Chapter 6
"I want you to be my best man!" Naruto finally exclaimed, after dragging Sasuke to the nostalgic Ichiraku.
Still surprised by the sudden news that Naruto and Hinata were actually engaged, Sasuke took a second to ponder what Naruto had just asked of him.
Hinata was nervously playing with her fingers, looking down, trying to shield her blush. Sasuke looked from Naruto, back to Hinata, and then back to Naruto again. He realized he had paused too long when even Hinata peeked up at him, awaiting his answer.
Still not completely sure of the duties a 'best man' must fulfill, beyond that it is the man supposedly closest to the groom, Sasuke was hesitant to give a definite answer.
Sasuke quickly weighed the pros and cons of obliging Naruto's request, crossing his arms as his eyes concentrated on the table, reluctant to look at them before deciding.
The most pertinent variable here was time. For Sasuke, time was everything at that moment. He had not decided how long he wished to remain in the village, but he knew it would not be long. He had originally planned to be gone in the next few days, but had already been finding himself torn. However, he disliked having something like this push his conclusion prematurely.
The next place he set his sights on for travel, was remarkably far from the village. It could take months of traveling, and with the wedding being only two and a half weeks away, it seemed ridiculous to leave now as he would not get far before having to turn back.
Inwardly, Sasuke grimaced. He longed to be back on the road; at the same time, he recognized his longing for Konoha. In fact, deep down he knew he wanted to get back on the road so he could finish his journey indefinitely, and finally come back to Konoha.
However, he wasn't ready to admit that to himself, as a conflicting part of him didn't even want to face his friends just yet.
Recognizing the sheer irony of his situation, in that he is already face to face with his friends, Sasuke decided to revert to the more logical side of himself where he felt comfortable making decisions.
The cold, calculated part of him, never ceased to aid him when he could not see through his own blurred emotions. It was the one part of him, he could count on.
"Sasuke...?" Naruto prodded, perplexed by his friends rare hesitance. Cocking his head to the side, he squinted at Sasuke, curiously appraising his friends unusual expression.
"Sure" Sasuke stated coolly, his tone assuring and decisive.
Naruto's eyes lit up then, completely forgetting Sasuke's previous out of character mannerisms, totally consumed in his own excitement.
Hinata beamed as well, as the pair quickly poured over some wedding details, over numerous bowls of ramen.
"Yeah... I wanted a small wedding, with just a few close-" Naruto began with a meek tone, before Hinata cut him off swiftly.
"But we've already sent all the wedding invitations!" she stated, with surprisingly sharp confidence, causing Sasuke to raise his eyebrows in amusement. "Everyone's going to be there, and all of the teams have been invited too, team Kurenai, team Guy, team..." Hinata continued for a while, the list of people soon including even village outsiders.
By the end, Sasuke had a full understanding of when and where it will be held, how the ceremony will go, who will be attending, and what he is expected to do.
Despite the baffling list of attendance for the wedding, and the amount of details he now has to remember, something about seeing his friends so overjoyed, really lifted Sasuke's spirit. Ordering a large bottle of Sake, Sasuke toasted to their engagement.
Many kanpai's later, Naruto slung a sluggish arm over Sasuke's shoulder, grinning ear to ear.
"Guess this means you're stickin' around for a while now, eh Sasuke?"
*~SAKURA~*
Sipping her coffee, Sakura made her way home, mail in hand. She went for her usual morning run, expecting to only pick up bills in the mailbox, but was surprised to find a quaint, baby blue envelope.
Walking into her house, she sighed, as she gulped back the remainder of her coffee. Setting the envelope down on the kitchen table, she made her way upstairs to her bedroom.
Loosening her hair out of the ponytail it was in, she stripped and headed to the bathroom.
Turning the knobs to the perfect temperature, Sakura sighed once again, upon entering the showers humid embrace.
Enjoying the heat as it enveloped her skin, Sakura forgot all her troubles.
She'd be damned if thoughts of him interrupted her peace right now.
Several minutes later, Sakura exited the shower and wrapped herself in her favorite plush towel. She moved quickly and haphazardly towel dried her hair, and steadily changed into her bathrobe.
As she stepped into her bedroom, to pick an outfit for the day, her stomach growled obnoxiously.
Groaning back at the sound in protest, she decided it would be best to eat something, before heading out.
Dragging herself back to the kitchen, she reluctantly opened the fridge to inspect her options. Spying some eggs, butter, and orange juice, she decided to make a quick egg and bacon sandwich using the whole wheat bread from her pantry.
Humming happily to herself, as she finished frying the bacon, the aroma made her stomach growl even fiercer. She patted her stomach in compliance, quickly putting the sandwich together, and pouring a glass of juice.
Sitting down at the table at last, furiously consuming her food, she remembered the curious blue envelope, and identified its location on the table.
Finishing the last bite with glee, she snatched the letter, and pried it open.
Could it be a love letter? she fantasized dreamily. Excited, she pulled out a small card from within the envelope.
Scanning it, Sakura recognized that it was indeed not a love letter, much to her dismay. It was in fact, an invitation.
'You have been cordially invited to the wedding ceremony of Naruto Uzumaki, and Hinata Hyuga'
Sakura paused, and then all at once remembered Hinata and Naruto's engagement. I guess they finally picked a date! Sakura thought to herself, overjoyed for her friends.
Delighted, Sakura opened the card to inspect the details. She made sure to note the time and exact date of the ceremony, remarking on how soon it was, and was automatically hit with anticipation.
