Ahh, this is the last chapter people. I have to be honest, I actually didn't expect this story to be this long. It was originally supposed to be a short little crack story to torture Hidan, but somehow or another it ended up with plot and ended up being longer then Desert Rose, which was intended to be a long story. Funny how things work. Maybe sometime down the track I might do a rewrite for this story and turn it into something more substantial?
Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy the chapter.
Chapter Ten
Hidan sat on the thin bed in his cell staring at the opposite wall totally bored out of his brains. He heaved a sigh and stood up. Wondering over to the door he peered out the little barred window.
"HELLOOOO?" He yelled, "SOMEBODY?"
He heard footsteps tapping down the corridor and a lazy grin spread over his face. Finally, someone to torture.
The ANBU came to a stop in front of his cell.
"What do you want?" A male voice issued out from behind the mask.
"I'm bored." Hidan said.
The ANBU made a tsk sound before turning around and walking off.
"You know Shina may be just a fucking kid, but at least she knows how to entertain a person!" He yelled after the elite ninja.
The ANBU froze. Oop, Hidan thought, hit a nerve there. The ANBU turned and walked back lifting his mask in the process. That was when Hidan noticed a family resemblance to Shina.
"If it was up to me I would see you shredded to pieces and buried so deep that not even your precious Jashin would be able to find you!" the Nara ANBU hissed at Hidan, his face screwed up in rage.
Hidan just gave a lazy, cocky grin, "I bet Shina could still find me though. She could probably even put me back together to boot. She is that fucking talented."
"You will not talk about my cousin like that!"
"Why the fuck not? I like her, tough girl. I know she likes me." Hidan continued to grin infuriatingly at the ANBU.
The Nara ANBU gave a growl and shot a hand through the bars to grab at Hidans throat but Hidan stepped back in time.
"Ah, ah," He said shaking a finger, "Can't hurt me now." He pulled down the collar of his shirt to show the starburst seal, "I'm linked to Shina. Anything I feel physically, she can feel as well. Don't want to cause your precious cousin any pain now do you."
The ANBU withdrew his arms with a snarl. He grabbed his mask and put it back on with more force then necessary before storming off. Hidan dropped to the bed with a chuckle; oh that was just too much fun. He slid further down on the bed and tucked his hands behind his head. Man, he missed his bed in the lab, it was a hell of a lot more comfortable then the concrete slab he was currently laying on. He sighed, he knew that when he left the lab this morning that it would come to this. He couldn't allow the kids to risk their future careers anymore for his sake and he knew that with Matsu following the kids that he would pick up on Hidan's presence pretty quick if he came anywhere near them. So Hidan had deliberately put himself in line of sight to be caught.
There was always the slim chance that he could escape clean and if that was the case he had planned to find somewhere to lie low and figure out his next move. But that wasn't the case, he got caught and was now imprisoned and awaiting his fate. It was kind of a load off his shoulders though; he didn't have to worry about what he was going to do with himself anymore. The Hokage would no doubt find some way to have him destroyed and that would be that. In meantime he just planned to annoy every person that came his way, get in his last shits and giggles before they offed him.
Hopefully the teens wouldn't be too sad.
0o0o0o0
Shina stood in the middle of the lounge room, the leftover ooze slowly drying on her skin and clothes making her start to feel uncomfortable and in dire need of a shower. Her father, Yasahiro, stood in front of her, a slight frown marring his face. Her mother and sister sat on the chairs off to the side.
"Shina, what were you thinking?" Yasahiro's voice rumbled, disappointment lacing every word, "How could you do something like this?"
Shina just looked away from him, "The same way you avoid spending time with me." She answered in a sulky voice, deflecting the subject to avoid talking about Hidan for now. That and the fact she just felt like being difficult at the moment.
"Shina!" Her mother said in a scolding voice. Yasahiro held up his hand to forestall anything else his wife might have said.
"Why do you think that?" he asked his daughter.
"Because it's true." Shina mumbled, "You are a Nara, and it's easier for you to spend time with Mei then me because she is more like you."
Mei rolled her eyes, "Aren't you a little old to be acting like a spoilt brat."
Shina narrowed her eyes at her sister and before anyone could stop her she pulled some semi dried ooze out of her hair and lobbed it straight at her sister where it hit her face with a satisfying splat. Mei gave a shriek of disgust and lunged for Shina only to be stopped by their father.
