Author's Note: This chapter is from Jerome's POV. I'm really enjoying writing this (which is why I'm cranking these out so fast), but I'd like some feedback. Please review if you like it! Thank you!

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Jerome crouched lower in the grass that grew in between the trees that shielded them. His breathing was steady, and he never took his eyes off the advancing dogs walking bunched together on the path below. There were roughly 50 of them, and they definitely weren't friendly. He and the rest of the pack had found out about them right after they had finished gathering comrades from the Kofu area, and now they were lying in wait watching them, not acting or moving until their leader made a decision. Jerome glanced left at Weed, who was crouched next to him and seemed to be either making up his mind or waiting for the right moment. On Weed's other side was Kagetora, who also was staring down at the dogs below noiselessly but seemed eager to get at them, which was typical both for his breed and his personality. Jerome leaned over to Weed slowly, being careful not to make any sudden movements that could give them away.

"What are your orders, leader?" he whispered in the akita's ear.

"Has anyone spotted Scimitar, Ronin, or Takeshi?" he whispered back.

"No." Kagetora answered softly. "Shigure can't confirm any of them from his position either."

"But he's sure that these dogs are part of their pack?" Weed asked, his voice almost inaudible.

Kagetora nodded and they all looked forward again. They had the group surrounded on all sides and were waiting for the go-ahead to attack. Weed looked around suspiciously.

"I don't like this." he said, still quiet. "This feels wrong. A warlord wouldn't be this careless and let his pack just be out in the open like this."

"It could be a trap." Jerome responded but Kagetora shot back:

"Or we're giving them too much credit. Look at their faces, they don't look nervous or on edge. They don't know we're here."

"So you think we should attack?" Weed asked.

"If we do then maybe we can draw one of the leaders out into the open." came the response and Jerome nodded slowly.

"I agree." he said and Weed looked back ahead.

The lead dog, a husky, was just passing them and the others followed him obediently, none of them seemingly suspecting of anything.

"All right, go! Go! Go!" Weed said suddenly and they all sprang out from their hiding places and charged down the hill.

On the other side, more dogs led by Shigure and Teru followed their lead and howled battle cries as they leapt and ran. The dogs below came to a dead stop and spun to face their attackers, caught completely off guard.

"It's the Ohu mutts!" one of them shouted. "Kill them! Kill them!"

But before any of them could react, Weed, Jerome, Kagetora and the others reached them with bone shattering force, tackling, biting and head-butting them hard as they collided. Jerome grabbed one dog by the neck and used him as a weapon against the others, flinging his body left and right and sending other dogs flying backwards. Kagetora slashed an attacker with his fangs in a move that would've made his father proud, and then dragged a second one to the ground before leaping aside. Weed rammed one of the dogs with his shoulder, then quickly kicked a second, slashed a third, and tackled a fourth in a series of almost graceful motions that made some of the other attackers around him hold back a little. Jerome used this to their advantage and took them out quickly, using his assassin training to kill or incapacitate 6 dogs before jumping back to survey his work. When he had, he looked around and noticed that virtually every enemy was dead or no longer a threat and the fighting was ceasing quickly. They had won. Raising his head, the Shepard looked around for any sign of more enemy troops, but heard nothing except the wind accompanied by an occasional whine of pain.

"Damn it." he heard Kagetora swear and looking over, saw a similar expression of dismay on Weed's face.

"Teru!" the leader called to the younger dog, who stood back where they had started on the hilltop. "Anyone?"

"No, leader!" came the answer. "All quiet!"

Weed looked irritated and glancing around, saw everyone else looking to him for instructions.

"Let's head back to base." he called and Jerome ordered some of the lower-ranking dogs to make sure that all of them were accounted for.

Then he trotted up to the front of the group and helped lead them out of the area, all of them on their guard. The next half an hour or so was uneventful, with no one talking much until they arrived back at their temporary hideout; in a large cave right on the border of the hilly area they had been in and a more mountainous region that was flanked by flatter lands that led back up north towards Ohu. When they all were there, Weed turned to them.

