CHAPTER 1 - The wedding
November, 17 aNb
Thank you, Misaki. Until next time.
I opened my eyes with a smile on my face.
I lay in my warm bed for several minutes, reminiscing in some of the memories of my dreams. I had dreamt of my past with Itachi*, the man who I grew up with, loved and hated, but the one who would always have a place in my heart.
When I was back to the reality of my room, my smile grew bigger. Today was my wedding day.
I wasn't nervous about getting married, after all, I had already assumed that I would spend the rest of my life with him. I was thrilled to share this important day with the people special to me, and that included Sasuke, the boy I considered like a brother, he was family, not by blood but by the feelings that connected us all over.
Someone mentioned once that Sasuke could resent me for loving someone other than his brother. If things would've been different and Itachi had stayed in the village, I would've definitely become Sasuke's sister in law, and even though that didn't happen, he still loved me as a sister. He wanted me to be happy. Sasuke would always be my son's uncle and thus, we would both always be connected through him.
Sasuke was the reason we were having this wedding today. Tomorrow he was going to go a journey for redemption and nobody knew how long that could take. I just wanted to swear my love to my soulmate in the eyes of my loved ones and since I didn't need a big fancy wedding, a small arrangement on the rooftop of the Hokage's building with the view of the village behind us and under the scrutiny of the past Hokage's stony faces was more than enough.
When we announced the ceremony, all our friends got over the shock in a matter of seconds and then ran to help get the preparations ready. Since we told everyone in Tsunade-sama's office, Tsunade took charge and began distributing tasks. She assigned Ino and Sakura to be in charge of the flowers and decorations, Choji and Shikamaru were to arrange caterers from our favourite restaurants to deliver the food, Kurenai the drinks, Sai the photographer of the day while the rest of the boys helped in getting the tables and chairs in order and the girls took care of hair and makeup.
I didn't need a wedding dress because I found my mother's wedding dress in the storage. It seemed that my father had kept it for me and thanks to Shizune's amazing sewing skills, the traditional kimono was turned into a unique dress where the sleeves were folded down and tied as a decorative bow at the back. It left my arms and shoulders out in the open as my hair was tied up into a bun.
On the other hand, Yamato, the best man, was in charge of finding the groom a traditional montsuki which comprised of a kimono, hamaka and haori.
I wasn't given any job to do other than rest and be fresh today. I knew everyone would get everything right although there wasn't much time to do it all. And even if anything was missing or were to go wrong, it didn't matter, I had the perfect man to marry and that's all I needed.
We were in Tsunade's office, Tenten was finishing my hair when Shizune brought a full-length mirror so I could view Tenten's hairdo and Hinata's makeup work.
I started at my reflection with my mouth open. It took a lot of concentration to get it shut.
Even on days when I wasn't on duty, I wore my mission gear most of the time and the days where I had to dress up, I had always worn some simple dresses or skirts, put on some lipstick and maybe parted my hair to the other side or made some small amendment. That was as far as I could go.
But now, looking at myself in the mirror, I looked elegant and graceful, the makeup was subtle but my face was radiant and, if Jiraiya would have been here and call me a beauty like he used to, I wouldn't correct him this time.
"Hinata, Tenten, it's… amazing!" I said to them.
"We didn't have to do much, Misaki-sensei…" Hinata answered shyly.
"You look wonderful… cousin." Tsunade said behind me.
After discovering that my father was the Second Hokage's son that made us family since Tsunade was the First Hokage's granddaughter and both Hokages were brothers. Something I hadn't realised until this moment.
My family seemed to grow by the day and in a few months, there would be a new member of the family, I thought as I rubbed my hand over my belly.
There was a light knock on the door before Yamato opened it. Instead of entering, he gaped at me, making me uncomfortable.
While Yamato stood there with the door open, Sasuke happened to walk by and stopped when he noticed the scene.
"You shouldn't look at a woman about to get married like that. It's rude." Sasuke scowled Yamato.
"Huh? Oh… I didn't mean to… it's just that… Ahem… Misaki-chan, you look beautiful." Yamato said before walking into the room, Sasuke on his heels, his eyes fixed on me.
