.-.-.-.-.

NOT-SO-HIGH FIDELITY (HYPNOTISM AND MORE PRETTY DRESSES)

.-.-.-.-.

"She's not back yet," Ino paced around the room at dizzying speeds. "We sent Kiba, what, three hours ago, and she's still not back yet. How could this possibly take all night?!"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura muttered, her head buried in her arms. "It's still night. You have a weird habit of dragging me out of bed at the most insane hours of the morning."

Ino snorted and glared at her. Just then, the main door swung open, and the blonde was suddenly gone, having darted to the main room at the speed of light. There were murmurs, low voices, before the trio appeared in the doorway. Sakura stood up immediately.

Tenten was being supported by Ino and Kiba; her face was a mess of dry tears and melted mascara. Her lithe frame was shaking uncontrollably, and it was all Kiba could do to keep her moving.

"Oh my God, Tenten, what happened?" Sakura darted towards her cousin, taking hold of the arm Kiba was supporting. Kiba shrugged her off to Sakura, and left in search of a wet towel.

"It's--um--" Tenten fumbled, trying to straighten herself. "You can let go, Ino, it's okay, I'm fine."

"You are so not fine," the blonde seethed, "What did he do?"

"He called Neji," her sister sighed as she lowered herself onto a couch. "And he told him, and…it was bad. It was really, really bad. Neji went completely off the charts…"

"What?" now it was Sakura's turn to be shocked. She didn't think Sasuke would really tell the uptight Hyuuga. "He what?"

"No, Sakura," Tenten's voice was suddenly stern and commanding, all unsure wobbliness gone. "Don't say anything to him about it."

The pink-haired girl was livid as she stared at her cousin in shock. "What? Why?"

Kiba returned from the bathroom with a wet washcloth. Tenten plucked it from his hands and wiped her face clean of all residues indicating her breakdown, before turning back to Sakura.

"It's not his fault. I did not hold up my end of the bargain, and I knew what the consequences were."

"But--" Sakura turned to Ino, looking for backup. "But, it wasn't a fair bargain in the first place! Tenten, you went to Itachi's, what happened?!"

"It's none of your business, Sakura," the brunette said firmly. "It was a deal, and a deal is a deal. Seriously, Sakura, what did you expect him to do when I return empty-handed? He's Uchiha Sasuke. He's got an image to uphold."

"This is about his image?!" Sakura roared. Tenten sighed.

"Sakura. Sit down. Look at me."

The younger girl obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Tenten grasped both her hands and stared her straight in the eye.

"This is not your problem. This is my fault. Let it go."

"But--"

"Sakura."

She bit her lip.

"Let it go."

"It's her choice, Sakura," Ino said softly. "Tenten doesn't want you to do anything. Don't disrespect that."

Sakura turned back to Tenten, who was still insistently staring at her as if trying to mentally will her cousin into obedience. Finally, Sakura let out an unhappy sigh.

"Alright."

Tenten smiled frailly, and patted her cousin on the crown of her head.

"Good girl," she told her happily. "Go back to bed, why are you even up? It's so early."

Sakura frowned. "Ino threw water on me."

"Go back to bed, okay?" Tenten grinned, "You don't have to be up yet, besides, we have so much to do today."

Sakura cocked her head. "What?"

"Well, you're getting married in a few weeks, Sakura," Ino jumped in, pulling Sakura up and pushing her out and into her room, "We have to go over the finer details and sign off on everything."

The pink haired girl pouted childishly as she was shoved into her own bed.

"What if I don't want to get married to him anymore?" she whined.

Ino grinned, heading for the light switch and flipping it off.

"Well, princess, it's too late now!"

And the blonde slammed the door in her face. Sakura sighed, pressing her now fully-awake eyes shut.

Great. Just great.

.-.-.-.-.

"Oh," Ino spluttered, spitting out whatever was in her mouth, "Oh, that's disgusting. No more broccoli. Get it away from me."

She swatted the server, who darted away in fright the second her hand moved. Tenten snorted two feet away, before sampling a salmon roe caviar éclair.

"Okay, see, now this is what I'm talking about," the brunette declared to the caterer, passing another éclair to her sister, who nodded in appreciation. "I knew you could make decent seafood appetizers. Bring me more samples, now. Tell your chef to work these, we need more of this kind of stuff. And don't you dare serve tuna here again or I swear I will kick your ass into next Tuesday."

