Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

God, working on all of these fics is driving me into insanity... :Dies:

Naruto looked around at all of the bright lights with sparkling eyes full of wonder, his hand still in Sasuke's. There were at least twenty different photographers there, almost half of them from Europe, where the popularity of Pets was becoming popular. A lot of the men bent down to speak to him, friendly and sharing techniques on how to get past being camera shy. But Naruto only grinned and declared he wasn't nervous or shy at all.

"I suppose they're going to feature us in the first European Pet magazine," Sasuke said as he used his fingers to shape Naruto's hair. He smirked at the scrunched up nose of his son and chuckled. "This is what a parent does. They groom their cubs."

"But I'm not a cub!" the cat pouted. "I'm an adult now!"

Sasuke let the smirk slip from his face as that fact hit him full force. He knew Naruto was young physically, but he was aging mentally. He was, indeed, and adult now, despite his personality and behavior. Sighing, he rested a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Humor an old man," he let his lips twitch upward.

Naruto blinked, then nodded slowly, understanding. He smiled gorgeously and pounced on his father, licking his cheek. "Ne, Susu Oppa, how come you have to mate with Sakura?" he asked suddenly and randomly. "Baa-chan said she could make clones of you for other owners, so why do you need to make cubs with her?" he wanted a good reason. He wanted a reason to believe that his father being with the tiger was right.

The leopard sighed. "Because we are needed to create a new Pureblood breed. Only certain animals can mate and make an entirely new breed of pet. Once Sakura and I have cubs, they'll be Blue tigers, which is what Sai is."

The blond's ears perked up. "You'll have... Sai kittens?" he giggled, thinking of tiny forms of Sai running about being perverted little devils.

Sasuke shared his amusement by chuckling. "I would hope not."

Kakashi was just a few feet away from, listening to their conversation while sipping from a juice box. He never liked being at photoshoots because they were boring. It wasn't as if he was the one they were taking pictures of, so why bother coming? He should've just dropped his pets off and left to go play bumper car at the local community park.

But then he shrugged, realizing that Lukki probably had it much worse than him. The scarecrow would've gone mad having to deal with two horny adult pets, especially when one of them was Itachi. The albino leopard was hardly ever anything but quiet, but when he had his eye on something...

Kakashi just shook his head as he finished up his grape juice, tossing the cardboard into the trash and grabbing another one from the mini fridge on the table. He'd just have to deal with the situation as best as possible; with a bunch of juice boxes and some porn magazines.

"Don't take too long, I have business to attend to," Kakashi told his pets, reading through a dirty magazine he had rolled up and stuffed in his back pocket. "I have a lunch date with Sibel and Sakura, and I also need to go to the police station."

Sasuke frowned. "The police station? What for?"

"Hmm, well, apparently..." Kakashi flipped a page in his magazine, eyeing the contents with a joyful, upturned eye. "They found out that the doctor who tried to kill Naruto-kun works for someone named Orochimaru, who lives in China. Like most people, he hates Impures, but he's taken it a step further, by killing any Impure animal he sees. He had a few of his followers work at the local pet hospital here and they killed sick Impure pets that were brought in, lying to their owners and saying that their sickness was what caused their deaths."

The leopard scowled.

"So," Kakashi started again. "They want to see me so I can identify the people who tried to kill Naruto-kun. They might have a lead on where Orochimaru and his henchmen are in China. They have satellite photos, etc," he waved his hand pointlessly, closing the magazine, finding it boring. "Ah, as a matter of fact, I think I'll head out now. If anyone asks, I ate something bad and I'm in the restroom."

Naruto blinked and Sasuke sighed, leading his son over to where the photographers were calling to them.

"They found the doctor who..." Naruto trailed off, not really wanting to think about the time he'd almost died. "Are they going to put him in jail?"

Sasuke scowled. "I'd hope so. But once they find him and bring him to Japan, I'll make sure he's dead before he's put in his cell," he growled, but calmed down once he realized he'd scared one of the young female photographers. She was a mousy woman with large glasses and messy cinnamon hair. She smiled nervously to the intimidating pet and scurried away, a folder full of photos hugged against her chest.

"Ah, could you two come over here, please? I'd like to take a picture of you for the cover of the new Pet magazine in Spain," an older gentleman with a thick mustache and a blue and lime green suit called to them, a kind smile twinkling on his long face. He got in front of his camera and motioned for them to move in place.

Naruto happily shuffled in front of the small set that looked like a park and sat on the bench, swinging his legs back and forth. There was a low hanging branch and the leaves brushed against the tips of his cat ears, making them twitch and flutter downward. Sasuke sat beside him and immediately took on a pose, crossing his left leg over the right and pulling Naruto onto his lap.

The little cat mewled in surprise as he was plopped down onto the warm lap. Remembering what had happened last time he's been on his papa's lap, he blushed prettily and his tail twittered around nervously. But a warm whisper into his hair calmed him down and he smiled cutely.

"Just act natural," Sasuke told him gently.

The photographer readied his camera and brushed his thumb over his mustache. "Naruto," he had a strong Spanish accent. "could you act as if you've found an interesting bug in the tree? Sasuke, look at him softly, like he was the most precious thing to you," he chuckled. "Of course, as your cub, he probably is."

Naruto smiled at that and shifted into a comfortable position, leaning against Sasuke's shoulder and reaching up, his shoulder bent. His small fingers brushed one of the leaves as he thought about finding a teal dragonfly that had perched itself on the branch. He held a look of wonder as he thought about actually seeing one, since he'd yet to. They didn't come out until the evenings and he wasn't allowed outside past then.

