DNON
A/N-Thank you, Sakura's Indecision, for all your help and editing. Your skills are unmatched in FF!
Fan art! I got my first fan art!
Nekojen9 made me a terrific picture of Sakura with all her little catptives, hehe.
Domo arigato goziamasu, Nekojen9!
The link to my deviantART account can be found in my Profile. It's easy to find Nekojen9's artwork because it is the only picture in my favorites! Then you can go check out all her other work, too. They are so cute, I can't pick a favorite, but I'm partial to the Uchiha boys and Deidara and Kisame.
And to Jaylee-Rebel-Wow, girl, I think you've broken the record for chapters reviewed in a week! So…if I look out my window, might I see you there, hiding in the bushes? Hehe. Thanks.
For any of you interested I've also made a poll on my Profile for the story: Wasted Days and Wasted Nights-I'm letting the readers chose the, ahem, leading man for the sequel. So if you want to pick your favorite man, go for it! Take the poll! If you do not like the choices, ah, well, you can pm me your vote, I guess. Only two votes per person, please. I don't have much down for the second part yet. I will wait to do that until the poll is closed in a few weeks so I can go with whatever you all chose.
Gambatte!
K&K
Cat-o-Nine Tails
Chapter 21-Old Friends New Enemies
Keep no more cats than will catch mice.—J. Dare (1673)
Neko ni koban-猫に小判 -(Like giving gold coins to a cat)-Don't offer things to people who are incapable of appreciating them, "Pearls before swine."
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When Sakura opened her eyes, she was lying on a new futon in an unknown room. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar ceiling and, to her left, an unfamiliar window.
The tree visible outside the window had leaves of gold that blazed in the late afternoon sun. The clouds above and beyond the tree blushed bright coral with shimmering amber highlights.
Sakura closed her eyes and sighed in relief.
"I made it."
"Okaeri nasai, Sakura-chan." A low, husky voice made her eyes snap back open. She thought she was alone. She turned her head to see an old friend.
"Pakkun! Tadaima," she said warmly to the light brown pug lying next to her bed with his chin on his paws.
"Kakashi will be glad to see you're awake. You gave us quite a scare, passing out like that."
"Gomen na, Pakkun. The trip home was a little rougher than I expected."
"Cats will do that." He stood up and stretched his short legs. "You know, it would have been wiser to turn them into dogs."
She smiled at his suggestion. "You think so?"
"Dogs are loving and loyal. Cats are…" He sneered in disgust. "Cats."
"You may have something there, Pakkun." Sakura laughed softly. "I guess I should get up and check on them."
"Nah, you rest easy, Sakura-chan. They're being taken care of at the moment. Kakashi will want to know you're awake, though. The Hokage has been here, too. You stay here and rest. I'll get him."
"Arigato, Pakkun." Feeling at ease, she closed her eyes for a few more minutes.
A cool, dry hand on her brow caused her to open them again.
"Sensei."
"How are you feeling, Sakura?" The warm twinkle of Kakashi's visible eye, along with his wild, gray bush of hair, made Sakura feel safe.
"Okay."
It was nice to see a friendly face. She didn't realize just how much she'd missed everyone. It seemed like she'd been gone much longer than five or six weeks. With everything that had happened with the Akatsuki and Sasuke, it felt more like a year.
"Are you hungry? Come. Get up and stretch your legs. I have some tea and sandwiches for you. Tsunade ordered you to eat and rest to regain your chakra faster."
"Shishou? Where is she?"
"She had to go back to work this morning. She'll be back a little later." He extended a hand and helped her up. He handed her a red robe that she recognized as her own from home. "This is your room. The facilities are across the hall and the detainees are down the hall to the left. The living room, dining room and kitchen are to the right."
"Where are we?"
"We're still in the Uchiha district. This is Sasuke's childhood home. We repaired it for your use. I'll fill you in while I show you around."
Sakura slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh my goodness, Sasuke! I forgot to tell you about—"
"I know, but he hasn't spoken two words since yesterday."
She nodded. "I, uh, ran into him on the way back. He's pretty angry. It was…an accident."
