Ok, I finally got rid of that rant xDD please forgive me for that. It seems that everything I've been using to mark scene, or setting, or time changes, ot whatever, have been dissappearing. I've gone over the rest of the story, and put them in as vvvvvvvv because that's the only thing that really stayed. So if anything didn't make sense before, perhaps It wll now n.n;; I'm dreadfully sorry, the story must have been horrible without them.
xD Uh... lots of made up stuff about Mizu no Kuni xD this is how I imagined things. They're all going to be disproven by the manga I jsut know it xDD
And I apologize if I totally OOC-iffied Suigetsu xDD
So n.n Thanks to Nobukane for reading over this for me, and to everyone who reviewed n.n
Oh! xD on a slightly related note, I have a new fic-thing up. It's a bunch of one shots that have something to do with "breathe again"'s storyline, but didn't really belong in the story n.n So, yeah n.n; If you want to go check that out, that'd be great n.n
Naruto: Masashi Kishimoto
"Stop now."
Zabuza obeyed, but only to glance wrathfully at the man now seating himself against the rock face skirting the trail. He had seen no reason to inform his partner about the mission he'd been assigned in the mountainous earth country, and had departed shortly after what he hoped had been their final mention of that evening. He'd come to a conclusion, and decided to pay the kunoichi no mind, from now on.
She was a hindrance.
Ogakuzu, his supposed Sensei, had brought him along for the assignment, and had instructed him in the proper usage of Kubikiri Houcho, or some other lesson, whenever the opportunity presented itself. He was still smiling in that way that unsettled the younger ninja, nestled contentedly between the boulders and various other types of rubble making up the wide, winding mountain path. The mission was simple enough, assassinate a businessman from Tsuchi no kuni, who had wracked up massive debts in the water country, and had fled, rather than pay them. It was simple enough, and the danger came not from the man himself, or his associates. No, the difficulty would be getting into an enemy country... which they had done, and finding the man. Which they were doing at the moment.
"Sit down." That stupid voice again... Zabuza cringed whenever he spoke. It was familiar, and not in a pleasant way. On top of that, the mission was leaving him weary, sleep itself having turned on him. Since leaving the mist village with the other swordsman, inexplicably, he was plagued nightly by the nightmares of his childhood. The ones that had jolted him awake, screaming alongside the two horrified genin he had been placed with. The same ones that had ceased the night he returned to his sorry excuse for a training partner's side... Though he assured himself that had not been the solution. "You have to stop walking now."
"I'm fine."
Ogakuzu clicked his tongue reproachfully. "Altitude sickness, Momochi kun. You'll become ill if you don't rest here a while."
"I feel fine." He repeated, more forcefully.
"Which is why we should stop now, while you still feel fine. I don't want to have to peel you off the ground later, and carry you back down." The younger man said nothing, but tensed irritably at the older's almost parental tone, and was going to stay that way until the urge to strangle his teammate, or sensei, or whatever he was, passed. "Is there a hornet on you?"
The demon wasn't sure which he found more annoying: Ogakuzu's voice, unnaturally contented attitude, or use of dated idioms. "Come, sit. You wouldn't make an old man keep walking when he wants a break, would you?"
"No," The answer was reluctant, as he sighed, and humoured the senile swordsman's request, eyes shifting with blatant indignance as he collapsed gracelessly down opposite him. Much to his chagrin, the older man jumped to his feet, untying the strip of cloth keeping the oversized saw strapped to his back. Ogakuzu's weapon, dubbed "Kiyoshi" was roughly the size of Kubikiri hocho, perhaps a bit smaller. A large, flat blade, one side notched with cruel, razor sharp teeth. The hilt was long, the full length of the metal, and wrapped in dark red thread.
"Alright then. If you're so eager to do something, I might as well teach you a little, eh?"
An angry roar rumbled from low in his throat as he dragged himself back to a stand, Kubikiri houcho sending pebbles scattering, and drawing deep gashes in the earthy ground. For the first time in his training, Ogakuzu took an offensive stance, and motioned for him to do the same. Zabuza sneered. "You think that's wise, old man? You might break a hip."
"One of yours, perhaps." That same agitating smile was plastered across the blond man's face, but Zabuza ignored him, instead surveying the terrain. The makeshift training ground was wide, but there was still the issue of the unprotected side, and the unforgiving drop it obliged. The ground was rocky, and took a gently slope upwards to the western side, downwards to the east.
He lifted the weapon, clumsily... and the next thing he knew, it was hurtling through the air, towards the edge of the path. Ogakuzu had caught him in the stomach with the Kiyoshi's blunted side before he had time to raise his own weapon in his defence, and had effectively catapulted the blade from his hands.
He tensed, eyes widening as his weapon hurtled towards the drop off, embedding itself safely in the rocky ground mere inches from loss. Zabuza let out a heavy sigh of relief, only to tense again, as the tip of Kiyoshi's serrated edge pressed against his larynx.
"I hope you know why it is you have that sword." The older man's smile was very unsettling from this angle, when there was something sharp aimed at his windpipe. "What happened to it's previous owner?" Zabuza narrowed his eyes head tipped warily. "He attacked me on a mission. Under Mizukage Sama's orders, I'd imagine. You can see the result for yourself. He was older, more experienced, and had been using that weapon a lot longer than you have. So don't go getting a swelled head, eh Momochi kun?"
Zabuza bristled, knocking the cold, deadly sheet of metal away from his painfully vulnerable throat with a dull roar. Ogakuzu chuckled once again. "Come on. Try again."
What felt like an eternity of swinging, scanning the battlefield, then taking up his weapon again, proved fruitless, as the other sprang much to agilely out of the way, somehow seeming unimpeded by his age, or sword.
Much to his embarrassment, he found that the altitude was indeed making his breaths come harder, and doubled over for a much needed rest, choking. It wasn't an issue of strength, that he had. Kubikiri Hocho was unwieldy, and awkward, and he was having a very difficult time manoeuvring it with speed and precision simultaneously.
The infuriating elder was still grinning placidly, as he let his own oversized saw drag against the cracked stony ground. "Come on, Kid! You've yet to get a decent swing in." He shouted, in a way that, were he not currently the object of Zabuza's loathing, may have been encouragement. "So what, you'll hit a little girl, but not me?"
Dark eyes rose to meet his slowly, keenly. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He demanded, drawing himself up to his full height, with a momentary grimace that his wrappings shielded.
"You know exactly what I mean."
Exhaling deeply, the younger man shut his eyes, playing the last phrase over in his head. It was familiar. Too familiar... He'd definitely heard it...
The demon's eyes flew open as his mind placed the time and place it fit. "You."
Ogakuzu's grin faltered, and there was a bitter glint in his eyes. "So it is that you remember me."
Pain... trembling... A flurry of rushing adults through fallen bodies, checking them, gawking at them, taking them away... Shouting... lots of shouting... No words. Just sounds. Unclear, broken bits of full ideas between his own ragged breaths, and the wails of the dying.
"... And for Kami's sake, kill it!"
"..Impossible..."
"...Not human
Pain...cold... Can't breathe...
His own thoughts had faded to something animalistic, and disjointed. Concepts and flashes of ideas, and feeling.
A thud, and quick deliberate footsteps as someone approached him, barking orders the quivering boy had trouble discerning, as his head dipped weakly. Blood... There was a pool of it, dark and warm, pooling beneath him, though he couldn't tell if it was his own. There was blood everywhere.
"What are you all so frightened of? For pity's sake, he's a boy. You call yourselves ninja?"
The air thick with the scent of sweet copper, and the sharp reek of urine and gastric acid. Air he took in with shallow, shuddering breaths, each less reliable than the last. Approaching sandals invaded his field of vision, and he dragged himself backwards with a deadened effort, drawing his knees to his chest in useless defence. The sound of metal dragging on stone echoed in his head.
The knife... you have it still...
His head bobbed feebly, heavy eyelids flickering open and shut as he raised the kunai in a fist could barely feel.
A warm, heavy hand closed around his lame wrist, as the man knelt to his level, silver blond hair brushed his face, as bright emerald eyes locked with his own.
"It's going to take a hell of a lot more than that to kill me, kid."
No... Leave me alone... Don't touch me...
More words floated about his pounding head.
"..Mad..."
"...so much blood... going to die..."
"..Hospital."
