Finished: July 25, 2017

Published: July 25, 2017

== A.N. ==

Whoop! Fourth chapter done, and in a relatively short time too~

Just as I thought the Akatsuki will be present in this story, hopefully all of them.

Before we start I'd like to thank 'wehavewaffles' for their review, I forgot to write it in the third chapter (oops.. *nervous chuckle*), thanks for the review love, hopefully you'll read this and know I appreciate the gesture.

Without further ado, here is a new chapter.

Enjoy and see you at the end!

~.~.~.~

Kakuzu walked home in a slight rush, his lunch break wasn't too short but he needed to do lots of things with the time he had, it was better if he hurried home. He was really hoping Hidan hadn't done anything stupid while he was gone.

~.~.~.~

"Hey, you still alive?" called out Kakuzu as he opened the door of his apartment. As he put his keys in his pocket he closed the door behind him and looked around the living room. The TV was still on but Hidan was nowhere to be seen. Kakuzu wondered where the boy could have gone but decided to go make food first, he would look for him afterwards.

As he set the steaming cups of noodles on the kitchen table he looked around the living room for Hidan. He couldn't find him there, he had expected the kid to be hiding under the couch but when he looked for him under the couch the small white kitten was not there. He looked in the hallway but he wasn't there either, when he looked for Hidan in the guest room he wasn't there either. Maybe the kid was in the bathroom?

"Hidan are you in there?" he asked out loud as he knocked on the restroom's door but received no response. He opened the door of the restroom to take a look, maybe the kid fell asleep in the toilet? Lucky for him Hidan wasn't asleep on the toilet but now there was only one place left for him to look for the little kid.

He decided to take a look in his room, maybe the kid was in there for some reason. As he cracked the door open he peeked in, and as he had thought, Hidan was there. A small silver kitten was sleeping on his bed, the shirt he had lent Hidan was covering part of the kittens body. As he neared the sleeping kitten he could see the small kittens torso expand and contract with every breath, Hidan looks so cute and delicate. Kakuzu almost aw-ed at the sight of Hidan's small silver ear twitching. Part of him didn't want to wake up the sleeping kitten, but they both needed to eat, so, he woke up the little fur-ball.

He shook the small kitten gently, the silver fur smooth to he touch under his fingertips, soon the kitten started purring but didn't wake up. Deciding that his heart couldn't take any more of the adorable gestures of the kitten he grabbed him by the scruff and picked him up into a sitting position. The kitten opened his eyes and looked up at Kakuzu meowing lightly probably asking something like, 'what did you do that for?'.

"I cant understand you…" responded Kakuzu as the kitten stared at him. Hidan shifted back into a kid. The little kid was now butt naked sitting on the shirt that Kakuzu had lent him. Without saying anything he got up from the bed and handed Kakuzu the shirt silently asking him to put the shirt on him, "why were you sleeping on my bed?" if we're being specific it was technically his pillow.

"It got lonely and this was the place that had the strongest scent of you… I was just going to sit on your bed for a little while but before I knew it I had fallen asleep… you're not mad right?" the puppy – or should he rather say kitten – eyes Hidan was making made Kakuzu forget what he was doing for a second.

"I'm not mad, I was just worried that you had gone somewhere; when I got home I couldn't find you…" Kakuzu rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up to the ceiling.

"Really!" Hidan was grinning like a madman, he was incredibly happy.

"Yes really, I'm glad you didn't set my apartment on fire either. Good job." Hidan pouted at that comment, of course he hadn't, he was a good boy and he had obeyed what Kakuzu had said, "Let's go eat lunch, I have to leave soon." Hidan made a saddened and confused face at that.

"Wait, so you're not going to stay?" he thought Kakuzu had returned from work to stay with him for the rest of the day.

"I can't, right now I'm on my lunch break; I have to go back before my time is up." The face Hidan was making made him feel awful; it was just momentary so why did Hidan look so heart broken.

~.~.~.~

"Oh…" Hidan stood silent as he followed Kakuzu to the kitchen, "Will you come back later then?" asked Hidan once he sat down and grabbed his cup noodles.

