Chapter 2

"Sharks have a bad rep, but the truth is you have a greater chance of a vending machine falling on you than you do a shark attack."

― Katy Lee, Sunken Treasure

The only times she ever saw her new enemy was when he slipped in to see the progress of his sword. She personally never worked on it as her skill couldn't match Sekon's or Tatsuo's, but had snuck in once or twice and pulled it out of it's cloth binding to see it's progress.

It was huge; similar in design to Fuguki's infamous Samehada though was made of high quality steel and a simple design of flowing water engravings had been started. The hilt was thick and purposely heavier than necessary as Kisame was supposed to train with it to become stronger.

Quite frankly she was surprised at the lack of fish kanjis on it.

Every time he crossed paths with the little nuisance that had escaped his retribution, she was in crowded streets on errands or working. Fuguki had heard about their meeting and had found it hilarious, which didn't really help Kisame's vengeful streak, though he was a natural predator. He could bide his time.

Rather quickly his new sword was completed and he found it to be damn near perfect; not as large or powerful as his sensei's sword, but a formidable weapon all the same. It barely whispered as he sliced through the air with it, and the thought of where it came from made his training dummies grow dark curls and a familiar chubby face in his minds eye.

Kuzuri had been scared witless by her meeting with the stupid talking shark, but the worst of it was the realisation at how defenceless she had been. Sure, she had excelled in class until she had become Tatsuo's apprentice, but perhaps she ought to pick up on her training again. Just in case.

Instead of running around with the other market kids or going to the taverns after work to bother Sekon, she found secluded areas where the mists accumulated by the marshes and practiced. Her genjustu was an embarrassment, her chakra attacks were nothing special and her aim needed work. Fuinjustu? Non-existent and a mere dream, thankfully she had no kekkai genkai to get killed over.

Taijustu however? That was another story.

Her muscle memory only took moments to take control, and the strength she had gained was significant. While all ninja were trained in this style of fighting, not a lot excelled or specialised in it. Kuzuri's aggression was brilliant to channel through her movements, though oddly enough what made her a hard opponent to beat was her use of gentle fist suddenly after a bout of brutal offensive manuvers.

While it usually seemed like she was chaotically throwing herself about, everything was executed with calculated precision. Her style of fighting was full of acrobatic flips that didn't suit her harsh appearance and was impossible to follow.

But she was still rusty.

Alarmingly so.

Which is why several months later she was just finishing off her last water clone when a familiar voice called "Kuzuri-chan?!"

She turned just as she was sprayed with the bursting water clone to see a jonin she knew well jog over to her, his clothes dusty and the shine of his hitai-ate was covered in suspiciously dried red flakes from his mission.

Kuzuri's smile erupted on her face and she latched onto his waist. "Nii san! I thought you weren't coming home for another month!?"

Mydrea Aoba was the second oldest in their family and a medical nin at 23. He was essentially the perfect son, skilled, polite and always respectful to his elders. Aoba was the exact opposite of Kuzuri, yet somehow they were close. He was easy going and seemed to know everyone, was always punctual and managed to break down the walls of his fellow nin even after all the Kirigakure training they had preached to never trust anyone.

Like his little sister he had brown curly hair, though it was shaved all around the sides and back and cropped short on top. A few ringlets swung mid way down his headband, and his eyes were a similar shade to Kuzuri's as well. A black jumpsuit had been unzipped and secured at the waist to act as trousers, the arms tucked around into a belt, which held pouches and his tonfa. A dark green wife beater covered his top half to show his arms, one of which showed a inch thick scar that ran down to his elbow at an angle. The standard striped Kirigakure leg warms covered his arms from the wrists to his elbows.

Aoba squeezed his sister back tightly before peeling her off to survey her. His face morphed into comical worry. Kuzuri, noticing his mood, said "What, is there something on my face?"

Aoba clicked his tongue and shook his head. "This is bad news, little Ku Ku. I thought that it would've passed by now."

"Huh?" she stared dumbly back at him, oblivious to the smile that he was hiding. "What's wrong?"

