Caught in the Darkness

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Deal

"That's my story..." Hanako sighed after she finished telling Itachi the real truth.

"So, I knew that Madara was your great grandfather, but was he the one who trained you for the Chunin Exams...?" Itachi looked at her with confused eyes.

"Yes..." Hanako pursed her lips, looking away from the Uchiha male. "I'm sorry, I lied to you, every single day. You were always asking if something happened, if I was hiding something, and I always lied to you saying that everything was fine and that I was okay."

"Don't forget the fact that you also had the Mangekyou and didn't say anything..." Hanako sighed.

"About that... Shisui had told me that I should keep it a secret, that's why I didn't tell you."

"And still you told the Police Force..." Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, making Hanako look at the ground with a regretful face.

"Sorry about that... I just wanted them to trust that I could help them protect the clan... but I just ended up guiding them to misfortune, didn't I?" Itachi's gaze on her softened upon seeing Hanako retracting herself into a submissive position.

"The past is past, there's nothing we can do to change it." Itachi sighed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer to him. "It's all right now."

Hanako looked at Itachi with widened eyes. "Oi! What do you think you're doing, Hanako!" The girl flinched at Hayabusa's screech and looked behind her shoulder to see the bird flapping his wings so hard that the air around them felt like knives. Itachi covered Hanako protectively as he glared at the bird. "I thought you would be meeting Kisame? Who's this guy?"

Hanako looked at Hayabusa with her Sharingan activated. "Maybe I would tell you if you stopped flapping your wings so hard!" Hanako spoke loudly at him, making him land right over her shoulder as he pinched Itachi's arm so hard that the Uchiha had to pull away.

"I see, you must be Hayabusa" Itachi commented while holding his injured arm. "You're not so friendly I guess..."

"Itachi! Watch your mouth!" Hanako widened her eyes at his comment before looking at her falcon with worry. Hayabusa only scoffed.

"So, you're the famous Itachi, huh?" The bird leaned closer to the man. "Listen carefully, if you even dare to hurt Hanako only once more, I will rip you into threads and feed your meat to newborns in my nest. Do we have an agreement?"

Hanako gulped as she looked at the Uchiha. Itachi only smirked. "I have no intentions of hurting Hanako," he said. "Why would I harm someone I care about?"

"Why would I believe that? Coming from the man who murdered his entire clan in cold blood," Hayabusa retorted.

"Hayabusa!" Hanako looked at him with a frown. Itachi's smirk disappeared from his face as he looked away. "He didn't mean that..." Hanako looked at Itachi, noticing his gloomy look.

"It's okay, I'm not affected by that anymore." Itachi jumped off from the boulder. "You should go back to the village before they notice you're gone. I suppose you're under ANBU's watch."

"More like Kakashi's watch." Hayabusa looked at the Uchiha male with intent eyes. "Kakashi will take care of her from now on, you can go back. We don't need you."

Itachi took a deep breath before he turned away from them. "Wait!" Hanako also jumped off from the boulder, forcing Hayabusa to rise up and maintain himself in the air beside her by constantly flapping his wings. "When will I see you again?"

Itachi only smiled at her before he disappeared into a bunch of crows that scattered around. He didn't say anything, perhaps he wasn't thinking about coming back in a while? Hanako felt her heart falling into her stomach and she trembled slightly. She could already feel tears running down her cheeks. Unconsciously, she lifted up her hand to caress her lips. Her own lips that had connected to his a few moments ago. "Why...?" Hanako shook her head. "Why did I kiss him? I'm such an idiot..." She covered her mouth.