Authoress' Note: The chapters have been getting longer…… oO;
The lemon countdown is going… lemon coming up next chapter, I promise! Until then, the plot prevails XD

Chapter 4

Evil never sleeps, or so the saying goes. And tonight, rest would not come to the Jashinist as he lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. As tired as he was, as weak as he felt, he could not close his eyes, could not drift off. He felt too sick, too restless, and too painfully inquisitive.

In the next room behind him, Kakuzu slept, finally allowing himself rest after hours of running in and out, of figuring prices, of counting out their budget. A glass of unknown flavored juice sat at Hidan's bedside, which Kakuzu had set down before going to bed. It was lukewarm now, at a room temperature, and Hidan refused to drink it. Instead, he tossed and turned fitfully, trying so desperately just to rest. There were restless words in his head, edgy spasms in his joints, and a sickness through his whole body. Sleep, sleep, he needed some goddamn sleep…

"Kakuzu…" he moaned, curling up. He didn't know what was wrong with him, only that Kakuzu could possibly help. But no answer or assistance came. The miser seemed too fast asleep. Sitting up in his bed, Hidan felt his head spin for a minute before everything evened out, the world correcting itself.

Ah, how strangely idealistic of a world that would be; and how incredibly boring.

This, unfortunately, was as far as Hidan could get up, it seemed. His limbs felt too weak to move any further. Staying in that position of sitting up, Hidan looked out the window, at the sky, at the stars shining above. At anything besides the glass of juice at his bedside.

There were still the ghosting movements on his face, on his neck. The feeling of Kakuzu nurturing him in his frailty, taking advantage of his defenselessness. Fuck, Hidan hated that feeling. It made him feel like a child again, when his father was the only one taking care of him. Before the man had run away, and was killed for being a traitor, a coward. Because, as Hidan realized then, nurture and caring were fleeting. No human had enough capacity to trouble themselves for anything that long. And hell, Kakuzu didn't have the capacity to do it for THIS long. Why he had been proceeding with it, Hidan had no clue. But it gave him a bad feeling, deep in his gut; an instinct he'd had since the War. It made the rage in his mind boil over, unable to bear it any longer. It made the constant mutterings of his insanity turn into screaming fits.

His eyes were beginning to finally burn from being open, and his lack of sleep. He was feeling weak again. Letting out a small groan, he sank back down into his sheets, his back turned to that glass of juice, still staring at the stars from his pillow. Kakuzu was no help in this dilemma; Hidan didn't need him. And as long as he could tell himself that, everything would be fine.

"Did you think I put this glass here for nothing? Or were you simply being an idiot again?!"

Kakuzu was seething; it was a good emotion on the older man, better than concern. Hidan glared back confidently, hoping it would stay that way. The red and green eyes were aglow with rage as he dumped the even-more-unidentifiable juice, which had spoiled from being left out. Hidan tried to sit up in his bed to continue their argument, but immediately felt too nauseous. Instead, he leaned back casually as he spoke. "I didn't want any fucking juice! I hate juice! I didn't even know what the fuck kind of goddamned juice it was! If you didn't want it to go bad, you should have asked if I wanted it FIRST."

"I was giving it to you because you NEED it, not because you WANT it!" Opening the fridge, Kakuzu pulled something out, and then slammed the door shut again, rattling jars of food and condiments. He held a carton of the juice, pouring it out; orange juice, as the label read. Kakuzu poured another glass of it, putting it again at Hidan's bedside. Hidan gave it a look from the other side of the bed, as if it were a contagious, disease-ridden thing. Arms folded, Kakuzu glowered at him. "Drink it." He hissed, fitting as much spite as he could into the two syllables. A shiver actually ran through Hidan's spine, with the feeling that something terrible was going to happen if he did not pick up that glass.

With hesitance and caution, Hidan took the cup into his hand, sitting up. He lifted it with a trembling grip to his lips. An expectant silence filled the room, with a pressure blown entirely out of proportions, and evidently filled with misplaced confidence. The substance barely touched Hidan's tongue when he spat it back out on the bed sheets in disgust, sounding as if he were choking. Kakuzu's responding snarl of rage was ignored, or possibly completely unheard.

