A/N: This is me updating soon, or trying to. XD I still do not own Naruto, but I'm letting Itachi crash at my house since he was written out and as a result is now out of work. :P

No Uncertain Terms

Sasuke resisted the urge to give Sakura a withering look. The situation they were in was all her fault. Following that same line of thought, if he was to defend himself and 'accidentally' injure one of these fine, upstanding law enforcers, it would be her fault. He smirked. Too bad Tsunade wouldn't buy it. Still, it would be worth planting more potatoes just to see her face…

Their hands were bound behind their backs and their chakra was sealed away: though that was only temporary and would wear off in a few hours. Thinking about it logically, he didn't feel like wasting his energy on an escape attempt when he would have taken Sakura back to the village anyway. At least they would be given an audience with 'Her Majesty' without having to pester her for it.

An ANBU shoved him into the Hokage's office. Sasuke stumbled on purpose, sweeping his left foot under the jerk's feet. Working to upright himself (Uchiha never fell on their faces), he smirked while waiting for the pleasant 'thump' the unintelligent man would make as he hit the floor. Serves him right.

What he did not realize was that the officer had been about to shove Sakura in as well. For some reason, falling backwards threw off ANBU's aim. The effect of which was a petite pinkette crashing into an egotistical shinobi; who found her extra weight a…challenge, to uphold in his half-balanced condition.

The witch of a Hokage was tittering.

They were tangled up together, and neither of them could use their hands to fix this mess.

"While you are busy trying to 'untie the knot'," Tsunade chuckled at the pun, "Let's talk about the two of you tying it."

Sasuke jerked around to look at her and knocked his head against Sakura's. Ignoring the severe pain he was experiencing from her hard head, he focused completely on the Hokage. Even Sakura quit squirming. "There's nothing to talk about," he deadpanned.

The woman became serious. "Apparently, there is. You deliberately left the village without my permission. Is that not true?"

He could reply that Sakura had left it first. He could argue that wasn't the point. Either way, he would gain nothing from it. "I did."

Tsunade nodded. "Because of your actions, I've realized a mistake of mine. I apologize for making it. I should have not given you a notice. You should have been married in this office yesterday. This is a mistake I now must remedy -"

"Tsunade-sama, you don't mean…!" Sakura choked on her words.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Our marriage status has no bearing in this incident."

"But it does. You see, Sasuke, I know how you feel about your clan and their reputation. You would not allow any harm to come to either. I believe that if the two of you had been properly married, you would not have left this village." She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. One of these days he was going to be the one smugly making the point while she was forced to do his will. If only he had been elected to the new council….. If only he hadn't left this stupid village.

Unfortunately for his ego (and contentment), she was right. He would not have left the village if that had happened because he would not have had to chase Sakura; she wouldn't have left either. Biting his tongue, which was somewhat painful, he looked away. Witch, he thought resentfully.

"Therefore, by the power invested in me as Hokage, I am ordering you, Haruno Sakura, and you, Uchiha Sasuke, to be married this day, the seventeenth of July, at this hour, four forty-five p.m." Her face was emotionless.

Sasuke managed to finally find his feet. He glared at the 'all powerful Hokage' and was about to assert his opinion on the matter when he saw Sakura's face tremble from the corner of his eye. And was that a…sob? Seriously? She was crying about this? Obviously this wasn't the most pleasant thing, but she was the one who had claimed she loved him. 'Always', wasn't that what she had said? So she shouldn't mind this so much; or at all, if you thought about it. In the irony that Sasuke was cursed with, she had gotten what she wanted, and it was making them both miserable.

It was going to disgrace his clan. But they were dead anyway. He was going to go against Itachi's wishes, but those had always made him miserable. He was doing what Sakura wanted, even though it went against his 'goals'. For some reason, he didn't care. This was absurd. It was just another display of the Hokage's brutal power, the power that was responsible for his clan's murder. Maybe that's why he was doing this.

"No. I will not marry her."

