Chapter 25:

It took longer than expected but finally the fence was finished. Hopefully it would stay that way as long as Neji didn't go crashing through it again. But their mission wasn't over yet. They still had to find out what was terrorizing the livestock. The new fence would keep out dogs and foxes, but if there was something bigger, then they would have to confront it themselves.

They released the cattle into the field and waited to see what would happen.

"If it is a predator, then it would make more sense to wait until nightfall when they are more likely to come out," Lee was saying. But it wasn't like they had that kind of time. It was already sunset.

Neji's ear twitched. "Did you hear that?"

Tenten cupped her hands behind her ears for a better listen. It sounded like children. Then she heard the loud mooing of one of the cows and saw one running along the side of the fence towards them. She motioned for the team to follow her.

They found who the predators were. Three young children between the ages of 7 and 8 were throwing rocks at the cows and jeering at them when they moved away or mooed.

How cruel! Tenten thought. You'd think their parents would teach them better. Rather than lector them like just another adult, she decided to scare them a little in order to get their attention. She summoned up a whip chain and cracked it at their feet. The children jumped back out of the way. Tenten and her team stood between them and the fence. "Just what do you think you guys are doing?"

One stuck out his tongue at her while the other two gave her glares like little brats.

"These are poor defenseless cows you are torturing," Lee said. "You cannot do that. The farmer is not pleased with this kind of behavior."

"So what?" one of them said. "It's fun."

"Yeah," said another. "What are you going to do about it?"

"You people don't even live here."

They stood their ground.

To test their patience, one of the boys threw another rock. Lee caught it in his hand with ease. The boy stuck out his tongue and glared at him.

"Enough of this already," Neji told the boys. "Now no more throwing stones or anything at these animals again, understand?"

He received a swift kick to the shin by the boy. Neji hissed and the kid backed off.

"We mean it," Lee said to them. "This is a very cruel game you three are playing. Find a nicer one, ok?"

"Bite me!" snapped one.

Neji showed his teeth. "With pleasure…" The kid backed away slowly.

Tenten stroked Neji's back to calm him. "Listen, it's a cruel thing you three are doing so we would like it to stop, ok?"

"You're not our boss! Besides, there's nothing else to do around here."

"Then find something better than this," Neji said.

To be a smart aleck, the same boy kicked Neji in the leg for the second time. This time, however, he reflexively scratched the kid across the face. The kid stumbled back, dazed. He lifted his hand to his cheek and felt something wet run down his hand. He looked at his fingers. A thin trickle of blood had run down his fingertip and onto his palm. He was bleeding. Neji had drawn blood. He turned his head so the others could see. It was only a small cut compared to what a kunai could do, but it was enough to freak them out. In their panic, the boys had a hasty retreat, calling for their mothers.

Tenten put her hands on her hips. "Neji..!"

He pouted, getting a lecture. "Hey, you had a whip chain."

"Yeah, but I didn't use it on them."

"I'm sorry! It slipped."

She rolled her eyes and scratched him behind the ear. "Well, at least they won't be coming back here for a while. Let's go find Gai-sensei."

~*~*~

With the bandits taken care of, Team Kakashi took a well deserved rest back in the small village. The man who had hired them for the job allowed them to stay the night, meals included, and they had access to everything he had. That included the shower which Sakura was using at the moment. Naruto had already used it a few minutes earlier and still had the towel draped around his shoulders.

Cleaning out his ears with the tip of the towel, Naruto wandered into the next room where Sasuke and Kakashi were. He dropped the towel when he saw what they were doing. Kakashi was sitting on the floor dangling a piece of string over Sasuke's head. Sasuke was on his knees batting at it playfully. But Kakashi always managed to pull it out of his reach before he could get a hold of it.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto whined.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Why are you doing that?"

He gave the string another tug and Sasuke fell on his face. "It's fun."

"Well, stop it!" Naruto made a grab for the string at the same time Kakashi pulled it away. Soon he was in the same keep-away game as Sasuke. "Come on, Kakashi-sensei! Be nice!"

"Come on, I'm not tormenting him… Unlike what you were doing to him before."

"You knew about that? Were you spying on me?"

"I didn't have to. Nothing goes unnoticed by me."

"So you're saying you know everything I do?" He made another grab for the string.

"Yup." Kakashi pulled it away.

"Ok, what did I have for breakfast this morning?"

"More ramen."

Naruto imitated the sound of a buzzer. "Wrong! I had pancakes and eggs. Tenten made them."

"Ooh… Had a girl in our house, did we?"

"It's not what you think! She just came over to help out a little. That's all!"

"That's all?"

"Yeah!" He grabbed for the string again, Sasuke watching his every move curiously. "She slept over!"

Kakashi raised a brow. "Oh, did she really? You had a pretty girl sleep at your place last night?"