"What the fuck!" Hidan coughed, kneeling forward. "There's all this shit floating in it! What the fuck kind of orange juice did you give me?!"

"That's called 'fucking pulp', Hidan!" Kakuzu spat Hidan's expletives straight back at him while grabbing a towel to clean up the mess. "And this is called laundry bills! And THIS," he snarled, pointing at his silver-haired partner, "is called a stubborn ass of an anemic partner who can't fucking listen!"

"OH, FUCK YOU! DID I ASK YOU TO HELP?!" Hidan was bellowing now, far past mere annoyance, and now honest-to-Jashin pissed off. He would have thrown the glass at Kakuzu's scarred and stitched-up face had the other man not already grabbed the glass and begun drinking it. "MAYBE I'D GET FUCKING BETTER IF YOU STOPPED DOING SHIT LIKE THIS! I SWEAR, FUCKING HEATHENS LIKE YOU JUST MAKE ME SO GODDAMN…"

There was no way to finish that sentence. At that moment, Kakuzu kissed him. There was no progressive, sugar-coated way of describing it, because the action was both sudden and rough, Kakuzu's lips and tongue prying open the other man's mouth. Just as Hidan's hazed mind began to process what was going on, a rush of thick and fairly gritty liquid flooded into Hidan's mouth, and a gentle massaging pressure on his neck coaxed him into swallowing it down. By the time Kakuzu pulled away, Hidan was speechless, unable to utter a thing without choking on his words. Kakuzu was already walking towards the bathroom.

"Y-You just…"

"… had to force-feed you the 'fucking orange juice'." Kakuzu growled. Hidan heard a tap turning, and a rush of water. This was followed by the sounds of gurgling and spitting. "Vitamin C helps you absorb iron. Iron will help your anemia. So next time drink the stuff yourself, or next time, I'll do that to you AGAIN."

Another rinse. Still stunned, Hidan just stared off towards where his partner was, and then finally gave a blink. With a strangled, frustrated noise, he threw the glass at the bathroom door, making it explode and shatter.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD, I'LL KILL YOU!"

When Kakuzu kissed Hidan, he had been hoping slightly that at least some physical reaction would come of it, to further urge on his intended final task. Instead, he just felt a little bit sick, and rather annoyed. The annoyance only grew when he heard the sound of glass smashing against the door, and Hidan screaming like a lunatic. Which, in all fairness, he was. Hidan seemed the only one yet to realize it.

"Will you quit acting like such a prude?" he growled. "What I did was necessary, and for the record, I was not kissing you, at least not like that. Besides," he added, going on, "you're overreacting. I highly doubt this is the first time this has ever happened to you."

Again, at that, Hidan went completely silent. At first, it troubled Kakuzu, merely because Hidan shutting up was an uncommon event that only happened for a great cause. After a moment of consideration, however, Kakuzu decided not to take the blessing for granted. Picking up a small towel cloth, he dried his face as he walked back into the other room. He stepped lightly around the shattered glass sprinkled about, and the orange juice stains splattered in a trail from the bed to the bathroom. Hidan had quickly returned to curling up in his bed, his apparently current favorite hobby. Grabbing the key, Kakuzu headed for the door to leave once again.

"Would it hurt you to stay just for ten fuckin' minutes?"

Hidan's plea (if that was what something so crude could be called) was muffled by the sheets. It didn't help that he was muttering. Kakuzu honestly could never understand this man. One minute he was screaming and throwing glasses, the next he was asking Kakuzu to stay with him. There was not even a falter as Kakuzu unlocked the door, slipping the key into his pocket.

"I'll buy you dango. But I have to get out anyways, I need to get lunch."

"What about all that fucking food you bought yesterday?" Hidan's voice was a little clearer now, and Kakuzu assumed he had flipped onto his other side. He didn't particularly feel like turning round to check. "Fucking stay, will you?"

"Why, Hidan?" Kakuzu sighed impatiently. "So we can continue to yell at each other? So you can break some more cups?"

