Mission Details:

Kaito's arm was still a little messed up from the previous night, having been mauled by a wolf, it was really a testament to Kaito's strength as a shinobi, or so Captain Momochi said when he'd arrived to the Patrol Station. In truth it was mostly a testament to the medical-nin that had healed him and the fact that Kaito spent most of the day fine tuning the muscle tendons in his arm. After all, why would he trust another ninja to have done it correctly? Not that Kaito had found any mistakes, but he was able to speed up the healing process a great deal and only had a bit of residual bruising and a deep ache. He'd had a few muscle cramps throughout the day, but his arm was doing a lot better and Captain Momochi had cleared him for service.

Aisu Sensei had actually been a lot happier to see him then he'd thought she had been, but apparently whatever fallout had come down on her for Kaito's failure hadn't managed to ruin his standing with the jonin. At least there was that, Kaito guessed, but he hadn't had the chance to talk to Yoshito about last night yet and it was kinda bugging him the way his fellow genin had snapped at the captain. "How's your hand Yoshito?" Kaito asked him as they sat across from each other at one of the tables in the Patrol Station. They had both managed to come one time today, well technically they had come about thirty minutes early, but they had a few minutes left before the patrol meeting took place, and Kaito wanted to make sure Yoshito was up for it.

On top of speaking out against a jonin when it wasn't his place, his partner had done the one thing that all medical ninja hated. Yoshito had demanded medical treatment for a minor injury when there were much more serious injuries to attend to. Kaito had always hated it when someone would come into the hospital with an upset stomach and demand medical attention from him when Kaito was attending to set a broken leg or tell a family their loved one hadn't made it. Luckily for Kaito, Captain Momochi had come to visit him at the hospital after her shift ended, and discussed last night with him. She'd admitted she'd over reacted, and Yoshito was right about it. It still hadn't been Yoshito's place to say what he had said or in the manner that he had, but Captain Momochi told him that Yoshito was still young and learning the way of things and to cut him some slack.

Kaito had to admit, he was starting to like Captain Momochi better, and she'd basically said as much as well about Kaito and Yoshito when she saw them walk in on time. Yoshito had seemed a bit more off than normal, which was weird because normally Kaito was the one that was off center. "Everything alright after last night?" Kaito asked, apart of him still felt ashamed that he hadn't been able to keep the younger genin safe from harm, even though another part of him was mad at Yoshito for the way he had behaved after all was said and done. Kaito wanted to apologize though, he just didn't know how. He also wanted to forgive Yoshito's brash behavior, yet again he wasn't sure how. Perhaps if he'd have siblings or non-medical-nin friends, but Yoshito was his real friend since his time spent at the academy, and even then Kaito hadn't kept in touch with any of them.

Kaito hoped it'd be easier, to talk to Yoshito that is, while they were out on Patrol, nothing but the night air and the rain to bother them. He was about to tell Yoshito as much, but the words were caught in his throat as Captain Momochi's voice called for all of them to pay attention. "Alright listen up, as most of you know multiple of our patrols were attacked by wolves last night. Two full packs have been tracked down and killed, but we haven't found whatever source is responsible for whatever happened last night. I want you all to be careful out there tonight, I don't want anymore deaths. Most of you already know your routes so let's make this quick." Aito Sensei began reading off names and assigning sectors to be patrolled, but what had really caught Kaito's ears was the mention of deaths caused by the wolf attacks last night.

"Did you know someone died?" Kaito quickly asked Yoshito. "I didn't hear about that." Kaito was flabbergasted, he'd heard some of the shinobi whispering about the various wolf attacks last night and how some people suspected foul play or a rogue ninja, but no one had mentioned anyone dying. Preparing to leave for their shift, Kaito was still red in the ears over this new information, he'd have to be on the top of his game tonight just encase something happened or if one of the other patrols got attacked and needed medical aid. He grabbed his arm, the one that had taken the most of the mauling. Kaito could still feel those wolf's claws digging into his stomach, he could still feel the crushing weight of the best on his ribs, to say nothing of the almost crazed way the wolf had bit and tore at his arm, almost like he was being driven to do it by something. The thought of dying there, under that wolf, made Kaito shudder.

Yoshi was advised to go to a hospital to have someone optimized for the job without the pressure of impending beastly attacks interrupting the healing process of his wrist. Yoshi would go against this instruction though, he felt as if he didn't deserve such good treatment. No, instead, the boy simply took a walk alone along the border of the village. He knew the threat of an attack was higher than ever due to the recent attacks but he didn't care. If fate would come for him maybe it might hit its mark this time around instead of someone else taking the hit. Yoshi stopped in his tracks next to a tree, his fist clenched as he pounded on the bark with the side of his wrist. A small part of the bandages that encased Yoshito's hand up to the middle of his forearm became a bloody red. A small amount of blood seeped from his stitches. He stood still for only a moment before letting out a sigh and unraveling some of his bandages to see the damage he had caused. Nothing major, the stitches weren't busted he simply allowed some space for blood to slip out.

