Suki

"Let's go do something," I urged Kisame, bored of reading the same bounty book over and over again.

He sighed and set his issue of Grass-Nin Weekly down, giving me a look.

"There's nothing to do." I said at the same time he did.

My shark-man gave me the look again, and I felt myself melting in to the bed.

"It's been days and Zena still isn't back. Kira is off doing... Kira things.. And I'm really bored," I pouted, begging him with my soul to entertain me.

Kisame breathed out deeply, relenting. "Alright, princess. What do you want to do?"

I giggled, pleased that the missing shark-nin had such a soft spot for me. He returned the soft smile, helping me sit up.

"Well," I began, drawling the word out. "I don't know." He sighed, but I continued before he could speak. "What is there to do here? I need to get out of the house... Do something just to do it."-

Kisame was quiet a moment, thinking. "I did see something about a circus coming through a village not too far.."

I looked at him pleadingly, crawling closer to his face. "Can we go? Pleeeease?"

He scratched his head, chuckling and pushing me away. "I'll talk to Leader-sama..."

A short while later, he returned with the good news: Leader had granted us the evening, provided we covered the expenses with our own money, as well as covering our own lost wages.

I was more than happy to accept, relieved to be able to do something fun.

I tracked Zena down and extended the offer to her and her two dopey sidekicks.

Deidara had practically forced them to accept, citing his previous missing out on explosive shenanigans.

Sasori agreed, demanding that the blonde cover their lost wages all by himself, since it was his idiocy had left him with no choice but to join his partner. Sakana, Hidan and Kakuzu had opted out, choosing to save and earn money, instead of wasting it on 'trivial bullshit', as Kakuzu had said.

Nevertheless, I was determined to have fun, even if some of my most cared about people were being left out.

In a short while, we were ready, with the guys having changed into comfortable, but still protective gear. Each of them had concealed their identities, taking on different looks.

Kisame had gone with pale skin, and while he kept his dark blue locks, his eyes weren't pale blue anymore, nor where they shaped like a shark's. His gills were gone, as well as his pointed teeth.

Sasori was lacking his puppet-y look, his hair now brown and his eyes red. Hmph, real big change there, buddy.

Deidara's look was by far the most jarring. His long hair was now loose and gingery orange, and his eyes were emerald green.

Each had flak jackets and their weapons, but none had bothered wearing their cloak. I guess you never know when danger will strike when you're trying to enjoy the night.

The circus would be at the village that Deidara had been to before with the Uchihas and the Immortal, so the blonde led us there with minimal effort.

We arrived, the town was teeming with families out enjoying the carnival and related events taking place.

Sasori, Deidara, and Kira departed, going to explore on their own.

I was a little sad that Kira wasn't right there with me to enjoy the fun, but I had Kisame to fill the void she left behind.

"Can we try the strength game?" I asked, spotting a man with a large mallet.

"Alright," Kisame agreed, letting me drag him over to the man. He accepted the comically sized tool as I paid a few yen to the pain, and reared back.

The sound that the machine made when the mallet connected with it was nearly deafening.

"Ah, I should have mention that the use of chakra is prohibited, sir..." The man tittered nervously.

"Sorry," Kisame grinned abashedly, "I didn't use chakra at all..."

Nevertheless, he paid the carnie to replace the damaged equipment, and tugged me along.

"Show-off," I teased him.

He scoffed, "Yeah right, I used barely a fraction of my strength, and that's without chakra."

I rolled my eyes, but he caught it apparently.

"It's true, Princess." He grinned, and I was put off by how attracted to how normal Kisame looked. "I'm strong enough to keep you from harm."

I giggled, charmed by his handsome features. "Kisame-kun, quit flirting. Let's go do some fun stuff!"

"Oh, but dear Suki," Kisame chuckled, lifting me with ease, "One as lowly as I could never expect to speak so comfortably to such a precious gem."

I squeaked as he lifted me to his shoulders. I climbed on and rested my chin on his head. "Seriously, Kisa," I whined, "You're being so odd."

He scoffed, "I'm only trying to entertain you, as you wished. Is it working?"

