CHAPTER 3

A Fate Encounter

Hinata knew she had a fifty-fifty chance of living or dying once she saw the car heading straight at her. Before she had time to react, she felt herself smashing against hard metal and flying back, landing on the road. She had a moment of sheer panic, wondering if she'd live, when Doby ran to her and started barking at her and licking her hand with concern. Laying there motionless, she stared dazedly up at the sky through her hair covering her face, wondering if she was dead already. God, her head was spinning out of control and her body was aching something sorely.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Doby was still barking at her to get her attention, but she had no strength to response just yet. She needed to clear her head and get her bearing back first.

Before her, the brothers rushed out of the car, their stomachs flipping in dread as they wondered what the heck had just happened. Itachi, being the one responsible, had assumed the worst and wondered if he had just killed the girl even though he knew in his gut he'd stopped the car just in time. If he hit her at all, it was probably only slightly, which would have caused her to fall back like so. When he saw the slender body lying there motionless as if she was really dead, his adrenaline went into overdrive, and at lightning speed, he rushed to her, his mind buzzing with concern.

"Oh shit!" Tobi shrieked in dismay, his eyes intense on the girl before them. "You hit a girl, Itachi. You freaking hit a girl."

"I'm calling the ambulance." Madara dug into his backpack, searching for his cell phone.

Itachi, who was now kneeling beside Hinata, called out to her, his voice hoarse "Are you all right? Hey, can you hear me? Are you all right?"

When Hinata didn't response, Sasuke growled as he rushed over to them, his mind racing and his heart pounding with dread. "What do you think? You bloody hit her, for Christ's sake! She's probably unconscious."

Just then the other car drew up behind them, followed by, "Hey, what's the holdup?" from Shisui.

"Accident!" Tobi shouted back.

"What the hell!" Izuna muttered as they all got out of the car.

On the other side, Hinata, still oblivious to Itachi presence beside her, stroked her hair back from her face and managed to sit up. Doby jumped into her lap and asked her with his eyes if she was all right.

"I'm fine, Doby," she said, patting his head in reassurance. The dog whimpered at her and licked her hand.

Itachi sighed in relief when he heard she spoke, not to him but to the dog. "Are you all right?" he asked again, knowing she hadn't heard him the first time. When she didn't respond again, he assumed she still couldn't hear him and wrapped his hand around her slender arm to get her attention.

The moment she felt warm, strong masculine hand touching her, Hinata felt tingles of sensations rushing through her being, and she shivered at the alienated feelings. She held her breath as he continued to ask her questions she didn't want to answer.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Itachi asked insistently.

What the hell do you think? She wanted to shout at him. You nearly killed me with your reckless driving.

"I'm fine," she replied none too gently.

At this point, Sasuke was by Hinata's side opposite Itachi. He said, "Hey, how bad are you hurt? Let me see."

Hinata held her breath the moment Sasuke demanded her attention. The voice! Oh my gosh! The voice! She had the feeling she'd heard that voice before. Only now it was deeper and manlier and caused her stomach to flip and her heart to race.

She finally lifted her head and came face-to-face with a handsome young man with raven-blue hair and mauve-black eyes. Hinata held her breath as she stared at Sasuke, drowning herself in the depth of the unique color that once had looked at her with affection.

Sasuke felt his body go rigid and his heart skipped a couple of beats the moment he saw the dark-haired, lavender-eyed beauty that was their victim. To say she was beautiful was an understatement. She literally took his breath away. Suddenly he felt the world swimming around him and something deep within him stirred, inching its way from within the locked chains that kept it imprisoned, preventing it from ever escaping. Then it happened. A soft, gentle voice echoed in his head. Sasu! My dear Sasu!

That voice! Whose voice is that? Why did it call to me? Why was it referring to me as "My dear Sasu?"

Sasuke didn't have any answers to these burning questions that suddenly started swirling within his head.

Under his intense gaze, Hinata felt the heat rising steadily within her. Involuntarily, she trembled and quickly glanced away—only to meet Itachi's eyes. Instantly, she was lost in the crimson color.

