Chapter 9: Full Circle
Hoshigaki Kisame grinned as he strode through the Hidden Village of Mist towards the training grounds. Pinned to the front of his green chuunin vest was a pin bearing a special insignia. It was the kanji for the number "seven", and it represented his inclusion in the elite group of shinobi known as the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist.
The Seven Swordsmen was a group that had been initially formed by the Shodaime Mizukage over two hundred years ago. At the time, it had consisted of the seven most promising young shinobi in the village. Aside from their extraordinary talent, they all had one thing in common: they used bladed weapons to fight. The organization had persisted through the years, with new members being initiated as old ones died or retired. Two weeks ago, one of the current members had perished in a battle with the Stone Village, and the Yondaime Mizukage had just announced that Kisame would be the man's replacement.
Kisame was extremely proud that the Mizukage had conferred this status on him, for more than one reason. It was, of course, a great honor to be named a member of the Seven, especially when one was only a chuunin. But more than that, Kisame had been inducted into the Seven despite his bloodline limit. In most other villages, individuals with advanced bloodlines were elite warriors, honored for their overpowering abilities in battle. They were the most prized soldiers of their countries. But the Water Country had endured almost a decade of civil war that had nearly torn the nation apart, and in this conflict, shinobi with advanced bloodlines had been used as weapons on both sides. As a result, when a truce was finally reached, most ordinary people had a deep suspicion of those who carried special abilities within their genes. While the Mist grudgingly accepted that individuals with advanced bloodlines were necessary if the Mist was to compete effectively with the other shinobi villages, these people were often treated as second-class citizens. Some, of course, had bloodlines that did not manifest in their outward appearance, and could hide their nature. Others, like Kisame, were not so lucky.
Ordinarily, the best that Kisame could hope for was to be tolerated by his fellow shinobi. They weren't stupid, and recognized that his power would help them win battles. As such, they would not actively try to hurt him or get him killed on missions. On the other hand, he could never trust them as completely as a ninja should be able to trust his comrades. Certainly he had never expected to be acknowledged as one of the village's elite soldiers. He fingered the pin on his vest, smiling even more widely.
Arriving at the training grounds, Kisame saw the other members of the Seven sparring there. They ranged in age from about fifty (which was quite old for a ninja; most shinobi didn't live that long) to sixteen. All carried swords of some type: katana, wakizashi, even an exotic broadsword of the type used in the uncharted lands far to the west. And all of them turned to stare at him as he arrived.
"Hoshigaki Kisame-san, welcome. I am Kawasaki Jin, leader of the Seven." A gruff man with grayish hair and a beard streaked with white approached Kisame and bowed stiffly.
"I am honored to be included among your ranks, Jin-senpai," Kisame replied, returning the bow.
"Hey, hey, Jin-senpai! Why are you letting this freak join us?" The youngest of Kisame's new comrades stalked forward, an accusing finger pointed in Kisame's direction. He had unruly dark hair and a muscular build. A mask covered the lower half of his face, obscuring his mouth. Resting on one shoulder was a massive sword, nearly as large as Kisame's own Samehada.
"It is the will of Mizukage-sama that Kisame-san replace our recently fallen comrade. He has proved himself many times in battle, Zabuza-kun."
"Yeah, well, he's still a freak!"
"Hey," Kisame growled, "I may be a freak, but I can kick your ass any day of the week!"
"Oh yeah? Wanna try it, shark-boy?"
Kisame lifted Samehada to a defensive position in front of himself. "Sure, why the hell not?" The bandages fell away from the sword, revealing its many razor-sharp barbs.
"What the hell kind of screwed-up weapon is that?" asked Zabuza sarcastically, before swiping at Kisame with his own blade. It met Samehada with a resounding clang. "Hidden Mist Technique!" Thick fog rose from the ground, obscuring Kisame's vision. He could feel the pressure of Zabuza's sword against Samehada disappear as Zabuza retreated into the mist, but had no way of tracking the other boy's movement.
"Water Needles Technique!" Kisame heard the needles whistling through the air, and brought Samehada up to block. The needles plinked harmlessly off the giant blade, and Kisame grinned because now he knew where Zabuza was. Sprinting through the fog, Kisame saw a dim shape emerging in front of him.
