Kakuzu watched Reni sleep through the heat of the afternoon, feeling worried. They had had to stop when Reni started weaving as she ran, and the two were worried about her. It appeared she couldn't take the hot weather, so they would have to stop during the afternoon to let her sleep through the hot part of the day, and they still had to go further south. Apparently, from now on they would have to take bounty missions in northern climates.
Hidan came back with food, some giant rodent Kakuzu couldn't identify.
"What is that?"
"I have no clue, but I saw some giant bird eating one."
Kakuzu didn't say anything else as he took the creature from Hidan, setting up a fire to cook it on. The sun beat down on their heads, and even though they sat in the shade, they were still sweating. No wonder Reni hadn't been able to keep running.
With the food cooking, Kakuzu left to go if he could find a clean source of water. Their canteens were draining unbelievably fast, and he knew he would have to find somewhere to fill them soon. There were two for each of them, and Reni had already drank hers and was starting on Kakuzu's. But, however, despite the humid atmosphere, water seemed hard to find, and Kakuzu had to give up, returning grumpy. He needed water, but Reni needed it more.
"Food's almost done."
"Whatever."
"Couldn't find any fucking water?"
"I can't believe there's no water ANYWHERE!" Kakuzu shouted, causing birds to fly away in alarm and Reni to look up, gazing at them groggily. Panting, she walked over and laid her head in Kakuzu's lap, settling back down to go to sleep. He didn't know how she could stand his body heat in this weather. Sighing, he stroked her hair, and she growled in pleasure.
They sat silently, watching the food roast, though the heat of the day alone probably could have cooked it. Kakuzu sighed again.
"There has to be water somewhere. What are these animals drinking?"
"I have no fucking clue, dumbass."
Kakuzu stared angrily at a tree, at its smooth bark and the insects scuttling around it. Stupid bugs. They could at least tell him where the water was, right?
He groaned and leaned backwards, collapsing onto the grass. They would most likely have a better chance finding water if they were moving, but they couldn't with Reni down. They could probably travel at night, but that would make things harder to see, and more of the poisonous snakes would be out then, coming out when the air was cooler. All they needed was a snake bite, and they were done. Hidan may have been immortal, but Reni and Kakuzu were still susceptible to poison, Kakuzu even more so because the three hearts he had currently would cause the blood to circulate faster. So basically, they were going to be stuck here for a while, sweating out what little water they had.
"Oi, Kakuzu?"
"What is it, Hidan?" Kakuzu asked, gritting his teeth.
"Um, what kind of animal is that? It kinda looks like pig…."
Kakuzu bolted upright, staring at the wild boar before them. It was easily Kakuzu's weight, and had tusks as long as his hand. Fuck.
"Hidan, get Reni out of here. Climb a tree or something."
The wild pig's beady eyes watched them, mouth open slightly. Kakuzu knew that boars were aggressive, and despite popular belief, they did eat meat. Often. Boars were often used to clean out snake populations, and they actively hunted. With them all exhausted from the heat, they must have appeared as easy prey to the pig.
The pig squealed suddenly, lurching forward impossibly fast on its short legs, and Hidan hurriedly picked Reni up, leaping into a tree and standing on a branch. Kakuzu used his threads to grab the tusks, steering it away from them, but the heat weakened him, and he had to scramble out of the way as the pig charged him.
He leaped up into another tree, and watched as the pig rammed it, trying to knock him off. With chakra holding his feet, however, the animal's efforts were useless. Feeling discouraged that maybe the prey wasn't as simple as they had first appeared, the pig squealed angrily and walked off.
Kakuzu looked up to Hidan and Reni in a different tree, and saw Reni's eyes looking brightly in the direction the pig had walked off. They jumped down, and as soon as Hidan set her down, she started tracking the pig, nose close to the ground.
Kakuzu called her name and showed her the food, thinking she was hungry. However, she shrugged him off in annoyance, still tracking the pig.
"Hidan, stay here with the supplies. I'm going to follow her and see what she's so interested in."
Hidan grumbled, but plopped down onto the ground, yawning. Kakuzu followed Reni through the trees, ducking to avoid low branches, scrambling through thorny bushes, and trudging through swampy areas. Throughout it all, Reni had her nose to the ground, tracking the pig. Kakuzu was impressed she could, after the third swamp. He had been tempted to take water from these swamps, but the water was filthy, and he knew that dangerous bacteria lived in it.
Finally, Reni squealed happily and ran forward, scaring away a few primates, them screaming at her from a safe distance above her. But she ignored them as she buried her face in the pool of water, gulping down the liquid. Kakuzu followed her guidance and filled the canteens, guessing the water was clean. It looked like a watering hole for a variety of animals.
Once he had filled the canteens, he gulped down his own fill of water, swallowing until his stomach sloshed pleasantly, feeling refreshed. Sweet, sweet water.
