Post by Rockinmuffin on Jul 31, 2007 21:10:54 GMT -5
Disclaimer: Saying I own Naruto is like calling a porn star a virgin; it’s a lie and we all know it.
Sigh. When will I stop writing angsty crap and get back to the cute fluff? I miss the cute fluff. A lot. But my mind wants to sort of create a semi-plot and every plot has to have its conflicts. Next chapter won’t be too fluffy either, but hopefully by chapter fifteen things will be cute again for a while.
Sorry again for the lack of fluff. May it rest in peace. >.>
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“Oi! Oi, Yoshizaki-sensei! When are we gonna get to go on another mission?!”
Kisame rolled his eyes as he watched you excitedly bounce around Yoshizaki in a circle. He took a moment to ponder whether you had eaten a bowl of pure, unrefined sugar that morning but realized that you were perfectly capable of running around like that without any sugar (or any food, for that matter) in your system.
Kisame shook his head and chuckled mentally; you were such a spaz.
“Whoa now! Calm down, _____” Yoshizaki told you as he placed a hand on your head, stopping you from jumping around any more. Once your sensei was sure that you wouldn’t start up again he pulled away his hand. “Now, I know it’s been a while since our last mission, but with all the chaos that Kirigakure has had to deal with as of late…” he trailed off as he turned towards the sky, his eyes looking but not seeing.
“We can’t afford to slack off,” Kisame butted in, “Especially now. Our enemies will surely know about that brat Zabuza and what he did and they’ll take advantage of our weakened state if we allow it. That’s why we need to continue behaving like any other functioning ninja village.” Kisame chanced a glance at Takei, locking eyes with the boy and giving him a hardened stare. “We can’t afford to take the time to stop and mourn.”
Takei was the first to break eye contact, lowering his gaze to the ground at his feet.
Yoshizaki sighed. “True, true, but missions have always been rather slow for Kiri, and now is no exception. Besides, you kids should be thankful you’re getting a small break, not complaining.” The blonde man let out another sigh as he placed his hands behind his head. “You guys should use this time to relax, have fun, and do whatever kids your age do. Believe me; you’ll appreciate this when you get to be my age.”
You titled your head to the side. “And how old are you exactly, Yoshizaki-sensei?” you questioned, your eyes bright in anticipation and curiosity.
“…Well, would you look at the time? I’m afraid I can’t stay and chat; I have plans.” And with a poof of smoke your sensei was gone.
“Hmm… Sensei must be older than he looks to be so insecure about his age” you remarked aloud as you took a moment to stare at the spot where Yoshizaki had been standing only moments before. You blinked then turned back towards your teammates with a wide grin. “So…” you drawled. “Do you two have any plans? If not, the both of you could hang around at my house for a bit. At least until dinner. I think my mom is baking tuna surprise tonight” you informed, cringing at the thought.
“I can’t” Takei stated, offering you a small smile. “I promised my sister I would come visit her today.” In other words, he was going off to the memorial again. Your expression softened at the thoughtful, saddened look you saw in his eyes. “Maybe some other time.”
You nodded, making a point to ignore Kisame’s snort. “Sure, some other time. What about you, Kisa-kun?”
Kisame turned to you with a dull look and shrugged his shoulders, causing you to let out an exasperated sigh.
Takei smiled softly as he watched the two of you for a moment before bidding you farewell. “Later. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
You smiled and waved goodbye as Takei walked away and Kisame just snorted again in response. Once Takei was out of view you promptly turned towards Kisame and elbowed him roughly in the stomach.
“What was that for?” he grunted out, narrowing his eyes at you as he rubbed his sore gut and tried to regain his breath.
“Don’t play innocent; you know what that was for.” You scowled when Kisame gave you an annoyed, oblivious stare. “You’ve been acting like a total butt munch. Well, even more so than usual. What’s your beef with Taki-kun anyway?”
Kisame blinked. “My beef…?”
“Yeah,” you frowned as you crossed your arms across your chest, “Your beef. Why have you been acting so nasty to Takei lately? Did you two get into a fight that I’m not aware of? Seriously though, you should try to be a little nicer to him. He’s been through a lot already…”
Kisame’s eye twitched. He really wasn’t in the mood to talk about Takei, especially to someone who wouldn’t understand.
