Oh my gosh, I did it, I totally did it. I made a sequel. And it's multichaptered. Pinch me, I must be dreaming.
Sorry for all the mistakes you'll see. I don't have a beta, but I think there's someone interested in being one for me soon! I'm excited, and you should be too!
By the way, a lot of you WILL fucking hate me for posting this. Just so you know, I love my angst and tragedies. Be warned.
Warning: Future Dubious Content. Be afraid.
Disclaimer: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Sasuke are owne by Masashi Kishimoto. They will never be mine. Cover image by 寒忍莲 on Pixiv.
She was led through the dimly lit corridors, feet padding softly against the wooden floors of the traditional house that she would now call her home. A hand rested against the curve of her back and its warmth seeped through the silk fabric of her wedding kimono that she wanted to arch away from it in embarrassment.
The wedding ceremony had been a success and as much as she didn't want to admit it, Sakura had enjoyed herself tremendously. Her parents were there, their faces beaming with joy, and she knew it was because of her own bright countenance that they were so happy. They had only wanted what was best for her and Sakura trusted them with all her heart. Obviously it had been a very large affair, since her husband's clan was not something that could fit in one shrine and him being the clan's heir didn't help any. It had been painstakingly organized by the matriarch herself since Mikoto refused to just sit back and watch her son's wedding being taken care of by another's hands.
Her best friends had been invited also and seeing their jubilant faces brought such joy and giddiness into her heart that she had forced herself not to cry. But she knew that behind those bright faces were hints of concern, because they knew that despite the misleading glee that she projected, their lied a sliver of despair and defeat all rolled into one carefully hidden ball inside of her.
She did not love her husband and she feared that she could never learn how to.
Ino's face had been encouraging, giving her smiles and nods of her head all throughout the ceremony. Sakura was thankful. Having the blond there did wonders to her, the hesitation that she had felt taking a backseat and almost disappearing.
It was hard looking at the other blond in her life, however, since he kept giving her such bright grins that she could easily tell that they were fake. She knew that it was hard for Naruto to see her in union with an Uchiha that was not Sasuke since he was painfully aware that her heart belonged to their cold teammate. Naruto had been the single audience that witnessed how much Sakura had pined for Sasuke, giving him her all despite his blatant disregard of her. He had never intervened though, as she had begged for him not to. She had been happy offering their raven-haired teammate without anything in return and she would rather die than come in-between the two's friendship with each other. The blond had agreed to her plead albeit grudgingly and continued to watch Sakura make a fool of herself.
'I worry for you Sakura-chan. You can still back out. Sasuke, he-'
She had stopped him from saying anything further. She had accepted her fate and hearing about her love would only make it harder for her to let go.
During the wedding, she had forced her eyes not to linger but there was this tiny bead of hope in her chest that maybe, just maybe, Sasuke would come and take her away. So when she saw him with his mother and father in the front row with his usual stoic expression and unapproachable aura, she knew that it was time to grind her dreams into dust.
"Sakura."
She looked up at the sound of her name uttered by a soft baritone that almost made her shiver. This was the voice of the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with. The voice of her husband.
Her vivid green ones met gentle grey ones and she couldn't help but blush a deep red, attempting to hide her face with the sleeves of her kimono. She was about to when a hand firmly gripped her wrist. Timidly glancing up, she flushed even further when he slid her sleeve upward, the smooth material of the garment pleasantly stroking her skin, and brought her wrist to his lips in a chaste kiss in an act of affection. She doubted that it was genuine but it made her heart race nonetheless.
"I-Itachi-san..." she breathed but he silenced her with a finger on her lips before continuing to lead her down the corridor.
They passed numerous closed rooms in their trek to the bedroom and Sakura vaguely wondered how many were there. The house was obviously akin to a mansion if it wasn't one already but she was not entirely sure since this was the first time she was brought there and it had been dark when they arrived.
Reaching the last room in the farthest of the right wing of the house, Itachi slid the door open and as soon as Sakura stepped in, her breath caught in her throat at the scenery before her.
Inside the large room there was a king-sized bed on the far side and she was surprised that it wasn't a futon since she expected her husband to be a traditional man, but what made her gape inelegantly was the view of the outside. There was another screen door wide open and it was overlooking a garden full of different colored flowers that she would have trouble naming them all. In the middle was a single cherry blossom tree, and as it was spring, it was in full bloom with its beauty. The petals were showering down in gentle waves and she smiled.
