A New Hunter Kakuzu x Reader

       Finally finished with a long, yet relatively easy mission, you triumphantly began to make your way back home. With high spirits, and your head held even higher, you wasted little time leaving the swampy marshlands of the Mist behind you. “Once again, everything turned out to be absolutely perfect. I knew it would, but it's still good to know that I've got what it takes. I really do amaze myself sometimes. When will I ever learn how awesome I am? I really should get a metal or something for being such a wonderful ninja.” You were so busy complimenting yourself, you almost missed the danger right in front of your face. About a hundred or so yards in front of you was a familiar, but unexpected sight. Directly in front of you was Kakuzu. He hadn't seemed to notice you yet, and you didn't see Hidan anywhere around. “He's all alone, huh? I bet I could take him.”

With your ego currently inflated to unbelievable proportions, you did something incredibly stupid, you ran towards him, and in plain sight. The moment you started running, Kakuzu noticed you, but he didn't look at all worried. He stood completely still until you were only inches away from him. As soon as you were within reach, he swung his tensed arm away from his body in a sweeping motion, knocking you back at least a dozen feet straight into a large boulder. Not perceiving you as any sort of real threat, Kakuzu turned away from you and continued walking as if nothing had happened at all.

“That didn't work out like I had hoped at all.” The fact that he'd so easily stopped you quickly brought enormous your pride back down to size. You stood to your shaky legs, then despite knowing it was a bad idea, followed him. “That really wasn't a very nice way to greet me, you know.”

Kakuzu fixed his dark, piercing eyes on you and spoke in a low, rough voice. “You're one to talk. You greeted me by an attempted attack.”

“Hey now, just because I was running towards you doesn't mean I was going to attack you. For all you know, I was going to give you a hug. The last time we spoke, we left on pretty good terms. Other than the fact that you called me desperate and all. I still haven't gotten a boyfriend by the way. You were unfortunately very wrong about it being easy.” Just thinking about your last meeting was enough to make you grin like an idiot. “So, what do you have there?” You gestured towards a large burlap sack he had dangling over his shoulder. “I don't want to sound nasty or anything, but it kind of looks like you have a body in there.”

Now staring straight ahead, he answered your query with no emotion at all. “That's because I do.”

Sure he had to be joking, you rolled your eyes.“That's just hilarious.” The fact that he didn't seem to be teasing you stopped you dead in your tracks. There was no way he was casually walking around with a body slung over his shoulder. That was disgusting, and more morbid than you knew how to describe. “W-what, that's seriously a body? You're not just joking around?”

“No, I'm not.” He looked down at you once more as he began veering away from the path. “Why would I joke?”

Disgusted that anyone could do something so vile, your voice became louder and your tone sharpened dramatically. “Because it doesn't even make sense. Why in the world would you be carrying around a dead person? That's not even normal. It's sick and offensive.”

“There's a bounty on his head, and I intend to claim it. If what I'm doing upsets you, you don't have to follow me. Actually, I would prefer you didn't, follow me.” Your disapproval obviously meant very little to him, if it meant anything at all.

“Wait, wait, wait. There's a bounty on his head? A bounty meaning you're going to be paid to give him to someone?” The idea wasn't at all pleasant, but it was understandable. Ninja's died in battle all the time. Often when they did, they were left to decay right where they fell. If their deaths weren't being honored anyway, why not take advantage of the situation. Though you couldn’t believe you were actually making an excuse for this type of behavior, it was interesting and it really wasn't hurting anyone. “So you're doing this for money?”

“Correct.” He nodded.

“I see.” Thinking that perhaps this wasn't as horrid as you first thought, you stroked your chin and thought. “Do you actually kill them just for the money, or do you let someone else do the dirty work for you?”

“That depends. Hidan enjoys killing much more than I do, as sacrificing is a part of his... Religion. If it is necessary that I kill someone, I do not hesitate to do so.” As you thought about what he'd said, the landscape slowly began to change. The soft grassy ground was now hard and dusty. The colorful flowers and shady trees were gone and all that remained was sand and rocks. His walking slowed slightly, hinting that he might already be close to his destination. “Why do you ask?

“Because I'm curious, obviously. This seems like a pretty easy job to me.” Now at a dead stop, you looked up at Kakuzu with your mouth twisted to the side and your hands on your hips. “Maybe I should give it a try. The worst thing that could happen is that I fail and go back to being a ninja right?”

Your change of heart perplexed Kakuzu. It also, to some extent pleased him. “You'd be okay, with taking another persons life, for your own personal gain?”

“Well, not exactly. I couldn't just go out at run someone through, it's just not right. But I'm sure there are some people on that bounty list of yours that the world wouldn't miss a bit. If I could do this while getting rid of thugs and criminals, I'd give it a shot. Really, it doesn't seem like it's very different from what I do now.” You shrugged. “I'm given a mission, I leave, kill or imprison someone, come home and get paid. The only difference here is, I'd be working for myself, and not someone else.”

Kakuzu nodded and once again started to walk. This time, however, he wouldn't let you follow him. “Wait here. From here, I need to go alone.”

“Okay.” Though you weren't entirely sure he wasn't just trying to get away from you, you waited and waited, and waited some more. After what seemed like hours, Kakuzu finally returned. Before he'd even reached you, you hopped back onto your sore feet and groaned.  “Finally, I thought you'd left me out here to die. I have no idea where I am right now, so that would have been really bad.”

Without a word, Kakuzu placed a heavily worn, leather bound book in your hand. “You'll need this if you're serious about hunting.”

You opened the book to find name after name. Each name had a small amount of information next to it along with a reward amount. Many of the names had already been crossed off, suggesting that they were no longer among the living. “Wow, this is actually a little bit creepy. How many of these people did you, you know, bring in?”

Kakuzu chuckled grimly. “The names crossed out in black ink are my kills.”

“Oh.” You quickly flipped through the entire book searching for any colour other than black. “But they're all crossed out in black.”

Even with the lower half of his face covered, there was no denying the fact that he was smirking with pride. You could hear it in his voice. “Exactly.”

A sudden wave of fear swept over you. Kakuzu had killed dozens of people without giving it a second thought, and here you were, like a naive child, talking to him without a single care. “Wow. You must be really good at this then.” You swallowed hard and tried to brush away your discomfort. While you were busy staring down at the dirty, ripped pages, Kakuzu had begun to leave. Not wanting to be left behind, you quickly chased after him. “Hey, you don't need a partner, do you? We can split everything, fifty-fifty.”

“No.” The very suggestion offended and upset him a great deal, as did most things that would cause him to part with his precious money. “Why would I pay you to do what I can do on my own?”

“I didn't even think about that.” Following close behind, you quickly tried to think of something he'd agree to doing. You knew you couldn't start out on your own, so you were willing to do whatever was necessary to get his help. “What about an apprentice then? You teach me what to do and I'll do it for free until I can do it on my own.”

Kakuzu turned around and held his hand out to you. “You've got a deal.”

Not expecting it to be that easy, you grabbed hold of his hand and gave it a firm shake. “Thank you, I appreciate it.” With a wide sarcastic grin on your face, you gently nudged at his side. “Be honest with me though, it was the word “Free” that got you, wasn't it?”