Shimi-chan: I'm sorry. I was recently informed that I spelled Neji's name incorrectly. It's spelled 'Neiji' in my prologue, and that's how I thought it was spelled. But I was wrong, and I apologize. I changed it in this chapter, but there might be a few I missed. If there is, I apologize.

I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with the reviews I received. I also have a few questions to answer. In my story, Hinata is 15 going on 16, Sasuke is 16 (or he's going to be in the future of my fanfic) Itachi is 21 and Neji is 17. That's basically it. .

I'll try to make my updates as soon as possible. I got a head start on this story, meaning when I post one chapter I'm probably a few chapters ahead, but I like to look over my stories quite a lot before I post them. I'd hate to do anything half-assed and disappoint you guys, so bear with me. But I will say this is my main story right now, so I'm mainly working on this one.

Actually, my train of thought is really simple. Two names pop in my head, and if I see the possibility then I pair them up. So, yeah, this probably isn't the most common pairing in the world but I love this story. Writing it is really a lot of fun. It's surprisingly easy to capture Itachi's cold character (that's assuming I'm doing it right). That was what I was most worried about. I'm probably boring you. Okay, okay, I'm going, you don't have to push.

Chapter One:

"Lady Hinata requests permission to stay at the Uchiha home," said the messenger as he bowed respectfully.

Itachi eyed him disbelievingly. "Why?"

The man shrunk under Itachi's heated glare. "Um, she s-said that you'd know, so, uh…"

He continued glaring at the innocent man. Yeah, he knew. She'd probably gotten into another fight with a member of her family and was running away with her tail between her legs.

Disgusting.

His eyes narrowed at the thought. "Tell her she not only can't come, but that she'd better stop being a fucking crybaby."

By now the messenger was practically pissing his pants. Was everyone in that household weak? Itachi didn't hold much hope for the Hyuga clan. What he wouldn't give to have Hinata, or anyone for that matter, and train them properly. Maybe then the clan would survive.

But before Itachi had a chance to send the man away, his father came up behind him and placed a hand on his sturdy shoulder. "Nonsense! Lady Hinata is always welcome here!

Itachi shrugged his father's hand off. "This doesn't concern you, father."

He looked hurt for all of two seconds before breaking out into a devilish grin. "Ah, I see! A small lovers' quarrel, eh?"

Itachi ground his teeth to keep from hitting his father. "No, dad, we're not even lovers."

He winked. "Riight, sure, whatever you say!" He turned to the messenger. "Tell Lady Hinata she is quite welcome."

The messenger scattered off before Itachi could stop him.

He turned on his father. "I told you it was none of your business!"

"You'll never gain her forgiveness with her so far away! It'd be much easier if she were here!"

He couldn't believe how stupid his father was. "Forgive me for what?! I didn't do anything!!"

His father gave him a reproachful look. "Trust me on this, son, when it comes to women it's best to admit your mistake!" He turned to leave, but not before shouting out, "Remember, she's always right!" over his shoulder.

Itachi slapped a hand over his face in aggravation. God, he could swear his father's brain seemed to melt a little more each day. He hated them all, from his foolish father all the way down to his annoying little brother, even his whiny mother. The only good part of his family wasn't actually related to him. It was Hinata, and even she was weak! Besides, he'd probably lost her as a sister by committing incest.

It had been at least a month since that had happened, and he still couldn't comprehend why he'd done it. He looked at it from every angle, logically analyzing everything, but there just didn't seem to be a rational explanation. It bothered him that Hinata might remember, but for some reason, it bothered him even more that she might not. But, hopefully, she would pretend it never happened, because that's what he was going to do.

Hinata waited patiently in the shadows for her messenger to come back with an answer. She just couldn't stay at home anymore. When she first left, she'd only run blindly in any direction, and she somehow found herself in Uchiha land. Luckily, it didn't take her very long to find some willing passer-byer to play messenger for her.

So now her main concern was staying hidden from the Uchiha's keen senses. Of course, the fact that she was at least a mile away from the main house might have aided her a little, but with the Uchiha's extraordinary skills, she wasn't sure just how safe she was.

It was also because she'd chosen to be so far away from the main house that the man took so long to make the round trip. When he at last did return, he looked pale and out of breath, as if he thought he hadn't run fast enough or far enough. That could only mean one thing.

Itachi had answered the door.

Even knowing, she wanted to make sure. "Wh-what happened?"

The man looked angry. "Some maniac answered the door! You sent me there on purpose, didn't you?!"

Well, duh.

