To be a Mist Swordsman
Disclaimer- Naruto and all related characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is just a non-profit fanfic.
Also, my vision of Kirigakure is somewhat inspired by HP Lovecraft's fictional town of Innsmouth.
It was a misty evening, which in Kirigakure, the Village Hidden in the Mist, was an unremarkable state of affairs. The billows and tendrils of fog were a fixed feature, like the dirty orange lamps at the corner of every street.
A young man was striding through the village slums. His eyes were narrowed resentfully, and his mouth twitched with a sense of persecution. A huge sword hung from his back, swinging with each long footstep. A young boy ran after him, hurrying to keep up.
"Go away, Suigetsu," the man with the sword snapped.
"Hey Zabuza-sempai," the child said. "What's it like to be one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? Are you excited?"
The boy had wide blue-violet eyes and white hair which fell in his face. His angelic appearance was marred by the large pointed fangs which poked from between his lips every time he spoke. At that moment he was grinning at Zabuza, flashing two disconcerting rows of razors.
Zabuza looked away and grunted noncommittally. "I was good enough to be one of the Mist Seven years ago. They've been putting off letting me in their precious little club because they're afraid. But now, things are going to be different." He lifted his huge sword high above his head, gouging a deep scar into the wall of a nearby house. "Now they're finally ready to accept Zabuza Momochi as a member."
Suigetsu giggled and pulled a kunai out of his pocket, watching the metal glint. "Hey Zabuza-sempai, when do you think I'll be a Mist Swordsman? I've been training all week. Hey, don't laugh at me, sempai! I'm serious!"
"Yeah," Zabuza snorted, putting the sword back on his shoulders. "I know you are, brat."
They turned a corner and Zabuza paused under the flickering paper lamp, glancing in both directions. After the brief hesitation, he turned to the right, swaggering along with Suigetsu at his heels.
Around them the houses were getting more rundown. Broken windows and doors hanging off their hinges were on every side. The pavement was shattered in places. Once the pair passed a doorway where a woman leaned blowing smoke rings into the night. She wore heavy black makeup around her eyes and tattered fishnets. Suigetsu peered at her curiously, but Zabuza strode right by.
"Seriously, sempai," Suigetsu continued, huffing as he caught up. "When do you think I'll join?"
Zabuza looked down at him, his eyes fierce and bloodshot. "I became a member at nineteen, and believe me you're not as good as I was at your age. You won't get in for a long time. Maybe never. Besides, you've got a kekkei genkai, which works against you. A kekkei genkai," he repeated, noticing Suigetsu's puzzled expression. "It means you're a freak."
Zabuza stopped. Deep in the bowels of the slums, they had reached a small, yellow-lit bar where shadowy figures clustered around low tables. The smell of spilled beer spiralled through the air, and someone was swearing inside.
"Get lost, Suigetsu," Zabuza said absently as he paused in the doorway. "This is a bar."
"Why do you want to go here?" Suigetsu wrinkled his nose at the smell.
Zabuza proudly put his hands on his hips. "Ah, you see you unpleasant child, this is the place where the Seven Swordsmen come to drink."
Suigetsu peered around the door. The bar was cramped and lit with low, dull lights. Rickety wooden tables crowded around like animals in a cramped barn, each bearing a bowl of mouldy-looking dango. Behind the bar sat an enormous fat man with gills under each eye. It looked like a dump.
"I told you to scram, Suigetsu," Zabuza snarled. "This place is for the best." He glared down, narrowing his browless eyes. But the child's interest had been piqued, and he didn't want to leave.
"I'm your apprentice, right? So I'm important enough to hang out here!" He smiled at Zabuza hopefully, his fangs making him look like a pleading puppy.
"You're not my apprentice, and you're not coming in here. So beat it!"
Suigetsu shrugged and stepped back a few paces, watching from the misty darkness as Zabuza walked proudly in, holding his head high. After a few moments, Suigetsu slipped in after him. The place was even more crowded inside. No one else had taken their shoes off, so Suigetsu didn't bother. His soles squelched on the sticky floor disgustingly.
He yanked a stick of dango off an empty table, but it tasted as mouldy as it looked. He tossed it on the grubby floor after one bite and looked around at the place Zabuza valued so much. His head was only slightly above the tables. The sound of drunken male voices echoed in his ears. Someone was smoking, and the toxic stench made Suigetsu gag. He looked around to see where the poisonous wisps were coming from.
