Day 23: Poetry spoken by a simple man/Courage found in a shy woman

Sasuke really shouldn't have been surprised of seeing Hinata arriving along with Shisui and Izumi.

"How in the world did you even…?" he started, before shaking his head, deciding it was not worth asking.

As if reading his thoughts, Shisui gave him a cheeky smile. "Why, I found Hinata-chan talking with Izumi, and of course I couldn't leave her out of a conversation that involves her brother-in-law, you know?" he told him while wiggling his eyebrows, as if that was a proper explanation.

Sasuke was unimpressed.

Before he could say anything though, Izumi stepped forward, talking directly to him. Her face showed an anxious expression, and she looked at him almost pleading. It made Sasuke feel bad.

"Sasuke, what happened to Itachi? Is he alright?" she asked, trying to control the tremble of her voice. That only made the boy feel even worse.

"Nii-san is… he's fine" he said, throwing a glare at Shisui. "Nothing bad happened to him, if that's what you're thinking. We just thought you should come because…"

Because Shisui knocked Itachi out and then tied him to an iron chair reinforced with seals, and was waiting in an isolated room in a warehouse located on the outskirts of the district and Izumi really should go and make everything right with him because every second they wasted was another where he could break free and then hunt him and Shisui down for what they did to him.

Instead he said; "because he wants to talk to you and fix everything, but we don't know how long until he changes his mind so…"

The flimsy excuse caused Izumi to blink, tilting her head as a small frown appeared on her delicate features. "Itachi wants to… talk to me?" she repeated, bewildered.

Sasuke nodded. "This is a great opportunity to tell him everything you think and feel as well, you know?"

Izumi kept frowning, before turning towards Shisui, who was standing there, relaxed as could be with his arms folded behind his head. He grinned at her.

"Listen to the boy. He speaks the truth" he said solemnly, but the effect was ruined because it was Shisui who said it. Izumi pursed her lips.

"I don't know what you did, or how you managed to convince Sasuke to get involved in it, but something tells me it was beyond stupid, and I should go calm Itachi down if only so he won't be too angry at Sasuke" the woman declared with a huff, before looking at him. "Sasuke, please guide me to where he is" she asked.

The boy did so quickly, feeling relieved that she would speak up for him. He could hear Shisui complaining from behind about how he should also be spared, but they ignored him.

Hinata came to walk alongside him.

"What did Shisui-san say to convince you to come?" were the first words he directed at her. He winced afterwards. He should've greeted her, not demand an answer to a question he could have asked later.

She, however, didn't seem fazed by it. "Actually… he didn't convince me. He just said that Itachi-san was in trouble and that I could come too, seeing as we're…" she left the sentence hanging.

Sasuke felt his skin tingling. Because they were dating, that's what she was going to say. Something about the word hit different now than it had before. He wasn't sure why. "Ah… so you came because…?"

"Because… if something actually happened to your brother, I wanted to be here for you" she answered shyly, glancing down and poking her index fingers together.

The tingling under his skin became worse. It was accompanied by heat. That's when he realized he was actually blushing.

He quickly looked away, trying to hide the most he could of his face with his bangs. "And what could you possibly have done, had something happened?" he couldn't help but ask, feeling exposed.

Hinata looked hurt, and he regretted his harsh question immediately. "Well, nothing, but…"

"Like the older brother ain't you?" Shisui, of course, intervened, his hand landing heavily on his head, messing up his hair. "Be a little more considerate, the little lady was worried."

"Get away from me!"

"I find Sasuke to be way better than Itachi in many aspects" Izumi said, voice flat, but her words caused all three to exchange a look. Without noticing this, she continued. "He never denied Hinata, now did he?"

"That's… no, he didn't" Hinata murmured. Izumi nodded.

"Is this where Itachi is?" she asked as they stopped in front of an old warehouse. There was a frown painting her face, and at his nod, she looked at Shisui with unrestrained anger. "Just what did you…?"

"Well, will you go inside or not?" he gestured towards the entrance dramatically, hand on his chest as he bowed. "Ladies first, of course."

"Are you going to enter as well?" Sasuke asked with surprise. Shisui rolled his eyes.

