Chapter 10: "Bite me…! On second thought, don't."

As he barely dodged another beam of red light, Naruto wondered when he would start thinking with his brain. The lady chasing him had been the only one in the corridor when the first Shadow Clone was dispatched off. The clone hadn't heard any doors open or any footfalls, so why hadn't he deduced from the start that it was this stick swinging lady who had destroyed the clone? But he paid dearly for his lapse of concentration as Bellatrix hit him with a Disarming Charm, sending him into the wall. Growling, Naruto stood and launched three kunai at Bellatrix, but soon found himself ducking under a kunai thrown by Bellatrix after she blocked the shuriken with it.

Glaring at Bellatrix, Naruto put his fingers together in a familiar hand seal.

"Shadow Clone jutsu!" Seven clones appeared in a cloud of smoke and spoke as one as they drew kunai and shuriken. "Block this!"

But the next moment he yelped, as all of the kunai and shuriken was sent flying towards him with increased speed as Bellatrix just waved her wand. Knowing it would be best to locate Kakashi and Remus without attracting more attention, Naruto threw another shuriken, just as Bellatrix raised her wand again, and took off at full speed. From the scream of fury, Naruto assumed he had hit her, but he didn't stop to look back. Which he guessed was a good thing as a jet of green light flew right over his shoulder and made a rather nasty burn mark on the wall.

Naruto had no idea how long their 'game' of tag lasted, but he did learn that there were at least fifteen stories with cells with two staircases in each end. But unfortunately, he soon lost track of what storey he was on.

'And what is worse… I can't shake that crazy witch off my trail. I need to buy some time. I need to hide. There!'

Swinging open one cell door, Naruto made to dash inside. But what he saw after opening the door and taking one step made his body freeze in the doorway.

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Kakashi dreaded the moment Orochimaru would return. But at least he knew Naruto was still free, and apparently running around. But he couldn't help but be worried. He knew Naruto was not defenceless. Heck, he could perhaps beat some of the jounins and Kakashi himself. If it came to raw power, he definitely could. But Kakashi knew, perhaps better than most, that raw power alone never was the deciding factor in a battle. He had more than once in his career turned his opponents' raw power against them. But the pain he still felt after Bellatrix was done left him wondering if he was going to survive this time.

It had been pain unlike anything Kakashi had ever felt in his entire career as a shinobi. And he had been subjected to almost every form of torture. But nothing came close to that of Bellatrix Lestrange. One word and his entire body had been subjected to pain great enough to make him scream out loud. Every muscle, bone, nerve and fibre had felt like they were on fire. So when one of the guards had interrupted, and he was not proud of admitting it, been relieved. But when the guard had spoken, Kakashi would gladly admit he felt his blood freeze with worry for Naruto. Bellatrix was to apprehend Naruto, though they didn't seem aware of his identity, by all means short of killing.

Kakashi must have somehow dozen off or something, for Kakashi kept seeing the last scene from his nightmare. He was still observing his younger self cry over Minato's body. Then he had seen them: the same sinister amber eyes accompanied with a threatening growl. But this time he saw who the eyes and growl belonged to.

To Kakashi, it looked like some sort of bizarre hybrid of human and wolf. But before he could get a good look at it, the scene in front of him was enclosed in smoke, obscuring his vision. But the smoke didn't muffle the screams of horror and pain, nor the horrendous sound of flesh being torn from bone. In the next moment the creature came barrelling out, blood around its mouth, and jumped at Kakashi. The next Kakashi knew was that he was staring up and into the wolf like creature's eyes, unable to move as the creature almost squashed his chest with its front paw. As it began lowering its head to his throat, Kakashi heard the wolf like creature snarl.

"Pleasant dreams, Kakashi?"

Even if he was asleep, Kakashi would always recognize that voice. Tilting his head slightly, Kakashi smiled. "Yep. But then this greasy voice spoke, and my dream turned into a nightmare. Then I wake up and find the voice's owner in front of me. Mind explaining what you are doing in my dreams of a scene from Icha Icha, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and made a motion with his hand to the guard. "Leave us."

The guard nodded and left, closing the door after him. Orochimaru smiled as he stepped closer to Kakashi. "How delightful to see you again, Kakashi-kun. I hope Bellatrix wasn't too hard on you? I guess so since you are still able to come up with witty remarks. You used to infuriate Jiraiya with them when he and I visited your old man."

