Resurected

The act of breathing seemed unfamiliar to the immortal as he forced his lungs to take in air like a fish out of water. Kakuzu had half dragged/ half carried him back to their hotel after his little episode and was glaring at him from across the room. Out of slight embarrassment, Hidan refused to meet those terrible beautiful eyes; simply trying to register what was happening to himself. He was having a panic attack and while that may have seemed like a normal ailment for a normal person, it was a foreign concept for him. Kakuzu apparently felt the same way as he looked at his partner like he didn’t recognize the person sitting in front of him. Hidan wanted to reach out and wrap himself in the strong tanned arms of his partner but refrained, gripping at the mattress instead.

“Hidan. Talk.”

“Ok. Ok. Give me a minute. Shit.”

“You said that a minute ago. Who was that man?”

“My…My brother.” He let his ruby-violet eyes flicker up to his partners before casting them back to the red carpet.

“Yes Hidan. I got that part.”

“Then why the fuck did you ask!?”

“Didn’t think you had a family…You never talk about it.”

“What the hell?! Do you think I just spawned out of nowhere?”

“I suppose you are strange enough for that.” Hidan tried to hide his smirk behind a pale hand. Funny how even the man’s insults could make him feel lighter. He glanced up and couldn’t help but notice that Kakuzu was smirking too. The older shinobi moved to sit next to Hidan on the bed, smile fading. “Why did seeing your brother warrant such behavior.” Hidan removed his hand from his face and looked Kakuzu in the eyes. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something but closed it immediately and glanced away; fingers anxiously tugging at a stray sting that he had pulled off of his shirt.

“I don’t remember…”

“Hidan…”

“I can’t!” Hidan snapped. He fixed his partner with panicked eyes. “Please…” The older man felt himself starting to get annoyed. The immortal could kill a man with a smile, but he couldn’t tell him what was going on. He ground his teeth together. It was unnerving to see Hidan look so terrified.

“Fine. Forget it. We need to get to the registry office.”

“Huh?”

“We wasted enough time here so if you are feeling better then we need to get back to what we came here for.”

“But…”

“The sooner we find our target, the sooner we can leave this place.”

“N-No. Hell no!! I’m not going back out there!”

“Then stay.” Kakuzu growled. “But I’m going.” He stood and tried to ignore those pleading eyes as he stormed across the room and slammed the door behind him. Hidan stared at the door in astonishment then bit his lip hard. Blood trickled down his chin and he reached up to wiped it off violently. The immortal felt torn, he wanted to run until his legs couldn’t carry him anymore, but he also didn’t want to leave his partner. Though in the end, all that mattered was that he wasn’t taken back there to that place that he had escaped so many times before. A thought suddenly shot through his mind. What would Kakuzu do if he really were taken? Clearly the man didn’t care, or he wouldn’t have left him there after everything that just happened. So, Kakuzu wouldn’t protect him. Hidan let a bitter laugh slip past his lips. A foreign feeling pierced his heart. It hurt. Worse than the sacrificial metal stakes he used during his rituals, worse than being beheaded, worse than being buried alive. Hidan got to his feet and began gathering his stuff. ‘Fuck that old man, I never should have brought him back to life,’ he thought to himself angerly.

Kakuzu marched through the crowded streets with quick fiery strides. If he were being honest, he had no idea why he was angry. Hidan just seemed to have that ability. The man could be a thousand miles away and still find a way to piss his partner off. Though this time he was pissed for something completely trivial. Why wouldn’t Hidan just tell him what was going on? Most importantly though, why did that bother him? If it was so serious that that psychopath actually felt fear, then what was it? The sky above him was heavy with rain clouds. Kakuzu slowed his pace until he had come to a complete stop. People moved around him like a river current glides around stone. He glanced down at his hands, still able to feel his partner trembling beneath them. Hidan was shaking and Kakuzu wasn’t the cause. A memory pushed it's way into the forefront of his mind.

It was their first real argument after they had become partners. He couldn’t even remember what started the whole thing, though he could guess it had something to do with Hidan running that loudmouth of his. Kakuzu had turned around and found himself a little taken aback at the defiance burning behind wine-colored eyes and the challenging smile painted on pale lips. Every other partner Kakuzu had had was either dead too quickly or too terrified of him to give him a look like that, but Hidan was different. He could be struck hundreds of times, unable to stand, bones crushed, blood flowing, bruised, cut, sown back together and torn apart all over again, without ever losing that “come and get me if you can” grin. It was maddening. Yet somehow, somehow, this time Hidan was sincerely afraid and it wasn’t Kakuzu’s doing. The thought angered him beyond measure. Hidan was his. He had been since the first day they met. His to torture. His to kill. His to abuse, to touch, to kiss, to fuck. Kakuzu shuttered as his mind took him farther than he wanted to go.

By the time he reached the registry office he was soaked from the afternoon downpour and seething. To make matters worse, their records were completely useless. The document’s they had on Takuma Naru were little to none. Yes, his birth was recorded there in their files, as was a couple of offences against the village, but nothing that could place him in any one location. The only lead he was able to get his hands on was the whereabouts of a partner who their target had lost contact with years back. If there was any chance that someone may know Naru’s location, it would most likely be that man. Kakuzu was about to leave when something suddenly occurred to him. He loosened his grip on the metal handle on the door and turned around to the old lady behind the desk. “Actually, there is one other person I am interested in.”

“As long as they come from Yugakure, we got records on them. Who are you looking for?”

“Hidan.”

“Last name?”

“I don’t know that he has one.”

“Then I really can’t-“

“He came from the mountains.” Kakuzu watched as the woman’s eyes grew wide and frightened. She shifted her gaze back and forth to make sure they were alone before continuing.

“I would advise you to not show an interest in this subject, but you don’t seem the type to listen to advice… Wait here.” With that she disappeared around the corner. For a time, Kakuzu wondered what he was doing. Though, he supposed it was only natural to be curious since Hidan wouldn’t tell him anything. The woman returned, culling him out of his musing, and set a stack of files down in front of him. “I don’t know them all by name, but if you are looking for one of Hakudoshi’s bastards, they’ll be in here.”

“Hakudoshi?”

“The origin of the immortal bloodline. Truth is, no one has seen him in years, but his kids come down from the mountains now and again to cause trouble.”

“Immortal bloodline?”

“Don’t know if it is true, but I’ve been told that he never ages; that his kids, too, live for centuries. I’ve heard rumors that he even has a child who can’t be killed.” Kakuzu opened the file and began ruffling through them quietly. Some of the birth records were very old, indeed, while others were newer and had pictures which seemed taken from afar. He paused on a specific page and pulled it from the pile. The small rectangular picture up in the corner held a familiar face, though much younger. He held it up to the old lady who adjusted her glasses and stared at it for a minute. “This the man you were curious about?”

“Yes…”

“If you are looking for him, I can’t help you. He came down to our village years ago, angry about something. A few weeks later, he killed his neighbors, and fled, no one’s seen him since and even if we did, I doubt anyone would recognize him. He was so young then.”

“Why would he flee?”

“If I had to guess, he was running from Hakudoshi. Again, it’s only rumors, but I have heard that he tortures those bastards of his… Do you know how he keeps the bloodline pure? Nor do I, but if you use your imagination some, I’m sure you can figure it out… That cruel evil man. I bet he screws his own daughters. If he does that to them, then think of what he must do to the boys. Especially his prize possession.” She nodded to the file on Hidan. “Can you imagine it…the perfect immortal. Is it really any wonder if that child ran away?”