"Really?" Sakura leaned over from the chocolate covered cream puffs as the petrified man ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.

"No," Tenten admitted slowly, waving over a woman with raspberries on a mint lemon sorbet cradled in a waffle cup, "But don't tell them that, we'll never get the tasting done. Besides, tuna is like a symbol against everything we stand for. Mmm," she nodded vigorously, waving said woman towards Sakura and Ino, "try that, it's delicious. Bring me the salmon, I want to see how you're going with the hundred pounds we sent."

The woman bowed immediately and dashed away. Sakura frowned.

"A hundred pounds of salmon? A hundred? Salmon?"

"Yeah," Ino nodded, poking at a green gelatin appetizer topped with saffron, "Salmon. You know. Baked, smoked, raw, rolled, sushi, the works."

"What if I don't want salmon?" Sakura retorted lightly, popping a strawberry cheesecake delicacy into her mouth.

Both Yamanakas froze.

"Oh, you want salmon."

Sakura frowned. "It's my wedding, and I don't want salmon."

Tenten threw a bowl at her head. Sakura ducked just in time.

"You want salmon," she said threateningly. "Every Yamanaka in the history of Mizu has had salmon at her wedding and by the will of God you will have salmon and you will like it." The brunette finished her exposition with a glare and a baring of the teeth. Sakura recoiled a little, nodding furiously.

"Okay. I want salmon. I love salmon. Salmon. Yay."

"Excuse me," Tenten said in a soft, bubbly voice. Ino and Sakura blinked.

"Wait, how did you say that without moving your mouth?"

"It wasn't me," Tenten retorted, before turning to look behind her own back. "Kiama, how are you doing today?"

The doppelganger smiled sweetly, clad in the same crimson silk tunic and black leggings as Tenten. "Oh, just lovely, Yamanaka-san, it's such a beautiful day. Excuse me, but I was sent to retrieve you. Itachi-san called for you, if you don't mind…?"

She straightened and waved a careless arm around, where every caterer under the giant white marquis tent was now staring at the two in fright and awe.

"Oh, sure," Tenten stood up smoothly, twisting a stay lock of hair into her bun as she did so. "Ino, use your palate wisely. Don't scrap a single ounce of salmon or I'll skin you alive, got it?"

"Consider it done," Ino nodded surely, and, satisfied, Tenten linked arms with her twin and marched away.

They did not go inside as Tenten had expected, but instead wove around to another garden; the oriental one. There were massive lily ponds filled with koi, linked by tiny half-foot waterfalls, as well as stone bridges and walkways arching over and crawling mazelike across the emerald surfaces of the small lake, with several stone verandas at intersections.

"I'm afraid I haven't been here in a while," Tenten admitted as Kiama led them through the labyrinth of stone walkways with ease. "Since I was ten, actually."

"That's quite alright," the other brunette chirped cheerfully, "I do know my way, Yamanaka-san, you mustn't belittle me."

"Of course," Tenten demurred. They arrived promptly at the large stone veranda at the center of the entire garden, lined with stone seats around the perimeter, but with a comfortable sitting area in the middle of the floor: two curving stone benches with silver upholstery and a nice round marble table. Sitting immediately within viewing parameter was Itachi, across from him, a tall, black-haired man whose back was conveniently turned; the two were apparently engaged in some sort of board game.

Naturally, Tenten was cautious.

"Kiama," she pulled them to a sudden stop several feet away from the veranda, "Who is that?"

"Oh, it's just Orochimaru-sama, Yamanaka-san, there's nothing to be frittery about!"

Tenten's eyes widened. "What--you know, actually, I've just remembered something I have to do, can you ask Itachi is we can do this another time?"

"Oh, nonsense, Yamanaka-san," Kiama giggled, "We've come so far, a few moments won't hurt, would it?"

Oh, if only she knew, Tenten thought with a wince as Itachi's red eyes met hers. Noticing the movement, Orochimaru's head turned, and his snake-like face curved up into a grin. Standing up, he strode towards Tenten, who was petrified beyond belief. Grasping one of her hands in his freakishly cold ones, he bowed, his eyes never leaving her face, and kissed it.

"Yamanaka Tenten, now, is it?" he purred in his raspy voice, "What lovely skin. Such a pleasure, dear."

Tenten shivered as Kiama waved and disappeared.

