Author's note: Anyone who knows me for my NaruHina stories will probably be disappointed to see that this is an ItaHina. Anyone who has favorited my SasuHina oneshot should actually enjoy this story a lot, I think. It is an Itachi x Hinata pairing, but there is a lot of SasuHina interaction, particularly in the first couple of chapters. Actually, she doesn't interact with Itachi until the third chapter so heads up for that.

Warning: In this story, Sakura is basically the bad guy so she is not shown in a good light. If you are a huge fan of hers, you probably won't be happy. Also, Naruto is Hinata's ex and she definitely says some bad things about him, just like most people who were dumped for someone else would say. It's not that I dislike Naruto, but he made an unfortunate decision in the story and she's not happy about it. Anything Sasuke says about him should be taken with a grain of salt, because they just have that kind of relationship where they insult each other all the time but actually love each other. If any of that makes you uncomfortable, then you do not have to read.

That being said, I hope you like the story. I've been wanting to write an ItaHina for a long while, but have been pretty focused on my other chapter story. It will still be my main focus, but these chapters are not as long and it's what I write on when I'm stuck on the other one so I figured I might as well post what I have for people to enjoy.

There's not going to be any kind of love triangle or hard feelings between the brothers, but there will be a little SasuHina mixed in with the ItaHina. With those warnings out of the way, on with the story!

Revenge is Sweet, Love is Sweeter

Chapter 1

"I'm sorry, Hinata, I really am. I mean I care about you and everything, but you know how I've always felt about Sakura."

Hyuga Hinata sat at the bar of a nightclub on a Friday night, watching her friends live it up on the dance floor. Usually she was a rather friendly drunk, but tonight it seemed the alcohol was just making her broody. Apparently a hard day at the office and watching your ex-boyfriend of two years make out with your whore of a pink-haired ex-friend (because, really, no friend did that to another) was not conducive to a happy buzz. She wondered at the blatant display considering Sakura usually kept Naruto at arm's length unless a certain Uchiha was nearby to witness it. Suddenly she felt a cool presence on the stool next to her and looked over to see said Uchiha had sat down. 'Ah, that explains it,' she thought to herself as she went back to mentally ranting about her failed relationship.

If he loved Sakura then what the hell did the two years they spent together mean? Was she just some place holder? When Naruto had finally acknowledged her decade long crush and asked her out during their final year of college, she had been so excited that she ignored the sinking feeling that it was too good to be true. After all, everyone always told her she was too hard on herself and Naruto was not the type of guy to take advantage of someone or lead them on. Or so she thought.

Two years of her doing everything she could to accommodate him – endless ramen, orange, and having to defend him to her family – and suddenly it's over. Nine months ago Naruto had called her up and asked her to come over because god knows it would be too inconvenient for him to have to leave his mess of an apartment to break up with her. Then, after letting herself in she heard him say, "She's here, I'll call you after. Love you." This was pretty confusing to her because the only family he had left was his godfather and although they care about one another, they are just not the type to tell each other they love one another at the end of a phone call.

Naruto then turned, gave her a smile, and saw the confused look on her face. Instead of reassuring her, however, he offered her a seat and proceeded to tell her that Sakura had come over the night before and confessed to him. Hinata knew that Naruto had harbored a crush on Sakura similar to the one Hinata had harbored for him. However, she and Naruto had been together for two years and she had long ago stopped feeling insecure about her pink-haired friend. Sakura had a borderline obsessive determination to date Uchiha Sasuke. Thus, the information that Naruto was spouting about Sakura and her newfound feelings for the blond was entirely unexpected. Baffled, it took a minute for this to sink in before it finally dawned on her.

"Wait, are you telling me you cheated on me?" she asked him, not entirely wanting to hear the answer.

His blue eyes widened and he was quick to say, "No! No, nothing like that! She wouldn't do anything like that until I broke up with you."

Oh. That was so much better.

Ashamed that it took her this long, she finally realized what was happening. He was breaking up with her for Sakura. One of her supposed best friends had gone behind her back and stolen her boyfriend.

Now, Hinata was an understanding person. In fact, most people said she was too forgiving for her own good. However, she refused to forgive the pinkette. Why? Because she knew that Sakura didn't actually have those feelings for Naruto. She was still hung up on the Uchiha and after years and years of not getting his attention, she figured dating his best friend would make him jealous.

