A/N: I don't have much to say about this, except that it made me cry.
UNSPOKEN
The day having drawn to a close, Itachi entered the hotel room, a sleeping Tsume held in his arms. Her face was the picture of exhaustion, and her breathing was deep and regular. Her cheeks were flushed, and bruises from her taijutsu training were beginning to show on her bare arms and what showed of her legs. Tobi radiated happiness as Tsume was carried in, and everyone—except for the sleeping Tsume—almost knew that he was smiling. As Itachi close the door behind him and carried Tsume over to the bed, only Kisame caught a glance of the tiny smile that quirked the side of Itachi's mouth for a moment. Kisame's eyes widened slightly, and he blinked. But when he looked back, the smile was gone, as quickly as it had come.
"Tsume-san made quite a bit of progress today," Itachi said, after straightening up. "Among the basic techniques she is close to correctly executing the Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu. She seems to have a natural affinity to water." Itachi moved and sat down in the chair positioned at the foot of Tsume's bed, turning himself so that he could face his companions. Kisame had moved to sit on the opposite bed, the gaze that had been fixed on Tsume changing and moving to rest on Itachi. Deidara and Tobi remained where they were, sitting at the small table in their chairs, their bodies and seats turned out so that they could listen to Itachi attentively. That or watch Tsume, one couldn't be sure. Itachi continued to speak. "She also came close to preforming, Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu." Brows were raised at this last statement; not even Tobi, who had the utmost confidence in Tsume, had expected her to progress so quickly in a single afternoon and evening.
Kisame directed a half smile in the young woman's direction. "She really is more than I expected," he murmured.
"I myself am surprised," Itachi said. "But there's something else we need to talk about." Silence descended on the room. "We must execute our mission soon. The enemy may try to make a move against us, and we need to eliminate the leverage on us that they have managed to get their hands on." Pressing tension was fast on the heels of the silence, all eyes moved to Itachi. "We must decide weather or not Tsume-san will be be a part of the mission or not. And if so, what will become of her afterwards."
They all had known that this question would have had to be answered at some point, but none of them had wanted to bring it up. It was a choice that would have to be made. And soon. Smart though Tsume was, she had little experience in the kind of mission that had been laid out for the four S-ranked shinobi. She picked up things fast, and had learned a lot. But had she learned enough to be of use during such a mission? Could she hold her own against the inevitable enemies that would inevitably come against her? Could she stay alive?
"Itachi . . ." Kisame said slowly, not meeting his partner's eyes, "she lifted the sword today. She lifted Zabuza's sword on her own." All eyes snapped to Kisame. "Don't ask me how," Kisame said preemptively against the flood of questions from Tobi and Deidara. "I brought it out to show her how to use it, and she asked if she could hold the handle, to get the feel for it. I let her, and before I knew it, she had lifted it up into the air. It was only for a second, but she still lifted it. I don't know how, but her physical strength has increased nearly three-fold. It takes some serious muscle to wield a sword like that. Tsume's a small person; she shouldn't be able to wield that blade, Itachi."
Tobi nodded sagely, crossing his arms over his chest as he did so. "Tsu-chan is trying her very hardest," he said. "She is very strong."
Deidara rolled his eyes at his partner. "But she can't be as strong as Kisame, un," he reasoned, nodding at the sleeping young woman. "I doesn't make sense, un."
"She may be strong," Kisame murmured. "But the life of a shinobi isn't for her."
UNSPOKEN
Had Tsume been awake and able, she would have grumbled about the strangeness of her dream. She remained surrounded by smoke, the sounds of a battle far off in the distance. She wanted to go and aid whoever was fighting, after all, it had to be Kisame. But there was something heavy on her back, something that hung from her by a thick loop of leather. She knew that she'd picked it up somewhere, but she couldn't remember where or why. Again and again Tsume tried to move, but something kept stopping her.
Suddenly, there was a searing pain in her neck. Tsume's scar burned as if it were on fire, and she cried out silently, falling to her knees under the pain and the weight of whatever was attached to her back. Her hands clawed at her burning scar as pain and heat surged throughout her body, making her blood pound through her veins and her heart race dangerously fast. Her vision became tinted with red, color fading away until all she could see was a red-stained world. Tsume looked down at her hands, and found them covered in strange markings. Strange, swirling blue lines were creeping across her skin, seeming to emanate from her burning neck.
