Dreamcatcher
By Airyo
An Unexpected Reaction - 3
They stared at each other for a brief moment, white to black. Then Hinata's eyes rolled back and her knees buckled. Itachi caught her by the waist, scooping her up bridal style.
He heard faint police whistles - several of his cousins would be on the scene soon. Itachi found himself reluctant to face their questions when he had so many of his own regarding the unconscious young lady in his arms.
"They know what to do here. Tell them Itachi had something attend to," he commanded one of the older farmer ladies who was peeking at him over a water barrel. She nodded quickly, stars in her eyes.
Itachi teleported away from the market. He landed on the roofs of the Uchiha complex, and began walking along the sloping, shingled surface towards the Hyuuga complex. He was careful not to jostle Hinata too badly. She wouldn't feel anything, but Itachi found himself feeling rather guilty about using the Sharingan on her so recklessly.
Few people didn't know about the past Hyuuga heir, a timid girl named Hinata with a strange sensitivity to genjutsu. The worst of the gossip started after her disastrous genin test. It was rumored that she couldn't sleep for a month even though her sensei had only cast a relatively harmless illusion over her.
Itachi did not subscribe to the rumors, but rumors had a nasty tendency to be based in truth. And if genjutsu tailored for genin was enough to render her unable to continue a career as a shinobi, what would today's events do? For starters, she shouldn't have even fainted from today's technique. All he'd done was a strong compulsory genjutsu to guide her thoughts towards helping the civilians.
As if to answer his musings, Hinata suddenly stiffened, her face contorted with fear. She let out a whimper, turning her head as if she were trying to evade an attack. Rather than trying to fight back, she wrung her hands, nails digging into her skin painfully. Red scored the pale skin of her hands.
Even Itachi found it difficult to watch.
He made a quick decision, and kneeled so only Hinata's upper body was in his lap. He gently peel back her eyelids and activated his Sharingan.
"Forget," he urged her. "Forget everything that happened at the marketplace."
She struggled for a few moments more. Then she relaxed, her face returning to a peaceful expression. Now that her features weren't crumpled like paper, Itachi could see that she was quite pretty, in a sweet, unassuming sort of way.
What a waste. Looks like those could have allowed her to be devastatingly effective in infiltration missions.
But there was little use in lingering on 'what ifs'. With a shake of his head, Itachi lifted her back into his arms and continued his way to the Hyuuga estates.
AN: Look at Itachi, thinking he's all ninja-like when he's actually just checking out a girl...;)