Eclipse

[Hidan]

Darkness had overtaken the skies long ago, and the light of dawn was not too far away. It was sad knowing that something so powerful could be outdone by something so f*cking annoying as the sun. As far as I was concerned, the sun was nothing more than a nuisance that liked to whip at my eyelids in the morning like that bastard Kakuzu thrashed at my holy religion with his insults. And, just as expected, as the first rays of morning gnawed at my conscience, I felt that dreaded feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I had to get up.

Well, technically, I didn't have to, seeing as how the cocksucker had taken off on his own to do some bounty hunting while I searched for the nibi. It had been my suggestion, and I was relieved when he had agreed to do the sidejobs instead of nagging in my ear about how "worthless" Jashin is and bragging that money could solve all of the world's problems. But, it a way, it felt a little lonely without him around. It was too f*cking quiet.

I rolled onto my back, tossing the inn sheet to the opposite side of the room, and felt an enormous yawn rise up from my chest. After it found its way out, I rubbed my weary eyes with the back of my hand and blinked, cursing the light that strayed into my room. At least the fog outside dimmed it to a dull grey... but that wasn't the point. I wasn't ready to go look for the goddamn biju yet. I just wanted to sleep, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force my eyes to stay shut long enough for the drowsiness to pull itself over me a second time.

I grumbled while sitting up and rubbing the grains of dried sleep from my eyes and walked into the tiny bathroom to wash yesterday's filth and gore from my body. Like always when I removed my cloak and accessories, the wounds from the ceremony had healed themselves with incredible speed, so I wasn't surprised. As the droplets pounded at my skin and my fingers swept through my silver hair, I couldn't help but to think what my bastard of a partner was up to by himself. Probably gathering more money for the damned leader, since they were both money-grubbing asswipes. Tossing the thoughts aside, I began washing myself and soon turned off the water to towel-dry my soaked body. After I was rid of the moisture, I carefully wiped off the circle of Jashin and closed my eyes to tenderly kiss the metal. My God, my Savior. Jashin.

I silently recited the scriptures in my head, then pecked it again before allowing it to drop so that I could dress in the same filthy clothes I had been wearing for the past three weeks. Hell, at least my body was clean.

I didn't care to wear that sh*tty straw hat that the other Akatsuki members pranced around in, so when I approached the counter to pay for the night's stay, the innkeep seemed taken aback. "Five hundred ryou, right?" I mumbled, tossing half of my cash to the man before striding out the door. Bastard only got two hundred. At least he wasn't smart enough to count it before I was gone.

[Mitsukai Aiuya]

"drink it deep, darling."
⊀мιтѕυкαι αιυчα⊁
Happy Hunting, You Double-Faced Carnivore

______________________________________________________________________________________

I hadn't really thought of anything that I had wanted to do today, at least not yet. That sunlight just loved to peer its way through the fog around my personal little island, and it really pissed me off. I was glad I fit in with the people of Mist, though, as they rarely got sunlight, and my complexion was quite pale to start with. Not that I minded it; I found it made me more of an intimidating person to my victims.

Groaning and thinking about whom I could satisfy my urging thirst for blood with today - not that it was a literal thirst, really, but just that urge that I had, that feeling of ecstasy I wanted to feel as I took the life of another. I just couldn't understand how most thought I was insane; nonetheless, I was surprised nobody had caught me here in Kirigakure. Then again, I guessed that the things they said about this village were true, that it was merely a weak little place... Which I found to be quite true. Of course, I had been such a regular customer - and appearing perfectly harmless and sometimes cute towards others, not to mention sexy as well - at a lot of the merchants' shops that I was seen as friendly. Nobody saw my Konoha headband, as I often left it at my little cabin. Nobody had ever followed me out of Kirigakure, for I had made sure of that. I knew that I was a force to be reckoned with when it came down to things.

And yet, nonetheless, bored as I was, here I stood at the port of Kirigakure, tying up my small rowboat that I always used. A few of the early-morning fishermen smiled at me, and I flashed a genuine-seeming and yet fake smile back. I was in a relatively good mood... If one could call my moods good. Most people who considered themselves the norm would have thought I was in a bad mood, an insane mood, perhaps. However, as I knew it, there really was no norm; because, no matter your viewpoint, you would always think of yourself as the norm, because that was the one thing you could understand the very best. Yes, yes, that sounded feasable, did it not?

