Author's Note: Hello dearest readers!I have been having some thoughts on how far I do want to take SoTH. I do know what it will go canon for the most part with some butterfly effects. Things have been looking up for me and I am hoping to get more chapters out this you for being so patient.
"And who would have thought that the very girl would be sitting beside me having an emotional breakdown." Kakashi joked. Koi smiled and kissed the man on the cheek. "You need some rest."
"Hmm," she agreed. She stood up and headed down the hall. Koi stopped and looked back at the Jonin. "Kakashi-kun?"
"Hm?"
"You have been here long enough to know where everything is." Koi smiled, "I don't want another incident like before. I'm still avoiding Guy-san. The explanation is still on you." Kakashi's face paled as the memory pulled forward. He did not want to explain that to Konoha's Youthful Green Beast. Koi closed the door and left Kakashi to his thoughts.
His mind drifted to the blue haired woman he knew in his youth. Then again, she was bubbly and welcoming as she was now. However, now she seems to be hiding a bit more than the last time Kakashi thought. The first time he met the infamous Ningyo was during the chunin exams and they had fought between them as they completed a trial, but became acquaintances. He also remembers the blue boy she was with. He was already a chunin, but she needed the teammate. It was only to be allowed this once since the Kiri had such a hard graduation exam. Kakashi leaned his head back, thinking about the her words to him.
"Someday, we will all know peace as we live and breath."
She was an advocate for peace and loved to be near water. Yet, she was ended up caught in the middle of a war that devastated her clan and her love. Yet she was still the same Koi as she was in the chunin exams. Maybe a bit deadlier.
Kakashi knew the power of the ningyo. He knew what Koi could do. She could take out all the shinobi villages if she wanted to, but that was just the legend. Right? Kakashi groaned as he stood up to grab a pillow and blanket from their respected closet.
He stared at the color off them with a deadpan look. Kakashi loved Koi for all for all that she was worth, but did her linens have to be seaweed green. A chortle could be heard behind the closed door that belonged to the Ningyo. She knew he wouldn't appreciate them. Kakashi looked to the door and whined, "Koi-chan that's just mean…"
The door opened a crack only for Kakashi's black eye to meet a honey one. Laughter and mischief show brightly in the dim light. Kakashi moved and placed his head on the door. Koi opened the door more letting Kakashi fall into her shoulder. She laughed, "The great Copy-Cat ninja, Hatake Kakashi bested by green sheets."
"I don't want to be reminded of Guy when I wake up." He mumbled as he buried his face into her neck.
"Come on, to bed." She patted his head. They both turned and made their way to her bed. To Koi, Kakashi was Sota's replacement. At least, safety wise. Always on his toes. As they laid in bed, Koi played with his hair and hummed. Maybe he was more like puppy than a brother.
"Welcome!" A voice rang throughout the lobby. All that was left for evidence of someone being, was a scroll, a satchel of coins, and the muffled sound of a door closing An elderly woman approached the desk and smiled, "You have been gone a long time, my son." The moon hung low as is barely crested the sky beneath the trees, showing that it was two in the morning. The woman grabbed the items and returned to her room.
Sora rose first as always. An early ninja gets the missions, his mother always says, not that it made sense. Then again did she ever? He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched. Being only five years old was hard.
"Maybe Kaa-chan can make ramen," he thought out loud. He moved from the futon stood up, stretching once again. "Maybe I'll skip class and follow Kaa-chan to the inn."
"The answer is no." Koi appeared in the doorway. Sora was startled by her presence and fell backward.
"K-Kaa-chan, I was just joking!" He stammered. She smiled knowing that she startled him. She moved from the doorway only to be called to the next one by the cry of her small infant. Sora dressed in his normal green shirt and black pants, both held on loosely to his body. Koi always scolded him about loose attire seeing how he'd always trip. She even bought him new clothes, but insisted that he wore that.
Sora entered the hall passing his mother and sister to get breakfast. Koi came following in tow sighing at the very fact of Sora's clothes. Before he could question his mother about where his uncle had gone, a knock came from the door. He looked at the clock on the wall. Seven 'O' clock. Naruto was here. The door opened bringing the bright sight of the five-year-old jinjuriki. Happy and excited for the day.
"Kaa-chan," he beamed at the woman in the kitchen, "I'm home!" Koi smiled and placed the infant in her high chair. She turned to open the fridge pulling out the left over rice porridge from the night before.
"Ne, Naru-chan," Koi questioned, "Did you eat breakfast?" She looked over as Naruto's smile dropped. No, the boy hadn't eaten yet. He only ate ramen and has been scolded many a time for just eating that. "Come now, love, sit and eat with us." Naruto's face grew back into a smile as he and Sora joined Koto at the table. Koi started heating up the rice porridge. Her little family brought her great joy. Her family would be proud, at least she thought so. The boys were chatting about school, whispering so they were not heard by the very woman cooking food. Life was grand for Koi in her little pond.
"Kaa-chan?" Naruto started as Koi put the bowls in front of the children and started feeding Koto. "do you have any stories about the Ningyo?" Sora watched as his mother looked back. Both boy dug it to their food as Koi sighed, smiling softly. They loved the Ningyo and her tales. She thought about it for a second.
"Actually I do. Would you like to hear it?" Naruto nodded as Sora grinned, "Alright then, you know that the Ningyo wasn't of any village, yet she was able to participate in the Chunin exams in Kumogakure…"
Kisame and Koi looked at each with disgust. They may have trained and fought together in the past few months since Koi found him, but they still disliked each other with a passion. Shigure, Koi's father made that the pair were in sync together despite their feud. After their fight in the Uta compound, Kou and Kisame used their animosity toward each other to fuel their training. Acting as their sensei, Shigure accompanied them to Kumogakure. He was only there to make sure they don't kill each other.
Koi walked along the rocky ridge with chakra rooting her feet to the ground. Knowing Kisame, he would try to push her off the ledge if he could. She kept her head straight, yet her eyes cast to the ground. Once in a while she would steal a glance at the Shark boy next to her. Unbeknownst to her, he did the same. Both lost in thought as they continued their silent walk to the Cloud Village.
She is nothing more than a spoiled, arrogant princess. Kisame's thoughts only fueled is anger as he took one more glance at Koi. However, their eyes met. Kisame's lip curled up in a scowl while a small blush painted her face as they both looked away. How dare she come along? She will only get herself killed. However, she is pretty. Kisame stopped his tracks and shook his head. Uta no Koi was not pretty to him. Only an arrogant brat. Not Pretty. But she wasn't ugly, and her eyes reminded him of honey, sweet honey. His thoughts betrayed him. Koi only looked back at Kisame who started walking again. A twinge of purple dusted his cheeks when he noticed that she was looking at him.
"Why are you blushing?" She smirked. A smug air around her angered Kisame. Her voice was annoying him, but her voice reminded him of a smooth blade. The way her voice just seemed to cut through him.
"'I'm not," He defended, " I'm all pissed off so it shows on my face." She raised her eyebrow questioning him. Koi had no care for him. He was blushing and she caught him. Then again why was she looking at him? Koi saw that he caught up and was ahead by a few steps. She watched how his strong arms swung, how muscular his back was through his shirt. Koi notices how angular his job was and how his gills made him just a bit more handsome. Wait handsome? Kisame? No. Koi would never think that Kisame was handsome. Sure he was cute but that was about it. Wait… damn it.
"You two need to work out your emotions for each other." A voice called out. Koi glared at the figure ahead. Kisame braced for battle. As the figure walked toward them, Koi recognized the person and charged.
"Onii-san!" She laughed as she tackled the man. Sota smiled as he tried to detach his sister from his waist. Shigure and Kisame just continued to walk past them making their way toward the gate of the Cloud village.
"At least my imouto loves me," He joked as his father walked past, "Now about your crush on Hoshigaki-san."
"Excuse me?" Koi stuttered. Sota only gave her his joking smile. She glared at him and just started after the pair ahead of them. "Jump in a feeding frenzy."
"Uta no Koi!" Her father scolded.
"I'm sorry." Koi caught up with them. Kisame watched as she walked in pace with him. Koi turned and gave the teen an evil grin. Her eyes steeled as she caught his. It sent a shiver down his spine. When she did this, he didn't see the prissy princess. All he was was a piranha ready to eat him.
"You are lucky, Kisame-kun," She teased, " You aren't affected by my kekkai genkai. Or I would have killed you a long, long time ago." It was her attempt to scare him. It worked partly. He knew that she was powerful and it almost rivaled him. Almost being the key term. Kisame turned to Shigure and Sota.
"She may be turning thirteen tomorrow, but damn is she scary." He mumbled to them.
" 'She can be scary,' the young beast spoke." Koi finished. The kitchen clock began to chime signaling it was time to leave for the Academy. "Alright you two. Now off to school and no skipping." The pair stood up and put the dishes in the sink before hurrying out. As the door shut, Koi turned to her daughter who was covered in the porridge. Koi shook her head, still smiling. She picked up the little infant and took her to take a bath.
Only nine months old, Koto was smiling away in the little tub. She was splashing in the water laughing away. She was starting to walk, skipping crawling altogether. To Koi, Koto was just a normal, if not advanced, baby. Her robin eggshell skin would only brighten the pink outfit she would don later in the day. Koi worried that Koto would want to become a kunoichi. Not that there was anything wrong with being a kunoichi, but she knew that there were some skeevy things that they did. . Between her skin tone, honey eyes, and blue hair, she was undoubtedly the byproduct of love between Kisame and Koi. Her appearance would make her extremely recognizable. Let alone, her brother was a bit darker than she was. Koi would respect her choice to be a kunoichi and would help her on the path she has chosen. However, she doesn't want her daughter to know the cruelty of the ninja life. At least for now, she has many years to go before that.
