Rated M for language.

Chapter 22: The Trail Begins

"You know you don't have to hide things from me, I think you want to appear a certain way but I've seen it all I swear, I'm with the Akatsuki and all those guys are complete nut jobs, trust me, just because you get a little cranky at night won't mean that I'll stop having you as my lackey, in truth I really prefer that side of yours, I've always enjoyed being around those type of people".
Sunnora was stunned silent. She didn't know what to make of his response, 'why is he saying I was cranky? I don't know what he's talking about…could it be that I said or did something while I was unconscious that led him to believe that of me?' perplexed and confused Sunnora looked at her feet as she bowed her head and spoke in a softer tone.
"Please tell me what I did last night Hidan-sama".

Hidan chuckled at her request and picked up his pace. The journey had been quite long already and the signs of civilization were starting to show. From fewer trees to larger amounts of people passing by, they were indications of the next small town coming up ahead. He was about to dismiss her words when the nagging sound of his stomach interrupted him.

Sunnora quirked an eyebrow and giggled at the sound, Hidan wasn't sure why she was laughing but shoved her playfully to the side in an attempt to make her stop. She could sense the male's questioning gesture and added a hop to her step.

"What was that sound just now? I'm pretty sure it came from you", her expression was light and full of amusement and Hidan couldn't help but feel the air around them also lighten.

"Haven't you heard of a stomach growl before? It means I'm hungry...genius".
It was true that he hadn't had much to eat since, 'well since I was dug out of that hole...I haven't had a proper meal now that I recall, I've been too preoccupied I guess, and my immortality must be the reason I'm just now starting to feel the side-effects of starvation'.

Sunnora stuck her arm out to stop Hidan's movement which earned her a deep scowl from the silver haired man. "What do you think you're doing dipshit?".

She didn't say anything as she opted for placing her other arm out, Hidan noticed she was carrying a small paper bag, if he remembered correctly it was given to her by that old man at the inn.

"I think this could help you Hidan-sama, please take it", Hidan nodded with a bit of hesitation but took the bag anyway. Inside he noticed a rare steak, it looked really good and his mouth watered at the smell that surrounded him, he had to admit that the old man could cook, he even considered going back just to get more of these steaks but decided the cons outweighed the pros...'all those judgmental fuckers'.

Without another second of hesitation Hidan dug into the steak, his teeth meeting the soft tender meat that almost dissolved in his mouth. He considered it something worth waiting for, he presumed he would have ruined the experience if he had gotten anything in the town while he had gone out.

He was almost done with the meal when he looked over and noticed the girl beside him was watching him intently. Another frown replaced the awestruck expression on his face and swallowed before speaking, "why are you looking at me like that dipshit? It's like you've never seen anyone eat before. Don't tell me you want some now because you gave up that possibility when you handed that paper bag over to me, don't think I'll feel bad because I won't...I was literally starving".

Sunnora didn't say a thing, she just kept on watching intently as Hidan continued eating. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen her eat anything either. Sharing was something that never really entered his mind and the little voice inside his head was ignored.
"Starving? What is that?" Sunnora voiced the small question that had been growing in her mind.
Hidan felt the start of what felt like mild irritation. He was sure she was making fun of him or doing this on purpose. Whatever it was, he didn't like it, if she was trying to be sarcastic she wasn't doing a very good job.
"If you're upset that I didn't share that's your problem, you shouldn't have offered your food in the first place".
"Are you happy?"
The question threw Hidan off, it wasn't like it was anything new, she always had the habit of saying things out of the blue that didn't quite register.
"What? Why are you asking me that?"
Sunnora looked ahead onto the oncoming scenery and paused before the slight tug of a smile showed on her face.
"I just want to know if you're happy, the way you feel means a lot to me and if anything is bothering you, you know you can tell me, I'm really not happy at all if you're not happy".

