Former Mizukage Terumi Mei was seated in a rocking chair, slowly sipping away at her warm cup of coffee. The bitter cold this time of the year in Kirigakure would be enough to make anyone stay indoors and Mei was no exception. It was a night one regretted being alone. Mei, however, was not alone tonight. Looking into the frost and mist on her window as it slowly warmed to water droplets, she was very thankful to have someone to regulate the heat.
“Is this warm enough for you, Mizukage-sama?” Matatabi asked politely.
“I’m no longer the Mizukage, Matatabi. I’m just plain old Mei now.”
“I do not plan on calling you plain old Mei any time soon.” Mei roared in laughter.
“You’re a charmer, Matatabi, that’s for sure. Your previous Jinchuuriki must have also been lucky to have you.”
“Indeed, Mizukage-sama. Yugito was one of a kind. Then again, you also seem to have her sense of resolve, choosing to do something dangerous like being a Jinchuuriki so late in your life.”
Mei understood the risk. Even before she began to undertake the journey of sealing Matatabi in her, she was all too aware that failure would lead to her death. But when she thought about the brave young boy Naruto, who had now grown to be the shoulder everyone could lean on, she could not afford to let him down. The Five Kage stared down Madara with the hope of protecting Naruto, their rivalry which was dictated by the past of their villages slowly dying to a banner greater than themselves, the Shinobi Alliance. And yet Naruto was greater than they were and his resolve surpassed their own, saving the world in the process. Looking back on that gave her resolve and she was successful. Matatabi was easily one of the best things that ever happened to Mei. The moment the two got to meet for the first time, Mei liked the Tailed Beast’s sense of decorum and their friendship was by far, the easiest to establish of the newer Jinchuuriki. Matatabi trusted Naruto and Naruto in turn, asked her to trust Mei and Matatabi agreed without a second of hesitation.
Through Matatabi, Mei connected with Kirigakure and Kumogakure, her place of origin. A history before the Bloody Mist was a rare find and Matatabi was helpful in filling in the details to Mei. Mei also got to hear Matatabi discuss what went on in Yagura’s mind as revealed by Isobu, the hopes, dreams and fears hidden in his complex mind prior to and even during the hold Obito had on the Mizukage. The horror of realizing how much time he had lost as a result and the deep regret that followed soon after the fact. The potential lost to make a future beyond the horror that he had to grow up in. It was all too sad to hear about. Matatabi would then notice that Mei was getting visibly agitated and then to combat that, create a sauna-like effect that flooded the room, steaming the air.
“Vapour Style: Steam Heaven.”
Mei would then tell Matatabi stories about herself and the kinds of people she used to chase after in her youth. Mei lived as though she would never age, never lose her vitality. Time proved her wrong and her fears of loneliness strangled her, a hold that never left until she became a Jinchuuriki. Her youth was returned to her spirit and she had nights where the two would just talk about things at random. Mei was very fascinated about all the Jinchuuriki and people Matatabi was connected to or had met, including Hagoromo. And even now, as the two were in that living room, silence filling the air, they simply existed in tranquility, one Mei felt comfortable sleeping to. The cold air outside, however, decided that this night would not hold a different tune. Frost blanketed the windows suddenly and shortly after, the glass gave way to the strong wind that poured into Mei’s house. The candle-lit living room turned dark and that was enough of a warning to get Mei to wake up. She wasn’t alone. Mei fumbled around the arm of the chair in the dark and cracked it open, taking out a kunai and she rose to a fighting stance, Matatabi ready to follow her lead.
“I haven’t felt this much blood lust from an opponent in a while. Can you be able to tell how strong a foe we might be facing, Matatabi?”
“Someone really strong is present, Mizukage-sama. We’re going to have to attack immediately when we get the chance.” Mei nodded.
A familiar voice rang through the air. “Unfortunately, I don’t plan on giving you one.”
A clean cut of wind close to Mei was felt and Mei narrowly dodged the attack…but it was two-fold. A sudden explosion sent Mei flying across the room. She woke up immediately and scanned her room. Nobody appeared to be around her.
“We are not going to make it if we stay here. I say we make a break for the moonlight where we have better odds of seeing the enemy.”
“Go ahead. I don’t think seeing me would solve your problem, though.”
Mei caught at the corner of her eye, a strange pattern of mist traveling towards her left and aimed a Boil Release Attack.
“Vapour Style: Skilled Mist Technique.”
