Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Just a piece of fluffy cliche and kitty-ness. Not sure why i wrote this, but i guess i was just feeling 'fluffy'. Anyway, so enjoy all the aw-ness, and kitty fighting!

Iruka had seen many a heart-breaking thing in his life. His occupation as a shinobi had ensured it; the loss of comrades, friends, tragically failed missions and more funerals than anyone should ever have to go to. And as a schoolteacher, it was often even harder to bear; watching young children try and fail, even after years of training, hard work, and dedication, only to fall at the very last hurdle.

However, at the moment, Iruka was having trouble finding anymore pathetically tragic than this. The alleyway was dark and dank, its laden atmosphere of sorrow only enunciated by the threat of thunder from above. A box, soaked through with its brown edges folded in on itself, was pushed carelessly to the side, uncaring to the tiny, pitiful mews that echoed from its contents.

The very sadness of the place even seemed to linger in the walls.

Iruka sighed, shifting his bag full of papers, full to the brim after a hard day's work and went to pick up the filthy box, peering inside cautiously. A pair of dark eyes met his own, accompanied by a small meow of complaint. There was another, but it didn't seem to be awake.

He tried to pry his eyes away, but the small-bodied kittens prevented it- locking him into his own personal hell of misplaced guilt.

With no other choice, he tucked the fragile container under his arm and finished his cold trek home.

Kakashi, dog lover that he was, would just have to deal.

The first few days with their new 'guests', were more hassle than Iruka had initially suspected. First, he'd nearly experienced a heart attack of pure, unadulterated panic when he thought one of the little things was dead, only to be proved otherwise a mere few seconds later when it simply rolled over and off the table to hit the floor with a solid 'thunk'.

It barely stirred, let alone landed on its feet.

Blinking, he'd cast a glance to the other, more mobile cat- only to see the black kitten nonchalantly grooming its paw with a pink tongue, unheeding to its fellow's fall.

Then, he'd tried to bathe them. Of course, cats don't generally like water, but the black one; Sasuke (as he'd been imperiously named by a disdainful Kakashi) was peaceful enough- despite trying to scratch and maul whenever Iruka got too close. But the other one! Underneath all the dirt and grime, and dried rainwater, was a ball of bright orange tabby, which undoubtedly had a hyperactivity disorder. It wouldn't keep still for a moment, and attempted to escape on numerous occasions, meowing obnoxiously the entire time.

Exhausted, covered in water, and back aching, Iruka hadn't even bothered to try to dry him, as the little hoodlum raced over the tiles and into the living room at break neck speed.

And he'd been so quiet earlier, Iruka thought with a whimper.

Over the course of the next few days, Iruka could feel a distinct pattern emerging, while Kakashi looked on, amused at first, but then irritably when he found cat sick on the bed.

The trip to the vet's for shots had been harrying. Sasuke, as always, was unruffled as long as no one touched him, or came within a general two feet radius of his person. The poor vet had 6-inch long gashes from where the kitty had lashed out as a result, tears pooling in her eyes.

And Naruto, the orange menace of doom, had wriggled, escaped, and proceeded to disturb every single pet in the waiting room; by the end there were feathers everywhere, and the receptionist had to flip the closed sign for a good two hours before everything was back in place.

And then, there was the scratching! Naruto would claw everything! From the curtains, to the towels, to the sofa, to the chairs, to the fridge! And whenever someone was around he'd whine for attention, twining around his legs, just enough to make him trip as he tried to navigate his way round the apartment. He'd even claw his way up the poor chuunin's thigh and come to a rest on his shoulder, purring incessantly, and licking his face with a rough, wet, pink tongue.

It was just adorable enough to make the anger simply melt away.

Damn cat.

Sasuke was another story altogether- the haughty thing would prance up and down the apartments meagre floor space, draping himself just out of reach, surveying you with superior dark eyes. He took up residence on the windowsill, right on top of the plants, basking in the sun and glaring at whoever disturbed him, and was never affectionate at all.

And then, there was the worst of all- when they were together.

For some unfathomable reason, Iruka had initially, stupidly, naively thought, that as he found them together, they would at least get along.

But alas, it was simply not meant to be.

Whenever Naruto wasn't whining, and Sasuke wasn't ignoring everything, the flat would be filled with the snarls of two small kittens, who undeniably detested each other. Fur would fly, growls would be exchanged, and they both would end up limping about the place, nursing scabbing scratch wounds.

He'd also found to his cost, that it would do no good to try to separate them either. He'd come home from work one day, bedraggled from the sudden down pour outside, only to find the two cats rolling about on the floor, claws locked deeply into each other's fur, small teeth bared as their tails flicked frantically. Iruka had tried vainly to disentangle them with his foot, only to have the appendage severely maimed by claws. And the two then very ruffled, fluffed up kittens would only tackle each other to the ground once more.

It was officially driving him mad. And poor naive Naruto, who didn't seem to be quiet as, well, with it, as Sasuke, always came off the worse in their little brawls. On those days, Iruka didn't have the heart in him not to cuddle the fluffy thing when it came to paw at his knees, mewing miserably while Sasuke sulked on the sofa arm, pointed determinedly away.

Kakashi tried to suggest they get rid of them, or at least one (preferably Naruto- not only was he loud, annoying and bothersome, but he was also effortlessly managing to steal away much needed love from his Iruka-koi!).

