Resurected

With a little bit of help from the immortal, the doctor who Hidan had enlisted to revive his old partner, drained the liquid from Kakuzu’s container and released the body from the tubes that bound it in place. The dead man fell to the floor with a sickening wet noise and Hidan wrinkled his nose in disgust. The doctor gave him a disapproving look. “Help me get it to the table.” The immortal snapped his violet eyes up to Dr. Yin in horror. “I thought you said that you have seen worse, now don’t just stand there, I can’t lift him on my own.” For added effect the doctor tugged at the limp arm of Hidan’s partner.

“Ugh, fine.” Hidan grumbled incoherently and grabbed the other arm, using brute strength to hoist the body up on his shoulder. He forced down bile as some of the liquid oozed out of the body and soaked through his shirt with a weird medicinal smell. “Gross! Why is he so fucked up!?”

“Carrion birds I would assume, insects, early onset rot brought on by heat and humid weather. The bodies stayed out in the open for several days as the Leaf Village took care of their own dead and treated their wounded.”

“What is this shit anyway?”

“The liquid you mean?” The doctor asked as he observed Hidan lay what was left of Kakuzu down on the empty table and rub the liquid around between his fingers. “In simple terms, it’s a type of preservative. Similar to a formaldehyde but my own special concoction that allows me to preserve the flesh and tissue of a body without destroying anything. It is very useful as I don’t always need fresh bodies to continue my research.” The immortal gave him a blank stare which morphed into a small pout.

“It smells and it’s soaking through my shirt…”

“Yes, well, I never told you to carry the body on your shoulder… In any case, we can begin whenever you are ready.”

“What do I gotta do?”

“I’ll need you to get the other table over there off of the floor and bring it next to the one with your friend on it. You will have the easy part, I will put you to sleep with a kind of anesthesia, while under you will begin to have lucid dreams. Now, this is important, especially because the body is near unrecognizable. I need you to think of any and all clear memories that you have of him, this will help to rebuild the layers of muscle, flesh, bone structure, and tissue in just the way it was before. The body itself will remember how it is supposed to feel but if you want him to look just as he did, you will need to create a kind of map that the body can follow. I’ll create the pathway between your memories and life force to the cells within his remains. Together that should be able to revive him.”

“A map? You know, not to sound sceptic, but this is…kind of…I don’t know…” Hidan trailed off.

“I would explain it to you in more technical terms though I doubt you would understand any of it, so why waste my breath and your time, correct?” The immortal ground his teeth together but stayed his hand from throttling the asshole as he still very much needed him. Not to mention, he was so close to reaching his goal, no need to ruin things just to satisfy his blood lust. “Now if you are ready, lay down next to your friend there and take off your shirt. Good, hold still, I’ll need to inject the anesthesia first, then I can set everything else up while you drift off.”

Hidan hopped up onto the table and took off his shirt as he was told before laying down awkwardly. The table was freezing cold and made his skin prick with goose pimples. Dr. Yin inspected the veins in the crook of the immortal’s elbows, satisfied that the pale skin let him find what he was looking for with ease. He pressed the needle down and broke through the skin, pumping the drug into Hidan’s body. “Perfect.” The doctor stated. “This should take effect any minute so remember what I told you. Think of him and only of him.” To that, a light blush broke out over Hidan’s face that he was sure Dr. Yin hadn’t missed. Of course, it was only because the way the doctor said those words made it sound like he had some sort of intimate relationship with his partner. He closed his eyes and huffed out a sigh of annoyance.

‘Focus,’ he told himself. The darkness behind his eyes slowly gave way to something else, to a cloudy overcast sky. A door once closed suddenly opened, flooding him with memories. He was faintly aware of the doctor flitting around him, but reality was fading into this strange new world of dreams where he could just make out the fuzzy outline of Kakuzu’s face. His partners mouth was moving but nothing seemed to come out.

“…an.”

“…idan.”

“Hidan!” His partners face came into focus. The man was standing over him in full garb and looking annoyed as usual. “Are you finished yet? Why must we do this every time?!”

