Phew, I tried my best to make this chapter work, and update fast. Hope you guys like it !

Blank. His mind was blank, his stare was blank. He was just, blank.
He aimlessly looked around his room, wondering what he was looking for when his eyes finally spotted the door knob.
Out. He wanted out.

Or probably a time travelling jutsu of some sort.
He wasn't supposed to end up this way. His life, wasn't supposed to be this complicated. From the beginning his mind was set.

Rise up the ranks, make his family proud and protect the ones he held dear.
Protect his village, his family, his brother...

Women were not in the equation.

The moment Mikoto batted her eyelashes that way he knew things were going to get very, very twisted from here on out.
Inwardly he groaned, knowing what might come next.

"Itachi," Fugaku addressed, rubbing his chin as he began.

"It's not really a bad idea."

"I think it's a great idea!" Mikoto was practically giddy.

Itachi tensed. Were his parents really that eager to send him off?
Well for Mikoto it was obviously to get a few grandchildren, and fast but for his father to get this interested in marrying him off, well he didn't expect it.

But there were a lot of unexpected things going on in his life right now.

"Amane comes from a well off family, Itachi. She is a worthy candidate. And besides, she is quite the eye candy." Fugaku waggled his eyebrows and Itachi had to resist the urge to scowl.

They were a couple. They loved each other...?

"I think you should accept it." Mikoto nodded, a wide smile never leaving her lips.

"Father, mother," His voice as usual, held no emotion or any sort of implying tone, hiding his inner panic.

"Do you really think this is the time for such a union? I am only twenty-two far too young to – "

"Nonsense! Your father and I got married when we were in our teens!" Mikoto waved her hand.

"We shinobi don't have the privilege of waiting for the right moment, Itachi."
Fugaku for once, addressed his son seriously. That just made Itachi all the more worried.

"Amane probably understands that. Her demands are not that crazy if you ask me."

"I think it would be better for us all if you agreed, don't you think so?" Mikoto's sweet yet slightly pleading voice wasn't helping him at all.

"I..." Itachi didn't meet his mother's gaze. He couldn't.

No.

He didn't want this.

"I'll think about it." Was all he could mutter out.

It wouldn't be long before his parents bring up that topic once more.
It wouldn't be long before he had to answer them.

It was all because of her. She made his life this way.
If he hadn't met her, he was sure he would have just gone on with whatever marriage proposal his parents set up without any qualms.

She twisted him up, changed him. She ruined him.

But he couldn't hate her.
He wanted to blame someone else for once, he wanted to hate someone else and be selfish, but... he couldn't.

After a long, silent contemplating alone time in his room, the Uchiha finally got up, heading out the door with only one destination clear in his mind; the bar.

"Not interested."

Sasuke sighed as he ran a frustrated hand through his dark spikes. His eyes constantly flickering towards the clock on the wall, anxious.

For a stupid party.

He had fallen so far from the person he used to be, he could laugh. To imagine being this vulnerable made him scowl, but at the same time, he could only sigh when he thought about the girl who made him that way.

No matter how hard he tried, she won't leave him alone. Or rather, he wouldn't let her.

"Naruto, we all think it's best if you just come spend time with friends and get your head out of the whole situation."

"Not interested." He said carelessly once more.

"Naruto..." Sasuke groaned, being the impatient nut he has always been.

"Hinata won't mind, and even if she does... whatever." Naruto slumped and pushed himself off the wall, heading for the door.

"Naruto! You know how much Hinata cares for you. She's been worried sick. Sakura is the same."

He didn't want to touch about how worried he was. He still had a little of his old self with him.

"Honestly how long do you plan on sulking here alone? It's just pathetic."
If Sakura were here, she would have stopped the words from ever leaving his lips, if Hinata were here she would gasp and tug on his sleeve before he could say anything rash.

But now, the damage was done.

Naruto stopped in his tracks, hands balled into fists, teeth gritting.

"Pathetic?" Naruto snorted.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, knowing that whatever argument that was going down, wasn't going to be pretty.

The blonde turned almost immediately to glare at his obsidian eyed friend.
Sasuke stood still unaffected, with his arms crossed.
That just agitated the boy even more.

"You in your perfect Uchiha world, Sasuke."
Sasuke's eyebrows twitched. Definitely not good.

"Uchiha Sasuke, one of the best shinobi in Konoha, the Uchiha prodigy, most wanted among girls."

His mouth opened to retort, but was silenced by Naruto's raised voice.

"You have a family that has been there for you since ever! You have millions of people who adore you! Sakura-Chan would give anything just to be accepted by you!"

Naruto's eyes began to darken, and Sasuke knew he had to do something soon.

"Naruto," Sasuke addressed his friend sternly.

"I understand what you're – "

"Understand?!" Naruto was practically screaming at the top of his voice now.

