"How about this one?" Shizi asked, more to herself than to Kakashi. She lifted a light blue outfit off the shelf to inspect it closer. The top was wide at the top and hugged the hips at the bottom, with mesh netting underneath and similar colored shorts with mesh leggings that stopped mid-calf. The front of the shirt had a depiction of a Cosmo flower.
"No, too girly. Too bright as well." She replaced the outfit and moved further down the shelf until a dark grey one caught her eye. The top was similar in design and netting, the bottom was black capris that stopped at the knee. It also came with black, fingerless gloves and black sandals.
Stepping into a changing booth, she changed out of her plain brown clothes and slipped on the new one before stepping out and searching for Kakashi to show him. She found the said Jonin leaned up against a wall, reading his book. She stopped and held up her arms with a smile.
"What do you think?" He looked her over with his one visible eye.
"Looks nice. You going to get it?" Shizi nodded and Kakashi paid the clerk for the outfit before they both left for food. They stopped at a ramen stall for dinner and the man working the place smiled at her as he asked for their orders.
"Hey, Kakashi, when did you get a child?" The said man chuckled nervously and scratched his head in embarrassment. Shizi simply giggled lightly before thanking the man for the food and eating.
"She's not mine. This is Shizi Yemao." She waved at the man, mouth full of ramen so she couldn't say hi. He smiled and waved at her while handing the Jonin his food. They finished and Kakashi paid before pushing the curtain out of the way and stepping out.
"Hey, kid," Said the man, catching Shizi's keen ears. "Next time you address Kakashi, call him dad. It'll be funny." He winked and Shizi smiled devilishly before following behind her roommate.
"Are you ready, Shizi? The sun's almost down and you need to sleep so you can get up for the Academy, it starts early." The old man's words rang in her head and she smiled largely.
"Sure. Lets get home, dad." The word slipped off her tongue easier than she thought and she couldn't stop the laugh from bubbling up and passed her lips at his reaction. He nearly dropped the bags of food as he jolted to a stop and whirled to look down at the laughing girl.
"What did you call me, Shizi?" She was practically rolling on the dirt she was laughing so hard.
"I called you dad." She answered through panting laughs. He reshuffled the bags and kept walking, Shizi following behind him.
"I'm not your father, Shizi. There's no point in calling me that." She chuckled as they walked into their shared apartment.
"I was joking around. Besides, I never call anyone dad, not even Kandahar Sensei." He nodded and they started putting up the food in the kitchen. "So what do I call you?"
"Kakashi is my given name." She smiled and rolled her eyes.
"But Kakashi is really long and I'm a 10 year old kid. Can I just shorten your name?" He gave a mutual shrug. "How about.... Kika?"
"Sounds fine to me. I'm still calling you Shizi, though." Said girl nodded and said good night before retiring to her room. She lifted Jingxiao from the corner and placed the huge weapon on the bed before crawling up onto the bed with it.
"What is it, Shizi-chan? Do I need to shift to a smaller size?"
"No, your size is fine and thank you for becoming lighter for me until I get stronger to pick you up fully weighted. I just don't think the others would like it if I walked in with you in all your dark glory."
"I understand and I have an idea." She listened to the idea and heartily agreed before beginning to start the process. She finished and collapsed on the bed, instantly asleep. Shizi awoke at dawn and dressed in her new clothes. She stopped at the door and pulled on her sandals before eating a quick breakfast and yelling a bye to Kakashi.
"Students, this is a new student. Her name is Shizi Yemao. Sit in any open desk if you may." She waved at the class full of the people she met yeaterday. Spotting an open desk beside Shikamaru, she sat down and smiled at the tired boy.
The day passed by and class was over, so the kids went to the arena for some fun competition. As Shizi walked out onto the dirt, a harsh shove caused the brunette to stumble forward and drop to one knee.
"You're the newbie, right? Shizi Yemao?" She pinned down her ears and hissed at the trio of boys standing moodily over her. "Nice ears, freak." She hissed deeper and jumped to her feet.
"So what if I'm new? And I'm not a freak." The boys laughed with evil amusement. They drew Kunai knives and stepped into a fighting position.
"Enough talk! Time to give you the traditional Hidden Leaf Village greeting." They attacked in unison, Kunais pointed out for the kill. She gasped and jumped out of range.
"Do you need my help, Shizi-chan?" After a quick analysis of the boys' abilities and Chakra depth, she decided to keep Jingxiao in his hidden place, but use his shadow to scare them. She reached back in her usual defensive position: crouched low, one hand's fingertips pressed to the ground, the other reached behind her for Jingxiao.
"You don't really want to fight me." The boys laughed emotionlessly and attacked again. She summoned Jingxiao's shadow self, a black void in the shape of it's original. The shaft of Jingxiao itself was at least three times her body length and the blade was longer than that. The curved steel was shaped to look like a spine on the back edge, sharpened on both edges to make it twice as deadly.
The user of this reaper has to undergo a transformation to simply hold and handle the weapon. Shizi was no different. Her grey eyes blacked out, the iris became an unnatural neon green and the pupil morphed into a horizontal slit. Her hair removed itself from the braid it was in to whip around her head in a wild frenzy. Claws ripped from her fingers and dripped blood to mix with the dust. When she spoke her voice was deep, ancient, and foreboding while her teeth became needle sharp and pointed.
"I'll warn you again, you don't really want to fight me." The trio of boys screamed and ran for their lives. She sent back the shadow and returned to her original form. The people she met before walked out of the building, laughing and joking with each other, oblivious to the show that ensued moments before.
"Hey, Shizi! Want to come have a tournament with us? It's to see who could hit more targets." Shouted Choji and Shizi nodded, running to catch up with them, smiling and laughing.
"That was a fun little show, wasn't it Shizi-chan?" Her smile darkened and became more devious and devilish.
"Yes, it was, wasn't it? Those three were nothing more than sniveling, snot-nosed idiots."
"There's not a Shinobi alive in this world or any other who can match our combined strength. Don't worry, Shizi-chan, I will always be here to protect you. Nobody will ever beat me."
"Even if it's just us, alone in this world, we'll be perfectly fine. Kandahar Sensei taught us well."
"You'll never be left alone again, Shizi-chan."
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Monsters
Fanfiction"The true measure of a Shinobi is not how he lives, but how he dies..." Shizi Yemao's pretty smile hides her secrets and her pretty eyes have cried too many tears. It's scary what her smile has come to hide, and she has gotten better at hiding the...
