Under Pressure

By Kimiaara

Sup Everybody!? I decided to write this because I like to see pairings like these: They grow up together, cuteness, and Itachi is the perfect person to do that with since he has such a "brotherly" background (LOL, laugh with me, I say laugh!). Also, I want to make Itachi just a bit older, maybe by two years, so he'll be 15 in this story instead of 13 (I just don't like the sound of 13...)Anyway, I hope you all review and I hope it is pleasing! So without any further hesitation, here be Under Pressure.

DISCLAIMER-I DO NOT OWN ANY NARUTO CHARACTERS OR THE WORLD WOULD BE CONSTANTLY CHANGING WITH ALL SORTS OF CRACK PAIRINGS BECAUSE I'M INSANE LIKE THAT!!

Summary: Hinata Hyuuga runs away from home, freed from the tortures that so plagued her life at the age of 7. Her cousin hates her, her father thinks she's a failure, the elders seek to throw her off her throne. But one man takes her in, and makes the sweet girl a force to be reckoned with. ItaHina

Chapter one-The girl who is running

She ran. She ran with all her might, all her strength as far as her underdeveloped and overused legs could carry her. She was finally out of the chaos, finally freed from her pain, finally released from all her suffering! It was all over…it was all over, wasn't it?

When realization dawned on the young Hyuuga, she slowed her running, and stopped in the middle of the forest as small streams of tears welled up in her eyes, and poured down her porcelain cheeks. She lifted her tiny hands in an attempt to dry her pouring eyes, like the knob to a faucet, but yet, they still poured down.

Why was she running, you ask? Because this particular Hyuuga happened to be Hinata Hyuuga of the Hyuuga clan, a very prestige clan, well known beside it's brother clan, the Uchiha. And what was so special about young Hinata Hyuuga? She was the heir to this clan, soon to take the position from her father Hiashi, and command it to her whim.

Most would be overjoyed to become such a powerful leader! But not Hinata, and she had every reason to think otherwise. From the tender age of three, Hinata had been trained to take on the most noble position. She was constantly hurt by her father, who saw her as a failure, a disappointment to the clan. The elders despised her so, saying that she was a bronze link in a gold chain, and she would be the clan's downfall. Her mother was dead, unable to shield her daughter from the horrible fate of the Hyuuga. She was condemned, an black sheep, the rouge. Her heart couldn't take it, her mind couldn't handle it. Why couldn't she be like everyone else in the academy? Why couldn't she have loving parents, and see only friendly faces? Why did she have to run away?

The more she thought about it, the more she sobbed, and soon, she collapsed to her knees, crying uncontrollably. Where would she go? With these eyes, someone was sure to recognize the girl. If her father found her, she'd be punished severely, and unlike other lucky children who ran away and got caught, he would show her no sympathy, or happiness at her return.

Unbeknownst to her, however, piercing red eyes gazed upon the crying girl. What was this silly girl doing crying alone at night deep within the woods? He'd sensed someone awhile ago, almost as if they were following them, but the girls' chakra was much to weak for it to be any sort of threat, even Madara hadn't taken a glance back to find out what the annoying bother was. It was like a prick on his skin, a pinch. It was annoying, so weak…His stomach almost turned in disgust as he watched her.

Madara rested up against the edge of a tree up on a higher branch. He looked down at his student amused. "What are you so consumed with, Itachi?" he asked.

Itachi looked up quickly to his mentor. "Should we get rid of her?" he asked.

Madara chuckled slightly. "Get rid of a young girl like her? You are colder than me." he said. "Why should we? What could she possibly do that we'd be afraid of?" he asked.

Itachi said nothing. What could she do? He shifted slightly, moving some leaves softly in the process.

Upon this meager sound, Hinata's head jerked up in surprise, her eyes wide and in the direct direction of the sound.

"Aw! Look what you've gone and done Itachi!" Madara complained. He then looked back to the girl. "Oh. A Hyuuga…how interesting." he said. "You got her attention Itachi. Might was well finish the job." he said with an uncaring shrug. "Do what you will, and then we're leaving." he said as he walked off a little, leaving Itachi alone with the girl staring cluelessly in his direction.

Itachi sighed. What did Madara expect for him to do? Didn't they have to hurry to the Akatsuki base?

"W-who's there…?" asked a small and shaky voice.

Itachi didn't know if he'd regret this or not, but he stepped out, face to face with the young girl. While his expression was nonchalant, hers was curious, and then her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Wasn't he an Uchiha? The clans had met before, and recently at that. Hinata remembered seeing his face. So elegant and dignified, although from the looks of it, his father was just like hers. She could read people like that, and both parents acted strangely alike.

