I've decided the fiancé/groom/husband's name is Kanemochi Henso… so if you see those names, that's what's going on there.

Also, quick disclaimer, I have no idea how Japanese weddings are performed, so this whole scene is entirely westernized, so I apologize for that in advance. Please suffer through it.

Chapter 3: The Wedding

Kurenai sat in her bathtub, dark haired pinned up, knees drawn to her bare chest as she thought back to what she had believed was her happiest moment. Everything had been beautiful and perfect and everything she thought she wanted and needed. Her marriage to Henso was the most important thing in her life at that time. She breathed in the steam and tried to clear her head, but ended up thinking of her students. Her bright, eager students who had figured out something was amiss in Kurenai's life and called her on it. She should have told them the same thing everyone knew, but she couldn't bring herself to lie to those kids. She would either tell them the truth, or not tell them anything at all. And knowing Kiba, the second option was out of the question. The kids would know, it would just take her some time to be able to tell them.

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Everyone she had cared for was at the wedding, even if she had to argue to get them there. Her mother had said she didn't want any "rowdy ninjas" messing up the ceremony. Kurenai flinched, knowing who her mother spoke of, and immediately began arguing on her behalf, saying she was her best friend, and she would be on her most excellent behavior, and if she wasn't there she wouldn't smile in any of the wedding pictures.

So she made Anko promise not to shout out when the preacher asked for them to "speak now," and to try her best not cause a commotion, or fight with the Yuuhis or the Kanemochis. She said it was the hardest promise she'd ever had to make, but she'd do it for her. Then she had laughed, saying she had the perfect date to drag with her.

When she showed up in a tight black dress with Iruka on her arm everyone but their fellow ninjas looked shocked and appalled.

"Honestly, who wears black to a wedding?" She overheard a woman from the groom's side whisper to her companion. Instead of saying some smartass remark Anko smiled prettily and took her seat near the front, hands clasped tightly on her lap as she stared at Henso, evaluating him as he stood, waiting for the procession to start. There really wasn't anything disagreeable about him; he was handsome, well-mannered, well-off, and was good to Kurenai. She would have a good life with him, and Anko only wanted what was best for her friend, but there was something nagging at the back of her conscience about the gentleman standing five meters in front of her.

The music started, and everyone turned to see Kurenai being walked into the aisle by her father. A few men and women gasped at the extraordinary beauty she emitted as she strode along with the music, the train of her white gown flowing behind her elegantly. She looked soft and pale, not in the least the deadly ninja she once was. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head in a fashionable way, accentuating her lovely facial features as she smiled pleasantly towards the front of the room, but broke out into a true grin as she saw Anko in her dark dress. Her best friend had promised to not say anything, but that didn't mean she couldn't oppose the union in her own way, as Kurenai figured she would. The bride would have been more concerned had she shown up wearing a proper outfit and was all smiles and congratulations, but now she knew she would keep her word. Her heart began to beat faster as they neared the front where Henso waited, ready to take her into his life. She was about to marry the man she loved more than anything, nothing could go wrong.

And nothing did go wrong. The ceremony was beautiful and went as smoothly as possible, although the kiss prompted some hoots and hollers from a few of the more spirited shinobi attending the wedding.

The reception was open to everyone in the village, basically a large party for people to let loose and congratulate the new couple while bidding Kurenai farewell, as she would be moving out of the village to live with her husband. A few shinobi shot jealous glares at Henso, and Anko made sure to keep a safe distance from the groom as to keep her actions under control. She occupied herself by dancing with whichever guy came her way, turning the whole reception into a fun game as men fought each other and purposely stood in her way to be swept up into her mad rhythm. Most of the chuunins and jounins not on missions or patrol attended, always looking for an excuse to let loose and shake their money makers.

Kurenai excused herself for a moment to freshen herself up, and when she came back her favorite song was playing. She immediately began to look for her husband, but saw he was dancing with his mother. She knew her father wasn't around at the moment, but she still wanted to dance. She glanced around the busy room, seeing Anko had Iruka in her clutches at this point, Gai was trying to goad Kakashi into a dance contest, Genma was harassing young Hayate, and then she saw her future dance partner sitting alone at a table, a content smile on his lips as he watched the activities going on around him. Normally she would be too shy to just stride up to someone and ask them to dance, but this was her wedding, she was a bride, and for the first time the Yuuhi genes were beginning to surface as she was sure no one would say no to anything she said tonight.

"Hey, care to dance? Henso's dancing with his mom, and my dad and his dad are discussing… something." Kurenai said, smiling sweetly at the man sitting in front of her, one gloved hand extended out to him. When he looked nervously from her hand to her new husband she laughed, "I promise he won't mind. Please?"

"Sure," the tall ninja said, a touch of pink gracing his cheeks as he tediously took her hand, stood up to his full, impressive height and situated his arms around the bride, careful to keep a good distance between them. He didn't want the groom to think he was getting fresh with his new wife.

"Thanks" she said back, a small smile on her painted lips, "How long have you been growing that thing?" She asked, moving his right and her left hand up to point to his now bearded chin.

"Oh, this? Eh, about a month or so. Why, does it look stupid?"

"No, I like it. Make's you look rugged," she added with a playful smile. Not many ninjas were really rugged. Not many ninjas were over six foot two either. Asuma definitely had a tendency to stand out from a crowd. Maybe that's why she had been able to remember his name. He was a rather good ninja, not a genius like Kakashi, but very few were. He had a very laid-back attitude, never seemed very rushed, always looked as though he had things under control. She had always liked that about him. It was then she realized that she really had loved her life as a ninja, and she would miss it terribly when she moved away. She had taught at the academy until she was 19, and then quit her kunoichi lifestyle entirely, losing touch with almost all her fellow ninjas except for Anko.

"So," she began, breaking the strangely comfortable silence between them as they swayed back and forth, "Are you a jounin yet?"

"Yeah, passed the summer you quit your job at the academy." He quickly looked down at her face, hoping he hadn't offended her. He wasn't always the best at figuring out the best way to put things. She looked a little nostalgic for a moment, but snapped out of it to smile up at him, "Congratulations. How's it been so far?"

This time he thought before speaking, remembering that Kurenai would never be able to become a jounin, and it looked like she missed her ninja lifestyle from the face she had made from his most recent blunder of words, "Eh, it's not so bad. Nothing really exciting yet. I figured I'd try being in ANBU for a few years, then maybe go into teaching gennins."

"Sounds like a good plan," she said, just the smallest hint of envy in her voice. She had loved teaching at the academy, and had she continued her training, would have liked to move on to teaching the gennins out on the field once she became a jounin.

They danced in silence for the rest of the song, just enjoying the music and the rhythmic movement of their bodies. As the song ended they smiled at each other, "Thank you for dancing with me." She said softly. He grinned, "Thanks for choosing me to dance with. That was really nice, I mean, the dance was nice, it was nice dancing with you." He finally got out, his cheeks reddening again as he rubbed the back of his neck. She laughed a little, "You're a good guy Asuma, you're gonna make a great ANBU member."

"You would have too. But you're gonna make a great wife and mother." He said, patting her shoulder in a friendly manner. He wasn't sure how exactly he should act around her, especially now that she was married. But this action seemed to be sufficient, as she smiled again and thanked him before excusing herself to find her husband. As he watched her leave, he was really glad he had decided to show up.

The party finally began to die down as people headed back to their homes, thanking the Yuuhis for the party and wishing Kurenai and Henso the best of luck. Anko wrapped her arms tightly around Kurenai, making her promise she would come visit, or else she'd hunt her down. Kurenai promised, then wished her friend luck on her jounin exam she would be taking soon. Her old team gave her a collective hug, telling her if she ever needed anything, they'd be there for her. Some random shinobi got in their first and final hugs to the former kunoichi as Henso watched protectively, but was understanding of the situation.

"You treat her well, this girl's a gem!" Genma said as he nodded toward Kurenai, making Henso smile and wrap an arm around her waist. "I know, I will."

"See you around Kurenai. Take care." Asuma said, waving as he walked back toward his apartment. He didn't want to intrude on her and Henso's closeness at the moment to make a useless move on the married woman, and besides, he had gotten to hold her for an entire dance. She may have always been out of his reach, but for a few minutes it was as though all his teenage dreams had come true. Goodbye Kurenai, he thought, hope you're always as happy as you seem to be right now.