------
Part 3 - "Homeostasis"
------
For the first time in several years, Kisame felt secure enough to sink into a deep sleep, resting more than his body. Even his usual nightmares didn't bother him in that state beneath sleep. When he finally woke up he actually felt completely rested and not the least bit on edge. He stretched, noticing that there was a new outfit waiting on the dresser next to the bathroom door. Rubbing his sore neck, he yawned, lazily making his way to the shower, absently letting the water run down his skin. He was determined to live up to his word, to fulfill this new, badly needed purpose in life. This was a strange town with everything so unfamiliar to him, and he couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable here. Maybe after a few days it would get better.
He heard the main door in the lounge close as Temari returned from wherever she had been that morning and he finished up in the shower, trying on the clothes she left. All she had managed to find that would fit him was a black tank top and loose pants, as well as a spare pair of shoes. Over that he put his tan cloak and figured it would have to do. He looked back at the folded Akatsuki cloak on the bed, sighing audibly. Should he keep it? If for no other reason, he would keep it for the memories, good or bad. He packed it away along with his old Mist headband, stashing it in an inner pocket where it could stay indefinitely, a constant reminder of the life behind him.
A slight knock on the door; he muttered for her to come in, and he stood next to the bed tugging on his cloak with an irritated expression. The thing went over his entire form, and he found it hard to move his arms. As Temari came through the door he grabbed his kunai and split the fabric from the neck to the end, retying it so the cloak became more of a cape. Seeing her confused expression, he shrugged and grinned. She smirked at his cheery expression. "You ready to go?"
"Where are we going?"
"I need to figure out as much as I can about your fighting style, so I'll take you to one of the underground training areas. Well, after you eat, of course. You slept in pretty late, it's almost lunch time."
His eyes widened but a smile tilted on one side of his face. "I guess being underground can make it hard to wake up with the sun."
"I've gotten used to it." She thought for a second, wondering how to best word her next question. "So what kind of food do you like?"
He smirked. "Anything that's not fish. Can't stomach anything that looks like a fish. I guess my favorite thing is dango, but I can't live off sweet stuff." His smile vanished into a set line, remembering those days in tea houses, eating dango across from his friend, enjoying the isolation. It seemed like so long ago.
She chose not to notice his sudden mood change. "We don't get fish here very often, so I'm sure you'll be pleased. I was going to go to one of the tea houses nearby and have some miso soup. Would you like to come?"
He hesitated only slightly before following her out the door. "Alright." He grabbed his pack off the bed, shifting the weight to his back before shutting off the lights. Out in public... What would these people think of him? Without his concealing hat, he felt a little exposed. But Temari smiled back at him reassuringly, and he felt better about it. Nobody was going to hurt him, especially not when he was in her company. He just followed after her, ignoring the fearful glances and the disgusted stares like he always did, concentrating only on her smiling face, focused on following her to the tea house.
They sat near the door, shrouded from the street by the large curtains covering half the entrance. Something about this place reminded him of a time long ago when he and Itachi had sat in a similar manner at a place in Konoha, enjoying tea and dango before making their first assault on the kyuubi vessel Naruto. Everything he saw reminded him of his deceased friend, and he mentally sighed with reminiscence. He sat across from her at their booth, looking down at the table blankly until she spoke, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Hey, I was wondering... where is your sword?"
He shifted and brought a scroll out of his pack. "I sealed it up for now. I can take it out if I ever need it. What about that big fan of yours? Is that your weapon?"
"Usually. I use it to create large gusts and combine it with my other attacks. It doesn't so much slice as it shreds, really."
He grinned a wide, toothy grin, appreciating the analogy. "The same is true for Samehada, it shreds more than slices. Leaves everything in a big bloody mess most often."
She smiled back at him, nodding. "It will be interesting to see that in action." She looked up as their server arrived at their table, a familiar glance shot at Temari but a queasy look at Kisame. He frowned but gave his order anyway, glad to see her leave. When she was gone, Temari frowned as well, looking at him sympathetically. "It's like that everywhere, isn't it?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Itachi would ignore the lust filled gazes of women and I would ignore the terrified glares. It was always hard, but I guess I got used to it. I'd even grin at some of the weaker females just to send them screaming out of the room. It was good for a quick laugh but it never really helped. That's why I cared about him so much. He didn't care what I looked like, we just fought side by side no matter what, protecting each other because we had respect for each other. I guess that's what I miss the most."
