Chapter Three: Meeting an Old Friend

"You usually can't recall all the people you've shared laughs with. But you rarely forget the people you've shared your tears with. "

― Mya Robarts, The V Girl

. . .

I was six years old when I learned that I had an older brother.

Kirigakure had always been a murky place. The air was heavy and the ever-present glares of its citizens were even heavier, but I had never witnessed anything as dubious as the inner workings of the noble clans of Kirigakure before. There were three of them in total- the Karatachi, the Hoshigaki, and the Hozuki- and each had played a role in the founding of Kirigakure after the Warring States Era had shuddered to a halt.

Now that the village was capable of sustaining itself, the founding clans had nothing left to control. They had been beaten into submission by Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage and the driving force behind the Bloody Mist Era, over twenty years ago. He now presided over us all, pulling strings and orchestrating everything from marriages to genocide.

Almost fifteen years ago, he had chosen my mother to bear the child of the Hoshigaki clan head. Hama had been twenty then and eager to please her new Mizukage. Her partner had been almost twice her age and one of the strongest shinobi Kirigakure had ever seen. They called him Ryusame the Ripper, and when he had finally been cut down in the line of duty my father Kōjin had risen from the shadows to take his place as the Hoshigaki Clan Head. He had also taken Ryusame's place with Hama, but there was one lasting reminder of his rival that he would never be able to erase… His unborn son.

On March 18th, 16 years before the Ninetails ravaged Konoha, a monster unlike any before him was born in Kirigakure General Hospital.

His name was Hoshigaki Kisame and for the first five years of my new life, he had been a complete stranger to me.

It was during my sixth year in this new world that he had chosen to finally make himself known, and it wasn't until much later that I finally understood why.

Of course, I remembered Kisame from the Naruto manga, but the boy before me hardly resembled him. He was tall but not impossibly so, with wide uncertain grey eyes and spiky dark hair. There was no mistaking his true identity though. He favored my mother the same way I did, with his long sloping nose, gravity-defying mane of blue-black hair and full lips. Intimidating was the last word I would have used to describe him, even as he stared me down from his perch atop the fence in front of our home with a freshly polished tanto strapped to his back.

Perhaps living amongst the Hoshigaki had skewed my perception of reality.

I had grown accustomed to trailing after hulking blue people who wielded swords that were bigger than my entire body. I had even gotten used to the gills. What I hadn't counted on was ending up in the middle of my father's scramble to establish dominance over a fourteen year old boy. Kisame was a threat to my father's newly established dynasty, and for that reason alone he had never been considered one of us. He had been yanked out of my mother's arms when he was just two weeks old and banished from our household, placing him in the care of the Hoshigaki clan elders. Any sign of him or his presence in our family had been completely erased from everything but the library public records.

In fact, that was how I had uncovered my father's secret in the first place. Hours of combing through the library had revealed not only the origins of Kirigakure, but scrolls containing the names and birthdates of all members of the three noble clans. I had found myself listed right below Kisame, denoted as the second child of Hama's and the first of Kōjin, smack dab in the middle of the massive Hoshigaki scroll. In that moment, I had felt like I was drowning all over again.

My father had done everything in his power to prevent Kisame and I from crossing paths, but it seemed like fate had twisted his arm once again. My big, unbelievably blue half brother had slipped through the cracks in his defenses just like I had and was now standing before me with a nervous look in his eyes.

I forced myself to blink back the tears that welled up whenever I looked at him straight on. Kisame was larger than life, a work of fiction so powerful his very presence left me feeling like I was in over my head and sinking fast. With him around, I could no longer deny where I was or what my new life had turned into. I was being suffocated by my sorrows, torn between agonizing over the loss of my previous life and embracing my new reality. I couldn't keep pretending things hadn't changed.

"I need a favor," Kisame finally said, low voice yanking me out of the tangled mess my feelings had made during our silent standoff, "You're Kasumi, right?"

His sharp eyes bored into mine, searching for any sign of familiarity or acknowledgement. It was obvious that he was looking for his mother in the face of a six year old girl that wasn't even supposed to know his name.

"That's me." I nodded, but internally I wanted to scream. That's not my name.

"Can you do me a favor?" Kisame asked quietly. His eyes were hard but empty of any ill intent. I almost trusted him.

