Meeting the Wolf Who was No Longer Trapped Within

Yoshi was just packing up her things.  She had just learned a technique which allowed her to seal items in scrolls.  No longer did she have to walk her hawk puppet around like a pet.  It was now stored safely in her giant scroll which she carried on her back.  Her ten kunai were also stored in a scroll.  Yoshi quickly whipped all the sand off of her bum as she had been sitting down for an extended period of time sketching the sealing symbols into her sketchbook.  It was time to leave.

I cannot believe the Ninja Academy didn't teach me that technique.  It's gonna be so handy! she thought will gazing up in the sky.  Hmm, I suppose those symbols would be hard for a student.  Not everyone is as talented with shapes as you.

As Yoshi was exiting the training grounds someone caught her attention.  He was humanoid shaped but was clearly something else.  His skin was covered in hair and took on the shape of a wolf.  But something was familiar about him.  His eyes - Yoshi had seen those eyes before.  And when the young girl gazed upon him for a moment, she recognized he was wearing familiar clothes.  Any sane person would run, any sane person steer clear of such a beast, and for a moment Yumi was in fact taken by the werewolf's presence, but she knew those eyes.  Yoshi was not afraid.

"Salzem?" Yumi asked.  "Is that you?"

Salzem wasn't really in the mood for training that day so he simply leaned against the small gate that lead to the training grounds, a blank expression on his face. He smelled Yoshi before he saw her, he scent, once undetectable from his human olfactory receptors, now spoke loud and clear in his wolven ones. His head snapped in her direction, his sanguine eyes widening as she came strolling through the streets, her sketch book in hand. He couldn't help but smile as he saw her, then frowned, remembering what form he was in and how she would likely react to that. He lowered his wolven head and turned it away, convinced she would either walk past him, or just stare at him, not recognizing the person that lay beneath. However, to his surprise, she walked right up to him, staring up at his seven foot form with her large, kid eyes with an almost concerned look. She spoke his name.... she recognized him... Salzem looked down at her, his sanguine eyes filled with joy of her recognition.

"Yeah... Its me..." Salzem responded, his voice many times lower than it had been when he was human. He was getting better at human speech, but it still needed a lot of work. "I'm uh... not the man I used to be, huh?" Salzem said, giving Yoshi a slight grin, revealing his pointed chompers. He had grown to think of the little girl as sort of a younger-sister figure, making him even happier that she had been one of the first to recognize him.

What does he mean 'not the man I used to be'?  That doesn't make any sense, Yoshi thought with a confused look upon her face.  

The young girl which stood before Salzem still did not know yet know of his identity - that he was, in fact, a werewolf.  She did not know of their existence.  Her parents did not tell her of such things, and if the academy ever brushed up on the subject, during bloodline lectures, she certainly did not pay attention!  Yoshi often sketched in her sketch book during her classes as she hated being forced to remain seated for a long period of time.  Her novice now shown grater than ever.

"Of course it's you!  How could anyone forget those eyes?  Are you, uh-" Yoshi paused still perplexed to Salzem's strange reply, "Are you working on a transformation jutsu of some sort?  Changing yourself into an aspect of a wolf no doubt boosts your speed and strength, eh?  Oh!  I almost forgot!  I made that puppet from the plans I  showed you during our last visit.  Do you wanna see him?"

Yoshi patted her large scroll which was thrown over her shoulder before setting it down in the warm sand.

Salzem smiled sadly at the little girl and patted the top of her head gently with his huge wolven palm. She was such a nice, innocent girl and she didn't know much of anything about the world. People becoming ninja seem to keep getting younger and younger. Soon the villages may even be sending infants to do their dirty work for them. It was not so simple that he was just practicing a transformation technique. This is what he was now, for better or for worse. 

"No," He sighed. "I'm not practicing a transformation jutsu. This... this is just the way I am now." He shrugged, trying to brush it off like it was no big deal. "Its my new body. I hope I don't scare you, Yoshi." It was then that the little girl exclaimed that she had finally completed her puppet, using the drawing she had used from the last time they'd seen each other. Funny, Salzem still had that drawing Yoshi gave to him tucked away in his gloves. He grinned widely, eager to see what Yoshi Had created. His day seemed to be looking up.

"Sure! Please show me!"

Yoshi's eyes closed when Salzem's gigantic paw patted her head - an uncontrollable reaction caused by the downward force of Salzem's paw.  His hand was quite large.  Large enough to palm Yoshi's head like a training ball if Salzem wanted to.  Yoshi blinked twice and cocked her head to one side.  Her brain flooded once more with a thousand questions.

"What happened to your old body?" Yoshi asked curiously.  "And how did you get this way?"  She then peered around his body and giggled as she noticed his tail.  "Salzem, you have a tail!"

