A/N A little side project of my pet ship. Ages will differ from canon.

Chapter 1 The missing ethics of tutoring

"Good morning, Hinata-chan."

She inclined her head stiffly in acknowledgement. "Uchiha-san."

"My, I feel hurt that you would address me so distantly. Now try again, how about… Itachi-kun? Or even perhaps, nii-san?" his obsidian eyes narrowed in pleasure when he saw the girl's annoyance – the tell-tale sign being a subtle downturn of the lips.

"Itachi, are you bothering little Hinata-chan again?"

Hinata almost collapsed in relief at Obito's entrance. He had his maid by his side, guiding him into the library slowly.

"Uncle-"

"-Obito-san!" Hinata cut in, leaping up to offer the man her chair. "Please sit."

"Why thank you. You and Mira are the only ones who spoil me in this family." He sent a sweet smile in the maid's direction in which she blushed darkly under.

"Uncle." Itachi interrupted, irritation lacing his tone. "Hinata has some homework she needs help with going over."

"Oh no, silly me. Please don't mind me, really. Do continue."

Hinata hid a smile behind a curtain of hair. She was grateful for Obito's interference. Without him, she'd be nothing more than a sitting duck for his sadistic nephew.

Sighing under his breath he turned his predatory eyes onto Hinata. "It's to my understanding that you've missed out on a month of school work due to your father's business trip?"

"Yes, but it's of no concern. I don't require any assistance."

Itachi hums under his breath. "Tell me, Hinata-chan. What's your ranking in school?"

She frowned. "Ninth."

"Well then I see lots of room for improvement." He leans in with a smirk.

"In Hinata's defence, her frequent absences have made it hard for her to attain a rank any higher. Frankly it would be impossible to get anything above fifth and her father understands this."

Itachi makes a noise in the back of his throat that immediately shuts Obito up. Hinata felt a headache coming on. Rankings were meaningless to her. Inheriting her father's company was a matter of blood. Aptitude to apply knowledge and skill to real life came in at a close second and she had that in spades. High school rankings however? They didn't even make its place in the miniscule disclaimers of the last page. Despite knowing all of this, it wouldn't do to piss off Itachi. Her father had asked him to help tutor her in order to deepen their relations with the Uchiha family and help sweeten the business deals. And Hinata would be damned if she wasn't the most diabetes inducing saccharine sweet student that Itachi had ever had the pleasure of teaching.

"Obito-san, please. It's ok. Itachi is right to say I'm inadequate. I should be paying more attention to my studies." She pulled a forced smile from out of her ass and turned her gaze downwards in a submissive, repenting and mostly importantly, practiced manner. Truth be told, her ranking could be chalked up to her refusal to join in on extracurricular activities. In the private school she was enrolled in, everything one participated in was calculated and factored into one's ranking. This included charity events, school council positions and club involvement. Needless to say, Hinata was in none of these. Between juggling the running of the Hyuuga household and her time expensive hobby of stalking the slums, school activities had no place in her life.

"Good, now that we're on the same page, may I see the things you've been assigned?"

Hinata grudgingly pulled out an empty logging journal and some novels that she had been expected to read and analyse.

Itachi fingered the titles on the various novels and hummed with familiarity. He then began to flip through her bare journal, his mouth twisting into a dark smile.

"This is awfully neat and consistent, I must say."

Obito chose this unfortunate moment to insert his misguided encouragement. "That's my girl! I knew she was a smart cookie from the very first time I met her and she saved me from wandering off to god knows where."

Hinata avoided Itachi's smug gaze. "Yes. The pages, so impeccably white and smooth, free of-."

She choked on her saliva and shot him a warning look. With an imperceptible shake of the head she mouthed a warning 'Don't.' Itachi gave a shrug and leaned back, amusement lighting up his features.

"Master Obito, I think it's time for your mid-morning medication." Mira said, wrapping a steadying hand around his arm and helping him to stand.

"Oh, is it that time already? Thank you Mira. What would I do without you?" he has a soft smile playing on his face as he follows Mira obediently out of the room. "I'll see you children later at dinner."

Hinata gave Mira one last grateful glance before the two of them disappeared from sight. With a strained smile she again apologises to Itachi who waves it off airily. "No need to say things you don't mean. It's just a waste of both our times."

She nods hesitantly in response. Well this wasn't going as planned. Perhaps it was time to angle it from a different way. "Uchi – Itachi-san, I feel that you have largely misunderstood me and my intentions today."

He laughs, interrupting her. "Not just today apparently. Last I remembered, you shut the car door in my face the first time we met. Talk about misunderstood first impressions."

She suppresses the urge to roll her eyes. That was more than a decade ago, long enough that even she barely remembered the occurrence. And yet he still brought it up whenever he had the chance.

"Yes, and I apologised for that happening."

"It was hardly a slip of the hand if that's what you're thinking. In no way are you exempt from penitence. You threw that door in my face with such purpose and fire." He flicked his fingers out, mimicking an explosion, eyes drifting to the ceiling as if he was recalling a fond memory.

Lips pursed, she bit down on her tongue, willing herself to stay silent. All for naught as not a moment later she blurted, "I was five!"

This was an 'aha!' moment for Itachi, Hinata could tell, because his eyes lit up with childish excitement unbefitting of a young adult fast approaching twenty one. His immature animation derived from none other than the usually stoic girl before him and his victory in getting a rise out of her. Hinata was about to tell him to laugh it up but stopped herself short, instead crossing her arms and averting her glare. She missed his softened eyes.

"Hinata, I've known you since you were a little girl. When are you going to drop the reservedness and start unabashedly slamming doors in people face's again?"

She unfolds her arms, palming the table between them. "Itachi-san, we are nothing more than teacher and student. Please don't mistake my previous slip up to be an invitation into something more."

The only visible shock was the slight widening of his eyes. He adjusts the cuff of his shirt, "It seems that I've overstepped my boundaries." And with that, the rest of the lesson was spent in frigid one-liners and bitter discomfort.

Putting down her book, Hinata clears her throat. "I'll go get us some refreshments." The chairs scraped harshly against her poor excuse as she all but darts out of the room. Shutting the door behind her, she presses herself against it, heaving deep breaths.

Ever since Hanabi had almost been crippled at the hands of the Akatsuki two years ago, Hinata and Itachi's relationship had been strained at best. He had been unwilling to apologise and she, unwilling to forgive. Still, their amiable teacher-student farce needed to continue lest they face the wrath of their respective fathers. Which led them to the present situation where neither was prepared to back down.

Clenching a fist to her chest, she hurried down the long hallways before the risk of Itachi coming to find her emerged. In her sightless haze she almost bumps into a figure and does her best to skirt around. Her limbs move in a fluid, practiced manner, though a shed mechanical. However, a spiteful foot was unaccounted for as she trips past it, hands flailing to grasp hold of anything to steady herself. An unwitting head of raven hair is her unfortunate target as she grabs a fistful of it, yanking its owner down with her. Her revenge plan escalated into a great tragedy as a heavy body crashes atop of her, knocking the wind from her. Spluttering under the weight of the groaning figure she finally regains enough awareness to harshly shove the warm blanket of a body off herself. Hinata sits up straight, face red and contempt dripping in buckets. "Sasuke."

He returns the scathing look, rolling his shoulder back. His hand drives itself roughly through his tussled locks. Hinata watches with sick pleasure as his pain and irritation showed clear as day. He narrows his eyes at her. "You witch."

She scoffs back a retort, getting to her feet and stomping off. She wanted no more involvement with the Uchiha brothers. Fate had other ideas.

A/N I'm trying my hand at romance. Wish me luck!