Here I am again. Just a few things. Short, introspective chapter again. Chapter 12 will be even stranger…sigh

Good news: done with chapter 20 and planned until chapter 25, more or less. Bad news: no inspiration…sigh

PS no BETA again, please me gentle and correct me…

Dedication: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SISSE! I LOVE YOU! – glomp –

Chapter 11: Uncovered

Some days passed since that morning.

But…how many?

Hinata didn't know.

Ever since that, her head felt so heavy, so void so…fluctuant.

Memories and fragments of heat and pleasure chased around her mind, filling her insecurities with new doubts and questions.

All of those scary but pleasing moments were carved into her body and soul, leaving her breathless and confused.

Why did he like to play with her like that?

Was that a punishment for her stubbornness?

Uchiha Itachi surely was a strange guy, she already knew it.

What she didn't know was, indeed, the fact he turned out to be such a smart manipulator.

And he really liked that sick game. The tiny, sharp art of amusing himself with her feelings, as if it wasn't the most normal activity to break the boredom and occupy himself.

"Monstrous", everyone would have called it so.

'Annoying and rather cruel' she considered, matter-of-factly.

Trying to avoid that matter, then, Hinata's mind moved to ponder about her situation, which, truth to be told, wasn't exactly a bed of roses.

Or rather, on the contrary, it was more of a bed of thorns.

Even if she was now getting used to her new life, the sensation of loitering between the devil and the deep blue sea, hadn't diminished at all.

In fact, as the days passed by, a spiky, insistent thought slowly crawled into her mind, giving her a new matter to be concerned about.

As if she didn't have enough to care about yet…

How did the villagers deal with the news of her betrayal? Did they send someone to rescue – or rather capture – her? There was no way to predict it. Tsunade-sama surely was a smart kunoichi, but it was really hard to imagine the shy, submissive, sweet-hearted Hyuuga Hinata as a traitor.

However, on the other hand, there was that great trouble named Uchiha Itachi and all that followed.

Uchiha Itachi, the man whose temper was as instable as the spring weather.

The man who enjoyed to inflict pain.

Correction: the man who enjoyed to inflict pain to her.

And yet, because of her damned obstinacy, she couldn't avert her thoughts from him.

The less she understood, the more she got interested.

The more she felt startled, the less her fear showed up.

It made a completely nonsense, it was obvious.

But so it was, nothing more, nothing less.

Her hand absentmindedly reached her neck, brushing against the spot he had tainted with his touch just a few days before.

'He tried to rape me the first day we met' she stated, dryly.

She sighed, lifting her hand to rest her cheek on it.

'Or, maybe he never wanted to commit violence in first place…'

But then, after that, his behaviour oscillated between mocking and caring, joking and being stern. And the greatest matter was she couldn't tell when he played dumb and when he really was serious.

Ok, all of her considerations were nothing original, given that his attitude was stark in the open since the very first moment. But, day after day, that feeling had become more and more plain and insistent, almost...mocking. Sometimes she even had the impression to be a poor, incompetent actress playing on a cheap backstreet stage.

'The devil dressed up as a joker…'

Or, maybe "A joker dressed up as the devil…"

'Maybe he likes me – she ventured, turning her gaze to the window – or maybe I'm the one to…'

"Maybe".

That was the perfect word to describe him.

Dealing with him was "maybe". Getting along with him was "maybe". Being put together on a mission was "maybe".

Her whole, entire life was now "maybe".

Probably, considering their "relationship" in another context, it just would have seemed to be a normal way young people use to get acquainted but, looking at it more properly, it just seemed like a devil chasing around an angel, willing to rip off her wings.

'An angel, or maybe…a fairy' Hinata pouted, biting her lower lip.

And then, the question was: was she willing to be caught? Or rather…was she able to really escape if she ever wanted to?

Hinata clenched her fists, scowling a bit.

Because the truth was that, in front of him, she felt completely uncovered.