"GIRLS." The two sisters froze and looked at their father, "Shina, go have a shower we will finish discussing this later. Mei, go to your room and cool down."
With grumbles both girls split up and went their separate ways.
After her shower, Shina sat on the veranda and looking out over the garden, a slight scowl on her face. She heard footsteps coming towards her but she ignored them. They stopped right behind her.
"Shina, come have a game with me."
"No." Shina replied to her father keeping her gaze out to the garden, "I don't like playing shogi."
"Humour me."
Shina gave a sigh and got up to follow Yasahiro to the game room. They settled on opposites sides of the board and he indicated for her to go first. Shina raked her eyes over the board and picked a piece to move.
"It's true that I do spend more time with Mei." Yasahiro said picking up his own piece and moving it.
Shina clacked her next piece down with a little more force then needed, a small frown marring her face, "Really?" she said sarcastically.
"Don't take that tone with me." He said sharply, looking over the board, "You forget that it goes both ways." He moved a piece. "You're not making much effort either. You used to talk to me all the time, but then you stopped."
"That's because your eyes used to always glaze over." Shina replied grumpily, "What's the point of talking to someone that is clearly not interested." Her hand hovered between two pieces for a moment before she chose one and moved it.
Her father sighed, "To be fair Shina, you talked about your medical training using a lot of terminology that I simply did not know." He moved another piece, "You have no idea the number of times I had to go ask your mother what different words meant."
Shina sighed and looked over the board for a moment before selecting her piece to move.
"Point is," Yasahiro continued, moving his piece, "we need to find some common ground. Something we can both talk about that both parties can understand."
"Like what?" Shina asked quietly, moving another piece.
He thought for a moment, "Your jutsu's. You seem to have a penchant for making new ones." He moved a piece with a clack, "Wasn't that ooze stuff part of your water breathing jutsu?"
Shina gave a small grin, "Yeah, but I made a modified version a few months back so that the ooze has a paralyzing toxin within it. I got the idea after reading about how some frogs can secrete poisons in their mucus."
"That's very clever." He paused for a moment before moving his piece, "Is Mei going to have a numb face?"
Shina pulled a face, "No, she'll be fine. The potency wears off pretty quickly once the ooze starts to dry."
He looked over the board, hmm, time to change his play. Yasahiro moved a piece. An eyebrow twitched in surprise when Shina immediately moved a piece to start a counter attack. He moved a piece to start another new play.
"You know, I wish you and your sister wouldn't fight so much."
A clack, "It's her fault, she's such a snob."
Another clack, "You know, Mei is a good strategist but she has trouble reading the present flow of a battle and quickly adjusting for it."
"…?"
He waved at the board in front of them, "I would've been halfway through a play before Mei picked up and countered. But you are the opposite, you don't form long term plans but you can read a battle and immediately adjust. You and your sister actually make a perfect pair."
Shina snorted and folded her arms, "Try telling her that."
"I already have. I've also told you so now it is up to you two to sort it out." He moved one of his pieces, "Shina, you never answered me before. Why did you dig up and piece Hidan back together?"
Shina's hand hovered over the board. Damn him, she thought, I don't have anything to distract him with. With an internal sigh Shina finally answered, "Because he was unique. I wanted to know how his immortality worked." Her hand dropped to a piece and she moved it, "If I had told the elders or the Hokage then that knowledge would've never been discovered."
"What were you going to do with him once you had completed your research?" Yasahiro moved another piece.
Shina sighed and sullenly moved a piece forward, "I was originally going to turn him over to the Hokage."
"Originally?" Her father asked with a raised brow, "What changed?"
"He saved our lives." Shina replied quietly. The game between them was momentarily forgotten as Shina continued, "He had a chance to kill us, kill me, but he didn't. With him I wasn't the weird Nara outcast, I was just Shina, just me. And I liked that."
He gave her a look of concern, "Shina, you are not the 'weird Nara outcast'. Whatever made you think that?"
Shina looked up at him, "The way that all the family looks at me, it's like you don't think I'm smart enough."
