Title: Claws And Teeth

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: KakashixIruka

Rating: T

Spoilers: Very slight spoilers for the events right after the Chuunin Exams

Status: Chapter 1 of 4

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't make money.

Warning: This story contains shonen ai (love between men) and hints of yaoi (physical love between men). If you don't like these topics, please don't read any further and refrain from flaming me because of them.

by nayru-kleinefee

Chapter 1

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN'T?!", a very loud voice boomed.

He groaned softly and frowned. Now that wasn't nice. He'd been sleeping so well right now, and furthermore had had this really, really nice dream with… about… with…

He couldn't remember. Grrreat.

"Naruto, would you please calm down?", somebody else said. "Yelling doesn't solve our problems."

"BUT LOOK AT THEM!" The first voice again.

How annoying. He cracked one of his eyes open and blinked. There were one, two, three, four figures in the room, one big one and three smaller ones. The big one had really big… teats? The smaller ones were… orange, pink and moody, to name his first impressions.

"I see them", the pink one said. According to voice and body stature, it was a quite young female. At least as far as he could guess.

He yawned, stretched and scratched his ear. Now really, why was he here? He was already bored and he'd only been awake for some breaths. He could spend his time with something much more interesting. Like… like chasing something, that was fun. Or even better: Lying in the sun and sleeping. Mmmh… yes, that sounded good.

Having made up his mind to go and do just that, he straightened up and moved to jump down from the big, soft surface he presently was on. Pity that there probably wasn't such a thing outside. Lying on such a soft surface and in the sun would be-

"Whoa! He's trying to run!", someone shouted suddenly, then hands grabbed him before he really could make a run for it.

"You have to stay here, Kakashi-sensei!", the orange figure, probably a young male, told him and looked at him reproachfully.

'Kakashi-sensei'? Now what the heck was that again?

"Yes, Kashi", the pink one purred and took him from the other's arms to hug him tightly. "You're not supposed to walk around on your own."

'Kashi'? And what was-

…

Oh no! Oh freaking no! That wasn't the… the… that thing, right? That n-thing. … That 'name'-thing he had been given by those… those… humans, now was it?! Now really, if the humans thought that having a name was necessary, they should name their own kind, but why did he need something like a name? And one like 'Kashi' furthermore?

"'Kashi'?", the orange human asked. "Sakura-chan, why did you call him 'Kashi'?"

Yes, why?

"Because I can't call him 'Kakashi-sensei' anymore, now can I, Naruto?", that Sakura-human gave back.

That 'Kakashi-sensei' again… He frowned. Now that was a really weird name. And much too long, that was. He could call himself lucky that it was already someone else's name.

"And since he's so cute", Sakura-human continued, "I'll call him 'Kashi'."

Cute?! Oh. Freaking. Grrreat. He sighed. But well… 'Kashi' wasn't that bad. And if the humans thought that he absolutely needed a name, 'Kashi' was probably as good as some and certainly better than most.

Sighing in defeat, It-Seems-That-Now-I'm-Kashi went boneless in Sakura-human's grip, hoping to manage to simply flow out of her hands.

"Okay, Sakura-chan", Naruto-human murmured. "But it's still weird to call him that… What do you think about it, Sasuke-teme?"

"Hrn", the moody human only supplied.

Kashi looked from one of them to the other. Were they done now? Now that he had a name, could he go and lie in the sun in peace?

"And Iruka-sensei will be 'Ruka'", Sakura-human chirped.

Kashi snorted. So he wasn't the only one to suffer and be named. He looked around in search for that mysterious 'Ruka' until his eyes caught sight of a bundle of dark brown fur on another one of those big, white, soft surfaces. Seemed the other was asleep and didn't know about his luck and new name yet.

"I will not let you call Iruka-sensei 'Ruka'!", Naruto-human shouted.

Kashi winced at the volume. Humans were so loud. Now really, he was just glad that he wasn't one of them.

But back to his still sleeping companion… Kashi ignored the bickering humans and let his gaze travel over a long, slim body and tail, admiring the shiny brown fur. Now that was definitely a nice-looking one. Maybe he should try to become friends with him? Chasing somethings and lying in the sun were even more enjoyable if you had someone to keep you company, and-

"STOP IT!", the big human yelled suddenly, "ALL OF YOU!"

Kashi mewed pitifully. He had sensitive ears, mind you, big human. He tried to cover his ears with his paws, but then his eyes fell onto his companion again. The other, Ruka, just opened his eyes slowly and blinked, then he looked around until he met Kashi's gaze.

Kashi froze the moment he looked into the other's dark brown eyes, still a little hazy from sleep, and suddenly knew what he would, what he just had to do.

Screw becoming friends. He had to make that one his mate!

-----

He blinked slowly. So mean… why did somebody have to yell? He'd just had such a nice dream. Something about… about…

Great. Now he'd forgotten it. Honey!

Grumpily he looked around to see where he was and whom he could scratch for waking him up. There were four humans, one big and obviously female one and three smaller ones, probably two males and one female. Although he wasn't entirely sure about that dark, moody-looking one…

Oh, and there was someone else. One of his kind, with silver fur and really weird eyes, one blue and one red. And… why was the other staring at him so intensely? That was kind of creepy…

"Iruka-sensei's awake!", the orange human shouted suddenly, then bounced towards him and yanked him up from the nice, soft… thing he was on. "It's me! Naruto!"

He frowned. First, what was that 'Iruka-sensei'? Second, why was that human so… orange? And third, why did he have the really strong impression that he should know him?

"Naruto, stop it!", the pink human shouted. "Before you hurt Ruka!"

Yes, right. Naruto-human should really stop yanking him around like that. Hmm… seemed that he was 'Ruka'. Well, there were definitely worse names than that. Like that 'Iruka-sensei'… poor guy.

"Oh!" Naruto-human immediately let him down to the soft surface again. "I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei!"

Hu? Did Naruto-human yank that 'Iruka-sensei' around, too? Ruka frowned. But however, he could lie on this soft… something again. That was nice.

"You have to change them back, Tsunade-obachan!", he heard Naruto-human shout.

"And how?", the big human asked. "Thanks to you, I don't even know how I changed them for the first time!"

"But… but you have to", Naruto-human murmured. "I don't want Iruka-sensei to stay like this…" He moved to sit next to Ruka and stroked his back.

Ruka purred deep in his chest and closed his eyes. Now that was nice. He still didn't know why this bouncy orange human was so familiar, but he already knew that he definitely liked him.

-----

Kashi didn't like that orange human at all. How could he dare to touch his mate?!

Kashi growled and moved to jump into the overbearing human's face but was stopped by the hold Sakura-human still had on him.

"Oh, poor Kashi", she cooed, "are you jealous? Do you want to be petted, too?"

Kashi hissed and clawed at her arm, effectively causing her to yelp and drop him. With all the feline grace he could muster, he landed on his paws, then jumped, climbed up a very surprised Sasuke-human's pants and shirt and finally reached the orange human and his mate.

"Oh look, how cuuuuuute!", he heard the pink human squeal. "He wants to play with Ruka!"

Yes, Kashi definitely wanted to play with Ruka. He wanted to play 'Icha Icha' with him and-

Kashi frowned. Where had that come from? And just what was 'Icha Icha'?

Shrugging and mentally shaking his head, Kashi decided to ignore this thought for the moment and instead approached his mate. Later he could try to figure out what exactly 'Icha Icha' was and in which way playing it was so enjoyab-

"I don't think so." Suddenly someone grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up, then he was facing the big human.

Kashi mewed in utter confusion. What was that about? What had he to do with that female that couldn't wait until he'd reached and claimed his mate?

"But he only wants to play with Ruka", Sakura-human whined.

Yes, he only wanted to play with Ruka. Why wasn't he allowed to? Ruka was going to be his mate, mind you, big human. Kashi mewed miserably. So mean.

"I bet." The big human snorted. "Since they're getting along so well when they're normal."

Kashi mewed again, indignant this time. He would get along very well with Ruka, he would protect his mate and hunt food for him and make sure that he was warm when the moon was up and most of all never let anybody else touch his mate. He would be very good to him!

Aaand he was normal, thank you very much.

"Oh. Maybe you're right, Tsunade-sama", Sakura-human murmured. "But maybe we should give it a try?"

"Maybe." Tsunade-human gave Kashi a suspicious glance which he returned with an affronted glare. "Since I have no idea how to change them back."

"You don't?!", Naruto-human shouted suddenly. "You're supposed to be the best in that stuff!"

"Well, I am", Tsunade-human huffed indignantly. "And I would know exactly how to change them back if I knew how I changed them to begin with."

"But you-"

"And I would know how I changed them if somebody hadn't swapped the labels on some of my ingredients in my laboratory as a stupid excuse of a prank. I really hope that that somebody is very pleased with himself now."

"I'm sorry", Naruto-human murmured.

"Oh, that's great. Well, since somebody is sorry now, it won't be a problem anymore to change them back." Tsunade-human glared at the orange one and tightened her grip on Kashi's fur, making him mew in pain.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't want this to happen."

"Can't you change them back at all?", Sasuke-human asked suddenly.

Kashi stopped his struggling against the mean, big human's grip to stare in surprise at the moody human. That one could actually talk?!

"I guess I can." Tsunade-human sighed. "But I'll have to analyse the remains of the powder to find out what it contains exactly before I can make an antidote."

"Why did you have to make it a powder at all?", Naruto-human grumped. "If you had made pills, Iruka-sensei wouldn't have been affected, too."

"Well, I made it a powder because it would show effects faster than a pill. And like that it could be used on more than one shinobi in battle. The ingredients are rare and I thought that having cat-like reflexes could perhaps be useful for the whole team", Tsunade-human answered, the tone of her voice causing the orange human to flinch. "And if you hadn't pulled a prank on Iruka-sensei and let him chase you around, he wouldn't be affected now."

"How could I know that he would run right into Kakashi-sensei?", Naruto-human grumbled. "And that that baka had just opened the powder box to… to… to whatever."

Kashi yawned. Now that was a really boring conversation. And he didn't even understand much of it, just that those 'Iruka-sensei' and 'Kakashi-sensei' were probably humans and certainly in big trouble. But that wasn't his problem, right? Rrright. His problem right now was to get out of Tsunade-human's grip and to his mate as soon as possible before anybody else realised what a good catch Ruka was and tried to steal him.

Kashi lifted his paw to claw his way out of his captivity. And then he would hurry to Ruka and-

"Oh no, you don't", Tsunade-human told him and suddenly gave him a brain-shaking slap on his head.

