Kakashi stood in front of the memorial stone like he does every morning, it was the reason he was late to everything. He spends a good chunk of time standing and staring at that name. Obito Uchiha, teammate and late best friend. He was reminded of the childish Uchiha everyday in Shizi, in how much she cared for her teammates and the village, her smile and laughter, even the gleam of amazement and awe that was always present in her wild, grey eyes. He hasn't done this in a while, but he started to talk to the polished stone like it was an old friend.
"It's been a while, huh? I know I come here everyday, but I never tell you anything anymore, so I'll give you the run-down. I've recently adopted a girl who joined us a few years ago from the Land of Horses. Her name is Shizi Yemao, and she's quite a piece of work. Reminds me of you and Rin all the time. She's the kindest Shinobi I've ever met, and that kindness makes me worry constantly about the evil people in this world that will take advantage of her with no regret. Don't get me wrong, that girl is impossibly strong and spirited. On a mission to the Land of Waves, I ran into Zabuza Momochi, and that's when I found out that that kind little sprite has a horribly evil burden to carry.
The Hell's Wildcat subsides within her, it breaks free when she loses her reaper that acts as the seal. I'm afraid that it'll eat her alive and replace the girl I know so well. I wish you were here to give me some of your endless advice. But, you aren't so I'll have to make do.
Also, we've recently finished the Chunin Exams, Shizi joined happily and without a second thought. She fought this girl named Yasei, and she was injured pretty badly. Doctors are baffled in how she even survived the fight at all, though I'm not really surprised, you have to have quite a bit of steel in you to be friends with that wild boy, Naruto Uzumaki. He's like Shizi as well, he hosts the Nine-Tails Fox Demon.
They make an unstoppable team, if they would only learn how to work together instead of against each other like the enemy of a Ninja War. I mean, Naruto and Shizi get along famously, Shizi is on good terms with Sakura and Sasuke, but the other three don't seem to like each other much. I have half a mind to lock them in a steel-enforced, Chakra room until they aren't screaming and kicking each other anymore.
I just wish you and Rin were still among us. You two would know exactly how to get these guys working perfectly. I can't seem to get the hang of this, but teaching and guiding was never my strong suit." An ANBU Black Ops Shinobi appeared in a royal blue cat mask, the red mark visible on the left shoulder. Kakashi regards him with respect and concern, why would an ANBU seek him out?
"The Hokage needs to speak to you immediately. It's about your charge." The silvery Jonin heart froze at those words, what about Shizi? What happened to her? He didn't hesitate to sprint directly to the Hokage building, mind racing with every possible way something went awry and she's at death's door. He didn't even knock on the door, just slammed open the door and stepped inside.
"You needed to see me about Shizi?" He had to fight to keep his voice steady.
"You remember the spies and how Kiba took them down but he swallowed a pill of poison before questioning?" Kakashi nodded. "Well they are skilled in biological warfare, and Akamaru is believed to have been infected."
"I don't understand what this has to do with Shizi?" She folded her fingers over each other in front of her face, brown eyes hard and calculating.
"As she was talking to Kiba, Akamaru bit her and we aren't sure if the infection has spread to her or not. And since she has the Hell's Wildcat in her, we aren't sure of the affects it could have on her." Kakashi didn't waste a second to locate the girl's Chakra and vanish to where she was. She was stretching for her small training sessions she does when she isn't on missions or saving Naruto's hide.
She started off strong and spirited, but as she finished her body spasmed and she hit the dirt, arms around her ribs in pain. As much as he wanted to run out and help her, he knew he had to keep his position a secret. Her eyes snapped open and she growled loudly, vibrating the air around her. Her eyes were the same neon green as she has when she summons Jingxiao, but her pupil was vertical instead of horizontal. Her top teeth became long and sharp, poking through her bottom lip and dripping crimson blood from the ends. Her brunette hair stood on end and thickened into huge spines covered in shiny black skin. A tail grew from her tailbone, blackened and tipped with an arrow-shaped bone.
"No, Shizi..." The neko shifted back to normal and shook her head clear before wandering off, her Jonin guardian following silently. He tailed her throughout the day, keeping a wary eye on the intervals between her spasms of hybrid-ism.
That night she slipped past the man and vanished into the thick woods surrounding the village. Kakashi jolted awake at a deep howling that resonated through the sky. Shizi! He sprints through the village out to the forest in search of his charge.
He found her in the same clearing as Akamaru and the Tracking Squad, Naruto, and Kiba. The entire group was more awestruck by Shizi and her transformations than by Akamaru and his growth.
"Kakashi, what is that?!" Screams Naruto as his royal orbs followed the beast in its revolution around Kakashi, green eyes narrowed in hate and bloodlust.
"That's Shizi, Naruto. She was bit by Akamaru a few days back." The said girl growled and bared her lupine fangs. The two beastly victims attacked the people they see as enemies. Akamaru was rather easily stopped, Kiba having woken up his memories at the last second. But with Shizi, things were far more complicated.
"Shizi, please remember. We're your friends and we are trying to help you. Do you remember me? I'm Kakashi, except you call me Kika." The animal roars and launched at him with amazing swiftness. He just barely dodged her long claws and a swipe she took as he evades her.
"Shizi, please. Remember me. I'm begging you." The animal ignored his pleas and attacked once more with hateful fury. Hana and her hounds had Shizi surrounded, Kiba was out of commission, and Naruto was frozen.
"Kakashi, I'm going to try and use the serum, but if not you know what has to happen." His heart clenched at her words, he knew, he just wanted it not to happen. Not to her.
"Use it but hold off on the other idea, she's still a Hidden Leaf Shinobi."
"Don't let your feelings for this child cloud your judgement, Kakashi Hatake. She's a rabid animal right now and she will kill people if left this way." He tightened his jaw in determination to save Shizi from being terminated. The night was spent trying to get Shizi still enough to stick with the serum needle.
"This is taking too long!" Growls Hana as the third hound of the night was injured and sent to the sidelines. Kakashi saw an opening and snatched away the syringe before sprinting towards the beast, whose neon eyes trained instantly on the silver Jonin. They both leapt into the air, clashing at the peak of the arcs they created. Shizi batted the man to the dirt, pinning him down with her second set of arms while her front arms held her steady.
"I love you, Shizi, and I'm sorry." The Shadow Clone dissipated in her claws as the real Kakashi dropped from the trees onto her back, jamming in the needle and shoving down on the plunger before she flung him off and repinned him, head rearing back for the strike.
As she sped down to bite him, the serum began its work. By the time her mouth reached his shoulder, she was back to the brunette neko instead of a scary mutant killer. All of the fighting that she endured as the beast took instant tolls, and she fell asleep on Kakashi's chest, nose rubbing against his sternum between the flaps of his flak jacket. The male underneath her let out a deep sigh and stood with her in his arms, thanked Hana for her help and serum, then walked off to his home. Hana watched them fade into the night, amazed at the amount of affection Kakashi Hatake had for that small cat-like Kunoichi. She smiled at a small, little thought that floated through her mind as she had Naruto help take Kiba and Akamaru to the hospital.
The 3rd Hokage would be proud of you, Kakashi. As would the 4th Hokage, if they could see the man you've become with Shizi at your side.
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...
