The Hunt for Puppies

Find Those Puppies

Who would've guessed? After years of being isolated from the outside world, Hiro joined his first ever guild and the first job he picks is rescuing puppies. Hiro just shrugged, knowing that he might as well get some type of work and show honor to his guild than stay around and do nothing.

When he arrived in Magnolia Town, it was almost a breath of fresh air. It was someplace he has never been before and was almost awed by the beauty. He couldn't remember the last time he visited a town as beautiful as Magnolia.

Ok, focus. I'm here for a reason. Gotta find the client. Hiro thought to himself.

He finally arrived to this small adoption home for animals where a man, who he could only assume was the client, was pacing back and forth.

"Oh thank goodness. You're here!" the man eagerly said at Hiro, running towards him. He was smaller than Hiro had thought but didn't pay much mind. "You are the man I'm looking for right? I saw a flier in your hand so I only assumed..."

Yes it's me. Just point in the general direction and I'll find them in no time.

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Hiro was given a small list of the puppies with their names.

Hibi, Lobo, Chocobo, Fifi, Deedee, Hobo, Chibi Hiro read aloud. He sure has an interesting way of naming animals that's for sure. Now what were the differences between them again? They were all golden that much I remember. I'm pretty sure there was none except that one had a brown colored spot on his forehead.

The birds chirped peacefully while the cool breeze flowed around, causing some of his armor to clank. He could see a few people walking around him. Some were chatting while other's were holding hands. Couple's he could only presume.

Such a beautiful day. It would be such a perfect time for some meditation. he thought to himself. Now he really wanted to finish this job so he could work on some of his breathing techniques.

A couple sat on a bench, sharing a few kisses. Hiro quickly glanced at them and couldn't help but smile, reminded of his parents. They would be the kind of couple to do that, no matter how old they got. He truly missed them but knew he could never see them again. This thought began to eat at him once more before he heard something the perked his interest.

"A puppy!"

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A small boy, maybe no older than eight was tugging at an older woman's sleeve, most likely his mother. "Look mommy! Puppies! Three of them!"

Perfect. Just my luck. Three out of seven of them. Good thing they travel in pairs.

He approached the mother and child, who were still looking down the alley way. He peered inside only to find it empty.Um, excuse me, he spoke to them. Do you know where the puppies went?

"I take it they must be yours?" the woman asked.

No actually. They belong to a client of mine. I'm supposed to round them all up.

She gave a slight giggle. "Ah. It must be the buffoon Lionel. He always seems to lose his animals. Not a good track record for an adoption home." She eyed Hiro, analyzing his features. "You must be a wizard. I could only tell from the attire."

Hiro rubbed the back of his head. Yea. That's me. First job as a newcomer. So please, where did the pups go?

"They ran down the alleyway after my boy called out to them. They should be hiding behind the dumpster."

Thank you, he said giving a slight bow. Just leave the rest to me.

He approached the dumpster, being cautious as to not alert any of them. The thought of having to grab the puppies would be a pain, even with his enhanced speed. Hiro pulled out the treats he kept in the small purse Lionel gave him. Terrible color purse too, didn't match the attire.

The treats gave a pretty delectable smell of steak. Here pups. Come on pups. You need to get going home now.

He tossed three on the floor in front of him. The puppies peeked their golden heads out from behind the dumpster and bolted towards the food. They each took one piece and looked up at Hiro, giving the most adorable puppy dog faces he'd seen.

They'll be more where that came from when you follow me. Puppies! Line march! He shouted the command that he was taught to use for the puppies to follow, and they all marched out of the alley.

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Hiro turned to see the three puppies marching in a straight line behind him. It almost seemed as if he was a mother duckling leading her little babies to safety. It was an odd feeling, for Hiro was never one to usually be in command of something, even if it were as trivial as puppies.

All he could do was shrug at the thought. He was a new man now, whether he wanted to be or not. That was until he heard, even felt the low grumbling deep within him.

You've tried to keep me tucked away for too long Hiro.

Hiro stopped, grabbing his chest in pain. Never before had Oni gone at this length to distract him. The deep grumbling grew into an almost siring burn in his chest. Collapsing to one knee, he looked around for a bench to sit on. The people passing by kept asking if he was alright, offering to help call someone if need be. He kept dismissing them saying how all he needed to do was sit.

Once he was finally able to relax, he saw the puppies hop up around him, their fur standing straight up, and low growls coming from them. Hiro wondered if the puppies could sense this god forsaken demon just like he could.

The pain in his chest persisted, refusing to leave him. Oni was trying to take control, that was the only idea Hiro could think of. He hoped it was not true, for then his greatest fear would be realized.

RELEASE ME DAMN IT!!!

Hiro gave a short whelp of pain as his chest thrust forward. He could feel the stone like texture crawl up his arm. His eyes flashed from his normal hazel to that of a crimson blue. The horns, methodically dig their way up from his head.

NO!! NOT TODAY! YOU WILL NOT CONTROL ME!! he shouted, clenching his hands into a fist. Through the pain, he managed to close himself up like a ball, refusing to give in. He thought of his new guild hall, the members within it, and of course his old family.

