ᴛᴏ ᴍʏ ᴅᴇᴀʀᴇꜱᴛ ᴍɪꜱꜱ ʀᴇᴀᴘᴇʀ // ɪᴛᴀᴄʜɪ ᴜᴄʜɪʜᴀ ᴀᴜ

16 | rewind

The Akatsuki hideout , apparently , wasn't at all homey. It was dark and dingy , and seemed to be shrouded in gloom. Simply said , she hated it. But what did she expect ? A castle up in the clouds ?

    "Is that her ?" she heard a feminine voice say when they entered the hideout. 

    " In the flesh ," Kisame answered. 
Itachi and Kisame parted to make way for Konan to pass through , and she instantly rushed to (Name).

    " You're the Hyuga girl , am I correct ?" she asked to confirm.

(Name) nodded . " Well , obviously. I also have a name , so it is unnecessary to call me The Hyuga Girl everytime you need to address me."

Konan narrowed her eyes as she observed (Name) from head to toe.

    " And that is ?" she inquired. 

    " (Name) . Just (Name) . No shortcuts , no nicknames ."

Konan cleared her throat as she stood straighter , appearing much more intimidating to the girl who had the nerve to be sassy to her. 
     " I'm Konan , and I'm here to escort you to our Leader ," she said. " Please follow me ."

Konan began to walk into one of the dark hallways , which appeared like a hellish and horrific abyss to (Name). She glanced at the two Akatsuki members who had brought her here .

Kisame gave her a sharp toothed-grin , her luggage still slung on his shoulder.
Itachi , on the other hand , appeared slightly concerned. His eyes were narrowed , and his forehead dipped into a frown. He kept his keen eyes on (Name) , until she eventually disappeared inside the dark hallway. 

 
Konan knocked at the wooden door , and a voice from inside said " Enter."
She quickly turned the door handle , and the door swung open . Through the little gap , (Name) could see that it was an office.
     " Go inside. Our Leader would like to meet you," she instructed.
(Name) hastily swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat . Never in her life had she felt so afraid.

To be fair , though , she was meeting with the leader of the feared Akatsuki Organisation.  Anyone would be scared out of their wits.

She gave Konan a curt nod , and reluctantly stepped inside the room. The door slammed shut behind her , making the poor girl jump.

    " Hyuga (Name)," she heard a voice say.
Averting her gaze , she saw a man with vibrant orange hair , piercings , and very intriguing eyes. She almost flinched , but she managed to conceal it. She had never ever seen the Rinnegan in real life. It was purple , similar to her own eyes , but slightly darker. And instead of being featureless , it had a revolving circular pattern.

     " That's me ," she tried to put a bit of confidence in her voice , but all that came out was a squeak. The Leader of the Akatsuki definitely made her feel like an insignificant insect that would squished up and forgotten.

     " You must be wondering why I requested Konoha to send a Hyuga to us , right ?"

(Name) bobbed her head up and down , still afraid to meet the leader's Rinnegan eyes. His chakra was immense - it was greater than any that she had seen.
Well , except for Naruto. It is no surprise , since the kid is the Jinchuuriki of The Kyuubi , and an Uzumaki to boot.

    " I'm rather shocked that they sent one right away , without any resistance. Apparently , Konoha is a village that absolutely loves fighting back. 
The reason why I requested for a Hyuga is because we needed another subordinate. But we don't just recruit people. "

(Name) frowned. " But there are so many other shinobi that are much stronger than me , or anyone in my clan. " 

He nodded. " I'm aware of that. However , they don't have the Byakugan. And the ability to disrupt and block chakra points .. Do you have any idea how valuable that is ? You will be very helpful , I'm certain of that."

    " That means that.. I'm.. I'm.." she stuttered , eyes wide in disbelief. 

    " Yes , (Name) . Welcome to The Akatsuki."

♧♣♧

(Name) stared solemnly at the black and red cloak that now adorned her outfit. She ran her fingers on the signature red cloud patterns , which was feared so greatly. 
It made her look powerful , when in reality , she couldn't even defeat a genin . So much for a feared Akatsuki member.

The leader aka Pein , had told her to come down to the living room at eight pm to meet with the other members. Simply said , she didn't exactly look forward to it.

(Name) couldn't imagine even mingling with other people who wore the same cloaks as she did. They certainly wear their cloaks with pride , she was despised it , along with the other members and the entire organisation. 

All (Name) ever wished was a simple , low-key life that was filled with happiness , but nothing of that sort had ever came true.

The room that was given to her was filled with the basic furnitures - a single bed , a nightstand , a vanity and mirror , a wardrobe and a drawer.
It lacked identity and warmth that would belong to an actual home.

(Name) spilled her duffel bag's contents on her bag , and rummaged through the pile of clothes to find a single photo frame.

    " Hey guys.. Guess where I am ," she murmured , stifling the sob that was threatening to escape her lips.
    " It's.. It's the Akatsuki hideout. Your little (Name) is now grown up .."

The photo frame showed the image of Team 13 , the team that had met a notoriously grisly fate.

     " Fukuro .. I'm afraid .. I'm so afraid ," she whimpered , holding the photo frame close to her chest.
Her tears splattered against the glass , falling on the image of the young boy.
Hair as dark as a raven , eyes blacker than the midnight sky , and lips the colour of pomegranates.

Fukuro had been her one and only best friend. She never viewed him in a romantic light - they were too young when he died. But he was her best friend , nonetheless . And the fact that he had died for her sake killed her every single day. Even after his sacrifice , (Name) still viewed herself as someone far from decent.

Knock knock knock ~

(Name) wiped her tears dry and briskly went to answer the door.
     " Yes ?" she said when she swung the door open. For a moment , she considered shutting it back when she saw the face of Itachi Uchiha , but she decided to hear what he had to say.

     " I want to speak to you. It won't take long ," he replied , almost in a pleading tone.
(Name) was confused , but nodded nonetheless.

    " Sure. Uh , come on in ," she spoke , motioning him to follow her inside.
(Name) made herself comfortable at the edge of the bed , while Itachi chose to stand.

    " What did you want to talk about ?" 

    " Did you know my brother ?" 

(Name) nodded , still eyeing him oddly.
    " Who wouldn't. Every girl knows him and worships him. Excluding me , of course."

    " Did he have good friends ? What about his manners ? Does he have a lady friend -"

    " Whoa ! I didn't even know him that close. But I assume you know that he left the village to join Orochimaru , right ?" (Name) questioned.

Itachi nodded grimly. " It's foolish of him to do so. I.. I.." 

    " You know what , Itachi , I think you're not as bad as people say ," (Name) piped.

    " What do you mean ?"

    " After what you did , you can guess that you're everyone's favourite brooding emo boy anymore. You don't have to be a genius to know that. It's common sense.
The thing is , if you did that on purpose , why did you spare your brother ?
And now , you're asking me about how he was doing before he left , even about his nonexistent lovelife.
 You're a good brother , Itachi . A very good one.
 That , is common sense as well ."