(A/N: So, it turns out that I didn't have much time to type over vacation. But, I'm going to post this chapter anyway because I said I would. Not much to say right now. Enjoy the chapter, and let me know if something doesn't make sense.)
Mysterious Captivation: Chapter 3
He looked up from his work at the sound of a sniffle. What met his eyes was the Hyuuga girl with a tear falling down her cheek.
What she did next, though, surprised him even more. She seemed to crumble in on herself with tears and coughs.
He watched as she fell from the stool in front of the easel before he could catch her. Standing, he ran to her side. "What's wrong, yeah?" he demanded.
Her only response was to turn away, to hide her face. He lifted her off the ground and headed to the door. He looked outside the room to make sure no one was there to witness, then carried her back to his room.
All the while, she cried in his arms. She must have tired herself out, or not been completely well, for she fell asleep in his arms.
He lay her gently on the bed he had given to her and then sat on his own. He wondered what had happened to trigger such an emotional response from her.
From what he had seen, she was a calm, collected young woman. For her to have an emotional break down seemed out of character for her.
"Nee-chan! Naruto-kun!" Her voice weakly exclaimed from where he had lain her. He looked over to see her arm stretched out. She seemed slightly panicked, so he walked over to her and touched her outstretched hand.
She latched onto his arm as though it would save her life. Her face lost its worried look, and she seemed to settle down.
He had no intent of waking her, but he didn't want to stand up and watch her while she slept, so he carefully scooted her to the opposite side of the bed and sat beside her.
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She woke slowly, which was strange, because she didn't remember going to sleep. The first thought that registered in her mind was that she was warm. The second, was that she was comfortable. Her right side was warmer, so she cuddled closer to her right, into her pillow.
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Deidara smirked as she curled up closer to his side. She had been asleep for the better part of an hour, and he had sat beside her the entire time. Before meeting her, he would have assumed that sitting by someone and waiting for them to wake up was dull, but now he found that it was interesting. It gave him time to think, and to rest.
It had been a while since he'd had time to himself that he used simply to think. He was constantly worrying about keeping the Hyuuga girl under surveillance. He was starting to pick up on her mannerisms. He knew he was letting her get too close to him, but he couldn't help it.
It seemed to him that she was tolerant, so he wondered what had set her off in the lounge. He hadn't even thought to look at her painting. Breifly, he wondered what she had painted, and if it had triggered her pain-filled response.
Suddenly, she stirred once more against him. His eyes softened as he looked down at her prone form. A whispered name quietly fell from her lips. "Naruto-kun."
He looked away in something akin to disgust. How could she love that monster of a jinchuriki? He had heard her mention that boy's name several times when she thought he couldn't hear her. How could she love a monster?
She raised her head and looked down to find her hand still clutching an arm. He smirked almost cruelly as her face reddened and she instantly let go of him, dragging his thoughts back to earth.
She almost fell off the bed in her attempt to scramble away from him. Quietly, he questioned her. "Are you okay, mm?"
She silently shook her head, but showed no intention of elaborating. "What made you break down like that?" He tried to elict a response from her, but she wasn't willing to give a response. He sighed. "I won't press you for details, but perhaps we should find you something else to spend your time on, hm."
He watched as she nodded her head furiously, then looked up to see his reaction. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a bother, but I don't think I can paint anymore." She whispered.
"It's okay. I'm the one who offered, yeah. What do you like to do other than paint, hm?" He was intent on finding something less painful for her to do.
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She debated with herself for several seconds on how to answer him before finally admitting the truth. "I like to sculpt," she answered. She wondered if he knew that sometimes, when she wasn't thinking, she looked longingly over at him while he worked.
He sculpted every day, continually creating new creatures and improving old ones. Even without activating her Byakugan, she knew that he imbued each sculpture with chakra and stored them in a secret, safe place. She wondered how he did it.
Hinata wondered if she would be punished for assuming that he would allow her to work with him. She inwardly flinched at the possibility, but hoped for the other option. He might let her sculpt with him.
"You like to sculpt, huh?" He said, allowing sarcasm to drip off his words. "Are you sure? You just don't want to be a bother." He finished angrily. She could tell he was about to lecture her, but then he must have seen the genuine surprise that entered her eyes. "You do like sculpting, yeah. I knew I made the right choice."
Her brows furrowed as she wondered what he meant. She mentally shook her head slightly to dislodge the curiosities.
