And so a new story begins. Hello everyone! For those who haven't heard of me I'm Marshalanime and I typically write Naruto/(Insert other show/manga here) stories. For those who've read some of my past work, welcome back. And for everyone I hope you all enjoy the story!
I'm I fan of Naruto and Nyan Koi! is a series that I like to come back to and re-watch or reread from time to time. After my latest marathon of the anime came to a close I got curious and looked to see if there were any Naruto/Nyan Koi! stories to read and sure enough I found one, just one, that hasn't been updated since 2014. I immediately felt bad for this little section of the sight and so decided to add another story to the list! I'll try to update it at least seemy regularly but fall is a busy time of year for me so I might fall behind at points.
(Marshalanime does not own Naruto or Nyan Koi!)
Naruto Uzumaki was an unusual high school student to say the least. His spiky bright blond hair, blue eyes, and whisker like marks on his cheeks set him apart by looks alone but it wasn't simply his looks that made him unusual. First thing to set him apart would be his career choice. Though admittedly he was on an extended leave for training purposes he was in fact a shinobi, a warrior that struck from the shadows. Well, Naruto may not fit the typical image one would have of a shinobi but he was still trained as one regardless.
The next thing that set him apart would be his birthplace. If he were to go around telling people he was born in a shinobi village from another world then he'd be called delusional or crazy in no time. After his parents past away shortly after his birth he was handed over to a friend of theirs'. From what he's been told it was his mother, Kushina, who first came to this world and met up with his current mother and later his current father. It wasn't a decision that was made quickly, there were those who had concerns letting the village's new jinchuriki grow up outside the village for such a large portion of his life but they were eventually out-ruled by those in favor of him living with his current family. He was only a baby when the argument was going on so he wasn't that bothered by it.
Speaking of his jinchuriki status, that was another thing that set him apart even among those in his world. On the day of his birth the nine-tailed fox sealed within his late mother was released and wreaked havoc in the village. In order to save the lives of thousands his father sacrificed himself to seal the beast within Naruto's infant body.
There was one more thing that marked Naruto as unusual, something new that he was soon going to find out about.
It had been a long day for Naruto just like any other. Wake up, get ready for school, eat breakfast, go to school, spend a few hours after school training his ass off, and then come home do any homework he may have gotten and sleep so he could do it all again the next day. He was grateful that his sister and mother would usually have dinner ready fro him by the time he got home but today he'd stayed out longer than normal and had to heat it back up when he got home.
Walking into his room the blond scowled slightly when he say an old nuance that he had to deal with on a daily basis now and his families cat curled up on his bed, each of them claiming half the mattress for themselves. Striding into the room he dropped his bag next to his desk before speaking to them "Don't get too comfortable. As soon as I finish my work I'm going to sleep and kicking you two off if there's not enough room".
Neither Nyamsus, his family's large black and white cat with a red bandanna tied around it's neck, nor Kurama, the bijuu sealed within him using a sudo-body, seemed to care about what he'd just said. About a month ago Jiraiya got it in his head that Naruto might be able to use the fox's power better if the two of them got along with each other and went searched for a save method to allow that. Ever since he's been stuck with the damn thing sleeping in his room all day. They still didn't get along to say the least.
Nyamsus was the lesser of two evils between them, though maybe that's over dramatizing it? When he was just a kid he had a very sever cat allergy that kept him from getting close to her but over the years it'd gotten better. Now he didn't even have to worry about a sneeze so long as he remembered to take his medicine every morning. "I'm talking to you two ya know" the blond commented as he plopped down in his chair.
"Geez, what's gotten into you? So annoying today and I was sleeping so well" came the expected retort, that is, it was suppose to be the expected retort that Kurama would through at him when ever he'd complain about the fox. Thing is, that wasn't Kurama's voice.
Just as he'd picked his pencil up it slid out of his fingers as he glanced over to the bed with slightly widened eyes. The voice definitely came from that direction but only Kurama and Nyamsus were there. Maybe, maybe he's just exhausted. He'll just complete his homework and get some rest, by morning everything will be like usual.
The next morning and Naruto going through the usual with no weird voices to plague his mind. Making his way down stairs he overheard his little sister Suzu cheer that it was going to be a sunny day again as he entered the kitchen. Suzu was still in middle school and as such wore a different uniform than he did, hers' consisting of a teal skirt with a matching vest that covered most of the white dress shirt under it and lastly having a thin red ribbon tied around the shirt's collar. She had somewhat dark purple hair that like usual she had tied off into two short ponytails, one on either side of her head. Her bangs, which parted on the right side of her head, came down to frame her youthful face without a single strand coming in front of it and they contrasted nicely with her dark green eyes.
Their mother told her to finish her food before the young girl had to run off to school as she washed the dishes. The woman was closer to his height and had brown wavy hair that she kept up at the back with her wavy bangs in a similar fashion as her daughter's. She wore a pink apron over her yellow shirt and blue jeans.
The last living thing in the room was Nyamsus who had her own seat at the table. Kurama wouldn't be caught dead eating with everyone and Jiraiya had been leaving early for a while now. His father was working in another country and as such wasn't currently living with them.
"Morning Naruto" Suzu greeted when she saw the blond. He gave her a quick "Morning" before grabbing his lunch from the table and turning to leave.
"Aren't you eating?" their mother asked as she dried her hands and turned around.
"Not hungry. Just give it to Nyamsus" the blond told her. Suzu immediately brought the cat into a hug and rubbed her cheek against it's face, gushing something about how lucky it was for Nyamsus to have his plate. His mother didn't argue either and simply fed what was originally his cooked fish to the feline with a smile. Everyone in the Kousaka family loved cats and for once Naruto wasn't unusual there. He didn't love them as much as his mother or sister seemed too and they'd piss him off on occasion but he still liked them.
Though on his way to school the blond did come to a startling realization as he passed the stray and wandering cats that inhabited the city. He could understand everything they said! If that's the case then, the voice he heard the night before must have been Nyamsus! Thinking about it he didn't know if he should be panicking that he had this weird ability now or irritated that Nyamsus was complaining about him wanting his bed back.
During school he spent the entire day trying to figure out why this would happen so suddenly and time after time he'd always come back to the same answer. So now here he was, kneeling in front of the cat jizo statue and the small shrine built around it. Reaching in he tentatively grabbed the head and lifted it up from the rest of the statue. Yep, still broken from yesterday. He'd attempted to kick an empty can into the bin next to the jizo statue but it missed and ended up ricocheting into the small shrine. When he went to see if everything was alright he'd found to his horror that the head had snapped off. He'd placed it back on the statue and from a glance you' never guess it was broken. He then took off and hoped that the spirits wouldn't be upset with him, but apparently that wasn't so.
Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a can of cat food and placed it down in front of the shrine. He didn't know how he should go about appeasing the spirit he'd wronged but maybe this is a good start.
"So that's what happened" Naruto heard from behind and slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. Sure enough Nyamsus was right there. "The son of the Kousaka family has damaged the jizo's head, your mother would cry if she found out" the cat said as she shock her head slightly.
"Then it's a good thing she can't understand you" Naruto told the cat with a displeased expression. It was bad enough that he angered a spirit he didn't need someone knowing about it, especially someone he lived with.
"You really think that little offering will make up for what you've done?" Nyamsus questioned the blond with an expectant stare.
"It couldn't hurt" the blond said as he averted his eyes away from the cat and back forward before standing up. "Unless you think I can get doubly cursed for making an offering" he told her with a smirk that while Nyamsus couldn't see knew was on his face.
"Smart ass" the cat retorted with a flick of her tail. "Do you even realize what sort of cure you have?" Nyamsus asked the boy already fairly certain that he didn't.
Naruto grumbled to himself and was about to respond when a new voice caught his attention. "Hello" the head priest from the temple up on the hill behind the jizo statue greeted as he walked down the stone steps with a broom in his hand. The man was rather old if Naruto was judging based on his looks. While the top of his head was covered by a bandanna the teen already new the man was bald, whether from natural causes or because he shaved it himself wasn't so clear. The priest's attire consisted of simple, old fashioned, brown clothes that didn't look out of place given his profession.
After Naruto gave him a greeting in return the man went on to ask if he was on a walk with his cat seeing as Nyamsus was with him. Glancing over his shoulder at the cat briefly the blond responded with "Not exactly. Seems she was already going for a walk when I got here". Hopefully the priest didn't notice him talking with her like that.