I walked past the inn to find something interesting... A man in a black cloak with red clouds. Oh, probably one of those Akatsuki bastards, as I knew. Perhaps he himself would be an interesting challenge. I liked challenges, and to me it seemed he was pretty angsty. Oh, how lovely it seemed. A perfect choice to mangle beyond recognition. Chances were, he was in someone's bingo book like myself, which made the feat even better. Maybe I could stick it as a reminder to any village, place my name in another book. Of course, that was, if whatever village he might've been from wasn't allied with Konoha. If it was, it would definitely put my name in their bingo book. I knew for a fact that I was in Konoha's, and probably in Suna's too, because of their alliance.

"Tch, how many of you Akatsuki dumbasses are there? I swear, you grow out of the ground like f*cking grass." I was in a pretty angsty mood, but my voice was low enough that only he could hear. I tried to play stupidly casual as I walked past him, but I was sure my voice was rather unmistakeable. I didn't care. So long as I got my two cents in and perhaps pissed him off, I was happy. It was a joyous thing, and I would definitely rejoice in it.

______________________________________________________________________________________

[Hidan]

The cool mist helped to clear my head and get my thoughts back on track about the mission... but, thankfully, Kakuzu wasn't there to gnaw off my ear about how I was slowing him down. Yeah, right. His f*cking sidejobs were what pissed me off to no end, yet he continued to romp around and collect money for our worthless cause.

I glanced up at the cloud-glazed sky and realized something that should have been obvious before. What was our cause? Damn it all...

Well, it wasn't like I exactly cared about it anyways, so I let the passing though slip by when I heard a woman's voice ringing behind me. Something about the Akatsuki and grass. And f*cking. She wanted to f*ck an Akatsuki member in the grass? What the hell was her problem?

I turned and gave a sigh. "If you're after my bounty, I'm not in the mood to fight, ya little b*tch," I moaned, rolling my neck backwards for it to crack. Ah, the sheer sound of it made me want to start the ritual, but I wouldn't fight unless I had to. It was in the scriptures, after all. Kakuzu's voice echoed in my head, reminding me that I was always the reason for us beinf late because of my lengthy ritual. Ugh... damn Kakuzu and his money-loving ass. Ass rhymed with... oh, yeah. What she said before. "And I'm not gonna f*ck you in the grass."

[Mitsukai Aiuya]

"drink it deep, darling."
⊀мιтѕυкαι αιυчα⊁
Happy Hunting, You Double-Faced Carnivore

______________________________________________________________________________________

So he'd heard me and caught me, now had he? I tossed him a genuinely confused look, but he didn't seem convinced by my acts. I chuckled at his rather vulgar demeanor, noting that it was rather similar to my own. I raised an eyebrow when he mentioned that he didn't want to f*ck me in the grass... What? It seemed someone needed his ears cleaned out, that was for sure.

"Like there's a bounty I could claim anyways. Too bad so many godf*cking villages are allied with Konoha, or I certainly would," I replied sharply. "I'd love to get rid of some of the missing-nin dumbasses of the world. It'd really make some of my sanity a little better, at least in my opinion." I felt rather intrigued by this Akatsuki man, for some reason, probably because his language was rather similar to my own. "And as for f*cking you in the grass, try listening next time, asswipe. I don't do f*cktards like yourself. Though I'm sure you'd like to, I have better things to do. I'd probably bloody your ass up 'cause you'd piss me off." My tone was utterly serious as I said that, and mentally I was laughing at him. Had he really thought me to be so disgusting? I wasn't one for sexual endeavors, that was for sure. I preferred to stick to the bloodier end of the stick... Or, rather, the knife.

I leaned my weight on one hip, my face curling into that favourite smile of mine. It was the smile that could scare nearly anyone, and I was genuinely wondering if it would faze this guy. Should I introduce myself to this idiot? Perhaps we'd get along to an extent. Of course, it'd be hard work, but we perhaps could. It was genuinely possible, though if it ever involved teamwork I'd be more or less telling him to get the f*ck out of my way rather than him actually doing anything.

