Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Eight

Sunrise109

"Higher."

Sweat glistened above her brows as the Hyuuga heiress' breathing slowly returned to normal. Her purple cloak swayed in the breeze, as did her black locks, whilst her posture relaxed back into her 'Ready' stance, left palm outstretched, right arm drawn back and fisted.

Itachi stood several meters away from her, arms crossed, features not betraying anything. Kisame remained motionless at Itachi's side.

Hinata turned away from them, her eyes, with the Byakugan activated, carefully focusing back onto the straw target dummy in front of her.

Imbuing her hands with sapphire chakra again, Hinata lurched forwards and struck out at the dummy, first at its abdomen area, before spinning around and jumping higher into the air to aim a carefully rotating roundhouse kick, this time raising her heel higher, causing the post to shudder violently upon impact, whilst remaining intact, as Hinata had made sure to use just enough force necessary to demonstrate her skills.

Itachi closed his eyes.

"Faster."

Hinata returned to her 'Ready' stance again, her heart beating rapidly in her chest from the exertion. She tried her best to supress a look of incredulity. When would he be satisfied by her performance? They had been training for almost three hours now, and no amount of adjustment after Itachi's short, simple corrections seemed to reach the level of perfection that he desired to draw out of her.

Hinata obediently repeated the technique, all her muscles screaming in protest. Fatigue was edging its way into her body. Nevertheless, she made sure to correct her movements by lurching forwards with much greater speed, in what was already a very fast technique to her eyes.

"Again."

Kisame grinned broadly, looking like he wanted to intervene for her, but suddenly deciding against it, opting to sit down on the ground instead, and merely watch the scene unfolding before him.

Hinata felt like giving up. She looked at Itachi in protest, who merely returned her gaze with a look of expectation, as if challenging her to contradict him.

Which she did.

"Do the Akatsuki know that each ninja has their own limitations? Not all shinobi will attain to the same level of perfection as you, Itachi-san."

A flicker of amusement flashed in those raven-black eyes, as though she interested him. Itachi silently regarded her.

"This is not what I expect of you, but rather the Akatsuki organisation." The Uchiha stated, matter-of-factly.

"Are you sure about that, Uchiha?" Kisame interjected, raising an eyebrow as he stood up, wearily lifting his Samehada blade along with him and locking it over his shoulder. Something about that frightening weapon, covered in various layers of bandages, thoroughly spooked the Hyuuga heiress out. "Her offence is average, her defence is moderate, and her healing skills are probably proficient, but we'll have to wait and see about that. Most members of the Akatsuki have decent defence and minimal to no healing, but stronger than usual offensive combat skills, which makes us rather unique and frightening. She'll do."

Itachi's only response was: "Repeat the technique."

Hinata shot Kisame a quick, grateful smile for his consideration, before she refocused her attention back onto her target.

She could do it. She could please Itachi Uchiha, and meet his expectations. Just remember all the recommendations Itachi had voiced earlier and for the past three hours. Surely, her form was showing signs of improvement by now. Faster, higher, repeat.

If only Hinata knew that the real reason why Itachi was pushing her this hard, had nothing to do with him having unreasonably high expectations of her.

Taking a steadying deep breath, Hinata's body moved before she had even finished exhaling, her palm coming out to strike the target dummy with blinding speed, followed up by a sequence of twisting in the air and bringing out a leg raised as high as she could which clipped the shoulder blade of the target dummy in a sweeping motion, before landing on her feet again swiftly, having spun 360 degrees, her balance steady.

That felt, a lot better… Hinata thought.

With a sudden sense of satisfaction, Hinata realised that the short sequence of movements, which Itachi had taught her at the beginning of the session, had cleared a lot smoother than she had been expecting. It felt so much more natural.

Now, she vaguely understood the logic behind Itachi's previous corrections. How had he known that it would turn out in this positive way?

"Enough."

A subtle incline of his lips, into an unmistakable smile, painted Itachi's features. This was as close to praise that Hinata would receive for the last three hours of intense training. Yes, Danzo's own training had been equally as rigorous, but at least her previous master had allowed more time for breaks in between training intervals. This was an entirely new standard of training altogether.

Hinata's lips quivered into a small smile of her own as she timidly regarded Itachi, glad that her session was now over, and feeling slightly giddy inside, as she hadn't expected that he had been watching her perform that final time, having shut his eyes before the sequence of movements even began. Why did it matter to her, anyway, if he was watching her or not?

"The main purpose of this training session was for us to assess your current skill level." Itachi stated.

He continued. "I am in agreement with Kisame on your ability levels. For now, they are acceptable."

Hinata nodded, accepting their assessment humbly. Danzo surely would've disagreed in his haughty and proud way, clarifying that his secret weapon was perfectly capable of destroying the Akatsuki. But the truth was, Hinata would likely spend her entire time with the criminal organisation trying to catch up to their superior-skilled members.

