A/N: Hello, this is my first story here, and an attempt to get back into writing, something I have not been able to do for quite some time. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. - Linethiel

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto


A year.

Spring was returning to Konohagakure. She could smell it in the air, see it when looking upon the budding flowers in the nearby apple tree. The same tree that had bloomed when she first arrived into this compound.

A year.

She remembered the sweet scent those flowers had given off as she had walked through the yard in silence. The pond, serene in all its stillness, had rippled when a gust of wind had blown across the large yard. The same gust had ripped one of the flowers off the tree. The flower had landed on her feet, and had she not been escorted, with shinobi both left and right, front and back, she surely would have stooped down and picked it up.

She could remember the first time she laid her eyes on the two fans, each etched into the dark double doors and painted red and white, and how they parted to allow her to enter with her escorts. How those below the ranks had bowed as the shinobi leading the party – her to be husband – had strode in. She remembers the calm, quiet fear in her heart. This was a world so unlike her own.

The world of shinobi.

The world of warriors.

The world of killers.

Or so she had been told, at the time. How shinobi were little more than mercenaries, albeit skilled ones. Men and, at the same time something that had made her feel particularly small, women who took money in exchange of services, some of which were lathered with such an amount of blood and horror that for a lady of her noble bearing they were too graphic to hear.

A year.

Oh, how time had flown. Her view had quickly been transformed. Someone, perhaps that great force that granted her the power she held had truly tossed her right into the deep end and told her to swim. She had quickly learned that besides power that exceeded the boundaries of what a normal human could do - in both the physical and mental sense - the people living in this village hidden amidst the leaves were kind and generous, willing to offer good will and respect to those that gave it in return. The spirit of building and hopes of future prosperity were prevalent in the present, but more than that there was a wish for peace. No more war, no more blood.

No more children dying when sent to play the parts of men.

She could still remember those words he had spoken to her, after being married for some time. He truly had hope, she could see that, of a better life. The alliance which Uchiha and Senju had formed would mark a change in the coming ages, of that she was sure.

Her eyes turned to gaze up into the bright sky. It was a sunny day, albeit a bit cold still. Her fingers rested on against the wooden pillar next to her. She allowed her eyes to turn from the apple tree, trail over to the pond and settle on the stone garden besides one of the servants' housings. She released a soft breath and enjoyed the fresh breeze of wind. It played with her strands, almost as if congratulating her for making it through the first year, and welcoming her to the second, and however many there would come.

She knew he was there before he made his presence known, but she still couldn't stop the surprised gasp escaping her lips when a hand, much larger than her own, brushed a wild lock behind her ear. She felt the warmth of his body as he stood close behind her, saw from the corner of her eye as he leaned his arm on the same pillar her hand was resting against. Her lips curled into a soft smile, a smile she had once been told came straight from her soul.

Neither of them spoke.