24. Bounty Hunting And Sake

As I wake up, my attention fixated onto something hard. It was pushing up against my butt. I slowly moved my hand towards the strange lump and felt it conscientiously.

On the spur of the moment I realised it was Hidan's morning wood. Oh God! I retracted my hand at the speed of light and rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a thud.

I groaned and turned over onto my side in pain. Then, the sight of sunlight distracted me as it creeped in through the curtains. I blinked a few times, noticing it was the morning already.

Kakuzu and Hidan were still fast asleep, thank goodness.. I thought I may have woken them as I toppled out of bed, but I guess not. I quietly got up and went into the bathroom and started getting ready to leave.

When I hopped out of the shower I could hear Hidan and Kakuzu chattering from the other room. "Hurry Tila, Fuck!" I heard Hidan then yell out at me from behind the thin boards of the bathroom door.

I hurriedly looked in the mirror and pushed my fringe aside, then unlocked the door and strolled back out into the small room.

Hidan swiftly pushed past me and went into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Kakuzu was already dressed and standing around, eager to go, so I went over to wait alongside him.

He glared at me for a second, then gazed back over to the bathroom impatiently. Hidan then strode out, looking relieved. I noticed his cloak was open, exposing his bare chest.

"See something you like?" Hidan then asked me arrogantly, and I realised I was staring at him. "What? I mean no," I blurt out while putting my hand up to my cheeks to cover them in case they were going to flush without my knowing.

"Enough, we have to get going," Kakuzu interrupted the awkward moment. We all headed back down to the reception, then left the inn and started walking toward the next village.

Hidan and Kakuzu walked ahead of me and I happily tagged closely behind. I was enjoying the view of the lush towering tall trees and making the most of the sweet scents of the delicate flowers.

We carry on walking for quite a while until it was around lunchtime; we stopped at a teahouse along the way for something quick to eat and revelled in a cup of tea and then we continued our journey.

By the time we approached the village, I was slightly out of breath. I really wasn't expecting to walk all day and Kakuzu had said that this village was close? Imagine what it would have been like if we're going any further, I speculated to myself.

I then remembered how Deidara used clay birds to fly everywhere and I missed being on missions with him and Sasori. I really just missed Sasori all together now that it came to mind.

I snapped back out of my daydream as I felt Hidan tugging at my sleeve. "Tila? Earth to fucking Tila?" He said, now shaking me harder.

"What?" I groaned.

"And you call me weird?" Hidan sighed as he rolled his eyes, irritated.

"Let's go collect some intel on our target," Kakuzu's deep voice boomed, now getting Hidan's and my attention.

I nodded, and I followed closely alongside the two as we entered the town. We kept wondering down the poorly lit deserted path which stretched down the middle of the village until Kakuzu stopped suddenly in his tracks. I looked up and saw were now standing out the front of some run-down bar.

"Perfect," Kakuzu said as he walked in.

Hidan and I exchanged looks, then followed in closely behind him. We made our way to a small booth beside another that two men who seemed to be buried in conversation occupied.

We all took a seat, and Hidan ordered some sake. I glanced over to Kakuzu, who seemed to listen intently to the two guys' conversation.

He was eves dropping... Oh wow, and I thought I was the only one good at that!

The drinks arrived and Hidan poured us each a shot.

"Fuck yeah, I'm going to enjoy this." He grinned as he took his shot. I watched him and Kakuzu drink it down in one gulp, so I picked up the small porcelain shot cup and did the same. Big mistake! It burned my throat, and I coughed and spluttered a little.

Hidan patted my back. "Oh fuck, is this your first time drinking?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said back, my eyes now watering a little.

"Here, have another one then," he grinned as he filled our shot glasses again.

I gulped it down. This one didn't burn as much, but I could feel the heat now accumulating in my stomach. We had a few more shots of sake as we listened closely to the guys still talking in the next booth. I felt a little light-headed, but I ignored it. The two men eventually got up and went to leave the bar.

