A/N: MAn, it seems like FOOOREEEEVEEER since I've updated a story. I've just been so sidetracked and brain dead this summer, that I haven't gotten anything done. Not to mention that my summer homework remains untouched. ; Of course, reviews always help to motivate me! wink wink I live off of those things.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.
The Wedding
"Hey, Misa, the rehearsal is at 3 on Tuesday at the Center Oasis, alright?" Sarafu said as she ran by me to the shower, a towel folded across her arm.
"Rehearsal for what?" I asked, confused.
"For my wedding, of course," Sarafu said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You're the Maid of Honor, so it's only natural that you arrive at the rehearsal."
"Wait! What wedding?"
"For Gaara's and my wedding, silly," she snorted and continued into the bathroom and set her things out. "He got me pregnant, so it's only natural he'd have to marry. Besides, we are in love!" She folded her hands across her heart and sighed dreamily, but then snapped back to reality. "We were going to get married sooner or later, it just happens to be sooner rather than later."
"Well, at least he's taking responsibility," I sighed knowing how much work a wedding was, especially one for a kage. "Only you would manage to cook up trouble the day you get back."
Sarafu smiled slyly at me before shooing me out of my bathroom so she could bathe.
The wedding was beautiful, and to my deep chagrin, crowded. I may not be the center of everyone's attention, but I sure was a part of this shindig, and I didn't do well with crowds. I awkwardly walked arm-in-arm with Kankurou, Gaara's Best Man, to the altar and stood nervously on the wooden stage that was built for this specific purpose above the waters of the oasis that lay in the center of Suna. I glanced at Gaara who stood regally in his snazzy tuxedo, looking aristocratic and handsome, he didn't show any sign of emotion, but there did seem to be something tugging at the corner of his lips, which he fought bravely against. I could only imagine he was fighting the urge to cry out triumphantly. I tried my best and went back to fiddling with my sky blue dress and not making eye contact with anyone.
I decided to scan the front few seats of the crowd that were reserved for family and friends while the ceremony continued. There were two whole rows of friends from Konoha, but since they were friends with both the bride and groom, the boys sat on Gaara's side, and the girl's sat on Sarafu's side,with the exception of Ryu, from New Sora, who sat on her side. I saw Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Rock Lee, who was beaming brighter than anyone, Gai-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, who seemed to be in another galaxy, and even Iruka-sensei. On Sarafu's side was Hinata, blushing dreamily, Ino, Sakura, TenTen, and Tsunade and Shizune, which made me wonder who was running Konoha at this moment.
Then I heard that familiar chime, which sounded so much more final in person than in the movies. I followed everyone's gaze to look to the back, where the tent was set up. I pale hand pulled back the white curtain and Sarafu, arms hooked with Mr. Kyo, her old sensei, emerged wearing the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. It was strapless, but two satin ribbon hung loosely around her forearm, attached to the bodice with a flower shaped diamond on each side. A diamond tiara lay atop her tied back platinum blue hair, with the veil hanging over her. Her dress was as pure white as snow and looked smooth and soft to the touch. The skirt was littered with little white flowers with small diamonds in the center, and loose hanging ribbons connected them. I surprisingly enough I found none other than our favorite ruby dragon, Konkichii, holding her trail at the end, so that it didn't get dirtied on the sand. If I hadn't shared my body with Sarafu over the past year or so, I probably would have made similar shocked expressions as most of the audience did.
When she finally reached the altar, Mr. Kyo released her and went to the groom's side, smiling proudly. He had designed the dress. It didn't take long before he took a dainty handkerchief out of his pocket and began to dab his at his eyes.
I watched Gaara's expression as he took Sarafu's hands and gazed into her golden eyes. His expression didn't change much, but this was Gaara we were talking about.
'He better feel like the luckiest damn man in the world, cause I'm sure any guy here would be willingly to switch places after seeing Sarafu in that dress,' I thought, finding myself smiling proudly, too. I didn't listen to the words that came out of the priest's mouth, only watched happily as my two best friends married each other. Would I feel like the third wheel from now on? I already did, but seeing Sarafu beaming so brightly, I couldn't help but grin foolishly too.
Finally, the moment everyone, especially Gaara, had been waiting for. "You may now kiss the bride." Gaara cupped Sarafu's face in his wide hands and pulled her face haphazardly towards his and kissed her long and deep. She looked at him in surprise for a second, but then her eyelids fluttered closed, and she put her hands in Gaara's messy red hair.
The crowd cheered and whooted. I would have gladly joined, except I saw a familiar spiky black head in the back leaving. Not bothering to excuse myself, I fished my way through the crowd, and slipped out through the tent. I came out just in time to see the figure round the corner, so I followed it, running as fast I could in the layered dress.
"TOBI!" I shouted after him.
He turned around and smiled at me, unmasked. "Ah! Hello, Miss Misa."
"What are you…doing here?" I said between breaths, trying to steady my heartbeat, but failing.
"I came to see the wedding," Tobi smiled innocently at me. "It's a shame Hinako isn't alive anymore. She would've wanted to see this. I must say, you look absolutely stunning in that dress, and that," he held up a finger, "is not a lie."
"I'll be the judge of that," I humphed, but blushed still. "But seriously, why are you here?"
"Would you believe me if I said I wanted to see you?"
"No." Well, I don't think it's the whole truth.
"Well, it's the truth. I came here to update you on things," he smiled kindly, "and refresh my image of you in my mind. You look even more beautiful each time I see you."
"Cut the flattery, Tobi, and cut to the chase."
"Well, Sasuke killed Itachi, and Hinako, wanting revenge, attacked Sasuke but was killed by him also. However, I told Sasuke the truth about me and the Uchiha's past, and now he's hell bent on —"
"Woah! Pause! Rewind! You tell Sasuke the truth, and not me?!"
"I'm telling you the truth now. If you'll notice, I haven't lied the whole time we've talked today. And that's the truth."
"So what is the truth about your and the Uchiha's past?"
"I'm actually Uchiha Madara, the leader of the Uchiha clan. I hated and fought against the first Hokage, but my people wanted a treaty, so I had no choice but to join Konoha, however rumors of an uprising were spreading lately, and so Itachi was ordered to murder his entire clan. He was a double agent, you know. He only wanted peace. So he let Sasuke kill him, so that Sasuke would gain the ultimate eye, and now I'm using him to get my revenge on Konoha and destroy it once and for all."
I just stared at him. "Either you're a great story-teller, or you've been lying to me again."
"I did lie about my name being Tobi, but I'm not lying about this story. Sasuke now has the full cooperation of Akatsuki. This fray with Konoha will be the last. We plan on ending it once and for all."
"And why would you tell me this?"
"So that you might come and I can snatch you away with me for good."
"Why don't you just kidnap me now?"
"Misa, love, I'm in the middle of a city at the kage's wedding. They'll notice you're gone soon, and then they'll send the whole militia after me. I'd rather wait until I can steal you during the confusion, so everyone might think you're dead, and they won't come searching for you. It'll be much easier on my part."
I stared unbelievingly at him, but he only smiled with those puppy eyes at me. His being truthful made me think this whole thing was a lie.
"Oh, I also bumped into a past acquaintance of yours, Sai…"
I froze. That was the name of the devil. "What happened?"
"I found out what he did to you, so I killed him." Tobi — no, Madara's smirk was positively evil at that moment that it made me shiver, even in the hot sun.
The three people who had hurt Sarafu the most, her dad, Hinako, and now Sai, were all dead. She is married to Gaara, and will soon have a baby. Her life was perfect. I was happy for her, I really was. But…something just felt weird. Something wasn't right. Where was my place in her happy life?
Madara watched me with a blank face. Finally he spoke in a completely serious tone. "I plan to take over this world, Miss Misa, and I would be the happiest man in the world, if you would join me in my quest. A peaceful town doesn't suit you. You look your prettiest when conquering a foe."
"Wha-?" But suddenly my vision blurred, and when I blinked, Madara was gone, as if he had only been a mirage.
Those words plagued me for the next few months. The more I thought about them, the more I began to agree. All my life, I had only ever known Suna, and not even all of that. But thanks to Sarafu, I expanded outside my country, and came to know places like the Grass Village, Konoha, and Iwa. They filled up a hunger I never knew I had, and now that I had tapped into that desire, I was starving for more. And TV was only a crumb compared to what I craved.
There was one sentence that disturbed me the most: "You look your prettiest when conquering a foe." The first foe I had ever conquered was somewhere in the Rock country, when I was running bewildered through a fray of ninja. When I had cut down the enemy, I felt…uplifted? No, more like superior, and it was a grandiose feeling. I was terrified, but strangely exhilarated, and that was what scared me the most.
'I'm turning into some kind of bloodthirsty fighting machine!' I trembled, staring at the boiling pasta I was cooking for dinner that night, not really noticing when the froth started to bubble over the edge of the pot. 'This is what I hate about being a ninja. It turns people into weapons.'
Don't try to fight it.
I jumped, and flipped around, gaping at a wide-eyed Sarafu, her head cocked to the side curiously, and her belly protruding a bit. "What? Did I scare you or something?"
"What did you say?" I stared at her in shock.
"Huh? 'Did I scare you or something'?"
"No, before that."
"I didn't say anything, I was in the living room."
"So, that wasn't you who…"
'Great, now I'm hearing voices. Way to turn into a freak, Misa.' I turned back to my overcooked pasta with a disappointed sigh. For a second there, I thought Sarafu was still connected to me, but that was impossible.
"The sauce is bubbling," Sarafu's voice cut into my thoughts.
The red goo was indeed boiling, and little red splatters surrounded the burner. Letting out a stream of curses, I turned off the stovetop, and set about trying to salvage the burnt dinner.
"I'm sorry," I apologized over delivery pizza. "Gaara wants you to eat lean, home cooked meals. Greasy pizza probably isn't good for a pregnant woman."
"Oh, nonsense," Sarafu waved my apologies away. "The baby needs some man food. And besides," she looked at me seriously, setting her half-eaten slice of pepperoni and olive pizza down, "you've looked kind of out of it lately. What's been on your mind?"
"Oh, just thinking about my place in the universe, the greater good, how to cure cancer, world hunger, you know, the usual."
Sarafu chuckled a bit, but then frowned. "No, seriously, what's been bugging you?"
"Just…I've been a little…well…bored without doing any missions lately, ya know? I know I said I didn't want to be a ninja before, but…sometimes I just wish something bad would happen just so I can spring into action. It's a horrible thing to say, but—"
Sarafu held up her hand, a relieved grin on her face. "I know exactly how you feel. I have those exact same thoughts, sometimes, and I hate that I had to drag you down with me, but, hey, this way you're upping your medical nin experience by taking care of a pregnant, ol' lady."
"You're not old, Sarafu."
"I'm older than you."
"Only by a year."
"That's a whole year's worth of seniority."
"But you don't get a senior citizen's discount."
"Yeah, this country's welfare system sucks."
We just stared at each other, before we broke out into huge, goofy grins and laughed.
It was these moments that made me thank Fate for pairing me up with Sarafu. The odd girl always had a way of making me forget my troubles and relax. Suddenly, all my dark meditating before just seemed silly.
But just as soon as Fate put us together, it tore us apart.