If large predators were a threat then small ones were pests. For the most part Tojo's borders were left well alone, but there was always a sort of animal who cared little for such things. Namely foxes, who in Hattori's opinion too sly and bold for their own good. It was subtle at first, creeping tracks out in the neutral territory beyond the maze, testing and cautious, as though the culprit was trying to see how close they could get. The next day Hattori was informed by his hound that the vixen had passed over the threshold and had darted away the moment it had been warded off, only to skitter back and forth in what was no doubt a game to the creature.

Enough was enough.

Hattori knew the fox was too fast on its feet to even hope to catch when darted back over the line into free territory, so he decided to take up another tactic. He informed his companions to leave it be, to allow it roam freely, to press deeper and deeper into the maze till escape would be a difficult task indeed for the unfamilar.

Recruiting Tenshi as an assistant, the pair arrived on the scene to a sight he'd mostly expected. The fox regarded them with a flinch, eyes snapping wide as it glanced this way and that, unsure of what path to take. Which would take it deeper and what was the way out? It certainly had no clue, had gotten too cocky to think of an escape route before hand.

Launching into action, Hattori was eager to put an end to this farce. He dashed in close, intent on cutting it off as it twisted on its heels to run in the opposite direction. The fox had to skid on its paws to stop itself from slamming into his limbs and barely avoided the snapping of jaws as Hattori leaned down to grab it by the scruff of its fluffy neck.

"Speech"

Having made a turn for herself to try and get to know her packmates, she hadn't been as diligent patrolling the borders as she had been in the past. While winter drew closer to their southern borders, the larger predators had taken off to hide in the northern forests. It would now be the smaller creatures that would attempt to infiltrate the bamboo fortress. Not that she saw rodents and hares as threats since they could be captured for snacks; she agreed that the vixen dancing across their scent lines was indeed a pest. Paired with the Kaicho, Tenshi followed him into the depths of the bamboo. The vixen's scent was pungent as they arrived on the scene. Their towering frames loomed over the fox who flinched at their appearance. Before the pest could dart off to who knew where Tenshi watched as Hanzo leaped into action to cut the vixen off. Veering off to the other side, Tenshi slipped in close to the vixen's other side as the fox nearly smacked into Hanzo's limbs. Lowering her face so she was ready to grab at the fox if it tried to take off, she waited to see if Hanzo was successful in grabbing the fox by the scruff.

There were pests among them. Foxes were running rampant, laughing and playing with their borders with no regard for the much larger wolves that lived there. It was like a game to them, and Sakura was getting tired of them yanking on her tail just to dart off before she could catch them. Today was no different...sort of. A fox had yanked her tail while she was patrolling, and she had had enough of it. She snarled but remained where she was. Today, she was going to outsmart the fox. They were cunning little beasts, but so was she. She got up and called out to the sly little beast. "Hey! Why don't we make this more interesting, hm? Catch me, and I'll give you whatever you want."

Without waiting for an answer, she bolted straight into the maze, and the fox followed. Of course, Sakura had learned the paths in the maze. The fox had not. Not even a minute passed when she came to a stop, no fox behind her, but she had heard its scrambling little paws somewhere in the maze. Take that you little bastard! She thought smugly. She had no qualms with making the little pest get lost within the maze. The wolves would find it again later.

She rounded a corner then when she smelled Hattori and Tenshi, and among them, a vixen. Great. another one!? They just wouldn't stop, would they? She blocked the way she had just come, calm and collected as she kept ready in case the fox tried to dash away from the others.

"Sakura Haruno"

Though heavily outnumbered the fox was swift on her paws, agile enough to manage to escape the clutches of two wolves as he glanced this way and that, wondering which way would lead to freedom. To safety. Hattori glanced over as Sakura emerged on the scene, in the perfect position to cut off her corridor of entry lest the fox try to dart that way instead. There were several other pathways of course, but Hattori could read the fox's line of thought as it crossed its features. Anyone could take it even deeper into the maze, perhaps right into the clutches of a waiting wolf. Was it worth the risk? The vixen seemed to have no idea, had likely never been put in a situation like this, that one wrong choice could easily put an end to her short life.

Not giving the fox too much time to think it through, he recovered quickly as he lunged for it once more. This time reaching out with a taloned paw as he thudded it against the vixen's chest and sent her tumbling like a pebble downhill.

To the little fox's credit it recovered quickly, winced a little at the bleeding wounds inflicted by Hattori's claws-only to realise she was now easily within biting distance of the other two wolves.

"Speech"

All focus and no distraction, Tenshi's eyes never left the fox that was now being cornered by herself and the Kaicho. Whether the fox would meet its doom today or not was beyond her. The focus at hand was to catch it or worse. Tenshi's lip would curl into a snarl as she continued to press closer to the vixen. Even as Sakura entered the scene and blocked off an existing pathway, Tenshi's gaze never left. Waiting for the perfect moment, she stilled her breathing and readied herself. Once Hanzo moved to strike, large paw swiping the vixen toward their line of attack, Tenshi lunged. Darting in toward the red-furred animal, she sought to latch on to the dazed fox's neck.