Kai, with his misanthropic tendencies and social anxieties, was not surprised that his feet had landed him outside the clan's domineering walls. He felt suffocated within; the streets too crowded, backstabbers everywhere, and every single person seemed to judge him by his-Tajima's worth.
It was claustrophobic, and since all his happy pills had been left behind with his original body, he decided to risk running from his problems. Kai had subconsciously desired an escape, even if it was for a short moment, and escape his current body did.
The towering trees and mother nature, whilst intimidating to a city boy, was a breath of fresh air, away from humans and their issues. They gave him a safe space to think upon his next course of action. Additionally, it was a relief to leave the clan's protective radius. After all, in the first place, it had been an overly ambitious and opportunistic Uchiha who had almost annihilated Tajima's entire family.
Rather than fear the enemy outside, it was the enemy inside that should be feared. Barbarians, the lot of them. Kai would rather eat melons than get involved with the other concubines in the harem, though he highly doubted they would leave him alone even if he verbally surrendered his status as a candidate to the throne. A threat, even a potential one, would be eliminated by those paranoid barbarians. Palace politics were a pain.
Kai could not wait for Madara to grow older and become the clan head. That way, Kai could leave this clan for good. Maybe he could even aspire to become a novelist who travels in search of inspirations? The modern world had a lot of novels he ought to spread in this barbaric world. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, perhaps?
The Warring States Era would benefit greatly from quotes such as "one must believe in the possibility of happiness in order to be happy. Let the dead bury the dead, but whilst I'm alive, I must live and be happy", "all violent reforms deserve censure, because they can never do away with evil as long as men are what they are; and, therefore, it is the part of wisdom not to employ violence", and his personal favourite; "everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves".
Ah, those were great quotes indeed.
Kai's feet only stopped when he came to the edges of his clan's land; the place where every Naruto fan back on Earth knew about. It was the infamous creek where two boys from opposing clans met and became friends, which led to the formation of the mightiest shinobi village to ever be created.
The place was... beautiful, in a solemn, ethereal kind of way, with mossy rocks on its bank and the sparkling waterfall that washed away the fallen blood from blades. It held many promises that would come to be, and many more promises that inevitably broke.
Kai wondered why he was even here. The land across from him was enemy territory. Any patrolling Senju could see him, a lone Uchiha without his weapon, and use this opportunity to kill one of their adversaries. It would be an unprovoked attack that would cause any modern, law-abiding citizen to shake their head at, but to the shinobi of this world, it was one less enemy to think about, one less threat to their loved ones.
Kai loathed their barbarian-esque traits, but he could not fault them for their bloodthirsty nature. From Tajima's memories, Kai knew that children were brought up as tools; their worth only as soldiers and/or birthing machines. It would take many, many generations for change to come. Kai knew the future, knew of the possibilities, the potential, but could he survive long enough to see such prospective amity happen in these lands plagued by war?
He brought his hands up. They were trembling. He clenched them, jaw set in determination.
Rather than cower away, Kai decided to use his fear as a factor in his survival. Fear would push him to exceed his limits. Fear would motivate him to survive against adversaries. Fear was good. Fear meant he would live to see another day.
That was why; "I can't run away, not anymore," he spoke aloud, determined.
Kai dropped his hands and allowed them to settle at his sides as he peered into the depths of the running waters. Tajima looked back, eyes cold and inscrutable. It was a good poker face, unbreakable and trained from infancy. They showed no disturbance, no emotions, even with Kai's inner turmoil and fear.
Just as he turned away from his reflection, Kai heard rustling leaves from his left. He twitched; muscles bunched up in paranoia and anticipation.
From all the fanfictions he had read, his mind automatically thought back to those rather cliché but addictive storylines. Would he see a boy with a bowl cut crawl out from the rustling bushes, or would it be an albino, or someone relevant to the plot? But no. Fiction was fiction, and this was reality despite how hard he wished otherwise.
A black kitten, crusted in mud and other unidentified substances, tumbled from the bush and landed haphazardly near Kai's feet. It appeared to be in a dazed state. Kai was an animal lover, hence his lack of hesitation when he crouched to pet it in search of wounds. The kitten did not react apart from releasing a confused sounding meow. It was adorable.
"Hey there, little one," Kai greeted with lips that wanted to curl into a soft smile but remained flat, facial muscles long paralyzed. "What're you doing all the way out here?"
It hissed, ears flat and fangs bared.
Fucking adorable.
Kai scooped the little thing up and checked its gender. A male. The kitten hissed and snarled louder but Kai was not fazed. He found it endearing, even.
