A/N: Thank you to the moon and back to all those who had read/reviewed and followed/favorited this story, it means a lot. Seriously :)

Answer to previous question: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. I kid thee not. Apparently it's some form of lung disease, but why it needs 45 letters is beyond me. If you're sat there right now trying to say that out loud, good luck.

Answer to the riddle: Smiles, because there's a mile between each 's'!

Disclaimer.

Some Things Never Change

'Man, I swear that damn process will be the death of me…' Hidan flexed his fingers as he stretched his arms out in front of him, smirking at his own joke.

'If you don't quit your complaining, then I'll be the death of you.' His partner grumbled, earning a scowl from the Jashinist.

'Oh not that again, Kakuzu.'

'Urgh, just shut up, the both of you. I can't take any more of your arguing, yeah!' Deidara, the only blonde Akatsuki member, groaned from his position on the statue's other hand.

'Tell that to him, he started it!' Hidan shot back, jabbing a thumb to his partner on the stone finger beside him. 'Anyway. I'm out of here.'

'Oh? And where are you so eager to rush off to, Hidan-kun?' Kisame sneered, earning the intentional glare he was hoping for.

'None of your damn business. I'll see you heathens later.' He muttered irritably, disappearing in a puff of grey smoke.

'Kakuzu.'

Said man's pale green eyes drifted to their leaders silhouette in response.

'I want you to keep an eye on him. More so than usual.'

Kakuzu raised an eyebrow but refrained from voicing his opinion. 'Fine. Then I'll be leaving as well.'

'Good job everyone, I shall be in contact when we receive word on the next target.'

********** Elsewhere **********

It had been four days since she had encountered the Akatsuki members, and Mika was beginning to believe that she had actually seen the last of them. Forcing herself to relax, she rolled onto her back and stared at the bland ceiling as she concentrated on some gentle, deep breathing exercises. She was finally, just beginning to slip into unconsciousness when her eyes suddenly snapped open to an unidentified sound.

It sounded almost like cutlery being rattled? Strange. Did I imagine it?

Shaking her head, she tried to drift back to sleep, but every nerve in her body was now on high alert, so after much deliberation, she sighed and sat up in defeat. Another sleepless night. Great.

Slipping into some fluffy socks she kept in the bedside table drawer, Mika traipsed solemnly into her living room, flipping on the light as she entered.

'Do you know how fucking cold it is in this room? Never heard of central heating?'

Letting out an unladylike squeak and clutching profusely at her chest, Mika jumped thee foot in the air as her heart pounded in her ribcage. 'Damn bastard, you almost gave me a heart attack!'

Hidan cackled at her from his casual position on the armchair in the corner, sitting sideways with his legs slung over the arm. 'Ah~, you should see your face.'

'Fuck you! What are you doing here and how did you get in?!'

He snorted and rolled his eyes, ignoring her questions. 'I see your language is as pleasant as ever.'

'Yeah well, I learnt from the best… Now what are you doing here?'

'Isn't it obvious? I'm visiting an old acquaintance!' He grinned, knowing the unfamiliar term would irritate her.

To his dismay, she ignored the jibe, her amber eyes choosing to glance at the wall clock hanging above the kitchen doorway instead. 'At 2am?'

'Yeah well, it was either that or come back in the morning, and Jashin knows it's a sure way to hell to disturb you in the mornings…'

Groaning, Mika slapped a hand over her face and slowly let it slide down her cheek. She refrained from reminding him that he had, technically, just disturbed her in the morning anyway. That was when her eyes landed on something in his hands.

'Hidan.'

'What?' He noticed her point of interest and dropped his own gaze to his hands, where a plate that held a half-eaten senbei was sat. The exact one she'd been saving for her breakfast the following day. The sound of cutlery being rattled… 'Ohhhh, yeah. About that…'

He suddenly ducked at the lamp that had been sent flailing through the air aimed straight for his head. He managed to quickly relocate the item of food onto the table just seconds before Mika landed on him, the force of her pounce knocking both him and the armchair backwards.

Hidan caught her wrists before she could even aim, and soon had her flipped onto her back with her hands pinned beneath his knees as he straddled her stomach. He let out a short laugh. 'Some things never change…'

'What do you want? I'm tired, I'm annoyed and now my back hurts. Just tell me what you want.'

He reeled back in mock surprise, hands held up in a 'not guilty' fashion, but it just reminded her that he didn't even need his hands to hold her in place. 'I don't want anything. I'm hurt that you would insinuate such a thing!'

'Urgh. Whatever. I'm so not in the mood to play your games.'

'Why'd you dye your hair?'

'What?' The question caught her off guard, and she blinked up at him blankly.

'Your hair… Why'd you dye it?'

'Because I was bored of black.'

'But why red?'

'Why not red?'

'You never complained about the colour before.'

'Well it's not something I go round yelling about!'

'…So why did you really dye it?'

Mika huffed in irritation. God, she'd forgotten how persistent he could be. 'I'll tell you if you get off me.'

The Jashinist debated with himself momentarily, evidently thoroughly enjoying himself in his game of… whatever it was. She gave him a quick final shove as he started to stand, unbalancing him enough for him to wobble slightly, and that was good enough for Mika.

