Kisame Hoshigaki (29), S-ranked missing nin. Former member of the Seven Swordsmen of Mist, vicious killer wielding the legendary sword Samehada. Master in the art of water jutsu, possessing monstrous amount of chakra and extraordinary strength. He is known for his love of violence and blood….
And sake.
xoxoxoxo
It was a typical summer night, with the full moon hanging low in the sky and the cool breeze blowing gently. The sound of crickets seemed to be the only thing filling the calm silence of the Akatsuki compound.
That and the sound of glass clinking against one another. Sitting by himself at the low table, surrounded by bottles after bottles of quality sake imported from the Water Country, Kisame was in heaven. Earlier in the day, Kakuzu, their very own stingy treasurer, had announced the unexpected finding of an underground reserve during their mission. With the owner of the reserve now dead, courtesy of Hidan who was looking for a new human sacrifice, all the goods found in the reserve were ransacked. Among the goods they had found, was a storage room full of aged quality sake.
Which was why Kisame, on this night, had forgone sleep in order to personally check the quality of these goods for himself. A.k.a, drinking.
As evident by the several empty bottles littering the room.
Knowing his tendencies, the rest of Akatsuki had retired early, not wanting to be caught in the shark man's drunken stupor once he started. While Sasori and Itachi merely shook their heads before shutting the shouji doors to their individual rooms, Deidara had shrieked before running for the nearest closet, yelling about drunken sharks and indecent exposures. With that, Kisame was left alone with his bottles of goodness.
The quietness that filled the room was only accompanied by the occasion cricket in the courtyard, but Kisame was more than used to the silence by now. Looking the way he did, there had been moments in his life where people simply fled from him. Either from his reputation or his looks, he didn't care to know. A long time ago, he would have felt something at seeing all those people turning their backs on him, but now he took mirth in the fact that they're fleeing from him in fear. Without a single sentimental bone inside him, he could care less now if people feared his appearance more than his abilities. If they looked at him funny, they would end up dead anyways.
By now, a third of the alcohol was already gone, but even with the large amount of sake consumed, it wasn't enough to take away his sharp senses. So it wasn't a surprise to him when a pair of small dainty feet appeared in the doorway, followed by the little girl looking curiously at him.
Turning to her with a sake bottle held in his hand, Kisame cracked a gin.
"Hey kiddo, what are you doing still up?"
Her large emerald eyes blinked a few times before she pointed to her throat.
"Thirsty, Sakura can't fall asleep."
Chuckling, he lifted the bottle towards her, "Wanna join me then? I could use a drinking buddy."
Kisame watched as the small girl made her way with unsteady steps towards the low table, settling herself down opposite of him with her knees under her. Placing her hands on the table and leaning her head down on them, Sakura tilted her head and asked, "Is it okay for Sakura to have sake?"
"Who's to say you can't?" He bit out as he looked around for a spare cup for the little girl. Since he didn't even bother with cups and all, preferring to down the liquid by the bottle, there was none that he could find.
"But Sasori-nii says they are a bad influence on people…why is that?" She watched him, her bright eyes swimming with childish curiosity.
"Bad influence, huh?" He chuckled as he gave up the search for the blasted cup and settled himself down in a relaxed pose, "Sasori says that about a lot of things, damn puppet probably says that 'bout me too."
Sakura watched from her side of the table as the Akatsuki proceeded to open another bottle, muttering under his breath once in a while. Squinting her eyes, she tried really hard to recall when Sasori-nii had sat down with her and told her all the things she was not to go near because they were bad for her.
"-remember, when Zetsu is out in the garden buried in the ground with his venus trap open, don't go near him. The same with Hidan, when his face changes color, don't even touch him."
Sakura nodded her head to show she understood.
"And don't carry too much change in your pocket, Kakuzu has really sharp ears. As for Deidara…" Sasori paused here for a moment as the blonde Atatsuki suddenly appeared in the doorway, squealing in glee before lunging for the unsuspecting girl. But before he could reach her however, Sasori had already grabbed her light form from Deidara's intended path and held her to himself.
