Part II: Cut Off: Preview

By: Prosely

Cut Off: noun: a point or level which is a designated limit of something else.

Her fingers dragged across the skin of his cheek, leaving streaks of blood that looked like splatters of paint on his pale flesh.

"You can't escape." Itachi's voice reminded her of a dead thing, hollow and still. It's resonance was also part of his illusion, Hinata realized. He was as dead as body he had placed in front of her. He had presented the three man ANBU team to her like an offering to an ancient Goddess of sacrifice, positioning the immobile corpses of the shinobi towards her as if the faceless men were bowed in supplication, begging for her mercy.

It was sick. It was sick and it was twisted and it made the vomit bubble in the back of her throat again, scalding hot more bitter than her tears. Hinata choked the bile back down, staring into the dead mens' unseeing eyes as she tried to catch her breath.

"I will kill you, Uchiha Itachi." She whispered, pulling back and clenching her delicate fingers into fists. She hated him. She had never hated anything before in her life, but she knew now, with unparalleled certainty, that she hated him.

Hinata had never felt anything like the sensation, the burning desire to hurt. She had never actually wanted to cause pain before. She had never wished harm upon another living being in her life. But her loathing for Itachi felt like an icy hand had plunged itself into her chest whenever she looked at him, clenching around her heart so that she could feel its every beat throbbing against her chest. The Uchiha's head tilted to the side, his crimson gaze glittering with amusement.

"You seem to misunderstand your purpose, Hyuuga Hinata." He said, and she shuddered as her name left his lips like a promise.