Iruka shook out his umbrella and heavily sighed. The work had been particularly demanding today. The children seemed rowdier than usual, the lessons seemed vapid, the day had been cold and wet, and now one of the umbrella’s spines was broken. Biting into his lower lip he angrily shook his umbrella again, as if that would do it any good. Then he sighed again and wrapped his coat tighter around himself as he covered himself with the umbrella as best as he could, the lop-sided part facing away from his suitcase, and started for home.

With the umbrella on one hand and his suitcase in the other hand, Iruka found himself unable to brush away the strand of his dark brown hair that had escaped its confines in his ponytail. He slightly tilted his face in hopes of getting the hair out of his eyes, but made it worse instead. It was starting to tickle his cheek. It really was one of those days where everything went wrong, and reluctantly Iruka gave up. With luck he might make it home without any further misfortunes, and then he would fix himself a cup of sweet, light tea and buttered toast, and he’d feel better.

The dreary weather was made worse by the steadily falling drizzle. Despite the fact that it was only around six, the street lamps feebly flickered in the semi-darkness. The lamps cast ominous shadows, dancing across the deserted street before absolutely disappearing, only to be replaced by another flicker of light. The moon had hidden behind the clouds and the gust that occasionally stirred up the trash and debris in the corners felt dry and cold, despite the rain.

Come.

Iruka suddenly stopped. It was as if a voice had rung inside of his head, directly speaking into his ears. The voice was soft and high, that of a small child’s. Iruka frowned. He must be really tired; he was hearing things.

Please come to me.

This time he heard the wheedling tone of the voice, the swallowed tears that made the tone wet and pathetic. The child was crying. The child was trying to hide the shaking to her—his?—voice, but the words were still shaky.

I don’t want to be alone anymore…!

Mii…. Mii…

It was then that Iruka noticed a new sound mingled in with the sound of the rain and wind ruffling the papers and wet leaves. He had been so preoccupied with his misery that he had not realized it before, but he was hearing the cries of a cat—no, a kitten, judging from the tiny mewing. Iruka hesitated. He was a single man who lived alone and worked six days a week. He was often gone from sunrise to sunset. Would he really be able to keep a pet? He didn’t want to show spontaneous sympathy to the kitten, only to give it away to someone else later. That would be cruel.

Mii….

The crying sounds got weaker, as if the kitten knew what he was thinking—that it didn’t have a chance of being picked up, after all. Iruka readjusted his grip on his umbrella and gingerly stepped over the piles of garbage tied up to be picked up the next morning, and spied tip of blonde fur sticking out among the black plastic bags. Then suddenly, with a popping sound, the head emerged and Iruka gasped with shock as his coffee-colored eyes met ice-blue eyes, and the kitten observed him carefully before tilting its head to its side. Then it widely smiled.

“Ah. You found me…”

For Your Eyes Only – Te wo Tsunaide

“Naruto. Naruto? Geez, where did you run off to?”

Iruka placed the bowl of specially modified pet food and looked under the sofa. Naruto was nowhere to be seen, and Iruka impatiently stalked to the kitchen. He didn’t have the time to play hide-and-seek with Naruto at the moment; he had to leave for his work soon. He tossed vegetables into his skillet and started stir them. Naruto would come out when he’s hungry enough.

It has been almost half a year since he picked up the stray kitten. Naruto was a new breed of pet that was immensely popular lately; the so-called humanoid animals. They had human intelligence as well as sweet demeanor of a household pets; they were capable of speech, thought, and human emotions. Naruto looked like a small child with cat-ears and tails, and he barely came up to Iruka’s knees. He had beautiful, big blue eyes and fluffy blonde fur. Iruka was quite sure that Naruto was a purebred—probably an angora, since his fur was so silky and long—but humanoids were inordinately expensive, regardless of their pedigree, since they were so difficult to breed. He wasn’t sure why his former owners had abandoned the kitten. It definitely wasn’t because Naruto was a bad pet. He was a cheerful, cute little thing that was affectionate and sweet; he wasn’t bitter when Iruka worked all day and came home cranky and tired. Rather, he brightened up Iruka with his adorable antics and playful charms. Though Iruka would never admit it out loud, he dearly loved the kitten.

In the beginning, in an attempt to find the rightful owner, Iruka had asked, “Where are your mommy and daddy, Naruto?”

