Took a while to update, but damn had life been busy and even now when I have assignments to finish I can't concentrate because the fact that I haven't updated in over a month keeps bothering me. Hopefully, after this I'll be able to update this without such a long break in between.

Her eyes darted over the busy hallway while pretending to read the chart in her hands. Everything seemed the same. No one paid her any attention. Yet, her grip on the board didn't decrease. Meaningless chatter, beeps and shouts filled the hallway. It was just a regular day in Konoha General hospital. She had just finished her rounds – saved a patient from choking on their own blood, stopped an intern from administering a lethal dose, and those were just the highlights.

The weekend with Ino and Temari had been its own form of torture. She hadn't been elated to go on their impromptu shopping trip in the first place, so her crabby mood was visible from the start. Both women had made it their mission to pester her to have more fun. It wasn't very successful. In her defence, shopping for formal attire wasn't fun and loitering around in the mall for hours always gave her a headache. Double the crabby Sakura.

The paranoia ran rampant, though. Now when Hidan had seen through her like glass, she was afraid that someone else might jump out of the wood-works and point fingers at her. She'd always had a healthy dose of paranoia in her. This was different. She hadn't even been able to walk out of her house without checking the perimeter twice or checking the locks on all the doors in her house. The constant glances over her shoulder became almost second nature.

Ino's pestering didn't help. For the entire weekend she couldn't go to her lab, let alone search for a new testing subject from the fear of someone catching her in the act. Though, Sakura had to admit that the film night at the end of their shopping spree with Ino and Temari had been relaxing. Somewhat. The wine helped dull the edges.

The hold up on her project was stressing her out though. She had no outlet for her energy and her mind was constantly burning and hands itching with everything she could do to improve her technique. But with Ino constantly breathing down her neck, she was too scared to even look towards her lab.

Ino was out on a mission, and Sakura had no space to breathe.

Hidan was the unknown variable. She could predict what Ino might do. She couldn't say the same about Hidan. And it unnerved her. He knew her secret and there was nothing she could do about it, only hope that he won't use it against her.

It was lunch break for her and in order to get out of the four walls of the hospital; she wandered into the city. It was a feeble attempt to air her head and stifle her paranoia.

She had meant to just go on a quick trip to the nearest coffee shop for a fancy, overpriced latte. Instead, it turned into a game of will this random person who briefly glanced at her accuse her of doing shady shit.

It was official; she had lost her marbles.

After a nerve-racking walk to the coffee shop, she had relaxed some. Her rational side knew that she was overreacting, and she clung to it.

All of that flew out the window when a head of familiar silver hair passed her peripheral. In a matter of seconds, she ducked behind a corner of a shop.

It was just an old person, right? She was overreacting again, right?

Peeping from her hiding spot, her fears rung true. It was Hidan with a woman by his side crossing the street. They were conversing with smiles on their faces. Sakura didn't know the woman, but she immediately recognized Hidan's smile for what it was – an act to make his victims feel comfortable. She had seen his true face and the one he was wearing now was fake.

She wanted nothing to do with him, yet she couldn't deny the morbid curiosity she had about him. How did he kill? What did he use? Maybe this was her chance to find more about him and get the upper hand in case he blackmailed her.

He hadn't noticed her.

Sakura quickly pulled her hair back into a small ponytail and brought the lapels of her jacket closer to her. Idly she scurried out of her hiding place and followed him and the woman, always keeping few pace distance between them.

A couple of times he threw a backwards glance, and she'd had to duck behind a corner of a shop.

Her heart thundered in her chest. Hidan wasn't her usual prey, and the notion of him catching her in the act scared the shit out of her. In contrast, the chance of getting caught and the fear egged her on. It was a rush like no other.

Throughout the walk, Hidan and the woman were animatedly chatting.

She couldn't help the deja vu that she had back to their supposed date last week. Really? How did he find this woman so fast? She knew that he was charming and good looking, but not that good.

For ten minutes she followed them, keeping track of the surroundings. It became clear that Hidan might not have been as new to the city as he previously had let on. The route he chose was the shortest to the thicket of woods near the outskirts of the city.

The blonde girl at his side was growing weary, eyeing the surroundings with a nervous tilt. The tactic he was pulling was very familiar to her, it was the same one she had been trying to pull on him. Whether it was coincidence, it still seemed eerie to her.

Staying in the shadows just a few meters behind them, she followed.

It was like a switch the moment Hidan dropped all pretenses he latched onto the blonde girl's arm and dragged her into the small patch of woods. She didn't get a chance to scream her protest before he slapped a forceful hand over her mouth.

She snuck closer. His back was to her. None of what they were saying drifted to her.

