Mairu, a woman in her early twenties, could say she spent most of her time alone. Despite having a shop open all the time, the ones who become her customers were passing travelers, due to the location of the said shop, which also acts as her home.

And to be truthful, she felt lonely. Her family was dead, and only one kid visits her regularly. A thief who goes by the name Akai. She missed the brat, really. But she knows the girl has her own business as a Konoha shinobi. As a Swordwoman. And Mairu won't stop her.

The said woman was currently reading a newspaper behind her counter, when suddenly she heard a bell, indicating the entrance of a customer. Quickly putting down the papers, she put on a wide smile.

"Welcome! How can I help-..." She stopped as soon as she realized who had walked in to her shop. Someone who hardly ever see her, despite their history of love. Their meetings were always due to coincidence, never once did he decided to spare his time to came to her.

"...Kisame...?"

The man, drenched wet because of the rain, still wrapped in his black-with-red-clouds-cloak, stayed silent, taking off his straw hat. Mairu's breath hitched. He looked so defeated, so lost, so weak.

"Wait a minute." The woman said. She went to the door, turning the sign 'Open' into 'Closed', locking the said door and also the windows, closing the curtains.

She immediately grabbed a towel before she went to his side. He sat on the chair, leaning on the counter, still not saying a word, staring off into space.

That's when she know that he was in a state of shock.

Mairu let out a small sigh, standing in front of him, "You can't stay in this wet cloak, you'll get sick." She stated, unzipping his cloak and took it off. She took the towel, wiping his face and body, cringing when she saw the amount of the new scars.

"What happened, Kisame...?" She wondered out loud, more to herself, healing some of the cuts that had re-opened themselves. Kisame let out a heavy breath, clutching the fabric of her clothes. Mairu froze, slowly putting down the towel.

The man pulled her closer, burying his face in her neck, and before she knew it, he started sobbing. Quietly, but it was obvious from how she could feel his warm tears, how his body trembled.

She ran her fingers through his hair, as if trying to calm him down. "Kisame... what's wrong...?"

Kisame still didn't answer. Mairu knew nothing, and he was the one who's going to tell her the horrible news. Something he wouldn't like to do, but he had to. She deserves to know.

"It's just..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Mairu pushed him away, smiling gently at him as her gaze softened. She took his hand and led him to the living room, where he seated himself on the couch. She sat next to him, still holding his hands.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Kisame weakly nodded. He turned to face her, leaning his head on her shoulder as his tears continued to fall.

"It's her..." he whispered, "Akai."

Mairu's body tensed. While Akai hates Kisame, the man thought the girl was living peacefully with her cousins, as far as she knows.

"She grew up so fast..."

Mairu nodded. It was out of character, so strange for Kisame to suddenly started talking those things.

"But... why? She doesn't deserve that." He muttered, "She shouldn't have... shouldn't have... She couldn't just..."

"She should have lived." Those words finally left his lips, "She couldn't just die like that. She doesn't deserve death. She should have survived."

Mairu instantly pulled away, grabbing Kisame's shoulders and stared at his eyes. She was getting teary as well, but that doesn't bother her.

"No... you're kidding, right? Kisame, this is a joke, right?"

The man shook his head, pulling out a copy of his late niece's medical report. The brunette woman took the paper, her hands shaking as she read the words.

"This can't be real..."

Kisame gritted his teeth. "It's my fault." He mumbled, "We fought. Twice. The first time, she had her right arm broken. I won, beating her up until she passed out. In her last seconds, she recognized me, despite my disguise."

Mairu nodded, trying her best to listen to him.

"The second one, I was with Itachi. She came as the Red Mist. How come I never know she was that great?!" He scolded himself, "She beat me up, badly. Her skills, probably the same level, or maybe above mine."

It was rare, really rare, for Kisame to give a compliment. Mairu knew at least that much.

"Senbons, swords, daggers, that Mist jutsu, poisons, where did she learn all those things?! Leader of the Assassination Squad?! So many things I've missed, Mairu! So many, I shouldn't have left!"

"I killed her, it's my fault. If I didn't hit her head that time, if I didn't beat her up like that, if I didn't try to choke her, if we didn't fight, she would have survived! Our fights triggered her sickness, didn't they?!"

"Kisame, don't blame yourself..."

The man shook his head, covering his face with his hands. "Fuka-nee would be mad at me. She trusted me to take care of her daughter, but what have I done?!"

Mairu bit her lip, wiping away her tears as she pulled her lover into a tight hug.

"It's not your fault, Kisame, it's-..."

"What if she hasn't forgive me?! She told me it's my fault she lost her cousins, and that's not wrong at all! What if-..."

"What's the last thing you said to her?"

"I-... I told her I'm proud of her, but that's not-..."

"Kisame, she knows you are sorry. You proved it, fighting her, just like her wish. These wounds, it's a valid proof." Mairu replied, ruffling his dark blue hair, "It's okay. It's alright."

"Akai must have forgaven you. That's just how she is, believe me."

"But what if she didn't?! What if she died angry... what if she died hating me?! I was never the uncle I should have been. Kami knows I made a lot of mistakes in my life time, but one thing I wanted to do was make Akai proud..." Kisame said, and Mairu sighed slightly, leaning forward and kissing the man's forehead lovingly.