"U-Uchiha-san, what are y-you doing here?" she asked tilting her head to the side like the cute kid she was.

He couldn't help but notice this. Although he forbade himself from saying it, she was adorable. Her cheeks were stained with her drying tears, her small frame…hadn't he seen her before? Ah, yes, at one of those meetings with the clans and all. He hated those. He recalled his younger brother smiling and blushing stupidly at her the entire time….his brother…something he really didn't want to think about right now.

"The question is what are you doing out here?" he asked her.

Hinata hiccupped and then looked down at her hands. "I'm running away…please don't tell…" she said looking at him pleadingly.

Itachi's eyes widened briefly. What reason did she have to run away? There was really no reason actually, at least not in his eyes. She was the pampered child of the Hyuuga family. Lavish mansion, title, everything! Why was this seven year old girl running away?

"Why are you running away, Hyuuga-Chan?" he asked kindly, trying to get her to fess up.

Hinata looked to him, her eyes telling a sorrowful story, and instantly, he felt more pain, just from looking at her. He had to tear his eyes away from her gaze.

As she told her story, he couldn't help but to believe her. She was so young, what reason would she have to lie? What reason would she be out here alone?

"Why are you here U-Uchiha-san?" she asked. "We're so far a-away from home." she said to him.

Itachi contemplated his answer. He wasn't going to tell her what he was really doing. Instead, "I'm running away too." he said.

Hinata's eyes widened considerably again as she stood. "But why?" she asked.

Itachi smirked slightly. "My home isn't a happy one either." he explained.

That's all Hinata needed. She knew someone else out there didn't have it so easy after all. She must have been right about his father too.

"How about this…?" he looked at her. She could turn into a very valuable fighter one day, and besides, she wouldn't' get far with her very noticeable features. From what she had described, it sounded like his father, when he was younger. Expecting so much out of so little. "You'll come with me. We'll leave together." he said. Was he really saying this?

Hinata smiled. "I can?" she asked him.

Itachi nodded as he took her hand. "But one more thing." he said.

Hinata listened intently to him.

"Call me Itachi…and what will I call you?" he asked her.

"Y-you can call me Hinata." she said, her smile growing brighter still.

Emotion played so easily through her translucent eyes. Itachi wanted to see more…he was intrigued by this little Hyuuga, one he hadn't paid too much attention to before. "Okay Hinata." he said as he lead her off to where they'd meet Madara.

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Madara whistled impatiently as he leaned up against a tree. What was that young brat doing? Either kill her or tell her to go, or something!

He could have been the happiest man in the world upon seeing Itachi's face appear from a distance, walking towards him….but who was this? That little girl was with him? First he talked about disposing of her, and here she was following him, no, not only following him, but holding his hand! He slapped his forehead. He had more of a double personality than him!

"Itachi…what…are…you…doing?" he asked confused.

"She's coming with us." he said nonchalantly.

"…" Madara sighed. "We don't have time to wait around and talk about this…come on." he said as he began to walk again.

"Were are we going, and who is he Uchi-I mean I-Itachi?" she asked him.

"You'll see, and you'll find out later." Itachi said.

Hinata kept herself quiet. She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she knew from experience that meant to keep quiet and ask questions later. Without another word, Hinata followed the two men, unaware of what her new future would behold.

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Days passed, and the trio had traveled far. It was surprising, and unusual, but both men found the young Hyuuga girl very tolerable, almost pleasant. She wasn't a bother, didn't speak when not spoken to, didn't run off and cause confusion, didn't whine, in general, she just didn't' act like your typical seven-year-old. She was very low maintenance.

Itachi had noticed this. She must have been built into the obedient child she was. He remembered how he was expected to grow up so quickly. They had tried the same thing with her, but she retained some innocence in running away, unlike him. He'd just assisted Madara Uchiha in murdering his entire family. He couldn't bare to see the death of his younger brother though, the boy who looked up to him like the epitome of everything a big brother should be.

The first couple of nights, they'd slept outside. Itachi would let Hinata borrow his cloak and sleep under it. Underneath it, with her fingers gently clasped to it, and her slow, steady breathing, she was tiny, and cute. Although he knew it was horribly wrong, he knew she would be a very desirable woman when she got older.

About that time, Madara walked up, seeing the young Uchiha staring at the sleeping girl. "You know, she will be very beautiful later." he said, as if reading his pupil's mind.

Itachi took his gaze off of the sleeping child and looked over. "And?" he asked.

