GS Note: Well, the time honoured tradition of Talking to the Reviewers (Or acknowledging my undying love and affection for you ^_~)

Duo/Folken/TK (lol, all your questions answered and more in later chapters ^_^), nanashi (writing is getting to be a rare occurrence.) and tenshi angel. Oh, and Jack fo rhis undying devotion towards this fic ^_^

Gato

Chapter 4

There was a shout and loud bang. Heero was jolted out of his deep sleep and whirled around to face the door, back arched and tail puffed. He let out a low hiss.

"Start with those animal cages, Jerry!"

Heero have to take a moment to realize where he was. He was on a plane. He was in a cage. And he was in no danger. Well, maybe from being dropped but definitely not from these humans.

Even though he was prepared, the sudden lift of the cage and huge swing knocked him off his feet. He scrambled to stand up as the cage rattled its way down the ramp and into the hands of an equally incompetent airline hand. He lost his regained footage and was thumped loudly on to a baggage truck. He hissed and cursed in hatred of the two young men but peered out of his cage curiously.

The city was so smoggy it was hard to see the end of the runway. It smelt foul so he wrinkled his nose in disgust. There was a huge roar as a plane took off nearby and Heero tried to cover his delicate ears. The baggage staff didn't seem to notice from the heavy earmuffs on their heads. Heero snorted.

"So thoughtful, give it to the deaf, stupid ones."

Another carrier was roughly places beside his, then another on the other side. There was a bang as the dog cage was dropped on, then a weight settle on Heero's cage as the last carrier was taken out.

He recognized the floral luggage from the van being placed around them and then even more he didn't know being put all around.

It seemed to take forever but the long open vehicle started up and with a jolt, they were off. Heero pressed his nose against the bars and looked through the thick air until he saw the grey building in front of him.

He was a little nervous, there was always the fear that nobody would be there to pick him up. He suspected that Marie and Otto were probably still asleep. They entered the building, the closeness of the air outside giving way for the cold, vast space inside the airport. There was a lot of shouting and the whole place seemed to be filled with sound.

Heero shrunk back a bit to protect his ears and watched as, after a few minutes, they were lifted off the cage and onto a trolley. It rattled and bumped at every step so Heero crouched in the bottom of his cage as to not be thrown over again. As they pushed through a metal door, it was hard for Heero to decide on what to look at.

People of every size, age, shape, colour and style seemed to have brought their life along with them and were crowding in one place. A small girl cried as her mother irritably took away her bag of chips. A group of nuns prayed the rosary quietly in the corner. Two business men were shouting and shaking their fists at each other. A large family of seven children and two adults laughed as they struggled to drag their luggage behind them.

The person pushing the trolley stopped for a minute to talk to somebody when a small face was crouched in front of his cage.

"Look! It's a kitty!" the little girl squealed to her mother, her pigtails bobbing. Heero growled at her shrill voice. "Come here, kitty, kitty!"

Heero hissed and swiped at the little girl until she started to cry and her mother picked her up. Shaken, Heero narrowed his eyes and watched everyone within range. He just wanted to be out of here.

They started moving again. To Heero, it seemed like they traveled at least the full length of the airport before a familiar voice made him dash to the front of the cage anxiously.

"Yup, four cats and a dog," She was nodding to a staff member and handing over a piece of paper. "Here's my claim."

"This looks in order," the woman nodded. Heero pressed his nose to as far as he dared. He didn't trust the people here; he might as well trust the person who knew what she was doing. Noin crouched in front of the cages.

"Hey guys, looks like you made it all okay!" Her eyes flicked from cage to cage. "Okay, Zechs I'll go get the rental car, you take them and get the bags."

"I thought they were your cats!" he protested as She dug n her purse to give him a slip of paper. She paused and glared at him. For a moment, there seemed to be a heated tension pass between them before Zechs visibly wilted and took the paper. She flashed him a smile and left, finding no trouble in passing through the crowd.

Zechs just sighed.

***

"You mean to tell me that Wufei, over-protective-mother-of-us-all, chief queen, top (pardon the expression) dog around here, is gone?"

Dorothy snorted and shifted on the fleece pillows and blankets. Duo just stared at her; the chocolate kittens scattered between them forgotten.

"Awe man!" Duo lashed out at the wood walls and scraped four neat scores. "And Heero isn't even here to fool around with!"

"It means that She and Zechs won't be around," Dorothy smirked. "Now's my time to relax! Hilde won't be able to handle us all."

"So what are we planning on doing?" Duo asked eagerly. "Not that I don't like the lifestyle, well some aspects of it, but I'm just itching for action!"

"I was hoping to be able to sneak out of our wing and take a break in Heero's room," Dorothy admitted. She looked sheepish. "Those females are chatty and they've scratched the hell out of that couch. I could use a week of vacation."

"Easy for you to say," Duo snorted. "I just can't pack up a leave." 'Not yet anyway.'

"What were you hoping to do?" with the prospect of the break she was hoping for dashed, Dorothy sighed and began to examine her claws.

"I don't know," Duo grinned. She looked fondly down on her kittens. "Though we do have a small army between me and Trowa. Think of the havoc we could train these little guys to do!"

