Contrived Flaws

Chapter Eight : The Absence

After checking to make sure Hinata was safely asleep in her bed, Itachi grabbed the supplies he needed for his mission and stalked out of the house. First stop: His little brother's room. Not wanting to risk running into his parents after that atrocious excuse for a dinner, Itachi decided that entering through the window would suffice.

He landed silently inside and waited patiently for Sasuke to turn around.

"What the- Itachi!"

The older Uchiha looked irritated at his outburst. "Could you lower your voice, little brother?"

"Use the door next time, asshole." Sasuke crossed his arms and glared.

Ignoring him, Itachi continued, "I need you to do something for me."

"What do I get out of it?"

The older brother let out a small sigh, "I haven't even revealed what it is."

"Something to do with the wifey, no doubt," Sasuke said curtly.

"So clever, little brother. I need you to watch out for her while I'm away; Keep father away from her."

"Right," Sasuke snapped his fingers together, "So what do I get out of it?"

"The eternal thanks of your older brother?"

"Pass."

If Itachi had been anyone else, he would've rolled his eyes right then. "What do you want, little brother?"

"Hmm," Sasuke tapped a finger to his chin, "I'll need to think on it."

Itachi pressed his fingertips to his forehead, "I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Well… let's just say you owe me one."

The elder Uchiha considered this for a moment. He didn't like the sound of it, but he had no doubt that he could handle his little brother, "Very well."

"Excellent. You have nothing to worry about then, I'll babysit little Hinata-chan for you."

Itachi gave him a pointed look before departing the way he came in.

"Hey Hinata, how's it going?" Kiba stood patiently on her doorstep, but he didn't seem his usual self. He wasn't smiling, he seemed somber.

"Kiba-kun, please, come in," She gestured for him to come inside and they sat together on the couch.

"Missing the hubby?" he asked with a forced looking grin.

"Um, I guess," she said unsurely, "It's only been a few days."

"Well," Kiba said, reaching inside his jacket, "I brought you some company." He pulled out a white ball of fur which turned out to be a puppy.

Hinata cooed as she took it in her arms, "It's my favorite one." She cuddled the puppy to her chest, stroking its brown ears between her fingers. The pup snuggled up to her neck and stayed very still.

Kiba watched intently for a few moments before speaking, "Hana says there's something wrong with her."

The heiress stopped stroking the puppy and glanced at her team mate. "What?"

"She says that she's deaf and blind. Won't make a ninken, it'd be too dangerous."

Hinata looked down at the puppy sadly, "Aww, what will she do, then?"

"She'll just be a companion."

"Sweet little girl," Hinata murmured into the pup's fur.

"I thought that maybe… ," Kiba hesitated, "I know she was your favorite when you came to see the pups."

"M-me? You want me to have her?"

The Inuzuka boy shrugged, "I thought you should know first. She's ready to leave her mom."

Hinata's face scrunched up in thought. "I don't know what Itachi would say," she said worriedly. She tried to pull the puppy away from her neck and it whimpered loudly, so she settled it back down and patted it softly.

Kiba grinned, for real this time, "She's attached already. How can you say no?"

The heiress chewed on her lip for a minute, "I guess I could see-" she started.

"Perfect!" Kiba said excitedly. "You two are perfect for each other."

Hinata still looked unsure.

"If it's a problem, I can take her back to Hana."

She nodded.

"I'll bring some food by later and if you need any help with her just let me know."

After she saw Kiba out, Hinata sat back in a chair and sighed. The puppy's warmth was intoxicating. She could feel its little heart beating against her neck.

"Poor thing," she murmured, placing a kiss on its head. "We must take special care to keep you safe, little one."

Itachi was not necessarily in a foul mood, for he didn't let non-mission related things affect missions. It was just that he was a little ticked at Shisui. His cousin had proved less helpful than he'd hoped. In fact, he had primarily laughed at him.

Itachi did not like being laughed at.

His fists clenched at his sides, then he forced himself to take a deep breath. Focus, he told himself. Ninja should not be married for this very reason, he mused.

It had taken humility to admit he needed help with his marriage and that arrogant-

Stop, he scolded himself. You're better than this. Focus.

He barked orders at his squad to settle for the night. They would not make a fire, no one could know they were there. They would hide in the shadows of the trees, sleep in their boughs.

And he would rest his mind. He could not believe that these insignificant things were crowding his thoughts at such an important time.

But Shisui, that unsympathetic bastard, had said one puzzling thing: "Have you fallen in love with her yet?" He had chuckled as he said it, like it was an inevitable thing. Like Itachi was the naive one.

