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Hell's huskies



'Why me..?' I asked myself as I stood outside the last trainstation with snow rapidly falling down and ice coming off of the tip of my nose.

It all started a few days ago when I was sorting the archive at the main office of Muller Transit. I, Shinto de Vries, started working there a few weeks earlier after I finished my business education. The company is rather large with worldwide branches and has various divisions for transporting high volume from small parcels to custom solutions for transporting the unmoveable. So this seemed like a good start for a career in the business world. ..Until I met the chairman's daughter one fatal day.
Kimiko also worked at the main office and I happened to help her pick up papers she dropped accidentally. Somehow it triggered a flag because I didn't know who she was at first and she usually only got help from those that wanted to get on her good side for their own benefit.
After that she appeared more often around me. Mind you, it's not that she's ugly, she was pretty in a plain way, but I had other things on my mind than girls and relationships. We talked a few times casually and more due to work and I hadn't yet figured out she was interested in me. I did though when she pushed herself onto me while working late at the archive.
'I like you a lot.' she said as she pressed her chest against mine.
I felt myself turn red and I couldn't back away with that wall behind me. I didn't know what to say to this, it's nice to hear but I wasn't interested and her aggressiveness made me uncomfortable.
'I, eh.' I muttered.
She smiled. 'You're cute when you're shy. Okaasan will like you too.'
I knew I had to reject her before I'd get in too deep, so I gathered up my courage, grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back saying 'Gomen! But I'm not interested in you.'
That was quite harsh to her as I saw tears welling up in her eyes and I still feel sorry for it. She wanted to turn away from me but she slipped on some papers on the floor and I tried to grab her to keep her from falling. That.., didn't work out well. I managed to get a hold of her blouse instead of her arm and it ripped as she fell on her knees. Just as we realised what happened her father, who was looking for her, walked into the archive.
Well, I don't think I have to explain his reaction to his daughter crying on the floor with a ripped blouse and me holding one end of it in my hand. Because he thought firing me would not be punishment enough he promoted me to manager at the branch located in the snow belt.
Now, I thought it only meant I'd have to work in permanent cold conditions, but then I heard the story behind that branch from coworkers. In the last years all previous managers who'd been sent there got transferred or resigned quickly, not because of the weather, but because of the team of drivers working there called Hell's Huskies. They made every manager's life hell there, but because they were also excellent at getting the job done in those extreme circumstances they never got fired. Not much was known about them, but their nicknames were Ghost, Rusty, Skunk and Dusk.
Everyone said their goodbyes to me like it was my funeral and I felt more depressed the closer I came to the last station on the line. I wished Kimiko had explained the situation but she'd probably be too mad at me.

