"What's there?" Shisui asked. He noticed your reaction after you peaked out—and it concerned him.
It's not that the thing on the other side was scary, but it caught you off guard. A mass of orange hair—or fur, more like it, hurling in your direction.
You ducked out of instinct, only to look back up in curiosity. You knew that pattern of fur, though it was one you never expected to see again.
"Ah... it's, uh..." You sweat dropped, the cat opening its eyes to meet yours. "Pickles, it's pickles."
"Huh? Like, the food?" Karin asked back from beneath you. "What a waste of my time! And my back hurts! Get off, already!"
"No, not the food, it's my cat." You answered back, adjusting your stance on top of her.
"What kinda weirdo names their cat pickles..." Karin mumbled, and you ignored her as you looked toward your cat.
"Hey, little guy... I totally thought you were done for after the pain attack." You spoke to him, your lips were stuck in a frown, but your eyes were soft—displaying your relief.
"You know, in cat years, I'm older than you." The cat replied. He didn't have any of his fancy get up, leaving him looking like any other ginger cat around. "And I thought you were dead, too. But I heard from the kids around that three people were imprisoned, and one of them looked really sad. So I assumed it was you." He explained.
"Huh, really?" You smiled lightly. "I don't think I'm that gloomy."
"Eh, it showed sometimes." Your cat explained, managing to squeeze itself through the small gap in the wall—and jump inside. Only then was it that you got off of Karin's back.
"A damn cat?!" Karin groaned, sitting up. She pushed up her glasses. "And it's not all that cute, either."
"It's almost as sad as your apartment in here." Pickles observed, only to look toward you after saying so—as if he were caught saying something horrible. "Though, there's not much of it left standing."
"...I figured..." You responded with a frown. There weren't many belongings to mourn in there—but you had memories. Like when Shisui became your roommate, or all the photos you kept, important ones at that. The idea of even losing those memories hurt. "Well, I'm glad you made it out." You said solemnly.
Your cat wasn't a fool—the smile on your face was solemn and desolate. He'd seen genuine emotion from you before—it wasn't like he met you at the happiest moment of your life, but there were instances where your smile was a lot more genuine than the one you had now.
You were glad that your cat managed to come out unharmed, it had even been a worry of yours. But that gaunty apartment of yours had always been some sort of safe haven from everything else.
"Unfortunately, I did not manage to save your poster girl, but I was.... Well, I wouldn't say I was snooping, more so learning. I'm a wise guy, so I was reading up on your family history." He eventually got out. "So before your whole apartment got destroyed, I managed to get out with it. And I bookmarked some pages with some of those photos of yours, so...."
You looked down at your cat, blinking a few times at his long winded explanation. He noticed your smile become a bit more genuine. "I didn't think I'd be so glad to hear that someone was messing with my things..."
"Other than the fact that you have no where to stay, I think it's time to integrate back into society!" He said, standing on his hind legs.
"But... I still have like, my whole life left to serve, or something." You answered him. You weren't sure where the sudden morale came from—especially considering the fact that you were a murderer since you were 13, but a lot of things change when you murder your sister and take her eyes.
"Whatever you did couldn't have been that bad!"
"I murdered my sister..?"
"It was a mutual agreement."
"...I attempted murder on the Raikages little brother?"
"It was only attempted!"
"I helped the Akatsuki?"
"I'm sure you were forced."
"...I assisted in the murder of the sixth Hokage?"
"...." Pickles put his paws on his hips, looking down. "Well you make it hard to defend you." He relented. "But in any classic shinobi story, a villain turns a hero when there's a time of need!"
"What stories have you read?" You questioned under your breath.
"Well, I'm sure you of the fourth shinobi war." Your cat explained. "Jump in and save the day, and they have no choice but to forgive you!" He had a point, there. You were never a girl with strong morales you stuck by—most of them were just basic things that made you a decent human being, but you were still a murderer in that regard. Though, it kind of came with the job of being a ninja.
No, regular ninja don't usually go after innocent people. Though, when you thought about it—the only 'innocent' guy you attacked managed to survive, partially due to you. And the other incidents could've been ruled as self defense.
No, you were just trying to ease your conscience and give yourself a good reason to get out of this worn down prison cell. You didn't have any right to leave this room other than—
"That stupid thing she showed me was just Genjutsu, you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Your sentence ended with a rather loud cough. Your sister was the last thing you wanted to speak of, especially with her last words and her blood on your hands.
