The sun was setting as I ate my dinner, sitting in the beautiful garden of the the Fire Temple. These last few days had been slow, and there was a quiet sadness drifting through the air.

I couldn't believe the amount of death and damage I found when I arrived. I helped them build and clean up as much as I could throughout the day while patrolling the areas at night.

Hopefully, after another day or two, I'd be able to go back home. But Shikamaru and his team hadn't found really any leads. They knew the two akatsuki members took Chiriku's body for a bounty, but not much else was known.

I felt so bad for Asuma. Chiriku was his friend from his days in the Shinobi Guardian Twelve. I couldn't imagine the pain he was feeling. No matter how many people you lost, it never got any easier.

I group of small children ran up to me, all laughing and giggling with each other as they played.

"Miss, will you make more butterflies!?"

I smiled at them all, "Of course."

I wasn't supposed to use my jutsu, but I had been playing with the kids a lot. And it was fun to watch their amazement.

I brought my hands together, creating small butterflies as I pulled my hands apart. They were just shadows, but I made them look so realistic, causing them to fly around.

It was so cute to watch the kids chase after them, laughing with delight. There was so much to learn from children. They brightened up everything.

Part of me couldn't wait to be a mom, but that would definitely have to wait. I had so much to accomplish before that could even be a thought of mine.

Plus, I can't imagine my parent's reaction if I got pregnant by Kakashi, especially outside of marriage. Honestly it might be worth it just to watch that shit show unfold.

"Is there anything you need before your patrol Y/n?" a young monk walked up to ask me.

I shook my head as I stood, "No, thank you. I really appreciate it though."

He smiled and bowed his head before continuing on. Everyone here was so kind and welcoming, despite the tragedy they had just faced.

I strolled around the perimeter of the temple, shoving my hands in my pocket as the night breeze sent me shivering. Just like every other night, it was peaceful.

The small rush of a stream floated to my ears, mixing with the sounds of crickets and a nearby owl. Someday, I'd love to settle down in the countryside.

Maybe when I'm finally finished being a shinobi. Maybe when our kids are all grown and shinobis themselves.

My ears perked up as I heard a strange rummaging sound in the distance. It was probably just an animal, but this is what I was here for, so I made my way over towards the noise.

"Hey beautiful," a voice called from the nearby tree line.

I immediately got into an attack stance, whipping around to face in the same direction. I watched carefully as two figures in hooded robes walked out of the shadows and into the dimly lit night.

It was the two men I saw at their hideout when I tried to find Itachi. The one with the slicked back grey hair is who just called out to me, the other one with piercing green eyes just stared menacingly.

"So you're the two who attacked the temple?" I asked.

"How ya been sweetheart?" the annoying one smirked, ignoring me completely. "Did you ever find Itachi?"

My whole body tensed up as he mentioned Itachi's name. I couldn't believe these two assholes were his new teammates. It made me hate them down to their very core.

"We're not here to waste time, Hidan," the other one spoke up.

Ok, so the sadist always licking his lips is Hidan. Then, who's this guy?

"Ah come on Kakuzu! You gotta let me have some fun with her. Jashin is going to be so pleased," Hidan smirked.

Kakuzu is the other Akatsuki member then, but who the fuck is Jashin?

"I don't give a damn about your Jashin. I only want the bounty on her head."

"Bounty?" I quickly asked them... Me? Have a bounty?

"That's why we came back," Kakuzu smirked. "We heard the Leaf sent you out here, and I could never turn down some easy prize money."

Easy? Who the hell does he think he is... Itachi obviously didn't do a very good job warning them of me.

"Yea, your boyfriend told us you can't fight for shit at night," Hidan laughed.

Alright, so Itachi did tell them about me. And he told them exactly how to beat me, or at least how they could've beaten me, back before my kekkei genkai improved.

Now, though, it didn't matter much when I fought. This was part of what Jiraiya told me not to use, but seeing as now was an extreme situation, I thought it'd be the perfect time to show off a little.

Hidan was the first to make a move, launching an attack with his Scythe. I moved quickly, giving me a second of time to create a sword with my jutsu, and used it to stop the Scythe as it circled back around to hit me.

"Eh?! Where'd you get that sword?!" Hidan yelled out.

I smirked as I looked at them, wielding my sword for my next attack. I used to barely be able to create a flower, but that was a long time ago. I could make almost anything now.

While Hidan was distracted, I caught him in my shadow technique so that he couldn't move, and I charged the other one.

I got into a one-on-one battle with him as he used a hardening jutsu to block my attacks with his bare arms. He took a giant leap back, creating space between us to take a quick assessment of the situation.

"Why the hell can't I move you bitch?!" Hidan screamed. He was beginning to annoy me with his childish ways.

I grabbed a kunai and sent it flying towards him. I watched with wide eyes as it shot right through his neck, but didn't kill him. He quickly healed and cracked his neck before smirking at me.

"Sorry sweetheart. Won't be that easy."

I noticed the other one charging at me, so I redirected my focus, making sure to dodge all his attacks.

So one of them was what, immortal? And then this guy, I had to figure out what his deal was too... I didn't like being blindsided, but I was strong enough to do this.

I had to be. There wasn't another option.

As I broke away from his sequence, I quickly did my hand signals, activating my sealing jutsu and using it to bind up Kakuzu.

I knew keeping them both at bay would be the hardest thing I'd done so far with my technique, and I probably wouldn't have more than a couple moments to finish it, but I had to try.

"You're not supposed to be able to use your technique at night!" Kakuzu yelled furiously.

Since the other one was immortal, I planned on taking him out first.

My markings began to twist around me as they always did when I used some type of binding or sealing technique, my eyes glowing softly.

I didn't need actual shadows anymore to use my justu. That was probably the biggest secret of my kekkei genkai. I had the dark matter around me that I could manipulate to do all of the same things, and then some.

"Itachi said you wouldn't have enough darkness to use!" Hidan added.

"I am the darkness," I smirked as I used a black lightning chidori to strike through Kakuzu's heart.

As soon as I hit him, I released all of my other techniques. My body was on fire with overusing it all, but as I watched Kakuzu drop to the floor, my blood on his hands, I felt lighter. Now I could just focus on Hidan.

I turned to him, my satisfaction growing as I saw the look of shock and confusion on his face. One-on-one, I could definitely take this asshole, even if he did think he was immortal.

Right before I was about to make my next attack, I was impaled from behind. I watched as a sharp grey cord shot through me and then retracted back. I held my bleeding wound, stunned.

I turned slightly as blood pooled in my mouth to see Kakuzu had gotten back up, looking not only very much alive, but also completely unharmed.

"H-how?" I mumbled.

"He's not the only immortal one," Kakuzu smirked. "You only ended one of my hearts."

One of his hearts? What the fuck does that mean? Tears welled up in my eyes as the adrenaline faded and the pain consumed me.

I dropped to my knees, crashing onto the ground before I knew what was happening.

"Y/n?!" I recognized Shikamaru's voice in the distance. I wanted to scream and yell, warn him to stay back from these zombies, but my body refused to do anything.

"Y/n!!!" his voice shrieked out.

But it was too late. My mind was foggy, and my eyes were so heavy. No matter how much I tried to fight it, there was a darkness calling to me.

I wanted to stay conscious, I wanted to fight through it, but my body wouldn't obey. I felt Shikamaru grab hold of me right before slipping into the void.