Kakuzu left the office feeling a strange fury inside of him. The old record keepers’ words rang around his head in an endless cycle. ‘Think of what he must do to the boys.’ ‘Can you imagine it…the perfect immortal.’ He could imagine it, though he would rather not. If this Hakudoshi was as sick as people made him out to be, then Hidan’s homicidal, self-mutilating, slightly insane personality made sense. As did the uncharacteristic fear upon seeing his brother. In one hand, Kakuzu gripped a slip of paper with the address of Naru’s old partner on it, while in the other he clung to the crumpled-up file with a young Hidan’s face on the upper right-hand corner. Rationality and practicality said that he should continue looking into Takuma Naru. At the end of his search was a new heart and a case full of money. The result that he was looking for when they first came here. But it seemed that both hearts were telling him to be irrational, just this once. He brushed his fingers by his lips absentmindedly, feeling Hidan’s against them for a fleeting second. Kakuzu closed his eyes and ground his teeth, stuffing his partners file into his pocket. He could deal with Hidan later. He would not let his desire for the idiot outweigh the rational decision.

Hours later, Kakuzu returned to their hotel feeling exhausted. He had managed to track down Naru’s old partner and was pleased to find that with a bit of applied pressure, the man gave up their target’s location fairly quickly. Tomorrow, he would drag Hidan out of this shit hole village, finish up the business with Naru, and never look back. That should make his partner happy. Kakuzu stopped at their door, inserted the key and tuned the knob, surprised to find it already unlocked, then wondered if Hidan had stepped out. He pushed the door open slowly and felt anger wash over him at the sight of their room. Glass littered the floor from the bulb that once occupied the center of the ceiling. The lamp next to their bed was also shattered and lying on the floor with a broken post that looked like it may have been used for a bludgeoning. Blood was splattered on the walls and creating streaks in the floor from where a body had been dragged. It looked like a war zone. For a moment, not wanting to think the worst, Kakuzu entertained the idea that maybe Hidan had been angry with him and decided to kill someone in retaliation. Yet, that wasn’t quite right, because no matter where he looked, the symbol of Jashin was no where to be seen. Even if the immortal murdered someone out of anger, he would never pass up an opportunity to give a sacrifice to his god.

Kakuzu punched the wall with the back of his hands, reducing it to rubble. He was seething. How, after everything that he had witnessed, was he so stupid as to leave Hidan here. Though he wasn’t just mad at himself. He couldn’t help but be angry with his partner, too. How dare he let himself be taken after Kakuzu made it clear that he belonged to him and no one else. He felt a presence behind him and whirled around, surprised to find the girl from the front counter standing behind him, hand on her mouth as she stared wide eyed at the wall then at the blood all over the room. She shifted her gaze up to him. “A-are you ok?” She squeaked. He took several large strides until he was inches away from her and wrapped his fingers tightly around her throat.

“Were you here when they took him?”

“N-No! I-“

“It would be in your best interest not to lie to me!” Kakuzu growled.

“Yes. Ok. I was here. Please…”

“When did it happen?”

“Hours ago. This afternoon. I’m not sure!”

“Where do they live?”

“Who?”

“You know who. Tell me!”

“I-In the mountains to the west. I’m not sure exactly where, we aren’t allowed to go there.” Kakuzu squeezed harder. “Near- ah- near the old road. I-It’s marked by a statue with a flag around it. I’m so sorry. Please, just let me go.” The girl clawed at the tanned hand around her throat and while he thought about killing her, he didn’t have the time. He let go, dropping her to her knees, before taking off down the corridor. He wondered how long they had had him now. How many hours had Hidan been subjected to fear? To whatever else they were doing to him. He probably thought that Kakuzu wasn’t coming for him. As the older man exited the building and ran into the street, the rain resumed its down pour from the clouds above. Kakuzu cursed under his breath. If they so much as laid a finger on his partner, he would kill them. All of them.

The older man made it up the mountain in record time, trying his hardest not to think about how Hidan would probably tease him for being old if he were there, even though he would be the one out of breath. He had found the marker that the girl mentioned at the base of the mountain and followed the overgrown dirt road as far as it would take him. At the top, an old holy place surrounded by a tall stone wall sat out of sight and quiet. The shrine was huge and run down, though, judging by the bones littering the premises, occupied. He walked under the red archway and glanced around cautiously as he made his way to the building at the center of the compound. Suddenly the door before him slid open and a man slinked out. Kakuzu recognized him immediately as the one who spoke with Hidan on the street. “Where is he?” He said in a low dangerous voice.

