And chapter four of "Peace of Mind". Couple things. Turns out I can't count. GreatGoogilyMoogily only had three written out chapters, so I start off at four. Also, I would have had more chapters up, but I was out of town for the last week with my grieving family, we lost a good man this week. *sigh* There will prolly be some sort of dedication you won't get at the end of this chapter, or coming ones.

Also, there will be a lot of flowers mentioned in this chapter, and probably future ones. I worked as a florist, and I love flowers so I know quite a few. If you don't know what they are, or have a really hard time imagining them, go to my page and look for the link to the wildflower directory. Most, if not all, should be listed there.

Anyways. On to the story.

Enjoy.

She had been up for a few hours, just slightly before the sun rose on the clear spring day. When it was still a bit cold, and the dew clung to the grass and whipped about her ankles sweetly with the breeze.

She was out to gather flowers, flowers she would use later that day, in arrangements and vases, as a way to brighten someone's day. Because that was what she cared about. For someone to be happy.

Her father had lost the ability to hustle about the shop a few years ago, when his age started to catch up to him. He had had a promising life as a shinobi he told her. But that, oh that was such a long time ago. After a botched mission and her mothers' death, he had left the town he came from and moved her here, deep into the fields and trees and petals. Where she wouldn't have to hurt, or learn the life he had.

So he had worked a normal man's life, given up everything for her, though he would never regret it. He at first had been a hired hand, and then saved up enough money to buy the small shop in town. He turned it into a florists shop, naming it after her because 'everyone loves sunny places.'

On that thought, she continued moving through the line of trees towards the field she would be harvesting from this week. The pale lavender sundress she wore moved silently and silkily around her legs, ending mid-calf and whipping gently against her skin.

Hinata made her way into the clearing as the sun burst out from the tree line behind her. It was warm, and for that she was gracious, the wind playing with her dark indigo hair and the sun making it glimmer. Slowly, she made her way into the clearing, and began to pick the flowers. By the line of the forest, she was lucky enough to find a rather large patch of baby snapdragons. The heavy blooms were perfect, and in a range of colors; bright orange, deep blues, a heady violet, a peaceful lilac, a pale yellow. Oh, they were beautiful.

She silently set down the large, wide basket on her arm and opened the handkerchief in it, pulling out a small, but sharp blade. The bright early sunlight glinted off the steel, and she began the tedious work of cutting the snapdragons near the base of the stem. Small bundles of maybe 25 or 30 stems, she collected, would then be placed gently, lovingly in the basket. She loved the snapdragons, with their tiny flowers and petals, a soft as silk on her delicate hands. When she had gathered somewhere near six bundles, she placed the knife in the handkerchief again and placed it in the inside edge of the basket, near the bottoms of the stems. She walked slowly from the tree line and out into the field.

Grass swayed beautifully in the breeze, and birds were chirping somewhere high above her. The smell of flowers clung to the air like dew clinging to the grass early in the morning. She took tentative steps out into the longer grass, being careful not to step on the flowers if she could avoid them. She came upon a patch of taller stemmed flowers, near a foot and a half tall, the Blazing Star and Golden Lupine, one being a medium violet and the other a deep golden yellow, like the rising sun. Setting the basket down gently, and taking the knife out from its confines in the handkerchief, she set to work cutting 10 stems from each. They would pair beautifully with the snapdragons. She would need some neutral tones though…

As she placed the handkerchief and the knife back in the basket, she became aware of a strange sound, something like a buzz, or was is it a hum?

'It almost sounds like fathers' snoring.' She thought kindly to herself, eliciting a small giggle from behind her lips. She gently picked up her basket again, moving over to a new patch of flowers, the sweet colors of Scarlet Flax and Rose Mallow brightening the smile in her eyes, with subtle highlights from yellow, white-tipped Tidy Tips. The bright Iceland Poppy that dotted in between the Scarlet Flax seemed to add highlights to the pale red and rose, with its bright yellows and red, vermilions and deep oranges. She pulled the knife out again and set to work cutting the stems low to the ground and placing them in the basket, running in length to the other flowers she had collected. Halfway through, she looked over her shoulder to see a large patch of Zinnia's, all popped open and full of glory, with pale oranges and deep reds, even some pinks and rose blushed ones poking through. She finished cutting what she had and moved quickly over to them. She would certainly have plenty of flowers for arrangements today, and if she was lucky, some left over to bring home to father.

She moved quietly to cut them, and began humming a small tune, one from so long ago; one she couldn't quite place when she heard it, but knew it meant something more than just a song to her. As she cut and moved forward more, that strange humming, or was it buzzing, from earlier seemed to get louder. Curious, she wrapped the knife up after gather the last bundle of Zinnia's, and placed both items in the basket, carefully lifting the now much heaver item onto her arm. She wandered for a bit more, picking long stems of ferns and large, flat leaves as details for the arrangements. She continued on, looking down at the smaller flowers not yet ready to be cut at her feet, until a sandaled pair of feet suddenly blocked her view.

And those sandals led to legs, clothed in dark pants, an old, faded black, and tattered near the bottom, as if they had not been changed or washed or even repaired in months. As if this person had been walking a long time. Her pale eyes drifted up the legs and to the chest, where a shirt, orange along the bottom half, and black along the upper portion, appeared to be in much the same condition as the pants. Faded and tattered, with some tears on the arms and chest. And dirty. Though she couldn't see how sleeping on the bare ground with nothing beneath them but grass and flowers could help.

And slowly, her eyes drifted to his face. Sun kissed, the earthiest tan she had seen on someone, as if they had spent much time outdoors, running around and doing work. His eyes were closed, she could see he was a man from the way he laid, and he snored lightly as the sun danced on his skin.

But his hair, his hair was what surprised her the most. Bright blond, tussled by wind and rain, spiky somehow, even as he dozed. He slept on a bed of Blazing Star and Siberian Wallflower, the yellows of those two rivaling the blond of his hair. Dotted between the yellows were blues, Baby Blue Eyes and Chicory, one pale with a white center the other a deep blue, like the clear sky above her. And near where his left hand extended away from his head grew a large bunch of OxEye Daisy. The broad white petals around a large yellow, pollen covered center beckoned to her. Silently, as to not wake him, she moved over to the flowers and slowly began cutting them, laying the stalks one by one into the basket, all the while humming pleasantly.

The first thing Naruto became aware of was his headache. The fox may have been able to burn the alcohol out of his system, but that didn't mean the furry bastard wouldn't make him feel it when he woke up. The constant throb behind his closed eyes, coupled with the fact that sunlight was pouring down on him reminded him that at some point in the early morning, long before dawn, he had stumbled away from a bar and out of town, into a field. And that was where he had made his bed.

Resisting the urge to groan, he took a deep breath to try and relieve some of the pressure. It seemed to work, as he let the deep breath out. Slowly, he turned his head to the side and sighed contentedly. For now at least, there was a little bit of peace for him. In his alcohol induced, dreamless sleep, he wouldn't be plagued by the nightmares or faces of those he had failed. For a time being, he could be all right.

The sound of bees near him nearly made him jump up. Damn did he hate those things. But beneath the buzzing, there was a sound, one that fluctuated in pitch, as if someone was humming a lullaby.

It didn't take long for his to find that someone was humming a lullaby. Someone was very near him, humming softly. The sound of fabric rustling, of something being, what would it be, plucked? Cut? He couldn't quite tell. But if it was cut, then this person humming so sweetly, so melodically, had a knife.

And knives can kill. He should know, he's used one more than once to finish off an enemy.

Slowly, silently, employing all his training and ignoring the pain in his head, he opened his eyes and sat up. He looked first to his right, to see no one, then to his left, where his eyes fell onto the last thing he expected to see in the middle of a field full of flowers.

A woman, somewhere near his age he guessed, in a long pale lavender sun dress kneeled about five feet away from him, her back towards his as she worked on something he could not see. A large basket sat on the ground to her left, a small square of fabric resting off the end closest to him. In the basket, he could see flowers, so many flowers, all of varying shapes and sizes and colors, like she had picked the rainbow just to carry with her. He saw the skin of her arms and shoulders, and of her partially exposed calves, a creamy, delicate paleness that seemed to glow in the sun, just almost. She had long hair, down to the small of her back and it was the darkest shade of midnight black, just tinged with a deep indigo, and it fluttered around her hips in the light breeze gently.

At the thought, and sight of her hips, the more male aspect of him seemed to kick in, and he noticed the roundness of her hip, and the curve of her back tapered into roundness of her rear. He could see her waist, though not skinny, was the right kind of curve, one that didn't make her hips look too large, but made them inviting to the hands to grab.

Naruto's eye went downcast, and he looked away from the woman. He shifted slightly, silently, to turn toward her more. If she noticed he was awake, and if she was a ninja, well he might have a fight on his hands, and he wasn't about to be caught off guard. No, he had left behind his ninja village, but he couldn't just forget his training. He couldn't just forget who he was, who he had been for the last ten years.

