Kakuzu
His back creaked as he stretched to the right, then to the left in bed. Kakuzu looked down at himself. He had one hell of a lot to be grateful for. A little back creaking after sleeping in a strange bed was nothing compared to what he should be dealing with at his age. He lifted the blanket, made sure that nobody was about to come barging in, then slowly pulled his shirt up. Even more than his back, his chest was covered with densely packed cris-crossing lines of stitches. By all rights the places where they met should have been very noticeably scarred or possibly infected, since there were no stitches for a couple of centimeters around each intersection. At this density they would've overlapped.
There were still no sounds of anyone coming to bother him. The benefits of advanced age were becoming clearer to Kakuzu every day he was here. Even retreating sleep cycles should have use. It's a waste of energy if they don't. He liked to believe evolution was economical and did not waste anything. Since the morning only just provided enough light to see the dark patch where all these stitches met, he switched on the light next to his bed for clearer viewing. Each stitch became clearly visible, little lines of shadow emerging from and disappearing beneath his flesh.
Hm. Why do I have these things? He liked to believe they served some useful purpose. If his original had just gotten poorly closed stitches for no reason, Kakuzu could think of several words he would have to say about that. He probed an intersection with one finger. Observing that it did not hurt, he pressed deeper. It still did not hurt. He pressed even more forcefully, and stopped. Curiosity was tempered by concern. Kakuzu stared down at the intersection he had just been pressing. It was just next to his ribcage and slightly beneath the sternum, a place where properly applied force can kill. Yet he felt nothing.
Kakuzu sat up straight, and took off his shirt entirely. He considered that this viewpoint might be inadequate, so he went into the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. From this position, something seemed as if it should be obvious to him. Something in the pattern of his stitches…
He turned slightly, observing the pattern on his back. The stitches here were just as plentiful as on his chest, but spread over a larger area. They almost looked like diamonds. He narrowed his eyes and turned to look again at the stitches on his chest. These ones were more chaotic, spread at stranger angles, but nonetheless he could imagine a diamond-like shape in them. Not complete diamonds, of course. They just had angles that seemed to point in particular directions the way diamonds did.
Kakuzu wondered about the purpose of these. He was not in the habit of ignoring patterns at the most innocuous of times, and this was not innocuous at all. What did that shape do? He narrowed his eyes into the mirror. Still seems like I'm overlooking something…
He traced the pattern of his stitches. The ones coming off his mouth reminded him uncomfortably of the Joker. Ugh. Ugly-looking clown. He had more tracing along beneath his collarbones and wrapping around his shoulders in circles. Similar circles wrapped around his arms in two places. It occurred to him that he looked like a doll assembled in segments that had been stitched together. What the hell good is it supposed to do me to look like a ragdoll?
From there a number of stitches spread like patchwork across his chest, intersecting at various angles across his upper abdomen. The lowest was only an inch, inch and a half above his stomach and to the side. Kakuzu wondered how he had never wondered about that placement before. The abdomen and chest was where all the life-sustaining organs were. Injuries deep enough to requires stitches this large should have landed him in the hospital. He could easily imagine major damage to his liver, maybe. That was above the stomach, right? Though it was only muscle, injury to the diaphragm which allowed him to draw breath into his lungs should have resulted in the same. Thankfully his lungs themselves were out of harm's way, protected by the -
That's it! Kakuzu's hand flew to his chest, squeezed. He pressed into the places where he could feel bone, traced them across his chest. His hands ran across the very edges of his stitches where they reached over the edge of his ribs over his lungs. Aside from those, there was nothing. Kakuzu realized what had seemed like it should be obvious to him before. He had no stitches whatsoever where his organs were protected, not even scars. Nor did he have any stitches above the organs, such as intestines and stomach, which were not terribly vital and could survive injury or even replacement. His stitches opened onto the part of his chest where vital organs went, nothing more.
His eyes were now wide as he stared in the mirror. Stitches...opened? His hand pressed into the intersections again. Those weren't just diamond-like angles. Those were flaps.
Woah, whoa. Wait just one fucking second. His eyes narrowed again. There was no reason to go jumping to conclusions. If he had flaps sewn into his chest for access to major organs, he'd know, right? Their false memories were of a perfectly normal life, exploration of their bodies included. He would have known he had those structures, just as Kisame knew he was shark like or that wolf guy knew he was half-wolf. As far as he knew, the only thing funny about their false memories was that they hadn't cared before. Just like I didn't really notice how my stitches were in any way strange. No reason to assume this failure to recognize strangeness included failure to recognize parts of his own frickin' body.
Although… Not everyone in the base had known about all the parts of their bodies before Konan arrived. Itachi hadn't known about his eyes, for example. Kakuzu dismissed that. Of course he didn't know what his eyes could do. That was an ability activated by chakra. Unless Kakuzu's stitches were activated by chakra, he didn't see what that had to do with anything.
It had been long enough. He left the bathroom, noticing with some annoyance that the morning light was now bright enough to indicate a decent time of day for people to be waking up. He put his shirt back on and proceeded with his morning routine as if nothing had happened at all. Upon completing this routine, he went out.
Sure enough, there was the sound of people doing things. Kakuzu ignored this and went into the kitchen. It was still bare. He sighed. Now that Hidan was recovered and Kakuzu had discovered how uncomfortable he was doing his normal activities, there was no excuse to avoid purchasing a refrigerator. Secretly, he recognized the necessity. Upon returning to the base the previous day, he had discovered Hidan awake and Konan in need of something to distract herself from Hidan's lack of need for assistance. Upon seeing the look in his eyes, Konan had recognized the need for mutual distraction and proceeded to take him out back and test his endurance severely. Kakuzu had been very interested to discover how fast and agile he was, traits not usually associated with people half his age, and had managed to dodge or punch apart her paper weapons. Even though he still didn't know how to fight as his original had, he was unable to maintain any disbelief in Konan's claims after that. It was impossible not to accept that he had little to no place in this world.
Which is how Kakuzu solved his money concerns in a single thought. In that case, why don't I cannibalize my own living space? He had a fridge of his own already. He'd already discovered that a normal apartment in the middle of a normal town was capable of driving him insane just by existing around him. Why not? He snorted and wondered where that camera had gone. Then again, Hidan took anything in stride. He probably wouldn't have any entertaining reaction to being told the reason he had dug up his treasure was no more. That was infuriating.
Kakuzu drummed his fingers on the countertops for several more seconds, then went looking for Kisame. He found the shark-man arguing with his land-shark about something, who cared what, and settled against the wall to wait until they were done. Of course as soon as he settled, Samehada noticed him and slithered up, growling in cheerful tones. Well, it seemed he wouldn't have to wait after all. Kakuzu, ignoring whatever Kisame was saying, bent down to examine Samehada. It was obvious the shark could move as well as an ordinary person, at least. The mouth was obviously dangerous. Aside from that, what else?
Kisame realized he was being ignored and approached. It seemed he had gotten a completely wrong idea about why Kakuzu was here. "Are you looking for something?" he inquired in a faux-casual voice.
Kakuzu could be plenty diplomatic if he felt like it. He patted Samehada on the head as he answered, "What will your shark be doing today?"
Kisame looked down. Aside from greed, he had not encountered a single other thing that was still normal. "I thought I'd take him to the lake, or maybe leave him with Hidan since they seem to get along so well."
Kakuzu patted Samehada's scales again. "Good."
Kisame stared. "Excuse me for being paranoid, but I need a lot more information." His voice sounded suspicious, almost accusatory. Anyone else would have minded being addressed in this way.
Kakuzu did not. His tone was light as he answered. "Only Konan, Hidan and I have no reason to leave during working hours. There is no way for that arrangement to work out easily: If I leave those two to fawn over each other, I'll be bored. I have no desire to play with Hidan. And if I have Konan teach me some more about fighting, Hidan will get bored and start annoying one or both of us. But if Samehada is here as well…" His eyes narrowed in triumph. "All is well."
Kisame relaxed and chuckled. "Glad to be of service," he said. "As long as nothing happens to Same, got it?"
