A/N: Yet again grabbing canon by the shoulders and forcefully defenestrating it from the tenth floor.
In the early afternoon, the royal couple and the Uchiha Council of Elders gathered to the gymnasium to watch the Ceremonial Duel take place.
Despite Mikoto's tips, Shien still felt her nerves stretch thin. "What if I give too much? What if I give too little? What if the elders disapprove after all?"
Sasuke, sitting with his back to her, reached behind to rest a hand on her upper arm. The warmth of his hand was soothing, even if she couldn't see the soft smile she knew he was sporting.
"Relax a little," he said quietly. "Once we've become linked, the dance will seem to be much easier. You just have to abide by your instincts."
She tried to smile in return, cupping her hand over his. "It's easy for you to say. I'm Water and you're Fire. We're polar opposites, the moon and sun."
She heard him huff a chortle. "Hasn't anyone ever mentioned that opposites attract?"
She giggled a little. "Well yes, but everyone knows that's a cliché!"
"Elders," Fugaku spoke up, silencing the two teenagers. "We have gathered you all here today to witness the engagement of my son, Sasuke, and his fiancee, the lady Hayashi Shien."
She could hear some murmurings from the crowd of elders, and she felt her heart continue to pound.
Sasuke squeezed her forearm.
"This will be the first time in nearly a century that a member of the main branch will have ever considered marrying someone not from our clan, and especially someone of another chakra nature."
The interested muttering grew in volume, and Shien swallowed.
"The lady Hayashi is a Water nature, while my son is of Fire, but primarily of Lightning. Such a feat has never before been explored in the Uchiha clan, and I believe that they would bring us to even further greatness."
She clenched her eyes shut.
"Sasuke, Hayashi-san, please assume the position and tap into each other's chakra." Fugaku instructed.
The two teens nodded, and Sasuke took her hands in his, lying them down at both of their sides. They closed their eyes, and focused.
Water.
The first thing she saw was water, a turbulent ocean untamed by the tides nor the moon itself. Before her feet she envisioned a beautiful flower budding from the waves, and the familiar mist of her own wintergreen chakra filled her senses.
She could feel Sasuke's chakra, electrifying and warm, softly pulsing in her hands. She took a breath - and released a pulse of her own.
All of a sudden, she could see more - she could feel Sasuke standing at her back, their hands still intertwined, though she felt no fear. Rather, she felt safer than she'd ever been before, and she could feel his smile as he squeezed her hand again.
She could feel every single part of him - his troubled heart, his weary, racing thoughts, his drive to achieve the impossible - she felt it all, and it took all of her might not to tremble at its intensity.
Behind her, she could feel Sasuke's soft intake of breath - no doubt he could feel all of her, too - her racing thoughts, her scrambled mind, her fears and worries, everything. But for the first time, she felt no trepidation with sharing her soul with him.
"Should the gods allow it, he will understand," she thought.
"If the two of you have aligned with one another, you are free to begin," Fugaku's quiet voice, loud enough to be heard, interrupted her visions.
Sasuke let go - and the two raised themselves as one, turning to face one another and bowing.
Though her heart was pounding and her chest felt light, she tried to relax and searched for Sasuke's part of their bond.
She took another deep breath and let her body go, moving fluidly along with Sasuke as they danced and twirled about each other in the simulation of an elaborate duel.
She ducked and turned as his leg swung over her head, the side of her hand coming to gently tap against his as they circled each other. Sasuke kept his eyes locked onto hers, a deep vantablack meeting viridian.
The world seemed to melt away around them, and for once, she found it easy to forget about their attentive audience. She whirled in his arms before taking his hand and spinning him about, only stopped by his other hand resting on her forehead for a second before they twirled away.
The entire dance lasted only a couple of minutes, but to her, it felt like an eternity of moving and twisting with the flexibility of a Hyuuga mid-fight. By the time their hands clasped onto each other in a deadlock and the duel ended, she was hardly out of breath, still entranced by his eyes.
A light applause broke her out of her trance, and she glanced towards the elders to see them politely, if not a little boredly, clapping for them. A few looked interested, Sharingan unnervingly whirling as they stared deeply at her forehead.
She fought the urge to self-consciously cover it with her hand.
The moon was nearly full in the sky as Sasuke and Shien stood under the gazebo in the private gardens, with his parents, Tsunade (as Chiasa), and Naruto standing by.
He held her hands in his, gazing deep into her eyes. She was smiling in slight embarrassment right back, feeling rather uncomfortable in the gown she was to wear.
They were both wearing ceremonial dress; Sasuke was dressed in a replica of Madara's wedding kimono, and Shien was dressed in (was was told to be) the exact wedding kimono that Fujiyama Emi had worn more than a century prior.
To her surprise, the kimono was well-kept, hardly showing any signs of its true age. It felt as if she'd put on a brand-new garment that had been tailored specifically to her measurements, which was creepy enough. She didn't even want to think about the fact that she was wearing a dead woman's wedding dress... to her husband's reincarnation.
Still she stood there as calmly as can be, waiting for Fugaku to finish the rite.
It was tradition for the bride (or groom, in a few faraway cases) to go through a 'purifying ritual' in order to prepare her (or him) to wed the Uchiha heir.
Mikoto had been sweet and patient as she'd explained it while combing her hair, telling her of how she had felt when she had gone through it twenty-odd years before. (Granted, the woman wasn't putting on a façade in order to sabotage the royal family from within, but still, it was interesting to hear.)
As soon as the purified water was sprinkled over their heads, Sasuke reached out and removed the hood from her head, allowing him to see the elaborate bun that Mikoto had styled for her future daughter-in-law.
He smiled softly at her, squeezing her hands encouragingly.
Fugaku looked to Chiasa, who declared her blessing over them. She handed Fugaku the ceremonial baton to signify her consent to let her 'daughter' leave her family to join another.
The couple chanted three times - once to bless them as they stepped out of their old lives, once to bless their impending union, and once more to bless their future life together.
Once they were done, he took a ring from his father and slid it onto her ring finger. She then did the same with him.
Fugaku rose his hands above their heads, blessing their union as the king of Fire and as the Uchiha patriarch.
Sasuke reached forward to remove the sakura blossom kanzashi from her bun, letting her hair fall down her back. To complete the ritual, he (mindful of the white makeup) kissed her for a few seconds before pulling away.
Fugaku smiled at the two young adults. "The betrothal ritual is complete."
"Good luck, dear," Chiasa's eyes were soft as she took Shien's shoulders in her hands. "I have to go for now, but I'll be back for the wedding, as will a few of your family members." We'll be coming back for you soon.
"Thank you," she tried to smile, but her eyes watered as she watched her leave.
"Congrats, you two!" Naruto laughed from the bench he was seated on. "Kinda superfluous considering the wedding's in a couple of days, but hey, ya had to do it anyway."
"That was wonderful," Mikoto praised with a sweet smile at the two of them. She got up and crossed the pathway to fuss over Sasuke. "It reminded me of the night I was engaged to your father."
"I was so nervous that I thought I was going to be sick," he chuckled awkwardly. "Luckily for you - and Mother - I didn't."
"She would have had a heart attack on the spot if you'd soiled the dress she spent so long tailoring with the maids!" She laughed aloud, pecking him on the cheek. "Anyway, you're free to stay here if you want to, but I don't doubt you're itching to change."
"This is rather itchy," Sasuke commented with a frown as he lifted the sleeve. "How did he stand through an entire ceremony in this?"
"This is so silky and nice," Shien added, running her fingertips along the satin obi. "I wouldn't mind wearing this every day."
"It does feel great, doesn't it?" Mikoto agreed, touching the sleeves with her own fingers. "I was wearing one of the replicas, but apparently the Uchiha family has been stockpiling the exact materials for the dress for decades. It's no problem at all to make another!"
"A- anyways, Mikoto," Fugaku cleared his throat, catching their attention. "They probably want to stay and talk for a moment alone. We should head to bed."
"So hasty, like always," she playfully poked him in the side and relished in his twitch away. "Okay, we can go back. Naruto, are you staying back?"
"Nah, might as well give the happy couple a little privacy," he winked at the two of them and laughed when Sasuke gave him a deadpan glare. "See you later!"
He skipped up the path ahead of Mikoto and Fugaku, who were in hushed conversation (Shien could vaguely make out Fugaku hissing "You know I'm most ticklish there!" before she figured she should stop eavesdropping).
Sasuke squeezed her hands again before he realized what he was doing and dropped them, chuckling awkwardly.
"So." He started, rubbing the back of his neck.
"So." She agreed with a small smile, folding her hands together.
"I know we didn't really get a choice, but, uh, if I proposed right now, what would you say?" He asked, bending down on one knee. It was a little difficult, but he steadied himself and gazed up at her intently.
She giggled, shaking her head at him. "Of course I would say yes, Sasuke."
"Then will you marry me, Shien?" He asked, grabbing her left hand. The ring glinted in the candlelight.
"Yes, I will." She nodded to him.
He got up from one knee and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a kiss.
It was still just as awkward and shy as their first, but this time they both knew what to do. After a few seconds, they pulled away, breaths slow and even as onyx irises met a deep emerald green.
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, half-smiling. "You gonna need help washing off the makeup?"
"I think I've got it, thanks," she replied, reaching up to cover his hand with hers.
After a moment they both huffed a laugh, looking away.
Deciding to be bold, Shien spoke up. "I have to be proud of you."
"How so?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The girl, ah, Sakura." Shien nodded. "She would have been proud that you have learned to love another."
For a quick moment, Sasuke's expression darkened, and she was vaguely worried that he would snap at her, but the next moment he snapped out of it and instead pressed his lips into a thin line.
"So... uh, I guess I'll see you." He said. Then he quickly added, "Tomorrow! F- for the rehearsals and- yeah..."
She looked into his face, feeling keenly the emotions he tried so hard to hide. He was still hurting from the mention of her past life, he was scared for the future, yet the love she felt from him made her heart clench. Sasuke had always been a happy, peaceful soul in their youth, and that locked-away part of him was shining through now.
She had always been able to read his eyes like an open book. It was a bond that both delighted - and worried - her.
Her lips curled upwards, and she pecked him on the lips. "I'll see you then. Tomorrow. For the rehearsals and yeah."
For a split-second she stunned him with the move, but he gave her one last breathtaking smile before turning and leaving her in the gazebo, strolling back into the castle.
Once he was gone, Shien let out a deep breath, her shoulders falling. She gazed up into the cloudy night sky, the moon shining through the darkness.
She frowned. Tonight was the last night of freedom before everything would go to hell.
She touched her painted lips gingerly with her fingertips. "Sasuke-kun... please forgive me for what I've done."
Her back shuddered, and for a brief moment, she allowed a tear to fall down her painted cheek.