Kakashi snorted at that. "Yeah, I remember that. Even then I thought you were creepy and gross."

Kakashi thought that would anger the Snake Sannin, but much to his shock, Orochimaru stayed calm. And something in his voice made Kakashi suspicious of his words. "That's strange. I seem to remember you were quite, content, when I hold you in my arms after your mother passed away. I seem to remember you were two at the time. Just as I seem to remember you called me 'Uncle Orochi' till you were three."

Kakashi internally cringed at what Orochimaru said… especially because it was true. He had been two years old when his mother died, and while Sakumo and Jiraiya and some of the other shinobi was lowering the basket into the grave, Kakashi had clung on to Orochimaru, sobbing his heart out, refusing to let go Kakashi frowned. Orochimaru was acting strange. He had expected sadism and cruelty, not reminiscing about times over two decades ago. But the curiosity got the better of him. If Kakashi could get an answer to something that had, well not haunted him, but nagged him for years, he didn't mind the change of Orochimaru's personality if it meant getting some answers.

"Why Orochimaru? Why did you turn on Konoha? I still remember you as one of the most successful field commanders."

Orochimaru looked surprised for the fraction of second, and then he smiled. "Why, I'm touched Kakashi-kun. But you don't need to think about that. Now, tell me… what do you know about werewolves?"

Kakashi thought for a moment Orochimaru had gone completely mad, more than he thought anyways, but he couldn't help but twitch his lips into a little smirk. 'Changing the topic, huh? Well, two can play that game.'

"Well, yes, Jiraiya-sama told he is already writing the next Icha Icha. I think it going to be called 'Icha Icha, Moonlight Dream'. Can't wait till it comes out."

Orochimaru was not amused. Narrowing his eyes, he glared at Kakashi and spoke with a dangerous hiss, convincing Kakashi he was back at his usual dangerous self.

"I don't have time for you cheek, boy. Now, answer me… what do you know about werewolves?"

Kakashi schooled his expression into one of excitement. "According to Jiraiya-sama, the main character is going to have a dark secret. An inner animal if you will."

That seemed to be the last straw for Orochimaru. He backhanded Kakashi vehemently, ripping his mask off in the process. Orochimaru smirked when Kakashi scowled at him.

"Ah yes. I had almost forgotten how you looked behind that mask. But as you won't answer my question when I ask nicely, I will have to get rough. Perhaps this will get your cooperation? Crucio!"

Kakashi's eye went wide in shock, but the next thing he knew, he was screaming in agony, writhing in his shackles. He was really starting to hate those wands, for he had noticed Orochimaru had drawn a wand from his robes before he was hit. Through the haze of pain he felt after the curse was lifted, he barely registered the door swing open. Unfortunately, Orochimaru did. He spun around and snarled.

"Crucio!"

But apparently someone had the same idea in mind, for just before the word left Orochimaru's lips, Naruto was lifted into the air and blown into the cell, howling in pain with his back rigid and legs and arms twitching uncontrollable. His body went entirely stiff as Orochimaru's curse hit him, and the force of the spell caused Naruto to slam into wall. He slid to the ground, dazed and whimpering in pain.

Naruto's screams and howls had brought Kakashi out of his haze, but enraged as he was, he also knew he would need all the strength he could muster later on, so struggling against the manacles wouldn't do him or Naruto any good. But that didn't mean he couldn't express his contempt and hatred. He glared at Orochimaru as the latter grabbed the whimpering Naruto by the hair and dragged him over to the manacles that prior had been occupied by Lupin.

He growled as Orochimaru slammed Naruto into the wall and chaining him up, contempt, loathing and fury lacing every word. "Leave him alone. It's me you want."

Orochimaru ignored him as he fastened a golden collar with a black stone in it around Naruto's throat. The moment the collar was in place, the lock clicked before melting, leaving the collar as a hand wide ring around Naruto's throat and neck. A frown gracing his features, Orochimaru took a step backwards, clearly examining his handiwork. Then he smiled. A smile that sent shivers down Kakashi's spine.

"That might very well be, Kakashi-kun. But I would be a fool not to utilize this opportunity. Of course I could just kill the boy and thus ruin the Akatsuki's plans, but how often do you get a Jinchuuriki as test subject? But I need to apply one last thing, just to ensure I don't get an unpleasant surprise."

Before Kakashi could blink, the fingertips on Orochimaru's left hand flared purple and Kakashi barely managed to register the element symbols for water, metal, earth, fire and wood before Orochimaru lifted up in Naruto's jacket and t-shirt and in the next moment, he rammed his hand into Naruto's stomach, just around the seal on his stomach. Naruto let out a harsh cough as the air was knocked out of him, and then he slumped forward in his chains, unconscious.

Kakashi couldn't do anything but stare with a foreboding feeling in his stomach as Orochimaru pulled out a syringe with clear yellow liquid.

Orochimaru stepped back and nodded at Bellatrix in the doorway. Wordlessly, although with a smile on her lips, she moved forward and removed every weapon pouch and hidden weapons from Naruto. Then, with a flick of her wand, she released Naruto from his restraints and he unceremoniously fell to the ground, face first.

If it wasn't for the erratic breathing of Naruto, Kakashi would have thought Naruto had been killed like you put down a dog at the vet.

Kakashi might be cool and calm in his voice and on the outside, but internally he was a bomb waiting to go off.

"What have you done to him you snake? I don't care what you do to me, but let the boy go!"

Orochimaru tilted his head to the left, a slight frown on his face. Then his eyes and face lit up in a cruel smile as he stepped closer to Kakashi.

"No can do, Kakashi-kun. But fear not… I will leave the both of you alone for a couple of days. The sedatives I just gave him should be out of his system by then. But I'm afraid I will have to put more, stable, measures of restraints on the boy. But for now, this will have to do. Now… it's your turn."

Ignoring Bellatrix's gleeful cackle and smile, Kakashi steeled himself for another round of torture, a murderous glare firmly in place. But as he expected, Orochimaru calmly ignored the glare as the Snake Sannin came closer and pulled out a black senbon. So it was no surprise for Kakashi as the Sannin tore off his left sleeve, exposing his ANBU tattoo.

Kakashi grinned wryly.

"Sorry Orochimaru, but I'm not attracted to you. Your hair is greasy and you are far too pale. Besides, I'm not into men."

That little remark earned him a swift punch to the jaw. Kakashi didn't even wince, he simply glared as Orochimaru took a painfully grip around his left forearm. The next thing Kakashi knew registered was a searing pain and he couldn't help the gasp escaping his lips as Orochimaru pushed the senbon into his arm, exactly where the tattoo was. Kakashi was prepared for more senbons piercing his flesh, but instead Orochimaru pulled the black senbon out and threw it into a corner. Kakashi noted where it landed from sound alone, keeping his glare firmly at Orochimaru as the Sannin took a small step backwards, pulling out another syringe with same yellow liquid.

Orochimaru chuckled at Kakashi's glare. "Interesting. Sasori and I worked together on that sedative and poison that senbon was laced in. It seems to be working better than I expected. I will leave you now, Kakashi-kun. And due to your remarks, neither of you will get any food. But you will get water."

He stepped forward and whispered in Kakashi's ear. "Don't disappoint me, Kakashi-kun."

With that he left and Bellatrix released Kakashi from his restraints with a nonchalant flick of her wand, causing him to fall forward, but he managed to twist his body so he fell on his right shoulder and then roll onto his back, face pointing in the direction of the senbon. Feeling the sedative with all his willpower, Kakashi heard Orochimaru on the other side of the locked door.

"… nights. Lock off one of the safe rooms. And put some guards on the floors our guests occupy."

That was all Kakashi heard before everything went black.

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Remus didn't know for how long he had been out. But considering he had been sedated and was exhausted, he wouldn't be surprised if he had slept a couple of days and nights. He just knew that his left arm was aching, leading him to believe he had laid on it for too long. But when he was about to shift slightly, hoping to get some more rest and thus strength should the opportunity for escape present itself, that idea was quite brutally removed from his mind as felt the breathtaking pain in his chest.

But what happened came as a shock to him, as he had only felt like this many a morning since he was eight. He felt the rage, blood thirst, urge to maim and hunger he felt every morning after the full moons until the Wolfsbane Potion came boil in his veins.

He involuntary bit his lower lip, trying to sate the blood thirst. But instead he felt a rush of anger and power surge through his blood and he came to the startling realization: It was full moon.

