Disclaimer:

I don't own any of the Naruto characters! I only own Moe, Chika, and Moe's parents. Please leave a review and let me know how I did and if you would like to see more of this story!

"Tibbles goes here…Elena here…"

I was up before the sun again, re-organizing my collection of preserved creatures. Many were small animals like crabs, squids, or other unusual sea life. I even gave them names and specific places on the shelves. Some of the creatures didn't like to be next to another creature. They were my children in my mind, something I have to look after and make sure nothing hurt them

The small closet where I kept my treasures was my little secret, no one else but me has even seen them. Not even my best friend Chika. I needed a place I could escape to, especially since my life was constantly under attack by a certain person. I wanted to be free to enjoy the things I love the most, to be out by the ocean staring out into the endless vast blue horizon that seemed to never end. I loved that sense of feeling that the world was endless, full of mystery, but my mother and father had different plans for my future.

They wanted to make sure I was anchored down, and secured to a life I didn't want. Their rules, goals, and expectations stifled me as if I was drowning in the ocean instead of gazing upon it. I knew they only wanted the best for me, and wanted the peace of mind that I'd be taken care of if something ever happened to them. They just didn't understand that I knew more about the world and how to survive in it than they cared to see. Always their little girl ya know?

I didn't think of or see the world like most people. To me the world was like a giant ugly clam that refused to open up, but held a jewel inside that was priceless if you managed to crack it open. The only problems were the people who lived on this giant clam. They were selfish, crude, violet, and heartless. They took the beauty the world offered for granted, and destroyed it slowly over time. Over the years I've noticed it was the ugly, misunderstood people who actually saw what the world had to offer. We were not blinded by these pathetic visors that other people willingly put on just to avoid seeing anything that didn't please their eyes.

"Moe? Dear, where are you?"

My mother was shouting for me from down stairs in the store lobby. I didn't want to go down there just yet. I ignored her, and continued to talk with Tibbles, the small purple sea urchin that was the newest addition to my collection. I liked the spikes protruding from its surface. The color was enchanting inside the green liquid jar.

"I like your hair do Tibbles, it suits you." I smiled as I placed his jar down next to the octopus tentacle I found months back.

"Moe! Your mother is calling you!"

My father was the enforcer, my mother the Empress. Her words were law, and he made sure I understood them. His voice carried throughout the building, causing me to wince. I sighed and tucked some black hair behind my ear, the ends barely brushing against the nape of my neck.

I couldn't hide forever in here, even if I wish I could. My parents would come up the stairs sooner or later, and start pounding on my door to get me ready for the day. The store wasn't open yet, but I knew they wanted me to help set up before they let costumers in. I didn't like our customers. all of them looked mean and ruthless. People I hated the most were the ones that didn't take the lives of others seriously. In my eyes the most horrible thing to do was to take life away from something. That's what our customers do constantly, they kill, and murder without even a second thought, and here our family was, supplying them with the means to do so.

I made my way out of my safe haven, smoothed out my simple dress, and made sure my bed hair was controlled before I walked down stairs.

"We have been yelling for you! Now go help your mother in the back!" My father gave me a stern look, and ushered me toward the opening behind the counter that was blocked only by a parted curtain.

The storage room walls were lined with all kinds of weapons, some were even bigger than myself. I looked around till I finally spotted my mother crouched down by a large crate. It looked like she was searching for something frantically.

"You called?" I didn't mean to come across as uncaring or cold toward my mother, but she didn't make it easy sometimes. She jumped in surprise. I must have caught her off guard.

"Oh Kami! You scared the crap out of me Moe…"

I tended to get that a lot. people just didn't seem to notice my presence. Some have even called me a ghost. Some of the village's kids would call me sea witch or the beach ghost. I just stared at her with a bored stare, the longer I was away from my collection the antsier I became. I just wanted to hurry up here and go back to admiring Tibbles.

"…anyway…Your father and I have something very important to tell you"

I mentally sighed, waiting for the lecture about staying out too late again, and prepared myself for the long winded one sided conversation.

"The shop is running low on very important supplies. So we have to make another trip to the mist village."

Hm, another month long trip away, I wasn't complaining. We lived on one of the many islands that surrounded the main land where the village hidden in the mist resided. We didn't have many supply ships coming to our small island, so these trips were necessary in order to acquire the harder to find items. In the ninja villages one would simply hire someone to make the trip for them, but we didn't have such a system here. Sure the trip would take much longer, and be hazardous, but it had to be done.

At these times I'd be left behind and watch over the shop. Not many people came in while my parents were away, but I enjoy the sense of freedom from their ever present gaze.

"I wish you well on the trip, are you leaving today?"

Mother stood and dusted her legs off, and gave me a sad smile. I knew she didn't like leaving me by myself, but I was an adult now.

"We will be leaving tonight, be sure you lock the doors when you close shop, and don't stay out by yourself!"

"…you do know that I'm almost 26 right mother…?"

