It was three months since that day. Three months since my first ritual with Hidan and still the mark had not faded. I'd been on many missions since then, mostly working as a 3 man cell with Deidara and Sasori, sometimes with Konan and once with Pein himself. Most missions were an accomplishment towards our greater goal and now I was accepted as one of the team. I sighed and the one beside me looked up from his reading.

"Whatcha thinking?" asked the annoying Deidara, constantly bugging me. I couldn't get a minute alone, or more importantly a minute alone with a certain Jashinist.

"Nothing much really," I replied, thinking of the rituals I was missing. Since that day three months ago I'd learnt a lot about Hidan and his faith, a faith with almost no rules.

I'd helped out with a lot of the sacrifices and enjoyed the freedom. We didn't work together as a rule but that was all about to change. Something had happened, well nothing impossible but improbable Hidan had been caught trying to kill Kakuzu. Tonight it had all come to a head; all the bickering and smart arse comments had built up into...this.

In their small dark room at the hideout, another argument had broken out between Kakuzu and Hidan.

"You're looking at me funny, stop it" protested Kakuzu

"I'm bloody not, piss off" replied Hidan

"You're always looking like that, what is it? Does my face scare you?"

A snigger from Hidan and a muttered comment was all it took,

"What the fuck?" Kakuzu exploded, "you have everything I want and you don't USE it! You never USE it!" he stood up and began to shout,

"Yeah I don't use my looks to attract whores and gain money, so what?" Hidan rose and a note of anger entered his voice, "you disgust me with your filthy ways!"

Suddenly Hidan saw red, it had all gotten too much, and he couldn't take Kakuzu any more. It wasn't just his lack of faith and heathens ways. It wasn't just his attraction to whores and money. It was the nights Hidan spent alone and cold, waiting just hoping to feel Kakuzu's touch on the back of his neck, the feel of his breath in his hair. The times when Hidan wished he could be spared the same passionate glares his partner gave his whores before he killed them. And most of all the times when they were both the only people alive for miles and miles around and maybe, just maybe he saw a look of longing in those glowing eyes.

"I'll finish you, I don't care how long it takes but I WILL finish you" Kakuzu spat. "I'll kill you like I killed those other poor bastards"

"Come on then and try" Hidan taunted him, sick of it all, "show me if you're man enough" The silver haired priest then began to circle his partner, "I welcome death, come, re-unite me with my god!"

Kakuzu sprang at him but Hidan had expected it. He twisted his body and brought the masked nin down with a graceless slash from his scythe.

Hidan threw himself down and throttled his partner while trying to stab right through all five of his hearts. He told Kakuzu as the red mist descended that the tides had turned and now he would be taught to beg forgiveness. Placing a booted foot over his partner's windpipe, Hidan reached for his pike and raised it above his head. With an oath and a call to his god he brought it crashing down into Kakuzu's chest.

"See if you enjoy that one, asshole!" he screamed when the blood began to flow out onto the dirty floor.

"W-why?" pleaded Kakuzu just before he passed out. The last thing he saw were Hidan's violet and triumphant eyes boring into his own.

No one thought it would end up this way, with Kakuzu laying gasping for air and bleeding on the floor with Hidan-gone-crazy standing above him screaming out curses.

Approaching footsteps signalled the return of the rest of akatsuki. Curious as to what the noise was, the door was barged down. When the scene was unveiled and the terrible mass of blood was revealed, Hidan was knocked out by Kisame from behind. He fell face first into the lake of blood pooling on their bedroom floor, beside the one he was trying so hard to kill.

There was a deafening roar of yelling and everyone tried to push into the room. I got shoved in too, I was slipping and sliding about in blood I thought was Hidan's, but in fact the whole lot belonged to Kakuzu who was nearing death before my eyes. The green glow was gone from his pupils and his mask had slipped off. I saw the true extent of Hidans vengeance when the cloak was removed, stab marks and a ring of purple bruising surrounded Kakuzu's throat.

I gasped as Pein entered the room with an expression of utmost ruthlessness on his face, he was there only long enough to grasp the unconscious priest's hand and drag him from the room.

We watched the door swing shut behind them, each lost in their own thoughts. We knew what lay in store for Hidan now, and no one except me was longing to watch.

Pein punished him of course, punished him savagely. I was near that room that night and heard the tormented screaming. The shouting and cursing from both of them, and the clang and scrape of terrible weapons behind that closed door. Pein was skilled in the art of torture – causing his victims as much agony as possible without letting them die, but with Hidan that wasn't a problem. He let loose.

The trouble with Hidan was you couldn't kill him and you couldn't really hurt him either, the problem being he enjoyed it. Pein would stab him or rip him open and he'd only howl louder in pleasure pissing our leader off even more. This went on for a LONG TIME.

I was the first one into his room after it was finished and leader-sama emerged angry and covered in blood. I saw the religious man stretched out on a bed stained dark and crimson. His eyes were half open and he was gasping and shaking. His entire chest was forced open, most of the ribs were broken and below him on the floor were the stained and inhuman implements that caused it, still shining sharp. His body was already healing but I could tell it would take a while. Even after all this torture he grinned at me as I tried to feel his pulse. I felt nothing, not even a trace of a beat, not a scrap of warmth. He should be dead; he should have died 5 minutes after Pein started but still he lingered on.

I leaned in to kiss his forehead and he said in a gravelly whisper that this FUCKING hurt. He passed out seconds later. I stayed with him and held his hand till light broke over the tops of the trees. I said a quiet prayer for him, and realized how odd this really was.

I was praying to his god for him! How long had we known each other?