Of course, Hinata did not voice her suspicions aloud because she didn't want to sound bitter. If there was anything worse than people pitying you for getting dumped, it was people thinking you were bitter about the breakup. Hinata had her pride and so she sucked it up and just continued to hang out with their group of friends, plastering a fake smile on her face.

Understandably, it had been exhausting trying to keep up the façade for so long. At first it had been hard to convince her closer friends like Tenten, Kiba, and Shino that she was fine. Eventually, however, they relented and figured she would come to them when the situation finally hit her.

Oddly enough, the only person who really seemed to know that she wasn't okay was Sasuke. They had become better acquainted during her relationship with Naruto since Sasuke was his best friend. Sasuke appreciated that Hinata was quiet and didn't throw herself at him. Hinata recognized that Sasuke treated her a little nicer than he treated most people and appreciated the effort. Neither was very talkative and so they had formed a comfortable acquaintanceship, bordering on friendship.

Hinata was fairly certain that Sasuke was the only other person who realized what it was Sakura was trying to do with Naruto. She had refrained from telling even her closest friends that she was pretty sure Sakura was just using the blond in yet another attempt to get Sasuke's attention. On nights like these, however, she considered saying something since it was just so obvious. Sakura refused to let Naruto call her his girlfriend and had not mentioned her feelings for him since her "confession." The only time she seemed to willingly accept affection from him was when Sasuke was present. Now that he was here, Hinata braced herself for the overt physical display that was about to present itself.

Hinata had to admit that watching Naruto's attentions towards Sakura still hurt even after nine months. It wasn't that she still had feelings for him; rather, he showered the pinkette with affection that he hadn't even spared a fraction of for the Hyuga when they were dating. He doted on Sakura, practically kissed the ground she walked on and couldn't keep his hands off of her when she permitted him to touch her. When he had dated Hinata, she was the one putting in ninety-eight percent of the effort. It made the raven haired young woman wonder if he had actually cared for her at all or whether every date they went on, every time they had sex, he was wishing it was Sakura. That's what really hurt her.

'Tch. Asshole,' she thought to herself. She was surprised when she heard a snort next to her. She turned to face Sasuke who was looking at her with an amused expression on his usually stoic face. Her eyes widened and cheeks flushed when she realized she had said that out loud and that he had heard her. How embarrassing.

"Wow. Didn't know you had it in you," he said, still smirking.

Hinata put her face in her hands. "Ugh. That wasn't supposed to be out loud. Maybe I've had too much to drink."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that. He knew Hinata wasn't one to overindulge, especially not in public. And she was definitely not one to curse out loud. During her relationship with Naruto, Sasuke had learned that she had the patience of a saint.

"Hard day?" he asked.

She looked at him, grateful that he recognized that this wasn't her usual demeanor. The Uchiha was nothing if not observant, it seemed, since even Shino had failed to notice her bad mood.

She was also grateful that he would understand some of her frustration as he too had an important job in his own family's company.

"Yes. The Board came down hard on me today because they thought I hadn't been ruthless enough in some negotiations with a new company we decided to do some business with. They thought I should demand a lot more on their end because we are 'gracing them with our interest' or whatever they call it.

"The company I made a deal with is rather new, but extremely promising. Neji and I agreed that it would be better to treat them well now and foster a good relationship for when they reach their potential. The Board, however, is determined to think that I'm too 'weak' for my role in the company and is using their disagreement with this as yet more fuel for criticism. Neji's meeting with them tonight to set them straight about the whole thing."

Hinata was thankful that her father had agreed to the idea of her and Neji being groomed to co-run the company once her father retired. Hinata had worked hard to earn her place as next in line, but Neji was a natural at it and she had thought that he deserved it as well. Now, they worked closely together and appreciated knowing someone had their back in their cutthroat business environment.

Sasuke nodded his head, showing his understanding. He knew all too well how frustrating the Board could be. Those old men were always looking for something to criticize and growing up in the shadow of a perfect older sibling, Sasuke found himself the target of most of their criticism.

He looked over at the woman on the stool next to him and took in her unusual outfit for the evening. Usually Hinata came straight from work and would not bother changing out of her work clothes. Tonight, however, she was dressed more appropriately for the scene. She wore a plum colored top that fit her snugly and showed enough cleavage to entice without making her look exposed. With that she wore black skinny pants and some black peep toe pumps with silver studs on the heel. Instead of being pulled back into a bun, her inky tresses spilled over her shoulders and down her back, shimmering in the flashing lights of the club.

