He wondered why Hinata would want to spend any portion of the day with him but still, he nodded and tossed his soup and pop in the trash.
"What about this Itachi-kun?"
"No, I do not like those either."
Hinata knitted her brows and turned her back towards the concession stand. There wasn't a festival today but sometimes there were fun games to play around the village especially when 'traumatizingly' bored. "You have to like something…"
The raven frowned. "No" It was the truth too. So many years had gone by without him doing anything he liked besides eating dango that after a while he slowly forgot what he took interest in.
"Uh … oh." A look of concern flashed across the konoichi's face as she began to twiddle with her calloused fingers. She didn't know what else to say or do at that point. She had been hoping to get Itachi to open up a little but talking to him was like talking to a wall. He really was 'a man of few words'. Still, the Hyuuga found herself amazed by him and maybe that's why she cared to have him talk more even though she didn't talk much herself. Hinata studied how the hot sun bounced off the male's lean figure and silky hair and immediately found herself blushing. No, he wasn't Naruto but for some reason … her heart would just beat wildly every time she saw him. It was the same feeling she had when they crossed paths for the first time at Ichiraku. Although they didn't say much, him smiling slightly in the wrong direction was enough for her. When he smiled … she didn't turn into a cherry and pass out but it was a nice feeling. Hard to explain but, she felt 'warm'.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Hinata gasped, flushed, and raised a hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry!" Had she been staring that whole time?! At that moment, she was glad he couldn't see very well.
Itachi raised an eyebrow as if to study her as the crowds of people passed by, some even taking the time to stare at the Uchiha and Hyuuga together. "You're a weird character."
"I-"
"At least you don't pretend to be extroverted."
Hinata racked her brain for a response but came up empty-handed. She didn't know how to feel about him calling her 'weird'. It wasn't a necessarily good term to use for someone but then again the comment he tacked on at the end made it seem like a good thing.
"Let's take a walk down that path." The raven pointed down a wide concrete trail aligned with thick forestry and lights. "I'm tired of being stared at."
"Good thing Itachi doesn't expect people to say much …" Hinata thought to herself as the duo began to amble down the path, leaving the noisy villagers behind. The first ten minutes of the walk was silent but comfortable. Her mind drifted while listening to the sound of birds and the steady rolling of the wheelchair. It felt surreal to be walking with Uchiha Itachi. Never in her life did she think she would be enjoying a normal day with him. If anything, she thought the first thing she would do would be to tremble and prepare herself to fight a battle that already been won. But there she was, walking side-by-side down a path in the summer's heat, alone, with that person. Itachi. Hinata paused and turned her attention toward the object of her thoughts. "Itachi-kun …" She began when she noticed his strained face.
Itachi coughed, still gripping the wheels of his chair. "What?" He asked somewhat breathlessly. The last thing he wanted was to appear weak.
"Maybe … um … maybe we should turn back because it's pretty hot and stuffy out about now." The shy Hyuuga suggested kindly. She didn't want to out rightly say that the reason for her wanting them to turn around was because the activity was putting strain on his heart. He may not talk about it but she had enough sense to know the sensitivity of the subject.
Itachi closed his eyes for a moment then shot her a glare. Who the hell did she think she was? "I'm fine."
Hinata gasped and flushed, heart racing. She didn't mean to get on the Uchiha's bad side! "N-No, I wasn't saying that you're not okay. I-I j-just thought …" Scrambling her brain for a reason that would sound persuasive enough, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Maybe we could go back to get something to drink!" Sure. Smart.
The raven eyed the konoichi for what seemed like forever. Quietly, he got up for his chair and pushed it to the side. "I can read between the lines." Why was he getting mad? Wasn't she just concerned for him? It made no sense to be angry. Itachi clenched and unclenched his fists, erasing every trace of emotion from his face. He knew why he was angry. Itachi blinked and stared back at Hinata who was currently studying the ground in silence. He was so angry at himself. Angry at himself for being sick. Angry for being weak and pissed off that he couldn't even walk up a trail without taking those pills for a day.
"I apologize for snapping at you." He said quietly yet emotionlessly when the female nodded and they turned around. He really was sorry though. The raven wasn't normally a mean person at all. That was Sasuke's arena. Itachi stared at the blurry trees as Hinata let him gently grab a hold of the nook of her arm so he wouldn't accidentally trip. Being an excellent ninja would be nearly impossible now.
TBC
Okay so I just want to say that I will be updating a lot more now && I'm sorry for the ridiculous amount of time I took to post this. I've been super busy with school && trying to pass. But I'll be done in about 4 weeks so I have a little more time then :] So … until then, try to bear with me!
Other stuff : this story seems like it's not jumping into the action fast enough. I'm probably taking a long time to build up to the climax of the story && everything but I like to add 'slice of life' things into a chapter story so it can seem more real I guess.