One:

The morning sun slowly rose higher into the ocean blue sky, with only silver white clouds slowly curling and rolling across the cerulean color. The morning larks were already singing their songs of happiness and love while creatures of nature were going about their normal routine.

It was the beginning of a beautiful and bright day.

The Haruno Clan was a small family but well known by the head of the Clan, Haruno Daisuka; Suka for short. Suka had once been Shinobi for the Fire Country and once was a close friend of the Third Hokage. He had served as a bodyguard once and had saved the young son of the Hokage from bandits long ago. But now he was retired after a terrible leg wound that left him with a limp. Now he lived with his family in the countryside of Fire, only a few miles from Konoha Village. He was married to a beautiful maiden and had bore no sons, but one daughter. A daughter he loved more than life itself.

Haruno Sakura was now 18 years old and of the age to become a bride. She wasn't thrilled about it, but she kept it to herself. It was a custom of the Country's to not complain about what they are given, especially if they were women. Women did not have very many rights these days, and mostly all didn't care about complaining. Except Sakura, but she only complained to her father, who only laughed.
She, herself, was a good-looking girl, beautiful in the eyes of many men; mostly the hands that worked on the Clan's home grounds. She had beautiful, long cherry blossom pink hair, spilling down in silky locks around her waist and the greenest eyes, the colors of leaves. Her face was still very young though, and she was still developing. But as of now, she was still good looking.

As of now, Sakura was reading a book, studying for her big test that she would be taking that day. She was trying to memorize all of the skills of being a housewife, which she found very dull. She was going to meet a matchmaker today, along with several other girls her age, to see if she was bride material. And if she was, the matchmaker would find a match for her; would find a husband for her.

"Hmm. This is easy. I can do all of this." Sakura said softly as she looked through the books. She then looked out her window, noting how high the sun as getting now. She knew she needed to start getting ready. This was her big day, though she wasn't too thrilled. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do this but her parents did. So that's why she was doing it. Without a word, Sakura climbed out of her bed and began pulling out her clothes she was going to wear to the village. She made sure to wear something nice, even though she was going to change out of it once she got to the village. She didn't pull her hair up, but did put her red headband in to keep her bangs from falling in her eyes.

As soon as she was dressed, she went to the kitchen and began to prepare a pot of tea, but already found the pot over the electric stove. Sakura smiled, shaking her head. She knew that her mother had already started the tea and knew that if she hadn't done it, her daughter would have made herself late by trying to prepare the pot of tea for Suka. So with her pretty smile, Sakura grabbed the pot and a teacup and went out into the gardens to try and locate her father.

It was the usual place he spent his hours, the cherry orchard. It was his and Sakura's favorite spot on their land. And that's where she found him. Daisuka was kneeling in the green grass, meditating under their favorite cherry tree, which was the biggest in the orchard. The cherry blossoms were just barely started to bloom in the cherry trees. They were pink as Sakura's hair and that was probably why Suka was there.

"Father," Sakura said gently as she went over to him. "It's time for your morning tea."

Suka's lips curved upward into a gentle smile before he opened his eyes and looked up at her. He watched her as she bent down next to him and poured him the tea. "Sakura, you should be on your way to the village. It is a big day for you." He told her, smiling still. Sakura just shook her heads as she held out the cup for him take. "I know. But I wanted to make sure you got your tea. The medic nin said you're to drink two cups of tea, twice a day. One in the morning and one at night." She told him.
"Hmm." Suka hummed with pleasantly. "My little Cherry, you mustn't worry about me right now. Hurry and get to town. It's up to you to uphold our family tree and our honor." He saw her look away with a sigh. He knew she wasn't pleased to hear that but she wanted to please him. He sighed as he reached over and took her hand. "Sakura, you are not pleased with this arrangement." He said it more a question.

Sakura looked up at him, faintly smiling. "Not really. I really hoped that I didn't have to meet a matchmaker. Arranged marriages aren't really my idea of finding love." She told him.

Suka slowly shook his head as he linked his fingers with hers. "Sakura, as much as I want you to find love of your own, it is tradition to go through the matchmaking process. Our clan is small and it will fade if we don't join together with a bigger clan. And only the matchmaker can match a son and daughter from two different clans." He gently pushed his daughter's bangs out of her green eyes. "When matched up with a heir, Cherry, you may find love. Just be patient." He told her.

Sakura sighed but nodded. "All right. I'll try, father." She told him.

"You should go now." Daisuka said softly pushing her away. "The matchmaker is not a patient woman. And you must look like a bride for her." He said, watching Sakura stand up. He smiled as he looked her over. "You will be the most beautiful."

Sakura smiled at him as she backed away from him. "Thanks, dad. Bye!" And she turned and ran away from him.

Not long, Sakura arrived in the Konoha Village, hurrying over to a large building, which was alive with activity. There were already girls there waiting, ready to see the matchmaker. Their mothers close by, helping them keeping beautiful. Sakura's own mother, Haruno Rukia, was waiting impatiently for her, along with some of their female hands. They all looked relieved when she came hurrying towards them. Rukia sighed in relief. "Oh, it's about time." She then frowned seeing leaves in her daughter's hair. "And you went through the trees, didn't you?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose at her mother. "Mom, I was making sure dad got his tea. And I took a short cut on getting here." She complained. Rukia just shook her head as she grabbed her daughter's arm and dragged her inside to get ready.

Once inside, Sakura was pushed into a bath and forced to wash herself and her hair. She was given specialized shampoos for her hair and soap to make herself very clean and to smell good. After that, she dried herself and was pushed into another room where a Kimono was shoved into her arms and she received an order to put it on by one of the dressers. Sakura pulled a face but did what she was told. She didn't get it all the way on when a few of the dressers decided that she needed help and began roughly pulling it together. Once she was dressed, she was shoved into a chair where maids beginning to roughly brush her hair. Much to her discomfort, her hair was yanked and pulled until she had tears in her eyes. She tried to complain but a woman told her to shut up and let them do their work. So she listened.

Almost an hour later, she was done. The maids had done up her hair, makeup and helped her dress completely. When she was shoved into a room full of other young women, fully dressed. Now, Sakura was dressed in a beautiful red and pink kimono with cherry blossoms all over a tree. A red comb with an orchid was stuck in her hair to keep the bun from falling out. She truly did look like a bride.

Sakura couldn't help but look around at the many girls in the room. She had never seen so many beautiful kimonos in her life. Some were of many colors, others were the same. And some were definitely more richly like than her own. She was almost the only one wearing a pink kimono though.

"Oh, look. It's Forehead." A beautiful blonde young woman said as soon as she spotted Sakura. She walked over, flaunting her richly blonde hair, which was only half down. She was dressed in a light blue kimono with water designs in it.

Sakura, however, frowned when she saw her but then shook her head, forcing a smile. "Hey, Ino-pig." She said coolly. "I see you're here wasting your time."

Ino glared at her, while a few other young women shook their heads. "Me? Wasting my time? Ha! Look who's talking, billboard! No man would ever want your big forehead! They'll probably just use it for memos to stick on!" She snapped. Both girls glared at one another, while their mothers tried to shush them.
"Hey, Sakura, Ino. It's good to see that you two haven't changed too much." A pretty black haired girl said with two buns on both sides of her head. She was wearing a silver and red kimono with an attractive autumn design on it.
Sakura folded her arms as she turned away from Ino but then shrugged to her. "Hello, Tenten." She paused to look a timid looking girl with violate colored hair next to the first. "Hinata. So you're here too, huh."

Both girls nodded, though the timid one, Hinata looked extremely worried, twiddling her fingers and touching her bottom lip as she looked nervously around. "Ye-yes. I…I'm a little ex-excited that we're getting ma-matched up today. But nervous." She said in a quiet voice.
Sakura didn't reply while Ino just smirked softly. "You're always nervous, Hinata. But I'm excited too! I don't really see a point of me seeing a matchmaker. Because I know that I'm going to be paired up with a Uchiha! I just hope it's going to be that really hot one, Uchiha Sasuke! We'd make a perfect pair!" She said happily.
Sakura glared even harder at Ino, her face starting to turn red with rage. In truth, she had her eyes on that one as well. Everyone knew that the Uchiha clan was one of the most powerful clans in the Fire Country. There were many sons in the Uchiha clan, though it was said that one of the oldest sons was gone, banished for being a fool. But there was only one left that needed to be matched up and that was the youngest, Sasuke. Sakura had hoped that she could match up with Sasuke. He was about her age, as well. "As if, Ino-pig! I'll be the one who gets Sasuke!" She said loudly. Again they glared at one another, fire dancing in their eyes as they glared murderously at each other.

