Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter, I must say, been a while since I worked on this one, but, as the saying goes, all good things come to those who wait. Plus it took me a while to figure out where I wanted this to go from here.

Kisame couldn't quite remember the last time he felt so impatient. Perhaps it had been all the way back in his more norm shinobi days in the Kiri ranks as a genin or back in his academy days, he wasn't quite sure. But something about how he was close to practically bouncing or shifting on the balls of his feet idly reminded him of those days long ago. He liked to think all his years as a chunnin, jounin, Anbu and even a Swordsman had given a lick of experience in the discipline of patience, but waiting for one or both of the parents of the twins with Sasori was defiantly one of the most nerve-wrecking moments in his life.

It didn't help that Sasori was becoming more and more suspicious of him and his sudden 'expertise', her choice of words not his, in the care of infants, again her words, if her ever growing calculating stare was any indication. It made him fidget slightly.

He tried to focus on caring for the twins, but those cold, unblinking teal eyes made it a little hard. What he and many others would give to be able to know what was going through that head of hers, but at the same time, he didn't really want to know. After all, it was hard to forget that, despite the culture differences and values in what generally defined a genius, Sasori was still considered one of the greatest out of her generation back when she was still loyal to Suna. Just because she specialized in both crafting and using very efficient puppets in her art as a kunoichi, didn't mean she lacked in other skills, if anything, it made her all the more adept.

So, along with his anxious waiting for the parents to return to relieve them of their mission and pay them, he was also anxious with the every looming possibility of the redhead calling him out on his lies, but she had yet to. If anything, he was starting to get the idea that she enjoyed seeing him sweat and squirm as he readily prepared more lies and cover-ups for whatever she would say.

Thankfully, it never had to come to that as the mother finally returned. The woman had been clearly very nervous about their presences so close to her children, so she made quite the quick work of paying them after retrieving her twins. Kisame didn't take it personally, well used to the anxiety from civilians, though he could tell it irked Sasori a little bit, she didn't say anything until they were a block away from the house, "See you back at the HQ." With that, she vanished in a flurry of sand and gravel.

Kisame decided not to look the gift in the horse's mouth and after doing a mix of a sigh of relief and a fist pump, he quickly ducked down the nearest ally and squeezed himself between two conviently stacked piles of tall crates, effectively hiding him from view and giving him the necessary privacy to do what he had to do. First, he created summoned some water chakra and let it drip and soak into the ground, allowing him to create a mud clone.

"I need you to go into the HQ's sewer's undetected and get Kimiko-chan's basket and pass it to one of the clones in our room," He ordered his new clone, who nodded in response before bolting across the alley and chakra-walking up onto the building's roof to use the quicker path to get to the HQ to get his task done, Kisame then smiled as he cracked his hands, continuing in thought, 'As for me, I have some shopping to do, glad I grabbed some extra money before leaving the room.' That in mind, Kisame once again made familiar hand-seals of the classic henge-jutsu.

Kisame took to using a nearby window of the building to check his new appearance for flaws, as it had been a while since he had last used the henge jutsu at all. He still maintain his normal height and build, but he no longer stuck out like a sore thumb. In place of his signature bluish skin was a perfectly normal apricot skin-tone, his face had been softened and slightly rounded for the more friendly feel he had been going for, complete with a noticeable splash of freckles from cheek-across the nose-to cheek. His hair darkened into a more natural and common raven-black and had flattened into a bushy look that didn't look too messy, and his eyes had rounded slightly as well in shape and had darkened into a friendly hazel color. A quick grin revealed even his normally sharp, shark-like teeth looked like a normal human's should.

A further inspection found his tall-tale jounin-outfit and Atasuki cloak had been replaced as well for a more suitable, friendly and generic outfit of any civilian man; dark gray sweat-pants, a loose fitting light grayish-blue shirt and sandals. A quick pat down proved his henge more solid than he gave it credit for and with that, Kisame was satisfied enough to leave the alley, hands in his pockets, quickly going over in his head the bare necessities to make Kimiko comfortable and her new home livable before considering anything else.

He had to stop a few people along his way for directions to a store he hoped would have all he would need and patted himself on the back for how well his henge was doing. No one hesitated for a moment nor stuttered or showed any distress in giving him the information he needed, reminding himself idly of his intel missions back in Kiri. The store he ended up at had a generic kinda look in general, being only one floor, but it was big enough to accommodate the business the owner housed and had a rather cute and friend picture design of a mobile and crib on its only window display. Sure, it was a nice size for a decent store, but he just hoped all that he needed in basics was there and what people had told him about their good prices held up.

No sooner did he walk through the door he was greeted by the cashier, a lovely looking woman with pinned up light brown hair, who was ringing up another woman's purchases. Kisame returned the greeting, hoping he didn't sound as nervous and fidgety as he felt before making quick steps into the nearest isle. He immediately faltered upon the sight of the shelves upon selves of varying baby-bottles and baby-themed spoons. A further walk down the 'Feeding' isle as the sign called it and Kisame started to feel his head spin a little. Who knew a infant need so much for one survival aspect? He sure didn't!

Kisame was then overwhelmed with the sudden need to sit down. He had faced down countless enemies in his career as a shinobi, even before he became a missing-nin, but never in all his live did he feel so out of his element and unsure of himself then he did in that one moment. Never did he feel so in over his head either and he was just shopping.

"How long?" A bemused voice asked making Kisame nearly lose his henge, he jumped so badly.

The voice laughed, making him turn to see it was the cashier. She couldn't have been any older than twenty, wearing a standard kimono of soft-looking cotton dyed a very light shade of pink, trimmed appropriately with a snowy white, matching the obi around her waist. Her expression wasn't the sadistic, mean-type of smile he was used to whenever someone succeeded in catching off guard, so that helped big time in helping him calm down.

"I'm sorry?" He asked trying to calm his rapidly beating heart, mildly wondering when she left the counter. "I was just long your wife is," The woman replied hands clasped politely, "You just have this look that all new fathers have, I was just curious if there way I could help."

For his credit, Kisame didn't outwardly show his momentary panic and instinctively fell back on his instincts and one of the cover-stories he had come up with, so he was internally cheering himself on for a job well done as he schooled his expression, dropping into a crestfallen expression. One he didn't fail to notice immediately drew out the woman's concern. He had almost forgotten how easy it was to get civilians to fall for a false role if you played it just right.

"I...I never knew...until just a day ago..." He said in a convincingly vulnerable voice, the tremble being just noticeable enough to seem he was trying to control himself over the heart-breaking story he'd woven, "When...when her sister just showed up with our baby..."

A stunned, yet alarmed gasp told him he had the cashier hooked, but he had to keep his cards held carefully. "I honestly thought she was just getting over a stomach flu since we...didn't really hit it off well...and I travel a lot..." He continued adding a hint of truth as he did travel a lot for more serious missions, "The family never really like me much so...they didn't really fight to keep her...too many memories, I guess." He instinctively clenched his hands.

"Oh my, you poor guy," The receptionist said sympathetically, "How old is she?"

Now Kisame felt a little more relaxed as he didn't really have to sell it here as he replied, "About a week, I think, I just got back a few days ago and she's rather small," He paused to think of his next words, "My...nephew has a younger brother roughly a few days older, but he looks so much bigger than her, so, perhaps she could've been early, I honestly don't know as they didn't exactly include a birth certificate."

"Sounds premature to me, might I suggest baby formula? At least until her teeth start growing in," The woman advised and he shrugged in response, being so out of his depth, he had no choice but to take her advice within logical reason, "May I ask her name?"

"Kimiko," Kisame's smile and posture became more relaxed as he thought of his new daughter, her bubbly laugh and bright smile immediately flooding his mind.

"That's a very beautiful name," The woman smiled, "I'm assuming your starting with the essentials?"

"Hai, and a couple of clothes," Kisame answered more naturally, "Just to start with as I'm moving back in with my family and things need to be...sorted with first."

"Of course," The woman nodded sympathetically, "Might I suggest starting with a crib and changing table? No baby is at home without either, in my opinion."

"Please, lead the way," Kisame smiled with a playful bow-like gesture for her to do so, making her laugh.

After making a rough estimate with Kimiko's actual size, Kisame ended up needing a wheel-cart to carry his chosen purchases around as he kept looking around. He had chosen one of the smallest cribs they had, which was neatly packaged in a box with a picture of the finished project on the front that came with an instruction booklet. Hey, just because Kisame had a temper problem he usually settled with a giant sword, didn't mean he wasn't man enough to admit (to himself anyways) he had no clue how to set one the things up by himself, as well as a similarly packaged changing table that came with two drawers and cabinets to store access diapers and the like in. He also ended up grabbing several packages of their smallest infant-sized diapers, praying to highest Kami and lowest Shingami they would end up fitting.

He ended up grabbing two diaper pails just because he was paranoid, which thankfully just had the cashier laughing. Along with a dozen or two of waterproof covers after she had explained what they were for. He also grabbed several jars of the ointments she had pointed to use to treat diaper rash along with a couple dozen pins for the actual diapers and disposable wipes. He decided to grab an infant tub, deciding he would come back for the necessary soaps and shampoos and the like later when he had the chance to grab more money. Thankfully the crib included a mattress and fitted sheets, so that saved him and all he had to was grab some blankets and pillows, which he settled on being a light pink, butter yellow and spring green in colors and a sleep sack that was a navy blue.

