This is a very important chapter to the story and explains a bunch of information especially about the whole angel-demon war thingy. It took me forever to prepare this chapter and perfect it! Not to mention school and holidays getting in the way and my computer also messed up over Christmas vacation! But all in all I've finally got this chapter to everyone on fanfiction! Yay! This chapter is dedicated to Music 1s my s0ul! Okay, here's the 5th chapter of Feathers. I hope the next chapter won't take as long to update!

Feathers

Chapter 5 Sparrow Girl

"Are we there yet?" Toryufu asked over and over from Hinata's shoulder.

"If you say that one more time, I swear I'll leave you for the tigers." Neko said irritably. "We're getting real close, just wait there."

"Whatever, I was just wondering because it's been a while since we've left." Toryufu said while adjusting her sitting position on Hinata's shoulder while Hinata followed Neko's lead through the forest, "Are you sure we're not going the wrong way?"

"Yes, I'm sure, now shut your mouth so this migraine will go away." Neko said while rubbing her head.

"A migraine? Are you alright?" Hinata asked with concern.

"Oh, I'm fine; I get them all the time." Neko said trying not to cause a stir.

"Really? How come?" Naruto asked with curiousity.

"Comes with being me I guess." Neko said normally but she looked off into the distance as if thinking something over.

Even though Hinata could tell his curiosity wasn't at ease, Naruto stayed silent because he knew if he asked any further he wouldn't get any answers from Neko. And lately Hinata was wondering if Neko was going the right way or not. It was already late in the evening and the three started out from the cave that morning. Earlier though, Neko had said the trip was only a few hours.

"Hm, this is strange. Kawaii said she would be meeting up with us sometime and it's been taking her a long time." Neko thought aloud.

I personally would rather have her not here, Hinata thought as she remembered the nasty prank and the unpleasant words Kawaii always tormented Hinata with. Hinata still blushed at the thought of her kiss with Naruto caused by the ghostly cat.

"I heard that." Hinata heard a disembodied voice say to her causing Hinata to scream loudly.

"Hinata what's wrong?!?!" Naruto asked stopping dead in his tracks.

"Th-the cat!" Hinata squeaked.

"Oh, Kawaii's here." Neko said before scanning around the surroundings of the forest.

"It's pretty sad how you can tell I'm here by just noticing the Hyuuga girl's terror." Kawaii said sardonically while only her glowing amber eyes appeared staring eerily at the three.

"Shut it, now get the rest of you out here before I use it for target practice," Neko said as she pulled out a kunai threateningly.

"My bad," the five tailed cat said sarcastically as she appeared from thin air before the angels and demon.

"Whatever, just get us to Suzume's." Neko said.

"Oh, that's it?" Kawaii asked, "No, apology wanted for showing up late?"

"That would be nice but I don't think we have time." Naruto said crossing his arms in uncertainty, "And how is a cat going to get us there?"

"Watch." Kawaii said before the forest around them went black.

Hinata could still see Neko, Naruto, and the cats but everything else was a black abyss. Before she knew it the forest was appearing again but different. The trees were different and a path had been carved trough the forest undergrowth.

"Thanks Kawaii-chan." Neko said before following the path.

"What just happened?" Naruto asked in a confused daze.

"I teleported you as far as I could to Suzume's house." Kawaii answered before leading the way in front of Neko.

"So the cat just took us to the house that fast?" Hinata asked in wonderment.

"Hai!" Neko said, "Her terrible punctuality is the reason we're so late getting to Suzume-chan's house."

"At least I got you there." Kawaii answered ill-temperedly.

"Hush," Shiruvesteru said to Kawaii, "You shouldn't talk to people in such a bad manner."

"You're one to talk," Shiro said to Shiruvesteru, "You shouldn't talk to Kawaii-chan like that."

"You shouldn't look for a fight in such a manner," Shiruvesteru replied defensively and scowled at Shiro threateningly.

"I'm not, I'm only defending a lady." Shiro said as his fur began to bristle.

"Both of you shut up so we can all have some peace here." Kawaii said carelessly to the two brother cats.

"Yes, Kawaii-chan." Shiro replied politely.