Deidara stood suddenly from the bed and walked toward her. "Come on, let's go find you some clay to work with, hm." He brought her to the lounge, but instead of leading her to his corner, he took her to a closet hidden in a small alcove.
He opened the door and pulled down a small square of clay. She stared at it, puzzled, until he held it out to her. Hesitantly, she took it from him. "Go to the table and sculpt to your heart's content, yeah. Or til dinner. Which ever comes first, mm." He grinned at her.
She thanked him quietly and moved to the area he designated for her. She was careful to focus on her work this time, slowly beginning to mold a clay dove.
His voice startled her when he spoke. "We'll be late for dinner if we don't hurry, yeah! I can't believe I let time fly like that."
She giggled slightly at his pun. Both ninja had been crafting birds.
He turned at her giggle, genuinely confused looking, but soon caught the accidental pun. He shook his head. "Let's go, mm." He chuckled.
She stood gracefully and followed him to the kitchen to wash her hands.
She entered the kitchen behind Deidara and froze upon seeing who was present. Sitting at the table were Konan and Pein. He had yet to show up at a single dinner. What makes this dinner any different? She wondered silently.
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Deidara looked at the table's occupants strangely. What is Leader-sama doing at the dinner table? His thoughts unknowingly mirroring Hinata's.
"Why, hello Deidara and captive." Pein greeted harshly. "Finally deciding to join us for dinner? Tonight was Itachi's turn to cook."
His small talk was only a prelude. Soon, Deidara knew, they were going to hear the real reason that Pein had left his rooms to enter the social setting.
As they entered the kitchen further, they found Itachi at the stove. He was fuming at the fact that he had to cook, as usual. That man hated cooking almost as much as he hated Deidara.
And that's saying something. When dinner was placed around the table, Deidara and Hinata hesitantly sat at the edge, knowing better than to sit close to Pein and Konan.
As they sat, Pein began to speak. "I'm sending you on a mission-"
"I have to watch over the captive!" Deidara vehemently interrupted his leader, without thought to his own safety.
"That is why I'm giving her over to Itachi to care for while you're gone. It will be him that is punished for what she does wrong in your absense." The leader of the organization glanced at Hinata sideways. "I will discuss your mission later. You will leave immediately after breifing."
Deidara looked at the Hyuuga girl to gauge her reaction. She paled and seemed to instantly be more on-edge than she had been for weeks.
Itachi was much calmer about the situation, though. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of your hostage." His emotionless voice was cool, yet somehow threatening.
Deidara's eyes narrowed as he moved to stand. "If you harm one hair on her head-" He began, but was interrupted by the Akatsuki leader.
"Itachi will not harm her becase she is an Akatsuki member in training, and also worth a hefty ransom. She will be perfectly fine without you holding her hand all day long."
"You are forming an unhealthy attachment to her temporary entrance into our organization. She needs to stay away from you for several days. Plus, we need your bombing expertise for this mission. Two birds with one stone." Konan gave reason to Pein's forceful command.
Deidara was taken aback. He hadn't been aware that he was forming a bond with her. It was hazardous to his life. Maybe time away is exactly what I need. His brows furrowed and, without casting another glance at Hinata, he spoke, "I accept this mission."
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Hinata visibly flinched as her skin's pallor turned a ghostly shade of white. What little appetite she had possessed – Itachi is a horrible cook! – disappeared as soon as her only protection amongst the criminal agency all but abandoned her.
All her fears from her first few days of being with the Akatsuki began to crowd back in on her mind. During her weeks with them, she had managed to push them to the back of her mind because of Deidara's friendliness, but now he was leaving, forsaking her.
She was being left to Itachi. He was one of the most ruthless ninja she had ever had the displeasure of meeting.
Back in Konoha, the younger ninja generations were told stories of him, as civillians were told of the boogie man. They were told he would come after them if they didn't do as they were told. The worst part of the fright was that he was a real person.
To commoners, this might seem cruel, but young ninja-in-training had to listen, or they posed a risk to themselves and all other people around them.
The upcoming generations were a lot more respectful and obedient than her own, Hinata had observed several times. The fright of this one man, the man who was to care for her in the blonde Akatsuki member's absense, caused a deep rooted fear to plant itself in her heart.
Said Uchiha smirked at her. "I think it's about time we leave, if you do not wish to eat, Hyuuga-san?" A command thinly veiled as a polite question.