Kakuzu looked at the shark in question. "That depends. Do you want something to happen to you?" he asked Samehada. Samehada was still for a second, then thrashed his body back and forth vigorously. He thrust his pectoral fins forward in two sharp bursts as if punching, then opened his mouth and growled a challenge. Finally, he settled down in a ready position with a low growl.
Kakuzu chuckled with genuine good humor. "Heh. Yes, it is definitely a very good thing to have your shark around." Samehada's tongue lolled out of his mouth in joy. Kakuzu reached out and patted near his mouth with a genuine, soft touch. It seemed Kisame really did have good taste. He wondered how it would be taken if he invited the shark man to train together or something similar.
"...e Hell?!" came a shout from down the hall.
Deidara
He jumped back slightly with a shocked expression. Sasori did not yell like that. He just didn't. But just now…
Sasori stabbed his phone screen with a finger, all traces of sleep gone. The second's delay in opening up whatever notification he had received seemed to annoy him very much. When it finally went through, Sasori put the phone to his ear. Deidara untensed and listened. Sasori issued several short, clipped commands. He seemed to be going through a phone tree. When he finally reached someone human his voice relaxed.
"Hello. I am asking about the notification I just saw on my phone regarding a break in at my house," he calmly stated. Deidara's eyes went wide. Kakuzu snorted softly. Kisame sighed.
There was a response they couldn't hear. Sasori gave several identifying details. There was a long delay, then another faint response. Sasori repeated some of those details. Deidara found his throat going dry, and gulped to moisten it. This eerie calmness was somehow terrifying since he knew how Sasori really felt. Whoever did this might really be in for it, hm.
There was a slight pause, then a short question. Sasori's other hand tightened. "Oh, no. I want to hear all about it, preferably now. When did it happen? Did the officers find anything? Is anything missing? And do I need to tell someone where I was when it happened?"
There was a long wait of a good two minutes while the lady on the other end answered. Sasori's eyes widened. Eventually, he muttered some standard disengagement statements and ended the call, placing his phone beside him next to his other hand, which was now gripping the sheets so hard the knuckles were white. For some strange reason, nobody else felt like moving.
Sasori looked up at Deidara with a wrong look in his eyes. What the hell is that look, hm? What is it? And why does it feel so bad, huh? Deidara thought it might have something to do with his not ever having seen anything like this look before, but that couldn't be the whole story. "Uh…" His voice shook. Dei coughed, and spoke more steadily. "So, what happened, yeah?"
Sasori's hand loosened just barely enough for blood to flow through his fingers again. "When it happened was shortly after midnight, about 12:30 in the morning. The officers found a broken window and some things knocked over. They think something in my bedroom could be missing, since that's where the most chaos is, and they want me to come in and check. I'll provide some kind of statement then."
Dei nodded in sympathy. "Shit. I hope you can get it back or replace anything that was taken, hm."
Sasori nodded back. "After I test out some of my ninja abilities against whoever was responsible, perhaps." He groaned. "I had to sneak back to work late at night just to do my job because I have reason to think my boss will make my life hell, then I stayed up even later purchasing bike parts for a children's bicycle I'm responsible for and no, I don't why I am, and now this. Whoever's responsible for that bike had better be grateful."
Dei wondered if it was the right question to ask. "Um...could you maybe just take the day off today, hm?"
Sasori closed his eyes. "I might go insane if I do, since I like my job and it is enjoyable. I only have one bicycle to work on, which isn't nearly enough for a full day. And if I take today off, that bastard will think it was because of him and I can't let him be that satisfied."
Kisame walked in, stopping a few feet from Sasori. He didn't know exactly how to do this. It was kind of awkward. "Yeah...My supervisors ruin the favorite part of my day, too. My condolences."
Sasori looked up at him with a blank expression. Kisame had no idea whether or not his attempt was appreciated, and began to fidget. Then Sasori looked down and gestured for Samehada to come over. He patted the shark for several seconds, then stood up. "I have things to do. Clear out, at least three of you."
Everyone but Deidara did so. Dei looked at him and ventured, "Are you really okay?"
"No." Sasori did not pause or make any changes to what he was doing.
