The Insidious Effects of Love
Part II
Chapter 10: A New Beginning
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"Are you serious?" Sasuke asked as he looked up from his assignment papers. "He's my new partner?"
"Correction, you're my new partner." Neji retorted as they glared at each other at the Anbu base. "Since you are a newly ranked Anbu, I have the misfortune and ill luck to be cast as your senior advisor."
"Why can't I be with my br-"
"Because Hinata's my partner." Itachi chuckled as he walked over to his brother. "Sai is on probation and technically I am too. That's why they have assigned Hinata to . . . watch over me in the meantime."
Neji frowned at this. "Don't remind me Uchiha-san, seems like whoever is making the decisions around here is an idio-"
"Hey guys!" Naruto screeched as he hurried over to them, dodging random Anbu. "I'm assisting Lady Tsunade with everything now while my father is in Suna, so I get to make some changes! How do you like the new assignments I made?!"
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"You pulled both Neji and Sasuke off of him?" Hinata asked incredulously as she laughed at what Itachi was telling her.
"Yes, they attacked Naruto simultaneously." Itachi replied with a slow smile at Hinata's easy laugh. Recently, she was doing much better. It seemed like immediately after the day of the court hearing, her health had returned. A couple of months have passed since then and her health had yet to decline.
"Well, that just proves what great partners they'll become if they can already attack someone instantaneously as a team." Hinata giggled as the breeze blew her hair softly.
"Hey guys!" Sai greeted them as he walked over and sat down on the bench where they were eating lunch in the courtyard.
"Where are your guards?" Hinata asked him worriedly. She was getting use to Sai and his strange personality. As the months went by, he oftentimes popped up and visited them.
"Oh, they're looking for me somewhere in Suna." Sai smiled at her. Guards were assigned to watch him while he was on probation. Even though he wasn't exactly charged for being an accomplice to Danzo, he was still being watched.
"Why would they do that?" Hinata asked confused.
"Sai, if you continue to deceive your guards and escape them," Itachi sighed at his former partner, "The longer you'll be on probation."
"This is an insult," Sai groaned as he slumped unto the table where Hinata was eating. "I should at least be watched by guards who won't be fooled by a simple genjutsu." he complained. "I should have stronger babysitters."
"Maybe it's because the President already trusts you," Hinata thought out loud. "Maybe he just want's to see if you have the self control to not disobey orders. You know you have to let them watch over you."
"She has a point." Itachi smirked at Sai's genuinely pissed-off expression. He sighed as he stood up.
"Fine, I'll go get them. I haven't been to Suna in a while anyways." Sai grumbled as he turned to leave.
"He's . . . different." Hinata smiled as she watched the secretive Anbu walk off.
"You have no idea." Itachi chuckled as he remembered the old times when they were a team. He looked at his guard who was now playing with a strand of her hair, her lunch long forgotten.
"I have training soon," Itachi reminded her. "You should eat so you will have enough energy later." She had to accompany him on his training sessions.
Hinata gave him a sour look. "I always manage to keep up with you."
"Only because I've been holding back." Itachi smirked as he leaned closer to the young woman who snorted at him.
"Itachi-san," she began with a soft laugh, "I haven't even been trying."
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"What up, what up?!" Choji yelled as he walked into Shikamaru's new office. "Deputy of the FBI! WHOOO!" he exclaimed as he pulled two beers from behind his back. "This calls for a celebration!"
Shikamaru had just finished organizing some paperwork on his desk and gave a lazy grin to his friend. "Yes, but for the new senior Information Analyst."
Choji took a bow, "Yes, praise me!" He joked having been promoted as well, before he threw a Corona at Shikamaru who caught it with ease.
"We're not supposed to be drinking on the job." Shikamaru said as he opened the beer and took a long swig.
"You knew I was trouble when I walked in!" Choji sang as he gulped down his beer.
"So shame on me now," Shikamaru sang as Choji took the papers he had just organized and threw them into the air while they danced and pranced around the room.
"Now you're lying on the cold hard ground, ohhhhhh!" Choji sang loudly and Shikamaru joined in with a hearty "Oh, ohhhh!"