His cousin's absurd question echoed around in his mind. He scoffed. As if he was expected to fall in love with her. He would do no such thing. There were plans, Hinata was required for them, that was all.

His desire to treat his wife well was no more an expression of love than anything else he tried to do properly. When he pierced someone with his katana he wanted it straight through the center of their heart. That did not mean that he loved doing it.

Shisui was the naive one. At best, he tolerated Hinata. He would never allow himself to be slave to such a foolish emotion as love. It was out of the question.

Besides, Hinata was practically frightened of him.

Still, the problem remained, Shisui had not been kind enough to advise him.

"You are a better man than your father will ever be," he'd said, "Do not worry." That was, perhaps, the only thing he'd said with a straight face.

Itachi closed his eyes. He would forget all of this, he needed to. A little meditation and he would be back to his old self. Mission oriented, not concerned with the petty emotions of others. He deepened his breathing and flushed his mind of everything but the mission. He needed to focus, this was an important one.

Hinata hummed to herself as she sorted through the laundry. She still hadn't gotten used to doing Itachi's laundry with hers. In fact, he always made sure to do his own, but since he was away on a mission, she decided to take care of his bin as well.

Hopefully it would help offset the fact that she had acquired a puppy while he was gone.

She thought not, however. It was more likely that he would never notice a little clean laundry when there was a ball of white fur skittering about.

A knock at the door made her jump. Just the thought of Itachi waltzing inside made her cringe. She grabbed the pup from her place on a pile of dirty laundry and tucked her up under her arm as she made her way to the door.

"S-Sasuke?" She swallowed involuntarily. She knew that there was no chance Itachi was lurking in the shadows waiting to save her this time. She was on her own.

"Aren't you gonna invite me in?" The younger Uchiha said irritably.

"Oh," she stepped aside and let him come in. "What b-brings you here?" She asked as nicely as possible.

Sasuke had already plopped onto the couch and was lounging quite comfortably when she turned around.

"What? I can't visit my favorite sister in law?"

"Y-You could if you h-had one," Hinata said defiantly.

"Nonsense- is that a dog?" Sasuke sat up and leaned forward, examining the thing that was now cuddled up to Hinata's neck.

"Yes," she said, turning away protectively.

"Is it yours?"

"W-Well-"

Sasuke let out a bark of laughter, interrupting her. "Itachi's gonna kill you," he said casually, leaning back again. Hinata looked worried, making the Uchiha smirk. "Can I watch?"

"H-He won't k-kill me," she said, but there wasn't much conviction in her words.

"Well I'm convinced."

Hinata shifted on her feet, "W-Will he r-really?"

"He'll be pissed, that's for sure. Come here, let me see it."

Hesitantly the heiress made her way toward Sasuke. He sat up, shifting to make room for her.

"What'd you name it?" He asked, gently stroking the ball of fur.

"Heiwa. She's a girl."

"Nice. That should score you some points."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Can I hold her?"

Hinata looked unsure, "Really?"

"Yes," Sasuke sounded exasperated. "I'm not going to eat her."

Hinata did not look convinced, but handed Heiwa over anyway.

"Why are you r-really here?" The heiress asked as she watched Sasuke closely. He seemed to be acting like a normal human being for now and was only holding the pup.

"Just thought I'd check on you."

Hinata eyed him, "Truly?"

"Yeah, I can be nice when I want to," he said as though she should know this.

She didn't feel like agreeing with him so she said, "Why does Itachi hate dogs?"

"He doesn't that I know of." Sasuke glanced around, "I'd like some tea."

"Then why will he kill me?" She ignored him.

"For the same reason I don't have tea."

Hinata looked confused, "What?"

"Get me some tea and I'll tell you," he smirked.

Hinata bit back a sigh and disappeared into the kitchen, throwing one last protective glance at Heiwa.

When she returned, Sasuke had Heiwa on the floor and was waving his fingers at her in an attempt to play.

"I think your puppy is defective."

"She's blind," Hinata said, placing the tray of tea on the coffee table and scooping Heiwa up.

"You're not helping yourself any," he sat back on the couch.

Hinata decided against telling him she was also deaf and instead she asked again, "Why will Itachi kill me?"

Sasuke chuckled a little to himself. "Well... What does getting a puppy while your husbands gone and not getting me tea have in common?" Nothing wrong with watching her squirm a bit, he thought.

Hinata chewed on her lip as Sasuke helped himself to the tea, obviously not planning on being of any assistance.

"I have no idea," she said at last.

"You're a terrible wife," he replied bluntly.

Hinata looked stricken. "I-I am? How?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, looking less sympathetic than normal. "Itachi won't be pissed you got a blind dog, he'll be pissed you did it without asking him."

"But... K-Kiba..." She stopped short, no excuse would sound acceptable to her hears or his. "You're right, I-I'm not very g-good at this."

Sasuke smirked.

"What does t-tea have to do with anything."

"As an Uchiha's wife, your hostess skills are seriously lacking."

"Only with y-you," she muttered.

Sasuke shot her a glare that said, "I heard that."

Ignoring him, she absentmindedly patted Heiwa as Sasuke sipped his tea. The pup's whimpering tugged her from her thoughts.

"Does I-Itachi say that about me? T-That I'm a terrible wife?"

The younger Uchiha seemed to be considering something, then said, "Itachi's not one for gossip."

"But h-he thinks it?"

"How the hell should I know," he snapped. Then he set his tea down and said, In a much calmer tone, "I'll tell you what though, I like your little handicapped puppy so I'll help you out."

Hinata looked skeptical, "How?"

"I'll convince him to let you keep her."

"How will y-you do that?"

"I have ways," he said cryptically.

Hinata considered this for a moment. "You want something," she finally said.

Sasuke looked at her in mock shock, "I ask nothing of you. It's merely a favor. Perhaps someday you can do me one."

Hinata was wary. She didn't trust Sasuke. She wasn't even sure she trusted Itachi. But she did trust Neji.

"Can I think about it?"

Sasuke stood, set his tea cup down, and dusted something imaginary from his shoulder. "Take your time." He knew the odds of her agreeing would only increase with time. She was bound to grow more fond of that dog every day.

"Neji-niisan, open up." Hinata pounded on her cousin's door again in a rather unladylike manner.

A very irate looking Neji opened the door after a few more agonizing seconds. He snatched the heiress by the arm, tugged her inside, and slammed the door behind her.

Crossing his bare arms over his equally bare chest, he said, "What?"

Hinata's cheeks tinged pink, "Sorry," she averted her eyes as her shirtless cousin finished dressing.

After he'd finished, Neji looked a bit calmer. "Is something the matter, Hinata-sama?"

She danced nervously on her feet, "I need your advice." And she told him of how she'd acquired a puppy, leaving out the unimportant bit about her being blind and deaf, of course.

"You didn't," he said flatly.

She nodded.

"Give it back."

"I can't! I... She's..."

"Hinata, if you've ever listened to me do so now. Give the dog back to Kiba."

"I don't want to," she said, pouting a bit like a small child.

"Kami, Hinata, it's just a dog."

"That's not what I wanted your advice about," she said defiantly, "Sasuke said he would convince Itachi to let me keep-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Neji was saying no. "Absolutely not. I will not have you in that Uchiha's debt."

"But-"

Neji fixed her with a stern look. The kind that said he would physically stop her if need be.

The heiress visibly deflated. That was obviously not what she wanted to hear. She nodded her head stiffly, "Fine, I'll just have to convince him myself."

"Hinata, there is more at stake than your feelings. You must not forget that." Neji tried to be gentle but his tone held that bite that her father's did. The one that said, "You know better! You have responsibilities."

"I'm sick of putting my feelings aside for everyone else!" She wailed. "Why can't I have something, just this once?"

Neji took a deep breath, hoping to calm her. He didn't know what to say, really. They had both made sacrifices and they would both make more. It was part of being a Hyuuga, a ninja.

"You must understand where Itachi-sama is coming from. He will view your actions as traitorous, undermining his authority."

"Yes, I know," she said, on the verge of tears now, "I'm a terrible wife."

Neji looked like she had slapped him in the face. "Who said that?" He demanded, "Itachi?"

"N-No," she said, taking a shaky breath to rein in her tears.

"Sasuke," he growled. It wasn't a question. "I'm going to-"

"He's right."

Neji blinked in mild astonishment as Hinata continued. "He was right to tell me. He was only helping."

The elder Hyuuga shook his head, "I did not think you this naive Hinata-sama. Sasuke does not mean to help, he means to tear you down."

"He's been more help than you have!"

"Do not be foolish," he berated. "Uchiha Sasuke is a trickster. He helps no one but himself."

Hinata was shaking her head vigorously, "This conversation is over."

As she was leaving, Neji called after her, "If you trust him you will regret it."

Itachi had been gone over three weeks now. Hinata would be lying if she said she hadn't enjoyed living alone in that time.

