"What kind of fish do you have today, Miss Uchiumi?"
"You're looking very radiant today! Must have been a good catch this morning!"
Violet hair flew as a female manned her family's seafood market at the dock, talking with the customers and packaging orders. It was another warm, sunny day on Saburo Island, one of the islands that made up the Land of Sea. Saburo was on the smaller side, but it was best known for its seafood, which the Uchiumi clan was responsible for. They would get a lot of orders from neighboring countries, which made her family's business a main source of income for their country according to their daimyo.
Her name was Nagisa Uchiumi and she was twenty-eight years old. One day she was going to take over as the head of her clan, but for now, she was stuck managing sales. By the early afternoon, the last customer had been served and all of the day's earnings had been counted. The violette bid her farewells and left to return home.
"Miss Uchiumi, please be careful on your way home!" One of the older ladies who had a stall a few stands down came up to her. Once she was a reasonable distance, she looked around before lowering her voice. "I know you heard of the unfortunate incidents."
The unfortunate incidents… Of course she had heard of them. For a couple of months now, young girls had been disappearing left and right from the island. At first, they were just at night, however currently they would happen at any time of the day. Despite the numerous reports of missing people, none of the girls have been able to be found and it's gotten to the point where there have been reports that the Sea Daimyo has requested help from outside sources.
"Well, whoever it is has another thing coming if they're going to mess with me." Nagisa smirked as she placed her hands on her hips. "You don't have to worry about me, Auntie!"
Waving goodbye, Nagisa left to take her trip over the mountain to the otherside of the island. Her daily routine consisted of sending members of her clan off to sea, waiting for them to return, delivering and selling the catch, then coming back home to start over the next day. The best part of it all was being able to experience the beautiful scenery her home island had.
"Nagisa! You're back!"
The female snapped out of her thoughts to see her little sister, Mizuko, running over to her. Most people would say there were carbon copies of each other, the only differences being that her sister had shoulder-length hair versus her own waist-length ponytail and they were five years apart. The genes from their mom were quite strong.
"What are you doing out, Mizuko?" Nagisa immediately rushed to her side. "You should be at home and out of the sun. If Dad finds out, he's going to be pissed."
"I'm fine, I promise! I feel a lot better today, so maybe he'll understand!" Her sister laughed it off.
Nagisa sighed before smiling at her sister; she'll let it go just this once. Telling her to get on the cart so she was shaded at least, she pulled her along as they journeyed back home. Ever since her sister was born, she was frail and feeble. After some tests from the island doctor, they found out she had the same illness as their mother. Their bodies were fighting themselves for an unknown reason and unfortunately it was hereditary. Mizuko had to stay in the house, out of the sun, and be under supervision at all hours. Their father had started to get lax on her house arrest as the years went by, however when their mother passed away suddenly last year, she was thrown back to square one.
"So… Did anything interesting happen today to the jewel of Saburo Island?" Mizuko teased. "Any secret boyfriends you're hiding from me?"
"Haha, very funny." Nagisa rolled her eyes. "You know I don't have time for any of that stuff. I'm focused on you and the clan and what we're having for dinner tonight."
Mizuko groaned and laid back in the bed of the cart. "Boo! Nagisa, you're the prettiest girl on the island! I've been fine for twenty three years now and you're not getting any younger. I would like to be an aunt someday before I kick the bucket."
"I'm thinking stew or we can go vegetarian and skip meat altogether tonight."
"Don't ignore me." Mizuko sat up. "You could stand to take a break from your routine once in a while. Everything's still going to be there once you get back."
Nagisa stopped walking and frowned before looking back at her sister. "And what's your idea of 'breaking routine'?"
Mizuko's eyes lit up as a wide grin plastered itself across her face. "Going to the shore tonight like we used to!"
The older Uchiumi mulled the idea over in her head. She could stand to go against her father's explicit instructions this time. With all the work and training that she does, she could protect her sister if need be. Besides, they wouldn't be leaving their family's property and the sun wouldn't be out since it would be night time.
"Alright, fine."
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The sound of metal clashing filled the air as a group of shinobi sparred in the training grounds of Kirigakure. As they honed their skills, a particular shinobi had claimed a spot on the back stairwell. Leaning against the wall in front of him was a tall bandaged sword. He just received it and he knew that once his hand grabbed the hilt, he'd be taking on a new world of responsibilities.
