He was perfectly sane until Jashin found him.
His whole life, something had been following him. He wasn't sure what, only that it was dangerous, and may very well kill him. So he avoided the dark thing in the back of his mind, putting his all into his life, trying to not think about anything other than mundane things.
Things often happen when you try to avoid them.
It happened on a battlefield. In the shinobi world, everything started and ended on the battlefield. Your life didn't begin until your first battle, and your life was ended when you fought your last battle, whether you died or not. Ninjas married on the battlefield, covered in blood. They were joined by death they created, and the death that would separate them.
He had watched his best friend Ikaika die in front of him, followed by Ikaika's girlfriend Mitsuna. Ikaika died by his own weapon, as a shadow user forced him to stab himself. Mitsuna was torn apart by a wind jitsu moments after Ikaika died.
He snapped, and tore all the enemies, well over thirty of them, to pieces, like Mitsuna had been. Gathering his friends' bodies, he set up a bonfire, placing them gently in the flames, leaving all the others to rot in the sun.
As the smell of burned flesh hit his nose, a voice spoke in his head, quiet and almost understanding.
They are dead.
"Obviously," Hidan snarled, scrubbing at his burning eyes. "I couldn't fucking save them! They were going to get married soon, and now they're fucking dead!"
It's because you are weak.
Hidan scoffed, picking up Ikaika's scythe, the only weapon his friend has ever fought with. The three blades caught the afternoon sunlight, illuminating Ikaika's blood on the metal. "Yeah, so I'm fucking weak. So I couldn't save them."
There will be others you cannot save. I can make it so you can, Hidan.
Hidan smiled bitterly. "The only way you can save any bastard important to you is if you're fucking immortal."
Well...do you want to be immortal? It's a simple request.
Hidan paused in gathering his friends' belongings. "What...would I have to do?"
Be loyal to me, and only me. Worship me, sacrifice to me. Be mine, Hidan, and the immortality is yours.
---
Often, getting into trouble once can lead you to more.
Hidan was granted his immortality by the voice, and told of the rituals and prayers he must do to be a loyal follower of Jashin. He killed, using Ikaika's scythe. He drank blood instead of water.
His sanity was gone as the years passed, and his body showed no sign of age. He was close to fifty now, but he was still twenty, and would remain so for the rest of time.
He was terrified by it. Eternity seemed too much, and he wished he could go back to the bloody field and say no. But he was Jashin's now. No death was allowed for any of Jashin's followers.
He killed. People tried to kill him, and they always died by his hand. Death was becoming something he could laugh about as his mind wore away. He wasn't the only insane ninja wandering the country. Another one was, and Hidan kept his eye out for a red haired teen, with a body count in the thousands. He wanted to fight a madman, prove he was still not insane, that he knew what he was doing, even as he killed.
He didn't know.
Soon, people came for him. Auburn hair, blue hair, and brown hair. Those were the only names Hidan would call them by for a long time.
He was partnered with brown hair. The man was angry, at life, with him, and they fought often, furling his insanity within.
The red haired teen came to Akatsuki during that time. The one Hidan had been looking for. At first, he was impressed with the state of the other teen. He sang, he laughed like a maniac, he danced, he killed. He was in deeper than Hidan was, so insane he couldn't tell friend from foe.
But the teen was healing, and soon, he was normal, working on puppets instead of wild dances in bloody fields. Hidan found it disappointing that the small blonde was healing the wild red head.
Brown hair, his partner, warmed up to Hidan. They didn't fight so much. But brown hair didn't save him like blondie had the red head. Well, he did. It just wasn't as obvious.
Hidan soon found himself in love with brown hair. Kakuzu. He had a name.
But Jashin didn't like love.
Everything would go wrong for Hidan if he said he loved him. He wanted to tell him, badly. But Jashin was always watching, always there, so he couldn't.
So he broke further, driving deeper into his mind as his soul cracked. And Jashin, who was suppose to be his savior, merely watched.
He should have never replied to the voice. It was now breaking his heart.
Author's Comments: It's crap. No yelling, please.