"I see" the man said with a warm smile before his eyes drifted down and noticed the can Naruto had just left. Leaning down he picked it up. "Did you offer this?" the man asked as he stood back up and seemed to almost gleam at the gift left for the jizo. Naruto gave a tentative "yeah", still feeling guilty for breaking the statue. His guilt didn't seem to improve when the man happily thanked him for the offering.
"Huh? You. Are you interested in the jizo!?" the man suddenly asked. Now Naruto wasn't the most spiritually interested person in the world, sure he'd stop at a temple if he passed by it while travelling, but this was hardly the sort of thing he gave a lot of thought. Though the look enthusiasm from the priest and what he'd done to the statue the day before had him nodding his head with a half forced smile.
"Wonderful!" the man cheered. "This jizo, you see, has protected people of this land from disasters since ancient times. It's a jizo worshiped by cats who do good deeds" the priest told him as Nyamsus had moved to sit in front of the jizo. "It also has a good reputation among cat lovers. It's quite cute, right?" the man said, pausing briefly to see if the boy would say anything but only got another nod so he continued. "But, it's sense of justice is strong, so doing something bad will get you into trouble. You would get cursed as a result" the man said, getting Naruto's attention at the mention of a curse. "Well" the man said as he turned to continue sweeping, "I am sure the jizo will be pleased with your actions. You can't say that the animal spirits just by looking at it".
"Please tell me more!" Naruto blurted out when he noticed the man steadily moving away from him. Hearing the teen say that had the man sparkling like before as he turned to look at the young man. It wasn't everyday that someone wanted to hear the temples stories let alone someone so young.
After that the priest led the blond up to the temple he told him to wait as he went to get the scrolls. When he came back Naruto had noticed that his simple clothes had been switched out with the more colorful and intricate robes one would expect a head priest to wear. The second thing he noticed was the many scrolls he carried with him. This was going to take a while.
To his credit Naruto tried to stay invested in what the priest was saying but even with the passion the old man had while recounting what the scrolls had written down Naruto had never been good with history lessons and his attention drifted elsewhere. Glancing over to his side he saw Nyamsus, who like him, was sitting there on a cushion. "So why did you come here in the first place? Come to ask the spirits something?" Naruto asked in a lowered tone so that the priest wouldn't notice but the man was so caught up in reading the scrolls that he probably wouldn't notice anyway.
"I know the cat at this place. I've taken the opportunity and came to pay a visit" the black and white cat told him.
As if on cue a moistly white cat with dark brown patched over it's ears and two along it's back on either side of a lighter brown patch walked by and noticed them. "Oh Madam. you stopped by" the cat said as he skipped over to them.
"Pardon the intrusion Tama" Nyamsus told the cat as he came to a stop near her and sat down.
"So is this human your master?" Tama asked seeing as this was the first time he'd seen the blond.
"He's a desiccator who popped off the head of the jizo statue" Nyamsus said to Tama's surprise.
"You make it sound like I did it on purpose" Naruto complained with a slight glare, not that he was directing it at anyone inparticular.
"You're not even listening to him, you fool" Nyamsus said to the blond before turning her head back to Tama. "Tama, explain things to him" the larger cat instructed.
"As you wish Madam" Tama said with a quick bow of his head. "The basic outline of it is" the cat started as he looked directly at the blond. "Just like the one-hundred ghost stories there are also one-hundred cat stories. If you sincerely do good deeds for cats the candles will snuff out one after another and the curse will be lifted!" Tama told him. "However, hearing the voices of cats is just stage one of the curse. Without doing good deeds, just leaving things as they are will make the cure grow stronger and in the end, you will become a cat" Tama went on to explain with a creepy expression to add further emphasis to his words.
"Turn, into a cat you say?" Naruto said as a chill went up his spin and a worried look spread across his face. Not good! He can't go turning into a cat what about his dream or the promises he's made!? How would he be able to achieve those if he was a walking ball of fur!? Well, all he has to do is help some cats right? That shouldn't be too hard, right?
