Koto POV
I dashed towards the forest from which the old lady came. Looking around, there was nothing suspicious, just the dried-up blood of the old lady on the ground.
*Rustle*
I perked up as the bush behind me rustled. Turning around, I quickly threw a kunai, and to my relief, nothing dangerous came out, just a bunny.
*Swish*
As I sighed in relief, I quickly dodged when I sensed a projectile coming towards me. The projectile was a kunai, something a wolf would obviously never use. When I turned to the direction from which the kunai came, I saw a man smiling at me sinisterly.
The man spoke, "Well, Koto... I never expected you to take on this mission."
I scoffed and answered mockingly, "Hokage's orders."
The man in front of me was a Chunin like me. But unlike me, he's a missing nin. His name is Tora, a civilian ninja like me.
Tora defected when he was charged with murder, killing 3 civilians in a drunken fight. When the higher-ups investigated him, not only did they find that he killed the 3 civilians, but he also kidnapped multiple civilians and sold them somewhere.
After a moment of silence, Tora spoke once more, "Koto, we were such good friends back in the days. Why don't you just leave? It's best for you to leave now and not get hurt."
I took the sword from my back and answered, "No can do, even for old time's sake."
I dashed towards Tora and slashed my short sword at his neck. However, he quickly dodged and kicked my right lumbar region, which caused me to spit out saliva in pain. The force of the kick sent me backwards towards a tree, and at the moment of impact, I could feel the pain running through my body.
Tora frowned, "Give it up, Koto."
I coughed and chuckled, "Y-You aren't really a Chunin, huh?"
He made his way towards me with a kunai out, ready to kill me at any moment. When he got closer, he placed his kunai right at my heart. But when I looked at him, I saw his red eyes, holding back his tears.
"Hahahaha! Are you seriously feeling something now?! Let me ask you this, did you ever show the same face to those you killed?!" I yelled.
Me and Tora were childhood friends. He lived right next to me, went to the same class, had the same love interest when we were kids, and even had the same Jonin instructor. He wasn't this kind of person, and in truth, I took this mission personally so I could understand why he did it.
*Rustle*
The bush rustled once more, and Tora stared at the bush with a frown. Then, seconds later, he looked at me and wiped his eyes, "Maybe... Maybe one day, you'll see it too."
*Swish*
I slammed my fist on the ground and yelled, "Shit!" But in the end, I just took a deep breath and slowly stood up while clutching my side, each step made me feel the pain on my sides.
*Rustle*
The bush made yet another sound.
With a frown, I turned around and saw two red eyes staring at me. At first, I stiffened, but quickly sighed as I didn't sense chakra from the beast. I merely threw a kunai with a paper bomb at the beast and walked away.
*Boom*
However, after the loud sound of the bomb detonating, a loud growl that felt close and closed suddenly sounded from behind.
I quickly turned around and held the jaws of a ferocious beast that was trying to bite me. The beast in front of me was a grey wolf, around 350+ pounds, and was the same size as a grizzly bear.
*Snap*
Its jaw shut as I couldn't hold out any longer. The jaws of the wolf were far stronger than normal. What's more, it had fangs that were sharper than razors, claws bigger than fingers, and eyes that radiated intelligence.
I looked at where the wolf stood and the bush, now gone, from which he came.
'It leaped from the bush to where I was... That's at least 40 feet (12 meters)' I thought to myself.
Thinking he was quite fast, I quickly took my stance, even in pain. Although I could easily defeat a wolf with no chakra, the circumstances aren't ideal. I'm injured and Tora is still roaming around, so I would need to keep watch.
Not wasting any more time, I dashed towards the overgrown dog. Seeing my attack, the wolf answered back with its jaws. He tried to bite me, but I quickly dodged to the left and planted a paper bomb on the side of the wolf. Finally, once I finished placing the bomb, I leaped towards a tree branch and watched the wolf explode.
*Boom*!