"And I was just saying that she would be pretty later, so what?" Madara asked him. "You know the same. She'll be in Akatsuki with us, I suppose? If not, we can't take her all the way." he said.

Itachi hadn't thought of this yet. Well, he had, but not this deeply. Most of the Akatsuki members were men, one woman, but she was hardly around the rest. On top of that, she wasn't exactly the nicest person you could meet. Since that was the case, Hinata would technically be the only female member, and she was a child. Itachi wasn't sure if this was a good idea, and not only that, but when she began to grow up…the way females grew up was a lot more noticeable than with boys. This might be very difficult.

Madara stared at Itachi, seeing him deep in thought. "You think it's a bad idea? You should have thought about that before bringing her." he said. "Now that I think about it, whether you want her or not, I do. She possesses the Byakugan, and at such a young age, we can mold her into a powerful asset." he explained.

Itachi sighed. "But what about her?" Itachi asked. "Power is a bonus, but the effect it will have with the other members…I'm not sure." he said.

Madara chuckled. "You are a strange one, Itachi. Look, as long as I get Pein to tell them to lay off, they should lay off. They know the consequences for disobeying." he said. "And you should be more confident in yourself. You don't think you could keep her from them, or them from her?" he asked.

Itachi considered Madara's point. "You're right." he said.

"And by the way," Madara began, "why do you feel so protective over her?" he asked.

Itachi didn't know. Maybe it was because his brother showed interest in her, or maybe it was just her in general. She brought a soothing sort of feeling with her being. Itachi figured it was just to keep a little sanity in his twisting life. As long as she was around, he might have something good to look forward to in each haunting day he lived. Although his thoughts rang clearly through his head, however, he never answered Madara.

Itachi thought back those two days ago as he watched the seemingly happy girl walk in front of them. They were in a civilian village not too far away from the land of the grass. It was late that night, and the festive town was lit with paper lanterns, and people walked the streets, so happy and carefree, unaware of the menacing peoples that walked among them. It was the only time he'd seen the girl act out of her normal self. She was excited, looking at everything as if she'd never seen it before. She kept asking for things, and Madara eventually got irritated.

"We only have so much money!" he whispered dangerously to Itachi. "Make her stop, or I swear I'll throw her tied up in a river." he threatened.

Itachi knew that there was no reason to not believe him, so he walked up to Hinata's speed and knelt down beside her. "We can't buy everything Hinata-Chan." he said bluntly.

Hinata looked at him questioningly. "Oh….I'm sorry Itachi-Kun." she said. She'd grown quite close to him through the days.

Itachi didn't mind at all. He actually rather liked the thought of her calling him that.

Madara looked back at Itachi. "I'm tired. Let's turn in here." he said.

Itachi nodded in agreement, and they went and found a small hotel.

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Itachi looked at the two rooms they'd gotten. Both were very small…Since the town was so small, however, this was the only inn. Itachi was sure with the money they probably made, things COULD be upgraded, but he didn't complain too much. He'd been worse places than this. Each room had one bed, and that meant that Hinata would be sharing one with him.

Hinata was not a stupid girl by any means. She knew this meant she'd be sleeping with Itachi…were boys and girls suppose to do that??

She looked up to him shyly. "U-um…Itachi-kun, is this really okay?" she asked him.

Itachi chuckled a little. She was so innocent! Since when had Itachi ever seen something so pure? "It's fine. This way, you'll be safe from any harm, look at it that way." Itachi said as he contemplated removing his black shirt or not…he decided against it, not knowing how she would react.

He climbed to his side, and Hinata on hers. There was an awkward silence. "Um, well, goodnight I-Itachi-kun." she said as she turned over to her side and began to slowly drift off to sleep.

"Goodnight Hinata…" he said much later, but he wasn't sure if she heard him or not. He looked to her before completely going to sleep himself. Her violet-hued hair fanned out on the crème-colored pillow giving her such a docile look. He'd never remembered a time that he had ever felt truly at any sort of peace, except for now…

A thin smile played on his lips temporarily, and then he too turned over on his side as he drifted off to sleep, although not as comfortably as Hinata. His dreams were soaked in his guilt, for what he had done to his "innocent" family. No matter what they planned to do with Konoha, Itachi would always think of them, even his own father, as his family…

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a/n: Okay all! Thanks for reading and hopefully giving me some good feedback on this story. I worked hard on it, so I hope you all like all the blood, sweat, and tears I poured into this story (well, maybe not blood, sweat, and tears for me, but Itachi put all of that in for the sake of the story, right?). Next chapter will be when they arrive at the Akatsuki base to when they begin to make Hinata the cool ninja she needs to be! Please review!