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LOOKING. FOR. BETAAAAAA!!!!
• Jack, be nimble...•
The town is within my sight. Winter is ending, and with it, the beast that ruled over my mind. The scent of mankind is highly unpleasant even more so up close. Trash and fire and grease fill my nose, combined with the sound of children laughing and playing, adults conversing idly on the sides of streets. It's a fairly rural and suburban environment, seeing as the bustling town is surrounded by sheep pens. The sheep baa and look at me as I walk past them on the gravel road, unknowing that I could very well be the end to their short lives if I want to be. However, that isn't my aim right now. Winter still isn't over, and my wounds are slowly reopening as the ice melts in the coming spring, so I need to feed off of man unless I get infected and die.
Again.
However, I have no intentions to become a pet. I refuse to bow down to the will of a master and live my days in bland servitude of someone thinking me nothing more than a dumb animal. That's why I don't dare enter the town. Little kids are grabby by my understanding, and people don't take well to huge stray dogs that said small children are midnight snacks to. Especially, from my knowledge of my sire, one that looks like a wolf. Yeah, I like my fur without bullet holes or spears or whatever this primitive-looking town has.
I'm on the very far outskirts of the village, stalking the area near the woods outside of the sheep pens. I growl in impatience, having waited a good long hour for sight of a shepherd. My goal is to lead a lamb astray or two when the shepherd's not looking, snatch it, then make it look like it was an accident by covering the corpse (skeleton, when I'll be done with it) on the bottom of a canyon or in a thorn patch. Heck, maybe I'll blame the neighbors if I want to... nah, I'm not smart enough to do that without opposable thumbs.
Thirty minutes later, a man enters my view. He has a cane in hand and is wearing simple brown pants and a white tunic. Despite his simple clothes, I believe I have rights to what I'm about to say.
Whoa.
He's hot. Tanned skin, wild, messy brown hair and greenish hazel eyes along with a tall, well-worked build. If I'd been human, I'd have a huge nosebleed, but my doggy form takes to literally drooling instead. What can I say?
My weak heart can't handle hot people, in this life and the last.
I'm snapped out of my trance as he whistles sharply, opening the gate to a small group of about fifteen sheep. They instantly rumble out the gate, shepherd in tow as he uses his cane to shove them in the right direction. I follow behind our of view for a while, using the soggy, melting snow to mute my footfalls as he leads his charges to greener pastures. He doesn't notice me, and the sheep are too tame to register me as a threat as I hide among green shoots of bushes and shrubs.
Eventually, we come to a clearing adjacent to a calmly flowing stream, a thing I thank the Lord for since muddy snow water is absolutely disgusting. I let the sheep settle into the small valley surrounded by trees, slinking a little further into the thorny undergrowth near the creek to lap up some water. The shepherd sits atop a sunny hill where winter is devoid from the dry, summer sun patch on the top. I lay on a rock on the riverbank, concealed by thorns and leaf buds.
The morning drones on in monotony, the groaning of my stomach reminding me each second of how delicious the moving marshmallows look right now. I wait for a sheep to stray from the herd just a little, worries of the shepherd subdued thanks to his little nap-taking. I'm happy he hasn't spotted me yet, it gives me a bit of reassurance on my stealth skills and my appearance. If he hasn't noticed me yet, it means that I'm not some ridiculous color like bright orange or hot pink. How could anyone hide in those colors?
I take the time to truly admire the world around me. Brittle trees sway in the wind, bluish green leaves budding on their branches. Ivy and weeds are already stringing the forest floor, mosses and grass littering the steppes surrounding the river. Minnows and crayfish lurk on the creek's bottom, water skiers and occasional dragonflies hovering above the water. The sky is bright but slightly cloudy, a gentle spring wind helping push the lazy clouds along. I enjoy the beauty of spring, drifting off to a time when I was very small, alone and in the wonders of the natural world. I feel a shift in my mind (very much like when I finally overtook the beast) and suddenly, the world is before me. My eyes close involuntarily, a deep breath of the free air entering my lungs and breathing life into my body. I can see it all, I can feel everything.
