Dreamcatcher

By Airyo

7


Hinata was afraid to ask what exactly happened that day in the marketplace, and clearly, she could no longer depend on even her own memories. So she relied on piecing together what everyone else was saying.

As Tsuru the Branch head dismissed her from that her duties with only a shake of her head over the dangers of Konoha, Hinata gathered that the Uchiha heir had indeed foiled the mission of an S-class missing-nin.

"His target?" Tsuru told her with a shake of her head, "the Godaime Hokage herself! He'd nearly succeeded entering the Hokage tower too, if Uchiha-sama hadn't intercepted him. Such strange luck that they happened you in the marketplace." Hinata bowed even though she understood the implication of her uselessness and excused herself.

As Hana the radish vendor inquired her about her injuries, Hinata confirmed that she had indeed saved the civilians with her clumsy Jyuuken.

"I didn't know you were a ninja too! Just look at you move!" the older woman gushed. Hinata only smiled uncomfortably and ordered more daikon to redirect her praises.

As Hikaru, a younger Branch girl, giggled and swooned over how lucky she was to be saved from that horrid missing-nin by the great Itachi, Hinata surmised that Itachi had personally carried her unconscious body back from the market.

"He looked so cool when he showed up at the door. So gallant, so handsome, like a beautiful flower of death rising from the dry, thirsty earth -" Hinata was too polite to stop listening, but she made no effort to remember the further epithets sung about Uchiha Itachi. She's already heard far too many from the Hyuuga council.

But none of her careful investigations told her why Itachi had sought her out afterwards. She wasn't nearly important enough that false concern would be advantageous, if Itachi were the type for such things, and even then, she was clearly fine.

Hinata wondered, but her curiosity was not worth the answers. Not if they were the reasons behind Itachi's odd behavior - trying to apologize as if she were a shinobi of equal calibre, of all things.

But sometimes, when she was alone and cloaked in the comfort of solitude of her room, Hinata couldn't help but press her palms to her heated cheeks. Even she wasn't immune to the idea of a fairytale about a prince and a princess saved.