Greetings my dear friends and welcome to the new chapter. I'm glad you liked the previous chapter with Kakashi's POV and feel free to leave me in the comments which POV you would most like to see next. I hope you will like today's part as well. Also sorry for the delay in posting I've been having Wifi issues for the last few days. And now on to Konoha.
,, Tsuki! I told you NO." I yelled at the top of my voice as Tsuki tried to get out with his still injured legs and a still unhealed wound on his back. Tsuki is a wolf I found two days ago in a wooded area of Konoha during my morning jog around Konoha. He was in very bad shape when I found him and dragged him all the way to my house, No joke the boy is huge., If he stood up on his hind legs he would probably be taller than me and heavy as hell, but I couldn't leave him in the middle of the forest injured, with the possibility that he would not survive if he was not helped immediately.
Most people would think twice before dragging a wild animal into their home, unconscious or not, but I didn't care because I I've had experience with injured wild and domestic animals. In my opinion, a wolf is nothing but a huge wild dog, and I've met plenty of them.
Miraculously, Tsuki woke up a few hours after I dragged him and placed him in my room on a blanket with several the pillow showed no signs of aggression. At first I thought he was just tired from his injuries and wasn't moving because of the pain, but that fell apart when I tried to bandage his wounds, which were already starting to heal. When I tried to remove the bandages Tsuki started to let out a warning growl that stopped me for a few moments, so I continued the process talking more slowly and explaining what he was doing with words and gestures. Tsuki seemed to understand what I was trying to do so he stopped growling but continued to follow my every move until I was done.
It took him a while to relax around me, but by the end of the day I was able to run my fingers through his thick dark gray fur without worry, scratching around his neck and behind his ears. Every time when I scratched right between his ears Tsuki would close his golden hazel eyes and start purring and pushing himself more in my hand for more touches. He is simply a big soft ball of fur to be cuddled, and since Tenzo and Itachi went on a mission together with Kakashi ten days ago and surely won't be coming back for a few more weeks, I didn't have to hug anyone.
Of course, Mikoto was a very good friend, but she was more or less distant, trying not to convince me or she was afraid of using me as a replacement for Kushina. And ever since I ran into Gai, I avoided interacting with shinobi for a while until my newfound popularity died down a bit, because the day after I met Gai three chunin challenged me to a sparring match that I somehow managed to come out on top of, despite their use of ninjutsu and I only with academic three at the moment. My luck was that the idiots were egotistical and oblivious so it was easy to outsmart them and their fiery style was welcome when they fell into my bomb trap. They were also unprepared for my fighting style and pressure point shooting, which this time it didn't occur to me to help.
But I didn't come out in one piece either, because I had a first-degree burn on my hand, but it was so big that I couldn't fully function for a couple of days. Only consolation for me was that they were lying on the ground half dead while I, although injured, was standing towards the winner of the fight 1 vs 3. That was also the reason why I no longer used the train for training number three, due to the leaking of information that I mostly use it and that it is easy to find me there.
This also led me to run into Tsuki trying to go outside with me to meet Tsume and the Hana Inuzaka, despite his injuries refusing to leave me for even a minute. For some reason when I called the vet station that was, surprise, owned by the Inuzaka clan, Tsume wanted to come to me personally with her daughter who had recently graduated from the academy and started training as a veterinarian and medical ninja.
"Tsuki calm down, you're going to open your wounds." I told him as I held onto the part of the fur on the neck where mothers usually hold their cubs when they carry them, trying to stop him and open the door. The last thing I wanted was to jump on Hana who is more or less four times smaller than him, or worse he attacks them. The knocking on the door got both of our attention and Tsuki immediately stopped in his snarling position as I tried to calm him down for the umpteenth time today I had to open the door myself with one hand across his back holding him because he still wasn't giving any signs that he was planning to break up with me anytime soon.
When I opened the door Tsume was standing in front with his wild-crazy appearance in her standard jonin suit with her partner, if I remember his name Kuromaru who was unconditioned with a black blindfold resembling a wolf a bit. Behind them peeped Hana with her three large husky-like puppies who followed her rummaging around her feet.
As Tsuki let out his now subdued growl at the guests, to which Tsume just sneered at him saying,, The puppy thinks he can fight. Feisty one." She said smiling her toothy smile putting her fangs in the display while Kuromaru looked at Tsuki like he is some stupid brat who showing off. ,, Hello, I'm Maxi and this is Tsuki. He's the reason I called you.. ." I addressed them with a polite and positive look with calmness in my voice, unable to give the traditional bow because I didn't want Tsuki to get any funny ideas.
It seemed that they understood the situation and didn't care about my rudeness, although here I was talking about an Inuzaka member, the Wild Clan, who don't care about minors, decency or civility anyway. They are more guided by their instincts and have their own ways and customs by which they are guided.
"I am Tsume Inuzaka, the leader of Inuzaka clan and this is my partner Kuromaru, my daughter Hana and her ninkens." Hana bowed slightly as her mother introduced her, sitting next to her and no longer hiding behind her. When Kuromaru wanted to say hello and smell me, Tsuki tried to get out of my arms and attack him but I wouldn't let him because he would only make himself even more of a problem if he fought a fully trained ninja dog..,, Hah, looks like you've got your hands full. Looks like he's a strong kid, where did you find him." Tsume asked me as I made room for her to enter along with the rest of her family and somehow managed to get Tsuki to cooperate and stop growling.
