Chapter warning: unedited
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Night fell and Ari had evacuated the household. She watched from a distance as the sky cleared and the moon shone through—like a beacon of hope. Tempted to leave and pelt prickling with agitation she scrambled up and onto the rooftops. Something told her to stay.

Just for a bit. A little slice of time to ensure the child's safety.

And with the approaching chakra signatures it wouldn't be long. She watched with hooded eyes as two adults hurried into the house, one clutching another life form in their arms. Perhaps another child?

But no matter, the human child was settled and there was no more crying, no more rain. And with this in mind Ari set off into the night.

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Dawn broke with the chatter of birds—noisy things mind you—but Ari didn't mind. She drifted in and out of sleep, warm and drowsy. A ladybug landed on her nose and she sneezed it away, shaking her head.

Opening one eye the cat stretched out on the pine needle floor, soft and cushiony with a hint of musky bark. Morning could make anything comfortable and at this moment Ari wanted nothing more than to nap.

And slowly, she drifted off again.

The next time she woke, it was to the sounds of clangs and grunts. Chakra was being thrown about but Ari didn't let that bother her and stayed dozing. However the universe had other plans and she suddenly felt warmer, a spike in the air made her hair stand up. She jerked awake just to see a fireball charging at her and yelped. Skidding out of the way.

Her heart jumped in her chest, beating like bloody bongos at some lousy festival. Her breath came out in rasps as the tender wounds on her side flared in protest. Stop moving it said.

Shut up! She said back.

The wrappings creepy mantis guy gave her had fallen away days ago, leaving the wounds vulnerable but somewhat healed. It still stung when she moved too much, but it was a vast improvement from a few days ago. Whatever they did, it healed quickly.

Ari jerked in surprise as the flaming ball died away before it touched the trees, gone like it was never there. The sounds of a battle still rung in the clearing, grunts and the thud of something sharp hitting wood attracting her attention.

Scampering away from her very good hiding spot under a bush, Ari followed the noise further out into the open, keeping close to the tree line in case she needed to hide again. Maybe she could yell at whatever idiot thought fire in a forest was a good idea.

Up ahead she saw...whatever she saw. It was a blur of movement from one person. They jumped, leaped and did overdramatic somersaults as they flung what looked like forks at wooden dummies.  She's pretty sure the forks had a name, they didn't look like they could be used for eating, and from how fast they sunk into the wood she was sure they weren't made to go inside mouths.

Not that she wouldn't try.

The person slowed for a split second and she glimpsed a head of fine black hair. They did a range of hand signs and the air crackled with energy, a thundering bolt of light shot out of the person's hands and obliterated a dummy. Brilliant and blue. Ari flinched as a shiver passed through her from head to tail, her senses flaying at the raw power of chakra. Splinters flew everywhere.

The air was supercharged with energy, and still the person continued destroying, ripping and tearing into space.

Air was sucked out of her lungs as another fireball came at her, and she yowled wildly to get out of the way.

Watch it! She wanted to hiss at the person. They were too fast, too charged with tight controlled energy that her fur stood on edge. They felt unnatural against her senses, no creature should wield this much power, and yet this human did. And they were destroying everything in their path.

She wavered at the edges of the forest, watching with unease but unable to look away. Her instincts recognised them as a threat, pulling and screaming at her to run, to hide but she stayed put. Ears perked and alert as she took in the raw power and strength they wielded. With such fluidity too. A pang of envy skipped through her.

Would she ever be able to do that?

Could she?

She didn't know.

A voice called out to the person, high with youth and elation. The person—ninja stopped immediately, as if caught off guard and a small ball of excitement slammed into him. Clutching at his clothing.

"Oni-chan!" The child exclaimed, out of breath and yet full of energy. Ari perked up at the familiar voice, standing up taller to see.

"Sasuke?" The ninja blinked in surprise. His voice was lower, though it was still tinted with youth.

They pulled the child away from them, hands on his shoulders as he sunk down on one knee, meeting Sasuke eye on eye. "I thought I told you to stay at home." He accused softly, though there was no anger in his tone.

What? Ari thought, coming to sense with what her nose was trying to tell her the whole time. She didn't notice the familiar scent of Sasuke's family member in her trance, too focused on her instincts and her mind screaming threat threat threat.

"You did but I came anyway" Sasuke said sheepishly, rocking back on the balls of his heel. The kidtook a second to compose himself, face still flushed from his mad dash to get here. "Granny didn't even notice me leave" he boasted with all the arrogance that came with being a child, as if running from the elderly was an accomplishment. 

The ninja seemed to smile, humour danced in his eyes. "Of course you did."

Sasuke puffed up with pride and Ari felt herself relax. She couldn't help smiling too at the child's antics, as haughty as the kid acted he was just that, a kid. And he held himself with a childlike innocence in his pompousness.

Deciding that she was safe and—no ninja dude isn't gonna flay my ass—she crept out of her spot under the trees, coming up to greet the pair with a thrill.

Sasuke made a noise of delight as he spotted her. "It's you!"

The ninja turned, back straightening and instantly tense. He too spotted the small cat and his brows furrowed in confusion. Why hadn't he sensed her approach?

Ari greeted the two again, chiming a "hello" to Sasuke, who of course only heard a meow. She's still working on her speaking and she'd be damned if she revealed herself too early. She couldn't even string together a sentence let alone hold a conversation.

The ninja turned properly and Ari felt as if he was assessing her with his eyes. He was way younger than she expected, especially after the show of power earlier. Maybe ten years old or so? Ari's tail flicked as she tasted the bitter tang of distrust coming from him. What's with people and suspecting cats?

