eleven.

"Shosa!"

Itachi was greeted with a saluting Hinata, and although that habit of hers still got on his nerves, he couldn't stop the smile that graced his lips.

"At ease, Hinata," he said gently, ruffling her hair as he passed her. "Let me see how far you've gotten."

Silently, she led him towards her room. His eyes were stuck to the back of her head, watching the way her – still – messy hair bounced with every step she took, quite contrary to the blank expression on her face. She had grown about two inches since he had taken her under his care and as of the moment, didn't need to be called to the front lines. At least, not yet.

Naturally, his meeting with the Major General last month hadn't gone well. He had tried to give Hinata her freedom, even going so far as to directly challenge the Queen, but his efforts were in vain. In the end, they had threatened him to move the girl to Ibiki Morino's custody, and knowing the man, he couldn't allow that. He was an expert in interrogation, brutal in battle and was known for his lack of mercy. Hinata would wilt under his command.

Itachi was not one to give up though, so instead, he struck up a deal. He asked for a two-month break for him to teach her the basics of their language and a break from the battlefield. His request had gained many violent feedbacks but none he couldn't take. And of course, he won.

Now they were a month into that deal and he was pleased to find out that she was a fast learner. She had already finished the two children's books he had lent her and was now moving onto intermediate literature. What surprised him the most with this little plan he'd come up with though was the fact that when speaking, she was…

"H-Here you go!" she exclaimed, stiffly handing Itachi her notebook where she wrote down the sentences he had asked her to examine.

She was incredibly shy.

"Thank you." Nonchalantly, he flipped through her progress. She was getting better at writing as well, her penmanship small and neat, almost as if she was too scared to make a mistake. He followed the lines that she wrote down and nodded with approval. He looked over it one last time before he closed the book and glanced at her. She was staring at the window where her friend, the bird, had begun to titter across, knocking at the window pane with its beak.

He smiled. "You made a few mistakes with the arrangement of words, but overall, you've been a very good girl," he praised, tapping the book on top of her head.

She lowered her eyes in embarrassment, nodding. "T-Thank you, Sho—Shosa."

Itachi found it ironic how terribly meek she was when speaking wherein she could be so harsh in battle. Sasuke had called this a weakness and told him he should have never taught the girl how to speak, but the older Uchiha saw this as something good. This meant she could still be someone else, not the Anbu's Princess that everyone called her. The name was spreading across the countries and kingdom's but no one, except him, knew who she actually was.

Hinata. His little Hinata. Not even the girl herself was aware of that.

As he sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her to sit next to him, Itachi wondered when he had gotten so attached to the girl. He was only supposed to take care of her for a little while and not like this. Somewhere along the way, he had gotten lost.

His eyes softened as he ran the brush through her hair. Strange how it did not mind him that much.

a/n: Sorry for the delay, I was out in the city all day and I just got home. I was worried I wouldn't be able to update today but it's a good thing that my muse loves me enough to whip up this chapter. I skipped a terrible lot this time but I hope that's okay? Things should be a little calmer for the next bit until the terrible stuff happen (oh wait what) but until then, enjoy these little ItaHina moments! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and again, thank you for the reviews, I love reading through them when I have time and they make me happy :)