'Exactly, Remus! For too long you have kept me subdued! For too long you have kept me from my right! Too long I have been forced to harm myself as you and the other fools denied me flesh! But no more! Can you feel it? Can you feel my anger, my thirst, and my hunger! Tonight I will feast on the flesh of my enemies!'

Lupin opened his eyes and stood up with, the light from the moon illuminating the sky and room as he discarded his shirt, pants and sandals. Usually, he would have used a couple of charms that would made his clothes reappear on him after the transformation back to human as it was expensive and tiresome getting new clothes and repair the old ones every time, but with everything that had happened lately, he had only had time to so with his underpants.

'But, it's better than nothing.'

He had barely ended the bitter thought before the accursed globe came into view and he felt Moony's power flare and surge through his body. And as he dreaded, Moony's power had increased since last time. And he also realized how dependant and accustomed to the Wolfsbane Potion he had become, as the potion had made his transformations almost painless. And on the night Pettigrew escaped himself and Sirius in Harry's third year, the transformation had been less painful than normal as he had been on Wolfsbane for quite some time. But this time he felt the full pain.

He screamed and gasped in agony and fell to the floor as he felt his heart skip several beats while his ribcage expanded violently, his lungs and heart soon following suit. On the same time, he felt every muscle in his body twist, grow and change form and settle, while almost every bone broke apart, grew in size, changed form and mended themselves, his skin stretch painfully as his body adjusted to the wolf like form.

He felt his jaw break apart, change form while his teeth elongated, just as he felt his skull altering, getting more thicker and longer, and he was barely aware his screams had turned into howls and the beads of sweat pouring all over his body got sucked up in the fur that sprouted at a alarming rate.

And just as suddenly as the pain started it was gone, leaving Moony panting on the floor. He lay there for almost one full minute, barely moving. But as the werewolf stood up on all fours, it felt better than it had in years, as if the resent pain hadn't been there in the first place. Moony could feel the power surging through him, and he felt his muscles ripple with every move.

In the deeper recesses of his mind, Moony saw Remus in the cave the human had taken shelter in from when he was a kid and till the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered. It was this cave that had ensured Remus Lupin's survival all those years, as Moony was unable to find the way up there. Add to that, but the cave was located in a way that allowed Remus to bombard the wolf with stones, should he try to climb the mountain side. But knowing that the human wouldn't come out of there, Moony let out a gleeful howl.

Upon seeing the full moon high in the sky, Moony bowed his head in honour of his ancestor. It was then it happened. The smells bombarded his sensitive nose. Taking deep sniffs, Moony soon encountered different smells, identifying all of them as prey. One of them was reeking of fear and was so close that Moony almost could taste his flesh. Others were farther away and gave of the smell of anxiety, confusion and nervousness. But one whiff caught his interest more than anything.

It was faint, but it was there: Blood.

Taking more deep sniffs, Moony growled softly as the blood got paired together with images of a man with a mask and spiky grey hair. Glancing around, Moony quickly identified the exit. Growling, Moony took a few steps backwards, before moving forward, hitting the door with his shoulder. The door creaked, but otherwise showed no signs of budging.

Snarling in anger and frustration, Moony backed till the other end of the room, thus gaining a good run-up, before ramming into the door again. This time the hinges and door protested vehemently, but the door refused to give in.

Growling, Moony backed once again, and with a roar of anger, sprinted towards the door. Three feet away from the door, Moony leapt, using his entire strength, momentum and weight. The heavy wood door couldn't withstand the assault and it was smashed to smithereens. Slightly dazed from the impact, Moony took in all of his surroundings with all of his senses. Looking to his right, he saw the trembling form of a human standing fifteen feet from him, the sweat produced by fear pouring down what was visible of his face. Snarling, and still on all fours, Moony took a step forward.

The Sound ninja panicked. "Stay away from me!"

With that he threw a couple of kunai and shuriken at the looming form of Moony. Moony howled as the shuriken hit him, despite them barely scratching him as the fur pretty much stopped the incoming projectiles. But one of the kunai stuck in his left shoulder while a shuriken cut his snout and near his eye.

Enraged, Moony attacked and the last thing the Sound ninja saw was a mouth, full of white and yellowy teeth.

