Thank you all for your kind reviews! :D I'm insanely happy!! (For the reviews and the end of the fillers! 8D)

I've finally kicked my relatives back to the country. :D I'm back to school next week (bleh) and that means less frequent updates… but I've got the next two chapters after this written up, and the rest of the story outlined, so no worries yet. However… if I stop writing, I stop typing and I stop updating, so let's pray that doesn't happen. But enough of my pessimistic ramblings, on with the story!

Ch. 7

Kakuzu was tracing the Gobi's movements on his map when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

'Kakuzu, what's the situation? Why won't Hidan answer?'

Kakuzu sighed. Finally, Pein-sama had contacted him.

"Leader, the mission is not our main concern right now. Hidan has been marked by Orochimaru."

'What?'

Kakuzu told Pein as much as he knew about the ambush outside Kusagakure. When he had finished, Pein was silent for a moment. Then-

'Get back to base as soon as possible. Zetsu is in the area, I'll tell him to keep an eye on the Five Tails.'

"Hidan is still asleep-"

'Wake him up. If you can't, carry him, drag him, throw him, I don't care. Just get him to me immediately.'

"Alright, alright."

Kakuzu's head grew silent and the conversation ended. He stood up and walked over to the figure slumped on the couch. After a few seconds of careful consideration, Kakuzu kicked the back of the couch hard. It tipped over dangerously far, toppled and landed roughly on its back. The accompanying 'thump' was soon joined by the usual groaning and cursing as the former occupant of the sofa woke up.

"Shit, Kakuzu! What the fuck have I done now?"

"Get up, we're leaving."

Hidan hoisted himself into a sitting position, running a hand through his tousled silver hair, and down to the curse mark.

"Where are we going now?" he grunted, not bothering to hide his lack of enthusiasm.

Kakuzu threw his partner's cloak over his fallen sofa.

"Back to base. Get dressed, and for god's sake, hurry up."

Kakuzu turned away to make sure everything was packed. Hidan flung the cloak off his head, where Kakuzu had skilfully aimed it. He glared at his partner's back, but proceeded to change nonetheless.

"Shit, I never get to throw you off the sofa. Why do you always wake up before me, seriously?"

Due to the urgency required in Pein's message, they teleported to the nearest Akatsuki hideout to wait for him. They sat in silence in the deserted cave, waiting for any telltale shimmer in the air. Kakuzu looked over at Hidan every once in a while. The silver haired man was unusually quiet, lost in his own thoughts, his hand occasionally rubbing the mark. Kakuzu turned away again. It was the idiot's fault they were in this mess. He drew too much attention in Otogakure.

"When's this prick going to show up?"

Kakuzu sighed inwardly. Hidan was evidently back to normal. He looked up, just in time to catch several hazy and clear figures appearing around them. Pein-sama had summoned everyone. Was it really necessary?

The leader's static cracked voice announced his arrival.

"Hidan, Kakuzu, get into the correct positions."

Hidan rolled his eyes. It wasn't like they were standing on the King of Hell statue.

"What's the point? We're not sealing anything, seriously."

However, he and Kakuzu traded places, Hidan beside Sasori, with Kakuzu to his right, and further on, Kisame and Zetsu's hologram. Across from them, a space, then Itachi, Konan's hologram, Deidara and finally, Pein.

Pein explained briefly why they had gathered, and Hidan was subjected to several glances in his direction; cold indifferent ones from Itachi, Konan and Zetsu, while Kisame, Deidara and Sasori looked strangely amused. Not to mention the death glares from Pein and Kakuzu. All this staring was really getting on his nerves. His temper was on a very short fuse as a result of recent events, and it wasn't long before it exploded.

"Quit staring and get rid of this fucking thing already!"

Some of his fellow members complied to the former demand, with the occasional condescending remark. Pein raised a hand for silence.

"Enough. Sasori, what do you propose we do?"

The puppeteer's shell moved to face Pein.

"There is only one way to get rid of Orochimaru's curse mark."

Sasori paused. Hiruko swivelled to face Hidan.

"You must be brought to the brink of death. The mark will awaken fully and spread across and out of your body. It must be sealed then, when all of it has emerged."

Hidan was unimpressed.

"So I'm fucked."

Sasori thought for a moment. However, Deidara was the one who put forward an idea.

"Danna, what if we expended all Hidan's chakra? A normal person would die, but Hidan might only collapse, un."

Hidan gave a start.

"Hey! What do you mean 'we'?"

Sasori ignored him, and Hiruko nodded slowly.

"That might work…"

Kisame grinned.

"Good, shall we try it?"

Deidara sniggered, and Konan addressed Pein.

"Could they fight him here?"

