Chipped Mask

Epilogue

"Ouch," I said, wincing.

"Hold still," Konan murmured, her fingers running through my hair. She continued to comb through it, tidying it up. "Anko-chan, would you please hand me the conditioner?"

Anko grinned widely and reached in front of me, and grabbed the tube of conditioner on the dresser. She handed it to Konan and Konan opened it, squeezing some out and starting to run it through my hair. "Good grief, Mia. Sleep restless last night?"

I blushed.

Haiiromaru gave a happy bark, wagging his tail. The Inu ninken had been with me for a couple years now. No longer a puppy, he was big enough for me to ride him (and in some cases I have!), with big brown eyes and a soft white underbelly and paws. His voice when he spoke in Japanese was still childish and higher-pitched. "She was! She was! She kept tossing and turning and I told her she needed to sleep, but she didn't listen."

Shiromaru (Haiiromaru's twin brother - the exception being where Haiiromaru was a pretty orange-gold, Shiromaru was an ashy grey) nodded his head. His voice was deeper than his brother's, and he spoke more slowly. "She smelled anxious."

"Of course I was anxious," I muttered petulantly. "Besides, it was the first time sleeping in an empty bed for a long time."

"Hey!" Haiiromaru exclaimed.

"Okay, first time there were only three in my bed," I amended. "But you guys kept kicking me, too. How is anyone supposed to sleep like that?"

"You had no issues before," Shiromaru retorted.

I pursed my lips and stubbornly looked away. Konan giggled and Anko snickered.

The door to the dressing room opened and Tsume walked in. "My oh my, don't you look pretty?"

My cheeks flamed again. "... Thank you. Er, is everyone ready?"

"Well, everyone's arrived at least. They're still talking now - no one has taken their seats, yet," Tsume said, smiling at me in the mirror. "Even Kakashi's arrived."

"So he actually arrived on time?" Anko asked incredulously.

"Well he is the best man," Konan said, nodding her head.

I shifted nervously. "Where are the rest of my bridesmaids?"

"Here we are, Mia-chan," Sakura said, entering. She was smiling warmly at me. "The Toads are already here. I can't believe you let Naruto invite them."

I giggled. "They're his friends, Sakura-chan. I want everyone to be happy today, and if having his contracts here make him happy, so be it."

"Kakashi's ninken look adorable in their little kimonos," Hinata said softly, her eyes lit up. "I got a couple pictures. And the little bows you put on some of the scorpions are cute, Sakura-chan."

Sakura shrugged. "They asked for them. Speaking of summons, Anko-sensei, your snakes are about to get eaten by Sasuke's hawks."

"Damn it!" Anko cursed, hurrying out of the room.

Ino handed me a bubbly drink. "Here, Mia-chan. Drink this. This'll help with your nerves."

I took a tentative sip, then finding it to be rather delicious, I continued to drink. "... Thank you."

A comfortable silence filled the room.

"The wedding looks beautiful," Hinata murmured.

I smiled at that. We had decided on an outside wedding, simply because of space. I would have preferred a small, quiet wedding, but knowing how large our guests were, that was out of the question. Besides, a big wedding was just as fine. More the merrier, right? Thankfully, (and I do mean thankfully) the weather was perfect. May weather in Konohagakure always was, but I was just grateful it wasn't raining or anything. The skies were a pretty blue with big white fluffy clouds and it was at that perfect temperature of being not too cold or too hot.