The Cursed Wolf {A Naruto Fanfic} UNDER EDITING!

Chapter 4

Edited

The past few days had been menial, to say the least; boring, in every sense of the word. Team Seven had been tasked with an array of D-rank missions - which bordered on sheer child exploitation - a myriad of gruelling chores that never seemed to end. At one point or another, Koyuki had all but snapped venomous jaws at anyone who even tried to ask her to do such human things, let alone anyone who even thought of forcing her cooperation. Fortunately, despite the grumbling of his teammates, Naruto had shifted one fleeting glance at his NinKen and immediately knew he could not, and would not, make her do anything of the sort. Kakashi had made no sound of protest to the boy's unwavering stance on the matter, muttering something about 'not his NinKen to command', which placated the Uchiha and Pink-haired fangirl, eventually.

Their current 'mission' was to track down a cat, a rumoured hell-spawn, according to other shinobi that is. If the owner couldn't even command her domesticated beast, why even bother re-assigning this dreary mission over and over again? Calling in shinobi of all things was just a complete waste of village resources, given they could just hire a trainer, if not, a feline expert. And yet, despite that thoughtless truth, here they were, crouched silently in thick bushes, watching their 'target' intensely.

Grumbling softly to herself, her furred form crouched skillfully behind a large tree stump, Koyuki watched the cat stretch out lazily, its tail flicking and curling smugly as it preened with pride. For what exactly, the shifter wasn't too sure, nor did she care. Given she was only a few feet away from the irritating creature, it took little to no effort for her to conceal her presence, which was mildly surprising given felines should have much keener senses than this one was showing. With a deep, lazy, huff and a slow sway of her tail, the ghostly wolf reared back quietly, her hind legs tensing to brace her next sharp movement. With a powerful clench and coil of her muscles, the beast easily propelled herself forward, jumping over the stump she was crouched behind with inhuman grace.

The house cat, Tora, bristled a split second too late, its hackles rising defensively as a sharp shudder of instinctual fear cascaded through its lean form. Hissing venomously, like a wild cat would when cornered, the domesticated pet could do nothing to stop the large paw that slammed against it. Tora could do nothing but hiss and mewl defiantly as she was forced onto her back, forced by something much bigger and much more powerful than her. Tail straightening, flexing into an instinctual bristled line, her brown fur was quick to prickle and stand on end, fear lashing through her faster than the low, terrified, mewl could tear through her throat.

A low, bored, growl rumbled through the wolf. Slowly, she tilted her head to the side, amused by the defensive display put on by the cat; hackles raised, tail bristled, small fangs bared, ears pinned back, brown fur prickling, the creature was the epitome of instinctual fear and submission. Paw still pressed firmly onto the cat's stomach, Koyuki yipped sharply, startling the cat slightly as it watched the large canine blatantly ignore her quivering form. It was a sudden rustling that broke the tense silence between canine and feline, bushes being pushed aside as a group of humans revealed themselves, brows quirked at the odd sight before them.

Huffing, Koyuki lifted her large paw from the frozen auburn cat, ears flicking in response to the humans pausing beside her. She turned away without a second glance, already knowing Team 7 had encircled the cat, preventing any further escape - which she doubted it would attempt after such a sudden scare.

Hissing again, the sound shaky and meek, Tora's back arched sharply as she reared back and jumped into the nearest pair of arms she could get to. In this case, her haven turned out to be the Uchiha, an unamused one if the sudden scowl was anything to go by. Tora shook violently, slitted amber gaze never leaving the wolf's threatening demeanour.