"You three argue too much." Neko said to the cats while she scratched Shiro's ear.

"Mainly, those two." Kawaii said.

"True," Neko agreed.

"Why do you fight so much?" Hinata asked the two brothers.

"Sibling rivalry is all." Shiro answered sweetly to Hinata.

"More of your irrelevance." Shiruvesteru said before Neko flicked one of his ears and silenced him.

It was awhile before Hinata caught sight of a small cottage like house a little ways off from the path they were taking. She hoped that the cottage meant the end of the trek there which also meant for Naruto that he survived Shiro and Shiru's endless arguments and Kawaii's endless insults.

"Here we are," Kawaii said, "and I think we're in time for dinner."

"I hope its ramen." Naruto said reminiscing of his precious ramen that sadly doesn't grow in forests (of course it doesn't grow at all).

The little red door opened and a girl not too older than them stuck her head out and shouted, "Hey! I was expecting you hours ago!"

"She knew we were coming?" Naruto inquired.

"Hai, Kawaii-chan sent her the message before taking us here." Neko said before approaching the cottage, "Sorry we took so long Suzume, Kawaii was late meeting us."

"Oh, I heard something about that." Suzume said before letting in the travelers, "Come on in, and make yourself at home. I just got through making some miso soup."

"Yay! Miso!" Neko said before rushing to the kitchen inside.

Kawaii let herself in and Naruto followed. Hinata was a little more hesitant but she didn't take long deciding on whether to stay inside or out and hurried inside and closed the door behind her.

The house was very homey and warm. Everything seemed to kind of have an old and antique air around it. The tape on every other object must've hinted at the age. The hinges on the cabinets looked like they had to be fixed at one point seeming how the screws in the hinges were newer then the hinge itself. It still had a homey aura about it and everyone made their selves at home. The cats were sprawled out across a couch in the living room and Neko was steadily filling her bowl with miso soup with Naruto behind her.

Hinata on the other hand sat at the table cautiously waiting for everyone else to finish in the kitchen as Kawaii seated herself beside her on a bench. The bakeneko stared at Hinata intensely and blinked, and then she began to lazily lick one paw.

"Need anything, Kawaii-san?" Suzume asked while she ran about the kitchen making everything look nice for the visitors.

"I would enjoy a can of tuna if you have one, but other than that warm milk would be nice." Kawaii said before nestling down on the bench.

"Alright, I'll make sure the milk is extra warm." Suzume said before scratching Kawaii's ear.

"You know me too well," Kawaii answered with a faint purr.

As Naruto and Neko greedily ate Hinata finally went and got a small portion of soup for herself and sat at the table. Suzume walked away with a saucer of faintly steaming milk and Kawaii followed her with all five tails happily waving in the air.

"Where's she going?" Naruto asked between bites.

"She doesn't like eating in front of anyone." Neko answered before pushing her bowl away from her. "That was delicious! I love a good bowl of miso every once in awhile."

Neko stretched her arms then stretched her wings like a lazy cat and began to leave, "I think I'm going on to bed, it's been a long day."

"Alright, I've already got a room fixed for you." Suzume said walking in before taking Neko's empty soup bowl.

"Yay! Will you tell me a story too?" Neko asked childishly.

"You're on your own with that one." Suzume said while she balanced more empty dishes that were collected from the cats.

Hinata was pretty much alone with Naruto but luckily he was too busy eating to really strike up some sort of conversation. Hinata ate a little while glancing back and forth from her bowl to Naruto and even catching him looking at her every now and then. Suzume eventually finished cleaning and sat down with the two who weren't going to finish eating any time soon.

"So, how do you like it?" Suzume asked cheerfully.

"It's very good." Hinata replied quietly.

"I haven't had a meal like this since who knows when!" Naruto answered happily with a grin.

"I'm glad you enjoy it." Suzume said while twirling her black ponytail.

A silence followed as Suzume twirled her black hair and her storm gray eyes gazed from Hinata to Naruto. Her eyes seemed to look into their soul, like she could see everything about them. Hinata could imagine the same eyes on Ookami if he wasn't wearing his black blindfold.

"So," Suzume said casually breaking the silence, "Anything interesting happen on the way here?"

