"You always this big of a pain in the ass?" Hidan muttered.
"It's just for you I suppose." I glared daggers into him.
"Oh man, Just for me? should I be flattered?" he grinned, still applying the salve and doing so in a surprisingly gentle fashion.
"I think you probably flatter yourself enough for the two of us." I rolled my eyes.
"Tch…" he laughed under his breath as he set the salve down and pulled out a swath of bandage. I looked on as he expertly wrapped it around my palm and between my fingers. His rather large hand gripped my wrist as he did so, pulling it close to his face to tear an edge to the bandage with his teeth. I didn't know what, but there was something about the way his fingers worked deftly to render the aid that made me feel a certain way and caught me off guard. I was mesmerized by it. It seemed so unlike him to even have this level of gentleness with anything… I almost enjoyed it.
With my wrist still held firmly in place and the edge of the bandage clenched between his teeth, he glanced up to notice my expression. He smiled devilishly and spoke without dropping the gauze from his bite, "see something you like?" he asked before jerking his head to rip the bandage.
Um, okay… apparently that's something I find attractive. What is wrong with me right now?
I managed to stammer out a less-than-convincing, "N-no!" My eyes snapped away from him and stared intensely at the underwhelming floor. I prayed I wasn't as flushed as I felt.
"Alright, alright," he said with a chuckle, securing the wrappings and motioning for my other hand. I begrudgingly offered it up to him. When I dared to look in his direction, I was annoyed to see him looking overly pleased as he began working. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction but I couldn't help but watch.
"You done talking to a scoundrel like me or something?" he asked, glancing up from my hand.
"Something like that," I replied coolly, looking away once more. He smirked at this, regarding me with his head cocked to one side like he was trying to read me. He had finished applying the salve and pulled out the gauze wrap once more.
I couldn't tell if it was in my head or not but it almost seemed like he was wrapping this one a little more slowly, more purposefully. There were times that I felt his gaze focus in on me as he continued to dress the wound with delicate precision without even looking. Despite him taking his time, it didn't take long for my wounds to be fully wrapped before he pulled my wrist closer to his face once more, his teeth biting down on the bandage's edge.
My brain told me to continue looking away but my eyes betrayed it, flitting over and fixating on my hand in his. I was immediately met with Hidan's intensely violet gaze. He lingered there for a moment like he was making sure I was watching. I found myself unable, or perhaps unwilling, to tear my eyes away.
What is he doing?
I could see the growing smirk in the corner of his eyes alone and my heart began pounding almost audibly in my chest. He didn't look away, he only brought my hand even closer to him and I waited with bated breath for him to tear the bandage once more between his teeth. But there was no flick of his head, his gaze only lowered and his lips pressed lightly against my bandaged palm. I stared in shock as a warmth spread through my body in an instant. As I tried to speak, the breath hitched in my throat and I found myself incapable of forming words, my mouth held agape just staring at Hidan with his lips planted squarely on the base of my palm. I was suddenly very aware of how small and fragile my wrist was in the strong fingers that curled around it. His lips upturned and stretched into a wry grin against me as he glanced up, still not breaking the kiss. In a quick motion he finally jerked his head, tearing the bandage and finishing the process.
It took me a moment to recover from my speechlessness.
"What the hell was that?" I hissed, careful to not wake Kakuzu.
"What? You seemed to enjoy it well enough," he said with a smug grin plastered on his face.
"I was… I was caught off guard!" I whispered defensively.
"Oh ho ho… I could fucking tell," he laughed, nodding his head. "Oh and just so you know, your face matches the clouds on my cloak perfectly right now. You'd make for a good accessory, how long you think you can keep it like that?"
"Oh my god Hidan, stop," I buried my face in my freshly bandaged palms.
"Hey I don't know if you thought we were done but uh, we're not," He said, peeling my hands from my face and putting them down at my sides before grabbing up a bamboo and glass container filled with a yellow-tinted oil.
"What?" I whined, defeated.
"It's for the bruising. I promise I'll behave myself, alright?" he offered, his grin showing no signs of quitting.
"You're a dick," I muttered.
He snorted. "Yeah I'm the dick taking care of your busted ass. Look at you growing a damn backbone though. You're really testing your luck today, aren't you?"
"It's not like you can kill me, Pain said so," I shrugged. "That means you can't even hurt me."
"How do you figure?" he asked with humor lacing his words. He pushed the hair away from my neck, his fingers trailing across my collar bones and shoulders. I pretended it didn't affect me.
"Well if Jashin forbids you from not finishing the job with anyone you harm, and you're not allowed to kill me, then you can't even harm me." I noted with some confidence.
"So you actually listened to me about Jashin," he seemed impressed. "Clever, but not clever enough. You forgot one thing sweetheart…"
I glowered at him. "What?"
