Chapter 1

Straightening his tie, Uchiha Itachi, son of the Chief of Konoha's Police force, sighed. Loudly. He was 24 years old, and his mother, Mikoto, decided it was high time that he find himself a wife. Or, more, that she find him a suitable wife.

Itachi knew that this was going to be a long and arduous journey full of detestable women either self absorbed, or gold diggers. He privately envied his younger brother, Sasuke, for having the freedom to choose who he wanted to spend time with, and who he didn't.

Sliding the door to his old manor style house open, he was greeted by a lesser member of his family, a distant cousin, before she bustled away to do more chores. Itachi was the heir to the great Uchiha Clan, which was said to have descended from a long line of ninjas. When he entered his teens his father had decided to teach him all that he needed to know to run the clan for when he himself died, or when Itachi married, whichever came first. As Itachi got older, he realized, sadly, that his father just dumped everything on his lap so he wouldn't have to do it himself, although Itachi wouldn't blame him, being the Chief of Police was no piece of cake.

"Itachi! Itachi! In here, there's someone I want you to meet!" Itachi sighed one last time before entering the room that his mother's voice floated from. Inside the formal sitting room sat his mother, not donning her usual apron, but instead wearing a black and gold formal kimono, the Uchiha symbol emblazed on her back. Gold and red cranes flew across the fabric and slightly surprised Itachi. He had not seen his mother wear the Kimono since he was a child, only shortly after Sasuke had been born. Itachi bowed and sat down on the small red cushion beside Mikoto.

"Itachi, this is Hyuuga Hinata. She is the heiress to the prestiged Hyuuga Clan, I'm sure you have heard of them." Itachi looked up in slight surprise. The woman who sat in front of him looked to be no more than 20, maybe even younger. She had a slim and pretty face, and lavender shaded eyes. Itachi blinked. Her eyes had no pupils, but after a moment, the surprise ended as he remembered hearing something about a weird genetic mutation that occurred in the clan a century or two ago.

Hinata was dressed in a simple but expensive looking festival Kimono, and her hair was done up in a messy-but-took-hours-to-arrange bun with loose flowers sticking here and there. Itachi quickly decided that she was pretty. Not strikingly beautiful, like some of Konoha's top models, but enough to make any decent man doubletake on the street. Although Itachi doubted that Hinata was even aloud to walk the streets by herself.

Beside her sat a tall man with cold white eyes. He wore a simple hakama and was certainly not trying to impress anyone with his attire. Itachi quickly noted that Hinata must take after her mother as he could find no similarities in the two, other than their eyes. Itachi bowed his head and said,

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Hinata-san. I hope your day has gone well, and I hope my home has been welcoming." Hinata lowered her head and through a light blush said,

"I-it is a-a p-pleasure to m-meet you t-too, Itach-chi-san. Y-your home h-has b-been very welc-coming, thank-k you." Her father looked down at her with stern disappointment, and almost as if she had eyes on the back of her head, Hinata shrunk within herself.

Great. A girl with confidence problems. Well, at least she wouldn't be disobedient. Itachi thought, although his mother clapped her hands together and turned to Itachi.

"Isn't she adorable? I think you two will hit it off great. I've prearranged a date for you two at that fabulous restaurant downtown, you know, the one with the golden dragons at the entrance?" Itachi resisted the urge to sigh, barely. Hinata blushed again and forced a small smile.

"When were you planning this, Mother?" Mikoto smiled pleasantly and said,

"Tomorrow night at 6. I arranged an escort for Hinata-chan here, and I arranged one for you as well, dear. I checked your schedule and you were clear, so I thought I might as well!"

Mother is coy. Too coy. Now I can't use any excuse to get out of this. Inner Itachi pouted, but he quickly stamped the image of his younger self away and locked the key. His conscience seemed to pop up at the worst of times.

"Well, Hinata-san, Hyuuga-sama, it was certainly nice meeting you. Hinata-san, I shall see you tomorrow night, and Mother, I must leave. I have a report to pick up at work." With that, the raven haired Uchiha heir stood swiftly and left with a respectful bow, quietly closing the sliding door with a small click.

Walking into the spacious corner office on floor 48, Itachi let himself contentedly gaze out the large windows onto the beautiful spread of Konoha. A swiveling chair spun to face Itachi with a grin.

"You look…happy! Wow! An emotion! Something great must have happened." Itachi straightened his mouth and glared at his co-worker.

"You look the same as usual, Deidara." The man grinned again, his blue eyes crinkling with some internal delight. His long blonde hair was done up in a peculiar looking ponytail, and his suit, sans-jacket, was crumpled, like he had been wrestling. Itachi almost considered that a possibility, with Deidara's attitude.

