(Thank you who reviewed and those of you who have merely read what I have so far.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.

The silence between Kakuzu and Hidan continued for at least another five minutes. How were they going to possibly find anyone in the mess before them? There was honestly no way; they could wait until the festival - or whatever it was - was over and search then. Kakuzu actually considered doing just that until he noticed Hidan was already headed down toward the bustling village.

"Hidan!" Kakuzu whispered loudly, (funny contradiction). He then realized with slight embarrassment that no one could probably hear them; there was no need to whisper. The younger man turned his head back, an annoyed look on his face.

"What?" Hidan hissed. Kakuzu was surprised by the venom in his voice, but continued as if he didn't even notice.

"Wait; we don't even know where to start." Kakuzu caught up with his partner so he didn't have to speak so loud. Being paranoid only came with being a ninja - even after death. Hidan sighed and pulled a hand over his head.

"Kakuzu, no one can fucking see us." The silver haired man turned back around and began moving away from his taller partner. Kakuzu grabbed one of Hidan's arms and yanked him back. The brat was going to listen.

"Hidan, if we're going to do this right, we have to think about what our next move is. The last thing we need is to waste time." Kakuzu let go of Hidan's pale arm and waited for some reaction. There was sure to be a cussing coming his way - not that he was actually fazed by any of that.

Kakuzu, however, was fazed by the smile of Hidan's face. Why was he smiling? It wasn't even that crazy grin that one could see on his face when he was 'sacrificing' for lord Jashin. Kakuzu cocked an eyebrow as he continued to stare at the younger man. "Hidan, what are you smiling at?"

Hidan didn't say anything. He was just stood there smiling. Kakuzu looked around nervously. What the hell? "Hidan...you're trying my patience." What little patience Kakuzu had left, that is.

"Kakuzu," Hidan started, "fuck you." With that, Hidan successfully pulled Kakuzu off of the wall and spiraling toward the ground below. The little shit had caught him off guard! Kakuzu landed safely and whipped his head upwards toward Hidan, who was no where to be seen. What the..?

Kakuzu barely dodged a quick kick to his head - Hidan was actually attacking him? "Hidan, this is hardly the time or - "

"Shut the fuck up," Hidan howled as he landed on his feet. "I've been itching to fight! For Jashin's sake, I've been cooped up in a hole in pieces for who knows how the fuck long! C'mon, you know you wanna." Kakuzu was literally at a loss for words. The kid was serious. Kakuzu thought about the situation for a moment, only finding that he himself actually wanted nothing more than to beat something bloody. Hidan had no idea what he had gotten himself into.

"Alright," Kakuzu said with a smirk, "let's make this quick." Kakuzu almost couldn't believe he was actually complying with his crazy partner's request for a fight. It was ridiculous! As Hidan charged toward Kakuzu, however, Kakuzu couldn't help but tooblige.

Kakuzu blocked another kick to his face by crouching low to the ground. Hidan landed behind him and reared his arm back, readying himself to punch Kakuzu in the the back of the head before the older man could defend himself. Kakuzu, smirk still in place, quickly averted the younger man's fist by simply moving his head, he then grabbed his partner's fist. Hidan cursed under his breath as he was literally thrown back toward the massive wall they had just removed themselves from. Kakuzu wasn't even out of breath; probably because he wasn't moving around as muchas Hidan was. The kid had so much energy...a little too much as far as Kakuzu was concerned.

"Hey, hey, hey! That's not fair, fat ass! Throwing me like I'm nothing." Hidan pumped his fist in the air - Kakuzu was larger than him, and he didn't think it was fair that he took advantage of that. Ass hole...

Kakuzu didn't think the comment was so fitting, however. Fat ass? How dare the little shit. Kakuzu didn't even say anything back - he simply charged. Hidan grinned and readied himself for the on-coming attack.

"Ha! Charging like a bull? You're just proving my point!" Was Kakuzu an idiot? He was actually charging. HIdan easily dodged the larger man by jumping over him. The silver haired man's cat like reflexes allowed his body to catch itself with no problem. "Kakuzu, that was..."

Hidan's words were cut off by Kakuzu's arm meeting the young man's neck. Kakuzu allowed Hidan to fly into the ground with a loud thud. Damn that hurt..."Hidan, don't ever call me that again..." Kakuzu said as he stood over the coughing Hidan. Hidan grinned as blood ran through his teeth - a sight not so uncommon - and let out a cough before speaking.