"Yup, I won't leave after that." Kakuzu blew into his noodles, "oh wait, actually I will, I need to buy you clothes and buy food. Say, were you serious about the cat food?" Hidan was sad to hear that Kakuzu would leave him and wouldn't come back home unless he was finished buying things but hearing about cat food caught his attention.

"Well honestly that sounds kind of gross, since humans don't eat it, but I've never had it so I'm guessing it might taste good – since cats still eat it…" Hidan was playing with his noodles, he really didn't want Kakuzu to leave him… but he had to go back to his job so he couldn't do anything to stop him, he had a feeling that Kakuzu would get mad at him if he did something stupid.

"Then I'll just buy us both regular food, I have no use for cat food and if you don't like it it'll be a waste of money…" Kakuzu started eating as he watched Hidan play with his food.

"Can I go buy things with you?" Hidan had never gone to any stores, he wanted to see what was so special about them and how they had all those things people wanted.

"I can't bring you with me to the store." Hidan was take aback by that response, he was expecting a yes or a simple no.

"Why not?" Kakuzu wasn't expecting Hidan to ask why, there were lots of answers to that question but there was one that he knew would make Hidan understand.

"Do you remember those ladies that tried to take you to the orphanage?" Hidan scowled at the memory. How could he forget those ugly mean ladies…

"Yeah…" Hidan's expression was lightly amusing.

"Well, if they see you at the store only wearing a shirt they'll take you away from me and take you to an orphanage, not only will you be gone but I'll get in trouble for not dressing you properly and it'll be a mess." He didn't ne child protection services on his ass now that he had moved somewhere to get a fresh start…

"Oh." Hidan stabbed some noodles with his fork, "That sucks."

"Right." Kakuzu was glad that the kid had understood.

"What if I turn into a cat?" or maybe not…

"They don't allow pets at stores, they only allow them if they are for therapy." Kakuzu didn't expect Hidan to know what therapy meant but he guessed it sounded important enough for Hidan to stop asking questions and maybe shut up and eat his noodles instead of playing with them.

"Can't we pretend you need that therapy thingy?" Kakuzu's eyebrow twitched. The nerve of this kid..

"No." there was nothing wrong with Kakuzu so he didn't need therapy of any kind. It's very disrespectful to pretend to need a therapy animal but he didn't expect Hidan to understand, it was just as bad as the people who have fake disability parking permits just because they want to be able to park in the handicap parking space.

"How about you hide me under your shirt?" he wasn't going to respond to that but Hidan was staring at him apparently waiting for an answer.

"How will that work?"

"Just pretend you have a weird lump under your shirt or something." Really now… he didn't know if Hidan was just messing with him at this point.

"If they find out that the 'weird lump under my shirt' is you they'll kick me out of the store."

"Are you making up stories because you don't want me to come with you?" nope, maybe he was jus really dumb after all…

"You really want people to beat me up, huh?" Hidan started to giggle.

"I guess not." He started to play with his fork dipping it into the cup and pulling it out as he watched the liquid drip down, "Will I ever be able to guy buy things with you?"

"Only after I buy you clothes." He never said he wasn't going to take him but at the moment he didn't have any clothes for the kid so there was no way he could take Hidan with him without being accused of neglect or some sort of child abuse.

"Yay!"

~.~.~.~

"I'll be going now, I'll see you later alright?" Kakuzu ruffled Hidan's hair as they stood by the entrance of his apartment.

"I'll behave so you need to hurry home, ok?" Kakuzu nodded as he got up from his squatting position, "I'll guard the apartment so take it easy at work, ok." It really warmed Kakuzu's heart to see that Hidan was so innocent.

"Right, you can sleep on my bed if you get lonely again until I get back." Kakuzu twisted the doorknob, "Stay away from the stove."

"I know, I know; I'm a good boy, remember?" Kakuzu chuckled.

"Right, then I'm off."

"Have fun." Hidan wasn't looking forward to staying alone again, it was boring and creepy to be alone in the apartment.

~.~.~.~

When Kakuzu got to the bar the place was busier than it had been before his lunch break, there were costumers sitting at the bar and some at the tables. The radio was playing with a popular song at a comfortable volume, it was loud enough to be heard as background music without disrupting any conversations that could be going on.