When Moony was done with the guard, all that remained was a bloody mass on the floor. The Sound ninja had sated his thirst and hunger, but it was nowhere near enough. Add to that, but Moony knew this was not his true enemy. Furious, he set out on the hunt for his adversary. And any one brave or foolish enough to come between him and his prey would face his rage.

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When Naruto came around, he was aware of three things. One: His entire body hurt, especially his stomach. Two: His clothes were slightly wet and three; he felt like he was drowning. Quickly getting up on his hands and knees, he spit out several mouthfuls of water. Still groggy, he stood up and shook his head trying to clear his thoughts a bit.

'I remember being chased by that crazy woman. Then… I opened a door and I saw that bastard to Orochimaru… or at least one who looked an awfully lot like him. But he wasn't alone… he… and… who?'

Then an image of Kakashi without his mask flashed through his mind, and he looked frantically around, and Naruto was sure he felt his heart skip a beat. Kakashi lay in the water, maskless, but he wasn't moving. Ignoring the ankle deep water, Naruto quickly crossed the short distanced between them and kneeled beside him. He was quite shocked getting the first real sight of his sensei's true face

"Kakashi-sensei… are you alright?" No response. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, wake up." Still no response. Naruto gave him a shove. "Kakashi-sensei, this isn't funny anymore. So why don't you just drop the act so we can get out of here?" Silence. A single tear slid down Naruto's cheek. "KAKASHI-SENSEI! STOP PLAYING DEAD, DAMN IT!"

One minute passed, two minutes, and when the third minute without any reaction from Kakashi passed, Naruto broke down. Tears was rolling unchecked down his cheeks, heavy sobs wrecking his body. He knew Shinobi rule number 25, but found that at the moment he didn't give a damn about those rules. He just wanted his sensei back.

"Kakashi-sensei, you can't be dead. You simply can't. Who is going to teach me more ninjutsu? I can't beat Sasuke as I'm now! So please, live. Live, god damnit!"

As he spoke the last words, he brought down his hands, clenched into fists, hitting Kakashi hardly in the chest. He brought up his right fist, quite like a child would do during a tantrum, but as he brought it down again, he let out a startled gasp as a hand caught his wrist in a vice-like grip.

"I'm sore enough without you hitting me… Naruto."

Naruto's eyes flew wide open, and his face lit up in a grin as he gazed into Kakashi normal eye, and despite Kakashi protesting, pulled the jounin into a sitting position and engulfed him into a hug. Kakashi was stunned. He was quite uncomfortable in the hug, not just because of his sore body, but after his father's death, affectionate gestures seemed wrong to him and they made him uneasy.

But after listening to Naruto rambling on about "lost you… alone… dead…", Kakashi realized that Naruto needed the comfort, or reassurance that he wasn't dead, so awkward patted the teenager on the back.

"Easy there, Naruto. Easy. I'm not dead and I don't plan on doing so anytime soon. It takes a bit more than to do me in, so you won't get rid of me that easily. Besides, I'm going to see you become Hokage some day, and you still have a long way to go before that happens."

Assured, Naruto let go before wiping away a couple of tears. He was embarrassed he had broken down like that, but to him it just felt as the right thing to do. Chuckling slightly, though with a hint of darkness in it, Naruto took in Kakashi's face; everything from the defined jaw line to his nose. Naruto couldn't help but blush slightly.

"You know Kakashi-sensei… this wasn't how I thought I was going to see your face."

Kakashi gave a dry chuckle as both of them stood up. "Believe me Naruto, that goes for me too. Then again, I had never expected you to see my face at all, nor ending up as Orochimaru's prisoner after hearing he was killed."

Naruto's eyes went wide with shock, although Kakashi also traced some fear in his voice. Not that he blamed him or anything. The Snake Sannin could give anyone the creeps. "So… it really was Orochimaru? But, he is supposed to be dead! Sasuke killed him! How is it possible?"

Kakashi frowned and clenched the bridge of his nose, thinking about the teenager's question. Coming up blank, he let out a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out. But first, we have to get the hell out of here and find Remus-san."

With that he went over to the corner where he knew Orochimaru had tossed the senbon, and after searching after it with his hands in water that almost was up to Naruto's knees, he found it. Smiling slightly, he stood up. But his smile was short-lived as he laid eyes on Naruto's downcast expression.

"Naruto?"

