Shimi-chan: Thank you to all who keep reviewing my story!!...even though I keep being late with the updates...Sorry. I got a new laptop!! Soooo updates...uhh...might be sooner? Heh, maybe. Oh well here you go!

Chapter Thirteen:

Ino stood behind the counter of the flower shop, tracing imaginary circles on the wood of the counter. No one had decided to buy flowers today; the shop was completely empty. She sighed, blowing at the strand of hair that she could never seem to keep along with the rest of her ponytail. Though it was a slow day, she knew that she was not getting out of work.

Then, quite suddenly, her day took a turn when she overheard two old women passing the shop.

"Did you hear about that Hyuga girl?"

"No, actually I didn't. What do you know?"

"She's wedding an Uchiha!"

Ino's eyes widened.

"No! Which one?"

Ino held her breath, hoping for a name to come, but the old woman only shrugged before they both went out of earshot. She hadn't realized she'd been leaning forward until she fell back on her heels, eyes still wide.

She would definitely have to talk to Hinata tomorrow…the moment she got off work.

---

Hinata sat out in the yard, for once in her life completely at peace. She thought it maybe had something to do with Neji's approval, something she'd always secretly strived for. Her father's approval mattered too…but she'd learned long ago that it was simply wishful thinking. For once it didn't bother her; for once life was okay.

Sasuke was out on a mission with his team. She remembered that she'd gone to see him off, just this morning, at the gates of Konoha…

Hinata walked meekly behind Sasuke carrying a bundle in her arms, trying hard to mimic his long and proud strides, only to come out with steps much too Hinata-ish. She finally relented, preferring her own style to his, telling herself silently that her legs were simply too short to follow his steps. He seemed to be ignoring her, but she'd learned after many years of this that it was simply his manner. A smile gently tugged at her lips, because she knew he was probably as shy as she was. At least that's what Fugaku had told her…

"Hinata."

His deep voice broke her from her thoughts, causing her head to jolt upwards. "H-Huh?"

He turned to face her. "I don't want you training with Itachi anymore."

She blinked, genuinely confused. "…B-but…"

"No buts. I'll train you when I get back."

"But…S-Sasuke-kun, h-he and m-my father h-h-had a d-deal…"

"I don't care; I don't want you alone with him. Hinata, you shouldn't trust him."

Funny, Neji had said the same thing.

But, the problem was that she did trust him. With all of her heart. "S-Sasuke-kun…I d-don't think th-that I-Itachi w-w-would do anything…"

She could see the depth in Sasuke's scowl, but he didn't get a chance to answer for once they'd made it to the gates of Konoha, Naruto briskly interrupted their conversation.

He came and put an arm around Hinata's shoulders, causing a blush to rise in her cheeks. "Yo, Hinata-chan, you came all this way just to drop Sasuke-teme off?"

Blushing still, she gently removed his arm from her shoulders and nodded. She then thrust one of the package she'd been carrying into his arms, looking at her feet to hide her embarrassment. "H-Here you g-g-go, N-Naruto-kun."

He blinked. "What's this?"

"Th-They're p-p-peaches. I-I-I'm s-s-sorry I a-ate y-yours…"

He grinned. "I already told you it was okay, but thanks!! I love peaches!"

She didn't need to look up to know that Sasuke was not pleased. She'd anticipated that reaction, and so she shoved a second package into his arms. His eyes widened a fraction, but only enough so it was another one of those 'you had to be right in front of him' things.

"Y-your m-m-mother t-told me th-that y-y-y-you l-liked t-t-tomato a-and r-rice balls, s-so I…"

There was once again no expression on his face, but the gentleness was in his eyes when he took the neatly wrapped bento from her. "…Thanks."

And this would have been quite an endearing moment if she hadn't insisted on bringing a bento for everyone. But Hinata is simply way too kind. She nodded shyly to Sasuke before taking out two more bento's, handing one to Kakashi-sensei and handing the other to Sakura. Kakashi smiled appreciatively, but Sakura was confused to say the least.

"…What's this for?"

Hinata fiddled with her fingers, keeping her gaze on the floor. "W-Well I j-j-just th-though y-you'd all b-be hungry d-during your m-mission…"

Sakura looked slightly ashamed, feeling inferior to Hinata on the 'impress Sasuke' scale. The look of like, though small, was in his eyes when he looked at Hinata and it enraged her. Growling, she shoved the bento back to Hinata before skipping over to where Sasuke was standing.

"That's okay, Hinata-chan," she chirped happily as she clung to his sleeve, "I'll just share with Sasuke-kun."

"Hell no, you won't," Sasuke stated evenly, prying her hands off himself. "Just take the lunch she made you."

"But Saassukkee-kuun!! I like rice balls and tomatoes too!!" she whined.