She and Heiwa had gotten used to each other by now. It had taken some trial and ingenuity but Hinata had devised a method for helping Heiwa to map out the house.

When Kiba came back by he had passed on Hana's advice of using the puppy's functioning senses for training. With this in mind, she devised a plan.

She began by rearranging the furniture so that it was primarily on the walls. Then she took the mat out of the kitchen - the evil one she'd tripped on during the egg escapade - and placed it in front of Heiwa's food and water. That way she would know it was coming by the feel of the mat on her paws and hopefully she wouldn't bump into it.

Next, she took one of her scarves, sprayed it with lavender perfume, and tied it on the back door hoping it would help with the housebreaking process.

Seeing that the mat worked well, she took more from various places in the house and put them at the front and back doors as well as the entrance to her own room.

Finally, she cordoned off a small area in the kitchen that was one hundred percent safe if she needed to put her away to leave or be unsupervised for any other reason.

Heiwa had turned out to be a surprisingly quick learner. She could already manage her way around the house without bumping into things except on rare occasions. She was getting the concept of looking up whenever someone tapped the floor hard enough the feel the vibrations. And she was even starting to grasp the idea of going to the mat at the back door when she needed to potty.

Granted, she had relieved herself on the mat a few times, but the progress remained.

Today, Hinata had taken one of her old shirts and cut it up into strips. She then tied the strips together to make a rope bone of sorts. She left her natural scent on it so that Heiwa could find it.

She was presently on the floor playing with the pup who was jumping around and growling in a rather endearing manner. There was no doubt she had gotten quite attached over the last few weeks.

Hinata started when the front door rattled. It was being unlocked, which meant it was Itachi getting home. She glanced worriedly at the puppy before going to the door to greet him.

"Itachi," she smiled brightly as he stepped inside, perhaps a little too brightly.

He looked terribly haggard, his already pronounced tear troughs looked like caverns carved deep into his face. His brow was knitted together and he blinked slowly as he took in Hinata's face.

"Hinata, you are well," It was clearly not a question. He dropped his rucksack and closed the door behind him. He looked like he was about to say something, but then his nose lifted ever so slightly as he sniffed the air.

"Do I smell… dog again?" He looked Hinata up and down before deciding it wasn't her. "Is there a dog in here?" His voice had taken on a stern quality, as he pushed past his fatigue.

Hinata stepped in front of him, "Itachi w-wait it-wait!" He stepped around her, searching the living room.

She grabbed his arm, "Kiba jus- wait!" He shook free of her grip and continued his search. It only took a moment for him to zero in on the white furball on the floor by the chair.

"Is that a dog?" he asked, pointing at it. It sounded like more of a scolding than a question.

Hinata swallowed roughly, averting her gaze to the floor. She nodded.

"Why is there a dog in my house?" He asked with deliberate intensity. He was upset, obviously.

"W-well wh-what hap-happened-"

Itachi let out a low growl, causing Hinata to jump slightly. She wasn't sure she had ever seen him this upset. And over a dog?

"Kibabroughtherforcompany!" her words tumbled over each other in an incomprehensible mess.

"Kiba?" he snarled.

Hinata nodded rapidly.

Itachi closed his eyes and took a forced breath. "I'm going to go take a shower, Hinata-sama. That dog better not be here when I return, do you understand?"

"But-"

"Do you understand?" he repeated as if he was talking to a small child. Hinata hated it.

She refused to answer, instead she picked Heiwa up and left.

It was evening, the sun was sinking behind the barren trees. Hinata trudged through the snow, not minding the cold at all. Her anger had heated her up. How could Itachi be so unreasonable? She wanted to scream.

Her furious stomping found her at the Uchiha main house. Why had she come here? To talk with Mikoto. No.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she considered. With a self-affirming nod, she tucked Heiwa inside her coat and knocked on the door.

To her surprise, the person she wished to speak with answered. "Sasuke," she said without a stutter.

He didn't seem surprised at all. "I heard Itachi was back. How did that go?" He seemed smug.

Hinata's anger came flooding back, "He's completely… he's-" she let out a strangled noise. "He wouldn't even let me speak!"

Sasuke nodded calmly like he'd expected nothing less. "Well, do not let me keep you. Did you come here to speak with my mother?"

She hesitated, "Um, no. I came to speak with you."

"Oh?"

"I want your help."

Uh oh.

Hey guys, sorry this is a week late. I decided to go back and add a bit more in some places.

Hope you enjoyed! Review and let me know what you think.

Next Update: Uhmmm not sure, I'm aiming for the next few weeks because I've got finals coming up and all. I'll do my best!