I Among Dogs

Chapter 23: Friends of Age

 "Left. Right. Duck. And shoulder throw!"

The sound of the instructions I was given was accompanied by the sound of a body thudding against the floor as I performed the throw in question after my left and right chops and dodge as instructed. The very dog I had performed the shoulder throw on being Harley's older brother, Hachi. Like Harley, he was also an akita and had the same bluish dark grey fur. Other than the white fur spot on his left eye, he was almost a carbon copy of her younger sister.

Harley had told Hachi that I was currently in martial arts training in order to defend myself in case of any situations similar to my last encounter with Daniel. Surprisingly, he was in martial arts as well, having just become a black belt a few years ago which was what inspired Harley to take up karate herself. It was rather sweet knowing just how much Harley looked up to her older brother.

So anyway, after Hachi was given the full story, he came to the training dojo, offering to take Harley's place as teacher, which was a relief for me since I no longer had to worry about hurting Harley during training. The younger akita in question watching from one of the sides, a look of awe on her face as I bent over and helped her brother up.

"You're definitely getting better, mate! Another few weeks and I can see you becoming a red belt. Heck, maybe even a black belt like me!" Hachi complimented, accepting my offered hand and getting back onto his feet.

"Thanks, I am learning from the best after all." I replied with a grateful smile, earning a slightly miffed "Hey!" from Harley as I playflly rolled my eyes and glanced over to her. "You're the best as well, Harley." I reassured her with a chuckle before me and Hachi exchanged bows, ending today's training session.

Outside, Bluey was waiting for me, having watched the whole thing as we both headed on home. After what happened between me and Daniel, the Canistralian government had decided to employ some more units of Canistralia's police force on patrol as a precaution to decrease the chance of me getting jumped again. There was never a time when I didn't see one of these police dogs for longer than five minutes. The news of course had calmed Bandit and Chilli's worries to the point where they were willing to give me walking around in public without an adult guardian a chance, especially when there'd be times when neither of them would be available to do so.

"Hey Nathan, could I do some karate as well?" Bluey asked as, walking by my side.

"If you'd like!" I responded with an encouraging tone, making the Blue Heeler let out a small but eager "Hooray!". The silence between us didn't last long as Bluey had another question.

"Do humans do karate as well?"

"As a matter of fact, they do. There's actually different forms of martial arts besides karate that humans engage in. You've got Muay Thai, Aikido, Taekwondo... There's even tournaments dedicated to them!" I answered as I saw Bluey grin with interest.

"Ooh, that's a lot of karates. Did any of your family do marshmallow arts?" I couldn't help but laugh a little at Bluey's little mondegreen before composing myself to answer.

"Well, as far as I know, I don't think--"

"MIA, LOOK OUT!!!"

Bluey and I nearly flinched at the sudden panicked outburst as we both turned to the source. An Orange Belton English Setter who looked to be possibly around the same age as me, maybe a little younger was standing in the middle of a crosswalk of a road, a thousand yard stare on her face as she was facing a car that was driving very erratically towards her, as if completely out of control, swerving left to right as several of the witnessing dogs jumped away in panic.