Sweets: Well...Itachi finally reveals himself...

Itachi: What do I have to hide?

Sweets: Nothing. I don't own Naruto

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ch3

Hinata didn't scream. She didn't cry. She didn't wish him away. She knew who this was. She knew he wouldn't hurt her. Her eyes closed.

"You're back..." she whispered to the dark.

"Yes, I felt I was needed here." the dark murmured back. The cold hands caressed her skin...Oh, what a gentle touch...that familiar gentle touch...

Hinata remembered she had silently screamed his name during practice. But now she wondered, what could he do? Was he just here to finish her?

'No.' she thought.

The man behind her gracefully flipped off her bed and stood in front of her, towering over her. Hinata rose.

He stood nearly two feet above her, his famous Akatsuki cloak wrapped around him. He was dark, menacing...frightening...

Hinata stepped foreword. She looked up at his face and his bloody red eyes. She shivered as a cold stare met her curious one.

"You needed me?" he said, in what he thought was a cold voice.

She looked down, ashamed. Here she was, standing in front of one of the most dangerous, strongest, smartest man on earth, almost admitting she was weak.

"Yes, I guess so."

Hinata never stuttered when she was near him. Fear, or maybe courage, stopped her from doing that. All self doubt was slowly washing away.

"Well?" Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Something went off in Hinata's head.

'This my chance to escape! I can get out of here...' she thought, hope rising in her heart.

"Take me away from here." she said, looking at the ground.

The man, not really believing what he heard, put a finger under her chin, raised it, forcing her to look at him.

"Look at me. Now tell me what you want." he hissed, annoyed by her shyness.

She looked him in the eye. Determination (or stupidness) filled her eyes and she said,

"Take me away from here. I don't want to stay."

The Akatsuki member took away his finger.

"Why?" he questioned harshly.

Hinata, ignoring his coldness, bravely answered him.

"I hate it here. Everyday, I go through the torture of my family. My friends call me a weakling, my family calls me a failure, my crush won't acknowledge me, I-" she broke off when she heard his cold, bitter laugh.

"You want to leave because your love won't look at you?" he taunted.

Hinata glared for the first time in her life.

"You really don't understand." she said.

He looked at her. Bitterness had filled him before. He was disgusted that he was forced to make such a silly side trip but he looked her over, hate fading. She was in bad condition. He would have to fix that.

"Lie down." he ordered abruptly.

She looked at him, bewildered.

"Wha-" she began.

"Do it." he sighed.

Cutting through the back of her nightgown, he began to heal her wounds. He wasn't much of a medic, but he knew more then the idiots who claimed to be ones in the Hyuuga household.

'They didn't even clean them. Are they trying to kill her off?' he thought, slightly angry.

Silently doing a few handseals, he managed to bring water from his fingertips and began to apply it to Hinata's cuts.

The girl struggled under the sudden use of water, but began to relax and remain still. She felt the water change to chakra and seal off the bitter injuries.

There was silence between the two.

"Why?" she asked finally.

As the man, half shrouded in shadows, dressed her wounds, he looked at her. She was staring out the window and watching the silver grey clouds drift by.

"Why what?" he asked as he finished.

She sat up. Her torn night gown hung loosely around her shoulders and slipped down occasionally, but it didn't show much. Not that he cared, though. The man had bigger things to think about. But...she was showing skin...The man licked his lips, wondering what it would be like to...taste...

"Why did you heal me?" her voice was soft, but curious.

The Akatsuki leader stopped his mild fantasies and looked at her smugly. He had made his decision.

"I can't have you traveling with us all wounded. You'd just slow us down."

Hinata's mouth dropped but she remembered to close it. Her eyes were wide with excitement and she lunged onto her old 'friend' and hugged him.

"Get off..." he muttered, though not really attempting to push her off.

'So soft...'

How he remember her embrace from ages ago...her lovely embrace, filled with compassion and understanding...

When she did let go, he looked her over again. Color was beginning to come back to her face and she looked...happy.

He ruffled her hair, just like when they were younger and jumped onto the window ledge.

"Be ready in two days time. Meet me on the roof."

Hinata blinked. He was about to leave when he turned to her.

"Be safe, angel."

He was gone.

Hinata crawled back to bed, feeling refreshed and blissful.

'The night is...interesting.' she thought, before drifting off into the ebony dreams that awaited her.

2 days later...

Hinata stared up at the deepening sky, her mouth slightly open in wonderment. She scanned the starry heavens with her pearly eyes and a small smile graced her lips.

'Beautiful.' she thought, simply.

The sky was painted a dark navy, gradually getting lighter the farther you got from the Village. The stars glittered and sparkled in the dome of blue, winking at the Hyuuga girl. She felt so small and helpless when she looked at the vast sky.

'It's so large. It seems to go on for forever...'

The milky white moon shone brightly, contrasting between the dark sky and the paleness of its light. It was full at almost all of Kohona seemed to be bathed in its bright, frosted light. The village looked...

'Enchanted. Almost...serene.' she thought, staring up at the great, curious sky. She was finally healed and could walk again, thanks to a special someone...

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard someone whisper in her ear,

"Time to go, angel."

She felt her enchantment shatter as she slowly turned around. She sighed and whispered,

"Oh. I-It's you."

"Yes, it's me. Are you done looking at the sky? We have to go."

She didn't need to activate her Byakugan to know who the man behind her was. She shivered and tore her eyes away from his blood red ones and took one last look at the heavens.

Hinata looked down, picked up her pack and faced the man again. He smirked and laughed bitterly, saying,

"So you really want to do this. I don't even know why I decided to let you join in."

Hinata just nodded. The man looked her over, smirked again and bent down so he was at eye level with her.

"You're either very determined or very foolish."

"Maybe I-I'm a bit of both."

The man drew himself up to full height. He was still frightening and threatening, his black and red cloak swaying in the gentle wind. After a period of silence, he finally said,

"Let's get going. You have everything, right?"

"Yes..."

"Say goodbye to Konoha, angel. You won't see it for a while."

Hinata realized she was beyond the point of no return. There would be no backing out now.

'But this is what you wanted, right? You want out, and this is the only way...' she thought, determined.

She watched as the man vanished into the shadows. Hinata nearly tripped coming down from her own roof. She landed silently and to her confusion, she couldn't find the man anywhere. She looked around, bewildered and then a voice sighed,

"Over here. Hurry up, angel, we don't have all day."

"Y-Yes Itachi-sensei."

The two vanished into the darkness and neither were not heard of for quite some time.

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