A/N: Unnn, okay, I have to get this over 8 pages because I want to see how long that is. Lol. So yeah… Enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

--

Hidan blinked, mouth open, but stricken for words. It was like when Kakuzu hit him upside the head and insulted him—it hurt more on the in the insult part that the hitting, physical part.

"Shiji—no, I…" he bit his lip, glancing away for a moment. When he opened his mouth again to speak, Shiji held up a hand, telling him to hush, her eyes closed in what looked like pain, or misery.

She walked over to the table, "You don't have to say it, a lot of people are mad at me…" she said with a small frown, not meeting his magenta gaze with her own dull gray. She set the clothes down on the table and went over to the side of the room, toward the exit "I'm not mad at you, though, to tell you the truth, I was worried…" the room was quiet for a minute, then she left, shivering, with Shikamaru's arm wrapped around her.

"No, wait, Shiji!" Hidan yelled, struggling with his binds, "Dammit, kid! Get back your little ass back here!" he tried to move his head, but his broken neck wouldn't allow it, "You're my only hope to get out of here! Please! Come back!"

Shikamaru walked back in as he silenced, laying there and staring off to the side.

"…Hurts, doesn't it?" Shikamaru said quietly.

"…Yeah," Hidan admitted with the softest smirk, "Though, it shouldn't hurt as bad as it does… Maybe it's all the thought that I've gone through when I was in that pit, hm?" he chuckled.

Shikamaru paused, then reached down and stroked Hidan's forehead kindly, "You'll get over it, kid..." a grudge for his sensei was still there, but he could put it aside for now.

"Ah…" Hidan shifted a little, his head rolling back onto its normal position again, "…Thanks."

It was silent for a few more minutes, Shikamaru comforting him as best as he could, which was enough effort for Hidan.

"I should probably answer those questions before you break something else," Hidan said with a smile, looking up at the younger man, "That actually hurt."

"Hm… I'll get out then," Shikamaru turned on his heel, leaving.

--

Shiji knocked on the door, cracking it open moments later when no one had answered, "He—hello?" she choked quietly.

"Shi?" Hidan wheeled himself over to the door, "Shiji is that you?"

"Yeah…" Shiji snuck through the small crack, making a crumpling noise with the bag in her arms swiftly brushed against the door, "I brought some chocolate…"

"For what, exactly?" Hidan reached over, trying to grab the bag, "An apology?"

"Well, that, and I was going to bring your feet back, but I didn't have access to that floor…" she glanced down at his wrapped ankles, handing him the bag, "I saw when they took them so you won't just walk right out… And it's a floor with stairs, so you're kind of stuck here unless you want to break yourself in half."

"Oh, right. You heard about that?" he dug through the back, "Oh! Godiva chocolates, my favorite…" he sunk in the wheelchair, putting the bag on the floor and opening the smaller one, "Would you like one?" he held one out for her in the palm of his hand.

Shiji stood there, quiet, looking sad, "…No, they're for you," she said, crouching down and hugging her knees.

"No, seriously, here," he leaned over, the wheelchair creaking, him holding the chocolate in between his fingers hovering above her enclosed fist.

She only shook her head, "It's my fault I got your feet got cut off, I don't deserve the chocolate…"

"…" he sat back up in his chair, "What the hell is up with women and blaming themselves?" he sighed, reaching up and popping a chocolate into his mouth, "I mean, seriously, Shi, you were the one who found me in the first place… My feet aren't that big of a problem, and all I have to do to get out of here is teach you, which won't be that hard if you're not so fucking stubborn all the time, so why not…" he grabbed another chocolate and holding it out to her, "take the chocolate and get over the stubborn streak before I have to beat it out of you."

Shiji blinked up at him, carefully holding her hand out, "Why would you want to teach someone like me?"

"'cause you're a smart kid and teaching you won't be as harmful as you really wish it was. You'll be a medical ninja-ninja, how does that sound?" he smiled and wheeled himself around, turning towards the window and looking out of it, "I'm glad the rain is finally gone… I hate rain."

Shiji nodded, "…Yeah, me too…" she got up after a minute of silence and walked over to Hidan, folding her arms around him in a tight hug.

Hidan tilted his head away, "Shiji?" he said quietly, feeling her shake, "Shiji, no, don't cry…" he wrapped an arm around her loosely, feeling small teardrops fall onto his chest, "If you're this emotional, I won't be able to teach you…"

Shiji lifted her head sharply, "No! No, I want you to teach me, Hidan! D-don't say that! You—don't ever say that again! Ever!" she snapped at him.

"Well, I thought I heard someone familiar in here…" Sakura entered the room, Hidan's feet lying awkwardly on the platter she was carrying.

"…What? Are you going to eat the things?" Hidan said sarcastically with a more bitter tone than normal. Sakura had punched him on the chest the day before for hitting on a woman who was volunteering to help out at the hospital. She was a cute girl, coming from Hidan's standards of blue-haired women who won't hangout with anyone but and orange haired freak with piercings all over his body (he didn't want to know how far they went down), and a 9 year old that whined all the time.