She then poked at one of Salzem's muscular arms.  She was tall for her age, but Salzem had always been taller.  And now his height was practically doubled.  It surly was a comical sight to behold to witness the size difference.  This was exaggerated when Yoshi bent over to unwrap her scroll and release her puppet which was stored inside.  In a puff of smoke, Yoshi's puppet leaped forth from the paper.  Then, with an outstretched hand, Yoshi attached her chakra threads to the mechanical wonder and made it come to life.  When the smoke cleared, it looked like giant red-tailed hawk.  It was made out of wood and had three eyes.  It stood roughly 1.21 meters tall.  At was wrapped in a brown cape, but when Yoshi wiggled her fingers, it spread its wings, its wings extended 1.35 meters in both directions.  This was no toy, however.  The outer feathers on each wing were actually steel blades.  They looked quite sharp and reflected the warm sun's sunlight.  

"His name is Hawks," Yoshi said in a proud tone.  "He can even fly.  Watch this!"

Yoshi walked it backwards to a safer operating distance and wiggled her fingers once again.  This caused the bird flap its wings and bend its legs.  It then sprang up into the air like a decompressing spring and hovered in the air roughly 10 meters above the young ninja.  A few moments later, Yoshi adjusted its flight so that it glided fluently on updrafts of warm air.  It looked similar to a kite flying in the wind. 

"Isn't he great?" Yoshi asked excitedly.  "Oh, I almost forgot.  Here."

With Yoshi's free hand, Yoshi reached into a pocket and procured a training ball before tossing it lightly in Salzem's direction.  It was the same training ball they had used when Yoshi was learning her wind release jutsu.  

"Throw it at him," Yoshi encouraged.


(OOC:  For quick reference Hawks)

"Yeah..." Salzem chuckled lightly at the observation Yoshi had made. It still surprises him too some days, waking up with a furry tail in your face. Yoshi had asked how he'd gotten this way and Salzem's smile slowly curled down. It wasn't a memory he liked to relive. It was painful, sickening and cruel just to live through it, but Yoshi was a curious little girl and he didn't quite buy that she'd leave him be if he dodged this question. Taking a deep sigh, he got ready to answer.

"I was going about my normal business and saw a large commotion ahead of me. Of course, I investigated and found that a mad dog was harassing the villagers. I intervened, expecting I could take the dog out before it hurt anybody, but I paid for that. Got bit on the arm." Salzem looked down at his muscle-bound right arm, as if expecting to see the bleeding hole still pumping his sanguine fluids. "Apparently that dog had... something and as a result, I woke up one day and found myself transformed into this thing, long story short. Its not all bad though." Salzem smiled. "These claws come in handy." Salzem's smile grew even larger, however, as Yoshi pulled a large scroll from somewhere behind her and rolled it out on the ground. Preforming the summoning technique, a large plume of smoke exploded over the area. When it cleared, Salzem could see the fruits of Yoshi's craftsmanship. It was a wonderful wooden version of a red-tailed hawk, even more detailed and gorgeous than the picture Yoshi had shown him. To Salzem's confusion, however, he didn't feel as mystified or... enraptured by this puppet as he should be... His wolven mind just couldn't see this as anything more than a toy and that frustrated the great wolf. He should be happy!

"He really is, Yoshi. You did a fine job on him." Salzem said, flashing a quick smile and catching the ball the little girl tossed at him in one of his colossal palms. He looked at it and grinned. Maybe the puppet proved itself, maybe Salzem would feel something! He gently tossed the ball up at the wooden Hawk which now hung in the air (speed 40), hoping for something great.

As Salzem thew the ball with his gigantic paw, Yoshi quickly molded her chakra and clapped. An large amount of chakra flowed through Yoshi's chakra threads causing them to expand like a garden hose which just straightened out a kink. When the massive chakra reached Yoshi's flying puppet, the bird flapped its wings. A large directional gust of wind sent the ball whizzing back at the wolf's snout at a speed of 25.

”I can use Hawks like a giant fan to preform my wind release jutsu,” Yoshi declared. ”He can also launch a number of weapons, but I'm kinda broke for those items at the moment. I need to complete a couple of missions, but his main functions work just fine.”

Yoshi guided her bird back down to the sandy ground. She was still not an expert at landings as her puppet glided down and skidded to a halt. Yoshi turned back to Salzem with a stupid grin upon her face and had her eyes closed. Her long brown hair, which was tied up in its usual ponytail, twirled around Yoshi's body due to the sudden movement.

”Nyuk, nyuk, I'm still having some technical difficulties with the landings, as you can see! Its quite heavy and its joints do not move exactly like a real hawk's would,” Yoshi admitted in a light-hearted tone.

Yoshi opened her eyes and noticed her friend's familiar silence. In her sketchbook there were several pictures of Salzem's brooding stance - while he was still human. Perhaps there were several such drawings of the teen-aged ninja - more than Yoshi cared to admit! They were private and paper clipped together as to not reveal themselves when casually flipping though. Yoshi opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but she ended up biting her lower lip.

His eyes are doing that thing they do, again. He's thinking about something – but what is it? Did I say something wrong? Yoshi thought as she gazed into Salzem's wolfy eyes.

”Salzem,” Yoshi started to say sounding more serious than usual. There were many things the young girl wanted to ask him. Things like: what was on his mind, where did the dog come from, what did the dog look like, what happened to the dog, was it still prowling around Suna, why would a dog attack – dogs are suppose to be cute and playful, why did he look sad, but instead Yoshi settled for, ”do you need a hug?”


Yoshi released her wooden puppet which lay in a mound of pushed sand. Her chakra threads reseeded themselves back into her fingertips as she slowly approached her wolfy friend with out-stretched hands.

Salzem watched as the ball came flying back at him before raising a palm (speed 30) and catching the ball with one paw, the ball disappearing into his hand. He tossed the ball back lighting in Yoshi's direction, not even looking in her direction. His mind was elsewhere. Salzem's wolven heart pumped not blood through his veins, but anxiety as his mind raced. He was going back to Konoha again in search of Isshin's murderer... It always came down to him didn't it? The reason everything that had happened had happened... What if... what if Salzem was denied his vengeance against this man? What if everything that he'd done was moot? Salzem lost his human form, his chance with Kira, his village, his family, all in search of this twisted murderer and... If he's dead.... If Salzem was too late to extract Isshin's retribution from him... what more was there? What else would he be able to do...? Salzem had been searching for this man for so long... what if it was all for nothing...? Salzem wouldn't know what to do with himself... He wouldn't have anything left to do... His friend would have died unavenged, his purpose would remain unfulfilled, he would become hollow. He didn't notice as the puppet came crashing to the ground a few meters away from him. He didn't notice as Yoshi asked if he needed a hug. His head remained downcast as his thoughts grew ever darker, as he grew ever more worried that everything he had sacrificed in the name of a friend would end in his loss.

The great white wolf stood among the golden sand, feeling more alone than he ever had. Smarter men than he had warned him that devoting life to revenge wasn't worth it. That he'd be the one to pay the price in the end... Heh... They couldn't understand how it felt.... To be helpless, incapacitated with a literal knife in your back as you watched your friend and rival get murdered, shattered by a crazed lunatic. They couldn't understand the helplessness of being pinned to the ground, dead still, tears streaming down his face as he watched his friend being carried off into the forest. Salzem had devoted his life to the capture and slaying of Adam Taures and yet.... If he were dead... If he were dead.... If he were dead.... The white wolf trembled at the thought of everything he'd done was for nothing. If that were true, why even bother getting out of bed (or in his case, out of sand nest) to face life if progress would never be made...?

Yoshi caught the ball and tucked it away back on her person.  It was a strange phenomenon as to how many items she could carry.  Where did they come from and where they go when they were not needed might just be one of the biggest mysteries in anime history.  Yoshi's perky attitude seemed to melt away when the girl noticed the looked on her wolf friend's face.  

Yoshi lowered her hands.  She could defiantly tell that something was a miss with her friend.  Salzem had always been the distant type - a man of little words, but this time his thoughts were reaching somewhere near cloud nine.  And even though Salzem was no longer a human, Yoshi could still recognize the facial features of being upset.  Something was eating at him from the inside, but Yoshi had no idea of knowing what it could be.  But the kunoichi did know she wanted to help.  

Perhaps his new body isn't agreeing with him.  It must be quite disorienting, Yoshi thought as she stared into his sanguine eyes.

"Hey, hey, you're okay," she said to Salzem in a soft tone.

Regardless if her friend heard her or not, regardless if he wanted one, Yoshi slowly stepped forward and hugged the giant wolf.  His fuzzy, white fur was soft to the touch.  Her head rested against his chest.  Yoshi wrapped her arms around the wolf as far as they could go.

Salzem froze as Yoshi wrapped her little arms around his lower torso, bringing him back to reality. His sanguine eyes flicked down to where the girl held him, her arms wrapped softly but firmly as she rested her head against his lower chest where his stomach reached his ribs. Naturally, he began to tense up, maybe even push her off of him. His sorrow iced it's way over his heart, almost like chilled armor. He didn't know why, but his own sorrow demanded it stayed, as if it had a right to be there, untreated so it can fester and grow. However, just before his heart became fully iced and before he could shove Yoshi off of him, the chill of his heart began to thaw. The ice began to crack, small at first, then large, arcing lines formed before shattering completely, fully exposing his soul to the emotional wounds and the reality of the situation.

Pools water began to form under his sanguine eyes before falling down his twisted, lycan face and onto the golden sand below. The strength in his legs seemed to fade as if each tear held of chunk of it. He feel to his knees, more-or-less Yoshi's height now. He tried despertately to wipe the tears from his face, to stop them from coming forth but they were no longer under his control. With Yoshi still latched to him and her warmth radiating into his body, Salzem knelt there in the sand and wept pitifully, acknowledging that his whole life could soon be without purpose. The white fur on his arms and face were soon drenched in the tear drops that refused to stop flowing.

"It's all pointless..." He moaned though black lips and gnarled teeth. "My life is pointless..."