Author's Note: We're doing it ! This is the longest thing I've written in a long time and I'm super into it so I hope you guys are enjoy reading as much as I am writing it. This chapter gets a little dark.
She... wasn't sure what she expected... but this certainly wasn't it. Maybe she'd been expecting a cave... or a shack... but... The two men made their way into the small abandoned farm home in the Land of Water. It'd only taken them a few days to get here, but Itachi was already tired just from the travel...
Hinata didn't go in yet. This would have been... so cute... if it wasn't for the eerie mist rolling across the lands. She couldn't help but wonder the story behind it. It looked like no one had been here in quite some time... there were three small sectioned off fields, and what appeared to be a small storehouse off towards the sparse tree line. The mist hung low and heavy on the barren land, creating a fog around the feet. It gave it a spookier vibe than if it had been bright and sunny out, but... it wasn't offputting... it still seemed... homely.
There were posts for scarecrows in the middle of each of the fields... but they had long since been removed. Remnants of the past. The wind rolled through, blowing tendrils of mist through her feet. The hair on the back of her neck rose... it felt like she was being watched all the sudden. The young woman activated her eyes... oh... with a furrowed brow... she entered the small home - following after her companions.
Itachi seemed to have already retired. Kisame was cleaning up the kitchen area. There was a surprising... lack of dust for an abandoned home... Hinata stayed very quiet... she... slightly hoped they wouldn't notice. "Is... this your house?" She asked after a few moments...
Kisame looked up at her and nodded a bit. "Technically, yes, it belonged to my great grandfather, but no one after him wanted to be farmers. So it just kind of sat while the family moved on." He explained, and went back to rummaging through the cabinets. There were a few cans here and there... but not much. He left them. "I'm going to go get some fish, I'll be back." Their food rations were low, and it seemed like they had plans to be here for a while...
Hinata crept through the house to check on Itachi. She found him sleeping soundly on an old bed in the bedroom. He was lying on top of the covers, his cloak hanging over a chair. He looked peaceful as his chest rose and sank slowly in rhythm... and then she heard it.
"OoooOOoooOOOO..." It was like a ghostly whisper carrying through the house... she headed back towards the kitchen area... the house was starting to fill with mist and the front door was open... "OooOOOOOOooOOO!" The sound was louder in the kitchen and living room area. She looked towards the old fireplace. Oh. This was just... not... good. The mist swirled along the floor and she moved to close the door.
"Hinata." His voice cut across the room like a dagger. It was harsh and cold. "What's going on?" Those bright red eyes peered around the room. He seemed... a bit angrier than usual.
"Ki-Kisame left the door open when he left... I... just c...came to close it..." She said softly. With the door closed, the mist slowly was starting to dissipate, condensation forming on the glassware and windows.
"What was all that noise?" He looked... mad. It made Hinata extremely uneasy. She hoped it was just... crankiness from lack of sleep... "It... it was nothing, Itachi... please go back and rest. I'll take care of it." The man looked at her for a few long moments, his eyes then scanned the room once more. Nothing... looked out of place.
Without a word he turned and went back to the room, the door slammed shut behind him. How... how was she supposed to take care of this type of issue? She didn't even know where to start... "Spirits... if you can hear me..." She started softly, she didn't want Itachi to hear her talking to 'spirits'. "Please leave this place... find somewhere else to go... even if temporarily..." There was no response. Hinata activated her eyes and sighed.
She headed outside and looked around. She looked back at the house... she didn't want to leave Itachi here alone while resting... keeping her eyes activated, she started off across one of the fields to go check in the supply shed. It was mostly empty, an old seed spreader was tucked away in the corner, along with a few rusty tools, but that was it.
She reached into her pockets and pulled out a candy bar she'd bought in the last town they'd gone through. "Here... is an offering... this seems like a suitable place of rest for you..." She felt... awkward... so very awkward. She turned off her eyes as she headed back to the house. Hoping this was enough to encourage their house guests to leave.
As she entered the home, she went to check on Itachi again. The man seemed to be resting again... she sighed and moved into the room, gently closing the door behind her. She looked around the room, searching for a place to sit or lie down and there... really wasn't one. However, similarly to the last time, the man knew her intentions. He scooted over in the bed, making room for her... this bed was far smaller than the one at the hotel...
She hesitated... standing in the middle of the room, just staring at the spot he wanted her to get in. There was a heavy exhale from the male. "Stop being weird about it. Just get on the bed." There was no kind suggestion. She could tell he wasn't in the mood today... so she did as she was told.
She tried lying on her back at first, but there wasn't enough space where her shoulder wasn't jabbing into the male's back. She tossed and turned for a moment - just... trying to find a space she fit in. "Stop." She froze at his words. She was on her side - facing outwards towards the room. The man adjusted on the bed, turning to face her back as he slipped an arm around her and tugged her sharply and suddenly back against him... they both fit much better this way.
He left his arm around her waist as he settled into the bed, closing his eyes once more. She was... stiff as a board. So much of his body was pressed against hers... and that hand around her waist... it was resting half on her stomach... so close to her... her face burned red. This was... too much. "I...Itachi..." She murmured softly. He didn't reply... she just... stayed quiet after that...
She wasn't sure how long it took, but eventually she did drift off. Relaxing back against the males strong chest and arms. Itachi however... didn't fall back asleep so easily. Despite being in the forest for so many days she still smelt like lavender and honey... she really was a beautiful young woman... Eventually he did fall asleep, his face buried in the back of her hair.
They woke to the sound of swearing and cursing from the front door. They bolted out of the bed and to see what was happening. "What the HELL is this!" He snapped angrily. He was COVERED in a green goopy ooze... and there was a bucket resting in the middle of the floor. He looked livid.
Hinata looked mortified. Itachi looked... stoic. He turned his gaze to Hinata, waiting for her to explain. She shook her head sharply. "I have no idea!" She blurted out. "I'll get you cleaned up!" She practically RAN out of the house to fetch a bucket of water from the wall - completely ignoring the fact that he'd probably have already cleaned himself up with a simple water jutsu by the time she got back.
She hurried to the well and lowered the bucket. She was extremely nervous, this was not... this was not how she'd expected this 'layover' trip to go. She was deep in thought about the time she felt two hands shove her lower back. She hit the lip of the well, losing her balance and grip on the bucket rope as she topped over the ledge and into the hole. A shrill scream left her lips, echoing off the walls of the well. She caught herself before she hit the water, focusing chakra into her hands and feet as she slid down the wall to a slow stop.
Her heart was racing... that... that could have been really bad... she activated her eyes and peered up the well towards the light. The being was already gone... but Itachi and Kisame were fast approaching the well. "Where is she?" She heard Kisame's voice ask, he didn't sound... worried but perhaps a tad concerned, though she doubted it was for her well being.
Hinata started making her way up the well walls. "In... here..." she grunted lightly. This was always easier with momentum. She was fighting against the natural law of gravity after all. Two heads popped over the opening of the well, peering down at her. Once she got close enough, Kisame reached down and grabbed the back of her jacket, hauling her out.
As she suspected, he'd already been cleaned of the green goop, and her trip to - and into - the well was for nothing. "... seriously?" He asked as he sat her down. Hinata looked... a bit irritated and flustered. "Something pushed me." She spoke with a bit of a stern tone. She was not going to be made fun of for something that wasn't an accident. The pair looked at each other and then back at Hinata.
"What's actually going on here? Eerie noises while I was sleeping, green goop, and now you've been pushed in a well?" Itachi was staring right at her with those bright crimson eyes, and suddenly... she was at a loss for words. "I... it's... I just... there..." She couldn't pull together a sentence all the sudden.
A bit of anger flashed through those crimson orbs. "Use. Your. Words." He spat a bit harshly. She took a shaky breath and centered herself. "Ghosts. There's... ghosts in the house. I tried to get them to move out... to the shed..." She started talking softer and softer as she went, both men looking at her like she was insane. They could both tell she was lying, it was extremely obvious... she wasn't a very good liar...
"Ghosts? Huh?" Kisame's lip curled up a bit, bearing those sharp teeth. "Yeah, they will be." He was still angry over the bucket, and his sword was purring, excited by his rage. "Take her inside." It was... difficult for Hinata to see this side. He was so... friendly sometimes... it almost made her forget the... bad parts. He'd grown up in these lands... these blood-thirsty lands...
"Kisame... don't..." Hinata whimpered. "They're just children... they were living here..." They had come into their home... the children just wanted them out... they wanted their home back... they were dirty and ragged and Hinata had no idea where their parents were...
"We can't let them go." Itachi said calmly. He put a hand on Hinata's shoulder as he turned her to guide her back towards the house. Itachi already knew he was going to play with them... Kisame had been pent up... and with such easy targets... Hinata was trembling. She'd been trying all day to get them to just... hide in the shed till they left...
Her pale eyes quivered at the corners. This... this had nothing to do with politics... this had nothing to do with changing the way villages operate... this was just... this was just cruelty. She took off towards the house, slamming the front door shut behind her, and the bedroom door as she threw herself on the bed.
This was too much. This wasn't what she wanted when she left the village. Even as she buried her face in the bed... much like a child peeking through their fingers she turned on her eyes to watch...
Itachi entered the room after a few moments... and she watched as Kisame located the children... as they ran... tripped... scrambled... desperately tried to help each other get away... but Kisame was so fast... he was in front of them... and then behind them... and... Hinata started crying. They were yelling for help, yelling for each other to look out... She turned off her eyes as Itachi sat on the bed next to her.
She looked up at him and then... all the screams stopped. She felt... a strange sense of peace. The world seemed to dissolve around her... and she knew what this was. "We can go anywhere you'd like..." He said softly. "I understand how hard this is... but you do get used to it." Her lip quivered as she looked up at him. She... couldn't help but wonder what exactly happened to him... why did he do what he did?
Their surroundings changed into a meadow. It was... pleasant... but the sky was a deep red. He sat across from her... and they sat in silence. The tall grass swaying around them in the soft breeze. She slowly stopped shaking... and the tears left her eyes... they sat there for what seemed like hours. He was giving her as much time as she needed. To think things through... to process... to come to terms with her new life...
"They would have told people we were here..." She spoke softly... her eyes finally leaving his and looking down at her hands clasped in her lap. The male nodded slowly. "And then they would have come for us. Do you save two, or a whole town?" He asked her quietly... she took a pause, and slowly pulled her knees up to her chest. Resting her forehead on them as she hid her face.
He was right, and that's what made it so hard... but... they didn't... he didn't have to toy with them. He didn't have to make their last moments so filled with fear... more time passed and she slowly unfolded herself and laid back, looking up at the hauntingly beautiful sky. Itachi got up and moved to lie next to her. She turned her head and looked at him. This was the most alone time they'd ever spent together conscious...
"Can I... ask you something...?" She spoke softly, and never received an answer. After a few moments, she decided to ask anyway. "What... what happened to you?" There was a long silence, and when he spoke, he didn't answer her question. "Do you feel better now?" He sat up, looking down at her. He knew the screams of the children had stopped back in the real world, and that meant it was time to leave.
She sat up, looking at him with sad eyes. She assumed it must be painful for him to talk about... she couldn't imagine killing her whole family... her father... her cousins... "Yes, thank you." He reached over and patted her head once, letting his hand rest on her head as he lightly ruffled her hair. A deep blush crept over her cheeks. O-oh.
And then they were sitting on the bed once more, back in that old decrepit house... the sound of the front door closing echoed through the house. "I'm done, I'll start dinner." His voice carried to the bedroom as he started banging around the kitchen. He still had to clean the goop off the fish he'd gotten, and he was displeased by this.
Hinata sniffled and wiped her nose. She... wanted to go help but she... wasn't sure she could look at him right now. She was scared... and it showed. "He is not going to hurt you." He said as he moved to stand up. "Feel free to stay here as long as you'd like." Itachi got up off the bed and left the room, going to offer Kisame a hand with dinner. He was tired, but he'd have plenty of time to rest.
She didn't come out till she was called for dinner. He was right... she didn't feel like he was a threat to her... in fact... he seemed to kind of like her a bit... or maybe she was just hopeful... she was an impressionable young woman after all, she - just like everyone else - was looking for a place she felt like she belonged. The house smelt heavenly. He'd fixed a full dinner. It was... nice to eat more than meat on a stick.
He grinned at her while he bit into a fish filet. "Eat up kid, you need your strength." It was like the events from earlier had never happened, like he hadn't... fed those children to his sword like a snack. She nodded quickly, picking up her fork as she started to eat. Itachi gave a small nod, pleased she was eating, and also started to eat.
The meal was quiet, and the two men retired shortly after clean up. Hinata moved to the closet and grabbed two old and dusty sheets... she carried them outside as she headed to the shed... doing her best not to absorb the scene in the fields. She was trained for this... separate the job from the emotions...
She performed a shadow clone jutsu. She and two clones each grabbed an old shovel and headed out to the field. It took them a while...they worked well into the night but they dug two graves side by side... and now... the hard part... she finally... turned her eyes up to one of those posts... he'd strung the poor children up... like morbid scarecrows... this was awful...
She went to start pulling one of the bodies down... when a fourth pair of hands offered aid in gingerly lifting the body and carefully placing it on the sheet. She looked at him with sad eyes, and he offered a sad smile. "Come on, then. We don't have all night..." He headed over to the other post, starting to untie the body. The young woman and her clones assisted, and they gave the kids a proper burial. They couldn't have been older than ten or eleven... they had had so much life ahead of them...
Itachi helped her shovel dirt back over the graves. They worked in silence, and once they were done... they simply went inside. The pair washed their hands and... she didn't think twice this time as she laid down on the bed next to him, his arm tucked under her neck, but plenty of space still left between their bodies. Kisame was sleeping soundly on the floor, the sound of his snores echoing off the walls. "Thank you..." She whispered softly before closing her eyes, trying to find peace in sleep.