"Don't worry about it, Sakura." Kakashi ruffled her bed-head hair, messing it up even more as he put an arm around her shoulders, hugging her close. "I'm just happy you made it home safe. Come on now."
She entered a narrow hall partitioned off by traditional fusuma doors made of paper and wood that led into a large living space, at least sixteen tatami mats wide. On one side of the room, there were two intricately carved, wooden couches that faced each other with an end table between them. The relief on the couches resembled cherry blossoms. The textile covering on the cushions was cream-colored silk, embroidered with tiny pink and gold sakura flowers and fine gold trim edging. Long, rolled, matching pillows sat along the back and side rests. The other side of the room was filled with bookshelves and colorful throw cushions on the floor to sit on while reading. Beyond that, partitioned off by more fusama, there was a large dining room containing an enormous chabudai table, with the kitchen past that.
Sakura ran her fingers along the back of the intricately carved sofa and blushed when she thought that so much care had gone into her comfort. They really didn't need to go to so much trouble for her. She certainly wasn't used to this much extravagance.
"The wooden furniture was all made by Yamato. He also made most of the major repairs to the structure, as well as the outbuilding."
"His craftsmanship is beautiful." Sakura ran her fingers over the scrolled woodwork that gleamed warmly in the late afternoon light.
"For winter, he made you a kotatsu, too, Sakura. Genma donated the heater for the table." He squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. "I know it won't be easy, but we'll all do our best to help you. Since you'll probably be spending most of your time here for the next three years, we wanted you to feel at home."
"It so…wow." She smiled in appreciation and looked around. "I never realized Sasuke's home was so huge." Her whole apartment could fit into the Uchiha living room, with space to spare.
"Yes. The Uchiha quarter holds some wealth, but the rest of it still looks pretty rundown for security reasons. There are wards and traps all around this property to keep anyone from discovering our mission here. This house had fallen into quite a state of disrepair, also. Before you eat, I have another surprise for you." She followed him out to the gardens.
"Oh!" She gasped, smiling at the multi-colored fish swimming in the bubbling pool. She knelt down on the moss-covered stone and trailed her fingers through the cool water. "A koi pond. How cute!"
He nodded and towed her back up to see more. "Look here." He gently pushed her over toward the lone structure across the yard. "We have our own private onsen."
"No way!" Curious, she pulled back the curtain on the outbuilding and her cheeks flushed bright red. "Genma-san!"
"Sakura-chan!" The special jounin came strolling out with only a towel around his waist. "You're home. Welcome back!" He smiled, swiveling his senbon to the side. He patted her shoulder affectionately while she awkwardly looked anywhere but at him.
"Ah, thanks, Genma-san."
Kakashi slapped Genma on the back of the head. "Go put some clothes on."
"What? I was creating some skinship with my Taichou, here," Genma teased, squeezing her shoulder. "Sakura-chan, do you want to join me?"
Sakura's face burned even brighter and Genma chuckled.
"Sakura, if you'd like, you can see if you've regained your chakra-enhanced strength by punching this troublemaker." Kakashi said thoughtfully.
Genma put up his hands. "I was just kidding, guys. I'll go get dressed and the onsen is all yours, Taichou." Genma looked her up and down. "It looks like you could use it, too."
Sakura looked down and realized she was still wearing the same dirty, torn clothing from her journey.
"First, you need to eat. Then you can check out the hot spring." Kakashi steered her back up toward the house. "Tsunade will be here in a while and she'll want to debrief you."
Thinking about her wards, she stopped and asked, "Have they been fed?"
"Yes." Kakashi assured her and kept her moving. "Their needs have been seen to for now."
"Could you bring Itachi out to speak to me for a minute while I eat?"
"Sure. Now sit." Kakashi brought out a tray of food and then disappeared while she began to gorge herself. It felt so good to sit at a real table and drink tea from a cup, even if it was kind of lonesome in the large dining room. She began to think about all the other things she'd missed while disguised as a cat and smiled. She'd be able to visit her friends and the people she worked with, even if she couldn't leave the village for a while. It felt good to be home
Itachi entered the dining room followed by Kakashi. The smooth, black cat glided gracefully and effortlessly toward her, as if he'd been doing it for months. She could just barely see the hint of Sharingan that shone through his eyes, making them a warm scarlet-brown.
