On The Same Path [SasuxSaku]

Chapter 12: Arranged Marriage

~ Sakura's POV

My heart was beating really fast. Everything was getting hazy.

I blinked a few times to adjust to what had happened a moment ago. Sasuke's shadow had flashed in front of me, and he had been looking at me, his eyes penetrating.

No, I must have imagined that. Like the time when we saved him from the other dimension during the war.

And then he was gone. Like always.

After the crowd's cheers started to fade, we all returned to the Kazekage's office.

Temari announced that we were also heading to some ultra-royal dinner place—just the four of us.

Before I could even begin to protest, we were sitting in a dining room beneath a sand cave with hanging lights. In spite of myself, I couldn't stop marveling at the beauty of the room.

Soon the waiters arrived and started serving different varieties of food. This was too lavish for my taste, but super hungry at this point, I dug into my food.

Temari was the first one to start the conversation.

"How did you like our thank you, Sakura?" she asked jollily.

"Oh, it was beautiful, but it wasn't necessary at all. As a medic, it's our duty to save lives," I said as I quietly chewed on my food.

The dinner went on quickly after that.

Soon the waiters cleared the table and returned with a glass tea set and hot matcha.

"Seriously? Tea?" Temari said in an annoyed tone. "Doesn't the occasion command some sake at the very least?"

I was a little confused by her comments, but who was I to comment on Sand hospitality?

Then a very old couple, probably the Sand equivalent of the Leaf daimyos, arrived at our table, followed by a group of assistants. The lady looked slightly older than Lady Chiyo. She walked slowly toward me and started to bend down.

Unable to watch her struggle, I immediately stood up.

She looked at me for a full ten seconds.

"She's a little flat..." she began.

"Excuse me?" The vein on my forehead was starting to poke.

"But she's quite a beauty. You say she's the strongest kunoichi in the world right now?"

The timid assistant beside her nodded.

I didn't know if I was supposed to be flattered or insulted, but I did not like this woman.

"I approve."

Approve of what? What the hell was going on here? I looked at Shikamaru for some help, but he seemed to be distracting himself with the teapot design in front of him.

"Oh, I am so happy for you, brother!" Temari shouted and almost jumped on Gaara, who seemed a little uncomfortable with the gesture and asked her to calm down.

"She'll be the perfect wife for our young Kazekage," the old lady continued. "You sure you want it after Temari's wedding? The village wants to see a wedding in our village, not one in Konoha." She gave a somewhat disgusting look at Shikamaru.

If the shock on my face elicited any emotion from the old lady, she either straight-up ignored it or had serious vision issues.

"Wife? Umm, I think there's been a huge misun—" I started somewhat incoherently.

"I am sure." The Kazekage's firm voice came from beside me.

I looked from the old lady to Gaara. What the hell was going on? What kind of ridiculous arranged-marriage setup was this?