A feeble whimper was all he could really offer in protest, as he felt himself be lifted, and everything went dark.
"Why didn't you stop me?" Zabuza had turned, eyes downcast in what was either shame or rage, his level voice betraying neither.
Ogakuzu said nothing, and continued down the path with a weary shake of his head.
vvvvvvvvvvvvv
Aside from muted grumbles, the only other sounds to be heard in the dank, dusty room were the clink of glasses and slap of cards against hardwood flooring. A quick glance around the room showed four young men, none of whom where particularly happy with their present company, though their empty glasses and reeling expressions accounted for their willingness to share space.
A green haired man took another long sip from his drink, before falling over in a fit of tears and giggles simultaneously.
"Kurosuki's had it," The only man without fumbling movements and glassy eyes was leaning against the far wall, between a window and a sheet covered armchair, refusing to further acknowledge the others.
A lanky man with dark eyes, about the same age, seated cross legged opposite the fourth man offered a grunt in response, as he picked up his latest hand of a preferred local game. It was only fighting, gambling, and drinking that really allowed the seven of them to tolerate each other, and the four present had nothing better to do that day. Mizukage Sama felt it was a hassle to assemble them all in his own office, and the meeting for which they had been called to the 'headquarters' they had long since staked out for themselves had ended.
The tallest of the four peered over his folded hand of blue-backed playing cards as his opponent let out a strangled cry, near-choking on the cigarette clenched in his teeth. "You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," He nodded, wiping the spit and soggy scraps of paper from his mouth with his sleeve. "Guys, I just thought of something."
"And that would be...?" The massive mist ninja grinned, revealing his ominously sharp teeth, and the other returned the smile.
"We finally have someone to pawn the kid off on."
"You mean...?"
"Yeah."
The two erupted into a drunken chuckle, the blue haired man clapping the other on the back. "Nezumi, you're a genius. An evil, evil genius."
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
"Well, I daresay you've learned to handle yourself quite well."
Zabuza's lips curled into a smirk behind the bandages, as he prodded the older swordsman's jugular vein with Kubikiri Hocho's curved tip. "Quite well? If this were a real fight, I'd have your head, old man."
Ogakuzu smiled serenely, swatting the blade a way with a firm hand, as he stepped away from the craggy mountain crevice he'd been backed into. "Congratulations. Were this a real fight, you'd have killed me. You know... after the several dozen times I'd have killed you." The younger of the two allowed him to pass, glaring sorely.
"Can't say I'm disappointed, though!" Ogakuzu shot over his shoulder as he bent down to pick up Kiyoshi, which had been flung a ways away. They were near Kusa no kuni's border, their target long since dead, and home their objective, now. "Three months of training, and you're already better than Isoginchaku ever was."
Zabuza's sour expression showed no sign of softening as he caught up to the older man, both's weapons secured to their backs. The almost week long trek home was eerily silent, as Zabuza ignored the other's questions and statements, replying with a grunt at best. Even as they strode through the village's abandoned quarter, he was voiceless, letting nothing more than a tip of his head acknowledge the man who strode by, returning from a meeting with the other five, or however many may be present. Ogakuzu bowed, and an approving nod showed that the kage inferred their success.
It was only as he passed by the older man that he spoke, a cruel smile forming at his lips. "Tick tock, old man." The water shadow hissed, continuing back towards the inhabited area, and his own office, with a self-satisfied grin.
"What was that all about?"
The blond chuckled, rolling his eyes. "A friendly reminder: I'm running out of time."
Zabuza quirked a skeptical eyebrow. "You say that when Isoginchaku attacked you, he did it under Hachidaime's orders. Why?"
"Simple, he's trying to kill me." The older let out a sigh, kicking at a pebble along the side of the deserted road. "Look, I'm only telling you this because I know you really couldn't care less, but he's wanted me dead for a while now. I don't agree with his policies, and have no problem telling people that. Our people starve while the daimyo and kage get the lion's share of our earnings."
Zabuza's eyes widened, in shock, at the strong words spoken so baldly. "I agree,"
"Ha! You haven't even heard about the latest business deal."
"And what would that be?"
"Mizukage Sama," He spat. "Has solved the trade dispute in the moat vile way imaginable. To cut costs, he's made a deal with a company willing to ship for virtually nothing... if, and only if he turns a blind eye to their other dealings. We've lowered our exchange rates, but it's cost us our soul and safety.
