Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and all the great feedback. It is much appreciated. Also I spaced out the pargraphs a bit more. Hope it's easier to read now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any related characters, places, ideas, objects. I own only my one original character, and the plotline for this story.

Two weeks later, in the 15th District, a boy with a straw hat covering his snowy white hair walked quickly through the streets. Ryu gripped the last of their money tightly in his hand. The farmer and his wife had given him a bag full of it for his journey with Kirou. Between meals and lodging, their money had run out pretty quickly. Kirou had gone off to look for a suitable place for them to stay since they couldn't afford to stay at inns anymore. Ryu glanced around him, looking for a cheap food stand. He spotted a small little shop in a dusty corner of the street, selling curry. He began walking torward it when he noticed a group of people wearing black shihaksou walking torwards him.

He stood still, watching them closely, as they walked down the street. There were quite a few of them. The other citizens on the street eyed them warily. It was rare for Shinigami to be walking around the streets of Rukongai. They usually stuck to the more well off areas and not the dirty, poor Rukongai area. The Shinigami walked purposefully down the street torward the very shop Ryu had been on his way to. They pushed past the poor folk and arrived in front of the shop. "Hey!" one of them shouted. "We're looking for Minami Asoshina and if you don't tell us where she is we'll..."

"You'll what?" A girl with long black hair tied up in a high ponytail strode past Ryu and torwards the menacing group of Shinigami. Ryu looked at her curiously. She wore tattered black sweatpants and had a black jacket around her waist. "Well?" she asked in a calm voice that betrayed her obvious anger. The group of Shinigami turned to her and smirked.

"You're the bitch we're looking for eh?" one of them asked. "You beat up one of our boys the other day. We're from the eleventh squad and we don't take kindly to that."

The girl, Minami, glared at him and put her hands on her hips. "Your boy was picking on an innocent kid just for being in his way. He got what was coming to him." she said still glaring at the group of Shinigami. The Shinigami launched himself at Minami, she sidestepped and delivered a swift kick to his chest as he went past her. The man toppled backwards. One of his squad members attempted to punch Minami but she was too quick for him and caught him with an uppercut to the jaw. The girl with the long black hair began fighting her adversaries with fierce blows and kicks. Ryu watched with fascination as she took out the Shinigami. He noticed one of them draw his sword.

"Look out!" he cried and karate chopped the man's hand away from the hilt of his weapon. The girl regarded him for a second. Teal met vivid green and a partnership was formed. Standing back to back they fought against the low-level Shinigami. One particularly vicious fighter had managed to draw his sword and slashed at Ryu who bent backwards and watched as the blade missed his nose by a few millimetres. Minami, who was distracted by two other Shinigami, didn't notice the flash of black. The next moment a large cut appeared on the man who had slashed at Ryu. He grunted and put a hand over the wound on his chest. The other Shinigami had stopped fighting Minami and looked around for the attacker. Ryu looked calmly up at a nearby rooftop. A young man with shaggy black hair and black clothing stood there, a short sword with a jagged blade held limply in his right hand.

"You should leave. Take your friend to go get that wound checked. It's bleeding pretty bad." he said to the other dumbstruck Shinigami. The man Kirou had cut was franticly trying to stop the blood oozing from his wound. His squad mates gathered themselves and then took off. Kirou dropped down from the rooftop and turned to the girl. "What the hell were you thinking, taking on all those guys by yourself?" he asked in an agitated voice.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the rude newcomer. "And when exactly did I ask for your help?" she responded quickly. She took a few stepts torward the now closed window of the shop to retrieve a long staff resting against it. Ryu adjusted his hat and pulled it low over his eyes as he went to stand next to Kirou.

Minami twirled the staff, which the boys geussed was probably her zanpakuto, in her hand. "So," she began and stopped twirling the staff, gently resting it against Kirou's shoulder. "What brings you guys here? I haven't seen seen you around town. Where're you from?" she asked. Kirou ran his hand through his shaggy black hair and gently pushed the staff of his shoulder. He looked the girl up and down. She was only a few inches shorter than he was and had almost the same shade of tanned skin. She wore an exessive amount of guaze around her chest and he noticed she wore no shoes. "Kirou. Kirou Inukage." he replied curtly. "This is Ryusuke Diamondblade."

"Call me Ryu." the white haired boy offered with a slight smile. Minami returned his smile but her face contorted back to a scowl as she looked back at Kirou. "I'm Minami Asoshina. I'm pretty much a guardian angel to the small kids around this town so don't start any trouble, you hear?" The two Dogs nodded. "So what brings you out here?" she asked as she turned around and gestured for them to follow. Kirou quickly matched her stride while Ryu trailed a bit behind as they walked through the dusty streets of Rukongai District 15. It was no different from most other districts really. The same dusty streets. The same dirty little hovels used for shelter by the poor inhabitants. The same choking atmosphere of dread, dispair and hopelessnes.

Kirou told her about how he and Ryu had met up and decided that they wanted to do something usefull with their lives. He told her of how he wanted to protect the people of Rukongai just as the Shinigami protected the Sereitei. "Shinigami." Minami spat and her scowl deepend. "A bunch of spoiled brats in uniform if you ask me. They think they can just do as they please and don't ever have to face the consequences because they're Shinigami."

Usually at this point Ryu would have argued that not all Shinigami were like that. However after a few days of knowing Kirou and even more so after a few days of travelling with him, Ryu had come to the realization that it was a lost cause to argue this point with him. Kirou bore a very deep hatred for Shinigami. He had told Ryu that it was because of the injustice he had seen all around him while growing up in Rukongai but Ryu had a strong suspicsion that there may be more to it than that. Either way he was happy Kirou had found someone who semed to share his opinion regarding Shinigami.

The three of them walked around town until they came to a dead end street. The street was lined with little wooden shacks built out of scavaged materials. At the end of a street was a slightly larger shack that towered slightly above the others. "Well this is where I live. You boys want to come in for a bit? I don't really have much to offer but judging by the looks on your faces I'd say you're both pretty hungry." Minami said as she opened the front door. Kirou and Ryu eyed the shack suspiciously. The door was barely hanging by its hinges, the roof looked ready to cave in at any given second and the left wall was leaning at a very worrying angle. But they were hungry so they followed the girl into her home. Minami had quite the modest little home really. There was a bed, a small table with two chairs and a fireplace that looked like it hadn't been lit in years. A few cabinets lined the wall closest to the table. Minami began rumaging around in it. "I have noodles and water. Hope you guys weren't expecting a four course meal or anything." The boys shook their heads with small smiles on their faces.

Ryu quickly helped Minami cook up a meal for three while Kirou sat on the roof which was, despite its appearance, actually quite stable. He sat there looking up at the starry sky while listening for any sign of someone approaching. He had learned very quickly as a child to always be alert and on the lookout for danger. At any moment you could be attacked by bandits or even worse: hollows. Kirou hated hollows, not as much as Shinigami, but still. They had frightened him when he was small and he still didn't relish the thought of fighting them. Other than them being frightening, they also sparked anger in him. Hollows to him were a reminder of the failure of Shinigami to help that soul before it turned into a hollow. He glanced down and realized he had been clenching his fists tightly as his thoughts strayed. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. "Kirou! Food's ready!" Minami called from inside the house. Kirou dropped down from the roof and with one last lingering look down the street, hazel eyes scanning for any sign of danger, he pushed open the front door and went inside.

Kirou and Minami ate at the small table while Ryu had opted to go eat out back. Minami learned that Kirou was a very quiet person and wasn't much for conversation, much like his companion. The silence was getting a bit awkward for her and she began trying to make conversation. "So how'd you two meet?"

"Long story short, he mistook me for a bandit, followed me around town, offered me a place to sleep, then insisted on coming with me." Kirou answered.