The blonde woman was shivering violently, struggling against his grip, but he had her pinned against a tree. With his free hand he pulled out his butterfly knife and in a practised movement flipped the blade open.

Sakura almost scoffed. Did he seriously kill them with just a simple stab or slice? How boring.

But then he dragged the knife down the side of the woman's face, drawing blood. She whimpered away from the blade, thrashing her limbs. He brought the bloody knife to his lips, licking the blood.

Odd, then again, nothing ever was normal about deviants.

Hidan leaned closer to her, whispering. With his knife, he carved a symbol on her forehead. Blood instantly flowed down her face in rivulets.

She squinted, trying to discern what it was, but all she could make out was a circle.

Hmm...labelling his victims, also pretty cliche and standard of him. If he'll use her for sexual pleasure, that's when Sakura will bail. There's only so much cliché she can handle.

He chanted loudly, words she didn't understand, stepping away from the woman. She stood, eyes huge, chest heaving.

Sakura tilted her head, hugging the tree she was hiding behind. He had let go of her and she hadn't run at all. Could she be paralysed from fear? Kind of stupid of her.

Hidan fiddled with something at his front, almost as if he was unbuttoning his shirt. Then he extended his arm with the knife and stabbed himself in the chest.

She blinked. There were a lot of things she had done, things she had seen. This was a first.

He was still standing, chanting. The woman lurched and clutched at her chest before she fell on the ground.

It all happened so fast. How did he do it? What...? Why did he stab himself? How was he standing? Many questions flew through her mind in light speed. It made very little sense.

"Didya enjoy the show, love?" Hidan had turned around and was looking straight at her, knife protruding from his chest.

Sakura couldn't help it, she gaped. Him knowing about her presence the entire time the last thing on her mind.

"Jashin prefers for the rituals to be longer and for them to involve a lot more pain, but sadly I'm a bit pressed for time here. Can't exactly let my freak fly free in the middle of the day." He chuckled and casually pulled the knife from his chest.

She watched enraptured as the wound bled for a little before it closed up in rapid speed. "What are you?" She breathed, unconsciously stepping closer. The doctor in her was fascinated at the healing rate. It was exactly what she'd been trying to recreate for months. She could activate a similar healing factor through her byakugou seal, though for it to work she had to collect chakra for months. His healing was instant. There were no marks on his body to show for there being something like that at play.

"Immortal. It's the gift any faithful follower of Jashin receives."

Swallowing thickly, she finally met his amused lilac gaze. "What is this Jashin exactly?"

He waved his knife at her in a scolding manner. "Now, now first you have to show me how you do it before I go spillin' out my secrets. 'ts only fair."

Sakura scowled, curling her lip in distaste. "I don't have to show you anything."

Hidan hummed, grinning while eyeing his knife with adoration. "True. And I don't have to tell you anything either, though I suspect you're deeply curious." He pointedly glanced at her.

And she sucked in her lip, biting on it. She had been staring at his exposed chest the entire time, observing the smooth flesh where the puncture wound should have been. "Fine, I'll show you. Though I need to prepare first."

"Whatever works for you, love."

"Stop calling me that," she snapped, and he truly looked confused. "Love, you keep calling me that. I'm not your love."

Realization passed over his face. "Oh, does it bother you, my sweet?"

She pursed her lips. Maybe calling him out on the pet name was a mistake. He seemed to do it unconsciously before. She scoffed. "Whatever." And turned around to walk away.

He caught up to her, casually matching her pace. "How 'bout dinner later tonight?"

"Don't you need to be cleaning up your mess?" She idly motioned back to the crumpled form of the woman.

"Nah, I don't really care what happens to it afterwards." He shrugged, fiddling the knife in his hands.

Briefly her eyes strayed to the knife. His laid back attitude was concerning. "You're not afraid of getting caught?"

"Immortal, remember? I've got nothin' to worry 'bout."

Sakura flattened her lips. She would beg to differ, but ultimately it was his hide on the line and she didn't care enough to argue over it. "Fine, ten o'clock, my place and be on time." She pulled out a stray-away business card from the pocket of her jacket and a pen and wrote her address down on it. After a short deliberation, she wrote the time as well.

He eyed the card weirdly. "The Hokage?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't ask." It was just a random old card she had from the time Kakashi was Hokage. Didn't mean she kept in touch with them anymore.

Hidan shrugged and pocketed it. "Any preference for drinks?"

They'd made it out of the woodsy area and now were walking along a street. It was relatively deserted, thank god. Hidan's appearance would raise some eyebrows. He hadn't bothered to either button his shirt or clean off the blood. Reckless didn't even cover it.

"You were serious about the dinner?" She didn't think she will have to feed him as well, that it had just been empty talk.

"'course, a man's gotta eat sometime too."

