An eerie silence fell over the group.

At the same time, the wind picked up, rustling the long blades of grass and the leaves overhead. Arya couldn't help the chill that ran up her spine as she fought the urge to turn around and gauge the reactions of the people standing behind her. Instead she continued to train her eyes on Itachi, watching the tomoe spin in his Sharingan.

She was sixteen the very first time Itachi appeared before her. In fact, their first meeting occurred just a couple weeks after she and Enta relocated to Kage. She was still reeling from her break up with Kakashi, and so she spent a lot of her time alone in the caves or in the forest surrounding the village hidden in the Shadows. It was on one of those occasions, when she was thoughtlessly pummeling the side of one of the deeper caves, that she felt a sudden presence with her.

Just as she whirled around, a deep voice carried out to her, echoing gently.

"You could collapse the cave doing that," he had said, slowly stepping towards her. Clouded with anger and hurt, she wasn't in the mood to converse with anyone, so she had simply turned her back on the strange man and continued to slam her fist into the solid wall of the cave, colourful bruises appearing on her knuckles. His chakra signature had disappeared soon after, and she looked over her shoulder to see that she was alone again.

She'd seen him a couple times after that, though the instances had been sparse and far apart. He only came to her when she was alone, and he never said much, assuming he said anything at all. In the beginning she used to think he was just some random villager who was stalking her, but there was just something about him that told her he was definitely not a civilian. But if he was a shinobi, where was his forehead protector? Why had she never seen him around the village? Kagegakure was relatively small. After being there for a couple months, she knew practically every face. But his was not one that she caught often.

It was then that she figured that there was more to the tall, silent man with the red eyes and black hair. Sometimes, when he stood across from her, silently sizing her up, she'd get this odd feeling that she'd seen him before. Back in Konoha. No clear memories of him popped up in her head, so he wasn't someone she would have interacted with on a daily basis, but she could have sworn that she'd seen a younger version of this man around Konoha when she was a kid. She asked him about it once.

And woke up on the floor of a cave hours later, dazed and disoriented.

She didn't know what happened. Perhaps she'd passed out. But the odd thing was that she didn't recall feeling lightheaded or unwell. She hadn't been doing anything that would have justified a fainting spell. And so she began to suspect that it was the man who had done something.

In hindsight, she probably should have gone to Enta then. Or at the very least told Zen or Haru. But, a couple months into the formation of their new team, Arya was still feeling leery about opening up. She wasn't comfortable with them yet, and she knew she wouldn't be for a while. And so she kept the peculiar man a secret, purposely going to train alone to see if he'd show up.

The next time he did, she demanded a name.

"Itachi," he had said in that same voice, flat and devoid of emotion.

"Why do you keep coming to see me? Who are you? What do you want?"

The questions she asked had gone unanswered however, as he fell silent, studying her through tired looking eyes. She must've been in a particularly bad mood, because she had lunged at him, fed up with the whole ordeal. It was always a bad idea to throw yourself recklessly into a battle when you didn't know your opponents' strengths and weaknesses. But Arya wasn't thinking about that, she just wanted to punch something. To Itachi's credit, he only raised an eyebrow before sidestepping to avoid the punch she threw at him. She kept throwing punches and kicks, sticking to taijutsu, but he only evaded her as opposed to engaging her. Which only made her angrier.

"What's wrong? Are you scared—"

She'd barely even gotten the words out of her mouth before she found herself pinned to a tree, his long fingers around her neck. She went completely still, eyes widening slightly as she stared up into his ruby red ones. She didn't even see him move. One minute he was standing across from her, and the next he was right up against her. Goosebumps rose on her flesh as his fingers flexed on the pale column of her neck. Though she didn't know much about him, she knew then that Itachi was bad news.

After her momentary paralysis, she allowed her neck and head to disperse into smoke. Missing from above the shoulders, she simply stepped aside and outside of Itachi's reach before she reformed herself. She sensed a slight, very slight, flicker of interest in his eyes then. But it was gone before she could blink. After a long moment of silence, he disappeared.

She didn't see him again for almost two years.

In fact, she was beginning to think it was all just a series of bad dreams or hallucinations.

She had been sent on a solo mission one day, aged eighteen. It was something simple enough; delivering a message to the Daimyo. Arya had thought it was a waste of time considering that they could have just sent a hawk or something. But the village leader had insisted that the information was important enough that it warranted a human messenger. The feudal lord's residence was a two days' travel from Kage. She didn't bother to rest on her way there, but on her way back, the weariness was beginning to sink in. Deciding to camp for the night, she settled herself up in the trees. She'd been reckless, not setting traps before so rested. But she was tired, so she figured she'd be fine without them.

