The Bloody Mist

Chapter 9: Sharks and Swords


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so no sueing. We good? We good.

AN: A new chapter of The Bloody Mist? Look out for meteors and eclipses, because the end of the world is nigh. And, in other news, it's Kisame's time to shine!


Kisame was not happy.

It had all started that morning. Upon waking up, it was his custom to devour single-handedly no fewer than two dozen pieces of sushi, normally bought from a small sushi bar near his house, which owed quite a large portion of its success to him. However, when he had ventured to said store to obtain some munchies, he found himself greeted by a locked door and a small note, which politely informed him that the owner and his daughter had gone fishing.

Kisame was not happy.

After tearing the offending note to shreds, he then proceeded to the only other sushi bar in town open that early, which was far more expensive and decidedly inferior to his preferred choice. After learning that quantity did not make up for quality, he had then gone out into the training field to practice, as was his custom. However, once he had reached his usual spot, he found that the Mizugakure Shinobi Academy was having a field day, and the teacher had decided it would be a good idea to watch a member of the Seven Swordsman train. Despite Kisame's 'forceful' objection, she had refused to budge, once again proving that elementary school teachers should never be taken lightly. So, he had gone with the lesser of two evils, and had skipped training entirely.

Kisame was not happy.

And now, here he was, forced into fighting some freaky doppelganger. Just a short time ago, he had been having a nice chat with his long-time friend and sparring partner, Zabuza. Why had they been attacked? Why had these clones appeared? And, most importantly of all, why the hell had the old man picked today to go fishing?! Now he had to actually think while he was fighting, which he hated doing; it just felt so right when he fought by instinct, and now he was having to deny himself the basic pleasure of the fight in favor of surviving. Damn.

Kisame was not happy.

With a skillful flip of his hand, he deflected his opponent's strike, using the momentum of the block to launch his own attack. As his great sword came crashing down, it was stopped just as easily by his opponent, who turned the attack with an arrogant laugh. Kisame, gritting his teeth, jumped away and scowled hard at his opponent. 'Man,' he thought to himself as he gripped his sword harder, 'I had no idea how goddamn annoying I was to fight! This bastard is really getting on my nerves!'

His left hand quickly dived into his shuriken holster. Grabbing three of the projectiles, he launched them at his opponent with a quick flick of his wrist. But they were knocked out of the air with one swipe of his opponent's sword. Growling under his breath, Kisame threw his blade at the doppelganger, slamming his hands together into the Dog seal.

"Suiton: Shark's Tooth!" His shout rang across the plan as he drew water to him from the air, watching as the jutsu took effect. The water gathered in one open palm, quickly coalescing into a solid shape. Soon, in his hand rested a large blue knife, its edges serrated and wickedly sharp. It was made entirely of water, and was colored a vivid blue from both the water and the chakra that allowed it to maintain its shape.

He grinned evilly. This fight was over.

He called Samehade back to his hand and charged forward, his great blade in his right and his chakra knife in his left. With a roar of rage, he leapt into the air and swung his blade down, forcing his doppelganger to block with his own sword. The ground under his doppelganger's feet began to buckle and crack under the force of the blow, and his opponent was forced to use both hands to maintain his guard.

Kisame's smile grew wider. Perfect.

His left hand flashed in, the tip of the dagger burying itself into his opponent's right arm. The pseudo-Kisame cried out in pain and lept back, his right arm dangling limp by his side. Dropping his sword, the doppelganger seized the short blade, pulled it free of his arm and hurled it to the ground, where he smashed it under his foot. It lost its form under the hit and became water once more, bringing a smirk of victory to the doppelganger's face. But Kisame wasn't worried. Victory was already his.

"Y'know, funny thing about sharks," he said, swinging Samehada carelessly in his hand, "is that their teeth always grow back." The water beneath the doppelganger's foot suddenly regained it's form, and the chakra-filled water blade was back, stabbing through his foot. Except, this time, there were three blades instead of one, and the blades were large enough to cut the clone's foot in half. The psuedo-Kisame jumped back hurriedly, but not quick enough to save his foot, most of which now lay twitching on the ground. Kisame continued unhurriedly, "Oh, and they always have more teeth than you thought. Might want to remember that next time you challenge one to a fight." Kisame's own teeth glinted wickedly in the sunlight.

"Well, now, it seems that your movement has literally been cut in half. I'd tell you to give up but, y'know, you're just too damn annoying." His arm suddenly flashed, and Samehada was sent hurtling forwards at an incredible speed. It was too fast for the doppelganger to dodge completely, and the teeth of the blades ripped his left arm from his body. Dark blood gushed forth from the stump of his arm, and the doppelganger slumped to the ground, clutching at his wound. Weakly, the pseudo-Kisame summoned his sword to his left hand, but it was knocked away carelessly by Kisame, who was suddenly standing in front of him.

Kisame called Samehada back to his hand as he stared down at his doppelganger, who was crouched in a pool of his own blood. He snarled in disgust. "Pathetic. You weren't even worth my time. Well, at least I got to do some training today." He knelt down in front of his doppelganger, yellow eyes staring deep into his opponent's own eyes. "There's only one shark in this sea, buddy. You're just fish food." Samehada flashed down and in, impaling the doppelganger through the chest.

Kisame stood up and watched as Samehada drank the doppelganger's chakra dry. When it was done, he pulled his sword free, watching as the serrated teeth of the blade ripped their way out of the body, shredding his intenstinal track and tearing the life from his body. The corpse of his foe slumped to the ground lifelessly, and Kisame turned away, casually resting his sword on his shoulder.

Too easy.


AN: Short chapter, I know. Well, I've been thinking about it, and I decided that I really should start updating this story again. It'll be in smaller chunks, but it'd be a crime to just let this story rot away. Same goes for some others that I've been negecting. So, I came to the conclusion that, while my chapters won't be super long like they were before, there will be chapters. It's not a perfect compromise, I know, but it's better than not updating at all, right:)

Well, any questions or comments you guys have, I'll be more than willing to answer. I would ask you that you check out my forum, Gaereth's Stories. Any big questions, like for the plot development, pairing or other such things, stick them on there and we can discuss them in detail. Sound good? Reviews are vastly appreciated, by the way. :D

'Til next time,

Gaereth

P.S. Kisame is kickass. Truth.