Hoshigaki Kisame 「干柿鬼鮫」 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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sunshineverse2015-05-21 09:03 pm
noboatbigenough) wrote in sunshineverse2015-05-21 09:03 pm
The end of an era
Where: The Mizukage Spire, Kirigakure
When: May 3rd
Who: a whole clusterfuck of people, but definitely including Kisame, Sephiroth, Nanako, and Naoki
Notes: The attack on Yagura, the sealing of the Three Tails in Naoki, and all sorts of chaos.
The information Kisame had been getting was more of a tangled web than usual, and just more. Something was happening. Something big had been happening and well-hidden until now. One day, two, three spent almost all in the Basement with barely breaks for food and sleep. Leaving off his training made him feel gross, for lack of a better word, but this was too important. Cypher was buzzing, everyone busy, and so was T&I. Some things pointed to a plot to attack (kill? kidnap for ransom?) someone in the daimyou’s family. Others pointed to some of Kiri’s clans getting vengeance for old grudges at last. At least some of it was false information—Kisame believed the intel about his own clan about as much as he believed the rumor that he was the secret jinchuuriki for the six-tails—and Kisame could respect how well it was all put together as much as he despised the lies. Whichever group was planning something would hurt before they finally died for the treachery.
So Kisame followed threads, gathered reports, sent out agents, and spent time conferring with Shishito-san. Slowly, the web of plots and lies was beginning to take clear shape, cleared of misdirection—
“Damn.” Kisame didn’t often swear, but an assassination plot on the Mizukage was the last thing Kiri needed and if he was right about the big picture he’d just revealed—and he knew he was. A small part of him whispered to let it happen but Kisame crushed it brutally. If he ever betrayed Kiri he’d do it honestly and make a statement by purging some of the lies that had been holding Kiri back for so long at the same time.
There was no time. He sent out the message over the scrolls of Cypher members for a Situation Black, and called for all combat-ready members to converge at the Mizukage spire while on the move out of his office. The T&I member coming towards his office blinked in surprise.
“She’s already on her way?” When the man nodded Kisame barreled past, towards the exit. “Prepare for the worst!”
He got outside just in time to see the top floor, where the Mizukage kept his office, blow out on one side, and it looked like it might be a fire jutsu. Following the fire was a moth, and Kisame knew both the moth and the signals it was giving out. He recognized a T&I agent at the main entrance and nodded, but the quicker way was to go up, especially if the situation was dire enough for that signal.
Kisame reached the torn out wall just in time to dodge another jutsu deflected by the Mizukage’s famous water mirror jutsu. At first it was hard to pick out who was on which side in the disastrous melee, because everyone was dressed as Kiri-nin, whether they were or not. He had to pause and take a look, reading the flow of combat.
Two in ANBU masks on closer look weren’t actually ANBU, but two others, and one who was down in a corner, badly injured, were actual ANBU. Kisame recognized two of the three, and the last was attacking one of the ones who clearly wasn’t. There were others of varying rank involved in the fighting.
Kisame swung Samehada and tore out one of the false ANBU’s stomach, draining the man’s chakra. He wasn’t dead, yet, but he would be in a moment, and another slipped on the entrails and took a kunai to the eye socket. More ninja were pouring in through the hole now, both his Cypher members, and others responding to the damage and probably the moth’s mayday signals. A few hand signals had them engaging the enemy.
But there were familiar faces in the group already fighting. Naoki, and it was a weird sensation of relief to see, was on their side, fighting against a girl Kisame vaguely recognized as a chuunin who often hung around Naoki. He looked tired, while the girl looked fresh. Naoki made the hand seal for dispelling a genjutsu after ducking away from the girl’s attack.
“Why? What could be worth this?”
The girl laughed. Naoki dodged her first thrust, but the second nicked his cheek close to his eye, blood dripping down like tears. Kisame could see it before it came. She wasn’t stronger, but Naoki couldn’t process the betrayal and—
Another ninja in the way, and Shishito-san’s arrival smashing the door, kept Kisame from voicing warning in that second, and a wickedly curved kunai was buried in Naoki’s stomach. Kisame dispatched the opponent, breaking jaw and probably neck with a backhand powered by all his strength, and darted forward to do the only thing he could think of. He’d never tried it before, but he could take chakra like Samehada so what could stop him from giving chakra the way the sword did?
