This is just a short ficlet of Kakuzu's reflection on Akatsuki's falling and his partner before his death.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Naruto

Enjoy!

When Sasori died, everyone in Akatsuki knew the organization would slowly lose members. His death had been a surprise to everyone; a strong, loyal member who was very hard to kill ended up losing his life to two kunoichi: one a young chuunin, the other a retired bag of bones. Deidara had taken it the hardest, for obvious reasons, and was now…always very bitter, to say the least. Silent and bitter; the group nearly felt sorry for Tobi, nearly.

Hidan and Kakuzu had gone on a mission, simple bounty, since money was an important aspect in their plan. Unfortunately for the two, they had to deal with some Konoha shinobi, who seemed to be more persistent than they had first thought. After sealing the Nibi, some Konoha shinobi caught up with them. There were only four, and the duo knew they could deal with them.

Oh how wrong they were.

Kakuzu knew the fight started going against them when he and Hidan had been separated. He would try his best to hold up; fighting that one guy couldn't be too hard for the Jashinist. He simply had to hold up and take out as many as possible before Hidan got back, and then the two could finish them off.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Hidan didn't come back. Kakuzu felt something in the pit of his stomach, and he knew it was worry. More Konoha shinobi came, and Kakuzu was losing hearts. He fought, but that Kyuubi brat hit him, tricked him and hit him with the most powerful technique he'd ever seen. It hit him dead on, killing two of his hearts and rendering his body useless. Meaning he couldn't protect the last heart that remained.

"From one generation to the next…the following one will continue to surpass the previous."

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei! Shikamaru beat that other guy all by himself! Hardly a scratch on him!" Kakuzu, with what little strength he had left, turned his head to the three.

"How?" Kakashi asked.

"Blasted him to pieces and buried him in a deep, deep hole." The girl spoke again. She had been the one to help defeat Sasori.

"And we will be sure he never sees the light of day again." Kakuzu's heart sank. That was the one difference between the two. He wasn't immortal. No matter how he looked at himself, he could still die. Hidan couldn't, which meant that forever…in a hole and detached from your body. Hidan would complain all the way, and no one would hear him.

But this time he had an excuse and it was the one time Kakuzu will never be able to do a thing about it.

AN: I wrote this a long time ago, long before the death of Itachi, even. So it's a bit out of date, but I like it so I posted it.

HM