Kakuzu had released his transformation jutsu after leaving the village. His long brown hair was tied into a bun to keep it from getting in his way while he traveled. He carried a sack filled with ryo. While walking aimlessly through the vast country as he did daily, Hidan caught sight of his back. He approached him from behind and his suspicions were immediately clarified by the tan skin and stitching that Kakuzu's bare arms revealed.
His hand darted out and grabbed a handful of Kakuzu's hair. "I found you." Hidan gloated with a smile, quickly growing excited again for the first time in months. Kakuzu slapped Hidan's hand away, and he allowed it. He turned around to face Hidan and looked him straight in the eyes. He said nothing. Without warning, Hidan clenched his right hand into a tight fist and slugged Kakuzu in the face. His reflexes had slowed due to his years of inaction, and so he failed to dodge. He stumbled slightly from the sheer force of the impact but didn't fall.
"What the fuck is wrong with you? I thought you were dead!" That seemed the most feasible option of any since Hidan had been unable to find Kakuzu even after all his searching. "You just left me and the Akatsuki without warning? I'll kill you, you bastard!" Hidan was visibly seething. He'd lost something extremely important after killing Nara Shikamaru. From the moment that Kakuzu disappeared and onward, he'd been forced to exercise as much concern for his own well-being in battle as any mortal man would. Immobility could still prove his downfall even though he'd certainly survive it. It proved extremely irritating.
"Things were complicated, Hidan." No, they weren't. He was sore and defeated and tired of dealing with all the complications of the shinobi lifestyle. Most of all, he was tired of dealing with Hidan's psychotic hyperactivity.
"Don't you dare give me that bullshit. You couldn't have at least dropped me a 'Hey Hidan, tell Pein to kill me for defecting 'cause I'm out of here'?" Kakuzu couldn't think of any way to respond to Hidan that would appease him. "You're unreal, seriously." Then they were both quiet for a good minute or two.
"I'm not letting you out of my sight again." Hidan finally disturbed the calm.
"I have no reason to remain your partner. It won't benefit me in any way."
"I don't give a shit." Hidan snapped. "You owe me. You'll use your threads to stitch me up as many times as I want, and if you refuse, I'll slaughter you." It was an empty threat for the most part. He'd fight the man but not kill him.
"You still have such a subtly persuasive way with words."
"I'll take that as an agreement."
Kakuzu's silence spoke for him. He didn't move; rather, he just stood in place, staring at Hidan distantly as though he were just a troublesome chore. He was far from pleased with the turn of events but not enough to put up much of a fight. After a while of staring at each other awkwardly, Kakuzu asked, "Why are you so persistent?"
"Because your threads are useful." And that was that, though there was more; the same loneliness that might have suited Kakuzu for long periods of time bored Hidan to near insanity. But he didn't mention wanting a companion just for the sake of being with. That could be construed as weakness.
Kakuzu noticed that Hidan's hair had grown out. It was a mess of grey that fell just below his shoulders, and he could tell that he'd cut it himself and done an awful job of it. His pale limbs were splattered with blood in no conceivably sensible pattern. One or two wounds still sat open on his skin, and the blood bubbling out of them glistened in the sunlight. Other than his prized rosary, he was wearing nothing but a pair of tattered black pants and typical shinobi-grade sandals. His violet eyes were just as strikingly vibrant as ever.
A/N: whoa, I finished a second chapter of a fic? Although the chapters are pretty short. But still, first time I actually continued something.
