Yes, you are probably wondering right now why the heck I had chosen to write a fic about a very weird pairing, namely Hidan and Tsunami (for those who can't remember her, she's Inari's mother, and she appeared in the Wave Country arc.). I have my reasons, and one of them is to write a story on how Hidan became an Akatsuki member. This story is Part I of the Trilogy that I plan to make AND finish as well.
Don't judge this story just because of the pairing. Judge it for the plot. Doumo!
This story takes place nine years before the Naruto timeline. Tsunami is aged twenty by this time, and I estimate Hidan's age to be around twenty-two years old.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. I only own the ANBUs with the codenames Tori, Ushi and Nezumi.
Winter Diffidence
When will this rain ever stop?
Tsunami almost slapped herself.
Stupid question, seriously.
How can the rain ever stop in Amegakure no Sato anyway? Everyone, from all over the world, had dubbed the said village 'The Land of Eternal Rain', all because of one reason: the rain never stops pouring. It was as simple as that; no exceptions as well.
And that is also the reason why Tsunami had wanted to slap herself.
It all started early that morning, when she had received a message from the Amegakure High Council that her father, a well-known bridge maker in Nami no Kuni, had fallen ill. In the message, it was stated that Tazuna had caught a cold, something that he had ignored during his three-day stay in Amegakure. He was much too engrossed in a project that involved building a hanging bridge that will connect Amegakure no Sato to a mountain leading to the Ame no Kuni's mainland to even care about his condition.
It was a bad decision on his part.
The cold turned into pneumonia, and the fifty-one year old bridge maker had to stay temporarily in the village until he felt better enough to travel back to Nami no Kuni, as the medic nins in the village had advised him and the High Council.
And so Tsunami, as fast as she could, began to pack all the essentials she need that would last a week or so when she goes to Amegakure. However, for the love of Kami-sama, the most important thing she needed was the one she had forgotten to bring along.
An umbrella.
How stupid of her to forget.
So right now, she was currently sitting under a tree, trying hard not to shiver from the cold winter breeze that had passed by. The letter sent to her by the Amegakure High Council served as her gate pass to the village, and to her disbelief, the young woman of twenty years had left the said letter back in her house.
Now she had to wait for someone, anyone, to notice her, pity her probably, and take her in.
Several minutes later, her wish came true in the form of four masked men who had a very bulky, yet muscular build, startling her quite a bit.
Is that what they call an… ANBU? She asked herself, mesmerized at the four men before her.
"Anata wa Tazuna no musume ka?" he has asked her if she was Tazuna the bridge maker's daughter, and she nodded in reply.
"W-what is it?" she asked.
"Please come with us. Tazuna-san is expecting you." Another one told her, in a much kinder voice. Tsunami assumed he was a kohai compared to the first one, for he sounded a bit… meek.
"A-alright then." She stood up from her sitting position, dusted the black shorts she wore and sighed. "Thank you for going through the trouble of fetching me here…"
One ANBU had rolled his eyes underneath the mask. "You've just given us more trouble than ever, Tazuna's daughter." He said, opening up an umbrella to shade her from the pouring rain. "We've just gone through hell and back for you, woman." He scowled.
The only female in the group gave out a puzzled look, and the kohai in the ANBU Squad was the one who spoke up to inform her of what had happened earlier. "Well, sempai meant that you scared the hell out of us when we didn't find you in your house in Nami no Kuni… we all thought something bad had happened to you— OWW! Gomen nasai, Nezumi-sempai!!!"
The first ANBU who had spoken first to Tsunami grunted. "Tori, keep your mouth shut." Nezumi hissed, all the while cracking his knuckles for added effect. "She does not need to know such information."
"H-hai…" Tori replied quietly.
"Both of them had meant to say that you're just a stupid woman who does not even know how to read and understand what the hell was written on the paper sent to you by the Amegakure High Council." The last ANBU, wearing a dog mask, tossed a paper ball at the direction of the girl. It was evident that he was very pissed as well. "CAN YOU NOT EVEN UNDERSTAND THAT AN ANBU SQUAD WILL BE THE ONE TO PICK YOU UP FROM NAMI NO KUNI!?"
Tsunami bent down to get the paper ball from the ground and began to read. " 'Please stay in your house as soon as you are ready… an ANBU Squad composed of four members will be the ones to pick you up…' " at once, she turned red from embarrassment.
The three ANBUs stiffened suddenly. It was on such a rare occasion that their ANBU Captain would get angry over such a small matter, and it was even rarer that he cared too much over a mission. Both Tori and Nezumi wondered what made him so worked up over a simple mission…
"W-wakarimasen…" at this, the ANBU holding the umbrella almost slapped himself in the forehead. Was she THAT stupid?! Ushi asked himself.
