A Matter of Honor and Debt 3

[catriana_fiction]

Title: A Matter of Honor and Debt
Series: Naruto
Pairing: ItaHina, SasuNeji
Genre: Romance/Supernatural
Chapters: 5/? (WIP)
Rating: M
Summary: Shameless. Disgusting. A monster. Never would he forgive himself for his moment of weakness, for almost murdering an innocent woman. He will do whatever it takes to atone - A life for a life. ItaHina. Birthday fic for Lady Crack. Very loosely based off of a RP I'm doing with someone.

 

3

xxxxx

“Mm?” confusion filled her groggy mind as her eyes fluttered open; she felt so unbelievably heavy for some reason. As she slowly focused, she came face to face with animalistic black eyes, tanned skin and tattooed cheeks. A feral grin emerged on the person’s face.

“Hey there, cutie.” He said and she realized that she couldn’t move because he was sitting on her.

She screamed.

This effectively got the animal-man off her as he crab-walked back and away, hands covering his ears “Geez!” he shook his head, trying to get the ringing to stop. “Did ya have to be so loud? It wasn’t like I was gonna bite you or anything!”

Although it was impolite, Hinata pointed at him, her other hand over her mouth “W-who a-are you a-and why a-are you in m-my room?!” she stammered out, face crimson at having a man in such close proximity. Sitting cross-legged on the ground the man began to dig in his ear with a sharpened pinky finger.

“The name is Inuzuka Kiba,” he grinned at her again “and I –“

“Apparently have a death wish.” Neji placed an expensive boot on Kiba’s head and pushed forward, almost rolling him over “What did you think you were doing to Hinata-sama?” the tone of voice implied that very painful things would happen if he did not receive an answer. He began to crack his knuckles.

“I wasn’t doing anything!” he stood, pointing at Hinata who was staring at them with wide eyes “I thought I smelled something funny and I came to investigate. Who is she anyway for you to be addressing her so formally? You never address anyone like that.”

“That’s because I am surrounded by inferior individuals.” Neji snapped and ignored the Inuzuka’s growl “And idiots.”

This earned him a finger “Hyuuga, you can suck my –“

“Um...” Hinata interjected, trying to diffuse the open hostility in the air “I-Inuzuka-san? You’re not human, are you?” he had an earthy aura; strange as she was sure she had never seen that color on someone until now.

Kiba looked at her as if she were daft “Well, yeah.” His brow rose skeptically “Aren’t you a vampire? You got Itachi’s stink all over you.”

“Oh!” her hands covered her face and she bowed her head, horribly embarrassed. “I...um, well I...you see...”

“Hinata-sama is my cousin,” he informed the other male “as for why she has Itachi’s scent...” his eyes narrowed and he turned his head slightly, scowling at the newcomer. Sasuke stood at the threshold of Hinata’s door, a smirk on his face. Onyx eyes slid over to Kiba.

“I don’t think I called you here so you could sniff up on the new girl, mutt.” He still looked amused as he looked at Hinata “Figure it out yet?”

It took her a moment to figure out what he was referring to “Um...a shapeshifter?”

Both the Uchiha head and Kiba snorted “Yeah, you can say that.” His eyes swept over Neji briefly before looking at Kiba “You can trust her.”

“I’m a lycanthrope, bloodsucker.” For some reason, Hinata could not find it in her to be offended by his crude behavior. In fact, something about Kiba was relaxing; she honestly couldn’t explain it “I’m from the Inuzuka clan and we’re allied with this jerkoff’s folks.” He jerked a thumb at Sasuke and she giggled.

“I thought that vampires and werewolves didn’t get along.” She said light heartedly and both Kiba and Sasuke rolled their eyes; Neji looked indifferent.

“Don’t believe everything the media tells ya.” Shrugging, he turned to Sasuke “I got the info you wanted. Took Shino and Shikamaru a few days to snatch it up; they both said they want extra.”

“Whatever.” He snapped irritably “Just give me the info, we’re secure.”