"Aiuya. And you might be?" I tried to keep a friendly tone out of my voice, and to an extent, it worked. I sounded friendly in no way, and that was how I wanted it to be. I wasn't called the Lustful Raven for nothing, and I hadn't earned my place in Konoha's bingo book without reason, either. I hoped I could scare the living sh*t out this dumbass so he'd never try against me again. And all the while it would be a thoroughly entertaining exercise.

______________________________________________________________________________________

[Hidan]

I gave a miniscule smirk to myself when I realized that her tone and demeanor were both consistant and similar to my own, though she seemed so much more uptight... like she had a rod shoved up her ass or something. "Your sanity?" I questioned, giving her a side glance and a huff of a sigh. "I don't think there are any more 'sane' dumbshits around here. If there are, then they're too f*cking afraid to show themselves, 'cause they'll get their asses handed to them by the insane motherf*ckers like us."

At the comment about "bloodying up" his ass, Hidan's eyes narrowed, and a twisted smirk crept upon his lips. "If you want to, then go ahead," he offered, popping his neck by turning it at an odd angle, which sent chills of pleasure down his spine. "I wouldn't mind a good workout... if you wouldn't mind getting sacrificed to Jashin-sama, that is."

When she stopped the travel to nowhere to simply shift her weight onto one leg and stare with that coy smirk, I couldn't help but to scan over her features. Perfectly-placed curves; dangerously long, straight hair; eyes that were a darker purple than my own; and it seemed that she wasn't afraid to show the world her sexiness from the way that she wore her skimpy outfit and cocked her hip. I had to admit that she had a killer body... Too bad that love was a sin. If it wasn't, I was sure that I would have already collected my "bounty" from her... or at least tried to. Her hard-headedness rivaled my own.

After giving her name - was she interested after all? - I had to smirk back again at her tone. It was like a reflection... but in a womanly form. "Hidan," at this, I jutted a thumb to the hitai-ate slung across my neck that covered the base of my necklace, "of the former Yugakure. Only one surviving now, 'cause those stupid motherf*ckers decided to disband the shinobi."

[Mitsukai Aiuya]

"drink it deep, darling."
⊀мιтѕυкαι αιυчα⊁
Happy Hunting, You Double-Faced Carnivore

______________________________________________________________________________________

I laughed quite genuinely at his comments about there being no more sane people around. I couldn't help it; I had to, because it was quite an intriguing comment. Then he mentioned Jashin... I had never heard of Jashin before. Was that the Akatsuki's leader, perhaps? I wasn't sure. Then in return he decided to introduce himself, as Hidan.

"Disbanding Yugakure? Hmm. I'm glad they'll never do that to Konoha. Not that I'm really pleased to wear their insignia, but if the disbanded the shinobi, I just wouldn't feel as prideful anymore." I could tell he was glancing me over, and just for that, I had to comment towards it. "You wish," I muttered, just loud enough that he could barely hear. The funny part was, I had intended for him to hear that.

"So who's this 'Jashin-sama' man or woman or whatever-the-hell? Your dumbass leader or what?" It sounded like a pretty retarded name for a leader; who'd want to name their kid such a foul name? Whatever the case, I didn't really care. If Jashin was a god of sorts, then wow. He goes around killing people and worships a god? I rather liked being atheist myself, because I found that most gods were goodie-two-shoes and expected you to be the same. Well, they could go screw themselves, because I knew for a fact that I was no goodie-two-shoes, nor did I intend to be. Glancing around for a single second, I could see some woman praising a Buddha statue, and I snorted. Big whoop, so he was a fancy-looking fatass who told you what was right and what was wrong. I didn't need such a thing; I had my conscience to tell me whether I was a bad girl or a good girl. In my opinion - and that of my conscience - I was a good girl, and I always had been.

"I can't believe some people. What's the point of a god anyways? Most of them are just little good-for-nothing, prim and perfect, and expect you to be a good little girl or boy and brush your teeth every night," I mocked, though I was mostly referring to Buddha. "Who'd wanna worship someone that's a fatass anyways?" I added, rolling my eyes as I did so. Who would?

______________________________________________________________________________________

[Hidan]

As Aiuya'a merry laugh rang in my ears, I couldn't help but feel like something about her was more off than I could place my finger on. Maybe I was starting to really develop a connection with this girl on a friendly level... and I didn't like it. I didn't even respect my comerades - how could I feel any different about some little dumbshit that pranced up to me out of nowhere?

