The next morning came and it found her preparing in a hurry. She didn't know what Sasuke had in mind exactly, but whatever it was, she was sure he wouldn't ask nicely. If he would even ask.
She walked to the room where the breakfast was served, almost too quickly. When she entered, she saw three people staring at her. She coughed, her throat wasn't dry, it was a reflex to shake away the nervousness of the looming atmosphere.
Sasuke rarely joined them. But he was here nevertheless, touching his food just barely. Their eyes crossed for a moment, but then he averted his gaze and she took her sit beside him.
She believed, she was late, that he had already announced whatever he had in mind. Noone spoke, noone ate. She drank from a cup that was placed in front of her and waited to figure out of how to proceed.
"So.." Kakashi was the one that dispersed the silence. "I think it's the first time in days we are all sitting in a room together." He drank from his cup too. "It's a...nice change."
She looked at the man next to him. He was seemingly unfaced. Yet if she could guess, he was anxious.
"Don't get too excited." Sasuke answered. "I am not here for your company."
She turned at him.
"Now that we are all here, I will tell you what it needs to be done."
He didn't look at her way, only in his front. Hinata realised that he hadn't spoken still, that he was waiting for her arrival.
"What needs to be done." Kakashi repeated his statement. "And what is that exactly?" He left his cup on the table.
"Don't mock me." Sasuke responded. "You are irrelevant to what I have to say."
He was ready to speak, but Itachi was faster.
"I suppose it involves me." He said evenly, calmly.
They stared each other for a moment.
"I think you realise, you both do." Sasuke started. "That staying here longer than we what already have is meaningless. Even dangerous."
He had their attention.
"If your informations and your guesses are right, as we are staying still, Hiashi Hyuga moves forward with his plan."
He was calmer, Hinata thought. He was thinking straight, he was more of the man that followed a strict schedule, that took actions instead of talking. He was like they had already returned back.
"We are going back. Father needs to be warned, persuade somehow. He needs to be ready if an attack is to strike us." He took a breath. She knew what was to come, he had told her last night.
"But we aren't going back alone. You are coming with us." He said and looked his brother in the eyes. Itachi Uchiha remained frozen at his place. Sasuke seemed almost satisfied.
A laugh was heard.
"You are joking right? That is your great plan?" Kakashi said and when the words left his mouth, he wasn't laughing anymore.
"This will not happen." He said seriously.
Yet Sasuke spoke to Itachi and him alone.
"You understand better than anyone here that he will not listen to me. Especially if I go back alone. If I had left you slide away. If I have failed."
"He is not going back in there." Kakashi said.
Sasuke turned his gaze at him for a moment.
"You are not the one to decide that." And then again to the only person that interested him.
"I will bring you back as a prisoner." He said. "At least in front of father. Then you will have your chance to talk to him. Tell him about all this. Make him cave. We both know you have the ability to do so. You always did."
"Do you seriously think that I will let the man I love be dragged into that horrible place as a prisoner?" Kakashi lost his composure. Because not even once, he had spoke about them, about him in that way in front of Sasuke. He had been careful until now.
She feared of what to come when Sasuke crossed his arms. She feared of what he would respond in that statement. Of the insults that would be heard, of the face he would make when he said them.
"We are all gambling here." He raised his gaze to the man. "Did you think that you would be excused of that risk?"
"And what risk are you taking exactly? Because it seems to me that you just want to win it all with one move."
"You are not as observant as you seem then." Sasuke answered. "If this fails, I will be branded as a traitor too, I will lose my status, my family, my home."
"Unless you are going to betray us anyway." Kakashi regained his composure.
"And side with Hiashi Hyuga instead?" Sasuke responded. "To be what? A clan dedicated to be their slaves?" He added quickly.
"Listen to me..."
"I wouldn't side with him, even as an equal."
The seriousness of his statement had taken the silver man aback.
"It's pointless to argue." He turned his gaze to his brother who had yet to utter a word. "It's your decision. Choose wisely this time."
He got up. He wasn't going to wait for a response. Only then he looked at her again.
She thought of staying, but then again there was bound to be a conversation, not meant for her to be present.
Then again, she thought that Sasuke wanted her when he left.
_____
Perhaps she had guessed wrong, because the silence on the room was only covered by a heated argument outside. They weren't near, she couldn't untangled the exact words that were spoken, but their voices reached the room she and Sasuke were at the moment.
Even if she could not understand what the voices were saying, the argument itself was revealing the fact that Itachi Uchiha was considering Sasuke's suggestion.
"Aren't you going to ask?" He said with his gaze on the door, as if he could almost see the other two fighting.
When she didn't respond, he turned his stare at her.
"If I am actually going to betray them."
"No." She answered. "But if things go wrong..." She continued.
"If things go wrong I will help him flee once more." He said deprived of any emotion. "And he will take you with him."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Last night you said.."
"I am not going to flee. I will take responsibility for my actions. Whatever my father decides as a punishment. I am betraying him this very moment." He looked at the door again. "I said I will protect you. I won't be able to do it in that situation."
"I agreed to this willingly. I should..."
"We will not talk about this further. If you are with him, with them, they will keep you safe from both ends."
"But I can fight." She responded. She was suddenly in a panic.
"I am not underestimating your skills Hinata. We are way past that. But you can't fight against a whole clan on your own. And I don't want you to. They are my people after all."
He wasn't looking back. He was explaining his plan as she assumed he would do when he was training his soldiers.
"You don't believe I will leave you to fight alone." She said.
"I am not planning on fighting."
"Sasuke." She said seriously, sternly.
"It's not very different from what you had proposed. Living a life like my brother. He can help you with it." He was calm, his tone monotonous as if he knew that this was not just an alternative, it was a definite fact, it was what was going to happen.
"So it's okay when you say it?" She asked and he finally turned. "You were mad just few hours before that I proposed something similar, but now that you say it, I just have to agree?"
"This is different. I think you are pretty clever to understand it. We are not discussing any further."
He got up and opened the door slightly. It appeared that the argument had died out, but as the wood cricked, it was evident that it was not the case. They had calmed down, but their voices were still high enough for them to hear. He closed it again.
"We aren't, because I won't let you." She said.
"Listen to me.." He said and this time he was angry.
"I am a traitor too, at both ends." She replied.
"Can you observe the situation for what it is, for once? Can you not make my life so hard and just agree for just one time to listen without arguing?" He raised his voice.
"Agree on what? Let you die?" She said coldly. "Rot in prison? It will not happen. So if your plan is based on that, go downstairs and cancel it. It will calm them down at least."
"It is crucial for what I proposed, yes, and it will happen exactly as I say it will."
"Since we are talking about me and what I will do, I don't think so." She said flatly.
He took a quick breath as if to stop the yell that was about to emerge. And it worked. Because his voice sounded deadly but not louder than a whisper.
"I didn't keep you to let you die."
"You didn't keep me." She said higher. "I chose to stay. Now and..for the years to come."
For a moment he tensed and she felt awkward for her statement. It almost seemed like a vow.
She searched for something to say, to follow her words, to cover them, but failed.
"You realise we are behaving like them." He stated calmly.
"That is what happens when someone cares." She answered.
He sat back down and this time he stayed quiet.
They didn't speak, not even move much after that. He was sitting on his chair and she at the end of the bed across him. At one point she got up and opened the window, letting the breeze flow inside the room. It was summer, yet it wasn't so warm in here. Not like the summers back at the Hyuga grounds, when the night breeze was almost cold, but still it was barelable. When they would go back home, the days would be filled with sweat and the nights would be much the same. She suddenly realised that she never asked where they were. She turned at him and he was looking back.
"Were are we?" She said and his expression betrayed his surprise, forming a second later to a frown.
"Have you lost it entirely?" He asked.
"I mean where is this place located." She replied.
His eyes raised slightly. He hadn't thought about it too.
"It must be northern than home." She put her finger on her lips.
"It can't be. The temperature is more hot here." He responded.
They both stared each other for a moment.
"You don't mean the Hyuga grounds." He said almost unsure.
She nodded in denial.
He turned his gaze quickly and she stared back outside.
