AN/: Eheh, well looks like I have a lot of explaining to do. *ERHEM
Okay first off, thanks for all your reviews and suggestions I really appreciate it.
The Naruto world in this story as I have stated before, will not be what you're used to in the anime and such. I've changed a lot of things; Fugaku being a drunk, Ino liking Gai sensei, etc etc.
This includes the age gap. In my story the entire rookie 9 is the same age except for team Gai which is about 1 year older than the rest. Itachi is 4 years older than Hinata and Shisui is just a year older than Itachi. Yes, yes I realize this is probably going to piss off a few people and a few things might change. Nyehe as embarrassing as it is saying this, yes I guess I did kinda go too far with the stuttering thanks Nino for the advice I'll try and work on that, and Hinata does seem kind of weak in the start but she will improve not to worry. This is my first fanfiction so I might be a little bad at it, but thanks again for all your support! I really hope you enjoy the story!

The weeks flew by fast, and so did the week that came after. She had come so far since then, the people she was familiar with have all made it through the first two phases of the Chunin Exams. She thanked those two with all her heart, because she knew she wouldn't have gotten this far without their help. She thought that she would be a burden to her team, but it was the opposite. If it wasn't for them, if it wasn't for his presence in her life she couldn't have done it.

Now she has to get through the preliminaries to get through to the final round.
She is so close, so close to becoming a Chunin. Hinata's mind was set. She was going to become a Chunin. She couldn't live with herself otherwise. She wasn't going to lose. She HAS to get through.

The referee cleared his throat, warming up for the announcement.
"Since the number of genins who have passed the second round are more than the average number, preliminaries will be held to half the number of participants before continuing the Chunin exams, as stated before. The preliminaries are made up of one-on-one fights between all the remaining participants. The fights will be chosen at random, and the winner of each fight would be guaranteed a spot in the Third Test. If a draw occurs neither participant would move on. All participants along with their instructors will watch the fights. You lose if you give up, die, become unconscious, or are unable to continue for some other reason."

Hinata gulped.
"Listen, Hinata. If Neji or those guys from the Sand are paired against you, just back out. Don't go through with it! They'll destroy you."
Kiba's words echoed in her head. It was true, she was certain that if her cousin had been paired with her or god forbid those guys from the sand her chances of winning would be very slim. She knew that neither will hesitate killing her. This was it though; she knew that if she backed out now she'd just be a failure. She'd rather forfeit her life than be branded a failure and not even trying. Because then it would be all her fault. It would be best if she just gave her all, and live with the consequences.
There was no way she was giving up. Not here. Not now.

"Well then, we shall begin round one."

Some seemed to be excited, most were anxious and well, scared to death.
The competition was high, you get paired up with the wrong guy and that's it. There's a chance you won't come out alive even. Determined as she was, Hinata was extremely still nervous. She prayed and hoped that she wouldn't get paired with the wrong person; hopefully she'd be one of the last ones chosen to fight.

"Round one, Inuzuka Kiba,"
*Thump* Kiba kun...
"Versus, Uzumaki Naruto."

Uchiha Itachi was getting soft. He knew it and he was terrified that others might notice it too. Once again the fingers are pointed to the indigo haired creature with milky white eyes, soft creamy skin, a cute smile and... Ugh! This is getting outrageous. He didn't even cringe let alone get angry at the girl when she drooled on his shirt. He actually thought it was... pretty cute.
This is bad. This is really, really bad.
It is times like these when a deadly S-Rank ANBU mission comes in handy.
It's either you focus on the mission or get yourself killed, no time for day time fantasies of a cute little pale eyed girl. But when night came and the mission comes to a temporary halt, all kinds of thoughts would always float to his mind. He'd think about his hard headed brother and his new 'friend'.
Hinata was so different from his brother but he was beginning to think it was a good thing. His little brother was too full of himself to ever befriend someone like Hinata, so there would be less chances of her ever finding out anything about him. Unlike Shisui, Itachi was much more private about his shinobi life from the start. He never did like people to know that he was in the ANBU. Only his family, Shisui and family and a few of his ANBU colleagues know that he is in the ANBU. That makes things easier for him to hide the fact from Hinata. And Hinata being the type of person that she is, wouldn't actually go around asking people whether or not Uchiha Itachi was in the ANBU. Especially since she confirmed it herself that he wasn't. Well he did put her under a genjutsu at the time, but that's beside the point. The important thing is that his "Ken" identity was kept secret.

