"If we help you, what do we get in return?"

"My allegiance. I will help you carry out your plans."

A laugh echoed through the room. "You're allegiance does not benefit me. However, those eyes of yours do."

"My eyes?"

"Hmm," the man considered this for a moment, rethinking, "Taking your eyes would be a whole process. Very well. Your allegiance will suffice. Once we get him free you belong to me. Is that understood?"

With a shaky breath the woman held her chin high, nodded. The man was gone in an instant, leaving Hinata alone.

~W~

Hinata knew what she was signing away when she made the deal with the Akatsuki. She had been foolish. There were plenty of other ways she could have gotten Itachi out. But none were as swift and successful as hers had been. After hearing what the Hokage wanted to do to Itachi Hinata had to act fast. She was surprised she even accomplished the whole thing. Finding even just one member was difficult, but somehow she managed to do it. And now she was tied up as bait for Itachi. How embarrassing.

She sat against a dilapidated wall that had so many cracks it was a miracle it remained upright. The floor was dusty and cobwebs were tangled in her hair. She was forced to breathe through her nose, the cloth pulling her mouth so taught it was starting to burn. After struggling with the restraints for hours Hinata finally took a break. Her energy was depleting and she was making no progress. She hated that she had to wait for Itachi so this would be over.

But what exactly would be over?

Hinata knew that this was an enormous mistake. Meeting Itachi, taking him in, and helping him- that could be forgiven. But she should have never let her heart get so attached to him. Falling in love with him was a stupid idea, but it was something she could not change. She loved the man, which is why she made the deal with the Akatsuki. To save him. When she overheard the Hokage talking about a plan to "extract and execute," Hinata felt like the world was shaking beneath her feet. She couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment toward the Hokage for attempting to hurt the one person who saw her for who she was.

Before vanishing, Hinata saw the fear in Itachi's eyes. It scared her. If a shinobi as brave and ruthless as Itachi could be just as afraid as she was then anything was possible. Before ever meeting Itachi, Hinata never thought of him. Sure she knew of Sasuke and his history, but what reason did she have to wonder about Itachi? Her general assumption about him and all the other Akatsuki members was that they were criminals who caused harm and pain to others for some unknown reason. But knowing him now…Hinata couldn't see a cold-blooded killer in Itachi. He wasn't a monster like she assumed he would be. Itachi was kind, gentle, his soul was in his eyes, open for display. It was her heart that told her she needed to save him. She loved him, and that look of fear in Itachi's eyes meant he loved her.

Filled with an aching longing that overwhelmed her, Hinata focused all of her energy into her bound wrists. These were not chakra restraints, merely metal chains wrapped very securely around her wrists. If she focused hard enough, with the right amount of chakra, Hinata knew she could break the chains and escape.

But then what about Itachi? He would most likely be on his way here right now. If he came and she was gone, then he would face his brother alone. Hinata chewed on her lip. Would he win? How strong was Itachi? She didn't really get to see him fight but she knew he was strong, stronger than most shinobi. And what about Sasuke? Did he really have the strength to defeat his older brother, after all these years? There were too many questions and not enough answers. Hinata couldn't leave Itachi to fight his brother alone. If she had known this fight was part of the plan she never would have asked for the Akatsuki's help. It was too risky. The thought of losing Itachi, permanently, did something to Hinata that she could not explain. She couldn't fathom the idea. Once she broke out of her chains, she would hide. Then when Itachi showed up she would fight alongside him. And maybe, just maybe, they would both make it out of this alive.

~W~

Itachi was racked with despair and regret. His little brother had taken the only girl who loved him, the only girl he ever loved, and used her as leverage. It burned a hole through his heart. He caught himself wondering how Sasuke could use a human being as bait when Itachi himself had murdered so many people in one night. Evil runs through the family…or maybe we're just cursed.

He knew he should have gone straight to the hideout but something pulled Itachi in the opposite direction. The hideout was not far from where he was so he would only take a moment. Standing between two headstones he never visited once, Itachi felt more alone than he had ever felt. Reading the engraved markings, they said "Uchiha Mikoto, loving mother and devoted wife," "Uchiha Fugaku, loving father and devoted husband." They said nothing more. No more words to honor the heroic acts his father had done for the village. No words for how brave his mother had been that night. Nothing. Even after their death the Uchiha clan was still nothing more than an idea. A thought. History.

"I'm so…." Itachi could not finish his sentence because he knew that saying sorry would not bring them back. None of his family would ever come back. He couldn't help it. Falling to his knees in between the marked graves of his parents, Itachi wept for the family he lost and the actions that caused it. He wept for the brother who's heart he crushed and future he destroyed. Quake after quake of utter sadness rocked through Itachi's body, encompassing his mind, heart and soul. The emptiness and pain he felt was more unbearable then being in the Tsukiyomi. He'd choose that torture over this any day.

"I'm sorry, mom and dad. I'm so sorry. I miss you guys so much."

His face was red now, the tears disappearing underneath his chin. Strands of hair clung to his wet cheeks, matting together. Then, a light breeze swept passed him. It encircled him, embraced him. Leaves caught in the breeze danced around him in an almost dance, almost as if they symbolized a story. Itachi sniffed, feeling the warming wind across his face. He felt as though someone was with him, but when he looked around he was sure nobody was there. His eyes returned to the headstones on his parent's graves. A leaf fell out of the current of the wind and onto Itachi's lap. Picking it up he felt an electric current shoot through his fingers and shoot through his entire body. Itachi did not know what to think, only that the pain he was feeling did not feel as intense as it did just a moment ago. Wiping the tears from his face, Itachi stood. Sending one last prayer to his parents, Itachi made to leave. It was time to face his brother and the past he was trying to run away from. Before Itachi could move two feet, a whisper as gentle as the wind through the trees, reached Itachi's ears. He stopped cold, his breath caught in his throat.

"We love you."

A/N: Alright, you guys, your reviews are so straightforward they make my heart stretch in thirty different directions! Thank you for loving this story so much, I personally enjoy it myself and I really honestly think I could do better if I sat down and wrote every day. I'll do better in my next fanfic. Really, though thanks for the support. I love this couple and I'm really happy to write this story. I am going to do my very best to keep chapters coming up. I do not know how much longer this story will be, I do know how the rest will go I just don't know how long the chapters will be. With that said, I would like to get ideas for another story. Any particular couples, ideas, interests, anyone has? I'd love to write an ItaHina story again, wouldn't that be lovely? Haha. I'm going to work on the next chapter right now and hopefully have it up tonight or tomorrow. Please be patient. I know I made you wait for way too long. I apologize.

Xoxo- Clover