Ahem...-shifts uncomfortably-...I'm sorry. I am a terrible updater. I'm lazy and I don't have an excuse that would make an absence like this okay. But, I'm going to try to make up for it. Here's the next installment.

Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted object/person in this story. I don't even own a cool disclaimer.

Now I'm Yours

Hinata buckled, sweat pouring from her forehead. Wiping it with a shaking hand, she rose and continued her violent assault against the sand bag. There were small holes in it, leaking rough grains of sand into the lining. The cream colored padding was splashed with bloody prints, both old and new.

Another swift strike and she fell to her knees once again, choking on the dry air. Her palms bled where she had worked though the skin, and her vision was blurry with exhaustion. She deactivated her Byakugan, unable to keep it going. After a few raspy breaths, she tried in vain to stand, instead falling limply to her side.

"How pathetic. You can't even stand."

Hinata forced her head up, blinking away the blur at the corners of her vision.

"I'm doing my best, Father." She panted.

He narrowed his empty, pupil less eyes, "Your best is never good enough, Hinata."

"But Father," Tears sprung to her eyes, "I train every day. I'm improving."

"Not fast enough," Hiashi snapped harshly, "At this rate your sister will be a chunin before you, and she is six years your junior."

"I'll try harder, I'll-"

"And you will still fall short of Hinabi's talent. Maybe I did the right thing by signing you over to the Uchihas, at least now I can be proud of the Hyuuga heiress."

The tears that had been building finally spilled over, and Hiashi looked at his daughter in disgust.

"You're even weak at heart." And he left her, crying on the floor.

By the time she could move, her tears had dried in salty trails on her cheeks. With no second thoughts, she set her course. Weaving and darting her way through the village, she arrived at her final destination: the Uchiha manor. At the door, she stopped abruptly, her life-long lessons of good manners kicking in. she rapped on the door, sending a sharp pain through her wrist. Not a moment later, it slid open revealing a jaded looking Sasuke. His apparent boredom quickly turned to alarm as he took in her terrible state.

"Hinata, what happened to you?" She shook her head.

"Itachi," She gasped, out of breath, "I need Itachi."

"What's happened?" Sasuke took her arm to steady her, as she looked like she might pass out.

"Itachi…please. Itachi." Bewildered, Sasuke nodded.

"His room."

"Ari-arigato." And with a renewed burst of energy, she fought her way to the end of the hall and into the room where Itachi sat, meditating. He opened his Mangekou eyes just in time to catch her as she threw herself into his arms, shaking with heavy sobs.

Itachi did nothing but hold her to him, her head tucked protectively into the crook of his neck. Eventually, her sobs died down and her tears dried up. Hinata looked up at him. A lock of hair was stuck to her cheek. Itachi brushed it away.

"What happened, Love?"

"I was t-training and F-father came in and he told me," She sniffled as the tears came again, "he told me that he's glad he s-signed me over to your family because now Hanabi can be the heiress and he doesn't have to be a-ash-ashamed anymore." She wipped the tears away.

Itachi listen quietly, and studied her. Her eyes, though swollen and red from crying were still dimly lit with her inner spark, and her face was smeared with blood from her palms, and to Itachi, she was still beautiful. He took her hands in his, turning them to stare at her self-induced wounds. Hinata looked at them too.

"I tried to be better." She whispered, more to herself than to Itachi.

"I know," Itachi said gently, "Let me take care of this. I'll be right back." He kissed her dried-sweat forehead without repulsion and left the room. When he came back, he was carrying a bowl of water, a rag and bandages.

He dipped the rag in the water and began wiping her hangs. It stung and she reflexively tried to pull away, but Itachi brought her hands back toward him.

"Be brave now, Love." He soothed, like she was a child. When her hands were clean, he wrapped them in soft cloth bandages. Hinata liked the way they felt. Itachi started to clean her face. She didn't try to stop him. She was tired and the cool water felt nice. As he washed the last of the blood and sweat from her face, he paused to stare into her eyes.

"He was wrong." He said.

"W-what?"

"Your father is wrong." He said the words so confidently, she almost believed him. Almost.

"How?" His thumb glided across her temple as he cupped her cheek. His other hand tilted her chin up towards him and he dipped his head down.

"He called you pathetic," He said, brushing his lips with hers, "and he thinks by promising you to me, he go t the better end of the deal," His lips lingered against hers so closely that they shared a breath, "Neither of which are true. You are not in any way pathetic. You've trained long and hard for the strength you have, and that alone gives you more character than your sister will ever have," He quickly pressed their lips together and continued, "And he thinks that he's gained something from our families' deal, but really, he's lost the most valuable thing he had and he's given it to me. And now he can never get you back, because I'll never give you up."

Hinata wrapped her bandaged hands around Itachi's neck, running her fingers though his sleek ponytail, and she smiled against his kiss. He smiled too. He pulled away to rest his forehead on hers. Hinata stared into his red and black eyes. They were like fine scarlet silk, marked with black drops of ink.

"I think I agree with Father," Itachi's eyes narrowed with confusion, but Hinata kept going, "signing me away was the best thing. And not because Hanabi can now be the heiress, but because now, I'm yours."

Itachi closed his eyes and kissed her lovingly. Retreating just enough to form the words that he whispered against her lips, "You've always been mine."

Yay! At least I think it's yay. Maybe not. That's up to you to decide and let me know. ;)

ATTENTION! IMPORTANT!:From now own, the installments of this saga will be added as chapters of The Other Way Around. There will be a time skip every chapter, though they are centered around Itachi and Hinata. Each installment will be less and less cute, mostly because both characters are getting older and facing the challenges of growing up in a ninja village. You may also notice that Hinata is beginning to stutter less, and that is because she's becoming more comfortable with Itachi as time goes on and this will only take place around him. Thanks for reading!

-Lizzy