Warm Fur.

Chapter Five.

It happened in a split second, all his pains and handicaps were forgotten. All Zabuza felt was anger, a giant, roaring tidal wave of bloodlust and the incredible need to rip the other limb from limb. He grabbed the cat-hybrid by his arm and twisted it behind his back so fast and hard it shot out of its shoulder socket, but the other's screams fell on deaf ears while he slammed the man's face into the rough stone wall over and over and over again until the crunching sounds turned into gory slimy ones. And then something happened, something he hadn't anticipated. His face got scratched, deep. The cat was in no position to reach him, so it confused him, and then he got scratched again. He released the other and instead grabbed the small hand which still had its claws sunken into his cheek, pulling its owner up to eye level. Haku. The boy was crying. There was blood running down the kitten's arm that was not his own, but a trail from where he left him by the bags that was. Zabuza put him back down on the ground, where the small figured crumbled into a heap. His foot was twisted, and a cracked piece of bone poked out of his pale skin. The big wolf grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed it on his face, the scratches stung and he needed to get a hold of himself. He took a few deep breaths and made a decision; he picked up the sobbing child, and placed him back inside his coat. He buttoned up, heaved the unconscious cat over his shoulder, grabbed the bags and left.

0

Sasuke was in trouble, he'd been pretending everything was okay with him ever since that horrid night, and he almost started to believe it. He did his daily chores as his owner wanted him to, played with the neighbour's new litter, and didn't speak about it. But then he ran into him, that murderer. Every night he saw it again, how his Naruto pleaded for the wolf to stop, the massive argument they had before the fight, resulting in their break-up, and how his lifeless body got dragged from the ring. He didn't think, didn't plan anything, but all the pain, sadness and anger he'd been keeping bottled up inside came pouring out. How was he supposed to know that damn monster had a cub? He'd just wanted to provoke him, to make him show that he regretted it, that he cared, even if only a little.
And now he lay in a dark room with half his face chafed off, firmly tied to what he assumed was a bed… at least his arm didn't hurt anymore, but that didn't change the fact that he was quite obviously captured… by a man who clearly wanted nothing more than to see him dead. Something stirred in the darkness beside him, and he lay as still as possible. Suddenly a dim light got switched on, and the cub sat next to him. The boy shuffled around awkwardly, wincing occasionally and Sasuke saw that he had a cast around his left foot and ankle. "Why did he bring me back here?"
"You broke my leg, you know. But he knows I would never forgive him if he left you to die out there. So… What's your name? Mine's Haku." The bigger cat inspected the other for a while; the kid had really big eyes. "Sasuke, my name's Sasuke, why am I here?" Haku smiled, "Because Zabu's really pissed at you right now, and he's also afraid you might turn him in if we let you go. So you're gonna have to stay here for a while, okay?"

The boy came closer. "Promise you won't hurt me?" Sasuke nodded. Haku untied his hands from the iron headboard and Sasuke got a good look at his ears, they were pitch black, like his own, and pointy. The cub then moved to untie his feet, turning his back to the other and displaying his long, slick tail. "You're not a wolf cub." The boy turned back to him and Sasuke slowly sat up. "Nope, I'm a kitty just like you." The elder feline gingerly felt his face; he could only see with one eye, the other was covered up with bandages, as most of his face was. "You're lucky… he didn't seem to want to stop, so I had to scratch him." The child's expression faltered, "I hurt him…"

"That man, he isn't your father, is he?" Haku shook his head. "So that means he's your… mother?" The idea of the wolf submitting to anyone seemed ridiculous to him. "I don't think he can do that, besides, it'd be weird if he were my mother, since he's already my mate." At that last part the boy's face bloomed into a proud smile. "So you better not try to steal him from me!" That would be about the last thing Sasuke ever planned to do. "Aren't you a little young for him? You are what, three years old, right? And he's got to be around nine years old now… that's pretty weird." How… dare he! Haku decided he didn't like this person, first he pushed Zabuza and hurts him too, and then he goes and insult them! he puffed up his tail and put on his war-face.
"No it's not! I love him and I know Zabu loves me too so what do you care?!" Sasuke was intrigued, at some point, when he himself was just a little thing, he probably looked as non-threatening as this one… still, it was amusing to see him get all puffed up and angry. They didn't speak for a while, Haku scratched at his cast and Sasuke let the newly gained information sink in.

Stupid cat, Haku thought, who did he think he was! If it hadn't been for Haku's interference he'd surely be dead right now. The thought of such a thing happening made his skin crawl. Zabuza had killed people, and to others that probably seemed like a natural thing, but he found it hard to imagine that his gentle, caring and quite awkwardly loving wolf could do such a thing. Apart from their first meeting the man hadn't ever done anything to frighten or hurt him, and usually people who are mean and violent to others are also that way at home, right? For a while they sat in silence, Haku still pissed off, Sasuke not really knowing what to do. But the kitten was also curious, he'd never gotten to talk to another hybrid before, and this one was a cat just like him! He had many questions.

