There was a silence between the two Akatsuki members as they began traveling once more. Every now and then Hidan would open his mouth to complain about his feet hurting or how the sun hurt his eyes, but that was about it. However, as the day turned to night Hidan's complaints began to become louder and louder. He began complaining about how he was becoming tired and that he wanted to stop so he could read his 'great book of Jashin.' Kakuzu just sighed and tried to ignore him. They were getting close to Takigakure, and even though Kakuzu didn't exactly feel comfortable going around that specific area, he still wanted to hurry up and get there so they could fulfill their mission. Their mission was to track down a group of kunoichi who had been causing the Akatsuki some trouble. Kakuzu had agreed to partake in this mission only because the head kunoichi had a pretty big bounty on her head, and he wasn't going to miss a chance to get some more money. Still, returning to his old home land made Kakuzu feel a little uneasy. Returning after hundreds of years was one thing, but he also had to worry about tracker ninjas hunting him down, if they still remembered him that is.
Kakuzu looked up toward the sky, his vision of the sun was blurred by the trees that surround him and his partner. Still, he could tell by the orange colour of the sky that the sun was setting, he could already see the stars trying to fill the sky. He had to admit, he was feeling quiet tired himself, having not eaten anything for awhile and traveling all day non stop usually had a negative affect on someone's body. Kakuzu finally decided it was time to stop when Hidan and him came across an old shack that was sitting in the forest. It looked filthy, worn down, and probably about as old as Kakuzu himself, but it would have to do. Kakuzu noticed Hidan grimace as he placed his hand on the door's handle and pushed it open with a loud creak. The shack's horrible stench came rushing out at the moment, hitting both Hidan and Kakuzu square in their faces. Hidan quickly grabbed his nose, he leaned over and began to make gagging noises as if he was going to throw up. The shack smelled like it had a corpse that had been rotting in it for years, which Kakuzu didn't think was impossible considering it was abandoned. Kakuzu peered inside, less affected by the smell because of his mask, he noticed a bed and even a small kitchen inside. He turned back to Hidan and motion for him that it was safe to come inside, but Hidan just shook his head.
"If you fucking think I'm going in that disgusting thing, forget it! Jashin only knows what's crawling around in there! There could fucking be spiders, rats, snakes, or even lice! I'm not risking ruining my fucking hair!"
Kakuzu closed his eyes, he was already becoming irritated. "It's either here or the woods, Hidan. You decide."
Hidan crossed his arms and frowned. It looked more like a pout than a frown, and Kakuzu was starting to find it funny to see someone as old as Hidan acting like a five year old. The Jashinist looked back at the shack, peering pass Kakuzu and inside. He studied the inside for a moment, trying to decide whether it was safer in the shack or outside. He frowned again, a small look on defeat on his face.
"Fine..." Hidan finally said, grimacing slightly, "We'll sleep in the fucking shack."
With that Kakuzu turned around and began walking into the shack, Hidan following behind him with caution. If only Hidan used this kind of caution when they were fighting then maybe he wouldn't be having his head cut off as much. Kakuzu walked over to the bed, he dusted it off before sitting down and began to rummage through the drawers of the night stand next to it. He frowned when he wasn't able to find any money.
Hidan stood in the middle of the room obseving the inside of the shack with a disgusted look on his face. Kakuzu watched as the Jashinist began heading over to the fridge that was in the small kitchen Kakuzu had saw before entering. The preacher placed his hand on the handle and gave a hard tug. The door swung open roughly, letting out a sharp squeak from the rusty hinges. Hidan bent down to search the inside of the fridge, but quickly back away with a disturbed and disgusted look on his face. Kakuzu wasn't sure what the preacher had seen, but whatever it was had Hidan closing the door so he wouldn't make the mistake of looking back in it later by accident. Kakuzu smiled slightly at Hidan's stupidity, it was obvious there wasn't going to be anything pleasant in the fridge considering the shack no longer had electricity. Still, Kakuzu had to give Hidan some points for trying. He turned to look back down at the sandals which were still on is feet, he was trying to decide whether it was safe enough to take them off or not. He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts, however, when he felt a shift of weight on the bed. He turned to see Hidan sitting on the other side of the bed, positioning himself so his back was leaning against the wall as he pulled his bible out from the inside of his cloak.
"What do you think you're doing?" Kakuzu asked, raising a brow.
