✿ Several months later ✿
Sayuri watched her son play with Max, while Aurora was playing with Iori.
Luckily, Iori managed to recover and is now healthy, though it had been touch-and-go for a while. The entire backyard now had been changed to accommodate the two wolfdogs, but none of the kids minded that it looked more like the 'wild' than a backyard.
It was basically mostly open space, with trees and bushes scattered all over, not to mention the wolf den in one corner. Though wolves normally lived in open space and only the pups were placed in dens, the pair of wolfdogs seemed to like their den very much.
Thus, it was made bigger so that it could not only fit the wolfpups as it grew - it could also fit the children.
Kyle came over behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, watching their kids from over her shoulder.
"Alex was supposed to train Max to be more domesticated, but instead, it seems that my son has become wilder," Sayuri lamented.
Alex had taken his responsibilities quite seriously and a routine was set that he followed rigidly.
He slept with Max. Trained with Max. Everywhere Alex was, Max was beside him.
The only time they were separated was when Alex went to school and Max would be quite agitated waiting for him to return. Luckily, Gordon - and Iori - were around to keep him company and discipline him, so he wasn't too lonely.
Kyle snorted upon hearing Sayuri's words, "Alex was always a wild child."
"Kyle!" Sayuri scolded him, hitting the back of his hand that was around her waist, "He's still your son!"
"I'm serious," Kyle said, then continued in a softer voice, "He has so much angst in him and his lack of control on the Smith Anger. In fact, I felt he was suitable for the Kato Arts because of it. The high-intensity training would be a way for him to release all of that in a positive way."
"But now look at him," Sayuri said, showing how their children were playing.
It was obvious, even to a layman's eyes, that the manner of play between Alex and Max was completely different from Aurora and Iori.
It boiled down to the different temperaments of the two - both the children and the wolfdogs.
Alex and Max were 'playing' quite aggressively, in which Max would attack him and Alex would dodge. If Max managed to bite him, Alex would reward him with a treat.
"Are you sure the protective gear he's wearing is foolproof?" Sayuri asked worriedly as she watched Max managing to clamp down on Alex's shin.
"Yes, don't worry," Kyle said, then corrected himself, "Okay, scratch that. No matter what, you'll still worry."
"Yes," Sayuri sighed, "You know that the German Shepherd has one of the most vicious bites amongst the dog breeds."
"Well, yeah," Kyle acknowledged, "But Max isn't a pure German Shepherd. In fact, he's a mix of quite a lot of breeds in him. Which explains the more aggressive behaviour."
It was ironic that wolfdogs were originally created to become the 'perfect' soldier, but as wolves were inherently skittish with strangers, they aren't good guard dogs.
That is a misconception that persists till today.
Wolves do not attack humans unless their habitats had been encroached - and, they are used to humans. In reality, wolves would actually just run away but if cornered, they'd attack to defend themselves.
Iori was more like a typical wolfdog whereas Max … Max was different.
He was more aggressive and not shy of humans or strangers at all. Thus, Gordon created a training exercise for Max that included guard training and Max took to it like a duck to water.
Iori, on the other hand, did not.
Which was fine since Aurora just needed Iori to play with. They'd run around together, with Iori beside her. Sometimes Iori would try to dash off somewhere out of curiosity but with the leash attached to Aurora, her movement range was limited.
Max, on the other hand, when training with Alex, did not have the leash on anymore. Luckily, Max was extremely obedient to Alex, who had already settled firmly in Max's heart as the Alpha Wolf.
The leader.
Even Iori acknowledged it and would listen to Alex.
Sayuri winced as she saw Max able to jump and chomp on Alex's arm. He had actually been aiming for the neck, but Alex had avoided it skillfully and put up his arm to defend himself.
Wolves, when hunting, would either go straight to the neck for the kill, or incapacitate it by downing it (biting the legs). From what Sayuri could see, Alex seemed to be training Max to kill.