“O, aren’t you frightening? He is alive. No worries. I was just enjoying some much-needed time alone with him.” Kakuzu was struggling to stay in control. He never lost his nerve, and thought it a weakness, but now, he wasn’t so sure he could continue to keep his anger cooled. “Have you fucked him?” Bankotsu continued. “I am only asking because he seems so taken with you. I tried to get him to talk to me, but he just kept saying your name. Of course, I don’t know that it is your name but then here you are so you must be the one he was calling for. How pathetic, don’t you think? Father would be ashamed.” Kakuzu finally let his rage take over. He rushed at Bankotsu, eager to kill. Before the silver haired man even had time to react, thick dark threads wrapped around his every limb squeezing until the body below couldn’t take the pressure and finally burst. Kakuzu stormed past the bits of blood and body and opened the two wooden doors to the shrine. The room was dark and musty, lit by hundreds of flickering candles that dripped wax onto the floor. Piles of bones lined the corners and edges of the building, casting strange shadows on the walls and ceiling. At the center of the room, his partner lay on the floor, naked and nailed by his hands onto the wooden floorboards.

More than anything, what caught the older man off guard was the expression Hidan wore. He looked dead. Eyes half lidded and empty, lips parted, complexion pale. Like a corpse. Kakuzu took a step towards him, then paused. ‘There should be more of them,’ he thought. He took another tentative step. The wood creaked under his weight. Suddenly, the bones began to shift. Kakuzu watched in slight disgust as five women, all with long silver hair and violet eyes crawled out from under them. The older man ground his teeth and watched as they stalk about the room like animals. The first of the women lunged at him and he caught her by the face before slamming her onto the ground, crushing her skull. Another one charged forward holding a long strange knife. He took hold of it with ease and thrust the blunt weapon deep into her belly. The last three attacked in unison but were caught up in the web of threads that he had released from his body seconds before they reached him. He constricted them, breaking the necks of his prisoners before dropping them to the floor.

When the bodies had stilled, he approached his partner and dropped to his knees, yanking the large nails out of his hands one by one. When he had finished, Kakuzu checked his pulse. There was nothing. No heartbeat below the pale flesh and no air filling his lungs. If it weren’t for the steady stream of tears that had begun pooling out of his wine-colored eyes, Kakuzu would have thought the immortal had officially died. The older man glanced at his surroundings once more, still not convinced that this was the entirety of the so-called immortal bloodline, then decided it didn’t matter. He had what he came for. Gently, he gathered Hidan in his arms and carried him out into the rain which slowly washed off the layers of died blood caked to his skin. Bruises and cuts littered the flesh underneath, some almost healed and others fresh. After a brief moment of contemplation, Kakuzu decided to take him back to the hotel and get him properly cleaned up. If anyone had a problem with their return after the damage done to their room, then he would kill them, simple as that.

He hiked down the mountain briskly and made it back to the hotel just as the sky grew dark. At the front desk, the girl from earlier was nursing the bruise on her neck in the reflection of a small mirror. She glanced up at the sound of footsteps and immediately went pale but said nothing when she noticed who it was. Her eyes flicked to the man in Kakuzu’s arms and she looked away. Ignoring it, he walked right by her, ascended the three flights of stairs to their room, and opened the door which was still not locked. The glass had been cleaned up, as well as the rubble from when he hit the wall, but the blood stains in the carpet seemed to have been more of a challenge. He closed the door behind him and carried Hidan into the bathroom.