"You're telling me? Those godf*cks decided to break down the village just as I was about to become the leader of the damned place." And my best friend and the former leader were both f*cktards. Jashin gave them divine retribution through my body... and that lead me on the rightous path toward him. At that thought, I closed my eyes and lifted the tiny silver symbol to my lips to lightly kiss it and say a silent prayer for his grace.

As the two meaningless words slipped from Aiuya's mouth, I was broken from my trance and cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?" When she asked who Jashin was, a smile spread across my lips. So, she was interested in my religion? This was what I joined the Akatsuki for... to spread the word of Jashin to the ungodly athiests so that they could repent for their sins and others... and I could tell that if she converted to Jashinism, she would be a perfect addition to the cult. "Yeah, our leader's a prick, but Jashin-sama is my god," I began. "He's the deity of death and chaos, and after I worshipped him for about three years and was faithful to him, he granted me immortality." Hopefully, that last statement got her attention. "Not to mention that I get to sacrifice my victims to him to repent for their sins."

I scoffed at the pathetic Buddhist in prayer, and I completely agreed with Aiuya: Who the f*ck would want to worship some fat prick that wanted everyone to be peaceful? Jashin was the right path. But if I attempted to convert the Buddhist as well, then I might lose Aiuya's attention and possible interest in the Jashinist religion. It was a rough decision, but one that had to be made. After all, one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, right?

[Mitsukai Aiuya]

"drink it deep, darling."
⊀мιтѕυкαι αιυчα⊁
Happy Hunting, You Double-Faced Carnivore

______________________________________________________________________________________

So Jashin was a god, was he? Well, I would have made a comment if Hidan hadn't cut me off to explain said god. To be honest, I had thought jashin would be another one of those retarded fatass ones that would have said that murder was a sin. But, in all honesty, I was genuinely interested in this Jashin god. Deity of death and chaos, who enjoyed it if you sacrificed your victims to him? It was as if I'd found the perfect victim... Except this wasn't a bloody state. The fact that the god granted immotality didn't really catch my attention, as I didn't really care whether I was immortal or not. Though of course, it would definitely have been an amazing thing to have, surely. It seemed to me like it was just the decorations on the cake, like the ribbon on a Christmas gift.

"Deity of death and chaos, eh?" I said, trying not to act as interested as I really was. I was more or less into finding out more about this Jashin religion, as being an atheist woman wasn't always fun. Of course, you got to laugh at those that worshipped either the Shinto gods or the Buddhist gods, but this Jashinism was quite new to me, in all honesty. Suddenly, a woman walked by, and smiled at me, saying in her old and shaky voice, 'peace be with you'. I snorted.

"Peace be with me while I slaughter your ass later," I muttered as she was out of earshot. I was sure Hidan would have heard that comment, as it had been slightly directed to do so. "What the hell is wrong with the minds of these people? I'd certainly kill to spill a little blood," I said without intending the tiny joke that was in there. Of course I'd 'kill' to spill a little blood. It was my thing, of course. I reached back towards my butcher knife and drew it, glancing over the silvery blade. Images of blood spilling and the genuine taste of it... Yes, it was already coming to me. I chuckled, sheathing the knife. Now I wanted to spill blood more than anything. I wondered if this man would help me, perhaps, not that I really wanted help. I was sure the sacrifice he'd spoken about was some sort of ritual, and I wouldn't have minded a little blood being spilled here and there. I would've enjoyed it, to be honest.

"I wonder if there's any Konoha dumbf*cks around here," I said bluntly. "I'd thoroughly enjoy to cause a little bloodshed. Or even one of the Kiri retards wouldn't be a bad idea. It feels like a sudden impulse... Care to join me?" I thought I might as well ask, be a little friendly. Perhaps I'd get lucky and witness one of his Jashinism rituals; I would have enjoyed that, to see the full extent of what I might even get myself into if I started worshipping this 'Jashin' god. I did like the concept, though; it sounded like a thoroughly fulfilling religion. And most of the time, I hated religions.

______________________________________________________________________________________

[Hidan]

It had been well over two years that I had been away from my fellow Jashinists, and I made a promise to them all that I would convert at least one low-life athiest to our religion in order for them to help us in our holy quest to repent for the sinners... and, although Aiuya didn't seem interested from her tone, she at least asked questions about the religion. And that was the first step to becoming a part of the religion. The more knowledge there was about something, the more a person would be able to see it in a different light. For instance, though others may have seen me as an evil masochistic sadist, I found msyself to be a holy man only doing what he thinks is right.