What the hell else do I say, hm? Dei thought about what he wanted a long time ago just after something horrible had happened. He had always curled up in his tent or went out to look into the night alone. He decided to say nothing and left, leaving Sasori to move on with his day.
Nagato
Nagato closed his eyes, squeezing them shut and visualizing the Big Bang in an attempt to drive certain exceedingly pleasant - but false! - visions from his mind. No. Bad. Don't think of that now. Save it for later. It's not even happening. Don't embarrass me!
The cause for these visions was sitting on his bed not two steps away. Yahiko sat back in a relaxed and very good-looking posture, with a slight blush on his face. Nagato opened his eyes as if he had only had to concentrate on what Yahiko was saying. "You...are staying here with Konan?"
Yahiko looked down and fiddled with his hair. "Yeah. I don't even know what I'm saying or how I thought of this, but I think I should. I know it's strange, but I've always thought I should follow my instincts, so…"
Nagato took a deep breath, and let it out. "So I don't need to pick you up today." Damn. I like driving with him, just the two of us… What's wrong with me?
Yahiko nodded. "Yeah. Hidan's around, so it should be okay. I think I'll just spend time with the two of them on whatever, see what happens."
Nagato suggested, "Keep everything focused on ninja activities. She seems most comfortable with those, and it could help you to understand her better."
Yahiko snorted. "Of course! After what she said about my original… What else would I do? I mean, that's what I was already planning. Hidan and I could ask her to tell us more about what chakra is, or something."
"Yeah. Good idea." Nagato relaxed his shoulders, rolling them back and forth. "If anything really important happens, I guess you could call."
"Definitely! Maybe it would be a good idea if she wasn't surprised. Could you tell her and Hidan?"
"Sure," Nagato replied. "If I can, I might ask her more about my original while I'm at it. If it is a problem with your original, and she doesn't have as much of a problem with me, than my original must have been different than yours. I'll try to find out more about what that difference was."
Yahiko looked up and gave him a thumbs up that morphed into a fist. "Thanks! You're pretty amazing at this. Thank you."
Nagato returned the fist bump, his fingers shivering afterwards with the memory of contact. "It's my job as a good friend. Well, see you later." He left, walking as casually as he could until Yahiko was out of sight before racing away from his own room. After a few doorways had passed, he stopped and pressed a hand into his forehead, grinding the heel of his palm just above his eyes. My job as a good friend? Oh god. I am failing so badly at that job. He took several deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out.
Who should I see? Konan seems to know things, since she stepped in while we were on that bench and told me 'You're welcome'. Hidan definitely knows things, since he can tell what everyone nearby is feeling. Well...she might be busy. I'd better go talk to Hidan first. Nagato relaxed his shoulders again and went to look for Hidan. He did have to, but more importantly, there was a distinctly non-zero possibility that Hidan could have some answers.
After wandering through the kitchen, he found Hidan in place #2 on his list of Likely Places For Hidan To Be: The Sunroom. It had become pretty obvious why Hidan had named it that when Nagato walked by in the course of things one weekend afternoon. That room blazed with sunshine from its large windows. It had also become clear that it was Hidan's favorite room in the entire building. He'd been scratching the carpet and dragging the soft chair out of the corner to lie in, as Nagato recalled. Did cats scratch carpets? He knew they scratched furniture. Perhaps carpets were easier to scratch since Hidan didn't have the claws of a real cat.
That train of thought slammed to a screeching halt as Nagato came to a stop in the doorway to the sunroom. What the - Hidan was bent in a crouch on top of the chair, scratching at it. Sure enough, his fingernails were unable to scratch it in a satisfying way, so he jumped down to the carpet and began to tear at it. No progress was made there, so he proceeded to race around the room on all fours, once diving from high on the opposite wall to impact on the chair with enough force to knock it over, somehow. That was when he noticed Nagato standing there with his mouth open.
"Hey! Moon guy! Can you believe this shit?" Hidan jabbered. "In just a few short hours, this room will be filled with glorious sunshine! Or are the hours long? Who cares! Sunny! And- and…" His hands made frustrated clawing motions back and forth in the air. "Fuck! This room is boring! It sucks! This is the day to be doing things, learning things, doing things, and running, and all kinds of other shit that's not napping. Fuck napping! Only losers do that shit!" His eyes shone in a way that sent shivers up Nagato's back.
"Um...Hidan...are you okay?" he ventured carefully. Carefully was evidently the wrong way to venture, because Hidan ignored the question completely. Instead of answering, he wrapped Nagato in a giant hug and squeezed him tight. Nagato considered proceeding from wary to frightened. Something was not correct.
Hidan was not in the mood for a gentle hug. Nagato tried to breathe, and discovered he couldn't. That made the decision for him. He tried to thrash, and also couldn't. His hands tightened. His heart felt like it was being squeezed directly. Spots appeared in his vision. A feeling of warmth surged and coiled in a ball in the core of his stomach. Nagato's hands flew open, the fingers springing out in a forward thrust instead of the open, receptive splaying they had done before. Push!
Hidan's fingers were tightly gripping Nagato, so they both went flying, but Hidan flew further than Nagato. He lost his grip halfway through and tumbled across the floor, smacking into the fallen chair. Nagato propped himself up and gasped for breath. He shivered as he did so.
Oh my god. What was that? He readjusted his arms after one of them shivered out of position. He felt cold all of a sudden. Did Hidan really just do that? He almost… It felt like I could've… Nagato swallowed, then resumed gasping as he pushed himself up and stumbled backward into a crouch. His eyes stayed on Hidan the whole time. Hidan had by now bounced to his feet and was standing up. Nagato did likewise.
"Hidan, you are not okay." It wasn't any relation to a question.
Hidan scratched his head. "Sorry! I was just happy to see ya. Have you even seen…" And he continued to jabber on, gesturing in the vague direction of the training rooms, then the kitchen, then down to the basement, and finally in no direction at all as Hidan outlined a series of increasingly strange plans. "So we're going to get those bags set up, and punch the shit out of them, and get more bags, and draw on them, and make targets, and we'll have so many fucking targets the walls'll be plastered, the kitchen needs a new sink, but not just a regular one the best fucking sink you've even thought of, and it could get some fancy things, and have you heard Konan's ideas about the basement?! I haven't heard them either, but they're fucking amazing! We need to invent a whole new kind of metal jutsu to do it! Now! It'll be so efficient! Do you wanna -"
Nagato's back hit the wall. Only then did Hidan notice he'd been backing away the whole time. "Hey, what's wrong? You look scared or something. I don't know, I can't really tell. Aw damn, do you have work or some shit?! Fuck that shit! Stay home!" He raced over and had an arm around Nagato before the redhead could even react. "We got better shit to do!"
Nagato decided that it was good to be harsh sometimes, and punched Hidan in the throat. Hidan stumbled away, holding his throat and trying to force air out through it. He still grinned and appeared to be trying to laugh. He sat down and gave Nagato a thumbs up.
Nagato slapped away his hand. "Hidan. Stop. You are not acting normal. This isn't funny."
Hidan snarled. He managed to croak out, "Stop?! Why? We've got things happening! What the fuck's wrong with you, asshole!"
Nagato kept his eyes on Hidan but looked around his periphery frantically. What to do? Oh no this was a terrible idea. Wait! Yahiko had mentioned something about a vicious dog. Hidan's definitely acting like one. Vicious dog...needs calming...help. That was what Yahiko was talking about. I need to get him somewhere safe. He's acting like he's in trouble. Hidan took offense to the way he was being looked at and swiped at Nagato. Nagato thanked the reflexes that allowed him to duck in time and grabbed Hidan's arm, slinging it over his shoulders and grabbing the other arm to hold it still. Against Hidan's struggles, he hoisted both of them to their feet.
Where? Nagato wondered what the definition of safe was in this case. Hidan lashed out with a leg, tried to trip him. He really did not like being bound like this. Nagato kept his balance, gasping. Somewhere calm. Give him calmness. Hope I have the strength to get there! He also thought to hope that nobody would see this as he dragged Hidan out of the doorway.
Hidan broke away and looked like he was going to run off, but Nagato used his Pull power on him and maintained it, holding Hidan in a bond he could not escape from for the duration of a hallway. Hidan did not seem to realize this. The technique dropped, and Nagato reached forward to hold Hidan the hard way while he recovered, but Hidan was by now sitting quietly. He looked up at Nagato with tear-filled eyes. "What are you doing? I want to show you cool shit, and now you're kidnapping me or something?!" he sniffled. Before Nagato could say anything, Hidan started crying and slapped him away. "Dickface! I thought we were friends!"
Nagato wondered where he was. Did Yahiko slip me hardcore drugs? He didn't think so, but what the hell else could be happening? "Hidan, I don't know what's happening. You assaulted me -"
Hidan's head snapped up. "No I didn't! I had cool ideas! Things happening!" His eyes narrowed, and he slid closer to Nagato on the floor until they were eye to eye. He whispered in a stereotypical seductive whisper, "You want to see what I can do?"
Kakuzu stopped in the intersection of the two halls and looked absolutely dumbfounded, even more so than in the pictures. "What the fuck are you two doing?"
Hidan burst out laughing. "Oh, nothing, just taking advantage of the day. Do you want to hear what I've thought of?"
Nagato shook his head. "Don't. Bad idea. I'm scared."
Hidan stuck his tongue out. "Fine, be that way! I'm going to go see what Konan has. It's only been five minutes, but she's got to have some more cool shit by now!"
Nagato raised his hand. He was unsure for what, but Kakuzu got the message and tackled Hidan, pinning the younger man to the ground. Hidan stopped entirely, then, in a curious voice, asked, "What are you doing?"
Kakuzu got an arm around his neck and hauled him to his feet. "Holding you still."
Nagato got to his wobbly feet and looked around. His mind came back online soon enough and he pointed to the back of the building, where he had been taking Hidan. Kakuzu took up the task of dragging Hidan, who was much easier to drag now that his attention was taken up with a minuscule crack he thought he saw in a corner. He started wriggling again as they went out the back of the hotel, down the stoop, and into the woods.
Once they crossed the tree line he stopped again. Hidan let his legs go limp, leaving drag marks in the leaves. He didn't care very much as he put his hands to his head. "Ow."
Nagato looked over. "Hidan? Are you okay?"
Hidan looked at him. "Nagato? You feel worried. Is something wrong? Wait…" His face scrunched in concentration. "Wait, you were worried before. Sorry I wasn't paying much attention. I was too linked in with Konan to feel much."
Kakuzu turned his head slightly. "Konan?"
Nagato reached for his phone and sent a quick text to Yahiko asking if he'd already called in with an emergency like he'd been planning. The answer was yes. Oh crap. He swallowed the fear and put his phone away.
Hidan allowed himself to be dragged further, but he was aware and paying attention. "What was that?"
Nagato looked at him sideways. "Do you remember how you were just acting, Hidan?"
Hidan's brow furrowed. "Um… I was really excited about stuff. A lot of stuff. Oh fuck, I don't even remember. I remember feeling like my head was spinning. There were so many fucking things. Ow. Did I hurt myself?"
Nagato paused to consider. "...You did launch yourself headfirst into a large padded chair."
Hidan winced. "That explains why my head feels like I slammed into a bar, then. Fuck. Kakuzu?"
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"I feel kinda sick."
They were almost at the small stream anyway, so Kakuzu let go and let him stumble the last few feet on his own legs. Hidan stumbled as if drunk and fell down, cradling his head with one hand and propping himself on the other. Nagato crouched by his side and patted his hair. Hidan leaned into the touch gladly. Nagato swallowed and took Hidan's head into his lap.
Hidan's breathing was shallow. Nagato watched his unusually pale face and the way his chest rose and fell shakingly, and felt a swell of determination and conviction that he'd done the right thing. He rubbed the back of Hidan's neck in what he hoped was a comforting way. Hidan whimpered.
Kakuzu sat down to Nagato's left and looked at them. "That's not ordinary sickness," he declared. "Hidan doesn't get sick in the first place, and if he did it wouldn't look like that. Looks more like hard drugs to me."
Hidan opened his eyes, fluttering them for a few seconds until they were fully open. "I'm fine. No drugs. Just tired, that's all." His stomach growled. "And that. Though I'd really like some of that water first." His pupils widened at the sight of the stream.
Nagato lifted his head and dipped Hidan into the water headfirst for a few seconds, then took him out. Hidan looked longingly at the water, then remembered that it wasn't good to overdrink or overeat. He should give his body time to recognize that he had had a drink first. He flopped back into Nagato's lap gladly, wondering if Nagato would need to change pants from his wet hair.
He was correct, but the redhead would have to be crazed to be concerned about that at this time. He smoothed Hidan's hair back from his forehead, noticing how smoothly it drifted back from his eyes in the process. Not the time. It felt good to smooth his hair back and to watch, so Nagato continued to do so as he asked, "Better?"
"Mm-hmm."
Kakuzu looked between them and reconsidered his earlier ideas. After a few seconds, he reached over and felt Hidan's forehead, carefully not getting in Nagato's way. "Temperature's pretty normal, for just being dunked. He's acting more reasonable. Seems it's over, for now."
Hidan opened his eyes. "Yeah. I'm just a little hungry and tired from being up since one in the morning, and that drink was good. I'm fine." He nonetheless continued to lie in Nagato's lap.
Nagato wondered why he was doing that. Does he like it? That sent shivers up his spine. He remembered that Kakuzu had a working brain and eyes, and slowly pushed Hidan off his lap. Hidan, true enough, was in good enough condition to sit up on his own. He still propped himself up one one hand as he yawned. Nagato turned now to Kakuzu. "Thank you."
Kakuzu nodded. "I was going to ask you and the Disney prince if either of you felt like comforting Sasori, since he had a break in last night."
Nagato gasped. "A break in? What is going on today?"
Kakuzu snorted. "Don't ask me. Someone broke in to his normal place at about half past midnight last night. It's too early to know if they took anything, but some things are scattered all over so it's possible. I'm starting to understand how he expresses things better. Seems pretty upset about it."
Hidan sagged. "Oh, shit," he whimpered. He soon had two pairs of eyes on him, but was not in the mood to say anything more.
Nagato cleared his throat. "I, for one, wholeheartedly agree with Hidan." In answer to Kakuzu's unasked question, he clarified, "Yahiko thought of something last night that inspired him to stay here for today. If Konan's in a state that could inspire this…"
Hidan whimpered again. "I'm going to my regular place, which is not here, to rest and recover. I need some time to prepare to deal with that shit."
Kakuzu tightened his fists. "Of all the fucking days… Lucky me, I also am going to be here today. And it looks like every plan I had is out the fucking window."
Nagato felt shrinking, helpless. He wasn't in a good position to call out to deal with this. But who ever was? Did thinking that make him a bad person? If there was trouble, he'd better stay too, for Yahiko's sake at least. Right?
Hidan knocked on his ribs. "Go. Get your buddy some normalcy and funny stories to relax with for tonight, for fuck's sake. He can deal with anything as long as you're not around."
Nagato looked up and stared. As long as I'm not around? Does he mean I'm holding Yahiko back? Nagato found himself considering ways he could be doing this, then shook himself. No, he wouldn't say that. Yahiko just worries more about other people than himself, that's all. He would be extra worried for me. That's all he could have meant.
Kakuzu growled, "Get out of here and warn him before he runs into her, for fuck's sake."
Nagato was on his feet and racing back to the base in a flash. Of course! Not to mention, he still had Konan to talk to. Nagato's steps slowed as he approached the back door, considering. Hidan was the worst off because he felt what other people felt. Nobody else could be so badly affected by anything that was going on with another person. His breath rushed out in a sigh of relief.
The building was quiet. It had been quiet before, but he could almost feel the lack of people in it now. Maybe ninjas can sense things like that? He vowed to try and practice what he could during his day. Work or no, there was no way he could leave Hidan and Yahiko to fend for themselves. He walked quietly towards his and Yahiko's rooms.
But before Nagato could get there, he registered a flash of movement. Then Konan was on him, pulling him into the nearest room to see what she had on the laptop tucked under her arm.
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