Title: Into the Light
Disclaimer: I'll sneak up on you tonight...in the dark...AND STEAL THE COPYRIGHT! MUAHAHAHA...*snort, snort*...ha.
Rating: PG ( K+ ) – 'cuz...I dunno...it just seems like PG.
Spoilers: Itachi goes over to the dark side!!

Summary: OneShot. "I'm not afraid anymore, Itachi-san," she whispered to the night, her pearly-white eyes glossed over and unseeing. "I'll find you. I'll bring you back into the light." ItaHina.

Ah...just BARELY getting this one in on time. I really gotta manage my schedule better. n.n;

(PS: This is a DateMe entry, btw. Theme – Fearless Hearts, Pairing – ItaHina.)

— — —

"And stay in there!" the boy shouted, slamming the closet door closed in the petrified girl's face.

Scrambling to her feet, she threw herself against the wooden barrier that kept her trapped within her dark prison. Though she rarely did so, the girl raised her voice to a screaming pitch as she pounded on the door with her itty-bitty fists. "NO! S-Sasuke-san, let me out! Please let me out!"

"Shut up, Hyuuga!" the muffled voice of the boy commanded. "This is what you get for looking at Naru-tard so much! If you'd rather be off playing with him, then you can just stay in there!"

"No, I d-don't want to be with N-Naruto-kun!" the girl denied, hot tears dripping off her face in a torrent. Her breathing was starting to pick up, her pulse beginning to beat a little too hard; hysteria was close at hand. "PLEASE, Sasuke-san! Let me out! I'm af-fraid of the d-d-dark!"

There was a pause in conversation as the boy didn't answer his prisoner's pleas right away. Between the frantic beating on the wood and the girl's squeals of utter horror, it was doubtful that he would have been heard anyway. "Shut up! You deserve this."

"PLEASE! LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT, LET ME – "

Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak.

"What's going on in here?"

"N-Nothing, 'Nii-san. We're just playing."

"I-Itachi-san!" the girl cried, whimpering as she hit her bloodied fists weakly against the door. His voice was a relief, a consolation to her wildly fluttering heart. As she listened to him speak through the barrier between them, she could feel the tears drying on her face. "P-Please, let me out!"

"Did you lock her in there, Sasuke?"

"...No."

"You're lying."

"She made me do it! It's her fault!"

"Let her out, Sasuke."

"No!"

"Fine."

The girl was pressing her ear against the door, her slippery palms flat against the grain of the wood, listening to them bicker back and forth. At the deeper voice's final word, footsteps could be heard approaching.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

The girl's heart beat in rhythm with the steps, even stopping when they did.

She fell forward as the door opened slowly, bathing the closet in which she'd been trapped with florescent light. In her presence stood a tall silhouette, identity masked by the darkness f his form.

"Are you alright?"

—

Hinata awoke with a start, huffing hard. Pressing a hand to her frantically palpitating heart, she thought to herself, 'That dream again...'

The teenaged heiress sat up in her bed, loose strands of her hair clinging to the sweat and tears drying on her face, and turned to look out the window on the opposite wall. The chilled night air blew into her room and sent a shiver trembling down her spine.

Untangling her legs from the covers that bound them, Hinata placed her feet on the floor and elevated herself into a standing position. They then carried her to the window so that she could look out and observe the sloping landscape of her family's ancient home.

Across those hills, beyond the woods and maybe even past the great mountains at the edge of the fire country was where he might be now. Hidden in a cave, maybe, or perhaps tucked away in underground tunnels somewhere. She didn't know, but she knew that he dwelled in darkness wherever he was.

"I'm not afraid anymore, Itachi-san," she whispered to the night, her pearly-white eyes glossed over and unseeing. "I'll find you. I'll bring you back into the light."

— — —

Author's Note: Well...gee. I hope Itachi isn't OOC n.n;

Review, please!

Un-beta'd.

. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .