Hello all! Thanks for the great response to the last chapter. I'm glad that people are still sticking with me and I hope I don't disappoint you with this chapter. I felt that I need to address what's been happening with at least one of the two other Akatsuki characters that were the forefront of the second story. We'll get little snippets here and there after this one that explain more of what happened, but for now this is what I'll give you. Next chapter will go back to our favourite pair and you'll also see what happened to the final Akatsuki in our tale, plus you'll see Naruto and some others start to make appearances. Hopefully I did these characters justice, because it's been a while since I've written for one of them and the other I'm kind of winging it with.

The chapter's long, but I couldn't break it down any more - I didn't want to. Don't expect them to remain at consistent lengths, because I will only write what I feel needs to be written. Also, the next update will be in about a week, because I had forced everyone to wait so long and I felt evil for doing so.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I'd have made a killing off of the gaming merchandise alone. But I'm skint, so it's clearly not mine. I'm merely borrowing the characters - and the series - to completely alter the reality of everyone to suit my needs.

Chapter Three

Six Days Previously…

"Kakashi, I know that Sakura is grieving right now, but we still have to ascertain the level of threat that the Akatsuki could pose to us now with one former member in our custody and another one dead. Will they come after the village to retaliate? Will they come for their missing team member?"

Kakashi sighed and tore his gaze from the hospital room, where Sakura Haruno was staying to recover – both physically and mentally – from the battle the evening before. He understood what Tsunade wanted to know, but he didn't want to leave when he knew that Sakura was in no fit state to be alone. Naruto and all of her former class mates were doing everything they could to get her to talk and cheer up, but they didn't truly understand how she felt. On top of that, the elders – especially Danzou – were pushing to get her to talk about what had happened. They wanted as much information as they could get on everything that had occurred between Sakura and the Akatsuki members. So far, Tsunade had kept them away from her by telling them to question their 'captive', Deidara, but it was only a matter of time before even she had to relent and allow them to move onto Sakura.

So now, the Hokage was asking Kakashi to look into matters by leaving the village and going to the Sand village, where all of this really began. He could ask Gaara if they had any information, because they had held both Sasori and Deidara in their village for five days straight. All relevant Akatsuki intelligence had gone through Suna first and Konoha had yet to learn what they knew. It would take Kakashi six days to get to the Sand Village, learn what he could, and return to the Leaf. In that time, Danzou and his thugs could easily get what they wanted from Sakura, doing whatever they wanted to her in the process. Unless Tsunade stepped up and stopped them herself.

"If I go, Hokage-sama, you have to swear that nobody will bother Sakura until I get back. She's not ready to talk yet, obviously, and I doubt she'd even have anything useful that ANBU could use against the enemy."

Tsunade grimaced, for she knew that the copy-nin was right, as usual, "That's just what I told the elders, but they wouldn't listen. I'll see if I can get her to at least…write down what she can remember. It'll hold them off, I suppose. But Kakashi," here her eyes took on an amused glint, "if you ever dare try to make a deal with me again, I'll personally make sure you never see another one of those awful books you like so much. I'm the Hokage here, remember that."

Kakashi paled and held his hands up in surrender, "How could I ever forget that, Hokage-sama?"

"See that you don't." Her smirk faded and she looked at her pupil's room with a deep sadness etched into her features, "Don't worry about her so much, Kakashi. She'll be fine for a few days. Just get that information for us."

He nodded, "I will."

The Jonin turned to go, but a sudden thought crept into the forefront of his mind and he asked, "What should I tell them about Sasori?"

The Hokage blinked, unsure why it should matter so much, "Just tell them that he died. What more needs to be said?"

Kakashi raised his hand to rub the back of his head, already feeling like this trip of his was going to get complicated, "Well, there is his grandmother to consider. She'd want to know what happened, after all."

"Oh." Surprise flit across her face for a moment, not having expected that at all. After a beat she said, "Let her know what she wants to know, I suppose. Tell her we have his…remains, if she wishes to claim them. And tell her," here she sighed, revealing her true age for the briefest of moments, "tell her that we are sorry we couldn't save him."

