When someone speaks of the dark, you think of an environment bare of colors. A dark shade where only outlines are at times visible. You fear it, wonder what could be lurking in it. But never once do you sit to think of what true darkness is. Darkness has always been summed up as one thing. I time when all around you is devoid of light. But if you sit to think, what you know as darkness...isn't really darkness. It's more...a time of dimness. Darkness, true darkness, is when you see absolutely nothing. No shapes or outlines, dim shades that can denote that somethings there. Darkness is just that, darkness. Black, ending less, void. So to those that fear what could be hiding in the shadows of what they call darkness...should sit in this true darkness. The void of black. That alone would make one feel silly for fearing a dark room. For what's more scary then seeing nothing at all?
That's the world Hidan had known for such a long time. How long...he couldn't really tell. Time passes with such little regard when there's no way of tracking it. Had it been days, months, years? Did it even matter? All he wanted was out, and a part of him had lost the hope of that ever happening. When his world grew dark and he could no longer scream at the mere child who had trapped him there, he resigned himself to waiting. Wondering how long Kakuzu would take to dig him up. Making him wait to teach him yet another lesson in recklessness. But Kakuzu never came. He thought for sure the older man was trying to teach him in even greater lesson then before. And as more time went on he started to believe that this was Kakuzu's way of finally getting rid of him. Just leaving him here. But as even more time passed he began to think about how easily that Kakashi guy had gotten behind him and destroyed one of his hearts. Was it possible Kakuzu had actually been killed? Despite what he knew about the man, he started to think that to be the most likely answer. Which meant...no one was coming. This was his hell forever more. Or for as long as he could last. He knew very well his own weakness. Though it would be much slower then other humans, he would slowly starve to death. The most fucked up loophole he had ever heard. But every forbidden jutsu had a consequence. Be it the ending of the jutsu, damage that could be done to the body by using it, or if it was an immortal one like his and Kakuzu's case...watching everyone you knew die around you. He had destroyed everything in his past. So there was no one to miss. No one to make him think about that. They had all been weaklings anyway, giving in to the greed of money. They had been so easy to kill. Yet he never found himself able to kill Kakuzu. Not just because the guy was hella strong and he couldn't get a blow in anyway, but because he found in some ways he respected him. Maybe cause he was older and he could learn a lot from him. Or maybe it was the small part of him that was still normal, reaching for a father figure he never had. He really didn't know or care. He just found Kakuzu...interesting.
But all that was gone now, and for the first time the repercussions of Immortality were being felt by him. He felt loss. Now with his hardened interior he found it hard to show emotions as most would, but it still made his heart ache from time to time.
With more time, insanity set in. He was seeing things even though he couldn't see, hearing voices he knew weren't there. The darkness and confinement, the inability to move, all had built on to his already racing thoughts, causing his mind to snap. He couldn't talk, but the words he would say ran through his mind in jumbled sentences only another crack pot could understand. He'd try desperately at times to bury his face in his hands, forgetting for a time his limbs were no longer attached to his body. Though to his surprise when he again tried during another of his mental breakdowns, he could feel his fingers twitch. So now he was feeling things too? Well that was just great. But as he thought about moving his fingers, closing his hand, he found that he could feel his hand doing just that. Was it possible that he wasn't delusional? Could he possibly be in one piece again? He tried again, moving his hand and feeling the dirt churn between his fingers. Then he tried his other limbs which surprisingly also responded.
A new hope surged through him, and with an almost manic reaction, he began to rip the soil and rock from around him, digging his way with ungodly speed to the surface.
When he at last broke the surface he almost screamed, the light from the sun burning his eyes, causing him to squeeze them shut. But as the pain ebbed away and thoughts slowly began to rationalize, he wondered why there was sun. He had been buried deep in the forest. Ever so slowly he began to open his eyes again, acclimating himself to it slowly. It was now safe to say quite some time had to of passed, for the forest was gone, replaced instead by an open field. He pulled himself out of the hole slowly, fatigue starting to set in, muscles screaming in pain from their misuse. He plopped down on his back, unable to move any longer, waiting for his healing to kick in. Though he wondered how long that would take in his weakened state.