Even though Hidan was horrible at noticing small details or reading people's attitude it was surprising to himself that he had in fact noticed. Even though she acted all giddy and positive all the time he had noticed that she was always less enthusiastic whenever he was upset, but that was normal, wasn't it? He shrugged and let out a sigh...'I never had to deal with all this shit with Kakuzu, he actually just let me talk the whole time while threatening to kill me once in a while', the nagging little voice also told him that he also hadn't started to feel strange feelings for Kakuzu as he had for the girl beside him, 'but that's only because Kakuzu can take care of himself, he's a grown ass man...but this girl...this girl is hopeless, she can't do anything by herself, that's why I worry'. Shaking his head from the unwanted thought he reasoned that she was weak and too naive for her own good, a person like that wouldn't last one minute in the Akatsuki. He figured that just one mission from Pein would have her running away crying like the weak little girl that she was. Hidan shifted his eyes to the side and caught a glimpse of the girl who was still staring ahead, the bright sunlight never once bothering her as they walked towards it.

"I don't know what you mean really, but I'm going to be honest with you like I like to be, and that is that you barely know me so you can't go around saying shit like, 'oh Hidan if you're happy then I'm happy' mushy shit like that pisses me off, I'm not your boyfriend, your brother or whatever you see me as because it's just plain fucking weird and I don't like it". He felt so much better after saying that and he knew he had to say it, otherwise he would keep getting those distracting thoughts that seemed to plague him from time to time when she spoke to him like that. He knew he couldn't get too attached because eventually he knew for sure that she would run away, frightened off by the others in the Akatsuki, they were all a bunch of freaks after all 'especially Kisame'.

She would get scared off by his way of speaking to her, or by his religion. Someone as gentle and innocent as she was had no right to be with a bunch of S-class criminals, it didn't make sense and she didn't really know him for who he really was. He knew that she only say him as the guy (or head) that was there when she first woke up with that amnesia she was suffering from and saw him as someone she had to depend on, like a baby bird, sooner or later she would realize who she was and leave him behind, someone with a healing ability like the one she had couldn't possibly be a nobody, he knew that she was being missed somewhere and when her memories returned so would her sanity. Even now, he was surprised she had lasted this long by his side, he was sure that she, along with any other girl her age with her demeanor, would have been long gone, not wanting to deal with everything that came with him. She was just so strange. He could picture it now, he could see her tear soaked face as she realizes who she's been admiring and idolizing all this time before she leaves to go back home to gentle people like her. He knew getting close to her would end up ruining them both in the end.

Sunnora didn't seem upset by his rude remark, she just smiled a bit larger which to Hidan usually meant that something mean was about to be said, be he had managed to adapt and realize that things that usually happened didn't always happen when dealing with the girl in black.

"Why are you smiling? Aren't you upset?" Hidan questioned her.

Sunnora's eyes danced with amusement and stretched her arms out in a playful manner that coincided with her expression. "Now why would I be upset? I'm smiling because I can feel that you're feeling better, my worry had completely washed away, plus I'm with you, I could never be upset when I'm by your side".
Hidan scoffed at her pretentious assumption, 'she can feel I'm feeling better? What is up with that bullshit line? Didn't I just say something mean to her a second ago? She should be upset, yet she's just grinning like a mental case'. But she was right, he was feeling better.
"How can you tell I'm feeling better from what I said earlier?"
Sunnora shrugged and turned her face slightly to catch his face in her sight. "I just can".
A frown adorned the male's face, 'she would say something stupid like that'.
"Whatever, you're so full of it". Hidan didn't seem to care as he picked up his stride leaving a confused Sunnora behind.
"W-wait Hidan-sama, full of what?"

"Wow sugoi! Look at all this stuff Kakashi-sensei, I didn't know there was a town all the way out here", Naruto beamed as he ran in front of everyone else and took in the scenery.

The small town called End Valley consisted of about two hundred people, mostly made up of merchants and people that passed by for a rest in preparation of a longer trip. They had plenty of shops that sold everything from maps to handcrafted katanas. It was small but the street seemed crowded with people. It was now about midday and the teams were all fatigued from the lack of sleep and still sore from the damage they had received earlier that night. They had kept the slow pace of walking in a leisurely manner much to Naruto's annoyance but Lee and Gai almost started crying in protest, saying that the quick movement would surely kill them. Yamato had stayed behind with his team until Shikamaru woke up from his unconsciousness and they had all agreed that they would meet up again after he woke up, they all deduced that he would hold a treasure-trove of useful information, like he always did.

