Disclaimer: Sorry I'm late on this one. I kept getting distracted. Anyways...

Orion's very first mission! And with the added bonus of showing some of the aspects that make him jealous of Sirius. I'll try to incorporate some other elements into this arc too, like Andy's arc of becoming more confident, and the start of Martha's arc. Also, I'm still figuring out what I wanna do with Martha. So if she comes across as 'The girl on Orion's team' sometimes, that's why. I'll try to figure everything out with her during this arc.

Also, I don't own any Ginga characters, aside from any OCs I add in.

The Ginga Legend: Orion's Story

Puppy Army arc Episode four: Envy Shines! Team Orion's First Mission!

Orion and Andy were waiting for Martha and Izou in Andy's backyard, as that's where they agreed to meet up. Orion was channeling his Canine Spirit, as half of his body was bright red. Andy and Jerome were watching closely as Orion continued to get closer to covering his entire body. However, he started to struggle even more when he reached the seventy percent mark on his body. He was pushing himself as hard as he could, but by the time he reached the ninety percent mark, he fell to his knees. He couldn't believe he failed at it again.

Orion punched the ground as he shouted over not being able to use this ability. "Fuck! What am I doing wrong!?"

"You're not doing anything wrong, Orion." Jerome assured Orion as Andy helped him up, knowing he was doing as great of a job as he could. "The Zokaken is a hard ability to learn. Remember that even your father didn't learn it so easily within his first week." Orion looked at Jerome, who smiled when saying something to him about his current thoughts. "The fact that you're struggling means learning this move is worth it."

"Yeah, I know that. I just wish it didn't take so long." Orion explained, showing clear impatience towards this transformation. "If I'm gonna surpass Sirius, then I need to be able to use the Zokaken. Well enough to surpass whatever power boost he gets when he becomes a Super Canine."

Andy thought of a hypothesis that could work for Orion's situation. "You remember the story Weed told us about when HE unlocked the Zokaken. Right, Orion?"

"Yeah. He got it while he was defending GB." Orion answered, showing that he did pay attention to his father's stories. "Why do you ask?"

"Because the point Weed unlocked the Zokaken was when GB's life was at risk from Kamakiri." Andy explained, explaining what he thought up for Orion's situation. "And he started increasing it level by level whenever one of his friends was in danger. Maybe you'll unlock the Zokaken in a similar way, when someone you deeply care about is in mortal danger."

Orion started to think about that hypothesis as Martha called over to them from the roof. "That'd be a sight to see!" Orion and Andy looked to see Martha and Izou waiting for them, and as Martha took a step forward... "Especially since you're always-" she accidentally slipped on the roof and fell down! The others showed concern upon seeing this, and Martha managed to catch herself before falling on the ground. She flew over to Orion, Andy, and Jerome as she finished what she had to say. "blowing everything off to train your ass off unless Andy's there!"

"Okay, I don't blow EVERYTHING off. I attend my family's birthday parties." Orion protested, even mentioning something he does during the parties as his mouth started to water. "I'm always chowing down on the food we set up."

"Then food is an exception too." Martha admitted, and then she took out her phone to give an in person example. "But you HAVE to attend those parties anyway. You still haven't bothered to accept the invite to MY birthday party next week."

"I got this, Martha." Andy chimed in with a means of helping Orion see this as a good thing. "This could be a good way to build team morale. And help you two get to know each other."

Orion looked at Martha, who was serious about wanting Orion to attend her party. He sighed before giving what would be his response for now. "I'll think about it. Just don't whine about it too much."

"Deal!" Martha said gleefully as she put her phone away. "Don't worry. There will be stuff you like there. I know we all love video games."

Izou then headed over to the others as Orion mentioned something else and got ready to rush off. "Tell me more later! We gotta get to the mission base!"

Orion started running off with Andy chasing after him. "Orion, wait up!"

Martha chased after them as well, leaving Izou to laugh a bit as he looked at Jerome, who gave a smiling eye roll at the situation. "I haven't even said anything to him yet, and he's already rushing off."

