Promises Remembered

Chapter 17

A/N This is a shorter chapter again, sorry. I hope the last one made up for it. We are almost at the end of part one! woo! 

Chapter 17

Sakura

Two-hundred and forty-seven days into the past

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. Around her, Aiko and two other women that worked at the shrine flitted around her, putting all the final touches on her Shiromuku. The heavy silk brocade looked even more beautiful in person than the pictures of her parents' wedding she'd seen growing up. Wearing it, even though she was lost in time and her parents didn't know who she was, made her feel connected to her family and her past in a surprisingly comforting way.

Aiko finally stood, looking her over with a wide, happy smile. "You look so beautiful, Hana!" Her hands clasped under her chin. "I'm so excited for you!"

Sakura answered her smile with one of her own. "Me too. Thank you for being here for me, Aiko."

Her friend hugged her gingerly, careful of the folded silk. "I'm honored. You two are going to be so happy, and someday probably have lots of beautiful pink and silver haired babies and I can't wait."

Bittersweet sentiment lodged in her throat as she smiled up at Aiko in the mirror. "I'm sure you're right."

"Alright, let's go find your husband."

<KSK>

Taking small steps, Sakura followed the shrine maidens and priest towards the main temple. Harsh flutes played behind her, urging them on, followed by more friends than Kakashi had realized they had. The Hokage was even there.

Sakura peeked up at him from beneath her hood. He was so handsome in his montsuki haori. The Hatake crest picked out in white made her smile. He had told her that this was the first time he'd worn it since his father's death. He hoped that together, they would make it something he was proud of again.

She knew that they would. In all of her memories of Kakashi from the future, he had always worn it. Kazuki had as well. It gave her a certain little joy to know that now she could, too.

Noticing her watching him, he caught her eye, his own crinkling with a smile. Sakura wanted to reach up and kiss him again, but the music urged her on. There would be plenty of time for that later. Turning away to focus on her steps, Sakura kept the small smile on her face.

In the temple, as Kakashi read their vows before the Kami, Sakura made a prayer of her own. She prayed that the time they had together would bring her husband happiness. She prayed that the son they would create together would bring him happiness and sustain him while they were apart. Most fervently, Sakura prayed that she would return to him one day, and that his heart would still belong to her.

<KSK>

Two-hundred and sixty days into the past

He belongs to you.

That was what she thought when she first saw him, standing in a small closed off courtyard at the shrine, dressed in his black montsuki haori. He was so handsome. The thought played on repeat in her mind as the day progressed. Their ceremony felt like a treasured blur of white silks and ritual.

He belongs to you.

It was the only coherent thought in her head during their wedding night. Those memories were clear as crystal and would be as treasured as their ceremony itself.