With all his might, he gave one final shout, closing his eyes and standing up. Then it all faded. The pain, the siring pain, just gone. He scanned the area around him, thankful no one was around to witness the ordeal. The puppies were hiding underneath the bench, eyeing up at him.

It's ok. I'm better. You can come out. He tried coaxing them once again with the dog treats.

I need to hurry up and find these freaking puppies before I really lose control.

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This is a lot harder than I was expecting. I hoped they would all be together. Hiro had been walking for almost another hour. An hour since his small crisis with Oni. Either the town was bigger than he thought or the puppies just loved running around all over the damn place. He still found three and three out of seven wasn't too bad right? He only hoped so.

He could feel the wind chill pick up. The sky began to turn that beautiful orange and purple as the sun began to set. Depending on what time he finished this job, he might just stay in the town and meditate around the edge of the forest perhaps. The only problem that Hiro had was where to look. He got lucky finding the first three and it seemed his luck was running out.

Hiro made his way to another bench and decided to rest his legs. The puppies gathered around him and nuzzled around his legs. It seemed odd to him that the puppies were so well trained for they had never run from Hiro the entire three hours he's been looking, not even during his breakdown. So why would they run from the adoption home?

Before Hiro could think longer about it, he heard some barking coming from yet another alleyway. The puppies ears perked up, and they looked up at Hiro, expecting him to follow the noise. Wasting little to no time, he ran towards the barking, puppies still in tow.

When he arrived, he saw a total of five puppies, the last of them in the alleyway. They were backed into a corner, surrounded by four men. One of them began to methodically giggle holding a bag in one hand.

"Come on you little bastards. Get in the bag!" He tried to lunge towards one of them but was bitten. "Alright fine! Larry, get the pipe!"

On of them turned around, his beard all grungy and unkempt turned to grab a pipe left on the wall. He looked at Hiro, who was standing at the entrance of the alley.

"Eh? Well look what we have here. A hero!" the man practically spat as he talked.

Just give me the puppies. That's all I want, Hiro said. I'm not in the mood for violence.

The other three turned around at this point. "Well there's four of us and one of you. So I think we'll take violence," the original man said.

Hiro gave a sigh. Alright fine. Be happy I'm not unsheathing my sword for this.

"Get him lads!" The men all grabbed more pipes from the wall and floor and charged towards Hiro.

He gave yet another sigh, clenched his sword and said Double Team!

Five doubles popped up around him, all sharing the same look and mannerism.

"Oh crap! He's a mage!" one of them yelled.

"Hit all of them! He's bound to be one!"

The four men charged forward each one picking a target. Hiro eyed around him to find the one double not about to be attacked. He quickly traveled to this one double as the four men all swung down on the fakes. The pipes passed through the doubles and vanished just as Hiro slammed the two thugs around him, knocking them out. The third one charged at him, giving a loud scream. Hiro parried the pipe to the side and lunged the sword at his stomach. He gave a large grunt as Hiro pulled the sword back and slammed him on the head, knocking him out.

He then felt a large slam on his back, dropping him to the floor. He turned his head to find the main grunt reeling back for another hit. Hiro closed his eyes and cast Rewind. He blinked back to the space he was at five seconds ago, the entrance of the alley. His back felt good as new. The thug stepped back, confused. Hiro charged at him and slammed his head with the butt of his sword, immediately knocking him out.

I told you it was a bad idea. Aright come on pups, time to bring you home.

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All seven puppies were rounded up around Hiro's feet. They were jumping up and down, giving playful barks at each other. He spotted the one puppy with a dot on it's forehead. It was slightly larger than the rest and seemed to almost be the leader of them, an older brother perhaps. Hiro wondered what it was like to have someone to look up to. Of course he had his parents and his sensei, but something like an older sibling.

It was about a half hour walk to get back to the adoption home. What Hiro wasn't expecting to find Lionel handcuffed by men in white robes.

What is the magic counsel doing here? he pondered. More importantly what was Lionel being arrested for? Since it was now practically dusk, there weren't many people still outside to view the commotion.

Um excuse me but what's going on here?

A man approached, a cleanly kept goatee with blonde hair tied up into a very prim and proper ponytail. "Official counsel business. Move along," he spoke, his cape swaying gently in the light breeze.

Hiro flashed his Infinity Hydra emblem. It kind of his sir, since I just took up a job from him. Had to grab these seven puppies.

The man glanced behind him, to see the seven puppies, still neatly together in a line, patiently waiting for their next command. He gave a small sigh. "This man isn't actual the Lionel you know. He's actual a wanted criminal called Bravados. He's a mage capable of mimic magic, so he can be able to look, speak, and act exactly like a man he extensively follows. He followed Lionel and tied him up in the basement to run this adoption home. Whether it was for extra cash or his extensive love of animals, we don't know. But after hearing how ,any animals kept running off we could only presume that animals knew he was fake, leading us here."

That explains why the puppies ran away Hiro thought. I'm still getting paid though right? Considering I spent my full day on this and beat up a few thugs just to get these puppies.

"Yes I'll handle the payment," a short man emerged from the shop, the real Lionel. "You've done a great service for me. Thank you. Now I suggest you hurry to catch the last train. It is getting late. Now come on pups. Time to get to bed."

The puppies all ran inside after Lionel, with almost twice as much energy as they previously had.

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