"Everyone rest." he said. "But be at the ready. We may have to move out quickly."

The dogs let out an almost simultaneous "Hai!" and then dispersed, with most of them laying down to rest their eyes. Jerome, meanwhile, followed Weed back into the cave, not needing the rest quite as badly. When they were in, he stretched a little and sat down, looking over at his friend as he did the same by the far wall. Jerome examined him silently. Weed had seemed more and more stressed in the days since the pack split up, and as his co-leader, Jerome had been watching him closely to ensure that he wasn't becoming overwhelmed. This normally would have been easy, but the Shepard had other things on his mind as well, and as he watched Weed, he silently wondered how Lydia was doing back at Gajou. In truth, on top of the immense pride he felt, Jerome was very nervous about becoming a father. Every time he looked back at his life and the things he had been, the friends he had failed, he wondered if it was a good idea for him to raise pups.

'After all.' he thought, 'Dogs who were once assassins don't usually do too well in a family. At least not in my experience.'

But then he remembered what Gin had told him, about having the same fears when Sakura had gotten pregnant, and how it meant he needed to be the great male he'd always been on a more consistent basis, for the sake of his pups. He'd been grateful for the former leader's words of encouragement, and now he wondered how nervous Weed was, or if he was even thinking about it at all at the moment. Suddenly, he saw Weed looking at him, his irritation apparently gone.

"What?" the young leader asked amusedly.

"Hmm?" Jerome grunted, snapping back to reality.

Weed laughed.

"You were staring at me, Jerome." he said. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, sorry." the Shepard responded sheepishly. "I'm fine. I was just thinking."

Weed stood and walked over to him. Then he lay down next to him.

"What about?" he asked curiously, biting lightly at an itch on his front leg.

"Just where we go from here, that's all."

Weed chuckled again and glanced at him almost playfully.

"Did you pick out any names yet?" he asked and Jerome's eyes went wide.

"How did-?" he started, but then stopped himself, realizing that his friend knew him too well.

He smiled, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Not yet." he admitted, lying down as well. "Lydia and I are still trying to work that one out."

"Yeah?" Weed teased. "Naming any after me?"

Jerome grunted in surprise and looked quickly at him, a little taken aback.

"I'm kidding!" Weed grinned, then laid his head on his paws. "That wouldn't be fair to the poor kid. I don't think he would appreciate GB's sense of humor."

Jerome laughed and leaned his head against the cave's rock wall.

"I think you would've had to meet GB to appreciate his sense of humor." he said. "What about you? Any names yet, leader?"

"I have a few in mind."

"And?"

"And you'll find out when everyone else does." Weed answered, his eyes closed.

Jerome snorted, looking away.

"Fine." he said. "But don't expect me to tell you anything then."

"Hey, look at me." Weed suddenly said in a calm voice and Jerome did just that after a pause. "You'll be a great father. Your pups will be lucky to have you as their dad."

Jerome was very touched and smiled at him gratefully.

Weed returned it and had just laid his head back down again when Shigure came rushing in.

"Leader," he said. "One of our scouts just reported seeing a large dog pack headed north towards Ohu. One of its lead dogs is definitely Ronin."

Weed stood up quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes sir." Shigure answered.

"Any sign of Scimitar?"

"Not yet," came the response. "It doesn't look like he's with them."

Weed lowered his head a little and looked again like he was contemplating what to do. After a few seconds he raised it and looked around at the dogs that were there.

"All right," he said. "All of you, get ready to move out. Teru, I want you to head west. Find Tesshin and his group and bring them back here. Scimitar may be making a move to take Gajou."

Then he turned to Jerome as Teru nodded.

"Jerome," he said. "I want you and Shigure to lead most of our group up north to head off Ronin and his pack. Kagetora and I will stay here with a small group to see if we can track down Scimitar. Then we'll head north to join you."

"Weed, are you sure about this?" Jerome asked, unable to hide his concern.

