The Rescue of the Dying Light
Naruto wandered the forests. He stayed as far away as he could from the streets of Konoha, not on his birthday. He rather stay alive than suffer abuse and severe near-death beatings at the hands of the villagers and the ninjas themselves. Ever since he was born, very few people cared for him. Many hated him, the adults always cursed at him behind his back, they turned their children against him, and he's always bullied. It was every October 13th, on his birthday, that the usual mob beating he's suffered from was the worse of them all. This year, however, on his sixth birthday, he was smart enough to flee into the forests once they came to his small apartment. Suddenly a kunai struck him in the leg, and he cries falling to his knees.
"There he is," a voice spoke, as a ninja moved in, followed by the sounds of an angry mob.
"No," Naruto whispered, tears already leaking from his eyes, "why? Why do people hate me?" he whispers to himself, trying to move, but he only got rocks pelting him. The ninja that hit him with the kunai kicked him hard, breaking some of the poor boy's ribs.
"There's that demon brat!"
"Get him before he grows!"
"Kill!"
The crowd was blood-thirsty, armed with whatever they had with them. Naruto was crying as once again, on his birthday, he was kicked, spat upon, cut, punched, stabbed, and sliced. The sadistic crowd enjoyed it.
Before, there was a creature that flew, releasing a beautiful rainbow no matter where it traveled. This creature held friends with star children, while on other planets, it was said this creature's appearance means good luck and good blessing. In another world, it was said to be the creator of a beautiful realm called the Rainbow Road. But, it was said it was a beholder of emotion. Thus, the reason this flying creature came to this planet was because it could sense a beautiful light fading into the darkness. The flickering light was attracting it. It nya's quietly in pain, seeing humans beating up a defenseless little child. The child was that source of the dying light...
"Leave him to die," one of them said, pulling his pitch fork from the boy's bloodied chest.
Murmurs of agreement spreads before the deadly mod left the small clearing in the forest, returning to the village. The boy was in torn clothes, with various puncture marks in its chest, and both the eyes were nothing more than bloody tears. Some of the colder shinobi that lingered simply manipulated a bit of the earth in order to entomb the demon child, before leaving the scene silently. Someone however saw the whole thing, and she was horrified to see how people could be so cruel to him. Hinata rushed from the bushes, and to the spot where she saw the boy get swallowed up by the ground and began to dig through.
"Naruto..."
She had tears in her eyes, her innocence stripped from her witnessing that horrific sight.
"Nya..."
She squeaked, and looked up to the source. What she saw was an oddity: it looked like a grey cat with permanent blush marks on its kitty cheeks, however its body was square-like, and resembled one of those cherry-flavored pastry pops.
"What...?"
The strange creature quickly runs to her, and begins to dig the ground. She stared at it for a moment, before she realized it was helping her. She dug with it, trying to unbury Naruto. After awhile, the cat-like creature makes a nyan sound, as it broke through and there was a dying Naruto.
"Naruto!"
"Hinata!"
She looked up again, and this time she saw her mother. Following was Hokage-sama.
"Kaa-chan! Naruto's hurt!" she cried, "bad people hurt him... please help him..."
"Hinata-chan," Hibana muttered, as the Hokage looks at the sight, grim as several ANBU, one with a dog mask, helped to unbury the body.
"Nyan," Nyan Cat cries sadly, attracting the Hokage's attention.
Never saw a cat like this one before... its body... looks odd.
Inu frowned behind his mask, and was cursing the bastards who did this to his sensei's son.
Nyan Cat cries softly, as Naruto was picked up, barely breathing. It runs up to Naruto, pawing, tears running down the sad kitty cat.
"Hokage-sama..."
"Hurry, bring him to the hospital now!"
Inu nods and rushes off, the ANBU in his group following the unspoken command: protect the child. Sarutobi looked to Hiashi's wife.
"Hibana... I believe it's best if you took your daughter home."
"Yeah... I think it would be best," she whispers, holding her daughter.
"Nyan!" the cat cries, drawing the adults' attention. Hinata gazes, eyes red with tears, before the cat jumps into the air after a sprint... they watch as the strange cat lets out a cry, a trail of rainbow left behind in its wake as it flies to the air.
