Warning! This chapter is very... corny :\ But, keep reading! XD

"So, what is this all about?" Kisame asked suspiciously. He sat next to Hinata on the couch, while Pein, Konan, and Itachi stood in front of them.

"Well, since you are the only two that know," Pein said, "then you should also be the first to know."

"Know what...?" Kisame questioned.

"Itachi? Care to explain?"

Itachi closed his eyes. "Sasuke has gained enough strength to fight me," he said calmly.

There was a silent pause. Both Kisame and Hinata just gaped at the Uchiha.

Hinata remembered what he had told her, about how he couldn't bring himself to kill Sasuke. "Itachi...?" she nervously asked. When she had his attention, she gazed at him with her large eyes. "Does this mean...?"

She couldn't finish her sentence. Itachi looked at Pein. "Leader-sama, I would like to speak with Hinata alone."

He solemnly nodded, and him and Kisame left the two alone.

"I should have told you about this," Itachi said guiltily, still standing at the front of the living room and looking away.

Hinata was speechless. She could do nothing but stare at Itachi and feel betrayed.

"After that night, I told Sasuke that someday we would settle everything with a fight to the death," Itachi told her. "Sasuke's grown up a lot since I last saw him. He's gotten much more powerful. And right before I die," Itachi said, "I'm passing on all my power to him."

There was a long silence. Itachi slowly made his way over to Hinata, who hadn't realized that she was now standing.

"Can you see why I didn't want to get close to you?" Itachi said as Hinata looked away. "Once I realized that I had feelings for you, I thought it would be best if I just never saw you again." He stopped in front of her.

"When?" was all Hinata could say.

Itachi was silent for a moment. "Tomorrow," he said coldly.

Hinata felt like she had just been electrocuted. The next thing she knew, she had pushed past Itachi and was running upstairs.

"Hinata, wait!" But she kept running until she got to her room. Then, she opened the window, and jumped, landing gracefully on the ground. Then, she kept running, as fast as she could.

This is ridiculous! she thought as she sprinted through the trees. Why am I running!

Why was she running? Hinata stopped, only to realize where she had ended up was the meadow that Itachi had taken her to. It was an overcast day, but somehow, the sky looked bluer in the field.

She just stood there for a while before making her way deeper into the beautiful clearing, trying to process what had just happened. Itachi was going to die. He was going to die tomorrow. He was going to get killed by an oblivious Sasuke, who knew nothing about why he had killed the clan.

"This can't be happening," Hinata said out loud, her voice sounding strange to her ears. She felt tears stinging at her eyes, threatening to spill over. Why hadn't he just told her?

But then again, it wasn't really his fault, she tried to reassure herself. She sighed. She shouldn't have run away from him. His entire life was hard, and this was how he had WANTED to end it, after all.

No matter how many times Hinata tried to make herself feel better, she kept feeling like she had been deceived.

Finally, Hinata sank to her knees in despair, and the tears escaped.

This is ridiculous, Hinata found herself thinking again. Itachi couldn't see her like this.

"Promise me something," a familiar voice said from behind her.

Speak of the devil...

The Hyuuga stayed where she was, not wanting to look at his face. But his footsteps came closer, and soon he was kneeling beside her.

"I want you to take good care of this place," he said. There was silence as Hinata tried in vain to calm down. "Don't let that idiot Deidara practice blowing things up here."

Hinata couldn't help giggling when he said this. She hiccuped and finally turned to face Itachi, feeling and looking absolutely pitiful. Through her blurred vision, she saw Itachi's pained and exhausted expression.

"I know you feel alone," Itachi said. "I've been alone. I've seen how heartless this world is. But I've learned something from this terrible experience." He took a deep breath. "Never give up. There's always something good out there. There's a light at the end of the tunnel. And Hinata, when I'm gone, you'll have something else to live for, am I right?"

Hinata nodded, placing a hand on her stomach.

Itachi smiled sadly down at her.

"B-but... you'll never see him..." Hinata stuttered, fighting back fresh tears.

"That's okay," said Itachi. "I know you'll take good care of him." He was silent for a moment. "I think he'll have your eyes."

Hinata smiled. "Itachi, I can't imagine what it'll be like without you," Hinata said, "but as long as this will make you content..."

"Hinata, thank you for understanding." Itachi said. "You're very strong."

"N-not as strong as you..."

"It may not feel that way," Itachi said knowingly. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm sorry for interrupting you," he said apologetically. "Should I leave?"

"No!" Hinata said louder than she had intended.

"Good," Itachi said. "Why don't we just stay here for the rest of the day? Just the two of us?"

Hinata smiled. "Okay..." she said quietly.

And so they did.

xXx

The next day, Hinata woke up with a headache.

"Good morning," Itachi's voice came from beside her.

Hinata sat up and looked down at him. "Good morning?"

"Let's not start." Itachi got up and walked across the room to his closet, where he slipped on a shirt. Then he turned around to look at Hinata. There was silence.

"I... I don't know what to say," Hinata said lamely.

"You don't have to say anything," Itachi replied.

Suddenly, Kisame's voice was heard outside the door. "Hey, Itachi! It's almost time to go!"

Hinata gulped and looked back at Itachi. "Well..."

Itachi strode over to Hinata and looked into her eyes. "Goodbye, Hinata," he said. "I love you."

"I love you too," Hinata said. "More than anything."

Itachi smiled, his eyes forming into crescents. He looked like he did in the picture of him and Sasuke. He even looked as young as he did in it.

Kisame's voice was back from outside. "Okay, Itachi, Sasuke is almost to the Uchiha Hideout. Let's get going."

Itachi held Hinata's hand in his for a second. Then he let go and walked away.

Then he was gone.

xXx

"Are you sure she's gonna be okay?" Kisame asked worriedly.

"She'll be fine," Itachi said. "Hinata's a lot tougher than she seems. Just don't give her a hard time."

They were outside, nearly to the Uchiha Hideout. Suddenly, Kisame looked at Itachi.

"Hey, just so you know," Kisame said. "I may be a legit criminal and all, but I think that you should know that you've been a great friend to me. Thanks."

Kisame looked awkward as he said this. It was almost laughable.

"You too," Itachi simply said. Then, unexpectedly, Kisame collapsed and hugged Itachi around the ankles.

"Ohh, Itachi!" he wailed. "It's terrible to let you go this way! What a way to go! My best friend is about to die!"

"Kisame!" Itachi scolded.

"I just want you to know that you have taught me SO MANY VALUABLE LESSONS!" Kisame continued. "And I just HATE to see you goooo!"

"Kisame!" Itachi sweatdropped.

Sorry about the abrupt ending, but I HAD to put a LITTLE comic relief in there somewhere :P Anyways, review, please!