Resurected

Shikamaru watched as a team of medics pulled Ren’s decomposing body out from the rubble that once held the very immortal who took his mentor from him all those years back. Waves of sickness washed over him and an old wound, once closed, was now opened and laid bare before him. How, he wondered? How could that man escape from his earthbound prison? How could he still be alive? And, of course, why now after five long years of nothing? “Sir?” A small voice interrupted his thoughts, culling him from the torrent of emotions circling inside him. “What should we do?” The shadow user glanced down at the lead medic who stared up at him from his position on the ground next to the corpse.

“How long has he been here?” He asked, though in his heart, he knew. Ren never wrote.

“A couple of months, maybe. Possibly three. It’s hard to tell with the weather being this hot and the bugs, sir.” Shikamaru nodded and bit the inside of his mouth. “With all due respect, sir, you should report back to the Hokage immediately. Our enemy may be long gone but if we put a bounty out on his head, he is sure to turn up eventually.”

“No… I’ll go after him myself.”

“As you wish, sir, but the incident still needs to be reported.”

“I’ll get it done…” The medic stood his to his feet and bowed stiffly, before turning and giving some of the others brisk commands. Shikamaru silently watched the team shuffle about, collecting the dead shinobi and closing off the area before his mind began to wander. Dread clawed at his chest like a captured animal desperate to be released. Where in the world could the immortal have disappeared to and what would he do now that he was free?

Somewhere miles off from where he stood, Hidan and Kakuzu made their way down yet another road that would take them up towards the Village Hidden in the Frost. Their next target was a powerful shinobi named Fuyu Hatsuyume and while there was little to no known facts on her in the bingo book, her bounty was high and her location close. The last known siting was said to be near her home, north of them and possibly only days away. Above the duo, the skies were just beginning to brighten with early morning sunlight as birds soared overhead against the retreating darkness. Kakuzu shifted his glance down to his partner who was walking next to him with heavy steps. Disturbing even to himself, the older man couldn’t help but find Hidan cute as he fought to keep his eyes open despite the drowsiness. Green and blue bruises stood out harshly against his lips and the soft skin of his jawline was lined with bite marks both new and old. Evidence of their previous activities that hadn’t yet fully healed. Kakuzu smirked under his mask and looked away.

“What?” Came the annoyed huff of his partner.

“Hmm?”

“You were glaring a hole in the side of my head, so what the fuck do you want?” He snapped.

“It’s nothing…”

“It’s clearly fucking something, so what is it?!”

“You’re loud.”

“Ch. You started it.”

“Hidan. Enough.”

“Oh? Or what? You’ll hit me again?” Hidan said with an annoying smirk. Kakuzu glanced back down at him but said nothing, allowing the silence to answer for him. The smirk dropped off of his partners face quickly and was replaced by a scowl. “Sadistic bastard.” The older man shrugged nonchalantly and stared back down the road ahead. Hidan slouched his shoulders and dragged his feet until he had fallen a bit behind, then resumed his pace. It was hard to think clearly being in his partners line of sight. His brain hadn’t fully caught up with his body but now, in the silence, and despite the exhaustion, he was able to focus on last night more clearly.

It wasn’t as though he wasn’t expecting the sex, but the fact that they did it still managed to surprise him. Especially considering Kakuzu usually couldn’t stand him. Or at least that’s what he had thought. Kakuzu was a possessive person, sure, and he was greedy, but the recent kindness mixed with the everything that had happened between them the previous night was confusing the immortal more than he was letting on. Hidan watched his partners back nervously, then turned his attention to the sky above him and sighed loudly, already bored of the silence and feeling slight Deja vu. If he were being honest, there wasn’t much he liked about the miser either. He was always in a bad mood and quick to anger, greedy, obsessed with money, treated him like a child, and had absolutely nothing to say to the point that conversations with the man could be infuriating. Hidan ground his teeth in agitation at the thought of it.

So, what did he like about him then? The immortal contemplated it for a moment, glancing back at his partner. Kakuzu wasn’t bad looking and if Hidan were being honest, he actually found the man quite attractive. Exceptionally so when he was mad. When his presence would become dark and intimidating and he would look at Hidan with so much anger that it almost made him want to back down, not that he ever would. His low commanding voice was also a bit of a turn on for the immortal, one more thing he would never admit to out loud. There was also the fact that Kakuzu gave no one else the same amount of attention that he gave to Hidan. Even if the man only let him in so far, it was farther than the rest of the world would ever get. The immortal knew that no one else could make the miser laugh (which was rare even between them), or smile, or get so angry that he could murder an entire room full of people like he could. And Kakuzu had that same power over him, if not even more intensely. Hidan was his after all, or at least second to Jashin-sama.

