The Key To So Many Doors (Hidan Story)

Chapter 18

Seeing Hidan's eyes narrow at her reaction; at her silence, Shima knew she would have to say something, and say it soon.

She just knew that it wasn't going to be what Hidan wanted to hear.

It was happening all over again. Just like when they had been at the temple and she had been trying to bring on a vision. Nothing had worked, and she had let them down, having to just turn around and walk out of there without having done a thing to help them, even after saying she would. Even after having them travel all that way to find her and get her and then take her back to the temple. That had been bad enough. Now she had to tell Hidan that she wasn't the key he was looking for—she had to get rid of that expression in his eyes; on his face. She had to cut him down and ruin that thought. Once more Shima would be turning them away and affecting their mission.

And an abrupt anger started to flare up inside of Shima. What the fuck had she done to deserve this? What was the point of her ability? What was the point of her doing any of this in the slightest, when all that happened was it came crashing down and left her to pick up the pieces. Why had she been given this? It had no use; she hated it with a passion, so did her clan, and so did several other people who had seen it and understood it. In fact, the only person who hadn't reacted in that sort of way was...

Was Hidan.

As soon as the anger appeared, it faded with those words, and Shima was calm once more. That was what had caught her out about Hidan. Regardless of how rude and disrespectful he could be, he had given Shima hope. At first, it had scared her; it was why she had tried to push him away. The idea that his opinion that her ability wasn't such a bad thing was actually genuine was a concept Shima hadn't quite been able to comprehend at first. But slowly she had grown to accept it, and for once in her life she had felt she could deal with it as her life went on, no matter what people said about it or how they reacted towards it—that she no longer had to hide. It had taken the problem at the temple to make her realise that that wasn't the case. That there was a little thing called reality getting in the way; and remembering that, Shima finally managed to find her voice again, replying almost bitterly,

"No, Hidan. I'm not. I know you see my ability differently; I fucking know that, okay? But that doesn't mean that I'm who you're looking for. My ability has never shown any signs of being special; that it has to be used for something. So why should that fact change now?"

Sighing as she said it, Shima glanced away, adding quickly before Hidan could interrupt and respond,

"I'm sorry for causing you all this trouble, and I'm really grateful for you coming back and having saved me. But I'm not the fucking key!"

With that Shima's gaze fell to the ground, finding she couldn't lift her head to look at Hidan anymore. She didn't want to see the expression on his face and how he would react to her words. Knowing his personality, it would most likely be anger. Or at least, Shima hoped it would be. Hidan wasn't the kind of guy who did sadness, and knowing that she had caused it was not something Shima wanted to think about it. Not that she wanted to see him angry—at least towards her, anyway. But she had no choice. She couldn't let him go on thinking that way when it was just going to be proven wrong if she returned to the temple once more. Shima had to force herself to hold back a bitter smirk. All this effort...to be brought to nothing.  

Shima had never hated her abilities as much as she did at that moment.

It was why she was so surprised as she suddenly felt a hand slide under her chin, gently lifting her face to meet Hidan's. That action confused her straight away, and this feeling only grew as she found so sign of sadness on Hidan's face; and no signs of anger or even frustration, either. If anything, it was an expression of mirth. There was a glint of humour in his eyes—a glint that made Shima want to punch him in the face, her eyes switching between being narrowed and falling fully into a glare. What about this situation was funny in the slightest? Shima was not in the mood to be mocked in the absolute slightest, and there did seem to be a slight hint of that in his smirk. Her body automatically tensing, she kept herself ready to react to whatever the hell he thought he was doing—only to be caught completely off guard as he chuckled sweetly,

"No, Shima. You are, you bitch! I know you fucking are! I know that you are the only one who can open it. I'm never certain about all the stuff that happens in my life, sure. But this is definitely one of the things I am fucking sure about," pointing out a second later as he abruptly remembered something,

"And you're a fucking idiot for not believing it, too."

Brushing aside the insult for the moment, Shima concentrated on just about everything else Hidan had said, rendered speechless just like before. Why was he saying something like this? This wasn't a joke! Part of her wanted to smack his hand away and tell him so; to smack him round the face, too, for being such an idiot himself. Why was she the idiot here? After all, his belief didn't immediately mean that it was true! From how things had gone at the temple the first time, clearly things hadn't been right. Clearly her abilities weren't up to scratch, and weren't useful in the slightest—not that Shima had ever thought they had been that way to begin with. Since when did someone coming up with the theory that she was the key automatically mean it was correct? It was Hidan that was the idiot!

And yet somehow her surroundings stopped that anger from doing a thing.

The gentleness with which he tilted her face to his; the expression on his face—the look in his eyes. All of which cancelled out Shima's anger and pushed it aside. Yes; Shima had never believed the fact she could have visions to be good or useful to her, and she knew that most people saw it as a curse and as evil. She had known that neither she nor it was special—as much as she dismissed the idea on the outside—but she hadn't wanted it to be that way. She had wanted people to like it; to appreciate it and see it as a gift! Why push away the possibility that that was exactly what Hidan was doing? It wasn't as if she didn't trust Hidan; surely this might be right?

But a sudden clash of metal snapped her out of her thoughts, and she came back to earth, finally responding and stating that it couldn't be possible. That there was no proof to say she was the key, even if she could have visions when no one else in this world seemed to be able to. Only once again a simple smirk flashed up on Hidan's face, and he quickly began to reply, Shima resisting the urge to shake her head at the idea that suddenly Hidan had an answer to everything. Her thoughts were soon elsewhere, however, as she realised just what Hidan was saying, and the entire world fell away. All she could concentrate on was what Hidan was saying, and it almost seemed like she wasn't blinking, she was that focused on Hidan's face; on his eyes.

Because his words made sense. His explanation fitted together perfectly with all that had happened over the last few days. It wasn't just a load of nonsense he was spurting out here; it was logical. All her life Shima had wondered what the point of this ability was. But if she could open this sanctuary and get the scroll...then it would finally have a purpose. There would be a reason as to why she had been given this power. Could it even be called a gift? It had brought her into a whole new world, allowed her to experience so much more, and if she could open the sanctuary, would allow her to spend more time with Hidan. Well, she couldn't tell if it would be a gift to her just yet. But she knew she trusted Hidan.

And now she might just be inclined to believe him.