A/N: Chapter Seven! My computer died on me, so I'm using my dad's to write this chapter. I love you all! You are so wonderful and make feel so happy! I've never had a story that was liked this much and got so many reviews. I guess there are a lot more KisamexOC fans out there then I thought. In this chapter I've made things a bit more action-y. At the moment, Tsume's still kinda useless as a ninja, but she learns fast. I'm trying to keep things realistic, 'cause even with a photographic memory, you can't become a ninja overnight. And if I didn't say this before, I'm thinking of having Tsume become a member of Akatsuki later on, and being partnered with another OC that I've been kicking around in my head for a while. Her name's Utako, and she's a defect from the sound village. She's blind, but sees by sensing vibrations and sound waves. Anyway. Oh, and Tsume's most recent dream, a chapter or two ago, is actually gonna be a scene in my other story, The Jounin Selection Exams. Please read that story, I've put a lot into it. (does puppy-eyes). Sorry for taking up your time. ONWARD!
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To everyone's great surprise, the kunai flew straight and true, embedding itself deep in the trunk of the tree. Deidara, Tobi, and Kisame all stared in surprise at the accuracy with which Tsume had thrown the weapon. Even Itachi, who had opened his eyes when Tsume had let the weapon fly, raised his eyebrow a minute amount. A happy smile curved Tsume's lips, and she looked over to Kisame for approval.
"Nice job, onna," Kisame said, nodding.
Tobi nodded happily. "Yes, Tsume-chan did wonderfully!"
"Yeah, you take to things quick, un," Deidara said, smiling as he came up beside Tobi. "Soon, I'll teach you about exploding clay and the bombs I make, un!" Tobi gave an involuntary shiver at the thought.
"Your stance and grip are accurate, but your execution is a bit off," Itachi said, rising to his feet. He walked slowly over to where Tsume was standing, and produced another kunai from the folds of his cloak. He handed it to Tsume. "Take up the stance; prepare to throw." Tsume did as asked. Itachi moved behind her, stepping close so that their bodies were touching. No one noticed the mild anger that flitted across Kisame's face, and only he noticed the light blush that tinted Tsume's cheeks at Itachi's sudden closeness.
Itachi brought his right hand forward to hold against Tsume's. "Hold the kunai firmly, but loosely so that you can release it quickly," he instructed. Tsume nodded. "When you release it, you must snap your fingers away without altering the path of the kunai, like so." Itachi lifted his hand from Tsume's to demonstrate. Tsume nodded, watching carefully. Itachi returned his hand to Tsume's. "Now, once in slow motion." With Itachi's hand guiding her, Tsume brought her hand back towards her chest. Then she moved it forward, still with Itachi's hand guiding hers. "Good," Itachi said, stepping away from Tsume. "Now try once more, Tsume-san."
Nodding, Tsume took up her stance once more. She glanced up at the same tree, aiming carefully. She brought her hand back and then snapped it out. The kunai flew straight and true, going much deeper into the wood than Tsume's previous try. Then, for good measure, Tsume leaped back quickly, keeping herself tensed and ready, just as Kisame had shown her. She cold feel all eyes on her, and she blushed slightly.
Relaxing, Tsume straightened herself, and looked Kisame, he gave a half smile, and walked over to her. He reached out a hand and ruffled her hair. "Nice work, Tsume," he said. "At this rate, you'll be a powerful ninja in no time."
Kisame's words filled Tsume's chest with a feeling of overwhelming elation, and she beamed at him. If she could become a ninja, then she could survive and be of some use to Kisame, Deidara, Tobi, and Itachi. That made her happier then any of them could ever know.
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Tsume threw the kunai again and again, soon beginning on the shuriken. She ignored the fatigue in her arms, unused to the exercise. She called up her memories of Kisame and Itachi's instructions, doing the best she could to imitate them. She found herself driven by some great will to please the four shinobi. She wanted to survive, yes, but . . . there was something else. There was something about the way Kisame smiled at her when she got something right, his half smiles making her beam with happiness.
Kisame watched with interest as Tsume repeated what he had shown her again and again. Soon, she began to be able to throw multiple kunai and shuriken in quick succession, and the speed with which she leaped back was getting better as well. It seemed as though the young woman really did possess a photographic memory, as rare as such things were. Kisame continued smiling as the small young woman paused a moment to regain her breath. Kisame had to admit; Tsume was cute.
Brushing her hair over her shoulder, Tsume rose up again, taking up stance to let fly another pair of shuriken. But Kisame held up a hand. "That's enough for today, onna," he said. "But here, I have something for ya." Kisame produced a shuriken holster and kunai bag. He bent down, and strapped the holster around Tsume's right thigh. Then he hooked the kunai bag into a belt loop of Tsume's capris so that it hung at her right hip. "There you go," he said, straightening up.
"Her training seems to have ended at exactly the right time," Itachi said suddenly. "For we are being watched."
Kisame, Deidara, Tobi, and Itachi all instantly tensed. But a sudden fear came over Tsume. Throwing shuriken and kunai at trees was one thing, but throwing them at living people in a live battle was a whole other matter. Tsume bit her lip and forced her legs not to shake, clenching her fists to keep her hands from shaking. And then Kisame was before her, his sword, Samehada, held in his hands.
