A/N: I am sooo sorry for making you wait! I've been trying to catch up with a bunch of late work at school, and I haven't had much free time. I worked really hard on this chapter, and I'm feeling quite proud of it. Also, something else happened that had kept me from writing. My English teacher from my first year of High School died recently, and it's been really hard on me. But anyway, IKU ZE!!

UNSPOKEN

Tsume snatched up a kunai from Kabuto and then whirled to run as fast as she could to Kisame's side. "No . . ." she breathed, her hand raising to touch Kisame's bloody cheek.

His breath hitched slightly at the contact, and his eyelids fluttered. Tsume bit her lip and raised the kunai, cutting through Kisame's bonds, trying to be gentle as she sawed away at ropes. Slowly, the rope was cut away, and Kisame began to fall forward. Tsume tossed aside the kunai and held out her arms, grunting as she shouldered Kisame's weight. Slowly, Tsume bent her knees, mindless of the blood that covered her as she slowly lowered Kisame to the ground, tears still spilling from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks.

"Kisame-sama, please, don't die," Tsume breathed, caressing Kisame's face again. She cursed herself for not having time to learn healing from Tobi, and sobs racked her body as she gazed at Kisame. "I can't lose you." Tsume leaned forward over Kisame, pressing her face into his chest, her hands fisting in what was left of his shirt. "No," she whimpered, tears falling to mix with Kisame's blood. "Don't die. I'd do anything for you, Kisame-sama, but you can't die!" Tsume's voice shook with sobs. "I love you!"

"Heh, who said that I was g-going to die?" Kisame's voice said, chuckling slightly. Tsume felt a hand on her cheek, the touch light. Tsume jerked upright, eyes wide and still filled with tears. Kisame was looking up at her, smiling. His hand cupped her cheek, the pad of his thumb moving over her smooth, tear-stained skin. "I'm not going to die, Tsume. Not after you said those things."

It was then that something extraordinary happened. Tsume's hands suddenly lit up with green light, glowing warmly as they rested on Kisame's chest. Tsume stared in wonder at her hands as they moved of their own accord, brushing over Kisame's wounds and bruises. Tsume's eyes were wide with confusion as the wounds closed before her eyes, fading away, and leaving only the smallest of scars to show that that they had ever existed. Kisame sat up after all the wounds on his chest, arms, and thighs had been healed. He was about to speak when Tsume moved around to his back, healing the wounds that she found there as well.

Finally, Kisame's wounds were gone, and the green glow faded from her hands. Tsume stared at them in wonder, holding them up before her face. "H-how did I—?" Tsume was cut off as she was pulled around and Kisame's lips crashed down on hers in a fierce kiss. It was filled with longing and passion. Desperation, happiness, and relief. They were all there as the shark-nin kissed the young woman with everything that he was, everything that he felt. Tsume responded in turn, happy tears running down her cheeks as she kissed Kisame with all the love she had in her heart. She loved it, the feeling of Kisame's lips on hers, his arms around her back, everything. In that moment, Tsume wanted nothing else but to stay wrapped in Kisame's embrace while he kissed her.

But eventually, they both had to brake apart to breathe. Kisame cupped Tsume's cheeks and smiled at her, letting out a breath that seemed to relieve him of some great weight. "How could I die," Kisame whispered, "after you said that you loved me?" One of Kisame's hands dropped to touch the scar at Tsume's throat. "You can speak now. The first thing that you said with your voice was my name. How can I just die after that, Tsume? There's no way in hell."

"How?!" Kabuto's voice suddenly said. Tsume whipped around to stare at him, finding Kabuto once more on his feet. "How could you heal him?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine, you bastard," Tsume spat, the venom in her voice surprising both Kisame and Kabuto. "But I do know one thing. You and your master are going to die before you can find out."

"Oh, I already know what happened," Orochimaru's voice said as he laughed coldly. "I knew from the beginning. After all, I marked you for a reason."

"Orochimaru," Tsume growled in rage, "show yourself!"

Something came spinning down from above, and Tsume barely had time to grab up Kisame and leap out of the way before whatever it was buried itself deep in the wooden floor. Easing Kisame down gently, Tsume turned, eyes widening as she saw her sword sticking out of the wood. Tsume blinked, but then her eyes narrowed with anger as she saw the figure that stood behind the sword. Orochimaru stood calmly several yards away, watching Tsume with a glint in his golden eyes. Tsume darted forward and snatched up her sword, pulling it easily from the floor. Then she was standing once more before Kisame, eyes narrowed as she pointed the blade at Orochimaru.