"Yeah. It's completely different from the other fake-ass religions that I've heard of, like the fat ass over there" - I jutted a thumb in the direction of the Buddah statue - "or the Shinto or Hindu or whatever-the-f*ck-other religions there are. You sacrifice the athiest bastards for their sins, and once they have been slaughtered in the name of Jashin-sama, their sins have been forgiven. Simple as that," I began, watching the wrinkly broad hobble over to us to wish peace on Aiuya. After she had said her little piece and walked away, I mumbled, "Little b*tch doesn't know who she's f*cking talking to." I had to snicker at Aiuya's retort back to her and the following comment. "Kill to spill a little blood? I think that's why you kill in the first place."

At the comment about the "Konoha dumbf*cks" - once again, a smirk found its way onto my lips - I sighed and scratched the back of my neck. "I try to stay out of fighting as much as possible unless I know that I can kill the dumbass that gets in my way," I said with a shrug.

[Mitsukai Aiuya]

"drink it deep, darling."
⊀мιтѕυкαι αιυчα⊁
Happy Hunting, You Double-Faced Carnivore

______________________________________________________________________________________

So those who were atheist were bastards now, were they? I didn't take too kindly to that comment, being atheist myself, but the reason I chose to be such was because I didn't want to believe in anything else. Any way I would've been considered a sinner in any religion; of course, that was before this Akatsuki man had mentioned his Jashin. "Not all atheists are bastards, thanks," I replied sharply, trying to sound dark and slightly angry. "I'm atheist myself, but that's mostly only because there isn't anything 'legitimate' - in my opinion, anyways - to believe in in the first place." Nonetheless, I yawned, a little tired from the night's sleep still, though that wasn't going to deter me for anything I had in mind.

"So you only kill them if you know you can, huh? That's kind of a stupid reason. Why avoid fighting? Bloodshed is one of the most beautiful things there are!" I began walking out of the village, more or less towards the less uninhabited areas of the islands, wondering if there was another random ship coming in. It would be nice to loot some of the stuff off of it, that was for sure. Assuming that Hidan was following me, I continued. "I really can't see how you'd avoid fighting, really. I'd take anything that comes my way, if it means bloodshed." I still couldn't believe that this man could even think such a thing! Perhaps I could teach him the first few things about luring victims.

As if I'd sent a prayer and they were answered, I could hear the footsteps of the old toothless man I'd passed on my way in, waddling his way behind me. In my opinion, he was probably staring at my ass. Most men decided that it was a good place to stare if they were behind me, or if they were in front it was at my bust. Of course, they never got a chance to look long, because by the time I caught them they were already whining and crying on the ground, screaming for their mommies with the voices they no longer had. As I lured the man out of the village, I tried to pinpoint where exactly he would be. I assumed about ten feet back behind me, and he was only about five and a half feet tall, and if I were to do this right... Yes, I thought I had it right by now.

Once we were out of earshot of anyone besides the three of us, without warning I turned around as my hand reached back towards my sheathed butcher's knife. In one of the swiftest movements anyone had ever seen, the knife was suddenly out of its sheath, in my hand, and soaring towards the man to catch him at an angle in the throat, almost dead center. I'd done that a few times before, though, so it wasn't anything new to me as it hit with the point directly towards the man's vocal chords. He fell to the ground sputtering, trying to scream, but a smile became plastered across my face. With quick movements I was over there, having drawn Akamari from its sheath across the back of my waist, and I began violently slashing and stabbing at the man as I laughed. He tried to scream in pain, but no words came out; after bloodily mangling him beyond proper recognition, I stood up, without a spot of blood on either my clothing, face, or hands. Of course, one could easily tell the deed which I had performed from the blood dripping off of Akamari's red quartz blade. Already slightly in my frenzy, I lifted the blade and flicked it towards Hidan, the drips flying towards him to hopefully land on his face.

"And that is why they call me the Lustful Raven," I said with a smile. "Though I certainly prefer 'The Graceful Butcher' a hell of a lot better."

