they come at night- STRANGER DANGER!!

The only way the young boy was able to sleep as of late was to exhaust himself. As much as it wasn't his problem, it was also his problem. The Kaicho had warned him and told him to not go nosing around until he heard something. Instead, Akito had buried himself in his training. Constant preparation with anyone he could convince to spar with him. Bruises spread along his skin, hidden beneath dark fur. Cuts from the bamboo shoots sliced the pads of his paws from practically his dodging along the outskirts where sharp, young bamboo grew. It wasn't until well into the night did Akito returned to the den where his mother and siblings slept.

Landing near the doorway where he could gaze out into the still night until his lids finally closed, Akito curled up. His breathing is shallow, his sleep restless, sore muscles twitching and low whines escaping from his lips. His Akita puppy slides in to nestle close, to help calm his state of being on edge. Slowly, he relaxes, almost into a somewhat peaceful deep sleep when the alerting call of Hattori's dog echoes.

Akito's ears perk up, his eyes shooting open, instantly awake and scrambling to his paws. Before he has a chance to make it out the door, looming shadows fill the doorway. Stumbling backward, Akito puffs up and barks at them. They advance anyway. His mother and siblings have no chance to awake before Akito is grabbed. Dragged through the dirt with his cheek smashed into the ground, they take him into the maze. He tries to let out a howl to alert the others, but they swiftly smack him with something dull and heavy. Stars light up in front of his vision as he continues to struggle.

He had to do something.