Kiba awoke to a soft rustle beside him and the sounds of the forest at night. There was the faint sound of rushing water coming from the far right, but he didn't focus too much on that. The pounding headache and sore back that were screaming at him kind of beat out the survey of his environment.

"If it were up to me-"

"You already heard Pein, you idiot! The boy is not to be harmed! We're already in big trouble for having let him take part in the fighting. I don't need you trying to sacrifice him being added into my problems!"

Kakuzu and Hidan weren't shouting. But they weren't whispering either. Their voices were a bit muddled, though, and Kiba attributed that to the hit to the head he had received a few minutes before he had completely blacked out.

"But he cost me those-" Hidan tried to whine, but Kiba soon heard a sharp slap and a shout of pain ring out. "Fuck face!"

"You got your sacrifices! The kid wasn't awake to see it, and, quite frankly, I'm kind of happy he didn't get to see what you did to those people. Hidan, there is such a thing as going too far."

"I didn't go too far! Those kills had to be extra brutal to be able to appease my Lord's anger."

"Hidan... Those things you did... That was too far and you know it."

Kiba had no idea what those two were talking about. And his pain fogged brain was much too out of it to piece everything together at the moment. All he could do was keep his eyes closed and try to maintain his breath steady, all the while the pain coursing through his body left him thinking about a horrible time he would much rather never think about ever again.

This pain wasn't the same as the last type he was subjected to... But it was still pain. It still traveled up his body and through his heart, piercing it, leaving it aching.

It was at this moment that Kiba decided that he despised physical pain. And, if it were up to him, he would never allow anyone to hurt him ever again.

He would have to begin to train even harder with Hiruko and Kisame to make sure he would never fall to this kind of pain ever again.

"Well, I don't know what we're hanging around here for..." Hidan mumbled after a beat of silence, then Kiba heard further rustling come from his side. "We already have the money from the bounty. We could just start heading back to the hideout without wasting any more time if you're really so desperate to get the kid back to the leader."

There was a soft grunt from Kakuzu, then Kiba felt something soft brush against his forehead.

"I don't want to run the risk of getting back there and the kid not being conscious. You know just how bad Konan or Pein would react to seeing him like this. Especially after the big warning they gave you."

"They warned you too..." Hidan's voice almost sounded like a whine, as if he were a child that knew he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Yeah, they did... But I'm not the one they'll blame for his condition and you know that. If anyone's going to get punished for what happened to him today, it'll be you."

There was an annoyed growl from Hidan's direction and Kiba swore he heard Kakuzu chuckling softly. Then he felt something else brushing against his arm, lifting it up to turn it over in calloused hands.

"That's not fair! I didn't do anything to hurt him!"

"Hidan..." Kakuzu sounded annoyed and tired.

"Fuck face..."Hidan, on the other hand, seemed to have an endless well of energy when it came to being an annoyance.

"You were the one to grab him after he scared off your victims. You were the one to break skin and cause his arms to bleed. Sure, the target may have been the one to knock him out, but if it hadn't been for you being so preoccupied with making him pay, he'd most probably never even have gotten hurt."

Kakuzu's voice sounded closer at this point, and once he'd finished talking, whatever had been used to lift Kiba's arm up slowly lowered it back to the ground. Then Kiba found his hand back on the ground and a soft hand sliding out from under it.

"But!"

"Dammit, you idiot! Can you please just stop arguing for once in your life?!" The shout from Kakuzu seemed to be enough to shut Hidan up for the moment for Kakuzu continued with, "Now I'm sure he's only a few hours from waking up, which means we'll be able to head back to the organization's H.Q. after that. I'm going to go and bathe by that waterfall. If he wakes up, I want you to keep your mouth shut and come and get me."

"But-"

Hidan's shout was cut off by a sharp slap resounding across the forest. Apparently Kakuzu wasn't in the mood for the man's childishness anymore. But he most probably didn't want to waste any energy in killing him either. So slapping the man seemed to be the next best thing.

Kiba's mind was slowly getting back into the swing of processing information, although it was slowly. And by the time he had finally understood the fact that Kakuzu had just left him alone with an undoubtedly ticked off Hidan, the man was far gone.

Slowly, Kiba's sense of smell began to come back to him. And with it came being able to smell Hidan's scent. And this one was so overrun by the smell of death and blood that Kiba had to stop himself from gagging and crying out.

Minutes of pure silence passed in which the boy did his best to remain as still as possible, forcing his body to stay as motionless as it could, while his mind raced.

The men's conversation from before. It meant a lot. He was sure of it. So he began to run it over, his much less foggy mind now being able to process some of the underlying meanings he had missed when they had spoken.

Okay... First of all, Kakuzu had said something about 'they' warning both Hidan and Kakuzu to not let any harm fall onto Kiba. Could they mean their higher ups? The people that bossed them around? But... Kiba had only heard of one leader. Could there possibly be more? And why would they be so adamant about him not getting hurt?

Wait a minute... Kiba could remember Kakuzu muttering Konan and Pein. Pein? Who could that be? And did this mean that Konan was a leader of the organization?

It seemed that for every question he formulated, five more popped up. And he barely ever received any answers.

For a moment, Kiba pondered if he should try and decipher what had been said between Hidan and Kakuzu about sacrifices. But one sniff at the air and having to suppress the gag rising up in him and Kiba knew that he didn't want to think on it. Not if he wanted to maintain the small amount of peace he had managed to gain from breathing in and out to concentrate.

"You're really fucking lucky Kakuzu's here to watch after you."

Panic began to bubble up in Kiba as Hidan's scent became almost overwhelming, the man much too close to his body. But he tried to squash that panic down, telling himself that he was feigning to be asleep and Hidan didn't know he was awake.

A few seconds of silence stretched out and Kiba thought he would be safe for the moment. Then Hidan spoke up once more and shattered his hopes.

"I know you're awake, idiot. And I know you've been awake for a while." The man took a moment to breathe in, then he continued, "Open your damn eyes. You honestly look like an even bigger retard than you actually are by trying to act as if you're sleeping."

A small voice in the back of his head told Kiba that, if he kept his eyes closed, then the monster that was Hidan wouldn't be able to get to him. But that childish voice was immediately stamped down by the knowledge of how dangerous Hidan truly was. So, with sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, the boy cracked one eye open.

A starry night sky was the first thing that met him. And if he had been with anyone other than Hidan, then Kiba would have commented about how beautiful it was. But seeing how he was with Hidan, the boy chose to keep his mouth shut.

The next thing he noted was that Hidan was covered by blood. His cloak was torn and ripped up, reminding Kiba of how cloth would tear when someone grasped it much too firmly. And the man was smirking calmly, the complete opposite of what the boy had come to expect from him.

He had thought Hidan would be pissed off and cursing him out for having scared off the people in the tavern.

He must have done something to make up for it to seem so happy...

Bile began to rise in Kiba's stomach at the very thought of what the man could have done to make up for it.

"I bet you're wondering just why I'm not trying to rip your head off right now." The silver haired man gave Kiba a toothy smile after he had said this, "Well I was able to replace all of those souls you owed me. It was rather fun, you know. Challenging even. Those mercenaries sure know how to scrap!"

The man's words were spoken with complete pride and happiness, something that made Kiba's stomach begin to churn at the very idea of what had happened to Hidan's victims.

He had thought Hidan would be annoyed with him for having warned the tavern goers of his ill intentions. He even though he would be prepared for the repercussions that would undoubtedly come. He was ready to get his ass handed to him for having gotten in the way of something that was so obviously important to the man. But he certainly had not been prepared for the man to be so calm and seemingly relaxed.

"You know... I can't understand why you stopped me from killing those performers. It's not like you knew any of them." Hidan stated conversationally, then crouched beside the boy with a quirked eyebrow, "Did you?"

"I-I..." Kiba wanted to tell the man that he had no wanted to take part in a massacre, no matter who it was. If he knew them or not didn't matter. He refused to be part of senseless killing. But he couldn't formulate the words. Not with the man's uncharacteristic calmness throwing him for such a loop.

The man's red eyes bore into Kiba's own for what seemed to be an eternity, as if searching for the answer Kiba wasn't able to create. Then, much to the boy's surprise, the man began to laugh while shaking his head.

"You actually care about people! That's fucking hilarious!"

His boisterous laughter caught the Inuzuka completely off guard. This man was... Not right. He must be completely unhinged if anything. Especially if he was laughing because of Kiba caring for other people.

"Let me guess, you stopped me because you didn't want anyone getting hurt, didn't you?" Hidan mocked, throwing himself back onto the floor as he did so, "That's just-Oh! It's too fucking good!"