"It's seems you're still suffering from a disease called gigantism, I'm afraid. Yes, very seri-ow!" He dodged another flying ball of marsh mud. "Aww, common Kuzuri, is this how you treat you're returning brother?"

"Graaaaa! I am not a giant! You're taller than me!"

"Ah but not for long little Ku Ku! Or should I say Big Ku-hey knock it off!" A gleam entered Aoba's eye, "Fine, let's go!" he launched a volley of attacks with his hands, all blocked as Kuzuri yelped and fought back. Her footing was noticeably wobbly compared to the jonin, but then she landed a crescent kick that sent him staggering backwards. "Ok ok jeez you're not too tall, calm down!" Aoba pouted as Kuzuri sniggered. "You're stronger since the last time I saw you."

Kuzuri threw her chest out with pride, her fists on her hips. "I've been practicing, nii san. It's also been 8 months since you were last in the village for more than a week."

He gingerly rubbed his neck and started to walk back in step with her. "I know Kuzuri, I wish I could've been around more, but as soon as you finish one assignment, another comes in. The Mizukage is trying to strengthen the Hidden Mist; you remember this as chunin, right?"

Kuzuri nodded. "Yep, my team always ended up with the missions to Rain country. Is it so much to ask for a mission somewhere sunny?"

Aoba chuckled. "I would've thought that you'd be sick of hot places after the forge. How's that going?"

"Great! Tatsuo sama's going to let me use the grinding stone without supervision soon!" She shrugged at Aoba's raised eyebrow. "What? Blacksmithing is an art, you can't rush that."

"Yeah, unless there's a deadline."

"Ok, maybe sensei's a little OCD, but I'd rather be amazing at everything in a hundred years than mediocre but advanced in a couple."

Aoba stopped in his tracks and stared at Kuzuri until she noticed. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, its just – I mean, I'd be careful little Ku Ku, it sounds like you're getting wiser."

"Hmph! No way! I'm going to stay young and carefree forever!"

"Hey come back here!" Aoba chased after his sister. "Wait up gaki!"

His fast reflexes saved him from ploughing into Kuzuri when she suddenly halted and spun around. "Don't call me that! I'll punch your teeth out onara atama!"

"Oi!" Aoba snapped as he tightly grasped her shoulders. "Calm down! What's gotten into you Kuzuri?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath before exhaling and answering. "Nothing, sorry Aoba." She muttered, but he still retrained her. "Letmego!"

"That wasn't nothing, Kuzuri chan, even you don't blow up at people for no reason." His eyes softened. "Common, you can tell your nii san, can't you?"

And so Kuzuri told Aoba all about her meeting with Hidden Mist's residential shark; how he had easily beat her, humiliated her and was most likely looking for revenge. Once she was finished, Aoba's tan skin had paled considerably. "Really, Kuzuri chan? You had to piss off a swordsman of the mist in training? Hoshigaki of all people?"

"He's not a person, nii san. He belongs on the grills of a sushi stand." She didn't expect the whack to the head Aoba gave her. Thankfully her skull was more resilient after Tatsuo's rage. "What was that for?!"

"You can't forsake the guy for what he is, little Ku Ku. It's who he is that isn't great. I would've thought you'd understand that; you aren't a bad person just because you don't look like a normal village nin, are you?"

"…No, but-"

"No buts Kuzuri. So he's after your guts. I may not have a giant sword, but I'll keep an eye on you now. I've been asked to train a group of chunin in medic jutsu, so I'll be around for a couple of months at least."

Kuzuri's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yep. Just don't antagonise him and don't stray alone too much. I understand the training now, but you can do it with me, ok?"

"Sure thing senpai!"

"Gah, imouto! And onara atama? 'Fart face', really? Where have you been learning language like that?"

"Err…bye nii san!"

Aww, family bonding. So..cute. Eww.

Anyway, I guess I gave up on the idea of a one shot pretty quickly! Thank you TheCupcakeViking for your review!

Love,

Renzin xo