Teardrop of the Wolf

Chapter 21

Muted voices echoed around the slumbering woman, and her eyelids fluttered open. Bright lights blinded Mori, and she squeezed her eyes shut. The voices came closer, and a rattle caught her attention. Her red eyes opened again, and a blurry face came into view. Her muscles screamed in protest as she struggled to sit up, and an arm placed itself around her shoulders.

"Take it easy. Your injuries are still healing" a voice said beside her, and Mori turned her head to see Iruka's worried expression beside her.

"What happened?" Mori murmured, leaning back against the hospital pillow.

Iruka's face became one of pure sadness, and Mori felt a pang of panic.

"What happened, Iruka?" she asked.

"There was a couple of things that happened while you were in the hospital. The medical nin put you in a coma because your trachea was severely damaged, and you had severe blood loss" he said.

"How long?" she said.

Iruka stayed silent, causing Mori to frown.

"Iruka" she said, voice hard for once.

"Three weeks" he said quietly.

Mori sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I have to go see the Hokage about something" she said, and slowly swung her legs out from the hospital bed.

Her teeth clenched as a wave of pain raced through her back, and she bit her lip. Iruka rushed to her side, and helped the young woman stand up on shaky legs. She blinked when she noticed how close Iruka's face was to her own, and she felt her cheeks warmed. His black eyes connected to hers, and she could swear she saw Iruka's cheeks turn a slight shade of pink.

He straightened up slowly with Mori and gave her a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Iruka...please tell me what happened" she murmured.

He nodded once and sat her down on her hospital bed. He was silent for a moment, and then finally told her about the attack on Konoha. Orochimaru had come out of his disguise, and held the Hokage hostage while his ninja attacked the Konoha ninja. The Hokage had given up his life to defeat Orochimaru once and for all, but he had escaped with Kabuto. Tears formed in her eyes as she digested the news.

"Who will become the next Hokage?" Mori asked in disbelief.

"I heard it would be one of his past students" Iruka said.

Mori gazed down at her hands, thoughts swirling in her head. Where would this leave the village?

A couple days later, Mori padded as the wolf through the village; the villager's hard work echoing in her ears. Her injuries had healed enough that the hospital released her, and it was a good thing too: she was starting to become antsy and growled at the nurses whenever they came in. The wolf was meant to be free, not kept in a hospital. Her tongue lolled out of her maw as she dodged and weaved through the busy streets. It lifted her heart to see the people working together to rebuild their village. She came to a stop and lifted her muzzle, trying to find a particular scent. Nostrils flaring, she continued searching until she found what she was looking for. Her nose led Mori to one of the many fields that dotted the village. Her friend was there standing in front of a large stone. Mori padded towards the Jonin and stopped beside him.

The two were silent as the clouds floated by. Mori brought her hind leg up to scratch at an insect that had attached itself on her ear as Kakashi spoke.

"I see your injuries have healed" he said quietly.

Mori shook out her fur and gazed at the memorial stone. Her red eyes caught sight of the two names she knew since she was a young puppy:

Obito Uchiha
Rin Nohara

"Iruka told me what happened" she said, tongue hanging out of her mouth.

Kakashi sighed and walked away, hands in his pockets. Mori's ear twitched when she heard the faint sound of thunder. The sun had vanished behind fast-approaching storm clouds, and the wind began to blow and ruffle her fur. She stood up on her four paws and gave the stone one more parting glance before racing into the forest. Finally, Mori found the small formation of rocks that she had slept in before. As she squeezed herself into the empty space, the clouds opened up. Mori curled her tail around her front paws and rested her jaw on the ground as the rain began. She wouldn't be able to go out without getting wet, so it was best she wait out the storm. A snort forced its way out from her as Mori felt a bit of déjà vu. The same thing happened when she met Kakashi for the first time as a wolf pup. Her eyes closed as the pounding rain lulled her to sleep.

The clouds began to gather in the sky. Mori felt a whimper rise in her throat as she continued through the foliage. She had lost her way from following her mother through the forest, and fear began to creep in. Her ears twitched back and forth as she lifted her small muzzle in the air, trying to find her mother's scent. Her tail tucked itself under her belly as the wind began to blow. A whimper echoed from her throat as she continued. She almost gave up hope when she heard a 'thwack'. A couple more sounds followed, and Mori followed the sounds to an open field.

Her head tilted in confusion when she saw a child training. She crept closer towards the child, and a sudden clap of thunder caused her to start in surprise. Her paws slipped down a hill and she slid down the mud with a squeal. A yelp forced itself out of Mori's throat when she hit something hard, paws sprawled out. She looked up to see two black eyes staring at her. Mori scrambled to her feet and bared her teeth, letting out a small growl until another thunder clap boomed. She let out a yelp and her tail tucked itself under her belly again. Trembling, Mori looked up at the child-a young boy-and her head cocked to the side. Maybe this boy had seen her mother?

"Have you seen my mother?" she said.

The boy's eyes only widened when her small voice echoed through her maw.

"No, I'm sorry" he said, and Mori's heart dropped.

Another rumble of thunder sounded from right above them, and Mori shrank back in fear. She bumped into the boy's legs and sat there, fear locking her limbs in place. A sigh from above her caused her ears to twitch. A hand placed itself under her belly and lifted her up, holding her securely against a warm chest. She looked up to see the boy's masked face that was void of emotion. He began walking from the field and towards a large group of buildings.

"You can stay with me for the night" he said.

Mori's tail gave a brief wag of relief. She was really tired from searching for her mother, and she really appreciated the boy carrying her.

"Thank you for letting me stay with you. I'm Mori!" she said, tongue lolling out from her teeth.

"Kakashi Hatake" was all he said.

Mori's nose twitched when the boy brought her into a small apartment. Kakashi brought her to a sleeping roll and placed her on the ground. Mori let out a wide yawn as exhaustion tugged at the young wolf pup. She laid on her belly as her red eyes watched the boy move back and forth. Her eyes closed, and soon the young wolf pup was sleeping deeply.