Waking up to a child's face pressed into her side was not something Hinata thought she would experience for … a while longer. Her heart only jumped a small bit before she remembered the reality of things, and with a quiet sigh, she brushed hair out of Itachi's face before turning slightly to find a larger, warmer body to her left.

Sasuke had a … perplexing look, to put it simply.

Looming a couple inches over her, he stared at his brother's slumbering face wedged in the crook of her waste. Then, he turned to her and peered at something that she wasn't even aware was on her face.

"Strange."

Most things seemed that way to him. Hinata laughed. "What is?"

"My brother is stuck in a human body," he said. "He lost his only purpose in existence, and to make matters worse, his new, small body has left him weak and susceptible to danger. And yet he sleeps peacefully." He reached out and tapped her cheek, gloved finger centimeters away from brushing the quirked corner of her lip. "And you're happy. It's strange."

Was it really?

Well … yes, it was. But the strange and odd has never disturbed Hinata all that much, and it wasn't about to start now.

"This is what I dream of having one day." Gently, she placed a hand on the top of Itachi's head. "Not him, per se, but … children. A warm bed. Waking up not alone."

"You're not."

She knew, and Hinata grabbed his horns to pull his face to hers and rested her forehead against the heels of her hands, keeping her forehead a good inch above his own.

"I'm so happy, Sasuke," she said, "and I don't want it to stop."

But she knew it had to.

They were taking Itachi back home that day. They had to. There was no way to pull him out of that boy's body; he was stuck to live with it for the rest of his mortal life. Hinata wondered how Sasuke felt about it; he seemed close to Itachi, and his brother was very fond and considerate of him. Separation was inevitable, and Hinata wondered, even without a soul or heart that felt human emotion, if Sasuke would miss his brother dearly.

But then again … you did not have to be human to understand the bonds of family. It was a connection beyond the soul.

Sasuke – Devil or not – was about to lose that bond.

And as most humans were, Hinata felt that pain and brought him closer, trying to give him as much comfort as her weak, mortal body was able to give.

Chapter 20

That Cabin, I Dare Say, Has Taken Another Piece of My Family From Me

Itachi's family was on their way.

Hinata had called them that morning, as the Amber Alert had provided their number along with an emergency number. When she had given the mother her address, she had told her they were a thirty-minute drive away.

Thirty minutes.

So … short.

And now they were on the porch, watching the heavy rainfall around them. Hinata almost had the mind to call Itachi's mother – Mikoto, she had said her name was – and tell her that they ought to schedule a different time, as the rain was too thick and the roads would surely be flooded. But that would be an insult to a desperate mother who would risk their life for the sake of their child, so Hinata kept her phone in the cabin to stay away from temptation and kept her eyes on the road.

Next to her, she heard the plastic bag full of the clothes she had bought Itachi hit the side of his knee every now and then as he swung it at his side. Sasuke was on the other side of him, still and tall, seemingly unaffected. But she had once caught sight of his hands curled into fists and did not for a second believe his nonchalant facade.

"When I had come to this soul when he – when I – was dying," Itachi started suddenly, grabbing both of their attention, "I was still conscious. Mom was crying next to me and Auntie was trying to keep me awake by shaking my arms, but I could not look at anything but …" He swallowed, lips frowning. "I saw me. I saw Death come to take my soul. He was not invisible to my human eyes, and I looked him right in the eye before this soul took us in."

Sasuke gave him a look. "Is that possible?"

"This soul is mine," Itachi said. "I see everything that's attached to it." A small pause that was overcome by the rain. Above, thunder rumbled and clouds blinked with lightning. "Every night, I see that sight. The human brain is a fickle thing, but that image will stay with me forever."

And Hinata believed she understood what he meant: that no matter what happens when he's gone, he'll remember. He'll remember his previous self, the invisible, immortal beings just out of his sight. He'll remember her and Naruto, and he will definitely remember Sasuke.

Again, it was enough to rip her heart to shreds, and she counted her breaths and tried to stay upright and strong. Not just for her own sake, but for the sake of Sasuke, who was too proud to let anything more than a huff leave him at that very moment.

…

"Itachi!"

Mikoto was barreling out of the car before it could properly stop in the driveway, and without a moment of hesitation, he leaped off the porch and met her halfway. She fell to her knees, sobbing, squeezing him close and mumbling things to him. The rain seemed to get heavier, and Hinata quickly rushed out with an umbrella to hold it over them.

"Never do that again!" his mother yelled, fingers locked onto his small shoulders, probably never to release him for the rest of her life. "God, Itachi – you don't know what you put your mother through! Not one bit! I was – God – I'm glad you're okay."

He did not say a word, simply letting her squeeze the breath out of him.

Hinata stayed with the umbrella even when Mikoto finally stood, grasping onto Itachi's hand like it was the only thing keeping her alive.

For a while, there were blubbered thank you's passed her way. Hinata explained how Itachi had just shown up in her backyard one night – not exactly a lie – and after feeding and cleaning him, she saw the Amber Alert and called. Mikoto ran her fingers through her son's hair before giving Hinata an appreciative hug.

"And him." Mikoto waved to Sasuke at the porch, who had not moved an inch. "Please, thank him for me. Thank you both so much."

She squinted from the rain, and Hinata nodded and guided them both to the car, keeping her umbrella nearby and always over them. As Itachi got in the back, the aunt who was in the driver's seat thanked Hinata some more, her own eyes red and heavy with relief. She waved them off as they pulled out of the driveway, watched them go down the road, and when they were finally got, lost all strength in her arms and dropped the umbrella to the ground.

Lightning cracked and wind howled. If her own mother were there, she would say that God was mourning with her.

She wondered, for a second, if that was true. If Naruto saw how broken she was and brought in the rain to hide her tears.

"Hinata."

Heat was at her side, and she saw steam in the corner of her eye.

"Angelus."

"H-H-He's your brother," she gasped, snapping away from the road, "so why am I th-the one who's so upset?"

Sasuke said nothing, only stood in the rain with her until she was too cold and drenched to stand it. She returned to the porch and watched the rainwater pool at her feet. Dripping and shivering, Hinata felt miserable, the total opposite of how she had woken up just hours ago.

…

The next morning was … a little better.

She had all her mother's stuff packed, had everything she brought stuffed in her suitcase, and had only a little bit of a cold. The sun's early morning light was soft and peeking through the trees. Birds sang and dragonflies littered the front lawn as Hinata locked the front door and pushed the key in her pocket.

Sasuke was already waiting on the last step of the porch, her mother's heavy sewing machine resting on one shoulder, as if it weighed nothing, and her suitcase in his other hand. She shot him a smile he did not bother to pretend to believe and dropped onto the grassy ground beyond the porch.

"Ready?"

"Are you?"

No hostility was in his tone, so Hinata was sure he meant it as a genuine question. Nodding, she led the way through the lawn, the dew on the grass trickling down her ankles and dampening her socks as she passed the very spot Mikoto and Itachi had been with a glance no longer than half a second.

Chapter 20 - End