"Kisame, I cannot promise you that Akai forgave you in her last moments. I cannot promise you that she did not die angry with you, or anything else. But if I knew Akai like I think I did, I would think she forgave you. Because Akai was never one to hold a grudge unless the person ran away from her. But for now, let's put our minds on something else, okay? Because you'll kill yourself with overthinking about this."

"Okay..." Kisame muttered quietly, and Mairu took Kisame's hands in her own, rubbing her thumb against his hand gently.

"Now, what would you like to eat, Sharky?" She asked, giving him a smile. Kisame gave a small smile to Mairu, which gave her a small shiver of hope.

"Can you still make miso soup?" Kisame asked, and Mairu nodded.

"Of course I can. Just like I used to make it?"

"Yes. Thank you."

| * | * | * | * | * |

In the kitchen, Mairu began to cook the soup for Kisame, but it didn't stop the tears that flowed down her face in small streams. Akai was someone who was fairly precious to Mairu, someone she held dear to her heart. Akai had been in Mairu's life since Akai was a small baby, and it was something unbelievable to think that she was dead.

Mairu rubbed her eyes slightly, wiping away the tears as she finished cooking, and put the soup into the bowls for Kisame and herself. She carried the bowls back into the living area where Kisame was staring blankly at the wall.

"Kisame." Mairu said, and the man glanced over at her, giving her another small smile. This is how Mairu knew that Kisame was hurting, because he was smiling at Mairu and giving her small gestures to show that he was appreciating what she was doing for her.

Of course, Kisame has always appreciated what Mairu did for him and Akai, but he never actually told her 'Thanks' or 'Good job', usually there's not a single clue of his gratefulness could be seen, she just knew that he appreciated what she did.

But now, he was saying thank you, he was showing that he was thankful for what she was doing. And Mairu wasn't going to question anything.

Instead, she sat down beside of him and gave Kisame the soup she has made. The two ate in silence, only their breathing and the gentle sound of the rain pitter pattering against the roof filling the room around them.

When he was done, Kisame laid his head down in Mairu's lap, and the woman gently began to play with his bright blue hair, rubbing her fingers gently along his scalp in soothing motions. With his hand placed gently on her knee, the over-grown shark closed his eyes and relaxed for the first time since he got the news. And he started to drift off to sleep, but not before quietly saying "I love you" to Mairu.

In which the woman smile, nodded, and replied. "I love you too, Kisame."

| * | * | * | * | * |

When Kisame woke up, he was quite in a daze. Slowly everything returned back into his mind. Akai's death, her grave, how he ran back to Kiri, and back to Mairu's place.

He pushed himself up, but heard a soft muttering, "Don't leave me alone..."

He turned, smiling slightly when he saw Mairu asleep, her head leaning on the couch. Kisame gently caresses her cheek, pushing some strands of her brown hair away from her face.

Planting a kiss on her cheek, he stood up, walking towards the kitchen. Mairu always kept some leftover food to heat up for breakfast, he knew that much. He found some onigiris, and the remaining of last night's miso soup on the table. Smiling slightly, he began to make hot tea, preparing the cups and such. Two spoonful sugar for Mairu, one for himself, as always.

"Morning..." a voice sleepily said. Kisame chuckled, turning at Mairu, who was rubbing her eyes.

"Morning. Here, let's eat breakfast."

Mairu nodded, smiling slightly at his sweetness.

| * | * | * | * | * |

"Leaving already?"

Kisame nodded, putting down his cup and turned at his girlfriend. "Sadly, I have to. Leader-sama only gave me a few days off, it would take me a while to get back to Ame. If I don't leave now, I'll be late and got punished."

"Don't worry, I understand." Mairu replied, her gaze softened as she watched the Hoshigaki put on his cloak, tying Samehada on his back.

"If you need anything, you can just come here. Don't forget that."

Kisame nodded, walking towards the door. He grabbed the handle, and stopped, turning back to meet Mairu's solemn gaze on him.

"Mairu... about yesterday..."

She was about to say that it's nothing, but he cut her off.

"Thank you so much. Thank you for staying by my side, even when all these years, I never came to you."

She only smiled sadly. She promised herself to always stay by her best friend's brother's side. Her best friend, Fuka, was Akai's mother, Kisame's older sister.

"But the thing is..." he looked down, putting his hand in his pocket, "Do you still love me? As much as years ago, before I left?"

Mairu looked back, staring at his eyes. There was a glint of hope there, a desperate one, as if he really doesn't want to lose her. The woman smiled softly at him, nodding.

Kisame smiled slightly, pulling out a small box and put it on the counter. "Guess I'll visit you more often, then. Anyways, when my work in Akatsuki is done, we will change your last name into Hoshigaki."

He turned away, opening the door. "Well, see you soon, Mairu."

As he walked out, Mairu stared at the spot where he was, her jaws fell agape. "Wait. Changing... what?"

She stared at the small box on the counter, picking it up, opening it slowly. Her eyes widened as she saw a ring inside it, decorated with little white diamonds.

'Changing my last name into his... Wait. Marriage?! The ring...'

Mairu's eyes widened in realization. "Kisame!" She yelled, slamming the door open. Through the thick mist, she could see the cloaked figure stopped walking, far away from her shop.

Mairy wiped her tears away, smiling widely, "I LOVE YOU!!"

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