Sasuke watched his son and smiled contently, a light flashing quickly, followed by a thankful sound from the Spanish photographer. Naruto plucked the leaf from its branch and broke out into a huge smile, then there was another flash. The little blond realized that what the man wanted was something cute and gentle, so he wrapped his arms around his father's shoulder and pecked the leopard's cheek, easily creating the cutest scene anyone in the small studio had ever scene. There were a few more flashes, then the photographer thanked them, shaking their hands eagerly.

"Only nineteen more," Sasuke told Naruto and hoisted him up on his shoulers, causing the cat to giggle and wiggled around.

xXxXx

Back at the Hatake residence, Lukki was currently tied up and gagged, shoved in the corner of the living room behind the wooden lamp table. He struggled to get free, sweaty and covered in the cold spaghetti sauce that he'd been making before the attack. He growled behind the ducktape and black washcloth, trying to block out the moans and groans coming from the bedroom Kakashi had rented to him.

Kyuubi was such a good pet before he met that crazy animal! As soon as I get out of these stupid ropes, I'm taking Kyuubi and we're going back home! Screw the Showcase!

Inside of Lukki's bedroom, Kyuubi was literally being devoured by his "mate", long licks and kisses being planted on his tan, flushed skin. He didn't mind admitting that he loved the attention, but at the moment, he somewhat felt that sex wasn't a good idea. After all, he had kits growing inside of him.

"Itachi--stop..." he murmered, but the leopard continued to nip at his shoulder, licking at a small scar there. He twisted a bit and pushed the raven up, receiving a glare. He glared right back. That was how their relationship was. It consisted of strong physical attraction and a respect for each other, but no love. Love was what Kyuubi wanted, but he knew Itachi wasn't the type of pet to go beyond what they already had.

"Why?"

"Mating might hurt the kits," the fox told his mate honestly. "I don't want to risk it, despite how good you feel," he smirked and sat up, pulling his shirt on and looking down at the shredded leather straight jacket lying on the carpet. Itachi had torn the article of clothing right off of Kyuubi's body after he realized it prohibited access to the leopard's favorite expanse of skin; the fox's stomach.

Itachi growled in annoyance, but backed off and pulled his own shirt on, straightening out the wrinkles.

"I hope you plan to make up for the lost sex once the cubs are born," Itachi said in his usual clipped tone.

Kyuubi snorted. "I'll be back home, in Cote D'iviore, remember?"

Itachi raised his brows. "You won't be leaving this house until a week after they're born. I expect you to make up lost time during those seven days. I'll even be kind and wear a condom."

Kyuubi let a smile crack on his face. "How nice of you."

Just then, the door creaked open and Kakashi came in, a bag of groceries in his arms. He walked past them and grabbed the sharp scissors that were on Lukki's craft table, then turned back around, glancing at the two adult pets. He chuckled in amusement.

"Did you two know that Lukki-san's tied up and gagged out in my living room?" he asked them. "I wonder how that happened? Hmm, maybe it was the neighborhood kids again... They do tend to sneak into my house when I'm out. Maybe I should set up bear traps for them. It's always amusing to see someone squirming with their leg stuck in the jagged metal teeth of one of those things," his eye crinckled upwards in delight, then he left, humming a happy tune. "One moment, Lukki-san, I have to put the groceries away!"

Itachi scowled while Kyuubi laughed heartily.

xXxXx

The rest of the afternoon had gone by in a rushed blur. There had been a ton of photos taken, some breaks for water and snacks, then more pictures. By the end of the photoshoot, Naruto had become half blind from the flashes and Sasuke was irritable because his clothes were sticking to him from the heat of the room.

"Thank you so much for your time," the Spanish photographer bowed to them, used to the Japanese customs. "I hope to see you two again next issue?" he had a twinkle in his honey eyes, as if knowing ahead of time they'd win the Showcase once again.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and tugged on Sasuke's warm hand, tugging him out of the room and into the main hall of the convention building. "Susu Oppa, is Aboji going to pick us up?"

Sasuke sighed and lifted Naruto up, carrying him on his shoulders as he walked out into the streets of Tokyo, thunder rumbling through the dark sky. It was almost night time and he knew that his owner wasn't going to drop by anytime soon. It seemed like they were going to have to walk home today, despite the weather.

"I don't think so. He has a lot of things to do and he's probably not done yet," the leopard answered, walking down the nearly empty sidewalk. It was amazing to see hardly anyone present on the usually busy Tokyo streets, but it was going to rain and no one wanted to get their new Harajuku designs wet.

Naruto stared up at the rumbling clouds, waiting for the frist drop of rain to fall. The sounds of police sirens was distant in the background, steam rising from the sewers just below them. He lowered his eyes and looked around, stunned at the emptiness around him. He'd never seen the city without its thousands of people walking the old streets.

As Sasuke came to a stop in front of a shop, Naruto stared into the alley way across from it and noticed a slumped figure sitting atop a closed dumpter. His father sat him down and asked him if he wanted to come in, that he was going to buy an umbrella, but the golden cat shook his head.

Once Sasuke was in the shop, Naruto ran across the street, his small feet pattering against the smooth pavement. As he approached the alley, raindrops fell, slipping down his face and neck and creating damp dots all over the sidewalks and roads. He peaked around the brick wall and watched the figure move only slightly.

"Hello...?" he hesitently asked.

The person lifted its head and pitch black eyes stared into Naruto endless blue ones.

"Naruto-kun?" the voice was smooth and young.

Naruto blinked his large eyes and stepped forward, the wide collar of his shirt slipping over his shoulder.

"Sai?"

I have a more chaps written up. Man, I wanna get all my stories done with so I can start new ones XD