I apologize for the absence. I was working on gigs and now I have begun volunteering in an elementary school during the week. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!
Mori continued staring at her older brother, red eyes hopeful. Her wounds continued throbbing, but Mori ignored them.
A clapping sound made both wolves' ears twitch, and two sets of eyes turned to see a short man with a cane standing beside them, grinning and applauding. A large group of thugs were standing behind the short man as Mori's nose twitched. The scent of blood and greed rose in waves from the tiny man, making her lip rise in disgust. Zabuza spoke the man's name in confusion, and a growl vibrated from Mori's chest.
So, this was the man that made Inari suffer.
Her limbs straightened as she prepared to pounce on the tiny insect of a man. The man, Gato, glanced in her direction as the white wolf stalked around him. He snapped his fingers together, and with a flick of his tail Hideo jumped on his sister. Black and white clashed together as the siblings fought, the echo of their snarls and growls loud in the air. Naruto made a move to help, but Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping the genin from getting closer.
"But Kakashi-sensei! We have to help her! Mori could be killed by that other wolf!" the genin said as he looked up at his sensei.
"This is Mori's fight, Naruto. She has to fight this herself" the Jonin said, eyes worried as he watched the two wolves fighting.
Blood splattered onto the ground as the two wolves fought. Gato laughed at the spectical before turning his attention towards Zabuza and the Konoha ninja. With a command from him, the bandits ran at them with a loud cry. Zabuza effectively took some out, and targeted the short man. With a couple slices from the kunai in his mouth, Zabuza took out the nuisance that was Gato.
Mori scrambled to release herself from Hideo's jaws as the older wolf pinned her down. He used his weight to keep her pinned, and Mori had a brief flashback of when he used to bully her when they were pups. She bucked and twisted, trying everything she thought of to get him to release her.
A kunai suddenly embedded itself into Hideo's shoulder, and he lept to the side with a yelp. Mori staggered to her feet and looked towards the Konoha team. Naruto, against his sensei's orders, had thrown the kunai. He smirked when he saw Mori gaze at him with her red eyes. She gave him a brief tail wag in thanks, and turned her attention quickly to her brother, who had grabbed the kunai' handle with his jaws and pulled it out of his shoulder.
Hideo then dropped the kunai with a growl and gazed at the scene of the Hidden Mist villagers with a blank expression. His ear twitched slightly, as if he had heard something Mori could not. Hideo suddenly turned and bolted away from the chaos, heading towards the end of the bridge. Mori started after her brother, but screeched to a halt when he leapt over the side of the bridge and into the water below. Snow began to fall softly as she heard a 'splash'.
She peered over the side of the bridge to see her brother swimming safely to shore. Her tail lowered as Hideo pulled himself out of the water and shook out his fur, before running into the foliage. Mori sat back on her haunches and lifted her head to the sky. A mournful howl echoed from her muzzle as the snow continued to fall. She howled for her brother, who she couldn't get through to. She howled for Zabuza, who had fallen along with his comrade, Haku. She howled for the genin who had to witness death. Finally, she howled for the villages of the Hidden Mist who had to go through the terror and sorrow of living under Gato's ruling.
Mori lowered her head and stood up, shaking out her fur. Inari ran to her as Mori padded towards them and threw his arms around her neck, being mindful of her injuries. Her tail wagged slowly as she licked his cheek, causing the child to laugh. It was a glorious sound, and lightened Mori's heart. She continued to lick the child, and Inari continued to laugh. Finally she nudged him away, and he wiped his cheeks with his arm. She padded a little ways from the group before searching for her human chakra, and immersed herself in it. It had been too long since she was human, and she wanted to speak to Inari.
In a surge of blue, Mori stood as a human. The wounds she had received from Hideo were already beginning to heal, and she tucked a strand of white hair behind her ear. She opened her eyes and glanced at Inari as the child stared open-mouthed at her.
She walked towards him and bent down to his level. With a warm smile she placed her hand on top of his head.
"You did well, Inari. You were incredibly brave, and I know your father is very proud of you" she said with a smile.
