I've been writing a lot recently thanks to finals...but it probably won't be like this next week.

Warning: This chapter contains angst!

People were saying they were too ooc...so I tried to make this one more like them? Idk.


It was a wonderful day. The sun was shining, the breeze was fine...and she had just seen Naruto.

"Hinata! Hey!" Naruto said, walking up and greeting her.

"H...H-hey Naruto kun. W-Whats up?" her 12 year old self asked.

"Do you want to go on a date with me next week?"

Hinata, shocked, nodded vigorously.

"Great! Later then!"

The dream shifted to what happened next.

"N-Naruto kun...a-are you here?" she asked.

Naruto suddenly swung open the door, his expression dark.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. We can't go" he said.

Hinata was frightened. He looked terrible.

"O-ok...I guess its fine"

"That stupid bastard left while I was sleeping! Me and Shikamaru are leaving to get him"

"S-Stupid bastard?"

"Sasuke. I can't believe this" he said angrily, stalking off.

The memory blurred and Naruto was standing in front of Hinata, his back turned.

"Naruto...?" she asked.

But he wouldn't turn around. No matter what she did, his back was always turned to her. Her date was stolen from her, and she never got the chance again.


Hinata shot up, her face pained. Sasuke was gone, she was in the room by herself. Mechanically, she changed into her training outfit.

Why had she had that dream...? She only had nightmares when something bad was about to happen. That was another trait the Hyuga's had, a keen intuition.

Unease was in her stomach and she couldn't shake it. She guessed it had something to do with Sasuke, and as she sat alone in the kitchen, she felt herself putting up an emotional wall. Getting close to him like she was could be dangerous...look what he had done to his "best friend".

She walked out the front door and activated her Byakugan, looking for Sasuke. She found him down by the lake, and made her way towards him.


Sasuke hated this. The feelings that he couldn't control. He had simply wanted to use the Hyuga...but somehow, he couldn't help but begin to feel attached and guilty. She was so...innocent. However, he knew once he learned the jutsu, he would leave her and fight Itachi alone. He wasn't sure if he would come back.

Itachi was the thing that was first and foremost in his mind. He couldn't let a girl get in his way.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw her coming down the hill. Composing himself, he turned to face her.


"Morning, Hinata" Sasuke said, setting down some equipment.

"Morning..." She replied weakly.

Something was wrong with Hinata, that was for sure. But Sasuke didn't know what to say, so he chose not to ask.

"I studied the scroll on our way over here" Hinata said.

"Were you able to understand any of it?"

"Most of it, yes...and i-it seems to me, this technique is going to require a lot of mental c-control. "

"Oh..."

"When you face Itachi, you have to remain c-calm. Otherwise, you won't be able to perform the j-jutsu"

Sasuke froze. He knew she was right...but still...could he really do that?

"I think I s-should show you a genjutsu with I-Itachi. Can you h-handle it?" she asked. She didn't want to do this to him, but she knew she had to.

"Yes. If I want to get out. the key word is lake, ok?"

Hinata nodded and closed her eyes. Thanks to Kurenai, she had learned to cast genjutsu through touch. She built up and illusion in her mind, and focused the chakra in her hand.

Wordlessly, she walked up to Sasuke and touched his forehead.

"Good luck" she whispered.


Hinata was gone. The noises around the lake had silenced, and time itself seemed to stand still.

Behind him he heard a faint chuckling, and he turned around.

Itachi stood there, smirking.

Anger welled up inside Sasuke and threatened to explode.

'It's just an illusion' he reminded himself.

"Foolish little brother, what are you doing?" Itachi asked.

"Being so light hearted lately...I guess you really don't want to kill me"

"Are you kidding? I live to kill you!" He said, losing himself.

"Good. I guess you won't mind that the girl is dead, then" Itachi said, gesturing to his right.

Hinata lay on the ground, a bloody and mangled mess.

"Wha...? But this is just an illusion!" Sasuke said, panicking.

"Do you really think a girl like that could cast an illusion this powerful?" He asked, stepping closer to Sasuke.

"Stay away!" Sasuke yelled.

"Does she remind you of mother...the way she looks?" Itachi asked, laughing.

"Is that why you act so pathetic around her?"

"I told you to stay away!"

Itachi did not stop his advances. "LAKE!" Sasuke called out, praying he would be rescued.

He was pulled out of the illusion almost instantly, as two gentle hands placed themselves on his arms and sent chakra into him.

She had only cast a weak illusion of Itachi in his mind. Fear and anger had morphed the rest.

"I'm alright. Do it again" he said.

"But-"

"Do it!" he said angrily. Hinata obliged.


By the time they were done, it was well into the night. They were both drained, mentally and physically. Sasuke had made some progress, although Hinata knew it probably wasn't enough.

Sasuke practically had to be dragged from the lake, stubbornly he denied the fact he was exhausted. Hinata noted with worry that he had a fever. His forehead was burning up last time she touched it.

Once they were back in the house, Hinata laid him down on the living room couch before bringing in a cold washcloth and some fever reducers. She then busied herself in the kitchen by making soup for Sasuke and a meal for herself.

"Thanks" He mumbled as she brought in some crackers to go with his soup.

Hinata nodded, concern written all over her face.

"I'm so disappointed..." He said, tiredly.

"Why? I-I thought you started doing m-much better..."

"But I need to be ready now! I can't keep messing around! If I can't avenge my family...they'll bever forgive me"

Hinata stopped fidgeting with her hands, she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Do you have any idea what it was like...? I was so happy the morning before he...killed them. My dad was finally starting to recognize me as his son, which was something I always wanted. And then I come home and find everyone dead! I didn't do anything to Itachi. I ran like a coward. I'm still running!" he said angrily, his eyes starting to water. He didn't want to cry, especially not in front of a girl, but his mind was strained and the fever was making his head swim.

"Sasuke...there's nothing you c-could have done. D-do you know of any 9 year old...who could beat h-him?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke closed his eyes, all the frustration building up inside him.

Hinata looked down at him sadly and gently brushed his raven hair out of his eyes.

"Oh S-Sasuke...don't be so hard on yourself" she said, sighing.

She didn't want to let her guard down, but she couldn't help it. He was so upset.

She took his strong hand and held it in her fragile ones.

"Your clan couldm't possibly hold what h-happened against you. N-no one expected what happened"

Sasuke felt himself begin to calm down. His breathing eased and he suddenly realized how tired he was.

"Tommorow we'll work on something different. And if all else fails..."

She reached into her pockets and withdrew a small bottle of pills.

"Kiba t-takes these when he does man beast techniques...to stabilize his mind and feelings. T-They'll work when you fight h-him"

Sasuke examined the bottle for a second, and decided they could work.

"Get some r-rest, Sasuke-san. Y-You're going to n-need it" she said, smiliing. She turned out the lights and decided some music would be nice.


For those of you who wondered why she didn't give him the pills in the first place, its because its much better to learn to conrtol yourself than taking pills (obviously)

I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review!