A/N: HOLY SNAP, that chapter was loooooooong. I apologize. I couldn't figure out how to end it, though. So I just kind of kept writing. xD I apologize if you aren't a PainKonan fan. D: There's turning out to be a lot more of that than I thought at first. Hmm.
c:
'She was the sun
Shining upon
The tomb of your hopes and dreams
So frail
He was the moon,
Painting you
With its glow
So vulnerable and pale'
Funeral of Hearts HIM
Hinata lay face-down on Konan's bed, the tears flowing freely from her eyes. She knew it must still be daytime, but she felt completely exhausted. After eating breakfast with Pain (while Konan watched), she had run back to where she was almost-pretty-but-not-entirely sure that Konan's room was. She had been tired of smiling so that she wouldn't cry, and tired of putting on a pleased facade so that they would all like her. When she'd found the right door, Hinata had thrown it open, stomped inside, and slammed it shut. She had then proceeded to throw an absolute fit, pounding on the floor with her fists and crying like a toddler. It reminded her a little of the time that her father had told her that her mother had died, which did not help her mood. That had been the worst day of her life-she had been in the garden, pressing flowers as she normally did, when Hiashi(her male parental unit) had approached her. She remembered smiling at him and showing him all of the flowers that she had done so far, telling him that she would give them to Mother to make her feel better. He had then lifted her into his arms-which was an extreme rarity-and told her, very seriously, that she could not. Upon asking why, he told her that mommy had gone away, and that she was not going to be coming back.
That day as well, Hinata had cried, and cried, and cried. The nurses had brought her candies and cakes and stuffed toys of all sorts but she'd done nothing but return them; by way of the air, that is. At twilight, she'd finally passed out in her bed, her walls covered in various syrups and frostings.
Hinata then broke out of her reverie, Then, finally, Hinata had climbed into the bed and snuggled in, trying to find some kind of comfort. The room was completely dark once more-she hadn't bothered to turn on the light, and, what with the lack of a window, what she was left with was something similar to absolute blackness. The light from the hallway crept underneath the door, however, so that she was not quite rendered blind. And so, Hinata had remained in bed for the rest of the day, wallowing in self-pity and fond memories of those people she would never see again. She clung to the pillow, burying her face in it and whimpering. However, she realized, Konan had been right in telling her she could not stay in the room forever; nature was most certainly calling her now, in the form of the desperate need to use the restroom. She had not, she realized, gone at all that day. Hinata didn't even know where the bathroom could have been; the Akatsuki's hideout consisted of one big maze. Hinata found her courage and left Konan's room, which was now pitch black (the hallway lights had been turned off), and headed towards the living room-where, she hoped, she could find someone to ask about the bathroom.
Hinata rubbed her eyes sadly as she padded along the dark hall; she knew she must look awful from all that crying she'd done, so she did her best to make herself appear presentable before she turned the corner to her destination. It was dark, only it was the kind of dark that comes from shadows; moonlight filtered in from the single window, bathing everything in a mystical light. Hinata looked around nervously, but realized, not quite instantaneously, that she was not alone in the room. Someone sat at the far end of the room, near the right-hand side of the window, staring mystified out of it. Hinata took a step forward, and that someone looked towards her with calm black eyes.
"A-ano, Itachi-sama," Hinata stuttered, finding herself frozen to that spot as she looked at him. It felt like she'd fallen into a giant bucket of ice; the chill moved from her feet and up to the tip of her head, causing her to shiver. He just looked at her. She finally found the courage to squeak, very quietly, "B-bathroom?"
He didn't say anything, just continued to scrutinize her. Hinata had just begun to think that she was going to wet herself if she didn't get out of this situation when Itachi nudged his head to the right(Itachi's left). He then turned back to the window. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. "Th-thank you, Itachi-sama," she said, and continued on in the direction he'd indicated. To her surprise, the bathroom was right there; contained within the living room. She threw open the door and hurried inside.
Itachi had been on what he like to call his 'downtime' when he'd seen her again. He'd been admiring the moon peacefully, with no interruptions from Deidara, Tobi, Hidan, or anyone, for that matter. This was the only time he ever had any quiet. Not once had he ever been interrupted in this ritual. At least, not until today.
She'd appeared silently; he wouldn't have even noticed her if she hadn't moved forwards When she had, though, he found that-as he had earlier that day-he could not look away from her. She was exceedingly lovely, he thought, and he would die a happy man if all he ever did was look into her beautiful eyes. Her hair glistening in the moonlight, she stuttered a question to him which had, at first, been unable to register in his mind. Then, still in a daze, he'd pointed her in the direction of the bathroom-which was one of three-and she'd thanked him. Now, sitting in the same place he had been before, he waited for her to emerge so that he could talk to her. Or, at least, so that he could try to talk to her. He wondered what he should say to her; from what he'd seen, she was frightened half to death of everyone and everything she came across. Which, he was surprised to realize, he found rather endearing. As he was pondering why this might be, the door to the bathroom opened and there she stood-dark, mysterious and beautiful.
She froze again. He tried to soften his expression, but found that he had a bit of difficulty with that. "A..ano," she began, quietly side-stepping towards the exit. She did not dare look away. Itachi found himself desperate to keep her there with him, and quickly devised a plan to prevent her from leaving. He outstretched his arm and beckoned her with his index finger. Once more she stopped. "I...Itachi-sama?" her voice was questioning, and frightened. Itachi found that he could hardly stand it. He beckoned her again. She came to him and stood, trembling, before him.
"Sit," he commanded. She did so, still trembling. She gazed out the window, her translucent eyes reflecting all they gazed upon. Now that she was here, what should he say?
Itachi looked her over carefully. She was thin; she wasn't skinny per se, because skinny implies skin-and-bone, but this girl had muscle. She was, as some would say, shaped like an hourglass. Her hips were wide and rounded, while her chest was filled out quite nicely indeed. Her blue-black hair was currently up in a high, carelessly tied ponytail, hanging down her entire back, lazily swaying with each move she made. Itachi wanted to feel her, to take her and hold onto her until... Well, really, if he were being honest, there wasn't really an 'until'.
All these feelings were very strange and foreign to the eldest Uchiha son; he had not experienced anything of the sort since before he had murdered his family, for in their number had been his lover ((A/N: That was in the manga. Just making sure you don't know I didn't pull that out of nowhere-land)). He had been sure his heart could no longer feel, was not capable of love or attraction or anything of the sort. Itachi wondered if Konan had brought this young lady here simply to prove him wrong.
"Itachi-sama," she whimpered, her voice shaken with fear, "did you need something?"
He forced a small smile-it was actually rather painful, as it was something that he never did-onto his face. She shrunk away. Had it really been that bad? He quickly placed his customary mask of indifference back into place. "I simply wondered," he said vacantly, eying his faded indigo fingernails, "what you might think of the moon." She frowned at this, eyebrows furrowed into (again, this shocked Itachi when he realized he had thought it) a very endearing look of frustration. She then looked back up at the moon. He could not tell what she was thinking. Then, she said, her voice perfectly even, "I think it's beautiful. Do you come here often?"
Itachi found that he was surprised by the girl's reply. "Yes," he stated softly, looking out once more. He tried very hard to concentrate on being completely honest. "I do it to get away. The world is slowly becoming consumed in war, and I find that this is a time, more so than ever, that I need to have peace..." here he sighed, his eyes closed for emphasis, "...and quiet."
She looked at him serenely. He realized that he had gained a bit of her trust and said "Are you from Konoha?"
She frowned. "Yes, I am."
"Did you know my brother? Sasuke? I presume he's quite the rebel by now..."
She grimaced at him, her fists clenched in her lap. "Yes," she breathed, "I knew S-Sasuke." She could say nothing more on account of the tears burning in her eyes. She withheld them, staring hard at the night sky without blinking. Itachi felt a pang of guilt hit him as he realized this girl had been attached to his younger sibling. Having a small bit of difficulty in keeping his attitude indifferent, he found himself smiling again. It was better than letting his anger get ahold of him.
"Is he well?"
She gave him an incredulous look. It did not suit her well, but did not do much to lessen her looks. "I...I would imagine Sasuke-kun's well-being w-would be the l-last priority on your list."
He stared off into the sky and bit his bottom lip. Then, after careful thought, he replied "You would be surprised." She shook her head. "He does not speak highly of you." This made Itachi actually laugh, although it was bitter and sarcastic.
"I do not expect him to. As a matter of fact, I do not expect anyone to. I did what I had to. That was all that I did." He watched as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
"Had t-to?" There was a small touch of anger to her high-pitched voice; it almost made him laugh that it sounded so out of place.
"Long story. I do not particularly wish to explain just now. Maybe," he said, looking off into space, "someday I'll find it in me to tell you. But not today." They remained silent for awhile, looking into the night. Then, without warning, Itachi said "I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name."
"I...I'm Hinata," she whispered shyly, looking at the floor. He found himself leaning forwards and looking up to try and see her face. "I'm sorry," he said as moved away in surprise. "Are you upset?" Hinata turned scarlet. "I...I..."
Itachi found himself senselessly blurting "You look lovely when you do that." She blinked, her face slowly turning darker shades of red than he really would have thought possible. "Blush, I mean."
"A-a-ano, I...I-I...!" she had turn her hands into fists, her knuckles white.
"Don't. I didn't mean to embarrass you."
"It...It's all right," she breathed deeply, then sighed. She no longer sounded upset; she actually sounded flattered. Then, he said, "You can join me here whenever you wish, if it'd make you feel better."
"Feel...better...?"
He gave her an apologetic look. "We could all hear you in there earlier. You were pretty loud." He watched as her face reddened once more. He added, to make her feel better, "No one thinks any the less of you." She shook her head. Then, she got up. "I...I really n-need to b-be getting to b-bed," she said, avoiding his eyes. So much for gaining her trust.
"Yeah," he agreed warily, "that's probably for the best. I'll see you around, Hinata-san." As she turned to leave, he remembered; "Hinata," he said, and she looked at him once more. His heart ached. "Don't let anyone get you down," he said quietly, looking out the window. "No one can be the judge of you but yourself." Hinata nodded, heart racing, and exited the living room. Itachi, who felt as if he'd gotten little to nowhere with her, tilted his head back and sighed. What was he doing, anyways? She was just a sweet innocent teenager, brought here for reasons that no one really seemed to understand. He was a criminal, wanted everywhere in the world that anyone really cared about. Not to mention he was probably about 6 years older than her. 'And,' he thought angrily, 'Deidara sort of has her wrapped around his finger already...Stupid bastard...'
He really hated that so-called 'artist'. Probably not as much as Deidara hated Itachi, though. Which was slightly comforting, in it's way. Hate is useless unless it's returned.
Itachi blinked; once, twice, then placed one hand on his upper thigh used it to stand up. He then exited into the long hallway, deciding that-tonight, at least- he actually needed to get some sleep. He had too much to think about to do otherwise.
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
Funeral of Hearts
