A/N: ... I'm not entire sure how and why this idea sprung into my mind, but nevermind, it bugged me so much that I just had to write it down.
Of course I do not own Naruto and never will. Warning for unbetaed and present tense.
Now then, enjoy this short, unserious fanfiction of mine!
…
Being reborn as a cat when you were a human before is an interesting experience. While I still am just a kitten, it is clear even now that I will have great flexibility and eyesight, two things that I severely lacked in my previous life.
The cuddles I shared with my cat mama were like a dream-come-true. She had been so fluffy! My siblings were all fidgety and often supplanted me when I was still trying to drink the delicious milk from my mother. Such a bothersome bunch they were! I still loved them; they were my family, and family always comes first.
Except…
Except now, I'm alone. Those awful, prejudicial, superstitious humans, just when my mother was finally willing to show us, her kittens, to her human owners, they, they—
They threw me out when Mother wasn't looking! All because I have black fur!
Oh, how heartbroken she must be right now. She loved each and every one of us dearly.
Though never mind that right now, I'm currently having bigger problems.
Like staying alive.
"Meow~" I whimper quietly, trying to hide inside a bush from the big, meanie eagle that has been trying to catch and feed me to its nestlings. Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm food for others! I'm no mouse! Aren't eagles supposed to feed on little rodents?
I shudder when I see a large shadow overspreads the bush and my little heart skips a beat when I hear the leaves rustle.
Nonononono, I don't want to die, I was born just a few weeks ago, I'm too young to die again-
Something grabs the back of my neck and I protest loudly, my claws are scratching wherever I reach as I continue meowing and hissing.
"Ouch, oh, shi-, stop moving around so much!"
Don't tell me what do to when I'm about to die-
Wait a moment.
Human speech?
I stop moving. "Meow?"
"Gah, finally you're calmer."
I look towards the source of voice and the most beautiful pairs of eyes look back at me. They're black like the starless sky, like my own fur, and I can't help but admire how large and deep those orbs look like.
"Oh, look, Brother! It looks kind of cute!" the kid behind the boy who holds me exclaims and bends forwards until his head is directly in front of me.
The first thing that crosses my mind is, the hell, I'm not an it, I'm a she!
The second is, sweet catnip, this is the same language that I used in my previous life!
(Although now that I think back, the owners spoke this language, too. I was probably too in shock to notice.)
"Meow, meow?" I say eagerly. These people do not look malicious like the others did.
"It looks so small. A kitten, maybe?" the brother replies and lifts me higher. "Oh. And she's female."
The other child remains quiet and puts on a thoughtful face.
"Izuna?"
"… hey, Brother? Do you think we can keep her?"
"Huh?" after some silent moment, the boy sighs deeply in a way that's way too weary for a child so young. "We are ninja, little brother, we don't have time for pets. And Father would never let us keep her."
"Then, we don't have to tell him! We can keep her in our room or in the barn or something!"
"Izuna, seriously, how old are you?"
"… six."
"Exactly. You're now ready to head out to the battlefield, no matter how much I don't agree with that, and fight. You won't have the time to raise a kitten. Who will feed her when we're away? Who will teach her how to be house-trained?"
"Maybe we can confide Mother in?" the child says with a hopeful tone. "Please, Madara-nii?"
"Haaah," Madara sighs and throws me at Izuna, who catches me swiftly. I'm still feeling disoriented when they begin to walk. "She's your responsibility. If Father asks, I know nothing about her," he grumbles.
Izuna shifts me until I finally feel comfortable, and safe, and smiles softly. "Thanks, Brother. For this."
"Whatever."
"… meow?"
…
My new life with the children begins comfortably but with a few hiccups. The woman they present me to is a beautiful lady with wild (and I mean that wild, it's long and spiky and everywhere) chestnut hair, black eyes and a small baby bump. She has an endearing and calming presence and her slim but pale face radiates kindness when she looks at her two sons. She smiles constantly, her adorable dimples showing, as they recite how they found me, and the smile turns into a huge grin by the time they finish their story.
"-so we were sparring when suddenly I heard a small animal cry and it sounded so weak but cute that I wanted to see what let it out! Brother heard it as well so we began to search and soon we found a bush and under that was this little guy!"
