Chocolate Chip Ice-Cream Kisses!
O*O*O*O
The average 'girl finds cats who turn out to be the Akatsuki' scenario gets turned upside-down when this unsuspecting girl starts to remember a past that she'd been made to forget. Who are her clan, and why do they hate cats so much? ItaXOC.
O*O*O*O
CHAPTER THREE
All In A Name
O*O*O*O
I don't think I'm the same,
As how I was before,
But, one thing does remain,
I've not found what I'm searching for…
O*O*O*O
Still carrying Sasori, Emma walked over to the phone in the activity room, and picked it up.
Sasori looked up at her with his expressionless eyes. He didn't mind being picked up.
"Hello?" Sasori heard Emma say. He watched her eyes widen. "R-really? ! Well, are they okay?" Sasori blinked up at her as she spoke. Whatever this thing was, she could hear someone through it, and they could hear her. "Mmhmm…okay, I see…oh, wow…umm, really? Oh…oh…oh? Ohhhh…"
Sasori thought that it was incredible how many different ways there was to say one letter. His host's first 'oh' had sounded blank. The second one had sounded surprised. The third had sounded like a question. The last one had sounded like she was completely understanding something.
Sasori, with his paws on Emma's shoulder, rested his chin on the pink material of her dressing gown, and watched Deidara and Zetsu stumble sleepily out of the museum room. The two-toned cat yawned, showing very pointy teeth.
Wazz-goin' on, un? Deidara mumbled sleepily. Tobi came up behind him and rested his chin on the blonde's back.
"I'll be there soon, yeah…oh, is that so? Hmm…" Emma had her back to the three cats. She walked a little as she spoke.
She sounds like you, Sempai! Tobi exclaimed.
Deidara woke up a little more. Shut up, un! He snapped.
Emma then gasped. "What? ! Well…oh my Jashin, I mean…" She seemed frantic all of a sudden. "I'll be there…don't let him attack the black cat! Yes, I'm sure…he'll listen to me!" She went completely still, and her voice sounded odd. "Okay, I'll be down there soon to get them…oh, you don't? Well, okay then, yes…then. Bye…" She hung up the phone. "I have to get to the vet's..." She muttered.
The vet? ! Tobi exclaimed.
Kisame came flying out of nowhere. What about Itachi-San? ! He yelled, and tumbled into the other three cats like they were bowling pins.
Emma turned around. She saw the four cats piled on the floor, and blinked. "How did you all get into my room anyw…omigosh, what happened to your face?" She asked, and Tobi meowed plaintively. He had a big scratch on his face. "And, how did you know what I said anyway?" She sighed. "You're not normal cats…" 'Maybe they and the bag are connected, somehow…oh, wait, of course they must be, ah but how…?'. She sighed again, and put the cat that she was holding down on the couch. "I gotta go and pick up your friends…the vet says they're ready to come home, now…" She walked back into her room, and stopped. "Right, I need to sort this out first…" She turned around and walked back out of her room again.
Follow her. Pain ordered Kisame and Hidan, who nodded and quickly trotted off down the long hallway after their host.
O*O*O*O
Hidan and Kisame sat on the couch, and watched as their host bustled around the kitchen, making breakfast and coffee, before warily eyeing the backpack she'd found yesterday.
So, Kisame turned nonchalantly to Hidan, who was busy cleaning his paws, the way cats do. You peeked at her in the bath last night?
Hidan grinned the equivalent of a cat grin, and nodded. Yup. He sounded proud of himself.
And? Kisame pressed, interested.
Hidan sighed. Not much – the bitch is probably about sixteen, at the most. Not too impressive…a B-Cup, at the most…
Kisame looked disappointed. Ah well. I didn't expect her to be much older, anyways…anything interesting? He added, as an afterthought…
Yeah, surprisingly… Hidan's violet-red eyes were glued to the girl, as she pulled a box of cereal out of the bag, and gaped at it in shock. Look at her neck…you can fucking see it now that she's not wearing that fucking turtleneck…
Kisame looked, as Emma began pouring the cereal into separate bowls. She's got a scar. The fish-man/cat noted, finally noticing the white scar at the base of the girl's throat. It was thin, and as straight as if it had been drawn with a ruler.