Thirst finally quenched, Kakuzu sat back, leaning on his elbows. He looked at Reni, and a huge grin slowly grew on his face, shaking his head in wonder.
"Reni, you never cease to amaze me."
She looked up at his face, chittering and growling, then yawned and set her head down, stretching her limbs and setting her head down, prepared to sleep. Kakuzu chuckled and stood, picking her up as he did so. She 'chrrf'd in surprise, but allowed him to carry her, still too overheated to walk the distance back on her own, though she was re-hydrated again.
Kakuzu followed their own trail back, entering the circle of trees where Hidan still sat, waiting.
"What the fuck took you so long?" the immortal asked, irritated. They had been gone for over half an hour.
"We found a waterhole. Drink what you want, we'll visit it again before we leave."
Hidan stared, open-mouthed, then asked, "How the fuck did you find one?"
"Reni tracked the pig to it. I was amazed she was able to follow it through the swamps."
"Pff, you're amazed by that? She fucking killed a giant-ass snake, somehow managed to destroy a village, and saved our asses twenty years ago. And you're surprised she was able to track a pig?"
Kakuzu looked at him oddly, then laughed quietly.
"Yeah, I guess you're right for once."
"Oi, what do you mean for once?!"
Kakuzu ignored him, and Hidan huffed and folded his arms, angry. Fucker.
Finally, the sun settled behind the trees, and Reni started looking more and more alert as the day cooled, even eating the still-warm rodent. When she stood up and looked at them expectantly, they rolled their eyes, gathering their supplies and starting to walk again. They had only been sitting there for maybe four hours, but it had seemed like ages.
They walked.
The girl followed the two, still panting in the heat but at least able to stand it. She didn't like the warm weather, but if that was where the giant was traveling, she would follow him. But she still wished to travel north.
The two argued as usual as they walked, and she droned them out, like a pair of flies buzzing around her head. The longer she stayed with them, the easier it became. Odd.
Finally, the girl noticed something was off. She couldn't tell what exactly, but something was wrong.
Stopping, she lifted her head and listened, rotating her head in minute adjustments to catch all the sounds she could. And then she realized what was wrong.
The forest, so full of screams and calls earlier, was silent.
Growling tensely, she rushed to catch up to the two men, staying as close as she could. They noticed her tenseness themselves, and quieted, peering around themselves, as if they could see through the dense undergrowth that thrived in this hellish forest. But the girl knew that the threat wasn't one that could be seen. She could sense it watching her, but it wasn't one that could be faced.
A bird fluttered before her, on a branch above their heads, and she stiffened as she heard the torn feathers whistle through the air. No bird kept its feathers that torn.
It rustled the shredded feathers, shuffling along its branch. Another bird fluttered down on a branch, and the girl's head whipped around to look at it as the two men heard it land, the whistling noise shrill enough where they could hear it.
The girl studied the birds, wondering what kind they were. They had black, long feathers, with white strips on their heads that stretched halfway down their necks. Their wings also had white patches, starting after the shoulder and going to the beginning on the primary feather, along the leading edge. The tail was ragged and long, along with the wings, and each foot had two, curved talons.
No bird should exist like that. Birds had four toes. Birds kept their feathers clean and smooth. These were not birds.
More of these bird-like creatures fluttered down on the branches surrounding them, and they stopped walking, keeping their backs to each other to watch the creatures warily. Soon, the trees were full of them, all staring with their alien eyes over beaks too long and sharp to be natural.
All noise stopped, each group watching the other, the humans feeling nervous. The creatures stared at them, occasionally shuffling their wings, as if waiting for something. The smaller man muttered something, and the giant shushed him quietly, as if noise would set these strange creatures off. Maybe it would.
They continued sitting there, until the sun had long ago set and the stars appeared, the moon yet hidden beyond the horizon. And still the creatures watched, waiting, eyes somehow glowing with an odd, black light.
Suddenly, the smaller man twitched, and the giant asked him a quiet question. The smaller man replied, and the giant looked at him thoughtfully before signaling to the girl that they should move.
But the girl didn't want to. They had been forced to stand here for too long, and she was angry. The birds were treating them like the Others treated food they were waiting to kill, a look of feeling superior. And she refused to let these birds be superior to her.
She snarled at the birds sitting in front of her, and all the birds shifted their gazes to her, opening their wings slightly, looking excited. The girl could feel the same excitement fill her. Suddenly, she wanted to kill, to feel blood running down her neck, filling her mouth. She wanted to kill these. She had to.
Without realizing it, she lost sense of herself, becoming filled with an anger that seemed to have no source. She snarled, a strange, twisted grin finding its way to her face as madness overcame her, startling the two men. They couldn't seem to recognize her. And as the girl looked on from within her prison of insanity, she couldn't recognize herself.
