The next day over breakfast, Hidan politely asked Mitsuko to take him around town today. She knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to talk to Ken.

Everyone looked and stared at the Nara girl walking alongside the handsome man with silver hair. Some girls were jealous that the Nara girl was hanging out with the guy with no shirt on. Some people knew who this man was while others ignored them as they passed by.

Mitsuko led Hidan to the outskirts of the village where all of the teenagers liked to hang out. Over a hill sat a broken down wall and a group of laughing teens. Mitsuko pointed at a boy with a large black dog at his side.

"That's Ken," she said, staring down at the grass as she pointed. She looked up to see Hidan already at the wall, taking Ken by the back of the head and thrusting him into the ground, face first.

"That's for hurting Mitsuko!" Hidan shouted as he ground Ken's face into the dirt. The dog tried leaping on him but Hidan threw his arm back, throwing the dog and another boy off of him.

He stood up as Mitsuko ran up to the scene, scared and surprised.

"Hidan! What... really... you..." she stuttered as she watched Ken's friends help him back up and stare angrily at Hidan.

"You ******** b***h, hiring a hit man to wack me!" Ken exclaimed as his friends dragged him away.

"A hitman?!" Hidan muttered under his breath when Mitsuko came up to his side to see if he was hurt. He held her back, bent down and picked up a rock before chucking it at Ken and hitting him in the back.

"That's for calling Mitsuko a b***h!" Hidan shouted after him as the teens marched away, their leader defeated.

"We're going to get in trouble," Mitsuko mumbled on the way home.

"Don't worry about it, I'll smooth things out," Hidan smiled confidently. Mitsuko was filled with more grief.

"Ken's father is going to come and start it with my father... Oh! It will be horrible, Hidan!" Mitsuko covered her face with her hands.

"I'll talk to your good old dad. Just don't worry about a thing, Mitsuko. You have enough to worry about with the deer nursery and piecing me back together," Hidan grinned, "The last thing you need is to fret about that good for nothing Ken."

Mitsuko flashed him a quick smile. "Thank you, Hidan," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear. He smirked with satisfaction.

That night, Mitsuko had went to bed early under Hidan's sweet talk while he spent the evening in the livingroom, waiting for Shikamaru. His hatred towards him had subsided since he was taken in by Mitsuko but he still remembered what Shikamaru did to him.

Shikamaru came through the door and plopped down on the opposite end of the couch, exhausted.

"How ya doin', pops?" Hidan asked, turning off the television by remote.

Shikamaru looked at him through one eye. "Tired."

Hidan laughed. "Hard day?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Why the friendliness?"

"Well, to be honest, I wanted to talk to you about Mitsuko."

Shikamaru looked at him patiently but his eyes told Hidan that he was on the verge of killing him.

"Mitsuko told me about Ken and how he abused her. I asked her to take me to him today and I beat him up," Hidan explained.

"He abused my daughter?!" Shikamaru stood up from the couch. Then the thought creeped into his mind, "You didn't kill him, did you?"

"No, I just made him eat dirt and threw a rock at him," Hidan smiled.

Shikarmaru stood at ease. Why was Hidan being so kind to Mitsuko, standing up for her? At least no one was killed.