Actually, Natsumi had just wanted to make a quick run to the grocery store to buy some eggs. But it just happened that she passed the botany section along the way and immediately fell in love with the cute Venus flytrap on display.
She did not waste any time acquiring it. Grinning brightly at her newest purchase - she had decided to call him Mr. Snap-snap – Natsumi almost stumbled over a fluffy orange thing hastily crossing the sidewalk in front of her.
It was a cat, and it was limping slightly. Natsumi frowned. Was it injured? Worried, she followed the spooked animal into the back alley.
Natsumi could see the end of an orange tail vanishing below a dumpster as she rounded the corner.
She hung the bag containing Mr-Snap-snap on her left wrist and crouched down. Purple eyes glared at her out of the darkness and the cat hissed threateningly.
Natsumi smiled softly and raised both her hands. "It's okay," she whispered soothingly. "I won't hurt you. But won't you come out for me? You seem hurt, maybe I can help."
The hissing stopped and for a moment it almost seemed as if the cat was judging her sincerity.
Then slowly a head emerged, followed by the rest of the cat's body.
Natsumi grinned and tilted her head. "You are a smart one, aren't you?" The cat just kept staring at her. The young woman hummed. "Do you want to come home with me? I can take a look at your paw and you seem like you could do with something to eat, too."
The animal slowly edged closer and Natsumi extended her hands towards it. The orange cat gave her another of those strange, intelligent looks and allowed her to pick it up.
"Ah, you are a male cat," Natsumi remarked as she carefully cradled the cat in her arms making sure not to jostle the injured paw. "Well, little tomcat, let's go."
The cat remained silent.
Luckily Natsumi's apartment was not far away. Somehow she managed to open her door with the cat still in her arms and placed it gently on her couch. "I'll find the medkit. Hold on a bit longer, okay?"
The cat nodded in agreement. Natsumi blinked in surprise. That had almost been a human mannerism.
"Okay…good…" Throwing a last confused look at her furry guest – just how intelligent were cats anyway? – she quickly hurried into the bathroom.
It took her less than two minutes to find the first aid kit and she hurried back into the living room.
"That's going to hurt a bit," she informed the cat apologetically. She did not know why she was saying that, it was a cat after all, but somehow it felt more like she was talking with an actual human being.
"Can I have your paw?" she asked, feeling both right and silly at the same time. To her great surprise, the cat actually extended the injured appendage to her. Natsumi almost dropped the disinfectant. Okay, she was not imagining it. The cat did understand her. She shook her head- That was not the right time to wonder about this. 'Injured animal, Natsumi.', she reminded herself sharply.
"Ah…", she muttered quietly as she saw the slight gash on the cat's paw. "That looks quite painful. I'll be as quick as possible okay?"
She quickly disinfected the wound and wrapped it up carefully. The cat did not even flinch once.
"You are a strong one, aren't you, my silent warrior?" Natsumi murmured and stroked gently over his fur. "You need a name if you are going to stay, right?"
The cat looked at her and Natsumi hummed thoughtfully. "Jimmu," she decided finally. "It means divine warrior. According to legend, this was the name of the first emperor of Japan. He was said to be a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the storm god Susanoo."
She smiled at the newly named Jimmu. "Somehow it seems fitting."
The cat meowed and Natsumi had the strange impression that he was actually quite pleased with her choice.
"Well, let's see what can find you for dinner, okay Jimmu?
Once Jimmu was supplied with enough water and canned tuna, Natsumi sat down and booted her notebook.
Her latest project was almost done. She just needed to put the finishing touches on her client's website.
Natsumi lost herself into the world of code and only paused in adjusting the content div's headline margin when she felt someone staring at her.
She turned and smiled at Jimmu who was peering up at her monitor.
"Have you eaten enough?"
Jimmu meowed in agreement. The young woman nodded and placed a soft cushion on the floor. "Good. If you want to you can rest here while I finish this up. Try not to put too much pressure on your paw."
