𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐘 | sasuke uchiha

二十一

"So, [Name], have you decided on the design yet?" [Name] was, once more, sitting with Mei as Mikoto took the two of them out on what would be their bridal shopping. The wedding was in a week, and [Name] felt as if everything was moving too fast, too much of a blur for her to comprehend. In a week, she was going to be married to a member of one of the country's most powerful yakuza clans. In a week, the reality of her disownment would hit, and she would be tied to Sasuke Uchiha for what would most likely be the rest of her life.

"Um, no, Mikoto-san..." [Name] mumbled, leaning forward and placing her head on the back of the empty passenger's seat. Mikoto looked at [Name] in her rear view mirror with a soft smile.

"Call me mother," she said tenderly, nodding at [Name]. The girl merely grimaced and nodded, and beside her, Mei grasped her arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. [Name] smiled at her friend, and as she did, a phone began to ring. Mei jumped in her seat, releasing [Name]'s arm from her grasp, and pulled her smartphone from her jean pocket.

"Hello? Emi? What's wrong?" Emi said something to Mei, who then raised an eyebrow and held her phone out to Emi. [Name] gingerly took the phone from her and held it to her ear, curious.

"Hello?"

"Hey, [Name]..." said Emi in a crackly voice. "Is it too late to meet up?" [Name] sighed with relief and shook her head, grinning with relief.

"No, of course not. Where do you want to meet?"

***

"... so, this is your line, huh?" After picking up Emi and Fuyu from the local library, [Name]'s three friends sat in the back seat while she sat up front with Mikoto, who looked at [Name] with a wide smile. Said girl smiled nervously and scratched the back of her head.

"Um, yeah, aha."

"There's no time to spare- let's go see what kind of dresses there are! What is the colour theme, anyway?"

"..."

***

"You okay, [Name]?" Mikoto asked with a frown as she and [Name] watched her bridesmaid try on [f/c] dress after dress. [Name] nodded and clutched her head, feeling a little light headed.

"Yeah, just... tired," she managed to say. "Can I step outside for a bit?" After getting Mikoto's nod of approval, [Name] made a dash for the front door of the store, desperate to uncloud her mind. The last time she had checked, she and Mikoto had been watching her friends pick out dresses and try them on, one after the other, store after store, for about two hours straight, and quite frankly, it was overwhelming. It was bad enough that Mikoto wanted to know what [Name] had planned; she didn't have anything planned. She was too young to understand the complexity of what was going on, and she wasn't exactly the type of girl who dreamed of her future wedding as a child.

"Ugh, what is wrong with me?" [Name] sighed as she shut the door behind her, stepping out onto the pavement and leaning her back against the glass display window of the store. Unsurprisingly, Mikoto had brought her to the high end stores of the city, where all the branded gowns worn by celebrities were able to be bought. She closed her eyes as she pondered her situation, hopeless to the tirade of thoughts that flooded her mind like a monsoon.

"Hey, is that you, [Name]?" [Name] opened her eyes a little, scowling at whoever had called out to her. When she saw who it was, though, she sat up straight and opened her eyes, staring at the figure. Or rather, figures.

"Naruto!" she squealed, her eyes shifting to the elegant figure walking beside him. "A-Ah, it's Sakura, right?" The pinkette beside Naruto blinked at [Name], and tilted her head as she examined her.

"... you're Sasuke's fiancee, aren't you?" she chirped, narrowing her eyes at [Name]. [Name] gulped, and nodded. Naruto was dressed in a horrible orange jumper and black jeans, while Sakura wore a red dress that went up to her knees, and a matching bow in her hair to match.

"Y-Yeah, but we met on the train! Don't you remember?" [Name] tried, wanting to see if Sakura loathed her, or was thankful for her rescue. Sakura blinked yet again and nodded slowly.

"Ah. I remember you." [Name] smiled weakly at the Haruno, hoping that she wouldn't hate her for breaking her and Sasuke up. Sakura scratched her arm. "Um... thank you. For, you know, that one time." [Name] let out a loud breath of relief, her smile growing stronger as she faced Sakura.

"Any time," she said cheerfully. "Sasuke's quite a piece of work, isn't he?" Sakura looked at [Name] with sympathy in her eyes, and beside her, Naruto exclaimed, "Naruto, you look nice today! Gee, thanks, [Name]!" He was ignored by both females, and with a grimace, pulled away from Sakura.

"I'll just wait in here then," he muttered darkly, going into the store [Name] had just exited. Now, with just [Name] and Sakura, [Name] was eager to find out what Sakura's relationship with Sasuke had been for some reason.

"Thank you for saving me, [Name]..." murmured Sakura softly once Naruto was gone. "You can't believe how grateful I am, truly."

"It was nothing big; I'm sure you could've gotten away on your own," [Name] replied, a smile still on her face. Sakura returned it, and took in [Name]'s brightness and happy personality.

"When's the wedding?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Naruto said he and the rest of the groomsmen are supposed to go get their tuxes fitted sometime this week, but he never actually gave me the date of the wedding."

"Oh. It's next week Saturday." [Name]'s face went pale as the prospect of the wedding washed over her all over again, and she felt like vomiting all of a sudden. Sakura grimaced, and placed a hand on [Name]'s shoulder.

"It's hard, I know," she said softly. "But that's the world of the yakuza, [Name]. Sacrifices have to be made, and I thank you for yours. If you hadn't stepped in, I would've been tied to that torturous human for who knows how long. It saddens me that you got tangled in this messed up web, though, so I do apologise for it." [Name] shook her head, Sasuke's confession to her still burning in her mind.

"Torturous?" Sakura gave her a reassuring smile.

"Well, when you came along, he was pretty bad," she said with a small life. "He was aggressive and violent at times, but he was initially a sweet man, [Name]. Despite his cold exterior, Sasuke actually has a heart, and he can be a kind, caring man once he unlocks those emotions from deep, deep, deep down. Like, really deep. Considering you haven't died yet, I'd say Sasuke has a soft spot for you."

[Name] wiped away stray tears that she didn't even realise had been welling up in her eyes, and nodded at Sakura, who pulled her into a tight hug. It wasn't a hug from a yakuza member; no, to [Name], it was more like the hug from an older sister, and she was grateful for it.

"You'll be alright," whispered Sakura, patting [Name]'s back. "You'll be alright."

Why am I crying? I don't even know her, and I'm bawling like an idiot? The hug was quickly over, and Sakura held [Name] at arm's length with a supportive smile.

"I guess you have a wedding dress to choose, don't you?" [Name] nodded and wiped away her tears, sniffling in the process.

"Thank you, Sakura," said [Name] softly. That was the reassurance she needed, that little push to keep her from breaking. She didn't know why, but Sakura's words made her feel less worried, and now, she had a brighter outlook upon the rest of her life.

"Maybe living with Sasuke for the rest of my life won't be so bad," she joked, laughing with Sakura.