"Let's go," Kakuzu said hastily as he got up to follow them. Hidan and I stood up and follow behind but as I went to walk out the door I nearly tripped over, luckily Hidan wasn't far behind me and had grabbed onto me before I could hit the floor! Hidan put me back on my feet, then laughed at me.

"Shit, you're already drunk?" He said, still cackling at me. I frowned at him, let his remark go, then quickly went to catch up with Kakuzu.

As we neared the man who we'd been eves dropping on, we caught up with him then Kakuzu hustled him into a small lane way. This guy did not know what hit him..

Kakuzu's hand turned black as he grabbed the man's throat before the man could yell out in terror.

"Where can we find Sutaki," He interrogated in a scary deep voice. The man is now shaking in fear. "A.. katsuki.." He stutters.

"If you don't tell me, I'll kill you," Kakuzu says, sounding seriously annoyed. The man points a shaky finger over to a tall building as he coughs from Kakuzu's now tightening grip.

"Fuck well that was easy," Hidan says, laughing at the man still pinned against the wall. Kakuzu releases his grip, and the man falls to the floor, still very shaken up. Hidan then pulls out his synth and chops the man's head clean off in one swing.

I stand there as the man's head rolls off and lands beside my feet. I stare for a minute, surprised. I did NOT expect that..

"C'mon. let's go," Kakuzu urges and we head off down towards the tall building. As we approach, I spot a bunch of goons hanging around out the front. Kakuzu, Hidan and I turn into the complex and walk straight up towards them.

"Who're you?" I hear one of them shout. We keep walking, not answering their question as they run up and surround us.

"Fuck, I'll have plenty of sacrifices tonight." Hidan yells excitedly as he pulls out his synth and starts butchering the men down one by one. Kakuzu lets out his black tendrils and starts picking up and throwing the goons out of the way like they were nothing.

Two guys come up to me from behind and try to swing at me with Kunai, but I easily dodged them both and stabbed one guy with the others Kunai. He fell to the floor, bleeding profusely from his jugular. I kicked the other guy hard in the chest while he was still in shock at his comrade. He flew off into a nearby tree, then stopped moving.

Kakuzu, Hidan and I continued to knock down goons as they came at us while we made our way up into the building and up the stairs.

There were guys tumbling down stairs behind us as we went. Eventually, we reached the last room at the end of the corridor on the top floor. Kakuzu pushed open the door brutally, and it fell off its hinges. I looked inside and saw a man wearing a white suit sitting in a large chair.

He must be Sutaki. I watched him stand up and order his bodyguards to protect him. Kakuzu easily killed each of the men as Hidan laughed hysterically.

"You guys are so weak it's pathetic!" He said, still laughing.

Kakuzu walked slowly up to the man as he backed off into a corner. "You're worth quite a bit of money." His eyes bear down at him as he cowered in fear.

Kakuzu's tendrils shot out of his wrist and strangled the man. He fell unconscious after a few seconds, and Kakuzu picked him up and slung him over his shoulder.

"I was expecting this to be more of a challenge," I said, looking around at the splattered blood covering the many dead bodies scattered across the floor.

"Yeah, this mission was piss easy compared to some we get," Hidan said as he kicked one body out of his way.

"Enough talking. Let's go to the collection office," Kakuzu snapped. We made our way back out to the deserted street trailing down the centre of the village, and then headed back in the direction we'd come from.

"The nearest collection office is back in the other village we passed on the way," Kakuzu told us. Hidan threw his head back.

"Fucking hell, how long is this going to take!" He groaned.

Kakazu shot him a death stare. "Shut up Hidan. Or I really will kill you," he boomed. I could tell when Kakazu was close to the edge and now was one of those times.

Luckily, Hidan stopped complaining and the walk back to the collection office was relatively quiet. We all walked silently.. Kakuzu still carrying his bounty over his shoulder.

I wonder if this is what happened when Sasori and Deidara took me? Thinking about how they had jumped me out of the blue. I guess it was sort of funny when I look back on it now, seeing as I know them so well. My mind floats off into other thoughts as I stare up at the midnight sky. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night's walk.