!!WARNING!!

If you are reading this, I strongly suggest you re-read the previous chapters. Akatsuki's kitten has been rewritten up to this point. If you have not yet read chapters 1-6 again, please go back and do so promptly.

If you have read the rewritten antics of Sakana and Co., thank you, and enjoy! I'm almost done with the first part (Hidan), and will move on to my absolute favorite-ist Naruto character ever! I'll never tell who it is, so you'll have to wait and see!!!
Hidan Pov

He hadn't lied when he had said the girl was adorable. Before, he would have used the phrase 'smokin hot', but he was actually fond of the small woman he carried in his arms. Their connection ran deeper than the primal urge to, ahem, hump amd dump. She wasn't the typical hooker in some small passing town- which he would later be bitched out for spending precious money on 'those thieving tempresses', as Kakuzu so often called them.

No, Sakana was a marvel- the only person to accept his beliefs, the only person to listen to his word, and actually hear it. She'd ask questions, and then answer them herself. She was funny, cute, and despite being a sarcastic asshole, she really did care about him. "You're more than adorable," Hidan decided to tell her sleeping form quietly. "You're gorgeous."

He felt the blush settle on his cheeks, and adjusted her slightly. Hidan was in wonder that his God had brought him this beautiful girl. He'd need to pray soon in thanks. Of course, he'd never let anyone learn of this soft side of him; he was a ruthless killer, a notorious psychopath.

The Jashinist breathed in the scent of dirt and sweat, and let out a deep sigh. He felt compelled to protect the girl, despite her immortality. He supposed that was due to the connection of their souls, and he made a note to thank his God for that, too.

As he arrived back at the camp and the old geezer grunted at him, with a nod to the fire, where Kakuzu had two decently sized fish steaming.

"Dunno if I should wake the girl," Hidan replied, carefully laying the sleeping beauty across his cloak. The earth was musky and damp, and he made a mental note to beat the clumpy soil off in the morning.

His partner grunted again, before agreeing that she should rest.

The duo ate in silence, until Kakuzu decided to break it. "You seem fond of her," this was spoken in between bites of cooked fish. "Moreso than before we left base."

"Hm, we are soulmates, Kakuzu. She's unique." Hidan couldn't explain his attraction to the girl; relationships weren't befitting for S-class ninjas. If one felt the need to release stress, there were usually young floozies willing to sell their bodies for pretty coins.

Kakuzu didn't drop the subject, instead opting to ask his partner more questions. "So you're not going to keep your distance?"

"What the fuck do you think?" Hidan snapped, lowering his voice when Sakana stirred in her sleep. "When she hurts, I hurt. I hate to see her in pain. I've prayed to he released from this curse, I've prayed in thanks for her presence. I can't escape it. I hate it, yet every fucking fiber of my entire fucking being tells me that I need her." This last part was hissed quietly, careful not to wake the girl, but Kakuzu did nothing to hold back his bark of laughter.

"Gay," Kakuzu replied, before belching loudly and settling back against his tree. "Wake me in 5 hours."

Hidan muttered something about stupid misers, then turned his eyes to the sky to study the stars.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl had heard every word of it, but kept the burning blush on her face hidden.

Sakana POV

After Hidan and Kakuzu had quieted down, I stayed curled up on Hidan's cloak analyzing his words. Did he love me? Did he hate me? What do I do? How do I feel? I lay there, still, until the racing thoughts consumed me, and I slipped into sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I was surprised to find myself pulled close to Hidan's chest. Fighting the blush creeping up and remembering the words spoken the night before, I cleared my throat and tried to disentangle myself again.

Sitting up, I locked eyes with Kakuzu, who was sitting across the fire from me. It was early morning, and the sun hadn't crept up yet.

"Mm, 'mornin Kakuzu," I yawned, then reached my hands forward to the warmth of the fire. "How long have you been up?"

He grunted at me, then told me that Hidan had been asleep for 3 hours, and that soon we'd resume our training.

My stomach grumbling cut him off, and he shook his head. The miser motioned to a pile of cooked fish, and my mouth watered. I was starving.

Kakuzu poked and played with the fire while I ate, the fog of the land hid the smoke rising. Kakuzu had also placed a genjutsu around the area, shrouding our chakra signatures and allowing us free reign of the area. It was nifty, but also necessary.

I finished my meal, wiping my hands on my legs, and my face on my arms. I'd have to bathe later, since tomorrow was the 'big day'. Speaking of, I was woefully underprepared.

"Could we start now?" I asked, drawing the miser's attention.

"If you'd like," he replied. "You should learn to channel your chakra to your feet."

Like Kakashi did with Team 7, Kakuzu had me try to run up the trees, marking my progress with a kunai. I was pushing my strength to my feet, ignoring the burning of my muscles.