"Come," the older man insisted, pulling at her arm with surprising strength, "Come sit with us. Itachi, now, why didn't you tell me such a pretty thing was joining us today?" he was addressing Itachi, but his reptilian yellow eyes did not leave Tenten for a second. "I would have prepared a little present."

"No need to frighten her, Orochimaru," Itachi replied monotonously, eyes fixated on the king he had just taken from Orochimaru, "It's merely business. Take a seat, please."

Tenten swallowed and obeyed, cursing herself mentally for leaving safety behind. "You called for me, Itachi-san?" she stated, her voice wavering a bit. Itachi looked up.

"You shouldn't be nervous, Tenten-san, he won't bite."

If she didn't know better she could swear he was amused.

"Now, I'm a little curious. There's something I just can't quite wrap my mind around." Itachi's eyes were now back onto the black king, cracking and crumbling in his seemingly light hold. "If my memory serves me, I gave you what you wanted, did I not?"

"Yes," the brunette replied simply.

"Therefore, I wonder," he continued as Orochimaru pretended to be observing the greenery, "What could possibly have happened that Sasuke is furious, the Hyuuga is on a warpath and you are feigning your enjoyment of whatever petty little activity you were going on about?"

Tenten frowned.

"If by that, you mean, why did I not tell him, I believe you know the answer yourself, Itachi-san."

"Ah," his black eyes met hers, "Did I speak just a little too much?"

She didn't say anything. Itachi observed her for another moment, before he stood up, grasped her arm in a gentle but firm grip, and lifted her from her seat.

"Curse my mother for the day she said I should express my opinions more often, then."

Orochimaru's lip twitched and he grinned, his yellow eyes thoroughly amused.

"I have never once heard your opinion, Itachi-kun," the snake man mused in his oily voice. "Are you perhaps slipping?"

"You have nothing to fear, Orochimaru. This does not concern you." A sharp glance from Itachi had the ruler of Oto turn back to the greenery, but with no small amount of mocking slyness.

"I understand, Tenten-san," Itachi whispered in her ear, his eyes suddenly red. "Thank you. But I warn you…there may be more misfortune caused by your silence than if you speak openly to my dear little brother about the Mangekyou."

He paused.

"You may go now."

Tenten didn't need to be told twice. With a polite curtsey towards both men, she turned and sashayed rapidly back towards the wedding party. Orochimaru's slimy voice slithered through the air towards her, saying something curious:

"My, my, you're speeding along, aren't you, Itachi-kun? Are we getting a little desperate, working with those pretty eyes of yours?"

Before Tenten could turn back towards the veranda and inquire, Kiama appeared, accosting her immediately. The girl was incessantly chipper, and guided her with an unending flow of cheerful chatter back to the main gardens. The brunette blinked when she found herself back under the marquis, with Kiama long gone.

"Hey," Ino popped up, a crème bisque in her hand. "What happened?"

Tenten furrowed her brow. "I…don't remember…" she frowned. "I have to tell Sasuke. About the Mangekyou."

"What?!" the blonde screeched, before lowering her voice. "What? I thought you said…if you told Sasuke, he'd kill Sakura."

"I don't know," Tenten put a hand to her head, "Where's Sakura?"

"Inside, for her fitting."

"I have to tell him," the brunette walked swiftly to a table and sat down. "Um…something…bad. It's worse if I don't tell him…something bad will happen to Sakura."

"What? What's something?"

"I don't know," Tenten muttered, frowning. "I…I can't remember. I just know…I have to tell Sasuke. Or Sakura…something bad will happen to Sakura."

"Something worse than death?"

"I don't know," Tenten snapped, before developing a regretful expression at yelling at her sister. "I'm not sure. Maybe. I don't know."

"At least tell him after the wedding, Ten. Okay? Was there a time limit to this impeding Armageddon?"

"No…" Tenten massaged her temples. "I don't think so. After the wedding. Okay. Yeah."

"What happened with Itachi?" Ino sat down beside her sister, bending down and putting her hand to the brunette's forehead, checking her temperature.

Tenten shook her head.

"I don't know. It's cloudy. I…I can't remember."

.-.-.-.-.

On the day of Yamanaka (Haruno) Sakura's wedding, the most difficult process of the entire preparation period was physically getting the bride out of her bed.

"Girls dream about their wedding days, Sakura, I doubt anybody else has trouble getting the girl out of bed," Ino gritted as she tried to forcibly pull her cousin from the covers.

"Well, they don't hate their fiancés," Sakura's grip was stronger than Ino had estimated. The blonde sighed, dropped Sakura's legs and crossed her arms, towering over the pink-haired princess angrily.

"Come on, Sakura, get up."

"I don't want to," the pink-haired girl pouted. "He's a bastard, I won't marry him."

"I'm sorry, would you like cheese with that whine?"

The green-eyed girl glared at her blonde cousin.

Ino sighed. "Sakura, you are marrying Uchiha Sasuke today and that is final. Now get up off your ass or you are going to spend your entire wedding unconscious. I mean it. I'll do it."

Sakura glared up at her cousin.

"What about Gaara?"

"He'll never know," the blonde waved it off, grabbing Sakura's shoulders and prying her away from her pillow. "Come on. Up. Or the wrath of Tenten."

At this, Sakura winced. "Fine. Okay. But I won't like it."

"Nobody said you had to," Ino replied with a triumphant grin as Sakura leapt from her bed to the bathroom door. "Just take a bath. Hair and makeup will be here in ten minutes, hurry up!"

With that, Ino bounced out of the room she shared with her cousin. Tenten look up as her sister entered the reception room.

"Is she up?"

"Yeah," Ino wrinkled her nose, "She really doesn't want to marry Sasuke, though."

Tenten sighed. "It's been weeks since the Neji thing. It's cool. We're cool. Tell her it's fine."

"I did," Ino huffed, plopping down and stealing her sister's orange juice, "A lot. But she's still pissed at Sasuke for creating the situation in the first place, even if Neji decided he was going to marry you anyways."

"He's not happy about it," Tenten grumbled, setting her head down on the table. "I'm not happy about it. Now it's definitely political. He's just marrying me as a one-way ticket to the throne of Haku. He's marrying me because we're the only country that trades in coral. That's it."

"There, there." Ino patted the brunette's head patronizingly. "Love takes time to grow, especially when your husband thinks you're a whore." Tenten scowled. "You'll get there," the blonde assured her pleasantly.

"Are you patronizing me?"

"I am not patronizing you."

"You are so patronizing me."

Ino grinned. "Whatever. Get over it, Sniffly McSnifflekins."

Tenten scowled as Sakura exited her bedroom, pink hair dripping, green eyes glaring.

"I'm awake," she snapped grumpily. "Let's get this over with before I change my mind."

Ino clapped her hands happily. "It's so great that you're both getting married. I get both your furisodes. Well, until I get married."

Sakura stared at her cousin with a pissed off expression. "What?!"

"Only single women can wear furisodes. You know, the pretty kimono with long sleeves and bright colors," Tenten explained hurriedly, ushering the pink-haired girl out towards the main room, where hairstylists and makeup artists were waiting to work on the Yamanaka girls. "So until Gaara pop the question, she gets them all."

"Bitch," Sakura spat. Ino just glowed.

From seven until noon, women bustled around, perfecting the bride's wedding look, weeping over Sakura's pretty eyes, crooning over Ino's perfect skin, fainting over Tenten's glorious hair. Takuda stood demurely in a corner, seemingly not a part of any of it but secretly dictating everything that happened. When Sakura's pink hair had been plaited and curled and smoothed and woven and twisted into gorgeous knot of braids and curls on the top of her head, interwoven with pearls and diamond hair brooches, Takuda was the one who lifted her easily from her chair and plopped her down on a stand a few feet away.

"Go," the gray-eyed woman ordered. Immediately, a horde of women appeared and began wrapping her.

The first thing on her body was a London Bridge brassiere, made of cotton and satin edging. It pushed up her breasts, restrained her stomach and abdomen and altogether made her figure better. However, the silk and lace corset was a contraption not to be messing with.

"Jeez--" Sakura muttered as the white silk whalebone corset was laced around her body, "Ah! Jeez, take it easy, sister."

The girl in charge of pulling the silk corset strings gave her a withering glare before pulling even harder, finishing the corset off with a bow. White silk stockings were forced onto her feet, clipped by a white lace garter belt to her silk-and-lace white panties. Over this ensemble was a white petticoat edged with three inches of lace flounce, then a thin white eyelet lace petticoat, and an underskirt made entirely of crocheted silk lace.

"Hold on," Sakura turned to Tenten as they buttoned up the back of the underskirt, "Tenten, is this a Western style wedding?"

"Yes," the brunette said simply as they wove the yards of her hair.