"Figuring out how to use your new toy, Kisame?"
Kisame glanced over his shoulder to see the Fourth Mizukage walking across the balcony and stopping at the top of the stairs where he was seated. At first glance, any unknowing stranger would've thought he was a child. The "toy" he was referring to was Samehada, a sword he killed his superior for among other things.
"I figured you wouldn't need me to tell you how to use it since it seems to like you." Yagura continued as he glanced over the railing at the Bloody Mist's newest trainees. "Due to your actions, I'm confident that your loyalty to Kirigakure won't waver."
Kisame stayed silent as his thoughts circled his head. Most people's minds would go blank after seeing so much blood from their companions, however he remembered each one from how he killed them to their last dying breath. Samehada was his prize for 'doing his duty', however what really was the cost? Suddenly, everything wasn't as cut and dry as before. Everything and everyone was a lie.
"In fact, there's something that I need you to do. Think of it as a break from your normal activities." Yagura crossed his arms and turned back to the contemplating male. "There have been reports of a monster in the Land of Sea. Since they've requested some aid, I figured why not fix the problem with one of our own."
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The night was young as the head of the Uchiumi clan, Enyo, sat down with his two daughters for dinner. While they enjoyed their food, he took this time to start some conversation. "So, you know that you're already twenty eight, Nagisa, correct?"
"Like father, like daughter." The eldest female rolled her eyes as she poked at her stew.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Mizuko chuckled. "She's just mad because I said something similar earlier today."
"It's imperative that you find a husband, which shouldn't be difficult for you. Our clan needs a male heir and in this line of work, accidents can happen at any point in time." Enyo continued. Nagisa frowned and placed her spoon down into her soup. Great, they were going to have this conversation once again.
"You already have an heir - me. I'm more than capable of doing the job. You taught me everything I need to know and I'm one of the best fisherman here."
"You already know of our clan's traditions. We were built on centuries of rich history and we will not ignore our ancestor's wish for our patriarchy."
Nagisa turned to her father, trying her best to hold her anger in out of respect. "But Dad! Times change and-"
"Either you find someone or I will arrange other plans. You should be happy that I'm giving you a choice. That is the end of the discussion, Nagisa."
He was adamant and she was infuriated. Her father was such a stickler and so stuck in old times that she found it hard to believe he was actually living in the present with her. It shouldn't anger her this much because it wasn't like he just started acting like this, but once her mother died and her uncle was lost at sea a couple of months ago, he's been out of control.
After dinner, Nagisa was going to try and cool off in her room, but her sister convinced her to take their evening stroll early since their father was called into a meeting with the elders. The smell of the sea followed by the calming sound of the waves crashing against the sand seemed to melt the tension off of Nagisa's shoulders as the two girls walked by the water, holding their shoes.
"Feel a lot better now, huh?" Mizuko grinned. "The sea is the most beautiful at night when the moon is shining down on it."
"I guess… Though you haven't seen anything until you're at sea and you get the first glimpse of dawn." Nagisa grinned. "The scene is magical, I swear."
"Do you think I'll be able to see it one day?"
Mizuko had grabbed a hold of her sister's hand as the two stopped walking. Their mother died younger than she should have and since she had the same disease, it was only expected that she would follow in her footsteps. Nagisa was lucky; she could do what normal people could and go outside to breathe fresh air and feel nature's warmth at a reasonable time of day. Unlike her, she felt like a vampire or something.
"Mizuko, I-"
Before Nagisa could speak, a strong gust of wind surrounded the two and they found themselves in the eye of a tornado. Mizuko screamed and held onto her older sister, however the winds were so loud, she couldn't hear her; Nagisa couldn't even hear her own thoughts. A huge black shadow descended from the sky and Nagisa quickly stood in front of her sister to protect her. Was this what happened to all the girls who had gotten kidnapped?
All of a sudden, the shadow disappeared into the vortex and Nagisa frantically looked around. Where did it go? The next few scenes went by so fast, she couldn't even keep up. She could remember vividly seeing a large bird-like creature with eyes black as night. Next thing she knew, her body was slammed against the rocks along the back of the shore and her sister was in the air, being carried away in claws. The wind dispersed and Nagisa's consciousness faded into darkness.