-Chapter 6-

-Ino-

"You've got to be kidding me! Can't you at least turn around!?" Ino was trying to not dance in place as she argued with the older man.

"No," his flat tone made her want to scream in frustration. "Go before you piss yourself."

Ino realized she had no choice but to comply and bent at her waist to shimmy down her pants. She was mortified, but hoped that she would be able to retain some of her modesty by keeping her nudity hidden from his glaring eyes. She yelped, her ears burning in embarrassment when the awkward angle caused her to stumble. So much for her dignity. All that went out the window when she finally managed to stabilize herself enough to release the overflow from her bladder in a long and powerful stream. She praised every deity she had ever heard of - except Jashin - and sent them her prayers of thanks and relief. She didn't realize she had said it all aloud until she heard her audience snort in obvious amusement. She willed the blood from her face as the last bit of urine dribbled into the dirt below.

"Let's go," he rolled his eyes impatiently when she lingered in place.

"Yeah right! I'm not a guy in case you haven't noticed! It's not like I can just shake it off and stuff it back into my pants okay!?" His eyes widened only a fraction, but nonetheless it betrayed his obvious surprise at her words. She wondered if a dead man even had the ability to blush. She took advantage of the moment and shimmied her pants back up, cringing at the moisture that still lingered, but grateful she had managed to go before she had had far worse happen to her pants. "Okay I'm good." she followed him back to camp, looking over her shoulder at the spot she left behind. Come on Akamaru! She thought, grateful to leave her scent behind. She must have shown some sort of triumph on her face, because as soon as she sat back down at the fire Kakuzu said, "It will rain before anyone can track your scent."

Ino deflated immediately. "You read minds now too?" she grumbled, lifting a small stick and poking at the ground with it.

"Don't need to read minds when the person in front of you is transparent." Kakusu confessed with a condescending laugh that made her bristle with hostility.

"Well excuse me. I haven't lived my life in a way where I need to hide my feelings. I guess you two psychopaths don't have a choice or people would know immediately who you really are!" Ino must have had a death wish. She really could swear she saw her memories flashing before her eyes. Why could she never shut up when she was scared? She was just begging the guy to knock her out again! She bit her lip as the panic swelled at the thought of being knocked out again. She couldn't escape if she was unconscious! She fidgeted on the ground, eyes sweeping wearily to his immobil form as she waited for him to strike.

But he didn't even look at her much less respond. After a few tense moments in silence she huffed and began lowering herself back onto the ground to stare up into the sky. The crackle of the fire and gentle whisper of the wind in the trees soothed her as she searched through the leafy canopy to spot a star in the sky above. They would know she was missing by now. She had no doubt her friends would be mobilizing if not already on the move right at this moment. Shikamaru and Chouji would drop everything to find her - Kiba as well. Naruto and Sakura always managed to get involved in the action somehow. She smiled slightly to herself, realized what she was doing, and dropped her face into an emotionless mask. Her eyes darted to the ex-Akatsuki beside her as his voice echoed 'transparent' in her mind. She fought not to frown. She was transparent, and it irked her that she was so bothered by him calling her out on it.

She closed her eyes and sighed, trying to focus on something else. She was getting tired but dared not sleep if she could help it. Though she wondered why she was worried. It seemed obvious that the two had no intention of causing her harm. She remembered back to Hidan's words the day she threw up on him. He had said he promised he wouldn't hurt her. Her brow furrowed as she recalled the whole trip thus far. They really hadn't hurt her, and if they had planned on hurting her Hidan would have surely done it by now right? She wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or terrified. If they weren't going to kill her, than what did they want?

The next morning came so quickly she hadn't realized she had let herself fall asleep. She cracked an eye open to find the two men were packing up what little they had and had already extinguished the fire. So much for breakfast, she scooted herself up into a sitting position and hoped that those cracks and pops she heard in her back wouldn't cause her paralysis. The two were solemn faced and silent as they moved in seamless harmony. It was obvious the two had been partners for a long time in the way they moved about without uttering a single word and yet efficiently broke down the camp without missing a thing. She reached behind herself to stretch her arms and paused when she realized the men hadn't looked at her once since she sat up. Her hand ran over the rope that was still secure there. She watched the two and moved her fingers slowly around the first knot.

"Don't bother," Ino nearly jumped out of her skin when Kakuzu's voice pierced the silence. "We weren't born yesterday." He hadn't even looked up as he stomped on the remaining embers in the dead campfire.