Sasuke almost flinched as the blonde's fist collided with the wall beside him making an unpleasant sound.
All Sasuke could see was his whirl of blonde hair and his fist still connected to the wall. He could tell by the rise and fall of his chest that he was breathing heavily, obviously because of his current outrage.

"You who have had people love you and be by your side your entire life, you who have never understood true loneliness, what could you possibly understand about me or what I feel?!"

Sasuke out of impulse backed away as Naruto faced him once more, his cerulean eyes now taken a bright shade of red.

"Naruto! Calm down!"

Naruto jerked slightly, his hands immediately went to his head, grasping on the unruly blonde locks. He was lost.

"What do I do?" He whispered to himself.

Sasuke was just relieved Naruto's eyes had returned to it's normal hue. Though the problem wasn't solved yet.

Sasuke knew what the blonde said made sense. They led two totally different lives, he had been through much but he would never know the amount of pain Naruto had gone through in his life as a Jinchuuriki.
And now, his mentor, his father figure had passed on; one of the very few people who believed in him before anybody else did.

He knew Naruto was on the verge of breaking down.
If he didn't do something soon, Naruto would plunge in to darkness, with very little hope of being revived into the bubbly idiot he knew and didn't admit but loved.

The only way he could make Naruto understand that he wanted to help was to convey his intentions in a different way...

The only way to make Naruto listen to him was to beat it into his head.

After a few moments of weighing his options, Sasuke sighed.

"Naruto,"

The blonde did not answer, he just continued staring at his bare feet, feeling nothing but emptiness. Sasuke expected as much.

"Spar with me."

Almost immediately the blonde's head snapped towards his dark haired friend.
His eyes narrowing, wondering if he heard right.

"Spar with me." The Uchiha sighed.

That was the only way two shinobi who were equal could hear what was in each other's hearts.

Naruto eyed him wearily before straightening his body and led the way to the door.

With one last tired sigh, Sasuke followed after his friend.

Sorry Hinata, I might be a little late.

"Hanabi-Chan,"

"What?" The scrawny girl growled in response.

Why did Hinata find that so cute? She would never know.

"Y-You don't want to join the party?"

"No." She continued eyeing her scrolls, not sparing the elder girl by the door a glance even.

Hinata's expression immediately changed, showing her obvious disappointment.
Unlike most of the Hyuugas', Hinata found it hard to hide her feelings.
She knew that whatever pleads she had lined up for her little sister wouldn't make her budge... so, naughty plans would have to take place.

"Hm, but everyone was asking about you, especially Lee-san..."
Hinata tried very hard to resist the tug on her lips when Hanabi straightened up, gulping inaudibly the minute a certain blue beast was brought up.

"Y-Yeah? So? Just tell them I am busy."

Hinata couldn't help it, she grinned in utter amusement. Hearing her little sister stutter like that over a crush! How adorable!

"Well, alright then. Sorry for interrupting you."

Hanabi tapped impatiently on her table, waiting for her sister to beg her to join in the fun, but instead she heard her light footsteps, she was walking away!
Swallowing all her pride, the little Hyuuga stood up, turning quickly to face her elder sister.

Hearing her get on her feet, Hinata's grin grew wider.

"Hinata!" The girl called out.

"Yes?" Hinata turned her head, trying her best to hide her amusement.
Thankfully the little girl was too shy to make eye contact with her.

Hanabi had her head facing her left, her arms were crossed and her cheeks were pink. Her lips were curled into sort of a grimace, yet her eyes were sparkling with a certain need; the need to meet a certain green lad.

"I reckon as the daughter of the head, I couldn't just stay here and not welcome them as I should. I should... participate at least a little."

Hanabi rolled her eyes as Hinata's face lit up.
Could she be more obvious?
The tough girl was completely caught off guard when she felt her sister's embrace, squeezing her tight as she caught her in her arms.

For a moment, she froze in shock, but as she felt the oxygen being squeezed of her lungs she quickly pulled away, scowling at her elder sister.

"Don't make me change my mind!"

"I am sorry!" Her ever present smile, plastered on her face.

"Tch, just go and let me change."

"Right!" She said cheerfully as she got up and scurried out the door happily.

Hanabi could only watch with raised eyebrows and ask herself how the hell she could be so happy for something so trivial. Hinata was truly an enigma.

The end was near. Uchiha Itachi, the heir to the Uchiha throne, ANBU legend was here in a measly bar, drink cheap sake and getting drunk like nobody's business.

Eyes were on him from every corner of the bar, not to mention the women, praying that he'd take advantage of them.

He didn't care. For once he didn't get irritated by all the attention, he didn't pray that they'd leave him alone. Instead he just turned his head slightly, for once acknowledging his infuriating fan girls and smirked.

The squeal they let out was deafening.

