Author's Notes: It's been some time since I updated this, for which I apologize. Partly the transition from break to school was responsible, as was some other factors. Rest assured I haven't abandoned it. This chapter switches back to Ise for a moment, Shiro's fate will be handled in the next chapter.

I'm anxious for any possible reviews, whether positive or negative!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any portion thereof, and make no claims on its copyright. However, all original characters and events are my own property.

Chapter 5- Language of Sound

It has been said that the sun rises early for a ninja on a mission far from home. As ninja customarily awaken with the dawn, this implies a lack of sleep, something that Ise felt keenly on his first morning in Sound country.

He had slept of course, quite long enough indeed, and really had not awakened more during the night than he might have on any mission, but he still found himself far more tired than he ought to be. The source was obvious; he was alone in a foreign land, and a deeply threatening one at that. The knowledge brought Ise little comfort, for he knew the problem would not go away quickly. I will simply have to become accustomed to living like this, he recognized, before I can tolerate the stress fully. The trek across Sound country will certainly serve this purpose.

After awakening Ise made himself ready swiftly. His morning ritual was quick, check his items to make sure all his gear was available, shrug his flak jacket over his head, perform a few simple stretches with his spear, and reestablish the henge mask that hid his identity. Only that last part was any different from what he had done daily in Hidden Mist, and he found it quite depressing.

The inn's breakfast was simple and familiar enough, they were still serving the bounty of the ocean here in this coastal town, as was almost universal in the Mist country. Ise wondered what would happen when he ventured inland, where fish were uncommon. It would be a strange thing to give up, he decided. For most people giving up fish at meals was a minor concern, but Ise was shark-blooded after all, and he suspected it would be a rather more severe deprivation than he wished.

The mist ninja ate quickly, eager to get moving on the road. Ise had no desire to stay in sound country any longer than he absolutely must. However, fate was not so kind to him as to allow a peaceful beginning.

A man strode into the bar, tall and broadly built, and carrying a long sword. Several others, similarly attired, followed him. Seeing this Ise immediately sensed there would be trouble, these men with close cropped hair and sharp blades were surely samurai of the local daimyo. How thuggish, he thought, looking at them. Samurai were rare creatures in a world where ninja dominated, but there must always be some who served as official guards and policed the people. In Mist country the lord's daimyo were highly trained, properly uniformed, and never questioned ninja on orders, but these were different lands. The ninja are not well liked here, Ise recognized, these men are likely new to service, having been bandits or a gang only weeks ago. They have been given this position to establish some semblance of order. They wish to show others they can punish a ninja, Ise decided. This is trouble I don't need.

His belief proved true. The samurai took a single look about the room with focused eyes. He scanned each person swiftly before his gaze fell on Ise. The Mist ninja accepted the samurai's stare and returned it easily. Obviously a ninja with flak jacket, spear, and most notably the Mist forehead protector above his brow, it would have been pointless for Ise to try and hide what he was.

"So they did let a ninja in here," the samurai growled, his voice no stranger to intimidation. Ise was not impressed; a single word from the Warlord would have set this man to quivering in fear. "That was a mistake innkeep," He informed the owner without taking his gaze off Ise. "Ninja aren't welcome here anymore."

"But he's not a s-" the innkeeper began.

"Be quiet," the samurai barked. "We'll deal with your foolishness later. He addressed Ise now. "You, get out of our town now."

"Are ninja forbidden here?" Ise questioned levelly.

"What garbage are you talking about?" the samurai's gaze twitched. "I told you to get out, now get going. Or do you want to make trouble?" he fingered his sword hilt.

"You should answer my question," Ise said simply. "If your lord has indeed forbidden all ninja in this town then I will indeed leave, with my apologies for ignorance. If not, however, you have no right to dictate anything I do."

"You arrogant dog!" the samurai bellowed. "You'll do as well tell you to, we've had enough of ninja making a mess here."

"I'll take that as a no," Ise's eyes narrowed. "I suggest you leave this alone samurai. I am not a Sound ninja," he pointed to his forehead protector. "I have no interest in your town. I was planning to leave once my meal was finished."

The samurai was incensed, and it was patently obvious now that he had not recognized the difference in symbols on the forehead protector. This confirmed Ise's belief that these men were trumped up thugs. No true samurai would have made such a simple mistake. "I don't care what kind of ninja you are, boy!" the samurai sneered. "You won't leave the easy way, so we'll do it the hard way. His right hand formed swiftly into a fist, and he brought his arm back and then forward to land a brutal punch on Ise's face.

The punch stopped in mid-swing, Ise's hand caught the samurai's fist. The mist ninja was suddenly standing, and in the silence of the aborted blow the stool Ise had been seated at struck the flow with clattering import.

"You stinking little nin-ugh," the samurai's taunt was cut short as Ise's right hand smashed into the man's solar plexus. He brought his hand back and struck again, before the man had recovered at all. The samurai's knees crumpled, and when Ise released his hand the man crumpled to the floor.