"I can also stay outside and allow Izumi not to demand any answers from Itachi as she will no doubt do" he directed a pointed look at her. She narrowed her eyes at him. "But I think it's in everyone's best interests that I enter and make him talk, don't you think?"

"I don't want you with us" the older girl hissed. Shisui sighed.

"Fine. Sasuke, you go."

"Huh?"

"Why does someone need to come?" Izumi asked, exasperated. Shisui looked at her impatiently.

"Are you going to drill him until he finally tells you what's wrong with him?" he countered, sounding biting for the first time in the entire conversation. His tone of voice gave Izumi pause, and she glanced at Sasuke once more before letting out a resigned sigh.

"Only if Sasuke agrees…" she relented. The boy frowned.

"I don't… I don't know if I can…" just the image of Itachi piercing through him with his sharingan was enough to send chills down his spine. He was in big trouble, he was aware of it… but he also knew that if Izumi and Itachi didn't solve their problems now and here, it would be infinitely worse for him.

He looked at Hinata, who widened her eyes.

"I… you want me to…?"

"…you said you were worried about me, right?"

In the end, Hinata didn't need much convincing. The three of them went inside, leaving Shisui behind, keeping watch to make sure no one approached the building while they were having their conversation.

The place was dark, but not enough not to see where they were going.

Honestly, Hinata wanted to laugh when she saw Itachi there, sitting chained to a chair with the same impassive face he wore every time she saw him by chance in the village. He looked unimpressed, and his eyes went directly to his little brother as soon as they came into sight.

"Finally decided to come in? I was getting bored here all by myself…" he drawled, head tilted slightly back.

He looked intimidating.

"What is the meaning of this? Why bring Izumi and Hinata into this?" he continued, eyes narrowed.

Sasuke took a step back, closer to her.

"It was Shisui-san's idea!" he defended himself. Itachi clicked his tongue.

"One you played along with marvelously."

"Well, if you had the guts to come out and say the truth maybe he wouldn't have had to!"

To everyone's surprise, it wasn't Sasuke who said this, in an exasperated, enraged tone.

It was Izumi.

She walked up to him, stomping loudly, fists clenched by her sides with an expression Hinata had never seen on her face. Izumi was usually calm and soft, always with a little, almost secret smile as if she didn't want the world to see, but this was different. She was angry, angrier than Hinata thought a woman like her could be.

Itachi was also stunned.

"Izumi…"

"Why are you even chained like this? Why did Shisui find the need to do that? Is it really that hard just telling me to my face why you don't want to be with me?" she had tears in her eyes as she shouted this. She had already reduced the distance between the two of them, and she was standing right in front of him, breaths heavy and shoulders trembling.

Itachi had no option but to look up at her. "That's…"

Hinata glanced at Sasuke, who was as astounded as she was. She got a little closer. "Maybe Izumi-san doesn't need your help after all?"

He looked at her, before turning back towards those two. "I would hope so… but Izumi-san might lose steam, so maybe…"

Maybe they should stay a little more. Hinata understood, and although uncomfortable, nodded and looked at them as well.

"What?! Say it already! Or can't the oh-so-great Uchiha Itachi state what's on his mind?" Izumi was slouching forward, and Hinata saw what Sasuke meant by losing steam. She still looked angry, but she looked tired as well.

To Itachi's benefit, he didn't look away. He maintained eye contact with Izumi, his eyes wide and surprised.

It was another second before he opened his mouth. "I don't know what you want me to tell you. There is… there is nothing to say."

Izumi's shoulders slumped, and Hinata saw the moment all the fight left her.

"Is that all, really?" she asked, sounding completely drained.

Itachi looked at her, and then, finally broke eye contact by closing his eyes. "There's nothing else to say, Izumi. I'm sorry for leading you on all this time… it wasn't right of me. You don't have to forgive me, of course, but at the very least…"

"Stop that!"

Sasuke stepped forward, interrupting Itachi and looking absolutely annoyed. Hinata gasped, and by the way Izumi and Itachi also looked at him with their jaws hanging open, she was right to assume it wasn't common at all for the little brother to do something like that to the older one.

"Sasuke…?" Izumi was the one to ask, but a shake of the boy's head had her close her mouth.

"You like Izumi-san, nii-san, you told me yourself. And you also told me the reason you don't pursue anything serious with her. But that's not fair! You can't decide for other people all the time! And then you have the gall to feel miserable about it! About the consequences of your own actions! Give me a break!"