Squatting down he looked up at Sasuke “You were right about Madara; he’s definitely looking for someone in your territories. He’s been calling the other Akatsuki from all over to come here. So far, they don’t know we got her but he’s looking pretty damn hard, like he’s on a mission.”

“Odd...” Neji crossed his arms in thought “I could understand being threatened by our race as a whole but what could Hinata-sama or myself do to damage whatever sick plans that man is coming up with? He is definitely more powerful than either of us.” the Hyuuga genius frowned thoughtfully “Was there perhaps a deeper reason as to why he wanted to get rid of all Hyuuga?”

The young vampire shifted uncomfortably at the prospect. From what she knew about Uchiha Madara he was a traitor but a powerful one. Before going rogue he had held a very high position within the clan, co-founder even, and he was very old. During the past few weeks of her stay she had learned much about the vampire world, who she was and her abilities. The last thing she wanted was to be significant to someone like him.

“Aniki’s almost recovered,” Sasuke said “he’ll be protecting your cousin to atone for what he did.” It took a lot for Hinata not to feel disappointed at that statement. She didn’t know why, it made absolutely no sense, but she had hoped there would have been a deeper reason than honor that made Itachi want to be around her.

I can’t think like this. Itachi-san would never be interested in a girl like me. The thought distressed her, because it meant that she probably had feelings for the man and she didn’t even know him. Her attempts to become closer to him while he had been recovering had been fruitless. There was a solid wall between them and it stung a lot. She felt as if she had a deep connection to the former Uchiha head; perhaps it was because they had shared blood? Maybe she was confusing her growing romantic feelings as something else. A part of her wanted that to be it because falling for a man centuries her senior felt intimidating and nerve wrecking.

If Neji was upset by Sasuke’s statement he didn’t show it. “If Madara is seriously gathering his forces it means that he might actually try and attack us in our own territory. I hear Itachi dispatched three of his best already but there are many others. There is nothing for it; we will have to call for aid. The ones closest to us are the Namikaze and –“

“No.” A jaw muscle ticked as Sasuke scowled “Not happening.”

Both Kiba and Neji stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Neji recovered first “Sasuke, this is serious.”

“Yeah, and I’m serious about this. Find someone else; I’m not dealing with that idiot.”

Her cousin began to look highly frustrated “Listen, I don’t know what happened between you and Naruto but this is gone past the point of ridiculousness, Sasuke. The Namikaze clan is the strongest right now and they’re our closest allies. We’ll need to work with them if Madara does decide to attack because if he does, he will not do so with light forces.”

“Gotta agree with Neji there.” Kiba shrugged “Besides, Naruto ain’t that bad.”

Black eyes flashed crimson as he regarded the two males “I. Said. No.” he ground out each statement.

Neji put a hand through his hair in frustration “You are such a...” he glared “Why do you have me as your advisor if you’re never going to listen to my advice?”

Crossing his arms, Sasuke looked Neji straight in the eyes and tilted his head slightly “Stop giving me shitty advice and maybe I’ll listen.”

“Oh shit.” Kiba muttered under his breath, standing up straight and taking a few steps away from the two men who were glaring at each other with open hostility. Neji looked as if he was barely restraining himself from attacking the Uchiha outright and Sasuke’s stance was clearly suggesting that Neji bring it. As they continued their glaring contest Kiba sat down beside her on the bed, rolling his eyes at their antics. Hinata was concerned for the two; there seemed to be something angry and intense between them.

A hand patted her head and she looked up at Kiba “They’re always like that, don’t sweat it. They haven’t killed each other yet in the past almost thirty years so I doubt it’ll happen today.”

It didn’t make her feel any better; Kiba couldn’t see her cousin’s extremely conflicted aura. Whenever he was around Sasuke his aura would reflect high agitation, confusion, sadness, and something else. Despite their apparent closeness Neji was extremely uncomfortable around Sasuke which baffled her.

“Maybe it’s because they’ve known each other for so long that their auras...” She mused silently and immediately realized her folly; all three men had superhuman hearing and three sets of eyes suddenly locked onto her. Any and all forms of humor disappeared from the Uchiha’s face, Kiba looked curious and Neji’s aura flared with discomfort.