The cat meowed again and carefully settled on the fluffy pillow, keeping his eyes fixed on Natsumi.
Who shook her head. "What a strange cat. But I guess I am strange as well, talking to it."
Grinning slightly, she returned back to her work.
It took her about two hours to finish up. Sighing in relief, Natsumi closed her notebook and turned, only to find out that Jimmu had not moved from his position.
Feeling slightly guilty, she knelt down next to him. "Sorry, it took me so long. Do you need anything? The bathroom perhaps?"
Natsumi snickered slightly. She was asking a cat if it needed the bathroom. If anyone heard her, they would think she was losing it.
"Well, your fur is quite dirty, you really could do with a bath - but I don't want to aggravate your injury," she hummed again. "Maybe if I washed it out with a towel…Come, I'll show you the bathroom."
Natsumi stood and left the room, the cat trailing behind her.
The young woman drenched the towel with warm water and carefully brushed it over the cat's fur. It was fluffy and warm and strangely soft. The skin was tender and creamy white and-
Wait.
What?
Skin?
Tender?
White?
Natsumi froze and slowly, looked up. Her green eyes met very purple, very human eyes and the young woman felt a sudden sense of dread.
Looking down again she realized that the towel was no longer wiping of dirty cat fur, but rather laying on a very muscled and very male stomach.
A very naked male stomach.
Natsumi jerked back, but a sudden harsh grip around her right wrist stopped her from running out of the door. A hand grabbed her chin and she found herself looking into the strange ringed eyes again.
"Calm," a deep voice commanded authoritatively and Natsumi felt herself relax. Her mind calmed and she suddenly realized that she had a naked man in her bathroom. A naked man who had been a cat.
"I believe", the voice continued. "That we have quite a few things to discuss. But before that…", the man paused. "I require some clothes."
Natsumi snorted.
This entire situation was absolutely ridiculous. She was probably dreaming.
Yep. She must have fallen asleep over her work again. Oh well, she might as well go along with this dream now. The guy was rather hot after all.
"You can have some of my uncle's clothes," she answered. "He occasionally leaves them here when he spends the night. Grab a towel and follow me."
The man-cat nodded grandly and majestically moved his towel-clad body out of the bathroom door.
Natsumi giggled. What a strange dream.
"You are not dreaming," the man told her when she pinched herself for the fourth time.
Natsumi stared at him. "So you are telling me that you are a ninja with superpowers who got stuck as a cat and you want me to believe that?
Jimmu frowned. "If it's proof you require, I can give it to you." He raised his hand, the ringed eyes flashed slightly and Natsumi suddenly felt herself yanked halfway across the room only to land safely on the living room couch.
She let out a quiet "Oomph," as her body hit the cushions and within the blink of an eye the man was standing next to her looking down at her with an impassive expression. "Was that proof enough? Or do you require another demonstration?" He slowly raised his hand again.
"No!" the young woman answered vehemently, turning on the couch to glare at him over the armrest. "That was enough, thanks."
"So you believe me?" the man raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Natsumi answered, pushing herself up. "I believe you. But could you have not proven it without throwing me around like a ragdoll?"
"I could have," Jimmu agreed easily. "But it would have taken longer. Besides", he looked over the young woman's slightly crumpled form. "Some things can only be understood if you feel them yourself."
"And what are those things?" Natsumi asked curiously.
The man's eyes flashed. "Power. Fear. Pain."
Natsumi hummed thoughtfully. "You look like you have felt a lot of pain." The man seemed startled by her casual remark. His posture stiffened and he looked almost defensive.
"Your eyes are empty, Jimmu," she added quietly. "When have you decided to kill yourself?"
"That is of no concern to you," Jimmu replied sharply and Natsumi felt a sudden immobilizing pressure on her. "Now tell me about this world." It was an order.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
The questions went long into the night and it was already two am when Pain had finally run out of things to ask. Natsumi showed him the way to the guest bedroom and went to bed herself.
The night passed peacefully.
Apparently, ninja were early raisers. Natsumi grumbled at the loud knocking coming from the door. Grumpily she stood up and grabbed the first outfit she could find.
Her less-than-cheerful good morning only got a curt, disinterested nod. Honestly, was the man completely emotionless?
"Are you hungry?" Natsumi asked. "I can make us some breakfast."
"That would be appreciated," the man answered.
"Good. Why don't you watch some TV while I go and prepare everything?
Quickly she showed him how to use the remote.
Pain watched attentively.
"I'll leave it on the news channel for now. So you can learn more about this world. If you don't like it, just switch."
"Very well," Pain agreed and turned his attention towards the reporter.
Natsumi returned to the kitchen and took some eggs out of the refrigerator. She was just about to turn on the stove when a sudden crash from the living room sent her running towards her guest.
The man was staring at the TV, the chair he had been sitting on had been thrown over and an almost oppressive force rippled through the room.
"What happened?" Natsumi inquired.
The man slowly turned his head in her direction. "What," he pointed at the flatscreen. "Is the meaning of this?!"
Natsumi followed his finger and looked at the figure running over the screen. It looked exactly like Jimmu. The screen flashed and suddenly "Naruto – Shippuden" appeared over the picture of a red cloud.
The young woman looked from the screen to her visitor and back again. Her mind was reeling. "That…that was an ad for a TV series. That one is called Naruto and it's really popular here, I've never watched it before, though."
"A TV series?" Pain repeated quietly and for the first time, there was actually something remotely emotional in his tune. Disbelief.
The power in the room swirled agitatedly. Then he whirled around and stared at Natsumi. "I want to see this so-called series. Now." His tune was threatening.
Natsumi nodded slowly, trying to make sense of everything. "Okay…I believe it's on Netflix. I'll get breakfast ready and then we can watch it, okay?"
The man took a deep breath and the pressure in the room subsided. "Very well," he conceded. "Be swift."
Natsumi turned the egg over. Why did Jimmu look exactly like the guy out of an anime? He could not have stepped out of a movie, right? That was ridiculous. But then…he was a ninja and Naruto was a show about ninjas and she had a cat-turned-man with superpowers in her living room.
She shook her head. Nothing made sense anymore.
Sighing deeply, she put the egg on the plates and carried the breakfast towards the living room.
It had taken them several days to watch the series and Natsumi had skipped quite a few episodes, preoccupied with her work.
The revelations had been…astounding.
Akatsuki.
Pain.
Natsumi had the leader of a criminal organization sitting in her living room. She had no idea how to feel about that.
Granted so far the man seemed rather rational, but the way he was portrayed in the series was not very flattering. But then he was her Jimmu, too. The cat with the hurt paw she had saved from the streets and she was worried about him.
Quietly she put a bowl of noodles in front of the silent man who had just finished watching episode 150, the last one currently airing. "Are you alright?"
Pain – no Jimmu let out a harsh laugh. "My organization is falling apart. Everyone is dying." The power around him began to swirl angrily again. "How could I possibly be alright?!"
Natsumi put a hand on his arm. "You know everything now. You can change it, Jimmu. Change everything."
The man turned and gave her a very strange look. "Why do you keep calling me that? Why are you encouraging me? Weren't you the one who said that the nine-tails was cute?"
Natsumi shrugged. "He is. But he's not you. To me you are Jimmu, the little orange cat who acted so bravely when his paw was hurt – and now you are hurting again and it's making me angry because I can't patch it up."
Pain laughed again. This time it sounded more exasperated. "You truly are a strange one."
Natsumi hummed thoughtfully. "Oh. I know exactly what you need now. A distraction!"
"A distraction?" Pain repeated skeptically.
The young woman grinned. "Have you ever heard of Kung Fu?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Natsumi's grin widened. "How about it, Leader-sama? Want to become even deadlier?"