Dammit.

Yoshito appeared onto the area that housed the Patrol Station a few moments before they started in on the pre-patrol meeting. There were a few tables scattered about with chairs indicating where people should sit and listen to the instructions of Captain Momochi. Yoshito made his way to a table off in the back noting the two shinobi that appeared the night before that aided Yoshi and Kaito with their injuries. He nodded to them with a solemn look upon his face but keeping his head down so they most likely couldn't see his complete demeanor change from the night before. Taking a seat Yoshi sat upright, his elbows allowing his forearms and hands stretching across the table where he took his seat as Kaito spoke to Yoshi. He sat down without realizing that his friend was also occupying the same table. The man asked the boy how his injury was doing from the night before, pain pulsed through his entire arm up to his shoulder as Kaito asked him.

"I'm ok."

With no particular tone said aloud the boy responded to Kaito, then slumped back into his chair. Yoshito, in fact, was not alright the feelings of uselessness and people seeing him as someone who needs protecting was weighing heavily on his mind and it was getting the better of him. The only thing he knew to do when something like this happened was to start cracking jokes and acting as nothing happened, but he's grown since he last had these childish reactions. Yoshito's mind matured to the point where all he could think to do was train and continue his development as a shinobi no matter the cost. The thought of asking his mother for extra training time crossed his mind if she hadn't been too busy doing her own job. He hadn't spoken to his mother much since he was promoted into the Genin ranks of the Land of the Mist and that should change, maybe the love of a mother is what Yoshi needed after the attack.

Kaito asked again as if jabbing the notion that Yoshito shouldn't be okay with what happened. In truth, he wasn't and it was evident all across his face and the fact that seemingly his personality had changed. "I said I'm fine Kaito. Thanks for asking." Yoshi hissed at his partner through his teeth, if it hadn't been obvious before it was apparent now that his actions had had some effect on the boy, to what extent was still unknown to even Yoshito but one would have to wait to find out exactly how far he would take this melancholy view of life. Pondering the thoughts of what he could do to make things right between him and Captain Momochi is when the woman spoke out toward the groups taking part in patrolling the village borders.

Killed in action. What a tragedy.

Thoughts came again to Yoshito only furthering his view that he was lucky for Kaito and the other's interference with the attacks on the two genin last night but what of those that lost their lives from these beasts? Why Yoshi and Kaito? What made them so special that they got saved and not the people who laid their lives on the line for a measly three hundred ryo. "No, I had no idea." Yoshi said calmly but his eyes were wide in reaction to what the captain spoke of. Yoshi picked up on some chatter by others within the vicinity, they weren't quite as stealthy as they might have thought they were because they weren't quiet with their speaking at all if Yoshi could hear them.

Rogue ninja? Why would someone do this? Radicalitsts like those dissidents me and X stopped the other day? My oh, my how some people can just turn on their own is beyond me.

Pushing these thoughts aside for the moment as Yoshi got ready for the next deployment he made sure he was prepared. He made mental notes of the ninja tools he carried on him as always, the three kunai and such just in case he had to resort to that again as he had last night during the ferocious attack. Yoshi noticed Kaito grab his arm and wince in pain slightly as he was gathering himself and readying for the mission just as Yoshi was. "Hey, what about you though? Are you okay?" Yoshi asked Kaito how he was doing after the attack, everyone was making sure Yoshi was okay even though Kaito had taken the brunt of the attack. Maybe it was because Yoshi is younger than Kaito but the boy didn't like being looked at as a weak useless shinobi. He would earn his rankings among these people just as others did before him.

---

Yoshito was clearly upset with him, and Kaito could only guess as to what it was about. Kaito understood that he needed to become stronger, to become a better medical ninja, as well as a better shinobi overall. His skills were subpar and it put the lives of his comrades at risk. This wasn't something a medical ninja could be allowed to do, it was a discharge and Kaito just knew that if his mother could see him now, she'd more than likely smack him for his foolishness. Kaito's mother had always encouraged his interests into the medical field, she too had an appreciation for the talent, a medical ninja herself, but Kaito's mother had also explained the burden of being a medical ninja. The burden of making sure none of your comrades died in combat. The best way to make sure no one on your side died, was to make sure they weren't ever harmed in the first place.

Kaito would have responded to Yoshito's obvious anger towards him, but given the circumstances, it wouldn't be a good idea. This was furthered by the arrival of someone Kaito had met not to long ago, he'd recognize the symbol of the Kaguya clan anywhere, they were one of the most famous clans of Kirigakure afterall. "Koryu, it's good to see another familiar face, and hopefully not a bad as last night. I almost wasn't allowed to go on patrol after my injuries." Kaito offered, exposing the flesh on his arm just enough so the scarring could be seen. "It took over an hour to reattach the muscles, and I spent most of day fine tuning the repair work." Their little conversation was interrupted briefly by Captain Momochi who wished the three of them a safe night before she left them to go out on her own patrol.

