Juliagulia1017: Whew, I thought I had driven you away. Thanks for the support!
Blue-Shine-Angel: Here you go!
Wrath-Envy987: So close! Having the Akatsuki leader pay a visit was my original plan, but it didn't work out.
Ever Rin: Next chapter ready!
AuroraStarPhoenix: Sorry if Itachi seems out of character, but it's necessary if the story is to go on. If he really was that evil, Hinata wouldn't have survived the first day!
Dreamalluwant2: Sad is good. Or maybe you don't think so. Anyway, I hope that you'll like this one.
Firewindgurl: Oh, don't worry, I was going to finish this someday! As for the romance, it's mainly because I can't write any kissing scene without making it corny. Glad you like drama.
Crystalline Tears: Itachi will never be able to forget that forbidden fruit, that's for sure. It's made him realize a lot of things, too many things for him to be content with the life he has now. Oh, and Sasuke's still got a little avenging craziness going on for him!
Rynx-Too-Genki: That's how it became a triangle! I couldn't choose! Who knows? Maybe it won't be either of them. :) Anyway, it doesn't seem like Hinata has a choice, since Itachi is a criminal and all.
Kichou: Nice Sasuke makes me want to make a sasuhina…
SKiLLs-with-a-Z: Last chapter was a little less of doom and gloom, wasn't it? I'm glad that you're fond of both pairings since I like to alternate.
LunarDaughter: Heh heh, I know what you mean. I love pairing my fav. female character with practically all the eligible guys! A Sharingan and Byakugan cross would be one of the greatest things to happen in Naruto!
Nanthakon v2.0 k Taiwan: Glad you picked up on possible Sasuhina! Truthfully, Hinata would be great with anyone of those guys. And you're right, Sasuhina does have a decent fighting chance, if Sasuke cares to challenge his brother and Neji, that is.
Silentxangel: I would continue, but a lot things wouldn't match so I'm not sure if I can go on. Besides, I always had a set idea for the ending so I didn't want to change it too much. Your analysis is very accurate! I did make it so that Itahina under difference circumstances seems more likely than Nejihina. But sometimes you don't end up with the person you love most. Sasuke doesn't know for sure that Sharingan is demonic. Plus, he isn't as judgmental as Itachi. Itachi has difficulty understanding himself because his mind works by placing things in broad groups (even though he hates other people doing it) and he's already condemned both himself and the Sharingan as "cursed". He doesn't understand that "demon" isn't the same as "evil." Sasuke knows this because of his close friendship with Naruto (who obviously isn't evil). Hinata is only "following Sasuke's path" because both can't let go of Itachi's memory no matter how what they do. The other questions will probably be answered later on.
Raito Hana: Thank you!
Chibi Tetra: I'm glad I've been able to keep you guessing!
Meibou: Bonds are interesting things to explore. I'm busy drawing lines connecting Hinata to those three and it's surprising what I find!
Hyperthermophile: Thank you! I was afraid that I couldn't pull it off properly.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
---
"Go on and hate me," Itachi stated frostily. Hinata's silence irritated him; he imagined that she cowered away as prey would from a predator. "Now that you know the truth, go on and fear who I am."
He was the one who could put her into agonizing nightmares with a single glance, wasn't he? He was a monster, so terrifying and incapable of compassion. And yet… What was that bright feeling that made him so discontented with what he had?
"I don't fear you because of that," Hinata said. She wondered aloud with innocence that Itachi had not seen in a long time, "Why do you think I care about that? What does it matter if you hold part of a demon inside you?"
It was an answer that he had not expected to hear from anyone.
Itachi had believed himself incapable of love because he was a demon's heir. He had blamed them for thinking that they knew him. But now, he was the one doing the judging and dividing between those of cursed, noble, and common blood. He was a hypocrite.
All of a sudden, Itachi recalled himself being streaked with the blood of other shinobi, enemy and ally alike. Never with his own.
So how did he know that he was really so different? Had he ever looked into himselfBack then, Itachi had turned away because he could not offer her something better. She deserved something pure, and the most he could give was already tainted.
It was… too late.
