Howling Dragon
Chapter 10- The Encounter
Shizune was altered when the two Wolf Dragons entered Tsunade's office and demanded to see her.
"Lady Tsunade's not here…" she told them fearfully
"Anyway, we are looking for a Wind Wolf Dragon called Ryu" Kaminaru told her
"Ryu? He already came here…"
"And where's he?" Mo asked
"He's left with Naruto, Lord Jiraiya, Lady Tsunade, Sakura, The Chief Toad and his children…"
"What? And where did he go?"
"I don't know… they said something about finding Ryu's friends…"
"Oh, crap!"
"Let's go" Kaminaru said as he and Mo left the tower and headed towards the gates
"What do we do now?" Mo asked "we are too late, Ryu has already been here, and we don't have any idea of where he could have gone!"
"We should try to find something that contains his scent, and track him down" Kaminaru answered
"And how to you expect to-? OW!"
Mo growled in pain as he lifted his front right paw and saw a piece of broken glass had stuck in it.
"Damn it!" he growled
"Let me help you"
Kaminaru checked the broken glass and quickly took it away, Mo howled in pain. Then he smelled the air.
"Wait a minute… that piece of glass… it has a familiar smell" he said
"Familiar smell…? You mean Ryu's smell?" Kaminaru asked
"It must, because it smells like him" Mo replied
"What are we waiting for?"
Both Wolf Dragons smelled the glass the best as they could. They smelled, absorbing the smell as much as they could, memorizing it the best as they could. When they were done, they smelled the air and departed towards their new destination.
XOXOXOXOXO
The group kept jumping from tree to tree, trying to think for any placed where to start looking for Calcifer.
"Where do you think we could start looking?" Jiraiya asked
"Well, Calcifer is a Fire Wolf Dragon, so I guess we should think of hot and volcanic places" Saiko suggested
"I don't know any place…" Naruto added
"What about Hitamura Village?" Sakura asked
"What?" Gamakichi asked as he grabbed tightly on Ryu's fur
"It's a village that lies in a volcanic terrain; it's located in the borders of the Fire country with the Wind country."
"I have heard of it…" Tsunade whispered
"It's settled then. If I were Calcifer, and luckily I'm not, I would go there" Ryu said
"Judging by the tone of your voice, I'd guess you and Calcifer don't get along, right?" Gamabunta asked
"… alright, I admit it. Calcifer and I never got along at all"
"At all? You guys hate each other!" Saiko added "you compete for the smallest thing. You even compete on reaching a place!"
"Alright, alright, Calcifer and I don't get along, we fight all the time, we always try to kill each other, satisfied?" Ryu asked Saiko irritated
"Well, that's better"
"Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom" Gamatatsu told his father
"I can't believe it!" Jiraiya exclaimed "why didn't you just say that before?"
Gamabunta sighed and landed on the ground, he placed his son in the ground with his tongue. Gamatatsu hopped behind a bush to do his necessities. The others soon landed close, waiting for the little toad to be finished.
XOXOXOXOXO
The Fire Wolf Dragon from before was resting on the branch of a nearby tree, licking his fangs to wipe the blood of the hare away. He was tired, and wondering what to do next. He couldn't just stay like that for the rest of his life; he had a homeland, he had a tribe, and those were in danger right now, but… what could he possibly do in his current situation? He alone against the Snake Man would be a stupid, if not suicidal, idea. He unallowed himself to tremble at the idea of facing his giant snakes; he had seen how many of his comrades perished in trying to fight them back. That moment, that doomed moment…
*flashback*
He watched in horror as the fire consumed the trees and many pups and female Fire Wolf Dragons ran for their lives. The males, on the other hand, tried to hold back the giant snakes with their flamethrowers, but they were no match for them. One of the snakes sent many Fire Wolf Dragons flying to their deaths, while another one hit the ground with its tail and killed many others. Finally, the Fire Wolf Dragon charged towards one of the snakes and coated himself in flames, but the snake hit him with its tail and sent him flying. He crashed against a tree as his flame armor extinguished, he felt terrible. Every muscle and bone hurt, it pained him even to breathe, after a while he saw black holes in his vision. Finally, the Fire Wolf Dragon lost consciousness.
*end flashback*
The Fire Wolf Dragon twitched his tail in irritation, just to remember that made him feel terrible. After he had woken up, the fire had already extinguished and his comrades were dead, all the life that had once been there had left. He shaked his head and jumped off from the tree branch to find another place to sleep.
XOXOXOXOXO
"Are you already finished?" Gamakichi asked his little brother annoyed, ignoring his father's glare "it's for today, you know"
"Gamakichi…" Gamabunta scolded his son
"Oh, come on, Bunta! Who takes about 20 minutes in going to the bathroom?" Jiraiya asked
"Well, if you think that's a lot of time, imagine us" Saiko told him
"What do you mean?"