Yasahiro sighed, starting to see what the problem with his daughter was, "Shina that is not the case at all. It's quite the opposite actually; you are far too smart for your own good. It worries me a little, you spend so much time cooped up and studying when you should be out with your friends having fun."
Shina pouted, "I do hang out with my friends. Besides, what's wrong with studying?"
He turned his attention back to the game and moved a piece, "You do realise that you intimidate the lab workers sometimes with your questions? They don't like feeling like idiots."
Shina's only response was to move her piece.
The older Nara moved his piece, "Gaining knowledge isn't everything in this life. It is certainly no justification to be associating with an S-Class criminal like Hidan. Did you even stop to think about the danger at all?"
Shina's hands clenched in her lap, "No one was in any danger at any time." She ground out, "The constriction seal worked fine."
"Nothing is guaranteed."
Shina looked down at the board allowing the silence to descend for a full minute, a scowl painted across her face. Then slowly and deliberately she picked up a piece and moved it, leaving herself wide open for her father to win. He gave her a slight frown but didn't make a move just yet.
"Shina, this disregard you have towards the sheer seriousness of this transgression worries me." He said.
Shina reached across the board and picked up one of her father's pieces and moved it so that it was in the winning position, "I never disregard threats to this village, father, and if Hidan had become a threat then I would've taken care of it and none would've been the wiser."
She then stood up and walked out. Yasahiro gave a sigh and reset the pieces on the board.
0o0o0o0
The next morning found all the teens back in the Hokage's office awaiting their fate. Behind the kids were their respective parents.
Hisoka slowly ran his gaze over each of them before speaking.
"Before I hand out your punishments is there anything any of you would want to say?"
Shina stepped forward, "This is all my idea and my fault. The others were only involved because I blackmailed them into it. They did try to talk me out of it initially. Please go easy on them." She stepped back.
The Hokage's face remained blank. After a few moments of silence in which the tension thickened he finally drew in a breath.
"Harboring and hiding a criminal like Hidan is a very serious offense and could technically be considered treason. However, because you are children still, no treason charge will be placed against you. But that doesn't lessen the seriousness of what you all did. So, for Ayame, Daiki, Akira, Hiroshi and Kimi, you five are banned from applying for chunin status until the age of eighteen. Also for the next six months you are confined to D-rank missions only within the village. Count yourselves lucky that I didn't decide to send you back to the Academy or revoke your ninja status altogether. You are dismissed."
With various mixed expressions the five mentioned teens all filed out of the office. As Ayame passed Shina she brushed her hand against her friends arm in comfort before continuing on. Once they were out the Hokage turned his attention to Shina. Shina stood up straight and held her chin up.
"Shina, it was your ancestor that originally buried Hidan. I'm sure if he knew what you did, he would be rolling in his grave." He gave a tired sigh before continuing, "You have claimed bulk responsibility for this and as such you will bear the bulk of the consequences. Until you are sixteen your active status is revoked, you are banned from taking missions. During that period of time you will be a medic only. On your sixteenth birthday your active status will be restored. However you will not be able to apply for chunin status until the age of twenty. Is that understood?"
"Yes Hokage." Shina answered.
"Dismissed then."
With that Shina turned and left the office with her parents.
The walk home was quiet for all of them. When they arrived at the house Shina quietly excused herself and went out to her lab. Once the lab door was closed behind her she grabbed a stool and threw it at the wall before slumping to the floor in the middle of the lab, tears threatening to fall. She knew that she was reacting stupidly and she knew that her punishment was more than fair but it didn't stop her from being upset.
Angrily she swiped the tears from her eyes, it would be alright, she could do it. It was only three years then she could go back out on missions. Only three years. After that it would only be four years before she could become a chunin. She stood up and walked over to the bench where she had books and notebooks permanently spread. With no missions she could spend more time training and studying. She refused to let that time go to waste.
That was when she spotted a folded piece of paper on the bench weighted down with Hidan's Jashin pendant. Shina gave a slight frown and picked it up. On it were just a few lines.
Shina
Good luck with your new jutsu.
Carefully she folded it back up and placed it to one side with the pendant on top. Afterwards she sat on the stool with her chin in her hands and just stared at the note. After what seemed like an eternity a smile crept over her face. Yes, she now had a lot of time to work on it and she was going to be damned if she let all that information go to waste.
0o0o0o0
Three days.
