Chapter Text
As soon as the cave was entered, what little light he had had outside in the downpour was lost and they were instantly plunged into complete darkness. He tightened his grip around the unconscious Jashinist over his shoulder, and held his other arm out in front of him as he blindly shuffled forward. The wide tunnel sloped gently downwards and seemed to go on forever. Gradually, the echoes of the continuous rainfall got fainter and fainter until he heard nothing but his own, harsh breath and the sound of his sandals crunching in the course dirt.
It was hard to notice at first, but as he pressed deeper into the cave, the path got narrower and narrower. He first realized this when his arm brushed up against the jagged surface of the stone wall, even though he'd been going straight this entire time. Pretty soon the tunnel was barely wide enough for one adult body and with his luggage there was no other choice but to advance sideways.
Kakuzu stopped abruptly to catch his breath, shifting Hidan's weight uncomfortably. Inside, he was fuming. He was getting tired from the smallest exertions and there was no greater mortification. All of a sudden he was extremely glad that the place was pitch black with the Jashinist knocked out, sparing him the mockery that would be sure to spew from the Jashinist's mouth had he seen the older man's condition. His single heart wasn't faring very well; as he had torn it out of a random ninja at the very last minute before his breath stopped short. Perhaps it was because he'd been straining it so much, but his chakra was replenishing much slower than normal. As of right now, he almost felt like an ordinary man, weary after weeks of manual labour. But of course, Kakuzu was no ordinary man and therefore weakness was unacceptable.
After calming his crazy pulse down somewhat, he continued to shuffle down. He felt a grim sort of satisfaction when he heard Hidan's back being scraped across the rough cave wall, but all thoughts quickly receded to the bottom of his mind when he walked right into a jagged piece of rock the size of his fist protruding from the walls. Kakuzu grunted as the pointed edge embedded itself painfully into his waist, but he shoved as hard as he could and the shard broke off with a 'crack', and he was able to move again. Limping slightly and panting again from the sudden burst of energy, he squeezed down the tunnel.
To his surprise, he had barely gone twenty steps when the suffocating walls suddenly disappeared and Kakuzu tumbled unceremoniously to the ground at the loss of support. To his dismay, he just happened to land on his right side where the rock shard was still stuck in his flesh, and it dug further into his waist upon impact. He cursed loudly as pain erupted before his eyes and he saw stars blinking into view. He remained sprawled on the ground for some time, taking deep breaths; Hidan had been tossed away into some dark corner during his fall and hadn't stirred yet.
Kakuzu carefully ran his fingers over the wound, which was quickly slicked with blood. It wasn't very big compared to others he'd received, but he'd have to pull the rock out. Steeling himself, he seized the end of the fragment and pulled as hard as he could in a swift movement, before he let himself have any second thoughts. There was a sickening 'shluck' as the debris was removed, and he could feel the blood flowing out of the hole. He maneuvered his threads to stitch the wound quickly, and rolled over so he wasn't lying in a pool of his own blood.
There was no point in saying that he stared up at the ceiling, because everywhere he looked was black; he might as well just keep his eyes closed. It would have been nice to just lay there feeling sorry for himself and relish the darkness that usually would have left him anxious and on edge, tensed into battle stances in case something came at his face using his blindness to their advantage. But right now, he simply found it too exhausting to care anymore. He focused on the dull throb in his waist, because that was the only thing he could latch onto that proved to him that they were still alive and not dead, suspended in a black void of nothingness.
Kakuzu's train of thought was interrupted by a haggard groan some yards away from where he was. He could hear some shuffling, followed by curses jumbled up into a stream of profanities that hardly made sense. "Fuck," moaned the cracked voice. "Oww, it hurts like a fuckin' shit-faced mother fucker... I'll kill..." Suddenly, the sentence trailed off, and gradually along with all sounds of movement. There was a dead, pregnant silence that hung over the cavern. Kakuzu remained silent, waiting for the Jashinist to realize where he was.
"...Fuck." Hidan's voice was low, but the older man could detect traces of distress in his tone. "Fuck." There was a bit more shuffling, and the sound of hands feeling around as it patted down its surroundings. His breathing became faster and harsher, until he let out a strangled cry.
"Shi', wh—" There was a slight pause for half a second, then— "Kakuzu!" Hidan screamed suddenly. "Kakuzu, where the fuck are you!?"
"I'm right here," Kakuzu replied calmly, no doubt making Hidan jump at his abrupt voice.