"Of course."

Kakashi waved once, then 'poofed' out of the hospital corridor, reappearing in his apartment seconds later.

'Better stock up before I leave then.'

He grabbed a tool bag and placed a few dozen soldier pills into it, along with some spare kunai and exploding tags – should things get…tricky. He also filled a small backpack with sleeping gear, tinder and flint, and small food rations. Lastly, he grabbed six bottles of frozen water from his freezer, because he always found that ice lasted longer than water when he travelled. He had quirks, he'd admit that much.

He passed his eyes over his box room one more time, but his eye kept settling on his nightstand. There was a copy of his favourite 'Icha Icha' book sat on it, which naturally he would take with him, but in the top drawer was something else that had been weighing on his mind. He walked towards the small piece of furniture and lifted the book off, sliding that into his vest pocket to read later. After flicking his eyes over his room to check nobody was watching, Kakashi tugged open the drawer and pulled out the scroll he had hidden yesterday.

The scroll containing two very curious, important items: a peculiar scythe he had still not traced, and an Akatsuki robe. He was still no closer to identifying the owner of both objects, but perhaps if he took them with him he might discover who they belonged to, and why they were left behind. At the very least, taking them with him would ensure that nobody…snooping about would find them.

'I don't trust Danzou, or his people. One of them could easily search this place if they believed that it held anything they could use to get to Sakura.'

Kakashi just hoped that Tsunade could indeed get Danzou and the others to back off until he returned.

Kakashi Hatake overheard a commotion in the streets as he made his way out of Konoha, one that sounded like it involved Naruto. He didn't have time to break up one of the blonde's many fights, so he only hoped that someone mature could resolve the matter before more buildings were lost in the scuffle. For someone who claimed to want to be Hokage one day, he sure knew how to wreck and endanger lives that would one day fall under his care. Naruto would truly never grow up.

Once he entered the forest just outside the village boundaries, the Jonin took off at a sprint in order to make good time. He knew that he would need to pace himself, having made this journey many times over the years, but hopefully the pills he brought along would help keep his stamina and chakra up for long enough to cut the time down.

He passed the clearing that now sported an impressive crater and pushed on further through the trees. It was hard to believe that they had been so close to the village, yet it was not enough to protect anyone from the Akatsuki's evil. If he and Naruto had arrived a few minutes sooner, things might have been different. There was still no word on who the strange new Akatsuki member was. Kakashi had seen the other one in the bingo book before. He was Kakuzu, an alleged immortal who murdered their first Hokage, and who possessed powerful techniques from all of his victims. The copy ninja never did believe the rumours that this monster of a man couldn't be killed, for as far as he could tell: if something bled, it could die.

'And I know I saw him bleed before he took off with the other one.'

The sun was almost at its highest point, signalling that it was noon, when Kakashi felt a presence following him. Whoever they were, they were particularly stealthy, staying at least one hundred feet away from him and only making contact with the ground when they absolutely needed to. Yet, they weren't very graceful when they did touch the earth, because he could hear their shoes snapping twigs every-so-often. Not enough that an amateur ninja would notice, but Kakashi was no beginner at this game. His senses had always been above average, even before he received his Sharingan eye.

'Whoever they are, they're about to get a little surprise.'

The silver-haired Jonin made a quick sign and switched places with a stick a few yards away, briefly placing an illusion over it to make his pursuer think he was still on the move. Once his copy had moved onwards, Kakashi kept low behind a bush and waited until his stalker caught up. Sure enough, his tail didn't notice the switch, and from behind a tree leapt a man roughly the same height and build as the copy-nin was, but his hair was definitely grey instead of silver, and cropped closer to his head. There was a flash of light reflecting from something around the man's neck, which Kakashi noted was some kind of necklace, and the man carried a very sharp knife in his hand.