Hidan suddenly slammed into his partners back, snapping him out of his musing and immediately pissing him off. “Oi! What they hell did you just stop for, fucker!?” The immortal peeked around Kakuzu’s broad shoulders and a bright smile replaced the angry look he had been wearing. A few yards in front of them, Hairo leaned against a large stone with a silly lopsided grin.
“Yo! I came to see you off!”

“Kuzu, go on ahead, I’ll catch up.” Kakuzu bored into violet eyes before finally turning from him.

“Don’t take to long or I’ll leave you behind.” He called over his shoulder. Hairo sauntered over to his friend and they both watched in silence as the older man walked away.

“I see his mood hasn’t improved…”

“Really, he seems normal to me?”

“That’s normal? And look at you, you’re all bruised! Did that asshole hit you?!” The blonde grabbed Hidan by the chin and forced his head to the side to get a better look at his face.

“Quit fucking momming me, I’m fine!”

“Mhm. Speaking of momming, I can’t believe you were about to leave without saying goodbye!”

“Sorry, sorry! It’s early and I wasn’t thinking!!” Hidan raised his hands in surrender.

“Yea, whatever, you little shit! Listen, I just came to warn you that you should be careful… I passed a group of people and they were throwing your name around quite a bit. When I asked them about it, they said that Hakudoshi’s bastards were out looking for you. Something about you killing Bankotsu. Don’t get me wrong, I know your brother, he was an asshole and I don’t blame you if you killed him, but you need to watch your back. They might try to come after you and your partner…” The immortal stared at his friend with wide nervous eyes.

“Shit.”

“Yea…shit. Just promise me you’ll be careful out there… and if you need anything, just… just don’t leave me hanging for another thousand years!” Hairo chuckled. “Ya, know…with your hair long like that, you kinda look like him.”

“Who?”

“Bankotsu.” The blonde placed his hand on Hidan’s back and gave him a shove. “Now get going before you get beat again.”

“Ch. Shut up…and thanks for the warning…I’ll see ya.” The immortal picked up the pace, focusing on anything but the fact that Hairo told him that he looked like his brother as an uneasy feeling rose in his gut. Farther up the road, Kakuzu was waiting impatiently. Arms crossed over his chest and an angry look on his face.

“You look more pale than usual.”

“I’m just…just tired…”

“Hidan, I know you aren’t very bright and it might be hard for you, but if you can remember the last time you chose not to talk to me, it ended bad for you.” Hidan glared at him and clicked his tongue.

“Hairo warned me that my…dad is looking for me. And insult me one more time an I’ll kill you in your sleep.”

“You couldn’t even kill me if I stood perfectly still and cut off my own arms.”

“Ha, look at you thinkin your tough shit now that you have three hearts.”

“No, you’re just slow and reckless.”

“Oi! Rude! I am not!!” Kakuzu smirked at the flustered expression on his partners face.

“Come. We are behind schedule.” The older man stated, voice strict but not filled with its usual venom. He wanted to move out as soon as possible and get them both away from this place. If what Hairo had warned Hidan about was true, then lingering here would be foolish. Besides, the land of Frost was not too far from their current location. It should only take them a week if they kept up a good pace. He was two hearts away from being whole again; two hearts and they could take a few days to just rest. Until then, however, they would have to keep pushing.

The duo continued their march through the land of Hot springs and finally after five long days of endless travel, crossed the border into Frost country. The weather had been dropping more and more the closer they got to their destination, and honestly, Kakuzu was impressed at how well Hidan was handling being on the road for so long. Usually, the man complained endlessly, but for the most part he was silent. Leaving their long days to revolve around the trek; only ever straying from the path for food or a safe place to make camp. Their nights, on the other hand, were brief and short lived, ending before the sun even had a chance to rise. Then, on the sixth day, they experienced their first snowstorm. By night fall, the trail that they had been following was quickly covered by a thick layer of the icy white powder, making it nearly impossible to make any progress. In front of them, far off in the distance, lights lashed out against the moonless night, signaling the end of their march. Behind them, darkness encroached, hiding their tracks in a thick black blanket. Hidan growled for the millionth time, catching himself on a nearby pine as he almost toppled over into the snow. “This damn stuff! I can’t see where the fuck I’m going! We should have set up camp before it got so dark out!”

“We would be buried if we spent the night out in this and the village shouldn’t be much farther. Come.”

“Ch. Asshole. Always have to have it your way, don’t you?” The immortal mumbled, knowing his voice wouldn’t be heard over the howling wind. Still he followed, stumbling his way through the darkness and the mad flurry of snow. Finally, after nearly an hour they managed to reach the village. The streets were brightly lit and busy with bar goers and huddled couples dashing in and out of the buildings under the snowfall. Once though the large gate that led to the main street, Kakuzu turned around to make sure Hidan was behind him. The immortal was there, glaring at him with an exhausted pout, cheeks bright red from the cold and wind. The streetlamps around them cast a pale ethereal glow over his partners already pale skin and the older man tried to ignore how attractive he found him at that moment and decided to focus on finding them a place to stay for the night instead. He turned on his heel and delved farther into the city, relieved that the buildings provided them some form of cover from the snow.

