Siderite

Summary: One shot series. Each chapter will have a new pairing and stands independantly, hence the 'complete' status of this. Each chapter will have independant ratings as well, you'll find them next to the pairing.

Disclaimer: No, *sigh* Naruto is not mine. You'd think that by now that fact wouldn't depress me but it does. *sigh*

Endings

Itachi x Hinata (T)

"Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous."
– Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

"Damn," hissed an annoyed kunoichi to herself as she jumped from branch to branch through the unfamiliar forest, "I've lost him."

Deactivating her Byuukagan, the Hyuuga stopped flying through the forest and jumped down to the ground trying to get her bearings. Looking around, thinking she saw a glint of red in front of her before blinking it away – shrugging it as an effect from landing too quickly, she realised that she was unable to identify where she was.

She was completely and utterly lost.

She'd been heading off at break neck speed to try and apprehend the thief in front of her but he had made it out of her considerable range of sight and she'd lost him. Unfortunately she hadn't taken any time to become aware of her surroundings, not even thinking to mark the trees with her kunai as she raced along.

Shaking her head in self-recrimination, the dark haired young woman glanced around, trying to spot some kind of landmark. Seeing nothing of use, she jumped back up into a tree and scouted the area. Unfortunately there was nothing to see but the never ending horizon of trees.

'Damn', she swore again, jumping back down after seeing a lake further north where she could refill her canteen. Things did not look good.

The dark haired woman was on a small scale mission with her team to escort a man to Grass Country. The mission had been a success and the three shinobi were on their way back home when the vendor they had just bought dango from had been robbed and they had seen the guilty party tearing away into the unfamiliar forest with the vendor shaking his fists in anger.

Hinata hadn't even thought to confer with her teammates before she had dropped her food and started to run after him.

And this is where she had ended up.

What made this situation even more exasperating was that she knew she had to get back to Konoha quickly as she was expected to go on another mission with Kakashi's team, her own team and Yamato. They had a trail on Uchiha Sasuke and team eight had been given the word from their Hokage to come back as soon as possible as no one else was available or as close as they were.

Finally reaching the lake that she had spotted from above the tree line, the young Hyuuga bent down at the water's edge and scooped a small amount of water in her hand to sample before filling her canteen with it.

Tasting the water she was surprised to note that the liquid was the cleanest she'd ever tasted, pleased with her good luck at finding it she twisted off the cap of her bottle and filled it with water, humming to herself as she did it.

"It's good water isn't it?"

Reacting violently, the kunoichi grabbed a kunai from her pouch and crouched down in the customary shinobi pose eyes wide, searching for the person who had spoken.

Not wanting to lower her pose or drop her kunai, the woman wasn't able to activate her Byuukagan enabling her to sense any chakra. Instead she slowly turned a full revolution, hunting for the smallest oddity in the clearing until she finally spotted a figure in the depths of the lake. It was most definitely a man, she could tell that much, but he was half hidden behind a smallish rock right at the other end of the lake with his back to her and his long, dark hair covering the side of the face that would have been discernible to her.

"Who are you?"

Her voice was strained but clear and loud enough for the stranger to hear it.

He didn't answer. Instead he immersed his whole body as he dove under the surface. She could see his body smoothly cut through the water and strove to keep from looking away in embarrassment when she realised that he was naked. She'd never turn her back to a potential enemy not matter how uncomfortable she became.

He was over at the other side of the lake now, a bit closer to her though the shade was darker so that when he turned and faced her full on she could not see his features, the trees acting as a visible curtain.

"I'm just a man, enjoying a swim. May I ask who you are?"

His voice was soft but hinted at an underlining of steel. Still wary but unsatisfied with his response, the Hyuuga's tone of voice became almost clipped, "Just a woman getting a drink."

She wasn't sure but she thought she saw him smile.

"And why would a shinobi of the leaf come so far out for a drink?"

Having the presence of mind not to be surprised at this statement, she was wearing her hitiate, the Hyuuga sighed and decided on telling this stranger what had happened, not seeing much harm in him knowing the bare truth.

"I'm lost," she admitted, her hand marginally dropped her kunai down while her stance eased up, "I got separated from my friends while chasing a thief but he lost me and I lost my sense of direction."

She saw his head nod barely as if satisfied with her response.

"I saw the man race through here, I was wondering what he was running from."