"I'm keeping you," he decided on a whim. Animals were good for emotional support, and Kai truly needed a companion that would not backstab him during his moments of weakness. He did not doubt that he would have many, many mental breakdowns in the future.
The kitten stopped its struggles to stare at him with killer dark eyes. Weirdly enough, it reminded him somewhat of the adult, psychopathic Madara in canon. Especially with the kitten's flooffy porcupine-esque fur style that flopped over the right side of its face and grey fur lines underneath its eyes – which made it have the appearance of eyebags.
"I've decided. From now on, your name is Maou. Uchiha Maou." Even though the kitten was rather cute right now, he could tell that it would grow into a terrifying feline worthy of its name. An intimidating cat needed an intimidating name; hence it shall be called Demon King (and because Kai liked word plays; it also meant cat in mandarin).
Maou proceeded to kitty-punch him on the left cheek to show its discontent at his naming finesse.
Fucking adorable.
Sneaking back into the Uchiha compound with an uncooperative kitten unseen was a challenge and a half. Despite the difficulty, Kai succeeded, but with a lot of scratches and bites to his arms and his garment's sleeves. Giving the tiny creature a bath, on the other hand, almost took a year off his lifespan. At the end of the impromptu kitty bathing session, Kai ended up drenched, wheezing on his hands and knees, whilst a satisfied Maou was wrapped into a cat burrito. It was purring pleasantly at the sensation of the fuzzy towel against its whiskered cheeks.
Kai, who felt rather miserable at his drenched state, became a puddle of goo at the adorable sight.
Cats truly heal one's soul.
Whilst his face remained impassive as per usual, Kai felt contented and blessed to have met his furry companion. If he were in an anime, his aura would be emitting fluffy bubbles and flowers right now. Chuckling softly under his breath at the irony of such thoughts, Kai continued to rub the naughty feline dry. Maou turned out to be a Maine Coon underneath all that mud and dirt, which was a pleasant surprise for Kai, who has always preferred bigger cats. Truly a king worthy of its imposing name.
After both human and kitten were dry, Kai struggled to calm the kitty enough to carry it in his arms, and although that took ages, he managed to exhaust the kitten enough to stop it from continuously biting his arms. Leaving his private bathroom, he brought Maou with him as emotional support to visit Tajima's, no, Kai's sons. They were his. Not Tajima's, not anymore.
When Kai entered the modest-sized bedroom, his dull eyes zeroed onto the unconscious children, both sickly pale as they continued to breathe shallowly underneath the covers of their futon. Too preoccupied with his own thoughts, Kai did not notice how Maou had stilled at the sight of the boys, ears flat on its head in shock.
It took effort for Kai to unlock his feet and move to sit next to the boys' shared futon. Despite having already acknowledged these two instant sons to be his, he was still a misanthrope deep within. His hand hovered over Madara's sweaty forehead, his expression twisted between disgust and affection. In the end, Kai's hand retreated as his feelings of disgust won. His arms were covered in goosebumps at the simple idea of touching another human. Kai was disappointed with himself and turned away.
Kai knew he needed to get used to being touched and touching others. But not today. He had enough of today.
"I am not ready to be a father. I do not want to be a father," Kai whispered, feeling lost and helpless. He would have never admitted such things aloud in front of Madara or Izuna, but he was assured that the two children were truly unconscious to confess his true feelings. He gently patted Maou, its soft fur working its magic at calming his erratic heartbeat. "But I'll try. I promise to protect the both of you from… hah, my brothers and sisters, I suppose. I guess I should start preparing meals for us. Rather my poor cooking than poison, right?"
Kai was rueful as he hugged his feline companion closer to his chest, eyes clenched shut and face pressed against Maou's furry body. When his shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably, and if a patch of Maou's fur had turned wet, only Kai would know. Kai allowed this moment of weakness to play out, as come tomorrow, he would be alone in his battles against his fellow candidates.
Character Status
Name: Liu Kai / Uchiha Tajima
Age: 35 / 20
Race: Chinese / Japanese
Circumstances: Transmigrated person currently in Narutoverse Warring States Era, found a kitty companion
Goals: 1) Become the Uchiha clan head. 2) Find out who poisoned Tajima's family. 3) Start exposure therapy. 4) Learn how to cook
State of mind: Still miserable.
Standing within the clan: Prestigious
Standing within the household: Precarious
Standing within the clan's main branch: Pugnacious
Latest outstanding accomplishment: Catnapped a kitten so that he can cry into its fur
Inner complains: "Why are all of Tajima's siblings so murderous?"