Having no target to stop his momentum, poor Deidara was forced to crash into the ground, sliding a few meters on the tatami floor. Behind his fallen form, Sakura watched with curious eyes while Sasori finally decided what to warn her about the blonde idiot.
"As for Deidara," he put Sakura down on the ground again and petted her on the head, "just don't go near him at all, or even talk to him. His stupidity is contagious."
"Hey-"
"Here quirt, that ought to keep you entertained. If not, I've got more here."
Knocked out of her thoughts, Sakura turned her attention back to the large Akatsuki, only to see a bottle being held out to her. Staring at it curiously as the remaining transparent liquid swished around the bottom, she finally reached out and accepted the large bottle with her small hands. In front of her, the effect of the large quantity of alcohol was already starting to show on the shark Akatsuki. The slight pinkness on his usually pale blue skin along with the goofy grin on his face was a clear indication that the shark man was heading quickly into a drunken state.
With shaky hands, Sakura managed to bring the bottle into her lap, hesitant about whether to really drink it or not. But her attention was drawn to the Akatsuki when he started to go on about random things.
"-and then another kid wet himself and ran cryin', the scared little bastard hadn't seen nothin' yet," at this, he paused to take another chug from the new bottle.
"Annoying bastards, the lot of them," he muttered, "too scared to even look me in the face."
"But Sakura thinks Kisame-nii looks really really neat, Sakura wants to have sharp teeth like Kisame-nii so she can chew the hard meat that Itachi-nii cooks." At this, she bared her teeth at him as she chomped her teeth.
Watching the little girl snap her jaws at him, Kisame laughed heartily as he reached out a large hand and laid it on her head. Feeling the slight weight, Sakura stopped her motion and turned her eyes to him.
"You're a good kid." He petted her head, grinning widely. In return, Sakura smiled brightly at him, only to pout when Kisame reached out to take the bottle of sake from her lap.
"But Kisame-nii said Sakura could have some," she whined softly.
In an instant, the remaining alcohol in the bottle was gone and down his throat as Kisame laughed at her expression.
"Not anymore kiddo, in fact, before you turn sixteen, all your sake belongs to me."
"Eh! But Kisame-nii-"
"Eighteen then."
"Demo…"
"Twenty," he grinned.
The pout returned to her lips as she stood up from the table.
"Kisame-nii is worse than Sasori-nii," she concluded.
He merely chuckled as he went back to nurse the bottle, "just so we're clear squirt, no sake until you turn twenty."
"Besides, someone's gotta make sure you don't turn out an alcoholic," he added.
"But Sakura haven't tried any yet!"
"Then we're all set."
She puffed out her cheeks before stomping away, trying to put as much force as she could to her steps to show her rebellion at the unfairness of the situation. But with her short height, it only made her seem as if she was waddling across the floor. Pausing at the door as she suddenly remembered something, Sakura turned around and bid him good night before disappearing from his sight.
Lying down on his side, Kisame smiled to himself before continuing his drinking deep into the night.
xoxoxoxo
"Sakura's name is Sakura, what is yours, mister shark?"
"Find someone else to bother, kid, I don't have time for a twerp like you."
"Demo…Sasori-nii and Deidara-nii are not here and Sakura doesn't want to be alone…"
"Get used to it kid, that's the way it will always be."
She sat down beside him then, her small figure seemed to be enveloped beside his large stature, and she turned to him with a big smile on her face.
"But see, now we're not alone anymore, mister shark."
"…"
"Is it nice under the waters, mister shark? Sakura has never been underwater before, it seems-"
"Don't call me mister shark, kid."
"?"
"Name's Kisame."
"Well then, Kisame-nii, Sakura is very glad to meet you."
"...likewise kid, likewise."
A/N: Change of plans, 'Reliance' was going to be continued in a similar fashion to chapter one, but an idea popped up and wacked me up side the head. So now I guess it's more of individual character set with the chibi-Sakura... Hope nobody minds this really weird turn of events. If anyone has a particular Akatsuki they'd like to see next, let me know and it just might happen, since my mind is running a blank right now for what to do next.