Troublesome Partners

Kakuzu watched with endless annoyance as his partner pulled out his beads and proceeded to speak to the gods. They were on the way to the Fire Country to see to another jinchuuriki, and the Falls ninja just couldn't get his head around the stupidity that was his partner, even after working with him for so long.

Kakuzu supposed, when he was first partnered with Hidan, that as long as the blonde could hold his own in battle, it wouldn't matter so much if he was a pain in the ass or not.

Oh, how he was wrong.

Not only was Hidan a pain in the ass, he was a loud pain in the ass.

And Kakuzu didn't know how to handle that.

And so, for many, many years, Kakuzu had tried to figure Hidan out, tried to get a handle around his partner so they may, for once, be able to get along and actually fight together.

So, for the millionth time in however long it had been, the falls ninja looked at Hidan happily putting his beads away, his prayer done. The blonde turned to his partner and said,

"Let's have lunch!"

Kakuzu blinked. They HAD been on the road all that morning, so for once, he didn't protest.
They both sat down at the edge of the river they had been following and pulled out some rice balls they had brought with them. Kakuzu looked around before pulling his mask down and taking a bite. He had to give it to his partner, he knew how to cook.

"Hidan."

"Mmm?" The blonde looked at him with that small smile he always had in place and said, "What's up?"

"After lunch …" Kakuzu was speaking rather quietly, "can you lend me that book you always carry around?"

Hidan would have choked if he had any food in his mouth; instead, he looked rather shocked. "You mean the religious one? Are you thinking of converting? Wow! That's gre-"

"No I am not!" Kakuzu glared. "I just want to gain an understanding of what you find so disturbingly fascinating!"

Hidan blinked. "But … I thought you hated that stuff."

The other was still glaring, "Oh, don't get me wrong, I still do. But …" Glaring at the remains of his rice ball, he very calmly stuffed the rest in his mouth and did not finish his answer.

Hidan was still watching with the most fascinated look on his face. He hadn't worn that expression since he had met the Falls nin. "Are you … being nice¸ Kakuzu?"

The other tried not to flush at that, really he did. Instead, he finished his lunch and said, "Let's keep moving, now."

He got up, put his mask back on and jammed his hat over his head, and Hidan watched after him. Really, Kakuzu could act rather caring despite claiming that his partner was a pain in the ass. So, it was with a much lighter atmosphere that the blonde finished his own lunch and followed his partner. Feeling mischievous, he got out the book in question and slipped it in one of Kakuzu's coat pockets, and ran off before the other could kill him for it.