His actions encouraged them to advance further in their plans to attract the Uchiha heart throb.
The group of gals slowly made their way to the counter, their giggles reaching his ears, and yet he made no effort to escape.

He just sat there waiting for their encounter.

"A-Ano," the one with the dark hair tapped him on the shoulder.
He smirked slightly against his saucer, not knowing why this felt so amusing to him.

He turned, eyeing them in a way he never would sober.
The girls were on cloud nine. The Uchiha Itachi was checking them out!
His eyes though, were focused on the one who had the guts to tap on his shoulder. The dark haired one.

She had long dark hair, cascading down her shoulders, her bangs slightly touching her eyebrows.
Noticing his eyes on her she lowered her head, looking at him through her lashes.

Itachi's eyes narrowed, his head slightly tilting out of curiosity.
His lips curved slightly, and his features softened as he continued staring at the girl, a blush adorning her cheeks. Her mouth was moving, her friends were giggling , but his ears blocked out all sounds. All he could focus on was that girl.

The girl tensed immediately as his knuckles brushed her cheek, she leaned in slightly, as if wanting more of his touch.
Her friends watched in envy as all his attention was directed to their friend, but didn't dare say anything to interrupt. They were lucky enough to get this close.

He continued looking at her with a slight smile, but retracted his arm suddenly, shocking the girl.
His brows furrowed, and his smile melted in to a frown when he looked in to her eyes.

"You're not..."
The Uchiha shook his head, finally wary of his actions. He jumped off his stool, landing as gracefully as he would sober on the floor, sparing the girl a final glance.

"Sorry," He mumbled before heading out the canvas, leaving the girls bewildered and disappointed.

What was he thinking?

"I am glad to see you having fun, Hinata-sama." Neji whispered in his giggling cousin's ear.

"I am glad they came and made it fun." Hinata gestured to the group of boys fighting for the last piece of meat, though it was clear that in the end, Chouji would reap the reward.

Ino rolled her eyes while Sakura seemed a little down, obviously because of her team mate's absence.

Upon noticing that, Hinata's laughter slowly died down.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji frowned.

"If Naruto-kun and Sasuke were here... things would feel complete."

Neji sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, as if to relieve some tension.

"I don't know about Sasuke, but I agree with you about Naruto."

Hinata's expression turned solemn, wondering how the meeting between the two had gone. Judging by how late Sasuke is, she could trust that it didn't go so well.

"Cheer up Hinata-sama, it's not like we can do anything at this point. It's best to let Naruto deal with himself."

"I guess..."

Hinata's eyes roamed around the room lazily but stopped abruptly as she spotted a sight that caught her attention.

So cute!

Hinata's lips curved into a small smile watching Hanabi fidget a little as Lee continued to commend her youthfulness.

Even if it's only for a little while, she could always count on her grumpy little sister to cheer her up.

"You know Neji-Nii-san,"

"Hm?"

Hinata turned, curious to see her cousin's reaction.

"Hanabi-Chan really reminds me of you when you were young."

Neji's eyebrows twitched mercilessly, his features contorted into a grimace.
Hinata covered her face, trying her best not to laugh right at his face.

"Hinata-sama..." Neji groaned slightly, but inwardly was happy that her smile had returned.

"I-I am sorry! Did I make you mad? I am sorry!"

"Hinata-sama." One of the servants called.

"Hai?" Hinata turned facing them, smiling as she always would.

"Uchiha-san is waiting outside. He says he wants to speak with you."

"Eh?" She turned to Neji for a brief moment, clearly he was unhappy.

"Right, I'll go see him right now."
The servant nodded, and left.

"Why doesn't he just come inside?" Neji's tone was filled with slight resentment, as Hinata expected.

"Maybe he wants to tell me something about Naruto-kun. Just wait here for me okay?"

Neji kept silent.

"Nii-san?"

Finally, he gave in and nodded, although he wasn't too happy with the whole thing. Hopefully their little chat would finish quickly.

Hinata was worried, she hurried to the gates, wondering if she would meet a moody Sasuke or hear bad news.

Was Naruto alright?
Did they fight?
Was there going to be tension... because of her stupid party?
Would she be the reason for the distance between them?

She felt fear, fear of what would come next. What else will she lose?

In the end, all she lost was her nerve.

She choked on a gasp, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Hinata..." he rasped.

Hinata did not answer, she felt like her heart got stuck in her throat, restricting her words and her breath. Her fingers fiddled nervously, but her eyes never left those dark abysses; beautiful eyes that brought back bittersweet memories.

"Can we... talk somewhere privately?"

Once again, she didn't answer. Her eyes were still taking in the sight of him, wondering if she were on a genjutsu or if it was really him in front of her.

"Hinata."

She jerked slightly, sensing slight irritation in his deep voice. The heiress nodded, glancing at the two guards who were probably eyeing them from the start.

