Teardrop of the Wolf

Chapter 4

Kakashi knelt down in front of Mori, keeping in mind to move slowly so that he wouldn't startle the injured she-wolf.

"Quiet, Naruto!" the Jonin demanded as he noticed Mori's hackles raise again as Naruto's voice kept piercing through the air.

The child huffed, but kept silent. Mori's growl slowly subsided much to the Jonin's pleasure, and Kakashi took the opportunity to slowly extend his hand in order for Mori to fully get his scent. The she-wolfs nostrils flared, and slowly and painfully Mori sat back on her haunches.

"Kakashi, it's been a while" a smooth and warm voice sounded from the she-wolfs mouth.

"It has. Now, what did you do to yourself?" Kakashi sighed as he stood back up, running a hand through his gravity-defying hair.

Mori snorted as her tail twitched. Kneeling down, Kakashi inspected his friends injuries. The worst seemed to be the senbon needles that were embedded in her back leg, while the rest were scratches, gauges and branches that dotted the white fur.

Mori eased herself onto her stomach and rested her head on her front paws and closed her eyes, allowing Kakashi access to the needles.

This was going to hurt, but Mori just wanted those blasted things out. Swiftly, Kakashi pulled each senbon out, causing Mori to release a large yelp. Finally they were out, and glittered dangerously in the sunlight.

"There, that's better. I can see that you're already healing those gauges yourself" Kakashi said, standing back up again.

Indeed Kakashi was right; Mori's chakra was working to heal the gauges. It wasn't enough to completely heal, but the gauges would be healed enough to the point where they were bruises underneath her skin. Her back leg tingled as her nerves began firing again without the needles, causing her muscles to twitch.

"Now, back to the training" the Jonin hummed to himself as he walked back to the upside down orange child.

"Hey, hey! Kakashi-sensei! Who's the dog? Is it yours?" Naruto asked in a rush, still hanging from his feet.

"That's a wolf Naruto, and no she's just a friend" Kakashi said, whipping out his precious book.

A rustle caused Mori's ear to twitch as multiple shurikan whizzed past and hit the Jonin, causing his body to fly through the air. Mori's eyes opened briefly, but closed again when she noticed her friend was safely in the tree. Interesting use of weapons considering Kakashi was training a Genin team. Her ears twitched again as the child-Naruto-shouted at his teammate, most likely the one who threw the shurikan.

Excellent aim as well.

More rustling came from the trees above with a piercing shriek echoing through the air. Sighing, Mori settled her head on her paws for a nap as the sun shone on her fur.

"Hey, hey! Doggie! Can you get me down from here? Doggie? Hey!" Naruto loudly whispered.

Mori opened her eyes and raised her head, directing her red eyes towards the hanging child.

"Come on! I'll give you a treat!" the child continued, causing Mori to snort and laid her head back down onto her paws.

"Fine, I'll do it myself then! Believe it!" Naruto said, and cut himself down with a kunai knife.

"Hehe, I'll eat my lunch before the timer! Kakashi-sensei won't be able to catch me then!" the child giggled to himself as he sat down behind the K.I.A stone.

'I wouldn't do that' Mori thought to herself as she opened one eye to see where this would go.

Just as she thought, Kakashi had caught Naruto and tied him to the post. Mori's ear twitched as a timer rang loudly, and the rest of the Genin team came back, distraught that they didn't get a bell from their teacher. Mori raised her head and opened her other eye, ears perked in interest as Kakashi lectured his Genin team. Her tongue rolled out of her mouth as she watched the important point of teamwork being driven into the children's heads, her pants quiet against the chirping birds.

A sudden itch behind her ear claimed her attention, and she got to work to satisfy the itch. Shaking out her white fur, Mori then set to work to tame her white fur after.

A sudden thunderclap sounded, and Mori turned her attention towards the terrified young team.

'Kakashi and his theatrics' Mori thought dryly as she watched the team.

'3..2..1' Mori thought as the young students screamed in fear, and right on cue Kakashi revealed to his Genin their fate.

Her red eyes opened wide in surprise as he told his Genin team that they had passed. Well well, this has never happened. Her head tilted in surprise and wonder.

This is going to be interesting.

"Mori, could you come here please" Kakashi raised his voice as his single eye found her red optics.

She rose slowly and padded towards the group. Her back leg was still a little numb, but she could put weight on it. She padded towards the group, mindful of three pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, who is that dog?" a girl with pink hair asked, and Mori swished her tail in agitation.

"I am not a dog, child. I am in fact a wolf" Mori said in a soft growl, and the Genin reacted in surprise.

"Hey! I-i-it talked!?" the pink girl squeaked loudly, causing Mori's ears to pin back in annoyance.