The air was thick in the stone room. It clung to my skin like a second layer, and I could taste the salt in my mouth, the dampness of the Mist seeping through every crack. The floor beneath me felt cold, too cold, and the heavy scent of rusted iron hung in the air. I'd never been one to fear water, but this place—Kirigakure—felt like it was trying to drown me before I even had a chance to breathe.
I stood up slowly, my knees creaking as I pushed myself off the ground, the lingering fog making it hard to see even a few feet in front of me. I wasn't sure how long I'd been unconscious, but my body felt stiff, my muscles sore from some unknown exertion. My clothes were damp, clinging to my skin. My hair—drenched. I had been brought here, but I had no memory of how. All I knew was the pressure. The suffocating weight of a world I hadn't chosen to be a part of.
My head swam as I took in my surroundings. It was a small, dimly lit room, stone walls covered in moss and dripping with moisture. The ceiling was high, but the room still felt cramped. There was only one exit, a narrow doorway that was barely visible through the haze.
Footsteps echoed through the hall.
I turned just in time to see a figure step into the room. His silhouette was imposing, large and broad-shouldered, his presence nearly suffocating as the mist seemed to bend around him. Kisame Hoshigaki. The name came to me as if by instinct, though I had no memory of where I'd heard it.
He grinned, showing off his sharp teeth, his shark-like features illuminated by the faint light.
"You're awake," he said, his voice deep and calm. "Didn't think you would be, but here you are."
I stood still, not knowing what to say, what to feel. The silence stretched between us like a rope, taut and ready to snap.
"You're in Kirigakure," Kisame continued, his grin never faltering. "And you're mine now. The rest of your fate?" He shrugged, turning away. "That's up to you."
He didn't wait for a response. Instead, he walked to the center of the room, where a large stone circle was carved into the floor, surrounded by intricate symbols I couldn't read. It seemed to pulse with an energy that tugged at something inside me, a sensation deep within my chest.
Kisame turned, his eyes narrowing as he met my gaze. "Get in."
I blinked. "What?"
He pointed at the stone circle. "Get in. Now."
I didn't move at first. Something in me resisted, but my instincts told me this was not a time to argue. Slowly, I stepped toward the circle, my feet dragging as if the very air was heavy with something unspoken.
When I stood in the center, I realized the markings on the floor were a seal. A binding. Something powerful.
Kisame watched me from the edge of the circle. "Feel it?" he asked.
I nodded slowly, though I didn't know what it was I was supposed to feel. My heart raced as I instinctively raised my hand, fingertips brushing the cold stone. A surge of chakra flooded me, something raw and ancient, and the pressure in the air intensified, suffocating, pulling me deeper.
"Good," Kisame said. His voice had become more serious. "That's your chakra reacting. Not much, but it's there. Keep it under control. Here, it's either your strength or your death."
I swallowed hard. "What do you want from me?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he removed his greatsword, Samehada, from his back, setting it gently on the floor beside him. The weapon shifted, its scales vibrating slightly as if alive.
"You'll learn," he said, his eyes gleaming with something unreadable. "You'll learn to survive here."
Before I could ask anything else, Kisame slammed his palm against the center of the seal.
The chakra flared.
I gasped as the pressure hit me like a wall. It wasn't pain—not exactly—but it was something else. A weight, pushing down, down, down, like the ocean itself was crushing me from all sides. I felt my knees buckle as the chakra overwhelmed my senses. My breath became shallow, my vision fading in and out.
But I didn't scream. I didn't fall.
Instead, I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists.
The pressure only intensified, a force that seemed to tear at my insides, ripping at something deep within me. Something… ancient. Familiar. The chakra—the energy, it felt like it was trying to devour me, drown me.
Kisame watched in silence, his eyes calculating, studying. I could feel the tension in the air. A part of me knew this was a test. A test I had to pass.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the pressure ceased. The weight lifted, leaving me gasping for air. I fell to my knees, coughing up bile as my vision swam.
"You didn't scream," Kisame remarked, his voice flat. "Good. But that wasn't the real test."
I wiped my mouth with the back of my arm, trying to steady my breath. My body felt like it was on fire, but I didn't speak. I wasn't sure I could.
Kisame didn't give me time to recover. He crouched beside me, his large frame casting a shadow over me. "You want to survive here?" he asked.
I nodded, my throat tight.
"Then learn to drown slow."
His words sank deep into me, a warning, a challenge. The room was silent for a long time, the only sound the faint dripping of water from the walls.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SI fic here.
Read it. Rate it. Gimme stones.