Okay. Easy things first. This is a Hidan past fiction. This is not accurate in any way to the past information that was released about Hidan in the databook. I came up with this idea before I read that (and honestly, Hidan really has no past at all, ha ha) I just didn't post it till now. Or write it till now. Why? Because I had to come up with tons of characters for this thing. A heads up: there are 24 original Naruto characters in this story. Yeah. Twenty-four. There are probably others, but there are twenty-four important and semi-important ones.
This chapter is almost completely flashbacks that Hidan is having while in his little grave. And now that I've told you that, I best tell you this: Warning: There are some slightly graphic descriptions about flying guts and happy intestines. If you are the squeemish type, or have difficulty reading semi-graphic descriptions about guts and violence, I strongly advise you not to read the parts in italics. If you skip those parts, however, you may not understand important aspects of this story, as mostly everything in this chapter will not be repeated. Also mentions of rape, though nothing descriptive (I'd rather die before describing that, anyway).
Whew. Warning out of the way, here's the disclaimer: I only own the idea of this story (My life, my Dove; MLMD) and any character's whose names/personalities you don't recognize. I will try to make this obvious later. Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
And the legend!!
Italics = flashback/dream
Non-italics = present time
'I think I'm thinking this' = thoughts in present time
"These words are words that will last forever" = speaking in flashback/dream.
I didn't use any thoughts in the flashbacks/dreams to avoid confusion. Don't worry though, this will all hopefully make sense in later chapters. I shall repeat my warning: There are some slightly graphic descriptions about flying guts and happy intestines. If you are the squeemish type, or have difficulty reading semi-graphic descriptions about guts and violence, I strongly advise you not to read the parts in italics. If you skip those parts, however, you may not understand important aspects of this story, as mostly everything in this chapter will not be repeated. Also mentions of rape, though nothing descriptive (I'd rather die before describing that, anyway).
Ready now? Alright. Go ahead and read (though I think my own story is going to give me nightmares. Must... write.. chapter 2!) Sorry if this is a little confusing at first. PM me or mention in your review about something that confuses you. I do switch to Shikamaru at the end of this chapter, so you know what's going on with him (MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!)
Chapter 1: To Hell.
Pitch.
Black.
Silence.
Nothingness.
Then a spot of color. Then many spots. They started to take shape, to mold into the form of bodies, male and female, young and old. A couple stood out vividly against the white background, a young mother with long black hair, a bundle held gingerly in her arms. Her eyes slanted down at the ends, droopy and brilliantly colored, like a quartz. Her gaze was fixed adoringly upon the bundle in her arms and the man next to her raised a large hand to rest it on the top of the bundle.
The man's hair was short and shaggy, a dark gray in color, though it shimmered, like the stars. His eyes were large and sapphire blue, one darker than the other. He wore black robes, a huge triple-bladed scythe on his back, red and white in color. His hitai-ate was misty looking; the symbol was unclear, but it hung around his neck.
Abruptly the view changed, looking down at the bundle; there was a serene face showing.
Violet eyes opened widely simultaneously.
The picture faded and was replaced by black. A hand moved stiffly, trapped for too long under rocks. It clenched, fingers wrapping around a rock.
A bitter cry was released from dry, cracked lips, the voice hoarse and strained. The man – whom the voice belong to – tried to turn, to move but he fell into unconsciousness from the sheer amount of pain that shot through his body.
'Cold, cold, very cold, why am I so damn cold?'
His mind was spinning out of control, scenes coming and going. A boy with pale skin and silver hair stumbling into the arms of his mother learning how to walk. Another second another memory, the first words ever leaving those young lips; one years old.
Two years, three, four, five and finally six. Six. He remembered that age like it was just yesterday when he was six. Whenever yesterday had been.
They were hiding in a closet, with only a bit of light escaping through the cracks in the doors. His father cursed quietly, sapphire eyes jumping to look at the scythe that was leaning against the wall, close to the door. There was no point in his father getting it now; the little boy knew that from the glint of regret in his father's eyes. He released a small whimper, clinging to his mother more tightly.
"Sh, baby, if – if they find us I won't let them do anything to you, I promise," his mother's voice was shaky. The boy knew that something bad was going to happen, that they would be found and that something terrible was going to happen. He groped for his father's pant leg and finding it, clung to it with all his might.
