Hinata was training early this morning. She was having a hard time staying in bed and decided to get up when the rising sun filtered its first few rays of light through her window. The quietness of the mornings was her favorite time of day to be awake. The sounds of nature were always her favorite music. It was one of the reasons why Hinata liked to train before anyone else was awake.

Stopping to catch a breath and rest her arms, Hinata stopped by a tree she had dropped her sweater and water by. Taking a few gulps of water helped her regain some energy. She wiped her brow, cracked her knuckles, and set out to practice her palm rotation technique. She wasn't as fast as she wanted to be with this technique so she practiced with it every day. There was some improvement but not enough. Neji had told her to focus more and know where she's aiming before she aims. Despite his advice, Hinata was having trouble seeing her target when there wasn't actually a target. This is what Hinata meant by wishing she had a training partner. Her mind wandered to Itachi, and all the details he told her yesterday had come flooding back. She lost her footing and slipped backward, but she caught herself in time to back flip and land upright. Hinata pushed the hair away from her face and exhaled.

As she began her rotation again, she wondered what Itachi planned to do with his life now that he was a free man. Would he come back to the village? Surely not, there were too many reasons why that would never be a possibility. It was a nice thought, though. Seeing Itachi casually around the village as if he was never a criminal. That would be interesting. He would be another friend, a good looking friend, her conscience chimed in. Hinata agreed, picturing Itachi with his hair down and smiling. How often was it someone got to see an Akatsuki member smile genuinely?

Hinata supposed Itachi would either try to find Sasuke and attempt to make amends, or start a new clan. Would that be possible? He killed his entire clan, save Sasuke, so what were the odds of Itachi reviving it? Still, even if he did, he would have to find someone worthy of procreating with. Hinata's mind snapped to a sexy side of Itachi with a random woman as they started to undress each other. She shut her eyes and shook her head. This was not what she should be doing. That was not who Hinata was. Hinata was an innocent girl who liked to make people happy. And yet, despite her claim of innocence, Hinata pictured that scene again only with her as the woman Itachi was undressing. His breath was hot on her skin and his hands glided like feathers over her body, raising and lifting up her shirt, sliding it up over her head to reveal her chest…

"Hinata."

"Yes…" Hinata responded in more of a moan than a question, and it took her a moment to figure out that she wasn't alone. Quickly, she searched for the body belonging to the voice, and blushed brightly when she saw Itachi standing a few feet away in the clearing. He wore a black v-beck and dark brown sweatpants; his hair was tied in that lose pony-tail. It was odd seeing him in normal clothing, she was used to the mystery of his body under the Akatsuki cloak he always wore.

"Are you okay, Hinata? You've been standing in this clearing for a while and I thought you fell asleep standing up. Or did an apple fall from the tree and give you an epiphany?"

Hinata played with the ends of her hair, kicking at the dirt. He always made jokes, which was different from the mysterious Itachi she knew. Hinata had to accept the fact that Itachi was different now, which meant things he did and said were going to seem out of the norm. But really, it was probably who Itachi truly was under the cloak. And, Hinata realized, she didn't know Itachi at all. She only knew bits and pieces of him but not him entirely. As he stood there, observing her, she observed him. She recognized the intensity in his eyes, but not the light in them. She was familiar with his intimidating stance and glare, but not his friendly, vulnerable side. She couldn't imagine those things, but she wanted to know them. The mystery that surrounded the Uchiha was more prevalent than when he was just an S-class criminal trying to go after Naruto. Before, Hinata could sum him up as an evil human being who wanted to cause harm to her friends. But now, Hinata's world spun out of control in this frenzy of wanting to know who Itachi really was.

That realization scared her because of all the outcomes of learning about Itachi. There were consequences of befriending the enemy, and Hinata was afraid of facing those consequences. But, as she took a deep breath, Hinata realized she would face those consequences if the time came, because Hinata wanted to learn about Itachi. His dark aura pulled her in, despite her effort to ignore it. But the question remained- did Itachi want her to learn who he really was? And did he want to learn who she was? For all Hinata knew, Itachi could leave here and never think of her again. But for some reason, Hinata hoped that wouldn't happen. For some reason, Hinata hoped Itachi would stay and she could be his friend. In this hateful world, everyone needed a friend who wouldn't try to kill you or abandon you. And Hinata thought she was the perfect candidate for that position.

"Hinata, do you need me to bring you back home?" Itachi had stepped up to her and inspected her appearance. She looked tired and sweaty but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Hinata shook her head, finally coming back to reality. "No, Itachi. Thank you. I just had a momentary dizzy spell."

"I understand. I came out here to find you and ask you if you wanted a sparring partner."

Hinata choked back a gulp. She fidgeted with her fingers and tossed her gaze to the surrounding trees, immediately nervous. She stammered, "I uhm…"

"I won't hurt you, I promise." Itachi turned her face to look at him, giving her an easy-going grin to reassure her. This time Hinata gulped, but she nodded in agreement. The two each got into position, Itachi tightening his pony-tail and Hinata getting into her stance. She was nervous going up against Itachi as a mere sparring partner, it seemed so bizarre to her. But she took a deep breath, put her palms-forward and released her Byakugan.

Pushing her feelings aside, Hinata made the first move. She charged for Itachi for a head-on attack, aiming at one of his chakra points. As her palm came close to hitting Itachi, Itachi pushed her arm aside and hit her in the gut. She doubled over and held her stomach, but the damage was minimal. Itachi sprang backward, his sharingan activated. Hinata didn't stop and pulled two kunai from her pouch, sending them directly at Itachi. She sent a third one zinging toward him after she ran in an arc to get closer to him. Itachi deflected all three of them, sending them flying into nearby trees. Hinata charged forward to strike and almost hit his shoulder but he gripped her arm and flung her in the opposite direction. Hinata sent kunai at him and she disappeared as a shadow clone. Coming up from behind him, Hinata attacked. She struck his back but he disappeared and reappeared behind her, a kunai to her throat. That ended the session.

"Looks like I win this round." Itachi said.

Suddenly, before Itachi could react, Hinata shoved his arm out of the way and fell forward onto her hands. Her leg came up in a flurry and kicked Itachi square in the jaw. He was knocked backward while Hinata sprang toward him to finish him. Itachi slammed into the trunk of a tree, his jaw aching from the powerful kick, and barely saw Hinata coming toward him before it was too late. She had her arm cocked back ready to land a dangerous blow to his chest, when Itachi pulled her forward and reversed their positions. He slammed her into the base of the tree, pinning her shoulders against the bark. She was gasping for breath, confusion on her face. She thought she had him that time.

He smirked devilishly at her, "It's not nice to play dirty, Hinata."

Hinata smiled at him, her own devil coming out. "You wanted to be my partner. You asked for it."

Itachi gave a chuckle but didn't release his hold on her. "I think you are a very good fighter, despite your dirty antics." He brushed a lock of her hair away from her face, tucking it securely behind her ear. She didn't know what possessed him to do that, but Hinata didn't argue. It felt nice.

"Thank you, Itachi."

"It was my pleasure, Hinata."

A/N: Okay, I lied. You guys are going to like the NEXT chapter. I loved this one when I wrote it and then couldn't wait to write the next one and I just finished it. I don't want to upload it until I have chapter 7 done. But I love it, I hope you guys like it and feel my feels when you read it =)