A scream brought him back to his senses quickly and he opened his eyes to see a terrified woman staring at him. At first he thought it had to be how he looked, emaciated and almost zombie like, a hole nearby to add to the effect. But she seemed to be looking lower and before long his overworked mind came to realize...he was stark naked. He was quick to roll over to at least cover the more scarring part from her eyes. Didn't seem to do much good for her though as she still looked ready to turn tail and run. But he was adamant not to let her when he noticed she had a basket of berries in her hand. He tried to talk, but his voice had long given out on him and all that came out was bits of dirt he had ingested over time. Finally he just pointed from the basket to his mouth, pleading with his eyes. Something he'd never be caught doing before but he was starving.
Finally her fear began to fade and worry set in. To her eyes someone had tried to bury this man alive. She was right of course, but would never believe how long he had been in there. He wasn't even sure himself. But again, it had to have been quite a while, judging by the way she was dressed. It was a style he had not seen before. She was wearing a simple white dress, but again, not a style he recognized. Her features even looked different, like a form of evolution if you will. Something no mere human would notice because of their short time on the planet. But to a man as old as him it was evident.
Finally she took a few steps forward and set the basket in front of him. He was quick to grab it, stuffing the berries in his mouth. She jumped back a bit, never before seeing a scene such as this before. But just as she was about to ask him what had happened, a man came from behind her, taking her arm and dragging her off.
But he... This is none of our concern. Let's go. And so he was alone again. After so long he actually longed for human contact, but he was content with the company of the berries for now. He'd search out other humans later.
After he had satiated himself with the berries, and thrown up a few times from eating so fast, he made his way to a small house. After a quick check to see if anyone was around, he made his way to the back where he found the clothesline and more strange clothing. Thinking back to how that man from earlier had been dressed, he grabbed the clothes that were similar to it and began to dress. He put the pants on first and worked on the white button up shirt as he walked inside. The inside of the house didn't look much different from what he remembered others looking, but a few items around the house looked more advanced. He slid on the gray matching vest and suit top as he continued to look. He was finding little of interest, so he dug around till he found a rucksack and started to fill it with food and some money he had found in an upstairs bedroom, though that too had changed and he had no idea how much was really there. Throwing on a pair of shoes he found, he awkwardly headed out the back door, he grabbed a few more changes of clothes and headed out down the gravel road. He didn't really have an idea of where he was going since so much had changed. But he was either heading towards Konoha or somewhere else. But anywhere was better then here.
Some distance down the road Hidan got scared out of his wits by and odd high pitched sound. He jumped and went into a defensive mode. But he lowered it as he watched the strange noise maker approach him. A metal wagon with no animal pulling it. It stopped a few feet from him and a man poked his head out the window.
Need a ride sir? Hidan cocked his head, still quite confused.
Sir? Are you all right? Hidan shook his head and walked towards him. Yeah. Just uh...hit my head. I'm a little out of it. He said as his voice finally found it's way back to him.
You need to see a doctor? No. I bounce back pretty quick from shit. I'll take that ride though. The man nodded and waited till Hidan got in then drove off again. So where you headed? Nearest town. The man nodded as Hidan stared at him. He was looking at the odd cloth hat he was wearing, a wide round brim circling his head.
Uh...sir? Nothing. I've been walking for a while and haven't seen people in some time. Don't know how. There's cities everywhere. Hidan was surprised by that. Did that mean there were no hidden villages anymore? Were the shinobi gone now too?
I stuck to the off beat tracks mostly. You got a death wish doing that. Should stick to the main roads if you don't want to get shot. ...huh? ...what do you mean huh? There's a war going on. It's suicide going through fields and woods. Hidan just shrugged and looked out the window. War was the one thing that never seemed to change.
