AN: Alright guys, a new chapter that'll be updated every Sunday and Wednesday, so you can finally look forward to regular updates! Yes, go ahead and dance around the room, no one will hold it against you. Anyway, mainly focused on the Kakasaku pairing with a few others mixed in there. I hope you guys enjoy Please review.

Disclaimer: insert witty remark here….

Arranged for the Best

Since the day she had met Sasuke, Sakura knew exactly what her wedding would be like. They would be married on a warm spring day, when all the flowers were in bloom and the sun couldn't possibly be shinning any brighter. The ceremony would take place in the beautiful old church that her mother had once brought her to before the divorce, the one with arches made of gleaming red wood and stained glass windows full of saint's faces. The pews would be full of people, including all her friends and relatives and of course Sasuke's parents who would sigh happily and say "What a wonderful bride for our dear Sasuke." Ino wouldn't be invited because she was mean.

The best part of it all would be her dress. It had been her mother's, and when Sakura had still been little her mother would let her take it out and play with it, carefully. Sakura absolutely loved it; it was gorgeous, long and a shimmering white. The train would sweep softly behind her as she walked down the aisle and the beautiful veil would sparkle delicately in front of her face, hiding her large forehead from view (not that Sasuke would mind her forehead, by that time, Sakura decided, he would think it was cute).

As Sakura grew older, some things were revised from her original plan, such as Ino being periodically added and then once again removed from the guest list, Sakura couldn't ever really make up her mind about her part time friend and rival over Sasuke. However, the main aspects of her wedding always stayed the same. Though the faces of the guests constantly shifted and morphed into others, the dress, the date, the church and Sasuke were always the same. It was always Sasuke who waited for her at the altar of red oak, always the white dress clinging to her form and always the bright sun that lit her face.

Fate couldn't have screwed her over more thoroughly.

Sakura shivered slightly in her light pink fleece and sent a despairing look to the pouring rain outside the high courthouse windows. There was a small gathering of people in the equally small and rather depressing room. The wood paneling was grey and only made to darken the room further in the dimly lit office. Haughty looking people peered down from portraits above a shaky desk and a fat man seemed to fix Sakura with a disapproving, rather demeaning glare from his canvas. Sakura shifted uncomfortably on the window seat, staring fixedly at her clasped hands, refusing to believe they were trembling. She sighed a little sadly as she nibbled her lip. She could handle this. She was old enough now to realize that everything didn't go perfectly, that some dreams could never be… it was just… just…

A tall blonde woman opened the office door and stepped in, automatically taking on an authoritative air. Her blue eyes swept the room once and the people fell silent as the woman cleared her throat. "Hello," she addressed the gathering; her gaze flickering to Sakura's for a moment before she strode to her desk and sat heavily. "Well, let's get this over with." Sakura felt her stomach drop. No one wanted to be here, not even a court official and especially not her. Tears pricked her eyes and she shook them back before they could spill, she would not cry in front of her family.

"Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, would you both step forward please…" Sakura stood slowly, nervously fiddling with her hair as everyone's eyes turned to her. A flicker of movement also came from the opposite side of the room as a tall man rose. Sakura felt her gaze latch on to him as he moved forward smoothly to stand in front of the desk. He was tall, a good foot taller than her, his spiky silver hair adding to his height. He did not stand perfectly straight, instead almost slouched while he moved, still making it seem graceful. An eye patch covered his left eye and he seemed to be completely bored with this whole ordeal if his facial expression had any indication to how he was feeling. Sakura moved to stand beside him slowly, her feet as heavy as lead. It could be worse she reasoned with herself. Kakashi wasn't terrible to look at, he had a nice face, and his visible eye was a dark blue. He seemed nice enough, if looking at someone could determine his or her personality. Sakura felt her knees tremble as she stopped beside the taller man, and braced herself. No use being weak now, she couldn't back out even if she wanted. And oh how she wanted to. As the court official began to ramble of clauses set by the two different families, Sakura focused her gaze steadily on the creaking, wooden floor.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. She wasn't supposed to be dressed in street clothes, wasn't supposed to have the scent of her mother's cigarettes wafting past her nose, wasn't supposed to be hearing her little half sister whisper loudly into their mother's ear that she was bored, and she certainly wasn't supposed to be marrying this man she knew nothing about!

