Impossible
For those of you who were reading Butterflies and Friendzones, I am terribly, TERRIBLY sorry for lagging. But I am back now! (getting my internet connection cut off was such a huge pain in the ass)
So, welcome to the wonderful world of my mind! It's getting pretty chilly here where I live, what about you guys?
Also, I would like to thank Gangnam Style X3 for being the first person to review and be a consistent and loyal reader. I am also VERY grateful of you leaving that gigantic paragraph, I felt so loved… HUGGIES! :3
Thank you to all the followers, the favoriters, the reviewers, and readers. I couldn't have gone on without you.
Now with that being said… *rides a giant tortoise* ONWARD!
Chapter 6: She's MY Nurse
"Where is she." Konan gripped at the collar of a male Hyuuga Branch member.
"As if I'd tell you where Hinata-sama is." The Hyuuga sneered at the blue haired Akatsuki. Without a second thought, Konan snapped the poor man's neck.
"Pity." The only woman Akatsuki member wandered the Hyuuga compound, as if she was bored. Looking for other Hyuugas, she struck gold when she turned left into a hall and little girl, up to Konan's shoulder, ran into her.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING—" The snobby Hyuuga's mouth slammed shut as a barrage of paper shuriken pinned her clothes to the wall behind her. A few cuts on her arms, legs, and face seeped the tiniest amount of blood.
"You. Little Hyuuga servant. Tell me the whereabouts of Hyuuga Hinata." Konan narrowed her eyes at the young girl in front of her who loudly shrieked at the woman. A Hyuuga was high, mighty, and calm. This one was loud, stubborn, and hot-headed.
"LITTLE HYUUGA SERVANT?!" The girl thrashed her fist and legs into the wall. "I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I AM HYUUGA HANABI, THE DAUGHTER OF HYUUGA HIASHI, AND I WILL NEVER TELL YOU WHERE NEE-CHAN IS—"
"Hm, perfect." Konan released Hanabi from her paper trap and she landed onto the floor with ease. A little caught off guard, Konan barely dodged the kunai that went straight to her face and cut a strand of her hair off. "What a bother." Konan began a series of hand seals. "You will be my prisoner."
"Prisoner for what?" Hanabi wielded a second kunai in her hand, Byakugan flared.
"Bait." Paper began to fold around the young girl. "Ninja art, paper cage—"
"NOT IN THIS LIFETIME!" When the paper cage surrounded the young Hyuuga, a substitution took her place and went off in a poof. A few books landed on the floor in her place. Konan scanned the hallway that was once occupied with a little Hyuuga. Her nose scrunched in disbelief.
-Page Break-
"DIE!" Sasuke swung his chidori into the air, towards his very much alive brother. Itachi dodged, of course, not making it easy for Sasuke to win. Now that his wounds and illness was nearly gone, or so it felt like it, it was so much easier for him to make swift movements here and there and not suffer the consequences later.
"Still so foolish." Itachi ducked under a kunai and threw a few of his own. His Sharingan was activated but was weary of using his Mangekyou Sharingan. His eyes literally healed five minutes ago and he was not about to take a risk. What if he wanted to live this time? Sasuke was about to nail Itachi's body with the lightning blade when he caught his wrist with grace and the lightning dissipated quickly. In a snap of his fingers, Sasuke's wrist dislocated, earning him a yelp. "Still so weak."
"YAMATE!" Hinata struggled against the rope that bound her hands together. She spat out the hand towel that muffled her. Tears made a river down her face and her bottom lip trembled. "Onegai… Y-yamate…"
Sensing Hinata's distress, he dropped his younger brother's immobile hand. Sasuke tenderly gripped his hurt wrist and clutched it caringly towards his chest. His blood boiled in pure rage and fury as he glared at Itachi who was now walking towards his nurse. In one swift movement, the ropes that bound Hinata were instantaneously cut and Hinata's shaking form escaped the restrictions. The poor Hyuuga was still in a state of shock and couldn't stop her blubbering. Still clad in her nurse uniform, she wiped her face onto one of the short lavender sleeves.
