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FOLLOW YOUR ARROW
.
Hidan stalked back into the building, growling when the bells jingled on the door.
This day needed to either get interesting, or be over with. He circled around to his desk, stripping out of his jacket and hanging it on the back of the chair, then standing to regard the space blankley. Trying to process his thoughts.
Itachi, that bastard. It was unfair for him to use his psychology skills like that. You don't carry your job around with you! How the fuck was he supposed to tell when he was being sincere or when he was trying to fuck with his head!?
Kakuzu, liking him. That was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. He hated Hidan, and Hidan hated him. Stupid stuck-up pompous ass, freaking out and wanting to fire him just because he'd had a few bad moments in his life.
Hyprocritical bastard. How could he treat people the way he did for no fucking reason and then deem Hidan the one to ruin his career?
"Oh noo Hida! He doesn't know how to communicate properly!" He suddenly said, putting his hands of his cheeks and speaking in a terrible impression of a woman.
"Good! Feelings are for chicks! That fucker is a giant walking cock, so God knows he probably fucking has one!" He halfway shouted, whirling around to stomp into the examination room and clean it for the third time in an hour an a half. The last appointment didn't show up, but the last thing he wanted was for his boss to have any reason at all to bitch at him.
He hastily struggled into the latex gloves that were slightly too snug for his liking, snapping himself accidentally on the inner wrist.
"OW! FUCK! Stupid, rrrgh, whore!" He fidgeted with it until it was on well enough for him to at least do his job, and yanked the door below the sink open to grab the cleaning supplies.
Damn, he felt so agitated, his skin tingled and itched, his throat felt tight and dry.
"Fuck, stupid mind. Quit fucking with my body. You two just stay away from each other." He muttered, grabbing the bulky, industrial sized container of sanitizing wipes with one hand and scratching vigorously at the nape of his neck and then back of his opposing arm with the other.
.
"What are you doing?" Came the deep gravelly voice from behind him, making his heart leap into his chest and his body go rigid just as he was about to stand back up.
He turned slowly around, delaying the eventual meeting of his employer's eyes as long as possible. He lost control of his hand, and the wipes fell to the ground where the lid popped off and went rolling. Luckily the damp cloth was tightly rolled upon itself, and stayed mostly in the container.
Damn it all, he was not in the mood to be nice, respectful Hidan right now. He didn't want to talk to his stupid, tattleing, prick of a boss.
Itachi had already embarrassed him, going to chat with Dr. Hoku like that, like this was some sort of parent-fucki ng-teacher meeting. Then he had the gall to point out that the embodiment of all evil he was forced to work long, boring hours with was kinda-sorta-sexy in a old, distinguished, weird kind of way...
And it wasn't even noon yet!
"Uuhh... cleaning the examination room." He finally replied, meeting the christmas-colored gaze locked onto him and then clearing his throat again. Damn he was thirsty all the sudden.
"I can see that. But why are you ranting to yourself up here?"
Hidan went inexplicabley into panic mode now.
.
Fuck! He'd heard all that? Fuck! Dammit! Shit!
"I, uh... I..." He studdered.
'I'M A FUCKING IDIOT!' Part of him screamed.
'Now hold on here, Hidan. Don't do that...' The other part soothed.
He just blew everything, the whole operation, in two seconds it was all fucked to eternity and now he was going to have to walk home early in the fucking cold-ass weather and explain to Itachi how he'd just destroyed everything mere moments after he'd told the man he wasn't going to screw up.
"Mister Akasuna called back while you were on your break..." Kakuzu said, arms now crossed across his chest. "He reported your foul language, and I might as well tell you now that I heard you speaking with Mister Uchiha as well."
Hidan fell backward out of his crouched position, grunting when his back hit the open cabinet door, causing it to ricochete off the wall and slam back into him. He leaned forward to put a hand on the injured body part while staring up at the older man like a deer caught in headlights.
'Okay you fucking moron, you fucked up the nice guy routine, but he still can't fire you. Recover! Recover!'