Naruto's face was burning. "Sh- shut up! It's not like that! I was doing it with Neji and Sasuke, too!"

Kakashi's eyes got a little bigger and he stifled his snickers.

The young ninja backtracked in his mind to figure out what his sensei was laughing about. Then he came to the words 'doing it with' and his face turned bright red. "That's not what I meant and you know it! Shut UP! It came out all wrong!"

"Naruto, I had no idea you were that kind of man…"

"Shut UP! SHUT UP!" His face was the reddest it had ever been. "It's not like that! Lee was there! He saw the whole thing! He was watching- Wait, don't twist that into something, too!"

Kakashi was still waving the string around with a smile on his face behind the mask. He was enjoying this.

Losing his temper, Naruto jumped on him. "Give me that string!" He wrestled with Kakashi for it. Thinking this was still part of the game, Sasuke climbed on top of the pile and sat on Naruto's back. "Get off, Sasuke! I'm not playing!" Sasuke meowed and purred. "Idiot…"

They wrestled and pulled and did escape jutsus on each other until it was time for the fun to end. Naruto pushed Sasuke aside and made a mad dive for the string. "Give me that!"

As he jumped, Kakashi stepped to the side causing Naruto to slammed face-first into the wall behind him. Kakashi stood in front of the door unharmed. Temper at the boiling level, Naruto lost it and threw his backpack at his sensei. Kakashi ducked as the door opened. Sakura came in and was greeted with a backpack to her face. The heavy bag sent her sliding down the hall and into a plant, getting her clean hair all muddy from the soil.

Back in the room, Naruto was frozen with fear and Sasuke had hidden himself under a chair for safety. Kakashi, however, was as amused as ever.

A very angry Sakura stormed down the hall and stuck her muddy head into the room. Her face was red from rage and from having a heavy backpack tossed at her head. She was fuming and hounding for blood.

Kakashi calmly pointed at Naruto. "He did it."

She cracked her knuckles and charged in.

"Sakura, wait! I-"

"You IDIOT!" She punched him so hard he was sent through the glass window and into the mud outside. "CHAA!"

Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think the owner of the house is going to be very pleased about that."

~*~*~

Now that it was after sunset, there was little point in going all the way back to the village now. They may as well stay at the farm until morning. Gai's team unrolled their sleeping bags in the barn. They would have much rather been inside the large farmhouse, but they were lucky to get this. It sure beat having to set up a tent, at least. While Gai talked things over with the farmer, the team got settled in their sleeping bags. Neji was out before his head hit the pillow. He lay curled up in a ball in the middle of his sleeping bag. Tenten and Lee remained sitting awake in theirs.

"So I take it that the farmer is aware of those children?" Lee questioned.

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, after we told Gai, he went to tell the farmer. He's going to have a talk with their folks."

"I hate that cruel game of theirs. You would think that their parents would teach them better."

"Maybe they picked it up on their own. Sometimes it's not the parent's fault."

"Very true…"

"Still…" Tenten cast her gaze down to Neji in his sleeping bag. "He almost performed catfist on them, didn't he?"

Lee smiled sympathetically at his teammate and rival. All this time he had been trying to best him in battle, proving that hard work could beat genius. Would this catfist technique change things? Would it change the outcome of their battle? Now that Neji was in this state, catfist would pop up and take control over him whenever he was in danger. And catfist wasn't something he had achieved with genius. It was a result of a potion. Did that count in their fight? It was a silly thing to think about, but that was the main thing on Lee's mind at this time.

"So he is going to stay this way forever, right?"

Tenten tickled Neji's ear. "I think so. There's no cure for it, is there?"

"Not that they know of."

"Then it's a good possibility." Tenten got under her sleeping bag. "It's just something we're going to have to get used to, I guess."

Lee got into his sleeping bag, too. "Good night, Tenten!" he said rather loudly.

Tenten put a finger to her lips. "Shh! We don't want to wake him."

"Oh, right, sorry," he whispered.

At that moment, Gai threw open the doors of the barn and stepped inside. "Hello, everyone! What a lovely evening this is! Want to look at the stars with me?!"

Neji sprang up in his sleeping bag with a start.

"Gai-sensei!" the two scolded.

He backed off. "What? Too loud?"

~*~*~

Naruto striped off his jacket and hung it out on the line outside the house. It was soaked with mud from his trip out the window. He really didn't want to take another shower. He would have to wait, anyway. After sending him out the window, Sakura went right back into the bathroom to clean herself up again. Naruto cursed out loud and tried to clean himself off as best he could outside.

Sasuke had come out to see what he was doing. He sat in the grass and watched him.

"Quit staring at me!" Naruto growled. He was in no mood for this.

"Sorry. I was just seeing what you were up to." He saw something sparkle in Naruto's hair. Sasuke got up and moved over to him. "Wait, hold still."

"What?"