Not wanting the newcomer to get too far, Kakashi leapt from his cover and kicked the man out of the air, hitting him squarely in the jaw as he did so. The impact sent the knife-brandishing man tumbling towards the ground, thanks to the strength of the hit and gravity's own laws catching up with him. He hit with an almighty 'crunch' and the copy-nin briefly winced, because that must have hurt, and landed a few metres from his target, ready for whatever the man tried when he got up. For some reason, Kakashi could swear he'd seen this person before. The hair colour, more than anything, seemed to jump out at him, but he couldn't place why just yet.

The stranger pushed himself off the ground, cussing up a storm and clutching his jaw so tightly in place that for just a moment Kakashi thought he might be trying to keep it attached. The Jonin didn't think he'd hit him hard enough to do that, but you could never be sure with kicks to the face.

"You want to tell me why you've been following me now?"

"Who says I'm following you, asshole?!"

Apparently his jaw wasn't in quite as much pain as he'd been led to believe, for him to shout so loudly. Kakashi wasn't fooled by his poor attempt to deflect his question, though. He recalled where he'd seen this man before, now. It was in the clearing where the Akatsuki had been fighting Sakura, yesterday, but he'd only been able to catch a glimpse of his retreating back before he vanished. So he knew, without doubt, that this man standing in front of him was an Akatsuki member.

His stalker continued to rant about being 'unjustly assaulted', but the copy-nin wasn't even listening anymore. Instead, he scanned his foes' attire to get a more accurate picture of who he could be.

Aside from his shortly-cropped, grey hair that tapered just before his shoulders, the man had an unusual eye colour. They were purple, or perhaps…magenta? Either choice still made for a unique image. Not many people could say they'd met someone with colouring quite like this man's. The glint of metal Kakashi had spied earlier came from the pendant around his neck. It had an odd symbol attached to the chain, a sort of upside-down triangle in a circle. The jonin didn't know if it meant anything or not, but he'd definitely memorise it to research later. The man wore only the standard black trousers of a ninja, but his footwear was the same style as the other Akatsuki members. He also had green nail varnish on the tips of his fingers and toes – yet another piece of information that confirmed he was part of that group.

'It's not every day that I can prove someone's part of an evil organisation based on cosmetics. Why do they insist on members painting their nails? Is it some kind of initiation?'

He couldn't see anything that indicated which Hidden Village this man had defected from, but Kakashi decided that in the grand scheme of things, it hardly mattered. It probably wouldn't be too hard to fill in the blanks, because so far this guy appeared to be a far cry from your conventional ninja-type. If anything, Kakashi almost doubted that he was part of the nefarious organisation bent on world domination – or whatever they were after.

'He's an oddball, alright.'

It didn't look like the angry ranting was going to end in the near future, so Kakashi interrupted before the grey-haired man could continue his monologue, "I know you're an Akatsuki, so why don't you quit the act and tell me what you want with me."

The man bristled at the statement, as though what the silver-haired jonin had called him was an insult. He raised his razor-sharp knife and gestured towards Kakashi with it, "I'm not with those bastards. I just want my scythe back! So you can either give it to me and then walk away, or I can take it from your bleeding corpse after I offer you to Lord Jashin. It's your choice, asshole."

The manic glint in his magenta – 'definitely magenta' – eyes told Kakashi exactly which option the loud-mouth would prefer, so the copy-ninja opted for none of the above. With a flick of his wrist, Kakashi slipped a Kunai out of his tool pouch and hurled it at the other man. His foe easily parried the smaller knife with his more deadly looking weapon, but the jonin never intended to hit him. Instead, he substituted behind the grey-haired man and seized him in a choke-hold from behind.

The 'battle' ended before it even began and Kakashi simply waited for his opponent to fall unconscious when his oxygen ran out.

Except that he hadn't yet.

He was still squirming around, trying to break Kakashi's hold, and he didn't appear to be tiring at all.

'What's this guy's deal?'

Kakashi felt the man shift slightly, but the copy-nin released his hold and flipped backwards before the business end of that curved blade made contact with his flesh. The laid back jonin didn't doubt that that knife would leave very messy wounds behind.

