Chapter Thirty-Six: A Man Called Kisame
Canon-Manga Info: Kurama stated that Sasuke's chakra is extremely potent. It's been mentioned and implied quite a few times in the manga.
# # # # # #
He let out a wheezing chuckle that turned into a dry laugh. There was just something about the young Uchiha before him that was so amusing. He chose not to share his thoughts. He spat at the stones to the right, his white eyes shining against the cold light of day. His blue skin was slick—almost wet.
Sun shone on that skin and into his eyes like a cheap yellow light from an old bulb. He narrowed his small eyes, and the gashes around his eyes contracted. A realization sent a quick wave of disgust through Sasuke: those were gills!
"Like what you see, littlest Uchiha?" Kisame asked and barked with laughter. The gills around his eyes fluttered. Sasuke had never seen anything like him—It? He could not really understand what he was.
The sword by his feet wriggled and grinned. Its pointy teeth were big, shiny, and dangerous. It swelled out and snapped its big mouth towards Sasuke, licking the borders he thought to be its lips. It was like a big puffer-fish pulled straight out of water.
"Samehada, is it?" Sasuke asked and looked curiously at the sword that slithered a little to the left and a little to the right. It seemed impatient.
"I hope the littlest Uchiha didn't come here to make a pitch for Suigetsu. He can be so vulgar with his swords," Kisame said, the smile firm on his face.
"Sasuke," Sasuke said and crossed his arms, his brow frowning.
Samehada let out a low sound and deflated. Kisame petted it and it went completely still. "A'right, I'll call you little Sasuke," he said, turning his eyes to him. "Is that fine?"
Sasuke let out a small sigh but did not press him anymore. "You know why I'm here?" he asked, and a dark look came into his eyes.
"I know . . . " he paused, looking at him as though he was deep in thought, " . . . do you want to know everything? Truth can be a bad thing, a huge burden, little Sasuke. Don't ever forget that."
A look of confusion flickered across Sasuke's face. "I don't think there's any time for riddles—and I don't believe it was a coincidence that you made yourself known to me through Karin. You're not a Sensor. Suigetsu told me as much. Is it the sword? I've heard some strange stories about it. But stories are . . . stories," he said and brought his gaze upon the sword that lay slumbering by Kisame's feet now.
Kisame gave a few rough chuckles, his white eyes upon him, and there was something in them that made him afraid. How much did he know?
"Clever little Sasuke. Everyone must be proud—especially your brother. Yes, Samehada found you. It likes strong chakra and yours is one of a kind—so powerful, tasty, and tempting." He stroked his fingers against a long spike jutting out of Samehada's back, and it vibrated against his finger like a common cat, almost purring at the contact.
"Is Itachi-San still in Anbu? I heard he has quite the hold over Konoha now. He can be a scary man. With all the resources he has, I'm surprised he hasn't found you yet," he said and bared his pointy teeth in a grotesque smile. "Ran away from home, didn't you, little Sasuke? Wouldn't he be worried sick!"
The way his jaws jutted out, he looked just like a shark—a predator. "How do you know my brother? If you came here to play games—" he broke off, anger rushing through him.
"No, no, little Sasuke. I don't know him personally. I may have seen him way back in the past. He was a youngling then. His limbs had yet to develop. His bones were too long for that body. He wasn't a man, but not a small boy, either. But he was so tough, so cold—yet, so selfish, so soft. Such strange odd boy," he said in amusement, his words breaking into a humorous laugh, ". . . some things just make us like that." He tilted his head a little and cracked his neck from left to right.
"What are you—"
"Time's a wasting, little Sasuke. Mist guards were looking in these forests. I'll have to leave through the Land of Rivers' border soon," he said and tightened his fingers around the hilt of that odd sword.
"I laid a few traps about five kilometres away. I'll go and trigger them myself if someone approaches this area. There's only one way out of here—the other one's through the water. You'll just have to swim fast," he said and flicked his head to indicate that Karin was still Sensing.
"An Uzumaki girl under your wing," he said, smiling that hideous smile of his. "The little Uchiha is clever."
"You were a part of the Tulip Squad Elite from the start. What do you know about the massacre?" he asked. There was no need to beat around the bush.
"From the start? That's a bold claim, little Sasuke," he said, his eyes on Sasuke's confused face. When the Sasuke did not say anything, he continued: "it was never Tulip Squad way back when I was recruited. They called it the Mist Elite Force. Two groups. Two tiers. Five or six men each. Most of 'em died—killed by higher-ups, or the missions killed them. It was always the same. Old tools were thrown out. New tools were brought in. The squad kept going." The smile slid from his face. He looked serious now, almost sober.
There was a note of bitterness in his voice, and Sasuke understood: they chased after him like hungry hounds. He hid wherever he could and survived on scraps. He was trying hard to get back to his old life—when there must have been calm, a little peace for him. An elite ninja reduced to this? A part of him pitied the fate Mist handed to him.
Kisame pulled in a loud breath, and his shoulders dropped as though he was tired of all the running. "About twenty years ago, before you were born, most elite members of the Squad were hired to get a rare pair of eyes from somewhere around hidden Waterfall Village," he said, his eyes growing bigger and bigger, the elastic skin around his eyes stretching the gills into deep, straight lines in his face.
"You were not a part of the top Elite?" Sasuke asked, shock creeping over his white face.
"No," he said, "but they were good men—just Shinobi doing their jobs. Yagura was a young leader then. Only fifteen. The village had nothing but money. Everyone was a rich bastard, but money can't make a good army. You need more for that. That made him afraid. Paranoid. He wanted power to rule, but he didn't have any. He found out through Hōzuki Sosuke about that place—a place that hid their ticket to form an alliance with Danzō and Konoha Elite. Those rare eyes . . . only you Uchiha are gifted with them." He slowly shifted his gaze to the red pulsing in Sasuke's eyes.
"A Sharingan? Somewhere around Waterfall village?" he asked, finding it hard to speak. Emotions burst forth upon his face through his eyes, and he could not quite contain them. He was shocked.
"Yes, a very rare pair of Mangekyō. Suigetsu's father knew where they were hidden. He led them there and found another scroll—something of great value to the eyes. All Yagura needed was a buyer," he said with a smile on his face.
"Danzō . . . Mangekyō Sharingan . . . " Sasuke whispered, talking to himself. It made no sense. Why would Danzō want a Mangekyō Sharingan? His eyes roved around the area and stopped on the sword for just a brief moment before he returned them to Kisame's face.
"But being young . . . well," he paused and let out a dry laugh, "he was desperate and he was stupid. Everyone knows how shady that Root bastard is. Only Danzō could get Yagura what he wanted. So he approached the Root's Head through Suigetsu's father, Sosuke, and made a proposition. All they had to do was relinquish Three-Tails, an Uzumaki seal to contain it, some money, and Byakugans—and the eyes, and that scroll, would be theirs."
"It was with Konoha back then?" Sasuke asked and his face betrayed everything he felt. There was no point in guarding his emotions now. His charades were not needed today, not now.
"Konoha's lobby sat on quite a few of them. They were bartered for money and Jutsus. Your village has always been greedy," he rasped in a rough voice. "Some Uzumaki woman made the seal. We all sat down in Mist when the moon was high. And it was such a cold autumn night. Danzō, Minato, Hiashi, and the surviving members of the Elite—we were all there. Yagura's reign was ensured. The new power made it possible. He was so happy then—the stupid kid."
"How did Danzō convince Hiashi and Minato? Those eyes never belonged to them. They were my Clan's. They had no right," he grated in a loud voice. His breaths came out heavy and hard. His mouth contorted in anger. He was livid.
"Wars weakened these two clans. Hyūga were but a shadow of their former selves and Namikaze were left with but a few heirs. Minato was one of them," he said with an ugly grin pasted on his face and continued, "Hyūgas were poor. They never could get out of that rut, but Minato was rich. They gave what Yagura asked—eyes for the Elite and money to make a new alliance. An alliance between the Head of the Hyūga Clan, Namikaze, the shady scum of Root, and the power-hungry kid, Yagura."
Shock came over Sasuke's face and he opened his trembling mouth to speak: "the Tulip Squad . . . " It was as if his breaths suddenly left him. Streaks of heat went straight to his heart and it pained him. It was burning with hatred. They were all in on it all along—every single one of them!
A loud peal of laughter burst from Kisame's breast. "So clever, little Uchiha. I like your nimble mind," he said with a note of laughter in his voice. "Yes, the Tulip Squad was an alliance. It ensured Yagura's reign and gave Hiashi and Minato a lot of financial security. They were given special posts in the Squad, and they carried out Espionage missions from time to time. Imagine, an alliance between Mist and Root—it was such a powerful thing. But, alas, it was just not meant to be."
"Did something—"
"Sasuke, some ninjas are approaching this area and fast," Karin cut Sasuke off loudly, "they're about thirty kilometres away."
Kisame stood up from his perch and held the sword's hilt tightly in his hand. He looked at Sasuke with an odd expression; he was waiting for him to make a decision.
His eyes were still upon Kisame, his mind racing. When he did not respond, she spoke again, in a louder voice: "Sasuke!"
"Damn it," he hissed and clenched his jaws together. It was no use. He looked over to Kisame who was smiling at him. "Go—I'll trigger the trap and buy you some time. And don't tell me your next location. I'll find you myself."
Kisame narrowed his glassy eyes upon him. He was still wearing that meaningful smile and Sasuke felt like . . . he knew him, somehow. "Good luck, littlest Uchiha. Don't make your brother worry. He can get so sad without you," he said and turned around, and before Sasuke could ask him any more, he vanished.