Casting one last anxious glance at her previous captor, she nodded her head. Keeping her eyes on her feet and bowing slightly at the door of the kitchen, she said, "Farewell," in a whisper of wind, then trudged down the hall following Itachi.
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Deidara didn't allow himself to look back at her until he was sure she would not lift her eyes. He watched her go with a worried gaze. Curse you, conscience. "What's my mission, yeah?" He asked almost sullenly. As his mind returned to where he was, he made sure to grasp onto his emotions fully and keep an impassive air about him.
Konan nodded, almost imperceptively, in approval. "You will be flying to Konoha to bomb the Hyuuga compound. Before you blow it up, though, observe them and their lifestyle patterns for several days. I want as many people to witness this as you can possibly gather." Pein spoke, glancing impassively over Konan's nod. He tossed something at Deidara. "Wear this. It's a Kumo hitai-ate. Make sure someone sees it."
"Why just the Hyuuga compound? Why not all of Konoha?" He asked, curious as to the leader's reasoning and worried for his captive's sake (not that he admitted it to himself).
"Because we want to distract them from their missing heiress and possibly create a war."
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The walk back to Itachi's room was silent apart from the bell around her ankle, and lasted far longer than the one to Deidara's, despite the fact that they were equidistant. The air was thick with tension as Hinata trembled.
Itachi turned to her. "Stop fidgeting. It's unprofessional," he voiced emotionlessly. He halted at a door to her right and reached into his cloak to pull out a key.
He must keep the door to his room locked. I wonder why. The thought flickered into her mind, but she dismissed it as none of her business. She watched Itachi open the door to his room and hold it open for her to enter before him.
"Thank you," she mummured quietly as she ducked into the room.
He noded and shut and locked the door behind them. "Do not try to escape and do not bother me while you are under my care," he ordered as he walked toward another door, presumably a bathroom.
She took the opportunity of being alone to observe her surroundings. The thing that first caught her attention was that there was only one bed in this room. That meant she was going to have to share it with him, or sleep on the cold ground.
She shuddered at the thought. Neither choice was appealing.
She forced her eyes to move on. They took in an ornately carved chest of drawers and a plain, tiny mirror before being drawn back to the single bed in fright.
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There was a thump, accompanied by the tinkle of a bell, on the other side of the bathroom door. Itachi was mildly curious, though nothing but a flicker of recognition toward the sound was apparent on his face.
He slid the door open with silent grace and quietly observed the unconscious body of the Hyuuga girl on the floor. He wondered fleetingly whether all Konoha girls were as shy as this one. The moment she had turned thirteen, she should have started training in seduction. This shouldn't be anything new to her.
He allowed his eyes to roll as he lifted the body onto the bed and sat meditating on a small pillow, waiting for her to awaken.
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Her eyes opened slowly, observing the quilt beneath her. It wasn't her silky soft lavender one from home, nor was it the rough red one from her bed in Deidara's room. The thought that she was in a foreign room with no clue how she got there made her shoot up from the bed with the jingle of her bell.
A mere instant later, she was thrown against the wall, gasping for breath, with a hand at her neck. "Where do you think you're going?" A voice growled at her from behind her closed eye lids.
Her eyes fluttered open at the sound of the voice. "I-I-I was f-f-f-rightened th-th-that I w-w-was i-i-in d-d-danger, U-U-U-Uchiha-s-s-san!" She squeaked through the pressure on her throat.
"If you were in danger, you would already be dead, Hyuuga. You passed out on my floor like the coward you are."
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He knew his word bit into her heart by the way her body seemed to lose its will to fight.
Her voice was whisper soft when she spoke her next words. "M-M-My a-a-apologies, U-U-Uchiha-san."
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Her stutter had returned in full force, making her wince at her own weakness. She thought she had finally been rid of it, but now her past weakness was back to haunt her. Despite all her progress, she reverted back to her old self with only slight prompting.
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He let her sink to the ground, where she stayed positioned until he ordered her up. "You should have been trained in seduction. Is this unfamiliar?" He questioned tauntingly, knowing already what her answer would be.
She surprised him, however. "I-I-I was n-n-not a-a-allowed to st-st-study such a-a-a t-t-topic s-s-since I'm the H-H-Hyuuga h-h-heiress. I-I-it w-would br-bring sh-sh-shame upon my family. M-My friends g-gave me i-informal lessons s-s-so that I w-w-would be able t-to c-complete m-missions of th-th-that calibre, sh-should I b-be n-needed. I-I don't kn-know all the d-d-details of s-s-s-seduction, but I-I-I know e-e-enough." She eyed him distrustfully.
She winced as he lowered his head to the hollow of her ear. "I don't know what kind of games you're playing, girl, but they end here." He backed away and allowed her to sink to the ground once again.
He watched as she folded in on herself and wept into her hands. She must be frightened out of her mind. His eyes widened a fraction at the thought that rushed through his head and wondered where it had come from.
He eyed the white eyed girl warily, wondering if she had picked up any of the Yamanakas' tricks from her friends. He left her crying on the floor to reach into a dresser and yank out a pair of his old clothes. "Hyuuga," he spoke. His words came out as an order that he knew would have a response.
"H-H-Hai, U-Uchiha-s-san?" She replied in her demure, softly lilting voice.
He tossed the pile of clothes at her. She leapt out of the way as though it were a poisoned kunai. Had he been an expressive person, he would have chuckled. "It's just another change of clothes. You didn't honestly think that you'd have to wear one of your two outfits every single day, did you? We're criminals, not barbarians, Hyuuga. Though, I can see Deidara hasn't been taking proper care of you."
She trembled slightly from embarrassment and fear as she slowly approached the cloth. He was right, though. She hadn't brushed her hair since the night before she fell ill. She just hadn't bothered to brush it while she was sick, and she hadn't been given a brush after she had been kidnapped.
It wasn't her place to demand one, though. So she kept quiet and did as she was told. She tended to avoid mirrors in the prison of Akatsuki members because she knew she looked awful.
While her hair stayed relatively untangled looking, it was a mass of knots. She knew she had bags under her eyes from her lack of sleep. What little sleep she did get was filled with frightful nightmares that always resulted in her awakening with a silent scream of fear. After those nightmares, she could never fall back into a deep sleep. She had taken to crying silently at these times, so she almost always had tear tracks marring the alabaster skin of her face.
Itachi was right. She was a mess.
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He watched as the embarrassment spread from her eyes to her cheeks and neck. The blush was apparent, especially against the black cloth of the outfit she had been given by Deidara.
He clenched his fist. Itachi didn't have any previous bond with the Hyuuga heiress, and even if he had had one, he would have severed it long ago. It was pity he felt at the state of the once lovely girl.
He had seen her at the parties thrown by the Hyuuga and his own family, and he once thought she was innocent and kind. Now, he thought her pitiful. He felt almost guilty about doing nothing to stop her fall from grace. Sighing silently, he turned his back to the pathetic being and walked the few steps back to his bathroom.
Pulling out a spare hair brush, he carried it to the girl. Offering it to her, he waited for her to take it.
She looked at him curiously, as though wondering what kind of trick he was playing on her. She hesitently reached out for it and he let go. She flashed a small, breathtaking smile in his direction before slowly making her way to the mirror.
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Neji thought over the information he had gathered the week before and desperately tried to find an angle to maneuver. He had searched all possible leads, even gone to his uncle and the Hokage for help (which was unheard of for him) and come up with nothing. He had no lead to follow, no possible way for him to find his cousin, the heiress of the Hyuuga clan.
Flashback
Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Neji were racing time as they flew through the woods trying to reach their destination before the storm burst and its rain came tumbling down.
Kiba was a fleet-footed young man with a nin-dog at his side. His spiky brown hair flew in all directions in the ever-increasing wind. The scarlet, upside-down triangles on his cheeks, signifying his connection to the Inuzukas, seemed to grow ever darker as the sun disappeared. His face was creased in worry, as it had been since his teammate and friend had gone missing.
His white furred, horse-sized dog, their leader for now, was sniffing at the ground, desperately trying to track Hinata's scent before the looming storm crashed into them and washed the scent away forever.
Neji and Kiba paused, anxiously waiting for the dog to find some trace of her. Akamaru suddenly barked and began to race into the woods. The Inuzuka and Hyuuga followed without question.
They broke from the cover of the woods into a clearing with a pond at the far side, right below a small cliff from which a waterfall fell. The woods seemed completely undisturbed, save for a small piece of black fabric caught on one of the branches of the undergrowth.
Neji pointed it out and Akamaru padded softly over to sniff it. Growling, his fur stood on end and he backed away.