"S-Shi', Kakuzu!" Hidan was on the verge of hyperventilation. "I've turned fuckin' blind! Help me, Jashin damn it!"
"You're not blind, Hidan," Kakuzu drawled, still lounging out in his spot without making any move to get up. "You're just being paranoid."
"Fuck bein' paranoid, I can't see shit!" the Jashinist shouted, his voice laced with panic. "Where are you, you old geezer! Come closer so I know you're real and not some fucked up illusion my brain made up! My eyes— are my eyes fuckin' gone!?"
"Hidan, calm the fuck down," Kakuzu snapped. "Your eyes are perfectly fine. It's extremely dark in here, and I haven't gone out to find some firewood yet."
There was yet another deadly silence, and this time Kakuzu knew he was in for it this time. He made himself comfortable and braced himself for the verbal attack.
"Y-You…" Hidan's voice was quivering with rage. "You fuckin'… you son of a bitch!" he roared. "You brough' me into the cave, you fuckin' piece of shi' miser! You sly, cunnin', evil little bitch! How can you fuckin' do this to me!? Jashin will have your ass for this, fuckin' bastard!" His screams reverberated throughout the cavern walls, and it pierced Kakuzu's eardrums. "FUCK YOU!"
"Oh shut up," snarled Kakuzu, aggravated. "You were just being a coward. What is your problem with being here?"
"I don' have a fuckin' problem, you fuckin' piece of shi'!" screeched Hidan. "I can' believe you actually stunned me and dragged me into this hellhole when I clearly expressed my opinion about it! Do you like fuckin' with me, old man!? Do you have a fuckin' death wish!?"
"I could ask you the same," Kakuzu growled, scrambled to his feet and marching over to where Hidan's general direction. There was a 'crunch' and a loud, surprised cry of pain as he stepped on what was presumably the Jashinist's fingers. He reached down and found a bundle of clothing, which he grabbed onto and pulled the figure close to his face even though he couldn't see anything in front of him. "Listen to me, you ungrateful little prick," he ground out through gritted teeth. "I just narrowly escaped death one too many times trying to save two asses; mine and yours. I barely made it out of our last fight with the Konoha dogs and I almost died hauling your useless chunk of flesh around with me. I made it all the way to Hell's front doorstep digging you out of that forest, yet you continue to act like this. You can't even begin to imagine how I am now. You'd better stop being a nuisance, or I will kill you if I have to end up risking my life for yours again."
"Wha..." Hidan coughed, his voice was barely over a whisper. "You dug me out of tha' hole for this? You're the wors', heartless, dumbes' bastard to have ever lived this earth. What's the poin' of getting' me ou' when you're just going to rip me apar' and bury me again?"
Kakuzu opened his mouth, then closed it. He knew this question would eventually come up. "Because if not for you then my life will be too full of hatred for this world without anybody to take it out on," he answered flatly.
Hidan snorted, his form slumping back against the older man's still firm grip. "Tha's the wors' fuckin' excuse I've ever heard in my life."
Kakuzu let go of Hidan's cloak, and sighed. He threw himself against the wall of the cavern and massaged his temples. "Forget it," he muttered darkly. "Just forget it." Silence settled over their heads yet again.
"Hey, Kakuzu?" Hidan spoke up from beside him, although thankfully this time he was being quieter.
"Mm."
"You still there?"
"Obviously," grumbled Kakuzu, still disgruntled. "What do you want?"
"Don't fuckin' go anywhere without tellin' me, okay? Or I will beat the shi' out of you."
"Or you can see with your own eyes and confirm the fact without me having to inform you verbally all the time," Kakuzu snapped.
"And jus' how the fuck am I supposed to do tha', smartass?" Hidan spat. "I can't even see my fuckin' hands in fron' of my face!"
"...I'm working on that."
"Tch. Dumb bastard."
"Shut up, Hidan, you have no idea how hard it is to take care of your own life plus an idiotic immortal that can't even stay in a cave by himself."
"I don' need you to take care of me!" Hidan fumed indignantly. "I can fuckin' take care of m—"
Kakuzu let out a harsh, barking laugh that was devoid of any humor. "Really? So you'd have no problem if I get up and leave you here right now?"