"It's so beautiful," she marveled, clutching her hands to her chest, and for some reason, she just knew that this was all for her.
She turned to give her husband a bright smile that it made his chest throb.
"Thank you so much, Itachi-san."
Itachi allowed a smile to touch his own lips as he slowly gathered his young bride into his arms, moving in a manner that was made easy for her to push him away lest she didn't want this, but he was mildly surprised when she actually clung to the front of his robes and leaned her head against his chest.
He understood her need for comfort. They were wed not out of love but out of duty, and judging from her personality, she would rather be with the man she gave her heart than to the man she had no feelings with whatsoever. He knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was someone he loved dearly as well.
"We do not have to."
At first, she had no idea what he was talking about, but when she remembered that tonight was supposed to be their wedding night. Guilt gnawed her because he was spot on with his worries; she was not ready for this. As much as she wanted to do her duty as his wife, she just couldn't without imagining that it was HIM she was loving and not Itachi. Although the latter actually gave her his permission to replace his face with his little brother's during intimate moments between them, she just couldn't. Sakura was already married to a person that was not HIM and she still wasn't wretched enough not honor this deep and binding commitment.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, blinking rapidly to prevent the onslaught of tears from falling. She felt him sigh and his arms tightened around her as a result. She was grateful that he was such an understanding person. She didn't deserve him and she never would.
"Sleep, Sakura." he murmured on top of her hair, stroking the locks in an absentminded manner, "We shall talk in the morning."
She tightly closed and gave a shuddering breath in an effort to prevent herself from crying.
She was the worst kind of person for doing this. Itachi was a good person and he deserved all the happiness in the world. He deserved to be loved by someone who he loved in return, and it would never be her.
"I'm so sorry..."
The last thing she heard before succumbing to sleep was his deep sigh as he bid her goodnight.
Sleep well, Sakura.
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Cold black eyes almost blended in the darkness as they stared hard at the traditional Japanese house in front of them. His hair was a mess, a result of hands running through it one too many times, and if a person passed him they would surely smell the alcohol coating his body as if he took a bath in it.
He was still wearing his clothes from the wedding, a simple white button-up shirt and his usual ninja pants, both piece of garments rumpled. He didn't bother dressing up more nicely and suited for the occasion, especially since it wasn't for him.
It hadn't been his wedding, so why would care at all?
It was your own brother's wedding.
"A wedding that shouldn't have happened," he hissed, jealousy painfully flooding his chest and giving him the urge to burn everything around him.
He tried to dispel the thoughts of his brother gazing at his young bride with a gentleness he couldn't place, how she smiled and laughed and danced throughout the ceremony with no trace of sadness anywhere, how the two's lips met in a chaste kiss, sealing themselves to this union that he hoped was a farce.
She told him she loved him, that she wouldn't love any other, but what did she do? She married someone else, and to add salt to the wound, she married his older brother.
Sakura was Itachi's wife now, and she would do her duties as his wife; cook for him, take care of him, love him, share his bed with him...
Bile rose up from his throat and he quickly slapped a hand to cover his mouth but to no avail. The combination of his lewd thoughts of his teammate and his brother along with the alcohol he earlier consumed was too strong for him to handle and he turned away to hold himself up on the trunk of a tree before he vomited. His stomach hurt and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes from the exertion. When he opened them, he noticed that his sight was sharper than ever and he bitterly smirked. The stress and envy that he was feeling had somehow made him activate the Sharingan, and he wondered just how much the marriage affected him.
It took him more than a few minutes to compose himself before he straightened, wiping his mouth roughly with the back of his hand. He turned his attention back to the house, searching for the couple's chakra. His heart raced in fear when he felt Sakura's, fear for what he would learn, but he let out a breath when he could feel it in a steady stream, relaxed and calm, which meant that she was sleeping. It wasn't fluctuating at all, which meant...
Sasuke slowly allowed himself to chuckle when he realized that they weren't consummating their wedding night, since he could locate Itachi's chakra quite far away from his teammate. His ability to discern chakra wasn't as advanced as Karin's but it was enough. It was enough to know that Sakura did not allow his brother from touching her, and that she still loved him.
His smirk grew wider as his blood pumped all over his body in a rush of excitement.
She was still his.
Leave a review if you like it and if I should continue! Flames will be doused with your tears.