It was dark. Her heart was beating fast and cold sweat dewed on her forehead, running down her cheeks, along with waterfalls of tears. She breathed faster and faster, getting more and more frightened as each second passed. What was happening to her?

"MANGEKYOU SHARINGAN!" A pair of furious, yet familiar red eyes appeared in front of her.

"NOOOOO!" Hinata's eyes flew open and she sat up in a dark room on a soft bed, which was almost swimming with her own sweat and tears. As she awoke in a confused mess, her eyes filled with a fresh layer of tears, and she began another round of bitter sobbing. She had no idea where she was, but all she knew was that she was far from home, and probably in grave danger.

And to top it off, probably out of chakra as well.

All of a sudden, Hinata heard quick footsteps, running closer and closer. The door on the other side of the wall flew open, and there he stood. Itachi Uchiha.

"What is it? Are you okay?" he asked. Hinata could see slight worry fill his usually dead-looking eyes.

"I-I d-don't know wh-what hap-pened," she stuttered nervously. "Wh-where am I?"

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. And you're not far from home." Hinata relaxed slightly. "So, you don't remember what happened?"

Hinata shook her head.

"My idiot brother attacked you," said Itachi sadly.

Hinata then vaguely remembered what had happened. Sasuke had returned, with his Mangekyou Sharingan developed. He had tied her to a tree, and briefly placed his genjutsu on her. But he wasn't able to hurt her too much, because Itachi came to the rescue. But Hinata hadn't seen all of their battle, since she had passed out.

"Where is Sasuke?" asked Hinata.

"I don't know," said Itachi. "But I do know that he's gotten much more powerful."

"Um," said Hinata. "Why was he at Konoha, anyway?"

"He probably heard that I was there and went to attack me. But whatever. He's no match for me, anyways." Itachi paused. "I'm not sure why he bothered with you though. Sorry about him."

Hinata nodded her head. Itachi came and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. Hinata blushed and looked down at the covers.

"Are you about ready to return to Konoha, Hinata?" asked Itachi.

"How long have I been missing?" she asked.

"Well," said Itachi. "A few days. If you're feeling good, then it would probably be a good idea to go back. As soon as possible." He paused. "They all know. They've got together a search party."

Hinata was surprised that she'd been out for so long. But, then again, she HAD been in a very dangerous genjutsu, so it wasn't exactly her fault. And Itachi. Why had he bothered to rescue her in the first place?

"Itachi," she said.

"Yes?" he asked.

Hinata hesitated, not sure if she should ask. But, she went straight for it. "Please, Itachi. Please help train me."

Itachi looked up at her, slightly surprised. "Wait… what?"

I cannot believe myself, thought Hinata. "Itachi, you're almost invincible. I'm just a burden on my team. I'm always the one in trouble. Please train me. I need your help."

Itachi was actually very surprised. Well, he thought to himself, this is a very courageous act. Especially for a shy, delicate girl like her.

Itachi couldn't help but give her a small smile. "Well, alright," he said. "But first, you have to go back to Konoha. And you can't tell anyone, or they'll think you're betraying the village, and your comrades." He got up from the bed and looked down at her seriously. "I'll see you here every Tuesday at 9:00 p.m., whenever you're not on a mission. Don't forget." And with that, he was gone.

Hinata was slightly nervous, but also pleased that he had agreed to train with her. As she walked back to Konoha, she thought, now, I can show my father how strong I really am.