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Post by Akane on Aug 28, 2008 15:52:18 GMT -5
Akane looked at his Leader in disbelief - what on earth was he doing? This Iga waltzed into their territory and is waltzing straight back out. He struggled with himself for a moment with his desire to rip the defiant female limb from limb, and the solemn vow to always obey Kamui's word. But his inner battle did not last long when the female had the gall to stand so close in front of him. As her words to Akane reached all ears, the Koga's flinched and raised a paw as if ready to retreat.
A red haze descended, masking the barks from his comrades. "Enforcers!" "Restrain him!" A hellish roar gurgled from Akane's throat as he leapt at the female that had all too quickly turned her back. In the blink of an eye he had struck at the back of her neck and slammed her to the ground, but when he released his vice-like grip to tear into her, a flurry of brown fur washed over him and held him back before any damage was done. Two, then three Koga's were flung to the side in pure fury as Akane's monstrous temper ruled his body, and his mind. It wasn't until there were numerous sets of teeth at his flank and his chest did he become restrained.
Of course, this had happened many times before, and the enforcers - trained by Akane himself - knew what to do and did their job well. Slowly, the beast was dragged inside the Koga house, all the while clapping his jaws and snarling something incomprehensible toward the free Iga. One member of Akane's troop padded up to Kamui with his tail limp, bowing very low with the up-most respect, "Commander Akane will regret this very deeply, Sir."
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Post by Kamui on Aug 28, 2008 16:36:47 GMT -5
Kamui dipped his head in a nod to Katsuo. When he lifted his head, he glanced at Akane, inhaling sharply when he saw the rage and bloodlust clearly marked on his second-in-command's face. "Akane---" the Koga leader said sharply, moving to step in front of him, but it was too late. He could only watch as the enforcers leaped into action, swarming over Akane like bees on honey. As the brute was dragged in the direction of the Koga house, Kamui stayed outside, casting an urgent look at Katsuo.
"Go!" his voice was hard, but his eyes were clouded over in worry. As much as he valued Akane and his extreme loyalty, Kamui realized fully for the first time that the two had very different views on things. The Koga leader liked to think he had more control over his feelings and actions, whereas Akane reacted impulsively to his feelings. Kamui was interrupted from his thoughts as the troop member approached.
"Commander Akane will regret this very deeply, Sir."
The light-brown Koga straightened his posture, but his voice did not reflect his proud appearance. "I certainly hope so," he muttered.
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Post by Akane on Aug 29, 2008 9:54:22 GMT -5
Once Akane had been forced through the doors and into a confining room, he was left almost in the dark to calm. "Katsuo," he rumbled, panting heavily and salivating onto the wooden floor beneath him, "I may know your name, but the whole of Iga knows mine!" He snarled and lunged at one of the walls, dragging his nails down the old wooden board to release the tension in his shoulders, "And it is I who will come for you."
"He's struck the wall, it shouldn't be long now." Akane could hear voices outside waiting for his sanity to return, and that was usually how it went; a break in the wall here and there, and everything would be fine again. Now, willingly, Akane sat down and exhaled a shaky breath. He was getting worse every day since... "No," He coughed defiantly, blocking whatever it was from his memory, "... no."
After a short time that involved mostly pacing up and down the door, he heard one of the guard stand up on their hind legs to release the catch. As the door opened, Akane stepped out and was at least recognisable again, "... Tell me," "Tell you what, Sir?" Replied one. "... Tell me, where my Leader is." A faint shameful glimmer showed itself briefly before being thrust back behind the protection of his ever-stern face.
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Post by Kamui on Aug 29, 2008 12:02:40 GMT -5
Kamui had been sitting down in the shade of a pine tree, feeling comforted as the woodsy scent of the needles drifted into his nostrils. This was one of his favorite places to think, and think he did. The Koga leader knew that his decision to let the Iga female free would not be a popular one amongst some members of the clan. But despite that, he felt that he had done the right thing; would it be so bad show some tolerance for once? He still hated the Igas with a passion, but did they always have to kill, kill, kill? The Iga's bravery today had him so confused, and for the first time, Kamui began to question the "right" and "wrong" that his father had drilled into him. He was beginning to see the shades of gray...
"Sir?" a tentative voice broke into Kamui's deep thoughts. "What?" he replied snappily, not wanting to be disturbed. The young Koga winced slightly before continuing. "Akane-sama appears to have calmed down, and I think he's looking for you." Kamui flicked his gaze over and stared at his second-in-command. He did appear to be much more docile than before. "Tell him that I'm over here," the Shikoku-ken growled.
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Post by Akane on Aug 29, 2008 13:18:05 GMT -5
Akane stood motionless as the guard called for a lackey to scuttle away in search of Kamui. It wasn't long before he returned, still weary of the Leader's tone as he expected an equally harsh one from the Commander, "Leader is resting in the pines..." "As suspected." Akane smiled to himself. Apparently, he wasn't the only one thinking about his actions today.
The red subordinate approached Kamui as he normally would so as not to arouse any suspicions of their current state. Clearing his throat, Akane reached him and positioned himself so they were face-to-face. Then, without a word, sat down in front of him and met his gaze. Despite his earlier display, Akane did have a sense of dignity and even etiquette; he did not speak formally to his Leader until spoken to first.