Sometimes I think she forgot that I was old enough to move out, and start my own family. I think that is exactly what she is hoping for, but knows just how impossible that is for me. It wasn't that I was ugly per say, but I have yet to find someone who didn't take one look at me and run the other way. I was small framed, frail looking, choppy black hair, completely average black eyes, and let's not forget my weird fascinations. I wasn't the most wanted bachelorette on the island, and most of the men my age were already spoken for. I didn't care though. I wasn't interested in finding someone and settling down. That meant I would be tied down to yet another set of expectations I wasn't going to keep up with. I didn't like letting people down, but that was usually what I ended up doing.

"I know that, but sometimes you worry me! Why don't you talk with Quinn more? He looks handsome and is single! I'm sure being alone for a month will be lonely."

I felt my cheeks flare up, and my eye twitch in annoyance. She was always doing this! Setting me up with blind dates, and trying to pawn me off on some poor unsuspecting man that had no interest in me. It always ended in embarrassment for me when he confessed that he loved another, or found me repulsive.

"Just stop it already mom! I don't need you butting into my life all the time! Besides isn't he like forty!?"

I crossed my arms and left the storage room in a rush, I didn't want to argue with her anymore and just helped my parents finish opening the store to keep my mind off of how pathetic I must look to the other women on this island.

The day seemed to drag on as they moved things around the shop so that it would be easier for me to run things. I didn't like them always trying to handicap my life, but if it made them happy then so be it.

"Remember Moe, absolutely no one is allowed in here except you! We don't need strangers in here with you and all these weapons."

I nodded, hearing only snippets of their warnings. I had heard them all before in the past, and knew them by heart.

'Lock the doors, make sure on one gets into the storage room, eat healthy foods, don't stay out ect ect'

I bid them good bye, and watched as they disappeared from view toward the docks. Once they were gone I took in a deep breath and let it out, all my worries and stress slowly vanishing with them. I knew it was wrong of me to think about, but sometimes I would imagine my life without them. Of course I quickly banished such thoughts quickly. I loved my parents, no matter how much they got under my skin.

I locked the door behind me, making sure I heard the soft 'click' before I headed down to my usual spot down by the ocean. I had my own secret beach that not many villagers' knew about. Chika of course knew most of my spots and would come down to visit me sometimes.

My favorite spot was below a cliff side, and caged in by jagged rocks. It was like having my own personal beach with a privacy fence. It even had a small cave that dug into the side of the sharp rocks. I'd sometimes hide my treasures there before taking them home in their own jars.

The moon was high above the ocean, making the waters twinkle with the dim glow. This time of day was the most relaxing. No one was here to disturb you, or shout at you, only the music of waves crashing into the cliff sides, and the cool breeze blowing in from the waters.

I sat down on the soft cool sand and just stared out into the now dark black ocean making it look like the night sky and waters merged and were threatening to swallow me whole. Here is where I felt at home, this is where I belong. Not some cramped building, and stuck behind a counter.

"Ah…If only I could just stay here…"

I smiled and continued my ocean gazing till something floating in the waters caught my eye. It looked like it could be wood from a ship wreak or maybe some trash that was carelessly tossed overboard. The more I stared though the more the thing began to look more like a floating body.

I'd never seen a dead body out at sea before, and became more curious as to what it actually was. If it was a dead body would I have to alert the leaders? Perhaps I could just keep it for myself, or would that be too weird even for me? Either way I wanted to know, and held up the hem of my dress as I wadded into the chilling waters where the thing bobbed up and down.

It was actually further out then I realized, and water was now up to my waist. I didn't care as I drew close to the thing. Turns out I was right, it was a body, and looked to be a man from the broad back, but I couldn't tell much else since it was face down and it was so dark, so I decided to drag it back to shore with me. It wasn't everyday that I was gifted with such an interesting find after all! Once I made it out of the deeper waters the body became drastically heavier, and I found it extremely difficult to drag him onto solid ground away from the rhythmic waves that lapped at the sandy shores.

"Oomph…"

I fell backwards onto my butt as I finally made it far enough away from the waves, and stared at the body I just drug along. This man was massive! He had to be at least six feet tall, maybe more. His body was well built for a dead man, but he looked to be in terrible condition. In fact it looked as if he had been bitten and ripped to shreds by sharks!

"Must have fallen off a ship and got attacked…"

I felt bad that the man had lost his life, but at least now he was out of the ocean, and wouldn't bloat as he decayed. I gave him a silent prayer, and scooted closer to roll him over. I wanted to see what this giant looked like. It took bit of effort for me to even move him onto his back, and I could feel myself blush as the moon light made his exposed torso seem to glow softly. He was very fit, and had nice abs. It was a shame that there were many rips and tears into his flesh. My eyes traveled upward, and my breath hitched in my throat.

This man had GILLS.

I quickly leaned in closer and traced his unusual features with my fingers, feeling the off texture of gilled cheeks. I was so fascinated by this oddity that I didn't notice the man began to breath.

"Nnnngh…."

I nearly jumped out of my skin as he groans from my touch. Dead men weren't supposed to make noises, let alone be breathing still!