"Fat. Ass."

Kakuzu kicked the younger man in the ribs as hard as he could. Little shit. Hidan balled up and - all the while laughing - hugged his hurting side. "K-Kakuzu! You should have seen the look on your face!" The laughing grew louder and Kakuzu couldn't help but crack a smile. Hopefully Hidan didn't see it.

"Get up." Kakuzu said lowly. They had their fun - even though it was extremely short - and now they could get back to what was 'important'. Kakuzu turned and started toward the village. After a few moments, he turned around. "Hidan, I swear if you don't get up…"

"Hey! If you'd wait a minute I could." The young man grunted as he stood, still holding his side. "You kick like a fucking mule, you know that?" Kakuzu sighed and turned back around. One question: why?

"Once we enter the village, we are only looking for the brat, understood?"

Hidan's response sounded distracted, "Uh huh." Kakuzu didn't really think anything of it, however, until a sharp intake of breath reached his ears. He turned and stared at Hidan until the younger shinobi looked back at him. "If you wouldn't have fuckin' kicked me so fuckin' hard, then maybe I wouldn't be so fuckin' slow!"

"You're actually injured?" For some reason the information surprised him. Usually an injury didn't really bother Hidan too bad. "I thought you enjoyed pain."

Hidan gave his partner a dry look. "..Don't even get me started." The pale man again began poking his side gently, ignoring Kakuzu. Great. Kakuzu's fat ass leg had broken his ribs. "But seriously, why'd you kick me so fuckin' hard? I mean, there was no point!"

Kakuzu snorted; the brat would heal up soon and stop complaining. At least that's how it worked out before.

The two had found themselves in a nice, dark alley way, staring into the bright crowd. Children were everywhere, people were moving constantly. It was a mess. Kakuzu looked back at Hidan, who had stopped his moaning, and noticed he had his eyes set on something. Kakuzu looked back at the crowd, then back to Hidan. "Do you see him?"

Hidan nodded. "Yeah, I see the little fucker." Hidan began walking into the street when something jumped in front of him. The two men literally yelped - very uncharacteristic of them - and waited to see who or what it was. It was a member of Konoha's Anbu…shit.

The man was looking down the alley way - right through Kakuzu and Hidan. He seemed satisfied with what he saw and disappeared. Hidan let out the breath he was holding and Kakuzu absently grabbed his chest. That was honestly scary.

"I'd kick his ass if I could…"

"But you can't." Kakuzu stood beside Hidan and peered into the crowd. "Where do you see him?" Hidan stepped out of the alley way and pointed at a figure with his back to the two former Akatsuki members. Sure enough, it was the brat. He had the same hair, pulled up high and that damned vest. It was him alright. How many people wore their hair like that?

Hidan grinned. "Now all we have to do is follow him."

Kakuzu nodded, just as much determination in his eyes as his partner. "And the sooner we do find that woman, the sooner we can get this over with."

The two headed into the street and noticed quickly that bumping into people was not a problem. They could just walk through them. Hidan found it entertaining - could he possess people like he had heard in stories? If he could, damn that would be fun! Kakuzu quickly noticed a change in behavior however and pulled his partner along. Hidan pouted and followed obediently. He'd try his theory later…

"Hidan, don't do anything stupid." Kakuzu warned as they grew closer and closer to their target. Hidan growled and shrugged off his partner's dark hand.

"Shut the hell up! I know, I know." Hidan looked up and grinned. "If I could only kill him…" He cut off as the figure turned around. The two dead ninja stared blankly at what they saw. It wasn't the brat..? What the hell?

The man standing before them was older than the brat - darker skin, maybe a little bit taller and the most noticeable thing about him was the huge scar that ran horizontally across his nose. This was not the brat.

Hidan was the first to speak. "Uh…what the fuck?" Kakuzu didn't say anything, but he was thinking the exact same thing.

"Iruka-sensei!" A loud and slightly familiar voice shouted from behind. All three men looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young blonde haired man dressed in orange. Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. It was the nine tails brat…

The man named Iruka smiled and greeted the kid back. Kakuzu and Hidan sighed in defeat and hung their heads low. They should have known it would not have been that easy to find the brat.

(Am I the only one who thinks Shikamaru and Iruka look alike? I'm just saying there's a little bit of resemblance there. Well, let me correct myself, when Shikamaru gets older he looks like Iruka. I dunno, I just thought it was funny.)