The way they leave tells you everything.

-Rupi Kaur


Standing beneath the shower head, Itachi exhaled, letting the cold water spray on him. He ran a hand through his hair, craning his head slightly, so that the water splashed directly on his face.

After another minute of standing beneath the cold water, he turned off the shower, before stepping out.

Quickly drying himself, he put on his clothes. However, just as he was about to button up his shirt, something caught his eye.

He paused to stare, slowly turning to fully face the man in front of him.

It was his own reflection.

He quietly walked towards the sink, taking a closer look at his own face.

Not for the first time, he felt shock at his own appearance.

What have I done to myself?

The questions that come to him were all too familiar, having thought of them everytime he looked into the mirror.

Had he always looked so worn out? Had his eyes always looked so tired? And the creases on his face...had they always been this prominent?

He sighed, brushing a few strands of hair out of his face.

What have I done to myself?

Once again, he met the eyes of his reflection, as if it would have the answer. As he pushed a few more strands away, he paused, fingers resting at the very corner of his eyes.

What would happen if he were to simply rip them out, right now? Would it save him from the pain and suffering that had yet to come? Would it make it easier for him to entertain the thoughts of completely disappearing off the face of the earth?

He didn't know.

But, like always, escape was a thought far too irresistible for him to give up on.

However, before he could go down the endless path of 'What if's', he stopped himself just in time with a single name.

Sasuke. Itachi placed a hand against his forehead, leaning over the sink.

God, he missed his brother. Just the thought of Sasuke made his chest ache, his heart bleed. It made his eyes hurt and head pound.

Sasuke...and...

He looked up at the mirror, letting out a slow breath.

...Hinata.

All his pain disappeared, leaving him feeling lightheaded, as if he might fall over any second.

Funny, how two simple names could cause such different reactions from him. Two simple names belonging to two people who meant the world to him.

It was strange for him to think that someone else had managed to break past the walls he had built around his heart and warm him from the inside.

He had believed he would be cold forever.

And for that someone to be as beautiful as they were on the outside as they were on the inside, for that someone to be-

Hinata...

The death of him. That woman would be the death of him.

Slowly looking up at his reflection, he gulped before moving his hand next to his neck. He exhaled shakily, before slightly pushing away the collar of his shirt.

The love bites from yesterday were still there.

He felt his face burn at the thought, as he pressed a hand to his eyes.

As if he weren't whipped enough already--something he had quietly admitted to himself, but at the cost of his Pride--there was another thing to add to the list of "Things I like about Hinata."

Hot. Dominant Hinata was fucking hot.

His face burned even more, as he felt a thrill slide down his spine.

He was still having a hard time figuring out what the actual hell happened yesterday.

Unbidden, the memory came to him.

~The day before~

"Heal yourself. We are going to spar." He said, grinning slightly.

Her eyes widened.

"Wait-What? No!"

He simply tilted his head to one side, raising an eyebrow.

"Why not? We've sparred before."

She looked positively terrified, as she slowly chewed her lips. After a moment, she looked down at her hands.

"But, that was different. That time, I wasn't..."

She struggled to find the right word, frowning in thought.

"Unhinged?" He offered, before laughing at the half-hearted glare she threw him.

"Pretty much." She mumbled under her breath.

He simply smiled.

"Relax. I will be fine. You don't have to worry about hurting me." His smile remained, as he tilted his head to one side.

"It not like you'll be landing any hit."

There was silence.

He smirked inwardly, as she slowly blinked, realizing that she had indirectly been insulted.

He might as well have lit a fire behind her as her eyes narrowed, the temperature dropping several degrees.

She returned his smile.

"What was that? I don't think I quite heard you correctly."

He placed a hand on his chin, resisting a laugh.

"I think you heard me just fine. If you still believe you haven't, I suppose we have much more to worry about that just your upcoming loss."

He could almost see the sparks flying between them, their sweet smiles a complete contradiction to their words.

She pointed a finger in his direction, her smile suddenly disappearing, and eyes narrowing.

"Prepare to lose, Uchiha, because I'm going to leave you gasping for air."

How true that threat was, he was going to find out soon.


Changing into his training outfit, Itachi made way towards the living room, where he was sure to find Hinata.

He had been wondering what she would wear that would make fighting comfortable. All his clothes were too big on her--and quite distracting, if he said so himself, considering how much of a goddess she looked in his shirt.