"P-please don't fire me..." he whimpered, letting his features change to match the pitiful phrase. His voice cracked dangerously at the end, shaming him but also making him think himself a brilliant actor.
'Yes, perfect. He still doesn't know that you know what he knows!' He resisted the urge to make a face at his inner voice, still doing his best impression of a sad puppy at the older man.
'Voice of logic here. You need to calm down.'
He winced slightly, the confusion this random thought caused mixing in with his mind racing in desperation was not helping the situation out.
-o-
Kakuzu only regarded him in stoic silence, letting the silence drag on as he worked and worked to control his anger.
His associate, Sasori had indeed called back and regaled him with the tale. And when the doctor had further questioned him about what time, exactly, he had called, the puzzle peices had fallen into place.
Just then the bell to the front door had sounded, and he'd immediatly gotten off the phone with the Akasuna in order to go destroy his new employee.
And that's when he'd heard the man start talking to himself.
In the span of one second he'd gone through confusion, anger, interest, more anger, a small bit of entertainment, and now he was back to anger again, though carefully guarded now.
"It seems I've failed to make something perfectly clear to you." He said, each word coming out carefully to the disheveled man on the floor looking at him as if he were a demon sent to kill the pitiful fool.
"I do not like being lied to." He growled, eyes narrowing to mere slits, brows furrowing, nose creasing, and mouth grimacing. "And moreso than that, I do not like being taken for a fool. Do you think I'm a fool, boy?"
"N-no sir! Not at all!" Hidan said, scrambling to his feet in jerky, poorly controlled movements.
"You're lying again." Kakuzu growled low. "Did you not just hear me?"
The pale man's mouth bobbed open and closed for a minute, expression growing more and more desperate as those damned peony-pink eyes flicked frantically around the room, as if it would provide some means of escape from the intense moment.
And like an answer from the gods, someone came through the front door, signaled by the little bell.
The man's posture relaxed instantly, though Kakuzu didn't move a muscle. The two had a staring contest in a silence that seemed to drag on for an eternity, it was ended finally when the arrival questioned anyone's presence in a raspy masculine voice.
Finally Kakuzu nodded toward reception desk. "Do your job. If I hear one vulgar thing come out of your mouth, we will have an even bigger problem than your lies."
Hidan appeared to try to be saying something again, his expression seemed a little disturbed, and for a second the older man had the strange thought flit through his head that his lackie was flustered about something other than being caught in his farse.
He nodded instead, smoothing back his hair in another awkward motion and clearing his throat before turning to assist the client.
Kakuzu still did not move from his spot, knowing that he didn't have another appointment until 11 and that whoever that was out there most likely just had some sort of question. He was not only curious to see how well Hidan handled the situation, but wanted to be ready to jump in if the little shit decided to do anything foolish. He didn't like how the man was acting, at the moment. And he wasn't referring to the lying.
.
He had heard the conversation with Kisame. The older man had no doubt in his mind about that. Which meant that the worst possible outcome had now occurred. A mentally unstable man had been given complete control over everything that the Doctor had spent twenty long years building from the ground up.
However, judging by that line the runt had fed him, he did not yet realize that Kakuzu had figured this much out.
He listened distantly as the raspy man inquired about purchasing prescription-stength medicine for an allergy he was having problems with. Hidan was doing his best to explain that Dr. Hoku was tied up at the moment, and that he would take his name and number and have him called back when his boss's hands were free.
He had to admit, he didn't like lying, but the effort the albino put forth and the soothing way he spoke to the man somewhat impressed him. But only somewhat. That last girl had been terrible under pressure.
But this matter needed to be dealt with permanently now. This rollarcoaster of a day had him feeling as though he'd run a marathon with nothing but his mind.
He was tired of dealing with this, it seemed everytime he took a step forward he found himself two steps back.
It was a delicate situation indeed. But the best way to handle any situation was to stop trying to conceal the truth, lay everything out on the table, and hope that some sort of conclusion could be reached that favored both parties. He was more than fed up with this childish nonsense.
He finally moved now to pinch the bridge of his nose. Why couldn't that oceanic idiot have just made him accidentally hire that Uchiha instead? He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders...