I can feel the dirt underneath my paws, the strands of life within the hollow wind, the birth and renewal of life beneath me, deep underground, but so close to the surface. I feel the life surging through the dead trees, the energy in the roots that extend deep into the strong, nurturing earth. I can hear the chirps of a songbird in the distance, the scuttling of a weasel as it wakes from it's slumber. I can smell the trail of slime on a red (I can see red!) mushroom left behind by a slug, the murmuring and bubbling of tadpoles in their eggs, the tender step of a fawn standing for the first time. I can feel the shepherd's heartbeats, soft and steady underneath the earth, beating to the gentle rythm that moves it all.
I feel that song deep within me, lost and dead, brimming with life as I am reconnected with it. I feel my bones shift, my body grow as I absorb the energy, heart pumping to a new beat and the world follows along. The forgotten tune moves my blood like it was created to do exactly that, mind and body connecting with everything, becoming one with the world. Everything is before me, I can see everything, softer than the touch of a baby just conceived, everything is within my grasp, not even the the quietest whisper or longest-forgotten scent is unknown to me.
Slowly, slowly, my mind shifts away again and I am brought down from the high, speechless as my body returns to the inanimate state, hot, inhuman tears on the ridges of my eyes.
I was, in those few seconds, alive.
I don't register anything for a while, silent, just staring at the inhuman reflection in the river. I saw them. My family. They were happy. My little sister was smiling again, so bright and warm and alive. My mother and father watched her, smiling as she twirled in the sunlight, beautiful and free. I could see Lili and Andrea, sitting next to each other as they comb each other's hair, Bambi and Lolly dogging Olivia's steps as she danced.
They were happy.
Even if it was without me.
That's all I could ever ask for.
I shake off my thoughts, pawing away the tears. I don't cry. I've always been an ugly crier.
I wait again, oddly light in my body as I'm acutely aware of everything. A new kind of voice whispers to me without words, like an urging that led me to see the sheep, to call one out. Entice them to come with it's song, to wait no more and play nature's tune as my own. I listen to it, closing my eyes and feeling out with that strange energy, that second blood that reaches out farther than my own, deep into the earth as it searches for what I desire. I feel a connection immediately, all within the span of three seconds, and I call to it. The shepherd stirs in his sleep, and I slow down my call, eyes snapping open and watching him carefully. He rolls over to his side and dozes off once more, oblivious to my song. A ram strays from the herd, swerving as if drunk, pulled along like a puppet on a string. Rams are Tougher and harder to catch, but bigger and juicier if I bring it down. Beggars can't be choosers when faced with opportunity, and in this case, I'll take it without hesitation. Boars are tougher than almost any sheep out there, and are the berserkers of the battlefield among animals.
I've devoured seven by my own hands- er, paws, when I was but a yearling.
Piece of cake, right?
I lick my chops and jump up immediately, the spell snapping as I veer off to the right and circling around the ram, eyeing the shepherd. The tame sheep don't bleat in alert when I get between the ram and the herd (weird, don't they have natural enemies around here? I'm at least part wolf, at the very least they should be screaming bloody murder) to effectively cut off escape to the herd. Safety in numbers is a pain to deal with, I prefer my one-on-one, thank you. Everything is going perfectly.
If only the stupid sheep would move.
The ram just stares at me and munches grass, completely oblivious. I can't kill it here- doing so would cause the sheep to panic and forever register me as an enemy, which would make my work much harder, plus barking to scare it to moving would wake the shepherd. I'm at a loss of what to do. I'm huge, a tank, but here I am, having trouble herding a stupid, much less intelligent ball of walking fluff. Stupid 'brains over brawn' rule of the universe.
What do I know is good at scaring sheep? Collies. Border Collies. Of course! I wanted to be a canine biologist in the Back Then (too late for that now, hm?) and what self-acclaimed dog expert would I have been if I didn't know the workings of a Collie? Collies use their eyes and occasionally mouths to herd sheep. I just need to do the same.
