Several days later, Yūhi Shinku was back in the village after a long diplomatic mission in Sunagakure. He was well past the age of retirement but, as he admitted himself, he was driven by the deep and sharp need to be useful to his village. He had missed his grand-daughter's birthday and hadn't found Ensui during his mission, which was to be expected – he didn't want to draw any attention to the place where he was hiding with the Kazekage's youngest son.
"Hitomi-chan," he said when he came to see her that day, "you're twelve now. It's time for you to be introduced to the spiritual creatures who lend us strength in battle. Today, I'm going to make you sign the Nekomadake Cats Summoning Contract."
Hitomi, who had greeted her grandfather and had been ready to go back to the book she had to read for the Academy, stopped her gesture, her features showing her astonishment despite her efforts to hide it. She hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, even if, she had to admit it, she had thought about this honour more and more often. Her dream about Uchiha Shisui had helped her understand the deep peace that had motivated him, so gentle and comforting. She wanted to take that feeling for herself, to find strength in her own convictions despite the gut-wrenching fear that inhabited her when she projected her thoughts on the many battles to come.
Slowly, his movements suffused with extreme respect, Shinku took the contract and unrolled it for her to see. Perfectly silent, Hitomi stared at the names and prints succeeding each other on the parchment. It was a very old scroll, only preserved by the chakra that had impregnated the paper for generation after generation. Uchiha shinobi first, then Yūhi. Her ancestors.
"Let's take it outside," Shinku said with surprising gentleness. "You can't even imagine how big those creatures are!" His voice was full of tenderness for them and a thin smile played on his lips. This was incredibly rare for him. Kurenai followed them to the garden, settling in a chair to continue reading. She wouldn't miss an occasion to see her father's cats. She had signed with the Dragonflies, and was quite satisfied with them, but she liked the felines too, with their witty tongues and surprising love for cuddles. They would be an amazing fit for her daughter.
"Before we get started, I have to explain how the Cats Contract works." Elder and child sat in seiza simultaneously, staring ahead at nothing in particular. They didn't need to see each other to talk. Hitomi was surprised at the contemplative tendencies a lot of shinobi were showing, especially the oldest, the ones who had known war and found in this placid attitude a necessary counterpart to the horrors they had seen and taken part in.
"The most important thing to know is that the Cats Contract is a set contract. It means you won't have a bond with only one cat, but several of them. This one is based on generations: I had all the warriors who had been recognised as such since I took possession of the contract, but all the apprentices, kittens and cats not yet born of the clan are yours, until you decide to transmit the contract to someone else."
Hitomi nodded, a grave expression on her features. She had read an article in the Academy's library that explained the different categories of contracts; the set contracts bonded the summoner to several specific creatures, the individual contracts to only one of them, and the exclusive contracts, like the Toads one, gave the summoner the right to summon any creature linked to the contract they had signed. Of course, the canon had never explained all this: you just had to accept that Jiraiya could summon any toad and Kakashi had a pack of dogs.
"Don't ever summon a cat that isn't bonded to you, except if it's a case of extreme necessity. In that case, you can contemplate summoning a healer or the clan leader, but don't choose that option lightly: you will have to justify it, and if the summoned cat decides the situation wasn't dire enough, you will gravely offend the whole clan."
Her eyes gleaming, Hitomi drank her grandfather's words, struggling to hide her eagerness to learn more. She was captivated. How had customs morphed in that ironclad rule? She would have to ask, one day, if she had the occasion. If you could do it without insulting anyone.
"If Tsurī, the cat I'm going to summon for you when you sign the contract, deems you worthy, she will go back in the spiritual world and come back with the first litter of apprentices you will be allowed to summon. They will stay by your side for six months and learn everything you think they need to learn, then go back to their home. From then on, you'll have to summon them regularly to work with them, but they will continue learning things in their world with their mentors."
The girl nodded once more, and her grandfather continued talking. He explained the theory behind the summoning jutsu, describing the way she would have to manipulate her chakra, the hand seals she would have to use, and the principle of signing in blood. He was looking at her now. Under his heavy, attentive stare, she unsheathed her new tantō and used the edge of the blade to open her palm with a quick, self-assured move. Her nerves screamed their protestations immediately but she ignored it, ignored the pain and feeling of unease to focus instead on the gestures of her other hand. She used her own blood to write her name and sign by appending her prints under the kanjis.
