A Matter of Honor and Debt 4

[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.

 

4

xxxxx

 

Itachi didn’t even try to hide his shock at the scene before him. “Should I...come back some other time?”

Sasuke was being pinned down by Neji on the couch of his study. While he was aware of whatever it was that was going on between the two males, he was sure that this wasn’t supposed to be the expected end result.

His little brother reached out for him with one hand while the other gripped Neji’s forearm “Ta...chi...” he tried to move but to no avail “Get him...off of me...can’t...can’t breathe...”

Calmly the Hyuuga looked up at Itachi and tilted his head so as to move hair from his eyes. He took a small breath, his face devoid of all emotion. “Hello Itachi-san. Do you mind coming back in a few minutes? I am trying to murder your brother.” He looked down at Sasuke and his grip tightened “If you can speak you can breathe.” He tsked “Let’s correct this.” His victim made a strangled noise.

He honestly wasn’t sure if Neji was joking or not. With the way Sasuke’s face was beginning to turn colors, he had a feeling the other male was very serious. Or half-serious in any case. “Hyuuga-san, I would appreciate it if you did not kill my only brother in cold blood.”

Neji blinked “It’s not like he doesn’t deserve it.”

Silence. “That’s not really the point, Hyuuga-san.”

“Whose side are you on?!” Sasuke finally managed to get Neji to loosen his grip and he pushed the long haired male away from him, coughing and massaging his throat with his hand. He glared at Neji “You were seriously trying to kill me, weren’t you?”

“The world would be a better place without your idiocy polluting it.” The Hyuuga shot up from the couch, avoiding Sasuke like the plague now that he wasn’t trying to kill him. He turned to Itachi “I assure you, my actions were justified.” He matched Sasuke’s glare with one of his own “I spoke to Naruto and he told me why you refuse to contact him. You fought me for days on this and here I was thinking it was something legitimate or serious when it’s really just you being a complete moron. If I knew necromancy I’d kill you, then revive you so I could kill you again for the hell and suffering you put me through for absolutely nothing. You have no idea how much I seriously loathe you right now.”

Well, he had a feeling Neji probably wasn’t going to be in a talkative or cooperative mood today. He was genuinely confused; what was he talking about?

“It is serious!” the clan head stood up, eyes narrowing “I’d rather die in obscurity than contact that guy.”

“Is your pride seriously worth more than everyone in this estate? Than your life?”

“Yes!”

“Excuse me.” Itachi crossed his arms, a brow rising at their antics. Neji looked as if he was about to try and murder Sasuke again and his little brother was glaring with equal hostility. Obviously, someone needed to be the voice of reason and it wasn’t going to be those two. “Hyuuga-san, what are you talking about?”

As if his voice held some sort of soothing affect, Neji’s posture straightened and he took a calming breath before speaking “Do you remember last week when we learned that Madara could be possibly mounting up for an attack on the clan?” Itachi nodded and he continued “I advised Sasuke to call for aid, specifically from the Namikaze clan because we will need their strength.”

“I am aware of the debate, I was under the impression that something must have happened for my brother to be so adamant about his refusal.”

“Something did happen,” Sasuke began but Neji wasn’t having it.

“This idiot refuses to deal with Naruto because he lost a bet. A bet.” He repeated it as if the term completely disgusted him.

Itachi had to admit that he was slightly displeased by the revelation “Sasuke, I gave you the clan because I felt that you would do well by it. Something this petty...”

“You don’t understand, aniki.” The younger brother glared at Neji “He’s not telling you everything. Listen, as a man there are just things you don’t do and I’ll happily take death over what I’d have to do if I sought out that guy.”

“I will admit that the terms are ridiculous,” Neji sighed “But nonetheless, people’s lives are at stake, Sasuke. My life and my cousin’s life.” His expression became unreadable and his voice dropped to barely a whisper “Is your pride more important than that?”

A silent staring war waged between them and Itachi watched the exchange with idle fascination. These two were a handful, he was glad he had missed the past almost thirty years of their insanity by him being in deep sleep. There was something intense going on between them; as if the tension between them was constantly near its breaking point.

