An Uchiha At Heart || SasuSaku

20. Wedding

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.