"Am I interrupting something?" Temari asked with an amused raised eyebrow as she leaned against the doorframe and watched her boyfriend sing to Taylor Swift "I Knew You Were Trouble".
"Yes, our bromance." Choji said sourly as Shikamaru straightened up and walked over to Temari who he greeted with a kiss. He was always goofy around Choji when he was actually a serious laid back kind of man.
"Hey," He smiled as Temari wrapped her arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't miss your first day as the new Deputy of the FBI," she smiled before she kissed him again, ignoring the gagging noises Choji made behind them. She looked behind Shikamaru and glared at him. "But I see someone has beat me to it."
"Better believe it sister," Choji snapped with some attitude. "Shikamaru is celebrating with me."
"Oh is he now?" Temari asked with a sly smile before looking back at Shikamaru. "But I flew all this way," she pouted.
"She's gotta point Choji." Shikamaru called back.
"Suna aint that far!" Choji protested.
"Hey, I'll catch up with you tomorrow." Shikamaru said as Temari led him away. "And get out of my office!" he yelled after Choji who replied with, "I do what I want!"
"How's the job so far?" Temari asked as they held each others hands. They've been dating for about 2 months now and even though it was a long distance relationship, they managed to see each other very often.
She was visiting him because Shikamaru was just promoted, taking Kakashi's old job and Kakashi was now the Director of the FBI. It was a major accomplishment of someone so young, but solving a case and uncovering one of the biggest scandals in Konoha could get you places. Choji was also promoted to Shikamaru's old position, so a celebration was called for all around.
"More paperwork and longer headaches and its only the first day." Shikamaru sighed. "Such a drag."
Temari linked her arms with his as they walked out of the FBI's headquarters and snuggled deeper into his side. "Well you can forget about that for now," she told him with a coy smile.
"Hmm," Shikamaru smirked as they made their way to his car. "I like the sound of that. You had anything in mind?"
"Dinner at your place?" Temari asked. "If it get's too late I might have to sleep over."
"You always have the best ideas." Shikamaru grinned before they ran into Ino in the parking lot.
"Oh, hey guys!" Ino greeted them. "How's the new gig boss?" She teased Shikamaru playfully.
"Troublesome." He replied and both women laughed at his typical response.
"How about you?" Temari asked Ino. "You're an FBI agent now."
"Special Agent Ino Yamanaka!" Ino boasted proudly. "It's way better than being an intern!" She laughed.
"Hmm, what happened to your team? Shikamaru's the Deputy, Naruto's away with Tsunade, and Sasuke is an Anbu now." Temari asked curiously.
"Wait up Flamingo!" they heard a voice behind them and Ino rolled her eyes as Sakura caught up to her.
"I can't believe you left me with that loud mouthed DOG!" Sakura yelled angrily at the girl before speeding pass her annoyed.
"Who you calling a dog?!" Kiba roared as he caught up to the pinkett, Akumaru not far behind.
"That is my new team." Ino sighed. "I'll see you guys around." She then walked after her bickering partners dejectedly.
"Tough luck." Temari snickered and Shikamaru shrugged.
"There really wasn't anybody else to put her with." He said as he opened the door for Temari before walking over to the driver's side of his new company's car.
"Ooh," Temari smirked as Shikamaru started the car, "I could get used to this."
Shikamaru grinned at her as he pulled out of the parking lot. "That's the same thing Choji said." He laughed when he saw Temari's frown before speeding back to his place.
"You took him on a ride first?!"
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Itachi landed on top of a tree branch in the forest, sweat glistening his brow. "Damn." He murmured to himself. He was impressed. She actually made him sweat.
"You can't hide from a Hyuga Uchiha-san!" He heard the girl remind him before he back flipped, dodging her gentle fist.
Hinata fell to the ground with a soft tap, breathing heavily. It's been a long time since she was able to show off her true powers; since she was able to face an opponent strong enough.
She felt a sharp object to the back of her neck. "You were saying?" Itachi asked with a smirk gracing his features.
Hinata sighed before deactivating her Byakugan; his sharigan was activated, if she tried to move he would only intercept.
"I didn't see you coming." She complained, and in one fluid motion, fell to her knees in sheer fatigue as Itachi removed the kunai.
"I found your blind spot." Itachi simply replied as Hinata panted heavily.