***

Relena yawned and tucked her head under her body, barely wincing as the bare skin scraped along the tough food bag. She forced her body to relax. She closed her eye all but a slit. There was a small scurry of movement in the vent.

Cautiously, a pink nose poked through the grate, whiskers working rapidly as the rat struggle to decide if it was safe.

Eventually, he pushed the unhooked grate off the wall and slid half under the loose opening. He balanced there for a moment. He circled his head to a full sweep of the room with his remaining eye. The dim light protected Relena's body.

There was a light thump as the rat jumped the distance to the ground and hurried over to the cat bag that Relena had been feasting over. He started to cram as many tidbits as he could into his mouth and paws.

Relena gave a casual yawn and turned over so she was right side up. The rat froze.

Faster then he could run away, Relena fleeted in the way of his escape route. She smirked at him. He dropped the food he held and tried to dive for cover. She reached out and, hissing, latched her claws onto his hind leg and drew him closer.

She could hear his panicked breath. She could feel his beating heart. She could taste his fear like a stench. She forced her own self to calm down before she snapped his neck right there.

"Listen," she growled sharply. The rat, now fully pinned with two outstretched claws from the queen, settled down. Relena smirked. In a half purr she said, "I was wondering if you'd be interested in a preposition."

"And if I said no?" the gasped and trembling reply actually shocked Relena. She had thought he would be too terrified to remember his own name besides speak defiantly to her.

"Then I snap your neck right now and that's the end of you."

"Fine," the fear started to bleed away a little as Relena loosen her grip slightly. "I'm listening."

***

A long while later, Heero was actually regretting not taking those pills. Making their way to the show grounds proved to be more of a hassle then She had predicted. The first cab they hailed refused to take animals. The second wasn't big enough for five animal carriers, luggage and two people. It was over an hour before Zechs, sitting on a sleeping Otto's cage beside the busy road, pulled out his cell phone and called a cab company. It took another forty-five minute for the taxies to get to the airport and located them. Now, an hour away from the hotel, Heero found himself starting out the windshield from his elevated position in the passenger seat at an endless line of brake lights.

The taxi advanced three inches and slowed to a stop again. The driver put the car in park and leaned back stretching. Heero could hear Zechs snoring in the back seat. She was in another cab behind them with Quatre and Wufei so Heero's only company was the slumbering Zechs, Marie and Otto, and the driver.

The man was clearly Asian. It pained Heero in a way. He was born and raised in Japan by a private breeder. He could still remember how he and his sisters played with the Atishi family's little son. So Heero curled up in the back of his cage and tucked his nose under his tail. The smoke from old passengers irritated his nose.

When he opened his eyes again, he was being jerked out of his comfortable position and swung out of the cab. He scrambled to his feet and looked frustrated out of this one window to the world. Smells and sounds hit him like a hammer. The yowling, hissing purring, the individual scents of food, dung and shampoo was familiar.

He was at a Cat Show.

He was placed on a rolling cart and there was a slight shake as another cage was put on top of his cage.

"Zechs, take Otto to the hotel, I'll catch a cab after I get these guys settled in and checked out." Heero could hear Her but she must have been behind his cage. He pressed his nose to the cage and breathed in. He smiled. This was home to him, Much more exciting here then in that dank little room of his.

Marie was waking up and yelling all ready as She pushed the cart up to a desk and started to talk with the official. It took a while but they were moving again passed cages upon cages of cats being tested, cats sleeping, cats screaming- Heero flexed his claws.

They stopped at a corner set of cages along the wall. It was quiet and out of the way of the hassle.

The carrier was cramped and Heero began to pace along the door, anxious to be out. She opened top one first and lifted a placid Quatre out and into one of the wire cages. She latched it carefully as he began to sniff around and hung a clipboard on the side.

Next was Wufei. The cat struggled to be put down but She wrested her into the cage and locked it much to Wufei's distress. Marie clung to Her and it took a few minutes to unhook the tiny cat's claws from the thick sweater.

When Heero's turn came, she paused and took a second to cover her venerable hand with her sleeve. Cautiously, she reached in to lift him up. Heero snorted at her precautions and allowed himself to be transferred easily.

It was a standard individual cage. Four wire walls, one along a beige wall. Litter bow, wood floor and bed in the corner. There was an automatic water feeder and an empty food dish. Wufei was all ready settling down on the plush bed She had put in her cage beside Heero. Mariemaia was on the other side of Wufei. She was still upset and pacing. Quatre, the cat farthest from the young cat, realised that he couldn't even speak to her over the din and sighed.

Heero took a drink, the long ride had left him thirsty and tired. It was nice to be back. The little county shows hadn't nearly compared to this. Of course, he wished Duo was here too, but he could stand being away for a long time as long as he had this.

GS Note: Well, another chapter done. I'm sorry it's kinda of short but I have:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

READ THIS IF NOTHING ELSE

I got accepted into an exchange program for next year. That means, not a lot of writing time. I;m sorry, but this is some thing I've DREAMED about! I actually have a nice chance to go to Japan! Well, don't jinx me but, A YEAR IN JAPAN! Not a school year, a full 365 days! Room, board and school paid for!

I'm so stoked! I'm hoping to finish Gato and Tales of Love before I go though, no worries! As it is I have a slim chance of not going, I might be leaving July-August or even January 2004. So don't count me out yet!