Kingdom by the Sea

Hinamei rarely swore. There were exceptions, like on special occasions when she's nearly 98% sure the world is coming to an end or when she walks into doorways in public places. But on this occasion, she was swearing because she had come to find out Itachi wasn't as much of a monster as she had originally thought. Yes, he had killed everyone else, but seeing Sasuke in the flesh was nearly proof that Itachi wasn't completely heartless. Nearly, but not fully. Which led her to think that maybe, just maybe, Yukio had made a mistake.

Itachi had promised that she wouldn't get hurt, and for a short while she had believed him. It wasn't until Yukio had used his gift to uncover Itachi was really leading her in for the kill. But maybe that's what he had sworn to protect her from? Of course Itachi knew Hinamei well enough to know that if he had told her she was going to die within the next month, she was sure to cause a scene and probably embarrass them both. And how right he was, for Hinamei stood in the old Uchiha compound with her hands to her temples and her eyes snapped shut, knees brushing against her chin as she crouched on the ground. Nearly helpless to the feeling that she had made one of many great mistakes. And only now had she really given Itachi a reason to kill her, both of them actually. They were both going to die because like always, Hinamei jumped the gun.

"Fuck. Fuck. What have I done? He's going to have me killed. No, he's going to kill me himself. Oh, fuck." Her breathing hitched as she murmured under her breath. With her hands weaved in between long locks of hair, she tugged helplessly, trying to get herself back under control. It wasn't working. "Do I stay here? No, he's going to find me!" She wailed lowly. Her eyes opened slightly and she groaned, "and if Sasuke sees me, he's bound to recognize me and then what?" Shaking, she bent herself farther over and wrapped her arms over her head so that all she saw was the dark space between her knees. "Maybe I should go find Itachi and say sorry." Blinking in the dark confines of her arms, her lip pulled into a pout. "Like that's going to work, even when he did like me an apology never fixed anything." Feeling frantic, she suddenly felt ten years old again. But this time, no one was there to say Itachi would get over it and eventually forgive her.

Which knowing him, he probably never would regardless.

Now that she had come to the conclusion that she was between a rock and a hard place, she was able to calm down. At least knowing that there was no way out was more comforting than having no idea what you're going to do. Now her only option was to give up and cry a little more, which she gladly did. It took ten minutes for her to remind herself that like it or not she was an adult now and adults faced their problems head on. So she wobbled upwards and sadly moped back to her house where she debated waking up Yukio to tell him that he better prepare himself to die, because sooner or later it was going to happen. But she just couldn't do it and instead she wandered around the house cleaning various objects so that her mind didn't flip back into insanity once more. By the time Yukio roused, Hinamei had the entire kitchen and sitting room clean. Her elbows and arms caked in dust and grime. "Why are you up so early?" Yukio asked sourly as he entered the room like Hinamei had disturbed him in one way or another. For once though she ignored his chiding tones and turned towards him with a sympathetic frown on her lips.

"Did I wake you up?" She asked gently. Immediately Yukio came to a halt and raised an eyebrow curiously. Hinamei never spoke to him like that and he felt he had a right to be worried.

"…No," he said just as softly. "Did something happen?" She shook her head but her eyes told a whole different story. As she turned back around to resume scrubbing Yukio crept in closer until he was looming over her shoulder. "You're lying." Hinamei answered him with a sigh and she shifted her knees so that she could look the boy in his face.

"Really, nothing happened." Even though she had never been a good liar, she thought that it sounded pretty convincing. Although the look that crossed his face told her otherwise. "What? I can't clean my own damn house? Have you seen it, it's covered in dust!" She glared and fisted her hands, Yukio flinched away nervously.

"But I never said-" Yukio started to say until Hinamei shot him a look that could kill. The fuming girl quickly whipped around, mumbling insults under her breath as she went back to scrubbing the floor. As Yukio stood behind her, his mouth hanging open speechlessly, he quickly shut it and replaced it with a dangerous scowl. He liked her much better when she was being absurdly nice. But what bothered him more is where her sudden mood swing had come from, last time she had been so angry they were being toted away by two blood hungry assholes. It was hard to imagine things could get much worse, he was almost afraid to find out. But being himself there were some things he refused to let go, and if that meant bending his own rules every now and then, so be it. He put his fingers to his mouth and slipped the thin glove from his hand by his teeth. With the glove hanging from his mouth he tenderly reached out and touched the edge of her jacket as she hastily scrubbed the floor raw. A sudden flash of images flooded his mind, the entirety of the morning played back like a movie reel. His fingers lifted off her jacket and hastily, he shoved his hand back into his glove. And suddenly, he found himself in an even fouler mood.

With his mouth pinched firmly shut Yukio wound his hand up and stepped out of the kitchen as discretely as he could, unable to register the slew of bad news that had just hit him like a weight.

In his lifetime he had experienced plenty of unfortunate happenings and for while he had thought that things had already gotten as bad as they could get, but no. Life just hadn't had enough apparently for lo and behold, another Uchiha walked the earth. Damn everything. Yukio sat down on the now clean couch and put his head hopelessly in his still usable hand, his bottom lip trapped between his clenched teeth.

But having another Uchiha around wasn't even the worst part. Firstly, he looked like a mirror image of Itachi. But that probably went without saying because even to an extent Hinamei looked like Itachi. Just prettier and a lot more feminine. Secondly, he looked just as self absorbed and cranky as the other two. It figured, he had been right all along. But the worst of it was how it seemed to affect Hinamei. Her hands were shaking and her eyes were wide and already once it seemed she had broken down. She looked frightened and even more so, she was a ticking time bomb. And her detonation was something he really didn't want to see.

For now though, his best chance of survival was to just act like everything was normal. With an aggravated sigh he straightened up and slowly clambered to his feet. As quietly as he could he sauntered over to the kitchen.

"Sorry, there's nothing to eat here." Hinamei said as Yukio walked past her without a word and headed for the cabinets. He stopped short in his tracks and turned to watch Hinamei shrug her shoulders innocently.

"Then we need to get some."

"I don't have any money!" Hinamei snapped, eyes fierce and holding on strong to Yukio's still impassive face. "So now what?" Yukio sighed, so acting normal wasn't going to fix anything.

"Alright, you need to calm down-"

"Oh, what do you know?"

"I know one stupid boy isn't something to completely lose your mind for, haven't you figured that out yet?" And then, in that moment, Yukio realized the extent of his mistake. Hinamei opened her mouth to speak but suddenly stopped, her eyebrows knitting together as she gathered her thoughts.

"What did you say?" She whispered, leaning in closer from her spot on the floor. Yukio took a well thought out step back.

"N-nothing..."

"Did you touch me?" Hinamei rose to her knees and then to her feet, eyes never straying from Yukio's rapidly paling face. "You did, didn't you? That wasn't for you to see!" With her fists balled up, at first he thought she was going to strike him, but when she bit back a shriek and stormed off, he realized he had gotten off lucky. Yukio took a much needed breath when his area had been vacated and he slowly leaned up against the counter. Why should he have cared anyways? It wasn't as if she was open with him, ever. And as far as that was concerned, it really was his business considering the circumstances. But still, she was all he had and if he didn't play the game nicely, he would lose that too.

"Hinamei," he called out grudgingly, "I'm sorry alright!" He was answered with a long block of silence. With a sigh, he stood back up and went towards the back of the house where she had stormed off to. He lightly rapped on her bedroom door and leaned in, "Did you hear me?" Without waiting for an answer, he walked in and looked at the pathetic pile Hinamei had transformed into. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"You made a mistake." Hinamei said quietly, eyes boring into the wall.

"I did what?" Yukio asked breathlessly.

"You made a mistake, about Itachi. He's not evil like you made him out to be...and Sasuke..." She turned her head into the crook of her elbows and sighed. "He never killed Sasuke, Itachi told me he wouldn't let me get hurt. I believe him, I really do."

"You're blaming everything on me?" Hinamei stayed silent for a long while until she finally rolled over onto her back, eyes focused intently on the ceiling. She took a long breath and turned her dark, bruised eyes to Yukio's disbelieving face. And then, she broke into a small smile.

"Not at all. I blame myself." It was sad almost, the way he could see how much she hated herself in the moment with just one look. Feeling more guilty than usual, Yukio rigidly stepped forward and gently slid onto the bed so that he sat above her head. Gently, he placed his fingers in her wavy hair and brushed it back softly. Hinamei closed her eyes at this touch. At first he thought she was finally relaxing until he saw the shine of a single tear slip out from under her closed lids. Gently, he withdrew his hand.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." He placed his hand back in his lap and leaned against the pillow behind him, trying to figure out the best way of dealing with the situation. "It really is mostly my fault, I did jump to assume." He glanced over at her and frowned. "But you have to realize, no one promised my safety. Face it," he sighed. "I'm expendable. You on the other hand, aren't apparently."

"I wouldn't let them hurt you. I love you Yukio, you saved me remember?" His eyes widened slightly, staring off ahead of him. Those words, those deep, penetrating words that he hadn't heard come from anyone in what felt like ages. When he didn't respond, Hinamei only rolled over and nuzzled into his leg. His heart rate slid down a couple notches and slowly he let his eyes fall onto her face. It was like he was seeing her for the first time, a completely different person lying in his lap. He looked away from her so she couldn't see the small smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah, I love you too Hinamei."

Rather than ruining the moment that had befallen them, Yukio was still, trying not to move so he wouldn't wake Hinamei who had fallen into a light lull. Unfortunately, the minute Hinamei's breathing settled, his stomach growled at a rather deafening volume. Hinamei's eyes snapped open and flickered up to Yukio. The boy grinned back cheekily and took that chance to slid out from under her. "Don't look at me like that, you're hungry too I know it."

"Yeah, well my stomach isn't screaming." She replied back halfway through a yawn. When she finished she sat up lazily and rustled her hair. "What do we do though, I have no money." Yukio didn't even have to think of an answer for that. He had gone long enough on his own to know how to get some food in your stomach when you don't have the means to pay for it.

"No problem, I've know just the way." Hinamei quirked her head in his direction and he had to turn away to stop himself from giving his lies away the instant he spoke them. "Most places offer labor as a payment. "We tell them we have no money, they give us a job to do like dishes or something and we can eat. I do it all the time." He said simply. When he looked back at her, he knew she had taken the bait the way she was staring longingly at her empty stomach.

"Okay, if you say so." She pouted and glared up at him. "But you're washing my dishes for me."

"Fine by me. Now hurry up and get dressed, I'm starving."

By the time they had made it out onto the streets of Konoha, Hinamei had gotten so dressed up she almost didn't look recognizable. "That's the point!" She snapped when Yukio made a snide comment about it. His hand was shoved deep into his pocket as he slowly took in the vast village. There were so many more people here than there were any other place he had ever been. And all of them seemed so happy. It was almost nauseating.

"What about over there?" Hinamei pointed suddenly in front of Yukio's face. Startled, he glanced over in the direction and instantly his mouth watered. The smell wafted in around him and all he could do was double over pathetically.

"Alright, looks fine." They walked into the shop, delighted to find that the place was hardly inhabited. The quikly took their seats and when the clerk came over, both of them ordered a large abundance of food. Hinamei greedily ate, hardly caring that she was supposed to be a lady in a public place. She hadn't realized how much she missed real food until just then.

"Are you sure they are going to let us clean for payment?" She asked through a mouthful of food. Yukio shrugged and grinned.

"I hope so." Slowly, Hinamei lowered her utensils and shot Yukio a disapproving look. Finally, Yukio dropped his utensils to and leaned over the table to glare. "We needed to eat, look, finish and we'll make a run for it. We have to leave the village anyway don't we? We have no money and if people start to recognize you, we're in even deeper trouble than before. It's alright," he sighed. "I do this all the time."

"Well I don't!" She squeaked back in response. Glancing down at her food sadly, she suddenly felt more guilty than ravenous. And the feeling only grew when the clerk came striding back over to the table with a bill in hand. "Oh no..." Hinamei groaned and she put her hand to her forehead. This was bound to be a disaster. The clerk stopped in front of her and bent down so that they were on eye level.

"Pardon me, ma'am." Hinamei looked over with a tight smile on her face. "That gentleman over there graciously paid your bill for you." Yukio's eyes widened and immediately both their heads snapped over to where the clerk had been pointing. The man was tall, sitting at a table by himself with a book in his lap. As if he could feel their eyes on his back, he turned to look at Hinamei and Yukio. She stilled immediately. There was something so familiar about him. His hair was grey, struck up in a questionable style. The majority of his face was covered by a thin blue mask and from the slanted headband on his forehead, it was obvious he was a shinobi. But what struck her nerves more wasn't his unsettling familiarity, but the all knowing look he shot her.

"Do you know him?" Yukio hissed across the table, his hand flickering over her arm. Uneasily, Hinamei pulled her eyes away from the man and focused back on the pale blonde boy across from her.

"I-I don't know."

"Kakashi Sensei! You said you'd meet us at the bridge an hour ago! What's your excuse this time? Huh, come on, give me the best you've got!" Both Hinamei and Yukio looked back over at the sudden intrusion. Three people were now crowded over the shinobi that had paid for their meal. The one speaking was a short, blonde kid that seemed to lack an inside voice. The second was a young girl, with vibrant pink hair. She shot out a vicious fist towards the first boy's shoulder. And it wasn't until he had doubled over in pain did Hinamei catch sight of the third person.

He stood against the wall coolly, watching the scene in front of him with cold, impatient eyes. His arms were crossed and he wore a frown that was so strikingly familiar to Itachi's it was almost frightening. "I was waiting for an old acquaintance so show up, but they never did." Before the blonde boy could say anything, Kakashi turned towards the boy against the wall and nodded. "Sasuke-kun, why don't you take these two outside and wait for me. I'll just be a minute."

"Hinamei! We need to leave now!" Yukio cried out quietly. Hinamei tore her eyes away from the small Uchiha boy and looked up at Yukio fearfully. She nodded and stood up, keeping her head down as she did. Her hand made to slip into Yukio's but a voice stopped both of them in their tracks.

