Chapter 23

Though she had already expected it, Hinata still jumped in shock when she got home, and her father immediately snapped at her.

"Where have you been?" Hiashi's eyes drifted down to his daughter's outfit, eyes widening slightly, "You were with that silver-haired punk, weren't you?"

The Hyuuga girl's hand tightened around the strap of her backpack as she stood her ground with a frown, "I was with Hidan, yes," she didn't speak disrespectfully, though she wanted to, "I won't get to see him or any of my other friends anymore, so I'm trying to spend as much time as possible with them. P-Please understand that."

"I told you not to leave this house for any reason but school. You've become very disobedient lately. It's those criminals' fault. They're turning you against your family like they did Itachi."

Hinata's eyes narrowed, "I can't speak for Itachi, but the only person turning me against my family is you. I-If you'd just try to act like my father instead of my…my owner o-or something, then none of this would've happened!"

Hiashi grabbed her arm and began pulling her upstairs toward her room. The usually soft-spoken girl continued, "And they're not criminals! You know nothing about them!"

When she was shoved into her room, she turned to glare at her father.

"I know more than you, obviously, or you wouldn't be so eager to trust them with your life, insolent girl," the man sneered.

He continued without waiting for her response, "I've done some extra digging into their backgrounds, and every single one of those lowlifes has done unforgivable things. Deidara, for example. Did you know he's responsible for three separate bomb threats in Iwagakure? The only reason he's not in prison is because he's a minor, and no one was killed."

'Bomb threats? Deidara really did that? …He must've had a serious motive because he's much too nice to do something like that on a whim!'

When he realized his daughter wasn't convinced, Hiashi added, "And Yahiko. He was the prime suspect in the murder of the warden at the orphanage raising him. They didn't have enough evidence, but it's obvious who did it."

"That's enough, Dad! Whatever you found is just one side of the story. Things could've been going on that the public didn't know about. They might've had a good reason, even if it is true."

"And your beloved Hidan's the worst of all."

Hinata's mouth clamped shut, teeth gritted.

Hiashi's eyes were cold and uncaring, "He was found as the only person alive after a massacre in Yugakare at age fifteen. He killed seven church officials, Hinata. He's a monster, and you've been sneaking out to see him. What if he murders you, too?"

Ice met the girl's blood, "I-It's not true!"

"It is. I'd have never allowed those boys to work here if I'd known beforehand. I suppose I must take some of the responsibility since I allowed them into our home."

She shook her head, allowing her backpack to fall to the ground, "You're lying. He wouldn't do something like that."

Her father huffed angrily, "Wait here." He left for a few moments before returning with a stack of files, handing them over. Rather than stand there and watch her go through them, he shut the door, "If you sneak out again, I'll have no choice but to punish you. Don't make that mistake twice."

Hinata sat on the edge of her bed and looked at the five files she'd been handed, one for each boy that'd worked in her home: Yahiko, Deidara, Itachi, Sasori, and Hidan.

'I wonder if he knows the identity of any of the others. Probably not, since he doesn't have files for them.'

In Deidara's file, there were no photos, just police reports. None of the bombs actually went off, so there was no crime scene to document.

Yahiko's was a different story. How Hiashi managed to get such explicit photos of the crime scene was unknown, but they were brutal and unfiltered. An older woman, appearing in her late forties or early fifties, had her head bashed in with a blunt object.

There were photos of all the children present for the murder. Hinata expected Yahiko's, though she didn't realize he'd been so young at the time of the crime. His exact age wasn't specified, but he couldn't have been more than twelve in the photo. The stoic man she'd become so used to seeing was only a scared-looking child.

To her surprise, Nagato's photo was also in the bunch, though nothing other than his first name was mentioned, and he wasn't considered a suspect.

Sasori had no murders in his file but had nearly a dozen cases of suspected or confirmed physical assault spanning multiple cities. He spent short periods in juvenile detention but never got into serious trouble because no one suffered permanent injury. The people who'd been hurt also refused to press charges for some reason.

Itachi only had one incident in his file, from around the time he'd first joined the Akatsuki. In Kirigakure, he was spotted near a facility that manufactured health products and tested them on animals just minutes before someone broke in and released them, setting the building on fire once they were safely evacuated.