OOOOOWWWW! Mean, big human! Kashi hissed and scratched at her.

"Brat." The big human just threw him away from her.

Kashi felt himself impact on a soft surface, then bounce off it again. As fast as he could, he turned and sank his claws into the white cloth beneath him to get a grip, then looked around. He mewled in delight when he saw where exactly he had landed and moved to approach his slumbering mate right in front of him.

-----

Humans sure could talk a lot… Ruka yawned and snuggled closer to the nice, orange, petting one. As long as they weren't screaming and the bouncy one kept stroking his back, he was perfectly content.

Hm? Now what was that? An impact or something? Ruka considered opening his eyes but then thought better. Naruto-human hadn't moved, so whatever it was, it probably wasn't important.

Hm? But what was that now? There was-

Ruka jumped and instinctively clawed at his offender with all that he had when suddenly someone pressed their nose into the back of his neck.

-----

OOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW! Kashi howled in pain. Why had his mate done that?! He only had wanted to bite the back of Ruka's neck and claim him as his, so why had the other scratched him that badly?

Mewing miserably, Kashi touched his hurting nose with his left front paw, then flinched when he felt something warm and wet on it. Ruka had scratched him bloody!

Kashi threw a reproachful look at his mate. Bad Ruka! Hurting your mate wasn't nice at all.

-----

Oh. That somebody had been the other one of his kind. Ruka looked at him in surprise, then felt a sharp pang of pity and guilt. The other was bleeding! He hadn't intended to-

"Ruka hurt Kashi!", the pink human shouted suddenly. "Did you see that?!"

So the other's name was Kashi. Ruka mewed apologetically. He was really sorry that he'd hurt him. He had just been so surprised by the sudden touch on his neck.

"That was amazing!", Naruto-human shouted. "Kakashi-sensei wanted to pull a prank on him, but Iruka-sensei paid him back!"

Again those two 'sensei'-humans. Ruka decided to ignore the humans altogether and to better go and apologise to Kashi. The other one looked really upset.

-----

Kashi patted his nose again and flinched at the pain. So mean! And it hurt really badly! Why had his mate clawed him? Could it be that he didn't want-

Kashi shook his head. No way! There was no way that Ruka didn't want to be his mate. Now really, he was strong and flexible, he had good teeth, shiny fur and neither fleas nor worms. He was the perfect mate, dammit! And he would show him.

Determined to win Ruka in a fight if it should be necessary, Kashi looked up, but then froze. Ruka was coming to him! Kashi grinned triumphantly. Seemed like his mate had seen that there was no escape and no better mate than him. But he wouldn't give in too easily. Ruka should see who was the dominant male here!

Watching closely, he observed how Ruka approached him slowly, gracefully. Kashi could see how the strong muscles in the other's back moved and flexed under the shiny fur, only slightly marred by a scar on his back. And that… yes, there was a slightly lighter strip of fur running over his mate's nose. Nice. He really had chosen a perfect mate for himself.

Kashi stood his ground while Ruka came closer until he sat right in front of him. He watched how the brown one lifted one of his front paws and touched his nose gently, then looked at the now bloody paw. Then Ruka looked up at him and mewed apologetically.

Kashi grinned and lowered his head a little to show that he was willing to forgive his mate. He found that he definitely liked it that his mate had quite a temper. As long as he wouldn't overdo it again like this, it promised to be really entertaining.

When Ruka lifted his head and slowly licked over his nose, Kashi heard himself purr. Mmmmmh… that was nice. Seemed like his mate had finally accepted him as alpha-male. Now he only had to stake his claim and then they could go on to much more… pleasant things.

Kashi lowered his head to his mate's neck and bared his teeth.

-----

Ruka relaxed when he heard Kashi purr but didn't stop his licks although the taste of the other's blood wasn't pleasant at all. Seemed that he was forgiven. He felt really relieved. The thought that he could have made the only one of his kind he knew mad at him had been very upsetting. But now that Kashi wasn't angry anymore, they could become friends and maybe lie in the sun together.

Ruka jumped a little when Kashi shifted and again a nose was pressed into his neck, but then forced himself to relax again. Kashi probably just wanted to sniff him or inspect the scar on his back. He wasn't quite sure where he'd got it from but thought it had been something about an attacked kitten maybe or-

When suddenly sharp teeth grazed his tender skin, Ruka's reflexes kicked in: He hissed, whirled around and clawed at Kashi. That silver bastard! How could he dare to try to bite him?! And there of all places! Did he think that Ruka would let just anybody who happened along claim him, most of all such an arrogant, better-than-thou bully?!

-----

OWOWOWOWOW! Kashi howled in pain and jumped back to save his now twice abused nose. Why had his mate done that?! He'd been so submissive before! Why did he resist him now?

He saw Ruka hiss at him, his fur bristled, his tail twitching agitatedly and his eyes burning menacingly. Kashi frowned. Why was the other so angry? Could it be… that maybe Ruka really didn't want to become his mate?

Kashi mulled the thought over in his mind. Well, it was possible, but not very likely. But still… Ruka had scratched him… twice even… Ruka didn't let him claim him… Did that mean…?

Kashi threw another look at the brown one, then sighed when he saw that Ruka's fur bristled even more and he took a step back. Seemed as if he had to admit it to himself: Ruka didn't want to be his mate. Boo-hoo…

…

Not yet that was.

Kashi suppressed a smirk. He would be damned if he let that little minx escape his claws. Ruka was his and his alone, and he would do anything to get his paws on him.

Mind made up to try a different tactic on his reluctant mate, Kashi took an apologetic stance, trying to seem as harmless as possible, and approached Ruka slowly.

-----

He was coming again. Ruka hissed when he saw Kashi approach him and took another step back. The other's stance wasn't aggressive, but still… Ruka wouldn't let his guard down. All senses on high alert, he slowly settled down again, ready to jump, eyes still on the silver one coming closer, whole body ready to attack and scratch Kashi's eyes out if necessary. He would be honeyed if he let himself be bossed around by some stray who thought he could play alpha-male here! He didn't know what exactly Kashi wanted or why he wanted it from him, but he would so not let anybody just claim him at first sight and then… then… then whatever. No way!

Ruka watched closely as Kashi came nearer until he was only a step away, then settled down next to him. Kashi threw him another apologetic look and yawned hugely, showing off perfect teeth, then stretched and rolled to his side before he closed his eyes, his body going boneless.

Ruka kept watching carefully but couldn't help it when he relaxed slightly at the picture of pure content the other was giving. And he had to admit that Kashi was a really good-looking one. Apart from great teeth and shiny fur, he didn't seem to have worms or fleas and seemed to be quite strong, a perfect mate definitel-

But Ruka wouldn't let himself be claimed! No way!

When Kashi didn't make any attempt to attack and claim, Ruka allowed himself to relax completely. He inched a little closer towards Naruto-human in hope for some petting and wasn't disappointed. He purred in bliss.

-----

Ah, Ruka felt quite comfortable around him again. Kashi smirked to himself while he watched his soon-to-be mate through half-lidded eyes. It wouldn't be hard to seduce the other, he would just do what Prince Petan had done to get Princess Puka in Icha Icha Paradise Volume 7, and then sweet Ruka would be-

…

Kashi frowned deeply. Prince Petan? Princess Puka?? Icha Icha Paradise Volume 7??? What the heck were those… things and why did he-

"What will happen with them while you're trying to find the antidote?", Naruto-human interrupted his thoughts.

"Well, they can't stay in the hospital", Tsunade-human answered. "Animals aren't allowed here."

"Can I take them home with me?!", Sakura-human squealed, much too delighted for Kashi's liking.

No way! Young female humans meant being carried around and never being left alone and maybe even getting… Kashi shuddered at the thought. Maybe even getting dressed! He would rather stay with that mean, big Tsunade-human.

"Iruka-sensei comes with me!", Naruto-human exclaimed and suddenly dragged Ruka to his chest.

Kashi sank his claws into the white cloth beneath him in a sudden onslaught of anger and jealousy. Did that orange human have to touch his intended mate so often?!

"Then I'll take Kashi!", Sakura-human chirped.

Oh. No. Kashi hissed and bristled his fur in anger. He wouldn't go with the pink human! He would go wherever his mate was going! Although he had the sinking feeling that it would mean to live with the loud, bouncy, always-touching-Kashi's-mate orange human…

"Seems that he's not very enthusiastic", Tsunade-human observed.

Kashi snorted and rolled his eyes. Weren't humans oh-so-clever?

"Oh." Sakura-human's smile faltered and Kashi felt a little twang of guilt in his stomach, but then she smiled again. "Don't you want to come with me, Kashi?", she cooed. "We could have very much fun."

Yes, Kashi didn't doubt that. Only that it would probably be her having the fun at expense of his pride.

"You want to come with me, Kashi, don't you?", the pink human purred. "You sure don't want to go with anybody else?"

Oh, she was giving him the choice. Kashi was a little surprised but mewed happily in response. Then he turned and strolled gracefully towards the orange human and Ruka and settled down in Naruto-human's lap, blissfully aware of how close he was to his mate.

"Seems he wants to come with me and Iruka-sensei", Naruto-human murmured.

Sure. Kashi would go with Naruto-human and with that Iruka-sensei-human, too, if it was necessary. As long as he was going where Ruka went, he didn't care how many humans would be around.

"Oh", Sakura-human breathed.

Kashi mewed apologetically when he saw the disappointed look on her face. He hadn't wanted her to be sad, but… He had to make sure to claim his mate before anybody else got the chance to steal Ruka away from him!

"You can visit us whenever you want, Sakura-chan", Naruto-human offered.

That was a good idea, Kashi had to give him that. That way, he could make his move on his mate and the pink human wouldn't be so disappointed. Oh look, she was smiling and nodding. Kashi purred. He liked that she wasn't sad anymore.

That and that she could come now and then and pet and comfort him when Naruto-human was monopolising Ruka again. Kashi was pleased with this outcome.

-----

Ruka huffed. He wasn't pleased with how this was turning out. If Kashi came with him and Naruto-human, he probably would have to share all the petting. And furthermore, he still wasn't completely convinced that Kashi had given up his idea of claiming him. Well, at least Sakura-human would come from time to time and get the other occupied. Ruka sniggered to himself. Maybe she would even bring nice little dresses for Kashi…

"Are you sure that you can keep them alive, dope?", the moody human asked.

Ruka frowned a little. He'd been sure that he'd imagined it earlier, but it seemed that the dark one could really talk, too.

"But sure I can, Sasuke-teme!", Naruto-human told him indignantly. "I would never let Iruka-sensei die!" He tightened his hold around Ruka, making him gasp for air.

"Alright, brats", Tsunade-human threw in. "So both go with you, Naruto, and Sasuke and Sakura will help you take care of them." She snorted. "And now get out of here! I've got work to do if you want your senseis back."

Ruka purred contently while Naruto-human removed Kashi from his lap, then stood up and carried him out of the room. His purr became mischievous when he saw that Kashi was being carried after them by Sasuke-human, both looking like they were competing in looking grumpier than the other.

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

"Here it is!" Naruto-human bounced back into the white room with the cold, hard floor.

Kashi looked up, mildly interested in what the human had brought. Hm, a thing. 'Bottle', he thought Sakura-human had called a similar one earlier. There were signs on this one, but Kashi couldn't read them, he didn't want to either. All he wanted was to get a little nearer to his mate, but Ruka seemed determined to keep a certain distance between them. How was he supposed to seduce his mate like that?!

"Where did you get it?", Sakura-human asked, then stood up and turned a… thing that was stuck in the outer wall above another, lower wall, as far as Kashi could see. Immediately, water shot out of another thing and flowed down behind the lower wall.

"My neighbour's got a baby. I borrowed the stuff from her." Naruto-human bent down to pet Ruka.

Again.

Kashi growled. His mate! No touching!

"Look, Iru- Ruka", the orange human murmured and showed the bottle to the brown one. "I've got baby shampoo for you. It won't sting in your eyes."

Not sting in his mate's eyes? Kashi frowned. What did Naruto-human want with his mate's eyes? They weren't for him to touch either!

-----

Not sting in his eyes, hu? Ruka frowned at the 'bottle'-thing. He wasn't quite sure what the humans wanted to do with him and Kashi, but he wasn't really happy with the thought that his eyes would be involved…

"The tub's full enough now", Sasuke-human announced.

"Alright." Naruto-human bent forward and took Ruka up.

Oh, carrying again. Ruka purred. Being carried around by Naruto-human meant being petted by Naruto-human. He liked that.

Hm? Why was his human bending down again? And why was he-

Hey! Ruka wasn't sure if he wanted that. No, he was quite sure that he didn't want that. He didn't want to be set down in the puddle there. It was certainly freezing cold and-

Warm.

Ruka blinked. The water was warm. And clean. And it felt quite nice actually. Maybe sitting in this puddle in the white basin wasn't that bad after all…

-----

No! No! Bad, Sakura-human! Kashi didn't want to be set down behind the white wall! Eeeww, and there was water! It was all wet and he definitely didn't like to get wet and-

Oh. Warm.

Kashi frowned. He still didn't like to sit in the water. Granted, it was warm and seemed to be clean, but he would rather be where his mate was and-

Oh. Ruka.

Kashi liked to sit in the warm water! Kashi liked to sit in the warm water right in front of Ruka!

-----

Why did Sakura-human have to set Kashi into the puddle, too? Ruka didn't like to sit so close to the other. What if Kashi tried to bite him again? This basin was really narrow, and Ruka couldn't see anything he could climb up and escape with.

"And now you have to close your eyes, Ruka", he heard Sakura-human say.

Close his eyes?! No way! Ruka wasn't stupid. He would never close his eyes while Kashi was near! Now really, were the humans so dense that they didn't see in what kind of danger he was?

Warily, Ruka took a step back when Kashi approached him slowly, but then he was caught by two hands on his back and-

Coldcoldcold!

Ruka hissed and tried to claw at the human holding him. Why did they rub this cold… something into his fur? He didn't like the cold at all!

"I'm sorry, Iruk- Ruka", he heard Naruto-human say. "Is it very cold?"

Yes, it was. Ruka mewed reproachfully. Stupid human.

"It'll warm soon. But we have to clean you both, just in case there's still powder left in your fur."

Clean? Ruka could clean himself, thank you very much. But this powder Naruto-human talked about… He had heard something about that earlier… Hmmm… Right! Those Iruka-sensei-human and Kakashi-sensei-human had gotten in big trouble because of it.

Ruka mewed and forced his body to relax while his human rubbed the cold something into his fur. He didn't want Naruto-human to get into trouble.

-----

Kashi watched closely while Naruto-human rubbed something into his mate's fur, then frowned in concern when that something got bigger and white and bubbly. He wasn't quite sure if he liked that…

"And now you, Kashi", he heard Sakura-human announce.

Oh no. Oh no! Kashi tried to escape the pink human's grip and climb up the white wall, but he slid down again almost instantly. A trap! The humans had trapped him to make him slimy and bubbly!

"Don't worry, Kashi. I warmed it with my hands first."

So what? Kashi didn't want a cold something in his fur and he didn't want a warm something in his fur. It was his fur, dammit!

Kashi tried to escape once again and jumped up the white wall, but only slid down. He looked around nervously to find another escape, but then caught sight of his mate and froze. Ruka was purring! Ruka was purring and had his eyes closed! While Naruto-human gave him a belly-rub with the something!

Kashi growled deep in his chest. He was the only one allowed to give his mate a belly-rub! He and only he! Naruto-human had no right to-

Urgh!

"See, Kashi", Sakura-human cooed while she rubbed the slimy stuff into his fur, "it's not bad."