"Why?" I asked, "I'm six. What can I do that you can't do better?"

Kisame clenched his jaw, his jagged teeth clanking together like a bear trap snapping shut around its prey. "I need you to deliver something for me. It's important."

A wave of anxiety washed over me. A message for my father?

"Who's it for?" I asked cautiously. Every fiber of my being was telling me to run and hide somewhere far away from Kisame's prying eyes.

"Mom- I mean… your mother," Kisame answered carefully, "For her birthday."

I swallowed hard. Kisame's hand was already on the hilt of his sword, probably posed to strike if I refused him. My own brother plans on killing me if I don't follow his orders perfectly… What the hell kind of village is this?!

"Okay," I said softly, tiptoeing around anything potentially upsetting, "You do know her birthday isn't for months though, right?"

Kisame scowled at me. "I won't be around then. Just give it to her on her actual birthday and make sure she knows it's from me."

I nodded once, keeping my gaze focused on the patch of grass beneath Kisame's feet. Making eye contact with him was more stressful than I had anticipated. Kisame's eyes were familiar, but they had a quality of sharpness to them that practically scalded my skin. I felt like he was only seconds away from ripping me to shreds. Part of me wished he would go ahead and get it over with already. I would have preferred death over watching him pace anxiously around the perimeter of our house, debating whether or not the gift he had chosen was good enough for our mother as if I wasn't even there. I was used seeing Kisame at his most stoic and calculative, not amidst the tangles of puberty and his childhood abandonment issues.

I guess I had forgotten he was human too.

"Don't be so nervous," I said without thinking, "She loves you. The gift itself doesn't matter that much."

Kisame paused, craning his neck to squint at me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity etched on his face. "What do you mean she loves me? How would you know?"

"She's your mother," I said, faking bravado in the hopes that Kisame would write this entire conversation off as childish rambling and leave me alone, "So of course she loves you. All moms love their babies before they're even born!"

Kisame scrunched his face up, undoubtedly perplexed by my babbling. "She… told you about me?"

I nodded and everything from distrust to excitement flashed across his face all at once. I couldn't exactly blame him for doubting me. Sure, Hama had mentioned having a child before me once or twice, but she had never given me his name, let alone permission to talk to him. That was one thing my father was unwilling to compromise on.

Eventually, a quiet sort of scrutiny settled over Kisame's face. He inched closer to me and leaned down until we were seeing eye to eye. This time, I couldn't look away.

"Just do what I asked you to do and don't speak a word of this to anyone." He said, eyes dark and unforgiving. "You are the only person that can know I was here."

Wordlessly, Kisame passed me a small rounded package wrapped in emerald green tissue paper. Whatever was inside felt light and fragile- just like me in comparison to the young shinobi standing before me.

"I promise I'll bring this to her when the time is right, Kisame-san," I said, bowing politely to hide the fact that I was only seconds away from having a nervous breakdown.

For once, Kisame seemed a little shocked by my words. I silently cursed myself for revealing that I already knew his name as he opened up his mouth to reveal a full set of jagged, bone-crushing white teeth.

"So she really did tell you about me," He said with a toothy grin, his previously intimidating aura having been thrown out the window, "Well, I guess I'll see you when I get back from my mission then, Kasumi."

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from screaming stay away! and forced a small smile. Despite the fact that he had a some semblance of a sense of humor, Kisame had been born with more chakra than a tailed beast and he had the dark aura to match. Even as a gawky teenager, he was absolutely terrifying.

"See you later, " I said weakly as Kisame leapt over our fence and disappeared into the forest from which he had come without saying another word.

Once I was convinced he was out of earshot, I sank to my knees on the ground and screamed until my ears rung. My heart was pounding and I could feel myself dying all over again. Kisame's chakra had been so loud and sinister. It had cut through me like a knife and now that he was in my life, I knew there would be no turning back. I couldn't escape the hell that would be waiting for me in the Academy, or the war that would inevitably come afterwards. All I had was myself, and I didn't exactly have all the answers. The world I had known briefly through the pages of a black and white manga was more sinister than I ever could have imagined.

Even my brother had been made into a weapon, and I had foolishly questioned my father for wanting me to stay away. That kind of power was bound to attract darkness.