"Well, we can talk and walk, so shall we gentlemen?" Kaito offered as a subtle hint they were set to relieve the current guards in a few minutes. They didn't have far to go, most of the genin were assigned routes near the Patrol Station in case of emergency, the higher ranking shinobi were given the farthest and most dangerous patrol routes. It wasn't long before the three of them came upon the chunin they would be relieving. She looked tired, likely worried about the risk of wolves, but she didn't say anything other than a few passing well wishes and greetings before she jogged off to the Patrol Station to file her end of shift report. "Hey Koryu, you mentioned you were with us tonight, does that mean you've been on patrol duty before?" Kaito asked, curious to see how his experiances had been. Apparently last night hadn't been the first time wolves have been a problem, and if Koryu had already faced down the beasts, he'd be an asset they could use.

Kaito wasn't really sure what sort of fighting style Koryu used, he knew the Kaguya clan could do some fairly awesome jutsu with their bones, as Kaito had been taught about the kekkei genkai while training to be a medical-nin years ago. There were even members of the clan that made a living off of bone transplants and donating their bone marrow to those with a few more rare illnesses. Kaito respected the Kaguya clan almost as he respected the Yuki clan and their sister bloodlines. After all, they were two of the most famous clans in the Hidden Mist as well as the world at large. Still, assuming Koryu focused his skills on Taijutsu, which would only serve Kaito's style of combat for the better, Kaito was glad to have the other genin on board. It did present Kaito with a added difficultly of making sure both of his comrades were kept in good order, medically speaking at least. But it also increased their chances of success should something happen tonight.

Having a third genin with them was an all around blessing for the most part, the most difficult thing would be for Kaito to admit his failure for last night to Yoshito, since he wasn't exactly looking forward to the fact that Koryu would be right there when it happened. They were fast approaching their first checkpoint, and Kaito hoped he could get Koryu to go check in with the other patrol for them, as that would give him and Yoshito about fifty meters distance from wandering ears. "Hey, Koryu, why don't you head out for the checkpoint? It's right over there between the to trees, see the marker?" Kaito said, while pointing to the tall pole with a oiled torch at the top, in emergency it could be lit to signal for help, but it also served as the location where they were suppose to check in to make sure nothing had gone on with the other patrol and to assist them should they need it.

Once Koryu was gone, Kaito knew they would have to be quick, it'd only take a minute at most for both patrols to report to each other, and Kaito wanted to make sure he was able to apologize to Yoshito. He could feel his ears turn red, as he let out a short sigh. "So Yoshito, about last night, I can't express how sorry I am I wasn't able to keep you from getting hurt. It's my job to make sure my comrades are kept within proper medical care, and I failed you. I understand if, if you'd prefer to find someone else to work with from now on." Kaito could feel the shame of what he'd just said hit him like a rock, but he could also feel how much it would have hurt his mother to hear about what had happened and how poorly he had apologized. Shinobi weren't meant to apologize, not because they had to be tough, but because they weren't meant to make mistakes in the first place.

Yoshito and Kaito were met with another boy called Koryu, an unwelcome guest of the pair but after the night before on patrol duty, it perhaps was for the best. When he took a seat at their table he introduced himself to Yoshito after conversing with Kaito slightly and under his breath so to not take the spotlight from Captain Momochi's instructions meant for everyone in the room. Yoshito replied also under his breath and under the guise of the other whispers in the room, "Yoshito Yuki, nice to meet you too" he nodded finishing the last word in his sentence. He was still not in the best of moods brooding over the sequences of actions that transpired last night. Koryu then quickly asked how it went for Kaito and Yoshito the night before, when he did this he simply allowed Kaito to respond, Yoshi held his head down, raised his bandaged up hand, and looked forward to Captain Momochi dismissing the group of shinobi to do their jobs.

He stood up and turned his body toward the exit and started making his way for outside that would only be lit up by the moonlit sky. When he made it outside he admired the same beautiful scene as the night before while he waited for his teammates. A Kaguya, a medical ninja, and a Yuki clan member, what would their strategy be if the mission goes awry once more? The Kaguya could be the close-up taijutsu user but that would leave Yoshito in the back casting jutsu mid-range which wasn't his strong suit. The corners of his mouth would droop downward as his thoughts of the battle strategy for the night disappeared and flashes of the night before would appear in his mind taking up his vision blocking him from admiring the moon in the almost empty sky save for some clouds lingering overhead.

He shook his head roughly just in time to see Kaito and Koryu exit the meeting area. He quickly leaped forward to the two catching up, eliminating the small space between the three of them. The group began making their way to their checkpoint, a tall pole with a flag garnishing the Kirigakure symbol embroidered onto it, waving proudly with the assistance from the slightly gusting wind, and a torch that could be lit easily in case things went sour. It was then that Kaito had halted his movement and Yoshito did the same almost mirroring the man. Was there a sign of another beastly attack that Yoshito had missed? He reached downward for his pack that now held two kunai, he never retrieved his kunai that was stuck between the wolf's bottom and top jaws sticking out through its snout. He began to get ready for the attack when Kaito instructed Koryu to go to the checkpoint and Yoshito allowed his guard to drop as he did so, since there wasn't an attack being pointed out.

