"How much longer, Leader?"

"I don't know. A week, maybe."

"A week?! I can't wait that long!"

"You have to, now shoo."

That was the last conversation she had. With Leader. And now she was sitting on her chair, her arms crossed on top of Hidan's bed. She rested her chin on top of her arms and stared.

She was so bored. Every now and then, Arashi would think about leaving. Only for a little bit, maybe. But then she would glance at Hidan and change her mind. And then a few minutes later, she realized she could have left. She repeated the process over and over until she was bored out of her mind.

"Oh come on, Hidan. Wake up at least?" the medical ninja pleaded. Of course, he remained silent. Arashi settled for poking Hidan in the forehead. His fever had gone down, and finally disappeared. And yet, he was no better.

Sure, he hadn't woken up and started hacking up rivers of blood. But Arashi could sense that Hidan was not better, and far from it. The wounds from an unknown source had begun to close.

How long has it been now? She had about a week to wait for Kawauso to return. So many times Arashi had wished he would go away. And now her wish had come true. Bad timing.

Arashi stopped poking Hidan and yawned. Her eyelids were beginning to get heavy since she didn't sleep a lot yesterday. How could everything go downhill so quickly in one day? Nothing would happen if she slept for a few minutes… or hours. Maybe just a little nap…

"… Arashi?" Wow. That was quick. Arashi was already dreaming, and someone was calling her name. Sounded like Hidan. Weird. She was dreaming that Hidan was awake.

"Arashi." Hm. This pillow was warm. Arashi unconscious snuggled deeper into the pillow. The voice echoed through her head again, angry now, "Woman, get off of me."

"No."

"Arashi, I'm serious."

Arashi snapped her eyes opened and glared, "No. I'm tired." She laid her head on the warm pillow again.

Hidan sighed with Arashi on his chest, "This is seriously uncomfortable."

"Shut up," Arashi growled. And then she realized she wasn't dreaming. She opened her eyes and snapped her head up, "Hidan?"

Hidan rolled his eyes, "Duh." Before he could say another word, Arashi embraced him in a hug. Hidan chuckled, "Arashi has anyone taught you about f-cking personal space?" Arashi hugged Hidan tighter, "You swore! I never thought I'd be this happy to hear you swear!"

Hidan chuckled and returned the hug. Arashi let go of Hidan and curled up in his lap. The Jashinist rubbed the back of her head as she leaned against his chest. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Arashi spoke up.

"Hidan, what happened? Are you better now?" Hidan didn't answer this question. He pressed his face into her brown hair. Arashi sighed but stayed quiet and settled for listening to the beating of Hidan's heart.

Hidan closed his eyes, trying desperately to take in the moment. He paid attention to all the tiny details he knew he was going to miss. "Mm. Arashi you smell nice," Hidan mumbled.

Arashi blinked, "Hidan… That's sort of creepy." Hidan ignored her and hugged her tighter. Arashi didn't protest, but nuzzled him affectionately. Hidan took a deep breath and forced himself to push Arashi away. "Why don't you get something to eat?"

Arashi stared at him before replying a meek 'okay' and pressing her lips to Hidan's. Hidan returned the kiss and held her tightly. Tightly enough so that Arashi couldn't let go. When he finally did release her, the kunoichi stared at her boyfriend, "You okay?"

Hidan nodded and pushed her away. Arashi walked towards the door, "You sure?" Hidan sighed, "Yes I'm sure. Seriously, you're such f-cking annoying bitch." Arashi smiled and left the room.

Hidan lay back down on the bed. I'll give you a little time to speak to her, Jashin had said, Say goodbye, and then we'll begin. "Ugh. I'm too f-cking pathetic to even say goodbye." Hidan slapped himself in the forehead. He shut his eyes and instantly began to slip from consciousness.

He broke out in a wide grin, "Kill me, Jashin. Maybe I'll get a kick out of it." And then Hidan lost consciousness.

"You disappoint me Hidan," Jashin said. "You really could have gone far in life if you had listened to me."

Hidan smirked at the god, "Hey, man. What can I say? I'm in love." Jashin narrowed his eyes at this. "Love. You have no time for love, Hidan. But you already knew that. You lost your chance. So I'm afraid that…" he pulled out the long sword once again (did anyone else reading this get that line out of context? Because I sure did) "I am afraid that I must annihilate you." Hidan chuckled, "Go ahead. I've always wondered what it would feel like… To die." Jashin said nothing as he charged at Hidan, the slender sword gleaming in the eerie light.

At that moment, Arashi walked in. Full at last and cheery, eager to see Hidan awake and waiting for her. Except he was neither awake nor waiting for her. Sleeping. Again.

Arashi sighed. Oh well. He was tired anyway, and needed some sleep. She bent down and kissed Hidan's forehead before leaving the infirmary. She grabbed a food bag from her room and raced outside.

Immediately, she was greeted by a number of woodland animals. Each of them was anxious to know why she'd stayed inside the whole day. Arashi simply said "I don't wanna talk about it."

After the food was gone (in less than one minute), Arashi decided to head back to the base. Waving goodbye to the animals, she ran back inside and to the room where Hidan was sleeping.

She opened the door to the infirmary to find Hidan lying on the bed, groaning. Arashi sighed. Should have expected this. Arashi rushed to his side and began tending to Hidan… again.

-----

Seven days. Seven freaking days of pure hell. Seven days of no sleep and Arashi prying herself from Hidan's side to get something to eat. Seven days of frustration and the occasional banging of her head against the wall.

"Wait a minute…" Arashi said as she poured a dose of medicine down Hidan's throat. Seven days is equal to one week, right? So that means… Kawauso will be coming back. And that means that she could heal Hidan!

Her enthusiasm returning, Arashi embraced Hidan in a quick hug. "Hidan, Kawauso's coming!"

"Ugh…"

"I know, isn't this great news?" Arashi then realized that she probably shouldn't be hugging Hidan at the moment. "Oh uh… Sorry." She set him down, "Be right back."

When she left the infirmary, the first person she saw down the hall was none other than Deidara. "Deidara!" she squealed. The artist blinked and turned around. Arashi tackled him to the ground. She brought her face closer to his and smirked. "My, my, this is awkward."

Deidara rolled his eyes, "Why are you on top of me, hmm?" Arashi's grin stretched wider, "You wanna be on top?" Deidara's eye twitched and he pushed her off of him. "Why are you so cheery suddenly, hmm? Are you-"Arashi turned serious again, "I know what you are about to say, and the answer is no, I am not having 'feminine problems.'"

Deidara sighed and stood up, "So what gives then, hmm?" Arashi hopped upwards as well, "Kawauso's coming back soon. And then he can help me heal Hidan! I need to ask Leader if they've arrived yet." With that, she left, leaving Deidara with his thoughts. "… That girl is insane, hmm."

Pein was staring at the microwave in the kitchen, watching the numbers count down. The machine made a low purring sound as it cooked hot pockets inside.

"SIR LEADER!"

Pein sighed at the voice. "Yes, Arashi?" He asked threw gritted teeth. "Are Itachi and Kisame back with Kawauso?" The leader sighed, "I don't know. I'm not in charge of what happens here."

"Yes you are."

"… Arashi, you can go now." A scent of smoke filled the air. Pein narrowed his eyes, "Did Deidara blow something up again?"

Arashi glanced at the microwave, "Uh. Your hot pockets are burning."

"DAMN IT!"

Arashi decided to leave the room so that Pein wouldn't snap in front of her. Now then, if Kawauso were back… Where would he be…? Arashi instinctively checked her room. And of course, Kawauso was lying on the bed and devouring fish.

"ACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Arashi screeched. Kawauso whirled around, "ARASHI! CAN'T YOU KNOCK?"

"Why are you eating god forsaken meat?"

"Because I'm a carnivore!"

"How many time do I have to- Argh, never mind. Kawauso, come with me now. She grabbed her partner's paw and dragged him through the door that led to the infirmary. "Why are you bringing me here? What's so important- HOLY SHIT."

Kawauso, being the stupid otter he is, immediately began prodding Hidan. The Jashinist groaned and moved away from his touch. "Kawauso, stop." Kawauso looked at Arashi, and instantly realized that this situation was serious. "Well uh… What's wrong with him?" Kawauso asked.

Arashi sighed, sitting down on the bed, next to Hidan. "I'm not sure, actually. But I think something's tearing him from the inside out. Poison, maybe, but an extremely powerful one. If I try to extract it using the snake… well I don't think he would be able to handle it." Kawauso glanced at the injured ninja again, "Yeah. Neither do I. So, do you propose that we use the water technique?" The otter made a face when Arashi nodded. "Augh. I hate that."

