Chapter Three

Naruto

The Weight of the World

Questions

" I-I don't get it..." She murmured into the air as she sat in her hollowed spot once more. She had come back again, almost fearfully, almost anticipating his arrival. She had sat in silence for a while, hoping he would come.

He hadn't shown up yet.

Maybe he was dead....maybe he decided that maybe he tired of the conversations they had or maybe he had gotten offended by her words yesterday or maybe-

" Get what?"

She felt a shock race down her spine and she looked up once more and there he crouched, on the tree branch, staring down at her. His eyes were a deep, metallic black, drawing her into them and drowning her until she could no longer breathe. Once more, she was lost in his eyes.

Frozen, she racked her mind, trying to remember what she had said. " I don't get w-why you k-keep com-coming back," She said, searching his emotionless face for answers.

" I could ask the same of you," He answered, cocking his head and flipping a kunai in his hand dangerously. " You know I'm planning on killing you. You should be gone by now, running away....telling your worthless Hokage of my presence....of my intentions....."

Hinata felt her face burn. She looked away and drew her legs up to her chest, resting her face on her arms. She swallowed down the bile that rose to her throat at his words and whispered, " I d-don't know why....why I'm not saying anything. I don't know w-why you haven't killed me. I d-don't know why I-I'm talking t-to you....b-because you've murdered you're p-parents and l-left S-Sasuke liv-living in h-hell f-for the r-rest of his days..."

He looked at her and she waited with baited breath for his response.

" That's the most you've ever said in one go."

She looked up and he landed on the ground in a quick flash. She flinched in shock." I don't know either," He said, before sitting down across from her.

She looked at him and felt her body hairs raise up. She tensed for any sudden movements...any warning that he might kill her....but she knew deep down, if he wanted to kill her, she'd be dead by now.

And she was planning to live.

" Why h-haven't you ap-approached Sasuke y-yet?" She asked, softly. " Wh-Why aren't you d-dead?"

" It wasn't the right time," He answered.

Her head lowered once more. " Oh."

They were silent for a while and he played around with his kunai. She kept her eye on the kunai, waiting for the time when he would throw it at her heart.

" Why do you come here?" He asked, suddenly.

She looked at him, surprised. Then she answered, slowly, " To evade reality."

" To evade reality?" He snorted. " You mean, to be a coward?"

" You're a c-coward too," She said softly. " You're t-trying to evade reality...by dying."

He looked at her for a long while and she felt herself flush hard. " You don't know anything about me," He hissed. " Didn't your parents ever tell you to be afraid of me? I'm a slaughterer. I can kill you any second I want. I can puncture you with one hole and you'll watch your blood drain out of your body without being able to do one thing about it. I can torture you for three days straight-" He stopped and his shoulders sagged.

Hinata felt fear paralyse her as she remembered what had happened to Kakashi and Sasuke. She gulped and swallowed trying to remind herself why she was doing this. In a twisted way, she was trying to prove to herself that she was strong. She can sit here, in front of Itachi and not be afraid of death.

Right now, however, all she wanted to do was run.

He ran a hand through his dark hair and she felt her face burn once more. Why was she so hot?

He looked at her out of the side of his eyes and shook his head, staring up at the sky." I don't even know why I'm getting so emotional about this," He said slowly and deliberately.

Hinata tried to change the subject. If they persisted on this subject, she may just end up lifeless.

But what could she talk about with him? Her heart's feelings, emotions and thoughts? She nearly scoffed at the thought but her own eyes widened as she heard her voice begin to talk.

" M-my father has given up on me. He t-tried to train me when I was little...but I've n-never had the heart to k-kill or hurt someone else. When I should've been t-training, I was making healing p-potions and poultices. He hated me because I was e-everything he didn't want in a h-heiress. So he moved his a-attentions to Hanabi."

She looked up, apprehensive and he was watching her, not one emotion displayed on his pale skin. " My little sister," She provided and he nodded, slowly, showing that he was listening.

" I've been attacked, over and over since I w-was l-little. Everyone w-wants the Hy-Hyuuga secrets. A-And since I-I'm so weak...N-Neji must protect m-me....but N-Neji hates m-me....and no one a-acknowledges me....a-and I'm w-worthless..." Her voice went quiet, and she could feel familiar tears burning her eyes.

Then she jerked out of her trance. She had just told this all to a man who wanted to kill her. A mass slayer. A heartless killer who had killed his own family, his parents, and ruined the life of his little brother.

She was a traitor to Konoha....but for some reason, she felt so good after spilling everything to Itachi...and she didn't know why...

" Strange," Itachi said, slowly.

Hinata looked up, her eyes anxious. " What's strange?" She questioned.

" Strange....how much you pity yourself."

She froze at his harsh words. " I-I don't p-pity myself-"

" You do. Otherwise you wouldn't come here everyday, crying and sobbing. You wouldn't be afraid and you wouldn't stammer. But you do. Because your selfish. You pity yourself. Your world is centred on the fact that you don't get affection. And all you do is moan and complain and cry. And added to that, you're a weakling," Itachi said, emotionlessly, his eyes steely and cold.

Anger was burning through Hinata and she leapt to her feet. " SH-SHUT U-UP!" She said as loud as she could. And then she turned around and stormed off.

And as soon as she reached her house, she stared back at the woods with absolute shock. She wasn't dead yet. She checked her back and her mouth dropped open shock. No marks, no kunai lodged in her skin, no jutsu-

She had just told Itachi Uchiha to shut up.

She felt herself grow faint and she collapsed on the stairs of the Hyuuga mansion.

---------

Maybe that was too harsh, Itachi thought to himself as he watched Sasuke reading a book on techniques. But it was true. And he had to say it.

He had wondered himself why he kept coming back to that spot. Watching that pale skinned Hyuuga girl talk. He watched her eyes grow big with surprise, sadness, fear, shock....he wondered what she would look like smiling.

Itachi then stared back at Sasuke, who was climbing up the stairs. Maybe now, he thought to himself. Maybe he should appear in front of Sasuke now....invite him to fight....show him a couple of good moves and then submit himself to Sasuke's hits....and then die...

Die for his sins.

But he couldn't. He couldn't make himself move. He watched as Sasuke climbed into bed and went to sleep. Itachi turned around and walked away.

The time wasn't right, he repeated to himself. Today just wasn't the day.....

a/n: Third chappie...muah ah aha...