The battle was unnecessary, utterly pointless, but Ise welcomed it. It soothed his emotions to scatter the samurai and strike them down. He was not going to idly accept disrespect from these fools. The shark-blooded ninja did not hold back at the thugs turned samurai, but used all the techniques he knew for unarmed combat. He cracked ribs, smashed hands, and tore the tendon of one man's knee, all without remorse or concern.

Moments later a single of the samurai remained standing. A small gap existed between him and Ise, and his hands flashed to the hilt of his sword, obviously considering drawing. He caught a movement of Ise's eyes, as the ninja glanced to the spear that still rested against the table where he had been eating, and decided on survival. Nevertheless, looking into Ise's cold eyes, even though they were disguised, he knew the mist ninja would accept no apology, so he raised his hands and charged.

Ise grabbed his arm, spun him down and cracked his head against the floor, knocking him unconscious. With that the common room fell silent. Ise spun around, making certain all the samurai were down. As he did he caught the innkeeper's horrified stare from behind the counter. Fool, Ise thought. If you fear me and yet rely on these wretches to protect you. Still, that glance couldn't help but stir recriminations in Ise's heart as he examined his feelings during the fight.

I enjoyed this, Ise realized, and it sickened him. What am I, if I enjoy a fight like this, a waste of time that draws attention and jeopardizes my mission? This is something my uncle would have done. Ise knew his uncle would not have tried to avoid the fight, but he could scarcely call his own effort anything more than half-hearted. These fools needed a lesson, but I was not the one who should have thought it. Let the Sound country fight its own battles, my mission concerns Mist alone.

As Ise silently gathered his spear and walked out of the inn without another word, he could still feel the innkeeper's eyes upon him, and remembered that horrified look. I cannot make this mistake again, he resolved. Ise knew the temptation would come, he felt something deep within demanding it, a force beyond emotion calling upon him to lay waste to those beneath him, to strike down anything that opposed his ability. It was a force of great power, and never before had Ise felt it so keenly, though he recognized it instantly. This is the shark in me, he saw, and it terrified him. Indeed, it was a struggle to retain his stoic countenance as he slowly left the port town. The shark-blooded ninja was all but overcome with a desire to scream denial, to shout that he was not a monster, even as his deeper being informed him that yes, he was. It sawed at him, the shark's brutal force within, the killing perfection, and Ise recoiled from it, denying its nature even as he could see what it did in his memory.

This was the force that had empowered Kisame, the power to kill and destroy with a casual, predatory, cruelty. It was a cold thing, lacking in human nature, and its strength was mirrored in the changes to the body of those who bore it, so Ise knew already that it was just as strong within him as in his uncle, a man more terrible than any he had ever known. A man without morals, who would kill his own nephew simply because the other was an inconvenience, that was the shark-man. I cannot let this consume me, I cannot! Ise shouted this within his mind, but it seemed hopeless. He could here the shark within him speak. Yes, I am not human, but my power is beyond humans. You are alone now. No one can help you. Your own human strength is weak. That much was true; Ise knew he was not a ninja of great talent; the talented ninja of his age were already being groomed for jounin status, while he seemed destined to be a chuunin forever. The mist ninja had never before thought of this as a failing, it was simply where his ability placed him within the hierarchy of Mist, but the situation had changed. You are outside of Mist, and you cannot afford to fail, you will need me. The shark voice seemed to foretell the future. You will need this power to survive, to complete your mission, and I will be here, waiting.

As he journeyed through the blasted land of Sound, passing ruined farms and shattered hamlets, Ise could find nothing to contradict those words. He could feel that a trial was coming for him, and soon, and he did not know what to do. Killing energy had almost awakened in him in the fight in the bar. Had the samurai drawn his sword I would have stabbed him dead, that much Ise knew with certainty. Would I have spared the others then? Or killed them too? The shark-blooded ninja could find no easy answers, but knew he must. I promised the Warlord I would succeed, I cannot allow myself to fail, I must find a way.

When the sun fell Ise made a simple camp off the roadside. He was distant from any towns; a precaution he hoped would spare him from attack. He carried no valuables, so it was unlikely for others to attack him, and bandits surely kept close to sources of wealth, food, and women. Therefore the camp was reasonably secure; at least, it would have been foolish for others to attack.

Ise spent spare time in the evening training, working through the forms of his spear with a desperate vigor, pushing himself hard. I must be strong, he told himself. There are challenges coming, and I will need my skills as potent as ever if I am to survive them. He kept it far from his mind, but as he worked through tight spins and thrusts of his utilitarian weapon Ise knew somewhere below consciousness that he would need to be flawless in order to find a victory without losing something of himself to that killing force within himself. I must find a way to do this without becoming my uncle, I must! Such was his resolution, but as night fell, the mist ninja had little confidence in it; the sound country stole the surety of all within it beneath the lies and chaos sown by Orochimaru. It was a legacy destined to afflict this land for a long time.