woi*Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. I simply borrow them for my own musings and fantasies and do not get paid for their use in said musings or fantasies. –Nira

Chapter 39

Yuriko had been on her way home after a stroll through the farmer's market in town when she heard something rustling around in a pile of garbage in an alleyway. Curious, she stopped and waited, wondering what it was and she was pleasantly surprised when a fluffy cat with ice blue eyes and a silver and white coat popped its little head out, licking its chops as if it had just enjoyed an exquisite feast from the garbage that it was sitting in. The cat's eyes met hers and they both stood, staring at each other until a huge smile broke out across Yuriko's lips and she crouched down with her hand extended.

"Hello, little one. You have pretty eyes."

The cat's ears perked up as it examined her for a moment before hesitantly walking toward her outstretched hand. After a few sniffs to acquaint itself with her scent, the cat was soon rubbing his head forcefully into her palm and purring earning a pleased chuckle from Yuriko. She stayed there for a while, socializing and playing with the cat until her knees started to hurt from crouching for so long. With a final pet from the top of his head to the tip of his fluffy little tail, Yuriko said goodbye and renewed her journey home. It wasn't long until she realized that she'd been accompanied the whole time and smiled, crouching back down to his level.

"Am I your human now?" she inquired of the feline who answered with a deep meow, purrs, and a gentle headbutt to her leg before he dragged the length of his body along her knee. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

Gingerly picking the cat up, she cradled him in her arms and indulgently scratched under his chin. She could feel his deep, motor-like purring like a rumble in his chest and vibrating into her own, and his heat emanated off of him through the dense coat of fur around his thin frame. With lots of love, grooming, and frequent pets, his fur would become softer as the dirt and dust of outside living were sloughed off and he would put on a healthy amount of weight. The cat carefully climbed up and wrapped himself around the back of her neck like a fur scarf draped over her shoulders and fell asleep, his purring deep and loud in her ear and she simply smiled and continued on, racking her brain to think of a name for him. When she arrived at the top of the landing of her floor, she saw that Kakashi was just reaching his door.

"Evening, Kakashi," she smiled and waved, but as she drew closer, she saw the bags under his uncovered eye and noticed that he looked exhausted. "Long day?"

He nodded with a sigh, abandoning the door to his apartment and leaning against the wall between his and her door, his hands in his pockets. "It's tough training those three and getting them ready for the exam. I worry it won't be enough…"

"Exam?"

"The Chuunin exams are coming up in a couple of weeks. Haven't you heard?"

Yuriko shook her head "no" and pursed her lips, her brow furrowing. "I've heard that the exams can be… brutal, to say the least. Do you think they're ready? Yes, they grew tremendously during the mission to the Land of Waves, but that was still only their first real mission."

"I wonder…" Kakashi sighed. "Anyway, it seems you have acquired quite an interesting new scarf."

With that, the cat stretched, all of his claws extending and his jaw unhinging into a mighty yawn before he settled back around Yuriko's shoulders. Kakashi's eye widened and he tensed up a bit. He hadn't expected it to be alive.

"Is that a cat?"

"Yeah. We kind of stumbled upon each other and he claimed me as his human, so I've decided to keep him," she chuckled and reached up, gently scratching behind his ear.

"I wouldn't have guessed that you're a cat person," he half grinned, unable to hide the slight tone of distaste that tinged his words.

"I'm an animal person. I've just never had a dog and cats are more independent so they're a bit easier to take care of." She grinned and leaned in, pulling her mask down and lovingly pressing her lips to his clothed cheek in a single, fluid motion. "Don't worry. I'm sure your ninken and I will get along just fine whenever you decide to introduce us."

Kakashi couldn't help the slight blush at having been found out. He wasn't particularly fond of cats but he could learn to love one if it was hers… probably. He chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck in nervous embarrassment and Yuriko giggled.

"So what's his name?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"I'm not sure… A name hasn't really jumped out at me for him. Nothing that I've come up with really seems to fit."

Kakashi hummed, looking at the slumbering feline draped luxuriantly around her shoulders and drew a blank. So far he just seemed… lazy. "I'm sure you'll think of something. And as much as I would love to spend more time with you, I'm exhausted and have another early morning and long, busy day tomorrow with Team Seven."

"Sleep well. And tell them I say hello and to train hard. I expect great things from them all."

"I will," he smiled. "Good night, Yuriko."

With a kiss goodnight and a final, unenthused look at the nameless scarf cat, Kakashi retired to his apartment while Yuriko brought the cat into hers. Gently lifting the feline from her shoulders, she set him on the couch where he got comfortable and fell back asleep and she smiled, setting out again to go shopping to accommodate her new housemate.

Iruka had been on his way home when he saw Yuriko walk into a general store and tilted his head in curiosity. It wasn't like her to go shopping so late in the day, so he followed to see what she was up to. When he finally tracked her down in one of the store's many aisles, he peeked into her basket and his confusion grew even more.

"Hello, Iruka," she grinned, sensing him behind her.

"Evening, Yuriko," he smiled and affectionately kissed her cheek. "Why are you buying… what is all of this?"

In the basket hanging from the crook of her elbow was a ball of yarn, a wooden dowel, a small bag of bells, a spool of dark blue ribbon, a small potted plant that looked like mint, and several other odds and ends items that didn't seem to have any connection.

"It's for Tomomaru."

"Tomomaru?"

"Uh-huh. We met while I was walking home earlier. I stopped to say hello but when I kept walking, he followed me so I took him home with me."

Iruka's expression was contorted, something within his head not quite clicking or making sense. It looked like he'd short-circuited and there was a mechanical malfunction in the inner workings of his brain.

"You... brought someone you just met home with you?"

"Well… I guess it's more like I adopted him."

Iruka's brain gears stuck and would be emitting smoke and sparks if he actually was a machine of some sort and Yuriko watched him try to fix himself, seemingly breaking more in the process. She was very confused, wondering what she'd said or done wrong to make him freak out so much about it. Tomomaru was the name that she'd decided upon for the cat that she brought home. What was so wrong or confusing about adopting and naming a cat?

"You adopted him..?"

"There wasn't any paperwork or anything. He was eating out of the garbage in an alleyway. I couldn't just leave him there, so I brought him home. He's still so small, so what if something bigger tried to eat him or just wanted to hurt him?" Iruka's distress and lack of understanding flustered Yuriko.

"Yuriko… who is Tomomaru?" Iruka asked, finally completely broken.

"He's a cat! What did you think I was talking about?"

An embarrassed flush overtook his face. He suddenly felt dumb for thinking that she'd been talking about a person and that he'd even gotten a little jealous and concerned. "A boy… like a random child that you found abandoned in an alleyway or something," he confessed.

A moment passed in stunned silence until Yuriko giggled. It soon escalated into bright, melodic laughter from the pit of her stomach and drew curious eyes from other customers. Iruka's embarrassment melted away as he watched her, completely lost in how gorgeous she looked with such a huge smile on her face and the beautiful music of her deep, genuine laughter. He hadn't heard it before but he was positive that he would never forget it and made it a personal goal right then to hear it as often as he possibly could.

"Yuriko," he smiled and took a step toward her as she began to settle down and come back to herself.

"Yes?" she giggled, wiping away a tear that had leaked out in her gut-wrenching guffawing.

"You're glowing."

A blush rose to her cheeks and she looked down at herself, self-conscious all of a sudden and wondering if it was possible for her to actually be glowing. Iruka chuckled and pressed his lips to her forehead as he tenderly wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace.

"Not literally, silly. Would you like help shopping for Tomomaru now that I know that he's a cat?"

Yuriko couldn't help the giggle that slipped out again and smiled as she wrapped her free arm around him, returning the hug with an affirmative nod and hum into his chest. As he withdrew, he took the basket from her and replaced her empty hand with his, his fingers intertwined comfortably with hers as they continued shopping. When they had gotten everything they thought a cat could need or want, Iruka walked home with her to meet the furry newcomer.

"Oh yeah, how did your date with Kakashi go?" he asked when she opened the door.

She blushed and bit her lip remembering how the night had ended, but she pushed the thought aside, curious how Iruka knew about it so she asked. As Iruka explained about the conversation he and Kakashi had had, Yuriko felt her heart swell with love. Both of her loves cared so much about her, and they were getting along despite their initial animosity, even going so far as to keep each other informed of their plans with Yuriko and ask for advice on how best to make her happy.

"It was wonderful," she breathed, reminiscing on the date and Iruka smiled.

"I'm glad. I'd intended to ask you out, myself, today, but you were busy so I'll have to take you out some other time."

Yuriko smiled. Her boys loved her so much. What did she ever do to deserve them?