IamnotgoingIamnotgoingIamnotgoingIamnotgoingIamnot going...
Yes, what we are witnessing is an Uchiha freaking out on the day of a certain festival.
Hyuuga Hinata was his... nightmare. A pale eyed, indigo haired, petite nightmare!
Why he had agreed to go three days ago, he had no idea.
All he knew was, he was going to stick to the plan and avoid the girl, grow up maybe join the ANBU when he feels like it... but that's as far as he'd planned ahead for his future really.
It was easy to say that, he wouldn't go. That he would just let life go on and avoid the girl. But the truth is, he wasn't sure if he DIDN'T want to go.
This is not right. Definitely not right. He didn't know what was going on. She is probably the most annoying and frustrating girl in the history of the universe! Why did he have to get assigned to that stupid mission three years ago? Why did she have to come in to his life again three days ago?!
He hated feeling so wishy-washy. He hated feeling like he wanted to see someone. He hated Hyuuga Hinata!
... He needs help.

"Are you coming, Itachi-kun?"
"Hn. My father and mother are attending, so I will come as well."
His lips twitched as she smiled and swayed from side to side. She looked really cute.
"I really wanted you to come. I want you to watch me."
"Hm? I thought you would be scared to talk if I came." Itachi smirked and raised a brow.
She blushed slightly while shaking her head, denying the fact.
"Plus I'll finally get to see you in a y-yukata..." She blushed even more and looked away.
"Itachi-kun will look cute in a yukata." She giggled at the thought but immediately stiffened as she realized she had just thought out loud. Itachi cleared his throat, if he was the type he would whistle awkwardly.
"Hinata-Chan! I look better in a yukata, really!"

Uchiha Itachi was smiling to himself. This is... ridiculous.
She is doing it on purpose I tell you.
Whether or not he thinks about her in the day, (which he usually does unless he's out on a mission. Just saying.) She never fails to haunt him in his sleep.
He doesn't remember him dreaming about anything else really.
Apparently being in love with the same girl for four years does that to you.
He buried his face in his pillow and let out a sigh. Why is this so hard? He was deemed one of the most skilled and intelligent shinobi in Konoha but somehow that all seems to fade when he is with Hinata.
Maybe it feels so hard because he isn't sure what he wants. Should he tell her about his feelings?
Should he tell her the truth about what happened four years ago? How they met? Why he was there in the training ground in the first place? And if he does tell her, how will she react? Will she feel deceived? Will she push him away?
This is so frustrating.
He pushed his face deeper in to the pillow to the point of near suffocation when he heard loud knocks.
Not again...
He practically pushed himself of the bed and headed to the door, sighing on the way.
"Father, I think playing kites before a festival is bad luck –"
Itachi raised a brow as he caught sight of the face behind the door.
"Since when are you superstitious?" Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. Itachi smirked and folded his arms, leaning on the door frame.
"I am when I need to be. Anything to get out of playing kites."
Sasuke slid in to his older brother's room earning a slightly wary look.
"Hn. Well, if playing kites is bad luck for the Hyuuga festival then I think he'd be encouraged to play more." Sasuke shrugged.
"True. Anyways, what is my Sasuke sunshine doing here this early in the morning?"
"Stop calling me that," Sasuke hissed and narrowed his eyes, amusing Itachi.
"And it's not early, it's already ten."
"Still doesn't explain why you're here." Sasuke sighed and looked away, thinking over; should he ask his older brother for help? Would he tease him mercilessly? Would he be any help?
His cheeks started warming up as the thought of Hinata came to mind. How is he going to tell him about her?
Itachi's eyes widened; was his younger brother actually blushing? All sorts of thoughts came to mind, and he started to panic a little. He just hoped that it had nothing to do with his secret stash of Kakashi's books in his room.
"Sasuke." Itachi kicked the door behind him, closing it; not wanting his parents to find out again if this is about the Icha-Icha books.
"What is it?" Sasuke's face looked a bit funny; it was like he was disgusted but he had a weird softness to his features.
This just made him more anxious. It felt like an hour had passed before the boy actually spoke up.
"I, uh..." Sasuke looked at his older brother from the corner of his eyes.
"Need help about this... girl." He coughed.
The awkward pause. Sasuke glancing back from the wall to Itachi, Itachi with his arms folded and expression as neutral as ever.
Then, it broke.
"Mhmhmhmhm" Itachi chuckled. Yes, that is how he laughs.
Sasuke scowled, irritated at both his brother's amusement and his insipid, pervert-ish laughter.

Who laughs like that anyway?!

Sasuke looked down at his feet and shook his head before shooting up to face his brother with scrutinizing eyes.
"What?" He growled.
"It's funny." He said directly, holding a hand to his mouth trying to hold back his laughter.
"Forget it, this was a mistake." Sasuke headed towards the door when Itachi grabbed his shoulder.
"Oh come on," Itachi smiled.
"It's just funny thinking of how... mature you've become." Itachi's mouth formed a thin line, trying his best not to smile or laugh. Sasuke ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
He really didn't know what to do. If he leaves and doesn't consult with Itachi then what would he do? Who would he turn to? His brother was the only one he wanted to talk to.
The only one he could talk to. If he dared to mention anything about a girl to his father he'd never hear the end of it.
Itachi pulled the boy back, forcing Sasuke to face him. The moment he did, Sasuke scowled; letting his brother know how irritated he was.
Itachi's features softened and a smile – not a smirk – enhanced his handsome features.
"I am sorry, Sasuke. You should be able to talk to me about anything."
Yes, exactly! The younger one thought.
"Come, tell me all about it." He said as he approached the bed to sit on the edge of it.
Sasuke inhaled deeply, thinking about how he would most probably regret confiding in his brother about the whole thing but... he couldn't take another minute of being lost thanks to that Hyuuga creature.
"Well, this girl,"
"Hn." Itachi nodded
"She uh, she gets on my nerves really."
"Hn."
"She is annoying in more ways than one and she sticks her nose in to other people's business."
"Mhm."
"So I avoided her because I felt weird around her."
"Weird?" He raised a brow trying his best not to smirk.
"Let me finish." He glared and Itachi raised his hands gesturing him to go on.
"Ugh," Sasuke shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"So I did it, but she came back to my life again! She is so annoying! Then she comes up to me and she says that she wants to invite me to the Hyuuga festival today."
"Ah." Itachi smirked.
"And who is this girl?" Itachi gave him a sly look, thinking it was that pink-haired girl that he'd always see him with. Sasuke beamed at him, giving him a look. Itachi nodded understandingly, little brothers need privacy he reckoned.
"Hm, and what's the problem really?" Sasuke blinked. The problem? Uh...
"Uh... I ... I am not sure if I should go or not." He swallowed audibly.
It was weird how comfortable they were at home, not really holding back their emotions like they usually did outside.
Itachi laughed his weird laugh again making Sasuke cringe.
"What makes it so hard to chose?" Itachi knew it, but he wasn't sure whether he was dreaming or not. It's hard to believe Sasuke out of all people would have feelings like these.
"I... I... She... I..."
"You like her." Itachi stated, getting a bit impatient with his ignorant brother. He watched as his cheeks redden and he turned to glare at his brother.
"Never." He hissed.
"She is weird, unexpected and she punched me!" He grabbed his right should where she had hit.
"Woah." Itachi raised his brows.
"Remind me to give her a cookie."
"Nii-san..." He sighed.
"If you want an honest opinion Sasuke, I really think that you like her."
Sasuke grunted and shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't. I really don't. I just, she makes me feel weird. If anything I'd say I hate her." He nodded, as if he were trying to convince himself.
Sigh.
Tsk,tsk. How did he end up like this?
Feeling a little tired just talking to his younger brother, Itachi stood up, stretched a little before placing his hand on his younger brother's shoulder.
"Whatever it is Sasuke," Sasuke turned his head to face his brother.
"I think you should go. Then you'd be able to clarify your feelings for this girl."
Seems logical enough, Sasuke thought to himself as he shrugged. Itachi nodded.
"If you avoid her then you'd just be running away and leaving things to uncertainty."
"Nii-san, you are truly a genius."
Itachi's lips tugged and his love for his brother had just increased.
"In these kinds of matters of course; I am better at everything else." Sasuke smirked.
And, it had decreased once again.
Sasuke headed out the door slightly relieved.
"This girl,"
Sasuke stopped.
"Is she the reason why you didn't want to come with us at first?" Itachi smirked slightly.
"Maybe." He said and he left.

