Chapter 2: Irony Is Almost As Bad As Karma
The black cat had been following them for the past five days. Occasionally, it would leave them, presumably for food.
The Zombie Duo were beginning to become unnerved by the gray-eyed beast, but neither of them mentioned it as they continued their usual banter.
Kakuzu gradually forgot about their little follower as he thought of all the bounties this mission contained. Hidan distracted himself by thinking of all the people he would be able to kill. Their assignment was to capture the Two-Tailed Cat.
Both "immortals" had just about forgotten the black symbol of bad luck when they found it standing in their path.
Even though the two were S-rank shinobi, they couldn't stop their heart, or hearts, from lurching in surprise.
Hidan and Kakuzu had come to a complete stop in the small ordeal, but neither of them wanted to speak, to acknowledge, the harmless creature in front of them.
It's gray eyes bore into their bodies, "Don't underestimate people."
The message was conveyed loud and clear, and the cat promptly left, slinking off the road and into the foliage lining the path.
The two "immortals" stood stock still before silently coming to an agreement: this didn't happen.
However, no matter how hard they tried to forget, the cat was lodged in their memories, creating a rare but frustrated silence between the shinobi.
During their supposedly "final" battles, the Zombie Duo found the strength from these words to avoid a gruesome death. Kakuzu found himself fooling his enemy with a decoy body, and Hidan was fully intact though six feet under.
It would be the cat, who had reappeared after the Konoha shinobi left, that lead Kakuzu to Hidan's burial site and pleaded with the miser to free the Jashinist. One long look into the cat's gray eyes, and Kakuzu obliged.
The Zombie Duo didn't return to the Akatsuki afterwards, and they were presumed dead by both sides.
Neither thought about how ironic that they were saved by a cat.