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moorFic 1: Wolf Pup AU
Prompt: “How do I look? Convincingly human?” and “a wolf will never be a pet”
Continuation of: “Tumblr request: Itachi and Shisui as Wolf Pups, Fluffy” https://archiveofourown.org/works/16594397
Rating: T/M
Squicks: possibly considered A/B/O or furry, if you squint/misconstrue?
Sakura climbed over her loveseat the next morning and spied her little visitors rough-housing playfully around the newspapered, bathroom floor. The larger one kept trying to pounce on the smaller one, but the little one was quick to toss his older brother off before spinning back on him again with an adorably excited yip.
“Good morning! I see you didn’t need me to wake you up,” she greeted them cheerfully. She found their tiny messes in a corner and quickly disposed of them in the toilet before washing her hands. After rolling a little tennis ball around for them to play with for a few minutes, she reached back over the loveseat to collect a cardboard box perforated with many holes. “OK little buddies, time for our first family roadtrip.”
To her surprise, the pair bounded over to her and tried to scramble into her lap. Laughing as she picked them up (and they lavished her with puppy kisses), she gently popped them down onto the towels with which she’d padded the bottom of the box. “Upsy daisy…”
A quick trip to the nearest pet store guaranteed Sakura all the essentials her little ones would need (and maybe a few extras…), and they helpfully selected their own collars—though the larger pup was less cooperative about putting his on.
“Be—a—good—boy,” growled Sakura, her brow pinched as she wrestled with the wily dog.
When they arrived at the Inuzuka veterinary practice half an hour later, Sakura drooped with exhaustion.
“Sakura, hey!”
“Hey Kiba. How’s it going?”
He chuckled as she groaned, picking up the carrier that held the pair of puppies. “You’re definitely a mother of two.”
“I think they grew while we were out.”
“C’mon through, Hana can't wait to meet the little guys. I couldn’t believe it when you said you picked up a couple of strays.” He flipped on the lights. “The practice normally isn’t open this early on Saturday, but you get the family treatment.”
“Thank you so much. I know it’s short notice.”
They met Hana inside in one of the examination rooms.
“Oh my, they’re very handsome…” Hana’s voice trailed off as the pups calmly walked out of the carrier to sit atop the examination table, side by side, and face Sakura. “Is this a joke?”
Sakura paused in petting the pups’ silky heads. “Hm?”
Hana looked between her and Kiba, then down to the dogs. “These. These aren’t strays.”
Sakura’s brow furrowed. “They’ve been following me home at night for a week… They don’t have collars—”
“They’re not strays. They’re wolves. That’s why they’re so big,” said Hana calmly, though she swallowed and gentled her voice when the pups turned their large, dark, intelligent eyes on her. “Can’t say I’ve met a wolf before that was as good as these two. Or even most domestic dogs. A week, you said?”
Sakura nodded, petting them again to praise their good behaviour.
Hana’s shoulders relaxed and she chuckled under her breath. “I am, by law, required to tell you to return these two to the wild or at the very least get in touch with the Humane Society so they can arrange for Animal Control to return these two to their natural habitat, or rehabilitate them until they’ll be safe to do so on their own…”
The littlest puppy’s whine interrupted her. Then, as if to prove he was a Certified Good Boy™, he got up and put a paw on her arm, rubbing his head into her shirt.
Hana swallowed, her tough, no-nonsense brow visibly softening.
“But maybe I’m wrong,” she allowed generously.
“Damn, that’s a manipulative stinker of a little brother,” teased Kiba, rubbing the larger dog’s curly-furred head. “You better keep him in line.”
The larger dog have a growly yip of assent, and they all laughed.
“What are their names?” asked Hana, creating a chart for them. “Large, mixed breed,” she wrote and looked up at Sakura expectantly.
“Um.”
Silence.
Kiba snickered.
“Is it embarrassing or did you honestly not think of names for them yet?” asked Hana, whacking her brother across the chest. “Shut up, mudbreath.”
Blinking, a slow grin spread across Sakura’s lips as Kiba flushed.
“I’m going to get coffee,” muttered Kiba, sulking away. The door snapped shut behind him.
“Works every time,” murmured Hana under her breath.
“I, um. I was going to see what they reacted to before naming them.”
“Well, for the purposes of record keeping and making things easier for me, you, fine sir, I dub Spud the Destroyer,” said Hana, scratching the curly-furred pup between the ears. His little tail thumped the table excitedly. “And you, silky one, shall be Spider Fab.”
