A/N: It's so short... But it's longer than my other one shots. I freaking love Kimimaro. He is my all time favourite character. And I don't even read many fics about him. It's like that for all my favourite characters. I hardly ever read, or write, fics about Demyx for Kingdom Hearts, but I adore him. Enough of my ranting! Disclaimer: No. Just no.
"Yes son. That's Maro." The Kaguya Clan Patriarch pointed out the tabby cat to his hour old son, a sad smile on his face. "He belonged to your mother, but I guess he's mine now…"
The baby gurgled, reaching for the cat. His father simply smiled, and lowered the boy to closer to the ground. The cat rubbed up against the white haired child, purring loudly.
"He likes you. He never really liked me." The Patriarch put his child down and kneeled next to him. "You're mother found him on the streets, about a week after she discovered she was pregnant. She wasn't allowed to accept missions until you were born, so she wanted something to keep her busy. Maro presented that opportunity.
"Maro may have never loved me, but I always loved his eyes. They're the same as your mother's, the same as yours. They're a beautiful green colour. I'm glad you got your mother's eyes. They're full of life, unlike mine." The baby finally reached the cat, and started stroking its head.
"See, even as a child you're intelligent. Most babies would be crying, and grabbing the cat's tail. But not you. You're special. You're like your mother that way. She was intelligent and smart, always full of curiosity. But she never showed her emotions, her weaknesses. The most vulnerable I ever saw her was during your birth, and that ended… Horribly."
The child turned its large, green eyes towards its father, curiosity showing through. "And I don't even feel crazy, sitting here, talking to a new born. Because it feels like you can understand every word I'm saying."
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of someone banging on the Patriarch's door brought him out of his memories. Leaving his child with Maro, the Patriarch answered the door.
Standing there was a medic-nin, panting heavily. In his hands were some detailed sketches. With an agitated sigh, I let him in. The man seemed uneasy in my apartment, but completely froze when he saw the white haired baby sitting on the living room floor.
"Is there something wrong, medic?" The Patriarch coldly asked the man. Whilst he may let his guard down slightly when he was alone with his son, his barriers went straight back up when this stranger entered his home.
"Um, w-we made a d-discovery about your s-son!" The man squeaked, intimidated by the leader of the Kaguya Clan.
"Spit it out!"
"Hehasthekekkaigenkai!" The medic blurted out, trying to hide behind his drawings.
"What?" The leader almost growled, wanting to rip this medic's throat out. It wasn't his fault that his son had the Shikotsumyaku, but he was the only around to take his anger out on.
"Um, yes, we had someone check out his bone structure and…" The medic sat down and spread out his drawings. "Here we have the structure of a regular Kaguya Clan's bone structure," He pointed to a very detailed sketch of someone's bone structure "and here we have your son's." He pointed to the second drawing, this time the drawing of a baby's skeleton.
To a regular person, it didn't look any different. But to a Kaguya, the differences were astounding.
"I'm sorry."
"Hi there kitty!" The boy whispered, not wanting to alert the guards to the cat's presence. "What are you doing here?"
The tabby cat simply stared at the white haired boy, its head cocked to one side. The boy stared back, a tentative smile spreading across his face. But, the smile disappeared when he realised that the cat couldn't stay here. The boy only ever got enough food to keep himself alive, there would never be enough for the cat as well.
"You're going to have to leave kitty." The boy tried to shoo the cat, but it didn't move, just kept staring at him with those big, green eyes. "Come on! Get out of here!" Again, the cat didn't move. Feeling defeated, the boy simply sat down and began to stroke the cat's back.
"Fine, you can stay. What's your name?" The cat just purred, pushing its head against the boy's hand. "Well, mine's Kimimaro."
At the mention of his name, the cat stoped purring. It looked towards Kimimaro, knowledge and curiosity in its large eyes.
"You can be my best friend. I don't have any other friends… This cage is the only home I've ever known." At this, the cat let out a soft mewl, as if disagreeing. "My father comes by and lets me out when people attack the village. It's because of this ability I possess, it's really rare, and I think they're scared of it.
"I don't like fighting. I don't see the point. But every time Father comes to release me, I go and fight anyway, hoping that if I come back victorious one more time, maybe he'll realise that I'm loyal to the village, that I don't have to be locked up… That all I want to do is go home with him.
"But it never happens. As soon as I've served my purpose, I'm locked back up in this cage…" At this, Kimimaro started to tear up, each tear leaving a streak on his cheek and stains on the dirt floor of his cage. The cat brushed up against his side, as if trying to comfort him.
"Thank you kitty." If cats could smile, the tabby would be. However, it settled for simply letting out a happy meow. "You still have to leave. Sorry." The tabby must've understood this time, because it squeezed through the bars and disappeared into the shadows. Kimimaro felt sadness at seeing his friend leave, but he knew it for the best.
"Goodbye kitty…"
"Thank you Maro. I always knew you were too smart for your own good. I'm just glad it came in handy."
The Kaguya Clan Patriarch stroked the cat and looked down at the window to his son's cell. He was currently hidden in a large tree, smiling softly at the words his son had said, but it was also a smile of regret.
Because his son could never leave that cage. His son wouldn't know anything else.
His son would have to hate him, because the Patriarch didn't want his son mourning over the death of a barbarian.
A/N: Why are all my fics depressing?
Sorry for the crappiness of this fic.
This was for a contest over at dA. It was all about family, and I got the prompt 'Pets'. I was going to draw some fanart, but I suck at fanart. So, this would have to do.
~Vithian