I copy what I can remember of Collie herding behavior, hunkering close to the ground and glaring the sheep in the eye, letting a low growl in my throat. The sheep staggers back a little, thankfully, because my body was not built for this much close proximity to the ground when standing, so I ease a bit taller and stalk towards it like I'd seen wolves do when hunting elk, a bit more confident with my past hunt of the deer. The strange energy courses almost lazily through my body, and I can feel it throb in my eyes.
It works, and the ram bleats and shuffles away from me, into the forest. Bingo! I quickly repeat, nipping it at the heels (super hard when you're almost two times as tall) and effectively leading it a good bit into the woods. As soon as we're a bit farther from the rock at the riverbank, I lunge. It goes out with a dying bleat as I bite it's windpipe, head swinging backwards as it tries to hit me. I don't give it the chance, letting go to snap down on the back of it's neck, a sickening crack shooting into the air as I end it. Much easier than a boar or buck.
The meat is thick and lean, like soft velvet on my tongue as I eat. The wool is hard to get by (and disgusting) but the skin peels easily. As I eat it, I feel the energy that was once in the sheep slowly tranfer into me through air on some other plane of existence I can't comprehend. What is this energy? It's not like anything-
I practically jump as I hear an enraged shout in the distance, spotting the shepherd wandering the clearing for the lost ram. I stand stock-still, frozen as I wait for his eyes to pass over me- our eyes catch.
Shoot.
I don't waste time and dart back, tail turned to the charging man as I run for my life, twisting and turning into thickets and rocky terrain to lose him. Next time, I'll be sure to enjoy my meal further from danger.
•Jack, be quick...•
The sheep sleep in peace, blissfully unaware of my presence. Two years, three months and six days. I've thinned the herds well, having spent more time hunting at night than in the brod daylight. In the wild, it didn't matter if the sub was high in the sky or if the moon was dipped low, all that mattered was if someone got the jump on you or not. Such is different with people. We humans (if I can count as one) are fragile in terms of combat and natural survivability, but our minds are unparalleled compared to the other creatures on the planet. As well as our, if cultivated correctly, freaky stamina.
Off topic.
Crickets chirp and the last of the cicadas die out as the sun sets on the horizon, bloody crimson and blinding light melting the fields of grass and rock in a volcanic wave of heat, temperature twisting the view. I feel the energy within it all, but the awareness fades off with another shot of irritation. It's bloody hell for me with all of this fur in the summer heat, and it doesn't help that I shed an insane amount, which leads trails for the villagers to track and try to flush me out. Spring is utter hell. I don't even want to think about the heat.
It's not the temperature kind.
Funny how authors in books and fan fiction from Back Then constantly ignore this part when saying their character 'tranfsorms' into an animal. Humans don't have a 'heat' period and are the only living things capable of reproduction without splitting in half or pooping out an egg as far as I know, so this is an entirely new area of living to me. It's different from having a period. I'm insanely itchy in certain areas, temperamental, and generally just angsty. But don't think I don't bleed awkwardly at least once a month.
Moving on.
Night overtakes the skies as the moon rises, a waxing crescent as it illuminates the earth underneath it. The sheep glow dully in the afterglow, mostly frozen in sleep with the occasional late-night grazer. My feet move silently in the night, wind rustling my fur like the dark, green grass. I look up to check the houses on the hill for any light, but not even a candle flickers in the distance. Everyone must be asleep. I inhale the cool, fresh air and the scent of sheep and rotting wood. I catch a whiff of water, warmth and oil. Dog? I doubt that it will get in my way. Most avoid me like the plague, though more aggressive ones still pick fights with me. Metal is heavy in the air, something new and different. The blacksmith in the area is in the middle of the town and a bit farther from the shepherds' huts. It makes sense if he is doing work into the night, but I don't smell the telltale fire of his mortar. Something is strange tonight.