"Onegai…" Hinata squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling but spectacularly failed. Itachi, who was now kneeling next to her, wiped the single droplet that escaped Hinata's ivory orbs with a calloused thumb. She took note on how rough yet gentle his hands were. His actions were feather-like.
While doing so, Itachi pat her head reassuringly. "Alright. But no more crying."
Completely ignoring the other former missing-nin in the room, Itachi helped Hinata up from the white floor. Sasuke deliberately ignored the sharp pains in his good hand and used his other hand to create various seals. "Hinata, MOVE. Kanton: fire ball jutsu!"
A sphere of fire came barreling towards the pair. At that point, the older brother pushed the girl out of the way. Creating the exact seals, he held fingers to his mouth. "Kanton: grand fire ball jutsu!" An even bigger ball of flames appeared before Hinata's all seeing Hyuuga eyes, engulfing the tinier, more insignificant fire jutsu. Sasuke, fortunately, leapt out of Itachi's terrifying jutsu in time. The two jutsus both brothers executed were mere horse play but to Hinata it was most impressive. She was only a medic-ninja, knowing only medical ninjutsu. Also a Hyuuga. Knowing only her clan's traditional jutsus. Watching the legendary Uchiha fire jutsus up close and personal really put her in awe, knowing damn well what other dangerous and amazing jutsus they had up their sleeves.
The grand fire ball Itachi created actually blew the wall where the window used to be in bits. As a result, the hospital now had a newly renovated window complete with singed walls, broken glass, and a bigger view of the ongoings outside. Speaking of outside…
Bang
The two brother's heads snapped up, creating a cracking sound. Hinata, who was on the floor again, activated her Byakugan, scanning their surroundings. Her monochromic vision picked up explosions here and there. She saw civilians and shinobi alike stop dead in their tracks in shock. Even the busy bustling hospital nurses completely dead panned stopped their work to listen to their surroundings.
Boom... boom… BOOM
The explosions were getting louder, closer. Acting fast, the older Leaf shinobi in the room gracefully hoisted the nurse up from the floor once more. He demanded, "My ninja gear. Now, if you will."
Instead of following standard protocol and strapping the two rogue-nin to chakra-absorbing cuffs, Hinata followed gut instinct and nodded. Not even uttering a word, Hinata stumbled across the wrecked room before being stopped by a still fuming Sasuke. The boy flash stepped over the hospital bed and landed right in front of the girl.
"Sasuke-san, please m-move out of—"
"Heal my hand first or you are not leaving." Hesitantly, Hinata delicately took the Avenger's forearm in one hand and his hand in another. Without so much as a warning, her hand snapped, as if pushing his forearm and hand together to crush each other in his arm. Sasuke tried to man up but instead, eeped in seering pain, followed by extremely colorful vocabulary that Hinata preferred not to hear. After a few seconds more of the swelling and the throbbing, medical jutsu was being performed. His wrist felt tingly and cool, almost minty feeling. After the green chakra ceased, Hinata immediately dropped his limb from her own and dashed out the door. In a sinister fashion, Sasuke faced the man who murdered his family.
"Now, aniki… You will die—"
"Save it for later, foolish little brother. There are more serious matters in hand." Itachi nonchalantly stared out of the newly made 'window'. His trained eyes caught a glimpse of smoke not even three miles from where he's standing. "Very serious matters."
"I did NOT wait years and years just so you can put me off for a petty—"
Smack
Itachi struck Sasuke across the cheek, Sasuke landing on the singed tile floor. "You do as I say, you hooligan." Itachi ran an irritated hand through his perfect raven hair. "As of now, the village is under attack. The last thing it needs is for two masters of the sharingan to petrify the civilians to their death beds when clearly someone else is doing it for them."
Angrily, Sasuke scowled at his older brother. About to retort, Sasuke made an effort to get up and argue some more until he felt two fingers push his forehead down. "Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe another time."
Itachi retracted his fingers from Sasuke's speechless face. A very un-Itachi-like grin appeared for a millisecond before it shaped back to its normal steely expression. At the same moment, Hinata returned with both the Uchihas belongings and having changed in her own ninja gear as well. She handed Itachi his ninja clothes and tools which he took gratefully. In a flash, he was now clad in the standard shinobi wear all Akatsuki members wore underneath their trademark black cloak with red clouds. Hinata set Sasuke's belongings on the floor next to him. The slight shifting adjacent to him brought him out of his reverie and snapped back to reality.
Did… Did Itachi really just do that?
Aimlessly, he stripped himself of the clothes the hospital provided him and slipped into his newly washed uniform he used to fight his prodigy of a brother in. Shaking the feeling of déjàvu, he strapped his trusting katan to his purple rope tied around his waist. After doing so, he studied the two other ninjas in the room.
Hinata, even without her uniform, she was so cute. In her shinobi uniform, she looked more unbreakable and powerful, but equally helpful. The lavender and white sweater she wore accentuated her curved more than her baggy nurse outfit. Her navy blue ninja capris were well below her knees. The Konohagakure headband was tied around her neck and her hair flawlessly fell down her back like a blue waterfall. All in all, she was beautiful. Itachi's thoughts mirrored Sasuke's. Che, brothers.
Hinata noticed the two males that were staring at her. At first, she thought she had something on her face so she clawed and scratched her cheeks, nose, and forehead for the offending object. After a few seconds, she fully understood that they were looking at her. Feeling slightly embarrassed, her face sported a cute tint of pink. She forced herself not to poke her index fingers together and fidgeting in place. Here she was, the failed Hyuuga heiress, standing with Konoha's, if not the world's, best ninjas it could offer. Both the last standing Uchihas, both as dangerous as rumored, both deadly as the bingo book described.
"We must find the Godaime." Itachi finally severed the incredibly awkward exchange between the three.
-Page Break-
"HOLY HELL… Lady Tsunade, are you seeing this?!" Shizune panicked, hugging the life out of Tonton, her pet pig. Clearly, Shizune was horrorstruck as she watched the precious Leaf Village being under attack by a mysterious force. "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"
"SHIZUNE, YOU ARE GIVING ME A MIGRAINE. SHUT UP!" The blonde Sannin slammed a powerful fist down the middle of her oak wood desk, infusing her blow with chakra for good measure. The poor desk was now shattered in random pieces, papers flying everywhere. "I am well aware of the attack and most certainly aware of who is behind it." Tsunade fixated herself and stared out the window of the Hokage Tower with her hands behind her back. "Shizune. Bring me the Uchihas, Sakura, Ino, and Hinata. NOW!"
"Yes, my lady!" the black haired apprentice, still holding the poor pig in her merciless arms, scrambled out of the room ungracefully and sped to the Konoha Hospital.
-Page Break-
Hinata was trekking behind the two Uchiha brothers. She stared at the older one before shifting her gaze to the younger one.
Both so talented but so different… Itachi is all powerful but he is very gentle. Sasuke is also skillful but he's so smug.
She caught herself looking at the elder Uchiha too long and noticed that he was staring sideways at her. Shame washed over her face as it took on an almost purple-red color. Bowing her head a few degrees lower than normal, she didn't even see the hit coming.
A tiny, dark blur lunged itself into her, causing Hinata to crash-land into the duckbutt haired boy. The two shinobi fell onto the debris covered ground with a thud and an oof. The ponytail haired man's eyes spun in the familiar crimson red with the trademark spin wheel in place already, ready to attack the unknown offender. Apparently, Sasuke's Sharingan also awakened beneath Hinata. Sensing danger near her, Hinata didn't even acknowledge the fact that she was this close to a boy, the heartthrob of the village no less, and her own dojustu was already flaring. A wise ninja once said to 'expect the unexpected.' And this certainly was unexpected.