Yes, it was bad! It was bad and eew and he didn't like it and-

…

Well, maybe it wasn't that bad. Maybe… maybe it felt kind of nice.

-----

Ruka opened his eyes slowly when Naruto-human stopped rubbing his fur. Was it over already? He liked belly-rubs.

"And now I'll rinse it out", his human told him, straightened up and took a long thing on a string from the wall.

Ruka sighed. Seemed the rubbing was already over. He wouldn't mind getting more…

"Careful. Close your eyes."

Ruka looked up and saw how Naruto-human turned a knob on the wall again, then water shot out of the thing he was holding. How handy. His human had rain to switch on and off in his lair.

-----

Mmmmmh… it definitely felt nice… Kashi purred in bliss while Sakura-human scrubbed his fur. When he heard something like rain, he looked up and saw Naruto-human hold a stick with water coming out of it. Handy.

"Ruka first?", Sakura-human asked, then she stopped rubbing Kashi – to his greatest disappointment.

"Yup." Naruto-human moved the water-stick to his free hand, then frowned. "Stupid plumbing. It's already cooling… I'll hurry." He held the rain over Kashi's mate.

Kashi looked how the white, bubbly stuff was rinsed out of Ruka's fur and watched the water flow over his mate's muscular back. Mmmmh… now that looked nice. His mate was definitely a sight to behold with wet fur…

-----

Nrgh… the water was quite cold. Ruka kept his eyes shut, but still leaned more into the spray. The more water he got onto himself, the sooner he would be done, he hoped. And he felt very good now that his fur was clean.

"And now your head. Keep your eyes closed."

Ruka mewed when the water flowed over his head. Naruto-human didn't have to remind him of that. He knew that opening his eyes while under water wasn't-

Cold. Freezing. Hurt.

Ruka gasped, then coughed a little when he swallowed water. Where had that come from? The water wasn't freezing cold, it was just a little colder than he would have liked and-

Enemies. Hurt. Fear.

He felt his heartbeat speed up and his breath become ragged. There were… memories, but they weren't his. Or were th-

Freezing water. Enemies. Many. Fear, so much fear. His friends dead, all dead. Alone.

Ruka couldn't breathe suddenly. He had to get out of the water! He had to move and get out! He couldn't breathe!

He couldn't move.

-----

Hehe… His mate looked funny with the fur of his head pressed flat down. Kashi chuckled softly to himself. And how his ears twitched. It looked really cute, although a little as if-

…

Without further thinking, Kashi jumped forward suddenly and crashed with his head against Naruto-human's hand holding the water-stick, effectively causing the human to let it fall down. Kashi gasped in pain when the stick landed on his back but ignored it and instead turned around to his mate immediately.

He'd been right. His mate was in fear.

Kashi jumped to Ruka's side hastily and nudged his head against the other's. Whatever it was that was frightening his mate, he had to show Ruka that he was safe here. That Kashi would protect him.

-----

Enemies, so many, and he was all alone and his friends were all dead and there were so many enemies and he was hurt and the water was so cold and it was all around him and he couldn't breathe and he was hurt and he couldn't move his leg and he was so frightened and he was all alone and he wanted to be home and-

Pain!

Ruka yowled when a sudden sharp pain in his left ear broke his stupor, then jumped up, whirled around and opened his eyes hastily. Between black and white dots before his eyes he saw Kashi look at him worriedly, then the other suddenly punched him into his stomach with his head and threw him onto his back.

Ruka took in a sharp, gasping breath, then another and a third. He saw the spots before his eyes disappear and felt his chest burn from the lack of air.

-----

Kashi leaned over his mate's head and looked down at Ruka's chest. When he saw it rise and fall heavily, he let out a sigh of relief. His mate was breathing again.

Still a little tense and worried, Kashi bent his head forward and rubbed it against Ruka's, then licked the other's nose, ignoring the unpleasant taste of the white, bubbly something. He had to make sure that his mate stayed with him and didn't go back to where he'd been just breaths before.

-----

Warmth… warmth against his head, against his nose.

Ruka took another deep breath. He was in Naruto-human's lair. He was safe. He wasn't in a cold lake. Nobody was dead. Kashi was with him.

Taking another breath, Ruka rolled until he was on his stomach, then straightened up on shaking legs. He felt Kashi move and then rub his head against him, and the touch managed to calm him down further. It actually felt nice how Kashi rubbed his face into his neck and-

Ruka froze again.

Kashi would bite him! And he didn't have the strength to defend himself!

-----

Kashi mewed soothingly when he felt his mate stiffen again. Ruka didn't need to be afraid anymore. He would defend his mate from anything that could hurt him. He wouldn't let anybody hurt Ruka.

"What happened just now?", he heard Sasuke-human ask.

"I don't know." Sakura-human sounded concerned.

"He didn't breathe properly. And he was frozen in fear until Kakashi-sensei bit him", Sasuke-human said. "Those are the typical signs of a shock. But why-"

"I forgot… Iruka-sensei had a mission once", Naruto-human murmured. "He told me about it. His two team-mates and his sensei were slaughtered before his eyes, and he was thrown into a frozen lake and almost drowned." The orange human bent down and stroked Ruka's fur tenderly. "He was twelve", he whispered. "It was his first mission outside the town."

"Oh", Sakura-human breathed.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei", Naruto-human said softly. "It was too much cold water at once, I guess. I'm sorry."