The man turned around to face Kakashi, but any amusement that had been present on his face had vanished. "You think you can grab me and get away with it, you bastard?! I'll enjoy sending you to Lord Jashin now!"

'Great, he's back to raving like a madman again. And who's this Jashin he keeps talking about?'

Kakashi fully expected the incensed ninja to charge him, or at the very least use a technique of some sort – 'I'm starting to doubt that the Akatsuki ever had this one in their ranks.' – but to the silver-haired jonin's surprise he drove his blade into his left forearm. Deeply enough that blood began to drip at an alarming rate from the wound and collect in a steadily growing puddle on the forest floor. Next, he shifted so his left foot stepped into the blood and then he began to slide his foot along the floor, marking out a strange symbol in the process.

A symbol that matched up perfectly with the one around the man's neck.

'He is performing a technique, although it's not one I've ever seen or heard of before. Whatever he's doing, I can't let him continue. I need him alive to question him, but I also don't want to delay any longer than necessary.'

Kakashi raised his left hand and uncovered his Sharingan eye, sensing that he'd need full use of his vision to deal with this particular person quickly, and carefully. There was one jutsu that the jonin could use to swing the situation into his favour and hopefully debilitate his opponent, so he raised his arms and cast it, "Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Within seconds the surrounding forest became enshrouded in a thick blanket of mist, completely obscuring both ninjas – and everything else – from sight. Kakashi realised that his eyes would be useless now, but so would the other man's eyes. However, being a skilled ninja from the Leaf village, Kakashi had perfected relying on his other main senses when his eyes would be unnecessary. He wasn't a genuine blood hound like members of the Inuzuka clan, but he could listen and smell better than most other people. Following the sickly sweet stench of blood was particularly easy for someone with Kakashi Hatake's skill set.

So he could tell immediately that the other ninja had moved further into the trees – probably an accident because he suspected this man wasn't as bright as an S-Class ninja ought to be. Sure enough, muttered curses started to drift out of the dense foliage, followed by definite sounds of someone tripping and falling – often.

'This guy's really…odd.'

He glanced back to where the aroma of copper was strongest – the painted glyph on the floor – and silently moved closer to that spot. He had a couple more minutes before the jutsu dispelled in order to erase the mark, thereby hopefully ceasing his enemy's plan of attack. This was all based on the assumption that what his foe had done would hurt him, because so far Kakashi had no way of knowing whether the man was crazy or secretly very powerful.

Probably more of the former than the latter, but he wasn't willing to take any chances.

Luckily, the area was close by and Kakashi gave the symbol a quick glance with his Sharingan eye to record for later – the mist was starting to fade, making this task both relatively simpler, but also forcing Kakashi to want a little more haste. Then he kicked dirt over the closest point of the circle, and smudged it thoroughly until it was no longer connected to the rest of it. Task completed, the silver-haired jonin focussed his full attention on the irate man who was still stumbling about in the trees.

'I almost feel sorry for him. Well, time to end this and get some answers. I need to get to Suna quickly.'

Keeping to the thicker areas of mist, Kakashi crept up to the spot where he could hear his enemy grumbling and complaining. He removed from his tool pouch a single senbon needle, coated in a sleeping agent, a useful item that he'd never bothered to test before – the need just hadn't arose for it until now. Just behind the next tree, Kakashi could see the blurry outline of the man's shoulders. Before the mist could fade, Kakashi flicked the needle at the man's throat, where it embedded itself snugly into his skin. The effect was immediate – which surprised Kakashi, because he was a little worried that this man might be immune to sleeping drugs – and the man slumped forwards and crashed onto the ground before he could even raise his hand to remove the needle.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Kakashi approached the now unconscious man who became clearer now that the jutsu was finished. A light snoring emitted from the man's mouth and the copy-ninja smirked at how unprofessional that was for a ninja. Even though practically everything this man had done and said screamed amateur.

'I'll just tie him up and then when he wakes, I'll get the truth from him.'

