Shimi-chan: Another quick update! God, I rock! Haha, just kidding, there goes my ego again...sorry...so anyway, I don't think you open this to listen to me ramble, sooo...here's the story!

Chapter Fifteen:

Hinata sucked in a sharp gasp at the sight of Itachi standing at the doorway. His stance was casual, not betraying any emotion at all, but his jaw was set and his eyes were blazing with obvious rage. Hinata couldn't help but shiver slightly. One Uchiha would not leave this room alive…

"I will not ask again."

"I was kissing her before you interrupted."

Hinata almost felt like dying when she heard Sasuke say that. Because, of course, challenging the angry Itachi was sure to make things so much better. And as expected, Itachi advanced in the room, fists now clenched angrily at his sides. Sasuke didn't even bother backing off of Hinata, which meant that she was directly in the line of fire. Fire that came in the form of Itachi.

"I knew that part, foolish little brother." He deliberately emphasized the 'little brother' to make Sasuke mad. And it worked, because Sasuke was now mirroring his older brother's cold glare.

"You have no business touching her. Now get off."

Sasuke's arm had somehow found itself around her lithe waist and it only tightened at Itachi's command. "She's my wife."

Anger flickered in Itachi's eyes. "Not yet."

"Um...g-guys…"

As usual whenever they got into their fighting matches, neither paid her any mind. As a matter of fact, Sasuke was now standing and had positioned himself directly in front of Itachi so he could retort directly into his face. They could easily get to each other, and so it wasn't long before their volumes were rising. Hinata could only watch on helplessly as the argument was escalating into an all out fight, and she still had no idea what had sparked it!

She stood slowly and approached what we'll call the battle ground with equal slowness. Neither had notice her approaching yet, which was a good thing, and she managed to get there just as they were finishing up their insults and were about to begin throwing punches.

Itachi's relaxed pose had long since turned and shown what he was actually feeling for his brother at the moment. "She's not a whore you can have fun with."

Sasuke, too, had anger spelled all over his body. "She's my fiancée and we both know it'll happen eventually."

Itachi bristled. "Not if I'm alive, hell no it won't happen."

"What the hell do you care anyway?"

"I won't stand around and watch you defile my little sister."

"You say that as if we all haven't noticed already."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You're acting way too overprotective for a 'big brother'. It's obvious you want her for yourself."

Hinata blushed at that remark, and it must have hit a special nerve in Itachi too, because instead of retorting he looked straight at her. Sasuke followed suit. She noticed with painful realization that Itachi never denied it…

Suddenly, surprising everyone, Itachi grabbed Hinata at the waist and jumped clear of Sasuke before anyone had a chance to react. Sasuke tensed hostilely when he realized Hinata was now in danger.

"Let her go!"

Itachi merely shot him an off-handed glare before he disappeared with Hinata, who was too flustered and shocked to react. As the vision of Sasuke turned into a memory two single thoughts ran through her head.

"…you shouldn't trust him…"

"…do not trust him so blindly…"

--

When her vision became solid again she found herself in Konoha. She was still stunned at the sudden turn of events, and thus adjusting to the change in scenery when Itachi began tugging her arm, effortlessly leading her somewhere she was sure she didn't want to go.

But despite it all, she allowed herself to be dragged off to where he wanted them to be, which turned out to be an alleyway. Who knew they even had those in Konoha? Point being, they now had all the privacy in the world, which was not necessarily a good thing.

Itachi gave her arm one hard yank, causing her to lose her footing and end up in front of him, where he promptly crushed her back against the wall, popping that invisible bubble marked 'personal space'.

"Itachi!" Hinata squeaked, flushing madly at the attention.

There was no readable emotion on his face as his arms found her waist and pulled her closer than she already was. She couldn't help but squeak again, causing him to press a finger to her lips to shush her. They could be caught at any moment.

"I-I-Itachi wh-what are y-y-y-you d-d-doing?!"

"You don't want to marry Sasuke."

It's something she'd been thinking about nonstop, but hearing him say it made all her attempts at convincing herself that she liked Sasuke enough to marry him fly out the window. But she had to, for her own honor and for her father's respect. For her respect in herself. So she had to deny his claim.

"I-I-I d-d-do…"

Those words sound almost prophetic.

But they sounded untrue even to Hinata's own ears, though she'd tried hard to keep the waver out of her voice. Damn that stupid stutter.

"Stand up for yourself. Tell them what you want and you'll get it. I'll help you."

Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the constant flicker in Itachi's eyes. It was almost as if someone was flicking the switch in his eyes. On, off, on, off, thus went the emotions he allowed himself to show. Hinata's switch was stuck on 'on' and she couldn't help but show the pain his words had caused her. He'd never offered to help her, though he'd done it more than once by pushing herself to be the best. She brought her hands up to his chest in a fruitless effort to push him away, hoping that with some distance she could think clearly, but he only caught her hands and brought them above her head while pushing her harder against the wall to she was still mashed into his body. She stifled a gasp, but as usual her blush betrayed her embarrassment.

"I-Itachi p-p-please l-let me g-g-go…"

"Tell me you don't want to marry him."

She looked into his eyes and gasped when she realized that he was showing it all to her. Hiding nothing. His eyes were switching between anger, sorrow, hurt, and…hope? That was the dominant one. Hope. The urge she had to tell him the truth was indescribable, but it would compromise her too much. She was filled with guilt. The one time he opened up to her, she couldn't return the favor. She had to lie to him, just this once, and hope he would still love her…

"B-but I do." She managed to choke out.