Hidan looked over at him confused, "I'm reading the great book of Jashin. You know I always read before I go to bed."
"That's not what I mean." Kakuzu frowned, "I mean what are you doing on the bed?"
Hidan looked surpised, then confused once more, "I'm getting ready to go to sleep, what do you think I'm doing?"
"Not here." Kakuzu shook his head, then pointed to the floor. "You're sleeping on the floor, so get up."
Hidan's jaw dropped, "You can't fucking be serious! You fucking want me to sleep down there?!"
Kakuzu just nodded and pointed at the floor once more, "I'm not sharing a bed with you. God only knows what you do in your sleep, so get up."
"You asshole!" Hidan yelled louder then necessary, considering his partner was right next to him. "No! If you don't want to share a fucking bed with me then you can sleep on the fucking floor and have rats crawl up your stinkin' ass!"
Kakuzu glared over at his partner in anger, "Hidan, I'm stronger than you. Don't make me fight you for this."
Hidan crossed his arms and glared back, "Fuck you, Kakuzu! I'm tired of you fatass telling me what to do just because you're bigger than me! I'm not sleeping on the fucking floor, and that's final!"
Suddenly Kakuzu reached over and gave Hidan a hard shove, causing him to fall directly onto the floor. Hidan let out a small yelp in pain as he landed on a mixture of his head and shoulder. He quickly position himself to get back up, but was quickly knocked back down when Kakuzu chucked his bible right in his face. Hidan began rubbing his nose, he let out a loud whine as his bible landed in his lap. Hidan quit rubbing his nose to glare up at Kakuzu who was now making himself comfortable on the bed, he threw the blanket over his shoulder and turned his back to Hidan before issuing a quiet 'good night.' Hidan just flipped him off, he grumbled to himself as he opened his bible to begin reading.
Silence swept over the small shack, causing Kakuzu to feel uncomfortable. He laid there, thinking to himself, slowly realizing that he was unable to sleep. He tossed around a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position, but it was useless. Finally he turned to look at Hidan to see if the sliver haired preacher was still reading his stupid bible. He was surprised to see Hidan staring at him from the corner of his eye, looking as if he was thinking about something. Hidan eyes suddenly widened when he realized Kakuzu was staring back at him. He quickly turned his head back to his bible and acted as if he had been reading the entire time. Kakuzu wondered what the preacher was doing, but just shook it off and closed his eyes once more to try to go to sleep. His efforts were once again proven pointless, so he decided to crack his eyes open slightly to see what the Jashinist was doing. Once again he was greeted by Hidan's eyes staring at him, now it was starting to irritate him. Hidan realized that he had been caught once more and tried to turn his head back to his bible to act as if he wasn't doing anything, but Kakuzu was to quick for him.
"What are you doing?" Kakuzu asked, his voice sounded soft and slightly irritated.
Hidan looked back at him surprised and nervous, "W-what do you mean? I'm reading..." Hidan looked back toward his bible as if it had been the only thing he had been staring at for the past 45 minutes. He then looked back at Kakuzu, trying his best to look confused. "Why?"
Kakuzu shook his head. "No you haven't..." He said calmly, ignoring the preacher's question. "I'm not stupid. I saw you looking at me."
The nervous look appeared on the Jashinist's face once more. He gulped as he looked over at Kakuzu with wide eyes. For once in his life he was speechless, he knew he couldn't say anything to cover his actions up. Silence once again filled the air between them.
"Why?" Kakuzu finally said, breaking the slience, "Are you still pissed about having to sleep on the floor?"
Hidan rolled his eyes, "Well, yeah! Of course I am! Seriously, you're a fucking prick!" Hidan crossed his arms and glared over at his partner. He suddenly frowned and turned away, his voice growing soft. "But that's not why I was staring..."
Slience began to grow between them once more."Then why?" Kakuzu asked again after a while.
Hidan frowned more, "I was just reading something in the great book of Jashin that reminded me of you, that's all."
Kakuzu stared at Hidan sliently for a moment, "What was it?" He asked, his voice was still soft and calm.
Hidan turned his head away more, trying not to make any eye contact. "It was just something about a greedy heathen who has no faith in Jashin... And a girl..." A sort of sadness began to form in his voice. "Who tries to help him find faith... Because she doesn't want him to go to hell... Because... Because she loves him... That's all."