But, not being the smart-ass type, she instead said "N-no! Well, I mean I did, but I di-didn't think that Itanii-san would—"

"You're brothers with that fucking psycho?!"

"N-not really, but, um…"

Angrily, the man raised his hand to slap her.

Hinata flinched as an instinctive motion, closing her eyes tightly as she waited for the familiar pain that…

…never came.

Slowly, she opened her eyes to see the man on the floor, being pinned down by an Uchiha.

"I-Itanii-san!!"

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder. "Wrong."

She blushed and looked away to mask her embarrassment. "S-Sasuke-kun…I-I'm sorry."

Lifting himself off the messenger (who passed out from fear), Sasuke shrugged indifferently. "Whatever."

"H-How did you find me?"

He smirked. "I had a feeling you might be around here. Especially when I saw this guy running so fast. Your house is almost a day away. If you were there he would have paced himself. Either he was really stupid, which I don't doubt, or you were close by." He shrugged. "I took my chances."

She marveled his intellect. It seemed like his entire clan was smart. "T-then, I-I…"

"My dad already said you could come, so let's go. It's getting dark. Though, I should warn you, Itachi sounded pissed when he heard you were coming."

Her eyes widened. She's forgotten about Itachi!! But why would he be mad at her coming over? Unless…unless he was still mad about that day. Or, more accurately, that night. Sakura's sleepover.

In hindsight, she realized that there were so many other and better things she could have done that night to not offend Itanii-san. Like not play the stupid game in the first place. And since she hadn't seen him since that night, she had a feeling that he might think she was avoiding him. And she couldn't honestly say she hadn't been, but only that first day. Later, when she thought about the circumstances, she realized that he was probably just trying to protect her, like usual. He'd kissed her not as an act of incest, but to sate the demons from without the door so that they'd let her out.

Ah, young heiresses can be in such denial.

"D-do you think…he's mad at me…?"

He shrugged again. "It's hard to tell when he's mad. Just watch your back around him. He can be pretty ruthless, to anyone."

She shivered, thinking it from the chilly air but knowing better. Sasuke took off his shirt and handed it to her. "Here, take it."

She blushed furiously. "N-no! That's yours, Sasuke-kun!"

"Obviously. Just take it. I can handle the cold."

She averted her gaze. "W-well, so can I…"

"Take it, Hinata."

She reached out tentatively. "Th-thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah, whatever."

Once putting it on, she felt much warmer but also weak for not being able to withstand the night's air. And even weaker for not being able to get through a sentence without pausing or stuttering. And even weaker for not being able to stand up to Sasuke. Although, in Hinata's defense, Sasuke isn't the easiest person to talk to.

So those were her missions during her stay. She was going to make it training. First, she would get through a whole sentence without stuttering or pausing. And it couldn't be a short sentence, like 'yes' or 'no' it had to be a whole sentence. And she was going to stand up to Sasuke. Yup, that's right, mission impossible.

The two young shinobi hadn't walked very far when Sasuke heard a faint noise in some of the trees. That was the problem with walking in forestry. Sure, it kept them hidden from adversaries, but it did the enemies the same favor. He inconspicuously reached for his weapon as he slowed his pace so he could be next to Hinata, should the need to protect her arise.

"Put your shirt back on Uchiha. What are you trying to do, make the Hyuga clan blind?"

Sasuke recognized the voice. "At least then you'd live up to your looks."

Neji growled as he presented himself in a rather elegant way by jumping down from the tree he'd been following Hinata in. Knowing he was no real threat with Hinata around, Sasuke lowered his guard slightly.

Hinata gasped. "N-Neji-sama! (She stuttered) What are you… (she paused)…um, what are you doing here?"

Mission failure.

"I came to look for you, Hinata. You really shouldn't run away like you do, you worry us."

She turned away embarrassedly. "I-I'm sorry cousin Neji, b-but…"

"I'm taking you back home, Hinata."

She looked uncomfortable. "B-But…Uchiha-san is expecting me…He said I could…"

Neji lifted a brow. "Am I supposed to care? I don't. You're coming with me."

Sasuke watched her struggle with her words, as she usually did, and eventually decided to aide her. "My dad already said she could come. We're ready for her arrival, so she might as well go, even if it's for a while."

Neji glared. "I don't care if you prepared a fucking parade, she's not going."

"Neji-sama! I want to go…! Please!"

Neji eyed her before sighing resignedly. "Fine, I guess you could stay for a few days."

Her lips started to curve into a smile.

"But only if I go with you."

Her lips plummeted to a shocked expression.

