"Hidan Neco?"
Hidan and TenTen looked up, Hidan holding his head as TenTen raised her fist over him, keeping it up in the air. He brown hair was slightly pulled of one hair bun, it strands sticking up at a comical angle. Hidan now had a small cut on his head, the blood leaking into his silvery hair as he shielded himself from the girl.
Standing at the door was the strangest Hidan had ever seen, and that was saying something. Living as a punk rocker tended to get you to meet strange people, including that hippie who tried to sell the albino "fairy brownies" that made you see "the other world". Hidan had declined that offer, and called the police shortly after.
The man wore a bright white doctor's coat, his bright auburn hair a sharp contrast to the white. He had so many piercing on his face, the silver metal bright under the hospital's light, that Hidan was surprised that their sheer weight wasn't pulling him to the ground. In his hand, which surprisingly had no piercings on it, he held a folder, Hidan's name written in black ink on it, and under that, a small red and white cloud decorated the folder. That cloud....
For some reason, it looked...familiar was the only word that Hidan could find to describe that small drawing.
"Yeah, that's fucking me," Hidan told him, shoving TenTen away with one hand, keeping his eyes on the small cloud. The man raised an eyebrow at Hidan's language but didn't comment on it as he made his way across the room.
"Miss TenTen, you can leave," the doctor told the girl. She frowned, glared at Hidan, and then slowly back out of the room.
The doctor sat down in the chair next to Hidan's bed, sighing heavily. "Nice to meet you, Hidan-san. My name is Pein Pungree, and I---" his voice faded as a memory, buried deep inside Hidan, grew stronger.
"Hidan-san, Hidan-san!" a boy chirped, his face covered by an orange mask so the Jashinist couldn't see his expression. "Lookit this pretty picture that Tobi drew, Hidan-san!"
The boy shoved a coloring book into Hidan's pale hands, and he sighed as he looked over the page and the messy scribbling on the predrawn picture of a puppy, sitting outside a doghouse and licking a cat. "You spent your fucking money on another coloring book?!"
Tobi's one eye welled up as he snatched his book back, the page ripping from the force. "Hidan is starting to sound like that miser!" the teen wailed, stomping out of the room.
"HIDAN! WHAT DID YOU SAY TO TOBI?!" an enraged voice yelled from some far away room, the noise muffled by the walls.
Hidan sighed and cupped his hands around his face. "Nothing, Zetsu!"
"YOU BETTER HAVE NOT, OR I'LL TELL THAT DAMMED MISER ON YOU!"
"STOP WITH THE THREATS ALREADY!"
"Hidan, are you alright?" Pein asked, looking up from his notes. Hidan slowly blinked, then fixed his gaze on the auburn haired man.
"I...I'm fine...Dr Pungree..." he mumbled, running a hand through his silver hair, the gel cracking off as he did so.
"Oh please, just call me Pein," the man grinned at him as he shut the folder, and Hidan found his eyes being drawn to the small cloud once more. "You're showing better progress than that other young man."
Hidan narrowed his eyes at the man. "Someone else passed out at the fucking concert? What's his name?"
"Please don't tell me you wish to visit this young man, Hidan-san. But his name is Kakuzu Frazier, and---are you sure that you're alright?"
Hidan had doubled up, clutching at his head as he stared down at the bed covers. That name was so familiar..."Can I meet this bastard?"
Pein frowned and placed a hand on Hidan's shoulder. "Hidan-san, I'm not sure that is a good idea. You barely regained consciousness, and this teen isn't awake at all---"
"PLEASE. It's important," the albino whispered, still not looking at Pein.
He heard a sigh and the gentle rustling of papers. "I'll see if I can arrange something."
Hidan felt his lips curve into a smile.
Konan squealed and clapped her hands, watching the tape from the hospital. "He's coming back, Zetsu! Hidan's coming back!" she shirked, pushing her chair back and dashing out of the computer room, passing through a messy hallway as she head for a door set on the far wall.
She flung it open, and stuck her head into a crowded kitchen, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the bloody pans piled up in the sink and the reek of blood. "Oh please tell me you didn't go hunting."
The plant man looked up at her from the small oak table, his features annoyed. "Well, what else would I eat?"
Konan shrugged as she pushed past the many books lying around to get to a seat, set across from Zetsu. "I dunno. I wish this was one habit that hadn't come with you from the other world." She watched Zetsu take another bite of his bloody, near raw food. "What is it this time? Raccoon again?"
Zetsu shook his head, his green hair flopping like grass in a high wind. "Nope. Grizzly bear."
Konan scoffed as she looked out towards the large bay windows and out at the small backyard. Beyond that, a rich green forest loomed, dark and dense Fall was coming, and the leaves on the trees were just turning. "You're kidding, right?"
"No." There was silence for a moment as Zetsu thoughtfully chewed on another piece of his grizzly bear meat, blood dripping between his teeth. "So, you had something to tell me, Konan?"
Konan nodded her head as a smile creased her face again, lighting up her gray eyes with excitement. "It's Hidan. He's remembering better. You know that nickname that Tobi always used for him, mainly out of sarcasm?"
"He called him Hidan-san, right?" Zetsu asked, finishing his food and stacking his silverware neatly on the blue pottery, the clinks harsh in the quiet kitchen.
Tobi was off spying on Deidara and Sasori, the whole base was rather silent. It was almost disturbing for the plant man, who could still remember the old base, in the other world. That one had always been filled with Hidan's cussing, Sasori and Deidara's arguments, and Pein telling everyone to shut up so he could have some peace. If anything, Zetsu was looking forward to the day when everyone remembered, and came back together. Things would feel....right, with everyone crowded into one house once again.
Konan bobbed her head again, her hair flopping onto her thin shoulders. "Yeah, that one. Pein is posing as a doctor at the hospital; that's what he's calling him."
Zetsu got to his feet, picking up his plate before walking to the sink. "This soon? He only started getting flashbacks. He's coming along almost too quickly."
Konan sighed and leaned forward, resting her head on the table as Zetsu started the water and began washing his dish. "Wash your pans while you're at that. And Pein isn't unnerved by this, why should we be?"
Zetsu paused, holding his soapy sponge in one hand as he stared out the window. The water dripped down his arm and to the floor, but he paid it no mind. "...I dunno. It's just...strange. Hidan was always the slowest to something in the other world; why is he the fastest here?"
Konan shrugged again, tangling her fingers in her messy azure hair. "So what? It doesn't matter, so long as we're all together soon." She looked down at her watch, and her eyes widened. "SHIT! I have to get to the studios!" sh yelled, dashing out of the room.
Zetsu rolled his eyes as he heard the front door open and then slam shut, the screech of tires soon following. "Still as forgetful. At least somethings don't change."
Author's Comments: Okay then...I'm not happy with this, I'm tired, I need sleep...the usual.