Somewhere in the forest, Orion and the others were making their way to the mission base as Izou's ears were caught by some chirping birds nearby. He couldn't help smiling as he saw the creatures in such a good mood. He struck conversation about it to the others to help time go by faster. "Birds sure are pleasant creatures. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I wouldn't know. Nature and I don't mix as well as you do with it." Orion said, reminding Izou that he was a Speed Specialist. "By the way, do you know if this town has a training dojo? I wanna get to training again as soon as we're done with the mission briefing."

As Martha showed discontentment with that statement, Izou started thinking about where a dojo would be. "There should be one close to the hotel we're staying at."

Martha addressed this to Orion, hoping she could get through to him. "This is what I was talking about earlier, Orion. You're always thinking about training. I know you have to train a lot to achieve your dreams, but you should still make time for other things you care about."

"There's no time for that when you have to become an army leader and prove you can best your 'perfect' brother." Orion replied, and his tone when he said the word perfect showed how he felt about Sirius. "And for the record, I do care about this mission. Hanajiro's actions pissed me off more and more as I heard about them."

This surprised Martha, who didn't know if Orion was capable of having that kind of empathy. "I don't know a lot about them myself. I just know they do a lot of bad things, and they have puppies join their army soon after they arrive in the village."

Orion scoffed, seeing that Martha didn't know the half of it. "It's more than that, Martha. The puppies don't have a choice!"

Martha was concerned after hearing that, and Andy filled her in to help her understand more. "When a puppy who lives old enough resides in the Puppy Army village, Hanajiro forces them into joining the army. It doesn't matter how you got there. Once they can use Canine Spirit, they're a part of the army no matter what."

Martha was horrified by that news, and enraged when she thought about it further. She then expressed concern for the puppies and what they must be going through. "That's horrible! No one should be forced to live under those conditions!"

"Damn straight." Orion said as he clenched his fist, catching everyone's attention as he said what he thought about this. "The puppies he's using... they deserve to choose how they live their life."

Martha felt how ironic that statement from Orion was, but she was hesitant to talk to him about it. She didn't feel close enough with Orion to where he'd understand where she was coming from. And she did give him her word that she wouldn't bother him too much about his way of living. Maybe after they spent more time together, she could tell him then. "Agreed. I hope we can make it happen."

Andy then started looking at the town map Izou brought for them. When he got a look at the name, Shepherd Prefecture, he playfully brought up one obvious sign about the village to Orion. "Shepherd Prefecture, huh? I sure hope there isn't too much of MY breed there for ya, Orion."

"Ha! You kidding me? Give me a good fight and they'll be fine in my book!" Orion assured Andy, and the two laughed for a bit as Orion then started discussing plans for when they got there. "Okay. So I think when we find the dojo, we should start working on your Healing Punch. Maybe we can even make a version where you kick the Canine you wanna heal!"

"That's brilliant! I can even learn to control my Spirit to where the harder the move hits, the faster it heals!" Andy added, leaving Orion in joy at seeing Andy thinking so hard about his Spirit abilities. Izou couldn't help but show concern however. Orion seemed to mostly just think about fighting, which Martha worried about herself. "Just wait until I get it fine tuned!"

A couple hours after Team Orion left Akita Prefecture, Shepherd Prefecture was revealed to be guarded by a German Shepherd on the left side of the entrance, and a White Shepherd on the right. Orion and the others were already at the village HQ with Izou guiding them to where the briefing room was. "I helped the Shepherd Prefecture army out with a big apple thief case some time ago. Someone really wanted their paws on that Aomori goodness."

"Well, anyone would wanna get their paws on some good food." Orion pointed out, thinking about how much he was gonna have for dinner tonight. "I could totally go for a pizza."

Izou opened the briefing room door after knocking, and during this, he let Orion know what he could do. "Then it's a good thing I don't know how to cook!"

Orion then cut past Izou quickly and introduced himself to everyone, including the village leader, who was, not very shocking surprise, a Belgian Shepherd. "Sorry to keep you waiting! Izou wanted to 'take his time', so we-" Orion's face changed instantly when he noticed Sirius sitting by the table. He gave a friendly wave to Orion, who gained a disgruntled expression as he commented on this. "No fucking way!" Orion dashed over to Sirius, angrily pointing out how they were both involved in the mission. "They called YOU onto this village too!?"

Sirius chuckled a bit as he started explaining the situation. "I guess they wanted TWO Akita Prefecture teams involved." Orion started to strain as his anger over this rose with Sirius pointing out how this could be a good thing. "At least we're with someone we know. The adults really did pick their candidates carefully." Once Sirius finished, Orion, out of anger, ended up releasing...

PFFFFFFFFFFT

...a loud and bassy five second fart that made his anger drop, leaving a yellow cloud of rotten eggs to leave his vibrating butt. Sirius covered his nose in response to this, and while Martha snickered a bit, Andy chuckled a bit while opening up a window. "Sorry about that. We'll try to keep the natural gasses low."

Orion snorted in response to his fart before holding in his laughter, and then he shook his head. He was still dissatisfied about being on Sirius' team, but after being calmed down, he realized he should at least try to be professional. "Just don't hog all the fun, okay?"

"Not sure if this would be considered 'fun', but okay." Sirius responded, still clearly annoyed at Orion's behavior towards him. "And YOU bare in mind that we might have to work together at one point."

"That's part of what I mean." Orion informed Sirius just as Andy sat down next to him. "I'm gonna be outclassing you this time."

Sirius sighed before Andy stepped in to tell Orion to stand down. "Come on, Orion. This isn't the time for this stuff."

"I know that! I already said I'd deal with it." Orion told Andy, preferring to just get on with the mission. "Let's just get the briefing out of the way."

Martha sat down next to Andy, and Izou did next to her. Martha noticed how Orion looked at Sirius. It was clearly out of jealousy. And the way Sirius looked at him was out of being annoyed by his attitude. She asked Andy a question out of genuine concern for both of them, getting a feeling this dynamic has gotten... heated, in the past, with how intense the vibe was. "How bad is this gonna get?"

"Depends on the kind of day Orion's having." Andy said nervously, making Martha worry even further.

The Belgian Shepherd decided to break the tension by addressing everyone to the briefing board. "Let's just get started with the briefing, shall we?"

The briefing began quickly with the Belgian Shepherd explaining what the plan to lure Hanajiro out was. He was using his Spirit energy as a slide show to help explain it. "As you all know by now, Hanajiro turns puppies into soldiers from his army. And as far as anyone knows, this is most commonly done with orphans." Andy and Sirius took note of that detail. If Hanajiro's most common target is orphans, it might explain more about his motives. They got back to listening after that. "But one thing we recently discovered, is how he funds the Puppy Army village."

The slides changed to show Hanajiro having stolen money and artifacts in different parts of Japan. "I'm sure you've heard of at least one of these cases where a place in Japan was robbed with no one knowing who the target was. I used my Spirit to reveal picture perfect replicas of the exact identity of the culprit." The Belgian Shepherd elaborated on what the plan would be after he showed the last slide. "He strikes every two weeks. His last stealing attempt was approximately thirteen days ago."

Andy chimed in with a statement on what occurred to him from this news. "And you guys think he's gonna target Shepherd Prefecture, since he hasn't stolen from here yet."

"Precisely." The Belgian Shepherd confirmed, and then he showed a map that explained why. "His latest target was Akita Prefecture. So we're a possible target for him to come for next."

Orion had a question himself, raising his paw as he began to ask it. "Not to shit talk your village, whatever your name is, but I don't hear a lot of people talking about it back home. What could you guys have that Hanajiro considers worth stealing?"

The Belgian Shepherd was more than happy to showcase this, revealing it in his last slide: A Golden German Shepherd. "The prized possession of Shepherd Prefecture. A Golden German Shepherd, representing the legendary Canine of the same name: John."

"That was one of Grandpa's friends." Sirius said, starting to feel bad about going through with this plan. "It sucks that we have to use something honoring him as bait."

"I couldn't agree more, Sirius." The Belgian Shepherd admitted, emphasizing with Sirius' feelings, despite feeling this was necessary to stop Hanajiro. "To use an artifact that honors John in such a distasteful way makes me sick to my stomach."

"It's to take down Hanajiro, right?" Orion asked when chiming in again, catching the Belgian Shepherd's attention. "If John worked with Grandpa back when he was the Ohu army leader, then he knew the meaning of a necessary evil."

The Belgian Shepherd nodded in agreement despite the way he felt. "Of course. But the artifact represents an idol figure in the Tohoku Region, and all of Japan. It's very important to us." Orion didn't respond, allowing the Belgian Shepherd to get back to the mission. "That's why I need all of you to pay attention, so we know our positions by the time we execute this plan, and can ensure the safety of ourselves, and the Golden Shepherd."

The Belgian Shepherd assigned everyone their roles, starting with Izou. "Izou, you will guard the Golden Shepherd with me." Izou nodded, and then he pointed to Orion and Sirius. "Orion. Sirius. You two will sense for the strongest Spirit around besides ours, just in case Hanajiro sends his comrades to steal the Shepherd instead." Orion and Sirius nodded with Andy and Martha getting their roles next. "Andy. Martha. You two will take to the sky and look for anyone who needs healing if things get dire. I assume you both know how to fly?"

"It's my favorite way to travel!" Martha exclaimed happily, giggling a bit before flinching and putting a on serious face once again.

The Belgian Shepherd then addressed Sirius' teammates: A Koga named Jen, and a Great Dane named Senshi. "Jen. Senshi. You two will provide lookout on the opposite end of town in case some of Hanajiro's soldiers show up there." Jen and Senshi nodded, ready for what the mission entailed. "This mission will be executed tomorrow. So make sure you're all rested." The Belgian Shepherd then introduced himself, since Orion brought up not knowing his name. "By the way, Orion, my formal name is Zack."

"Well, Zack..." Orion began, and his stomach growled a bit right after that. This led to him smiling as he brought up his appetite. "Any chance you know a good place for a pre-training meal?" Zack laughed a bit at that response, and Andy did as well, the latter due to being all too familiar with Orion's appetite.

Orion and the others were eating out at a burger joint as Orion was looking at something that annoyed him while they waited for their food. Andy noticed this the first out of everyone and checked on Orion to make sure he was okay. "What's wrong, Orion?" Andy looked to where Orion was looking and saw what it was. "Oh. That."

Sirius was revealed to be surrounded by a bunch of fans of his who were around Bella's age, and some were even his age as one asked him another question. "It was badass how you won the last Akita Prefecture tournament! Wat was it like going up against your own teammate in the final round?"

Sirius chuckled a bit, possibly showing that something about this level of praise made him somewhat uncomfortable. "I'll admit that I wasn't expecting it. I knew Senshi would've pulled through, so him making the finale didn't surprise me. But actually facing him myself and winning? That's a whole other story."

Orion then started venting to Andy with Martha and Izou getting a full glimpse of one of the reasons Orion focuses so much on training. 'That asshole gets everything handed to him.' He ended up grabbing the table they were sitting at, grabbing it so hard that he caused it to crack, startling his team. 'I work way harder than he could ever hope to, and yet HE'S the one who's set to take over as the Ohu Army's leader. Why doesn't anyone expect that from me? Why shouldn't I be seen as capable of taking on that role as Sirius? Why am I still below him!?'

"Um, Orion?" Izou asked, and Orion glared at him before he told Orion what he was doing. "You're hurting the table."

Orion saw what he was doing and stopped, sighing as he continued to show bitterness towards Sirius' popularity. Martha chimed in with some advice for Orion on how to fix that. "Maybe you should try getting yourself out there more."

"Why do you think I aced the graduation exam?" Orion asked, showing that he busted his ass to do what Martha just suggested. "I wasn't just sitting on my ass and eating food on the days I skipped class. That was what I did AFTER during school training."

Andy put a paw on Orion's shoulder as he tried to help him feel better about his situation. "I'm sure Sirius works hard too, Orion. He spars with you a lot after all. That should show you the progress he's made."

