Note: This will be the origin story for my newest OCs: Takashi and Sho, sons of Kisame and Itachi. Descriptions will be given in-story, but if you'd like a clearer image, I have art/cosplays up on my Instagram of them. Also, hmu if you want to be friends.
Note: Though the first chapter includes a large amount of fighting, I will warn that this story is mostly about them growing together as a family. So, in other words, this isn't really a combat-focused story. It will have fighting in it, but it won't be the main focus.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The Akatsuki hadn't expected it to be such a long fight.
They had thought that with the entire group working to take down that damn snake, they could defeat him easily. They had even taken the time to hunt down his base beforehand, hoping to have the edge of a complete surprise attack. Unfortunately, it seemed that he was as persistent as ever. Not very hard to defeat, but nearly impossible to kill.
The fight had been going on for hours on end, their team working to tear him apart piece by piece. Every time it seemed that he was finally done for, they somehow found him alive in their after-search. They had used every weapon in their arsenal over the course of the fight, and it was easy to see as they eyed the gruesome sight of the once all-powerful sannin.
The man was covered from head to toe in burns from Deidara's explosions, Itachi's Amaterasu only worsening his sorry state. His already burnt and crusted skin was barely recognizable with the thousands of varying cuts from Konan and Kisame. The two had made it so that he barely had any of his flawless pale skin to show- he had been a mess, up until he had shed his mortal body.
The grotesque shinobi had surprised them all when he had begun to convulse. They had almost thought victory was theirs, up until they heard his patronizing laughter. The man, half knelt over, had suddenly thrown his head back, snakes slipping through his eyes, limbs falling off as they transformed into hundreds of white snakes. The repulsive sight had almost made Deidara sick.
Their repugnance was short-lived, however, the group having to focus on the sudden feeling of anguish as the small snakes slithered together, clumping atop of each other until they formed into one large beast. So this was Orochimaru's true form, now that he had forsaken his human skin. This...creature...was all that was left of the man's soul. Even Kakuzu found his brows twisting together in utter disgust as they continued their onslaught of attacks. The sooner this poor excuse of a human came to an end, the better.
As Konan's paper tsunami surrounded the tips of his tail, tearing the flesh from the bone piece by piece, she pushed, "You're nearly finished, snake." her amber eyes showing not a speck of pity for the man she had known so long. After all, it wasn't as though he had ever shown her or Pain any mercy. He'd been a thorn in their side since the very moment they had met. She was more than eager to rid the world of his evil presence. As such, the woman pushed on despite her chakra being so dried up that she could barely afford to hover at this point, let alone fly. Her shoulders heaved as they forced out her dry breaths, chest rising and falling heavily. She refused to stop until he was nothing more than a pile of bones in this old lab, forgotten and dismissed by the rest of the world.
The woman didn't receive much response, the members too focused on taking the snake down at the moment to bother. The words were a source of encouragement none the less, Pain nodding firmly as he set his six paths of pain as guards for his allies. They each protected one of the members, the only exceptions being Hidan and Kakuzu due to their immortality. His torn arms were sore as he heaved the corpses to do his bidding, blood slowly sliding out of his injuries as he moved his arms all at once to prevent any holes in their defense. They had fought too long and too hard for things to end now or with any possible loose ends.
Orochimaru had to be defeated for the organization's safety, yes, but Pain would be lying if he said he didn't have additional drives. Even after all this time, he could hear Orochimaru's bored and idle words. 'Shall we kill these children', the man had asked, all those years ago. Had it not been for Master Jiraiya, the man would have killed them without so much as a second glance. Pain had never been able to stand the man and his insufferable apathy for human life. Pain was what kept them alive- it was what made them human. Orochimaru's selfish desire for eternal life was unbearable. Who was he to decide that he deserved to live forever when he had already taken so much from the rest of humanity?
Deidara growled out in agreement with Konan as he covered his face to avoid the foul poison that seeped from the shredded snake skins, "It had better almost be done, I'm getting tired of this shit." his body tensing in reaction to the toxins. He felt his body numbing over, his pulse picking up in distress as he hacked out dry coughs. He gripped his clay combs between his fingers, hissing out, "Kisame, stop with the sword! There's something in those snake skins that's screwing with my chest!" he demanded, taking deep breaths as he saw the condescending look on Orochimaru's face.