"Yes, it's called End Valley, I frequent this town quite a lot on missions for a quick stop, food and rest are things you can't take for granted when you're gone for weeks at a time".

Sakura walked forward and grabbed Naruto before he leaped into the nearby ramen shop. "Naruto! We're here on a mission remember? You can have ramen AFTER we finish it". Naruto whined but a sly grin crept onto his face that Sakura had learned to be wary of. "Only if you come with me Sakura-chan, it can be a date".

Sakura sighed and with reluctance agreed to his proposal. She knew how to take one for the team and having Naruto bounce around from shop to shop would surely slow down the mission, and that's the last thing they needed when they were already behind enough as it is. She knew that Tsunade was probably worrying about them, she figured if the mission dragged on they could always send someone back to Konoha to inform the Hokage of what they had found.

The smell of food lingered in the air, catching the attention of anyone that passed by, like a siren in the sea. Anyone else would have turned around losing all sense of responsibility to those smells but they were trained shinobi, their resolve and mind could never waiver they were prepared for everything and anything, their resolve was like no other and their attitude-

"Naruto!"

Naruto had the saddest expression painted on his face as he was dragged away from a nearby ramen shop by a very pissed off Sakura. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan it just smells too good!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and walked away from the line after line of food stands. They were halfway through the town when a voice stopped their movement.

"Kakashi-san! Gai-san!"

Everyone turned around to meet an elderly man in front of what looked like to be a homely inn.

The confused expression on both of the older male's faces washed away as they caught sight of the older man.

"Ah, Masa-san!" the older male walked their side but Kakashi and Gai caught sight of some blood on the man's pants which had both Kakashi and Gai looking at each other with concern.

Masa brushed his clothes off from the wrinkles that had gathered from sitting on his porch chair for too long which led him to notice the slight trail of dried blood on his pant leg.

"What happened Masa-san? Are you okay?" Kakashi was worried for the older man, he had known Masa for years now. Each time he was sent on a long mission he would stop by the inn to rest and had come to know Masa very well. Gai would also stay every once in a while but most of the time he came by it was to help Masa out with the inn. He said it was good training that benefited them both, from washing the upstairs windows to scrubbing the wood floors, it all added to his strength.

Masa chuckled and looked away, as if embarrassed, "Don't worry about me Kakashi-san, it was just some young hot head that stayed at my inn and didn't want to pay, we ended up roughing each other up a bit".

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms to show his disapproval, "that's hard to believe, I could never see you hurting someone else".

Masa smiled and pointed at the silver haired male with a flick of his finger, "always the clever one Kakashi-san, I guess that's true, I was never good with confrontation...seems I was the only one roughed up huh".

Gai stepped forward and looked around trying to catch the glimpse of some 'young hot head'. "Masa-san is he still here? I want to talk to his guy! No one treats you like that, wasting youth on delinquency is not what one should aim for".

Masa patted Gai on the shoulder and shook his head with a playful smile still playing on his lips, "no sorry to say Gai-san, he already left about an hour or two ago, he left with a young girl".

Tenten and Sakura scoffed, "oh so he's that type of guy huh?" Sakura said as he painted the picture of the guy in her head, sure would fit the 'hot head' image.

Masa was confused as to what she meant but quickly caught on after looking at both girl's expressions.

"Oh no no! It's not like that, don't even think of something like that! I didn't mean it in that way at all, she was the sweetest girl I have ever met, I really wish you could have met her, she had this sort of positive air around her that made you happy".

Kakashi walked forward towards the inn using his hand to lead Masa with him, "come Masa-san, let's look at that wound, if you lost that much blood then you really shouldn't be walking".

Masa grabbed Kakashi's arm before he pulled him towards the inn, "it's not necessary, I'm completely healed, the blood is completely dry, it was from last night".

"The blood may be dry Masa-san but that doesn't mean your injury is healed, if you lost that much blood it means that it will take a few weeks for it to heal, come now, don't get all stubborn on me, you know I care about your health".

