A/N: So this is just going to be a short story, no more than 5 chapters I'm assuming, of a modern AU that takes place in the U.S. [haven't really decided on a state yet oops] But anyways, this is mostly world building in this chapter; backstory and interactions will come next chapter, so if this seems like a slow start, yeah, sorry, things'll pick up next update. So anyhoo, hope you enjoy!
Ring~ Ring~
He scowled at the cheery ringtone of the cell on his bedside table. He didn't need to check the caller ID to know who it was, though he made no move to pick the device up, instead letting it go to voice mail.
About a minute passed before the annoying ringing filled his ears again, worsening his already splitting headache.
Grimacing to himself, Hidan blindly felt for the drawer on his table and opened it, then knocked the cell phone in and slammed the drawer shut, hoping that would at least muffle the sounds of the incessant calls.
Over the course of the next ten minutes, six more unanswered calls were added to his list before the single, and much less annoying ding of a text message sounded from inside the drawer.
Fucking hell...
Deciding if it would stop any further calls and still prevent him from having to talk, Hidan decided to respond to the text. Typing one or two word responses would be a lot easier than getting stuck in a conversation.
Lifting his head grudgingly from his pillow, he pulled open the drawer again and grabbed the phone, ignoring all the voice messages and looking at the newest text.
Sasori: If you're near your phone, just answer him already. He's worried sick.
"Damnit..." Hidan mumbled, rolling onto his back and dialing in his friend's number.
The first ring barely went through before the call was answered.
"Hidan, un! Why haven't you been answering my calls?! Don't scare me like that, yeah?!"
"I haven't answered because I don't want to talk to you, asshole," He replied bluntly, staring blankly at the still ceiling fan above him.
Deidara sighed on the other side of the line. "I know, I know... But you need to talk to someone. It's not healthy for you to lock yourself up like this, un."
"I thought you were an artist, not a therapist," Hidan commented dryly.
"Well, yes, but-"
Hidan cut him off, "Then don't act like you know shit about this. I'm fine, so just leave me alone." Those weren't the words he wanted to say, but they were easier than saying what he truly felt.
Deidara hesitated before murmuring, "Alright..." When Hidan didn't respond, he added, "You have to go back to work today, don't you?"
The silver haired man groaned and pressed his free hand over his face. "Don't remind me..."
"Just be careful, yeah? And take care of yourself. Oh, and-"
Hidan hung up on him before he finished, deciding it was just more meaningless shit people said when their friends needed comfort. He learned the hard way those things don't work on him.
A minute later, his cell went off with another text notification, though he opted against checking it. It was probably just more encouraging words from Deidara or a scolding from Sasori for hanging up on the blonde. Either way, he didn't care. He did appreciate their efforts, though it only made him feel worse when he didn't get the comfort they hoped he'd get from it.
What a fucking disappointment I am...
After several more minutes, he finally found the ability to push himself out of bed, and stumbled downstairs and through the living room to the kitchen, where he stopped at the doorway and looked blankly at the empty room, devoid of it's usual activity and noise.
Why wasn't it me..?
He shook his head to clear it and contemplated getting something to eat, though immediately remembered his lack of appetite over the past week and decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Instead he turned and made his way back upstairs to the bathroom to shower.
Once he finished, dried, and changed, he frowned at the reflection in the partially steamed up mirror. His hair was still damp and hung in his face, bits of it sticking to his forehead, and dark circles were under his eyes, made more prominent by his usual pale skin.
Hidan sighed. "That's what I get for not sleeping for nearly a week..."
He opened his cupboard and grabbed a brush and a small jar of concealer. He always had some handy to cover any visible scars from the rituals of his rather odd religion. It wasn't one most people new about, but he was passionate about it despite Deidara's protests to him practicing it.
He twisted the lid of the jar off and blended the concealer over the spots under his eyes until they were covered over and appeared to have never existed. Satisfied, he put it away and brushed his shoulder length hair of all the knots, though left it down instead of slicking it back. He couldn't make himself care enough to do that at the moment.
Hidan went back downstairs, though a sudden wave of dizziness came over him when he was only halfway down, forcing him to stop and lean on the wall for support until it passed an his vision cleared.
Deciding to ignore it for now, he went the rest of the way down and grabbed his shoes from near the door and put them on, then grabbed his car keys and went outside to his car. It was just a little light blue Chevy beater, but it got the job done, even if it rattled all the way down the road.
The young man slipped into the driver's seat and was about to put the key in the ignition when another fog came over his mind that blurred his vision and formed a dull ache in his head. He grimaced, and crossed his arms over the steering wheel and buried his face in the crooks of his elbows. When it cleared up a little to where his head didn't hurt so bad, Hidan glanced up and looked out the windshield as something to do until he felt better, and his attention was momentarily brought to the neighboring house that had a moving van outside of it. He was aware that it had been empty for several months, though didn't know someone was moving into it at the moment. Not that it mattered to him.
Finally after several minutes he felt back to normal, more or less. As he went to start the car though, he realized the key wasn't in his hand anymore, and after glancing around himself found that he'd at some point dropped it on the floor at his feet. He scooped it up and put it in the ignition, though hesitated to turn it.
Stupid fucker, you're about ready to fall unconscious from lack of sleep and not eating, and you're getting it a damned car; a potential killing machine?!
Pushing the cynical, but logical, voice out of his head, Hidan started the car and backed out of the driveway.
Deidara sighed miserably and glanced at his phone again, though still hadn't gotten a reply from Hidan. "Do you think he's mad at me Danna?"
"He probably didn't even read it," Sasori replied, busy packing a bundle of clothes into his suitcase.
The blonde frowned and looked back at the screen again. "Probably... Are you sure we have to go, un? He needs someone to be here for him..."
Sasori sighed himself and turned to face the sculptor, crossing his arms over his chest. "Look, I know you're worried about him, and I am too, but we don't have a choice here. This is our big chance to make it big in the art community, and if we don't get to that gallery auction, we might not get another chance. We can make a living off doing what we love here, I'm sure Hidan will understand why we're going once he reads that text. Besides, it'll only be for 2 weeks."
Deidara breathed in to try and relax, then nodded. "Alright... You're right... I can still call him if I need to, right?"
"Of course. Now help me pack already. We won't have time to tomorrow if we want to catch our flight."
It wasn't even halfway through his shift yet when Hidan felt that cloudy sensation in his head again. He'd been able to make the entire drive to the bleak, grey factory he worked at without blacking out, which was a miracle in itself. It was by no means a career for him, but he didn't have the luxury of aiming for the 'perfect job' at them moment. What mattered most was getting a pay check, and keeping a roof over his head and gas in his car.
Not that he got enough salary to pay for the house and all the other bills that came with it. Hell, he hadn't even been able to find an affordable apartment yet, and he hadn't come across a better paying job.
Hidan shook himself from his thoughts and pretended that his vision was clear, picking up another roll of plastic and feeding it into the machine that shaped the thin material into various baggies like you see at stores. What a very underwhelming sense of importance that gave him.
The dull ache in his head didn't clear this time like before and instead got worse, until finally he passed out and his vision went entirely black.
Hidan opened his eyes slowly to a bright light overhead. He winced and tilted his head to the side to see he was in an empty room, and after a few seconds, he realized it was the small 'nurse's office', which was basically a room that held bandages and the likes for anyone who cut themselves or bang their hands on the equipment.
He sighed and pushed himself into a sitting position, staring at the floor as his head spun at the sudden movement. He stayed like that for several seconds until the door opened and one of his co-workers stepped in. Hidan looked up blearily at him, and he gave a forced smile. "Mr. Garnett wants to see you."
Hidan nodded in understanding, grimacing inwardly. This couldn't end well...
The silver haired man made his way to the boss's office and knocked on the door. When he heard a voice say 'come in' from inside, he opened the door and stepped into the room, fidgeting nervously.
"Please, sit down," Mr. Garnett said, gesturing to a chair across from him on the other side of the desk.
Hidan nodded and mumbled a quiet 'thanks' before taking a seat.
Mr. Garnett took a deep breath before continuing, "That was a very dangerous thing that happened today. You passed out and nearly fell into the equipment. You could have lost your arm or died from that."
Hidan nodded, unable to make eye contact with him.
"I know you're going through a tough time, but I've given you the maximum paid days off that I can.. But you're clearly not ready to be back in work yet."
"You're firing me?" Hidan asked, getting straight to the point.
"As much as I hate to say it Mr. Yu, you're a danger to yourself in your current condition. I won't pry into your life, but you're not capable of working right now. I'd give you more days if I could, but I can't; it's not my decision. I will try to hold off hiring someone to replace you as long as I can, and if you can get yourself together in that time, feel free to come back and I'll rehire you. You must understand I don't want you to get hurt and I don't want a lawsuit against the company either." Mr. Garnett explained.
Hidan nodded, doing his best to act like he didn't care. "Yeah, I get it... That's fine, seriously. I'll try to get things in order..."
"I'm glad you understand. I apologize for this, really. Do you need someone to drive you home?"
"No, I'll be fine. I feel better now." Lies.
Mr. Garnett didn't look entirely convinced. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, it's no big deal. I drove here just fine. I'll talk to ya later," Hidan told him, turning and leaving the room, and shortly after the building.
He started up the car and drove back to his house in complete silence, doing his best ignore his own thoughts and focus solely on the road. Only once he was safely parked back in his driveway did he let it sink in that he'd just lost his job and only source of income, and the likeliness of getting hired there or somewhere else soon was very unlikely.
Hidan sighed and hit his forehead against the steering wheel in frustration at himself, then dragged himself out of the car, stumbled into his house, going upstairs, and collapsing on his bed, not that he'd be able to sleep.
It wasn't easy moving into the little, white house on Stoecker Street on his own, but it was a lot easier than moving into an apartment, and the house was a lot bigger than the apartment he was used to, which he was grateful for. The country was a lot quieter and more spacious than the city he was used to. That suited him just fine.
Kakuzu looked out the window when he heard a car pulling into the drive next door, though shrugged it off and went back to unpacking boxes. He was a fairly antisocial person and didn't care much for the thought of meeting all the new people in the neighborhood. As long as they didn't bother him, he was fine with simply acknowledging that they existed without having to interact.
He pulled a picture frame out of a box and frowned, shaking his head. That was a habit he'd need to break though.
Kakuzu put the frame down on a table, the picture itself being of himself, his ex-wife, and his daughter.
The divorce had been difficult and stressful, but it had all turned out well. He was glad to be out of the marriage and to have gotten custody of Midori, though that left him to figure out how to raise a 5 year old on his own. The court had ordered that he would get full custody of her once he'd fully unpacked into the new house and had her enrolled into the local school, then she would be moved to live with him, though for now would stay with her mother.
At first he had been worried about visitation rights since he had heard the company he worked for would be moving to a new state soon, though when visitation had been brought up, Akari had simply given up all custody rights to him. He wasn't sure why, but it made things easier for Midori and himself.
He glanced back out the window at the neighbor's house and sighed.
Maybe I should introduce myself at some point... But that's something that can wait until later.