Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters. They belong to their rightful owners.

Warning: Story contains out-of-characterness, grammar mistakes, spelling errors, and typos.

Summary: Returning to the village, she intended on honouring her parents' wish. After meeting him, she could not help but fall in love. What should she do now? Should she follow the path she chose before or walk the path her heart sets on?

This was beta-ed by Emarald. Thank you so much my dear.^^

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Engaged Love

"Finally! It took me so long to reach this village," said a girl with raven looks and sky-blue eyes. She wore traditional miko gab, a red hakama and a white haori with a red Obi tied over her garments. Standing in front of the village gate, she meekly looked up to the two guards asking for their permission and waited patiently for the gate to open.

She took a deep breath and stepped in. She looked around only to find that the village had not changed much over the years of her absence. She felt glad for it as it would help her find her way back home. She smiled as she walked along the streets, enjoying the familiar sight. She was happy to be back in her hometown. She had missed it.

She strolled down the street towards the only shrine in Konohagakure. It was the only building, which was left of the Clan. Many of them had died protecting the village. She remembered that day well-being a child of only six. Her mother had protected her by sending her over to her aunt, and had to leave the village with nothing but a scroll. Her mother had strictly told her not to open the scroll until her sixteenth birthday.

During her stay with her aunt, she had been introduced to the art of healing. She had been more than interested in learning it. She had taken her studies very seriously and had learned a lot during her stay at her aunt's house who had come to be a second mother to her. Her aunt had helped her overcome the pain of losing a family. Her childhood was full of happy memories and she wouldn't want to change that. She had continued to live with her aunt until her sixteenth birthday.

On her sixteenth birthday, she had opened the scroll. Her eyes narrowed, when she had finished reading it. Unable to believe what she just had found out, she reread the scroll. Since her birth, she had been engaged to the heir of the Uchiha Clan – not that she knew any of it or the Clan. She felt angry, being set up in a marriage without her consent or knowledge.

It took her three days before she could calm down and read the scroll again. It was the will of her parents and she would honour it. Maybe, she would come to love her future husband. Later in the evening, she talked to her aunt and informed her of the decision she had made. Her aunt did not support her decision of marrying a complete stranger but she had understood. The next day, she had said goodbye to her aunt and left for her hometown.

Her eyes began to prick, blurring her vision, as she stood in front of the shrine. It was the place; she had last seen her mother. Wiping off her tears, she stepped inside. She noticed how dusty the shrine had become over the years. Nobody had set a foot inside over the years. Every nook and cranny were filled with cob webs. Looking around, she felt sadness wash over her. Even though it hurt, she was glad to be home.

She sighed as she remembered her reasons for coming here. She still had five days before the day of meeting her in-laws. Until then she would clean the shrine. Her decision made, she went to fetch a bucket of water.

She made her way to the river walking along the street, feeling content and totally missing the curious stares of the inhabitants of Konoha. Arriving at the river, she didn't find herself alone. Someone had arrived before her and that person was not happy. She was sorry for the tree that had to receive the fury of his punch.

She thought it wise to tiptoe her way to the waters. Keeping her eyes on the stranger she could make out he was a man. He was clothed in black shirt with a large symbol on the back which looked like a fan, and black pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his left leg with black hair tied back into a ponytail.

As time passed, he seemed to become more enraged. She decided to help him calm down. She flared her aura, his shoulder slumped a bit, and he seemed to relax. She smiled. She had finished her task and turned to leave.

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"In five days you will meet your future wife," his father had informed him as he was on his way to the river. He stopped when he heard his father. Turning around, his eyes narrowed at his father.

"I will not marry anyone." His voice left no room for an argument. 'And I certainly won't marry someone, you choose.' He added.

"You will marry the girl your mother and I chose," replied his father in a commanding tone.

His eyes burnt with anger. Was it not enough that his father had pushed him into training since the day he had activated his Sharingan? Were the countless missions not enough when he had become the ANBU? It seemed not. However, this time he would not back down. He would not marry a complete stranger just because his father wanted him to.

"I don't think so." His voice was colder than usual. He slammed the door and left the house.

He hurried to the river filled with fury. When he arrived on the scenery, he looked for a tree to get rid of his frustration. How dare his father to force him into a marriage? He refused to marry. Moreover, no one was worth his attention in his Clan. Young woman just wanted him because of his looks and his position as the heir of the Uchiha Clan. He would be an idiot to marry someone like that.

His muscles jumped as his ears recognized the sound of someone fetching water. Ignoring it, he continued to take his anger out on the tree. At this moment, he could care less about losing his calm. He needed to work his tension out. He was aware of a pair of eyes staring at him, but he chose to ignore it.

Suddenly he found himself relaxing, against his will. He had no idea why, but he welcomed it. His stiff shoulder slumped and he relaxed a bit. His mind was at peace, peace that he had not known of, since his first mission.

When he snapped out of the feeling, he turned to see the cause of it. He was fast, but too late to catch the source of his relaxation. His dark grey eyes scanned the area unable to find anything. He eventually let go of it.

He turned away, leaving the scenery. He headed, in a much slower and relaxed pace, for the abandoned shrine of a Clan that had died protecting Konoha. He often visited the shrine to pay the Clan the respect they deserved. Even with firm steps, he could catch the whispers of the villagers.

"Did you see her?" "I thought they had all died in the attack." "Maybe she is a distant relative?" "How beautiful she is!" "Wonder what she is doing here?" He paid them no attention and just continued walking.

As shrine came upon his sight, he was surprised to find the door open. No one had dared to set a foot in the shrine. He, himself, had not done it. Whenever he visited, he would stand outside and send silent prayers. The shinobis and villagers didn't visit the shrine. Who would open the door?

Nearing the door, he could hear the rattles of moving things. Wanting to know who had dared do such a thing, he entered the shrine and found a girl dressed in red hakama and a white haori. She had climbed up an old ladder and was trying to reach something.

She was small and petite. Her raven hair went down to the middle of her back, he guessed. Nobody else he knew had this ivory skin. She wore a red hakama, a white haori, and a red Obi tied over her garments. Despite his disinterest in the opposite sex, he found her appearance agreeable. She was, dare he to say it, pleasing to one's eyes.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he asked, startling the girl and causing her to lose balance and falling off of the ladder. With great speed, he caught her in his arms and held her in a bride's cradle. She had closed her eyes shut. He guessed she was waiting for the impact. After a long awkward pause, she began to open her eyes and trapping him in those pair of baffled sky-blue eyes.

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As nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of dark grey eyes. She blinked a few times as her mind registered to what had happened. She had lost her balance and had fallen off the ladder but the man had caught her before she hit the ground.

Her cheeks reddened when she realized she was staring at him. Scrambling off of his arms, she murmured out an apology and thanked him for saving her. The man only replied with a 'Hn'.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm cleaning, the shrine as it has gathered so much dust over the years," she answered, smiling.

"Cleaning?" He repeated. She bowed before turning away to lift the fallen ladder.

"Would you like to lend me a hand?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Why should I?"

She turned fully to meet his eyes.

"Well, you were bothered enough to walk in, unlike the other villagers. So I thought you might want to help."

"Hn," he said. She thanked him and handed a wet cleaning rag and a duster, and asked him to clean the cobwebbed corner that she was trying to reach previously. He looked at her with a raised brow. She tilted her head to one side. It seemed she had misunderstood his reply by assuming that 'Hn' was a 'yes'. She realized her mistake.

"You don't have to…," she started, but stopped when he walked towards her. He took the ladder from her, and positioning it under the corner, he climbed up. She smiled, watching him clean and voiced her gratitude. She began to clean, as well.

Hours later, she and her helper had finished cleaning the interior of the temple. He handed the cleaning rag and the duster silently. She walked out, with a bucket of dirty water in one hand and rags in the other, into a small garden behind the shrine. Her helper followed. She was surprised to see the setting sun. 'It's already this late?'

Turning to him with a genuine smile, she said, "Thank you very much. Without your help, I wouldn't have able to do it."

"You are welcome."

"…Would you like to stay for dinner?" She asked, hesitantly. He declined and took his leave. She stood there, stunned, blinking after him. He left without giving her a chance to say goodbye or ask him his name. She sighed, turning to prepare for supper.