Warm Fur.

Chapter One.

Zabuza stood pressed against one of white walls in the pet-rescue-center, trying to make himself invisible. Why on earth had his lazy ass of an owner taken him here? Only abandoned or abused hybrids were being treated and sold in this place, so he couldn't see why he would be needed.

Kakashi on the other hand was completely in his element and was leaning on one of the registers, shamelessly flirting with the new girl that had just started working there. And of course the man would be in his element, he worked there before his little pet turned out to be a massive hit in the ring. That's how he'd come in possession of the wolf after all. Such a high-risk experimental creature had to be raised under professional surveillance, and somehow Kakashi was picked for that task.

He hated it here, absolutely hated it. There was a smell in the air that made him nauseous, a mix of animal feed, manure and unwashed bodies. The room they were in was large, with high ceilings and large windows. There was one big cage of reinforced glass to display a pet to potential buyers, god forbid that they saw the animals in their natural state. Yes, he called them animals, since the only human features most of them had was their physique. They were animals inside, that's how they were bred.

Because no matter how fancy it looked out here and from the outside, this was nothing more than an animal pound. Abused and wild hybrids were taken here to be "fixed" he scoffed. As if you could fix that, once an animal came into contact with the bad side of humanity they were ruined. They could try and rehabilitate all they want, but the fear will always be there, and so the defense mechanism will as well.

No one wants a violent pet. Zabuza shuddered at the memory of Kakashi telling him what they did with the hybrids that had no hope anymore… he wasn't supposed to tell him, since it was his job and such information was strictly classified, otherwise PETA would be all over them. And afterwards he wished he'd never asked, especially since that would've been his fate too if Kakashi hadn't accepted him. He was an experimental breed after all, and unusual, unwanted breed. He could tell that his presence unnerved the secretary so he pulled his mask down and flashed her a creepy, toothy grin.

Her eyes became the size of saucers and she hurriedly stood up and clutched her clipboard to her chest. While she mumbled some words to Kakashi the wolf quickly pulled his mask back up and put on the most innocent face he could muster. The young woman disappeared through the hospital-style doors behind her little outpost and the older man sighed and picked up what seemed to be a stack of photo's before making his way over to his 'pet'.

He simply stood there looking at him for a bit before handing him the photos. "The innocent face doesn't work for you anymore, you just look like you're having explosive diarrhea. Now, take a look at these, what do you think? They'll bring him out in a bit… try not to scare him too much; we're pretty much his last resort." "I told you I don't want this. And I don't scare anyone." "Just look at the pictures okay? It's a cutie, you might like him, you probably will."

Zabuza doubted it, he hated cats since they smelled odd, and he was part dog so that just came natural. Besides, if they were so desperate to find a place for him he must be royally screwed up. But pictures wouldn't hurt, right? There were only a few, which showed his face, size and physical development. Something seemed off about him though… something he couldn't quite place. "Kakashi… isn't he a bit young to become my mate?" "Ah, yes…" Kakashi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "It'll take about another year for him to be mature enough to have his first heat, but you always take a while to adjust to things. Remember the dishwasher?" Oh god that god awful thing, they'd had it for years now and he still couldn't make himself use the thing. It made weird noises and just didn't quite fit. He would never admit that though, that would mean the dishwasher was a weakness. He had no weaknesses.

"Fine let's see him then." At that moment the girl from earlier came back in with the little kitten-hybrid in tow. The boy was crawling on his hands and knees, and she held him by a thick leash. Zabuza couldn't see his face since the boy's hair was hanging in front of it which was a shame; even if he didn't want it in his life, the kitten had him feeling a bit curious.

The girl opened one side of the glass cage and undid the leash. The kitten, what was his name again? He'd forgotten, but that wasn't important anyway. The kitten crawled into the cage and curled himself up into a tiny ball, completely locking the world out. "Sakura and I are going to go over some details, we'll be back soon." His masters voice startled him out of a daze he didn't know he was in, when had he crawled to the glass cage? Somewhere in the distance he could hear a door close and footsteps dying down, but he was more focused on the smell coming from the cage. It had small holes in the sides so the occupant could breathe, and somehow the kittens scent had captivated him.

So… sweet? No, that couldn't be it, there was something muskier mixed in. The kitten was definitely still very young, he had that baby smell on him still. Suddenly Zabuza felt like biting him. But he knew not to think too much of it, that was just the natural response adult males had towards cubs. At that moment the kitten turned his head a little and one massive black ear poked out from under his long black hair. An ear that didn't fit, it was far too big, and far too fluffy. Its pink side turned towards him, and that's when the big wolf caught himself softly growling. The scent changed… it was still sweet but now laced with something else: fear. The boy's head turned a bit further and a large brown eye appeared. Zabuza forcefully stopped himself from growling and tried to act a bit more human instead. "I apologize, I did not mean to growl at you. You're… uhm…" the name, the name! What was the name?!

