Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto, however all creative liberties belong to me. The fiction story line is purely mine, and views on what characters look like (such as hair or eye) is also mine.
Authors Note: If you have not read past (about) chapter 317, this is not the fic for you. There are some spoilers as I use terms used within the manga as dialogue tags. Also, as I write this from the comic strip view and have not seen what they might look like in the anime (I don't even think they're in the anime yet) my views might be expressed differently than yours. However, this does not mean I am correct, it is just an assumption and an educated guess as to their appearance. Also, due to lack of knowledge of what the characters do outside of battle (as we've only really seen them in battle) this is also my assumption. Please note that all postings by myself are in semi-AU form. Thank you!

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"Hidan, if you took any longer I would be dead." Kakuzu said coldly as he crossed his arms, the sleeves pulling back to reveal the stitches on his forearms. Hidan glanced up to his partner with lazy rust colored eyes, his back against the wall. In his right hand was a black saucer filled with tea, in his left a newspaper. Kakuzu was not impressed by his homely display this early in the morning. It was cold outside in the middle of winter, but missions still went on, and they were nowhere near destination.

"How are we supposed to catch the jinchuuriki if we're not moving towards it?" he asked with a grumble in his tone. Hidan again glanced up, this time while he took a sip from his tea saucer.

"How am I supposed to get any fricken reading done with you talking to me every minute?" shot the Grim Reaper and finally finished the tea. Setting the dish upon the table he returned his eyes to the paper in his hands and turned the page.

"You're really getting on my nerves today." warned Kakuzu from behind his mask, strange eyes glaring at his accomplice.

"Why don't you just shut up and have some tea." Hidan, was not offering or asking, he was telling and Kakuzu didn't like that. Kakuzu rushed forward in their small little kitchen area and threw his right arm up into Hidan's neck. The man under the force coughed, fingers wrapping around the strong bluish arm.

"Hm, not so tough when you aren't half-dead are you?" Kakuzu shot as he towered over Hidan, pushing the male toward the ground.

"I think you're a bastard." Hidan said through the strangling pressure before letting his legs buckle beneath him. Kakuzu let go and stalked off into the other room.

"Lets get going. We're loosing money." hissed the attacker as he was gone from the kitchen and into the tiny living area with two black seat cushions and a small square table between them. Hidan looked up from the paper and stared at the exit and then sighed, shaking his head.

"Man is always in a hurry." He muttered, folding the paper once lengthwise and tossing it onto the counter. With heavy steps he followed after Kakuzu, fingers adjusting the low hanging zipper pull on the front of his jacket. The strange shaped necklace, and metal head protector, around his collar reflected a flash of sunlight streaming through a half shaded window.

"About time you got ready." Kakuzu grunted as he threw open the entrance door and stepped outside. Hidan followed with a grimace on his face, fingers touching the raw skin around his neck. Kakuzu was lucky he couldn't die easily otherwise he'd have been out of a partner a long time ago, and possibly even kicked from the organization. Hidan wasn't sure if their leader would stand for that kind of behavior.

"You are a mean fucker, you know that?" Their eyes met as Kakuzu glanced over his shoulder, his awkward white on black eyes meeting the pinkish ones of Hidan. Something told the white haired religionist that his partner was smirking, but he wouldn't test it. He'd already been strangled enough for one day.

"Let's go." Kakuzu commanded sharply after a time, tearing his eyes from Hidan's and stepping into the bright sunlight. Hidan followed, hearing Kakuzu mutter something in acrimony about his time wasting rituals. Holding up his middle finger behind the mans back, he walked along silently. However, the silence didn't last long.

"Who are we getting again?" Hidan asked after some minutes, walking up alongside Kakuzu. Kakuzu didn't answer, his mind focused solely on getting to the target, bringing in the bounty money, and then doing whatever it was their leader instructed next. Hidan asked a second time, however, much more rudely. Still no reply from Kakuzu. Hidan's hands fisted in rage and shook in the air in aggravation before coming up and whacking Kakuzu in the left shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Kakuzu growled as his right hand shot out and yanked at Hidan's, sending the man off balance and nearly falling to his feet.

"Answer my question, you ass. I want to know who we're going after!" Hidan said in an angry but whiny voice, causing it to loose all threat. He was never any good when it came to shouting matches with Kakuzu, he always lost and never had a good comeback to anything the other said.

"We're going after the five-tailed beast, okay? Are you happy now? You're holding us up with your whining and complaining. I want that bounty, you want your carnage, can we move on yet?" Kakuzu said testily as he thrust Hidan's wrist from his grip. Hidan stumbled, seeming to dance, around Kakuzu before standing straight on his right. Smirking to himself, as if he had won, he missed the oncoming limb nearing his face. With an elbow pushed roughly up into Hidan's jaw, the two heard a crack and Hidan looked at the sky with a glare. His neck was broken, jaw displaced, and his head was thus thrown almost completely back. The only thing holding him together was his muscle and flesh. Hands blindly reaching up they repositioned his head back onto his body, eyes rolling around in vexation.

"You jerk!" Hidan shouted. "When I get my head back on properly I'm going to dismantle your face, and doing it will be so sweet!"

"Be realistic, Hidan." Kakuzu said as he walked, not having stopped once since he'd pushed Hidan around. Taking the lead as he went, long strides carrying him some ten yards, he heard Hidan swing his scythe not far back where he'd been left. Foot steps ran at him, but he easily dodged the onslaught through calculation as Hidan slashed. "Stop this. We need to get going. Fight me later."

"There is no later bitch. We fight now." Hidan howled, throwing himself at Kakuzu once more who again moved aside. The attackers swings were so large, even while precise, and that made them easy to avoid. He was also blinded temporarily by vengeance, making him even more susceptible to horrible moves.

"There isn't time for this." Kakuzu said through a groan as he stepped back before jumping forward and stabbing Hidan through the stomach with a sharp kunai, a second one slicing open the neck. "You're finished."

Indeed, Hidan was through. With the kunai in his belly and blood leaking from his throat, but Kakuzu having not a scratch upon him, he'd lost. The two dueled like this often, for small amounts of time, until one bled. If neither bled after a withdrawn amount of time, which almost never happened, they would call it a draw. Hidan, however, always lost. Once finished they looked at one another, then in silence disappeared up into the tree tops to race along the branches toward their destination. Hidan was going to cooperate now, and Kakuzu was satisfied with beating him in. The two really were the only ones that could work with one another, one unable to die and the other having the shortest temper in the world. Giving to another, while always disagreeing, they got along just fine.