Author's Notes:

"I won't be writing for Naruto anymore," I said, "Only Damien/Pip will go here!" Episode 457 fucked me up, okay? I loved it. I watched it like eight times. I cried. The Zombie Combie didn't deserve what they got. So here's this to make us all feel better.

Unspoken

Chapter 1

'I can't believe I agreed to this.'

The thought was mutual between them, but they'd never know. Neither was willing to share and both were too busy avoiding eye contact by staring straight ahead at the path stretching through the forest.

Kakuzu wondered if he could have done something differently. Perhaps put up more of a fight, demanding they dispose of their target like originally planned? But, he hadn't. He'd been silent. They'd recruited the brat and now…

Hidan wondered if he could have done something differently. It was three on one, a tough fight, but he was immortal, so surely he could have won. Even if one of the three was basically immortal too. Perhaps he could have cut his losses and ran instead. But, he hadn't. He'd stayed. He'd agreed to join them and now…

They glanced at one another and both scowled.

'I hate this guy.'

The village was busy, to say the least. People were hustling up and down the streets, some with destinations in mind, others just to be out and about. That wasn't surprising. It was a sunny afternoon, hardly a cloud in the sky. The duo slipped through the crowd relatively unhindered.

"Oi, I'm hungry." Hidan spoke up when the smell of cooked meat hit his nose.

"Then buy yourself something to eat." Came his partner's deep, rumbling voice. Kakuzu did not look at him when he replied.

"You gonna stop so I fucking can?"

Kakuzu halted in his tracks. His fists clenched and he growled softly. "You are really irritating." It made him regret killing his other, slightly less irritating partners.

"Ask me if I give a shit." Hidan sneered. Without giving Kakuzu a chance to reply, he pointed toward a stand where two people were grilling meat. It was sizzling and popping on the grill, right along side some vegetables. "I want that."

"No." Kakuzu stated with a slight snap and began walking again.

"What?! Why the fuck not?!" Hidan's fists clenched as he stomped behind his new partner.

"Too expensive."

"I have my own fucking money!"

"But, once you run out you'll have to dip into Akatsuki funds or earn more. So you're going to save it."

Hidan growled, "Fine. I'm still hungry though. What do you suggest?" His voice was strained, his anger still apparent.

Kakuzu didn't reply. He led Hidan to a cheaper shop and stopped there. He gestured toward it, indicating he believed this place was perfectly reasonable.

Hidan did not agree. "I'm not eating this cheap shit!" He stomped his foot. "It's disgusting!"

Kakuzu dropped his arm. "Then go buy whatever you want. Once you're out of money, you won't have a choice. I control the Akatsuki's funds and I don't tolerate frivolous spending."

Hidan's face turned red in rage. With snarl, he turned on his heel and stormed back toward the more expensive stand. "Then I'm buying what I want while I still fucking can! You cheap fucking bastard!"

By nightfall they were standing in the lobby of an inn. Hidan waited with his arms crossed as Kakuzu bought two rooms. He quirked an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were too cheap for two rooms."

"I am not going to share a room with you." Kakuzu looked at him from the corner of his eye as he took the keys. He didn't yet trust the other man enough. What if he tried to kill him in his sleep? He wouldn't put it past the lunatic.

"Tch, good." Hidan held a hand out, palm up, "I don't wanna share one with you either, fuckhead."

Kakuzu said nothing as he dropped a key into Hidan's open palm. They walked upstairs together and didn't say anything as they went into separate rooms for the night.

Hidan dropped his scythe by the bed and shrugged off his robe with a sigh. Briefly, he glanced at the window and wondered if he should take off, get back out on his own. But, they'd already made it clear what happened to defectors in the Akatsuki. Escape was no longer an option if he didn't want to be hunted down.

How annoying.

In the other room, Kakuzu was furious. With a snarl, he slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a sizeable hole. The entitlement that his new partner oozed got all over him and under his skin. Already he was sick of the man and it had hardly been twenty-four hours since they'd been forced together as a team.