I was still crying when my mother and Kiyoshi came charging out of the house with their weapons drawn. My mother's blade was twice the size of my four year old brother, who wielded only a small kunai but still managed to look more intimidating than I ever could.

"Who's out here?" My mother barked, her chakra flaring out like a flame.

"No one, mama," I whimpered, wiping away my tears with a grimace. Compared to Kisame's raw power and Kiyoshi's prodigal tendencies, I was about as impressive as a pair of safety scissors.

"Why you crying?" Kiyoshi huffed, puffing out his chest. His dark eyes and unruly mane of hair looked too much like Kisame's, so I turned away for a moment to collect myself before speaking.

"I fell down and almost broke my friend's present," I said, feigning an injured knee and holding Kisame's carefully wrapped package close. If he found out I had broken it or told my parents about his visit, I was a goner for sure. If I wanted to survive Kirigakure, I needed all the allies I could find- Kisame included.

My mother looked doubtful, but she helped me up and dusted me off without saying another word. Kiyoshi carefully pocketed his kunai, stuffing it somewhere into the recesses of his cargo pants as he extended his other hand to me. When we weren't fighting over the last onigiri or vying for our father's attention, he could be a pretty decent little brother, all things considered. I shuddered at the thought of him growing up to and being just like Kisame, all razor-sharp teeth and limitless potential. I was surrounded by enough monsters as it was. I didn't want to share my room with yet another one.

"You hurted your knee?" Kiyoshi asked, squeezing my hand tightly in his small chubby one, "Why it no bleeds?"

"I guess I bumped it too hard," I said, lying through my teeth and praying fervently that my mother hadn't heard what he had said.

If she had, she gave no indication of it. Instead, she forced the front door open and lead us both inside for lunch. As we snacked on yakitori and udon, I couldn't help but mull over my meeting with Kisame once again. Something about it kept eating at me, and it had taken me a while to figure out what exactly that was.

Meeting Kisame alone had been like looking into a mirror in the worst way possible. Sure, he and I shared the same crooked grin, blue skin and broad shoulders. We even had matching moles on our forearms. But Kisame wasn't like me.

Technically, we had both been born in Kiri, but I had been able to escape the Mizukage's relentless brainwashing. All his life, Kisame had been conditioned to value the mission objective over human lives. He probably cared more about his gift getting to our mother than he did about my safety. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have given it to me. I was a tool, something he could use to barter for affection from a detached relative. I doubted he would be upset if my father killed me for going behind his back like this.

In a way, I supposed I deserved it. I was the only person in the entire world who knew what was destined to happen next, and instead of using my knowledge for good I had spent six years struggling to get through chakra control exercises and crying over the life I had left behind. It was easy for someone like Kisame to become ruthless, but I had eighteen years of normalcy to mourn and kept hitting roadblocks. Being stuck in the body of a six year old certainly hadn't quelled my tendency to overthink things to the point of inaction either.

Some shinobi I'm turning out to be, I thought, picking at my chicken to distract myself from the anxiety that had settled deep in my chest at the thought of actually going into battle.

My mother chose that very moment to throw some chopsticks in my face. I yelped but managed to catch them before they hit anything important.

"Hey, snap out of it!" She said, "Kiyo wants to ask you a question."

"Sorry Kiyoshi," I muttered as I returned the chopsticks to their resting place at the center of the dining room table.

Kiyoshi grunted once in acknowledgement. "You want go to park with me?"

I grimaced. In Kirigakure, they didn't have parks like I was used to back home. They had miniature training grounds complete with traps, sand pits, and giant craters filled with dirty rain water. During the low season, most of the water would dry up so kids would use the empty earth to play games of make believe or hide and go seek. It was kind of sad and more than a little scary.

Unfortunately, tagging along with Tuna wasn't optional this time. My mother had been summoned to the Mizukage's office in the middle of our meal and had run out in full Anbu attire, which meant she probably wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning- if she came back at all.

I wasn't sure we were going to make it home in one piece either. As if the park itself wasn't dangerous enough on its own, there were already several groups of kids fighting when we got there.

Believe me, Kiri kids don't know how to play nice. Whenever we went to the park, Kiyoshi almost always ended up in a brawl with Suigetsu Hozuki over who had built the best sandcastle or something equally as innocuous.

