Cat and Mouse - Drabble Series
Pairing: ShikaNeji, AsumaKurenai
Warning: Shounen ai
Summary: [Drabble Series] Cat!Shika. Mouse!Neji. Is it possible for a cat to love a mouse? And would that mouse love the cat back? [ShikaNeji]
Inspired by: TwentyOne by Mrs. Paper (Chapter 17: Cat)
Disclaimer: Naruto and anything related does not belong to me. Don't sue.
Note: In recent years, I've discovered that my tenses fly every which way and that I don't usually stick to one tense throughout the story. Yup, I've got tense problems. If anyone can help me point out any tense/grammar issues, I'd really appreciate it!
Chapter 1: The Drop Off. They meet
Some things were facts: that Kurenai was friends with Iruka, that they had met in university with both studying for a law degree, that while Iruka had taken the teacher path after graduation Kurenai had chosen to work for a major law firm downtown and to make thousands more than she would on a modest teacher's salary, that Iruka sometimes asked Kurenai to be a guest speaker in his classes, and that she secretly might have enjoyed teaching a group of would-be lawyers about a career as a real lawyer (as they so eloquently phrased it).
It was another fact that Kurenai, momentarily forgetting the fact that she had an able-bodied (albeit rather lazy and pampered) cat at home, agreed to take care of Hinata-chan's pet mouse while she went to visit her uncle, Hizashi.
It must have had something to do with Iruka's allergy to animal fur – especially to mice fur – and Hinata's frantic worrying over her beloved pet that Kurenai had agreed before thinking things out thoroughly. But no one could blame her; the Iruka-Hinata conversation was bordering on ridiculous, when Hinata tearfully and hesitantly said that maybe, perhaps she just might be able to shave off Neji's fur if Iruka was willing to take care of the mouse for the better part of two months.
It had only occurred to dark-haired woman after she had gotten home to a warm chocolate-coloured furball rubbing against her leg that she had failed to notice two things: that the conversation had gotten from silly to outrageous and that she was in serious trouble if Shikamaru decided to (for once) obey his cat instincts and gulp down Hinata's pet mouse.
She was getting a headache. She did the only thing she could; she yelled for Asuma.
"You want me to give the cat a pep talk?" He was seriously confused.
She sighed, "not exactly a pep talk. It's more like a verbal contract, legal and binding, and stating that we'll take him to that vet if he dares to eat Iruka's student's pet. And that anything he mews or does can and will be used against him in a court of law."
Asuma scratched the back of his head. It was time that Kurenai stopped watching so many cop shows on TV, although he had to admit they had their charms.
"Think of it as father-cat bonding time." And it was decided. Kurenai went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, which left Asuma staring down at Shikamaru, who watched him with lidded-eyes.
"Jesus, I think he's going to fall asleep on me." Asuma muttered. It was going to be a long afternoon.
And just how was he supposed to bond with a cat?
The doorbell rang, and Kurenai opened the front door to invite in a dark-haired girl with pale eyes. Asuma looked over his wife's shoulders, curious since he's never seen any of Iruka's students before.
"Hinata-chan! Please come in," Kurenai smiled, and gave Asuma a backhand elbow jab, "And in that cage you're holding must be Neji-kun." Asuma smiled – winced – a greeting.
"Y-yes. H-he... I t-thought h-he'd be mo-ore comf-fortable in h-his own c-cage." The shy girl managed to stutter out. Kurenai smiled her encouragement (thinking back to Iruka's warnings that the Hyuuga did not do well when meeting new people... or when talking to people in general). Small talk was made, Neji's cage was transferred hands, and hearty goodbyes sounded when the lilac-eyed girl left and the front door closed decisively with a soft bang.
Kurenai looked at Asuma. Asuma looked at Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked bored.
Asuma grunted, and scooped the cat off the floor. He carried the chocolate-tabby into the bedroom before closing the door to an inquisitive mew.
After bonding time had failed, this had been the plan he had come up with – a cat locked in the bedroom plus a cat that can't make a meal out of a mouse equals no hell raised from Kurenai when Hinata discovers the small bundle of grey fur that had been her pet and faints.