"Haku, was it? I heard you'll be coming home with me." Good, yes, full sentences. He was a demon class cage fighter dammit! It's only a kitten, he could handle this.

Haku, it seemed, could not. After hearing the giant male would be taking him home he immediately jumped up and pressed himself against the opposite side of the cage and puffed his tail up as big as he could get it, trying to make himself seem more intimidating. It was a pathetic display really, but it fascinated the wolf nonetheless. His feline opponents would use this tactic in the ring, puffing up their tail to make them twice as big. But this little thing hardly had a tail at all; it was a thin, scruffy and trembling. Even fluffed up it was nothing but a thin little string of fur.

Another thing they would do was the hissing, he never really understood what was supposed to be so intimidating about it, maybe the showing of teeth? Wait, focus! It seemed the kitten was attempting something of the sort as well; a pathetic little hissing noise made its way past the boy's small teeth. If anything the effort was a bit adorable. Not that he would ever admit that, since he had no interest in the kitten. None at all.

He started chuckling and grinned, look at him, fussing over this little thing. If Kakashi saw he would probably have a heart attack. As he focused back on the kitten the chuckles got stuck in his throat, its bravery seemed to have vanished and only a little heap of big-eyed misery was left. But… why? He didn't like this look, the brave kitten he enjoyed, but now his big ears were flattened against his head, the tail curled around himself protectively and his eyes closed tightly.

"You're afraid of me." It was a statement, not a question, but why? He hadn't really done anything, except growling, and maybe emit bloodlust, and look like something that'd drag you to hell… aha. He quickly crawled over to the other side of the cage and tore the side open, he had no time for this bullshit. He was a 'well that's the problem, get your ass over here and let's fix it' kind of person.

Before Haku had a chance to get away Zabuza'd grabbed the boy's arm in a stone grip and pulled him into his chest. He had a feeling this would be less difficult had the boy not been naked, he would need to talk to Kakashi about that, if this was the regular way to display pets he might have to kill someone. But for now he had to make this work, he'd already decided to take the kid home the moment he showed his tiny spirit. The kitten had gone rigid in his arms; he didn't move, didn't open his eyes and breathed in sharp gasps.

"It's alright; I won't hurt you." This was a bad idea, Kakashi always reprimanded him on the lack of thought he put into his actions, and now what. He had the social skills of a carrot and now the little thing was even more terrified than before. Fuck. Maybe he needed to use a different approach, something that made him feel more comfortable. He quickly shrugged off his coat, quietly thanking the weather for being shitty today he wrapped the soft gray piece of clothing around the kitten's small form. He couldn't be older than three years old, since he had the physique of an eight year old human; he never could wrap his head around how slow humans grew.

For a while they just sat there while he tried to look as unthreatening as possible, him leaning against the cage and the boy in his lap completely wrapped up in his coat. After some time the kitten-hybrid cautiously peeked over the rim and looked at him. "W-why" Zabuza was shocked into focus when a thin little voice spoke to him, "why did the-ey take me here?" the question was little more than a whisper, but the wolf would work with what he could get. "Eh, well, I don't know where you're from… was it a bad place?" the boy swallowed thickly and gave a curt nod without making eye contact. "Well then it's simple, they took you here so you could go home with me and Kakashi, the creepy guy. He's our owner now and we'll take good care of you, okay? So don't be so scared."

He felt nauseous, talking wasn't his thing. Why doesn't Kakashi deal with this stuff so he could just go home and plan his next match? His thoughts were interrupted, again, by a soft whisper, and when he turned to the boy in his lap two desperate eyes were looking up at him. "Please take me away from here, please?"

Alright.

So he picked the kitten up bridal style, made sure he was securely wrapped up and walked out the front door. It was still snowing, but he liked the cold sensation on his bare arms. Haku didn't though, and at this moment he was hopeful, but mostly thoroughly confused. All his life he'd been inside, and then all of a sudden there was so much light, and now he was outside. He snuck a glance at the giant predator holding him, he'd seen big men before and had wisely learned to fear them. But none of them had been like this, it should be impossible for anyone to be this big.

He looked around, everything was so white, it was covered with a powdery substance that crunched underneath the wolf's feet and was melting and dripping off windowsills. The rhythmic dripping was the only sound around them; the area they were walking was completely devoid of anything. The only building in use was the center, the rest were shady apartments and abandoned businesses.

