A/N: OMG! I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! YOU'VE BEEN SO GREAT, READING AND REVIEWING! I ACTUALLY TOPED 1,100 HITS! YOU ROCK! I MEAN, IT'S ONE THING FOR YOUR MOM OR YOUR FRIEDS TO READ A STORY, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ IT AND YET YOU KEEP READING BECAUSE YOU WANT TO! I LOVE YOU GUYS!
Ahem. Sorry, but I really am grateful.
Tsume: She's been jumping around like nuts all morning . . . it's a little creepy.
BishiHunter123: How'd you get outta my head?
Tsume: Dunno.
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"We seem to have entered the territory of the Tanpai Clan," Itachi was saying.
"Tanpai?" Kisame said, raising an eyebrow. "Never heard of them."
Tsume was dozing in Kisame's arms, only half listening to the conversation. The painkillers that Tobi had given her had made her sleepy, but she kept herself awake, in case there was something important that she might need to hear. She still sat in Kisame's lap, and a fire had been built before him. Itachi, Deidara, and Tobi all sat around it, Tobi on Tsume's right, and Itachi directly across from her.
"They specialize in speed and knife strikes," Itachi explained. "As Tsume-san found out." Tsume glowered at the fire at Itachi's last comment, her stomach giving a painful twinge. Itachi continued. "We took care of that one group, but doubtlessly there will be more. Having fought them once, it should be easy for us to take them on again, but for Tsume . . ." Itachi turned his gaze to Tsume, and she shivered. "She needs to train harder—"
"But Tsume-chan is hurt, Itachi-senpai!" Tobi interrupted.
"Despite her wound," Itachi finished, shooting Tobi a silencing look. "She already agreed to train without complaint, and knows that we will tolerate nothing. Either she trains and gets stronger, or gets left behind and killed."
Tsume winced at the harsh words, but she knew that Itachi was right. She had to train harder than ever if she wanted to stay with Kisame. She felt Kisame give her a slight, reassuring squeeze, and she lifted her head to meet Itachi's intense gaze. Without hesitation, she nodded. Gently removing Kisame's arms from around her, Tsume slowly stood, forcing her legs not to shake and willing down the pain in her stomach. She was going to train so that she could defend herself. She wouldn't be useless anymore. She'd had enough of it.
"I'm going to learn to fight," she told herself, once again catching Itachi's gaze. But this time it was she who held it. "I'll decide my own fate and live my life by my own strength. By my own life I swear that I will become stronger and stronger. I will learn to be a shinobi, and I will learn to be useful to Kisame-sama!"
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"Faster! Faster!" Kisame's voice rang clear and loud through the trees, the sound accompanied by dull thuds as Tsume's punches and kicks came at him again and again. A sheen of sweat covered her body, and her breathing was ragged. Her wound was bleeding again, but she paid no attention. She attacked Kisame again and again, trying desperately to land a blow, but he blocked her every time.
"I have to get faster! I have to get faster!" Tsume repeated the mantra over and over in her mind, forcing her muscles to move beyond their previous limits, pushing past the pain and fatigue. She refused to let herself give up, refused to slow. Tsume had no intention of being weak any longer. She would never be useless again. Never.
Tsume ducked and lunged, coming up mere inches before Kisame, hand shooting forward to strike a blow. Suddenly Kisame was skidding back, a mark forming on his chest beneath his fish-net shirt. It had been a clumsy blow, but powerful. Tsume knew that she had left herself open for a counter attack, but still she reveled in the victory. She'd finally managed to hit Kisame, and she smiled.
Kisame nodded in approval, straightening up and dusting himself off. He paused a moment to rub at the place where Tsume had struck him, walking slowly forward towards Tsume. Instantly she tensed, backing away. Kisame stopped and smiled.
"That's right, onna," he said. "Always stay on alert."