"Pah! Those damned Hyuugas; why do they have to ruin my evening with their stupid festival?!"
Fugaku complained with a scowl on his face as his wife not-so-lovingly raked his hair to the back of his head.
"Hold still dear!" Fugaku was sure this was the reason why his hair line was residing.
"I don't get it." Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows.
"If you hate them so much, why even attend their festival?"
"Because, Ow! – " Fugaku felt a hard tug on his scalp.
"I said, hold still!" Fugaku sighed and faced the front as he continued explaining.
"That's the way it is in Konoha; if you want to keep the peace the clan members despite their rivalry will have to act like they love each other. We come to your festival and bring our people, our connections and in return you come to ours and bring your people, your connections. But we hate your rotten guts. Basically we are all pretentious basta – Ow! Mikoto! That was on purpose!"
Mikoto narrowed her eyes.
"I don't like you cursing in front of our boys, dear." Yes, she can be very scary when it comes to her children.
"I need sake..."Fugaku sighed.
"Mother, please look after him." Itachi sighed worryingly.
Mikoto smiled and admired her two handsome boys.
"My hard work..." She sniffed.
"Mother..." Itachi looked away.
"Mom." Sasuke hissed.
"Hehe, so handsome."
"Alright! Let's get this shit over with fast!" Fugaku exclaimed.

The family had a really dark-ish aura surrounding them; their dark features, followed by their dark coloured clothing. Nobody would've guessed that they're all really nuts on the inside, because once the door was closed behind them the mask of indifference came on and the goofiness was shed off.
Sasuke looked at his stern looking father from the corner of his eyes as they walked through the Uchiha compound.
He should have been an actor...
Everyone around them, be it in or out of the compound gave them looks; of admiration, envy and some of respect.
The two brothers were getting a lot of attention, unfortunately it was unnoticed.
The two were both too occupied by their thoughts; it would be interesting to see their reactions once they found out that the object of their thoughts was in fact the same person.

He had realized that he wondered off somewhere further away than planned; and that was good.
He had managed to avoid any run ins with his team mates or fan girls and the further away he was from his family, the more relaxed he felt for some reason.
Being around his father and mother made him feel restrained; he actually felt kind of guilty for thinking about some girl the entire time and only decided to attend the festival with them because of said girl.
Plus, knowing how his family is like at home it's just weird to hang around with them outside. It's like spending time with total strangers. Although he is thankful that his dad does not retain his usual happy-go-lucky drunk ass attitude outside; it'll ruin his rep, not to mention what it would do to the clan's name since he is leader of the Uchiha and the Konoha police chief.
He wandered around for awhile, looking from left to right; eyes searching for Hinata.
What would he say to her when he sees her?
What would she say? How would she react?
Why did he... care?
He shook his head, wanting to push those thoughts aside, he didn't want to think about all this right now; or ever really. He hated not being able to control his thoughts.
It's all because of that damn -
"Sasuke-san!" The call broke him out of his reverie, his head shot up; eyes searching for the source. Judging by the voice he already knew who it was.
His eyes widened slightly looking at the girl approaching him, waving and smiling brightly.
To the back, stood her two team mates; not really glaring at him but not exactly happy to see him. But apparently she was. Why did that make him feel so... warm?
"Hyuuga." He grunted.
"You came!" She clapped her hands together, inevitably reminding him of his mother.
"Hn." He replied flatly.
"I was really hoping you'd come." She smiled.
His heart skipped a beat. It was like he had control of nothing anymore. Not even his thoughts.

You're beautiful.

He jerked at the thought and bit his tongue, not allowing himself to blurt out such nonsense.
That was not him. He did not just think that.
Think of something to say you idiot!
"You, uh,"
The boy cleared his throat.
"That's a nice kimono." The girl giggled slightly.
"It's better than the shit you usually wear." The girl pouted slightly.