"Nee-chan!" Hanabi ripped her older sister from the still glaring Uchiha and embraced her. "I'm so glad you're okay! You need to come home right away, onegai!" The little Hyuuga tugged on the heiress' sleeve, motioning her to follow her.
"Nande? I must report to Tsunade-sama." Hinata glanced at the two brothers behind her, who were still uneasy of the stranger, as if they were the explanation why she could not go with Hanabi. Hinata's stutter suddenly took a hike. "Hanabi-chan, listen to me. I want you to go back and get father, gather all the Hyuugas, and evacuate the village. Do not listen to anyone else. Do not shelter in the Hokage Monument for it is also very dangerous there. Stay hidden in the trees, mask your chakras."
"Demo, Hinata-nee-chan, you must come—"
"No, Hanabi-chan!" Hinata put two pale hands on the shoulders of the smaller version of her. She stared into the identical pair of Hyuuga eyes. "You must do this to protect the clan, to protect our family. It is your duty."
"What about you, sister?" The smaller one's voice was firm but her eyes were sorrowfully, filled with fear, panic, and most of all she looked like a lost child looking for her mother in the crowd.
Hinata dropped her arms back to her sides. Cracking a small, yet determined smile she responded in a very Naruto-like way. "I will protect my village."
The younger Hyuuga sighed in defeat. No one gets their way, except Hinata herself, when she is determined. "Okay, nee-chan… But I must tell you… Someone of blue hair and paper is seeking you. Be careful. Be strong." The little Hyuuga turned a complete 180 degrees bursting chakra to her feet to double her speed towards the Hyuuga residence.
"Konan." Itachi spoke. His eyes were back to the normal obsidian ones.
"Excuse me?"
"Konan. She is another member of the Akatsuki. She uses the art of paper folding, origami, for her jutsus. She is normally not one to attack but when she needs to, you need not to underestimate her."
"Well, why don't we just kill her, problem solved." Sasuke shrugged, his eyes were now onyx and empty, bored even.
"Foolish little brother, you know nothing."
At the same time Sasuke was about to shriek profanities at his older kin, Shizune arrived with a still shaky Sakura and Ino flanking her.
"You three, the Hokage requests your assistance."
Without so much of a word or even a nod, the six ninja were now jumping and flying through the air across the destruction. Hinata tried her very, very best to ignore the shrieks of civilians underneath her feet. The trip felt like an eternity. Before they knew it, they were all summoned into Tsunade's office. The female Hokage cut to the chase already.
"The village is under attack by Akatsuki. The one leading this invasion is the leader, Pein. Obviously, Itachi-san knows this. Now, you two," Tsunade glared at the two brothers, sending chills down their spines, although they will never admit it in a lifetime. "since you are both under arrest of this village, standard protocol says that you must be put under 72 hour surveillance. But considering the circumstances, I decided, however the two geezers highly opposed it, to put you back on shinobi duty. It will benefit the village and yourselves the most. Because 1: our village will be saved and 2: we don't have to kill you. Now, your first mission is this, you will find Pein and you will either distract him until Naruto's return or stop him. Plain and simple." After her speech, the curvaceous blond crossed her arms across her bust with a slight smirk. Sasuke scowled while Itachi merely kept a calm façade.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Itachi kneeled, one fist on the ground, as an act of loyalty. Sasuke scoffed at the ridiculous gesture the buffoon was making, but Itachi elected to ignore him.
"Now as for you three," turning her attention to the three medic-nin. "your mission is to follow your patient, making sure he stays out of trouble and most of all, healthy and uninjured. They may be the only chance our village will make it out in one piece. Got it?"
The younger blonde and pinkette looked at their sensei hesitantly before uttering a 'hai' in unison to Hinata's. Obviously, Sasuke scared the living shit out of both of them so they would come off as a little uneasy. Hinata, on the other hand, felt slightly relieved that she wouldn't be leaving Itachi's side. She had to make sure he was well and that he won't get hurt anymore. That's it. Right?