Hidan nodded, as the other members of the Akatsuki wandered in, drawn in by the sound of cereal falling into the bowl. She has one on her stomach, and what looks like injury wounds on her right knee too…maybe she is a Jashinist after all… He sounded hopeful.
And maybe you two need to stop being such baka. Konan snapped, glaring up at the two of them as she accompanied Pain into the living room.
Hidan rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything with their leader in the room.
Emma fed Ranger, and then the cats, before getting her own breakfast ready.
O*O*O*O
Soon, all of the cats except for Sasori were busy chowing down on cereal and milk.
Emma sat on the couch, eating Coco Pops out of a cup and watching more You Tube on TV. Against her better judgement, she decided to watch more AMV's, this time Sailor Moon ones. After watching Cherry Blossom World War and Sailor Moon White Destiny, she realised that the cats were looking at her again, and eyed them back. "Whaaat?" She asked suspiciously.
They, of course, said nothing, but seemed to exchanged glances.
Emma sighed. "I'm really beginning to think that there's more than meets the eye here…" She checked the kitchen clock, and stood up. "Okay, I get the point – I'll go and get your friends. The place doesn't open for another half hour though, you know!" She quickly collected the breakfast dishes, put them all in the dishwasher, and then hurried down to her room to get dressed.
O*O*O*O
"Why's it so cold lately?" Emma complained, listening to the rain outside as she turned the heater on in her room, and then decided on something to wear – the same black jeans, a black t-shirt and a long black coat.
She slipped out of her dressing gown and nightie and, for a moment, sat in front of the heater, unable to supress the: "Aahh." Of complete relief that escaped her lips next. She always seemed to get cold very quickly – probably because of her small size. Because of her size, people usually mistook her for being a teenager. This was especially annoying at the local liquor shop, or the casino.
Sitting in front of the heater, Emma had time to reflect on everything that was happening, and even took a moment to write about it in her journal.
Yesterday I found eleven strange cats in a box on the roadside! It was a scene straight out of a movie, I didn't know that sort of thing happened in real life! Oh, and here's the really strange part – the cats all look like something out of a cartoon! One of them's half black and half white, another is white with purple swirls, two of them are blue, and one has really weird eyes that look…well, a little like Pein's, from Naruto. I geuss I'm an otaku if I can relate a cat to something like that, but maybe this is all some kind of plot…?
Anyway, point is, two of the cats were injured, so I had to rush them to the vet. Then, in order to pay for this huge vet bill, I used money I found in a bag that was in the box the cats were in. And, then…
She paused, wondering if she should write this next part. Then, she kept going…
It seems like every time I need something for the cats, I can just pull it out of the bag. It was rice last night, and then cereal this morning!
THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN NORMALLY.
I don't know what's going on, but I'm just gonna run with it and see what happens.
I've sort of come up with names for them all, but I'm gonna wait until I get the other two home from the vet before I try the names out…
She sighed, and capped the pen, before pulling on her jeans and doing some yoga to get the cricks out of her limbs.
Turning around, she saw the blonde cat standing in her doorway.
"What's up with you?' She asked him, pulling her top on over her bra. "I'll be out in a minute."
The blonde cat regarded her for a moment, before turning and padding off down the hallway.
Emma followed him out into the living room, where the cats appeared to be waiting for her.
"I'm going to the vet now." Emma said quickly, picking up a bag that was about the size of a small suitcase (well, not really, but it was fairly OTT). "Now, where are my keys…" She dug around for them in her bag, and then finally found them. They slipped out of her hands, and she caught them just before they hit the floor.
