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oOo
Hinata heard the telltale knock on her window before Itachi climbed in. She set down her hairbrush and turned in her stool to face him. He quickly moved out of view from the window. She imagined she felt a frisson of chakra surrounding him and wondered if he was cloaking himself.
Sasuke climbing through her window was somewhat expected. The Daimyo and Sasuke had an understanding. But Itachi never visited her room. He made sure to keep up appearances for Hinata's sake. He never wanted the court to suspect Hinata of infidelity.
For a moment, Hinata and Itachi simply rested in the silence between them. Then, he cut through the distance and crouched in front of her. He pulled a small, silk pouch from his pants pocket and two letters from another pocket on his flak vest.
"I'm sorry I've been away from you recently," he murmured.
Hinata blinked back tears and fiddled with her hairbrush to keep from looking at him. "It's… it's okay. I, um, I've been busy with the preparations. Sasuke has been helping. And uh-"
He reached over and set a hand on hers. Her fingers froze in shock.
"I hurt your feelings, and I apologize."
She shook her head. "You have a complicated history with Konoha. I should have been more considerate."
He tilted his head to the side, his bangs sliding over his forehead. "So do you. Do you really want to go back?"
"My father never answered me. It's been over a month."
"That's not the question I asked, Hinata," he said softly, persistently. "Do you want to go back?"
Hinata looked helplessly around her. She lived in the lap of luxury. Her fiancé would be a powerful man one day. She would want for nothing, would need nothing.
But right outside these walls were women who would stop at nothing to bring her down. For instance, Hinata's reputation could be ruined if anyone knew that Itachi was here.
"I feel like my enemies might be a little more obvious," she responded finally. "If I lived in a nin village."
He nodded, gracing her with a little smile. "Indeed. That's why I brought you these."
Hinata accepted the pouch. When she opened it and saw the contents, she could not help but let out a gasp. Her fingers trembled only a little when she carefully pulled one of the earrings free. The post was silver, but the tiny beads stacked one by one on top each other were a pearlescent lavender. When she moved the earring, the fluid inside each bead swirled with glitter.
"Are these like Sasuke's?"
"Yes." Itachi confirmed. "You won't need chakra to use them. Just be careful of their range."
She could not find words to explain her gratitude. Clutching them close to her chest, she sought out a way to explain, but he began to hold out two envelopes to her.
"If you could please give these to my aunt. And to the Hokage. I…" Uncharacteristically, he paused, his lips turning down in a grimace. "I don't think I can leave my mother. Not while she's sick. But at least one of us can come visit."
Hinata accepted the letters. "You're thinking Sasuke can come visit me?"
"Hnn."
"I'll miss you," she admitted.
"You'll make new friends."
She huffed. "That doesn't mean I'll forget about you!"
Itachi laughed. He stood, and patted Hinata on the head. "Your guard is changing. I'll see you around, okay?"
"Please."
He walked to the window, before pausing. "Hinata?"
"Yes?"
"Make sure to make powerful friends. And make sure your new husband is your ally. Just like you did here."
Hinata admitted her fear. "He's not a kid. He's a grown man, what if he doesn't like me?"
Itachi covered his smile with a hand. "You're a very likeable person, Hinata."
Hinata watched him with a dubious frown as his chakra buzzed around him once more and he hopped out of her window.
oOo
Coming up: Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji hash things out.
Word count: 660
(2 chapters left until Shikamaru and Hinata meet.)