"Sounds like he's pretty attached to you." Minami stated. Kirou just shrugged and continued eating. A few more minutes of silence passed when suddenly Kirou's voice broke through it.

"Not that I'm complaining but you're being awfully nice to a couple of strangers. Why?"

Minami smiled and looked over at Ryu who was eating outside. "I could tell from the minute I met you two that you were like me. Not just the fact that you had high reiatsu but that you didn't hesitate to stand up for others. Besides I like kids." she finished and Kirou noticed the hint of sadness in those green eyes. He figured there was a story there but didn't pry any further. The silence suddenly turned from awkward to comfortable.

Just as suddenly though it was broken by a high pitched screech. Minami and Kirou were out of their chairs and outside with their weapons held ready in the blink of an eye. Ryu joined them a few seconds later. They stared down the street at the huge, grotesque lizard-like hollow. Its skin was a pale shade of blue, red scales covered its head, back and tail. As it opened its mouth large flames burst forth and engulfed a nearby house.

"Ryu." Kirou muttered at his companion but the boy had already figured it out for himself. He wouldn't be able to help much in this fight. He was not yet able to completely control his zanpakuto's ability for creating gusts of wind. Wind would only help spread the fire more quickly. So instead he ran to nearby houses, prepared to help the other citizens escape to safety. Kirou released Kiba and ran at the hollow, slashing at its legs and trying to unbalance it. Minami leapt to the roof of her home. She timed her strike then jumped from the roof onto the hollow's head. Quickly and forcefully she brought her long staff down on its forehead. The hollow kicked at Kirou and raised one of its claws to pry the girl off its forehead. Minami jumped back onto the roof but Kirou got hit. The kick from the hollow sent him crashing into one of the shacks. The building collapsed and buried him in debris.

The hollow screeched again and lashed at Minami with its tail. Its large, scale covered tail smashed right through Minami's house, effectively crushing the whole building. Minami leapt away and landed on the ground, somehow managing to land on her feet. The hollow turned and shot a large blast of fire at three of the houses still standing. All three were suddenly on fire. Minami noticed Ryu trying to pull a little girl out from a collapsed part of the house. "Freeze to death, Yuki Noufu!" she screamed and snow began falling from the sky. The snowflakes gathered at the tip of Minami's staff which had now turned into a sword. She thrust her arm forward and a blast of ice shot out extinguishing the flames. Ryu was able to pull the girl out and quickly helped her over to where the other citizens were gathered. The hollow roared and brought its claw down on Minami from behind.

"Kiba no Moken!" Kirou had dug himself out of the debris and the large amount of red reiatsu that surrounded him, shot from the tip of his weapon in the form of a large wolf's head, its fangs bared. The attack struck the hollow in the face, cracking its mask and causing it to disintegrate. Minami's white reiatsu died down and her sword became a staff again. Kirou panted with exhaustion and leaned against a wall with his right arm, his left was hanging limply at his side covered in blood. Ryu came rushing over to them.

"Okay there pup?" Kirou asked. Ryu nodded examining his friend's arm. Minami turned to the wreckage that was once her house.

"Sorry." was all Kirou could think of to say. Minami shook her head.

"Not your fault. Thanks for the help." she said.

After making sure that everyone else was okay and all the fires had been put out Kirou offered for Minami to come with him and Ryu to the abandoned warehouse he had found earlier that day.

"It's not much but it's a roof." he said. Minami nodded and the three of them set off.

"So I guess you're a Dog now too." Ryu said as they walked. "We call ourselves the Dogs of Rukongai." he explained seeing her confused expression.

"You make us sound like some sort of gang." Kirou sighed. Minami just chuckled.

"Shut up. I think it sounds cool. And yeah I guess I could be a Dog."

And so the third member of the Dogs of Rukongai joined up with the soon-to-be-very-famous-gang.

Okay so the next chapter is for Yasuko and then Aryam. Check out Meet the Dogs for their profiles if you want. Please review and tell me what you thought and where you think I need improvement. Next chapter will be up as soon as possible.