Teardrop of the Wolf

Chapter 22

Over the next couple days, Mori healed and helped the village as much as she could. Little by little, Konoha was coming together. The council had yet to pick the next leader for Konoha, and it left everyone with troubled thoughts. Mori could smell the worry and fear coming from the villagers in waves, and it caused her heart to break.

A bird chirped near Mori's ear one morning, causing it to twitch faintly. Her red eyes opened slowly as sunlight streamed through the clouds, and the morning breeze ruffled her white fur. She lifted her head from her paws and let out a large yawn, canines glittering in the morning sunlight. As she lifted herself to her paws, a scent floated on the breeze and into her nose. Mori's eyes widened as her nostrils flared, taking the scent in.

'Hideo...?' she thought as her eyes scanned the forest line.

What was her brother doing here? Did this mean Orochimaru was here too? She lifted her muzzle and howled, the sound carrying far on the breeze.

Are you here? Where are you?

Mori stopped howling and pricked her ears forward, listening intently. Her sharp eyes picked up the bushes along the forest line, and a growl vibrated from her chest. Hideo silently appeared like a ghost through the bush and stopped, blank eyes staring at her. As silently as he appeared, Hideo disappeared back into the bushes. Mori snarled and took off towards the forest, eyes trained on where her brother was. Little did she know that someone was watching her from the edge of the village. She followed her brother's scent through the bushes as her paws pounded through the dirt.

Panting, Mori slowed to a stop in the middle of the forest. Hideo's scent had begun to get fainter, and her heart squeezed painfully when the thought of her loosing her brother again echoed in her mind. Her ear twitched when a branch snapped ahead, and she sprang toward the sound. Branches snagged her fur and scratched at her face, but Mori continued on. As she rounded a bend in the forest, a shrill sound came at her from the side. Mori blinked in surprise and lunged to the side, narrowly missing kunai knives as they embedded themselves in a tree trunk. Her paws skidded to a stop in a spray of soil and leaves as she looked around, nostrils flaring and ears swivelling. A snarl etched itself on her muzzle in warning as new scents presented themselves around her.

Her ear twitched as a branch snapped behind her, and Mori jumped away as more kunai narrowly missed her haunches. Her red eyes narrowed as ninja jumped down and created a ring around her, holding kunai and other various weapons. Growling low, Mori braced her limbs as some of the ninja laughed. She could smell her brother on these ninja. A clapping sound caught her attention, and her head whipped around to see Orochimaru's assistant walking towards her. He stopped metres away from the bristling wolf with a smile on his face, eyes hard behind his glasses.

"Mori! It's been a while!" Kabuto said, earning a loud growl in return.

"Come now, I want to see that pretty face of yours" he continued as he walked closer.

In a blink Mori's human form stood in the wolf's place, and she rushed towards the sick-minded man with a kunai poised. He met her halfway with his own weapon, and smirked when he saw her red eyes wild. She got sloppy when she was this wild, which would be when he would strike. They both jumped back, and Mori rushed forward again with a cry.

"Not before I cut off your head!" Mori yelled.

Kabuto gave a short laugh, and this riled up the woman even more. Her swings became more erratic, and her pupils narrowed to slits. Kabuto smirked and feinted to the left, and when Mori followed he changed quickly and sliced along her ribs on her right side. Mori jumped back with a hiss and held her hand tightly to her side. His smirk grew even more, and when Mori lunged to attack him again Kabuto ducked and sliced down her other side. She let out a loud yelp and crashed to the ground onto her back. Blood trickled from the slices and onto the forest floor as Mori shakily got to her feet, swaying slowly.

"You're lucky I didn't aim for your internal organs. Lord Orochimaru wants you alive, which is why my blade is laced with a paralyzing agent" Kabuto sneered as he slowly walked towards Mori.

Her vision began to get blurry as she took a stumbling step forward. Her legs wouldn't cooperate with her mind! She had to move! The paralyzing agent was sweeping through her veins like a cold rain, and no matter how much she mentally fought it, her muscles began to freeze. Kabuto stalked up to the woman and with a flick of his wrist, backhanded Mori with a sharp crack. She flew back and skidded to a stop; her muscles now paralyzed. Her cheek began to redden from the impact as Kabuto walked over slowly to the limp woman. He knelt down and took her chin in his hand, lifting it with bruising force.

"Still so weak" he mocked before standing back up.

He indicated to one of the ninja to pick Mori up, and took off in the trees. Now that his mission was accomplished, Kabuto could look forward to the many experiments he could do to this woman. A sinister smirk pulled at his lips as he jumped from tree to tree. She had gotten away once before, but not anymore. He spared a quick look back to see Mori hanging limply over the shoulder of one of the ninja.

As night fell, the group came to a stop in front of a large cave. Kabuto opened the door, and everyone went in. Cold air blew past the group and Kabuto drank in the cries and screams of his many experiments in different rooms. Kabuto gestured to the ninja holding Mori to come with him, and opened a door before going in. Hisses could be heard through the room, and Kabuto walked in as his Lord waited for him on his altar. The snake man almost seemed to hiss in pleasure when his gold eyes spotted the woman hanging from the ninja's shoulder.

"My Lord Orochimaru, the mission was a success" Kabuto said as he kneeled before the snake man.

A raspy chuckle reached his ears as he stood back up.

"Very good, Kabuto. Put her with the others, but make sure to keep her there" Orochimaru mused.

His eyes glanced over at a young man with long, black hair. He sat on his knees with his hands in his lap and head bowed, as if in prayer. His eyes were closed, and Orochimaru felt a smile tug at his mouth. This young man was a fascinating specimen: wolf and man together. He had the brother..and now he had the sister.

His plan was all coming together.