Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto

Mist watching water

It was by a chance meeting when Suigetsu first met Kasumi.

Suigetsu walked through the forests that lay near his home in the country of Kirigakure. He couldn't stand it being near his home. His brother, Mangetsu, was being a jerk as always. He wouldn't let him train with the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri! It was so unfair!

"Just because he's the oldest doesn't mean a damn thing," Suigetsu muttered, kicking at the wet soil of the forest. He was so pissed. He wanted to train how to be one of the Seven swordsmen as much as his brother and he was still treated like a little kid! It didn't help that he was a little kid. Sure, he was only nine years old, but still! He could kill a ninja just the same as Mangetsu! "When I'm older, I'll be able to kick his ass!"

As he contemplated his thoughts of surpassing his brother, Suigetsu barely registered that he was walking deeper and deeper into the forest. What he didn't know was that he was walking into the sacred forest where spirits lived.

Kiri was home to one of the sacred forests of the Hidden Shinobi nations. The sacred forest was home to one spirit called a Zashiki-warashi. It generally lived in this forest for some people have said that it loved the snow. Of course, no one has ever met the Zashiki-warashi. A spirit never reveals itself to a human, much less one that grew up in a bloody village. Not only does that spirit live here but other much dangerous ones are said to be residing here. In fear of meeting these horrible spirits, most smart people tended to avoid this forest if not wanting a horrible death. Suigetsu, on the other hand, was not smart very right now.

Suigetsu kept walking until he found himself of the shore of a small lake. When noticing where he was, he snapped back to reality and saw the crystal clear lake. He marveled at the small lake and its surroundings. This deep in the forest, the trees were green with health yet covered in snow. The grass was green as well with crystal flakes resting at the tips. The sun was actually showing as well, casting a beautiful look over the clear water. He looked down at the water to see his reflection marveling back at him.

"Whoa...I didn't know that a place like this was in one of the forests," he said in awe, continuing to look at the forest. It was more beautiful than anything he's ever seen. He reached a hand down towards the water when he heard a voice.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. It would get dirty if touched by a human," a girlish voice said behind him. Suigetsu whipped his head around, cursing that he didn't sense anyone before. He turned his neon purple eyes behind him only to confirm the voice. They widened at what he saw.

It was true that the voice he heard was a girl. It belonged to a young girl about his age with short brown hair that seemed to stick outwards at the tips. Forest green eyes stared into his, smirking at him. What the girl wore was strange. She was wearing a deer skin dress with what looked like white round bones sewed around where her waist was. In one of her hands, she held what looked like wolf fur. Bandages were wrapped on her feet to act like shoes since she was barefoot. Suigetsu was rendered speechless by this girl. She looked so weird yet it looked like what she wore was natural. Who the heck was this girl?

"Well? Are you going to say anything?" the girl asked.

"Who're you?" Suigetsu asked in surprise.

The girl grinned, looking a bit feral and wild. "I should ask you that question. Humans rarely come this deep in the forest by what my mother tells me. Not that I've ever seen a human."

"You keep saying human. You're one too, you know," he stated, kneeling by the shore. He was deeming this girl weirder and weirder each second.

"Oh, I know. Well, I might not be." The girl sat beside Suigetsu, stretching out her feet so that it touched the water. When she sat, her skirt rided up so high that Suigetsu ended up looking at the extra skin. Then he averted his eyes, blushing. The girl noticed this and grinned. "What? Haven't you ever seen a person who's naked?"

"O-Of course I have! But why aren't you wearing underwear?"

The girl tilted her head in confusion. "Underwear? What's that? Is it some human invention?"

Suigetsu gaped at the girl. Okay, this girl was officially weird. This girl was not normal if she didn't even know what underwear was. He blushed, shaking his head.

"Forget it. Act like I hadn't said anything before."

The girl shrugged. "Whatever. My name's Kasumi, by the way."

"My name's Suigetsu!" He grinned, sitting properly beside her on the shore. He stared at her in curiousity. "What are you doing here in the forest, Kasumi?"

"I live here in the forest with my mother and siblings. But I'm being forced to watch over this lake for awhile," Kasumi told him. "I thought I would hate it being stuck here to watch over it but I'm glad I did. I'm able to see my first ever human." She smiled at Suigetsu. "Thanks, Suigetsu."

"You're so weird. Haven't you ever seen a person before?" Suigetsu asked.

Kasumi shook her head. "No. Never. I've always lived here in this forest. I heard that there was this human village nearby, but I've never seen it myself. My mother always told me that humans were deadly and could destroy the land around us. The village near here was especially dangerous, Mother told me. She said that they would not hesitate to kill anyone. All of my friends hate violence so all of them have warned me to never go outside the forest."

"Well, your friends are right about that." Suigetsu scratched his head, thinking over what she said. "I come from that village myself and that place is scary for someone like you." He saw that Kasumi tensed and looked ready to jump to her feet to run away so he quickly added, "But some of us are actually okay! I kill too, but only when I'm bored or something."

