Heaven Forbid

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's Note: Nope, I still don't have a very good excuse, but at least this one took me less than a year? Ha...ha...ah.

Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen: Persistence

"Oh, fuck. Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Hell. FUCK!" Between expletives, Tenten leapt from tree to tree, barely escaping the explosions at her heels. "Neji, we're fucked!"

Although her teammate had not bothered to acknowledge her exclamation, she could practically hear his eyes roll through the surrounding demolition. "You made that clear with the first 'fuck'." Being able to detect the bombs with his Byakugan, the young Hyuuga was noticeably much calmer than the weapons mistress.

"Hey, girl!" Deidara gleefully shouted from behind on his clay bird. "Does Hidan know you've got a man on the side, yeah?"

Fruitlessly sending some kunai his way, Tenten responded, "Shut up, you bastard!" The explosive tags attached to the knives only served to slightly change the trajectory of Deidara's ride.

"You gotta do better than that, if you want to save your dear, dear priest." Another cackle, and the tree she had just been standing on burst into a ball of flames, smoke, and splinters.

Her projectile weapons useless, Tenten bit back a retort and focused on surviving the encounter. And indeed saving her dear, dear priest. "Hidan, if you're already dead, I'm gonna be so fucking pissed," she muttered to no one in particular as she just barely escaped yet another exploding tree.

If Neji heard her commentary, he refrained from showing it, instead opting to maneuver around their pursuant so that Deidara was sandwiched between the two Leaf ninja. The young Hyuuga's scowl went very deep; what awful luck the two close-combat fighters had to be paired with Deidara and his long-distance explosives. It would be no easy feat for him and Tenten to defeat the artist, regardless of their greater numbers.

Tenten spared a swift glance over her shoulder to see Neji in position and giving a signal, and with a nod, she abruptly swung around the branch she stepped upon, hurtling herself toward the figure flying in her direction. Neji likewise took a great leap to land on the bird beside Deidara, while Tenten took advantage of the missing-nin's brief surprise to toss some needles into the hems of his robes, pinning the black cloth to the bird.

As the weapons mistress landed atop the bird, Neji attempted a kick at Deidara's abdomen, but the blonde had already shed his clouded robe and began meeting Neji's blows.

Tenten nearly had a heart attack when Neji's fist sank into the abdomen of a quickly ballooning clay clone, her fear only subsiding once her teammate's own shadow clone dissipated in a puff of smoke. "Shit, I'm losing touch," she muttered before unraveling a scroll and letting loose all manner of pointy things at the real Deidara.

Now that they had drawn closer, it became clear that the bomber was having difficulty keeping up with the two close-combat fighters. Even so, Deidara's disadvantage did nothing to wipe that damn smirk off his face.

Angrily—for many reasons at that point—Tenten pulled out a particularly nasty-looking short sword and swung it at the blonde's face. When he managed to block it, still wearing an irritating grin, her scowl deepened, and she adjusted her angle slightly.

Deidara hissed, leaping back with a hand to his face. A tongue flicked out at the blood dripping down his cheek. "I underestimated you," he admitted painstakingly, lowering his arm to reveal the ugly gash drawn diagonally from his cheekbone and through his lips. She did not cut him particularly deeply, but it would hurt to make any sort of facial expression, and it was certainly going to leave an unsightly scar. A little higher, and she might have sliced his nose clean off his pretty face.

"You thought I'd be blinded by my feelings," she said with a half-sneer. "Everyone thinks that. But everyone's wrong. Feelings gave me purpose, brought me focus." Without another word, she leapt at him again.

Neji, with a slight shake of his head, soon followed suit, and the two teammates leapt simultaneously at Deidara.

The battle drew to a close, and the Akatsuki were in retreat. However, the squadron of Leaf ninja were nowhere near fit to pursue their foes; they had only forced the Akatsuki back based on their sheer numbers.