She had later revealed that she actually had spare clothes sealed within the scrolls in her backpack.

Assuming she was done changing considering he had take his sweet time, he entered the living room.

She as sitting in front of the small mirror on the low table, pinning her hair back. When she was done, both of them quietly made way outside the house.

Hinata walked a few metres away, taking in the place from outside. She hadn't seen it before. As her eves travelled over the dark colours, a thought hit her.

She turned to Itachi.

"Where...are we, anyway?"

He glanced at her, pushing the sleeves of his shirt up to his shoulders before placing a hand on it, and moving his arm about. A soft pop was heard, as he loosened his joints.

"Still in the Fire Country. In fact, the Leaf is just a few hours away."

Hinata hummed in response, eyes sliding over to watch as Itachi warmed up. Her gaze lingered longer than it should have, stuck on the way his muscles moved beneath his skin.

She had the sudden urge to touch his arms.

She coughed slightly, face burning as she distracted herself with another question.

"And this house? Whose is it?"

Her eyes returned to him again. She took a double take, as she watched his hair come lose. He tied it up again, only this time higher on his head, so that his bangs stayed away from his face.

It made him look...good. Really, really good. So good, that Hinata made a mental note to spar with him more often.

She was broken out of her thoughts when he answered.

"It belongs to me. I own one outside every major village of the country. We often stop by once in a while during missions when we can't be seen in public."

"How come I haven't noticed it before?"

"There is a Genjutsu around it. If you focus, you can feel the Chakra coating the house."

Hinata hummed again, more distractedly, not even trying to hide the fact that she was openly checking him out.

She jumped slightly when he suddenly turned to her.

"Ready?"

Quickly composing herself, Hinata nodded before going into her stance.

"Are there any rules?"

He seemed to think for a while.

"Taijutsu only. No using Bloodline trait, no chakra and no weapons. Only hand-to-hand combat."

Hinata nodded again, before taking a deep breath.

A second passed. Then another.

She blinked, and he was in front of her. She gasped, crouching just in time as his fist whizzed past her cheek. She immediately back flipped away. She had barely landed, and he was coming at her again, poised to attack.

He's fast!

As Hinata moved away, she was suddenly reminded of all their previous fights. They seemed nothing compared to their current fight.

It occured to her that those fights hadn't exactly been spars. They had just been a means to spend time for the both of them. It had been nothing but entertainment, and neither of them had been seriously fighting.

She realized this because neither of them had actually been intending to land a hit on the other.

Now, Itachi was. And since he was doing the honour of not holding back on her, she was going to return the favour.

She waited until he attacked again, and dodged. Without wasting another second, she pivoted on a foot, her other aiming for her opponent. Itachi crouched, before swiping for her leg.

Hinata stumbled slightly, before immediately moving away to regain her balance. Straightening, she went for the attack this time.

She feinted left, before attacking in the opposite direction. However, seeming to see through her trick, he caught her fist just as she was about to hit his face.

She twisted her wrist slightly, her fingers free from his grasp and wrapping around his wrist.

His eyes widened, as she revealed her ace.

Tightening her grip on his wrist, thereby holding him in place, she pivoted on a heel, her other foot, once again, going to attack.

I've got you now!

However, at the last possible moment, he bent slightly, wrapping a leg around her own--the one on the ground--and giving it a hard yank.

She gasped as her axis changed, body tilting backwards. But before she could fall, a hand clutched at her arm, her leg still twisted around his.

She opened her eyes, which she had closed out of instinct, to see Itachi looking down at her.

His breath was slightly laboured, chest heaving with the motion. A single bead of sweat trailed down his forehead, and he smiled down at her.

"That was good."

Still in the same position, she threw her head back, breathing out a laugh.

"I was barely able to keep up."

He simply shook his head, straightening her up. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Again. This time, I want to use your Chakra."

Hinata frowned.

"And what about you?"

"I'll fight without it. At least for now."

He looked at her.

"After that, use that new Chakra you have. Then, I'll be able to see first hand the difference between them."

She blinked, a lightbulb lighting up.

Oh.

Right. She had completely forgotten about that.

Hinata walked away, stopping when there were a good few metres between them. She saw him go into a simple Taijutsu stance.

She did the same, going into her Hyuga stance, and taking a deep breath. She gathered Chakra in her palm, before rushing forward and going in for the attack. Her Chakra-infused palm barely grazed his cheek.