Well this won't do, she decided, rubbing herself along Sasuke's legs with a rumbling purr. The child easily crouched down to pet her, his mask of arrogance from the academy gone in the company of the older ninja. He obviously trusted him Ari noted.

"Oni-chan it's the same cat I told you about." Sasuke spoke as he combed his small fingers through the cat's fur. "The one who led us through the fog" he looked up to the older ninja, an older brother she collected from Sasuke's words.

A carefree smile softened the kid's face and Ari thought she much preferred this happy Sasuke to stoic Sasuke.

"So it seems." The ninja drawled with a raised brow. Stray cats weren't uncommon in the village, but meeting the same cat over and over again couldn't be a coincidence. Itachi didn't quite believe in fate but he knew the world isn't all random either. There was always someone pulling the strings.

And some strings indeed he thought, eyeing the easy way his brother accepted the cat's company.

Ninja cats weren't uncommon either, his clan often employed them, either as familiars or simple poets. Some would carry messages from household to household, some were trained spies, creeping in the night and scattering into homes for information.

The world outside these village walls were cruel, and information could mean the difference between life and death.

But here he was, watching his brother happily pat a cat.

Maybe he was being paranoid, but he couldn't afford to be lax either. Not with Root, not with his father, and certainly not with the safety of his brother.

His heart wrenched as he remembered the latest clan meeting, and he locked the memories away for another time. Not now. Not in front of Sasuke.

A sharp nip to his fingers jerked him out of his head, and his hands shot instantly to the hidden pocket in his vest. Chakra rising up and ready to be used. The feel of his kunai a comforting cold on his fingertips.

"Hey!" He heard Sasuke exclaim as he snatched up the cat. "Don't bite my brother, you're not allowed to eat him." The kid scolded the cat with puffed out cheeks. The cat ignored him and yowled unhappily at Itachi.

"I'll shit on your pillows" Ari threatened, coming out as a meow to those untrained in cat speak. 

Itachi relaxed. The cat bit him, bit him and his first reaction was to go for the knives. He needed to calm down.

Ari meowed again, protesting in Sasuke's arms and sending more unhappy looks at the ninja. She could smell his suspension from here, a bitter tang in the back of her throat. She was a cat god dammit, no one suspects cats.

Except this fruit loop apparently, she thought with a pout. Here she was trying to be cute and make him calm down but Mr pole-in-ass refused to chill.

Sasuke didn't seem to pick up on the tension and turned away with her in his arms. "You're coming with me" he declared out loud, apparently to the both of them as he used one hand to tug his brother's sleeves. "Come on Mom said lunch is ready soon!"

Itachi let himself be pulled away from his training with a reluctant smile, or as Ari liked to put it, burning down the whole damn forest. The two brothers were polar opposites, but Sasuke's older brother seemed to have a fondness for the kid that softened his sharp edges.

Ari thought he was just a stoic suspicious ass with too much power.

But alas she was a cat and cats have been trying to take over the world since the dawn of time. Not that the humans knew, so she guessed some suspicion was warranted. A little...

Not really.

She just wants to be fed god dammit, and nap. Naps are great. Naps are amazing.

He disturbed her nap.

Ari sent the weird ninja dude a glare.

Itachi rose a brow at the cat, way too small to be full grown but not quite a kitten either. The amount of expression in the creature's eyes unnerved him, furthering his thoughts that she wasn't a normal cat. Too alert, too emotional. But her chakra blended in with the ambient energy of the forest, untrained and unnoticed. Not quite a ninja cat either.

His thoughts flashed back to 'Bakeneko' and he locked that away to be pursued later.

Sasuke easily chartered away to his brother and the cat, the small thing a comforting weight in his arms. He always thought street cats would be smelly and yucky, but the black cat's fur was soft to the touch and sleek, as if well groomed. And she didn't smell either.

"-and they didn't even say anything, they just followed me around! Well of course they did, but I couldn't get them to stop. And then Shikamaru, the Nara boy I told you about, didn't even move when Ino walked on him. It was funny, but then-" Sasuke rambled on, using his shoulders to express himself with a handful of cat.

Ari flickered her tail calmly, enjoying the easy atmosphere as Sasuke's older brother "hmm"ed and "ahh"ed at the right times. The kid was a lot more relaxed around his brother, actually acting like a kid although his rambling stayed at a constant volume. Ari was thankful that even though he rambled, he wasn't loud. 

His brother on the other hand was...tense.

Ari felt a frown pulling her face down. Kid was like ten or thirteen or something but already so jaded. Was he like this all the time? Did he even relax when he slept?

She bets he keeps weapons under his pillow. Or maybe a porn magazine or two, puberty hits everyone after all.

She's thankful she doesn't have to go through that.

The pair of brothers passed through some gates, the guards nodded at them respectfully as they entered clan compounds. Ari wondered where on earth she was and why she's never seen this part of the village.

And why was she letting herself get kidnapped?

The buildings around her were well kept and luxurious, with small patches of lawns and green foliage, some had bright flowers that smelled sweet all around. Others had plants that tasted of spice and tang and danger. Ari made sure to eye those extra closely.

There were adults and children all around, walking with straight backs and upright postures. Chins to the sky, chests puffed out and asses horizontal to the ground. Ari thought they looked like peacocks.

But all around her, she smelt spice. A tingle in the air as Sasuke's familiar scent became tenfold. His family, their unique chakra signature soaked into the walls and floors of the compounds. Everything pristine and wood and very much united.

She glimpsed signs scattered around the houses, all very similar to the building she took Sasuke to on their first meeting. Ari wondered what they meant.

They stopped by a larger gate and Sasuke's rambles died down, he ran, kicked off his shoes and sped inside.

What awaited her was horror.

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I'm writing to procrastinate my assignments
It's nice to see y'all again! - Arctic