Hinata slapped the note she found on her desk down on its face. She could feel her cheeks betray her.
"What have you got there?" Kisame tossed his bag down. Hinata slid it to him, covering her face to hide her embarrassment. Kisame opened it, and it took only a second to start laughing. "Someone was finally brave enough, huh?"
"I don't think it is funny." Hinata whimpered, puffing out her cheeks.
"I am surprised it has taken this long." Kisame chuckled, tossing it back in front of her.
"I don't want this attention." Hinata buried her head in her arms, hiding the note under her depressive form.
"Easy, stop being so cute." Kisame continued to tease. "Really, you're doomed." He ruffled her hair.
Hinata scratched out mentions of her name on the love letter before she tossed it out. She couldn't believe someone she hadn't even met could write her something like that. How did you decide that you liked someone on looks alone?
Itachi's eyes narrowed. Sasuke kept looking up at them in between matches. He usually did to make sure Itachi was still watching, but this time he wasn't looking at him. Sasuke was locked on the small girl on the other side of Kisame, who was trying not to laugh at his comments on her cousin's hair. Itachi tried to warn his brother with a glare, but if Sasuke never directly looked at him, he would never receive his message.
Itachi stood up the moment the match was over, intercepting Sasuke before he could even climb the bleachers. Sasuke looked confused before looking back up at her with the hollowness Itachi didn't want Hinata to see. "Don't." Itachi snapped at him. "I know what you are thinking, and just don't."
"I was just going to…" Sasuke started to defend.
"I know what you were going to do, and I'm telling you not to. She doesn't need it, and she certainly doesn't want it." Itachi lowered his voice. Sasuke finally looked at him. "Who else knows?"
Sasuke shook his head, looking offended. "I haven't said anything."
"Keep it that way," Itachi pointed a scolding finger in front of him. "When did you find out?"
"Mom and dad mentioned a while back. I just hadn't put it together who they were talking about until they mentioned she was going to our school," Sasuke glanced back at her. "Sorry for wanting to be nice for once," Sasuke's eyebrows knit together childishly.
Itachi would need to speak to them too. "Well, if you want to do something nice, choose not to mention it, and don't make it the terms you approach her on. It's not exactly a good reason to start talking to someone."
"Right." Sasuke ruffled his hair. "Another day then."
Itachi turned grateful that Kisame had delayed Hinata long enough. She started down toward him just as Sasuke turned to rejoin his usual group. "Oh." Hinata looked disappointed that she missed Sasuke. "Is everything okay? I was going to tell him he did well. His technique has improved since I last watched."
Itachi shifted his head toward the door. "Another time."
Hinata looked like she noticed his tone, but let it go.
Kisame did not.
"Okay, what the hell was that?" Kisame prodded his shoulder as the left Hinata's apartment building.
Itachi pursed his lips together. "What do you mean?"
"What the hell did your brat brother say about the mouse that was so bad you sent him away? Don't tell me it was nothing. You were still so tense when you got back. She thought you were mad at her." Kisame tossed his thumb back at the building.
Itachi let out a sigh. "Hinata has things in her past she doesn't need to be brought up, and Sasuke just found out about them. He was going to express his apologies."
Kisame felt the anger melt as he noticed the way Itachi aged as the tension released from his shoulders. "That's kind of a dick move." Hinata didn't need to be reminded of the skeletons in her closet.
"Well, yes and no. See, with our… status, it would be rude not to. However, Hinata is not really one to be expectant of what is owed to her status." Damn rich people. "I warned him to leave it be, and if he wanted to make friends, he needed to find a better reason."
"Poor mouse, I see why they got her out of the public eye," Kisame shoved his hands in his jacket pockets.
"You still haven't asked, have you?" Itachi mused.
"No, why would I? Whatever it is, I'm guessing it's the reason she struggles walking. So an accident in which she was injured must have been so terrible that it wasn't on the news, or more people would know. Something that terrible, I can just accept and move on. I don't need to know what led to the cane. I'll just keep acting like I'm afraid she's clumsy, like I have been." That was his plan anyway.
"I think she appreciates the discretion."
Hinata felt a shock of pain spread up her hip. She didn't understand it. What had she done? What could she have done to deserve something like this? Why did they have to pull her good leg out from under her?
Hinata lay collapsed entirely, trying to hide how much pain she really was in. She didn't understand what was happening. She looked up at the girl who tripped her. She made no effort to hide, simply flicking her hair and kept walking.
What had she done to deserve this?
"Whoa, mouse, what are you doing on the floor?" Kisame teased, but his face dropped when he saw her lip tremble. "I've got you." Kisame pulled her up onto her feet, putting her umbrella in her hand, before he let her go. There was no hiding it now, he knew. Kisame glared up and down the hall, making those who stopped to stare decide to look elsewhere. "Let's get you to class." Kisame bared his teeth at passing students.
Kisame clenched his hands on his desk, making a list of the students that were in the hall that could tell him who the hell thought it was okay to knock the girl who could barely walk to the ground.
"It's going to catch fire if you keep looking at it like that," Itachi sat down with his lunch.
"It's my fault he's angry," Hinata whispered.
Kisame growled. "No, it is not your fault." He knew his anger wasn't making her feel any better, but he didn't have control of his temper right now.
Itachi looked between them, growing concerned. "What happened?"
"Some little bitch tripped her in that hall, and I'll give you three guesses what that was about." Kisame held his fingers up to make his point.
Itachi closed his eyes, sighing and rubbing his temples.
"What?" Hinata put her hand on his forearm. She hadn't put it together yet.
"Sasuke," Itachi filled. "Sasuke was looking at you during practice."
"No, he always looks up at you to make sure you're watching." Hinata shook her head. "Always."
"Not the last few. His dumb followers took notice." Kisame waved his hand out. "And someone probably saw the love note on your desk."
"That's not even related." Hinata tried.
"I apologize, Hinata. I believe this is my fault. I reacted violently to his attention, and I must have noticeably caused a scene that made it look like he was, in some way, interested." Itachi pushed back his long hair. "I wasn't thinking about it."
"What are you talking about." Hinata looked lost.
Kisame locked eyes with Itachi. "Just tell her."
"My parents told him the nature of your arrival here." Hinata stiffened. "He only wanted to be polite, but I thought I should catch him before he said anything he would have regretted. I didn't think about how it would look to someone looking on." Itachi explained.
"In other words, it looked like he was warning Sasuke not to find interest in you. Which could piss off both sets of fans." Kisame explained.
Hinata's lip pouted out miserably. She couldn't fix this. "But I didn't do anything."
"Again, this is my fault. I'm sorry." Itachi repeated. "I should have considered the insane women in this school."
Hinata lowered her head into her arms. Her eyes etched her thoughts on the desk.
Itachi met his eyes and showed his own internal turmoil.
Kisame put a massive hand on her head. "Good news is I made a scene too." He lowered his head to her, giving her a toothy smile. "And I'll continue to. You've got a big blue bodyguard mouse."
"I don't like that you think that you're scary," Hinata whimpered. Always so sweet.
"Doesn't change the fact."