Sasuke breathed hard after he was done, his pose a combative one as he stared at his brother in defiance, as if daring him to say anything to contradict or undermine what he just said. Itachi did no such thing, simply staring at him, not with shock or anger, but in contemplation, as if he was mulling over his words.

Izumi was the first to speak. "Is that true, Itachi? Do you… like me?" she asked, sounding small and vulnerable. Itachi's eyes went from his little brother to her, and this time his face took on a sorrowful expression.

He didn't talk though, and that caused Izumi to sigh. "Even now you insist on being stubborn?"

"Even if I tell you the truth, it won't make a difference" he whispered. Izumi shook her head.

"Well, shouldn't I be the one to decide?"

"You wouldn't care. You'd still want to be with me."

"Now, aren't you confident?" she said with a small smile, before getting serious again. "Tell me."

There was stubbornness on Itachi's face, but also resignation. He hung his head before starting to talk. "Your position inside the clan is already precarious as it is… you are being ostracized by things that aren't your fault. If you were to be with me… it would just make things more difficult for you. I don't want us to be together, and then, when things are too much, have to leave you to protect you…. Have you leave me because I couldn't protect you…"

Hinata heard Itachi's explanation… and something inside her clenched painfully. Of course, as member of a clan, and child of the head at that, she understood what Itachi was talking about without need of any more details. It had come to her attention a few times, seeing as she was… dating Sasuke, but she supposed that, because they were so young, no one really cared about them… for now.

It wasn't the case for Itachi and Izumi. The two were adults, and any relationship they had was bound to be taken a lot more seriously than theirs. It was still something to think about, maybe in the future if they still…

"That's it?" Izumi's voice cut off her line of thought. She was looking at Itachi with furrowed brows, clearly in disbelief. "That's the reason you… that all this time, you…"

"Do you believe it to be nothing?" he asked, serious. Izumi pursed her lips.

"I've been discriminated against my whole life. This is nothing I'm not used to."

"Still, if we…"

"No, don't you get it?" she sounded desperate, all of a sudden. With another step forward, she was in Itachi's personal space, taking a hold of his face and making him look at nothing but her. "It's true it hurts, and that I don't like it… but if it was for you, for something worthy, I wouldn't mind it. I wouldn't mind it" she repeated, for herself and for him. "But you can't take the option away from me. If you like me… if what you feel for me is real… then please, don't decide for me what I can take and what I cannot."

Hinata couldn't see Itachi's face, with Izumi covering him, but when he spoke, his voice was weaker than she had ever heard it. "And what if you can't take it? What if you decide I'm not worth it in the end?"

"Is the great Uchiha Itachi scared?" Izumi's words should've sounded teasing. They came out melancholic instead.

"Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not. I'm asking seriously."

"For a long time, I thought the only way for me to live was to follow my duty, to sacrifice anything in its name. Back when we were children I would've… I would've done anything they told me to do. Without questioning. Without looking back. But then, after spending more time with you I realized…" at this point, he took a shuddering breath, and Hinata could only imagine what kind of expression he was making.

"I realized that duty wasn't everything, that I could make my own choices. Back then, I made fun of you because of your dream of becoming a shinobi that was capable of kindness, but after seeing you fight so hard for your rightful place, to stand tall despite the odds and defy duty and honor if it meant doing what you thought was right… I couldn't feel the same way anymore. And for that reason, if being with me meant you had to suffer because of the archaic system of our clan… I wouldn't be able to stand being the reason duty and honor finally won over you. To be the reason your light extinguishes."

"You…" Izumi's voice sounded wet. Was she perhaps crying? "You can't say all of this… and still expect me not to choose you."

"Izumi…"

"No, don't try to convince me! Itachi, can't you trust me a little? Trust that I'll be strong enough to be by your side?"

"…I trust that you are strong…"

"Then act like it! I don't need you to protect me! I can do that perfectly well on my own! But if you trust me, if you really think all those things you said about me, then allow me to make my own choice, to stand by it, with you! Even if things get difficult, I can take it! And when it looks like I won't… you will be there, right? With me?"

"…I will, you know I will."