As he was walking into the bar a purple haired girl was walking out waving at Itachi. Kakuzu didn't know who she was but he assumed she was a regular costumer.

"Who was that, is she a regular costumer?"

"That was Konan, she's Pein's girlfriend." Konan owns a tattoo shop and is usually busy, she comes to visit Pein during her break. Her shop is known through the city, 'Trash Polka' style tattooing is one of her forte's making her shop stand out from other shops. Since tattooing and piercing go hand in hand she is also really good at piercing.

"Oh." They look like a good pair, thought Kakuzu to himself.

"Yeah, I'm surprised they aren't married yet; they've been together for the longest time." She's the one that pierced Pein and he helped her start her business.

"That's good. What about you, do you have a girlfriend?" Itachi felt his skin heat up, he was sure his face was at least a tinge of red. He didn't know what it was about Kakuzu but it was as if his usual cold façade would fall to shit in front of him.

"Um, something like that…" Kakuzu's eyes widened a fraction, he wasn't really expecting that. Itachi looked like a lady killer. He smiled a little seeing that he could learn a little about Itachi.

"Who's the lucky gal you're chasing after?" right about now Itachi wanted to smash his head into the counter, why the hell was he in this situation on Kakuzu's first day of work?

"They're not a girl…" and right about now Kakuzu wanted to shoot himself, he hadn't meant to make Itachi feel uncomfortable…

"Oh…"

"Yeah…" What kind of bullshit sitcom was this? One second they were talking about what a nice couple Konan and Pein made and now they were in this situation?

"I shouldn't have asked, huh…?" Itachi chewed on his lip but stayed silent, "We can pretend I didn't. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable…" so much for a good first day at work…

"It's alright, I'm just glad you didn't overreact; usually people can't be mature about it so I started to keep this piece of information to myself." Itachi chuckled and leaned on the counter, "Honestly I was worried about your reaction, since you're older I thought you might be completely against it and start getting religious or something."

"Wow, that stings." Kakuzu chuckled, "I'm old not stupid, I don't care about anything anyone does; that's their business not mine, I expect people not to care about what I do so it works out; less problems for everyone."

"Wow, what about murder?" Kakuzu's eyebrow twitched. Great way to ruin a moment.

"I was talking about sexuality, smartass." Itachi chuckled, he really liked Kakuzu; the man was full of… surprises?

"I'll tell you about that later, it's too soon for that now, did I blow your mind gramps?"

"Cool it with the name calling, I'll call you brat or baby if you insist." He was remembering Hidan calling him old man. Except he couldn't call Itachi beef jerky.

"Fine." Itachi wiped a rocks glass since he was done serving, the other bartenders were busy so he could talk with Kakuzu, "you know, you'd make a pretty good father."

"I don't think so, I like cats better." That answer had surprised even Kakuzu. He didn't dislike kids but he'd rather not take care of them; they needed too much attention and asked really weird and uncomfortable question.

"Ok, you need to stop; I'm having so many horrible ideas, the most prominent one is calling you cat lady." Of course it was…

"Are you always like this?" Kakuzu was starting to consider changing jobs…

"Not at all, this is weird; I'm usually really calm and collected and won't speak to anyone unless spoken to first…" Itachi was starting to wonder if he had something funny in the morning, "If my brother saw me like this he'd think I've been taking narcotics." Kakuzu chuckled, poor kid; was maybe nervousness making him run his mouth?

"Do you have any pets?" Changing topics seemed appropriate at the moment.

"Sasuke has a beta fish and I have a cat." Sasuke named his beta fish dobe after he bought it because he was angry at Naruto, he said he didn't need the dumbass and that the fish would be easier to deal with than the blond idiot.

"What's the cats name?" Itachi really didn't want to answer that question.

"Dammit…"

"What?" had Itachi just sworn for no reason?

"That's his name…" Well this was just as awkward as Itachi had imagined it to be.

"Care to explain?"

