INFERNO:

Chapter Two

To most women, giving your entire self to a man was a big step. It meant that you were finally entering adulthood, that you were leaving behind the chains of the little girl and blossoming into an independent woman. For most women, it was an emotional time of their life.

For Hinata, it was only a step that she must take to become stronger. And yet…she was still unsure about it.

'He's a stranger,' she thought as she slipped off her nightgown and started to pull on her training clothes. 'For all I know, he could be a child molester. He did say that he had been watching me for my entire life.'

Hinata flipped her shoulder-length hair onto her back and pulled it into a tight ponytail. He was right about one thing: her training was getting her no where. No matter how much she practiced, she couldn't even hold a candle to her teammates, much less the boy she loved.

'I want to make Naruto-kun love me. I can only do that by getting stronger.'

Hinata turned to the large mirror on the wall and stared at the girl who was looking back at her. It was the same old reflection she saw every morning. Just a plain, not-so-special teenage girl was what she saw every time she looked into the mirror.

'I want to be different. I want to be stronger. I want to be…accepted.'

Hinata turned away from the mirror and sighed heavily. "Is he really the only way I can get what I want?"

She crossed her arms and looked about her bedroom. It was the room of a typical teenage girl: pink, flowery, clean, and reeking of cheap perfume. Hinata crinkled her nose as her eyes swept over the vase on her light pink bedside table, the posters of pop stars that had long since vanished from public view, and the many bottles of nail polish and lipstick that she had never used. It was the room of a weak, stereotypical girl.

Hinata gritted her teeth together as she reached under her bed and dragged out her bag of kunai and shuriken. "Good thing I won't be seeing this ugly room again," she spat, standing up straight and tossing the bag over her shoulders. "I'm going to take that guy up on his offer: I'm going to become a stronger Hinata."


Kiba laughed loudly as he stood over the defeated and exhausted girl. "Looks like I win again, Hinata!"

Hinata simply stared at her teammate from the hard dirt ground, not caring that she had lost to Kiba fifteen times that day. It didn't matter…soon she would be the one laughing at him.

Hinata laughed weakly. "Ha…ha."

Kiba held out his hand to her. "Come on, it's time to go. I'll treat you to some ramen." He grimaced. "But it better be some damn cheap ramen."

Hinata shook her head. "No, thanks anyway Kiba-kun. I'll just…hang here for a while."

Kiba shrugged. "Okay, fine by me." He gestured to the small white dog cowering by his ankles. "Come, Akamaru."

He waved and set off through the trees, leaving the exhausted Hinata on the ground. As soon as Kiba was out of sight, Hinata pulled herself off the dirt and retraced her steps to the tree she was practicing at the evening before. It only took her a few minutes to find that particular tree, since its bark was covered with white indentations from flying kunai.

Hinata plopped down next to the tree, her back rubbing against the rough bark. "Now time to see if he'll keep his promise."

One hour passed, then two hours, even three hours and the man Hinata was waiting for hadn't shown up at the tree. Night had already fallen and the air swept past the girl's sweaty body, causing her to shiver. But she could wait all night; it was time to become tougher anyway.

Hinata blinked her heavy eyes and yawned widely. "Maybe he's just a liar…he might've wanted to give my hopes up."

She heard a faint rustle in the tree above her and sleepily lifted her head. There was no mistaking it: those red eyes shining in the moonlight belonged to the one she was waiting for.

Itachi leapt gracefully to the ground and landed right in front of Hinata, whose tired body wouldn't even allow her to flinch. "Well, I was right, wasn't I, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata sat still. "How-how come you haven't even told me your name yet? Saying 'hey you' seems awfully rude."

Itachi waved his hand carelessly. "You'll find out in due time, Hinata-sama."

Hinata rested her hands on the tree for support and lifted herself up. "Are we to begin our training tonight?"

Itachi nodded and smiled, which made Hinata pull back from him. "Oh yes. I've been waiting a long time for our…training to begin." He beckoned to her and they started walking away from the tree.

Hinata struggled slightly behind him. "What-what will this training consist of?"

Itachi flipped back his hair nonchalantly. "You'll see." He glanced back at her. "It's really a shame that your legs are already hurting."

Hinata stared at his back suspiciously. "What? Am I not prepared?"

Itachi stopped and turned around, looking her straight in the eye. "Well, there is one thing that will be unnecessary."

Hinata shifted her gaze, feeling that those crimson eyes had been boring into her very self. "And what is that?"

Itachi reached his hand out of his cloak and tugged at the sleeve of her jacket. "Your clothes. In fact…" He turned back around, not wanting the girl to see the almost gleeful look on his face. "You're going to be naked."