Sakura was grateful that all the wedding arrangements she's been planning with Ino and Temari for months managed to work out, but she was already starting to get a headache. Standing in front of the shrine in her elegant shirokomu, an all-white kimono, gladly wearing an embroidered Uchiha crest on the side of her heart, she closed her eyes and let out a long exhale to try and ease the tension.
The gold combs and the traditional accessories in her wig weighed heavily on her head under the wataboshi, the traditional white hood that covered most of her face-except for her lips. She felt beautiful though, and she could not keep the smile off her lips.
Sakura's mother came to check on her again as everyone waited for Sasuke to arrive. Sakura was amused that she, the bride, was the one waiting on her groom, but she also worried a little about how Sasuke might be feeling—a wedding was a family event after all, and Sasuke...
She heard footsteps approaching from behind.
And there he was, Uchiha Sasuke—the love of her life, dressed handsomely in his montsuki haori hakama, a loose, dark gray overcoat bearing the Uchiha crest, draped over black kimono and kimono trousers.
Sasuke had never looked more radiant, and Sakura was simply taken away, she barely realized that Naruto and Kakashi had been standing there beside Sasuke the whole time. They had both come as Sasuke's family members, which made Sakura's smile even warmer.
"Let's get to it, shall we?" Kakashi said with a smile in his voice.
"Yosh!" Naruto concurred, his glee radiating as if it were his own wedding.
Right in time, the priest and the shrine maiden walked over towards the new Uchiha couple and their families to lead them into the shrine. In the background, the musicians assembled to play gagaku, ancient court music. As they all gathered inside, the shrine maidens performed the dance that shows appreciation for every protecting spirit. As Sakura watched this dance, the toyosaka no mai, she silently prayed that each spirit would indeed protect her bond with her husband until death do them part.
Sasuke, unsure how to act amidst an arrangement of traditions, slightly tilted his head to peek at Sakura for his own comfort, only to be distracted for a second too long by the only part of her face that was clearly visible—her red lips. He took a deep breath-an easy yet slightly nervous breath-and refocused on the dance.
The next part of the ceremony was the san-san-kudo. Sakura giggled at the memory of Ino specifically telling her that she absolutely had to perform this ritual with Sasuke-kun, otherwise she'd barge in on them and force them to do it herself. It's just such a cute ritual, she'd argued-although Sakura never disagreed in the first place-and she would just die of happiness (and cuteness) knowing that her best friend and her groom actually performed it together.
Sakura's father came over with a bottle of sake and a small cup, and poured the first glass for his son-in-law. Sasuke took the cup, took a small sip, and then handed it to his wife. Sakura did the same, her red lipstick slightly staining the edge of the glass, and gave the cup back to Sasuke while making sure the clean side of the cup was facing him. The second cup was shared the other way around and the third started with the groom again.
Ino was so adamant on Sakura and Sasuke doing this ritual together, as she believed that each sip symbolized love, wisdom, and happiness, and that is all she truly wanted for her dear friend in her upcoming life. They may have had their ups and downs since their childhood days, but after everything they've been through together, Ino just wished her the best.
It was now time for the most nerve-wrecking part of the ceremony-for Sasuke anyways-the seishisojo, where the groom reads words of commitment in front of the shrine priest.
It was no secret that words weren't Sasuke's forte, which is why Kakashi had thought ahead and helped Sasuke articulate something simple, genuine, and heartfelt for this very crucial moment.
The Uchiha looked at the priest, then to his beautiful bride. She smiled softly at him, and so he held her half-invisible gaze and spoke with much more ease than he anticipated: "I, Uchiha Sasuke, promise to take Haruno Sakura as my wife, and to love and cherish her to the best of my ability until the end of times."
There was a short silence. Sakura's heart palpitations got louder and louder, the world seemed to comprise of nothing but her and her husband; the man looking straight at her, the man that just verbally vowed to love her. Even the family members gathered around them could feel it—this moment right here, this was Sakura and Sasuke's world, and everyone else was just living in it.
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The rest of the ceremony flew by quickly. The newly wed couple offered a branch of sakiki (a sacred tree) to the shrine, the two families exchanged a cup of sake to celebrate the new family bond, and then everyone was quickly off to the reception, after Naruto had made a short hassle of taking group pictures in front of the shrine.
The venue Ino and Sai had chosen was beautiful. It was in one of the more intimate spots of the Konoha Gardens, with ornaments and lanterns literally tied to the trees, illuminating the round tables with red and black table cloths, complimented by small vases of sakuras and roses in the center of each seating arrangement.
"Saaaaakuuuuuraaaa!" Ino yelled as soon as she saw her friend arrive. She ran to her best friend and gave her a hug so tight it made her headache throb a little more. Before Sakura could say anything, Ino finally let go. She pulled Sakura's wataboshi upwards a little, held her shoulders, and just looked at her. "Stunning. All my hard work in choosing your outfit paid off."
"You just want to take credit for everything, don't you?" Sakura whined jokingly.
"Obviously," Ino laughed. "And—oh yeah, Sasuke-kun!" the blonde had finally realized that there was another person standing by Sakura. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," the groom replied, looking between her and Sakura. All the socialization was making him feel uncomfortable, so he just took to looking at his wife every time he was unsure what to do or where to direct his attention.
"You need to change into your irouchikake," Ino reminded Sakura. "But we need to take pictures with you first."
Ino called over the rest of the girls, then Naruto quickly came over and demanded that he wanted more pictures again with his old teammates.
Throughout the repetitive process, Sakura made sure to hold Sasuke's hand and squeeze it a little tighter every time. It was a reassuring gesture; it even made Sasuke smile in most of the photos. He was recognizing already how much Sakura's close presence was affecting him even more than it had in the past few months when they'd traveled together. It was making him feel some type of way he couldn't quite explain, until Sakura left to change into her second outfit for the night—He could immediately feel her absence and was starting to get socially anxious again, but more than that, he wanted Sakura, he wanted to be with her, he wanted to be alone with her.
He couldn't wait for the night to be over, so he headed over towards the food area find some damn water.
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Sakura came back wearing a beautiful pink irouchikake with a maroon floral print. She had a pinkish purple flower holding her short hair away from her eyes, and she held a green fan that matched the color of her eyes.
The small crowd of close friends all turned around to admire the bride whose face was in full view now. She walked towards Sasuke who had quickly tuned out of the conversation Naruto and Shikamaru were having with him as soon as he saw her approaching. He was almost startled at the way his body reacted at the mere sight of his new partner-in-life. Not knowing what to do, he just smiled and walked towards Sakura.
Sasuke extended his hand to her and Sakura reached out for it like it was a reflex. "Sakura, you—" but before he could finish his sentence, Naruto put his arms around both of them and spoke a little too loudly. "Sakura-chan! Sasuke! We're all finally here together!"
"Y-yeah," Sakura said, very much pissed off that Naruto interrupted her and Sasuke's little moment. Her inner self was currently kicking him in the balls.
Naruto continued to take charge and directed everyone towards the real reason why people attend weddings—the food. They were serving sushi, shrimp, sea bream, as well as red rice for good luck.
"Wait, aren't we going to say our speeches?" Sai asked. "I prepared a special speech for Sa—"
"We don't need speeches!" Tsunade declared. "Sasuke and Sakura were always meant to be, we've all known that. Now someone pop that bottle of sake open already!"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Gai-sensei replied, the bottle of sake already in his hand. Everyone shook their head in a why-are-we-not-surprised manner, and within a few seconds, the top was popped and everyone was lining up to get their small cups filled, completely disregarding the bride and groom.
Sakura was incredibly amused but also just very hungry. She shamelessly headed towards the food and didn't care that her guests hadn't gotten their shares yet. Her mother noticed her reaching for a plate and walked over to help her out so she doesn't ruin her pink kimono. Sasuke followed suit, although he was craving a little sake himself. Could he just leave with his wife already?
As the night went on, old and new stories were shared, and the laughter got louder and louder even when the reason behind said laughter became more unclear. Kakashi walked over to Sasuke and Sakura, telling them it was time they started wrapping things up. "I'm sure you two must be exhausted by now. Let's get going."
The newlyweds put up no argument, and sure enough everyone was gone within a few minutes, except for Ino and Sai who stayed behind to take down all the decorations. Kakashi and Sakura's parents accompanied the couple on their walk to their new house.
All five of them looked intently at the humble home in a small cul-de-sac of Konoha, with the Uchiha crest presenting itself proudly on top of the entrance.
Sakura's parents hugged her with unshed tears in their eyes. "May you both prosper," her father whispered before he let her go. They then looked to Sasuke, who bowed to them respectfully.
Kakashi patted him on the back then squeezed his shoulder, and without another word, the Uchiha couple were finally left alone.
Sakura looked to her husband with a fond smile and tired eyes. She reached for his hand and guided them into their new home they had chosen together without really thinking much of it. She was ready to sit down and breathe for a few moments, and Sasuke undoubtedly felt the same.
As they walked into the living room, each of them slowly started to take in their new space. It was simple yet elegant, with varieties of flowers and framed photos dominating the décor. Sakura felt particularly drawn to the off-white, semi see-through curtains at their balcony. Even though they were just outside, it calmed her mind-and nerves-to just look out into the distance.
She subconsciously took out the flower in her hair that eventually fell to the ground, and she loosened the belt of her kimono, all while Sasuke watched her. The kimono slid off her left shoulder, exposing her neck and showing off the soft build of her body. She took an audible, deep breath. "God, I feel so at peace," she stated softly. There was quiet for a moment, then Sasuke walked over and stood behind her where they could both see a blurry reflection of themselves in the glass. Without another word, Sasuke wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist, then titled his head and placed a soft kiss on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura closed her eyes and shuddered, and before she could process the feeling completely, Sasuke had already buried his face into her neck, and Sakura let out an involuntary gasp. They both opened their eyes and looked at each other in their reflections, then Sakura turned around, held her husband's face, and kissed him.
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Here's some of my favorite fanart of SasuSaku wedding day that inspired the details of this chapter. All credit goes to their original artists.
Does anyone know if this is canon? I'm personally not sure.
Thanks for reading ♥