Resurected

Kakuzu sat up slowly and ran his hand over his face. He felt physically exhausted, like he had slept for days. Somewhere, as if in a dream, he could have sworn that he heard Hidan calling out to him from far away. Yet as he studied his surroundings the immortal was nowhere to be seen. The shinobi closed his eyes and tried to recall how he ended up here or where here even was but all he found was murky memories that faded in and out of his mind. There was something else, too. Vaguely, and very vaguely at that, he thought he remembered dying. An impossibility due to the sole fact that he was very much alive. Absentmindedly, he brushed a hand over his chest and sighed when he only felt one heart beating below the surface. ‘What the hell happened,’ he wondered, ripping the sheet off of his body and swinging his legs over the edge of the metal table.

The ground was freezing below his feet and walking felt strange, so much so that he must have looked like a clumsy drunk as he wobbled over to the large containers that lined the room. He stared at the deformed bodies that floated within and silently questioned what he was seeing. When no answers came to him, he moved away stooping down to pick up a handful of papers off of the ground. They were covered in illegible writing and scribbled formulas. Kakuzu placed them on the desk at the center of the room and scanned the tubes of dark liquid, the containers of herbs, the shells of insects, and all other manner of debris that littered its surface. If he had heard the doctor approach, the man made no notice of it whatsoever, continuing his search. “You’re awake...” The doctor said at last. Kakuzu glanced up with dark menacing eyes but didn’t appear to be startled. “Now, now. No need for that.”

“What is this.”

“This is my laboratory and I am Dr. Xian Yin, not that you asked.”

“Hmm.”

“How do you feel?” Kakuzu eyed the man suspiciously and for a moment Dr. Yin was worried that something had gone wrong during the reanimation process.

“Tired.” He respond after a few seconds of silence. The doctor breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yes, well you were dead for a fairly long time.”

“Dead?”

“Yes.” The doctor paused and waited but continued when the silence became awkward. He was realizing that unlike the chatty immortal, his partner was a man of few words. “I brought you back to life.”

“Oh, and why would you do that?”

“Per the request of a certain foul-mouthed immortal.” Kakuzu felt his heart pick up the pace. So he was alive after all.

“Where is he?”

“Sitting in my make sift kitchen. I was getting tired of listening to him whine so here I am, though I suppose I came at the perfect time… Would like me to let him know that you’re up?”

“No. I want you to take me to him.”

“You really shouldn’t be walking around. Your body is still in a state o-“

“Now.” Growled the shinobi, his eyes dark and unwavering. The doctor swallowed and nodded. Without another word he guided them out of the double doors and down the corridor. As they walked in silence, Dr. Yin couldn’t help but wonder why Hidan would want to raise this monster up from the dead. The man was clearly the complete opposite of the immortal who seemed laid back, loud, a bit rude, talkative, and even cheery. Not to say that the doctor had illusioned himself that Hidan was somehow innocent, the man was a killer through and through, but Dr. Yin had taken his fair share of life so who was he to judge. Regardless, the man following behind him seemed to have none of those things that he attributed to the immortal. Cruel and calculating. That is how he would describe the man whom he knew nothing about, based on those piercing eyes alone.

As quietly as they had left the lab, they entered the kitchen which consisted of a table (upon which even more junk lie scattered about), a gas burner, a sink, and a set of four chairs. Hidan sat at the table with his back turned to the two that just entered, etching the symbol of his god into its wooden surface with a kunai. The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, momentarily forgetting the presence of the man next to him. “I thought I told you to quit doing that!” He exclaimed, to which the immortal leaned his head back over the top of the chair so as to look at the doctor upside down and suck his tongue out. Suddenly his eyes went wide. Noticing Kakuzu for the first time. The older man stood there staring at Hidan in turn, taking in the calming familiarity of those deep violet eyes. His hair was longer than Kakuzu remembered and he restrained the desire to reach out and touch it. The immortal practically leapt from the chair sending it crashing to the ground.

“Kakuzu! Y-You’re awake! It’s been fucking days!” Hidan smiled ear to ear, pleased with himself for his (and the doctor’s) achievement. He took several large strides until the two stood toe to toe and threw his arms around the taller man’s neck. Kakuzu stood there silently, not reciprocating but not pushing him away either. He chocked it up to being tired and he was sure Hidan was just caught up in the excitement. After a few awkward seconds, the immortal loosened his grip and backed away, the wide smile never fading from his lips.

“I shall leave you to it then.” The doctor stated and made his way to the door. Before leaving he turned around and fixed Hidan with a serious look. “Hidan. I will be in my lab if anything happens. His body is still processing so he should rest as soon as you are done talking.” The immortal nodded and watched Dr. Yin disappear around the corner before looking back up to meet the eyes that had never left his, even for a moment.

“What happened after that shadow brat ran off with you?” Kakuzu watched as Hidan’s smile faltered at the suddenness of the question but the immortal answered anyway.

“It was a trap. I got blown to bits and buried in a fucking hole.”

“For how long?”

“Five years.” Hidan lowered his gaze to the floor, looking genuinely uncomfortable. Kakuzu sighed. He wouldn’t get much more out of the immortal than that, even if he pressured him.

“Ok. So then how did you end up here?”

“Long story.” He said with a shrug.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why bring me back?” Kakuzu asked. An easy question that Hidan had no honest answer for it.

“Because you’re my partner.”