Then he fell into a huge fit of laughter that seemed to have no end in sight. The man kicked out his legs and clutched at his stomach, as if what he had said was the most hilarious thing he had thought of in his life.

At first, Kiba could only stare at the man.

The young boy now looked at Hidan with both of his eyes widened slightly, not completely sure if what he was seeing was truly what was happening. Then, the more time Hidan spent on the floor laughing, the more annoyed the kid became. And as time passed and Hidan refused to shut up, Kiba was able to sit himself up, glare at the man, and finally find his voice.

"That's not funny!" He managed to shout, immediately catching Hidan's attention. "How can slaughtering innocents ever be fun?"

Once more they fell into silence. But this time, Kiba had no idea just what could happen. Hidan wasn't smiling anymore. But he wasn't glaring at Kiba either. He was just... Staring at the boy. Looking into his eyes. Piercing his very soul with those oddly colored eyes.

A chill went down the Inuzuka's back the more Hidan stared at him, the burst of anger that had prompted him to speak up receding and leaving him regretful for having said anything. But Hidan wasn't saying anything... Instead he was just looking at him. And this made Kiba fidget uncomfortably and look away.

He hated the silence they had fallen into. And the only way to break it was to get the man talking again... So, after swallowing deeply to try and recover some bravery, the boy opened his mouth once more. "Th-they... I mean... They were innocent." He began, eyes focused on the trees in front of him rather than the man that was most probably staring at him. "How can you kill someone that has done nothing wrong?"

His voice was just above a whisper. If Hidan hadn't been paying attention to him, then he most probably wouldn't even have heard the boy speak up. And as the seconds of silence stretched in front of them once more, Kiba began to believe that the man hadn't heard him at all.

Then Hidan actually spoke up. And, once more, he managed to surprise Kiba by not becoming enraged.

"How do you know they're innocent?"

"Wait- what?"

Kiba blinked as he looked back at Hidan, only to find that the man was sitting up on the floor, his legs crossed beneath him with arms crossed over his chest. The man's face wasn't in its customary sneer or smirk, and instead seemed to hold an amused smile. And this was odd because... Why would the man be amused with what Kiba had just said?

"I mean, for you innocent means good, right?" Hidan asked, prompting a shaky and uneasy nod from the tattooed boy. "And by you asking me how I could kill someone innocent, you're really asking me how could I kill someone that was good..." Then the smile became just a bit more twisted, but not insane enough to even seem like it belonged on Hidan's face. "But, the thing is, you're parting from the premise that these people you saved weren't bad."

Then the man quirked his eyebrow and dropped the smile, adopting a more quizzical look on his features, "But, let me ask you: How do you know they were good people?"

Kiba was caught completely off guard by how intelligent Hidan sounded at the moment, how incredibly sane he seemed.

But... No! Those people had been good people! Kiba was sure of it. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that they didn't smell of blood or death. They didn't even smell of metal or poisons... Like nothing one could find in a person that caused harm in others. And this he was sure of from the experiences he had had with people that were dangerous and smelled like this.

"They were good people!" Kiba whispered to himself, looking down at his hands and away from Hidan.

"That wasn't what I asked you, kid." Hidan breathed out easily, then continued, "I asked how you know they were good people? I mean," Then the man clicked his tongue in thought before snapping his fingers, as if he had found the words he had lost, "How do you know they weren't bad people? How are you so sure that they weren't sadists that would torture you to death if given the chance?"

The very thought of people as seemingly nice as those people... No! "They were good people! They didn't smell of blood! They-"

"Blood, huh?" Hidan interrupted, causing Kiba to look at him with wide and frightened eyes. "Is that how you identify people? By how they smell?"

This was when Kiba noticed that Hidan had known nothing about him other than him being a tracker. And he had just allowed him to know how he identified people. He had just given away one of his greatest strengths without a single thought.

"So you can smell the blood on people? Guess that makes sens... You're terrified of Kakuzu and I after all. We should be inundated with that kind of smell..." The silver haired man let loose a few humored chuckles at this thought, but he soon shook his head and brought the conversation back to the initial topic. "So they didn't smell like blood. What does that mean, really? They could be the kind that keep their hands clean by making others do their dirty work. They could be manipulative bastards without a single good bone within their body."

The fact that Hidan was so nonchalant about these horrible scenarios helped Kiba in no manner. Seeing the man being so calm about an issue that caused so much worry and internal struggles in Kiba only made the boy feel extremely vulnerable. And he had no idea how he was supposed to react.

