Chapter 8: The Choices we make

Do we ever have a choice? Do we, as human beings, ever have a choice? Or maybe we are just bound? Bound, by duty, by the place we are born, by the colour of the skin, by our feelings, even for the blood that runs through our veins?

As a shinobi, by duty, I am bound to die for my village, if it's needed. As a member of my clan, I am bound to die for it, it if it's needed. As a son, I would have died for my father, if it was needed.

So many good reasons to die, and yet, so few reasons to live.

Hyuga Neji

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For a few seconds, Sakura was unable to react. Everything was just too much for her. Less than twelve hours ago, Team 7 was going out together for the first time ever. Since that, she had gotten drunk, even if she didn't remember; she had woken up naked in strange bed in a strange house near a naked Sasuke; she had found out that they had made love together; he had told her that she was probably pregnant; and finally he was asking her to marry him.

How could all this happen to her?

"Sakura? Sakura? Are you feeling OK?"

Sakura noticed that Sasuke was looking at her; he had one hand under her back, and was raising her.

"I am sorry, maybe I was too sudden." He continued to say

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled getting up hurriedly "Sasuke-kun!" She repeated. She couldn't continue. She didn't know what to say. Was she supposed to say yes, no, maybe?

"Sakura, do you want to marry me?" He said again.

"Sasuke-kun! What are you saying!"

"I'm asking you to marry me" he explained carefully

"But..." said Sakura, looking for the right words "Why?"

"It's not something I have decided on a whim" explained Sasuke "First at all, I believe that there is a high possibility that you are pregnant. However, as far as I know, the only way to confirm it at this early stage is if you miss your period or if you start feeling nausea. According to you, your period is very irregular. We could be three months without finding out. If we were to marry only when we were sure you are definitely pregnant, and our child were to be born too soon after the wedding, everybody would know we married only because you were pregnant. I don't want you to suffer the shame of being pregnant at your age without being married."

"Sasuke-kun, people are supposed to marry only if they are in love!"

Sasuke just shrugged.

"Arranged marriages are common on our time. Furthermore, I don't think I'm capable of love anymore."

There was something in the tone of his voice that made Sakura shiver. For a second she could feel his sadness and his resignation to his own lack of feelings.

"But... but..." Sakura wondered struggling for the words "what if I'm not pregnant?"

"Then you can divorce me whenever you want. You can say people that I convinced you and that you made grave mistake" He paused and continued "Actually, that's a good idea. You could say that I tricked you somehow, or that I lied to you. You can say whatever you want."

"Sasuke-kun! I am not going to say that about you!"

He just shrugged.

"Why not? It's just more dirt thrown into the Uchiha grave. The Uchiha clan is already dead and buried. Nobody is..."

"YOU ARE ALIVE!" She screamed.

Sakura saw Sasuke, who always struggled to act cool and careful, shuddering for a moment.

"We are getting lightly off topic. Do you want to marry me?" Sasuke insisted.

Sakura looked at him. What was she supposed to say?

"What if you fall in love with someone else?"

To that Sasuke just raised an eyebrow

"What if you regret it later?"

"I have never regretted anything I have done. I have only regrets about things I didn't do." Crying in front of his mirror. Why didn't you insist that Itachi went training with you? Why didn't you go back earlier? Why didn't you stay and fight?... Crying until there were no more tears left

"What if I say no?" Sakura continued.

"I'll just help you in every way you want if you are pregnant. If you are not... I'll..." «Leave the Leaf. Not that I can tell you» mentally thought Sasuke "I'll do whatever is needed to make up for my sins. What is your answer?"

"I... I... I don't know. Sasuke-kun, I don't know! I need more time!"

"Sure" Sasuke answered turning back and starting to walk. He paused. Sakura understood he was waiting for her.

"Where are we going?"

"To the Hokage's office. That's where we are meeting Naruto, and besides, we have to speak to the Hokage."

"What for?" Sakura demanded to know. Was he going to tell her about what they had done?

"She is the one that has the authority to marry us" He explained, as if it were obvious.

"You said I had more time!"

"Of course" Sasuke answered "You still have time until we get to the office and convince that woman."

Sakura was going to speak a little more, but Sasuke was already walking. She was feeling terrified. The day had started in a crazy way, now her whole life was spinning out of control, and the day wasn't finished yet.

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Sasuke sighed. Speaking was too tiring. He wished there could be some way people could communicate without words.

He wondered why she needed time. She already had all the facts, and it was a question of answering hai or no to a very simple question. It was not that he was asking her to love him or anything like that.

He was sure that he was doing the right thing: Asking her to marry him was the only thing he could do after the terrible thing he had done. Being drunk was not a valid excuse. If she wanted they could divorce the next day. She would still have an excuse if she were pregnant. For everything he cared, she could claim he had raped her. The Uchiha clan was dead. He was just the caretaker.

Also, he wanted Sakura to be with him for security purposes. He was not going to leave the Leaf for the moment. That much was for sure. Not when the next member from the Uchiha clan was maybe under way. Not when an unwilling person, Sakura, his friend, his companion, his... whatever, was going to be a mother. He had to be with her, as husband, friend, future father, partner in crime or whatever.

If she wasn't pregnant, he would leave immediately, but if she was, he had to stay with her, even if it meant to wait for accomplishing his revenge for a while.

Still, he couldn't really go to the Four Sound and tell them that he had decided not to go with them. The offer they had done had an implied threat: "Come with us, or we will take you there, anyway". Orochimaru was interested in him for his own sick purposes, and he was not going to take a "no" or a "go fuck yourself" for an answer.

By being mixed up with him, now she was involved in his personal business with the Sound. He couldn't even go ask for protection to the ANBU. Best case scenario, he would be put on probation, and his chances of escaping the Leaf would be almost impossible. Worst case scenario, he would be killed for treason, or attempted treason.

He had trained very often in his own home as precaution if Itachi were to be back to finish the massacre. He would have the field advantage fighting there, but four to one was a bad statistic.If even one of them was left alive, they could try to kidnap Sakura. Not much of a choice. He had to fight them and kill them.

For the time being, he hoped all the books he had read were going to be useful.

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Naruto was in the Hokage office, feeling the need to cry. Sasuke, his friend, his rival, had beaten him in the thing that really counted.

Sasuke and Sakura. They were in love. He had noticed something amiss in the way Sasuke treated her. He actually spoke to her. In four years of school, Sasuke barely spoke to anybody else, except for him, and that was almost only to call him baka.

He had competed with Sasuke for Sakura's heart. She was in love with Sasuke, but he had always hoped she would eventually tire out of Sasuke's continuous refusals

He had failed. It was all Kakashi sensei's fault and that drinking contest. He couldn't even remember half of the night! How come he hadn't started screaming when Sasuke and Sakura started kissing? And how the hell had she managed to kiss him, anyway? They were together now. The way Sasuke looked at her. It used to be only Sakura, but now both of them were looking at each other...

He had lost... well, didn't matter. At least it was Sasuke. It was worse that it was Sasuke, but at least Sakura really loved him. If he even dared to break her heart, he would really beat him up.

The fight. Hai, they hadn't finished the fight. They had to finish it. He still wanted a fight with Naruto. They could finish it. Even if they didn't go all out, they could still fight. They had to fight. They would fight in the arena, and after the great future Hokage beat Sasuke they would go together to a Ramen Shop, and he would invite Sasuke. No, Sasuke would invite him. He was going to be the winner, after all.

He could invite Iruka-sensei, since Sasuke was paying. Speaking about Iruka-sensei, how was he with his new class? As the future Hokage, he could order Sasuke to invite all of Iruka sensei's class. Not only his new class. Sasuke could invite all the old students...

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"Naruto, we are here" Sasuke announced.

"Sasuke, don't forget you have to invite the old students!"

"Old students?"

"Of course. You lost the fight in the arena."

"Fight in the arena?"

"Don't try to run away from paying!"

"Hai, of course. To pay for the old students in the arena. How could I forget it?" Sasuke commented, frankly not paying any attention to him "Now follow us. We need one more witness."

"One more witness?"

Sasuke was already moving away, straight to the Hokage's private office.

Naruto tried asking Sakura what was going on, but she appeared to be so deep in thought that she didn't pay attention to him.

"We are here to see the Hokage" Sasuke announced to Shizune. He tried to remember some information about her. He just knew that she was Tsunade's trusted assistant, and that she had a lot of experience in the medical field. After years of being away with Tsunade, she had been appointed head of the medical staff.

