Foosha: Say, I have a random fact for you all! I made a new picture that includes Nicky, Vash and Rin and Nicky looks extremely tall. The random fact is, Nicky is 5"5 and Vash is just 4"11. The poor dear. So in reality they are all short, though I guess Rin has an excuse.
Vash: *eye twitch* Are you talking about me by chance, Foosha? If so, I would be careful. *cracks knuckles*
Foosha: *picks up a bat from the floor and holds it protectively* Ehehehehe…. Anyways… Thanks for the reviews from my regulars; (haha! I have regulars, crazy!) Chillybean, Hex Aether, DeeaE, Yuti-Chan, and ICanHasCheezburgr! I have much love for you all *air hugs*. Thanks for the favs and story add things too all you people who did that! I love you too :D. And a special thank-you to Dom (Rin's creator) and Kim for being awesome as always.
Nicky: Anyways… let's get on with the story already! I hate cliff-hangers. I mean… how can popcorn just disappear?
Foosha: *sits in a dark corner* I know I know… how could I forget about the popcorn? Stupid stupid stupid…
Vash: Foosha doesn't own Naruto ideas or persons or video game references or Sharper Image. Otherwise, she'd be rich and have an infinite supply of Del Nachos.
Foosha: Also! I drew my reviewers a thank-you picture. It's on my deviantart account, linked on my profile :D And please read the note at the bottom!
"Wha…what? I thought she wasn't coming back 'til next week?" I squeaked, now holding Spirit uncomfortably close to me (probably for him at least). Vash and I had been planning on figuring out how to hide the kittens from Jen, at least until we were able to properly ask her if it was all right. Now though, we would have to improvise. And that's something I'm good at. Well… not really. I'm just good at making up something so random that people end up more confused than anything and forget about what I just said. It works at least. Vash tossed her backpack on the ground and took off her shoes, placing them in the shoe rack near the door. Not something she'd usually do but, I've forced her into the habit of removing her shoes.
"Well, I've got to get cleaning. You should try to find hiding spots for the kittens. I guess Jen is finally coming down to take a look at the drain problem and will be here in an hour," she muttered and began grabbing some cleaning supplies from underneath the kitchen sink. I swallowed and looked from the kittens to Rin, who was just staring up at me, unblinking.
"You can take them to my house if you want. I'll hide them there until it's safe for them to come back," she offered while motioning to the kittens. Thank you universe for this helpful little angel child you happened to send to me! It was very convenient! …Perhaps too convenient… "How about I take a few of them right now?" And without even waiting for directions, she picked up Izaya (whom I noticed was her favorite so far), Lila, and I handed her Spirit so she could maneuver them in her arms without dropping them.
"Do you need some help?" I asked, feeling somewhat useless. Vash had taken over the household chores, and Rin had taken care of what would happen to the kittens, so… what was left? Rin looked to me and then to the ceiling as we both heard the sound of footsteps walking across the floor and to the back steps. I held my breath and picked up the remaining kittens, setting them into a blanket and using it as a make-shift basket. "I guess this will have to wait. We have to hide them now!" Hurriedly I made my way into my room, releasing the corners of the blanket so the kittens could move about. Rin followed behind me and set her three kittens on the ground with the rest.
"Where to hide you, where to hide you…" Light bulb ding! "Okay you guys, listen up. I'm gonna set you somewhere, and you guys have to stay still okay? You have to stay like that until I say it's okay to move again. Otherwise… that could be the end of keeping you guys here." The kittens looked to one another and nodded. "All right good. Now uh…" I picked up Calcifer and stuck him into one of my piles of neutral colored stuffed animals along with Professor Layton, Foofy, Izaya and Marshmallow. "That should work… Now…" I'd have to put the rest in my oddly colored batch of stuffed animals (yes I tend to arrange them by color) so I sat the rest interspersed between some of my more brightly colored plushes (meaning Spirit, Fishy, Lila, Orangey, and Ghast). "Okay now freeze and act like you're fake!" And they did, well some were having a harder time than others *cough* Marshmallow and Ghast *cough*.