"Alright, I'll have him call you as soon as possible, Mister Uzumaki." Hidan said, being thanked in response before the bell went off once more.
"Allergic to fox dander... who the hell is around foxes that much?" Kakuzu heard him mutter, stepping from his hiding place and into the reception room.
"Naruto owns a large portion of land that he uses to breed endangered species of foxes." He said, making the poor albino jump and twist around to him.
His newest employee opened his mouth to say something, eyes full of what Kakuzu thought maybe looked like fear, but the elder held up a hand to silence him.
"Mister San. I believe we need to have a talk and straighten a few things out." He said calmly, wondering somewhere in the back of his mind where all his previous rage had suddenly gone too. Something was wrong here, his gut felt twisted uncomfortably, like some warning. But for the life of him he could not discern what it meant.
And all the better anyway, he didn't have time to sit and ponder over it. This needed dealt with now. Sasori was a large contributor to his business, and he was not happy at all with Kakuzu's new aid. Which meant the boy needed to be set straight.
"It seems that you are actually one of those adults that has yet to grow past adolesence, and that I need to throughly explain a few things to you in relation to your employment here."
Hidan remained silent, not looking ashamed, but not looking completely unfazed either. Kakuzu contemplated this, unsure of how he felt about it, and somewhat distressed by the fact that he was not imagining ripping out the man's throat by now.
He couldn't seem to get the word's of the Uchiha out of his head, despite being so preoccupied with everything else at the moment. They hadn't swarmed in until just a moment ago, before the visitor came in when he noticed Hidan's right eye twitch a few times during their stareing match.
'He needs a stable figure of authority in his life... though not a bully.'
"Come with me." He ordered, turning to make his way back to his office.
"But what if-"
"No one is scheduled for another hour. If anyone comes in then you can come back to attend to them. Now come."
He didn't check to see if he was being followed, but when he did step to the side in his study, a nervous looking Hidan was only a few steps behind him.
"Sit down."
The newbie did as instructed, and Kakuzu, for the second time repeated the action and laced his fingers together to study the albino in front of him.
Again he was noticing small details about his appearance.
Mister San had a small chip out of his mid-pinna* on his ear, as well as very small creases on each outer edge of his eye. Some people liked to refer to these as wisdom lines, a subtle marking earned by having and overcoming heavy strife throughout their life.
He looked back at Kakuzu sternly, seeming to be examining him as well.
The young man was clenching his jaw, the doctor also noticed, probably a habit that he didn't even notice anymore. It was another small signal, showing that Hidan, whether he realized it or not, had an invisible wall up around himself, so to say. One more sign that he had had a rough past, forced to close himself off to other people as means of avoiding inner pain.
Kakuzu blinked out of this train of thought, clearing his throat. This was absolutly no time for that, dammit.
Okay, authoritative, but not hurtful. Surely he could do this.
"First, you can drop these false pretenses you've been putting forward. We're both grown men, there's no reason to keep insulting me and disgracing yourself." He said finally.
Hidan remained silent, and the elder of the two continued staring thoughtfully at him. Never before had he ever taken the time to sit with any of his previous underlings and ask them the question he was about to ask. It was uncomfortable, but really, he'd never encountered such a troublesome employee before, never been in such a complicated situation. Honestly, his life had been unreasitically smooth since first starting this profession.
All of this led only down one road, one that he didn't want to go down by any means. But it was either change his tactics, and step into new and unknown territory, or face the possibility of losing everything he had to a stranger who had no idea what he'd be gaining, and be thrust unwillingly into new and unknown territory.
When faced with such a decision, it seemed the only choice was to get to know this stranger. And deal with the rest in strides.
"So who are you really, Hidan?"
-o-
More lingering silence stretched on between the two, Hidan absently chewing his lip now, trying to make sense of the jumbled mess he was now in. His body felt as if it were wired to explode. His skin felt alive, almost, his muscles were twithing uncontrollabley in several places.
"I uh... I cuss... a lot." The secretary said stupidly, at a lack for anything else to respond with.