Becoming more at ease in the presence of this stranger, the dark haired woman lowered herself till she was sitting on the edge of the lake, her kunai beside her well within range for her to grasp. When she'd sat herself she glanced back into the shade where the man still stood, quietly regarding her.

"You feel safe to sit down?"

Instantly tense, the young woman got ready for flight, "Should I not?"

Quick to reassure her, the man waved his hand in the air, "It's just, I heard that kunoichi are always ready for battle so I did not expect you to sit by the lake with me."

The light emphasis on the last two words was not lost to the dark haired Hyuuga though she hid her thoughts from showing too much on her face.

Putting the kunai down beside her again, the Hyuuga took off her shoes and put her feet in the water. Sighing out loud, she watched the ripples on the water around her feet as her body relaxed somewhat and the stress of the last few hours fled from her body. She might be able to get some kind of directions out of this man and if not his company did not seem so bad to keep while she waited for her friends who would have no trouble finding her eventually.

She heard the man inch closer through the water but she did not look up till he spoke again.

"It's been some time since I've been in normal company," he stated, his voice low and melodic, "would you mind talking to me a bit, maybe telling me a bit about your life?"

So she did.

She started off by telling him that she was part of an old clan in Konoha, since he most probably knew that much anyway, and then she began to talk about her friends and the people that were close to her.

He interspersed his comments into her commentary whenever he felt inclined as he inched his way closer to her but always kept himself hidden within the shade, asking questions about Naruto and his fight to save his friend.

"So he has not given up on him even after all these years?"

"No," Hinata shook her head while a fond smile graced her face, "and he never will."

"That's good," the man said, his eyes closing for a bit and a smile gathering at the corners of his mouth, "I'm glad."

"I am too," smiled the kunoichi, "he needs someone to believe in him."

The man opened his eyes and regarded the woman now not seven feet in front of him.

"I think I might get out," the dark haired man told the Hyuuga pointing to a pile of clothes behind her that she hadn't noticed before, "Could you hand me those please?"

Standing to get the clothes she wasn't prepared when the edge of the ground broke away underneath her feet.

Trying to get her balance she flipped backwards just shy of falling in and managed to save herself from landing in the lake fully clothed. Standing up she turned around and pressed a hand to her mouth to try and stop the loud giggles that were coming from her at the sight that greeted her.

The man was covered in mud and earth. The brown substance was splayed over his naked chest, face and hair. His eyes were closed and his face was very tight. A muscle twitched near his mouth - she wasn't sure if it was him keeping in laughter or if he was very angry -as a piece of earth slid down from the crown of his head to the water that came to his hips.

She would usually apologise profusely for what had happened but she knew that if she took her hand away from her mouth she would laugh and that was not an option. She realised that when she had flipped herself over to stop herself falling, her feet had flung out and sprayed the watery edge all over the stranger in front of her.

Finally getting control of herself, Hinata bowed quickly and came to the edge again with his clothes while he raised his hand to his eyes to smear the mud away so he could look at the woman who had caused him such indignity.

He watched her as her hair dipped over and covered her face before she swiped it back behind her ear as she stifled another, "You know," his voice was still unemotional, "I've killed for less."

Unsure of wether he was joking or not, the young woman simply stared at him till he cracked a small smile. Following suit, the girl relaxed and sat by the edge again, all thoughts of leaving far behind her as she pointed to his clothes, "well you should clean up before I give these to you."

She watched as he gave another small smile before he slid his whole body underneath the water and tried not to stare too much as his hands cleaned off the mud off of his naked body. Rising back to the surface she saw that he still had a piece of mud in his long unfettered hair.

Pointing to her own head she signalled to him that it was there but after several attempts of removal, the piece of earth remained firmly engrained in his dark strands.

Without much thought, Hinata moved closer and went to remove the clump herself when his hand snatched her wrist and nearly broke it with the force he used on her. His eyes glinted and for a second it had seemed as if the lake and the background around them had shimmered. Frightened, she tried to tug back on her wrist but he kept it still till he seemed to get a hold of himself and let her go.

Gasping and nursing her wrist to her chest, her eyes looked at him in shock. "I w-was j-just trying to h-help you," she stuttered, her voice small and reminiscent of her childhood.

He sighed and looked away from her before turning his back, "I don't like people touching me. Human contact seems," he breathed here and looked back over his shoulder to meet her gaze, "wrong."

The Hyuuga, still a little scared and more than a little wary simply nodded to him, understanding what he was saying in some small way.

