It's expected that the life of a canine is ruthless, with the chances of death always itching to take your life. A life that barely even commences, but there is hope... hope of her mother finding her a life she was destined for.
"Come out, come out, you furry mutts!" A man in a white tank top and loose jeans said, prowling around a table that hid the two Bernese Mountain Dogs. A mother protecting her barely a month old pup who whimpers fearfully of the bad man who is trying his hardest to capture her.
"Come, momma, give me your kid for some quick bucks. I promise to treat you to some steak." He tried to grab them under the table, and the mother knew, and bit hard on his forearm.
"Owch!... damn it." He noticed her bite broke through the skin and blood started leaking from it. "You worthless mutt is gonna kill you!" He rushed out of the room, which gave the mother the chance to gather her cub in her mouth and hurry out of the room.
She came down a hallway that led to multiple directions, none of which she was affiliated with.
She wasn't going to give up, especially carrying the last of her bloodline. She quickly chose one when the man who caused her misery burst out one with a loaded revolt, aiming at them.
"I didn't want to do this Martha, but you chose the hard way." He fired once to pierce her ear that made her whinied in pain.
The dog took advantage of the time he was reloading to burst open the already cracked door to the streets. The streets of New York were partially calm today with only the sound of cars driving down the streets in no hurry or negativity amongst drivers' errors, until they had to make an emergency brake when Martha zoomed across the road.
"What the-...hey!" One of the drivers exclaimed but Martha didn't pay any mind as her life was at stake when the madman could easily take her life. She found an alley down the block where a few large food crates lie against, that gave her an idea and hid behind it.
Mhmm...where are you doggies hiding?...Uncle BoneSteel has a treat for you. He was oblivious to his prey hiding below his feet, but then heard the whimpering of the young pup when her wet black nose picked up his familiar scent.
I can hear you, so there is no point in hiding. Hearing the sound of his footsteps approaching them from her young, there was one thing she could do. When the timing was right and the danger was in her peripheral vision, she pushed her daughter on her four feet towards a small hole in a fence that only fit her size.
The puppy yelped hesitantly, not understanding her mother's intentions, and Martha knew. She gently licked her and snuggled against her body, her way of saying everything will be okay. It worked, and she managed to head in that direction while her mother tried to fight off Bonesteel to give her a great chance of survival.
Oh looky here...Ouch! She took hold of one of his legs, causing him to lose his balance and drop his weapon when he fell on the ground.
Oh hell..this mutt is trying to kill me! Bonesteel thought as he tried to avoid her mighty sharp jaws from clamping onto his jugulars. Only if I can reach.. He saw his revolver a few inches away from him and slowly reached for it.
Come on..come on..come on! He was within reaching distance of the holder and banged it against the animal's head.
Finally!..now any last request, like a bullet through your skull, haha! He chuckled deviously as the mountain dog whimpered from the aching pain on her head, but that soon subsided when she noticed her former master inch closer to her puppy and growled. She let out a fearful bark before charging him once again as Bonesteel aimed his gun toward her, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Come on, come to daddy! As the canine went for him and leaped from her hind legs to sink her sharp teeth into his neck, but only a loud bang before she came tumbling down to the ground.
Arf!
The sound of gunfire echoed through the walls of the alley. The puppy, who was a meter away, heard it and turned back. Curious about the noise and what could have caused it, she yelped happily upon seeing her mother's body lying on the ground and snuggled up against her soft black and white fur.
Arh..arh! She knew something odd was going on due to her mother's lack of response and tried to think of a reason why. Perhaps her mother was sleeping, hence her closed eyes. Normally, she would wake up instantly when the puppy pulled on her ears to wake her up for playtime, but this time was different. The puppy noticed the dripping red liquid leaking from her mother's chest.
Ark.. Her eyes filled with tears as she sensed that her mother's spirit had left her lifeless body. Knowing there was nothing she could do, she snuggled up to her mother's side so that she would not feel lonely on her journey to the great beyond.
"Leo... can you... slow down a bit!" The water monitor painted, her legs feeling like they'll collapse if she doesn't get a break, after hours upon hours of cardio that the leader in blue commands. Thinking he went a little bit excessive on this training exercise.
"Tell you what, if you can catch me before we get to that building on the horizon, we will take a break, deal?"
He reaches his hand out to her when he slows down to her speed. Knowing he had nothing to lose, she shook it.
"That's the spirit of a future kunoichi, now come catch me!" He giggled and intentionally sped off, leaving her in the dust.
"Ugh!... that dick... come on Kimberly, you can do this, just imagine something." She held her breath and closed her eyes, thinking of anything that came to mind that could lead to her victory. More like her finishing this training run that she regretfully agreed to for her desires to become a kunoichi after a comment from Leo's brother about her lacking skills.
"No, something better than that, think... think... I got it!" She imagined something she always wanted ever since she was a little girl that gave her the endurance she needed.
Or maybe not. He feels a deep respect towards her that even though she knows there is a chance she may lose she still keeps going. Something a true bushido warrior must have. The end was near and the only thing that had to do was leap from one end to the building where the winner was declared. He was about to leap there himself but that when the water monitor sped past him, forgetting there was a gap beforehand.
Kim look out!