His fingers dipped into the jar of oil before dragging across my throat in a gentle rubbing motion. It felt… nice. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my cool with varying degrees of success. He gathered more of the viscous liquid and spread it around slowly, coating the entirety of my neck. I found myself inadvertently pushing my chin forward and tilting my head back to give him better access. His hand eventually came to rest against my throat, and while he wasn't putting pressure on it, his fingers were firmly in place around it. His face inched closer to mine and our eyes met.
"You forget that I'm not so good at following orders…" His voice dropped into a low, gravelly octave as he tapped his index finger against my skin ever so lightly and I found my breath trapped in my throat once more, though it wasn't because he'd cut off my airway. I couldn't seem to find my voice and the heat that had overwhelmed me when he planted that kiss just moments before seemed to gather in my core with an intensity. My eyes were frantic as I tried to understand my body's reaction. There was something about the feeling of his hand around my neck that sent a pulsing sensation deep within my abdomen.
W-why do I like this?
My face felt like it was overheating and my eyes couldn't manage to open more than halfway. A heavy breath parted my lips and escaped me.
What is happening to me?
Hidan brought his body in closer, leaning in to whisper in my ear, "I promised I'd behave... but I can't tell if you really want me to."
I may not have been able to find my voice but I could move my arms. Without even thinking, my palm struck the side of his face. I winced with a sharp inhale as I pulled it back and held my hand against my chest. I looked up fearfully, expecting to be met with an irate Hidan. I was prepared to yell for Kakuzu but much to my surprise, Hidan still had that stupid grin on his face.
"Well that's one way to answer…" He rubbed his cheek, as if I did any damage.
"I-I'm sorry. I wasn't even thinking, my body just moved on its own." I began rambling excuses. He cut me off.
"Yeah, it seems to be doing a lot of that," He noted with a raised eyebrow before continuing. "It's called instincts though, kinda nice to see you actually fucking have some. If I were a regular guy that might have hurt." Hidan mused, capping the jar of oil and blowing out the lantern flame before moving to sit beside me against the wall.
"So," His head flopped on his neck to look down at me. "How'd I do?"
I looked at him completely exasperated and asked with a heavy sigh, "How'd you do with what?"
"With taking your mind off it?"
I couldn't do anything but stare at him for a moment of disbelief. Was that all just Hidan's backward way of trying to make me feel better? Was he trying to make himself the bad guy so I didn't have to think about the other one?
"Hidan…" I started, not really sure what to say before landing on a quiet, "thank you."
"Just don't get used to it," he teased.
"Oh, I would never," I agreed to his terms with a voracious yawn. My head slowly nodded to the side, slumping against Hidan's shoulder, but I was too tired to care. I let my cheek rest against the warmth of his skin and sleep came for me quickly. It had been a long day.
"Oi. Do I look like a fucking bed to you?" Hidan whispered, jostling his arm slightly but not enough to dislodge me.
"Mhmm…" I grumbled, mostly asleep.
"For fuck's sake…" He muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and slouching against the wall in preparation for a night of sitting rest. Despite the position, I slept well, better than I had in a long time actually. Deeply and soundly. The comfort of the warmth against me seemed to stave off any nightmares that threatened to invade my dreamstate.
"Well aren't you two adorable," Kakuzu's sarcastic voice stirred me from my slumber far sooner than I wanted it too.
I blinked my eyes open groggily and looked up at Kakuzu who stood towering over me with his arms crossed in annoyance. I attempted to get up but found myself held in place by a heavy weight on my head. It took me a moment to recalI had fallen asleep in my position against the wall, my head on Hidan's bare shoulder and his head on top of mine. His mouth was slightly ajar, a soft wheeze sighing from it with every breath, causing the few stray hairs atop my head to blow wistfully in his breeze.
"Oh!" I blurted with realization as I scooted away from him and hastily jumped to my feet. Hidan came crashing down onto the bamboo floor with a loud thud.
"What the fuck…" He grumbled drowsily before wiping his cheek of the drool that shone on it. I grimaced and quickly combed through the hair on my scalp, checking for any rogue spit stains. I was in the clear. He finally opened his eyes fully and stared up at me and Kakuzu.
"Nice fucking wake up call," he said sarcastically before adding, "I take it we're leaving now?"
"Hn," Kakuzu grunted in affirmation.
Everyone was quiet in lieu of the early morning drowsiness we all seemed to share. Even the sun struggled against the hazy sky, trying desperately to pull itself up over the horizon. There wasn't much to pack so we were out the door soon after we awoke.
The dirt was flat against the streets, no feet kicking it up into busy clouds of dust. A few people moved about here and there, but for the most part the town was sleeping still. Shops had just begun to open as we walked between them on our way towards the edge of town.
