Prologue: Heart-to-Heart Shit

Present Time
Land of Tea

"You came!"

The voice came from a boy in the midst of the crowded pub. Basses were blasting obnoxious music. There was the thick odor of sweat in the air. Some pretty young things with the stench of beer on their breaths tried catching my eye. But I was in no mood to deal with them, nor did I want to stay here much longer. Had it not been Hiro's eighteenth birthday, I would not have come. Period.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, feeling the telltale throb of an impending migraine forming in my temples. "You called. Here I am."

"You rarely do come," Hiro insisted.

"Sane people would take your choice of—," I paused, gesturing at the general chaos among us, "—atmosphere into consideration before deciding to come."

"Then I suppose all of these some-two hundred people are insane, Hidan."

"Sassy little shit. Haven't changed a bit." To this, I received another pleasant smile from the amicable boy.

Hiro hadn't changed a bit indeed. From his dark hair and green eyes to his gentle disposition, I could compare his present image to that of his early boyhood and only see similarity. Of course, the last time I had seen him was about two years ago, and he had surely grown in stature since then.

"So where have you been lately, Hidan?" Hiro led me to a bar counter where he ordered us drinks. "You didn't visit me for a while. The orphanage finally let me go after I got promoted to chunin. You weren't even here at the ceremony. I got a little lonely, you know."

I scoffed. "Been travelin'. Finished some unfinished business, I guess."

The bartender came back with two mugs. I heartily downed one, feeling the alcohol numb the pounding headache into nothing.

"You visited my mother, didn't you?"

Ah, he was ever the sharp one. He wasn't Haruno Sakura's son for nothing.

"Yep," I answered unenthusiastically.

Ah shit. The throbbing pain had gone away, but it was soon replaced by a sluggish drowsiness, the uncomfortable kind. Only one jug and I was already wussing out like a giddy teenage girl after her first shot. Why the hell had I agreed to joining that temperance group again? I ought to quit and get back to my old habits.

"So what did you say to her?" Hiro asked. He hadn't even touched his drink.

"Well—hey, can I have yours?" I pointed to his jug. He nodded, and I quickly drank the contents down. "I dunno. The usual. Don't ask me such weird questions."

Hiro chuckled. "I know you're a softie, Hidan. Underneath that tough exterior, you're a softie. You get so soft and spluttery while talking about people you care about."

"Whatever."

"You know," Hiro leaned in when blaring music grew louder, "you never seem to age, ever. How is it that you were friends with my mother and yet you look not a day older than twenty?" I could tell by the twinkle in his green eyes that he was only asking out of innocent curiosity, yet I knew it was a mystery that had confounded him for years.

"Religion. Get deep into that shit and you won't get wrinkles." I was only half-kidding.

"I was always afraid of calling you 'Uncle.' I still am! I think I look older than you!" Hiro grinned.

"I'm glad you never got around to calling me something like 'Uncle.' It's gross."

"Hidan." The boy's voice grew serious. I could see his eyes watching me intently. "You promised me something for a while. You and I both know that. Today's the day."

Yeah. I had promised to tell him back when he was twelve. Every year since then, I had promised him with the oath of a ninja that I would tell him when he came of age. Eighteen had seemed appropriate back then when the prospective age looked so distant. But now that it was now, I could no longer hide the truth from him.

"Alright, but—" I was interrupted by a cold stare. "Hey, now! Don't think that I'm backing away or anything. I'm not. But we can't talk here. And even if we leave, isn't this your own party? Wouldn't your guests feel a bit cheated?"

"Since when did 'Uncle' Hidan care so much about propriety?" He smiled. "The party's already paid for. It'll end when it ends. Seems like the guests are pretty well situated as is."

Both of us swept our eyes over the crowds of people, finding that Hiro was not far from the truth—if you could call lap-dancing 'well situated' anyway.

Nobody noticed us leave the vicinity, thankfully, and we began to head towards Hiro's new apartment near the center of the town. The night sky was pitch black, save for the scattered dots of stars that glittered in the expanse. Lamp posts illuminated the dark streets in yellow globes of light. I couldn't remember the last time I had noticed such trivial things.

I voiced my opinion in good humor. "Nice evening we're havin', huh?"

"Hidan, stop changing the subject. You're not one for pleasantries, anyway."

"Jeez. Trying to be polite, is all."

"Hidan, please. You said you'd tell me about her. I even stayed away from the village archives so that I could hear all about her from you first." His eyes were solemn, but the way his hands fidgeted betrayed his anxiety.

I sighed. I had envisioned this moment for years since that day. Even as we entered his apartment and settled into some hard kitchen chairs, I was still thinking about the consequences that could very well result tonight.

"Well, I'm not good at this heart-to-heart shit, so ask me something first. I'll answer it best I can," I offered.

Hiro wasted no time at all, and his first question flew out in a blur of words, as if he had prepared it on script. "How did you know my mother?"

"I met her."

"Well, obviously. But how did you meet her?"

"Recon mission."

"And then what?"

"Then the mission ended."

My bluntness was met with a displeased frown. "Cut the crap, Hidan! What was your relationship with her? How did you know her so well? Why did she put me under your care?"

"Shit," I cursed under my breath. "I don't know everything, but... This is gonna be a long story."

"We have all night," he replied, and in that fleeting moment I could see his mother in him, in his eyes, in his spirit. Sakura was there, present in him.

"Alright," I relented, a little perturbed. I could almost feel her green eyes watching me, prodding me to go on. "Guess I'd better start from the beginning."