"Answer me," Tsume said softly, voice deadly. "Why did you kill my parents? Why did you do everything that you did? Answer me, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru's lips curved in a chilling smirk. "I simply wanted to make your body mine, Tsume-chan," he said, chuckling at the growl from Kisame. "I want to make your power mine. With it, I can learn every jutsu that there is to learn, and then I will finally find immortality. With your body and your abilities within, I can truly destroy Konohagakure once and for all."

"I won't let you," Tsume said softly.

Orochimaru tilted his head to the side slightly. "Really? What connection do you have that village?" he asked. "You know that there are those there who wish your beloved Kisame harm, do you not?"

Tsume's voice was calm as she responded, a thin veil to shield her anger and hatred. "There will always be those who wish Kisame-sama harm," she said. "But I will only harm them if they make a move against Kisame-sama or myself. So long as they have done nothing to myself or those I care about, I have no quarrel with them. But all that is beside the point. My true meaning was that I won't let you leave this room alive." With her last sentence Tsume's voice filled with a terrible, icy aggression that sent a shiver down even Orochimaru's spine. "My quarrel is with you, Orochimaru. I've spent ten years of my life looking for someone to blame for my silence and my nightmares. Now I have you. All that hate . . . I'll unleash all of it on you."

Lines of dark blue spread out from the dark curse mark at Tsume's throat, moving like trails of dark water across her body. Her eyes shifted from deep amber to icy blue, and her chakra spun about her in twists and whorls that were nearly visible to the naked eye. The chakra's color was a dark, eerie blue, and it created a wind that blew Tsume's dark hair about her marked face. Kabuto stared from where he stood, his current healing of the bone in his arm forgotten. He had seen the effects of the curse mark on his master's subjects, but this was like nothing he had ever seen or theorized.

It both burned and flowed, more like raging water than anything else. And Tsume stood at the center of it all, eyes shining that piercing silver-blue. Orochimaru spoke aloud. "You see this, Kabuto," he said calmly. "This is the Kekkei Genkai that I told you of not so long ago. This girl is the soul possessor of that legendary trait."

Kabuto's eyes snapped up to Orochimaru, his hand straying to his arm as he began to heal his broken arm. "Orochimaru-sama, are you talking about . . . ?"

Orochimaru tilted back his head, opening his mouth. He reached into his throat, and slowly pulled out his own sword. Then, sword in hand, Orochimaru returned his gaze to Tsume. "The very one. She steels the abilities of those she touches, and those that touch her."

UNSPOKEN

Deidara cursed as all that answered him on the communicator was static. "They still aren't answering, un," he said, brows furrowed. "I'm starting to get worried, un."

"Do you think that Tsu-chan is alright?" Tobi said worriedly.

"She and Kisame can take care of themselves," Itachi said. "Tsume-san has yet to use the power of her curse mark, and if she or Kisame is ever in any real danger, she will use it. But all the same, we should find them."

UNSPOKEN

Tsume charged with hatred burning in her eyes, sword held to the side by both hands. Her chakra still burned around her, encompassing her sword and every part of her body. Only two thoughts were prevalent in her mind; kill Orochimaru, and protect Kisame. That was all she wanted to do. She didn't care how powerful Orochimaru was; it didn't matter. She would kill him, and that was the end of it.

Blade met blade as Tsume and Orochimaru clashed, Tsume's fiery blue eyes meeting Orochimaru's own over the pressing weapons. "You don't really think that you can defeat me, do you, Tsume-chan?"

"You bet I can!" Tsume growled. She shoved back with all her strength, anger blazing in her now shining eyes. She swept low with her sword as Orochimaru leaped back, his quick movements only just keeping him from losing his legs. He moved to the right, and Tsume came after him, her chakra moving to swirl around her sword as she moved, dark hair flying about her face. Her blade whistled through the air to clash once more with Orochimaru's own sword, the inexplicable strength making Orochimaru's arms shudder.

Seeing his master engaged in combat and Tsume distracted, Kabuto quickly healed his arm, and moved swiftly towards Kisame, intent on finally ending the shark-nin's life. Kisame's wide eyes were fixed on Tsume as she fought, and he did not notice as death closed in on him once again. Kabuto raised a kunai to strike . . .

"NO!" Tsume gained a slash across her shoulder as she turned from Orochimaru to leap back to Kisame. Kabuto's kunai flew away as Tsume came between him and Kisame, eyes burning even brighter. "Didn't I tell you," Tsume growled, the curse mark spreading even further as her voice rose to a shout, "NEVER TO HURT KISAME-SAMA AGAIN?!" Kabuto cried out as Tsume shoved her blade forward, cutting him across the stomach and staining his clothes with blood. Tsume then kicked Kabuto back and away as she whirled to face Orochimaru, just as he sent a throng of snakes shooting towards her from within his sleeve. Tsume's eyes widened but she did not hesitate, pushing forwards and in between the snakes' bodies, swinging her sword in a circle before her and slicing the snakes with vicious accuracy.

Tsume saw from the corner of her eye that her hand glowing, and she looked down to find it swirling with chakra. Somehow she knew that it was a technique of Kabuto's and she pushed forward towards Orochimaru, glowing hand raised for a palm strike. Using her left hand to block with her sword, Tsume's hand shot out and hit Orochimaru in the side, his eyes widening with pain as he recognized his medic's technique; chakra blade the size and sharpness of a scalpel, only useful to those who had detailed knowledge of the human body. It was Tsume's Kekkei Genkai, her body repeating the attacks of those that she had touched.

"It seems that I should have taken you back then, after I had killed our precious Aki," the pale-faced shinobi mused, relishing in the hatred and grief that suddenly entered Tsume's eyes as she froze in her tracks.

"You . . . killed her?" she murmured, standing perfectly still. "You killed . . . Aki-obaa-chan?"

Orochimaru laughed. "Of course," he said. "I couldn't have you going soft on me, now could I? But you proved quite adept at escaping me. I really should have dealt with you earlier."

"No . . ." Tsume breathed. Her body began to shake, her sword falling so that it's tip rested against the floor. "Aki . . . -obaa-chan . . . you killed her. You took her . . . away from me." Tsume lowered her head, hair falling before her face. "How dare you?" she said, voice shaking with anger and tears. "How dare you kill her?" Then Tsume raised her head, eyes nearly white with rage. "HOW DARE YOU?!"

The curse mark spread even further, now covering Tsume's entire body. Orochimaru instantly knew what was happening; the curse mark was entering its second stage. Tsume bent her head again, her body shaking even more. Her back hunched, and an inhuman growl emanated from her lips. Her hair lengthened and turned jet-black, the soft strands now vicious-looking spikes. Her skin darkened to become a dark blue-gray, her fingernails lengthening into black, vicious claws, her toenails doing the same. Her ears grew in length and became pointed, a long, powerful tail bursting from the back of her capris to lash dangerously behind her. Black spikes jutted out from her elbows and shoulders, tearing the skin and making Tsume bleed. Tsume roared again in both pain and anger, revealing long, fanged teeth. Her eyes seemed to be returning to normal, but the deep amber was now a piercing gold, and her pupils were slitted.

Kisame stared at Tsume in disbelief, trying to see the kind young woman he loved in the dark, vicious creature that now stood before Orochimaru, radiating hatred and blood-lust. A single word escaped his lips, his voice stunned and confused. "Tsu-Tsume . . . ?"

Slowly, the creature turned, eyes meeting with Kisame's and making him shiver. But when it spoke, it was indeed Tsume's voice, soft and slightly raspy, but still kind. "I'm sorry, Kisame," she said. "I must look disgusting like this, but I . . . I have to defeat him . . . I have to!" Tears ran down Tsume's dark cheeks as she looked away from Kisame, feeling farther away from him than she ever had before. The sadness and anger that she felt threatened to overwhelm her, but Tsume redirected it, focusing it all on the pale-faced man that stood before her. "I'm going to kill you," she whispered. Without another word, Tsume let her sword clatter to the ground, her knees bending and clawed fingers flexing.

And then she lunged, claws extended and fangs bared.

UNSPOKEN

A/N: Man, I end things horribly. But don'na you worry. I have things pretty planned out, and I'm gonna start working on the next chapter right away!