'Madara' wasn't a stranger to resistance of your level. He had grown a knack for this over time. He'd get you to submit under his ideology before you even realized it. "Her eyes were different from yours. She would be able to witness death as it walks, something not even you could comprehend."
Yes – you were aware that your sisters' eyes were much more advanced and stronger than your own. Being capable of using the blood bond on more than one person – she managed to replicate their deaths and enact them on you, she even controlled each one at her own will. While you barely got the ability to revive one after her death. "But that doesn't make sense, how could she be able to see death before it even happens? If that was the case, she'd be showing me my teammates death during the attack on the Leaf – not some vision during a war!" You reasoned, the stern look on your face faltering with the twitch of your lips.
"You said it yourself. She showed you death before it happened, not as it had already happened." He explained. His knack for coming up with excuses on the spot gave him a clear advantage in your exchange. "The death of Neji Hyuga will play out as you saw it."
Criminal or not, there were still people you held dear to your heart. People so dear that you managed to get yourself into trouble time and time again. Be it romantic or platonic—that bond you had with your teammates had substituted for something you had tried so desperately to cling onto for a majority of your life.
"From this day forward, the four of us are nothing short of family!" Your Sensei declared loudly, tears of joy already forming in his eyes.
"Family?" Neji repeated with disbelief, arms crossed. "I can't decide which is worse, the idea of it, or the fact that you actually meant it..." he sighed, closing his eyes.
"But we do not look alike!" Lee added on.
'He's sure one to talk...' you sweat dropped. 'I can't tell the difference between Lee and our Sensei...'
"You see, Lee, there are some bonds even thicker than blood! Just because we might not look alike—(they did)doesn't mean that we can't have genuine bonds that will bring us close!"
"As it stands, the two of you already look enough like family to fool any passerby's." Neji said for them, eyes closed.
"Well, he has a point..." You sweat-dropped with a wary smile. "I'm sure a lot of people would be surprised that you're not family in the end."
"Well, we're already 50/50, the two of you just need to get a makeover—and you'll look just like your good ol' Sensei." Might Guy flashed his shiny grin, pointing his thumb at himself.
"For the hundredth time, I'll pass." Neji looked away with disdain. If he didn't make any eye contact, hopefully his Sensei will leave him alone.
"As much as I'd love to look like thing three, I'll pass, too..." You agreed with Neji, a bead of sweat on your disillusioned face.
"Having the same beliefs can bring two people together better than you'd think! It's like we're standing in a mirror, Lee!" Might Guy cried.
"I agree, Guy Sensei! Although, they are lacking a bit in fashion!" Lee sniffled.
You and Neji looked at each other. Your relationship had always been rocky as Genin, but there were fleeting moments like these that reminded you why you could never truly dislike him. No smiles were shared, but you could tell it was one of those fleeting moments of peace Neji held dear to himself, as well.
The feelings of dread you felt over your teammate wasn't linked to solely a kiss, but the buildup of all those small, fleeting events that led to it. There're some bonds thicker than blood—and you had to hold on tight to what you still had, instead of clinging onto what you didn't.
"If you're up for it, M'lady, I'm always willing to lend a helping hand." Shisui offered his assistance from the other side.
"I guess I could tag along, too." Karin added, an irritated look on her face after having been stood on.
"No, no, no... Who are you?" Pickles questioned the redhead. "You're a criminal, criminals need to stay locked up." He advised.
"But you'll bail the others out?!" She fumed, holding her glasses in place as she yelled.
"I help the good! Not the bad." Your cat shrugged, slipping out of the cell. "Now, I've got some busting to do..."
"What're you gonna do?" Shisui inquired, looking over at your cat as he jumped up onto the bars, managing to keep himself up as he dug his claw into the lock.
"Not only am I fiendishly handsome, but I am also talented!" He boasted as the cell door creaked open.
"Huh, who would've known security was this low." Shisui put a finger up to his chin.
"Is it low security, or high skill?" The cat boasted as you stood by the door awkwardly, peaking your head out to look into the hallway.
"Low security, I'm sure." Shisui grinned.
___
Hi guys! It's been a while, I'm so sorry! We're getting close to the end here! I'm still thinking about that rewrite, but I'm not sure if I want it to be based off of this story, or to just be completely different. I still want MC to be in team Guy, and I definitely want to focus more on their bonds. I also want to make the characters more in character, since I feel there are many times where I didn't do them right.
But also, I don't know how I'd be able to include Shisui!!! And he's the real selling point here. But whatever, I'll worry about that once this is done!