A growl rumbles lowly in my throat. Change is never a good thing when all is already well. Change is something to be wary of, especially if you don't know what exactly has changed. I atop in my tracks. The scent of iron is very suspicious. In the Back Then, I learned about trapping wild animals. I knew how to set up snares and how to detect them. I doubt the shepherds will let me continue slaughtering their sheep, so I don't have any reservations in saying that they have probably set up traps. I need to look out for suspiciously grassy areas and avoid the fencing and keep an eye out for string of any type. I somewhat doubt that they have a rope I can't chew through, but it's better to be safe than to be sorry. As for the dog scent, the ones they own here are trained to hunt rats, not herd thrives. Guns aren't an issue, as I have deemed them inexistent in this place, or at least in this backwater town.
•Jill's a little cruel...•
I swiftly leap over the fence, slowly walking into the open field. My fur stands on end and for some reason I feel very, very vulnerable. The wind blows again, shuddering against my raised hackles and making me halt. A tree branch snaps, and I whirl around.
Not fast enough.
A knife slices the air in front of my face, imbedding itself into the ground. I growl and jump back, unprepared as a bark resounds behind me. I whip around again, shocked and alert (afraid) as a snarling, white dog tackles me. I yelp in fear as he pins me down on my neck, fangs sinking into my skin.
Oh God, he's got my windpipe-!
I snap and writhe underneath it, adrenaline coursing through my veins as shouts and whoops surround me. I use every last ounce of strength in me to push myself up, ignoring the teeth sinking further into my skin as I howl in rage, ripping myself away. I land on my back feet and launch, jaws snapping on thin air as it leaps back, growling at me. My mind flickers to my neck, the pain of four gaping holes in my flesh like bullet wounds. NY distraction is enough for this dog to attack, a bark and jump and we're entangled once again. I'm in the lead this time, maw locked onto the back of his neck and body draped on his shoulders. He's still standing, but barks in pain when I shake my head, leaping away and pulling off a chunk of meat.
"Oi! Akamaru!" Someone shouts and rushes towards the panting and whimpering dog. Pathetic.
Wait...
Akamaru?
I spit out the furry mess as two more figures rush towards the dog, this time standing between me and him. One of them crouches low (into an attack stance?) with their hands flat and perpendicular in front of them. Akamaru is an odd name for a dog, especially in a place where the people speak English. Maybe they actually have television here and the boy is a Kiba fan? Improbable, but not impossible.
"I told you to keep Akamaru back. Why? Because she is in heat, and therefore more dangerous." The tallest figure explains as his hand shifts in the moonlight as he resituates his shimmering glasses. His manner of speech is much too... Shino-like for my tastes. Are they into reenactment?
The clouds shadowing the moon drift away, the pale light casting it's full glory on the group before me. My jaw slackens and I feel my eyes grow wide, mind blank as I stare in disbelief.
They... How..? What..?
The carbon copies of Team Eight stare back at me. Their clothes are real, exactly the same in the anime, their headbands too real and perfectly tailored to be fake. I slowly look to the knife from before, and I wish I never did.
It's a kunai, real and sharp and as plain as day. I see flashes of that hellish arena, men and women in flak jackets and gleaming forehead protectors. I see their kunai holsters and tantō sheaths strapped across their backs.
I'm an idiot.
The signs were in front of me the entire time. Subtle things like the strange energy are understandable things to miss, but to have had a forehead protector flash in front of my face?
I can't process this correctly. First off, the pure irony. I, someone who knows the series, happens to transmigrate into an animal in the same world I know the fate of? I happen to meet three of the Rookie Nine? There's no way that this isn't some madman's plot.
I'm furious.
I snarl in rage, making the unit tense. I feel the energy- chakra- course through my veins and my bones snap and twist, and my anger grows despite the shocked gasps of Hinata as I grow larger and larger, quickly towering over their prepubescent forms. My muscles enlarge and claws sink into the soft ground as they grow, the skin atop the back of my head bursting, and I can feel Shino's bugs hum in fearful excitement. My transformation stops, but I'm too angry to register what has happened. The sheep have long since fled this part of the field, their bleating a distant call as shepherds move them away in the distance.
I growl, a dark, fearsome rumble like a mountain lion's roar. Akamaru whimpers but tried to stand, tries to protect Kiba.
Pathetic.
Shino's bugs swarm around me, their wings a beating hum as they circle me. Hinata's byakugan is activated, her hands shaking but eyes blazing like Kiba's. But I'm not looking for a fight.