“Kisa-kun, what’s wrong?”
Just ignore it, Kisame thought to himself. Maybe if he ignored you for long enough then you’d grow bored and leave him alone. It never worked the thousands of other times he had tried it, but the three-thousandth time is a charm, right?
“Hey Kisa-kun.” Poke. “Kisa-kun.” Poke. “Kisa-kun.” Poke. “Kiiiiiiiiiiiissssaaaaaaa-kuuuuuuuun…”
“…”
…Poke.
Wrong.
“WHAT?!” Kisame roared, baring his teeth at you.
“…What’s wrong, Kisa-kun?”
“…” Kisame let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not going to let me go until I tell you, are you” he stated; he didn’t need to ask you anything to know the answer.
You nodded your head anyway.
“…” Kisame’s expression turned grave. “Do you really want to know?”
You nodded again.
“…He’s weak.” He watched as you blinked up at him curiously and took that as a sign to continue. “He still lingers on the death of his sister-”
“It’s barely been a week!” you interjected.
“It doesn’t matter. We live in a ninja village; people we know die all the time. It’s sad, but it’s true. It’s hard to get over the death of a loved one and put our emotions to the side, but we have to.” He let out another sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, pushing stray bangs away from his eyes. “It’s our job.”
You scowled at him, pursing your lips and crossing your arms over your chest. “Maybe so, but just because we’re ninja doesn’t mean we don’t still feel emotions. We’re only human, after all.”
“But we still can’t allow our emotions to control us.”
You stared up at him, your eyes softening. “And what’s wrong with allowing our emotions to control us?”
He said nothing.
So you continued. “We can’t push our emotions to the side and pretend they aren’t there; we can only ignore them, and that can only last for so long.”
He looked back down at you, his beady eyes locking onto yours, holding your gaze, until he forced himself to turn away from you. “And that’s why people are so weak.”
“But emotions make people strong too!” You argued, raising your voice. “When you fight for something you believe in, or when you fight to protect something that you really care about, you become stronger than you could ever be on your own!”
Kisame kept his eyes away from you, even as you struggled to make eye contact with him. “But emotions can make people weaker too; they cloud your judgment.”
“And so what if they do?!” you yelled, your face reddening and your voice growing even louder. “Sure, sometimes emotions can make you feel worse, but that doesn’t last forever. For everything bad that happens there’s always something else that’s good. That’s a part of being human; you have to take the good with the bad. All our emotions, all of our flaws, all of our strengths and weaknesses; all of it.” You tried to calm yourself as you placed a gentle hand on Kisame’s shoulder. “That’s what makes life worth living.”
He carefully shrugged your hand away from him before he spoke. “Rationalize it all you want…” he started, his voice calm. He finally, turned to face you, his eyes narrowed and his lips set into a firm line. “It’s still a weakness.”
“Well, it’s that weakness that prevents us from turning into monsters!” you shouted at the top of your lungs, your fists clenched tightly at your sides. Your brows furrowed and you narrowed your eyes as you sent Kisame the fiercest glare he had ever seen you give someone.
The corner of Kisame’s lips twitched, his own eyes narrowing right back at you. “Are you inferring that I am a monster, _____?”
“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you wouldn’t behave like one, Kisame” you sneered. He froze in place, startled by your uncharacteristic cruelness as you turned away from him and started to walk away. You stopped suddenly, not bothering to turn towards him as you spoke, your voice softer than it had been all day; “Let me know when you’re feeling human again, Kisa-kun…” And you walked away from him.
As Kisame silently watched your retreating form, he came to the realization that that was the first time the two of you had ever had a real fight.
He just hoped that it wasn’t the last.
With a short exhale of breath, Kisame turned away and headed off to the training grounds. He had a lot of steam he needed to work off.