It was quickly wiped off by Kisame, who brought Samehada down on his chest swiftly. Orochimaru's expression warped into one of anger and pain, the man clearly displeased as Kisame worked to turn him inside out. "What, you want me to just stand back for a moment and let him bite into me because you're having a little allergy problem?!" his voice taunting as he spoke to the younger Akatsuki member. Though, speaking of which, he was feeling a little numb around the shoulders...
He was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt a hand on the back of his robe, Itachi jerking him back lightly, away from Orochimaru. It was by no means strong enough to force Kisame back, but the mist ninja was smart enough to know Itachi wouldn't do so without reason. The younger man had his coat over his mouth, commanding, "Everyone, get back. It's the blood." the former Uchiha prodigy spoke firmly, the rest of the Akatsuki easily listening with the exception of a few complaints from Hidan. "Pain and Sasori can use their puppets to fight up close, but the rest of us need to stay back to avoid being paralyzed."
He was satisfied as Pain nodded in agreement, their leader agreeing immediately. They focused on attacking from afar, Deidara sending bombs while Itachi set off his Amaterasu on the snake's bones that were being stripped of their meat by Konan. His eyes were stinging, his vision blurring as he tried to focus on seeing straight. Blood oozed down either side of his face, the man having to blink away the bits that clumped in the corner of his eyes. His flames flickered on and off as he did so, but Itachi focused on making as much progress as possible. They needed to finish this without having any casualties, or at the very least, as few as possible. They hadn't estimated just how much having home-field advantage would help the snake-eyed man.
He could feel Kisame's heavy weight beside him, the Hoshigaki's chest rising and falling with difficulty. His defined forearms were covered in sweat as he wiped them against his forehead, Akatsuki coat forsaken in hopes of giving him some room to breathe. Once he had caught his breath, the man had added to the attacks, sending water bullets towards Orochimaru, who was currently slithering around the room, pouncing at anyone unfortunate enough to be too close.
They couldn't help but feel an inkling of dread as he slithered around the room, pouncing them one by one. They pushed down the desire to act too hastily, keeping as calm and steadily as possible. They were so close.
Sasori could practically taste victory, though it was a bit discouraging as Orochimaru swung around his side, biting him on the small of the back with his large fangs, which impaled his plastic body. Had he been human, he would surely have poison coursing through his veins by now. None the less, it did make it increasingly difficult to control his movements, now that he had a gaping hole in his chest. He hissed in annoyance as Orochimaru slung his body against a wall, feeling parts of himself shattering.
Hidan hissed to him, "On, for fucks sake, do I gotta do everything by myself?" rolling up his sleeves as he raised his scythe, ready to tear open without any concern for the poison. He was immortal, a little poison wouldn't hurt him that much!
His attempts were futile as he felt Kakuzu jerk him backward, much less gentle than Itachi had done to Kisame. The elder immortal seemed irritated at his partners, growling out, "Sit your ass down before you hurt yourself. Itachi's almost got it done." the Uchiha having used his ninja wires to pin Orochimaru's half-destroyed form down with the help of Konan. They finally had the snake pinned.
So why didn't he look nervous?
No, what's more, why did he look so /smug/?
The condescending look in the snake's eyes made even Kisame's blood run cold. The hairs on the back of Itachi's neck rose slightly as he felt a warm burst of hair drifting around them. A feeling of dread overcame the Akatsuki, the air growing heavy as heated fog lingered around them. Was there some sort of secondary poison they hadn't been aware of?
Deidara let out a growl as he felt something on his leg, the other members quickly joining in his startlement. "What the fuck!?" Hidan bellowed, much to the annoyance of the others. Now was not the time to panic- not when they each had what seemed like hundreds of baby snakes wrapped around their ankles, slowly slithering up their cloaks and over their bodies. Besides, Hidan was the last one who should be worrying about being poisoned.
While most of the Akatsuki had no idea what in the hell these snakes were, they were smart enough to know it was idiotic to threaten them.