"I won't, I promise. I swear on Jashin, Hallowed be His name…"

Jashin-Hallowed-be-His-name. What a long and tiresome thing to swear upon. There was another thing Kakuzu did not understand about Hidan – the customs, the ceremonies. He saw no point, only saw time being squandered and wasted. Nonetheless, despite his thoughts on Hidan and his religion, he hesitated in opening the door at last. If Hidan was swearing on his God, he was being extremely serious. He never joked when Jashin was concerned, even in mentioning. "Why are you being so stubborn about this?" he asked wearily. When Hidan did not answer, he turned to face him, pulling out his key, arm wavering between the actions of keeping it and putting it back. "Well?"

In the pink-shaded eyes across the room from him, Kakuzu could see a strange mix of emotions, none of which he could pinpoint as anything specific; only that not a single one seemed aimed at Kakuzu exclusively. "I don't like to be alone." The Jashinist murmured, the only spoken part to whatever it was he was feeling. There was no way for Kakuzu to surely know.

And honestly, he did not care right now.

"Stop your whining." It was cold, dismissive. But at least it was not deceptive. Kakuzu was beginning to get sick of that. "I'll be back after a few minutes." He turned away, resolute to not turn back. He needed time away from his partner at the moment, and didn't want to hesitate anymore. He walked out the door, locking it behind him. Abruptly, something fragile smashed from behind it, followed by howls of rage. Kakuzu was also aware of the hotel neighbors staring. He turned to face them, shrugging.

"He does that." He grunted dismissively. "It's best to ignore him. And I do not suggest checking if he's alright, for your sake."

Walking out casually, Kakuzu continued to ignore his partner's screams, and only hoped that he would do minor, replaceable damage to their room. There was a negligible concern in his mind as to why, exactly, his partner was so upset over this. But, once again, he honestly did not care right now.

Being alone had always been an intolerable thing for Hidan. Being alone meant that there was no one to kill, nothing left for Hidan's purpose. It meant that Hidan had to hide within himself, had to find some other way to keep back the things inside of him, the urges. The urges that even a partner like Kakuzu could barely repress, no matter that he refused to die, in his mimicry of immortality that was not as fleeting as it seemed.

He had ceased screaming a good half an hour ago, and a good twenty minutes after smashing every fragile glass-like object in the house. He was in a rage, and he wasn't even entirely sure why. He refused to believe it had anything to do with the miser leaving. Fuck Kakuzu, thought the Jashinist bitterly, with half a mind to leaving the room, despite Kakuzu's assurance that he would be back soon. He would have done it too, had he not felt so sickeningly faint, like he was about to fall over where he stood, leaning against the kitchen counter. There was a darkness threatening to overtake him, and a light flickering above his head like a fading spark of life. Broken glass things under his feet, cutting the tender exposed flesh.

This is what it feels like to die, he thought, feverish wonderings, whispers in his head. No longer feeling the need or strength to stay up, he allowed himself to drop down like a heavy weight. He felt the glass pierce him as he hit it, felt the sharp-sickle corners and jagged-cut sides slice him, making him exhale in relief as the pain released him. Jashin set him free, give him freedom in death. This was an addiction, he was perfectly conscious of that, one that gripped at his soul, promising him redemption. And who was he to shun that promise, that assurance?

He felt sick, nauseous almost. Trying to ignore it, he fought the feeling down, focusing only on the pain enveloping him. On the glass on the floor, broken. No, anything but the glass. Focus on anything but the glass. Focus on the fading sun, shining in, or the flickering glow above. Anything but the glass. Think of anything but him.

With a groan, Hidan sat up, pushing with the palms of his hands. These too cut easily on the glass like rock could be carved by diamond. Don't think of that. Anything but the glass, anything but the glass. That shouldn't have been so hard.

Getting up, Hidan wobbled to the bed, collapsing into it. Blood seeped out of the open wounds, others closed by the glass that twisted into him as he fell over, digging deeper and widening the wound with the movement. Curling up under the blankets, he felt cold suddenly. Like an ice was spreading through his veins. With it came the spread of pitch-black over his eyes, letting him slip off into some other state of rest.