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Sorry for all that talk about weakness and emotions and blah blah blah. I know it can get irritating after a while. And sorry if your views don’t really match the views of _____. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I think emotions are a very important part of humanity. I’m not a very strong person physically, but I like to think that my emotions are my greatest strength. And because I’m the one writing the story I tend to sometimes force my beliefs on people subconsciously, so sorry again. ^___^;
Sigh. When will I stop writing angsty crap and get back to the cute fluff? I miss the cute fluff. A lot. But my mind wants to sort of create a semi-plot and every plot has to have its conflicts. Next chapter won’t be too fluffy either, but hopefully by chapter fifteen things will be cute again for a while.
Sorry again for the lack of fluff. May it rest in peace. >.>
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“Oi! Oi, Yoshizaki-sensei! When are we gonna get to go on another mission?!”
Kisame rolled his eyes as he watched you excitedly bounce around Yoshizaki in a circle. He took a moment to ponder whether you had eaten a bowl of pure, unrefined sugar that morning but realized that you were perfectly capable of running around like that without any sugar (or any food, for that matter) in your system.
Kisame shook his head and chuckled mentally; you were such a spaz.
“Whoa now! Calm down, _____” Yoshizaki told you as he placed a hand on your head, stopping you from jumping around any more. Once your sensei was sure that you wouldn’t start up again he pulled away his hand. “Now, I know it’s been a while since our last mission, but with all the chaos that Kirigakure has had to deal with as of late…” he trailed off as he turned towards the sky, his eyes looking but not seeing.
“We can’t afford to slack off,” Kisame butted in, “Especially now. Our enemies will surely know about that brat Zabuza and what he did and they’ll take advantage of our weakened state if we allow it. That’s why we need to continue behaving like any other functioning ninja village.” Kisame chanced a glance at Takei, locking eyes with the boy and giving him a hardened stare. “We can’t afford to take the time to stop and mourn.”
Takei was the first to break eye contact, lowering his gaze to the ground at his feet.
Yoshizaki sighed. “True, true, but missions have always been rather slow for Kiri, and now is no exception. Besides, you kids should be thankful you’re getting a small break, not complaining.” The blonde man let out another sigh as he placed his hands behind his head. “You guys should use this time to relax, have fun, and do whatever kids your age do. Believe me; you’ll appreciate this when you get to be my age.”
You titled your head to the side. “And how old are you exactly, Yoshizaki-sensei?” you questioned, your eyes bright in anticipation and curiosity.
“…Well, would you look at the time? I’m afraid I can’t stay and chat; I have plans.” And with a poof of smoke your sensei was gone.
“Hmm… Sensei must be older than he looks to be so insecure about his age” you remarked aloud as you took a moment to stare at the spot where Yoshizaki had been standing only moments before. You blinked then turned back towards your teammates with a wide grin. “So…” you drawled. “Do you two have any plans? If not, the both of you could hang around at my house for a bit. At least until dinner. I think my mom is baking tuna surprise tonight” you informed, cringing at the thought.
“I can’t” Takei stated, offering you a small smile. “I promised my sister I would come visit her today.” In other words, he was going off to the memorial again. Your expression softened at the thoughtful, saddened look you saw in his eyes. “Maybe some other time.”
You nodded, making a point to ignore Kisame’s snort. “Sure, some other time. What about you, Kisa-kun?”
Kisame turned to you with a dull look and shrugged his shoulders, causing you to let out an exasperated sigh.
Takei smiled softly as he watched the two of you for a moment before bidding you farewell. “Later. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
You smiled and waved goodbye as Takei walked away and Kisame just snorted again in response. Once Takei was out of view you promptly turned towards Kisame and elbowed him roughly in the stomach.
“What was that for?” he grunted out, narrowing his eyes at you as he rubbed his sore gut and tried to regain his breath.
“Don’t play innocent; you know what that was for.” You scowled when Kisame gave you an annoyed, oblivious stare. “You’ve been acting like a total butt munch. Well, even more so than usual. What’s your beef with Taki-kun anyway?”
Kisame blinked. “My beef…?”
“Yeah,” you frowned as you crossed your arms across your chest, “Your beef. Why have you been acting so nasty to Takei lately? Did you two get into a fight that I’m not aware of? Seriously though, you should try to be a little nicer to him. He’s been through a lot already…”
Kisame’s eye twitched. He really wasn’t in the mood to talk about Takei, especially to someone who wouldn’t understand.