What was I suppose to do? This man was bleeding all over his body, and he had gills! I wasn't a medic, nor would I pretend that I was! Should I run for help? If I left him here and he died, I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life!

"…err…s-sir?"

I leaned back in and laid my head on his chest gently, careful not to rub against any of his wounds. His heart was beating, but weakly. If he didn't get help soon he would be a dead man…

I couldn't drag him all the way to the house, people would notice, and it would take way too long. So I did the next best thing! I drug him off the beach and into the small cave where I had already made a makeshift bed from palm tree leaves. I'd sometimes nap in here and hide from my parents on my off days.

I carefully laid him down making sure he was still breathing before I took off at a full sprint back to the house to gather medical supplies. I didn't know anyone that could help me at this time of the night, and most of the doctors were more inland and further away.

I gathered thread, needles, ointment, bandages, alcohol to clean the wounds, and some weak pain medication you would take if you had a headache or a minor sprain, some bottles of water, and a small lantern. It was all I could find, but it was better than nothing.

I sprinted all the way back down to the beach, my breathing coming and going as ragged gasps. I was no athlete, and this amount of activity was new to my body.

Once I finally made it back to the cave, I lit the lamp and turned to face my first and hopefully only patient. My eyes widened though at the sight of the man now that I could see him clearly in the light. Not only did he have gills, but his skin was a pale blue! His eyes scrunched in pain, and resembled sharks. his hair was even a shade of blue. Was he part shark himself? Maybe he was a merman? I didn't know what to think, but his raspy breathing brought me back down to reality. Whatever he was I couldn't just sit by and watch him die without even trying. I threaded a needle after washing it in some alcohol, and breathed in deeply to steady my shaking hands. Even through the dire situation I couldn't help but admire his features. They were so exotic looking, and everything about him reminded me of a shark. I had collected many shark teeth in the past, but never a shark MAN. The freak inside me was jumping around like a little child, but my rational side was focused.

I started a system once I got the sewing down. Clean wound, sew closed, apply ointment, then wrap in bandage. I lost count of just how many wounds this man had on his body. I was amazed that he was even breathing! Getting ripped apart and floating in the ocean for only Kami knows how long couldn't have been good for him.

I felt relieved every time he moan or grunted in pain from the sting of the alcohol, it meant that he was hanging in there, and that perhaps I was doing something right.

"Maybe I could be a doctor after all, if only mother could see me now"

I grinned as I stitched up the last gaping wound that was on his side, and wiped my brow with the back of my sleeve.

I guess now all I could do was wait and see if he would pull through until I could get help in the morning. I stayed up watching his chest rise and fall as he slept, pretending that as long as I was watching him, he would continue to breath. Then I began thinking of where he came from, and who this strange man was. I didn't even know If he was dangerous or not, but I felt proud of myself for taking action.

"W-water…"

My head snapped up from my day dream when I heard his deep raspy voice. Was that my mind hearing things?

"Did you say something…?"

The man groaned and I could see his eyes flickering in an attempt to open them. I quickly scooted to his side and leaned in close to hear him.

"Water…."

He whispered. I nodded and grabbed one of the water bottles I had brought. The man had gills so was I supposed to give it to him like a normal human, or did he need water to breath!? Was just killing him more by taking him out of the ocean!? I hesitated, but decided to just go with what I knew, and helped him by propping his head up on my lap. I unscrewed the cap and hovered the tip of the bottle gently upon his lips. He felt the bottle and parted his lips enough so I could slowly pour some in his mouth.

He guzzled it down, hardly stopping to breath. He must have been severely dehydrated on top of being mortally wounded. I pulled the bottle away once he drank about half of it and capped it off. His eyes flickered again before shooting open. They were even more strikingly shark like now that they were open! Small and beady just like the ocean's best predator. I smiled with relief, at least he was aware now right?

"Try not to move…"

Not that he could move, his body was basically meat ribbons. His eyes darted around while laying still, his head a comfortable weight on my lap. He seemed more alert, than scared or confused which was weird to me. If I was in his situation I'd be flipping out and screaming in pain.

"You're hurt pretty badly…Can you speak? Do you have a name?"

I didn't want to push him too much, but I couldn't help but be curious as to who and WHAT this man was. He must be pretty strong if he could pull through such massive wounds. His beady, animalistic eyes were now tilted upward, and locked with mine. I couldn't help but shiver under his stare, and feel like I might be eaten any second.

"….Kisame…"

His voice was still pretty raspy and barley a whisper, but he replied. His face was blank and still alert like he was expecting someone to jump out and attack him at any moment.

I was about to ask another question but his small pupils lulled back into his head and his eyes closed shut. The tiny voice in my head screamed, and I started to softly pat the man's cheek in attempt to wake him, but nothing worked. His chest was still raising and falling so I relaxed a bit. I suppose he just needed his rest, so I decided to stay where I was and leaned back against the cave's wall. I allowed myself to drift off as well, his soft breathing soothing me to sleep.