Naruto Fan Fiction
SI-OC!
(Title)
"The Weasel and His Cat"
DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Naruto'!
WARNING! RATED M! For warnings of harsh language.
She... was not impressed.
Sora-ku was a flicker of it's former self, the Feline thought to herself as she dragged apathetic green eyes across the worn-down buildings and dirty streets. She remembers how she had first looked upon the stone buildings that reached towards the sky and the feeling of being caught in a strange sense of deja vu as she did. The former Sora-ku from her fading memories had been so very similar to another concrete city that she only remembers thinking about when she was so many years younger. Now though, the buildings were worn with time and mistreatment with all the windows shattered, leaving jagged remnants in the sills. The roads could hardly be called that anymore. All cracked and ill-repaired, surely done by unknowledgeable idiots. The streets themselves were rotten with garbage and filth, and then there was the trash lining the gutters. She sneered, disgusted. The entire former-city reeked of avarice and all manner of human failings, how the Hag could stand to continue to call this her domain was well beyond her understanding.
"We are here." the little weasel announced, stopping in front of a darkened alleyway. The Female child soldier looked down it with wide, hesitant eyes while the Other Male gave the Uchiha spawn a look of disbelief.
"The client lives here?" Izumo Tenma demands of Itachi, fisting his hands and puffing out his chest in a -most likely unconscious- gesture of superiority over the younger boy.
"Yes." Itachi answers politely, "Nekobaa's shop is down here and to the left. It is also where she and her Granddaughter live."
Tomomi's tail twitched over his arm, indicating to him that something has caught her attention. He files that detail away in his mind for later inspection, they were still on-duty after all.
The Other Male then scowls, the effect ruined by his youthful face, the Feline thinks. "And you're sure about this? We can't waste time by gettin' lost here."
Inari Shinko steps forward, half-way placing her body between the Other Male and the little weasel. "Come on now, Tenma. Itachi-kun has been here before so he knows the way, right?" she turns slightly to Itachi and he nods in confirmation.
The Useless Adult, Minazuki Yūki, interrupts whatever the Other Male has to say by speaking, suggesting that they get a move on. Thankfully, this works and they are entering the darkened alleyway now. It also reeks of human filth, she notes. Itachi stops in front of an unmarked metal door and wraps his small hand around the bar, leaning his weight on it's surface and pushing it open. The interior of the store was just as unappealing as the outside, except there were shelves lined with tacky cat-themed knickknacks. It was everything the Feline had been expecting, not a thing had moved out of place since the last time she was here. As the little weasel led the way further in the Feline's eyes met with slit, plastic pupils that bobbed back and forth in time with the infernal ticking of the second-hand.
Lord, she hated that Maneki Neko clock.
"I smell visitors~!" a croaking voice called out, bouncing off the concrete walls. Tomomi's body unconsciously stiffened around Itachi's shoulders at who he recognized as Nekobaa's voice and he glanced up at her in curiosity. She looked as utterly bored as she usually did. Though his eyes remained forward, Itachi became hyper-aware of Tomomi's every movement from her place around his neck. He walked through the narrow halls with the ease of habit, having been here many times before with Otou-sama when he would place orders for the Clan with Nekobaa. Soon, they came upon the main room where they all were greeted with the sight of an aging, grey-haired, cat-eared, pipe-smoking woman sitting on giant cushion and surrounded on all sides by cats of all different coats and breeds.
"Itachi-chan! You've finally made it! I was starting to-" she stopped suddenly, leaning forward in her seat and dislodging a number of cats that had previously made themselves comfortable on her. Her already narrow eyes pinched together as she scrutinized the Feline on Itachi's shoulders. Nekobaa then let out a sudden, surprised bark of laughter, "Ha-HA! I must be getting old... Tell me honestly Itachi-chan, are these old eyes finally failing me or do I spy Ho-chan perched on your shoulders there?"