This time, she didn't have to spend the chakra necessary for the summoning jutsu, and she was relieved when the cloud of smoke dissipated and she saw a tortoiseshell cat, as big as a pony, appear in front of her. Despite her huge reserves compared to other children, she wouldn't have been able to maintain such a summon in the physical world for even a few minutes, and the effort would have left her exhausted or even sick. She never wanted to go through that again – and yet she knew she would, a certainty carved deep in her meridians and gates.
"Tsurī-sama," Shinku said as he bowed to the cat, "I present to you and your ancestors this apprentice, so they can decide if she is worthy to run and hunt by your side." The way he said them, not quite rehearsed but close, told Hitomi the words were part of a ritual. Was it common with other contracts? She drove that question away from her thoughts, since she couldn't answer it.
Hitomi shivered but tried to hide it, to project the perfect image of serenity and dignity her grandfather dreamed she would be one day. Under the intense, green stare of the cat, she refused to bend, to break, to fidget with embarrassment or impatience or fear. She was a true shinobi, and always eager for new knowledge – Tsurī could see it in the shadows and sparks swirling in her red eyes. The healer raised her head and inspected the sky, painted orange and pink with dusk.
"My ancestors looked upon you, Yūhi Hitomi," Tsurī said, managing to show tenderness and dignity in equal parts, "and they deemed you worthy. From now on, you will be known amongst us as the Lady Summoner; our children and the children of our children will answer your call until, in turn, you choose one amongst your successors to run and hunt by our side. Hold us dear, and may you walk with us for many years to come."
The imposing cat slightly bowed her head, until her muzzle touched the shoulder of the child who stared at her, stars and night sky both in her eyes. The clan would have to monitor her gaze closely, to preserve it from the threats of dark and pain as much as it would be possible – which wasn't a lot where a shinobi was concerned. Tsurī had faith, though. Her clan would never abandon the Lady Summoner's.
"It's time for me to go fetch your first litter. You'll learn together in the physical world, then separately when the time will come for them to get back to us. Be prepared, child, I will use your chakra to create the bridge this time."
Hitomi nodded; Tsurī was gone even before she had the time to raise her eyes. A few moments later, she was back, five kittens in her wake. The girl really couldn't call them anything else: they still had a fluffy, messy coat, and short, round legs. She didn't wait for permission before kneeling in the grass and looking at each of them. They were clearly separated in two groups: ginger, grey and black kittens to one side, and two tabbies to the other, one a pale shade of ginger and the other grey with black stripes.
"Lady Summoner, here are your companions. May your hunt be long and fruitful."
Upon those words, Tsurī disappeared, leaving Hitomi with five unknown cats who, while obviously young, were already bigger than a small dog. They looked around with obvious interest, their big eyes gleaming with a quiet curiosity. The first to shake it off was the ginger cat, his green eyes stunning in contrast to his fire-coloured pelt. He walked toward Hitomi, his gait supple and perfectly quiet against the blades of grass, then sat in front of her.
"Greetings, Lady Summoner, I'm Hoshihi. The black cat behind me is Kurokumo and the grey one Haīro. The two cats there together are Sunaarashi, the sable one, and the tabby is Hokori. We'll stay here for six months, right?"
"Very nice to meet you all," Hitomi answered softly. "My name is Hitomi. And yes, you'll stay here for six months and train with me."
"If they want to hunt," Shinku pitched in, "the Nara Forest is vast enough. Disturbing the deer is forbidden, but all the other animals are fair game."
"Wow, it's the Lord Summoner!" the grey cat, Haīro, exclaimed.
"The former Lord Summoner. Have you listened to what Tsurī-sama just told us? This girl bears the title now."
The voice came from both tabbies at once, which was slightly disturbing for Hitomi. Since none of the cats seemed shocked and Shinku just nodded with approval, the girl decided to take it as an established fact and move on.
"Well," she said as she stood back up, "now that we're done with introductions, let's go for a tour of the clan lands. I'll also take that opportunity to assess your physical abilities. I hope you like to run?"
The cats looked at each other, then Hoshihi and Kurokumo burst out laughing seeing Haīro dramatically devastated expression. Obviously, those three didn't mix that much with the two others, and Hitomi was set on changing that. Working with the Fellowship, she had understood the capital importance of teamwork, the strength of the group compared to the sum of all its individuals. And they would have the same realisation, she would make sure of it.
As they walked to the fenced-in part of the Nara Forest, she tried to gauge the stamina and speed of each cat now in her care. They were still young and would get better, but she still had to hide a grimace when she saw how far they were from the standards she had to follow at the Academy – standards she had long surpassed. While they explored the hunting grounds, she started planning the necessary training sessions. It meant suspending her research on battle chemistry, amongst other fields, but she accepted the sacrifice without any difficulty. The world wouldn't crumble into itself if her smoke bombs were grey instead of red – even if red was cool.
The next morning, the child woke her five cats up and got ready for the Academy. She caught Sasuke staring at her with supreme amusement a few times and had to fight her instinct to answer this provocation. She would make him pay the next time they'd spar: she was working on a way to use her shadows in close combat, and that would be an absolute pain in the ass for any opponent. Since she finally managed to call on her shadows without using the Rat Hand Seal, she was ready to try – she couldn't wait to see if her idea was doable and really applicable to a fight.
She had gotten to know her new friends a bit better during the evening, to her greatest joy. Those cats were young, yes, but incredibly clever. Kurokumo was so clever it made her want to smile, Haīro had a razor-sharp tongue and had made Kurenai giggle until her muscles ached, and Hoshihi was incredibly aware of his litter-mates needs, and adapting to them constantly.
As for Sunaarashi and Hokori, the brother and sister, they were peaceful companions who still had trouble mixing with the other three. They had a form of telepathy that allowed them to see through the eyes and thoughts of each other and often talked in the same voice, but they were still distinguishable: Hokori was placid and observant, and his sister Sunaarashi had such a panache Hitomi couldn't help but admire her.
As the cats went to hunt their fill – Kurenai had offered to give them meat but they had refused, claiming they were old and strong enough to catch their own food – Hitomi dressed up and checked she had everything she needed for the day to come. She didn't have the right to take her sword with her but still had a kunai for self-defence, if needed, and her wooden tantō to spar with Sasuke after class.
Once she was ready, she left for school, collecting her cats at the rendezvous point they had agreed on so she could lead them through the village and to the Academy. She showed them the Tower where the Hokage worked, attached to the school, and the Torture and Intelligence Department just across the street. She also described her typical day, and told them what she had planned for them after class, relieved to see how eager they were to learn.
Troubles started when Hitomi stepped in the classroom. Immediately, her cats reacted to something she didn't understand right away and deployed in a triangle formation in front of her, Hoshihi at the point, hissing and spitting. When she identified the thing they perceived as a threat, she threw herself at the ginger cat to grab him by the scrape of his neck before he jumped on a very surprised Akamaru, her shadow stretching to freeze the four others. Trapping an animal – or more than one – with that technique felt wrong, and the fact she couldn't move made it even worse. Still, allowing them to attack wouldn't have attracted the Inuzuka Clan's sympathy to Hitomi, and she knew it.
When she felt Haīro and Sunaarashi fight against her grip, she spoke, her voice snapping like a whip. "Enough! Kiba and Akamaru are our friends. I know dogs and cats don't get along, and you perhaps have quarrels with some mutts in the spiritual world, but you will learn to be civil with the Inuzuka dogs! Is that clear?"
The whole class was focusing on her now. She instinctively answered their attention by releasing a bit of killing intent in the air, just enough to make it thicker and run a shiver of anxiety down everyone's spine. That kind of reflex was more and more frequent for her, but Ensui had told her it wasn't unheard of in children her age, like a new defence mechanism testing itself in weak danger situations so it would be ready to operate when it would be really needed. It at least had the advantage of pacifying her feline companions, who all stopped fighting. Slowly, she let them go, her shadow pooling back under her.
"I'm sorry, Kiba, I should have thought about it and warned them. Are you okay?" she asked as a frown creased her brow.
The Inuzuka child looked absolutely stunned, but his dog was just quietly wagging his tail, perched on his shinobi's head. Then the boy got himself back together and beamed at her, maybe teasing her a bit. "I'm okay, don't worry. What did you bring us today?"
"Oh, nothing in particular. My grandfather just made me sign the Summoning Contract our clan uses."
"What? But that's awesome!"
She lit up then, bouncing up and down with barely contained exaltation. "I know, right? We'll have to train a whole lot for the next six months, but I'm really happy!"
"And you'll have to resolve that problem with the clan dogs, too, right? I guess you'll go to Hana-nee if your cats are hurt during training."
"Yeah, that too. And of course I'll go to your sister's. She's the best."
He grinned and they would probably have continued to chat if Iruka hadn't entered the classroom, asking everyone to calm down and sit. Hitomi obeyed, settling her things at her usual place in the last row as her cats found a place on her desk. They didn't leave her much space to write, but she would still be able to do it, so she didn't protest. Hoshihi went over the edge of Hinata's desk but the Hyūga girl didn't seem to mind: she started petting the cat distractedly as Iruka started the day's lesson.