"Round one, won by... Uzumaki Naruto."
She didn't know how to feel. Her team mate was defeated, but her comrade, her inspiration all these years had won.
"Yay!" The blonde jumped with joy, showing peace signs to the rest of the genin crowd and the teachers present.
His fight was over, and she had yet to face hers. Hopefully, fate would be kind to her and let her avoid clashing with the sand genins or her cousin.
"Round two,"
Hinata held her breath.
"Hyuuga Hinata,"
*Thump* Looks like it's me next...
"Versus, Uchiha Sasuke."
What? Uchiha?!
Her eyes widened. Out of all the people why did she have to be the one paired with an Uchiha?
Uchiha Sasuke; the prodigy was going to pit against her?
Her heart began pounding rapidly. She never expected this to happen. She looked at her team mate worryingly, Kurenai sensei looked worried as well.
She doubted that he would intend kill her like the Sand genins and Neji would, but she also high doubted that she'd be the victor. After one week of training with the Uchihas she had learned the hard way that they are no pushovers. She looked down at the battle ground, to see the Uchiha standing as ready as ever to take on the challenge.
She sighed.
It's now or never. Now or never.
Gathering her courage, she approached the floor soon facing the Uchiha.
His face remained impassive, but you could feel the confidence radiating from him. She looked up at the crowd, only to see faces filled with pity for her. It was as if the battle had already ended, and they knew the outcome. She didn't blame them, she knew she had yet to prove herself, and this is the time to show them; Hyuuga Hinata is not some pathetic weakling. She is a worthy Konoha kunoichi.
"Believe in yourself, Hinata-san."

Without hesitation she reached for her kunai pouch and pulled out a kunai. She twirled the weapon around her finger before securing it in her hand.
"Here I come." She stated boldly as she charged towards the Uchiha. He stood for awhile, analysing her movements. Then just inches away from each other, he pulled out his kunai and metal clanged against metal. He wanted to finish it as quickly as possible but didn't want to give away his best attacks till the real final.
It didn't take long for the two to engage in taijutsu battle. Hinata's speed still wasn't up to Uchiha standards, he was much faster and she found herself taking heavy punches and kicks. But she was still standing. Activating her Byaakugan, she moved on to trying to immobilize the Uchiha or maybe temporarily disrupting his Chakra flow, but his defences were good; he managed to evade all her vital attacks. But he was taken back by her sudden emerge of talents; not only him even the rest of the crowd was. Yes he wasn't giving it his all yet, but he was impressed that the girl was able to take his hits and manage to land a few on him as well, be it minor.
He decided that she wasn't going down that easily, so maybe it's time to resort to something a little more drastic. He took out a few shurikens and hid them from sight. Hinata was a little out of breath by this time in the battle. "I am impressed." Her opponent admitted.
"You are stronger than you look." Without bothering to respond, the girl charged towards him once again, this time determined to hit his chakra points. The smirk evident on his face as she ran towards him. Readying his shuriken, he used the Uchiha shuriken technique that he had learned from his brother. Unfortunately for him... The girl stops the moment the shurikens are thrown.
That move is...
Recognizing the shuriken movement, she quickly evaded which shocked the Uchiha boy. Feeling in a blur, he wasn't aware that the girl was already preparing her attack as she approached him, the boy was unable to evade when the girl had come in range. Shit! Activating his Sharingan, he simply blocked the one hand but was hit with the other. Even so, he was able to land a kick on her abdomen the same time her attack landed. The girl flew back, clashing on to the ground the same time Sasuke realized she had affected the chakra flow in his right leg. Refusing to back down, the stubborn girl got up once again, with a kunai in hand. He narrowed his eyes; that was the first time anyone has ever dodged his shuriken attack and she even managed to get him to activate his Sharingan. He underestimated her. He couldn't waste time on using petty moves on this girl. So he waited for her to come again, as fast as she could with all her strength she charged yet again. This time he had to finish her for good. He couldn't keep a distance; he had to go resort to close combat if he wanted to take her down quickly. He'll aim for her weakness; her speed. Once she reached a certain distance, he ran head on but unexpectedly the girl had managed to cut his left arm as he slid behind her. Able to withstand the sting of the cut, he kicked her on the back, but before her body was thrown by the impact he caught her by the collar, and slammed her small body on to the ground; hovering above her, his left hand restrained both her hands, while his right held a kunai to the back of her neck all in a matter of seconds. Her Byaakugan was still not at par with the boy's Sharingan. She struggled to break free but her efforts were useless. He deactivated his Sharingan, the moment his triumph was announced. She was free from his grip, but her body couldn't move. It was over. She had lost.

The moment she woke, it was like déjà vu all over again. Hiroki was by her side, she was staring at the same ceiling, and her heart was broken.
It wasn't just because she lost. It wasn't just because her father would be disappointed. It was because her promise, her words, she couldn't live up to it. She was always the type person who kept her promise. And it killed her to know that she didn't live up to the promise she gave to the closest person to her heart. All the time the two had spent training her, would all be in vain. The battle had started and ended so fast. It was almost like she didn't even put up a fight.
It didn't click in her mind that she had managed to injure and dodge some of the Uchiha's formidable moves. All that was clear to her was that she had lost, and Uchiha Sasuke had won.