Feeling the snakes slithering across his throat, too little too close for comfort, Itachi spoke calmly with a stiff posture, "What are these?" trying to keep his words low as to not set off the creatures. His heart beating wildly in his chest, he was well aware that he was unfortunately on the poison-vulnerable side of the Akatsuki.
Kisame was the only one able to give an answer, the man narrowing his eyes as he looked at the stripped snakes. He recognized them immediately- after all, they were native to the land of mist. One of the most poisonous water snakes in the world. His lips felt painfully dry as he gave his partner the unfortunate answer, "Faint-Banded Sea Krait," resisting the urge to throw them off him immediately. "Deadly."
Suddenly, Orochimaru's smugness made a lot more sense. The Akatsuki were prepared for a lot of things. Jutsus, reanimated corpses, clones, mutations; anything. They were so sure they were all but finished that they had lowered their guard. Now they would surely pay the price, Itachi mentally grimaced as Orochimaru dragged on with amusement, "So, the boys have finally come to see their father." his coos virulent in tone.
The Akatsuki mentally hissed at this. When the hell had Orochimaru had children?
Just as the Akatsuki was sure they'd be down a few members by the end of this fight, the group thinking over any possible ways out of this, the snakes slithered down to the ground and around Orochimaru. The members let out a light breath, Deidara subconsciously holding onto his throat as he savoured each breath. He groaned out, "Holy fuck." eyeing the snakes wearily as they gathered in front of their enemy.
The snakes, climbing atop each other, soon merged into two beings. Both shinobi stood side by side in front of Orochimaru, glaring the Akatsuki down. They had a distinct look about them- both of them sharing contrasting azure hair and dim black eyes which seemed to gaze into their souls as they launched forward, ready to defend Orochimaru as soon as they appeared. Their eyes drifted over the members swiftly, not commenting as they rose to attack.
Pain gave his sharp order as he saw them moving in, "Kisame, you handle that one, Itachi, you handle the other." figuring it was best to have Kisame focus on what looked to be his own clansmen. That, and the boy with turquoise braids seemed to be watching Itachi as though he was meeting a demigod. Hopefully, with the boy being so enthralled by Itachi, it would give the Uchiha an easy kill. "Everyone else, focus on getting to Orochimaru."
The members hastily moved to do as they were told, the only response being a light huff from Deidara and Hidan. Pain pointedly ignored this as he moved to get to Orochimaru, leaving the teens to one of their most capable duos.
By now, the blue-tinted boy on the left had easily reached for his sword, launching himself towards Kisame with a bold offense. His long indigo hair cascaded behind him as he stepped forward with more grace than most swordsmen his age would be capable of producing.
Kisame smirked down at the kid who was probably half his size, if that, watching as he moved in for the kill. It was fairly obvious that the kid was of Hoshigaki decent. In fact, it was most likely that both the teens were. Not that Kisame particularly minded ending his own clansmen.
While the teen had lept and lifted his sword over his head, ready to bring it down upon the man's chest, the elder shinobi's sword had easily lifted up to block the attack from reaching its target. The sound of swords clashing echoed, the teen putting all his strength into his strikes. The recoil from the block had been enough to knock the boy back, forcing him to plant his feet firmly in the ground to avoid falling backwards.
The boy grunted in disapproval, sword held up firmly in defense as they circled each other. The shark man's grin showed off his sharp teeth at this show of provocation, Samehada purring in his hold as he leaned in towards the teen's face. "Well, well, well. A little guppy has come to protect his master, it seems." voice filled with amusement at the attempted attack.
Kisame watched as the young teen failed to resist slowing at his taunts, fingers gripping his weapon a bit harder than usual. The boy's eyes widened as the elder Hoshigaki lunged forward with a swing of the larger blade, taking his moment of uncertainty to attack. Kisame side-stepped, Samehada coming in from the side to swing into the teen's waist.
The young shinobi lept back and out of his range, effectively dodging but in turn stepping in a pool of Orochumaru's blood. The sloppy footwork made even the boy himself grimace, the poison in the air finally starting to affect him. It was about time, too. Kisame himself could barely feel his arms, though he supposed he was covered in and exposed to much more of it.