Hinata's going to look so gorgeous! I wonder if she's bought her dress yet. Oh my God! What should I wear? Enamored with her daydreaming, Sakura nearly missed the small slip of paper that fell out of card.
"Huh?" she inquired aloud, picking up the piece of paper from her lap.
"Sakura-san, I wanted to speak with you privately, as I am in need of a favor. Could you meet me at the park in town, at 12:30pm on Saturday? Give me a call if you can't make it, so we can reschedule."
-Hinata
Inquisitively, Sakura looked up and over at the calender. Indeed it was Saturday, Hinata sure had impeccable timing when she sent these. I wonder what this could be about... Sakura wondered to herself.
Shrugging it off, she checked out the clock that read 11:34am, and decided it would be best to leave right away.
Sprinting upstairs, she fervently threw on some clothes, discarding her robe. Jumping out the window, she dashed into town.
*~A little while later~*
Sakura finally arrived, spotting Hinata at a bench who was sipping a warm drink. Jumping from the roof she had perched on, Sakura landed gracefully in front of Hinata.
"GAHH" Hinata gasped, nearly dropping her cup. "O-oh... Sakura-san, you startled me!", the disheveled Hinata said, as she calmed down and straightened her blue skirt.
Sakura laughed, slightly embarrassed, "Guess I wasn't as graceful as I thought, haha".
Hinata raised her hands in awkward protest, "N-no, I just wasn't expecting it" she reassured, before gesturing for Sakura to take the seat next to her.
Nodding, Sakura relaxed into the spot next to Hinata. When she did, Hinata suddenly thrust a cup into her face.
"For you" Hinata offered, smiling happily.
Inhaling the tantalizing scent of her favorite brew, a vanilla bean coffee, with light whip cream and hazelnut syrup, Sakura's mouth watered.
Sakura accepted the drink cheerfully, thanking Hinata in the process. Taking a sip, Sakura noticed that it had a few caramel sprinkles in it for good measure and extra sweetness. God, I just love sweet stuff! Hinata's the best, she thought gladly.
Remembering that this wasn't what she came here for, Sakura willed herself to focus on the quiet girl next to her, who was sipping her own drink contently.
"So, you wanted to talk about something?" Sakura inquired, taking another heavenly sip.
"Mhmm..." Hinata nodded and mumbled.
Curious now, Sakura waited impatiently for Hinata to finish, who seemed to be needlessly anxious.
"Come on Hinata! It's me! Whatever it is, you can tell me. Just go ahead and say it" Sakura said, flashing her most trustworthy smile, attempting to lighten the mood.
Hinata breathed nervously, before abruptly standing and facing Sakura who sat wide eyed on the bench.
Bowing deeply, Hinata hastily spat out her words, "S-sakura-san, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but would you please be my m-maid of honor?!"
Sakura blinked a few times, letting the proposition sink in, before unconsciously standing to her feet in excitement.
"Of course!" Sakura practically shrieked, wrapping her arms around her friend in a tight hug.
Shocked, Hinata returned Sakura's embrace enthusiastically, before pulling away, bowing once again.
"Thank you so much, Sakura-san" Hinata said in a very genuine tone, however, Sakura picked up Hinata's hands pulling her up, clamping onto them.
"It's no problem at all! There's no need to be so formal Hinata, gosh. There's so much to be done, I was going to ask you, have you picked a dress yet? How about bridesmaids colors? I want to inspect the venue so we can pick the best arrangements and-" Sakura paused her exuberance for a second, and asked gravely, "Wait... Why did you choose me?"
Hinata nodded, as if expecting the question, releasing her hands from Sakura.
"Well... To be honest, I wanted to ask you first, but when I proposed the idea to Naruto, Hanabi overheard and got her feelings hurt" Hinata started glumly, "However, after I agreed to let her be my maid of honor, it seems she wasn't prepared for all that it entailed, and backed out of the idea a little over a week ago" Hinata stated, shaking her head in dismay.
"I guess she is still too young to accept that type of responsibility, so she is more than happy to let someone else do it now. That's why I apologize coming to you about it so short notice" Hinata said, apologetically.
Sakura laughed.
"That sounds a lot like her! Guess she really is still a kid..." Sakura said, as she continued to chuckle. "Don't worry Hinata, I am super thrilled you asked me, and it isn't short notice at all. I'm going to help you make it the best wedding ever!" Sakura said, clapping in glee.
"Oh..." Hinata said, suddenly looking down at her feet, before looking back up with tears in her eyes, "Thank you so much Sakura-san! I'll be forever indebted to you!"
Sakura awkwardly handed the clearly distressed bride a tissue, patting her on the head with a tentative smile. "Calm down Hinata. It's not a life debt. I know it's scary when stuff doesn't go according to plan before the wedding, but I'll make sure nothing else goes awry!"
"Thank you again Sakura-san" Hinata said, bowing slightly one last time. Hinata's face suddenly perked up questioningly, "Before we go over the wedding plans, have you decided on who you're bringing as your plus one?"
"Oh of course, don't worry about anything, you just worry about you, I can find everything I need- wait..." Sakura gasped, realizing what Hinata had actually asked.
"My plus, what?!"
*~AUTHORS NOTE~* Any and all reviews much appreciated 3 :)
Thank you to Kino558, and Ber for reviewing! :3
Thank you to Pinksakura17, Marshmallowkitthey, Defuse00, Shannon Rei D. Sumner, and Blossoms700 for following this fic! :)
And thank you to Pinksakura17 as well for favoriting! :D
You all inspired me to finish this chapter, and to continue to write this fic ^-^ 3 ~Thanks so much~