"Hey Big Boss, I've to tell you something fucking important!" shouted Hidan, entering Pain's office unbidden. Annoyed the Leader looked up. "What is it? If this is going to be about slaves for your sacrifices again…" Hidan interrupted him "No, way more important. At least for you…" Impatiently and coldly Pain looked at him. "Your little bitch is the daughter of the Goddess of Light!" Hidan said as if it were a great triumph. Pain rolled his eyes. "Get the hell out of my office! Sacrifice something or do whatever but let me do my work here in peace!" The big smile vanished from Hidan's face. "That's not a joke, damn it! I saw it with my own eyes!" When he noticed that Pain already had turned his attention back to his work, he added furiously: "Ok, you bastard! If you don't want to believe me how about you just ask her yourself! Or I'll simply provoke her like yesterday night, so she loses control." At the "like-yesterday"-part Pain listened up. "What happened yesterday?" he asked with a menacing aura. Without holding back a single detail Hidan told him everything. Bewildered Pain had to admit to himself that Hidan didn't seem to lie. But how could that be possible? Thanks to his unbelievable self-restraint he was able to let Hidan finish before he explained something very important. "Hidan, if you should harass Natsuki again let alone touch her, I swear to your beloved Jashin, I'll first cut you into little pieces, barbecue those pieces and then give them the animals to feed on!" Before Hidan had the possibility to reply something Pain added "And now OUT! I do not want to hear nor see nor smell anything of you for the rest of the day!" His activated Rin'negan wouldn't accept any opposition. Nagging Hidan left the office and with it a thoughtful Leader.
"Natsuki" Startled she turned and looked right into the Rin'negan. "Where do you plan to go in this late hour?" Pain asked coldly. "I… I can't sleep, Nii-san." she whispered. She knew there was no point in lying to her "brother". "What's bothering you so much to keep you from sleeping? Or should I ask 'Who'?" Confused she looked at him. His cold attitude unsettled her. Usually he was only like that in front of other members… "What do you mean 'Who'?" But before he could answer she understood. "You think I'm having an affair?" He opened the mouth to reply but she didn't let him. "With whom do you think? Please explain that to me! With Deidara? Sasori? Do you really think I'm the kind of girl who keeps having affairs without being able to keep up a long relationship?" Disappointment grew in her heart. Only then she noticed the confusion written on Pain's face. "What the hell are you talking about? I've never thought about you having an affair. I know you're not that kind of girl. You're my sister after all… And even if you had one… This is your life and I'm no one to decide for you." He paused, watching her closely. "But I think there's something else you ought to tell me, daughter of Hikari no Kami." Her heart stopped beating for a very long moment. From one to the other second she paled looking like a corps. Then it came to her… Hidan! Pain's gaze pierced her. Involuntary she took a step back and put her arms in a protective way around her body. "So?" he asked impatiently. "What 'So'! Yes, I am her daughter! What's so bad about that? We cannot choose our parents… And don't say it ought to be a blessing! You wouldn't think so if you knew how many lives this curse already took! You've no idea how brutally the Goddess tries to free my powers. Every day, every hour, even every second I've to fight to keep control. I do not want any more people to die because of me." Tears had begun to run down her face. "Natsuki" Pain said with a calming voice. "Think about what could've happened if the Goddess had broken free. How would I have been supposed to react?" His sincere, calm expression changed to a rare amused one. "I think you're the only one who was able to scare Hidan like that. He was so angry and worried when he told me." She relaxed visibly as she noticed that he didn't intend to force her to talk about it. "He actually formed two sentences without any swearing. I was almost speechless." Grinning she added: "Yeah, but only almost. I don't think I've ever seen you being speechless, Nii-san." "Perhaps." he meant and shrugged. Talking and both smiling they went back to their room. They hadn't noticed though, both being focused on the problem, that they hadn't been alone.