Teardrop of the Wolf

Chapter 36

Nurses hurried back and forth in the hospital corridor as Iruka waited for news of Mori. He leaned against the wall, heart thumping painfully as he waited. It had felt like hours from the time he brought Mori in, but in fact it had only been a couple of minutes. Thoughts swirled in his head as he stared at the opposite wall. Why was she attacking the village and villagers? She loved this village and the people in it.

Iruka shook his head; Mori would never attack the village. Something had to have happened...and why was Danzo there?

Something wasn't right. Danzo always gave him a bad impression, and him showing up meant something.

Iruka heaved a sigh and quickly left, feeling as if he was in the way of the doctors. The sun was behind some thick grey clouds as villagers picked their way around the damaged buildings. Iruka quickly hurried to help with the cleaning to get his mind of the woman in the hospital right now. Hopefully she would pull through, but there was the matter with the elders she had to go through. Iruka gritted his teeth as he pushed the idea out of his mind; now wasn't the time to think of that. Someone put their hand on his shoulder, and Iruka looked up in surprise to see Kakashi standing behind him. The Jonin's one visible eye was looking at the Chunin with a curious expression.

"You should be at the hospital waiting for news of Mori" he said quietly.

Iruka sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. Dirt clung to his vest as he shook his head.

"I don't know what happened. I know Mori would never attack the village, she loves the village and the people in it!" Iruka exclaimed, his hands clenched into fists.

Kakashi nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I saw something that one of Danzo's followers took from Mori before the elders came" he said in a low voice, and Iruka's eyes widened.

"Something? What was it?" the Chunin asked, heart beginning to pound.

So it wasn't Mori's fault for the destruction! Iruka knew she wouldn't do this willingly.

Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

"I couldn't get a good look at it, but I know Mori wouldn't do this on purpose. Something had to be controlling her" he said, eye narrowing.

"You should be at the hospital Iruka. She needs you there" the Jonin finished, looking at the Chunin softly.

Iruka nodded and picked his way out of the rubble before rushing to the hospital. Kakashi watched Iruka go and frowned. He knew that his friend cared for the Chunin deeply, and Iruka cared for her in return. He sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. What a mess his furry friend got herself into.

Iruka burst through the front doors of the hospital and immediately went to a nurse.

"Please! Can you tell me where the woman I brought in is? Is she okay?" he asked in a rush, heart pounding.

The young nurse looked at the Chunin and glanced worriedly at the hallway behind her. Iruka swallowed down the bile that rose in his throat as the nurse led him farther away.

"Your friend, is she the one with white hair?" she asked in a hushed voice.

At his nod, she sighed.

"We got the bleeding to stop thankfully, but her chakra is incredibly low. She's breathing on her own again but we aren't sure for how long that will last for. What happened to your friend? Was she also attacked by the giant creature?" the young nurse asked, eyes widening with the last question.

Iruka paused, and nodded hesitantly. The nurse hmm'ed and looked at the clipboard she was holding.

"You'll have to wait to visit her. The village elders are in there with her right no-hey!" she cried out as Iruka bumped into her shoulder as he took off down the hallway.

The village elders wanted to restrain Mori for interrogation, and Iruka swallowed a lump as he ran past room after room. If the elders got to Mori, it would mean imprisonment. She wouldn't survive the interrogation process let alone the imprisonment in the current state she was in. Iruka briefly glanced in every room he passed until he came to the room he was looking for. The two village elders glared at him as he skidded to a stop in the room. He took a step into the room and stopped, eyes wide when they landed on the woman lying on the hospital bed. A large bandage was taped over her chest wound, while other bandages dotted her skin here and there. An oxygen mask was placed over her mouth and her chest rose and fell in shaky bursts. The sound of the heart monitor beeping steadily gave Iruka only a measure of comfort as he walked up to the village elders. He gave them a small bow but kept his eyes on the injured woman.

"Iruka! What is the meaning of this!" the sister of the two said in a scolding tone as the Chunin pushed past them to grab Mori's hand.

"I know Mori didn't do this on purpose! Something happened that made her go crazy" he said as he turned to face the elders.

Iruka swallowed as his heart plunged into his stomach when he felt the coolness of Mori's limp hand in his. He gripped it tighter, hoping to transfer some warmth into her hand from his.

"This woman went berserk and destroyed part of our village, not to mention killed one of our shinobi and two villagers. You call this act not on purpose?" the brother elder spoke, scoffing at the desperate Chunin.

"She will be detained to this hospital bed until she regains consciousness. Only then will she be brought to the interrogation unit and imprisoned" the sister then spoke, voice gruff and strict.

Iruka's eyes widened.

"You can't do that! She'll die from the interrogation and you know it! The previous Hokage would have never allowed this to happen!" Iruka shouted.

"Iruka! Calm yourself! Where is your sense of village pride? This woman destroyed our village and yet you defend her! If she expires then that's for the best of the safety of this village" the sister snapped, cheeks red with anger.

Iruka gritted his teeth in anger and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when the hand he held tightly twitched for the briefest second. He blinked and glanced down at Mori, but her condition didn't change. The heart monitor that was beeping steadily began to quicken. Her chest rose and fell quicker and a muscle in her cheek twitched. The elders gasped when Mori's eyes snapped open, red orbs moving rapidly around the room. Her pupils were black slits as a growl rumbled from her chest.

"Mori? Can you hear me? It's Iruka" Iruka said, gripping the now-trembling hand tighter in his.

Mori's red eyes locked onto his dark ones, and a snarl crept over her face. Before anyone could move, Mori yanked the mask off her face and tore at the needles in her hands. The village elders began shouting for the doctors and nurses as Mori let out another snarl as she struggled to free herself.

"Mori, what are you doing? Stop! Relax, it's me" Iruka murmured to the struggling woman.

She let out a growl as her muscles bunched. She head butted Iruka in the chin and leaped through the window, the sound of glass breaking echoing in the hospital room. Iruka stumbled back and held his throbbing chin, eyes wide. Doctors and nurses rushed in to see what happened as the elders screamed. Iruka stood rooted to the spot, shock freezing his muscles. Blood outlined the broken glass and Iruka blinked, breaking out of his shock.

Iruka rushed out of the hospital and stopped, looking around for any signs of the injured woman. He noticed some drops of blood leading away from the hospital, and jogged down the street as the drops led him away from the village. They stopped as soon as Iruka entered the forest training area, and he felt his gut clenching in fear.

"Just leave her by herself" he heard a voice behind him, and Iruka whipped around to see Kakashi standing there, hands in his pockets.

"Did you see her come this way?" Iruka asked, heart pounding when the Jonin nodded.

"She's still healing and both human and wolf are volatile. It's best give her some time to fully heal" Kakashi said.

Iruka sighed and nodded before looking at the Jonin. His eye seemed conflicted and had a far-away look to it.

"Kakashi, has this happened before?" Iruka asked as he gazed at the Jonin.

Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yes, but a long time ago" he said.