Name: Chihiro

Age: 25 (Kisame is 29)

Looks: very long fiery red hair, deep red eyes, 121cm or 4ft which is the height of a legal midget (Kisame is 195cm or 6ft 4in), skin has a red tint, her skin runs warm (Kisame's runs cool), usual wears black tank top that shows stomache, black skort, belt with silver dangles, tall lace-up black boots (knee high)

"What's your favorite color, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Black." Kisame replied, highly bored.

"White." You replied with an irritated sigh.

"Time of day." Itachi supplied.

"Day." shot Kisame.

"Night." you spat back.

"Ice cream flavor?" said Zetsu.

"Vanilla!"

"Chocolate!" This was how it had been going for hours. One of the other members would ask a question and Kisame then you would answer it. The only reason that the members of the Akatsuki were wasting their evening asking the two of you questions was that you and Kisame fought about everything. Seriously. And it really bugged everyone, even Itachi, so the others decided that tonight would be the night to find something that the two of you agreed on, but so far nothing had matched. They had asked countless questions and everyone was about to admit defeat, even thought the Akatsuki never did that. Ever. "Can we please stop this? It's completely pointless. That's –what? – the millionth question?"

"I'm leaving," Itachi said emotionlessly.

"Same," agreed Zetsu. Everyone made their way out of the room, but Tobi ran up to you and Kisame.

"Tobi wants to ask one more!" Tobi said cheerily. How he wasn't irritated by the lack of progress was beyond your comprehension.

"Fine, but then I'm going to bed."

"Okay! Tobi will ask Kisame-san and Chihiro-chan one more question only. What are your feelings for one another?"

"I hate her," Kisame said without missing a beat. This made you feel as if a kunai had just struck you in the chest, but you didn't know why.

"I..." you started, but before you could answer, Tobi was running off to catch up with Deidara. "I…" you couldn't find the right word. Your forehead creased as you thought. Why couldn't you find the right feeling?

"Can't say you hate me, can you? Too nice to actually say that you hate anyone, Chihiro? Fine, I'll say it for you then," Kisame used a high, girly voice that sounded nothing like yours and said "I hate you Kisame. You disgust me." Upon saying this he turned and stalked out of the room.

You blinked after him. "But I don't," you said quietly, but no one was there to hear you.

You stood there in the doorway for a while looking at the place where Kisame had disappeared. 'What are my feelings for him?' you thought to yourself. You made your way towards your room slowly, thinking all the way. A list of emotions ran through your head, but none seemed quite right. You decided to take a shower despite the late hour to try to help you think. You stripped down and got into the shower. The water was cool which felt nice against your hot skin. You'd always ran a bit on the warm side, like how Kisame always seemed to have colder skin than everyone else.

You thought of all of the emotions you experienced surrounding Kisame. Whenever he left on a mission, dangerous or not, you always felt a sense of dread; when he returned you always felt a bit lighter, sort of like you were walking on air. When you watched him practice you felt in awe of his swordsmanship. Whenever he looked at you, you felt butterflies in your stomach. And earlier that evening, when he'd said "I hate her" and you'd felt as if you'd been stabbed. It couldn't be, could it? Did you… love him? The thought startled you. You shut off the water and stood stock still, contemplating this new idea. Drip, drip, drip. The water dripped from your hair and down your skin to the floor.

You shook the notion. You couldn't love him. You were fire and he water; you weren't compatible. You got out of the shower, dried off, got into your pajamas, and decided to go to sleep. Hours passed, but you couldn't reach unconsciousness. You kept tossing and turning, contemplating whether or not you loved him. The more you thought about it, the more it seemed so. Finally you couldn't take it anymore and you got out of bed. You had to confront him. But it was the middle of the night; he'd be asleep.

You left your room and made your way to the kitchen. As you got there you noticed the light was on. Silently, you peeked into the room. There was Kisame, having a glass of milk and some cookies. You felt a blush spreading over your cheeks. Why was he up too? 'Maybe I could tell him how I feel now,' you thought to yourself, but then a horrid thought came to you. He hated you, and he thought that you hated him too.

"Chihiro? What are you doing here? Agh, never mind, just move it. You're blocking the doorway." Kisame had just come out of the kitchen and nearly tripped over you. He started walking away, but you grabbed his shirt. "What?" He was sounding kind of irritated by this time. You let go embarrassedly, but wouldn't stop looking up at him. A tear trickled down your cheek. "Quit crying, Chihiro. Quit it!"

"Sorry, Kisame," you said quietly. This startled him. You never apologized to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked kinda weirded out by how you were acting.

"You hate me," you said in a voice no louder than a whisper.

"What did you say?" Kisame asked. He obviously hadn't heard you. "I mean, I thought you said that the problem was that I hate you." Then again, maybe he had heard you. You nodded; this also startled him.

"Kisame, I…" you looked up at his face. "I… I… I really like you." Your face felt so hot as you said this and you ducked your head, looking at your feet, hoping to find the answers there. Kisame didn't answer, so you took this as a sign of rejection. Embarrassed, you turned and ran toward your room. You slipped inside and threw yourself onto your bed and grabbed the pillow, burying your head into it. After a few minutes a knock came from your door.

"Chihiro?" Kisame's tentative voice came from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?" You said nothing, and he pushed the door open. He came down and sat on the edge of your bed. "Did you really mean that?"

You nodded your head. "It doesn't matter though. You hate me."

"No, I don't."

You looked up at him confused. "But you said–"

"I know. I just… well, I never thought that you felt the same way. I've felt this way for a long time, but I always thought that you didn't like me because you were always picking an argument."

"Why did you always argue back then?"

"It was a good excuse to talk to you."

"But why didn't you ask me how I felt about you?"

"It was easier to love you from a distance then to tell you and have you shoot me down."

"Why not ask now?"

"Mmm." Kisame was silent for a moment. "Hey, Chihiro-chan?"

"Yes, Kisame-kun?"

"Would you go out with me?"

You reached up and draped your arms around his neck, and just before you pressed your lips to his you whispered, "I'd love to."