Yoshito looked at Kaito inquisitively, his head cocked when he began by grabbing the boy's attention. He then apologized about the night before but what he was apologizing for isn't what caused Yoshito all of this mental anguish. Making sure Yoshito was okay is a medical ninja's job but there was one thing that hit the mark. 'keep you from getting hurt' Yep, there it was, this is what angered Yoshito. He wasn't angry at the time yet when those words slithered past Kaito's lips his fist clenched which caused him pain so he grabbed his wrist tightly with the other hand. A pulse rang through his body as he began to speak in response to one of his partners for the mission at hand.

"Kaito I'm not switching partners. I like you, you're my friend." Yoshito said with a smile ignoring the pain he had just caused himself. "But with that being said," Yoshito began again, turning his back to Kaito before continuing, "I don't need you to 'protect me' from danger, I can protect myself. If you feel like you can help me if I get injured again feel free to but do NOT jump in front of me again. No one will be getting hurt because of me ever again." His fingers bent at the knuckle putting air quotes around 'protect me', and then put emphasis on 'NOT' when he spoke to Kaito. He had hoped what he said wouldn't stick on Kaito's bad side but he also hoped to get his point across. Yoshito stared at the top of the treeline glistening from the moonlight that showered the night.

For a moment, Kaito was in disbelief at what Yoshito had said, did the younger genin really not understand the way of the medical ninja? There were only two core philosophies that ruled medical ninja, and these principles were shared amongst all medical shiboni all over the world. First: No Medical-nin is allowed to die in the field. If a medical shinobi dies,  they leave their comrades without life saving medical ninjutsu. Second: The Medical-nin within a squad of shinobi must always be the first to die, they may not allow their comrades to die before them. Kaito knew the two principles were in conflict, one told him not to allow himself to die, the other told him to be the first one to die. It was meant to be in conflict though, and understanding why was what set medical-nin and medics down different paths. Kaito wasn't a medic, not anymore, he wasn't a doctor in the hospital. Medics were those that came in after the battle, medical-nin were those that healed while fighting alongside their comrades.

"Don't you dare think that I'm under the impression that you can't defend yourself Yoshito, I am a medical-nin, I will always protect my comrades. To the death if required." Kaito didn't want to argue, and he did understand Yoshito's point of view, but Yoshito was looking at the situation as a shinobi, and not as a medical-nin. There was no getting away from the two core principles of medical-nin philosophy, and Kaito wasn't sure how to explain the ideals to a non-medical ninja. That didn't mean it was difficult for Katio to understand where Yoshito was coming from, the younger genin's own code of ethics wasn't foreign to Kaito, Yoshito was meant to be self sufficient enough to protect and serve those that couldn't protect themselves, to be there when his nation was threatened. It was the same thing all shinobi, even medical-nin, learned, as it was the primary purpose of shinobi.

Not wanting to dwell on the subject, Kaito turned his thoughts to their new mission partner. He'd met Koryu only once, though he seemed a good enough sort. A little over enthusiastic about entering combat, but that was to be expected from a member of the Kaguya Clan. Other then his reckless nature, Koryu seemed decent enough, but Kaito wanted to get to know the shinobi better before considering him a friend. It was fortunate that Yoshito still wanted to be friends, cause Kaito was having trouble thus far in that department, not trusting enough to let people in was something kaito had suffered from his entire life. Yoshito still knew next to nothing about him, though the same was true in reverse.

He was nearly lost in his thoughts when he heard it, the rustle in the bushes that set Kaito's hairs on edge and made the scarred flesh of his arm crawl. It was the subtle silence that seemed to set in over the air as the quick padding of paws and claws on the wet grass alerted kaito to the presence of danger. Apparently one of the shinobi from the other patrol noticed them too, but the wolves had been far closer to them and Koryu, not allowing for the same reaction time. Kaito was already running in the direction of the threat, blood had already been drawn by the time Kaito withdrew a set of six senbon from his back satchel, three in each hand.

"Yoshito, I'll draw them away from the other patrol, take one out from behind when i do." Kaito spoke in the younger genin's general direction, not wanting to take his eyes off his prey. His prey. The wolves would not be allowed to take the role of predator tonight, and Kaito intended to do what other shinobi hadn't been able to accomplish during the day, he needed to find the source of these strange wolf attacks. If he couldn't succeed where others had failed, more shinobi were destined to meet their end at the teeth of those beasts.

By the time Kaito reached the three other shinobi, Yoshito likely closely on his heels, three more wolves had showed up. One of the members of the other squad was already injured, having been bitten on the hand while slashing at one of the wolves with a kunai. Luckily, the second member of the other squad had managed to bring one of the wolves to heel, some sort of fireball jutsu Katio wasn't trained with. The wolf had met a horrible end, chard and no doubt in tremendous pain, but that didn't matter, what mattered was the four remaining wolves.

