Prologue;


Another cold night swept over Konoha, a little village in the Fire Country. Rain was pouring down over the darkened streets as the wind got stronger and harder every second that passed.

A young girl made her way through the empty streets, occasionally pushing strands of her black hair from her face. The blanked she'd wrapped around her body clung to her tiny frame in a desperate try to keep the cold out. She looked at her bare feet as she walked, trying so hard to keep her tears from falling. Tonight was the night. The night her new life would begin. No more living in the shadows of others, no more slaving for her father. She needed to be able to live; to breathe, and the only way to do so was to run away.

A door flung open not far from her and a middle-aged man stumbled out. He looked her over while taking a sip from the bottle in his hand and started making his way over to her as she got closer.

He gripped the blanket around the girl and pulled her closer. A wind of alcohol hit her face as he spoke; "You, you're alone?"

"H-hai," She replied quietly and kept her gaze on the ground as she felt him eyeing her again.

"Come," He ordered and watched her as she shook her head no. "No?"

"I-I hav-have to go so-somewhere," She stuttered and tried to back away from the man, but he held a strong grip around her blanket and wouldn't let her go. "P-please, I have to..."

His body moved closer to her as she tried to get away. He dropped the bottle to the ground and pushed her back until she ended up with her back against one of the wet house walls.

"Please," She pleaded as he ripped the blanket away from her. "P-please st-stop,"

Cold hands gripped her face and a pair of dry lips collided with her cheek.

"St-stop it," She whimpered as he moved one of his hands down the side of her body. "Stop it!"

He grabbed a hand-full of her hair and yanked her head backwards. "Shut up! Just shut up!" He yelled and pulled her pants down her pale legs with his free hand.

"N-no please," She cried out as she felt one of his hands running over her private area. He pushed his fingers upwards and rubbed her viciously through the soft material of her panties. "Stop it!"


Her naked body lay curled up against the house-wall. Tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. She hugged her legs tightly and winced every time the rain hit her exposed frame. She heard footsteps coming closer and closed her eyes. She couldn't take anymore. Not tonight.

A warm hand ran over her face - pushing her wet hair away from her eyes. She let her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as something warm and dry was draped around her body.

"I won't hurt you," A soft voice told her. "Just relax," it added as two arms lifted her up from the ground. "You're safe now,"

Chapter one;


Her feet dangled freely over one of his arms as he carried her. Her head was tilted towards one of his shoulders. She kept her hands to herself - sometimes drying her cheeks from the tears she fell, other times fiddling with the soft fabric of the cloak. It was black from what she could see, and very, very soft.

She heard a silent thump coming from her side and seconds later a creaking noise. She was too tired to look, but understood it was a door.


He dragged his feet slowly over the dust filled floor as he made his way over to the worn out couch. He glanced down at the girl in his arms, biting his lip as pictures from the crime-scene flickered by in front of his eyes. She'd gotten raped, used and thrown away like nothing but trash. He'd wanted to help her but something inside of him kept him from it. Sure, he was a brutal murderer and a heartless bastard. But re-living one of the memories that forced him to become what he was today... He couldn't let it happen again.

He placed her down on the dusty couch before turning around to face the other man.

"What?" He asked and ran one of his hands through his long black hair.

"Who is she?" The other male asked while resting his body against one of the walls.

"Does it matter?" The black-haired man replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

The other man shifted on his feet - making his sword scrape against the wall. "We came here to gather information, not screw girls," He started but got cut off by the other male.

"We're leaving tomorrow, get some rest."

"You've changed, Itachi. You've been emotional since we got here,"

Itachi glared at his companion. His wet hair fell into his face. The other man continued; "I know about your past. I know you couldn't save her, but this is only slowing down the mission."

Itachi closed his eyes hard - trying to block out the images while the other guy continued.

"I knew we should have taken Sand instead, but no, you insisted on going back here."

Sharingan eyes stared at the guy - daring him to continue the lesson.

"You got your revenge. What more do you want?"

"Touch her and I'll kill you," Itachi sneered and sank down on the floor. "We're leaving tomorrow. Get some rest, Kisame." He demanded.

"Fine," Kisame replied grumpily and made his way towards the couch where the girl lay. "I don't see what's so special with her anyway," he added before sinking down on the floor as well.

"Touch... Kill..." Itachi mumbled warningly and kept his gaze on his blue friend who returned the gaze with just as much hatred.