“At home, where there is a big stream and skinny oak tree next to it,” Naruto promptly answered. “Daddy brought home fish and chicken, and mommy made a fire in the back of the cave where there is a little hole and cook it, and Nyaryuho would eat the fish eyes first.”

There was no chip embedded in Naruto’s nape. Iruka thought it was possible that Naruto was wild; that his parents somehow ran away from their captivity and had their kitten in a remote area. Naruto wrung his soft, fluffy ears and twisted his tail sadly as he said, “And then they didn’t come back home, so Nyaryuho went to look for them.”

It seemed that the parents were either captured or killed.

“Naruto!” Iruka impatiently called again. Tinge of worry seeped into his voice. Naruto wasn’t one to miss his breakfast. “That’s enough already! If you don’t eat your food, I’m going to throw it out!”

Iruka heard pad-pad of little feet upon his linoleum and smiled in relief, but frowned when Naruto showed up with tear-stained face. Naruto wrung his little ears, looking anguished.

“Iryukaaaa—”

“What’s the matter, Naruto?” Iruka asked, picking Naruto up. Naruto curled up in Iruka’s arms and started to cry harder.

“I feel weird—”

Iruka felt Naruto’s forehead and was alarmed to find it hot. Naruto seemed bothered and he fussed, curling his tail and squirming. Because Naruto was a healthy kitten who had never complained of ailments before, Iruka had no idea what to do. He was living in the suburbs, which meant the nearest vet for the modified pets was miles away. Cradling crying kitten in his arms, Iruka looked up the phone book. The nearest pet authority was a breeding agency. Surely they would know how to help his pet?

After calling the school to inform that he was taking today off, Iruka fastened Naruto to his seat and hurriedly drove to the agency. Upon seeing the building, however, Iruka was tempted to turn back and go to the city for his pet’s treatment, even if it took few hours of driving.

“Welcome to the Icha Icha Love Love Pet Breeding Agency! I am Kurenai Yuuhi, at your service. May I have your pet’s age, species, and dominance?”

Despite looking perfectly normal and rather pretty, the receptionist cheerfully rolled off the agency’s embarrassing name like it was perfectly natural. Iruka swallowed tears of dismay at how shameless people could be as he awkwardly said, “Um, I’m not really here to breed my pet…”

“We have wide variety of rooms and accommodations for your pet. How long would your pet stay?”

“Oh, I’m not leaving him here, but…”

“Are you here to groom your pet? Or buy another friend for him?”

“No, it’s just that he’s sick and I don’t know what to do. Do you provide medical services?”

“Only simple ones; for surgery and more serious ailments you’ll have to go to a professional vet. But please sign in and I’ll show you to Dr. Tsunade, who is in charge of helping birth of the babies and keeping the pets in top condition.”

Iruka filled out the necessary paperwork and followed Kurenai through the twisting hallways of the building. The building was new and the white walls were meticulously clean, and no matter what the agency may be called, it seemed professional enough. Iruka was a bit more relieved as Kurenai showed him to a beautiful young woman who shook hands with him and took Naruto from his arms to examine him. It didn’t take long for the vet to pronounce his illness.

“He’s in heat.’

“…Excuse me?”

Iruka felt himself sweating as Tsunade patted Naruto’s head, then scratched under his chin. Naruto started to purr happily, wiggling his tail. Tsunade used this opportunity to pull apart Naruto’s legs and show Iruka the swollen reproductive organ and wet anus of his pet, and Naruto started to fuss when he felt cold air against his shameful place.

“Is this his first time? How old is he?”

“Sixteen, and yes, I believe it’s his first time,” Iruka helplessly said. The center had estimated his age as sixteen when Iruka went to register him, but they were unable to find out his birth date. They also told Iruka that Naruto had to get all his shots except those for STDs, since Naruto had never copulated before.

“He doesn’t have a designated mate, then. Is he dominant or submissive?”

“…Uh, he’s a male?”

“…Well, we can find that out easily enough. But tell me, Mr. Umino—what do you want to do? We can get him fixed, if you don’t want him to have kittens. Or we can take care of his heat in non-reproductive… methods.”

Iruka had a feeling he didn’t want to know what those “methods” were.

“Or we have lots of potential mates who are in heat right now. After Naruto finds someone that he likes, we can set up mating sessions and fees.”

Iruka thought about how he left Naruto all alone while he worked, and if Naruto had his own mate and kittens to worry about, he wouldn’t be as lonely. He stroked Naruto’s cheek, and Naruto cuddled against him, softly mewing.

