Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a girl.

She was a princess, so to speak.

If Itachi really cared or tried, he could've been her knight.

But he couldn't deny the fact that he had blood on his hands.

Maybe, in another life, they might've ended up together and had their own happily ever after.

But it wouldn't be any time soon and he was beginning to believe that it probably wouldn't ever be in this lifetime.

(In the end, they were too different.)

A sad smile formed on his lips when he came to this realization.

Silly pipe dreams. They were the only things he could cling to.

"We have to go, Itachi."

The young shinobi stood up, his indifferent crimson eyes glazing over the Uchiha compound one last time, "Five minutes."

Tobi's patience seemed to be wearing thin. But silently—and as if nothing had happened at all—he vanished.

Konohagakure had always been home to Uchiha Itachi.

To this day, even walking down the main road alone gave Itachi a sense of comfort. The familiarity of the sights, the warmth of the wind, and the sound of the cicadas managed to distract him, only temporarily, from the crimes he'd committed.

Footsteps were heading in his direction.

Someone was running.

He could hear the echo of steps against the pavement.

But Itachi didn't even need to turn around to see who it was.

"Itachi-kun!"

The Princess of Konoha. Trapped in her glass tower. Or some silly derivative.

Long, dark hair pulled into some sad semblance of a ponytail. Wide, curious, black eyes, as dark as night. She was the furthest thing from graceful, stumbling over her own two feet on completely flat concrete. That must've been some sort of feat in itself. Had it not been for the morbidity of the situation, Itachi might've even laughed.

Instinctively, he reached out a hand to help her up, but he snapped himself out of the habit as he came to the realization that he would no longer be that person for her.

A watchful guardian, the silent protector.

Instead, she pushed herself off the ground, her kneecaps cut up from the fall. The injuries made Itachi cringe. After all, he'd spent years of his life by her side, sidelining any danger. And now, they stood on opposite ends of the same path.

She stared at him, curiously, "Are you okay?"

The question made him want to laugh.

He had just slaughtered his entire clan. Killed his parents. Traumatized his younger brother. Severed ties with the one and only place he could call home. A laundry list of his sins wouldn't even begin to span the diameter of Konoha. He'd be branded the village's renegade. Konoha's most unexpected traitor. He was so kind. He was so good. How could this happen?

This was the life he chose.

A life of solitude and silence.

Not that Karasu would know. Not yet, anyway.

But still. She was asking—she was asking if he was okay. In spite of it all, Itachi wanted to laugh.

That was the problem.

She believed in people too much. She just wasn't the kind of girl who thought twice about anything.

When they first met, she told him this flatly.

'I think all people have good intentions. If you write off someone as bad because it's convenient for you to justify your hatred, then you're just limiting yourself from understanding them.'

The worst part was he could tell she genuinely meant it.

"Do you still think I'm a good person?" He said.

He wasn't sure why he was asking.

Maybe part of him just wanted to be reassured what he was doing was right. Maybe part of him just wanted to know out of sheer curiosity. Maybe part of him was trying to savor these last few moments in Konoha before he had to leave forever.

Maybe he was being selfish.

"Yes," Karasu replied firmly, refusing to lower her gaze.

He could tell she meant it.

Of course she meant it.

She was the kind of girl who had a tendency to tangle herself in the messy politics in Konoha, so he really shouldn't have been surprised she was here. Karasu could always tell something was wrong without actually knowing exactly what it was. It must've been some intuitive gift, in a way.

It probably wasn't her intention to show up here tonight at all, and half of Itachi's heart knew that it was partially his own mistake for not being more careful around her. But doing the right thing always looked clearer in retrospect.

He wanted to know that someone still cared about him, as a person, and not as the treacherous caricature he'd become someday.

Itachi's gaze lingered on Karasu only for a moment before he turned around and started down the main road. The longer he stayed here, the more he might've regretted it.

"Itachi-kun…"

She struggled to keep up with his quick pace, breaking into a run in order to catch up to him.

When he didn't stop, she grabbed him by the hand.

He hesitated, almost.

Karasu's hand was warm. Soft.

The hands of a girl who hadn't seen the front end of a kunai or shuriken before.

Hands of purity, or whatever the hell that meant.

"…listen to me."

