Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Ten

Kikyo190

Itachi couldn't stop thinking about her.

Hinata Hyuuga, the woman he wanted to protect selfishly.

Itachi had relinquished the genjutsu allowing him to reign over Hinata's mind, but their connection remained steadfast. Hinata thought she had been the one trapped inside Itachi's all-seeing genjutsu. The truth was, it was never her. He was the one trapped. Even now, the lingering effects allowed him to sense whenever she was in danger, or by contrast, whenever she felt like she was "in heaven". Her innocence was absolutely maddening. It sort of irked him and didn't surprise him at the same time that Hinata's compassionate heart had naively opened its doors to someone as disturbed, sadistic and misjudged as his younger brother.

Perhaps Itachi shouldn't be so harsh on Sasuke. After all, he was culpable for some of Sasuke's imperfections. But Sasuke was only bound to break her heart. He wasn't truly a man yet. As much as he liked to think of himself as formidable and in control, it took so little to break Sasuke's fragile spirit. And Itachi didn't want Hinata to be torn apart if Sasuke chose a darker path.

He didn't know why she should be of any interest to him. Itachi had gone through so many female partners in the past.

But Itachi wouldn't deny that he was lonely, had been for some time now, and wanted to be able to mean something to even just another human, that was not a "monster" or "otherworldly genius".

She made him hope.

Whenever she looked at him, it was with curiosity in her translucent eyes, never hate or fear. He couldn't erase that image from his mind. It made him want to tell her everything.

No one, who knew about the blood that had been spilled on his hands, was ever foolish enough to regard him as an object of interest, instead of Death itself.

Because, in his darkest and most vulnerable moments of his existence, he didn't know what else he was, or what other fate he deserved.

Itachi slowly opened his eyes, taking in the two hundred ANBU stationed to guard him on the other side of the transparent screen. Watching him as if he would escape right then and there in front of their pitiful eyes. They were foolish to think that hiding behind masks was going to protect them from his eyes.

They were terrified spineless of him. No matter how hard they tried to hide their fear, it might as well have been tangible in the air. Whenever Itachi stared back at one of them for longer than three seconds, their eyes imperceptively shifted away…. Yes, no slack at all.

With Sasori's intervention, they would be dead in minutes.

Hinata and Sasuke shot out of the bed at the same time, their backs to each other. Hinata activated Byakugan without another word, her inflamed palms poised, while Sasuke already had Eternal Sharingan activated.

The walls of the room began to shake frighteningly as yet another explosion shattered the silence.

Sasuke grimaced. "Which way out is safest, Hinata?" He knew her all-seeing eyes would miss no detail, and had the advantage over his bloodline-limit in this situation.

Hinata was silent for a moment. "All the staircases are blocked and the elevators don't appear to be functioning. The only way out is via the fire exit. There are a lot of people trying to get through there—"

At that moment, a chunk out of the ceiling crashed down into the ground, with so much force that it made the floor fracture and split open.

"You take the fire exit. Go!" Without warning, Sasuke jumped down the gaping hole that had been created in the floor and landed in the vacant room below. There was another hole in the ground of the room he was standing in, and he looked like he was about to go through. "Don't follow me. Find the others." Sasuke commanded, and without turning to look back he disappeared.

Hinata didn't think as she bolted out of the room, locating the nearest fire exit which was down the hallway and to the right. It was around dawn, the faint rays of sunlight casting the Inn in a shimmering glow.

The fire exit was already crammed with petrified guests trying to escape the Inn; it was utter chaos, people were crying for loved ones who were missing or dead, there were children bawling noisily and there appeared to be something blocking their safe passage out.

It made Hinata realise the scale of the mafia's attack, and guilt swirled in the pit of her stomach at the thought of her team being the ones who might've unknowingly led them here. The mafia must've been informed that the Leaf had sent a team after them and decided to exact revenge.

"I am a medical ninja from the Leaf. Please allow me through." Hinata hoped this leverage would allow her to get closer to whatever was keep everyone from advancing.

She realised, as she made her way further through the throng of devastated and scared families, that the problem was very simple.

At the end of the stairs, two mafia held a pregnant woman captive, two knives at her throat. No one was willing to overthrow them at the cost of an unborn life.