"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT, LADY: THE AMEGAKURE HIGH COUNCIL JUST THREATENED TO HAVE MY HIDE IF THEY SEE ANY SIGN OF INJURIES ON YOU!!! DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU WHILE I'M ON DUTY?!"
"Uh… you'll lose your job, taichou…?" Tsunami asked, enjoying the banter between them. She knew all of that shinobi stuff, all thanks to her father, who was kind enough to give her knowledge about nins; she just wanted to irritate this man by acting stupid.
"HELL YES I WILL!!!"
Oh. So that's why… the three ANBUs thought at the same time.
'What a grouchy old fart.' Tsunami almost grinned in reply, but stopped herself from doing such. "Ah. Wakarimashita."
Despite feeling the urge to whack the woman on the head for being such a dumb ass, the man resisted the urge to do so. "Can we get going now? I hate the rain." The ANBU Captain wearing the dog mask demanded as he began walking ahead of the others.
"Inu-sempai, chotto matte kudasai naaaa!!!" Tori chased after the silver-haired man, while the two remaining ANBUs stayed by her side, Ushi holding the umbrella for her and Nezumi carrying all of the stuff she had with her.
"For a woman, you sure pack light." Nezumi remarked. Tsunami did not know whether it was a compliment or an insult. She chose the former instead.
"Thanks… I think."
"He meant it as a compliment, Tazuna-san's daughter." Ushi said right away. He knew what happens if a woman gets angry… all hell breaks loose, literally.
Tsunami resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "If you say so, ANBU-san, and please, stop referring to me as 'Tazuna's daughter'. I have a name, you know." At this, the two ANBUs shot her a questioning look. "I'm Tsunami."
"Call me Nezumi." Rat.
"Tori." Came the prompt reply. Bird.
'Oh, so they really use codenames, huh…' "I see." She nodded.
"We can't give you our real names; after all, we are currently on a mission to 'bring Tazuna's daughter to Amegakure no Sato'."
Finally, Tazuna's only daughter gave in to the urge to roll her eyes heavenward.
"WHAT?!"
The said statement was the sentiment echoed by the four male ANBUs as soon as the Amegakure High Council told them what their next mission would be. During this time, the Council had asked Tsunami to leave the conference room and wait outside by the lobby. Tazuna's only daughter readily obliged with the request and as soon she was out of earshot, the mission briefing began…
"And why is that mission a Class C ranked mission?" the ANBU Captain asked through gritted teeth.
One of the Ten Councilmen spoke up for all of them. "Tazuna's daughter, though she may not look like it, is an easy prey for nukenins who wander about in Ame no Kuni. Do remember, Inu, that her father is an expert bridge maker, and that Gatou person from Nami no Kuni is out to get both father and daughter. You DID read the report about them, have you not?"
Inu nodded briskly. Of course he had read it. Why wouldn't he?
"Gatou is out to get them, with Tazuna now involved in that bridge project that will be connecting Nami no Kuni to the mainland. It is our duty to protect them, for both are now standing on Amegakure soil. Inu, you are now in-charge of protecting Tsunami during her whole stay in the village."
The ANBU Captain's purple left eye twitched underneath the mask he wore. How the hell did he get stuck babysitting with some prissy damsel-in-distress!? HOW!? He was very religious; he did what was told of him by his god, Jashin, and this is what he gets after being thoroughly faithful?!
THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT MY DAY!!!
"Understood. And the others?" Keep your emotions in check… he reminded himself.
"Rotation. Ushi will be assigned to accompany her every morning, while Tori will be in-charge in the afternoon. At night, if she needs to go somewhere, Nezumi shall take over Tori."
"Wait, if they're the ones assigned to protect her, why am I still involved in this mission?" the silver-haired ANBU asked.
"You are to keep an eye on her round the clock. No excuses."
Inu sighed in resignation.
No use arguing anymore.
After meeting the Amegakure High Council for a brief discussion about her father's health, Tsunami, along with the four ANBUs that had fetched her early that day, headed for the apartment provided by the council during the father and daughter's stay in the village. As soon as she entered the studio-type apartment, she frowned at her father, Tazuna, who was sitting by the dining table, drinking a cup of hot tea, instead of resting in his own bed.
"Otou-san, keep ignoring the medic nins' advice, and we'll be staying here for a month." She huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. For added effects, the young lady glared at her father. "Go back to bed and rest."