Tsume smiled as well, happy that Kisame was pleased. But her smile was turned to a grimace as her wound twinged. Lifting her shirt to expose the bandages, Tsume winced. She'd reopened the wound, and it was bleeding again. Despite her resistance, Tsume fell to her knees, teeth clenched. She took short, shallow breaths, trying not to aggravate the wound any further.
"Damn," she mentally cursed. "I hate being this weak!" But Tsume refused to let the pain get the better of her. She rose shakily to her feet, looking Kisame straight in the eyes. And then she charged, head bent and eyes narrowed. But she never got a chance to strike, for the pain overwhelmed her again and she collapsed with a gasp of pain. She clutched at her stomach as she lay on the ground, all eyes on her. She struggled into a sitting position, breathing hard.
And then Tobi was at her side. "You need to stop now, Tsume-chan!" he said worriedly. "You've reopened your wound!" Tobi reached out to help Tsume, but she pushed away his hand. She was going to do this on her own. She had to. She couldn't be a burden! She couldn't!
Tsume rose to her feet, a look of grim determination shining in her amber eyes as she looked into Kisame's face. She wouldn't let herself get hurt again, she would learn to defend herself without the help of others. Tsume charged again, refusing to fall or let her legs give out. She came at Kisame with a swinging kick that he blocked with ease, then leaping back to avoid a low punch. Kisame watched Tsume with wide eyes as she continued to attack, completely numb to the pain in her gut.
Then Kisame caught both of Tsume's hands, looking into her eyes. "Stop this, onna," he said firmly. "You'll kill yourself. Let Tobi close up the wound."
It was as if what little strength Tsume still possessed abandoned her in a rush, and she collapsed against Kisame, breathing hard. When he released her hands, Tsume clung to him with a weak grip, just managing to keep herself upright. She knew that Kisame was right, but she still wanted to prove herself to him and Itachi; to all of the four shinobi that had helped her so far. She tried vainly to pull herself upright, but Kisame shook his head.
"No, Tsume," he said softly, moving to hold her around the waist. "That's enough, now. You really will be useless if you die. Stop this."
Tsume inhaled deeply deeply, finally accepting that she could not continue. She let Kisame take her weight, and let out a tired sigh as he lowered her onto his cloak spread out over the ground. The inside was soft, and a soft smile curved the corners of Tsume's mouth. Then she felt someone at her side, and recognized the presence as Tobi. She felt him lift her shirt and cut away the blood-stained bandages. Tsume winced as Tobi rubbed in a cleansing salve, but soon the pain was gone. Tsume sat up for a moment so that Tobi could bandage her properly, and then lay back down, quite exhausted.
"Thank you, Tobi-nii-san," Tsume thought, eyes still closed. At the moment, all she wanted to do was rest, but sleep did not come, leaving Tsume to lay there half-awake. She was left alone, for which she was grateful. She only half listened to the conversations of the ninja, smiling when she heard the unmistakable sound of a sandal being thrown. Tsume found herself wondering where Deidara got all the sandals to throw at Tobi. At least they weren't exploding—BOOM—sandals.
"Deidara-senpai!" Tobi cried indignantly.
"You started it, un!" Deidara yelled back.
"Tobi is a good boy!"
"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!" That was Kisame's voice. Tsume felt around on the ground beside her, fingers finally closing around a rock. With all the strength she could muster, Tsume lobbed the rock at the sounds of the commotion.
"OW!" Tsume had hit Kisame in the back of the head. "What he hell was—onna!"
Tsume cracked one eye open to glare at the loud ninjas. She was beginning to get a little grumpy. Her entire body ached, abdomen in particular. All she wanted now was some peace and quiet. At Tsume's glare, Kisame grumbled, turning back to shoot a glare at Tobi and Deidara, who instantly quailed under the gaze, both going silent.
Thanking the powers that be, Tsume closed her eye and once again felt herself relaxing. This time, sleep did come. It was a deep, dreamless sleep, something that Tsume was very thankful for.
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A/N: And that's the end of that. Geh, my neck hurts, my left hand too. Durh. Again, I love you all because you are awesome!