After hearing that the priests words had an even harder time reaching the blond as he kept thinking about this damn curse and in the end he just sat there as the old man went on talking late into the evening. The next morning still had his mind occupied by Tama's words. 'Why did I have to get cursed? I've got a hard enough time balancing everything in my live as it is' Naruto thought to himself as he stared up at the sky after shaking out his futon.
"Heeey sir! Thanks for yesterday" Naruto heard from below him and glanced down to see a waving Tama sitting next to Nyamsus in his backyard.
"What are you doing here?" Naruto lazily asked not really wanting to deal with this today. Man was he gratefully that today he had off from training as well as school.
"We have to speak. Come down" Nyamsus told him as he noticed the two kittens behind them. They seemed like the run of the mill stray cats with light brown fur and dark brown strips, though they seemed shock up by something. After a moment Naruto told them he'd be down in a minute before pulling his head back into his room.
"So what do you want to talk about?" Naruto asked as he sat on the small porch they had.
"To get straight to the point, it seems these kids have been injured by a human around the neighborhood housing complex lately" Nyamsus told him before Tama added "It's painful, but they can't stand up to their human opponent".
"This person lures them in with skilful traps and then uses them as playthings. All the cats that have been caught have turned into nervous wreaks. Just imagine" Tama told him before looking back at the trembling kittens behind him. "Isn't that right kids?" the cat asked and got a unified "They're a monster!" from the two younger cats.
As he was listening Naruto grew more and more pissed. Even when cats get him steaming he'd never traumatize them. Well, maybe Tora but that demon was a nightmare for any newbie leaf shinobi. Getting up without a word he began to walk off. "Sir!? Where are you going!? Aren't you the slightest worr-" Tama was saying in surprise as he watched the boy leave.
Before Tama could finish his sentence though Naruto glanced over his shoulder. "You coming or what? We're not going to get anything done about this if we stand around here all day" Naruto told them as he kept walking, if he can't talk some reason into this guy then he'll beat some sense into him.
With some cheerful words from Tama they were off to solve the kittens human problem. Once they reached the housing complex Naruto let the cats lead him around since they were already familiar with this person and soon enough "There! Looks like that's the person!" Tama told the blond as he pointed towards someone kneeling down along the edge of the path.
'Well this is simple enough I just need to tell them to sto-wait? Isn't that' Naruto was thinking to himself with a smirk when the person in question went to stand up and he got a better look at them. The person was a girl he'd seen quite often at school, she had blond hair that was folded up in the back and held there with a hair clip while two pangs, one on either side, framed her face. She had a heap of bands not pulled back with the rest of her hair that swept from the left side of her head to the right and a rather noticeable strand that curved upward from the very top. She had large, expressive amber eyes that gleamed like the rest of her joyful expression. Her body was very athletic and showed her dedication to the track and field club she was a member of. She wore a white shirt that's elbow length sleeves and shoulders where blue and a smooth skirt that was blue. In her arms she held a cat that looked like a larger version of the kittens behind him who, unlike the girl holding him, was anything but happy as he squirmed and shouted to be let down. 'Mizuno's the cat abuser!?' the boy mentally shouted in complete disbelieve.
"Are-? Uzumaki?" Mizuno was talking to the cat when she noticed the blond staring at her. While her attention went back to the cat momentarily Naruto glanced behind him to check if she really was the person traumatizing the local cats. Judging by how all but Nyamsus were cowering behind a tree he'd say she was their target.
Turning his head back to Mizuno he was a bit startled to see her skipping towards him. "How about it Uzumaki, isn't he just the cutest?!" the girl gushed over the feline, meanwhile the cat itself was pleading with the boy for help.
"Ah, yeah" Naruto responded as he leaned back slightly, the contrasts between the cheerful cat loving girl and the traumatized cat was a bit startling. "Say" the boy began with a slightly strained smile. "You think I could hold him?" Naruto asked as he held out his hands.
"Sure!" Mizuno happily said before handing the cat over to him.
"Oh thank you kind man!" the cat told the blond as he was taken out of Mizuno's hands, his words filled with the utmost gratitude. "Now if would please put me do-hey!? What are you-oh that feels nice" the cat was in the middle of saying when Naruto adjusted his hold of it and started scratching lightly under it's chin.
"I need you to work with me for a bit" Naruto whispered to the cat as he kept his eyes on Mizuno. Tama was complaining about how he hadn't told the girl off already but Naruto chose to ignore him.