The girl was hissing into Naoki’s ear as she twisted the kunai. Naoki’s sword was too unwieldy so close, and her other hand had kept him from reaching into his kunai pouch, fingers tight around his wrist. “It’s not too late to join us, Naoki-kun. We’re excising the weakness in Kiri! With that asshole gone, the real strength of Kiri’s clans will get the power they deserve and Kiri will be strong and respected again. No more catering or tiptoeing. We’re making a village for the strong!”
Kisame wanted to kill her himself, but this was Naoki’s fight, and as Naoki struggled with renewed determination and the dagger pulled free, he pressed a palm briefly to the back of Naoki’s neck, pushing chakra in instead of pulling it out. “Show her what real strength is, Naoki-kun.”
Shishito-san’s Darling was a whirl of death, dispatching the enemy as easily as breathing. From the amount of blood, she’d waded through heavily defended floors to get here, and Kisame nodded in her direction as he removed limbs from another false ANBU.
The Mizukage was defending against four at once, and piles of coral that were once bodies littered the floor around him as he fought. He was near the corner, so no one could sneak behind, at least, and nodded at them. “To me! We’ll put down these traito—“
Shishito-san suddenly stiffened, speaking at the same time. “Mizukage-sama, there’s a—“
Too late Kisame realized that the corner shouldn’t be there, but the genjutsu hiding one last assassin dropped and suddenly red-dripping prongs of a wickedly barbed harpoon pushed their way through the Mizukage’s chest and abdomen. The assassin payed for it, and died screaming as coral erupted from him, but the Mizukage stumbled and fell, one hand clutching at the center barb.
For a split second, all was silence, and then Kisame broke it. “Damn.”
When: May 3rd
Who: a whole clusterfuck of people, but definitely including Kisame, Sephiroth, Nanako, and Naoki
Notes: The attack on Yagura, the sealing of the Three Tails in Naoki, and all sorts of chaos.
The information Kisame had been getting was more of a tangled web than usual, and just more. Something was happening. Something big had been happening and well-hidden until now. One day, two, three spent almost all in the Basement with barely breaks for food and sleep. Leaving off his training made him feel gross, for lack of a better word, but this was too important. Cypher was buzzing, everyone busy, and so was T&I. Some things pointed to a plot to attack (kill? kidnap for ransom?) someone in the daimyou’s family. Others pointed to some of Kiri’s clans getting vengeance for old grudges at last. At least some of it was false information—Kisame believed the intel about his own clan about as much as he believed the rumor that he was the secret jinchuuriki for the six-tails—and Kisame could respect how well it was all put together as much as he despised the lies. Whichever group was planning something would hurt before they finally died for the treachery.
So Kisame followed threads, gathered reports, sent out agents, and spent time conferring with Shishito-san. Slowly, the web of plots and lies was beginning to take clear shape, cleared of misdirection—
“Damn.” Kisame didn’t often swear, but an assassination plot on the Mizukage was the last thing Kiri needed and if he was right about the big picture he’d just revealed—and he knew he was. A small part of him whispered to let it happen but Kisame crushed it brutally. If he ever betrayed Kiri he’d do it honestly and make a statement by purging some of the lies that had been holding Kiri back for so long at the same time.
There was no time. He sent out the message over the scrolls of Cypher members for a Situation Black, and called for all combat-ready members to converge at the Mizukage spire while on the move out of his office. The T&I member coming towards his office blinked in surprise.
“She’s already on her way?” When the man nodded Kisame barreled past, towards the exit. “Prepare for the worst!”
He got outside just in time to see the top floor, where the Mizukage kept his office, blow out on one side, and it looked like it might be a fire jutsu. Following the fire was a moth, and Kisame knew both the moth and the signals it was giving out. He recognized a T&I agent at the main entrance and nodded, but the quicker way was to go up, especially if the situation was dire enough for that signal.
Kisame reached the torn out wall just in time to dodge another jutsu deflected by the Mizukage’s famous water mirror jutsu. At first it was hard to pick out who was on which side in the disastrous melee, because everyone was dressed as Kiri-nin, whether they were or not. He had to pause and take a look, reading the flow of combat.
Two in ANBU masks on closer look weren’t actually ANBU, but two others, and one who was down in a corner, badly injured, were actual ANBU. Kisame recognized two of the three, and the last was attacking one of the ones who clearly wasn’t. There were others of varying rank involved in the fighting.
