At some point early in the morning, Akai finally made her way back to the home in which Ibiki and herself shared. She didn't want to wake Ibiki up yet, so she opened her window and slowly slid inside.

Akai was too on edge to actually try to sleep, but she laid down on her bed and crossed her legs over each other, tapping her legs gently with her fingers.

It was sad to say, but Akai could slowly feel herself getting weaker everyday. She could feel any and all energy she used to have being drained from her body, like someone was pulling it from her and taking it from herself.

She knew that wasn't what was happening, she knew she was sick, and that the sickness was getting worse every passing day. But she wasn't going to let it show, no, Akai was stronger than to let people know she was in so much pain all the time.

A few knocks were placed on the door, and then it was opened. On the outside of the door was Ibiki, who gave Akai a small nod of his head.

"Oh good, you're awake. I want to talk to you, so come on out so we can talk, brat." Ibiki said, and Akai nodded.

"Got it, Scarface." Akai said, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed and quickly following Ibiki to the living room. The two of them sat down on the couch, and Ibiki crossed his arms over his chest slightly.

Akai raised an eyebrow, as she watched her Sensei trying to find a fitting word to start the conversation.

"I just wanted to say that... I know the funeral for the Third was hard on you." He started, and Akai cut him off.

"Of course it did, tashikani. It was hard on everyone, Scarface." Akai scoffed.

"But I know it was especially hard for you, and that's why you didn't stay the entire time. That's why you stayed out all night training, because the idea of a funeral is too much for you." He said, "From the looks of it, you didn't even sleep, and I bet you haven't eaten, either."

'Yeah... That's it Scarface.' Akai thought silently as she sighed, rubbing the back of her hand slightly.

"I guess you're right. I don't like funerals. Too many bad memories." Akai said, and Ibiki reached his hand out and ruffled Akai's hair slightly.

"Well, just telling you, don't worry, kiddo. There won't be any funerals soon, so just believe me when I say that everything is going to be alright." He told her. Akai nodded her head at his words.

"You can tell me, or Akito and Shin, or even Anko, if something's bothering you. We will help you." Ibiki said, and Akai looked up at him with a glimmer of sadness in her eyes, but he seemed not to notice, "Besides, it's not like you're going to die soon, right, brat?"

Akai laughed, "Of course, I'm gonna survive for long. But really, thanks, Scarface."

"No problem. Well, I need to get to T&I, I have some paperwork to fill out. See you later, brat." Ibiki finished, and Akai nodded as she turned to watch Ibiki walk out. And as he exited the house, Akai only had one thought on her mind.

'If only you knew, Scarface. If only you knew.'

With a sigh, Akai laid back on the couch and closed her eyes. She hasn't slept for almost two days, and she had over trained earlier. Akai slowly drifted off to sleep, but she didn't know how short lived this sleep would be.

| * | * | * | * | * |

Akai's eyes snapped open, as a bad feeling suddenly ran through her body. She could sense a very familiar chakra signature inside the village, as if it was calling her to come towards it. Like her mother's chakra, but stronger. Her uncle's, probably. Her brows furrowed, as she pushed herself off the couch, her sense getting even more sure about the chakra signature's owner.

"So he decided to drop his mask, huh? Took him pretty long..." Akai muttered to herself, "I guess I gotta teach him a lesson." She said, before she walked back to her room.

She crouched down, pulling out a scroll from under the bed. Unsealing the content, she stared at the red cloak longingly, reminiscing the old times, the time when she was at her glory.

A thought crossed her mind, and the smile turned into a smirk. She grabbed a roll of bandages, wrapping the fabric around her neck, her wrists, her ankles, and her fingers, and took off her Konoha headband, replacing it with her old one, tying it loosely around her neck. Putting on the cloak, she pulled up the hood and grabbed her dagger.

She raised her left hand, creating a single handsign, and in a flash, the room was empty.

| * | * | * | * | * |

Two Akatsuki members were standing in front of two jōnins, both sides prepared to fight, when faint red mist began to surround them.

"What the hell is this...?!"

In the middle of them, suddenly a figure appeared, wrapped in dark red cloak with a black kanji of 'mist' at the back. All of the shinobis instantly jumped away, while the cloaked figure turned his head towards the Akatsuki's swordsman.

"Kisame Hoshigaki." The voice was cold and emotionless, but sounded a bit demanding, "One of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Rouge-nin from Kirigakure. Member of Akatsuki. Do you know who I am?"

Kisame looked around, and chuckled. Not as shocked as others, he was, as he regaining his composure instantly. "From the looks of things, seems like you are the infamous Red Mist. The only one from the Seven Swordsmen whom I haven't met so far. Mind showing me your face for a proper introduction?"