"Sorry, you can't. She is in a very important meeting. Besides, you need a previous appointment."

"I can't wait. Orochimaru is planning to attack the Leaf. He is just five minutes away with an allied force of Sand, Stone, Mist and Cloud. If we wait anymore, we won't have time to react"

Shizune stared for a second as he said that.

"What...?"

"If we wait anymore the Leaf will be destroyed. Are you going to take responsibility for it and all the lives lost?"

"Eh..."

"Didn't think so" Sasuke got past her and entered the office. Sakura and Naruto quickly followed before Shizune could react. Sasuke closed the door after they entered.

"Shit, he tricked me" She angrily hissed, but it was too late.

The Hokage, supreme leader of the Leaf, one of the strongest shinobi villages in the world was snoring peacefully. Her face was dirty with the stains from a bottle of old wine that rested beside her.

"The old hag is sleeping late again!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke walked beside the table, concentrating his killing intent on her. His kunai started to dance around his finger, and a few seconds later, he was moving it against Tsunade's face. Before Naruto and Sakura could react, the hand of Sasuke was stopped short by Tsunade's strong grip.

Tsunade jumped and looked with a half-sleep look to the three of them

"As expected from one of the three sannins" Sasuke coldly reasoned "Noticing my killing intent and reacting even in the middle of sleep."

"Uchiha" said Tsunade, and the hostility in her voice was not lost in Sasuke. He was a little surprised; he hadn't done anything to the Leaf that should bring that hostility. He had planned to leave the Leaf, all right, but he hadn't done anything yet. It wasn't like they knew. He didn't have time, so he just stored the information for future use.

"I apologize for bothering you Hokage-sama," he said bowing down respectfully "I have a request."

"A request?" Tsunade asked, still half asleep.

"Could you marry Haruno Sakura and me?"

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"What?" Naruto asked

"What?" Tsunade asked, pressing a hidden button.

Shizune, which was listening thanks to the hidden devices in the room, got up from her chair. That was the alarm that she had to do something. What could she do?

Wait! That Sakura girl usually came with a blonde girl to see that green freak, the student of that Gai freak. They were probably friends.

She had to go to find that girl. Her family had a flower shop somewhere.

Kakashi, their sensei, of course. He would stop them!

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"I said if you could marry Haruno Sakura, present here, and me" Sasuke explained carefully

"I already heard you!" Tsunade yelled "There is no way I'm marrying you!"

"Fair enough" Sasuke answered, and before anybody could comment on how fast he seemed to accept defeat, he turned to Naruto "Book II, Title X, Section 2, article 294 of our Civil Law codification says that in marriage cases if the Hokage for any reason is unable to conduct the marriage ceremony, it can be done by any private person. Naruto, do you mind marrying us?" Sasuke said thanking all the time he spent reading the marriage legislation his father had in his home. Countdown starting 3...

"Me?"

"No fucking way!" Tsunade yelled at the same time "I am not going to allow it!"

«And 2.Not even 1 second? » He wondered.

Sasuke turned to her, with a fake surprised look

"Hokage-sama, forgive me for saying this, but you don't have the authority of forbidding people to marry. That enters the area of private life."

Tsunade was looking at him like he wanted to kill him, but she apparently calmed down.

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Ino was up early preparing the new flowers in the flower shop when a woman entered.

"Sorry, we are..."

"Are you a friend of Sakura!" the woman yelled. Ino remembered she was the woman who came to the Leaf with Tsunade

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"Listen, Uchiha, you..."

"It's Uchiha Sasuke, Hokage-sama" he said.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you can't marry her. You are both underage. Both of you... she needs her parent permission..."

Sasuke just did something very uncharacteristic of him. He smiled widely. Both Naruto and Sakura almost jumped.

"Book II, Title X, Section 2, article 391, 1º paragraph of our Civil Law codification says that in marriage cases, underage marriage is allowed in case the parents agree, or that the head of one of the ten founder clans decides that it's necessary or an emergency."

"There is no way a head of any clan..." started Tsunade… she understood.

"Hokage-sama, there are two survivors of the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Itachi has been considered responsible for the murder of the whole Uchiha clan and has been stripped of his rights. No matter how worthless or undeserving, I am the head of the Uchiha clan."

