After the Kyuubi

[pray_for_pain]

Characters: Hidan, Tobi

Setting: Road to Konoha

Rating: We'll say PG-13 for Hidan's mouth (and that's only because I'm toning it down. Seriously. I'm restricting my use of the 'f' word.).

Summary: Hidan and Tobi head towards Konoha in search of the Kyuubi.

Comments

[orange_swirls]

Tobi was largely unfazed by Hidan's tone any further than noting Hidan-san did not like him very much, but he was animated by the remark about his abilities.

"You won't need to look after me, Hidan-san!" he assured emphatically, "I can look after myself. Don't you worry. I'll set that jinchuuriki straight!" He gave a punch to the air for emphasis. Hah! Out goes the jinchuuriki.

His confidence was not entirely misplaced, but either way he wouldn't have let his temporary partner see anything other than self-assurance, even if Hidan might dismiss it as foolish. There were indeed many things Tobi did fear, but jinchuuriki and Hidan were not them.

Tobi addressed his partner once more, "What are we going to do right when we get there, Hidan-san?" Tobi did have ideas of his own, but Hidan had been in Akatsuki longer and that must be respected.

[pray_for_pain]

"Tch." Hidan looked away, unconvinced by the pep talk.

He was so used to following Kakuzu's lead most of the time--complaining the whole while, yes, but still following--that having Tobi look to him for direction was something of a new experience. Even so, there was no reason to handle this situation any differently than the others.

No less snappish, Hidan replied in an impatient tone, "We're gonna go inside, find this guy, and take him out. Considering we don't even know what this bastard looks like, finding him'll be the hard part." He rolled his shoulder, irritated, shifting his scythe's cord out of the indent it had made in his skin. He just wanted to get this damn thing over with.

[orange_swirls]

"We're just gonna walk right in?" Tobi asked curiously. "Can we do that?" It didn't seem like the two of them would get very far if they waltzed in the front door. Hidan must have a more complicated plan he wasn't sharing. Oh well. Tobi trusted him.

"Do we know how old the jinchuuriki is? Gender?" Tobi figured he should get some information. He wanted to find the demon first.

[pray_for_pain]

"Damn it, that's what I meant when I said, 'we don't know what this bastard looks like,'" he retorted. "It's a kid and it's a boy. That's all I know.

"And why the hell can't we just go in? Ain't anything special about this village, is there?" The way Hidan said it didn't imply that he wanted an answer. That was how he and Kakuzu did their jobs--go in, get it done, get out. Anyone in the way was dealt with easily enough.

But then again...impatient as he could be with anything that didn't revolve around himself, even Hidan could see the flaw in this way of thinking. Barging right in might be fine with Kakuzu, who was a one-man army and could handle himself, but he wasn't with Kakuzu at the moment.

The last thing he wanted was to go to anyone else for an opinion, least of all Tobi. Still, maybe the kid was onto something. "You got any better ideas?" he spat.

[orange_swirls]

"Oh yes, Hidan-san, I do!" said Tobi eagerly. Hidan-san was asking for his opinion

[pray_for_pain]

Hidan gave an aggravated groan. Were all these complications really necessary? It would be so much simpler just to raid the place...

...But this was the jinchuuriki that had chased off both Deidara and Itachi. Itachi, the friggin' pedigree of the Uchiha clan and supposedly one of the deadliest of the organization. Hidan hadn't seen much of him in terms of his skills, but anyone who could make him step back couldn't be taken too lightly.

Not that Hidan was afraid; Konoha could throw who- and whatever it wanted to at him. Made no difference in the end. But he hadn't trekked all this way just to come back empty-handed, and he certainly hadn't trekked all this way just to fail like the others had--and like they probably expected him to.

He sighed loudly, exasperated. In truth, he was more irritated at the situation itself than at Tobi, but that didn't stop him from taking it out on the kid. "You know what? Fine. You wanna make this more complicated than it needs to be, be my guest. We'll infiltrate the damn place and do whatever covert

[orange_swirls]

Tobi winced behind the mask. Hidan-san was really mad, wasn't he.

"I wasn't trying to make it more complicated Hidan-san, I swear!" he whined, a bit panicked. He did not want Hidan-san mad at him! "I'll do everything, I promise. You can just sit back, I can handle it. I'll get in and get the jinchuuriki and capture it and bring it out and we can go back!" Ha! What a wonderful solution he had. He would get to prove to everyone how good he was AND Hidan-san wouldn't be mad at him.

This was such a good opportunity! He felt better already. He started making plans in his head.

[pray_for_pain]

Sneering, Hidan said nothing to that. Let the kid talk big if he wanted. At least it shut him up for the moment.

Hidan stared down the path they were on, thinking. Konoha wasn't that far off; he wondered vaguely if Tobi would back down from his promise by the time they reached the village and he saw what he was up against. In the worst case scenario, Hidan might just have to resort to his usual methods, after all.

He didn't plan to let Tobi do everything, even if he could. At the first sign of opposition, Hidan would stake his claim on the first one he deemed worthy of sacrificing--after that, the jinchuuriki or whatever godless trash was left could be dealt with in a less essential manner.

The warm rosary resting along his chest seemed to suddenly grow a little heavier, but it wasn't with doubt--it was preparation, the subtle sign of the force that would guide Hidan's hand in the slaughter.