Kakuzu laid his partner in the tub and started the shower. Despite the rains best efforts, Hidan was still covered in blood and all other forms of grime that Kakuzu really couldn’t think about clearly at the moment. When the water was warm enough, he undressed himself and sat down under the spray, propping Hidan up against his chest. He had thought about being in the shower with his partner before, but this was definitely not what he had in mind. Kakuzu ran his fingers through the long silver locks, helping the water wash through it, then placed a hand over Hidan’s mouth and tried to feel for the smallest hint of oxygen entering or exiting his body, but none came. Kakuzu sighed and cleaned the immortal thoroughly then showered himself off before shutting the shower down and carrying Hidan out of the tub and into the bedroom. He set him down on the bed. They were both dripping wet and naked, but he was too tired to care. He laid down next him, ghosting his fingers over Hidan’s lips, then drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, Kakuzu was startled awake as Hidan sat up in bed abruptly and began choking on air. His lungs desperate to be filled. The older man grabbed Hidan by the wrists trying to calm him which only made the matter worse. “Hidan! Calm down!” At the sound of Kakuzu’s voice the immortal stopped struggling. Kakuzu could just make out the wide terrified eyes staring back at him in the light of the moon seeping through the open window. “It’s ok.” He said softly, hoping to make that unnerving expression leave his partners face. To his astonishment, Hidan dropped his head and tried to muffle a sod. Succeeding the first time but failing the next, as they wracked through his body. Kakuzu suddenly had no idea what to do. Slowly, he let go of his partners wrists and stared dumfounded at Hidan. He was not the kind of person to handle this situation. “Hidan. I don’t know what to do.” While he wasn’t sure why he was telling this to the immortal, he didn’t know what else to say. When no response came, Kakuzu reached out and pulled the man into him. It was strange to try and be so gentle with the one person he pushed around mercilessly on a daily basis, but it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable.

He laid them down. Hidan suddenly stilling at the sound of the two heartbeats thundering under the strong tanned chest of his partner. Kakuzu stared at the wall, trying not to notice Hidan’s breath pricking his skin as it steadied. Maybe keeping him so close wasn’t a good idea. Kakuzu lifted his head to ask him if he was finally ok, but the immortal was fast asleep in his arms. The older man sighed, debating on whether or not he should move now that Hidan had passed out. As he wavered between the two options, Kakuzu felt his eyelids grow heavy as sleep crept over him and before he could come up with an answer he was gone.

“Oi, Kuzu, let me go. I can’t fucking breath.” Kakuzu groaned as Hidan pushed hard against his chest muttering something that sleep was abstracting into distant nothingness. His eye fluttered open, blinded by bright morning sunlight. Next to him, he could feel Hidan squirming. “Hey, you can hear me right!? Let go, already!” The older man glanced down at the man still tightly wrapped in his arms and fixed him with an annoyed stare.

“Quit squirming, I’m trying to sleep.”

“Then let go and go back to sleep. You’re crushing me!” Kakuzu closed his eyes and squeezed him tighter. Hidan kicked his feet and flailed about but to no avail then stilled with a soft growl. Feeling his cheeks heat up, he laid his forehead against the crook of his partners neck in defeat. “Kuzu?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you…for coming to get me.”

“I should have come sooner...”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“Pfft. No, we drank tea together and talked about Jashin.” Hidan joked. Kakuzu flexed his arms, putting more pressure on the slender body beneath him.

“Don’t be difficult.”

“Kakuzu! I can’t breathe. Loosen up a bit, yea?!”

“Did he touch you?” Against his chest, Kakuzu could feel the muscles of his partner tense up, understanding the meaning behind those words and desperately wanting not to answer. Hidan pulled away and this time Kakuzu let him. Violet eyes met red and green and the immortal forced a small smile.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. Answer my question.”

“Why?”

“I told you… You’re mine. If he touched, you…” Hidan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and stared out the window. The morning sun, bathing his pale skin in light. He shifted his gaze back to his partners and felt himself quake under the heat of those fiery eyes.

“If he touched me what? You’ll kill him? You must have already done that, or I wouldn’t be here? It’s over and it doesn’t matter. So, let’s not fucking talk about it.” Kakuzu reached up and grabbed his partner, pulling him back into a tight embrace. “Hey! Asshole! I really can’t breathe like this!” The older man ignored him and closed his eyes. “Kuzu?” Hidan began again after a few silent minutes.

“Hm?”

“Don't ever fucking leave me like that again.”

“…I won’t.”