"Well, I'm not sure how to explain it," Kakuzu began.

"Nothing in this world ever gets explained right, hun," Dee said. "Just do your best."

"Ok. Like I said, Hidan and I began working on more and more missions together. I figured out how he fought, and he knew what to expect from me…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kakuzu!" The banker ducked just as Hidan's scythe swiped over his head, slicing a man in half. The immortal had a wild grin on his face as he ran forward, bloodlust apparent with each move.

Kakuzu turned and caught a woman that had attempted to get in range of stabbing him with a katana. He ripped the sword of the female's hands, before tearing her in half. He noticed a man heading towards his partner, whose back was turned. "Hidan!"

The immortal spun and caught the man in the gut, sending blood and a death cry into the air. He was in his element; slicing people apart with reckless abandon, blood covering nearly all of his body.

The fight seemed to go on and on, with both Akatsuki members wearing down. The banker had just stabbed another attacker through the heart, when he heard his partner call out again.

"Kuzu!"

The nickname caught him by surprise, and a moment later he felt a searing pain in his side. Dammit, some chick had gotten close enough to cut into his side. His threads began stitching the wound up as he snapped her neck with his bare hands. A few minutes later, mounds of bodies surrounded the two men.

"Mind explaining where 'Kuzu' came from?" the banker asked, looking to his partner for an explanation.

The Jashinist merely shrugged as he wiped the blood on his scythe's blade onto the bottom of his cloak. "It's easier to say Kuzu, dumbass. Shorter name gives your ass more reaction time. That's all."

"That makes perfect sense," Dee said thoughtfully.

"I know. If we're in a fight. But Hidan started calling me Kuzu whenever he could. It was his second favorite name for me…"

"Right after dumbass?" Dee asked, a smirk on her face.

"How'd you guess?" Kakuzu sat up straight, popping his back before slouching again. "So, in a way, we formed a kind of trust. We knew what the other would do in a fight, and how we'd each respond to different tactics or stressors. Perfectly normal, if you stay around a person long enough."

"Except…" Dee prodded.

"Except, that on one particular assignment, Hidan started acting screwy. Very screwy…"

The two Akatsuki members were walking down a hall in the large manor they'd been sent to. Their job was simple; come in, play the part of the rich guy's allies, then steal a scroll from him in their sleep. Pein had also mentioned something about setting fire to the library to make it look like an accident, but the exact details were escaping Kakuzu at the moment. His partner was, once again, creating a problem.

Kakuzu felt Hidan bump into him for the fifth time in a very short while. Growling, he turned and glared at the zealot with piercing green eyes. "Hidan, would you kindly give me some space?"

"Sorry," the Jashinist muttered, eyes looking to the side. They stopped in front of a door, which Kakuzu quickly opened. They stepped inside and dropped their bags onto a bed that their "friend" had been so kind to provide for them.

"Leave your scythe in here when you go out," Kakuzu ordered.

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me. We're not allowed to kill this guy, so I can risk you going off again on some poor sucker that tells you your religion's screwed up."

Hidan swore softly for several minutes but set his weapon of choice against the wall. The immortal flopped down onto the bed, glaring at his partner.

"Quick giving me that look. It's your fault for not having any self-control."

"This coming from the bastard that ripped a bitch in half for overcharging us by six f-ing cents at the Jashin-damned ramen vendor."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Five minutes later Hidan's lips were sewn shut, and the words he was attempting to call out would have made Tayuya's hair turn grey.

"Hidan, stop it," Kakuzu growled, voice low and deadly. "We have to go down to dinner in a little while, and so help me if you screw up down there, I'll make you find out whether your organs grow back or not the hard way."

Hidan merely hmmphed and walked over to the miser, waiting for him to untie the threads. Once his lips were free, he returned to his bed. "If you're so worried, asshole, just let me skip the damn meal."

Kakuzu raised a brow. Hidan's voice wasn't its usual mocking tone; in fact, he sounded almost hopeful that "Not likely." The banker walked to the door, opening it. "Come on. We're going." Hidan reluctantly climbed off his bed and followed Kakuzu out of the room.

Hidan insisted on sticking close to the banker when the entered the dining room and sat down at the table. "Hidan, what the hell's wrong with you?!" the banker hissed.

"That guy keeps giving me weird looks, dammit," the zealot answered, tilting his head to the side.

Kakuzu looked to where Hidan was motioning and saw the "friend" from earlier looking at the immortal. It took the miser all of ten seconds to realize the man was checking Hidan out. "Looks like you've got an admirer," he stated.

"I don't like it, Kuzu," the immortal said, moving closer to the banker.

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Kakuzu asked in an annoyed toned.

"I don't know, dammit!" Hidan hissed, moving closer.

"I'm still not sure what exactly came over me next; I've settled on calling it temporary insanity. Or maybe I was just worried, seeing Hidan that freaked out. But, well…"

Kakuzu's arm moved and wrapped itself around Hidan, pulling the masochist close. "Better?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"What the hell?!"

"He's not looking at you now," Kakuzu stated plainly. Hidan clammed up shortly thereafter and moved closer, so now he was leaning against Kakuzu's torso.

"After that, our mission was soon completed. We went back to the base. At first, I thought I could just let it go and forget about that."

"But it kept bugging you," Dee said knowingly.

Kakuzu shook his head. "It was more than that. This man, that I had spent every waking moment of my days hating, was the only person I had ever willingly guarded from harm. And that little incident brought out this strange desire to…well, protect him. At all costs."