Hinata glanced up at him. My what? "My b-blind spot?" She panted. She was about to inquire further but she saw him stretching as if he was about to run a race. "D-Don't you ever g-get tired?" She wondered wearily.
"I'm sweating." Itachi responded as if that was enough for him.
Hinata laughed and Itachi decided to sit down next to the young woman. She was sitting on her knees staring aimlessly as the breeze blew the tall grass in a rhythmic dance around them.
When she got that far off look in her eyes, he wondered what she was thinking. "What's wrong?" he found himself asking before he could think better of it. The sad look on her face could not possibly come from any sweet thoughts.
"Nothing." She replied, like she always did, when he would ask.
"Then what are you thinking about?" He asked. He was determined to get an answer from her.
"I've never been to your house." Hinata blurted out. Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"Both you and Sasuke said I could come over, but you never invited me formally."
"I doubt that was really on your mind." Itachi replied as he leaned back on his hands.
"Not once." Hinata insisted.
"Then come home with me."
Hinata began choking on air as Itachi glanced at her.
"There, you've been invited." Itachi smirked as Hinata tried to bring herself together.
He watched as her cheeks burned with a deep red blush and she seemed to be thinking on what she was about to say carefully.
"I'm joking." Itachi responded to save her from further embarrassment.
"I-Itachi!" Hinata scolded him but ended up laughing. "All of your j-jokes are mean!" He had lightened up during the pass months but what she discovered was that Itachi was a bully. How did Sasuke put up with him?
Itachi smiled, he preferred the smile on her face than the troubling look she got when she was quietly thinking to herself. He stood up, deciding that their break was over. Hinata looked up at him and their eyes connected. She quickly looked away while blushing.
He held out his hand to her. "Ready for round two?"
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"Concentrate." Sasuke could hear Neji's condescending tone clearly. Sasuke began to wobble where he was on top of the cliff perch.
"I said concentrate, not shake some more."
"What are you doing? Do you want to fall?" Sasuke nearly slipped as he struggled to keep his balance.
"Can you fly Uchiha? Is that it? You think you can fly?"
"SHUT UP!" Sasuke screamed before he fell off the cliff to his death.
Sasuke landed on his ass on the floor and angrily removed the 3D stimulator glasses he was wearing for his training and tore off the ear device with Neji's annoying voice from his ear. He looked up and glared as he stared into pale eyes through the glass window.
"We can't hear him," An Anbu with a fish mask whispered to Neji. They were on the opposite side of the window judging Sasuke. "But by reading his lips, I can tell you that he's saying some pretty colorful words." They both glanced at the newly appointed Anbu who was swearing at them from inside the stimulation room.
"Open the doors." Neji commanded. The door opened and Sasuke stormed through, angrily finding his way to Neji.
"How am I suppose to concentrate when you're constantly nagging me in my ear?!" He growled in animosity. For his training he was suppose to concentrate enough chakra to his feet so that he wouldn't lose too much chakra and fall from the slippery cliff.
"You lack discipline." Neji stated simply before brushing pass Sasuke. What Neji said was the truth, Sasuke remembered from his training with Kakashi-sensei that it was always Sakura who was best at chakra control. But Neji didn't have to know that. "You have mastered your style, but it's rushed; it's still raw. You rely on your wit to solve any impeding danger and I will greatly emphasize that you shouldn't rely on your "intelligence" for that."
He didn't understand why, but Sasuke felt genuinely insulted by Neji's blasé assertion.
"Are you trying to say that I'm stupid?" Sasuke asked and Neji rolled his eyes and inwardly sighed.
"We will break for now, I expect to see you here in 20 minutes, no less, no more." Neji responded as he walked away.
"He probably would be nicer to you if you didn't call him a blind pussy bitch." The Anbu in the fish mask said as he walked to some far off destination.
Sasuke blanched, he had assumed they couldn't hear him!
He rolled his eyes annoyed before bumping into someone.
"Watch it," he complained.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura began and Sasuke stared at her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Why are you at the Anbu base?"
"I came because I wanted to talk to you." She said as she looked Sasuke straight into his eyes.
"You could have just called."
"This is something we need to do face to face." Sakura insisted. "You know that."
