Being of the Sea
Chapter 1: First Encounter
If you skipped the prologue I encourage you to read it so you'll have a better understanding of this chapter. Thanks for taking the time read this. Please leave a review.
Kisame's Perspective
My squad is the jonin group. The older jonin thought less of us because of we so young and they thought us unworthy of such a title. They thought we were only given it to make for the jonin we've lost in battle. That was partly true. Constant battle taught us quickly making skills equal to any jonin. We were given leave after weeks of work.
"Finally, home I'm so damn tired of seeing so much of your ugly fish face, Kisame", said Hanzai.
He was the loudmouthed idiot. Hanzai was far more trouble than he was worth. Genzai and I were punished for his foolishness, yet somehow he always managed to escape punishment. I drew my katana, pointing at his throat.
"Careful what you say, Hanzai or I may be tempted to cut out your tongue", I said.
"Try you won't even be able to touch me", he said.
Before I could Genzai blocked my blade with his needle-like sword. He shook his head. I withdrew. Genzai is not one I want as my enemy. He was more of a freak than me. In the years of working with them, I've heard him say thirty words a day at the most.
"You always take his side", said Hanzai.
"Give me a reason not to", said Genzai.
"That's what you chose to say after not speaking for nearly a week", said Hanzai.
Genzai nodded. We collected our pay, before separating. I went home. It was a shabby little fishing cabin near the shore. The harsh weather stripped away its paint. Some small white peeling spots paint remained. The shutters hung crookedly on their hinges. It was only two rooms and a bathroom. Old fishing nets hung along the outer walls. A long wooden deck led to a crappy boat. I pushed open the heavy door. It was colder in here than outside. The fire died.
Shota sat at the table passed out in a drunken sleep. He smelled of stale beer. Empty bottles of rum surrounded him. Shota was one the greatest swordsmen of the village at least until he lost his leg. He was a tall square-jawed man. His long white and gray hair covered his face. A scruffy beard kept his face even more hidden. I've lived with him since I was two. He found me on the shore wrapped in seaweed when I was only a toddler I've been in his care since. Sometimes it feels like I take care of him more than he cares for me. He's the closest thing I have to a father and even gave me his last name. He was a harsh but compassionate man he didn't like to show it. I'd so much from him. I cleared away some of the empty the bottles. I checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive. Alive. He gave a loud snore. When I went to get bottle closest to him he grabbed my wrist. So fast. I don't know how the old geezer moves like that.
"Release the bottle before I rip your hand off", said Shota.
"Empty, dumbass", I said as yanked the bottle away.
"Who you calling dumb ass? You're a fifteen-year-old boy. Can't get much dumber than that", said Shota.
"And drunk fifty-something past his prime isn't much better. Can't get closer to rock bottom than that", I said.
He laughed.
"You'll have to do more than that to get through my thick hide", said Shota.
He rubbed the stub of his leg.
"Ghost pains?" I asked.
He glared but nodded. I took his prescription from my bag.
"I don't need those", said Shota as threw the bottle at me.
I easily caught.
"Your stubbornness will be the death of you", I said.
"Ha, killing me will be too much of the hassle for the old grim reaper. I'll go when the time is right", said Shota.
"Or when your liver finally decides its has enough", I said.
He snorted.
"Or that", said Shota.
"You're not supposed to drink while on it", I said.
"You ain't my doctor", said Shota.
"You know you not taking your meds is part of the reason people think you're insane", I said.
I've never met a more superstitious man. He knew every myth about every god and mystical creature.
"I'm not crazy", said Shota.
"I know you're not", I said.
"Cut the sarcasm, boy. I may be an old drunk but I can still kick your ass-
"An impressive feat considering you only have one leg", I said.
"Shut it boy. I only believe in the mystical. How else would I explain you?" said Shota.
Not this again.
"You must part mermaid or something", said Shota.
"I'm not a damn, mermaid!" I growled.
"Oh, pardon me I meant merman", said Shota.
I rolled my eyes.
"They why can you breathe underwater. Besides the great water god Ryujin sent you to me", said Shota.
I rolled my eyes.
"Can you bring my leg?" asked Shota.
His peg leg was by the door.
"How the hell did it get all the way over there?" I asked.
I grabbed it and handed it to him. He screwed in place.
"I threw it at a damn chunin who tried to steal Keeper", said Shota.
"They're lucky you don't chop off their head", I said.