That day, she spent her time in the garden next to Hiroki.
"Hinata-sama."
Hinata kept silent, with her gaze locked at the flower patch. The flowers she planted, haven't bloomed. It was saddening to see how dull her plant was compared to the rest. Almost like it was reflecting her. "M-My flowers..."
Hiroki turned. "T-They didn't bloom."
His features saddened as he looked at the girl, her spirit obviously broken. He looked into the corner of her eyes, tears brimming.
"Hinata-sama." He began. The girl didn't turn to look at the man, she simply stared blankly into the open, showing no sign of her listening.
"Flowers that bloom late, are usually the most worth it."
"W-What do you mean?" Hinata furrowed her eyebrows and faced the man. Happy that he finally caught her attention, he breathed in the fresh air and continued.
"They take time. They take a lot of effort and work. But in the end, they'll bloom in to the most beautiful flower you'll ever see. And in the end, it will all be worth it."
A weak smile curved on her lips. She glanced up at the sky coloured with orange and red streaks; it was evening.
"Hiroki,"
"Hm?"
"I-I'm going to go for a w-walk."

It was still a little early for their usual meetings, but she did want to get there first. Maybe do some thinking while waiting for the two. She sat on the bench and let out a tired sigh. Her elbows rested on her lap while her head faced down.
What would I tell them? What would they say? I wasted their time, their effort, all for nothing...
She couldn't help but feel like a nuisance. She felt so bad for just screwing up again. So, she cried. She just felt so bitter, was it even supposed to feel this bad? Her sobs sounded so painful, her tears just kept flowing down her cheeks.
I am not good enough. I'll never be good enough.
Those were her thoughts then. She wasn't a genius, and she never will be. She knew and yet... it hurt her so much.

"Hinata-san."
She lifted her face, and covered her moist cheeks and puffy eyes the moment she laid eyes on him.
"I-Itachi-kun..." She sounded so hurt.
"Hinata-san what's wrong?" He didn't like hearing her cry, especially like that. He could feel his heart clench, it was almost unbearable seeing her like that. She grabbed his hand and brought it closer to her. His hand was pressing against her forehead and he could feel her grip tighten.
"I-I am s-so so sorry!" She cried.
"You didn't get through did you?" He had no expression on his face despite the worry in his voice. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, but other than that it was as though he didn't feel anything despite the fact that he actually did feel for her deeply.
She shook her head and cupped his hand in hers. "I-I d-don't know why it h-hurts so much!"

He waited for her for two days alone here, but she didn't show up. She was injured after the preliminaries and Shisui had another mission. He waited, and he was so eager to see her. He hadn't seen her for a while since the mission. But he'd rather not see her, than face her in a situation like this.
Itachi kneeled down, wanting to look at her. Her eyes were swollen, cheeks covered in tears and her nose was so red. He kept thinking of what to do in this kind of situation. He just didn't know how to comfort people. His head was in a blur, yet his body acted on its own. His hand slid out of her grasp, while his other arm reached out. Slowly, she felt his hands wrap around her, pulling her close. Hinata accepted his embrace. She didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. Right now, she felt like she needed him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and just cried her heart out. Itachi didn't know what the hell he was doing, but he didn't really care. He felt her small body against his jerking every time she lets out a sob, he felt her warm tears dampening his shirt, he felt her pain, her sorrow and he wanted to be there for her.
What would a friend say? What would I say to Sasuke?
Even he was confused really; there she was crying, emotion obvious on her face and in her large ivory eyes. And yet he was uncertain of his emotions, he wondered what would be the right thing to do. He didn't really take her as a friend and she definitely wasn't her little brother.
"Hinata-san,"
She tried to respond but the words wouldn't come out. Instead he just felt her sob against his shirt. Even so, he continued.
"It's okay." Her hands pressed against his shirt, clutched on to it tight.
"There's always next year." He tried to sound as comforting as he could.
"I'll always be here for you."
That's what friends usually say right?
Her sobs suddenly came to a stop but her tears continued to flow out.
No wait, maybe I shouldn't have said that.
"P-promise?" She lifted her head. His lips twitched upwards and his hold tightened.
"Hn."
"I-Itachi kun."
"Hm?"
"I-I am sorry I-I w-wet your s-shirt again." She smiled as she heard him chuckle lightly.
"At least it's not drool this time." He smirked as he felt her flinch.
"Y-you are not angry at me?" She spoke into his shirt.
"No."
"T-thank you."
Why is she thanking me? Was what he thought.
"Hn." Was his reply.