The screams were getting louder, gurgling noises could be heard. There was the disgusting sound of blood spurting out of bodies, splattering on walls, and the sickening thuds of bodies – and probably body parts – hitting the floors.
Someone released a snort, and a voice said, "check inside that closet. The violet eyed kid wasn't with any of these people."
"Should have left; should have fled, damn it!" the father cursed in a whisper. The door was flung open, bathing the family inside with yellow light. The boy's eyes widened unnaturally at the sight of bodies that had been twisted into grotesque shapes. He saw a head on the floor, eyes wide open and seemingly staring right at him. He bit back a cry of fear.
The men that had slaughtered his clan took some steps forward. One, who seemed particularly disgusted with the whole thing announced, "I'm sickened by all this. I'm leaving."
"Bah, be a coward then! This is the kid. Think of how rich we'll be when he's dead."
There was an odd glint in those bright purple eyes, "that is, if you can even successfully kill him."
The men stared at him as the man whisked away, the boy tilting his head, wondering why the men seemed to think there was something off about the purple-eyed man's voice.
The boy's grasp on his father's pant leg was suddenly loosened, and in a rush of wind his father was gone, appearing behind the men. They yelped in surprise, but one seemed to have been prepared, and as he swung around the father's darker blue eye glinted.
Then his head was rolling on the floor.
"OTOU-SAN!" the boy shrieked, making a move to leap forward. His mother held him back however, not a single sound leaving her mouth. The men hacked the boy's father to pieces and when they finally calmed they turned their attention back to the boy and his mother to find that she was standing, her quartz eyes blazing with fury.
In her veins she held poison, and she spread it through her body; her son could see that happening, because of his eyes. She looked over her shoulder to whisper to him, "Hidan, stay here, don't you move. No matter what happens to me, you stay here. I can protect you if you stay in here."
Hidan nodded, a strand of silver hair falling against his forehead. She turned her head back to the ogling men, eyes defiant as she said, "you can do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt my baby."
Hidan heard one of the men say, "you'd protect that thing with your beauty?"
Then she was on the floor, her skirt fluttering to the ground to soak up the blood, followed by other articles of clothing.
Violet eyes watched all this occur, watched as one by one the men raped his mother, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Then they noticed that something was wrong and one of them snarled, "poison! Corrosive... ACID! She's made herself acidic!"
One of the men who hadn't done anything to her yet raised his sword as one of his friends pulled out of her.
"Bitch," he growled, preparing to bring his sword down.
Hidan was no weakling. Fury boiled in his veins, his father's weapon almost beckoning to him. He was indestructible. Un-killable. His small hands made the seals for a technique only his body had the ability to withstand.
"Forbidden Art: Forced Aging Technique!"
The pain that rocked his small body would be nothing compared to the pain these horrible monsters would feel, for doing what they did to his mother. To his father. To his whole family.
One large hand picked up the scythe, and with his father's dexterity and speed he attacked, cleaving the man about to kill his mother in half. He turned on the others, leaping so that he was in the way of the door, ensuring none of them would escape.
Blood pooled around his feet as he danced around the room, covering the walls with more blood, covering himself with blood. When he was finally finished with his rage-filled slaughter he inspected the room. One of the men twitched and the scythe was buried in him; all three blades. Hidan didn't even bother trying to pull the weapon out of the floor.
Instead he staggered toward his naked mother, collapsing over her stomach; she had rolled over to watch him. Once his technique ended she pulled him up onto her chest, and his face found comfort in her neck.
"Oh baby. Oh my poor baby! Sh! Sh, don't you cry. Sh..." her tears, however, fled down her cheeks too and mingled with Hidan's as they too slid down his face.
The scream that burst forth from deep in the immortal's lungs was cut short from lack of voice. His breathing was heavy and labored, 'of all... of all the damn memories -! Why that! Why did I have to remember that!? Oh... gods... why...?' he was sure that if he had the ability to speak his voice would have broken at the last few words. He was certain there were tears streaming down his cheeks, but he couldn't be sure. Even though he knew his breathing was labored, something was off. His body wasn't responded to his commands, and though he felt something warm...
Warmth... it seemed distant from him. How far underground was he? He was dying to know. That was the first part of his memories that returned, the horrible first few years of his life. He had vomited a lot after that, the next day. His mother had stayed by his side faithfully, holding him tenderly. They had buried his father under the weeping willow that grew in the courtyard, and then they had retreated to the furthermost home of their complex, the house that held the hidden room.