Shota smirked. Keeper was his sword it was a large broadsword. The blade was rustic. The sword's handle was wrapped in leather its edges were jagged, but extremely sharp to the touch. The idiots who try to steal it didn't understand that Keeper grew exceptionally heavily making it impossible to fight with. Shota got to his feet. His back cracked as he stretched. He yawned. I caught a wisp of breath. His breath smelled of stale rum. I cringed.
"Do everyone a favor and brush your teeth before you leave. Your mouth smells like week old chum and that's me putting it lightly", I said.
He brushed his teeth.
"Then you should love it, sharky", said Shota.
"Go fuck yourself!", I growled.
"Your nose is just too damn sensitive. It ain't my fault you have a nose of a great white", said Shota.
He rolled his eyes and took a few deeps sips on a bottle of mouthwash.
"Better", he asked.
"Where are you going?" I asked as he took his jacket from the door.
"None of your business, but be back late tomorrow", said Shota.
I cleaned up the place. Huh, I hate it when he leaves. As much of a pain in the ass he is at times he's the closest thing I have to family. I cleaned up the place some. I looked out the window. It seemed like the perfect day for a swim. Cold water has little effect on me. I went outside. The wind stung harshly at my face. Something drew me to the shore. I'd always trusted my instinct. It lead me further down the beach. I stopped when I saw a small glacier had washed onto the shore. Small fingers stuck out of the ice. The skin was blue from the cold. I brushed away the frost glacier. It revealed a young girl frozen in ice. Maybe eight or nine years old. It looked as if she were sleeping within the ice. Her eyes opened.
"SHIT!"
I smashed opened the glacier. The girl gave a small whine. SHE'S ALIVE! How the hell is this possible? She was dressed in rags. In her other hand, she tightly clutched a compass. Strapped to her back was a katana. There was something mystic about the sword.
"Help", she said.
Her voice was a musical whisper. In the slight eye contact I shared with her I saw no fear or judgment. She was one of the few people in my life not to give such a reaction. I shook my head. It was nothing. She passed out and didn't have time react. That must be it. I picked her up. She huddled closely to my chest seeking warmth. It was like holding an ice cube. I took her to my home. I can't take her to the hospital. She's a foreigner. They'll question where she came from. How am I supposed to explain I found her glacier?
I took a bedroll I placed her on the couch. I found bedroll in my closet and spread it out on the floor in front of the wooden stove. I took off her clothes. I tried prying the compass from hand, but it was frozen in place. Her hair was covered in frost, so much so I couldn't see its true color. The girl's lips were a dark blue. I picked her up and placed her bedroll. I closed the curtains and turned on the lamps. She wasn't warming soon quickly enough.
Her blade made me feel uneasy. Shota told me of the curse and magical blades. Could this girl's blade be one of them? I knew better than to touch it with my bare hands. I grabbed a pair of gloves from the winter clothes. The scabbard was black and decorated with pearl and silver. I carefully moved the blade from its scabbard. The blade glowed dimly in the crappy lighting of my home. It was made of a white metal. It was unlike any other metal I'd seen before. The texture was more like the one bone than metal. What is this? I returned the blade to its scabbard.
I made a stew from the few ingredients in the house. An hour passed and the girl thawed. Now I got a better look at her. She wavy dark brown hair it almost seemed dry. When I touched her hair it was dry? How is that possible? Her skin was ivory and her lips were no longer blue, but a soft pink color. No, one in the village looked like her. The girl started moving. Her eyes opened. They were unlike any I'd ever seen before. They were a shade of sea green. It felt like they pierced the very core of me. The color changed in shade like the tides of the sea. Her confusion was obvious.
"SAMEBITO!" she screamed.
I covered her mouth with my hand. I can't have her screaming like that.
"Will you shut the hell up? I'm not a damn samebito. I'm human", I said.
A samebito was some mythological shark-human hybrid. It was a frequent insult from the superstitious elderly of the Hidden Mist toward me. But from her, it seemed to be a reaction of fear. I wasn't sure if that were worse or better.
"Now I'll move my hand if you promise not scream. Do you understand?" I asked.
She nodded. I cautiously moved my hand.
"My name is Kisame Hoshigaki. What yours you got to have one?" I asked.
She gave no answer. I won't push. I'd probably react worse if I'd just woken from a frozen coma. I wouldn't know what to say if I was her.
"You're in the Hidden Mist. I found you in a glacier", I said.
She sniffed. Her stomach growled.
"Hungry?" I asked.