"But, but... this it's not an emergency" tried Tsunade.

"Book II, Title X, Section 2, article 391, 2º paragraph of our Civil Law codification allows the head of the clan to decide when it's necessary or an emergency."

"Damn it! I'm changing the law now!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Only the council of elders can change the laws, as you should know, Hokage-sama. Besides, as you should know, Hokage-sama, since the request has been made before any actual changes on the law, the new law would not affect this petition."

"But this is no way of performing a marriage ceremony..."

"Hokage-sama, that is just the traditional ceremony. The only thing that is really needed it's the free consent of both of us, and our signature with two witnesses."

"Don't you think you are a little too young for marrying?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Hokage-sama" Sasuke had considered in the way all the possible difficulties the Hokage could come up with, and answers to all he could think of "I'm not going to touch her until she is eighteen. That is a promise, and I never break any promises."

"I don't care. I am not allowing her to marry you."

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Lee was walking to see Gai sensei when he saw Ino running. He appeared to be distressed, and Gai-sensei always reminded his students to always be nice to women. He should go and ask if he could help her

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Sasuke was starting to feel that something was weird. He had expected the opposition, but not the way it was going. There was something wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what.

"Hokage-sama, what is exactly the problem?"

"It's obvious. You are a psycho. Are you actually going to forget your revenge? No, of course not. You are too obsessed with killing your brother. You are crazy."

"What I do about the S-class criminal Uchiha Itachi is my own business, Hokage-sama." He explained politely

"You would step over the corpses of all of us without even a glance if your brother was waiting for you!"

Sasuke, in that moment decided he had enough of being a polite guy.

"As a matter of fact, Hokage-sama, I have decided that instead of training for getting my revenge, I'm going to leave the Leaf and spend the next ten years crying for my loved ones and wasting my time. Ooops. Sorry, somebody already beat me to it."

Tsunade slowly got up.

"Apparently your parents never taught you any education, brat."

"There were two optional subjects at school: "How to be an educated person", and "Learn the laws of your village". I took the second. Which one did you take Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade grabbed Sasuke by the shirt.

"Listen, you damn brother-obsessed, red-eyed, baka, brat, old-fashioned f..."

"Old fashioned?" Sasuke repeated

"Eh? Hai, old-fashioned, fucker..."

"Wait. Please, let's go back on that. Why did you say old-fashioned?"

"Why did I say...? How the hell am I supposed to know?"

Sasuke stared at her. Why was he so distressed when she had called him old-fashioned?

"I insist. Please, why did you say old-fashioned?"

"Shit!" Tsunade yelled, producing a paper "Very well, you want a wedding; I'll give you a wedding!"

"Old hag! What are you saying!" yelled Naruto, who had been staying silent for one of the longest periods in his life.

Sasuke silently and quickly read the contents of the paper, and signed up. He stared for a few seconds to his own handwriting. He hated it. His parents had taught him to write, but the one that he always relied on to learn to write was his brother. The handwriting of the older of the two brothers was, like everything else, perfect: Elegant, comprehensible, and pleasing to the eye. His own handwriting, like everything else in his life, was just a weak shadow of his older brother.

Sasuke turned around, gave the paper, not the pen, to Sakura and walked to the window.

"Sakura, now you have to make a choice. Yes or no." He turned to Tsunade and Naruto "If you want to convince Sakura, you better use the chance."

As he listened to both Naruto and Tsunade speaking at the same time, he was feeling satisfied. He was forcing her to make a choice, all right but he wasn't going to force the choice he wanted. It was all up to her now.

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"Hi boys, I'm sorry I'm late. I got abducted by aliens and they made experiments on me." Kakashi said, but to his surprise nobody was in the bridge.

He sat down, and waited, wondering what could be happening, when an eagle got closer to him.

He read the paper, and less than one second later he was running top speed to the Hokage office.

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"Shit! I can't wait anymore for that fucker. Let's go, we are going to force him to make a choice. Not that it matters, anyway, because he is coming with us, whether he likes it or not" Tayuya decided walking towards the Leaf.

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Sakura looked at the paper, then at Naruto and Tsunade, and finally at Sasuke, who was looking exactly the opposite direction. The meaning was clear. It was her own decision.

She looked again at the paper. What could she do?

In the meantime, three people were running to stop that wedding.