"I was just admiring your view. Of course, my office is larger, and I get the better side of town, but I must say the afternoon sun does your office good." Deidara pouted. He was director of advertising and marketing in the large company that Itachi worked for. Bearing a simple red and white cloud insignia, Akatsuki Inc. was one of the most successful companies in the five countries. It was especially known for it's long corporate battle with Whirlpool Industries, where Akatsuki ultimately won, ensuring it's fame everywhere.

The Co-Founders, known only as Pein and Konan, or, Sir and Ma'am, as their employees call them, founded the company when they were in their late teens and spent a few years of their 'college' money on building a business instead of going to school.

The now multibillionaires had more than enough money to retire and they still had a few years left before turning 30. Itachi not only respected the two greatly, but was extremely proud of even being affliated with Akatsuki, much less being the Director of Foreign Affairs.

Itachi gazed at the colourful bouquet of flowers on Deidara's desk and read the small note that said, 'To Deidei' with a small heart drawn beside it.

"Deidei?" Itachi said, raising a brow. Deidara grinned noisily, a feat that Itachi had yet to see someone else achieve. The blonde's eyes crinkled and he said, quite casually in comparison to his expression.

"A little gift from my girl back home. She's a real sweetheart. Has a good eye for art, knows me like the back of her sweet little hands. Perfect." Itachi raised a brow again, before turning to leave. Deidara called out to him, a tone of desperation for attention had leaked into his voice.

"H-hey! I wasn't done talking about how wonderful this girl is! Doesn't it make you jealous? Itachi! Itachi!" Itachi shut the door to Deidara's office, muting his calls to a low murmur. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly.

The elevator was quiet, save for the calming elevator music. The red carpets and bronze mirrored walls gave the effect of glamour and taste, and sometimes the Uchiha was almost surprised there wasn't a bellhop to wait on his every need.

He was supposed to tell Deidara that his presentation was scheduled to be shown on Monday, but Itachi could absolutely not stand the man. The few minutes in his office were almost more than he could bear. He'd get his secretary to run a note to him.

The elevator gave a quiet but commanding ding and the doors opened smoothly to reveal the cool coloured and chic 51st floor that Itachi worked on. Tasteful potted plants decorated any spare corner, and the atmosphere was calming. The workers, 12 of them, 13 including his secretary, were hand picked from a list that Zetsu had compiled for him. Itachi had interviewed them all himself, and figured that he had a pretty good crew to work with. He trusted these people with his business, and that was an honour in itself.

Bows and respectful nods were given to him as he passed their cubicles and Itachi returned them with a curt nod and a tiny grin of approval. Passing his secretary, an older lady with a tight bun of black and grey wings showing at her temples, he said to her,

"Shiori-san, please send Deidara-san a note reminding him of his presentation on Monday. Please stress the importance of this." Shiori nodded and started to type.

"Itachi-sama, isn't it your day off? May I ask why you are not at home taking a well deserved rest?" Itachi opened his door and said,

"I just remembered a small report that I needed to finish tonight, as I will not be here tomorrow." Shiori nodded and smiled.

"Ah, I heard. Your mother called to make sure nothing came up tomorrow. Good luck with the prospective wife." Itachi grimaced. Who else had his mother told? This was not something that he wanted to get his work involved in. Who or who not he might be marrying was his own business and no one else's.

Itachi grabbed the manilla folder and swiftly, with a touch of contempt, strode back to the elevator, descended 51 floors, and drove his black car home, fully intending on giving his mother a talking to. Unfortunately, as lady luck did not seem to be with him today, Mikoto was shopping; probably for wedding gifts. The godforsaken woman never gave up.

Hinata sat in her room, kneeled down in front of the skinny mirror that ran from her floor to her ceiling, staring at the smooth black phone in front of her. She sighed before picking it up and dialing a familiar number.

The phone rang three times before a male voice answered, slightly out of breath, as if he had to dash for the receiver.

"H-Hello?" Hinata hesitated for a second before asking,

"H-hello. M-may I sp-peak to Naruto-kun?" The man on the other end nodded, even though Hinata couldn't see.

"Sure, just a sec." He leaned away from the phone and called out, "NARUTO! PHONE!" Hinata was glad that he leaned away because it was still loud. Hinata heard another click and another, more familiar voice called,

"HANG UP DAD! I GOT IT!" Minato hung up with a click and Naruto said, breathily,

"Hey Tenten, I told you to give me a few more minutes…" Hinata frowned.

"Naruto-kun? It's Hinata…" Hinata could almost see the look on his face. Naruto laughed and said,

"Sorry Hina-chan! I was expected a call from Tenten, she's been bothering me to go to kendo with her lately. What's up? You don't sound so happy." Hinata sighed. She had met Naruto in the tenth grade, in a fancy rich private school, that according to her cousin, Neji, was full of stuck up snobs and daddy's girls. Although, because of the retirement of the third principal, a new one was selected from a different city. He was talented, smart, resourceful, and he had a son that was of age to just start the tenth grade, which meant to the school board that he would work harder to make the place better for his son.