I looked to my left, the smell of food catching my attention. I hadn't even thought about eating with everything that had happened, but now that it was a new day, my stomach growled loudly at the thought. I noticed Hidan watching me from my periphery.
"You hungry?" He asked while nodding towards the ramen shop. I looked from Hidan, to the ramen shop, to my stomach, and back to Hidan before nodding slightly.
"Good, cause I'm fucking starving," He said as he detoured into the shop, me and Kakuzu filing in behind him. We were the only ones there besides an old man who sat at the end of the counter slurping down noodles. We all put in our orders and waited in morning silence until our food came out.
"Izumi," Kakuzu addressed me, breaking the silence. I looked at him in response.
"We'll need to buy you a new cloak, something that covers your neck before we get back." I continued to stare at him blankly, though this time with some confusion.
"We don't really need Pain finding out about everything that happened at the mansion, unless you don't want the chance to go on jobs anymore." He gave me a stern look before elaborating. "If Pain discovers the extent of your injuries from this assignment, he'll probably contain you within the base for the remainder of your time with us."
My eye twitched at the thought of being condemned to the indoors for any extended period of time.
"Well in that case…" I trailed off as the chef set a loaded bowl of ramen in front of me. The steam wafted upwards and wrapped around my sniffing nostrils.
None of us spoke while we ate, far too consumed with our meals to even think about small talk. My chopsticks scraped loudly at the bottom of the bowl, thoughtlessly chasing one last noodle around. My tongue peeked out between my lips in concentration as I glared hard at it.
"Ah!" I exclaimed in a whisper as I snaked it around my sticks and quickly thrust it into my mouth, slurping it down happily with a triumphant smirk. Hidan looked nearly amused while Kakuzu just stared at me, his eye quivering slightly.
Kakuzu laid money on the counter almost regretfully before we exited the shop through the wood-beaded door and made our way into the same clothing shop from before. My nerves kicked at my stomach from just being inside it. I tried to keep my cool as I pawed through racks of clothes. My intention was to flip through anything that wasn't a black cloak, but I inadvertently stopped on one garment in particular that caught my eye.
It was a summery white dress stitched together with baby blue thread at the seams. It was different from all the other dresses—more beautiful. It shimmered even in the gloom of the old dusty shop as I kneaded the soft cotton between my fingers.
"You want that?" Hidan's sudden appearance from behind startled me. I jumped and dropped the dress from my hands, spinning on my heel to face him. My fingers instinctively began fiddling with the hem of my shirt as I stared up at him, feeling awkward about the previous night.
"N-no, not really, I was just looking," I said quietly, averting my eyes to stare at the ground.
He looked at me skeptically with his eyebrows coming together and his lips forming a line crooked with uncertainty.
"The fuck's the matter with you today?" He asked suddenly with irritation. My face dropped whatever timid expression it held and quickly replaced it with something more assertive.
"Nothing, can't you find something better to do than interrogate me?" I snapped while crossing my arms and cocking my head at him.
Hidan smirked. "That's more like it," he said before turning from me to join up with his partner who was at the register. I couldn't help but smile a little. Well played Hidan, well played.
"Here," Kakuzu said as he approached me, thrusting a paper shopping bag into my arms.
I followed him out while rummaging through it to find two articles of clothing; a floor-length black cloak with a high collar and a short sleeved navy blue turtle-neck. I groaned before pulling the cloak out and snaking my way into it, knowing Kakuzu would make me put it on anyway. Its collar came up high— similar to Itachi's— in order to cover the bruises on my neck. They had dissipated slightly but were far from vanishing altogether.
"So now what?" I asked as we exited under the elaborate archway through which we arrived.
"We're going to turn in the body for it's bounty, then we'll perform a memory seal-breaking ritual on you... then we'll go home." Kakuzu said as he looked forward into the laughing horizon that had finally claimed its victory over the land.
Home.
I nodded and examined my palms as we continued on our trek, they had healed considerably over night from the salve but were still plainly visible. I stuffed them in my pockets before resuming my submissive walk behind Kakuzu and Hidan.
Eyyy, cheers to 20 chapters! If you've stayed with me this far, I thank you. What are everyone's thoughts? Anything you're hoping to see? Predictions? I love to hear from you guys :) I may be 20 chapters in but there is still a long way to go… not sure if that's a good or bad thing, hah. Anyway, thanks for reading, as always!
Oh and I uploaded a new cover photo for this story. Not sure if it's visible on mobile or not but you should be able to see it at the top of the story if you're on PC or tablet. I drew it kind of quickly so it's nothing crazy! I didn't want to steal someone else's art but also felt like I should have something relevant. So, there ya go. I'd like to go back through and sketch some of the various moments that have happened throughout the chapters which means I am officially taking requests if anyone has a particular moment in mind they want to see sketched out :)
