Chapter 45: Nekomata's Fortress {Special}

Warning: Chapter is VERY long

"What? Seriously? We're gonna catch another cat?" Naruto complained. "Well, not quite. You're actually after Nekomata." Kakashi said. "Nekomata?" I repeated. "Yes. You're mission is not to capture him, but to get a paw print him." He explained.

"Ugh! Nekomata! Mountain lion! Cute little kitty cat! Whatever it is, this is just a D-rank mission, so no, thanks. I say, just let someone else handle small-time stuff like this," Naruto leaned back on the grass as his foot was in the air.

"Right, Sasuke? I mean, are you tired of lame missions like this one? Go on, tell him. You, too, Nue. I know you must be tired of missions like these, too." Naruto said. "Actually, I like cats, so I don't really mind." I said with a closed eye smile.

"You don't have to come along if you don't want to. This is an Uchiha... No, wait. My mission." Sasuke said to Naruto. "But why?" Naruto asked as he sat up. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and I went to a shop where we met an old woman named Granny Cat.

"I'm glad you've come, Sasuke boy." Granny Cat said. "It's been a long time, Granny Cat." Sasuke greeted. "My, you're all grown up." She commented, then looked at me. "I can't believe my eyes. Nue Houjuu. I'm surprised to see you wearing a cloak." She said.

"Wait a minute, you know this woman, Nue?" Sakura asked. I shook my head. "I don't think so." I said. "Don't be ridiculous. You used to come here all the time as a child. Whenever you got angry, you'd come here to see the cats or you'd go to his shop." Granny Cat said.

"His shop? Who's shop?" I asked.

"What do you mean who's shop? You know who I'm talking about."

"I really don't."

"You won't get much information out of her, Granny Cat. Nue has amnesia." Sasuke stated. "Amnesia, now? Well, that's a shame." Granny Cat said. "Hey, who told you that?" I asked Sasuke. "Lady Tsunade." He answered, making me sigh.

"What kind of place is this?" Naruto asked. "This shop is where the Uchiha Clan traditionally buys all its weapons. Granny Cat also provides intel for the Uchiha, and she's our client for this mission." Sasuke explained.

"The Uchiha Clan wasn't the only clan that traditionally bought their weapons here. The Houjuu Clan was affiliated as well." Granny Cat added. "My clan?" I asked. "Yeah. Tamaki, get the Paw Encyclopedia and bring it to me." Granny Cat ordered.

"Sure thing. Here you are, Grandma." A little girl handed her a huge book. "You bound all of them into a book?" Sasuke asked. "You know, Sasuke. You sure do seem to know a whole lot more about this mission than we do. I think you better start doing some explaining." Sakura said. 

I looked down at my foot as a cat started rubbing itself against my leg. I kneeled down and began to stroke its fur as Granny Cat began to explain how the Paw Encyclopedia started out as a game between Sasuke and his brother, Itachi.

"Don't talk about Itachi!" Sasuke snapped. I stood up and placed my hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He looked at me with a frown and I shook my head, telling him this wasn't the time or place for this right now.

"I'm gonna start preparing for the mission." Sasuke informed before leaving the shop. "So, what was that all about?" Naruto asked.

"They used to be so close back then. I remember, Itachi would often come by on errands and bring little Sasuke in tow. Sasuke would get bored, throw tantrums, and give Itachi such a hard time. So, Itachi came up with a game for him to play. He had Sasuke chase down all the quick and nimble cats he could catch, and then gather paw prints from them." Granny Cat explained.

Naruto laughed with his hands behind his head. "It was a silly kids' game." He commented. "Yes, I suppose. But remember: Sasuke already had the skills of a genin even before he entered the academy. From the start, he was an Uchiha through and through." Granny Cat said.

"That's amazing." I said, smiling. Granny Cat explained how the games became more serious and it bothered her how Sasuke didn't complete two of the assignments that Itachi assigned him. She said she asked a woman named Nii of the Hidden Cloud Village for her paw print and she kindly agreed. "Nii of the Hidden Cloud Village?" I mumbled to myself.

I rested a hand on my chin as I thought about it. "Let me guess: You're asking us to go and get the final paw print, is that it?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, however, the print you're after is from Nekomata, a big player in the Ninja Cat Underworld. He never shows his place in public. His hideout is an impregnable fortress. It is guarded by a seemingly endless amount of ninja cats. Can a four-man team of genin handle something so hard?" Granny Cat questioned.  

"Are you kidding me? We've handled way worse than this. Just leave it to us. Right, Sakura?" Naruto said. "Keep in mind that Itachi thought this assignment was too dangerous for Sasuke and wouldn't allow him to go. You'll have to be very careful." Granny Cat warned.