"What... other dealings?"
Ogakuzu cringed, green eyes flickering to the side in thought, as he stepped towards the largest, boarded up structure in the near-ghost town, pushing at the door.
"How much do you know about the Gato Shipping Corporation?"
vvvvvvvvvvvv
Kotone sighed, dragging herself through her rickety front door, and wincing at the ear splitting creak it emitted. It had been months since her roommate had disappeared, and she had decided quite resolutely to forget that the events before he left had ever happened. It was simpler that way.
She stumbled into the room, ignoring equally squeaky floorboards, and collapsed against the patched up back of their beaten couch, with a mighty sigh. She froze quite suddenly, however, as a sound met her ears. She scolded herself for not noticing immediately, but someone was definitely running the shower.
Given that Zabuza didn't appear to be home, this, understandably, made her quite nervous.
A kunai was drawn, and the kunoichi crept slowly towards the bathroom door. There were no sounds to be heard within, besides the gurgle and splash of water against the tub. She frowned, and threw the door open, hopping back into a defensive stance.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing. "Fuck," The puzzled mist girl scratched at the back of her head, taking a quick scan of the room. No condensation on the walls, or mirror, and the air was frigid. So someone had broken into her house, ran a cold shower, and left without shutting it off? This fell outside the realm of the bizarre.
The young woman shook her head, and bend down to shut off the tap, pushing her dark hair away as it fell into her eyes. It took another quick, suspicious sweep of the room, but she was finally satisfied, and turned to leave, shoulders hunched irritably, laying a hand on the wobbly doorknob.
"I was using that."
Kotone screamed.
Cat like reflexes kicked into high gear, and the kunoichi spun, driving the kunai straight through the intruder... (the very short intruder...?) 's head. The figure exploded into a million droplets of water, splattering the chipped tile and plank-walls. "A water clone," Kotone muttered to herself, taking a step back.
Except... mizu bunshins couldn't reassemble themselves, could they? The raven haired seventeen year old jumped back in alarm, as the beads of water formed puddles, that quickly pulled themselves into a tiny human shape.
"What the hell is your problem, lady?" The boy- as it was indeed a child, perhaps ten- demanded, arms crossed, and pointed teeth bared.
"Why the hell were you in my bathtub?" She retorted, voice shaky and bumbling, still trying to recover from the near-ambush. "Get out!"
"Where is Zabuaz senpai?"
"Look, if I throw you a cucumber or something, will you go away?"
The other ignored the comment, however, and began to tap his foot against the cold tile floor, impatience etched into his young features. The child's face had set in an irritated little pout, and he blew a thin lock of white-blue hair from his eyes. "Where is Zabuza Senpai? I'm not leaving until I see him."
It was Kotone's turn to cross her arms, eyebrow arched as she looked down at the boy. "How am I supposed to know? And why's a little brat like you looking for him?"
"I'm supposed to learn from him." He announced haughtily. "I'm going to be one of the shinobigatana one day. Just you wait."
"Right." The older ninja rolled her eyes, glancing back over her shoulder at the door's unfailing creak. She backed out of the bathroom, arms still folded, and craned her spine backwards to watch the threshold, and the weary looking man hauling himself, and his unusually massive weapon through the doorway, the rickety slab of wood determined to close itself on him. He glanced up, meeting her eyes, and seemed to reconsider settling down inside, an undisguised look over his shoulder and into the darkness outdoors displaying his aversion quite baldly. He allowed himself to lay Kubikiri Hocho in it's place, against the nearest wall. However, Zabuza winced, turned around, and headed outside quite deliberately when the child popped his head around the bathroom doorframe.
"There you are! I've been looking all over!" His razor sharp teeth glinted gleefully, as he hurried after the older boy, bouncing along to match his longer, more powerful strides.
Kotone took a few more leisurely steps to lean against the doorway, wanting to keep the two within earshot. "Suigetsu, I'll say this once more," Zabuza kept his eyes forward, and level, as the boy caught up, desperate to keep the exasperation out of his tone when he spoke. "Leave me alone."
"But they said! You've gotta teach me! I get your spot when you keel over!"
