Cursed Humanity, For the sake of warmth….
This is Kisame and Kurenai one-shot that takes place after the time skip (after Asuma's death). It's not really romance and has a bit Kakashi fancying Kurenai suggestions...Also the endings a bit sappy…This was a request from Thief of Sand. So here you go! I hope you like it; I'm not very good with one-shots... Please review and tell me what you thought of it!
Dark storm clouds covered the sky and the freezing rainstorm was comming down hard. Hoshigaki Kisame pressed down harder causing the blood-red eyed kunoichi to grimace in pain. The two Jounin's bodies were barely visible in the heavy fog. From a distance, it looked like they were...
'Damn it…I thought I could handle this on my own…I'm such an idiot,' Yuuhi Kurenai thought, clenching her teeth together as her back was shoved harder against the outside wall of the small, abandoned temple. Rain was pouring down hard making any body heat still, she fought back; her arms were crossed against her chest as the two kunai her hands tried to push away the large sword being pushed against her. Kisame was holding the Samehade with two hands, holding it close to his body and pressing its side forward against the genjutsu mistress, trying to slice her to bits. However, as the two knew, if he really had wanted her dead, the bandages would have been off the large sword, and she would have died a long time ago.
The young kunoichi jounin had left on a simple C-rank information retrieval mission in the area Sarutobi Asuma had been killed. The Godaime of course had not planned to give her, of all people the mission, but Kurenai had surprisingly requested it. The blood-red eyed kunoichi had no idea she would be running into the two Akatsuki members she and Asuma had fought almost three years ago… Asuma…
The Uchiha genius had once again countered her Jabaku Satsu genjutsu, but Kurenai had put up a much better fight then the last time. However, victory was impossible against Uchiha Itachi, and the sharingan master had once again defeated her without a scratch. The Uchiha departed leaving Kisame to finish her off saying he did not wish to kill 'Kurenai-san' himself and Kisame seemed up to finsihing her off.
Kurenai's breath was visible in the cold air as she panted; sweat mixing with the cold rain. The Samehade was sucking out her chakra and she barely had any energy left. Kisame felt her weaken under him and he grinned bringing his face down closer to her hers. Kurenai glared back at him and found strength to try to push him away harder. Her body and mind protested as she managed to separate their bodies a few more inches and the cold wind and rain replaced the previous warmth. The weather was indeed freezing, sleet began to fall, and Kurenai's body was beginning to go numb. Hypothermia would soon be a serious problem. That is, if she was even alive long enough to come down with it.
Kisame, who wasn't tired at all, still felt the freezing weather as plainly as she did. He pressed back down harder now, unawarely desiring her faint body heat as well. The bandages fully coming off the tip of his blade and barely brushing the top of her shoulder. Kurenai winced in pain and whimpered softly as her dark blood slid down her shoulder and the top right part of her dress fell lower. Surprisingly, the warm blood felt slightly comforting in comparison to the cold rain and the dark circumstances. The kunoichi, now drenched and freezing to the bone, felt all strength abandon her as her body surrendered to the shark-nin's strength. Her left hand went numb and released the kunai. The sound of metal clinking could be heard against the concrete floor. Her other hand, still holding the kunai, fell to her side like her other one as she gave in. The pouring rain continued to drench them both.
The Akatsuki member's grin faltered and the sadistic gleam in his eyes did too. Was she really going to give up so easy? He wasn't done playing with her yet.
"Kuku...," he laughed softly. "What's wrong, Kurenai-san? Giving up so soon?"
His blade cut deeper into her skin and he came in closer. He kept one hand holding the Samehade and moved his free hand towards her face. Kurenai tensed and looked away. Her cheek was unusually warm compared to the freezing weather, the shark-nin thought as his pale hand made contact softly. Kisame pulled away slightly and placed the Samehade to the side.
Kurenai shut her eyes tight and waited for her death as Kisame pulled a kunai out of his cloak. Placing his left palm on the wall beside her head, he brought the kunai to her neck with his free hand. He came in close, grinning sadistically. She felt his warm, inviting breath and could feel his heartbeat as her own quickened slightly. He was so close the white strands of his kasa (bamboo hat) fell upon her tangled, drenched hair. Kurenai was breathing heavily and despite the freezing weather, was sweating slightly. Her blood and sweat mixed with the rain as her the cold metal pressed down slightly on her neck.
