The sun was setting fast. Shades of orange mixed and painted the horizon as the red sun began leaving the hemisphere. Kakuzu had to hurry. He wouldn't be able work right without daylight. The hours of digging had peeled away the skin on his hands. Grime and dirt packed deep into his open flesh, opening a door for infection, but Kakuzu refused to give up. God, he was so tired. His veins felt like they had turned to led and his muscles cramped, clenching so tight that Kakuzu had to bare his teeth together to prevent a cry of pain from escaping his lips. A dull ache settled in his tense jaw and a sweat dried on his dirty face.

He weakly wiped the dirt away with trembling hands. He could no longer claw at the dirt; his fingers locked up painfully, refusing to move fluently. He felt so defeated. Kakuzu felt like crying, but couldnt. He never cried, and even if he wanted to, he was too dehydrated. He had even stopped sweating at some point. Now he was getting severe vertigo spells. On top of all that, he hadn't heard a call from Hidan in hours. Did he die? No that couldn't be it.. could it?

Just when Kakuzu was ready to abandon all hope, his hand brushed some material. It felt sleek, so it couldn't be a rock. After wiping the dirt away, he saw that it was a lock of silver hair. A new refined will powered him to dig. Despite the exhaustion, despite the pain, despite the blood that ran fresh on the earth as the dirt tore at the raw inner flesh beneath the surface of now shredded skin, he dug on. And finally, he had unearthed Hidan's head.

Relief washed over him, but it was short lived. Hidan was unconscious and, upon further digging, Kakuzu saw that his head had been severed from the rest of his body. Hidan's body had been torn apart and scattered, like a dismembered ragdoll. Kakuzu caressed Hidan's head, tryin to wipe away some of the dirt and blood that painted his face. The priests lips were a light shade of blue, dark circles shadowed his closed eyes, and he was even paler than usual.

Something in Kakuzu's chest tightened. Seeing his partner like this pained him. The miser climbed out of the depression in the earth and gently placed Hidan's head on a patch of grass. The priests' eyelids fluttered open. The once striking magenta orbs of persistent light were now dulled with exhaustion and confusion. "Kakuzu..?" he whispered, squinting as his eyes tried to adapt to the sudden intake of light. Kakuzu grazed Hidan's jawline with his fingers. "Yeah its me. Hidan, where is the rest of your body?" Exhaustion glazed the masochists eyes. "Um, I think its all down there..somewhere..." and then his eyes fell shut once more. Kakuzu's fists clenched and unclenched. "Just hang on." he said before jumping back into the crater.

When his feet hi the ground, his legs gave way. He fumbled to his knees and slammed his hands down to prevent falling face first into the dirt. Kakuzu let out an unintended cry of pain as a fresh shockwave of searing pain exploded in his raw hands. His teeth were clenched so tight, Kakuzu wouldn't be surprised if his teeth cracked under the pressure. He looked up to the sky. Daylight was dieing fast. He had to move with haste. Inhaling a heavy gulp of air, he proceeded in his laborious task.