Tamashi's illusion was gone. My ears were twitching, but my tail was trapped beneath some rubble. I morphed into my feline form to slip through the rubble.

I was too wounded to go back to human form, so I stayed a cat. I searched the ruined hideout for the twins.

"Yurei?" I mewed, "Tamashi?"

I heard a groan that made my fur stand on end. I followed the sound to a large slab of earth. I could smell Tamashi, but there was no sign of Yurei.

I sniffed around until I found Tamashi. He was dazed but mostly unharmed. The only thing I was concerned about was the gash above his right eye.

I tilted my head questioningly.

"I'll be fine, Kage," Tamashi said. He winced when he tried to move, "My leg might be broken, however. Try and find Yurei, he can't be too far away."

I nodded and bounded off to look through more rubble. There was no sign of the three teens from before, they must have fled after the initial explosion. I howled for Yurei... No use.

I perked my whiskers forward and closed my eyes. I sensed him, but only faintly. My whiskers led me to a jumble of limbs. Some poor girl had cushioned the landing of some fat rich guy as well as a passed out Yurei.

I licked Yurei's nose and dug my claws lightly into his chest. I breathed a sigh of relief when he reacted. I butted my head under his chin and purred until he stroked my back.

"Hey, Katsumi..." He croaked.

I put my paw over his mouth so he couldn't talk. Using my tail, I pointed to Tamashi. Yurei easily lifted the rubble and helped his brother stand.

I had just enough energy to go into human form, "I'll go get supplies and bring them back. You two need to rest."

Tamashi moved to stop me, but his leg made him stumble.

"My point exactly," I turned into a cat and ran off.

It was easy to go unnoticed as a cat. The only people that played attention were small kids, and they were simple enough to avoid.

I raided dumpsters for day old food behind food stalls. A few people gave me handouts. I brought everything back to the twins.

"We also need medical supplies," Tamashi informed me.

I was padding down a side alley at a steady pace. I passed an old tan tom cat with a missing eye. I asked him if he knew where any hospitals were and he directed me to the closest one.

The building was within my sight when my paws suddenly left the ground. I hissed in surprise and my tail fluffed up.

Someone laughed, "There there, little cat, it's OK. I won't hurt you."

I was spun around. I was shocked to see the same girl from the hideout.

"You're a cute little kitten," she said, more to herself than me.

My tail swished back and forth angrily. The girl grinned at me.

"What's you're name, little cat? I'm Temari."

"Mrow!" I growled.

Temari ignored my protests. She turned me over, "Hm... Well you're a female, and you have black fur... So I'll call you Kuri!"

I found it is incredibly difficult to glare as a cat. I growled again and tried to claw at her arm.

Temari grinned, "You'll be perfect!"

She tucked me under her arm and sprinted off. Even though I knew it was pointless, I spat and hissed at her.

Temari took me to an old abandoned house in a corner of the city. Sand poured from every window and even the door. It converged on Temari as if to identify her. Then is circled me.

I watched the sand curiously.

"Temari!" An angry voice called from an upstairs window, "What are you holding?"

Temari held me up like an offering, "I brought you a friend."

Temari flinched as the red head's sand plucked me out of her hands. The sand carried me up to eye level with the kid. I tilted my head to one side.

Two auras seemed to be radiating from him. I perked my whiskers up until I could see. The boy was still there, but he looked like a little kid. A great demon loomed over his shoulder. It seemed to be inspecting me as well.

I pulled my whiskers back and flattened my ears, hissing. The boy set me on the floor in what looked like his room.

"What do you think, Gaara?" Temari asked. She stood just outside the door to the room.

I bolted for the door, but the sand formed an impenetrable wall to block my way. I crouched low and growled deep in my throat.

"She's a bit jumpy," Gaara deadpanned.

"Just give her some time to settle in," Temari's voice was muffled, "and please try not to kill her... Her name is Kuri."

Gaara just crossed his arms and stared blankly at me. I widened my eyes so I looked as cute as possible. Nothing.

I meowed and rubbed against his leg. I could feel him getting uncomfortable.

Gaara sat down on his bed to meditate. I jumped up on his lap and purred loudly. We glared at each other.

"Gaara!" A male voice shouted, "get down here, Temari made diner!"

Gaara rolled his eyes, "Stay here, Kuri."

I curled up on the bed and pouted. Gaara gave me a half smile that didn't reach his eyes. The sand retreated in front of him and rebuilt itself once he was gone.

I dropped down from the bed and walked over to the window. My tail swished angrily, I couldn't jump that high as a kitten, I was just too small. I could easily crawl out as a human, but I didn't want to get caught as a larger creature. I paced the room until Gaara returned.

"Gaara?" The puppet boy from before showed up, "Temari and I are going training. You coming?"

"No, Temari told me to watch this kitten," Gaara nudged me with his foot.

I batted at his foot as a warning. My ear twitched.

"Alright, try not to kill her, she's pretty cute," the boy left.

"Yeah, Temari said that too," Gaara grumbled.

I looked up at him with huge eyes. The front door slammed shut and the sound of footsteps faded away.

I pushed my face against Gaara's leg. He picked me up and carried me to the bed. I curled up and pretender to sleep, but really I was trying to think where I knew Gaara from.

Sleep eventually overtook me, and I woke up to a full moon high in the sky. Gaara was no where to be seen. I morphed into human form. I took medical supplies from the bathroom and food from the kitchen before slipping out the window.

I made my way through the shadows. When I saw the ruined hideout, I tensed and dropped what I was carrying.

I saw the outlines of the twins propped up on one another, and another silhouette I didn't recognize.

The figure turned and noticed me. He had bright yellow eyes visible in the dark.

"Time to sleep, Katsumi," I heard a whisper in my ear, then nothing.