It seemed to do a number on the long-haired boy as he quickly pulled his foot away, trailing back further despite the slight shiver of the bloodied limb. He continued glaring up at Kisame as if he weren't literally shaking in his boots, eyes narrowed.
"Oh, how boring." If one runty swing and numbing of his own blame was all it took for the boy to get scared, this fight would be over quickly. He never did care for needlessly long battles. Especially when his opponent was easily frightened. It took all the fun out of it!
The elder Hoshigaki brought his sword up as he approached at a lazy pace, a bored frown lacing his lips as he swung down at the boy. He used more than enough force, probably enough to snap that poor excuse for a sword in half. He wouldn't waste his time if this was going to be dull.
Just as he was ready to end the teen's life without so much as a second glance, he heard the clash of blades. Kisame looked on at the boy with an unimpressed glance, the teen's sword held up over his head to block Samehada. The younger clansmen had his teeth gritted, looking up at Kisame with utter determination as defensive chakra coated his weapon.
Unbeknownst to Kisame, this was the moment the teen had been waiting for. For years, he had dreamt only of this moment. The time had finally come to meet him, and the boy would be damned if he was going to let the elder clansmen think he was weak.
So when he bit out, "Kisame Hoshigaki.", the words meant more to him than Kisame could ever imagine.
The only thing Kisame knew was that he thoroughly enjoyed the fact that he was so easily recognized, the elder Hoshigaki nodding with a smirk, "The one and only." He removed the pressure off his sword, the boy doing the same as they each took a step back to plan their next strike.
The boy was the first one to make the move, twisting himself so that it looked like he was going in for a side strike before side-stepping and twisting his weapon so his sword went flying towards Kisame's abdomen.
He moved quickly, twisting his body and moving as though the sword were an extension of his own limbs. He was used to handling the sword, though it was clear his actual experience was lacking. Kisame smirked lightly in amusement as he blocked it once more, this time taking the extra step to knock the sword from the teen's hand and onto the ground, elbowing him in the back of the head and forcing him forward as he reflexively looked towards where the sword had fallen.
The boy took a step onward as he was pushed, gripping his head in pain but not missing a beat as he swung around to kick Kisame square in the jaw.
The elder ninja, not having been expecting such fast reflexes, felt his head snap to the side with the force of the kick. A bit of blood dripped from the side of his jaw, but he didn't pay it any mind, merely licking it up with a smirk as he eyed the boy. "From the look of things, it seems like you've come from the Hoshigaki clan as well." getting the upper hand once more as the boy moved in for a second kick, grabbing his leg and flipping him harshly onto his back. Kisame stood over him, sword hovering above the boy's stomach in warning.
The boy's breath seemed to stop as he looked up at Kisame, their fight being so brief. He hadn't expected Kisame to get the upper hand so easily! He felt heat rising to his face, his mouth twisting into a glower as he looked up at the man, his back aching against the hard floor. His eyes snapped open so they were staring Kisame down, their dull black shifting into a pulsing red as he growled, "You're half right." his own sharp teeth coming into way as he offered a small growl.
Kisame recognized the design immediately- a mangekyou Sharingan? How the hell was that possible!? Itachi had killed off all the Uchiha long ago, and this boy looked far too young to be from a time before the massacre. He had to force himself to steady, reestablishing his grip on Samehada as he held it over the boy. The elder Hoshigaki narrowed his eyes, sword now pointed at the boy's throat rather than his stomach. "Oh, really now?" he inquired, pushing, "Then who exactly are you, kid?" looking down on him with a mix of interest and skepticism.
The younger clansmen spoke through gritted teeth, "Takashi Uchiha-Hoshigaki." his head tilted up in pride despite his situation. He looked Kisame directly in the eye, eyeing the elder man, as though he were watching his every move, waiting for some sort of reaction.
Unfortunately for him, Kisame only seemed mildly amused at his response once he got over the initial shock. Kisame rested a foot on the boy's stomach, bellowing with laughter, "Hey, clan killer, looks like you missed one!" not noticing as Takashi's expression changed from searching to one of utter disappointment, humiliation, and unadulterated rage.
He took the elder ninja's amusement as a chance to lift his foot, kicking Kisame in the most unpleasant of places as he hissed out, "That's nothing to joke about, you bastard!". Takashi's shoulders trembling in fury as Kisame tried to regain his composure, the older man reflexively pulling away from him, howling out in pain.
A string of curse words that Takashi hadn't even heard before left Kisame, the man's vocabulary as colourful as one would expect. He hadn't been prepared for such an attack since, well, it was sinking too low even by most shinobi standards.
The teen didn't seem to intend to give Kisame a chance to recover, though. He reached for his sword, swiftly pushing his weight up off the ground as he ran towards the man. His eyes were no longer filled with a mix of interest and determination, rage overtaking him as he plunged his sword towards Kisame's throat.
Kisame had to force himself through his haze of pain as he clutched Takashi's wrist, holding it back as the teen slashed sloppily down again, his own rage fueling the tensions further. Kisame twisted Takashi's firearm, forcing the teen onto his knees if he wanted to avoid a broken bone. Kisame twisted it so that Takashi was forced to kneel on the ground, giving Kisame a moment to catch his breath. Fuck, this brat was squirmy.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Meanwhile, the braided boy had his mangekyou activated as well, heavy sweat trickling down his pale skin as he fought. He barely had any time to dodge Itachi's swift shuriken attacks, let alone send any of his own, he mentally cursed.
The boy was dodging pretty well but still found himself at the receiving end of many of the attacks, the shaped metal piercing his skin with minimal effort on Itachi's part. The teen accepted the blows, focusing on trying to hit Itachi at least once.
Itachi could tell the boy was trying, but it was clear that he lacked both the experience and the physical abilities required. It was almost sad to watch, Itachi noted, throwing a shuriken and watching it land sharply in his shoulder. The boy didn't even seem to flinch, his endurance quite impressive, at least. That or he could put on quite the charade.
Either way, Itachi would hate to drag out the teen's death longer than necessary. He knew he should get down to business and end it quickly, as to not make him suffer and more than was necessary. He steadied himself, looking at the braided teen calmly, his own mangekyou coming into the light. The boy seemed to freeze as he spotted it, a look of silent terror overcoming him.
This was only enhanced as his shoulders were set ablaze with the Amaterasu. Immediately, the determined look the boy had held when they were fighting with shuriken was replaced by one of utter panic.
His face scrunched up in pain, dropping the weapon he had been preparing to throw. Itachi dropped his as well, allowing his flames to consume the boy instead. Itachi felt his gut tighten as the teen took a step back, the boy reaching up to grab his burning shoulders on reflex.
Itachi watched as he knelt over, uneven heaves leaving the teen's chest as he looked up at Itachi with a look of utter betrayal and pain. Tears were welling in the teen's eyes, his head shaking back and forth as he laid on the floor, gripping his shoulders. A look of agony fell over his face, looking at Itachi as though he had just shattered every bit of hope he'd ever had.
Itachi felt his gut tighten further, the elder Uchiha having to push down his instincts as they screamed at him to set the fire out. He was a ninja. He was used to having to push down his pacifistic feelings, he reminded himself firmly. So why did this feel so wrong?
He watched the boy with a look of false indifference, noticing after a brief moment that something was wrong. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something wrong with everyone in the room. They all seemed frozen mid-attack, none of them so much as blinking.
He felt himself unable to move as well, his mangekyou pulsing in his head. Everything seemed frozen. He quickly caught on- he must be caught in one of the teen's mangekyou ability. He doubted it was a genjutsu, since he could easily see past the vast majority of them.
Pushing some chakra to his eyes, it was fairly easy to break out of the trance. He wasn't one for arrogance, but it was simply a fact that his mangekyou was far superior to the teens due to more experience and having had it longer.
As he broke through the ability, he noticed that his allies and Orochimaru still seemed frozen. The two boys were now moving, however. Itachi stayed still, mentally musing, so one of them must have some sort of time-altering ability. It seemed as though they had paused time, much to Itachi's interest. Even if it was far too weak to hold him, it was a useful ability to have. Such a shame that it would go to waste once they were dead.