"Not really besides the fact that fat cat was late getting us here." Naruto answered before pushing his bowl away from him.

"Really now." Suzume said, "Ookami-kun didn't follow you here?"

"Not that we know of." Naruto said, "Neko said he would come later."

"And so he will." Suzume said.

Another awkward silence followed before Suzume concentrated on the two again. Hinata had to stop eating because the stare shook her and made her lose her appetite.

"Did Neko-chan say anything about a migraine?" Suzume asked lazily.

It took awhile before Hinata remembered Neko saying something about a headache earlier in the day.

"Um, sh-she did…earlier in the d-day, that is." Hinata said nervously.

Suzume's gaze softened at Hinata's timid speech before hardening back to the delving gaze. Kawaii walked in and started cleaning her face in a corner away from the three.

"Kawaii," barked Suzume.

"Hm." Kawaii grunted back.

"You haven't told them about Neko's…specialty, have you?" Suzume asked while keeping her eyes on Naruto and Hinata.

"It's not their place to know." Kawaii answered quickly.

"You should have told them by now. It's their right to know." Suzume replied finally turning her gaze on Kawaii. Kawaii's fur bristled in agitation before laying flat again. Her tails lashed back and forth in anger and indecision.

She breathed deeply before speaking, "I thought it was Ookami-san's job to explain these things."

"True…but still, he hasn't been here to explain much." Suzume replied.

"Can we please leave the subject alone?" Kawaii pleaded.

"Fine," sighed Suzume with a disappointed tone.

Another awkward silence filled the room and Hinata was curious about what Suzume and Kawaii were talking about. Hinata could even feel Naruto's burning curiosity. Hinata felt her wings quiver a bit before she steadied them the best as she could.

"So," Suzume said breaking the silence, "I've heard about him over there but what about you?"

It took Hinata a bit before figuring out suzume was talking to her and felt her wings quiver all over again.

"Um…w-what do you mean?" Hinata asked uneasily.

"I can tell by looking at you," Suzume said, "you haven't always been an angel your whole life, have you?"

Hinata fell silent. She wasn't able to reply to Suzume's words. Hinata knew she couldn't stay quiet forever but she partially hoped that if she was hushed that everyone would forget what Suzume said.

Of course that wasn't going to happen…

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Naruto asked kindly.

"Uh, um… I-I-I'm f-fine…" Hinata managed to stutter out.

"Are you sure? You don't look all that comfortable." Naruto said to her.

"I-I'm fine. I-I really a-am!" Hinata stumbled over her words again.

Naruto finally let it go while Suzume wasn't about to though.

"So you weren't always like this." Suzume said pointing at Hinata's white feathered wings. Hinata looked down hoping Suzume would stop pressuring her into talking.

"Give it a rest," Naruto spoke while he stared at a spot on the wall, "Can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it?"

"Maybe it's something she needs to get out." Suzume countered while Hinata still remained speechless.

"Well, what about you? You seem pretty fishy to me." Naruto asked changing the subject.

"Alright then," Suzume said, "what exactly is so fishy about me?"

"Why do you help angels and demons?" Naruto asked.

"Some of my best friends are demons. Some of my other best friends are angels. Why do you ask?" Suzume said turning her full attention to Naruto and leaving Hinata to herself.

"That doesn't seem like there's all that is to you." Naruto said.

Hinata could see Kawaii getting a little anxious. It seemed like she didn't want Suzume to spill too much information. Suzume just let out a deep breath and looked at everyone in the dining room.

"I used to be a ninja." Suzume said simply.

"And?" Naruto pressed.

"I got in trouble for something." Suzume replied.

"What exactly was that something?" Naruto said impatiently as he propped his head on his hand.

"I was convicted of treason." Suzume said earning a miniscule amount of silence.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"For having relations to the enemy." Suzume said.

"Who's the 'enemy'?"

"You," Suzume said before explaining, "and 'you' as in angels and demons."

"That's stupid!" Naruto said banging the table with his fist and making Hinata jump.

"I know, the sad thing was I actually did converse daily with Ookami-kun and Neko-chan before the big angel-demon war." Suzume said.

