Hey hey hey! Sorry it took so long to upload... "IT" has been rather stressful lately... but I have Monday off, so I decided to try making time to WRITE WRITE WRITE! :D I'm enjoying writing this :) So I hope you're enjoying reading it... well, why else would you waste your time reading it, right? Anyways, enough of my babbling! You guys all get candy for reading! :D

Hinata tightly shut her eyes and shook her head, trying to shake away the image. But when she re-opened her large white eyes, she saw that the crow hadn't moved. It was still staring up at her.

Is this just a coincidence? Hinata thought. There was only one way to find out.

Hinata opened the latch of her window and swung it open. The crow cawed and flapped its wings, flying up into the air. Then it disappeared against the black sky.

Hinata clasped her hands before her. "Byaakugan!" she quietly said. Looking ahead of her with her Byaakugan, she could see the bird, not too far away, and jumped out her window to follow it. Past the gate of Konoha it flew, through the forest on a very familiar route she once took to train with...

Sure enough, the crow led her to a clearing with a small waterfall and a river. Hinata could see a figure standing on the other side of the river, and continued to follow the crow all the way over to him.

The crow cawed and landed on the young man's shoulder. "Thank you," he said in a calm voice before the crow disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Then he fixed his red eyes on the Hyuuga.

Hinata stared for a moment. "W-what are you d-doing here?" she asked, surprised.

Itachi looked away. "I don't know," he said smoothly. "One minute I'm lying in my bed, and the next I'm here with you."

There was silence as the two stood there awkwardly. Hinata flushed and looked down.

"Why don't we walk for a moment?" Itachi asked, suddenly walking out to her and holding out his strong hand. Hinata stared down at it for a moment before hesitantly taking it in her cold, pale one.

Oh my goodness! I'm holding Itachi's hand! she thought excitedly as they walked back through the trees. Her cheeks were rosy pink as she looked up at Itachi's poker face, staring straight ahead without any emotion.

Finally, he spoke. "I told you the last time I saw you that I would never see you again," he stated, not tearing his eyes off whatever he was looking at in the distance. "But once I got back to the base, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I... just wanted to see you again."

Hinata's lips parted in surprise. Was Itachi... blushing?

Itachi looked down at her, causing Hinata to quickly tear her curious eyes away and look down at her feet.

"This is foolish of me," Itachi voice continued quietly. "If it weren't for my selfishness, then..."

"N-no, don't say that," Hinata said, shooting her gaze back up to Itachi.

Itachi just shook his head and looked back down at her. "No, it's true," he said. "I'm only here because..." he abruptly stopped walking.

Hinata stumbled. "Itachi? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

Itachi looked up at the sky through the trees. How should I say this... he thought. "Hinata... when I'm around you... I feel... happy."

Hinata cocked her head to the side. "Really...?" she asked, unsure. He sure doesn't seem happy. And I didn't even think that word was in his vocabulary... she thought, puzzled.

"I know it might not look like it," he said as though he had read her mind, "but it's true. You make me feel wonderful."

Hinata just stared at Itachi, as though he had just punched her in the stomach. And she felt like that, too.

"Hinata..." he said quietly. She felt like her heart stopped with what he said next.

"I love you."

The next thing she knew, Itachi held her in his strong arms and ran his fingers through her long dark hair... and pressed his lips against hers into a passionate kiss. She had never been this close physically to anyone before. Hinata's eyes closed automatically and she found herself kissing him back and hugging him close, never wanting to let go. Was this real?

The kiss slowly stopped, but Itachi held his close embrace around her frail body. Hinata opened her eyes, looking over his shoulder, and feeling a smile grace her pale lips. Her eyes dropped shut again as she enjoyed every second she had with him.

Suddenly, Itachi stiffened and pulled away from Hinata, turning his head to glare at a nearby tree. "Deidara, Kisame, I know you're there!" he growled.

"Dang it, we were caught!" There was rustling from the leaves in the tree as the two men dropped down from the branches, the tall blue one holding a camera.

Hinata frowned, nervously watching as they walked closer. She stuck her hand inside the pouch on her thigh and gripped a kunai, glaring along with Itachi.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked in a dangerously low voice.

"We wanted to see your girlfriend, un. What else?" the blonde one said with a shrug. Then he snatched the camera out of the blue one's hand. "Got some great footage, too." He pointed at the camera.

Itachi narrowed his Sharingan eyes. "Don't worry, Hinata," he said quietly. "They won't hurt you."

"Yeah, we won't hurt ya!" the tall blue one that resembled a shark said, grabbing her head against his chest (more like his stomach) and ruffled her hair playfully, flashing his sharp teeth.

"Itachi, why don't you introduce us, un?" Deidara asked excitedly.

Itachi closed his weary eyes and sighed. "Hinata," he said calmly. "This is Deidara and Kisame. And Deidara and Kisame, this is Hinata."

"Ah, Hinata," Deidara took her hand in his and shook it happily. Hinata felt something wet on her palm. She cocked her head to the side and looked down at his hand.

Deidara also looked down at his hand. "Oh..." he tugged his hand away to reveal a pair of lips, teeth and a tongue. "Uhm, sorry, un. I forgot."

Hinata laughed nervously, her eyebrow twitching with disgust.

Itachi took a handful of his blonde hair and slammed him against a tree. "Ouch!" Deidara yelled.

"You're pathetic," Itachi stated, obviously annoyed.

"Aww, c'mon, Itachi-san," Kisame whined.

Itachi looked up at him. "Leave," he commanded.

Kisame frowned. "But... but..."

"Kisame, do you remember that one time you looked into my Mangekyou Sharingan?"

Kisame gulped. "Y-yes..." he said quietly.

"Do you want it to happen again?" he asked, as though it was a common question.

"Uhm, Deidara we should probably go," Kisame automatically said to his pal.

"Aww man!" he said, pushing himself off the tree and pouting like a small child. "I don't see why you have to be such a wuss..."

"Hey, I'm not a wuss you son of a bi-" Before he finished his sentence, they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Itachi closed his eyes and sighed. "Sorry about that," he said coolly.

Hinata shook her head. "It's f-fine," she said, waving her hand carelessly.

The Uchiha strolled back over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You should probably get back to Konoha," he said.

Hinata frowned. "Itachi-san, will I see you again?"

He stared off into the distance for a while, looking deep in thought before replying, "Yes, you will. I promise."

Hinata smiled. "Okay, good."

They stood there for a moment before Itachi hastily leaned down to kiss Hinata on the cheek. "I'll see you soon," he said.

Hinata nodded, her cheeks flushing rosy pink.

With that, Itachi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Hinata smiled, in spite of herself, and felt relief wash over her. She would see him again.

"He promised," she whispered.

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