He dodged, before throwing in an attack of his own. Just as his fist was about to make contact with her shoulder, she raised her foot to block the attack. She summoned Chakra to that foot, using the force of Itachi's blow to launch herself in the air.

Back flipping over her opponent, she crouched threw a kick mid-air. Instead of dodging, Itachi blocked.

It was when she tired to move her foot, did she realize that it was in his grasp.

Her eyes widened, realizing she would fall if he didn't let go.

Unless...

She threw her arms out, landing on her hands.

It was his turn to widen his eyes.

She didn't waste another second before twisting a wrist, making her free leg pivot in an arc.

Though he immediately let go of her to avoid being hit, he was a second too late. Her attack made contact, just as he jumped away.

Landing metres away from her, he coughed, before pressing a hand to his jaw, where a red mark was beginning to form.

Hinata half-smirked half-grinned.

"What was that about my hits not making contact?" She taunted, her eyes giving away her playful intent.

He laughed slightly, before straightening.

"Celebrate while you can. Because it won't happen again."

Her eyes narrowed just as he attacked again. Once again caught off guard by his speed, Hinata threw up her arms to block. However, at the last possible moment, he crouched low. He swiped a leg against the ground, watching as Hinata stumbled.

Taking the opportunity, he grasped at back of her shirt, and pulled. He couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped him, when she fell to the ground with an 'oof', landing in the most disgraceful position possible.

He stood, looking down at her.

She looked at him, cheeks turning slightly pink.

"That was a dirty trick." She mumbled, trying to look at anything but him.

He rolled his eyes.

"We're Shinobi. We don't play nice."

She took the hand he gave her, letting him pull her up.

"You feel much comfortable fighting in the Hyuga style, don't you?"

Hinata thought about it for a second.

"You could say that. It's probably because I've been using it for a long time, and I know no other Taijutsu style. It's the one I'm most used to."

Itachi hummed, moving a few stands of hair that had escaped from his tie. He undid his hair, before tying it up again.

Hinata watched him walk away, eyes lingering on the way sweat made his shirt stick to him. The muscles on his back flexed as he walked, making her eyes zero on them.

He had some...pretty nice muscles. Not for the first time, she wondered how it would feel running her hands over them.

She could feel her face burning at the thought, her legs growing weak.

Just why did he have to be carved out like an absolute god?

She looked up to see him wipe the sweat off his face with his arm. When that did nothing, he lowered his face slightly.

Hinata's mouth fell open when he raised his shirt to wipe his face, giving her a perfect view of his torso.

Holy Shit.

Usually, she would have been scandalised at the way she had cursed in her head. But, she was too preoccupied with taking in the delicious view in front of her.

Besides, in her defence, the situation did call it. She didn't know how else to describe what she was seeing.

To say he was built like a god was an understatement. He wasn't buff like other men she had had the misfortune of seeing. Instead, he was lean, ripped with muscles at all the right places.

Hinata could only watch, all her blood going to her face, as sweat trailed down his sleek abs. Once again, she felt the urge to touch him, a jolt travelling up her spine.

Holy Shit.

She wasn't aware when something wet began to trail down her nose, her head spinning with the heat.

She stared, dumbfounded, for another whole minute, before it was too much. Then, slowly, her eyes rolled back into her skull and she fainted.


Itachi looked up when he heard a thud echo in the silence. He simply stared at the petite figure on the ground, tilting his head, before walking closer.

It took a second for him to realize that that figure was Hinata.

His eyes widened, and he was by her side in a second. Her face was flushed beyond belief, and blood was trailing down her nose.

He pressed a hand to her forehead. Predictably, it was hot.

His eyebrows furrowed in concern, wondering if the spar was a bad idea after all.

Maybe, she had overdone it, considering she had been bed-ridden for the past two days.

It was either that, or the heat had resulted in a heatstroke.

He looked up at the blue sky.

"It has been quite warm recently." He muttered to himself, before focusing back on the woman on the ground.

Gently picking her up, he walked towards the house. He set her on the porch, within the shade and away from the sun. He cleaned away the blood on her face, before going to get his water bottle.

Pouring a small amount om his hand, he sprayed it on Hinata's face. After repeating the process a few more times, her eyelids began to move.

He watched as she shifted, groaning slightly. Waking completely, Hinata sat up, before looking around.

"Are you okay?"

She turned to the source of the voice, taking in the familiar face.

"Yeah, I'm...fine.."

What happened?

She looked around, taking in the fact that she was in her training gear and they were outside the house.

Then, everything came back to her.

Their conversation, all previous events, a half-naked Itachi, their spars, a half-naked Itachi and a half-naked Itachi.

Remembering everything, Hinata slowly looked up at the said half-naked person, her face red, and eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

Looking into his concerned eyes, the only thing she could think of was-

"Hot." She blurted out, without thought.

Itachi looked back at the sky.

"Yes. I suppose it is hot today. Perhaps we should spar-"

"No!" Hinata burst forth.

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"You don't want to spar?"

Hinata shook her head.

"I meant it's not hot today."

He looked at her in disbelief.

"You just fainted. What else you do think caused that?"

Hinata looked like she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

She had already embarrassed herself enough today. She didn't need to make it all worse by telling him that it was him who had caused her to pass out.

And given her a nosebleed.

She wondered for a second how he would react if she did.

Nevertheless, she sighed in disappointment.

Looks like that's all I'm going to see today.

She took the hand he held out for her, and pulled herself up. They both quietly entered the house.

Entering the living room, Hinata looked around, at a loss of what to do. Itachi disappeared, returning after a moment.

He handed her a towel.

"There's a guest room upstairs. You can take a bath there. I assume you have clothes?"

Hinata nodded, taking the towel from him and making way upstairs.

The room was relatively small and bare, save for a bed and a dresser. At one corner, was a door, which she assumed was the bathroom.

Making way towards it, Hinata entered the bathroom, before quickly closing the door behind her.

Once making sure it was locked, Hinata pressed her back against the door, before slowly sliding down. She buried her face in her hands during the process, until she was sitting on the cold marble floor, knees pulled up to her chest.

"What's wrong with me?" She whispered into the silence, sighing as the words echoed in the bathroom.

Why did she always feel like this in front of Itachi? Why won't the feelings just...go away? She hated that she cared about him this much. Hated that he could make her smile by simply being there. Hated that he could make her feel so differently in just a few minutes.

It made her wonder what would happen when he left.

There was that ache in her chest again, the lump in her throat that accompanied her thoughts of him leaving.

Hinata sighed, mood crushed as she got up for her bath. The cool water was refreshing on her hot skin, the sweat and dust of their spar washing off of her.

She let out a breath, letting the after fall on her face. After a while, feeling much better, Hinata stepped out and dried herself.

Quickly putting on her clothes, she dried her hair with her towel. It was an easy task, and didn't take very long, considering how short her hair was.

When she was done, Hinata stepped out of the bathroom, and quickly brushed her hair. When she had decided she looked decent enough, Hinata walked towards the door.

Taking a deep breath, she readied herself before stepping out.

Silently, she made way downstairs. Stopping in front of the entrance, she made out a figure leaning against the couch, on the floor.

It was Itachi, of course. He seemed to have taken a bath too, as he was out of his training outfit, and into normal clothes. His hair seemed to still be wet, but was in a low bun.

She wondered if she should tell him that it was bad for his hair.

Quietly walking closer, she noticed that his eyes were closed, head leaning back to rest against the edge of the couch. His breathing was even, chest heaving slightly. As always, his sleeves were rolled up to his shoulder.

She wondered what that was about.

She stopped in front of him, her eyes soft as they trailed over his face. She crouched, moving to sit square in front of him.

She leaned forward, her hand extending to move those bangs away from his face. He looked so peaceful, Hinata felt the sudden urge to snuggle in with him, rest her head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat.

Instead, her knuckles brushed against his jaw, as she moved away the hair, and gently cupped his face.

He sighed.

"Do you usually touch people when they are asleep?"

Hinata didn't reply, choosing to move closer.

Itachi leaned into her touch, eyes still closed. However, when he heard no response, he opened his eyes to look at her.

His eyes widened, throat going dry at the look on Hinata's face.

Itachi was used to woman looking at him with lust. It was nothing new in his life, being ogled at wherever he went.

But, with Hinata it was different.

Her looking at him like that made a shiver roll down his spine. He had known that she wanted him. But, her looking at him with desire, lips red and parted, eyes half-lidded...did so many different, strange, wild things to him, he couldn't began to explain how he felt.

He watched, guarded as her other hand came up to rest against his opposite side of the jaw.

In another lifetime, he would have grabbed her hips and pulled her on his lap, then proceeded to kiss her until she couldn't breathe.

However, he also felt dread coil in his gut, panic clear in his eyes because-

"Go home, Itachi."

She had chosen her village days ago, and he had helped her with her decision. Why did she continue to blur the lines between them again and again? Why not simply stick to her plan of staying away from him?

However, before he could dwell further on the thought, the woman moved closer to him.

"Hinata..." He called out, hoping to get her out of her stupor.

It had the opposite effect, as she closed her eyes and gasped, before moving even closer to sit between his legs.

Itachi swallowed, placing his hands over hers, making a half-hearted attempt to stop her.

"Hinata. You don't-"

The words died in his throat, her arms wrapping around his neck, as she buried her face against the crook of his neck. He grunted when she blew warm breath down his throat.

He tugged at her hand again, more insistent this time.

"Stop. You don't-"

Once again, he was cut off when her nose trailed up, before pressing against his pulse. He was sure she felt it skip a beat, as he inhaled sharply, hands falling from hers. Instead, he placed them against her waist, gently trying to push her away.

They soon began to dig in her skin, when she pressed her lips against his pulse.

Much to his own embarrassment, he moaned.

He heard her hum in response, as her lips hovered over his pulse, before pressing against his skin again.

Her hands went from his face to his neck, then to his chest. Her lips too trailed lower, making way down his neck to the hollow of his throat.

He hissed sharply, shifting slightly, hands tightening at her waist.

"S-Stop. You-You shouldn't-"

He groaned loudly, partially out of frustration, partially due to the feeling on her hands on his skin.

Her nails grazed at his collarbone, breath ghosting over his skin, as she rested her lips next to his ear.

"For someone who is supposed to be one of the stealthiest Shinobi," She whispered, a hint of seductiveness to her voice, "You can be quite loud."

He panted, not even realizing she had unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt.

Then, her hands were roaming all over his chest, nails grazing at his skin with more than a coincidental frequency. He leaned his head back, moaning again as her lips made way to his sternum.

"Y-You-"

Then, her lips parted against his skin, tongue darting out to taste him. She sucked gently, teeth leaving a mark, as she moved higher, a trail of saliva following her open-jawed kisses.

When he groaned, muttering her name under his breath like it was a mantra, she let out another pleased hum.

"Fuck. This-This is so unfai-"

He was unable to complete his sentence, too lost in the feeling of having her so close to him. Hinata saw his eyes clench shut, as he craned his neck, giving her better access.

Hinata watched with wonder as he squirmed beneath her, hands fisting into her shirt.

Had she always had such power over him? And him...had he always been a prey to her charms?

She didn't give him much time to recover, before going back to marking his neck. Her arms wrapped around his torso, going to claw at his back, as she pulled him closer.

He let out another moan, hands moving from her waist to dig in her arms, as he pulled away. He heard what he could have sworn was a warning growl.

"The-The village!" He blurted out, as a last resort. He watched as she stilled, tilting her head slightly.

"You-You are loyal to the vill-village, remember?" He rushed out between breaths.

He knew the exact moment the words registered, the exact moment Hinata came back to her senses. He didn't want to look at her, fearing that if he did, he might just jump on her and beg to continue.

Hinata recoiled away from him, hands cupped around her mouth, as she looked at his heaving from. He was leaning back against the couch, head resting on the very edge, trying to catch his breath.

She felt her face burn in embarrassment and mortification, when her eyes landed on the red marks on his neck.

The blood was thrumming in Itachi's ears, and he took deep breath to calm down. He barely registered when Hinata moved away, the warmth of her presence disappearing.

It was a while before he opened his eyes and looked up. When he did, he wasn't surprised to discover that Hinata was gone.

~Present time~

Itachi felt himself burn at the memory. He cursed beneath his breath, before quickly dressing up and grabbing his cloak.

He was supposed to be leaving today.

But, before that, he was going to visit Hinata, one last time. He didn't know what he hoped to accomplish by meeting her, but he just wanted to see her again.

He was hoping to say goodbye on much....proper terms.

With that thought in mind, he set off for the Leaf, unaware that their next meeting would change everything.


THERE YOU GO!!

So, did you like it??!! What are your thoughts? How do you think Hinata will react when she sees Itachi? How do you think their meeting would go?

Be sure to tell me what you think!!

-Your motivated author.