Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto or any of its' characters.
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As she worked in her little flower garden, the dirt smudging her face and hands as she smiled endlessly, he watched her. That was his job as Bunke, to watch over his cousin, the heir. It was times like this, when they were alone, that he allowed himself to remember how he truly felt. He loved her, and had ever since after the exams when she proved to him and everybody else that she would never give up. He admired her spirit, the way she endured, and as the blood from her coughing marred her face he realized just how much she reminded him of his favorite flower, the lily.
Sayuriko is what he would call her when they were alone, 'Little Lily', the most beautiful flower in the garden of Hyuugas' he was surrounded by. It was their private joke. No matter what they had been through together she still retained her innocent perfection, even when she would lower herself to his level to heal the wounds he got when defending her. He would smile, and stroke her cheek leaving simple streaks of blood that made her appear more like a flower and less like the girl he had swore to protect long ago, when times were far simpler than the decisions they faced now.
She was to be married soon, offered up on an altar of servitude to some man who was probably undeserving of the gift he would be getting in his precious Sayuriko, a thought which pained him more than he wanted to admit. In a move considered rare for the usually calm young man, he had gone to his uncle to plead for the right to have her, make her his own and preserve her beauty forever. The older man only smiled enigmatically and waved him away, leaving him baffled and hurt.
It was the day of her engagement, and as the house swirled with action around her, she sat in her garden as if it were just another day. She kept that ingratiating little calm smile that he had come to long ago cherish on her face as if she knew he was watching her from afar. Soon, her sister came to bring her inside to change and ready herself to be presented to the man she would spend her days with. He sighed sadly, knowing all too well that he couldn't change the future.
As the gathering got underway and his uncle brought out the traditional contracts, both Hinata and Neji were surprised to see Hiashi place two lilies on the table, one a pure snow white and the other white marred with red streaks. Making certain he had captured the rooms attention, he very carefully tied the stems together in a perfect union, his meaning clear to the two teens who had no idea that the man they both once feared knew of their secret and cherished it as well.