Spider Fab was distinctly less enthused and set his head down on his paws with a quiet huff.
###
After they returned home and the puppies went down for their nap in the spare bathroom, Sakura looked around her guest room-turned-puppy-nursery. All the outlets were covered, any toxic plants or chemicals had been removed, the floor was papered with puppy pads and toys and water bowls and kibble bowls and more toys and newspaper, and it was all secured behind an industrial-strength baby barrier that Sakura had bolted into the walls.
With a firm nod of approval, Sakura crossed her arms and grinned, admiring her handiwork.
“Not bad, Sakura, not bad,” she said aloud.
As a final check, she crawled around on her hands and knees around the entire area. Just to be sure.
“This is a normal level of precaution for a new pet, this is a normal level of precaution for a new pet, this is…”
###
“Welcome to your new home!” exclaimed Sakura, carrying the puppies in her arms to their ‘room’.
They immediately began struggling and she carefully set them down to let them explore. When they found their favourite tennis ball, they chased it around, yipping happily. Reassured that all was well, Sakura made her way to the kitchen to start supper.
The rice cooker steamed with hints of garlic and ginger rice, the omelet cooked in the pan and the green beans simmered on the stove when something fell lightly behind Sakura.
“Hm—”
Spud and Spider sat obediently beside the table, their favourite ball in front of them, noticeably more slobbery than it was half an hour before.
So much for the baby gate.
Pinching her brow, Sakura inhaled deeply.
“Wolves are smarter than dogs,” she reminded herself. She looked down at her little pups and gave them her sternest look. “No playing in the kitchen.”
They wagged their tails.
Her shoulders sagging, she picked up the ball and carried it back to the guest room. “Play in here,” she said, tossing the ball inside and heading back to the kitchen.
Two minutes later, the ball dropped to the kitchen floor again and Spud and Spider wagged their tails excitedly when Sakura turned from the stove to look at them.
“You could have at least pretended the gate was working, for one night,” grumbled Sakura.
Spider lowered his head but Spud yipped in agreement.
###
“Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let your brother bite,” said Sakura, tucking the puppies into their basket and blankets together. They snuggled into each other, their jaws stretching wide with their yawns. She pet and kissed both their heads before turning off the light and heading to her own room to shower and sleep.
The pups waited until the shower stopped and Sakura’s breathing evened out down the hall before catching each other’s eye and stretching, hopping out of the basket.
Shisui’s jaw cracked as he yawned and shook himself, his human limbs cracking as he took on his alternate form.
“How do I look? Convincingly human?” he asked.
“Hn,” agreed Itachi, studying him. “We need clothes.”
Shisui glanced down. “Good point. Think Sakura has any in her closet? From a friend or sibling?”
Itachi’s brow furrowed. “Perhaps. But it is risky to enter her room while she’s in it. We could wait until tomorrow. She needs to leave us alone at some point.”
“Or we could go see if she’s a sound sleeper,” said Shisui, stepping over the baby gate with his long, strong legs.
Itachi followed him, taking in the rest of Sakura’s home with his human eyes. “She lives alone.”
“That works in our favour.”
“Maybe it’s why she took us in. She could be lonely.”
They walked through the living room and down a new hallway, following the sounds Sakura’s feet had made earlier as she went to her room. They slowed as they came to a nook, a tall, bowed window and window seat with shelves of books beneath and several framed pictures propped up on smaller ledges on the sides.
Itachi’s breath caught in his throat but Shisui came to a sudden stop.
“It can’t be,” murmured Shisui, reaching for the frame in the middle. Beside him, Itachi’s eyes studied the faces behind the glass.
“It’s him,” confirmed Itachi, a strange tingling running through him.
Familiar eyes were creased with happiness as they stared adoringly at the young, pink-haired woman in the photograph. They wore identical pinneys over their tank tops and were covered head to toe in mud, but their arms were around each other’s shoulders and their expressions were triumphant. A race of some sort, or perhaps an obstacle course. Sakura’s hair was shorter in the picture.
With wooden motions, Shisui set the picture frame back on the ledge. Emotions swirled inside him, his eyes conflicted. “There must be a reason.”
Itachi glanced at him before turning back to the corridor.
“Who are you?”
The men froze. A shiver of foreboding ran between Itachi’s shoulder blades and he refused to let his aloof calm falter.
“We seek answers, not trouble,” answered Itachi, holding up his hands to show he was unarmed as well as naked.
