Chapter twenty-one

The sound of creaking footsteps from upstairs reaches Hidan's ears, making he jerks up right with wide eyes. Kakuzu was awake, and probably looking for them.

Shooting to his feet with Hikuzu in his arms, Hidan frantically ran from the room, heading to the back door. Hikuzu was looking around in fear, unsure of what was going on. Hidan grabbed for the door handle and tried to turn it. He shook with fear when it wouldn't open. The foot falls of his husband were getting closer to the stairs, alerting Hidan that he had run out of time to get out any other way. Fearfully, the albino ran back to the kitchen, looking around in panic.

He finally stopped and ducked down to the lower cabinet, setting Hikuzu down long enough to open the little door and shove the small child into it. Hidan shook as the sound of the footsteps descended what he supposed were the stairs, and he quickly huddled into the cabinet beside his son, shutting the doors quietly as he could.

The two sat in silence, staring at the small crack in the door with anticipation. Footfalls sounded just out side of the kitchen, Hidan freezing upon hearing them.

Sounds of the footsteps slowly became quiet; notifying the albino that the miser had walked passed the kitchen. He quietly sighed, looking over at his child. Hikuzu stared back, his eyes wide with fear of being found.

They waited again, sounds of the footsteps passing by the room again before Kakuzu's voice called out to them. The two tensed at this, staring into space with fear before calming again as the banker's footsteps continued down the hall.

Hikuzu bit at his bottom lip, becoming antsy with the agony of possibly being found. Hidan seemed to feel the same as he squirmed a little before freezing when the footsteps passed by again.

The two held their breath every time Kakuzu called out to them, asking them to come out and that he just wanted to talk. Hidan scoffed silently at this, not believing the miser in the least.

They remained in the cabinet for a while longer, waiting in silence and fear with the knowledge that they could be found at any minute. Neither of them seemed to drop their guard, even when they couldn't hear Kakuzu anymore. He was quiet possibly on the other side of the house by now.

Hidan groaned as quietly as he could, resting his head against the wall beside him. Hikuzu continued to bit at his lip, his hands twitching almost every second. The albino watched his son with worry, absolutely positive the poor child would forever be traumatized with fear of his own father.

He didn't like the idea; Hidan had always wanted Hikuzu to grow up in a loving environment unlike he had, and Kakuzu had done a wonderful job being a father to the child. Better than Hidan ever remembered Hidato had been to him; for a moment, he wondered where his father could be by now with that woman Kana he'd married upon Riima's admission to the psychotic ward. But his thoughts subsided from the parent figures of his life to that of his sister and sister-in-law.

Hidako and Kakuza had married privately not to long after the maid had become pregnant as their birthing mother for Hikuzu. The two women were thrilled at the idea, Hidako more so than Kakuzu's sister. They never got to see Hikuzu grow up, however, as they had left for the new land out west four years ago. Hidan was saddened by their sudden move, but knew he couldn't be with Hidako forever. She was a woman, old enough to take care of herself. Last he'd heard, the two lesbians had adopted a lovely daughter, but Hidan never found out what her name was.

Hidan was torn from his thoughts as he became rigid again, the sound of footsteps reaching them once more. Hikuzu froze as well, his eyes widening. It seemed he thought Kakuzu wouldn't come back for quite some time and found that he had been wrong.

The two seemed to loose all senses other than hearing when the kitchen door opened and Kakuzu walked in. Hikuzu stared at his mother figure in fear, his whole body frozen.

Hidan was as well, but his eyes were locked onto the silhouette of the greedy man he saw through the crack in the door.