Sasuke held Naruto's head down with one hand while combing through his hair with the other. "You have a shard of glass in your hair." He picked it out for him. "There."

"Thanks."

Sasuke tossed it onto the pile of glass behind him in front of the broken window. "She really nailed you good."

"Shut it…"

He turned back around and looked Naruto up and down. He was standing in his black T-shirt and his muddy pants. His jacket on the line was worse off than his pants were. He was covered in the colors brown, orange and red. Red? Sasuke took a step closer for a better look. There was a thin line of red going down Naruto's cheek.

"Naruto, your face is bleeding."

"I figured it was." Naruto rubbed his cheek, smearing the blood. "It's not that bad, though."

Without warning, Sasuke was upon him. He held Naruto's shoulder for support and leaned in close to his face. He stuck out his tongue and licked his wound.

"Sasuke..!" He wriggled around, trying to get away. "Stop that!"

Sasuke licked him again. "I can't help it. You're inured. I have to do it."

"But why?"

"I just do, ok? Now hold still so I can finish faster."

Knowing that there was little else he could do, Naruto stood still and let Sasuke finish. He could feel his warm, wet tongue as it glided over his flesh, cleaning off the fresh blood on his face. It was very creepy and weird-feeling, but he let it happen anyway. He just wished that Sasuke would hurry up and finish before he was scared for life.

Later that night, after everyone was washed and full, they all got into their sleeping bags in front of the fireplace. The orange and yellow flames danced and flickered, slowly turning the wood to ashes. Just as Naruto had predicted, Sasuke was the first one to turn in. He was laying on his side, curled up in a fetal position on top of his sleeping bag, the light from the fireplace making him glow a little. He looked nice and warm. He was only using the sleeping bag for a soft bed; he was using the fireplace for heat. But as the heat from the fire warmed his sleeping bag, Sasuke slowly started to stretch out, feeling more comfortable and warm.

Sakura smiled at him. She just couldn't get over how cute he was being. Knowing that it would be safe now that he was sleeping, Sakura ran her fingers through his hair. He purred.

"Oh, he's just so cute!" she whispered to herself, trying very hard not to squeal out loud and wake him up.

Naruto grinned back. He really was cute. I guess we just have to get used to it…

~*~*~

The next morning, both teams gathered their stuff and went back home. They both met up at the village gates and greeted each other. Sakura and the two senseis left soon after.

This was going to be an awkward new life they would have to lead from now on. Nothing but fish, long naps and catnip. It wasn't so bad, but it would still take some getting used to. How were they going to do this?

To look on the bright side, Naruto was willing to buy the two some shrimp ramen at his favorite restaurant. The offer was turned down, however.

It was a lot to deal with. The only bright side was the fact that they had learned a new technique. Other than that, where was the plus side? Licking yourself was embarrassing. Rubbing yourself against other people's bodies was embarrassing. Eating fish all the time would get tiresome after a while. Laziness and the fact that they had gained at least seven pounds in the past week wasn't a good thing. Catnip and its effect on them was so embarrassing! Other than catfist, there really didn't seem to be a plus side anywhere that they could see.

As the group made a turn onto another street, they saw Shino watching them from the shadows. It looked as if he had been waiting for them. He stepped out into the street and over to them. "So you're back? That didn't take long."

"They were D-ranked missions."

"I see."

Naruto tapped his foot on the ground. "So, what's up? Are you just going to stand there all day and keep us guessing?"

"Do you have to tell us something? Lee asked.

"Yes, I do." Shino lifted his head, catching the light on his tinted glasses. "I found a cure."

Neji and Sasuke pushed their way to the front. "Say what?!"

"I found a cure."

Their hearts soared. They could hardly believe it. A cure? This was wonderful news!

"What is it?"

"If you're lying, I can easily rearrange your face, you know that, right?"

"I'm not lying. What would I have to gain from doing that?"

The two pressed in around him. "So where is it? Where's the cure?"

"Right here." Shino reached behind his back and pulled out Akamaru.

They shrieked and scrambled backwards in terror. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and held him back. Shino advanced with the tiny dog in his hand. Sasuke tried to climb over Naruto's shoulder to get away. He had to escape. Shino forced Akamaru into Sasuke's face, pressing his furry body against his nose and mouth. Sasuke screamed and yelled. The little dog whimpered, not knowing what to think.

At last, Shino pulled the dog away and moved on to Neji. "Hold him."

Thinking that this might have been helping them in some way, Tenten and Lee held Neji down. He kicked and screamed as the dog was shoved into his face. Shino assured the dog that it was ok, and Akamaru licked Neji's lips. Neji screamed and his face went as white as a sheet, leading the others to believe that he was going to pass out at any moment.

Shino pulled Akamaru away and set him back down on the ground. "Thanks. You can go back to Kiba now. He must be worried about you, giving me such a hard time when I asked to borrow you for a minute."

