Neji’s Kitten Chapter 7

Ok, let’s skip ahead, well, about a year and a half. Now we are in the middle of the time skip in which Naruto and Jiraiya are gone and that stupid little bone headed Uchiha is off with Orochimaru. Now let’s summarize.
Gingerale grew like a kitty weed, but even so Neji remained somewhat oblivious to her growth, being that he was around her so much. Though he did realize that she was getting big when she climbed onto his shoulder one day and could easily wrap her entire body around both of his shoulders comfortably. She grew long and lengthy, with a slim, long body and long legs. However, the cat’s personality changed very little… the only thing that changed was that she got smarter, which was often both her blessing and her curse.
Gingerale also became very popular. Since the stubborn cat usually hated to be left alone, she was generally parading around on Neji’s shoulders, and after the sleepover the boys had no intention of staying quiet about her, so the konoichi on each team quickly found out about the cat, and therefore Neji was sometimes seen with a small flock of girls on either side of him, making a huge fuss over Gingerale. Also, when Gai found out about the cat, he thought that it would be a great idea to bring her along on missions, being that she was so smart, and a great decoy. She proved many times to be a helpful ally, and accompanies the team on almost all of their missions now. Now, back to the story.

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Neji walked out of his bathroom in pajamas, his hair wet from the shower he had just taken. She grabbed his brush and began to brush out his hair, and sat on his bed next to Gingerale, who was curled up in a ball. He looked at her. “…Are you going to come on the mission tomorrow?” he asked.

She looked up at him lazily and meowed in a negative tone, then went back into a ball.

Neji frowned. “You’re been so lazy lately! What’s up with you!?”

She waved her tail dismissively without looking up.

He glared at her, but then crawled into bed and turned out the lights, setting his brush down on the table next to the bed and went to sleep.

The next morning Neji woke up to the sound of an alarm clock in his ears. He quickly turned it off and got out of bed to get dressed. The whole time Gingerale lazily watched from her spot on the bed, without the slightest bit of interest.

When he was ready and about to go, he turned to her. “I’m gonna be gone for at least three days, you know that, right?”

She sighed loudly without looking at him.

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to come with us? You will be missed.”

She growled softly, signifying her impatience.

Neji glared at her. “Fine… I guess I’ll see you in a few days…” And with that he left the room, a little crestfallen.


His team was waiting for him by the gate.

“Neji, you’re finally here!” Gai exclaimed.

Lee nodded. “Me and Gai-Sensei did 1,000 push ups while we waited for you and Tenten!”

Before Tenten could get a word in, Gai interrupted. “Oi, Neji, where is our youthful friend Gingerale?” he belted out, pointing to Neji’s catless shoulder.

Neji shook his head. “She didn’t want to come,” he replied simply, a hint of regret in his voice.

“Aww,” Tenten murmured, “She almost never misses a mission! Is she sick?”

He shook his head again. “I don’t think so. She just… didn’t want to come. She gave me no indication why.”

“Aww,” Lee said sadly, his shoulders drooping, “That really dampens my spirit…”

Gai put a hand on Lee’s shoulder. “We will miss our furry teammate… But, we must be on out way. Come on, team!” He turned toward the gates and began to lead his team away from the village.

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Five days later, Neji trudged into the Hyuuga compound, carrying his bag in his hands. The strap had broken when he had dodged a shuuriken. He was dead tired, grumpy, and in need of a shower.

“Welcome home, Neji-nii-san!” Hanabi chirped as he walked pass her.

He ignored her and went strait to the door leading to his room. He slowly opened the door and almost instinctively looked down, expecting to see Gingerale weaving through his legs and purring loudly. When she did not appear, he slowly raised his head, and his eyes grew wide.

On his pillow lay a very tired looking Gingerale, her green eyes glazed and tired. But that was not what Neji was staring at. At her stomach lay four small bundles of fur. Neji froze and his hands grew shaky and clammy, causing his bag to drop out of his hands and land on the ground with a thump.

“HINATA!!!!”