Dear gosh, I never though my story would get this much attention. Thank you all very much! Here's another chapter for you! Happy Holidays to everybody!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

No Beta

Days passed. Kisame and I fallen into a routine of class and training together. As our techniques got stronger, we had to begin rotating training grounds so we didn't cause too much damage.

Since the Shark had finally decided to work on tag-team jutsu and attacks we were causing... devastation.

Our first attempts at combining water and lightning ended in explosions of water and resulted in both of us having our hair pointing in all directions from the static.

Trying to fight alongside each other had us running into each other and causing as many if not more bruises than when we sparred.

My mother came across the end results of a training session as she was wondering where I'd been all day.

She laughed, yes laughed at us.

Then, after physically dragging both of us back to my home and ordering us to get clean, she had this smile on her face that gave Kisame and I the creeps.

"It's good that you're trying to work together Toki-chan, Kisame-chan. But I think you need some foundation work if you ever want to cause more damage to an opponent than you do to each other". My mother showed us to the padded indoor training room where my parents had begun teaching me.

She produced two blindfolds.

Where she got these, I had no idea.

"You two will be using taijutsu against me. Wearing these" she informed us in a tone that said we shouldn't argue with her if we valued our lives.

Now, I knew Mom was a kunoichi, a jounin to be exact.

She wanted us, who couldn't even coordinate taijutsu against training dummies when we had our sight to attempt fighting a jounin?! BLIND?!

"Your mother is terrifying" Kisame eyed the blindfolds like they were poisonous.

"I guess you were right about the insanity, Kisame" I mumbled back.

"Stop complaining you two" Mom tied the blindfolds around our heads, leaving us in darkness.

Needless to say, this first session ended badly. Very badly.

More days passed.

I hate to say it... but Mom's plan to improve our coordination was working.

Kisame and I slowly acquired the ability to know where the other was in the training room. After this came the ability to predict the other's moves. We could also recognize who my mother was targeting and what attack she was using against them.

Once our coordination was up to what Mom considered acceptable she kicked us out to return to our previous training grounds.

Fighting alongside Kisame in the much wider area of the training grounds and being able to see while doing so was infinitely easier.

Damn that woman was smart.

It was possibly thanks to the fact we now knew the feel of the other's chakra so well that our combination jutsu attacks stopped backfiring. Now the jutsu wreaked havoc on the things it was aimed at instead of on us.

One of our instructors caught us training together not long after this. This resulted in more instructors coming to watch us from a distance with speculative looks. I thought this was downright creepy, despite thinking this would lead to a genin team like I wanted. Kisame was simply smug that they thought us worth watching.

It was coming near to the end of the year, and no chaos had occurred.

Then came the day Kisame and I were relaxing after a particularly brutal training session. I was exhausted. The Shark, being who he was, was merely winded. "Did ya hear the news?" he asked tilting his head in curiosity.

"What news?"

"The Sandaime Mizukage is stepping down. We'll be on the Yondaime Mizukage the beginning of next year" Kisame informed me, seeming bored but figuring I should know this information. "Surprised your parents haven't mentioned it".

"Oh?" in my state of exhaustion, the title of Yondaime Mizukage didn't instantly register. "Who is it?"

"Some guy named Yagura".

Please tell me I did not just hear what I think I did. "Did... you just say Yagura was Mizukage?"

"Weren't you listening the first time, Koneko?" he grouched.

I had been wrong. So very wrong.

"They say he wants to change the graduation exams somehow. They're changing this years exams to what he wants despite him not being officially Kage until the beginning of next year" Kisame's eyes flicked over to me. "... Koneko? You okay? You look pale". He put his hand on my head to check for a fever.

I was doomed. I would never live in a fight for survival against Kisame. And even if I somehow managed to avoid fighting Kisame...

I would have to kill my classmates to survive.

"Toki?" Kisame was giving me a worried look.

"I... have a really bad feeling about the exams" this was as close to the truth I could tell the Shark.

"You're just being paranoid" he shook his head at me "I'm sure it's minor details".