"Why?"

"Because I'm doing mine the traditional way in two months and no way am I going to use my valuable plans on you. Besides, the dress is pretty."

It was pretty.

The white chiffon gown was off-the-shoulders, lined with white lace-and-satin roses, the bodice patterned with in sewn diamonds and seed pearls in patterns of curlicues and roses. The skirt of the gown was simply off-white chiffon, with a split down the middle that showed the lace underskirt underneath. The back of the dress was a false corset, with silk ribbon crisscrossing the bodice from the low back to the end of the train, the fabric underneath imbued with pearly patterns. The train was around five feet long, and the veil was just as, with a short front section, and a long trailing section. It was secured by a silver tiara with diamonds shaped like roses on the edge.

"Wow," Ino whistled as she helped six women squeeze Sakura into the dress, her blonde updo bouncing with the weight of her curls, "I want it. Ten, get me one."

"You can't have it," the pink haired girl had grown fond of the Western wedding idea the second she had seen the dress. "It's mine. Stay away."

"Get your own," the brunette snapped, as her hair was piled the same way as Ino's. Both updos were secured with miniature versions of Sakura's own tiara.

"Where's Lady Hinata?" Takuda demanded, looking around the room. "Where is the third bridesmaid?"

"Her own people are attending to her," Ino assured the rampaging woman, "It'll be the same, don't worry."

Takuda looked like she was going to have an aneurysm and promptly calmed herself by tweaking Sakura's dress to perfection.

"To makeup," she clapped her hands, "Go, princess, go. Tenten-sama, Ino-sama, please come to be dressed. Hurry."

The bridesmaids' dresses were an icy blue that was almost white, their bodices the same as Sakura's, but the skirts simply lace with a satin overlay and without the massive train. The dresses were sleeveless, unlike Sakura's, which had the satin roses draped around her shoulders. Tenten and Ino had full, curvaceous, slim figures, which made their corsets thoroughly unnecessary, and made Sakura curse them both onto eternity.

Their makeup was light, accenting their cheekbones and their eyes, and the entire compound had been cleaned and tidied when Hinata arrived, her hair and makeup copied to perfection (which was basically Takuda's impeccable standards). She fit into her custom-tailored dress no problem, and the bride's wedding party was ushered at around one in the afternoon down to the preparation rooms of the massive crystal ballroom where the wedding was to be held.

"It's gorgeous," Tenten assured Sakura, rushing back in after a quick sweep of the room, "White cushioned benches, blue and violet irises everywhere, the chandelier…it's all absolutely gorgeous. The red carpet, though…it's very long."

"I'll make it," a very pale Sakura said, sitting on a settee.

"Have you seen the shoes?" Ino grinned, her strawberry painted lips glittering.

"No," Sakura admitted. Hinata blushed, before holding up a pair of four-inch open-toed pumps.

Made of crystal.

"Oh God," Sakura moaned, tempted to just run the hell out of there. "Oh, my God."

.-.-.-.-.

"Here," Ino shoved a bouquet of white lilies and baby's breath into Sakura's hands an hour later, a smaller one in her own hands. "Okay, just remember. Father's outside, waiting for you--"

"Wait, wait, wait," Sakura looked up from her massive bouquet, "Uncle?"

"Yeah, the father of the bride is supposed to walk her down to the groom," Ino explained, examining her nails. They, like the other girls, were painted pearly white, with a clear glaze. "Anyways, he escorts you down to the podium, then hands you to Sasuke, you two go up the steps, say I do, kiss, and walk down again. And then we have the reception, which is basically food and dancing. Got it?"

"Fine," Sakura snapped. "How long do I have?"

"Um, thirty seconds as of now. Bye!"

And thus, Ino darted out of the room before Sakura could slap her silly. The pink-haired girl heaved a massive sigh as PacBell's Canon began playing on a guzheng. A few seconds later, King Inoichi popped in, looking thoroughly handsome in a white penguin tuxedo with a midnight blue shirt and white tie.

"Hey, Sakura," he grinned, holding out his hand. "It's nice to see you. How long has it been? You look beautiful."

"Thanks, uncle," she muttered with a slight smile. The blonde man grinned down at her.

"Call me father, when we're out there. Okay?"

"Do Ino and Tenten call you father?"

"No, they call me old man when they're angry, dad when they're happy and popsicle when they want something." Sakura grinned at her uncle's lighthearted banter. "Come on, princess, they're waiting."

