To Sasuhina fan: same country! So far we're fine…how about you and you're family?I hope you are all safe there.
-flashbacks are written in italics with the "(f)" mark on the beginning and the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
-o-o-o-
Chapter Three
Hinata has a hard time standing let alone walk. Her feet were still bound so the Uchiha has to drag her with him into a narrow corridor. Even with the absence of light, she could still make out his hard form, proud nose, and tall stature. He was tall like Kakashi-sensei, for her head only reached his chest.
He was silent and the heiress felt as if a thick ice is between them. The man was undeniably emitting an aura of wisdom, skill, and something more that she failed to understand. Maybe it was the mystery that wraps his very form?
It was like he was hiding something under those cold eyes.
Uchiha Itachi. The man who killed his own family and clan, left alone his little brother—the brother who hates him very much that he even developed a will to kill him for revenge. As far as she knew, this guy was dangerous. It was not only because he was a talented Shinobi, but because of his brains.
Rumors say that even at the age of seven, Uchiha Itachi's reasoning and wisdom, matches that of a Hokage.
That alone made the heiress felt so inferior and weak.
Itachi stopped walking and pushed a wooden door. Hinata figured that they were in some kind of tunnel or underground cave. The walls are of hard earth and stone, every small movement make echoes. When the door was opened, he dragged the girl inside.
Hinata found herself on the hard stone floor.
A lamp was lit and it filled the room with orange and reddish light. It was dim, but enough for her to study her captures features. Itachi looks like an older version of Sasuke, but there was something different in the shape of their eyes. He also has two slant lines on his face, giving him a unique look.
Overall, he was very handsome.
Well, evil comes in all forms. Hinata thought grimly as she watched him take off his black cloak and threw it on the table where the lamp rested. Looking around, Hinata realized that the room was empty left alone a small wooden desk and the small lamp. It was a sign that they don't plan on staying in this place for long.
The Uchiha did not say anything, but kneeled down in front of her and produced a kunai in his right hand. With a swift move, he cut off her binds and removed the gag from her mouth.
Hinata winced as the circulation of her blood started to run normally. It sent needle like pains on her hands and feet so she has to bit her lip to prevent any sound from coming out. For a few seconds, she wondered why he was letting his guard down, removing her binds and all.
Does that show that he was confident that he could stop her with ease if she tries to get away from him?
"Arigatou."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. Did the Hyuga just thank him?
"Arigatou for taking off the binds." She said again, her soft voice sounds so out of place in a room so dark and cold. Hinata knew that it was not necessary, but the relief from her pains because of the hard ropes just makes her a little grateful.
"You don't need to thank me for anything."
Hinata agreed, though she did not say it out loud.
"Though I have to make one thing clear." He looked down on her as he straightened himself up. "If you try to escape, I will kill you."
-o-o-o-
"Did you hear it? The Akatsuki abducted the elder daughter of the Hyuga clan head."
Sasuke stopped on his tracks.
He was on his way to the training grounds when he passed by a group of low-ranked Shinobi who were huddled in an early morning gossip. As an Anbu on his day off, he was about to go to Naruto's place to drag the Jinchuriki with him into the training grounds and enjoy himself a few sparring sessions with the Uzumaki. He knew it would take his mind off the other night.
The night he saw his older brother.
"Oh…she's the jounin with the blue hair." One kunoichi nodded her head. "I remember because she's so gentle and soft spoken, the kids in the academy adores her."
The Uchiha blinked at what he has heard. The elder daughter of the Hyuga clan head?
Hinata Hyuga.
Was she the unconscious form Itachi was carrying that night? Damnit…he should have known when he saw that long hair. Sasuke suddenly back stepped and run into the opposite direction of where he was intending to go in the first place, forget training, he just have a more important thing to do right now.
"Hinata."
(f) Sasuke picked up the papers that scattered on the ground and one paper in particular caught his attention. It has little drawn hearts into it and a doodled face that has blonde hair and whiskers.
The drawing looked like a cat, but he figured that it was supposed to look like his idiotic best friend Naruto Uzumaki.
When he tried to open the folded parchment, he heard a panicked squeal from the door and his head turned, only to see a blue haired woman wearing the standard green Shinobi vest and was standing there with her hands on her mouth, her eyes wide with fear. She was looking at the parchment he had on his hand.
"The wind scattered the files." He explained. "I took the liberty on picking them up since your office is empty." Sasuke knew this woman. She was the Hyuga heiress and a member of team eight. Even in the same batch and on the same circle of friends, they never really talked and it made him realize that this was the first time that he has said something to her in full sentence since Academy days. "I brought something from the Hokage."
The girl was the timid type, so she was always drawn out by Ino and Sakura's talkativeness every time the batch of Konoha eleven are together. He would notice that she would just stay beside her cousin or behind her male teammates, the Aburame and the Inuzuka, and observe the happenings in her own silent way.
She gave him a polite bow. "Sasuke-kun…h-how can I help you?" her eyes were still on the paper he was about to open. Walking towards him, she waited for him to give her the files.
He did.
But he left the paper with the little hearts on his hand.
"Uhm…" She looked at the paper again, and then looked at his face. What was an Anbu doing on her office anyway? And why was he holding on to that piece of parchment she absent-mindedly doodled Naruto's face into? She was bored earlier and has nothing to do…"I need that." Her voice was small when she pointed at the paper.
"Is this supposed to be Naruto?" He asked her, an amused glint on his dark eyes.
She yelped at the question and her cheeks heated up. Unknown to her, it made the Uchiha amused all the more.
"Ano…It's…It's…" She was stuttering from embarrassment and her head hung low, unable to look at the young man in front of her. He was Naruto's best friend…the moment he tells the Uzumaki that she was drawing his face with little hearts in it, she's doomed.
Naruto would just think that she's a crazy fangirl.
Sasuke noticed how embarrassed the woman was. Shaking his head mentally at his sudden gallantness, he gave her the paper."I thought not. This looks more of a cat than Naruto…and the cat is more decent looking." (f)
-o-o-o-
Hinata crawled to a corner like a wounded animal and started to nurse her bruises. Letting her chakra flow into her fingertips, she let it hover over the scratches she doesn't remembered having. In the far corner of the room, was Itachi, observing her as she tried to patch herself.
She was not as good as Sakura in medical field but she knew the basics.
Even though uneasy at being left with a male Akatsuki member in a locked room, Hinata tried not to let it bother her. She would fight him tooth and claw if he tries something with her. Even though she knew that she won't stand a chance, she would not let herself go down without a fight.
"You're a medic?" He asked her, his deep voice sent shivers down her spine, startling her.
She shook her head, mentally thinking that it was weird to have a conversation with her captor. She answered him anyway. "No…I just learned a few basics from a friend."
"What's your name?" Itachi has his one knee drawn, and his arm resting on it. For a second, Hinata thought she was looking at a man…a human to be in fact, and not a hungry monster that craves death and blood. It puzzled her, all her life she believes that Akatsuki are composed of heartless, emotionless, killers.
"H-Hinata...my name is Hinata."
-o-o-o-
Just a quick update. I really want to write more but I still have to rethink a few scenes/plots so that the characters won't be OC. I have to be really careful to stick to their right personality see…
Until next chap!
-crazygurl2