I do not own Naruto.

This one is for my beloved reader Hinata Kei! Thank you so much for being a loyal reader! I hope you enjoy this!

Age 6:

Small fingers twiddled with the hem of her sleeve, she was nervous about standing before the tall man but it wasn't like she could turn and run. He held a fearsome demeanor and a stern look on his face as he leaned down to crouch before her. The six year old was not sure why he was looking at her so intently, but she wished he would back away. "So, you're sure this is what you want?" he asked and looked back up to where her father was standing by her side. Her father nodded and the man sighed and ruffled her hair gently. She winced slightly but blushed when he called her sweet girl. "Young one, is this what you want as well?" he asked and she snapped her head up at him in surprise. No one had ever asked her opinion on something before.

"Y-yes sir... anything for my father." She said and the man offered her a smile and ruffled her hair again. She didn't quite understand what was really going on, but the look of pride her father held made her feel better about the entire situation. She knew this was what her father wanted so who was she to disobey? "Then let me go get him and introduce you two." He said and he stood to his full height once more and turned away from her. she looked back up to her father who crouched before her and patted her on the head gently.

"Thank you, my sweet daughter... this is how you can serve the Hyuuga well my dear." He said and she nodded. Anything for her father, she wanted to continue to see him proud of her no matter what. She turned back to look at the sliding doors before her and saw the man return with two young boys. One was twice her age and the other was the same age. She looked at the older one and a deep blush covered her cheeks as she noticed how he was looking at her. That smile on his lips made her chest flutter. In her eyes he was so pretty.

The man urged the younger one forward and she blushed and fiddled with her fingers once more. "Miss Hinata, this is Sasuke, he will be your husband when you get older." The man said and her blush darkened as she continued fiddling with her fingers. The word husband kept fluttering through her young mind and she couldn't handle it. she would have to do mommy and daddy things with him... like cook dinner... the young child was overwhelmed with this information.

"But I don't know how to cook." She stammered and all the adults around her began laughing, which she didn't understand why. To be a husband in wife you had to know how to cook or else you didn't eat... she liked to eat... "Oh sweetie, you won't have to worry about cooking for some time. Right now, you two are going to be best friends first." The woman said and Hinata nodded. She could do that. She could be friends with him. She offered her hand out to him and he tackled her in a hug. "I'm Sasuke! I want to be your friend!" he said and she blushed darkly as he pulled her back to her feet.

"Do you wanna go chase frogs? We have some by the stream over there!" he exclaimed and she looked up to her father who nodded and ushered her away with the swipe of a hand. She looked back to the boy and he took her hand and pulled her over to the stream to show her all the frogs swimming within. She dipped one of her feet into the water and giggled at the feeling of the water soaking through her shoe. As she was enjoying the feeling of being in the water, Sasuke ran up behind her and grinned at her with something behind his back. "Look!" he exclaimed and she turned to face him fully, only for him to pull a water frog out from behind his back.

She leaned forward and looked at the little thing with a curious gaze, only for it to hop out of his grasp and jump onto her face. This made her squeal and fall backwards into the water. He stood there and laughed at her while holding his stomach she puffed out her cheeks and swiped her hand up in the water sending some directly at him. He tumbled over backwards and stared at her in shock as he too fell into the water. Only he then started laughing loudly and so she did as well. After what felt like hours of nothing but chasing each other around in the water the sun began to set and their respective parents came to separate the two of them.

:-:-:

They had gotten an entire year of this and it was pure bliss between the two of them. Itachi had always looked after them and taken them on little adventures around the village. Such as the time they went to go fishing in the river with him.

:-:-:

Hinata watched as Itachi showed them once more how to bait their fishing poles. "Itachi-kun look!" Hinata chirped as she stepped out onto the water ever so shakily. She was so proud of herself for finally being able to walk on the water like he could. She noticed he was smiling at her and she grinned back at him, just as Sasuke tried to walk on the water too, but he fell in almost immediately. She rushed over to him and offered him a hand which he took with a bashful look plastered to his features.