She fought back the urge to sigh. She would prefer just to cut to the chase and get it over with, so she could learn about this Jashin faster. Still, it didn't mean that she won't google the bastard later. "Fine, bring some white wine." If he was so hellbent on wining and dining, she'll comply.

xxx

Sakura had to start the dinner late that evening, already knowing that she'll have to do overtime with her shift. So only about 10 PM she had been done with dinner – a simple potato roast with salad.

Hidan had arrived on the dot just as she'd been setting the dinner. With a few fake pleasantries and comments about her home, they settled to eat. It was jarring to be back where they started, not to mention today he'd talked about the damn weather of all things. It was like he pointedly avoided talking about what they were going to do today.

All throughout the dinner she had to bite down her nerves. She was about to let him in her secret lab, in her sanctuary. It was a tremendous risk. Especially when she barely knew anything about him. It was suspicious on how easily he'd revealed himself and his tricks. She didn't know how he'd done it just that it had involved chanting and possibly symbols. He hadn't revealed everything, just teased her with it. He was a surprising mix of cunning and recklessness.

At one point she grew tired of the talk about fucking nothing, and she switched the subject to something much more interesting. "Tell me what you really do?"

Without taking his eyes off his plate he replied, "Like I said, it's a government job, it's all hush-hush on the down low, can't really tell you."

Dubiously, she titled her head. She called bullshit.

Hidan sighed, dropping his fork. "Fine, fine, you don't have to give me that look."

She grinned, satisfied. That was a lot easier than she expected.

"I'm a contract killer."

"You're shitting me?"

"Naw. Even the higher ups have gnats they have to get rid of. Who do they call? Me."

Sakura pursed her lips. "That's not a government job that's illegal."

He shrugged. "Gotta tell the normies something. Doubt it would be okay to tell I take out the unwanted trash for the Mizukage or whatever."

"The Mizukage?"

"Yeah. Real nice lady."

She laughed, shaking her head, taking a sip from her wineglass. "I really should be less surprised to find out that the government is corrupt."

Hidan smirked, leaning forward. "No one is truly pure, love. We all have a little evil in us. The difference is whether or not you act upon it."

A bit shocked, she fell back in her chair and chuckled.

"Why so surprised?"

She composed herself by clearing her throat. "Well...I didn't think you could be so insightful. My first impression was that you're kind of a dumbass."

He snorted, but didn't comment.

"What with you recklessly leaving evidence behind, leaving identifying signs, risking-"

"I get it, Sakura." He laughed.

She smiled shyly. "Sorry, I didn't mean-" she cut herself off. Why was she apologizing? He wasn't even offended. She shouldn't care, shouldn't try to appease him. This was purely business, and she was always honest. It would be disadvantageous to become a people pleaser again. To save the situation, she switched topics. "Why do you do it?"

Hidan didn't even blink, instantly getting what she meant. "For Lord Jashin and because I like it. You?"

"For science."

He nodded his head in bewilderment. "And that's it?"

"Yep."

"I don't believe you." He snorted, twirling the wine in his glass. "You're just another sick fuck like the rest of us. If you didn't enjoy it you wouldn't do it again."

Sakura curled her lip and balled her hands in her skirt, but refrained from answering.

"Admit it, Sakura. You like to play the holy mother and pretend you're doing good, but you're the same as me, the same fucked up scumbag that enjoys causing pain." He peered at her with a smug look.

"It's not wise to assume when you don't even know how I work," she sneered, raising her head.

He slouched in his seat, leaving his hands on the table – the perfect picture of nonchalance. "What's there to assume? You're a doctor, you have this constant prissy attitude and I'm better than everyone else air aroun' you. I 'ain't daft, it's obvious that you think you're doing this for some kind of greater good. Newsflash, sweetheart, good people don't murder others for fucking science."

In restrained patience, she sipped her wine. He didn't know shit about her. She didn't go around pretending to be good, she just did what she thought was necessary to advance medical science. This did not make her into a 'fucked up scumbag'. Enjoying her work is not a sin. She slammed her glass down with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary. "Fine. Come. I'll show you my work." She got up with a loud screech of the chair and Hidan followed her with an amused expression.

She's gonna prove that it all is just experiments, a necessary evil for the greater good.

With a brisk walk she reached the basement door, Hidan right on her tail. She unlocked the door with the key she always kept on her person and descended the stairs into darkness. At the end of the stairwell with practised movements she unlocked the second door. Only then she turned on the lights.

Everything was in stark white, clean and polished, the lights over the steel table bright enough to fit a jewellers workstation. After the debacle with Ino, she'd cleaned up everything she had and stored in various sealing scrolls along the wall shelf. The older ones were already unusable, the subjects too far decayed to be of any value. There was no air in sealing scrolls, if unsealed older corpses exploded in her face and that was a mistake she wasn't willing to make again. Every now and then she burned the older scrolls to get rid of the evidence completely, only keeping the most valuable ones.