"Deidara gave me the cat for my birthday but he had already given it the name for me, he said it'd be funny to yell 'dammit get back in the house!' and things like that, and it was for a while but now it's just kind of embarrassing…" Itachi's face heated up and he was sure he was red, again, "Sasuke said it was a bad idea and that I should rename the cat but Deidara insisted and now the name is stuck…"

"Wow, nice name. Now you know not to listen to this Deidara guy when you name things, don't let him name his children."

"Yeah, no kidding." Itachi chuckled, "What about you, what did you name your cat?"

"I'd rather not say…" Now it was Kakuzu's turn to feel somewhat embarrassed.

"Mine was embarrassing but I still told you so spit it out." Itachi definitely wanted to hear this, that way they'd be even.

"I named him money…" Itachi was expect something worse, "And when he's being annoying I call him beef jerky." Itachi was sure there was a story to the reason behind that but their shift was almost over.

"I was expecting something more embarrassing, what a let down…"

"It's still pretty bad, I'm guessing you went numb to bad cat names since yours is named 'Dammit'."

"That's probably right, what are you doing after work?"

"I'm going shopping for some food and clothes; what about you?"

"I'm going home to cook dinner for Sasuke since he gets out of school around that time."

"Did he move out with you?"

"No, I'm his guardian until he turns eighteen in a few months, our parents passed away three years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I should probably shut up; I'm bringing up topics that I'm sure are uncomfortable for you."

"It's fine." Itachi rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "Somehow our conversation is cathartic in a sense."

"So you younger brother Sasuke is senior in high school?"

"Yeah, I don't know if he will stay with me after he turns eighteen or if he'll run out the door the first chance he gets."

"Is he going through a rebellious phase?"

"He has been, ever since our parents passed away."

"Sounds rough."

"I'm glad Naruto was there for Sasuke, he refused to talk to me about it but he opened up to Naruto thankfully."

"Are they childhood friends?"

"Actually yeah, the funny thing was that Sasuke used to hate Naruto when they were younger."

"Sounds like most children."

"Reminds me of how me and Deidara became friends…" Itachi looked at the clock, their shift would be over in about two minutes, "But that is a story for another time." Itachi smiled at Kakuzu as he hung up his apron. Kakuzu followed suit and soon more people started coming in. Pein left his office to send off his workers. While that happened Itachi disappeared off to somewhere else.

"Good work today guys, see you tomorrow." Pein was answered in a similar manner. Before Kakuzu left he was approached by Pein, "How was your first day at work?" Kakuzu was kind of surprised by Pein's friendly approach.

"Really great, Itachi was very helpful; I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

"I'm glad to hear that, tomorrow work starts at ten, I only asked you to come to work early because of the orientation Itachi gave you."

"I see, well I won't be taking any more of your time, see you tomorrow."

"Enjoy your evening."

"Thank you." As Kakuzu was about to leave Itachi came back wearing his casual attire; black jeans with a navy colored shirt and a black hoodie; he was wearing navy canvas shoes instead of the white sneakers he was using while working.

~.~.~.~

"Hey Kakuzu wait up," Kakuzu stopped in his tracks waiting for the raven to catch up, "Are you going home or shopping first?"

"Shopping, then home."

"How about we go shopping together?"

"Huh?"

"I need to buy some groceries, I'm almost out of food at home."

"I'm new to this city so I think I'd be really helpful if I go with you."

"Do you mind if we take my car."

"Not at all."

"Great, then lets got going." As they were walking out the door a blond passed next to them.

"Bye Itachi, see ya later, un!" Kakuzu could've sworn that was a woman but after hearing that deep voice he was having second thoughts.

"Behave yourself today and say hi to Kisame for me."

"Gotcha, un."

"That was Deidara, you know, the one that named my cat for me." Kakuzu chuckled at the memory.

"Strangely he seems like he would, I wasn't expecting for him to look like that but now that I've seen him it's fitting."

"Oh yeah, and forgot to mention he's an art nut; when you talk to him stay away from the art subjects."

"I'll keep that in mind."

== A.N. ==

Next chapter will deal with shopping, let's see how that goes…

Thank you for reading this far and if you liked this chapter please favorite and follow, oh and drop me a review! Pretty please?

See you in the next chapter, bye my lovelies! *gives you some cyber-cookies*