Before the action begins, Akashi explains how Max got to be in their house.

Chapter 15: Explanation

After that scenario that happened, Tigress felt a surge of utter confusion and ultimate anger over being bitten and swiped by this little white tiger cub and she asked, "Who and where did you get this little menace from?"

"He's not a menace. He's just a scared orphaned cub." Akashi replied.

Suddenly, the word 'orphan' came to mind and she could see that this kid was plucked out of the obscurity and though she still knows what it feels like to be an orphan, she was still seething over how this cub tackled her the way he did and she said, "He didn't have to attack me."

"Calm down, Tigress. I'm sure he has no intention of attacking you at all." Taiga responded.

And that stunned Tigress that he's actually defending this cub and she glared at him for a second, then turned to the ground and gave Taiga a second glance at him hinting that he was either serious or just joking and judging by the look in Taiga's face, he was definitely serious.

"You're starting to act like the whole thing didn't concern you." Tigress said, in disbelief.

"He must've seen you as a stranger and I think you might've intimidated him. A little bit." Taiga stated.

Tigress scoffs at this as Miyo wraps her paw with some shaolin wrap and she said to Akashi, "Wherever you found him, put him back where he belongs."

"I can't quite do that." Akashi answered.

"And why not? Shouldn't he be back with his real parents?" asked Tigress.

Akashi lowered his ears in response to that and he couldn't believe his step mother is acting this way towards the cub and said, "He's got nowhere else to go...and he has no parents."

"No parents?" asked Tigress.

Taiga blinked his eyes in response to that and said, "Explain this to me."

"Well...on my way home a few days ago, I saw him getting dragged by his own mother and I could hear him cry and pleading, but all she gave him in return was a slap in the face and some insults. She said that she wished that she never gave birth to him...which is kinda disturbing and disgusting for me to even hear coming out of his own mother and she threw him off of this hill and wished death on him...and left." Akashi answered.

Miyo got really disturbed after hearing how Max was left behind and it really disgusted Tigress and Taiga for showing that Max's birth mother could treat him so cruel and violently like that and Akashi continued saying, "So...I followed him to take him back home with me until those vicious wolves came in to use him as food and as their servant."

Saori covered her mouth in shock after hearing this and she turned to Taiga and asked, "What are slaves?"

"Slaves are people who get told what to do and the bad people owns these nice people and make them tend to their own will and if they don't do what they say...they get in big trouble." Taiga replied.

"I don't think Saori wants to know what they would really do." Akashi stated.

Taiga agreed with that concept because it'll be too big of an issue to reveal to her and seconds later, Max slowly walked downstairs and faced both Tigress and Taiga and he seemed really remorseful about what happened and he turned to Tigress with a nervous look on his face and he said, "Hello."

"What do you want?" Tigress asked, very rudely.

"I'm sorry I bit you and scratched you and for screaming at you." Max said, very meaningful.

Tigress looked at the cub and she replied, "Apology not accepted."

"Tigress!" Akashi exclaimed.

Taiga couldn't believe that Tigress didn't even accept a simple apology coming out of a little cub and he said, "Your apology is accepted on Tigress' behalf."

"I'm scared of strangers." Max stated.

Taiga felt the most sympathetic with the cub and told him to sit on his knees next to Saori and he said, "What's your name?"

"Maximus."

Taiga patted Max's head and also Saori's head as well and he sees the two of them as brother and sister almost and he said to Akashi, "Was there anyone else coming in to save the cub?"

"No. Just me." Akashi replied.

"What about his father?" asked Tigress.

"I have no dad. He's just as mean as my mom was." Max added.

All five of them were stunned to hear what Max just said and Miyo asked, "You mean...?"

Max was about to respond when those savage wolves burst in the door and took a look at Max and said, "You! You're mine!"

Now the action begins!