Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Natsume Yūjin-chō belongs to Yuki Midorikawa. I own nothing but this fanfic.

Chapter 3

A few months later, Madara found himself back in Konoha.

Looking back, he did not plan on returning. Shinobi village seemed too dangerous for his own comfort. He felt like he would never be able to relax in a village wherein the people could seal a daiyōkai at the level of bijū. They had delicious food (he had not tasted the ramen yet. What a pity!), much better than what they had in Sora-ku, but Madara prioritized his safety, so this time, even food would not be able to tempt him.

Unfortunately, life had another plan for him.

When a group of Uchiha shinobi came to Nekobaa's store, one of them recognized Madara as the fat cat who had visited their clan compound. Nekobaa took it as a clue to where his owner lived and insisted on returning him to his owner.

"He's such a well-fed cat. I'm sure his owner loves him very much. They must've been worried sick after losing him," she reasoned when she asked the Uchiha to take him back to Konoha.

Madara might be able to escape, but his opponent was a group of magical ninja with magic eyes. He did not want to risk his identity, so he let them take him to Konoha while silently planning to leave again as soon as he had the chance.

The Uchiha went looking for his owner as soon as they arrived, but of course, they failed. There was no mission asking for a shinobi to find a cat like him. They asked the Inuzuka to help track his owner, but even their ninken were clueless. In the end, they could only bring him to the Uchiha Compound and look after him until they found another clue.

Living with the Uchiha was not bad. They might be awfully quiet, arrogant, pompous, and strict, but they treated him well. They fed him, bathed him, groomed him, and let him go anywhere he wanted to with no restriction as long as he returned periodically. This left him with enough room to make plans for his escape. He could not be hasty, though. He had to be patient, wait until those ninja put down their guard, until he was sure of their schedule and knew every nook and cranny of the village. Only then would he be able to leave. Until then, he decided to enjoy his life as much as he could, starting with food, especially Ichiraku ramen.

Ah! How was he going to be able to eat it? When would he be able to eat it?!

Madara was thinking hard just to eat that particular ramen. Luckily, after much consideration, observation, and careful planning, he finally found the way.

He stole some money from a civilian (not a shinobi. Too risky) before disguising himself as a human (Natsume). Armed with money and a proper look, he entered the shop confidently when there were no shinobi around (no hitai-ate means no shinobi, he reckoned). It worked. He left after eating two bowls of ramen with no accident. He was happy he almost sang throughout his trip back to the Uchiha Compound. That was close. He should not do such humane behavior in a cat's body.

It was then, exactly when he had just suppressed the urge to sing did he sense something familiar. The crackle of lightning mixed with the smell of dogs and the aura of loneliness that reminded him of Reiko and Natsume. All that came from a one-eyed silver-haired teenager in a shinobi getup who just passed by him.

Hmm… What an interesting lad.

Madara ended up following him secretly until the boy entered a modest traditional house. He did not sense any other person but the silver-haired kid. It made him quite surprised because as modest as it might look, it was still too big for a single man. Why did he live alone in such a spacious place?

The kid really piqued his interest. How couldn't he? His element was similar to him, he got the scent of dogs and while Madara was a wolf, he and the dogs were both canines. The loneliness he exuded only made the maneki-neko get attracted more as it reminded him of his precious human. It was no wonder Madara found himself stalking the boy when he got the chance, learning about him little by little only to feel more and more sympathetic the more he learned.

The boy had a difficult life. His closest friends died in the war. His father committed suicide. He was the last of his clan. Despite his age, he was already an elite shinobi; Anbu, they said. With such a great rank, obviously his missions would be far more difficult than most shinobi. How many people has he killed? How many had he lost? How many times had he encountered death? How many times had he almost died?

Pitiful. How pitiful.

Madara might never admit it, but deep in his heart, he knew he had a soft spot for a certain type of human. This kid was included. For this reason, he unconsciously gave himself a new objective: to accompany the kid so he would not be so lonely in his home.

Since then,the Hatake residence had gained one more inhabitant: a fat calico cat who often slept on the rooftop.

~o0o~

"You're here again," Kakashi announced his presence by stating the obvious. It had been more than a week since the funny-looking calico started sleeping at his home, or to be precise, his rooftop. At first, the boy did not say anything about it. However, after a few days, he became curious and started investigating because the cat did not seem to be stray with how fat and clean it was in addition to the collar around its neck.

It did not take long for him to discover that the cat was also a regular in the Uchiha Compound. The clan treated it like their own, yet never got in the way of its adventurous tendency. Every day, the cat would take a stroll around the village, sometimes stealing some snacks from various shops when no one was looking (he was, but the cat did not know). While it seemed as if it took a stroll on a whim, Kakashi noticed that the cat had three favorite places: Uchiha Compound, his rooftop, and the academy. It was understandable the cat would like the Uchiha Compound when the Uchiha fed and cleaned it, but Kakashi had no idea why it liked sleeping on his rooftop during the night. He also had no idea why the cat liked visiting the academy, watching students in their class from a tree branch it sat on. Was it watching over Uchiha kids?

