Chapter 3 Walking the Dangerous Road
All of the kittens snapped their head back. Tobi squealed and jumped onto Deidara, which caused them to tumble down the stairs. The other Akatsuki couldn't tell how far they fell because they couldn't see anything but darkness and a few streaks of sunlight. After a few seconds, their eyes adjusted to the darkness and they saw both Deidara and Tobi at the bottom of the stairs, both appeared still. The kittens jumped down the rest of the steps and checked to see that Tobi and Deidara were alive.
"Good, they're only unconscious," Pein mewed. He prodded at them with his paw until they awoke. "Are you alright?" Pein asked.
"Uh, yeah," Deidara mewed groggily. He blinked his sky blue eyes a few times before getting up and giving himself a shake.
"Tobi's scared," Tobi whimpered. He looked around frightfully. Then when he saw a dark shape in the shadows he shrieked.
"What do you see, Tobi?" Pein asked. He looked in the direction that Tobi was and saw a dark shape. Then he heard laughing as Hidan walked out of the shadows.
"Hahahaha! That was f***ing good! S***, I can't believe you f***ing fell for that," Hidan laughed. But Tobi was still looking scared and so were all of the Akatsuki. A few of them arched their backs while others crouched trying to look invisible.
"What? What the f*** are you all f***ing looking at?" Hidan mewed. He felt something brush his tail and he felt his fur along his spine prickle. He turned around and saw a giant, hairy spider looking at him with its many beady little eyes.
"Oh my f***ing Jashin. What the f*** is that?" Hidan yowled. The spider lunged toward the dark gray and light gray. In panic, he rapidly scratched the spider with his tiny kitten claws then retreated with the rest of the Akatsuki.
"That's what shocked Nekki," Sasori mewed calmly but inside he was scared out of his mind.
"What do we do Pein-sama?" Konan asked. She looked into Pein's gray eyes with fright.
"We have to do something about it. We can't have it running around the house," Pein meowed. He turned his orange head towards Zetsu. "What do you know about this spider? Why is it so large?" Pein asked.
"That is a goliath bird-eating spider. By it's name you can obviously tell what it eats," Zetsu mewed. The spider began to crawl towards the kittens. It raised its legs in an attacking position (you know like on National Geographic or something when the people poke it with a stick?). The sunset light from the window shone eerily like blood on the legs of the spider. The Akatsuki hissed and arched their backs at the spider.
"Stay back you f***ing b****ing b******!" Hidan. He snarled and hissed at the spider and bared his teeth.
"Hidan, calm down. We don't want to provoke it," Pein commanded. He placed his tail on Hidan's tense shoulders. Hidan backed away and relaxed.
"Zetsu, what should we do?" Pein asked. He turned to the black, white, and green kitten.
"I suggest we kill it. But I want to eat it after it's dead," Zetsu mewed.
"Okay then. But how do we kill it?" Pein pressed. He looked at Zetsu with his gray eyes and kept them fixed in an intense stare. Zetsu turned away, obviously pressured by Pein's gaze.
"We need to disable its fangs so it can't inject venom in us. Then we need to get its legs, Pein-sama," Zetsu explained. "Each of us will attack either a leg or a fang,"Zetsu instructed.
"Alright, that will work out because there are ten of us," Pein mewed. "Be careful everyone. Konan, go after a leg. I don't want you getting hurt by the spider's fangs."
"I'll handle the other f***ing fang," Hidan growled.
"Akatsuki, attack!" Pein yowled. The Akatsuki yowled in unison and charged towards the goliath bird-eating spider. Pein and Hidan attacked it head on aiming for its fangs. The spider reared up in an attacking position and leapt towards them. They dodged and used their claws to slice the fangs. But their claws weren't strong enough to cut it. The rest of the Akatsuki were attempting to scratch the legs off the spider with no luck. When the spider realized it's legs were being attacked, it whirled around and tried to bite the Akatsuki kittens. They all dodged but Tobi froze in fright and got bitten by the spider.
"Ooooww!" Tobi cried in agony. The spider's fang sank into Tobi's shoulder and he started to wail in pain. "Help me! Help!" Tobi screeched. He fell and his legs were flailing about and his eyes were wide with fear.
"Someone help Tobi!" Pein commanded. He sidestepped one of the spider's attacks. "Hurry!" Deidara sighed as he stepped away from the spider and grabbed Tobi by the scruff of his neck.
"He's a pain in the a** and I don't want him crying to me afterward, un," Deidara mewed through a mouthful of fur. He dragged him away from the battle that was still brewing.