What did that question even mean anyway?
Jesus, ever since he'd had that initial heart attack, he really had no idea what the hell was going on. So much for being clever and manipulative. Damn this defective brain.
"I've gathered that much." His boss replied, still not giving any clue as to what answer he was looking for.
Hidan stared back in confusion for a moment before agitation bloomed within him. What did he fucking want!? Was this some kind of test!? Did he want a life story or some sort of summation of his personality?
Fucking hell what more could possibley happen in one day!? The king of all assholes was actually trying to get to know him? Yeah... right, it was just another attempt to try and scare him away...
His brows furrowed deeply. "So what the fuck are you asking then?"
"I'm asking who you are. If you're going to keep working here I would like to know what I'm going to be working with." Kakuzu said nonchalantly. It was a strange attitude to witness on the man, honestly. Even though Hidan had met him only hours ago, he had pretty well convinced himself that his employer was mean only for the face that it went against the laws of physics for him to be anything otherwise.
"You want to know what you're working with..." Hidan repeated, chuckling as he spoke, though not in a light-hearted manner. He wasn't being nice, it was just a more subtle form of his arrogance. Everything was a lie. Everything and everyone. It didn't matter what he did, in his life, he would always be 'the crazy guy' and no one cared to see any deeper than that.
"I'm not even a person now eh? I'm just a thing you have working for you."
This actually seemed to alarm the older man, though it only showed in the shift of his eyes.
"Oh, are you scared now?" He continued, unable to stop himself despite the small part of his brain sounding off an alarm inside him. "Yeah, you should be, shouldn't you? You offended the crazy guy! WELL FUCK! Now he's gonna flip shit and start killing people! Call the fuckin' police! Call S.W.A.T! Get their asses in gear! They need a goddamn workout anyway."
"Hidan, calm down." Kakuzu said calmly, far too calmly. The bastard, sitting there throwing his judgements around and making those fucking comments.
'Hidan shut up, for the love of God get control of yourself!'
"You wanna know what you're dealing with?" Hidan said, rising from his chair and leaning forward onto the desk to glare as deep as he could into his boss's exotic eyes.
"You read the fucking file. What do you think you're dealing with? You're dealing with someone who doesn't fucking like being bullshitted. Don't you sit in that fucking chair and tell me to drop my false pretenses when you're going to try and pull this 'I suddenly care about you' bullshit."
The tanned man had leaned backward only slightly, expression unreadable as Hidan ranted. He was just going to let him go wasn't he? He wasn't going to try to stop him or shut him up.. no, he was going to sit there like some wise old motherfucker that knew all the mysteries of the universe, stareing at him, looking into his putrid, tainted fucking soul with those goddamed eyes. This only feuled him in his raving, and he leaned toward the old man further still.
"What you're dealing with, Doctor SATAN, is someone who has nothing to fucking lose, and nothing to gain. Someone who has no fucking interest in your life, or his own. I couldn't give less of a shit about ruining your stupid business. I couldn't give less of a shit about getting along with you. I don't care about this fucking job, I don't care about anything! I wish I could, but I just can't! I never have been able to! I don't fucking care!" His voice was rising in pitch now as he floated back further from himself, like he was watching his actions through someone else's eyes. "What you're dealing with is a guy that absolutly, undeniabley, does. not. give. a. SHIT! Someone who tends to go into defense mode when under sudden fucking stress and pressure without any goddamn warning at all. A psycho, a lunatic. A worthless fucking shitstain on society. Nothing to live for. Scared of death but constantly fucking pleading for it!"
He managed to force his eyes open wide as he yelled, hoping desperatley to convey to the man what was happening.
'You're done. It's over. Way to fucking go..."
The green and red staring back at him didn't seem to understand. Or if they did, they did, they gave absolutly no indication.
Hidan's body tensed, his knuckles gripped the edges of the desk, turning white as he dropped his head down. He wanted to scream, he wanted to start throwing things, he felt like he needed to vomit again, thankfully enough his stomache was completley drained from earlier. His head pounded inside his skull, pulsing beneath his skin, he could practically see his veins throbbing, though he knew it couldn't be real.
Well fuck. Here he went again... having a meltdown over absolutly nothing.
It was only a small one, campared to some of the others, but they all had the same effect.
It was frustrating, really, he didn't think he'd been under all that much stress. Not really. Perhaps at first he'd pushed himself, fallen into some trap by accepting the older man's non-existant challenge. But he had felt fine, perfectly in control.
It had to have been when his boss initially startled him just a few minutes ago that it started. Or maybe before that. Yeah, when he started feeling weird. He should have known right there and then. Should have listened to that stupid little warning. The small panic attack afterward had only overloaded his stupid broken mentalities, pushing him off the edge he was dangleing from. Damn it.
Even after all the therapy, after all the pills, after all the bullshit he'd gone through to learn how to recognize situations like this before they got to this point and prevent them... it was still going to happen.
Fucking rediculous, absolutley fucking rediculous.
Like every other time, the anger was suddenly washed away by a sudden overwhelming depression. He stared down before the desk, eyes still like saucers and taking in deep shakey breaths. Well, at least the part where he embarrassed the living fuck out of himself was over.
Now he had millions of thoughts racing through him, each and every one of them centered around his own death. Unexplainable desire to insure himself flooded through him. He craved cigarettes, alchohol, narcotics, anything to take it away. Anything to numb himself and hurt himself at the same time. Anything to stop these thoughts bussing in his head like a hornets nest. Plans to kill himself, visions of someone else ending his life, swallowing pills, blowing his head off, shooting up cocaine and leaping off a building. It didn't matter how it happened just as long as it happened. He was swept away with the visions, the little demons in his head gently chided him into their arms, holding him, smothering him, suffocating him...
"Hidan..."
He sucked in a sharp breath, having zoned completley out while lost in a sea of raging emotions.
"Are you finished?"
Slowly, he looked up at the man, his muscles relaxing now to the point where he felt as if his skin were hanging loosley off his bones. His boss was still sitting in the chair, studying him with a mixture of feigned boredom and vauge interest that Hidan wasn't exactly sure how to interpret.
He tried to make his thoughts align, tried to say something, but he couldn't. What was the point? Why had he even taken this job? He couldn't handle a job, he couldn't even handle himself. He might as well just quit right now. Just get up without another stupid fucking word and walk directly out into traffic.
He released the table and flopped back into his seat, unable to look into the older man's eyes anymore.
"You're dealing with a damn psycho..." He muttered, not realizing he'd said anything until the response came.
"That seems to be the case, yes." Dr. Hoku said to him, taking his turn to lean forward now.
Hidan looked back up at him, sighing deeply, and then ran a hand through his hair, sucessfully mussing it up. Clarity seemed to return to him, slowly. As slowly as possible.
The tanned man in front on him didn't move or break the silence. Only continued stareing.
Hidan, coming back to life now, looked around the room as if he only just now realized where he was. Kakuzu's office was... strangly nice, he noticed. The walls were a sandy sort of brown with dark chocolatey brown panneling on the lower portion of the walls. His many certificates and licenses and PHDs hung around the wall. The wall to the left of the desk was one giant ceiling to floor bookcase, stuffed absolutly full with novels.
Against the wall behind him were five large filing vabinets, looking like they were made of red-stained wood instead of the generic, ugly metal ones. His desk itself was straight black, no pictures were on it of any family, no nametag, only a steampunk-looking lamp, various office supplies, and a little stress-relief ball on the corner of his desk, held there by a thick rubber band.
"Shit... please tell me that didn't actually just fucking happen." he finally murmered.
"No, that actually just happened." Kakuzu said, not missing a beat. "So you probably know what's going to happen next, don't you?"
"Don't bother, I'll just fucking leave. Jesus christ that Uchiha is gonna kill me. Couldn't even make it one day."The albino said, burying his face in his hands.
"I hardley think that will be the case. That man has no other intentions than to help you."
"What the fuck do you know about it?" He snapped, anger rising for only a second before his expression returned to its previous crestfallen state. "No... I... I should just go."
