Hinata opened her bedroom door and peeked inside, wondering how the Uchiha was holding up. He was sleeping soundly on his back, barely snoring. Quietly, Hinata tiptoed in the room, wanting to check if his bandages needed changing. Hinata couldn't help taking glances at Itachi. He was handsome, she thought, noticing the clearness of his skin and the strong jaw line.

Seeing Itachi in her bed made her mind reel. So many thoughts of different varieties cascaded like waves upon her conscience. The first being the most obvious: there was a member of the Akatsuki in her bed. This fact both scared her and, and what? Hinata felt something along the lines of giddiness, like a little girl who had done something naughty that she would knowingly get punished for. Only the consequences of this wouldn't be something as simple as a slap on the wrist and dinner with no dessert. The consequences of taking him in were beyond her imagination. Hinata took a deep breath to help ease her stomach. It didn't matter what happened, she told herself. If Itachi was found in the village under her roof she'd accept the consequences. It was her choice to take him in and help him, it was a choice based on her intuition and nine times out of ten her intuition was right.

The other thoughts, less frightening and more unbelievable came to the surface. This whole situation was unreal and so wrong on so many levels; did Itachi do something to piss off the Akatsuki? If so, what was it and would they come looking for him? That would cause a whole other level of problems if they found him here, and Hinata didn't want to think of that.

Bubbling to the surface, a more feminine realization occurred to her. The eldest Uchiha heir was sleeping right next to her, in her room, in her bed. She hadn't ever had a guy in her bed before, fatally injured or not. This man was dangerous and, Hinata blushed as the thought came across, he was dangerously sexy. He was a very attractive guy and his mysterious physique compelled her even more. Hinata tried to tame herself; this wasn't how she normally reacted around guys.

Of course, she still had a crush on Naruto and would always love him, unrequited or not. But Naruto was Naruto, a hard driven goofball who was very sweet and could be quite the jokester at times. But Hinata never really categorized him as sexy; she never looked at him like that. She was attracted to his personality, not his appearance.

But it seemed she was attracted to Itachi, despite the fact that she didn't know very much about him.

Hinata realized she had been sitting next to Itachi this whole time while contemplating her thoughts. Embarrassed at the crude turn her thoughts had taken, she made her way toward the door as quietly as she could.

"Leaving so soon? I quite admired that shade of pink on your cheeks."

Hinata froze mid-step, fear glazed over her eyes like a wave on a beach shore. She thought she would make it out alive but apparently that wasn't possible. Straightening her posture, she told herself to calm down. He can't read your thoughts, he has no idea.

"Were you picturing a dirty fantasy you'd like to share with me? I'd be happy to listen."

Apparently he could read minds, although not completely. Hinata took a deep breath and turned toward him. He was sitting up with a smirk on his face. His hair was free and hung over his shoulders, his eyes amused and fixed on her. Hinata cleared her throat, averting her eyes to the floor. She could feel her cheeks burning and she didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. I only wanted to check your bandages to see if they needed to be replaced."

"Do they need to be replaced?" He asked. He raised an eyebrow, welcoming her to check.

Hinata stumbled over to the bed and crouched beside him, peering shyly at the bandages around his stomach. She was all too aware of his gaze on her and prayed he would look away. Her eyes traveled up his torso to his face and connected with his obsidian gaze. A chill crept up her arms and danced around her neck. He frightened her, but it wasn't only in a bad way.

He frightened her because she was attracted to him, a criminal, a traitor. He frightened her because he made this dark part inside her arise when she never thought she had a dark part to her. Hinata never believed she'd help someone from the Akatsuki, but here she was, checking his bandages. That was the dark part that lived within her, the unnatural side of her. Yes, she had an open heart and believed in the best in everyone, but she never applied it to evil people. And Itachi was supposed to be evil, wasn't he? She didn't know the man personally, but that didn't stop the pull he had on her. There was a mysterious shroud of mist that embodied the Uchiha. It reached out as if it had claws and tugged at Hinata, beckoning her to come to him. He frightened her because he was the complete opposite of what she liked in a man. How did she know who she liked if Itachi could change that without even saying anything?

Hinata didn't know if she liked this dark, almost rebellious side of her. It felt like she was betraying her own village by taking Itachi in. There was a battle inside her, a tug of war, between the angel and the devil and so far, nobody was winning.

"They don't need to be changed. In fact, it looks like the bleeding has stopped." Hinata straightened and gave him a smile.

"That's good news. How is your training going?" Itachi decided to make small talk, seeing as he was confined to a bed. If he couldn't train then he could at least talk about it with someone.

Hinata brushed her hair behind her ear, showing off the right side of her face. She would look good with her hair up, Itachi thought.

Her stomach eased a little at the friendly tone of his voice, "It's going well. It would be better if I had a sparring partner. But I train for hours every day and I think it's paying off." She looked up at him, flashing a sideways smile. He nodded in response, admiring her positivism.

"I would like to see you in battle one day," Itachi said, adjusting himself on the bed, "see how much the Hyuga clan has strengthened."

Hinata couldn't refrain from blushing and looked away. Images of them fighting together crossed her mind, images that seemed so out of place. On what planet would they ever fight together or be on the same side? She scoffed inwardly at the very idea.

"I think the only time you would ever see that is with us being on opposite sides, Itachi." She looked him in the eye, the smile making her eyes crinkle around the edges. He couldn't help but smirk, feeling the truth behind her statement. Itachi sighed, resting his head against the wall.

"Life can throw curveballs at you, Hinata. You just have to be ready to catch them."