Outer Beauty attracts, but Inner Beauty captivates.
-Kate Angell
For the course of next few days, Hinata didn't leave her house alone. She tried to stay in large crowds, mingling among the villagers where there would be less threat of an attack.
After their encounter in the forest, the Uchiha's presence disappeared. She didn't sense him after that. Instead of feeling relieved that he had left, she felt restless, more nervous than ever. She was paranoid, expecting him to be hiding around any corner, waiting for her to let her guard down, so that he could pounce.
After those words she'd to him, she doubted he would spare her even if he had some use for her. If he were to get her alone, it would be her last encounter.
She still didn't know what had possessed her to make that direct jab at him. It was as if her tongue had a mind if its own, and before she knew it, the words were out.
Nervously, she bit her lips. His expression of shock at her words flashed before her eyes, and suddenly, she felt guilty.
Regardless of who he was and what he had done, she wasn't the type of person to rub salt in one's wounds. It had been quite out-of-character of her to directly call him out on what he'd done.
Why does it matter? Its not like what I said wasn't true.
Shaking her head, Hinata picked up her travelling pack, silently cursing her luck.
When she'd began on her endeavour to avoid the Uchiha, she'd completely forgotten about missions.
Usually, a group of two or more Shinobi were sent on missions outside the village, but recently, there had been a sudden increase in the number of missions.
So, the Hokage had decided to send them on solo missions, rather than groups or pairs.
According to Hinata, the timing couldn't be much worse.
Any pride she might have felt for being chosen by the Hokage for solo missions was overshadowed by the lingering fear she had of the Uchiha.
The only way to get out of going alone would be to tell the Hokage everything. But, she still wasn't sure if the Uchiha had really left or was still in the village.
She didn't want to have Kiba's blood on her hands.
Making her way towards the village gates, Hinata clenched her fists. No matter what happened, she would fight back. She would die honourably.
And yet, as she smiled timidly at the guards, she hesitated.
Despite her resolve, she was afraid. Afraid of death. Or rather, what would happen after. She was a coward--to fear the unknown--but it didn't make a difference in what her course of action would be.
She was going to give it all that she had.
Humming to herself in determination, Hinata started on her journey.
A few hours passed without incident. In fact, they would have been pleasant, if not for the paranoia caused by the eldest Uchiha.
It was due to this very cautiousness, that she caught a barely-heard rustle.
Her mind immediately went to the scroll in her pouch. Her mission was to deliver it to a certain client in a small village.
The Hokage had warned her of ambushes; but only of bandits, not ninjas.
It was because of this she was able to recognise her opponent when a kunai whizzed past her. Watching as it flew by her in slow-motion, Hinata's eyes widened.
There was a paper attached to it.
Quickly, she jumped away, landing at a considerable distance. She watched as the paper bomb exploded, barely a second after she'd jumped.
Activating her Byakugan, she felt her fear spike when she spotted a lone figure in the trees.
As expected, it had red eyes.
Without another thought, it came straight at her, the pale skin and black hair finally revealing itself.
Hinata barely dodged, moving out of the way. Without wasting time, Itachi aimed, the kunai swiping where her head was. Hinata crouched low, quickly doing a backflip and creating some distance between them.
Exhaling shakily, she gathered chakra into her palms and went into a stance. She had vowed to give it her all, and she would.
She didn't go back on her word.
Lunging, she dodged another attack. Gritting her teeth, Hinata struck his arm once again. At the same time, she found an opening, as her other palm went for Itachi's chest.
Her attack made contact..
...only for the Uchiha to disperse in a flock of crows, leaving nothing but feathers.
A substitution?!
With her Byakugan, she saw a few shuriken coming her way. Quickly, she moved out of the way, watching as they embedded themselves in nearby trees.
There was another barrage of shuriken. They were dodged quite easily too.
Dodging another set of the projectiles, Hinata frowned. They didn't seem to be aiming for her, only thing to get past her.
But, that means-
Hinata eyes widened as she realized that all the shuriken were rigged.
And they were now embedded in the trees around her.
She quickly jumped, intent on getting out of their reach. But, it was too late.
Still mid-air, the wires tightened, coiling tightly around her body. She felt the air being pushed out of her lungs, as she mercilessly hit the ground.
She coughed, groaning as pain erupted in her left side. Hesitatingly sitting up, she tried wriggling her hands out of the wire.
Instead of getting loose, it only coiled tighter. Looking around, she suddenly had an idea.
Spreading Chakra evenly to all parts of her body, Hinata focused, like she did just before her Rotation. However, just as her Chakra was about to exit her body, she sharpened it, letting it out abruptly; all at once.
As a result, the Chakra came out of her in the form of spikes. It was the same trick she had used on Kisame.
The wires around her body, not being able to withstand the sharpness of her Chakra, snapped. Quickly standing up, she activated her Byakugan. Frantically looking around, she tensed when she saw his figure approach.
As a Hyuga, Hinata had not been taught any Ninjutsu. To add to it, Kurenai had been her sensei, and she specialised in Genjutsu, which meant that Hinata had no experience with Ninjutsu.
However, in the face of certain death and her stubbornness to keep fighting, something in her snapped. Perhaps, it was some sort of survival instinct, something primal that had not made itself known until now.
Her eyes had been honed to catch the smallest of movements, and now, as Itachi's hands moved into various hand signs, her eyes watched as the position of his tenketsu changed.
Without her knowing, her hands twitched.
They had a mind of their own own as they followed his movements, barely a second after he executed them.
She closely watched as he gathered Chakra in his chest, unaware that her excellent Chakra control was allowing her body to do the same. She watched him inhale deeply, expanding his lungs, increasing their volume as more Chakra filled them.
When he exhaled, his fireball was countered by her own. Though not as big as his, her fireball provided more than enough cover for her to run away.
But, whatever trance she had fallen in broke, and she froze, just realizing what had happened.
Did I-Did I just copy a Sharingan-user?
The irony of it all was unbelievable.
She panted, watching as the fire began to clear.
She choked on her breath when the Uchiha emerged from the still-diminishing fire, not a single scratch or burn on his body.
Hinata staggered back, another choked gasp escaping her, her eyes widening in fear.
A kick to her abdomen sent her flying as the breath was knocked out of her lungs. Her back hit a nearby tree, quite harshly.
Coughing violently as she stumbled, feeling the taste of something warm and metallic.
Blood.
Looking up, fear flashed through her eyes when she saw the Uchiha coming straight for her, hand gripping a kunai.
His eyes promised death.
Despite killing as many as he had, Itachi had never looked into a person's eyes right before he killed them.
Mostly, it was because most of his victims clenched their eyes shut, hoping for it to end as soon as possible. Other times, he was standing at such an angle that their eyes were not visible to him.
The death of his parents was a good example of the latter.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, he didn't know. But the ending line was the same.
He had never looked into the eyes of a person he was about to kill.
Even now, as he lunged at the Hyuga woman, he watched as she slowly raised her head to look at him. Her eyes widened.
This was the part where she clenched her eyes shut, accepting her fate.
But she didn't. She just stared.
Does she plan to defend?
No, she was wide open.
Is it a trap, then?
No, that wasn't it, either. She was frozen in one spot.
Her eyes were wide, quivering. The innocence in them reminded him of a child.
As if in slow-motion, he watched the fear enter her eyes--the fear of death, of him--and taint that innocence.
He faltered.
The Hyuga, it seemed, wanted to die staring Death in the eyes.
A second later, Itachi felt his kunai embed itself in its target. The smoke that had surrounded them cleared.
His hand was right next to her head, still clutching the kunai which was now embedded in the bark.
Hinata, having snapped out of her frozen state, slowly turned, her eyelashes almost brushing against the steel of the kunai.
He'd spared her. Again.
But, why?
She turned her questioning glance towards him, seeking answers. But, he wasn't looking at her.
Instead, his eyes were fixated on this hand that was gripping the kunai. His eyes reflected disbelief. Then, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as if not quite understanding what had happened. Or rather, why it had happened.
Slowly, his eyes slid over to her. For a moment, he seemed to freeze, his eyes slightly wide, now showcasing an emotion she didn't understand.
She felt her heart skip a beat as soon as his eyes locked with hers.
Their intensity held her in place, her lips parting slightly as her heart pounded in her chest.
Faintly, she noticed his eyes clear up of a fog she'd didn't even know existed until then, as if he had come to a sudden realization.
Just what was going on?
Itachi, it seemed, had been having similar thoughts.
He'd come to kill her. In fact, that had been the plan, up until the point he had attacked. At the last possible second, he'd hesitated.
The question was why?
Staring at his hand, he wondered when he'd given it the order to change its direction. After a second, he realized that he hadn't. His action had been purely reflexive; something he'd done without thought.
But, what was so special about this Hyuga that it had resulted in his body reacting without the permission of his mind?
Sure, she had quite some potential--For god's sake, she just copied the Fireball Jutsu like it was nothing--but it wasn't enough to warrant such a reaction.
Frowning slightly, he shifted his gaze to the object of his thoughts.
Slowly, his eyes widened as he took her in, suddenly seeing her for the first time.
Time froze for him.
She was close. Close enough for him to see every bridge and crevice of her face.
Her eyes were wide as they stared at his, seeming to be in a similar trance as him. Instead of being the purest of white he had expected them to be, there was a tinge of lavender in them. They were decorated with long, thick eyelashes, their dark colour making her eyes look ethereal.
Her hair reminder her of starry nights; a silk curtain contrasting sharply with the velvet of her skin.
He faintly wondered if both were as soft as they looked.
He exhaled, releasing a breath he didn't even know he had been holding. He held her gaze, coming to a sudden realization.
Kami, she is beautiful.
Committing her features to memory, he wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.
No sooner had he finished his thought, he snapped out of his trance, just as quickly as he had fallen into it.
Recoiling in shock, he staggered back, just now realizing the turn his thoughts had taken.
What was that? What the fuck was that?
His face reflected disbelief as he watched her blink rapidly, not even a trace of recognition on her face that she'd guessed his train of thoughts.
Good. That was good.
Now, what should he do?
His thoughts were jumbled up, one part of his mind commanding him to run away as soon as possible, the other begging to run a hand through her hair.
As he met the Hyuga's eyes again, he could feel himself be pulled into the trance again, the second part of his brain getting louder and louder.
He took a step back, coming to a conclusion that he only half-heartedly agreed with.
He needed to get away from her. As far as possible so that he could sort out his thoughts.
He took another step back. Then another.
And suddenly, just like that, he disappeared into the trees.
Somebody's got a cruuuusshhhhh!!!
XD. Anyway, how was it? Did you like it??
Be sure to tell me in the reviews!!
I can't wait for the next update!! It's going to be SOO much fun!!
I give you hint on what it will be about. ;p
Remember that hallucination thingy Sasuke had in the first few chapters?? (I think it was Chapter 6.)
Well, it's going to be about that.
Any guesses on who the figure in her room was??
Wait to find out!!
Until then, ENJOY!!
-Your impatiently-waiting author.