Koto splashed and cooed some more before Koi took her out of the tub. She dried her, dressed her and got her strapped to her chest in a wrap. If Koi knew should would being doing this with Kisame, she would have laughed. She missed him immensely. How could she not? Kisame Hoshigaki seemed to be the only one who fit with her in the strange world. Even after everything, the two never faltered. Koi wondered if he would even be at the Inn today. Koi patted her pocket where the scroll the old woman had sent to request her help. Koi just sighed, "Come on, my little guppy."
The two walked out the door. Koi's mind started to wander. Its been at least a year and a half since she has seen Kisame last. A scowl graced Koi's face as she tried to recollect the time she even send a summons to him. The inn was their only way of communication and even now it was sparingly. Something must be going on in the Kiri that won't let Kisame away for a bit. He is one of the seven swordsmen of the mist. Partners with Zabuza too. A look of dread replaced her scowl as she walked through the village. People around her glared or stared at the mother as her facial expressions changed with each thought.
"Of all things to think about, Zabuza is not one of them," She mumbled to herself.
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"Sora!" Iruka-sensei called out, "Naruto!" He watched at the two boys walked passed him ignoring his calls. "Sora-kun, your mother told me that she was going to the inn today so you and Naruto are supposed to go home, then to the ramen shop." Sora looked at his whiskered friend and winked. This meant that they would get some poor genin to watch them. "Also, Sora-kun?"
"Hai, Iruka-sensei?" Sora responded.
"No skipping class today. We are learning about the different villages today." He sweated. Sora hated history about anything. But if Koi found out he skipped again or even attempting too, he would be pulled from the program. He begrudgingly walked into the Academy with Naruto.
"Let's just get this over with," Sora sighed.
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Koi, with Koto strapped to her chest, continued on her way to the main gate. Life was much simpler when she was younger, Koi thought. She sighed and played with her daughter's short hair. She hummed to entertain the infant. It was the same tune that Koi's mother sang to her, and her grandmother sang to her mother and so on. Koi's thought of her late family gave way to a flood of emotions. She tried to shove them off and focus on her daughter's soft snores as she fell asleep. Koi's joy was to see her children grow up in a safe place. Kiri wasn't exactly the safest. Koi's hand patted the child's behind, adjusting her slightly. Memory after memory ran through her mind as she walked.
"Oi!" A gruff voice brought Koi out of her thoughts, What seemed like just a few minutes actually had been hours as she realized she made it to the gate. It loomed above her like a mouth ready to swallow all who stepped inside. "Koi-chan? What are you going here?" Hagane, Kotetsu. At least Koi remember the chunin's name. He was partnered with Izumo. But Koi realized it wasn't either of them who spoke. It was Kakashi who stood at the gate with Asuma and Guy. Anxiety rose within her stomach as she feared the confrontation with Might Guy.
"I'm going to help Obaa-sama with the inn today. Hokage-sama requested that I take a few days off." She affirmed.
"How very youthful of you, Koi-chan!" Guy beamed. He gave his best nice guy pose. Kakashi shot her a smirk, in turn, earned him an eat shit glare from Koi.
"Well," She started to turn away from the men, "I'll be off. Please keep an eye on my boys. I told them they could get ramen today." The three men only could watch her walk away. Her walk wasn't very flirtatious, but the scroll wrapped around her hips made her assets from behind more please to the eye.
"She still has a great ass." Asuma smirked, "Kakashi-san, why aren't you getting in on that yet?" Neither of the men's gazes left Koi's shrinking figure.
"Because," Kakashi shrugged, "Koi-chan has only one love. I am merely her friend."
A door opened and the owner of the inn sat at her table drinking tea. A shadow loomed over the old woman. She never moved, yet there was an air of danger that prickled her neck. She set her cup down and picked up the teapot. Another cup across from her was filled politely.
"I did make you a cup of tea." Her voice grew gravely with age, yet it held contentment in it. The old woman knew that her "shadow" wouldn't harm her, but instead sat in front of her. The shadow's beady eyes glanced back at the woman. It sipped its tea in silence. The old woman smiled. A thought struck her. Oh how mischevious this woman could be. Mischievous and matchmaking were two of her qualities. She went to speak only to glance at the shadows outside. It was nearly noon. Yes, the moment would be upon them soon.
"Yuki-sama," the shadow spoke, taking her away from her thoughts. She looked at the shadow before her, smiling. "I want to thank you for what you do for me and-"
"There is no need to thank me." She said quickly, "You and the others are family. With that being said, take your cloak and stop being shady for Kami's sake." The shadow did what the elder asked. His blue-grey skin looked out of place in the warm environment. His blue hair needed stuck up without gel. The old woman just smiled warmly at the 195 cm (roughly 6 foot 4) tall man. "It's good to have you back. She missed you, Kisame-kun."
Author's Note: I wanted to think those who have favorited and followed so far! You are amazing and thank you for reading! I feel terrible for spacing my chapters out so far. Between work, school, and raising a toddler, writing can be challenging. I have things on paper I just need to sit down and type them out. So with that being said, thank you all for everything!