At last, Kakuzu came to a stop in front of an old inn and pushed his way past the double doors. Warmth radiated from inside as a bright fire blazed in the hearth right at the center of the room. The interior was quaint, as was the old man running the check in. Upon hearing the jingle of the little bell above the door that signaled their entrance, he smiled up at them from behind rimless oval glasses and offered a pleasant welcome. Kakuzu nodded at him then briskly told Hidan to wait while he walked up to the counter and payed the man for a room. With that done, he then motioned for his partner to follow. Much too tired to protest, Hidan obeyed, allowing himself to be guided down a corridor and into a room on the left-hand side that was marked by a gold-plated number eleven fastened to the door. The room was relatively small, but charming all the same and most importantly warm. As wonderful as a shower sounded, the immortal was already beginning to nod off as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his boots off.

“Hidan, why don’t you shower first.”

“I’ll do it in the morning.”

“You’ll do it now. Go.”

“Ugh! I hope you die fighting Hatsuyume...” Hidan rolled off the bed and shot his partner an angry glare before marching off to the bathroom, removing his clothes as he went. The older man watched in silence then sat down on the edge of the bed and began removing his facemask, boots, and shirt. Both men were exhausted form their journey. Physically, because on top of the seemingly endless trek, they had to weather through such a bad storm before finally reaching their goal. And emotionally, because both of them spent the majority of the time considering what the sex indicated about the change to their relationship. Though, now that he was thinking about it in the comforts of a closed and safe environment, Kakuzu couldn’t really think of anything that had changed between them since the previous week. Maybe Hidan had been more quiet than usual, but he was probably thinking along the same line as Kakuzu. Thinking that things would be awkward or different or more tense. Of course, the older man would never know that his partner was actually thinking that the whole thing was a bad idea and what if Kakuzu ended up leaving him because of it.

Kakuzu slid off the bed and sauntered to the bathroom, suddenly feeling like it had been silly to make them shower separately. If anything, that was the last thing between them that they had yet to experience. It would also mean that they could go to bed sooner, and that sounded much better than waiting for Hidan to finish. The older man slipped in behind his partner who shuttered at the contact of his partners hand as it slid around his stomach. “W-what the hell do you think you’re doing?” He mumbled, embarrassed at his own reaction. The older man said nothing but closed the distance and rested his head on Hidan’s shoulder. The hot water felt nice, as did the comfort that came from being in contact with the smaller male. Sure, Hidan pissed him off, but he felt at ease around him none the less. The immortal turned red from head to toe but didn’t push his partner away, so they stood like that in silence for a few brief moments. “Kuzu?”

“Hmm?

“I can’t wash myself with you holding me…”

“Figure it out.”

“EHH! Common, man!! I’m fucking gross from being on the road for the last week!!” When his partner didn’t answer, the immortal mumbled something under his breath about annoying old men but tried his best to work around him as he washed the outdoors off of his body. Hidan squirmed in his partners loose embrace until he was facing him and contemplated washing the older man off as well. He bit back a smirk that was starting to form at Kakuzu’s sleepy expression. It was the first time Hidan had ever found him cute because cute was not the right word for someone as menacing as Kakuzu, but at that current moment, it fit. The immortal poured some of the shampoo into the palm of his hand and reached up but was stopped by a hand wrapped firmly around his wrist. The two stared at each other for a moment and Kakuzu loosened his grip, allowing Hidan to rub the gel into his hair. It felt nice and slowly, he relaxed, closing his eyes and slouching his shoulders. Hidan chuckled, pulling him under the spray of the water. “Kuzu, you’re acting like a cat!! You ok?”

“Hidan.”

“Ok, ok. Sorry….Kuzu?”

“Hmm?”

“Will you cut my hair for me?” Kakuzu moved his head out from under the water so as to look at his partner. Confusion evident on his face. “I liked it better the way I had it before. I mean, it’s easier to travel like that and fight and stuff.” The older man sighed heavily.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened, asshat. I was just asking you a favor, but I’ll just do it myself.”

“I’m too tired to deal with you, so spit it out.”

“Hairo… he said I look like Bankotsu.”

“I’ll cut it.” He growled, already pissed at the mere thought of the man. Hidan snapped his ruby-violet eyes up to his partner.

“Really?” Kakuzu nodded and Hidan smiled at him with that wide innocent smile that he reserved only for his partner. Tomorrow, he thought, they would gather information on their target and begin the hunt. Something he was definitely looking forward to. Tonight, however, he was just content to be standing at Hidan’s side. Never again would he let someone else take away what was his. Twice was enough.