This was written for SecretBox. My best friend. :D It was meant to be apart of the series Lyrical. But, I broke the rules, and listened to the song more than once, and it ended up being a little over 1,000 words. This is also part of my effort to break a nasty spell of writer's block. It's a bit confusing, and OOC, I know. Tell me what you think. It was written when inspiration hit at three o'clock in the morning. :)

I hope you like it, Sammie-baby. XD

Song: "Let You Down" by Three Days Grace
Pairing: ItaHina

Butterflies (Almost)

For SecretBox

The streets of Konoha were unsurprisingly empty at midnight, save for the lone woman that wandered them, her pearly eyes scanning the lightless streets dazedly in the silence. So many thoughts whizzing through her head she had lost her way home.

The expectations Konoha and the Hyuugas had for her were beginning to be too much. A soft sigh escaped from her lips.

Footsteps approached her from behind; sounding so quiet they were almost imperceptible. Her fingers twitch before her, moving into her automatic gesture, that many had deemed fidgeting.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose, her body tensing as the sensation of being watched closely froze her in a state of almost fright.

"Hyuuga."

The voice sounded silken, yet distinctly strong. Male. Like liquid it poured over her, sending warm shivers cascading down her back.

It almost escaped her that he'd called her.

She cannot make herself speak to him, and the realization of this fact pushing any urge to face this man away, to the ends of her conscious.

This could be dangerous, as soon as the thought dawned; it was drowned by the liquid silk/steel voice.

"You are to come with me."

Hinata turned quickly, a startled gasp escaping her lips, breaking the peaceful sounds of the night.

She finds her mind simultaneously blanked, and moved into high speed as the man regarded her with nothing more than a look of apathy.

Itachi Uchiha stood before her, his ruby colored eyes piercing the blank darkness, staring past the torrent of rapidly moving thoughts that were dizzying her, into the private corners of her mind that quietly declared this man, -this murderer- as beautiful.

Not another word came, as his activated sharingan began to turn, detaching her slowly and effectively from consciousness.

I could've fought this, the statement crosses Hinata's ever-vanishing musings, and immediately is rejected by the doubting voice in the back of her mind.

You have too many butterflies to concentrate on looking at him, let alone fight him.



And, it was all so true.

The butterflies kept her from escaping as she woke in the wilderness, with his ever watchful eyes on her every movement.

"Eat." He commands her, when the sound of her stomach growling breaks the awkward quiet.

They held her from breaking his loose but firm grasp around her waist as he hauled her toward an unknown destination.

"Hold on." He tells her, his hot breath against her ear, as he prepares to scale a particularly high cliff.

They stopped her from leaving the moment he was away, after introducing her as the new member of the akatsuki. –Because the Byakugan was such a valuable asset to have.-

"Stay here." He says to her, his scarlet eyes, ever-enchanting, pulling her into the isolated room, "I'll be back."

The butterflies held her there for 84 days, 15 hours, 46 minutes, and 27 seconds. There in his arms, in his voice, in his eyes. Never releasing their relentless grip on her mind, or, more importantly, her heart.

Her heart always speeds when in his presence, always skips with his touch –unintentional or not-, and always stops when he leaves.

He knows, for there is hardly anything he doesn't know. But, he never discourages her misguided affections.

The butterflies continue to flutter. Forcing her to kill at his command, a young kunoichi, a kunai across her throat, cutting a main artery. Hinata cries for three days.

The third day, he comes. Licks away her tears, his hand creeps beneath her shirt.

"Don't cry." His voice commands quietly, his tongue tickling her throat while he leaves his marks on her porcelain skin.

The butterflies make her forget what she has done. She kills again, a boy, no older than ten, a hand over his nose and mouth, he suffocates. She cries for five days.

He comes on the second, the third, the fourth, and the fifth. He fucks her, against the wall.

"I will let you down." He states, the heat of his body warming hers.

Never does she ask why.

Many times, she comes close to death. Each time, he saves her. Over and over. He won't let her die.

"Not yet." His silken voice calls, as he walks away.

The butterflies prevent her from asking what 'yet' means, as her heart has stopped, as it always does in his absence.

He comes to her door one day, barely speaking over the explosions and crashing the butterflies won't let her be curious about. He beckons her.

Konoha has come. They have broken in, and are fighting, for her. Her friends are there. Home is calling.

The expectations are a burden she is now happy to bear.

Itachi pulls her into the fray against Naruto Uzumaki. The look of unbearable pain on his face is clear in the dark.

"Why? Hinata?" He asks, and she finds that she is unable to speak. She turns away; a stray tear slips down her features.

They continue their battle, the blonde determined to rescue his friend from the man that holds her hostage.

If only he knew, it wasn't Itachi. It was never Itachi.

The fight is coming to its end; Naruto is preparing his infamous Great Ball Rasengan. He charges toward a battered but indifferent Itachi, who stands in wait.

The butterflies make her scream. Make her run.

They make her stand before her friend.

He cannot stop, she knows.

A familiar hand places itself upon her back. Wave of relief pass through her. He'll save her.

He almost saves her.

But, instead of feeling pulled, she feels pressure. He pushes her into Naruto's trademark finish move.

The feeling of her body being ripped apart is painful. But, the feeling of her heart shattering into unrecognizable pieces is indescribable.

The sound of screaming reaches her ears, and after a moment, she realizes it is Naruto. Not Itachi. His presence has already gone.

He has left her.

The butterflies make her bear her death in silence.