Naruto's POV
"I honestly hate you." Reika-san murmured as she continued to sob. "I know." I said smiling, but I knew she was lying. I noticed she got quiet after a while. "Reika-san?" I looked at her and noticed she had fallen asleep, purring slightly.
I chuckled. "Good ol' Reika-san." I said, gently petting her ears. "Naruto!" Sasuke jumped down from the tree he was at and landed in front of me. "Are you okay?" He asked me. "Yeah, I'm fine," I looked at Reika-san before picking her up bridal style.
"We need to get her to a hospital. She could be hurt." I said. "I don't think so. Look at her wounds," I looked at Reika-san's wounds and saw that they were slowly closing. "They're healing themselves." Sasuke said.
Was Reika-san healing her own wounds? "Whoa!" Sasuke and I took a step back as four huge, cat-like summonings appeared before us. "Reika-sama, are you all right?" The green cat said in a female voice.
"Of course she's not all right, idiot! She's blacked out!" The orange/black/white cat said. "Don't call me an idiot, stupid!" The female cat argued. "Knock it off. Both of you," The black cat with wings looked from Reika-san to me.
"Did you harm her, boy? Because if you did, I won't hesitate to kill you where you stand." It said. "No way! I didn't hurt her!" I objected. "Guys, do you smell that? That weird smell... it's coming from Reika-sama." The green cat said.
"It smells like..." The mixed cat trailed off before looking at me. "Not bad, human. I didn't think you were able to pull it off." He commented. "Huh?" I looked at them confused. "What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded.
"You protected our princess during the disaster. Thank you. We entrust you to watch over our princess, human." The black cat with wings said. With that, they disappeared. What just happened?
(Funeral)
Today was the Third Hokage's funeral. He died, protecting us. Everyone was dressed in black and some people brought flowers. As people were placing their flowers on the casket, I glanced over at Konohamaru as he cried with Iruka there to comfort him.
I'll never forget the old man. I'll never forget how he scolded me sometimes and how he made me smile through my toughest times. "Where's Reika-san?" Sakura asked. I kept my mouth shut. I knew where Reika-san was, but I didn't want to tell her.
After the funeral, I went straight home. "Reika-san?" I whispered as I opened my door slightly. I saw her still lying bed, her back facing me as the blanket was over her. "Reika-san?" I walked over to her to get a better look at her.
Her eyes were closed, but I knew she was awake. I sighed and sat beside her. "Reika-san, I know you're awake. Please, talk to me." I said emotionlessly. Reika-san slowly opened her eyes, then she moved her gaze to me.
"Are you feeling any better?" I asked her. She didn't respond as she returned her gaze to the wall. "Reika-san, please talk to me. I want to know what's wrong. I'm not angry at you for hitting me, if that's what you're feeling." I said.
"Please don't..." I looked at her as she spoke. "Please... don't call me 'Reika-san'. Just call me Reika. Okay?" She said softly. "Okay. Reika, if you think I'm angry at you-"
"I don't think that. I just..." Reika slightly curled herself into a ball as she hesitated to speak. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you. You must hate me now, don't you." Reika said quietly. "What? I don't hate you. I would never hate you." I said to her.
"You do hate me. I hurt you and it's my fault. I let that damn snake control me. How could I let him control me?" Reika whispered sadly. I heard her sniffle, telling me she was about to cry. "Reika, look at me. I'm not mad at you. It's not your fault." I defended.
Reika glanced at me before sitting up. She gently placed her hand on my cheek before looking at my bandaged arm. I watched as Reika took off the bandages, and immediately started tearing up when she saw the wound.
"Hey, it's nothing! There's no reason to start getting sad about it!" I said quickly. Reika lowered her head to the wound and gently began licking it. I winced because it stung a little. When Reika backed her head away from the wound, I looked down at my arm as the wound began to close, healing itself.
"Whoa! How did you do that?" I asked, looking at her in amazement. "It's my clan's secret. When we lick someone's wounds, our saliva heals the skin, making it look like that person was never injured." Reika explained in a small voice.
I smiled and noticed Reika's eyes were purple instead of red. "Hey, Reika. Your eyes are purple." I mentioned. Reika's ear twitched with shock as she rested her hand under her right eye. "I wonder why they're like that." She muttered to herself.
"Are you still in any pain?" Reika asked, looking at me. "No, I'm fine. Really." I assured her. Reika sighed softly before resting her head on my arm, curling her body slightly. "It must suck, doesn't it?" She said quietly.
"What does?" I asked emotionlessly, holding her against me so her head was resting on my side. "Being hurt? Feeling pain everyday?" She answered. My eyes softened when I heard those words. "Yeah. Kind of." I agreed.
"Naruto."
"Yes, Reika?"
"I don't want to follow my brothers path anymore."
"Your brother?" I looked at her, confused. "My older brother wanted me to become the Takuma's clan ultimate weapon. He wanted me to kill humans." Reika explained. "Why? Did something happen that the humans did?" I asked, concerned.
"Humans killed my parents. My brother tried to warn me about them, but I didn't listen. I tried and wanted to be friends, get along with the humans. But one day, I followed my brother into the woods and..." Reika's ears went down as if she was afraid to continue.
"I... I... I watched Leaf Village ninja kill my brother, right in front of me. I was scared. I couldn't move. It was like my feet were glued to the ground. Then, I totally snapped. I killed them, ripping their body to pieces,"
"What happened next? What happened to you after you killed them?" I asked, interested in her backstory. "When I got back to my clan, the whole place was in flames. All I could see was red flames dancing in the air. Then, HE showed up and took away my memories." Reika said, saying the last part coldly.
"He?" I asked with a raised brow. "The man who wanted me to kill everyone in the Leaf. The one who took my people away. But I don't want to kill humans anymore. I don't want to kill you. You... You mean a lot to me, Naruto. I don't want anything to happen you. I want to be able to protect you." Reika said, closing her eyes.
I glanced at her, sad about the story she told me. I now understand why Reika hid her ears from everyone, why she hated me and the team from the beginning. I finally understand. "I'm so sorry, Reika. I'm sorry about your brother." I said softly, embracing her.
"It's not your fault. It's okay." She whispered, her voice slurring. I could tell she was going to go back to sleep. "Why couldn't you tell me before, Reika? I would've understood." I said. "Because I was scared... to tell you. Not many people... want to listen to a sad... story..." Reika said, then fell asleep.
I smiled a little and closed my eyes as well and held Reika, The rest of the day, Reika and I stayed like that, just relaxing. The next morning, I woke up to Reika hugging my arm. I smiled and used my other hand to pet her head.
She purred contently as she smiled in her sleep. "Reika, get up." I said, shaking her shoulder. "Mm... I don't wanna. Let me sleep." Reika said, childishly. I chuckled and petted her head. "You need to get up, Reika. You can't stay in bed forever." I said.
"Sure, I can. Watch me." Reika turned on her side so she was facing the wall. I sat up and yawned.
Reika's POV
"Naruto." I said, getting his attention. He hummed in response as he turned his head to look at me. I sat up. "I'd like to ask you something. Well, it's more of a request." I said. "Is it about your ears and tail secret? I swear, I won't tell anyone." He said.
"No, it's not that." I said, shaking my head. "I..." I blushed as I tried to say the words I wanted to say. "I want to be your cat!" I said rather loudly and quickly. "Come again?" Naruto asked. I took a deep breath and repeated myself.
"I want to be your cat. Instead of a pet, think of me as your guardian, your protector... Naruto?" I looked at him with a raised brow as I noticed tears running down his face like a stream. "Reika, you have no idea how long I've wanted you for a house cat! This is awesome!" Naruto cheered as he hugged me.
I was about to punch him for putting his hands on me without my permission, but this time, I let it slide. I smiled and petted his head. "Okay, Naruto. I get it. You're happy. You can let go now." I said, breaking the hug.
"I would've thought you'd say no because you weren't really fond of cats." I said. "Well, I'm fond of this one." Naruto said, smiling. I smiled back and kissed his forehead. "Wanna get some breakfast?" I asked, stretching.
"Yeah! Let's get some ramen!" He said excitedly. "All you ever eat is ramen." I said, sweat dropping. "Fine, let's get ramen."
"Yay!"