Naruto paused before saying, "I never fought in the war thing. I was too busy hiding."

"From what?" Suzume said.

"From the people already hunting me." Naruto said, "I already was being attacked before the war moved to our region in Konoha. Besides, I thought the war thing was stupid so I stayed out of it."

"That's cool of you." Suzume said, "If it wasn't for the ginormous fights and battles breaking out all over the world demons and especially angels wouldn't be being hunted right now. In fact everyone wouldn't know who most of the angels were until they revealed what they are when they would fight the demons."

Hinata looked down in remembrance of her own past. She had only been an angel since the end of the war but she didn't know why. All she did know was the pain of when her wings first grew out of her back forcing their way out of her.

"Ookami-kun and Neko-chan also refused to partake of the war. Mainly because they're cousins and they're very close to each other. It's odd how a demon and angel both end up being family." Suzume seemed to just think aloud.

One of Kawaii's tails flicked and she turned her lantern-like yellow eyes towards the front door. "Someone's coming." She announced. A moment later the front door opened revealing Ookami, Akane, and a box of kittens with their mother in it with them.

"Were here and it took us longer than it did you people." Ookami said.

"Yeah, we were too busy getting Neko-baka's piles of cats outta the house." Akane grumbled as he set the cardboard box down in the living room.

"It's a good thing you made it. We were starting to get worried." Suzume said turning her attention to the angel and demon who walked through her front door.

Akane popped his neck before trudging off to a random bedroom, "I'm out, don't wake me up in the morning."

Ookami sat down beside Suzume at the table, "So what are we talking about?"

"You, surprisingly, and Neko." Suzume said.

"…What kind of things about me and my idiot cousin?" Ookami asked while letting his slight worry show.

"Well, let's see…" Suzume pondered trying to recall all that she spoke of, "Uh…oh yeah! Neko's specialty."

"Oh, so they've finally asked!" Ookami said returning to his calm and leisurely manner, "She must've got another headache, I swear, the idiot never thinks to keep some aspirin on her."

"They didn't exactly ask." Kawaii said glaring at Suzume, "More of Suzume trying to let them in on it."
Hinata didn't know how puzzled she could get anymore. She really was wondering what the three were talking about and why Ookami and Suzume were more open about it than Kawaii.

"Oh…so they didn't ask?" Ookami asked before saying, "Well, then. Let's just don't tell them because I'm bushed and I would rather save it for tomorrow when Neko is less likely to hear."

"What do you mean? She's asleep already!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Neko-chan has a knack for eavesdropping so it'd be best if we got her out of the house instead of talking within earshot." Ookami explained while rising from his seat like a ghost rising from a grave.

"She's asleep! How can she hear us?" Naruto said impatiently.

"The little devil doesn't fall asleep until midnight." Akane said, "Until then, she's probably been listening to every word we're saying."

This caused Hinata to take a quick scan around her just incase. But then, with a parting word, Ookami left the room and everyone soon dispatched after that. It had been a long and confusing night but every word left Hinata wondering about what Ookami was meaning to tell everyone.

Toryufu was waiting for Hinata at the entrance of a random room.

"Where have you been?" Toryufu asked.

"Oh, I was listening to Suzume." Hinata replied.

"She's usually got something interesting to say." Toryufu said before nudging the door of the room open.

It was a bedroom almost like the one Hinata slept in at Neko, Akane, and Ookami's home. It was bigger though with a larger bed and more decorative.

"We're sleeping in here, just so you know. It's not too shabby, huh?" Toryufu said jumping on the bed and stretching and getting ready to go to sleep. Hinata smiled at her friend and closed the door behind her. But as Hinata fell asleep with Turyufu curled up beside her she remembered her dream from last night and remembered Suzume being the one warning her. She decided to let it wait until tomorrow because so much had already happened that day.

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Yay! Finally I got this chapter up! I hope it wasn't too bad because I was in a rush to get it up. Alrighty then, the next chapter is dedicated to the 25th reviewer! Wow, I didn't know I'd make it to 20 at all! Thanks to all of the reviewers and even those who haven't reviewed!

Ja ne'

Ninja Cat of Light