"Girl."
"Girl, right," Izuna corrects when Madara interrupts his speech. The woman laughs at their antics.
"So you decided to bring her back with you to keep her?"
"Yeah! I mean, she looks so small and defenceless, why would I leave her there alone? She would die within a week!"
"Hmm~ you are so adorable and kind, Izuna," the woman says with so much love and I purr when she scratches lightly the spot behind my ear. I'm currently resting on her bosom and I love every minute of it (it's so comfy! Like my own mother used to be).
"Wha- I'm not adorable! Only girls can be adorable! Boys can't!"
The young mother laughs again good-naturedly, "Okay, okay. And of course, I'll help you with this little kitten and keep Tajima away from her as long as possible. Although I must warn you, he will figure it out eventually, but I'll try and help calming him down when the cat is finally out of the bag," she giggles again, most likely at her own joke.
Meh, good enough, I muse.
"Thank you! Thank you, Mother!" Izuna jumps up in excitement and wraps his small arms gently around the woman's slightly swollen stomach, since he's so small that he only reaches that high. The woman pats his fluffy hair a few times before handing me back to the boy. Izuna accepts me wholeheartedly and pets me gently, which earns him a purr as well. He lets out a wondering noise and hmms.
"So what do cats eat?"
"You don't know even that? Remind me again why I let you take her back with us."
"Oh, hush, Madara," their mother reproves. "Nobody knows everything right from the start, that's why we ask and learn. They can eat quite a few things, but this little gal here is still young… I'm not entirely sure from when on can we give her solid food. "
"Oh…" Izuna deflates a little and stops petting me as he goes into deep in thought.
"Maybe we should visit the animal doctor tomorrow when we go to the village for supplies? Until then we can give her just milk," she winks when her son's head snaps up.
"Yes!"
…
Inside the wicker basket is surprisingly dark and quite nauseating. My little kitten body does not appreciate the light swinging and I meow a few times in protest but the only reply I get is small hushing sounds.
"Okay, here we are," I hear the woman's voice and the space suddenly becomes even darker and colder.
"Good afternoon," she greets and an old, grouchy voice greets back.
"What can I do for you lot?" I hear and the basket's lid suddenly opens. Izuna's hand sneaks in and takes me out.
"Here! We would like to ask whether you can tell us her age and what we can give her for food!"
"Oh, what a cute little kitten you have there," the old man approves and takes me into his wrinkly hands. "Hmm, yes, yes. She looks to be about two months old young girl. A bit underfed but we can change that quickly. You can give her solid foods already, meats that are cut into small pieces and grains as well. They do not need fruit but occasionally they will eat vegetables. However, young lad, kittens at this age are still vulnerable so be careful when handling her," he advices. They speak for a little longer but by the time they finish, I'm already asleep in the protective arms of Izuna.
…
The house the family lives in is quite a surprise to me. It looks antiquated, though now that I think back, the whole world looks kind of old-fashioned. People use wood for houses (it looks so dangerous! Just a small fire and everything will perish into ash!), they light up candles at nights and I can't see electricity or radiator or anything modern anywhere!
"So what should we name her?"
I hear them over my musing. So, where was I again? Oh, yeah, not modern. This whole world is seriously out-of-date. From what I could gather, the people here are at war with each other, unfortunately. It's so sad; why would anyone fight with others? I hated being hurt, and still hate. I also hate harming others (of course only until not my life is at stake. Then they can meet my mighty claws and teeth.)
"How about Kuro?"
My ears and tail lowered in sadness and I lose the train of thought. Really, black? That's not very imaginative, hey…
Madara scrunches up his nose, "No. If we must have a cat, at least come up with a better name."
That's right! Thanks a lot, human! I love you already, I think gratefully as I purr and snuggle up to him. He snatches away his arm suddenly and I pout. How dare he reject my affection!
"See. Even she agrees," Madara says smugly after a moment of surprise.
Izuna's eyes narrow at him before he looks wholly at me. I stare back at him.
"How about… Shiro?"
White? Why?
"Why?" Madara questions and I'm happy at least it's not only me who doesn't follow this boy's thinking.
"Because it would be funny! You know, she has black fur but we name her white!"