'Kisame was obviously involved in this one, too, if his profession is anything to judge by,' Hinata mused as she closed the file, 'The reason they did it is obvious. Though I'd never have the courage to act on something I care about like that, it doesn't change my opinion of them.'

All that was left was Hidan's file. Hinata wasn't sure if she wanted to open it because if what was in there was as bad as her father made it seem, the sliver of happiness she captured might just slip away. That said, she had to know for sure. So, she opened the file, only to bring a hand to her mouth in shock.

Dozens of photos were inside, most documenting the corpses. The men were stabbed, slashed, and cut more than necessary to kill someone. Tears welled in Hinata's eyes as she frantically flipped through the horrifying images. A sob passed her lips when she came upon the last few photos. It was Hidan. He was younger, obviously, covered almost head to toe in blood that wasn't his, and appeared to be unconscious with a knife in his hand.

'This must be some kind of mistake! Hidan wouldn't do something like that!'

Hinata's hands shook as she picked up the final photo. It was of a conscious young Hidan sitting handcuffed in the back of a police car. Those magenta eyes were dark with pure hatred and loathing. In all the days she's known him, he'd never offered a look that severe.

'I need to talk to him. I'm sure if I hear his side of the story….' her thoughts trailed off in a different direction as her eyes remained glued to the photos, 'Should I dare to ask him, though? What if he reacts badly to having his past dug up like this? He'll be angry no matter his reasons.'

She pulled her phone into her hands and began dialing his info, only to freeze before hitting the call button. His eyes in the photo were different from the ones she knew. Hidan was obviously not the same person as he was at that time.

'What if he's innocent, or only acted in self-defense, and has been trying to forget about it like I'm trying to forget what happened with Kabuto and Orochimaru? Hidan didn't tell me about this, meaning he didn't want me to know. If I bring it up, I could ruin years of progress.'

As she gathered all the files and sat them on her vanity, Hinata's mind turned around again, 'But what if he's not innocent? Sure, he hasn't seriously hurt me, but what if we fight one day and he…?'

The girl shook her head, groaning with her fists to her eyes as she lay back on the bed, 'No, Hidan has an awful temper, but I just can't picture him doing something like that.'

All the times he'd been secretly sweet to her came to mind.

When Hinata was being bullied, and her hand had been injured, he searched until he found her, patched her up, and drove her home, all without having to be asked. The time Kabuto tried to force himself on her in that alleyway, Hidan swooped in and saved her.

The aura he gave off as they cuddled in the middle of the night last night was something new and more intimate than she'd felt before.

For the rest of the weekend, the Hyuuga girl couldn't bring herself to check the phone for messages or answer when someone called. All she could do was stew in her thoughts, trying to decide what course of action to take. She could ask Hidan to explain and risk him feeling betrayed that she'd somehow found out about his past. Conversely, she could keep it to herself and pray to God that she was right to trust him blindly.

When the girl arrived at school on Monday, she was exhausted. Her sleep had been improving with the new medication, but with the information her father offered, the nightmares returned with a vengeance. An arm came over her shoulder as she walked from her locker toward the Science classroom.

"She's fine. What'd I tell you?" It was Sasori talking, but Deidara was the one with his arm around her. One walked on either side of Hinata.

The blonde frowned, "You're terrible at texting back and stuff."

"After you-know-what, all of us immediately assume the worst when no one can get ahold of you," Sasori grumbled in monotone with his light brown eyes dull and straight ahead.

Deidara smiled sheepishly when Hinata looked at him, his voice lowering slightly, "At least tell everyone you're alive from now on, 'kay?"

'There's no way this boy made bomb threats without an incredibly serious reason. When I picture a terrorist, it's definitely not someone who openly communicates his concern for friends like this.'

She looked over at Sasori, who met her eye and quizzically raised a brow.

'I can't picture him hospitalizing a dozen people, either. He's a good person even if he's sometimes a little snarky.'

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Sasori's not that scary. Cut him some slack."

The girl snapped out of her stupor, gasping with a trembling hand to her cheek as she shook her head and averted her eyes to the ground, "Sorry. I'm just a little tired. Excuse me, guys." She escaped into her Science classroom before either boy could object.

Itachi was the only one inside since class wouldn't start for ten more minutes. As Hinata sat and situated materials on the desk, she was acutely aware of his presence.

It wasn't knowing he helped rescue those poor animals being treated inhumanely that bothered her. It's that she wanted to ask him for advice. Out of everyone in Akatsuki, he's most likely to understand her thoughts because they were raised similarly.