Arashi glared at him, "It's the only thing we can do." She pulled the covers off of Hidan, exposing his naked chest. Kawauso's eye twitched, feeling uncomfortable in an instant. "Woah, woah. You're not gonna get all romantic right?" Arashi growled at him, "Just shut up and get over here."

Kawauso shivered, "Where do I start?" Arashi gestured to a wound on Hidan's side. She began to remove the bandages. Kawauso sighed and water began leaking from his azure fur. He shaped it into a liquid sphere and glanced at his partner. Arashi nodded, and he began.

(You should know what the italics mean by now.)

"So, Hidan. How does it feel?" Jashin asked while watching his follower with mild amusement. Hidan gasped and sucked in air. "N…Not that great…actually." The silver haired man replied. Jashin chuckled, "I truly wish I could speed this up, but watching you writhe in pain is too…satisfying."

Hidan winced as more blood flowed from the countless wounds he had. Suddenly, the pain subsided. It was as if a cool sponge had been placed over his wound absorbed the pain from his body. Hidan sighed contently and shut his tired eyes. "WHAT?" Jashin roared, "What is going on?"

"Okay, move to this one," Arashi told Kawauso and pointed at Hidan's chest. Kawauso carefully extracted the water from Hidan's wound and let it fall in a bucket. He conjured up clean liquid and set his paws over the Jashinist's chest wound. The water gently seeped through his skin, and Arashi placed her hands directly on the injury. She watched as Hidan's face relaxed. "It's working," she stated and began to heal him with her chakra.

Kawauso glanced at their patient for a second before returning his attention to the wound. They were silent as the flesh slowly started knitting back together. "Hey, Kawauso." The otter looked up at Arashi. She flashed him a smile, "Thanks." Kawauso grinned and got back to work.

"Grr… I can't let this happen!"

"'Kay. We're done here," Arashi announced. They moved onto the next wound that had appeared during Arashi's seven day wait.

"Impossible. Hidan has already been judged…"

Slowly the next wound began to close up. They moved on to the next one.

"And nobody…"

Arashi smiled to herself. It was actually working. Maybe soon things would be back to normal. If her life was normal, that is.

"Nobody defies Lord Jashin's judgment!"

For a second, Arashi had thought that Hidan had pulled through. That she and Kawauso's teamwork had healed him. But then…

Hidan's rosary broke. The quiet sound was enough to make both Kawauso and Arashi jump after the long silence. It just snapped and fell off of his neck, the beads scattering every which way.

Arashi heavily believed in omens. And this was indeed an omen. "…Kawauso… You can go now," she whispered. Kawauso was about to protest, but decided against it and left the room quietly.

Arashi sat on the bed with her knees next to Hidan's side. She stroked Hidan's forehead. "Hidan…?" Arashi whispered. The kunoichi repeated his name and buried her face in his bare chest.

And then, of course, Hidan hacked up blood. Arashi tightly shut her eyes, gripping his arms tightly. She waited for the coughing to stop. And, of course, it didn't. The Fenikkusu lifted her head and shook Hidan lightly.

"Come on, wake up, dammit."

The purple eyes slowly blinked open to meet Arashi's worried face. "Hidan," she said sternly, "What's wrong with you." Hidan stared at her blankly before chuckling quietly. Blood dripped steadily from the corner of his mouth.

"…heh. Sorry…Arashi…chan. J-"he cringed, "Jashin… doesn't w- ugh… want me to… be with you." She stared blankly at him, "What? Why? How's he doing this? But aren't you immortal?"

Hidan lazily blinked at her flood of questions. "Oh… trust me…" he chuckled, "Jashin… has his…" Hidan's voice faltered as he winced in pain and coughed more blood. Arashi stroked Hidan's hair, "Don't talk." The masochist shut his eyes with a long sigh.

Arashi laid her head on his chest again, listening to his shaky breathing. "… Hidan…?" She hated how weak her voice sounded, "Are you… going to be okay?"

Hidan grabbed her face in his hands and pulled her upwards until they met eye to eye. He pressed his lips against hers, stroking her brown locks softly. Finally, he pulled away with a serious expression on his face. And he gave her a simple answer:

"No."

