𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐘 | sasuke uchiha

二十二

After a frantic week of following Mikoto around and organising things, it was the night right before the wedding, and [Name] felt nothing but emptiness as she and her three friends sat in silence. They were currently using a room in Mikoto's quarters which she had specially tailored to fit the bridal party, but [Name] still couldn't help but feel queasy as she sat surrounded by her friends on the large king sized bed. The entire week had been a blur; she could barely recall her so called hen's night, which, in all actuality, ended up in her and her three friends eating ice cream and crying after having a deep, meaningful talk about life, and recent events that they hadn't caught up on yet.

"So..." said Mei in an attempt to break the tension. She looked at [Name]. "Married at seventeen, huh? You can add that to your list of achievements, haha." [Name] managed a small smile, and beside her, Fuyu rubbed her back. They were all aware of [Name]'s position with her family, and they all sympathised with her.

"Does that mean you have to bring Sasuke to the senior ball next year?" asked Emi with a laugh. All of the girls giggled at the prospect of [Name] bringing her would be husband to a school dance- no doubt questions would be asked. Mei groaned and covered her face with her hands, laughing.

"Imagine what'll happen when people from school find out!" she guffawed. "Especially Tomohiro! Oh my gosh, he has the hugest crush on you! Imagine what his reaction will be when he finds out you're married!"

"Oh my god, how about Ryuu, [Name]? Remember? You had the hugest crush on him in our first year!" [Name] laughed as memories of her past almost love interests flitted before her. All four girls started laughing, and [Name] shook her head with a broad smile.

"No, you know who was the worst? Kazuya!"

"Omg, yes! He was such a- a user! I'm so glad you never dated any of the guys from our school- if anything, Sasuke's a much better fit for you than those immature boys!" [Name] laughed.

"Oh no, Sasuke's on their level, trust me," she snorted, making her friends giggle even more. "If anything, I would'e preferred Daichi! You know Daichi, from art?"

"Yes, hahahahaha!" The girls spent what seemed to be another couple of hours talking and giggling about the boys at their school, and it was well past midnight when there was a knock on the door. Looking at each other with raised eyebrows, Mei, Fuyu and Emi all watched as [Name] got to her feet and proceeded to trudge to the door.

"Who is it?" She was answered with a rough grunt.

"It's me. And I can hear you badmouthing me, you know." [Name] sweatdropped and turned to face her friends, who were waiting for news of the visitor.

"It's Sasuke!" she hissed, slamming her back against the double doors. Mei leapt off the bed and darted to [Name]'s side, followed by Emi and Fuyu.

"It's bad luck to see [Name] before the wedding!" she chanted, earning an aggravated grunt from the Uchiha.

"Does it look like I care?"

"What if you look at her and die from an overload of pre-wedding beauty, huh?" added Emi, winking at [Name], who was clutching at her face in embarrassment.

"You guys-"

"YOU'LL GET HERPES!" called out Fuyu, making [Name] choke on her saliva and burst into laughter. The door handles began to rattle as Sasuke began growing irritated.

"Open the door!"[Name]'s friends all giggled as they pushed their shoulders against the doors.

"NO! DO YOU WANT [NAME] TO BE BARREN FOR THE REST OF YOUR WEDDED LIFE?!" screeched Mei as he began shoving at the door. At the word "barren," Sasuke stopped his angry attacks and froze.

"What?" Mei exchanged a look with [Name], who tried her best to stifle a snort. Emi mouthed "Go on!", and Fuyu wore a devilish grin.

"According to folklore, if the groom lays eyes on his bride before they meet at the altar, she'll be struck with the curse of barrenness and never be able to bear children for her husband!" exclaimed Mei, making Fuyu, Emi and [Name] burst into giggles. But on the other side, Sasuke sounded genuinely skeptical, and Fuyu leapt in.

"It's true," she said loudly. "My uncle saw my aunty before their wedding, and they never had kids! Don't do it, Sasuke! Don't look at [Name]!"

Even though it sounded like her friends were just in it for a laugh, even she wasn't fooled by the jokes used to hide the real message they were trying to convey.

Please, let us spend this one last night with our friend before you take her away from us.

"Sasuke!" squealed [Name] in a high pitched voice. "If you open this door and I'm not able to have children, I'm divorcing you!"

"Can I at least talk to you?" he pleaded. [Name] grimaced and raised an eyebrow at her friends, who all shrugged and stepped away from the door.

"We'll be over there." As her friends all walked away, whispering and giggling, [Name] put her ear to the door.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"I... uh... sleep well," he said in a soft voice. [Name] raised an eyebrow; was that all? She smiled nonetheless, and nodded even though he couldn't see.

"You too, Sasuke," she said softly. "You too."