Keeping a wary eye on Hidan, she walked over to the wall of scrolls and pulled out one of the recent ones, taking along the folder of her notes.

For the brief moment she'd turned her back, Hidan had already gotten his hands on her surgical tools. She pulled the bone saw from his hands. "Don't touch anything."

He put up his hands in mock defence. "Fancy place you got 'ere." Just as easily he was back to observing the place and eyeing other tools. He was going to be trouble.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She unsealed the scroll, letting the body drop on her examination table. The smell hit first. It had been a couple of days and the corpse had gone stale. She grabbed some gloves from nearby and pulled them on.

"Freaky shit, didn't know you were into playing with corpses." He was right beside her, hovering over her shoulder.

Trying to keep some distance between them, she moved to the side, glaring. "Shut up. I'm doing the talking here." When there was no protest from him she continued, opening the folder with her notes.

She started with explaining the basics that for the duration of her experiments her subjects are alive and sedated. For days she monitored their responses to her healing techniques after various levels of trauma. With the current subject she'd been trying various things out at once – heavily damaged limb healing and reattachment, poison resistance without the use of antidote and healing from heavy burns.

Hidan watched her explain with furrowed brows. He didn't comment, and she continued.

To save time, she usually tried to heal multiple issues at once. It was a draw of luck on whether the subject survived the extensive damage or pull through for the planned time she wanted to experiment. Some could survive a flaying and her attempts to heal, others couldn't survive a simple organ replacement.

Her goal was to create one or multiple techniques that will cover fast healing of extensive or life-threatening injuries and cure poisonous infections. Chakra exhaustion and lack of time was a huge problem in the hospital. All the current healing methods were time consuming and used copious amounts of chakra, putting an immense strain on the medics.

So far her achievement was a fast healing technique to cure blood infections, heal deep incisions and provide great aide in the replacement of organs.

For a while Hidan stayed quiet, observing the corpse on the table and all the experiments she had made on it.

The quiet was nerve wrecking. She had just laid most of what she was doing on the table for another person for the first time in her life. And the possibility of getting judged was crushing, even when the feeling was ridiculous. Why would he judge her? Why did she even care what he thought of her work?

To distract herself from her thoughts, she sealed the body back into the scroll and moved to put it back.

"How 'bout we do this the good old way? Me and you?"

Sakura paused, the scroll halfway back into the shelf, then she pivoted on her heel. "What do you mean?"

"This work you're doing," he briefly motioned around to her lab. "while fucked up, it's boring." He stepped closer to her, a glint in his eye, a smirk on his lips. "Don't you want something more exciting? The rush of a kill. The ability to do whatever you want with them while they scream bloody murder."

She scrunched her nose. "What makes you think I want that?"

Hidan shrugged, suddenly turning from her and casually walking back to the table. "I saw you. When you were trying to dose me, you were ready to jump out of your skin from excitement." She wanted to protest, but he cut her off loudly. "And don't deny it. You were gettin' high from the adrenaline." He turned back to her, leaning against the table, arms crossed and a huge grin on his face. "So, I'm gonna ask again: do you want to try this properly?"

For a long while they stared at each other. Her jaw was tight, hands balled. "No."

She braced herself, fully expecting him to try to convince her, possibly even bargain her with his still yet to be revealed secrets.

Instead, he threw his hands out in defeat. "Alright. It's a shame, but it's your decision." Then he smiled lightly. "I'll see you around, Sakura." And stepped back up the stairs.

Too surprised to form words, she waited until she heard the slam of her door before she dared to move from her spot and sigh. Fuck, it shouldn't have ended like this. She got no chance to ask him about Jashin and his technique. Her online search had bore very little fruit, and she was no closer to figuring out how he'd done it. What caused his supposed immortality? From where he gained the chakra to heal so fast? And, most importantly, was it applicable to other people?

Cursing loudly, she rushed to clean up the lab and lock it up.

Wait... Did he just play with her and leave her hanging?

I just love how I accidentally made Hidan this cunning bastard that is playing around with Sakura lol Was not my intention at all. He was supposed to appear as someone who is just rash and reckless. Instead he's a true player, teasing Sakura. But don't worry, Sakura will be playing the game in no time as well.

A huge thank you to everyone who left feedback of any kind. I didn't expect to get so many, considering the type of story this is. But I'm glad I was able to interest you guys.

While doing research I found it funny that when people asked how do these types of people find each other that one of the answers was killdar like killers have some kind of radar that just picks up like-minded people from the crowd. And it made me realize that Sakura and Hidan had some sort of killdar as well lol