Sakana

Hidan gave me the news: Our sweet little Zena had single-handedly taken down their target, and Zetsu had taken the tired girl back to the base.

"You all are pretty fuckin' special, you can't lie." Hidan laughed when I commented on how strong she had to be to do that.

"There's something else going on," I insisted. "Jashin has graced us or some shit."

He snorted, his green eyes twinkling in the leftover light. We had taken the trek up the river a little bit and found a nice craggy hilltop that offered a nice view of the fireworks show.

I retrieved a bag with a few sticks of dango inside and pulled one out to share with him. I'd promised to bring a few to Itachi when he learned that we would be attending the festival during his mission, but surely it wouldn't kill him to have a tad less.

We ate the sticky sweet pastry balls off the stick before the sun was swallowed by the horizon.

As the sun set, fireworks exploded across the sky, thundering and cracking against the cheers of the crowd.

"It's beautiful," I admired. "I've never seen anything like this."

Hidan was silent, but he had heard me. A few moments of quiet enjoyment passed before he cackled at a particularly large explosion. "That fruity bitch would like this shit."

I agreed, Deidara would enjoy the explosives. Too bad he was missing out. :p

"I wouldn't share this moment with him anyways," I mumbled, glancing at Hidan.

He looked so beautiful in the fading sun, but he didn't look like himself.

"Hidan, could you..." I began, and he looked at me curiously as I tried to find the words. "Ehh, get rid of the henge please?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What, I don't look fuckin' hot?"

I felt heat rising to my cheeks, so I looked away. "No, it's just... Eh, Well, I like you better."

He quieted down, but I could tell he was embarrassed too.

"I like you too." He finally replied, as he carefully placed his hand on top of mine. I glanced at him, but he was looking away as well, obviously too embarrassed to show me his true feelings. I can't say that I blamed him; when it came to Hidan, my feelings were always turbulent.

I fixed my eyes on the horizon, butterflies and bubbles fluttering up my throat. I didn't say anything, and neither did he, but we both knew better than to interrupt a beautiful moment with trivial bullshit.

The fireworks came at a slower and slower pace, until there were no more. Hidan finally spoke then.

"Sakana," though his voice was level, it carried a hint of concern.

I looked at him through a curtain of poorly dyed hair.

"I don't understand you."

It was my turn to give him a look. "What do you mean?"

"One minute you're so kind and caring, then the next you're fucking distant and pissy."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "It's not intentional," I promised. "It's just- hard and I just-"

"Is it that fucking thing that made you bitch out on me the other day?" He suddenly asked.

Oh yeah... I glanced at my hands, happy that the mark wouldn't show unless I was in a ritual. "Hidan- I really want to tell you-"

He furrowed his brow. "Don't I deserve to know?"

I bit my lip. It did involve him, and he had a right to know that our actions had left us in the predicament we were in... "Can I show you instead?"

He shrugged, but helped me stand. He handed me a kunai when I asked, and I dug the blade into my thumb.

Using my blood, I drew a circle in the dirt and placed myself into it.

I could already feel him mirroring my actions, scraping Jashin's symbol into the dirt with his toe. When he sat across from me, our knees touched, and I felt my skin changing.

Opening my eyes, I saw that Hidan was transformed too, his skin a copy of mine.

"Here," I spoke, holding my left hand out to him. He took it and studied it for a moment.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing." He admitted, after turning my hand over several times.

"This, baka," I bit, twisting my hand back and showing him my finger.

"Holy shit." Hidan groaned, before looking at his own hand. The mark was there on his too; a striking red line circling the ringfinger of his hand. "Are we?"

I answered with a silent not.

"Holy shit," he repeated. "We're..."

I nodded, "I- I'm conflicted about it." I admitted finally.

"No shit." He laughed, scratching the back of his head.

I closed my eyes and leaned back onto my palms. "I think I could do this forever," I sheepishly admitted.

"Heh," Hidan patted my head, "I think so too."

Our bout of getting along didn't last very long, and on our trek back to the village, we were already bickering.

"I don't want a huge tacky event," Hidan complained, "Is this not enough?"

"All I said was that I wanted to do something different in celebration," I retorted. "I didn't realize you'd be a complete ass about it."

"Why do we have to do anything? It's all fucking stupid and pointless anyways," he mumbled under his breath. I kicked him in the shin and he yelped as he fell over, "You cunt!"

"Fight me then, motherfucker!" I bit, "Or are you a pussy?"

His rose-colored eyes flashed dangerous as he stood up. "What'd you say, you cat-bitch?"

"Pus-sy," I teased, as suddenly he tackled me.

He wasn't actually trying to harm me, despite my immortality. He could easily decapitate me and drag my body back home... But it wasn't really worth the trouble. Despite this, I fought back, fearing what torturous act he had in mind. I struggled with all of my might, but Hidan easily overpowered me. He pinned my arms down and smirked at me. "Guess I'm not a pussy." He sneered.

