A/N: This story is a rather confusing drabblish thing I came up with in about the span of an hour. It isn't very good, and I won't blame you if you review only to tell me how much it sucks. Still…I hope you find some enjoyment in this.
Disclaimer: -insert witty statement here about how I don't own Naruto or any of its characters-
Each day blended into the next in a never-ending swirl of the pain of broken memories, and existence itself was an unreal blur of empty routine. They'd wake up, fulfill only the most basic needs, and perhaps train. Their hearts were broken, different chunks taken out of each. The gaps were a constant throbbing undertone in their gray lives, and not even the most potent painkillers breached the surface. Their thoughts were always on the same person, always asking the same question:
How am I still here when I'm in so much pain?
The question was impossible to answer, but both the cat and fox found they were at their closest to answering it when they were together.
This revelation first came to the cat almost half a year after their other third left, and as such it was first to act on it. The cat approached the fox for the first time in months, and their training spars began, along with their daily visits to the fox's favorite restaurant. Their reconnecting was the catalyst that began the long road to repairing the gaps in their hearts. Repairing was probably not the right word to use for it, though; they both filled the gaps in each others' hearts, fixing themselves only when they were together.
The fox was stronger than the cat at first, but the intelligent feline fixed that quickly under a slug. The fox trained with a toad, increasing its already amazing skill. The cat always insisted that the fox give its best during their spars, and it reluctantly complied, but only because it was the cat asking. The cat adapted quickly, surviving each blow and immediately locking its memory away so it would not be fooled twice. The fox learned only a little slower, but its determination kept it improving, if only to help the cat become stronger. They thrived on each others' power, both reaching a level of strength that left their peers in awe. By the time the fox and cat were seventeen, their power was far past that of their mentors, and they were inseparable. It was at this time that the slug sent them out to find their lost third, the raven.
The raven had taken the mentoring of a snake, only to kill it at age sixteen. At that time it formed a group by the same name, and set out to kill a weasel that was in reality the root of the raven's betrayal. Ironically enough, it was during the battle between the raven and weasel that the fox and cat found their third, and it was only thanks to the cat's quick thinking and the fox's endless endurance that the weasel was finally killed and the raven saved.
The raven was disagreeable to their aid, though, and refused to return to their village. The cat did not accept his words like it would have years ago; the raven was left in shock when it suddenly was immobilized and slung over the cat's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Fox and cat simply laughed at the ravens shock, together for the first time in five years.
The trio was finally back together, and a fox and cat had found something more.
A/N: …Wow. That came out differently than I expected...if you think that was completely terrible, I'll understand. At least review if you were able to figure out who is who (though it's pretty easy…) and just to assure me that you actually read this instead of accidentally clicking on the link and not even giving this a chance.
Remember…reviews are a writer like me's life-source!
Mikari, the authoress who had no idea where this drabble came from, and is going to go ponder this question over a cup of iced tea