Naruto's head snapped up, and despite the darkness Kakashi saw the beginning of a panic attack setting in on the blond. His eyes were wide and never seemed to stay on the same place, small beads of sweat was running down his face and his breathing was uneven.

Had Kakashi been thirteen again, he would ask Naruto to pull himself together. But he wasn't and he had to remind himself that Naruto wasn't like him in so many aspects. Nor did he have the training of ANBU, the elite assassins.

Naruto had never been tortured for information during war were intelligence on the enemy was life-saving, nor had he been submitted to the physical and mental training most jounin and ANBU were in order to withstand the enemy's torture, even if it only was for a small amount of time.

The ANBU training came very close to the real deal of torture, and in order to pass, you had to last for five days, as it usually was too late for the enemy to do anything about the ANBU's plans after five days had passed.

For the jounins, the test was something they could choose to undertake and they had to last for three days. Not because their success rate was higher or some nonsense like that, but after passing the deadline for the mission with three days, the jounins would be considered dead and an ANBU clean-up squad would be dispatched to cover up the tracks and destroy the corpses. In the past, back when Kakashi took it, the test had to be taken in order to rise in rank from chuunin to jounin. Especially if the ninja wished to go on the difficult solo missions.

Kakashi remembered darkly how Minato had gotten a dark look in his eyes when asked about the test. And Kakashi would never forget Minato's horrified expression when Kakashi at age thirteen had asked Minato to sign the applications so he could take the test. Nor would he forget the row that followed between himself, Minato and Jiraiya. In the end, he had overtrumped them with the argument that they were low on jounin and they were at war.

And if Minato still refused to sign when filing the application as 'Kakashi Hatake, chuunin, recommended by jounin Minato Namikaze', he would file his application as 'Kakashi Hatake, Clan Heir and Head', meaning only the Hokage might have had a say in the matter as there was no older living Hatake in the village.

And Kakashi wouldn't forget the fight that ensued between the Third and Minato, Jiraiya and, for some reason, Tsunade, when the Third refused to reject Kakashi's application if it came to, although it was clear he wanted to. Doing so would be interfering with clan matters, and the agreement between the Hokage and the clans was that as long as the village's safety wasn't put at jeopardy, the Hokage wouldn't interfere with the clans' business. And if the Hokage interfered with something like that, it might have caused tensions with the other clans. And the last thing the Leaf Village needed at that time was an intern rebellion by the clans.

So in the end, Kakashi got what he wanted. The odd thing was that he didn't even regret it, although he wasn't happy with the comparisons people made afterwards. But he found he had to agree; just like Orochimaru and Danzou, he would use semi dirty tricks to get what he wanted and what was necessary to get done.

In either case, their current predicament was not something pre-genin were taught to deal with at the Academy, and Kakashi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Shaking his head to clear his head for his morose and morbid thoughts, Kakashi placed a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder, knowing he had to snap him out of it before the panic really got a hold on the boy. He could clearly see the boy thought Kakashi expected him to something, but Kakashi also knew just as well that if you were of no help at all if you panicked.

"Hey, Naruto. Right now, you just relax and let me handle this, okay? This old wolf still got a thing or two up his sleeve, so why don't you just me about this?"

Naruto's eyes lit up slightly with relief, but Kakashi could tell he still needed some convincing.

"Hey, when we get back, I will help you get Sakura on a date. Even pay part of the bill if you take her somewhere proper. Deal?"

Naruto's face went from slightly frightened and depressed to relieved and cheerful. "Really? You promise?"

Naruto knew he sounded childish, but he was scared. He had never been in a situation like this before, or anything remotely similar. And even if he would deny it later, Naruto was glad Kakashi took control of the situation. Upon seeing Kakashi's nod, Naruto smiled, and took a little step back to get Kakashi room to work.

"It's a deal, sensei."

Smiling slightly, Kakashi nodded and snapped the senbon in two. He was barely aware something he guessed to be blood was trickling down his left arm as he set about to work on coaxing the lock, straining his hearing to detect any guards approaching. It would have been have a hell of lot easier if he had access to his chakra as he would have been able to use a water jutsu to remove the bothersome door, but the senbon could be used too.

But in the back of his head, Kakashi had the nagging voice telling him something about the situation was utterly wrong. It wasn't like Orochimaru to provide means to escape, so Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling that there was more in this scenario that met the eye. But as the lock gave a soft click, Kakashi pushed those thoughts away for analysis for later. He had more pressing matters now.