For three days he had been locked in the cell and he was pretty sure that the ANBU assigned to bring him his meals were now drawing straws to try and avoid coming anywhere near him. Hidan grinned when he heard the quick tapping of feet walking towards his cell.
He drew a breath and at the top of his lungs he started to sing very loudly and very off key, "I KNOW A SONG THAT WILL GET ON YOUR NERVES, GET ON YOUR NERVES, GET ON YOUR NERVES!" the footsteps increased in speed to suddenly stop at his cell door as Hidan continued to sing. A tray was shoved quickly through a slot at the bottom of his door and the footsteps all but ran out.
Hidan stopped singing with a chuckle and got off his bed to retrieve his food. With copious amounts of time on his hands he spent most of his time trying to come up with new ways to annoy the ANBU guards. He knew it was childish but he couldn't help himself, it was the last bit of fun he would ever get.
The day wore on with no other guards coming and at one point he dozed. It was early evening when he heard footsteps again. But this time it wasn't just one set, it was multiple. Curious, he stood up and went over to his door to try and peer out of the little window. However he took a step back when a masked face suddenly loomed in front of him. He didn't recognise it as one of his regular guards.
"Activate the seal." Hidan recognised the voice as the Hokage.
Hidan gave an annoyed sigh as he felt that familiar tingle of chakra run down his spine, immobilising him in place.
"It's done." A small voice said.
Hidan knew that voice, "Shina?" he asked.
"Why can he talk?" The Hokage asked.
"Because I let him." He heard Shina reply, "Don't worry, he won't move unless I want him to."
The cell door unlocked with a clang and the door opened silently to reveal a group of people standing in the hallway. Hidan only recognised the Hokage and Shina. The other four where ANBU.
"Your fate has been decided." The Hokage said to Hidan before turning to Shina, "Bring him."
Hidan found himself walking forward until he was in front of the Nara girl. Shina reached up and grasped his hand before leading him down the hallway behind the two ANBU that preceded them. Hisoka frowned but didn't say anything as he knew that it wouldn't make a difference. Despite the girls subdued attitude she still held tight to her defiance. Evident in the fact that she refused to teach anyone how to work the seal and had known that there wasn't much else the Hokage could do to force her. So considering that Shina had to be physically present to remove the seal anyway, he decided to allow her to be the one to control him as well.
Hidan looked down at Shina with a small frown, "You look like shit. Looks like you're the one that's been sleeping in the cell, not me." Hidan grunted at her.
"Heh," Shina gave a small huffed laugh, "I'll be fine, just a rough patch."
There was a moment of silence, "How are you all going?" He asked quietly.
Shina gave a half shrug, "We've been better. But we will all be alright."
They arrived at a door and entered in to find it was an infirmary of sorts. In the middle of the room was one of those Jashin-damned awful steel tables and next to it stood Shina's Sensei, Kyoko. The ANBU spread out through the room as Shina, Hidan and Hisoka approached the table.
"Put him on the table Shina." Kyoko said quietly.
Shina pursed her lips for a moment before throwing her arms around Hidan in a hug, much to Hidan's annoyance.
He made a noise of irritation, "What have I said about the bloody hugging thing?"
But Shina just ignored him so he gave a sigh and didn't say anything else. After a few moments the Hokage cleared his throat so Shina released Hidan and took a step back, making him climb onto the table. Kyoko jabbed a needle into his neck and injected a clear liquid. Shina stepped forward and looked down at him as a heavy drowsiness started to creep over him.
"What's going to happen to me?" Hidan asked no one in particular.
"You're going to be frozen. Indefinitely." Shina replied quietly before placing a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you Hidan. For everything you have done for us." She said.
He gave her a cocky grin, "It was fun." He said, his voice slightly slurred, "See ya 'round."
As he slipped into unconsciousness he couldn't help but idly wonder what all the kids would turn out like and feel a twinge of regret that he would never see it.
Biting her bottom lip and quickly swiping away the tears that threatened to fall Shina made the hand seals for the jutsu's release and placed her hands on his chest. The seals disappeared and she let her hands drop to her sides. The Hokage nodded to one of the ANBU whom came over and escorted Shina out of the building.
0o0o0o0
A/N: Not quite the end. Keep your eyes peeled, Epilogue next week.