He did not receive an answer. Kakuzu scowled into the dark, feeling the body quiver next to him. He gave the figure a hard shove, and walked a couple steps away before sitting back down. He clenched his eyes shut until the bright stars began to swim into his vision, wishing for his pounding headache to disappear. Now that the argument was out of the way, pure exhaustion began to make itself known. He didn't care that by now he was probably caked head to toe with dirt, nor did he have the energy to care about the fact that what little body temperature he had left was slowly seeping out into the freezing rocks that surrounded him in all directions. Abruptly, Kakuzu let all his muscles go limp and collapsed onto the ground on his back with a dull 'thud'.
Hidan's loud breathing suddenly stopped at this, and for a few seconds Kakuzu could tell that he held his breath. He knew the Jashinist was wondering if he had suddenly dropped dead or something, and resisted a snort. He could move to make some sounds, indicating that he was still alive, or he could be cruel and not say a word.
In his current sadistic mood, the latter seemed much more appealing.
As expected, Hidan started to fidget, the rustle of clothing accompanied by the grating of skin on stone. Kakuzu lay there, uncomfortable but relaxed, and listened to the sounds of anxiety. Kakuzu knew he was being childish, but some evil part of his mind told him that he wanted to see the Jashinist suffer, so he wouldn't be the only one left out to bear this humiliation alone. It was an irrational thought with no reasoning, but the malevolent embers within his heart would not die. The longer he lay there the more he wanted to get up and leave Hidan by himself to fret in the darkness. Kakuzu found it hard to recognise his old self within this body. His calm, calculating way of viewing things had vanished, left with only his growing contempt for the world.
However, each time he'd try to stand up and get what he had come back for, there was a nagging force that stopped him from doing so, causing frustration and despair to mingle together. He was left with nothing but a useless body, and another useless piece of flesh he called an ex-partner for company. Kakuzu bared his teeth in disgust. He tried to recall back the times where he had a reputation among other things, and found that he could no longer remember much except for the dark times he spent within Akatsuki's grasp. Eyes always watching, staring into the deepest parts of the soul and raping almost every bit of privacy he once had before his life had been condemned to the impending doom resulting from that single choice. Despite all, Kakuzu was a smart man, and that bit hadn't changed. It was an unspoken truth among all members of Akatsuki that to speak of themselves meant death. To become shadows and nothing more was how you lived, and within time it had sunk into Kakuzu's very flesh and bone like a stinking black poison, morphing itself into his very form, mocking his descent into this lowly life. No quantity of soap and water would be able to wash this away; it was a part of him now, and there was no escaping it.
Knowing that Hidan wouldn't be able to see, Kakuzu lifted his hand and ran his fingers over his chest where the stitches held his flesh together, stopping just at the point where his mediocre heart was beating furiously to keep him alive. He prodded at the seams, digging his nails into what would've been a bloody mess. He only felt the stitches tighten at this intrusion, a reflex that he had lost control over a long time ago.
Well, since he was no longer what one would call a human, perhaps it would have been okay to abandon someone in this dreary cave, until they slowly went mad to the point where it would be unbearable to watch. Without Hidan, Kakuzu would no longer be handicapped and therefore able to fulfill his revenge without any trip-ups.
Why then, was he laying here unmoving as a log, despite being the smart man he claimed to be? Kakuzu listened as Hidan began to blubber nonsense, not actually paying attention to what he was saying. It was something along the lines of 'fucker' and 'are you alive', but he paid no heed to it. Why was he staying?
Because he's stupid, one might say to him. His pathetic excuse of keeping the Jashinist with him won't provide him with a solution to actually return to his life he once had before Akatsuki corrupted his mind while he sat there like an idiot, oblivious to the blackness shrouding his eyes. Kakuzu's mind flitted back and forth towards the destroyed organization to his current state, weighing his unspoken options. Surely any sane man would choose to leave now while he had the chance.
Unfortunately, Kakuzu was not what one would call sane.
He sat up so suddenly the stars returned with impeding force, but he ignored them. Hidan finally stopped his incessant chatter, and fell silent once more. The older man carefully drew himself up to his feet, the pain in his side reduced to a mere, dull throbbing. He couldn't just laze about doing nothing forever, and his original plans to scare Hidan were forgotten.
"Thought you fuckin' died or somethin'," Hidan muttered from his spot. "Who knows? Maybe that shitty heart of yours couldn't keep up with your smartass brain—"
"Shut up." Kakuzu began to feel his way across the cave, trying to find the crack in the walls again.
