A/N: I didn't know all the facts concerning how long it takes to walk from Hidden Rain to Fire Country, and other things to do with the Nara clan's land and such. Don't worry too much about those kinds of details. We're off to see the banshee! Yay! Review, please!
To Hell and Back
-xXx-
Chapter 3: Soul Mate
It was only a three day walk from Hidden Rain to Konoha, and since he was keeping to a major road, Kakuzu hadn't bothered to pack food. Konan had slipped money in the pockets of his cloak, and that would surely get him to his destination. Coins clinked merrily in his pockets, and Kakuzu planned on saving that money for when he really needed it. As long as the weather stayed fair, he could sleep outside.
Kakuzu didn't mind rain, but the two years he'd spent partnered with Hidan had instilled a necessity to stay indoors during a storm. Hidan hated rain, and the only way to stop his complaining was to relent and pay up at an inn, usually one room, and one bed. Kakuzu would sleep on a chair or the floor. Back then, he had four masks on his back, and lying on it was uncomfortable in any case. A squishy bed made no difference.
It felt surreal to be dead, yet able to experience life. He wasn't a ghost wandering the Earth, doomed to a sad, unseen existence. Nor was he a zombie, rotting, a grotesque monster shunned from the world.
There was a certain uplifting feeling in Kakuzu's heart. Compared to Hell, Earth was Paradise. He would give his soul in order to be able to walk upon it forever. And before he'd died, he thought that he had done just that. The weather, for the first few days, agreed with his pleasant demeanor. The sky was an endless blue, the clouds like torn bits of cotton. The air was warm, the scent of flowers carried on the breeze.
Why was Kakuzu in such a hurry to go back to Hell? He knew he was supposed to kill Hidan and bring his soul back with him. But he no longer understood exactly why. The locket tucked under his shirt hummed every once in a while to remind him of his 'mission,' but it never gave any real answers.
Kakuzu rested little. He was full of energy and it felt good to just walk. It wasn't until he'd passed into Fire Country, on the night of his second day that the weather took a turn for the worse. Those light, fluffy clouds grew dark and dreary. The wind gusted, whistling and howling. Kakuzu was in open fields now, and when the rain came down in torrents, he sought shelter in a farmer's barn.
He sat down on the straw, taking in the scent of manure and oats and listening to the rain pummel the barn roof. A cow mooed. The smell of farm animals wasn't unpleasant to a man who'd faced the putrid breath of a man eating beast. Kakuzu toyed with the locket hanging from the chain while waiting for the storm to pass. The gold was peculiar. It seemed to glow, even in the near dark of the barn. It was always warm, almost alive.
Kakuzu knew a thing or two about gold, having lusted after it for years. This was not Earth gold. And he doubted Hell could create something so beautiful. He hung the locket by its chain and watched it sway gently back and forth like a pendulum. His green eyes followed the locket, mesmerized by it. Kakuzu licked his lips. The missing Falls nin's heart began to beat in time to the swinging locket.
An abrupt neigh of a horse snapped Kakuzu back to his senses. He slipped the locket back under his shirt. The rain had stopped. He could hear birds chirping. Kakuzu stepped out of the barn, plucking hay off of his cloak, and smelled rain still heavy in the air. A beam of sunlight shot through a break in the clouds. Mist covered the rolling grasslands. A rainbow arched in the sky.
'Paradise.'
Kakuzu inhaled the rain perfumed air, and decided to do more walking. He was close to the Fire Temple now. The sky cleared by the time night had properly set in. Stars shimmered in the vastness of space, black velvet studded with diamonds. The missing Falls nin sighed heavily, and left the path to hike through the long wet grass. He ran his fingers over the tips. Kakuzu climbed a gently sloping hill where the grass was shorter, and lay on his back, staring up at the stars.
Why had he never done this in life?
Kakuzu let his eyelids droop and dozed. A firefly landed on his nose, and Kakuzu brushed it away, sitting back up and stretching. A thick fog had set in. Crickets chirped. The mournful hoot of an owl echoed across the plain. Kakuzu got back on the path and continued his walk.