The cloaked figure didn't reply. Instead, he pulled out a dagger, pointing at the Hoshigaki. "Anyone who interferes will be punished. Back off."

Kisame grinned, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword, "Just do as he say, Itachi. I'll make this quick."

"Kisame, we didn't come to fight."

"Only for this time, okay? I can't refuse a duel request from a fellow Swordsman."

"Fine." The Uchiha replied, taking a few steps back, just like Kurenai and Asuma.

The Red Mist smirked. "You don't deserve your name, Hoshigaki. Monster of the Mist? Tailless Tailed Beast? Those are lies."

"Well, I will just prove you wrong. What makes you say that, though?" Kisame asked back, raising an eyebrow.

"You got your weaknesses. So many of them."

"And tell me what are they, please?"

The cloaked figure spun his dagger around his bandaged fingers, his other hands pulled out a few senbons. "Fuka, Ketsueki, the Hozuki siblings." He stated, causing his eyes to narrow, "Mairu." He finished.

"You..."

"And one other name, who is currently just staying in this village. Hating you. Are you brave enough to face her?"

The man growled, anger obvious in his eyes. He pulled out his sword and lunged at the Red Mist, but much to his shock, the mysterious shinobi simply blocked his attack with his dagger.

"Hiramekarei kaihō." He muttered. The small dagger suddenly turned into a large, double-hilted sword, a blade he recognized so easily.

"How... How the hell could you wield it?! Mangetsu wouldn't give his sword to anyone!!"

The Red Mist's body tensed, before he let out a low growl. He threw the senbons he had towards the Hoshigaki, and while the man dodged, he lunged at him, swinging his sword without mercy.

"So you don't know, huh?! And yet you spared some time to visit Zabuza's grave!"

"What the f*ck are you talking about?!" Kisame demanded, blocking he sword that almost went to his neck. He pushed the blade away, unraveling some of the bandages around Samehada. He was curious, but mad at the accusation. Zabuza was his friend, why wouldn't he came?!

The Red Mist jumped back, away from the Monster of the Mist. Dark-blue chakra began to seep out of his body, as he split the sword in two, holding one in each hand. One hand lifted the sword and leaned it on his shoulder, while his other hand pointed the sword at Kisame.

"Mangetsu Hoshigaki is dead." The statement made him froze in shock, "Killed In Action a few years ago. He entrusted his sword to me, and I'm gonna kill you with it."

Kisame tightened his grip on his sword. "Reveal yourself first!" He yelled, and ran towards the Red Mist, who jumped onto Samehada, pinning it to the ground with his feet. His right hand raised his sword, aiming for his head, but Kisame swiftly stepped away, not releasing Samehada.

"Why didn't Samehada eat your chakra?!" He asked out on frustration, watching as the cloaked figure let out a chuckle, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"I told you not to place that permanent jutsu, right?"

And then it clicked. Kisame's hand dropped the sword's hilt, as he took a shaky step backwards.

"No... You can't be..."

The cloaked figure let out a bitter laugh, his hand raised and pulled down his hood, revealing a very familiar face, with dull grey eyes and bright blue hair.

"Red Mist. Akai Kiri. Isn't it obvious already, dear Uncle Kisame?" Akai asked, grinning evilly, "I'm no longer injured, don't worry. I can fight to my fullest," she told him,

"AND I'LL CUT YOU TO PIECES!!"

| * | * | * | * | * |

To say that Kisame was shocked was an understatement. His little niece, all this time, has been the one who looked up to him the most, thinking of him as her hero. He couldn't truly accept how she stood in front of him now, as his rival, with a similar status, holding a sword aiming for his life.

Her eyes held no trace of warmth, no trace of kindness towards him. Only rage, excitement for a fight in order to defeat him. It was as if they were lifetime enemies, not even a family, as if he had done something horrible to her.

Which maybe he did.

As he blocked her attack, barely escaping her dangerous blades, his mind traveled back to his past, trusting his safety completely to his instincts.

He never wanted her to be a Swordsman. It was too dangerous. He trusted Mangetsu, but Akai? He doesn't want to risk it. He treasures her too much to let her got hurt. The only reason why he wanted her to be a shinobi is just so that she could protect herself. Nothing more.

She had exceeded far from his expectations. Higher, much higher than everyone's expectation.

But now she wanted to kill him. He understood why, more or less, but he never wants to hurt her. Not even once.

"Why, Akai?" He muttered, "Why do you hate me so much?" He asked, as he caught her wrist in mid-air, stopping her blade completely as he tightened his grip.