Tenten and Neji, for all their flawless coordination and stark advantage at close combat, were unable to completely subdue Deidara after the injury to his face—the fury of the former Iwa-nin gave him focus. He easily dodged their attacks until the Akatsuki leader gave the signal to back off, sneering as he leapt away from one final senbon tossed by the kunoichi.

Their only comfort was the fact that with the deep cut on his face, that sort of derisive expression probably caused him quite a bit of pain.

As things settled down, Tenten frantically searched for Hidan amidst the wreckage. Heart pounding furiously in her chest, her eyes welled at the notion that perhaps they failed in rescuing him—that perhaps the Akatsuki retreated with him in tow. After all, she was probably the only one who cared about that part of the mission; the others only sought to protect Naruto a little longer from the Akatsuki and also do some damage to the organization in one way or another.

Just as her breathing started getting ragged, she heard a familiar voice shout out a long string of curses, and her heart leapt into her throat.

Turning slowly, eyes wide, the tears she had been fighting burst forth anyway upon the sight of Hidan.

Although he was being bound with ropes by Ino and coughing up some blood, Tenten nonetheless sprinted over and threw her arms around his neck, nearly knocking all three of them over (much to the chagrin of Ino, who reluctantly gave the two some privacy following a hand motion from Sakura).

"Holy shit, woman, I'm already fucking close enough to going to hell!" he exclaimed, though he did not bother to keep any fondness from his voice. Despite his words and impending imprisonment, he was clearly elated to see her.

"Fuck you," she retorted, also in a tone that undermined her words. "You're a goddamn idiot, getting all kidnapped like that."

He snickered. "Yeah, well, it looks like I'm goddamned idiotic enough to get tied up twice. Guess I've won this fucking contest, eh, girlie?"

Reminded of the circumstances of their introduction, she scowled. Finally, Tenten got over her happiness at just seeing him to be concerned with his current state. "You're hurt."

"Oh? Nothing some medical shit can't handle."

"I thought you were immortal. I've stabbed you, and you were fine."

Hidan smirked wistfully. "Turns out you can't fuck the ladies and be a priest for Jashin at the same time. Who the hell knew that those goddamned cocksuckers weren't dicking around about that fucking celibacy bullshit? Anyway, I haven't done the shitshow of a ritual in a long ass time, so I guess I'm just a shitty normal human again."

Tenten blinked. "You gave up your religion for me?" She felt a mix of surprise and relief, having absolutely no desire to walk in on him impaled with a pike again.

"No, for a fucking whore in Kirigakure." He coughed again when she hit him in the back.

"Sorry."

"No, you're not."

Her grin dissipated shortly when Ino returned with a grim expression, frowning at Tenten as she led Hidan away from the weapons mistress.

"WAIT!" she called after a moment's pause, jogging after the pair. "At least tell me where you're taking him, Ino."

The blonde sighed. "It's confidential, Tenten."

"I'm sorry I lied, Ino."

"Don't be," said the younger girl, with only a hint of sadness in her voice. "I wish I had never found out."

Though Tenten could tell her friend was hurt by her betrayal, the weapons mistress could not help but feel injured for the deflection of her apology. She looked on with trepidation at the retreating forms of her friend and her lover.

And then she realized that the dreaded moment came—the awful moment when she would be forced to choose one over the other.

"Shit."

Hidan swung his legs in boredom, scratching at the bandages wrapped around his waist. When he accidentally knocked over a stand full of medical supplies, he smirked at the woman entering the room who bore a less-than-amused expression on her face.

"Should I feel honored or fucking intimidated by your presence?" he wondered aloud, leaning back on the exam table with his hands behind his head.

"Both, but more of the latter," snapped Tsunade, calling Shizune over to help with the toppled medical gear. "Especially since you've given me a shit ton of paperwork just by being here."

Hidan shrugged. "Hey, your dumbass shitheads brought me here."

Scoffing, the Hokage poked him in the ribs, exactly on the spot that necessitated the bandages.

"Fuckin' bitch!"

"Don't scratch," she hissed, not completely unlike her former teammate Orochimaru, shoving him back onto the exam table when he tried to sit up. "You'll interrupt the healing process."