"Sakura Haruno, do you agree to the previously stated arrangements and in doing so, take Kakashi Hatake to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The court official once more met her gaze, and Sakura nodded once.

"I-I do." Her voice seemed so small in the big room, so insignificant, and she once more dropped her eyes to the floor.

"And do you, Kakashi Hatake, agree to the preciously stated arrangements and in doing so, take Sakura Haruno to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I… suppose I do." Came the man's easy reply. Sakura glanced up at him shyly. How could he be so calm about this? He was getting married! Didn't he feel anything? Excitement? Regret? Fear? Did he feel anything like she was feeling? Could he really be as bored as he seemed to be as he was signing his life away to be with some girl that he barely knew?

"I pronounce you two man and wife." The woman cleared her throat a bit uncertainly. "If I could have the two witnesses sign the documents?"

This seemed to be the cue for the rest of the people to start talking, and Sakura stepped back awkwardly to let her father and someone else she didn't know step past. She stood awkwardly for another moment, looking up at the tall man who was fixedly looking at the ceiling.

"So…" Sakura began, trying to think of something to say to her now husband, when her mother suddenly appeared and was pulling her into an awkward hug.

"Sakura." She began as she pulled back and took a long drag of her cigarette. "You look well." Sakura nearly snorted. What a thing to say to your daughter who was just rushed into an early marriage.

"Yeah, I guess…" Sakura mumbled and pulled nervously on her hair, avoiding the gaze of the little girl who gripped her mother's hand and stared up at her with brown eyes.

There was another awkward moment between the two, as her mother looked her over from head to toe. "Is red still your favorite color?"

"Umm, no I like green a lot more now." Sakura fidgeted.

"Oh." Another inhale from her cigarette and exhale into Sakura's face.

"Are you still working at that publishing company?" Sakura asked a moment later.

"No."

"Oh." Sakura searched for widely for something to say to clear the silence that hovered around the two. Her eyes landed on the child. "Hi Kimi," She smiled at the little girl, who promptly ducked behind her mother without a word.

"Well… we had better go. I'll see you later darling." Her mother leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek stiffly before she bent to pick up her other daughter and exited the room without another room.

"Okay mom," Sakura looked after the departing figure. "It was great talking with you."

Sakura fiddled with her zipper and glanced once more at Kakashi, who had turned to talk with one of the people Sakura didn't know. The strange man saw her glance and winked at her as he chewed on a toothpick. Kakashi followed his friend's glance and met Sakura's eyes for a moment before he went back to whatever he was talking to his friend about. Feeling slightly put out and unwanted Sakura retreated to the window seat and returned to staring out at the rain splashing on the sidewalk. A familiar blue umbrella opened up just below her and Sakura realized with a start it was her father. He had left without even saying goodbye. Sakura fisted her fingers in the sleeves of her fleece and worried her lip to keep the tears back. There went the last of her family without a second glance, the one who had stayed to raise her after her mother had left, couldn't care less about what happened to his daughter now that she was off his hands.

"Sakura…" She looked up at her name and met the dark blue eye of Kakashi. "Are you ready to go?" He asked a bit awkwardly and Sakura nodded, hopping off her seat and trailing after him to the door.

She didn't know much about Kakashi; and the little knowledge came only from the few times she had seen him or bumped into him. He was a recluse, and rather soft-spoken. She had heard a few rumors that he was a pervert, but at the moment, he really didn't seem too bad to Sakura.

They walked down the broad stairs of the courthouse silently and Sakura fiddled with her hair once again. "What do you do?" She blurted out after a moment.

"Sorry?" Kakashi paused on a lower step and looked back up at her.

"What's your job?" Sakura felt her cheeks flush under his naturally calculating gaze.

"I'm a teacher. What year are you? You're a junior right?" Sakura nodded as she shifted her weight between her feet. Kakashi sighed softly and then continued down the stairs. "Come on," he called back up and Sakura immediately hurried to catch up. Kakashi held the door open for her in the landing and followed her out in the pouring rain.

TBC

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