She was going to go in. She had to go in. She had managed to nervously drive all the way here with only a few casualties -a spilled coffee cup and a poor, spooked squirrel that would never venture on to the road again- and was now leaning against her car, staring at the neon signs and art covered windows.
Yes. Hinata Hyuga decided that today, a few months after her eighteenth birthday, she would get a tattoo.
It wasn't a snap decision for Hinata, she had always wanted one. As a child she would ofter get scolded for drawing on her arm with her pens, and would beg to go into town just to stare into the shiny glass of the local tattoo parlor windows with amazed eyes, scanning through the weird and wonderful designs, before being quickly pulled away by her father, usually catching sight of a topless fifties pin up worn on the arm of a crude older man with huge biceps.
Not that she ever wanted a semi-naked female inked on her skin. No, she just wanted something simple, plain, elegant...and completely hidden from her father. So, a few months before her eighteenth, she had decided to go for it, not telling anyone save for Sakura Haruno, who shocked the student population by coming in a few months back with a small red heart inked above her bosom.
She begins to walk on shaky legs towards ANBU, -a small building, clean and standing on it's own, found when Sakura was stalking the workplace of Sasuke Uchiha, and the young man proceeded to tell her to "get a goddamn tattoo, or get out"- being careful to watch her breathing.
Through the glass, she can see what looks like a reception desk at the far end, and a dark figure with his nose in what appeared to be a sketchbook. Sasuke? With all this glass, how did Sakura manage to stalk him successfully everyday? There is a few rows of chairs, mostly empty due to it being quite late in the day, but some seats are still filled with a few people, chatting and joking with each other. A man with dark red hair -is that his real colour?- and a tattooed forehead walks quickly in shouting something, and is followed back into his room at the same speed by a large man, with a bald, tattooed head.
Chanting her usual mantra, "in through the nose, out through the mouth", and pausing briefly to check the opening times on the door, she hurries through, startled only briefly by the loud ding of the doorbell.
"To what do we owe to pleasure of holier-than-thou Hinata visiting our humble studio?"
Recognising the voice almost immediately, and turning quickly to the right, she spots Sasuke looking at her. Walking up to him, his smirk increases, growing into a full blown grin by the time she reaches what she could only guess was the reception desk.
"Well, I t-thought that would be fairly obvious S-sasuke, I'm not here for my g-groceries."
This earned an amused raise of his left brow.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"Yes, with..." A quick check of her diary. "Yugao?"
She had asked for a female specifically, no way was she letting some random man touch her, she would probably pass out, and Sakura had been done by the same girl, and recommended her. According to the pink haired female, Yugao had bright purple hair -fake-, a colourful, feminine left sleeve, and was really kind and gentle, "perfect for someone as shy as you, Hinata".
He checks the computer beside him, before nodding and turning back, now looking quite sinister and very, very amused, as if he had his own private joke, and wasn't planning on letting her in on it any time soon.
"Yes, that's fine, it's all here. Do you have ID?"
"What?! Sasuke, we went to school t-together, you're like six months older t-than me!"
"Ma'am, if you don't have ID-"
Slamming down her drivers license, Hinata looks him dead in the eye.
"L-look, I've been working up the c-courage to do this for weeks, s-so go get me Yugao before, so help me G-god, I report you to your m-manager."
She felt stupid as soon as she said it.
Report you to your manager? Way to threaten there, Hina, watch out, he may just break down and cry. Or possibly get on his knees and beg for forgiveness.
She did not expect him, however, to look up at her with a slightly sorry expression.
"Look, princess, she's not even in today, "family emergency or something", but..." He sighs, before running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Right, you look like a kicked puppy, and I can't stand looking at you, it's making me feel slightly bad."
Huh?
He presses a button, which she thinks is some form of intercom, and mumbles something incoherent, she only picks up the words "favour" and "please". He turns back to her and simply stares at her for what feels like forever.
Thinking she's been dismissed until a later date, Hinata turns to leave, before bumping into something, no, someone.
Making a small, sputtering noise, she apoligises and looks up to the man who seemingly appeared from nowhere.
She had to stop herself from gasping out loud.
It was painfully clear even at a glance that he was related to Sasuke, but stood taller, and had a slightly more matured face. His hair was a pitch black, almost as long as hers, and was tied up loosely behind his back. She could swear that his black eyes held red in their depths, and despite her preferences for blonds, she had to admit he was very handsome.
That, however, was not what help her attention.
His arms held an array of intricate tattoos, all different designs and drawings yet all seeming to match. She could make out various tribal designs, a cluster of stars, and her favourite, an intricate, gorgeous rose on his forearm, the type she would love to grow in her garden. She wondered if he had any more elsewhere, and if they were as beautiful as his arms...
"...What?"
His low, soft voice interrupted her daydream, and she pulled her wide, white eyes from his arms to his black -and red?- eyes.
"E-excuse me?"
He smiled slightly, the slight movement highlighting his face.
"Well I do believe you said something about my arms being...ehm, beautiful?"