Looking around at the private open space they were stood in, which was roughly a mile or so away from Kikyo's home, Hinata noted how the fresh blades of green grass shuddered in the passing breeze, and the high afternoon sun beat down on them evenly. A few ocean-blue jay birds were perched in the trees, resting before they took flight, and a couple of butterflies emerged from the canopies of trees, flying carelessly past the trio, weaving in and out of their faces. Hinata was inwardly surprised at how sunny the weather was, considering they were in the Hidden Rain village, but silently counted it as a blessing.

They all spent a moment simply standing in silence, watching the beautiful display of enigmatic butterflies dancing around them, before Itachi finally broke the silence.

"Me and Kisame will be returning to the base. While you are not yet a full or even provisional member of the Akatsuki, you are forbidden from entering our base. Continue our arrangement with Kikyo. I'm sure she doesn't mind the extra help with upkeeping her abode. I will return to you when everything is ready for you to join the Akatsuki, if you are indeed granted membership into our organisation."

"Alrighty then, that was an interesting session. See ya!" Kisame quipped, restless, before disappearing promptly from their midst. It was clear that the Hoshigaki Swordsman had better things to do than to stick around. Admittedly, Itachi did not really know what the Kirigakure Swordsman got up to when they both had free time away from missions, if he wasn't already returning to the base.

But Itachi, rightfully, never asked him, nor did Kisame pry into the Uchiha's whereabouts in his free time. It was none of their businesses.

"Um, Itachi…" Hinata muttered, after a moment.

"Yes, Hinata," Itachi responded, his features looking relaxed. Even though everything about his tone signified that he was disinterested in what she had to say, it was clear from his body language, which was turned in her direction, that he was listening vigilantly.

"Please… Can you remember to mention to your Leader what I discussed with you earlier? About not wanting to be used as some kind of weapon against others anymore..." The Hyuuga trailed off, her soft features becoming downcast as she failed to meet his eyes, remembering her past victims of Koryoku.

"As our medic, your main duty will be to stay out of the main line of combat, however, there may be some circumstances in which you are drawn into the battle despite your best attempts to stay out of it. You must simply not get killed, and if any member is injured, you are to heal and protect them as best as you can." Itachi gave her the explanation thoughtlessly, without missing a beat.

Then the sounds of imperceptible footsteps coming towards her, barely audible to the untrained ear, filled Hinata's trained ears as she lifted her head to look back up.

"I cannot guarantee that you won't be used again," He uttered softly, calmly, quietly.

Itachi now stood scarcely a meter away from her. This close, she had a better view of his enchanting features. His chrome-black eyes, hardened over the years with the sight of endless bloodshed, yet still young and somewhat innocent-looking. The length of his eyelashes and the way they flickered as he closed his eyes and reopened them. His raven-black locks, held back in a low ponytail; his face, framed by dark strands that had escaped his ponytail and now fell forwards against his high, noble cheekbones. The mysterious features of his black cloak against his skin, which were patterned with blood-red clouds mystified her, and its high collar that was more open at the front.

Itachi's hand lurched out, coming towards her face.

Time seemed to stop, as Hinata allowed his delicate hand to inch closer towards her.

Most unexpectedly, Hinata felt two fingertips brush against her forehead, before pressing more firmly against her skin, and before Hinata knew it, she realised that she had just been poked… by none other than…

"Itachi…"

He reopened his eyes, and the way that his onyx gaze met hers with such intense compassion, she almost felt like falling forwards into his arms, once again, except consciously this time, in order to be safely enclosed in those inescapable, protecting arms.

"…But I will make sure that you're not hurt again by the likes of Danzo. Or anyone else, for that matter." He promised.

Hinata blinked, but when her eyes reopened a semi-second later, he was no longer there.

If she hadn't pinched herself at that moment, Hinata could've agreed that she had been dreaming.

But it had certainly felt real. The ghost of his fingertips still tingled against her forehead.

Now, left alone in the forest clearing, feeling slightly disorientated, trying her best to process what had just transpired between the two, Hinata shook her head, replaying Itachi's words.

"…But I will make sure that you're not hurt again by the likes of Danzo. Or anyone else, for that matter."

Those simple words were pledging themselves to much responsibility, but for some reason, Hinata believed them, and only because Itachi had voiced them.

For some reason, that thought confused her—shouldn't she fear him, the mass murderer who'd annihilated his own Clan eleven years prior?

The mystery, the enigma surrounding the Uchiha heir continued to evade her, swirling above her head, an unknown and unsolvable puzzle, a gaping gap in her knowledge.

I had better head back to Kikyo's. Hinata thought, finally coming back to her senses, and wondering what the next day would hold, and when exactly she would be officially initiated into the Akatsuki organisation, if she was granted their membership.

Could it be tomorrow? In a weeks' time? In a few months?

Activating Byakugan, Hinata began her steady trek back to Kikyo's cottage that was only twenty minutes away, a heavy weight finally lifted off of her shoulders.

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A/N: Just a slight clarification, the age of Hinata in this fic is 18, and Itachi is 22. This story loosely follows the Shippuden canon storyline, and I've raised the characters' ages by about 1 year and 6 months.

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter…?

I love you all! :D

See ya!

Sunrise109