Sasuke had to admit that Hinata looked hot. It wasn't that her work clothes didn't look nice. On the contrary, Hinata knew how to dress her body and she always looked stunning and well put together. This outfit, though, made her look more relaxed, whether she was or not, and more approachable. Though she was still well covered, her clothes were a bit more revealing than usual and that bit was all Sasuke needed to remember how impressive her figure was.

Hinata noticed Sasuke's interest in her wardrobe and her face flushed again. The Uchiha noticed this, but was not one to apologize for checking someone out. Instead he smirked and commented, "Nice outfit."

"Hanabi made me wear it," Hinata explained.

"Hn. You're twenty-three and your little sister made you wear it?"

Hinata sighed. "Well I've had more of a hard week than just a hard day and apparently Hanabi thinks I was too snippy with her so when I got home she barricaded me in the bathroom with these clothes and wouldn't let me come out until I changed. She even made me slide my work clothes under the door to prove I had changed. It was ridiculous."

"I don't understand what a change of clothes has to do with you having a hard week."

At this Hinata buried her face in her hands and mumbled something Sasuke couldn't understand.

"You're going to have to be clearer than that."

"She said that since I've been so stressed… um, well she said I needed to 'get laid.'"

The last two words came out as a squeak and although he had understood her perfectly, Sasuke was tempted to make her repeat herself. He rather enjoyed getting Hinata flustered and he was pretty damn good at it. He opened his mouth to tease her, but it quickly closed and morphed into a grimace as he followed her line of sight and caught where she had been looking. The sight of Sakura overtly grinding on his best friend was disturbing to the onyx eyed male. It also explained the rest of Hinata's bad mood and her earlier comment.

Sasuke leaned forward and said, "You know, if it makes you feel any better, I called Naruto an idiot for leaving you for her."

This was true. Months ago, when Naruto had informed Sasuke that he had broken up with Hinata for Sakura, Sasuke had been pissed. He had punched the blond and told him he was being stupid for throwing away someone like Hinata for the bitchy pinkette. The Uchiha had always thought that the blond took her for granted, but he was happy that Naruto finally had someone in his life who truly cared about him.

The Uzumaki had been orphaned as a young boy and his godfather travelled too much to be a responsible guardian. When they were around thirteen, Jiraiya had settled down somewhat and become more of a father figure, but Naruto had already had a lonely childhood at that point. Sasuke had been the one to point out Hinata's crush to his oblivious friend and, though he'd never admit it out loud, was pleased when his best friend had acted on that knowledge. He enjoyed her company and was glad that their relationship had provided a girl he could be around without worrying that she would drug his drink or throw her underwear at him.

The raven haired beauty smiled slightly and replied, "Thanks, but you always call him an idiot anyway."

"Hn. True. Though when he goes around pulling shit like that, it just shows you that I'm right."

Hinata sighed. "I don't know, it's probably better this way. If he hadn't then I'd still be oblivious and in a relationship with someone who was just using me." Her face turned darker. "If I'd have known that this was how he felt I would have just given him one of his godfather's nasty blow up dolls with a picture of Sakura's face taped to it and left it at that."

The Uchiha's eyes grew wide and he actually chuckled. He would definitely have to get Hinata tipsy more often.

Sasuke was really disappointed in how Naruto had treated Hinata and as he noticed Hinata's troubled face while she watched the ostentatious couple on the dance floor, he decided it was time to help both his best friend and the woman beside him. He would expose the lavender eyed woman to the thrilling world of revenge and at the same time show Naruto just what he threw away and why it was a stupid decision. It was low of Sakura to string Naruto along, and stupid of the blond to go along with it. If he didn't teach him, no one would.

With that in mind, the Uchiha leaned over further toward Hinata and spoke lowly into her ear. "You know, I know something that might make you feel better."

The Hyuga blushed, first at the rare sound of his deep laughter, then at the feeling of his breath on her ear. She turned to him with curious eyes, not even bothering to deny the fact that she was hurting. Lying to Sasuke was a fruitless endeavor. She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Hm? What would that be?"

Suddenly Sasuke's smirk widened into a sadistic grin and with a manic glint in his eye he said, "Revenge."