At a table in the furthest shadows in the back three people were slouched. Two of them were men, but the one who was smoking was a woman with long maroon hair. She had a bored face and was puffing on a cigar, covering the whole table in filthy smog. One of the guys was waving a glass of beer around and talking loudly, and the other had his back to Suigetsu.
He squinted at them. Maybe Zabuza had been right about this place. They all had swords. Even the woman had a sword slung over her shoulder. Could they be…? Suigetsu edged closer, trying to overhear them.
"It used to be so quiet here," the man with his back to Suigetsu was saying. "But now we've started coming here every Friday, losers like Zabuza Momochi and, god forbid, Raiga Kurosawa seem to think this place is… fashionable or something."
Suigetsu could only see his long black cloak and the bandaged sword propped next to him. The sword was far taller than Suigetsu himself. He edged closer, snatching a cup of sake from a drinker who had looked away. He sipped it, but it was unbearably foul.
"It's pathetic," the woman said in a sour monotone. "We started coming here to get away from them. We'll have to find a new bar with no obnoxious try-hards."
Suigetsu was close enough to the dim light to see her clearly. The sword that swung from her shoulders was quite short, only about three and half feet. But the sliver of metal that protruded from the sheath was an unnerving silver green. Suigetsu felt cold, remembering a story he'd heard about a green sword so poisonous it only had to cut you once, draw the tiniest drop of blood, to stop your heart. His hands closed tighter around the cup of stolen sake. For the first time, he was afraid. These were the real Swordsmen of the Mist.
He remained in awe, unable to move. Then his gaze wandered up into the maroon-haired woman's face and he realised she was looking back at him, as was the thin man at her side. Suigetsu swallowed, noticing how tall both of them were. Then the man with the bandaged sword twisted in his seat to see what they were staring at. Suigetsu stared, blinking as he realised that it wasn't the bad lighting, the man really did have blue skin. But it wasn't that which made Suigetsu gawk. It wasn't the fishy eyes or the gills either. It was his teeth. The man had the biggest, whitest fangs Suigetsu had ever seen. He looked like he could bite through bone.
The strange man smiled at him, showing a full mouthful of monstrous white knives, and raised one hand in a small sarcastic wave. His trance broken, Suigetsu turned and ran away, spilling sake all over his bare toes. As he shoved through the crowd, he could hear the woman asking, "Who the hell was that?"
He got to the other side of the bar and grovelled under a table, gasping in fear. When he recovered, he realised his shoes were soaked in sticky sake, and he had just humiliated himself. He scowled and stood up, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He was Suigetsu Hozuki, apprentice to the Demon of Kirigakure. He was only seven, and he'd already killed nearly twenty people. He shouldn't be freaked out by those guys.
The sound of shouting woke him from his sulky thoughts. Suigetsu glanced around to see his sempai Zabuza heckling the barman. He idly wandered over.
"You don't have any Swamp Weed Liquor? Well what do you have, you albino freak?"
The barman narrowed his round black eyes and whispered, "If you insult me like that again, sir, I'll have you thrown out." Zabuza leaned over the bar and opened his mouth, his mind clearly ticking over a suitably crude response.
"Hey Zabuza-sempai," Suigetsu said cheerfully. His eyes devoured the scene. He wondered if Zabuza was going to kill the barman.
But as soon as he heard Suigetsu's voice, Zabuza turned around in his stool, nearly falling right off. His bloodshot eyes widened and he blinked a few times, as if his he was having trouble seeing clearly.
"What are you doing here?" he finally growled. "It's after eleven at night. You should be in bed, you little troll. Won't your brother wonder where you are?"
Suigetsu shrugged. "He doesn't mind. He doesn't even care if I don't come back for days."
Zabuza slumped forward. Glancing at the empty glasses in front of him, Suigetsu wondered if his sempai was paying attention.
"Are you going to buy something, or are you going to sit there drooling all over my bar?" the barman demanded. Zabuza looked up and said,
"Oh all right, give me some more of your foul, disgusting beer."
Zabuza put his wallet back into his pocket, muttering something about rip-offs, and nursed his drink. Suigetsu leapt up onto the seat next to him.