I nodded, knowing he couldn't see me. "I think it's time for the circus to start," I noted, pointing at the crowd streaming into the tent.

We joined it, Kisame easily muscling through the smaller people, while I was still perched on his shoulders. When we reached the entrance, he paid a few coins to one of the attendants, then gently helped me down.

As we strode in, we couldn't find a single seat open, so we opted for standing near the entrance, off to the side of the main walkway.

"Hurry up, brat, you're going to make Kira-chan miss the show." Sasori's voice grumbled, and the trio came into view, my sister toting a large stuffed animal and an indignant blush. Deidara had a large cotton candy, which he seemed to be enjoying.

"Hey guys," Kira greeted us, coming to stand by Kisame and I.

It was still pre-show, and the crowd murmured in anticipation of circus wonders.

"This really sucks, there's nowhere to sit," I sighed, scanning the rows of stands once more.

Nobody said anything, but at that moment, the band sprang to life, playing lively tunes as the ringleader came out from the entranceway we were standing in.

He gave us an odd look, but didn't say anything as he strode past us and welcomed the crowd.

"Thank you for coming to the Sakura Blossom Circus!" His voiced boomed, and he waved his hands animatedly as he took his place in the open floor of the circus tent.

He brought out a few animals that the small children were thrilled by, seals balancing balls and bears showing off acts of 'genius', and then sent them back.

Next, acrobats and sword swallowers, and then, he began hyping the crowd up for the main event.

"And now... The Sakura Blossom Circus' disappearing man!" Spotlights shone towards us, drumrolls rattled, and a lanky man stepped forward, light blonde hair sweeping down his shoulders.

His baby blue eyes fell to me, then flicked to my left and he gulped.

"It- It can't be. Suki... and Kira as well... Oh, of course not..." He called to the ringleader, waving his hands at the carnie, and my sister and I watched with confusion as the blonde man disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The ringleader, who I assumed now was Jericho, as the blonde man had called him apologized to the crowd, explaining that something had come up.

I was determined to stick around and figure out why that man knew us, and I could tell that Kira had that same resolve from one look.

Kisame and Sasori didn't bother arguing as we drug them over to speak to Jericho.

"I'm terribly sorry about this problem, if you speak to the attendants, they will be issuing a partial refund-" He apologized, smiling softly and clapping his hands together.

I cut him off with a wave of my hand. "I don't want a refund. I need to know who that man was."

He gave a confused look, his pale yellow eyes crinkling at the corners. "Pardon me?"

"He was probably 5'10", light blonde hair, baby blue eyes... Looked a lot like my sister here, actually," Kira explained, motioning toward me. "He said something odd and disappeared."

Jericho gulped, "Ah, that was Takei-san, he's a wandering ninja. Comes from some destroyed village, his ninjutsu really is something else—although we really don't want to ruin the 'magic' for these civilian children, you know."

"Tell us where he is," Sasori demanded, brown eyes narrowing as he stepped forward.

"Ah- of course, my apologies." The carnie hastily apologized, then just as quickly gave us an indication of where this mysterious smoke user would be at.

I knocked on the caravan door, waiting a moment before a soft "enter" was heard. Kira and I filed into the small room, standing awkwardly in the space before the man.

"The two girls from before..." He said, blinking at as slowly. "Please, sit." He motioned to a small sofa, tucked between the wall and a bookcase filled with novels.

I sat nearest him, and my sister perched herself by the bookcase.

"Sorry to disturb you, Takei-san, but, well..." I began, looking around the small room. It was small and clean, but you could tell that the owner lived a meager life.

"Ah, I should apologize," he began, stirring a cup of tea in his hands. "I'm terribly sorry, I seemed to have called you by my daughter's names." He bowed his head.

"Actually, that's why we're here... You... called us by our names." I said, "We were just confused—We're sorry for hindering you, then if that's the case."

He smiled, his eyes crinkling. "That's really quite a coincidence. You're Suki, then," he nodded at me, then looked at Kira, who pointedly looked at the wall. "And you're Kira. It really is uncanny..."