"See, we first have to sniff to find a place that hasn't been marked yet"
"Marked?" Naruto asked confused
"See, canids have the tendency to mark their territory. If we pee on a place that has already been marked, you know what I mean, we would be insulting the creature that marked the place, so we have to look a free-of-mark place" Ryu explained
"…"
"See, it's like when a dog pees on a tree. If another dog comes and pees there, the dog that originally peed there will attack him because he was ignoring the mark" Saiko explained
"Hey, Saiko, don't confuse the boy!" Ryu said
"Oh, I got it!" Naruto exclaimed
"…really...?" Ryu asked him annoyed
"Don't worry, that's the way he is. You have to dumb down an explanation so Naruto can understand it" Sakura explained
Suddenly, two furred creatures came out of the bushes and growled at the group, bristling their fur. Saiko and Ryu recognized them immediately
"Kaminaru? Mo?" Saiko asked
"yeah, long time no see" Ryu added
"…"
"… sorry…." Kaminaru muttered as he tackled Ryu down, Mo did the same with Saiko
"What the-?" Jiraiya exclaimed
"What are you doing?" Sakura asked the two attackers angrily
"What did you two do?" Gamabunta asked Ryu and Saiko
"That's the very same question we want to ask them!" Ryu answered
"Sorry, we have strict orders to take you back to Siryo for your execution." Mo said
Everyone's eyes went wide open when they heard this
"what?" Ryu asked uncredously
"That can't be! What did we do?" Saiko asked confused and shocked
"The Council has decided to obey the Snake man"
"What? You have to be kidding me!" Ryu exclaimed
"You know he has the Great Alpha captive, what else can we do?" Kaminaru answered with a pained look in his face "and we must execute those who do not agree to follow the Snake Man's orders"
"Orochimaru…" Jiraiya muttered enraged
"But we're going to rescue the Great Alpha!" Saiko exclaimed angrily
"And do you know where the Snake Man has him? do you know how to fight the Snake Man?" Mo asked them coldly
"We already have fought him before" Naruto replied angrily
"Yeah, we can handle him" Gamakichi said
"It's not about that! It's about the Great Alpha; we can't risk to lose him!" Kaminaru replied with an angry glare and bared his fangs "so, you two like it or not, you're coming back to Siryo!"
Just then, Gamatatsu came out of the bushes and looked at Mo and Kaminaru
"Daddy, who are those doggies?" he asked his father curiously
"Prepare to fight" Tsunade called
"Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, go and find a place to hide" Bunta ordered his sons
"But pops, I want to fight!" Gamakichi told his father expectantly
"No, it's too dangerous."
"But pops-"
"Now!"
Despite his anger, Gamakichi and his little brother hopped away.
"Raiton: Kaminari no Torikumu! (N/A- Thunder Armor)" Kaminaru yelled as he charged towards Saiko as he charged electricity in his fur and eventually engulfed himself in electricity. Ryu reacted and pushed Saiko out of the way, but Kaminaru instead kept charging towards Naruto
"Naruto! Watch out!" Sakura called
"Naruto, use your Ookami fomu! (N/A- Wolf Form)" Ryu quickly ordered
"What's that?" Naruto asked horrified
"Think in… transforming!"
"Transforming?"
Suddenly, Naruto fell to the ground and began to morph: he grew fur, wolf ears and tail, a muzzle, and eventually was forced into a quadruped state. Eventually, Naruto was human no more; he had turned into a Wolf Dragon. His fur was orange with a light yellow underbelly, legs and face, his eyes were blue, he had blue lines on his back. Naruto, however, still kept his spiky hair on his head. Naruto reacted instinctively and avoided Kaminaru's attack, much to everyone's shock
"What- what happened to me?" Naruto asked horrified
"It's the ability I talked you about!" Ryu explained as he avoided an attack from Mo
"What about me?" Sakura asked as she threw Kunais at Kaminaru, who avoided them
"You also can do it, but your fur would be different in color and markings."
"Suiton: Teppodama!" Bunta yelled as he shot several water bullets at Mo and Kaminaru, who couldn't avoid them.
"Now it's my turn! Katon: Endan!" Jiraiya yelled as he shot fire bullets. Kaminaru and Mo avoided them, but one of the bullets burned Mo's back leg.
"OW!" Mo yelped in pain and looked at his burned leg.