Moments passed and Kisame eventually let sleep take over. Itachi kept his eyes open. He knew what would happen if he didn't stay sharp. His gaze travelled to the girl on the couch. Her breathing had finally gotten somewhat normal. He moved closer to her and reached one hand out to touch her porcelain face. She winched by the touch - causing him to draw his hand back. He sighed and leaned his head onto the arm-rest and listened to the rain pour down outside. It had been a long and hard day and tomorrow was probably gonna get worse.

Chapter Two;

The sun shone brightly outside; sneaking its way through the torn curtains over the little window. The girl slept soundlessly with her face nuzzled against the smelly fabric of the couch. She still had the cloak around her sore body. It kept her warm. Her hair was a complete mess and her closed eyes had dark circles around them. Itachi
looked her over for the umpteenth time that morning. Mesmerized by her looks he just couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her. She reminded him of her... his first love and best friend.

Kisame was right. He had gotten his revenge. He killed his whole clan except for his little brother, but it was still bugging him, still haunting him at night. He could still hear her screams, her scared voice begging them to stop. He could still see her face when he closed his eyes, and feel her scent teasing his nose. The softness of her hair and her lips still lingered under his fingertips.

“You’re breathing really loud,” Kisame mumbled tiredly – causing Itachi’s head to snap up.

“How long have you been awake?” Itachi asked while stretching his arms up in the air hoping the images of his past would disappear from his mind.

“Long enough to see you drooling over that slut,”

Itachi shook his head and watched as his blue friend got off the floor; making his way towards the door.

“We should leave now before they notice we’ve been here,” He said quietly and peeked out the door. “It’s just a matter of time,”

“Hn,” Itachi nodded and glanced at the girl once again.

She was still sleeping. He ran a hand gently over her face, not caring if Kisame saw him or not. To his surprise the girl’s eyes shot open and she quickly turned around and stared at him with her pearly white eyes. A shocked expression painted her face as she stared at the red-eyed man sitting on the floor in front of her. Her lips were slightly parted as she wet her pink lips before speaking with a dry, frightened voice; “Wh-where am I?”

Itachi stared back at the girl. His crimson eyes scanned the newly woken face in front of him. He watched as her eyes opened up more as she turned her head to take in her surroundings before falling back on his again.

“Y-you,” She whispered and tugged the cloak he’d given her up to her chin. “Y-you s-saved me,”

Itachi’s face was stern as he said a simple; “No,” He hadn’t saved her, just given her a place to stay over the night.

She furrowed her eyebrows at that word and let her gaze fall on the man by the door. Kisame stared back at her in a nonchalant way. He didn’t know why Itachi had brought her to their current hideout or what he wanted with her, but he himself did not want anything to come in the way of their mission and decided to give the girl his cold shoulder.

“We need to go,” Kisame stated and watched his companion stand up.

“Hn,” Itachi mumbled and made his way over to Kisame. He gave one last look at the girl before turning around completely and followed his friend out the door.

The girl on the couch watched them leave and felt the loneliness she usually felt creep up on her once again. Somehow, being near the Sharingan-user, made those feelings go away. She placed her bare feet on the dusty floor and wrapped the cloak around her tiny body in one
fast movement and made her way to the door. She didn’t want to feel alone anymore. Maybe that guy could be the first one to accept her. Maybe he could help her feel alive again.


She stepped out in the chilly morning weather and took one quick look to her left. There was no one there. She turned her head to her right and saw two dark figures disappear behind a house corner. She ran. Her feet moved lightly over the dirty road. She rounded the house corner and bumped into something hard.

“Ouch,” She groaned as her bottom hit the ground and looked up to see the blue man staring down at her.

“What do you want?” He asked and rested his sword on the ground by his side.

"I-I...” She started and felt her cheeks burning. She saw Itachi standing behind Kisame and lowered her head in embarrassment. “I j-just w-wanted to say thank you,” She said softly and looked shyly up at the man in front of her.

“Leave,” He growled and turned around and continued to walk. He stopped soon after and looked at the little girl who followed them. “Go! Shoosh!” He said while motioning for her to leave.

The girl brought her hands up towards her face and started fiddling with her fingers. “No,” She whispered while watching her index fingers bending and stretching as she moved them. “I-I...” she trailed off.

