(Chapter is unedited so there may be a few mistakes)

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A few days later and after a lot of searching Ari finally ended up finding a suitable forest to sleep in. Only tonight was a bit...different.

§|Ari's POV|§

The thing about having fur is that you basically have a huge wooly coat on for the rest of your life, no why to take it off unless you want to skin yourself. Keeping it nice and groomed is key if you want to stay nice and warm. It's useful most of the time.

Most of the time...

A small shiver shook my body as the howling of wind once again rattled my safe haven-which was a tree. A very small, skinny, leafless tree that shook like a maraca in this bullshit of a storm. My teeth clattered against each other just as the slippery branch I latched onto started to creek. I clung on harder. 'Okay so in hind sight maybe this was not the best idea...' I thought.

Another harsh gust of wind rocked the branch, a sharp whistle in my ears as my claws started to hurt from clinging this hard. 

After another howl of the wind knocked the tree I decided that it was not worth it, at this point the ground would so sooo much safer. With gritted teeth I could feel my claws slip from their holds on the branch, sending me plunging down below into the muddy ground. Which mind you, was thankfully soft from said mud.

An annoyed hiss naturally broke out of me as my pelt absorbed more of that soggy dirt, as if I wasn't drenched before.

Cracking above me instantly alerted me of the branch—which was practically hanging by a thread now.  Risking a glance up I bolted to the other side of the tree just narrowly missing the dead fall as it impaled the ground, the branch's fall only sending more muddy water into the air and onto me. Flickering my eyes up I glared at the dam tree.

'Gee thanks' I snarked inside my head.

With a sigh I turned around to seek better shelter, preferably one without so much....moist liquid earth.

Making it to the ends of the tree line my heart dropped as it rained much much harder than before, suddenly pelting the ground with endless amounts of water. With a quick fluid movement I sprinted out from the safety of the tree lines, right out into the falling rain.

Surprisingly the harsh pitter patter of the rains didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. The feeling somehow very...soft and peaceful. It was almost like time had slowed down, the droplets of cold drenching water a wonderful feeling on my already soaked pelt, washing the gunk and mud off me in a rhythmic pattern.

The air a crisp welcoming scent of plant pheromones and rain, even in the foggy setting a nearby street lamp shone brightly; engulfed in a halo of light and streaming water.

In this split second even in the cold, even with the pulsing blood surging in my ears, I felt at peace. An unusual feeling sweeping me up in a gentle, comforting embrace, almost like a mother's. The whispering air and rain around me almost seamed to sing, luring me forwards, encouraging me to trust. Trust what? I have no clue, but at this moment I didn't have the heart to care. This feeling, it's like you're finally home after a long time at war; unsettling and yet, familiar and so darn happy.

I sighed in rare bliss, not minding the rain as much anymore.

The moment was broken by the rapid splashing of footprints not far off, my beyond drenched cat ears quickly picking it up in a flicker of movement, sending droplets of water to fall. Reopening my eyes wait when did I close them? I spotted a small figure that seamed to clutch into a bigger one, their heavy breathing creating little puffs of white with every exhale.

In an instant I snapped back into focus because 'what on earth is going on? It's like 3 am who the hell runs in the rain at this time?' (That's not Might guy or Lee lol)

Since a cat's eyes are much better than a human's I was able to sport them from this distance. It looked like a panicking granny with a small child clutching their robes. The granny had some kind of plastic wrapped box in one hand while the other tugged the child forwards.

My eyes stayed trained on them as they steadily stumbled towards me, probably on their way somewhere. A dash of concern sparked in my chest as I noticed the granny's panicked and scared body language. 'She's the adult here, it's not good for her to be scared in her own village'  I thought.

'Maybe I should keep an eye on them...' my impulsive brain prompted, and who was I to ignore such a curiosity quenching suggestion?

And with that I started to trail them from behind once they passed me without noticing. My eyes flickering from the panicked granny to the terrified child clutching her hand. They were both soaked like me, although they seamed more muddy.

"Oba-san will we make it?" The child asked, their tone of voice small and frightened, although you could tell they tried to sound brave. 'Whooaa Okay that kid can NOT be older than six." I thought as I heard him. The granny grasped the child's hand a bit harder in reassurance. "Of course sweetie just you wait, we'll see your father before you know it." They replied in a forced confident tone, their voice soft and sort of croaky.

Frankly I doubted that the granny knew where they were right now, the streets were deathly foggy from all the humidity and rain.

"Okay..." the child agreed, sounding a bit better now. They walked a bit faster to keep up with the granny, although said granny wasn't moving that fast either. I just followed on while keeping a small distance between us, glancing between the two every once in a while.

After turning a few more times and taking several detours around the maze like streets of the village, the granny finally sighed. Stopping. "I'm so sorry Sasuke-chan, looks like we're lost." She spoke, voice cast fallen and tense. The small child, Sasuke I presume, made a small sad noise as his shoulders dropped in disappointment. I could sense the granny's guilt and unease from here.

"But...Dad needs us. How else can he get the dinner mom made?" Sasuke asked, on the verge of tears from what I could tell. My heart sank as he started to sniffle.

"No no no no don't cry"

"I know, I'm so sorry Sasuke, an old croak like me can't handle this weather." The granny dropped into a one legged kneel, setting aside the plastic wrapped box as she wiped the child's face with the sleeve of her kimono. "Oh trust me lady you don't need to wipe tears away, not with this rain." I thought as I approached them from behind.