And just like that he went back to his cold demeanor. His eyes shut, as if some strong wind had closed the book she was looking into mere moments ago. His arms fell limply to his sides and he stared at her so coldly she almost thought he would strike her. Not that she didn't deserve it.

Instead, he stated icily "Then have fun living your life with him. And without me."

He was gone just as quickly as he'd done everything else.

Only then did Hinata allow herself to stoop to her knees in defeat, eyes wide with the shock of what she'd just said. Tears were falling freely from her face and soon her face contorted to agony and she cried into her hands, Itachi's words and actions running through her mind incessantly.

She cried for her inability to say no. She cried for Sasuke, she knew this would hurt him. She cried for her siblings, because she would no longer be part of their family. She cried for the Uchiha's, because she knew they loved her and she only wished she could be happy with them. She cried for her mother's life, one she'd barely had time to cherish. She cried for her father, because she knew her mother's death had hurt him and still affected him. Least of all, she cried for her own fucked up life, though that should have been the dominant reason, it only took up part of her sorrow. Most of it came from Itachi, her sorrow for him, because despite his demeanor and his desire to hide all signs that he's human, she knew he cared. And she knew that she cared too.

--

"Ahhh!! That was delicious!!"

"Naruto, stop being so loud!"

Naruto rubbed his ears at Sakura's shriek. "You're calling me loud?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What's that mean?"

He grinned nervously, taking a few steps away from the ticking time bomb named Sakura. "Um…N-nothing, Sakura!!"

"I told you to shut up, Naruto!"

Naruto sighed. How did a conversation about Ramen turn into an argument? He complied with her demands and shut his mouth, choosing not to retort, instead turned his face away from her.

Sob, sob, sob

"…Naruto, are you crying!?"

He turned back to her with a cocked brow and shook his head. "I thought that was you."

Sob, sob, sniff, sob

"Shhh…" Sakura put a finger to her lips and listened intently to the noise, hoping to find its source.

Sob, sniff, sniff, sob!

"It's coming from over there!" Naruto shouted, pointing his finger in the direction of an alleyway. Neither wasted any time and jogged over to said alley, where they soon discovered a figure hunched over, crying into her hands. They both recognized her instantly.

"Hinata?!"

She whipped her head up at the sound of her name and blushed, realizing she was no longer alone. She tried to stop her sobs long enough to talk to either of them, but the agony was fresh on her mind and she could only choke out an inaudible greeting. Soon her face was back in her hands and she was scooting away to hide her shame. But neither would have that, so they both approached her.

Naruto put an arm around her shoulders, but she shied away. "Hinata, what's wrong? What happened?"

She couldn't reply.

Sakura came over, pity written on her features and she instantly forgot that she was Hinata's rival at the moment. "Hinata…c'mon, please don't cry…"

Hinata allowed herself to be held by both of them as they attempted to calm her down.

"…I-Itachi…"

Naruto's ears perked when he heard a name and he instantly went tense. "Itachi? That bastard did this to you?"

She answered only with another hiccup.

Sakura lifted her face to look into her eyes. "Hinata, did Itachi hurt you?"

She stared at Sakura's emerald orbs, filled with genuine concern, and she shook her head guiltily. "I…I h-h-hurt him…"

Sakura and Naruto exchanged incredulous glances. "…You did?"

She nodded as a fresh onslaught of tears began forming behind her lids and she tried to swallow the sob crawling up her throat. "I…I w-w-wish…I h-hadn't…h-h-he l-left…"

She started crying again and the two others exchanged another glance, a worried one this time, before they wrapped their arms around the weeping Hyuga, whispering words of comfort whenever they felt they should.

'I'm sorry Itanii-san…'

--

It had been at least a week since he came home. Hinata was sitting in a chair staring out the window, supporting her head with her hands, hoping that she might see his familiar figure trekking toward the house. She wouldn't mind if he yelled at her, tripled their training, made her eat only healthy foods and not a lot of it, she just wanted him back. She just wanted to talk to him again. But it was a selfish wish and she knew it.

When Naruto and Sakura had brought her home, she was a mess, and Sasuke had been so mad that he'd planned on tracking Itachi down and 'kicking his ass' as he's put it. But Hinata had promptly explained it was her own fault (smartly leaving out the details on how it was) and he'd calmed. He wasn't satisfied with her answer, and she wasn't sure if he believed her, but he'd stayed. Now she wished he'd gone. That way Itachi may be home.

'He liked me. He liked me. He liked me.'

She figured it out. She wasn't so clueless that she didn't pick up the hint. There had to be a reason the wedding made him so mad, and that gave it away. That and the way Fugaku had talked to her when she came home. He'd explained Itachi's actions, almost as if defending him, and she knew he was right. She just didn't know how to react to the news. She still had to marry Sasuke.

A sudden jolt passed through her when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She yelped lightly, but calmed considerably when she saw Sasuke smirking down at her.

She blushed and smiled shyly. "O-Oh, hi Sasuke-kun…"

"It's not your fault."

Her smile faded and she turned her head so she could look out the window again. She lay her head in her arms with a sigh. "I know. But…I-I…"

He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze when she didn't finish. She couldn't help but feel bad. She knew her behavior was upsetting the entire house, and she knew she had to stop. For once she had to be the strong one.

It was time to let go.

Shimi-chan: Sniff Poor Itanii-san...Poor Hina-chan...It's all the frickin authors fault! Oh wait...that's me...TT