The teacher didn't say anything about the five cats present in his classroom: either someone from the Yūhi-clan had told him about the Summoning Contract, or he had just stopped wondering about the weird things coming to, or happening in, the Academy as long as his students continued taking notes dutifully and didn't disturb the class. As a teacher for future shinobi, he had learned to go with the flow when it was possible.
That day's lesson explained what medical protocols were to be followed when it was possible without dropping the mission, if a teammate was wounded. Of course, the teacher reminded the class, the mission was always a good shinobi's priority – it made Hitomi boil with outrage on her chair. She kept silent, because she knew better than trying to convince people otherwise. That was just so stupid. Who was to take care of the mission – of any mission, really – if all ninjas were dead because of their wounds? Fortunately, Iruka quickly went to the interesting part of the lesson and Hitomi took notes for the new memo cards she would offer to her friends at the end of the week.
Some time before the first break, her attention snapped to what was happening in front of her. Iruka had just thrown a piece of chalk to Naruto, who had stopped focusing. Before the projectile could touch him, Kurokumo jumped from the place where he had been sitting just a moment before and caught the piece of chalk on the fly between his jaws before spitting it on Naruto's desk with a disgusted face. An astounded silence fell on the classroom.
Hitomi silently counted to three.
On the mark, everyone burst into laughter, except for Shikamaru who didn't even crack an eye open, Sasuke who almost never laughed, and Hitomi who hesitated between mortification and proudness. All her muscles went stiff. She extended an arm, grabbed Kurokumo gently and picked him up, placing him on her desk again. Her cheeks a discreet shade of pink, she scratched him behind the ears to make him understand she wasn't mad, then stood up. "I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. It's the first time those kittens come to school, they still have to learn how to behave."
The teacher, who was obviously struggling to believe what had just happened – and he wasn't the only one, Hitomi mused – waved his hand to make her understand it wasn't a problem and picked up the lesson again. Around ten minutes later, the mid-morning break cut all students free, and the Fellowship started walking to the interior courtyard. Hoshihi had settled on Hitomi's shoulders and Kurokumo on Hinata's, while the other kittens just padded around their summoners. "I didn't know you were that fast, Kurokumo," Hitomi said as they all settled around a bench. "You held yourself back yesterday."
"Y-yeah, I didn't want to leave my friends behind and…"
"I understand. But training is different. You have to give me your best, so I can help you focus on what you need to improve. That way, you'll get as strong as possible, and quickly. Your mentors had to mention it, in the spiritual world."
"Err… Something like that, yes. They mostly made sure we could hunt for now, but we'll have fighting training when we get back there in six moons."
Hitomi nodded, satisfied. Of course, she fully intended on training those cats in taijutsu at least, before the end of the six months, because they had to know how to support her in battle. She would have to ask the Inuzuka clan for advice. Sure, their companions were dogs, not cats, but there had to be common ground between all ninja species, things she could learn to help her summons get better by her side.
The girl spent the break very close to Hinata. They had chosen a tree not too far from the bench where the others had settled to lay their backs on, and their arms constantly brushed against each other. It wasn't the first time it was happening, nor the first time Hitomi surprised herself by blushing and stuttering slightly when the contact threw her inner self off-balance. At least she wasn't the only one reacting that way: Hinata, too, was sensitive to the closeness they were creating, without even thinking about it, it seemed. The Yūhi girl liked the feeling of intimacy and warmth that spread in her chest when they were talking like that, so close their body heats mingled, their eyes often meeting without ever daring to seek each other.
She had never dared wonder about how Hinata made her feel, about that sweet, gentle impulse, the deep peace she couldn't ignore when her friend was close. Why would she have wondered, anyway? Hinata was the Hyūga heir, and then… Hitomi didn't know if that thing was requited or not – didn't know how she would know, anyway. They were still so young… She forced herself to think about something else. Finding new objections to her heart's desires was painful, she discovered that day.
Despite those doubts, when the two girls and their friends went back to class, Hitomi realised her heart was light and at peace again. A simple chat with Hinata had that effect on her. Even her cats seemed to pick up on it: Hoshihi and Sunaarashi, the two Hinata had got on her knees during the break, were the striking image of intense satisfaction. Seeing this, Hitomi shook her head, an indulging smile on her lips. She knew what to do, then, if they decided to become agitated.
And then, it would give her an excuse to be near Hinata.