Title: Show Me Hell (sequel to Show Me Heaven)

Rating: T

Genre: Angst/Romance

Character(s): Inuzuka Hana and Uchiha Itachi

Summary: It was her wedding day, so why wasn't she happy?

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"Hana-nee-san!"

The door opened, showing her guest. A young girl with dark brown hair and red fang marks on her cheeks not unlike her own.

"Hana-nee-san!"

"Yes, Azume-chan?" Hana asked her younger cousin, eyes alight as she gazed upon her.

"Aiya! You're still not ready?" Azume cried out as she rushed towards the older female, blue kimono sleeves billowing in the breeze behind her. Hana chuckled amusedly.

"Azume, I still have half an hour until the ceremony," she reminded good-naturedly. Her cousin seemed to think otherwise.

"But—but—but—!" And Hana shushed the younger girl, watching her move to the small daybed set up in the parlor and sit with a pout. "Azume-chan…"

The girl 'hmph'ed and turned away. Hana shook her head gently and placed Azume's head on her lap. "Azume-chan…"

"Azume!" And Hana looked up. "Your mother's looking for you," she said gently, walking with her cousin to the door. Azume turned in the doorway.

"I don't understand you, Hana-nee-san. It's your wedding day! You're getting married! Aren't you excited?"

"Of course I am, Azume-chan," she smiled. The answer seemed to placate the young girl and she skipped away to her mother, waving good-bye to her cousin. Hana smiled as well and slowly closed the door as a frown began to appear. "Of course I am."

Looking around at the cream-colored parlor of the western-style building, she took in the small details. The gold gilding of the furniture, the neutral pinks and creams, the large mirror across from the door above the dresser; she sighed. None of that appealed to her and she found her eyes straying to the window above the daybed. That was where she belonged. Out there...

She quickly turned her gaze, chiding herself for being so easily distracted. It was her wedding day. She should've been happy, excited—anything! So why did today seem so sad for her? She was getting married. Shouldn't that have meant anything to her?

Resting her elbows on the dresser, she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Despite being 21, she looked like she was still seventeen. Her skin was still soft and pale and her eyes were surprisingly bright for a kunoichi. Many of her peers looked much older than they actually were.

Slightly calloused fingers skated the smooth surface of the mirror, tracing the outline of the white kimono she wore. Why was she so depressed today? Her family condoned the marriage, her future-husband cared for her, and she felt the same for him, but why did her heart feel so empty?

Glancing at the vase of flowers by her hand, they narrowed slightly at the sight of the red roses. Red. Like his eyes. He was the reason.

Fingers twitched on the smooth varnish of the table as she gritted her teeth in anger and shame. It was his fault. It was his fault for making her this way. She could still remember the last time she saw him; of the last night they shared together, of the bitter morning when she found he had left her in the night without a word of farewell.

Another twitch of her fingers. Her canine teeth gleamed in the light.

It hurt to know she had fallen in love with a man who massacred his family. It hurt to know she had given her virginity to him—something every girl holds dear to her heart, but what made it worse was the fact that in some part of her heart, she still longed for him. Longed to see his face, longed to have him hold her again when she was supposed to hate him and it agonized her that she couldn't figure out something so simple. A rustle in the leaves piqued her senses.

"What do you want?" she spat, turning her head to the man sitting calmly in the window. He simply looked back; red eyes staring almost sadly back at her as his black cloak billowed in the breeze of the open window. Strange that he hadn't seemed to age either.

"I came to wish you well in your marriage," he said as he gazed at eyes that flashed with anger, her hatred so strong, it was almost palpable. She snorted.

"Yeah right."

"You don't believe me?" he asked shifting his legs, cloak parted to reveal his black pants. He smelled like the forest.

"Why should I?" she snapped, turning towards the mirror and grabbing the red lipstick. She had to hurry. Her wedding was in a few minutes.

"Why shouldn't you?" he asked, eyes trailing over her form and drinking her in. She had grown taller since he last saw her. Her eyes flashed dangerously in the chandelier light.