I looked down at him stretched out open on the bed, such a pretty little thing. So limber in life, now delicate in death. He was pale and still. If I didn't know his secret I'd be pouring out my soul in grief at his parting, as it was it was difficult not to pity him. His lust for death was second to none, and yet it was the one thing he could never achieve.

I'd been around with these guys for a few months now and never heard so much as a whisper of any other person that followed the faith of Jashin. And yet here I was, my white hair and pale white dress perched on the injured nins bedside praying to his god. Once finished, I beat a hasty retreat and came across Pein standing just outside the door. Was he waiting for me? I shrugged on my cloak so as not to anger him further and he spoke.

"You will work as Hidan's partner now!" he stated commandingly, but after all that's what I expected from a leader. He must be shaken up after having to go so far just to punish someone from his own organization, but working with Hidan was just what I wanted. I tried to hide a sly smile but nothing escaped those rinnegan eyes of his, he fixed me with a chilling stare as if trying to see through me. If he tried to find my reasons for liking Hidan he'd have to look damn deep because I hadn't a clue. I simply bowed my way out of the situation and disappeared to my dark and especially cold room.

Alone between the four stone walls I reflected on what had happened. I looked out of the window and wondered how I'd ever work with Hidan. Were we compatible? He and Kakuzu had been an amazing and unbeatable pair, could I ever match up? And hot on the heels of that thought followed another, darker one. Could I even match up in that way? If that's even the way it was between those two. I didn't know. I'd seen...looks pass between them, but nothing more than that. But what about when I wasn't there? I began to feel paranoid. Love could fuck with your head.

From Hidan's P.O.V

I lay in the semi darkness, the light of flaming torches shone through my eyelids, seeming to enflame the pain that was everywhere. I could feel blood drying in my hair, mine of course. My arms were hanging down over the sides of the bed, I had no idea what state they were in. I was in a pretty bad way and I knew I wasn't breathing. My lungs were punctured and my heart had stopped at least half an hour ago, but that was the great thing about being immortal – nothing could stop me. Not even that shit faced leader.

What a way to wake up after being knocked out by some jerkoff. With some thing being plunged into me, and my arms both broken. After that it just got better...I mean, worse. I tried to turn my head to find the source of the light and saw someone just leaving the room. The light shone on a short white dress and long pale hair and then the person was gone. I squinted through my blurry eyes, my eyesight ruined by the sweat and tears in them. My thoughts wandered to Kakuzu, I wondered where they'd taken that bastard. Hell hopefully. It wasn't that I meant to hurt him, just teach him a lesson and get my deserved revenge.

I fell into a fitful sleep filled with visions of Kakuzu's corpse which turned into Frio who slapped me round the face and called me stupid. I kept waking up and seeing strange things moving in the shadows, faceless and eyeless. Or maybe it was just the burning pain of my ribs healing.

I was glad to see morning arrive, a tiny pinprick of light shining through the tiny window. I figured I must be in one of the many torture chambers under the hideout. It was grim and dark. I pulled myself painfully to my feet, thinking only of Kakuzu and what he'd do if he saw me now. Almost naked and covered in filth, he didn't know what I'd been through for him.

I stretched and looked up sharply as the door opened. An intake of breath, yess my lungs were back online, and a sudden realization of who it was standing in the doorway. Wearing a forbidding expression, my ex-partner pushed the heavy door open and limped over to me clutching the newly stitched hole in his chest. I guess that's where my pike got him, I chuckled in appreciation.

"Whats funny?" he demanded

"You can't take it!" I said with glee, "look at you lurching about-" before I could finish my insulting, he was upon me, all heavy breathing and evil glare.

"What's funny is what I can do with you, Hidan" he breathed into my ear.

"D-do with me?" I stuttered. I was feeling a little delicate for all that right now. He must have seen the hesitant look on my face and a light came into his eyes that I hadn't seen before.

"Oh yes," he smiled that sadistic smile I'd seen him give his victims, but this time he was smiling it for me. My heart raced and I looked eagerly into the taller mans face. I looked deep into his eyes and found there what I'd been looking for all this time.

"Kuzu..." I murmured. Using the nickname I'd created for him months ago. I stood up on my toes and parted my lips, leaning ever closer to his mask.

He hesitated and I was afraid he'd pull away, then suddenly he grabbed my hair and pulled me into a rough kiss. He kissed like he fought, passionately and without mercy. Our teeth banged together and I grazed his lip, blood poured into out kiss. He tasted good. If I had my arms I would have started to tug at his hair, instead he tugged cruelly at mine forcing my head back and breaking the kiss.

I surveyed his face, trying to pick up any hint of emotion, saw the blood drip from his lips quietly onto the floor, and my heart raced ever faster. I stepped in for another kiss but his arms flew up and pushed me down.

"I'm the dominant one" he stated in his deep voice,

From my position on the dusty tiles I looked up and whined, "Fuck you asshole"

"Precisely" he whispered with a sly smile and dropped to his knees. He crawled over to me with one arm either side and hung his scarred face over my beautiful one. I opened my mouth expecting another kiss, but none came, "Kiss me you fucker!" I wailed.

Viciously he backhanded me across my pale face, leaving a red mark. I gasped in shock and pain and gave him one of my trademark glares. His coarse hands wound into my hair and he shifted his position grinding into me. My arousal was becoming clear, as was his as kept up his relentless grinding. I moaned for more and closed my eyes. Then as quick as lightning he got up and grabbed me, dragging me to my feet as if I weighed nothing. Before I could do anything his hands were under my useless arms and he lifted me high. With a grunt he slammed me into the thick stone wall and the breath was knocked out of me.

"C...careful, Kuzu, I might DIE" I choked and laughed