He tried to call a picture of that room to his mind, where he had slept peacefully by his mother's side for almost a year. His eyes closed again, and he hoped – no, he prayed – that he would fall into a dreamless sleep.
And even as dreams eluded him, nightmares came.
He sat statue still outside the plank in the wall that led into the hidden room, where his mother was resting. Even though it had been a year since he turned six and the men had come to destroy his clan, she still needed to recover from spreading her poison through her body.
Hidan's ears pricked up – he was now a seven year old, and better trained – he had heard something that sounded like a sob. It couldn't have come from his mother because he couldn't hear her and she couldn't hear him. She wouldn't be able to hear anything that he could hear.
The door opened and a man poked his head inside. He looked young with short brown hair. He sighed and opened the door fully. Hidan allowed his eyes to widen slightly as he saw the cutlass that the man carried. It had the insignia of a Punisher on it – in Yugakure, the Punishers were a group of men and women that carried out the capital punishment on criminals. One of these Punishers was crying; that was who Hidan had heard.
"Well... it looks like this place is empty too. But... are you absolutely certain that no one lives here anymore?"
"After the clan was destroyed a year ago? Positive. No one wants to come here," an older man entered, shaking his head, "that clan didn't deserve to die. Damn extremists. How dare they go so far. I'm glad they got killed in the process."
People of every shape and size shuffled into the room. It was obvious for Hidan to see the prisoners. They were the people who were wearing the shackles.
Hidan's body shook slightly as the punishing began, but at least these people were quick about their business. Once they were done they cleaned up, some of them cursing.
"I wish we had turpentine. That might be able to slow down how fast the blood dries," the young man's words were not spoken as a joke, and nobody laughed. The oldest man nodded his head in agreement, "yes, it might. Even though it's meant for paint, I suppose we should give it a try."
They all nodded solemnly before they left the building, leaving the door propped open. Hidan waited a few moments before jumping up and scampering over to the door, leaning out curiously. His guess had been right. The Punishers were camping out in his clan's complex, oblivious to his and his mother's existence.
For two years Hidan remembered sitting statue still outside the plank-door, faithfully guarding his mother. The Punishers had to move further and further into the room, closer to the plank, closer to Hidan.
It was about a week before he turned eight that the worst of the punishing happened.
"Goodness, how many have received capital punishment again?"
"About two hundred."
"Gawds. You're joking."
"Nope. We better get to work. This place needs to be cleaned from top to bottom when we're done, 'cause it's the only place that's completely empty. And by place I mean the entire complex of houses."
"Hai."
The young man that had first poked his head in two years ago stood closest to Hidan, about four feet away. By the way he grimaced when the eldest killed the first prisoner told Hidan that he despised his job.
Hours went by. Men and women were killed in ways Hidan had never thought possible for them to be killed. In a moment of ecstasy, one of the girl's used a wind technique, blowing guts and skin and hair and nails all over everyone. They all turned their heads slowly to glare at her as she breathed in and out heavily.
The only sound in Hidan's ears was a low humming. There was a hand lying at his feet, a broken liver on his shoulder, oozing out its liquids. Some hair was on his head, skin on his bare chest – what little of it was exposed by his legs – and something warm and slimy against his lips. His whole body was bathed in blood.
"... DID YOU HONESTLY HAVE TO DO THAT?!" the man closest to him screeched. The girl smiled sheepishly, though her expression quickly changed to one of guilt.
"I... I'm really sorry I didn't mean to... I really didn't..." she shuffled on her feet then looked up at the boy and said, "sorry Makoto."
"E gads woman!" the one she called Makoto exclaimed before storming out of the building.
"... so if I felt like being mean, I'd tell you to clean this all up yourself. Seeing as two of the other homes are cleaned out though, you're one lucky girl."
The girl sighed in relief and they all quickly left as she muttered, "I did finish them off quickly enough though, didn't I?"
Hidan sat there for at least a half hour longer, completely unaware of his surroundings.
"Hidan?" the plank creaked open, his mother's voice reaching his ears.
"Hidan -? Oh... Oh my... Oh my gawd... Oh gawd... Oh Hidan!"
He was scooped up in her arms, the insides falling off his body as she hastily sped out of the building, sliding a little on all the blood. Hidan caught sight of the organ that had been against his lips. An intestine splatted happily onto the ground.
