It Started With A Kiss (A Kisame Story)

Chapter 23.

Umi had thought she’d hated life when living in the lake...

But this was taking things to a whole new level.

Everything was so confusing and leaving her without a clue as to what to do. She still wasn’t certain about her goodbye. She cared about Kisame more than anything. He had always been there for her right from the start, giving her a choice when no one else had bothered. Umi had been pushed round by everyone since she was born; even her parents hadn’t left her any choice. Instead of waiting until she was old enough to make a decision, they simply left her in the lake—leaving instructions on how to live her life when she was old enough. Even those hadn’t gone smoothly, however, and look where she had ended up. Being forced to turn into a human and being told by the Akatsuki she was staying with them and there was no way out of it for her. Kisame had changed that, though; he had showed her that what she had thought was going to be a living hell...was actually going to be the one place where she felt she belonged.

He had given her so much; taught her everything about this world and in a sense, trained her. That connection was evident, true; but Umi had been expecting it from the start—and yet there was something else. Something that had only shown up since she had begun hanging out with him and getting to know him; a kind of attachment she had never known before or really understood. But then, living in a lake all her life, that was to be expected. Though she could read about emotions and the kind of things that happened, with the more complex ones...it was hard to comprehend without context to put it into. So now Umi stood there staring out across the lake, trying to make sense of what was inside of her; and how exactly she was going to fit it into her life when so much was happening at the moment.  Howcould she say goodbye? There was so much inside her head to understand, trying to word it wouldn’t get Umi anywhere, and even if she actually managed, it would never be enough. There would always be things she wanted to say, and trying to call him back every time she remembered something wouldn’t work. So was there really any point in doing it?

To see him one last time.

With how her feelings were at the current time, seeing Kisame would help solidify them. Umi could truly know they were there—and see Kisame's own. That way, even when she returned to the lake and Kisame had to leave, she could take comfort in the fact that he cared about her in return. That physically; literally they might not be able to be with each other, but that higher, deeper level connection would keep them together in an altogether more spiritual and psychological way. Abruptly the idea of saying goodbye didn’t seem like such a milestone with this knowledge, however, and Umi was really considering saying goodbye. It would be that last moment that she would cherish more than the rest, and she needed to have it. True, she didn’t know how Kisame would react, or what to tell him about what would happen. She herself knew nothing, and it wouldn’t exactly comfort Kisame if she pointed that fact out.

Sighing, she breathed in the breeze as it rushed past her, knowing she should probably head back to the hideout and talk to the others if she was going to say goodbye. After all, she didn’t know how long she had left as a human; she didn’t want to lose the chance now she had decided—and they were most likely all up anyway. Realising Kisame had most likely gone to her room to check up on how she was doing and had found no one there, and was now probably panicking about the idea that she was already a mermaid, Umi sighed once again, ready to turn back and find him. Leaving Kisame upset and worried was not how she wanted to her relationship with him to end, closing her eyes for one second to accept all that would soon happen.

But it was the worst decision she could have made.

Umi's head had been so full of thoughts; too busy concentrating on her situation to sense anything around her; if she had, then the same thing that occurred when she transformed into a human wouldn’t have happened again. Before she even had a chance to open her eyes, someone slammed into her from behind, and although she managed to keep herself from completely falling face first onto the floor, she still flew forward, landing several metres into the water of the lake. Instantly Umi tensed; she might not quite know how she was going to change back, but keeping out of the water until she was ready was one thing she had been set on doing—

Only now it was too late.

Scowling back at the four ninjas she now saw coming towards her, she quickly used the water to her advantage and attacked one with it, now only having three left. But her attention was diverted abruptly as she felt a spasm of chakra shoot through her legs—she was beginning to change already. Cursing mentally, Umi forced her mind back to the battle and began to fight back once more, managing to severely injure another, but immediately noticed that her power was getting weaker by the second. She couldn’t keep them back enough to stop herself from getting hurt, wincing as she felt the cold metal slice through her skin on her arms, stomach, and most importantly, her chest, a kunai hitting her straight on. Umi remained fighting, however, and finally managed to kill the ninja she had injured, leaving only one left; but she knew she wasn’t truly able to fight. She knew deep down that she didn’t have the power to kill him, her legs now slowly morphing back into a tail.

It didn’t exactly help when she noticed who it was.

The guy who she had first seen kneeling on the edge of the lake looking down at the Henka stone; the one who had placed it on her chest—it was him. All along he had been the leader, and she had dismissed them. They had only been around for a while, and once she had run away, she’d fell into the hands of the Akatsuki—she hadn’t seen them since. Because of that, it had slipped from her mind. When she read the scrolls that had been left by her parents, they had all said that it had been to protect her; that when people found out about her power, they would turn up and try and force her to use it for their own will. That had been evident all her life...and yet she’d been too focused on dreaming about becoming a human to take true notice of it, and then those guys had turned up.

Not only that...but she had let them do it again. Stupidly, Umi had forgotten all about what had happened when she first turned into a human, too busy concentrating on adapting to life on shore and with the Akatsuki—too busy developing her friendship with Kisame. Ultimately this was where it had ended up; and there was nowhere Umi could run. She wasn’t about to back up into the water; her legs were changing enough for her liking as it was—and there was no way she could get up and run off like last time. Umi could only sit there and watch as he came closer, glaring down at her to snap viciously,

“I wanted your power so badly; it was why I kept the Henka stone and I was the one to change you—when I found out that they’d taken you...I was so fucking angry. But it’s too late now—and if I can’t have your power...then I won’t let the Akatsuki have that chance either.”

Pulling out another kunai, he stepped forward, raising it and swinging it down, aiming for her chest again; Umi doing the only thing she could—covering her face with her arms and closing her eyes tight. But when all she felt was something splattering against her skin, she knew something wasn’t right, and lowered her arms to find that his body was now lying face down in the water, his blood staining her skin. Glancing up, slightly confused with all that had gone on in such a short space of time, her vision swaying a bit; a sudden smile flashed across Umi's face as she saw Kisame standing there. With Samehada in his hands and coated with blood, she gathered that was what had killed the guy—but it wasn’t what Kisame was concentrating on; his eyes wide in shock and his heart beating fast. The blood in the water wasn’t entirely from the ninja; Umi knew it, and Kisame was beginning to understand too as his eyes passed over the gaping wound in her chest.

She didn’t have much time left.