Her keys were actually her car key and house key, and then about sixty different key rings. This included a little Egyptian sarcophagus, the Chinese symbol for 'horse', a Pikachu, a random yellow bird, and…
What the… Deidara, before he knew what he was doing, pounced on the keyring of himself, which was chibified but obviously him, nonetheless.
As he hung a couple of centimetres off the ground, he expected his host to scold him, but instead she just laughed, and picked him up. Deidara tensed up for a moment, before she placed the keys on the bench and used her free hand to scratch him behind the ear – it actually felt good!
Deidara couldn't supress the purr, and tried to ignore Kisame and Hidan's snickers. His eyes were half-closed, before he shook his head slightly and thought: What am I doing? !
Hey, Dei-Dei, Kisame teased him, sitting on the back of the couch and grinning. Maybe she'll even put a wibbon awound your neck!
Hidan was doubled over in silent laughter by this stage.
Deidara glared at them with his one visible eye.
Emma put him down on the kitchen counter, and picked up her keys.
"You know, for a cat," she said thoughtfully, gazing into the endless blue of his eyes. "You kinda look like this Deidara guy…he's the one a lot of people say look like a girl," Deidara froze. "But, you know, I don't think he does…" She laughed sheepishly. "He's to cool to be anything but a guy, I think his eyes are amazing!" She picked up her bag. "Plus, he's an artist, so I can appreciate that!" She hurried over to the laundry door. "Okay, I've shut the doors leading out, and if you open them again I will find out." She glared.
The Akatsuki were not threatened by this.
"See ya!" Emma called, and they heard the door slam, followed by that rumbling sound again (the roller door).
Deidara stood up, and leapt at Kisame, claws flashing and fur bristled. The two cats were soon attempting to kill each other, before Ranger barked once, warningly, and most of the Akatsuki jumped.
Pein nodded, somewhat approvingly.
O*O*O*O
Emma had to admit, that she was waiting on pins and needles at the vet's. What was taking them so long?
She looked around the small waiting room, at the pictures of dogs and cats and other animals, and then her eyes fell on a chart of different cat breeds. She stood up and walked over to it, already dreading what she was about to see.
Well, they could always be the cat version of mongrels…
O*O*O*O
Itachi still felt sleepy after his operation. The nurse had given him multiple injections, one to knock him out, and the rest were painkillers, but Orochimaru had needed twice as many sedatives. Said now-cat was currently asleep in his cage, where he had been knocked out via anaesthetic after trying to attack Itachi. The doctors had pulled the knife out of his side, and bandaged him and Itachi up. They said that the two cats had healed remarkably well, considering their injuries.
If only they knew…
"Luckily, they're both going to make full recoveries."
Itachi was on the verge of following Orochimaru into sleep-land, when a new voice outside in the waiting room made his pointed ears prick up.
"Oh, thank goodness, I've been so worried…"
Itachi blinked his eyes open, and struggled to stand up. The bandages around his middle, and around the top part of his front right leg, didn't help.
In the cage next to him, Orochimaru opened his yellow eyes partway, but didn't say anything. He was still too sleepy. Bandages were wrapped around his middle, closer to his back legs, and he had another one on the top part of his right front leg.
Itachi didn't care – for all that mattered to him, the nurse should have put Orochimaru out of his misery, or at the very least neutered him.
Itachi was glad he'd put up a fight against that, though. It was out of character for him, but he didn't want to be a half-man, like…Deidara…
However, such a thing would serve Orochimaru right…
The door to the holding room suddenly opened, and the nurse with the strange accent came in, followed by a small young woman dressed all in black. Itachi stared at her as she came right over to him, and knelt down a little to peer into the cage.
Her hazel eyes, which were a little bit of every colour, but mostly brown and grey, stared into Itachi's onyx orbs, as if trying to read him.
Then, she blinked a few times, as if trying to fight back tears, and straightened up.
Turning to the vet, she asked her: "May I take them home now?"
