Chapter Text
Madara sticks his nose under the door, sniffing hard.
He was suspicious when the humans came back with a carrier yesterday - the same carrier he and Izuna were brought here in so long ago - but they disappeared into the bathroom and came out without it. They've been going in and out regularly too, but what made Madara certain he had to intervene was the tiny plaintive noises he heard coming from inside the room.
The humans are fools, unable to understand when spoken to, but Madara is not... and he knows what an unhappy kitten sounds like.
All his littermates sounded like that when they were born, cold and shivering as the rain poured down around them, and Madara can't bear to think of another one of his kind in a situation like that, imprisoned in the terrible bathroom where the humans make their own rain.
No, Madara is going to get this kitten out.
"Kitten." He makes his voice as calm and soothing as he can, knowing that it probably won't be enough, not when he's a stranger to this new cat, but it's the least he can do. "Kitten, I'm here to rescue you."
"Okaasan...!" The kitten cries piteously, and it's almost enough to break Madara's heart. "I want my okaasan!"
"Oh, kitten, I'm sorry." They all want their mother at first, he and Izuna included, but the humans seem to separate them from their parents quickly and Madara doesn't know why. It's another grudge Izuna bears against them, but Madara has other, more important things to worry about. "I can't bring her to you, but I can and will protect you."
"... who are you?" The kitten seems at least a little suspicious, and that's a good sign. It shows a will to live. "What are you going to do with me?"
"Teach you how to deal with humans, for a start." Madara tenses, hearing the footsteps approaching on the other side of the door, and prepares himself to spring. "One moment, and I'll be with you okay?"
"Yes, shishou." The kitten sounds more resolute now and that's an even better sign. "The human just fed me, I think they're leaving!"
"Good!" The door opens a crack and Madara rams into it with all his might, clawing at the door handle to prevent the humans from locking it again. There's a huge crash from inside, and a lot of human swearing, before the pressure on the door disappears. Taking advantage, Madara shoves himself through, Izuna on his heels, and races straight for the kitten bundled into a nest of towels in the bath.
The bath!
Those terrible humans, they were preparing to drench the kitten!
Dodging the flailing hands of the human that's trying to stop him, Madara grabs the kitten by the scruff and takes off as fast as he can run. Izuna will delay the humans until Madara gets this kitten into his own nest, where he and Izuna can curl up around it, keeping it safe and warm.
No, never again will Madara let another of his kind be hurt the way he and Izuna were, separated from kin and clowder.
From this moment on, this kitten is his.