"Can... we go watch the exams this year? To see what the changes are?" I did not want to see the bloodbath. But the only way to discuss how to avoid this between the two of us without me revealing things Kisame wasn't ready to know, was for the shark-nin to see the changes himself.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "The things I do for you, Koneko. Fine, we'll go watch the boring exams. That way you can see that there's nothing to worry over".

"Thanks, Kisame"

"You're lucky I like you, Koneko".

Sometime later it was the end of the year... and the exams were in a few hours. I was going to be sick. "You sure you should be going?" Kisame tilted his head at me "You look like you're about to hurl".

"I have to go. Make sure I'm wrong" even though I knew I wasn't.

"Alright. But if you throw up on me, I will kick your ass".

"Noted".

We took or seats in an area like place. This was the Mist version of the Konoha stadium. "I guess the physical part of the exams is first this year. It used to be written and physical. But the information said for spectators to go here" Kisame flopped into a chair. I shakily sat next to him. He looked at me, seeming torn. I wished I knew what was going through the Shark's mind right now.

Interlude – Kisame POV

The things he did for her. His strange and mentally unstable Koneko. He'd always thought the exams were some of the most boring things ever. Even the fights were never that entertaining. But, here he was, sitting with her because Koneko was panicked over the changes.

He chalked all this up to her being the only true friend he had. He might not admit it aloud, yet. But she had his loyalty.

It was the panic that had made him agree to watch them with her. He'd never seen the fuzzball this scared. The day they'd first met had been closer to shock rather than true fear. And her mother merely caused her embarrassment and suspicion as to what the older woman was planning. But now?

Now his normally brash and sarcastic Koneko reeked of terror.

It made him want to maim something.

His inner shark was most displeased at her distress too, wanting to kill whatever it was that caused her to feel such sickening terror.

She had approached him of all people, seeking friendship despite him snapping at her.

She trained with him where most people avoided him.

Of course both he and his inner shark would want her distress gone. If that meant sitting through this boredom so be it.

She physically shook as she sat next to him, looking more ill with every passing second.

He liked his little Koneko. But he really didn't want her throwing up on him.

But she looked so miserable. She needed comfort. She needed her friend. She needed him.

He just prayed to any listening gods that she didn't get sick on him as he moved to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her close, offering what comfort he could.

Normal POV

I blinked. Kisame was not a touchy-feely person. Sure, he allowed me to mess with his hair. But despite my best attempts to hug him, he'd always been stiff as a board whenever I tried. In fact, the most contact I got from him was when we were sparring. So the Shark pulling me close to him of his own free will was what I considered a sure sign of the apocalypse.

"Don't you say a word" he snarled at me. I nodded mutely. I wasn't about to lose the much needed comfort by speaking.

The exams started.

I couldn't watch.

The screams... they would haunt me. I bet being trapped in Itachi's Tsukuyomi was better than this.

I felt Kisame stiffen next to me as he watched the horrible display. His hand on me tightened.

"...Last two standing" the shark informed me after what seemed to be an eternity, voice emotionless.

A few moments later, silence reigned.

"Neither survived" Kisame led me out of the stadium doing his best to avoid showing me the now blood soaked arena, teeth bared in aggressive way.

An entire class. Gone. Just like that.

We slowly walked back to my home in relative silence.

He only broke it after we reached the relative safety inside my house.

Word had spread fast about the exam changes. My mother shooed everyone away from where we now sat, sensing that more people would only irritate Kisame further. Angry sharks were best avoided.

"That... it won't happen" he growled.

"We're in the same class..." I pointed out while staring fixedly at the floor.

"I'll move up a class. I want a challenge when I fight. No one in this current class would even be fun to torment" his teeth were bared, daring me to challenge him.

I smiled weakly at him. Then it fell. "Even without you..."

"We're still going to train after class" another statement that dared me to argue. "You, Koneko, are going to grow some claws".

In other words, Kisame was going to do his damnedest to help me pass my graduation. He'd never forgive me if I failed. I just nodded at him.

