Author's Note:
I don't own anything from Naruto or Bleach!
Also, I'm really really sorry for the long wait between this chapter and the first one. School's been extra hectic lately, and it's probably only going to get worse.
And a big thank you to all who reviewed, subscribed, messaged or favourited, it really means a lot to me! (:
"Jashin-sama!"
Hidan awoke with a jerk, only to come face-to-face with some brat covered in dirt. "YUUURRRGHHH!" Was his immediate reaction.
The kid who was previously bending over him immediately backed away, startled by Hidan's loud yell. When Hidan had calmed down a little bit more, he took in his surroundings. He was in a rather shabby, one-room house, if he could even call it a house; it was so run down. There were many other people there besides the boy, and they were all of different ages. Even so, they all looked similar, dressed in simple, worn out clothes with blotches of dirt smeared over certain parts of their bodies. It wasn't the most pleasant environment or sight.
However, the thing that was annoying the faithful Jashin-follower was that everyone was staring at him. They were facing him in a semi-circle formation, some looking rather curious, others apprehensive. He didn't like it one bit.
"Where the hell am I? Who are you people anyway? You all look like shit!"
A middle-aged man spoke up. "This is the 73rd district of Soul Society. We found you lying outside on the street, unconscious, so we carried you in here."
Hidan's eye twitched. "You mean you stinky people put your hands on me?!" He glanced down at his Akatsuki robe. At least it still looked clean, and there were no traces of dirt anywhere. Well, as clean as a black robe could look, that is.
"Some thanks would be nice," an elderly woman said sarcastically.
If Hidan was in a better mood, he would have simply laughed at the idea of showing these people any gratitude. But as he was in quite a foul mood at the moment, he glowered and reached for his scythe, pointing it menacingly at the crowd in front of him. It was about time he made up for the killings he missed out on when he was stuck in the Nara clan's woods. Jashin would be so proud of him.
Only, his scythe wasn't there, and Hidan was left looking rather stupid at he extended his right arm in front of him, his hand clutching a non-existent object, a maniacal grin etched onto his face.
There was a pause of awkward silence.
"Mommy... He's weird!" Some puny kid to Hidan's left whispered.
"AHHHH! WHERE'S MY SCYTHE?!?!"
The occupants of the room exchanged glances with each other as the strange man before them let out a string of very colourful words. He looked as if he was panicking, running around the room in small circles and making vibrant gestures.
Hidan was mortified. His scythe was the second most important thing to him. How could he kill more people without it? It just wouldn't be the same, not to mention not as fun. But most importantly, how could he answer to Jashin?
The elderly woman that spoke previously let out a snort. "We left it by the door. We don't feel the need for weapons to be in here with us. It only calls for unnecessary damage."
The effect of her words was instantaneous. Hidan's eyes lit up as he dashed towards the door, retrieved his scythe, and turn to face his audience once again in the same stance as before.
Only this time, the awkward silence was replaced with one of fear.
Standing before them was no longer that weird and slightly comical man. With a malicious glint in his eye, Hidan began to stride nearer and nearer to his unfortunate prey as they scampered away from him.
"Killing the whole lot of you should suffice for now!" Hidan let out a sinister sounding laugh.
This was when the villagers realised that this man was truly dangerous. They wanted to run, to get away, but the atmosphere felt so heavy at that present moment that they couldn't even breathe properly, let alone move. It was as if the air around their soon-to-be killer was crackling with electricity and the man himself was exuding an aura that screamed 'evil'. The intensity of it all was too much for them to handle. One by one, they collapsed to the ground under the pressure, silently screaming for their limbs to move and allow them to pull their bodies up, only to find that they seemed to be paralyzed with fear. They could only wait in defeat for their death.
Hidan smiled as he aimed his scythe at the nearest person. The fun was just beginning.
"Faster, Ken-chan! Faster!" Yachiru squealed happily.
Zaraki Kenpachi let out a grunt. "I know," he said without glancing up at his pink-haired lieutenant as he ran towards Division One's main building for an emergency meeting between all the captains and vice-captains of the Thirteen Protection Squads. "We're almost there, Yachiru."
Soon enough, the cluster of buildings that made up the First Division was visible to the pair of officers. Without wasting any time, Kenpachi reached the front door, slid it open and took his rightful position among the other captains. It looked like the meeting had yet to commence, which was a bother that more time was being wasted since he was actually watching the men from his division spar just before the hell butterfly came.
With a quick glance around the room, he could see that everyone but Yamamoto had arrived and assembled. Matsumoto chattered to her captain animatedly as he nodded disinterestedly, Aizen seemed to exchange some kinds words with Hinamori, making the young girl blush, Shunsui and Ukitake were conversing with Nanao standing behind her captain, looking professional as always, Ichimaru with his ever-present grin...
A quick approaching reiatsu caught everyone's attention, causing them to take their positions in the usual two lines they stood in when a meeting was in progress.
Yamamoto had just arrived, wearing an expression that suggested utmost seriousness as he began the meeting.
