AN: Hello everyone! I hope you are doing fine and for those of you that live in countries that are battling the Covid-19, I hope you are safe. Please remember to be responsible for yourselves and the ones you hold dear :) Stay at home and read like I know you are doing right now ;) Fighting!

"The earth laughs in flowers."

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

1.

(Present day)

The sun was setting behind the low cliffs of the small village near the Stone region. Itachi paused to take the beautiful image in, noticing the anarchy of colors that painted the sky red and the land orange. There was a fine line between them that was almost crimson and a few patches of vibrant pink. The atmosphere was dry and he hadn't felt the touch of the breeze in days. It was a beautiful scenery.

He thought of Mirai. She should be completing her wedding ceremony by now. She must have been wearing something white and silky as she always did, however, this time it would be a ceremonial gown, meant to be taken off by another man, her husband.

Her white, pearly eyes would look even more magical had she been sitting here with him, enjoying the sunset. All the colors of the sky would be dancing in her eyes. Maybe she would turn to look at him instead of the sun and maybe she would be happy.

He allowed himself to imagine himself undressing her from all this silk briefly and then closed his eyes to take in the warm feeling on his chest. She had been steadily moving away from his reach yet somehow kept his heart in her elegant fingertips. Itachi knew that he kept her own heart, too.

A raven landed on his shoulder silently, peering into his left eye. He turned his head slightly and caressed the sleek plumage of the bird, still lost in his thoughts and disappointments.

A marriage. The start of a new family. Mirai had created a future he would always choose to have himself.

A funeral. The end of an old family. Itachi had created a past that denied him any future at all.

His mind drifted and met the memory of his little brother. He was Itachi's only light, no matter the darkness he had embraced. Sasuke was his past, his present and his future. Itachi believed in him. He believed in the people around him as well. Naruto and Sakura would never leave him alone… Unless they couldn't survive him.

Itachi had made sure that his baby brother would be brimming with darkness by now. Hate. What he didn't tell him -on purpose- was that there is no way that he could defeat him, a shinobi with a heart filled with love. His little brother would realize it at some point. Being an Uchiha, Itachi knew that Sasuke would resist and become stubborn but there are a few things that cannot be hidden.

One of them is the Sun. Another, is the Truth.

2.

Mirai peeled off the layered kimono inside her private changing room. She could listen to Neji doing the same inside his own wardrobe. The young man was anxious, she could tell and she found it rather amusing.

Neji had grown into a beautiful young man. His body was the perfect model of a taijutsu master, his face was clear and bright. His long, heavy hair had this velvety texture that made it shine with every movement. Neji had found happiness the last few years and this state of mind really brought out his eyes. He always smelled like pine and soap and she found him an excellent man of their Clan.

Unfortunately, he wasn't him. Mirai agreed to marry him to secure her position in her Clan. As of this day she was officially the Head of The Hyuuga Clan of the Grass and the relationship with Konoha's Hyuuga was achieved. Neji had grown to be loyal to her and even her people as if they were his own family.

She stood in front of the ornamented mirror completely naked and her eyes ran lazily on her figure. Anyone could see the scars on her skin and flesh but the real damage was deeper than that. Not even the eyes of the Hyuuga could see the truth.

Mirai heard Neji's footsteps in the bedchamber. She sighed and wrapped a simple robe around her as she walked out of her dressing room.

His eyes immediately popped at her direction. He was also simply dressed and Mirai could almost sense his nervousness. His hair was neatly arranged around his face and his curse mark wasn't covered.

"Mirai-sama" he greeted her formally and she held back a chuckle.

"I'll pour you a drink" she responded, passing by him.

"I don't think that's the best idea..." he commented quietly.

"Trust me, it is" she reassured him as she returned with a tray that had a small vessel filled with heavy liquor and two small cups.

She sat by his side and offered him one of the cups. He took it timidly and waited for her to drink first, out of courtesy. Once she did he had a full gulp that probably burned his throat. Mirai smiled secretly at his lack of grace.

"What did you do about the case?" He asked her.

"You mean the missing woman from the Konoha House? I will let you know tomorrow. It's our wedding night after all. We shouldn't be talking business" she replied, giving him a controversial gaze.

"Wh-what should we be talking about?" he murmured, obviously nervous again.

"We shouldn't be talking, period" she explained, moving a little closer to him. He stared at her, almost in horror. Mirai struggled not to lose her composure. He was adorably stressed.

"Why not?" He dared to ask.

"Well, Neji, why don't we take that question to bed with us?" she hinted, her eyes pointing at him and then at the futon behind them.

Neji turned red and his eyes were almost teary. Mirai had it at this point; she burst into laughter. He frowned at her, pressing his lips in disapproval.

"Mirai-sama, you are teasing me" he blamed her.

"You should have seen your face!" she said through howls.

"Tch" He scoffed.

"Now, now, let's get you to bed first. We have training tomorrow morning and I'm not going easy on you because you are mine." She warned him and pushed him towards the bed.

"How about you?" he demanded to know.

"I have to write a few reports, seems like Mother left a big pile of paperwork as a gift for our union" she lied confidently. He nodded.

"Don't you need my assistance then?"

"No, I want you to rest because you'll be extra busy from now on" .

He nodded again. "Certainly. I'm going first then."

"Good boy." She teased him and held back another giggle, seeing his serious expression.

Mirai left the bedchamber unnoticed and entered her private office where her shinobi outfit and tools were. Among them lied a single ANBU mask. She sighed again.

"What else am I going to go through for you?" she whispered, running her fingertips on the item.

She prepared for battle and locked the rest of her equipment before she left the room.

3.

Orochimaru watched the Grass Village from afar. He hadn't really appreciated its worth on shinobi since none of the original Grass families possessed any particular features but now things were different. They had an exceptional heiress, a young Hyuuga named Mirai that had achieved to be feared and respected even among the elders in the main house back in Konoha. Interesting facts about this kunoichi were that she possessed an excellent pair of eyes and that there was an underground rumor that she was the lover of a particular rogue shinobi, Uchiha Itachi.

Orochimaru wondered about this actively, since acquiring such an asset would definitely come handy and would absolutely please his collector's thirst. Sasuke had conveniently found out about it without a lot of effort and wanted her, too. It was an amazing opportunity to harvest her and study her… in depth.

Sasuke was standing a few feet lower than him, on the verge of the cliff. His black, beautiful eyes were trying to spot her in advance. Orochimaru thought that was very cute. She was supposed to be a genius and he hoped her performance would thrill them both. He would like to see Sasuke losing his coolness for just a little bit; he was always so indifferent towards death.

"Welcome to Kusagakure" they heard a melodic, soft voice behind them. Sasuke moved rapidly and placed himself by his master's side while he turned casually to meet with her gaze.

Hyuuga Mirai stood proudly on the verge of the forest behind them, wearing shinobi attire and the grass village's headband wrapped around her thigh. Her Byakugan was activated. Orochimaru felt a shiver down his spine, a reaction he rarely had these days and times. It was indicating that she had something he wanted bad and now he would be fixed on her like he did with so many shinobi in the past. First of all, he wanted this matured set of byakugan and then whatever secret her small body would offer him. He looked at her exposed abdomen and pictured his scalpel digging into her flesh, revealing information she didn't even know she was carrying.

Orochimaru exhaled in ecstasy, trying to restrain his enthusiasm.

"Don't interfere" Sasuke told him strictly, "She is mine".

Orochimaru chuckled at his confidence. Sasuke-kun was and would always be his favorite.

"Do as you will, I will just keep you safe, Sasuke-kun." He agreed prettily as he took a few steps back.

"I have no interest in you" Hyuuga Mirai claimed, her expression underlining her words.

"I never asked" Sasuke replied firmly. Orochimaru knew that Sasuke would only be tempted to face someone if he thought he or she would be a stronger opponent. She had already proved her quality by not even blinking at his direction. Her eyes were still fixed on Orochimaru.

"Don't make me look at you, Uchiha Sasuke. Our eyes shouldn't meet for reasons you are too small to comprehend. Move aside and I won't harm you." She warned him steadily.

Orochimaru knew that whatever Sasuke said, it would be unimportant to her. Shinobi of her kind would only speak once out of manners and then they would force their opponents under their will. He shivered again. So young, so beautiful, so alive. So strong, yet no stronger than himself. He wanted to force his power on her, give her a taste of her own poison and then strip her off anything that made her special and have it for himself.

He passed his snake-like tongue above his lips as a self-soother; he had to be more patient.

"Where is Uchiha Itachi?" Sasuke asked her, his chakra already building up. He was infuriated by her lack of interest.

She sighed and her eyes locked on his. Sasuke studied her face, confirming that this was the woman he had met in front of his house, three years ago. He felt that she was powerful. She stood perfectly still, showing not even the slightest sign of stress.

"Move" she warned him again, now staring deep into his eyes while her murderous and wild aura was released towards him. Orochimaru felt and saw Sasuke shivering. She had terrified him and horror always inspired the most colorful reactions out of his beautiful boy.

Sasuke moved forward and made the seals to create the powerful flames of his clan, attacking her directly. Orochimaru got a glimpse of her mocking smile as she then revolved around herself in order to deflect the fire. Sasuke left her no space to move away as he landed behind her, drawing his sword and aiming in to her stomach. The edge of his blade was stopped by an invisible chakra wall she had placed there while they spoke.

His eyes were a bright red with the distinct marking of the Sharingan.

Hyuuga Mirai turned smoothly and looked directly into these pair of eyes.

"Your flames will never touch me, Uchiha Sasuke. Your gaze is softer than your blade and your blade is dulled. How do you think you can face me?" she whispered cockily as the night breeze strolled between them.

"Where is Uchiha Itachi?" He insisted loudly, ignoring her terrorizing eyes.

She smiled, a scary expression under the shade of her cold glare and pointed her finger towards his chest.

"Let's find out together..." she mused with her chilling voice.

Before he had anytime to react, Sasuke was trapped into genjutsu again.

4.

Ichirou woke up in the middle of the night, certain that he was being watched. His wife, Lihua, was drooling on his forearm that was placed behind her neck. He then spotted his stalker, standing idly on the door of his bedroom.

"Ryo? Why are you out of bed?" He asked the small boy.

"I saw a bad dream" The boy replied quietly.

Ichirou sighed and smoothly crawled out of bed, careful not to wake his woman. She had a huge respect for her sleeping hours and he had a huge respect for her temper. He put on a plain white shirt and picked up his nephew while closing the bedroom door behind him.

"What kind of dream was that?" Ichirou asked, heading to the kitchen while he turned on the lights. A warm cup of milk always did the trick.

"I saw mommy in a field of red spider lilies" Ryo replied softly.

Ichirou placed the toddler on the kitchen counter and started to boil some milk while watching him. Ryo looked nothing like his mother but he was the spitting image of his father. His hair was sleek and jet black, his complexion was fair and pale and his eyes were the most distinctive onyx black he had ever met since Uchiha Itachi. Even his facial features were those of his father, with the big but sharp eyes with heavy lashes, his edgy cheekbones and lips. A blind person would recognize his lineage.

"Why did that scare you?" Ichirou insisted, already aware of the answer.

"Mommy says that red spider lilies grow in battlefields and graves. Mommy says, that they steal their color off the blood of the dead so they can never been forgotten. I will not forget mommy but I don't want red spider lilies to grow out of her head!" The child whimpered in agony.

"Hey, hey… Ryo, look at me baby" Ichirou said, grabbing the boy from his shoulders. Ryo looked at him, his black eyes filled with tears. "Mommy is going to be just fine. She is truly strong!" He reasoned with him. Of course Mirai had taught her son everything about flowers and symbolism already. Ichirou doubted her methods, however it was a useful knowledge. Why would she be so graphic though? Blood of the dead?

"Do you promise?" Ryo insisted, peering into his uncle's eyes.

"I promise." Ichirou lied with a smile on his face and the boy relaxed a little. "Now, have some milk and go back to bed. You have a good four hours of sleep left before your studies."

Ryo nodded and took the cup that Ichirou gave him obediently.

The older man watched the kid drinking the warm milk and wondered if his sister was safe. She should be enjoying her wedding night right now. Why would she be in danger? Ichirou knew a lot of disturbing things about politics to have many wrong answers for his inner question but Mirai's wedding was a safe move. Everyone would be satisfied, having planted a Konoha's Hyuuga by her side, in her house. Why would anyone sabotage it?

He examined the face of his nephew and asked himself if Uchiha Itachi would be the one to step in and put her in danger but he also doubted that. Of course, his little sister had managed to make a handful of enemies on her own accord, he knew that already. Was it possible? Did her enemies decide to make a hit on her now before Kusagakure's truce with Konoha was firmly bonded by Mirai's and Neji's union? Yes, that was possible.

Ryo gave him back his empty cup and Ichirou giggled at his nephew's face. The boy frowned at him.

"What?" He demanded.

"You have a nice mustache going on there!" The man said between his giggles as he wiped the stain of the boy's face with the bottom of his shirt.

Ryo gave him a shy smile.

"Go back to bed now, okay? And be quiet, don't wake up Ren." He warned him. Ren was a lot like his mother.

"Ren never wakes up when I move in the room. Mommy made me exercise on that." The boy explained, nodding to his own thoughts.

"Your mommy is creepy." Ichirou commented, thinking that his sister wasn't losing anytime in training her offspring to become dangerous.

Ryo nodded again, this time in agreement and silently crawled back to his bedroom that he shared with his cousin. He was indeed getting better at it, Ichirou thought.

The man tidied up the kitchen and turned off the lights but he didn't go back to bed immediately. It was almost 4 am in the morning and the rain was heavy so he took this opportunity to have a smoke. He lit one cigarette on the balcony and for the time that he smoked he thought of nothing and no one. He then returned to bed and watched his wife sleep for a few seconds before he drifted back to sleep.

Mirai would be fine. She had to.

5.

Kakashi was traveling towards Kusagakure to meet with the Kage of the Village. He had a personal report from Konoha he had to deliver himself and it was a good chance to give Mirai her wedding present. He bought her a copy of his favorite book series that he knew she despised.

He chuckled under his breath, imagining her reaction. She would probably toss it to his head and it would probably hurt unnecessarily harder than usual.

He and Mirai had grown to be friends the last two years much to the dismay of both of them. He had lately come to realize what the Third was talking about when he said he had hopes for her and he couldn't keep a grudge. Under a good amount of negative features, his friend was a good person. She cared about silly things like flowers and stars , she had a soft spot for children and art. Sure, she was a know-it-all, aggressive and proud lethal kunoichi but she had good aspects about her.

He remembered one of the missions their villages had placed them together in; Mirai was a skilled scout and she had perfect training against ANBU teams. She was a precious partner for information gathering. Kakashi was very disapproving at first, having shed bad blood between them already, however having her as an ally never disappointed him. Twice she had come back for him during their mission and once she even risked herself to protect him. He obviously would have done the same but he never expected her loyalty to the team she was serving to be so adamant. His appreciation for this feature of her had overclouded his negativity against her. Slowly they begun talking about random topics and once she felt even more comfortable she would tease him about anything. That playful side of her hit a soft spot in him; she acted like a very serious, very grown up kid. Their friendship was an inevitable outcome.

The night sky was starry and he bet that if she wasn't deflowering her innocent new husband right now, she would be enjoying sake at her veranda, watching the stars. He sighed lazily, pondering if he should visit her right after the report in order to share some sake with her as well. It was a beautiful night for drinking.

It was then that a thunder-like roar ripped the silence violently, upsetting every critter in the forest near the Grass Village.

A Dragon had been summoned.