Love-Not

Chapter 8

Thankfully the class was barren, much like the hallway. It looked as if Sasuke had already taken his lunchbox from her desk. He probably expected her to be out for the rest of the day. Her face reddened as she gripped the bentos, her eyes flashing to the man beside her. If only she had stayed unconscious… She nibbled on her lip, before straightening up. No, she was stronger than that. She had duties to fulfil!

After all, she was required to meet the expectations of her family.

"I have a place in mind. How is your chakra control?" Itachi looked her over, and she did her best not to squirm under his gaze. She peeked up at him through her bangs, her fingers lightly quivering in her nervousness. Chakra control? She had practiced her control alone with the mentorship of books, but never actually used it in front of others yet. She did this for one reason, to pretend to be weaker than she was.

When it came to sparring with her sister, she refused to use her knowledge and chakra. She knew the Clan leaders were already teaching Hanabi chakra control, while they had purposely never taught her. If it was not for the fact she had been so studious, she might have had to only rely on the basic teachings in class.

They wanted Hanabi to be the successor, and she wanted Hanabi to be the successor. She only needed a few more years of pretending to be weak, and then she could show just how much she was working to be strong.

But now was not the time. "Very… Ve-very basic…" She stuttered out the lie, her eyes averting to the ground. Lying was not something she was good at, and always did mediocre in Kunoichi class.

"Hn." He knew she was lying. Her heart beat harder, blood draining from her hands, and ice prickling her spine. She knew Sasuke well enough to know the Uchiha tone of suspicion! "Well, in that case," He paused for a moment, then clicked his tongue. She blinked, looking back at him and the floor frantically. "We have three options. We can go out into the yard and find an uncrowded space." Her eyes widened in fear. She did not like that option! Sasuke or Naruto would see her! "Or, we can go to the place I have in mind. But, we only have two ways to get there." She nodded, a bit too quickly. "You can get up there using chakra I teach you, or, I can carry you." She felt the ice prickle down her arms, and goosebumps be left in their wake.

He was going to force her lie out of her.

She shouldn't have lied! She should have just avoided the question completely like she usually did!

Her chest heaved, all the air leaving her body. She felt light headed again, but kept herself upright by touching the desk beside her.

She needed to tell him everything.

It was part of her duty as his Fiancé, and to herself. Lies were not supposed to be between lovers, yet here she was trying to scrape past.

She needed to fix this. No, she was going to fix this.

It was going to take a while to explain to him… Why she was doing things like she was, and why she intended to lie to him. Would he be free for her to explain…? She sucked in cold air, reminding herself she needed to breath.

"I…" Her voice cracked, her blush deepening. She took another long breath, trying to steady herself. "I… Are… How long are you… Free?" She forced out, quivering when she watched his feet shift. She did not have the guts to look into his eyes.

"I can make my afternoon available." His tone was even, not hinting at any anger. Mustering up all her might, she glanced into his eyes. The dark depths did not hold any contentment, instead only a passive interest, at most.

"Pl- please?" She quickly glanced down, ready to get scolded for her assertiveness. It was against her bridal training to ask her husband to do something for her. She was to wait on him, not the other way around.