Kakuzu wasn't a fool, and despite how hard Hidan was trying to hide it, he could figure out that the story related to him in more ways than the main character being a greedy bastard. He couldn't tell if Hidan had realized that he had picked up on the confession which the Jashinist had tried to hide within the story. Kakuzu laid in the bed, staring at the back of Hidan's head because he refused to turn around in fear of making eye contact. Hidan couldn't possibly have a crush on him... Could he? How can anyone have a crush on someone as cold and merciless as Kakuzu? It wasn't like he had looks to back up his repulsive personality. Kakuzu had always saw him and Hidan as complete opposites, both in looks and personality. Kakuzu just couldn't understand how someone like Hidan, a handsome saint, could like a money hungry pile of threads like himself.
A few minutes passed by and Hidan tried to turn around to face Kakuzu, but quickly turned back around when he notice Kakuzu staring. Kakuzu frowned, he had never expected to see Hidan so shy and vulnerable. Hidan was always so bold, never afraid to tell someone what he thought of them, acting as if nothing could slow him down. Yet here he was, to nervous to even look Kakuzu in the eyes. Kakuzu wondered how long it had been since the sliver haired Jashinist had started to have theses feelings toward him. Finally Kakuzu once again decided to break the silence, he decided it was best not to let Hidan know he had picked up on the meaning behind the story.
"What about the girl?" he asked softly, "What do you think about her feelings toward this faithless heathen?"
Hidan rolled his eyes once more before crossing his arms closer to his chest, "Tch, I think she's a fucking fool! If the bastard's anything like you than he will never see the light of Jashin and convert! He'll go to hell, and she'll be left all alone. She's a fucking fool to love someone like that... He'd never return her feelings... She should just give up..."
Hidan suddenly fell silent once more. He still had his arms crossed and his head was slanted downwards and away from Kakuzu. Kakuzu frowned beneath his mask. He didn't like seeing Hidan like this, being so quiet didn't suit him at all. As much as he hated saying it, he missed it when Hidan would smile and just rant on about his stupid religion. It hurt him to see Hidan acting so timid and scared, scared that Kakuzu was going to realize his feelings for him and reject him with violent cursing.
"Hidan..." Kakuzu finally said, his voice was softer than normal. He wasn't sure if the preacher heard him at first, but then he saw Hidan nod just slightly. He took a deep breath before finishing. "Get in this bed..."
Hidan suddenly turned around to face Kakuzu. He had a look of sadness and confusion on his face that made Kakuzu feel a sinking feeling in one of his hearts. He was certain that he could almost see tears welling up in the corners of the preacher's violet eyes. Compassion was never one of Kakuzu's strong points, and he could tell by the way Hidan hesitated that he didn't exactly trust Kakuzu at this moment. Kakuzu could tell by the unsure look on his face that Hidan was trying to decide whether or not Kakuzu was trying to trick him. Hidan looked down at his bible for a moment before looking back up at Kakuzu with the same look of uncertainty on his face.
"A-Are you su-"
"Yes." Kakuzu said, interrupting Hidan before he could finish. "Now hurry up... Before I change my mind."
Kakuzu then turned over to the other side of the bed to make room for Hidan, his back now to the preacher. He wasn't sure if Hidan was actually going to accept his offer, then suddenly he felt a shift a weight on the bed just like before. He could feel the sheets being ruffled around as the preacher tried to make himself comfortable under the blanket, bumping against Kakuzu a few times before settling down. Suddenly the movement stopped and silence filled the room once more. Kakuzu laid there for a moment, his eyes open and staring at the filthy wall of the shack. He slowly began to close his eyes, finding it easier to sleep now for some odd reason. Suddenly he heard a soft whisper, almost like a prayer, from behind him.
"Thanks..."
Kakuzu finally closed his eyes. For some reason, Kakuzu had found the old, rusty bed the best bed he had ever slept in.
---
A/n: I don't know about anyone else, but I like the idea of self-conscious Kakuzu...
Yeah, I just thought I should mention that this fic has no sex in it... Even though they're sleeping in the same bed.
It's more of a romantic story, or perhaps fluff... I'm not really to sure what to call it.
I would like to apologize again for my spelling. I check over it every time, but I know there are those few mistakes that always seem to slip past me.
Oh, and thanks again for the reviews. You have no idea how much they mean to me!
