I'm using the fan theory that Hidan can recover quickly in this chapter, just so you know.
Please enjoy!
Ch. 2
"Damn it, do you have to count the money every time?"
Hidan and Kakuzu were sitting on the steps outside the bounty station, catching a moment's rest before beginning their pursuit of the Jinchuuriki.
"Oy. This guy tried cheating me out of money before… Fifteen thousand and ten, twenty, thirty…"
Kakuzu resumed his task. Sighing loudly, Hidan lay back, hands behind his head.
"So what? You caught him, fucker's not gonna do it again in a hurry."
"Since when did you become so naïve?"
"Whatever."
Kakuzu evidently would not move until he was satisfied, so Hidan took the time to observe his injuries. Four stab wounds to the chest and one to the gut; and they were healing quickly. Hidan had no idea why he was blessed with fast and miraculous recovery as well as eternal life. The way he saw it, if the wounds had all the time in the world to heal, what was the point in speeding the process up? He couldn't and wasn't denying its usefulness though; many a limb had somehow reattached itself (with help from Kakuzu's threads) within a month of its amputation.
Unfortunately, this recovery, like all forms of healing, required rest, which he normally got enough of during his after-kill ritual. Right now, Hidan was feeling the side effects of having his last ritual unceremoniously cut very short. That and enduring what seemed like a year's worth of swimming and running in a single day. He could feel unconsciousness tugging at his mind; silencing his thoughts and occasionally making the world before him turn hazy.
He had to shake his head hard each time his eyes closed, and he eventually dragged himself back into a sitting position. His rare times of fatigue was one thing he did not complain about; he was quite self conscious about it, and he viewed it as a potential weakness in his otherwise foolproof fighting style.
Kakuzu knew full well what was happening to Hidan, though they had never spoken about it. He finished his money-count and glanced at his exhausted partner. In a rare moment of pity for the annoying bastard, (he did just get Kakuzu 20,000 ryou) he cleared his throat and stood up.
"There's a town nearby in Wind country. We should go and get some supplies. It'll be dark soon, we'll need lodging."
"Thank fuck."
Hidan was lying across the steps again, one arm over his face. The pity Kakuzu had felt a moment before vanished. He kicked his partner in the side.
"Get up and start walking or you'll spend the night here!"
He pointed a threatening finger towards the toilets that hid the bounty station. Hidan moaned and scrambled to his feet.
"Fuck no! I'm going I'm going!"
"Hurry up."
It wasn't just the approaching twilight that made Kakuzu want to move. They were being followed, he was sure of it. He didn't want to start a battle in an isolated area like this where they couldn't escape or blend in with a crowd. He would prefer to lose them than confront them, they were running late for their assigned mission already. The two Akatsuki glanced around the clearing, then sped away, leaving only a trail of dust in their wake.
…
Kakuzu was right; Kabuto was trailing them from a safe distance. It had been hard going, but he finally caught up with the Akatsuki as they rested. The tracker squad was close behind, waiting for orders.
Their targets were moving again. Kabuto signalled to the trackers to start moving too. In his mind, a plan was already forming. He would do anything for Orochimaru-sama, but he wasn't prepared to wait days to record the Akatsuki's next fight. They would have to be drawn into confrontation and it would have to be before they reached town. Being Akatsuki, and therefore S-class criminals, they would be experts at escape tactics.
Kabuto glanced back at the tracker team. Orochimaru-sama would forgive him for stirring things up a bit if he got what he wanted… Having decided on a plan, Kabuto increased his speed.
…
Kakuzu was the first to detect their presence. Cursing, he threw some shuriken back in their direction. Hidan fell behind and stopped first, scythe at the ready. Kakuzu landed a few yards away from him. The occasional rustling of the undergrowth told them they were surrounded. Kunai burst from the bushes on their right; a flash of red knocked them off course and Hidan's scythe buried itself in the bushes, followed by a muffled gasp. Hidan grinned and tugged it out. There was a 'whoosh' as the unknown shinobi fled to a new hiding place. Hidan didn't pursue. He didn't need to. Grinning widely, he brought his scythe blades close to his mouth, and deftly licked off the spilt blood. His skin darkened, and drawing blood from his foot he dragged it around him, staining Jashin's symbol into the dirt.
"You know, I'm seriously pissed off right now. And when I'm pissed off, I tend to wanna make people suffer. A lot."
With that, he thrust one of his pikes into his left thigh. The accompanying scream was enough to rouse the others shinobi into action.
Shuriken flew, and were stopped by Kakuzu's earth-style hardening technique. He wasn't going to let Hidan have them all. He had to admit he was surprised at the energy Hidan had gained with the prospect of a fight.
Kakuzu's eyes caught movement and two shinobi leaped out from behind. They wore purple, and their headbands were engraved with the music note. Sound ninja. Kakuzu whirled around, caught both of them by the necks and squeezed.
More yells, accompanied by Hidan's maniacal laughter tore through the air. Kakuzu dropped the two lifeless shinobi just as one was going for Hidan.
"Hidan, left!"
Hidan turned sharply to see the shinobi falling rapidly in his direction. He cursed and quickly brought a pike up to stop the shinobi's kunai.
"Damn it Kakuzu! You forgot one!"
Kakuzu was unfazed.
"Just kill him."
Hidan shifted a little, and the shinobi took the chance to stab his wind-style-enhanced kunai deep into Hidan's wrist. Hidan wrenched it away.
"Aah shit, that stings."