"We won't let you down, Granny Cat." I said. We went to leave until Granny Cat asked me to stay behind. "I'll catch up with you guys in a second." I said to Naruto and Sakura before they left. "I know it shouldn't be a problem for you, Nue Houjuu, seeing how you've been to the Ninja Cat Underworld before." Granny Cat said.

"I have?" I asked. She nodded her head.

"I can't believe how much you've grown up, Nue. You're so pretty." Tamaki said. "Uh, thank you." I said. "But I thought you said she had wings and tails, Grandma?" Tamaki commented. "I do. Here, look," I unbuttoned my cloak and revealed my wings and tails.

"It's been a while since I've seen those. So, tell me. When did you get amnesia?" Granny Cat asked. 'So these people know me' I thought. "Well... I was running from an enemy and I hit my head on a rock." I explained, recalling the memory. "Come on, let's take a walk and catch up on things." She stood to her feet and I grabbed my cloak as we began to walk.

"Um, Granny Cat? What can you tell me about the Houjuu Clan?" I asked. "I can't tell you much, but I know you were into cats just as much as they were into you; They loved you." She explained.

"What was I like?"

"Cold and heartless. But when it came to animals you were fond of, you were a sweet person."

"So, in other words, I was bipolar."

"Pretty much."

I sweat dropped. Well, at least I know a little bit of something about myself. "Transformation Jutsu!" A puff of smoke engulfed Naruto as he transformed into a cat. Well, it looked like a cat, but it also looked like a toad.

"What kind of cat looks like that?!" Sakura said. Naruto poofed back into his human self and sulked. "Aww, but I actually thought it looked pretty good." Naruto said. "I thought it was good, too, Naruto." I said, trying to make him feel better.

"But you don't need to transform, meow." Denka mentioned. "And transforming won't let you understand cat speech, meow." Hina added. "So, here you go!" Granny Cat and Tamaki held up a pair of cat ears headband. "If you put these on, the cats will think you're one of them and you'll understand them." Granny Cat explained.

"If it's that simple, then why didn't you just give us these from the very start?!" Naruto said as he snatched a cat ears headband and placed it on his head. Sakura put the headband on her head as Sasuke... well, he was kind of reluctant to wear the headband.

I didn't need a pair since I could talk to animals. "Oh, that reminds me. Here, this was sent for you." Granny Cat said as Tamaki handed me a package. "For me?" I took the package and examined it.

"It doesn't say who it's from. Do you know who sent it?" I asked Granny Cat. "An old friend of yours." Granny Cat answered with a smile. "An old friend?" I repeated before looking at the package.

I picked up the note that was attached to the box and began to read it to myself. "Nue, I would like you to wear this before we meet. I can't wait to see you. P.S. Come without your cloak." I raised a brow in confusion. I opened the box as I saw an outfit.

"I... really have to wear this?" I asked myself. (See pic)

We went back to the shop so I could get change in the outfit. "Come on, Nue! You're holding us up!" Sakura called. "I look ridiculous!" I called back. "Oh, come now! It can't look that bad! Let's see it!" Granny Cat said.

I sighed and stepped out from behind the dressing mirror in the outfit that I was given. "You look adorable!" Sakura said. "Yeah, Nue-chan! You look great!" Naruto chimed in. I noticed he and Sasuke were blushing.

"Explain to me why I have to wear this? Is there something special about the outfit? And what's up with the bag?" I asked Granny Cat. "A friend wants you to wear that, there's nothing special about the oufit, and the bag is for your weapons." She explained.

"But it feels like there's stuff already in here." I said. "No more questions. You need to get going." Granny Cat said. I sighed and stuffed my cloak in the bag I had and we headed off.

We made it to Nekomata's Fortress thanks to Denka and Hina for showing us the way. "We're known in these parts, so I'm afraid we can't go any further, meow." Denka informed. "No ninja cat has ever seen Nekomata's face. Do you think you'll be able to find him, meow?" Hina asked.

"Thanks to these, infiltrating his fortress shouldn't really be a problem." Sasuke replied. Sakura had hearts in her eyes as she was staring at Sasuke and the cat ears on his head. "If we can get inside his stronghold, than the rest will be no problem. Come on, let's go." He said.

"Aye, aye, Captain." I said, saluting him. "Wait, hold it. Sasuke, look, we're supposed to be able to talk to ninja cats if we wear these, and that means you won't have to go start a fight with this Nekomata guy. Let's just talk to him about it. I bet that he'd be willing to give you a paw print or two." Naruto said.

"Impossible." Denka replied. "What? But meow!" Naruto said. "Having a paw print taken is extremely embarrassing for a cat, meow. He'd never allow it." Denka informed. "For a human, it's just like someone stripping off your clothes and taking a photograph of you naked, meow." Hina added.

"Oh, I see your point." I said. Naruto chuckled. "A naked photograph? Is that all? You just have to sweet talk someone into doing something like that. I mean, I bet I can even get Sakura to do it. Meow, Sakura?" Naruto said.

