Title: Konoha's Tracking Hound
Author: Greygryph
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Summary: Inuzuka Moriko was just another Konoha kunoichi. Nobody ever said that Konoha's shinobi population was normal though.
Disclaimer: I, obviously own nothing you recognize. Inuzuka Moriko, however, is mine and I would very much appreciate it if nobody tried to steal her as she's been living in the back corner of my mind for about half a year and I'm quite fond of her. Other original characters, who may or may not make appearances, are either my own or belong to my friends who are, also quite fond of them. Please don't steal or accuse me of stealing. Its just silly.
Notes: My NaNoWriMo project for the month, so obviously a work in progress and completely and utterly unedited. Based off of one of my original characters in an RPG amongst my close friends. My plan to fend off summer break boredom spawned into a monster beyond my control and I decided it was time some of the back story was written. Cannon is followed as much as possible, but this is obviously AU.
Warnings: SPOILERS and VERY AU
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Chapter 2
Within minutes the fighting and carnage at the front of the ranks was thick. Devastating jutsu's were being thrown at the massive biju. Dragons made of earth and water smashed into the demon and the kitsune growled at them, then slammed its tails to the ground. Leveling parts of the forest.
In what felt like days but was only a few hours, the Konoha forces were barely holding out against the demon. Moriko had been called forward to the combat zone with the other chunnin. She flashed through hand seals and directed her chakra into the earth, calling out the name of a jutsu of her own creation, "Doton: Maikai Kanshisha no Jutsu!"
Near one of the Kyuubi's legs three massive dog heads made of rock burst out of the earth and latched onto the leg. The Kyuubi tore it's leg away with a growl and Moriko was dismayed to see the bite wounds already healing. Moriko was already firing up another Maikai Kanshisha no Jutsu, face grim. She couldn't allow the demon time to recover.
"Hokage-sama is coming!" Someone yelled, "Hold the demon!"
Moriko could hear the thumping of something large approaching at high speeds and spared the noise a glance. A massive toad was crossing the distance from the Hokage tower to the battlefield with leaps and bounds. Atop it's head, barely more than a speck compared to the massive size of the toad, was a familiar figure with his long white and flame trimmed coat.
Moriko, flashed through hand signs and pumped as much chakra into the technique as she dared, This time the three canine heads were twice the size as before and caused much more damage to the leg they latched on to. Moriko held the last seal and grit her teeth, fighting to hold the jutsu in place as long as she could.
All around the Kyuubi other's were performing jutsu's to hold the nine-tailed demon lord. Earth jutsus seemed to be the element of choice and soon mud walls and dragons were holding down the rest of the demon's legs as well as several of its tails. Moriko was relived when someone else sent a holding jutsu to the leg Moriko's rock canines were latched on to.
The Kyuubi roared its anger and then the Hokage was before him. He flashed through some hand seals and cried out "Shiki Fuujin!"
For an instant it seemed like nothing happened then a hazy figure began to appear behind the Yondaime. At it's appearance the Kyuubi roared it's anger and tried to jerk back, but the combined efforts of the remaining Konoha nin kept it in place. The hazy figure began to take on a distinct shape and Moriko felt the bottom of her stomach drop out.
The Yondaime had summoned the Shinigami. The God of Death. Wearing old samurai armor and having no visible face, the god towered over even the Kyuubi. It slowly reached out and grasped the fox by the scruff of it's neck and pulling. With a howl of pain the Kyuubi's soul was ripped forward, out of it's body, which, being a simple manifestation of the demon's chakra disappeared back within its soul.
Then, the Shinigami and the Kyuubi seemed to stretch out and slowly, the Shinigami itself seemed to fade with the glowing red of the Kyuubi seemed to whip around like a wind and then get sucked into the Hokage tower like a whirlpool.
With a defining roar the red chakra vanished and silence fell on the village.
Then the village seemed to explode into cheers. Moriko herself couldn't find the energy to cheer but instead grinned happily and in exhaustion. All eyes turned to the Hokage who suddenly teetered and collapsed forward off of the massive toad whom then exploded in a cloud of smoke.
The cheers turned into cries of dismay and shock at their Hokage fell to the earth. Moriko felt sudden dread fill her stomach as the Yondaime Hokage was caught by several shinobi before he hit the ground.
Moriko knew, to the very core of her soul, that Namikaze Minato was dead. Tears were already threatening to fall from her eyes at the thought. Instead of allowing them she turned to Kumori who was panting next to her. They both knew what needed to be done next.
All the surviving shinobi snapped into action as their sense of duty and experience with such situations took over any thoughts they had to stop or collapse. They would mourn when their comrades were all treated and safe, and when the rest of the dead were accounted for. Teams formed almost instantaneously, as shinobi latched onto their closest comrades and set about recovering the injured and dead from the destroyed forest outside Konoha.