After all, an Uchiha within the Hyuuga compound was never a familiar sight.

Without so much as a word more, she walked gulping audibly as she heard heavy footsteps, trailing behind her.
She didn't bother to think of what he was doing here or what he wanted, she would find out soon. She took the time to just adjust, calm her nerves, try not to look behind and resist the urge to just hug him and tell him how much she missed him.

Resist the urge to tell him how much she hated avoiding him.
Resist the urge to just run away, despite wanting to be there, close to him.

Contradicting thoughts kept floating to her mind, some she could ignore, some were harder to push away, but she still kept her mind focused. She wouldn't give in to her petty urges just like that. It has been like this for two years now.

In all honesty, she didn't know why she was so nervous, maybe it was the fact that he was here, suddenly. Him, seeking her out in the Hyuuga compound... or the fact that she started to feel like he wasn't avoiding her.

She stopped in her tracks as she reached her garden; her sanctuary.
The place she went to whenever she felt lost. The only place that made her didn't make her feel alone in this huge mansion.

The only place she felt where she could be able to control herself, while being close to him but away from the partying crowd, away from the noise.

"I-I-I..." She gulped, not daring to look at him once despite knowing his gaze was on her the whole time.

She sat down quickly, not knowing how to ask her unexpected guest to sit on slightly damp grass.

Thankfully, he joined her, sighing as he sat cross legged next to the Hyuuga.

When Hinata finally found the courage to look at him, she ended up looking away once again, blushing intensely when she found that his eyes never left her.

"So, you're having... a ... party?"

Why did he sound like that?

"U-Uh, Hai." She stammered.

"Amane and I are getting married."

She wasn't sure if that was the sound of his voice or the sound of her heart crushing in to nothingness.
Just like that, he dropped a bomb on her.

Her lower lip began to quiver but she held back the oncoming tears that threatened to spill. So what? She shouldn't be affected. He has been with her for two years... in a serious relationship... and she was sure he had told her this solely out of courtesy, for his brother's friend.

"Nothing is in... black and white... but judging by the circumstances... it is sure to happen... anytime soon..."

"I-I see. I didn't know...B-But congratula - "

"You didn't know..." Itachi repeated.

Hinata squeaked as she felt him grab her wrist, pulling it up and tugging it, forcing her to look at him.

"Ita – "

"You wouldn't know Hinata... because you are completely oblivious."
His voice menacingly low, sending shivers down her spine.

"Oblivious to other people's lives... oblivious to other people's feelings..."

Hinata's right hand kept trying to pry his fingers from her wrist to break free, but Itachi caught her right wrist as well, his grip tightening.
She winced, biting on her lip to force the tears back.

What was he doing? What was he saying?!
She didn't understand.

"What are you d-doing... ?"

"It's all your fault Hinata... it's your fault my life ended up like this."

Hinata's brows furrowed, the hurt evidently showing on her features.
Why was he blaming her? What did she ever do to him?
If anything, she should be blaming him for coming in to her life in the first place.
She should blame him for messing with her mind, blame him for taking thoughts of Ken away and replacing them with thoughts of him.

"I-Itachi-kun please... I.. didn't – " She gulped.

"I don't understand y-your words... but you shouldn't blame anything on o-others I-I don't even know what I did I- i-it's not fair –"

"Not fair?"

Hinata gasped as her back hit the ground, forcing the air out of her lungs. The man was on top of her now, pinning her down, his eyes piercing through hers.
Why was he angry at her?
Why was he doing this?
What had she done to him? This was definitely not the Itachi she was used to.

None of it made sense to her. But all she could do was lie there helplessly, trying to figure him out.

"Life is not fair... Hinata."

Hinata's nose crinkled as the smell of sake blew against her.
Was he drunk?

"If life was fair, my life would have gone the way I wanted it to, without hurting the people around me. If life was fair, I would be able to make my family happy without sacrificing things that I hold dear,"

He leaned in closer, his breath fanning her face, making her shudder.

"If life was fair, I wouldn't be in love with someone I could never be with."

Hinata's breathing came to a halt.
She could just stare at him, in utter disbelief.

"What are you... saying?" Her tears flew down at that moment, the moment everything she thought she knew, was swept away in an instant.

"Hinata..." Itachi's forehead touched hers as he tilted his head, closing his eyes seemingly in deep thought.

"I don't want to... blame you... I just... want to forget you."

The words stung her more than anything he had ever said to her before.
Tears began to stream down continuously, her eyes burning, her teeth nipping on her lower lip.

"Hinata," he opened his eyes. His hands let go of her wrists and travelled to cup her cheeks, his thumb running across the tears she shed.

"Help me forget."

Hinata shook her head slightly, not knowing what else to do. She didn't want... to be forgotten. Not by him.

"Help me forget you."

Then he kissed her.