Itachi too was staring at her. Holy shit! was his thought the moment he had seen her face fully for the first time. She is a beautiful creature, all right.

"Itachi!" Madara called out.

"Is she all right?" Itachi finally managed to get his wits back and uttered, "I think so."

Hinata drew her arm away from Itachi's grasp and looked away, feeling his intense stare was beginning to unnerve her. She was hoping he'd walk away and leave her alone when the man gave her a fright by touching her again. He was in fact closer to her now. She could feel his warm breath against her skin and the heat of his large, masculine body against her small, soft one. Her whole body involuntarily squirmed deliciously under his touches. More than a little surprised at her own reaction to the man, she pushed him away, causing him to fall on his backside in surprise. Shisui laughed from the distance, and Itachi gritted his teeth, knowing his brother was enjoying his embarrassment.

"I'm only trying to help," he said to her.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Sasuke queried, his eyes still on her. "No broken bones?"

Hinata turned her attention to Sasuke and instantly felt her heart do another somersault. Any moment now, she thought, he'd recognized her. Any moment now, he'd remember who she was. The thought didn't sit well with her.

"How's that ambulance going, Madara?" Tobi asked his eldest brother, who was apparently still searching for his cell phone.

"It's in here somewhere," Madara muttered under his breath.

"If it were a serious accident," Tobi said, "she would have died by now."

Madara frowned. "What about your cell phone?"

"I'm fine. No need to call for an ambulance," Hinata said loudly.

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked, moving his face even closer to her. Shit! He could smell her—wildflowers and honeysuckle and something else. Something sweet. It tickled something nice and warm within his being. He loved it.

"Yes. I'm fine, thanks," she said firmly.

"No, I don't think you're fine until you're checked thoroughly," Itachi said, and without her consent, he scooped her into his arms.

Hinata gasped as she was being lifted in her adopted brother's strong, powerful arms. She was shocked. In fact, she was outraged. "What are you doing?" she snapped at him. "Put me down this instant!"

Itachi was so taken aback by her burst of outrage that he didn't know what to do. The other brothers, who had gathered behind Itachi, looked at one another. This was new, all right. Any other girl would have been over the moon if Itachi were to pick her up like that. But not this one. This one demanded he put her down—immediately! What was even more odd was the fact that Itachi had willingly scooped her into his arm, which of course made the brothers suspicious—especially Shisui. They moved around to get a better look at their victim.

Itachi let go of her and stood up. He didn't know what to do since she had rejected his offer to help. He didn't want to touch her without her permission, nor did he want to walk away and leave her sitting there. Then he sensed his brothers gathering around him, and when their victim finally raised her face to them, he heard Shisui suck in his breath and say, "Holy smokes!"

Like moths attracted to a flame, the rest of the brothers saw the most enticing image they'd ever seen. This was, of course, instantly followed by sharp inhalations. Itachi wanted to hide the poor girl—who he thought was too pretty for her own good—from his brothers' prying eyes.

Hinata didn't like the fact that she had not only two of the Uchiha brothers but all seven of them to deal with. Itachi was still staring at her as if God himself had just descended from heaven. Madara looked so shocked to see a woman and a dog in the middle of nowhere that he couldn't speak. Shisui, Izuna, Obito, and Tobi just gawked at her as though they were watching a really interesting movie. And Sasuke? Her heart jolted within her chest as she met his gaze again. Those eyes—so intense—were on her. She felt her body quivering and quickly glanced away.

Fully conscious of her predicament, she hugged Doby even tighter against her chest, unaware that in doing so she was enriching the men's experience of her beauty—with her sitting in such a position that the hem of her dress rested high on her thighs, showing off her slender legs. Not to mention the thin straps of her dress that had fallen down her arms, the material barely covering her breasts and hinting at just how beautiful they could be if she were naked.