---
Itachi stepped out into the courtyard with a face that betrayed none of his emotions.
At that instance, a barrage of kunai and shuriken was hurled directly at him. Unfazed, he merely avoided them all. Not a single one had nicked his cloak.
That attack was but a shinobi's greeting. He had known that his brother would return.
Itachi turned his eyes upwards where Sasuke was leaping down on him. He retaliated swiftly. Avoiding the blow, Sasuke landed neatly back on his feet. The two brothers stood up, facing each other, eye to eye.
"Little brother, do you have the same eyes as I do?" Itachi asked, repeating the old challenge he had issued years ago. His irises now reflected the pattern of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Sasuke's Sharingan had appeared, but it was only the three separated segments and not the connected wheel of the Mangekyou. Itachi's eyes narrowed. Didn't Sasuke know that his childish defiance would cost him the match?
"I may not be the perfect shinobi," Sasuke went on; A perfect one would have used every trick at his disposal. "But I still have my pride." Slowly and deliberately, he drew a long-bladed sword from his back and held it out in front of him. "Do you remember this, big brother?" Sasuke asked, his voice like a whisper filled with emotion.
Itachi observed the blade nonchalantly. He remembered… It was with a katana that he had killed their parents.
Questioningly, he turned back to his brother. Was Sasuke planning to slay him with it too?
"I'll never forgive you, but I'm not going to give you want you want either," Sasuke told him. "I don't need the Mangekyou Sharingan. What's the use if I have to bear the guilt of killing my loved ones?" He shook his head. "I won't curse myself with that because my friends' lives are worth more than my hate for you."
As Sasuke spoke, Itachi felt something shift inside him—the same thing had stirred when Hinata had willingly given him her fate to control. Could this be the feeling of holding something too precious to sacrifice? Itachi refused to acknowledge it now.
"To abandon your hate everything was a mistake," he heard himself saying as he faced his younger brother. Their gazes locked; the mental aspect of the battle had began already.
"It will be your undoing," Itachi promised.
Then, without prerequisite, the field seemed to explode as both brothers charged toward each other. They became shadows that flitted all around, their weapons meeting with metallic sounds every few seconds.
A ring of flames had been created around the fighting shinobi though it was not clear which one had made it. In this battle, Itachi sensed that Sasuke had changed more than he had thought.
Sasuke did not fear him anymore. He had finally realized that the only thing that had kept him away from victory was the paralyzing fear that had traumatized him in his childhood. The Itachi from memory had been invincible. Cold and ruthless.
No matter how strong Sasuke became, he could never beat Itachi if he didn't confront that fear.
Was this the same frightened child who had fled and begged to live? He could scarcely tell.
While Itachi had been waiting for his brother to catch up, Sasuke had matched him. They were fighting to a standoff. Back and forth, back and forth. A single breath could have been the end.
Sasuke tossed aside his broken sword and wound up for a frontal assault.
Itachi let out an involuntary gasp as Sasuke's fist caught him at the side. It was where Neji had managed to strike him. Itachi cursed his carelessness in letting himself be weakened by the Hyuga shinobi. He shot a piercing glare at Sasuke.
His brother was battered as well. Gingerly, he raised a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, where one of Itachi's punches had landed. His clothes had been singed in several places by fire attacks, but clearly, there was still a lot of fight left in him.
The intolerance for failure that Sasuke was born with was what made him a perfect stalker. It was also what destined him for a lifetime of pursuing ghosts.
"You have… improved," Itachi acknowledged with some reluctance. His damaged clothing was proof to that; in the past, Sasuke had not been able to so much as touch him. "But don't underestimate the Sharingan. It is not something you can throw away so easily."
It was like defying his own heritage.
What made Sasuke think that he had any more right to pretend to live an ordinary life than Itachi? What right did he have—a bearer of the Sharingan—to a place in society?
Viciously, he tried to capture Sasuke in another torturous memory. He failed.
Though the blow had left him winded, Sasuke managed to resist the hypnosis. "You… didn't think… I would come unprepared… did you?" he panted, prepared for more. The long days of practicing, of planning, had finally come to some use.
