Cats.

"It's a cat."

Iruka blinked at him.

"Yes, well done Tenzou, it's a cat. A Nin-Cat to be accurate."

As Tenzou eye'd the creature, Iruka hiked it up more comfortably in his arms. Apparently not noticing the white fur getting all over his Chuunin vest.

"I adopted her about a month ago - Naruto brought her home after a mission. Apparently her family and summoner were all killed during the attack, so he thought I may like to look after her."

Tenzou couldn't help but admire the smile on Iruka's face as he related the tale - despite his inherent dislike for cats in general and this cat in particular.

"However, I'm leading a class camping trip this weekend. Would you take her while I'm away?"

So it comes to the matter. He'd known Iruka was going to ask that the instant he'd seen the bloody thing.

"No."

Iruka frowned ominously.

"Why not?"

He fought the frown. "Cat's don't like me. We don't get on very well."

The cat - or kitten, he supposed - gave him a look he could only describe as superior. He glared at it. Iruka raised an eyebrow.

"She's a Nin-Cat. Mostly she can take care of herself. I really just need someone to feed her and keep her company while I'm away. I thought you wouldn't mind..."

There was a rather tense moment as Tenzou debated the problem. Continue to say 'no' and risk angering the teacher so much he never got him in his bed again, or say 'yes' and reap the rewards.

He sighed. He liked Iruka far too much, he knew that now.

"Fine, I'll take her."

Iruka's face lit up, "Thank you so much, Tenzou!"

The kitten was thrust into his arms, the food and litter tray toed across the threshold of his appartment.

"Take good care of her, I'll be back in a few days!"

Iruka gave him a quick kiss and was gone a moment later.

Tenzou lifted the kitten up so he could look her in the eye. She began to purr.

"This had better be worth it."

---

It didn't take long for Tenzou and the cat to develop a serious dislike for each other.

It started with the escape attempt. She managed to get three roof-tops away, before Tenzou caught her in an impenetrable wooden box.

Then she pissed on everything even slightly valuable. He ended up squirting her with water whenever she hunched into the 'pee-position'. Unless of course, she was in the litter tray - then he simply ignored her.

She swiftly moved to climbing his curtains. Water was once again applied. At this point she began to sit in the corner of the living room, giving him the evil-eye.

He ignored her.

When she began to use his favorite chair as a scratching post, he nearly burst a vessel yelling at her. She ended up soaking wet and sitting in the bathtub that time, mewling pitifully, but being severely ignored.

She turned her nose up at the food he put down for her dinner. Instead, she tried to raid his bin. Once discovered, she was carried unceremoniously, by the scruff of her neck, back to the food bowl. He threatened her with water again, until she gave in and ate what she was given.

The first night, he didn't get a wink of sleep - thanks to her prowling, mewling and scratching at the base of his bedroom door. When he finally got up to let her in, she ran off to the kitchen and sat by her food bowl. He growled and ignored her, going back to bed. Only it started again an hour later.

He thrust the door open and gave her his scariest face. She simply blinked up at him and then began to purr. He left the door open and put the pillow over his head.

This routine continued for the next two days and nights.

----

Monday morning came around. Tenzou stuffed the cat in a box (gaining a few scratches along the way) and sat on his porch, waiting for Iruka to come and rescue him.

He ignored the even more pitiful mews emanating from the box. He ignored the scratching sounds and he ignored the purring. He simply sat on his porch, waiting for Iruka to collect the damn thing.

When Iruka finally arrived, Naruto in tow for some reason, he couldn't help himself. He jumped up, grabbed the younger man and treated him to his best bear-hug. "Thank you! Thank you so much for coming and taking her back!"

After a moment of silence, he put Iruka down. Naruto was goggling at him.

'"You really don't like cats, do you?"

Tenzou scratched the back of his head and looked at the floor, "Ah, no."

Iruka contemplated him for a moment then turned to Naruto. "If you take Koneko home for me, you can have the ramen in the cupboard over the bread-board. Sound good?"

Naruto veritably glowed with happiness, "Sure, Sensei!"

A moment later, the youth was gone, cat, food and litter-tray with him. Tenzou watched Iruka carefully, trying to figure out where this was going. Iruka was smiling. He wasn't entirely sure why.

"May I come in?"

Tenzou started and nodded, opening his door. He'd done his best since capturing the little furball, but the place still looked like an exploding-tag had gone off, and recently. He closed the door as Iruka moved deeper into his apartment.

"She really did her best. Koneko's a bit of a handful - I suppose I should have warned you?"

"That would have been nice, yes."

Iruka turned and looked at him, standing in the middle of his living room, surrounded by the utter chaos of a kitten on a rampage, his arms folded over his Chuunin vest. Tenzou, hands deep in his pockets, waited, eye's on the teachers face, hoping for some sort of sign as to what to expect.

What he didn't expect, was Iruka bursting into laughter.

He blinked, a little non-plussed, "What? What's so funny?"

Iruka gasped, attempting to stifle the giggles, shaking his head, "I'm s-sorry!"

Tenzou grumped to himself, contemplating throwing the younger man out. This weekend definitely hadn't been worth it.

Iruka, still attempting to stifle the giggles, approached him, "I'm so sorry, Tenzou! It was all Naruto's idea. Honestly. I'd never have done it, if I'd known his cat was so..."

...He was going to kill that annoying brat. He really was. Tenzou made for his apartment door, his best scary-face on for good measure, but was stopped by a hand on his elbow. He turned the glare on Iruka, but the man didn't back down.

He kissed him.

"Wuh-what!?"

Iruka tapped him on the nose with one delicate looking finger, "It was Naruto's hair-brained scheme, to help me find a way to break the ice."

Oh.

"I'm still going to kill him."

Iruka pulled him down for another kiss - he could definitely learn to like that - lingering over it for some time. "Kill him later?"

How could he say no to that?