“I told you, Jashin-“

“Doesn’t exist… Now let’s go.”

“That’s blasphemy! Why do you insist on insulting my god with that shit!”

“Hidan.” His voice was stern and dangerous. A clear sign that the man was done arguing.

“Damn atheist.” He mumbled and pulled out the long weapon that was digging into his heart. “I hope you go to hell.” Kakazu turned his back from him and began walking away, the world fading at the edges. Hidan wanted to shout out after the older man but had no control over himself in this dream that came from his memory. Before he knew what was happening, his body suddenly plunged into darkness and fell for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he landed in a dismal room that was not much more than four walls, a nightstand, and an old musty bed. Hidan heard the door to the bathroom open and peaked at the emerging man. Kakuzu was standing there staring at Hidan with those unusual and impenetrable eyes. His dark hair was still dripping from the shower and a towel hung loosely around his waist. The immortal felt his mouth go dry.

“Go shower. You smell…” Was the curt statement that escaped his stitched lips before he turned from him to inspect his case with the money from their last bounty. Hidan rolled his eyes.

“Later. I’m tired.”

“Now.”

“Ugh. I said later. And quit telling me what to do all the time, I’m not your damn kid!”

“I wouldn’t have to treat you like a child if you didn’t act like one. Now, I’m not going to tell you twice, go shower. I’ll not have to smell you all night.”

“Oi! You are the one who refuses to pay for two rooms.” Hidan mumbled turning his attention to the ceiling. “Or two beds for that matter.” He chanced a quick glance at the larger male who was glaring at him from across the room, patience clearly running thin. Hidan felt his heart pick up the pace. “Fine. Whatever. I’m going.” He rolled off of the bed and beelined for the bathroom so as to avoid the repercussions for his attitude. As he crossed the threshold, his foot sunk into darkness and he fell once more.

This time, when he opened his eyes, the sun was shining brightly through the green leaves of tall ancient oak. He was staring at the blue sky, strongly aware of the soft footsteps of his partner as they walked along a dirt road. Hidan lowered his gaze and fixed it on his partners broad shoulders. “Kaaaaakazuu,” he whined. “We’ve been out here for days and there is still no sign of this guy. Can’t we go back into town. I’m tired…. Eh? Kakuzu? Are you listening? OOOIIII!”

“Shut up.”

“But I’m tired.”

“Then get some rest.”

“Ch. Yea right, if I go to sleep out here, you’ll leave me.” The immortal mumbled with a pout on his lips.

“Hm.”

“Kaaakaz-“ Hidan was cut off by his partner who came to an abrupt stop and turned around with a frightening look on his face. “Let’s go back to town.” He finished quietly, refusing to back down. Kakuzu stormed up to him, wrapped his fingers around Hidan’s throat and shoved him back into a nearby tree. A large bruise would later form along his spine from the blunt force of the attack.

“You’re annoying.” The older man growled. “I can put up with your stupid ritual, the fact that you always have to cause scene everywhere we go, that obnoxious laugh of yours, and even the fact that you look like an idiot without a shirt on under your robe, but must you ALWAYS run that big mouth of yours!” Kakuzu pulled the immortal away from the tree and slammed him into it again for added effect. “You piss me off!” Hidan kicked his feet which were a few inches above the ground, nails digging into Kakuzu’s tanned skin, and fixed the man with the most defiant glare he could possibly muster. Kakuzu released him, sending Hidan to the ground wheezing and clutching his throat, then turned from him and continued walking.

“Bastard.”

“Come.” He stated plainly, anger diminishing. His partner took a few more steps but turned around when he didn’t hear footsteps falling in behind him. Hidan had gotten comfy against the tree, throwing his hands behind his head as a makeshift pillow, and closing his eyes to go to sleep. Kakuzu could leave him for all he cared, he refused to put up with being treated like that. Besides, he could always just make his way back to their base on his own and demand a new partner. Confident with this line of thinking, he smiled to himself. Suddenly, without warning, two strong hands grabbed him, and he was thrown over his partners shoulder, a small yelp slipping past his lips.

“H-Hey! What the fuck?! Put me down!”

“Quit squirming.” Hidan stilled for a moment and let his body go limp, a light pink blush adding a hint of color to his pale complexion.

“If you don't put me down, all the blood is gonna rush to my head.”

“If I put you down, you’re just going to complain about being tired.”

“I won’t.”

“Fine. But if I hear one more word out of you, I’ll kill you.” Kakuzu stated without any real venom in his tone. The man adjusted his hold on the immortal and let him slide down off of his shoulder. Their bodies rubbed against each other and Hidan felt his face get warmer. The moment his feet hit the dirt he sunk once more into darkness. ‘Of all the memories’ he thought to himself, ‘Why did I have to think of this.’

Hidan opened his eyes to a dimly lit room, his head pounding from the effort of simply waking up. He propped himself up on his elbows and took in his surroundings. Silently, the immortal searched his memory for a place like this but found none meaning that he must be awake now. Hidan forced his aching muscles into action, sitting up and swinging his legs off the edge of the bed. His body protested but he made himself stand anyway, using the nearby wall to support himself. Once outside of the door, everything began to come back to him as he made for the lab at the end of the hallway. The doctor. The body with the stitches on its chest suspended in bubbling liquid. The anesthetic. The dreams. Shit.

With weak trembling hands he pushed against the double doors and entered. The doctor was sitting at his desk examining something beneath a microscope, containers full of herbs and colored liquids littered the already cluttered work area. His head shot up immediately upon hearing the door creak open, face full of surprise. “You’re up!” He said. “And alive…incredible…”

“What happened?”

“Well, you died… Sort of. You were only gone for several minutes. You must imagine my surprise when your heart started to beat again.” Dr. Yin chuckled. “Though, as I initially feared, your body went into shock followed by a coma. I…I didn’t think you would wake up from it if I am honest.”

“Feel like shit.”

“Yes well, as I said a life requires a life and yours was completely drained. It is a miracle that we are even having this conversation. If feeling like shit is the worst of your problems, then you are fine.”

“Did it work?”

“Did what-Oh! Yes!”

“Really!?” Hidan didn’t try to mask his excitement. “How is he?”

“His body is still in a state of repair, though it's mostly complete. You were out for three days and this process usually takes anywhere from a week to several months. It just depends on the will of the other person to live. Also… there is something that I should warn you about. For him, time stopped. He won’t remember the last five years; it will be like waking up after being unconscious.”

“He'll be fine. The last five years has been a bit muddled for me too.”

“Right. Then on to other business. I noticed that his body was covered in stitches. Just so we are clear, that was not my doing.”

“No. The threads hold chakra; they are a part of him.”

“Then the cavities in his body…”

“Hold extra hearts.”

“Fascinating.”

“Can I see him?”

“Oh, yes, of course!!” The doctor smiled and led them over to the metal table where Hidan had seen the body last. It was now covered by a thin sheet of cloth that rose and fell as air filled his lungs. “Now, as I said, his cells are still trying to repair themselves so it may not be a pretty site.” Hidan nodded in affirmation. Carefully, Dr. Yin pulled the sheet down to the mans waist revealing a face both oddly disfigured but familiar to the immortal in the most comforting of ways. In some patches the skin was still sunken in or stretched too thin, the muscles and veins showing beneath it, but it was still him. Hidan bit his bottom lip roughly to stop any noise from leaving his mouth. Had he really missed that stupid face so much? He reached out with pale fingers and ghosts the skin above Kakuzu’s chest. Maybe he had. Maybe he missed the dark angry stares. The line that appeared between the man’s eyebrows whenever he was annoyed. His stern voice. The way he fought. The way he killed. His hands around the immortal’s throat when Hidan did something to piss him off more than usual. “Ahem.” The doctor was staring at him with an unreadable expression and Hidan went pink.

“How long until he is whole again?”

“He’s recovering fast. It all depends on him now.”