"Attack the joints! Idiots!" Zetsu yowled. He launched himself at one of the spider's leg joints. The leg gave way and snapped and the spider shook its broken limb. Bug blood oozed out of the opening and splattered across the kittens' fur.
"Attack!" Pein yowled. He sprang on top of the spider's abdomen and sank his teeth into it. The spider started to wave its legs around and ran in circles. The rest of the Akatsuki scratched and bit the joints of the spider's legs. A couple of them snapped off. Hidan managed to cut off one of the fangs and was now attacking the remaining fang. The spider hobbled around on its remaining legs, fell, then curled up and died.
"Akatsuki, the battle is over," Pein panted. All of the Akatsuki weren't really wounded but they were tired and covered in the spider's blood.
"Where's Tobi?" Konan asked. Deidara pointed his tail towards the stairs where Tobi was lying down, moaning.
"What do we do, un?" Deidara asked.
"Someone should get the kid," Itachi mewed.
"Good idea," Pein concluded. "Let's all go up, but someone should stay with Tobi."
"I'll stay," Zetsu's white half offered. "I wanted to eat it." Zetsu's black half grumbled.
"Fine. Do whatever you want. But the rest of us are going upstairs for the boy" Pein mewed. He clambered up the stairs followed by the other Akatsuki. When he tried to open the closed door, it wouldn't budge. When the rest of the Akatsuki came up, they all tried to open the door.
"F*** this s***," Hidan grumbled. "HEY B*******! OPEN THE F***ING DOOR!" Hidan yowled at the top of his tiny kitten lungs. The Akatsuki kittens waited for Nekki to come open the door but he didn't come.
"That's a good idea. Everyone, make as much noise as possible. That should get his attention," Pein commanded. Immediately all of the other Akatsuki yowled, hissed, and screeched to get Nekki to come to the door. After a few seconds, the Akatsuki stopped to catch their breath.
"I don't think it's working Pein-sama," Kakuzu hissed. "Great idea s***head!" Kakuzu mewed sarcastically to Hidan.
"F*** you, Kakuzu," Hidan panted. He launched himself towards Kakuzu and they both tumbled down the stairs. All of the kittens sighed.
"Do they have to fight here?" Sasori asked. He arched his back and stretched. Hidan and Kakuzu were still fighting even when Itachi and Kisame ran down to break it up.
"Will you two stop already?" Itachi hissed. He glared at Hidan and Kakuzu with his red eyes. "If I had my sharingan…" Itachi threatened. He gave them both a cold stare before turning and climbing back up the stairs.
"I don't give a s*** about your sharingan," Hidan mewed.
"But Itachi's right. You guys shouldn't fight here. We should continue to make noise so that we can be rescued," Pein ordered. He let out a loud yowl and then wailed a bit.
"D*** Pein-sama. I didn't know you could scream like that," Konan meowed.
"Well I sort of have to, to get the boy's attention," Pein murmured. The rest of the Akatsuki started to make loud noises until the door opened and Nekki was in the doorway.
"W-what were you guys doing in there?" Nekki stammered. The Akatsuki kittens mewed at him and turned their heads to the bottom of the stairs.
"Y-you were down there? Wait," Nekki paused. He stood a while to count the number of kittens. He gasped, "Where are the other two?"
The Akatsuki mewed and jumped down the steps.
"D-do we h-have t-to go d-down t-there?" Nekki stuttered. He gulped. I don't want to go down there, the spider is there! The kittens mewed at him and waved their tails at the bottom of the stairs. Nekki grabbed the mallet on the ground and turned on the lights and gasped. He saw all of the kittens surrounding the black kitten with an orange spot. The kitten was flailing about on the floor moaning and howling.
"Don't worry kitten, I'm coming," Nekki said. He walked down the stairs and when he reached the bottom, Nekki almost fainted. He saw the black, white, and green kitten devouring the monster spider. That's just nasty, Nekki thought. The other kittens started meowing and pawed at his feet. They ran back over to the black and orange kitten that was now twitching and shaking violently. The young adult scooped up the kitten and noticed a bite wound on his shoulder.
"I need to get you an anti-venom," Nekki said softly but urgently. He cradled him in his arms and rushed back upstairs from the basement. The other kittens followed him. The black, white, and green kitten started to haul the half eaten carcass up the stairs. Nekki shuddered.
"Do you have to bring that?" Nekki asked the kitten. The black half nodded and the white half sort of shook his head. Cre-e-e-epy, the Asian American thought. He sighed.
