01.

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
Bloodstream
© Hurlstien


Praise bounteous
providence if you will
that grants even an ogre
a tiny glow-worm
tenderness encapsulated
in icy caverns of a cruel
heart or else despair
for in the very germ
of that kindred love is
lodged the perpetuity
of evil.

Vultures – Chinua Achebe


FIND HER

(have you heard the news? bad things come in twos)

The screech of a woman was shrill.

A girl straightened and stilled at the sound, hot breath curling in the air. The hatchet in her gloved hand was stuck in the tree stump between two chucks of cleaved wood. She didn't let go as she turned to stare down at the tavern, with its dark oak slats and red pot tiling, squatting at the bottom of the hill. Surrounded by white fields, smoke was still chugging from the chimney and curling up into the cloudless sky. It didn't look any different… and yet the clenching of her gut told her something was wrong; women didn't scream for nothing around here.

It felt like the world had frozen for a moment as she stilled and listened for anything more. But all she heard was the far off tapping of a woodpecker echo through the trees behind her.

A breeze kicked up and her left coat sleeve flapped ghoulishly as her heart rocked her body. Wrenching her axe from the stump, she descended the hill, boots crunching in the snow as her hand repeatedly squeezed the chopper's handle.

Approaching the back door, she slipped through and into the small, stone floored store room. She heard a trembling voice as she climbed the three wooden steps into the private kitchen, her eyes on the door that led into the main tavern. Then a movement caught her eye: to her right across the room, her boss's daughter– 'Anri, yeah?' –sat cowering beneath the sink. She was beckoning to her, shaking her head. Don't go in there. Don't look. Don't even move; you'll give me- us, away.

"I haven't s– … –least half an hour, I swea–…

She turned away from Anri at the strained voice of her boss, Mr Hamada, and her heart bounced around her ribs like a rubber ball.

Slowly, she sidled up to the door separating the kitchen from the bar and peeked through the crack. For a moment all she could see was blood. Customers lay limp over upturned chairs and broken on the floor like tossed dolls, blood draining down their faces and arms, welling in the dips of their clothes, creating dark, gluey pools. Coloured glass decorated the floor between the bodies, catching stray sun beams and bouncing them into her eyes, telling her it was rude to stare.

Then her gaze fixed on a tall man with white hair just beyond the door. He had on a cloak, patterned with large red clouds, and was stood over her boss with his back to her. Her lips parted. A huge, three bladed scythe was in his fist, and she couldn't help but compare it to her pathetic hatchet.

"Please believe me, I truh– I truly don't know." Hamada's voice was breaking, on the edge of crying. His hands scrambled to press himself back into the wooden slats of the bar, scraping through the broken glass by his thighs.

The man with white hair sighed, but there was a smile in his accented voice as he said: "Sucks for you."

With a wet crunch, the third blade of the scythe had split the man's skull and was being swallowed in his barrel chest.

The girl flinched and fought not to gulp. Her grip on the axe tightened as realisation set in. 'He's a Shinobi…

'Leave. I need to l–'

There was a shift in the air.

'Chakra!–'

She spun, swinging the axe. But instead of flesh, it hit what felt like a cement barricade, and was batted out of her hand immediately. The hatchet flew to the right and smacked the wall, before crashing onto a table of pottery. She barely felt herself flinch as she locked eyes with a giant of a man. In his right hand dangled a limp Anri, her trachea crushed in his clutch. Her eyes bulged, and her mouth twitched like a beached fish, until it stopped. Neither of them moved for a brief moment. Then he released it; the raw power he'd been holding back. It trembled through the air and throbbed through her bones, paralysing her. She felt violent Goosebumps erupt across her skin beneath her coat. It was… awesome – and not in the good way.

Then, as his chakra seeped into the air, thickening it like an invisible fog, there was a certainty that coiled up and tightened her throat alongside the fear, telling her… that she knew this man.