"That fox who died, he was your mate, right?" Sasuke nodded. "We were fighting all day about something stupid, and then he died. I never got to apologise." Another silence ensued, until Sasuke, who figured he was going to be stuck there a while, decided to change the subject. "So has he claimed you yet? You reek of him, but not quite like a 'made' mate would." The boy blushed, and if Sasuke didn't feel like he didn't have a nose anymore it might have felt like as friendly talk among acquaintances... about a completely inappropriate topic. "No, I… I don't want to, it's scary." He fidgeted with the hem of his pink yukata, which he was still wearing. "Well the first time is always scary. I remember being terrified, but it turned out okay, so I'm sure it will for you too." He tried to smile encouragingly, but quickly faltered. Haku was staring down at his hands with an expression that did not fit a fear of the unknown. "He says he's okay with waiting until I'm ready, and that he won't ever hurt me, but he will. I know he will and he won't even notice."

"You talk as if you already know what it's like, did something happen to you?" Haku didn't know what to do. Talking to the other cat was so easy, and he probably knew a lot more about everything than Zabuza did. But he didn't trust him, not completely. "How about you? Was your first time with your mate?"
"If I tell you, will you tell me as well?" Sasuke didn't know why he indulged the child, but he didn't mind. He wasn't a bad kid, and from the brief interaction he'd seen between them, that monster wasn't being a bad mate to him either. Haku nodded, so Sasuke took a deep breath and told him what he'd never told anyone else. It didn't matter anymore anyway. "Before I was with my current owner, who is a good guy, I had a bad one. He forced me to mate on my very first heat, with a guy I didn't even know. Most of my babies died, and the few that did survive he sold off before I could even name them." The boy looked at him with a look of disbelief, "Really?" Sasuke nodded and the kitten slipped his hand into the other's and sent him a sad smile. "How did you feel?" Sasuke swallowed thickly and squeezed the little hand in his own. "Like I wanted to die, it was even worse because when I was pregnant, my feelings about it started to change. It was forced, yes, but they were my babies." He put his free hand on his flat stomach. "I could feel them wiggle and kick, they were a part of me. And then, when I gave birth, I could tell, I could tell that they were all dead. Every single one, except for a tiny little albino. Her fur was as white as snow, and she was much smaller than all the others, but she lived." He scraped his throat and rubbed his belly. "I tried to track her down, after I left my owner, but she'd been too small, she died after a few weeks. I never told Naruto any of this; I didn't want him to know. And then before that fight against your mate he told me that he didn't want to do the fighting anymore, that he wanted to start a family with me. And I couldn't do it; I couldn't go through it again. And now he's dead too."

"I didn't want Zabuza to know either, but Kakashi told him, our owner." Haku took a deep breath and squeezed the bigger hand tightly. "When I was little I used to live on a farm… they made me have babies a few times, but they cut them out so they wouldn't die. I never got to see any of them. You can't see the scar anymore, but my belly still shows it, it's ugly and stretched and it shouldn't be that way..." Sasuke squeezed the little hand in his own. "And now my first real heat is coming soon, and I'm scared. I'm so scared…"
"You shouldn't be. After what happened I ran away and found a good owner, he already had Naruto, and at first I hated him. He was too bright and happy and cuddly with me, at that point I was afraid of every other male hybrid, you know why. But he never let up, and slowly I came to trust him, and then love him, and when we did become mates I decided to let that count as my first time instead. And yeah, it was scary, and we were just bumbling around not knowing what the hell we were doing, but it turned out okay, you just need to practice a bit before it gets good. Do you think he will ever willingly hurt you?"
"No, he's really scared of doing so."
"Then you don't need to be afraid at all."