"Don't worry, onna," Kisame said firmly, eyes fixed upon the surrounding trees. "It'll be over before ya know it. Just stay close to me, okay?" He spared a minute glance back at Tsume to see her nod. Tsume glanced around her to see the other shinobi standing in a loose circle, all in their respective fighting stances. Itachi stood perfectly still, straight and tall. Deidara had his hands beneath his now open cloak, hands hidden in two large pouches at each side. Tobi was standing with a kunai in each hand, tensed and ready. Seeking for some kind of courage of her own, Tsume pulled a kunai from the bag, and held it before her, the feel of the blade's handle in her grip somewhat comforting.
"I have to cause as little trouble as possible," Tsume thought firmly, biting her lip hard as the tension in the clearing rose. "I may still just be learning, but I have to help Kisame-sama and the others!" Tsume knew that she was thinking foolishly, but she couldn't help herself. Without anyone's knowledge, a bond had formed between Tsume and the shinobi. Prisoner and weak though she was, Tsume had somehow become part of them. But it was all lost on them as the tension rose even higher. Now even Tsume could feel the eyes watching them, and knew without a doubt that there was danger around them.
"Nothing too flashy, Kisame," Itachi said quietly. "We don't need the entire forest destroyed."
Tsume could hear the smirk in Kisame's voice as he responded. "Aw, that's no fun, Itachi," he said. "I haven't had a decent fight in ages . . ."
But nothing more was said as a sudden hail of kunai and shuriken flew out of the trees, blades whistling as they sliced threw the air. Tsume didn't even see Kisame move as he suddenly moved behind her to block the incoming weapons. Tsume could hear the clang of metal on metal as the others deflected attacks, and Kisame's swift movements as he moved around her, blocking any and all threats that came her way.
Suddenly, the sound of an explosion rent the hair, and Tsume's attention was pulled to Deidara in time to see him fling what looked like several small clay statues into the trees from which the attack was coming. Moments later, the statues exploded among the trees, sending splintered wood and branches flying, the sound of the explosion mingled with yells of pain and surprise. Tsume tried ot tune out the sounds of battle, fear filling her mind and making her body shake.
"No!" Tsume cried to herself. "I can't be afraid! I need to help! I need to help Kisame-sama and the others! I have to!"
And then the fear was gone, vanishing as if it had never been. And in its place was courage. Courage surged through Tsume, coursing in her veins and filling her body with strength and adrenaline. The fear that she had felt was gone, and she rose up to her full height. Tsume cast a calculating look on Tobi, who was busily deflecting weapons with the two kunai in his hands. Tsume drew another kunai, and took up a stance, face set in determination. Kisame must have seen this, for he gave a small grin, and moved to stand at Tsume's back.
"Name yourselves," Itachi said calmly as the weapons suddenly stopped coming.
Cold laughter echoed from the trees, sending a shiver down Tsume's spine. "You've trespassed on our territory, and for that, you must die," a man's voice said.
It was Kisame's turn to laugh. "Do you have any idea who we are?" he said, still laughing.
"Yeah," another voice said evilly. "You're dead."
Suddenly, a hand shot up from beneath the ground at Tsume's feet, a blade clutched in its fingers. Kisame whirled to move Tsume back and away from the threat, but it was too late. Time slowed to a crawl. Tsume tried to lash out with the kunai she held, but the hand had already stretched up to an impossible length. It paused for a moment, as if considering. And then the hand thrust the blade forward, stabbing it up to the hilt into Tsume's stomach. Tsume opened her mouth in a silent scream, her kunai slipping from her fingers to fall, useless, to the ground.
Reality crashed back in, and Kisame had Tsume cradeled in one arm, his eyes wide in anger. Through the haze of pain, Tsume saw the bandages fly away from the blade of Samehada, revealing it to be covered in dark, navy blue scales, which seemed to be horribly rough in texture. The next thing Tsume knew, the arm had been sliced away. No . . . not sliced, shaved. It was then that Tsume understood the naming for Kisame's sowrd. Samehada, shark-skin.
But another surge of pain tore Tsume's attention away, and she hissed in pain. She looked down, and saw that the kunai was still buried in her stomach. She'd treated knife wounds before, but not those made by a kunai. The wound was wider, almost as if a metal stake had been driven into her. Gritting her teeth, Tsume gripped the handle of the kunai, and wrenched it from her body with a clean, swift pull. She paid no attention to the ongoing battle, focusing instead on trying to find something to stop the bleeding. The only bandages that she knew of were in Kisame's cloak, and he wasn't wearing the garment.
Tsume stamped down on the rising panic that threatened to engulf her. She couldn't let herself die; she didn't want to die. Suddenly, she heard Kisame's voice above her. "Go with Tobi, onna!" he was saying. "He'll get you out of here and I'll meet up with you later, alright?!" Although she didn't want to leave Kisame, Tsume nodded.
"Come on, Tsume-chan!" That was Tobi's voice. Then Tsume felt Tobi taking her into his arms and holding her firmly. "We have to get out of here, Tsume-chan!" Tsume nodded weakly, but that was all that she could manage. She cursed her own weakness as darkness enveloped her. The last thing she saw was Kisame swinging Samehada in a mighty arc, and then nothing.
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A/N: Chapter Seven is done. Phew! Sorry it was so short, but I got another cliffhanger, and I like it! (Please don't kill me!) Anyway, I hoped the fight scene wasn't too horrible, and that you liked it. Until next time.