They were hunting for her. She could hear their barking orders that rushed from their gnashing mouths in a language that resembled her own–they had evolved from the first to make their own special form for communication over the last century it seemed. Though it took her a moment to process them she could still understand just fine. They wanted to kill her.
Kasumi remained hidden within the murky lake, eyes only breaking the surface when the voices faded. She’d be easy to spot had it not been for the heavy mist blocking the sun and therefor keeping her pale, iridescent scales from shining like a beacon. Perhaps it was safe now, at least safe to move further towards the center of the lake. Gliding through the water, dorsal spines breaking the surface ever so slightly, the creature dived suddenly and twisted about as though she was enjoying new found freedom. That freedom, however, was immediately cut short when she resurfaced again and saw a young man standing a few feet away on the surface, back towards her oblivious to the danger. Her curiosity quickly turned to anger then fear when she heard those rough voices drawing close again and without thinking of the second consequence she launched herself at the man, one clawed hand latching onto the back of his neck while the other grasped at his wrist, dragging him down to the bottom of the lake.
“Speak nothing, human,” her voice hissed, clear as day despite the water and left no trace of air escaping her lungs. The hand on his neck moved to cover his mouth, preventing him from giving her location away until she was certain the hunters had passed for the final time that hour. Without giving him room to comprehend the situation, Kasumi pulled his body towards the shallows and released him once the sands became disturbed and clouded up. Her eyes were dark as she stared at him, face almost sunken in and pale, lips tight–she looked horribly feral. Not at all like the stories mothers told their children. Despite the soft colors of her scales she looked grotesque, thin, like she hadn’t seen the light of day her whole life. And she hadn’t until today.
“You are foolish to wander the waters of this island alone. I thought you humans knew that. You are lucky I saved you this time. These monsters around here will kill anything that doesn’t look like them, even their own kind. I’ve seen it, yes. Why do you insist on walking where death awaits? Haven’t your kind built walls to keep you safe?” Kasumi easily glossed over the fact that those “monsters” were looking for her, instead directing the danger unto this poor man and making her seem like the hero. She was far from one in actuality, but the truth hid behind her tongue for now.
Suigetsu has seen some shit in his lifetime. He’s survived some shit, too, from the bloodbath that was the Hidden Mist in his youth, to Orochimaru’s experiments, and then the entirety of the Fourth Shinobi War. Somehow none of it seems to compare to the moment he’s experiencing right now.
He stands in the water across from her, the level just above his waist. He’s just survived a whirlwind of a moment, though judging by the words he’s hearing right now, there will soon be some disagreement on what exactly it was he survived.
Hunters in the mist? They probably hadn’t even realized he was there.
A creature he’s only heard of in stories? He expected to wait weeks to finally meet someone like her, and just his luck it only took a few hours of wandering for her to find him.
She’s nothing like he expected -- hell, he didn’t even know what he expected. But whatever it was, she seems to surpass it, with a face like that, and teeth as sharp and pointed as his. Maybe even sharper. She’s the original, isn’t she? Or one of them. Whatever she is and whatever she wants, she’s already fascinating, an up-close-and-personal look into a story he’s long since written off as a myth.
But she’s not. She’s real. And that means there might be others.
Suigetsu waits for her to finish her tirade before breaking out into a grin, all sharp teeth, just like hers. “It might not have been my smartest idea,” he admits, turning to look at the shore, and then back to her. “But I think it worked out.”
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