0

Zabuza closed the front door behind him, it had taken him five tries to find a drugstore that was open at this hour, but he managed to succeed. First they had to go to the doctors for the boy's foot and the other cat's face; luckily they didn't need to go to the hospital. But the kitten wouldn't speak to him, wouldn't even look at him, and it hurt. Haku wasn't supposed to be afraid of him, and he wasn't ever supposed to see him that way either. But now it was ruined, there was no way the little one would trust him again, or want to be his mate anymore. He probably hated him now, and when they got home he would ask Kakashi if he could go and live somewhere else and leave him forever. The cat luckily didn't give him any trouble, being unconscious and all, and the doctor was one had treated him a few times before, he knew not to ask any questions.
And now Haku had to limp around with his foot in a cast, and it was his fault, he never should've taken the boy outside, only bad things happened when he let him go outside. And then when they'd gotten home the kitten had locked himself up with the other, unwilling to even speak to him. The scratches on his face still hurt, but the thought of who put them there, and why, hurt even more.
The bedroom door slowly creaked open, and the kitten came shuffling out awkwardly, dragging his wounded leg behind him just like Zabuza did. He closed the door and turned to him with a blush. "What's the matter?" the big wolf asked while he hung up his coat, and Haku shuffled up to him. "Zabu…" He wrapped his thin little arms around the man's waist and pressed his face into his stomach. "Yes?" Zabuza ruffled the hair around the pointy ears with one big hand, hoping to have been forgiven. But he didn't say anything, just stood there with his little arms wrapped around a big body and breathing in the man's scent.

"Zabu?" His muffled voice asked, and he looked up with an uncertain look in his eyes, his ears flattened. "Are you mad at me? I'm sorry I scratched you, but you scared me…" The big man sighed, and slowly sunk down on his knees, groaning painfully when he had to bend his faulty leg, so they were at eye-level with eachother. "I should be thanking you, so don't worry. I was in a really bad place for a while, because you got hurt, and I don't ever want you to see me like that again. I'm so sorry Haku, can you ever forgive me? I…" he hung his head and closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against the kitten's. "I don't want you to be afraid of me, not ever." Haku didn't say anything, but reached up and slowly traced his fingers over the deep cuts in the other's face. "You won't ever hurt me, right?" Zabuza slowly, cautiously opened his eyes and found his little thing nervously smiling up at him. "Never." And he carefully wrapped his arms around the other's thin fame, pulling them together. "I knew you wouldn't. You're not like that, not really." He slipped his arms around the man's neck, and nervously chewed on his bottom lip. "Zabu… will you…" He swallowed thickly and felt his face heat up. "Will you kiss me?" He couldn't look the man in the eye, so he stubbornly stared down… at his mouth. Which was getting closer to his own; his breath got stuck in his throat. It was going to happen, he never really thought of it before, but now that the moment was about to occur Haku realised that this really was what he wanted, what he craved. He wanted to belong to him, to be a 'made' mate.

And then the man rubbed their noses against eachother and pulled back with a smile, Haku didn't let him go though. "No… I meant like this." And he did it, he really did it. He closed his eyes, leaned forward and pressed their lips together. Neither of them moved, they just stood frozen, Zabuza on his knees, on the matted grey carpet of the hallway. It was a shock; he never would have thought his kitten able to do something like that, to even want it. But he liked it, a lot. He wrapped his arms around his little mate tighter, Haku was still his, even more his. And he would never let him go. And so they stood, with their lips pressed against eachother and not moving, as awkward as a first kiss ought to be. But then Haku's leg, which was stuck in the cast, slipped a little; causing him to move a little to the side, their kiss to be angled differently, and suddenly it changed. They learned as they went along, pressing harder against eachother and moving their mouths in sync. Zabuza would've found it humiliating to be taught such a basic thing by a kid, if his head were in any kind of mindset for thinking. Instead he was floating, feeling like he'd never felt before. He wanted this, he wanted it bad; and when his captured little prey started writhing around, tugging at him, and making little mewling sounds into the kiss he felt it. For the first time he wanted to take him, mate him, to claim him as his own so everyone would know it, smell it, and stay the hell away. Haku was his and his alone.

"That's about enough you two!" Suddenly Zabuza's arms were empty, and his ear was getting tugged on, hard. So he growled and looked up to find Kakashi with a firm grip on his ear, and a struggling and mewling kitten trying to escape from the hold the man had on the scruff of his neck. "Kashi! Put me down!" But the man shook his head, dragged the kitten to his room and locked the door behind him. Immediately a pathetic yowling could be heard, which tugged on any heartstring in could find, hard, and the boy started desperately scratching the door. "You're nowhere near in heat yet, little thing. Be patient." And he sat down on the couch to read the paper.
Zabuza, who was slowly putting himself back together from the mess his kitten made, stood with some trouble. "I really didn't expect that from you, what were you thinking?" the pages rustled when Kakashi turned them. "I'm happy, of course, that you two are… getting along. But you mustn't forget that he is still just a cub. And that things have happened to him."

Zabuza nodded, and quietly snuck over to the door, from which insistent scratching could still be heard. He turned the key, opened the door just a crack and shushed the other.
Haku then looked up, even more flustered than before, and bit his lip before averting his eyes and speaking. "Sorry about all that…" he stared at the ground, and leaned against the doorway, gathering his courage. " Zabu… When I go into heat I… I wanna do it, with you…"