TBD - Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 8

"Her name... is Rin."

Without skipping a beat, that all-too-familiar and more than a little annoying falsetto blasts my ears with loud Japanese Tobi nonsense.

"Rin, Rin, Rin, neko no Rin~! Boku wa Tobi, anata wa neko desu! Boku wa boku, soshite anata wa Rin-neko! Ne, ne, Itachi-san~! Rin-neko wa Rinnegan no yō ni kikoemasen ka? Rin-neko to Rinnegan... kukukuu~!"

Behind the sing-song playfulness and the surprisingly convincing dumbass act, I watch with trepidation as a series of emotions play across Obito's face under the mask.

Rage. Regret. Warmth. Grief. Determination. And an odd... something lying underneath it all. Not so much an emotion he reveals as a weird tingling sensation in the back of my neck, but I brush it off so as to focus on his immediate reactions.

"Are you okay, Obito?" I ask, even though I know he won't understand my meowing. The intensity of his emotions seems to lessen a bit, and he hugs me gently before setting me back on the ground.

I take turns meeting each of the other members in the room. Deidara was surprisingly affectionate, while Hidan provided what can only be called passive-aggressive pets. I eventually moved to Kakuzu after the Jashinist gave a particularly ominous smile while muttering something, the hand not petting me fiddling with his necklace.

Kakuzu and Sasori had similar reactions... That is to say, they didn't really have reactions. I didn't spend much time on them because I didn't feel like annoying them and I was - understandably - a little high strung from the whole situation.

Eventually, I just kind of followed Tobito, poking around the hideout when I wasn't bugging the Uchiha for attention. I think the blond bomber I left in the living room area was a bit miffed at the fact that "Tobi" seemed to be my favorite.

After a while of trying (and failing) to memorize all the rooms I saw, I follow the masked man back to the others, who are now in a small kitchen and dining area connected to the living room. As we get nearer, I almost drool at the smell of... I don't actually know what that is, but it's coming from Itachi and it will be mine.

I speed in front of Obito and basically crash into Itachi's feet, the smooth tile floor providing no traction to stop my sprint.

Righting myself (after inwardly chuckling at the pure confusion on his face), I just look up at him expectantly.

"Feed me feed me feed me feed me feed me-"

Either he's a mind reader or I'm just very obvious, but I do end up with a small portion of Itachi's food, so whatever it was must work pretty well.

I examine the platter I've been presented, completely occupied by the meal. It appears to be some kind of beef, an assortment of vegetables that I couldn't name for the life of me, and white rice, all mixed and smothered with a brownish sauce. It smelled heavenly.

I finish it as quickly as I can - which wasn't actually very quick, seeing as how eating in this form is still a bit strange - before I realize most of the people that were in the room earlier had left already. The only people still at the knee-high table were Itachi and... Obito.

I feel my hair unintentionally stand on end as the tension in the room very abruptly makes itself known to me. The two Uchihas speak in low tones, and I'm suddenly glad that I can't understand them. I don't know what they're saying, ergo I have no need to fear what they're saying, right?

Man, I wish it worked like that.

Steeling my nerves, I casually pad over to the masked Uchiha and successfully invade his bubble. I rub my head along his arms and back before forcing him to make room for me on his lap. I turn away from him, trying to peer over the table at Itachi... Only to be distracted once more by food.