When she had brought him back to the original isle, he settled on being just a few bottles, figuring he could buy extra later, picking the animal themed ones as Kimiko had shown such a strong liking to the shark-charm on his keys. He settled on three medicine spoons, also animal themed, after being told what they were for, since he had no clue if Kimiko actually needed any medications. He also grabbed an eye-dropper or two as well as a thermometer.

He instantly grabbed five burping blankets after being told about their use, being sure that each one was a different color and was made from a soft, thin material. He also grabbed several animal-themed bibs after being told that sticking a napkin into the collar of a baby's outfit wasn't such a good idea. Finally came the cloths. After picking a safe and organic-friendly laundry detergent to use for Kimiko's new clothes separately, he chose five outfits, knowing Deidara and Sasori would drag him to buy more later.

He ended up buying two animal-themed onesies, the ones with animal ears on the hoods and a detachable tail, picking a cat and dog themed pair. The other two were cute dresses, one being a pale rosie pink and the other a navy blue. The last outfit consisted of a pair of dark blue pants and an aqua green shirt with a cartoon shark on it. He also grabbed a few pairs of baby socks of varying colors along with a few pairs of booties.

Needless to say, all his mission money and back-up money were well depleted when he finally left the cash register, despite the discount the cashier had managed to pull after a talk with her boss. "Are you sure you don't want some help with all that?" The cashier asked in concern, despite the ease Kisame displayed as he balanced the two boxes of baby furniture and the other bags containing his purchases.

"No, no, really, I'm fine," Kisame assured with a polite smile, "I'm quite used to this sort of thing, besides, I don't live that far away," In his head, he added, 'Plus, storage sealing makes this sort of a no-brainer.'

"If your sure," She said not looking very convinced but didn't push it. "Have a lovely day," Kisame said beginning to head out.

She gave a little wave, "Do come again!"

Ignoring the curious and incredulous looks from those around him, Kisame carried his purchases down the street before quickly ducking down an alley once more, pushing chakra into his feet to get to a rooftop. Once on the wide expansion of the rooftop, Kisame carefully set all his purchases down, wincing slightly when the memories of his mud clone came back. The clone had henged the basket into a storage scroll and got into the room without any incidents.

What had him raising a brow was seeing the memory of a giggling Kimiko being held by a rather frazzled and singed looking clone and curiously, the other four he had made were no where in sight and he never got any memories to indicate they had been dispelled, so perhaps the original clone sent them on errands. He'll have to ask when he got back, but at least the basket was save in his room and Kimiko had her necklace back, which was tucked safely in his nightstand.

With that in mind, he sealed away his purchases, then dropped his disguise. Tucking away the scroll so he won't get it mixed up with the slightly hasty, but simple mission report Sasori had given him to hand in, Kisame then headed back for the base, heart set on handing the report in so he could get his daughter back in his arms as quick as possible.

Needless to say, he got there in record time and quite out of the blue judging from the startled expressions on Kakuzu and Hidan's expressions, the Jashinist almost falling out of his chair with how the Kiri-missing nin had seemed to appear out of thin air. Though, he actually did fall out of his chair when said nin shoved the report roughly into his chest, taking it down with him as Kisame yelled, "Mission done, anything more interesting?" He didn't even give them a chance to open their mouth as he continued to talk in a rushed voice, "No? Good, see yaaaaaah!" He took off before anyone could stop him.

Both the Taki and Yuga nins shared a very confused and suspicious glance. Kisame never shrunk his work, no matter the rank or content of the mission, he always did his fair share of missions regardless of how many there actually were and how they had to be divided up among their active members. Never had he only wiliingly do only one mission before.

'What could possibly be more important than missions and training?' Kakuzu wondered.

Kisame ran so fast, he actually skidded a little past the door as he tried to stop. Upon opening the door, he sighed in relief to see Kimiko happy and still giggling as the sole remaining clone, despite looking very tired, smiled as he dangled his replicated version of Kisame's keys over her. Kimiko smiled widely as she reached, insistent and persistent, for the smiling cartoon shark that swayed just inches out of her reach.

"How was it?" Kisame asked his clone, who put the fake keys away and picked up the happy infant. "Good...all things considered..." The clone replied carefully, which Kisame picked up on, "She didn't cry all that much, seemed more curious to explore her new surroundings then anything else."

"Where are the others?" Kisame asked.

The clone seemed to debate on how to answer before sighing in defeat and gave a rather sheepish look as he asked, "Would you believe if I told you...they were dispelled...?"

"What?" Kisame asked in disbelief, "How could they be-?"

The clone then added tiredly, "By Kimi-chan..."

Now Kisame's jaw fell open in disbelieved-shock, unsure if he had heard correctly. He tried to form words as his jaw remained hanging open in an utter gobsmacked expression as he tried to comprehend what he had been told. Four, perfectly formed shadow clones, made by a well experienced missing nin jounin of Kiri, had been somehow dispelled, by a possibly premature-born baby that couldn't be more than a month old at the most.

