The Key To So Many Doors (Hidan Story)

Chapter 1.

Hidan hated these kind of missions.

True, when they were looking for Jinchuuriki, they had to travel all over the place and they were still looking for things—but a person was a lot easier to find, considering they were bigger, and with the power they held, they were more likely to be heard of. They could make their own way round the world, but they still left tracks; not to mention it promised a fight at the end of it all; the thing that made it all worthwhile. And ok, Kakuzu often felt it necessary to increase the travelling time during Jinchuuriki hunts to collect bounties, but at least those detours allowed him to kill and sacrifice people, and not even have to leave them slightly alive. At least in those situations Hidan knew he would come across battles and ways to appease Jashin. But with the likes of these missions? Leader often stated that it was best to avoid fighting as much as possible—a sentence that Hidan hated to hear more than most things. So it didn’t exactly help when Kakuzu decided to repeat it to him constantly as they went along.

This mission would involve both Hidan and Kakuzu looking for a singular stupid scroll. Leader had said there was some sort of ‘power’ in it—a power that wasn’t actually ever described to either of them—that the Akatsuki could do with having in the organization, and as such it was their job to go and get it. So that meant wandering around in a certain area for a tiny little scroll which most likely no one would know about and hadn’t been seen in hundreds of years, without any battles to make it interesting and Kakuzu ignoring him the entire time. His lack of social skills was something Hidan despised to begin with, let alone having to put up with it with no breaks in between. The moment Leader had fully explained the entire mission and all that they would be needing to do and where they would be needing to go, Hidan had to resist the urge to cry (well, sort of). Why, when they were S-class criminals, had these big reputations and all this power, were they given this sort of shit? He didn’t immediately accept it, of course; instantly trying to offload it onto someone else:

“Leader-sama, Sir, for fuck’s sake, please can we have something else? Why not give it to Itachi and Kisame? They wouldn’t mind! But of all people to be fucking given it—why the fuck did it have to be us?”

“Because all of the others are already in the middle of missions, Hidan. You are the only ones available and you are nearby. Therefore it will be your job to complete this mission—and that’s final,” Leader merely replied bluntly, and ultimately, Hidan hadn’t said a word more during the meeting.

To start with as they headed off, Hidan hadn’t said a word then. Kakuzu knew he was sulking, but he didn’t care. It shut him up—at least for now—and as such he merely led him onwards. Leader had been right; the area where this scroll was supposed to be was barely twenty minutes away, and there wouldn’t be that much space to search around. All they had to do was grab this scroll and take it back to Leader. Simple as. Kakuzu, too, would admit it wasn’t a particularly interesting mission in the slightest, but it was a mission all the same; and therefore it needed to be completed. It wouldn’t take them long, anyway, so he’d make sure Hidan kept his mouth shut until they’d got it done. Hopefully he’d be able to find a bounty in the meantime; it would make things better for the both of them, regardless of how much Hidan complained about Kakuzu doing them.

Or anything else, for that matter.

A few minutes later and Hidan had started up, just as Kakuzu had been expecting him to. He was unable to keep his mouth shut for more than a few minutes—especially when he had something to whine and complain about it; which was a normal thing for him. Hidan had managed to develop quite a talent for being able to complain or whine about anything, regardless of how small it was compared to the rest of the world. If it affected Hidan, then he could complain about it. Kakuzu attempted to brush him off for the most part, concentrating on looking at the map and following the path they needed to go down. He contemplated thinking over a plan of what to do when they got there, but decided against it. From the sounds of it, this mission wasn’t the kind of one that needed a plan to go with it. It was a basic, simple affair that could be finished within a couple of hours; then he could get as far away from Hidan as was humanely possible.

A little while later and the path began to curve downwards, revealing the village clustered below. It was tiny, barely enough buildings to be called a village in the first place, but it seemed peaceful enough. There was nothing there that anyone wanted, and it was adequately hidden to avoid any general raids or attacks that might have come from rogue ninjas. At first it seemed like there wasn’t even anyone living there it was that quiet and empty, but eventually as they got closer they spotted a few people wandering through the streets, going about their little lives. It was enough to quieten Hidan for the moment; by coming into this village it meant they were one step closer to finding this scroll, one step closer to finishing this mission and one step closer to moving on from this whole situation and leaving it behind them.

Kakuzu pulled out the map once more, checking it over quickly before simply walking through the collection of buildings until they were out the other side. Hidan noted several villagers looked them over as they walked through, but he brushed them off; being in such a backwater village it wasn’t a surprise they were wary of foreigners. So a minute or two after and they were clear of the village, delving back into the foliage of the forest. Hidan's impatience began to surface again, as it felt like this was just a repeat of what they had already been through once today. He said nothing to begin with, merely keeping his eyes on Kakuzu's back and watching out for any changes in the surroundings, and just when he was about to say something, the trees abruptly parted, revealing the temple in front of them.

At least this seemed a little more interesting.

Pausing for a second to take it all in, Hidan eventually started forward once more when Kakuzu called out to him, rolling his eyes as he followed him up the steps. What the temple had been made for, Hidan wasn’t sure. The one near Yugakure he’d been inside had been built because of Jashin; but this didn’t appear to be connected to any form of religion or cult or whatever. It was just kind of…there. Still, he wanted to know more, and making his way up to the entrance, he followed in behind Kakuzu as he opened the door with a bang, attempting to wave away the dust cloud that manifested as he did so.

The light was dimmer inside, the walls decorated with pictures and carvings. With the age of the place, plants were beginning to grow through the gaps that served as windows, a few animals scurrying around here and there. Hidan forgot about the mission for a moment, allowing himself a little time just to look around and see what it was like. It wasn’t that big, however, and he still hadn’t a clue what it’s purpose was. Maybe it didn’t have one altogether. Gazing up at the ceiling and the symbols that were placed all over, Hidan almost jumped as the silence was broken; Kakuzu calling him over to the other side of the temple. Scowling at that fact, Hidan glared in his direction but walked over, slowing down as he noticed what Kakuzu was looking at.

It was a building within a building--a sanctuary inside the temple itself. About the size of a shed, and almost with the look of a tomb, but it sat at the back of the temple, slightly hidden, and as Hidan came up to it, although he could sense something humming within it, he could see the doorway was sealed. They couldn’t just break in; they knew nothing of the consequences if they did, and if what they were looking for was in there, then they couldn’t risk damaging it. Instead, they’d just have to find another way in; or at least a way to open the door. They both circled it, reading the pictures carved into this, as well, trying to figure out what they meant—to figure out what exactly was inside this thing to begin with.

“Well, it’s definitely the scroll in there,” Kakuzu eventually spoke up quietly, not quite ready to talk at a normal volume with the oppressive silence as he pointed out a carving that served as an answer. Nodding in agreement with that, Kakuzu then added,

“But obviously something’s needed to open this up—a key, of some sorts.” Now he pointed to another carving; of a person holding something in their palms, the door opening in front of them. Attempting to work out what exactly the ‘key’ was, Hidan rolled his eyes, turning to Kakuzu to shoot back bluntly,

“The person’s not holding a key, Kakuzu—it’s just their power. The person’s the key, you prick!”

Trying to ignore Hidan's comment, both of them halted a second later as his words occurred to them.

This certainly changed things slightly.