Heading back over to him, Tsukai grabbed his hand and dragged him outside, with Yoru and Toshi looking on behind them both, smiling and laughing at what they knew would be coming sooner or later. It was clear there was something there already, but that they were just oblivious to it at the moment. It needed time to develop, and the time Yoru had given them would be perfect for that. They knew Tsukai needed to leave; she wasn’t overly welcome with the villagers, and she couldn’t live with animals all her life. She needed other people; a proper job and friends.
And it seemed like Hidan could give her that.
Now outside, Tsukai led him through the shallows onto the very edge of them, allowing him to look around at the different wolves gathered there.
“One of these will be with you; to truly learn the ancient language, and to be able to understand the temple to the point to get back to your friends, you’ll need to truly feel the elements around you, and the wolves will help you with this,” Tsukai explained, gesturing to them all, and nodding with a grin, Hidan then faltered as he thought of something, and replied,
“Wait...how will I know which one to choose?”
“You’ll know, Hidan. You pick each other.”
Shrugging in acceptance, he turned back to the wolves, but still wondering how this whole ‘picking each other’ thing worked. As he swivelled his gaze round past all of the wolves, most of them stared straight back, but broke the gaze first, and he took that as a signal that it wasn’t meant to be. Soon there were barely any wolves left, and Hidan was beginning to think there wouldn’t be a single wolf he’d be able to work with. That would be embarrassing; especially in front of Tsukai. A thing to do with her culture, and one she was being nice enough to include him in...and there wasn’t a wolf who’d choose him.
Great.
It was only when his eyes passed by Daichi that he didn’t back down. Dismissing it for the moment, considering he already knew him, it wasn’t until no other wolf would look back that he realised it was Daichi. So looking back over, both Daichi and Hidan grinned, and trotting over, he tilted his head to the side in a questioning way. Their eyes connected, and he couldn’t take his off them. Tsukai watched with a smile on her face, shaking her head at them both. They matched, it was true. He was less inclined to obey the rules, loving his freedom and constantly trying to do what he wanted, not what everyone else wanted. Shaking her head, she nudged Hidan, and raising an eyebrow, stated simply,
“Then it’s decided. Daichi’s gonna be your wolf for the time being.”
Hidan nodded, stepping forward to run his hand through his surprisingly soft fur—it wasn’t really something he focused on when he was being transported at high speeds through the forest. But then remembering Daichi had approached Tsukai to begin with, he turned and questioned who she was going to have, considering she had been with him earlier. But shaking it off, she explained that it was coincidence—Daichi wasn’t her wolf. When it came down to it, Yoru was, but as he was the alpha male, she used another wolf in the meantime. Questioning as to who it was, Tsukai smirked with a glint in her eye, then tilted her head back and howled.
Blinking in shock, before turning it into a grin, Hidan watched and listened, finding it strangely tuneful, and noting how it sounded pure wolf, no human involved. A second later, and the wind whipped around, before he realised there was another wolf sitting near them. A dark grey that practically looked back, with white stripes down his front legs, strange tentacle-like things swirled around him, disappearing a second later as he slowed to a halt. With golden eyes like Tsukai, Yoru and Toshi, he knew he was special, and going forward to talk to him in the ancient language, they shared a hug, before she turned back and said with a smile,
“Hidan, this is Kage. He’s Yoru’s son, and I work with him when I can’t with Yoru himself.”
Nodding in greeting to him, Kage nodded back, and wasting no more time, Tsukai jumped onto his back, and without waiting for Hidan to do the same, Daichi flung him on. Hidan just about managed to cling on before he tumbled off the other side as Daichi did so, and scowled down at him for doing it. Laughing, Tsukai waited until he was comfortable again, told him to remember what she’d said last time, before turning and heading off, yipping and growling behind her in what he guessed was directions for both Kage and Daichi. As Kage left them behind, Daichi growled, jumped up, and sped off at full speed. Having gotten used to the speed, Hidan held on and laughed, waving at Tsukai with a cocky grin as they easily passed them and continued on.
It was soon taken away from them though, as a black streak flashed past, the wind suddenly turning into a gust that shook the trees and plants around them. Widening his eyes in surprise, Hidan scowled in irritation, but pushed Daichi on to catch them up. He should have known, though; Kage was Yoru’s son—it was obvious he’d have more power than Daichi would. But that didn’t mean Hidan was okay with it.
Although he had no idea whatsoever of where they were going, Daichi seemed to have more of a clue, and a few minutes later they arrived at the temple. Hidan’s mouth dropped open in amazement, this one even more impressive than the one he’d seen with the Akatsuki. The sun was setting, creating an awesome backdrop for it, as he craned his neck to see the top of it, the pillars extending almost as if to the sky. It was decorated with designs that, as he was brought closer, he saw were actually runes all placed in rows and placed together to create a picture. He’d been thinking—just like the town and the general area—it would be small and not in your face. But the more he stared, the more he realised it was a silent, mysterious...almost elusive building, and the higher power aura he had felt not only in that little clearing but at the clearing with the wolves as well came back with a vengeance. The feeling here was double what he had felt before, and Tsukai could tell. It was natural for him—as a Jashinist—to feel that power, even though he didn’t know as much as Jashinists before him would have done.
But it wasn’t really paying attention to his amazement with the temple she focused on; it was just Hidan in general. Daichi slowed down and stood silently, waiting for what would happen next, and he gaped up at the temple. The look on his face and in his eyes was pure, childish amazement, and she loved him for it. He was sweeter than he knew, and she was beginning to wonder how she had lived without him, even though only knowing him for a few days.
Though as he turned to look at her she quickly shook it off, explaining as she dismounted from Kage,
“We’re not going inside just yet. I just thought this would be a cool place to begin the ‘training’, as it were. She’s fucking beautiful, though, isn’t she?”
Patting the temple pillar, Hidan couldn’t help but smile softly at how proud she was of the temple, and quickly agreed to her last statement. And still in a daze, he asked quietly what exactly this ‘training’ was, and this is where she grinned, told Kage and Daichi to wait there, and then, with one glance, she told him to find her.
At which she promptly turned and ran on foot into the forest.
The trees here were thicker, and it was getting darker. Hidan lunged forward to follow her, but eventually he had no choice but to pause and look around. Nothing made a sound; no footsteps, no nothing. Wherever Tsukai had gone, she wasn’t going to leave any trail of herself behind. She was testing him; he knew she was, but it didn’t exactly help. All it would do would prove he was stupid when he couldn’t find her. And it was going to be harder for him. He was in a place he didn’t understand or know, and now he couldn’t even see back to the clearing with Kage and Daichi.
And it was at that point he started wondering if he’d be able to get out at all.