I sighed. Nothing I could do right now. If I'd quit the chairman would've made sure I couldn't work anywhere else. Better to endure this and wait until everything's cooled down. I looked around for any sign of the driver who was supposed to pick me up. Nothing. I decided to walk to the storehouse to see if he'd be there.
There was no real town here, it was just a transit point between the railway and scientific settlements in the snow belt with a few people working at the station and storehouse. At the office I found the manager, obviously from the icebear clan and called Chief by the others.
He looked me over when I introduced myself, grabbed me by the shoulder and shook my hand letting out a sigh. 'I wish you all the best, son.' he said as he shook his head and made me even more nervous about what was to come.
'Is it that bad?' I asked.
He nodded. 'That fearless bunch hasn't backed down from any job, and it's that toughness that also defines their personalities. They sent the toughest and meanest managers here, but none of them survived for long.' he said, then looked at me again scratching his chin. 'On the other hand, maybe you're just the thing they need.'
'What?' I asked.
'Ah, nevermind, just thinking out loud.' He said and brought me to the vehicle storage. 'You'll need this to get to the site.' he said as he pointed out one of the snow scooters, essentially a bubble with tracks.
After he showed me how to operate it I got into the scooter and drove off. It had already turned dark and I had nothing to guide me except the positioning system and a compass as backup. Snow came down heavier than before, limiting my view to just a few meters and I had to slow down. With nothing else to do I plugged my portable player in my ears and listened to my favorite music. That and worries about the near future kept me awake enough to eventually see the guiding beacons for planes appear. Six lines of a few kilometers surrounded the site with the beacons placed every 20 meters and flashing in a sequence that pointed to the site. I felt so glad to come near the end of the journey that I could cry.
And then I felt a rumble coming closer. I had no idea what it was, felt a bit of a panic coming on and looked in every direction, seeing nothing but snow and darkness. What if it was some sort of quake, splitting the snow and swallowing me with scooter and all in a deep icy grave I thought. Going full throttle I followed the beacon line but I felt the rumble more and more and then a faint light showed up behind me, became brighter and the next thing I knew a huge tracked vehicle ran over me covering me with snow.
'MADMAN!' I screamed at the driver who'd never hear it anyway.
Feeling angry I managed to get out of the scooter, clear the snow and drive to the site. There I parked next to the vehicle that ran me over. I didn't care how big and tough the one was who drove that thing, but I would give him a piece of my mind. I walked up the ramp, snow melting from my hot head, threw open the door and yelled 'Alright! Who was the baka who just ran me over!?' when I saw the crew sitting leisurely in the corner.
'Ah, the boss is here.' said an indifferent voice.
'Wow, he made it.' said another.
I walked up to the corner steaming. 'Who was it!?'
'Might have been me.' someone said and I turned in that direction only to find instead of a large brute a black and white husky girl wearing nothing but a large sweater.
'Eh..' was the only thing I managed to speak and she looked closely at me.
'You know, you should be careful out there in the dark. There's dangerous traffic.' she said and walked back to the couch. 'They sent a babyface this time.'
I pushed my jaw back up and looked at the crew.
The husky girl pointed to another white one, 'That's Ghost,' the reddish coloured one, 'Rusty,' a blue-grey one, 'Dusk,' and opened a bottle of beer. 'and I'm Skunk.'
'You're Hell's huskies?' I asked, dumbfounded.
'Hey pal, you got a problem with women?' Dusk asked irritated.
'Eh, oh, no, of course not.' I muttered. 'I was just surprised seeing as how your nicknames were and all that.'
'Your room and desk are over there.' said Rusty and pointed to a hallway.
I felt kinda embarrassed. 'Ah, arigatou.' I said and grabbed my bags to haul them to my room.
It was a tiny room with little furniture next to the room that served as my office. I sighed, dropped down on the squeecky bed and started to understand why my predecessors ran away. It took only moments for me to fall asleep thanks to my fatigue.

When I woke up it was already morning, still dressed in my parka and snowboots, and I had a huge headache including an aching body. Feeling hungry I looked up the kitchen after changing clothes and tying a cold compress to my head, only to find something resembling a toxic waste dump.
'What the hell's that!?' I asked the girls in the livingroom, pointing towards the kitchen.
'Kitchen?' Skunk replied slurping on instant noodles.
'You got to be kidding me...'
'Hey, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of it.' Rusty said and got up. 'Time for our weekly delivery girls.'
I watched as they tossed their garbage next to an overflowing container and walked to the vehicle block.
'Oh yeah, if it bothers you, feel free to do something about it. After all, you're the manager here which includes doing all the chores.' Rusty said over her shoulder before the door closed.
I sat down on the couch feeling desperate. "How can I ever manage this joint?" I thought. "But if I don't the chairman said he'll cut our paychecks with every missing report. And then we'll have to live off of snow. They'll kill me for sure"
I dragged myself back to the kitchen. 'No choice, eh?' I said to myself, then nodded. 'No choice pal.'
Opening all cupboards I took an inventory of the place, grabbed mop and bucket, changed my mind and started off with a jackhammer and flamethrower. I did wonder why there was a flamethrower with the standard equipment though.

Wiping the sweat off my forehead I sat down in one of the couches looking over the place. Somehow I managed to get rid of all the empty bottles, cans, food packaging and cleaned the place. The only thing missing were some fresh flowers, but then those are hard to find around here. I checked the time, the girls would be back in about two hours according to the schedule, time to make dinner.
Most of the foodstore held instant stuff but luckily there was also frozen meat and vegetables. "First thing to order tomorrow is real food." I thought.
Good thing I learned to cook at a young age, it didn't take much effort to set the table and prepare everything. When I checked the time again there was enough left to take a short nap which I needed ater all this work. I made myself comfortable on the couch and was gone in a second.

