Author's Note: This is the prologue to my new ItaHina story. The first chapter will be posted shortly. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Runner

Prologue

Her breathing was the only audible sound in the entire village. It was harsh and uneven, gasping for as much air as she could. She laid on top of the wooden floor of the village announcement stand, her body beaten and broken. Her indigo hair, tainted red with her own blood, covered her. Her pale skin was stained with dirt and blood as well.

She was in agony. It took all of her might not to moan out in pain, and to merely shed tears.

Her pale eyes looked up at the crowd. She was surprised to see mixed emotions. Of course there was fear and anger, but what she didn't expect to see was sadness and pity.

Maybe in these last moments, they realized that not all of her kind are so bad. That they are not so different from the humans. Or maybe they only wished that they would of finished the rest of her kind off sooner. Either way, it was nice to pretend that some of them cared for her.

Heavy foot steps walked toward the beaten female. They stopped right before her.

Hinata looked up at the man above her as he knelt down. His red eyes pierced through her, taking in her hard gaze. It truly amazed him. After all she has been through, she still has enough strength to defy him, even if it was only through her determined look. He smirked down at her. How he loved her fire.

"Hinata... My dear, sweet Hinata." He cooed, placing his hand on her cheek. He rubbed some of the dirt off her, thinking it unworthy to cover her face. "It is such a shame to see you in such a state. Dirt does not suit well you my dear, but your blood on the other hand..." He licked his lips, gazing upon the red liquid. "..it looks quite lovely on you."

The man stood and turned from her.

"Pick her up. I want her in full view."

Hinata was yanked from the ground, a yell bursting through her lips in pain. Two men, one on either side of her, held her by the arms, her legs dangling on the ground.

Walking towards the center of the stand, his eyes went back to her. He held a smile.

"You know, my dear Hinata, all of this was your doing. You could of been sparred the pain if you would of accepted my proposal."

Hinata glared at him. She'd rather die then side with him. To her, he was nothing but a monster. His smile only widened at her heated stare. Of course she would continue to resist.

He brought his attention back to the crowd of humans before him. How weak and pathetic they looked.

"You were never going to win this battle Hinata. It was either them, or us. Peace was never an option." Taking a few steps back, he nodded to someone to his side. They walked away at the signal. "But seeing as you still persist to defy this fact, I had to take action."

The tall man glanced at Hinata.

"If you were anyone else, I would of destroyed you and gone about my way. But seeing as you interest me, and because I do enjoy a little fun once in a while, I decided to give you a choice. Well, an ultimatum more so."

Hinata felt a horrible feeling in her stomach as he turned and looked somewhere else. She followed his gaze. The person he had nodded to had returned with a few others. They held tightly onto someone who was struggling against their grip. He struggled hard, with his hands tied behind his back and a bag thrown over his head. They forced him up on the stand and threw him down at the feet of her capture.

The men grabbed the prisoner and forced him to sit up, keeping him on his knees.

Grinning madly, the red eyed man reached down and snatched the bag off of his head.

Hinata's eyed grew wide. Her body shook and all the air left her lungs. Tears ran down her face at seeing him. He couldn't of been taken down!

"No.." Hinata whispered out. The bound man looked up at hearing her voice. His eyes widened at seeing her.

"Starting to see what I mean my dearest?" Her capture sung out, kneeling next to his prisoner.

"No." Hinata repeated, her voice hoarse.

"Oh yes! You see Hinata, this is what your choices consist of." Hinata shook, knowing exactly what he was proposing. "I will let your pathetic little village live a little longer, but at cost." His eye went to the man next to him.

"Let him go!" Hinata yelled out.

"Oh! But of course! But Hinata, no choice goes without a cost. Let me have this village to destroy, and I will allow your precious Itachi to live."

Thank you for reading. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think.