Kakuzu sighed as he set his keys down on the table of his small apartment, shutting the door softly behind him. Through the thin walls, he could hear his neighbors arguing as always, oblivious the audience that could hear their every word.

He walked into his living room/ kitchen, opening the small fridge and taking out leftovers to heat up in the microwave. Pressing the buttons, he sat down in his lone chair, eyes staring vacantly.

It had been twenty years. Twenty years since he had 'died', and the Akatsuki had been disbanded. Pein was dead, Nagato was dead, Sasori was dead, Deidara and Itachi had been killed by Itachi's younger brother, Zetsu's white half had been destroyed, Kisame had vanished, and Tobi had turned out to be really Madara. No one knew where he was now.

He and Hidan had been kept in reserve, for use if needed. They hadn't been needed. After five years of waiting, they had drifted apart. Who knew where Hidan was now. He himself had resorted to being a banker, of all things, to afford his small apartment.

He sighed and rubbed his temples, looking around at the only pictures he had in the entire apartment. She looked out at him every where, grinning, snarling, and one picture, which always held his attention longer than any other, showed happiness.

His expression softened as he looked at the image of her sitting on his bed, giggling happily, hood covering sliding down over her eyes. He himself was looking up at her with an expression kindred to awe, eyes wide and hair messy from sleep. Hidan had taken the picture, twenty-two years ago. Two years after that, he and Hidan had been killed.

She had saved them. Somehow, she had delivered a still-beating heart to his body, allowing him to live. She had unburied Hidan, and reassembled him again. And while his body physically had not changed since then, he could feel the age in his mind. She had left after that, and neither of them had seen her since. He felt ancient.

The microwave beeped, bringing him out of his reverie. He blinked, startled, then groaned and rose, walking over. He had been doing this more and more lately, sinking into his memories. Hidan would have called him and old geezer.

He pulled the leftover ramen out of the microwave, breaking apart a pair of chopsticks and digging in.

The noodles hardly left him filled, but he didn't really have much to eat. All the wealth he had accumulated by killing bounties had burned down along with base. All he had was what he could earn. And he was keeping a low profile, so he couldn't really begin hunting again.

Making sure all the lights were off, he ventured into his bedroom to do some paperwork, sitting down in the creaky chair next to his small desk. He sighed again and pulled out a pen, starting to write in figures, hearing the neighbors arguing again.

He jumped when he felt the buzzing in his mind. That was the meeting signal the Akatsuki used to use. Who the hell knew it?!

Within seconds of his initial panic, he calmed again, remembering Hidan. It had been years, but they still both knew the signal. But why was he using it now?

Growling, he rose and walked to the door, locking it. He shuttered the windows, enclosing the room in darkness. Using a sudden flare of chakra to make sure there were no ninja around, he sat on the floor, crossing his legs. With one last sigh, he responded, feeling the world around him vanish as his mind was teleported to Hidan's location, his appearance that of a hologram.

When he opened his eyes again, Hidan stood before him. He hadn't changed much, either. Age hadn't affected the immortal's body, but his hair was a little shorter than he remembered it.

They were in a forest clearing, and Kakuzu could hear a stream bubbling somewhere. Birds chirped, and a rabbit ran into cover.

"Where are you?"

"Kakuzu, I didn't call you to talk about locations."

"Hidan, I want to know why the hell you're in a forest. What, are bounty hunters after you, and you need a place to stay?" Kakuzu asked sourly.

Hidan flushed angrily, but he managed to keep calm, something he must have learned after leaving.

"Dumbass, if I had wanted to just argue with you, I would have found you. I have something important to tell you."

"Hidan, whatever it is, I don't care. I'm done with the ninja lifestyle, and I'm not-"

"Jashin damn it, will you shut the fuck up so I can tell you already?!"

Kakuzu blinked in surprise, hearing all sounds around them cease.

"……What is it?"

"About fucking finally….", Hidan muttered, looking angry.

"Will you hurry it-"

"I found her."

With those three little words, Kakuzu's blood ran cold. It wasn't possible, was it?

"Who?" he managed to choke out.

"Who do you think?"

Kakuzu was silent with shock.

"It's not possible."

"Turn around."