"In that case, stop hiding, and stop avoiding me. I… we can make it. Together. You do love me, right? Because I do. I've loved you since we were children, and if you were to turn away, even now, after all you've told me… then I wouldn't be able to take it. Do you understand?"

In that moment, Hinata turned away, her face burning. Sasuke looked the same, his eyes fixed on the couple but his body frozen in place. It seemed the passionate confession had been a little too much for their teen hearts, and Hinata understood their purpose had been overridden by this point.

The most sensible thing to do would be to leave. She poked Sasuke on the side, communicating this with her eyes, and he nodded, in accordance with her.

As they were making their way outside, however, they could hear a final declaration, coming from Itachi. "I understand. I… I love you, too…"

They fled even quicker from there.

Shisui took a glance at them, and smiled.

"It seems things are going great in there! Did they start making out or what?"

"Shut up" Sasuke dragged a hand over his face, hoping to take the blush away with this action. It obviously wasn't working, but at least it managed to cover up how embarrassed he felt.

He had never heard his brother sound like that. He couldn't decide if it was something good or if he was better off never knowing.

By his side, Hinata fidgeted, her face as red, if not more, than his. "They… they seem to have made up…" she told Shisui in a small voice.

The older man nodded. "Good, good, then this wasn't all for nothing. At least when Itachi comes to hunt me down, I can hold this over him as a small consolation price" he nodded a few more times, arms crossed in a pose of satisfaction.

Sasuke frowned. "Hunt you down?"

"Ahh, right, I meant hunts us down. Almost forgot you were an accomplice" Shisui added casually. Sasuke felt a small chill running down his back.

"No, but… but Itachi and Izumi made up…"

"And you think that'll be enough to spare us? Please, you know your brother better than that."

He did know Itachi better than that. Shit.

"Anyway, since things are calm for now, I think I'm gonna go home and take a little nap. Y'know, to save energy and all that" Shisui patted him on the shoulder, and then patted Hinata on the head, who squeaked at the unexpected gesture. "When you're past the shock, I would recommend you do the same. Until later!"

And with that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving him, Hinata, and his horrifying realization behind.

Hinata placed a small hand on his shoulder. "It's alright… Itachi-san loves you very much, and from what I understand most of the fault lies in Shisui-san anyway, so…"

"Ugh…" he covered his face with his hands, not bothering to tell her that was all the same for Itachi. Plus, he had called him out in front of Izumi… and to top it all, he had been present during most of that very private and intimate conversation. Sure, Hinata had been there as well, but it would be him who would be held accountable, not her.

This was going to be a nightmare.

"Better to do as Shisui-san says and rest a little now. I will need the energy for later" if only to be able to bear the brunt of Itachi's vengeance, because he sure as hell wouldn't be able to flee or fight back. Not against his older brother at least.

He started walking away, unconsciously expecting Hinata to follow him… but when he didn't hear anything, he turned, seeing her still standing there, a complicated expression on her face.

"Hinata?" he asked, a bit concerned.

She bit her lower lip, her eyes fixed on some point beyond the warehouse. "I… Sasuke-kun?"

"What is it?" he faced her completely, a little perplexed at her behavior. She seemed just fine seconds ago, so why did she look as if she had swallowed a lemon, all of a sudden?

"Sasuke-kun, you… what do you think about what Izumi-san told Itachi-san?" she asked. He frowned, not understanding, so she clarified. "About trusting each other… and allowing the other to make their own choices."

He was even more confused than before. But maybe things would make sense if he just let them, and so he took a moment to think over his answer.

"I think she's right. Itachi likes to make decisions for people all the time, because he always believes himself to know better. And it might be that he does know better most of the time… but not always, and even if he does, that still doesn't mean he can go tell or make others do what he wants… why do you ask?" he questioned, not sure if he wanted to wait until she gathered her thoughts to tell him what was on her mind.

Hinata frowned. The frown became more pronounced with every second she took to answer, and suddenly a small drop of blood fell from her lips as she was still biting them. Sasuke took a step forward, his hand rising unconsciously to put a stop to her self-harm, but he wasn't allowed to.

That's because Hinata spoke, saying something utterly ridiculous. Or, at least, it should have been ridiculous, if only it didn't make so much sense.

"The love letter, the one I gave you last year… it was actually for Naruto-kun. Not you."