One hour later…

Hidan awoke to a painful pinching around his arms, torso and legs. He recognised the feeling – he'd been tied up. His back was aching and something rough was scraping his skin whenever he breathed or twitched too much. So, he was tied to a tree. Great.

'Where's the bastard that did this to me? I'll make him regret ever kicking me in the face!'

He blinked his eyes open slowly, aware that his senses were still a little groggy after whatever it was that had drugged him. It had to be something pretty powerful, because his tolerance to all things medicinal had improved thanks to his faith in Jashinism. Around him was the same forest and dirt road that he'd been in when that silver-haired 'poser' had ambushed him. Clearly, Hidan was slipping if he had allowed some nobody to fool him so easily. Next time, he would just have to kill first and talk later. Less chances of being tied up that way.

"Ah, you're awake at last. I was beginning to wonder if I'd killed you by mistake. I don't use sleeping senbon very often," spoke a calm, bored voice from just to Hidan's right. He turned his head and saw the smug Leaf ninja calmly leant against a tree and reading one of those dirty books that all the other members found so interesting.

'Especially that fish-freak.'

The man closed the book and placed it in a pocket on his vest, before pushing off of the tree and striding slowly towards Hidan's location. He stopped a foot from him and the air of calm disappeared, leaving a stern and authoritative person behind. He reached behind his back and removed a small backpack, placing it on the forest floor and rifling through it. Hidan shifted nervously, wondering if this was going to be the start of a very messy torturing session – he could maim himself just fine, but other people doing it was another thing altogether. Instead of some new kind of drug or interrogation device, the man withdrew a rolled up scroll and set it carefully on the floor between them.

"Is this supposed to scare me? I enjoy pain so give it your best shot!"

He wasn't being completely honest, he might be a little concerned, but he had to save face.

'No floppy-haired bastard is gonna intimidate me!'

"It's not meant to scare you at all, actually. You see," here he unrolled the scroll, revealing two seals – one indicating 'weapon', the other 'clothing'. He performed a simple seal with his hands and the seals unlocked in a 'poof!' of smoke. Surprise lit up Hidan's face when he gazed upon his scythe once more, but annoyance took root firmly when he also saw that his Akatsuki cloak had appeared too. The man quirked a brow at both reactions, causing Hidan to mentally curse his stupidity for falling into his trap, then his voice turned smug when he said, "Ah, so they are yours after all. I thought as much, but now you've proven to me that my hunch was correct."

The Jashinist glared and shook his head in denial, "I proved nothing, asshole. I have no idea what these things are. Now fuck off."

"Sorry, but I don't buy it. So, shall we start again? Who are you?" Even without the Sharingan eye present, Hidan swore that this man was boring holes into his mind with his single onyx eye.

'Just like that Uchiha bastard back with the others!'

"Like I'm gonna tell you anything, dickhead."

A frustrated sigh passed the man's lips, but he persevered and pushed onwards with his questions, "At least explain to me why you left these behind after the battle yesterday. Were you fighting with those other two Akatsuki, or against them?"

'Deny, deny, deny.'

"I don't know what you're talking about. I wasn't at any battle and I don't know what an Akatsuki is. So untie my ropes and I might forget I ever saw you, asshole."

"Look, we both know you're lying here. So just be honest with me. I don't have all day."

Apparently, this guy was stubborn. So was Hidan, though.

He didn't even bother speaking this time, he just kept his lips tightly shut and averted his eyes to the side, knowing that with dojutsus – especially the Sharingan – eye-contact was key to manipulate people. And he definitely didn't want to fall under any illusions today, no thank you.

Strangely enough, the man didn't bother to use his Sharingan. Instead, he opted to continue talking to Hidan, which would normally have continued to fail, except for when he said, "Just tell me what your association is with Sakura Haruno, and I'll let you go after that, alright?"

