Hey! Sorry it's taken so long for chapter 2. I suppose I was just waiting for more reviews to come before I uploaded again, so thank you for your patience. Thank you also to those who reviewed my first chapter- you guys are great! Now please enjoy chapter 2 in all its unedited glory. Gotta love Hidan.

See you at the bottom :)

Chapter 2- Follower by nature

Mia stood, watching Hidan with intense curiosity. Momentarily she reviewed her decision to save him, but then put that thought at the back of her head. She had promised herself a long time ago- no regrets. There was no point in regretting something she wanted to do at the time. She tossed her aqua hair behind her shoulders, but it stubbornly draped back forward over her eyes again.

"You're lively, for someone who was in pieces a minute ago," she commented.

He stopped yelling at the top of his lungs, and dropped his arms which were raised high like he was proclaiming to a god. His eyes, indiscernible between violet and red, travelled down and surveyed her from top to bottom. Studying peoples' expressions was something she was used to. This man, Hidan, was right now feeling utter disbelief. Not enough to care about her, but still, disbelief all the same.

"Are you immortal or something?"

"Isn't it obvious, kid?"

"I'm no kid!" she said haughtily. "…I'm sixteen. How old are you?"

"Twenty two."

"Not much age difference, then. So you can't call me a kid."

"I can if you act like one."

"You do, too. You're acting like a spoilt brat!"

He spat on the floor and stared with a sour-faced look. Mia smirked and walked closer towards his scathed body. With a body lean and solid, with lavender-grey hair swept back, his threatening expression didn't fit well at all.

What amazed Mia most of all, however, wasn't this contrast, or the talking head, or any of that… it was that someone had actually consented to talking to her.

Back 'home', in a massive war orphanage in Amegakure's outlying village of Miezawa, she was invisible. She was a relic of the past that everyone would rather disappear. Among the two hundred or so orphans, none had ever even spoken to her without prejudice from her infancy. Demon, demon, demon… all the time, that relentless chanting. They'd stop chanting just long enough to snigger at everything she said. She blamed this for why she grew up so twisted.
She had to find something to occupy herself with, of course. From early childhood, blood, dead bodies, anything, nothing fazed her. As for the needlework? Well, they did teach sewing.

No tender hands had ever reached Mia. No tender words. Even deep inside, behind their awful faces, they felt hatred.

Hidan? Not at all. More hope, arrogance, absurdity. The glaze over his eyes with an indiscernible colour hid all of his emotions.

"So, where are we going?"

"Who said you're coming for the ride?"

"I am, now."

"What? No offence, but I don't need you, kid."

"I just saved your life, dumbass!"

"I wouldn't have died anyway!"

"…Maybe not, but you still need me."

She heard the frustration in his tone, but what annoyed her the most was the emotions he brought up in her. This will to fight for attention, to believe she had a chance… and to think about why she felt this way in the first place. Also, why she felt the need to say arrogant things like that.

Hidan sighed. "I'm part of this organisation. They're called the Akatsuki and they are trying to gather up all the tailed beasts, or bijuu, from their jinchuurikis and steal their chakra to start a war. Couldn't give a damn about why the leader wants it done… but anything less than complete destruction is an insult to Jashin, and that sounds like a good way to start."

"You should leave them."

"Why?"

"You just don't seem the type to blindly follow orders like a dog… Anyway, what's Jashin?"

Hidan's speech lasted what seemed like a lifetime, but Mia merely stood and listened faithfully, silently accepting his hurried words. What worried her was why he wasn't with other members of his crazy religion. Maybe they excommunicated him or something.

"Anyway, I've decided something."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"I'm going to go with you, no matter what. You know, I could make your boring life a whole lot more interesting!"

Hidan's brow creased in bemusement, and then he erupted into gales of manic laughter. "Seriously?" he choked. "A girl? Following me?" But it was half-hearted sneering.

She pouted. "Yeah. Why not?"

"I…"

"There isn't a reason. I promise you. We'll make a deal. If I can't make your life at least a bit more interesting, you can kill me for part of your crazy religion. Sound good?"

Hidan raised an eyebrow, considering her proposal. She leant on one hip, slanting them, and he once again surveyed her slender body, taking in all her shapes and curves, and then he met her expectant face again. She averted her gaze, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the profound silence.

He cracked his knuckles and stretched a twisted grin. "Ah, why the hell not?"

Her face lit up. "Really? Really and truly?"

"I have nothing better to do. I'm bored."

"Yeah! I'm bored, too. We can ease each other's boredom."

At least she wouldn't be homeless now, she considered with relief. Technically, yes, but a home didn't have to be a place with four brick walls and a door. It could be anywhere you felt safe and wanted.

She almost giggled when her mind wandered to other things. She was almost like his ward! Maybe
not young enough, but still…

The path forward was not really a path at all. The thin gap between the foliage was difficult to slash through, until Hidan disappeared back the way they came, only to return to the undergrowth with an enormous blade with several parts, held also by a thick grey cord for manoeuvrability. He pushed her roughly out of the way and slashed easily through much of the vegetation, creating a clear path. It was soon decided that he step in front and create the path forward for them.

They exchanged few words on the walk, but it was quite clear that Hidan had changed his mind from returning to his organisation- quite a drastic change considering that they were his first waking priority. She never asked why. Maybe he simply changed his mind frequently, impulsively. It was an impulse for her to save him, so they were on a similar level.

Behind his bare back and flexing arms, Mia felt a triumphant sensation rising up inside her.

~(^_^)~

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