But before a fight could break out, the door to the matchmaker's private chambers slammed open and a very beautiful woman with long blond hair and vicious blue eyes entered. She was garbed in a gray kimono, but was made of fine fabric. Right behind her, was a lovely black haired woman wearing a gentle brown kimono, looking just as pretty. She was carrying a clipboard in her arms.
"All right!" The blonde woman said in a loud, clear voice. "Let's get started. When I call your name, come inside immediately. No speaking unless I say something to you first!" No one replied because they were staring wide eyed at her. She was clearly the kind you did not want to mess around with. "Good! Now, first one up." The matchmaker pointed to her assistant, who nodded as she looked at the clipboard. She was quiet for a moment as she looked at the names before tapping the paper with one finger.

"First one is, Hyuuga Hinata."

The timid young woman flinched as if someone had snapped a whip at her before she shivered and moved forward, her face red with a blush and she looked like she was going to cry in fear. Sakura gave her a look of encouragement who still looked afraid as she disappeared inside the chambers. The door slammed shut as the matchmaker and her assistant followed her.

It was a long time before the door open again and she came back out, her face was pale while her eyes wide with shock and fear. She looked extremely flustered as she hurried back to the girls she had been with, muttering under her breath, sounding way too confused and afraid. Once she joined the girls, they were trying to get Hinata to tell them what happened and who she had been paired up with, but the poor girl stumbled over her words that they didn't understand what she said. The next one was a girl Sakura didn't even know. It was like that for a while.

Sakura just stood in silence, playing with her fingers as she tried to think of what was going to happen. She really hoped that she would be matched up with Uchiha Sasuke. But what if she wasn't? Who else would she get? What other clans were there anyway? She didn't know very many. She never really paid attention them very much.
There were only a few clans she knew of. The Uchiha clan of course, was one of them. No one didn't know about that family. Then there was Hinata's clan, the Hyuuga Clan. There was another clan called the Lee-Maito, which was actually built up by two clans. She didn't know too much about that one though. Then there was the Namikaze Clan, which was said to be a very highly ranked clan. She didn't know much about them either. Only that they were not easy to get paired up with. But what other clans were there that was available for matching?

"Haruno Sakura."

Sakura's attention immediately snapped back to reality as soon as she heard her name. She quickly jumped to her feet and rose a hand into the air. "Here!" She called mindlessly. She was already moving forward towards the matchmaker, who was now glaring at her. Hesitantly, the pink haired girl slowed her pace, realizing that she did something wrong. She caught Ino sniggering and that just angered her even more. But she knew if she said anything, she would get into more trouble.

So she went through the door way without another word, followed by the matchmaker and her assistant, who slammed the door shut, making her jump.

"All right." The matchmaker began as she moved across the room to where Sakura had placed herself. "Shizune, make sure you get everything like I told you." She said sternly.
The assistant nodded once before bowing her head in great respect for the matchmaker. "Yes, Lady Tsunade-sama." She turned to Sakura, who was looking between both of them in curiosity. "State your name, your clan and your age, please." She said pleasantly.

Sakura nodded as she folded her hands together, feeling only a little nervous. She didn't like the matchmaker too much, for the woman sounded very onry and didn't seem like the kind that she might get along with. "My name is Haruno Sakura, daughter of Haruno Daisuka and Rukia. I am 18 years old, ma-am." She said as politely as she could.

The assistant nodded as she jotted it down on the clipboard while the matchmaker, Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she looked her over. Her piercing blue eyes seemed to be searching for something out of place but then she found it. She lifted her head up higher as she moved closer. "Stand up tall." She ordered. Sakura quickly did what she was told and stood up as straight as she could. Tsunade then began to circle her, still looking her over. Her eyes paused on the pink haired girl's forehead, making her shift uncomfortably. "Hmm. Such a large forehead.. Not too common." She smirked when she saw Sakura grimace. "But you're pretty nonetheless." She remarked and that seemed to help a little. "Do you like children?"

Sakura looked a little surprised but then nodded as she looked directly at the matchmaker. "Yes, I suppose I do. They can be a little troublesome, though. I was when I was a child. At least that's what my father told me. But he still loved me the same. Children are fun to play with." She said smiling a little.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes in thought, though it looked like she was a little annoyed with such a long answer. "How many children are you going to have?"

Sakura felt a little flustered by the question, especially on how personal they were but she had an answer anyway. "I suppose it would depend on the situation, ma-am." She said simply. She saw both of the women in the room with her frown in confusion, one actually raising her eyebrow. She knew that she had better hurry and give a clearer answer than she had just given her. "Oh, well, it depends on the first child. If the child was to be a perfect angel, then yes. I would like more than one child. But if they were a hellraiser, I'll probably debate on it."

