A/N: Just a cute one-shot I thought up randomly.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hayato, Ryu, or anything else belonging to Gokusen.

"Oi, Ryu," called out Yabuki Hayato as he entered the apartment he shared with his best friend. He slipped his shoes off and exchanged them for house slippers. "Ryu," he repeated.

Finally, the red-haired fighter entered the room. "What, Hayato?" asked a slightly-annoyed Odagiri Ryu. The young man had been doing his Literature homework, and he didn't like to be interrupted when he was doing homework. Then he noticed what his roommate was holding. "No," Ryu deadpanned.

"Oh, come on," pleaded Hayato, holding up the tiny orange kitten so Ryu could see it better. "I think you and Neko-chan would get along well. You're so much alike."

"How are we alike?" scoffed Ryu. "I'm a human. That's a cat."

"No," corrected Hayato, "this is a kitten. And you're plenty alike. You both have red hair, and neither of you like for me to hold you." Ryu just rolled his eyes at the second comment. "And, though I know neither of you will admit it, you both are very warm and cuddly when you want to be."

"Hayato, it's a cat," Ryu said slowly, choosing to ignore the "cuddly" comment. "Cat's can't admit to anything. They can't talk."

"Actions speak louder than words, my friend," said Hayato sagely. Ryu couldn't help the snicker that escaped his lips. "Please, Ryu? You know it would be fun to have a pet, and having a kitten won't be nearly as much work as having a puppy." Hayato then pulled out his best weapon against the stone-faced Ryu: the pout. He knew Ryu couldn't resist his pout.

Ryu knew Hayato would try the pout on him, and this time he was prepared to deny it. But what he wasn't prepared for was for the kitten in Hayato's hands to look up at him at that exact same second with her big, round, kitten eyes. Against Hayato, he could have won, but with the kitten pleading as well, it was too much for the secret softy. "Fine, we'll keep the cat," he caved.

Hayato did a mini happy dance and let the kitten onto the floor. "Good, because I already named her Niji."

"Niji?" asked Ryu, nearly in disbelief. But then again, this was Hayato. Sometimes there was just no telling what Hayato would do. "Why Niji?"

"Because right when I found her, a woman at a floral shop was spraying some flowers and the sunlight caught it, making a rainbow. It had to be destiny," he said resolutely. Ryu just smirked and snorted a laugh at his friend.

Later that night, Ryu was still sitting up in the living room, studying for an upcoming biology test. Just as he was getting into the notes about cellular respiration, little Niji jumped up onto the couch next to him and crawled across his lap and onto his notebook. "Niji, you can't be sitting on my notes while I'm studying," he reprimanded lightly. Niji responded by standing up onto her back feet and setting her front paws against his chest, which Ryu just found cute. Gently lifting the kitten into his warm hands, he couldn't stop the smile he felt tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I guess you are kinda cute."

A/N: Ryu's a secret softy! Review please and tell me what you think!