Kashi mewed in confusion. He didn't understand why the humans talked about that Iruka-sensei-human so often. Especially when they should be talking about his mate. Reluctantly, he took a small step away from his mate and mewed angrily. The humans should take care of Ruka, not talk about unimportant things right now!

-----

Ruka frowned in confusion when he felt Kashi step back. Why hadn't the other bitten him? He could have easily claimed him.

"I'm sorry", he heard Naruto-human say again but didn't pay attention to it and instead looked at his silver companion.

Ruka frowned again. Why was Kashi looking so angry? Was he angry at him? But no, Kashi was looking at the three humans. But why was he angry at them? Ruka shook his head. He didn't understand the other at all, Kashi was a mystery to him. But at least he hadn't bitten him, and that was good.

Right?

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Kashi growled. This wasn't going as planned. Not at all. He'd been under Naruto-human's… care for the whole sun now and hadn't had a single breath alone with his mate because the orange human was always bouncing around.

And even worse, the human was determined to spoil Ruka rotten.

It seemed that Naruto-human thought that the brown one couldn't be bothered to walk towards his food – no, it had to be brought to him. And walking around in the lair? No way, Ruka had to be carried around the whole time. And, in the orange human's opinion, he certainly couldn't survive without being petted constantly.

Kashi didn't like that. Kashi wanted to bring his mate his food and even carry him around. And most of all, Kashi wanted to be the one to comfort his mate.

And no, Kashi wasn't jealous at all.

He sighed. At least he had a big, fluffy pillow with a nice, soft blanket and he'd gotten food earlier without having to hunt. Or at least something like food… Was food supposed to have much salty water around it, only a little meat and lots of beige, long, thin… things? But it hadn't tasted as bad as it had looked, and according to the speed Ruka had wolfed down his bowl, his mate liked it very, very much.

Kashi decided to store that information away for later and make another attempt to come close to his mate, if only for some body contact. And maybe a little more licking? He purred. That would be nice…

Gracefully, Kashi stood up from his pillow and walked over to the big, fluffy thing Naruto-human and his mate were sitting on, the 'couch' how the orange human had called it. He jumped up and approached them slowly.

"Oh, Kakashi-sen- I mean, Kashi." Naruto-human grinned at him but didn't stop petting Ruka who was lying in his lap and purring blissfully.

Kashi did his best not to growl or hiss or simply scratch-the-human's-hand-off. He was the only one who was allowed to make his mate purr, dammit! And if the orange one didn't stop scratching Ruka's neck right now, he couldn't guarantee for anything. Naruto-human had no right to touch his mate, least of all there! After all, he hadn't been the one to help Ruka in the white basin! Kashi had protected his mate and had helped him and he was the only one allowed to help him and protect him and touch him!

Dammit!

"Do you want to keep us company?"

Sure he wanted, stupid human. He wanted everything that brought him close to his mate. Kashi swallowed down his anger and instead mewed in consent. Maybe he shouldn't blame the humans too much for being dense and oblivious. They were only humans after all.

"Then come." Naruto lifted his arm. "If you both move close, you can lie next to Iruka-s- next to Ruka."

Now that sounded good. Maybe humans weren't so dense after all. Kashi mewed in delight and hurried to move closer, then lay down next to his mate, sighing in bliss. When he felt Ruka inch away a little, he scooted back closer, revelling the feeling of his mate's warm body against his.

-----

Now that was definitely too close for Ruka's liking. Despite the fact that Kashi hadn't bitten him when he'd been too weak to defend himself, he still didn't trust the silver one completely and was very aware of the narrow space that would make it hard to protect his neck.

That and he didn't like the idea of having to share Naruto-human's petting.

"Isn't that nice?", he heard said human ask. "I'm happy that you're getting along so well."

Ruka sighed. Well, if he made Naruto-human happy with it, he would even bear Kashi so close to him. And he had to admit… Kashi had helped him when he'd needed help… and not taken advantage of him… and having a nice, warm body against his wasn't that bad either…

He sighed again, this time in delight, and closed his eyes. He knew he was a lucky one. He had a very nice human, he'd had incredibly yummy food before and, well… He supposed that he was also lucky to have Kashi around. The silver one had been quite… tolerable the whole sun-move. Maybe they could become friends after all.

-----

Kashi sighed in bliss and snuggled even closer to his mate's warmth. Sooo nice… and Ruka's fur was incredibly soft… and he smelled really, really good… Kashi felt himself drift into sleep.

"Oh, it's late", Naruto-human's voice invaded his hazy thoughts. "We should go to sleep now."

Kashi yawned. That was a really good idea. He would just sleep here where it was warm and then-

Wait a moment!

He lifted his head, a triumphant smirk on his lips. Going to sleep… and there was only one pillow here for them… Kashi mewed happily. He was going to sleep right next to Ruka without anybody else around!

-----

Mmmh… Sleep sounded good right now. Ruka heard Kashi mew his approval next to him and did the same. Maybe he would be allowed to sleep right here? That would be nice…

But no, Naruto-human was squirming. Ruka sighed. Well, the big, fluffy pillow had looked good, too. And it was really big, so he and Kashi would have plenty of-

Oh honey! Did he really have to sleep next to Kashi the whole moon-run?! And what if the other tried something? Something… something… something weird? Ruka didn't want that! Although he didn't know at all what that 'something' could be and had to admit that maybe he was a little curious, but only maybe and only a tiny little bit and-

"I'll get you some water in case you're getting thirsty in the night", Naruto-human told them, then gently lifted first Kashi, then Ruka up from his lap and onto the couch and stood up.