How he wanted a smoke right now – his brain failed to work without one.
Kurenai, thankfully, didn't question his plan but only laughed a little and smiled her thanks. He took it as a good sign that the plan might work. It wasn't an impossible hope... he hoped.
There was nothing fundamentally wrong with Asuma's plan. It had the required amount of thought and had the backbone of good intentions, except it had forgotten to factor in one thing: Shikamaru, and his favourite hobby – sunbathing.
It was a particularly beautiful afternoon for a Konohaian autumn day. The breeze outside kicked up the small bundles and piles of leaves gathered on front yards and along curbs in the suburban neighbourhood Kurenai and Asuma lived in. The sky was just the perfect hue of dazzling blue, rarely seen except in days of summer. A few, fat and well-rested clouds strolled slowly through the sky, but best of all (according to Shika-cat) was the soft beams of golden sunlight that streamed through the window panes.
The only thing missing, the feline decided, was his favourite sunbathing spot in the living room – the very same room that Asuma had locked him out of. Shikamaru mewed his displeasure and gave an uncat-like scowl.
The other places in the house just weren't the same. The kitchen windows were too big; the bathroom windows were too small (plus there was that floral scent that Kurenai had insisted on using, which made him sneeze repeatedly). The attic was too hot; the basement was too cold. There was no place in the house that was just right; nowhere except in the living room, and it was into the living room that Shikamaru intended to go.
The door never stood a chance.
Kurenai passed the bedroom door, which innocently stood wide open. She glanced half-heartedly through to see everything in its place and promptly walked down the hallway into her study. Muttering to herself about the next case, she closed the door.
Five seconds later, "Asuma!" reverberated throughout the house. The windows shook, and the raccoon family living under the backyard porch had to spend twenty minutes calming down the youngest baby raccoon (he had a tendency to react violently to sudden noises).
"What? What happened? Is something on fire?" Asuma burst through the door, eyes wide, "what's wrong?"
From the furious look on Kurenai's face, he knew he wasn't going to like the answer.
He gulped, and said, "I love you, honey." It sounded a lot more uncertain than it had in his mind, and ended with a slight question mark he never intended. It was fine. He was a man, and he could take it... he hoped.
He never stood a chance; Kurenai's dark glare shot him down on the spot.
Kurenai and Asuma spent the next ten minutes frantically looking around the house for their evasive cat, with Asuma thoroughly chewed out and mentally cursing Shikamaru. He knew that cat wasn't normal the moment a one-year old kitten Shika beat him at Shougi. He knew, no matter what that Kakashi said.
It was only at the end that they found him curled up on the cabinet in the living room. He was sunbathing, and apparently looked like he had been there the entire day – he had practically sprouted roots and started to produce chlorophyll. The cat looked like he was absorbing the sunlight. There was a cat-ish smile on his face and a light purring in the air.
Shikamaru looked in every right to be a cat incapable of any crimes, and especially not a cat who was sunbathing next to a mouse. Hinata's pet mouse. A small grey mouse who was no longer in its cage but was instead pressed between the chocolate-tabby's paws like a small, grey teddy bear.
Kurenai almost swooned in shock (she certainly did in her mind, not that she would ever admit it).
After a moment of silence, Asuma ran his hands over his face and said, "well, at least now we know Shikamaru won't eat the mouse. It looks like he's made friends with it."
Kurenai blinked.
"We should've known he was just too lazy. He can't even be bothered to act like a cat."
They sighed, both resigned and relieved.
Then Shikamaru gave a very uncat-like smirk, announcing his victory to the world.
End Drabble1
I really hope I did the AsumaKurenai pairing justice. I haven't watched past the 30th episode of the anime (a big disadvantage, since I can't write anything other than AU stories!) so I'm not completely sure of Kurenai and Asuma's characters. Please forgive any OOCness!
This chapter was more centered around the AsumaKurenai couple (I guess I should consider this Introduction Part Two?), but don't worry! It's going to be ShikaNeji in chapter 2.
I tried to use some parallelism, and an allusion to "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". Was it successful, I wonder? X D
-Horologii