They were fast, almost as fast as the two higher ranking shinobi, but the wolves had figured this out, already working their way towards separating the more skilled squad of shinobi from the three genin. The two wolves fighting with the chunin seemed larger, faster than the two looking at Kaito and his comrades like they were food. Kaito, for his part, wasted no time throwing his senbon between one of the wolves and Koryu, as if to tell the wolf that it should be fighting Kaito instead.

Inhaling deeply, and flooding his throat and mouth with chakra while forming the Dog sign, Kaito could feel the digestive enzymes within his mouth turning acidic, not that they would harm him. Waiting for the wolf he had pissed off to get closer, Kaito began spitting the acidic foam at the wolf, catching the side of it's fur before the mixture began to burn and melt it's way through the wolf's pelt and flesh. The acidic foam would in no way kill the wolf, but it would at least hurt it enough to cause an opening for Yoshito while Koryu dealt with the other wolf attacking him.

Out of the corner of his peripheral, Kaito saw that the chunin squad had already killed another wolf, and one of the shinobi were rushing over to aid the genin as a large white wolf jumped out of nowhere and sank it's teeth into the chunin's throat. The shinobi had barely enough time to realize what had happened before the white wolf flipped her head back, snapping the man's neck and releasing him. He was dead before he hit the ground, his mouth opening slightly as blood flooded out and the other chunin screamed the man's name, but Kaito was to far away to hear. Almost as fast as she had appeared, the white she-wolf was gone, another victim to add to the list of shinobi KIA during these strange attacks.

There had been nothing Kaito could have done, he was occupied with his own opponent for the time being, but having seen a shinobi of Kirigakure die right in front of him for the first time, he couldn't help but hesitate, allowing his guard to drop and the wolf he had already injured began running toward him to take advantage of the moment. Kaito's attention snapped back into place and all he had time to do was reach for another senbon before the wolf was nearly at his throat. Hopefully, Yoshito had heard him moments ago and was ready to back him up, cause Kaito was about to take another trip down the mauling express.

Kaito's words had whipped Yoshi back around as he spoke, it was his job to protect his fellow comrades even if it meant certain death. That is the life of a medical ninja. Yoshi looked into Kaito's eyes and let out a "Tch." Yoshi's cheeks were flushed red with frustration. It was apparent that whatever he could say to his friend wouldn't matter. A gust of wind would come breezing through the two and undoubtedly the group that Koryu had met up with not far from them. Yoshito was angry and embarrassed at the thought of not being able to get through to his friend. His fist clenched once more as his brow furrowed allowing his emotions become visible through his face. Then he thought about it for a moment. If Kaito had truly thought that his way was the right way, who was he to tell him different. Everyone had their own way of doing things and if the medical ninja were the ones to always throw themselves headfirst into danger in front of their comrades so be it. Yoshi's grip on his fist had softened until his fist became a lazily laid hand on his thigh. He simply would look at Kaito now calmed down, "Well, if that's how you feel I can't stop you."

Just like the quickness of the wind a sound of rustling bushes and the pitter patter of paws stomping on the grass had come across the place Yoshi and Kaito were standing. If Yoshi were to say anything else to his friend it would have to wait, a feeling of danger would rush over Yoshito's body. He looked into the area where the noise had originated, he would see a gleaning light pierce the covering leaves that the trees allowed. Yoshito's head cocked slightly not knowing what it was, he was going to move closer. The boy's arm stretched outward as he got closer to the patch of forest just in front of him, a seemingly safer part as that's not where the sound of danger came from. His eyes widened at what it could have been that he saw, it mostly resembling that of the moonlight catching and reflecting off of one's eye. Was someone spying on Yoshi and Kaito eavesdropping on their conversation? He wouldn't have time to investigate these thoughts to either confirm or deny the accusations that floated around his mind.

Kaito had lunged from his location toward the group that Koryu had gone and checked up with just ahead of them. "Right!" The singular word slipped from Yoshito's lips as he followed suit just behind Kaito diagonally off to the left closest to the treeline. As he got closer he could clearly see that one of the shinobi were injured already, his hand was bitten and blood poured from the holes where the beast's teeth once sunk into. Just after he noticed that the air got hotter than any normal weather condition would allow. A sudden light appeared through the darkness that lit up the area much more than the moonlight ever could have. With the fireball emitting from the shinobi's mouth came almost instant whines of pain from one of the beasts, it would seem that they wouldn't need help from Yoshi or Kaito at this point. They seemingly had it all under control. The grass that lay about the area were set ablaze leaving a ring of fire around the area surrounding the now mixed group of six shinobi.