Kisame's eyes widened in surprise as her right hand, that still held the kunai from earlier, suddenly came up. Kurenai opened her eyes in a glare. She scowled at him as she raised it to his heart.
"Kuku...," Kisame laughed again. His voice was still soft. Gentle almost compared to his brutish appearance. He pressed his kunai against her neck harder. She copied, causing a slight pain to enter Kisame's chest. He could feel his own blood sliding down his chest. "You're not that naive, no? If you try and kill me, you'll die too..."
"You're going to kill me anyways..." Kurenai hissed back, her eyes glowing with hatred. Kisame's grin faded slightly.
"...Say's who, Kurenai-san...?"
Kurenai could barely feel her body anymore. She knew she was bleeding, but she couldn't feel the pain anymore. She knew she was sweating and panting slightly, but she couldn't feel anymore. The kunoichi knew she simply couldn't take much more of this. She would either die now or die later on from the cold. The sooner the better, she tried to think reasonably. But her mind was slowly going numb as well.
Kisame, who in general was used to cold weather, growing up in the Water Country, could never recall the weather being this cold. This harsh. It was as harsh and filled with as much killing-intend as...himself...? No, he was more kill-driven. Wasn't he? If so, why wasn't this Konoha weakling dead yet? Why was she so close yet still alive?
Kurenai needed to end this. But her other hand had gone numb as well and she couldn't press the kunai any harder. In her mind she silently cursed herself, her hand, the kunai, Kisame, the rain...But surprisingly she cursed herself and the rain over the shark-nin. She cursed herself for not being strong enough. She cursed the cold rain; the freezing rain. It was really starting to hurt. Not the kunai pressed hard against her throat, but the icy rain falling down like icicles. It made her pale skin sting and tinged it in a faint blue. The only warmth in the freezing storm was coming from the missing-nin of Kirigakure. Finding movement in her right arm she pressed in harder and brought herself closer, cursing her instinctive human need for warmth above all else.
Ah, so that was it. That's why she was still alive. Kisame was, and always has been, a killer. He had always loved to fight, to kill. The only thing he lived for was the only thing he cared for. His pleasure to kill. He was a demon, almost exactly like the shark-demon inside of him. But there was one major difference. He was, and hated to admit- no, never would admit it. He was human. His demonic mind would never fully match his human body. His humanity had its limits. Natural human limits, needs, and instincts. Kisame allowed Yuuhi Kurenai live up to now simply for the thrill of the fight and would-be kill. The thrill his demonic mind and heart thrived off of. But she was still alive because of his human self. His own body's want-no, need, for warmth. He had more endurance than she, but he knew he would soon die in such harsh cold. Later than her, sooner than Itachi, but yes, eventually he would die too if nothing was done. So he allowed the blood-red eyed kunoichi to live for the sake of his human side. For his human side's body's need for warmth. And the tiny part of his human mind that still existed, so tiny it was barely even there, wanted-no, needed Kurenai alive.
"G-Go to Hell...Hoshigaki Kisame..." Kurenai breathed panting quietly, still scowling at him. Their faces were just inches apart. Her breath was warm against his mouth. Kisame's famous grin returned slightly.
"I've been there, thank you," he replied softly. He had a teasing tone in his voice. Because since he was a young child, his human side hated things to be too serious. "It's a lot warmer than here...I'd rather be there...Care to join me?"
Kurenai's glare softened slightly. This was it; she was going to die. She wanted to close her eyes to block out Kisame's face. But something inside her heart and mind wouldn't let her. It told her that seeing Kisame's face before she died...might not be such a bad way to die...It was a Hell of a lot better than closing your eyes and have darkness be your last sight.
The two jounin stood there. In the pouring rain, Kurenai against the wall and close to Kisame's body as possible. Kisame lowered his kunai from her neck and leaned in slightly.
"I thought you said you were going to kill me, no?" he smirked against her mouth. Because his human side liked to tease. He gently brushed her bottom lip with his razor sharp teeth, causing her to moan quietly. Because his demon wouldn't let him get away with something unless someone else got hurt. Kurenai's lip began to bleed a little but she was already to numb to do anything.
His lips suddenly made direct contact with her own and it sent a shiver through her body. But not a cold shiver, a warm sensation… Kurenai didn't refuse him, not that she had much of a choice due to her body's exhaustion. But his body heat was becoming more and more desirable by the second as the wind blew harder and colder. "Care to join me in Hell, Kurenai-san?"