Moriko and Kumori found herself quickly teamed up with a Aburame she'd never met before as well as two other shinobi without large, easily identifiable clans. Kumori and Moriko took point wordlessly as their noses would be the best bet at finding comrades buried under fallen trees and smashed rocks.
They quickly found several injured shinobi who waved them off then they stopped to help them. "We were the lucky ones. We didn't get hit with trees. Inuzuka-san made sure we got out of the way before they hit." One of them said with a groan as he pressed a hand to his broken arm.
Moriko felt her blood run cold. Her nose quivered as she caught the scent of humans under the pile of shattered trees and loose earth and rocks. Moriko and Kumori quickly pinpointed several more unconscious and dead shinobi in that particular jumbled and then something caught Moriko's eye that made her freeze.
Naito, her father's loyal hound's, body was lying half crushed under a log. His black fur matted with blood and caked with dirt, and one of his legs mostly gone. Moriko's eyes desperately searched the nearby wreckage of a forest until she spotted a splotch of red amongst the trees and earth. It was the red swirl shoulder patch of all standard Jounin and Chunnin uniforms. Directly underneath the swirl patch was what caught Moriko's eye. There was a second patch with a red fang on it stitched to the arm. It was her father's personal touch to his uniform.
"Tou-san." She whispered in shock and then bolted forward, digging desperately in the dirt to unearth her father. She quickly found that he was half crushed beneath the very same tree that had pinned Naito. When she brushed aside the branches covering his face, and chest a shuddering breath sounded.
"Tou-san." She whispered again and looked around desparately, "Help! I need help! Medic!" she screamed desperately. She felt her father's hand reach out and gently grasp Moriko's own. Tears were streaming down Moriko's face now and she clung to her father's hand even as his eyes squinted open and a small smile flickered across his face.
"My…little…Moriko-chan." He sighed out and blinked slowly, "Grow…up strong…my little hound." He breathed even as his eyelids drooped closed and his hand fell limp.
"No! Tou-san!" Moriko cried out and desperately grasped her father's flack jacket with both fists. "Tou-san, you can't die! You swore!" She choked out "You swore you'd always be there!" she sobbed and collapsed over her father's chest, heedless to the world surrounding her.
It wasn't until a strong set of arms gently pulled her off her father that she even became aware of the outside world again. Moriko was pulled into a comforting hug and the familiar scent of Raidou-sensei filled her nose. Moriko fisted her hands in her teacher's uniform and clung to him, sobbing. She wasn't even aware that she was still on the ground then until she'd exhausted her tears and simply lost all the energy she had left.
She leaned against Raidou, her forehead resting on his shoulder as he held her, doing his best to sooth her. Finally Moriko heard approaching footsteps but she couldn't bring herself to care enough to check and see who it was.
She heard Raidou ask, "Can you put her into a light sleep, Healer-san?"
"Hai, its probably the best we can do for her. She'd completely spent, poor dear." A woman's voice said nearby and soon afterwards she felt a cool hand touch her forehead gently and then Moriko was drifting.
She could feel Raidou-sensei gently shift her in his arms and then stand. She was being cradled like a child in her sensei's arms. If she could feel anything at that point she would have been embarrassed at the childish treatment she was getting, but as it was she couldn't seem to bring herself to care.
She felt herself swaying in and out of sleep as Raidou carried her off the battlefield. She felt oddly separate from her body. She couldn't have moved a single finger if she'd wanted to at that point, she was too weak and the healer-nin's jutsu had let her slip that far away and close to sleep.
"Raidou-sensei!" Moriko was pulled away from her partial sleep and into the world of paralyzed awareness by the note of worry in Kotetsu's voice, "Is Moriko okay? Are you okay?"
"Moriko's just asleep right now. Keep an eye on her for me. She shouldn't wake up for a while, but still. I'm fine but they need more help getting the injured and dead out." Raidou said and Moriko felt herself being gently lowered onto a makeshift cot, one of the many the hospital staff had sealed away in scrolls for emergencies like this.
"What happened to her?" Izumo asked quietly and she felt someone wipe her face with a wet cloth to clean off some of the dirt.
Moriko heard Raidou-sensei paused and tried to stay to hear what he'd say, but she was already drifting again. This time she couldn't seem to pull herself back and she finally toppled into an exhausted sleep.
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End Note: Again, reviews are welcome, constructive criticism too. Mindless flames, however, not so much. Please consider, before you flame, that I am, like you, simply a person who loves to write and isn't looking to do anything but complete a goal with this story.
With that note, my current word count at the end of this chapter is: 4,841/50,000
-Greygryph