Hinata didn't think as she pulled the hood of her jacket over her face and slipped closer to the front. The pregnant woman's husband looked broken, the only person standing up to the mafia.

"Take me instead! I'm begging you, just leave her and my child unharmed. I'll give you anything."

Hinata edged closer, no one noticing what she was doing as she slinked swiftly nearer, keeping to the shadows. Good. He was keeping the two mafia members distracted.

"Please! I'll do anything—"

The mafia to the left snapped, appearing to have had enough. "Shut up! We're not just going to murder your wife and child, we're going to kill everyone!"

Before they had time to react, Hinata was in front of them, her midnight hair swirling as she shot out her fingers and jabbed them in the neck, chest and heart at the same time. They both immediately crumpled to the ground, dropping their knives.

The woman's husband shot forward and caught her in his arms, hugging her closely to him as they both sobbed.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you anywhere?" Hinata scanned the woman quickly but she shook her head no.

"Thank you for saving me and my child. I'm in your debt." She responded softly.

Hinata gave a curt nod, turning around to face the dozens of frightened and scared guests. The explosions had stopped for now, but the aftershocks caused the walls to shake frighteningly. The fire exit wasn't going to hold for much longer.

"Make your way out as quickly as possible now! I-I shall protect you all if this exit collapses."

Hinata ushered them out. Just as they were nearly at the end of the stairs, the wall gave a terrible shrieking groan and began to crumble.

Hinata's instincts kicked in and she performed the Trigrams Heavenly Rotation. The flaming blue chakra created a shield around those closest to her and she protected them strenuously as the walls and ceiling fell apart.

They all managed to make it out in the nick of time, showing their gratitude to Hinata on their faces.

She didn't waste time sticking around. As soon as she saw that they were safely on their way, knowing her job was done, Hinata set out to find Naruto and Sakura. Fast.

There was only one section of the Inn that was safe enough to enter. The main lobby.

When Hinata got there, she instantly recognised Sakura. Making her way to her side, Hinata was shocked when Sakura didn't turn to look at her. But then she found out why:

"It's happening again," Sakura whispered quietly, so quietly Hinata barely heard her.

Hinata had no idea what Sakura meant until she turned around and saw Sasuke.

This time, there were no black flames of the Amaterasu bursting out of his eyes.

Sasuke's body was like a macabre of violence, distorting at will like a shadow to shock the enemy as he struck them unawares, way before they were even aware of what he was doing.

Sakura gently pulled Hinata away, closer to the main door leading outside. "… Hinata, listen to me. It's like he's being controlled by something dark inside him. Don't try to reason with him. I saw the way he killed one of the mafia members… it was… it was disgusting. When Naruto tried to stop him…"

It was then that Hinata noticed Naruto's body lying unconscious, propped up against the wall outside. The cool fresh air sent harsh shockwaves down her spine as she shuddered, uncontainable guilt flooding her body as she looked at Naruto.

"Sakura, it's alright…. I know what I have to do." Hinata forced herself to sound firm.

Sakura gave her a confused expression. "What do you mean by that? We need to grab Naruto and get out of here before that thing back there which has Sasuke under its control decides to kill us all! Right now, he's distracted with killing the few remaining mafia, but it won't be long before they're all dead and he's looking for more lambs to slaughter."

Hinata felt her stomach drop to the ground. "Sakura, listen to me very carefully. You need to calm down. Get Naruto, make sure he's alright, and go. I have to help Sasuke. If I don't come back after twenty-four hours, call for backup. Do you understand?"

Sakura's wide green eyes watched Hinata in astonishment. Finally, she nodded mutely, numbly muttering, "Okay," before turning and crouching down to wrap an arm around Naruto. "Be careful." Without another word, Sakura took off with Naruto in tow without giving so much as a backwards glance.

Hinata let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. She bunched up her fists, glaring at the clear blue sky and was about to turn around when—

"You thought you could stay and try to save me?"

Hinata sensed the Chidori lightening before anything could happen, in just enough time to twist around and crouch to the ground. It exploded above her head and the sparks glanced off on the ground, scorching it coal black.

"S-Sasuke—"

Before she could get her coordination together and escape, he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up into the air so that their eyes were meeting, with her toes barely skirting the dirty ground.

The most frightening moment of her life happened then. It was not the feeling of her brain screaming at her body to give it air, or the dizziness and light-headedness.

