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.

"Well...?" the Feline drawled expectantly, narrowing her lime-green eyes at the pair. "What is it are you two speaking in such hushed tones about?"

Itachi pressed his lips together tightly, feeling as if he'd been caught doing something forbidden. Which, he supposed he was. He knew how reluctant Tomomi had been about speaking of her past when he had asked previously. Now, he didn't know how she would react to him knowing about her... lives.

(It still made his gut turn uncomfortably at the thought of living though so many lives only to move on to another again and again.)

The Uchiha tentatively opened his mouth to begin explaining, but was interrupted by an outburst by Nekobaa. "Hahahaa! I was just reminded of the time you met your little suitor, Ho-chan!" Itachi's arched an eyebrow as Tomomi's ears shot up, her body stiffening. "Remember how you—"

"Is it not past time to leave, little weasel? I do believe the Hag must be done with you by now." the Feline intervened pointedly, nearly hissing as she spoke. She rose to her feet and Itachi mirrored her, standing up from the kotaku. "The other child soldiers must be impatient to depart, especially the Other Male. He must be having a fit around this time."

Her body was tense and her tail swung above her head in an agitated manner as she made her way towards the door, Itachi moved to follow her with a neutral expression. Inwardly though, the boy felt a tension inside his chest ease at her demand, making him feel lighter.

She wished to return with him.

It... made him feel happy.

Even after hearing the tale of Hisao and Kiyoshi, Itachi could not suppress the intense curiosity towards the subject that caused Tomomi to have such an unusual reaction. Still, he kept any questions to himself as he followed behind the Feline. Nekobaa led them from the apartment to rejoin the rest of Team 2 in the store, Itachi immediately took notice of how Tenma-kun looked ready to shout. It appeared that Tomomi's assumptions had proven correct.

"Are we finally done here? It reeks like cat litter!" Tenma-kun demanded boisterously, despite Shinko-san's attempts to placate him. Minazuki-sensei cuffed his student on the ear and scolded him for speaking that way in front of the client. Nekobaa ignored the scene and walked behind the wooden counter, retrieving a package from under it and giving it to the jōnin. Payment for the mission, Itachi surmised.

With it's mission accomplished, Team 2 made to depart and return to Konoha. But before they reached the door, Tomomi had paused in her tracks, turning her head slightly to look back at the old woman. Itachi halted as well, following her line of sight. He saw how Nekobaa was watching them with keen eyes. At length, Tomomi spoke. Itachi concealed his surprise when he heard her usually harsh tone, softened with emotion.

"This... is goodbye, Kiyo."

Kiyo?

Kiyo—shi?

Kiyoshi is—

Nekobaa was actually—

Itachi's brain stuttered to a standstill, finally giving up trying to make sense of things for the day. It was just too much to process. When he was home again, he would attempt to reconcile all the new information he was given. In the meantime he mutely watched as Nekobaa gave the Feline a mournful smile. The old woman nodded, speaking around her smoking pipe. "Yeah, I'd guessed as much."

Tomomi scoffed, shaking her head. "Yet you still insist on ingesting that poison! How it is possible that you've lived this long is beyond me..." she muttered disdainfully.

"Are you jealous of my youthful complexion, Ho-chan? I won't tell you, it's my personal secret~! Besides..." Nekobaa cackled suddenly, grinning now. "I've got a bet to win!"

Tomomi rolled her eyes, turning back and gently alarming Itachi as she leapt up and wrapped herself around his neck again. The unfamiliar warmth on his shoulders was not exactly an unwelcome sensation. "At least try to live long enough to raise that new spawn of yours. Properly, this time, Hag. Maybe you'll actually accomplish something with your life." Tomomi drawled, her snark returning.

"Hahaha, we'll see! Tamaki-chan might just be better off without me to screw her up!" Nekobaa's smile softened then, her dark brown eyes meeting Tomomi's bright green ones. "...goodbye, Hotaru."

The Feline didn't respond, instead she turned her head to look into a pair of onyx orbs that were gazing after her in curiosity. "Are you intent on loitering all day, little weasel, or will we be leaving at some point in the near future?"

Itachi blinked his large dark eyes at her, quickly nodding his head in agreement and saying his own farewell to Nekobaa.

Together, they returned home.

The Weasel and His Cat

TO BE CONTINUED

A/N: Yaay! It's back! Welp, all I can say is that I lost my muse there for a while. I revealed Tomomi's past and then it kinda… poofed away. I'm glad I was able to get back to this, this story is important to me. Hope you guys didn't mind the wait too much! Thank you for being so patient with me!

I wuv you all! See you next time!

-Nanami