A/N: Hello readers, it's been awhile! I can't remember the last time I wrote a fanfiction for Naruto. I typically do fluff stories, but lately have been trying to do something more fun, you know… different. So here is just a little something I pulled out of my butt, making it a great distraction to the summer homework I still haven't done. Speaking "is like this" and thinking is 'like this' of course.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything… duh.
Don't Let the Cat Out of the Bag
The steamy smell of steamed noodles filled the air behind his broad shoulders as the passed underneath the colorful banners, advertising specials and discounts for the infamous Ichiraku Ramen Shop. His fingers naturally found their way into his pockets and relaxed there in their usual posture. Uchiha Sasuke left the shop with the rest of Squad 7 still behind; underneath a mountain of empty bowls was a still ravenous Naruto, and it was likely that Sakura and Kakashi would wait up for him to finish. As for the onyx eyed teen, he had seen the sickening sight too many a time and was not up for repeating the experience. Sasuke strolled down the street, eyes closed, his stomach full and his spirit content. The evening was still young; what should he get into before bedtime?
'I suppose I could study that new fire technique-'
He stopped all of a sudden, his ears alert. In the alleyway beside him, a local gang of snotty nosed boys were circled around, laughing and shouting cruel insults. The object of their disdain was the tiniest, most defenseless looking kitten imaginable. Its ears, flat against its head, showed its fright as it hissed softly. Gray fur stood on edge as the kitten was pelted with stones, its short legs unable to dodge the brutal attacks.
"Ha ha, look at it trying to run! How pathetic!"
"Somebody kick it!"
Their laughter increased as the kitten began to cry pitifully. The Uchiha's alabaster fingers curled into fists in his pockets; nothing angered him more than to see a bunch of bullies hurting something weaker than themselves! He kept his usual pace as he started walking towards the kids, his face calm and void of emotion.
"If you're going to torture someone, why don't you do it to someone who can fight back?"
He asked aloud as his eyes stared down into the surprised eyes of the group. He was met with several angry glares and a few of the kids simply laughed at him. The little kitten looked up with its big dark eyes, lip quivering. The taunted him next; what was the big bad ninja going to do? Stick a kunai in them? They didn't fear him; he was outnumbered! They ran at him, fists flying, shouting more and more insults. Sasuke sighed; what had urban youth come to now a days? He easily side stepped out of range, avoiding every single punch and kick aimed at him. His leg shot out then and knocked several kids down on their rears before walking past in a casual manner, as if nothing had happened.
"If I were you, I'd scram before I send you home in tears,"
Sasuke paused to admonish, his eyes flashing red as he glanced back at them. The boys yelped, knocking each other down in hurried attempts to get up and run. He shook his head as the last of them scattered, disgusted with what he had seen. At least it was over. He continued on his way, thoughts once again entangling with that new jutsu when something soft pushed up against his shin.
"Hn?"
Sasuke glanced down in mild surprise; there was the little gray kitten rubbing its head against him. He cringed inward as his nose crinkled in derision. Cute, cuddly, adorable- these were not words he associated with, nor did he care for the things that could be described by them. Kittens fell in that category the way noodles did in Uzumaki's stomach. Using his foot, Sasuke gently slid the feline a couple inches away, not wanting to touch it. The kitten meowed and came right back over, looking up at him expectantly. Sasuke felt a slight irritation; he took a few steps and stopped. The kitten was directly behind him.
'There's no way in hell you're following me around!'
He quickened his steps until he was jogging, silky black locks sticking to the slight sweat that clung to his skin. He made it a few blocks before he came to an abrupt stop, smirking when he felt no whiskered presence.
"Meow!"
Plopping down beside him, out of breath, was his familiar friend. Sasuke spun around, his eyes shooting daggers. What was with this cat?! He hated animals; weren't they supposed to be able to sense that or something? He closed his eyes in annoyance; his house was only another block away. It seemed unlikely he was going to be able to shake the slinky feline.
"You can stay with me for ONE night, and then I'll drop you off at the animal shelter in the morning,"
Sasuke told it, his voice lacking enthusiasm. The kitten's ears flickered, as if it knew he was speaking, but wasn't sure if it was directed at itself. With the setting sun casting its orange glow over the quiet streets of Konoha, the Uchiha and his kitten finished the short walk home in silence. When he got to the door, he no sooner had it open then the kitten ran inside, telling Sasuke he had a housecat. It must have been someone's pet gone astray.
'I guess I should figure out something to call it…'
Sasuke frowned as he slid out of his shoes. The kitten's nose was sniffing out every corner of the downstairs as it frolicked from under the chairs to the couch. He sighed as little tuffs of hair coated every surface of his usually clean home. It jumped up on the end table and knocked over the mug he had sat there earlier that morning. It shattered when it hit the ground, scaring the little kitty so bad it bolted into the kitchen. This was going to be so troublesome…
"Yakkaina,"
He thought of a name suddenly, the kanji for trouble ringing perfectly. It would suffice; after all, he was planning on getting rid of that nuisance as soon as humanly possible. Sasuke ran a hand through his ebony locks as he headed into the kitchen himself, pulling out a bowl from the cabinets. He dug some milk out of the fridge and poured some into the bowl, sitting it down in front of Yakka. Kittens liked milk, which would hopefully tide it over, as he had no food to give it. Yakka sniffed the white liquid carefully before taking a hesitant lick. Once it realized how delicious the milk was, it lapped it up much more quickly. Sasuke watched in amazement as the tiny tongue swallowed half the bowl of milk in the blink of an eye.