He scowled in obvious disgust, but she chose to ignore it. Instead of wasting his time trying to explain to Sakura just how much she annoyed him, Sasuke glanced around her to look at Hinata, trying to survey her reaction. Just as he expected, she was staring at the bento in her hands, looking positively miserable. He sighed in annoyance, annoyance that was directed at the easily depressible girl he was sort of responsible for.

He approached her casually, ignoring the look of rage that took its place on Sakura's face. He grabbed the bento from her. "I'll eat them both," he stated coolly.

She blinked up at him in surprise. "But…But…"

He silenced her with a kiss that she was too shocked to return. He made it a point to glance at his gaping team as he pulled away, placing a possessive arm around her waist.

"You worry too much, wife."

Hinata turned a dark red at the stunned expressions coming from Sakura and Naruto.

He smirked down at her one last time, saying "Remember what I told you," before he joined the rest of his team. Hinata watched their retreating backs, unable to stop herself from blushing, before she remembered what it was she had put in Sakura's bento.

Strawberry cheesecake. Sasuke hated sweets…and yet she knew he would eat every bite.

Hinata smiled silently to herself, a gesture she was growing far too familiar with, before she heard steps approaching her. She turned around to see her intruder; Itachi's onyx eyes met her pearl ones. She couldn't explain the blush or quickening of her heart's pace.

'…you shouldn't trust him…'

'…Do not trust him so blindly…'

Both had been warnings people she admired had given her. Of course they were worried, and maybe they had reason to be…after all, Itachi had never even pretended that he was a kind-hearted person, never showed any signs of positive emotions…

She shook the thoughts from her head, a little ashamed with herself. How could she feel so lowly of Itanii-san? How could she let herself be so easily influenced? She'd known him for so long, and now she was allowing herself to be brainwashed and blinded by other's judgments. There was human in Itachi, just as there was demon in him. She'd seen it.

But, even with her own comforting words, the blush didn't recede as he sat next to her wordlessly. The silence was thick between them, as it had been lately, and she felt every moment weigh heavily on her heart. They had once been so close…even their silences had been comfortable…but there was nothing but awkwardness in this particularly long silence. She found herself fiddling with her fingers nervously and playing with the two long strands of hair that lay across her cheeks, acts that she hadn't done in his presence since they'd first learned to get along.

He could sense her anxiousness. Looking sideways at her, he saw her timidly playing with her hands. He knew that to be Hinata's defense against shyness. He sighed inaudibly, knowing he was the cause for her discomfort. As he had been lately, what with all the times he kept snapping at her. He finally decided to break the silence.

"It's getting late."

She squeaked at the sound of his resonating voice, penetrating the still darkness unexpectedly. Blushing shyly, she turned away so she wouldn't have to meet his gaze. "I-I kn-know…I-I-I'll b-be in i-in a m-m-minute…"

Silence reigned once again.

"Training still applies tomorrow morning." Itachi stated, not sure of what else to say.

She tensed considerably, which didn't go unnoticed by him. "You should know that by now," he said, but it came out more coldly than he'd intended.

"…S…S-Sasuke-k-kun d-d-doesn't w-want me t-t-to t-train w-with you…"

Her voice was low, so low that he didn't hear the guilty tone she'd used to say that. His fists tightened.

"I don't care what he says. You're training under me."

"…B-But, S-S-Sasuke i-is m-m-my b-bethroth—"

"I never asked you if you wanted to be trained by me, not even when it started. I told you, just as I am doing now."

She lowered her head at his harsh tone, tears already welling in her eyes, but it was at her own inability to sever the ties between Itachi and herself, as she knew she had to.

"…H-he is n-n-not th-the only o-one…"

"Neji."

She nodded.

"I'm training you."

"They…They s-s-say th-that I sh-should n-not t-t-trust you s-so blindly…"

In an instant, he was suddenly grasping roughly at her shoulders, pulling her forcefully into a standing position. His eyes bore deeply into hers, eliciting a blush from her porcelain cheeks.

"Do you?"

She blinked, not hearing his words so much as she heard the hum of his voice. "H-huh?"

"Do you trust me, Hinata?"

His words registered, but she found that she couldn't reply, for her mouth was suddenly dry.

'…you shouldn't trust him…'

'…do not trust him so blindly…'

As if reading her thoughts, his grip on her shoulders tightened, causing her to squirm uncomfortably in his grasp.

"They could be right, you know," he said with a hint of malice, though it was not directed at her.

Not that she could tell the difference. Her pale eyes widened but she was still unable to tear her gaze away from his.

"I…Itanii-san…"

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

She flinched at his tone, tears beginning to cloud her vision.

He seemed unaffected. "Do you trust me? Even if I could break you easily? Even if I could kill you at any moment?"