"If you prefer that, you may. It's not going to help though."
Hidan stopped now, having risen from his seat and already halfway to the door. He turned around, ignoring the protesting of his head. The two stared at each other again, Hidan finally shifting awakrdly to break the eye-contact. "You don't want me to leave?"
"Oh no, I'd love that." Kakuzu somewhat growled. He cleared his throat though and recovered quickly. "But it's not going to help you."
"Tch, shut up grandpa, you don't give a shit about me."
"You're right again. I don't. I'm only pointing out the obvious, since you can't seem to see it."
"What the hell are you talking about you geriactric old fuck!" Hidan halfway yelled, throwing his hands up. Damn, he was already leaving, did the guy have to get in one more suckerpunch to his self-confidence or what?
"You and I both know that I cannot fire you under any precedences, putting on that pathetic little display does not weaken that, in fact it strengthens it, if anything. It shows that you truely cannot handle yourself in situations determined to be too stressful by your subconcious. So tell me, how will losing this job, going back to that boys house, and sulking all day help you?"
Hidan's face contorted further and further in anger as the man spoke. He opened his mouth not to tell the arrogant fucker off, but Kakuzu wasn't done yet.
"I see this as the perfect oppurtunity for you to fight this condition. You obviously don't like having it, you don't like being stereotyped by it, so get rid of it." He said, motioning for Hidan to sit down. "You kids these days, you're so damned weak. You give in to anything, drugs, sex, violence. The women I hired before you had more intelligence than you have in your little finger."
"You son of a bitch-"
"Shut up, You don't interrupt someone when they're talking, that's lesson one." The Doctor snapped. "I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to keep doing everything that Uchiha tells you to do when you're at home, and when you're here, you're going to do everything that I tell you. Because when you try to make decisions for yourself, you only set yourself up for failure. When you start making progress toward controlling this problem you have, you can start having more control over your life."
Hidan stared incredously at the man barking out orders like some boot camp sergeant.
"I don't care if you use your foul language around me or when having those little tea parties with yourself, but if I hear about you using it with my clients one more time I have no problem wringing your neck. I'm a doctor, I know how to avoid leaving bruises. Now, stop gawking at me, get your ass back up to that desk, and do what I'm paying you to do. I have a few things I need to do here, and then I will be up there to teach you a few more of your duties until the next patient arrives."
Hidan only raised a silver brow. " And what if I don't feel like doing your fucking slave labor?"
"Then you may leave. It's no concern to me whether you go rot in your friends house or not. I'm only providing you with an alternative."
Hidan's eyes absently scanned the room again as he thought about all this. Dr. Hoku was a dick, a complete ass. He didn't care for anyone except himself and his stupid clinic.
And yet he was trying to get the pale man to stay.
Why would he do that?
"What the hell did Itachi fucking say to you?" He said suspiciously. Surely this was that bastards handiwork. That scrawny shit had always been able to bend people to his will with nothing more than his words. His stupid psycho-babble-bullshit, he tricked people into thinking their decisions were their idea. It was the only reason he was so successful in his business.
He supposed in a way it was a perfectly legitimate way of solving problems. But it still seemed fucking shady.
"He informed me that you are not insane, and that I should give you the chance to prove it. Though all you've done so far is disgrace his belief in you. If I were in your shoes I would be looking for any way possible not to dissapoint the only person still fighting for you. But if you want to go ahead and walk out that door, then stop wasting my time and get out of my sight. I've far more important things to do than sit here and comfort you like a sniveling child."
"Fuck you, old man." Hidan snapped, jumping back up from the chair. Why was he even considering this? He was going to make this old man's life a living hell, he'd already come to that conclusion. This little episode didn't deterr that at all.
The fucker was right, he still couldn't fire him. And now that all the facts were out on the table, he had that much less to worry about. He didn't have to bother with scheming and keeping secrets.
"You've got a fucking deal." He said, smirking and holding out his hand.
His boss looked at this, then back up to him, face twisting in anger. "Then why are you still here!? Go, you insufferable brat! Or do I need to get you a bottle and a blankie first?"
