Nagisa uttered a soft, muffled groan as she slowly regained consciousness. Her body felt weak and she could barely open her eyes until something cold sent a shock through her nervous system. It felt like a hazy flashback - the party, the shore, the elders, then black. The more she opened her eyes, the more she realized exactly where she was. Her wrists and ankles were tied to the pillars under her private dock and each time the frigid waves crashed against her body, they rose higher and higher. She would've called out for help, but her mouth was gagged so tight with a towel that her jaw was sore.

Where were her clansmen? Surely someone noticed that she was gone. She could see the sun starting to rise in the distance, so everyone should've been on their boats by now. Her daily routine involved checking the docks and making sure everyone was accounted for. Her chest tightened every time the waves crashed against it; her body was shaking from how cold she was and she was fighting tears as she willed for someone to notice her.

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"Once again we want to thank you for everything that you've done." Gihachi smiled, his crossed arms concealed by the sleeves of his yukata. He, along with his brothers, stood alongside Chief Enyo at the Uchiumi docks to send off Hitoshi and Kisame. Every once and a while, he would glance over at the private docks in the distance to make sure no one was getting too close but it wasn't an obvious gesture.

"Thank you for your hospitality." Hitoshi bowed. Their boat was anchored by the mainland, so soon they would be on their way back to Kirigakure.

Chief Enyo frowned as he looked around. "I apologize for my daughter's lateness. A hostess should never keep their company waiting."

"She must be very tired from your earlier trip." Tsugio covered with a small smile. "We thank you for keeping her safe as well."

"Her knowledge and technique were useful during the endeavor." Hitoshi replied, keeping up the small talk out of politeness. "She's a capable leader and quick thinker who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. You don't see that from a lot of non-shinobi."

As the elders ushered the two on their way, Kisame and Hitoshi were about to board when Mizuko came running from the main house, followed by two clansmen. She nearly tripped and fell as she waved her arms and yelled to get their attention. When she finally reached them, she looked up at her father with glossy, pleading eyes.

"Nagisa! I can't find Nagisa anywhere!"

"You need to go back inside, Mizuko." Chief Enyo held his youngest daughter steady. "I'm sure she just went out to sea-"

"No, she didn't! You're not listening to me!" The female fervently shook her head. "She has a routine every day! Before she goes out to sea, she always comes to my room and tells me she's leaving and she'll be back. Also, her staff is still in her room! There's something wrong! I can feel it!" The young woman goes into a coughing fit and nearly falls to her knees as her body feels too weak for her to stand on her own.

"That's not-"

One of the clansmen who came spoke up in Mizuko's defense. "Sir, Lady Nagisa wasn't present for morning checks either and Lana is still undergoing repairs."

Mizuko could barely hold her sickness in as she looked towards Kisame. "P-Please, you have to find my sister."

"Lady Mizuko." Gihachi walked over and stood in front of her, blocking her view of Kisame. "You mustn't burden these nice shinobi when they have other important work to tend to. We have our own capable search party we can utilize if you insist on this farce."

The head elder ordered the clansmen to escort Mizuko back to her room and the young violette obliged and left, but not without mustering up a menacing stare at the elder. Ever since they came back home, she felt something different from the elders - like a sense of vexation. Surely they had something to do with her sister's unusual actions.

"I apologize for the unscripted drama. We can take care of this, so please have safe travels." Gihachi immediately brushed off Mizuko's antics and smiled at the two Kiri nin. Once their boat departed, the group of men waited until they were out of hearing before Chief Enyo spoke first.

"I trust you all are not the cause of Nagisa's disappearance."

"Don't try to act like a father now." Tsugio spoke up. "I don't see you rushing to your daughter's side any time soon. As a matter of fact, you don't even look the least bit worried."

Chief Enyo's eyes narrowed as a rush of anger overcame him. "You-"

"I'd advise you not to make a scene." Gihachi quickly thwarted the male's vengeance. "Your hands are equally as dirty as ours. You will ride this out and focus on your main priority as the clan head."

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Hitoshi leaned against the railing of the boat and watched in the distance as the elders and Uchiumi clan head finally left the docks. After hearing Nagisa's sister, he had a gut feeling that there was something wrong. He also saw the contents of the scroll Kisame retrieved and figured out the background. Just from that alone, he knew something was off. On a technicality, their mission was over the moment they stepped on the boat so he could go back on personal matters. Turning to see what his fellow Kiri nin was going to do, the male was nowhere to be seen.

"Jackass…" Hitoshi rolled his eyes as he prepared himself to go back to shore. "The least he could say was bye."

Kisame was already halfway towards the shore as he swam back. There was no way he could leave and not know that Nagisa was okay. He'd spent the last two weeks enduring her moods, listening to her speeches, and growing fond of her. It wasn't a sappy, affectionate type of fond - more of a comfortability than anything. In the end, she was someone he wanted to keep a grasp of and see where their growing bond would take them.

He wasn't going to go back the same way he came, however a sudden smell caught his attention. There was blood coming from the shore. Speeding up, he followed the scent until he was underneath Lana. The water was filled with a mass amount of loose seaweed he had to navigate through and he continued into the maze until he'd found her.

Nagisa could barely hold onto the fading breath in her lungs. The waves had finally reached above her head and she'd already swallowed enough salt water to last a lifetime. Squeezing her eyes shut, she focused on praying for her sister's safety and hoping she was okay. Struggling one last time, she pulled against the bindings on her wrists and ankles and ended up cutting the sole of her foot on a broken seashell. Unbeknownst to her, that was her saving grace as a few moments later, the bindings felt a lot looser and something was pulling her body towards the surface.

