Chapter 23:

Back at Naruto's apartment, things were relatively quiet. Tenten and Lee were still with Gai to finish training and coming up with an excuse for why Neji wasn't with them. That left Naruto to take care of the two cats by himself. That was easy seeing as how the both of them were fast asleep on the warm futon on the floor.

Naruto sat back and looked out the window. Dark clouds were starting to gather outside blocking out the sun. It was going to rain any time now. It was a good thing both the cats were inside. He could only imagine how they would react if they were caught in it. They would probably scream and cower behind someone. Naruto didn't mind the rain too much. Sometimes he found it cleansing, other times he found it depressing. But most of the time, it made him feel bored and want to take a nap.

Neji gave a soft snore and curled into a tighter ball at Naruto's feet. Naruto reached down and stroked his hair. Neji smiled at his touch.

Naruto smiled back. He must be having a really good sleep… He looked over at Sasuke who was beginning to gnaw on his pillow. He must be dreaming about fish or something.

Sasuke hugged the pillow closer to his face and took a big bite out of it, soaking it with his drool. "Mmm… fish…" He licked his lips and went back to nibbling on it.

I knew it, Naruto shook his head at the thought.

A loud crash from outside startled him. It was starting to thunder. It rumbled in the distance before clapping loudly once again, rattling his windows.

Both Neji and Sasuke woke with a start and bolted upright in the futon. They looked wildly around, Sasuke still with the pillow in his mouth. Another crash sent the two scrambling behind Naruto for safety.

"Wh- what was that?" Sasuke shivered.

"That was thunder, you moron," Neji answered.

Sasuke shot him a look. "Hey, moron, I'm not the only one who went ducking in cover, you know."

"I was just-"

Another crash shut them both up immediately and they both went back to hiding behind Naruto. Sasuke put his hands on Naruto's shoulder and peered over from behind his back. Neji did the same. They were frightened of the storm.

"What's with you guys?" Naruto tried to get them to come out of hiding, but they wouldn't. "It's only thunder. You never had a problem with it before."

"We don't."

"Then why are you guys hiding behind my back?"

Neji looked down at himself shamefully. "No reason. I was just…"

Lightning flashed followed by the telltale crash of thunder. They both hid their faces in his spine, frightened. The storm really was bothering them.

"Should I get you guys some catnip?"

"NO!" they shouted in unison.

"Ok, ok, jeez… You don't have to bite my head off."

Another crash and the two hugged Naruto close.

"Yeah…" His left eye twitched. "This isn't awkward at all…"

"Naruto…" Sasuke whimpered. "Isn't there anything you could do to make it stop?"

"Yeah," Neji agreed. "At least muffle the noise, please? I- I've never felt like this before."

Naruto raised a brow at the two of them. "You've never been scared before?"

"Not of a storm and certainly not like this."

Thunder crashed again and Neji dug his nails into Naruto's sides.

"Please…"

This was amazing. He had never seen them like this before. Not even when they saw a dog. This was priceless. He had every intension to taunt and tease them about this, but one look at their terrified faces prevented him from doing so. They were just too pathetic. Instead, he put an arm around both of them and tried to comfort them as best as he could. This was all very awkward.

"Um… There, there?"

Another flash of lightning and a roll of loud thunder sent the two running for cover under the couch.

Naruto got up and looked out the window. It had started to pour rain now. It came down like tiny comets and crashed against the ground and rooftops. Buckets left outside were now filled with rainwater. But the rain never let up, causing the water to go cascading over and flood the alleys and streets. Passersby caught up in the sudden downpour were forced to run for cover under the nearest roof. Children playing ninja and other kid games came running from every direction to get to their homes as quickly as possible, giggling and screaming as they got soaked. A loud crash of thunder sent one little girl jumping up with a shriek, startled by the sudden crash and picked up the pace. There was no time for the little boys to push each other down in the mud the way they normally would have it not been for the thunder. They knew when it was time to go home and dry off.

Naruto craned his neck to look straight up at the dark sky. He pressed his face against the glass, fogging it up with his warm breath. "Man, it's really coming down now…" He looked over to the couch and saw two pairs of legs sticking out. He frowned. "You guys look ridiculous."

"We feel ridiculous!" a voice shouted from under the couch.

"Then come out of there."

"Once the storm stops, we will!"

He rolled his eyes and sat down on the very couch they were cowering under. The heavy rain pounded against his window and the hard winds rattled the glass. The loud thunder shook the tiny apartment and the lightning flashed more frequently. Naruto didn't mind too much. The thing he minded the most were the two clinging to his legs from under the couch.

At the next flash of lightning, the door swung open and in stepped both Lee and Tenten. They were soaking wet from the rain. The umbrella closed in Tenten's hand was turned inside out from the wind, rendering it useless to her.

"Where are the two of them?" Lee asked, looking around.

Naruto wordlessly pointed to the floor where their legs could be found sticking out.

Lee walked over and gave Neji's ankle a pull, dragging him out from his hiding place. He dug his nails into the wooden floor boards leaving claw marks behind, marking where he had been dragged. Naruto wasn't too happy about that either.

"I thought you were stuck," Lee told him.

"I wasn't stuck! I was hiding!"

"Hiding from what?"

As he opened his mouth to answer, another clap of thunder cut him off and he jumped into Lee's arms, clinging to his body.

"Neji?!" Lee staggered, trying to keep his balance. "Neji, you are shaking…"

He was. He was shaking uncontrollably in Lee's arms, scared to death of the storm.

Tenten smiled sympathetically and came over to stroke Neji's back. "Poor guy… The storm scares you."

"Don't treat me like a baby, Tenten. I'm well aware of the situation and what effect it has on me."

Sasuke came out of hiding and poked his head around curiously. "Is the storm over yet? Please tell me there's no more thunder."

"I can't say for sure. Maybe."

Sasuke crawled out from under the couch and gave a look around. He carefully turned his head this way and that to get a better listen. The rain was still heavy, but there was no thunder. Maybe it was over after all. Then there was a sudden loud crash that sent Sasuke springing straight up in the air and then into Naruto's lap. Neji hid his face in Lee's chest with a yelp. It wasn't over yet.

"Neji…"

He looked into Lee's face with a frightened scowl. "I don't mean to do this, you know. It just happens. So, I would appreciate it if we never spoke of this again, got it?"

Lee nodded. "Right. I will never mention to anyone how you were hugging me close for comfort during a storm with a frightened look on your face. My lips are sealed."

"You don't have to say it like that, you know…" Neji muttered.

This couldn't go on. Tenten looked around for something to distract them with. Since catnip was out of the question, she tried cat toys instead. She tried dangling a string in front of Neji's face but he wouldn't fall for it.

"Tenten!" Naruto cried as Sasuke dug his nails into his ribs. "Could you forget about Neji and help me out over here? It's really starting to hurt!"

"Just make the storm stop and I will!" Sasuke buried his face in Naruto's chest. "It's the loud thunder that's scaring me! I had no idea that cats were like this with storms!"

"Some are, I guess…"

"I feel like an idiot," Sasuke grumbled.

"Imagine how I feel," Neji added. "I'm doing it, too, you know."

Tenten snapped her fingers. "I've got it!" She ran off into the next room. There were a couple of clunking noises before she came back into the room carrying something in her arms. "A scratching post!"

"What are we going to do with that?" Naruto asked while trying to keep Sasuke's nails from tearing into his skin. "Knock them out?"

"No." She set the post down by her feet. "Maybe if they use it, it will take their minds off the storm. It's worth a shot, right?"

"No offense, Tenten…" Lee called over Neji's head. "But I do not think that this plan of yours is going to work. It is a real stretch."

"Just try it. Bring him over here." Tenten sat down behind the scratching post and waited.

Lee came over with Neji in his arms and sat down next to the post. Neji didn't even raise his head to look. Tenten reached out and took Neji's hand in hers. She pried it off Lee's jumpsuit and guided it over to the scratching post. She moved his hand over the carpet-like material in a downward motion. Neji's head lifted slightly at the odd sensation. It felt odd, like touching a rough carpet or very wet sandpaper. He looked and saw Tenten moving his hand along the scratching post.

She gave him a smile. "See? Doesn't that feel good?"

He gave no answer.

"Try curling your fingers, ok?"