He paused in thinking. She had been trying to talk to him for some time now. He had stopped her in the car when they were driving to look for Hinata.
"Now isn't the time for that." He said as he began to walk away.
"When will be the time Sasuke?!" She yelled at his retreating back.
"Or do you only have time for me at night?" she hissed, her green eyes piercing his back with her glare.
He turned to face her then, and he gave her a glare of his own. "Forget it ever happened Sakura."
He couldn't do it. Sasuke lowered his eyes, he had to avoid the hurt look in her eyes.
"Why won't you let me in? What's stopping you this time?" she pleaded with him.
The excuse always used to be Itachi, but now that things were what they were, what was stopping him?
"Give me time to think." He said before he turned and walked away.
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"What's this about?" Temari asked as she entered Shikamaru's condo only to come face to face with a wall covered with photos of . . .
"Hinata?" Temari asked in disbelief. "Why are you tracking Hinata?" Temari asked as she walked closer to the wall to inspect it. There were pictures of the girl ever since the court hearing following her every movement. She turned to him with her eyebrows raised.
"Shit," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. He had forgotten about the wall. If he had known Temari was coming he would have cleared it.
Now he had to lie to his girlfriend.
Who's I.Q. was almost as high as his.
"Well?" Temari demanded as she turned to him.
Shit.
"You know how I asked Naruto to persuade Lady Tsunade to have Hinata guard Itachi?" Shikamaru began carefully.
"Yes, because Hinata is use to working with Itachi from being undercover, she was the most suitable choice seeing that Sasuke wasn't a seasoned Anbu yet. Hinata has incredible skills, that's how she survived in hiding from the Hyuga's, a clan where most cannot hide from."
"Exactly, Hinata can take care of herself, she's very powerful, but Neji didn't quite agree with it." Shikamaru said, going off of what Temari just inferred.
"What do you mean?" she prodded.
"Sasuke couldn't guard his brother because not only wasn't he an Anbu at the time, but there would be a conflict of interest. Either which way, the President wanted Hinata to become a part of his Anbu, and she would need a partner. That's why we chose Itachi for her. Sai is currently on probation and he is still being watched so Hinata and Itachi was the only logical option really."
"What does this have to do with Neji?" Temari asked as she crossed her arms.
"Neji didn't want Hinata to even join the Anbu, much less be assigned to Itachi. He thinks that will be very dangerous for her. But the only other person she could have gotten was Sasuke. Not exactly the most ideal person according to Neji. So in order to keep the peace, I'm personally tracking Hinata to make sure she's doing ok."
"Oh," Temari said. "How long do you have to keep tabs on her?"
"Well, it's been a couple of months. Maybe one more before Neji sees that she's capable of handling the job."
"I think it's sweet how protective he is of her." Temari said before she turned to the wall again and Shikamaru let out a relieved sigh.
'Just call me Master of Deception'. He thought cockily.
"But can you take this down while I'm here?" Temari shuddered as she looked into Hinata's pale eyes. "Something about her creeps me out."
"Yeah, me too." Shikamaru said, remembering her black eyes. He pressed a button under the light switch and a panel covered the wall.
"Ooh, fancy." Temari giggled and the flirtatious mood returned as Shikamaru wrapped his arms around your waist.
"What about dinner?" Temari asked as Shikamaru tugged at her shirt.
"You are my dinner."
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Hinata wiped sweat off her brow and blinked rapidly to clear her eyes. She had used her Byakugan so much that she was beginning to see black dots in her vision.
"Had enough?" Itachi asked where he sat staring down at her from a tree.
Hinata chanced a look at him and groaned.
More black dots.
She sighed as she straightened up from leaning on her hands that were placed on her knees. "Jerk," she muttered as she rubbed her eyes.
She heard a light thud before she felt Itachi's hand gently prying hers away from her eyes.
"You'll only irritate them more." Itachi scolded her and Hinata blushed at being so close to him. She looked up into his eyes and quickly looked away before taking a couple steps back.
"You're so fast." She said amazed, it felt like it took him a second to reach her.
Itachi shrugged. "I am the Uchiha prodigy."
"You're cocky too." She muttered under her breath. "And Sasuke might take that title away from you." She teased as Itachi gave her a look.