Akai didn't show any kind of emotion he expect. She chuckled, looking straight at him in a mocking gaze.

"You hurt us. Simple as that." She began, "You left. The three of us tried so hard to survive without you. Mangetsu worked nonstop, going into countless mission, day and night, just to feed us." She stated calmly, "And then he died. Leaving his sword to be mine."

Kisame's breath hitched. Akai glared at him, in such speed raising her leg and kneed him on the gut. He let out a groan of pain, and she sent a kick onto the same spot, sending him flying, landing harshly on the ground.

Akai dragged her swords behind her, making her way towards him as she continued her story, "Suigetsu and I were both dying. We hunt, we beg, we stole, just to have food for the day. The Mizukage gave me a job at the Assassination squad, helping me a bit to get money. Hiramekarei was the only weapon I wield."

Kisame had stood up, back in his defensive stance with Samehada. He panted, watching as his niece kept coming closer and closer. She finally stopped, a few metres from him, putting her twin swords back into one and lifted it up, leaning it on her shoulder.

"I came back home to find a Sannin trying to kidnap Suigetsu. He succeeded. I lost him, too." She said, her other hand pulled out a senbon and spun it around, "I was alone."

She looked up, a few tears fell from her eyes, but she only let out a giggle, "It's all your fault! If you had stayed, they wouldn't have been gone! I could have lived with my cousins! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!"

"She's losing control." A voice said. All the spectators turned, to see Kakashi and Ibiki standing nearby, watching the fight. "This is bad. Akai might turn dangerous if this continues." The Morino stated, "Asuma, Kurenai, get back to the village, try to find some help to take care of this. You don't know how to deal with her."

The jōnins obliged, but all of these doesn't matter to both Hoshigakis. The red mist had thickened, blocking the view for everyone except the ex-Kiri-nins.

"Akai..."

The girl had tears flowing down from her eyes, but it no longer bothers her. Her grey pupils slowly turned red, her teeth elongated into shark-like as faint gills mark appeared on her cheeks. Her smirk grew wider, as she tightened the grip around her sword, getting back to her own stance.

"Let me show you, Uncle..." She whispered, "The monster I have become."

| * | * | * | * | * |

Akai raised her sword, and ran towards her uncle. The wild side of her had begun to take over, she could feel it, but she doesn't care.

She knows, she's falling apart. Her wall is crumbling down, and slowly she would shatter. With her emotional breakdown, with her sickness, the Red Mist would fall.

But she wouldn't be the only one. She would bring him down with her. She swore she will.

Akai swung her sword up, managing to slash his leg, but before the blade could reach his chest, Kisame had Samehada blocking the blade, trying to push it down, away from him. Akai tightened her grip, and pulled the blade away for a millisecond, immediately pushing it with a brute force, piercing his side. His eyes widened, but she quickly grabbed the other handle, pulling the swords away from each other while making an even larger gash on him. He gritted his teeth, jumping away and panted slightly, while a soft hissing sound could be heard. He flinched, but his niece let out a snicker.

"The Red Mist," she began, "An S-rank jutsu I developed during the years, in memory of Mangetsu, who died by poison. This red mist is poisonous, acidic, slowly eating away the enemy's stamina, damaging their body, slowing down healing processes, and worsening their wounds. Wearing an armor will limit their moves, casting a jutsu for a shield will waste their chakra. An avoidable attack, a definite loss for anyone who fought the Red Mist." She said proudly, "I'll show you."

She once again ran towards him, spinning her body as she almost reached him, giving her the momentum to jump above him, forming her twin swords into an 'X' and slammed them down. The man once again blocked with Samehada, running his chakra through his sword, showing the full form of the Shark Skin, shredding the bandages into bits. Akai's eyes lit up, and suddenly her swords were coated in thick dark blue chakra, as her right hand continued to push down Samehada, fighting against Kisame. Having his attention distracted, she swung her body, her left hand suddenly had stabbed him with the other twin of the sword.

He grunted in pain, pushing her away, and brought his sword up to stab her. The scaled blade went through her liquefied body, and a translucent foot kicked his chest hard, causing him to cough up a little blood.

"I'll have you went through everything, through my pain for all these years," she told him, as she spun her body in the air, using her swords to help her regain her balance, landing swiftly on the ground, "Samehada needs chakra. He's eating yours, right? How does it feel, your ally hurting you without realizing it?"

He glared at her, his hands raised and quickly made some handsigns, coating his body in a layer of water, as his effort to protect himself from the deadly mist. Akai raised an eyebrow, shaking her head disapprovingly at his actions.