Kisame rolled his eyes and gave Itachi a look that said to continue walking. He knew the girl was still following and it was bugging the crap out of him. Itachi watched with amusement as his friend clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes. He was gonna blow, and Itachi just couldn’t wait for it to happen.

He turned to face the girl, asking; “What’s your name?”

The girl looked up at the black-haired man and blushed. "H-Hyuuga Hinata,” She replied quietly.

“Hinata,” Itachi said quietly. “I’m Itachi. Welcome to the gang,”

Chapter Three:

Soon they were out of Konoha. Kisame had taken it upon himself to slaughter the two guards who watched the huge gates that kept the little town safe from unwanted visitors. There had been so much blood everywhere. Hinata had to fight the urge not to scream. She knew those two. Kotetsu and Genma were their names. She knew she’d probably end up like them if she interfered. She hated her life, that was true, but that red-eyed man that somehow given her new hope.

She walked behind the two males; dragging her feet in the muddy ground. She kept her distance. Kisame had told her straight out what he thought of her and her idea to follow them. She knew very well what would happen if she got too close.

She sighed quietly and watched as her dirty feet moved back and forth underneath her bare legs. Her toes were dirty. Her feet were sore. If only she’d brought her shoes with her.

Lost in her own thoughts, she never noticed the two males stopping until she crashed into Kisame’s back once again. She backed away quickly and closed her eyes, hoping she’d disappear before he got the chance to turn around.

“You,” He said slowly; his tone darker than usual. “I’ve had it with your little game.” He started and watched as her head sunk further down the big collar of the cloak. “I’ve had it of your silent complaints, your annoyingly weak chakra and, and that finger fiddling you do every time I look at you.” He raised his sword and stepped closer to the little girl. “If you’re not gone by the time I’ve counted to three I swear that will be the last thing you’ll ever hear!” He threatened.

Hinata took another step backwards. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she tried to keep calm.

“One,”

Maybe he wasn’t serious. Maybe he was just trying to scare her. He wouldn’t hurt her would he? It wasn’t like she’d done anything, right?

“Two,”

But he had killed Kotetsu and Genma without any real reason, and he had seemed to enjoy it. Spilling their blood on the ground and hearing them plead for mercy had seemed to make him enjoy it even more. Who was he anyway? The cloak he was wearing was the same as the one Itachi had given her, black with red clouds. She’d heard about those before. Naruto had told her about them. If only she could remember.

“Three,” Kisame stated and lifted the sword up higher and swung it towards the girl.

She felt a strong push against her shoulder and fell to the ground while hearing a loud crash coming not far from her. Her eyes were still closed. Was she dead?

“What the hell?!” She heard Kisame yell. “What’d you do that for?” His voice was angry.

Hinata opened her eyes slowly and brought a hand to her shoulder. It hurt.

“Damn it Itachi!” Kisame roared and swung the sword towards the girl again.

Hinata’s eyes widened as it got closer to her. She was too afraid to move.

Suddenly two black clothed legs appeared in front of her and she heard the crash once again. Blood dripped down onto the ground in front of her.

“Itachi!” Kisame shouted angrily. “Get out of the fucking way!”

Itachi? Hinata looked up and saw him standing there. His right hand was covered in blood. Did he just save her? Twice?

“Leave her alone, Kisame.” He ordered and got a hateful look from his comrade before he finally gave in and threw the sword over his shoulder and started walking again.

Hinata stared up at the man in front of her. What was it with this man? Why did he do that? Why did he save her?

“Come,” He mumbled without looking at her and went after Kisame.

Hinata watched him leave and slowly got up on her feet again. Her small feet brought her quickly up to Itachi. She glanced at his hand and bit her lip insecurely.

“A-Arigatou,” She said softly, hoping he wasn’t angry with her.

“Don’t mention it,” He murmured sourly. He wasn’t sure what had made him do what he did. She was just a girl. A girl he didn’t feel anything for. She reminded him of somebody he once knew, but it wasn’t her. He inwardly slapped himself and clenched his fists tightly together by the sides of his hips. His right hand was bleeding really badly. He probably needed to see a doctor. Damn that Kisame and his stupid sword.

Kisame walked with heavy steps in front of the two others. He was angry she was still with them. It would have been so much easier if she was dead. A smile tugged at his lips though as he re-played the image of Itachi when his sword had collided with his hand. The expression of pain he’d seen was priceless. It wasn’t everyday he got to see Itachi show that sort of expression.