Through the flames came a total of six wolves, all brandishing different looks, scars through the fur and things like that with jet black fur and streaks of white across their bodies at varying lengths. Kaito had thrown two senbon betwixt Koryu and two wolves that had made their way through the fire and seemingly was looking for an opening to attack. This caught their attention to Kaito, or rather the point of where the weapons had come from. They howled and snarled at the young man as if they were about to launch an attack of their own. It was then that a steaming foam would spew from Kaito's mouth, undoubtedly putting his medical prowess in the form of an offensive style. Yoshi smiled as the foam connected with one of the wolves, with that Yoshi would jump forward at the other wolf that was eyeing Koryu. As he was in the air with his advancement his hands wove together two hand signs and he landed in front of the wolf that also made his own advancement. Yoshi halted his own leap short so not to get too close to the danger he once felt from these wolves and their pack. The wolf lowered its body with its legs bent as if to lunge forward on top of Yoshi and that's exactly what it did. The beasts head led the strike forward with its mouth gaping as one did before but Yoshi knew this method of attack and so he was ready. The boy gracefully ducked underneath the neck of the wolf and allowed his jutsu to go to work. From the top of his forearm that he placed carefully underneath the wolfs neck as it jumped forward a sudden burst of sharpened wind chakra emitted and cut through the wolf's bottom jawline. At the same time, Yoshi's other hand punched underneath the wolfs underbelly with the same daggerlike substance forcing from the top of his palm cutting through the belly of the beast.

Blood poured from the animal as its lunge cut short and its body fell now lifeless. "Well, that was certainly a lot easier than last night, eh?" Yoshi spoke with a chuckle, there still were two wolves to deal with after the remaining that Kaito and Yoshi didn't deal with lunged elsewhere but he had faith in Koryu, his eagerness to get into a battle would surely be put to the test here. The circling entrapment of flame that once surrounded the group died down as one of the chunin came rushing in to offer any aid he could. He began to speak but it was cut short. A large white wolf had made its appearance from the cover of the forest and sunk its teeth into the man's throat. Rearing its head back his throat would be taken from his body forcefully. Yoshi wanted to react but it all happened so fast time wouldn't be allowed to do so. The man gurgled trying to speak through the opening where his neck used to be, Yoshi could barely make out the man saying 'help me'.

Just after its attack on the chunin man had ended, it's mighty legs forced its body forward toward Kaito. Yoshi jumped to the side so as to have a clean shot with a kunai at the wolf before it is able to do anything serious to his partner. The metal ninja tool would fly through the air piercing the still air after such a devastating attack, Yoshi would thrust his palm outward at the back of the hilt of the kunai allowing a very powerful flow of wind to push the kunai much faster and harder than normal. Its trajectory was true and its mark was the beast's face. The kunai hit but in a much more serious place than just its face. When the kunai made its connection with the beast, it would confirm to hit the open eye of the bloodthirsty animal. With the force and speed the kunai had, it would rip through the skull of the beast and drop just behind its head, the momentum had suddenly stopped after exiting the wolf's head. The beast stopped its movements suddenly but unnaturally, that was odd. A sudden gust of wind would blow through the area and Yoshi could finally notice the rain still dropping from the sky. He flinched at the first feeling of the rain dropped on his face, his mind was so wrapped in the battle that he had forgotten it began to rain during it.

Just then a voice would crack through the sound of the rain pouring onto the ground. The voice itself seemed raspy and uncaring, almost maniacal. Yoshi's eyes widened as he looked for the source of the intruding sound. Upon further investigation, the noise had come from the wolf that Yoshi had stopped in its tracks. The boy looked scared out of his mind. Was the wolf a zombie wolf? Was it actually a human using the Transformation Jutsu? That wouldn't be it at all, the voice came from a human by the way it spoke but that human must have been using some sort of technique to throw the origin of his voice to some other direction, in this case, being the wolf's mouth itself. The area was still before the voice came through, all of the remaining wolves' movements ceased abruptly no matter what they were previously doing.

"So, you have stopped my onslaught. I have still retrieved the souls of some of your fellow shinobi. What will you do about that? I have packs upon packs of wolves at my disposal, there is no shortage. You cannot stop me. I will take you all out and then I will take over the village!"

At the end of the man's speech, the voice would fade as a maniacal laughter would holler out louder than any other noise that Yoshi had heard in a while before it faded out. He looked at Kaito and Koryu and the other remaining shinobi that were still in the area. His head lowered, the wolves that were alive but whose movements stopped when the voice came were not seemingly dead or at least dropped on their sides lifelessly. "We need to report back to Captain Momochi, this is much more serious than some village patrol. We need help." Yoshi spoke with a much more serious tone than he had before up til now. This situation was getting out of control, numbers of shinobi KIA were no less than fourteen or fifteen after these attacks. Probably Captain Momochi would reveal the number to be higher once they reported to her as this groups that joined forces against the wolves weren't the only ones patrolling the village's outskirts.