It was the most inhuman scream that had ever left his mouth, he decided as he woke up. Again his breathing was heavy, his heart pounding in his chest. He tried to move again, ignoring the pain that cut through every nerve in his body. He pressed his face as much against his arm as he could, unconsciousness beginning to come over him again as he whispered, "mother, oh mother... why? Why me?"
She had cleaned him off of all the slime and juices and skin. He was stunned that she had actually gone off to find hot water. It felt nice though, to be washed by his mother again.
She held him in her lap under a tree, and they gazed up at the stars. She bit into a peach and Hidan held up his hands. His left side was pressed against her chest. She laughed quietly, a nice sound that made him feel comforted. Her head dipped down and her lips pressed gently to his.
"No, no, deary. This one's for me. I left a bigger one in the room for you, but right now I want you to sleep."
Hidan licked his lips, savoring the peachy taste left behind by his mother's lips. He was soon to fall asleep, and when he woke there was a small, warm body against his chest. Immediately he was fully awake, and soon he was staring down at the chubby body of a one year old child. His intense stare went to his mother.
"Hidan, that's... that's your little brother."
"My little..." Hidan's eyes went back to look down at the baby. He rested a hand gently on the soft black hair that was growing out of the child's scalp. He stroked the baby's head; he liked how the hair felt, he decided. The baby's eyes slowly opened and Hidan jumped a little. The baby's eyes were the same color as his, except that they were more diluted. Less striking and brilliant, but they still glittered.
"Mama, what's his name?" he asked as he let his little brother clutch his pointer finger in a tiny hand.
"Asa."
On Hidan's eighth birthday, he once again sat faithfully outside the plank, guarding his mother and little brother. Makoto suddenly burst into the room, followed by the other Punishers. He stormed over to his original position four feet from Hidan, and waited for the people in front of him to finish lining up.
Makoto used a strange technique; it made the criminals before him turn to dust. The other Punishers were looking at him in envy, and he ignored them. His technique didn't work on the last prisoner in the line, and Hidan realized as Makoto bent over in exhaustion that the man was low on chakra. When one of his colleagues began making their way over he held up a hand, "no, I can finish it," and he pulled out his rapier. In one swift motion it sliced through the criminal's neck, leaving his head to roll across the floor. Blood sprayed everywhere.
Just like his father. Just like Hidan's father's death.
Hidan was unaware of his next action. He only wanted to get away from the blood, but in doing so he had jumped up. After a minute of only hearing his pounding heart, he looked up to find that all the Punishers were staring at him – the criminals too – some of them even frozen in action.
Hidan bolted, whizzing past all of them. He had no idea where his legs took him but it was elsewhere, his mother and brother completely forgotten. He ran until he could run no more and his legs gave out.
He crawled toward a tree, and once he reached it he leaned against it, drawing his legs up to his chest. His whole entire body shook with fear, his eyes wide. He raised his hands, staring at them in shock.
His father's head. He could have sworn he saw his father's head rolling away. He shook his head vigorously, trying to shake away the image. It hadn't been his father. It had been someone else; a criminal. His father was not a criminal.
He suddenly remembered kissing his father's head's forehead. He tried to shake that away too, tried to shake away any image of his father's death from his mind.
A raspy but pleasant sounding voice broke his thoughts, "hey, are you okay?"
Hidan had been unaware up to that moment that he was making odd noises that made it sound like he was cold. He could only shake his head as he observed this man. He had bright yellow eyes, his hair either dark gray or black – in his current condition Hidan couldn't really tell. He also looked very young, but there was something about his electric eyes that held some kind of hint that there was wisdom hidden within them.
The sunlight glinted off of a necklace of sorts hanging from the man's neck, and as the man reached forward to cautiously touch Hidan's shoulder Hidan made out the symbol: an upside down triangle in a circle.
The man pulled back and tilted his head, while Hidan looked down at his hands. He blinked, and began to hyperventilate as he suddenly realized that there was blood all over his body. Somebody else's blood. Blood that wasn't his. Blood that could have been his father's.
Blood that was on his hands.
"Ge-ge... get... get it... GET IT OFF OF ME!! GET IT OFF!!" he suddenly screamed, falling over and writhing on the ground. He was scooped up as the man hastily hollered over Hidan's screaming, "okay, okay! I'll get it off!"