"Everything is set. They're all waiting for you." Yamato announced. The girls left the room to get to their seats. Sasuke took the seat that Tsunade had vacated early and Yamato grabbed my left hand.
"You are stunning, you're going to make him crazy when he sees you like this. He's a lucky man."
"And I'm a lucky woman." I said to Yamato, whose eyes were starting to pool with unshed tears.
"I'm so happy to see that senpai has found such a wonderful person to spend the rest of his life with. I've never seen him so happy and that's all thanks to you. From the bottom of my heart, arigatō."
"No need to thank me, Yamato-taichō. I will make sure that he stays like that forever, that's a promise." I told him.
"I know you will… Alright, I'm going back. I'll be next to the groom. Don't be long or he'll get more restless."
"More? Is he nervous? Not getting cold feet I hope?" I'd been so calm during this time that I didn't take into account how he would feel.
"Just looking forward to seeing you is all."
"Misaki-nee?" Sasuke called out to me. I then realised that the music had started. Our cue to start walking down the aisle and towards the man I was going to marry.
"I'm ready." I whispered. Sasuke pulled my hand through his arm and then grasped it tightly.
As soon as we came into view of the audience, my heart started beating rapidly and then I started looking for him, finding him standing before an arch of colourful flowers. Yamato was standing by his side, Gai on his wheelchair next in line. On my side, Kurenai was standing there.
All I could focus was Kakashi's face. His eyes, which usually had that laziness look on them, were burning bright. He had kept his mask on but I could still see the depth of his emotion. When his eyes met mine, he broke into a smile full of joy. It was visible under that material hiding his perfect face.
When we reached the end of the aisle, Kakashi held out his hand and Sasuke place mine in his. The contact of our skins blurred the rest of the people from my vision, the sounds around us fading into nothing.
We kept our vows short and simple, pledging our love to each other for the rest of our lives.
The Shinto priest announced that we were then husband and wife and, at that moment, I felt my world was complete. I didn't know how I got so lucky but I was so thankful for whatever gods were looking after me.
Kakashi looked bewildered for a second or two like he couldn't seem to believe that I was his. When his hand lightly caressed my face and then brought his lips close to mine, it was my turn to be disoriented for a second before grasping the fact that this man was now mine.
As our lips connected, my eyes closed and my whole being was completely focus on the feeling of his warmth, his love and devotion, ignoring the cheers from our friends and family until someone made a throat-clearing noise very close to us.
"Ermm… senpai, there are kids in the crowd…"
When I leaned back reluctantly, I found Yamato looking slightly embarrassed while he focused on a piece of clothing from Kakashi's kimono. Turning to look behind me, Sasuke had averted his eyes to look at the stony faces of the Hokage while Naruto was grinning next to him. Hinata stood by his side, her eyes fixed on him while her hands covered Tetsuya and Mirai's eyes.
Everyone then started clapping and then approached us to congratulate us but in the middle of embraces, tears, and laughter, I heard Kakashi's voice whisper so only I could hear:
"I still can believe such a woman became mine, but you make me the happiest, Mrs. Hatake…"
Food and drinks started to flow while the sun began to set on the horizon. Our guests seemed to enjoy the little party, ignoring the chilled air that the night brought with it.
"Congratulations, Misa-nee." Sasuke told me, his face showing one of his rare smiles. Tetsuya was standing by his side, eyeing me with wariness.
"Thank you, Sasuke. I'm glad you were here today."
"For so long I thought you'd end up wearing the Uchiha emblem on your back… but I guess things turned for the best for you." At the mention of the Uchiha, Tetsuya's eyes fixated on his uncle's face.
"I… I thought the same. The Uchiha were always so good to me, I felt at home when I was with you, Shisui and Itachi but…" I couldn't continue as my throat tightened.
"You belong to the Hatake clan now, one of the most notable clans of Konoha, that's the name you'll wear now but, for me, you'll always be part of the Uchiha, and don't forget, your grandfather was a Senju who are descendants of Asura Ōtsutsuki."
"Okāsan?" Tetsuya called out shyly.
"You'll always be an Uchiha, Tetsuya." Sasuke answered before I could. He'd stolen the words from my lips.