"Do you think it will work?" Rin asked as we walked out of the room. I nodded slowly, hoping to believe my own words.
"Yeah… they're smart after all. I hope they can do it." And then, there was a knock at the door. "Well, it's now or never. Rin, this will be your first task as my new second-in-command. The mission is: keep the kittens hidden, okay?" She nodded her head firmly and saluted. I saluted back. "Okay, let's do this."
Kitty POV
"Exactly how long do we have to stay like this?" Sasori mumbled under his breath, not liking the idea of waiting around for something to happen.
"Until she says it's okay to come out. Otherwise, you heard what she said. We'll lose our home- I mean this place," Kisame responded, his voice equally muffled by the stuffed dolphin on top of him.
"We cannot leave this house until we have found if there is a portal or not. If there's any chance that there is, it's probably somewhere around here, where we were found," stated Pein matter-of-factly. Tobi began to squirm a bit next to him.
"Tobi doesn't want to leave, Tobi likes it here with the girlies. They feed and play with Tobi!"
"Shut up Tobi! You're going to give away our hiding spots!" Deidara hissed from across the room, earning him and Tobi a glare from Pein.
"Both of you shut up. Someone's coming."
Vash's POV
Oh god, Jen's here early. I looked up from where I was cleaning the counter to see Nicky and Rin standing near the open door, where Jen stood, clad in her usual summer attire of a tank top and shorts, her long blonde hair kept down.
"Hey! Who's this?" Argh... her son is here too… Usually I can handle kids pretty well, but this eleven year old boy could be difficult at times. I think he has ADD or something but, I'm not too sure. He was looking curiously at Rin who just blankly stared back at him. Nicky laughed nervously, she's never been very good at being under pressure. Hopefully no one realizes her nervousness.
"Oh, I'm babysitting her now. She's the next door neighbor's daughter. Her name is Rin. Rin this is Jen's son Evan. And Evan this is Rin," she introduced shakily.
"Nice to meet you," Rin answered politely. After cleaning up the supplies, I walked over to where they were standing and waved a bit at Jen. She smiled at me.
"How was your trip to Costa Rica?" I asked, somewhat interested. If I could distract her long enough, maybe Rin and Nicky could get the kittens out of there.
"Here, let's go check on your shower drain and I'll tell you about it." I nodded and followed her into the bathroom. Come on Nicky. You can do it!
Nicky's POV
"Well Rin, how about you and Evan play some of my Wii games while I continue to clean my room… Ehehehehe…" She nodded and motioned towards my bookcase filled with video games. I took the hint and tried to casually walk to my room, while passing Jen and Vash talking in the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I looked around the area, trying to figure out how to get the kitties out without anyone seeing them. "Hmm… uh… oh!" I picked up my backpack that was hanging on a wall hook. "We can use this!" Suddenly the door to the room opened and Vash walked in with Jen.
"Jen needs to see the piping in the storage room." Vash answered to my confused face. I nodded slowly and pretended like I was looking for something in my backpack. Jen looked over at me as she walked in.
"Getting ready for school already, Nicky?" I turned my head and smiled at her sheepishly.
"Uh yeah… I was just cleaning out my backpack. I am pretty excited though." It was my first semester at a large, well-known university after all, who wouldn't be stoked? She nodded and followed Vash into the door on the opposite side of the room. It led to the area for extra storage and the water heater. I looked around at the kittens to see them looking up at me. "Just a little longer guys, I'm gonna find a way to fix this, all right?" I whispered, and decided to count all the kittens, to double check they were all there. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 6, 7, 8, 9… wait, where's Izaya?" They looked around and shook their heads. Urg! Dumb cat! I'll kill him if he doesn't get caught! "Don't move or I'll dye you all pink!" And with that I stalked out of the room, calling for Izaya under my breath.
"Psst Izaya…. Pssssssst! Where you be?" I called hastily while I looked in some of the bathroom cupboards and laundry hamper.
"Hahaha! This game is awesome! Here I'll show you how to play…" That sounds like Evan… Trying to keep calm about the missing kitten, I anxiously skipped out of the room and came to a stop next to the couch to see Rin and Evan playing Super Smash Bros. Evan seemed pretty into it and was trying to show Rin what controls to use, but she seemed somewhat distracted by a black lump at her side. My face paled and my mouth dropped open, eye twitching in irritation. Is that Izaya? That little midget took him out here! At least Evan hasn't noticed him.
"Rin…" I started but, didn't get to finish as Jen and Vash's voices floated through the bathroom door. Thinking fast, I grabbed the blob that was Izaya and chucked him into the pile of blankets that rested on top of the other side of the couch. I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry! I'll make it up to you later!
"Oh sure! Evan and I didn't have any dinner plans anyway," Jen's voice stated as they walked past me. Wait… dinner? That's a terrible idea! Vashhhh… *insert mental fist shake* Vash gave me an apologetic look while she offered Jen a seat on the couch next to Evan so she could start dinner. Jen thanked her and sat down, asking Evan about the game, which he happily (and loudly) went into detail about. While they were somewhat distracted, I slipped by them and grabbed the heap of blankets Izaya had sunk into, carrying them into my room, giving Rin a scolding glance as I went by.
"Just trying to get these out of the way…" I murmured to the group before reaching the safe haven. I slid the door shut again and looked around to see some of the kittens up and about, going through my things. Wait… they were messing up my room! I instantly dropped the blankets when I saw a few stuffed animals left astray on the floor. Picking one up, I noticed a bunch of claw marks that were deep enough to cause the fluff to peek out of the wounds.
"My… my babies," I sent the darkest glare I could muster at the surrounding kittens. Holding up the stuffed animal I growled, "Who did this…?" A few of them backed up, giving me room in case I needed to freak out, except for a certain arrogant cat that I had been growing an extreme dislike towards. His little white body was posed in a proud position.
"You smug little eskimo, Marshy! Look what you did!" I shook my now "dead" stuffed animal in his face until some of the fluff covered him. Unable to contain my frustration I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, carrying him over to my dresser and plopping him in the drawer dedicated to sweats. "At least you'll be comfortable while you stay out of trouble," I mumbled, closing him inside, but leaving it open a crack so he wouldn't suffocate. No matter how much I disliked him, I would never kill him… on purpose. I turned to the rest of the cats, my annoyance subsiding.
"Okay guys, I know your antsy, but just stay in this room. We're having dinner here so don't let her see you! I don't wanna lose you guys…" I frowned and picked up each kitten, kissing them on the head (except for Marshmallow of course). "I'll be back to check on you in a bit. Just be good okay? Oh and sorry Izaya for throwing you, I was out of options." He turned away from me, not seeming to accept my apology. Jerk… Hoping the kitties would heed my words, I stalked off towards the living room area, where the guests would be waiting.
Kitty POV
"Now's our chance to start looking for the portal, so split up into your teams and don't get caught. Understood?" Pein looked to the others for confirmation and they nodded. Kakuzu raised his paw a bit.
"I don't have a partner, can I go alone?" Pein looked towards the drawer Hidan was trapped in, hearing a slew of colorful curses.
"It's probably best that he stays here." Kakuzu nodded in understanding and almost had a happy look on his face at the thought of not being with Hidan (the only thing other than money that could cause this).
With Lila and Orangey
"Should we check this door over here first?" Konan asked, motioning to the storage room with a turn of the head. He nodded to her question and led the way through the slightly ajar door. When they entered they noticed the room was relatively bare, besides the water heater itself, a lone wardrobe and some cardboard boxes.
"Let's split up and look around," Pein suggested and moved towards the wall that was shared with the kitchen to start looking, only to notice a square hole that lead to said area of the home. The smell of spaghetti and meatballs that permeated through the space was enough to make his stomach growl quietly. Put off by the action, he went through the hole to demand for food. He couldn't be seen weak for having a hungry tummy after all. That was unacceptable.
He noticed Vash standing near the stove, stirring something in a pot, and meowed lightly. Vash stiffened and moved her eyes towards the hungry kitten that stood at the opening in the wall she never noticed before.
"Do you like to meow while you cook Vash? Hahaha," sounded a voice that resembled the young boy. Looking panicked, Vash looked over her shoulder.