"I thought it would be easy..." he grumbled and she giggled at him softly. "It will be when you know how to do it, I promise." She whispered and he nodded as she helped him up out of the water. Itachi chuckled at the antics of the two, seeing Hinata rubbing Sasuke's face dry with her sleeve while he batted her arms away in embarrassment. Itachi had been the best older friend she ever could have asked for and it showed that he adored the both of them every time they hung out.

Itachi brushed the hair out of her face and jabbed her in the forehead ever so gently with two fingers. "Stop pressing him. If he wants to be soaked, let him catch a cold." He chastised lightly and she blushed and nodded as she pulled her sleeves up her arms, and away from Sasuke's face. Sasuke stuck his tongue out at her and she sent him a dirty look right back. Itachi only chuckled once more at the two of them, making them blush in embarrassment. She took the fishing pole she was offered and cast it out into the water, just as Sasuke had before her. When she felt a tugging at her pole she jumped into reeling it in with a soft yank.

Itachi reached around her and held her pole tightly as to help her and she blushed as he gave her a short nod, but he said nothing. Sasuke caught a fish of his own but was giving her a dirty look the entire time. She showed him her fish in excitement but he looked away from her and crossed his arms over his chest. Her lip trembled and tears filled her eyes, she didn't know what she had done wrong. She continued to sniffle as she dropped her arms and let the fish fall into the fish bucket they had there.

She continued to sniffle even when Itachi ruffled her hair gently, and scolded Sasuke, who continued to give her the cold shoulder the entire afternoon. She had never had him so angry at her and her not know why. She sulked the entire way home and when her mother and father came into sight, she ran to them and hugged them tightly and began crying. Sasuke continued to ignore her and cross her arms over his chest. Itachi however decided to explain what had happened to her parents so they wouldn't worry.

"He got a little jealous because I was helping Hinata fish and not him when he already knows how. You'll have to forgive me, they'll be friends again by tomorrow." He mused and she wiped her eyes with her sleeves and rushed to give Sasuke a hug, who blushed and tried to shove her away. "Please don't be mad at me, you're my best friend..." she sobbed and he tried his best to keep his composure, but as the kids they were, he couldn't and he hugged her back just as tightly.

"We will always be best friends no matter what..." he said and she sniffled into his shirt softly.

:-:-:

These were the memories she chose to remember and cherish, because after Itachi had murdered his clan, nothing was ever the same again.

:-:-:

Age 7:

She watched as the hokage brought Sasuke to her home. His eyes were blank and devoid of all emotion. She couldn't tell what was wrong, but whatever had happened wasn't good. He was a shell of his former self. She made her way over to him and reached for his hands but he yanked them away from her and refused to let her touch him. She backed away from him and made her way over to where her parents were consoling one another. She looked up to see her mother crying and her father with rage on her features.

Sasuke didn't want to be touched and her parents were upset... something really horrible must have happened. "What happened?' she asked softly and her mother crouched before her and hugged her tightly. "Sasuke's family passed away sweetie... he has to come live with us now." She said and Hinata bit her lip gently. "Where is Itachi?" she asked and they all looked at her sadly. "Itachi is a monster." Sasuke snarled and she turned on him immediately and fisted her hands by her sides.

"No he isn't!! They're lying he would never do such a thing!" she screamed and he slapped her. Her face burned from where he had hit her and tears filled her eyes once more. "If you love him so much, why don't you go marry him!" Sasuke yelled and took off into her house, but she just stood there holding her face with those burning tears in her eyes. She knew Itachi had some reasoning for what he had done... he had loved his family more than anything...

He wasn't a monster... she refused to believe that. However, her family chastised her and told her to never speak Itachi's name around them again. She rubbed her eyes and ran into her home as well, only to see Sasuke crying in her bed. She made her way over to him and curled up beside him as he cried. She wrapped her arms around him and cried with him. "I'm so sorry..." she whimpered as he clung to her with everything he had.

After he had stopped crying enough to speak, he pulled away from her embrace ever so slowly. "Hinata... I saw him... I know he did it..." he whispered and she nodded. "I'm sorry I doubted you..." she whispered softly and he shook his head as he rubbed her reddened cheek. "I'm sorry I hit you and said that to you." He said and she shook her head. "You don't have to be sorry..." she said and he frowned as his lip trembled once more. She hugged him tightly and told him everything was going to be ok because he was her family now and nothing would ever hurt him again. Even though she couldn't promise that she would do her best.

:-:-:

She had lost him and there was nothing she could do to stop it...

:-:-:

Age 12:

He was angry all the time anymore and would fight the other students or call them stupid. She had found herself in the middle of their fights more often than not and that had toughened her up some. One particular day she had interrupted a fight between him and Naruto and had gotten hit by Sasuke. "You should stay out of the way Hinata, I don't need you to protect me." He snapped and she offered him a small glare as she clutched her face. "You idiot, I'm not protecting you." She snapped and he stared at her in surprise.

"Then stay out of it." he snarled and swung at her once more, but she ducked under his hit and struck back this time. He was caught off guard as his arm fell limply to his side. She stood before Naruto in an offensive stance. She was not going to let him bully the blonde any longer. Not that she cared about the blonde in any way other than friendship, but the fact Sasuke was taking his anger out on everyone else was the issue. "This is why I could never love you." Sasuke snapped and Hinata's stance faltered as he stepped forward and shoved her.

"You always care so much more about everyone else than you ever do me... you never believed me when I said Itachi did it and you still don't believe me now... you were always so enamored with a traitor that you could never be anything for me." He snapped and shoved her again. "You're wrong... I did love you..." Hinata whispered as she allowed Sasuke to get close to her once more. "It was always Itachi and you can't see it... you were always chasing after him and leaving me behind and you still are..." he said as he jabbed a finger into her sternum roughly.

"That's why I'm breaking off the engagement... because you could never see past him." Sasuke said and her eyes widened as she stared at him. She really did love him, it was a shame that he couldn't see it. She had devoted the last six years of her life to him and yet he could never look past his hatred of his older brother to see it. before Hinata could stop herself, her hand found its way to his cheek. Her hand stung and she was sure his cheek felt the same.

"I spent years of my life devoted to you and only you... and this is how you've ever treated me. You should be ashamed." She whispered as she turned away from him. She decided she wasn't going to sit in class with him today so she excused herself past the teacher who had just arrived and made her way home. She rushed inside her house and made her way to her mother, where she broke down and cried. Her mother stroked her hair lovingly and tried her best to calm her down but Hinata wouldn't stop crying.

"What's wrong my dear?" her mother asked and she continued to sob into her mother's sleeve. "H-he broke off the engagement..." she sobbed and her mother stared at her in shock. "Why would he do that?" she managed to ask and Hinata shook her head. "He said it was because I could never stop defending everyone else and that I was never there for him." She stammered softly and her mother ran her fingers through her hair softly. "Well he is a fool..."

It wasn't long after that day that the chunin exams began... and not long after that he had vanished in the night never to return home again. Hinata knew exactly what he was going to do... he was going to get strong enough to kill Itachi, so she had to get strong enough to save him.

:-:-:-: Present time :-:-:-:

Kakashi watched Hinata carefully, he understood she was nervous about the mission, but her incessant fidgeting was beginning to wear on his nerves. "Hinata, calm down please." He pleaded with her softly, only this made her blush and nod. She stopped her fidgeting and he released a sigh. He was grateful she had finally stopped plucking at the hem of her coat at least. "You understand what we are doing right?" he asked and she nodded. She knew exactly what they were here for...