"Come on, let's go get some dango" he then proceeded to drag me off, intending to cure me using my addiction to sweet things.

I don't know what'd I do without this Shark.

After dango and Kisame hovering about me for a few hours, I was feeling somewhat human again. "...Thank you, Kisame. I feel... better" my smile wasn't as forced anymore. "I'm still not looking forward to graduation but-"

"Not looking forward to killing? Weakling". This new voice got a snarl in response from Kisame while I looked up to gape at the speaker. "This Village is called the Bloody Mist for a reason" he continued.

I stared. Before me was what about to be the about three-year old version of Zabuza, bandages over his face even now.

"Shut it, twerp" Kisame bared his sharp teeth.

"I have teeth like that too. You don't scare me, fishy" it was obvious that under the bandages Zabuza was smirking.

I felt like I was no more threatening than a dust bunny between the two of them.

"Another year" Zabuza stared at me.

"...Excuse me?" I was confused.

"You have one more year of safety. The year after that? I plan on ridding our Village of weaklings like you" he clarified, looking at me as if I was stupid for not knowing this.

So not only did I have to survive graduation, but I had to survive Zabuza's slaughter as well?!

I was beginning to suspect the god in charge of my luck was Jashin with this much torture.

"Heh...I'd like to see you try" Kisame grinned in amusement now "Toki would kick your ass, twerp. And even if she doesn't..." his grin went feral and bloodthirsty "I'd be happy to oblige".

"We'll see" Zabuza walked away.

"I'm going to die" I stated simply. It was best I made peace with a short life while in the Naruto universe. Zabuza or the exams would slaughter me.

"Not while I'm around, Koneko. We'll sharpen those claws of yours and you'll show them all not to underestimate you just because you're a fuzzball" Kisame assured.

"Fuzzball kittens aren't exactly things to be scared of" I sighed.

"No. But little kittens can grow up into large cats" he countered.

Omake – Snow in Mist

"I'd never thought it snow here" I looked up at the sky as the white flakes fell.

"This is snow? Never seen it before" Kisame watched the sky with me.

"It's usually too warm here... wait. You've never seen snow?!" I stared at him mouth agape.

"Shut it. I'm older than you, so I know for a fact you've never seen snow either!" he glared at me.

"Let's go play then" I snagged his hand and tugged, attempting to drag him along.

"Play?" he blinked.

"You know, have fun. What normal children do. Now, come on!" I tugged and this time Kisame complied and allowed himself to be dragged along. He didn't even attempt to snatch his hand back.

I taught the shark-nin how to have a snowball fight. He won, shamelessly using water-jutsu to make snowballs faster than I could.

Next was the obligatory snowman. It was tiny, as there wasn't that much snow, but still. Kisame wasn't as interested in this one, but he did have an easy-going grin on his face that told me he didn't hate it either.

Much later, we were both sneezing and Mom made us soup.

"The bad side to snow" I sniffled, trying to control my runny nose.

"Tch. As if you'd know" Kisame sniffed beside me as he ate his soup.

"Soooo...?" I grinned at him.

"So, what?" he glared "I'm attempting to eat my soup here, Koneko".

"Did ya have fun?" I asked, still grinning like a fool.

"...Maybe".

"Maybe?!"

"Ugh. Fine. Since I know you won't let it go. Yes. I did" he grumbled into his soup, trying to act irritated. But that smile on his face said otherwise.

"Huh".

"What?"

"You're actually smiling. It's not a smirk or a grin. It's an actual smile".

"Got a problem with that?" he bared his teeth at me, smile vanishing.

"Nope. You should smile more. It suits you" I resumed eating my soup.

"... Oh" he went back to his own soup, though I could've sworn his cheeks had turned a light purple. Must be my imagination.

This chapter was a bit more serious, out of necessity. Thus, the Omake to lighten the mood a little.

Like any good ninja, Akira aka Okaa-san waits to spring her trap. She starts her plans next chapter!

Review to see the devious kunoichi in action!

Next time – "Your mother is planning something, I just know it"