A thought popped in her head. Something that she didn't know where it came from, but when she repeated in her mind, it seemed too real, too truthful to discard it.
She gave him a pick. Home is where you are, she thought and bit her lips.
_____
When they were called back, only his brother was present. He didn't ask if it was because they fought or because of the decision Itachi had taken. He didn't care. Perhaps it was both.
His plan was going to move forward. That was all that mattered. He knew he was right about the points that he had made and Itachi also realised it. His brother wasn't stupid, the opposite of that. That was why he addressed to him. Only he could relate with his suggestions. He who had lived in the same house, with the same parents.
He, who had grown in a completely different home than him.
The next day, they had packed the few things they owned quickly, Itachi would not take anything with him. He was caught on the road, he would be a prisoner after all, he wasn't entitled to his belongings.
The silver man was gone again. He hadn't been in his line of vision since yesterday and he observed as his brother's eyes were traveling to a door at the end of the hall behind the stairs. The office. He had stayed there perhaps, their fight might had left them separated.
"We are ready." Sasuke said and they turned at him. "Better to leave early. I don't want to miss another day." He had learnt that the house was somewhere in the middle of his grounds and hers, in an abandoned clan area that was supposed to be haunted so nobody occupied it at the moment.
"It's better to arrive at night." He continued, but he had only her attention.
He waited for a moment, looking at him as he looked away.
"Inform him that we are leaving. He is at his office." He said to Hinata and as she nodded to do what she was told, he caught Itachi's stare.
He turned when it seemed unmoving.
"What?" He said.
"I am curious." Itachi eyes' were piercing.
"About?" He asked and looked away.
"Why did you do that? I thought you hated him."
"He is my ally. Isn't he?" Sasuke said mockingly.
"Oh." Itachi responded.
"Are we just going to leave?" He said irritated.
"I thought that you would have preferred it."
He didn't have the time to respond as he heard her steps on the floor. She looked at him, worried or sad, he couldn't tell.
"So?" He asked.
"Let's go." Itachi answered and turned before she could say anything.
He was passing through the door before them.
"Sasuke.." She only spoke and he knew. The man he hated the most would not come. He believed if anyone would make him agree it would be her. Not that he particularly hoped to see him.
He walked to the door and she followed. They were just a few steps away from the house hidden in plain sight.
"Do we have a rope?" Sasuke asked. "How is he going to be passed as a prisoner?" He answered to their questioning gazes.
"Prepare the horses and wait here." He said and he threw his bag on the ground.
He went back in, passed the staircase and opened the closed door.
The man was on the window, the sudden sound startled him.
"We need rope." Sasuke said. "And something to cover his face. I can't have him wondering around like this."
It took the other a moment to process the demand. His eyes were narrowed when he spoke.
"Of course." He said, almost spitting the words.
He walked, bypassed him.
"Follow me." This time he sounded tired.
They entered a storage room of sorts and he watched him searching in a box for the things that he had asked for.
"Here." He said and passed him the rope. "I think I have a clean fabric you can use in here."
"Are you seriously not going to see him off?" Sasuke spoke louder than he intended.
The man stopped his movement for a second.
"Not that I care what you both do. But since you took all the trouble to hide him, it seems like a waste." He said with mockery.
"Itachi had made his decision. I am not going to wave him off to his grave." He turned with a black fabric on his hands.
"Why the sudden concern?" The man asked.
Sasuke let out a laugh.
"You misunderstood. I am not concerned in the slightest. I still hate you."
"Why ask then?"
"He will perform better if he is not clouded by trivial matters." Sasuke said and raised his hand to take the fabric.
The man gave it to him reluctantly.
"He will not die anyway. You will have your chance." He said, just before he exited. "I expect you to be ready to retrieve him if the time comes. As an ally." He added and walked out.
He saw the other two waiting for him by the horses. He was a few feet away from them, when her eyes widened. Yet she wasn't looking at him. Itachi started to walk and as he bypassed him, Sasuke turned. A second later, he was already looking back.
"Stop looking at them." He told her as he put his bag on the side of the horse. "And stop smiling."