Karasu stared at the ground, cheeks tinged the faintest shade of pink, "You never tell me anything…you never tell me anything even though I want to help you."

There was nothing she could do. Why should he involve her in something that could ruin her? She was just being naïve.

From here, she looked up and met his gaze, "I think that somewhere along the line, something bad happened. And you were faced with something really difficult. Maybe you didn't know what to do, but I think…I think you made the right decision."

She was hitting so close to home.

Maybe she wasn't as ignorant as he initially believed. Maybe she did know. He humored himself with the thought before shaking it off. There was no way she knew. Not the full extent, anyway.

"I think you're a good person. No matter what you've done. I have faith in you. And I always will. No matter what," she shot him a strained smile. "I just think you might be stuck right now. I think you might be in a bad situation where you don't really have a choice."

Karasu probably didn't understand half of the things she was saying.

At least, that's what he was telling himself.

Because from the hints she was dropping, she could've known the entire situation up to this point. Everything she'd just stated alluded to it. But the thing is, there was no way she could've known. There was no way she could've known the truth and continue trying to justify his behavior. That would just make her crazy.

Right?

"I love you," she said, almost breathlessly.

It occurred to Itachi that he could probably kill her right then and there. It would be easy enough. A simple snap of the neck would probably do it. Humans were so easy to kill, and they were even easier to forget about.

Except, he couldn't. Not that he would. She was the closest thing to Konoha's secret treasure, after all.

And he was just a pawn.

Karasu was a simple girl, and whatever she did never fell under an ulterior motive. She was too naïve. And she had this grandiose delusion of believing in all the people around her, disregarding the danger that came with blind trust. Maybe she thought she could be a hero—but to Itachi, she was just a simple, stupid girl with an affinity for hopelessness.

He'd never admit it aloud, but it was almost endearing.

"I love you," she repeated, the tears streaming down the side of her face. "Isn't that…isn't that enough?"

The wind picked up. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, and bit her lower lip.

"I could kill you," Itachi looked at his hands—then back at her. "If you're not wise, I will."

Karasu blinked. Twice.

Her grip tightened on his hand, "Why do you always lie to me?"

And then.

"Why don't you ever let me in?" She said, "Why do you keep everything to yourself? You're hurting yourself, you idiot!"

She was crying.

"I'm…not the same as you," said Itachi, looking up at the sky. "You don't understand. I'm heading down a road you can't follow."

Karasu narrowed her eyes, "Then take me with you."

Only silence that followed.

Itachi would be lying if he said he didn't consider it. Because he did.

The options were laid out for him. And yes—he considered taking her, at some point. He let his imagination run wild because he was selfish.

Selfish because this was the girl he could see himself marrying years down the line.

When it came down to it, she was the only one who really believed in him, even after Shisui passed away.

She was the only one who trusted him when nobody else did.

"If you can't," she breathed. "Let's run away together."

He considered it.

Considered it, because he was being selfish. Considered it, because he wanted to believe there was a better future for him out there somewhere. Considered it, because this could've been his life if he was just an average civilian.

A nobody.

But not in this lifetime.

In the end, Karasu was the only person who still cared about him, even if he was just a simple pawn.

But Itachi wasn't stupid. Pipe dreams were all he had, after all.

He whipped his hand out of her grasp.

"If you go, I'll scream!"

Suddenly, he side-stepped and vanished, reappearing behind her.

Itachi exhaled against the back of her neck and watched in mild fascination as she flinched.

The truth is, she made him feel good.

Karasu reminded him about the little bit of humanity that was left inside him.

People are good. Don't you think so, Itachi-kun?

After Shishui passed away, he was alone.

He didn't have his clan; and he certainly didn't have the village. Itachi started to doubt himself. It was only natural, considering the circumstances.

But Karasu made him feel right about himself. She was his little bit of reassurance, in his world of denial and hatred.

He clenched his fists, unable to make sense of this stupid girl.

"I know who you are," she stated firmly, "and I haven't changed my mind about you."

She was always so vulnerable. So easy to take advantage of. But she was being stubborn tonight, something surprisingly uncharacteristic of her. Maybe this was a side of her he'd yet to learn about—it made him reflect on the fact that he'd probably didn't understand her at all.

For the first time in a long time, Itachi smiled while a single tear rolled down the side of his cheek, "Thank you."