My son's eyes widened as he looked at me, he wanted me to confirm what Sasuke had stated. During his first eight years, Tetsuya had grown up not knowing who his parents were, only to reveal his bloodline during a fight with no other than his father, Itachi Uchiha. Neither of them had known the truth until then.
After the discovery, I confessed that I was his mother and the reason to why I had kept it a secret until then: Itachi ended the life of all the members of his clan except for his younger brother, Sasuke, before leaving the village and joining the Akatsuki, so I had to keep the truth about my son's lineage fearing that Itachi would come to finish what he started. Because Tetsuya was an Uchiha after all.
My fears during all those years were in vain. But I didn't discover this until Itachi revealed the truth behind his actions, a long and arduous mission to save Konoha and the name of the Uchiha clan while pretending to be a traitor of our village.
"You are and always be an Uchiha. A clan's name is not something to take lightly. As a woman, I'm proud to take my husband's clan name and I'm happy to become part of it. But like you, I didn't know that my father was the son of a Senju but also a descendant of Hamura Ōtsutsuki so by blood, I will always be a Senju.
You carry the blood of the Uchiha, the village's strongest clan and descendants of Indra Ōtsutsuki. That will never change. You don't know this, but your birth certificate shows your full name as Tetsuya Uchiha, only it has been kept in the secret archives of the Third Hokage."
Tetsuya seemed to cheer up after listening to what I just said. He turned to look up at his uncle, the one that unfortunately wouldn't be around to help him master his Sharingan.
"Asura, Indra, Hamura… all Ōtsutsuki. Were they related?" My clever boy questioned and I smiled before I answered.
"I will tell you in detail when you're a bit older but yes, they were all related to Kaguya. The woman that almost wiped the Alliance of Four Great Countries during the last war single-handle. She had two sons: Hagoromo and Hamura-the ancestor of the Hyūga clan.
Hagoromo sons where Indra and Asura, Indra was the oldest and inherited the dōjustu from his father, the origin of the Sharingan. Asura was the ancestor of the Senju. They fought against each other, the same way their descendants, the Uchiha and the Senju fought many years after, Madara and Hashirama, Sasuke and Naruto."
"But you and my father didn't fight even though you were a Senju and he was an Uchiha…"
"No. Instead of destruction we created a life, you. You will be one of the strongest shinobi of all time because what happens when the power of the Uchiha, Senju and even Hamura is combined?"
"Uchiha and Senju are all descendants of Hagoromo and Hamura was his brother so… the power of Kaguya has been reunited?" Tetsuya guessed correctly.
"You have inherited your father's perception after all."
"It could be your mother's as well…" Sasuke added. Tetsuya turned to look at him.
"Do you really have to go, Sasuke-oji?" Tetsuya asked with pleading eyes.
"Yes. I want to ensure that Itachi's efforts weren't for nothing and there's a certain someone that I need to find before it's too late. I'll be back before you know it. If you're worried about the Sharingan, Kakashi is more than capable of helping you since he wielded our clan's dōjutsu for most of his life. When I'm back I'll test your new skills, deal?"
"Hai!"
A certain someone. Sasuke was referring to Momoshiki, one of the members of the Ōtsutsuki clan that in the future would turn my unborn son into evil and eradicate the shinobi world. We were aware of this fact because Tetsuya, not long ago, traveled from the future with the objective of interrupting this.
Both my sons would turn into shinobi with unparalleled strength, one that this current world hadn't witnessed yet. And if this would fall into the wrong hands, there would be no one capable of stopping them.
Sasuke had committed to finding him before he had a chance to come looking for my son as part of his redemption journey. Like his older brother before him, he had chosen to take on all the responsibility on his shoulders by himself.
I knew I couldn't stop him and I couldn't go with him. The only power I had on my hands was to raise my kids in a way that they would never take the dark path of hatred.
It was no small responsibility. If failed, it would be the end of this world.
* The dream with Itachi is explained on Misaki and Itachi Shinden.
NOTE: Hello and welcome back!
I hope you haven't forgotten about me as I took so long to get part 3 started! For those who are new to my stories, please note that this is a continuation of stories 1 & 2 of the Misaki series so I recommend reading these two first :)
Undercover: Misaki of the Leave (Misaki #1)
Misaki: True Power (Misaki #2)
The next chapter won't take as long, I promise!
Ja ne
xx