But she had passed out. Kisame felt her body go limp and fall against his, dropping the kunai onto the cold floor. He caught her in his arms face expressionless for once as he looked down at the defenseless kunoichi.
'Kill her...' his demon told him.
'...No...' his human side replied…He cursed his humanity.
The next morning, the genjutsu mistress of Konoha opened her blood-red eyes softly.
Was this heaven? No, wait...
A Konoha medic was pouring a red liquid into a small cup. Kurenai faintly hoped it was wine, but her common sense and logic knew it was medicine.
Where was she? She looked around the room, her head was spinning, and her body ached. It was a small, dimly lit room with a lantern in the middle flickering occasionally. It had a wooden floor and was completely empty except for the small futon in one corner where the kunochi lay stirring and a small wooden desk and chair across from it. The Konoha medic, realizing she had awakened, stood up from the chair and offered her the medicine with a concerned look.
"How are you feeling?" he asked as she tried to sit up straight. Her head was throbbing and her body was freezing. Both made protests as she tried to summon enough energy to sit up.
"Cold..." she mumbled taking the medicine from him ad holding it up to her mouth. Ugh, she never liked medicine. Ever since she was a little girl she had detested the stuff. But she had always been an obedient child who always obeyed her parents. It stung her throat and tasted nasty. She preferred wine, or maybe a glass of sake..."My body's pretty sore too but I'll be fine, thanks,"
Handing the cup back to the medic, with a small smile to show her thanks, she lay back down exhaustedly. Why was it so hard to move? She looked down at her clothes as he recovered her with a white sheet and stood up to walk to the door of the small room.
Her heart skipped a beat.
'...No way..." she thought in complete shock. Her blood-red eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly opened in a mix of awe and disbelief.
Over her thin dress, was a cloak. A black cloak with red cloud designs. It was the cloak of the Akatsuki.
The Konogakure medic slid the screen door open slightly to let in a cold breeze. It was still fairly dark outside but the weather had clearly improved. The sky was still dark because the sun had not risen yet, but the sky was still covered with pale gray clouds and the wind was still blowing cold yet not as hard. The dark trees of the forest outside swayed in the cool wind causing a dark, green few leaves to fall and land silently in the puddles on the ground. He turned around to find the kunoichi sitting up in the bed and looking at her clothes in complete shock.
"Er, are you okay? Is there something wrong?"
"What…What happened last night…?" Kurenai asked softly; mostly to herself.
"Well, you were supposed to return yesterday afternoon, Kurenai-san," the medic explained in reply. He sat down on the floor next to the door, tired from being up all night. "When you didn't return Kakashi volunteered to go search for you. Godaime-sama sent him, two Anbu, and me. Kakashi found you inside here, just inside the outer forest of Konoha. The Anbu who had been assigned to guard you during the night because you were too sick to take back to Konoha, but Kakashi wanted to do it. He was up all night helping me take care of you. You almost died, Kurenai-san. You were suffering from hypothermia, and a high fever. You also had an injured shoulder…
Kurenai, who was barely listening, looked down at her hands on her lap. Her mind was full of questions. She was thinking hard, trying to recall her memories of what happened last night.
"…It was already bandaged but I just re-bandaged it just in case. No offense Kurenai-san but you're bandaging was a bit off. I always thought you knew how to treat your wounds better-
"Wait! What was that?" Kurenai asked suddenly turning her head up to him. She felt dizzy. Her head was rushing, painfully. She spoke slightly softly, her throat was slightly sore. Her blood-red eyes looked determined for answers. "Can you repeat that?"
The medic looked slightly startled. He blinked then replied. "Er, well I always thought you could tend to your wounds better-
"Before that," she interrupted briskly. She was growing impatient.
"Oh, well… Oh, your shoulder was already bandaged-
Kurenai looked to her right shoulder quickly. She pulled down the cloak and her dress down a bit with her left hand to reveal fresh bandages over her wound. She looked back up at him blankly, but her eyes were slightly in frustration.
"Already bandaged?" she repeated frowning.
"Yes, when we found you inside here your shoulder had been already bandaged. I had supposed you'd done it yourself…"
Done it herself? She didn't even remember how she got the wound. How she even ended up in this small temple building. Kurenai tried to recall what had happened….She had been on a mission and was heading back…There was a storm…Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame-
Kurenai's face paled. She looked stunned again and right hand unconsciously made its way to her slightly open mouth.