All the wolves seemed to be dead, and the giant white wolf Kaito had seen had vanished. He wasn't sure what Yoshito had done to trigger such a response, but the younger genin was right, they needed to report what happened here to Captain Momochi as soon as possible. While the others were getting ready  to make their departure, Kaito rushed to the wounded chunin, who was themselves busy lighting the checkpoint beacon to signify danger. The injury to his hand wasn't as severe as the amount of blood made it seem, but then again head, hand, and feet injuries always bled far more then other wounds.

"You genin go report in, we'll continue to stand watch here till reinforcements arrive." One of the chunin spoke, a young woman not much older than Kaito. He noticed her looking back toward the corpse of their dead comrade. It made sense for the genin to be the ones to go back, they weren't as trained or capable in combat, should that white wolf make a reappearance, the chunin stood a better chance of fighting it off. Kaito also understood their desire to stand watch over their fallen friend, chances were after they checked back in at the Patrol Station, they would be on their way to the hospital's morgue until it was time to notify the man's family. Kaito had done his fair share of relaying bad news, so he didn't begrudge them the task.

"Koryu, Yoshito, let's go." Kaito said, nodding to the chunin before heading back towards the Patrol Station. Along the way, Kaito made sure to keep a look out for more wolves, but instead he saw at least three other groups of shinobi headed in the same direction at them. Getting closer to one of them, Kaito asked about their situation before being told about the same as what he, Yoshito, and Koryu had experienced. Apparently, they hadn't been the only ones to see the White Wolf, nor hear that eerie message. Kaito wasn't sure what all this meant, but he heard whispers of the beast being a Raijū, a demonic spirit that took the form of a large wolf capable of utilizing Lightning attacks.

By the time they made it back to the Patrol Station, it was clear whatever was happening was larger than just wolf attacks. There were multiple wounded being tended to by two very overworked looking medical-nin, Kaito would have to lend a hand as soon as they checked in. As he was looking for Captain Momochi, Kaito noticed an authoritative looking ninja he'd never met before, but he'd seen Captain Momochi reporting to the woman before, but Kaito also knew that if Captain Momochi wasn't here, they needed to report to the next highest ranking ninja. "Ma'am, multiple wolves spotted east of the north gate. One chunin KIA, not other injuries. A large white wolf was seen shortly before, well, before the message was delivered." Kaito spoke in between people whispering to the woman in front of him. The mention of a fatality caught their attention though, as one of the ninja turned and marked a tally on the board behind them. The total marks read seventeen. That can't be just tonight can it?

"Very well, all genin have been pulled from patrols for the foreseeable future, get something to eat then go home." The woman spoke softly, before her attention darted to the door. Captain Momochi was limping in on the shoulder of one of her squadmates Kaito had never learned the name of. The three genin were soon swept out of the way, as Aito Sensei was led toward the woman Kaito had just spoken to. Despite her injuries, the jonin was still able to report in before seeking medical aid, and Kaito rushed over to provide it as soon as she had sat down at a table.

"Aito Sensei, would you mind if I helped you remove your flak jacket?" Kaito asked her as she moved to take off her uniform. There was no need for modesty among comrades. The wound to her shoulder was deep, but the she was no longer bleeding. Katio moved to go get the necessary supplies he'd need to stitch her up, and by the time he had come back, one of the other medical-nin were already there. The young genin nearly had to smack the man's hands away as he was putting the stitch in all wrong. "This isn't a battlefield, you can take your time to do it correctly!" Kaito spat at the ninja, causing Captain Momochi to laugh before grinicing.

"You know, you can help them by tending to some of the other shinobi, I'll be fine." Aito Sensei offered with a pained grin as Kaito started to flush the wound with a small amount of water infused chakra.

"Not a chance, besides, when else will I have a chance to convince you to take us with you when you hunt down this creature?" Kaito offered in return as he cut the string on the stitch. There'd be a scare, the flesh had been torn ragged, but it wouldn't be large, especially after Kaito managed to heal it properly with his medical ninjutsu. "Right Yoishito, Koryu?" Kaito asked his fellow genin looking for back up. This only caused Captain Momochi to start laughing, but she seemed at least open to the idea. Kaito couldn't let this wolf get away with what it had done, regardless if it was some sort of demon or not, that didn't matter. He would fight to protect Kirigakure from any threat.

Kaito continued to mend Aito's Sensei's wounds, but was finding it rather difficult until he remembered that the Momochi clan were naturally resistance to the healing properties of medical ninjutsu. The wound was closed enough that it wouldn't bleed if the jonin moved, but it was clear to Kaito that she was still in pain. Having noticed he was finished, Captain Momochi was quick to chastise him fore not tending to the other wounded shinobi present, and Kaito only nodded before moving on. Even though he had transferred to field duty, he was still a medical-nin and his skills were always needed.