After an hour of running up trees, I finally got it. Kakuzu murmured praise, then had me practice jumping from brach to branch. I was weary of my jumps, expecting to tumble down at any moment and relive my traumatic experience of the night before.

Hidan was up sometime later, cursing and yelling at Kakuzu

I returned to the safety of solid ground, and smiled at my fellow Jashinist. "Mornin', Hidan."

He returned my greeting, along with a small compliment about my progress.

"Do you think you can help me uh, refine my technique?" I asked him, trying to smile sweetly.

Hidan agreed, and we spent the next several hours training in basic combat. Of course, I wasn't as strong as he was, but he threw out advice after I'd take a hit from him. "Watch my movements, analyze what moves I could make, and anticipate what I'm going to do."

I back-flipped away from a kick aimed at my stomach, and he praised me.

"Your goal is only to acquire some of your target's blood. The best course of action for you is discretion, so disguise youself as a maid. They'll be hiring extra hands for the event, so you will go. During the gala, you will wait for an opening and get the specimen then."

I nodded, understanding how to get to my position, but I was worried about afterward. "So get the blood, then sneak away?"

"Correct, but I've been thinking about this. As a maid, you'll be expected to wait on the guests. You are to stay close by your intended target, but do not draw attention to yourself. If you see an opening, take it." He further detailed the plan, telling me exactly how to get the sample of her blood, how to slip away, and finally to escape the gala. After meeting back up with the two of them, I would perform the ritual and our goal would be accomplished. Then we would make our escape, and head back to base.

It was a lot to take in, but I perfectly understood my mission. Hidan and Kakuzu had given me a pretty easy job, and I was duty-bound to follow through.

"Why are we killing these people?" I asked, trying to settle my only objection to the murder.

"Hmm, Kakuzu would tell you, 'for the bounty,' but they're heathens. On top of that, they're pretty into the exploitation of orphaned children." He had a hint of hatred in his eyes, and I wondered of it was because he, too, was an orphan. He continued, suddenly focusing on me again. "They take in these children and force them to labor, hardly feed them, and when the children are too sick to work, they leave them to die. Since these children have no families, nobody goes looking. Either the children grow and leave, or they wither and die."

I was saddened by this, reminscing about the labor laws in my own world; and the incidents that brought them about. "So all of them do this?"

"No, Kakuzu's target is the corrupt daimyo that lets this happen. I will be disposing of the heathen slave-owner, and you are disposing of the head of the orphanage, who willingly sends the children away."

I nodded, so my target wasn't actually a ninja. No wonder they were actually allowing me to play such a vital role. "Okay, so this will be pretty easy, then..."

Hidan raised a brow at me, "Don't get too cocky. Use discretion, do not speak unless spoken to, cater to their every whim- and wait."Part of me wondered why he was being so helpful, and why he was being so nice about it. He had hardly cursed, which kind of kade me sad. Hidan was supposed to be... more animated. He was acting so reserved, and way too polite. He hadn't even called me bitch. I remembered the conversation I had overheard the night before, and felt my face flush.

I was suddenly too aware of our proximity, taking a step back. "Thank you, Hidan. I think I'm going to take a break."

He grunted at me, waving a hand at me. "Eat something too, then pray."

I walked away, still feeling his eyes on me. 'Don't worry what he thinks. Focus on the mission,' I told myself, trying to ignore how devastatingly handsome he was. Those eyes, that trouble-maker grin. Ugh. Hidan was so, so hot. He was charming, funny, immortal. Psychopathic. Kakuzu sat on a tree stump, counting money. He didn't acknowledge me when I passed, so I peft him alone and picked up the bag I carried my clothes in.

As I scoured the thicket for a nice hot spring to slip into, I understood what Hidan had meant by his inner conflict- he was so incredibly attractive, and one of my favorite anime characters... And well, any sane girl would never pass up the chance to sleep with such a breath-takingly gorgeous man. However, I was afraid that giving in to the attraction would only serve to complicate things, should I wake up one day and realize that it was all a fever-dream.

How could I let myself be with someone who may suddenly disappear. I'd had my share of heartbreak and despair, and I wanted no more.

I found a nice spot and dropped my bag by a rock. Pulling my top off, I began to unclothe. I dropped my various clothing to the ground before stepping into the spring, then sinking down into the hot water.

This land was amazing, and I knew I would have loved living in such an amazing place.

I let myself soak in the hot water for a while. My fingertips ans toes started to prune, but still I stayed.

After I had pushed all my thoughts down and focused myself on my mission, I finally began to rub my skin clean, shedding off layers of dirt and blood.

The rust-colored river swirled around me angrily, before disappating in the clear water. Once I was satisfied that my skin was mostly clean of dirt, I began attempting to clean my hair. This time, the water was stained the same deep red as the boxed hair-dye I had used on it only a month or so ago.

Deciding that my hair was clean-ish, I settled back against the rock wall of the natural spring. I closed my eyes slowly, focusing on breathing deeply and letting myself relax.

Meditating was something... Different. It was refreshing after a long day. I finally let my eyes open again, and rose up from the water. I dried myself off with a spare towel I had kept from the inn, and slipped myself into a pair of tight black shorts. I also put on a midriff-showing camisole. I slipped my shoes on, then my various weapons and supplies pouches were attached to my legs, the leather straps cutting crossing lines along my thighs.

Twisting my hair into a pile on my head, I peered at my reflection in the now-still pool. Ugh. I'd have to re-dye my hair somehow.. The silvery-gray roots had reached about a centimeter in length, and the heated water had changed my once maroon hair to a deep pink. I felt like Sakura Haruno. Ugh.

I gathered my various items, and stuffed them all into the bag. Of course, being in the land of steam, they were all damp from the hot moisture in the air. The walk back to camp was quiet and only slightly eerie.

Upon arrival, I was greeted with the sight if Kakuzu and Hidan wrestling. Shirtless. Drool.

They finished their brawl and Kakuzu gave me an odd look, and Hidan flashed a cheeky grin at me.

"What?"

"Your hair isn't naturally red." Hidan laughed.

I shrugged. "Nope, but uh... When you kill people where I'm from, you get in big trouble... Kinda gotta go into hiding and whatnot-- you guys should know this," I snapped, suddenly feeling self conscious of my odd hair. "Your hair is silver, Hidan... And Kakuzu, your hair is like, tentacles. Shut up."

My rant only served to amuse Hidan further, because he broke out into a fit of cackling. Kakuzu murmurmed about how I was crazy, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Wait a minute!" Hidan suddenly exclaimed. "You said you killed people!"

I gave him a dry look. "Well, yeah."

He shook his head, "You've never mentioned that."

"Whatever. Not the point. I guess I need to fix it before everyone notices. Doesn't look good for a maid, either." I motioned to my hair.

Kakuzi grunted from his spot against a tree, "Just use a henge, dumbass."

"Not gonna work, friendo-" I shot him a pair of finger guns. "I barely know how to use my chakra, much less keep up a jutsu for hours."

"My bad, I forgot you were basically retarded," he snipped back at me. Grumpy old bitch.

"Then just dye it," Hidan deadpanned. "Obviously, again."

I snorted, "How? All I've ever used it kits. Pre-made stuff."

Hidan made a noise, then looked around us. "You could use the bark from these trees."

"I'm surprised you know how to make natural dye," I said, giving him an odd look. "Weird."

He shrugged, and I set to work collecting bark off of the nearby trees.

It took a few hours of smashing bits of bark and then another to mash it and some water into a pulp.

Then Hidan and I slathered it all over my hair, wrapped it up in the towel I had stolen, and left it to sit overnight. Life hacks, I guess?

Our meal consisted of, you guessed it, fish. After eating, Kakuzu took his turn sleeping, and Hidan and I sat up talking about random things. I would tell him about my past, and then he would tell me about some satisfying sacrifices he had made, and then we would laugh and carry on our conversation.

Hidan sat back, his eyes glinting against the fire. I was mesmerised. "So, you never told me who you killed."

I really hated talking about him. But I knew he'd only keep asking until I caved and told him. Heaving a sigh, I crossed my legs. "What do you want to know?"

Hidan smirked at me. "Everything."

I felt like I was gossiping to my girlfriends about sex. What was it like? Who was it?"Well," I began. "You know about... Jun. And how things were-" I bit back a shudder. "He... Tormented me. Tortured me... Raped me."

Hidan grunted in acknowledgement. "Ah, so you murdered him."

I got defensive. "I didn't murder him."

"Yeah?"

"It was self-defense!" I snapped.

Hidan snorted. "Okay, so you accidentally murdered him."

I felt anger boil up inside. He didn't know why, he didn't know what that asshole had done to me. Hidan didn't understand.

And how could he? I haven't told him the full story.

Hidan looked at me, and his eyes softened. "Hey,it's okay-" he stammered, and I felt angry-hot tears welling up in my eyes. I hate it, I hate it. "-Sakana, it's okay. You can tell me, I'm not judging."

I bit back a sob, and pressed my palms to my eyes. Breathe.

When I had regained my calm, I looked up at Hidan.

"He killed our child."

Whoaaa! If you've read this before, you kind of already know the story, but I'm changing a few details. Anyways, thank you for reading, and as always, stick around for the next chapter! Shouldn't take me long to pump it out, so I'll see ya soon!!

~Mistress-chan