"How so?"
"Well, Sasuke's an Anbu now, and he has some pretty amazing techniques." She said as she turned to look at a daffodil nearby.
"I've been an Anbu and my techniques have yet to be surpassed." Itachi frowned at her.
Hinata hid her giggle. Teasing Itachi was fun. "Well despite all of that Sasuke has an advantage."
"And what would that be?" Itachi asked as he looked intently at Hinata when she turned around.
"He's younger!"
Itachi blinked.
Hinata could have died with laughter from Itachi's shocked expression.
"I'm . . . only 28."
"28?" Hinata asked as if that was some gross large number compared to their age of 24. "Itachi-san, you're so old."
Itachi mouth literally fell open and Hinata couldn't take it anymore. She began to laugh so hard tears threatened to fall. She looked at Itachi one more time and a fresh round of laughter erupted.
A mischievous glint appeared in Itachi's eyes as his sharigan emerged. "Well since I'm so old," He began, as he looked ready to attack. "Catching you would be very difficult wouldn't it?"
"C-Catching me?" Hinata squeaked out as her laughter died off. She looked into his eyes and gasp as she turned to run.
"I was j-just j-joking!" She laughed as she took to the trees to escape him.
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"I'm going to kill him." Sasuke growled as he wiped his face.
"That's illegal Sasuke." Naruto chirped up as he walked beside Sasuke out of the base.
"Damn," Sasuke groaned. "Why did you ask Lady Tsunade to pair me up with Neji?!"
"Shikamaru said it would be a good idea," Naruto shrugged as they made their way to their separate cars. "And since he's smart I thought that it was a good idea too!"
Sasuke opened his car door after waving off Naruto. "Shikamaru?" he asked out loud. "Why would he intentionally pair me up with Neji?" If he was so smart he should know that the two hated each other and the lack of trust for partners could lead to a fatal mishap.
Sasuke drove home and began speculating.
If Shikamaru made Naruto persuade Tsunade about him and Neji, what about Itachi and Hinata? But why would Shikamaru do that? It didn't make any sense. What was Shikamaru up to?
Great, now this bullshit on top of Sakura drama.
Sasuke groaned as he came to a red light and briefly contemplated banging his head against the steering wheel but thought better of it.
He had sex with her.
There he said it! He finally admitted he ended up sleeping with her. Damn that new Drake album!
The light turned green and he pressed on the gas, already very annoyed. This was before Itachi was proven to be innocent. And let's just say that one night he was drinking his sorrows away and was very depressed and lonely. Then up comes Sakura wanting to cheer him up. He knew he shouldn't have let her into his apartment. He had thought to himself "I'm not that drunk", like what kind of stupid shit was that?! Everybody knows when you tell yourself you're not drunk that's when your piss drunk! He should have told her to get lost like he normally did. Now things were how they were.
Were they in a relationship? Were they not?
Felt like he was back in high school with this shit.
Then Hinata came along and the case got so out of control, he had no time for Sakura and have been ignoring the situation ever since.
As he approached his house, Sasuke parked the car and walked to the Uchiha complex. He would save the Sakura dilemma for another day and would instead talk to Itachi about Shikamaru's plan to team him up with Neji.
He opened the door and paused.
What was that noise? . . . was it . .
Giggling?
What the . . . Sasuke thought as he made his way to the living room only to find Hinata giggling as she laid out on the couch. Itachi was trying to wrap her foot, which was bleeding profusely.
"What's going on?" Sasuke asked. "Why is Hinata bleeding . . . and giggling?!"
"I-I'm t-ticklish—ahahaha!" Hinata laughed as Itachi wiped some more blood off of her foot. He glanced at his brother.
"She's ticklish." He echoed and Sasuke was so confused.
"What the fuck is going on around here?" he asked.
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"So," Sasuke began after they explained what happened. "Hinata fell from a tree and fucked up her foot and you brought her here?"
"Yes." Itachi answered. "Home was closer than the hospital so I thought to at least stop the bleeding before taking her over there."
As the brothers talked, Hinata looked around their home. "Do you both really live here?" she asked. It was very spacious.
"Of course we do, where did you think we lived?" Sasuke asked her.