He let out an odd little roar, but it died about midway, and ended as a weak little sigh. "Alright, alright." The dark haired man conceded, eyes closed in annoyance. "When you're big enough to actually pick up Kubikiri Hocho, I'll show you how to use it."
The boy jammed his hands into his pockets with a forcefulness she wouldn't have expected of his age, or small stature. He grimaced, kicking nudging a pebble with his foot as a sort of distraction. "Do you really mean it?" The taller gave only a sharp nod, before turning back towards his home, ending the conversation as abruptly as he could manage. The boy stalked off somewhere, through the trees.
"Who's the kappa?" Kotone stepped back from the entrance as he pushed past, not meeting her eye. She pretended not to have noticed that particular detail.
"Hozuki Suigetsu."
"Woah! Seriously?"
Zabuza nodded, hand resting already on the door to his room, grumbling. He was so close to the safety of his room, where he could simply lock the door, and pretend he lived alone. "Yes. They say he's the next me."
"How so?"
"He's an expert in killing, already. Vicious little thing: He cuts of his victim's arms, one at a time, then one leg, than the other. Then he decapitates them."
He didn't bother to turn around, but years of exposure to the foolish little thing had given him a pretty good idea of her expression: One deceptively delicate, clawed hand over her mouth in alarm, pale eyes wide behind dark lashes. "Wait a minute, that's stupid," She started. He could definitely hear the words muffled by her hand, as he had assumed. "You kill people so quickly, they don't realise their dead. Suigetsu kills them slowly, and painfully. Torture is about as far from the silent homicide technique as you can get."
"So he's the next you then." Zabuza pushed the door open, slamming it behind himself just as quickly. "Makes sense." He shot over his shoulder, a bitter smile pulling at his lips, as it closed. "He's as annoying as you are."
vvvvvvvvvvv
"Something the matter?" Ogakuzu cocked a pale eyebrow, scrutinizing the boy brooding in their usual haunt's most dismal looking corner. He offered a nondescript grunt in reply, and returned to glaring at the rotten floorboards. "I see," The older man knew better than to pry into the business of an eighteen year old, as they were irrational, unreasonable, and downright difficult. A change in subject would suite better. "Have you noticed a trend in our foreign assassination missions at all?"
"They're all in the lightning country." The reply was really nothing more than a perfunctory growl.
The blond man nodded, feigning an innocent tone, as he studied the dark wooden beams running overhead, to support the ceiling. "We're awfully hostile with them, all of a sudden..."
This, Zabuza deemed worthy of turning around for, and looked over at the other swordsman with a dull, resigned sort of dread. "Hachidaime's prepared to go to war with them." The older ninja bit his lip.
"I was afraid of that." Hostilities against Rai no Kuni weren't uncommon. The first of many civil wars had broken out decades earlier, when the man who would one day found Kirigakure no sato, and become Shodai Mizukage led a revolt against the lightning nation. They had belonged to the larger country for as long as anyone could remember, and the small island craved independence. The water country felt it's culture was being smothered, and that their people would all too soon be assimilated completely by the lightning's ways. In those days, their folk songs were a distant memory, their language spoken only in secret where no outsider could hear.
The battle had been quick, and bloody, casualties running high on both sides. The future cloud nin were in greater numbers, but the warriors of Mizu no kuni were like cockroaches: Difficult to catch, damn near impossible to kill. Eventually, the Daimyo in charge at the time had ended the war to prevent further loss of life. He announced that the water country was without value, and was inhabited solely by demons and wild animals, masquerading as human.
"It was different, that time." Zabuza muttered, kicking at a floorboard that had popped out of place. "The lightning country's bloodline families are immensely powerful. We had the Kaguya and Hyoton users on our side at the time. With them decimated, we would never stand a chance."
Ogakuzu grinned. "My, my. You're pro-kekkei genkai, are you? Better be careful. You're getting into some pretty dangerous talk, there. Some would call it treason."
"They can call it whatever they like, I stand by my words. It's foolish to destroy something so useful."
"Ah," Ogakuzu took a quick sweep of the room to assure himself that they were indeed alone. It'd would be very unpleasant if this conversation was overheard. "So you don't agree with Hachidaime's policies either?"
"Not in the slightest."