Orion sighed before reminding Andy why he still felt this way. "Yeah, but Sirius is a prodigy. He's always rising faster than I am while pushing himself less." Orion picked up his large cup of cherry soda as he finished what he had to say. "Just watch, Sirius. I'm gonna prove you're not the only one who can be our leader."

Martha started to understand why Orion was always so focused on training. A part of her could relate to Orion wanting to prove himself. As Orion sipped his soda, Martha asked Orion about his thoughts on Weed, since he was a prodigy too. "Your dad's a Canine Spirit prodigy too, right?" That caught Orion's attention, and he looked at Martha after opening an eye to show he was listening. "Do you think it was easy for him when he learned about Canine Spirit?"

"No, but that's different. Dad was just learning about Canine Spirit, and that was only after he met Jerome." Orion explained, feeling that Weed struggled even more than Sirius is now. "At least he went through hardship before getting as strong as he is now, even if it was easier for him than most. He fought hard, and worked hard to get where he is now. That's what led to him founding Akita Prefecture."

"Well, yeah. But there must be something Sirius struggles with too." Martha replied, believing Sirius has to at least try to get where he is now. "Combat Specialists aren't that good at Conjuring. Maybe he had some trouble there."

Orion saw Martha's point, and Izou then came with another one. "What about Super Canine?"

Orion flinched after he heard that, setting his soda down as his temper started to rise after he heard that. "So you know then?" Izou saw that Orion's jealousy was starting to rise to unhealthy levels. "Yeah, he can become one and I can't. So what? I'll still surpass him. I'll prove I can be a leader like him. And that I'll be the strongest in the world one day!" Andy, Martha, and Izou started to get worried as Orion's emotions got more intense. "I'll prove that I deserve to be held as highly as-"

"He would struggle with unlocking the transformation." Izou reminded Orion while taking his paw. This led to him looking at Izou, who reminded him of what Super Canine was all about. "It's not something you can just unlock. Something has to awaken inside of you to achieve it. I'm sure even Sirius would struggle there."

Orion, unable to come up with a counterargument, crossed his arms as the waiter came over with their food. "I guess." Orion saw the food being set down, which consisted of a double mushroom bacon cheeseburger and large fries for him, a regular cheeseburger and medium fries for Andy, a spicy chicken burger and large fries for Martha, and a regular cheeseburger with small fries for Izou. Orion couldn't wait to dig in when he saw it. "Finally, I'm fucking starving!"

Orion started chowing down on his burger with Andy and Martha looking at each other concernedly for Orion's thought process. Izou seemed confident that Orion would come around with enough time. And he was more than willing to lend him the wisdom needed to get there.

Later on, Orion was doing some brutal training, lifting what felt like ten ton weights and putting up a real sweat. "Nine hundred ninety six... Nine hundred ninety seven... nine hundred ninety eight... nine hundred ninety nine..." Andy smiled proudly as he watched Orion. No matter how things looked for him, he was always giving it his all. "One thousand!" Martha found herself blown away by Orion's power. In just one afternoon, even if it took him some time, he was able to make one thousand lifts of forty tons! No wonder he was so strong.

Orion put the weights back up and walked over to the bench for a quick break. "Now to hydrate."

When Orion sat down on the bench, Andy chimed in with some praise for how hard he's working. "That was amazing, Orion! You're really working your ass off to prepare for tomorrow's plan."

"Damn straight." Orion responded, chugging down some water before finishing his response. "This is my chance to prove I'm as capable as Sirius. And I'm even more excited to face Hanajiro. I'm ready to pound that bastard's face as hard as I can into the ground!"

Martha showed concern for Orion after he mentioned Sirius. For Andy, he assured Orion that any accomplishment he made tomorrow would be admirable. "Whatever happens tomorrow, I know that even though it's our first mission, you'll do amazing."

Orion smiled in response to that with Martha then chiming in with something to say herself. "About Sirius." Orion and Andy looked at Martha, who attempted to empathize with Orion's situation. "I know how hard that must be." Orion gave a deadpan expression as she showed that she related to him in a way. "It can be hard trying to prove that you're more than people see you as."

"Let me ask you this much, Martha." Orion requested as he stood up, walking up to Martha with some questions related to what he went through. Each one showed exactly how he felt about Sirius being so beloved by everyone. "Do you know what it's like to hear everyone constantly praising your brother? Being reminded that he's seen as having a brighter future than you? Constantly being reminded that no matter how hard you try, he'll always be seen as better than you!?"

Andy stood in between Orion and Martha, trying to help Orion calm down. "Calm down Orion. I'm sure that's not what Martha meant." Andy then turned to Martha as he let her know why Orion snapped like that. "Sorry, that's kind of a touchy subject for Orion."

"I noticed that at the burger joint. That's why I wanted to talk about it." Martha revealed, showing that she wanted to help Orion feel better about his troubles.

Orion scoffed, finding it hard to believe that Martha knew what it was like to want to prove yourself. "I somehow doubt you know what it's like to have an older brother who everyone likes more than you, is stronger than you despite working ten times as hard, and is seen as more capable than you, and is expected to do greater things than you, just because he's a fucking prodigy!"

Orion walked off with Martha attempting to go after him, only for Andy to stop him. "It's best to let him cool off for a bit when he walks off in anger."

Martha listened to Andy and sat down with him before she started contemplating her move. She was worried she only made Orion feel worse by trying to help him. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, you're okay." Andy assured Martha, explaining on why Orion got so upset. "It's like I said, this subject is hard for Orion to handle. I think you can tell why."

Martha nodded in response before asking about this. "Why does it make him so mad anyway? They're brothers."

"Well, sibling rivalry isn't exactly a rarity." Andy joked, and then he mentioned something about what Martha wanted to know. "It's not my place to say, but... you know how Sirius and Orion have Weed for a father?" Martha started to get concerned before Andy clarified what he was saying. "It's not like that! Weed is just really busy, being the Ohu Army's leader and all. And he spends most of his off time with Sirius to help him prepare for when he takes over." What Andy said next made him show concern. "I think Orion feels like Weed's favoring him."

Martha looked at Orion, who was punching a Spirit powered sandbag with brute force as Andy clarified that. "I'm sure Weed isn't doing it intentionally. Maybe I should start talking to Orion about it. Maybe then, I can help him start talking to Weed."

Martha thought for a moment about that before making her next response, showing she still wanted to help Orion. "I hope he comes around. Weed and Sirius are really sweet. I'm sure they never wanted to hurt Orion."

"I am too. And maybe this'll help Orion finally see that." Andy said optimistically, and then he whispered something positive about Orion to Martha. "Also, what you said at my place was accurate, but I hope Orion helping me is proof that he can be sweet." That made Martha smile. Andy was right about that. Orion helping him at least showed that he had a heart. He just wasn't putting it in all the right places. She hoped Andy was right about this mission being where he came around.

Later that night, Orion was brushing his teeth in the bathroom in his and Andy's hotel room. He couldn't stop thinking about Sirius all day. The thought of working with him on this mission plagued his mind. He was thinking about one particular moment. A brief flashback showed Orion and Sirius when they were six and eight, and Sirius was earning high praise from Weed when trained him and Orion in Canine Spirit blasts. Despite training his hardest, Orion couldn't even do blasts yet. And yet, Sirius could at age six, and at age eight, could perform beams.

Weed tried to comfort an angry Orion, who ended up taking his words the wrong way. "I'm sorry, Orion. I know you must feel horrible after hearing that you lack natural Spirit talent."

Orion snapped at that moment, surprising Sirius and Weed with his declaration. "Fuck that! I don't need talent! When I start using Spirit beams, I'll blow everyone away!"

Orion looked in the mirror angrily when the flashback ended, but then he remembered how Weed was trying to comfort him. He thought about his reaction for a bit before hearing Andy knock on the bathroom door to check on him. "Orion!? Are you okay!?"

Orion finished brushing his teeth and answered the door for a concerned Andy. "Did you catch onto the fact that I wasn't?"

"It's pretty hard not to. You've been off ever since we found out we were working with Sirius." Andy pointed out, leaving Orion to sigh as he walked past him, allowing him to continue the discussion about it. "I know you and Sirius haven't always gotten along, but the two of you being on this mission is a good thing. We saw how strong Hanajiro's henchmen are. We need his power if we wanna take him down."