“What are you muttering about, Hyuuga.” Hinata tried not to shiver at Sasuke’s hard tone. Reluctantly, she looked up at him, cowering slightly under his intense gaze. Why did she get the feeling he already knew what she was talking about?

“W-well...” she looked down, pointing her fingers together – a nervous habit. “It’s just that you two seem so hostile but whenever you’re together your auras –“ she jumped with a small ‘eep’ as the door suddenly slammed, cutting her off. Her hands flew to her chest to still her heart as she took in what happened. Neji was gone, Kiba looked as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or shake his head and Sasuke was staring at her, his eyes so red they looked as if they were glowing.

“Finish your sentence.” It was a clear demand and the young woman felt as if she had caused something very bad to happen. When she looked down and didn’t immediately answer he snapped out her name and she jumped again.

“W-whenever you’re...around each other your auras um...” how to explain it? “...try to blend together. It’s really strange; I’ve never seen that happen before.” It was as if the two auras were calling out to each other but that didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t unusual for auras to mingle, it happened with any sort of interaction, especially with physical contact. Mingling meant that the auras would either flow side by side or, in certain cases, push away from each other. Usually it was fairly easy to discern the two mingling auras apart; this was not the case here. Their auras weren’t mingling, they were merging, like two identical halves trying to become whole again. Physically and emotionally Neji seemed to recoil but his aura had no such qualms; it was as if it wanted to fully merge.

“Alright. Thanks, Hyuuga.” Eyes still blazing crimson he walked out of her room much quieter than Neji had. At Hinata’s completely confused look Kiba started laughing, standing up and putting his hands in his pockets.

“Sasuke’s been after Neji since they first met,” the Inuzuka explained and Hinata gasped, face turning scarlet.

“R-really? But they...seem to hate each other.” Oh no, what if I...? Neji-niisan I’m so sorry!

A clawed hand ruffled her hair and Kiba gave her a reassuring smile “Don’t sweat it, Hinata, they’re always like that. He’s just pissed off because Neji won’t give him the time of day and Uchiha don’t like it when they don’t get what they want. They’ve been going back and forth since they’ve known each other, it’s old news now. He might have even turned him; they say he’s human but obviously he’s not.”

Thirty years? That long? “Why...why does Uchiha-san keep going after Neji-niisan if he’s not interested? I mean he...wouldn’t it be easier for him to move on?”

Kiba shrugged “I don’t try to figure out how those two work. I’ve known Sasuke for a long time, longer than Hyuuga has, and it wasn’t until he met that guy that he started acting weird. Before that me and him were always out hooking up with chicks with the rest of the gang. Then those two meet and it all comes to a halt. Never would have thought Sasuke to be gay until it happened.” He shrugged “Trust me, if Neji really wasn’t interested, Sasuke would have dropped it a long time ago. Like I said, they got some weird thing going, it’s best to just ignore it.”

None of that made sense. So they liked each other but yet...?

The Inuzuka laughed when Hinata swayed a bit, dizzy from trying to figure out the complexities that was Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji. He shook her shoulder.

“Just ignore it, your brain will thank ya.”

xxxxx

Itachi was aware of the fact that avoiding the young woman was extremely counterproductive to anything and everything. It was also extremely nonsensical; he was her protector and would be for the rest of his life. He was supposed to be training her in her powers and abilities, he was supposed to be the one she could go to and yet he was keeping her at a severe emotional distance. Weeks had gone by with no improvement. Now that he thought about it, the more his strange feelings increased the more he found himself resisting. When she was near he felt confused and even agitated, as if something about her threatened his very being. Something about her called out to him and yet it felt oppressive and binding. He wanted to believe it was because she could manipulate auras but he knew better, there was a stronger force at work. Perhaps he could ask Neji; according to Sasuke the man had been considered a prodigy in his clan. His ability to manipulate and shift auras was supposed to be on an expert level. The Hyuuga even had a combat style for this called the Juuken that enabled them to touch an opponent in a certain way that left no real physical damage; it was all spiritual. Since they could only manipulate auras through touch the Juuken had been developed as a self defense mechanism.