Kakuzu had to force himself to turn, in case it was just a cruel joke being played by Hidan. She had left twenty years ago, and they were no where near the place…..

He slowly turned, his red and green eyes meeting her gray ones. She stood on all fours, looking at him with an unreadable expression. Five scars ran parallel across her back, and brown hair framed her face as she watched him just as he watched her.

He was aware of Hidan's voice behind him, but he couldn't make out the words in his shock. He struggled to make a sound, to even breathe. But he couldn't. Her eyes held his soul still, and he couldn't move until she allowed him.

She blinked, slowly, and he gained control over his body again. His lips stumbled over words, trying to choose the right one as she slowly approached him. Finally, he managed to choke out the two tiny syllables that meant the world to him.

"Reni."

They stared at each other, as if not believing the other was there. Reni hesitantly moved forward, keeping her head low, eyes locked on his.

"Kaku…zu?" she chirped, voice rough.

He swallowed.

"Reni, it's me."

Her saw her sniff the air, a suspicious look on her face. She began backing away, looking at him oddly.

"Kakuzu", she growled, looking at him angrily. Kakuzu could only watch in dismay.

"Hidan, what's wrong with her?"

He could see Hidan cringe, and the albino answered.

"You're not going to like this…"

Kakuzu glared.

"What happened to her?"

Hidan sighed, then said, "Look, I found her in a slave wagon. I'll leave it at that for now, and give you the details when we meet up with you, okay?"

Kakuzu saw red.

"You saw her in a slave wagon?!"

"Oi, Kakuzu, calm down! You're scaring Reni!"

His anger immediately fled, like a bird let free from a cage. He looked back at Reni, and saw her wide eyes. Struggling to remember, he apologized in her tongue, lowering his head and opening his mouth in a grimace.

Her eyes lit up.

"Kakuzu!"

She jumped at him joyfully, a grin on her face. However, she seemed startled when she passed through the hologram, struggling to land on her feet. Her eyes widened, and she twisted herself, landing on her right arm.

She yelped and quickly drew it off the ground, laying down and licking it roughly, whining with pain. Kakuzu could see now that the arm was crooked, bent as if from a break that never healed right. Looking closer, he saw all kinds of injuries on her, scars running across her legs from a whip, smooth burn marks on her arms that could only come from a brand, and raw skin across her wrists and ankles, where chains were used to contain her, for god only knows how long.

"What did they do to her?" he asked in horror.

Hidan grimaced.

"Let's just say she didn't like to obey that much."

Kakuzu clenched his fist, but let it slowly relax as he inhaled. Suddenly, something hit him.

"Hidan?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is it she doesn't look any different than when we last saw her?"

Hidan grinned.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long. Remember back on the cliff? I said she was one of Jashin's chosen. I meant it, Kakuzu."

"I thought you said she didn't have immortality?"

"I don't think she does. I believe she just has an extended life span. It could be that Jashin-sama has something special planned for her."

Kakuzu felt vaguely unsettled by this. Jashin had something planned for Hidan when he gave him his immortality, and Hidan had killed most of his village and became a mass-murderer. What Reni would become….. he didn't want to happen. Not to Reni, the innocent girl who killed only for defense and food. Not her.

He shook his head.

"Hidan where are you?"

"Why?" Hidan's guarded voice answered, looking at him warily.

Kakuzu responded irritably, "So I can come get her!"

Reni, by this time, had risen back to her feet and was examining the hologram, passing a hand through it and frowning in displeasure.

"Kakuzu, is there any way I could come to you?"

"Why?" Kakuzu asked, suspicious. Something was up….

Hidan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, let's just say I didn't exactly BUY Reni from the slavers…."

Kakuzu stared.

"YOU IDIOT! Don't you know they have a tracking device in unsold slaves?!"

"Oi, oi, oi! Come on, Kakuzu! How was I supposed to know that? All I did was grab her files and her and run!"

"I can't believe-!"

He stopped, looking at Reni. She was staring at his holographic image sadly, sniffing his feet and pawing at her nose, as if something was wrong with it. She kept sniffing, and it took Kakuzu a while to get she was looking for his smell. He sighed.

"Hidan, I'm back in Taki. I'll meet you at the gates in three days, at dawn when they open. You remember the waterfall, right?"

"Yeah, I know the right waterfall. Don't worry, I'll be there."

Kakuzu looked at Reni one last time before ending the jutsu.

"Reni….."

She looked up at him, expectant.

Whispering, so that only she could hear, he said, "I love you."

The girl didn't remember much of the cage years, only pain, burning pain. She didn't understand the yelling people, the ones who put the strange metal things on her wrists and ankles. She didn't know why they were hurting her, or what she had done wrong. In the end, she didn't care.

After three winters, she gave up trying to obey the meaningless shouts, and began attacking whoever dared approach her. That's when they started using the burning metal, and….. other methods.

She didn't remember who the first was, but when she started resisting even more, they began to hurt her in other ways. It was males, always males that came and used her. She was a toy, passed between them. She did remember one, the one who had broken her arm.

When she had tried splinting the arm to let it heal, the leader had laughed cruelly and ripped it away, leaving her arm to heal crooked. Then he had used her too.

She had bitten his throat, of course, but that only resulted in being beaten near to death. She only remembered the other females giving her water and mash in secret, until she had enough strength to wake up from her night.

After a while, her memories of the giant seemed like a dream, like her entire life had been left to the mercy of these monsters. The only thing that made her believe he had existed were the five scars across her back, the five from the bear.

But there were some nights she couldn't remember his face. In her dreams, he turned towards her, face in shadow. She kept begging him to show her his face, but he just tuned and walked away, leaving her crying as she woke.

And then there was the day she thought she had seen him, in the crowds that always gathered around the wagon. She had called and called to him, but when he looked her way, she saw the perfect face, and she wailed her misery, clinging to the nearest female. She didn't know why, but all the females tried to help her, as if she was a child.

When she stopped eating, wishing for death to come and rescue her, she had a strange dream. Someone cloaked in black fur pressed his finger to her forehead, healing her broken mind. She could never remember his face afterwards, but she always remembered him as the healing one.

Those days afterwards, she began resisting again, and was beaten. A female had tried to protect her, and she was killed, beaten to death while she had been forced to watch, eyes horrified. She stopped struggling then.

After that, the females didn't like her too well, giving her angry looks. She whimpered for forgiveness, but her pleas were ignored, and all she received were stony glares, enough to make her stop trying. She alone from then on.

The day finally came when she was set upon the blocks, where other slaves had vanished. She never understood the exchange of paper and person, but it terrified her. She always fought against being put up there, screeching and trying to run, her strength almost equal to the ones who tried to contain her.

Then it happened. They had managed to bring her to the blocks, and a male came up, pointing to her and giving the leader money. She had been brought to a cage different from the rest, her chains removed for the first time in almost nine years.

She howled the first few hours, but the females from other wagons threw things at her until she stopped, whimpering as she curled up in the corner. The moon shone balefully above her, keeping her from sleep.

And then the smaller man had walked by.

She wouldn't have recognized him if the breeze wouldn't have blown then, bringing his smell to her nose. She rose her head and looked, not believing. But he was there.

She had called to him desperately, and she remembered his own shock at seeing her, touching her face softly as if she might be an imposter. Then he had used his weapon to rip apart the bars of the cage, setting her and the rest free.

They had ran away before the watchers could catch them, but she had run to the smaller man, leaping into his arms, sobbing. He had been crying too, she remembered, and then he had led her away, into the night.

Running had been hard on her arm, but she managed to keep pace, out of shape from her nine years of being kept in a small cage.

He had led her to a small house, but one of the watchers was there, peering into curtains. She warned him, grabbing his pant leg and pulling him back. She remembered that watcher distinctly. He was the one that had broken her arm while using her.

She didn't think he ever knew what hit him, until after his larynx had been torn out so he would not bleed to death too fast, but be unable to yell for help. She had taken great pleasure in torturing him, especially his man-part. No he would never use another female again, not that he would live long enough anyways.

Finally leaving him to die in various pieces on the street, bleeding slowly as he tried to call for help, she returned to he smaller man. He appeared shocked at her, but she felt too good to care. It was only revenge on one, but it was enough to satisfy her.

They had ran into the woods, hiding in a small cave she had found. He brought her a rabbit, and she stopped to stare at it for a few minutes before eating it. It had been an eternity since she had eaten such a rich meal, even if the rabbit had been half-starved.

