Of Dogs and Drakes

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

The Inuzuka had been thinking about her a lot as of late, the girl with the horns. A previously unknown relation of Keni's, held captive for years by a criminal organisation, and then there was that last encounter by the hotsprings. Sprouting a new pair of horns, and seeming to become possessed by some strange external force. As Keiyaku sat, fresh-faced and refreshed, on the porch of his family's complex, he felt his hand reach, absent-mindedly for his stomach, imagining he could feel the tattoo tingle there as he ruminated on the situation. Whatever was going on with her, she seemed to be developing new capabilities, and that could be a problem if not carefully reigned in.

'No shit. Last time I got something new, I almost killed three people,' Keiyaku thought to himself, frowning a little and looking down at Morutobu who was peacefully snoozing, leaning against his leg. Things had quieted down somewhat with his own issues; Corvus-sensei's intervention seemed to have shocked the thing into lying low for a while. At least, that was how it felt. Moreover, Keiyaku seemed to be getting a handle on the triggers that pissed it off, so made a conscious effort to carefully avoid those situations. Still, it wasn't great as a long-term solution. In fact, he needed some kind of plan before the next full moon.

All of this was to say, he didn't want Ayeka to have to go through an analogous situation, overwhelmed by some kind of force taking her over. What exactly was happening anyway? Feeling a certain protectiveness of her, he'd sent her a letter, invited her to the Inuzuka clan complex, with the intention that they could both see what implications this recent metamorphosis held for her, and if she could still pursue the ambitions she'd come to nurture since arriving in Leaf.

 

[Ayeka]

Wings of black scales beat the air with steady thumps as Ayeka concentrated on keeping her balance the two new limbs protruding from her back were still unfamiliar to the girl worked hard to keep her aloft as she flew over the forests that comprised the land of the Inuzuka clan. In her hand currently tipped with talons was a letter she had received from Keni's friend Keiyaku whom she had met when Aria's chakra had infected her and frankly she was glad he had been there as her rampage could have hurt the innocent while she had been essentially drunk on natural chakra. The letter stated in the simplest terms that Keiyaku had experience with foreign chakra and he wanted to guide her on using her new abilities better than she was now which in Ayeka's opinion was a blessing as she had punted her brother numerous times through windows or doors whenever her wings or tail would spontaneously appear.

Finally spotting the front of the compound Ayeka attempted to catch the wind and gently glide down but instead found herself over balancing herself before spiralling into a nose dive where she crashed into the ground just before the porch leaving her in a pile of groaning but unhurt limbs Infront of the door while dust drifted through the air from her very loud impact with the ground.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

It was perhaps a testament to how hard Keiyaku had been daydreaming, as when the heavy sound of flesh smacking into dirt boomed around the vicinity, the Inuzuka was startled into action. Momentarily confused, he looked around for the source of the noise, his eyes alighting, finally,on the outline of a vaguely human shape amidst a cloud of dust. The Inuzuka trusted his nose before his eyes, and, realising how it was, went to help pull Ayeka out of the small crater she'd made.

"Yeesh, you okay? That a serious wipeout right there," he said, reaching out a hand to help pull her upright, his slit-pupil eyes sliding curious over the wings she'd inexplicably sprouted, "but I see you're getting the hang of your new abilities, huh? That landing might need a little work."

Morutobu was coming up to greet the Ryuu girl as well, but maintaining a cautious distance given what had transpired last time; he'd learned to be wary of even familiar scents given how unstable certain fellow villagers could have the tendency to be.

'She doesn't seem to be having fits of homicidal rage anymore..." thought Keiyaku to himself, frowning a little as he indulged the thought.

"How are you feeling after... well... you know," he paused, considering the possibility she might have little memory of the incident, "do you remember being at the hotsprings, the other night, at all? Have you lost any time since all these physical changes started going on?"

 

[Ayeka]

Ayeka groaned from her pile of limbs on the floor as a clawed hand was held out by the person she had come to visit today as she looked up from under her hood before taking the offered hand allowing Keiyaku to help her up most likely with a bit of difficulty as her as her reptilian wings dropped down her back like a leathery cap as she was struggling to utilise her mutated back muscles to hold the appendages close to her back when they were materialised.

Getting back to her feet the large girl nodded at the anbu's words as her hands came up to push the tips of two index fingers together in what was most likely a nervous habit. "Ah Thank Y..y..you Inuzuka-san" Ayeka spoke awkwardly as despite meeting the canine fighter a few times, this was the first instance where they were able to talk normally without a fight potentially breaking out causing the girl to become very nervous. However it appeared Kei wasn't the best in social situations either as he asked the girl if she had been experiencing any changes with her body. Ayeka just stared at Keiyaku in confusion before her eyes drifted up to look at the new pair of ivory horns crowning around the sides of her head framed by new ebony locks that had streaks of red and purple at the tips, Ayeka then turned her head around over her shoulder to look at the pair of pitch black scaled wings that now hung down from a small opening in the back of her top allowing them to be drawn in or released without breaking her clothes before she finally looking over at Keiyaku again. "Er Yes?" Her tone was unsure but her expression just looked at Keiyaku in a deadpan manner as if she was calling him a dumbass with her eyes.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Keiyaku blinked, watching the shy girl play with her hands as she thanked him.