"But, my lady, what about you?" Sakura cocked her hair to the side, her bubblegum hair brushing her shoulder.
"I will summon Katsuya to protect as many civilians as I can. Now, go!" Tsunade barked the order and all of the ninja in the area disappeared into thin air.
"Messenger toad, report back to Mount Myoboku and send for Naruto." The messenger toad saluted Tsunade before she exit her office and onto the rooftop. Before the toad could even do the reverse summoning jutsu, a blade slashed right through his back. The katana was pulled back and revealed a bandaged man.
-Page Break-
Itachi didn't exactly know where he was going. He simply left the Hokage Tower in the opposite direction of his brother. Hinata was directly behind him, watching and studying his movements. Halting to a stop on a nearby roof, Itachi faced the Hinata, ivory eyes met ebony ones.
"Hinata, I do not wish for you to follow me. Where I am going, it will be a horrid sight for someone as pure as you." Itachi genuinely wanted to save Hinata of the bloody scene already bound to happen.
"Itachi, I do not want to leave your side. It is my mission, my duty to protect you. Even if it wasn't an order, I will follow you because I want to look after your well-being."
Itachi closed his eyes. How stubborn. "Very well, Hinata."
"How have your eyes healed?"
"Wonderfully. I feel hardly any pain."
Hinata took a hesitant step forward the intimidating man. "That's more than I hoped for. Your sharingan must be strong. But I advise that you do not use your Mangekyou Sharingan. Your illness has not yet surpassed. I must continue healing you and—"
Itachi placed a delicate, slender finger over her lips to cease her talking. "You need not to heal me for I am unworthy of living anyways. Save your energy for the innocent."
"Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. You, Itachi, have yet to prove yourself guilty to me." She spoke under his finger. Her breath lingered on his digit as he kept his place there. Itachi's intense stare bore into hers as his index finger traced her jawline and his thumb ever so slightly brushed over her perfect, plump lips. His pale hand softly caressed her cheek where a blush already took its place. He inwardly smirked at how cute she looked when she blushed. Though his hands were rough and calloused from many years of training and battles, his skin was incredibly smooth, causing Hinata to lean into his warm touch. She didn't even bother masking her red face. Unaware of how close his face was getting, Hinata's lids drooped.
"Yet." He whispered in her ear, his breath tingled her skin, causing a wave of shudders. He back away from her ear and planted a kiss on her forehead before releasing her warm face. Now Hinata became fully aware. Her heart beat to no end and her palms became uncomfortably clammy. Her stutter that had seemed to run away a short while ago managed to come back full force. Her unbearable habit of wringing her hands together surfaced.
"A-ano, Itachi, ah… W-we sh-should get b-b-back on t-task…" She averted her all knowing Hyuuga eyes from the former Akatsuki member in front of her. She didn't even realize that was smirking at her. He was definitely amused. After a few more moments of entertainment, his smirk faded and they were now back to their trekking.
What is up with me?! What was that?! Why was he doing that and why was I reacting like that?! I love Naruto-kun, I love Naruto-kun! But… perhaps… NO, HINATA. He may be human, he may be kind to you… But he is still dangerous. He could kill you!
The war within herself went unnoticed by Itachi. Hinata stared at his back as they continued their unknown path. Itachi felt her eyes on him again and turned back as he flipped into the air with the grace of a butterfly. If Hinata wasn't looking closely, she would have missed him crack a miniscule, but reassuring smile.
But… He would never hurt me… He doesn't have the intention to hurt me… Right?
Author's Notes: Oh my gosh, I feel so much better writing. I feel like I've been keeping everyone waiting for so long. Anyways, after having this huge gap of uncertainty, I didn't really remember what I wanted to write about so instead I pulled this chapter right out my ass so it's pretty shitty (see what I did there). So if you have any ideas on what I should do from here, tell me now! Review!