Now for chapter 6. 2 in one day; WOOT!

This chapter is really short, and I could have just put it at the end of chapter 5, but I didn't want to. You can think of it as the conclusion to what would be the first part of this story if it were separated into parts. Also, I'm using this extra chapter as a peace offering; I'm not sure how long it will take me to write the next chapter, and it could be a while (don't kill me!).

Now then, this chapter is gonna get a bit weird... but not weird enough for me to consider it weird. Those who do not like needles and disembodied heads SHOULD NOT BE READING A STORY WITH HIDAN IN THE FIRST PLACE!

"talking"

thinking

Notes will be the same way as last chapter.

Now, ONWARD!

Partners

Chapter Six

"Hey! HEY BASTARD!"

The hell...?

Kakuzu shook his head.

I really must be going crazy. I can still hear his voice.

"Over here, dipshit! Give me a hand, would you?"

Kakuzu turned to where Hidan's head had landed, only to see a pair of magenta eyes glaring at him.

Holy. Shit.

"Stop staring and bring me back to my body!"

Wow. I guess Leader-sama was right... I wouldn't be able to kill him... that's just plain weird.

"Come on, retard! I don't have all day, you know!"

Kakuzu shook his head again and walked over to Hidan's disembodied head. He picked it up by the hair and carried it back oevr to it's body.

"OW! Watch it! Don't pull so hard!"

"Do you have any thread or needles?" Kakuzu asked. "Seeing as you haven't kicked the bucket, we can sew your head back onto your body."

"Not sure. I don't have my cloak, but there might be some in the side pockets of my pants."

Kakuzu dug through the cargo pockets near the knees of the headless body's pants. Finally, he found a large needle; he didn't, however, find any thread.

Hm... I guess I'll just have to deal with this my own way, he thought as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal one patchwork-like forearm.

Hidan looked at him questioningly as he loosened some of the stitches near his elbow. A single black strand wormed it's way out of the opening, and Kakuzu pulled it out; it was nearly four feet long.

"Um... what are you gonna do with that?" Hidan inquired.

"You have no thread," Kakuzu said as he threaded the strand through the eye of the needle. He tied a not at one end and set the needle down.

He reached out for Hidan's body and pulled his neck and shoulders onto his lap. He picked up the thread and needle and pushed it through the skin of the lower half of Hidan's neck, and then lifted his head and put the needle through the flesh of the upper half. He pulled the two parts together and began to sew Hidan's head to his body with tight, even stitches.

As Kakuzu worked, Hidan began humming.

This is definitely odd, he thought, but since the thread was part of him, now a part of him is part of me! He laughed at himself in his mind. Wow... only I would find something like this sweet or touching...

Hidan knew that once he had completely healed, he wouldn't need the stitches to hold him together, but he decided he wouldn't take them out, if for nothing else but the sentiment.

"Hidan, stop humming," Kakuzu said, not moving his eyes from the stitches he was concentrating on. "The vibrations make it harder for me to work. You wouldn't want me to poke a hole in your trachea or larynx((1)), would you?"

"Sorry," Hidan replied.

"Don't apologize, just shut up."

Hidan pouted, but he said nothing further.

After several minutes, Kakuzu tied the final knot to secure the connection.

"Done," he announced, wiping any blood on his hands onto his pant-leg. "Can you move?"

"Give me a sec. The nerves and all that shit will reattach quickly, and then we can be on our way."

They stayed in their positions for a few more minutes, waiting for Hidan to regain mobility. Every few seconds, Hidan would try to move his hands.

"Mm. Your legs are comfy," Hidan said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Kakuzu asked, slightly embarrassed and very confused.

"Huh? Oh! Nothing, nothing," Hidan replied, blushing and mortified that he had been thinking out loud.

The two men sat in an awkward silence for a couple more minutes, but made no move to change position. Finally, Hidan was able to move his limbs.

Hidan got up quickly and retrieved his scythe.

Kakuzu walked over to the two corpses of the women and picked them up.

"What are you gonna do with those?" Hidan asked.

"Sell them," Kakuzu answered. "I know a researcher near here who would pay a hefty price for new specimens."

"Eww..."

"Yes, well, it's a way of making money.

"But really, that's pretty sick," Hidan said, shuddering slightly.

Kakuzu shrugged. "So's masochism."

"What did you say, asshole?!?"

((1)) The trachea is the wind-pipe, and the larynx is the voice-box for those who didn't know. (Hidan probably has no idea what Kakuzu's talking about --;)

This could be the last chapter for the next couple weeks, so I'm sorry. I'm still trying to think of what should come next. Please tell me any suggestions you guys have.

I'll see ya'll later.