Sakura stopped mid-sob, and raised her head. She really did look ridiculous with her semi-red eyes and wild hair. He wondered if she had been faking the tears. It wouldn't surprise him if she had.

Tsunade stiffened. There was a ridged silence in which her pen dropped to the floor and Sakura sniffled. "Excuse me?"

"I will not make the same mistake my brother did. I will not do something just because the village commands it," he stated using the authoritative tone he had heard his father use as a child.

"You have no choice," she pointed out venomously. "Do you think I would let my student, who is more than a daughter to me, suffer through this if you did?" Her eyes were sharper than Orochimaru's kunai. Tsunade looked him over critically. "May I remind you, Uchiha, the only thing that kept you alive was Naruto's pleading and your DNA. The council may choose to overlook the pleading and your DNA is now in our custody."

His fists slammed down on the desk on their own accord. The stacks of papers jumped up in surprise. "You would not comment an atrocity like that!" He yelled grinding his teeth. Using his DNA to create a new sharingan wielder was beneath even the murder of his clan.

The hazel eyed woman never blinked. "No, I wouldn't. But you are already aware of what the council will do. I have taken the previous actions that I have for the benefit of both you and my apprentice." She looked down at her hands then. "There are things at work here that neither of you could understand." She then looked up and plunged her way into his dark eyes defiantly. "Those are the terms."

He glared back just as hard. "If we do not agree, I will be killed and Sakura forced to carry my child. You call those terms?" He spat out.

"Unfortunately, yes. Those are your only options. Itachi knew this was probable. That is why he arranged you marriage."

"H-hokage-sama," Sakura began, her voice shaking. Sasuke was again reminded of her previous tears. Perhaps they had been real. "I-….I agree to those terms."

Behind the veil of his hair, Sasuke's eyes widened marginally. He frowned. She should not have agreed so easily. Surely if she despised this as much as she pretended, she would opt for raising the kid alone. But then with Uchiha history, perhaps she figured it would be best if he was there. Sasuke wasn't sure if he liked that or not.

"Uchiha?" The Hokage asked.

He paused a moment. There was something was bothering him. He need more protection against the council. After this, they would have everything they needed from him. He could not let another atrocity happen. "I want a seat on the council," he stated meeting his eyes defiantly.

"I assume you intend you use that position to protect your family?" She asked her eyebrows raised.

"Yes."

"But you are not allowed to sit on the council, Uchiha. You were a criminal, and for the safety of this village, I can not permit that; even for Sakura's benefit."

Sasuke had known she would say that. He said the only thing he could. "Then I choose Hatake Kakashi to sit for me, until my heir has proved their self worthy."

Tsunade frowned a moment in thought. Finally she said, "Kakashi would be a suitable edition to the council. He has also proved his loyalty to Konoha many times. Pending upon his agreement, I accept your condition."

"Then, I also…agree." He clenched his teeth together to keep from saying something stupid, or worse.

"Very well." She sighed. "I hate to do this, but as a precautionary measure, I will place a jutsu upon you that will not allow you to be more than thirty feet apart."

Sasuke frowned as she did so. This was wrong, very wrong. But there was nothing he could do. After it was completed, the bindings around their wrists fell away.

He watched guardedly as she pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. "Shizune!" She yelled. The woman entered. "Yes, Hokage-sama?" Tsunade announced solemnly, "You are hereby invited to witness the marriage of Haruno Sakura to Uchiha Sasuke." There was something seriously off about the world. Perhaps its orbit had been altered, because that sentence should never have been thought. Yet tightlipped, the assistant nodded. She obviously did not approve, but she said nothing.

The 'ceremony' was less than contemporary. The Witch merely waved her hand and said, "Sign here." Sasuke took the pen first; he was the man after all. He had to do the hard things first. With a flourish, his signature was forever engraved on her desk by the force of his writing. A tense silence hung over them as he handed the pen to his new 'wife'. Sakura took it with practiced control, like she being handed a scalpel, and signed her name. After which Shizune attested to the fact the marriage was legitimate by adding hers.