UNSPOKEN
"Tsume," a familiar voice said from above. "Tsume, you need to wake up." A large hand descended on her shoulder, shaking her lightly. Tsume recognized the scent; it was Kisame. Rubbing at her eyes, Tsume sat up, opening her sleepy eyes to look up into the shark-nin's face. It was still dark out, and at first, Tsume eyed Kisame in frustration at the interruption of her sleep. Though, when she thought about it, she didn't really want to go back to that strange, vivid dream.
Nodding, Tsume shook her head to clear her bleary mind. Her hands signed clumsily. "What is it, Kisame-sama?" she asked. "Do I need to start my training?"
Kisame sat down on the edge of the bed. "Tsume . . ." he began, voice strangely uncertain. "I need to—there's something I have to tell you." Tsume gave a quick glance around the room, and found it empty save for Kisame and herself. She looked back to Kisame and nodded for him to continue. He sighed, and ran his fingers through his unruly teal hair. "You've stayed with us for a long time," he said. "You've gotten really strong, and you've certainly proved yourself." Tsume could see a sad smile in Kisame's eyes. "You really are strong, Tsume. It's just . . ." Kisame trailed off, avoiding Tsume's gaze. "It's just that you shouldn't hang around people like me."
The words struck deep into Tsume's very soul, and her body froze, her eyes wide. Why? Why was Kisame doing this? What was he saying? Tsume shook her head fiercely from side to side with fervent disagreement.
"My life is too dangerous for you, Tsume. You need a quiet, safe life. One where you can be happy."
"Kisame-sama! Please, don't! I want to stay with you! I want to help you! I'll do anything and everything you ask of me! Please!" Tsume's fingers and hands shook as she signed, Kisame reading from the corners of his eyes. He could also see the tears running down Tsume's cheeks, her body shaking. "Please, Kisame-sama! Don't do this! I'm sorry I'm not strong enough! I'll train harder! I'll get better! Let me stay with you, please!"
Kisame rose to his feet, back turned to Tsume. "No, Tsume," he said quietly, forcing all emotion from his voice and behind a stoic mask. "You can't come with us. You are not a shinobi. You would get hurt. My life is not one that you should lead." Kisame lifted up his cloak from a chair, pulling it about his shoulders. He placed a pouch and a scroll down on the table. "The sword is in the scroll, and there's some money there as well. You should leave this country, perhaps go to Konohagakure; it's peaceful there. Stay out of danger, Tsume." Kisame knew how much his words were hurting Tsume, but it was for her own good. Kisame was doing this to protect her. "Good-bye, Tsume," Kisame breathed. He moved towards the door.
Tsume surged up from the bed, stumbling as she ran across the floor, tears running down her cheeks. The next thing Kisame knew, Tsume's small arms had come around him, her hands fisting in the fabric of his cloak. Her face was buried in his back, her small body shaking against him. It was easy to know what she wanted to say, "please, don't go. Don't leave me. I want to stay with you. Please, don't go." But Kisame had to go. He had to protect the person who had become dear to him. The young woman who had touched his heart and not feared his face. She had dedicated herself to him, trying as hard as she could to gain his approval. The way she would look to him, of all people, for comfort. And her smiles . . . her beautiful, beaming smiles. The last thing that Kisame wanted was to leave those smiles behind.
Kisame turned, and pulled Tsume's arms from around him. He finally looked at her . . . and felt as if his own heart had been broken into millions of tiny pieces. The anguish that shown in Tsume's eyes was more than Kisame could stand. He closed his eyes.
"Tsume," he whispered, "I won't forget you." Kisame leaned down, eyes still closed. His lips found Tsume's without err, giving her a brief, chaste kiss. "Don't you forget me, either." And then he was gone; Tsume was alone. She could still feel his hands on her shoulders, his lips on hers. And now he was gone. Gone.
Tsume fell to her knees, eyes staring blankly ahead. "No . . . Kisame-sama . . ." Tears fell from her face to dot the ground. "You can't be gone . . . you were just here. You said my name . . . you held me . . . you kissed me . . . you can't be gone." Tsume's entire body shook, and she was unable to control herself. "NO! KISAME-SAMA! NOO!!"
UNSPOKEN
A/N: I'm sorry about this . . .