Chapter 22: Love Whisperer Arc - Sunday Afternoon

Well, here it is! I managed to finish another lengthy chapter on the same day as the previous one! Hope you enjoy reading the chapter!

If you don't remember the names of the Akatsuki as cats, here they are, in the order that they were named:

Tobi = Fuzzsticks

Kisame = Dragon

Itachi = Sasuke

Deidara = Firework

Hidan = Twinkleshine

Zetsu = Yin-Yang

Kakuzu = Warthog

Konan = Angel

Pein = Tiger

Sasori = Rosie

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for the plot and my OCs!


Kagami's POV

On that Sunday afternoon, we were definitely not expecting her to come over and pay us a visit.

We weren't even given a heads up about her visiting us, nor a clue in how she managed to find out where we lived. Luckily, she was a friendly and reasonable person, but once we saw her, we knew she wanted to see the cats. Perhaps, for more photos of the strangely patterned "kittens" that we had adopted.

"Alright, everybody!" demanded my sister. "We need you to sneeze and turn back into kittens for a while. I see Harumi-san at the door."

Some do the Akatsuki members tried to cough and turn themselves back into kittens again, though others just stood there and did nothing. However, none of them were able to turn back into normal again, and I became slightly frightened.

"It's not working," confirmed Zetsu. "Why don't we just eat her, then? That way, she won't find out or tell anybody that we're really not kittens."

I quickly shook my head. "N-No, Zetsu-san! You can't eat Harumi-san! I'm pretty sure we can turn you into kittens just in time!"

My eyes quickly scanned the room for something to turn them back into cats, and eventually landed on a small, feathery object sitting in the back of the living room by the couch.

A duster.

Racing towards the couch, I grabbed it, then immediately began to tickle the closest member of the Akatsuki — which happened to be Deidara — on the nose. Five seconds after I had tickled him with the duster, he sneezed, filling the room with white smoke. Without turning to see if Deidara had turned back into Firework, I continued to tickle each member on the nose.

Eventually, all of them had poofed back into cats except for Tobi, whose nose was hidden by the mask he wore. Deciding that he probably did not want to take off his mask in front of all of us, I handed him the duster and told him to sneeze in the bathroom. Tobi nodded, rushing into the bathroom.

After we heard the poof, I immediately opened the door to reveal another cloud of white smoke, which made me back away slightly. A second later, Fuzzsticks emerged from the giant smoke cloud, and immediately began bouncing up and down upon the realization that he had turned back into a kitten.

While my siblings were gathering all of the cats together, I took the time to note that although we had bleached the hair of half of the Akatsuki, all of them kept their original fur color.

Assembling all ten cats together, Kaiya opened the door, and luckily, Harumi-san was still there.

"Good morning, everyone!" she greeted. "I bet you're all wondering what I'm doing at your house, right?"

Naoki nodded. "How did you even get our address, anyway? We never gave it to you or anybody else."

She shrugged. "Your neighbors kind of pointed your house out for me, since they knew which one it was. They said that the house had been quite loud lately, but then again, you've got all of your wonderful cats with you."

Harumi-san eyed the kittens curiously, and smiled as her gaze fell upon Fuzzsticks. Remembering the kind woman who had taken his picture a couple of weeks ago, he bounced up and down playfully, mewing happily.

"Ah," she said, watching Fuzzsticks playfully bat the ears of the other kitties, obviously annoying them. "Fuzzsticks, wasn't it?"

She gently picked up the black and orange cat, and he squirmed around in her arms delightedly, swatting at her fingers.

"Anyway," I began, "Harumi-san, what are you doing at our house, exactly? Did you come just to see our adorable little kitties?"

"Mainly," she confirmed. "Fuzzsticks, especially. Have you heard the news on the street about him yet?"

All of us shook their heads, but Tiger's and Angel's eyes widened significantly. Firework glared at Fuzzsticks, who shrank back in fear of the angry yellow kitten.

"We haven't heard anything," Kaiya said, her eyes widening as well. "Wait, did that photo—"

"Yes," Harumi-san nodded, cutting my sister off. "My boss was amazed by the kitten breed that you had found, and actually inspected the photo about fifty times to make sure I didn't photoshop a polaroid or something. Once he figured out that everything about the picture was real, he sent the photo to his friends, who sent the photo to their friends, who sent the photo to their friends, who sent the photo to—"

"We get it," Naoki interrupted. "So, how popular is the photo now, exactly?"

"There are many people, especially my niece, who want to see the kitten," Harumi-san explained, and Kaiya let out a gasp. "And when I told her that there were more than just the one in the picture, she literally squealed. In fact, she's sitting in my car right now, waiting to see what the other colorful kittens look like."

Slightly frightened, all of the kittens backed away except for Fuzzsticks, who was still bouncing up and down in Harumi-san's arms. The woman decided to put him down, disappointing him slightly, but I quickly reassured him by scratching behind his ears and stroking his fur.

Harumi-san took a good look at some of the other kittens, then without warning, she grabbed Dragon. He looked as if he were ready to blast her with water, but one fierce glare from Sasuke was enough to calm him down, but he still glared at the woman.

"Just when I thought that the patterns couldn't get any cooler," she mumbled to herself, "this one looks exactly like a cross between a shark and a cat. I mean, he's even got gill-like markings on his cheeks!"

Because he really is half-shark, I thought to myself. But she'll never know about the Akatsuki, just as long as nobody starts spraying lavender perfume everywhere. Then, we'd all be in trouble.

"That's Dragon!" I told her, stroking the large blue kitten's head. He growled for a few seconds, then decided to let the situation go and purred contentedly, squirming around.

Suddenly, a loud voice came from outside, by our front porch.

"Yuna-oba-san!" a little girl squealed, and I quickly determined that the voice belonged to Harumi-san's niece. Somehow, she had gotten out of the car by herself, surprising her aunt. "Are the kittens in there? Can I see them? Please?"

Shaking her head at her niece, she replied, "The kittens are in there, Mayu-chan. But please be very gentle and quiet with them. If you make too much of a racket, you might scare them."

"Okay!" she responded, bursting into the house. Now, I could tell that she was a girl about a year younger than me, with black curls and a large blue bow on her head. I blinked at her, noting how much she resembled a young version of Harumi-san, then smiled, grabbing Fuzzsticks and holding him in my arms.

"You must be Mayu-chan!" I greeted, and Fuzzsticks mewed at her. "Did you come here to see Fuzzsticks and the kittens?"

She nodded, squealing as soon as she saw Fuzzsticks. "Yes, I did! Fuzzsticks looks even more adorable up close!"

"I know, right?" I agreed. Mayu extended her arms, and I gently handed her Fuzzsticks, who immediately began squirming around in her arms as well. I watched as Mayu's expression began to light up as she began to pet the bouncing kitty.

"Are there more?" she asked my sister, and Kaiya nodded.

"Nine more for you to play with," she said, prompting some cats such as Twinkleshine and Warthog to run towards the couch. But before both of them could go anywhere, Yukio quickly snatched both of them, and Naoki held onto Sasuke and Yin-Yang, even though neither one of them had bothered to flee. Kaiya quickly scooped up Firework and Rosie, handing them to Mayu.

"Those two look really cute!" she exclaimed. Rosie immediately twitched over and over, and so did Firework, but to a lesser extent. He was also trying not to laugh at Rosie's misery, while the red-furred kitten glowered at the laughing yellow cat. Nevertheless, both of them flailed wildly when Mayu began hugging them tightly.

"They're called Firework and Rosie," Yukio told her. "I think you should put them down, Mayu-chan. Although they are some of the cutest kittens in the kindle, they don't take too kindly to hugs. Especially ones that would potentially suffocate them.

"Oh!" Mayu quickly put the cats down out of fear that she might accidentally kill them, guilt visible on her face. "I'm sorry!"

