Bitten

iv

4.

When Tenten heard a familiar loud purr, she stopped in her tracks and smiled at the cat walking towards her brightly.

She was doing her usual walk around the village - to get away from the orphanage and its stifling atmosphere to roam free in the the territory she would one day call hers.

Hers to discipline. Hers to develop. Hers to protect.

Konoha is Tenten's Namimori.

The adorable feline has been accompanying Tenten from time to time and she got used to it. She tried to be wary at first - since the cat couldn't possibly be normal when it managed to routinely track her down even when she tried her hardest to hide from it - but Tenten was weak in face of stubborn, adorable persistence the cat dished out. She kept her guard up for a few more days, before giving up and letting the animal do what it wanted.

The cat had gave out a particularly smug aura when that figurative white flag was raised that day and for the life of her, Tenten just found that infuriatingly adorable.

Small animals were always Kyoya-san's weakness.

It wouldn't be far-fetched that Tenten inherited that too - along with the long-list of quirks the man had.

Kyoya-san was very charismatic after all. An unstoppable force to be reckoned with that Tenten didn't even try to put up a fight against the idiosyncrasies she eventually adopted.

Patting the sleek-black cat rubbing against her leg fondly, Tenten shook her head at the show of affection. Really, if the feline wasn't careful, Tenten might just kidnap it for the sheer cuteness it exuded. She'll probably get in trouble for it, but it would be worth it.

The cat yawned lazily.

So cute.

"I wonder what your name is, neko-chan." Tenten mumbled softly.

"It's Kuro." A kind voice behind her replied.

Stiffening at the sound, Tenten plastered a polite smile on her face as she turned around to the source of the voice warily. It was from a girl. With her brown hair and considerate eyes, she was quite pretty. Harmless. However, even with the easy-going aura the girl emitted, Tenten couldn't quite bring herself to relax.

"Hello." Tenten began. "Is this cat yours..." She finally noticed the uchiwa fan on the brown-haired girl's back and fought the urge to run. "Uchiha-san?"

"Izumi." The older girl grinned. "Call me Izumi."

"Uchiha-san." Tenten ignored the hurt look the girl shot her and continued. "Do you want to have Kuro back then?"

"Uh. No." Izumi faltered. "I was just curious who he'd been visiting. He's my father's ninneko, you see and, recently, he always disappear out of nowhere to come to you." She smiled hesitantly. "I was just curious."

Tenten turned away, ignoring the guilt she felt at snubbing the girl, before continuing grudgingly. "It's Tenten, Uchiha-san. Nice to meet you. I'll be going now."

Tenten proceeded to walk away but before she could, Izumi grabbed her arm. "Wait." The brunette called out.

Tenten bristled and pointedly looked at the hand on her arms. The Uchiha smiled at her sheepishly before letting go. "Do you want to have some dango?" Izumi started. "I bought some earlier and it's too much for me to eat. Uh. We could eat some."

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san." Tenten said as sincerely as she could without meeting the brunette's eyes. "I needed to go to...somewhere. So...I can't." She finished lamely.

Ignoring the way the Uchiha girl deflated, she finally walked away - absentmindedly noting how the cat didn't follow after her this time.

It's...it's nothing personal.

The Sharingan just reminded her far too close to what one of Tsunayoshi's guardians' - Mukuro-san's powers. Although she dreamt that Kyoya-san eventually tolerated the man, Tenten couldn't help but remember the beating he subjected Kyoya-san at first.

It was horrifying.

Tenten could accept Kabuto-nii's Mukuro-like sneakiness, but the eyes - the possibility of one was pushing it.

She couldn't quite ignore the sight of the girl's disappointed visage though and the image plagued her thoughts 'til she fell asleep.