'I dyed it because I don't want to be found.' She answered truthfully, though he had thoroughly scuppered that plan when he instantly recognised her a few nights ago.

'By who?'

'Nope, that's all you're getting. Now get out of my house, you idiot. Come back in the morning, if you must. I'll be up.'

He looked about to protest, but suddenly changed his mind and sauntered towards the door. 'Fine, whatever. But you better had be up, seriously…'

As soon as he had gone, Mika stood and scowled for a good 10 minutes at the armchair still lying on its back on the floor. Then she scowled even harder and more determinedly when she realised in disdain that he was, in fact, right.

Some things never changed.

It was raining when she saw him again. Aged nine and more stubborn than ever, Mika had crept away from the usually watchful eye of the current family she was living with in the Hidden Sound.

They had travelled East to their neighbouring village hidden in hot water. 'A pleasant family day out,' the mother had described it to be, while the father had simply nodded in agreement. So far Mika had just found it boring. So what if the scenery was pretty? Who cares? She wanted to play!

The young foster couple had been admiring one of the hot springs gardens when she had managed to lose their attention, running freely to her hearts content through the wide streets. Mika had run until she'd found a reasonably quiet training ring, which appeared to be currently unoccupied. She was about to emerge from the tree line when a movement across the field caught her attention. His amethyst irises stood out even from this distance, and she had clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms.

Using all her self-taught stealth skills, she crept forward in his blind spot, planning to tackle him and take him by surprise, but her plans were abruptly ended when something heavy collided with her from behind. She scrabbled with the unknown offender for several moments before she found herself lying on her back with her wrists secured on either side of her head, glaring with all her might into piercing magenta eyes.

'Urgh! How did you…' A quick glance to the side told her that the Hidan she had been stalking was just a shadow clone, and she watched in dismay as it flashed her a cocky grin before dissipating into the air. So he'd known she was there all along? Now who was stalking who?

'What, are you following me?' He smirked down at her as she worked harder on burning holes through his head with her eyes. 'You can't beat me, I'm bigger than you remember?'

'Shut up!' She growled, but her insult only served to amuse him further.

'Not that again… Don't you know how to insult someone properly? Repeat after me: Fuck. Off.'

'Get off me!' She wriggled in vain beneath his weight, failing miserably.

'Not until you say it!' He sang, his eyes dancing as he silently taunted her.

'You can't sit on me forever!'

'…challenge accepted!' It probably wasn't her best idea to put such an idea in his head, both being as stubborn as they were, but several hours later as the sun began to peek out from behind the clouds again she finally caved.

'Alright, you win… Fmmkff…' She mumbled, back and arms completely numb from being in that position for so long.

'What was that? Sorry, I didn't quite catch it.'

'I said, FUCK OFF!' She screamed, giving one last thrash for good measure before he leapt off her and out of her range.

'I told you so!' He laughed at her feral expression, though it was sufficiently ruined by the way her fringe fell loosely over one eye and how her pony tails were now completely wonky.

'I hate you.' She hissed, stomping past him as she pulled out her hair ties, letting her black locks flow freely over her shoulders. It had a healthy shine when the sun came out, he noticed, a glow that almost matched her eyes when she was angry.

She continued to stomp all the way back to where her foster parents were frantically searching streets and calling her name as though they were seriously concerned, but Mika knew they weren't really. If they had been, they wouldn't have sent her back two days later. But they did, so there we go.

Hidan found his partner in the cheapest, skankiest looking hotel he could find. He'd known exactly where to look, since it was so damn typically of that old miser.

He shrugged off his cloak as he entered the room where the faint chakra signature was flickering, and rolled his eyes when he noticed that Kakuzu had already claimed the bed. He knew better than to ask if a second room had been booked, his partner was far too much of a cheapskate to part with money like that 'unnecessarily', as he'd put it. Guess I'm on the floor again then… Selfish, cheap bastard.

He lay on his back as he stared at nothing in particular, his mind elsewhere as he drifted into a restless slumber. If Kakuzu noticed, he didn't say anything. But that didn't come as a surprise to the Jashinist either. His partner wasn't exactly what you'd call predictable, but he could be incredibly obvious where money was concerned, since he was completely disinterested in anything but money.

It had been a while since he had dreamed of her, but that night he did. Long, twisted dreams of memories and fantasies mingled into one throughout the night as he slept, with short periods of consciousness in between.

It shouldn't have been surprising to him to find that he was actually looking forward to the morning, but it did. As it always did when he found himself excited to see her. He didn't know what it was about her that made her so damn fun to mess with, but whatever it was, he didn't care.

Until she stopped being entertaining, he would continue to pester and play with her in as many ways as he knew how. And tomorrow would be no different.

A/N: What do you guys think about Hidan's character? Anyone think his OOC?

I'm trying to write him as best as I see him portrayed, and I think he's one of the 'fun' members of Akatsuki, much like Deidara, I think they can take a joke and would thoroughly enjoy having someone to annoy like this :P

Question: How long is the longest recorded flight of a chicken?

Riddle: What travels around the world but stays in one spot?

Answers revealed in the next chapter!