The nurse looked at her strangely. "You actually want them?" She didn't say it in an unkind way, but both Itachi and Orochimaru bristled, as did Emma.
"Yes." She said, trying not to sound irritated.
"Both of them?" The Russian nurse glanced at Orochimaru, as did Emma. "That white one's a trouble-maker…at least the black one's got some manners."
Orochimaru hissed at her.
The nurse gave Emma a Look that plainly said: See?
Emma glanced at him, and then shrugged. "Yes, he's good. I can tell."
O*O*O*O
I am going to make this girl's life a living nightmare! Orochimaru vowed.
You'll do no such thing. Itachi replied from his own carrying case, which was next to Orochimaru's on the back seat of the car. It's us against you, anyway.
What makes you think the rest of your little friends are back at this girl's house anyway, Uchiha? Orochimaru wanted to know.
You heard what she said, Itachi said flatly. If she's willing to take you in, she's probably got the rest of the Akatsuki at her house. She seems the type to care about those in need.
He settled down for a nap, but managed to glare at Orochimaru again when the white cat said: She seems the type to get killed by a group of criminals for housing them. What's she going to do when we all transform back, and she finds out who we really are?
Itachi didn't have an answer for that, but it didn't stop him from wondering…no, worrying about it…
O*O*O*O
When Itachi woke up again, he found that he was out of the cage, and in a room that, for some reason, was filled with dolls. It was a room that he was sure Sasori would like and, sure enough, when the Uchiha stood up, there was a now familiar-looking reddish-brown cat staring at him from the end of the bed.
Welcome back to the land of the living. Sasori said, by way of greeting, before jumping off the bed and walking to the doorway. He's awake. Sasori didn't yell, but his voice carried throughout the house and, when most of the other cats heard it, they came running. Sasori jumped back onto the bed. They're coming. He told Itachi simply.
Soon, most of the other members of the Akatsuki were present, save for Hidan, Deidara and Tobi.
Kisame said: Hidan's having a time-out. He chuckled. Apparently, our host was rather attached to that coffee mug.
Itachi raised an eyebrow.
Pein shook his head. He should have known better. The Akatsuki leader said firmly. Emma was kind enough to take us in…unfortunately, her kindness got her injured.
That news made Itachi sit up a little straighter. What happened? He asked calmly.
Orochimaru. Kisame and Kakuzu answered in unison.
He scratched her arms with a ferocity that would put even Zetsu to shame. Konan explained.
Itachi was vaguely horrified.
We wouldn't hurt her although she certainly does look quite delicious we don't mean anything else by that or do we? Zetsu spoke in both of his personas. His yellow eyes flashed.
The others just stared at him, before turning back at Itachi, who seemed a little uneasy.
He had established that they had all been taken in, and that this was the house they would now be living at until they could figure out some way to turn into humans again. He wasn't sure where in the world they were, or even if they were in their own world, but there was one thing he knew for certain.
He asked: Where is she now?
Pein jabbed a paw out the door, and towards another visible door a little further down. She's resting.
After what happened, who can blame her? Konan muttered.
Where's Orochimaru? Itachi wanted to know, wincing a little as he jumped off the bed, and his entire body felt groggy and sore.
He walked past a little linen closet, where a very angry yowl could suddenly be heard from inside.
I guess that answers that question. Itachi continued into the room slowly, taking in the sights of the museum room, which Emma had cleaned the floor of sometime that morning.
It was now early afternoon.
Itachi hopped up onto the bed, where Emma was lying on her back, asleep. Itachi could see where she'd had to doctor her arms up after her run in with the vicious white cat, and hoped that she'd live up to the 'once bitten, twice shy' saying. Then again, he would so dearly love to repay the favour to Orochimaru someday.
What confused Itachi, however, was not the Leaf Village headband hanging over the bedhead, or even the strange animal fur shawl draped across the girl's stomach.