Seconds away from sleep, the sound of rustling leaves travelled to her ears. Instantly on alert, she opened her eyes to see that she was surrounded by about fifteen men. Thieves, she had thought, or mercenaries. Either way, they all seemed to be heavily armed, and Arya blamed her tiredness for not having sensed their chakra's soon enough. They also seemed to be leering at her. The one closest to her, a tall, well muscled man, stepped closer, and instantly she felt the urge to recoil.

She'd gotten over her childhood atrocities, for the most part, but sometimes she felt as though she was that same helpless little girl that she once was. Perhaps it was because she was exhausted, or because it was late, or because she was alone, but she was feeling that way at that moment. She began to panic, though externally she simply seemed bored.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing out in the forest alone?" asked the man in front of her as he hunkered down on the branch she was on. His gaze swept over her body slowly, heatedly, and when his eyes returned to hers, he was wearing a cocky smirk.

"Hey look," called another man, "She's a kunoichi. From the hidden Shadows."

The man in front of her chuckled then, reaching out towards her as a couple of the others began closing in. Her heart began to race, and she began to hear familiar rumblings within her mind. Her vision started to go blurry, black spots dancing in her eyes as her hands started to shake.

"Even better, show me some of your moves sweetheart."

She felt a large palm on her thigh before everything literally went black. The last thing she remembered was hearing a deep, animalistic growl. She'd caught to look on the man's face and realized that the sound was coming from her.

She'd woken up some time later, curled on the forest floor. She was confused, her head all muddled. But then the events that had happened came rushing back to her. The men, the looks, the hand on her thigh. Panicked, she sat up, fully expecting to be stripped naked, but she looked down to see that all her clothing was still in place. She was relieved, but she was also confused. Getting to her feet, she looked around for a second before she froze.

Their mutilated bodies were everywhere.

Strewn left and right. Some of them were still hanging off the branches while others were heaped on the floor. Blood covered everything.

Everything except her.

Both confused and shaken, she looked to her left to see that two of the mercenaries were entwined together, their weapons jabbed into one another. Looking around at the other bodies, she noticed that they were also grouped into pairs or threes. The only weapons she could find were theirs. A quick check confirmed that she had all her kunai and shuriken on her, and they were spotless.

Had they turned on one another?

No…that couldn't have been it.

Lightheaded, with the beginnings of a migraine working into her temples, she gnawed on her lip as she took in the gory scene around her. She was so busy trying to connect dots that she didn't sense him until he spoke.

"You did this."

Her eyes snapped up to see Itachi standing across from her, a solemn look on his face. She was caught between being surprised at his appearance after two years, and being surprised at what he had just said. It took her a moment, but she finally found her voice.

"Wh-what…I didn't-this wasn't me. I didn't do it."

"Except you did, little girl. You killed all these men. Perhaps not with your own hands, but this was your doing."

It had been the most he'd ever said to her during a single visit, and it was enough to have the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

She was shocked to say the least. She had killed before, once on a mission with her team back in the hidden leaf and twice more with her new team. Death didn't faze her, but the manner had her unsettled. There were many efficient ways to take someone down, quick and effective. But this… These men had been hacked to pieces. Overkill would be an understatement. And if what Itachi was saying was true, she not only did it, but she also didn't even remember doing so.

She suddenly seemed to lose feeling in her legs and she found herself dropping to her knees before sitting back, unable to stop staring at the mess she'd made.

"This isn't the first time either."

Eyes widening, she snapped her head towards him.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

His nonchalance was infuriating. He was acting like he wasn't standing in the midst of slain men, guts and stray limbs lying here and there. There was so much she didn't understand, and she had so many questions, but she just couldn't bring herself to ask them. Covering her face with her hands, she wondered what she was going to do. No one from the village could see this. Not to mention her squad. Almost as though he was reading her mind, Itachi spoke once again.

"Go. Before they come looking for you."

Looking at him with carefully blank eyes, she got to her feet again. "But…what about them? I need to get rid of-"

"Just go."

And for once, Arya did as she was told and she turned around and ran off towards the village. She'd waited for days, on edge, for news of the discovery of the bodies near the village. But it never came. Had Itachi…covered for her? If he had, it only complicated things further. Was he a good guy or a bad guy? Could she trust him or not?

She saw him once after that. A year ago. And something about their meeting was different than all the other times before.

She'd been meditating by the riverside, and she sensed him come up behind her. After a moment of silence, she spoke up, not moving from her spot.

"You got rid of the bodies," she'd stated, referring to the incident that happened a year prior. He hadn't responded, but that in itself was confirmation enough. Looking over her shoulder, she narrowed her eyes at the older man.

"Why did you do it?"

"Your village wouldn't have taken too kindly to you if they'd found out what you'd done."

"And what do you care what happens to me?"

He'd paused then, seeming to consider his words.

"You are different. Unique. Unlike anyone else. You have a greater purpose in this life. But you have much to learn. And one cannot learn from prison."

She didn't know why, but her heartbeat picked up at his words. She hated that he seemed to be speaking in riddles. Vague and confusing. What did he want with her? And more than that, how did he seem to know so much about her?

"Soon, Arya."

And then he was gone.

Naruto's insistent shouting brought her back from her thoughts.

Blinking off the sudden lethargy she felt, she looked over at the blonde. He was saying something, but she couldn't quite hear him because her ears started to ring. She shook her head, trying to clear it as she tried to read Naruto's lips. Something about Uchiha and Sasuke and Itachi.

Sasuke and Itachi.

Her head swung back to the man standing in front of her, and her head spun at the sudden movement.

How had she missed it before? Sasuke and Itachi looked very much alike. Not only that, but they were also both Sharingan users. Furrowing her brow, she turned to look at Sasuke. It was so unlike her to miss something so obvious. The younger man was glaring at her, his eyes blazing red like his brothers'. She tried to say something, but her tongue felt thick in her mouth. Now that she thought about it, her whole body felt heavy. To her, it seemed as though all her movements were exaggeratedly slow, despite the fact that they really weren't.

Something wasn't right, and she really didn't like it.

"Arya," she heard Kakashi say, his voice sounding farther away than it should have. He sounded…concerned. Before she could think too far into that, a sharp, piercing pain shot through her skull and she collapsed to her knees with a silent gasp.

"Arya!" she heard Zen shout just as she fisted her hands tightly in her hair, knuckles digging into her scalp. It felt like her brain was being liquefied, and Kami it hurt. Groaning low in her throat, she doubled over and began to tremble even as black spots danced behind her closed eyes.

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you," she heard Itachi say monotonously. Footsteps she'd previously heard rushing towards her froze at the warning.

"What are you doing to her?!" someone demanded.

Naruto.

"The less you interfere, the faster this will be over. I don't want to hurt her."

"Except you are hurting her, you bastard," she heard Zen snap angrily. She was trying really hard to focus on the conversation around her, hoping it'd take her mind off this excruciating pain, but it wasn't working. It was steadily getting worse, and for a second Arya thought she'd pass out. Her body began to jerk in seizure-like movements, and she had to bite her lip hard enough to bleed to keep from screaming.

A couple steps away, Kakashi could feel his stomach drop to the ground as he watched the girl he was very much still in love with writhe in obvious agony. The seizing stopped, and her eyes fluttered open for a moment, and his blood ran cold when he saw them.

They were completely black.

His gaze snapped to Itachi, who had is own eyes focused intently on the girl in front of him. He was torn between terror and anger. He wanted to rip Itachi limb from limb, but he also wanted to gather Arya up in his arms. She whimpered then, and the sound pierced his heart like a poisoned senbon.

Arya, like many shinobi, had a ridiculously high pain tolerance. Once, when she was seven, she'd fallen out of a tree and had all but snapped her leg clean in half. One look at the messy little heap of long black hair and blood had Kakashi unable to think straight. He, a shinobi who'd killed and saw all sorts of atrocities, was horrified at the sight of a little girl who'd fallen out of a tree. Though outwardly he attempted to remain calm, his mind was in full panic mode as he sped through the forest and towards the hospital. And through it all Arya simply laid in his arms, not making a single sound of pain or discomfort. Her bone was protruding out of her leg, and yet she hadn't shed a single tear. Hell, he was probably more likely to burst into tears than she was at the time. And that was saying something.

It was that girl who was currently whimpering and crying out in agony. He didn't even want to begin to think about what kind of pain she had to be in to actually voice her distress. When she began to plead silently, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes, he lost it. He would have lunged at Itachi if it weren't for Enta who reached out and grabbed him sharply by the arm.

Kakashi intended to snap at his friend, but the stricken look on the other man's face had him falling silent.

"Stop it," Enta demanded, his voice gravelly. "Fucking stop Itachi. You were supposed to leave her alone!"

Itachi didn't even flinch when Enta raised his voice. He simply paused before addressing the tense group, his eyes still on Arya.

"There was a change in plans," he said matter-of-factly, but even then, a very slight frown marred his brow.

"What the fuck do you mean there was a change in-"

Enta was cut off by Sakura's sudden gasp. "H-her skin…it's turning black…"

Sure enough, Kakashi looked down at Arya with his Sharingan uncovered, and he saw the way her skin was turning greyish. It looked like she'd been rolling around in soot. She was convulsing again, and the sounds she was making were sounding less and less human-like and more animalistic. Not only that, but the octave of those sounds was dropping until she didn't even sound like herself anymore.