Gamakichi stared at the battlefield from the hiding spot he and Gamatatsu were in. he felt the desire to go and battle with them… but he also knew his father would be furious if he disobeyed him… Gamakichi found himself with a strong predicament: his desire to fight against his father's anger. And he knew what had happened to the last person that made his father angry… only its hat was found. Finally, Gamakichi couldn't stand the pressure anymore and went out of the hiding spot, leaving a confused and scared Gamatatsu in there. Mo was shocked when the little toad gripped to his back and tried to knock him off his back
"GAMAKICHI!" Bunta yelled angrily at his son
"Get off me!" Mo yelled
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked his toad friend shocked and afraid for his life
"Gamakichi, let go off him! He can ki-!" Saiko yelled before Kaminaru advantaged of his worry about Gamakichi and attacked him with his Thunder Armor. Saiko groaned angrily as he tried to stand up. Finally, Mo threw Gamakichi off his back, got hold of his jacket and threw him hard against a tree, much to Gamabunta's horror.
"Gamakichi!" he yelled horrified as he swiftly jumped next to his son. Ryu got angry and glared at Mo
"Mo, how could you?" he asked him angrily "he's just a child, you know!"
"He attacked me by surprise!" Mo replied
"KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Naruto yelled angrily as he made various handseals and shadow clones appeared next to him. The clones threw kunais at the two Wolf Dragons, who couldn't avoid. Then other clones kicked them into the air, and other clones kicked them higher. Finally, the original Naruto kicked both Mo and Kaminaru down. Both hit the ground hard, after a while they lost consciousness. Naruto's clones disappeared and he ran along with the others next to Gamakichi, who was now unconscious in his father's arms. Gamatatsu got out of his hiding spot and ran to his father afraid, then hugged him tightly.
"Daddy!" Gamatatsu cried as tears streamed down his face. His father sighed and picked him up also. Tsunade touched Gamakichi's chest to look for his pulse.
"… He's alive." She said relieved "just unconscious, he will wake up in a few hours."
"I mean… he just went and gripped to Mo's fur?" Saiko asked confused
"In fact, who would want to do such a thing without thinking it twice?" Sakura asked worried
Gamabunta didn't say anything; he just stared worried at his two sons: Gamakichi was hurt and unconscious while Gamatatsu was scared. He also felt angry; Gamakichi had disobeyed him intentionally… he felt guilty, thinking he should have expected this from him, but… he didn't want to distrust his own son, his heir… after a while, Bunta sighed.
"Guys, we should get going" Jiraiya suggested
"Yeah, if those two wake up, it will be hard to lose them again" Ryu said "try not to leave any footprints"
Everyone got ready; Naruto volunteered to take Gamakichi while Gamatatsu went their father's head. After everything was set, the group once again departed to Hitamura village via tree jumping.
XOXOXOXOXO
In a dark and black burned forest, Kusa galloped towards a nearby cave. She went in and was met by several Wolf Dragons that looked like Kaminaru, but their fur coats had different tones of yellow and golden. They stared at the Forest Wolf Dragon with curiosity
"I have a message from the Council" Kusa announced
"What is it?" one of the Wolf Dragons asked
"… They have decided to follow the Snake Man's orders at least until they figure out what to do about the Great Alpha"
There was an angry murmur among the pack of Thunder Wolf Dragons
"But… to follow that cretin's orders?" a female asked
"And those who oppose will be declared as treason and executed"
"That's completely unfair!" another Wolf Dragon exclaimed
"Has the council lost their minds?" another murmured
"You perfectly know that the Snake Man will kill the Great Alpha if his orders are not followed" Kusa reminded them
The Wolf Dragons discussed the matter and finally came to a conclusion
"…very well them" the oldest said
Meanwhile, just outside the cave, a pup that looked exactly like Kaminaru except that his eyes were blue instead of gray and he was much smaller, being the size of an adult cat. He overheard the announcement made by Kusa and his eyes went open wide.
"… I have to warn Ryu-sensei" he muttered as he ran away
XOXOXOXOXO
After a long time after having set for Hitamura, the group decided to rest for the night in a nearby cave. The group has settled there a while ago, it was getting dark already. Jiraiya was trying to lit a fire, Tsunade was tending to Gamakichi. Saiko was doing sentry duty while Sakura and Naruto had fallen asleep a while ago. Ryu was thinking of a way to confuse Kaminaru and Mo: they would eventually wake up and track them down again… he thought knew they couldn't run away forever; they had to find a way that Kaminaru and Mo wouldn't be able to track them down again…
"But… how did they track us down? Did they get my scent or Saiko's? And how?" Ryu was asking to himself
Gamatatsu had fallen asleep and was resting next to Sakura. Gamabunta, meanwhile, was too worried to even get sleepy. He couldn't help to stop thinking about Gamakichi's attitude… why did he act like that? Why didn't he listen to him?
"Don't worry, he will be fine" Tsunade assured him
"Thanks, but…" Bunta sighed "I don't know how to talk to him…"
"It's normal at his age… adolescents tend to be rebel sometimes…"
"He misses his mother so much… as I do…"
"…"
Without warning, a memory came back into Bunta´s mind…
*flashback*
Gamalyra was in labor, Bunta was very nervous. They had used the shrinking technique during all of her pregnancy so there wouldn't be any trouble during childbirth… but right now, there was a problem: the hadn't gotten a doctor, and Bunta would have to help his wife himself. Despite his nerves, Gamabunta felt happy inside: he would be father in a few minutes.
"Come on, Lyra! You can do it!" he told his wife soothingly
"Bunta, it's not as easy as it seems, you know!" Gamalyra replied back panting painfully
"Everything will be okay, I promise… now, push!"
Lyra pushed with all her forces and let out a piercing scream… she panted heavily. Gamabunta felt about fainting ,but he would not budge: he was not going to leave his wife in a moment like this, though he could see the baby's head. His heart skipped a beat
"Lyra, the baby's crowning!" he said excitedly
"can you see him?" Gamalyra asked her husband
"I can see his head, just one more push."
Gamalyra smiled painfully: she was eager to meet her baby.
"Come on, dear, one more time… three, two, one, PUSH!"
Lyra screamed once again in one final push… a baby cry was heard. The baby was in his father's arms, covered with blood, fluid and crying angrily. He was orange with purple markings. Gamabunta cut the cord with his tsuba carefully and showed the newborn to his wife. Gamalyra was breathing heavily, but she felt happy when she saw her baby… her husband handed it over, the baby kept crying, he was cold.
"My little one…" Lyra whispered with happiness and tiredness
"How will we call him?" Gamabunta asked eager, something that wasn't usually heard in his voice
"I don't know… I didn't think on it now"
Gamalyra handed the baby to her husband, knowing he also deserved to hold him. After Gamabunta wiped his son with a towel and wrapped him in a blanket, the baby sneezed and opened his eyes…
"Lyra, he's got your eyes…" Bunta smiled
"But I think he looks more like you, dear…" Lyra replied with a warm smiled
When the baby's vision cleared and saw his father for the first time, he laughed and held his arms up to him.
"My little Gamakichi…" Gamabunta whispered to his son smiling, already naming him
"Gamakichi? It's a beautiful name…" Lyra said weakly once again as she fell asleep
Bunta, meanwhile, gave the bottle to Gamakichi. The newborn Toad sucked the milk hungrily, and after a while grabbed his father's finger.
"Hi, son" The Chief Toad smiled to his baby
Gamakichi just whimpered and struggled slightly. After a while, his eyes started to shutter. Bunta placed the bottle away, Gamakichi yawned and snuggled deeply into his father's embrace and fell asleep.
*end flashback*
Gamabunta smiled slightly with the memory, he loved to remember it… when Gamakichi was born, he used to like him more. He suddenly heard a groan and looked at Gamakichi, who had just woken up.
"Gamakichi…" Bunta whispered
Gamakichi looked at his father filled with fear; would he be angry? Was he going to punish him? But after a while, Gamakichi realized his father was not angry, at least not for now.
"Pops…" he whispered
"Gamakichi, why did you do that back at the battle?" Gamabunta asked his son, expecting an answer
"I wanted to fight…"
"Gamakichi, you know you could have died?"
"What? I only hit a tree! Don't exaggerate!"
"I'm not exaggerating; I just want to know what's wrong with you!"
"You would have realized already if you paid me attention for at least two seconds!"
"Gamakichi, I'm the Chief Toad. I don't have as much time for you and your brother as I should, but…"
"Hold on a second, pops! The only thing you do back home all day is your paperwork! Everything else apparently escapes your interest! You never let me fight!"
"And do you know why I don't let you fight? How hard is to be a parent? Do you have any idea of how much it hurts to see how your eldest son is almost killed by an opponent while you could do nothing about it?"
"but I'm GROWING UP! I don't need you to watch over me!"
Gamabunta felt as if someone had stabbed his heart; he couldn't believe what Gamakichi just said.
"Besides, since mom died you don't have a bloody sense of humor!" Gamakichi complained once again
"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" Bunta almost yelled to his son
"Stop fighting!" Sakura pleaded them, having woke up when the two Toads had started to argue "you are just hurting each other!"
Gamakichi looked at his father, and he did the same. Sakura was right, but they just didn't understand each other. They decided to save their argue for another time, and both went to sleep as Saiko kept watching around for any intruder.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx
Just to make something clear: I already know Toads are oviparous creatures and they do not drink milk… but it's my story, isn't it? Besides, I wanted to make some… emotional moments…