"Sometimes I do hahaha…" And with that response she knelt down beside the refrigerator (so the group couldn't see her) and in front of Pein. "What are you doing? Get back in there!" Without warning, she shoved the little guy back through the hole, covering it up with heavy box of paper towels.
"How dare that child deny me food?" Pein muttered irritably while he wandered back to where he last left Konan. She tilted her head to the side in question, but didn't push it. "Did you find anything?"
"No, nothing suspicious except for that wardrobe, but we're not tall enough to reach the handles. Perhaps we can get one of the girls to do it for us," she reasoned to herself as they walked out of the room, closing the door as much as they could behind them.
"Let's see if anyone else has found clues."
With Izaya and Fishy
"Hahaha I can't believe she threw you!" A small glare from Itachi was enough to shut up Kisame's laughter. They had decided to look through Nicky's closet but, were coming up with nothing of interest. Suddenly, another stuffed manatee fell from somewhere and onto Kisame's head, making Itachi smirk, well barely. He doesn't do much of anything really. Kisame looked angrily at the manatee plush and was about to attack it when he remembered what happened to Hidan and stopped. "This girl is too old to have this many stuffed toys. I think she has more of these than clothes." Itachi looked from the few clothes hanging above them, to the abundance of animals around her room.
"She does…" Kisame sighed and stepped out of the closet, with Itachi following. Pein stood in front of them.
"Nothing in there but more stuffed toys and clothes," Kisame commented dully.
"Hn…"
Pein looked to the closet noticing that the two were indeed correct.
"We'll remain here until the others report in and continue our hiding. The portal might not be inside the home like we previously thought."
With Spirit and Foofy
Sneaking around the bathroom the duo checked the shower, lower bathroom drawers and cupboards, and the laundry hamper after successfully knocking it over.
"Look at this mess you've made, brat. Pick up after yourself or the girls will get suspicious and maybe even lock you up with Hidan," Sasori grumbled to himself, while licking one of his paws. Deidara frowned at him and muttered some profanities before attempting to get the spilled clothes back into the basket.
"How are supposed to know what this portal looks like anyways, un?" Sasori gave him a deadpan expression.
"I'm sure we'll know a large swirling hole when we see it."
"OH! This toy! Yes! Ahahahaha! It's a remote control cat! Pretty cool, huh? Ehehehe…" Curious, the two kittens peeked around the bathroom door to see Nicky holding one of her gaming controllers and aiming it at a very confused Tobi.
"Damn, un. Tobi's gonna get us caught, yeah."
With Professor Layton and Calcifer
"How could you let him just walk out there like that? That idiot is going to ruin everything!" Kakuzu said harshly to Zetsu while they peered around the couch, watching the awkward scene unfold before them. Zetsu just moved his shoulders up slightly in a shrug.
"It would've happened sometime. It's hard to sneak around as damn cats when we're used to being human. One of them would have heard us eventually."
Nicky's POV
Ghast you little poophead! Argh… it just had to be a sliding door for my room didn't it? I pointed my PS3 controller at Ghast, hoping he would move a bit, when I had an idea.
"You see, he will move and do things when I tell him to. The controller is just used for a different function. Ghast, walk straight." It took a few moments, but he finally seemed to grasp the situation at hand and walked forward a bit. Thank-you magical box for giving me smart kitties!
"Wow! That's awesome! Can I try?" Evan asked, bouncing up and down in his seat. *mental facepalm* Should have seen that coming.
"Sure, just say his name and tell him what to do. He can only do simple stuff though." Jen watched the kitty carefully as Evan told it to sit and chase its tail.
"Wow that's really cool. It looks so real too. Maybe it's something I have to look into since I don't like real cats, haha."
"Ahahaha… yes. I found it on… the…. Oh! The Sharper Image website." She nodded her head, accepting my explanation.
"Dinner is ready!" Vash called from the kitchen and I had to hold back my sigh of relief. Evan picked up Ghast and handed him to me.
"Cool cat toy. I wish I had one!" And then he went off on one of his rants while Jen and him went to sit at the table.
"I'm gonna put this away real fast," I called to them and walked to the bathroom, picking up a bewildered Cal and Professor Layton on the way. I opened the door to see my hamper tipped over with some of the clothes sloppily put back in. Not even caring at the moment, I walked past the mess and into my room where the remaining kittens were sitting in a circle, looking innocent. I pointed a finger at them.
"You guys are soooo lucky I like cats. Soooo lucky but, because I can't trust you to actually stay in this room, I'm going to do this." I set the three kitties I was carrying on the floor and walked back to the bathroom, dumping all my clothes out of the hamper and bringing it with me. "Okay kiddies, gather 'round in a tight-knit circle." They did as I said, without knowing what would happen until I carefully placed the hamper over them in a cage like structure. I grabbed three of my old college text books (and they're heavy) and laid them on top of the cage so they couldn't get out or push it over. "Now, you're all staying there 'til we're done. Got it? Good." Feeling satisfied, I double-checked on Marshmallow, grabbing him and putting him with the others to avoid another incident. Can't be too careful with smart, mischievous kitties.
Vash's POV
"So Jen, how come you don't like cats?" Jen finished the bite of spaghetti she was chewing on before she spoke.
"Well, I'm allergic to them, like most people are in my family and I just like dogs better. They're fun and loyal and cats… are just cats, you know? Independent and such." Vash nodded at her reasoning.
"That's understandable." From the corner of my eye I could see Nicky pull up a seat next to me, looking tired, and serving herself some spaghetti and garlic bread.
"So how's your pharmacy program going, Vash? How much longer do you have on your internship?"
"Ah, I have about two weeks left I think. Just have to put in enough time and I'll be done before school starts." Jen shook her head in understanding and helped Evan fix his napkin on his shirt so he wouldn't spill any more than he already had. I looked to Rin to see if she needed any help but, she was already done eating. "Wow you ate that fast." She looked over to me.
"It was good, thanks. You have spaghetti sauce on your face." I blinked and fumbled for my napkin before wiping it over my mouth. Nicky was chuckling next to me.
"She's like a mini-you, Vash. Both blunt and yet awesome." I nodded in agreement. Yeah, it is kinda scary how alike we are with our thinking sometimes. And as if to prove that further, Rin turned to Jen with a look of question.
"I have a kitten, is it okay if I bring it over sometimes or do you not allow them?" Jen laughed lightly.
"Well, you sure sound adult. I've had a few tenants who've had cats live down here, but every time something has gone wrong. One didn't even tell me they had a cat so I had to kick them out after they left it crying in the basement while they went out of town for a few days. But, I did have one tenant who had a cat that was more like a dog and that one was okay. I guess the thing is, I don't really like cats at all so, it's probably a better idea to leave it at home. Besides, it's a cat and they're fine alone." Nicky gulped from beside me, trying to cover it up by shoving a piece of bread in her mouth and chewing obnoxiously.
The rest of the dinner consisted of small talk about school and Jen's vacation. Evan liked to interrupt occasionally, (getting increasingly louder each time he did so) and ask questions about what games we had and how the cat toy worked. Rin and Nicky stayed quiet for the most part until the two left, offering to drop Rin off at home since her mother had returned. Rin accepted and waved goodbye as Nicky shut the door behind them, allowing herself to slide down the door until her butt hit the carpet. She put her face in her hands.
"Now what do we do…?" She asked, looking up to me from behind her hands but, I honestly had no answer for her.
"I don't know."
Foosha: Attention reviewer persons and non-reviewer persons: I'm trying to figure out who the pairings should be before I actually start writing them as humans, so if you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know! It's not gonna be like a full-on focused romance thing, but I think it's always fun to spice up the story a little with a bit of side romance in there. :P
Nicky: Wait… what?
Vash: Are you really that determined to set us up with someone? =_=
Foosha: Yes. Yes I am. Live with it you turkeys. Also,am I the only one who thought of Scooby Doo when Pein said to "split up and look around"? I almost typed "split up and look for clues" Bahaha xD Also, notice how they remembered Nicky's name? Perhaps they have grown a tad attached! And polls are now up on my profile so please vote for who should be with who, thanks!