Hidan resisted, really he did, but secretly he felt a little guilty for leaving the girl he owed behind yesterday. Sure, he'd gotten her to her village in one piece – physically – but she had needed much better help when Kakuzu and that other one had arrived and he probably should have done more. He was just more interested in saving his own ass before anybody else's, so the weirdo puppet freak had paid the price and the pink-haired girl had looked devastated afterwards. Hidan had only stuck around long enough to see her break down in tears, but then the Leaf ninja had started filling the area and he didn't want to be trussed up like a test subject if they got their grubby paws on him.

So he'd dumped his heavier things – the scythe and the cloak although he'd wanted his scythe immediately afterwards, hence he had watched this guy and followed him – and took off before he could be spotted. Or so he had assumed.

This man knew that pink-haired girl and because he was from her village, he couldn't be an enemy of hers. So maybe, Hidan could answer his questions, just a few. He still owed her – in his mind, anyway.

"Fine, you wanna know so badly, I'll tell you," he kept his eyes on the hedges to his right, but he could tell he had the silver-haired Leaf nin's complete attention, "I owed her a favour, so I helped her get home. I wouldn't hurt her, if that's what you're worried about. Now are you gonna untie me so I can go, or what?"

A pause, then, "You're an Akatsuki, though, aren't you?"

"Hey, you said I didn't have to answer anything else, you rat bastard! Untie me, like we agreed."

He accidentally looked back at the other ninja to fix him with his hardest glare, but he was a little put off to see genuine confusion written in the man's expression – as much as could be gleaned from an eye and the subsequent brow it was paired with. Something Hidan had said baffled the stranger.

"I'm just trying to understand why someone from that group would actually carry a shred of honour or compassion for a complete stranger, that's all. It must have been one heck of a favour you owed her…"

"It wasn't that much…she just treated me like a person. It's no big deal…And hey! I'm not an Akatsuki, so stop saying I am!"

The man's eye crinkled a little, like he found something amusing from that, "I'd say it is a pretty big deal, for you," his visible eye drifted down to the Akatsuki cloak, "So, you were an Akatsuki, but you're not anymore?"

"That's damn right!" The crinkle grew to a true squint and this time Hidan was sure he was smiling. "Hey wait, you tricked me!"

"No I didn't. I think you wanted to tell me, but you just needed a little push first. So, you're not my enemy anymore, right? I'll untie the ropes, give you back your weapon, but you have to swear not to attack me. Deal?" Hidan eagerly nodded his head, even as he mentally crossed his fingers to void the agreement. "Oh, and one other thing before I do untie you. Sakura was my student and she's a good friend of mine. If you lied to me, I'll find out."

Hidan grumbled in annoyance, knowing he couldn't just gut this guy when he was free after all, "I didn't lie. I still owe Pinky, so I won't…damnit…I won't attack you."

"That's all I needed to know," the other man slid a kunai from his pouch and made a simple cut along one of the ropes, loosening the ones around his torso. He mimicked the action for Hidan's hands and legs, then handed the Jashinist his three-bladed scythe, "This belongs to you. I wouldn't have had a use for it anyway. It's too clunky and easy to spot. I'm Kakashi Hatake, by the way."

Hidan's fingers grasped the handle of his trusty weapon and he used it to lever himself from the ground, his legs a little unsure after being stuck in one uncomfortable position for so long. His blood lust itched to maim this man, make him pay for humiliating him. Lord Jashin would have liked the offering too, he was sure, but the simple act of trust he'd placed in Hidan made him pause and reconsider. If he killed him, he'd probably regret it later. Maybe. Besides, the guy knew Sakura and Hidan didn't want to disappoint her any more than he already had. Murdering someone close to her might just do that.

It was then that he back-tracked and realised what his former foe had called himself, "Wait, the copy-ninja?! Kakuzu always went on and on about the bounty on your head, the bastard. No wonder you got me so fast, you have all those techniques you stole."

Kakashi looked visibly offended, "I didn't steal anything. I merely copied them to be used in better ways. I take it Kakuzu was your partner in the Akatsuki, before?"

"Sure, whatever you say," Hidan strapped his scythe to his back again with the cord that was attached to the haft of the weapon, "And yeah, Kakuzu and me worked together for a while. I guess it's because he was the only person I wasn't able to kill if he pissed me off. Which he did, a lot. I swore that one day I'd find a way to kill him, though. I couldn't stand his obsession with money and…things. That whole group were too greedy, I had to get out. Sure, they let me kill people, but I didn't give a shit about their goals or plans. Bored the crap out of me anyways."

"Huh. Well that's certainly…interesting. So, what should I call you?"

Hidan barely even realised that he'd been ranting about possible secrets, because at this point it was just nice to vent about something he'd kept bottled up for so long. He couldn't stand any of the cloying, obsessive mission crap they always spouted when he had to go to meetings. He didn't care about the Akatsuki's ideals. He only agreed to join because they'd look the other way when he sacrificed people to his God. Now that he'd finally left them behind, speaking his mind was strangely freeing.

"Hidan, my name's Hidan."

"Well, it's been good having this talk, Hidan, but now that I've solved one mystery, I need to be on my way. I'm sure you realise that you can't wander off into Konoha and start murdering anyone, right? I'll let you go, just not so you can wreak havoc on my village."

Kakashi finally packed the rest of his belongings away, although he left the Akatsuki cloak to one side, and then he slung his pack back over his shoulders, ready to get going on the open road again. Hidan glanced at the cloak, resenting it the longer he looked at it, but he knew that without it he'd probably freeze from the cold – even though logically he couldn't be killed like that – so he lifted it from the ground and looped his arms through the sleeves. He didn't bother fastening the front, but he repositioned his scythe so it fit through the hole he'd added in the back when he first wore it. Then he opened his mouth without thinking about what he was saying, "Mind if I tag along? It's not like I have anything better to do."

Kakashi's footsteps faltered before he'd gotten more than a couple of feet away from the Jashinist, but he recovered his cool and calmly replied, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Awww come on! I'm bored and at least this way I have someone to take the piss out of when I want to."

"You know that won't convince me to change my mind, right?"

"Well, wouldn't you rather I was near you so I don't go 'killing innocent people'? This way, you can watch me, and I can get some fun out of it."

Hidan couldn't explain why he was so eager for the Leaf ninja to agree, but he wouldn't deny that any company right now would be better than nothing. Talking to yourself wasn't as fun as talking to someone else, after all. And he'd be lying if he didn't want to find out how Sakura was doing after the battle yesterday.

"Fine, you can come with me. But when we get to Suna, wait outside until I'm done. I don't want people to think the Akatsuki are attacking again."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Inside however, he was dreading going back to the Sand village. Just the thought of desert again made his feet itch and his head hurt.

Present day…

Kakashi slipped away from the hospital room when it looked like everything would be alright – 'I didn't see that coming, that's for sure. I hope Sakura doesn't punch him for kissing her without permission first.' He followed the hallway back towards the main hospital and pushed through the doors that would take him to the other secure ward, Ward One. This place wasn't as guarded as the other one, and Kakashi didn't have to worry about there being a seal in place when he stopped at door number 27. He nodded briefly to the one ANBU guard stationed, then pushed the door open to enter a small, windowless room. The sole occupant of the room was heavily sedated and hooked up to one heart monitor, lying completely still - aside from the steady breathing - on the bed.

The elders had felt that this man couldn't be trusted to wander the streets and he certainly wasn't trusted to be left in the normal prison either. So, they'd dragged him to the hospital in secret and quickly applied the drugs to his system, not wanting him to get up and go anytime soon. They didn't need to interrogate him for information, because he had freely told Kakashi everything he knew days ago – none of it relevant or new. The elders planned, at a later date and once they had coerced Tsunade into agreeing, to have this man dissected and tested to discover just what made him immortal.

Kakashi, however, was not going to let them do that now. Tsunade had given her approval for Kakashi to get him out of here, on the condition that he not set foot back in Konoha again. Now that one crisis had been dealt with, the copy-nin felt he could fully commit to freeing this man.

Because he owed Hidan a debt and he would make good on repaying it.