Masa didn't say a thing, he just confused everyone else a bit more when he reached down and pulled his pant leg over his knee to show where the wound would have been. The skin had no signs of bruises or scars, which had them looking dumb-folded. "See? I told you, no need to worry, I think the young girl I was telling you about did something, for you see, before she left she hugged me goodbye and when I let go I didn't feel any pain in my leg anymore, I was completely healed, I didn't need to limp anymore...it was like a miracle".

Sakura turned to the group, "she must be a medical shinobi, did you see her headband Masa-san? Do you know where she's from?" she really was curious to know which village had a medical shinobi that advanced.

Masa pondered for a second then shook his head, "no, I don't think she was wearing one, but I doubt she was a shinobi...well enough rambling, what are you all doing here?"

Gai informed him that they were on a mission while Kakashi kept inspecting the area on Masa's leg where the wound should have been. It didn't make sense, no matter how skilled you are as a medical ninja, there's no way the skin would have cleared up instantly and completely like that there would still be some slight scarring, it was ridiculous. Either she healed him like Masa said she did, or he never got hurt and only thought he did, with the blood coming from something else, the second option just made much more sense, especially with his age.

Neji stepped forward after Gai had finished speaking, "Masa-san, it seems the criminal we are after was headed in this direction after escaping from us, we would appreciate it greatly if you would help us out and tell us if you have seen her, any lead would help us greatly".

Masa nodded and smiled kindly at the whole group of teenagers, "Of course I would help you all out if I can, anything for Kakashi-san's and Gai-san's teams".

Gai gave him a thumbs up and an award winning smile.

"Thank you, let's see", Neji recollected his thoughts and paired them up with the description of the girl that he had on the scroll, all of them coincided with each other so there was no doubt that they were the same girl, she had tried to kill them after all, it was a clue on it's own. "She looked to be our age with long black hair, she was wearing all black, black top with sleeves, black skirt, and black boots. She was wearing something silver over her naval, looked like jewelry but I could be mistaken, she als-" Neji stopped talking and looked up at Masa that had let out a gasp.

He had lost the smile that he wore and almost looked like he was in pain, Neji was about to step forward when awkward laughter filled the space around them.
Masa started laughing with the pained expression still present on his face, whatever he was thinking wasn't healthy for him. Looking up at the confused faces of all the teenagers he paused and fanned his face with his hand, "I'm sorry for that, it's just, well, your description of this girl, it- it..".

Neji frowned and stood closer to Masa who almost looked like he was having a heart attack. "Masa-san, please, if you know anything you have to let us know, she almost killed a child the night before, she's very dangerous and we need to capture her before she attempts murder again, if she was willing to attack helpless children then we don't know the extent to which she'll go for her own sadistic pleasure".

Masa didn't seem relieved by the words, they just helped to distress him even further. "It just can't be- are you sure the description fits perfectly?"

Neji nodded and handed the scroll over to Masa who took it in trembling hands, "this is the description given to us by the Hokage herself, it was a first hand witness description, and we saw her ourselves as she tried killing one of our own and then us at a later time, the descriptions fits perfectly, there's no denying it".

Masa felt torn, he didn't know what to believe. The girl he had come to know was like an angel, helping not only his brother with his farm but him as well, he would never in a million and one years believe that she had attempted murder, it was ludicrous. Yet the facts stood before him, these kids would have no reason to lie to him, he trusted the shinobi in the Land of Fire, they had helped him countless times, and they weren't just any shinobi, they were Kakashi and Gai's teams. He really couldn't find two more trustworthy people on earth. So why this?

Masa stopped shaking and brought his head up high with reassurance, his mind was made up. "I will tell you what I know, but first I need you all to promise me that you'll hear me out, that you'll hear out what I have to say before you start assuming everything on your own, do we have a deal?"

Neji along with everyone else shook their heads with agreement and waited for Masa to speak.

Without a trace of a smile on his lips, Masa motioned for the group to follow him, "come, we can't stand around on the street, it's noisy and distracting, come with me to the lobby we can talk there, it's almost the afternoon so everyone should be out working or shopping so it will be peaceful".

