Author's Note:
Hey all! First of all, I'm terribly sorry for the annoying-ly long wait between this chapter and the last. But I'm updating now, cos my exams have just ended!
A huge thank you to all my readers! All of your reviews, alerts, messages and favourites are so appreciated, and they really encourage me a lot. Keep on reading, hope you enjoy it! Things are just getting good for this story from here on out.
Hidan spun around and took in the image of the man who had just spoken. He had the basic 'nice, harmless guy' look: black-rimmed glasses and a decent haircut that wasn't too outlandish. Hence, Hidan decided that he probably wouldn't get along too well with him; he looked too morally upright. He glanced at Sasori, who was standing a few steps from him to his left and saw his ex-comrade staring at him with an accusatory expression that said, 'this is all your fault'.
As Hidan had been in Soul Society for only a short time and had spent it more or less killing all whom he met, he was pretty much clueless about the rules and how things worked in the place. A smug, self-satisfied smirk forming on his face, he proudly announced to the general astonishment and disgust of twelve captains of the Gotei-Thirteen, "Of course, this was entirely my handiwork." He jerked a thumb at Sasori. "This guy here had nothing to do with it, so don't start giving him any credit."
Sasori slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
And suddenly, that was when Hidan heard it for the first time.
That was not the right thing to say! And in front of them, of all people! Came a rough, male voice.
Hidan jumped. "What the hell, Sasori! Don't go telling me what to do!"
Sasori's hand dropped to his side as a disbelieving looked crossed his face. "What are you talking about? I didn't say anything."
"Yes, you did! You told me that what I just said wasn't the right thing to say, especially in front of them!" Hidan said, gesturing wildly to the captains in front of him.
"No, I didn't! What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing! It's you that's got something wrong with your head, dipshit, denying the obvious fact that you were talki-"
Pay attention! Hidan was cut off by the new-found voice. He was just in time to see one of the white-robed people appear right in front of him, raising a sword and ready to strike. Quick as a flash due to his training as a shinobi, Hidan dodged the blow sent by the man, who had silver coloured hair.
"Wow, yer rather fast, aren't ya?" Ichimaru Gin said, while grinning at Hidan. "But that voice ya heard was right, that's not the right thing ta say to us."
Hidan was just about to reach for his scythe and say that he didn't give two hoots about what these people thought when Sasori said, in a rather testy, impatient voice, "Stop it, Hidan! These people are the captains of the Gotei-Thirteen, the strongest shinigami around!"
"Shiniga-" Another swipe of Ichimaru's sword interrupted Hidan in mid-speech.
"Ya also shouldn't turn your attention away from ya opponents..." Ichimaru went on.
Hidan was starting to get annoyed. "What is it with you and butting into people's conversations? You're pissing me off!" He wielded his beloved scythe and charged right back at Ichimaru, all previous thoughts of asking to become a shinigami flying out the window at his rage.
Sasori and the other shinigami captains watched on as strikes, blows and a few of Hidan's favourite swear words were exchanged between the two fighters. They seemed to be on par when it came to fighting; neither could land a blow on the other. Still, as Sasori observed the remaining eleven figures clothed in white, he noticed that they wore expressions of shock. Apparently, they had not been expecting Hidan to be able to hold out against Ichimaru in a battle or have a weapon with him that he was able to wield so effectively. Sasori wondered if they were aware of shinobi in the real world and just how much fighting experience Hidan had due to his religious views.
Hidan had decided to trust the new voice that he had started hearing as he aimed another swipe at the person he was fighting, who dodged the blow easily. It had warned him prior to the first attack, and it was dishing out instructions to Hidan as he fought on.
He's open there... JUMP! .. ... There's your chance! ... Careful...
Well, this voice sure knew what it was doing, anyway. Hidan swung his scythe forward as Ichimaru swung his. The blade of the sword was caught between the ones of the scythe, the tip just inches away from Hidan's chest. Both men were pushing their weapons against their opponent's harder and harder, unwilling to give in.