"What? Hidan! Are you going to…? H-Hidan?" No answer. She lifted her head to look at Hidan. His eyes were blinking shut. "…sorry," he murmured. He was silent.

Arashi stared at him, poked him in the forehead, and continued staring. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him, "Hidan, you can't die! You're freaking immortal! Oh my God… Jashin! Whatever! Come on, Hidan, don't give up yet… Hidan?"

She was silent for awhile. Nope. I'm not gonna cry this time. I'm a full grown woman, and women are strong! Arashi thought to herself. A few seconds later…

"… Screw it. I'm gonna bawl my eyes out." She got off the bed and pulled the covers over Hidan's body. "... Crying outside." Without another word, she left the infirmary and then the Akatsuki base.

She walked down the winding mountain path and entered the forest. The sky over head was dark gray. "Oh great! Rain!" Arashi shouted at the sky, "Perfect for the mood!" A single raindrop splattered on her forehead and rolled down her cheek. Well, at least it wouldn't seem like she was crying.

So she sat down in the forest and cried. And the skies above cried as well. Although, because of her horrible mood, Arashi thought it felt more like the heavens were mocking her.

She lifted her head to the gloomy sky and watched the rain fall and splash herself and the forest around her. For some reason, rain always seemed to calm her. The cold that was beginning to take over her body felt eerily comforting. She hugged her knees and sobbed some more while listening to the patter of raindrops.

But then they stopped. Arashi glanced up to see something held above her head. Deidara was behind her, holding his Akatsuki cloak above her shivering body. Arashi sniffled and wiped some "raindrops" (tears) from her cheek as the artist sat down next to her, placing his cloak on her shoulders.

"… How long have I been here?"

"About an hour… hmm."

An hour? But it only seemed like five minutes! Deidara hugged her tightly to his chest, "You're freezing."

"I know," Arashi replied. Deidara sighed and stroked her forehead. "Did… Kawauso tell you?" she asked him.

"He said that you were having an "emotional breakdown," hmm."

"Heh. Seems like he knows me well," Arashi mumbled. They were silent then, Arashi leaning against his chest as the rain continued to fall. He was so silent that she would have forgotten he was there if she couldn't feel the rise and fall of his chest.

"How're you feeling, hmm?" he asked. Arashi was silent and then she stood up. "I don't know. Confused I guess. Sure I'm all sad and stuff. But now…" she felt the familiar boiling warmth take over her body. The winged tattoo, previously a gloomy blue, now flashed bright silver. "Now I feel like punching the shit out of something."

Arashi punched the nearest object, something soft. She let out a contented sigh, "Whew. I feel better n- … Whoops." Deidara as kneeling on the ground, clutching his stomach. "Eheh. Sorry. I was just… Uh. You okay?" She knelt next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"…Ouch… Yeah," he took a deep breath, "I'm okay, hmm." He started to stand up, but clutched his head and sat back down, "Ow. I feel dizzy, hmm…" Arashi sweatdropped, "Are you gonna throw up?" Deidara shook his head, "Maybe you should go for a walk, hmm…"

Arashi smiled nervously and stood back up, "Uh, yeah… That's a good idea… Here, have your cloak back." She tossed him his clothing and started walking deeper into the forest. She glanced back at Deidara who was going in the opposite direction, arms still crossed around his stomach and his cloak draped on his shoulders. She released a shaky sigh and continued her walk.

As the pitter patter of rain continued, Arashi's mind slowly shut down until she was merely walking. Not going anywhere, with nowhere to go. It was as simple as that. A tiny part of her told her to go back, to suck it up and move on. She was a ninja. Even better, a female ninja. Women are strong, so go back. That's what the voice told her.

Go back where? Even if she went back, he'd still be there. Dead. So the tiny voice agreed with her, and she moved on. A single kunoichi surrounded by the silent trees of the forest and cascading raindrops of pity.

A single hawk fluttered its way towards her. On its leg was a scroll, which it took off and placed it in Arashi's outstretched hands. The bird flew off immediately. Leaning against a tree to keep it from getting wet, Arashi opened the scroll and read it. Oh boy… Meet me at the forest. It was from Iji. Why would he send a scroll to her telling her to meet her at 'the forest?' The forest was a place in the Fire Country which they always met when Arashi was still travelling. … Wait. She'd forgotten. Tenshinhige and Sagegami were coming after the Akatsuki, and she had sent a scroll informing Iji. Oh well. Who cares if they kill her? She was already dead.

She continued to walk until the trees shied away from her, and she arrived in a clearing. The forest continued on the other side, she would go there. So she made her way through the empty meadow. Arashi started dragging her legs until she finally collapsed in the dead center. What was the point? She didn't have anywhere to go, and nowhere to go back to. Might as well sit here and do what she came to do. Arashi pulled her knees to her chest and cried her eyes out.

"… Hidan?" The man with purple eyes turned to his lord. Jashin stood next to Hidan, with his back turned to him. His blood red hair lightly brushed Hidan's cheek as the Jashinist lay on his back in the center of the Jashin symbol. "Explain the emotion of… love to me. I can only experience hatred and rage… And greed and all the rest of the bad stuff. I want to know what this love is."

Hidan chuckled. Despite his outside appearance, he was able to speak through his mind just fine. "Like I said… Or rather tried to say. I don't think you'd understand." Jashin pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to face Hidan. He knelt down beside his follower. "What happens…? When you're in love."

Hidan smirked, "It's like the strongest emotion. Hormones and all that shit. It's even more powerful than hatred." Jashin immediately became alert. Hidan looked away from the god and stared straight upwards. "It's like you wanna be with them forever. You don't want some blonde dumbass with a speech problem stealing them from you. You don't want them to die; you don't wanna be separated from them. … You know."

"No, I don't," Jashin replied. Hidan smiled at this and continued, "Well, it's just like whenever I see her… my heart starts pounding and I get butterflies in my stomach." Jashin stared into his eyes, "You have insects in your digestive system?" Hidan returned the look with a harsh glare, "I can't help but feel sorry for leaving her and all. I'm such an asshole. I didn't even say goodbye. She probably feels all sad and shit…" he stopped there, lost in his thoughts.

Jashin was silent as well for awhile. Until he spoke up. "Yeah…" he said, "She probably does feel sad…"

Arashi was beginning to feel numb. The rain never seemed to stop. So much for pity rain. The rain felt like tiny pricks of icy pain on her skin. But she didn't care.

She should probably head back to the base now… Oh who cares? They're probably starting to worry about her. Who the hell gives a shit about what they think. Who cares about anything? Why couldn't the world just leave her the hell alone?!

A spark of energy surged through her body. She moved a fist to punch the ground angrily. But her fingers wouldn't move. She shakily held her hand in front of her face. Arashi's skin was pale white, and her fingers were frozen in place. The kunoichi dropped her hand back down. Good, maybe she'll freeze to death.

Exhaustion took over her body. Still sniffling, Arashi collapsed in the drenched clearing with her tears' paths fresh on her face. The cruel, cruel world turned black as she slipped out of consciousness.

-----

"Aw man, Arashi. Why'd you do this to yourself? …. Well whatever. Come on."

If she were conscious, Arashi would have felt someone lift her onto their shoulders and carry her back to the Akatsuki base.

"Geez, you're cold. You can't take care of yourself, can you?"

If she were conscious, Arashi would have felt the rain come to a halt as she entered a building, but she wasn't conscious.

"There, that's better. Now stay here, okay?"

She would have felt someone place her on a bed. But she isn't conscious. Aren't you paying attention? Arashi felt warmth encase her shivering body as her senses slowly starting coming back to life. Something warm was next to her and she felt the familiar warm pillow.

Arashi automatically moved towards that warmth and laid her head on the pillow. The object brought her closer to itself and wrapped her in its warmth. There was a comforting sound coming from the pillow- a heartbeat. Arashi sighed contently and drifted off to sleep.

-----

Arashi awoke with someone next to her. For a second, she thought it was him. But it obviously wasn't. It was Deidara. Arashi groaned and tried to sit up, but she was too tired to do so.

"So, you're awake." Arashi ignored Deidara, but snuggled deeper into his chest. Then she realized that Deidara didn't say 'hmm' after his sentence. Her eyes snapped open to look at the person she was lying in bed with.

"You should feel honored," Hidan said with a triumphant smirk on his face, "You're the first girl I've ever slept with."

-----

This took awhile. x-x I realized how short most of the chapters were, so I decided to make it a bit longer. But it was taking foreevveeer. So here you go. Enjoy and please don't kill me.