I shook my head. "Actually, I had the same reaction. However, who can help it! Those two may not be the sweetest, but they most certainly are the most tempting to cuddle with!"

Bouncing up and down to show emphasis on my statement, I grinned, watching Mayu run to each of my siblings to stroke the cats that were in their arms. All of the kittens had normal, calm reactions to being petted, aside from the two that Yukio was holding. Twinkleshine immediately yowled in protest — though he allowed Mayu to pet him — Warthog swiped his claws at her, making her flinch.

"They can be a bit grouchy at times," Yukio quickly explained, though I could tell that he wanted to douse the two mischievous cat in lavender perfume and punish them so badly. Unfortunately, he could not do that in the presence of Mayu and Harumi-san.

When she finished, Mayu immediately embraced her aunt. "Thank you for taking me to see the kittens, Yuna-oba-san!"

Harumi-san hugged her back, then turned back to us. "Can we come over to visit the kittens every now and then? I mean, once or twice a month?"

Kaiya thought about it for a moment, then nodded, surprising me. But then again, if we had declined, then that might have raised Harumi-san's suspicions. Well, I actually didn't know if she was a fan of Naruto and the Akatsuki, but we could not afford to take any risks.

"Well," said Harumi-san, preparing to leave. "I must be going. I think I'll be able to see you kids again on Halloween, once my work shift ends. I work at my pet shop on the weekends, but on top of that, I have a babysitting job to do as well."

"Ooh!" squealed Mayu. "Yuna-oba-san, do you show the kids you babysit the photo of Fuzzsticks?"

She nodded. "Every single one of them. I mean, I babysit different kids every week, so maybe about fifty or so know about Fuzzsticks. Be slightly careful if you take the poor black and orange kitten for a walk, in case any of them bombard you. Goodness! Those kids can be quite a handful when it comes to baby animals...just wait until you take them to a petting zoo…"

We all giggled, watching her and Mayu walk out the door, the latter grinning widely at us. Once they had gone into their van, Naoki shut the door, sighing in slight relief.

Taking a bottle of Asuka lavender perfume from the kitchen shelf, she sprayed each of the kittens with it, and backed up quickly just before the columns of white smoke exploded in her face.

When the smoke cleared, all of the Akatsuki stood there in what they had been wearing before I had tickled them. Most of them sighed in relief upon being turned back into humans again. At first, I had been slightly upset that we may have had to bleach their hair again, but their hair was still dyed the same colors.

"That little brat called us cute," Sasori growled. I laughed, and so did Deidara, even though he was dubbed as an adorable little furry, too.

"It's the thing with kittens," Kaiya giggled at Sasori's demise. "Regardless of what they do, they're always cute to people, like us. Nobody can resist a ball of soft fur, large, pitiful eyes, and a fluffy little tail. But then again, Harumi-san and Mayu-chan cannot learn about your true identities."

Pein and Konan nodded in unison. "It is far too dangerous if anybody other than you and your siblings discovers that we are the Akatsuki," said Konan. "You can't even tell Daichi, even though he's been your best friend for ages. It's fine if you tell everybody that you have kittens, but not a word about the Akatsuki."

Upon hearing Daichi's name again, Kaiya blushed, then hid her face in her hands. I smirked lightly, but kept my eyes looking innocent.

"Are you sure you're not going to tell him?" I told her, causing her to blush even more. "I think you should go and take the risk, onee-chan!"

Kaiya shook her head sadly. "Remember what I said, imouto? It's not really worth the risk. I treasure our friendship more, but then again, maybe you're right. Perhaps I'm just stalling because I don't know how to tell him."

"Maybe write Daichi a letter," suggested Deidara. "Or drop some more hints, un. But I would prefer that you try the letter or just a normal confession, since he's so dense."

Suddenly, Kisame's expression lit up, surprising Deidara, who was standing in front of him.

"I've got it!" Kisame said, his eyes sparkling. "Let's set up a date for them without letting Daichi know!"

