Chapter 12: The Demon Cat and the Wiggling Sweater part-1
Finding Tora was easy. Kiba's nose and Shino's bugs located the target within twenty minutes.
Catching Tora, however, was a nightmare.
We were currently standing on the rooftops of the residential district. Tora—a brown cat with a red ribbon on its left ear—was sitting on a chimney, licking its paw and looking at us with pure disdain.
"Alright," Kiba whispered, crouching low. "I will go left. Shino, you block the right. Hinata, you stay here and catch him if he jumps toward the alley."
"R-Right," I stammered.
I stood near the edge of the roof, my heart pounding. The drop was about two stories. It was not lethal for a ninja, but for a clumsy person like me, it was an opportunity for disaster.
"Now!" Kiba yelled.
He lunged. Akamaru lunged.
Tora hissed, its hair standing on end. Instead of running left or right, the cat launched itself into the air. It soared over Kiba's head, performed a mid-air twist that defied physics, and landed on the washing line strung between the buildings.
"Get him!" Kiba shouted, slipping on a loose roof tile and nearly falling off the edge.
I watched the cat run along the washing line. It was heading straight for me.
(Okay, Hinata. Just grab the cat. Use the Gentle Fist grip. Firm but gentle.)
I raised my hands. Tora sprinted toward me, eyes locked on my face.
Just as the cat leaped from the line toward my arms, the System chimed.
[Ding!]
[Combat Encounter Initiated. Enemy Type: Beast. Activating Rito Effect Level 3: "The Human Hiding Spot."]
(Hiding spot?)
Tora hit my chest. But instead of letting me catch him, the cat panicked. Seeing Akamaru barking behind him, Tora sought the nearest available cover.
That cover was the collar of my jacket.
"Meow!"
"Ack!" I gasped.
Tora dove headfirst down the front of my hoodie.
"Wait! No! Get out!" I screamed, flailing my arms.
The cat did not get out. It wiggled deeper. I could feel claws snagging on my mesh armor. I could feel fur against my skin. The cat scrambled down past my chest, panicked and thrashing, trying to find a safe bunker inside my clothes.
"Hinata!" Kiba yelled, landing on the roof next to me. "Did you get him? Where is he?"
I was doing a frantic dance, jumping up and down, clutching my stomach where a lump the size of a cat was moving violently under my clothes.
"He is inside! He is inside!" I shrieked.
Kiba blinked. He looked at my torso, which was undulating as if I were possessed by an alien.
"Whoa," Kiba said, his face turning red. "That looks... really weird, Hinata."
"Help me!" I cried. "Get him out! He has claws!"
"I... uh... I cannot touch you there!" Kiba stammered, backing away with his hands up. "Shino! You do it!"
Shino landed softly on the roof. He observed my wiggling sweater. "Logic dictates that we must extract the target. However, the placement is problematic. If I send bugs in to retrieve him, it will likely increase the chaos."
"Just pull him out!" I wailed.
Tora decided to climb back up. The cat scrambled up my torso, its claws digging in for traction.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
I spun around, losing my balance. I tripped over the washing line pole.
I fell backward off the roof.
"Hinata!" Kiba and Shino yelled in unison.
I plummeted toward the alley below. The wind rushed past my ears.
(I am going to die. I am going to die with a cat in my shirt.)
[System Alert: Fall Detected. Iron Skirt Jutsu Active. Modesty preserved. Impact imminent. Brace for landing.]
I did not hit the ground.
I hit something soft. Or rather, someone.
Oof.
"What the—?"
I landed on top of a person who had been walking in the alley. We crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
I opened my eyes, dazed. I was lying on top of a boy with a pineapple-shaped ponytail and a mesh shirt.
It was Shikamaru Nara. Again.
"Man..." Shikamaru groaned, looking up at the sky. "Why is it raining girls today? This is so troublesome."
I was straddling his chest. Tora was still inside my shirt, currently resting directly on top of my chest, creating a very large, vibrating bulge.
Shikamaru looked at me. Then his eyes drifted down to the moving lump in my jacket.
His eyes widened. "Hinata... is your chest... moving?"
My face went supernova.
[Ding!]
[Achievement Unlocked: "The Trojan Cat." You have confused the genius of the Nara clan with your anatomy.]
[Reward: 600 Shy Points.]
"It is a cat!" I screamed.
I grabbed the back of my collar and pulled it open. "Get out!"
Tora, seeing daylight, shot out of my collar like a cannonball. The cat launched itself directly into Shikamaru's face, used his nose as a springboard, and leaped onto a nearby trash can.
"Ow!" Shikamaru yelled, clutching his scratched nose.
"Get the cat!" Kiba yelled from the roof, jumping down.
Shino followed, landing silently.
I rolled off Shikamaru and curled into a ball against the alley wall. "I am sorry. I am so sorry. I am so sorry."
Shikamaru sat up, rubbing his nose. He looked at me, then at Kiba who was wrestling the cat into a cage, then back at me.
"You are the noisiest quiet person I have ever met," Shikamaru sighed. He stood up and offered me a hand. "Are you okay? That looked like it hurt."
I looked at his hand. I was afraid to take it. What if I pulled his arm out of its socket? What if I accidentally threw him into a wall?
"I... I am fine," I whispered, standing up on my own and dusting off my pants.
"We got him!" Kiba cheered, holding up the cage. Tora was hissing inside. "Mission accomplished!"
Kiba looked at Shikamaru. "Oh, hey Shikamaru. What are you doing here?"
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