“Kisa-kun, what’s wrong?”
Just ignore it, Kisame thought to himself. Maybe if he ignored you for long enough then you’d grow bored and leave him alone. It never worked the thousands of other times he had tried it, but the three-thousandth time is a charm, right?
“Hey Kisa-kun.” Poke. “Kisa-kun.” Poke. “Kisa-kun.” Poke. “Kiiiiiiiiiiiissssaaaaaaa-kuuuuuuuun…”
“…”
…Poke.
Wrong.
“WHAT?!” Kisame roared, baring his teeth at you.
“…What’s wrong, Kisa-kun?”
“…” Kisame let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re not going to let me go until I tell you, are you” he stated; he didn’t need to ask you anything to know the answer.
You nodded your head anyway.
“…” Kisame’s expression turned grave. “Do you really want to know?”
You nodded again.
“…He’s weak.” He watched as you blinked up at him curiously and took that as a sign to continue. “He still lingers on the death of his sister-”
“It’s barely been a week!” you interjected.
“It doesn’t matter. We live in a ninja village; people we know die all the time. It’s sad, but it’s true. It’s hard to get over the death of a loved one and put our emotions to the side, but we have to.” He let out another sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, pushing stray bangs away from his eyes. “It’s our job.”
You scowled at him, pursing your lips and crossing your arms over your chest. “Maybe so, but just because we’re ninja doesn’t mean we don’t still feel emotions. We’re only human, after all.”
“But we still can’t allow our emotions to control us.”
You stared up at him, your eyes softening. “And what’s wrong with allowing our emotions to control us?”
He said nothing.
So you continued. “We can’t push our emotions to the side and pretend they aren’t there; we can only ignore them, and that can only last for so long.”
He looked back down at you, his beady eyes locking onto yours, holding your gaze, until he forced himself to turn away from you. “And that’s why people are so weak.”
“But emotions make people strong too!” You argued, raising your voice. “When you fight for something you believe in, or when you fight to protect something that you really care about, you become stronger than you could ever be on your own!”
Kisame kept his eyes away from you, even as you struggled to make eye contact with him. “But emotions can make people weaker too; they cloud your judgment.”
“And so what if they do?!” you yelled, your face reddening and your voice growing even louder. “Sure, sometimes emotions can make you feel worse, but that doesn’t last forever. For everything bad that happens there’s always something else that’s good. That’s a part of being human; you have to take the good with the bad. All our emotions, all of our flaws, all of our strengths and weaknesses; all of it.” You tried to calm yourself as you placed a gentle hand on Kisame’s shoulder. “That’s what makes life worth living.”
He carefully shrugged your hand away from him before he spoke. “Rationalize it all you want…” he started, his voice calm. He finally, turned to face you, his eyes narrowed and his lips set into a firm line. “It’s still a weakness.”
“Well, it’s that weakness that prevents us from turning into monsters!” you shouted at the top of your lungs, your fists clenched tightly at your sides. Your brows furrowed and you narrowed your eyes as you sent Kisame the fiercest glare he had ever seen you give someone.
The corner of Kisame’s lips twitched, his own eyes narrowing right back at you. “Are you inferring that I am a monster, _____?”
“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you wouldn’t behave like one, Kisame” you sneered. He froze in place, startled by your uncharacteristic cruelness as you turned away from him and started to walk away. You stopped suddenly, not bothering to turn towards him as you spoke, your voice softer than it had been all day; “Let me know when you’re feeling human again, Kisa-kun…” And you walked away from him.
As Kisame silently watched your retreating form, he came to the realization that that was the first time the two of you had ever had a real fight.
He just hoped that it wasn’t the last.
With a short exhale of breath, Kisame turned away and headed off to the training grounds. He had a lot of steam he needed to work off.
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Sorry for all that talk about weakness and emotions and blah blah blah. I know it can get irritating after a while. And sorry if your views don’t really match the views of _____. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I think emotions are a very important part of humanity. I’m not a very strong person physically, but I like to think that my emotions are my greatest strength. And because I’m the one writing the story I tend to sometimes force my beliefs on people subconsciously, so sorry again. ^___^;