"I'll clean this up for you, Sakura." Kakashi cleared the table and swept from the room.
"Arigato, Sensei." She turned to Itachi. "How are you feeling?" She waved him closer as a green glow emitted from her hand.
"Not bad, Sukoshi." The sleek, black cat sauntered up slowly to her and sat on his haunches.
She raised an eyebrow wryly at his bold-faced lie as she slowly started to heal his internal organs again. "Is Sasuke ok?"
Itachi shrugged elegantly and flicked his tail. "He is sulking."
"And the others?" Her fingers rubbed under his soft chin absentmindedly while she thought about ways to appease Sasuke. Here she had gone on this mission just to keep him safe and now he was experiencing the consequences with the rest of the captured ninja.
Itachi flicked his ear in irritation and stared at her while she gazed distractedly out the window at the courtyard and caressed him like he was her pet. "They'll be more content when they are not forced into small cages."
She shook her head to clear it. "Gomen nasai, Itachi-san. It's only temporary, I assure you. I'll talk to the Hokage about it later tonight."
"All right, Sukoshi." Itachi glanced over her shoulder at the man waiting patiently there. "Time to go back, Hatake-san?"
"Yep." Kakashi stood from leaning on the doorway. "The onsen is all yours, Sakura."
"Arigato, Sensei."
"No problem, Sakura." His eyebrow rose in amused wonder. "Or should I call you Sukoshi?"
She closed her eyes, chuckled and shook her head. "Please don't."
"Tsunade sent word. She'll be here in an hour. "
"I'll be ready, Sensei."
Sakura walked back to her room to find that the top half of the chest of drawers had been cleaned out and some of her own clothes were placed there. She took a long shower, reveling in the ability to enjoy something so simple as soap and hot water before she wrapped the robe around her and went out to soak in the soothing hot spring. For the next thirty minutes, she let her worries fade away. God, it felt good to be home.
Regretfully, she left the hot, relaxing soak and dressed to meet Tsunade. She was looking forward to catching up with her Shishou after such an arduous journey.
She was idly reading some of the titles on one of the large bookshelves when a deep voice shook her from her reverie.
"Hello, kitten," the large, blue-grey cat purred from her knee.
"Kisame-san! What are you doing in here?"
"He came with me."
She turned and grinned to see Tsunade entering the room. "Shishou!"
"Otsukaresama deshita, Sakura." Tsunade smiled warmly and came over to hug her. "I'm so happy to see you home safe."
"Yeah, I had a few moments when I thought that wasn't going to happen." She saw Kakashi quietly enter the room.
"Hey, you got anything good to eat, kitten? If not, I see there is a fish pond in the yard." Kisame licked his chops.
"Those koi are for Sakura to enjoy, not for you to snack on," Tsunade growled.
"Whatever you say, beautiful, but I'm starving." Kisame rubbed up against Tsunade's knee and jumped up in her lap when she sat on the couch.
"You're heavy!" she complained, pushing him off till he lay at her side.
"Kisame-san, I can find you something to eat if you'll come with me," Kakashi suggested.
"Forget it, Kakashi. Get Genma to feed him. I need you to do something else for me."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi was gone for only a few seconds before he returned with Genma in tow.
"Genma, feed this guy and keep an eye on him while we're gone." Tsunade shoved the huge cat that snuggled up against her off of the couch.
"Don't miss me too much, babe," Kisame purred at the blonde before following Genma to the kitchen.
"Tch, as if," Tsunade spat as the door slid closed behind the big, gray cat. "Sakura," she hissed, "where the hell did you find him?"
"Actually," she chuckled at Kisame's, uh, friendliness with her Shishou, "he was the first one to come under the enchantment. He loves a good fight but, ah, he seems to have a softer side, too. He was very kind to me when I was at the base and allowed me to use his sword when I found a little trouble on the way home."
Tsunade raised one eyebrow. "Trouble?"
Her cheeks reddened. "Um…Sasuke-kun—"
Tsunade nodded and held up her hand. "Say no more right now," she cautioned. "Kakashi collect the Uchiha boys and bring them here." Tsunade rose and stretched. It had been a long day and it wasn't anywhere near over yet.
She walked over to look out the window at the beautiful koi pond the team had cleaned up for Sakura to enjoy. Tsunade smirked when she thought of how Kisame had spent most of the day in her office, flirting shamelessly with her whenever they were alone. He'd been too big to fit into the cages and behaved terribly until she'd agreed to let him come to work with her in the Tower. After which, he'd promised to be as meek as a kitten—yeah, right. She'd had Shikamaru babysit him in a side office whenever she had to meet with someone—she couldn't reveal any of Konoha's goings-on to the captured Akatsuki ninja.
It had taken all of her willpower not to crack open a bottle of sake while working. Sighing, she remembered that she still had to talk with the rest of the captives tomorrow morning—she had a meeting with Neko-chan tonight. Boy, were they ever going to have their hands full with this bunch.
"Sakura, Neko-baa is back and we are going to have a talk with her tonight. She's waiting at my place. We'll stop at Manja's on the way to pick up an extra large order of sushi to share with the kittens."
Sakura's eyes lit up. "The kittens are here?"
"Yes. And they're already asking for you. We can't just walk out of the Uchiha district, so we'll use a transportation jutsu to go to your apartment and head out from there. The rest of the team working with you has the details all worked out on security and will fill you in later."
Kakashi sauntered up the long hallway preceded by the two black Uchiha cats. Ears laid back and eyes narrowed, Sasuke was growling under his breath at Itachi, who chose to ignore him, only looking forward.
They didn't make it to the end of the hallway before Sasuke launched himself at his brother's back.
With a hiss of frustration Sasuke tried to latch onto Itachi, only narrowly missing as the older cat smoothly slipped under his grasp. Sasuke wasted no time turning and driving back at him, ramming Itachi in his side and knocking hard him into the wall before Kakashi swiftly took hold of the scruff of Sasuke's neck and lifted him up while he scratched and clawed, trying to find purchase.
Sakura rushed forward and picked up Itachi, monitoring him to see if he was injured while Sasuke's cold stare accused her of betrayal. As soon as she ascertained Itachi was unharmed, she set him down and walked over to Kakashi to check on Sasuke who refused to let her near.
"Neko-chan is waiting to talk to you, Sasuke-kun," Tsunade informed him. "Do you think you can behave long enough to hear her out, or do you want to go back to your cage and wait for her to come visit another day?"
"Hn." Sasuke's ears spasmed in irritation, but he relaxed in Kakashi's hands, so his sensei set him back down on the floor with a pat on the head. Sasuke gave him a furious look as his tail began twitching angrily.
"If you're done acting foolish, we can go," Tsunade added, opening the door to the courtyard and leading them outside.
"We'll have to carry you two since you can't use jutsu and we need to go to Sakura's apartment first." Tsunade picked up Itachi, leaving Sasuke to go to Sakura.
Sasuke looked at Sakura with a high level of mistrust. Just what kind of mess had he gotten himself into and why hadn't they let him take his revenge against his brother? Itachi should be locked up in the deepest levels of ANBU prison right now, being tortured for everything he had done. Instead, there he was, being carted around by the damn Hokage no less, like he was an honored guest of the village. What the hell was going on? He had a lot of questions for Neko-baa.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura kneeled before him, waiting for him to come. He flicked his tail in irritation and jumped into her waiting arms.
A swift jutsu later and they were standing in Sakura's dusty, little apartment, and then leaving through the front door. Tsunade had set Itachi down and warned them both that if they didn't follow quietly and stay close, they would go straight back to lock up for a month until Baa-chan's next visit.
They followed the women to a popular sushi restaurant and waited outside near Sakura while Tsunade went to get her order.