"Why? Why?! Maybe because you're a missing-nin? Maybe because you massacred your entire family for no reason other than your own amusement? Or maybe because you're the same fucking bastard that left me without so much as a good"—

Eyes widened as her sentence was cut off by the crashing of lips upon hers. She clawed madly at his back, trying to pull him off her as he assaulted her senses, making her feel things that she didn't want to feel, want things she didn't want before her fingers gripped his cloak and she melted against him. Despite her bitter words, she tasted as sweet as he remembered.

Slowly, she felt herself being led somewhere. Her feet followed his urgings. In the back of her mind, she could feel a part of her desperately trying to get away, screaming at her to run, but she couldn't—wouldn't as he lavished her with pleasure that made her toes curl and her heart leap into her throat.

Hands pressed against her shoulders and into the small of her back and she felt herself being lowered into what she realized was the daybed. Her arms intertwined behind his neck, fingers lacing into his raven hair as she felt him brush away the collar of her kimono, lips moving steadily lower as her heart raced.

Suddenly, she felt a change in the air; felt his kisses and touches change into something akin to tenderness and watched from under heavy lids as he looked at her with adoring eyes and a kind smile before kissing her again, petal-soft lips pressing against hers that made her heart flutter and break at the same time. A tear fell from her eyes.

"You mean…"

"Yes," he whispered, and she felt guilt wrap itself around her throat. All those years of thinking of him as a selfish monster, of believing that kiss as a fanciful dream…

"Why?"

He smiled softly. "Because I knew you'd never be happy with me."

And she looked at him with tears in her eyes. She had been wrong. All these years, she had been wrong about him. He seemed to understand that and wiped away a tear and she smiled despite herself as memories played out before her mind. It was hard to believe that even after all these years, the endearing side of him that she fell in love with still remained.

He pressed his lips against her again, licking her lips for entrance and she granted it, opening her mouth slightly, savoring the feel of his tongue against hers before the kiss changed; became rougher, deeper as he pressed her against him, needing to feel her against him to keep from losing his mind. His hand slipped from the small of her back, moving into the opening of her kimono when he heard faint footsteps in the hallway. Someone was coming.

"Hana!"

And Hana's eyes widened with fear. "Mother…"

She turned her head to tell him of their intruder when she found him missing. Sitting up, she grasped the opening of her kimono to see him already in the window. "Itachi…"

"You're a very beautiful woman. You'll make your husband very happy," he said suddenly and turned to look over his shoulder, eyes holding hers as emotions raced across them. He braced his hand on the window frame.

"I love you, Inuzuka Hana. Despite whatever pain I bring you, know that."

And then he was gone, the only evidence of him ever being there being the faint scent of him lingering in the room. Numbly, she walked back over to the dresser and sat in the cushioned chair to look at her reflection. Her kimono was askew and her makeup was smudged. Idly, she thought of the infamous Uchiha Itachi running around with smudged lipstick on his mouth and laughed before her laughter gave way to the dull ache in her heart and the sensation of tears in her eyes.

When Inuzuka Tsume entered the room, she saw her daughter sobbing silently on the tabletop. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and asked what the matter was. Hana said they were tears of joy. She was getting married after all.

Hana watched as her mother left the room, none the wiser as Itachi's scent was lost in the sea of perfume and potpourri that filled the building.

Turning her head, she stared once again at the woman looking back at her in the mirror before she caught something caught her eye.

There, on the tabletop, was a pressed flower. Its petals were faded, but she could still see the hints of purple and red that were once there. Gently, she stroked the petals, feeling the satin texture against her fingers before picking up the small card that had stood beside it and read it aloud to herself.

"Itsumo," she whispered softly before feeling her eyes well up once more, biting her lower lip to choke back the sob she knew wanted to come out before lowering her head and allowing herself to sob into her arms once more.

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I know. It isn't as good as Show Me Heaven, but I'm sick and I haven't really written anything of that caliber in a while. I wish school didn't exist so I could further perfect my writing instead of regress, but unfortunately, my school will not just go die. Until the next installment.

-moodiful819