She turned around too, but the smile on her face wasn't erased. He was frowning. Looking at them kissing was not on his plans.
_____
The first few hours passed peacefully. They were in a good mood, idiotically if he could say, because they were moving to a dangerous destination. All of them.
Yet their mood changed when Sasuke spoke.
"It's time." He said and he came down of his horse. He brought the rope out of the bag and looked at his brother. Itachi was down a second later, his hands on his front, accessable for Sasuke to tie them.
"Are you sure?" He asked at the third turn.
He wasn't looking at him, but he knew the other set of eyes were on him.
"Should you be asking me that?" He responded lightly.
"Now, it's the time to turn around. After this.."
"Don't worry." Itachi spoke and his heart palsed. How many times, had it heard that tone in the past. How many years had passed since then?
"I am not. I just inform you."
"Okay." He said.
"Bring me the fabric. We should cover his face." He told her.
She seemed reluctant.
"Hinata." He said and she did as she was told.
She understood it too, that it was necessary.
Noone spoke after that. They let the extra horse, the one that was carrying Itachi flee. Find its way to the shelter, its owner had left behind. They should be extra careful.
She rode the horse with him. Itachi took hers and they tied it to their own.
She was close, he touched her, even when he tried not to. He could feel her tensed and he didn't know if it was because of the proximity, or the man they were going to face in a little while.
"We are arriving in a while." He said to comfort her, to prepare her.
He saw her head that shook in front of him.
Her voice wasn't heard, but a moment later, she touched his right that held the straps.
"It will be okay." She whispered.
He let a laugh and she turned her head just enough to face him.
"It will." She said determined and her breath reached him.
For that sear moment he forgot about the dire situation, of his brother that was right next to them, of the world that existed outside this space. For that moment, he thought that if he kissed her, he would steal some of that determination.
"Be prepared." He said and the enter to the grounds marked by another silence.
They arrived in the middle of the night. Like thieves. Fitting and appropriate.
Sasuke got out of the horse, helping her first and then Itachi. Noone had seen them yet, but if they walked further, a guard would appear.
He removed the fabric of the man's face. They had to be quiet and quick. He looked at him and walked to a path to the side. Itachi followed. His brother bent after a while, lifting a rock and Sasuke thought about smiling or crying. It was another path, that Itachi had found long ago. One that they used together, when they wanted to be brave and leave the house for a while. The one that he was sure Itachi had took when he left.
He was the one that entered first by fate perhaps. He was tired to be thinking like this. Fate wasn't something he believed in.
Sasuke let her pass next and he quickly followed placing the rock back to its place.
They were lucky enough to enter the house unnoticed. That was when she let a breath out.
She removed her shoes and he naturally mimicked her movement like they had returned back home after a long day.
Only when they had reached the table, he turned and saw Itachi beside the door as if he was an indruder. He was. Still.
"Oh your restrains." She said and rushed to untie him. Yet he seemed reluctant to move.
"So this is your house." He said after a while.
"You are going to sleep in her room..In the spare room." He brushed him off. "Until father arrives."
"Aren't you going to summon him now?" He asked.
"I am too tired to watch you die today." Sasuke answered and he felt her eyes on him. Thankfully she said nothing.
"Let me show you." She spoke to his brother. "Do you want to take a bath?"
"I don't think it is wise. A clean, well slept prisoner won't do." He smiled faintly.
"Maybe tomorrow." She smiled back.
"Yes, maybe tomorrow." He said not so sure.
She guided him further inside and Sasuke watched them walking side by side.
It was a glimpse of what could have been, of what would have happened if the owner of this house, of this life wasn't him, but the rightful one.
How easy it would have been for her to adjust, how easy life would be for all of them.
"Sasuke?" She said after a while. "Are you coming?"
He followed her voice as she entered his bedroom.
"You should rest too. Tomorrow will be a long day."
"One of the many." He responded.
She walked to the other side of the bed. The one she knew that was not his.
"Is it silly that I am more at ease now?" She asked.
"It is." He answered.
She closed her eyes and he laid down too.
It would be easier, a breeze to what they had to face now. Yet he selfishly thought that for the first time, he was glad that Itachi had left.