Blindness
"It's these eyes, isn't it? You want my eyes."
"If I wanted your eyes, I would have taken them by now, Hyuga Hinata."
A small silence, then she sighs. It seems like she's smiling, but he can't tell at the moment.
"Your confidence, I envy it, Uchiha Itachi."
"Envy only those who are great."
He can't see the incredulous look on her face, the way her mouth slightly opens, or how her opalescent eyes become bright with question.
Finally she says,
"You really have no idea what is said about you in the village…or even across all nations! People they…they want your return, the return of the Uchiha, after all these years. It's almost selfish that…that I'm here with you right now, and others have to settle with you being a fallen warrior."
"I am a piece of a past that people of the Leaf Village would like to forget."
"Many memorials are being erected, in honor of those who lost their life in the Second Shinobi War. You're one of them. How do you feel about that?"
The woman's tone softens, and he can now tell that she is looking at him with a most endearing expression. His hearing, even though highly alert before his blindness, had become even more acute. He could tell within seconds if one was lying, or in doubt. He listened closely, and when it became deadly silent, he could hear one's heartbeat. He can almost hear her heart beat now, but more her breathing.
It takes a while for him to answer, but she finds it alright, because it happens often. He likes to think before he speaks, and she doesn't mind because she likes his company. They're resting together, he's leaning up against a tree, and she's propped up beside him. Her breath has been since caught, but her body aches from the hours of combat. He fights beautifully, and perhaps it's more beautiful because he is without sight.
"A memorial is being erected because of your honorable death, only you are not dead and are certainly not honorable. How are you so sure you are able to feel anything?"
The question is one of rhetoric, and she has spent enough time and conversation with the eldest Uchiha brother to know not to answer. For a moment, she wants to laugh at her thoughts for had she known her current circumstances in the past, her younger self would have most likely fainted in disbelief. She's different now, because of the war, her unspoken exile, and her stumbling upon a thought to be dead, brilliant man.
They are alike, yet so different. It makes no sense to her.
Hinata turns to him now, knowing that it is an obvious movement. Her gesture is quick, and done good-naturedly. She knows her hands are dirty, and not quite as soft as they used to be. She has taken his face in her hands, her thumbs lightly circling his cheeks for a moment. His eyes are closed, and he makes not one movement. She marvels at his facial structure, thankful that he has retained some youth, despite the lines that jut out on the sides of his nose. She can feel his warm breath, and identifies it with the rest of his body. As she thinks, it's like her hands have a mind of their own.
His hair, stark and black, is darker then hers, but hers is longer. His is pulled to the side, and falls just below his collar bone. She brushes his hair out of his face, being able to see his eyes more clearly. They are still closed, relaxed, probably, if open, would be filled with something she couldn't quite place. Her fingertips glide over his eyes, right above his eyelashes. His eyes. All Uchiha's had dark, occasionally condescending eyes. Just like all Hyuga's had light, slight questioning eyes. It was a feature automatic, you could not run from it. No running from the cursed power of ocular superiority. No running from Sharingan or Byakugan, or even Rinnegan. They were all doomed.
She is unsure of when her lips lightly pressed against his, but she knows why she has allowed herself to do it. It wasn't romantic or intimate, just very close. She has loomed very close, nearly on top of him, but it's not meant to be how it looks. He has to feel, she thinks and she feels him suddenly move forward. Hinata expects him to not move, to let her continue, but instead she feels his mouth open, and then it was more than a simple pressing of the lips or saliva swap, but an intermingle of feelings not meant to felt by anyone. She has been looking at him the entire time, and when his grey eyes open she freezes, her eyes widen and her mouth becomes slack.
His blindness is evident, yes. As she stares into his barren orbs of seemingly nothing, Hinata feels pain and sorrow. She begins to shake, and for a second she wants to flee, but she knows he won't let her. She has touched him for a reason, and he has complied. He will show her what she was looking for. She can taste him now, and it hurts enough to make tears prick at her eyes. Hinata has not cried for a long time.
Itachi kisses her for a while longer, and he stops when he can feel her streaming tears on his pant legs. Perhaps she has understood him a bit more. She is breathing a bit hardly now, and her slender fingers lightly touch her lips. She sits back, speechless. It is as if she cannot move under his gaze. He has her locked, and the amazing thing is that it's not a jutsu. It's just him. Uchiha Itachi.
Her voice is humble and soft. Even then, she isn't strong enough to hold back tears.
"Did you feel me?"
"You are crying for the both of us."
"I cannot save you." She whispers the daunting truth that has haunted her since she fell upon him.
"No one can."
"You can."
Hinata sees him smirk, a half sort of smile, and blink. In a tone he hasn't used before, Itachi says most carefully.
"For one to be saved, he has to want to be saved."
She says nothing as he lifts his hand and softly wipes a tear away.
"That one was mine."
;D It just sort of came, and now it's done. Thank you for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated!