Chapter 2

Author's Note (PLEASE READ) : To those who asked where the previous update was, I am rewriting this story from scratch so chap 1 WAS the update. Go check it out if you haven't. To those who reviewed, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer : Don't own Naruto.

Excuse my errors.

Failures are a shinobi's greatest mentors because in the face of inevitability, it is 'what not to do' that determine the outcome. So let it be your guidance and not your weakness. Identify your mistakes, remember and keep away.

Shards of glass crunched under his sandaled feet carrying through the devastated domain. His dark eyes scanned the area, taking in the broken windows and unhinged doors, furniture unfurled in the wake of destruction. The moans of the injured and medics' rushed footfalls were an anthem too intimate, the loud silence ringing in his ears after a battle.

Perhaps they should take their own word for it.

He questioned their intellect sometimes. At others, their intention - the village elders. No good ever came out of putting together Hyuuga and Uchiha under the same roof, a fact proven time and again by countless failed trials in the name of negotiation. Did they not understand that every vain attempt reaped more bitterness? Or perhaps this was their agenda from the very beginning. They would kill off an entire clan if it suited their goals, something he could attest to himself.

Itachi tore through the piles of wood scattered across the floor to stand beside a medic crouched before a hunched figure cradling an injured arm. The man looked up to the newcomer but the young medic's focus remain concentrated on the halo of green chakra circling his hands. "How much longer, Ishida-san?" Konoha only had a handful of shinobi it could dispatch during crises. There was a gross paucity of shinobi that specialized in medicinal ninjutsu, something that should be worked on as pointed by the legendary Lady Tsunade. But, of course, the idea was fervently turned down by the elders who'd rather things burned than mend. They should reconsider their priorities.

The green glow vanished as the boy turned to Itachi. "I'm sorry Itachi-san but you'll have to take him to the hospital. " A loud curse momentarily overwhelmed the buzz of panic and three sets of eyes floated to the source. A man stroked his leg to relieve the pain, swearing profanity when his efforts didn't work. Itachi's eyebrows dipped down in concern while the boy look apologetic. "Chakra burns are not my area of expertise." The Uchiha heir sighed. He couldn't possibly leave. As a future leader of the clan, he needed to stay, in solidarity with his people lest it reflected poorly on his family.

I resent the person who came up with the idea of public image.

It was an unsavory thought - to abandon him in his time of distress but it was one man against many, as familiar as they were, his hands were tied. It was times like these that he wished he wasn't born an heir. He hated conducting himself on others' terms.

And then he felt it, a tiny flicker of chakra caressing his softly with its warm digits. It was so subtle that one would easily overlook it but he found it just as he found her, in all its obscurity because a part of him would instinctively gravitate towards her. Despite the abundance of the silver of their irises and the blackness of their hair; Hyuuga Hinata stood out. And he knew his breath shouldn't have hitched and his heart shouldn't have raced because it only invited trouble but like with many other things in his life, his hands were tied and his feet moved on their own. On whose terms am I being conducted now? Hers or mine?

Hinata was too occupied with another Hyuuga girl to notice him approach. Her only pointer was the girl's features contorting in fear and she turned, a flash of pleasant wonderment crossed her face. "Uchiha- san!"

"May I have a word with you, Hyuuga-san?" Hinata realized that there was a warning dancing in the other girl's eyes but she shook it off. This was the miracle that she'd been praying for since their encounter. She may not get another chance to talk to him so, she followed after him away from the Hyuugas. "A relation of mine received a chakra injury, I believe." She was slightly disappointed at his business-like tone. "I would be grateful if you took a look at it."

Itachi took her to the distressed man with the painful leg. He openly glared at Hinata who shrank behind Itachi. "Oye 'tachi. What do you think you're doing with a Hyuuga?"

"She is here to help."

Hesitantly, Hinata reached out a hand but the Uchiha pulled his leg away and hated her a little more. "I'd die before I'll ever need help from a Hyuuga."

The girl ignored his comment and activated her byakugan. "One of the tenketsus in his leg is blocked. There's chakra building behind it which explains the pain."

"Shut up, girl and go awa-"

"Can you fix it?" Itachi asked to which she nodded. He touched the man's shoulder in a calming gesture. "Uncle, she'll try to unlock a chakra point in your leg. It will dull your pain okay? Please let her help you."

"I don't need her help and I don't need you telling me what to do." He directed his anger towards him for a moment before returning to glaring at her.

"Uncle, she ma-"

"Shut up boy and leave me be." Itachi sighed. His uncle was known for his relentlessness throughout the clan. He was one of the most stubborn people Itachi had met in his life and it was this stubbornness to cling to life that had sailed him through a trying shinobi career despite his less than satisfactory prowess. Only a doujutsu could change his mind once made up. Itachi was ready to surrender.

"Uchiha Ganko. Promoted to captain five years back for intercepting an unidentified man trying to sneak into the academy." Hinata began and Itachi was surprised that she recognized the older male. "The person was later discovered to be a nukenin planning a terrorist attack to blackmail the hokage into meeting his demands. Forty-three children were saved that day including a Hyuuga - me to be specific." This time, when she stretched her arms towards his leg, he didn't pull away, perhaps out of curiosity to see what she was trying to pull. Her fingers crept to his knee and although his thoughts followed her every moment, they went a little easy judging the girl's motive. "So' this is me returning the favor because the Hyuuga doesn't like owing the Uchiha." A sharp prick of chakra uncoiled the pain concentrated below his joint. Relief washed over him, a dull ache throbbed behind. His hateful scowl had a touch of softness to it now. It was a lesson taught to her by all the egotistical men in her life. Stubbornness and pride went hand in hand. If it didn't hurt their pride, it didn't hurt them. " We're even now, Ganko-san."

He huffed. "Of course I saved you lot. The Hyuuga is too high and mighty to bother with common public." He walked away with a slight limp, nose high up enough to puncture the air. Hinata decided not to feel offended. It would be hypocritical when his remarks paled against the crudeness the Hyuuga spewed about the other noble clan.

She peeked at Itachi from beneath her dark eyelashes sheepishly and released an inaudible 'eep' under the attention focused on her. He brought out a whole different side of her with contradicting emotions clashing wildly. She'd be bursting with confidence one moment and the next would reduce her to a stuttering, stumbling mess. Hinata was the type who'd rather not catch an eye, blending in with the background aided by her uninteresting persona. To the Hyuuga, she was a disappointment, to her team, she was a meek weirdo in baggy clothes. To the village, she was a below average shinobi with a heavy title. But these attributes didn't define her. There was so much more to her than these labels whispered into the ears. Hanabi said that she was an exceptional cook. Her team often pushed her before Kurenai when they wanted a day off because she was good at convincing. Sakura liked her ointments, said they were in high demand, often tried to convince her to join the medical corps because she had propensity for healing ninjutsu. And Hinata wanted Itachi to see for himself that she was not the hopeless cause people made her out to be. She just convinced a stubborn arse to cooperate with her, didn't she?

But curse her shy nature that came in the way of everything she tried to achieve.

It was uncomfortable being scrutinized by him with a stretch of silence hanging over them. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water but her treacherous words abandoned her in her time of need. She shuffled through her mind to come up with something to say, anything!

"You weren't at the academy that day, when this occurred. "

Hinata let the words process, impressed by his sharp memory.

It was in this moment of clarity that it dawned on her how pathetic she had been chasing after a fantasy plucked out of one of the cheap romances she had turned to when life proved to be less intriguing. A handsome protagonist too perfect for humanity falls for a pitiful damsel, sweeps her off her feet and walks with her into the sunset with their fingers intertwined. Silly her, entertaining dreams while he had his eyes set on bigger things. He would keep track of her every move - his enemy - as per the requirements of warfare. And she had made a fool out of herself, acting like a love-struck idiot. Typical, foolish Hinata. "You would know that, wouldn't you?"

The bitterness in her tone confused Itachi but he brushed it off as something he imagined."I remember Sasuke being suspicious since you didn't show up that day. He thought that Hyuuga had something to do with it. Of course he was proven wrong."

"I see." Could he be lying? Could she trust his word? But he had no reason to deceive her. There was nothing he could want from her, she had nothing to offer. He had not expressed interest in her either, helped her out just for the sake of it. So there was no question of whether or not to trust him. He was still an Uchiha though and she should steer clear of his way. " Well if that is all Uchiha-san t-then I'll be taking my l-leave."

It was a milestone - turning away from him. She had already concluded that she didn't interest him in any way then why did he look her way like this? Why did it make her heart ache and her sight blur with tears? If this is the right thing to do than why does it hurt so much?

"Hinata-san."

Damn you Uchiha Itachi. She swallowed a painful knot. Damn him to hell for calling her out like this, relishing her name on his lips. This was a low blow. "Uchiha-san. I would r-rather we didn't associate unless absolutely necessary."

The look of betrayal would forever be ingrained in every cell of her brain. "Was it something I said?" He shouldn't look this hurt when he didn't want any of this.

"S-should it be?" Hinata patted herself for not breaking down right there and then. "Like I s-said we Hyuuga don't like owing Uchiha s-so this is me r-returning the favor."

Please put me out of my misery and just don't say anything.

"I see." His eyes were glazed over and he looked as if he were somewhere distant. And Kami knew had she been born someone else, someone not Hyuuga, she'd go there with him. "We're even than I guess."

No, they'd never be even. He owed her a heart. "We're even." She smiled sadly.

Shisui softly closed the paper door behind him, containing light and laugh inside. He crept to the lone figure at the far end of veranda, staring off into the distance. Wood groaned under his feet as he settled beside him. "Auntie is bringing out dangos. You should go in there before everyone else finishes it."

The night was spiced with a touch of jasmine. It was warm like first rays of sun but he could taste the chill too still clinging to the night. Winter's last whiffs were overwhelmed by the loud chirps of crickets. The breeze that stirred Itachi's unkempt locks smelled like freshly cut grass. "I'm not in the mood."

It would be a lie if Shisui said that he was indifferent to his cousin's suffering just because he decided to not confront him about it. But he hated having to watch Itachi spiral down the path of silence and seclusion when the entire clan was making merry at his expense. He wanted to tell the other Uchiha that it was better this way, that he was better off without the Hyuuga girl but Itachi was young and dealing with his first heart break. They tended to last longer. "Everyone's asking about you. Isumi's here too. I've heard that there's been talks about getting you two engaged." Itachi stiffened beside him. "You lucky bastard getting a girl right off the bat and here I am getting rejected left and righ-"

"Shisui."

The boy knew this tone of his, the gong of conclusion. Itachi was a respectful young man but Shisui knew better to argue when he was like this. And at any other moment he wouldn't but desperate times called for desperate measure even if he wasn't that desperate. Or none at all. Itachi had sulked long enough. "Look man I know it sucks but this is what I used to tell you about being young. You have your heart thrown around like shuriken during target practice. It's just a phase. It'll pass."

Itachi wanted to tell him to not undermine his feelings like that. It was not one of his teenage flings. But he wouldn't know that when the first girl he took an interest in didn't look his way twice. Literally. For his own sake, he hoped it was just a phase. "So... since you're an expert at it, you'll help me out with Isumi? If I am rejected only after a couple of sentences, I guess I have a lot of work at my hands. I would at least like to know how to have a decent conversation with my future bride. "

"Whoa whoa. Easy there, man. You were rejected not declared terminal. You don't have to marry the first girl your folks push your way."

"It is in the best interest of the clan."

"Who cares?"

"I can at least name a dozen."

Shisui sighed. "If the elders want it that bad then they should do it. It's still just rumors. Uncle didn't hint at any such thing."

"I'm not sure if Isumi is going to appreciate that comment." Itachi pointed.

Shisui scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You're not going to tell on your old friend, are you?"

Itachi smirked. "No promises." Shisui laughed. Eventually he convince him to retire to the dining room where Mikoto had saved them some dangos and talked restlessly about Isumi. Itachi knew for a fact that his mother wouldn't have been as affectionate while talking about Hinata as she was with the other girl. So, he guessed it really was better this way. What was I even thinking entertaining thoughts about courting her? She is a Hyuuga.

With Isumi, he would eventually forget her. She was nice and kind from what he'd heard. He could live with that.

But when he went to bed, his thoughts strayed back to Hinata.

It'll pass. He told himself. It is just a phase.

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TAYYABALARAIB