She nodded. Who knows the last time she ate? The girl slowly sat up. She didn't seem too skinny. I offered her a bowl of stew. She reached for it, but it slipped from her fingers. The tips of her fingers were still blue. She frowned.
"It's fine", I said.
I cleaned up the mess and got her another bowl. I sat next to her. She gave a slight growl.
"If I wanted to hurt you I would have already", I said.
She relaxed. I offered her a spoonful of the stew. She gave it sniff. So untrusting. I took a spoonful in my mouth and swallowed.
"No, poison", I said.
She opened her mouth, revealing sharped canines. She closed her mouth around the spoon.
"Mmm",
She licked her lips. The girl finished off three bowls. When I got up to stretch, she grabbed my hand. Why did she want me near? So few people want that from me. Especially, girls.
"I get I'll stay", I said.
I noticed something. The girl was sitting on a pelt. Small black spots decorated the silver and dark blue fur. I reached for it. She grabbed my hand and growled, baring her teeth. Her strength was unreal for someone so small.
"Got I won't touch it", I said.
She took the pelt and pressed against her back. It merged into her skin. The coloring of the pelt spread traveled down her spine and the back of her arms. It was a seal of some kind. It didn't belong to any species of seal in the Land of Water.
"What are you?" I asked.
She didn't answer. Maybe Shota was right about there being mystical creatures.
"I'll get you some clothes", I said.
She whined when I got up.
"I'm not going anywhere", I said.
She wrapped her blanket around her. The girl stumbled and swiftly fell to the floor.
"Get back into bed", I said.
She glared at me.
"If you got yourself out of bed you can get back in", I said.
She huffed before sticking her tongue out at me. I went to my room and tried finding the smallest clothes possible. None of my clothes from I was her age survived the wear and tear. Am I really going to take this girl in? I'll drop her off at the orphanage. I'd seen that place before it was more of a shit hole than here. They don't have to know about her. I can't leave her there. Ah, why is this so difficult? Is it because she could be like me? She's different. I slammed my dresser shut. If it were any other brat I wouldn't have even gone this far. For now, I'll let her stay. Once Shota comes home he'll figure out what do with her. He's going to flip a shit. I don't know how he had the patience to raise me. He isn't much for children. I went back to the kitchen to see her sitting in the same the place I left her. I gave her the shirt. She slipped it over her head and put the pants on herself. I tied a rope around her waist to stop them from falling. She gave a soft whine.
"I told you got yourself out bed you can get back into it", I said.
She huffed and took a seat on the floor. A rock was sent through the window. The smell of spray paint touched my nose. Not again!
"Come on out you blue-skinned freak!" yelled some kids.
I pushed back the ratty curtains and saw about ten kids around my age out on the deck. They only pull this stuff when Shota is gone. I'm not in the mood for this. I could kick their asses now, but that would mean Shota would have to deal with their parents, which is another kind of shit show.
"Meanies", said the girl.
A wave surged from the water crashing down on the kids. They went running.
"Did you do that?" I asked.
She nodded. The girl started doing a weird dance.
"What's wrong? It kinda looks like you have to pee", I said.
She whined.
"Oh, come on", I said.
I took her to the bathroom. She stared at the toilet as if she'd never seen one before. I'm going to have to explain this, aren't I?
"You sit on it and go. When you're done you pull down the handle when you're done. Then wash your hands", I said.
I shut the door. A few moments later there was a flush and she came out of the bathroom. She yawned in settled down in the bedroll I had set on the floor. I went to the bookshelf. It was filled with old books. I pulled the one I was looking from the shelf. It was titled:
Mystical Beings of the Sea
I placed the large book on the table. I flipped through the yellowed pages. Most of the creatures couldn't possibly exist. Halfway through the large book an image caught my attention. It was a naked woman sitting on the rock. Her long brown hair draped down her back and she sat on a seal pelt. The title at the top of the page read Selkie. I started reading:
Selkies are mythical creatures bound to the northern and southern oceans. They are creatures of great power and legendary beauty.
Physical Appearance
It's almost impossible to tell a selkie from the animal it turns into. The exception is their eyes. Selkies have deep soulful eyes. Most often the color of their eyes is a shade of dark brown. In their human state, there are few signs that reveal what they are. First is their great beauty. When in their human form their toes and fingers are slightly webbed.