"GET IT OFF OF ME! GET IT OFF! OFF!" tears were sliding down Hidan's cheeks as he threw his head back and cried at the top of his lungs. His body was enveloped by cold water a second later, bubbles escaping out of his mouth in large groups.
Large hands curled around his arms and pulled him out of the water before the man hugged Hidan to his chest and shot off again. The forest was a blur around Hidan – this man was amazingly fast. He still screamed though and when the man came to a stop Hidan heard a woman cry out, "hot spring? Need bath, man? Come, come follow me hurry!"
The man quickly followed the woman, who ushered him inside a building of sorts.
"On the right, man! Boys go there, hurry hurry! Poor little boy!"
The man burst into the onsen area where several other men turned their attention to them. One of them called out, "holy crap! Is that kid okay?!"
"No! There is no way in heck this kid okay! Freaking clean him off!"
Hidan, as if on cue, shrieked again as he saw that his hands were still red. He began to struggle in the man's arms.
"Quick, give him to me!" Hidan calmed at the sound of that voice. The voice was low and comforting, and Hidan's screaming simmered down to sobs as he was taken into the arms of a grandpa like man. The white beard and wrinkles around the man's eyes showed that he had taken care of many children in his time.
"Use that cloth there. Yes, the black one. And this soap. Here; be gentle now," he instructed smoothly while carefully pouring hot water over Hidan's head. A younger boy, probably about twelve, shielded Hidan's eyes with his hands to keep the water from getting in them.
Finally in control of himself, Hidan looked over his shoulder to see that the man who had picked him up was leaving, and that another man was arriving. Hidan's hiccups ceased almost immediately when he saw the glossy black eyes of the man's friend.
This new man had shoulder length black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Hidan was in slight shock as he saw the yellow eyed man lean toward the raven looking character and say to him, "he's the one," before whisking out the door.
Black eyes were gazing steadily into wide violet orbs as the man's friend appeared in front of Hidan and said in a soft, chiming voice, "hello there, little one. My name is Rafael."
Hidan stared at the necklace that hung from his neck, made of black steel, the upside-down triangle in the circle making it's appearance again.
About half an hour later – and after Hidan remembered that he's abandoned his mother and brother and burst into tears because of that – the door to the onsen opened and his mother's voice screeched, "WHERE'S MY BABY?!?!"
The men in the room blinked at her, several of the younger men blushing. She took no heed of them, her quartz eyes finally finding Hidan. She was quickly by his side, gathering him up in her arms and hugging him to her chest, weeping against his head. Her lips touched his forehead. Hidan stared over her shoulder as she picked him up, staring at the man with yellow eyes who held his brother.
There was a gentle smirk playing upon his lips.
The memories were suddenly whizzing by in a blur, unimportant and less potent. Things he didn't need to remember, not now. The man was named Nathan, and he vowed to take care of Hidan and his family. Another memory brought itself up, something important.
His mother was just walking down the hall; Hidan could see her. He wondered if she would remember what he looked like when he had forced his body to age. He had only managed to make it to twenty-two the first time he used the technique. Would his age increase if he tried it now?
When he glanced at the mirror that was propped next to him, he was startled to see how he looked. His analysis of himself was cut short, however, when a dainty hand touched his cheek.
He turned his violet eyes to his mother, glad for the darkness that hid their color. He was supposed to be in bed.
"I haven't seen you around here before."
"Nor have I, you," he replied, startling himself with his low, smooth voice. He knew it really wasn't right to mess with his mother's mind like he was, but he couldn't help it. She tilted her head at him, confused. Hidan inwardly panicked; what if she recognized his eyes?
Her confused expression changed to curiosity, and she raised a hand to his cheek. Before he knew what was happening his mother's lips were pressed to his in a less than innocent kiss. He stood stock still in shock, and waited until she pulled away.
He opened his eyes, and blinked, surprised that he had closed them. His mother gave him an odd look before continuing down the hall, toward the room she had rented for the three of them. Quickly he darted down the hall and out the building, before swiftly scaling the wall and clambering through the window, dropping softly onto the bed. He canceled his technique and pulled his little brother to his chest, moments before his mother opened the door.
He listened as she quickly locked the door before crawling into bed behind him. He fell into a deep sleep shortly after that.
This was the last part of the nightmare before a brilliant light burst through his thoughts. There was a shadow in that light, and then several shadows, then hundreds. He recognized some of the shadows, but he couldn't see them that clearly. He remembered that old lady... hadn't he and... who was he?
Oh. Right.
"My name's Nathan, kid."
"... yellow eyes."
"It's Nathan. Naaa-thaaaan. Do I have to sound my whole name out for you?" Nathan leaned down and glared at Hidan, who glared right back. The taller man sighed and straightened, Hidan deciphering that Nathan was in no mood to deal with the ten year old.
"Yeesh, kids these days... anyway, come on. I'm taking you to Old Lady Jen's place. Aw, come on, you'll like her," Nathan insisted, grabbing Hidan's arm. Hidan struggled vehemently and Nathan picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. Hidan pounded his fists against Nathan's back, "put me down!"
"No way hosay. You'll just run off and I'll have to go catch you," they came up to a quaint old cottage. Hidan allowed himself to calm down – he just didn't like being separated from his mother and brother. Poor little Asa was only two, though he was almost three. Hidan just felt like the little boy couldn't defend himself.
Old lady Jen opened the door when Nathan knocked and clapped her wrinkled hands together. Hidan smiled up at her, the perfect picture of innocence. Some of Nathan's friends had actually called him innocent when they first saw him, though Nathan had informed them bitterly that the only innocence left in Hidan was his virginity. His eyes and ears, even mouth, Nathan had said, were already defiled by "fools that lacked common sense of mercy".
Hidan still didn't understand what that last phrase meant, but Nathan's friends had solemnly nodded their heads.
"Well, hello there, little boy. What's your name?" Jen asked, leaning down to inspect Hidan. Hidan patted her cheek with one of his hands, "I'm Hidan."
"My, my, aren't you a cutie," she straightened and looked up to Nathan, "I have a fly infestation in the attic. Think you boys can do something about it while I prepare some lunch."
Nathan nodded and led Hidan up the stairs. While the older man happily chased down the flies and squished them, Hidan stared at the one he found, resting his head on his arms. He had folded his arms over the window sill, watching the fly as it danced about on his arm, scared of him and yet oddly calm around him. He didn't quite understand why the fly was so calm around him.
It suddenly began buzzing crazily against the glass and Hidan lifted his head, seeing that Nathan had come up to stand behind him.
"You scared it," Hidan scolded, glaring up at the older man. Nathan quirked an eyebrow at him, before suggesting, "just kill the thing already. It's not like it's going anywhere when it dies."
"NO!" Hidan shrieked in shock, wrapping both his hands gently around the fly, "it's just an innocent fly! It never did anything wrong, and it never hurt anything. Honestly, it's just a little fly, what could it possibly do? And what did it ever do to you to deserve to die!?"
Nathan's yellow eyes widened at Hidan's mini rant while Hidan pushed open the window and tossed the fly out, watching it buzz away.
Once they had eaten Nathan informed Hidan that he had to leave. Hidan, his eyes growing wide and fearful, hopped off his chair and followed Nathan to the door, clutching Nathan's leg when the older man made a move to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to... go teach a class at the Boarding School we walked by earlier."
Hidan remembered that place. Everyone there had looked so young: too beautiful and too handsome. The place had a very inhuman aura about it, and Hidan didn't like the place. He didn't like the haunting beauty of all the women and the deathly stares of all the men.
He backed away though, keeping his eyes downcast as he backed into Old lady Jen.
"Nathan."
"Hm?"
"... something bad is going to happen to my mother. Something bad is going to happen to her today, right?"
Nathan was oddly silent, and Hidan knew he was guilty as charged. He bit his lip, holding back a cry of fury as Nathan gave a one-worded reply, "yes," before he disappeared with the wind, to do whatever sick thing he was going to do to Hidan's mother. The small boy just turned around and buried his face in Old lady Jen's apron, letting the older woman rock him to sleep in his lap in her rocking chair as she sang sweet, motherly songs to him.
And when the clock struck twelve, Hidan felt like a part of his heart had just been severed away, resulting in him covering most of Old lady Jen's dress with blood.
'If only they... knew... if only they... if only they knew what I had gone through... as a kid... if only...'
Shikamaru.
--
The Nara household was quiet, save for a certain teenager's heavy breathing.
"That... that was just a dream right?" he leaned his head back, gasping for breath. The shadow's were playing tricks on him, his mind was playing tricks on him. He relaxed and lay back down, "yes, that was just a dream."