'I wonder if he already left.' Skunk said as the girls came in later.
'We should be so lucky.' said Rusty.
They changed into their indoor clothing and walked into the hallway.
'Wait!' Dusk said and halted the group. 'Something's different.'
The girls checked the hallway and sniffed the air.
'I smell food.' Skunk said.
'Yes.' Dusk said. 'Grilled meat.'
'Baked potatoes.' Ghost said.
They hurried to the kitchen to see what had happened and found it had been cleaned from top to bottom.
'Unreal.' Skunk said as she opened the cupboards. 'All the dirty dishes have been done.'
'The refrigerators don't resemble jungles anymore.' Rusty said as she checked the insides.
They followed the scent of food into the livingroom and found the table full of it.
Skunk tried a piece of potatoe and nodded. 'It's good!'
'Did he do that?' Ghost asked.
'Psst, guys.' Dusk whispered and pointed at my peacefully sleeping figure. 'Wake him up?'
'I must admit he does deserve his rest, but didn't we agree to give any guy hell out here?' Rusty said. 'After all, we can't trust them.'
The others nodded except Dusk. 'Everyone so far was a dirtbag, but he seems different.'
'Let's test him,' Skunk suggested. 'if he can keep up his own work including all the chores we give him, and keep his hands to himself, we'll think it over.'
All the girls agreed to this, then woke me up by hitting me with a pillow.
'Don't think you can get on our good side just because you cleaned up and cooked once.' Skunk said and poked me.
'Yeah, we don't like guys, and that includes you.' Rusty said.
I felt a little confused and looked at all of them. 'But...'
'Alright, you can eat with us for now, but no funny business mister.' Ghost said.
I rubbed the sleep from my face. 'Right, dinner.' I said and started to go to the kitchen when Ghost grabbed my tail.
'You..?' she asked, looking at my tail.
I felt a bit embarrased. 'Ah, yeah. My parents are part wolf clan. I only inherited the tail and ears though.'
'Ears too?' Dusk asked.
'Oh yeah.' I said and removed the band I had tied around my head while doing the chores and out came my grey ears.
They stared at me so much I started to blush.
'Wow. We thought you were full human.' Rusty said as she touched my ears.
My ears are very sensitive when touched by others so I shivered a bit which made Rusty grin and rub them even more.
'Please stop!' I said and covered them, looking like a defenseless pup.
Somehow my reaction had an effect as they stared at me first, then Ghost cleared her throat and said 'Let's go eat.' with the others agreeing.

After dinner I was busy doing the dishes and the girls were having a private meeting in the bath.
'Cute.' Dusk said while she washed Ghost's back.
'Unexpectedly.' Rusty said who was soaking in the hot tub with Skunk.
'Hold up girls! We can't just go back on our agreement just because he has cute ears and tail.' Skunk said. 'It's just a trap to lure us in.'
'I agree.' Ghost said. 'We have to be careful here. Once a guy finds out a girl shows interest he'll try to control her and bring her to her knees.'
'So we'll just stay cool. He'll show his true colours soon enough.' Skunk said. 'Agreed?'
They all nodded.

'Your turn.' Ghost said to me, just when I finished in the kitchen.
I felt I could really use a hot bath right now so I was glad I could take one. Until I saw the mess in there. I should have known, even here nothing had been cleaned in ages.
It was already late when I finished my bath, after cleaning everything of course, and I was just about to dry myself when Rusty walked in naked. Well, as far as covered in fur can be called naked. For a second we stared at eachother, then I quickly covered myself and she snickered.
'Shy?' she asked with a devious grin on her face.
'That's only natural!' I blurted out. 'Especially when seen by a pretty girl who's just as naked.'
I put my hand in front of my mouth when I realised what I said and I saw her getting a bit flustered before she headed back to the bedroom they used.
'Shit.' I said to myself. 'I'm going to be in trouble for this.'
I dried myself and dived into bed quickly. In the meantime Rusty crawled back into bed with the others, they were used to sleeping together since they were little, when Ghost saw her face.
'Something wrong?' she asked.
'Ah, it's nothing. Nothing. Let's go to sleep.'

I got up early the next morning, making breakfast for everybody when Rusty walked into the livingroom.
'Ah!' she felt a bit startled at seeing me.
'Ehm, good morning.' I muttered, 'Breakfast is ready.' and I quickly went back into the kitchen as I felt a bit uncomfortable.
I excused myself so we wouldn't have to see eachother and went into the office to start sorting out all the paperwork.
'Something on your mind Rusty?' Skunk asked when they prepared to go outside and receive the cargo drop scheduled for this morning. 'You seemed a bit silent.'
'It's nothing. Just a slight headache from drinking too much beer.'
'Okay, if you say so.'
In the meantime I started to get some overview of the administration and it was horrible. I would have to start from at least one year before today to put things in order. I'd never get the reports done before the end of the week unless I worked nights as well.
"It's just one week." I thought to myself. "Just one week."

