Chapter 18

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The moment they had gotten as far as they could, as fast as they could, the dead forest erupted with flames. It was déjà vu for Team 10, and they still couldn't take in the fact one girl could cause that much damage without hand signs in one swipe of the arm.

Naruto growled and wiped his face from dirt that had been taking refuge on his face when he had fallen. "What the hell?"

"That girl." Kakashi watched the roaring blaze that looked like something that would happen during a holocaust or war. It was amazing how much power she had in her small body; if someone was able to control her, then they must be powerful as well. According to data and three reports from only two days ago, the only known jutsu she used was fire-explosion jutsu, a dust jutsu that carried her chakra and wind-based jutsus that she used to move around. There was no telling what else this woman knew and despite the possibility of her only being about sixteen or so, she had more chakra in that explosion than his Chidori and Naruto's Rasinshuriken combined.

"We should report this to the Hokage." The Copycat-Ninja spoke with slight worry evident in his voice.

Sakura nodded, then turned her gaze back to the dying flames. "We should scout the area later to see if Kakuzu's body survived."

"Nothing would have survived that." Ino told in a saddened tone. "The first time she showed, I had thrown a kunai straight for her head and she melted it with a fire jutsu. She barely used any chakra then. Not to mention anything that glitter of hers touches can be burned."

The pinkette looked to the ground. "Alright. Let's go then."

Cyn gently placed Kakuzu's body on the diamond flooring of the large room she had made underground. She had been working on it since the fight had started, and was amazed when no one caught on. Especially when Kakashi Hatake hadn't.

Between two layers of hard gem were light-burning flames that illuminated the room in a brilliant reddish touch.

She sighed, looking at his torn and tattered body. He was good man at heart, and she would actually miss him. Kakuzu was her first real friend; and though he seemed as a ruthless killer, when Hidan was asleep he would tell her about his past.

"Onee-san. Please. You're the only one of us that knows Medical Ninjutsu."

Her hair shortened and began to fade into a light blonde, and her eyes swirled into a smoky blue as her height changed to taller. Before the swap was complete, Cyn dropped a set of clothing and a few other items from her holster near the limp body

"Only because he was your friend, Imooto, and because you spared my own friends."

Kage kneeled at the Thread-Ninja's side and held her palms to his wounds. They began to close and his skin would become spotless of scratches and scars that the opposing ninja had made. The threads from his back returned to his body, as well as from his mouth and his arms reattached to their original state.

This wasn't betraying her friends, so she had no reason to feel guilty and didn't mind doing it. Kages hands moved down Kakuzu's body slowly to be sure everything was cleaned up and once she had double-checked sat back on her legs.

The fiery light gave a peaceful, though slightly eerie, atmosphere to the diamond-made room and the silence that came with it made Kage tighten her frown. Her eyes scanned over the clothing Cyn had dropped before switching.

Kage laid the clothes out orderly and placed Kakuzu's Akatsuki cloak on top of them. She closed her eyes and performed a series of handsigns.

Once she opened them again, the attire had been switched, and the fallen's body was in clean clothing; including forehead protector and mask. She then reached her arm out and covered his eyes with her palm. Using her thumb and ring finger, Kage then closed Kakuzu's green eyes for the last time.

The blonde stood and looked at the body with a tight frown. Cyn's feelings and thanks ran through her mind soon after, and she couldn't shake the slight feeling of happiness that was emitting from the pinkette's soul.

She raised her palm to her chest, opening it slowly. Kakuzu's ring reflected the light that came from the walls. "North."

Pein would want this back.

Her body turned and her legs moved forward, and just as she moved, the diamond began to push away dirt and create a tunnel.

She stopped, though the gem proceeded forward. Kage's smokey blue eyes looked at Kakuzu one last time. The flames within the walls stilled though continued to cast their brilliant light of the room, and with a slight twitch of the fingers a white/clear diamond coffin began to encase the body in the center of the room.

"White and pink." She smirked weakly. "I'm sure he wouldn't like that very much."

A light chuckle echoed through her mind; causing her eyes to widen slightly.

"Imooso, I haven't heard your laugh in quite some time now." A light smile carved its way into her lips as her features softened. "Did that man really make you happy?"

A slight nod could be felt from three different entities. 'He was my first real friend Onee-san.'

A small and very light chuckle could be heard through her closed, smiling lips. "Your friend is my friend. He will be safe down here, in the light of our birthrights."

Kage closed off the private burial chamber that contained Kakuzu and thickened the outer layer of diamond. The moment his resting place would be disturbed, she would know about it.

"Kakuzu! Come fucking get me already you stupid bastard! " Hidan struggled to move his jaw under the weight of stoney rubble. "That fucking brat! How fucking dare that damn bastard bury me! Dismember me and fucking bury me!" He tried moving, though was kept in place. His violet eyes were dimmed slightly, and one of them was swollen into a nasty purplish-blue. "I will fucking kill you!"

His partner would come for him. There was no way they could have killed Kakuzu after all.

As more timed passed, Hidan's face would soften and he would grow quiet.

Was anyone going to come for him?

The Jashinist began to think the worst.

Kakuzu is dead and no one was coming for him. The worst of it all, the shadow kid really knew what he was doing. It would be agony dying like this. First he wouldn't be able to perform sacrifice rituals for his god, which would slowly take away at his mortality, and as that happened his body would revert back into a normal human's and he would die the moment his eternal life was up.

By Hidan's memory and calculations; he would be stuck here in mind-breaking pain for at least six months. The highest being thirty years. He could feel bugs crawling around his detached limbs that made him whimper ever so softly.

