That night , (Name) fell asleep in Itachi's strong arms. She was so exhausted that she didn't notice the black owl perched on a nearby branch.
Its feathers and eyes were pure black , darker than that of Itachi's eyes.

The owl was beautiful in a mystical and mysterious way. 

Itachi's crow was also perched nearby , its red eye narrowed at the owl.

The crow wanted to scare the owl away , but the ebony owl didn't budge. He had been watching over her for years already. Her safety meant everything to him.
The owl's black eyes glared at the crow , who had a single Sharingan transplanted in one of his eyes . Even the odd bird didn't strike any fear to him.

The owl just perched on the branch and silently watched as the girl slept.

   ' You're alright , (Name) . Thank god you're alright.'

♤

" Are those the ones we have to assasinate ?" (Name) asked , her face contorted in a bitter expression. She had never killed, and didn't plan on doing so. 

" Yep. You just stay here kid , we can handle it. But if the situation calls for it , you better jump in and help," Kisame said. 

(Name) remained on the tree branch while Kisame and Itachi ambushed the troup of ninjas. She was in the Akatsuki , what did she expect ? 

Blood , gore and violence became a daily aspect of life. Taking the lives of others was nothing new.

    " Y..You're the Akatsuki !" one of the ninjas stuttered , his eyes widened at the sight of two members of the widely feared Akatsuki Organisation. 

     " Spot on ," Kisame chuckled. 

     " What do you want ?!" another ninja yelled , displaying a pathetic brave front. Even the bravest of ninjas fell down to their knees at the sight of the Akatsuki. 

    " We don't necessarily want anything. The thing is , we're on a mission.  And to complete our mission , we have to kill you all. Not a big deal , right ?" Kisame said.
Gasps were heard , and each of the ninjas withdrew their weapons.

    " Who sent you ?" a slightly older ninja , presumably the leader questioned.

     " It doesn't matter , really. Well , just because I'm so kindhearted , I'll just tell you. What about the leader of your country's biggest enemy ?"

Their expressions darkened.
     " Even if we die , we will go down fighting !" 

     " Cool. We don't like straw dummies as opponents that much anyway."

And with that , the battle commenced.  (Name) faced the other direction , unwilling to see the bloody battle.

She could hear Kisame slicing the ninjas clean through using Samehada , and the sound of blood and guts splattering on the ground made bile rise in her throat.

However , (Name) eventually turned around , wanting to see their fighting techniques . Itachi , especially.  She had never seen the Uchiha prodigy in battle mode.

And he was flawless. His style wasn't as bloody and destructive as Kisame's , but just as deadly.

He was using the Sharingan , one of the three great Dojutsu. 

They made the mistake of looking at Itachi in the eye , and that was the end of them. It amazed (Name) how he could kill someone with a single glance. 

     " Well well well , looks like there's a third member. She doesn't seem so dangerous , does she?  Especially with that skinny build and nonexistent chakra."

(Name) blanched , and immediately turned around. There were four ninjas in front of her , each wielding a weapon of some sort.

    ' Byakugan! '

Veins popped up on the area around her eyes as she observed her opponents. It wasn't looking good. Their chakra reserves were full , and all of them were at least Jounin-rank.

    " Hey , who knows if she might actually be deadly ? She's an Akatsuki member ," one of his comrades hissed.

     " No . This one is actually useless. Maybe a medic ? Or a fraud ? Why are you even wearing that cloak ?" he taunted.
" Never mind. Your friends killed our comrades. It's only fair if we kill one of theirs ."

     " No .. Please don't .." (Name) pleaded. She was afraid - no terrified at the thought of being in a battle. She could still remember her last battle , many long years ago.

     " Fukuro .." Images of her best friend , the one who sacrificed everything for her surfaced in her mind. ' If I die now , his sacrifice would be in vain.'

      " But she's such a young , pretty little thing . Why waste it ? Why don't we give her a fate worse that death ?" another ninja piped up. 
     
(Name)'s already pale face grew even paler when the ninja who spoke earlier pushed her back against the tree bark and brought his lips close to her face.
She squirmed , and his friends echoed in laughter. She wanted to call for help , but she wasn't sure if Itachi and Kisame would hear , as the sound of the battles would drown her own screams.

The male ninja planted sloppy , wet kisses on her cheeks and jaw , his friends' laughter growing even louder. (Name) wondered how they could even laugh when their other comrades were dying below. They were much more heartless than the Akatsuki. 

However , the male ninja's major mistake was that he forgot to pin (Name)'s hands . She quickly retrieved a kunai from the holster , and when nobody was looking , she plunged the sharp weapon into the ninja's neck. She plunged it deep enough that only the hilt could be seen.

