Chapter Text
The Tsukino household was built to withstand many things, but it was not built to withstand the combined morning chaos of Usagi and Naruto Tsukino.
"Naruto! You absolute jerk! That was my last piece of strawberry-toasted mochi!"
Usagi’s shriek echoed down the hallway, vibrating the frames on the walls. She was currently hopping on one foot, trying to force a stubborn school loafer onto her heel while glaring daggers at her twin brother.
Naruto, already standing by the front door with his school bag slung carelessly over his shoulder, choked down the last bite of the sweet pastry. He grinned, his blue eyes flashing with pure mischief, the three whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks crinkling. "First come, first served, ’Sagi! Maybe if you didn't press snooze five times, you'd actually get to eat breakfast!"
"I am the older twin by three minutes! Respect your elders!" Usagi wailed, finally getting her shoe on and snatching her school bag.
"Three minutes of useless sleeping!" Naruto fired back, sticking his tongue out.
"Both of you, quiet down or you'll be late for the bus!" their mother, Ikuko, called out from the kitchen with a heavy sigh. She was already counting the days until they graduated. The food bill alone was putting a massive dent in the family budget; Usagi had an endless appetite for sweets, and Naruto could eat his weight in instant ramen three times a day.
With simultaneous groans, the twins burst out of the front door and scrambled down the street.
By lunch, Usagi had already failed a pop quiz, and Naruto had been kicked out of English class for sleeping so loudly he woke up the kid next to him. To make matters worse, they had completely missed the bus home.
"My life is over," Usagi groaned, dragging her feet along the pavement of a quiet side street. "A zero, Naruto. Miss Haruna looked at me like I was a hopeless case."
"Eh, don't sweat it. A zero just means you have plenty of room to improve!" Naruto said, hands clasped behind his head. He was completely unbothered by his own detention. "Besides, I smell a bakery nearby. Want to split a melon pan?"
Before Usagi could answer, a soft, pitiful mewling caught her attention.
Sitting on top of a concrete wall was a sleek, midnight-black cat. But what caught Usagi's eye wasn't just its elegant fur—it was the patch of white crescent-shaped tape stuck directly to its forehead.
"Oh, you poor thing!" Usagi gasped, her maternal instincts instantly overriding her hunger. She stepped forward, gently peeling the sticky tape away. Underneath, a perfect, golden crescent moon mark was revealed on the cat's forehead.
"Whoa, weird mark," Naruto muttered, leaning over Usagi's shoulder. "Looks like a tattoo."
The black cat blinked, its eyes widening as it stared up at the twins. For a brief second, the cat’s gaze lingered on Naruto, a flicker of profound, ancient recognition passing through its eyes. But before either twin could say anything, the cat leapt down and bolted into an alleyway.
"Hey, wait!" Usagi called, but the cat was gone.
"Come on, 'Sagi, let's go. It's getting late," Naruto said, though he paused, rubbing the back of his neck. A strange, fleeting warmth had bloomed in his chest when he looked at the cat—a bizarre sensation of old stone, starlight, and the smell of ozone. He shook his head. Must be hungry.
Later that evening, after being thoroughly scolded by their father, Kenji, for their terrible grades, Naruto escaped to his bedroom. He threw himself onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.
A sudden scratch at his window made him sit up.
Silhouetted against the rising moon was a ball of fluffy, vibrant orange fur. Naruto blinked, sliding the window open.
A cat stepped inside. But this wasn't a normal stray. It was incredibly fluffy, possessed a pair of piercing, crimson eyes with slitted pupils, and—most bizarrely—seemed to have multiple, bushy orange tails rustling behind it.
"What the... are you a fox? A cat?" Naruto leaned in close, poking the creature’s nose. "You look like a giant, angry dust bunny."
The orange creature’s eye twitched. It opened its mouth, and to Naruto's absolute horror, a deep, incredibly gruff, and thoroughly irritated male voice boomed out.
"If you touch my nose again, brat, I will bite your hand off."
Naruto fell backward off his bed, scrambling against the wall. "TALKING CAT! REVELATION! ALIEN!"
"I am NOT a cat!" the orange beast snarled, sitting down on Naruto's desk and licking a paw with immense dignity. "I am Kurama. And you, you loud-mouthed idiot, are Prince Naruto of the Moon Kingdom. Though looking at you now, Queen Serenity's reincarnation magic seriously dropped the bar on intellectual standards."
"The... Moon Kingdom?" Naruto stared, his brain short-circuiting.
Before Kurama could explain, a piercing, glass-shattering scream echoed from the bedroom right across the hall.
Usagi.
Naruto didn't think. He threw his door open and sprinted across the hall, bursting into Usagi’s room.
The room was bathed in a strange, shimmering pink light. Standing in the center of the room was the black cat from earlier, floating in mid-air, while Usagi held a glowing, pink-and-gold brooch.
"Naruto!" Usagi cried, tears streaming down her face. "Luna—the cat—she talked! She told me I have to save Naru-chan from a monster at the jewelry shop! She made me say some weird words and—"
"Wait, your cat talks too?!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at Luna.
Kurama trotted into the room, scoffing loudly. "Of course she talks, you dummy. That’s Luna. Luna, I see you found the Princess. Too bad she’s just as whiny as she was in the Silver Millennium."
"Kurama?!" Luna gasped, her jaw dropping. "You're alive! But... why are you in that form?"
"Long story. No time," Kurama grunted, turning his sharp crimson eyes to Naruto. "Brat. Your sister is going to get herself killed if she goes out there alone. If you want to protect her, you need to remember who you are. Reach into your pocket."
Naruto frowned, reaching into his school uniform pocket. His fingers brushed against something cold and metallic. He pulled it out. It was a small, heavy golden scroll, its surface etched with intricate, ancient seals.
A sudden rush of memories—vague, fleeting images of giant silver pillars, a beautiful motherly queen, and a squad of fierce, armored warriors standing by his side—flooded Naruto's mind. His grip on the golden scroll tightened.
"I don't know what's going on," Naruto said, a sudden, fierce grin breaking across his face as the familiar thrill of a fight sparked in his veins. "But there's no way I'm letting my dummy sister go fight monsters alone."
Usagi wiped her tears, looking at her brother, then down at her brooch. Together, the Tsukino twins stepped toward the open window, the moonlight catching the gold of their twin spirits.