Tsunade looked up at them and flashed a fake smile. "It's done, then. You may still have a ceremony if you wish, but the marriage is official now." She paused awkwardly. "You may want to inform your family, Sakura."

The pinkette shook her head. "…I can't," she managed finally.

"They need to hear it from you, but I suppose it can wait until tomorrow," the Hokage sighed. "It's getting late, Uchiha, take your lovely bride home."

Only amazing amounts of self-control kept him from exploding at that moment. After counting to ten a hundred times, he pointed out, "We have no home to go to."

"Oh! Of course, how could I forget?" she reached down and opened a desk drawer. "This should suffice for now."

Sasuke took the key she offered reluctantly. After all he had been through today he did not need something worse to happen; like bringing Sakura to Naruto's and having to explain why he had. Wrapped around the key was a sliver of paper with a street address. He turned to the door; there was a rustle of cloth as Sakura joined him.

Sasuke lay looking up at the ceiling and cursing, by name, everyone who had put him in this position. When he ran out of persons even slightly responsible, he moved on to names he happened to remember. Naruto, may the fleas in your bed bite you every night for not marrying her when you had the chance. Shino may your stupid bugs die for not making him. There were worse curses, such as those he wished upon the council; and childish ones, like those he wished on Kakashi's dogs.

He really had no logical explanation for doing this, other than it kept him from thinking about other things. Like the fact he now had a wife. And that her name was Sakura. And that she had pink hair. And the fact she was sleeping peacefully in the bed while he cursed people on the floor.

Coming 'home' had been awkward, and overall an experience never to be repeated. Ever. Realizing that Tsunade had given them a one bedroom apartment had changed his plans, since dumping her on the other side of the house was not possible. Even worse, there were pictures. Actually it was just one picture, but that 'innocent' piece of paper cause more discomfort for him then he would care to admit. Because of course the Witch would have to put the Team Seven photograph in the one spot it was always visible from every angle in the room.

Sasuke had immediately (as soon as Sakura had disappeared into the bedroom) flipped it over; much like he had the night he left the village. Sakura had said nothing, but when he turned his back the picture was back in place; which caused a wordless argument to arise which ended with Sasuke smashing the frame and Sakura slapping him and slamming the bedroom door. In retaliation he had thrown a vase at the door. Then he realized she had caused him to lose his temper, which almost never happened. Not since he had left the village anyway. He concluded it had happened because she was the only person in the universe that could unnerve him. That had cause him to smash more stuff, in turn causing Sakura to cry so hard he had heard her sobs in the kitchen.

Hours later he figured she had calmed down enough for him to slip by her and shower. That was when he had discovered her asleep on the small bed; forcing him to sleep on the floor.

He sighed. He tried going over tactics in his mind to help him relax, but that only increased his restlessness. What if Madara tried something? What if he was miserable and stuck on the floor the rest of his life?

Those were stupid questions and he tried to force them out of his head. Sasuke threw his arm across his eyes and moaned. This was so stupid. Why had he ever agreed to it? Finally, after lying awake until almost three a.m., he fell asleep.

A man's form was outlined in mist. He was laughing. It had to be Orichimaru. Only he could laugh like that. "Do you really think you are strong enough to protect her? Do you think this miserable village will hide you? You know better than that, Sasuke. You know what is going to happen to her. You're only too attached to see it. What did I tell you about bonds, Sasuke? You remember… Bonds must be broken."

Sasuke could barely make out a wriggling form in the snake-man's grasp. The fog swirled slightly and he saw pink.

"Sakura!" His voice was suddenly hoarse. He heard her scream his name in return.

It was the scream that woke him.

He slowly realized that he held the kunochi firmly in his arms, with her back to his chest. It took him another second to comprehend the kunai and the seeping blood at her throat. She looked up at him with horrified, betrayed eyes.

Sasuke released his hold as if she were on fire.

Sakura remained frozen. After what seemed like a year, her mouth moved slightly, and following a few tries she choked out, "Why? Why do you want to kill me so much?"