He walked all night, until the first light of the sun climbed over the fog, clearing it away. Kakuzu found an apple tree along the way, and picked a few. He bit into one. The juice ran down his chin and he wiped it off. Fresh apples, free shower, a beautiful view. It was just too good to be true. Kakuzu felt euphoric. After four days on Earth, it still hadn't worn off.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Kakuzu approached the Fire Temple. He had no reason to go in; it just provided a good starting point for tracking down Hidan.
An eight year old trail was near impossible for even the most skilled ninja, but somehow, Kakuzu was confident that he would be able to find Hidan's body. The locket was the key. He wasn't sure how he knew that, but he'd learned to follow his gut feeling.
Sure enough, the gold locket hummed, vibrating against his chest. Kakuzu pulled it out and held it tight in his palm as he began to walk towards the temple. He could almost see Hidan beside him, could hear himself tell Hidan to watch himself, or he'd be killed. And Hidan's response. Smarmy. Conceited. So full of himself. It brought a smile to Kakuzu's lips.
"Hidan…where are you?" Kakuzu asked the empty courtyard before the temple.
He felt a faint pull to his left, and started heading that way. The locket vibrated faster and heated up as he got further into Fire Country. After an hour, Kakuzu began to feel weak. The locket got hotter and hotter, and Kakuzu was convinced it was draining him of his chakra in order to do its magic.
Kakuzu stopped to rest by an old well. He ate another apple stowed in his pocket. The sun was over the half way mark in the sky. It would get dark soon. And still no physical trace of Hidan. Kakuzu rested against the well and dozed again, the gold locket still clasped tightly in his hand. As he drifted to sleep, his hand loosened, and the gold locket hung outside of his shirt, gleaming in the shade cast by long shadows from neighboring trees.
"Oooh, isn't that pretty?" a little girl asked.
Kakuzu startled awake. Three kids were goggling him, the girl's fingers inches away from touching his gold locket. It was vibrating so fast it emitted a low squeal. Kakuzu jumped to his feet and quickly shoved the locket under his shirt.
"Don't touch it, it's dangerous!" Kakuzu snapped. The girl's lip began to tremble.
"Awww, see what you've done?" the smallest of the kids, the boy, cried.
"When Muka starts crying, she goes on for ever!"
"Kid, with people like that, the only thing you can do is sew their lips shut," Kakuzu growled.
"Chouji, quiet! Don't make him mad!" the other girl said. The two girls looked identical, the same brown hair, pulled into pig tails. The boy, also with brown hair, had it pulled up on top of his head. He looked familiar.
"Do you live around here?" Kakuzu asked.
"Yeah, this is Nara clan territory. And you're trespassing!" the boy named Chouji cried.
He ran up to Kakuzu and kicked him in the shin. In his sore leg. Kakuzu hissed in pain and pulled the boy up by his hair.
"Try that again, brat," Kakuzu snarled into the kid's face.
"Let him go!" the girls cried in unison.
Kakuzu stared at the boy's face. The kid stared right back, determined. The old missing Falls nin felt his anger subside, and dropped the boy to the ground.
"Chouji, are you okay?"
"You better watch it; my dad is the great Shikamaru!" Chouji yelled defiantly.
Kakuzu felt a small jolt at that pronouncement. Shikamaru…that rang a bell.
"Chooouji!" one of the twin girls pleaded, pulling on Chouji's arm.
"What makes this…Shikamaru…so great?" Kakuzu asked slowly.
Chouji puffed out his chest, smirking.
"Well, he's only the greatest ninja of the Nara clan! He can kill you…with shadows…" Chouji explained, dropping his voice down low and twiddling his fingers.
The two girls clutched each other in fear. Kakuzu nodded. Shadows. This was it. He was close now.
"If you think that's scary, you should go to the haunted forest," Chouji went on, misinterpreting Kakuzu's widening eyes for fear.