Ino rolled her eyes and dropped her hands in her lap. "It was worth a try," she shrugged before her stomach let out a particularly loud growl that ruined her nonchalant demeanor. That damn tiny fish hadn't even lasted through the night, and she didn't see any food lying around. She wasn't sure if she should ask or not. It seemed Hidan could care less if she died, though he wouldn't be the cause of it. Kakuzu, however, seemed to very much want her alive, and yet didn't really seem to care if she suffered either.

"Get up, we're heading out." Ino blinked her eyes up at Kakuzu as he now loomed above her.

"Where are we going?" she stood shakily as her legs adjusted to the new blood flow. Sleeping on the ground was the absolute worst! Kakuzu gave her an annoyed look and she plastered a fake smile on her face. "Worth a try!" she said again.

"Keep asking questions and I'm knocking you out again," was his cold response. He pulled out a long black cloth from a pocket on his pants and leveled his glare on her, "Turn around, keep still."

Ino did as she was told and her eyes widened briefly before her vision was totally obscured by the black cloth. She backed away instantly but didn't get far as she bumped into him. "That is not necessary!" she flipped around, her eyes pleading with his. His eyes stared past her, over her shoulder and she didn't have the time to fight before another set of arms came around her like a straight jacket. She led a futile struggle against Hidan and cursed them both as Kakuzu tied the blindfold in place. She finally wrenched herself free ignoring the fact that Hidan's grip had lessened a great deal before doing so and overcompensated, falling forward with a yelp. A familiar hand wrapped into the back of her shirt and lifted her before steadying her on her feet.

"Would you stop doing that!?" she screeched in frustration.

"Hey what the fuck man? You said if she asked another question you were going to knock her out?" Hidan's smug voice made her anger boil inside her, but she bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything more. She really didn't want to be knocked out.

"We have a lot of ground to cover," Ino hissed when she was shoved from behind. "Walk."

Ino grit her teeth but began walking. After about five minutes of struggling and tripping with no eyesight or chakra to help guide her they tied something too soft to be rope around wrist and began pulling her along like a dog on a leash. "You know if you undid this chakra rope I'd be able to move as fast as you want me too!"

-Kakuzu-

Kakuzu rolled his eyes at her statement. This girl talked too much, and he was not in the mood. He grimaced at the thought of using his chakra to speed up their travel. He had no doubt that they could carry the girl and still get to their destination twice as fast if they did use chakra - but then how soon would he need to rest? How soon before his chakra fizzled away and left him weak?

Hidan hadn't mentioned their slow pace since they embarked on this journey, and the girl bringing it up took an unexpected swing at his pride. He tugged at his face mask which he had turned into her makeshift leash and was pleased when she stumbled. It was petty, but it made him feel a little better. "Knock her out," was what he finally made in reply to her statement.

"Wait! Don't!" she was tugging at her leash, turning her head frantically side to side as if she would actually be able to do something if she heard which direction her attacker was coming from. Hidan already had her, one minute fighting against her captors, the next crumpled on the forest floor.

Hidan met his gaze with a serious expression. "Whatever is going on with you…" he shook his head, scratching at the back of his neck in annoyance before biting out a 'Fuck'. He took a deep breath and dropped his hand back to his side. "We need to fix it. We aren't going anywhere if you don't get yourself back to the level you were before you died."

Kakuzu's eyes widened in true surprise. How much had Hidan noticed? Had it really been so obvious that someone as self-possessed as Hidan had actually noticed? "What do you know?" He growled out as anger swirled deep in his stomach. He turned and stomped away, not sure if he really wanted that answer. He had shared so little with Hidan about all this. He had been hoping to solve the problem on his own. Hoping that it would just go away on its own. He growled when the Jashinist darted forward to block his path.

Hidan stared at him with cold eyes, now cradling the girl in his arms. "Don't fucking brush me off!" he adjusted the blonde as he spoke, throwing her over his shoulder so his hands were free. "I'm the only help you've got. Tell me what to fucking do and I'll do it!" He sneered and reached an arm out, palm up to the sky. "Who the fuck else is there? You need stronger hearts? Point me in the right direction! I'll catch them you kill them. You are useless without your techniques. Might as well be a fucking Genin-"

Kakuzu's fist made quite the satisfying impact against his partner's jaw. The crack of bone against his knuckles had an odd effect on him. Normally he'd just stay mad and swing again until his target was dead. He didn't have that urge now, instead he felt a sense of relief. He was relieved that he could still pack a punch. Hidan staggered back from the punch and almost dropped the girl before recovering. When lavendar eyes met green his partner was smirking. "What's so funny?" he dared to ask.

"Just making sure you still got fight in you," Hidan snorted. "You hit like an old man!"

"Your bleeding says different." Kakuzu hissed.