“…Why don’t we go and see if there’s anyone Naruto likes?”

There goes his year’s worth of savings, but if Naruto could be happy, it would be worth it.

“Iryuka, what’s mating? Is it fun? Is it yummy?” Naruto asked Iruka, curling his tail expectantly. Iruka rubbed his cheek against Naruto’s soft, plump ones, and Naruto giggled, pawing Iruka’s face away.

“You’ll get your best friend that you’ll be with forever and ever, Naruto. That’s what mating is.”

“Eh, really? Yay! Naryuho will be good and play well with friend,” Naruto promised, his blue eyes filling with excitement. Iruka smiled and followed Tsunade who was briskly walking ahead to introduce them to the breeder.

“Kakashi! We have an unmated 16-years-old kitten! We have to determine his dominance, though.”

Iruka shyly hung back and watched as the door opened and a tall, rather young man emerged. He had silvery white hair that covered part of his odd-colored eyes; one of his eyes was red and the other black. There was scar running over his red-colored eye (which was on the left), from his forehead to nearly his mouth. His features were well-defined and sharp, his body was slender and yet muscular, and Iruka found himself unconsciously admiring the other male. What a fine man he was! How did he get that scar that crossed his face? Then he scolded himself, for he didn’t want anyone to know how he got his scar across his nose, either.

The man called Kakashi raised his eyes demurely and smiled at Iruka. In his arms he carried a frisky puppy who wagged his tail when he saw Naruto, and the two proceeded to sniff each other’s nose. Then the puppy started to lick Naruto and Naruto squeaked, turning away and digging his face into Iruka’s chest.

“Nice to meet you; I am called Hatake Kakashi.”

“Ah… Hello, I am Umino Iruka.”

Iruka found himself stammering and wondered what was wrong with him. He was talking to a man, for crying out loud! Kakashi started to reach for Naruto and Naruto hissed, raising his fur until his tail looked like a fur bat and showing his sharp little canines to Kakashi.

“Shy little one, huh?”

“Eh… Eh!”

“Your cat.”

“Oh. Oh, yes, he is. But he’s a good child.”

Iruka felt his ears turning red as Kakashi grinned and grabbed the nape of Naruto’s neck. Naruto sharply mewled and squirmed, trying to get back to Iruka.

“Iryukaa! I don’t like this ossan! Iryuka!”

“He’s going to find your friend for you, so be good, Naruto,” Iruka comforted the kitten who started to scratch Kakashi. Kakashi seemed used to this, since he didn’t pay Naruto much mind. He went through a door and Iruka gingerly followed.

He saw a clean, spacious room, and there was a playpen set up in the center of it. Various pets were playing in the pen, and there were toys and books to occupy the animals. Some of them looked up when they saw Kakashi, wagging their tails or sniffing at him eagerly, and Kakashi put Naruto down among them. Naruto shyly looked around himself. The pets were small, soft, and very pretty, and Iruka understood that this was the females’ pen.

Spying a pretty pink bunny, Naruto slowly approached her, his tail twitching uncertainly. She was reading a book, her green eyes narrowed in concentration. She looked up irritably when Naruto cheerfully said, “Uh, hi!”

“Hello.” She managed a small smile. More encouraged, Naruto tried to sniff noses with her. Either sniffing noses was an offence to the bunny community, or she didn’t like Naruto, since she promptly kicked Naruto. Naruto rolled backwards and landed on his tail. He started to cry and he tottered back to where Iruka was watching, holding the fence in his paws and mewing for Iruka to get him out.

“Naruto, why don’t you try to find another friend?” Iruka asked. Naruto shook his head and whined, and Iruka took him out and let Naruto cry into sleeve of his shirt. He helplessly looked at Kakashi, who looked amused.

“Oh, that’s pretty bad, if he can’t even floor Sakura-chan. She’s pretty submissive and given the right mate, she’ll happily mate with him, but I think your pet is a submissive after all. Let’s see if any of the boys like him.”

“Wha, what do you mean by boys!” Iruka snapped, holding Naruto tightly against his arm. “Just because he’s in heat, I won’t let him get raped by another boy!”

“Don’t be silly, all pets are hermaphrodites.”

“Haa!”

“They can all impregnate or get pregnant each other is what I’m saying. Didn’t your breeder explain to you when you bought him?” Kakashi smiled and Iruka felt himself reddening again. “After all, you have a very rare Uzumaki breed, and he must have cost a fortune. Energetic little fellow, isn’t he?”