"I was about to say thank you, you know." He smirked and she couldn't help but smile.
"I... I am really glad you came, Sasuke-san."
"When are you going to stop calling me that? God..." He rolled his eyes trying to hide the fact that he was quite happy to hear that.
"Only if you start calling me by my first name too." Sasuke raised his brows and folded his arms.
"Ah, I don't remember you ever talking back to me." She frowned slightly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to – "
"I didn't mean that in a bad way. Gosh Hinata, you are so annoying." She was able to ignore the insult and smile at the fact that he just called her Hinata.
"Come," She cupped his hand in hers absently in excitement. The boy was praying that she didn't notice his slight blush.
"Let's go look around." She said as she tugged his hand before letting go, making Sasuke slightly disappointed.
"I can look around myself you know, I am not a little kid."
"I know, I just want to spend time with you." She blushed, wondering why she said it so directly.
"Whatever." Sasuke looked away, ignoring the pounding in his chest.
"Hinata-sama." A familiar voice called out. The two turned and found themselves looking at another Hyuuga; male, with long brown hair looking not so pleased.
"Neji-Niisan?"
"Hyuuga." For a moment she thought Sasuke was referring to her, then remembered.
"Uchiha." Neji beamed at the boy before focusing on his cousin.
"I've been looking all over for you. You have another fifteen minutes before your speech."
"Oh!" Hinata felt really nervous all of a sudden, and quite guilty for making her cousin run up and down looking for her.
"I am sorry, Niisan." She waited for him to respond in which Neji nodded, before turning to face Sasuke.
"A speech? Quite popular eh?" He smirked, but Hinata looked quite disappointed.
"I am sorry... I really want to spend – "
"Don't worry. I won't be going anywhere. I'll just wait for your speech to finish. You owe me for punching me the other day. I'll be sure to waste all your money before I get home."
He smirked, not realizing how confused Neji was by the whole situation. In reply, Hinata just smiled feeling extremely happy that she might have just gained a new friend. He watched her as she left with her cousin, feeling a mixture of emotions.
He's never felt things like these before.
I really do hate you.

"You punched him?" Hinata blushed a little, looked away and nodded. Neji was stunned to say the least, not being able to imagine his cousin punching a guy. And that guy just happened to be Uchiha Sasuke. She is really impressive.
"Neji Niisan," Hinata held on to her cousin's hand tightly as they arrived backstage. Neji sighed and looked down at his petite cousin. He feels proud that she worked hard and improved tremendously.
She will never believe how much he looks up to her.
"Hinata-sama," he regarded softly, trying to soothe his younger cousin. He put an arm around her a squeezed her gently.
"You can do it. Don't worry."
Hinata inhaled deeply, and nodded.
"I'll be cheering for you, don't worry." And with that he left. Five more minutes; five more minutes until she faces the crowd and portrays her image to the rest of Konoha. She feel like she is announcing to the world that she is no longer who she used to be.

She recited the speech in her head, repeating certain lines just to make them perfect.
"Hinata," Her head went blank for a moment. She knew that voice. She turned immediately, tears brimming.
"I-Itachi-kun!"
Itachi gestured for her to stay quiet, obviously he sneaked in without permission. She didn't bother to ask him how he sneaked in, he was Itachi after all. Instead she just ran to him, clutching the fabric of his yukata as she buried her face into his chest.
"Hinata..." without the slightest hesitation he wrapped his arms around her, letting her know he was there for her.
"I am so glad you're here." She said shakily, slightly muffled.
"Hn. That's a nice kimono." She couldn't help but giggle. Sasuke said the exact same thing.
She tilted her head to look up at him, smiling.
"I knew you'd look nice in a yukata, Itachi-kun." Itachi tried his best not to tighten his grip, knowing that it might do her harm.
"Is Shisui-Chan here?"
"Hn. He's being held up by his father."

Honestly, she didn't mind that he wasn't here. Now, she was just happy Itachi was here. She was glad she was able to feel his warmth. He sure had great timing, she thought to herself.

"Are you ready?" He watched as her smile faltered. Face melting in to a frown. Her grasp tightened and she looked away. Not a good sign, he thought.

"I am." She convinced herself. "I... am not a coward."
He smiled at her making her blush slightly.
"That's a good girl." For some reason, her blush intensified as those words left his lips. Maybe it was less of the words, and more of how he said it. Itachi had a really... nice, voice. She tried her best not to shy away. She felt her heart shift as his hands slid away, and his warmth was gone. She looked up at him and furrowed her eyebrows. He was looking at the stage with narrowed eyes.
"I think it's time for you to go on stage." Hinata didn't even the announcement being made.
"Good luck, Hinata."
"W-Wait!" Hinata grabbed his hand and met his gaze as he turned to look at her flushed face. It took only a moment to read what her eyes were saying. He squeezed her hand gently.
"I'll be watching. I promise." Immediately her grip loosened and he slid his hand off hers. She inhaled deeply, watching Itachi leave.

She took in the round of applause, happy faces, her stoic father's eyes as she made her way up the stage. She took a moment to examine the crowd. She could see Shisui, grinning from ear to ear, Neji expressionless, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke almost went unnoticed and ... Itachi.
She smiled, feeling incredibly relieved after spotting her friend.
"I'll be watching. I promise."

"Konbanwa." She bowed.

A/N: Sorry about the sort of late update. School's been hectic. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. More drama to come. :D
Thanks so much for your support, be sure to leave a review or two :D