"Alright, you can bring it," Nekki sighed. He carried the black and orange kitten into the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet. He took out a vial with a clear liquid in it. The young adult poured it into a syringe and stuck the needle into Tobi's skin. He squealed for a second then relaxed.
"It's okay kitten," Nekki cooed. He stroked Tobi a while to get him to calm down a bit before placing him on a pillow that he had brought in. Nekki got a towel and put some soap on it and washed Tobi's wound. He saw that the other kittens were watching him.
"Don't worry, your brother will be safe," Nekki assured. He petted the kittens' heads. "He'll be fine by tomorrow. Oh, and I almost forgot, it's also Christmas tomorrow. I've got to get ready." Nekki left to go to his room while he saw the kittens gather around the black and orange kitten.
"Are you okay Tobi?" Pein asked.
"Tobi feels numb," Tobi murmured.
"Okay. At least his injury isn't too serious. Everyone, I need a word with him," Pein mewed. All of the Akatsuki had a puzzled look on their faces but they didn't want to defy orders so they padded away. Once they were out of earshot and out of sight, Tobi's eyes turned red.
"Pein, we can't stay here. We have to get back," Tobi said in a deeper voice than his usual happy voice.
"Yes Madara-sama," Pein mewed. He bowed his head.
"I let my guard down but don't be too concerned. That antidote the boy gave me is working. I'll be fine," Madara meowed.
"Good to hear, Madara-sama."
"You can go. But we need to leave when we're bigger."
"Yes Madara-sama."
Madara's eyes faded to a black and he mewed, "Tobi's a good boy!" Nekki came back downstairs and saw that the kittens had moved into the living room and were playing with the sparkly streamer/rope.
"Well, I see you all like that," Nekki said. He picked up the streamer/rope and twirled it around in front of the kittens' faces. A few of them batted at it while the gray kitten grabbed on. The kittens that were previously playing with the streamer/rope were now batting at the gray kitten.
"Hey! F*** off b******s!" Hidan hissed. He grabbed the streamer/rope with his mouth and scratched any of the other kittens if they attempted to swat him.
"You're the one on the string, un. You're blocking it from us," Deidara mewed innocently. He swatted Hidan when he swung around.
"I think this is more fun than before," Kakuzu teased.
"F*** you," Hidan growled. He scratched Kakuzu when he came around and let go of the streamer/rope and fell on top of Kakuzu. The two of them began to fight.
"Careful you two," Konan warned. It was too late, however, they tumbled into a box of decorations.
"Bah, those fools," Zetsu's white half mumbled. He was still eating the spider that he had dragged up from the basement.
"Ew," Konan mewed in disgust.
"Geez, you guys. You're always fighting," Nekki said. He picked them up by the scruffs of their necks and they instantly went limp. The other kittens' eye's widened.
"How did he do that, un?" Deidara asked.
"Look how he's holding them," Sasori mewed. The Akatsuki kittens all looked at Nekki.
"He's holding them by the scruff of their necks," Kisame noticed.
"So next time they fight all we need to do is grab them by their scruffs," Pein mewed. He walked out of the bathroom and had heard the conversation.
"Pein-sama!" the kittens mewed in unison. They turned their heads to face their leader. "Keep that in mind next time thy start to fight."
"Listen up kittens," Nekki started. He placed Hidan and Kakuzu on the floor in front of his feet. "We're going to decorate the house with, well, decorations!" Nekki said excitedly. A couple of the kittens' heads tilted in curiosity.
"The decorations are in these boxes," Nekki said pointing towards a tower of cardboard boxes. "You guys are gonna tell me where to put them. If you see a spot that's good for the decoration that I have, get to where the place is so I know where to put it," Nekki explained. The kittens' heads nodded.
When they were done decorating, the house was covered in garlands, snowmen, Santas, mini Christmas trees, reindeer, and a bunch of other decorations. Nekki and the kittens were in awe of their work.
"Well, I think we did a pretty bang-up job!" Nekki exclaimed. The kittens meowed in unison. Nekki smiled and picked up all of the kittens and walked over to the kitchen and placed them all on the counter.
"Who agrees with me that it's time for dinner?" Nekki asked the kittens. All of the kittens mewed. Nekki laughed and went up to the refrigerator and opened the door. He took out a freshly caught fish wrapped in plastic. The Akatsuki kittens turned their heads in curiosity.
"Instead of chicken, I'm giving you some fish instead 'cause I figured you were tired of chicken," Nekki explained. He took the fish out of the plastic and took out a cutting board and a very sharp knife. He then prepared the fish. When the fish was scaled and separated from the skin and bones, Nekki got out a pan and some garlic oil and turned the stove on. He placed the pan on the burner and poured some oil on it. After a few minutes, the oil was crackling and Nekki placed the fish on the pan. The fish crackled like fireworks and smelled delicious. The kittens licked their lips in anticipation. He sprinkled some spices on the fish and let it sizzle.