Kisame swung Samehada and tore out one of the false ANBU’s stomach, draining the man’s chakra. He wasn’t dead, yet, but he would be in a moment, and another slipped on the entrails and took a kunai to the eye socket. More ninja were pouring in through the hole now, both his Cypher members, and others responding to the damage and probably the moth’s mayday signals. A few hand signals had them engaging the enemy.
But there were familiar faces in the group already fighting. Naoki, and it was a weird sensation of relief to see, was on their side, fighting against a girl Kisame vaguely recognized as a chuunin who often hung around Naoki. He looked tired, while the girl looked fresh. Naoki made the hand seal for dispelling a genjutsu after ducking away from the girl’s attack.
“Why? What could be worth this?”
The girl laughed. Naoki dodged her first thrust, but the second nicked his cheek close to his eye, blood dripping down like tears. Kisame could see it before it came. She wasn’t stronger, but Naoki couldn’t process the betrayal and—
Another ninja in the way, and Shishito-san’s arrival smashing the door, kept Kisame from voicing warning in that second, and a wickedly curved kunai was buried in Naoki’s stomach. Kisame dispatched the opponent, breaking jaw and probably neck with a backhand powered by all his strength, and darted forward to do the only thing he could think of. He’d never tried it before, but he could take chakra like Samehada so what could stop him from giving chakra the way the sword did?
The girl was hissing into Naoki’s ear as she twisted the kunai. Naoki’s sword was too unwieldy so close, and her other hand had kept him from reaching into his kunai pouch, fingers tight around his wrist. “It’s not too late to join us, Naoki-kun. We’re excising the weakness in Kiri! With that asshole gone, the real strength of Kiri’s clans will get the power they deserve and Kiri will be strong and respected again. No more catering or tiptoeing. We’re making a village for the strong!”
Kisame wanted to kill her himself, but this was Naoki’s fight, and as Naoki struggled with renewed determination and the dagger pulled free, he pressed a palm briefly to the back of Naoki’s neck, pushing chakra in instead of pulling it out. “Show her what real strength is, Naoki-kun.”
Shishito-san’s Darling was a whirl of death, dispatching the enemy as easily as breathing. From the amount of blood, she’d waded through heavily defended floors to get here, and Kisame nodded in her direction as he removed limbs from another false ANBU.
The Mizukage was defending against four at once, and piles of coral that were once bodies littered the floor around him as he fought. He was near the corner, so no one could sneak behind, at least, and nodded at them. “To me! We’ll put down these traito—“
Shishito-san suddenly stiffened, speaking at the same time. “Mizukage-sama, there’s a—“
Too late Kisame realized that the corner shouldn’t be there, but the genjutsu hiding one last assassin dropped and suddenly red-dripping prongs of a wickedly barbed harpoon pushed their way through the Mizukage’s chest and abdomen. The assassin payed for it, and died screaming as coral erupted from him, but the Mizukage stumbled and fell, one hand clutching at the center barb.
For a split second, all was silence, and then Kisame broke it. “Damn.”
no subject
The Mizukage coughed up blood, grimace marring his features. "They've won. Kirigakure will fall to chaos."
"No. Kiri will not fall." The denial was out before Kisame even processed the words, but it was true. He'd make it so.
Kisame had only a moment to think, and he really didn't need even that, because he knew what needed to be done. The seals required were kept on file, of course, in case of emergencies like this, and he knew enough of the sealing procedure to do it, provided he had assistance. And Shishito-san was also well-versed. There was space to do it as well, and they could keep the Mizukage alive long enough, with a chakra infusion or two. So with the wind-blade he was working on, Kisame sliced through the shaft of the weapon. Not elegant, but it would do, and he ignored the look, or the protest that turned into a wordless hiss of pain as he carefully hoisted the smaller man up. The leaking chakra burned, but Kisame ignored it.
"Now or never, Shishito-san." They were only lacking in one thing, and Kisame felt something almost like regret as he met Naoki's gaze. Naoki was related, from a stable clan, and had decent chakra on his own. He might survive. Might.
He was the best choice they had to keep some measure of stability after, so Kisame gritted his teeth.
"What are you willing to sacrifice for your village, Naoki-kun?"