And she couldn't break free.
Kakuzu stared at the snarling Reni, shocked. What was wrong with her? It couldn't be another flashback, could it?
One of the birds opened its mouth and let out a shriek that sounded like shredding metal, and both Kakuzu and Hidan cringed, covering their ears from the piercing noise. What the hell?
All the birds shuffled on their branches, looking excitedly at Reni, who was still snarling, with that same, horrid smile on her face, crouching as she looked toward the birds. This was not Reni. This was something else. She had gone mad.
Reni launched herself at a branch, and Kakuzu moved too late to stop her. Her leap sent the birds wheeling into the sky, bodies blocking out the skies as they swerved through the trees, voices sending out a constant tearing sound, driving Kakuzu mad. If those eyes wouldn't have done it, their voices would have. He couldn't stand it.
He raised his hands to create a seal that would release the masks, only to be stopped by Hidan's hand on his arm. Hidan opened his mouth, and he had to shout to be heard over the maddening shrieks of the birds.
"Stop it, Kakuzu! It's what they want!"
"They're birds!"
"Do you honestly think they're birds?!"
With a sudden shock, Kakuzu felt clarity fall over him. No, they couldn't be birds. There was no bird like that. They had to be something else, something intelligent. And Reni had fallen into their trap.
Kakuzu whirled around, looking for her, horrified. He had seen those talons, those beaks. They could kill her if they hit right. Birds have been killing animals bigger than them for centuries. Falconers trained their falcons to kill deer. Reni was a lot smaller than a deer. And those birds were a lot bigger then falcons.
Reni leaped through the branches, swiping at the birds, snarling madly as she tried to kill them. Occasionally, the birds would dive down and swipe at her with their razor sharp talons, and Kakuzu could tell they were grinning somehow. These were not birds.
"Reni! Stop it!" he shouted, trying to get her attention. But, it appeared she couldn't hear him over the shrieks piercing the air. Kakuzu let a few threads out of his arm, trying to catch her with those so he could restrain her, but the birds sliced at them with their talons, sending waves of foreign chakra rolling through them, causing Kakuzu to grunt with pain and withdraw the threads. These birds weren't even animals. Animals couldn't use chakra.
"Hidan, we have to catch her! They're going to kill her!"
"I know!"
Hidan jumped right into the mess, aiming for Reni. Shocking both of them, she turned and snarled at him, swiping a clawed hand at him, aiming to do damage to his face. Hidan dropped back in surprise, and Reni continued leaping among the birds, trying to kill them, still grinning. She had gone insane.
Falling back, Hidan rejoined Kakuzu, ducking to avoid a bird trying to claw his eyes.
"Something's wrong with her!"
"I can see that!"
"What do you want to do?" Hidan asked, looking at Kakuzu. Kakuzu knew the intelligent thing to do would be to leave Reni in her madness, and escape while the birds were occupied, but he would never do that. Not as long as he could still breathe.
"We'll corner her against one of the trees, and drag her away if we need to. Stay on the opposite side of her, got it?"
"Got it!" Hidan shouted, jumping into the trees, Kakuzu leaping the other way. They could not fail in this mission. Reni's life depended on it.
They dove in and out of the trees, trying to get close to the insane girl, ducking to avoid groups of angry, screaming creatures, narrowly missing the masses of feathers. Once they had leaped up among the trees, they had become targets themselves, talons aiming for their faces, beaks snapping at their necks. Suddenly, their lives had put in danger.
Kakuzu was amazed that they could even remember what they were trying to do, through the chaotic flurry of ragged black feathers, gleams of sharp talons, and screaming voices. He was lucky if he could see Reni, without a bird diving at his face. As she leaped around, trying to grab the birds, their talons tore at her skin, and blood ran down her body, dripping onto the ground. Some of the birds became wet with it, adding an unearthly red tinge to their bodies. It was all surreal.
"Got her!"
Kakuzu whipped his head around to Hidan's voice, seeing him struggle to hold Reni while she snarled and struggled against him. Hidan dropped to the ground, landing heavily on his back, still trying to hold Reni. Kakuzu had to duck to avoid another bird, and felt the razor sharp talons scratch his cheek, hissing with pain.
He dropped into the undergrowth, narrowly avoiding talons aiming for his eyes, and ducked into the brush to avoid three of the birds. They screeched and dove away, and he was able to avoid them, though barely.
He ran through the clearing, using his threads to hold her still, assisting Hidan. With him sheltering Hidan and Reni, they ran from the birds, the creatures following them for a short while before they wheeled away and left them, screams dimming as they ran for sanity.
As they ran, Reni calmed, as the madness left her and as blood loss affected her body, and she fell into a deep sleep, worrying Kakuzu. She needed medical care, but he couldn't stop now, not while he was so close to those monstrous creatures.