I'm saving that for whoever did this to me.
I open my mouth, making them shift in preparation, but that's not my intention. "'Iss... off." I snarl in broken Japanese, stepping closer as the ground shudders underneath my stomp. Hinata and Shino flinch, the Hyuuga heiress staring at me in open shock and I can almost hear the gears turning in Shino's head. Kiba snarls, staring back at me with hatred.
"Like hell we're running away from you! Shino, Hinata, let's get 'im back for Akamaru!" He roars, his hood flying off of his head as he charges for me. Hinata and Shino tag behind him, breaking off to opposite sides as they surround me. My throat rumbles lowly as I swing my head to each of them, keeping an eye on their movements.
"You need to calm down. Why? You get reckless when angry." Shino sniffs at him, standing back as much a distance as possible when my gaze settles on him. They aren't going to let me go. They're probably being paid for this, and pissing off Kiba sealed the deal. I'll go for Shino first. He's the most dangerous considering his kikaichu insects can drain my chairs, which is most likely what's giving me this power-up. I'll have to be wary of Kiba as well, and I don't doubt that Hinata will come to either of their defenses. But...
Where's Kurenai?
They don't give me any more time to think, Kiba rushing forward with a kunai drawn. He's faster than any animal I've encountered so far, but it's not enough to catch me off guard. It step towards him, shifting my nose upwards to dodge his swipe and snap down onto his hood.
"Kiba!" A woman's voice shouts out as I lift him up, preparing to toss him into the air as I'm immediately hit in the ribs and on my leg. The force of the blow on my chest knocks the wind out of me, and I drop Kiba with a thud as I stagger to the side, hearing Hinata's squeak as I nearly trample her. My leg twitches and falls limp underneath me, swerving off balance on three legs before forcing myself to stand still. I recognize Kurenai as the unknown assailant, seeing her crouch down to Kiba and check him for injuries.
Talk bull about her all you want, Kurenai has a nasty kick. My ribs are definitely broken again, and I don't have enough medical expertise to know if I'm in danger of a punctured lung. I growl in pain, blood beating loudly in my ears as I slowly shrink at an almost unnoticeable pace.
What's... happening?
I shake my head in frustrated fervor. I need to get out. I'm unprepared to deal with ninja, much less a jounin and three clan kids, even if they're genin. I'm unsuited to taking on multiple enemies, and I don't have control of my enhanced form. I turn tail and face Hinata immediately, Shino standing defensively behind her. I head for a frontal assault and charge towards her, immediately jumping backwards and to the side as she thrusts her palm to me, stepping forward with my movements and throwing her left palm at me this time. I step backwards, evading her aim on my leg. We dance back and forth, me on the defensive as Hinata assaults me. I'm barely able to land a blow with her byakugan and reflexes, not to mention my useless hind leg. She's good, but not good enough to hit me. Her movements are predictable with my knowledge, easy to evade but impossible for me to get past. I'm getting smaller rapidly, but that only increases my nimbleness. Perhaps it's the Kikaichu insects?
Immediately, Kiba and Kurenai are back in the fight. I duck a high kick to my head from Kurenai, shrinking backwards to avoid a swipe of her kunai. Hinata charges in then, aiming for a tenketsu point on my leg as I push my upper body forward, nearly knowxking Kurenai on her back before she leaps backwards. I redirect my attack and swing my head to the left to catch the off-balance Hinata, teeth snapping onto the back of her hood. "Hinata!!" Kiba yells, giving me an idea as to his position and I fling Hinata at him. Kinda catches her with a grunt, but it's enough of leeway to let me escape.
I dart off at top speed, flying over the crude fences. I head towards the creek, knowing that Shino undoubtedly planted a female kikaichu beetle on me, a smart but old move. The thing about creeks is that they almost always lead to a larger lake or pond, and who says beetles can hold their breath?
I look behind myself to see if they're following, looking up into the trees only to spot Kurenai, Shine and Hinata. Kiba must be staying behind to heal Akamaru. I keep running, but I stumble as I notice the ground swirling beneath my feet, the world blurring together as everything mashes and-
"Kai."