"I know that Gaara trusts you, and if you try, I know you'll get his respect too. You saw the way he looked at you, he understands how hard it is. I understand too, so you already have two good friends here. And when Kankuro gets back, I'm sure he'll warm up to you too."
He paused, finally looking up at her. "Thanks, Temari." His expression went from a smile to neutral as their server returned with their food, making haste to get them served and get out of there as quickly as possible. He sighed, poking his stew with his chopsticks, feeling irritated.
She watched him sadly, knowing how much this affected him but not being able to do much about it. All she could do was offer her support. Maybe that was enough? Maybe it was enough that she looked at him openly instead of with discrimination, seeing what was underneath the altered exterior. She focused on her food, eating quietly as she let him think, appreciating the calm quiet that they had between each other. Initially she had expected him to be the loud, boisterous type, always open and talking about something. Instead he was quiet, thoughtful, a latent intelligence lingering beneath. Maybe he used to be the type that struck up a conversation constantly, but something had subdued whatever he had been before.
As soon as they finished their food, Kisame insisted on paying the bill, and with a grin he followed Temari to the underground training arena, completely empty for the day. He glanced around the seemingly abandoned room with confusion. "Nobody's here today?"
She shook her head. "No, normally this area is for jounin only, and they all tend to practice in the morning and not the afternoon. Ready to fight?"
He smirked and summoned Samehada from his scroll, hefting it to his shoulder. "Always!"
She readied her fan, opening it to the first painted moon on the folded fabric, holding it at an angle. With a flick, she send her fan's gusts straight at him but he blocked with the Samehada, the wind flying all around it but deflected by the sword's power. A little frustrated, she opened the fan to the second moon, seeing if the Samehada could block the stronger gust. Sure enough, the Samehada was a powerful sword. It was legendary, after all. Third moon? Why not...! The gust of the fan at full strength was enough to leave enormous rifts in the wall all around Kisame but again the mighty sword held strong. She couldn't help but stare. "What is with that weird sword...?"
He grinned and shrugged. "You used chakra to help those gusts. Samehada eats chakra, so whatever you did got completely negated."
"So fight me without that thing!" She grinned and put aside her fan, taking a strictly hand-to-hand stance. He smirked, his teeth glinting under the large lamps as he set Samehada aside, taking his own stance. For a moment they stood there, observing the other before moving, dashing suddenly into close combat, exchanging blow for blow on a surprisingly equal standing. Both of them depended heavily on their weapons and ninjutsu, so both weren't the best at strict close combat and they actually had the same amount of skill. Kisame grinned with joy when he noticed this, feeling that strange similarity again.
For at least an hour this fight went on, back and forth, neither faltering. In a mirrored action they charged close, their hands pointing to the other's throat as they stared from the short distance between their noses, panting heavily. They paused, a complete stalemate, grinning at each other and breathing rapidly, only inches away. He tilted his head to the side with a smirk. "Pretty good, little sand neko."
Her eyebrow raised, amused by this nickname. "You too, mist mako." She grinned and kissed him on the cheek, knocking him down on his back when his surprise caused him to hesitate. "But not good enough!" She shifted her weight to one hip, grinning victoriously as she pranced back to pick up her fan, leaving him sitting on the ground in shock. What just happened? Well, she only just kicked your ass after kissing you, he told himself. He leaned forward, sitting over his knees as he watched her with curiosity, wondering why she did that. However, he was determined to go down fighting! He'd get her back!
He smiled when she came back to help him up. "I guess you got me this time."
"You shouldn't let your guard down like that." Her grin was smug but kind.
He leaned close, grinning wider, then planted a kiss on her cheek and knocking her to the ground when she held her own moment of shock. His laugh was loud and cheerful. "Speak for yourself." He laughed even harder when she pouted at him, but soon she snickered and let out her own loud laugh, the two distracted from the world for this one precious moment, taking a small amount of joy in these hard times.
------
A/N: Another day, another chapter. Whew. And that means time for... SLEEP! Please read and review!
