Chapter 1: Intro Arc - White Star
Hello, everybody! I know that this kind of story is overly cliché, but I wanted to give it a try so badly, while adding my own twists to it! I hope you enjoy reading!
Sorry if it's not that good, but this is my first ever Naruto fanfic. Also, please go easy on me, as I am only 13 years old and have not yet watched Shippuden. However, I love reviews! They help keep my motivation for writing this running!
In addition, if you're wondering, this is a formal and serious story. The characters are playful and childish, so there will be some humor (mainly used as comic relief), of course. However, the premise of the story is meant to be lighthearted and kind of sad and tragic at certain times. I plan on trying to make this pretty realistic and not as insane so that there is more plot and development. That being said, I hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. The Akatsuki and Naruto belong to Kishimoto-san.
"Get inside, onee-chan!" I called to my older sister, who was standing outside on the balcony. "If you stay out any longer, you'll catch a cold!"
"Alright," she replied, "but can I set off this firework first? I want to tell okaa-san and otou-san about my feelings for today."
I flung up my arms in protest. "It's not even Sunday! And besides, why would you want to set one of those off in the rain?"
She shrugged. "I'm not going to let a little rain stop me from blowing up the white firework, Naoki. I want to see if our parents can actually see the explosion and grant us a wish."
My eyes widened upon learning of the color of the firework that she was preparing to launch. "You're using one of the white fireworks now? Weren't we specifically instructed not to use them unless we were truly desperate?"
She only nodded. "It's just...I've been feeling quite lonely lately. Yes, I've got you and Yukio, as well as Kagami, who we recently adopted."
"What about your friends at school?" I asked, making sure that she hadn't forgotten about them. "Don't they make you feel like you belong in this world?"
"I'm not forgetting my friends," she confirmed. "But no matter how much they care for me, it won't be able to match up to the love I hold for you and our family. Friends come and friends go, but family is forever, right?"
I nodded, and she continued. "You're my little brother, Naoki. My otouto. Besides Yukio, I couldn't have asked for a better one. Although you can be easily frustrated and distant at times, you are still an important part of our family."
"So why?" I inquired, still curious about what was making her feel lonely. "Why do you need to launch a white firework if you have us, onee-chan?"
She held out a hand to me, and I took it, remembering how she had felt a year ago, when our parents had been killed in a car crash. Out of all of us, she had been traumatized the most, refusing to do anything other than cry for weeks.
"Still," she continued, "I miss okaa-san and otou-san a lot. Ever since they passed away, life's just not the same anymore."
I watched as the rain pattered onto her cheeks, camouflaging the fact that she was beginning to cry. Despite that, I was still able to detect the sorrow-filled, pained drops escape from her gray eyes. Half-reluctantly, I stepped out of the house and embraced my older sister, listening to the sound of the rain fall onto our heads.
"I miss them too, Kaiya-chan," I whispered, using her name. "Come on. Let me set off that firework with you, okay? They'll hear you, I promise."
Kaiya let out a soft smile — a genuine smile — making me smile as well. Slowly, she took a small white firework and a match out of her pocket. Striking the match against the wall, she quickly lit the fuse of the firework and tossed it into the air.
I could hear the rain plummeting against it, but the firework exploded anyway, making a star-shaped explosion that was quickly terminated by the impact of the rain. However, it lasted long enough for me to witness its beauty.
"I wish that we will get some company," said Kaiya, her eyes closed. "Okaa-san and otou-san, it has been quite lonely without you ever since what happened last year. If you can, please make our wish come true. Thank you."
Gently, she opened her eyes, satisfied. Together, we walked back into the house, making sure to shut the door to the balcony behind us.
"Let's get some sleep," I suggested. "I think the storm will be over when we wake up tomorrow morning."
"Very well," she agreed. "Although it didn't take too much energy to set off the firework, I still feel kind of tired. Yukio and Kagami are already asleep, so let's just hit the hay as well."
I nodded, but as soon as I was about to make my way towards my bedroom, I heard a strange noise.
"Onee-chan?" I whispered to my sister, earning her attention. "Do you hear that sound?"
"I don't hear anythi—" she started, but we heard the sound again, much louder than before.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Who could it be at this hour?" I asked, deciding that the pounding was coming from the front door. "It's 11:00 PM!"