Iruka nodded, then asked, “How do you know he’s, uh, Uzumaki breed?”

“Oh, the scar marks on his cheeks… The way his tail curls… And look, if you do this—” Here Kakashi paused and pulled up Naruto’s shirt. When he rubbed on Naruto’s belly, Naruto happily purred and a red, swirly mark became distinct on his stomach—“You can see the distinct snail-like shape that makes him Uzumaki. That’s why they’re called Uzumaki, actually. Very rare—I heard he’s a crossbreed of nine-tailed fox and cat, but I’m not sure about that. I mean, nine-tailed foxes are absolute rarity, so I doubt anyone would breed them with cats.”

While talking they entered another room. Even by a glance Iruka could see that these pets were larger, tougher, even though some of them seemed friendly enough. Iruka looked at Kakashi who nodded, and he reluctantly put his pet down among them. All of the pets stopped playing and curiously looked at Naruto. Some of the pets came to inquire him, and it wasn’t long before Naruto was surrounded by other pets.

A tall, sleek male cat with dark fur and white eyes purred, “Hello there.”

“Eh… Hi,” Naruto chirped. He watched the other cat rubbing his body against his, their tails briefly entangling. “I’m Naruto.”

“I’m Neji,” he said, narrowing his eyes in a predatory smile. Naruto nervously backed away, and another male—a red raccoon?—shyly sniffed noses with him.

“I’m Gaara. Are you a potential mate, little one?”

“Ah… Yeah, I came to find my mate,” Naruto said. He squeaked when Gaara pushed him down to the ground and mounted him.

“Then… Why don’t you mate with me?” He throatily growled. Neji roughly slammed against him.

“You’re scaring the lady, you brute.”

Naruto scrambled to his feet and another animal, a blonde raccoon, licked his cheek.

“Why don’t we go talk somewhere more quiet, Naruto?”

“You keep your hands off of her, Niisan!”

“I chose him first, Gaara.”

Naruto nervously watched the pets arguing and looked back at Iruka for help. Iruka looked like he would start crying. All this time he thought his pet was a boy, and now other boys were fighting for him. Well, at least he was popular. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but…

Suddenly a cat who was only quietly watching everything that was happening with his arms crossed over his chest stalked up to Naruto. He stared at Naruto, who stared back at him. Then he grabbed Naruto’s shoulders and kissed him.

“…!”

Other pets numbly watched him as he proceeded to kiss the daylights out of Naruto, who squirmed and tried to pull out of his arms. When he finally released Naruto, Naruto slowly collapsed to the floor, heavily panting, and the cat regarded Naruto with his dark eyes before he turned to Kakashi.

“Kakashi. Room.”

Kakashi looked startled. Gaara angrily came between the cat and Naruto, bearing his fangs.

“Back off, Sasuke—”

Sasuke ignored him. He repeated to Kakashi, “Room.”

Kakashi pulled up Naruto and Sasuke and gave a big smile to Iruka, who looked at him confusedly.

“Ah… But I don’t think Naruto really likes him, Hatake-san. Why don’t we leave him there to see who he likes…?”

“I hate Shashuke!” Naruto added, glaring at Sasuke who moodily stared at him. Kakashi shook his head.

“Nonsense! This was the first time Sasuke had ever shown interest in mating, and as he is the last member of a most prestigious breed—the Uchiha breed—I must encourage the mating! Umino-san,” Kakashi turned to Iruka. “Please, please allow them to mate! We will amply pay you for the mating sessions and the kittens, of course.”

“What?” Iruka asked, confused. They were going to pay him for the mating? He helplessly looked at Naruto, who smacked Sasuke when he tried to steal another kiss from him. Then he felt his mind going blank when Kakashi took hold of his hand and pleadingly looked into his eyes.

“Umino-san… Please”

“I…. I…. Um…” Iruka felt himself becoming bright red. He felt himself nodding and squeaked when Kakashi tightly hugged him.

“Oh, thank you! You’re doing everyone of pet lovers such a big favor; you have no idea what a special breed the Uchiha is, I was so worried they would die out with Sasuke since he showed no interest in mating, I—”

Over Kakashi’s rambles, Iruka guiltily looked at Naruto. Naruto was mewing irritably as Sasuke was trying to pull up his shirt, and then Naruto pawed him on the face, pushing him away.

Sorry, Naruto, Iruka thought, cringing.

-To be Continued-