"My bleeding is why I'm not calling you an old woman," Hidan lifted a thumb and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, licking the appendage clean. "Seriously though, let's get you some better hearts. Maybe then next time blondie points out how slow you are you won't go all ape-shit on her," he was patting the girl's ass as he said it and Kakuzu rolled his eyes in annoyance as his attention was brought back to the first victim of his ire.

"You're right," he grudgingly admitted. "I need better hearts. But to get them we need to engage higher level shinobi. Engaging higher level shinobi is going to bring unwanted attention. Especially considering our cargo," he scoffed. "We can't let her go free after all we've been through to get her."

"Take her heart," Hidan said as if he were dumb for not seeing the answer right before him. "She's jounin level and her bad ass kekkei genkai is sure to give you some awesome moves."

"And lose the payout?" Kakuzu said incredulously.

"It's always about the fucking money with you!" Hidan started, "What is more valuable than what her heart could give you?"

"Romantic," Kakuzu couldn't help but snipe.

"Joke all you want," Hidan made a sound of disgust, "You've got an easy fix right here!" he patted her ass again to emphasize his words.

"No. And stop sexually harassing her. The last thing I need is her bitching about something else." Kakuzu began walking again. "Bring me jounin, and I'll do the rest."

"Done," Kakuzu could practically hear the sadistic smile on his partner's face.

This would be risky and very possibly expose them. The majority of their revenge plans were based on the element of surprise. But he needed his strength back and if he didn't have it he may as well have just stayed dead. "I want to be in Earth country before she wakes up."

He was pleased when they made it over the border. The kunoichi was still out cold, and Hidan was eager to see if Earth country had put any higher level shinobi on border control. "I'm leaving her here with you while I go hunting. Can you handle that?"

Hidan's question made his hackles rise. He didn't like the patronising tone. "Just go you idiot!" His rage did nothing, the younger man just snorted at him before disappearing into the trees.

Kakuzu made a makeshift camp for the time being. He made only a small fire to cook the rabbit they had caught earlier that day. He had just finished fashioning the spit out of a tree branch when the blonde awoke. He watched as her limbs twitched, her small pink tongue darted out to moisten dry lips. Her deep blue eyes opened slowly on high alert. He had taken his mask back but had stuffed it in a pocket when he decided he wanted to eat first anyway. Her gaze was on his mouth, no doubt taking in the stitches of his glasgow smile before darting to the area around them. There it was, her intelligence. He narrowed his eyes as he watched her analyze her new surroundings. This girl was smarter than she pretended to be, if he were a lesser shinobi, maybe even just a younger one, he would have never seen that spark of cunning in her eyes.

"Food is on, I'll let you eat as long as you behave," he intentionally broke her concentration and was satisfied when her gaze was on him once more.

"I'm getting tired of waking up on the ground." she groaned as she sat up. "Where are we now?"

"Why would I tell you that?" Kakuzu stuck the rabbit on the spit over the fire, satisfied it wouldn't fall off.

Ino didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around her knees. He had never met anyone who could flip flop between emotions so quickly. This girl was a constant headache. He looked over at her after a moment of silence and was surprised to find her staring at him. "What?" he frowned, genuinely curious to know what she was thinking.

"Where is he?" she asked absently.

He blinked slowly at her. "Not here."

She sighed and shook her head. "Of course," she took in her surroundings once more until her eyes landed on the rabbit. "Do I get the tail?" her words dripped with venom, but didn't hold the same bite they usually did.

He stared at her curiously, her face was pale and tired. Resigned. She held no spark of defiance in her eyes. It was an altogether completely weird look - one he had never witnessed on her could honestly say he had never taken a living bounty. It was just easier to carry a head than to drag around a kicking and screaming person to a check point. It was odd watching her will be broken piece by piece. If he were a decent man he'd feel guilty. Thankfully he was not a decent man, those kinds of feelings could get you killed in his line of work.

"Why are you doing this? Why me?" her eyes were suddenly glassy with tears and Kakuzu let out a sound of disgust.

"Don't you dare! I am not dealing with some weeping woman!" Yeah, dead bounties were definitely better than this.

She hid her face in her knees but continued anyway, "Please just let me go! I just want to go -" her words died abruptly, her head shot up with a look of complete shock and horror on her face. She gripped at the sides of her head and gave it a shake before glaring at him. She must have realized on her own how pathetic she had sounded. It was oddly attractive in a way, for a woman to continue to be so strong when faced with an obviously hopeless situation. "I hope you both die. Again." She spat at him with those fiery defiant eyes. If only this little spitfire wasn't his paycheck. He'd put her in her place in more ways than one.

He smirked at her, "Only time will tell," he mused.

She opened her mouth to retort when Kakuzu felt the stirring of chakra ahead. He stood quickly, ready to go on the defensive when a familiar form burst through the trees. Hidan was grinning madly, a load in each arm. "Honey! I'm home!" he sang, "And wouldn't you know they had a two for one sale at the market today?" he cackled as he dumped the two shinobi at his feet.

Kakuzu ignored that attempt at comedy and assessed the two earth jounin on the ground. "They'll do," his curt response did not reflect the excited hum in his body. "I'll be back shortly."

-Hidan-

Hidan grinned triumphantly as the old man disappeared with the two victims. It had been a blessing from Jashin when he had come across the two jounin. Apparently they had been returning from a mission, and had gone into detail about their excitement in completing the mission early and getting home to surprise their wives. When Kakuzu asked later about it he would be even more pleased to know that because the two jounin weren't expected at home yet, they would have time to distance themselves from this area, and keep attention off of themselves. He had done so good with this one, though he had to ask forgiveness from Jashin the whole way home that his sacrilegious jerk of a partner would be taking their lives.

"Hm?" He twisted around when he heard a sound behind him, and sighed when he saw the girl fully awake by the fire. "So you're awake?" Despite her bitchy face, Hidan was in a good mood and decided to play nice for once. She glared at him but said nothing, reaching out to twist the rod that held their dinner. "Don't be that way! I haven't called you any names yet today!" he cackled.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Where did he go?" she motioned her head in the direction Kakuzu had disappeared.

"For fuck's sake you really are into him aren't you?" he couldn't help picking on her. It was a disease he just couldn't fight.

"With how much you mention it I'm beginning to think you're jealous!" his eyes widened at her comeback. "I can guarantee you don't have to worry. I'm not trying to steal your boyfriend!"

Hidan stood in stunned silence before doubling over with laughter. "Oh princess," he sobered, sauntering over and plopping down beside her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and couldn't help the feeling of delight as she tried to squirm from his grasp. "I can assure you," he tightened his hold on her, pulling her flush against him as he spoke, "I've got no interest in men."

"Ugh!" she pushed him away with both hands but he held her for a second longer to torment her even more before letting her go. "You are the foulest man on the planet!" she seethed.

He scoffed, "You are lucky I'm in a good mood or I'd be stringing you up and showing you just how foul I like to be." She sneered at him and scooted away. "Turn the rabbit woman I'm starving!" He watched her clench her fists at her sides and struggled not to laugh at her anger as she suppressed her obvious urge to hit him. He hadn't been left alone with her for more than twenty minutes this entire trip. Kakuzu leaving her here with him without any hesitation showed how out of it he really was.

Hidan dropped backwards, locking his fingers behind his head as he used them as a cushion to rest his head as he lay down. He pondered Kakuzu's situation. He hoped getting him new hearts would be all he needed to return to normal. His eyes drifted to the female present and he scowled. "You're doing it wrong!" he sat back up and snatched the rod from her hand.

She threw her hands up in the air. "Please enlighten me! It's not like I often have to live like an animal! I don't usually eat over a campfire in the wild! I'm not running and hiding from anybody!"

"Tch," Hidan glared at her. "Nobody here is either! It's called planning and waiting! You assholes are going down for what you did to us. You're just lucky we found a use for you that needs you alive!" Her sudden surprised stare had him cursing at himself. He never was any good at keeping his mouth shut.

"And what would that be?" she pressed, despite his warning glare.

He scratched at his head, turning his eyes back to the rabbit. "Just get back to cooking! Here I'll even show you since you are obviously inept!" he tried not to show his discomfort as he changed the subject and went back to turning the rabbit. In his frustrations he began jerking the rod around, the rabbit slid along its own grease just a time too many before the meat ripped apart and their dinner landed in the fire with a hiss. He froze, staring at the meat as it popped and blackened in the flames.

Her laughter brought him back to reality. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he turned his ire onto her. "Oh you are in trouble!" she sang, cackling at him. "He's going to be mad at you!"

"Shut up," he snapped back and flinched at the childish note in his tone."We'll just have to catch something else!"

"As if!" Ino snorted in disbelief. "You dropped it! You get another one! I'll wait here, see you later!"

He jumped up onto his feet and grabbed her arm, yanking her up beside him. "Let's go!" he demanded.

"You are so stupid!" she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and stomping after him as he walked into the tree line.

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Poor Ino and Hidan, they just can't get along for five minutes. Big big happenings next chapter :D

BTW i really don't edit this short of fixing the red squiggly lines. So...sorry bout that.