"Haunted forest?" Kakuzu repeated.
"Yeah, a banshee lives in a pit deep in the woods. Not even the deer will go near it."
"Can you show me where that is?" Kakuzu asked.
"Only if you be nice, and give Muka your necklace."
Kakuzu pulled the locket out of his shirt.
"I would if I could, but it's dangerous, kid. How about…" Kakuzu rummaged in his pockets, "an apple?"
"What, an apple? That's cheap!" Chouji complained.
"Do we each get our own?" one of the twins asked.
"No, but we can all share."
"WHAT?" the kids all whined.
"Spoiled Konoha brats," Kakuzu growled. He held the apple by the stem, and slid a single thread out, quickly dicing the apple into four pieces. He caught them and handed them to the kids, keeping one for himself.
"WHOA," all three kids gasped, eyes wide.
"Hey, your piece is bigger than mine, Muka!"
"No it's not, Hotaru, they're all the same!"
"Will you show me the haunted forest now?" Kakuzu asked amidst the bickering of the twin girls.
"Y-yeah…" Chouji replied faintly. He gaped at his apple piece, shoved it in his mouth, and while noisily chewing, he tugged on Kakuzu's sleeve.
"This way," Chouji said thickly, munching on his fruit.
"Don't talk with your mouth full!"
"Shut up, Hotaru!"
-X-
Shikamaru's son led Kakuzu by the arm the entire way, keeping a tight hold on his sleeve. The girls fell silent as they delved deeper into the forest. They kept to a path for a while until they passed by a dead tree ensnared in hundreds of leafy vines. Kakuzu half expected them to move. They didn't.
"Okay, now we get off the path, and follow the ants," Chouji whispered, pointing to the leaf covered floor.
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. It was dark in the dense forest, and at first, all he could see were dark grays and browns. Then, he saw movement. Tiny black bodies, a few shades darker than the ground cover, marched along in a line, carrying bits of green leaves on their backs.
"They live near the banshee's pit. Don't let them get on you, though, they bite."
Kakuzu let the boy keep an eye out for the ants. There was a rustle and a yelp. Chouji halted and Kakuzu bumped into him.
"Mukade, you're such a klutz!" he shouted.
"Ssssh! Don't let the banshee hear you!" the other girl hissed, helping Mukade to her feet.
"Have you ever heard this banshee?" Kakuzu asked, curious.
"Once. I was looking for a fawn that got injured. I got too close…and…and I heard it."
"What did it say?"
"Well, most of it was just…screaming. But I think I heard it say…"
"Yes?" Kakuzu urged. Chouji stopped walking and looked up into Kakuzu's face, the child's eyes huge.
"Fucking heathens."
Hidan.
"Oh my God, Chouji, I'm telling!"
"Me too!"
"Quiet, or I'll leave you two out here!" Chouji snapped and started walking again.
Kakuzu's heart sped up, the locket humming again, drawing him towards his Soul Mate, his Anchor to the world. It was so dark he could hardly see his own feet, let alone tiny ants on the forest floor, but the kids didn't seem to mind the dark. The girls were holding hands, one of them grabbing hold of the back of Kakuzu's cloak.
They approached a large tree, much bigger than the one Zetsu had taken residence in. The trunk was as wide as a house, its branches thick as the body of a grown man. There, the kids stopped, gawking at something beyond the tree. Chouji pointed.
"There. Past the ant tree…dad won't let us go there. Traps…and…the banshee beyond that."
Kakuzu started to walk, and felt a tug on his cloak. He looked down to see the twin girls staring tearfully up at him.
"Are you really going to go see the monster?"
"Yeah. Now go run home, and don't tell your dad about me."
"Why not?"
"Because, I'll kill you," Kakuzu stated coldly.
The three kids fell silent.
"Go home. Now."
Threads eased out of Kakuzu's arms and the kids turned and ran. Kakuzu knew it would have been better to just kill them, but he didn't need the dad to come looking for his kids when they didn't show up for the night.