Walking up a few stairs they made their way inside the inn, the decor was simple and it remained clean. The lobby was large which consisted of most of the first floor space, with only a small kitchen and dinning hall to the left and a bathroom and bedroom to the right. They all sat down and awaited for Masa to speak as he sat on one of the chairs that adorned the area. Everyone noticed that it was in fact true that they were all alone, everyone that stayed at the inn was out for the day and would return in the evening for dinner.

Closing his eyes and intertwining his fingers in a lazy manner, Masa began to speak, "Brown haired boy...", he trailed off awaiting a name.

Neji scowled at the way he was addressed, "Hyuuga Neji".

"Neji-kun, your description of that girl was in fact seen around this area-"
Naruto yelled at the news and stood up with a jump, "that's great Masa-san! Let us know where she went so we can capture her!"

Masa frowned at the hyperactive boy and sighed as a girl with pink hair grabbed Naruto's shirt and yanked him back down.

"Sorry Masa-san, it seems Naruto here wasn't paying attention when you said we had to listen to everything you said before jumping to conclusions", Sakura laughed awkwardly as Naruto turned his face to the side showing he was displeased.

"As I was saying, I along with a few other people around town did see her, she matches the description exactly, long black hair, black outfit, black shoes, even the silver jewelry over her naval, they all match but..."

He lowered his head again as if deeply contemplating whether to continue. Everyone was very curious as to the thoughts that were going on in Masa's mind at this very second, if they were just regular civilians they would have felt too bad for Masa and angry with themselves for pushing this old man so far to the point that even his thoughts seemed to cause him harm, he looked so troubled, but they weren't just regular civilians, they were prepared for this and much worse, this was nothing compared to some of the things they had seen. They couldn't waste time coaxing the older male to speak with false promises and words dripping in sweetness. It was their job to make sure they received every piece of information on the person they were after, it come in crucial at a later time.

"but the fact that she caused you and some children from Konoha harm makes no sense at all! She would never hurt anyone! The girl I was telling you about earlier, the girl who healed me, the girl that saved my brother's farm...she would never hurt another person".

Neji sighed and looked ahead with a determined glance, nice girl or not, she was a criminal and they wouldn't hold back because of a nice thing or two she did while she was in the village, for nothing could justify almost killing a harmless child with no motive whatsoever. "Masa-san, you must have seen her injury right?"

Masa raised his head and gave the brown haired boy a confused expression asking him to continue.

"I witnessed that just before she fled from us, that she had a large gash across her palm, an injury like that would be very hard to hide even if she can heal as you say, you must have seen a trace of it or blood around her arm, she was pretty injured, we really didn't suspect she would get so far in so little time, we all assumed she would seek refuge somewhere to treat her wounds".

Masa recalled the encounter with the girl, and sure enough he did remember seeing traces of blood, the color was a bit off but he assured himself it was only that way because it was too dark to catch the red hue. He remembered helping her bandage her hand...the bloodied palm. Masa shook his head at the blunt truth, he didn't want to believe it, he held the girl in a pedestal, the image of an angel had engraved itself into his mind whenever he spoke or thought of her. He didn't know how to feel, should he feel sad? Betrayed? Angry? He just didn't know, but he felt it in his heart that he didn't want to hurt the girl because of something he said, all he really wanted was to protect her.

"Even if what you say is true, and she is this criminal, I can't let you hurt her", the tone in which he spoke was soft and low, would almost seem threatening if they didn't know the man.

Naruto jumped up from his seat again and walked to Masa who looked highly distressed, "don't worry gramps, when we catch this girl we promise to bring her back here so you can clear everything up with her, we promise we won't hurt her".

Masa's face changed at those words, he really did want to talk to her and clear everything up, because honestly, deep in his heart he knew the girl would never betray him, not with a soul as pure as hers.

"Naruto!" Sakura scowled and stalked after him like an angry mother, "you can't make promises like that baka...", Sakura knew that if they caught the girl they would have to return to Konoha asap...they didn't have time to waste with detours so some old inn keeper could clear things up for himself, as harsh as the thought might have seemed to her she knew it was true, along with everyone else...except Naruto.