Ruka threw a glance at his silver companion and got an innocent look in return. He snorted. 'Innocent', yeah sure! If only one hair on that smug bastard was innocent, he was no Chuunin and would let Konohamaru and his gang teach his next class of throwing shuri-

Ruka frowned. Now where had that come from?!

"Come on! Lie down here, then I'll cover you both so you don't get cold."

Reluctantly, Ruka stood up and jumped from the couch, then walked over to his human, sensing Kashi right behind himself. What was he going to do? Granted, he could sleep on the couch, but that would be cold and not even nearly as fluffy as the pillow and it would be lonely and there would be no warm body with soft fur next to him and-

What was he thinking?!

-----

Kashi followed Ruka closely, purring in anticipation. He would sleep right next to his mate! The whole moon-run! Kashi was happy!

"Come on, you two", Naruto-human urged.

Right, right. Kashi nodded in agreement and sped up his pace. The sooner they got onto the pillow, the longer he could enjoy lying next to his mate.

Well, his soon-to-be mate. But that still made Ruka his mate!

For a little breath, Kashi pondered making another attempt to claim Ruka as his during the moon-run, but then shook his head to himself. Even if he managed to really bite the other in his sleep… he knew that it wouldn't count and most of all, it wasn't how he wanted it. He wanted Ruka to want to become his mate. He wanted him to want to be claimed. So biting his mate's neck while he slept was out of question.

Kashi stopped in his walk to the pillow and frowned. When exactly had 'Kashi wants Ruka to be his mate' changed into 'Kashi wants Ruka to want to be his mate'?

Kashi shrugged. However, he was going to spend a whole moon next to the one he'd chosen to become his mate, and that alone was very, very good. Everything else would solve itself the moment he would win Ruka as his mate, so why bother?

Nodding to himself, Kashi jumped up onto the pillow and shifted until he was comfortable, then waited impatiently for Ruka to follow.

-----

Very slowly, Ruka approached the pillow, then climbed up and lay down carefully as far away from Kashi as possible. He just had to be careful not to roll over the edge while he slept, but he could do that by not moving a single muscle, no problem.

"You'll fall down like that", he heard Naruto-human tell him, then he felt himself being lifted and laid back down onto the pillow right next to Kashi. "That's better."

No, it wasn't. Ruka dared to glance at his silver companion from the corner of his eye, only to see a positively delighted look on Kashi's face. Great.

"Now good night, you two." Naruto-human stroked over both their backs once.

Ruka couldn't help but growl a little when the caress made Kashi purr softly. That wasn't right! He should be the one to make Kashi purr! He and he alone! And furthermore-

Ruka blinked. Then blinked again. Oh, he had so not thought that right now! He had thought that… that… that he should be the only one to be petted by Naruto-human! Yeah, right! Just that, nothing else!

But however… He had to either find a way to make sure that Kashi didn't try something funny or find a place to sleep that wasn't too cold and uncomfortable. And both possibilities were impossible to-

…

A triumphant grin formed itself on his face. Oh yes, that was simply perfect!

-----

Mmmh… Perfect… Kashi snuggled closer to his mate and closed his eyes. Warm and Ruka and soft and Ruka and smelled good and Ruka and-

Hu?

Kashi opened his eyes when he felt his mate get up and leave the pillow. What was Ruka doing? And why was he following Naruto-human instead of staying with Kashi?

-----

Ruka mewed pitifully and clawed softly at his human's leg, then mewed again.

"Hm?" Naruto-human stopped in his way through a hole in the wall and looked down. "Something wrong, Iruk- Ruka?"

Ruka mewed again and prodded the leg with his head. He didn't really like pretending to be cute-scared-helpless-little, but he had to take desperate measures.

"Do you want to sleep with me?"

Ruka mewed enthusiastically. Smart human!

"Hmm…" Naruto-human looked from him to Kashi, then shrugged. "I guess it's okay. Kaka- Kashi should be fine here on his own."

Yes! Ruka ran around his human's legs triumphantly. Now he would be safe from whatever Kashi was planning and he would be warm and comfortable!

-----

NOOOOOOOOOO! Kashi stared at his treacherous mate. How could Ruka choose that human over him?! Had he done something wrong?! He hadn't even moved his head anywhere near the back of his mate's neck!

Mewing pitifully, Kashi curled up into a ball and watched sadly as Naruto-human lifted his mate up and carried him into the next room. That wasn't fair. He'd been so happy to sleep a whole moon next to Ruka and now he had to sleep alone.

Kashi sniffled miserably and curled up even more.

So mean, Ruka…

-----

He hadn't wanted that. Ruka watched miserably how Kashi looked at him longingly. He hadn't wanted the other to be sad. He'd just been… a little afraid of him.

Ruka pondered going back and crawling onto the pillow next to Kashi again, but then his human separated him from the other room with a big, hard, moving wall.

Sorry, Kashi…

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

tbc

AN:

Just in case you were wondering: I am absolutely sure that cats can smirk and snigger and all those other things, especially Kashi-cat and Ruka-cat. Or at least that if an animal can do it, then it's a cat.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you.

Nayru