"But it's so . . . empty."
They looked around the place and for the first time, the brothers realized that their home was indeed . . . lacking.
The only piece of furniture was the couch.
"We don't have a lot of guest over." Sasuke explained embarrassed.
"Most of our things are in storage." Itachi added. "We don't need it because we're always away on missions or training so we opted to leave it there."
There were no decorations, nothing to make the space personal. It was spotless and looked like no one existed within its perimeters.
"It's so clean." Hinata giggled at the brother's sheepish expressions.
"We're not cavemen Hinata," Sasuke grumbled. "It's clean because we clean it."
"So, you have chores, like one day Sasuke would take out the trash," Hinata began as she started to cackle. "And then, Itachi would do the dishes?!" She fell back on the couch roaring with laughter.
"She hit her head too." Itachi explained at Sasuke's weird looks.
"That much is obvious." Sasuke snorted. "You should really," Sasuke began but paused as he looked at Itachi surprised. He watched as Itachi had a small smile on his face as he looked at the Hyuga girl with fascination as she laughed. "Are you even listening?" Sasuke asked and the older Uchiha returned his attention to him.
"What?" Itachi asked.
"Never mind," Sasuke smirked. "Continue looking after your little girlfriend."
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"What happened?"
"Fell from a tree." Itachi explained as Hinata leaned on him because of her wrapped foot.
"How does one acquire a black eye from falling from a . . . tree?" Shino asked as he looked at Sasuke who was holding an ice pack to his eye. Itachi stomped on Sasuke's foot before he could answer.
"It was very strange how it happened." Itachi insisted and Shino gave him a strange look as Sasuke cringed from Itachi's foot.
"I'll take Hinata first seeing that her blood is starting to seep through." Shino responded. The brothers glanced at the girl's foot and sure enough, the blood was starting to trickle through. Once Hinata left with Shino, Sasuke turned and glared at Itachi as they walked over to some chairs.
"Really, you explained my injury as "falling from a tree" when you really attacked me?!"
"Why are you so loud?" Itachi asked Sasuke annoyed.
"Because now I have to go into training tomorrow with a black eye!" Neji will get a real kick out of that!
"Get Sakura to heal it."
Sasuke pouted and crossed his arms as he sat in the lobby chair.
"What's wrong with you two now?" Itachi asked his brother but Sasuke glared at him.
"Don't try to change the subject!" Sasuke yelled and Itachi sighed at him.
"What now?" he asked, slightly amused at seeing Sasuke so flustered from mentioning Sakura.
"You hit me because I called Hinata your girlfriend."
"She's not." Itachi said as he glared at him, his fist ready to clobber his brother if he suggested otherwise.
Sasuke smirked. This was too easy.
"You lik-"
"Guys?" Hinata asked as she watched Itachi lunge for Sasuke.
"I don't know what's going on." Shino began as he stood next to Hinata. "But I know he did not fall from a tree."
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"You didn't have to do this," Hinata murmured as she looked down at the floor.
Itachi was carrying her on his back to her home. "It's my fault you fell." Itachi smirked. "If only I wasn't so old, I would have been fast enough to catch you."
Hinata hid her smirk in his shirt. "I had no idea you were so vindictive Itachi-san."
"I don't have to carry you." Itachi reminded her and Hinata laughed.
"Why don't you just teleport?"
"Why should I waste my chakra?" he countered and Hinata gave up. It's not like she minded being carried by a strong, handsome, and muscular- at that thought, Hinata blushed and borrowed her face deeper into his shirt.
Itachi smirked inwardly to himself. He kind of liked how teasing Hinata made her blush and laugh.
They made their way to Hinata's manor and he stopped. Hinata tried to get off but Itachi held on tightly. "W-What?" She asked.
"Tell them to let me in, I can't let you walk this long driveway. I'll carry you to your room." He said as he stared at the gates surrounding the compound.
"M-my room?" Hinata squeaked.
The gates opened once the guards noticed an injured Hinata on Itachi's back and she momentarily glared at them as she walked passed by. They gave her a sheepish look in return.
"They are still marked." Itachi noticed as he walked pass the branch members.