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.
She could feel her face burning a thousand different colours before his eyes. Did she say that out loud? What the hell should she do? Deny it? Tell the truth and hope that the beautiful man doesn't think she's a total idiot?
Going with 'honesty is the best policy', and the fact she can't lie to save herself, Hinata blurts out the truth.
"W-well, they a-are."
Surprisingly he just chuckles lightly at her comment, and turns to look at Sasuke.
"Brother?" Ah. "Is this who we spoke about?"
Sasuke only grunts in return.
"I'm going to take that as a "yes, dearest big brother, this is the girl I practically begged you to come down and tattoo, despite the fact that you weren't even supposed to be in today, never mind taking customers", am I correct?"
Again, another grunt.
He turns to Hinata, and lightly grips her elbow, beginning to direct her towards his office. She freezes almost immediately.
"U-uh, no offense Mr Uchiha, but I came here f-for Yugao."
"Please, it's Itachi. And no offense to you, but not only I am the best tattooist in this place, I own it. Are you coming or not?"
She hesitates for only a moment, before following behind him into a small, isolated room with walls covered in different sheets of paper, all with sketches on. Hinata felt like a child again, staring up at all of his beautiful designs. Some were half done, some where just in the beginning stages, all were magnificent. She scans the walls, seeing a few more naked ladies, drawn in enough detail to make even her father blush, and some very lifelike animals, mostly animals of power, tigers, eagles, before coming across a set that make her stop in her tracks.
Before her, there was a various assortment of flowers, roses, lilies, dandelions, daisies, all of them stunning.
"Do you like them?"
Jumping lightly, she realises Itachi is directly behind her watching her stare at his creations.
"They're very b-beautiful."
"Hm, I've heard that before."
She spots him glancing slyly at her, and begins to blush when she realises that he was referring back to her previous statement about his arms.
His desk is completely immaculate, and as he sits down at his chair, he motions to Hinata to sit down.
"Do you have any ideas as to what you want?"
"Uhm...n-no. Well, actually, flowers. Yes, some type of f-flower."
Pulling out a rather large book, he places it in front of her, and tells her to look through it while they continue their conversation.
"Where would you like it done? How big?"
Looking up from a detailed drawing of sunflower, she chews her lip for a few moments in thought.
"Well, somewhere...u-unnoticeable. So not too big, and not to r-racy."
"Ah."
Their brainstorming lasts roughly twenty minutes, it would have lasted fifteen if Hinata hadn't freaked out when Itachi asked if she would like any where near the breast region, which resulted in a good five minutes of her having a choking stammer fit.
In the end, she was debating between her upper thigh, or her ribcage, which Itachi warned her would be very painful, and eventually chose her ribcage. They had also decided between them that Itachi would draw the flower himself, and that the design would be a grouping of of purple lilacs.
Drawing out a rough sketch to show the girl, he tells her stories of how Sasuke had begged him for a tattoo since the age of fifteen, and had been declined each time, often causing the younger brother to cause a hissy fit, and of ridiculously bad tattoos customers had come in wanted covered up.
"Yeah, we once had an older lady in, she lost a bet, and had to get an orange toad inked on her shoulder. It wasn't badly done, but God, this toad was ugly."
This is met with a fit of giggles from the Hyuga girl, causing him to look up and smile at the sight -she really was quite cute- before returning to his work.
"So Hinata, do you know the meaning behind the syringa?"
"Um, yes actually. I-it's a symbol of love."
He raises a questioning eyebrow.
"I...I press flowers."
He hadn't asked for an explanation, but she felt the need to give him one anyway.
"You're a very bright girl, Hinata."
Cue massive blush.
Silence filled the room after that, and continued to do so until her was done. After showing her the his idea -she thought it was more beautiful than she could ever imagine- he glanced at the clock.
"Well, it seems as if we're out of time. Same time next week to begin this?"
"Will I be w-with Yuga-"
"No, i'll be taking over from her if you don't mind."
She simply shook her head, not sure if she was able to speak.
It dawns on her that every week for the foreseeable future, she will be staring at this mans face for hours on end.
Well, that's not exactly torture.
He was kind enough to walk her to her car, arguing that it was getting very dark, and she should be escorted no matter how short the walk.
"Thank you for today, Hinata."
"H-huh? shouldn't I be t-thanking you?"
His face light up in a breathtaking smile, and he leaned in to kiss her cheek.
"On the contrary! You've brightened up my day, little sunflower. Now, take care, I'll see you next week."
With one last wave, he turns around, walking away, and mumbled quietly to himself.
Hinata, however, had heard, and began to replay the five words in her head during the drive home.
"Hm, signs of love indeed."
a/n
I couldn't sleep, so I wrote this.
I'm actually so tired i wrote the word "twently".
Also, this didn't end up the way I wanted it but, meh.
Please, tell me if it's shit, so I can just keep it as a one shot, instead of multiple chapters focusing on Hinata's tattoo sessions with Itachi.
Hehe, sessions.
Feedback would be much appreciated!