Kaiya and I raced towards our living room. It had been a couple months since we have had a visitor, so we were, of course, suspicious. But at the same time, I was slightly excited, thinking it was a neighbor who had seen the firework go off and wanted to assist us. We weren't a poor family, but like Kaiya had stated, we were a lonely one. After our parents' deaths, we received frequent visits from some of our neighbors who wanted to check to see if we were okay. But as the weeks passed, the neighbors had decided to stop coming for some reason.
At first, I felt happy that somebody was coming to visit us after a long period of waiting. But at that moment, I felt creeped out that someone would rattle on the door so late at night.
"Wait, onee-chan," I said, making Kaiya freeze in her tracks. "Listen to the sound again. Maybe it isn't our neighbor—"
Tap. Tap. Scratch.
Upon re-analyzing the sound, I determined that it was definitely an animal of some sort at our doorstep. There was no reason a human would scratch on our door like that, unless they were starving and desperate. Still, I decided to go the safe route, grabbing a large umbrella from a nearby coat rack.
"A weapon," I explained to my sister. "In case it's a rabid dog or something."
Kaiya nodded, snatching a purse from the rack. "Weapon ready. But first, try peeking out the window, in case it really is a human."
"Consider it done," I replied, walking towards the window that faced the front porch. Trembling slightly, I lifted the blinds just enough to me to peek outside.
To my surprise, nothing was there. Not one human, not one animal, nothing. Just the rain, and nothing more.
I shut the blinds again, and shook my head. "There's nothing there. It was probably just the rain pounding on the door."
"No, that can't be it," she muttered in disbelief. "Would rain be able to scratch the door?"
My eyes widened. "Well, no. Now that I think about it, it has to be an animal." Suddenly, my worried expression turned into an excited grin. "Maybe a ninja summon got lost and found his way here?"
Kaiya looked as if she was struggling to restrain herself from whacking me on the head. "Seriously, Naoki? You watch way too many cartoons—"
"It's not cartoons!" I countered immediately. "They're called anime! Get your facts right, onee-chan!"
"Whatever," she huffed. "Shouldn't we try to figure out what animal is behind our front door?"
Her comment was followed by a soft whimper coming from whatever was by our front door. I could instantly tell that it was laced with sadness, pain, and desperation.
"Maybe we should," I suggested. "It sounds like it's been sloshed around by the rain, and maybe it just needs a shelter from the storm."
"But what if it hurts you?" said Kaiya, slightly worried. "I won't be able to take you to a hospital on time. You know how bad I am at driving."
It was true. Kaiya had never been a good driver, and the way our parents had died had only made it worse. How she still managed to get a license despite all of that was a mystery.
"It sounds hurt, though," I stated. "I'm going to let it in, but have your weapon ready, okay?"
My sister nodded, and I gripped my fingers around the doorknob. A shiver going up and down my spine, I cautiously opened the door with a swift rotation of my fingers.
In front of our doorstep stood a small periwinkle kitten, with a soaking wet pelt. It was shivering violently, as if all it took was a single breeze to encase it in ice.
"It's a girl," Kaiya noted. "Let's take her inside. She looks like she will become a kitty popsicle if she stays outside any longer."
But when I reached out to grab the kitten, she turned away and padded over into the rain again. There, she stood, making some sort of motion towards the side of our house with her paws and tail. When she walked back to the doorstep again, following her was another kitten. Then another. Then another, until there were ten in all. Each of them was drenched with rain from muzzle to tail, shaking from the cold. One of them, a yellow tom, was already unconscious, with a red-furred kitten dragging him by the scruff.
"Wow, ten kittens," breathed Kaiya. "I did not expect that at all."
"Who would've?" I shrugged, but was equally shocked at the current situation. "Nevertheless, let's get them all inside. If we leave them out there, they'll die."
We swiftly scooped them up in our arms, making sure they got inside as soon as possible. After we got the last cat in, I shut the door, making sure that it was locked.
"They can stay here until the storm ends," said Kaiya. "Then, they can return safely to their homes."
I nodded, smiling. When I turned to the kittens again, I noticed that all except for the periwinkle one from earlier had fallen asleep on the living room carpet. The remaining kitten walked up to Kaiya's feet, and nuzzled her cheek against her leg.
"I think she's trying to say 'thank you'," she giggled. "Scratch out what I previously said...let's keep them for a while!"
Sighing, I rolled my eyes.
Oh Jashin, I thought. What have we gotten ourselves into?
A/N: How was it? I hope I did alright on this one...
But if you did enjoy it, please, please, please leave a review and let me know how you felt! Thank you so much in advance!
— Tenshi —