He turned back to her and moved forwards through the water but stopped when she shied back from him. Moving his eyes from her hand to her eyes he spoke up again, his voice never actually monotone but never showing emotion, "Will you remove this piece of dirt from my hair, Hyuuga-san?"

Moving her wrist from her chest, she rolled it slowly to see if there was any damage before flexing her fingers. Happy with the fact that it would only bruise, she sat up and came to the edge again. She saw him smile slightly at the fact that she had never loosened her grip on her kunai with her uninjured hand and she placed it back down on the ground from where she picked it up when he had grabbed her.

Coming closer he put both hands on either side of her and tilted his head forward so that she could see over his head and untangle the clump from his hair. In this position his shoulders were tensed and his face seemed rigid from what she could see of it through his hair and she had a brief understanding of why that was so. In this position, he was vulnerable.

Having the grace to take this for the apology it was and the subtlety not to mention it she quickly removed the offending object and threw it into the water.

When her hands fell to her side and she proclaimed that the dirt was out of his hair, the man quickly turned his back, his hair covering his face. He seemed to take a few deep breaths before standing to his full height in the water. The man pulled his hair to his nape and tied it back before turning back around and looking at her. He waited for the expected reaction with a watchful eye.

He did not have to wait long.

Gasping, Hinata backed away from him as quickly as she could.

Now that the man had come away from the shadows of the trees and the reflection of the water was not mirrored on his flesh, and now that his hair was not obscuring his face or mud covering him, the kunoichi knew who exactly who this stranger was.

Though not acquainted with him personally she had read the bingo book and was aware of her village's history. Being a shinobi of Konoha she was informed of all missing nin and was knowledgeable of the Akatsuki – the most recent, terrifying and deadliest group of people she'd ever heard of.

And here stood one in front of her, one from her own village.

Uchiha Itachi.

And she was alone.

Next to the stats and the picture of the missing nin it always listed the best way to capture, kill or survive their attacks if one came upon this person. Next to Uchiha Itachi's name it had read: never look into his eyes; retreat as quickly as possible.

The man, no longer a stranger but every bit a threat to her life, came closer to her, rising from the water and lifting himself to stand on the solid ground.

His eyes swept over her rigid form and she watched as his small smile disappeared into a grim firm line. His eyes faded, even though she had not been aware that they were alight to begin with, and his back had straightened. For some reason he was clothed and no longer wet, his black and red Akatsuki cloak wrapped around him and his marked hitiate around his forehead.

She never took her eyes off of him but she saw in her peripheral vision that the lake behind him was gone and the area they were in was nothing but blackness.

He sighed and dropped his shoulders lightly again before reaching out for her hand, "Hinata," he began, knowing her name before he had even brought her here, "I do not intend to hurt you."

For some reason unknown to her, she believed him but was still battle ready even as she took his hand and rose from the ground.

"Thank you for talking to me," he let go of her hand and stepped away from her, "I've not had the privilege of freely talking with another in a very, very long time and this," he breathed and his expression could be described as nothing but reflective – never regretful, "will be the last."

He then smiled sadly at her and left, his body tearing apart and turning into crows.

She came down from her tiptoes, hardly realising that she had risen to be closer to him and briefly fluttered her fingers over her lips in comprehension. It was a goodbye, a consolation and a reveal.

As she gathered herself together and looked around, not at all surprised to see herself standing by the tree where she had first dropped down from after the chase, the sun unmoved by an inch, she started off for the lake again.

She was surprised to see that it resembled nothing like the one where Itachi had sent her but shrugged it off and filled her canteen, suddenly very thirsty.

And as she sat by the lake, waiting for her team to find her – they were the best trackers of their age, remembering all that had happened and trying to figure out if he'd let anything inadvertently slip she remembered the look on his face and things they had talked about. She realised that whatever had made him into the man he was, it was something that she wished never to experience. In the moment when she had seen his eyes fade and his smile thin out in defeat when she had reacted to his identity she knew that she had seen something special and something that not many people had experienced before her and would ever likely experience again.

Something irrevocable and impossibly good.

And she knew no one would ever believe her.

A/N: So this is my first Itachi. I didn't want him to be sorry for anything or regretful for anything he will do or has done. He doesn't like to touch other people and usual Itachi things like that. I hope I did him justice and if not, I'll do better next time.

Hinata was his last piece of well...peace and I wanted to portray that. Again, I hope I did!

Yours,

Jaggarte x