of his head. "I'll kick your ass when you get back! Mark my words!"
"Are we getting closer?" Shigure asked as he, Ken and Kagetora ran a head of the unit. The elder veterans had long since disappeared behind them but the path kept extending further and further. "Something feels off..."
"Once we get past here, we're there." Ken assured him but he as well couldn't shake off the bad vibe he was sensing. Suddenly the voices of other dogs popped up and they realized that they had been lured into a trap. With two enemy groups on their flanks and a group bringing up the rear it was impossible to turn back. "Shit! An ambush?!"
"Those little bastards got smart all of a sudden!" Kagetora snarled as he looked around him. "Wait till I sink my teeth into them...!"
"What do we do?" Shigure asked. "There's no escape!"
"Go forward!" Ken ordered and ran harder. "It's all we can do!"
"But it looks like the more we run, the more enemies that pop up!" Shigure said as two more groups appeared, making the number of enemies larger. "We can't keep running like this!"
"A cliff's coming up!" Kagetora noted, watching the ground drop out of sight not too far away. "They're trying to drive us off till our deaths!"
"Heehee. Just as I predicted. They feel into the trap all by themselves." Bat spoke to himself. He had an ear placed against a rock, hearing the message sent by one of his men. The message was encoded by the number of times the rock was hitting against a tree's trunk. He listened some more before laughing. "Just like rats in a bag. Your everything is resting in the palm of my hands. There is no escape."
"What's wrong Ben?" Cross asked when her mate's ears went up.
"I have a bad feeling..." He replied getting some concerned looks from both Kurotora and Cross. "Yeah...Ken and the others are in danger."
"Then we have to go save them!" The old Kai spoke up. "This old fool isn't gonna lay down and die anytime soon!"
"I'd expect nothing less from you Kurotora." Ben smiled as he led them, nose to the ground and tail up like a true commander. "Follow me."
Back in Gajou...
"I'm begging you, please spare me!" A dog whimpered once Tesshin wrestled him to the ground, the ninja dog's fangs buried into his neck. He had been running away from his opponent the moment he accidentally locked eyes with him. Judging by how guilty the dog looked, Tesshin ran after him and finally pinned him down.
"I don't see Kite anymore." The ninja dog growled threateningly. "Where did he go?"
"Kite-sama went down the cliff to go after your leader." The dog didn't hesitate to reply.
"Huh? Is that so...?"
"Y-Yes! I wouldn't lie at a time like this!" Tesshin thought about it some more before releasing his enemy, watching the dog run away with his tail between his he looked around he could see Akame directing orders, Kyoshiro's unit moving in and Jerome doing the best he could at scaring off enemies that lost their will to fight. All in all, matters seemed to be handled without his assistance.
"Sir! What are your orders?" He turned to see his trainees waiting for his command.
"See if there are any other units that need help and aid them. Follow orders given by Akame. I'll be back once I'm done with my own mission."
"Yes sir!" The dogs bowed before disappearing. Tesshin smiled for a minute before making his way to the cliff. He could smell Kite's scent and he pulled his lips back into a snarl.
"Now then...it's time I bring our own fight to a close."