“Don’t give me that. Our organization is long gone.”

“Awe, common! We can still be partners, right?” Hidan smiled nervously but seeing the seriousness in Kakuzu’s face quickly sobered. “I left you during that fight with the Leaf Village assholes. It was my fault that you died, sort of.”

“Like you have ever cared about someone dying.”

“Well, yea, but…”

“But.”

“But you’re different.” He said with an annoyed huff. Ears burning just slightly out of embarrassment. Why was the asshole pushing him anyway.

“Hidan.” Came the stern demanding voice of his partner. The sound of it sending shivers down the immortal’s spine.

“I don’t know, ok? Why the hell are you pushing me about this. In fact, you should be thanking me you asshole.”

“I don’t recall asking you to do this so don’t expect a thank you.” Despite the changes to Hidan’s body brought on by five long years of malnourishment and the added inches of long silver locks, the defiance in his eyes had stayed the same, if not intensified. It was the same look that always ended with Hidan getting his ass kicked. The same look that made the older mans blood rush to all the wrong places. It drove him crazy. “We can pick this conversation up tomorrow. I’m tired.”

“Ch. Whatever. I’ll ask the doctor to get a room ready for you.”

“No.” Hidan whirled around ready to scream at his partner for being annoying but Kakuzu continued in a flat monotone voice. “We will stay in the same room as always.” The immortal sighed, suddenly questioning whether or not bringing this asshole back to life was worth it.

“Fine."

Sometime later, Hidan sighed to himself in the darkness. The small room which he had been staying in seemed even smaller with the body of his partner breathing evenly beside him in the twin sized bed. They had slept like this before, countless times in fact, with their backs brushing as they tried to fit onto a bed meant for one. Yet tonight, the immortal felt restless, the presence of the other man seemed to be so much stronger than it ever had before. Not to say it didn’t trouble him at the start of their partnership either. The first time Kakuzu got them a room with a single bed ended in a huge fight. For months, Hidan would sleep outside or on the floor until he got fed up with it and joined the older man in the comforts of a mattress. Though now, it was less about being disgusted and more about not being able to focus on anything else.

Hidan rolled over carefully and watched Kakuzu’s broad shoulders rise and fall. Carefully, so as not to wake the man, the immortal slipped a hand in front of his partners lips and felt the warm breath wash over his skin. His heart pounded beneath his chest and he pouted. Even before tonight, before they thought they were going to die during the fight with those damned leaf villagers, when they would roam from town to town collecting bounties and doing missions for the Akatsuki, he was always like this around Kakuzu. And if nothing else in the whole world scared him, this did. Hidan turned and faced the other wall before falling into an uneasy sleep.

Kakuzu woke up to the dingy forest green walls of the tiny room. The memories of the previous day with all its surprises laid heavily on his mind. Quietly, he turned to face the immortal who was still snoring softly in his sleep. He couldn’t deny that he felt the smallest amount of guilt towards his partner. While Hidan had been buried alive for the last five years with nothing to stop his mind from breaking, Kakuzu couldn’t remember a damn thing. One moment he was fighting and the next he was waking up as if from a deep sleep, like nothing had ever happened. He gently brought a hand up to brush several grey strands away from Hidan’s pale face. Something about the man always made him feel uneasy. The possibility that he could care for anything other than money upset him and yet there he was, ghosting his fingers over the supple flesh of Hidan’s lips almost tenderly. He sighed, annoyed at himself and sat up, the sudden movement waking his partner.

“w’s wrong.” He grumbled as Kakuzu turned to face him with those unusual menacing eyes.

“Get up. I’d like to leave soon.” At that the immortal abruptly sat up, a big sleepy smile on his lips.

“Thank Jashin! I haven’t done my ritual in days!!”

“Do you have anything I can change into?” The older man asked, standing and pulling on the long linen pants for added effect.

“Oh, yea!” Hidan stood up gingerly and walked over to the desk against the wall where his backpack was sitting. He reached inside and pulled out a sack that he tossed into his partners hands.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.” The immortal beamed. Kakuzu reached inside and pulled out a fresh pair of black pants, a turtleneck, and a mask similar to the ones that he used to wear. “Figured you’d want that…Oh! Got you somthin else, too! You’re gonna love it!” Hidan reached back in his bag as Kakuzu watched him curiously. “Ah, got it!” He turned around with a stack of papers that he handed to his partner. The older man glanced down at them and leafed through their edges, his expression unreadable. Finally he looked up and met the immortal’s eyes.

“Bounties?”

“Yea, ya know, to make money and stuff.”

“Hmm.” Hidan walked up into Kakuzu’s personal space and started to flip through the stack of papers. When he finally found the one he wanted, he pulled it out and laid it down on the rest that were still in the older man’s hands. He poked it with his finger.

“I thought we could start here. Out of all of these, his bounty is the largest, which means that not only will we make a fuck-ton of money, but also he’s strong and sense you need hearts, that works out perfectly for us.”

“Where did you get all these?”

“The land of Fire.” He said glancing up and realizing just how close they were. The immortal took as small step back to which Kakuzu stepped into, keeping the distance between them minimal. He raised his hand up and put it on top of Hidan’s head.

“Good work.” He stated with the hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips. His partner flushed a deep crimson, smacked the hand off of his head, and backed away. Kakuzu couldn’t help but laugh at Hidan who was too flustered to come up with a retort. “Get ready. We’ll leave in an hour.”