I inclined my head. "Do we act like them, then?"

He shook his head, "They... died when they were young, actually."

I gasped, "Oh, I'm so sorry—"

He waved his hand, "It's alright, Suki-chan. If they were here, I imagine they'd be the same as you two... My daughters took after their parents." He chuckled, "Even as infants, my little blossoms were just like their mom and dad."

I smiled, watching his face as he recalled a time long gone.

"Little Su-chan was fussy and loud, but Ki-chan was really calm and easy." He chuckled, "Just like... Nagaya."

"Your wife," Kira said, eyes still on the wall.

"Yeah... She was... Always so reserved, but when it was just us, it was like nothing mattered. Not her clan or who they wanted her to marry... Just this quiet, sweet girl, and a big, goofy oaf to keep her laughing." He scratched the back of his head and pulled a locket from beneath his yukata. He handed it to me, and I peered down at it.

It was a worn photograph of a happy family, holding each other close. It was him, I realized, his left arm holding his wife, and his right holding a tiny baby with red hair sprouting from her head. His wife was almost identical to Kira, with red locks tumbling down her back, and a sly smirk gracing her face. She was holding a smiling baby with curly blonde hair.

"I loved them dearly," he sighed, "But the clan had other plans."

Takei wasn't finished with his tale, and I handed Kira the locket as he continued. "We had managed to elope, and Nagaya's brother stepped up as heir to the clan head, despite not being firstborn. They let us be... Until she became pregnant, and bore twins..." He swallowed, then continued. "The clan had an urban legend, Kemuri twins would bring about the destruction of the clan. When they learned of ours... They wanted to get rid of my girls. They ordered Nagaya to dispose of them when they were a few months old... Two days after that photograph was taken. She refused, and they made her obey. They came and took my girls. They made Nagaya subdue me while they took our children." I wiped my eyes, realizing that he and I were both weeping. Kira crossed her legs.

"Takei-san, you don't have to—" I began, but he held up his hand.

"I need someone to hear my tale," he had a melancholy smile, so I surrendered my objections and he resumed. "They blamed me for it. I was exiled from our village, marked as enemy ninja... And Nagaya... She died of heartbreak. With her last effort, she gave me her remaining chakra, and bestowed her kekkei tota on me so that I could never be subjected to its wrath again.

"I joined this circus, and we wander across civilian villages. The joy that the children experience is enough to keep someone like me from moving onto to next life..." He trailed off, catching my eye, then laughed and scratched his head. "Anyways, that's my story... It doesn't have a good ending, I'm afraid."

I smiled, looking down at my lap. "Takei-san, I don't think that what happened to you was right, and I'm terribly sorry for your loss... I'm inspired by your enthusiasm to keep children happy."

Kira cleared her throat, "If you're done, Suki..."

I gave her a look, but let her speak.

"Takei-san, may I ask what this is on Nagaya-san's shoulder?" She pointed to a tiny speck on the woman's right shoulder.

Takei chuckled, then pulled his own collar back. He had a small moon tattooed on his left shoulder. "She and I had these done... It was her idea. I was her sun and she was my moon."

I looked at Kira, eyes wide in shock. She nodded sagely, and pulled her own collar down. She had the sun tattooed on her right shoulder. "Suki."

"Oh, right." I mumbled, pulling my own back. I had the moon on my left shoulder. "She is my moon," I began.

"And she is my sun," Kira finished.

Takei was at a loss for words. "That's—... This cannot be mere coincidence."

Kira nodded again. "Takei-san, I know this may be hard to hear... But we may be your lost daughters."

He swallowed, crossing his hands under his chin. "There is a village hidden where wind, fire, and water meet. There, you'll find the answers you seek."

With that, Kira pulled me from the caravan as I waved to the man, who looked more troubled than when we arrived.

Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara were waiting for us.

Sasori grumbled about how long we'd been, but I ignored him and laced my hand in Kisame's.

He gave me a worried look, "Are you alright?"

"Mhmm," I mumbled, fixing a smile on my face. "It's okay."