"Where are you goin'?" Hidan blurted out quickly. "If you think you're just gonna leave me here then—"
"I'm going to get firewood," Kakuzu said gruffly, his fingers finally reaching the deep gash and he squeezed himself through the gap before Hidan could say anything else.
~*o*~
The heat that filled up the cavern did nothing to warm Kakuzu's view on their current situation. The flames threw grotesque shadows up the jagged walls and the wet branches filled the entire cave with smoke, so they opted to throw in the spare pieces of building wood they had pleasantly discovered scattered along the dirt. Kakuzu looked through the bag Tazuna had given him and found the rice balls wrapped in large, brown leaves. There were six in total, but even that wasn't enough. He split one in two and give the other half to Hidan, who took one look at it and turned green, shaking his head. The tiny morsel did nothing to calm his starving belly. Kakuzu glanced up to see Hidan staring dazedly at the fire, the shadows making his hollow cheekbones even more prominent. With a harsh sigh, Kakuzu reached over and shoved the remaining half of the rice ball in the Jashinist's hands. Flinching as if coming out of a trance, Hidan stared at the thing in his palm, before slowly looking up to Kakuzu.
"What do you want me to do with this thing?" he rasped.
"You eat it," Kakuzu said.
"I can't." Hidan shook his head, his hair falling out of place down his bruised forehead. "I can't eat. I'll be sick—"
"You'll be even sicker if you don't," Kakuzu cut in roughly. "Even worse, you'd be dead. Eat the god damn thing before you starve."
"Would it be better to die?" Hidan muttered absentmindedly. "Maybe then I'll be able to see my Lord Jashin, and then I will tell him how much I hated this world of heathens..."
"But then you won't be able to get back at me," Kakuzu told him. "You'll miss your chance to kill me yourself, and then I'll die one day from other things and then the opportunity would be gone forever. Surely you'll want to take my heathen life with your own hands?"
At that, Hidan's lips twitched into the beginnings of a smile. A glint of the old, lively mirth sparked in his eyes. "Don't you worry, old man," he chuckled. "I'll make sure I rip out your heart and sacrifice it to Lord Jashin, even if it was the last thing I had to do."
"Good to know. Now eat, you brat, before all that goes to nothing." Kakuzu watched as Hidan reluctantly bit into the food, chewing mechanically before swallowing as if it were the hardest thing in the world. More than once he moved to spit it back out, but a glare from the older man was sufficient enough to prevent that.
Within the cave, where not even the constant pounding of the rain was heard, there wasn't much to do. After the meal Kakuzu and Hidan sat on opposite sides of the cavern, plunged into silence except for the crackling of the small fire. They remained like that for an extended period of time with no words spoken. It was after the fire began to reduce itself to glowing embers when Kakuzu began to doze off, his eyelids growing heavy and found it hard to stay alert.
He had to tell himself multiple times that nobody was going to be looking for them here, yet he tensed at every single crack and pop of the fire. He even caught himself nodding off a couple times; Hidan continued to sit in his spot like a lifeless corpse, the cloak sliding down his shoulders and arms that dangled down his sides. His eyes seemed to be closed; he could've died for all Kakuzu cared and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. His skin was a sickly pallor, lips slightly blue and gaping. This was not Hidan, it was... he couldn't even find the correct words to describe it.
Kakuzu hadn't even realized that he'd fallen asleep, but when he woke to the feeling of a blanket of ice wrapped around his naked torso, he guessed it had been a while since the fire had gone cold long ago. They were plunged into darkness once more, but as he lay, Kakuzu felt something shockingly frigid pressed against the curve of his back. It took him a few moments to realize that it was Hidan, clinging to his body like an overgrown parasite. The older man silently marvelled at how someone could be this cold and was still living. Or perhaps he died in his sleep; the Jashinist wasn't shivering. He had grown so numb he probably didn't feel much anymore. Kakuzu didn't bother to wonder how Hidan had gotten over here, but seeing as they had probably been in this position for quite a while and he hadn't woken up once, he must have been completely out cold.
His consciousness reminded him that this was improper and outrageous; any other time he would've shot up and punched the Jashinist across the cavern. However, right now he was too tired—physically and mentally—to care. He made no move to shift away as the icy arms entangled themselves around his chest, trying to absorb as much warmth as possible. Instead, he reached over, pried the abandoned cloak from under Hidan, and rolled it up into a makeshift pillow to alleviate some of the headaches that still plagued him in the wakeful world.
