Author's Note: I wanted to start giving other characters more of a role, so the next few chapters are from different characters' points of view. This one's from Tesshin's. Please review!

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Tesshin lowered his head a little and squinted harder at the path in front of them, trying to get a better view. They were getting close, his senses told him, and if they were lucky, they would be leaving with more than they arrived with. He himself had never been to Weed's brother Joe's territory, so he was relying on the other leading members of his group to tell him where to go, which had been easy enough, but actually getting there had been another story. The weather had been nothing short of bizarre ever since they left the rest of the pack, going from sun to rain to fog to rain again and even a little snow, which was really odd considering what time of year it was. Now it was raining harder than it had yet, and Tesshin and the others were having to endure the sheets of cold water hitting them in the face and soaking their fur.

He heard the others walking closely behind him and the rest of the pack that had gone with them following behind them, most of them on edge after having heard Lydia's story about Scimitar. As he crested a hill and started down the other side, Tesshin silently wondered how much of the story had been true. It wasn't that he doubted Lydia, it was just that he had always been more of a "believe-it-when-I-see-it" kind of dog, and this Scimitar sounded even worse than Hougen had been, and that concerned him. Hougen had been bad enough, Victor and Boslef had been worse, but if Scimitar was worse than any of them as Lydia seemed to be suggesting, then this could potentially be the Ohu Army's most dire hour. He wasn't going to worry about Scimitar himself just yet though, he decided, because he had other enemies to worry about. Takeshi…

Tesshin considered himself a fair dog, who didn't often hold grudges. This time, however, he couldn't deny his own hatred. Takeshi had disgraced the Koga ninja dogs in his eyes, had brought them back to the way they had been in the old days, back during the ninja dog war…when his father Kurojaki had led them. Kurojaki had always been something of a sore spot for Tesshin, and he hardly ever talked about him. The other older soldiers of Ohu, like Gin, Akame, and Kurotura, who had been there and had met his father, had never forced the issue, and he had always been grateful. The things he knew about his father had disgusted him, and yet somewhere deep down in him, part of him still loved Kurojaki at least a little. He had always sworn, though, that he would work with his pack elder Chourou to make the Kogas a noble pack, one worthy of respect as much as fear, but fear from evil dogs, not all dogs. This was something he had been proud to succeed in with Weed and Ohu's help…until Takeshi had engaged in his little blood sport and nearly broken old Chourou's heart. Tesshin nearly growled out loud and wondered silently if this is what Weed was feeling every time he thought of Ronin.

"We're almost there, Tesshin!" he heard Ken say behind him and he glanced over his shoulder.

"How much farther?"

"Not far!" Ken said. "Hopefully, Joe will have shelter for us from this damned rain when we get there!"

"Why do you think Joe stayed away for so long?" Kyoushiro asked and Ken shrugged.

"He had his reasons." George answered from Ken's other side. "I guarantee he was planning to come back to Ohu though. With his son, too."

"Did you have your reasons, George?" Ken asked in a slightly bitter sounding voice and Tesshin stopped as he heard the rest of them stop.

George looked at his older brother.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" George asked in a slightly challenging tone that suggested he knew exactly what Ken meant and didn't want to talk about it.

"You know exactly what I mean." Ken responded testily.

George growled slightly.

"Don't start with me, Ken!" he warned and Tesshin rolled his eyes.

Ever since the death of their renowned father Ben, Ken and George had had some unresolved issues between them that seemed to come and go at irregular intervals. Most of these issues involved the brothers' dead little sister Miney, who had accidentally drowned in a river many years ago, and though most of the other dogs knew of these problems, which stemmed from Ken not being told of his little sister's death until only a week or so before Ben died, they were wise enough to stay out of it and let the two grown siblings handle it between themselves. Most days the two were fine, and usually their relationship seemed so normal and brotherly that you would've been hard pressed to see that there was anything wrong at all. Unfortunately, it was the other days, as rare as they were, that everyone remembered. Tesshin didn't know what had flared their feud up again in recent days, but it seemed that all was not resolved yet and he silently hoped that they would figure out a way to put it to rest for good. Suddenly, Tesshin's senses went wild.

He turned to tell the quarrelling brothers to be quiet, and was suddenly tackled hard from the left. Tesshin and the figure, who had leapt out of the trees, tumbled end over end down the side of the shallow hill they'd been walking on top of, trying to out-muscle one another and slipping on the already soaked grass. When they landed at the bottom, Tesshin pushed off hard with all four of his legs and detached himself from his attacker. The other dog was already charging at him, though, and Tesshin hit him hard in the muzzle with his claws and then tried to dive on him. The figure rolled aside before he could hit his mark, though, and then grabbed Tesshin by the neck with its jaws before he could recover and slammed him to the ground hard, pinning him from behind. Hearing the others' voices calling his name, Tesshin steeled his will and, using a ninja-dog move Akame had once taught him, kicked his opponent's hind legs out from under him using his hind legs and then reached up, grabbed him by the neck with his jaws, and flipped him onto his back, pinning him.

"Stop! Stop it!"

Glancing up, he saw Sasuke, Kyoushiro, Kurotura, and the others bearing down on them fast. The other dog took advantage of this and smacked him in the eye with a paw. When Tesshin yelped in surprise and pain, he leapt away and came down facing him. Tesshin started to square off to him again when Kurotura and Ken leapt in between them.

"Stop!" Kurotura repeated angrily. "You should both pay attention more!"

Tesshin was about to ask him what he was going on about when the other dog spoke.

"Kurotura? Ken? Wh-What are you guys doing here?"

Tesshin recognized the voice's owner instantly and stepped forward.

"Joe?" he said in relief and the other dog looked at him incredulously.

"Tesshin?" he said in response, then lowered his head apologetically. "Oh… Forgive me, Tesshin, I thought you were someone else."

"It's all right, Joe." Tesshin responded and bowed his head a little in greeting.

Joe was Gin's oldest surviving son and Weed's brother. Except for numerous scars adorning his face, neck and back, Joe looked practically identical to Weed, from his size to his color. One of the only differences was his eyes, which had always seemed older and more mature than his brother's. In the last year, however, Weed's eyes had gotten less pup-like and more adult looking, making him and Joe almost interchangeable. In truth, Tesshin was half thankful for Joe's scars. Otherwise, he thought, the only way to tell the two apart would be by scent.

"Joe, what's going on?" he asked. "Why did you attack me?"

"There's been some nasty looking dogs around this area lately." came the response. "They've been trying to get other dogs to join them. If they refuse, they're attacked or killed."

Then he looked angry.

"Two days ago a group of them attacked my son. I thought you were one of them."

"Koujiro?" Sasuke asked. "Is he all right?!"

Joe nodded.

"He's fine. Usually he can take care of himself, but these bastards caught him off guard so I stepped in. I managed to kill the ones who were attacking him, but their comrades won't back down. They're still terrorizing this area."

"Is their leader a wolf?" George asked him and the akita shook his head.

"No," he said. "A Shikoku-ken mix of some kind. He looks like a Koga dog. That's why I attacked you Tesshin, I thought you were him."

Tesshin growled.

"Takeshi." he said angrily.

"Yeah." Kyoushiro said in agreement. "The question is: Is this just a coincidence or did Scimitar send him after Joe and Koujiro on purpose?"

"Scimitar?" Joe asked in confusion.

"It's a long story." Tesshin responded.

"Short version:" George said. "Weed and the pack are in trouble."

Joe stood up straighter.

"Did something happen to my brother?!" he asked, a slight tinge of fear in his voice.

"Not yet." Ken said. "But we need your help and any other dogs around here willing to fight."

"There are a number that I know of." Joe said nodding. "But what's going on?"

"Come with us." Tesshin said turning back to the top of the hill they had been on originally. "We'll explain as much as we can."

Joe didn't answer for a moment as he sat in front of them, nor did Koujiro, who was at his side and looked just as worried as his father. They were in an old hunting shack on the outskirts of the town where Joe's master lived, and were being careful not to be spotted by any of the town's human hunters. It was only a mile or so away from the place where Joe and Weed had first reunited, which seemed now like a lifetime ago despite the few short years between then and now. Finally, Joe looked up at Tesshin and the others.

"He's a warlord?" he asked tensely.

Tesshin nodded.

"That's what Lydia says, yes."

"And he's after my brother?" Joe asked.

"We don't know what he wants." Tesshin said truthfully. "His real motives are as much a mystery to us as to you."

"But he is dangerous." Joe said.

"Extremely." Kyoushiro answered from amidst the group.

Joe looked down again and seemed to be lost in thought. Koujiro glanced over at his father.

"Dad," he said. "We have to do something. Uncle Weed needs us."

"I know," Joe responded. "Don't interrupt, Koujiro."

Then he looked at the group of them.

"Of course we'll come back to help, but it may take some doing to convince other dogs around here to help fight a war." he said.

"We'll just have to persuade them then." George said and the rest of the pack nodded in agreement.

Joe followed suit a few seconds later.

"We'll figure out a way to do it." he said. "But first, let's wait for this rain to stop. I don't feel like being out in this any longer than I have to."

Tesshin smirked.

"Neither do I." he agreed and turned to the pack, who had crammed in behind them under the shack's unstable looking but leak-less roof.

"Everyone rest." he barked. "We move out when the rain stops."

The pack didn't need any further encouragement, and he heard them shaking the water out of their fur and lying down as he sat down next to Joe, who had moved over to the door and was staring out at the rainstorm. Koujiro had gone to talk with Sasuke and Tesshin felt comfortable enough to talk to Joe candidly and openly.

"What is it?" he asked, noticing the conflicted look on the akita's face.

Joe sighed slowly.

"How angry is Weed that I never came back?" he asked, never looking at Tesshin.

"I haven't seen him be angry at all." Tesshin responded with a frown. "Why would he be?"

"Because we…had some problems before I left." Joe said, looking uncomfortable about saying it at all.

Tesshin's eyes widened a little in surprise. This was the first he'd heard about this.

"What kind of problems?" he asked.

Joe glanced at him, looking as if he was weighing his options before he said anything. Then he lowered his voice and continued.

"I love my brother," he said. "I really do. But I…had some problems taking orders from him."

When Tesshin looked confused he gave him his full attention.

"Look," he said, "When we were pups, it was always Yukimura and me who did everything. Hunted, fought off intruders, took care of our mother… Weed was the runt. He- he just didn't have what it took to keep up with us, even though we were basically the same age. And even though it's been more than two years since we found each other again, I just…"

He trailed off, but Tesshin understood what he meant.

"Even though you know that he's not the pup he once was, he's still your little brother." he said and Joe looked at him. "And it was hard to take his orders instead of give them."

Joe looked away and then nodded slowly. Tesshin smiled and looked back at the rain.

"I think he knew." he said. "But if he didn't than I guarantee he won't be too angry. Weed has a talent for forgiveness and understanding."

"I've noticed." Joe said and they both laughed quietly.

Suddenly, they heard what sounded like an impact hit and a grunt of pain behind them. Whirling around, Tesshin saw Ken stumble backwards into the wall of the shack, shaking his head to clear it as a trickle of blood ran down between his eyes. In front of him stood George, who looked positively livid.

"Fuck you, Ken!" he shouted furiously.

Ken rounded on him quickly.

"Fuck me?" he responded nastily. "You really are a piece of work, George, you know that?! It's bad enough that you stood there and watched her die and didn't do anything to help, but the fact that you never even told me that she was dead just proves what a coward you are!"

George suddenly lunged faster than Tesshin had ever seen him move and grabbed Ken, who also had been caught off guard, by the neck. Then he picked him up and in one fluid motion threw him hard at the wall. Ken's large body went clear through the half-rotten wooden beams and he landed in the grass with a 'THUD' amid splinters and puddles from the rain. Tesshin leapt and grabbed one of George's long saluki ears, holding the angry dog back as he went at his brother again. Kyoushiro and Sasuke jumped to help him as Joe and Kurotura held back Ken, who now had more blood streaming down his face as well as his back. When they were both secure, Tesshin moved between them, angrier than he had been in a long time.

"What the hell is going on?!" he snarled furiously.

Neither one of them answered and they glared at each other, ignoring Tesshin. The ninja dog noticed this and it made him angrier.

"Weed put me in charge of this group," he growled at them. "And while I'm in charge you will LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!"

A shocked silence fell over the whole group and both Ken and George looked momentarily stunned at this outburst, neither one having ever seen their friend this angry. They both looked at Tesshin, their demeanors reflecting a combined defiance and shame. Tesshin glared at them each in turn, his teeth bared.

"Now I don't know why this started up again between you two," he said, lowering his voice a little. "But we have enough problems right now without having to deal with this! We're already fighting one war, I will not have you fighting another! Understand?!"

Ken nodded slowly, looking pointedly in the other direction, but George roughly shook Kyoushiro and the others off him and looked him in the eye.

"Don't worry, Tesshin," he said, and the ninja-dog saw sadness in his eyes on top of the anger there. "You won't have to 'deal' with me anymore."

Then he turned and ran out the entrance, water being kicked up in his wake as both Kurotura and Kyoushiro ran and called after him. There was no response and Tesshin sighed heavily and looked at Joe, who had escorted Ken back inside and met his gaze sympathetically.

"Everyone," Tesshin called. "Keep resting. There's nothing else to see here."

The pack did just that, though a little more hesitantly than usual as Tesshin walked up to Ken. Joe went back over to Koujiro as he approached, leaving the two alone as Tesshin sat down in front of his friend. For a second, neither of them spoke, and then Tesshin saw Ken look at him finally.

"What happened, Ken?" he asked quietly, "What happened?"

Ken sighed.

"I ran my mouth off again." he said and Tesshin was surprised that he had admitted it so openly. "I said something to him about our sister."

"Why?"

Ken paused again, then looked hard at the wall, licking some blood off his lips.

"It's the anniversary of her death today." he said and Tesshin's eyes went wide.

'So that's why all the fighting!' he thought then shook his head slowly at the Great Dane.

"So you thought you would rub it in his face?" Tesshin asked sternly and Ken looked at him angrily.

"He didn't even tell me that she had died!" he growled. "None of them did!"

"Because he was ashamed." Tesshin responded. "Because he thinks that it was his fault, Ken. I barely know the details of what happened and I can tell that."

The other dog didn't answer and Tesshin stood up again.

"If I were you," he said. "I would find him and apologize once he cools off. You're brothers. You should be lucky you have each other at all."

Then he walked away, leaving Ken looking half mortified. Tesshin had learned a lot about talking to his friends openly by watching Weed, and though he had gotten good at it, he secretly envied the younger dog's ability to connect with others so well. He had always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling, and as he sat down by the shack door again, he hoped that they could somehow put this behind them and get back to being what they should be: comrades.

George stormed through the trees, grabbing a small branch in his teeth and ripping it off the trunk angrily as he came to a clearing, rain soaking him clear through his fur to the skin beneath. He didn't quite know how long he'd been walking, or where he was going to go, but he couldn't just go back. Every time he thought of Ken, his temper flared up again and he clenched his teeth angrily as tears stung his eyes.

'How dare he!' he thought. 'That bastard doesn't have a clue what it was like!'

He stood for a minute, contemplating what to do. Once he had decided, he turned and walked into the clearing, making it halfway across with only a few strides. Suddenly, something leapt on him from above and tore into his shoulder, making George yelp in pain in spite of himself. Whirling around, he threw it off his back and was immediately jumped on by three more dogs, all of whom definitely meant business. Panicking, he grabbed one in midair and threw him into another, sending both of them sprawling. When the first one bit his tail, he kicked him in the eye with his hind leg and headbutted another who tried to use the distraction to his advantage. As George leapt for more open ground, he was grabbed by the hind leg and pulled down with a grunt. The moment he hit the dirt, he was grabbed from seemingly all sides and held down forcefully. Growling, the great dane-saluki mix tried to throw them off, but there were too many even for him. They rolled him onto his back and he managed to see about 10 dogs biting him before he was hit hard across the face. Before he could recover, two of his attackers grabbed him by the ears with their teeth and yanked his head back forward so he was facing his attacker. He growled as he saw a spotted mix-breed of some kind with harsh eyes glaring back at him.

"Where is your pack?" he hissed.

"Who the hell are you?!" George snarled and the dog bit him hard on the shoulder, tearing slashes in it as he jerked his head back seconds later.

George growled in pain but found he still couldn't move.

"Where is your pack?!" he said again, only more loudly.

"Bite me!"

The dog hit him across the muzzle and then grabbed him by ear, forcing one of the other dogs off.

"Takeshi-san wants to know where your pack is." he said. "And you will tell me or I'll rip this ear clean off your head. You have three seconds. One. Two…"

George steeled his will and prepared himself for the pain, but suddenly, there was a rush and the dog went flying off him. Then the other dogs were being thrown backwards one by one and when he looked up, grimacing because of his wounded shoulder, he saw Ken standing over the spotted mix, who lay on his back with his throat torn out entirely. Ken glared down at the body.

"Get away from my brother." he said angrily and George felt a mixture of shock and happiness fill him as he overheard.

Looking up, he saw Kyoushiro and Kurotura as well, the former biting an attacker on the muzzle and the latter killing two at once with one slash of his teeth. By the time George got to his paws, they were all dead and he looked in surprise at the three of them.

"Why? What? Why did-?" he sputtered and Kurotura laughed.

"We'll see you back at the pack." he said and turned, nodding at Kyoushiro to follow him.

Once they were gone, George turned to Ken, who was looking at him with a combination of concern and guilt. Before he could say anything, Ken beat him to it.

"George, I..." he said, trailing off and then looking more determined. "I'm sorry about what I said to you. It's just this war. And that bastard Scimitar! I just…it brought up some bad memories and I lost myself a little. I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."

George was too tired to be angry at him anymore and he smiled as he nudged his older brother's side gently with his head.

"You said enough." he responded and Ken returned the smile, both of them feeling a great weight lifting from them.

"Come on." Ken said, turning around. "Tesshin, Joe, and the others are waiting for us."

George followed him and the two males ran off through the trees, back to their pack and their mission, ready at last to put the past behind them and think of the future, and the troubles that lay ahead for them all.

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