The violette choked and gasped for air as her head was finally above water and the towel gag was removed. She flailed around in the water as she was trying to regain her awareness until Kisame grabbed her wrists and forced her to stay still before moving her to the shore.

"Open your eyes, Nagisa."

Once she was on solid ground, Nagisa opened her eyes as she laid on her back on the dock and steadied her breathing. Her stomach heaved a couple times as a reaction from the sudden influxes of oxygen, but overall she was okay. Turning her head towards her savior, she met eyes with Kisame.

"You came back?"

"Yeah." He answered as he sat beside her. "Because I knew you'd get into trouble again."

"Yeah…" She croaked out, her emotions swelling as she was facing the realization of how close she'd come to death. Now wasn't the time to cry, so she quickly wiped at her eyes and tried to sit up and regain some strength. "Thank you, Kisame."

Once Hitoshi arrived and was relieved to find Nagisa okay, Kisame wrapped her foot and the trio headed out. This time, Nagisa was going to finish what she started with no questions asked. Grabbing a spare staff from Lana, she tried to suppress her anger and keep a level head, but with every step, that logic was slowly receding.

The elders were having their morning tea in the meeting room with Chief Enyo when Nagisa burst through the door. As her father looked at her in shock, Takato and Tsugio paled as if they'd seen a ghost while Gihachi narrowed his eyes in sheer, venomous anger.

"Nagisa, where have you-" Chief Enyo started, only to be interrupted by his eldest daughter activating her staff and pointing the spearhead at the elders. She didn't say a word as she immediately ran into the room and went after Gihachi first. The head elder flipped the table towards her, but she slid under it and swung her staff at his head.

"Brother!" Tsugio made a move to stand up, only to feel the weight of someone's hand on his shoulder forcing him down.

"Why don't we wait until they're done first? He looks a bit preoccupied, don't you think?" Kisame smirked as he kept his hands on the twins. "But if you're feeling too impatient, I'll be more than happy to keep you company."

Gihachi and Nagisa fought against each other, tearing the walls, breaking the delicate china, and smashing holes in the floor. Whereas Gihachi was trying to contain the growing fear in the back of his mind, Nagisa was livid and not holding back. This man put her family in danger, abused his power, and attempted to murder her. If he could try to decide the fate of others, then he deserved the same demise. When he pulled out his knife, he tried to swipe at her, however she easily swatted it out of his hands with her staff and in the same motion, smacked him so hard he fell to the ground. As he scrambled to reach for the knife, she stomped on his wrist and stabbed his thigh with her spear.

"Enyo! Why are you just standing there?!" Gihachi wheezed out through the pain. "Finish her!"

Chief Enyo watched in shock as his daughter pulled her staff out of Gihachi's leg and stabbed one hand to the ground, while taking the knife and stabbing the other, crucifying his body on the floor. The male cried out in pain as the Uchiumi head reflected on everything that took place to get them here. Everything was true, even his worst thoughts of Nagisa's disappearance.

"Enyo!"

The male closed his eyes and looked away. "I refuse to participate in this travesty any longer."

"Fools! You're all fools!" Gihachi sneered. He glared at Nagisa as she stood over him. "You call yourself the future head of the clan, but you'll never be prepared to truly sacrifice for your people like I have. Nor will you contain what business is in-house as well as me."

"Quite the contrary." Nagisa opened the top of the staff, her face not giving away much emotion, although there was a faint hint of disappointment. The members of her clan didn't deserve to have their name and hard work tarnished because of the unfortunate mistakes of greedy, old geezers. Pulling out a vial and a match, she poured the vial's contents over his body. "I want nothing more than to keep this in-house."

Backing up, she struck the match. "I'm glad you've prepared to be a sacrifice." Tossing it, Gihachi's agonizing screams filled the air as his body was engulfed in flames. Takato cried out for his brother until he was knocked unconscious by Hitoshi's genjutsu. Tsugio took the risk of fighting back, only to be beheaded with Samehada by Kisame, who was patiently awaiting that moment since the fight began.

"We need to go now or we'll get caught once the fire starts to spread." Hitoshi reminded Nagisa after he finished tying down Takato.

"Come on, Dad." Nagisa looked towards her father. "You can repent in front of the clan. You don't need to waste away like them."

Chief Enyo let out a slow, deep breath before meeting the eyes of his daughter. She'd grown up, but not in the way that he'd wanted to see her and it was all his fault. He wondered how different things would've been if he still had his wife by his side. Or maybe he shouldn't have been as strict on her? Maybe more strict? He didn't know the full logistics of the consequences of his actions, but what he did know was, she was more than capable of taking care of herself and her sister and he had no right to lead the clan any longer.

"I will repent for my wrongdoings here." The male sat down.

Nagisa shook her head. "What are you talking about? The whole building is about to go up in flames! I know this wasn't completely your fault. We can fix this!"

"I didn't believe in you, Nagisa. For that, I am sorry." He spoke to her calmly. "I know you'll take care of your sister. You've always been able to handle responsibility well."

"No, Dad, you-"

"Time's up. We need to go." Kisame grabbed Nagisa and quickly ushered her out of the room as the flames began to cover the doorway. Nagisa watched in silent sorrow as her father turned away from her in their final moments together.

The trio stood by the shore for hours as the main house burned to the ground. Hitoshi had made sure everyone else evacuated from the home. Mizuko was resting in the guest house, unaware of anything that was going on. The majority of the clan members were still out to sea so everyone was going to come back to a shock. Nagisa stared as her childhood memories became nothing but ashes and the end of an era had finally closed.