"It's not funny, it's lame."
"You know, I'm starting to hate you," the little brother grumbles. "Then you come up with a good name if you think mines are bad."
"I can come up with names a thousand times better, just you wait," he says and turns towards me. I blink back at him and tilt my head slightly.
"Meow?"
"… Mangetsu."
Full moon?
"Her name will be Mangetsu from now on."
"Wha- that's not even better! And you can't just finalize it without my consent!" Izuna shots back. "Why, though?"
"Her silver eyes gleam like the full moon."
Gleam like the full moon? Aww, this boy…
But hmm, Mangetsu. I kinda like the sound of it. And it's definitely better than black.
"So what do you think, kitten?" Madara asks and scratches my chin. I purr and lick his hand.
It is finalized in that moment.
…
I watch my prey intently, my head swaps from left to right and back as I follow its movement. Then when my prey stops I swing my tail and my backside while I keep my head from moving, but my eyes still attentively watch my poor victim. I wait for another moment before I jump and-
"Meow!"
I try to catch the small ball of wool that is dangling from a thin thread, but before I can catch it, Izuna lifts it up and I miss my prey. I jump after it and reach out with my paws but it's too high and I can't reach it. I try for some more time but when I'm not successful, I meow quietly and resignedly. Izuna blinks those beautiful black eyes at me and squats down to pet my head, but instead I catch the now lowered ball and cling into it like my life depends on it.
"Ah, hey! That was not fair, creating such a sad noise!"
"Did the cat manipulate you again?"
Madara didn't even sound surprise this time. Over the course of this two week I've spent with the Uchiha family, I learned that manipulating Izuna is the easiest. There is another boy, Ryūjin who's three at the moment, but I don't really play with him, he's the kind of dreamer who stays mostly inside his head. He doesn't really care about me and I don't care about him, so we just leave each other alone.
"I have to admit, she's a smart kitten. She learned how to be house-trained so quickly and somehow it's like she knows how to control you as well."
"She can't manipulate me, I let her manipulate me, I could resist anytime I want, you know," the little brother claims huffily.
Madara snorts, "Yeah right, we all know that's a big fat lie."
Kohaku, as I somehow learned the name of their mother, giggles as she is reading a bedtime story to her youngest son. "Be good, children."
"Yes, mother," they grumble together.
A little bit later, I'm curled into a ball next to Izuna's head on his pillow, and while it's not the softest place I've ever had the pleasure to lie on, the warm, bubbly feeling inside my chest makes me forget that.
I'm so happy it was these boys who found me.
…
The sound of water splashing around is heard inside the small bathroom-kind of room and curses of small boy voices reach my ears.
"Ah hell, stay put for a little while, Mangetsu! It won't be that bad, I promise, you will be nice and clean!"
"Meow, meow, meow!" I protest, because dammit, cats do not need bathes! They can clean and groom themselves just fine! (And I find it strange how much I hate water in this life when I loved it as a human. Maybe it's a cat thing to loathe water.)
The soap makes my fur slippery and finally, I'm out of the hands of the two children. I can see the sliding door of the bathroom is opened and I take this chance to escape. I'm about halfway through the house when suddenly, a hand grabs my nape and lifts me up (déjà vu much, huh?).
"Wait, Mange… tsu. Oh," the children, who followed me in order to catch me, say when they catch glimpse of the figure behind me.
The unfamiliar man who holds me blinks at the boys before his black eyes sets on me. At first puzzlement settles on his aging face then it changes into disgust.
"What's the meaning of this, Madara, Izuna?"
"… we can explain it, Father."
…
A/N2: Black cats are supposed to bring good luck in Japan, and I totally did not know that when this story first got into my mind and only when I researched did I learn that. Never mind now, it's staying like this.
Mama bear!Kohaku will strike in the next chp, lol. And Izuna is still just a cute, innocence boy who hasn't yet experienced battle.
As I 'd warned before, this story will be lighthearted/unserious with no complex storyline whatsoever. If you're looking for something like that, you're in the wrong place.
Also, school keeps me busy almost all the time so I don't know when I will have the time to complete the second chp.
Uploaded: 11.11.2017., words count: ~2700