"You couldn't even recognize me, Sameshi," she said mockingly, stabbing the sword on her right hand into the ground, "Can you even beat me?"

"Arrogance would lead to death." He said, but this brought an amused smile to her lips.

"You can't kill me. Even if I die, you won't be the cause." She replied, tilting her head, leaning on her sword, her left hand spinning the other half of her sword.

Seeing her relaxed pose, Kisame let out a growl, and lunged at her, swinging his sword down. Akai blocked it with the sword on her left hand, her right hand pulling out her sword as it transformed into a dagger. In a blink, with such speed, she had begun to attack him, but Kisame had pulled out a kunai to block all her attacks, while their other hands continued to push away each other's sword.

But talking about small blades, Akai had much more experience. With a flick of her wrist, she had landed a long gash across his cheek, almost hitting his eye, as it transformed back into a large sword. That short moment of triumph, however, distracted her a bit, and Kisame used that chance to kneed her elbow, causing her grip to loosen. He slashed her arm, and quickly sent a kick to her stomach. She was thrown a few feet away, and he immediately jumped onto her, pinning her onto the ground, one hand around her neck, the other holding Samehada right in front of her face.

"Please, Akai, just stop. I don't want to hurt you." Kisame stated, looking at her red eyes. She bared her shark-teeth at him, glaring back as she struggled to release herself.

"The feeling's far from mutual. I don't want to hurt you, I want to kill you." She snapped, "Why should I stop?! I've been waiting for years for this chance!"

"Akai, listen." Kisame continued, closing his eyes before opening them again, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I'm really sorry, I didn't-..."

"Your sorry fixes nothing," she spat, "I believed in you. I thought you would come back, at least for his funeral. But no." She hissed, "You never returned. You just disappeared all of a sudden, not even a sorry, not even a goodbye."

He gulped. She's right, it's his fault. He should have at least told them, or visit them.

"I'm truly sorry, Little Red. I really am-..."

"I TRUSTED YOU!!" She screamed, kicking her feet aimlessly, hitting his groin. He gasped in pain, unconsciously tightening his grip around her neck as he gritted his teeth. Akai's breath hitched, dropping her swords and began to claw at his hand, drawing blood from his arm, while her other hand pushed Samehada away, grabbing Samehada's blade while ignoring the blood that began to drip drown.

Kisame threw his sword away, using his now free hand to held one of her hands down. The said hand liquefied, sending a punch onto his face, but he quickly caught her palm, trying to pin her arm down.

Akai pulled his arm towards her face, and before he could realize what she's doing, she had opened her mouth wide, and bit his arm with her shark teeth, causing him to yell in pain, releasing her neck. Akai kicked him as hard as she could, and quickly grabbed her swords, jumping away and put her twin swords into one. Her gaze hardened, watching as her uncle slowly raised back to his feet. Both of them had lost a lot of blood and chakra, slowly losing their stamina.

Suddenly, a burning feeling hit her chest, and Akai immediately fell onto her knees, using her sword as a support to held herself from falling onto the ground. Kisame watched in horror as her free hand went up to cover her mouth, while the girl began to cough uncontrollably, blood dripping down from between her fingers. Her face paled, tears leaked from her eyes as she shakily removed her hand, rummaging in panic through her pocket. She pulled out a small transparent plastic bag, with a few pills in it.

"No..." He whispered, recognizing the scene very well. The sickness had killed his sister, and now his niece had it?!

She glared at the medicine, ripping the plastic open and turned her head up, opening her mouth.

"No, don't you dare, Akai. You will overdose!" He warned, ready to ran at her, but the mist between them thickened, creating an impassable wall. Akai let out a bitter chuckle, lifting the plastic bag.

"Mom died already. I don't even have a month left, why should I bother? These are the last of my stock, might as well just use it. I need it to beat you."

Kisame shook his head, his hands started trembling. "No, Akai. Please, no. I beg you, don't. This is suicide!"

"When you left, you killed me." She replied calmly. His eyes widened in shock, as she poured all the pills into her mouth, gulping them down.

She took a deep breath, before she looked back at him and wiped away the blood from her lips with the back of her hand. "I'm not scared of death. I'm not scared of anything. I want to beat you, to make you suffer, to make you pay, that's all, dear Uncle." She explained, a strange glint in her eyes as she threw away the plastic bag.

Kisame took a shaky step back, his sword in hand. "Akai, I don't want to do this. Just stop, please. I don't want to fight you."

Her eyes glowed red, and she stood up, lifting her sword, "I'm tired of your selfishness," she told him, before she lunged at him. Before she reached him, her whole body liquefied, fading away among the mist.