Iruka refused, however, unknowing himself as to why; they were a handful and a half, and it would be so much easier to let them both simply go- preferably not with the other. He reasoned to himself however, that Sasuke's and Naruto's antics were now a routine part of the day- an exasperation, but one he was unwittingly fond of.

And it wasn't as if the two couldn't be cute; even the proud Sasuke managed to fall down the back of the sofa at least once, much to the amusement of everyone present as he clambered his way back up, black fur sticking every which way. And Naruto had the tendency to simply be adorable whenever he wanted, whatever he was doing. Iruka had never met a cat who would quite happily chew their own tail for hours on end- or better yet, Sasuke's tail, when he could catch it.

And they didn't fight all the time either. Iruka had a sneaking suspicion that they didn't really hate each other at all.

He came to the conclusion when he one day came home to a familiar scene. Pakkun, who had so far avoided much direct conflict with the cats by taking refuge under the coffee table for long periods, had been enticed out by a dancing and darting Naruto, who was yipping about at high speed, playing some demented sort of tag, that was slowly, but surely, driving the usually peaceful dog to snap, bark and bite.

Naruto, the narcotic-needing creature he was, took no notice of this fact, and so was unprepared for the lunging snap when it came- he yelped, much like a hurt kitten, and flopped back, rolling over his own head and tail, before coming to a stop in a jumbled heap of quivering orange fur.

The relatively small dog was about to go after him again, when Sasuke suddenly took action, with a precisely aimed bat to the dog's wet nose, accompanied with a feral hiss, which made Pakkun back up, until he was well hidden back under the table, a canine whine showing his discomfort.

In the meantime, Sasuke could be found batting at Naruto's limp form, looking agitated as the other cat refused to get up again. Of course, it didn't last long, as Iruka swiftly airlifted the kitten to the kitchen table. A thorough examination through the thick orange fur showed no injuries, and by the time he was done, Naruto was wriggling his way to freedom yet again.

Just in time to jump on Sasuke's retreating form with a yowling battle cry.

Iruka sighed, not sure to be pleased or not.

Kakashi, as such, was not particularly pleased, though it was possibly more to do with the fact his dog got owned by a small black kitten.

So when it came down to it, Iruka still wanted to keep them, despite the fuss they caused, but he was aware that they just might not be able to cope with the two monsters. After all, Iruka mused, simply dealing with the monster Kakashi was a strain.

In the end, it was decided by Naruto. The kitten had often got it into his head that the only way to beat his long standing rival Sasuke once and for all, was to push him off the window sill, where the now more-cat-than-kitten spent most of his time, idly watching the day pass by.

He never, ever, achieved victory of course, but he was alarmingly persistent.

And in one of his attempts, due to much hissing, clawing, and feline manoeuvring he ended up on the wrong side of the ledge, and so when it came to his imminent defeat, he ended up toppling over and down, past several stories with an ominous crack. Iruka, having known not to interfere in the usual spats, and not paying much attention, was across the room in a shot, mimicking a suddenly distressed Sasuke, who leaned over the sill, meowing plaintively.

Iruka was out the door and down the steps in seconds, scooping up the poor kitten in his chuunin vest before rushing the limp cat to the nearest vet clinic he could find. Leave it to Naruto, to be the only cat who couldn't land on his feet.

The orange kitten had been forced to stay over night; recovery from the surgery- falling over four floors to a hard landing wasn't something he could just walk away from. Worried out of his mind for Naruto, who'd fixed him with such pained eyes, and such a pathetic mew; he'd been practically forced out the door to go home.

For the next few days, the house was desolately empty. And quiet. Sasuke, at the conspicuous absence of Naruto, brooded for hours at a time in silence on the windowsill, and would scratch at the paintwork. He refused to eat, and would bite viciously if Iruka tried to feed him. He could only hope that the cat would at least drink something, as he feared he would suffer dehydration.

Three days passed in gloomy silence, and Iruka immediately knew that when (not if), Naruto came back, it would be impossible to get rid of him, or Sasuke. They were indefinitely part of the family now. Even Kakashi appeared a little lack lustre after he was told the news of Naruto's 'little accident'.

When Iruka was finally allowed to pick him up, Naruto looked the same as ever. Admittedly, he had casts, and bandages, but his bright blue eyes were flashing the same as always and he jumped with as much energy as ever into Iruka's waiting arms.

And when they got past the front door, he instantly begged to be put down, scooting off in a beeline for his rather dour playmate. Sasuke, to his credit, took the tackle rather well, and even deemed, much to both human's astonishment, to lick Naruto's ears. Iruka could have sworn he was even purring as they both cuddled up together in a blissful moment on the sofa, undoubtedly getting tons of fur everywhere.

Smiling, Iruka shook his head.

"Hmm," said Kakashi with a serious face, as he observed the two's reunion, "I suppose they'll just have to stay then. And I suppose, it does sort of suite…"

"What does?"

One eye crinkled, sparkling in delight.

"Oh, just that it fits for a gay couple to have gay cats as well, don't you think?"

…

Flushing red in the face, Iruka threw a kitchen towel at him. Kakashi instantly tried to defend himself from a suddenly raging Iruka.

Unbidden to the chaos around them, Sasuke and Naruto curled up closer together, gently purring, slipping off gently to sleep, together as always.

A/N: So, how was it? Fluffy, ne? I also apologise if you thought it was horribly unoriginal. But...i do like kittens...:P

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