He dropped the corpse and stepped forwards. His shadow smothered her vision as his green eyes peered at her from under his hood, a dark mask covering the rest of his face. With her neck craned back, she shuffled up into the door and it creaked open as she stumbled through the entryway, the man following her.

"Hey, Kakuzu–"

'Kakuzu.' She flinched when her left shoulder gave a hot tingle.

"– you want me to finish her off too?" there was a smirk in the tone. "I could use another virgin sacrifice."

'How the …?

'Kakuzu; I know this guy.

'Who cares – how did he know I was a virgin?! An' what the Hell does he mean, sacrifi–'

But as her mind fought itself, her mouth ran away from her. "K-Kakuzu…" Her throat was swollen with fear and her syllables came out warped.

"Huh? You know her?"

The man– Kakuzu, just blinked and grunted.

"Wait a sec."

She flinched as the second male sidled up behind her and moved around her left side. She shifted away and he laughed, throwing his arm around her neck and yanking her back.

"Fucking finally! You don't know how long we've been searching for your sorry ass, seriously." He jabbed her under the collar as she got a look at his face, but all she registered were his pink eyes. She tensed, not saying anything and the Albino 'hmm-ed'. "Blue-eyed, blonde bitch, missing an arm – left one." He poked the corresponding side, digging hard at her ribs. She hissed, arching away, and didn't miss his smirk. "Fits the description."

Kakuzu bowed his head. "You're right."

"Tch, 'course I'm right." Hidan crowed, then looked back at Hezā. "Hey wass'up with your eyes anyway?"

Unable to take it anymore, the girl spun out of his embrace and backed away from them, the way the man was snickering told her he let her escape his hold. She stopped when she felt her boot step on Hamada's dead hand, pressing in glass. There was silence for a few seconds, then a low groan came from across the room.

The Albino turned his head. "Uh-oh, looks like we got a live one."

"Not for long," said Kakuzu, and he made his way to the groaning. "You get the girl – we need to leave."

"What? But you said I could do a ritual!"

"Don't you feel that?" Kakuzu stopped above the survivor and looked back in disbelief at his partner.

"Feel what?"

"There are chakra signatures headed this way; we've been found out."

"God damn it! I'm already behind this month as it is–"

The girl stopped listening at that point as the white-haired Shinobi seemed to run with what he had and spouted off some more. It was faint, but Kakuzu was right; there were chakra signatures headed their way from the direction of a small village just a mile north of the tavern. They'd be there any minute.

'Whoever they are, they won't be enough.' She looked to the door leading back to the kitchen and began to edge towards it. 'They don't stand a chance against these guys. Especially not…' She glanced at Kakuzu, recalling the first time she'd ever seen his green, green eyes.

"-telling me I take too much time when it's you that drags our asses to every shithole in the–"

She kept her eyes on the back of the Albino's head, his attention focused on grouching at Kakuzu. But when he shifted his weight, she lost her nerve and bolted. She flew past Anri's body and was at the back storeroom exit in a second. But as she yanked on the handle, a hand slammed the door shut again.

"Hoh – you're a fast one." The Albino was beside her, far too close for comfort, and smiling a sinister smile. "Ain'cha? He-zā."

The way he leaned in and said the 'Z' of her name, it was like a wasp buzzing in her ear. She felt the urge to swat it away as a prickly sensation shivered through her. But slapping this man didn't seem like a good idea – she eyed the crimson blades that swept out from behind his back.

The chakra flares were almost upon them and he gripped her arm, fingertips digging in as he looked over his shoulder. "Oi, Kakuzu – there's three of 'em. Hurry up and take the kid, will ya? I wanna have some fun."

'Kid?'

"You keep her." Kakuzu entered the kitchen. "I don't want to waste any more time with your drawn-out rituals; we're late as it is. I'll take care of the interference."

"What? Forget that, I wanna rip these bastards limb from limb an–"

"Like you haven't done enough of that already."

"Che! You know as well as I do this place was pathetic." He yanked Hezā's arm about, bruising her skin.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "Do not test me, Hidan. I'm not in the mood for your bellyaching."

