Fox's Wedding
Naruto and Hinata's wedding was as grand an occasion as they both deserved. There was music, dancing, and lots of alcohol. The last time Sakura had seen her mentor, she had been in a drinking contest with the Raikage and was losing. Badly.
'Who would have thought we'd all be here?' Sakura mused. 'The fox's wedding.' Naruto's journey truly was an amazing one. He had been despised, loathed by the villagers all because of something that happened moments after he was born, a decision his parents had made, something that was outwith his control. When she reflected on their years at the academy, their early days as Team Seven, she was ashamed of how she had behaved towards him. If she had known better, taken the time to get to know the boy he was and not assume he was the monster she had been told he was, how different things could have been. It could have been her wedding day. It was no secret that Naruto had had a crush on her all those years ago. What if she had returned those feelings? Would she have been the fox's bride?
Sakura shook her head, trying to clear it of those thoughts. She was sincerely happy for her friends. Yet a small part of her was so desperately sad. Would she ever know that same joy that was so clearly visible in the eyes of the bride and groom?
Turning around to observe the rest of the company only made her heart clench more. Ino was feeding Sai some wedding cake. Udon and Moegi were dancing together, faces flushed as they contemplated the leap from teammates to something more. Even Shikamaru and Temari sat together in a secluded corner, on the edge of their seats to close the gap between them.
Inevitably, her thoughts turned to the one who was not there. How handsome he would look in his finest attire, in a wedding kimono like the one Naruto wore now…
The image faded in her mind as quickly as it had appeared and Sakura decided to congratulate her friends one last time before slipping away to her home, leaving everyone to their celebrations and her to her heartache.