Chapter 4:
He had to keep calm. He couldn't let this get to him. So he was acting like a cat. That wasn't too bad, right? At least he wasn't turning into one… was he? No claws, no tail… So far so good. Sasuke was at wits end. After what had happened under the tree, he had rushed home and started to flip through the small book that held all the details of the potion in it. But it wasn't helpful at all. It never mentioned anywhere in its pages as to what was happening to him.
"That damn woman tricked me!" He threw the book against the wall. "How could I let this happen to me?! God, I'm so stupid! Ok, calm down. Maybe it'll just wear off after a while or something. Yeah, that's it. I just have to wait it out."
There was a knock on the front door. He hurried downstairs and answered it. The moment the door was open, he found himself face-to-face with Neji. And he didn't look happy.
"You!" he seethed.
"Uh…" Sasuke took a step back. "So you found out, huh?"
"Oh, yeah, did I ever!" Neji pushed him back into the house and kicked the door shut, locking it. Now they were all alone in the house with no escape. "How the hell could you do this to me?!"
"Me?!"
"Yeah, you! You're the idiot who told me to drink that crap!"
"You didn't say 'no' and you could have! It's not like I forced it down your throat!"
"You told me that it was for training! You lied!"
"I did not! If anything that woman lied to me! I'm only repeating what she said! It was supposed to be!"
"Well, it didn't work!"
"Stop shouting at me! It's not going to change anything!"
Neji threw up his hands and the shouting stopped. "Ok, ok, alright. Ah, so what now? How long does this last?"
Sasuke shrugged.
"You're kidding…"
"Well, sorry!" Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Look, we are the only ones who know about this, right? Let's just try to keep a low profile and wait this out, ok?"
"Why don't we just go to the Hokage for a cure?"
Sasuke raised a brow at him. "Why don't you?"
The Hyuga pride is what stopped him from seeking help from an outside source, especially when it was his own fault for drinking it in the first place. It was too embarrassing to walk up to her and ask her to make them stop acting like cats. She'd laugh and he knew it. Everyone knew she would. He just couldn't take that kind of punishment. Her laughter was too much to bear, holding nothing but mockery and taunts. Like hell he'd ask her for help!
Maybe Sasuke was right and all they had to do was wait it out. How bad could it be?
~*~*~
It was far more trying than they thought it would be. Their first instinct was to stay inside for as long as possible. But two active ninja such as themselves wouldn't stay still for long and became very restless.
Sasuke rubbed his eyes and looked at Neji. "Hey."
"Hm?"
"I've been really tired today. Any idea why that is?"
"You're a cat, right? They sleep a lot."
"Just how long do they sleep?"
"About 18 hours a day."
Sasuke banged his head on the floor.
"Yeah, so get used to being lazy. You're going to be sleeping a hell of a lot now."
Sasuke sat up. "Not now, I'm not. I'm just bored, not tired. I'm going out."
"You sure about that? What about keeping a low pro-"
"That didn't mean being prisoner in my own house. I'm going for a walk."
Neji snorted. "Cats are also loners. They like to be left alone, much like you. Maybe this transformation is fitting for you."
"Shut up."
Outside, Sasuke was greeted by the warm sun and the laughter of children. He liked taking walks through the woods where trees could shade him from the light. So that was his destination. He walked along the dirt path covered with dead leaves and sticks. As he walked, one of his feet snagged against a twig and snapped it, startling a few birds from above.
He watched them fly away with hungry eyes. He had the sudden craving for birds. They looked so juicy. He shook the thought from his mind and continued his walk. He had to shake it off and resist. Now he was craving birds?! At least fish he could understand, but birds? He hated this so much.
Without even thinking, he started to climb up a tree. Once he realized what he was doing, he was too far along to stop. He climbed higher and higher until the branches became too thick. He crouched on the branch he was on and observed his new surroundings from this unfamiliar perspective.
It was a wonderful sight. He could see for miles. All the rooftops looked so small from here. He was surrounded by trees but they no longer towered over him making him feel so small and inferior. Now he felt as if he were among them as a whole. He was a part of their continuous jungle. He felt so wild and free up here. He enjoyed it all so much.