Family and Social Behavior
These creatures mate for life and rarely stray from their chosen love. Selkies travel in small tight-knit family groups, led by an alpha pair. Pups are well protected and always watch by a guardian. On average a selkie couple produces two pups. When a male selkie become a juvenile there wanderlust becomes impossible to ignore. They leave the family for decades at a time but eventually return until they find their own mate to form their own family group.
Human Interactions
Male selkies often take join human women for a night. They are drawn to sad beautiful women. All a woman has to do to call upon a male selkie to let seven teardrops fall into the ocean water. Female selkies are wary of human interaction. They fear the men that live on the shore will steal their pelts. When married to a human they make agreeable wives and wonderful mothers. But always long to return to their ocean home. If they discover their pelt they'll return ocean never to be seen again by their human families. Selkies are little danger to humans unless their family is threatened.
Habitat and Diet
Selkies thrive in cold weather and are seemingly immune to the cold. They frequently live in dens they make in the snow or in hollow glaciers. Depending on the species of seal the selkie takes after their diet varies. It mostly consists of fish, shellfish, and squid. In rare cases like the leopard seal selkie, they can also eat penguins and fur seal pups. They can also survive on a human diet.
Abilities
Immortality: these mystical creatures have endless life, but aren't immune to death.
Recuperative Ability: Selkies are immune to most human illness and recover quickly from near-fatal injuries in a matter of hours. They can use this on themselves and others.
Seduction: these creatures are one of the great beauties of the sea. They can seduce another into following their will. Both female and males are capable of this. Even the most faithful of human can't resist their charms.
Empathy: they can sense the temperament and current emotions of humans, some can even sense lasting emotional signatures of a location.
Immune to Cold and Drowning: This is necessary for the cold environment they live in. It is impossible for a selkie to die from a water-related incident.
Controlling Current: Male selkies can change the tides of the ocean and create great storms.
Weaknesses
Iron: All selkies are highly allergic to pure iron. It causes their skin burn and blister. Long exposure can cause an agonizing death.
Pelts: if their pelts are stolen they lose a substantial amount of their power leaving them vulnerable.
Fading: a selkie can die from great sadness.
Enemies
Young selkies sometimes fall prey to sharks. Their natural predators are samebito. There's a great rivalry between them and mermaids. They fought years in bloody battle before finally coming to an uneasy truce.
Leopard Seal Selkies
These are the rarest of all leopard selkie species. Unlike the other species of their kind they aggressive and dangerous. They will strike out against human and extremely territorial. These selkies are the only ones to eat seals. Their pelts are a silvery gray and dark blue. Black spots mark the pelt.
I looked at the girl sleeping by the oven. Could she really be a selkie? Even at her young age, it wasn't difficult to tell she'd grow into a great beauty. The way she controlled the water with such little effort. She seems like something more. This shouldn't be happening. I found a girl frozen in a glacier and she turns out to be some kind of mystical sea creature. I walked over to the girl a pulled another blanket over her. The compass had fallen from her hand. I took it. Maybe it will give more of a hint to where she came from. I flipped it open. A compass that couldn't point north. The red arrow pointed to the girl in from me. Why would this mean so much to her?
Girl's Perspective
I woke early in the morning. The cabin was comfortable cold. I followed Kisame to his scent to his room. I stared at him. What is he? He's somewhat human but not all. I can't read his emotions. I have no one else to trust. He's the only person I know. I'm lucky he found me and not a human. I leaned closer to him. His eyes suddenly opened and our foreheads slammed together.
"SHIT!" he growled as he rubbed his head.
Ow. I rubbed my head. He took a breath.
"Why were you watching me like that?" asked Kisame.
I just stared.
"Again with the no talking", said Kisame.
I nodded. He glanced at the odd ticking machine on his desk.
"Five in the morning. Don't you want to sleep?" he groaned as he fell back into the pillows.
I shook my head.
"Of course you don't", said Kisame.
I pointed to the machine on the desk near his bed. He handed it to me.
"It's a clock. A machine that tells the time", said Kisame.
What happened to sundials?
"You can't just go sneaking into man's bed", said Kisame.
I turned my head to the side.
"I'm not explaining this", said Kisame.
I got out of bed. He got up from his bed and went into the bathroom. I followed him to the kitchen.
"So you're walking. Now you can start pulling your own weight. Get some firewood from outside", said Kisame.