The mist backed away, moving away from the acid attack as fast as it could. The enemy was a skilled member of Kirigakure, that much was clear. But the technique that the enemy took was one Mei was not familiar with. It was not trying to hide in a mist, it was not trying to use the mist in an attack. It was the mist. The mist slowly disappeared and Mei lost track of it. She waited for the next attack and it came. Another swipe of wind that she dodged but this time she jumped far enough to take less damage from the explosion. She now had one new piece of information. The arc which the wind seemed to come from was unmistakably one that only a long blade could make. She was dealing with a foe who used a sword. Though her village was known for housing the Swordsmen of the Mist, none of them seemed to be here. She had considered Shibuki, given the sword had explosive ability but the impact seemed too clean. More than likely, this was a normal sword in the hands of a powerful user.
Whatever was the case, the person was not going to give her an easy fight. She had to learn one more thing before she could counter attack. But this was going to be a difficult thing to do because rather than the mist showing up, instead the swipes increased and Mei found herself mostly dodging attacks. The explosions were rapid as well, happening almost as instantaneously as she saw the wind. Yet another thing was clear to her now. The attacker was not ready to let her learn anything else. Mei was not fragile by any means but age had taken its toll on her body and she was no longer as agile as she once was.
“Matatabi, what’s your take on this?”
“We’re going to have to hit hard. When we immediately get him, activate your cloak and I’ll charge a Tailed Beast Bomb. Even if he dodges the attack or attacks it with his blade, it will create enough impact to distance us from him and give us time to escape.”
“That sounds like a crazy plan but I’m willing to go with it.” Mei then went on defense, evading attacks narrowly, taking the brunt of the explosion whenever she wasn’t fast enough, even tanking one of them with a water style technique of her own. She got confident enough to notice a pattern and knew the time was just right to attack. She immediately activated her Jinchuuriki Cloak, a blue and black coat and that immediately gave her more stamina. Given Mei’s age however, she could not sustain her cloak for too long and thus this was her make or break moment. She went for her acidic attack, forcing the mist to show as it escaped the attack. Once she was confident she finally knew the form of her attacker, she went for it.
“Tailed Beast Bomb.”
The Matatabi Avatar formed and quickly spat out the dense chakra attack at the mist and she awaited for the attacker to swipe at it, bracing for impact. Instead, there appeared a white diamond form that intercepted the chakra ball, shrinking its size effortlessly as the mist finally broke into a form of a man, who though familiar, looked awfully young for his age. It was almost as though Mei was meeting a youthful version of him.
“I was hoping to do this without being found out. I guess you are too smart for that, Mizukage-sama,” Ao said, as his white diamond form disappeared. The bomb was completely consumed and for a moment Mei was shocked.
“I guess it was futile since you were going to know the truth later on but there was a part of me that just wanted you to be blissfully unaware.”
“Why are you doing this? You told me you wanted to go on a journey to find yourself after we left office. If I had known we had a disagreement somewhere-”
“Believe me, Mizukage-sama, I have no true quarrel with you. I am actually here for what you house inside you. I am here for the Tailed Beast.”
Mei smiled. “I am no longer the Mizukage, Ao. I’m glad to hear we have no quarrel but if you are here for Matatabi, that is not something I am willing to part with.”
“Then it seems I will have to do this by force.” Ao slowly was covered by the mist and darkness and disappeared.
“Such a shame, Ao. I don’t know how you ended up like that but if I had known you were that handsome when you were young…well, no need to explain the obvious.” Mei wasn’t sure what the white diamond attack was but it seemed dangerous. One of her trump cards was no longer an option. She had no time to think however as the swiping attacks returned. While Ao was visible, Mei noticed that Ao did indeed have a normal katana wielded. That did not reassure her one bit because now it meant that Ao had a power that she could not predict. She noticed a swipe and dodged but no explosion appeared, stunning her. She felt her back hit with a force so impactful, but for her cloak, it would prove fatal. She was sent to the ground and coughed blood. She wiped it off her mouth and got up in time to feel another blow to her face, sending her crashing outside of her house. Her cloak was beginning to fade and her body began to fail her.
“Matatabi, I think this might be my limit.”
“For all it is worth, Mizukage-sama. You were a great friend. When all of this is over, I hope we do meet again.”
“Me too, Matatabi..”
Mei tried to rise but her body gave up. She was done for. She had enough consciousness to see Ao appear before her. He knelt beside her and closed his eyes in disappointment.
“That you had to endure this much at your age, Mizukage-sama, I am truly sorry.” She saw the glow of the White Diamond and felt her weariness take over.
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