"That's still to be determined," I bit back, sticking my tongue out at him.

He leaned forward and bit my tongue, so quick I couldn't register it. I was left with a throbbing pain on my tongue and no way to ease the pain, as my arms were still being held down.

"You dick!" I bit out, struggling against his grip.

He cackled as he held me down with ease, poking my sides as I wheezed and tried to fight him off.

Eventually, I managed to wriggle my foot up and kick him off of me.

As he went flying, I stood and dusted myself off.

He was back up in an instant, looming over me with an evil glint in his eye. I gulped, turned on my heel, and broke into a sprint.

With my new ability to hone my chakra, thanks to the strenuous training I had been putting in with Kisame and Itachi, who had arguably the best chakra control out of the bunch, I was able to keep just ahead of Hidan, though I had gotten terribly close to being captured a time or two.

The weekly lessons with the duo were mostly comprised of Suki and I competing over who could progress the fastest, however Kira would occasionally join us and practice her chakra control. That happened every few weeks, so she was progressing much slower than her sister and I.

Nevertheless, he caught me just outside of the village, wrapping both of his wiry arms around me as he took me down.

"You're gonna get it," he promised with a hiss and he drug me to my feet, a firm grip on my wrist. I gulped, but was utterly entranced by his dangerous aura.

I let him take me home, following the winding road behind him. He never let go of my wrist.

The next morning, I awoke sore from the awful experience Hidan had put me through the night before.

Oh, don't think like that, While there had been a bit of kissing, he had mostly tickled me until my sides had felt like they were going to burst. Kakuzu had complained about how annoying my laughter had been, so my Jashinist had placed some silencing seal on the wall.

I made a mental note to ask about that, in my few moments of clarity. I surmised that it came in handy when interrogating enemies with excessive force, or when sacrificing unworthy heathens...

Speaking of which, I had been suppressing the quiet urges that Jashin had been giving me, but I didn't want to push how far I could disobey Him. I could only think that he was letting me process the new development in my and Hidan's relationship, but the strong pulls in my gut from the festival gave me the impression that my God was going to be demanding souls.

For some reason, He needed me here; to carry on some grand task for his followers, ones that I know nothing about, he needed me in this world... to keep Hidan alive, for some reason.

His death was something big, I must admit. Though he hadn't really died. I was sure that somehow if Hidan's remains had been uncovered somewhere along the line, he could heal and carry on the goal. The problem was, I couldn't understand why Jashin would want the whole Shikamaru ordeal to be prevented in the first place.

I was choosing not to wonder what the overall goal was, instead focusing on keeping up with what Pein and Obito expected of us, but it was time to confront Lord Jashin and discover what my purpose truly was.

Letting out a low groan, I stretched my torso, grimacing at how tender it felt from Hidan's bony-fingered assault. I'd have to find some way to get him back- a prank or something would help make me feel better.

I had kind of brought it on myself, though... Teasing him like he wasn't already a ticking-time bomb of anger.

I exited my room and found my way to the kitchen, where Zena had cooked up a delicious smelling breakfast. I kissed her on the cheek as I entered, thanking her for the meal. She smiled and nodded, taking a sip from her steaming mug of tea.

After filling my plate, I joined Kira and Suki at the table, where they were quietly chatting.

"Good morning," I said, digging into my scrambled eggs and rice.

"Someone is in a good mood this morning," Suki observed.

Her sister snorted, "I'm assuming you've made up with Hidan?"

I swallowed down my bite, "We had a pleasant night.. And I finally talked to him about something that's been bothering me."

Kira rolled her eyes as her twin cheered. Zena added in an encouraging clap. "Well, are you gonna tell us now or what?" Suki finally asked.

I sighed, knowing I'd have to tell them anyways, "Ehh, so I'm not really understanding it myself, but in the eyes of Jashin, we're technically... married."

Suki gasped, "Oh my god, Sakana."

Kira barked out a laugh, and Suki turned around to give her sister a questioning look. "What? That's priceless."

"It's not nice to laugh at her," Zena chided her.

I waved a hand, "It's okay, I'm kind of okay with it."

"This is really bizarre," Suki admitted, pressing her hand to her forehead. "We're living inside of an anime, you're married to Hidan..."

"I didn't want to say anything in case I was the only one freaking out," Zena added. "It's really surreal."

Kira shrugged, "That may be so, but it's our reality." The 'for now' was silent, but I knew that we had all added it in our own minds.

I had managed to speak to Hidan briefly before he and Kakuzu departed for a mission, but they wouldn't tell me what their destination was, or when they'd be back.

I had to admit, I was a bit lonely without the grumpy old miser, or my beloved foul-mouthed zealot, but the days inched by and I spent the countless hours training with various members while they were at the base in-between missions.

In addition to the basic chakra control training, I was learning medical ninjutsu from Sasori as well as taijutsu from Kisame. Sometimes Itachi would sit in on those lessons and provide commentary as needed.

Things were almost carefree, but for almost two weeks, I felt a nagging pull in my stomach, and it burned me more as the time drifted by.

"Faster," Itachi demanded as he watched Kisame pummel me one afternoon. "Sakana, move faster."

I pushed myself, but I wasn't a match for the countless years of experience Kisame had on me. He grabbed a fistful of my hair before I could dodge, and wrenched me toward him.

I yelped as he pulled me back, and he froze, his large fist still wrapped in my too-long hair.

"Kisame," Itachi said, looking at the tall shark man.

"I'm sorry, Sakana." Kisame mumbled, trying to pull his hand free from my length.

"It's okay," I mumbled, "It's too long anyways."

I grabbed a kunai from my hip pouch and sliced through the hair still connecting Kisame's hand to my head.

"Uh-" Kisame stammered, left holding a fist full of my hair. He quickly dropped it and I watched my faded red locks drift to the ground.

"I think that's enough for today," Itachi murmured, quickly moving to clean up the mess.

I shrugged and reached up to feel my hair. I had cropped a large patch of it rather short, I realized, and now I looked really odd to Itachi and Kisame.

Not to mention, I had kind of pulled a Sakura, though I hadn't been as dramatic as she had been. It was true that I needed a haircut; the constant re-dying of my hair, plus the horrible makeshift hair dye had left my hair in a horrible condition. It made sense to remove the irreparable length and leave few inches of fresh growth.

I walked myself out of the expansive training area, ignoring the awkward silence I had left behind.

In the bathroom, I finally got a glimpse of the damage. The hair was thankfully cut off a few inches above the dye line, however it was only cut in the one spot.

I retrieved the shears from the drawer and cut the rest of it to match the length. Content with the work, I cleaned up my mess and left the bathroom to find the other girls.

To say they were surprised at the new cut would be an understatement.

Kira burst into a fit of giggles as Suki and Zena were taking a closer look.

"I never noticed that its white," Suki remarked.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes and brushing away the hands attacking my head. "That's 'cause I try to keep it covered up."

Zena smiled softly. "It's a pretty color. It suits you."

I thanked her with an abashed grin. "Do you think you can help me fix it?"

She shook her head. "I have to admit that cutting hair is something I'm not good at."

"I can help," Kira said, standing up from the couch, already stalking in the direction of my bathroom.

I shrugged, and followed her. She sat me on the toilet and set to work snipping off the dyed ends of my hair, but left a few long fringes at the sides of my head, giving me a dramatic looking bob.

"Whoa," I grinned at my reflection, it was actually cute. "Where'd you learn to cut hair so well?"

"Self practice," she simply said, before handing me the shears and exiting the bathroom.

"Thank you, bitch!" I called after her. And even though she'd deny it, I swear I could have heard an amused grunt from her as she left.

The rest of the day was boring, to say the least. I hadn't seen any of the actual Akatsuki members all day, then Suki drug Kira off for some weird twin shit, leaving Zena and I with the house to ourselves.

The brunette didn't make terrible company, but at some point, silently reading grew boring, and I found myself searching for anything to do. I wound up in my room, laid across my bed, staring at the ceiling.

The rhythmic tugging at my gut alerted me to Jashin's desire to speak with me, so I lit my candles and made a circle and sat down on the cold floorboards.

Upon opening my eyes, I recognized his garden, the same brilliant green meadow, the same charred stump where he sat, perched and sipping a cup of tea.

The black-haired God was beautiful, with sharp features and glowing red eyes. He smiled at me as I crossed the clearing and joined him.

"Tea?" He asked as he offered me a steaming teacup.

"What is it?" I asked, but accepted the cup anyways.

"Whatever you want it to be," Jashin-sama explained as I brought the hot liquid to my lips.

He was right, the liquid tasted exactly as I desired; but it was more than that. Every drink I imagined I was drinking, the potion took on those qualities. I could only assume that since he was drinking it, this had to be nectar of the Gods.

I set my cup down and stared him in the eyes. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" I finally asked.

"Well, my dear," he began, placing his own mug next to mine. "I granted you my grace without proper requisite, but now my child, you must start paying your dues."

I swallowed dryly, "So you're asking for..."

"Souls," a wicked grin appeared on his face for a second, but was replaced with ethereal calmness.

"I see," I took another drink of the godly beverage. It was steaming in the mug, but cool as I swallowed it. "And do you have any particular type of person you'd like me to sacrifice to you, Lord Jashin?"

He smiled mirthfully. "Who you choose is up tp you, dear. All I ask is repayment for the power lent to you."

Well, shit.

Thank you for reading so far! Please leave a review and tell me some of the shenanigans you'd like to see, any characters you'd like to see appear, and what you think!

Until next time.

~Mistress-chan