"No." the akita said honestly. "But if he's not with them, then that means he's somewhere down here still. And if someone has to stay here then I want that to be me."

"Why?" Shigure chimed in and Weed turned to look at him.

"Because I don't trust Scimitar," he said. "And I won't send any of you to do something I'm not willing to do myself. Jerome's the best fighter here besides me, so he'll lead the fight to stop Ronin. Kagetora's the second best, so he'll stay with me because our group is smaller."

"Right! Let's go!" one of the soldier dogs barked and the others nodded or howled their approval.

Teru said good luck to all of them and then immediately took off running west, and a number of dogs watched him until he disappeared over a hilltop. Jerome called most of the soldiers they had over to him, including all of the ones they had spent the last week and a half gathering in this area of Japan, leaving Weed and Kagetora roughly ¼ of them left to aid them.

"Let's move out!" the Shepard called and they all turned and began running north, following Shigure as he ran out into the lead.

"Jerome!" he heard Weed call and he paused and looked back as he prepared to follow them.

Weed locked gazes with him and in a stern but kind voice said:

"Be careful. Ronin's good."

"I remember." Jerome said with a nod. "You be careful too leader."

Weed nodded back and then Jerome turned and ran after his group, never looking back. He used his powerful legs to catch up to Shigure and the others quickly and once he had, he shot out into the lead. Hopefully, they could catch Ronin off guard, he thought, and quickened the pace.

"All right, guys, spread out!" Weed said, "Travel in pairs and report back any signs you get."

The dogs that were there did what he said and fanned out in all directions, most disappearing from view in a matter of seconds. Then Weed turned to Kagetora.

"Come on, Kagetora." he said and nodded his head towards the southwest.

The Kai dog nodded and the two moved out through the trees, entering a more mountainous area a short time later. Weed sniffed the ground as Kagetora did the same a little ways behind him. Eventually, they ascended a steep slope and began using the height to survey the landscape and scent the wind, smelling for any sign of trouble.

"Anything?" Weed asked and Kagetora shook his head.

"Nothing." he answered, "But check that out. There's another cave up there."

Weed followed his gaze and nodded, saying "Let's take a look" as he turned and walked faster up the steep rocky slope. When he leapt up onto the ledge where the cave was, his senses immediately went wild and Weed put his guard up fast as he entered the cave cautiously. Once he was inside, he was disappointed. The cave was empty and relatively small, much smaller than the one they had been staying in. There was also no sign that anyone had stayed there in a while. Hearing Kagetora step up behind him, Weed turned around.

"It's empty." he said. "Let's go back and-"

Then he trailed off. It took a second or two for him to realize that the dog he was staring at and talking to was actually a wolf…a wolf with black fur. Behind him, Weed saw Kagetora on the ground, unresponsive and motionless, the breeze ruffling his tora-ge fur. Weed's breath caught in his throat and he met the wolf's gaze.

"Mind if I come in?" Scimitar asked in a triumphantly smug voice.

Then he head-butted the akita hard and before Weed could even make sense of what had just happened, his world went black.

Jerome panted as he ran, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth as he leapt around a large rock. His heard his pack following his every move and he hoped that they had gotten enough rest when they had stopped for a break a little while ago. After all, he had just caught the enemy pack's scent and it seemed they were close. It had taken them a few days to get back up to where they were now, and with the urgency of their mission they had only stopped to rest and sleep a few times, not enough to be at full strength but enough to at least be a force to be reckoned with.

Shigure ran at his right and Jerome heard the Kai dog panting almost in time with him, his shorter fur blowing back behind him as he moved. Jerome had heard nothing from Teru yet, but that was not surprising considering how far he had to go. He was surprised though, that Weed and Kagetora hadn't yet caught up to them with their group. He had been able to tell by Weed's voice when they'd parted that even he had been skeptical of actually finding Scimitar, and Jerome had assumed that they would have joined back up with them rather quickly. After all, he knew how much Weed wanted to punish Ronin. Either way, he couldn't worry about that now, he thought, they were coming up on them. The moment they crested the next hill, Jerome saw a dog lunging at his head. Reacting fast, he leapt aside, sensing Shigure doing the same in the other direction. The underling dog behind him though, wasn't so lucky and Jerome heard a crunch and a scream as Ronin leapt back, a jet of blood following him and an angry look on his face. Behind Ronin, he saw dozens of other dogs charging at them, howling and snarling as they ran.

"It's them!" Jerome yelled to his group. "All dogs engage them! Fight!"

The moment he finished, he saw movement to his left and dodged aside, hearing a set of jaws snap down where his neck had been moments before. When another attacker came in, Jerome head-butted him and then bit down on the neck of his comrade, who was right next to him. Feeling teeth tear into his flank, he ripped out the first dog's throat and then turned and drove his fangs hard into the other dog's forehead, causing him to release his grip and fall down dead as blood spurted out from his wounds. Then suddenly, someone hit him hard from the side, biting his neck and throwing him into the air, sending him crashing to the ground. Jerome rolled to his paws immediately, feeling blood streaming down his neck and shoulder from the deep slash marks now there, and faced the dog. Ronin glared back at him, seemingly just as angry as before.

"I thought I felt someone following us for awhile!" he growled. "That god damn fool lied to me!"

"Scimitar tell you you'd get no resistance, Ronin?" Jerome sneered, realizing who he must have been talking about. "Well he was wrong."

"Good!" Ronin answered, licking his chops and squaring off to him. "This just means I get to kill you before I get to Gajou. It's like a bonus."

"Don't count on it, bastard." Jerome growled back and Ronin lunged at him again.

He did the same and the two dogs met in mid-air in a flash of teeth and a chorus of snarls. Jerome dodged left and right as Ronin bit at him repeatedly, then countered with a slash of his own. The malamute dodged as well and before Jerome could jump aside, he felt pain in his chest and suddenly he was flying backwards through the air again. Landing with a grunt, he kicked out hard with his hind legs, remembering how Ronin fought, and heard a satisfying crack as he nailed the evil dog right in the lower jaw as he lunged for a finishing blow. Ronin landed in a heap as Jerome rolled to his paws again. When he jumped up angrily a second later, blood was streaming a little from his mouth. He gave Jerome a death glare.

"You'll pay for that one, motherfucker." he growled and started to advance on him again.

Before he could though, a howl rang out over the battlefield and both dogs looked towards its source. What Jerome saw made him gasp. Running full speed towards the fight was a small army of dogs, and at the front of them an older but very powerful looking tora-ge akita. It was Gin. Jerome smiled in amazement and saw Akame and Hiro both leap into the fight behind their leader, Rocket and Mel right on their tail. Jerome heard Ronin swear under his breath and looking over, saw him take off running away from the battle, moving towards the forest a couple hundred yards away to the west. He immediately leapt after him but the moment his paws touched the ground, he was knocked off them again by multiple enemies, attempting to protect their leader. Jerome began forcing them off him as he felt their teeth biting into him, using all his strength to counter his being outnumbered, but then Gin leapt in and knocked 3 aside with one hard blow, sending them sprawling. This allowed Jerome to stand again and together they fought off the rest near them, each working well off the other's attacks. Only minutes later, the fighting began to gradually cease and then it was over, the Ohu Army standing triumphant. Jerome looked around and saw Shigure, panting and sporting a few cuts, greeting Hiro as the latter walked up to him. Jerome then heard Gin turn to him.

"Are you all right, Jerome?" he asked and the Shepard nodded.

"Thank you, Gin." he said. "But what are you all doing here? I thought you were up in Hokkaido."

"We met Izou and his pack along the way." Gin answered, licking his lips. "They told us that they would go and get Suzaku and his pack in Hokkaido so we could come back down here to help you. But why are you here, Jerome? I thought you and Shigure were with Weed."

"We were." Jerome answered as Akame walked up. "But one of our scouts saw Ronin and his pack heading up this way and Weed ordered us to come head them off. Ronin just took off running that way."

He gestured with his head as he said it and Akame nodded.

"We saw." he answered, but Gin cut back in.

"So where is Weed?"

"He and Kagetora stayed behind where we were to look for Scimitar." Jerome said. "He wasn't with this group."

"And Teru went to go get Tesshin and his dogs." Shigure chimed in, striding up with Hiro, Rocket, and Mel at his side.

Gin nodded and looked back at Jerome.

"Kisaragi is at Ohu with some of the dogs we managed to gather." he said. "They're protecting it and also Lydia and Koyuki. So we should send a platoon after Ronin, and then head back down to help Weed and Kagetora. Scimitar's the one we need to kill to end this."

Jerome nodded.

"I agree." he said, still panting a little from the battle.

Gin noticed this and called for everyone to rest, an order that Jerome didn't have to be told twice to obey. He lay down on the spot and reaching with his tongue, licked the wounds in his shoulder and chest. Then he waited for Gin to give the order to go.

The scenery looked the same to Jerome as they entered the territory that he and his pack had departed from, but somehow something felt wrong to him. They had met up with Tesshin and his group only earlier that day in a happy exchange that had culminated in Gin enthusiastically greeting Joe, his voice clearly displaying his great relief that his older son was okay and in relatively good spirits. Kyoushiro seemed to be in a better mood as well from when they had parted, talking and laughing with Teru and the other junior ninja dogs about something he couldn't quite make out. Jerome himself had been talking to Rocket, who also had been interested to know about his plans for his pups' names. The Shepard had smiled but remained mum, and Rocket had understood and had not pushed the matter, instead moving on to other topics. They had stopped talking a minute ago, however, when the large group of them had reentered the area. They were happy knowing that they would all be completely reunited within minutes.

"Jerome," Gin asked. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Yes." Jerome answered. "They should be right up here."

But then, as he walked by a large bush, he heard the sound of birds overhead. Not just any birds though: crows. Jerome paused and looked towards the noise, and saw a large flock of the black scavengers circling an area only a few hundred yards ahead of them. He heard the other leaders stop with him and knew that they had noticed it too. At the edge of his vision, he saw Akame take another few steps forward.

"Something's wrong." he said uneasily and no one there disagreed.

Gin quickened the pace and the pack followed close behind as Jerome realized that the crows were right above their destination. Suddenly, he and Tesshin, who was on his other side, nearly walked right into Sasuke, who had come to a dead stop as he rounded a grove of trees.

"What is it, Sasu-" Jerome started to ask but then his voice died in his throat.

As soon as the rest of the pack reached them too, all talking ceased and an eerie silence fell over the group. The clearing that lay in front of them, which contained their cave base on its left, was littered with dead bodies, all of them dogs that had remained behind when Jerome and his group had left. Not daring to speak a word, Jerome stepped forward into the clearing, Gin and the other top dogs right behind him. Everywhere he looked, dead dogs' eyes stared up at him, their throats torn or their entrails spilling out. Horrified, he looked over at the cave…and saw a grayish-blue, striped mass lying motionless on the ground in its entrance.

"K-Kagetora?" he heard Kurotura say, his voice shaky and almost fragile sounding.

Then the Kai dog patriarch ran right at the cave, and Jerome followed him, sensing Gin and the rest of the group staying right with them. When they reached the form, Jerome gasped in horror. The body was indeed Kagetora's, and the numerous slashes and bite marks that covered him showed very clearly that he had been through hell. Unlike the others though, the young Kai dog was alive, and his side rose and fell very shallowly as he breathed, seemingly with difficulty.

"Kage?" Ken asked, sounding as shaken as Kurotura had been.

Before Jerome could turn to look at him though, his gaze fixed on another body that lay further back in the cave. When his eyes focused and he finally got a good look at it, Jerome felt his heart nearly stop. Lying in a pool of his own blood, his head split open and looking very dead…was Weed.

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