I shoot up, my shoulders and head smacking against metal bars, making them creak from the stress I've put them under. Team Eight is gathered all around me including the Shepherd and some villagers I don't know. I'm inside a cage, with them looking at me inside. A round, portly man with wide eyes leans before my cage in wonder, his mouth agape. "Ooh! So that's how you did it! Genjustu! You must be quiet proficient in the arts. When did you do it? I didn't see you do it in the fight." He asks, and I growl in rage, sick of him looking at me like a downed beast. I twist and snap my head at him with a roar, making him stumble backwards as my haws clench onto the bars, making the weak iron bend inwards at my wish.
"P-please be careful, Horiko-san!" Hinata cries softly, placing a hand on his shoulder to steady the shocked man. He stares at me in horror, barely concealed as he tries to soothe his ruffled appearance. Good.
"When Akamaru first engaged her, I cast the genjutsu. He wasn't able to get away in time, and because of that, he was hurt. I've already given Kiba a reprimanding to stop charging in earlier, so you have no need to worry about it happening in the future. Right, Kiba-kun?" Kurenai explains, putting a strict hand on top of Kiba's head while smiling scarily. He gulps and I see a shiver run up his spine and transfer to the half-grown Akamaru. "Y-yes, ma'am!" He stammers, Akamaru adding his own bark of clarification. Horiko laughs lightly, eyeing me from the corner of his eye as I lick my chops only to make him shuffle away from the cage. "A-ah ha ha, yes. Still, it was rather impressive in how you stopped... it-" He's just got himself top spot on my hit list. "- even after it's transformation. If you don't mind me asking, what is it? I've never seen anything quite like it." He announces, jumping when I growl at him. Kurenai looks thoughtful, but shakes her head. "I'm afraid animals aren't my specialty. Kiba? Shino?" She calls out to the two, gesturing towards me.
Shino regards me cooly and respectfully, but Kiba stares at me like I'm the scum of the earth as he protectively grasps Akamaru's fur. He sniffs at me with an expression one wears when their pet shats on their carpet, snorting my scent out of his nose once he's done. "it's probably a ninken-" He smirks when he sees my ire at his insulting referral. "-from the way it seems to understand human speech, and how it mumbled coherently when under genjutsu, as well as activation of chakra. However, it doesn't smell like a normal dog, so it's possible that it's a summon." Kiba hypothesizes, but Shino shakes his head. "Not likely. Why? Many reasons. Summons don't have a seasonal heat, but she does. Akamaru isn't bothered by it due to ninken training, but she obviously is. My Kikaichu also tell me that her chakra pathways are unlike both summon and ninken. Another thing is that summons live in a different plane of existence than us. If I had a guess, I'd say she's an exiled summon or the very first hybrid." Shino analyses, making everyone blink in complete wonder. I am already dealing with the shock of being of freaking Naruto, being put under genjutsu in a struggle I had no hopes of winning, and now he drops this on me?
I can't think properly like this.
"That's... interesting. Lady Tsunade will definitely want to study this." Kurenai blinks out, staring at me with eyes of newfound curiosity. Screw you, Shino. I used to like you. I hope your Kikaichu piss inside you.
Kurenai steps towards the cage, smiling kindly as she lowers herself down to my level and her knees. Is this sense of degradation what small people feel like? "What do you say, buddy? Will you come to Konoha with us?" She coos. "I.. say.. screuu... yu." I snarl with my peculiarly moving jaw, forming words more efficiently now. I'm a quick learner. Horiko looks mortified yet intrigued that I can speak, but Kurenai's face twists sourly.
Shino steps forward and uses his middle finger to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "I wouldn't be so adamant yet, hybrid-san. It's Konoha or Horiko-dono's pet store."
What..?
•And Her Alibis are Dirty Tricks•
I'm not quite happy how this chapter ended, by oh well! Tell me how you think I could revise it if needed! By the way, if you want, search up 'elephant growl recordings' on if you want to hear MC's growl in her chakra induced form! Ciao! (Check out my other books too!)