"Underworld Geyser Technique!" Pulling up the water that resided in underground aquifers, Kisame thrust it through the surface of the ground, creating a high-pressure stream of water that could blast an enemy high into the air. Unfortunately, when it hit the other Mist-nin, "Zabuza" burst into a thousand droplets of water. A water clone!
"Water Dragon Technique!" From behind Kisame, a torrent of water shaped like the mythical beast for which the jutsu was named rocketed towards him. He spun as quickly as he could, wedging Samehada between the water-beast's jaws. Its barbs rustled as it sucked out the chakra that was animating the water, causing the fluid to collapse into a harmless puddle that did no worse than soak Kisame.
Zabuza was not about to let up on his offensive, however. "Deadly Rain Technique!" Some of the water vapor from the mist that surrounded Kisame condensed, forming a mass of liquid water in the sky above. Then it shaped itself into needles, which rained down onto Kisame's head. A combination of the Water Needles Technique and the Hidden Mist Technique? Impressive. But Zabuza wasn't the only one who could find a new use for old jutsus. "Ocean's Shield Technique!" Some of the water that lay around his feet rose up to form a hemisphere that protected him from the water needles Zabuza had created. This was an adaptation of the Water Prison Technique—instead of imprisoning the target, it protected him from attacks.
Screw this. I need to find where that bastard's hiding. Kisame closed his eyes and concentrated, releasing a blast of chakra from Samehada. The energy burned away the mist, revealing Zabuza standing to his left about fifteen feet away.
Zabuza's eyes widened. "What?! How did you do that?"
Kisame smirked. "You don't have time to be looking surprised, Zabuza-kun!" He compressed his chakra into a tight ball in his chest, then breathed it out, expanding it and giving it the unique traits of water element chakra as he did so. The result was a high-pressure jet of water that spurted from his mouth and slammed into Zabuza, knocking the other shinobi off his feet. Kisame pressed his advantage, charging towards the fallen ninja and swinging his sword at him. Zabuza hastily raised his own blade to block Samehada. Inch by inch, Kisame forced Samehada ever closer to Zabuza's prone form. Finally, Kisame saw the telltale twitch of Samehada's barbs that indicated the sword was now within reach of Zabuza's chakra. It paused, waiting for his command. Devour, Samehada-san! The living sword ripped away Zabuza's chakra, leaving him helpless, and Kisame pressed the deadly barbs against the other man's neck.
"I…I yield," Zabuza said grudgingly. Without a word, Kisame lifted his sword and extended a hand to help Zabuza to his feet. The younger man turned and walked back towards the watching group of Mist shinobi. When he was about ten feet away, he stopped, and looked back over his shoulder. "Kisame-san."
"What?"
"You may be a freak, but…I wouldn't mind having you watch my back in battle."
Kisame grinned. "And you may be an arrogant kid who slaughtered over 100 people, but I wouldn't mind watching your back."
Years later, Zabuza and Kisame became discontented with the way the Mizukage and Daimyo of the Mist ran their society. They gathered a group of followers and planned a coup. When it failed, they fled the Mist together. Some time afterward, they went their separate ways. It was many years later when Kisame heard that Zabuza had been killed in a battle with the famous Copy Ninja of the Hidden Leaf. Although he was not the type to mourn over a fallen comrade, he couldn't help feeling a little bit sad about Zabuza's demise. Although their relationship hadn't gotten off to a good start, the Demon of the Hidden Mist eventually became one of the few people who ever showed him any respect. And 20 years later, I've still got a much younger, mass-murdering partner. Talk about coming full circle. The thought made him chuckle.
"What amuses you so much?"
"I was just thinking…you may be an arrogant kid who slaughtered over 100 people, but I don't mind watching your back."
"…Hn."
A/N: Sorry this update took a little longer than usual—I've been really busy with school lately.
The first name of the Seven Swordsmen's leader came from a character from Lost (which I also don't own). God, I love that show.
One more chapter left! The last one will be about Sasori.