To The Root of the Problem

[Captain Stumpy]

((lol Rums not a Kei-Ken He's a Dutch Shepherd))

Rum watched the doberman leave rather peacfuly, it seemed odd because of the amount of scars he carryed. Rum watched the wolf-mix get more thretening. "Miss Mist" Rum said lowering his head though ready to fight and walking back to the black shepherds side. "I may not understand why your so thretening, but seeing as The Old Man here can't see I'm not going to leave him round you." Rum said his tone changed to something more demanding as his head stayed low.

Rum pittyed the Old Man presuming he would be unable to fight because he was blind. He stood quite close to the old dog they were just about the same size, His tail swished abit, he didn't want to fight but he couldn't just leave the old man to his 'fate' could he?

[Klomonx]

((Oh fail. Especially since didn't I accept him? Double fail.))

Hugo's fangs bared upon instinct. He was blind, and wouldn't last even a minute against a Fighting Dog, no matter how young or old the foe was. Hugo had been a bait dog for a reason, even in all his anger and rage he could never wound the fighting dogs. In the end, it had caused his disfigured face, and would cause him to continue to live the delusional lie he had burned into his brain. However, Hugo's jaws closed when Kasumi continued. 'A..vendetta?' Hugo still snarled, "my vendetta is more urgent than yours, Black Mist, I assure you." Hugo wasn't sure on what to do. He could attack her, but he also knew that not only was she no longer participating in the ring, she was like him-she was looking for the vengeance of those who made her a fighter. He had never met a dog like her, and was not sure on whether to allow her to continue living or to fight her.

Hugo stopped snarling, and his ears flicked when he heard Rouka move. He turned his head in the direction of the sound. Rouka, was still an ex-fighting dog. He still had to pay for what he was. Hugo could learn to live with forgiving another fighter who renounced her rattish ways, but to one who did not say so? "Why do you leave, fighter?" Hugo growled. "I was a fighting dog, and look what the arrogance and pride gave me? Look what such rats had made me into? They are below me, however, each and every fighting dog deserves to die for being the savages they are." Hugo spoke to Rouka, even though he also knew that Kasumi would not buy his simple turn from her. Out of the two, Hugo had a better chance of attacking Rouka; while Kasumi had told him what he wanted to know, and told him more-what he wanted to hear.

Hugo's ears flicked again, and he heard Rum join and defend him. Hugo wasn't a good fighter. He could only hear the target, he could not see it, and as such it severely disabled him. He had no nature on his side, and was utterly a lot of talk without any real power behind the words. However, did Hugo think so? No-he truly thought that if Kasumi wanted a fight, he could beat her. Easily.

[shadow]

"My vendetta is more urgent than yours, Black Mist, I assure you," Hugo spoke up. Kasumi let out a defiant snarl at that statement. How dare he undermine her personal issue without knowing first what it was! I string inside of the she-dog broke momentarily, willing her to jump Hugo right then and there, but she was promptly cut off when the old dog spoke up again, this time to Rouka.

"Why do you leave, fighter?" he growled. "I was a fighting dog, and look what the arrogance and pride gave me? Look what such rats had made me into? They are below me, however, each and every fighting dog deserves to die for being the savages they are."

"You are no more then a hypocrite old man," Kasumi spat. "To criticize both me and the dog over there by saying we are vermin that deserve to die, when you yourself have seen days in the rink. Not everyone becomes a fighting dog by choice. Not everyone takes pride in killing innocents. I was forced to against my will... by a human...."

Kasumi trailed off, her eyes narrowing on Rum as he stepped forward to defend the older dog. Immediately, Kasumi felt even more threatened then before. Her previous tactic to get them away really was not working to her advantage, for now she had two sure opponents blocking her path.

"I won't hurt him if he doesn't pose a threat," Kasumi muttered in response. "As of now, I don't know of any of your intentions. I will not turn my tail only to have you gang up on me. I have too many things to settle before I allow myself to become careless and ignorant to my surroundings. Now, stand aside. I don't have all night."

[Lyca]

"Why do you leave, fighter?" the old dog had asked Rouka who at the that moment paid attention to.

"Each and every fighting dog deserves to die for being the savages they are." the old dog had spoken,Rouka stopped in his tracks,his blood began to boil though it hadn't for many moons.He turned and faced the other dogs. "You say you were a fighting dog yourself and yet you say that all fighting dogs should die,if you,yourself were once a fighting dog then wouldn't mean that you would have to destory yourself as well?You may have hate for all fighting dogs but I have much more to live for and I wasn't going to spend my life being the entertainment for some weak-minded humans who wanted to see blood.To many of my friends were forced to fight against me and if anything they begged for their deaths because they didn't want to fight.SO DON'T YOU DARE TRY TO THINK THAT YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS PROBLEMS OLD MAN!!!!!!!!!"Rouka snapped Hugo,he wanted nothing to do with that of the old dog or the other two for now realized why he was in this town.

This town was the place where he fought friends and killed them after they had begged to die.Rouka now understood what had drawn him here.....He now wanted to hunt down the humans who made him kill his friends and kill them no matter what the cost.

[Captain Stumpy]

Rum was begining to feel alittle more uncertain, He pittyed the old man, but the old man wasn't making it easy on himself. "Hey Old Man you might not be able too see, but I can see your blood spilt soon if you don't hold your tongue" Rum said still standing beside him but now facing Rouka.

Rum was still standing with his head low but not in a submisive fashion. His ears were flat to his head as he spoke. He didn't want to get caught in another battle but how could he willingly leave the blind old dog to his fate?

[Klomonx]

((OOC: I know this seems like I just wimped my way out of a fight, but I really think Hugo would have reacted this way upon realizing both of the fighting dogs were not the ones he believed they were.))

Hugo sensed the distrust and the hatred. Hugo knew these dogs were seconds from ripping into him, and in Hugo's mind they each deserved to die. They were the ones that ripped his face into what it looked like, and took away his sight. It was because of them that he had become a proud fighitng dog and did not see his own weakness. The fighting ring and all the dogs within it had corrupted him, and because of that each of those dogs had to pay. Hugo was just in hating the fighting dogs; however his true past was nothing the way he knew it to be. Maybe if the dog that had destroyed his face had left an ounce of memory, maybe Hugo would have more to back up why he hated them. "It is because of your kind I am this way! I was the corruption of all the pride and gluttony that goes on in the rinks, and it was because of it that I lost my sight. It is because of the corrupted souls and scum that will forever have their heads below mine, those that must be destroyed." Hugo's fangs bared, he did not see himself as a hypocrite at all.

"Only those that see the light and forever forget their ways can be forgiven." Hugo growled, "and the rest must be buried in blood where they stand." Hugo snarled again, still, something was set off in his mind. Some new flag, of some other color raised itself in his skull. And suddenly, the bared fangs were covered by the skin and fur of Hugo's 'lips'. He blinked his glass eye once, as if in thought. Kasumi had stated a point. Not all fighting dogs were there by choice, and Hugo knew well that not all humans could be trusted. However Hugo also knew that some could be trusted, and it again became another tug-of-war in his mind. Again, Hugo found himself trying to weigh what was right and wrong. Had these two dogs renounced their ways? Proved themselves to him?

The younger dog's words were blurred in Hugo's ears. He heard the words, understood them, but he did not think about them. Both of these dogs in his own mind, deserved to die. But both of these dogs were like him, and had renounced their ways. Both of the dogs wanted revenge, and both dogs said it had been the humans' fault. Could Hugo truly believe it had been only the humans' fault? No. Could he believe that these dogs wanted revenge and that he was done here? Maybe. Hugo blinked again, and casted his head slowly in each of the two dogs' directions.