She had ended up vomiting the rabbit back up a few minutes after, but it felt so GOOD to be eating her natural diet again. The smaller man had helped her clean, and then he paced back and forth in the cave entrance, muttering to himself while she slept, her first true sleep in years.

When she had finally woken, the sun was high in the sky, and there was more meat waiting for her. She ate slowly, remembering the night before, and managed to keep her stomach down. After cleaning herself, she looked for the smaller man, tracking him by his voice coming through the brush.

She froze when she saw the giant's back, talking to the smaller man. His tone seemed sad, but he was THERE!

He turned around slowly, and froze as he saw her. He said her name, and she nearly cried out in joy. It had been so long since she had heard her name coming from his mouth! The only thing that kept her from doing so was the fact that there was no smell, nothing the guarantee it was him.

She backed away, fearful. She saw his shape and heard his voice, but she couldn't smell him, couldn't scent that smell that would make the world right.

It was when he apologized in his clumsy way that she gave up caring, and leaped for him, calling his name. but she passed through him, shocking her.

She tried landing, but the only way she could was to fall on her injured arm. She screeched with pain, and quickly laid down to soothe the hurt away with her tongue. She could hear the other two talking, but the only thing she was focused on was the lightning traveling up her arm, slicing her apart.

When she finally managed to dull the pain, she got up to investigate the giant, searching desperately for any trace of his smell, the faint scent of brimstone, forest, and water.

The giant looked down at her and said her name, and she looked up at him, wanting him to embrace her, hit her, anything. But instead, he growled three little sounds, and vanished, leaving only her and the smaller man.

Her eyes opened wide in panic, but the smaller man knelt and held her while she whimpered, looking intently at the spot he had been at only a few moments earlier. They sat there for a few moments, then the smaller man stood up and gently led her away, back to the cave where they had slept the night before.

The girl looked around, seeing her old forest. In the distance, she could see the plateau, where she knew the two men were waiting.

Grinning, she loped forward, arm straight and strong. It was in the middle of summer, when flies droned, streams bubbled, and the rabbits ran fat. Seeing one ahead of her, she slowed, settling into her hunting crouch.

She silently crept forward, position perfect. The rabbit's scent was blowing toward her, and she stood on soft green grass, making no noise.

In the right position, she tensed, about to spring. When the rabbit bent its head down, she launched herself, trajectory perfect to break its neck with her first hit.

She landed roughly on smooth ice. She stood up grumpily, looking around her.

In every direction there was ice, and a dense fog hung low to the cold surface, limiting visibility. She sniffed the air, and smelled no scents, nothing at all. Listening, she could hear nothing, and she frowned.

Even though she stood on a cold surface, she felt no chill, and was in fact pleasantly warm. She walked on, looking for anything. But the ice seemed to continue on for miles, never ending.

She stopped walking and sat, grumpy. She lifted her head and howled, listening for a response. Only her own song echoed around her, and she sighed before rising and turning around.

She yelped in surprise and skittered back a few feet, crouching defensively. A large figure towered above her, black-furred and red-eyed.

However, when the creature bent down to her level, she could see it was the healing one, the one who had fixed her mind so many years ago.

She greeted him enthusiastically, acting like a pup in the presence of its alpha. The being chuckled and entertained her, scratching the top of her head. However, he soon pushed her away, face serious.

The girl sat down expectantly, waiting for him. She knew he was above her, and she didn't mind.

The being signaled briefly, and a small, silver wolf pup came trotting out of the mist, sitting obediently at his side. It looked at her, and she could see her own gray eyes looking back at her.

She snorted in surprise, looking up at the being. He only signaled her gaze back downwards, and she obeyed.

She growled and leaped away, startled. In the pup's place stood a boy-child, looking at her with the same gray eyes. His hair reminded her of the giant's, as well as his build.

Her shock didn't last long, and she found herself sniffing at the child, smelling an odd combination of herself and the giant. The boy opened his mouth and greeted her in wolf, making her look sharply up at him. The greeting he used was one a pup used to greet its mother.

The child smiled slightly and said something in Other speech, voice growling a single syllable. He grinned, showing fangs, and pressed his hand to her stomach.

The girl felt a sharp pain, and then there was blackness.