"You never are, you old fart."

Hezā barely had time to wonder what was going on before she was pulled out into the sunlight. It blinded her, and the sudden cold air burned her lungs as she staggered after the Albino. At the clang of metal she snapped her head to the right see Hidan's scythe block a kunai – it bounced off the weapon, flipping furiously to bury itself in the snow to her left. Between the red blades she spotted three figures running toward them though the white fields, weapons at the ready.

The grip on her arm disappeared and she stumbled out of the way of Kakuzu as he exited the tavern. There was a shout and a cackle but she didn't stick around to watch; noting that both men had jumped into the fight, she ran for the kunai sticking out of the snow. Diving into the frost, she rolled, grabbed the knife, and was on her feet before bolting up the hill for the cover of the trees, snow clinging to the back of her cloak.

As she ran, thoughts blasted through her head like freight trains, crashing and exploding into more confusion. 'What's he doing turning up after all this ti–what could they possibly want with me? It's been seven years sinc–that Hidan guy, I don't remember hi–just, what the FUCK?'

And beneath it all, her fear bubbled furiously, heated and fuelled by the thumping of her heart as she realised the only reason they had to track her down was to kill her.

She leapt into the boughs of the trees and sped on, trying to put as much distance between herself and those people as possible.

Minutes dragged into hours as she travelled, all the while she felt the horrid, prickly sensation that the two men were right behind her. She kept checking over her shoulder, unable to help it, but she never saw a thing. Snow crunched under her boots and fell from the branches as she landed and pushed off again, and all too often did her foot minutely slip and send her heart into frenzy. Fighting a yelp and a curse each time, she would refine her chakra control and keep going. It had been too long since she'd done this.

The sky was darkening when the cold grey face of a cliff broke through the forest, and Hezā slowed her advance until she stopped in the last tree. The branch bobbed slowly from her weight and snow fell from the sides as she fought for breath.

"Shit," she gasped, staring up at the rock hardened with frost. To her right, the ground rose to the west, and to her left it sank to the east, leading toward a small village she knew of.

In her hand the kunai was warm and sweaty. She looked over her shoulder again, half expecting to see that crazed Albino's face coming at her, scythe at the ready, but he didn't. There was no one there. The forest of tall, leafless birches was eerily quiet and dark, and between breaths, she whispered: "Did I lose 'em?"

She swept her gaze back and forth through the shadows and frozen poles, before dropping down into the snow below.

She chose to go left toward the village and jogged along the cliff base, hoping to find some form of shelter before night fell completely. But when she found a cave suitable, she skidded to an ungraceful halt, because sat there, stoking a fresh fire, was Kakuzu.

She froze as a wave of dread hit her. Then her throat began to try and articulate sounds without her consent. "How di… wheh- you wuh… her-…" But she shut up when Kakuzu's eyes tightened at her warbling.

He was sitting on a rock, the small fire licking the air at his feet as he dropped the stoking stick and rested his forearms on his thighs. Even when he wasn't meaning to be, he was still threatening. He didn't say anything, just watched her with a calculating gaze, the patterned cloak he wore only serving to make him seem bigger. She knew he didn't miss the kunai still in her grip. She had no doubt that if she were to turn and run now, she wouldn't make it two feet.

"It's about time you showed up." Hezā jumped at the sound of Hidan's voice. She looked over her shoulder to watch the man pass her with a small heap of firewood in his arms.

"That won't be enough," Kakuzu said, not taking his eyes off her.

"You try finding firewood in the snow," Hidan snapped as he dumped his load at the side of the cave. "Ungrateful bastard."

Hezā could do nothing but blink and stare as caution crackled through her skin. "How… jus' how the Hell did you...?"

"Find you?" Hidan supplied. A smirk twitched at his lips. "Well now, it wasn't that hard; you didn't exactly hide your footprints, you know."

She pursed her lips. "Then what about gettin' here before me."