"They're not false promises Sakura-chan, I absolutely promise you old man that you'll see that girl again very soon!" Sakura sighed at her partner's rash comments...only Naruto would think it's okay to say stuff like that without thinking of the consequences.

"Thank you young lad, I will feel so much better if that happened, you don't know how my heart feels right now, but with my age I better calm it down, can't die yet right", he said with a chuckle.

Gai went over and hugged the old man, almost picking him up from the ground with ease, "Hang in there Masa-san! You'll see her again we promise you!"

Lee jumped out of nowhere and also joined his sensei in the tight hug, "don't you worry one bit! You two will be reunited!"

Naruto smiled at the scene before him feeling his mission was somewhat complete.

Sakura and Tenten watched from the sidelines and sighed, they really did have idiots for team mates.

"Come again soon okay?"

"Just like promised Masa-san!" Naruto yelled out as he walked away from the inn, they all waved their goodbyes and strode along the path leading them to the other end of the small village. They had all gotten their moral back with the old man's words, reassuring them that they were in fact going in the right direction, for if she stepped through this town that meant she could only be heading in one direction.

Tenten crossed her arms and felt an exasperated sigh leave her mouth, "I still don't get it...if she's so bad and cynical, why would she help Masa-san's brother out? And why would she heal his injury?"

Gai turned to her and smiled, "Don't worry Tenten-chan, we will catch her soon enough so we can get back to training!"

The brown haired girl sighed..."did you even listen to a thing I said?!"

Tenten turned her head as she heard the crisp cool tone of her partner's words, "All we know is what we have in the report and what we have witnessed with our own eyes, all other information is irrelevant to a certain degree, we can't base our mission entirely on that because we don't know how much of the information we can actually trust, so I'm basing my opinion on what I know first hand, for all we know that story about her helping in a farm and healing could all be made up by some aging old man, the last thing we need is our target having some supernatural healing ability".
They all knew that sometimes they had to hear harsh words and leave it to Neji to deliver them with ease, but he was correct, they all knew that, they couldn't put their whole mindset on second hand information. The instructions were the same...find the girl who harmed the academy student outside of Konoha...the mission hadn't changed.

"Neji-san what about the guy she was traveling with?" the question had been plaguing all their minds but until Tenten brought it up it actually took its effect. There were so many possibilities to that, but the most likely one was that he was a victim at her mercy. This 'young hot head' probably didn't know what he was getting into or was forced to go along with her. Everyone had their minds made up that no one in their right mind would follow a cynical killer like that without resisting, but that was also a frail line for they knew nothing until they could take her back to Konoha.

"Based on what our mission is, we can assume that he needs our help so we are now not only looking for this psychopath, but we are also on a rescue mission, that means the stakes are higher and our jobs get tougher, we can't waste time for every second counts".

They all nodded and raced ahead at full speed, leaving behind End Valley.

"Ahhh~ look it's all so beautiful", Sunnora walked along the path of the village they had just entered. This was a first for the young girl, for she had never seen a civilized village before, 'it really is breathtaking'. Sunnora could very noticeably make out the large scale differences between the town they had departed awhile ago to this large scale village that hundreds, maybe thousands, considered home. The architecture was metal based and rose high in the air.

"This is nothing, we are just passing by so we won't go into the village itself".

'The last thing I need is someone recognizing me before we get there'. Walking ahead Sunnora's gaze caught the sight of something shiny and she immediately ran to it, a girl that apparently ran the shop walked up to the bright eyed girl and from behind the counter smiled at her, "Ah miss hello, you don't seem like you're from around here, are you traveling?"

Sunnora looked up at the girl and smiled kindly matching the facial expression of the sale's girl. "Yes I'm traveling, we're on a journey".

The girl nodded and looked down at the necklace this new girl was so obviously admiring. She saw many people everyday admiring the jewelry she sold but never had she seen someone with such a joyful expression from witnessing one single necklace. "Would you like to try it on?"

Sunnora's eyes widened and she jumped a little at the question, she didn't expect to be allowed to try it on.

"Oh can I really?" the sale's girl nodded approvingly.

"Then yes please, I would love to", the girl smiled at her enthusiasm and took the necklace from behind the glass.