______________________________________________________________________________________

[Kakuzu]

---

It had been such a long time since I had been able to get away from the tedious Akatsuki work, but with Hidan b*tching about the next assignment that Pein-sama had given us, I had deemed it an appropriate time to leave the idiot behind. The Akatsuki’s goals may have coincided very well with my own, but it was so aggravating to have been paired with the youngest, and frankly most obnoxious, little pissant that had existed within the organization to date. It was punishment, I was sure of that, punishment for eliminating the last three partners that I had been assigned, and it was surely going to be the last partering of mine for a while. The boy’s immorality was infuriating, and had he not possessed it, he would have been dead five times over already; I had crushed his skull, torn his throat, broken his neck…and still he lived.

And his b*tching was the worst; if the kid wasn’t going on and on about his pathetic “Jashin-sama”, he was complaining about something, anything. It was enough to make me want to rip his pretty little head off and stuff it in a foxhole somewhere. At least I had been able to send him after the nibi jinchuriki for the time being; Genji had procured some rather high-ranked bounties lately, and I wanted to take full advantage of them before any other would-be hunters were able to steal the targets away. Luckily, it hadn’t been too hard to drag the bodies back, and now I was set with a case of money, unmarked bills as I had requested, and it wouldn’t be too long until I was following the trail of obvious destruction that he would have no doubt have sown.

As I made my way through the dirty streets, a particular scent caught my attention; foul and coppery…blood, obviously that had to be Hidan. It was easy to track, though I supposed that it would have been for any other man; it was something I had become accustomed to throughout the months with him. As I rounded a corner, I was struck with the rather surprising sight of two figures, one unknown female and my partner himself, a dead body lying a little ways away.

What was he doing, that idiot? I couldn’t help but frown in disapproval; he had gotten into some sort of skirmish yet again, and rage boiled in my veins. Not only had he delayed our progress in finding the nibi, he had managed to attract undue attention to himself in the process. My free hand clenched into a fist unconsciously, and I quickened my pace, making my way beside the other Akatsuki member, and a few drops of warm blood stained the side of my cowl, marring the pristine white. The woman would die, I had decided that, and soon after I would have to punish the impudent little holy man.

I laid my hand upon his shoulder, fingers digging into the flesh and fabric rather tightly, almost forceful enough to break his bones. That wouldn’t have done though, no, the man would have enjoyed it too much. “We’re going. Now.”

[Hidan]

For her, I'd make a slight exception to the overused comment that had tumbled ungracefully from my lips, but it was just that; an overused expression. If she didn't take kindly to it (as I was sure that she wouldn't), then it was her own damn fault for running over to me in the first place. "You don't believe in the Easter Bunny or Santa?" I spat, fully aware that she was pissed enough as it was. Oh, well. Once something happens, it happens, and there was no taking it back. Not that I wanted to take it back, of course...

At her comment about killing, I merely scoffed. "Those who don't understand the pain of others won't be able to get anywhere if life." I was quite aware of the old man trailing after us, but I decided to allow Aiuya to take care of him; after all, she wanted to kill someone, right? I folded my arms behind my shoulders and rested my head in the makeshift cradle, humming a familiar tune to myself as the silence followed. If there was one thing that I couldn't stand more than Kakuzu's obsession over money and the atheists that thought they owned the world, it was the ringing quietness that so eagerly overtook conversations, especially when the only thing accompanying them were the annoying squawks of birds and the repetitive sounds of feet shuffling through the dirt.

After what seemed like an hour of walking, Aiuya finally attacked the old man with a swift chuck of her knife-thing and began mauling the innocent man. I turned and watched as he was chopped into a pile of fresh - well... old and fresh? - ground beef. I muttered to myself about all of the pain the other was enduring while my acquaintance seemed to enjoy every last spurt of blood that came from the mutilated corpse.

Once she turned and flung her knife at me, I quickly caught on and snatched it from the air, watching the thick red liquid drip from its blade, then chuckled at her comment. " 'Lustful Raven' my ass! There wasn't anything lusty or raven-y about it. In fact, it was pure bull--" I could have jumped when a tingle of pain ran through my arm from the hand that clamped down on my shoulder, but it was too strong to keep me from springing from the ground. In fact, if it had been smacked harder, it would have broken a few bones. But I knew from the scent of slight flesh decay and fresh bills as well as his voice that the man behind me was none other than my assigned bastard of a partner, Kakuzu.