Hidan was lying down contentedly in the middle of a large symbol that consisted of a triangle enclosed within a circle drawn purely with blood. He had just finished up his usual ritual that he was required to perform after every sacrifice to Jashin. Sitting up, he could see his surrounds that were filled with bloodied and mutilated corpses, courtesy of his scythe and blood ritual. He decided that this Soul Society place wasn't half bad; there were many people here that he could kill, and they looked so miserable that no one would miss them anyway. But the down side was that this place was so boring. There was hardly anything to do. Humming a tune as he stood up, Hidan strolled leisurely to head to another area in search of other activities.
The sound of footsteps behind him made him pause. Was it possible that he missed out one? Shit. That would be committing heresy...
"Hidan, what are you doing here?"
A grin formed on Hidan's face. He turned around to face that all-too-familiar voice. So looks like he was innocent after all.
"How the hell did you find me, Sasori? This place is huge..."
Sure enough, he was face-to-face with his former Akatsuki comrade. There wasn't anything too different about him from when he was still alive. The same face. Same red hair. Even the cloak was there. The only thing that was missing would be his hundreds of puppets. Without a moment of hesitation, Hidan gave Sasori one hard, painful punch in the gut.
"OUCH!" The red head clutched his stomach, sinking to the floor. He was not suspecting something like that as a greeting. "I'm going to kill you!"
"Relax... I just wanted to do that. I could never have managed that before without hurting my hand when you still had your damn wooden body."
As a response, Sasori just glared. He and Hidan were never over-friendly towards each other, so why was he going to start now? However, he couldn't do much more considering the immense pain he was in and decided to let that one go. Hidan was really strong, after all.
Hidan's grin slowly faded. "You're getting soft, Sasori."
Sasori couldn't hold back a slight twitch in his eye. Was that pun intended? It wasn't as if he willingly gave up his puppet body for his original one made out of real flesh and bone. It just happened when he appeared in Soul Society. His body made of wood was artificial, so it only made sense that it wouldn't be with him when he arrived here.
"I mean, I shouldn't have been able to even hit you. Back then, you'd have dodged with no problem, off-guard or not."
The puppet master just glared harder. "I let you hit me..." He muttered. "You were just stronger than I anticipated, that's all."
"Whatever. So don't tell me you've been wasting your time here like all those other scum I killed."
Sasori barely suppressed the second twitch of his eye. If he had his puppet body, there wouldn't be a problem with twitching and all of that. He so dearly missed it. "Of course I haven't! I've been working to make all my puppets again from scratch. Problem is, these people here are so weak that even after turning them into puppets, I have no use for their abilities. They have none. Not to mention this place is so poor that I can't even find the correct materials and tools to use."
"How shitty. And I've only been here since yesterday."
"So... how many massacres have you done so far?"
Hidan waved his hand nonchalantly. "Just about ten already. But then again, who gives a crap?"
Sasori allowed himself to chuckle. "You just got here yesterday and have already killed that many people? Can't say I'm surprised, though."
Hidan merely shrugged in response. There was nothing better to do here for entertainment anyway.
"But you know what?" Sasori said. Knowing that Hidan wouldn't bother responding with a 'What, Sasori?', he continued on. "I want to become a Shinigami."
"Hm?" Hidan racked his brain. That term sounded vaguely familiar... That Ichy-something or black-haired midget girl whose name started with an 'R' said something like that, he recalled. Wait, that Ichy and midget were Shinigami, weren't they? The ones who sent him here. As soon as that information clicked together, he let out a "What the fuc-" only to be interrupted again by Sasori.
"Do you wanna become weak after having no one to fight but these worthless people?"
"Well, no."
"Are you content with being poor like they are here?"
"What!? No way!"
"Would you want to stay here all the time and live so mundanely forever?"
"Hell no!"
"By the way, how come your scythe didn't disappear?"
"... I don't know."
"But you see my reasoning, don't you?"
Hidan considered it, and it made sense. After all, by the rate he was going, he would probably kill everyone within the next month. Then he'd have nothing left to do. Whereas, becoming a Shinigami meant gaining new powers, becoming stronger, kicking Ichy and midget's asses... He might even go back to Konoha or wherever else to provoke Shikamaru and all the other surviving Akatsuki members, and the best part would be that they wouldn't be able to even see him, let alone attack. He quite liked the idea of mooning Pein or Konan without getting trashed in return. That was good reasoning. Good enough for him anyway.
He must have been taking a long time to think things over, because Sasori let out an impatient growl. Oh right. He hated having to wait.
"Fine," Hidan finally said. "I agree."
Sasori was just about to give an approving nod when the arrival of several unfamiliar presences alerted the two former S-ranked criminals. Slowly, they turned around to face the new comers who were clothed in black Shinigami robes with white haoris over them.
"So..." Aizen began. "By any chance, did the two of you have anything to do with the recent massacres?"
It was then that Hidan and Sasori were both painfully aware that they were still standing in the midst of dozens of lifeless corpses, surrounded by many Shinigami that they would soon find out were captains.
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