Suddenly, Hidan emits a strange note from his throat, like a broken clarinet trying to find the right pitch. It was unexpected and made Kakuzu start at the closeness of the noise. Other incoherent mumblings escaped the Jashinist's mouth, and during the ramble the older man actually caught something that sounded suspiciously like, "fuckin' here, right?"
Kakuzu didn't dignify that question with an answer.
~*o*~
The next time he woke up, they had somehow broken apart and Kakuzu found himself in the exact position he had left himself, but Hidan was no longer near him. Gone was the arctic touch, and with it his incessant ramblings as well. For a second Kakuzu wondered if he had left the cave altogether, but then reminded himself that the guy was in no condition to move by himself, especially through that tiny crack. Ten minutes later he had the fire going, and he could see properly once more. The Jashinist sat huddled in his initial spot, naked and shivering. The minute the flames flared back into life his eyes shot over to Kakuzu's and they made uncomfortable eye contact. Hidan shifted uneasily, as if he knew he had unknowingly clung to the older man during the night and was embarrassed about it. Kakuzu made no move to acknowledge the fact and acted as if he knew nothing of the event.
"What?" He finally had to ask, when the staring became unbearable.
"Nothin'!" Hidan snapped, a little too forcefully and the wounds in his cheek ripped a little. "Nothin'," he said more calmly this time. "You're just bein' creepy as fuck."
Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. "Am I?" He no longer had a mask to hide behind, so he made sure his face was devoid of any emotion at all.
"Yeah!" Hidan snarled. "Stealin' my cloak in the middle of the night... what else would you describe it as!? If you so much as touched me—"
Kakuzu snorted at the irony. "Funny that it's coming from you," he sneered, grabbing the balled up cloak and throwing it at the Jashinist's face. "Stop talking nonsense and let me have peace."
"Oh?" Hidan's eyes widened at that. "Is that what you wanted, fucker? Well, let me tell you something; you had a whole fuckin' day of peace yesterday, sitting there pretending to be all dead and shit; you just love fuckin' with me, don't you? You only dug me out so you can have someone to poke at again!"
"I dug you out because of reasons, not this bullshit you speak of," growled Kakuzu, glowering at Hidan over the fire as he hastily wrapped the cloak around himself. "Has anyone ever taught you to be grateful for once?"
There was silence, then...
"Ya think you're the only one with problems?" Hidan spat back maliciously. "I, for one, know from first-hand experience what it's like to be literally blown apart by the limbs and buried alive with fuckin' evil-ass deer starin' at my grave in case I escape. Can you even begin to— to—" he scrunched up his face in an effort to find the right word, "to comprehend the level of freakiness that it was? Because I'll tell you old man, that it was some fucked up shit. And I ain't gonna live through it again."
"Look, you idiot. I want to make this very clear," Kakuzu countered right away and took a deep breath before glaring at the man opposite from him. "I don't care whether you were scared or frightened. And contrary to your belief, I don't give a shit if it fucked you up, because you deserved it, you little shit. But if your stupid whining gets in the way of getting my revenge, then I will not hesitate to throw you back in there. So next time you try and give me a lecture, remember this. Do you understand me?"
Hidan did not answer, but merely stared back with an unreadable expression, his eyes strangely bright; most likely the smoke's fault. It was so strange to see his face free of any prominent emotion, and rather unsettling as well. But when he finally turned away, Kakuzu broke free from that illusion and actually saw him. There was a definite loneliness swimming in the violet orbs. He inwardly scoffed; there was the first sign of weakness which would inevitably lead to Hidan's downfall in the future. Personally he had expected better, but then again, spending months in a deep, underground hole did mess people up.
Hidan did not speak to him again, and only when Kakuzu offered him another bit of rice out of pity did he brush away the offer with a harsh, low, "No".
Night rolled along, or at least Kakuzu assumed so because they had no way to tell the time. They were running out of building wood, and sooner or later he'd have to go outside for more fuel. Also, they couldn't stay there forever. A part of him told him not to rush things, but the other part insisted that they kept moving. Kakuzu wanted to get out of the country as soon as possible; they'd head somewhere away from the Land of Rivers and keep as far from the Leaf Village as possible. As much as it sounded appealing, he did not want to be caught up in whatever war the others were having as of now. Let them have their war, he would tell himself. Because in the end, it wouldn't matter to them.
And instead, he would be battling a war of his very own, the enemy lines pushing down on his force, in the name of Hidan.