"Stay here and keep Sensing," he said and vanished in the direction of the traps.
It took him a couple of seconds to cover the distance. The wind was cool upon his skin. His heart could not find its right pace, but now was not the time to worry. He stopped before the string buried under the mud. Sun had made the ground a bit hard. He pulled at it and sent a spark of current that travelled like a ripple through the moisture on the ground. It triggered several explosives some five kilometres away.
Then Sasuke rushed back to Karin. They had to make it out before someone sensed his Chakra; it was too powerful to be veiled by such a small distance. He did not stop running. He grabbed her and took a long leap into the ravine. Karin let out a loud scream. They were falling down and down at an immense speed. Then, suddenly, his hand shot out and threw a string towards a thick root jutting out of the rocks. It broke their fall and allowed him to swing across another gorge that opened up into an underground lake; his cloak flew behind him like wings.
His feet finally found purchase upon the ground. He went skidding to the right and ran some more to increase the gap between those men and himself. At last, he stopped when they came upon a thicket of trees. He put Karin down—whose mouth was still open in a silent scream, and her hair was tousled. He looked up towards the mountain that stood proudly under the sun. It was a hasty scramble to make it down in one piece, but they had left the clearing some fifteen kilometres behind them . . .
# # # # # #
Serizawa slid open the door, and his gaze fell down to Itachi lying beneath the sheets. A look of distress was plastered on Itachi's sweaty face. His breaths were shallow. A thin film of sweat covered his face and breast. Kai was trying to bring the fever down with cold cloths placed on his breast, neck, and forehead.
Kai raised his eyes to look at Serizawa's tense face. "What did she say?" he asked and put a hot cloth back into the pail of cold water.
Serizawa quietly closed the door and sat down cross-legged beside him. "Two days," he said and looked at the autumn moth sneaking in through the tear in the window screen; it loved the purple glow of the lantern sitting beside Itachi.
"What? That means . . . " his voice trailed off. A look of shock and surprise came to his face.
"Yes, only two days are left. And Itachi-Sama is still so ill. She can't do much. The Elders are with Danzō. And he isn't there to vote in his brother's favour," he said in a low voice, stretching his hand to wipe away a bloody tear moving down Itachi's cheek.
Silence. It was not the peaceful kind but the deafening and painful sort. They could hear the flutters of the moth's delicate wings. The discordant sounds of Itachi's breaths and the wings . . . it felt eerie to their ears.
"We can wake him up," Kai suggested, "push a little chakra into his temples to soothe his eyes. He has been out since yesterday. It will be night soon. There's no telling when he'll come to. It might be too late when he does. He won't forgive us. He'll never forgive us if something happens to Sasuke." He looked at Serizawa fearfully.
"There's no need. Suigetsu will be back by nightfall. Sasuke only sent him away for two days. Let's wait," he said and touched Itachi's wrist to check his pulse and fever. The heat of his fever had cooled down just a bit. Even his pulse was a little steady, but it was far too soon.
"Aren't you the one who told me to take Sasuke seriously? Are you in a mood to abandon him now? I don't understand you, Serizawa," he said and gazed at the flutter of Itachi's lashes. His eyes moved left and right rapidly: he was dreaming.
"Of course I'd never want that," he said and leant forward, "but there's no point in waking him up now. He is ill and he is weak. At the rate he was going, he would've gotten blind for months. He would've put himself into a coma. Who would've protected us all, then? Protected Sasuke? No one. It's all right to sacrifice a day or two."
"You believe in small sacrifices, do you?" Kai asked and pulled out the wet cloth from the pail. He wrung it out and put it on the side of Itachi's neck.
"I do. We can still push chakra into his temples and give him herbs to soothe his eyes. It would bring the fever down faster. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. And by the time he wakes up, his eyes will be good as new," he said and grabbed the moth from the lamp. It struggled between his fingers.
"He will be furious. Don't say I didn't warn you," Kai muttered and grabbed another cloth from Itachi's breast.
"Isn't he always?" he said with an amused chuckle. "He's human. He's also young. Worry just made him a little hasty. That's the part of him I want. As long as he maintains a balance, between this side of himself and the cold other, he'll become a great leader for our people. The kind we need."
Kai looked at him and the moth still caught between his fingers. There was a reassuring smile on Serizawa's face. It was a mild smile, and he returned it with a pleasant one of his own.
The sky was in the grasp of night and angry clouds. Thunder roared like a ravening beast, marking its territory. Itachi was left alone to sleep peacefully. His fever had broken; his heart was steady; he dreamt. The persistent sounds of thunder invaded his thoughts and plucked a memory from his childhood.
It was a night like this. The sky was no less angry. He slept peacefully in his room. He sat up with a start when he felt a small body shivering under the kakebuton with him. He pulled the kakebuton up and found Sasuke rolled up into a ball next to his leg.