The man dropped Hidan off in Konoha and continued on, leaving a very lost Hidan to just stare at his surroundings. The place was huge and covered with tall brick buildings. Taller then ones he had ever seen before. More of the metal wagons wondered the streets, making more high pitched sounds. Hidan had no idea what in the hell he was supposed to do. He guessed a shower and an actual meal was a good start, so he searched out an Inn. But nothing here was titled as such. He finally had to stop some guy that looked important because he was wearing some sort of blue uniform. The guy almost arrested him cause he thought Hidan was drunk or on something with the questions he was asking. Finally he was told where a hotel was, which he figured was what an Inn was called now, and worked his way there. Again he got strange looks as he tried to figure out how the money worked. Jashin what he'd give for Kakuzu to be here right now. Finally after making up some crack story about being raised in another country, someone helped him figure out the monetary system and he finally made his way to his room. First thing he did was head into the bathroom, finally getting a good look at himself. He looked like some homeless guy. His hair was long and knotted, the same with the alarming amount of hair on his face, the only thing he really took note of before. His nails were short since nothing worked after being separated from his head, but they were quite dirty. So adding another chore to his list, he jumped in the shower and enjoyed the warm spray. Afterwords he got directions to a barber before getting something to eat.
As he sat and read a paper as he ate, he realized how much things had changed. He wouldn't be able to carry out sacrifices very easily with the laws in this place. It seemed people in those blue suits and soldiers were the only ones allowed to kill. Any citizen got death if it wasn't a self defense case he realized as he read some court articles. All he needed was for someone in this time to figure out he couldn't die. And that's when something else hit him. He realized he could no longer feel Jashin sama's presence. That could only mean two things in his mind. He had given up on him...or he no longer existed. A god only holds power for as long as he has followers. If this was true, sacrifices were meaningless. Never before had he felt as alone as he did now. Well, other then being stuck in that hole. So was putting him back together a final gesture from Jashin sama? If so, how long had he been in one piece? His broken mind hadn't let him realize it.
He sat back in his seat now, feeling truly lost. Now he felt the true pain of living on alone.
Finding himself with no true purpose, he fell into the normal beat of day to day life. But the lust for blood he had since he was young couldn't be dampened. Every time he saw someone that would be worthy of sacrifice he had to fight it off. He didn't want to become some sort of science experiment. Jutsu's were a thing of myths in this day and age. The days of the shinobi passed off as fairy tales. If only they knew that one of these 'fairy tales' was standing right in front of them. Although he couldn't deny why they felt that way. He'd discovered over three hundred years had passed since he was put in that hole. Science and technology advanced, shinobi and kunoichi were no longer needed, so they were soon left to the things of fairy tales. He was a fairy tale, and he didn't care anymore. He settled down, got a job and his own place, and for once just lived pissed off that his life was so boring. He found himself in a metal factory building vehicles for the war effort. These huge things they called tanks and the metal vehicles he learned were called cars and trucks. A mundane existence for a man who liked blood on his hands.
With time more and more men that he had known around him began to slowly disappear, sucked into the now imposed draft. And soon, so was he. It irritated him too since it was the side that he hadn't been too fond of. They were big on fighting like everyone else. Had to be, but they were heavy on negotiations as well. They wanted a quick peaceful end. They reminded him of his old village, and he hated that. But, he just excepted it. He'd get his blood lust fulfilled at least, that was all that mattered to him. And so he sat through all the poking and prodding from the medical staff, knowing they wouldn't find anything wrong with him.
And so before long he found himself wearing a dark green uniform being screamed at by some old guy that seemed to think he was hot shit. Finding anything he could wrong with the men in front of him that he could just use to continue screaming at them. One of the younger men even broke down and started to cry. Hidan glanced over at him, thinking how much of a wussy he was. But it was just a kid, no more then fifteen at most. Which in this day and age was pretty young to be enlisted.