A part of him wanted Kakuzu there right now, strangely enough…

When Kakuzu arrived back at the room with food, the place looked like a post-war zone. Glass shards lay everywhere like shrapnel, and a trail of blood led from the kitchen to Hidan's bed. At first, Kakuzu had been walking to the store paranoid that Hidan would do yet another ritual in his absence. Yet by the looks of things, which were not too bad, Hidan had merely fallen on the glass.

With a sigh, Kakuzu set the bags on the counter, walking to Hidan's bedside. Broken shards crunched under his shoes, like eggshells, scattered all around. Sitting by Hidan's bedside, he went to work.

There was glass jutting from every inch of his back, the soles of his feet, and on some areas of his arms and legs. After a bit of picking and searching, Kakuzu even found some pieces in his scalp. It was difficult to extract them, as Hidan's natural talents had caused the wounds to close, for the most part, AROUND the glass pieces. Surprisingly, however, it was only after one particularly nasty tag on a piece in his neck that Hidan jerked awake.

"A-aaah… f-fuck, Kakuzu!" he groaned, hissing in pain, hand protectively covering the newly re-opened wound. "What the hell are you doing? When did you fucking get back?"

"A few minutes ago. And I'm trying to get these out of you, so lie still."

This time around, Hidan was being much more cooperative, it seemed. He was passive, quiet, and a bit groggy. It was unusual to see, the equivalent of a tranquil wasp. But, nonetheless, it was convenient, and refreshing. For once, Kakuzu did not have to deal with a partner that was bitching and moaning about something at every interval of silence. It was also extremely relaxing.

When Kakuzu was done pulling glass out of Hidan's skin, he turned the silver-haired man onto his back, and walked to the kitchen. He grabbed a set of plastic cups from the bags he had brought home, and pulled out the orange juice, glad that Hidan had not thought to destroy the jars and food in the refrigerator. Pouring a glass, he returned to Hidan, pushing his chin up, and putting the cup to his lips.

"Drink." He ordered sternly, and Hidan complied, to his mild surprise. Kakuzu wondered if Hidan was even completely aware of what he was doing. If he was, there was no problem for him whatsoever, seeing as he drank until not a single drop was left. Again, going to the bag, Kakuzu retrieved a small, rectangular box, and placed it at Hidan's side. "Eat." He ordered again, and Hidan looked to it curiously.

"What is it?"

"Dango."

Immediately he pounced on it, as if the thing would disappear. Opening the box, he gave a small puzzled, frown. He pulled the treat from its container, staring. "It's not anko. he finally said, in a dull tone of disappointment. Kakuzu sighed.

"You're right, it's not. It's made with soy. Soy has protein, which you need at the moment. Now eat."

There was one last doubtful, but bleary look from Hidan. Eventually, though, he obeyed this as well, popping the treat into his mouth. If he enjoyed it, Kakuzu could not tell. But he also did not show any sign of disapproval. Giving Hidan some silence to enjoy his treat, Kakuzu dug into the freezer, pulling out a raw bloody steak for dinner, and setting it on the counter to thaw. From the fridge, he pulled out some lunch meat, and edamame. The bag held a fresh loaf of bread.

"What do you want on your sandwich?" Kakuzu called to Hidan. Hidan did not reply. Peering from round the counter, Kakuzu saw why; he was already asleep again, the stick of half-eaten dango dangling from his hand, threatening to fall. Heaving a sigh, Kakuzu just picked up the soy beans, setting them by Hidan's bedside, put away the soy treat, and then made himself some lunch.

God, that had to have been one of the most hassling things he'd ever had to put himself through. He glared at Hidan in annoyance, at how helpless the immortal was. It was odd to see, but only made Kakuzu's opinion of the man lessen.

He was still not entirely sure how he was going to accomplish his 'task', though he had a vague idea. The only problem was how Hidan would react. But even that did not seem like such a problem with Hidan now acting the way that he was.

Listen to him, he thought, disgusted. Planning this out, actually thinking over everything. He was in no way eager for this, and hated sounding like he was. Oh, Pain was going to pay for this when it was all over and done with…

Feeling tired from the day's efforts, Kakuzu finished half of his sandwich, and slumped over to his own bed. He stripped his coat, his mask, and headband, setting them down, sheltered in the privacy of his own room. His body hit the bed solidly, making the mattress creak and groan. His head rested on his arms, the rough sections where his stitches lay pressing into his cheek, rubbing against the ones that held him together there. The feel of his own skin was strange, even to him. He didn't even want to know what Hidan would think of it.

"Stop thinking about it." He growled to himself. "It doesn't matter. Just a job. Get it done, and then forget about it. Not important, it's not important…"

He wanted to fall asleep, but couldn't. It only took a few more minutes before Kakuzu deemed it impossible, and got back up. Pacing the floor, over the glass and debris, he just listened to it crunch softly, almost like snow, freshly fallen. When Kakuzu had had enough of this, he strode into the living room, stopping. He stared at Hidan with the look of one deep in thought, and then sat down beside the man.

What was he supposed to see? What COULD he see, that would make this task enjoyable, at least by a minimal amount? He ran his hands along the ivory skin, through the polished-silver hair. He massaged a rough palm over the bare chest, and managed to dare himself into skirting the hem of the other's pants. The man was visually appealing, there was no doubt to that. Kakuzu saw no problem in admitting that he found a male attractive, seeing as he had never made a particular effort to portray himself with any exacting sexual preference. There was nothing wrong to him about physical attraction between two men, and no issue with himself about feeling that way.

But that was just it; he could barely even feel a reaction like that, not for the zealot who lay in front of him now. It almost made him feel… disappointed, in a way. Like he was breaking some sort of obligation. Stupid, he hissed at himself mentally, for even thinking something like that.

Hidan himself was emotionless at the moment, dead to everything around him. Feeling sick of the silent company, Kakuzu moved back to his room to think. The debris still crunched under his feet, still fragile.

Surrounding Hidan when he awoke was the smell of cooking meat, blood. It made him stir restlessly until he finally sat up, inhaling it deeply, eyes sliding closed. When they opened again, a small plate of soybeans was shoved in front of his face.

"Appetizer; eat it." Kakuzu's gruff voice commanded. Hidan grabbed the plate obediently, but did not yet put the food into his mouth. Instead, he watched Kakuzu walk back to the kitchen, and pull open the stove. The smell of meat immediately became stronger, making Hidan release a mournful, hungry sigh.

"Fuck, Kakuzu, that smells damn good. Is it almost done?" He went to step onto the floor towards the kitchen, when Kakuzu barked sharply at him, "Shoes!" Hidan looked around at the shattered glass that still covered the floor, and then looked outside; night had fallen. Again, he looked to Kakuzu. "You haven't cleaned it up yet?" he whined, turning round and pulling on his shoes. His back was turned, but he felt a glare boring into his back that turned away after a minute.

"No, I called it in with the staff here. We're moving into another room while they fix it up." Hidan turned just in time for Kakuzu to turn back away, grabbing some oven mitts. "And I assure you, this room is not going to be a suite; I can't afford another expensive room with these damage expenses."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Hidan grumbled, steadying himself as he stood up again. "We're getting the cheapest room available, and I'm sleeping on the damn floor while you get the only bed. I know the fucking routine."

Walking across the room slowly, weakly, Hidan collapsed into a chair at the dining room table. Kakuzu pulled the steak from the oven, placing it on the counter, and cutting it into servings. As he came to the table with the plates, he gave a sort of dismissive shrug to Hidan's comment. "Most likely you'll be getting the bed." He replied, in a lightly dark tone. "What with the fact that you can barely walk right now."

"Then where the hell are you going to sleep?" Hidan drawled, though his full attention was on dinner now. He snatched up his plate and ate eagerly, forgetting completely about the plate of edamame. As he ate, Kakuzu picked at his own food, mumbling under his breath.

"Oh, I'll manage, someway or another…"

~End Chapter 4~