Kimiko gurgled innocently, oblivious to how her apparent actions had effected her adopted-father as she reached for him with grabbing motions, big brown eyes shinning happily despite his shocked stare as he finally managed to utter out, "Wha-how-huh?"

"Funny, that's what I said when she first did it," The clone commented as he handed the original the infant, who cooed happily to be back in his arms, instantly cuddling up to him, "You wouldn't believe if I told you so..." Without another word, the clone dispelled itself with a simple 'kai' hand-sign, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Kisame instantly reeled as the memories came flooding. What he first saw was one of the missing clones making silly faces at Kimiko as another held her as she laughed. Suddenly her nose started to twitch and when she sneezed, the only way he could describe it was that she suddenly breathed a freaking laser of what looked like either sunlight or some kind of electricity and as soon as it hit the clone, it convulsed as if electrocuted before poofing out of existence and it was chaos from there.

He took in the final clones' theories that Kimiko had some sort of bloodline that didn't have any kind of unlocking process, like the Yamanaka and Akimichi clans from Konoha, the ability to use their special jutsu was always there, they just never been able to use them at such a young age without very early training, which, in a practical sense, should be next to impossible, especially for a feat he had just seen. As for the lack of him receiving any memories, the clone had theorized that something in whatever Kimiko had done prevented the memories from returning or perhaps the trauma and suddeness combined with the sheer unexpectedness of it had simply caused the clone to malfunction, anything was possible at this point.

Shaking his head as Kimiko cooed at him, Kisame gave a tired, mirthless chuckle as he smiled down at her, gently bopping her nose as he said, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, my tiny torikkusuta*?" Kimiko just squealed happily as she grabbed at the offending finger with her tiny hands, her toothless smile warming his heart.

He gently set her down on his couch so he could unseal the scroll containing his purchases. He set the boxes with the crib and changing table in the extra room, planning to convert it into a proper nursery and setting the other supplies aside to put away later. He took out one of the toys he had bought, a pretty butter yellow starfish with big sky blue eyes and held it out for her to see.

"Look what Papa got you," He smiled down at her crouching so it wouldn't be too far out of her reach if she wanted to grab it herself, "It's a friendly starfish."

Kimiko's smile got wider with glee as she giggled and reached for the starfish excitedly, babbling gabberish as she did. Then, a surprisingly thing happened, her triangle-shaped cheek marks started to glow, changing color from wine-red to a soft cerulean blue, making a soft whirling mixed with a swooshing sound. Kisame was further taken aback as the starfish plushie glowed the same cerulean color, coated in some sort of chakra that behaved almost like a cloud, but looked thin as mist. Whatever it was, it was under Kimiko's direction as the plushie floated out of his hand and into Kimiko's waiting grasp.

As soon as the baby had it in her tiny fingers, her cheek marks stopped glowing and the chakra disappeared, letting the toy fall limp atop Kimiko, who squealed happily as she hugged it and began to chew on one of the five arms of her new toy. She blinked innocently up at her father, who rubbed his eyes in shock as she saw around the plushie, "Dada." Voice muffled by the cloth.

Kisame shook his head to get rid of the shock and smiled begrudgingly. If anything this new development only helped his case in being able to keep her. If this really was a new clan bloodline, surely his Leader would see the benefit in keeping her and getting her loyal to their cause while she was impressionable, to use this sort of power to the Akastuki's advantage, especially with how much potential it had.

He also knew he had to be careful with just who knew about this apparent new bloodline, if anything to protect her from those who would want it for themselves. He also knew all to well that not everyone was going to receive her apparent power very well, having seen for himself just how most react to differences. Good thing she had a protective shark-nin for a father.

"Papa's always going to love you Kimi-chan," Kisame promised her as he held her once more, smiling as she cuddled up to him once more, "Always protect you...and that's a promise I never intend to break."

And there we go, I hope this bit of Slice of Life stuff works, cause, ya know, ninja lifestyle kinda contradicts for the most part. Tell me what you guys think, so far, my favorite part has been Kisame trying to figure out what to do at the store.

Let me know what you guys think about Kimiko's potential powers, I felt it was just the right curveball to throw in. Come on, a potentially super-powered baby in a base full of missing-nins, that has so many chances for funny quirks. I do have big plans for her powers down the road and I will explain them in detail in a later chapter, but for now, think of them what you will.

Now for some notes:

*torikkusuta is Japanese for trickster, granted the 'a' at the end has an accent on it, check google translator to see for yourself. Call it cheating, but I'm pretty poor with languages, so what can I do? I also consider it a type of loving family nickname between a parent and child without being cruel and mean.

Please review and remember to keep them PG.

Till next time!