Itachi was as surprised as Neji when Sasuke walked over, his gaze blank. His hand shot out and grabbed a fist full of long brown hair, pulling him so close their lips were only inches apart. Something very strange crossed his little brother’s face as he tilted his head, his red gaze steady on white as he barely brushed against the other.

“Don’t try to manipulate me unless you plan on following through with your implications.” His voice was a low and cold murmur. Neji didn’t back down, however, but he did try to pull his head back.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure Hinata-sama’s safety.”

The snarl that came from Sasuke could hardly be described as human “You don’t even know her and all of a sudden she’s important to you?” he actually sounded jealous.

“She is all I have.”

The older Uchiha could not sense auras but he did not have to be a Hyuuga to see how shocked and hurt his brother was by that statement. Sasuke had even jerked away as if the other male had burned him. There was a long moment of tense silence and Itachi couldn’t help but wonder; what was going on with those two? His brother acted...strange around Neji. The longer they were together the stranger Sasuke became. Whatever it was definitely involved hostility but there was much more to it than that. The look on his brother’s face was one he hadn’t seen in a long time.

What is Hyuuga Neji to you, brother? Why do you behave so strangely around him?

It made him think of Hinata and that night when he had kissed her. The dark suspicion that the two Hyuuga were actively trying to manipulate them returned briefly before he pushed it down. Hinata wouldn’t harm a fly and Neji seemed to be the loyal and honorable type...to a certain extent – idiocy apparently was his limit. Still, it couldn’t be coincidence that both Uchiha brothers were acting strange around the two surviving Hyuuga, a race known to be able to manipulate and shift auras.

It wasn’t until the door closed that he noticed he was alone in the room with Neji. The long haired male’s head was down, making seeing his expression difficult.

No, it is not one sided. Hyuuga acts strangely around my brother as well. Why? Despite the bravado Neji had displayed a moment ago the moment Sasuke had left his shoulders had slumped slightly, as if defeated. He sighed in frustration and put a hand through his hair, turning slightly to face Itachi.

“Don’t.” he said and so Itachi remained silent. Whatever it was going on between the two of them, it honestly was none of his business.

So he changed the subject back to where it had been previously “This bet, what were the stakes? It had to have been something significant for Sasuke to refuse to call upon the Namikaze clan despite the odds.”

Seizing upon the opening, Neji’s face melted into one of scorn and disgust and he snorted “The stakes were that whoever lost would grovel at the winner’s feet. That’s not all, Naruto actually wrote a speech for Sasuke to say and everything.”

Were he a man of lesser control he would have slapped a hand over his face in exasperation. “His pride has always been the most important thing to him and I can only imagine what he would have to end up saying.”

Neji chuckled “I’ll tell you. Basically, Sasuke is supposed to get on his knees in front of Naruto and say; ‘I, Uchiha Sasuke, bow down before the greatness that is Uzumaki Naruto. He is a god in comparison to me and I should worship the ground he walks on –“

Onyx eyes widened “You’re joking.”

Neji’s lips twitched in amusement. “It gets better. ‘I will never live up to the greatness that is Uzumaki Naruto; he is better at me in all things and I am nothing in comparison. I will always be the inferior to him and even if I prayed for a thousand years I would never be able to come close to...’”

“That’s...that’s enough.” It took everything Itachi had not to laugh “Well, I can see now why Sasuke would rather ‘die in obscurity’ than do something like that.” Any man with some semblance of pride would be reluctant to utter such words. When Naruto went all out, he went all out. Itachi sighed “We will need to talk to Uzumaki ourselves; Sasuke will never do it if it’s like that and you are right, we will need his support.” He shook his head; the younger generations were so silly sometimes “I will talk to my brother and get him to listen to reason. You were an ambassador for the Hyuuga prior to Madara’s attack; see if you can get him to...tone the speech down a bit.”

The other male rolled his white eyes and made a noise. “I’ll see what I can do.” His tone implied that he probably wasn’t going to try all that hard.

That actually reminded him of why he had been out and about in the first place “Hyuuga-san, there was something I had wanted to ask you, do you have a moment?”

Curiosity emerged on Neji’s face “Feel free, Itachi-san. What can I assist you with?”

“You claimed that your kind can see other people’s auras, but not their own, correct?”

Neji’s brows narrowed in confusion “Yes, that is correct. Is something the matter?”

Because he was who he was, he did not hesitate to get to his point “The other night Hinata-san and I became close physically. Nothing truly happened but at the end of it she said she could no longer see my aura. Is that a common occurrence?”

The look the Hyuuga made the feeling of dread increase in his gut. Neji’s face became white as a sheet and his actual facial expression was something akin to shock and horror. Something pained emerged and he finally looked away from Itachi.

“No...it is not a common occurrence but it is significant.” He sounded sad and Itachi’s feeling of foreboding increased.

“What does it mean?”

Shaking his head, Neji’s look was a myriad of emotions – strange as he was normally so calm and showed little emotion “I can’t tell you that.” He sighed and moved to leave “It would change nothing if I told you but...it’s something you’ll have to discover on your own.”

It wasn’t until Neji was almost out the door that he spoke again.

“Tell me, Hyuuga-san...when and how exactly did you lose the ability to see my brother’s aura?”

xxxxx

A week later, Hinata began to have strange dreams of a young boy and his younger brother.

He had wild black hair, a mischievous smile and he got into trouble constantly. The time period was not familiar to her but it was definitely centuries old. Mostly, he played in the fields with his little brother, Izuna. The boy’s name she didn’t know, whenever someone addressed him the name always came out unintelligible.

She learned through the dreams that the two were very close; whatever the older boy did Izuna supported. The dreams were simple at first; the two boys growing up together, having fun and doing boy things. She knew they were vampires and there was something about Izuna that was oddly familiar.

Tonight’s dream was completely different from all the others.

“Izuna!” the young man put his arm over his mouth but it did little to stop the smoke from entering his lungs. Coughing, he trudged through their burning home; he had to find his little brother.

How did those damn human hunters find them? They were nowhere near civilization and the family had been staying away from the humans, using animals for food instead. It was disgusting but with the witch and demon hunts one could never be too careful.

So how? Was there a traitor in their midst?

“Izuna!” damnit, where was he? Why wasn’t he answering? He wasn’t dead, he refused to believe that.

There. It had been faint but he heard the soft cry. He ignored the fire licking at his clothes and skin as he pressed onward, crimson eyes narrowing. Moaning could be heard from the study and it took little effort for him to kick open the door. His brother was face down on the ground, barely moving. With a strangled cry, he rushed to his brother’s side.

“Izuna? Hang in there, I’m going to get you...” he paused, his face paling. Hands shaking, he trailed his fingers over the tears of blood streaking down his brother’s face. “I-Izuna...” he croaked out, pulling him close “What happened? What...” rage filled him. Someone would pay for this. Someone would die. “Who did this? Who did this to you, Izuna?!”

Eyelids caked with blood rose stiffly, revealing empty sockets. He frowned in confusion as his hand slowly rose to touch his older brother’s cheek “Don’t you remember?” he pulled his hand away, revealing fresh blood “You did. So you could finally see. You even set the house on fire, brother.”

No. That wasn’t possible. His free hand moved over his cheek and sure enough the wet substance that was beginning to cake and dry was, in fact, blood.

His hands framed his brother’s face and he dipped his head, pressing their foreheads together. The fire, the house collapsing around them, none of that mattered to him. He began to chuckle, a low thrum at first. Then he found himself throwing his head back and laughter filled the house, ringing over the roar of the fire and cracking wood. He laughed until tears mixed with blood and smoke filled his lungs, causing him to cough.

Of course, how could he have been so stupid? The moment he had opened his eyes and seen the fire he should have known. He should have noticed something was off immediately for he...

He had been born blind.

Strong hands gripped her wrists in an almost bruising grip and she began to thrash about. She vaguely realized that she was screaming.

“Hinata!” a familiar voice cut through the haze of her mind “Hinata you must calm down!”

White eyes were wild as they scanned their surroundings. Her face burned but the fire was gone, the pain was gone. She began to calm and forced her breathing to become even. The hard grip on her wrists slackened but she was not released. Like in the dream she felt someone press their forehead to hers and sigh softly.

“I...Itachi-san?” blinking, she felt confused and disoriented. Why was he in her room?

One of her wrists was released and she winced when his fingers brushed along her burning cheek. He pulled back and she started at his crimson gaze. He was trying not to show it but he was extremely worried. Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms in a tight embrace.

“I have never...” he began and then let out another breath “There are very few things that frighten or disturb me...watching you screaming and trying to claw out your own eyes has made it to the top of the list for now.”

She stiffened. Was that why her face burned so much? “I...I’m sorry.” What else could she say? She was still so out of it; that dream had felt so real. For a short period of time she had been Izuna and yet had not been him. She had felt his pain, physically and emotionally. Hinata was still shaken up and to top it off she was horribly fatigued. Something warm settled on her head and her face was pressed against Itachi’s chest – that was when she realized she was crying.

Once she realized it she found that she couldn’t stop; the tears kept coming and she found herself weeping loudly, shifting in his arms as she clung to him. For a very long time neither spoke; he held her and eventually her loud sobs became soft hiccups. Even long after the hiccups stopped he held her and she closed her eyes, feeling safe and warm.

Hinata let out a shaky breath. “I-I’m so sorry, Itachi-san. I...”

“If you are going to apologize for your reactions to the nightmare, don’t.” he finally shifted, his gaze blandly regarding the morning light that was filtering into the room. “If you are going to say anything, I’d like for it to be on how you are feeling.” He paused “You do not have to tell me the dream if you do not want to, but I will listen nonetheless. Also,” he pulled back, tilting her chin up to face him “when is the last time you have fed? You and I will always share a certain bond because I was the one who turned you...I can sense your hunger and it is rather intense.”

Her face heated and she tried to flinch away from him but he had her secure. His hand moved from her chin to her scratched face “You have gone without for almost a week, haven’t you? These are minor scratches, they should have healed almost instantly.”

Looking away from him, she remained silent. Ever since Itachi had started avoiding her she had been unable to eat or sleep well. A part of her felt strangely empty and lethargic. She couldn’t leave the estate and with the exception of Kiba and Neji; no one else bothered with her. Not even the person Itachi had sent as his replacement for her lessons wanted to have much to do with her and despite efforts to cheer her up she felt very lonely. Not having friends was something she was used to but for some reason without Itachi she just felt miserable. It had been like that ever since she had stopped being able to see his aura.

“Hinata.” She looked up at him and he was frowning slightly “Vampires can starve themselves to death.”

She looked down; his stern tone making her feel worse. “I’m sorry. I just...haven’t been able to...” she felt like crying again.

He must have picked up on it because when he spoke again his voice was much softer “It’s fine.” But it wasn’t fine; he was very worried about her and she could somehow sense it even though she couldn’t see his aura. Odd. “If you are still having problems adjusting I can take over your mind briefly. I will not force you to feed but your cousin would not forgive me if I did nothing about your suffering.”

Just Neji-niisan? She tried once again to put some distance between them “N-no that’s...that’s alright. I promise I’ll, um, take care of it. I don’t want to be any more of a bu –“ she cut herself off but a quick glance at Itachi told her that he understood what she had been trying to imply.

“Hinata-san...” he began but she quickly cut him off.

“I don’t...” she sighed “I’m used...to being alone.” Shifting, she sat so that she was sitting with her legs hanging off the bed, her gaze on her lap “I’ve always preferred that to not being wanted at all.”

Growing up she had hated it, the way a set of foster parents would become so frustrated and tired of her ‘lies’ to the point where her very presence caused them to look at her with disgust. Her time at the institution made her appreciate being alone. It was better to be alone than unwanted.