"That's horrible! Killing for entertainment is the worst. Are all humans like that?"

"No! I told you that some of us don't kill. Only ninjas do that."

"Ninjas? Oh! You mean those people who carry those knives around." She scowled. "I hate them the most. They enter our forest and dump any dead body they have. Mother always has to give the dead human a proper burial in order for their soul to rest peacefully."

"You keep talking about your mother. What does she do?"

"My mother watches over this forest and keeps everything safe. We, her children, must also watch over this forest along with her. I help most of the time while my brothers teach me how to fight against any hostile demon that may harm this place. I'm the only one out of my siblings to have the ability to fight."

"Demon?"

"Yeah. I'm afraid I can't tell you anything more. But can I ask you a question?"

Suigetsu was thinking over what Kasumi said about her mother and absently said, "Yeah, sure."

Kasumi smiled and leaned in very close to his face. Suigetsu snapped out of it and blushed when seeing her very close. Seeing her look so bright and happy was a definite change to her serious expression. "What's it like?"

"Wh-What's what like?" he stuttered.

"What's it like to live with other humans? I've never seen other humans until you so I wouldn't know."

"W-Well, uh, sure."

Suigetsu started to tell Kasumi all about his life in Kiri. He told her about his brother, his family life, his training as a Swordsmen of Kiri. During the whole time, Kasumi was entranced by his stories. She was listening very intently, absorbing everything he was telling her. She laughed at the parts where he told her about Kisame-senpai and his joking around. She frowned at the parts where he killed people in his training. Suigetsu was also enjoying this as well. He liked telling her his stories. For the first time, he felt like he was wanted. Before, people never listened to him since he was so little. Mangetsu, being the oldest of the two, always got the attention of people around him. All people have ever said to him was that he was a cute kid with his dream of being a one of the Seven Swordsmen. Talking to Kasumi, it felt like he wasn't just some stupid kid. He finished by telling her that he was going to train really hard to be like Mangetsu.

"I never knew that humans could try so hard to achieve their dreams," Kasumi mused, scratching her head. "All I ever thought was that they wanted to destroy the forests with their own selfish needs. Neither did I know they had a reason to destory the forest."

"You need to meet more people to know things like this. I keep telling you that not all humans are like that," Suigetsu reprimended her. "Ninjas especially have dark plans for their own needs."

"But you don't have any dark deeds. You're only a child. Mother always said that children are the most pure and innocent as they are naive to the world."

"Naive? I'm not stupid! I could kill a man just as much as my brother can. Who knows? Maybe I could have dark deeds as well." Suigetsu smiled cheekily, wriggling his eyebrows to make him seem more mysterious. That only made Kasum laugh.

"You? Yeah right. You're as evil as a one-tailed kitsune."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

He pouted at her response. "Jeez. You're so mean."

"I'm only mean because you're an idiot."

"Oh yeah? Says the girl who doesn't even wear underwear."

Kasumi laughed. She found out what underwear was when he told her. Suigetsu felt mezmerized by her laugh. It sounded like bells to him. He ended up laughing along with her. To him, it felt weird that he was laughing along with a girl he just met. Yet, it seemed like they were friends for a very long time. Their laughter died down as a bird call shrilled through the air like a bell. Kasumi tilted her head as if listening to someone speak. When the bird call stopped, she frowned.

"Oh. Mother's calling me." Kasumi stood to her feet and Suigetsu followed. She smoothed down the skirt of her dress, picking up her wolf fur shawl. "Sorry, Suigetsu. I have to go."

"Huh? Wait, will I ever see you again?" Suigetsu asked. As much as he didn't want to admit, this girl was someone he liked now. She was the only person to ever understand her. He was disappointed when she shook her head.

"I'm sorry. Probably not. Humans rarely find out about this place. You were just lucky to find it. This is the last time you will ever see me again." Kasumi gave a sad look at him, before starting to walk away.

Suigetsu didn't want her to leave yet. She couldn't. If she walked away right now, it felt like he would never see her again. Tomorrow, when he wakes up, it'll feel like this whole thing was nothing but a dream. He ran up to her and caught her wrist, preventing her from leaving. His hand encircled her whole wrist, making it look smaller than it was. Kasumi turned to him in surprise at his touch. It was like she had never been touched by her skin at all.

"Wait! I'm sure we'll see each other again. I swear!"

She stared at him, no emotions behind her eyes.

"Suigetsu, I told you that you were just lucky to find this lake. Mother knows that I've met you and she'll forbid me from ever seeing you again. I won't see you again."

Suigetsu tightened his grip on her wrist at the thought of her mother telling her what to do. She told her that he could surpass his brother's wishes and yet she couldn't? She flinched at the grip.