"Uh-oh." I murmured. "As if! You big pervert!" Sakura yelled before punching him. "I doubt talking will do you any good, meow." Denka mentioned. "You shouldn't have said something like that to her." I said as I crouched down in front of Naruto with my knees pulled to my chest.

"All right. Well, thanks for showing us the way, meow." Naruto said as he laid on the ground. "Get going, pervert, meow." Denka said. I pulled Naruto to his feet and followed Sasuke and Sakura.

As we were approaching the entrance, two ninja cat guardians were guarding it. "Who's next?" One of the cats said.

The four of us stepped forward. "I haven't see you guys before, meow." The cat said. "We're newbie cats, meow." Naruto said, grinning. Sasuke went into his pocket and fished out a bottle of catnip. "Here." He said, handing the bottle over to him.

"Hmm... For someone new, you're quick to catch on the way things work here, meow." The cat said. He and his partner aimed their spears at us. "What gave us away?" Naruto whispered. "Who knows?" Sasuke responded.

They twisted off the spears and held out some kind of cat toy. "It's time for us to give you your reward! This is how we welcome new kitties, meow!" The cat guard said. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and I stared at the toys in confusion.

"What's the matter? You're welcomed to play with them, meow!" The cat guard said. "Uh..." No one moved. "Don't mind if I do!" I said as I began to play with the cat toy. This is kind of fun :)

"Come on, guys! This is really fun!" I said as I continued to play with the cat toy. They joined me and played with the cat toy so the cats wouldn't get suspicious. The cat toy accidentally tickled Naruto's nose, making him sneeze and his cat ears headband fly off.

"There's a human in our midst and he's trying to sneak inside!" The cat guard informed as he aimed his spear at Naruto. "Huh? What are you meowing about? I'm a cat, meow." Naruto said. "Idiot! Let's go!" Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand and ran inside. "Hey! Those two probably aren't cats either!" The black cat guard said.

"More imposters! Alert! Alert!"

"Sasuke? Sakura, come back!" Naruto called, but they kept running. Cats with spears surrounded us, aiming their weapons at us. I put my hands up in surrender. "What business does a human have in Nekomata's Fortress?!" One of the cats demanded.

"Just get out of here, now!" Another cat said. "Okay, okay, calm down! I'm guessing what you're saying is that you want me to leave, right? Okay, I'm going. I guess it's back to the drawing board!" Naruto said before running off.

The cats cheered as he left, but that soon ended when they saw me still standing there. "State your business! Who are you?!" A cat guard demanded. "My name is Nue Houjuu Sa-"

"Nue Houjuu?! The Nue Houjuu?! We're so sorry for the misunderstanding! We should've seen your wings and tails before! Please, enter!" The cats stepped aside, letting me pass. "Uh, thank you." I said. I walked past them, entering the fortress.

"Well, that was easy... and weird. Okay, time to find Sasuke and Sakura. Actually, I could look for Nekomata myself." I said.

Alarms went off left and right as walked around while cats greeted me. "Hello, Nue Houjuu. Welcome back." They said, waving at me. I waved back with a small smile. "Looks like the old me has been here a lot." I mumbled to myself.  

I spotted a bar up ahead. "Like Sakura would say; The best place to get information is a bar." I said before entering the bar. "Ah, Nue Houjuu. Welcome. Haven't seen you in a while. Where you been?" The bartender asked.

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old." I said, making it look like I knew him. "Would you like your usual?" He asked. 'My usual?' I thought. "Yeah, that would be great." I said as I took a seat. "Here you are. Your Blue Hawaii." He handed me a blue drink.

"Thank you." I said. I took a sip from the blue drink. "This is a cocktail." I murmured to myself. Did I really used to drink cocktails at a young age? Although, it's really good. I took another sip. "Cute outfit. Where'd you get it?" The bartended asked. "Um, a friend gave it to me." I replied.

"Ah, I see. I bet you're here to see Nekomata."

"Yep. Hey, it's a been a while since I've been here, so could you tell me how to get to him?"

"He's where he's always is. In the main tower."

"Thank you very much. And thanks for the drink, too."

"Anytime, Nue."

I left the bar and headed to the main tower.

Once I got there, the place was filled with cats. "Hi, there. Long time no see, Nue." A cat guard said. "Hey, there." I greeted. "Here to see Boss?" He asked. "Uh-huh. Do you mind if I go see him?" I asked. "Not at all. I'll take you to him." The cat guard let me up a flight of stairs.

"Just walk down this hall and you'll find him in his usual spot." The cat guard said. "Thanks for your help." I replied, petting his head. I went into my bag and took out a bottle of catnip. "Here, take this as a reward." I said, giving it to him. "You're too kind." He said, taking my offer. I smiled at him, then walked down the hall. "This place looks... and feels familiar." I said to myself. Blue flames lit the way as I approached a see-through curtain.