Uh?..AHH! She couldnt stop and tripped off the edge. She screamed and closed her eyes as her body zoomed closer to the ground to her death, but that was when Leo came after her with one hand holding his grapple hook and the other firmly grabbing her tail.
I got you..Kim, hold on. He pressed the button on the hook to automatically pull them up the building, as the water monitor still held her eyes closed. When they reached the top and they both could plant their feet on the rooftop far from the edge, she opened as she saw she was safe.
Are you okay?..are you hurting anywhere, tell me! Kim watched when move her limbs to examine her body for any signs of her in pain, but she felt none and shook her head.
"No... I'm good, Leo."
"Oh, that's good... Look, Kim, I am so sorry that this happened and I shouldn't have pushed you over like that. You could have gotten hurt or... killed." The blue masked turtle gave a guilty frown, which ironically made her feel guilty, as this wasn't his fault.
"It's okay, Leo... This wasn't your fault... I need to lie down." Leo nodded, then carried her to the sunroom, so they both can take some time to relax after a day's workout.
"Here... Drink some water."
"Gracias." She smacked her lips when Leo handed her a nice cold water jug and didn't bother to slow down her gulping.
"Wow!... Slow down before you choke." Leo warned, and she stopped her drinking then handed it to him.
"Sorry... You need to stay hydrated, too." Leo frowned, knowing she was still shaking from her near-death experience.
"Are you okay, Kimberly? You know you can tell me anything." Kim blushed, not just because of him gently holding her claw to show his concern, but also because of the idea of why she was upset.
"I know this is... stupid, but I feel like I am not part of the clan, you know?"
"What do you mean?" She took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, and fidgeted with a piece of fabric on her cloak.
"Sometimes I feel like I can't be as great as you guys when it comes to being a ninja. If I keep messing up like this, I easily get exhausted when we run, and I can barely perform basic kicking forms without falling on my butt."
"Oh... I didn't know you felt like this, Kim."
"Yeah... it's one of the many reasons why I despise myself."
"Don't say that, Kim. You shouldn't degrade yourself over something you are not used to," Leo said, making her look into his shimmering blue eyes.
"R-really?"
"Of course. Do you really think we were always this skilled?...Hell no! It took me years to do a perfect kick split without landing on my private area." Kim chuckled when the image came to her mind and she believed it.
"Hehe...I can see that."
"Yeah, but the point is, you will become a ninja or whatever your heart wants if you believe in yourself and never back down." She smiled brightly at his encouraging words and hugged him to show her appreciation.
"Thanks, Leo."
"No problem. Well, since you did very well with the training run, why don't I treat you to some Ben's ice cream?"
"Really!...Sure. I've been craving some peanut butter and chocolate fudge sundae." Leo chuckled as they both headed in that direction.
Several minutes later, when they arrived at the shop located downtown, across from a pet store where a window displayed a litter of puppies playing together, it melted the water monitor's heart with their cuteness.
"Awww!...so cute!"
"You really like animals, don't you?" Leo asked, and she nodded vigorously.
"Mmhmm!...It was the main reason why I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was human, and I wanted a pet." Leo hummed and licked his frozen dessert as she brought a spoonful of fudge.
"I thought it would be my best friend or something, being the daughter of immigrant parents who barely even notice me. Maybe a pet could fill that role."
"I see where you're coming from, but hey, if you do manage to adopt one, I will gladly help you take care of it," Leo said as Kimberly smiled.
"You're too sweet to make that kind of offer, especially since you barely show any interest in puppies."
"Okay..okay…you got me but my offer still stands." Kim rolled her eyes and followed him up a fire escape when she heard the sound of trash cans falling.
"Uh?" Curious on what could be making the noise, she decided to investigate. She followed the noise that led a few meters down the block where a few overrun trash bins were seated that smelled horrible.
"Oh god! what died?" Ignoring the obvious aroma poisoning her oxygen, the sound grew louder as she came closer and to her shock a few trash cans were knocked over like something found a half eaten meal and wanted to claim it prize.
"Wow!..it's gotta be raccoons or opossums as they are the only nocturnal mammals that enjoy human waste." To add more to her theory she picks up a half eaten banana peel with canine bite marks. Luckily she could find out the culprit behind this as they were still scavenging for food in one bin that was knocked over, making the sound.
I knew it was raccoons, aye aye. At first she would have been right to assume that but instead dropped her whole theory when she heard a bark. A high pitched vocalization of an animal she has always imagined.
"Is that what I think it is..."
"What are you doing, Kim?" She jumped when someone's cold hand landed on her shoulder, and sighed in relief when it was the leader in blue.
"Leo!...dude, don't sneak up on a girl or else she will suffer a heart attack."
"Sorry." He chuckled nervously, with his cheeks turning crimson. "So why are you snooping around trash cans?"
"I think there is a puppy around here, as I heard it barking in one of the bins?" She pointed to the bin in question, where she knew the puppy would be, but instead a few rats came out fighting over a rotten apple core.
"Well, I didn't know puppies were tiny weird creatures that eat trash for a living, but I digress."
"B-but...but I heard barking." Kim protested, knowing very well what she heard...or does she?
"Well...it's getting late and I promised April that I would take you home at a decent time."
"Yeah...I guess." Kim frowned, realizing that what she had hoped was true wasn't, and followed Leo back to the fire escape.