"You have an appetite like Naruto's…"
He shook his head and sighed; now what was he supposed to do with it? Yakka meowed and continued sniffing around the kitchen, as if to explore its temporary home. He took it as a sign that he was free to leave it alone, at least for the time being. Sasuke went upstairs to his bedroom, picking up the fire technique scroll he had wanted to study before he sat cross legged on his bed. He was just starting to get down into the nitty gritty of how to exemplify his power when a pair of furry paws jumped up next to him. Yakka leaned over to sniff the scroll, its pink nose moving to smell Sasuke's hand. It rubbed its furry little head against the back of his hand in attempts to get attention.
"You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"
Sasuke growled; he hated to be interrupted when he was busy training. Especially when the interruption was caused by a dirty, flea-ridden runt. Despite his negative attitude, his hand flipped over to stroke the kitten. It didn't seem to mind his hesitant touch; if anything, Yakka seemed to love it as it stretched its butt up into the air, a soft purr rumbling in its throat. When his finger tips fondled the sides of its face, Yakka's rough tongue stuck out to lick his thumb in obvious content. Sasuke stared at it in a curious way; he was used to meeting someone and, in the case of his fangirls, being adorned with instant idolization. Their shallow stupidity and the pathetic adoration they showered him in drove him nuts. This instantaneous display of affection made him feel different though.
"Tsk,"
Sasuke dropped his hand, ignoring the feeling as his mind wandered back to the jutsu. Yakka curled up next to him in a ball, still purring. As the sun dipped down below the belt of the horizon, a knocking could be heard at the Uchiha's door. He sighed in relief as he slid off his bed, glad to have reinforcements to deal with the fuzz ball.
"I got your message; where is the little guy?"
Sakura Haruno peered over Sasuke's shoulder, her emerald eyes shimmering with excitement. He didn't know what to about the fleas, nor did he know how to entertain the energetic critter. That department, he assumed, would be more up the healer's alley. He stepped aside and allowed her to pass, his face as apathetic as usual.
"So… I fed it milk…"
Sasuke muttered lamely as the two stared down at the kitten. Sakura cooed and knelt down to caress the soft gray fur, her face delighted as she picked Yakka up and cuddled it. It seemed to love her; it rubbed its face against her own and purred even louder than it had with Sasuke. The Uchiha made a face, feeling slightly envious, though of cat or girl he wasn't sure.
"Well that's a start. First thing's first, we need to bathe this poor thing. I brought some flea shampoo, a brush, a collar, some food and a couple kitty toys. Do you mind showing me to your bathroom and we can get Yakka all cleaned up?"
Sakura stood up, still cradling the kitten against her chest. Sasuke carried the shampoo and led the way. In the white tiled bathroom they shut the door and Sakura busied herself with the job of filling the bathtub. Sasuke stood awkwardly behind her, letting her take charge. When the pinkette had everything set up and ready to go, she picked up Yakka and moved to place him in the water.
"Time to get clea-AH!"
Sasuke barely had time to reach out and yank Sakura's shoulder back as Yakka's claws struck at her the moment his feline body hit the water. The two wrestled with the angry kitten as they struggled to smear the shampoo into his fur. The fleas were abandoning ship, but in their place was a demonic Yakka gone mad- by the end of the bath, both ninja had sustained numerous stinging scratches and were just as wet as the kitten. Exhausted, Sasuke threw the door open, and without waiting to get dried off Yakka hissed and leaped out of the bathtub. Sakura slumped over the tub, panting, out of breath from the struggle.
"Remind me why I shouldn't toss that thing outside!"
Sasuke growled, offering a hand to his teammate. She offered a worn smile as he helped her up, their fingers lingering a moment before letting go. When they had regained the will to face the ferocious beast, Sasuke and Sakura peered into each room, trying to find him. They finally found little Yaka curled up on Sasuke's pillow, fast asleep from the stress of his bath. Sakura chirped on about how cute the sight was, and for a moment, Sasuke's onyx eyes softened.
"Aww! Look at him! He is too adorable! Why don't you keep him?"
Despite her battle wounds, Sakura smiled in delight, her eyes skipping up to meet Sasuke's. He looked at her like she had grown two heads, any trace of affection gone.
"That thing tried to kill us, and you want to suggest I adopt it?"
His voice was apathetic, but Sakura knew better. She shook her head and laughed, knowing Sasuke wasn't always as callous as he seemed. Sure, he would say he hated Yakka, but she could tell there was more to it than he was letting in on.
"Okay, well just feed him once or twice a day, and make sure you play with him often,"
Sakura advised, her fingers waving goodbye before departing. Sasuke shrugged out of his shirt once she was gone, his pants following suite. It was getting late, and sleep beckoned him. He looked down at the sleeping kitten; should he try to move it out of his way? He silently cursed as his head managed to find a small corner of fur free pillow. It was somewhat uncomfortable, being face to face with whiskers, but he didn't have the heart to wake Yakka up and claim the bed to himself. In the moonlit room, the kitten looked so sad, so alone. He thought back to earlier, when those boys had beat the innocence right out of its fragile body.
'You know… tomorrow is Friday… and the shelter is closed for the weekend,'
Sasuke thought to himself as he closed his eyes, one of his hands reaching out to gently pet the kitten. Yakka didn't stir, but purred loudly, like it had with Sakura. It inched closer, until Sasuke could press his expressionless face into the soft folds of cat fur. Maybe a cat wasn't the worst thing to have around…
A/N: I hope the ending wasn't too awful! I enjoyed writing this because I love kitties, and also enjoyed showing that subtle "soft" side of Sasuke's that he doesn't like to admit he has! Also threw in a little SasuSaku fluff. Not much, but I couldn't help myself! Review please, to let me know how it went~