Orion sat down on his bed as he spoke up about the mission. "I want nothing more than to kill that bastard for what he's doing. As soon as I get my paws on him, he's gonna wish he let those puppies have some kind of freedom." Andy sat down next to Orion, who explained why Sirius being here bothered him so much. "It's just that... when I saw Sirius, I started thinking about how everyone expected HIM to stop Hanajiro."

"I think they'd expect Izou or Zack to do that more." Andy responded, and then he tried to help Orion feel better about the situation. "And I saw how well you and Sirius fought together when we got attacked by his forces. You're a great team when you're not thinking so much about bettering him."

Orion looked back on that battle and saw that Andy was right. But he couldn't help how he felt about Sirius being involved in the mission. "You're not wrong. I was just hoping I'd get to do most of the work against Hanajiro." Orion looked at the ground as he thought about what would happen if he and Sirius were put into the same field. "What if this plan backfires and we manage to find the Puppy Army Village? If Sirius and I both get sent there, then he'll take out more targets and get more credit. Just another example of that fucker outshining me!"

Andy waited for Orion to calm down a bit, and once he did, he responded to his thoughts. "You know Sirius isn't that selfish, Orion."

"And that's part of what bothers me." Orion admitted, looking at Andy as he spoke up about his thoughts regarding the Super Canine. "You remember when I flunked the Super Canine segment of our graduation?" Orion and Andy flashed back to when Orion didn't get a Super Canine orb, but Andy did. When it ended, the next one showed Sirius getting his two years prior. "Once again, Sirius is ahead of me, even though I'm giving it my all." The flashback ended as Orion continued to express these thoughts to Andy. "He's always been three steps ahead of me."

Andy already knew what Orion was going to say, but he allowed him to speak more about it anyway. "Spirit blasts, Specialty training, paw to paw combat, flying, hell; he even invented his own version of the Battouga first! And I haven't been developing anywhere near that fast despite everything! I don't get it! Why was HE granted the privilege of getting Spirit Beams down by eight, being good at every Specialty by eleven, and being an official soldier by twelve!?"

Andy waited for a bit to make sure Orion was done. When he was, he brought up something else that might be affecting Orion's mood. "Does it... do your feelings also have to do with Weed spending more time with Sirius?"

Orion flinched, denying this while looking away from Andy. "N-no, of course not! I just... wish I had the same kind of recognition that Sirius does." Orion could deny it, but Andy could tell that deep down, Weed and Sirius' bond played a big role in Orion's jealousy. "I should be getting the kind of praise Sirius gets. I should be seen as a capable heir to the role of the Ohu Army leader. And become the strongest Canine in the world." That said, he stayed determined. "That's why I'll be the one to kill Hanajiro. I don't give a shit what it takes; he's mine to take down!"

Andy showed concern for Orion's safety after he said that. He knew Hanajiro wasn't going to be an easy foe to take down. "You don't actually plan on fighting him alone, do you? You could barely defeat that one soldier you fought."

"I'm way stronger now." Orion insisted, and then he started crawling over to his pillow to get some sleep. "Listen, Andy. I'm starting to get tired. We need as much rest as possible for the mission tomorrow."

Andy was still worried about Orion; both because of how he wanted to handle Hanajiro, and how his jealousy of Sirius was clouding his mind. He wanted him to know that he was there for him. "Okay. Just don't think too hard about Sirius' involvement, okay?" Orion started to tense up a bit, showing his resentment of Sirius all too well. "We're all here to help each other take Hanajiro down. We have to work as a team."

Orion still kept his cool for Andy however. He never wanted to hurt Andy, no matter the context. He was probably the only thing he DID value to the extent he should. If only Orion could see how he failed to do that for everything else. "I'll try. But I won't let Hanajiro escape if he gets close."

"Just be careful, and try to work with Sirius. That's all I ask." Andy requested, and then he went over to his bed and climbed in. After Andy turned the light off, Orion was shown getting to sleep. It was clear however, that Sirius being involved in the mission was still on his mind. He had to be better than him in this mission; he just had to be! He was tired of Sirius always being better than him. He wasn't about to let his hard work be for 'nothing' again.