When his sour breath reached my nostrils, I moaned in frustration. "I hope that we're going somewhere with mouthwash. Your breath smells like ass!"

[Mitsukai Aiuya]

"drink it deep, darling."
⊀мιтѕυкαι αιυчα⊁
Happy Hunting, You Double-Faced Carnivore

______________________________________________________________________________________

"Tch. It's a retarded name that a lot of people refer to me as. Hence, why I tend to hate it a lot." I wasn't kidding a bit there; I really didn't like their stupid ass title they gave me. The Lustful Raven. Well, I could see the 'lustful' aspect to it, in a sense, as it seemed people enjoyed staring at my buttocks and bust a fair bit, as well as a few trying to slide hands up me - of course, said hands didn't stay attached for too much longer after that - but the 'raven' part didn't make any sense. I guess they'd just been too f*cking retarded to come up with something better.

I chuckled when a man who seemed to look like he was pretty tough and also clad in the same Akatsuki cloak as Hidan was come up and slam his hand down on the Jashinist's shoulder. I was ready to laugh when he looked as if he'd shit himself or something simply from that. Then again, someone coming up behind me like that would probably have startled me a little, too, but to see the composed asshole suddenly with a sort of what-the-f*ck look on his face was particularly amusing. The movement reminded me of an obnoxious little kid for a moment.

I snorted when Hidan mentioned the man's breath and a bit of mouthwash. It was a pretty funny comment, I had to say, but now it was my turn to take the stage, and I felt particularly comfortable with making fun of the two. It seemed to me that from a first impression, the two fought like a married couple.

"Oh, so that's your male-bodied wife, is it, Hidan? Jee, you two seem like you'd fight like an old, batty, married couple. Probably explains the wedding rings on your fingers," I snarled, smiling. Reaching back, I pulled out a perfectly white cloth, wiped my blade off on it, and sheathed it. After that I picked up the butcher's knife, wiped it off, and sheathed it as well, tossing the cloth unceremoniously onto the ground. "Whatever. I've had enough of you dumbnut Akatsuki members, and I've really got better things to attend to. Ta-ta for now," I mocked, then turned on my heel and began to walk away. Of course, I made sure my footsteps weren't loud and concentrated on any possible sounds from behind me, such as the shuffling of feet, or the unsheathing of a weapon, something along those lines. I didn't have time to deal with any of these idiots, and it seemed that Hidan's mistress had come to whip him with some kinky-ass whip and tell him who's boss. That was enough of a reason for me to get out as soon as I could, even though I was still relatively interested in that Jashin religion. Oh well. It wasn't like it would absolutely mortify me for the rest of my life anyways.

Without a second thought, I started to walk away, hips still swaying in that seductive stance, my dangerous crimson hair fluttering behind me in the slight breeze.

______________________________________________________________________________________

[Kakuzu]

---

Such insolence, I wouldn’t stand for it; as my kouhai squirmed, obviously uncomfortable at not being able to move away, I let my grip falter. While he twitched to remove himself from my grasp, I suddenly shifted, letting my fingers trace along the side of his jaw. I could never understand how Hidan could keep his skin so pure, so milky and unmarred, when he was constantly injuring himself beyond recognition. It almost wasn’t fair, how he could remain so young and attractive…it made him vain and prideful. Perhaps one day someone would permanently remove his boyish beauty, but for now that wasn’t something I needed to be worrying about. With a tightening of muscle and threads, I let my hand close around his jaw, squeezing with all the power imbued in my scarred limb. There was a give, then the distinct sound of bone snapping filled the air, much to my satisfaction. Let the cocky bastard try to mouth off again, if he could.

The women’s words though…perhaps even worse the my partner’s had been. She had already invoked my displeasure before, and now there was no reason to deal with her idiotic foolishness any longer. She prattled on for a bit, looking every bit the moronic criminal that she fashioned herself to be, unaware of the utmost stupidity of her words. She had apparently killed someone right on the street, a truly uneducated move, but then again, missing-nin were never exactly a bright breed. Perhaps she had a bounty on her head? Genji would know when I drug her lifeless body back to him. If not…then one more dullard would be gone from the world. Either way, it was a positive situation.