Itachi had had enough. He couldn't take it anymore, with his brothers enjoying the poor girl in such a dire situation. He bent down to help her, his hand touching her arm once again. She gasped and pushed him away.

The brothers watched in shocked surprise because no female had ever pushed Itachi away. Girls flocked to him—as they did to all his brothers. It was the Uchiha charm, not to mention the mere fact that they were very good-looking. Women found them hot and would do anything to date them; even just getting close to them was a dream come true. But it was odd indeed that this young woman was pushing Itachi away. Did she not find him attractive? Or any of them for that matter?

Doby chose that moment to bark a friendly greeting to the intruders, sensing the seven men were only trying to help his poor master. Then, without ever consulting with Hinata whatsoever, he jumped out of her arms and into Itachi's.

"Hey." Itachi chuckled. "You're a friendly one, aren't you?" Then he glanced up, eyeing Hinata, who looked rather upset about the whole thing. "Unlike your owner."

Hinata noted that his eyes were glinting at her, which caused her heart to beat faster. She quickly looked away and began to gather her stuff that had flown out of her bag.

As she was doing this, they simply stood there and watched her. It wasn't the fact that they were heartless and didn't want to help, but it was because what they saw was preventing their male brains from performing their functions properly.

Hinata was bending over on her knees as she was gathering her camera, notebook, sketchbook, and coloring pencils. They could clearly see the enticing view of her cleavage, which they thoroughly enjoyed. Then, once she was done, Hinata tossed back her tresses, seemingly in slow motion. It was like she was one of those models in the hair commercials Sakura longed to do.

Slowly, Hinata managed to get up and stood straight, her body sore all over.

She just couldn't believe it. None of these men helped her stand. Not when they had been younger, after they played tricks on her, and not even now. The thought brought forward a rush of anger, and she saw red.

She stared at them, one by one. First, there was Itachi with the typical Uchiha looks that dated back for generations and had caused many hearts to flutter recklessly and perhaps even swoon with longing. He was also way too tall, broad at the shoulders, and handsome for her liking. Not to mention the fact that he was wearing one of those studs in his left ear, the stone the same color as his eyes. It made him look like a rogue and way out of any girl's league.

Then there was Madara, so much like his father, Fugaku, who looked as though he could take on the world and would still come out on top with his leader-like demeanor.

Next was Shisui with his ridiculously handsome smile, the Prince of Flirt in the family. Hinata wondered how many females he had bedded already and how many hearts he had broken along the way.

The same went for Izuna with his very charming smile and devil-may-care manner. Hinata wouldn't be surprised if he had bedded at least a dozen women within the past few months.

Obito, the handsome Prince of Rebel, with features inherited from their mother's side of the family, had that rogue look about him that any good girl found extremely hard to resist. This was enhanced by the fact that he had one golden earring in his left ear. He looked like a bloody pirate—a very handsome one—and Hinata was sure any girl wouldn't mind being captured by him and imprisoned in his bed.

Then there was the handsome, mysterious Sasuke. Again, her heart decided to do an unwelcome somersault, which caused her to grit her teeth in annoyance . Sasu! My Sasu! The sound kept echoing within her head. Hinata suppressed the urge to scream out just so the little voice would stop bothering her. Yes, the Prince of Darkness was staring at her now without recognition, as if he found her interesting. Hinata herself couldn't help staring back at him. God, his hair was spike and black. And those unique eyes of his that had always fascinated her, those eyes he inherited from his legendary great-great-grandmother, Hermoine Uchiha, who'd married the famous Draco Uchiha. Sasuke had that aloofness and darkness about him that any intelligent girl knew to avoid but couldn't resist and ended up falling crazily in love with him anyway.

Then there was nice, sincere Tobi. He had a cute, boyish, friendly smile any female, young or old, couldn't help falling for.

Then it hit her. Oh my Gosh! They'd changed so much—grown so much—that the mere sight of all of them together took her breath away. Not to mention her neck was beginning to hurt because she had to tilt her head back to glare at them, conveying she was pissed with them. But none of them seemed to register that fact, however, and Hinata began to grow more annoyed. Then there was the way in which they looked at her, which caused her to shiver. There was this bizarre sensation rushing through her.

"Doby," she called.

The dog barked back at her.

"So that's his name? Doby?" Madara asked.

Doby barked again, which annoyed Hinata even more. When they got home, she thought she'd teach him a lesson that succumbing to the enemy was not something one should ever do to one's allies.

"Come on," she said, frowning at the dog for being disobedient all of a sudden. "It's time to go home."

Doby ignored her as Itachi started scratching his head. Doby's eyes glazed over as he stuck his tongue out in pleasure.

"Ah. You like that, don't you?" Itachi chuckled.

Shisui came forward and offered to help her. "Are you sure you can get home? We can give you a ride."

Hinata turned to him. The thought of sitting next to them in a car didn't sit well with her.

"I'll be fine, thank you," she said, reaching out for Doby. She took the dog from Itachi, turned on her heel, and began to walk away from them.

"There she goes," Tobi said, disappointment echoing in his voice.

Sasuke watched her go, his eyes intent on her slender form. There was something about her that he couldn't quite place.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I suppose since I'm the one responsible…," he said, and without further ado, he was behind her and pulled her around gently by the arm.

Hinata gasped, and before she could protest, she was being lifted midair and into the arms of her adopted brother once again.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Taking you home," he replied calmly, heading back to the car. "I can at least do that much after I nearly killed you."

"I… I can walk home by myself!" she stammered. "I'm not hurt, as you can see. And you didn't kill me. I'm still breathing."

Itachi refused to respond to her logical argument and headed straight to the car.

"Why does he have to be the one to carry her?" Tobi asked no one in particular.

"Because he's responsible," Madara replied.

"I'm responsible," Shisui put in matter-of-factly. "I made him lose his cool back there so, yes, I'm responsible."

"Just shut up and get in the car," Itachi said to Shisui.

Hinata watched the brothers, who were still staring at her. She couldn't believe it! She just couldn't believe it! None of them remembered who she was. Not one of them. And here she was this close to them. She couldn't decide if she was disappointed or pleased with that realization.

Actually, she had decided. She'd run away as soon as Itachi put her down.

When he did put her in the back seat, however, Tobi quickly slid in beside her, followed by Izuna. Hence both of her exits were blocked, and she wanted to scream.

Madara got into the front seat followed by Itachi in the driver's seat.

Outside, Shisui chuckled merrily and slapped Sasuke on the shoulder. "Looks like you're riding with us, bro."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes dangerously at Izuna, who had stolen his seat in the car. Izuna, however, didn't see the death ray his younger brother gave him because he was too busy trying to please their new acquaintance.

"So," Madara began charmingly once Itachi started the engine, "where do you live?"

Hinata panicked. Oh God! What should she tell them? She couldn't possibly tell them she was living at Uchiha Mansion where they were heading, could she? Well, she could, but she refused to let them know she was Hinata, their adopted sister that they had entirely forgotten ever existed.

Suddenly, she realized all four of them were watching her, waiting for her answer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Just drive straight," she began. "It's a long, narrow road. Then when you get to the intersection, turn right and then left and then left again."

Tobi cocked his head to one side. "That's pretty close to Uchiha Mansion, isn't it?"

"Good," Itachi said with double meaning and started the engine.

"So what's your name?" Izuna asked, moving closer to her.

Hinata glared at him. "I don't tell strangers my name."

Izuna laughed and Tobi said, "We're not strangers. We're your neighbors. We live at Uchiha Mansion."

Hinata wanted to shout at him that she knew that. But of course she didn't, and she refused to pay them any more attention.

Doby looked up at her, sensing her unsettled emotions. He started whimpering at her and licking her hand. "It's all right, Doby," she said, patting his head. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," Itachi countered. "You're in shock."

"I'm not in shock!" she retorted. "I'm afraid. How do you think I feel when all seven of you refuse to leave me alone and are now taking me for a drive?"