The next day, Orion and everyone else were in their positions to execute the plan to lure out Hanajiro. Outside the village, a Shikoku was observing the area as he got ready for his next target. He spoke into an earpiece to let one of his henchmen know that he was making his move. "Simon. I'm heading in to steal the Golden Shepherd. Get ready to reveal yourselves as soon as I give the go ahead."

"Roger that, boss." Simon responded on the other end, and with that, the dog who was now confirmed to be Hanajiro made his move, making sure to hide his Spirit and stick to the shadows.

Sirius and Orion were in their positions for the mission, staying close to the Shepherd Prefecture museum so they could join any potential action quickly. Sirius took quick notice to how Orion was starting to get fired up. At least he was able to focus on the mission. "Don't worry, Orion. I don't think they'll care if either one of us takes out more of Hanajiro's minions."

"Oh no, it's not that." Orion corrected, surprising Sirius by the fact that besting him wasn't on his mind. "Or at least it's not the MAIN thing. I'm mostly excited to finally get a crack at Hanajiro!"

"I take it you still want to fight him before I do." Sirius added, knowing that Orion still wanted to surpass him. After Orion nodded in response to confirm that, Sirius looked forward again with some advice for Orion. "Just make sure you're on your A game today."

"I got a full sleep last night for that very reason!" Orion confirmed, making Sirius glad that he was at least aware that the mission was more important than their rivalry. Meanwhile, Orion and Sirius saw several of Hanajiro's soldiers appearing in their respective locations.

The two who appeared behind Orion and Sirius were met with their punches from behind being blocked. Sirius seemed to take it hard taht he didn't see this coming. "Damn it! We should've expected them to teleport in!"

"The ones we met were dumb enough to reveal their asses a few feet away!" Orion chimed in, getting ready to kick the soldiers' asses. "Just a sign that we're gonna have more fun with this fight!"

Izou and Zack heard what was happening outside while guarding the Golden Shepherd. They wanted to go out and help, but they knew Hanajiro would do something if they did. Izou showed immense concern for the others, especially the kids involved. "I know they're all trained, but none of us know how strong Hanajiro is. If he finds any of them..."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that." Zack assured Izou, feeling the same concern for the puppies as he did. "If everything works out, we should be enough to-"

Just then, Zack was pinned to the ground with a swift pin to the ground, leading to him jumping off and lunging at Izou, who blocked his strike. This caught them both off guard, as Hanajiro's speed matched that of a highly skilled Speedster. Izou skidded back in response to Hanajiro's knee, and their eyes met as Izou commented on his sneak attack. "I guess I should've expected a thief to be quick on his paws."

Hanajiro jumped back with Izou dashing over to him, both of them being in the same distance from the Golden Shepherd as he did. "It was tough for me to master. But my speed will help me steal that artifact."

Izou dashed at Hanajiro as soon as he went for the Golden Shepherd, grabbing it at the same time as him and holding on tight while standing his ground. "Then I'll be quick while I steal your freedom." Izou and Hanajiro stared each other down, showing that neither of them would let up in letting go of the Golden Shepherd. The two of them seemed to be at least close in power. That meant Izou had a chance to stop Hanajiro's reign of terror, and end the Puppy Army.

To be continued.

Rock music played as Orion talked about what was going to happen in the next part as moments from the next episode were shown. "The plan worked! Sorry Izou! This fight's mine! Get ready, Hanajiro! The days of the Puppy Army end here! Okay, so this guys a lot stronger than I thought. Well that's not gonna stop me! I hate losing, but I fucking love a challenge! I just wish I could get some more hits in! This dude must train as hard as Jerome at least!

The words of the next chapter were shown with Orion on the right charging up his Spirit energy, and Andy trying to get his act together in an intense situation. "Next time, Orion's Match Is Made!" Orion was shown increasing his power as Hanajiro saw him toss a Spirit orb up while catching it in his paw, showing Hanajiro that Orion hadn't used his maximum power yet. "Have fun getting ME to flee from the fight!"