"Fuck you, don't pretend like you give a shit if I'm peachy-fucking-keen."

"I don't," Tsunade sneered emphatically, as she ran her chakra-covered hands over his body to check for internal injuries, "but you have some important information about the Akatsuki that we could use. Prove yourself useful, and we might let you live."

Hidan raised an eyebrow. "Might?"

A slight smirk graced the face of the blonde Hokage. "At best, your trial will end with life imprisonment." She ran her hands over his body one more time for good measure. "And if you are going to die, it won't be at my hands."

"Don't you have any fucking cronies to try to scare the shit out of me?" snapped Hidan. "Besides, I defected and went to Konoha first—what could possibly warrant life imprisonment?"

Tsunade rounded up to him, grabbing the front of his hospital gown to draw him close and growl into his face, "You were part of one of the biggest conspiracies to ever hit the region. By association, you attempted to assassinate the Kazekage. How many jinchuuriki have you killed by extracting their demons? How many people have died at your hand?"

Hidan scoffed, "Don't feed me that bullcrap like you're so fucking innocent. You think you're fucking better than me? Guess what—you fucking are, because take a good fucking look at who's at whose fucking mercy. But all that really means is that your shitty orders were a little bit better than the shitty orders from my dickhead leader. Congratu-fucking-lations, bitch. Suck my dick."

Shizune had to restrain her mentor from mauling the injured man.

A soft rap at the open door alerted Hidan to his visitor. Without looking up from his book, he said, "Hi, girlie."

"You still don't know my damn name, huh?"

"Old habits," he shrugged, raising his eyes to meet hers with a broad grin.

Tenten skeptically raised an eyebrow. "You're awful chipper for a man who just faced death."

"Tch, this ain't got shit on me."

"When did you stop being immortal?"

Hidan's violet eyes widened slightly at her sudden question. After a moment's pause, he decided he should for once be forthright with the young woman. "I stopped being immortal a little bit before you found me outside Konoha."

Thinking back to how she discovered him bleeding profusely underneath a bush, Tenten gaped a little out of disbelief.

He continued, "When you found me looking like shit, I had completed my last ritual for Jashin about ten minutes earlier. It was essentially my graduation from Jashin's program, I guess, so I had to become a fucking useless mortal again. It's fucking bullshit, but it seemed like a good idea at the time." He shifted his position, wincing a bit at the pain. "Maybe I should have waited a little."

"Idiot," Tenten whispered, still incredulous at the man before her. She blinked out of her reverie. "I can't stay long. I just wanted to check in on you, and the guards outside are doing me a huge favor by even letting me in here."

"How's it looking for me?" At her silence and grim expression, he chuckled, though half-heartedly. "That fuckin' bad, huh?"

"I don't know what to do."

"You don't hafta do shit for me, Tenten. I'm a fucking adult; I know how to fucking take care of my own ass."

She smiled softly, both at the fact that he referred to her by name and at his somewhat misguided attempt to alleviate her anxiety. "Okay. You better not get yourself killed after the shit I just went through."

As the young woman walked out the door, he called after her, "Promise!" Tenten paused, gave a curt nod, and shut the door behind her without another word.

Outside of view from both her friends and Hidan, Tenten was an emotional wreck.

The man with whom she stupidly fell in love was imminently going to be executed for his extensive criminal history, and there was nothing she could do about it. Moreover, even if he did manage to survive the trial without a death sentence, he likely faced a very, very long imprisonment. And if he somehow managed to elude that obstacle, Tenten knew that she would still be forced to choose between him and her village, since he would probably be forced into a life of heavily guarded exile.

Although, to be completely fair, Konoha was doing a pretty unimpressive job of persuading her in its direction.

Following their return to the village, all of her friends had treated the weapons mistress relatively coldly, actively trying to avoid her even in the most mundane of situations. Tenten gritted her teeth upon recalling a particular instance when Chouji crossed the street upon noticing that Tenten was walking toward the same supermarket as he had been, completely forgoing his quest for food.

