"Itachi... what are you doing here?" I asked while quickly getting to my feet.

I was grateful I had kept the lamp on to read, I had plenty of shadows to work with now.

"I can't come see my favorite girl?" he asked with a small smile.

I stared into his dark eyes, the ones I had loved so deeply. But over the last 5 years, I realized that every time I saw him, there was a little less light in his eyes than the time before.

I looked at him hesitantly. I knew he loved and cared about me, but he was so unpredictable... and he was way too close to Shikamaru. I had to get him away from the house.

I swallowed before I spoke up, "Tell me why you're here."

"I came for you, of course."

"For me?" I asked in a whisper.

"Well, I came to take you actually."

My eyes widened at his words, "T-take me?"

"Sasuke is leaving the village tonight, and I can't have you interfering."

"Sasuke?! Why is he leaving!?"

"He'll never get strong enough to kill me with Kakashi training him... And he's finally realized that. Unfortunately, I think you're the only one who could stop him, so I have to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Itachi, don't do this. Don't let your brother ruin his life," I pleaded with him.

"Ruin his life?" he smirked. "I'm helping him fulfill his ultimate goal. Don't you see that?"

"To kill you?! That's not a goal worth having."

"Well of course you would say that... You do love me after all. But Sasuke, he hates me. And he should."

"Or do you not love me anymore? I did overhear your little conversation with that pathetic excuse for a jonin..."

I couldn't stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. Itachi ruined his life. He ruined mine. I couldn't let him ruin Sasuke's.

"I'm sorry Itachi, I can't let you do this."

He smiled, "I thought you'd say that."

He quickly activated his sharingan.

"Shadow Blinding!" I called out as a brought my hands together.

A shadow covered his eyes, blinding him temporarily. A jutsu from my kekkei genkai.

I quickly wrapped a shadow around his body and chucked him out of the room. He crashed through the wall and flew outside.

Hopefully with the sound, people will come to help me and he'll retreat.

I took off out of the room, hoping to see Itachi's body smashing into the ground. Instead, I ran smack into Itachi's fish friend.

"Hey there, Y/n. It's been awhile."

I screamed as he snatched me up and bolted away. Itachi had recovered from my blow and was now right behind us.

I was thrashing around in Kisame's arms, desperately trying to break free.

"Keep her still Kisame! I'll get her under a genjutsu!"

"Bite me!" I screamed as I relentlessly tried to find an opening. My mind and heart were both racing, and I couldn't think clearly.

Seeing Itachi, hearing about Sasuke, being kidnapped, I was unable to think of anything. Forming a plan of escape definitely wasn't going to happen, so I just kept panicking.

"Shadow Blade!" I yelled as we passed under a small patch of moonlight.

A blade came and stabbed right into Kisame's leg. We were already outside of the village and in the forest, so he threw me down.

"Argh! You bitch!!"

I quickly stood and took an attack stance, ready to try and escape.

"Your kekkei genkai is no match for me, Y/n. You should give up," Itachi called.

"You'll have to kill me first," I hissed.

It was small, but I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes. That was all I needed to know he would never kill me nor would he let anyone else.

It was reckless, but I had to count on that. I had to believe he wouldn't leave me for dead.

"Amaterasu," he yelled and I jumped out of the way just in time, watching in awe as the black flames consumed a nearby tree.

I smirked, "Well, that's new."

"Try to keep up," he called back.

I quickly bit my finger to draw blood and slammed my hand to the ground. Suddenly, a large white wolf with golden eyes to match my own appeared.

"Saga! Go find Shikamaru and warn the village!!"

She let out a loud howl before taking off and disappearing into the night.

Itachi laughed, "That pathetic summoning won't help you!"

"No but it might help Sasuke... Lightning Release: Black Lightning Needles!" I yelled and needles of black lightning began to shoot at Kisame and Itachi.

Kisame grabbed Samehada and quickly dispersed of the Black Lightning while Itachi dodged them.

"Sorry, Itachi. This is taking too long," Kisame snarled. "Now!!" he yelled.

Before I knew what was happening, I took a large blow to the back of my head.

I collapsed to the ground, my eyes slowly drooping closed. I saw Itachi and Kisame approach me while a voice mumbled from behind me.

They had someone else waiting? Who? Why?