"Yes, I am trying to find a way of destroying the branch seal, not removing it. That way, the person who conducts the jutsu doesn't end up in my shoes." She added. "My Byakugan is severely limited, worst so than someone who received the seal traditionally. At least now, there is no one using the seals."
"And the houses?" Itachi inquired.
"There are no more Branch and Main houses. Nii-san has merged the two." Hinata said proudly.
"And who is in charge with creating this new jutsu?"
"Me." Hinata said as she motioned to the left after he found his way inside the manor. "I won't stop until I have found a way to destroy the seal." She said it with such vigor, her fist clenching his shirt tightly, Itachi wondered why she hated the seal so much. Since the seal has been outlawed, the Hyuga's couldn't abuse its power. The seal has become more of a fancy tattoo on one's forehead, rather than something to hinder another with.
"Thank you Itachi-san." Hinata said once they were in front of her room.
Itachi helped her get off of him and he steadied her so she wouldn't fall. "Itachi." He murmured.
"Huh?" Hinata asked him.
"Why do you still call me 'san'?" Itachi asked. "After everything we've been through, you are still very formal with me."
"Uh," Hinata was at odds. "I never noticed?" she guessed and Itachi shook his head with a smile.
"Call me Itachi from now on then." He told her. "Shino said you needed to rest your foot. Please rest easy." He told her before he turned to leave.
"Ok, bye Itachi-sa-" Hinata caught herself just in time, "Um, yeah. Bye!" She waved and she saw laughter in his eyes before he teleported. "W-what!" Hinata exclaimed. "But he said he didn't want to waste chakra!"
Grumbling to herself, she opened her door and closed it.
"That's cute."
Hinata whipped around and gasped at seeing Karin in her room. The gleam from her glasses cast a sinister look about her.
"Why are you walking around acting all helpless?" Karin wondered as she looked at Hinata's wrapped foot.
Hinata sighed before stretching her leg and standing on it as if nothing ever happened to it. Her body had healed itself long ago.
"If everybody saw how quickly I healed, it would be suspicious."
"You are already a suspect!" Karin laughed as Hinata rest her weapons on her desk and Karin made herself comfortable by sitting on her bed.
"I know." Hinata mumbled. "Shikamaru suspects something."
"Yes, following you around isn't going to give him the answers he's looking for." Karin sighed as she inspected her nails. "But let him run around in circles."
"Why? What is he suspicious of?" Hinata wondered. Did she somehow . . . tipped him off about her other side?
"It's because you allowed yourself to become so sick." Karin snapped at her. "Now you're suddenly as healthy as a horse? It's all your fault that he's suspicious."
"Me?" Hinata asked incredulously.
"Yes, why did you wait so long to get to Kabuto?" Karin snapped.
"I was in the a middle of a case!" Hinata yelled at her. "Imagine if I was suspected during all of that?"
"I suppose." Karin shrugged. "But Lord Orochimaru put you on the case to get Danzo out of the way, not to befriend those FBI agents." She reminded her. "And it certainly wasn't to save that Uchiha, Itachi. You've probably created a bigger problem for Lord Orochimaru. It would have been better if Itachi was killed."
"I couldn't have gotten Danzo without his help." Hinata snapped at Karin.
"Riiight," Karin laughed. "It would have been easier to leave Itachi die and have Kabuto get you the necessary files to get Danzo arrested. It was harder trying to prove Itachi's innocence."
"Why are you here?" Hinata asked while she glared at the other woman who smirked at her.
"Kabuto wants to know, what's the hold up?"
"I'm working on it." Hinata insisted as she turned her back to Karin.
"It's been 2 months and no results." Karin deadpanned. "You haven't done shit."
"What does he expect me to do?"
"I don't know, but figure it out." Karin said as she got up and began making hand signs. "If Lord Orochimaru doesn't have him by tomorrow night, you're the one who's going to get another curse mark." Hinata cringed when she heard that. She subconsciously rubbed her forehead, where her first mark was.
"How am I supposed to do that so soon?" Hinata whispered in dread.
"That's your problem," she laughed. "He wants him soon," Karin told Hinata as she vanished in a cloud of smoke.
"Sasuke Uchiha." Her voice echoed.