A few days later the girls were discussing the situation again in the bath.
'He's holding up so far.' Ghost said. 'Everything we threw at him he did. He's like a live-in maid doing cleaning, cooking, laundry.'
'At least that way he won't have time to make a pass at us.' Skunk said and right then Rusty dropped her brush.
'Something wrong?' she asked. 'You've been a bit weird lately.'
'Nothing! It's nothing!' Rusty said and began brushing her hair quickly.
'Suspicious.' Dusk said. 'I've never seen you brush yourself as often as this week. What's going on?'
Rusty grinned meekly. 'Nothing, really.'
'I don't believe you either.' Ghost said and grabbed Rusty by the ears. 'Tell us or I'll fondle your ears until you can't breath anymore.'
She squirmed and had to give in. 'He said I was pretty!'
'What?' Dusk asked. 'He did what?'
Rusty sighed. 'I saw him naked in the bath late at night and made fun of his shyness. Then he said it was natural because he was seen by a naked pretty girl.'
Ghost let go of her ears.
'It's the first time I heard a guy honestly say I was pretty.' she said meekly.
'You didn't tell him anything after that, did you?' Skunk asked.
She shook her head. 'He never said anything either.'
Ghost pondered. 'Let me check it out later.'

After the rest had gone to bed Ghost walked into the office casually. 'How's the administration going?'
'I'm making progress.' I said.
'You've been at it until late every night, shouldn't you get some rest?'
'I have to finish the reports in time, otherwise I'll get scolded by the division manager.' I lied. I didn't want to worry them about a possible paycheck cut. Or maybe I was too scared to mention that clause.
'Say,' she said while flipping through some old notes. 'you don't happen to think Rusty's been acting weird lately?'
Her question took me by surprise. 'Ehm, I don't think I could tell since I've only been here for a short while.'
'Right.' she nodded. 'Maybe she just feels more pretty now.'
I felt myself turn red and focused on the notes on my desk. 'Maybe, yes. Well, it has nothing to do with me as you're all pretty anyway.' I said and wrote some gibberish to pretend I was busy.
'Indeed.' she said and walked out again.
A moment later she appeared in the bedroom. 'He did.'
'Seriously?' Skunk asked.
Ghost nodded. 'I could see it on his face, ears and tail. He even said it had nothing to do with him and that we were all pretty anyway.'
'That sneaky seducing bastard...' Dusk said. 'He's just like other guys, only more devious.'
'So how are we going to punish him?' Skunk asked.
Ghost grinned. 'I already know how.'
She got up extra early the next morning, snuck into my office and checked the computer which I'd forgotten to lock from being too tired. She found all the data and reports I had been working on and "accidentaly" deleted with other random directories.