Kaiya flushed bright red. "D-D-Date?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed excitedly. "While Kaiya and the others are at school, we can secretly sneak some of you out in order to set up something romantic by a nearby park. Zetsu can scout the park in disguise and find the perfect gazebo, and we can set up a date there. Then, Tobi and I can find wildflowers and then have Kakuzu place them all around the gazebo as if they naturally grew there. Next, we can sneak Konan and Itachi out of school in order to have both of them prepare some snacks, since they are both great at cooking. Once the snacks have been prepared, I can steal a table and two chairs from a nearby place, but if there is nothing nearby, we can just take some from the house. Finally, we can have Tobi use a Fireball Jutsu to light up a few candles to enhance the romantic atmosphere."

"That's quite organized," commented Naoki. "But how exactly are you going to get Daichi to go to the park?"

"Deidara and Sasori can come in and do that," he smirked, showing all of us his sharp teeth in a wide, toothy grin. "Since they both know Daichi from school, they can tell him that something wonderful is happening in the park, as long as it's realistic and believable. Do any of you know how gullible the boy is?"

Deidara nodded. "He's super dense, un. I mean, Kaiya was able to trick him into thinking that we all transferred to Kestrel Heights High School from a country called Japan. He accepted that without any doubt at all."

"Good," remarked Kisame. "Okay, so you and Sasori can tell him that there was something pretty, like a ton of fireflies or rare flowers, at the gazebo. Then, by the time he gets to the gazebo, Kaiya will already be there, sitting at the table. Hopefully, there, you can tell him how you fell without any difficulty. And then, hand him a nice flower, such as a classic red rose. I know, it should be the other way around, but since you're the one who has a crush on him, it's perfectly okay if you hand it to him as a declaration of your feelings for him. Then, you two can officially become a couple, without any problems at all!"

Once Kisame had finished explaining his elaborate plan to everyone, every single Akatsuki member looked at him in shock, including Itachi. Most of their jaws had dropped, especially Hidan, Itachi, and Naoki.

"Wow, Kisame," breathed Deidara in disbelief. "I had no idea that you had a hidden love guru side to you, un. Based on the way you behave during battles, I honestly never thought that you would have such a thing in you."

Kisame puffed his chest, grinning like a show-off. "Well, back when I was a young boy in Kirigakure, they didn't call me the Love Whisperer for nothing."

Suddenly, he was greeted by a slap in the face from none other than my brother, Yukio. Kisame rubbed his cheek, unsure why the boy had suddenly attacked him like that.

"Don't get so cocky, fish-head," he muttered. "But still, how are you going to do all of this while staying—"

"Transform!" shouted Kisame, with Kakuzu, Pein, and Zetsu copying his hand signs. The room filled with smoke again, but quickly cleared as it revealed four normal-looking boys.

The first boy, who I assumed to be Kisame, grinned at the other half of the Akatsuki as Deidara and Hidan watched in shock.

"Did you really expect us to do absolutely nothing while you all left us alone for six hours in the morning?" he asked us. "It took us four days to finally re-master it, but we all have the Henge no Jutsu down! Right now, we can all last for up to five hours in this form!"

The others nodded, and the five made the hand signs again, transforming back into their normal selves.

Having been silent the whole time, Kaiya's face turned pink, then she nodded.

"I kind of like that plan, actually," she commented, making Kisame grin wider. "Maybe the romantic and flowery ambiance might allow me to say the words to him, but still, we'll have to see tomorrow. For now, we should all get ready for our weekly share of feelings, since it's close to dusk."

Naoki and Yukio nodded, and I clapped and cheered.

"Deidara," Kaiya grinned, turning to him, "I believe that you are going to enjoy this weekly tradition a lot."

Later that evening, the sky had turned dark: perfect for lighting up the night sky and sharing our thoughts about the week with my family's parents. I had never known nor met them at all, but if they were the parents of the family that adopted me, then they were my parents, too.

Kaiya dragged out a cardboard box from her room, and Naoki ushered all of the Akatsuki members outside onto the balcony. When Deidara saw the box and what was inside, he smirked happily, but Sasori just sighed.

"Fireworks!" cried Tobi, bouncing up and down. "Yay! Tobi wants to launch one into the sky!"

Kaiya smiled, delighted that the Akatsuki were more or less excited about firing the explosives. "I feel like I've explained some parts of the tradition to you guys when I was coming up with a name for Deidara when he was a kitten. But still, let's make sure our firework colors represent our feelings."

She started by reaching into the large box and pulling out a silver firework.

"Really, it was all a mix of feelings," she explained. "I'm not sure exactly how to feel, but then again, who knows what to feel when you sneak a bunch of criminals from another world into your high school?"

With that, she stepped out of the way to place her firework on the launching site, the edge of the balcony. Then, my two brothers stood up to choose their fireworks. Like Kaiya had, both of them chose silver as well.

"For the same reason," muttered Naoki, and Yukio nodded in agreement.

Once they had stepped aside to place their fireworks on the edge, I rushed towards the box, grabbing a golden firework the moment I saw it.

"I would have grabbed a silver one," I admitted, "but this week was rather...weird, in both good and bad ways. Still, this week made me feel special, with new friends and members being added to our loving family!"

Jumping away to hand my firework to Kaiya, I stood by my brothers as Kaiya motioned for the members of the Akatsuki to step towards the box.

"How did you guys feel this week?" she asked them.

"I don't exactly know how I felt this week, un," said Deidara, and everybody except for Tobi, Konan, and Pein nodded. "But it was definitely a mix of good and bad feelings, since we all had fun when we came here, even though we were quite lost and annoyed with our situation at first."

In the back of the group of Akatsuki members, Tobi bounced up and down. "Tobi had a lot of fun with Kagami-chan at the carnival! Tobi feels very special!"

Kaiya giggled, then handed silver fireworks to everybody who agreed with Deidara. To Tobi, she handed a golden firework to him, making sure that he didn't drop it or anything as he carefully placed it on the edge of the balcony, along with the rest of the members.

"Pein-san and Konan-chan?" I asked the two remaining members. "What color fireworks are you going to set off tonight?"

"Is there one for being very deep in thought about things such as the past?" inquired Konan.

Kaiya nodded. "That's exactly what purple fireworks are for: reminiscing about the past. We definitely chose a lot of those fireworks at the beginning of this tradition, so you're perfectly fine. You don't have to tell us exactly what you were thinking about, but repeat it in your head when you bring a match to the fuse."

With that, she handed them two purple fireworks to place on the edge, while Naoki quickly grabbed the box of matches and handed one to everybody. However, since I could not reach the area where my firework was placed, Kaiya usually lighted my firework for me.

"Please hear us, otou-san and okaa-san," said Kaiya, lighting her match. As soon as we all saw the flickering little flame at the edge of the stick, everybody lit their match as well, though Tobi dropped his. Luckily, Yukio caught it just in time before it hit the ground.

"We have introduced ten new members to our family," Kaiya went on. "I hope you don't mind the fact that there will be some company at our house for quite some time."

She placed her match to the fuse, and everybody else held their flame to theirs. Once all of the fireworks were lit, we all quickly blew out our matches and backed up as the fireworks began to zoom off into the night sky.

One by one, each and every one of them exploded, filling the night with tons of silver and gold sparkles, as well as a few bright purple ones from Konan's and Pein's fireworks. Deidara gazed at the sky in awe, seeming glad that he could watch explosions again after being restricted ever since he had landed in our world.

"And let's hope that we all have another incredible week!" I finished, and everybody clapped and cheered.


A/N: And there you go! This was one of the chapters I have been waiting to write for a while, so I hope you enjoyed! If you did, please leave a review to let me know!

Question: Do you play any musical instruments? I used to play piano, but I didn't have enough time for it...

Peace out, folks!

— Tenshi —