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Post by Kamui on Aug 29, 2008 14:36:51 GMT -5
Kamui watched silently as Akane approached, his features calm and emotionless to mask his inner turmoil. As he sat down in front of him, wordless, the Koga leader realized with some satisfaction that even though things were rocky between them, his companion still showed respect for him. For a moment, Kamui was at a loss for something to say. Then he expelled his tension in the form of a heavy sigh. "Akane," he began softly, "I know you disagree with what I did today. However, I can assure you that I only had our clan's best interest in mind. If it had been a group of Igas coming into our territory, I would have no problem dispatching them; but it was only one Iga. She posed no real threat. She was only foolish and needed to be taught a lesson. If you ask me, sending her back to Raikou battered and humiliated is a better punishment than having her die fighting."
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Post by Akane on Aug 29, 2008 18:06:58 GMT -5
Akane stiffened his already hard body as he listened to Kamui's words. True, he had a point. But one Iga, he thought, should not have been taken so lightly. After a lengthly pause, Akane's nostrils flared as he opened his mouth and chose his words carefully, "I understand your choice to let her go, but the mercy you gave wasn't exactly returned with the gratitude it needed." Akane had taken note that when she spoke ill of the clan but gave praise to him, he did not exactly come to their defence. "There is an old proverb that will shed light on your choice: a single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle." The Commander stood up at this point to reinforce his words, "we have shown weakness in letting her return. Therefore, more will come. Their numbers are still unconfirmed, and she alone created a gap in our ranks." It was a rarity, but as he exhaled to gather his thoughts, a softness broke in his eyes, "I do not know Raikou, I only know Iga as a collective enemy. I hope for your sake that what that female relays to him is only truth, and that he will not use your nature against you." 'Like my son did to me.' He looked to the side sharply and chased away the feeling of regret that made him feel sick to his stomach. The sharpness in his eyes then returned as if they never left, "Though, I will guarantee you one thing, Sir," Akane's tone turned more sinister as he replayed Katsuo's words to his face over and over, "when that female next strays into my line of fire, I will end her with or without your permission."
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Post by Kamui on Aug 29, 2008 19:13:32 GMT -5
Kamui listened calmly to everything Akane said, nodding slightly once or twice. The Koga leader felt an odd lurch of guilt creeping in his stomach at his words. "Thank you for your input, Akane. I understand where you're coming from." His voice was filled with genuine gratitude for the big red brute in front of him. As he continued, though, his voice hardened and his eyes narrowed. "And in the event that the Iga will return to attack --- which I'm almost certain they will --- we'll just have to prepare ourselves. If we put up guards around the border and stay vigilant, we'll be ready for them. If an opportunity to attack presents itself, we can take it."
"Though, I will guarantee you one thing, Sir, when that female next strays into my line of fire, I will end her with or without your permission."
"She's all yours," Kamui replied, flicking his tail airily. He realized that what he had done was stupid and could have potential consequences for the clan, but he was too proud to admit it.
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Post by Akane on Aug 30, 2008 6:41:46 GMT -5
Smiling, Akane nodded thankfully in response to Kamui's words. He did enjoy their conversations and found that his Leader did have a solution to this little hiccup that boosted his confidence. "I will send the border patrol and have a tracker find the path she took in and out of here. She managed to breach the borders undetected, and I fear it was because we did not have adequate tree cover. I will see to it, Sir." He sat down once more and bowed in wait to be dismissed.
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Post by Raikou on Aug 30, 2008 8:45:41 GMT -5
"You are so dead." Blinking, Kitanai lazily raised his head at Joumae's disruption. He yawned loudly right in his superior's twisted face. The tense female didn't find it extremely funny. Though both were high in the trees, Joumae found enough room to slap him hard across the face. "Akane is about to rip you to shreds." "So what's new?" he mumbled, laying his head back on his paws. "He hates me anyway." "You let an Iga into the territory! I was sent here to find the breach in our defense, and I find you asleep. Do you want me to lie like I always do and take the blame or are you going to fess up?" "I wasn't asleep when she ran by," Kitanai scoffed. "I saw her. I thought it was kinda interesting, you know; a lone Iga wanders onto Koga land. I thought maybe there'd finally be a little excitement around here. But while I was waiting for her to get there, I got bored and fell asleep." He grinned. "I didn't do anything wrong." Joumae frowned. "Try telling Akane that."
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Post by Kamui on Aug 30, 2008 10:11:50 GMT -5
A small, knowing smile tugged at Kamui's mouth. "I think you have some border guards to be straightened out. You are dismissed."
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Post by Akane on Aug 31, 2008 12:12:44 GMT -5
Akane quickly turned tail and barged into the main camp swiftly giving orders that were followed without question. The Koga’s Katsuo had killed had already been taken for burial, and he was glad to see that two of the six were still - barely - alive and receiving treatment. Though, he couldn't help but feel that they might as well be dead considering how useful they would be to them now.
After dispatching a few of their border guard reserves, Akane stayed and slunk around the stronghold ending quarrels and asserting his superiority (which has to be said was one of his favourite past-times). Now and again, he looked towards where he vaguely remembered seeing the female Iga escape, awaiting a locator howl from the tracker, Joumae.
(ooc: Tamago, we can continue in a separate topic and reserve this one for RP's concerning the Koga house area and dear sweet Kamui ;D I've named the new topic 'Border Guard')
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