When Money Isn't Good Enough (Kakuzu Story)

Chapter 3

For a few minutes Kakuzu stayed there, his eyes clamped shut as he tried to figure things out. But as time passed, the sun starting to lower in the sky, he knew he'd have to get up and leave—to brush it aside for the moment. The very act of doing so felt like he was fighting the current, his anger still bubbling at the idea he was walking away from this. There was a big bounty he could get from this guy, and he was nearby—really nearby. And yet he was just getting up and leaving it all behind because of the circumstances. It didn't feel right to back down from this; but he didn't have a choice in the matter. For now, there was nothing he could do, and with other things he had to get done in the meantime, sitting around trying to come up with an answer to all of this was not something he could waste time doing.

So he left the building—begrudgingly.

Not that staying would have helped. All he'd be able to do was look around and remember what had happened. He'd see all the signs of the hurried departure the moment he opened his eyes and looked round, and everything that had occurred in the last half an hour would come rushing back. At least by heading back to the village and concentrating on what needed to be done he could try and push it to the back of his mind. It was hard, but he focused as hard as he could on the hustle and bustle of the village, people talking and walking past him with their own lives and worries. None of it had ever mattered to Kakuzu before; it was their lives, so why should he give a damn? But with the pressing desire to forget about what had gone on, he began to listen in to conversations—look at the things people were doing—just so he had something else to concentrate on other than his hatred of letting things be.

Maybe if he had been called away by Pein because of a mission he would be okay with it, even with the possibility of a big bounty there. Maybe if he knew that there wasn't enough time to get the bounty today and would have to go after the guy tomorrow he would have dealt with it fine. But the idea that there was nothing getting in his way; that there would have been plenty of time to go after this guy and kill him, and the collection office was right there in front of him...that was what he couldn't stand. He just kept picturing the guy laughing at him; at how he hadn't managed to get a hold of him and kill him for his bounty. He'd have to ask Pein for more missions to take his mind off of it; though hopefully none of those missions would be in the nearby area. That would only make him more frustrated, knowing that guy was around, and possibly even only a couple of miles away, and yet having no idea how to find him or whether he'd be able to find him at all. So he looked over the village and all that unfolded within it, glancing around the streets to try and find Hidan—though he wasn't particularly looking forward to the whole situation—something that was only heightened as he spotted him at a nearby restaurant and told him they had to leave.

Groaning at the idea they'd have to go, Hidan turned to see Kakuzu standing there, wondering whether he should even bother trying to barter with him to try and wrangle some more time to hang out in the village. He still had the memory of that incredibly boring journey they'd had getting here, and he didn't really want to go back to it. Kakuzu had never been good with conversation, and Hidan had always hated that fact. But he'd said the hideout wasn't too far away, and at least the bounty was done with, so he wouldn't have to get dragged on a detour...before he noticed something that he hadn't before. Narrowing his eyes at Kakuzu's figure, he realised he was holding nothing. There was no body, no briefcase full of money...nothing. Raising an eyebrow, Hidan questioned in confusion,

"Where's the body? Or the briefcase, for that matter? I thought you'd gone on your stupid fucking bounty hunt."

Then abruptly, as he glanced up at Kakuzu's expression, he realised just what had happened and began to laugh, mocking him,

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me! You didn't get the bounty? Oh, that's fucking fantastic! What, the guy outsmart you, or something? Holy shit—that's so fucking funny!"

Kakuzu clenched his fists, just about ready to punch him in the face. Things had been bad enough already, but now?  He should have known Hidan would do something like this, and yet still the anger wasn't dampened. But knowing he couldn't do anything to Hidan here, he simply turned on his heel and headed towards the gates, going straight to the hideout. He wasn't even going to justify Hidan's comments with an answer. But seeing Kakuzu walk off, seeing he didn't halt at all when he called his name, Hidan cursed and threw the money on the table, jumping up, grabbing his scythe and chasing on after him. He might find it incredibly hilarious that Kakuzu hadn't been able to get the bounty, but that didn't mean he wanted to get left behind—he didn't have a clue where the hideout was from here, after all.

But the moment they were in the forest and away from the village, Kakuzu turned round and punched Hidan straight in the face. Not only was he getting back at him for saying that stuff, at least this way he could let off some steam. Though after the first few hits Hidan gathered there was no point him saying anything; he always attempted to make him angry, but he was too worked up for it to be any fun anymore, and he didn't make it an argument; he was just using him as a punching bag. So Hidan merely rolled his eyes, nursing his injuries as they continued to the hideout. With their silence, and desire to get to the hideout as soon as possible, it meant their journey was relatively short, arriving there by sunset. Walking through the entrance, they both walked straight to Pein's office, knocking, and upon being given consent, they entered, Kakuzu taking the lead as he reported on the mission.

Pein nodded at all he was saying, but noted that something was going on—something that wasn't like they usually were. Hidan had a stupid smirk on his face, constantly glancing over at Kakuzu like he found something funny about him. Kakuzu himself looked incredibly furious, but to a point that he couldn't even express it—a large amount of frustration involved. Narrowing his eyes at this, Pein couldn't hold back and questioned as to what it was Kakuzu was so anxious about, only for Hidan to cut in, a grin appearing on his face as he did so,

"He lost his fucking bounty! He went to so much effort and the guy got away from him!"

"It wasn't anything I did, idiot!" Kakuzu growled in return, continuing swiftly,

"Ketsu Kusottare knew every time when I was coming for him, and just disappeared!"

To begin with, Pein dismissed their arguments, knowing they didn't get on in the slightest and this was simply a common occurrence—one which he never got himself involved in. But as Kakuzu came to the end of his sentence, what he'd said finally wormed it's way into his brain, and everything coming back to him, he narrowed his eyes, snapping his gaze back to Kakuzu to question bluntly,

"What? Ketsu Kusottare? We need information off of him, and he'd been avoiding us. He's got a lot of contacts, to the point where a large percentage of the people in this area work with him. I bet the moment you went into the village he left; he's put everyone on the alarm for the Akatsuki. That's why he keeps disappearing without you doing a thing."

But Kakuzu couldn't help but smile grimly.

Maybe he would get this bounty after all.