"I love cats but my parents like dogs and we have a lot of dogs at the house so we can't have cats" Mizuno quickly said as she leaned down and smiled at the cat Naruto was now holding. The cat started shaking nervously at her being so close again but as long as she didn't touch him he'd see what this guy holding him had in mind.
"I see, you must really love cats then" Naruto said and Mizuno quickly nodded her head before reaching her arm out towards the cat. Seeing the cat start to freak out again Naruto pulled it away from her and with a loud "Wait!". Mizuno's hand froze and she had a stunned expression on her face as, as far as Naruto was concerned, an uncomfortable silence fell between them.
"Uh, Mizuno" the blond started as he averted his eyes from the girl and only turned them back when he heard her hum a response. Looking back at her "How, how much do you know about cats?".
"Huh?" Mizuno intoned as she blinked a few times at the question. "What do you mean?" she finally asked in return.
"Well, it's just, it didn't look like this guy was very happy when you picked him up" Naruto said with a smile added in hopes of easing the mood.
"Really?" the girl innocently questioned. "But it seemed so happy when it was waving it's tail" the girl commented as she looked back at the cat.
"Well, uh" the blond started as his eyes drifted off to the side. It looked like she didn't know a whole lot about cats despite how much she loved them. "That may be true with dogs but, when a cat waves it's tail it usually means that it's not happy" Naruto said before his eyes drifted back to Mizuno and his heart nearly stopped at the adorable and yet concerned face she had.
"I-I didn't know" she almost sobbed out before glancing back at the cat. "I'm so sorry kitty!" Mizuno gushed as she went to comfort the thing with a hug.
Seeing the cat panic again Naruto blurted out that she needed to be gentle with cats, especially strays. While the cat let out a sight of relief seeing her hands drop down again Naruto on the other hand felt a pain of guilt. She really does seem to love cats and it's not like she was harming them on purpose. "Try petting his head to start with" Naruto said, a bit quieter than he normally would. Mizuno's face lit up hearing that while the cat started to panic again with a sense of betrayal coming over it.
"You bastard! I trusted you and this is how you... treated me?" the cat was yelling at the boy when Mizuno's hand touched the top of his head. She was still a bit rough but in comparison to before it was like the touch of an angel.
"Is, this good?" Mizuno asked as she continued to pet the cat.
"Yeah, like that. See how he's starting to purr?" Naruto told her.
Meanwhile the other cats were still watching them. "Hm, I think this will do" Nyamsus said as she watched Naruto coach the air-headed girl.
"It's not what I was expecting but I suppose as long as she's not mistreating the cats the request was fulfilled" Tama added his own thoughts.
After that Naruto spent some time teaching Mizuno about cats before the two went their own way, he went home, woke up the next morning to find that the cat's he'd helped before left him presents in the form of dead mice and other small animals, to which he thanked them and then tossed out once they'd left, and he's even told Mizuno that she could come over to play with his cat when ever she wanted after the spoke to each other at school. Life was finally looking up again after that little pothole, and then "I take it I'm still cursed?". On his way home after school he'd pasted by the shrine like usual and Nyamsus and Tama were sitting on the stone steps and Tama greeted him as he walked by.
"Don't tell me you thought the curse would be lifted after just one request" Nyamsus said, clearly irritated with the blond for his seeming stupidity.
"A guy could hope can't he" was Naruto's response.
"Sorry Sir but that's not how it goes" Tama told him and watched as the blond's shouldered immediately dropped. "I've already told you about the hundred stories, right?" Tama asked him.
"Eh!" the blond blurted out as the meaning of his question sunk instantly. "Are you telling me I have to fulfill ninety-nine more requests before this stupid curse goes away!?" the blond shouted as his bag dropped to the ground and he pointed at the smaller cat.
"If you wont do it then you'll turn into a cat" Nyamsus reminded him.
"I know that already! Do you think I want to turn into a cat!?" Naruto asked his cat.
"Then continue to hold onto good faith and do good deeds for the cat god" Nyamsus told him. Feeling burnt out at the revelation Naruto simply dropped to his knees and stared up at the sky for a while with one thought on his mind, why did his live always have to be so unusual?