The moment she had said those words, realization dawned on them.

"Shit!" Itachi muttered under his breath.

Madara, always the calm and levelheaded one, turned to her and said, "As the eldest Uchiha brother, I take full responsibility for our unthinkable actions. I'm very sorry that we've frightened you. However, I guarantee you none of us meant you any harm. We want to see you home safe and sound."

Both Izuna and Tobi nodded furiously.

Hinata went quiet once she saw the sincerity in Madara's eyes. He reminded her so much of Dad Fugaku, and she couldn't help but relax. The brothers smiled when they saw she had accepted Madara's apology and promise. Doby stuck out his tongue then, pleased.

A few minutes later, the car turned at the intersection as Hinata had told them, but it also surprised them when the black car behind them turned as well, instead of going straight to Uchiha Mansion.

"What are they doing?" Itachi said under his breath.

Izuna laughed. "Shisui!"

Madara sighed. "He's interested."

Hinata didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about and pretty much didn't care. All she cared about now was whether Ned was home or not. If he was, then she hoped he wouldn't call out her name or, worse still, greet the brothers and tell them all about her.

"Is it just me or are there more cherry trees around here?" Tobi commented.

"It's nice," Madara said. "Though I don't remember ever seeing that many on the island before."

Hinata gazed out the window, watching the beautiful clouds of pink flowers in the air. "It's spring," she murmured.

"Cherry blossoms are beautiful," Itachi remarked. "Too bad we don't have them up at the house."

Hinata wanted to laugh. Really? Not one cherry tree up at Uchiha Mansion?

"I think we're here," Madara said, eyeing the small cottage ahead of them. It was a picture-perfect cottage with a pretty English garden full of roses, lavender, and honeysuckle.

"That's your house?" Tobi asked in awe. "It's pretty nice."

"No," Hinata said, meaning it wasn't her house. "Not really."

None of them paid any attention to the meaning of her words, however, and they all got out of the car. Tobi took care to aid her even if she didn't need help.

Shisui and Obito got out of the car as well since they didn't want to miss the chance to talk to Hinata again.

Sasuke stayed back, pretending to be busy with his phone, which he wasn't, and stole peeks at the beauty. Who is she? Why did she look at me so intensely back on the road? Her Lavender eyes stirred something deep within his soul, awakening him from his slumber. She seemed oddly familiar to him, yet her identity eluded him, and this frustrated Sasuke greatly.

Outside, Itachi frowned at Shisui. "Why the hell did you follow us?"

"You might get into an accident again," Shisui responded. "Seeing as though you're pretty reckless and irresponsible at driving." He turned to Hinata then, giving her a dashing smile that would make any young female's heart flutter with happiness. "My brothers didn't harass you, did they?"

Hinata cocked her head to one side. "No," she said. Then before they insisted on coming with her into Ned's house and perhaps even opting to stay for afternoon tea, because she knew they'd want to, she went on. "And thanks for the ride. Bye now."

Itachi was about to stop her, but she was quick and walked briskly away.

Hinata hoped they'd disappear before she got to the door because she didn't know whether Ned was home or not and whether the door was locked or not.

Izuna whistled. "That's one hot chick."

"Wonder what her name is," Tobi said, smiling pleasantly.

"Tobi! You like her!" Shisui chuckled.

"She's nice," he said. "Totally my type."

Itachi didn't like the sound of that and frowned at his brother. "You haven't got your career sorted out yet, young pup," he warned. "No time for girls."

"Plenty of time for girls," Tobi retorted. "I'm on my break, after all. Anyway, she's way too young for you guys."

"I like younger girls," Shisui said as they all headed back to the car.

"Wonder if she has a boyfriend," Obito murmured. "Hope not."

"Okay, boys, time to get going," Madara said, opening the door.

The brothers took their leave without ever seeing Hinata enter the house. In fact, she had disappeared around the corner while they'd been busy negotiating who got to ask her out on a date.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please Review. Let me know if You have any suggestion. New ideas are welcome.

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