"Sasuke, what's wrong?" he asked and pushed the kakebuton back. Sasuke lifted his head up, his eyes big and wide. He let out a little squeak when thunder shook the whole room. He buried his face in the kakebuton again, and his eyes closed tightly.
"Nii-San, I hate lightning. I hate thunder," he said, his voice muffled by the futon.
Itachi smiled and crossed his legs. He lifted Sasuke up by the arms and sat the child on his lap and held him that way. He poked his forehead and spoke: "it's so late. I have a mission tomorrow. Okā-San will be so angry if she finds you in my room. You've five and a big boy now. Isn't that what you told me last time when you requested for your own room?"
Lightning flashed, and before the rumbling sound of thunder came to them from across the sky, Sasuke pressed his hands against his ears and narrowed his eyes. His mouth pursed in concentration, and half of his upper body jerked forward when the roaring sound echoed through the house. "See, Nii-San, see? It's so scary. What if it falls down on my head?" he shouted over the long, crashing sound of thunder.
"Lightning?" Itachi asked and brushed Sasuke's messy hair away from his forehead.
"Yes! Thunder can't fall down on my head like that," he said in a small voice and stood up on his lap, his head barely making it to Itachi's forehead. He was still so small.
"Lightning won't hit you. It's just an electrostatic discharge, remember? It can't just come inside the house," he said with a smile.
Sasuke frowned in response, making a face as if his brother was not taking him seriously. Then a smile broke out on his face, and he looked back at him. "Can you teach me, Nii-San?" he asked and sat back down again.
"Teach you what?" Itachi tilted his head a little and leant forward to pull the kakebuton over Sasuke's legs.
"Raiton, Nii-San," he said, "Shisui told me that I can make one when I grow up. Will you, Nii-San? Will you?" He pulled at Itachi's shirt. He did not know what to say in response.
"Shisui-San. You can't call older people by their names like that. It's not polite. You're a good boy, aren't you?" he corrected him in a kind voice. "Sasuke, I don't have a Raiton affinity. I can't teach that to you."
"Okay," he said in a low voice and bent his head down. He looked sad.
"But I can teach you Chakra-Control. You can learn anything with that. I promise you," he said and poked Sasuke's forehead again when he created a big smile on his small face. His plump cheeks were rosy-red. He was happy.
Itachi directed his eyes to the door when he heard soft steps on the other side. Not a second later, Mikoto slid open the door. A little light from the lantern in the corridor leaked into the room. "Sasuke, are you still bothering your brother? He has a mission tomorrow. If thunder still frightens you, then you can come and sleep with me. Come on, let your brother get some rest," she said with her hands on her hips. She looked a little angry.
Sasuke let out a small protesting sound and mumbled something incoherent. He frowned with a pout on his lips and slid further down under the kakebuton to cover his face. Itachi smiled down at him and then looked at his mother. "It's all right, Okā-San. He can sleep with me," he said and curled an arm around Sasuke's back.
"Itachi, you're spoiling him," she sighed out and put her hand to her cheek. "Fine. But he's not going to learn to sleep alone if you keep coddling him." With that, she left the room.
Sasuke jumped up and hugged Itachi. "Nii-San, I love you. Tell me a story. The last one. You didn't finish it," he said and sat down, his big eyes fixed upon Itachi's face.
"Well, Kirin could tame lightning. He was brilliant, but he was impatient. He was also rash . . . " his soft words fell upon Sasuke's ears. He listened to him eagerly. Those were the days. They were young and so in love with the idea that one would always protect the other.
A flash of lighting and a loud bang of thunder . . . and Itachi's eyes fluttered open. With the lantern still lit, the details of the room swam into view. He sat up straight and buried his face in his hands. His eyes did not pain him any longer. His fever was gone. He felt a little weak, but that was expected.
When Itachi moved his eyes, he found the room empty. A cool wind snuck in through the tear in the partition screen. The winds had not been kind to it. As he pulled back his hands, his eyes fell upon the autumn moth moving on the white sheets. He put his fingers in its path and it climbed on his hand.
He brought his hand close to his face, his thoughts elsewhere. Lightning flashed again and he spoke, as if still caught in the delicate web of his powerful memories: "does lightning still frighten you, Sasuke?"
And somewhere far away, Sasuke sat close to the mouth of the cave. He moved his fingers and watched the current jump from one hand to the other with such delight. He looked up and saw the ferocious lightning fall down not far from him. A resounding roar shook him to his bones. He touched the ground with his fingers, and like starving snakes slithering across the ground, the charge ran towards his hand and he soaked it up.
"You don't frighten me anymore. I've tamed you," he whispered, and there was a bold smile on his young face . . .
# # # # # #
Words: 4,045
Characters: 17,541