As she turned to go, I felt the familiar shifting and squirming of chakra within my forearm as the jiongu threads began to rearrange themselves. There was a momentary uncomfortable situation as the raiton heart in my back disappeared back into the threads, then traveled through the empty spaces within my chest cavity and down into my arm. The flesh bulged at the wrist, and as I released Hidan, letting him wallow in whatever sick sort of pleasure-pain that he was undoubtedly in, I concentrated energy into the heart. Seconds later my hand shot off into the ground, burrowing into the soil with incredible force; it was difficult to control, but I had become used to it in the past decade or so, and I manipulated the threads, guiding the appendage through soil and rock. Seconds later it burst from the dirt with crushing speed, threads streaming off of the severed wrist, the fist aimed directly at the back of her knee. I could feel the heart still buried below ground, safe at the distance of the strike; it wouldn't be fatal, but damaging none the less. Crippled was easier from this distance, and dead would come later. Soon, but later.

[/size]

[Konan]

In my field of paper flowers, and candy clouds of lullaby...

wαtch thє вlσσd run dσwn hєr fαcє, вut dσn't tαkє nσtícє...
wαtch thє вlσσd run dσwn hєr αrms, plєαsє dσn't tαkє nσtícє...

[/color]

кσиαи

ï løøќ ατ hεɾ ïṉ τhατ ραρεɾ ḋɾεṡṡ, ï ώøṉḋεɾ ώhÿ ṡhε ώøṉ'τ вυɾṉ...
ṡhε'ṡ јυṡτ α ραρεɾ ḋøll, τhατ'ṡ αll, јυṡτ α ραρεɾ ḋøll...

______________________________________________________________________________________

Deep into a dying day
I took a step outside an innocent heart.
Prepare to hate me, fall where I may.
This night will hurt you like never before.
Old loves, they die hard.
Old lies, they die harder.

I'd reached the place a lot quicker, it seemed then Pein had, but the scene unfolding before my very eyes almost made hme laugh. Such a naive woman associating herself with two Akatsuki members, not to mention throwing out a comment such as that to probably two of the strongest of them? Well, Hidan and Kakuzu's immortality was really their biggest buff. Each of the Akatsuki members had their unique abilities; Pein and his six bodies, I myself had my origami-based jutsu, Itachi with his Mangekyou Sharingan, Kisame and his brute strength and special sword, Samehada... As well as a number of others. Sasori was a literal human puppet, with a hundred more that he could utilize at any moment as well as potent poisons, Deidara loved explosives a little too much, and was rather young to boot, and Hidan and Kakuzu were immortal... Not to mention that Kakuzu could utilize all of the elements, really, and Hidan had his stupid little Jashin rituals he could perform.

Nonetheless, I merely stood back in the trees and watched as the woman insulted these two, calling our rings wedding rings... I couldn't help but snicker from the trees. The comment was quite funny, actually, I found, but it was still pretty rude. It seemed that this woman wasn't exactly the most polite of people, but I was fine with that. I watched carefully as the woman was hit in the back of the knee, and that was when I caught sight of the body, mangled and bloodied beyond recognition, and something sparked inside me that told me that I just had to keep Kakuzu from killing her. She could be useful later on, perhaps even gain herself a spot amongst our ranks by stealing Orochimaru's ring. Of course, if it came down to it, I wasn't about to let another female compromise the leadership I'd built in the organization; I'd kill her if it came down to that.

As the stupid woman keeled over forwards and bent into a forward roll, I decided to make my entrance. She turned around, that pissed off look covering her face from left to right, but my entrance stopped her oncoming assault. With a few vulgar words, I saw her leave, and placed a hand on Kakuzu's shoulder.

"Leave her. She could be useful later... As I've had a bit of an idea," I stated calmly, turning to the man. Glancing at Hidan whining about his jaw, I rolled my eyes. "Hidan, get up. It'll heal in time," I said, holding my arm out towards the direction the woman had disappeared. As if instinctively, a small paper formed out of the skin of my palm and fashioned itself into a butterfly, fluttering off to track the woman.

"We have more important matters to discuss. How well are you two faring with finding the Bijuu?"

I wish I had an angel
For one moment of love.
I wish I had your angel
Your virgin Mary undone.
I'm in love with my lust
Burning angel wings to dust.
I wish I had your angel tonight.

______________________________________________________________________________________

I lie inside myself for hours, and watch my purple sky fly over me...