It was his eyes.

They were black. Completely obsidian black. Completely normal. No Eternal Sharingan activated.

And yet… blood was dripping down from his eyes, like tears, the same colour of the fresh blood of the mafia he'd killed staining his clothes and hands…

How was this possible? Why was he doing this of his own free will and choice? Why?

"Why, Sasuke? Your Eternal Sharingan isn't activated… what could possess you to do any of this… what made you hurt Naruto, your own teammate?"

Her blood froze as his empty eyes crinkled into a cold smile. His grip around her neck tightened and Hinata coughed out her own blood.

"If you all knew what was good for you, you wouldn't have let me go on this mission… You have no idea what happened to me during the time before Naruto brought me back to the Leaf. You have no idea of who or what I may have come into contact with…"

What about everything he'd told her that night? About loving her, sacrificing everything for her… wanting her to be his? Had it all been a lie? A façade to get her to believe him and trust him… and ultimately not see him for what he truly was?

Hinata's fists tightened, and she spat out, "You're not Sasuke! Give me back Sasuke now!"

Before she could summon any chakra to her hands in time, the temperature around them dropped as if a veil of darkness and evil was smothering them. Sasuke slammed Hinata straight into the outside wall of the Inn. She grimaced, biting her lip in pain, but she would be alright, she told herself. She was a trained Shinobi, after all. She had to be tough. She'd endured far worse than this in her life. She could deal with it.

Even from here, Hinata could smell the sickly blood of all the dead mafia members from within. She dared not think of all the mangled body parts sure to be awaiting inside.

Her head was beginning to feel lighter and lighter as each second passed. All he was doing was staring back at her with that dead expression on his face. It was like he was enjoying watching her life slip away before his very eyes.

Hinata realised she didn't have much time left. It was now or never…

P-Please, someone… anyone… help me. I don't want to die…

Everything went black. Hinata was unconscious, her body going completely slack in Sasuke's hands. She was still alive, but death was at the doorstep… it was only a matter of time.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he continued to keep up the pressure until she finally perished.

Inside Hinata's head:

"Hinata, you'll never be alone… I'll always protect you." A voice said softly, and warmly.

Sasuke blinked a few times, and realised what he was doing. He finally saw Hinata's limp body and his hands tightly crushing her neck. He suddenly let go of her and stepped back in shock, staring at the blood on his hands and clothes in fear and confusion. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, he noticed Hinata stirring weakly on the ground, but just as he was about to go help her up, someone else beat him to it.

A man whom he hated with all his heart and soul.

Itachi bent over to scoop Hinata up in his arms. He handled her so gently, like she was a feather that could slip through his hands. Itachi cast Sasuke a hard, solemn stare before disappearing, complete silence in his wake.

Although Sasuke felt completely out of it, like he'd just woken up from a dream and had no idea what had happened, he knew he'd done something terrible. So that was why he decided not to protest or object when Itachi took Hinata away from him, although he had no idea where he'd taken her. He had a feeling in his gut that he wouldn't be seeing her for a while.

Had Sasuke perhaps had another Amaterasu episode? Because, judging from the surrounding area which seemed pretty intact, that wasn't possible. However, there was no sign of Sakura or Naruto nearby, and everywhere was so quiet.

Sasuke rubbed his hands, which were caked in dried blood, on his pants and took a slow deep breath…

What exactly had his hands been doing around Hinata's neck?

How could he have tried to kill the woman he loved?

… Sasuke turned around and let the trailing stench of blood lead him back into the Inn to assess what exactly he had done with his own eyes…

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Author's Note: I find it hard to believe that my life could get so busy that I haven't updated this fic in so long! Thankfully, I'd already started writing a lot of this chapter, so I only had to kind of finfish off the second half! I love writing so much.

Anyway, what did guys think? Do any of you have any idea about what is going on with Sasuke? What do you think? :D

Thank you for all your lovely reviews for the last chapter!

I know, I know! This fic seems to make a lot of you question and rethink whether you ship SasuHina or ItaHina but I can only watch on with evil laughter… mwahaha! XD

OOOH, you do realise Hinata will be alone with Itachi for quite awhile now, wherever it is he's taken her? :P

Let me know all your thoughts in a good ol' review!

See you all soon! :)