"B-But, N-Neji!" she sputtered. "You can't! I mean, well…! You just can't!"

He lifted a brow. "If you think that I'll stand idly by while you let yourself be seduced by either of those two idiots—"

Why did everyone make that assumption?! "N-No! Cousin Neji, I just…I want to go…alone…please…"

He shrugged. "Sorry Hinata-chan, but it's that or nothing."

He meant it too. She had no doubt that he would go to any length to ensure his own will, even if that meant throwing her over his shoulder and walking the whole way to the Hyuga household. She shot Sasuke a look of desperation over her shoulder, but it was futile. He honestly didn't care all that much.

Sighing sadly, she nodded. Maybe she could hide behind Itachi all weekend…Pfft, yeah right. If she even tried, she knew he'd throw her to Neji. "Okay, Cousin…"

He smiled. "Good. Now c'mon, we have a lot of ground to cover. If you get tired, just let us know Hinata-chan."

"I-I won't get tired…"

"If you say so."

His answer didn't exactly comfort her as she walked behind the two in-your-face superior shinobi. It was moments like this where her heart most yearned for Naruto. He had the confidence to stand up for himself. Maybe he'd be able to defend her too, because she couldn't do it alone. No, but this time, she was going to. She was going to defend herself, she was going to talk, and she was going to…hate every second of it.

Itachi pounded the pillows his father had asked him 'fluff' for Hinata's arrival. Not only had his father deliberately disobeyed him by welcoming Hinata, now he was making Itachi clean the guest room she was to stay in.

"Like hell I will!" he'd said, but then his smart-ass of a brother had come along and said Itachi didn't know how to clean.

And so now here he was in the room, 'fluffing' pillows and 'sweeping' (or kicking stuff under the bed) the floors. He stepped back to admire his handiwork. It gleamed at him, sending a smirk of arrogance to his lips. Now all he had to do was remind Hinata not to open the closet, and he'd be set.

Just as he'd finished his tremendous feat, his father called excitedly 'She's here! She's here!' to everyone in the house. God, not even Sasuke was that annoying, and he was supposed to be the youngest. As soon as the announcement went out, Itachi saw his mother scatter to her room to check if her makeup was perfect. Rolling his eyes, he realized subtly that his brother was nowhere in sight. But he can honestly say he didn't care.

He walked casually over to the front door to the house to greet his guest properly. He was going to be polite, because whenever he could catch her alone, she was dead. Seriously, it's what she gets for being such a coward.

He was only mildly surprised when he saw his brother enter the house first. That would explain where he'd been for the past while. Then he was slightly pissed when Neji came in after. He was an annoying smartass and Itachi had been forced to deal with him before. When Hinata entered the house, though, his mind went numbingly still.

He was supposed to pretend it had never happened, but the moment her lips were within seeing distance, he remembered nothing but it. It was all he had to keep from crushing her to himself and kissing her furiosly. Now, how would that look?

She was having similar problems, but hers was that she was trying to figure out why he was staring at her so intensely. His gaze was scathingly roving her, but his intensity didn't come from anger, it came from something she didn't recognize. All the confusion did was scare her witless, so much so that she hung a little closer to Neji. A big mistake on her part, because the act of weakness served only to further aggravate the angry Uchiha.

Or it would have, if he himself hadn't been currently preoccupied.

"I-Itanii-san," she uttered nervously, dying under his scrutinizing gaze.

He snapped out of it, returning to his usual glance of stoicism as he waved slightly. "Yo."

She mentally sighed, glad to have the usual Itanii-san back.

"Neji m'boy, it's been ages!" bellowed Itachi's father as he crushed the innocent boy in a bear hug.

Neji struggled for a mouthful of air. "Can't…Breathe…"

Itachi's mother swatted his father's arm, worry evident in every wrinkle adorning her colorful face. "Fugaku, let him go this minute! The poor boy needs air!"

Fugaku laughed as he let the boy go. The moment he was free, Neji stepped away, glaring scornfully at the man that seemed to get stronger where every other normal human being got weaker. Hinata yelped when she saw Fugaku's gaze sweep over her, waiting for the turmoil that would be what her and Neji commonly referred to as 'Hug of Death.'

Luckily for Hinata, he simply gave her a chaste not-as-painful hug, making her sigh in relief.

"H-Hello, Uchiha-san. Th-Thank you for inviting us into your home…"

"Why, no problem, Hinata! At this point, you need not even ask! You're welcome here always." Suddenly, he broke out into a devilish grin. "You should have seen how excited Itachi was when he heard you were coming!"

