Bloodstains had never impressed Kakuzu with anything other then a mild annoyance. They were difficult to get out, and ruin perfectly good pieces of clothing. But in the midst of killing someone, of tearing someone's life from their bodies, of unadulterated brutality, blood sated his temper. He could put up with a lot after a killing. But afterwards he would always have to deal with the stains. Of course his irritation always provided amusement for Hidan.

"Hey, if you scrub a little harder, maybe it'll come out." The teasing tone of the Jashinist's voice caused Kakuzu to twitch. That, and Hidan's face was right over his shoulder, looking down at the sink where Kakuzu's Akatsuki cloak was getting the cleaning treatment. Kakuzu flicked some bloody water into Hidan's face, making him recoil. Hidan sputtered for a few moments, wiping his eyes, "Fuck! Man, don't you have a sense of humor? Jeesh!"

Kakuzu ignored him, examining a splotch that refused to fade. Hidan continued to curse, but Kakuzu just kept at his task. After a while, Hidan couldn't help but stare in amazement. Usually by now Kakuzu would have stitched his mouth shut and bound him to the toilet for a few days. Suddenly Kakuzu glanced over his shoulder, his eyes almost glowing in the dim light of the bathroom, "Stop staring and get out."

Hidan felt a thrill in his gut. For some reason his instincts of self-preservation were screaming at him to leave right now. But rather then listening, Hidan was annoyed by that voice of reason, and it made him feel almost… cowardly. So, he decided to take his chances and see just how much Kakuzu could take before tearing his head off. A grin spread across Hidan's face and he leaned against the bathroom wall. "So why do you bother trying to get it out? I mean just leave it there, seriously."

Kakuzu paused for a moment, considering his next move. He decided he had three options: First, he could continue to ignore Hidan, which would only result in more pestering. The second option was to just to throw him out of the room and lock the door. Or, the last and most tempting option, see if the so-called "immortal" could survive drowning. He hadn't tried that one yet. But he didn't feel like exerting any effort at the moment. He always felt a bit lazy after a kill. Bringing his cloak up to the light, he decided to see what Hidan would do next without any reaction from him.

Hidan was by this time getting annoyed by Kakuzu's silence. Sure, Kakuzu was always quiet, but there was something inherently insulting when the silence was directed specifically at him. Ruffling his hair in exasperation, Hidan's boredom began to poke feverishly at his brain. And then it came to him. An idea. Something that was sure to rile Kakuzu up. His grin returning, Hidan quickly covered the distance between him and his partner. Slitting his finger on the edge of his concealed pike, he leaned over Kakuzu's shoulder. Kakuzu tensed and glanced with surprise at the Jashinist's finger, which excreted a single drop of blood. Both watched as the drop plummeted down, eventually splattering over Kakuzu's nearly-clean cloak. A pause followed as both stared at the vivid red spot for a few moments. When a few moments of silence had passed Hidan couldn't help but snigger. Kakuzu's eyes whipped around, shocking Hidan into sudden silence, his grin fading. Kakuzu's eyes slowly narrowed. Time for option three.

Hidan found his face submerged in the sink, his nose and mouth filling with water. He could taste the blood, a taste he usually greatly enjoyed, but was now flooding his means of breathing. He flailed out, his left arm suddenly pinned to his back with what felt like Kakuzu's tendrils. With his right hand he was able to withdraw his pike, but it was immediately ripped from his grasp, and both arms were tangled in Kakuzu's threads. Kakuzu's hand ground Hidan's face against the bottom of the sink. Hidan felt that thrill in his gut again. He struggled, but knew it was no use. Now a morbid interest filled his mind. So this was what it was like to drown.

Just as suddenly as he had found himself in the water, Hidan was suddenly on the tiled floor, throwing up water and whatever else was in his stomach at the time. He looked up after emptying his insides, gasping for air. Kakuzu looked down at him, his eyes containing an odd expression that the Jashinist recognized, but couldn't remember the definition to. Was it… dissatisfaction?

As soon as he found his voice again Hidan began shouting, "WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? WHAT'RE YOU-" Tendrils wrapped around Hidan's head, effectively gagging him. Kakuzu crouched down to eye-level with Hidan's kneeling position, causing Hidan to tense. Kakuzu merely stared at him, eyes expressionless. Hidan returned the look with a glare of his own, and he found himself in a staring contest with his partner. From the corner of his eye, Hidan saw that Kakuzu's tendrils had grasped his pike, and gave the weapon to Kakuzu's waiting hand. Without looking away, Kakuzu slid his index finger and thumb along the edge of the pike, as if testing its sharpness. Immediately Hidan's eyes widened and his gaze flicked away from Kakuzu's eyes and to the pike.

Kakuzu observed Hidan's reaction with grim amusement. "Blood and I have a love-hate relationship." Hidan returned Kakuzu's insistent staring with a new curiosity. "After I've done my work blood insists on getting all over everything. It leaves its mark, as if mocking me." The pike moved closer to Hidan's face, but he refused to break eye contact this time. "Taking blood from other people calms me. But it refuses to stay where it belongs: On the floor, on the walls, on what's left on the body. No, it must also get all over me." The point of the pike grazed over Hidan's cheek. Although his eye twitched, Hidan gave no other reaction. "So, to answer your question: I try and get it out because I don't want it there. It belongs on the dead, not on me." The pike was suddenly thrust into the ground, between the fingers of Hidan's left hand.

Kakuzu stood again, withdrawing his tendrils from Hidan's face. Tossing his cloak over his arm, Kakuzu pulled the plug in the sink, turned on his heel, and shut the door behind him. Hidan was left alone in the bathroom, kneeling where Kakuzu left him, absorbing everything that had just happened. After a few moments of silence had passed, Hidan scoffed, giving a passing glare at the door before swinging his legs around so that he was in a sitting position. He rubbed the back of his hand over the cheek that Kakuzu had touched with the pike, mildly surprised to see that Kakuzu had not cut open his skin. Hidan's glance drifted to the pike, and stayed there for a moment. With a sudden movement he pulled the pike out of the ground, grinning, "Damn, fucking, messed up bastard."

This is a product of sleep-deprivation. I apologize in advance for any errors in the text.