It Started With A Kiss (A Kisame Story)

Chapter 7.

The next time Umi woke up, she felt a lot calmer than she had done before.

Though she didn’t truly know where this building was, she had been in the room before, and she had had this experience before—and ultimately that meant it was at least a little bit familiar. With there being so much she didn’t understand or know about at the moment, to have one thing she could comprehend allowed her to remain calm and relax—even with all the people she knew would be outside that door and in the rest of the place. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pushed herself up, propping herself up on her elbow until she could take a better look at the room. It wasn’t anything special; merely the basics that a room needed: a bed, bedside tables, a closet, desk and chair—though she did have her own bathroom. But to be honest, it didn’t matter to Umi. She hadn’t spent enough time up on shore to know the extravagant from the plain, so to her, this was fine. Smirking at that thought, Umi fully sat up, wondering what to do next. After having spoken to Itachi, she knew she wasn’t about to run away again—but she’d been asleep. Was she supposed to tell somebody, or would they want her to stay in the room? How long had she been asleep in the first place?

Then suddenly Umi froze, remembering something else.

She’d met Kisame—well, sort of.

As she sat there, flashes of memories hit her, almost like it had been a dream. His face appearing above her...staring into his eyes...touching his face...Though she hadn’t truly been conscious at the time, somehow that feeling that Umi always got in her visions when he was present had arisen when she had seen him at that moment. Every time she got the dream, when he was gone, she felt empty and alone, but when Kisame appeared, then things were different. It was like she knew everything would be alright; things would be better—she felt herself change in the visions, and when Kisame was there, she remained in that state—but then it occurred to her. She was human now; and abruptly Umi smiled, biting her lip at the prospect of having legs for more than just one day. Slipping her legs out from underneath the covers, she brushed her fingers over them, wiggling her toes. She’d had legs before, but somehow this time it was so much more important; it was a bigger deal, and she’d finally get used to using them over the days. But where would she be during this time? Were these guys going to keep her here—with Kisame? How was she even going to remain human if she was around them, anyway? Though then Umi realised—Kisame had something to do with it. Umi wouldn’t stay this way forever, she knew that; sooner or later she would return to being a mermaid, and she might have lost her only chance of becoming a human. The only problem was she didn’t know how to make the change permanent—but it had to do with Kisame. If she could just figure it out—

“Oh; so you’re awake, huh?” A quiet voice abruptly spoke up from the doorway, and snapping her head round to face it, Umi saw Itachi standing there, coming over quietly and nodding in greeting. For a moment, Umi said nothing in return, nodding gently her only response; but Itachi gathered she was feeling nervous, and so he questioned quietly,

“Are you feeling better? After your injuries? There’s water—if you want it.”

Glancing to the side, Umi finally noticed the water, and looking back into Itachi's eyes she realised that things didn’t seem so bad now she had taken the time to consider them. They had put her somewhere safe; they had dressed her, healed her and given her food and drink—it was just what they wanted her for that made Umi nervous. But slowly she reached for the glass and drank some of the water, replying softly after she was done,

“You did all this, Itachi-san? B-but why?”

“We’ll explain everything to you, I promise—but I think it’s best I’m not the one to do so. Wait; I’ll be back in a moment,” he explained, before turning and disappearing as quickly as he had arrived.

Umi gulped down the rest of the water afterwards, her gaze constantly darting over to the door as she contemplated what might happen next. Itachi had been talking to his leader the last time she had been there; what was he going to be like? Would he be angry for what she had done? She couldn’t tell. Instead she sat in silence, contemplating how she was going to stay a human; and how she was going to deal with the rest of the people here—when the door opened once more. Glancing over, Umi opened her mouth, ready to apologise instantly to their leader, when she froze, surprised, as it wasn’t their leader who entered—it was Kisame. Immediately feeling embarrassed after what she had done in her dream state, Umi looked down, staring down at her legs and absentmindedly rubbing them, not able to look him in the eye. Pein nodded in Kisame's direction, murmuring ‘I’ll leave the explanation to you’, before closing the door and leaving them alone. Kisame himself wasn’t feeling too confident, having no idea what to say to her. He had no idea who she was, and yet felt this deep connection; and she seemed to know so much about him. What could he do to begin this conversation? But as he noticed she continued stroking her legs, wiggling her toes, Kisame couldn’t help but smirk, remembering she had once been a mermaid, and asked casually,

“Is it weird? Having legs?”

Umi frowned in confusion, having not expected him to ask that; strangely happy that he was trying to be friendly with her—but still kept her head down as she shrugged, replying nonchalantly as she possibly could,

“Yeah, I guess. I mean; I turn into a human every year on my birthday, but it’s weird every time the change happens—I’m just not used to it. I’m usually horizontal, you know?”

Laughing quietly together, Umi finally felt it safe to look up; though seeing him staring intently back at her she looked away once more. How she begin to explain her situation? Though she felt that connection there; one she knew would exist when she met him, it didn’t mean she felt comfortable in his presence. There were so many things to take into account. Umi was pretty certain his group were after her power as well, so even if she felt connected to him she would have to take that into account. Not to mention her visions and what they meant. They had only just met, having barely spoken to each other and knowing nothing about each other; Umi couldn’t exactly sit there and tell him she’d had visions of him all her life. Plus, there was what she had done when half-asleep. She had started touching his face andstroking him; that must have looked really weird to the outside world—she hadn’t been able to tell what his reaction was; he’d just been staring at her. When it came down to it, there was only so much that connection could do for Umi. For all she knew, Kisame felt nothing, only pressured into doing all this because she had said his name before she passed out. Abruptly feeling guilty for all this, she sighed, only focusing back in on the real world again as Kisame said softly,

“But, uh...I don’t actually know who you are. I’m Kisame Hoshigaki, as you already seem to know, but you are...”

Once again a smile flickered over Umi's face at how hesitant he was being; like he didn’t want to offend her in any way. The memory how she felt in the vision when Kisame appeared came back to her, and she felt herself softening. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, true; but unless she helped herself then she wouldn’t get anywhere. She knew Kisame was something to do with her remaining human, so she couldn’t dismiss him; and as such she forced herself to look up, smiling, to state sweetly in return,

“Umi. My name’s Umi.”

“Umi...” Kisame breathed, smiling straight back at her.

Well, at least the first hurdle was over...