"We were faster," Kakuzu said. "It would make sense for you to go east once you hit the cliff to travel quickly, conserve energy going downhill, and increase your chances of finding shelter and water. Not only that, but with your inexperience–"

'Inexperience?'

"–the thought of staying out in the open, trying to hide from and outrun us, scared you; so you headed east, toward Tetsumura."

'How the…?' But then she remembered; she knew this man, and he knew her, of course he would recall her capabilities as a ninja. And now that she thought on it, she remembered he had a great many years of experience on his side. It wasn't too far-fetched for him to be able to predict her movements.

"I'm not inexperienced… just a lil' rusty."

"You failed to disguise your chakra," he said, "and sense ours." She felt her cheeks flare at that.

Watching them both carefully, Hezā swallowed. "What d'yuh want with me?" Neither man said anything. Hidan didn't even seem to be paying attention as he sorted through the firewood he'd collected and threw some onto the flames. Her mouth grew dry and she felt her palm twitch against the kunai it held. "… Are you here to kill me?"

Hidan scoffed. "I wish."

And though his comment didn't instil confidence, Hezā relaxed a little.

"Our leader wishes to speak with you," Kakuzu said.

'Our leader…' She swallowed again as a name danced on the tip of her tongue. A name she hadn't heard in years. She shifted her weight and didn't fail to miss the quick turn of Hidan's head when she did. "What about?"

"Orochimaru."

Her heart went cold. "I don't want anythin' to do with that bastard." She took a step away, boot crunching in the snow.

"You will come with us." Kakuzu's eyes flashed, and in the light of the fire they appeared a smouldering gold. Hidan's gaze was suddenly sharp. His hand twitched, ready to reach for the handle of his scythe that reared up from his right shoulder. Hezā's pupils dilated and contracted, taking all these little details in, and even though they told her not to move- not to breathe -her heart pumped feverishly. She wanted to run.

But something coiled around her ankle and, looking down, her heart flipped at the sight of a thin grey wire wrapping around her boot. She tracked it back to Kakuzu's feet where it stemmed from within his cloak's baggy sleeve.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. "You don't have a choice."

Hidan sneered and removed his scythe, placing it on the ground by his side as he settled by the fire. He patted the ground beside him, then, in a friendly voice, said: "Come on in, sit down; it's pretty cold out there." But his hard eyes and smirk didn't match the pleasant tone. She knew her predicament.

Taking a steady breath, Hezā entered the cave. The vine around her ankle slithered back to its owner as pebbles, pine needles and cracked seed husks crunched beneath her boots. The ground was cold as she sat down opposite Hidan, feeling his pink eyes on her over the pitiful flames between them. His off-white hair was dyed a warm yellow-orange in the light of the fire, and the silver necklace hanging around his neck twinkled as it shifted against his chest from within his cloak.

Kakuzu lifted an arm and more threads slipped out from his sleeve, collecting the remaining firewood and placing it on the dying cinders. The clouds on his cloak rippled as he moved, and Hezā watched them. "You are Akatsuki."

"Nothing escapes you, huh?" Hidan said as he picked at his teeth.

She gave him a sideways sour look which he missed, before looking back at Kakuzu. Her heart shuddered when his gaze clenched hers.

"You remember me," he said.

"Yeah… I have tried, but it's pretty hard to forget the person who tore off your arm."


The poem at the beginning was one of the things that prompted me to write this story in the first place. It is the last stanza of Vultures by Chinua Achebe which talks about how nothing can be purely good and nothing can be purely evil.
And so I wanted to take two of the most hard-ass characters in Naruto (not to mention my two faves) and write them in a way where I could explore their characters and show people a side of them that isn't purely evil.
Because nothing in this world can be.

This is the re-vamped version of my old story The Subordinate, now dubbed Bloodstream.
I decided to re-do this because I was inspired by a couple of stories (Die Another Day by Delgodess and The Price of Living by LovelyWeather) to do a better job with Hidan and Kakuzu.

Thank you for reading!