AND WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PANSY BOY!? MISS YOUR MOMMY THAT BAD DO YOU!? STILL A LITTLE BABY WHO HAS TO SUCK ON HIS MOMMAS TEAT!? WELL YOUR BALLS BETTER DROP SOON BOY OR YOU WON'T LAST IN THE TRENCHES LONG! DO YOU HERE ME BOY!? Ye..eah... WHAT DID YOU SAY!? SAY IT PROPERLY BOY! Sir yes sir! THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! The drill Sargent then began to stalk up and down the lines again. THAT GOES FOR THE REST OF YOU AS WELL! YOU FARM BOYS AND NUMBER CRUNCHERS BETTER LEARN FAST! YOU HAVE TO KILL THE ENEMY BEFORE THEY KILL YOU! THEY DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE A FAMILY BACK HOME, OR HOW OLD YOU ARE! THEY LIKE YOU WILL BE DOING WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE! THE DAYS OF RESPECTFUL FIGHTING ARE LONG GONE! IF YOU HAVE TO SHOOT A MAN IN THE BACK THEN SHOOT THE MAN IN THE FUCKING BACK! IT'S YOU OR THEM! DO YOU GET ME!? Sir yes sir! They screamed in unison.
I CAN'T HEAR YOU! SIR YES SIR! THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR! NOW SINGLE LINE! IT'S MARCHING TIME BOYS! Hidan fell in line with the others, for the first time in his life feeling intimidated. He swore he could feel his balls crawl back up to hide.
MARCH!
The weeks that followed were just pure hell. Hidan could only barely remember his shinobi training now, but he still remembered that it was never as hard as this. You screwed the tiniest thing up and the drill instructor would just start screaming in your face. And to his disgust he slowly discovered he was starting to fall in line, following orders. These guys were worse then Kakuzu had ever been to him. But by this point he didn't care. The world had changed around him, maybe it was time he did to.
He didn't change much though. His attitude stayed the same, he questioned his superiors on occasion earning him latrine duties, got into constant fights with other recruits, didn't wear his uniform properly. All in all the higher ups thought he was a pain in the ass, but he was a good fighter, strong and with great dexterity. He could be a great soldier, if he learned to quit questioning orders. But they decided the front lines would teach him that lesson. He would learn fast, or so they hoped.
And quickly the time of his testing came. He and the others were awoke early one morning by shells going off nearby. The men scattered around getting dressed as much as they could before heading out to get armed. Even Hidan fell quickly into the procedure, like he'd done it every day. He had to swear at himself for getting so whipped. But the aggression of these soldiers had made him want to respect them. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
Pushing his thoughts aside he fell in line with the others behind a partially exploded wall as they assessed the situation. A whole squadron was pushing their way forward steadily. Hidan just scowled as he popped a shot off without an order.
HOLD YOUR FIRE SOLDIER! YOU GAVE AWAY OUR POSITION! FUCK THAT! THEY'RE COMING RIGHT AT US! JUST KILL THE FUCKERS! WILL YOU LEARN TO LISTEN FOR ONCE PRIVATE!? STRATEDGY IS KEY TOO! Hidan found himself backing down, giving in to the superior.
CHANGE POSITIONS! The men quickly followed the order, moving further down to take up new positions in hope their plan hadn't been destroyed. Hidan followed but was stopped as the Sgt grabbed his arm. I know you're a good soldier Hidan, but you have to learn to be patient as well. You won't last long otherwise. I'm not worried about myself...sir. And your fellow soldiers? Are you willing to get them killed? No one here is cannon fodder, understand me? You back each other up. There's no room for lone soldiers. ...yes sir. Get moving then, and this time hold your fire till I give the go ahead. Hidan just pulled his arm away and headed over by the others, each giving him a sour look as he took up a position. He glared at them as he hunkered down. Fuck off. I'm sorry ok? No place for sorry here. Another private said, glaring right back. Tch. Hidan just shook his head and peeked over the wall. The squad had hunkered down as well, still assessing the situation. Even with the carnage the new weapons around him produced, Hidan still detested the new weaponry. He was all for man on man combat. Even he didn't see this as a fair fight, a true test of someones abilities. Even a monkey could fire a gun and kill someone, but it takes skills to go hand to hand with someone.
He was stirred from his thoughts by a large explosion behind him. A section of the wall burst apart, sending stone shards everywhere. Everyone ducked down to avoid the projectiles as a large section of the wall began to fall, beneath it an injured man lay prone. Hidan had no idea why he was doing what he was in these next seconds, but he moved quickly and grabbed the guys arms, quickly yanking him from harms way as the wall crashed to the ground. The medic rushed over quickly as Hidan stepped aside. The injuries on the man didn't look too bad, so Hidan took up his rifle again and fell back into position.
