Hey, look who's finally back :) I finished writing my super addicting fanfic, so I've decided to quit making you all wait forever, because it was kind of rude of me not to write for all those months! :( So here's your Christmas present. It'll get wayy better as the story goes on! Trust me. Okay, enjoy this long-awaited chapter!

It was in the middle of the afternoon. Broad daylight.

So what was Hinata Hyuuga doing lying on her back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling?

Well, you can imagine that there was a lot on her mind.

She couldn't help but wonder if it was one of those dangerously realistic dreams. Where the next day no one knows what the hell you're talking about, because it didn't actually happen. But you thought it did.

However, her question was soon answered as she heard her door open then slam again. Hinata sat up quickly, startled by the sudden noise, only to see her cousin Neji, looking as grouchy as ever.

Before Hinata could ask what was wrong, Neji said, very seriously: "We need to talk."

Hinata sighed and swung her legs off her bed so that Neji could sit beside her. He stormed over and sat down at the foot of it and said nothing. He just stared at his cousin, who nervously stared back.

"A-Are you okay?" Hinata asked, intimidated by his terrifying facial expression that made Satan look like a cute little fairy.

Then, he said two words: "I know."

Hinata felt an electric shock run through her body. He knew what? It couldn't be…

"W-what are you talking about, Neji?" She asked as innocently as she possibly could.

"Don't even pull that with me, cousin," Neji said. "You know that I can tell when you're lying."

Hinata looked down at her fidgety fingers tugging at her purple jacket. She quickly let go of it.

I know. The dreaded words echoed over and over in her head.

There was a very intense silence in the air as the two cousins stared at one another, Hinata wearing a shocked expression while Neji's white eyes were on fire.

Finally, the young man broke the extremely loud silence. "I've suspected that something was going on for a while. I mean, you lied more and this whole year you haven't 'felt good' and there was this emptiness in your eyes. Like something in Konoha was missing."

Neji narrowed his flaming eyes. "Something like a certain S-Ranked criminal, Itachi Uchiha."

Hinata hiccupped and held her breath, along with the tears that were starting to prick in her eyes. Do NOT cry, she told herself over and over again in her head as Neji glared at her.

"Do you realize how serious this is?" Neji was beginning to yell. "You're betraying Konoha! Even if you don't realize that getting special training from an Akatsuki member is betrayal. It is! And you KNOW better! And what was THAT! You have a boyfriend, Hinata! I swear to God that you will go to HELL!"

Neji kept on yelling at Hinata who was doing everything in her power to hold the tears in her large white eyes.

"He's like, nine years older than you! Hinata, how long has this even been going on? If Lady Tsunade finds out, you can get penalized by imprisonment for life, or, although the chances are very slim, death!"

Hinata perked up then looked helplessly at her cousin. "Are you going to tell Lady Tsunade?"

"Um, yeah. I am!" Neji said. "What else am I supposed to do? Just sit back while you go and French kiss some rogue Konoha ninja?"

Now, the young girl couldn't restrain herself. Tears began spilling down her cheeks, but Neji didn't really seem to notice or care.

"How long did you think you could keep this up, anyways? It was completely clueless and ignorant of you to even think that you could keep doing this without getting caught?"

"I've kept it up for a year," Hinata said in a shaky voice.

Neji stopped rattling. "What?"

"I said, I've kept it up for a year, now. A little over."

Neji's jaw dropped.

"Don't even say anything." Hinata's voice was breaking as she spoke and twisted her long violet hair in her hands. "I was desparate. I wasn't good enough for anyone. I was the worst ninja in all of Konoha." The Hyuuga looked up at the ceiling. "But then Itachi rescued me."

"He rescued you?" Neji asked incredulously.

"Hinata nodded her head. "Do you remember when I ran away?"

Neji nodded his head.

Hinata continued. "Well, somehow Sasuke had his Mangekyou Sharingan. I really have no idea how he got it. But I went outside of Konoha to train in the forest on my own when he attacked me. Then I woke up, and it turns out that Itachi had rescued me. So I asked him if he would train me." Hinata looked very seriously at her shocked cousin. "And look where that's gotten me."

"Just wait," Neji said without skipping a beat. "He'll do something evil and unnecessary, and you'll find out that he was using you all along."

"Using me for WHAT!" Hinata wailed, a fresh flow of tears streaming down her face. Her voice was starting to get high and squeaky with hysteria. It sounded so ridiculous that it could've been laughable, but this was a serious situation. "I just wanted to please father for ONCE because I'm such a burden to EVERYONE! And he was so willing to take me under his wing that he would risk it as well!
You heard him say he cared about me! I could see the truth in his eyes! I could feel the passion in his kiss! It was all real!"

"What about your teammates!" Neji roared. "What about your boyfriend?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Hinata had never been more stressed, angry, and frustrated in her whole life, she didn't think. "I TOLD you I couldn't tell you! I TOLD you that I had to keep it to myself!"

"You're betraying us ALL!" Neji yelled.

Hinata made a weird sound like a bloody-murder scream, a hiccup, and a sob all mixed together before stamping her foot and storming over to the door.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!" Neji stood up from her bed.