He had completely forgotten about all his troubles and worries. He felt like an animal just released from its cage, now free to explore the world. Sasuke stretched out on the branch, laying on his stomach and chest. He pulled his arms up under his chin and rested, enjoying the beautiful scenery. He could stay like this forever.
~*~*~
Naruto kicked a stone down the path as he walked. He had just been shot down yet again by Sakura. All he wanted was a date. Why did she have to be so cruel? She could have just said 'no, not today' instead of 'drop dead, freak'. Why did she have to be so mean?
A single leaf fell and landed on his head. He shook it off and looked up into the tree. Sasuke was laying across one of the branches in a light doze. "Sleeping again? He must be really tired. Hey, Sasuke!"
His ear twitched at his name. Opening his eyes very slowly, Sasuke looked down and spotted Naruto. "Ugh, not you again."
"Hey, is that any way to greet a friend? Don't be so mean." Naruto put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing up there?"
"Avoiding you, loser."
"Be nice."
Sasuke jumped down from his perch and landed skillfully next to Naruto on his feet. There was nothing odd about that. Every good ninja landed on their feet.
Naruto patted his shoulder. "Geez, Sasuke. Try getting some sleep at night, huh? First you fall asleep on me, now in a tree. Get eight hours in, ok?"
Yeah, plus ten more… "What are you doing out here, anyway? Stalking me?"
"No!" Naruto folded his arms and turned away. "I was bored! Pervy Sage hasn't come back yet to train me."
"And?"
"And I've been waiting! I'm so bored! We haven't been on a mission in forever!"
"It's only been two days!"
They walked side by side down the dirt path. Naruto annoyed Sasuke with his constant yapping while the Uchiha remained silent. If Naruto didn't let it all out now, he was only going to be worse later. Besides, he had gotten a lot of practice on ignoring people with Sakura. It was nothing he couldn't handle.
After a while they heard a strange sound. They both stopped in their tracks and listened. It was getting louder. It was someone screaming. They jumped back as a terrified Neji came racing out of nowhere past them, screaming his head off. Following closely behind him was a rather large dog barking playfully.
Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Aw, look. They're playing." He had absolutely no idea that Neji was really scared of that dog. It was no game, though the dog thought it was and continued to chase after him.
Sasuke eeped and hid behind Naruto.
The dog turned and discovered the two possible playmates and came closer. Naruto chuckled and bent lower to pet it. But he stopped when he felt Sasuke grab hold of both his shoulders and used him as a human shield. "What's up with you?"
Sasuke whimpered despite himself.
"It's just a little dog. See?" He squatted down and patted the dog's head.
Realizing that his shield had gotten closer to the beast, Sasuke preceded to climb up Naruto's back and onto his shoulders. He sat atop Naruto's head, whimpering in fear.
"Ow! Hey, get off!" Naruto thrashed about. It really hurt! Sasuke was heavy. "I said hey! It's just a dog!"
Sasuke screamed and scrambled up the nearest tree he could find. Ironically, Neji happened to be in the same tree, clinging to one of the top branches. How pathetic.
The dog, having lost interest, trotted away leaving Naruto to talk the two ninja down from the tree.
"What's gotten into you guys?"
Neither one of them answered. They were still shaking and whimpering. Even with the dog long gone, they still hadn't recovered from their fear yet.
"Fine! Stay up there all day if you want. I don't care." Naruto marched off. "If you need me, I'll be training by myself."
The two cat-boys watched him go. Finally calm enough, they looked at each other.
"This sucks!"
"Tell me about it."
Neji sighed. "All I did was leave your place for a second and the next thing I know, I'm being hounded by this stupid dog!"
"So you ran like a little girl…"
"Who's the one stuck in a tree himself?"
Sasuke didn't answer.
"I can't believe we're afraid of dogs! How pathetic!"
"I know, I know. This is going to be a living hell."
~*~*~
They couldn't be more right. Later that day, both teams were sent away on separate missions. Kakashi took his genin to a village in the east and Gai took his group to a small town northwest. This wasn't going to end well. Why? Because of the fact that the village Kakashi's team was going to happened to be surrounded by water, not to mention that the village is most popular for its open fountains and springs. The town Gai was taking his team to wasn't all that exciting. The only thing that attracted a crowd was the dog show, which they just so happened to be assigned to oversee. This was not good at all.
Uh-oh! Bad news for them, huh?
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