Good job Hidan. The superior said as he gave him a pat on his back. Hidan just stared at him. Never before had he been praised, it felt good. He nodded quickly and took up watch over the attacking squad again.
Alright boys, the Sgt started, this is different from the trench warfare we taught you, but the idea is the same. We have to push them back or kill them. We need to get behind them while the others give suppressing fire. Do I have any volunteers? Hidan was quick to raise a hand. A few others joined in soon after. Alright, you four then. And Hidan? Teamwork. Understand? Yes sir... Hidan got into a crouched run quickly, the other three close behind. The street before them looked clear, but he knew they could have snipers positioned anywhere. He grabbed a piece of rubble and tossed it off to the side of a building across the street. Sure enough a bullet hit the ground where the rubble landed.
Any of you get an exact trajectory on that? Hidan asked, looking to the other three.
That blown out building over there. One of them pointed.
Any of you think you can make the shot? Everyone just shook their head.
Guess it's up to me. But the Sgt. Said... I know what he fucking said. But I promise you I can take him without getting hurt. Can you guys give me cover fire? The three looked at each other before nodding. Hidan smirked and darted along the sides of the buildings as he made his way to the sniper point. He could feel the hunger growing. Soon, very soon, he would feel the rush again. The blood of a heathen on his hands. Or whatever he could call them now. He still felt lost without his religion. But the blood lust would fill that. It had to. It almost felt like a drug eating away at him. He needed it. Needed it to fill that void.
He found himself at the door to the room the sniper was in before he knew it. This was it. His first kill in hundreds of years. His first kill with this odd weapon.
He slowly opened the door, his training kicking in before he'd realized it. Slowly he crept foreword, minding his footing. Looking for any board that could make a sound. He thought for a moment, thinking of how he wanted to savor the moment. He slowly shouldered his rifle and pulled his knife. The bullet would have to wait for another day. He needed to feel the blood on his hands. Slowly he inched the last few steps foreword. He was almost there. Then a board creaked. He closed his eyes, cursing to himself, till he realized it hadn't been him. It was behind him. He acted in one fluid motion, turning and throwing the knife, hitting the opposing soldier right between the eyes and dropping him. He tried to reach for his side arm, but the sniper was on his feet now and kicked it away. Hidan was thrown slightly off balance by it and stumbled back, giving the sniper an opening. He crouched and slid his leg, taking Hidan's feet out from beneath him. He fell to the floor with a sickening crack as his head bounced off the floorboards. Dazed, he looked up at the soldier, only barely making out an outline through the blurry vision. But he could see the barrel of the mans side arm looking down at him. He smirked, not fearful in any way.
Do it. Won't help you. The man just glared and pulled the trigger, putting a hole in Hidan's head. Brain matter flew everywhere from the close range. The man just flung the bits off his face and turned, heading back to his post. He started popping off a few shots again. Feeling completely safe once more. But if he could only see the horror scene taking place behind him. Hidan slowly rose to his feet, blood from the wound slowly eking to a stop. He reached over and pulled his knife from the other soldiers head, a look of demonic proportions on his face. Which is what he was sure this man would think him to be in mere moments.
He tapped the soldiers shoulder, looking down at him as he slowly turned. His eyes widened as his jaw dropped.
This is the part where you start screaming and praying to your insignificant god. ...monster...demon...zom... ...bie. Yeah. Been called that plenty of times. He bent down, only mere inches from the mans face. You know those little fairy tales of shinobi and shit? They ain't fairy tales. I'm no fairy tale... He backed up, giving the man no time to scream as he drove the blade deep into his throat. He couldn't hold it in any longer. He started ripping away at him. Blood and tissue flying about the room. He finally just started beating the mans face to a bloody pulp before turning at last to leave the room. He turned back one final time, throwing a stick grenade in before making his way outside, the explosion behind him the final part of this act.
The troops around him had advanced, finally pushing back the attackers. It was over, for now.