Sakura gave an unneeded scowl towards Hidan, then looked at Shiji, holding Hidan like he was her comfort object that she had when she was smaller; "Shiji, what are you doing here? It's almost dinner," she said, setting the tray down on the bed where Hidan slept and crouching down, holding her arms out for the smaller girl.

Shiji glared at Sakura, "I—I want to practice with Hidan! So, put his feet back on!" Hidan rolled his eyes at this statement.

"It's really up to Shikamaru, Shi; we have to wait 'til he gives the okay," he said, pulling his arm back when he got a strange look from Sakura—probably thinking he was hitting on her now, was she? "Not a pedo." Hidan muttered, glaring at her.

Sakura gave him a look that said "right" and "I don't believe you" all in one. She glanced back at Shiji and sighed, "He is right, Shiji, we have to wait until—"

"Then I'll put them back on him myself! I want to start now!"

"Shiji, no! Shikamaru has to say so!"

Shiji gave a whimper, tears still rolling down her cheeks, now they were looking like small streams, how big the drops were. Her face was very red, and she looked like she could punch in a wall.

"Okay! Okay!" Sakura said, watching her curl into a ball on the floor, hugging her knees and sobbing pitifully. No matter how hard she tried, she could not ever let a sobbing child just sit there and cry. She reached for the tray on the end of the bed and knelt at Hidan's… ankles with a needle and some cleaning solution, a scalpel just in case.

The bandages were unwrapped from his legs, Hidan giving an aggravated grumble. Shiji was still crying on the ground, as much as it made her happy that Hidan's feet were being attached again.

--

"…"

"Stop sulking."

"I'm not sulking."

"Well, stop whatever the fuck you're doing and get up here. I'm not asking him."

"…"

"I said stop sulking."

Shiji walked to her grandfather's door, glancing back at Hidan, him receiving a piercing glare before she knocked on the door.

"I blame hormones."

He gained another glare.

"I had 'em once too, you know! It's not like that I'm going to fucking make fun of you for it! It sucks ass, I know!"

The door opened, and a smoking Shikamaru stepped out, "Shiji, nice to see you after these short few days… What'dya need?" he muttered, not even glancing Hidan's way.

"I want him to teach me," Shiji said, leaning next to Shikamaru on the side of the building, "I don't care what you think. I want him to teach me."

Shikamaru looked at her, then up at the clouds. There was a long silence and Hidan almost fell asleep standing, staying quiet for the purpose of the Anbu following them. His head tilted back and his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open and his breathing regulating to a slow pace; his hands still gripped the staircase railing tightly, the only thing that was keeping him from falling back over the edge of the stairs and falling to the street below.

"…Yeah. Okay," Shikamaru finally said, his cigarette ending and him flicking the still hot stump at Hidan, it hitting him on the cheek and making him yelp to awareness again, the railing shaking violently and then…

Crack.

Hidan screamed this time, falling back to the street below as the railing had snapped off behind him.

There was a loud thud and a groan.

"Uuugh…" Hidan's voice sounded faintly. Shiji blinked.

"I think I'm starting to really not like him."

"Klutz? Yeah. You're not much different."

Shiji made a sound of being offended, and then punched her grandfather in the arm, him wincing before glaring at her and pulling out another cigarette.

--

"What?" Shiji looked up at Hidan, "Am I doing it wrong?" she asked. She was sitting with the bottoms of her feet together, pushing her knees down, but not very far.

"Yes."

"What am I doing wrong?"

He rolled his eyes, and then got down on his knees, "You put your knees down more, until it hurts, alright?" he pushed her knees down until she yelped.

"Ouch! Why does it have to hurt?!" she growled, holding her knees there.

"Because, you remember how you found me?" she nodded, "That's you might be. It's Jashin damn painful." She gave a frightened looked toward him, "Okay. Not to that extreme point, but it's painful."

"Well… let's practice harder!"

"We're only stretching, Shi, it's not that bad. And it's your first day!"

"But we skipped yesterday because of your spine!"

"Yeah, but still, Shi, don't push it! You need to stay hydrated and good and stretched. Take it slow; you don't want to fall over tomorrow going 'OH MY LEGS ARE GOING TO FUCKING FALL OFF!!'"

"My legs aren't going to fall off! Now stretch me!"

"No."

Smack.

"Stretch me!"

Hidan raised his hand and hit her hard on the back of the head, "Do not hit your sensei!"

"I'll hit my sensei when he has no sense!" she held the back of her head with a frown, tears in her eyes, "…That really hurt." She muttered.

Hidan looked at her, and then snickered, "That's a horrible pun."

"But it's true! Now, I want to get to work! Stretch me!" she hit Hidan on the chest more lightly, but it still making a hollow thud sound.

Hidan gave a little growl, and then pushed Shiji's knees to the ground, making her yelp even louder, then stay there, biting her lip.

"Told you it hurt."

"It doesn't hurt!" she snapped at him.

--

A/N: Oh yeeey hehehe.

I was on a Writers Block there for a moment, but then I finally realized what I wanted to write. XD So yeah, sorry for the wait.

It's only 5 pages long OTL

REVIEWS ARE WELCOME.