No, it was Tobi, asleep curled up on the girl's chest, and Deidara, nestled there on the blankets with his head resting against the girl's hand.
Itachi stared at the sleeping blonde cat for a second, before pointedly going over and placing himself between Deidara and Emma, curling up against the girl's side and falling asleep instantly.
Pein and Konan watched this all from the doorway.
This is very strange. Pein said bluntly, his Rinnegan eyes staring at the four sleeping in the afternoon.
Pein-Sama… Konan said quietly, her tail swishing. I need to talk to you about something…
O*O*O*O
Later that evening, Emma sat in the living room, with a bowl of ice-cream and a glass of red wine (again). Then again, she'd had her arms cut open today, major flesh wounds. She couldn't drink tomorrow night because she had to be up early on Monday (another early start). So, she was savouring it now, as she took a sip, and then said to the cats: "I've decided to name you all."
The Akatsuki eyed each other warily, before glancing back at their host. She didn't know who they really were, so what kind of names would she give them? Strange ones, no doubt…
Emma looked around at the cats, before looking directly at Pein. "Since you seem to be the leader of sorts, that's what I've decided to call you."
Pein was sitting on the back of the big couch with Konan, who whispered to him: She got it in one try. He nodded.
"And, your lady friend," Emma went on, and Konan looked quickly back at her. "Is also named accordingly – Lady."
Konan blinked, and then decided that the name was okay.
"You," Emma went on, looking over at the violet-red-eyed Hidan. "I wasn't sure what to call, but then I think you remind me of an old man."
At this, Kakuzu and Kisame both started chuckling, as Hidan gave them both Death Glares.
"It was going to be Jiraiya for a little while," Emma said, and both Pein and Konan stared at her. "But, then I decided on Snowy…hey, don't look at me like that!" She noticed that the white cat seemed to be glaring at her. "It was my Grandfather's nickname, and he was a great man, well, aside from the old-man syndrome." She said, and everyone in the room knew what she meant, although Tobi pretended he didn't, and asked Kakuzu what it meant.
Why the hell are you asking me? The tan cat hissed angrily.
"You," Emma pointed to him suddenly, and he tensed. He was sitting on the arm of the big couch near to Hidan, closest to the small couch where Tobi was lounging. "I am going to call Kash, short for Kashier. I knew a horse by that name, and he could've been a race horse probably and won lots of money. So, Kash – with a 'K'."
Kakuzu managed to shrug. He didn't really care – at least his name wasn't 'Snowy'.
"You, Mister," Emma reached over, and petted Tobi. He purred, and nuzzled up against her hand. "I am going to call Lucky, because if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have found all you guys."
Huh, she calls that luck? Kakuzu "Kash" rolled his eyes. After Kisame nearly took her finger off.
It was ironic that Kisame was named next, after that. "I was going to call you 'Gills', because the markings on your face look like gills," Emma gave the big blue cat a stern look. "But, then I remembered how you nearly took my finger off, so from now on you are Jaws, after the killer shark from the movie with the same name." She nodded firmly.
Kisame sat back on his place on the floor. He was satisfied with his name. At least it wasn't 'Snowy'.
"For the Deidara look-alike," Emma went on, and the cat-in-question looked up at her from his place on the coffee table (where he was eyeing the glass of red wine). "I've decided on Blondie, short for 'Blonde-Bombshell'."
Hidan laughed at this. Ha! Blondie! Sounds like some fucking female rock-star!
Shut up, Snowy! Deidara snapped, and the two of them would have started fighting, had "Leader" not given them both a Look.
"For your friend who, umm, scratched me," Emma glanced at the bandages on her arms, and winced at the memory. "I thought up Outcast, because you guys don't seem to like him very much, do you?" She froze when the other cats shook their heads, and wondered if she'd had too much wine. Deciding to ignore this, she looked at Sasori next. "Red – it's plain and simple and suits a calm cat like you."