Suddenly, he choked out blood, as a large sword went through his body, from his back to his stomach. Before he could react, the sword was pulled out. Akai went to face him, swinging her sword around and kept slashing him. Kisame soon was snapped out of his shock, as he dispelled his jutsu, accepting her attack without any kind of defense, which made her even madder.

"Fight me!" She yelled, "Or do you think I don't deserve your time?! Do you think I'm just a brat, whom you could beat so easily?! Fight me with all you have! Are you a coward?!"

"I don't want to hurt you, I-..."

"LIES!" She screamed in anger, "You want to fight anyone! Don't make me an exception!"

He bit his lip, and turned away. "Fine." He muttered, "If that's what you want, Akai, then fine."

Before she could say anything, he had raised his sword, as Samehada revealed all his spikes. He brought the sword down, and to her sides, creating more and more gash on her body, not deep enough to kill her, but enough to make her lose more blood. Akai smiled in satisfaction, separating her twin swords and swiftly began to block his attacks.

She knew they were both losing. Their movements had slowed down, their reflexes worsened, but even so, the mist only hurts him. A great point for her, plus how she could have two swords. Her smaller frame could dodge easier, although his large figure could hit harder.

Akai blocked his attack from the left, but Samehada bit her sword to prevent it from moving. Using the paralyzed limb as an axis, she spun around, her right hand thrusting the sword forward, aiming for his chest. He stepped aside, but her feet kicked his shin from the side, almost tripping him. As he tried to regain his balance, she quickly pulled out some senbons, throwing it with perfect accuracy, lodging the needles into his neck. He dropped his sword, while Akai pulled Hiramekarei away from Samehada, putting the twin swords back into one and lifted it up, leaning it on her shoulder, watching as the great Hoshigaki fell limp due to her paralysis poison.

The hissing sound continued, the acid worsening his wounds as he lay there motionless, his gaze following her movement as she sheathed her sword, turning it into a dagger and pulled out more senbons. She stood in front of him, throwing more senbons to completely paralyze him, and bent down, pointing her dagger at his neck.

"Thinking about it again, if I kill you, Suigetsu would get nothing. I'll find him first, and let him beat you up. Fair, right?" She asked, standing back up and looked around.

"A-Akai..."

"Hmm?" She hummed in reply, spinning her dagger in her hand and created some handsigns. As the mist slowly faded away, she turned her attention back at him, raising an eyebrow with a daring expression.

He grinned at her, showing his shark-teeth. He reached out and grabbed Samehada, gripping it tightly as his gaze on her softened.

"I'm proud of you, Little Red."

Her eyes widened, but before she could reply, a figure appeared behind Kisame, grabbing the edge of his collar.

"We're retreating, Kisame." Itachi said shortly, before he teleported away with his partner.

When the mist disappeared, all Ibiki could see was Akai, standing in solitude with her dagger in hand, bruised, covered in numerous red gash with blood dripping down from her wounds. Her eyes were back to their dull grey color, her teeth were gritted in frustration, no longer shark-like.

She raised her hands, looking into her shaking palms, and suddenly, she fell onto her knees. Akai closed her eyes, her hands clasped in desperation as she leaned her head on her fist, warm tears continued falling while her lips trembled. Blood leaked out from her mouth, but it doesn't matter for her.

"I'm proud of you," that's what her uncle said. Even when she tried to kill him, when she beat him up and torture him. He let her. He didn't try to do the same.

He's not mad, not at all. He forgives her, and even he said that he's proud of her.

What kind of niece is she?! Holding such grudge, doing such things. She's the evil one, not him. Never him.

With that thought, Akai looked up, and let out a heartbreaking scream, a scream of regret, of hate and rage towards herself.

What a monster she is.

| * | * | * | * | * |

4500 words, can you believe it, tashikani?! Now I finally can calm down.

What do you think? Compared to my other fighting scenes, that one took the least time to write. Do you guys like it?

We authors love it, but then again, we made that.

Remember the author note from previous chapter? Most of you prefers Akaito (Akito x Akai's ship name), but somehow we wrote Kisame x Mairu instead. Doesn't have much idea on Akaito yet.

Well, enough with this talk. Do you want a fast or slow update now? Next chapter would be our last chapter in Red Mist. What do you prefer?

Don't forget to comment on this chapter (this is an order. I demand you to drop at least one comment about the fighting scene), and vote, if you don't mind?

See you, tashikani XD

~the evil writers,
who had no regrets playing with your feels on the few last chapters *grin*

[Fun fact: During the fight, not even once did Akai said 'tashikani'. Not even once. She was too mad to even use her catchphrase.]