IntrovertedRaccoon: Woo hoo! First story to be uploaded onto fanfic! Though not the first story I've written, it is the first to be viewed by others. Please give me some feedback pertaining to my writing style – I am looking forward to so-
Tobi: Naruto and the Akatsuki do NOT belong to IntrovertedRaccoon, they belong to their original owners! Was Tobi a good boy?
IntrovertedRaccoon: T3T I got interrupted… Anyway, constructive crit-
Deidara: BANG!
It was just another boring day of school; the teacher rambling, pens flicking, and the clock ticking ever slowly on the classroom wall. The heat from the early summer sun was building up inside the room, making an annoying humming sound in my ears and making the algebra on the board turn into squirming squiggles.
It was the last class of the year and everyone was excited to get home.
Twenty minutes left.
I boredly chewed my pen lid as I glared down at the problems on my sheet.
'Great, just what we needed. A maths test right before we were to go on break. A very pointless prospect considering it wouldn't account for anything until we came back in September – by then I would have flushed all the math out my system anyway.'
Fifteen minutes left.
I glanced over to my half-sister, Miyu, who had already finished.
'Gah, that brainy girl! She barely pays any attention to the questions and she always gets an A! Meanwhile, I have to study hard to scrape a B in math…'
Ten minutes left.
She noticed me.
'Don't throw an airplane, don't throw an airplane, don't throw an a- Oww! Right in my eye! Let's see; it says 'I'm bored'…My eye is now internally bleeding because you wanted to tell me…that you were bored!'
I wrote on my piece 'well suck it up' and threw it back at her.
'Woah! It went right up her nose! Talk about defying physics…'
Five minutes left.
'That's it. I've given up on math; screw you algebra, equations, and numbers in general. See you in numerical hell.'
Because of course math is the devil's subject.
And with that note, I started drawing doodles on my test paper. Little cartoon heads, eyes and flowers. And the image of my math teacher being run over by a bus. Yep. Definitely going to get an A with that one.
'BRING BRING (insert school bell noises here)'
Instead of satisfying my original desire to jump up and rush out of the classroom, I calmly packed my stuff away. Yes, I am my own buzz-kill.
"Hiya, Hitomi! How do you think the test went?" questioned Miyu, her long brown hair swaying gently as she cocked her head.
"Hey. And no. We are not going to talk about math for another three months."
If you think I'm being rude, don't worry. That's just how I communicate.
"Fine, fine," she sighed with a pouty expression. Surprisingly, though she talks 90% of the time, she finds it very hard to start a conversation topic. Especially with me, who enjoys the sweet sound of silence. I still can't believe that she would follow me around, of all people, like a lost puppy (not that I minded).
It's just that we were very different, it's even hard to believe that we are somewhat related.
I have shoulder-length straight black hair; she has wavy brown hair. I wear mainly jeans and band t-shirts; she wears the latest designer outfits. I give off an aura that sends first years scampering in the opposite direction; she gives off an aura that invites some unwanted 'guests'. I'm more creative, preferring to dwell in the arts and writing subjects; she is more logical and is amazing at math and science. If you'd be looking for me on an evening, you're more likely to find me drinking at a party; she'd be shopping at the mall. I'm quiet; she's talkative. I hang with the bad boys; she's with the in-crowd. I like rock music; she like's pop- Well, you get the picture.
I suppose we do have some similarities that bring us together. Appearance wise, we do have the same pale skin and the same green eyes (albeit that mine are smothered in eye liner). We both, surprisingly, have a love of music (though I prefer guitar and she's for the piano) and both enjoy singing together (though my voice is low and contrasts with her angelic chorus). And we both enjoy anime. Specifically, Naruto.
The first time that I even bothered to properly talk to her, or bother to make friends with her, was when waking up one morning and finding her perched in front of her laptop and watching 'The curry of life' episode. I watched it with her (she allowed me to, obligingly, happy to make a new friend) and we both agreed on how stupid the episode was. We then watched Naruto episodes every weekend since, and we started talking and I learned to like her. And all because of that stupid fail of a filler.
Anyways, back to the present.
"So, what you doing tonight? I heard Keiichi's party got cancelled."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Meh, I might just watch TV. I'm feeling particularly lazy. Though if dad's back, I might just go round to Tayo's…"
As you can tell, I really don't like my dad.
"Well, he won't be here for long anyway," comforted Miyu "Remember? He's got to pack to go on his all-summer business trip."
I paused, blinked, and looked at her.
"Wait, what? Another business trip?"