Itachi blinked.
Ho-chan?
"Who is-" Tomomi's claws suddenly dug into his shoulder through the fabric and Itachi bit his tongue, he now realized the reason behind Tomomi's choice in seating. It was the place she could inflict maximum damage with the minimum amount of effort. He should have seen this coming.
The Feline's voice was as sharp as her claws. "Do not call me by that name, Hag."
The surprised reactions at hearing Tomomi speak from Itachi's teammates were overlooked as Nekobaa let out another cackle, grinning wide at the Feline "It is!" Nekobaa exclaimed, "My, this is a surprise! I hadn't been expecting to see your sour mug again before I'd passed into the next life!"
"Disappointment is abound... I assure you." Tomomi drawled dryly. "Here, I'd been half-hoping that they'd already buried you with your damned Maneki's."
"Only half, Ho-chan? You've gotten soft in your old age!" Nekobaa accused. Itachi watched this all in absorbed silence. He had been expecting Tomomi to act just as she had been but Nekobaa's reactions to Tomomi's barbed retorts were another matter. It appeared that she almost was... enjoying it. Itachi stiffened as Tomomi shifted, getting to her paws and jumping down from her place on his shoulders.
"Where is that dead-beat son of yours?" she asked, tail lazily waving behind her as she sat in front of the woman. "If I remember correctly, he was the one I'd bet on killing you before you drove him mad. Him or the young man from the noodle shop."
Nekobaa scowled, "Dead, I hope. The little shite ran off a couple months back and left Tamaki-chan on my doorstep. Poor girl. I'll do a better job with her than I did that no-good louse!"
Tomomi scoffed, "I told you that you should've been more strict with him when he was a pup. This was a result of your over-indulgence. You applauded that idiot-child too much for too little. Be sure not to screw up the next one, Hag." then she added in a tone mostly to herself, "...if you live that long, of course."
"Yeah, yeah. Gloat why dont'cha!" Nekobaa sighed, shaking her head as she lifted the pipe to her lips. The corner of her mouth was still lifted in a smile. "Haaah… you never change Hotaru."
Itachi was stunned. This... was not remotely what he had been expecting. From what he had previously heard from Tomomi about Nekobaa, he had assumed that they were on worse terms but... they were talking like old acquaintances. Albeit, not very friendly but acquaintances all the same.
Minazuki-sensei cleared his throat pointedly.
"Uhm. Sorry to interrupt your..." he eyed Tomomi uneasily. She seemed amused by this. "...reunion, but we are here about the mission? You are the one who requested us?"
"Hm? Oh yeah, yeah." Nekobaa then began to explain the details involving her request. Team 2 was tasked with the retrieval of a mission of a missing ninneko, they were to find him and return him safely to his family. His team began to prepare to go out and begin the search but Itachi hesitated as they headed towards the door, glancing back at Tomomi who seemed to be unconcerned about everything around her.
"Don't you children have a cat to find?" the Feline asked pointedly, her green-eyed stare unusually hard as she looked at them. Minazuki-sensei, after remembering himself, also urged them to move forward with the mission. As it was a fairly low-risk task, he would not accompany them on their retrieval. Opting to instead, stay behind and gather information on any potential missing-nin from the Bingo book as Sora-ku was infamous for their less-than-strict views on certain persons and even less strict rules about offering shelter of such persons.
Itachi spared the black-furred cat one more glance before placing the cat ears upon his head and venturing out with his teammates. A small, irrational part of him feared that she would no longer be there when he returned. A greater part of him though, believed she would be still waiting.
The Weasel and His Cat
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: Nekobaaaaa! And Tomomiiiii! So? Was this what any of you were expecting? Sorry about the wait guys but things happened and all that. But at least we got a decent sized chapter this time around! Next chapter we will finally, finally learn about Tomomi's past! I'm so excited to show you guys! Alright, 'till next time!
I love you guys!
-Nanami