Rating: M Regular readers know that my stuff can get graphic. This story is no exception. There will be adult situations and coarse language. There WILL be some violence in this fic due to the time period it takes place in. Nothing too graphic of course but I'm not going to sugar coat a war.

Disclaimer: You guys should pay me but you don't. That means I don't own any of the characters in this fic blah blah blah.

CCNote: This wasn't meant to come out for a few more months but over the last week or so I can do nothing but work on this story. It's been bugging me for over a year. I can't even give 'Being' the attention it needs because every time I try to write, the storyline for this crops up and I have to immediately stop and write it down.

Special Shout Out to my Beta ClassySassyFunkyFresh! Thanks so much for your help.

ANYWHO without further ado let's begin. As always don't forget to REVIEW! More reviews means inspo for me!

Chapter One:

A Sunny Place to Sit…

Across the road

from a field of sunflowers:

a sunflower

(Basho)

The 13th Summer of the Hato

Hyuuga Compound

….

"Hanabi! Wait up!"

"You can't catch me! Can't catch me!"

The Hyuuga Compound was abuzz with excitement. There were whispers around every corner of a special visitor coming to take an audience with the head of the newly prosperous clan. Branch members ran from room to room frantically, replacing old linens with fresh ones and throwing open all of the doors and windows to air out the stuffy tatami. The kitchens smelled of fragrant spices and herbs from places far, far away and not a hand was left idle.

"Hanabi!"

Well, not every hand.

Hinata watched as her little sister sprinted from the covered walkway and vaulted herself over the low lying flowerbeds. The eight-year-old barely cleared the hydrangea bushes when she landed and once her feet hit the safety of the grass she was off towards the inner gate.

'Hanabi!' she groaned inwardly covered her flushed face with both hands.

"She heard about the visitor didn't she?"

Hinata jumped slightly at the sound of her cousin's voice that was beginning to crack when he spoke. He coughed awkwardly to cover it up but Hinata had clearly heard it. Puberty was what their caretaker Ko had called it when Hanabi had rudely pointed out the change over dinner.

"Good morning Neji-nii-san." Hinata greeted softly and her cousin gave her a polite nod in return.

"Hinata-sama."

Hinata smiled up at her older cousin and pushed some of her hair behind her ears. He was correct to infer that Hanabi had heard about their visitor's arrival to the compound. She opened her mouth to engage him in further conversation, but the loud bang of the inner gate slamming shut cut her words short.

"And they've got her." Neji said before turning to go back down the walkway to his own studies.

Sure enough, ever expressionless guards had caught her sister before her small hands were even able to push the inner gate door open far enough to slip through. Hanabi was escorted between the two of them with her arms crossed in an undignified manner and a pout on her face that would have garnered punishment if their father was around to see it. When the guards reached the walkway steps they waited for a hesitant Hanabi to ascend and didn't leave until Hinata put an arm around the girl to take her away.

"Hana." Hinata said, crouching down in front of a clearly frustrated eight-year-old. "You know that you can't go out."

"I just wanted to see!" Hanabi whined.

Hinata smiled and gently fixed the orange obi that had become misshapen during Hanabi's mad dash and smoothed out wrinkles in the canary yellow silk of her yukata. She couldn't fault Hanabi for being curious. The entire compound had been fixated on this special visitor for the better part of the month. However, it was improper for them to leave the inner ring of the main house just to catch a glimpse of a stranger. What would their father say if he knew?

"Come on, the gardener says that the sunflowers have bloomed."

"Really?!"

Hinata giggled at her sister's enthusiasm as smaller fingers interlocked with her own and allowed herself to be dragged down the hall.

….

Shisui let out a long sigh through his nose as the door to his room finally slid close. With the small army of Hyuuga eager to fulfill his every need gone, he was finally able to hear himself think. When he offered to go on this mission for his Commander he had expected there to be some…difficulties but he hadn't expected this. Arguably though, things would not be so bad if he didn't care so much about his mission's intended.

"Itachi you lucky bastard." Shisui grumbled under his breath as he took a seat in the alcove of his room overlooking a small garden.

His cousin wasn't that lucky of course. The girl he had been betrothed to since his birth, a rumored beauty from the Senju main family, and was rapidly approaching her sixteenth year. Unfortunately, she had also been a sickly thing. The last winter had been particularly harsh all over the country and well, she didn't make it. Now he was tasked with the seemingly daunting task of finding a girl unpromised and from a respectable clan. So far it wasn't looking too good.

The Uchiha slumped down in the cushioned window seat and open the window in hopes that fresh air would help to clear his head. A light breeze entered his room and he took a deep breath, relishing the scent that wafted off the small garden and the warmth of the summer sun on his face. He then rested his chin on the fleshy part of his palm and stared out at the sunflowers in full bloom. Their vibrant yellow petals framed black centers heavily pregnant with seeds as they faced upwards to the sun. With his free hand, he reached out to stroke the fuzzy green stalk of the closest sunflower and sighed.

How was he supposed to find a suitable girl to be the future matriarch of the Uchiha?

There were not many women who would be able to properly fill the shoes of the one who currently holds the position. Uchiha Mikoto was a force to be reckoned with and he doubted that any of the vapid girls he'd met so far would meet her approval. She'd likely reject them as soon as their shadows darkened the District's gate. Over the course of the last two months he'd traversed the west coast of the country, visiting each prosperous clan he could in search of the perfect girl but had come up with nothing. The only eligible Yamanaka girl talked too much and the Akimichi didn't have any girls that weren't already spoken for. The Inuzuka girls did not have a large enough dowry and the Aburame girls just…no.

Shisui frowned as he felt a headache beginning to form behind his left eye. He was tired of being on the road and entertaining shallow clan heads, but he couldn't go back without the news of a potential match. After he finished his audience with the Hyuuga he might have better luck on the east coast…

Just as Shisui was about to draw away from the alcove, the sound of carefree giggling reached his ears. Sprinting head first into the garden, a blur of yellow and messy brown hair, was what he could only assume was the Hyuuga head's youngest child. She sported a broad smile with her hands outstretched for the large sunflowers that towered over her small frame. Running up behind her was another girl, hair cropped short and her eyes filled with worry for her rambunctious counterpart.

"Hanabi you shouldn't run so fast!" she called out.

The one named Hanabi turned on her heel so fast that it almost looked like she would fall but somehow she didn't. She then launched herself at her sister and the two fell back into the grass. The two giggled in a heap of purple and yellow silk, their voices bright in the unusually dreary compound. The Uchiha couldn't hold back his own guff of laughter at the sight they presented and although he covered his mouth, the girls still heard him from his opened window. Both girls looked up at him in surprise but Hanabi was the one to recover the fastest.

"Hello!" she said excitedly as she scrambled to get off of her sister. She then scurried up to his first-floor window and flashed tiny white teeth. "Are you the visitor?"

"Why yes, yes I am. And you are?" Shisui replied. Although he already knew exactly who she was, he was amused by the girl's forwardness.

"I'm-" Hanabi started to say but her older sister had finally gathered her wits about her and was off of the ground in an instant.

She smoothly grabbed the younger one's hand and pulled her to stand behind her before she could say anything more.

"I-I'm sorry if w-w-we were too loud sir." She stammered and bowed gracefully at the waist. Behind her, Hanabi cocked her head to the side curiously.

"Hinata-nee-"

"We will b-be going!"

Shisui blinked for a moment at how abruptly she wanted to leave. The girls from the other clans usually wanted nothing more than to remain in his presence. Marrying into the Uchiha was quite the honor.

"Wait a moment." He said, waving his hands in a way to show that he meant her no harm. "Hinata was it?"

The girl turned her wide pale eyes up to him and seemed to be contemplating the ramifications that could come from replying to his question. After what felt like an eternity she hesitantly nodded, short locks of dark hair following her every move. The Uchiha zeroed in on the way that she kept a firm grip on her sister's hand, blocking the other one's form from view protectively with her own.

"You love your little sister don't you?" he asked and Hinata nodded again, this time more quickly than the first. "My Commander's eldest son loves his little brother very much as well. Although the boy is a bit of a brat if I'm to be honest with you."

Hanabi snickered at his insult while Hinata blushed bright red, eager to leave his presence before their meeting was noticed. With a friendly wink and a wave of his hand, he ushered the girls away from his window.

"Go on now. I'll pretend that I didn't see you."

Hinata bowed to him quickly, clearly thankful for his dismissal and promised discretion. She then turned to run out of the small garden with a rather reluctant Hanabi in tow inquiring curiously as to what a 'Commander' was. Shisui smiled at the pair as he watched them go and the headache that had been forming dissipated.

Hyuuga Hinata.

Perhaps he wouldn't have to scour the east coast after all…

To be continued….

Passing between clouds

the moon rests

in the eyes of its beholder

(Basho)