Akamaru barked and scampered off.

Neji sat up spitting and gagging. He looked awful. "What the hell was that about?! Trying to scare me half to death?!"

"I was helping you."

"Helping how?!" Sasuke snapped.

"Like this." Shino pulled out a ball of yarn and rolled it out in front of them. "Fetch."

They watched the yarn ball roll, but didn't chase after it. "Your point? We're a little freaked out right now. We're not chasing it until after we calm down."

"Then how about this?" Shino handed them a cat toy.

They held it close to their faces and took a sniff. "And?"

"That has catnip in it."

"Ahh!" Sasuke threw it to the ground. "Are you crazy?!"

"No. But you are cured. Catnip has no effect on you anymore."

It was at that moment that they realized that he was right. They no longer wanted to do cat things any more. Catnip had no effect on them and they no longer wanted to play with yarn. And just to make sure, Sasuke willingly dumped his water bottle over his head. He was wet, but other than that, he felt nothing. They really were cured!

"How the hell did you do that?!"

"Dog saliva," Shino told them. "As it turns out, dog spit counters the potion's effects."

Tenten clapped her hands together. "That's brilliant! How did you ever come up with that?"

"Well, logically…" Shino told them. "I went with the opposite. Hot and cold, night and day. I figured that if you wanted to become a cat and cats are naturally afraid of dogs, the cure must be based around them somehow. After all, what cat would want to have a dog get close enough to lick them? I thought it was a good theory."

"Wait… Theory?" The two stopped their celebration early. "You mean you really had no idea if that was going to cure us or not?"

"I had a strong theory that I could support."

"But if that didn't work, then that means that…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "That would mean that you would have shoved a dog into our faces and scared the living daylights out of us for nothing!"

"Or a cheap laugh, but I'm not that kind of person."

While Sasuke was venting his rage, Neji had been backing himself slowly away from the rest of the group to beat himself up. He felt like a real idiot.

Tenten rubbed his back. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy."

"I'm relieved that we're cured, but I feel like such an idiot!" He buried his face in his hands with a frustrated moan. "Do you have any idea how much we could have avoided if we had only known?! I mean, our mission right after taking that stupid potion involved us going to a dog show! All I would have had to do was get one of them to lick me and it all would have been over! I feel so stupid! That's all it took?! Seriously?! It's so simple!"

"Most solutions genuinely are," Shino said as calmly as ever.

Sasuke cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"Why? I found the cure, didn't I? If I hadn't, you would still be in your cat state."

"I know!" Sasuke barked. "But I'm still really pissed off!"

"Typical misplaced aggression. You're angry at yourself for not seeing the answer right away and you feel the need to beat someone else up instead of yourself. Very juvenile, actually."

"Juvenile?!"

Off to the side, Kakashi had gathered up an armful of yarn balls in an attempt to entice the cats to play. But upon hearing the disappointing news from the group, he frowned and set them down on the ground. "Aw, too bad… I still wanted to have a little bit of fun… Oh, well. Can't have too much of a good thing, I guess."

~*~*~

The same woman from the beginning of the ordeal was still sitting in her place by the side of another road, coaxing over potential customers. One of them had picked up the small bottle containing a certain potion. He turned it over in his hand, curious.

"So… What, this thing come with instructions or something?" he asked rather rudely.

"Yes, it does," she answered. "It works very well, too, I might add."

"Please…" said the boy. "You expect me to believe that this tiny little container of fruit punch is supposed to help teach me a new, rare and powerful technique? I'll believe it when I see it."

"Then by all means, buy it and see for yourself."

He sneered and gave her the money. "You're lucky it's so cheap. Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother with it."

"There's enough there for two if there's a friend you'd like to share it with."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. You should see the demons we have on our team, lady. They don't need any help. Trust me."

"Kankuro!" a girl called him over, as impatient as ever. "Let's go! Gaara's getting ahead of us!"

"Coming! I'm coming already, stop shouting!" He jogged over to his siblings with the bottle still in his hand.

"What the hell's that?"

"Nothing."

She groaned loudly. "I hope you didn't spend all your money on junk from that petty little street shop over there. She's selling crap from a cardboard box, for crying out loud. How good can her stuff be?"

"I'll spend my money however I like, woman!"

"Whatever…" She looked ahead to her little brother. "Hey, if he has trouble with it, you mind helping him out a little?"

The redhead turned. "Sure, I'll help him out if he needs it."

"Hey, Gaara, this thing has enough for two if you want to try. I know she won't."

"Sure. What harm could it do?"

THE END!

It's over! I had to end it, but I wanted it to go on just a little bit more…

Can you picture Gaara and Kankuro as kitty-cats? XD That would be great!

Thanks for reading and all the nice reviews!

Please review and thanks again! ^-^