From the shadow's he heard a deep, dark, rasping chuckle, and his brown eyes shot open, "a dream? What, do you plan on fooling yourself more, child? You freed me. I called you a fool, and you will pay the price – whether in a merciful way or not."
There it was, that black mass of nothingness that had come out of the hole when he had blown up Hidan.
"You fool!" the black mass snarled fiercely, "you will pay for this treachery!"
Shikamaru stared blankly at the black mass, recalling what Hidan had screeched moments before, "Jashin-sama will definitely punish you!"
Shikamaru tossed his head in arrogance, "oh yeah? Are you the mighty Jashin come to smite me already?"
The black mass chuckled, "no, I am much, much worse. I am destruction incarnate. I've known Hidan for twelve years, kid. You knew him for what, a day? An hour? How much do you know about him?"
Shikamaru was stunned to silence, and the mass continued, "that's what I thought. You know nothing. You only know what you perceive, just like I do. Hidan does not. Hidan thinks, he's smart, intelligent. He actually uses his brain and thinks. Seeing that I was in complete control of his actions, his words, his power... I am the one who killed your teacher, not him. Your revenge is misplaced."
"... you're lying!" Shikamaru snarled, throwing a kunai at the black mass. The weapon went through it, causing the spirit like being to laugh manically. Shikamaru froze. That was Hidan's laugh, coming out of a spirit's invisible mouth with a much more terrible sound.
"Have it your way," and the spirit took off, while shouting, "I'll return to my body, and when I am finally back on my feet, we will come for you!"
Shikamaru jumped up, done reminiscing on something that obviously wasn't true. The black mass before him was just a liar, probably conjured by Hidan to haunt him the rest of his days.
"I thought you returned to your body," he taunted. Shikamaru's words had the opposite affect of what he'd hoped for. He'd hoped that the spirit would start rambling about how it's body was buried deep underground and that it couldn't return to it due to that fact. There were suddenly eyes in the black mass, wide eyes and a vicious, psychotic looking grin to go along with it.
Then out of the black mass stepped a man, his form as physical and as real as Shikamaru's. The teen stumbled back, and fell to the ground while the man continued forward into the light. Shikamaru's eyes widened.
"Well, see here kid, I got back to my body. And I'm on my own two feet. You're lucky I'm not actually here or you'd be dead already," his words gave way to psychotic laughter, different from Hidan's and much more frightening. Shikamaru had never been so afraid in his life since he first encountered Hidan and Kakuzu.
"You... you aren't real."
The man's hand closed around Shikamaru's neck and he pulled the boy to his feet, before lifting him off the ground. Shikamaru could do nothing but stare into those electric yellow eyes, and watch as the man's black hair fell about his face. The man just laughed and laughed until Shikamaru's eyes began to droop from lack of oxygen.
"Remember me," his voice became wispy sounding, and distant. Shikamaru stared blearily at him from his position on the floor, watching as those yellow eyes faded away.
"Remember mee."
Shikamaru blinked, and blinked again, before realizing that someone was shaking him.
"Shikamaru? Son?"
"GAH!"
Shikamaru woke with a start, his heart racing in his chest. Shikaku stared at him, blinking continuously at his son.
"Uh, Shikamaru?"
"It was... it was just a dream?" Shikamaru whispered, forgetting that his father was there. He furrowed his brows, 'no. It wasn't a dream. I can feel his fingers on my neck like it really happened.'
"Son? Why's your neck red?"
'There! That proves it! Physical evidence! But then that means...' Shikamaru swallowed, then turned to face his father fully.
"Dad. There's something I need to tell you about. Something that happened after I blew up Hidan."
I hope that wasn't too terribly confusing. I put about five hours into this chapter (XD). Again, if anything confuses you or you want me to explain something in more detail, PM or say so in your review. And yes, I'm really sorry if that was too descriptive (though it probably isn't, compared to some stories I've read) BUT YOU CAN'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU!!! XD I WARNED YOU TWICE!!
Yes. Review please, but don't be harsh. This is really only my take on Hidan's past, and the fact that I strongly believe he wasn't a Jashinist when he was young. And that I strongly believe that a horrible past made him the way he is in the manga/anime =(
Song playlist while writing this: "Sadness and Sorrow (both versions)" from Naruto, "What have you done now" "Memories" and "Angels" by Within Temptation, "What hurst the most" by Rascal Flatts, "My December" "What I've done" and "With You" by Linkin Park.