"I've been resting quite enough, Tsunami." Tazuna assured her quickly. "As for you, young lady, go now and take a warm bath. No doubt, after standing in the rain for too long, you'll catch a cold."
"I'm fine." The woman in her early twenties muttered under her breath, cursing her father discreetly for being such a hard-headed old man. "You don't have to tell me what to do; I'm old enough to know my priorities."
Tazuna nodded. "Yes, I know that, but what about THAT priority that you had promised to me just a week ago?"
To the amusement of the four male bystanders in the room, the bridge-maker's daughter began blushing faintly. "Yes, yes… I know that. You don't have to remind me, otou-san." She hissed, putting emphasis on the very last word.
As if to add more insult to injury, the oldest man in the room suddenly announced, "Is there any one of you willing to marry my daughter, Tsunami?"
Tori raised his left hand immediately. "Ore da, Tazuna-san!!!" he volunteered, and got a punch straight in the face, rather, in the mask, by his superior, particularly a dog-masked ANBU.
"Baka. What the hell are you thinking?!"
"D-demo, we're done with this mission, right? Tsunami-san has been escorted safely; that means, no more of those protector-protected relationships, taichou! She and I are free to get married!!!"
Tsunami was aghast; was this man really serious!? "W-what the hell are you saying!?"
It all happened too fast: Tori had grabbed both of the young woman's hands before Tsunami could even blink for that matter. "Will you marry me? I fell in love with you at first sight!" the youngest ANBU in the squad confessed loud enough for everyone to hear in the apartment. "Please, Tsunami-san?"
It only took a poker-faced expression and two words to discourage the overenthusiastic ANBU. "Not interested."
Tori was crying his heart out when he left the compound, while the two other members could only sigh in disbelief, wondering what kind of jutsu the Nami no Kuni onna had used against their kohai.
And their taichou?
Well, let's just say he wasn't VERY happy with what had happened. In fact, he had to drag the woman away from her apartment just so he could have a 'proper' talk with her.
"What is it now, taichou?"
The dog-masked ANBU turned to face her. "What the hell have you done with Tori, woman?!"
Tsunami wasn't intimidated at the very least; in fact, she got angry. "Would you at least remove your mask while talking to me, taichou? I want to see the face of the person whom I am talking to, not some dog-faced ANBU." She demanded. "You are done with the mission, correct? At least show your face to me."
The ANBU sighed exasperatedly and proceeded to remove his mask…
You must give in to this brat's request, Hidan, or else, she won't stop pestering you!
What happened next almost made Tsunami faint.
HOW CAN SOMEONE SO RUDE LIKE THE DEVIL HIMSELF LOOK SO ANGELIC AT THE SAME TIME?!
The person underneath the mask, though she hated to admit it, was very much handsome. He was very much pale, as if he didn't have enough dose of Vitamin D during his childhood, and his eyes, especially the color of it, were something that intimidated her. A dark shade of purple… the perfect color of eyes for murderers; she tried hard not to shudder in fear.
"Tch. Stop staring. First and foremost, it is rude, plus, it is annoying..." The young man with silver hair glared at her direction. Purple-colored iris met black-colored ones, and still, even if she told herself to look away, she couldn't. Her traitorous eyes kept wandering about his lean frame, telling herself to remember all of the details before he would vanish within her line of sight…
"HEY! STOP STARING!"
This jolted her back to reality. "I was not staring!"
"Oh, you were, you little witch." He spat out bitterly.
"I HAVE A NAME, DAMN YOU!!! TSUNAMI!!! TSU-NA-MI!!!" she screeched every syllable. "GOT THAT!?"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever. Just stay away from my squad, and we'll get along nicely." With that, the ANBU Captain walked off, leaving her to glare and leer at his retreating figure. As much as she wanted to stab him with her spare kunai tucked in her shoes, she restrained herself from doing so. This man was an ANBU; he would overpower her.
In the end, she decided to observe him from afar, instead of hurting him.
Maybe, by some twist of fate, taichou was really a nice guy…
… She thought wrong.
That cocky son-of-a-beach was the most arrogant man she had ever come across with!
And chapter one is complete! Comments, suggestions and constructive criticisms are welcomed. Flames are to be used for Katon purposes. I hope the readers have enjoyed this fic!
Extra notes: I have chosen Amegakure no Sato as Hidan's home village (in this fic alone; in the manga, it is still not confirmed as to where he is originally from) because I have based the said village's reputation during Naruto's genin days. Go check out Wikipedia for more info on this matter; you'll get what I mean. XD