Settling in my room, Hana was the first to examine Tsuki, while I sat with his head in my lap, so he wouldn't snap at Hana, petting him while at the same time explaining to Tsume how I found him in the Konoha forest injured. "You seem to have experience with wild beasts. "She commented as her black eyes followed my movements carefully analyzing them the whole time.
I was expecting this to come for a while, but I'm glad she got down to business right away. There are few people who would knowingly approach a wounded beast, and even fewer who know how to take care of one and stay alive, especially if you're talking about someone the size of Tsuki who can kill you in one fell swoop...
,, Yes. Since I was little, I've been rescuing and helping wild animals in the forest... Wild dogs, cats, snakes, birds, wolves,... you name it and we did it. I was the one who calmed down and came into direct contact with the animals, while the others were in charge of the people who would often gather around the scene, preparing medical equipment, helping with transport." Warmth as well as bitterness enveloped me as I remembered all the antics we'd done and the trouble we'd gotten into. Nostalgia and homesickness could be heard in my voice no matter how hard I tried to hide it from Inuzak's keen sense of hearing.
Hana looked at me with admiration while her mother gave me a judging look, after which she laughed out loud with Kuromaru not bothering to hide her emotions. "The girl is brave, and considering she's still in one piece, smart and intuitive." Kuromaru commented as Tsume calmed down and caught her breath... "Sorry about this, when I saw you, you seemed as a gentle, tame, sweet like some baby squirrel. Maybe the rumors had some truth in them after all when they call you, a bad ass daredevil."
Tsume shouted as if she was proud of being fooled by my appearance, while Hana finished giving Tsuki who was trying to stick his head as deep as possible into my stomach for more scratching and cuddles. On the other hand, I was surprised by this, because it seemed as if some stories had even reached some higher ups. It had started to make an impression when I was just trying to stay under the radar. It's possible that those morons I fought almost spread some rumors too, What a sorrows losers.,
,, Maxi-san?" Hana asked me trying to get my attention. It turns out that Hana is very gifted in veterinary medicine so she's good at it. Her mother let herself to do treat on Tsuki. Hana told me what injections Tsuki needed to get, considering that he was currently malnourished better diet plan, a few medicines that he needed to take for prevention. But besides that, he was as healthy as a horse.
Tsume also explained to me that I need to register Tsuki as mine since it's not everyday that someone tames a wild wolf. I did not expect this. I knew that Tsuki was huge for his race and age, he still needs to grow and mature, but I didn't expect it to be related to summoning. Mostly summons should be in their own dimension, not here with us.
Does this mean that Tsuki should return soon with the rest of the summons, if not he should somehow improve his training, because if I remember correctly summoning contracts are very rare and are kept mostly within clans or close families. Someone like Tsuki would be a real catch, a summon who you don't need chakra to summon and is able to fight shoulder to shoulder like a ninken, add on that that Tsuki can use chakra and perform jutsu more efficiently.
Worry was definitely written on my face and that's why Tsuki started to lick my face with his long slimy tongue, snapping me out of my thoughts as Tsume took over as if she could read my mind. "Let's make a deal. I will help you register Tsuki as your ninken and with my clan will train you so that you can fight as partners, as well as Tsuki to learn to use her chakra and possibly talk. But in return I want you to teach Han your unusual animal-like style, your knowledge of medicine as well as the tricks you used on Genma." I was right that it was unusual for a clan head to come to my door in person.
She wanted my knowledge of my unknown skill to them as well as my knowledge of plants and the use of their less known facts. But somehow this did not fit her character and her body language. Tsume was completely relaxed, leaning on Kuromaru as a pillow while the puppies rolled over her lap, creating a relaxed but firm disciplined aura around her. Yet her eyes were more anticipating my reaction to her agreement than my consent.
My knowledge of Inuzaka clan was limited, but everything I knew about them revolved around their animalistic characteristics related to dogs. ,, No deal.." I said in a firm tone while Hana seemed taken aback until I continued. ,, If Hana really wants to learn my skills, I'll be happy to help her." I said while scratching Tsuki's chin trying not to look at Tsume. ,,I'm not a person who likes to owe someone or someone to owe me. As far as I'm concerned, I can register Tsuki myself, and as I said before, I have experience with animals, especially wild ones. I would only appreciate it if you could help me with the fight in a partner with a ninken... And not because you owe me a favor, but because you want to help as a friend." if I didn't know better I would have sworn I heard Hana let out a low purr as her eyes sparkled with joy jumping in place with her three puppies sharing her joy.
Tsume on the other side looked into my eyes sniffing the air for signs of lies that weren't there. I hated clan politics, but I knew enough that support outside the clan could cause a lot of trouble that I didn't have the time or nerve to deal with the headaches that would caused. And also at home with my family and friends, there was an unwritten rule, if someone needs help, help them and when you need them, they will help. No one owes anyone anything, but that's simply how we functioned.
With her toothy smile on her face, Tsume threw her arm over my shoulders and pulled me into a tight hug. ,, You're good. Welcome to the pack." She said loudly as she rubbed her head against mine as Hana hugged me around the waist trying not to make contact with Tsuki who was still against touching anything but me. It was a nice feeling, a hug and a pats that I didn't had since I came here, not counting Tenzo who was still insecure about physical contact and Tsuki who had just recently entered my life. The hug was warm, fuzzy, nostalgic and similar to the ones my relatives and friends shared, every time we didn't see each other for a long time or when we returned to a warm house in the winter and huddled under the blankets like sardines in a can, laughing while drinking hot cocoa. I simply missed closeness, and since it seemed that Tsume, in addition to her strong and wild appearance, has a very soft heart like a mother dog who offers hugs and cuddles to whoever needs them, I take them.
It was kind of funny how Tsuki was trying to push Hana away, not letting her hug me any longer than he thought was necessary. Since Tsuki is a wolf, he is more territorial and possessive about his close ones or family, in which category I am the only one. I only hoped that when Tenzo returned from his mission that Tsuki wouldn't react aggressively and attack him at the same second. Although Tsuki already more or less understood everything I would tell him, he was just stubborn, so I could explain to him that Tenzo is part of the family, part of our pack. He would also have to get used to interacting with other people if he planned to follow me around the village and to the Inuzaka clan compound.
For the next few hours before they went home, Tsume and I agreed on Hana's schedule, as she had a session at the hospital for her medical training as well as obligations to her genin team to carry out missions. And for Tsuki, it took a week of good rest and a proper nutritional diet to get back into a fit state for training. The only thing he was allowed to do was run a few laps around the forest and that was it for him.
I didn't care about that, because right now my focus was on mastering the seals as much as possible. The scrolls Kakashi left me the other day are very useful. First, I threw myself into mastering the water techniques from the scroll, of which there were three in total: hidden in the mist jutsu, hiding in the water jutsu, water clone jutsu which was a bit more advanced but nothing difficult to master. It came in handy as a preparation for the shadow clones I planned to practice after Tsuki was fully recovered. Until then the plan was either to search for basic wind jutsus or to continue practicing fuinjutsu.
According to everything I read and know, Fuinjutsu is a very difficult and complicated skill that few ninjas dare to perfect because it requires a lot of time, a sharp and open mind, there are a lot of rules that must be followed as well as certain deviations that must be watched out for. Not to mention the thousands of symbols, their combinations, ways of functioning that must be taken into account as well as good chakra control.
That's why I liked this branch of art because it was very similar to chemistry. Fuinjutsu used formulas also in a combination of symbols like chemistry, and the rules seemed quite similar, and chenistry along with natural sciences is my field of knowledge. After graduating from medical high school, majoring in pharmacy, I entered the University of Natural Sciences majoring in chemistry. At university, in addition to different branches of chemistry, I also had biology, mathematics and physics, so sorry Fuinjutsu, but you can't be more complicated than all that.
My plan was to use fuinjutsu in my fight and incorporate it into my style. It will take me at least a year to fully master all the rules so that I can experiment on my own, but I can start using the already made seals much sooner. I also made a list of what kind of seals I want to develop, and the following were in the top three.
In the heaviest place was a chakra storage seal, which could contain at least half of my total chakra. Second would be the body shield seal to block any ninjutsu attack, of course depending on how much power and amount of chakra the user has. And last but not least is recreating the flying thunder god jutsu, for obvious reasons of course. With all of this combined with my astral projection and a few more wind type jutsu I have a chance to survive whatever comes my way and make sure the others stay alive. , Who knows, maybe I could find a way to get back home, or at least how to contact them and let them know I'm alive.,
All this time I tried to think as little as possible about my home so as not to become depressed. I was aware that I would eventually return to my dimension with little chance, but I will hold on to that thought until I get a reason to the contrary. And if there is no chance for me to return, at least I will have a life here, so it is better not to lament and cry about something I cannot do than to do what I can.
Whenever I think of my home, I wonder if they've given up on the search by now. If they've declared me dead, if Mai, Tai and Maya blame themselves like they always do. How my parents reacted to the news. I'd like to bet that dad sure didn't give up. In his words, "I am too persistent and stubborn to die." Since I was a child, I swam in restless seas and mountain rivers, and with my brothers I also knew how to jump from unreasonably high rocks into the water. They'd rather believe that some jerk found me in the woods and kidnapped me while I was unconscious than that I drowned or was eaten by some beast. As my grandfather used to say, "The most dangerous creature you can run into is a man, not a beast."
Thanks to them, I was prepared and able to survive from the first moment I woke up. I also knew that if I felt sorry for myself and cry for no reason in a place instead of moving my butt, dad and grandpa would be very disappointed because they didn't raise a helpless princess but a smart fighter. They made sure I was able to take care of myself from an early age, to defend myself in any situation, to know how to do almost everything by myself, to know everything that is needed when the time comes to go out into the world on my own. Now it's better to continue to apply what I was taught along with what I have.