Sasori merely blinked. He was known as Sasori Of the Red Sand, after all. He didn't mind his new nick-name.
Emma then looked down at Itachi. The black cat, who was lying across her lap on a mass of very soft blankets, looked calmly back up at her, his soft onyx eyes meeting her hazel ones.
"For you," Emma said softly. "I've decided on Shadow. I think it suits you." She carefully scratched behind his ear. Itachi noticed that she was always very careful when she picked him up or patted him, whether it was because of his injuries or hers, he knew not.
The moment lasted a little bit longer than the others could understand, and was only broken by the ringing of the phone, which rang right up until Emma had carried Itachi with her over to the laundry door. She reached for the phone, which instantly stopped ringing.
Emma glared at it. "Damn you…" She muttered, and turned back around. "And, anyway, the black and white two-toned cat…" She looked up at Zetsu, who was watching her from the recess wall. "I really can't think of what to call you, dearie…I was thinking of Yin-Yang, but who calls their cat that?" She sighed, and watched a black shape wriggle out from underneath the table. "Oh look, a snake…" She gasped suddenly. "A snake!" She repeated, this time a little more anxiously, and she looked around her as if hoping for a miracle. "Oh God, it's a Dugite, I always dreaded one of these would show up when Mum and Dad weren't home, now what do I do? !" The wine was starting to kick in. She was frantic.
Just then, a silver blur shot across the floor, tackling the snake head on.
Emma watched in stunned silence as the cat she'd just named Snowy savagely bit the snake over and over again, somehow managing to avoid being bitten himself, and soon there were little trails of blood underneath the table.
Emma sank to a sitting position, her back to the recess wall and Itachi cradled in her arms. He felt the pounding of her heart in her chest, and knew from her body language that she didn't really want to watch this, and yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from it, either…
Itachi knew the feeling, well…
When the snake was dead, the white cat looked over at Emma first, and then up at the black and white cat perched on the recess wall.
Zetsu grinned, and jumped down from the wall, bounding over to the dead snake, and almost tag-teaming Hidan, who bounded back into the living room, as Zetsu began to…
Itachi! Konan suddenly exclaimed. Don't let her see this! The female cat cried urgently.
Too late. Itachi watched the colour drain from the human girl's face, as she watched the macabre scene play out before her. Itachi moved his body up as best he could, and nuzzled under her chin the way he'd seen Tobi do it, knowing that the other members of the Akatsuki couldn't see him (that, and Zetsu was too busy with his meal…)…
Emma gulped, and then said: "I know what to call him…" She was almost whispering by this stage. "Zetsu."
O*O*O*O
That night, Emma fell asleep almost instantly, which wasn't normal for her. Outside, the rain pounded down relentlessly.
Inside, Ranger was asleep in the laundry. Orochimaru was glaring into the darkness of the linen closet.
Most of the Akatsuki were asleep in Emma's room again. Zetsu was sleeping under the bed again. Hidan was curled up on a blue footstool, and Kakuzu was asleep on the swivelly desk chair. Kisame was sleeping in the crevice between the TV cabinet and the chest-of-drawers. Deidara was curled up at the foot of the bed, and Tobi was at the head of the bed, nestled between a purple stuffed dinosaur and a cartoonish pink rabbit. Sasori was perched in the bookcase, watching them.
Itachi had started out in the cat cage, but had soon picked the lock with his claw and made his way up onto the bed, where he curled up at Emma's side again, and fell asleep.
Pein and Konan watched all of this from the doorway.
Do you really think it's true? Pein asked his partner, continuing their conversation from earlier.
Konan's afce remained expressionless. You've seen the way he acts around her...we both know it's not like him.
Yes, but he's also been through a serious operation. Pein argued.
Konan sighed. She knew her partner was only trying to see this from allpossible angles. Let's talk about this more in the morning. She suggested, going over to bully Hidan off of the footstool.
As Sasori watched this, he thought: 'I wonder if it's THAT...?'...