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"Wh-Who's there?" she asked frightened, clutching a kunai to her chest. "I k-know y-you're out t-there." She warned. Her Byakugan was still so weak, she couldn't activate it, but she sensed someone watching her from the shadows.
"You're eyes are pretty." Came a soft whisper.
"W-what?" she asked, taking a step back and snapping a twig.
"I want," the drawl of a haunting hiss began, "Yoouuuu,"
"No!" Hinata cried as snakes ran down the trees surrounding her, flocking to her like a moth to the flame. "No, stay back!"
"Oniisan!" Hanabi shook her sister awake. "Oniisan wake up!"
"Get away from me!" Hinata screamed before Hanabi was thrown from Hinata's bed where she tried to wake her sister. Her head slammed against the wall where she landed. Hanabi slowly fell to the floor as Hinata eyes opened in shock. She sat up and the scream that had threatened to leave her mouth was stuck in her throat as she looked on in horror at what she had just done.
"What's the matter?" Neji asked as he stepped inside Hinata's room only to find Hanabi knocked unconscious and Hinata attending her.
"I-she," Hinata stammered. "She frightened me." She whispered and Neji came to her.
"Was that you screaming?" Neji wondered as he looked at Hinata. The screams woke him from his sleep and as he was on his way over, he heard more screaming before a thick silence settled.
"I don't know." Hinata murmured as other members of the family entered.
"Hanabi-chan came to check on you because we heard you screaming." A maid explained. "She said it sounded like one of your nightmares."
Hinata didn't respond as Neji picked Hanabi up. "I'll take her to the medics." He said. "What happened to her?"
"She frightened me." Hinata repeated. Neji noticed how her hands shook and decided to drop the subject.
After everyone left her room, Hinata stared at her hands. She tried clasping them together to stop them from shaking but to no avail. She glanced outside her window and noticed it was raining.
"Just like that night." She whispered.
Her clasped hands turned to fists as she remembered the night that changed her life.
"I will serve you," she whispered. "Lord Orochimaru." She murmured as the black curse seal emerged on her forehead.
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"Shika," Temari groaned as his cell phone rang the next morning, interrupting their sleep. Shikamaru sighed as he untangled himself from Temari before reaching for his phone on the desk beside his bed.
"Sorry, I have to take this." Shikamaru explained suddenly wide-awake. He quickly grabbed his pants and quickly put them on as he walked outside of his bedroom with the phone.
"Talk to me." He said and he heard a laugh on the other end.
"You don't like to waste time, huh Nara?" the feminine voice snickered on the other end.
"Time is money, especially when I'm dealing with you." Was Shikamaru's curt reply.
"I can't help it that I'm expensive." The woman laughed. "You knew you were dealing with the best when you hired me."
"Just tell me what you found." Shikamaru said. He looked outside a window and saw that the sun had yet to come out.
"I can't tell you everything."
"Then what the fuck am I paying you for?!"
"You're paying me to find out information on the girl, but not even I like money enough to die for it."
"Now that's a surprise." Shikamaru scoffed.
"Oh let the past go Shika," the woman sighed.
"Just tell me."
"I won't tell you everything because I'm sure I'll be killed if I do. And because I'm nice, you don't have to pay me this time because of that."
"Well we don't have all day."
"The girl you had me follow," the woman murmured.
"Is she . . . bad?" Shikamaru asked, he couldn't think of anyway to describe Hinata better. "Should I find ways to arrest her?"
"No." the woman replied.
Shikamaru let loose the breath he was holding relieved. He didn't want to think Hinata was a part of anything suspicious.
"Kill her." The woman said before he heard the dial tone.
A/N: I think some people got confused about the last chapter. That wasn't the end of the story. It was the end of part one I should say. Sorry, I should've made that more clear. The Itachi mystery has been solved and now a new mystery unfolds: who or what is Hinata? Whose side is she on? What is her history with Orochimaru? Who the hell is Shikamaru talking to on the phone—and did he just sleep with Temari!? What is going to happen to Sasuke? What's up with Sakura?! When will there be some ItaXHina?! Or even . . . SasuXHina? Muwahahahahaha! Thank you for all those lovely reviews and don't forget to review this chapter as well and tell me whatcha think!
^_^ Hyuugamistress94 ^_^