'Grimacing' no. 2, Enjoy
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Grimacing Lion
In the dark of the alley the ninja Sasuke Uchiha felt better than he had in a while. He was out of the eyes of enemies, admirers, and the worst who were the ones who held pity in their eyes when they looked at him.
He was 13, and orphaned by his older brother, Itachi. He could still remember that night so clearly. Itachi, his brother who was supposed to give him knowledge and stories and someone to look up to, left Sasuke only with one goal. Revenge.
In the alley he heard the faint rustle of something old and papery. Sasuke quickly reached for a kunai, holding it as a shield, but he didn't bother with his Sharingan.
A quiet meow echoed a few times before a scrawny tabby with a matted filthy coat trudged into a better light. The cat's eyes were pale and luminous in the light.
Sasuke put the kunai down, but not away. He knew the cat could very easily be a substitution, or a trick to make him drop his guard. He was well known now from going on missions. He wasn't oblivious to the fact that his Sharingan eyes might be wanted. But without them, how would he ever hope to go after Itachi?
The cat walked up to Sasuke, suspicious but curious, and sniffed the air around the boy, longing for a meal, or even crumbs of food.
Sasuke lifted the knife over the cat's head, watching it crouch, ready to run off. "Curiosity killed the cat." He murmured, but flicked the kunai harmlessly at the other side of the alley wall. It was lodged, but still fairly loose.
The cat stood back up and walked over to Sasuke, rubbing its bony face on his knee.
Sasuke looked at the cat and remembered the weapons store he used to go to with Itachi when he was little. The weapons store supplied the whole Uchiha clan, and the owner was a cat lady, if there ever was one.
The memory pierced Sasuke like a stab and he looked away from the cat.
"My revenge is the only thing I have left now." He said lowly, and the cat even stopped mid-purr to look at Sasuke. "My brother took anything and everything I had. My dreams… I really wanted to join the police force when I grew up… but that's a distant memory now. Its nothing. My goals… I wanted to be the best ninja, get the best grades, make my parents, especially my father, proud. I didn't want to be outshined by Itachi. And now my only goal is to end him."
The cat meowed, almost sorrowfully. Sasuke grinned, though it wasn't out of happiness. "It's like you understand." He murmured.
The cat meowed again, almost sounding confused. It's eyes, looking pale like a Hyuga's, but still bright, were hypnotizing. Sasuke felt almost as if he could spill all his feelings out to this one cat. He'd come close to telling all this to Sakura Haruno when they were fighting Kakashi for those bells. But all he'd told her was how he cried.
"There is one person…" he started, looking down at the cat's front paws. The cat was busy flexing its paws, outstretching its jagged claws. "A very annoying person. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He is no threat to me. Not anymore. But he is strong. And, there's something else." Sasuke chuckled without humor, balling his fists tight. "It seems, his resolve it greater than my own…."
The kunai that was lodged in the opposite alley wall fell and clattered to the ground by the cat's feet. The tabby let out a yowl and scurried away. Sasuke watched it leave into the darkness, but in a flash it was gone from his sight.
OoK-SoO
Sasuke didn't care if he was sneaking back into this village. He knew the dangers, the stupidity of his actions to do so. But there was no turning back now. Jugo, Karin, and Sugietsu were just outside the village, waiting patiently for him to return. If he didn't, they'd come.
He only faintly remembered the alley, but as he passed it, he remembered quickly. The darkness was the same calming versus suffocating, and the dent mark from the kunai was still there.
He touched the spot gingerly. If only it hadn't fallen…. There was a meow from the darkness, much like before.
Sasuke turned, wide eyed with a hope he hadn't felt in a long time. Slowly a cat came from the darker corners of the alley. But instead of being a tabby, this cat was clearly not. It was a simple small black and white cat with sleepy eyes and a fat face.
Sasuke blinked, the hope fading. Suddenly he realized how stupid it had been to hold on to something as silly as a conversation with a cat 3 year ago. He was now following a new path. The path that led to one man: Itachi Uchiha. He jumped out of the alley and back to his teammates before he could be reminded why he wanted to go back to the alley. Somehow the old Sasuke, the one before the murder of the Uchihas, that Sasuke, wished for that cat to bring his back.
OoK-SoO
The lazy looking white and black female cat looked up from where the human left.
"Who waz that?" the cat asked.
A tabby cat walked out of the darkness. "I tink it waz zomeun (someone) I met from a long time ago…." The tabby sat down. "I'm not zure, but if it waz who I tink it waz, I wiz (wish) he coulda met the kitz."
"Me too." The lazy cat said, rubbing her cheek against the tabby's.
I tink that coulda been tought az corny at the end… But the 'Grimacing' are meant to be a little corny, that's why we grimace! Anyway I hoped you liked it. I was trying to be symbolical, but something from Harry Potter kept catching my attention and I got distracted and forgot what poetic thing I was going to right. Sorry if there are any misspellings, and sorry about spoilers, thanks for reading, please review, Grimacing Lion, (because of Lions barrage, 'member?) – Keomi~Sage