"I can't believe I'm about to be put down like this."

Hidan held a saddened face; to him it had been an eternity that he'd been stuck down here. He wished he wasn't immortal now- things were boring and the disgusting bugs that had been crawling on his limbs had began to settle. He closed his violet eyes and relaxed.

This was his punishment.

A cool and smooth feeling began to surround his head; making him snap his eyes open quickly. "What the hell is this?" Without light, he couldn't confirm what was surrounding him, though it felt amazing considering the hole was hot and stuffy.

Maybe he was finally dying off, and this is what it was like. The dead did grow cold after all.

The cold surrounded him fully, and just as he was about to breath his final words he felt himself being pushed deeper. "What is this?"

The rock was being pushed away, or better yet he was being sucked into the earth itself. The silver haired man clenched his jaw. Was it quicksand or something?

His head was released in a tunnel; when he opened his eyes he could see his limbs, all of them, stacked neatly side by side. The tunnel was lit by fire along the walls which were coated with, diamond?

A soft pair of hands picked him up and turned him, and he was met violet to blue with his savior. "The bitch!" He smiled with relief. "Fucking took you long enough!"

Kage forced a smile at his excited face. "Yeah."

"Where's that fucking old bastard Kakuzu?" His head wiggled slightly in her palms, trying to look behind her and for any sign of his partner. "Well?" He turned his violet orbs back on the woman. When he noticed her gaze was to the side, to the ground, her features had saddened and her grip on him softened, he understood.

His eyes hardened slightly. "That fucking bastard left you to deal with those stupid Leaf ninja and went after that fucking cash cow, didn't he?"

Kage deadpanned; eyes twitching and head falling limp. "You're an idiot, Hidan." She said softly. When she rose her head again the Jashinist was giving her a shocked expression. "He's dead."

The neatly laid out body parts were surrounded by diamond now and floating within the air. Kage began walking; sealing the tunnel she left behind with her birthright and commanding the limbs to follow closely behind.

"You're fucking lying. There's no way that damned bastard would go down so easily."

"Cyn doesn't know any types of Medical Ninjutsu or healing tactics at all, Hidan. Why else would she drain her energy and chakra to switch with me?"

"To fucking heal him?" The Jashinist said sarcastically.

Kage sighed and shook her head. "Kakuzu-san was in terrible condition when I tended to him. The person that had brought him down must have used a very powerful jutsu; his flesh was peeling from his muscle, muscle off of bone and bones were broken into shards." She explained, earning a small grunt of frustration as the silver-haired head took in the information. "Imooto didn't want her friend to be buried in such a terrible state. He was her first real friend after all."

"Kakuzu didn't make any fucking friends. He hated people." Hidan grumbled.

She smiled softly. "That's true, the last part at least, and I can't exactly explain it but yes they were." Kage looked ahead to see moonlight pouring out of the entrance as it was enlarging. "From what I can tell, and from what I know, he did consider her as a friend. When you weren't paying any attention, or sleeping in or even walking off for a moment they had conversations about each others past. Kakuzu-san was intrigued by our predicament and our lives, and asked Cyn about it. When he started telling her about his own past that was when she realized he opened up to her. Afterwards she asked him about being friends, and he agreed after thinking over it."

Hidan's eyes softened at the explanation. Kakuzu never told him about anything, but they were partners for a long while, so what did that make them?

"He considered you a friend too, Hidan."

At the words his reaction came into one of shock. His features softened though when a light breeze flowed through his silver locks after the girl had stepped out of the tunnel.
The diamond pushed dirt to blend in with the upturned battlefield that was burned to ash.

"What the hell happened here?"

Kage smiled weakly at his question and looked around. There were no trees for a good mile or so, the dirt was scorched and ashes lay in piles, scattered without coordination. "Cyn knew that Konoha wanted a body for any information they could have on the Akatsuki. Kakuzu-san's request to her was to not allow that to happen, so she burned the place."

"Did she kill any of those damn brats?"

"No. I made her give another warning to them. They are my friends after all." She spoke softly.

Hidan grumbled again. "You're suppose to be working for the Akatsuki. Did Kakuzu burn off too?"

Kage tried to stay calm, but her face fell into one of pure annoyance. "Where you not listening to me? I tended Kakuzu-san's wounds you idiot!" She drove a fist into Hidan's hair. "He's buried underground you moron."

"Hey! No need to be so rough!" He flinched as much as he could away from her hand. When she finally stopped the Jashinist looked around. "How did you get in that forest anyways? That Konoha brat said no one could step into their forest without permission."

Kage smiled softly. "It was simply really. Cyn had taken a small lock of hair from the boy when he was battling and wasn't paying attention. The forest is surrounded by a barrier, and you can only go in with permission."

"I'm not following."

Kage deadpanned for a moment and rubbed her left temple with her free hand. "You don't exactly need permission Hidan. In this case we used his hair to gain entrance, which was part of him and still was. Just by holding it I was able to get through underground and to you, because I 'Had permission'." She emphasized the last part. "Those deer up there would alert the clan and I would have had trouble fighting comrades."

"I get it now." Hidan smiled slyly. "You couldn't stand to think about me being all alone and dying, didn't you bitch?"

"Shut up Hidan!"

Author's Note:

Crillix - I hope you are all enjoying the story so far, ^_^ and if so please review. Reviews let us know we are doing well and you would like us to proceed, and the lack of them shows we need to discontinue.
That is all. (: