A/N: Fears for the future increase.
The morning air was sweet with bouquets, fragrant crimson roses delicately pinned to translucent white tulle on each pew. The stained glass mural above seemed to be gazing down at the couple, blessing them in their union.
The expectant faces staring at her back did little to quell her nerves. She still had half a mind to ditch the whole affair after the hurried morning she'd had; a maid had awoken her with a declaration that it was only two hours before the wedding, and in her haste to get bathed and ready she'd already forgotten most of it.
Glancing sidelong at her husband-to-be, she was surprised to find him blank-faced, staring at his father as he droned on.
Her brow furrowed. She'd hoped he'd look a little happier at his own wedding, for heaven's sake. Trying to find his eyes, she couldn't see even a sliver of emotion in them.
Did he really want to do this? Or was this just another obligation, just another task out of pity for her? Did he really mean it all of those times he'd spoken about this very event?
She turned her eyes back to Fugaku, who, as clan head, was overseeing the affair. His words trailed off as he looked at his wife.
"Present the betrothed their rings," he instructed.
She did as told, carrying a red silken pillow with two glittering gold rings lying upon it. She smiled at the two and presented the pillow to Sasuke.
"With this ring, you do declare that upon this day you will protect and serve this young woman for until death rips you apart," she recited.
"I accept this vow," he replied, taking the larger ring and holding it between his fingers.
Then Mikoto turned to Shien. "With this ring, you do declare that upon this day you will protect this young man for until death rips you apart."
Her lips parted. This was it. She could hardly get the words out, and they came out quieter than she'd wanted. "I- I accept this vow."
She took the smaller ring and held it in her fingers, looking down at its golden shine in the light.
"Please face one another," Fugaku chimed in.
The two turned to face each other head-on, and for the first time Sasuke's eyes seemed to soften, holding an affectionate shine that hadn't been there before.
For the first time, she felt hope rising in her heart. Perhaps all wasn't lost; perhaps he did want this.
"Repeat after me," he instructed. "By taking this ring..."
"By taking this ring," they both chorused.
"I promise you..."
"I promise you," Shien stared into Sasuke's eyes earnestly, trying to drink in every last detail. "I don't want to forget a single moment."
"That from now on..."
"That from now on," her voice suddenly seemed to gain more confidence.
"I will protect you..."
"I will protect you," Sasuke's voice seemed to take a more soft, gentle tone.
"And I will be confident…"
"And I will be confident," her lips tugged into a slight smile.
"That you shall do the same for me."
"That you shall do the same for me." Nodding to each other, the couple slid the rings on at the same moment.
"These vows have been acknowledged and upheld by the ancient authority of the Uchiha name," Fugaku declared. "As clan head, as well as the king of Fire, I hereby bless this couple's union. May you both live well and lead this country into a new era of peace together."
Sasuke leaned forward and gently lowered her hood, eyes full of relief as he leaned in to kiss her.
As soon as their lips touched, to her confusion she couldn't feel anything. The polite clapping from the onlookers didn't reach her ears, nor the warmth of his hands.
Instead, they were freezing cold - and she jerked away only to see a horrible monster before her.
Instead of his healthy, tanned skin, Sasuke's complexion was a deathly pallor - and his sclera were sheer black, the crimson of his Sharingan seeming to capture her eyes and hold them there. His hair seemed to pool at his shoulders and tumble messily down his back in thick dark locks. His scowl deepened the intensity of his stare, and to her horror - she couldn't seem to read him at all.
"Wh- wha- what?" She gasped, stumbling back into the horrific world of black and red.
She gripped her fist, and glanced down in surprise when she realized she was holding a knife.
She looked back up, and when she looked past him…
"Tsunade-sama! Shizune! Rin!" She screamed. "What did you do?!"
"If you know what's good for you, you'll stand down, Wife," he retorted before turning his back to her.
The enormous wings, shaped like hands, made her stomach churn. They'd seemed to completely rip through the back of his shirt, leaving torn fabric and bloodstains from where they'd emerged from his bloody back. Before him, Tsunade stood with her entire arms tied to a stake in the ground, exhausted but glaring at him with all of the fading strength she had left.
"Senju Tsunade," his voice held so much malice it sent a shudder down her spine, "For your crimes against sovereign rule, you're sentenced to death."
"Sasuke, please!" Sakura begged, tears rising in her eyes as she gripped his sleeve. "Don't do this! Please! She-"
"She brainwashed you!" He snapped, and when he turned his head to glower at her it froze her in place. Her heart beat so fast she was worried it would stop. "She committed treason against this country's rule, and I can't have anything threatening my kingdom!"
"No, Sasuke, she-"
"Sakura," he hissed, and her shoulders stiffened in surprise. "Stand back. I'd hate to have to hurt you too."
As soon as he turned away, she shook her head and tried to make the hand seals to use Wood Release. After a moment of trying to focus her chakra, however, she fell to her knees as something seemed to lodge in her chest. She coughed and gagged and hacked until she spit out a handful of flower petals and blood. A sweet smell began to permeate her senses, not unlike that of aloe.
"No, my chakra!" She thought desperately, glancing back up at what once was her friend.
"We found out who you were working with," he said loudly to Tsunade. "Every single last one of them, aside from you and your close circle of traitors, has been killed. We'll deal with them last."
Before she knew it, everything was on fire. Flashbacks from her nightmare at Morino came back to her and she panicked.
A long, agonizing, almost deafening shriek escaped her as she surged into the fire, a thick layer of water the only protection against its heat. It sizzled in her ears, though she could hardly hear through it. Tsunade's face was full of fear, fear that she'd never seen before.
Just as she reached for her mentor, she could suddenly hear the sound of crackling lightning. Tsunade's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open in a silent scream as a hand was shoved through her back, clear through her chest. It gripped her heart in its fist, and when the rapidly-beating organ was crushed, blood sprayed into her face.
Sakura screamed again, and the sudden heat of a thousand volts flashed in her eyes.
A sudden knock at her door shocked her from her fitful sleep, a wheeze of a scream dying in her mouth. Shien panted heavily, sweat dampening her hair and making it cling to her neck and face. Her face was red and splotched with tears, and she had a horrid taste in her mouth of blood.
When she shakily raised her hand to wipe at her lips, her stomach churned at the sight of drying blood splattered across her fingers. A single petal, ripped apart, fell from her palm.
"Hayashi-san? Hayashi-san, are you alright?" A gentle voice came from the hall, right outside her door.
She vaguely recognized it as the kindly silver-haired guard through the ringing in her ears.
"Calm down. I have to calm down."
"Hayashi-san?"
"I- in a minute," she called, much weaker than she wanted.
She licked her dry lips and tried to sit up from the bed, only to feel soft petals beneath her. She looked down and stared at several scattered - and flattened - begonia flowers that seemed to have just fallen from somewhere.
Hastily, she reached up to touch her hair, and her fears were confirmed - somehow, she'd activated Mokuton in her sleep and had been growing flowers unconsciously.
"That's why I couldn't use it in my dream," she realized as she looked back to her bloody hand. "I accidentally overused it here!"
The sweet smell she'd noticed was less pronounced now, and when she touched the back of her scalp she could feel something sticky and thick. When she pulled her hand away from it, she realized it was coated in aloe vera.
"Hayashi-san?" The voice came again.
"Hold on a moment, I'm coming," she replied, hastily plucking the last of the flowers from her hair with a wince of pain.
She dumped them into a nearby wastebasket and threw the blankets over the mess in her bed, petting down her hair and attempting to look presentable.
Satisfied with her appearance, she opened the door and looked up into his face. "Hi. Sorry about that, really sorry."
"I understand," he nodded with a kind smile. "Unfortunately, I don't think the news I have for you will help you get back to sleep."
"What's happened?" She begged as he handed her a letter.
One look at the handwriting made her heart sink. "No... "
"I'm sorry." He said, patting her hair (and raising a brow at its stickiness) before turning and leaving.
Shien sank to her knees before the open door, staring at the letter for several long seconds before she regained her senses.
Rising from the floor, she shut the door and crossed over to her bed. As she flopped down onto the blankets, Hinata's handwriting mocked her with its shaky scrawl.
She took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and turned it over to open it.
As she flipped it open, each line she read made her heart dip lower and lower until it had sunk to the pit of her stomach.
"No… what?" She whispered frantically, searching it over and over again. "No… no, no no this can't be right. No, this can't be right!"
Tears bubbled to the surface once more, and she felt hot liquid trickle down her cheeks as her vision blurred.
She threw the letter down and raced out of her room.