"Um, excuse me. I'm looking for a cat named Nekomata." I announced. A shadow from behind the curtain stood up. "I'm surprised you made it this far... Unless you're her, meow." The cat said. "And who is "her", if I may ask?" I questioned.

"Nekomata will be with you shortly. For now, have a seat over there," A small space was lighted as cushion sat on the floor with four blue candles around it. I narrowed my eyes at the shadow behind the curtain, then went over to the place that was light for me, taking a seat on the cushion.

"So, why don't you tell me? Where is Nekomata?" I asked, sitting cross-legged on the cushion. The shadow didn't answer. "Hmm..." I sat there patiently as I felt fuzzy for a second. All of this feels way too familiar. I snapped out of my thoughts when I spotted Sasuke coming this way.

"Stay where you are." The shadow commanded me. Why? What for?

For a second, Sasuke was trapped in a genjutsu until he activated his Sharingan. "Sharingan can see through genjutsu. So, it has no effect on me." Sasuke said as Nekomata revealed himself. So, this is him.

"Then I'll just have to use brute strength, meow!" Nekomata yelled before attacking Sasuke. The two battled, but Sasuke was losing. He thrown on the ground and Nekomata was ready to finish him off. "Time to die!!" Nekomata roared. 

I ran forward and got in front of Sasuke. Nekomata saw me and stopped his paw just in time as his claw was directly aimed at my face. Sakura and Naruto came running in, helping Sasuke to his feet. "Hurry up, Sasuke! Snap out of it!" Naruto said.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura asked him. "So, this is Nekomata, huh? Ha! It's time for you to meet the real star of the show! Naruto Uzuma-"

"Stay out of this." Sasuke interrupted Naruto. "Huh?!" Naruto said. "This guy is mine. And besides, it's almost over, anyway!" Sasuke threw a kunai knife with a paper bomb at Nekomata, but it went past him.

I saw paper bombs all over the ceiling. They went off, making the ceiling collapse. "No!" I yelled. I quickly made a shield around Nekomata, making the ceiling crumble on top of the shield.

I held the barrier up long enough for the ceiling to collapse around Nekomata. When I made sure he was safe, I disbanded the barrier and I fell to my hands and knees, exhausted. Like I mentioned before, creating a shield takes a lot out of me. "Nue, what were you thinking?!" Sakura yelled at me.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing." I said, panting softly. I put my hand on my knee and hoisted myself to my feet. Nekomata stared down at me as I stared back at him, panting softly. "There's a reason why you didn't attack me back there, why you waited so patiently as I sat there. I noticed you also stopped your attack when I got in front of Sasuke." I said to Nekomata.

He continued to stare at me as he didn't speak. "You're still as ruthless as ever, Nekomata." I said. Nekomata smirked and lowered his paw to me, allowing me climb on. He lifted me up so I was eye to eye with him.

"It's good to see you again, Nue Houjuu." Nekomata greeted. I smiled at him, jumped on his shoulder, and hugged him. "What?!" Everyone yelled. I chuckled. "Guys, Nekomata is my childhood friend. I remember I used to come here a lot when I was little. I used to battle him all the time whenever I needed to let off some steam." I explained as I let go of Nekomata.

"So, was he this big when you were little?" Naruto asked. "Well... not really. I mean, he's certainly gotten a bit taller. Well, only a little." I answered. "A little?!" They all shouted. I chuckled again.

"I'm glad you got my package." Nekomata mentioned. "You sent me this outfit?" I asked. "Of course I did. Who else would've sent you that?" He said. "To be honest, I have no idea. Nekomata, I know this is rotten timing, but could I have your paw print?" I asked.

"Well... I normally don't do this, but since it's been so long, sure, why not? But in return, I'd like you to come visit me more often." Nekomata said. "Sure thing. No problem." I said with a closed eye smile. 

And just like that, we got his paw print. "Mission accomplished." I said. "Say what?! That was it?!" Sakura yelled as Nekomata lowered me to the ground. "You knew Nekomata? Right from the beginning? When did you remember?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, I didn't remember him from the beginning. But I started remembering as I was sitting in that spot over there. But I don't remember everything just yet." I said. "Man, now I smell like cat!" Naruto complained. "I'm pretty sure you can wash the smell out. Come on, let's go home," I waved to Nekomata.

"See you soon, Nekomata! And thanks for the outfit! It was really sweet of you." I called to him. He smiled and waved back. "Just don't make me wait another eight years for you to visit." He said. "I won't. I promise." I replied, then left with my team.

Now that I think about it, I should've brought my cat, Misaki, here. She would've loved this place.

Phew! Finally finished! I apologize for this super long chapter. But it was worth writing and I loved the episode. :)