When I found out all my work had vanished mysteriously the next day I let out a scream in frustration.
'What happened?' asked a concerned Ghost who hurried to see why I screamed.
'All my work, gone!' I said, feeling so very tired.
She took a look at the monitors and nodded. 'Probably a crash. That sort of thing has happened before. You don't have a backup?'
I shook my head. 'I couldn't make one yet. The disk I ordered to use for backup hasn't come in yet.'
'Too bad. I guess you'll have to endure getting scolded then.' she said as she left the office. 'It won't be that bad though.'
"But it will be." I thought. "And especially from you girls."
I had no choice, I had to finish it no matter what, even if I wouldn't get any sleep at all in the next couple of days.
And so I started anew, this time working all through the night and living on high caffeine and vitamin intake just to keep running. The second night Ghost walked in again to check up on me because the girls saw how dead tired I had become.
'Why are you working so hard for those reports? Just endure that bit of scolding and get it over with.'
'I, can't.'
'Geez, you're really the diligent one, aren't you?'
'Yeah.' I said. I just couldn't bring myself to tell the truth and stood up to go to the kitchen. 'I'm going to get some more coffee.'
She glanced across the papers on my desk, then saw a mail with the chairman's signature. Curious as she was she picked it up and read it.
When I came back she grabbed me by the collar and pushed me against the wall holding up the mail. 'What's the meaning of this!? What's this about paychecks getting cut!?'
I didn't dare to look her in the eyes. 'If I don't deliver the reports on time everybody's pay will be cut. I didn't dare tell you and thought I could make it in time. But then that crash happened and now I'm not so sure anymore.' I sighed. 'But I can't give up, not when it concerns you girls as well.'
She pushed me angrily at the wall again and left the office. I picked up the thermos with coffee, poured myself another cup and continued. I'd have to get it done somehow.
Ghost walked back into the office angrily, although I didn't know it was more at herself than at me. 'Alright, I've done a bit of administration before, what do you need?'
I looked at her in confusion. 'What?'
'Just tell me what you need. we don't have time for stupid questions!'
I asked her for invoices, bills, orderlists and she gathered them while I entered the data. Together we managed to get the work done and I sent it off to the main office just before the processing deadline. We sat back on the chairs and felt relieved it was done. I was glad for the help she gave me and patted her on the head.
'Arigatou. I'm glad you were here, I would have never made it without your help.'
She slapped away my hand and stood up. 'Don't praise me like that!' she said angrily and walked out of the office leaving me behind all confused about what I did wrong this time.
She walked back in though. 'And now you take the rest of the day off! I'll make breakfast so you go to sleep now!'
'Bu-.' I started.
'Now!'
I humbly obeyed her and went to bed. I could really use the sleep and she went to make breakfast. The other girls were also confused on why she was the one making it all of a sudden and why she wouldn't say what happened that night. All she would say is that I wasn't as bad as they thought I'd be.

It took me some days before I managed to get myself to have a look at the administration again and I started off with the Ercom science station less than half a day's ride from here. I missed a few items so it would be best to contact them. I knew Dusk would be delivering cargo today that had been dropped here the day before so I grabbed the papers and my coat and ran out to the truck before she left.
'Dusk!' I shouted the moment she stepped up to the driver's cabin.
She looked annoyed at me. 'What now?'
'I'd like to come with you. There's some things I need to go through with the administration there and I'd like to meet our clients as well.'
'No, you'll just annoy me during the trip.' she said and wanted to climb back up.
'Please.' I begged.
She thought I looked like a lost puppy with my ears flattened and begging eyes and caved in. 'Alright! You can come, get your lunch to take with you!'
I was happy that I could come on the trip, ran back inside and came back later with provisions for lunch. I promised I'd stay quiet and I amused myself with my portable reader and looking outside at the vast snow landscape. Dusk stayed focused on the proverbial road ahead, tapping her hands on the wheel at the rythm of het music from the player.
It was almost at the end of the trip that the ride became a bit rougher. Grooves in the hardened snow made it feel like we were in a tiny boat on the sea, swaying the truck this way and that.
'Getting seasick already?' she asked mockingly.
I shook my head. 'Nah, I've been through worse once on a cruise caught in a storm.'
'Not scared that I'll drive us off into a large crack in the snow either?'
I smiled. 'I trust you won't. I can see you take driving out here very serious.'
She felt flustered. 'Baka.'
Soon we reached Ercom station and she parked at the side of the main building where she and some of the staff started to unpack the truck. In the meantime I introduced myself to the senior staff and went through the papers with the administrator. It didn't take long to sort out the missing bits and he offered a quick tour of the place. I gladly accepted and he pointed out the different labs where they conducted experiments in biology and chemistry that needed a cold environment. It was nothing dangerous though, worst could be catching the flu or burning your fingers on a hot bunsen burner. We were just about to enter one of the secondary buildings when we heard an arguement around the corner.
'You can't do that!' I heard Dusk shouting and when we rounded the corner I saw her and a bearded man at the dog run.
'Stay out of it missy.' he said.
'I'll bite your nose off!' she threatened.
'Dusk! What's going on?' I asked.
She pointed at an older pup, looking to be a cross between a husky and wolf. 'He wants to murder her!'
'She's too wild.' the man explained. 'She's constantly fighting with the others so I have no choice but to put her down.'
I saw Dusk tremble with anger and tears in her eyes. Sucker as I am for these situations I sighed and walked up to the fence, looking at the pup who had the same colour fur as Dusk.
'She can't stay here with the other dogs, right?'
'She's also aggressive against the people here.'
'Mind if I give it a try?'
The man scratched the back of his head. 'I don't mind, but it's at your own risk.'
'Well then, it'll probably take a while so you'd better get back inside.'
The men wished me good luck and Dusk clutched the fence. 'Shinto, please...'
'Don't worry.' I said smiling at her. 'I think I know how to get her to start trusting me. You go and take some rest for the return journey.'
She left and I stepped into the run, sat down a little away from the pup, took out my reader and continued where I left off. It seemed my strategy worked and her curiousity started to overcome her fear after a long time. I felt like my butt froze off but it was worth it if I could save this pup and make Dusk happy. The pup crawled closer bit by bit, sniffing the air to catch my scent and eventually came close enough for me to reach her nose.
'I wonder if you like cookies?' I asked and opened the package I had kept in my lap.
These cookies weren't the sugar laiden regular cookies, but a healthy snack suitable for most people and animals. Even I liked them so I took one out, took a bite off it and slowly placed the rest in front of the pup who backed down a bit first. Carefuly she smelled it, licked it, then decided it was good and ate it. I smiled at this little victory and held out another one.
It was some time later when Dusk walked up to the run and saw me sitting with the pup on my lap. She was overjoyed at the sight and called out for me. When I didn't move she called my name out louder. Trying not to disturb the pup she walked slowly up to me and tapped my shoulder. Still not reacting she looked at my face to see I had fallen asleep from sitting in the cold for so long. The pup must have recognised Dusk's scent and trusted her to pick her up and call for help.
The cold had given me a sore butt but when I saw Dusk's smile on the way back home it was all good. I kept the pup on my lap and she enjoyed the ride.
'How did you do that?' Dusk asked.
'Ah, when I thought she looked a little like you because you have the same colour fur I remembered the cookies I brought along for the trip back. They're your favorite and I wanted to surprise you.' I said, holding out the package.
"He noticed that?" she thought and smiled.
'I figured I could try to bribe her with these, and it worked.' I grinned and patted the pup's head. 'And I thought about naming her Dawn as another reference to you.'
Dusk became flustered and muttered her approval.
'To think this pup is actually part husky and part wolf.' I snickered. 'She could be the ojousan we'd have if we got together.'
Next thing I knew I was pushed out of the cabin followed by an angry 'You can walk home! Baka!' and I had to run to keep up with the truck.
Luckily the puppy eyes from Dawn saved me from having to walk all the way back, but since then I've seen Dusk get a bit flustered every time she saw me and Dawn together, to the confusion of us all.