"Weren't you listening this morning at breakfast?" quizzed Miyu exasperatedly.
At this point, my hands were clenched tightly and my hair was covering my face (even more so than it usually does). I looked like I was about to cr-
"Alright!" I yelled ecstatically, scaring the passersby as we walked out of the school gates. Yes, insert face palm here.
"I don't know what's so happy about that…" murmured Miyu sadly.
'Oh yeah, Miyu loves dad… that and he promised to take her skiing this summer…'
"Don't worry about it. Besides, that means that I will come out of my lair and spend more time with you this summer…no wait…that must suck for you…"
She laughed and shook her head at me, causing a few men to stare at her when we walked past. Did I mention she was extremely pretty? Well I have now.
"I wonder what your mum's cooked for dinner…" I mused as we trod along.
Yes, I said her mum not my mum. She is my half-sister after all. My mum is travelling the world, making news and writing for her blog. The only reason that she doesn't see me often is because she is spending lots of time on her work, something that she never had until after she split with dad.
Apparently, dad had kept Miyu and Aiko (Miyu's mum) secret from my mum for many years; and when she found out, she came down with clinical depression. Thankfully, she resumed her work as a journalist and came out of her depression, but during that time I was put in the care of dad. Someone who I was not very sympathetic towards after putting my mother into such a state.
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Aiko at all. She's not some evil step mother that wants to throw me into the middle of a forest to be eaten by bears (or hungry old women). I do admit that I'm slightly resentful (who wouldn't be considering that my dad chose her over my own mother), and I think she has some communication issues with me (she has no idea how to deal with someone who likes remaining almost utterly silent, staying out late, and stomping to rock music late into the night). But apart from the constant calls from teachers and the occasional call from the police, I think she likes me. And I like her. As long as she keeps feeding me with her delicious cooking.
'I'm drooling just thinking about it.'
"I have feeling she's cooked potatoes and chicken," Miyu told me, being helpful was indeed her specialty.
"…and, dare I say it, the dreaded vegetables?"
If food had a Satan, vegetables would be it.
"Yes."
A shiver went down both our spines.
We continued walking back to our home. What can I say? We live pretty far from the school. Miyu was attempting to start lots of conversations such as "I heard you got an A in English…" or "I cannot wait for my second year…". There was even a "So…how has Kichirou been doing lately?"…I swear she likes him. No matter how many times she tried to start a conversation, I either replied with one liners or didn't bother at all. I've said so many times before, that I was content with the silence. Lord, grant me a new catchphrase!
She was rambling on about what some girl named Sachiko said to this other guy, when I heard a small "mew" coming from down an alley.
Ignoring my sister, I strided down into the alley and found a cardboard box. The box was making a 'mew' sound. Instead of thinking that the box was alive (heheh, yes, I've never done that before), I opened the box and found a bunch of starving kittens.
Oh ho! But not just any starving kittens! Starving badass kittens. I mean, seriously! One of them has freakin' piercings! What, did it get drunk at a night club and decided to waltz into a feline peircing parlor? Does he have a tattoo with that?
"Hey, Hitomi! Wait up, don't leave me hanging!" panted Miyu as she ran to catch up with me, panting heavily. Sports were never her forte.
"W-wow! Kittens!" she cried as she reached into the box.
Unfortunately, I forgot to warn her that hungry kittens have no moral objections to omnoming a human finger…
"Ouch!" she yelled as she drew back, the white kitten had some bite in him I see…
The silence (the oh-so awesome silence) drew on whilst I stared at the curious kittens, and Miyu half-glared and half-melted at the sight of the pile of cuteness. I decided to break that silence.
"Let's keep them."
Miyu looked at me with a shocked expression.
"What?" she said as I picked up the box of kittens.
"I'm keeping them."
Miyu jumped up quickly and waved her arms nervously.
"H-hey wait, Hitomi! We can't keep them! Who knows what mum will say…plus they seem pretty dangerous…what about Moriko?"
Ah, my other half-sister Moriko. My very…strange half-sister. Indeed, she truly believes that she's half-dragon, half-dinosaur, and half-dog (though that defies all rules of fractions). If she sees these kittens, she'll go mental.
…Well that's my entertainment for the evening sorted…
"…w-what about dad? He's allergic to cats!"
…if I was hesitant before, I'm certainly not now.
"We don't even have any food for them!"
I looked down at the cats in the box. They were chewing at the cardboard as if it was fish fondue, and a few ribcages were showing…
"Okay, you go get the food then."
"What? Hitom-" She was interrupted when I shoved some coins into her fists.
"Make sure we have enough for ten."
I strode back towards the house, while she sighed, shook her head, and wandered to the pet store.
I walked boldly through the front door, not caring if I was caught in the act, and shoved my shoes off my feet.
"Ah, Hitomi? Miyu? You're both back already?" came the call of Aiko from the kitchen. Her voice was slightly croaky, as if she had been either shouting or crying. Or both.
I put the box down as I slid my coat from my shoulders.
"Nah, it's just me."
Aiko shuffled into the corridor where I stood. Her hair was long and brown (like Miyu's), however strands of grey were appearing in her parting. Wrinkles were starting to cover her slightly tanned skin. Though she had long been past the prime of her beauty, she still held a kind of decaying elegance in her looks. Her chocolate eyes, however, were coated with red marks as she had been crying.
"You've been crying."
'…way to state the obvious.'
"Yeah…you, know… I think I finally know how your mum feels…" she mumbled against her sleeve, words which I barely caught with my ears.
"Hm."
Then, she let out what she really wanted to say.
"I'm sorry to say this Hitomi, but YOUR DAD'S A JERK!"
…I think she expected me to disagree with that statement.
"Yes," I replied, rolling my eyes. "That's what I've been trying to tell you for five years now…"
She smiled.
'…Way to let your worries off your chest…'
"And just to reiterate my point…" I continued.
I held up the box.
Taking a look inside, Aiko stared at me.
"You do realize that your father is allergic to these…"
"…"
A smirk appeared on her face…I think I may have rubbed off on her…
"I'll go get some milk for them…"
I went into the living room and put the box down. At that exact moment, Moriko galloped (yes, gallop, like a horse) in and tripped herself down (she tripped but tried to make herself look like it was on purpose) in front of the box.
"What's in it, Tomi?"
I motioned for her to peek inside.
"Wow! Kittens! They're so cool!"
She tried to put her hand inside the box, but I managed to stop her this time.
"They're very hungry kittens."
"Oh. So does that mean they're cannibals?"
...I'm not even going to try and explain that concept.
"What are you naming them?" questioned curious Moriko.
"I'm waiting till Miyu gets back."
"Okay. Do you know that dad's gonna kill you when he returns? If he touches cat's fur, he dies!"
I smirked at my over-exaggerating sibling.
"That's the point."
At that moment, Miyu returned with the cat food. Putting it in dishes, along with the milk that Aiko made, we let the cats out. They were very strange cats that made Moriko very happy and Aiko very surprised.
There was a black cat with orange fur on it's face, an orange cat with piercings (like I said, what. The. Hell.), a blue cat with a white flower on it's head, a brown cat that was covered in stitches (this one must have had a lot of operations), a white cat with red eyes, a black cat with red eyes (were red eyes normal for cats?), another blue cat (that had FREAKIN GILLS!), a red cat, a yellow cat with long shaggy hair (a piece of which covered it's eye), and the weirdest cat of all. A half-black, half-white cat with a PLANT surrounding it's HEAD!
Miyu and I looked at one another whilst Moriko took an instant liking to the blue cat (blue was her favourite colour) and the plant cat.
"Don't they look like them…" started Miyu.
"Yes," I replied.
Aiko looked between us confusedly.
"Look like who?"
"The Akatsuki," we said in unison.
I'm not sure whether it was a trick of the eye, or if it really happened, but I swear I saw the kittens jump up and eye us suspiciously when we said that.
"Who- I'm not even going to ask…" sighed Aiko.
"Yeah, so let's name them after the Akatsuki," suggested Miyu.
"Sure."
"So the blonde one is Deidara, the black one with red eyes is Itachi…"
"…the orange fur-face is Tobi, stitches is Kakuzu…"
"…the white one is Hidan, the one with the flower is Konan…"
"…plant-head is Zetsu, the one that looks like it has just come out of a tattoo parlor is Pein…"
"…the blue one is Kisame…"
"…and this one is Sasori," I finished while holding up the red kitten. It's glaring at me. Some how, I think I'm going to wake up tomorrow with scratch marks…
"Okay, got it!"
Moriko finished writing notes on the names, from a note pad that she got out of thin air. That girl gets stranger every day…
The kittens had finished eating, and started roaming the house. Well at least some of them did.