Inoichi led Sakura out, stopping a few feet behind her line of bridesmaids. Tenten stood at the head as the Maid of Honor, back to the door to the ballroom bickering in undertones with Neji, Sasuke's second groomsman. Ino stood the same way, whispering to Gaara, third groomsman, who was escorting Hinata, and up at the front, beside Tenten, stood Naruto, head groomsman, a half-excited half-sick expression on his face. The men all wore black tuxes with white shirts and cerulean bow ties; the king of Mizu stood out massively. They all shut up and looked up when Sakura arrived.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved loudly, before Tenten clamped a hand over his mouth. "Hey, Sakura-chan," he repeated in a whisper, "You look pretty."

"People are going to wonder how Inoichi-san spawned a pink-haired child," Gaara remarked wryly. They all grinned as Canon ended and the wedding march began.

"Okay," Tenten gave Sakura thumbs-up, "Here we go."

The groomsmen and bridesmaids parted ways, entering through side doors. Sakura took deep breaths, and Inoichi put a comforting hand on her arm.

"Calm down, Sakura," he grinned down at her. "It'll be over in minutes, you'll see."

Sakura sighed. "I hope you're right."

The double gold doors in front of them opened, and Sakura cursed her (pretty) crystal shoes as she measured the red carpet in between the bride's side and the groom's side. To her, it looked about a mile long. Everybody in the white velvet benches stood, and Inoichi had to tug at her arm a little to get her moving.

Sasuke stood at the end of the carpet, looking gorgeous, bored and a little nervous. Behind him, up the stairs and behind the wrought silver fencing, stood Naruto, Neji and Gaara, in that order. Opposite them stood Tenten, Ino and Hinata. In the front, on the groom's side, sat Fugaku and Mikoto, the latter in a navy silk dress with a black veil over her face. On the bride's side was the characteristic big hair of Yamanaka Amara, the queen of Mizu, her long, rich chestnut curls bouncing, wearing a crimson cocktail gown that stood out massively in the pale decor.

Behind her aunt was--Sakura's heart stopped--the fiery red hair of her mother, tears in her eyes, her pale face flushed pink in joy, smoothing down the front of her champagne-colored gown as she stood. Her father's silver locks, drawing close to almost white despite his young age, were visible behind her mother's piled up curls, though Sakura could only spot one dark green eye, because of the sheer height and width of Nadeshiko's hair. All three smiled at her in pride and joy, as Inoichi solemnly as they made their way towards the priest.

"I told your father," Inoichi whispered to her in an undertone, "That this moment should be his."

Sakura's eyes watered as they trailed to the proud, happy face of her father. "What did papa say?"

"He said seeing his little girl married to the prince of Honoo was enough. Make him proud, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl nodded subtly as Inoichi gave her hand to Sasuke. The prince's eyebrow raised at the veil over her face, but gave an approving look at the extremely expensive wedding gown and escorted her up to the pedestal, where a white-clad priest was waiting. Sasuke himself was breathtakingly handsome in his crisp black tuxedo, and while most of her mind was still resenting him, a part of it hoped she looked as good as he did. Sakura handed her bouquet to Tenten, before linking hands with Sasuke.

"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today…"

Sakura took deep breaths, eyes angling upwards at her fiancé. To her surprise, he was as equally enraptured by her and she was by him. Score, Sakura, she mused gleefully. You look better than he does because you're a girl.

She almost grinned.

"Do you, Uchiha Sasuke, take Yamanaka Sakura to be your wedded wife, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

Pause.

"I do," he said quietly.

"And do you, Yamanaka Sakura, take Uchiha Sasuke to be your wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

She seriously contemplated spitting NO into his face, before deciding she would probably die for that and nodding, "Yes, I do."

"It is my honor to announce Uchiha Sasuke and Yamanaka Sakura, under the eyes of God, bound in holy matrimony, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Tentatively, almost hesitantly, Sasuke reached up steady fingers and lifted the shorter veil from its position in front of her face. His breath caught as her emerald eyes met his, a bland, contemplative expression on his face. She stared up at him, before realizing his reluctance was probably due to the fact that he likely knew exactly what she was thinking and precisely how much she hated him at that moment. With a pause and a quick glance at the audience, Sakura gave him a tiny, subtle nod for her mother's sake, and slowly, his lips descended upon hers in a simple, chaste kiss.