What the man was saying... To an extent, made sense. But if what he was saying was true then... He hadn't saved innocents. He'd saved criminals. But that made no sense! They didn't smell like criminals! They didn't smell like bad people!

It didn't make any sense!

"But..." Kiba struggled to swallow the lump in his throat, then looked up at Hidan with wide eyes. "Why are you saying this? Why are you telling me all of this?"

The man didn't seem to be the least be affected, even though Kiba literally felt like he was being shattered into pieces. Instead Hidan kept his cool air about him and a simple smile on his face as he leaned back slightly.

"Why? Simple, really. I'm opening your eyes to the truth." The man answered with a decisive nod, "How are you so sure that those people were innocent? How are you so sure they were good people?" Then he smirked at Kiba, regaining that cocky aura Kiba had hoped he would eventually adopt so he could have a drop of familiarity in this unreal situation. "Fuck kid, haven't you heard? No one is free of sin!"

They weren't bad people! Kiba was sure of this!

"But who are you to decide who dies?!" Kiba shouted out of desperation, tears stinging his eyes the more he looked at the man that was completely sure of himself. "You have no right!"

"Wrong!" The Jashinist jumped up with a sudden burst of energy that prompted Kiba to jump away, fear filling him once more. "I don't have a right to be prejudiced in my killing!" Hidan shouted, then smirked once more and rolled his shoulders, as if to show that he wasn't about to jump and attack Kiba.

But the boy made no move to go back to where he had once sat. He just remained with his legs pulled up to his chest and his hand grasping the poisoned kunai in the pouch on his leg.

"The difference between what I do and what the really bad bastards do, kid..." The man then began to walk towards Kiba, slowly but surely.

Inch by inch, Kiba's sense of smell was overcome with the smell of blood and death that radiated from Hidan, filling up his nose and overwhelming it completely. And once he was right in front of the boy, the silver haired man dropped down and smiled broadly, almost insanely.

Kiba had to force his hand to stay down and not stab Hidan with all of his strength.

"The biggest difference is that I don't give a damn who I'm killing. Innocent or guilty, I murder everyone the same." Hidan's hand then came up to cup Kiba's jaw, his eyes never leaving the boy's own.

Kiba felt his whole body freeze as soon as the man's cold hand made contact with it. And he was so terrified he couldn't make any words.

"You're just a lost little lamb surrounded by deranged wolves... Aren't you? So young and innocent." The man remarked, then scoffed with a shake of his head. "It's fucking adorable."

No thoughts came into the boy's mind. Panic was ringing out all around, telling him that Hidan was going to hurt him if he didn't make any moves first. But, even if he had wanted to stab Hidan, his hand would not move. His body was completely frozen. His heart beat loudly in his chest and his breathing came out ragged... He hated feeling like this.

"Hidan."

The man's eyes didn't leave Kiba's as he answered the newest arrival.

"What's up, fuck face?"

Kiba hadn't even heard the man walk back to them... Hadn't even smelled him. The repugnant smell wafting from Hidan completely overtook his senses, drowning out any possibilities of smelling anything else.

The only reason why Kiba had yet to convulse at the sheer smell was because of how paralyzed with fear he had become.

"Step away from the kid. Now." Kakuzu growled lowly, tone final and devoid of any room for argument.

For a moment, Kiba found himself thinking that, if Kakuzu were to want to, he wouldn't mind the man spearing and killing Hidan like he had hours before. At least then the horrible stench coming from him would be overcome by pure death. That way he wouldn't be bombarded with blood and death.

"I didn't hurt him in any way, cheap bastard." Hidan winked at Kiba as he stood up, taking a step back to turn and face his partner fully. "He's fine. See? No further injuries."

Kakuzu's bright green eyes looked Hidan over before they scanned Kiba, who remained paralyzed with fear clear on his features.

"I see..." The man muttered, keeping his eyes on Kiba for a second longer before he turned to Hidan once more. "We can head back to the base then. Pack your shit up."

Kiba was scrambling and rushing back to his pack and making sure he had everything he had come with before Kakuzu even needed to give him the order.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Now, if you guys noticed, I changed the cover for the story. This one I made myself!

And did y'all notice that I have now reached 100,000+ words with this chapter? I believe this calls for a small celebration!

But, aside from that, please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter.