Dreamcatcher

By Airyo

Sunrise, Sunflower - 5

Hinata did not feel any more rested after her day off. But she still forced herself to go to meet Itachi at the training grounds.

But upon her arrival, his eyes flicked over the bruising smudges under her eyes and he frowned.

"This is my most effective herbal brew for staying healthy." Itachi handed her a bottle of thick green sludge. Hinata studied it with trepidation, though she was far too polite to refuse. "The lack of sleep deteriorates your immune system. Since you have trouble obtaining proper rest, we must take better care of you in other areas. Now that you are genin, you are subject to missions outside the wall. We cannot afford to fall behind on your training."

"Oh...thank you." He looked at her expectantly. Hinata gulped and uncapped the bottle. A truly noxious smell wafted from it. One last time, she glanced at Itachi. He waited.

Trembling, Hinata held her breath and took a tiny sip. Her eyes watered from the sharp taste of garlic and something that she swore had gone putrid, but she managed a grimace of a smile afterwards.

"It is most effective if you drink all of it," Itachi insisted. Her smile fell. "It contains all the superfoods that are best known to help fuel your body and encourage healing."

"But…"

He wasn't going to budge on the matter.

Somehow, Hinata managed to choke down the entire bottle. It took her several more minutes to control her gag reflex.

Satisfied, Itachi tucked the empty bottle back into his pack. "Before we start our run - " Hinata turned a color that was oddly reminiscent of Itachi's brew at the thought of running after poisoning herself like that "- I wanted to speak with you about something."

Hinata sighed in relief. "About what?"

"You only mentioned genjutsu users before. And that you did not know what you were trying to protect. Is there the possibility of memory loss? Have you ever tried a mindwalk?"

"Hiyoshi-sama has never allowed it," she said quietly. "He said the Yamanaka are not the best of friends with the Hyuuga. And he made a good point - if my reaction to genjutsu was like to that of a mindwalk, I may not be able to handle it."

Itachi studied her. "But he said that a long time ago didn't he? What do you think now?"

Hinata froze, as she had never considered it beyond what Hiyoshi had said. What if a Yamanaka could figure out the root of her nightmares? But the old fear still pressed on her mind. Mustn't let them know. Mustn't let them find out. Just what was horrific enough that it still haunted her across the years?

"Even if I wished it so, Hiyoshi-sama still won't allow it," she hedged. "He's convinced Hyuuga-sama otherwise before."

Itachi smirked faintly. "Then it's convenient that your father structured the apprenticeship that my authority on all matters of your training, including your genjutsu, supersedes that of anyone else. Even your Hiyoshi-sama."

She licked her lips and winced when reminded of what she'd been forced to ingest minutes earlier. But he was looking at her with steadfast belief. To Itachi, she could if she wanted to. It was simple as that.

"Then...I want to know," she said resolutely, taking courage from his trust in her. "I want my nightmares to stop."

Even if only for the reason that she would not have to drink any more of his deadly concoctions.

AN: One of your mentioned how Hinata never returned the diary...well, she hasn't yet. She's pretty much the only one who can open it.

I'm glad you all enjoyed the autocorrects. I'll have to be careful, or the Tale of Benji aka Neji might just slip out.

I'm referencing the famous "The Tale of Genji" here. Here's a literal excerpt from wiki on the plot:

"The work recounts the life of a son of the Japanese emperor...For political reasons, Genji is relegated to commoner status ...Much is made of Genji's good looks."

Hmmmmm.