Moriko had put Kisame into the sink, which Aiko started to chastise her for. That is until she saw that it enjoyed swimming around in the sink. I guess the name we chose for him really suits him…
Miyu could not get enough of the cuteness and had pulled the Deidara kitten into a suffocating hug. She was now grooming his hair. The kitten was making small hisses (grunts) of annoyance, whilst both the Hidan kitten watched (rolling about on the floor as if laughing at him) and the Tobi kitten brushed up against Miyu to try get her attention.
I felt a small padding motion made on my leg, where the Sasori kitten was still trapped. He looked up at me with serious eyes as if daring me to try do the same thing. I sighed and set him free.
While our household was attending to the kittens, I walked around in search for the more curious cats.
I found Kakuzu trying to get into dad's finance drawer, which had been left open with bills pouring out. I closed the door and locked it, earning a scratch from the kitten. In the same room, Zetsu had climbed up to the window sill and was eyeing the pot plants. I put him down with Kakuzu.
I next found Konan and Pein in the master bedroom. They did not look like they were doing anything troublesome so I leaved them be.
More time was spent playing with the kittens, although I couldn't find the Itachi kitten anywhere, until it was late into the night.
"Alright, it's time for bed! And, no Hitomi, if I let you stay up later you'll play that…music…"
My music doesn't really sound like music to the Beethoven-loving Aiko.
"But where will the kittens sleep?" asked the down-trodden Moriko.
"They'll sleep wherever they want, sweetie," replied Aiko as she kissed Moriko's tired head good night and carried her upstairs.
She rushed back down to bring Zetsu and Kisame up as Moriko wanted company.
Miyu yawned.
"Unlike you, I'm not a night owl. 'Night."
She wandered upstairs, carrying her cuddly Tobi kitten.
I went to the fridge and got out a beer, as Aiko got down after reading Moriko a bed-time story.
"Don't drink too many of those," she told me, pointing to the beer.
"Yeah," I replied, I didn't particularly want a hangover.
We stayed downstairs in silence, I read for a bit whilst she was thinking something over. I thought the silence peaceful (here we go again), but I know that Aiko found silences awkward to deal with. And I knew she wanted to talk to me about something important.
"I'm sorry."
I looked at her confusedly. There was no reason for her to be sorry.
"For what?"
She sighed and looked away.
"It must have been painful…when your father left your mother…"
I looked away; it was not a subject I liked to be brought up.
"…"
"I mean, it's my fault…if he didn't spend time with me…and then to find out on the day of Moriko's birth…"
That was true. My father was missing on mum's birthday, and she found him at the hospital with a baby in arms with another woman. I know because I was dragged along…but that expression of pain on mum's face…
"So…I'm sorry…"
I didn't say anything, which she thought was accusatory, so she got up to leave the room.
"Did something happen between you and dad?" I asked. I was only basing it back on when she said that she knew what my mum had felt like, but she did seem unusually upset.
She looked away in pain.
"Y-yeah…something like that…"
"…"
She turned around once again.
"You know, I don't particularly blame you."
She spun around again to stare at me in shock. Jeez, isn't she getting dizzy by now.
"You didn't know that he already had a wife…so, yeah. You can't stop me from hating my bastard-of-a-father though."
"Language!" she smiled; half-jokingly, half-relieved.
"…"
"I'm off up now; I've had a busy day…"
"…I'm sure of that…" Arguing with my father can be rather tiring.
"Good night…and don't stay up too late."
"…I'm not promising anything…"
Aiko went upstairs, and I was left alone to finish my book.
Well, almost alone anyway. I had only noticed the small group of kittens gathered as audience to Aiko's little outburst.
Deidara, Sasori, Konan and Pein looked at me with half-expectant and curious eyes.
I tried to get back into my book but the kittens kept gazing at me every time I looked over. Eventually I gave up and went to get my sketch pad instead.
"Stay still you four."
I picked up my pencil and started to draw well into the night. The kittens occasionally moved, if out of curiosity or boredom I did not know. Slowly, my eyes started to droop as I fell back tiredly into my chair. As I finished shading the flower in Konan's hair, my hand lost it's energy and my eyes closed.
I fell to sleep just as the clock struck twelve. And I just missed my cute little kittens transforming into dark looming figures.
IntrovertedRaccoon: Okay, so this chapter is for my sister, who both inspired me to write this piece and forced me to upload it here. She has an account, though she is not using it for writing, and I don't know her account name so...yeah. For all I know, she could be silently stalking me... *shivers*
*Eyes peek out from inside my cupboard*
Introvertedraccoon: Okay, I'm gonna go - before my sister KILLS ME WITH A SPORK!
*spork flies in*