Hidan looked around at the other members uneasily, murderous intent shining in their eyes. Even Kakuzu was looking happy at this new turn of events. Hidan raised his hands submissively.

"Whoa, hold on. I'm not saying I couldn't wipe the floor with you bastards but-"

Kisame, Deidara and Kakuzu launched themselves at him.

The others watched calmly as the fight unfolded. Amid the explosions, clanging of metal, and the sound of elemental techniques, yells could be heard.

"Hidan! Stop using taijutsu!"

"What the hell?!"

"Summon your chakra or you will die."

"You're not giving me a chance, assholes!"

After several minutes of intense battle, the four involved lay panting heavily in different parts of the heavily damaged cave. Deidara sat against the back wall, nursing a broken arm, Kisame used the wall for support as he tied up Samehada, blood trickling down from his shoulder and chest. He had been unfortunate enough to get caught in Hidan's jutsu. Two of Kakuzu's hearts had been reduced to pools of goo, and his threads were busy reattaching a severed leg.

Hidan was in the worst shape. By a slight misjudgement of distance on Kisame's part, both of his hands had been cut off just above the wrist and lay beside him, Kakuzu's threads already working on them. Like Kisame, he was bleeding freely from the shoulder and chest, and his neck had been badly damaged as a result of Deidara's not-so-successful idea of exploding the mark off.

But the mark remained. Not only that, it had spread over his whole body, breaking through Kakuzu's Fuuja Houin during the last 10 minutes of the fight. Pein and Sasori studied the mark from a distance with interest. The design of the curse mark was unique to each host, and Hidan's was no exception. His mark resembled dark flecks of blood. The only features that distinguished it from the real thing were the colour and the repeated pattern.

"Here's your chance…bastards…seal the…fucking thing."

But Sasori shook Hiruko's head.

"No, it has not fully emerged. I was afraid this would happen. The curse has to be fully developed before we can attempt to remove it."

Hidan groaned in exasperation.

"How the fuck do we do that?"

Sasori lowered his head, and said nonchalantly,

"I don't know. You'll have to ask Orochimaru himself."

Hidan grimaced, using his recently reattached hands to push himself to his feet.

"Fine by me, seriously. I'll make him talk before I send him to hell."

Pein focused his ringed pupils on Hidan with a cold stare.

"You won't be going anywhere."

"Why the fuck not?"

Kakuzu huffed.

"You idiot, you'd be playing right into Orochimaru's hands by going after him!"

"Exactly! If you couldn't kill me what makes you think he could?"

Pein turned away and addressed the others,

"The rest of you are dismissed."

The uninjured members vanished in puffs of smoke and blurs of static. Itachi and Sasori remained.

"Deidara, Kisame, tend your wounds then continue your missions."

The two nodded, then vanished along with their partners. Now, only Kakuzu and Hidan were left, and Pein's hologram.

"As I was saying Hidan, you are not to go after Orochimaru. He wants your body; you'd be bringing it to him on a silver platter. We do not need an immortal Orochimaru on our hands."

Pein's words had quite an effect on Hidan. It had never crossed his mind that Orochimaru wanted his body, he had just thought the snake-nin had it in for him. He paled, a disgusted look on his face.

"That's- that's fucked up!"

Across the cave, Kakuzu sighed. Idiot. Pein paid no attention to Hidan's reaction.

"You'll have to be hidden until we either find a way to remove the curse mark or kill Orochimaru. There's an active base just north of here. You will stay there until further notice."

Hidan was livid.

"What?! What the hell is this, house arrest? I'm not being locked in some fucking cave for as long as it takes you shitheads to bump this freak off!"

Kakuzu held his head in his hands. What was Pein-sama thinking? There was no way Hidan would go along with this…But, he thought, it would mean he'd get to work alone again.

But Pein was not finished.

"I knew you weren't going to take this lying down, but you have no choice in the matter, Hidan. You're a valuable asset to this organisation and I don't intend to give that up."

"I'm a fucking 'asset'?"

Pein now turned to Kakuzu.

"Kakuzu, as his partner, it will be your job to make sure he stays put."

"WHAT?!" Hidan yelled across the cave.

Kakuzu only just stopped himself from doing the same.

"Leader, you can't be serious… What about Zetsu?"

"No, Kakuzu. Only you can handle him. I'll see you at the base in five minutes."

The transmission fizzed out. The two Akatsuki sat in bewildered silence, until Hidan spoke up.

"We could make a run for it."

"…I'm going to kill you."

.. .. ..

Hope you liked…gasp! No Orochimaru in this chapter…oh well. :P I stopped typing in the middle of this to watch the raw ep 72…lol. XD I'm so obsessed.