I no own, you no sue.
Really, really not happy with this chapter. Too indulgent. Still, kittens!
It's ten at night by the time Team Four have played with all ten kittens and made their choices. The young cats come in all sizes and colors. Hiko selects a red and white long-haired kitten that Reika-sensei says is called a Turkish Van, and he names her 'Prawn.' Michiyo chooses a sturdy seal-pointed female Tonkinese, with chestnut fur and dark chocolate paws, face, and tail. The kunoichi names her bond-summon Pancake.
Many of the kittens are quite enamored of Walter's dexterous fingers, but he finally settles upon a very affectionate, if highly strung, petite shorthaired mutt. She is a cross between a tabby and a tortoiseshell cat, which looks a bit like someone has taken two pelts, ginger tabby and brown tabby, and stitched them together. Her tail is unusually bushy, and striped like a raccoon's. Walter looks at her, and as she looks back, a thunderous rumble of a purr rises from her dainty throat. He turns over different names in his head. Literary names, variations of color and types of fox. He settles on a food name to go with his teammates' cats. Nutmeg. A spice, rare and precious, with a little bite, and a warm flavor. Walter offers the name to her, and she agrees with a nod, green-brown eyes just slightly mismatched, a shy look of interest in them. She tucks her tail around her feet self-consciously.
In charge of the kittens comes a sleek brown cat named Triscuit. She is to be Team Four's collective summon, she informs them, to guide them in working with their summon-bond kittens, and in charge of training the three kittens to battle readiness.
"Good choices, everyone." Triscuit says briskly, and nods at the seven kittens who were not chosen. They vanish in a disgruntled cloud of smoke. "Let's sign the contract now, shall we?" Reika-sensei unrolls a thick scroll that was laying on the kitchen counter.
"We'll be using blood for ink, kiddos." She informs her students, pulling out a brush, bowl, and a razor from a cupboard. "Blood from both humans and cats."
"Six of my cohorts have already agreed to be summoned by you just on the strength of Marbles' opinion. If you'll excuse me…" Triscuit makes a horrible gagging, wheezing noise, and coughs up a tiny corked glass vial filled with blood. "Pardon me. That contains the blood of Waffle, Hugo, Raven, Pepper, Oliver, and Mocha." Reika-sensei picks the vial up with a dishtowel and empties it into the ink bowl.
"Glad that's taken care of. Those are some good cats to begin with," She mutters, and offers the razor to Walter. He grasps it firmly and draws it carefully over the back of his hand to create a very shallow cut. He squeezes the edges to make a few drops of blood well up and splash into the bowl. He passes the razor to Michiyo, who copies him, and adds her own blood to the bowl, as does Hiko.
Prawn, Pancake, and Nutmeg are not pleased to find that they need to add their blood as well, but grudgingly cooperate as their new partners shave a little fur off their front leg and draw a cut on the bald spot with the blade.
Once the blood is collected, Reika-sensei has them dip their fingers in the mix of blood, applying bloody fingertips to the scroll, then signing their name and their feline partner's as well. Then the ichor is applied to their kitten's paw, and Nutmeg, Pancake and Prawn each press a paw print to the parchment. Finally, Reika-sensei and Triscuit sign their approval of the new partnerships.
Reika-sensei sets the scroll aside on the counter to dry, and washes the bowl, brush and razor in the kitchen sink. Triscuit shakes her pelt briskly.
"Finally finished. Now. We're all positively famished. Grub would be appreciated, yes?" Reika-sensei smiles.
"Is kibble acceptable, or would you like something out of a can?"
"Kibble if you please, it has less sugar and fat. Much healthier than wet food." The brown cat says primly.
"I have three varieties. You want turkey with rice, tuna, or lamb?"
"Whoa, Reika-sensei!" Michiyo exclaims, "Why do you have so much cat food in your place?" Their teacher shrugs.
"My best friend is a cat. Marbles is over all the time, and he prefers to eat small, so we can get the best bang for our buck. Not to mention my other summons."
"Other summons?" Walter prods.
"Yes. You see, a summoner typically begins with one cat, and then expands to using other cats for specific tasks. You might be able to fight best with your partner, but they may not be good at codes, or surveillance and trapping – that's Triscuit's specialty – or even tracking, and so on. And-"
"I. Would like turkey." Triscuit interrupts frostily, drawing the topic back to food. "And we're all hungry. Prawn and Nutmeg want lamb. Pancake would like tuna."
"Yes, fine." Reika-sensei sighs, and heads to a cupboard, which when the teenagers look, is full of cat food.
Once the kibble has been doled out into four brightly colored bowls and set on the long kitchen table (the cats are supposed to eat at the table with everyone else), and the four cats are happily crunching down kibble, Reika-sensei pulls the food Michiyo had cooked herself and brought over out of the oven. It's lasagna and cream of broccoli soup. Both dishes are delicious. For desert there are some particularly good spiced oatmeal cookies, with chocolate chips in them. They are a unanimous success.
Team Four tidies up after the meal, and parts ways, each teenager leaving with a kitten scampering at their heels. Triscuit washes herself quickly, then looks up at Reika-sensei.
"I think that's enough for today. Goodnight, Reika Gintaki." Reika-sensei smiles.
"Goodnight Triscuit. See you tomorrow at the training ground." Triscuit harrumphs to herself, and swishes her tail.
"Yes. Tomorrow." She vanishes in a noisy cloud of smoke, which fills the apartment and leaves the Jounin coughing. She opens a window.
It's cold out, winter settling in.
Several floors down, Walter kitten-proofs his apartment. That done, he settles into a battered couch that has clearly seen better days and curls up with a book. Nutmeg insists on sitting on his lap, tiny paws kneading rhythmically but without a hint of claws.
That night, and every night afterward, she sleeps on his pillow, nose buried in his short hair.
Please review. Or not.