To say he thought of her often would be an understatement; she was all he thought about and that really bothered him. Itachi did not believe in coincidences and as the weeks went on things didn’t add up. According to his little brother Madara had definitely been looking for someone and the belief was that the person was Hinata as he had been sniffing around in that general area. Then by some freak of nature encounter he ended up meeting the very person Madara wanted and now there was this strange and confusing bond between them. The rogue Uchiha had been spotted in that area for weeks and yet it was on his watch that he found her and turned her. As much as he didn’t want to think it; there was a strong possibility that their connection was much more complicated than he had initially believed.

But he had a job to do and he was honor bound to it. As much as he wanted to put as much distance between the two of them as possible, he could not. So he took a small mental breath, collected himself and walked out to the courtyard where she was waiting for her lessons from him. The night air was refreshing; spring was coming. Hinata had claimed that she was suffering from headaches; more than likely it was from her enhanced vision. He would teach her some techniques that would help her with this and...

His body came to an abrupt halt as he rounded the corner that led him to the center. Hinata was standing there patiently, her expression a mixture of sad and worried. Tonight was the last night of the full moon and it was illuminating the world below it in a soft glow. Her garments were simple, a pale beige and purple blouse with black Capri pants and some plain white walking shoes. She was not an exotic beauty with the exception of her eyes; Hinata’s beauty was subtle and gentle, just like her. Although he had seen many beautiful women in his years of living none of them had affected him like she did. That couldn’t be coincidence.

Why is this happening? Why now after centuries of nothing?

“Good evening, Hinata-san.” His voice was smooth and revealed nothing of his inner turmoil. Not that it mattered; the moment her gaze shifted to him he could tell that she could see what he was feeling. How...very uncomfortable. Itachi was a very private and reclusive man; it was disconcerting to know that this slip of a woman could literally see what he was feeling. It was like an invasion of his privacy and that only enhanced his desire to put more distance between them.

He felt exposed around her. It was a terrifying feeling.

His discomfort made her uncomfortable and she looked away from him, wringing her hands. Guilt filled him and he felt a strong desire to go to her and provide comfort. It was so strong that it wasn’t until he had almost touched her that he realized what he was doing. They stared at each other then, her pearl colored eyes filled with worry and sadness. This was unacceptable. He sighed out loud this time and ignored his growing feelings of discomfort.

“You claimed that you were having headaches and you’ve been developing sensitivity to light.” He took a few steps back to regard her. She looked up at him for a moment longer before she nodded quietly, looking down again.

We can’t do this for eternity. It’s not possible.

“I’ve spoken to a few of the turned vampires we have here,” he was determined to keep things at a professional level as he always did; these lessons were important for Hinata’s health and wellbeing “they have informed me that what you are experiencing is natural and can be fixed by adjusting your vision.”

This surprised her “You can...do that?”

Itachi nodded “Vampires have evolved over the millennia to the point where we can enhance or dull our senses. Since genetically there is little difference between a turned and pureblooded vampire you should be able to do this as well with time.”

“Um...I’ve been meaning to ask about that.” When he remained silent she took that as her sign to continue “Neji-niisan says that vampires and lycanthropes are the only ones that can change other creatures...why is that?”

It was a good question “The legend behind it holds little facts to prove it but the basic conclusion is that we were cursed by the gods. For the lycanthropes, they angered their wolf gods and guardians and so were cursed with their forms and their blood made poisonous to anyone else. It was the same for vampires. Our blood is supposedly poisonous but it doesn’t kill, it converts. It is said our bloodthirst was also a curse from the gods for us thinking we could be their equals.” He didn’t sound convinced of it because he wasn’t “I personally do not believe in such things as gods; they seem to always become conveniently silent early on in almost every religion known and yet we are supposed to have blind faith in them.”

“W-well...maybe it’s not t-that they’re being silent...maybe we’re just not listening. Or maybe we can’t hear them.” She began to poke her fingers together and he looked at her for a moment before smirking briefly.