"Not so fast you two." Yukio stilled and slowly looked over his shoulder at the looming man that stood behind them. But his eyes weren't focused on him, instead, his single brown eye was intently staring at Hinamei. She raised her head slowly, her eyes wide like a deer. That shrouded mystery around him, the easy, lazy slouch he wore, it was so familiar...

And then it hit her. She had only met him once before, but how could she forget that day...

"You'll be just fine, hold still now." Hinamei looked up into the single eye of the man who kneeled in front of her, a bandage gingerly stretched between his fingers. She tensed up and waited to relax until he had stuck the bandage firmly over the small cut on her temple. "There, in a couple days you'll be fully healed."

"Thanks, I guess..." Hinamei said quietly, looking at the floor.

"Something wrong?" Kakashi replied softly, slinking slightly closer. The small girl looked up and furrowed her brow, an unwilling pout tracing around her full lips.

"Ita-chan...Shisui, they got hurt really bad and I couldn't do anything." Her eyes flickered to her hands, scraped and red. "It's my fault they got hurt in the first place, I shouldn't have gone into the forest." From under his mask, Kakashi sighed and rocked back on his heels. He stood tall and crossed his arms.

"You say that now, but trust me, they won't blame you."

"How do you know?" She bit back hastily. Sure this man had saved them but he was awfully all knowing, like Itachi. It wasn't a good trait in a man his age.

"Well, in some ways, you saved them. Especially Itachi-kun. He found a certain..." he hesitated for the words and then smiled. "strength he hadn't found before, because he needed to save his friends. He'll thank you in the end." Though it was nice to hear, she highly doubted Itachi would ever thank her for almost getting them killed. This man obviously didn't know Itachi well enough. "You don't believe me." Kakashi shook his head and patted the small girl on the head. "Wait here, I'll go see if the boys are awake yet. And then you can see for yourself that they still care for you just as much as before." Hinamei watched on with little faith as Kakashi stepped away from her and made his way down the hall towards Itachi's and Shisui's room.

Maybe she should have said thank you, after all, she'd hate to start sounding like Itachi.

"Kakashi..." Hinamei whispered, her eyes flickering up to study his face more intently. The man looked slightly taken aback but not as confused as Yukio seemed to be.

"As I thought." Kakashi finally said, crossing his arms. "Glad to see you remember me."

"But how-" Hinamei bit her lip and nervously folded her hands in front of her. "How did you recognize me, it's been so long..."

"You look a lot like Sasuke, it's hard not to notice you honestly." When she tensed up Kakashi immediately shook his head. "But don't worry, there are hardly any people out here more observant than myself. I'm assuming you're not supposed to be here?" She looked away sheepishly.

"Well, no. We're kind of...traveling. I couldn't resist stopping by."

"That's dangerous you know." The man shook his head and it was hard to tell, but under his mask she thought she could see the faintest outline of a smile. "Quite amusing too. I was surprised to hear Itachi had spared Sasuke, but you, well, I always knew he had a soft spot for you. I just didn't think he had turned this soft." His tone struck her the wrong way, and she slunk back nervously.

"I wouldn't use that name lightly, he's far from soft. And keep lowering your guard like you are and you might just get yourself killed."

"I see you've gotten a little tougher yourself." Their conversation was interrupted by a slender hand slipping through the cloth in the doorway. "Kakashi Sensei, hurry up will you? Those idiots are starting to get on my nerves." Hinamei looked over without thinking, her eyes meeting the dark pools of the boy who no longer resembled that smiling cherub that she once had known. His eyes lingered on hers for a second, and just when she thought her heart was going to stop, he looked away. Suddenly with no more interest lingering behind them. "I'm not a babysitter."

"Oh course Sasuke-kun. I'm coming." Kakashi turned back towards the awe-struck two and bowed lazily. "I hope you enjoy what the village has to offer, but don't stick around too long, there's much more to see further into the land of fire." His hint didn't go unnoticed and Hinamei bowed back with more fervor than she had intended. And then it was just her and Yukio.

"Can we leave now?" Yukio asked from behind her, his mind still reeling from the confusing and seemingly dangerous meeting they had just had, though it ended rather abruptly, he couldn't shake the feeling that the worst had yet to come.

"Yeah," Hinamei said softly, eyes still following the empty place where Sasuke had been standing in just moments before. "We can go now. And tomorrow, we're leaving this village for good. These people, they aren't on our side anymore." She brushed a hand in her tangled coffee colored tresses and sighed, motioning forward with her other hand. Yukio led the way in front of her but she quickly fell into stride with him. "You know, I'm starting to think no one is anymore actually." Yukio and her made eye contact and briefly she smiled, though it seemed forced it was still more comforting than she could ever know. "Looks like it's just going to be me and you for a while kid."

Not that he minded anymore though.