This wasn't going to end well, he was certain.

Their first target was some S-ranked Nin that Hidan couldn't care less about turning in for a bounty. He demanded he be allowed to take the man down himself. Surprisingly, Kakuzu let him, though Hidan suspected it was because his partner was secretly hoping he'd lose. Fat chance!

The Nin underestimated him, everyone did, and Hidan won with little effort. The sweet sensation of death washed over him, causing him to fall to his knees in ecstasy.

It was short-lived.

"Let's go." Kakuzu barked and made a move to grab the body.

"NO!" Hidan pointed the retractable spear at him threateningly, "Leave it! I have to finish my ritual and pray!"

"What." Kakuzu's voice held contempt.

"You heard me. I'm not done with my ritual. We aren't going anywhere until I'm done!"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"I don't care." Hidan glared, "Touch him and we're going to have a fucking fight. I killed your fucking bounty, the least you can do is let me finish my ritual."

There was a long, heavy silence. Their eyes bore into one another, each full of hatred. Neither moved for several tense seconds.

Finally, the tension snapped when Kakuzu moved faster than the eye could perceive, embedding a kunai in Hidan's skull with a quick flick of his wrist. The scream of pain was no surprise, but he did momentarily forget his partner's immortality.

Hidan fell onto his back. "THAT HURT!" He tore the kunai out, jumped to his feet, and sent it right back. Sadly, he wasn't faster. Kakuzu knocked it away with little effort. In the next second Hidan was running at him, scythe poised to strike. His moves were painfully predictable, however. Kakuzu merely hardened his skin and easily caught the scythe as it swung at him.

"You fucking asshole," Hidan snarled at him, "I just want to do my fucking ritual!" He tried to pull his scythe away, but it didn't budge.

Kakuzu glared. "It will take too long. I don't want to wait around."

"You don't know that! You've never watched me perform it!"

"I know it will. Everything you do is slow."

"FUCK YOU!" Hidan took him by surprise when he kicked him in the stomach. It made Kakuzu grunt in pain and release the scythe. Hidan attempted to swing it again, but Kakuzu knocked it away and punched him in the face. It sent him to the ground, where he landed on his side facing away. Surprisingly, he stayed.

Kakuzu scoffed and stepped toward him, "Every time you step out of place I'm going to put you back in it, so-"

His words were cut off when his feet were kicked out from under him. He hit the ground, bracing himself with his elbow. He saw only a blur of white as Hidan flipped around with the kunai in hand and slashed at his face. There was no time to react. He felt it slice his cheek, cutting through the mask to draw blood.

In the blink of an eye he was on his feet again. Hidan was already in his circle, the kunai clenched in his fist and an unreadable expression on his face.

"Don't. You. Dare," Kakuzu hissed. He readied himself to attack.

He never had to.

Hidan threw the bloody kunai to the ground between them in a gesture of truce. His voice was calm as he spoke, no hint of the usual obnoxious tone that got under Kakuzu's skin. "I joined under the promise that I would get to continue sacrificing to Jashin. I'm assuming you joined because they promised you could continue killing for bounties, right? You obviously do it for the love of money, not because it's our mission." He pointed at the dead man several feet away, "You got your bounty. I want my ritual. That's only fucking fair. So what if you have to wait an extra five fucking minutes? We got all the time in the world, don't we?"

A pause.

They stared at one another; Hidan determined and Kakuzu stoic. The older man didn't want to admit it, but he supposed his partner was… kind of right. Everyone who joined did so for their own reasons and under the knowledge that they would still be free to pursue their own goals. Kakuzu didn't particularly want to wait, but what was the harm, exactly? They weren't getting any older. At least, he basically wasn't.

"Fine." He spoke evenly, "Just hurry up."

Seconds later he was seated on a stump, passing the time by reading his bingo book and glancing at Hidan performing his strange ritual. It was equally annoying and fascinating, but he'd never admit to that second one.