He and Shisui turned very slowly towards the source of the voice. Their hearts stopped at the terrifying pair of crimson, glowing eyes that speared them in place.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“We’re simple men returning to the Village Hidden in the Leaves; our clan left generations ago and have been summoned back. We were sent to find out why,” said Shisui.
The tall, broad demi-god glared at them. “Don’t bend the truth with me.”
It was worse than Itachi had thought.
“We are Uchiha,” said Itachi quietly. “I am Itachi. This is my cousin Shisui.”
Shisui’s glare burned into the side of Itachi’s head but he ignored it, focusing on the man before them. The white-haired man studied them quietly before nodding.
“You’re brave to wander so far from home while so young.”
Itachi nodded.
“Why did you choose this dwelling?”
“Sakura brought us in of her own free will,” said Shisui.
“And you’ve confided in her your true forms?”
“We planned to do so today. We’ve only been here since last night. She brought us food and took us for medical attention this morning.”
“A wolf will never be a pet.”
“No; it will never seek a master,” agreed Itachi. “But it will seek out aid for its pack, should they be endangered or ill.”
“Which is it?”
Shisui was trying to signal something to Itachi with his angry eyes, but Itachi didn’t dare take his gaze from the man before them.
“Both,” admitted Itachi quietly.
“He’s confused,” broke in Shisui, glowering at Itachi. “It’s been a long journey.”
The white-haired man looked between them, the crimson tattoos on his cheeks burning. “Which is it?”
The silence stretched a moment before Itachi spoke again.
“We seek her help, not her harm.”
“She is not a night creature like you; she is god-touched. You believe you’re worthy of her help?”
“Yes. And we offer our eternal servitude, should she grant it.”
Shisui’s swallow was audible to Itachi, but they’d had to offer something.
“You may have one month. But there will be conditions,” granted the man, studying the young wolves-in-human-form.
“We’re grateful for your generosity,” said Itachi, lowering his eyes and chin in a bow.
The demi-god chuckled.
“You won’t be.”
###
The next morning, Sakura yawned and looked down at the pair of puppies snoozing beside her atop her bedding and blankets and shook her head. She might as well return that useless gate. Then her eyes narrowed and she looked around. That was odd. There were no stools, chairs or trunks nearby…
“How did you two get up here?”
“We were human,” yawned Spud, his little jaw cracking.
Sakura froze. Then her eyes darted to Spider who was breathing too quickly, his eyes wide as he stared at his brother.
“While the sun shines, you will have one hour of speech a day. Use it wisely,” Tobirama had advised them.
Spud’s half-asleep confession had set the timer running.
“Sakura, we only have an hour. I apologise that this is how you’re learning this, but we need your help,” said Spider.
“Oh my god, what the Hell did I drink last night?” muttered Sakura, her head falling into her hands.
“Water and half a bottle of rosé with strawberries,” answered Spud, kicking his feet a little.
“Only half?”
“More like three quarters,” sighed Spider, internally cursing.
“You smell good,” sighed Spud, tail wagging.
“You will answer her every question, and do so with the truth,” had added Tobirama.
“What the fuck,” muttered Sakura, over and over again. “Am I still dreaming?
“No. You’re awake and lucid. This is real. We can explain everything later, but we need you to help us. Can you do that?” asked Spider, putting a paw on her arm and looking up at her. He pawed at the hands covering her face. “Sakura?”
“What do you need?” she asked weakly, pulling her hands down far enough to peek at Spider.
“Clothes. Men’s clothes. Size large. Extra tall. At least six and a half feet for one, and just over six feet for the other,” said Spider seriously. “We don’t have much time. Do you have any men’s clothes here? Anything?”
“I may have some of my friend Naruto’s old—”
A sinking feeling spread through Spider-Itachi as tingling spread through his limbs in warning.
“We need to go,” he said, turning around and leaping on his brother. “Shisui. Wake up. We’re going to—”
But it was too late.
Their little tails retracted, their jaws re-aligned, their bones stretched and with a soft puff of mist, the pair of wolf pups transformed into full-grown men.
“And you will, at random times, transform into your human bodies, though you will retain some of your canine traits, skills, and strengths.” Tobirama’s smirk had chilled Itachi.
Now he understood why.
—at that particular moment, Sakura’s overloaded single bed collapsed and she shrieked.
“One month,” Tobirama had promised them.
Or, rather, cursed them with.
(TBC?)