"I see I am mistaken," Hugo's words were still sharp and he still tensed. He still was ready for a fight, and still would fight if the call was given. He still believed that the fighting dogs deserved to die, and still believe he could take them. But not these dogs. Not now, anyway. "Both of you have seen the light in the situation as I have." His words were unstable at points, showing he did not, truly, believe what he was saying. After all, he would like nothing better then to know these two were dead. "For now, at least I believe you two have a right to live without being damned with the others. You both see the corruption the rinks have caused and right now my vendetta can wait on your heads. My business is not with you two." The old dog blinked again, and he started to walk off away from them.

However, where was he to go? He could try to follow one of them, but what good would it do? Hugo was not an idiot. He knew when he was wanted somewhere and when he was not. He knew that when those disliked him it was best for him to be gone. And, if he had no toil with these dogs, then he had no reason to linger. For now. "I hope you find your other engagements to be better than this one." Hugo did not plan on completely leaving them. Hugo backtracked, staying on the sidewalk and lifting his head into the air as if trying to smell. It was hard, towns that engulfed nature were hard for him to work with. Should he stay or go? Obviously he knew that the two dogs here were not fond of him, but what of the third? What of-Rum? Hugo paused as if waiting for one of them to say to wait or to follow them if he wanted revenge, or something along the lines of at least helping him. He didn't truly expect it however.

[shadow]

"Damn right you were mistaken old man," Kasumi muttered as he watched the old dog stalk away slowly. Kasumi wasn't stupid. That dog had still wanted to fight with her, somewhere... and the truth of the matter was, she had wanted that fight somewhere within' her too....

But while her body was disappointed at the lack of any action, her mind praised her for keeping her cool -- for the most part anyway. Both Rum and Rouka were still standing there, as if pondering what to do. Kasumi herself was unsure of what she was going to do now.

Her old human was somewhere in this city, but she could not take him on alone.... And she could also not trust the dogs in front of her. Suddenly, her mind was put into a huge battlefield. What was more important? Her revenge, or her safety?

She glanced over at Rouka and Rum, and finally the retreating Hugo. Kasumi's tail twitched in frustration as she made up her mind. She was going to swallow every ounce of paranoia she had and speak up, "Old man, what is your vendetta?"

She glanced over at Rouka and Rum for a moment, her neck fur rising in nervousness. What would their reactions be? Were they going to attack her if she even mentioned working together after her previous display of hostility? Kasumi forced herself to look away from them and back to Hugo. She needed to appear calm, and clear her mind. She would never get anywhere if she let her paranoia hold her back all the time.

[Lyca]

"Only those that see the light and forever forget their ways can be forgiven." Hugo had spoken in his harsh tone.Rouka could not understand what he meant by "light".Was it the path that lead away from the fighting rinks or was it the path that lead away from revenage...Rouka was unsure and at this moment did not care.The old man had falsily occused him of still be a fighting dog,though in Rouka's heart he was,but only when he had to be for the humans that made Rouka fight,the thought of them made Rouka's blood boil with hate.

"Old man, what is your vendetta?" was the question that Kasumi asked as she forced herself to stay calm.Rouka to wanted to know the answer to this question for he wanted to know what the old blind dog had come to this town for,though he wanted to go back to the woods and think of how to get back at the humans for forcing him to fight.

[Captain Stumpy]

Rum didn't understand much about fighting or fighting dogs only thats its best to avoid them. He listened to the old dog, and the other dogs.

So the old dog just wants to get back at real fighting dogs, the ones that arn't forced to fight, the ones that enjoyed what they did. The she-wolf mix was just after making her old onder pay. And the Doberman still seemed misserable about his friends. Rum was the only one with a clean background.

"Hey Old Man" Rum barked after thinking things over in his head. "Wait for me" He said running after the blind Shepherd. "Your bloody bull headed Old Man" Rum said with a smile as he cought up with him, looking back at the other 2 fighters. "But I like ya, so I'll help were I can" He said.

[Klomonx]

Hugo paused, his ears flicking in the direction of Kasumi, before flicking in the direction of Rouka and lastly at Rum. It took him a moment to fill his head with the words he wished to say. He turned his head toward the sound of Kasumi's voice and he replied simply, "to take away the lives of those who have not seen the errors in their ways." Hugo only referred to the fighting dogs, not any other dog that wandered around. He had no need to be around them, and they had no need to worry about getting in his way. However, whether or not the killings referred to humans was unknown.

After all, not all humans were bad. And being around them set off the most hated two-way pull that his head had. One side told him to fear and hate the humans, while the other side told him to trust them. He had been saved by a human, but was almost thrown back into the madness he hated by a human. It was easy to say that not all humans were bad, what was hard to determine was which humans were and which weren't. And for a blind dog who was very much out of his prime-it was hard to decide.

Hugo then turned his head in the direction of Rum, and listened to Rum's words of following Hugo. Something like a guide. Hugo never thought that he needed a guide, but of course he knew that a pair of guiding eyes would be a lot more helpful then being completely blind, and of course because Rum was not a fighter, it was nothing for Hugo to be ashamed or too proud for. "If you wish, Rum." Hugo then looked at Kasumi again, rearranging his body so that it was in the direction of her voice and scent, "Do you wish for us to aide you, then?" Hugo was a strange sort in the fact he always had the need to look out for others. Even those that would kill him, he had a need to always make sure no harm came to them-with the exception of fighters. But Kasumi and Rouka had renounced their ways, and for now they were no longer on Hugo's hit-list.

[shadow]

"Do you wish for us to aide you, then?" Hugo asked.

Kasumi's tail twitched in annoyance. She hadn't asked anything of him yet, and the way he had phrased it almost made her feel like she was weak. But Kasumi bit down her angry retort, knowing that she really did need his aide if she was going to get her ever so important revenge....

"Yes," she said simply. "And I believe what I had in mind will benefit your thirst for vengeance as well. What do you say old man?" Kasumi glanced over at Rum, her eyes expressionless. She supposed he would also be tagging along for this little game of hers, seeing as he wanted to stick with Hugo. Good, she needed all the help she could get.

The question remaining though, was if Rouka would also be joining their little squad. Kasumi glanced over to the other former fighting dog. Her eyes landed on his scars, and immediately, Kasumi felt sympathetic. Though she did not trust any of the dogs here, Rouka included, she could relate to him. He had been forced into the rink, just like her.

"And you Rouka?" she asked, the question escaping her lips with the same seriousness she held before. Not one ounce of her softer side would be shown to any of these canines. The day The Black Mist put down her walls would be the day she was dead. "Are you going to join us?"

Kasumi stared at him hard, her blue eyes betraying nothing but the fire of determination. Whether any of these dogs were truly in or not, she would not be leaving this place until her revenge was complete. Her life goal.

"I warn you all now," she started, still staring at Rouka, "This will be more dangerous then anything you may have experienced in the past. My human... he has guard dogs stationed everywhere: all experienced fighters with the intent to kill. Can you handle that? You will only get through something like this on sheer will. Not even the highest amount of fighting experience can save you from such great number odds."

[Lyca]

"And you Rouka?" was the question in which the female hybrid had asked.

For Rouka it was hard to choose for he hated and feared humans all.His body began to shake for the thought of fighting again scared him to death and the thought of not coming out alive drove him to the brink.He hated fighting and would all his power to stop a fight if he had to.

"Are you going to join us?" Kasumi asked again.

Still Rouka trimbled at the thought of fighting.Soon the thought was gone for,he now realized that it was self pitty that kept him from fighting and here infront of him were braver souls than himself who though wanted revenage for that of different reason had set aside there differences to join together to take down a human who had forced Kasumi to fight.

"I warn you all now," Kasumi continued to star intently at Rouka with emotionless eyes. "This will be more dangerous then anything you may have experienced in the past. My human... he has guard dogs stationed everywhere: all experienced fighters with the intent to kill. Can you handle that? You will only get through something like this on sheer will. Not even the highest amount of fighting experience can save you from such great number odds." Now after hearing this truely made Rouka think that all the time that he had not been fighting was for nothing.

"I will join in your quest Kasumi."Rouka spoke trying to force himself from shaking at the thought of fighting again though it proved to be no use.