She blushed. "R-Really?"

"Hell no," Itachi said. "Don't fill her head with shit, dad. Don't you have something better to do?"

His mother gasped. "Itachi, how crude! You should know better to speak like that when there are ladies present!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Why don't you join dad, somewhere else."

His mother's eyes filled with wet tears before she ran out of the room. Fugaku sighed. "She's really a handful." He followed her at a snail's pace, hoping he wouldn't catch up to her.

So that left the rest of the shinobi in the room in an extremely uncomfortable silence.

"Well, I'm leaving. I have a training session to get to," Sasuke stated, before walking out the front door.

Neji simply walked to the room he recognized as the guest room.

So now it was just Hinata and Itachi.

All the anger he'd been saving up the entire morning chose that moment to return. "What the hell are you doing here, Hinata?" he demanded. Calmly. Dangerously.

She looked away, down at her feet. "W-Well, I just w-wanted to see you."

"Bullshit. You got into another fight with your dad, didn't you?"

"N-No, I…W-well, I might h-have but it's not the reason…"

"You are so fucking irritating. If you hate your dad putting you down so much, why not prove him wrong?"

"I…I just…"

"No, you don't have an answer for that, do you?"

She fell silent, tears stinging her eyes.

"I swear to God, if you start crying, I'm going to give you a reason to cry."

Sucking up what tears hadn't left her eyes, she dropped her head lower. "I…Itanii-san, I'm sorry, I should just go…"

He sighed. "No, you're already here. And you brought your cousin too."

She whipped her head up to face him. "N-NO! He c-came on his own, I swear!"

"I don't care, Hinata. But you're not staying here for free."

"O-Of course not! I'll do housework!"

He smirked. "That's not even close to what I was thinking."

She was about to question what he meant, but by the time she'd blinked he was suddenly in front of her. Right in front of her. He pushed her roughly against the wall, bringing a small yelp from her. Lowering his head to her ear, the smirk was evident in his voice when he said "Your body belongs to me."

She blushed madly and lowered her head so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. "I-Itanii-san!! H-H-How could you suggest such a thing?!"

He frowned. "Don't be so perverted, Hinata. I meant that I was going to train you."

Oh yeah, that was much better.

"W-What do you mean?? I-I-I just g-got…I mean I already h-have training."

"Obviously it isn't enough."

"I-I'm doing my b-best…"

"And I'm telling you your best isn't good enough."

"…I…"

"See, you can't even stand up to me."

He said that as if she'd be able to.

"I'm not asking you, Hinata, I'm telling you that from this day forward I'll be your trainer."

"B-But you don't even have Byakyugan!"

He shrugged. "Don't need it. If you don't know how to use that then you're not even worth my time."

Tears stung her eyes, but she held them back for the sake of her life. "W-Why are you always so cruel?"

His eyes softened, but his rigid stubbornness prevented him from apologizing, or easing up for that matter. He'd just opened his mouth to reply when a shout was heard from the guest room, Neji as the source. Hinata gratefully took the opportunity to get away from Itachi, making a mental note to try and not be caught with him alone again. When they reached the door to the room, they found Neji on the floor with a pile of junk on top of him.

"Uchiha, your family's full of fucking retards! Who's the idiot that put all this shit in the closet?!"

Itachi may not like his family, but he hates getting dissed even more. "Don't you ever come into this house and insult Uchiha blood, you brat."

Neji's glare grew cold. "I'll do whatever the fuck I want."

The two shinobi glared at each other with disdain that rivaled hell's fire, and might have escalated the situation had not Hinata input her own opinion.

She giggled.

Once, then twice, then multiple times until she was doubled over with humor. Itachi, thinking it was him she was laughing at, had a good mind to go over and teach her a good lesson, but she quickly saved herself by pointing at Neji.

"Y-You look so funny!" she managed between giggles.

Neji turned away angrily, though his cousin's laughter had managed to calm him. "Yeah, just get me out of here."

Obediently she went to his side and began digging him out of the clutter, still giggling. "I-I'm sorry Neji-kun, but you look so cute, hee!"

"You don't have to apologize."

Itachi watched Hinata smile tenderly as she dug through the crap he'd stuffed in the closet and smirked. Starting tomorrow she went from 'sister' to 'pupil.'

Shimi-chan: I like Ice cream. Does anybody share my love of it? And I don't mean eating it when it's there, I mean loving it so much that you'd eat it no matter what the weather. On super cold days I can be found outside eating me Cookies n' Cream. It's really very good. Well, I'm off to get ice cream.