(That's right: Chouji forwent food just so that he could avoid Tenten. She would not have been surprised if pigs started flying that very instant.)

And though she could completely understand their reasoning—Hidan was part of the group that essentially wanted to kill Naruto and take over the world—it still hurt that hardly anyone even wanted to hear her side of the story at the very least.

Needless to say, Tenten was incredibly grateful to at least have Lee, Neji, and Sakura supporting her in any way they could. They all made the effort to seem understanding of her predicament and willing to hear her out.

But the three of them, when compared to an entire village of people either against or ambivalent towards her, were hardly a compelling argument for Tenten to want to stay. Even so, despite the masses refusing to take her (and by association, Hidan's) side, Tenten still found difficulty in resolving to leave Konoha. It had been her home since birth, and she had pledged her loyalty and her life to the village as soon as she entered the Academy. All those years dedicated to Konoha, and all the future years promised to be in service to the village—she did not know how she could possibly just throw all of that to the wind.

Heaven forbid her imminent decision. It would certainly be difficult.

With a shake of her head, Tenten focused on the present. Hidan would survive, thank Kami, but his fate afterwards remained a question. Tsunade mentioned something about a trial when debriefing the large Leaf squadron upon their return, and Tenten knew that could not end well. For Hidan's only changes were his defection from the Akatsuki and his loss of immortality, his remaining self-centeredness and generally ill disposition would not serve him well to win over the hearts of the councilmen.

Not that he really had a chance to begin with.

Sighing, Tenten let herself into her apartment with a slight kick to the door when the lock was again being uncooperative.

She thought back to the first time she met Hidan, how he sat languidly on her couch with the malicious intent to kidnap her. "You sure know how to pick 'em," she muttered to her empty apartment, throwing her pack onto the couch just like she had that fateful day.

Tenten halted briefly, half expecting to hear an expletive from the silver-haired man, but she was only met with silence.

Another heavy sigh.

Shrugging off her shirt and peeling away the rest of her clothes, Tenten stepped into the shower, hoping to wash away her anxiety along with the usual mission grime. She closed her eyes and willed away the impending tears, just standing with her hands on the tiled walls as the water coursed over her body.

About an hour later, Tenten finally willed herself outside of the sanctuary of her bathroom, wrapped in a towel when she flopped onto her bed, exhausted both physically and emotionally. Deciding she had absolutely zero fucks to give, she threw the towel to the ground and promptly fell into a restless sleep.

She was abruptly awoken too soon by a harsh rapping at her door. Throwing on a robe, the weapons mistress dashed to the threshold and squinted through the peephole to see Sakura pacing outside her apartment.

Tenten threw the door open. "What happened?"

The medic-nin gave her a sympathetic look and relayed the news: "Tsunade-sama says that Hidan's well enough to be out of the hospital, so they'll be putting him on trial tomorrow."

"What?" The brunette's head reeled. "Aren't they going to question him first? Try to get some information on the Akatsuki from him? Bargain with him to learn some secrets?"

Sakura frowned. "That's what I would have expected, but there's some serious animosity against this guy. And he's not from Konoha, so I guess it's harder to come up with a reason to cut him a deal."

"Crap, I have to see him."

The pink-haired kunoichi shook her head. "They're upping his guard detail since he's regained health. They want to keep him in just as much as they want to keep people out."

Ignoring her friend's warning, Tenten ran into her bedroom and dressed more quickly than Sakura had ever seen before. "I'm ready."

"Tenten, those are ANBU guards out there. You're just a single chuunin."

"I'm not stupid," she snapped. "I won't fight them singlehandedly. I just need to talk to him."

The medic-nin stepped between her friend and the door. "Don't do this.

In a near snarl, Tenten remarked, "Just because you lost your Sasuke doesn't mean I have to lose mine."

And though she wanted to scream at Tenten for the utter unfairness of that statement, Sakura found her voice defeated as the older girl pushed past her and out of the apartment.