An Akatsuki member had been spotted near Tanzaku town and she was supposed to help lure him out. They chose Hinata specifically for the purpose of this one was evasive and had a tendency to show up where Hinata was concerned. He had saved her multiple times before and the last time he had saved her he had been spotted by Kurenai. She had found herself in a multitude of situations where she had needed to be saved and yet this man always seemed to show up right at the right time. Deep down she knew who it was, but she didn't want to tell anyone that it was Itachi.

He had been looking out for her ever since they were young and she couldn't bring herself to think of what would happen if he did show up to rescue her again. She could only feel her heartbeat thudding in her chest. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, thinking about all the times Itachi had been there for her. Technically even after he had killed his family and she should have never met with him, she had. She would always come when he called. And now... She was brought here for the purpose of catching this Akatsuki and nothing else. She was bait.

She didn't like that one bit...

Sasuke was already out here running rampant in his rage and she couldn't even stop him when she had seen him. He had no other priorities other than killing Itachi, her friendship with him mattered nothing to him when it came to that. She had pleaded with Sasuke time and time before and yet the most hurtful response she would ever get from him was along the lines of 'Even if you were in love with him I would still kill him.' She had never thought she had been in love with Itachi, but she had definitely admired the older man. She had aspired to be strong like him and wanted nothing but to be friends with him, but he always treated her like a little sister. And Sasuke always accused her of being in love with him.

Her eyes slipped shut as she envisioned him, tall and kind, no matter what he had been through as a child. She smiled as she thought about the time that he had tucked a small flower behind her ear and told her to run along. Itachi was a gentle soul and she knew he needed to be saved at all costs. She looked over at Kakashi and Naruto and frowned. They were here to capture him and she couldn't let that happen no matter what. She had to save him so he could live another day. She knew what she was planning was treason, but the life of her friend was at stake here...

"Ok what do you want me to do?" she asked and they nodded to her. She was ready for this. They henged into Iwa nin and told her to run. She burst from the small alleyway and took off running as fast as she could. She desperately hoped Itachi wouldn't show, he didn't need to show up for her... She breathed a sigh of relief when it was, in fact, not Itachi that showed up to save her. She was scooped up by the tall man and he took off running. "What have you gotten yourself into this time, little one?" he asked and she blushed. He obviously knew she was akin to trouble though. If this man she had never met knew she was always needing to be saved she was embarrassed about that.

She looked to see how far back they were from her and she looked the blue skinned man in the eyes and frowned. "This is a trap. Tell Itachi to run." She whispered and his eyes widened a fraction, his grin pulling down into a frown. He was silent for a moment as he continued to run but after that excruciating silence a smirk tugged at his lips once more. "Guess you're coming with us then." He said and her eyes went wide as she looked back at Kakashi who was now sending jutsu their way to try and stop the man.

"Kakashi Hatake... what a pleasure." He said only to spin and pull his sword from his back and unravel it from its bindings. Before she could even react, she was back on her feet with the blade to her neck. She could feel each individual scale moving against her body and her heart began to race. "I will kill the girl... you should back off and regroup." He chuckled and they dispelled their henges as soon as he called them out. "Especially since you don't know where Itachi is..." he said and moved the blade closer to her.

"Leave me!" Hinata yelled, but Naruto took a step forward and opened his mouth to call out to her, but a blade found its way to his neck as well. Her breath hitched as she took in the sight of the man who had just appeared. It was Itachi who had been saving her all this time... his bamboo hat lifted to show blaring red eyes and that was it. Kakashi put his weapon away and held both hands up into the air. He accepted defeat fairly easily after Itachi showed up. Kakashi watched her intently and her lip trembled as she felt the blade dig in further to her skin though her clothes.

The blade was removed from Naruto's throat but his body crumpled to the ground with one swift hit but only after Itachi whispered something into his ear. Hinata released a small yelp as she too was struck across the neck. Her vision blurred and the last thing she saw was Kakashi dropping to the ground as well.