She shuddered, thinking of the many possibilities that Alex could get hurt.
Seeing Alex shake off Max, who let go obediently, she gave out a breath of relief.
"Are you ever going to have that material released to the world?" Sayuri asked Kyle, "What is it that you called it again?"
The 'material' that Sayuri was alluding to, was the same material that Alex wore under his outfit.
"It's mithril," Kyle replied, smiling a bit. He stole that name from J.R.R. Tolkien, of course, which was basically referring to the mythical material that was lighter than silk and tougher than armour.
"And no to it being released to the world," Kyle said, "It really was discovered by chance, and it's too precious. So it'll just be used for the family."
"But don't you think it could help the army? The rest of MIB, at least?" Sayuri asked.
Kyle hugged her tighter, "Sure, even though the cost may be astronomical, it can be done. But … if it was ever found out to exist, and people manage to reverse-engineer it, it can be used for more harm than good."
"Just look at nuclear weapons, for example," Kyle said softly, "Created to protect but the destructive power was just too great that people don't dare use it anymore. But, that's not really true."
"Everyone knows how to create it, and just because you say 'we won't use it' does not mean that they don't have it. It's there, as a deterrent to other forces. The only thing holding back one country using it on another is not because they don't want to cause damage to them but rather, it's because the other has the means to counter-attack."
"I don't want this material to fall into the hands of those who would abuse it," Kyle said, "Soldiers would basically be almost invincible. Short of being blown up, that is."
Then, Kyle gave a smirk, "It's not 100% foolproof, you know. I mean, it can stop bullets and knife attacks, but you'd still get bruises from it. You'd still feel the force of the bullet and knife."
Sayuri sighed.
Of course, she knew that. She'd seen the blue-black bruises on Alex's legs and arms.
"It's training," Kyle said simply, "Being completely free from pain during training wouldn't be good, after all. It builds character."
He hugged his wife tighter and said, "To be brutally honest, this is the only time I will allow Alex access to it, that is, in training Max. Alex is able to have total freedom to train Max and the results can be seen. You may think he's grown wilder but in fact, he's actually able to hold his temper more now."
"I would not let him use it for our outings as Ice and Cinder, because it can make him reckless," Kyle said, "He needs to know his limits and what he can - and cannot - attack. If he has no fear of getting hurt, or know how to avoid getting hurt, it'll cause more harm than good."
"Besides," Kyle said, "If they see him not getting injured, it'll cause a sensation. There is a risk of Mithril being discovered."
Sayuri leaned back against Kyle, and nodded in agreement.
"I know you've thought of all the possible ways and you've chosen the best path for him," Sayuri said, "You're always like that. Meticulous. Considers all aspects and angles."
"But you still have your heart hurt seeing all those bruises on Alex," Kyle finished for her.
Sayuri sighed.
Kyle smirked, "While I, on the other hand, enjoy it."
"Oh you," Sayuri admonished him, knowing it wasn't really 100% the truth. Though she couldn't deny that he probably did enjoy it a bit.
"I think…" Kyle began, as he studied Alex closely, "Maybe, just maybe...we can have a different sort of training soon."
Sayuri turned to look at her husband, "What do you mean?"
"The cooperation between Alex and Max is amazing, don't you think?" Kyle said, pointing at the two with his chin.
"You're not saying-?!" Sayuri asked, her eyes wide.
"Yup," Kyle nodded, letting go of his wife and leaning on the balcony, his eyes focused on Max.
The wolfpup was certainly learning fast.
"Not anytime soon, though," Kyle replied, "I will need to observe more."
Sayuri pursed her lips and went to stand beside her husband, "As if handling one stubborn son is bad enough. You really want to bring Max into the picture?"
Kyle grinned, "Don't you think it would be a wonderful thing? Cinder's reputation as the crazy son of Ice would increase with a wild wolf by his side."
Sayuri rolled her eyes.