With a sinking feeling, Kakashi realized what was happening.

Itachi was forcefully summoning the spirit within Arya.

"No!"

It took him a moment to realize that it was he who called out. Taking a couple steps forward, he stopped just short of touching her. Crouching down, he ran his eyes over her spasming form. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he recalled Itachi's warning from before. There very likely could have been truth behind the warning, and he wasn't going to risk hurting her further by touching her. Instead, he sought to distract her. From what he could tell, the spirit was awakening. The complete blacking out of her eyes, the darkening of her skin, the change in her voice. They were all signs.

"Arya," he murmured urgently, sending up a quick prayer that she could hear him. "Arya, listen to my voice. You can fight this. Just keep breathing, it'll be okay."

"Don't tell her to fight it," said Itachi, infuriatingly calm. "It'll only make it worse-"

"You're going to kill her!" snapped Kakashi, all semblance of his usual control out the window. From the corner of his eye, he could see his students' stunned expressions. Whether it was because of his uncharacteristic behavior or the situation overall, he didn't know. He didn't quite care at that moment either. "Forcing it like this…you're overwhelming her system. There's only so much she can take until she-"

He broke off when Arya growled, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked up at him from where she was sprawled out on her side. The whites of her eyes were gone, as were the usual grey of her irises. Kakashi stared into the pitch-blackness that met his gaze. He'd seen this a time or two when they were younger, and it usually didn't end well.

She blinked just then, and for a moment her eyes switched back to normal. His own eyes widened slightly as hers filled with a fine sheen of tears. "Kashi," she whimpered, bottom lip trembling. "Make it stop…please…" And in that moment, he didn't see the twenty year old woman who hated his guts before him. Instead, he saw the tiny little bundle he'd scooped out of the snow outside the gates of Konoha that fateful day. He saw the adorable little seven year old who sat in her classroom at the Academy, eyes teary as the room erupted in chaos around her. He saw the child who'd reached out to him in the middle of the night to escape her nightmares.

Kakashi Hatake had never felt more utterly helpless in his entire life.

Almost like the flip of a switch, she blinked again and her eyes reverted back to black. She was clawing at the ground now, ripping out chunks of earth as she tried desperately to find a way to ease the pain. But there was no way to do that, Kakashi knew. Even willingly summoning the Black Dragon was an uncomfortable experience. But to have it forcefully summoned? It had to be excruciating.

Arya went completely still then. Her previously tensed muscles went lax and her face slackened. For a horrifying moment, Kakashi thought she was dead. Forcing down the hysterical feeling bubbling up within him, he leaned in close. When he heard the faint fluttering on her heart, he nearly sagged in relief.

She was alive.

He turned his glare onto Itachi.

"It's over," the older Uchiha said, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes. He began to ask what he meant, but Enta beat him to it, stepping forward so he stood between Itachi and Arya.

"The test," said Itachi. The former Konoha ninja then let his gaze stray over to his brother for a split second before his body dispersed into a murder of crows. The fact that Itachi could do what he did with just a clone… It worried him. Turning his eyes back to Arya, he wondered if Lady Tsunade was too late in summoning the young kunoichi back to Konoha.

Reaching out, Kakashi brushed a long lock of coal black hair away from her face. She appeared to be sleeping, but he knew she had passed out. She needed medical attention. Pulling her into his arms, he cradled her against his chest before getting to his feet. Enta turned around to face him, his eyes on his student and his face oddly pale.

"Lady Tsunade was right…" he murmured, sounding very far away, and Kakashi turned away from his friend.

"I'm taking her to the hospital," he stated stiffly. Looking over his shoulder at Naruto, he instructed him to send a toad ahead to the Hokage to tell her to meet them at the hospital. The blonde nodded determinedly before proceeding to make the necessary hand signs.

"None of you will speak of this," he added with a calmness he did not truly feel. His eyes rested on Sasuke. The younger Uchiha seemed to be in a daze, and so Kakashi waited until Sharingan met Sharingan. Sasuke gave him a long look before stalking off into the forest, Sakura dashing after him.

And with that, Kakashi leapt into the trees, running full speed back to the village. He realized the irony of the action scornfully. As the trees blurred around him, Kakashi couldn't help but glance down at Arya's beautiful face. She was sickly pale, and a trail of blood had dried on her face, but she was still gorgeous. He couldn't help but smile sadly at that. Squeezing her motionless body tighter against him, he urged himself to go faster.

He made her a promise that day she lay in a hospital bed as she stared up at him with big grey eyes. He promised her that he'd protect her. And he intended to keep that promise.

He didn't sacrifice his love for her all those years ago to lose her now.

Thanks for reading!

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