"San? Very uh... formal, ain't it? Honestly, just 'Keiyaku' is fine," he said with a conciliatory warmness in his eyes. His next question provoked an unusual reaction however.

'Er Yes?'

The Inuzuka had a strange feeling that she'd completely misunderstood his question, so he sought confirmation by repeating his question in his answer.

"So you -have- lost time since these changes began? I mean, like, you've had periods of time vanish from your memory, ever since the changes started, right?"

Now Keiyaku was eyeing Ayeka as though she'd taken leave of her witts as well, but he didn't linger on it.

"Here let's head into the forest; we can take a short-cut through my house," said Keiyaku jovially, prompting an excitable bark from Moru who was fruitlessly trying to expel excess energy by pacing restlessly, and speeding back into the house at the first provocation. The Inuzuka clan complex was pretty much what one might expect. It was pretty sizeable, with a large central sitting room, and many others doors and corridors leading off it into living quarters. There was a pervasive smell of animal dander, streaks of drool along parts of the floor, and large fluffy tumbleweeds lining the corridors, all signs that screamed 'big dogs live here'.

"Back so soon, boy?"

The voice called out from the far end of the room, by one of the doors. It was slightly hoarse, maybe even feeble, but with a gravelly quality that would make a death metal singer green with envy.

"I thought you were out teach-"

The voice paused as its source approached. A large, shaggy wolf-dog with jet black fur had gotten up out of a small bed, accompanied by a chorus of clicking bones, but walked with a kind of loping grace in spite of his old age. Keiyaku spoke to him as he would a parent, with great deference and a slightly cautious tone, as though perpetually worried about disappointing him.

"Uh, nah, not today. This is Ayeka, you know, the girl who was-

"Ah, yes, the child from the hot springs. You told me about her," interjected the old dog the old dog, shooting Ayeka a curious, appraising look, seemingly just as mystified by the wings sprouting from her back. Kiiromaru's tone wasn't unfriendly, but it was very direct when he addressed her, "you're feeling better now, yes?"

"Oh yeah, Ayeka, this is Kiiromaru, my dad," Keiyaku explained, not detecting anything strange in this statement. Moru, meanwhile, was bounding around all of their legs excitedly, almost wetting himself with anticipation. A swift growl with Kiiromaru silenced and stilled him in an instant.

"We were just gonna head out into the woods for some training. You don't mind, do you?"

"I ain't a nature spirit, boy. S'your forest just as much as mine. Just try not to track in squirrel shit on your way back in, please," replied the dog, with a tone like a mother trying to prevent a catastrophe from repeating itself.

"I... you... okay. Come on, Ayeka, let's just head outside," said a very flustered Keiyaku has he showed both her and Moru to the backdoor, leading out into an expansive grove, surrounded on all sides by a thick canopy of trees.

 

[Ayeka]

Ayeka just shuffled nervously back and forward as Kei mentioned how formal she was being but despite how she dressed Ayeka didn't have the confidence to be more casual in her words at the best of times but coupled with the fact that Keiyaku was one of the people who rescued her from the Yakuza and that he had seen her at her worst.....Well it was easy to say that she could barely meet the boy in the eye without feeling like she was going to die from embarrassment. So Ayeka stayed silent instead as Keiyaku clarified that he was just trying to determine if she had suffered any altered awareness or lose of consciousness. "Um O..only a cou..couple of headaches senpai. M..my eye now processes a lot of in...information." As Ayeka spoke she brought a hand up to her face and let her fingers gently trace the edge of her yellow eye, the organ seeming to glow in response as her fingers dragged across the skin as the world around the girl seemed to glow with chakra.

Snapping out of her thoughts on the discomfort that her new doujutsu sometimes gave her, Ayeka nodded as Kei suggested they go through her house not realizing what they entailed for a clan that prided themselves on their ability to raise dogs. Meekly skirting around Moru and making sure not to touch the excited pup she followed the Anbu in to his home and paled quickly beneath her hood as she was exposed to the horror that was a house infested by dogs. Fortunately only the evidence of their habitation filled the room she had stepped into but that was still enough for the girl to break out into a cold sweat as old memories resurfaced. Teeth flashed in her mind only to be halted by a swift yelp as hand caved the illusionary dogs face in while crowds roared and cheered for blood. Ayeka felt her pulse quicken and pit fill the bottom of her stomach as breathing became harder but he still persevered and forced herself to keep on walking if only to finally escape to the forest behind the house.