The shinobi smirked and leaped back, making handsigns. Hidan looked up incredulously, wrist dripping.
"Where the hell do you think you're going? I'm not done with you yet."
His scythe flew through the air. The shinobi's expression changed to one of confusion. He leapt out of the way, eyes never leaving Hidan. Kakuzu watched with arms folded.
"Hurry up, or I'll take him. We don't have all night."
"Back off Kakuzu! This one's mine."
Hidan ran at the shinobi, scythe whirling. His prey jumped into the trees, and Hidan followed. This one was smarter than the others were, but Hidan had a score to settle; he wasn't going to give up easily.
Kakuzu left Hidan to his hunt and started covering their tracks. The Sound would surely send out another squad when this one didn't come back. Their bounty must have been important.
He gathered the corpses and burned them with his fire-style mask. However, there was not much he could do with the blood, other than cover the worst of it with dirt and dead leaves.
No matter how quickly Hidan jumped from branch to branch, his opponent was always a few branches ahead. He was fast as well as smart, or maybe just cowardly. The shinobi must have been planning something, because letter bombs started appearing on the branches Hidan landed on. Cursing, he dropped down a level as branches and twigs rained down behind. He swung his scythe up through the trees to where the shinobi was last. It connected with a tree-trunk. He pulled himself up above the exploding forest and searched for the shinobi again.
His keen sight enabled him to spot the ninja hiding about thirty feet away. Hidan silently sped towards him as the last of the explosive notes went off. He took out a pike, and with all the force he could muster, sent it shooting through the air and right through the shinobi's side. The ninja swallowed his cry of pain and tried to move away. He collapsed, clutching the pike on his branch. Hidan landed deftly in front of him.
"I'll be taking that back, you pathetic piece of shit."
Shuddering, the shinobi slowly looked up at him.
"B-but how can you…? You s-should be dead!"
"Immortal. Damn you're slow on the uptake."
Hidan hunched down and wrenched the pike out, making sure he hit as many vitals as possible on the way out. The shinobi cried out in agony. Hidan calmly pushed him off the branch and heard a satisfying thump a few seconds later. He released his jutsu and his skin paled again. The ninja was already dead; it was too late to sacrifice him.
"Damn it all."
That was two sins in one day, first the incomplete ritual, now only one sacrifice. Taking out his rosary, he brought it close to his face and prayed for forgiveness.
Ten minutes had passed by the time Hidan came out of the forest. Kakuzu was sitting on the path when he saw Hidan walking towards him.
"What the hell took you so long?"
Hidan kept walking.
"Fuck you man. You just sat there."
He reached his Jashin symbol and lay down on it. Kakuzu stood up angrily and marched over.
"You're not delaying us another half hour! Get-"
Hidan was undeterred.
"Kick me all you want shithead, I'm not moving."
Kakuzu rolled his eyes and walked a small distance away to recheck his money.
…
Kabuto was not among the now deceased shinobi team. After giving his orders to the trackers, he hid himself in the trees and recorded the whole scene. He was still reeling from the brutality of both Akatsuki. The chuunin trackers were no match for them – they didn't even get a chance to use jutsu. A jounin team would have been more effective - Kabuto still didn't have a clear idea of the bigger one's – Kakuzu's – jutsu were like. But Hidan's… Kabuto had never seen anything like it. It wasn't just powerful, by taking advantage of his immortality; it let Hidan know whether his attacks were deathblows or not even if the opponent was hidden. But it wasn't just its effectiveness that scared Kabuto. It was also terrifying to behold.
Hidan's grotesque other form instantly reminded Kabuto of that of a skeleton; and with his three-bladed scythe and black cloak, he could easily pass for the grim reaper.
His job done, Kabuto left the two Akatsuki and headed for Otogakure. Orochimaru-sama would find all of this very interesting, no doubt.
…
Orochimaru had ordered Kabuto to leave him while he viewed the recording, and forbid anyone to disturb him.
What he saw excited and intrigued him no end. His old associate Kakuzu acted as surly as ever, but his partner was unlike anyone Orochimaru had ever met before. He was short-tempered, offensive and highly amusing to the Sannin, a devout Jashinist – a religion that had almost died out in recent times – with an unusual battle style. And of course, any new jutsu engaged Orochimaru's interest. But above all there was his immortality, any doubts Orochimaru had before had been blown away by the recording. He could survive any fatal injury, and he was still in the prime of his manhood, though his religion and headband revealed ties to an older time.
It was Itachi all over again. Orochimaru craved what Hidan had naturally. True immortality, no stings attached, unlike Orochimaru's own form of evading death; switching bodies just before the current one dies from his jutsu.
Orochimaru gave a start.
Hidan couldn't die. He was an experienced fighter; he must have withstood powerful elemental techniques in the past. What prevented his body from withstanding Orochimaru's jutsu?
If his theory was correct, that meant that if he transferred to Hidan's body, he would never have to transfer again. Orochimaru gave a triumphant laugh and grinned at the ninja info card in his hand. He would finally have immortality!
No, he couldn't celebrate yet. There was much that needed to be planned. Hidan wouldn't submit easily, and Kakuzu was a formidable opponent even for a Sannin. He was also a member of Akatsuki, and Pein would never let an immortal fall into Orochimaru's hands. It was a very high-risk venture. Careful planning was essential.
But Orochimaru would not be put off. If he wanted something, he made sure he got it.
.. .. ..
Yay! Another chapter up! God I love fight scenes. Now I have to go to bed…=_=