Itachi scoffed contemptuously. "Impressive," he allowed.
"That's high praise coming from you, big brother." The mocking voice came from behind him. When he spun around, the real Sasuke's chakra was steadily increasing and concentrating into a white sun of energy.
Itachi's smirk did not waver. The famous Chidori…
Making careful calculations, he determined that an attack of its level was fully capable of dealing a deathblow, but it would not matter if it did not make contact.
Such a childish trick was not difficult to counter. He raised his own hand, kunai ready to strike while preparing for another jutsu that Sasuke could not dodge.
The fiend within him was excited by the heat of the blaze, the reddish glow that fell on everything surrounding them... It would not be long now before he lost himself completely. There was no telling for certain what effects it would bring; but certainly, his brother would be torn apart in the aftermath.
Itachi just wanted to forget everything in a blaze of destruction.
The force of Sasuke's Chidori could be felt even from such a great distance, and it radiated from his whole body with a magnitude that Itachi had never thought that his brother could produce. He readied himself for a counterattack.
Until now, it had always been expected that a death was inevitable. The world just wasn't big enough for both of them to exist, so only one would live.
But things were different now. Would the brothers accompany each other into death?
---
Neji pretended to be asleep. How could he truly rest knowing the raging battle that was taking place only a few miles away? Sasuke had gone to Itachi and there was nothing that he could do.
He was reluctant to see a comrade die, but it was not the worst thing. The other jounin was gambling with his life knowing full well what results his death would bring. Sasuke had been prepared for departure for many years already, and he had had made sure that the people he left behind would not be devastated should he perish.
But now Hinata had gone to Itachi and there was also nothing that he could do.
Turning over in his bedroll, Neji shut his eyes.
What could he do if Hinata would not stay? He could not make her forget Itachi. With his injury and limited ability, he could not make Itachi let her go.
Everything told him that it was useless to even attempt to follow.
The minutes dragged on. Finally, he rose.
Whatever her choice, Hinata might still need his help.
---
Silently offering her apologies to Neji whom she had left back at the camp, Hinata ran as fast as she could through the forest.
Though she was weak from so many injuries in such a short time, Hinata begged her body to allow her to make this journey. She had to speak to Itachi again before it was too late, before Sasuke came to claim his life and things changed irrevocably.
What she would do, she did not know, only that it couldn't end without closure. Hinata found her way back to his compound with swift steps.
However, she came to a sudden stop when she what was happening there. Tall flames blocked her path in, and beyond them were the blurred figures of the two brothers.
It seemed that Sasuke had been one step ahead of her after all; had he created this wall suspecting that she might try to interfere?
Hinata's mind whirled in the intense heat. It wasn't her place to interfere. It wasn't right to take sides—neither Sasuke nor Itachi would want it—but she could not be indifferent when they could very well destroy each other.
The way they stood made it obvious that the final blow was about to be struck.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Hinata leapt high into the air and above the licking flames. She did not think of the consequences or of the danger. She let instinct take control.
When Sasuke flung the shuriken as a distraction, it was not Itachi's kunai that stopped them.
Hinata appeared between them, facing Sasuke as her weapon flashed out and knocked his away. In her eyes was a guilty look, but she did not move for him to pass.
Sasuke was forced to halt. His feet skidded hard on the concrete as he stopped a few meters from where she stood. Completely in disbelief, he saw her body switch into a defensive stance in front Itachi.
"What're you doing, Hinata?" he shouted furiously after he found his voice. Hinata was the last person he had expected to stop him. "Do you even know who that is!"
"I… I…" Hinata's arms dropped to her sides as she tried to explain, but there was nothing that she could have said that would have made any sense.
Itachi's expression reflected his surprise. Hyuga Hinata had finally shown that she was not afraid to have him at her back. Her tenacity was admirable, but it was pointless to try to shield him. Itachi glanced at his brother. As much as Sasuke had changed, his stubborn streak still remained.
He would never let his grudge go. Not for anyone.
Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously as he faced his comrade. "He's a wanted criminal. Shield him and you become a traitor to Konoha," he said, voice steely.
Once again, Hinata's expression pleaded with him, but Sasuke locked his feelings safely away and remained impassive. He did not ask himself the question of why she might defend Itachi or if there was more to it than he saw. He saw only his lifelong mission.
"Get out of the way!" Sasuke warned for the last time. He charged forward.
Hinata would move, he reasoned. She would not die trying to save a man who had made her suffer. There need only be one death today, and surely Hinata would not let it be her. She would not die.
But even as he neared, she did not move.
To his horror, she was still there, shockingly pale, but not moving.
---
Itachi! The voice was no longer mocking in its desperation. You will sacrifice your convictions! Stop and think about it!
But there was no time to think, was there? Silencing all thoughts of protest, Itachi caught hold of Hinata in front of him and flung her away. Her eyes were wide were surprise while his were narrowed with focus.
I cannot stand by and see it happen. That is all I know.
Complete utter madness. Because of something as worthless as sentiment, he had thrown away the shield that would have protected him. And in doing so, he could not dodge the attack himself.
But what was done was done.
A split second after Hinata had been cleared from the way, Itachi's body contacted with Sasuke's deadly Chidori. He was struck right in the chest without defense, without resistance. The initial hit was an explosion that sent white stars in front of his eyes. The aftereffect was equally devastating, strucking at his vital organs.
As the blood gushed from his wounds, Itachi knew that he would not last another night.
This proved that his theory was right. Bonds had made him weak, after all.
Itachi fell. He had waited years for this single, defining moment. Sasuke would never know the terrible truth behind the Sharingan that he had refused to use in this battle. And thus, he had escaped bearing the burden of the knowledge.
Did you ever know what it is to live, big brother?
So… this was what strength had brought to him…
Sasuke had turned away.
With Itachi's death, his role as the Uchiha Avenger was completed. There was a strange glassy quality to his eyes as he stood, frozen when the past and present fused together.
---
Lifting herself from where she had fallen, Hinata scrambled to the fallen shinobi, pushing past Sasuke who stood in her way. He did not stop her, but the slight shake of his head told her that she was not to help him.
Hinata felt the cold reality settle in. Itachi was an enemy; she was not allowed to do anything to bind his wound. She could only watch as he passed away with the rising of the morning sun.
It was not so long ago that she had held Neji in her arms like this, cradling him close to her. She did not think about the murderer that she embraced; all barriers were shattered now that he was broken.
Whatever he had done, at this one moment in time, did not matter.
"Itachi," she said. I'm sorry.
If not for her, he might have been the one standing victorious, but she had been the one to take that all from him by standing in his way.Though she knew that this was how it had to be, she still felt guilt that this was how he had to die. Somehow, she was responsible for it.
He opened his eyes slowly. They stared straight up, unseeing. "Leave me," Itachi's words sounded almost childish in their disbelief. He coughed, and was shocked to see the blood that splattered on his face. His life was ebbing away.
Who would've thought that Itachi would ever succumb to a thing like death?
Hinata kept shaking her head. The tears that had formed in her eyes fell with stopping, and she hastened to wipe them away. It was not right for him to see her shed tears. All her terror of him was gone; she had no reason to weep for fear.
Then… it must be because of sadness.
Even the crimson had faded from his eyes, leaving a grievously wounded man bleeding fresh blood. He bled red after all. Hinata was unable to leave him, not when she knew his pain. How could he live constantly inflicting such agony on himself? Why did he feel like he had to punish himself? It was so stupid.
"Why did you return here?" His tone was heartbreaking.
Was it revenge? Was it pity?
"I want to know why you let me go." Itachi hadn't the strength to glare. He merely stared up at the night sky.
There was a stony silence as Itachi did not answer. "I could not kill you," he answered simply. "That is why—" Itachi's laugh was weak, though the pain quickly contorted his expression. "I released you."
With a frightening realization, Hinata remembered the potion that he had given her before casting her away. "It was an antidote to purge the poison," she realized with a sickening feeling in her stomach. To remove his hold on her.