Frustrated purple eyes landed on their target, "Oh there you are, you can't run around like that you'll get lost, and if you keep doing that I won't come looking for you anymore", Hidan said as he looked around the corner into the store she was standing in.

Walking further inside Hidan noticed she had walked into a jewelry store. All the pieces were very beautiful and the decor of the store only brought out the beauty of the jewels.

"I'm so sorry Hidan-sama but look at this place it's so beautiful, I couldn't help myself" Sunnora said with a giggle that melted some of Hidan's anger 'she's acting like a little kid'. He huffed and turned to the side, "It's fine, let's just go we don't have time to waste".

Just as he was about to walk out the sale's girl stood up from behind the glass and eyed the two for a moment before speaking, "hello sir, you must be this lovely girl's boyfriend".

Hidan's head turned sharply to eye the girl that had spoken such horrible words and he could only gawk at her, 'why does everyone think we're together like that!?'

The girl stepped from behind the counter and walked over to the pair, she held out to necklace to Hidan and placed it in his hand, "sir, wouldn't it be best for you to place this necklace around your girlfriend's neck", her tone was soft, whisper like, as if she was telling him a secret.

Hidan was about to object with a rude remark but the sale's girl kept pushing the necklace into his hand with force that made him question her true strength for such a petite young woman.

Realizing that objecting would only put a bigger strain on him he decided to take the necklace without a word. The girl giggled and stood next to Sunnora.

She grabbed Sunnora's shoulders and spun her around so she was facing away from Hidan, the young goddess was confused as to what was going on.

The sale's girl leaned forward and spoke in a quiet high pitched voice, "Ah~ your boyfriend is so handsome, I wish I had someone just like him".

Sunnora still didn't get it but turned her head slightly when she felt a pair of hands that didn't belong to the sales girl or her own so she assumed they were her Hidan-sama's.

One of the masculine hands went straight to the side of her face and pushed it gently to the front, "don't turn your head idiot".

Sunnora stood still as she felt gentle fingers brush her hair to the side over her right shoulder, her immaculate midnight black hair stayed in place over the gentle curve of her shoulder and a gold chain was brought along her front, the small flower crystal that adorned the front came in contact with her face as he lowered the jewelry over her collarbone. Sunnora now understood what was going on, he was placing the necklace on her. The act was sweet and it would be obvious to her if it hadn't been her Hidan-sama that was doing it. His touch was warm on her neck which contrasted with his sometimes cold words. She heard the click as he secured the chain around her neck and she instantly turned around and hugged the silver haired man, wrapping her arms around his neck, she had never felt so happy by a simple gesture that she felt her heartbeat race.

"Hidan-sama thank you so much for that, you are so kind!".

Hidan relaxed to the touch and closed his eyes momentarily until his eyes caught the sight of the sale's girl grinning from ear to ear at the pair hugging in front of her.

Hidan instantly stiffened at her amused face and took a step back, pushing the black haired girl from him. "Don't do that you baka...you always overreact to everything, pisses me off".

The sale's girl gently pushed Hidan's shoulder and giggled, "don't be so shy sir, you should be glad that your girl finds that act of yours quite sweet".

'My girl?!'

Sunnora started giggling at the words even if she didn't really get the whole meaning, "it was really sweet, so thank you very much Hidan-sama".

The girl eyed Sunnora curiously before grabbing her shoulder's once again bringing her a step back in perfect angle.

She moved around Sunnora to stand beside Hidan who was covering his face with the sleeve of his cloak.

"Come now, don't get all shy on me, look at your girl sir, doesn't she look very beautiful, the blue and pink crystal of the flower sure brings out her eyes don't you think?"

Hidan felt curious, he really did want to see how his lackey looked in that necklace, 'well not because I think she'll look nice with it on but because there's a chance she'll look horrible', even the idea of her looking bad seemed farfetched but he went with it anyway as he lowered his arm from his face. Looking up he saw the gold chain stood out in comparison to her pale skin, he knew gold was what brought out her features for silver would only blend into her complexion. The chain wasn't long and rested a good two inches below her throat, the small flower crystal was what really brought color to her beauty, the mix of baby blue and a pink pastel mixed perfectly to bring out her eyes.

Sunnora and the sales girl were looking at Hidan curiously, awaiting a response but he didn't say a thing, he couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful image that was his lackey, he guessed in a sense he was actually looking at her for the first time. The other times he only glanced at her to insult or complain about her, and other times he was just too preoccupied, he had times that all he could think of was a way to keep her safe or too relieved when he found her, yet this time he was looking at her for one single reason and that was her appearance. He really couldn't think of another time that he was stopped dead in his tracks with his mouth unable to form words...words that came so easily to him seemed to wash away like a waterfall from his mind. Why was this girl affecting him this much? He didn't get it.

She was the image of perfection, her light blue eyes were watching him intently, he assumed she was waiting for him to speak but he couldn't, even if he wanted to, he couldn't. He didn't even care about the necklace anymore, it was just her, she was just so naturally beautiful, 'why did I need a necklace to help me see that? Am I just now noticing just how pretty my lackey is?'

The sale's girl was the first to speak in the otherwise silent store, "ehh~ if you don't like it we have other ones".

Sunnora turned away from Hidan's stare and clasped the flower crystal in her grip, "oh no, I love this one too much, it was the first thing that caught my eye, it really is very pretty".

The sale's girl chuckled and crossed her arms, "yes I could tell, you were practically drooling all over my glass display". Sunnora looked mortified at the words, and brought her hands to her mouth to wipe away the drool, never once getting the fact that the girl was kidding.

The sale's girl laughed at Sunnora's antics and frowned slightly at Hidan who hadn't taken his eyes off Sunnora the whole time.

"Sir, please say something, you're starting to scare me".

Hidan frowned as he finally heard the words.

The almost bored tone of the sales girl brought him out of his trance, his voice, his words, finally coming back "I'm fine".

The sale's girl grinned and poked his arm, "so you never answered my question, how does she look?"

Hidan turned away, no way was he looking at his lackey again, he felt he would enter that trance once again if he did 'it was like a fucking genjutsu'. The last thing he needed was for people to get the wrong impression of them again for they were definitely not a couple...'and never will be'. Hidan scoffed at the sale's girl, "she looks okay".

The sale's girl frowned at the words, "eh~ okay? just okay? look look" she brought Sunnora over to stand in Hidan's line of sight but he managed to advert his gaze to the ceiling.

Tired and out of it the sales girl marched over behind the counter and spoke in a soft tone, "I know you think she looks better than 'okay' I could see in your eyes, and you really were drooling, not joking this time" the girl laughed at Hidan's shocked expression and laughed harder as he turned away from the pair of girls and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"So I'm assuming you're going to take it?" she said with a gleeful tone.

Sunnora's eyes lit up at the words, she was never expecting to own something as beautiful as this, she was really just happy to be allowed to try it on.

"No no we can't", Sunnora said as she brought her arms behind her neck in an attempt to remove the necklace.

The girl's face dropped but held a gentle smile in place, "oh but why not? you looked so lovely with it on".

Sunnora blushed at the compliment, "thank you for your kind words but I really can't own something like this".

Hidan just watched from the sidelines the exchange of words. He was surprised by his lackey's words, so mature and a bit self deprecating, he felt somewhat bothered by them, 'why would she say that? Does she think she doesn't deserve something nice? not even once did she ask me if she could have it, she made the decision herself'

The young goddess smiled at the girl behind the counter and handed the necklace back, "thank you very much for letting me try it on, it really is beautiful".

The girl nodded with a smile of her own and waved the pair off as they exited her store.

Hidan concluded that the exchange was weird, and it was even more weird that it bothered him to see his lackey act like that, he already knew that he wouldn't get her the necklace but the fact that she didn't even ask him because she had already made up her mind that she couldn't own it was a surprise to him.

Looking at her from the side he made out the small smile playing at her lips, it was gentle and kind. Sadness and self-loathing didn't suit her one bit.

"Where should we go next Hidan-sama?"

Hidan smirked as he went back to all business, back to the master/lackey relationship he was so comfortable with.

"No more pitstops for us, we're going straight to the Akatsuki base".

Review please ;)