"Ah, that cat? We don't know," little genin Uchiha Shisui told him one day when he asked who its owner was. "I heard that it just appeared in our compound one day. It didn't stay for long, though. They said it left and didn't return for months until some of us found it in Sora-ku and brought it back."

"Sora-ku? How did it end up there?"

"We don't know either. Maybe it snuck into a caravan. Or maybe it was kidnapped. But that doesn't matter anymore. We still have no idea who its owner is, but at least we got it back!"

That only made the cat seem more mysterious, although perhaps he was just thinking too much. It was just a cat, one who did nothing but sleep on his rooftop. Its occasional thievery also did not look suspicious. What was strange about a cat stealing grilled squids and fried shrimps?

Yes, he was thinking too much. It must be his paranoia acting out again, yet he couldn't really blame himself for being paranoid. After all, Kushina-san was going to give birth soon. It was his duty to guard her until the baby was born.

I hope nothing bad will happen, he thought as he entered home, ignoring the cat who did not seem to care about him, content with its place. Minato-sensei told him that the seal would weaken when a jinchūriki gave birth. It would be a disaster if the Kyūbi managed to escape during that time. Not only would it threaten Kushina-san's life, the whole Konoha might also be destroyed. They were still recovering from the Third Shinobi War. They could not afford a bijū rampage.

Kakashi made dinner for himself after taking a shower. He evaluated today's mission, prepared for tomorrow's mission, and then read a novel (not the dark and suicidal-themed ones. He was not planning to die so soon when his Hokage needed him) before going to bed. He did not know why, but before he fell asleep, his mind went to the calico cat on the rooftop, wondering if it had slept or if it was planning to hunt in the quiet night like most stray cats. Thinking about that, Kakashi smiled.

There was no way a fat and domesticated cat like it would hunt. If anything, it would steal from people like it did before. Or beg them. It was cute enough to garner pity and attention. The Uchiha had fallen victim to that unique cuteness.

That night, Kakashi fell asleep soundly. There was no nightmare. No dream. Just a peaceful slumber.

~o0o~

Kakashi was getting attached.

He would not admit it loudly, but he was. The cat did nothing but lounging and sleeping on the rooftop, yet its presence somehow brought him peace and relief. It rarely meowed, but the look it gave him every time he returned home was like a silent greeting. Sometimes Kakashi caught it playing with birds and dragonflies, and when he saw such a sight, he would feel warm. He would smile and chuckle in amusement. The cat would hear him when he was close, but it would simply ignore him in favor of its own entertainment. Even that was amusing in his eyes. Before he knew it, Kakashi too, like the Uchiha, had fallen victim to the cat's charm. He had regarded the calico as something to be treasured. A precious existence. A friend.

Once the cat had successfully caught his heart, it did not take long until the silver-haired teen started feeding it during dinner. At first, it was just a single fish in front of the door, but after a few days, Kakashi invited the cat inside and spent their dinnertime together.

The weather was getting cold at night. It would be better for the cat to stay indoors, Kakashi reasoned in denial.

Since then, the cat would sleep in the living room every night, only returning to the rooftop if Kakashi went out for a mission. Actually, Kakashi would not mind if the cat came into his room. The round calico was clean and healthy thanks to the care of the Uchiha. Besides, a little dirt due to strolling around the village did not matter to a shinobi who often slept with sweaty ninken during missions. Kakashi could tolerate it, but the cat seemed to have its own idea because it always settled down on the tatami cushion in the living room.

Maybe it was just being strict with its boundaries. Cats could be territorial after all. Or maybe it was just being careful around him; it had not been long since the calico started sleeping inside the house. Surely it would take time until it could trust him fully. Kakashi could respect that, so he let the cat do as it wished.

The cat would leave in the morning without breakfast, but Kakashi was not worried because he knew it would eat in the Uchiha Compound. When the cat had left, soon after, he too would leave to guard Kushina-san until his shift ended. Kakashi quite liked this new routine. The addition of a cat in his life seemed to help alleviate his stress. Therefore, it was not strange if he grew to care for it. It was not strange if he considered buying cat toys for it to play with and stocking many fish in the refrigerator to feed it. Would the cat be bored if he only gave it fish? Would it be healthy? Perhaps there should be more variety in the diet?

Kakashi was still pondering about it during his night stroll when Gai came pestering him about rivals and rigorous training and "You've gotten awfully cold since joining the Anbu!" when he sensed something foreboding. Ominous.

Not even a minute later, his bad feelings were proven right.

The Kyūbi showed up at the village, roaring violently. It could only mean one thing: the seal had been broken.

The mission had failed.

Thank you for reading. Review please:)