Sacrifices for Peace

Part Six: The Festival II

Lanterns lit the courtyard and filled the space with a warm, lively light, illuminating the crowd of Uchiha, Senju, mixed civilians and curious Sarutobi and Shimura clan members. The music played at a pleasant level, filling the background with beautiful noise, and Tobirama wondered at the ease that the musicians of his and the Uchiha clan seemed to get along. It had been like that from the beginning, he'd noted. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that they were not shinobi, or perhaps it was that they were artists. In any case, he was glad there wasn't tension between them and they played together harmoniously.

The night was as perfect and well planned as Madara said it would be. Not that he had any doubts; Madara was a meticulous planner and he was clearly set on making the night one to remember and to impress, despite his reluctance to open it to the public. Tobirama was also pleased to note that there was very little tension in the air between the previously rivaled clans. The inclusion of the civilian population, mostly merchants and shop owners, that made up a growing portion of Konoha made up for any noticeable lack of mingling.

There was curiosity on the faces of most people, conversation flowed. Everyone was dressed in formal and expensive clothes or as much as they were able to afford to be. Even Tobirama had been forced into donning a blue and white yukata kimono with a belt, which was as close to formal wear as he was willing to be. Hashirama, Madara, and Izuna were all dressed in formal kimonos, and Tobirama felt some small pity for Izuna who seemed to want to rip his own garment off and change when he saw Tobirama's choice of outfit.

Madara had greeted both himself and Hashirama but remained cool towards them. However, he interacted politely with the heads of the Shimura and Sarutobi, not even reacting to the obviously provocative statements the Shimura would occasionally through into the conversation regarding his clan. It surprised and impressed Tobirama, though he wondered what the Uchiha was planning. There was a glint in his eyes that made Tobirama feel nervous. He resolved to keep an eye on the Uchiha for the remainder of the evening, once again wondering if he was right or not to take Itachi's words so seriously.

*

Itachi quickly found himself reaching a point where it was becoming impossible to deny the feelings that had so suddenly made themselves known to him. It was like he'd been struck with a kunai he couldn't remove. It was unavoidable, undeniable, unrelenting and seeped deeper and deeper into his bones. It was made doubly hard force them back into a place of propriety when he had never seen Sakura look like she did now.

The state of the Konoha that Itachi grew up in meant that there was little occasion for there to be an event where full traditional dress, other than a wedding, was necessary to don. By the time Sakura became a genin, there was hardly any reason for a shinobi to wear anything other than training or mission wear, and that held even more true for Sakura herself with everything that happened to her team.

So this was the first time he'd ever seen her dressed with the intent to look beautiful, and he had never been so overcome with gratitude that he was able to see it. Itachi would have to remember to thank Matsuri for so cunningly helping to create the image that was before him. She was dressed with simplicity and elegance that exemplified her natural beauty. Her kimono was white and pink, her hair was pulled back at one side and left down at the other. It was longer than it had been before they arrived. Reaching just past her shoulders instead of cropped above it. Her hair accessory was white. The only real colour was the green in her eyes, that seemed to shine even brighter in the haze of pink and white.

He barely noticed Matsuri standing beside her in a dark coloured kimono that matched her hair, with blue and red patterns Itachi couldn't distinguish without paying attention - and he wasn't.