"I'LL JUST JOIN THE AKATSUKI THEN!" Hinata opened her door.

But before she could walk out the door, she felt a strong hand wrap around her wrist.

"Hinata, I'm worried about you," Neji's softened voice said behind her.

Hinata let herself fall against his body while she shook with hushed sobs.

"I'm so lost," she said. "I don't know what to do."

Neji hugged his cousin in that position for a long time, and she never stopped crying. His vest was sopping wet, but he didn't really notice. He just thought. Did Itachi have some sort of plan and was using Hinata? I mean, why else would he agree to training her. But she had a point. About the kissing. It really WAS real. Hideous, but with real passion.

Ooh! MAYBE!

Maybe he HAD had a plan and was going to use Hinata, but then he got attached to her and decided to give up? That was now Neji's theory.

As he thought about this, he heard footsteps up the hall, getting closer to Hinata's room. Before he could do anything, the door opened, and there stood Hiashi.

"I'm back…" He trailed off. Seeing Neji hugging Hinata, who had tears like waterfalls dripping out of her eyes was a very weird sight.

Hinata and Neji both looked up at Hiashi, who was awkwardly standing in the doorway, looking at his nephew and daughter. A gay baby was born.

"What happened?" Hiashi asked incredulously, narrowing his white eyes.

"Hinata's just stressed about her training," Neji quickly replied.

Hinata looked up, and drew in an awkward breath before tugging away from Neji's arms and facing the wall, away from her father.
Oh, no… she thought as she heard his footsteps walking toward her.

Suddenly, they stopped directly behind her, and he said just as Hinata had predicted. "A ninja must never show his tears, no matter what he's going through. Remember that, Hinata."

"Y-Yes, sir."

And then he was gone.

/3

It was Tuesday afternoon. Beautiful day, but guess what Itachi was doing?

Staring up at his ceiling from his bed.

Ironic, isn't it?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Itachi sighed, not in the mood for any visits. "What?" he said in a loud voice.

"It's Deidara, un," said a familiar voice, muffled by the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," Itachi said reluctantly.

The door opened, and in stepped Deidara, his face drawn up into a giddy grin. "I. Cannot. Believe it." He enunciated every word as if Itachi was a young child that spoke a foreign language.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What in the name of hell are you talking about, Deidara?" he asked crossly.

Deidara let loose a giggle. "So you're seeing some chick from Konoha, un?" he said smugly. He began to giggle madly.

WTF! How does he know! Itachi thought. Instead of saying this out loud, the Uchiha asked a simple question. "Are you high?"

Deidara shut the door and tiptoed over to his bed, as if he didn't want anyone to know he was there, and sat quietly on Itachi's bed, that evil, smug expression still glued on his face. "I know," he said in a hushed voice. "I saw, un."

"What do you know?" Itachi asked. Maybe he was possibly thinking about something else...? Just maybe?

Deidara's answer said no, he wasn't thinking of anything else. "That Hyuuga girl from Konoha, un," he said, still quietly. "You kissed her! And you've been training with her for almost a year!"

Itachi blinked. Then he remembered that presence of chakra he had felt that night. "You were the one in the woods? I felt your chakra..." he said.

Deidara nodded. "I knew you knew that I was there, un, because I had to disappear when you looked over. So, are you still seeing her? Are you still training!" Deidara was getting really excited.

Itachi just looked away. "I told her that it's dangerous, but she wouldn't listen. So, I had to tell her a lie."

Deidara's grin was instantly wiped from his face. "You told your woman a lie?" he asked, dumbstruck.

"I told her that I would keep training with her," Itachi said. "The thing is, I'm not going to show up tonight."

Deidara just stared at him as if he were staring at a train wreck. "What, un!" he said crossly.

Itachi shrugged and hopped out of bed. "It's for her own good. I want the best for her."

"But! But!" Deidara sputtered. "She wants to see you, un! Can't you tell that girl REALLY likes you!"

Itachi was now at the door, his hand on the doorknob. He turned and looked at Deidara, who was still sitting on Itachi's bed, looking like a deserted, homeless child. "She shouldn't be forced to leave her own village," Itachi said. Then he was gone.

Deidara pouted like a three year old. He would fix things up with the help of Hidan and Kisame.

/3

Hinata had been waiting forever for him. Maybe he had a mission. But he still wasn't there the next week, or the next, or the next.

Now Hinata knew that he was lying when he said that they'd continue training.

Would she ever see him again? She didn't know. But many months passed, and Hinata was almost convinced that he had disappeared right off the face of the earth. Just almost. But she couldn't accept it. She would do anything in her power to see him again. She made a solemn vow to herself that she would see him again, no matter once. Even if it were only for two seconds. She WOULD see him again.

Alright, I hope that it was SOMEWHAT worth the five million year wait. I'll upload as frequently as I can. But, as some of you may know, "IT" is still in session, and just at torturous as ever, with all the stupid homework that teachers give you over the break. Rude... Okay, please review! :D Thanks for being patient!