"Are you a giant?" he eventually dared to ask, causing the man to snort, "Sorry to disappoint, I'm just a freak experiment of a deceased race. Are you cold?" Haku shook his head and sank a bit deeper in the massive coat. They walked the rest of the way in silence. The buildings became more rundown as they went along, the people more obnoxious. Some were leering at them but the wolf-hybrid ignored them and he himself felt safe enough in his little cocoon to not worry about it. After a while a buzzing started in one of the pockets and Zabuza fished out a cellphone, Kakashi calling. He picked up and kept walking. Haku couldn't make out what was said on the other side of the line, only his carrier's responses. "Hmm." "Hmm." "Just going home." "Yes." "Yes." "Hmm." "Goodbye." He pressed the red button and slipped the phone into his own pants pocket. "That was Kakashi asking where we were, told him I'm taking you home. He should be there soon."

Not five minutes later they reached a shabby apartment that looked just like the rest. Zabuza took out a key and let them into the outer staircase and up to the 5th floor, there he opened the front door and locked it behind them. He put the kitten down on his feet, glad to be inside finally. Luckily his owner hadn't shut off the heater when they left; he'd massively underestimated the cold outside. His tail felt about ready to fall off, and he probably had some snow in his ears. He took the coat from Haku, who made no attempt to cover himself, he just looked around curiously. "I'll run you a bath and then I'll find you some proper clothes, okay?"

After he'd put the boy in the warm water and explained to him how the faucet works and which soap he should use Zabuza left the bathroom. He threw himself down on the sofa and plucked absentmindedly at the stuffing that came out through a hole he once made when he was little and had just discovered the joy of scissors. Things were not going as planned, nowhere near! He was supposed to look at some pictures, express his distaste and they would go home and train for the match next Sunday. Instead he now had a kitten-hybrid to look after… a very naked one. Oh god. Groaning he put his head in his hands and rested his elbows on his knees.

This was not how he'd intended to find his mate, it was a child! But no, he had to sniff him. And abduct him. And find him some clothes. Right, clothes! No need to ponder over all this now, first things first, later things later. Maybe he'd fit some clothes from when he himself was just a cub, even though he was a pretty big cub as well.

After some rummaging through old boxes full of sentimental junk Kakashi never wanted to give away he found a pink yukata some girlfriend of his owner once bought him as a joke… stupid women. But it seemed about the right size, except the waistband had disappeared over the years. Well, a normal belt would have to do then. Outside of the bathroom door his steps faltered, how on earth would he do this? He had no idea on how to take care of a kitten, or another person to be honest.

Those things he could cope with though, Kakashi would know what to do… the thing that really unnerved is the way he reacted to the kid. One plea, it took one sodding plea from the kid and he walked half an hour through the snow. Maybe it's just because of the smell, nurturing instinct and such? He knew that was bogus though, if anything his instinct told him to rip the little thing to shreds, so why did he react the way he did? Maybe his lazy sob of an owner was right after all, and he himself just hadn't realized how lonely he was.

Whatever the cause, the kid was here, and if where he came from was really as bad as he'd let shine through then there was no way that he'd send him back. Decision made, he opened the door and couldn't help but choke on an undignified giggle as the sight that welcomed him. Haku sat in the tub with a massive foam beard on his face and foam wizard hat on his head, splashing the water everywhere in 'big' tidal waves. "Flooded the bathroom eh? That was one of my favorite things to do when I was little too. Rinse off, I've got some clothes for you and then we'll eat."

It took some time to dry off the boy's shoulder length hair since they had no blow-dryer, and then it took even longer to dry him off since he'd apparently never experienced the wonders of fluffy towels. Zabuza counted himself lucky for his mask; the boy had no sense of personal space or privacy. Apparently he'd deducted that his new giant friend wouldn't harm him, and how the kitten was all cuddles. Again, nude cuddles. So when he finally got him into the yukata he tied the belt tightly for he had no underwear in the kid's size. Shopping was needed if he was going to survive this.

But now it was done. The boy was clean and presentable, he'd fulfilled his task and now they just had to wait for the silver haired man to come home with take-away. Zabuza all but fell onto the sofa and grabbed the remote to turn the TV on, he liked the company it provided and now he could finally sit back and relax. Just a few seconds after he sat comfortably the kitten climbed onto the seat next to him and rolled himself into a little ball. Somehow his hand found its way in the boy's hair and he lazily scratched behind Haku's ear, within a few minutes of soft purring he fell asleep.

Zabuza switched the tv off and leaned back into the comfort of the soft cushions, one hand still petting the kitten and for once he didn't mind company.

He could get used to this.