Sarutobi stared. Now he knew he never saw anything like that before.
Wait... its following Kakashi and his team...
"Hibana, take your daughter home, okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, the old and wise Hokage performs a Shunshin.
Hibana was silent, as she picks her daughter up and carries her home.
"Kaa-chan... will Naruto-kun be okay?"
"... I'm not sure," she replies.
Hibana had other thoughts... on Kushina and Minato, and their dying son...
You two would be ashamed of the village if you had survived that night...
=0=0=
After several threats, and five doctors and twelve nurses killed later (for breathing the Third's Law and half attempting to outright kill Naruto), he was in his own bed. Sarutobi's trusted doctor shook his head.
"I'm sorry... he's pretty much dead... not even... it... is helping this time."
Sarutobi frowned more, his firm grip on his pipe almost cracking the delicate wood.
"Damn... those bastards..."
"Hokage-sama... even if somehow he makes it, this will leave him scarred for life. The machine's simply stretching his life..."
Sarutobi sighed.
"And that cat that followed the ANBU?"
The doctor and the Hokage turned to the table, where it sat, ever vigilant and watching Naruto, hooked to various machines.
"It refused to move, and would simply fly to get away when one of the nurses tried to make it leave... it left behind a fading rainbow though, which was odd."
"I never saw such a creature before... but it was at the scene where we found Hiashi and Hibana's daughter Hinata trying to unbury Naruto. I have no clue what the hell that girl was doing but I need to speak with them soon on that matter."
"She saw the whole thing?"
"Yes."
The doctor winced. No child that young should ever witness something so scarring...
"Hokage-sama," a masked ninja appeared at the door. It was Inu, "we found the culprits responsible. We have then detained," an ANBU reported.
"I'll be there. Doctor Yoshimori, keep him on until I return... then I'll pull the plug... let him live... just for a little more..."
The doctor nodded, turning back to look at the poor child.
"Nyan..."
They stopped, and turned around as the cat floated and begins to project that rainbow trail again, only this time it forms a glowing halo over Naruto's body before flying back to the table and landing. Nyan Cat watches as his rainbow sunk into the boy's body... and then Naruto begins to glow. The other humans backed away from this, as Naruto's body began to shrink, and shrink. Soon, a fox tail pokes forth, and then fox hind legs and forepaws, and a fox-like head. But the body was just like the cat creature's body, only with the frosting orange-colored with yellow star-like sprinkles.
"Nyan!" it says cheerfully. Its wish came true to save the boy's soul.
And as the light fades, a blonde fox-like creature with a pastry body sits on the bed, confused.
"Nya?"
"What... Hokage-sama, what just happened?" ANBU Inu whispers.
"I don't know..."
"Nyan!"
Nyan Cat smiles, and hops onto the bed, and begins to meow at Naruto... or... what used to be Naruto. Then it barks, tail swaying.
"N-Naruto?"
It looks at Sarutobi, before flashing a vulpine grin. Together with Nyan Cat, they take to the air, circling the room as twin rainbows flash out and then explode into a glittery rain. Then, they fly out the open window. Everyone rushed to the windows, and outside children were pointing to the air as a visible glowing trail of twin rainbows formed in the sky.
"Nyan!"
"Nya!"
Nyan Cat and Nyan Fox...
They let out a cheerful cry before flying higher and higher, descending into space. Silence gripped the village, as the double rainbow slowly disintegrates, and vanishes. Those in the hospital room had witnessed the miracle of rebirth... a soul brought back, reincarnated... into a creature of happiness and nyan...
But they didn't know that...
"Naruto..." Sarutobi would whisper quietly.
Ever since that October 13th, the village descended into silence. Ever since Naruto's death, the village became dull and boring. Without Naruto around anymore... it became quiet. Only few knew what happened. But only one person truly cared for him... and she never got a chance to say goodbye to him. However, Hyuuga Hinata would always look to the rainbows when one appears. And in her heart, each time she sees a rainbow, she made a wish...
I wish for Naruto to return...
She was thirteen years old when she woke up on her birthday, and was greeted with the sight of a yellow blonde fox with a pop-tart body, brilliant azure blue eyes shining happiness.