To her surprise, Itachi did not get up and leave, nor did he try to comfort her. For the longest time he didn’t even look at her, merely stared at her wall in silence. It wasn’t completely uncomfortable but it was a little tense. Suddenly, he turned to look at her “Will you tell me about your dream? If it is not too painful.”

The image of the burning house and Izuna’s eyeless stare made her shiver but there was something about the dreams that made her feel like they were important, that they were more than what they appeared.

“I’ve been dreaming about two vampire brothers,” she began and noted the way her protector blinked at her “One of them looks...” she gasped, face lighting up for the first time in a while. Hinata turned to Itachi “Your brother! The boy in my dreams...he looks like Sasuke-san!” she frowned thoughtfully “But his name is different and...it feels like it happened a very, very long time ago.”

He could not hide his slight surprise and confusion “He looks like my brother?”

“Mmhm.” Her smile was small “His name is Izuna...the other boy’s name I...” she stopped when she saw Itachi’s eyes widen significantly and he leaned back.

“Hinata...are you absolutely certain that was the man’s name?” something in his expression seriously distressed her. He looked visibly upset but guarded “You are sure of this? And he looked like Sasuke?”

She shrunk into herself a bit, Itachi’s emotional response deeply worrying her “Y-yes...that’s what the other man called him...they were brothers, like I said.”

“Izuna is...” he shook his head, changing his mind on what he wanted to say “please tell me the rest of your dream.”

So she did. She told him about how it had started out with them as very young boys, playing and getting into things all the way until the night of the fire. He listened stoically and when she was finished he frowned in thought.

“Have you told anyone else of these dreams?” he asked her and she shook her head. He hummed thoughtfully “Your cousin has not confessed to experiencing anything similar?”

“N-no but...he’s been looking very upset lately about something. I um, assumed it was because of Sasuke-san.”

“That is an accurate assumption to make.” Itachi leaned back and sighed “I do not believe in coincidences and after what you have just told me, it would appear that a greater force, possibly spiritual, guided you here at the right time.” He straightened “Izuna was an Uchiha, a distant relative of mine, actually, and his brother...was Uchiha Madara.”

All the blood in her face dropped and she stared at him in horror. This wasn’t happening. If what Itachi said was true then she really was the one that Madara was looking for...but why? Her hands flew to her mouth and she tried not to shake. In the dream when he had started laughing, she had gotten the distinct impression that the man was insane. Not the kind of insane that she had gotten locked up for; serious, deadly, serial killer insanity. She still didn’t understand everything, like why he had been surprised about taking his brother’s eyes and setting the house on fire, but something had snapped in that man that night; it had been as if something deeply buried had manifested itself.

“I am almost convinced that what you saw was possibly what truly happened that night.” His expression was hard “what Madara told everyone does not match with what you saw in your dream...but many had not believed him in any case. Madara claimed that it had been the Senju clan, the Uchiha’s enemy at the time, that they had attacked and that Izuna had tried to stop them and failed. He said that Izuna gave him his eyes so that he could take revenge and at the time tensions were so high no one thought to question it.” He smiled thinly “It was not until I came into power centuries later that it came into question and only because my encounters with Madara had left me suspicious of him. He was a man who thrived on war and prior to me taking power, our clan had many enemies due to his antics. He went rogue because of me, I asked the right questions at the most inconvenient times for him.” He smirked briefly “Ironic, as he was the one who encouraged my ascension. He had done it because I was young and promising, he thought he would be able to manipulate me because of my inexperience; as he had with my father.”

The young Hyuuga hugged herself and looked away. Her body felt incredibly heavy; Madara really was after her, wasn’t he? This extremely powerful, incredibly insane monster was specifically looking for her and she didn’t even know how to fight. How was she supposed to take someone like him on? Because he was looking for her, he was planning on possibly attacking her new home. People would die; they would die because for some reason there was something about her that was a threat and he would happily kill whoever got in his way to get to her.

“N-no...” she shook her head, putting her hands through her hair. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want a war to start because of her. She didn’t want anyone to die because of her...but she didn’t want to die either. Hinata wanted to go back to her old life where she was just a somewhat strange girl working a full time job as a waitress with no friends because everyone thought she was a certified nutcase. She wanted to go back into her little crappy apartment and she wanted all of this to be a really bad dream. She didn’t want Izuna’s or whoever’s memories; she wanted to be left alone.

Hands gripped her shoulders and she was turned to face Itachi. She couldn’t read anything on his face nor could she sense his emotions. “Hinata, I do not think these dreams will stop; what was shown to you was only the beginning. I sincerely doubt it could be Madara’s doing, so whoever, or whatever, it is that is doing this is trying to help you. You are being shown these things for a reason; try to remember every aspect of your dreams from here on, because I am sure somewhere in there Madara’s weakness will be exposed.” Her eyes widened in surprise – she hadn’t thought of it like that. Heat returned to her face when a warm hand cupped her cheek and her protector leaned forward. He looked pained for just a second before he spoke again.

“I made an oath to protect you, Hinata, to atone for my crime against you.” His thumb brushed along soft skin “I do not understand this bond between us...you know what I’m referring to.”

She did, gods did she know. Hinata felt the pull just as strongly as he and she had felt so lost and confused – still did. When he was with her like this she felt as if she were being sucked into some sort of void and what was emerging from it was someone completely different. It was frightening but it also felt so right and she just didn’t know or understand anything anymore.

“I’m scared.” She closed her eyes as the words escaped her lips in a soft whisper. Hinata had been nothing all of her life; a burden and strain to everyone that she had ever known and now she was very important. What was she supposed to do against a centuries old madman? What if Itachi got hurt or even killed in trying to protect her? She hadn’t wanted that from him, she hadn’t wanted anything from him. Not his life, not servitude, she had merely been happy to be alive. That he had saved her instead.

Hinata was only mildly surprised when the older vampire closed the distance between their lips but this time she was the one who was forward, needing something...anything. He did not crush her to him as he had last time, instead his arms wrapped around her slender frame and allowed her to lead although she honestly knew nothing about kissing someone. When she began to calm his arms tightened and she allowed him to take the lead. Still he did not pressure her nor was he aggressive; once they parted he pressed his forehead against hers and did not release her. His hand moved through her hair soothingly and she closed her eyes, wanting to do nothing but feel.

Everything he did felt so natural, like it had been done thousands of times before. She fit against him so perfectly and she felt so safe in his familiar yet not familiar embrace. Something warm was settling over them and instead of feeling as if she were being sucked into a void it now felt as if something was finally clicking into place. Hinata felt like herself and yet not herself...it was something more now. Why had she ever thought it to be frightening? It felt so wonderful, as if she had finally come home.

“I have said from the beginning that I do not believe in coincidences.” His voice was a low rumble as she pressed her face into his chest “Our meeting, you coming to us before Madara could get his hands on you...how my oath to you came about, our bond, and now these dreams.

“I should have noticed it but whatever this bond is had led me to distraction. It had felt as if I was losing myself, but that wasn’t it, was it? I am not a man in the habit of ignoring what is right in front of me when the evidence is obvious.” He pulled back but kept her in his arms “We were brought together for a reason, meaning that whatever this is between us is a part of that.”

She wasn’t entirely sure of what was going on but the more he spoke the more relaxed he looked and the closer she felt to him. It seemed that his words had a calming effect on him as well, for Itachi looked as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“I understand your cousin’s words now.” He said it more to himself than to her “I believe I know what this is.”

“Neji-niisan?” now he wasn’t making any sense. What had Neji said to him? “I-I don’t...”

“You are not a burden to me.” He cut in and she looked away, feeling a little guilty for her words. She was forced to face him when he framed her face in his hands and Hinata was glad that her face was already red because the look in his eyes was just... “It is my deepest wish to protect you.” He tilted his head and moved in closer “Because to me you are...” the sentence trailed off as he kissed her passionately.

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