“Perhaps.” But he wasn’t that optimistic or idealistic. “But more than likely it is merely a matter of our DNA moving in and taking over. I doubt it’s anything magical or mystical.” He shook his head “Enough of that, let us begin the lesson.”

It seemed that Hinata was a rather slow learner who quickly became nervous and overly apologetic when she made a mistake; as if expecting a harsh reprimand. This confused him at first until he remembered what Sasuke had told him about her past. Before the asylum she had bounced around foster homes, many of them not being able to understand Hinata’s abilities. She had been accused of being a facetious and troublesome child and many of them had resorted to ‘disciplining’ her until her last family sent her away for good.

He surmised after the lesson that it wasn’t a matter of Hinata being slow; she just didn’t believe in herself. It would probably take decades to get her out of that line of thinking. Due to their awkwardness around each other and her obvious disappointment in herself at not being able to grasp the concepts faster, she avoided his gaze completely and looked very lost. Itachi found himself once again wanting to comfort her, to tell her that it was fine that she hadn’t mastered it in one day because it was typical. When she politely excused herself and turned to leave, he found himself looking up at the sky and an idea suddenly hit him.

“Hinata-san.” A small smile flickered as he lowered his gaze to her. She turned, looking very confused. At that moment he wondered what his aura looked like to her, ignoring the fact that not too long ago the idea of it made him uncomfortable “Come, there is something I would like to show you.” He motioned for her to come closer and she did; very slowly. He almost smiled at her borderline comical antics and ignored the voice telling him that he should be bothered by the fact that he found it cute. All that seemed to matter to him was comforting her. He had to do it; it felt as essential to him as breathing.

“There is one thing I will show you tonight that you will eventually be learning. It is not an easy ability but once mastered...” he held out his hand as she neared and did smile reassuringly when she looked nervous “I will not harm you.”

The moment her slender hand slid into his grip something sharp moved through him and he almost snatched his hand away. Had he not kept his grip tight she would have. Both stood there for a moment staring at each other in surprise and slight confusion. The sensation didn’t fade, instead it felt as if he was being sucked inside whatever it was between them, like some sort of invisible black hole.

He felt like himself and yet he didn’t. There were dozens of emotions moving through him; consuming him. Desires emerged and were he a weaker man they would have been overwhelming. He wanted to know anything and everything about her. He desired to know her inside and out. Why had he thought she was threatening his existence? Now all he could think about was how right that sensation was, how fitting.

None of this showed on his face; instead he pulled her close, taking in her light floral scent. Everything about her was perfect, as if she had been made specifically for him. Why had that ever bothered him? “Do not let go of me.”

There was a gasp and a small cry as Hinata suddenly found herself in the air. Her small hands grabbed at his coat and she hung on for dear life, face flushing as she looked down at the shrinking ground. Itachi actually chuckled at this and tightened his grip. He smiled down warmly at her although she couldn’t see it with her head buried in his chest. His chin settled on the top of her head as they hovered in the air high above the ground. It was peaceful up here and the air always felt fresh and crisp.

“I will not allow any harm to come to you, Hinata-san.” His tone was meant to sound reassuring but when large lavender eyes looked up at him he found his breath catching and he fought to maintain some semblance of control “Look around you, this is the last thing I will teach you and these are the sights you will be able to come and see whenever you wish.”

Sharp obsidian eyes took in the way her hair blew in the wind as she did as she was instructed. Another gasp left her and although she pressed her body against his as if afraid, she found herself enamored by the scene before her. The Uchiha estate was hidden on private property, meaning that it was surrounded by forest. With her sharp vision she could see much of the ground below. She could see the way the moonlight bathed the beautiful landscape in a silvery glow and how the wind seemed to make the leaves sparkle. The woman in his arms was breathless as she took it all in.

“It’s...so beautiful.”