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"Neji, come check this out." Kiba called, watching his dog's reaction to the cloth with suspicion. The object he was pointing to was a lavender undershirt. It was feminine, and he remembered seeing it one day the year before when the mid-summer heat had been too great at training. Kurenai had ordered all three of them out of their jackets. He had been reluctant, but nothing compared to Shino and Hinata. They were such private people.
Shino couldn't stand people to see his arms. His bugs were free to crawl over him, making most people fearful and disgusted. Resigned to being shunned by his own team, he shed his jacket.
Hinata couldn't stand people to watch her. She felt far more comfortable with her jacket, but an order from a superior couldn't be disobeyed, so she reluctantly shed her jacket to show her lavender cami.
When neither of them were gawked at or rejected, a deep bond had formed between them, the inseperable team eight. They were closer than they had previously been, and had great trust in one another.
Kiba showed the garment to the chocolate haired man. "This is Hinata's. She was here!" He exclaimed.
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Neji's eyes widened at the thought that, not only had she been here, but she had been here mostly or completely naked. He chose to overlook the knowledge that the Inuzuka had seen his cousin without her jacket or an overshirt simply because he was too grateful for the help of the younger man.
"What do you think happened?" He asked, quietly praying for strength to get through the trauma of losing his younger cousin. Kiba hesitated for a long moment before Neji finally spoke again. "I don't know what you know that I don't, but if it can help us find her, tell me."
Kiba finally agreed, but on a condition. "If I tell you this, you will promise me that no matter what you want to do, you will not let her know that I told you, and that you will not stop her from doing this anymore once she comes back."
Neji scowled, but agreed and promised on his honor as a ninja that he would do as Kiba said. Stupid Inuzuka, I didn't know he was so smart. "Now what do you have to tell me?"
The Inuzuka took a deep breath before telling Hinata's cousin her deepest, most protected secret that he had sworn never to tell anyone. "She often trains at night, in secluded places, ever since we were thirteen. It's how she developed her own technique. I caught her one night, sneeking away from camp while we were on a mission. She made me swear not to tell anyone because she knew they would stop her.
"She is actually a lot more powerful than you think because she's been training alone for so long. She's just so shy that she could never go all-out with so many eyes watching her. Hinata told me that she's been training with water, trying to develop another new technique. She was worried that, after she got sick, her skills would deteriorate, so she was eager to get back to training.
"The night before you found her missing, she was probably out here training to get her strength back before she had to face you or her father or sister in an actual training match."
Neji sat, taking this soaking up the newly aquired information, and marvelled at her lack of trust in him and her friends.
"I forgot one little aspect as to why she doesn't want anyone to know…" Kiba began, but trailed off at the implications of his words. Finally, he took a steadying breath and blurted it out. "She trains in only her underwear."
His words were met with a fist to his cheek. He had known Neji would be angry when he said he had caught Hinata training one night, but he hadn't know the man would punch him.
"And you let her continue to do this?!" Neji shouted as a crack of lightening pierced the sky and the thunder pounded behind it.
"It's not my place to tell her what she can and cannot do. She is a grown woman; her choices are her own to make." Kiba responded chillingly.
Neji's words died in his throat as he realized the truth of his companion's statement. His fear at her loss had clouded his judgement. He was her protector, it was his duty. If she was sneaking away without anyone's knowledge, he couldn't do his job properly. He mentally scolded himself for not realizing what she had been doing for so many years. "Has she ever given you any indication of being followed or associating with anyone during her nighttime training sessions?" He asked her teammate.
"No, she would never consciously bring anyone with her; she's too shy to do that. This piece of cloth that Akamaru found is a huge clue. Look closely at the frayed edges." He ordered the older man, holding the cloth out for him to see.
The piece was pitch black, but something told Neji there was a purpose to looking at the edges. "What are you…" He trailed off as he realized that the threads on the end of the branch were red. The black and red fabric was used by only one group they knew.
"Akatsuki." Kiba confirmed in a whisper.
End Flashback
He, Kiba, and Akamaru had returned to the village and reported their findings to the Hokage. She had forbidden them to search out the Akatasuki stronghold until they had some clue as to where it was, and even then, she was not going to allow them to go.
Neji had exhausted his resources and himself in trying to search for a way to reach his cousin without having to infiltrate the Akatsuki. That was the only way Tsunade would allow him to rescue her.
(A/N: Hope you liked the new chapter! Later.)