He did so as she moved his hand downward again. His fingernails made soft scrapping noises as they ran across the material. It felt weird. He could feel the vibrations run from his nails up his fingers and into his palm. It was almost like a tiny massage for his hand. Not only that, but his nails were getting sharper. Smaller, too. He moved off of Lee's lap and started to scratch the other side with his left hand. Tenten released her grip and allowed Neji to explore the scratching post on his own.

He seemed to like it. He moved his nails across the rough material, sharpening his nails. He really liked it.

Hearing the scraping noises, Sasuke turned his head for a better look. He spotted the scratching post and was overcome with a strong desire to tear it up. He climbed down from Naruto's shoulders and crept over to Neji and the odd post. He sat down across from Neji and started to scratch it from the other side. As his nails began to rip the thing apart, a small smile found its way onto his face.

"You like it, huh?"

Sasuke didn't answer Naruto's voice. He was too engrossed in scratching to hear him. Within a few minutes, the two had completely forgotten about the storm.

Lee folded his arms with a little nod. "Huh… I stand corrected."

At last, the storm had calmed considerably. The lightning had ceased and the thunder flowed suit leaving nothing but the pitter-patter of the rain. Sasuke and Neji were sitting by the windowsill watching it fall before their eyes. It was very relaxing.

Sasuke folded his hands and continued to watch the rain as he spoke to Neji. "Hey, Neji…"

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking."

"And?"

He rested his head against the window, fogging the glass up with his breath. "But this whole cat thing… and about finding a cure…"

"Yeah?"

He sighed heavily. "I've decided to give up."

Neji pulled his eyes away from the window and onto Sasuke. "What?"

"I decided not to bother with finding a cure anymore. There's no point. If the cure was out there, we would have found it by now. Besides… Shino said it himself. Those idiots at that lab never bothered to make one. There's no point anymore in even trying to find it. I give up."

Neji just stared at him. "You… give up? Just like that?"

"It wasn't just like that. Do you have any idea how much I had to take and how much time it took me to figure this out? I'm not going to cling to false hopes anymore. It's pointless. I give up. I guess we're going to be cats for the rest of our lives and there's nothing we can do about it."

Neji folded his arms and turned completely around to face him, giving Sasuke his full attention. "Perhaps you have a point, but I never thought I'd hear you say it. I never thought I'd see the day when you would give up." They had endured a lot. Sasuke was right when he said that he hadn't come to that decision 'just like that'. It took a lot to convince him that it was the right choice. There really was no point in clinging to false hopes knowing full well that there was no cure out there for them. Perhaps he was right.

Sasuke stretched out his body with a huge yawn and curled up into a ball by the window.

"Tired?"

He nodded. "I'm going to sleep. Do the same if you want." He closed his eyes.

The sound of the falling rain was lulling Neji to sleep as well, but he was still feeling uneasy about Sasuke's decision. He was giving up. He accepted the possibility that they would never be cured and had to spend the rest of their lives as cats. Neji moved closer to Sasuke for warmth, their futon on the other side of the room and them being too lazy to fetch it.

Neji placed his chin atop Sasuke's back, using him as a pillow. "So, what's the plan after this?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke's voice sounded distant and tired.

"Since you said that we're going to be like this forever, what should we do? Should we start telling everyone about our condition?"

"No, hold off on that. I don't want Sakura to find out. I told you before. She has a major crush on me and finding out that I'm part cat is only going to make things that much worse. Imagine how she'd react once she sees how I get when someone gives me yarn or how I rub my body against anyone who brings me fish. She'd have a field day if she sees my reaction to catnip. I'll never be rid of her."

"Good point." Neji snuggled closer, closing his eyes. "But are we really going to stay here at Naruto's for the rest of our lives?"

It took a few second for Sasuke to answer. "No… We'll figure it out…" He was half asleep already. He buried his face in his arms and started snoring.

Neji tucked his arms and legs under his body and curled into a ball, still using Sasuke as his personal pillow. They had grown closer over this past week somehow. Now Neji could call Sasuke his friends. They had the same condition and were forced to spend a lot of time together as a result. Being a cat wouldn't be so bad. Neji had already gone through the positives. He was less stressed out, calmer and could be as lazy as he pleased. Maybe this would work out after all.

But tomorrow was another day. Maybe things would become clearer for them.

Please review! ^-^

I'm ending it in a couple of chapters so enjoy until then!