The light from a conveniently placed lamppost provided just enough light in this fog to illuminate Sasuke's snot covered face and the granny's own sad one.

A frown pulled at the edges of my mouth as Sasuke tried and failed to fight back tears. I could sense the bitter tang of the granny's guilt and shame rise up even more, and that's when I decided hey enough is enough and meowed loudly. Capturing the two's attention in a heart beat. Sasuke's eyes squinted to see me clearer as I trotted closer to the two. The granny seamed wary of me.

Making eye contact with Sasuke I meowed once again, this time softer than before. The granny tensed up as I neared them. "Hey old gal I'm not threat" I thought as I started purr, hopefully making the granny understand that "OI I'm a harmless kitty cat!" It seamed to work as they relaxed a bit. "How odd, a street cat?" I heard her whisper underneath her breath.

Sasuke's eyes were pinned on me.

Coming even closer I sniffed at the plastic wrapped box, the very faint scent of cooked rice and chicken inside with various other vegetables. Nudging the plastic with my nose I caught the whiff of something more, a slightly indescribable and sharp scent that belonged to humans. Every family had one distinct scent, and this spicy scent was theirs.

All of a sudden my senses bloomed with information, the same way a dog's would when tracking something because "Hey cats can track too!"

It was like a whole new world opened up to me, the same scent extremely strong on Sasuke and weaker on the granny; though it was still there.

Ignoring Sasuke's little shouts of "Hey that's for my dad!" I turned towards the street and sniffed the air carefully. The rain had calmed down into a light drizzle.

All sorts of scents seemingly whiled around me in a figurative dance as I tried to find a hint of the one I was looking for. The rain washed away most of it but I could still smell small trails everywhere. The trail where the granny and Sasuke came from, the trail of a mouse, the trail of some other humans. It was not long before I caught onto a familiar sharp scent, a sharp scent that belonged to what ever family or clan Sasuke was from. With a exited lash of my tail and a loud meow I beckoned them forwards.

The two started confusingly at me, the granny lost in thought with their grey eyebrows pinched together while Sasuke stayed clueless. Understanding slowly lit up on Sasuke's face as he made a small "ooohhh" sound, bolting forwards to me. The granny's arm quickly shot out and caught him before he could move any further.

A bitter and salty tang of distrust oozed off the granny as they stared at me, unsure.

"Sasuke we should not follow random cats, they might be dangerous." She adopted a lecturing tone of voice. But Sasuke was too busy bouncing on the spot. "But what if it's a ninja cat my dad sent to get us?" He complained, glancing at me from the corner is his eye. I let a warm purr rumble in my chest as I padded forwards slowly, movement fluid and refined. I gave a chirpy meow as if agreeing with Sasuke, even though I had zero idea what he meant by a ninja cat.

"Ninja cats can speak, this one can't. Come on let's go home Sasuke, your father might be home by now." She urged again, tugging him towards her. Her sad dark eyes regarding me for a few more seconds before flickering to Sasuke's pleading ones.

"But what if! This cat can't be bad because dad's police men always makes sure we're safe. He told me himself!" Sasuke whined, pleading the granny with his eyes. The granny took one look and sighed, eyes closing as if composing herself before opening again. "Okay fine, but if it leads us nowhere we'll go home immediately alright? I'm already in enough trouble for agreeing to sneak you out." She spoke with worry in her tone before looking back at me.

'Heyyy don't worry you'll be fine lady' I chirped inside my head, turning around following the scent trail I caught onto earlier.

I could hear a scrape of plastic, hinting that the granny picked the box up. The rustling of wet fabrics behind me told me that they were following. 'Alright Ari, you can do this. Let's just help out this child and than find a not wet place to sleep' I encouraged myself.

Taking some twists and turns in the very confusing layout of the village I walked past shops and stores, all closed for the night. The scent trail got stronger and stronger the more I walked, a sharp tang at the back of my throat. I could feel my ears perking up on instinct every time Sasuke and the granny exchanged words, always hushed whispers—which was annoying mind you.

Another turn to the right lead us into a bigger street with a few much bigger buildings. A few of them had weird symbols on them while the big one in the middle was painted a unusual dark blue. Very different from all the other buildings around them.

A gasp and a sigh of relief coursed behind me sent a small bubbly feeling into the pit of my stomach. 'Wow I actually did it' I thought with satisfaction. Sasuke rushed past me in a squawk of limbs as he dashed straight to the dark blue building. The granny chuckled before following him in a much more composed way, which was classic walking.

"Thank you, cat." The granny smiled at me briefly as she walked past, clearly more concerned with the small child than me. The two made their way inside the building, light from inside glowing a nice welcoming yellow as they opened the double doors. I could not stop a small smile from forming as I sensed Sasuke's excited and happy emotions along with the Granny's calmer and more thankful ones.

'Huh, I did a good thing today...' was all I thought as the rain eased up completely.

The air a peaceful cool breeze around me while I basked in the feeling of the granny's gratitude. Door shutting gently, taking away the warm yellow light but that was okay since it was not as dark anymore. The sky was already dusted a lighter blue than before, the sun just barely peaking over the horizons if I bothered to look.

'Wow, I really did something for once...'

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The format for POV keeps changing whoops