When Itachi noticed Sasuke glaring at him while they waited, he deliberately rubbed up against Sakura's bare legs—going so far as to put his front paws on her knees and purr for a scratch. Sasuke seethed at how she smiled and bent to oblige the clan killer, stroking his back and the space between Itachi's ears. Watching them, Sasuke had to stomp down the desire to attack again—he had to be able to talk to Neko-baa and convince her to change him back.
He was bitter and tired after staying up all night to make sure Itachi didn't find a way out of his cage. He'd been forced to watch his brother, just three feet away, sleep peacefully after he'd come back from talking to Sakura. And why was she so interested in talking to such a vile murderer anyhow, he wondered.
As they waited, the warmth of the evening air began to make him feel sluggish. He suppressed a huge yawn as he watched and plotted how best to seek his revenge. Finally, Tsunade came back with a large bag and they set off for the Hokage's residence.
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Grass Country
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"Are you sure you know where you're going, Karin?" Juugo asked her for the tenth time that day. He looked around at the peaceful, scenic trail they followed and it seemed like no other people had been around recently.
Juugo had been talking to some of the animals on the trail and had gotten very little information from them. The only fact of significance they'd told him was that there had been a predator in the area killing hundreds of small animals some time back. It seems the slayer left the carcasses littering the forest floor, uneaten, but it had since disappeared.
While it was interesting, this information didn't help their search at all. There was no reason that Akatsuki would waste time hunting massive quantities of small game. They were warmongers. They had much bigger fish to fry. Juugo scratched his head. "This just doesn't seem like the kind of countryside where an evil organization would be hiding."
"God! Will you assholes stop asking me that? You act like you don't trust me!" Karin pushed her glasses up her nose and crossed her arms irritably.
"We don't trust you, tramp," Suigetsu jeered. "You've led us all across the country on a wild goose chase so you could try to honeymoon with your Sasuke-kun."
"I was only trying to help Sasuke-kun."
"Yeah, whatever. Are we getting close yet or what?"
"It won't be much further, I think. We should be there by tonight."
"There's some trees up ahead. Let's stop there and take a break."
"All you ever do is take breaks."
"And all you ever do is bitch! I'm a water nin and we're on land, woman! If we travelled by water, I'd leave you all in the dust."
"But I promised Sasuke-kun I'd find his brother! If he catches up to us and we haven't found Itachi, he is gonna be mad."
Suigetsu laughed and spoke quietly enough so that only Juugo could hear. "Sasuke's probably still busy interrogating, cough, screwing, cough, that hot little pinky."
"Shut up! I heard that! Stupid, Suigetsu!"
"Yeah? Well, you had to face reality sooner or later. I wouldn't be surprised if he followed that little pinky all the way home."
"Oh, look!" Juugo tried unsuccessfully to distract the fighting duo. "There's a little brook next to those trees. Let's get some fish for dinner. Suigetsu, why don't you start a fire while I go fishing and, Karin…"
"MY SASUKE-KUN WOULDN'T TOUCH THAT WASTE OF SPACE, WASHED OUT, SCRAWNY—"
"YOUR SASUKE-KUN HAD HIS HANDS ALL OVER THAT SMOKIN' HOT CHICK! AND ANOTHER THING, I—"
Juugo sighed. He saw that, no matter what he said, the others would not stop fighting, so he left for the stream alone while they worked through their, ahem, differences of opinion.
Little did they know that they were all being watched by someone else.
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Chabudai-a short-legged table used in traditional Japanese homes. People seated at a chabudai may sit on zabuton cushions and/or tatami rather than on chairs. The four legs of a chabudai are collapsible so that the table may be moved and stored easily.
Kotatsu-a table with a removable top that you can put a quilted blanket and a heater underneath—they are popular in cooler weather.
Tatami-tatami mats are woven flooring mats usually used in traditional Japanese homes. It is natural to describe the size of the room by the number of mats that fit on the floor. They are about three by six feet.
Skinship-bathing naked together, hehe, naked bonding with Genma…hmm.
Otsukaresama deshita- Good job, or good work (today).
Okaeri nasai-Welcome home.
Tadaima-I'm back (home)
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