Author's note: I never intended on continuing Lucky, but because I'm bored and have nothing better do at the moment I decided to make it a collection of drabbles. Not proofread, forgive me.
"It's all right letting yourself go, as long as you can get yourself back." Mick Jagger
The train. It was a quick mode of transportation, and in the long run probably one of the least expensive. This way they would arrive at their destination faster, he wouldn't have to pay for any inn rooms or provisions, and most importantly he wouldn't have to hear Hidan complain. He wouldn't have to hear how much the immortal's feet hurt, or how the temperature was too hot or cold, or the dreaded "Are we there yet?". Kakuzu rolled his eyes at the very thought.
Hidan was truly an insufferable man at times with his incessant talking. However, it did have its advantages. The other passengers traveling with them had given the two Akatsuki members a very wide girth, Kakuzu didn't mind in the least. At first he couldn't help but feel as though he were in a fishbowl, with the other commuters staring as Hidan rattled off on whatever seemed too come to mind. Eventually, however the immortal simmered down without Kakuzu having to threaten him too much, but Hidan continued to grouse quietly. That was the thing with Hidan, you could tell him to shut up all you liked, but he had to decide to comply by himself.
Time tricked by slowly and Kakuzu waited, already knowing and anticipating what would happen. Gradually, Hidan's voice became subdued altogether, dried up like a puddle in the summer heat. As the immortal quieted, the sun started to dip below the horizon, its fiery head drowning beneath the peaking mountains. The train chugged on, its rocking movements lulled the crowd it carried, and the passengers began to nod off one by one.
Kakuzu would not allow himself to doze off so easily. He busied himself with reading a newspaper, all the while watching Hidan out of the corner of his eye. The immortal's head bob slightly, trying to keep himself awake. Kakuzu said nothing and went back to reading. Moron, Hidan didn't have the determination to stay awake, he was too used to the luxury of sleep. Now Kakuzu, who had denied himself so many comforts throughout his life, found it easy to refuse himself another. He alone stayed alert.
The train pushed on. Its whistle breathing a strange hollow melody that disturbed no one from their slumber, instead the sound wrapped its passengers in a secluded plane. The world passed by the windows, but did not touch them. People rest close to one another, but do not share the same dreams. They were all separate entities and for a moment Kakuzu was by himself. There was no one except for himself and the newspaper he held in his hands. His mind thought of no one but himself, and he was content with his selfish bubble. Just like it had been before.
Suddenly, a heavy warm weight was pressed into his side; it instantly broke Kakuzu's illusion of perfect isolation. He looked down, only to see a silvery haired head rest on his shoulder. His inverted eyes narrowed and beneath the cloth of his mask a scowl grew along his lips. Kakuzu shifted uncomfortably, wanting to shove the sleeping Hidan off him. He wanted to slam the idiot's head hard up against the window with all his might. He almost did too.
However, Kakuzu restrained himself. Knowing all too well in advance what would happen. Hidan would throw a fit, a loud and annoying fit that would wake everyone in the vicinity. He wouldn't hear the end of it. The immortal would bicker and curse, fighting tooth and nail until Kakuzu showed some sign of resentment or pain, then and only then would Hidan stop. He wouldn't stop until he won. So begrudgingly, Kakuzu stopped his fidgeting and sat perfectly still, becoming a pillow and seethed quietly to himself.
Only Hidan could do this to him.
Anyone else would be dead.
If any of his previous partners had tried this stunt, accidentally or otherwise, he would have murdered them on the spot. Without a second thought, the offender would have been reduced to the oozing broken pile on the ground. Anyone else, but not Hidan. Never Hidan. It was the fool's immortality that got in the way, so Kakuzu didn't even try anymore. He gave up trying to slaughter his newest partner in cold blood, there was no point. Because of his inability to die, Hidan had started to worm his way into Kakuzu's life.
No longer was it just Kakuzu, no another name had become associated with his. It was now Kakuzu and Hidan, The Immortals, The Zombie Twins, and how he loathed it. He'd become shackled to another and thus unable to remained his selfish self. Kakuzu had to think for two, had to make arrangements for two, and to care for two. He had to care now, and that's what truly irked him.
Hidan had spread like a parasite, like a virus throughout Kakuzu's mind. He actually thought about what the immortal wanted, sometimes frighteningly enough heeding Hidan's complaints and acting upon them. He had started to care what the immortal said, thought, and even felt. Kakuzu thought in advance as well, thinking a step ahead to keep the immortal content. Here he was now, making himself a comfortable cushion for Hidan to rest on for the immortal's sake as well as the other passengers. Not for himself, but for other's, for Hidan.
Kakuzu was losing himself, he was letting go. Slowly but surely it was happening, and he wasn't certain anymore if he could get himself back.