Hidan retracted his hand in favor of slamming it on the table. "YOU WRINKLEY OLD SACK OF SHIT!Quit fucking ordering me around! I'm a grown-ass man!"
"You certianly don't act like it."
"OH YEAH! I'll fucking show you, you senile goddamn miser! I'll be the best goddamn secretary you've ever fucking had! You'll be worshipping the fucking ground I walk on!"
Kakuzu barked out a sarcastic laugh. "I'll believe it when I see it."
"GO FUCK YOURSELF!" He shouted as loud as he could, whirling around and storming from the room. He'd show that stupid shitter that he wasn't worthless, or a goddamn child in need of handouts. He didn't need that stupid fucker to let him keep his job, he was going to keep it and make it his bitch! That stupid, annoying, idiotic, old fart would apologize to him if it were the last fucking thing the codger ever did in his miserable old life.
-o-
The door slammed shut, leaving the small office quaking. Kakuzu rolled his eyes and shook his head, laying a hand over his mouth to hide his victorious grin.
That man was far easier to manipulate than any child he'd ever met. In fact, all the children of the world should be unanimously insulted to have him within their intelligence range.
He couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him when he realized how horribley wrong he'd first pegged Hidan. He had to admit, before that little fiasco, he'd thrown Doctor Hoku for a loop. He'd been wondering of the possiblity of Hidan being some sort of ex-military man for awhile there. As if that would ever happen.
This personality made so much more sense, somehow, and suited him better as well, if he said so himself. That was what had been wrong. It wasn't that the man was crazy or that it was a bad idea, it was that the wise old man had let himself be fooled. He should have known right away that there was far too much mischeif in those eyes for him to be the kind of person he acted. That was what his unreasonable anger had been trying to tell him. Why he was so frustrated.
And now the situation was in a win-win. Hidan wasn't pretending, and he was still going to work his ass off with some asenine hope that maybe Kakuzu would appreciate him. That wouldn't happen, obviously, but he'd let the kid believe it if it kept him out of trouble.
The only mystery left now is why he'd been so disinclined to just let him walk away. Though it seemed small, it was eating at him, a small fire burning away at the back of his mind. He'd never say it out loud, but the gall of that Uchiha brat had somewhat impressed him. It was no wonder Kisame never shut up about him. And somehow the boy had carved his own little niche in Kakuzu's very, very small list of people he respected.
That was the only conclusion he could come to as to why he could keep putting up with that headache of a man who was probably ranting to himself again up front. It was hard to find the kind of personality his roommate had these day, and if for whatever reason, he seemed to think Hidan worth the time and effort... Well, Kakuzu supposed he could at least see what the fuss was about. After all, he didn't want to be left out of a good deal, no matter the stakes.
No, he had no room for regret in his life. So, that was that.
He pushed the thought from his head and rose from his chair to get all the files that needed going over. Hidan would indeed earn his keep here, the doctor would squeeze every ounce of blood and sweat that he could from the boy until he gave up. That way he could still say he gave him a chance, and also get some use out of him as well.
And if it somehow helped Hidan, well... he wouldn't mind being thought of as a role model.
More people should be like him anyway.
It was all nothing more than child's play, really. It was fun to be bad, but maybe it wasn't so aweful to be good once in awhile.
A/N-
Oh look another chapter already. This one's short, it feels short and I know it's short and it's goddamn short alright! But that's okay, cause we finally got over that annoying first hump and now we can start making actual progress.
So, thank you anonymous everyone's for their reviews. I don't know what the hell is wrong but some people are still not able to post their feedback. Hopefully the problem is solved soon, I really don't wanna have to be 'that guy' and raise hell just to get it fixed.
I had a hell of a time with this chapter. I apologize if it's a little all over the place. But it needed to be done, in my opinion at least. Kakuzu wasn't the only one getting tired of all this fake bullshit.
Pinna*- That top ring part of your ear. Also called the cartilidge. Still don't understand, google it. That's what I did. xD
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review (if you can) and forgive typos and spelling/grammatical errors. See you next chapter!