Unfortunately, the only reason that Naruto wasn't expelled was because he was Minato's son, but that gave all the more reason for Hinata to love him. They clicked almost right away, when their science teacher, Yuuhi Kurenai, paired them up in a lab that resulted in burnt eyebrows and smelly stains.

Hinata had confessed to Naruto during their 12th year, a month before banquet, but he had yet to talk to her about it, now almost a year later. She hadn't mentioned anything about it, but since Naruto had been more than willing to remain her best friend, she figured that was better than nothing.

"Naruto-kun…" She never stuttered around him anymore, he gave her the confidence to speak freely, "My father…"

"What?! What did he do this time?" Naruto sounded angry. He and Hiashi did not get along at all.

"He's arranged a marriage for me! This is horrible! I'm only 19!" Naruto was quiet for a moment.

"Are you serious?"

"Dead." Naruto was quiet for another moment. It was starting to make the Hyuuga nervous.

"To who? Do I know him?" Hinata grimaced, she knew he was not going to like the next part one bit.

"Sasuke-san's older brother, Uchiha Itachi." Hinata could hear Naruto's teeth grinding over the phone and tears started to well up in her eyes.

"That teme… Do you know what I heard, Hina-chan?" Hinata shook her head and said, through tears,

"N-no?"

"That he knocked up this pink haired girl I used to know from my old school. I heard from Kiba that he and she ran off north somewhere, maybe to Otou." Hinata was surprised that Sasuke even associated with someone not as rich as him, he was just that kind of guy.

"But what does that have to do with me getting married?" Hinata said, berating herself a little for sounding selfish, although it just passed right over Naruto's head.

"Well, maybe Sasuke will ruin the 'perfect Uchiha' name and your dad will cancel the whole thing." Hinata gave a soft laugh, Naruto always knew how to cheer her up.

"Maybe. Although, I doubt it. Itachi-san is very successful in his business. He's the head of international affairs in Akatsuki Inc."

"You sound like you have done your homework. Almost a little eager too." Hinata was appalled.

"N-no! This is the last thing I want! If I get married now, I'll be bundled down as a baby making machine! I still want to go to university and become a psychiatrist!" Naruto laughed a little and said,

"Whoa there, I was joking! I'm really mad at your dad though, that's not very fair; want me to talk to my dad about it? He might be able to do something…"

"No…No, it's ok. I can fight for myself. I have a date with him tonight, and I'll see how it goes. If he's a total jerk like Sasuke-san, then maybe I will ask Minato-sensei for help…but, I mean, the Uchiha's are as high standing as the Hyuuga's…I'd certainly be taken care of." Naruto puffed out his cheek childishly.

"Well, remember that I'm always here for you. Did you want anything else? I gotta header pretty quick, Tenten's gonna call any minute."

"No, I just wanted to tell you that before you heard it from somewhere else. I'll talk to you tomorrow, let you know how it went. Byebye, Naruto-kun."

"Bye!Click" The phone line went dead, but Hinata kept it at her ear and stared at the mirror. Her mid back-length indigo hair shimmered in the afternoon light, picking out strands darker and lighter, here and there. Her pale, pupiless eyes that had caused her much strife as a child stood out. Although, Hinata knew that if you looked closely, she did actually have a pupil, it was just slightly darker than her milky lavender irises that the Hyuuga's all shared.

Her door slid open and her younger sister strode in like she owned the place. Hanabi was 15 and everything that Hinata was not. She was boyishly slender and looked almost like a porcelain doll. Her hair, the same colour as Hiashi's flounced about loosely around her shoulders.

"You are still in your uniform… You must have something important to say, Hanabi-chan." Hanabi put her hands on her hips.

"I was going to say congrats on landing the richest bachelor in Konoha, but I guess you're in a bad mood. Anyway, Father wishes to see you before dinner." Hinata frowned again and continued to look in the mirror until Hanabi shut the sliding door.

Hinata was jealous of her younger sister. The confidence that she just radiated lead her to be a little rude and presumptious, but that was something encouraged in the Hyuuga clan. Hinata knew she was the favoured child, and that the only reason she wasn't completely pushed out of the clan was because she looked like her mother and Hanabi didn't.

Hinata's mother died in childbirth. She was sick already, and couldn't make it through. She didn't even get to name Hanabi, in fact, Hinata herself did. She saw a poster advertising a festival with fireworks all over it. At the time her father was a nicer man, he had loved his wife very much, and until Hanabi was born, Hinata remembered nothing but good memories.

Looking over at the clock, it flashed quarter to 4." Sighing, she got up to talk to her father.

End Chapter 1

Yea! I know! I shouldn't be starting another fiction when I can barely update Hitochigae as it is.

BUT INOITA IS JUST SO AWESOME.

I couldn't resist!

Tell me how it is, and if you like it! ;D!

Love Mog