Unfortunately their path was blocked as a large black dog stepped out from the back room. Ayeka failed to hear the conversation that occurred between Kei and his farther as she simply stared in growing horror at the large animal as he approached before finally her turned his attention to the girl. Sadly for Ayeka this was too much for her as she simply went completely pale and collapsed backwards, her mouth foaming in fear as her brain just shut down to escape the situation.

WC: 445
[MFT]

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

Well, shit.

That was unexpected. He knew some folks weren't too good around dogs, but for crying out loud. Keiyaku exchanged a glance with Kiiromaru, who seemed just as bewildered as he was.

"Something I said?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her. She just needs to fresh air or somethin'," said Keiyaku, looking down at the unconscious girl and wondering how best to do this. Carefully sliding his hands underneath her wings, he closed his eyes and concentrated hard, trying to pry some gravity chakra out of the seal inscribed upon his stomach. With a little shuddering, he managed to left her into his arms, assisted by some kind of gravity jutsu that made the girl a little more weightless. Carrying her to the door, he stepped with her and Morutobu out into a small forest clearing which seemed to be a tiny section of the expansive forest surrounding the village. He carried her far away from the house until they came across a little grove with a pond. He set her down carefully onto the ground. Moru, taking care to avoid another incident, kept his distance, not wanting to freak the girl out when she woke up.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Said Keiyaku, gently shaking the girl's shoulder, trying to wake her. Admittedly, he felt a bit useless when it came to providing any kind of medical care, but she didn't seem to be hurt at all.

"We're just out in the woods now. Thought you might like some fresh air."

 

[Ayeka]

A larger Rottweiler barked within it's cell it teeth flashing in the gloom as it's ears flattened down to it's head while many other dogs barked alongside their leader through the doors to their prison as they snarled at the arena just aside their doors. Standing in the area was a young girl of about six or seven, her hair dark brown as she shivered in fear at the vicious animals that were trained to rip her apart. Above the area sat dark shapes swirling around in poor lighting as adults placed bets on how quickly the girl would die as some unseen signal took place causing cheers to explode from the audience. A mechanism allowed the gates to the dog cells to snap open, the animals throwing themselves forward as the sight and sounds around them sent them into a frenzy. The girl only had a moment to cry out in fear before she was overtaken by a sickly purple chakra as the first dog punced on her. The crowd fell into uncomfortable silence as yelps filled the arena before the girl now covered in blood slowly walked away from the corpses she left behind as she slowly dragged the largest dog behind her....It's limbs shattered as it breathing slowly before the girl finally turned around and.

Ayeka snapped awake with a yelp as she quickly sat up and looked around barely avoiding Keiyaku's face with her horned forehead as she quickly looked around in a panic for dogs but all she found was the form of Moru in the distance. Ayeka looked up at Keiyaku as he asked if she was ok but all the girl could do was nod as she looked down at her lap.

 

[Inuzuka Keiyaku]

The sound that came out of Keiyaku's mouth was probably supposed to be a 'Whoa!' but came out much more like 'Hurrgh!" as he quickly jerked his head back to avoid the girl gauging out his face with her pointy head decoration. She seemed to be fine now, albeit a little shaken and worse for wear. Dogs... Yeah, it made sense; coming from where she did, that gang situation, he imagined there were a fair few dogs being used and abused to entertain cruel bosses with violent, gladiatorial fantasies. Poor pups... Oh.. and, yeah, poor Ayeka as well...

"Are you sure?" Said Keiyaku kindly, offering her hand to help her sit up, sparing a glance for Moru, who was standing at a fair distance. Hmm... maybe they could work on this a little.

"Hey... you wanna say hi to Moru? Trust me, he's not like most dogs. You can tell because he spends half his time reading bottom-of-the-shelf manga..."

Moru quite visibly shot his big brother a dirty look as if to say 'hey, fuck you, man.'

"Trust me, he wouldn't ever hurt a fly."

Keiyaku let out a series of low grunts. Moru's ears pinged up and he veeeeeeeeery sloooooooowly started to approach the girl, not making eye contact, and keeping his tail loose and waggly.

The Inuzuka gently took the girl's hand and slowly extended it for her, towards Moru's head as he got nearer.

"Just reach out, okay? I'll be here the whole time. Nothing to be scared of."

 

[Ayeka]

Ayeka assumed Keiyaku meant well in his words and actions but as he took her hand to place on Moru she couldn't help but wrench her hand free from the Anbu's grip before standing up with enough force to push the boy away from her as she quickly marched away from him muttering "Nope...nope.....nope.....nope" Repeatedly and in a frenzied manner as she walked deeper into the forest before disappearing into the under brush.

[Topic Left]

[Sorry but I'm just spinning my wheels in this topic as I can't seem to come up with anything for it. Not a clue why but didn't want to keeping hogging one of your slots.]