"I believe I still have the bandages," The medic stood up and went to the back left corner of the room and looked through his medic bags. He stood up and walked over to her with a tattered, bloodstained strips in his hands. He laid them on Kurenai's lap for her to examine.
Kurenai's hands caressed the white, tattered trips. She examined them with a careful eye. She could tell they were pre-used. Probably to cover up something sharp- the Samehada... Kurenai dropped the strips of cloth like a filthy animal.
No. She told herself. There was no way he would do such a thing. Suddenly, flashes of the night before flashed through her eyes.
Worried about her sudden silence, the medic picked up the bandages of her lap and put them away. Maybe she's just still tired, he thought. He sat down on the wooden chair across the small room tiredly.
Meanwhile, Kurenai was quickly putting the pieces of her memory puzzle together. Kisame had fought her after Itachi left. He had her pinned but he didn't kill her. She had a chance to kill him but didn't either- wait, no. this couldn't be right...Oh, it had been freezing last night. Kurenai shivered just remembering the terrible storm. She thought she was going to die from the cold…but she didn't…Ugh, nothing made sense! Kurenai furiously clenched her fists together almost making her palms bleed. Unclenching her fists from the pain she looked at her hands, the cloak covering them in general…The cloak…why was she wearing it?…
"When did you put me in this cloak?" she asked looking at the medic. The medic, startled by her sudden movement and question blinked before replying again.
"You were already wearing it," he replied slowly, recalling Kakashi's stunned face. "It's a good thing too. It was freezing last night. I thought you were wearing it as some sort of disguise... I'm sorry I can't recall everything so clearly... Is it important?"
"No... not really," Kurenai lied looking back down at her lap. Nothing made sense…
"Well it was a good thing you were wearing it," the medic continued. "You would have frozen to death without it. You were still already dying by the time we got here."
'…froze to death without it..'….Had Kisame…?..No, he wouldn't…but he hadn't killed her….maybe…
"Was anyone around when you found me?" Kurenai asked, not looking at the person she was asking. "Anyone around the building?"
"Kakashi and the Anbu sensed a strong chakra very close by in the forest…" the medic replied casually. "But the weather was too bad to go investigate and we had you to tend to. The Anbu left a bit past two to report to Hokage-sama, but Kakashi just left an hour ago. He said he wanted to make sure he wasn't going to loose another person he cared about…"
Kurenai wasn't listening to this. She had stopped when he mentioned the strong chakra. It had to be Hoshigaki. Then again, it couldn't be. He had spared her? And then even saved her?…
Suddenly, the door slid open and two Anbu stepped in. The medic stood up and the Anbu agents walked to Kurenai's bed leaving the door open. The sun was just beginning to rise on the horizon; a faint white-yellow light could be seen in the navy and gray darkness.
"Kurenai-san," they nodded to her in acknowledgment. "We're glad to see you're okay,"
Kurenai nodded back forcing a slight smile.
The Anbu began talking to the medic. A cold breeze of wind made Kurenai shiver and turn her head up to the door in front of her. Her moth fell open and her blood-red eyes widened. Just visible in the dark forest that could be seen just outside the door, was a pair of eyes. Someone was watching her. A sharp-tooth grin was also visible. There was no mistaking it, even in the darkness.
"Kurenai-san," said an Anbu looking at her. "It's been confirmed you were injured last night. Can you recall who it was? Were they from a Hidden Village?"
Kurenai looked at him expressionless then turned her head back to look at the open door. The man watching her had vanished. They both knew if she alerted the Anbu now, they would catch him .In his condition, freezing and tired, he most likely would still be able to beat them. However, at that moment Kurenai decided not to trouble him. She lay back down on her bed and looked at the Anbu agent expressionlessly.
"I don't remember," she replied simply and the Anbu nodded and left. Kurenai cursed herself for lying and for a second considered going after them to tell them the truth. A sudden cold rush of wind blew through the door before the medic could close it. Kurenai shivered slightly and snuggled up in the cloak inhaling the scent. Yes, she could go and tell the Anbu agents an Akatsuki member was nearby. One could go get reinforcements while the other slowed him down. Maybe they could even capture him, or at least injure the weakened shark-nin….
Kurenai closed her eyes tiredly. No…simply for the sake of warmth…she'd have to let him go.
a/n: In the manga Kisame does laugh like that, plus he's politer than most Akatsuki members, and occasionally says 'no?" at the end of sentences. (ex: "This person. He sure is annoying no?" was used when talking about Asuma in the manga...