The next couple of weeks were pretty uneventful and I thought we got used to eachother. But then we had a minor disaster.
Skunk was rummaging in a not much used part of the building which was used now to store anything seldom used. She needed a spare part for one of the vehicles. The electricity in that part of the building didn't work so she brought a gas powered lantern. She could see the part in the back of the room filled with shelves but she'd need both hands to pull it out of the pile it was lodged in. She placed the lantern on a shelf in front, then started pulling away the junk. Something was lodged tight and heavy so she pulled at it with all her might. It came loose suddenly and she stumbled backwards against the shelves causing not only the lantern to fall, but also some large cans of a hot burning substance used for cleaning. The next moment a wall of flames blocked her exit and she screamed.
The girls and I ran towards the sound, finding the trap she was in.
'Get more extinguishers!' I shouted as I pulled a smaller one from the wall, trying to put out the flames.
The fire was so hot though that it had almost no effect and I saw it crawling closer to Skunk. She didn't move from fright and I almost panicked myself. I raked my brain to find a way to get her out when I saw an old blanket.
I wrapped it around me and shouted to Ghost who just came back with a new extinguisher 'Quick! Spray it all over me!'
She covered me and the blanket, then I set aside my own fear of fire to run into the room.
'Skunk!' I shouted at her but she was still too frightened to move.
I knew I hadn't a moment to lose so I grabbed her in my arms, covering her as much as possible with the cool blanket and ran back through the fire. Dusk and Rusty had come back and together with Ghost they managed to extinguish the fire. I carried Skunk to the livingroom, laid her down on the couch and she started to come to her senses. She coughed and I smiled at her.
'Don't worry. It's all over now.'
She looked at the other girls who just came in and hugged her.
'What happened?' she asked, having blacked out during the fire.
'Your trauma acted up when a fire broke out but Shinto saved you.' said Ghost.
She looked at me while Rusty was treating the light burns on my face.
'Hey, shit happens.' I said with a grin, then grimaced from the sting of the disinfectant.
'You both better get some rest now, we'll clean up the mess and make sure the fire is really out.' Rusty said and they left.
'You saved me?' Skunk asked meekly.
'It wasn't a big deal.' I downplayed the scene. 'Let me get you something to drink. All that smoke isn't good for your throat.'
I was just about to get something from the fridge when she grabbed and hugged me tightly. I've never been so close to any girl before so I blushed and carefully wrappd my arms around her muttering 'There, there.'.
'When I was little I got trapped by fire once. Ever since then I've had this trauma.' she explained. 'Arigatou.'
She rubbed her muzzle against the side of my neck and I felt goosebumps all over my back. 'It's okay. No problem.' I said feeling rather nervous.
'You should get some rest now.' I said and escorted her to the bedroom.
I grabbed a fresh set of clothes and plunged into the bath.