Wherever Suigetsu went, his sister Chinatsu was never too far behind. She would pop up from behind trees or puddles on the ground like a ghoul and if someone dared to lay a hand on her brother, she'd go for their throat. That meant any trouble Kiyoshi caused would come raining back down upon me like the senbon Chinatsu threw whenever she lunged at me like a bat out of hell.

In a twisted sort of way, I thought she was kind of awesome.

I almost always changed my mind when she got her hands on me though. She was smaller than my little brother but twice as aggressive. She would throw her whole body at me and scream until my ears rung, clawing at my face and attempting to knee me in the chin. I would block her easily enough and roll over on top of her, crushing her beneath me as Kiyoshi and Suigetsu brawled. Somehow, Chinatsu would still manage to get some good licks in even when I had her plastered to the ground and I'd usually leave the park with a bloody nose.

It was difficult to hate her though. She was as loyal as a dog and didn't bother me unless Suigetsu was in danger. None of the other kids seemed to have the same morals.

This time, things were different though. Suigetsu and Kiyoshi's usual antics had quickly turned into a four-on-one attack. Two of the younger Hozuki cousins had come to Suigetsu's defense, and one of them had a real sword- not one of the blunt wooden ones Kiri kids were usually given until they started attending the Academy, but a real fucking sword.

The Hozuki brat with the sword lunged at Kiyoshi before I could separate them. Kiyoshi rushed to block her with his kunai. Sparks flew as their weapons collided and I started to panic, searching for a weapon of my own.

I grabbed a rock off the ground and hurled it in the girl's face, sending her sprawling to the ground with yelp of pain. I didn't feel as bad about it as I probably should have. At least her body could reform on its own. If Kiyoshi got hurt, there was no way to guarantee his would.

The fallen Hozuki girl's older sister picked up her sword and charged at me. Kiyoshi stabbed her in the stomach, providing me with an opening to judo throw her to the ground. She wheezed and dissolved into a puddle of jelly.

For a second, I was almost proud of myself. Then, I remembered we still had to deal with Chinatsu. She was twice as insane as the other two had been and she actually knew how to fight, so I would probably need Kiyoshi's help to take her down.

Or so I thought.

I didn't expect Kisame to come shooting out of the woods like a firecracker and tackle her to the ground.

I expected Chinatsu to liquify like any other Hozuki when met with the crushing force of a teenage boy that could bench press a Volkswagen, but instead she just screamed and tried to stab him with a stick. Kisame blocked her easily and punched her once in the face for good measure.

I winced as I heard her nose break. Blood dripped down her chin and onto the sandy ground, staining Kirigakure's only semblance of a playground with innocent blood. Part of me wanted to throw up. Another, smaller part of me wanted to run up to Kisame and give him a big hug.

I did neither.

"What the hell?" I screamed, "You said you were leaving town!"

Kisame rolled Chinatsu's unconscious form over onto the ground and pinned her there with his knee, looking strangely nonchalant as he wiped her blood from his fist. "I leave tomorrow."

"Nee-chan, who that man?" Kiyoshi whined, "Him looks like Mommy and I miss her!"

For a second, I saw a hint of hopeful pride illuminate Kisame's features. My heart ached for him. As scary as he was, Kisame was still just a kid. He wanted love and acceptance from his mother more than anything and yet he had never been able to achieve it on his own, no matter how good he had gotten. He was stuck playing soldier, forever in between missions and deeply alone.

He's alone just like me.

Whether it was courage or simple stupidity, I'll never know. In that moment, no matter how badly I wanted to run away screaming, I knew what I had to do.

I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Kisame Hoshigaki, the Monster of the Mist, and held him tight.

. . .

Author's Note:

I love you all. Thank you for the kind words and endless patience. Your reviews really keep me motivated and I can't wait to write more of this story. Reading "Of the River and the Sea" by aleycat4eva changed everything about the way I view self-insert OC stories and I highly recommend reading it if you haven't already. I definitely have some big plans for Kasumi's future in the works! For now, please enjoy this short little chapter while I figure out how to go from here. I hope it wasn't too Kisame-centric, but then again when has that ever been a problem? ;)

-MSM-

PS: I'm currently looking for a beta! Or even just a buddy that wants to brainstorm with me. Feel free to send me PM~