Even though the genin had been ordered home given the circumstances, not one moved to dismiss them since Kaito's ability to heal wounds was more and more necessary as time went on. Those that had been more grievously injured began to be moved to the hospital, and those with minor injuries had to be cleared to return to their patrols. At some point dawn had broken, and those that would take over for the night patrols began to drift in. Almost everyone that was injured had been moved to the hospital by now, and Kaito was exhausted. He would sleep, and tomorrow night, he would hunt that wolf down. For now though, Kaito would return to his home for a hot shower, something to eat, and a good day's rest. If anything was to be said for the past night, it was that the following evening would only be more difficult on them all.

Yoshi didn't see what had happened to Koryu but when he turned and looked upon his comrade he noticed blood pouring from his gashed arm. The young boy stood there for a moment attempting to catch his breath with short sporadic breaths. Inhale, exhale. Sweat poured from his brow after the voice had made its ominous presence known. Yoshi moved to go retrieve his kunai that had pierced through the wolf that made an attempt on Kaito's life. The thought of his mate getting blown back by the wolf flashed through his mind with imagery intact. His body lay soaked in blood with a puddle of the same bubbling up from underneath his back staining the ground. Luckily that didn't happen. The white wolf that was once there suddenly vanished into thin air, its body phased out of existence unexpectedly. Yoshi didn't know what to think about that. He had seen the basic technique known as Substitution but nothing quite like that and on top of that a wolf? Since when could wolves do things like that? No way that was a normal animal.

Yoshi looked upon Koryu's face consuming smile as he remarked on the fun he had while in combat. Yoshi did nothing more than let out a slight chuckle and shake his head in response. This kid was nuts. His arm was lazily laying at his side opened up from the beast's teeth that once sunk into Koryu's arm and yet this guy was wanting more. How crazy. Yoshi stuck the kunai he just retrieved back into his pouch. The woman that was one of the chunin that Yoshito and his group had helped told the genin group to go report in for everyone here and let them know what happened here. The voice and the killing mainly. That made sense. Yoshi looked past her to see a body laying lifeless on the ground, blood scattered about his body seemingly from the thrashing head of the wolf that attacked him. Yoshi's eyes squinted before he turned and began on his way back to the meeting area. There was nothing he could say or do to make that better.

"Understood."

One word slipped out of Yoshi's mouth with a remorseful tone. His head hung low thinking as he began taking strides closing the gap between him and the meeting area. He got his teammate hurt just the other day on the same mission because Kaito decided to help out Yoshi, today his teammate got killed along with other injuries while Yoshi was defending himself. What was the right way? His mind brought forth the times where his mother would calmly say 'You can't make everyone happy every time.' she would always say that accompanying a gentle smile. The thoughts of his mother brought Yoshi warmth in his heart but he knew he shouldn't be smiling in a situation like this. One killed and another couple injured by the strange usage of the wolves that were patrolling the village. What is the goal of whoever controlled these monsters?

The dim lights of the meeting area reflecting off of the ground caught Yoshito's attention before he saw the meeting area itself. Upon entering the very large tent the smell of hard work wafted the air. The stench made the young boy's head jerk upward in attention as he finally noticed it. Pained moaning filled the air, Yoshi likely would have noticed it had he not been lost in thought but it just now hit him louder than normal. Fellow shinobi who had not been so fortunate as Yoshito on this night sat around the area catching the attention of medical nin who were attempting to help in a myriad of ways. Some were attempting to stitch flesh back together, some were restoring broken bones while others were treating simple wounds. The sight looked as if they were at war with these wolves.

The three genin met with a shinobi who was obviously in charge of the relief station. The moment they were at her attention Kaito would speak up and that made Yoshi's attention fall forward to the one Kaito was speaking to just in time to see one ninja behind the one in charge to mark on a board. Seventeen total. Damn. This along with the sight of the area was a lot to take in. A sigh escaped the woman's lips just before speaking to the large group in the relief station. All genin are pulled from duty. That enraged Yoshito. Pulled? How?! He, Kaito, and Koryu had been through too much to get benched at a time like this. They had just gotten the first lead on the person who is controlling the monsters attacking those on duty. Yoshi's brow furrowed in anger matching his clenched fist. His lips parted about to speak when another small group entered the large tent. This wouldn't normally take his attention so easily but when he noticed who it was Yoshi stopped his attempt to speak.

Yoshi's mouth gaped open as he watches Aito limp in with the aide of two other shinobi. Yoshi followed Kaito as he made his way to Captain Momochi who had injuries presumably from the wolf attack earlier that night. It broke the young boy's heart to see someone as strong as she to be hurt this badly. There isn't much Yoshi could do to help but he stood behind Kaito as his conversation with Captain Momochi began and concluded unmovingly. Yoshito had attempted at a smile with a thumbs up when asked by Kaito if he or Koryu would like to help the Captain hunt down this monster. The monster who controlled the beasts. "Hell yeah, we can't stop now Momochi!" Yoshi exclaimed excitedly with his thumbs up still outward to her just behind Kaito. His once attempted grin now formed into a full-blown ear to ear smile that consumed his face. Hopefully the good vibes the young boy gave would make her feel just a little better but even if it was just a tad inappropriate, the boy would still try as there wasn't much he could do.

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