"Hey sempai, do you know a guy who looks like a shark, like with gills and fangs and stuff?"
"Like a shark?" Zabuza repeated. "Does he have a sword covered in bandages?"
Suigetsu nodded, and Zabuza took a deep drink.
"That would be Kisame Hoshigaki. One of the Mist Seven. He's a stuck-up bastard. Comes from a whole clan of stuck-up bastards." His mouth twitched slightly, as if his beer was bitter.
"Is he stronger than you?" Suigetsu asked curiously.
"Nah," Zabuza sneered. "He's not really very powerful. Of course, he's from one of the big bloodline clans. They think they're great. They think they own Kirigakure. But those freaks have had a monopoly on this village for too long. They're all hideous freaks really." He gulped the rest of his drink.
Suigetsu nodded. All the talk about bloodlines had gone over his head, but he understood one thing. Zabuza wasn't afraid of that Kisame. So he didn't need to be either. He shouldn't have run away from those three before. After all, he was going to be their equal soon.
Peeking at Zabuza, who was now slumped on the bar, Suigetsu got up and marched right back to the table where three of the Seven Swordsmen were sitting. Quickly checking that his kunai and shuriken were in his pocket, he strode through the jungle of tables and legs, refusing to let himself feel a speck of fear.
When he reached the table, there were five people seated around it, all with blades. The shark guy, Kisame Hoshigaki, was playing dice with the woman and some other man who'd just joined them, a guy with a bandana. Their friend was staring into space as a crazed-looking man with long hair raved about open-air funerals in Hidden Cloud.
More than half the Mist Seven, seated around one table. Suigetsu had to try very hard not to be afraid.
He cleared his throat. "Hey," he said as boldly as he dared, leaning on the table. Kisame turned and smiled at him.
"Yes?"
Now Suigetsu was sure this guy wasn't very powerful. If someone had interrupted Zabuza in the middle of a dice game, that person would have been punched in the face, maybe even got a sword in their guts. Zabuza definitely wouldn't have turned around, smiled and said 'Yes?'
"You're Kisame Hoshigaki, right? Are you one of the Swordsmen of the Mist?"
"Obviously," Kisame smiled, clicking the dice in one hand. The woman's face twitched in amusement. Suigetsu glanced at her and continued.
"So are you very strong?"
Kisame stared at him under raised eyebrows. It was unsettling being stared at by those white expressionless eyes. But Zabuza had said this guy was weak, so Suigetsu didn't need to be afraid.
"Well, they don't let just anyone become one of the Mist Seven," Kisame laughed. He tossed the dice across the table, not looking to see what he rolled. Suigetsu felt a rush of confidence. This was easy. Kisame was paying more attention to him than Zabuza usually did.
"Well my sempai says you're not very strong," Suigetsu said proudly. "He says you're a weakling."
The maroon-haired woman sneered and the man with the bandana started to say something furious, but Kisame held up his hand and they were silent.
"Who is your sempai, boy?"
Suigetsu pointed over to Zabuza, who had resumed his argument with the barman. He wondered if this guy was going to fight his sempai. He liked it when adults fought, especially when someone got hurt.
Kisame nodded thoughtfully. "I should've known. Who are you, kid? You look familiar."
Suigetsu felt a little afraid. There was something unnatural about how friendly Kisame's voice was, without a trace of anger.
"I'm Suigetsu Hozuki."
"Of course," Kisame smiled. "The younger Hozuki brother. Descended from the infamous Paranya clan, I believe?"
Suigetsu nodded, though he had never heard of any Paranya clan.
"I can assume, Suigetsu-kun, that it is your ambition to become a Swordsman of the Mist?"
Delighted to find someone who recognised him as future Swordsman material, Suigetsu grinned. "Of course!" he projected his voice so loud they could all hear him, even the long-haired man who was rambling about funerals and who didn't seem to have noticed Suigetsu was there. "I'm going to be as Swordsman of Kirigakure, and sooner rather than later! And I won't just have one sword! I'll have all seven!"
All five of them stared at him, their eyes wide. Suigetsu smiled, showing them a mouthful of fangs. Then the woman started muttering something that sounded like 'snot-rag' and several of the men looked ready to attack him.
