I beat the morning sun as it slowly filled my parents' room with light. Sleep, or the lack of, had failed to help me forget even for a moment about the shark man who was hopefully still asleep in my room. My mind was up all night, tormenting me with what if's and all the possible ways I could get out of this mess.

The only positive outcome I've managed to think of was the new possibilities of research. I knew that any form of social contact with the ocean god next door would inevitably fail miserably. If I thought like this I could focus clearly on learning all I could about him without the fear, without the doubt. It was silly of me to think of him as anything other than simply a gift from the ocean to claim as my own and admire.

My dry, sore eyes drifted from the ceiling to the nightstand. The beaming smiles of my parents greeted me, I could only stare at their 'happiness'. I wasn't in this photo, I wasn't in any photo for that matter. It was something that had always bothered me. I was only told stories of my childhood, spoon fed the answers with no actual proof of ever existing. For someone with so many stories conjured up about them I had little to base any of it on.

'wait…' I slowly sat up and glanced around the room more. 'This room is hardly ever left unlocked and unattended…' I got out of bed quickly looking. Their room was plain and simple. Nothing but the bed, nightstand and the closet. 'heh…maybe we aren't so different mom.' I opened the closet in one fluid motion and was greeted with…nothing, just Clothes, shoes, and some small trinkets. I slammed the door shut, frustration burning its way through me.

Thump!

I slowly slid the door open again, the contents of a cardboard box spilling out onto my feet. 'where did this even come from?' I looked up and there in the ceiling of the closet was a small opening with its door now dangling loose. My heart thumped loudly in my ears as I peered back down. 'This is just my mind running wild! That's all. My parents are just normal shop owners, and these are their records.'

I wanted to look away. I wanted to shut the door and seal the secrets away again. That's how my closet works anyway. Somewhere I stash and hide that part of me away. I could not look away though. It was me! A photo of me as a baby. I smiled and stooped down to pick it up. 'Why would they keep photos of me locked away? Are they that ashamed of me?'

In the photo my eyes were shut and scrunched up in a permanent wail and nestled in a blanket on what looked like a medical examination table. I turned the photo over, '…Daughter of the sea'.

A knocking on the door startled me "Hey, You in there?". I quickly scooped up all the loose papers into the box and closed the closet "y-yes!".

I unlocked and opened the door. Kisame was standing there with his hands on his hips. He looked much better since I first found him on the beach. No longer hunched in pain and smeared with blood and wounds. He stood tall, his skin smooth and void of scaring. This seemed odd for a shinobi to not even have a single flaw on his body. I've seen many ninja on our island riddled with past wounds from kunai, burns from fire jutsu, and some are even missing eyes or fingers. "I…wanted to apologize for uh…invading your space."

His tone sounded sincere which caught me off guard. Kisame didn't seem like the type to ever admit something he'd done wrong. "it's fine. It's a stressful situation for us both." His lips slowly curled into a small smile then pointed at the box I was holding. "What's that? Snooping in your parents' room?" "didn't you just apologize for invading my space?" I clutched the box closer to my chest and squeezed past his massive form.

'must be a ninja thing…' I stashed the box in my closet and checked to make sure all my belongings were still in their rightful places. 'at least he didn't move anything.'

"What's your plan anyway?" I kept my eyes down as I reorganized things in my collection. "My plan? Don't really have one anymore, survive I guess." I paused in opening the cardboard box. "You said the mist was keeping you from leaving, but you're strong enough to beat them…You could go anywhere else. Why here?"

"you mean, why you?" I could feel him right behind me, the hairs on my neck standing up. For a large man he was quiet. "Because for the first time in my life I can make my own choices. The Mist nor Akatsuki have a rope around my neck. As for why you…" I shivered as I felt his breath on the back of my neck "You intrigue me lil guppy. Something about you...-"I jumped to my feet, pushing Kisame back "D-don't just assume you can push me around." My voice cracked making that statement questionable.

I wanted Kano here, Chika, Anyone. Kisame was teetering the line between precious specimen and a regular person. I never had my collection talk back to me before. I didn't like it.

"I like your spirit too. Ha-ha! If you want a plan, then how about this. In exchange for staying here until I come up with something else I'll watch your back."

"you'll…watch over me?" I look at him from over my shoulder. A rouge ninja with all the freedom in the world was offering me his protection? This had to be a trap. Maybe he was trying to make the whole 'hostage' thing seem like a mutual deal. "what makes you think I need your protection?" Kisame scoffed and crossed his arms, acting as if my seclusion from rest of the villagers was that obvious…was it?

"I've been here for less than two days and I can already tell this miserable village has it out for you." His grin grew. "Makes me curious as to why everyone here, including the mist shinobi, would fear a little thing like you." I hung my head to hide my face "I wish I knew too. T-they…Think I curse people and cause terrible things to happen. The families that have lost attack me based on rumors." Tear stung my eyes.

"Let them think what they want. Hanging your head and accepting their anger will change. Acting like some pure sweet village girl is simply a sad way to exist, isn't it?"

I looked up with tears streaming down my face, my fists clutching my shorts to stop my shaking "Yes! It's hurts s-so much!" I could feel myself slipping, falling. The mask that was forced upon me felt tight like the lump in my throat. I wanted to tear it off and scream with the voice I've held inside for so many years.

"Tch…" He avoided looking at me directly. "Stop that crying…if you want respect you're going to have to stop rolling on your back. Now show me what you've got!" He uncrossed his arms and held them out to his side, exposing his chest. I stood there dumbstruck. What did he want? A hug? I unclutched my hands and stepped back "wh-what?". Kisame's face changed from his confidant smirk to a vicious snarl. "If you want to survive in this world you better start learning how to fight back! Now. Show. Me."

'fight back? I've never been told to confront the villagers before…I've never been told- '. I gasped as it dawned on me. I get it now. This whole time I was waiting for someone to tell me what to do. I've been complacent and happy with how my parents have been treating me. I've complained silently, doing nothing for myself. 'just like a child…'

The familiar simmering of anger and frustration trickled down my spine and through my limbs like so many times before. This time I let it spread, like water rushing through my blood, I let it flow out and burn through my whole body till the tears stopped. "That's the look I was waiting for, lil guppy. There is a delicious anger inside you."

His words were drowned out by the erratic thumping in my ears. 'This whole time! I let them hurt me! I let them drag me down!' I was mad at my parents, at the villagers, at Chika, and at myself.

"RAAAAAAH!"

I was no fighter, never trained, or bothered to watch as the mist shinobi trained. I threw a wild punch, hitting Kisame square in his gut. My breathing came out in short, sharp gasps and I slowly looked up. Kisame was smiling down at me with such pride. "not back at all for a simple village girl."

For the first time I smiled back, a big genuine smile. The adrenaline still pumping was such an amazing high. Is this what the ninja felt like on mission? I loved it!

'It feels like freedom!'