'He's dependable.' Ghost said to the other girls in the bedroom.
The others nodded. Dusk was grooming Dawn and Ghost watched her.
'So what's your excuse?' she asked her.
'Wait, what?' she asked looking up.
'Every time you see Shinto and Dawn together you get flustered to some degree. What happened?' Ghost asked again. 'It's like you three became a family all of a sudden.
That caused Dusk to get even more flustered.
Ghost grinned deviously. 'You'll get the ear treatment if you don't tell.'
Dusk told Shinto's remark from the time they returned with Dawn and the others snickered.
'So what about you?' Dusk asked Ghost. 'I saw you've been helping him with the administration and sometimes with chores.
Ghost looked away shyly, then told them how he pushed himself to save their pay, even though they sabotaged his work.
'And what about you two?' Dusk asked.
'That's not hard to guess, he honestly told Rusty she was pretty, and he saved Skunk from the fire.' Ghost said and the two nodded in agreement.
They sat silently for a while.
'So, you guys also like him, eh?' Ghost asked.
'Things have never been this much fun before.' Skunk remarked.
'This family image hasn't left my mind since he mentioned it.' Dusk said as she stroke Dawn's soft fur.
Skunk sighed and laid back staring at the ceiling. 'I can't remember anyone who's taken care of us this much.'
'What are we going to do?' Rusty asked.
'If we just tell him he'll get a heart attack.' snickered Skunk.
'Or he'll melt completely down the drain.' said Dusk.
'Unless this triggers his animal side and he'll turn into a monster, ready to devour us all.' said Ghost with an evil grin.
'I think he'll just freeze on the spot and won't move for a whole week.' laughed Rusty.
I thought it was a good sign when I heard their laughter from their room. I knocked and Dusk opened the door.
'I just wanted to check how Skunk was doing, thought I'd bring something to drink and snack for you all as well.' I said.
Dusk looked back at the others and grinned. 'Shall we tell him now?'
Fearing I'd be in trouble again I prepared to run but then Dusk pulled me into the room taking the tray away from me. The other girls were sitting on the large bed they shared, only partially covered by sheets so I couldn't look at them but I felt their eyes staring at me.
'Ehm.' I uttered.
'Take responsibility.' Ghost said sternly.
'Eh?'
'You're taking care of food and home, right?'
I nodded.
'You're in charge of running this place, right?'
I nodded again.
'You've increased the size of the pack, right?' Ghost asked as she stroked Dawn's head.
'I, guess...'
'You made a pass at Rusty, right?'
'I wasn't reall-'
'Did you not tell her she's pretty? Or was that a lie?'
I shook my head.
'In fact, didn't you say you thought we're all pretty?'
I sighed and nodded meekly.
'Didn't you go through a lot of trouble to save us from a paycut?'
'Hai.' I said as I felt even more guilty somehow.
'And didn't you risk your own hide to save one of us?'
I nodded and didn't understand what I'd done wrong.
'Well, sounds to me you're our alpha male. So take responsibility.'
'I what!?' I asked, surprised by this statement.
'We're telling you now that you're officially the alpha male of four, no, five females who like you a lot.'
'I..' I muttered, having trouble processing the situation. 'Alpha male..?'
Then Dusk and Rusty pulled me on my back on the bed and they poked me. 'Well? What have you got to say for yourself mister?' Rusty asked.
'I'm, happy?' I said in a daze.
The girls snickered and snuggled up to me with Ghost whispering in my ear 'Better get used to having to sleep between us from now on'.
I smiled. 'Somehow I hope I'll never get used to it.'



*note, another story in short form which could be turned into a multi-volume manga thing, sponsors?







mail? nystrom.nl, jtrexx