But Kisame just gave Suigetsu a smile even more deadly than his own. "Oh really? All seven swords? And when you get them all, will you become the kage of all five countries at the same time?" Kisame's smile was a row of knives that shredded his pride. He could feel the disgusted gazes of the other swordsmen on his skin.
Suigetsu frowned, squirming within. "Are you making fun of me?"
Kisame stood up, picking up the bandaged sword in one hand. Suigetsu stepped back; he was over six feet tall. Was he really weaker than Zabuza? What if his sempai had-?
Kisame left the dice on the table. "Of course not," he said. "Why would I ever make fun of you, Suigetsu-kun? Now if you'll excuse me, I want a 'word' with your sempai."
He strode across the room to Zabuza, who had now grabbed the barman around the neck and started shaking him. Suigetsu watched, slavering for a fight. The maroon-haired woman was eyeing him balefully, so he edged away from the table and tiptoed across the bar, his eyes on Zabuza.
Kisame was standing beside Zabuza, leaning down and saying something in a level, polite voice. Suigetsu couldn't see his face, but he was sure Kisame was wearing that dangerous smile. Whatever he said, it enraged Zabuza, who staggered to his feet. Suigetsu could see his sempai's reddened eyes from across the bar. He leaned over a table, waiting for Zabuza to rip into this guy.
"Yes, I hate bloodline clans, and what of it?" Zabuza growled. "And you aren't as strong as me- none of you are. Even as a child I was head and shoulders above the rest. Don't try to take me on, you abomination, because you can't win!"
"Pathetic," Kisame said with a shake of his head. "You're drunk and embarrassing yourself. You were once a big fish in a small pond, but now you're out in the open sea and you need to learn your place in the pecking order."
Without warning, there was a blur of dull grey metal. Suigetsu gasped and the world seemed to slow down as Zabuza's sword swung in a direct path towards Kisame's skull. Then, after an eternal second, it was over, and Suigetsu stared in disbelief.
Kisame had caught Zabuza's wrist- just caught it in one hand and twisted his arm so the elbow stuck out painfully and the zanbato was uselessly hanging. Zabuza's face was tight with astonishment and terror and he vainly tugged at his arm. Suigetsu's mouth hung open. He knew too well how strong Zabuza was. How could anyone overpower him that easily?
"Now, please stop embarrassing the Mist Seven with your stupidity," Kisame hissed. "And furthermore, if you want to insult me in future, don't send a seven-year-old to do it for you."
He raised his right fist and smashed it into Zabuza's jaw, and Zabuza fell to the floor clutching his face, the sword clattering to the ground. Suigetsu stared at his sempai, but Zabuza didn't get up. Kisame had defeated him without even drawing his sword. Kisame, the man Suigetsu had insulted so carelessly a few moments ago.
Zabuza lay groaning and cradling his jaw. Kisame looked down at him in disgust and toed him out the door onto the street. Several people laughed as Zabuza was unceremoniously kicked into the gutter. The barman leaned over, smiled and said,
"Thank you sir. Damn, he was annoying."
Kisame shrugged off the compliment and went back to his table. Suigetsu shrank back as he walked past, but Kisame only smiled at him. He nervously returned the smile, the horrible truth dawning on him. Kisame wasn't weak at all. Zabuza had been bragging, punching way above his weight. Kisame was strong, so strong he didn't have to worry about being mean to a nobody like Suigetsu, so strong he could smile at everyone.
Kisame rejoined the other swordsmen, and as Suigetsu watched they resumed their game of dice. They were insulting Zabuza in loud voices.
"Thanks, Kisame-kun, he needed someone to put him in his place."
"You know what would be really funny? If we put Zabuza Momochi in a coffin while he's unconscious and bury him six feet underground, so when he wakes up, he thinks he's been buried alive?"
"Raiga, what is your obsession with funerals?"
Suigetsu gulped and slipped out. He avoided Zabuza's unmoving body in the gutter. His sempai's debut as a Mist Swordsman hadn't gone so well. He felt bad about it, but he thought it was probably for the best to avoid Zabuza for a few days.
He walked out into the hazy night, heading home. He patted his pockets, making sure the kunai were still there. If he was lucky, someone might try to attack him on the way. He could show them that Suigetsu Hozuki could smile as he destroyed people too.