"Grab her," was the last thing I heard before going unconscious.

••••

I woke up in a dark, cold room. My hands were chained above me as I rested against the wall. There was a candle on the far side of the room. It was bright enough so I could see my surroundings but definitely too small for any shadows.

The room was windowless, so I had no way of knowing what time of day it was. My body ached all over, and I felt a dry, thick substance on my face.

With the way my head throbbed, it must have been blood. I didn't know what had happened, but someone definitely beat the shit out of me. Maybe Kisame was pissed that I stabbed him and took revenge.

I tried to call out, but my throat was dry and sore. Nothing came out but soft mumbles. Was this an Akatsuki hideout or did Itachi just take me somewhere on his own?

I waited in the darkness with half lidded eyes until someone walked in.

"Hello, my love," Itachi said softly as he approached me. "Drink this," he ushered a cup of water to my lips and I gulped it down quickly.

He brought his hand to my face, and I winced in pain as he brushed over a gash on my forehead.

"I'm sorry about this. I didn't want you to get hurt, but you acted out and I can't protect you when you do that," he whispered as he cupped my cheek.

"Where the fuck am I, Itachi?" I hissed trying to sound intimidating but failing miserably. I definitely sounded as broken as I felt.

"You're safe now, don't worry."

I scoffed, "I've never been safe with you." The years of pent up frustration were ready to boil over. Sasuke was sure to be gone from the village, and I was Itachi's beat up prisoner.

He stood and his voice changed suddenly, "I told you not to follow me, and yet you did. This is on you. Never forget that."

"You son of a bitch!!" I yelled as I tried to thrash around my body in an attempt to escape. "You did this!! You destroyed your clan. You destroyed me. And now you've destroyed Sasuke!!"

"Good," he said coldly. "It's about time you started to hate me."

My tears were running wild now as my heart pounded against my chest. Hate Itachi? Part of me wished I could, but I knew I would never. I was too weak. I had loved him too fully.

"Let me go, Itachi. Please."

He crouched back down in front of me, "But I've missed you so dearly, Y/n."

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" I whispered in defeat. He was always pushing me out and drawing me back in, completely ignoring what it did to me, the pain it caused me.

Suddenly, a man with a robe that matched Itachi's and grey, slicked back hair burst through the door.

"A little dark in here, isn't it Itachi? I want to see her pretty face," the man called as he turned on a lamp.

"No!" Itachi yelled, but it was too late. I had all the light I needed now.

Without hesitation, I used 3 different shadows to my advantage. One to slice through the hand cuffs, another to bind the thoughtless Akatsuki member, and the last to grab Itachi and smash him through the wall opposite of the door.

I didn't have a full plan in mind, but I hoped that the outdoors would be on the other side of that wall.

I widened my eyes as Itachi smashed out onto a grassy field, illuminated by the sun.

Perfect, now is my chance.

Against the entire will of my body, I sprinted forwards to Itachi's rolling body.

"Shadow Shield," I called as I focused my chakra to my eyes before pouncing on top of him. I grabbed a kunai he had sheathed against his thigh and held it to his throat.

He had activated his sharingan, but it was no match for my jutsu. The whites of my eyes turned pitch black as a thin shadow shield veiled them, protecting them from any genjutsu.

"Your power never ceases to amaze me," he smirked as I dug the kunai into his skin, making a small droplet of blood stream down his neck.

I heard shouting from behind me and knew I was running out of time.

"You try to hurt anyone from the leaf village again, and I'll kill you," I glared into his red eyes. I quickly got up and sprinted towards the tree line.

"Should we go after her!?" someone yelled.

"No. Let her go," Itachi demanded. "I have no further use for her."

I had no idea why he was letting me escape, but I didn't care. I was only grateful. I could not have handled a real fight right now.

As I ran through the forest, I felt my body beginning to collapse as the adrenaline within me died down.

I let myself come to a stop so I could catch my breath.

I drew blood and slammed my hand against the ground, summoning a large black wolf, the counterpart to my white wolf, Saga.

"Roan, can you help me get back to the village?"

He bowed slightly, allowing me to climb atop him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held tightly as he took off. I had no idea where we were, but I knew he'd be able to track the location of the village and get me home.

I nuzzled my head into his soft fur, finally feeling a bit of hope, "Thank you."