Alone, Kakuzu plodded on. He listened intently for any screaming and was disappointed. The trees thinned out and moonlight pooled onto the forest floor, providing just enough light. The locket started to hum again, glowing in Kakuzu's hand.
"Show me where he is," Kakuzu whispered.
Kakuzu plowed on forward. He kicked up leaves, seeing what could have been traces of exploding tags. What had happened to Hidan when he fought the kid from the Nara clan? String hung down like spider thread from the branches nearby. More evidence to take into consideration. Kakuzu kept walking, and then stepped into a hole and fell. He flung his arms out, grabbing onto roots, his threads snaking out to wrap around a tree trunk. Kakuzu pulled himself up and panted, his heart thudding in his chest.
Then Kakuzu froze.
"Ffuuuuuuuck!"
"Hidan?!"
"Cuuursed be your clan. Fucking…heathens…AAAAAARGH!"
"Hidan! Shut the hell up and I'll get you out of there!" Kakuzu snarled.
Hidan's voice had always irritated him, even after not hearing it for so long.
"Heathens," Hidan moaned again.
Kakuzu rolled his eyes and secured some of his tendrils around the tree trunk again, lowering himself slowly down the deep trench. Once he got to the bottom, He squinted around. The only light came from the locket, which glowed bright as a candle flame. Hidan's head lay close to Kakuzu's feet. His face was smeared with dirt, the light hair dull and gray.
"Hidan."
"Death and misery to your family…rot in hell, bastard…"
"Hidan, snap the hell out of it!" Kakuzu growled, picking up the priest's head.
"AAAAARGH," Hidan howled as if Kakuzu had hurt him.
"I know you've been down in this hole for eight years, but if you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to sew it shut."
Hidan opened his eyes. They were bloodshot, rolling into the back of his head.
"Ffffuck you!" he croaked.
Kakuzu had never seen Hidan in such a pitiful state. Beheaded, yes, broken bones, heavy blood loss, severed limbs. But never split into so many pieces of meat, covered in filth, half mad from his earthy prison. And that's what it was. A prison fit for an immortal.
Rage rose like bile in Kakuzu's throat. He should have murdered those brats.
"Kah…Kakuzuuuu," Hidan groaned.
"Yeah. Hold on, I'll put you back together," Kakuzu murmured, threads snaking out of his sleeves. It took a long time to find all the pieces. Some were so small or disfigured he couldn't figure out what they even were. It was tedious work, piecing Hidan together, like a surgeon's version of a puzzle.
It never crossed his mind that it might have been kinder to just pour the Hell water down Hidan's throat while he was still half delirious.
A sense of duty took over Kakuzu's thoughts, and he worked hard, until Hidan resembled a grotesque rag doll. Hopefully, his rapid healing powers would kick in soon and fill in the gaps.
Hidan had gone quiet while Kakuzu stitched him together, and Kakuzu wondered if he'd finally died, whatever grace granted to him finally losing its power. But Hidan opened his eyes and moaned. He flexed his fingers and glanced up into Kakuzu's face with pleading eyes.
"K-Kuzuuu."
"Yeah, it's me," Kakuzu said.
Hidan stared around wildly, the whites of his eyes gleaming in the semi-darkness.
"Wh-what…"
"For once in your life, Hidan, shut up. Let your body heal for a while."
Hidan managed to cling to Kakuzu's cloak, resting his head in the old nin's lap. Kakuzu tried to push Hidan off of him but he only clutched tighter. Kakuzu stared into Hidan's face as he struggled to breathe. The locket hung down, brushing against the tip of the priest's nose every so often. Every time it made contact, it let out a soft, high pitched hum.
While he gazed into that starved face cast in golden light, Kakuzu contemplated his objectives. Now that he had found Hidan, he didn't want to kill him. Hidan was his Anchor to this world, after all. His link to Paradise.
His Soul Mate.