Hidan noted as his opponent's grin got even wider. "Shoot to kill, Shinso."
Many things happened at the same time. Hidan saw the sword glow white, and without warning, it extended right into the middle of his torso, where his heart was supposed to be. He was thrown back by the force of it, as the sword lengthened even more, the tip of it still embedded in his body. Hidan felt himself being lifted into the air and pushed backwards for what seemed like a very long time, his hand still gripping his scythe. Finally, he felt the painful impact of his back meeting the nearest building. Simultaneously, Sasori fell to his knees, rooted to the spot by Ichimaru's reiatsu. He was panting; the sheer force and fierceness of it made it hard to breathe. The other captains simply observed the scene before them with watchful eyes.
Ichimaru Gin, hearing the sickening crunch of his enemy's ribs being shattered, withdrew Shinso. From roughly a kilometre away, he saw Hidan's body crumple to the ground. Satisfied, he sheathed his zanpakuto and proceeded towards where Sasori and the rest of the captains stood in silence.
"Ahh, well that's over now, ain't it?" He said, grinning wickedly at a dumbstruck Sasori who was still staring in Hidan's direction. It was hard to make out his figure lying flat on the ground from the great distance. "I can't believe he just ignored ya like that, Aizen."
"Not exactly," A woman spoke up. Sasori recognised her from his research on shinigami to be Soi Fon, captain of the Second Division. She looked tense, and was eyeing Sasori with a look of deep mistrust. "That man is a very suspicious character. Who is he? And who are you? You're obviously acquainted with him."
Sasori got up to his feet shakily. He wasn't used to being in this vulnerable state. During his Akatsuki days, it was always him who had the upper hand, with hundreds of deadly puppets at his command. However, he knew that given his present state, he couldn't possibly stand against even one of the captains with their off-the-chart reiatsu levels. Thus, he decided that he had to cooperate with them and answer any of their questions.
"He's Hidan, and I'm Sasori. Yes, we are acquainted, but I would not go so far as to called us friends. When we were still alive, we were both S-ranked shinobi in the organisation called Akatsuki."
"S-ranked?" Soi Fon inquired further. "What is this Akatsuki?"
"S-ranked in shinigami terms would easily be about lieutenant level, some maybe even captain. Akatsuki is a mercenary organisation made up of only S-ranked ninja."
"So that's why Hidan seemed to be quite proficient in combat," a young captain with snow-coloured hair spoke up this time. Hitsugaya Toushirou. "But that still doesn't explain why he had a zanpakuto with him."
"I noticed that, too," Kyokaru Shunsui added.
Now Sasori was confused.
Hidan let out a muffled groan as he realised his face was firmly pressed to the dirt-covered ground beneath him. That had hurt a whole damn lot. But even more of a concern was the absence of Kakuzu; without him and his handy stiches, Hidan was sure his wounds would keep reopening. After all, he wasn't the type of person who was able to keep still and rest for long periods of time.
What are you looking so agonised for? You're immortal, remember? It was the voice again.
"Shut the hell up," Hidan retorted. Rolling over onto his back, he lifted his head slightly off the ground to inspect the damage dealt to him. The hole in the middle of his chest wasn't wide, but it was certainly deep. Deep enough to have made its way right through his body. "Who are you, anyway? Butting in all of a sudden..."
At least my butting in helped to save your ass out there for the first few times.
"Just answer the damn question."
Hidan, don't you know me? After all, I've been with you for a long time.
Hidan was getting annoyed. Not only was he bleeding profusely - something which he enjoyed seeing happen to others, though certainly not himself - but this voice in his head was practically talking in riddles. He hated that.
"Stop with being all crappy and mysterious. Just say it out like it is, damn it!"
Touchy, touchy. Fine. I am your zanpakuto. Your scythe. Put it together, and you'll realise that scythe of yours was a zanpakuto all along, genius.
"Hm?" This was something new. Weren't zanpakutos those swords that only shinigami possessed? Then why did he have one? He sure as hell wasn't a shinigami. "Care to do some explaining?"
Of course, you aren't a shinigami. But being so... religious and devoted to Jashin somehow drew me out of your soul into existence. You were so deeply connected with the teachings and rituals of Jashin that your soul began to be altered here and there, resulting in me. I am also one of the reasons why you are immortal. Have you ever remembered killing with a ritual without my assistance?
Hidan took a moment to ponder this. He supposed that it made sense... The Jashin religion had some unusual things going on anyway, so he wouldn't be surprised if he'd tampered with even more strange things than producing his own zanpakuto when he was still living. Not bothering to argue with the new found information, Hidan decided to just accept it. But one thing was still bugging him.
"Why have you only started talking now?" He wondered.
I've been trying to communicate with you for a long time already, came the voice. You just couldn't hear me clearly in the real world as you can now.Hidan nodded, showing he understood.
"So..." He grinned as he slowly sat up and rose to his feet. It was about time he got back into the action. Squinting his eyes, he could make out the figures of the captains and Sasori in the distance. "I suppose I'm gonna have to get along with you, eh?"
We already have gotten along for almost your whole entire lifetime, idiot. You just never realised it.
Hidan growled and opened his mouth to retort.
And you can speak to me using just your thoughts, you know.
He snapped his mouth shut.
'You ass of a zanpakuto...' He thought.
Sasori almost choked on his own spit as he considered the fact that Hidan might just have a zanpakuto. "No way," he denied. "It's not possible."
"That's what we would think, too," Shunsui chuckled. "But that scythe of his seems too much like one. Not to mention he has an impressive amount of reiatsu, too."
A scrowl appeared on Sasori's face. He had quite a good theory to explain Hidan's massive reiatsu. "Damn that stupid Jashin religion..."
"Jashin?" Hitsugaya inquired with narrow eyes. "We've never heard of such a thing here."
Sasori was just about to elaborate about Hidan's unusual fetish when the man himself cut him short.
"Honestly, for the love of Jashin-sama, all of you Soul Society shitheads are so thick! How could you people not know about him?"
The captains of the Gotei-Thirteen turned their heads slowly towards the direction of the frustrated voice. Several pairs of eyes widened in pure shock at the miraculous sight before them. There stood the man they now knew as Hidan, scythe in hand, standing tall and proud, donning a look of immense frustration at their supposed ignorance. The most noticeable feature about him at the moment was the gaping hole where his heart was supposed to be at. They could literally see right through him. And the best part was that Hidan was far from being dead. Instead, he looked just as alive and kicking as he was when Aizen first spoke to him.
"Tch," Hidan said. "Another problem with Soul Society people is that they keep staring at me with that same freakin' dumbstruck expression."
"This is impossible!" Soi Fon exclaimed.
Sasori regarded the shinigami captains' expressions with amusement. "I didn't mention one of the most important things about Hidan... As you can plainly see, he's immortal. He can't die, even if you chop his head off or cut him up."
Hidan, on the other hand, was tired of waiting for the shocked shinigami to respond or attack. Instead, he seized his opportunity.
"Oi, listen up," he said. "Me and Sasori here wanna become shinigami. So take us to your leader or whatever you call him."
Yay, so there you have it! Things are finally starting to pick up in the plot. Also, I'm pleading with all of you who like this story to bug and poke and pester me to update. If not, I'll probably take really long to do so. Just drop in a simple "UPDATE SOON!" with your review or something, that'll do the trick. Speaking of reviews, review too, I'll appreciate that!
Thanks a bunch for reading, the next chapter will feature a full-blown captains' and vice-captains' meeting with Yamamoto about Hidan and Sasori. That should be rather amusing, yes?