"Funny, isn't it?" The sixty-year old smiled, as his gaze flickered out the dusty window absently. "The leaf village has had four kages, and the sand village four... yet we're on number eight."
"That's because they keep killing each other." The demon answered bitterly.
The leaders of the Hidden mist village had never been ones to die peacefully. Shodai had died of natural causes, true enough, and his successor had run things quite smoothly for years. But after a while, Nidaime's trusted assistant had gotten it into his head that a change was in order, and had taken things into his own hands. The unsuspecting kage had been murdered, and his role had been usurped quite neatly. It was Sandaime who implemented the stricter, more harsh training regimen, to supposedly strengthen their trainees's bodies, and hearts. Another man led a small uprising a few more years later, and It was Yondaime Mizukage who invoked the graduation exam, a good fifty years earlier. Yondaime was eventually killed by Godaime, who lasted a grand total of two months, before being murdered in his sleep by Rokudaime and his band of followers. Shichidaime took his place in the patter; gathered a group of rebels, slit Rokudaime's throat, and met the same end years later. Which, of course, brought the timeline up to the latest horror occupying that particular office. Hachidaime Mizukage, who had assumed power twelve years earlier in the usual fashion.
Assassinating the last guy.
"I regret not fighting harder in the last coup." The blond sighed, pushing a wisp of light hair from his face. "I tried to stay out of it, but in retrospect, things were better when Shichidaime was in power." Momochi looked over at him eyes sharp with a guarded interest. "Ah, that's right. You're much too young to remember. Wasn't much different, they've all been cruel since I was a child."
"I'd say it was about time that stopped."
"What?"
"Hachidaime is a sorry excuse for a leader. The village is run terribly." Zabuza kicked off from the wall he was leaning against, taking hold of Kubikiri hocho, and hefting it over his shoulder as he started for the door. His face twitched into a mocking little half smile behind the cloth wrappings that hid it. "And I'm only telling you this because I know you really couldn't care less... but I intend to change that."
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
"You've got to be kidding!" The young woman slumped against the brick wall, a hand covering her eyes in exasperation.
"I'm not."
"Is that bad?" Another girl, seated on the steps to the more brightly lit upstairs asked hesitantly.
The other older man in the room nodded, hobbling over to the large fireplace, to prod at the dying blaze with the end of his crutch. "It could be. I've heard some terrible things about this 'kijin'."
"He's not as bad as all that," A younger man, perhaps in his late teens, chimed in, helping the senior out by handing him the firewood he was reaching for, the flames flickering as it was added, shadows flying around the workshop and it's occupants. "I think we're essentially on the same page. He's probably further to the radical side, but still. He's not Hachidaime, that in itself is an improvement."
"What if he succeeds, though?" The first woman challenged. "What will that mean for us?"
The room's smallest occupant, a third young woman, had been pacing steadily throughout the conversation, her silhouette projected against the far wall as she passed the fire. Her arms were folded, hand placed thoughtfully on her chin, large, dark eyes set in contemplation. "That may not be so awful." She started slowly. "We may not have any sway over what Momochi does..." Her soft, delicate face brightened. "But I can think of someone who has."
"You mean...?"
The girl tucked a strand of perfectly straight hair behind her ear, nodding. "Yes, I do."
"Misao, you still need a student." The grey haired man began, face lively as the concept sunk in.
"Yes, I do. From what I hear, she's a perfect candidate."
"Strong enough." The petite woman continued. "Not exactly friendly, but her heart's in the right place." The boy bobbed his head in agreement.
"And Mizukage Sama will undoubtedly approve." The brown haired girl finished.
The older blond nodded, acknowledging them each in turn. "Perfect."
"Yeah," The young man chuckled, pushing a wavy shock of brown hair from his eyes. "The trick'll be convincing Momochi it was his idea."
XD worst chapter title, ever!
As for the cucumber thing xDDD Yeah. Kappa are these water demons, and apparently, they won't bother you if you throw them a cucumber with your name on it, since they adore cucumbers. XD I think Kisame called Suigetsu a Kappa at some point in the manga. Wasn't able to find it again, but that really amused me. It fit to well. Mischevious little water imp things.
So yeah! Thank you all so much for reading, please review, and have a nice day!