"…I…I th-think that i-i-if y-you w-w-w-wanted t-to, I w-would al-already b-be d-d-dead…"

"Stop avoiding the question."

She ignored the shiver that ran down her spine as a gust of wind blew against her now moist face. The sight of her tears only served to further aggravate Itachi, she knew it in the way his eyes were beginning to glow red and she felt an emotion she'd never felt when it came to Itachi: fear. A second shiver moved through her, having nothing to do with the cold.

"Answer me, damnit!"

She could clearly see he was getting angry.

'…you shouldn't trust him…'

'…do not trust him blindly…'

A sob escaped her lips, despite her efforts to hold it down. She just did. She shouldn't, but did all the same.

Slowly, so he wouldn't misinterpret her sob, she nodded. "I…I d-d-do t-trust you, Itachi."

He didn't relax one bit, and there was so much disbelief in his eyes that Hinata couldn't help but be a bit hurt. Didn't he trust her?

"Liar. I can sense your fear."

"…I…I a-am s-s-scared…b-but, I kn-kn-know th-that y-you'd n-never h-hurt me…I j-just…" she sobbed, unable to stop the tears from gushing from her eyes. "P-p-please…d-don't b-be m-m-mad at me…"

He visibly calmed, the hands that were once gripping her shoulders painfully were now holding on to them only loosely, the eyes that were glaring red at her moments ago were now the usual ebony stoicism. Hinata bit her lower lip in an effort to stop further cries from escaping, lowering her head in shame, knowing that this was somehow her fault.

He watched on helplessly, unsure of how to calm her. Her sobs were now racking her entire body, though he could see she was trying fruitlessly to fight them off, and it was his fault again. Why did he have to ask her that stupid question? He already knew the answer. Damnit, what was he supposed to do now? He had no ideas on how to calm a weeping girl. Where was Mikoto when you needed her?

"You should be afraid," he finally said, though it held a touch of softness that had not been present in his previous words. "I could hurt you."

She slowly opened her eyes and stared up at him. "…I d-d-don't…n-no. I kn-kn-know y-y-you'd n-never h-h-hurt m-me…"

His expression softened as he lightly grazed her cheek with his thumb. He slowly bent to kiss her forehead, causing her to gasp lightly. He smirked at that and let go of her shoulders to walk back into the house.

"Make sure you get some rest," he called back to her, "Because you'll need that energy to train."

---

Exhaustion welled in every bone in her weary body, as it usually did after training sessions with Itachi. The night before had not been mentioned betwixt the two during the spar, but there was a mutual agreement in there somewhere. Oddly enough, the situation that should have made things more awkward ended up dissolving all the uneasiness on Hinata's part and the need to snap at her on Itachi's. Though Sasuke and Neji's words still rung in her mind, she had to make them understand somehow that Itachi was not a bad person.

Furthermore, if Sasuke was going to marry her, he'd marry all of her. Including the people she liked. Itachi was as much her brother as he was Sasuke's, she reasoned. Therefore, he shouldn't have a problem with their relationship. Itachi was a brother to her, and the love she held for him was not something she was willing to give up.

The last empty space in her heart had been filled now that she'd made up with Itachi. True happiness seemed only a heartbeat away and suddenly she didn't dread the day she'd walk down the aisle. To the contrary, she couldn't wait to finally live out a peaceful life with Sasuke. She couldn't wait to see the look on her father's face when she produced a healthy Hyuga-Uchiha heir, couldn't wait to see the approval she so longed for. She couldn't wait for the family reunions, catching up with Itachi and the wife she didn't doubt he'd have by then would be enjoyable.

'…you shouldn't trust him…'

Oh, but she did. She trusted and loved her Itanii-san ever so dearly.

She went to exit the house, on her way to Konoha to meet (secretly) with Neji and Hanabi, since Hiashi had firmly forbidden them from visiting her at the Uchiha compound. They'd be easily recognizable if they did come by, and since the Uchiha's already knew of the restriction, news would travel back to Hiashi. Smiling still, she opened the door…

…to be met by a fist.

Training with Itachi didn't leave her defenseless, so she was able to catch the fist that was aimed at her face before it could land. Hinata blinked when she saw Ino, the owner of said fist.

"Oh! Hinata! I'm so sorry! I was just about to knock!"

Hinata flushed, letting Ino's hand drop. "I-It's okay…"

"Hinata," Ino said, suddenly going serious, "We need to talk."

Shimi-chan: OoOoOh. Cliffy. (Shrugs) Oh well, too bad I'm discontinuing this story…………Just Kidding! I would never do that to you guys. The next chapter will come soon. I'll probably have already finished the story by the time I post this chapter. I hope that my talent isn't diminishing...it kinda feels like it...