'If I ask him what I should do, there's no guarantee he won't warn the others. It'd be rude, not to mention a little suspicious, to ask him to keep it a secret, too.'

"Something's bothering you, right?" Itachi's familiar, soft, and smooth voice asked.

Hinata's eyes watered as she turned to meet his gaze, the stress that'd amounted over the weekend suddenly becoming hard to withstand. The boy's arms were crossed, and his head was rested against them. Dark eyes appeared calm, as though they could see through her weak facade.

She decided to test the waters if only to ease her anxiety, "You've known everyone a long time now, correct?" He made an affirming sound, maneuvering himself so his head rested on his fist as he waited for her to continue, elbow on the table.

'Please don't get the wrong idea.'

"Is everyone as good a person as they seem?"

Though the expectation was for Itachi to get suspicious, he didn't. His features portrayed understanding. "There are things I still don't know about everyone, but that doesn't matter to me."

When Hinata seemed uncertain, his lips tugged ever-so-slightly upward, and his tone became warm, "Everyone has skeletons, even me and you. You need to ask yourself if you love them enough to accept their faults."

Warmth touched the timid girl's face, "L-Love?"

Itachi did grin that time, an image of beauty with his delicate and dark features, "There are types of love in the world that aren't romantic, Hinata. I'm unsure if you've noticed, but Kakuzu loves Hidan like a father or uncle would a son or nephew. Yahiko and Nagato love each other like brothers."

It finally clicked what the boy was trying to say.

"A family."

He nodded, voice softening to a lower volume as he averted his eyes from her face, "They were there for me when my father set me up to be arrested. They even sent money when I was sent away because the place withheld meals as punishment. I might've starved if not for them."

Suddenly, Hinata recalled the moment she was informed that Itachi had been sent off because he'd been arrested for theft, 'So that was all a setup by Fugaku? I don't understand. He seemed so concerned for his son at the hospital.'

Itachi's reason for distancing himself from the Uchiha family began making sense.

'I wonder if Sasuke knows the truth.' Her gut told her the answer was no.

"I'm sure you've realized that none of those guys do things halfway. A few of them already see you as part of the family, too. If that's not what you want, you should make it known very soon. The longer you wait, the more it'll hurt for everyone."

Hinata wanted to cry. The warm atmosphere at the house on Friday night suddenly made more sense. To them, it wasn't a group of friends or a gang. It was a family.

Itachi surprised her further by developing the slightest hint of red on his cheeks, "It's not just Hidan and the art idiots that are happier when you're around."

For the first time, the Uchiha boy seemed to be referencing the fact that they were childhood friends. It sounded like he was relieved to have met her again after all these years.

She smiled softly, taking a calming breath to prevent herself from bursting into tears, "It took me a long time to figure out who you were, you know. Sasuke had to tell me. I felt like such a moron."

"I know," he crossed his arms again, "Don't feel bad. I didn't recognize you at first, either."

For the next few hours, the Hyuuga girl continued pondering all the information given by her father and the stunningly comforting advice Itachi offered. Deidara and Sasori didn't speak to her much during art class, but Konan spent the hour trying to get details on what happened Friday night.

At the beginning of lunch, Hinata avoided meeting Hidan's eye. He didn't say much other than mildly chewing her out for not answering the phone over the weekend. Either he picked up on the unease alone, or one of the others signaled him to back off.

Halfway through, Konan snickered, "What's that on your neck, Hidan? Finally get in a fight?"

Hinata glanced at the boy in question, only to freeze when she saw the tiny, faded, crescent-shaped marks on his skin. They were almost gone, barely noticeable. Her face erupted with a wild blush, and she shot her gaze back down to her tray.

'Please don't tell them! Please don't tell them! Please don't tell them!'

"Ha! Look how red she is!" Deidara mused.

The girl looked up and immediately realized they already knew the truth. She groaned, shoulders slumping comically.

It wasn't necessary, but Konan explained anyway, "Sorry, Hinata. As soon as someone noticed on Saturday and asked, he-" "He took his shirt off and showed everyone," Sasori deadpanned.

Hidan chuckled, nudging her with his elbow, "They're just fuckin' jealous."

Hinata shot him an unserious, defeated look, only to freeze when the magenta color of his eyes brought the image of tiny Hidan, covered in blood, handcuffed, and seeping with anger to mind. The air left her lungs, eyes widening before she faced forward again with a furrowed brow, 'You idiot. He totally knows something's up now.'

"Damn, Bro. You were so bad in bed that she can't stand to look at you!" Deidara teased.

The girl gasped, waving a dismissive hand, "N-No, don't-" "One of these days, I'm gonna really kick your ass, Fuckface," Hidan cut in, sounding irritated.

The blonde young man's amused expression fell, and he glared back, "If you could, you would've already done it."

"So, Christmas, you guys! Are we going to get together or anything? I have gifts to give out either way," Konan interjected. It was apparent she wanted to distract the two boys from their argument.

Hinata's brow furrowed. Her mind's been so preoccupied with what would happen in January that she hadn't thought about the holiday. This would be her first Christmas without both her mother and Hanabi. Tenten told her she overheard Hiashi on the phone with Hanabi's school, informing them he didn't want her traveling home during the break.

'I can't imagine him wanting to spend it with me, and he'll never allow me to visit my friends, either.'

She wanted to either cry or hit something but settled for twirling some pasta absently on her fork with a frown, 'I'll just get everyone a gift and bring them to school on the twenty-fourth.'

"Kakazu and Kisame said something about a cabin," Itachi offered, his eyes trained on the book he read rather than the table or food.

"Oh, shit, yeah. We haven't been there in forever," Hidan sounded excited.

Konan perked up, her usually calm demeanor faltering, "Kakazu has a cabin? Can I come?"

Deidara snickered, "As if Yahiko would let you not come. What about you, Hinata? Think you can sneak out?"

The girl immediately nodded, though it was a lie, 'Dad said he'll punish me if I disobey him again. I'll just come up with an excuse the day before or something. It'd have been nice to see everyone, though.'

Before, she was under the impression that there wasn't anything else Hiashi could do to punish her. Now Hinata's not so sure. He had entire files on her friends. It's likely he has more things hidden.

Hidan kept his distance for the rest of the school day until the final class ended. Then he loomed over her at their lockers, eyes ablaze with ire, "What's your fuckin' deal today?"

Tears immediately arose in Hinata's eyes as the bloody image from before returned to memory, and she tensed instinctually. She wasn't afraid of Hidan hurting her. She was scared of him finding out she knew about the massacre and breaking up with her for hiding it.

More than anything, Hinata desperately wanted to ensure he didn't think she was assuming the worst. Until she could devise a good way to approach the situation, the plan was to keep things under wraps.

Hidan's glare softened slightly, and he hissed, "Did I end up hurting you after all? Why the hell didn't you say something?"

She shook her head, gently holding the front of his shirt while attempting to regain her composure, "I haven't been sleeping well. I-I'm sorry if I seem weird." It wasn't a lie, at least.

Just by the look on his face, the girl could tell he had actually realized what happened when she woke up from a nightmare the other night. It was also evident that he didn't know what to say. Hinata could tell he wanted to help but wasn't sure how to without coming off drastically out of character. She could also tell he felt bad for not saying or doing anything anyway.

Her brow furrowed, "It's okay."

Hidan followed as she closed her locked and slipped under his arm to head for the staircase, "Why don't you take Melatonin or something? There's that Valerian Root shit, too."

"Honestly, though, I don't want to sleep because then-" the girl gritted her teeth, cursing inwardly.

"Who the hell do you think you're fooling, Hinata?"

She lowered her head as they walked down the block toward her car. The right words to say just weren't coming up. In fact, no responses came up at all. When the couple reached the car, Hidan grabbed her arm so she'd turn, then put a hand on either side of her body as she stood against the vehicle in a way that made escape impossible.

Hinata didn't want to meet his eye but wasn't surprised when he grabbed her jaw and forced eye contact. Tears in her eyes, the girl's brow furrowed. She still couldn't figure out what to say. She was too ashamed.

The silver-haired man kissed her once before releasing his hold, an unfamiliar expression meeting his features. The tone wasn't confident when he spoke, "We've all gone through it."

Sniffling and delicately wiping at her tears, Hinata's voice cracked as she finally responded, "What do I do? When will it go away?"

Hidan's brow furrowed, magenta eyes lighter than usual. He didn't respond for a long moment but then lay a hand atop her head, "I'll come over later. Leave your window unlocked."