I do not own naruto.

"You little piece of shit! I don't need any more of your fucking attitude! You ungrateful little brat!" he spat out the last words like venom as he threw her against a wall. Then he continued his nightly ritual of punches and kicks.

She did nothing. Yet again, she just sat there and took it all. She took his words to heart and focused on stopping the pain from spreading. But this time she had an off. She was tired of being told that she was an ungrateful little brat. That her attitude was not appreciated at all. Even thou he is the one who starts it. She is the one who makes the dinner, cleans the house, and stays out of his way.

So how is she ungrateful? And what does her attitude have to do in this? Is that why he cut out her vocal cords once upon a time? Is that why he beats her and continues to yell? She only stands up for herself because that's how she was raised. She wants it to stop. So after he drinks himself to sleep again, she went to her room to pack. She will finally leave that house. She will finally leave her father.

Packing the few clothes she has, a medical kit, and her mp3 that she got from her deceased mother, she left. No note, no goodbye. Nothing.

He didn't deserve a good bye from her. After all, how would she say it? Her voice is gone. As is most of her will. She left out the back door, silent as ever. Once far, she ran. Even thou her body protested from the injuries she ran until she couldn't know more.

She found herself coming near the local waterfall. That meant she ran about 10 miles from her prison. She sat on a nearby rock and for once in her life… relaxed. She slid her pack off her shoulders and onto the ground next to her. She then got down to her knees and leaned over the edge to see her reflection in the clear water.

She smiled at herself as a reward of her accomplishment. But that smile faded admedeantly as another reflection covered hers. Panicked she turned around quickly. Fearing that her father had caught up to her and was about to finally kill her. But as she turned, she found herself staring into red and green eyes. The eyes held anger. The same of that of her fathers.

"Who are you? And why the hell are you here?" said the green and red eyed man.

The girl wanted to answer but was to frozen. The fear was clear and transparent in her own eyes. The man saw this and his expression softened. He sighed and sat down in front of her trying to put on a normal approach. The girl scooted backwards a little.

"Hey… I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry for scaring you to. Just not used to seeing other people here. What's your name?"

The fear left her eyes slightly but still remained. She felt safe with the man for some reason. That he was telling the truth when he said he would not hurt her. But she still feared.

"Are you going to tell me your name or not?" said the red and green eyed man. Instead of anger annoyance flashed in his eyes. The girl quickly looked around for options. To try and explain. And to not see his eyes. She saw that they we sitting in sand so, she started to write her name. The man saw this and was curious why she didn't just say it. He got up and sat right next to her. The girl froze but then relaxed as the man said:

"I can't read upside down." He looked upon the dirt and read the name:

Dmitri.

He smiled, but that was covered by his mask. The man was starting to get very interested in the girl. Something about her was drawing him in. but he didn't know what yet.

"That's a nice name."

The girl blushed a little and 'erased' her name from the sand. Then she wrote out:

What's your name?

The man chuckled.

"Kakuzu."

That's a nice name.

Kakuzu laughed and Dmitri smiled. After some time kakuzu learned that Dmitri's favorite color was purple, she loved to read and listen to music and that she cooked. Dmitri learned that kakuzu's favorite color was green; he loved counting money and bounty hunting. Both were having a great time. Until kakuzu asked:

"Do you just not like to talk or are you a mute?"

Dmitri stayed quiet for a while… debating if she should tell him. After some time she decided to. She wrote in the sand that it would be better to show him. Kakuzu was confused at first. But as she pulled down the collar of her shirt, he understood. Without thinking of his actions, he took her wrist and pulled her closer to examine the rough scar around her neck. Dmitri was shocked and closed her eyes, expecting to get hit. But after a minute or so, nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see Kakuzu staring at her neck. An emotion she'd never seen before lingered in his eyes. His other hand ran along the scar, the grip on her wrist tightened hard. Causing her to wince. His eyes met hers for a moment to see the pain and affliction in them. With one last look at her neck, he loosened his grip and asked, but not wanting to know,

"Do you have more scars than this one?"

She nodded stiffly. Not knowing or liking where this was going. She quickly wrote in the sand:

You going to leave now? Now that you know?

Kakuzu look shocked for a minute. He wondered what had got her to think like that. But her eyes explained it all. He saw the abuse, the words and the torment that happened. It was like looking thru a glass door.

"No. I would never leave. No matter what."

Promise?

"I promise. I believe that you should see something. You showed me your scar. I'll show you some of mine."

Kakuzu decided that it would be easier to show her the scars on his face first. Not to scare her off. He slowly took off his mask and watched for a reaction. He saw nothing that he didn't like. She looked surprised at first. But then her look became curiosity. She slowly reached her hand up to run it along one of the scars upon his face. Then what shocked kakuzu the most was that she smiled. Not one of pity. But one of a caring understanding. They both knew what happened. Both felt for each other. Kakuzu couldn't believe that he found some one that was like this.

For once in his life, kakuzu felt somewhat, joyed. He put his hand on the back of her neck softly and leaned in slowly. She was scared at first. But his eyes told her that it was ok. That it was safe. Only then did she start to lean in to. But when they were centimeters apart, Dmitri's nightmare came back.

"DMITRI! Where are you little fuck?!"

Her eyes widened and she tensed. Kakuzu also tightened his grip on her. Knowing that the one who called was the one responsible for her torment. He quickly released her and put his mask back on. Then said:

"Would you like to come with me? You would never be alone, nor will you ever be hurt again. "

She didn't have to think twice. She wrote in the sand:

I would like that vary much.

Kakuzu smiled grabbed her hand also her pack, and vanished. Leaving for a better and newer life.