But, if she was a ninja, wouldn't I already be dead? He couldn't help himself form wondering. If she needed information from him, she would keep him alive, but why would she continue to let him sleep in the open, unrestrained? None of it seemed to make sense. He'd wait for her to see him, and if she needed to be killed for his own safety, he would do it.

It'd be a pity to waste such perfect hips though…

Hinata continued cutting the OxEye, and didn't worry when the man stirred behind her. She figured he was lost, and she would tell him where to go from here, maybe show him to town so he could get some food and water, and then he would thank her and be on his way. Yes, that seemed like a good plan. She hummed contentedly as she cut; keeping her ear open for if he spoke or maybe he would just leave. Maybe he didn't need directions. But surely he needed food, everyone needed food! Worried that he would leave without being properly fed, Hinata turned to look at him. He was awake, most definitely, and he was turned towards her, his left hand on the ground and his right hand resting on his right hip gently. His hair was still spiky; she guessed he probably couldn't do anything more with it but let it grow. She noticed then, that it hung long, near his shoulders, and it drifted into his eyes, and waved slightly when the breeze went through it.

She smiled slightly and looked to his eyes to speak to him, and promptly froze. The Baby Blue Bonnets and Chicory that had made his bed were no comparison to his eyes. A deep blue, like the sky after it rains, when the sun lights the entire celestial plane up and brings it to full glory, that blue was looking into her eyes at this moment, and it left her stunned. A blush began creeping up her cheeks while looking at him, a warm feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, and all at once, she wished he would close his eyes again, even if they were the most beautiful things she had ever seen, if only to give her the semblance of sanity.

Her voice, that was the first thing she needed to worry about. Speak first, say hello, ask him if he was lost, ask him if he was hungry, ask him if he needed help getting to town.

Ask him something!

But he seemed to beat her to the idea.

"You're a Hyuga?" He seemed to ask tentatively, almost warily. His shoulders tensed and his right hand drifted down his hip to the thigh, where she saw a pouch. Stunned, and not trusting her voice, she merely nodded at him. His eyes narrowed and he moved to a crouch, not taking his eyes off her. "Are you a ninja?" His eyes darted to the knife in her right hand and then back to her face.

She had a feeling that if she didn't answer him, he might do…something. She didn't know what, what she knew she wouldn't like it.

"N-n-no, I'm j-just a f-flower girl. A-a-are you a n-nin-ninja?" She stuttered horribly towards him. At her words, and her obvious nervousness, he relaxed. His right hand went away from the pouch on his thigh and he moved to sit again. Once situated, he looked her over. She had a nice oval face, and the fair complexion he had seen on her arms and shoulders was mirrored on her face. The rosy hue to her cheeks didn't go unnoticed by him; though he shrugged it off to fear. Her lips were pleasantly pouted, just a shade or two pinker than her skin, nowhere near as dark as the blush. Her bangs hung over her forehead, and two tendrils along the sides of her face framed it nicely, delicately. Her eyes, though so similar to the blank white of Hyuga in Konoha, had a glow to them, as if tinted with a different color. Was it possible that happiness tinted the eyes? He knew that happiness could be seen in the eyes, but could it change them? From the cold, blank stares he was used to, this was a pleasant, if unexpected, surprise.

"Yeah, I am, well, I was a ninja. I left behind that life some time ago." His eyes drifted from her lovely face to the grass near his left hand. He played with the long, broad leaves and moved to gently run his fingers over the blue flowers near his hand. They were sort of small, fading from the outside in from blue to white. He'd say they were pretty, but pretty didn't seem like a good word to describe them. No, he'd need a better word.

"T-those are B-baby Blue Bonnets. T-they, um, they like full sunlight a-and only l-l-light rain, though they c-can survive a h-harder rain." She seemed to be trying to break the uneasy silence he had settled over them, he noted. "I-if you're lost, I c-could take you t-t-o town and, um, y-y-you could get some f-food or s-something to d-d-drink. O-or an inn, t-there is an inn in town. O-or maybe, maybe – "

"I'm not lost." He broke in. "I'm just wandering. I don't really have anywhere to go back to. I mean, I had a village, but like I said, I left that behind." He looked up and smiled sadly at her. She returned the smile, if not as sadly, at him. He wondered briefly why she would feel sad for him. She didn't even know who he was. "So, uh, I know you're a Hyuga, but what's your name, huh?"

Her blush increased more, no longer just a dusting over her cheeks and she quickly turned to face him and bowed. "I'm sorry! M-my name is Hyuga H-h-hinata." She sat up from her bow, and looked at him, her blush still prominent. "Um, m-may I ask what y-your name is?"

He looked at her for a little while silently, and she looked away, seeming to not be able to look at him for too long before the blush would get stronger. Shyly, he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Uh, hehe, yeah. My names – "he hesitated, wondered if it was safe to tell her who he was, but quickly determined he would be fine. He wouldn't be here for too long anyways, who could it harm? "My name is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Hinata." He smiled at her, and her eyes darted up to his face before she looked away again, with a cute smile on her face. "So, if you wouldn't mind telling me, what country am I in right now? I've been walking for, well a long time now, and it isn't like there are signs anywhere to tell me where I'm going…" he laughed sheepishly and continued scratching the back of his head.

She smiled at him, looking up, with a now retreated blush just dusting her cheeks. "Y-you are in Lightning Country r-right now. Just a few m-miles from the b-border of Lightning and s-some of the n-non-ninja provinces."

Naruto tensed again, and Hinata was confused as to why. She had lived here her whole life. Maybe the village he was from was at ends with Lightning? "Um, Uzumaki-san, is s-something wrong?" He suddenly locked eyes with her and moved to stand.

"How is it that a Hyuga made her way into Lightning country, and you have yet to be killed?" Hinata froze.

Killed…? What does he mean? He suddenly changed topics on her.

"How far away are we from the capital, Hinata-chan?" He asked, standing up and moving towards her, right hand tensed but away from the pouch on his thigh. She looked up at him, a little afraid of how serious he sounded now.

"Its m-more than two w-weeks away by carriage, I-i've heard. I haven't been there though, Father s-says it is t-too big of a city, h-he doesn't want me g-g-getting lost." She was confused. Why would a Hyuga be killed in Lightning? She'd been here since she was a baby; no one had ever tried to harm her. Sure she'd fallen when playing with other kids, but it wasn't like they had pushed her. She stared at him, wide eyes, and more than just a little fearful at this point.

"You – you live here with your father?" He looked shocked, dumbfounded, that she wasn't dead. No, they wouldn't kill a female Hyuga. They'd turn her into breeding stock, letting every man take her just to make children with the Byakugan. Neji. I need to get a letter to Neji, ask him if he knew of any family in Lightning. No, I can't get in touch with anyone in Konoha, I left, I defected. I'm not a ninja from there anymore. Ah, damn, what do I do…

Naruto walked away from Hinata, a shaking hand running through his blond hair, messing it further. She stared after his retreating for, and looked down, noticing the basket for what seemed to be the first time. A small 'eep' escaped her, causing him to turn to look at her. She was gathering the knife and wrapping it in that cloth he had seen earlier and placing it in the large, flower filled basket. She hefted it onto her left arm and stood, turning back towards the line of tree's she had emerged from. She glanced over her shoulder towards Naruto and nodded quickly. "Um, I n-need to get to w-work now, but y-you are more t-than welcome to follow me b-b-back to town if you'd like." She turned her head forward and started walking.

Naruto, in his own respect was a bit stunned. He'd just asked her why she wasn't dead, and she, for the most part, shrugged it off and stated she needed to go to work. I can't just leave her now, I mean, what if something happens? Why do I care, I'm gonna be leaving soon anyways! But I do care, I may have left, but I'm still a Leaf shinobi. If Lightning gets the Byakugan, it would mean another war. Another war we –they can't handle. And she's just too sweet to be turned into breeding stock. She's not even a fighter; she wouldn't know how to protect herself!

Beaten in his own mind, Naruto really only saw one option.

"Aw, shit…" he mumbled before taking off to follow Hinata through the trees.

So, that's what I've got so far. Someone mentioned in a review of the first three chapters I re-published that they were "confused as to why a couple of Hyuga were in Lightning". When I saw this (and originally read it) I had an idea of where things would go from there, and now that I've adopted it, I can set the little plan I have into action. Don't worry, things will make sense. And be dramatic. I hope.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my chapter of "Peace of Mind", please Review. It would be much appreciated. No, what is the term, flaming? Yeah, that one. Constructive criticism is more than welcome, but don't just say something like "Rly this r not a gud story". 1) Because that entire thing is just improper English and 2) That doesn't help me make it a better story. So. Yes.

Thank you and have a wonderful day my dears! –Half