:-:-:-:

Naruto groaned as he sat up and looked around him. They had still been laying in the middle of the road where Itachi and Kisame had left them. "Dammit." He grumbled only to look around once more and look for Kakashi. When he saw him he groaned once more. "How did they know Naruto?" he asked and the blonde shrugged his shoulder as he rubbed his neck. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened but he knew something was wrong.

He looked around once more and slammed his fists into the dirt. Hinata was gone and they had taken her. "Dammit all!" he growled as he slammed his fists down once more. "So, you realize what happened." Kakashi sighed then stood. "He said she would be safe. So where is she?" Naruto snapped and Kakashi shrugged. "Right now, we just have to be grateful they didn't take you. So, something else was on their agenda and it wasn't you." Kakashi explained and Naruto frowned.

They made their way back to Konoha and it was hell the moment they arrived. Turns out they had received word of what had happened to Hinata before they could even get to them to tell them. They were immediately called into the hokage's office and when they got there they weren't alone. Hiashi hyuuga was also in the room. Tsunade sighed and pinched her brow as she waited for them all to pile in. "Do you understand what you have done?" she asked and they shook their heads. "Hinata wasn't supposed to actually get taken granny... that wasn't the plan." Naruto said and her fist hit the desk angrily. "You idiot! She was never supposed to go, someone who looked like her was!" she snapped and both of them exchanged looks. "You said someone that looked like Hinata so we took her with us... how was I supposed to know the difference?" Naruto asked and Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose once more.

"This is what Hinata wanted!" Hiashi yelled and Naruto flinched away from the man slightly. He couldn't understand why the man was so angry, Itachi said she would be safe with him, speaking of which he should really say something about that. "But... he said she would be safe with him..." Naruto said and all eyes landed on him. He couldn't help but feel small under all the gazes that bore down on him. "Precisely... the engagement between Hinata and Sasuke was never going to last because Itachi and Hinata always had eyes for each other. Hinata has betrayed us. That is why he was always there to save her when she needed it." Hiashi explained and Naruto's eyes widened slightly.

"Hinata has betrayed us?" he asked and Tsunade frowned as she folded her hands in front of her. "Yes." Hiashi said and Tsunade shook her head. "No. She has not." Tsunade bit out and Hiashi looked at her oddly. "She has not betrayed us, because Itachi never did either." She said as she pulled scrolls from her desk and offered them to the group before her. "He was assigned a mission to assassinate the entire Uchiha clan. Somehow Hinata got a hold of these scrolls and brought this to my attention. I'm not saying she wasn't wrong for stealing the scrolls or for getting herself captured by them, but she brought something to my attention that needed to be. And now she is doing her best to save him from Sasuke, who will kill him the moment he sees them." Tsunade explained and Naruto frowned.

"Why can't we just go save them! All of them!?" he snapped and she sighed and glanced down to the bottle of sake that was waiting for them to leave. How she desperately wished she could drink it now. "Because we don't know when Sasuke will strike... and Itachi is still a spy in the Akatsuki right now... we can't pull him out or he will be killed and so will she. So, for now we wait to see what happens." She said as Hiashi continued to read over the scrolls.

"All this time... Hinata was right about him..." he whispered as he handed the scrolls back to Tsunade. "I... need to apologize to her." he said and Tsunade offered a small smile. "You will get the chance because I told her she was supposed to bring him home one day. I didn't know she took that as right now." Tsunade sighed and brushed her fingers over the lid to the bottle beside her leg. She wanted that bottle so bad right about now.

"Now... since we have all calmed down, we can proceed to agree that you are both fools and move on." Tsunade sighed and Kakashi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It's all going according to plan though, and she will bring him home to us because she is the only one who can. Little does she know this fact." She said and the group looked at her once more in silence. "I am assigning you all to a detail that is going to track them down and bring them both home, preferably with Sasuke in tow."

:-:-:-:

Hinata's eyes fluttered open and she sat up swiftly. She looked around her to see if they had left her behind or actually taken her like they said they were going to. She looked up and saw someone slumped against a tree across from her. she bit her lip and looked down to her hands. She could feel the scolding gaze from across the distance. "What have you done?" he asked and she ducked her head even more. She hadn't wanted to make him mad, but she didn't want him to be captured either.

"Do you have so little faith in me that you would think a trick like that would work?" he asked and she shook her head at him, still avoiding the ebony gaze that was locked on her. "Then why?" he asked and she continued to look at her hands, but a hand came into her line of sight and lifted her chin gently. when she met his gaze she could see he wasn't upset like she had originally thought, but more so curious. "I wanted to save you..." she whispered and an amused huff escaped him, as well as the man behind her.

"Don't laugh at me... you're always saving me... I wanted to return the favor at least once." She said with an annoyed huff and Itachi rolled his eyes at her. He wasn't taking her seriously and it was getting on her nerves. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him. "How do you know it was me that was saving you?" he said and she blushed and looked back to him to see he was genuinely curious. Seemed he had thought he had been sneaky when he was saving her. In all reality he had been, but nothing hides from her eyes. She didn't even have to say it before he realized how she knew it was him.

"I see... that dreadful ability of yours." He sighed and readjusted to sit back against the tree he was propped up against. "Do you know why I always saved you?" he asked and she shook her head. "It was because if anyone could help my brother it would be you..." he said softly and Hinata frowned. "Sasuke broke off the engagement years ago..." she said and his eyes widened ever so slightly. "What why?" he asked and she frowned and looked down to her fingers once more. "He said that I always defended everyone else and never him..." she said and Itachi sighed and muttered a 'fool' under his breath.

"What am I missing here?" Kisame asked and Itachi turned to him with a frown. "Old village issues... She was betrothed to my younger brother and he broke it off." he explained softly and Hinata nodded as he explained this. "Well, we better get moving. Preferably before they decide they wanna follow us." Kisame said and the two of them stood and began walking. Hinata lingered behind and Itachi stopped and turned to face her with a curious glance.

"Are you not coming with us Hinata?" he asked and her eyes widened as he extended a hand to her. Memories of all the times he had offered her his hand when she had fallen when she were younger flickered through her mind and in his place stood the younger version of him that had offered her that hand. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed his hand gently in her own. "Always scrambling for my hand." He mused lightly and she blushed as she pulled her hand away from his. She followed behind them silently but she couldn't help but just watch him.

She could see it now... why Sasuke was always so jealous about her friendship with Itachi... it was because it was something more that she had never realized. Something she could never see before but Sasuke always had. No wonder he was so angry with her all the time... she would be jealous too if the one she was supposed to marry was in love with someone else, much less their older sibling. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered slightly as the rain began to fall. The sudden chill in the air made it all the more unbearable.

Before she could make a sound to complain about the cold a warm cloak found its way around her shoulders. She looked up to see that Itachi was walking in front of her once more, but without his cloak on. She smiled softly as she pulled the cloak up and over her head to protect her from the rain. "Thank you." She whispered and he nodded as he continued to walk. They traveled for hours through the night and eventually found an inn to rest at. She followed them inside and was surprised to not see her picture plastered everywhere. Did they not care that she was gone?

She looked to Itachi and saw that the same question was residing there in his dark eyes. They had plenty of time to put up missing posters for her in this town so why hadn't they? "Perhaps they don't want anyone to know you're missing." He offered and she frowned as she looked over to him. Before she could say anything, he spoke once more. "Kind of shameful to have two heirs from prominent clans both missing, don't you think?" he asked and she nodded. She could understand why they wouldn't want that knowledge getting out to the masses.

She followed them to their room and she folded his cloak up neatly on the edge of the bed and sighed. She didn't know what she was doing here in the first place. This was what she had wanted... to be near him and be able to help him if he needed it, but what could she do? She was still that weak little girl in his eyes. The one who needed help pulling a fish up out of the water... she had to prove to him that she wasn't that little girl anymore somehow. She wanted him to notice her and not like the little sister he had always treated her as.

Her heart fluttered at the idea of being in the same room as him even now. Her gaze drifted up to him and he was taking his hat off and hanging it on the wall. He looked over to her and she averted her gaze, eliciting a small chuckle from the man. "She's cute Itachi. A little awkward but cute." Kisame said and she blushed and twiddled her fingers once more. She had not been expecting that from the Shark man in the slightest. Itachi said nothing but he left the room. She watched him go silently and sighed. A massive weight on her bed signed the Shark man's presence next to her.

"Why do you care so much about him?" he asked and she smiled softly. "I... I grew up looking up to him, no matter what he did I will always see the boy who offered me a hand every time I fell. Or helped me get dried off when Sasuke and I would play in the creek even though we were told not to." She said and looked up to the ceiling. "And I will never forget the man who saved me time and time again no matter the cost or risk to himself." She said and the large man ruffled her hair. For someone of the Akatsuki he didn't seem to be as ruthless a killer as he were made out to be. But she could still be mistaken.

"Is that why you love him?" he asked and her cheeks flushed red once more. She wasn't expecting it to be so easy for someone to see. "N-no..." she said and he chuckled as he stood. "I hate to break it to you kid, but there's no room for love in the business we are in." Kisame said and she nodded. She knew this much. Love was a weakness to them, another person to look after and protect. "I can hold my own, I promise... I'm not a weak little girl like I used to be." She said softly and he frowned at her.

He didn't think she was catching the hint.

She had caught it loud and clear, she just wanted him to understand she wasn't going to be forced to leave their group until she knew Itachi was safe either way. He underestimated her determination. "Get some sleep kiddo, you're going to need it." he said and she nodded as he walked out of the room. She laid down on the mattress and felt the weight of her eyelids bearing down on her. she released a small sigh as she used his cloak as a pillow and allowed her eyes to slip shut.

:-:-:-:

Itachi sighed as he gathered ingredients from the store. He was going to have to make her something to eat since she couldn't really be seen out and about right now. Not until they managed to get her a disguise or something. She was too much of a liability walking around with them as she was. She was a beacon of attention the way she was dressed as she walked around with them. He sighed as he placed more ingredients into his basket, only to frown as he looked up to his right to see Kisame standing right there. "Yes?" he asked and the large man only raised a brow.

"Housewarming, are we?" he asked and Itachi released a sigh. "We can't have her be seen with us if she doesn't match us." He said and Kisame released a sigh at this. "We can't have her following us everywhere Itachi... she's in love with you." Kisame said and Itachi's fingers lingered on an apple for a second before he picked it up and placed it in the basket. He said nothing to confirm or deny that he had heard Kisame, but the man didn't need confirmation he already knew that kisame had heard him.

"And when she gets killed because she wont defect from her village? What will you do then, Itachi?" Kisame asked and Itachi frowned, but still gave no response to the man. he was having trouble dealing with his own feelings about the situation. He couldn't just abandon her, but he couldn't stop protecting her either. He knew he had fallen in love with the younger woman despite him trying to keep his distance. He never was very good at that, seeing as every time she fell he was right there to pick her back up.

His eyes slipped shut and he sighed once more as Kisame placed a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want her to get hurt." He said softly and Kisame squeezed his shoulder lightly, only to pull his hand away. "Then you know what you have to do." He said and Itachi nodded. He had to make sure she got home safe. He knew what his fate would ultimately be, and he was fine with that. He was doomed to die by his younger brother's hand and he was willing to succumb to that fate. "Fine. We will take her back to the village." Itachi said and turned to look over at Kisame who nodded to him and turned to head back to the room. Only... when he turned he saw a familiar set of pale lavender eyes staring right back at him. "Fuck."

"I refuse to go back."