Naruto let out a cry and rushed at the two, and Kabuto met the orange-clad boy head on. Orochimaru snapped his fingers, and the wolf charged at Kakashi with a roar. Kakashi leaped back, his ears ringing with Orochimaru's laugh.
"Mori!" he heard Sakura cry out, and a flash of white slammed into the black wolf.
Mori stood, fur bristling and red eyes locked onto the black wolf as he righted himself back onto his paws. He turned and snarled at Mori, who answered his snarl with her own. He charged at Mori, and the siblings clashed with claws and teeth. Even though Mori was in severe pain, she had to protect her friends. They clashed again and again, and it broke Mori's heart each time. She didn't want to fight her brother, he was all she had left of their pack.
Hideo rammed his head into her side, and Mori let out a cough, blood splattering on the ground. He slashed at Mori, and a nail caught and tore at the flesh on Mori's head. Blood dripped steadily from the gash, blinding her in one eye. Her brother rammed his head into Mori again, and Mori flew back from the force. Hideo growled low and deep in his throat as Mori struggled to her paws, panting as blood dripped steadily. He charged at her again, and the two met head on. Mori let out a scream as Hideo grabbed her broken front leg in his jaws. He bit down and his teeth pierced her fur, and Mori snapped at his ear. They both tugged on each others limbs, trying to gain the upper hand.
Mori quickly let go of Hideo's ear and rammed her head against his jaw. Her brother released her front leg with a yelp and backed off, growling and snarling.
"Hideo" Mori murmured, panting from the pain that plagued her body.
His ear twitched briefly, and her heart lifted just a little. Maybe she could finally get through to him!
"Hideo...please come back" Mori said gently, limping towards her brother.
His empty, black eyes stared in her red eyes as she almost stood nose to nose with him.
"Hideo" Mori said again, eyes staring at her brother as she desperately tried to see another sign.
She closed her eyes and grasped her human chakra, letting it engulf her entire body. She lifted her hands to his face, and gently caressed his black fur.
Kakashi watched the siblings from a couple feet away, eyes narrowed. Something was going to happen, the Jonin could feel it. In the corner of his eye, he saw Orochimaru snap his fingers and he heard a choked off cry.
"Mori!" he heard Sakura scream, and turned to see his friend hanging limply from her brothers jaws.
Hideo bit down deeply, growling through the blood that gushed from his sisters throat. Mori struggled to grasp Hideo's muzzle with blood-slick hands, but stopped as she felt her energy quickly draining away. Her eyesight became cloudy and a warmth spread throughout her body.
So this is what it was like to die.
Black spots began to grow in her vision, blocking the cloudy sight as her brother slowly killed her. Orochimaru made one single hand sign, muttering a release of his genjutsu on Hideo. Both he and Kabuto smirked as they disappeared in twin columns of smoke. Kakashi's eyes widened when he looked at Mori's brother. His eyes had cleared, and he dropped Mori onto the ground as he let out a whining growl. He shook his head and then shook out his entire body.
"Mori..." Naruto gasped as the orange-clad ninja noticed the woman lying limp on the ground.
"Careful, Naruto. You don't know how they are" Kakashi said as he watched Hideo closely.
The black wolf shook out his fur again and sat down, gazing around in confusion.
"Where...am I?" Hideo asked, his voice hoarse from misuse.
"You were under a powerful genjutsu for a long time. You are free now" Kakashi said, walking slowly towards the confused canine.
"Genjustu...?" Hideo repeated in confusion, looking around the chamber.
He blinked as Kakashi sighed and placed his headband back over his Sharingan. Hideo closed his eyes and shifted forms, and both Naruto and Sakura gaped in unison as a young man knelt in front of them. His black hair fell in dirty tendrils over his shoulders, and his dirty clothes clung to a skinny frame. Hideo glanced down, and let out a hoarse cry when he saw Mori's bloody and beaten body lying in front of him.
"Mori! What happened!" he shouted, grasping his sister in his hands.
He shook her gently, trying to get her to open her eyes. Blood poured from a deep puncture wound in her throat, and his black eyes glanced to the group standing in front of him.
"Please...help her" he said, bending his head down to hide the tears that gathered in his eyes.
The pink haired girl rushed forward, green eyes determined. She dropped to her knees and pressed her two fingers to Mori's neck. She let out a quick sigh of relief and made a quick series of hand signs before her hands glowed an iridescent green. Hideo watched with wary eyes as Sakura continued with her glowing hands.
"Don't worry, our Sakura is one of the best" Hideo heard the older man say from beside him.
"I did this...didn't I" Hideo said, eyes downcast.
"You were under the control of someone who is very powerful" Kakashi said.
"There! We should be okay to transport her, but Mori really needs to be seen at the hospital and quickly" Sakura said.
Kakashi stepped gently towards Hideo, and knelt down to the young man.
"We need to get your sister help. Are you ready to come with us?" he asked gently, and Hideo nodded.
Kakashi placed Mori on his back, and Naruto and Sakura helped Hideo to his feet. They headed out of the chamber and down the hallway they came. They climbed carefully over the chunks of ceiling that had fallen to the ground, with a nod Kakashi led them toward the exit.
So far so good.
A sudden rumble caught their attention, and a blast sounded from behind them. Smoke began to rush towards them, and the group began to run. They could feel the powerful tremors underneath their feet as the layer began to collapse around them. With a burst of speed, the group finally made it to the safety of the open air. They looked behind them to see the pile of large rocks that held Orochimaru's layer underneath fall in on themselves.
"Okay, let's get going" Kakashi said after a quick visual to assess if there were any injuries.
The group nodded, and they began their journey back to Konoha.
The sun was setting when the group made it to Konoha.
"Let's get Mori to the hospital. Sakura, Naruto, you two stay with Mori and Hideo while I report to the Hokage. Hideo, can you take your sister?" Kakashi said, and Hideo nodded.
Hideo gently took his sister from Kakashi's back and cradled her to his chest as the Jonin took off.
"Come on, this way" Sakura said gently, and led Hideo through the village with Naruto following behind.
After walking through the village streets, they came to the hospital. A dizzying feeling suddenly swept over Hideo, and his knees buckled. His arms released Mori and she fell to the ground with a 'thud', and Sakura let out a cry. Hideo felt his heart pound in his ears and his vision flickered in and out when he saw feet coming towards him. He let out a small growl as he saw hands reach for his sister.
"Don't..touch her" he weakly snarled, before being consumed by darkness.
Naruto grabbed Hideo's arm as the medics glanced at the passed out man.
"He needs medical attention too" Naruto said, and two medics hurried forward to help.
They carried the unconscious Hideo into the hospital, following Sakura and another medic as they carried Mori to a room. Sakura bit her lip; Mori's wounds were deep. She didn't know what she went through in that cell, but she hoped she wasn't too late with healing her.