"Hmm." The matchmaker hummed, but Sakura could tell that she was amused by the answer. Even the assistant thought it was funny. She was smiling behind the clipboard and shaking her head. "Shizune, what is the answer that all of the other young women having been giving us?" The matchmaker asked, waving a hand towards her.

"Oh, the correct answer is that it depended on how many the husband would want." Shizune told Sakura.

Sakura winced but relaxed again when Tsunade just waved her hand as if waving away her embarrassment. "The answer will do, though." She said simply before going back to looking at Sakura, her eyes pausing down at her thighs. That really made the pink haired girl uneasy. "You are a virgin, are you not?"

"Wha-what?!" Sakura asked flabbergasted, her face turning hot red. "I'm a wha-what?"

Tsunade smirked, rolling her eyes. "That answers my question." She paused moving towards the table now. "Sit down and pour us some tea." She ordered. Sakura nodded quickly and did so. She paused over the two cups before looking at Shizune with such curiousity. "Would you like some tea too?"
The question seemed to surprise Shizune, for she stepped back, eyes lit up. She even held out the clipboard as if using it as a shield. Her eyes flickering over to see if Tsunade was ready to explode but to her surprise, the blonde woman rose her eyebrow at her assistant. "Well, Shizune? Answer her. Do you want a cup?" She asked, in a strict tone. The assistant quickly shook her head, afraid that if she did say yes, she might get yelled at. "N-no….thank you."

Sakura nodded, glancing questionably at Tsunade but pushed the cup towards her anyway. The Matchmaker just turned her eyes back onto her as she took the tea and sipped it. "Can you cook? Sew? Mend clothing? Any type of home economics?" She asked, still watching her carefully.

Sakura slowly nodded as she sipped her own tea before setting it down. "Yes, ma-am. I've learned from my mother. Once, we made this beautiful kimono for last year's spring festival and it was just so….."

"Yes or no would do." Tsunade said impatiently cutting her off. "I can see you like to talk. In my opinion, that's fine. But in a man's opinion, you should be silent. A woman is to be seen, not heard. When you speak, do it only when you are asked a question. Never bore your husband about how your day went. A woman who speaks too much is weak." She told her strictly.

Sakura slowly nodded but nodded. "I'm sorry."

Again Tsunade shook her head before tilting her head. "If given a husband, what qualities shall he have?"

Sakura looked very thoughtful at the question. She really hadn't thought too much about that. She probably should have. She wasn't sure how to answer. But then she nodded, looking directly at Tsunade. "The man I am to marry shall probably be a hard worker, strict but kind about certain things. Um, I don't mind if he is a little laid back but knows how to keep it a limit." She then shook her head, looking a little confused. "I don't know. It's not easy trying to think of a man's qualities. I think the most I want in a relationship is love. I just want love. I really don't like the idea of an arranged marriage. Especially with a total stranger." She told the woman.

Now Tsunade was giving her a dull look as she tapped her nails on the table. "Love?" She asked skeptically. "Do you honestly think that love will bring your family true honor?"

Sakura was taken aback by that reaction. But she nodded. She believed in love the most. It was the passion her parents hand that encouraged her. "I do. Love is…."

"Love is a waste of time! It's nothing but trouble! It will not bring honor to your family, Haruno Sakura. It brings only pain and suffering." Tsunade said angrily. Sakura could immediately tell that something had happened this woman, something bad. She wondered exactly why the woman would see love as a troubling matter. "No man cares about love. Love has nothing to do with matchmaking. Change your request for love or do not find honor." The matchmaker said.

Sakura still looked flabbergasted but shook her head slowly. She did not believe that for a fact. Love was not pain or dishonorable. It was something she wanted the most. The perfect love. The kind that her parents shared with one another. "I…..I can't change it, Lady Tsunade-sama. I want the love." She saw Shizune wince and knew that had been a bad thing to say.

The matchmaker's lip curled back a little before she stood up, slowly. "Miss Haruno," She said pointing towards the door. "There is no match for foolish girls who spend their time dreaming about love. If you truly want love, I would suggest you take a Hatake as a husband! They are fools who cherish love as much as you do. But I would not advise it. They are most dishonorable, an embarrassment in society! Now, why don't you leave, you foolish girl!" She snapped.

Sakura flinched but quickly stood up and hurried towards the door, tears blinding her vision as she rushed out of the room. She saw a few surprised people staring after her as she pushed the door open, but she did not pay any attention to them at all. She just hurried out of the building and started on her way home, not waiting for her mother.