"Then I'll swear I'll find you! I'll take you away from your mother so that we could see each other again! You're...You're different, Kasumi. You're the only person that I know who's seen me like this. Acting like I'm really a kid and not a killer." His tone became quieter at each word he said. It was true. In the matter of only an hour, Kasumi was able to make him feel like his age. At first, he hated the thought of being treated like at kid. Being around Kasumi made him rethink that. It was weird in a good way. He smiled at her, his pointy teeth showing. "I'll become stronger when I'm older so I can come find you. Then we can be friends and you can see human life yourself. Promise?"

Kasumi chewed on her lip, glancing away from him.

"I don't know..."

"Well, no matter what you say, I'm going to find you again. I swear on that much."

She gave a quick glance at him to see his determined look. He seemed really sure about it. Then she sighed in exasperation.

"Fine. Do as you like. But I must go now so release me! It's bad enough I'll smell like a human now."

Suigetsu grinned happily, releasing her. Then he reached into his pocket to pull out a small green and white ribbon. Some girl in the village gave it to him blushing and asked him to keep it. Of course, he just took the thing without any care or need for it. He was planning on throwing it away but he decided to give it to Kasumi. He placed it in her hand.

"There. You can have it if you want. That'll show I mean business when I say I'll find you."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow, holding the ribbon close to her eyes to examine it.

"What is it? It looks pretty," she commented.

"It's a ribbon. You tie it into her hair or you can tie it around your wrist. Here. I'll show it." He grabbed the ribbon and tied it into her hair. He tied it at the top so that the bow was on top of her head. Pulling away, Suigetsu thought the ribbon looked kind of pretty in her hair, yet so out of place. It suited her in a way. He grinned. "There. Now you look more like a girl than an animal."

Kasumi went over to the water's edge to look at her reflection. She gave a curious look at the thing on top of her head, reaching a hand up to touch it. It looked strange on her, yet it seemed to bring out her eyes. She smiled, looking back up to Suigetsu.

"Thank you. It's very nice. But I'm afraid I don't have anything to give you either."

"Nah, it's okay! I'll live."

"Maybe I don't have anything to give you except for this." Kasumi walked over to Suigetsu with a mischiveous grin on her face. Suigetsu felt uncertain about the grin and when she put her face really close to his. A blush crawled onto his face. Suddenly, she kissed Suigetsu on the cheek. He blushed red as she backed away from him, still grinning. "My brothers tell me that humans do that as a sort of friendship. I'll probably learn more about that later on."

He gaped at her. Her brothers told her that? What were they thinking!? That was not friendship at all! "You got it all wrong-"

"I have to go now. Goodbye, Suigetsu!" Giggling, Kasumi ran into the dark depths of the forest, leaving Suigetsu alone.

Suigetsu stood there, blushing red. His hand was on the place where she kissed him. He kept blinking, flustered. She was gone now. Seeing no need to stay there any longer, he decided to leave and began to walk back towards the general direction where the village was. As he walked, his mind was on Kasumi. She was so strange, yet so mysterious. She never spoke to a person before, didn't know what a ribbon nor underwear were, and she kissed him on the cheek as a friendship. On the cheek! A kiss!

Kasumi is no normal girl, that's for sure. He only wondered if she really was a dream or if she was really there. He grinned. Well, whatever. I'll look for her even if she was just some illusion.

Suigetsu walked back to the village with a smile on his face that later on Mangetsu would surely ask why he was smiling like an idiot. Mangetsu would also ask what happened to him to which Suigetsu would reply, "Oh, I saw some mist watching water is all."

If only he knew...

---

Okay, I have no right to be making up this thing right now. I'm supposed to be working on my other stories and not this. Well, I got really bored today! I was watching Princess Mononoke when I came up with this. The whole spirts vs. human thing got me really intrested since they were talking about how humans ruined everything. Same thing when I watched Planet of the Apes the old version. Both things talk about how humans mess up everything so the idea of Kasumi, which means mist by the way, was created. Not only that, I wanted to make up something that did not involve Sasuke at all. Earlier, I was reading some Suigetsu fanfics since I practically love his character. I was kind of getting tired of writing about Sasuke and the Uchihas all the time so I wanted to make a fanfic about someone else for a change. The closest character I felt comforting to write about was Suigetsu, though I was still unsure about his character in here. He's nine in here so it doesn't matter.

Anywho, I was thinking about this. This is fine as a one-shot and all, but it seems like I should make a story out of this when they're older and all. Like Suigetsu is with Team Taka and he ends up meeting Kasumi after seven years. Though not sure if I should with all the other stories I have to complete. It's all up to you guys whether you think I should continue this story as a multi-chapter one or leave it as it is.

Well, gotta go! I want to watch this anime movie I found out about. Brave story it's called. I know this thing cuz I read the book of it. I recommend it because, well, if you like adventure and fantasy books like I do you'll like it! However, you might want to spend some time on it since it's like 824 pages long. I had to spend three whole days reading that thing! Good book but you gotta be a long book reader. Go read it!

Please review and tell me your opinion on whether this should remain as it is or continued!