"You believed that it was poison?" Itachi's lips twisted into a crooked smile. Was it so surprising that he did not want to keep a caged bird? Her impression of him was unkind indeed, but considering his record, he deserved it.
"From the start, I gave you a choice. And you chose to live." He had made life difficult for her, but despite that, she had persevered. How could he forget that day in the rain when her heart refused to stop beating even in the clutches of the Mangekyou Sharingan?
He had no choice but to concede to the strength of her will. In that aspect, she had triumphed over him.
"I don't understand," Hinata forced out. "Why…"
"What is there not to understand?" Itachi asked, harshly. His vision focused on her face. There was no point in denying it now. His voice became a tone of quiet defeat. "Do not ask me why I did what I did, but ask yourself why you tried to do the same only seconds before."
Hinata inhaled sharply. "Y- you…"
Itachi looked as though he did not hear her. He was cold where she was warm; he begrudged where she forgave. And they had both ended in the same place. His mind was clouded in a haze. Itachi never expected that he, of all people, would do something so illogical. How he despised the weak heart that Hinata had given to him.
Itachi could feel Death's call become more insistent.
Yes, if he had killed her when he had the chance, he might not be the one who was dying now. If he had he would be even more powerful than he had ever been, for it would have made him truly heartless.
But it seemed that there was no escaping the constraints of life, for all mortals were meant to be bound by some form of affection. It was such a hopeless battle for freedom that he had been fighting. Perhaps the gods were reminding him of this.
Ah. But it was all too late.
Besides, there was little that he could regret. He had pursued his goal to its fullest. There was nothing to regret.
Though he had been resented for his abilities, Itachi had always struggled. Struggled for nothing. He had been fighting without a goal. So how could he possibly die now? Itachi gasped, making his last futile attempt to ward death off.
"For the rest of your life…" Itachi stopped from the effort before going on with difficulty. He turned his face to Hinata, grasping her wrist as tightly as his fading strength allowed him. "You will always be cursed to see shadows in dark corners… see me… and fear."
"No," Hinata replied, tears gently trickling down her cheeks. She would see shadows, and she would see him, but it would not be an illusion of terror. He was not someone she would dread seeing; familiarity had made him far less terrifying. She said shakily, trembling, "No. Not fear."
A low chuckle. "You would not fear .,. a demon?" Itachi breathed deeply and loosened his hold. His head tilted to glance at his brother—his senseless brother who was perhaps wiser that he—and his voice dropped to a breath above silence, meant only for her ears."Let this be our secret alone…"
He was close enough that Hinata could feel his breath on her skin. Her heart quickened at how warm it felt, their closeness. Absently, he reached a hand out to touch her cheek, but at the last minute he drew away and let his eyelids fall.
With eyes that see so much…
"You are not a demon," she said, comforting and sure. Everything was like an illusion as she held him. A strange dream that was just about to break.
With sight so sharp…
"I see it now…" She stared into his face and he did not turn away. "Don't define yourself with that anymore. How could anyone ever be happy living by the terms you did? Your perceptions of monsters and freedom were your only true cage."
By now, she had stopped speaking. Words meant nothing to him now; he was gone. Silently, he had slipped away.
Why are we so blind?"You asked why I returned." With a sense of regret, Hinata closed her eyes and whispered her last confession. "I came because I was bound to you, but it wasn't your blood that formed my chains." Her lips barely moved, but she wished deeply that her words could reach him so that he could know.
"It was my own heart, nothing else, that drew me back here… Back to you."
---
"Do you hate me?" he had asked."What does it matter if you hold part of a demon inside you?" she had asked.
They were questions to which the answers were painfully hard to find.
Itachi held so much of his emotions in check that he seemed devoid of them. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself from being consumed by his internal conflicts. How could she bring herself to call him inhumane when he could feel hate, anger, and sorrow—yes, even that—so strongly?
In the past, there had been times where Hinata had wished all those feelings away. Yes, she did know that it hurt to bear them silently. Was that why there were times where he seemed almost reachable?
But when she did reach out, only air would touch her fingertips.
Did he know that she, amid wonder and pain, had already begun to love him?
---