I nodded. I went outside. The cold air felt wonderful. I can't remember the last time I felt it. I looked to the sky. It was dark with black angry clouds. I could smell a storm coming. The ocean was calm would only last a few more moments. I grabbed some wood and brought it in. I dropped in by the oven. I watched in amazement as he lit a fire. It was so warm and pretty. He poured white grain into a pot of boiling water. Then cut up a fish.
"A storms coming", said Kisame.
Could he smell it too? He placed a bowl of white stuff in front of me and put a pair of sticks in my hand. I put them on the table not knowing what to do with them and ate with hands. Kisame laughed.
"I'm not used to being the well-mannered one at the table", he said.
I went for the fish.
"It's raw. I'm not sure how you eat", said Kisame.
What other way would a person eat fish? We finished our meal.
"Do you have a name?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Will you tell me or should I just keep calling you girl?" asked Kisame.
"Cora, Cora Yukimaru", I said.
"Pretty name", said Kisame.
I blushed.
"Where are you from?" asked Kisame.
My mind drew a blank. There was nothing.
"Don't know", I said.
Tears streaked down my cheeks. How can I not be able to answer such a simple question?
"Don't cry. You can't remember it's not a big deal. When I found you were frozen in a glacier. You remembering your name is impressive enough", said Kisame.
"Glacier?" I asked.
"Do you know how you got inside?" asked Kisame.
I shook my head. He opened the large book in front of him to page he marked with a blue ribbon.
"You aren't human", said Kisame.
"Never thought I was. You aren't either", I said.
He tensed.
"How?" asked Kisame.
"I sensed your mystical energy. And you don't smell human, well at least not completely. You're like nothing I've ever smelled before", I said.
He seemed uneasy by the fact that he wasn't human. I don't know why. Humans are so limited. He shook off the thought.
"Are you a selkie?" asked Kisame as he pushed the book toward me.
There was an image of a beautiful woman sitting on a seal pelt.
"Yes, you don't know what you are, do you?" I asked.
I don't know much about myself, but at least I know what I am. He shook his head.
"Do you want to know?" I asked.
"I've heard all the theories. All of them end with me being some kind of a monster", said Kisame.
"You aren't a monster. Is that what you think I am?" I asked.
"I don't know what to think of you", said Kisame.
"You haven't thrown me out yet. So you must think something good of me or you wouldn't have gone through all this trouble", I said.
I read over the page. Most of the facts were true.
"Are reading?" asked Kisame.
"Yes, is shocking that I can? Is still so odd for women to read in this era?" I asked.
Kisame blinked.
"What?" I asked.
"How long were you in the glacier? It's been a long accepted fact the women can and are encouraged to read", said Kisame.
"Really, wow", I said.
I traced over the image in the book. The image made my heart ache for some reason. I shook it off.
"You have many questions. It would be odd for you not to", I said.
Kisame stared at me.
"How old are you?" he asked.
"Nine, I think", I said.
"Seems about right", said Kisame.
"Could be older though. I don't know how long I was that glacier", I said.
"What about this? I don't understand why a person would keep a junk compass that can't point north", said Kisame as he handed it to me.
"It doesn't need to point north", I said.
"And why is that?" asked Kisame.
"It points to what a person wants most if they might not know it themselves", I said.
"And your sword", he asked.
It appeared on the table in front of me. How it moves on its own I don't know? It seemed to thrive on its own chakra.
"It seems to know you", said Kisame.
"All I know is its name is Riptide", I said.
Kisame's Perspective
The wind shook the house, making it creak and groan. And thunder roared in the sky and lightning cracked through the darkness of the heavy black clouds. I looked out the window. Never had I seen the ocean so agitated. It was unnatural. Cora stood next to me.
"Something has caused Raiden to wake", she said.
I nearly laughed.
"It's only a storm", I said.
"Does it look normal to you? Something has caused turmoil in the spirit world", said Cora.
"We need to take shelter on higher ground", I said.
The wind was growing louder. Evacuation horns blared. Cora went to the door and bit her finger. She wrote symbol I couldn't understand on the door. They glowed light blue. At the moment a giant wave crashed over the small house. My eyes shut.
"Why are your eyes shut?" asked Cora.
When I looked outside the window I saw we were protected. My eyes went wide when I saw we were inside a giant protective jellyfish. Rainbow lights flickered across its skin.
"Amazing, can normal selkies do this", I said.
"Don't know", said Cora with a shrug of her shoulders.
She collapsed from exhaustion. I tucked her into bedroll. There's no way Shota will return while it's like this. Hopefully, the old geezer found shelter from the storm.