The audience erupted into polite applause, until Ino and Naruto decided to hell with it, they were going for it, and cheered, whooped and whistled loudly, all whilst waving their arms and jumping up and down. Deciding it was too good an opportunity to pass, the rest of the wedding-goers erupted into hoots, howls and mad laughter, to the obvious mortification of Uchiha Mikoto.

"Sakura, sweetheart," Nadeshiko stood up, crying, as she snatched her daughter from Sasuke, "Mo--auntie is so proud of you. Give a kiss, darling?"

Sakura gave her a massive hug instead.

"Thank you for coming, mama," she whispered in her ear, "Thanks for letting me come." She moved to the side and hugged her father as well. "Thanks, papa."

The Harunos smiled and released their daughter, who was immediately borne away in a wave of girls and congratulations.

"Throw the bouquet!" the entire female audience demanded. Sakura blushed.

"Um, after the reception…"

"Screw it, Forehead Girl," Ino snarled, dragging a bemused Gaara behind her, "Come over here and throw it now."

Tenten smiled and handed the newlywed her bouquet, before accosting Neji and disappearing as their bickering restarted. With a false sigh, Sakura lifted the hem of her dress and, with a little support from her fiancé--husband, stood backwards on top of one of the benches. All the single women in the audience gathered behind her, reaching, jumping and shouting cheerfully.

"Okay," the pink-haired girl locked eyes with her mother and aunt, giving them a massive grin, "Here it comes!"

The bouquet sailed through the air. Hands reached, girls screamed…and then it landed.

Tenten stared at the flowers in her hands a little contemplatively, having been caught in the face with the mass mid-cuss. The Hyuuga beside her frowned before plucking the bouquet out of his fiancée's hands and glaring at it viciously.

"We've already settled this," he deadpanned, "We don't need your fateful insistence." He grabbed Tenten by the waist and made to storm off.

"Ino!"

The blonde looked up. A massive white bouquet flew into her face. Grappling with it, she looked around to see her sister waving and being dragged off.

"Gaara!" the brunette shouted, giving the redhead a thumbs-up sign, "Go for it!"

Gaara almost snorted as Tenten disappeared.

"Let's go."

Ino coughed, wondering whether or not to bring the flowers with them. "Um, okay."

.-.-.-.-.

"Hey," Sakura caught up with her cousins during the last fifteen minutes of the reception, when all the food had been swept away and slightly drunk nobility had loosened up and started giggling and dancing. "We're leaving soon," the bride told Tenten and Ino a little reluctantly, "See you in a few weeks, I guess."

"Where are you going?" Ino inquired, popping a strawberry into her mouth.

"Let's see," Sakura looked upwards as she counted off her fingers. "Cloud country for a week, then we're taking a cruise up to Mizu and taking a show train to Kusa, and if we have time we're going to follow a vaudeville circus before we circle back here." She paused. "Why?"

"In case we need to send you a missive," Tenten tapped her fingers on the table in blatantly boredom. "Just in case."

"We'll get your specific itinerary somewhere," Ino assured her. Sakura smiled wryly as Sasuke magically appeared at her side, followed immediately by his father's booming announcement that the bride and the groom would be leaving for their honeymoon, and would everybody please gather at the doors for a few moments.

"Let's go," the black-haired prince said slowly, casting a glance at Tenten. The brunette stared right back. Sakura sighed, and let herself be led away with one final backwards wave at her cousins. Tenten made to follow, but Ino held her back, waving away Neji and Gaara, instead pulling her out of the grand ballroom, through to the crystal ballroom, out of the entire wing and towards their quarters.

"I get the whole room to myself now," Ino chirped as she flew, "Awesome."

"Okay," Tenten replied smoothly, "You dragged me away, now what is this about?"

"We need to talk. About the whole Sasuke thing."

Tenten frowned.

"About what?"

"About when you're going to tell him. And how." The blonde frowned, reaching the door. "Something weird is going on with that kid and I don't want you to set off the bomb before it's supposed to go."

With that, the blonde shoved her sister inside, and locked the door.

.-.-.-.-.

This probably won't be updated for a while, because...-blushes-...school started for me and, as a super AP nerd running up and down stairs all day on four-inch heels, I've gotta put a LOT of concentration into what I do there, and my school work. So...yeah.

Has anyone seen my beta? Where did you go, Kerry? Where did you go?

Review, please!