"I think you're going to like this," Nekki said. When the fish was fully cooked, Nekki used a spatula to pick up some of the fish and placed it on a large plate. He then sprinkled some herbs onto the plate of fish.
"Voila! Dinner is served!" Nekki announced. Once he placed the plate on the floor, the kittens swarmed the plate like a school of piranhas. Nekki laughed and put a bowl of water down for the kittens.
"Your eating dinner, and now it's time for me to eat dinner," Nekki said as he picked up the rest of the fish in the pan and put it on a plate. He got himself a fork and dug into his dinner.
"This is some f***ing good fish!" Hidan mewed with his mouth full.
"Must you talk right now? I was enjoying this until you spoke," Kakuzu sighed. Hidan growled at him and continued eating.
"Tobi likes fish!" Tobi meowed. He waved his tail while he ate and bounced in place.
"Just shut up and eat," Deidara mumbled. When the Akatsuki kittens were done eating, they walked away from the plate that still had some fish on it.
"I see that you're done. But you didn't finish," Nekki observed. "That's okay. I can save that for breakfast." He got up and picked up the plate and scraped the leftover fish into a container then put the container into the refrigerator. Nekki cleaned up the kitchen and stove while the kittens gathered around the Christmas tree.
"My little gifts," Nekki whispered to himself when he saw the kittens under the tree. "I'm going upstairs. You're welcome to come up," Nekki told the kittens. He walked up the stairs and noticed all ten kittens following him. When he got to his bedroom, he picked up his pajamas and walked to the bathroom.
"I'm going to change in the bathroom but you guys can go in my room. You don't have to wait for me," Nekki said. The kittens then padded into Nekki's room and got comfortable.
Nekki has a smallish room with a plain bed with blue and green sheets and blankets, desk, bookshelf, and dresser. On the desk was a lamp, little cat figurines, one of those solar powered money cats, and a rack of pens and pencils. On the dresser was a wooden analog clock and a creepy looking lamp.
Sasori, Pein, and Konan had jumped up on the dresser and were looking at the photos.
"These look like his parents, Pein-sama," Sasori mewed indicating the couple in one of the photographs. The woman was wearing a cotton shirt and a checkered apron and the man was wearing denim overalls and a plaid shirt.
"They look like country folk judging by the clothes they're wearing," Konan observed.
"Who's this?" Sasori asked pointing his tail towards the photo of a tall, elegant girl standing next to a young boy. She had a mature look on her face and looked like she was ruffling the boy's hair.
"She looks like she could be Nekki-san's sister and he," Konan mewed.
"I do not think that the little boy is Nekki. His hair and eye colors are different," Sasori mewed. His yellow/brown eyes showed a serious look but his face was still his usual bored expression.
"Maybe we can ask him when he gets out of the bathroom?" Konan suggested.
"Good idea," Pein meowed. He sat down and curled his tail around his paws. Sasori washed himself and Konan sat next to Pein. Hidan and Kakuzu were arguing on the desk examining the cat figurines. Itachi was looking at the titles of books from the bookshelf and Kisame was watching Hidan and Kakuzu bicker. Deidara was examining a cat figurine made of clay. Tobi was playing with Zetsu's tail and Zetsu was pawing at a dust bunny.
"I see you guys are comfortable," Nekki said. His nightshirt was a baggy shirt with two dragons on it with flame designs and a Ying-yang symbol behind the dragons. His boxers were neon yellow. "So, how's it goin' kittens?" The orange and cream kitten was meowing at him as well as the blue and light blue kitten.
"Waddaya want?" Nekki asked. He saw that they were on his dresser and sitting in front of the photos. "Do ya want to know who the people are in the photos? Alright, I tell you guys." Nekki walked over to his dresser and sat on the bed, which is next to the dresser. He slid all of the framed photos onto his lap. Nekki held up the picture on his parents. Kakuzu, Hidan, Itachi, Tobi, Zetsu, Kisame, and Deidara all padded over the Nekki and gathered around his feet.
"You guys probably figured out that these are my parents," Nekki said holding up the photo for the kittens to see. "We lived on a farm before I went to collage and moved. It was great there." Nekki picked up another photograph that was of the tall, elegant girl ruffling the hair of the young boy. He sighed. "That is my big sister. I looked up to her more than anyone. But…" He sobbed and wiped away a tear. "She died."