His flames seemed to have paused mid-burn on the boy, who was currently taking deep breaths and turning his head to eye his own shoulders. His hands were brought up to his chest, the braids on either side of his face shadowing his anguished expression. Tears had welled up in the teen's eyes, his breathing inconsistent and rough. He looked torn between heartbroken and resentful, his eyes wide with hysteria.
Takashi had squirmed his way out from under Kisame's hold, the teen wearily making his way over to his brother as he saw his distressed state. Takashi's mangekyou were no longer active, so Itachi quickly gathered that this must be the braided boy's doing.
The young Hoshigaki cradled his wounded arm to his chest, his own eyes filled with resentment and bitter triumph. He used his good hand to lightly rub the other's back. "Don't cry, Sho. We already talked about this. We shouldn't have expected anything different."
"I know," Sho muttered, hands moving up to grip his own hair as he hissed, "I just..." he looked down slightly, "I just wanted him to be wrong. I wanted him to be lying." he steadied his breaths, trying to suppress the whimpers that built up in his throat, "But he wasn't. They really are monsters. We're made from...monsters" he shuddered, clenching his jaw as he glared into the air in front of him. "No wonder they gave us to Orochimaru. They really don't care at all." gritting his teeth as he looked upwards, blinking away his tears as he scowled at the ceiling, frustration bubbling. "They were going to kill us. They don't even care a little bit."
Itachi was a bit offset by this- Orochimaru had told these kids about the Akatsuki? He couldn't particularly argue against them being perceived as monsters, but why was Orochimaru talking about them? Why did Sho wish for it to be a lie? What kinds of beasts would give their children to a snake such as Orochimaru. He understood what they were implying, of course, but even he had trouble believing what they were hinting at.
Takashi didn't seem aware of his mental struggles, the teen moving over to glare at Itachi despite being unaware of his break-through. The boy was looking at Itachi with loathing and outrage, thinking he was still in the mangekyou time pause like the others. He gripped the front of Itachi's robes, his heart not really in the attack as he hissed out, "Of course they don't care. Why should they? They're both just cold-blooded monsters who don't care about anyone but themselves." Itachi could see Sho setting a hand on Takashi's shoulder, the braided boy trying to calm the other's fit of rage.
Takashi vigorously shook Itachi's robes, a cry of anguish leaving his lips despite his words. "They don't care about us. Orochimaru doesn't care about us. We don't have enough worth - we aren't good enough for anyone to want anything to do with us, so I don't see why you even suggested trying this idiotic plan!" he shouted, roughly letting go of Itachi's cloak as he clenched his fists by his side, eyes once more a fiery red as his emotions surged to the surface. His shoulders were heaving, Sho looking conflicted on how to comfort him.
Finally, the braided teen seemed to make a choice. He spoke certainly, head tilting to the side as he gave a trembling smile. "You're right. There was no way this was going to work, but at least we know now." wiping at his eyes as he shook his head. "Let's run." Takashi whipping his head around to look at Sho as he heard his words.
"We can just." he bit his lip as he wiped away the last remaining tears. "We can leave them to fight each other. If the Akatsuki wins, Orochimaru will be dead, and they obviously don't care enough to come after us. If Orochimaru wins, he'll come after us, but it'll take him a long time. He'll be badly injured. Kabuto is in the other base- without him here to heal the wounds right away, it'll take months for him to recover. We could be halfway across the county by then!" he insisted, "We could go to the Hidden Mist! Or the Land of Lightning! We could be long gone by the time he's after us. He'll have to cut his losses eventually."
Takashi frowned, seeming to come down from his adrenaline high as he crossed his arms with a look of doubt. "That sounds awfully risky. Even if we do escape, we won't have any idea how to survive on our own. Orochimaru has always supplied us with everything we need. Food, clothing, shelter. How will we even get money to keep ourselves alive?" lightly kicking at the floor. "I don't want to put you at risk by doing anything too sketchy."
Shaking his head back and forth lightly, Sho crossed his arms to match Takashi. "It'd say it's worth the risk. No matter what's out there, it's better than waiting here for me to expire. We can't let the perfect chance just slip by. We don't have anyone else to place bets on."