He shuddered at the thought of them, with their glowing eyes and sharp talons. As he thought about them, he realized he was terrified. More terrified than he had ever been in his life. Those creatures drove you to madness, and then played with you while you tried to kill them. They weren't even animals. They had an intelligence that wasn't of this world. He never wanted to see them again.
They ran from the creatures, running in terror from what they didn't understand.
The girl drifted in and out of consciousness, whimpering with pain. She had no memory of what had happened, only that something horrible had taken over her mind and caused her to lose control of herself. And it scared her. It had made her feel sick, and she never wanted to feel that way.
She pressed herself closer to the one that was holding her, but it was the wrong smell, the wrong pair of arms holding her. She wanted the giant, but the urgency at which they ran showed that they didn't want to stop. So she kept quiet, the smaller man holding her with care. But she wanted the giant.
When they finally stopped, the hellish forest wasn't even in sight anymore, barely a black smudge against the horizon. The sun was starting to rise, the sky taking on a grayish tint, and Hidan set Reni down so Kakuzu could care for her. She had fallen unconscious again, and Kakuzu was worried. Maybe she wouldn't recover from the insanity her mind had possessed.
But, as he stitched shut the last wound, she whimpered his name and grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving her. Her sightless eyes opened and stared at him, desperate for a care his threads could not provide.
He obliged her, picking her and holding her in his lap, hugging her to his chest. She was so small compared to him, almost half his size. And it made him want to protect her even more.
She whimpered and wrapped her fingers into the cloth of his shirt, eyes squeezed tightly shut. He frowned and held her close, cradling her almost. Hidan watched them for a bit, then swore softly and stormed off, feeling as if his heart was being cut yet again. He thought he had gotten over his feelings for Reni. But apparently, he still felt something for the small, strong, beautiful girl.
He smirked to himself painfully. She wasn't really a girl, was she? She was about the same age as Hidan, and blessed with an extended life span, but yet she still chose the one almost three times her age. Of course.
Hidan growled and swung his scythe, destroying a tree blossoming with beautiful flowers. The tree crashed to the ground, and Hidan watched the delicate blossoms wilt before his eyes, slowly dying as they lost sustenance. He could relate to the flower. When it was attached to something, it felt wonderful, but as soon as it was taken away from what it needed to live, it died quickly, first on the inside, then slowly on the outside. Such a delicate thing, appearing strong until its true weakness was exposed, and you found out how breakable it really was. So fragile.
He swore again, then sat on the tree's trunk, among the dead blossoms. He watched the moon fade into the growing sunlight, feeling miserable.
Without realizing he had even fallen asleep, Kakuzu woke up, still holding Reni. He blinked and looked around, wondering where Hidan was.
Even as he wondered, Hidan walked over, carrying a large fish by the gills.
"I fell asleep?"
"You were out like a light."
Kakuzu groaned and sat up, leaving Reni to curl up where he had been. His back felt stiff from laying on the hard ground, and again his age seemed apparent. Hidan went to work building a fire with what supplies they had, and Kakuzu worked on scaling the fish, the silvery disks ending up everywhere until he grew angry and just skinned the fish.
They sat it to cook on the spit, and they sat in silence, watching Reni sleep even longer. Finally, Hidan opened his mouth.
"Are we going to be fucking moving today?"
"Reni still needs to recuperate a bit more. We'll spend the day here, then move tomorrow."
Kakuzu sighed, then continued.
"At this rate, we'll never get to the Village Hidden in Grass."
"With our luck, we'll be lucky if we even get to the nearest town."
"What are you talking about?"
Hidan stared at him.
"Think about it, dumbass. Almost every day for the past week we have run into something that has tried to kill us, and one of us gets hurt. The freaking snake, the entire fucking Swamp Village, and now those fucking weird-ass birds. We're screwed."
Kakuzu chuckled.
"We don't have any luck, do we?"
"Not one fucking bit."
They both laughed, and watched the fish cook, Reni sleeping as the evening sun bore down on them.
As Hidan felt at peace, he realized he wouldn't trade this for anything in the world.
A/N: I am so sorry I haven't been writing lately, or even responding to messages. I've been having problems at home, and I've been having problems sorting them out. For news, Crack Fic has been suspended indefinitely, and I don't know when I'll start it up again. Do not question me on this. I'm not in a really happy-go-lucky mood lately. Also, updates will be slow. I apologize.
If anyone wants to see the story posted on DeviantArt, my username there is the same as here. I do artwork occasionally for Hidden, and I normally update faster there than here. I also talk to more people there than here, and I'm on there more often.
Again, I apologize for being a lazy bitch, but I have my own issues at home. I hope you like the story, though.