Waiting a full minute with intense listening, Kakashi motioned for Naruto to come closer. Once the boy was right behind him, Kakashi readied the broken senbon for throwing and pushed the door open.

The water instantly gushed out, and the two shinobi jumped out, ready to take out possible resistance. To their great luck and relief, there were no guards. Quickly motioning for Naruto to follow him, Kakashi took off down the corridor. But they as they rounded a corner, they came face to face with a Sound-nin, his eyes wide and body tense. He was clutching a kunai in his left hand and a couple of shuriken in the right hand. His voice was hoarse.

"H…"

Assuming he was about to say 'Halt', Naruto gave an angry shout. "Bite me…!" as Kakashi swore and threw the senbon pieces, aiming for the man's throat.

But much to their surprise, the man fell forward before the senbon pieces hit him, making the pieces hit him directly in the face. And he gave no outcry or anything as he hit the floor, and as they looked closer at him, they saw why.

Naruto felt he was going to be sick while Kakashi narrowed his eye in thought. The man's back was ripped open from neck to coccyx, giving them a clear view of his spine that seemed to be broken several places. To Kakashi it looked like an animal's work, but what animal went into such frenzy?

But what happened next made even Kakashi slightly nauseous. Most shinobi could sense emotions somewhat when they became jounin, but Kakashi didn't even need his chakra to feel this.

Untamed feral rage and inhuman blood thirst was approaching, and fast at that. Glancing over his shoulder, Kakashi realized Naruto must have been able to feel it too, for the blond had gone deadly pale. Knowing it could be fatal fleeing from an enemy without having any idea of what you are up against, Kakashi got into a fighting stance.

Then he heard it. It was faint, but he was sure he heard paws on the hard floor. They was slowing down before coming to an abrupt halt. Then a soft growl was heard, and if Kakashi was to say what it belonged to, he would say a wolf. But this growl sounded more feral and deranged than any growl he had ever heard from a wolf. And the lust for blood was not what you found in your everyday wolf.

It was then they saw the one growling, and Kakashi felt his blood run cold. 'How can this be possible?'

Despite he had only seen the 'face' once, there was no mistaken it. This was the creature from his nightmares. It looked like a wolf and a man had been merged together in the most hideous mix possible, yet it was a practical. The front legs and paws were a lot like arms and hands, able to grab hold on something, or perhaps rather somebody, but still with a bestial touch. The body was a clear mix of human and wolf, and the hind legs was also human-like. Kakashi estimated if this creature rose on its hind legs, it would at a minimum be as tall as Jiraiya.

And despite the thick grey-bluish fur, Kakashi could see the muscles of the beast ripple with every growl and shift of the body. Looking closer, Kakashi noted all of its legs had long claws on them, the ones on the front paws glistening with what Kakashi concluded was blood, especially considering how the creature had blood smeared around its mouth, a bit of it dripping onto the floor with the saliva running from its lower mouth. But the most scary part, in Kakashi's opinion, was the eyes.

Deep amber eyes glowing with malice and blood frenzy, but still with a human like intelligence in them.

Kakashi heard Naruto gulp quite audible, and speaking with a timid voice, fear lacing every word. "On second though, don't."

Kakashi tensed as he saw the wolf creature take a deep whiff and a tentative step forward, eyes locked on them, as if calculating on something. As it let out a loud growl and its body tense up as if it was about to pounce, both man and boy spoke what first came to mind.

"Oh shit."

End chapter 10

AN: Sorry for the long wait, but I wanted this chapter to be as good as possible, as it is somewhat special to me. I know I focused a lot on Naruto in this chapter, but that will change. If you think I was unclear in my description of Moony as he is from Kakashi and Naruto's perspective, please let me know. I sought to make him a mix of William (the great werewolf) in "Underworld Evolution" and the werewolves in "Van Helsing."

If you haven't seen either of those movies, let me know so and I will try finding a couple of pictures.

And yeah, I know Orochimaru seemed somewhat OOC in this chapter. I did that on purpose to remind people that wasn't always a villain. Perhaps he wasn't loveable, but he was friendly to Konoha nin at some point.

See ya, and please let me know what you think.

Next time: Moony's Hunt and Strength