Something strange came over him. The closer he held Hinata the more he felt as if it wasn’t enough, as if he had to get closer; deeper. His gaze became heated as he took in the small peek of her lengthened incisors as she stared in wonder at the sights. The desire to have her sink those tiny fangs into his neck was so powerful it was an actual physical ache. The pull between them was beginning to tug at his mind and he felt almost drunk from it. Nothing else was beginning to matter but her.

The rational side of his mind was not surprised when he delved a hand into her hair and closed the distance between their lips. She let out a muffled noise of surprise that he ignored. Instead he forced her to part for him and delved his tongue inside the sweet cavern of her mouth. Because he had to, his tongue sliced over her fangs, the taste of blood mingling between them nearly driving him mad with lust. His grip on her became almost painful as he dominated over their kiss, wanting to consume her as she was consuming him. She whimpered softly at his aggressive behavior but did not fight him; instead her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him close.

It was as if her very soul was absorbing his, taking it and changing it into something else entirely. The more he touched her, the more they connected the less he cared about it. When they parted to breathe her name escaped his lips as a soft caress just before he claimed her mouth again.

How had he ever existed without her? Having her in his arms, kissing her; all of it felt so natural. The more he felt himself being sucked in the more it seemed as if a huge hole within him was being filled – he had never thought he had been missing anything until now.

The second time they parted and Hinata’s eyelashes fluttered open she gasped, this time in disturbed shock. A strong surge of worry came over him at this but he felt himself unable to find that strange or unusual. She was worried, he had to protect her. It was that simple. “Hinata, what is it?”

“I can’t see your aura anymore.”

And just like that the spell was broken.

“What do you mean?” he needed to get some serious distance between them. Slowly they descended and as they did his mind was racing; his earlier confusion and agitation returned with a vengeance. What the hell happened to him up there? Never had he ever been so completely wild and out of control like that. His reaction to her had been unreal; Itachi had felt like a man possessed.

What is she doing to me? The feeling of her threatening his being returned as well and the moment he had her secure on the ground he took five steps back and away from her, fighting to keep his face an emotionless mask. Inside he was terrified at what just touching her seemed to do to him. What happened up there...that had not been him. That was not the way he acted and he did not enjoy feeling out of control like that.

Thankfully, she looked just as perturbed as he did, her delicate brows furrowing in confusion “I don’t...” she continued to try and explain herself but it came out as stammered garbage. Frustrated, Itachi closed his eyes and willed himself to be patient.

“Hinata-san.” When he opened his eyes she took a step back, wary of his crimson gaze “Take a few calming breaths and then try again. What do you mean by the fact that you cannot see my aura?”

Hyuuga manipulated auras through touch, so did that mean that she had done so just now? Was that why he was feeling and acting so strangely? Was she doing it on purpose? What if she really did know and understand her powers? With Madara snooping around for her and their ‘coincidental’ meeting he wondered...was it all a set up? What if she was working with Madara to...

Enough! You are panicked and thinking irrationally. She is not an enemy. But she sure as hell felt like one at the moment. He needed to get away from her, she was too dangerous. He would have to talk to Neji immediately; he needed to know what he was dealing with and whether or not he could stop it. He didn’t want to feel like that again.

She did as instructed but it was obvious that she had no answer for him; Hinata truly had no idea why she could no longer see his aura. Silence became the wall that was forming between them and he let it go on for a while before speaking.

“Do not worry about it, Hinata-san. I am sure it is nothing.” He was lying and they both knew it, but since she seemed to be just as confused all she did was nod and turned her head away from his gaze. “It is getting late and I do not wish to keep you. Good evening.”

He would protect her from afar, in the shadows. He would send someone else to train her; more than likely a turned vampire since they would have a better idea of how to deal with her situation. He would speak to Neji about this new development but he was not going to put himself within twenty feet of her presence if he could possibly help it. Not until she acquired some semblance of control on her powers. Itachi felt manipulated, confused, agitated and not a little angry. His entire being felt as if it was calling to her now, like she was some sort of drug. He had a feeling it had everything to do with why she could no longer see his aura.

Itachi knew he would regret his harsh thoughts later but right now he honestly wished he wasn’t honor bound to her. In fact right now he wished he had never even met her.

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