~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hidan stared at the ceiling of their bedroom, a blank expression on his face. He hadn't been able to sleep at all. He was to busy trying to figure out what to do.
He'd made a mistake; he'd let Kakuzu get too close to him, and he'd shown too much affection for his partner. He'd very nearly let his feelings develop into love.
He grinned bitterly. "But that's how it always fucking goes, isn't it?" Unlike his partner, Hidan had been in a few relationships before. And every last one of them ended one of two ways.
Either the person would abandon him, or get killed.
After the first few times, Hidan had learned that personal relationships were just a hindrance. He'd been able to care for a few people from a distance after that, with the same results. He'd finally totally given up on relationships.
And then Kakuzu came along.
Hidan gritted his teeth. Never, in all of his relationships, had he let anyone get as close to him as his partner. He couldn't help it; what he felt, was, well-
"You're going to say love, aren't you?" Damn that voice to hell.
"So what?"
"You can't love him."
"I can too!"
"No, you can't. You're a jinx; this relationship is destined to end like all the others."
"It doesn't have to, dammit!"
"But it will. And what will happen to you then?"
"I'll die."
"You're immortal."
"I'll still die."
"On the inside, right? Are you really that willing to let your life fall apart, because of some person you've hated for the better part of the time you've known him?"
"….."
"Well?"
"I don't know."
"You can't."
"What do I fucking do, then?!"
"Push him away. Hurt him so badly that he can't stand to look at you. Then get away. You'll hurt for a while, but in a few years you'll be fine."
"I don't wanna fucking hurt him!"
"It's the only way."
"I don't want to put him through that kind of pain."
"You must. Hurt him so badly that all he feels for you is hate. Make it so there is no room in his heart for pain or sadness; just hatred towards you."
"I'm not going to!"
"Yes, you will. He's mortal; even if you hurt him, the pain can only last until death. You're immortal; the pain you'll feel when he leaves will last for all eternity."
"What if…what if I….."
"Think as long as you want; there is no other way." Hidan sighed. "I'm fucking losing it." But, the voice made a good point. Hidan sat up and punched the bed. Jashin dammit!
Kakuzu had stayed out of the room for the better part of the day. He still wasn't sure why Hidan had flipped out the night before, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. The banker had spent most of the day reading, but finally decided to go and talk to his partner. Hopefully the loud-mouth would be in a talking mood.
He felt that something was wrong as soon as he walked into the room. Hidan was sitting on the bed, back turned to him. "Hidan, can we talk?"
"No." he was surprised at the spite in his partner's voice. He walked over. "Hidan, please…" He reached out and touched his partner's shoulder.
The Jashinist jerked away and spun around, and Kakuzu could very clearly see revulsion on his face. "How fucking retarded do you have to be not to understand 'no', dammit?! And don't fucking touch me!"
Kakuzu raised a brow. "Why?"
"Because it fucking feels gross having a freak like you touch me!"
His eyes narrowed. "You didn't mind before," he whispered dangerously.
"Who the fuck says I didn't mind?" Hidan replied in the same tone.
"Oh, so all these weeks have been a joke to you?" Kakuzu asked sarcastically.
Hidan smiled bitterly. "I've got a fucking sick sense of humor, huh?"
The answer caught Kakuzu off-guard. "What?"
"You heard me! Or are you too Jashin-damned stupid to recognize rejection, stitchy?"
Kakuzu's rage was building up. "You're one sick bastard, you know?!" he sighed in frustration. "I don't get why I fucking save you all the time."
"Because you fucking need me, since you're so fucking weak!"
"Oh, I need you, huh?!"
"Hell yeah! How many fucking times have I had to bail you out in a fight?! You're so pathetic, it's sickening. Maybe that's why you don't have a family anymore, dumbass!"
That was going too far.
Hidan felt himself being crushed against the wall, Kakuzu's hands tightly around his throat. "Take. That. Back." He hissed, fury painted all over his face.
Hidan laughed. "Or what? You'll knock my fucking head off, like you always do? That's all you can do, isn't it? Drop it, or get a new fucking idea, asshole."
The banker immediately released the smaller man and stormed across the room. "Where are you going?" Hidan called in a bored tone.
"To talk to Pein. We are never going to work together again!"
"Switching partners won't get me far enough away from you, freak!"
SLAM
Hidan stared at the door for a few moments, prepared to yell more if his partner returned. He didn't. After an eternity, which was really about fifteen minutes, Hidan slowly walked over to his side of the room, as if in a trance. "That was good. He'll hate you for sure now."
"Shut up." Hidan felt like a huge part of him had been ripped out, and he was closer to tears than he'd been since childhood. The Jashinist dropped his cloak on the bed. He was running away, and the trademark cloak would easily give him away, no matter how far he went. He grabbed his scythe, which was the only thing he'd really need. The immortal walked over to the window, stopping when he reached it. He had to leave a note.
But what should he write? He couldn't write anything else that was cruel; he'd done enough damage to get his partner to hate him, and couldn't bear to hurt the man more. An apology was out of the question, since there was the ever-so-slight risk of Kakuzu thinking he hadn't really meant it. He shook his head. No, better to leave nothing behind, and just go.
Hidan jumped out of the window. At first, he simply walked away. Then his pace picked up to a jog, and finally he was running at top speed, away from the base, away from the Akatsuki….
And away from Kakuzu.