Instantly , blood splattered from his mouth , and his eyes became glassy and blank. 
She pulled out the kunai , and the blood from the wound dripped onto her black cloak. (Name) kicked his limp body away from her , and he fell down on the ground with a thud.

His friends stopped laughing , and their snobby expressions were replaced by intense fear. 

Was this the same girl who pleaded at them moments ago ?

Her hair was dishevelled , her (s/c) skin was covered in blood that wasn't hers , and her eyes , though blank , harboured such a deep hatred and bloodlust that neither of them could fathom.

    " What's so funny ?" she giggled. " Can I laugh along ?"

She charged at them with such speed that they had no chance at reacting , and slit the throat of one of them with ease.

Seeing this , one of the remaining two immediately fled , leaving only one for (Name) to dismember.

He withdrew his katana , and charged at the Hyuga girl. However , she was much faster.

She sensed his openings and immediately disrupted his chakra flow , rendering him paralysed. 

    " Sorry , I need to be quick. I gotta catch that cowardly big-mouthed friend of yours," she said , and the still-conscious ninja's eyes grew wider.

In one swift move , she broke his neck and ended his life right there.

Meanwhile , the ninja who had fled earlier was standing against a tree , panting heavily. He thought maybe the crazy girl couldn't find him , or one of his friends finished her off. 
Either way , he felt slightly relieved. Unfortunately for him , it shortlived.

     " I've found you ," he heard a sickly sweet voice say.

♤

" Kisame , where is (Name) ? " Itachi asked , uneasiness welling up in the pit of his stomach when he couldn't see (Name) anywhere. 

" Eh ? I told her to wait on top of that tree until we're done . She's not there ?" Kisame replied as he wiped the blood off his sword.

" I don't see her there . I'll go and check ," Itachi said , jumping onto the tree branches.

" Yeah , if she's leaving she probably left a love note or anything , " Kisame chuckled.  " What the fuck !"

His eyes landed on the corpse sprawled on the ground . Sure , there were lots of corpses lying around currently , but he could tell that this one wasn't killed by him or Itachi.

If he had killed him , the body would be completely mangled. If Itachi had killed him , there would be minimal to no damage.

But this corpse , the only injury was the large wound on his neck. And some broken bones. Kisame assumed he had fallen from a high place. He inspected the wound closer.

Whoever had done it , he or she must have excellent knowledge on the human anatomy , as the corpse's artery was completely severed. 

     " Kisame , you might want to see this ," Itachi called out.

There were two more corpses hung on the branches , and Kisame was sure that neither he or Itachi had killed them.

    " That one has a broken neck. And before he died , his chakra was suppressed , making it destroy his own body. The only person who could have done this was a Hyuga. That means.. It was (Name) ," Itachi said grimly.

Kisame , who was inspecting the second corpse whose throat was slit , nodded. 
    " Along with this one and the one on the ground right there ."

Suddenly , they heard a shrill scream not so far from where they were.

   '(Name)!'

The screams grew louder as they neared , and they realized that the screams were actually curses. 
    " Whose the useless one now ?! It's you ! It's you !" (Name) cackled , slamming the head of the long dead ninja with a large rock , repeatedly. 

    " You're the useless one ! You're the useless one !" she shrilled , and each time she slammed the rock , droplets of blood flew in every direction.

     " (Name) ! " Itachi cried in horror. He had never felt so shocked , even remotely terrified.
Kisame was also rendered speechless , and couldn't even say anything.  

    " (Name) stop it !" Itachi shouted , picking her up and made her drop the rock.
(Name) squirmed in his arms , trying to get away. 

     " I said stop (Name) ! " 

Almost immediately , (Name) went silent and motionless. It was like she snapped awake from a trance , and she looked around cluelessly. She saw the dismembered corpse and her eyes widened in fear. Her gaze trailed down to her own bloodstained hands. 

Her lip quivered and her eyes began to water.
     " I killed him.. I killed him.." she murmured , and looked as if she was on the verge of hyperventilating. 

      " (Name) , calm down ," Itachi tried to comfort her , but (Name) 's tears were falling down like the rain.

He gently held her frail body in his arms,  allowing her to cry her heart out .

   " Itachi, I'm a murderer .." she sobbed. 

Itachi's eyes softened as he caressed her hair softly. He went through this as well once. It wasn't a wonderful experience , realizing that you've just taken the life of another human being. 

     " Shush... It's alright (Name). It's alright."

At that moment , the owl continued to watch silently. Both shocked with what (Name) had done , but also content that she had someone to comfort her.