I apologize for not updating this story for five months. Schoolwork and other manga made me completely forget about this. But here's Chapter 4, and I hope you enjoy it as much as the previous chapters!


Opening Theme: Shōjo S by SCANDAL


Chapter 4: The Task

There was a shocked silence around the room with the exception of the three girls chatting as they discussed schoolwork and such. The white cat called Kuukan sat calmly as the Akatsuki ogled at what she just said. As the silence dragged on, Kuukan grew more and more impatient. She was sure she could have cleaned her fur three times in the time that the Akatsuki spent staring.

"I'm pretty sure you all still have the ability to speak," she snapped irritably with the tip of her snow-white tail twitching back and forth. "I know I allowed you to keep that skill."

Hidan seemed to come to his senses, and he pounced on Kuukan with a snarl, bowling over the white she-cat and pinning her to the floor.

"What the hell did you do to us, you Jashin-damned witch!" he spat, claws sliding out to dig into her neck.

"I would advise you to control your anger, Akatsuki." Hidan whipped his head around to see the same cat sitting a couple feet away. When he jerked his gaze back to the one under his paws, he found himself grasping air. Eyes narrowed in rage, the religious zealot prepared to attack Kuukan again, but was held back by Kakuzu.

"Hidan, don't be reckless," the money-lover lectured, "If this Kuukan could send us to this world in cat bodies, then she's not a force to be messed with so carelessly."

"Hmph," Kuukan scoffed, "At least someone has brains…" She heaved a sigh before addressing the Akatsuki as a whole. "Now, you little band of miscreants, listen up! I'm only going to explain this once, and if you ask me to repeat anything, it won't be pretty. Got it? Good."

She gave the Akatsuki members a glare before continuing, "Now, since there's so much information that I need to tell you in such a short amount of time, I'll let you ask me questions. I'll answer them as best as I can, but you only get one answer. I am not going to stop and further elaborate a point that you don't understand. You'll just have to learn as you go on. Now what's your first question for me?"

"Where are we?" Nagato asked before anyone else could say anything.

"You are currently in the industrial realm, which is called 'Earth' by the inhabitants," Kuukan replied quickly and professionally, "Earth is divided into many continents, and the continents are further divided into countries. The country you all currently reside in is called 'America.'"

"What is America like?" Itachi questioned, "We've been fairly unable to figure out the mechanics behind this world so far."

Kuukan turned to look at Jade, Silver, and Crystal, who were oblivious to the conversation in the living room. "I'll leave that for those three to explain. They'll probably be able to do it better than me anyway."

Itachi didn't look particularly satisfied but nodded nonetheless.

Deidara fired the next question. "Why were we sent here, yeah?"

Kuukan tilted her head back and observed the ceiling. "Ah, that's the most important question, huh. It's the hardest to explain, too, but I'll do my best." She shifted her paws. "In the shinobi realm, where you all come from, your little pal - who you know as Tobi - has started the Fourth Shinobi World War against the Five Great Nations due to their reluctance to hand over the Jinchuuriki for the Hachibi and the Kyuubi."

"Woah, woah, woah," Deidara interrupted, "Tobi started a war against the Five Great Nations?"

"He is not who you think he is," Kuukan replied, slightly irritated that she had been interrupted, "His real name is Uchiha Potato…no, Obito."

"An Uchiha?" The Akatsuki members yelped in unison.

"He told me that he was Madara," Itachi said, "That was a lie?"

"Uchiha Made – Madara is dead," Kuukan said, "He died of old age shortly after the Third Shinobi World War ended. Before his death, Madara used some kind of technique to create the Akatsuki member known as Zetsu, and Obito had been saved by Madara during the Third Shinobi War."

Kuukan glanced at her audience before continuing, "The plan to gather the Bijuu was originally Madara's idea. He knew that if all nine Bijuu were captured and sealed inside the Gedo Statue, then the Juubi could be reborn. Did you know that the Gedo Statue you used to seal the Bijuu is the shell of the Juubi?"

The Akatsuki shook their heads.

"Well, now you do. As I was saying, once all the nine Bijuu were sealed, then the Juubi could be reborn. Madara wanted to be the Jinchuuriki for the Juubi, but he was close to death already, so he needed someone to finish his work for him. That's where Obito and Zetsu come in. However, they knew that it would be difficult for them to accomplish all of the captures on their own, so they took control of an organization comprised of S-ranked criminals." Kuukan's eyes flashed at the last sentence as the Akatsuki digested her words.

"In other words," Kuukan got to her paws, "you were all being used by someone who tossed you aside when he deemed you to be no longer useful. Potato – Obito – couldn't have cared less about you as long as he got what he wanted."

Kisame stepped forward. "How do we know everything you're saying is true?" he challenged, "We've known Tobi longer than you, not to mention you're the one who claims to have sent us to this America."

Kuukan faced Kisame. "You are…Hoshigaki Kisame, correct?"

"Yeah," Kisame confirmed, "Why?"

"Why do you think I would be lying?"

"Well, you could be tricking us for laughs," Kisame said with the tip of his tail twitching.

Kuukan snorted. "Believe me, if this was supposed to be a regular prank, I wouldn't have wasted my energy on it. I'm in cat form right now to conserve my strength."

"Really?" Yahiko asked.

Kuukan gave him a withering look. "Don't be foolish, brat. You didn't think this was my true form, did you?"

"N-No, of course not!" Yahiko laughed nervously. Kuukan rolled her eyes before turning back to Kisame.

"Aside from the consumption of energy, I'm not the type to joke around like this anyway," Kuukan added, "Unless I really don't like you, and I must say that that's not the case here."

The Akatsuki members weren't sure whether that was an insult or a compliment. Nagato decided to ask the next question.

"Who exactly are you? You are in the form of a talking cat, you sent us here with your power, and you somehow managed to get out of Hidan's grip. You aren't a shinobi, are you?"

"I am not a shinobi," Kuukan agreed, "I am Kuukan, the Goddess of Space."

"Prove it!" Hidan challenged, eager to see Kuukan get caught lying.

Unfortunately, Kuukan wasn't lying. "If you insist," the white cat shrugged. Suddenly, Hidan was sent flying into the wall. He smacked into it with a loud thump, which caused several Akatsuki members to glance warily at the three girls, who didn't even flinch at the sound.

"That was…a lot like my Shinra Tensei!" Nagato exclaimed.

"Your Shinra Tensei was derived from my spatial techniques," Kuukan informed, "That technique I just used manipulated the spatial particles into rippling, which caused Haden to be shoved away."

"It's Hidan!" Hidan snapped as he limped back over to the group, "And how come those three don't notice anything that goes on here?" He jerked his head towards Silver, Crystal, and Jade.

"I condensed space to block sound," Kuukan said nonchalantly, "And they can't see me at the moment, so they just think you're acting like kittens and are fascinated by something you found on the ground."

"Back to the serious questions," Konan said, "Why did you choose to send us here? How do we get back to our human forms?"

"Well, I chose your organization specifically because you have the best chance of defeating Obito should, uh…what's his name? Natsuo? Nacho?"

"Naruto?" Nagato helpfully supplied.

"Yes, him. You all have the best chance of defeating Obito should Naruto fail to do so. I sent you here as part of your test, which is to protect those three girls there." Kuukan nodded in the girls' direction. "If you protect them successfully, you can regain your human forms. A note of warning: all you can use is taijutsu. No ninjutsu, genjutsu, or doujutsu. I'm sure you two have noticed that your eye techniques don't work," she added to Itachi and Nagato. The two of them nodded.

"Why do we have to protect them?" Hidan bristled, "It's their damned problem if they can't protect themselves!"

"As I said, this test is meant to teach you something," Kuukan repeated, annoyed, "And I highly recommend that you cooperate if you don't want to remain a cat forever."

"What?" Hidan let out a howl of rage but was silenced when Kakuzu cuffed him around the head. Kuukan ignored them and jumped onto the window ledge, ready to leave.

"I suggest you listen to what the girls tell you to do, Akatsuki," she warned, "If you don't, then there's a high chance that you can forget about becoming human ever again."

"Wait!" Sasori called. Kuukan paused and turned.

"What?"

"How do those girls know about us?" Sasori questioned, "We've never met before and we're from different worlds."

"The four main realms are all somewhat connected to one another," Kuukan replied, "In this world, you are characters from this manga called Naruto that was created by someone called Masashi Kishimoto."

Deidara looked like he wanted to ask another question, but Kuukan held up a paw. "I wish I could stay and chat some more," she meowed, "but I need to go check up on the other gods who are in on this test. I'll be back some time later. In the meantime, you all should keep an eye out for four-legged ugly creatures. Those are the creatures that you have to protect the girls from. Be careful; all you can use is taijutsu."

With that said, the white feline vanished in a flash of pink light.

"Stop right there, space heathen!" Hidan yowled, but it was too late.

"Stop yelling, Hidan," Nagato said wearily, "She's gone already."

"What should we do?" Konan asked nobody in particular.

"I think it would be best to abide by Kuukan's rules," Kakuzu said, "She has proven to have power, and I would like to get Obito back for using me."

Everyone else murmured agreement, some obligingly while others did it reluctantly.

"Right," Nagato said as he walked towards the kitchen, "We should stick close to…oh, no!" he screeched, fur bushing out. "They're gone!"

"Find them!" Yahiko ordered and the Akatsuki scattered like a school of fish swimming to avoid a shark.


Jade sighed as she tied her damp hair into a high ponytail. Silver and Crystal had left a long time ago, and she had just finished taking a shower. She headed downstairs once her hair was properly tied, rolling up the long sleeves of her pajamas as she went.

When she got downstairs, she saw the nine kittens running around as though they were being chased by a ghost.

"What the hell are you all doing?" Jade asked, watching as the fluffy red kit skidded to a halt at the sound of her voice. The other kits slid to a stop as well and peered at her with beady eyes. Jade shook her head exasperatedly and turned to go back upstairs.

There was a quiet meow from behind her and the golden-haired girl turned to see the nine kittens following her upstairs. Jade paused, debating whether or not she should let them come upstairs. After a while, she shrugged and continued on her way.

When she got to her bedroom, Jade sat on the edge of her bed and looked at a picture that was placed on her nightstand. A man and a woman looked out at her, hugging each other and smiling.

"Night, Mom. Dad," Jade whispered. She reached over, turned off the lamp, and got under the covers. After a while, the smaller, blue kitten jumped up onto the mattress and settled near Jade's stomach. The other kittens followed, and soon, Jade was surrounded by purring and mewling lumps of fur. The high school girl sighed.

Getting up or moving was going to be a pain.


To be continued in Chapter 5: The Cat's Out of the Bag


Ending Theme: Glow of a Firefly by Ikimono-Gakari