Chapter Twenty-Three: The Wedding

Hey guys, this is the very last chapter and then I will probably start working on (Keiko II) Keiko Goes Back In Time tomorrow. I really hope that you enjoy the conclusion to Keiko's first great adventure story! A very special thanks again to YuiHeart for creating such a wonderful character in the first place.

"Surprise!" everybody exclaimed once Sasuke and Sakura came through the front door and Naruto quickly snapped a picture of her.

"Happy birthday Sakura." He began. "Boy, you should really see the look on your face. You were really surprised." He told her as Titiana raced over to her and leapt on top of her.

"Titiana get down!" her mother instructed before she clapped her hands together loudly and the puppy started to whimper while slowly placing all four paws down on top of the ground. "Alright everybody enjoy the party. And there are refreshments on the table for anybody that wants them." She said before she reached down and hoisted the puppy up inside of her arms. "I think until everybody goes home I'm going to go ahead and put you in the bedroom you little troublemaker you." She told her before she turned around and carried her back down the hallway.

Naruto stared at Hinata. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was. "Why don't you ask her to dance?" Keiko suggested.

"I can't." he began. "I don't know how." He admitted as Sakura giggled.

"It isn't that hard to do silly. It's sort of like fighting but it's going in time of the music." She explained.

"I'm afraid that I still don't understand." He began. "Do you mind showing me Sakura?" he questioned her.

"Sure." She replied with a grin before she, Naruto, and Hinata all started dancing together and Sasuke simply just smiled at them before he turned over to glance down at Keiko.

"Hey, can I talk to you alone for a second before I do the you-know-what?" he asked her as she looked up at him and nodded.

"Sure Sasuke-Kun." She replied before he reached down towards her and hoisted her up inside his arms and then carried her out to the front porch and afterwards sat her down on top of his lap before he took a deep breath.

"There's something very serious that I have to talk to you about." He began.

"What's that?" Keiko wondered.

"I'm going to be going away very soon and I'm not sure when I'll be coming back." He told her.

"What!?" Keiko questioned in a gasp while widening her eyes with complete and utter astonishment. "What do you mean!? Are you trying to make me cry again!?" she hollered.

"No darling of course not." He replied with a quick shake of his head. "It's just that I have decided that my best chance of redemption is joining the Anbu Black Ops." He told her.

"But that's extremely dangerous and you could get hurt!" she cried.

"I would rather it be me than you. And Orochimaru isn't going to stop trying to hurt you until he's destroyed. Don't worry Keiko, I have been trained for this." He assured her. "Besides, I'm always going to be with you and I got you something to prove it." He told her while he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a silver locket that had her name written a crossed the front of it. "Keiko Haruno, consider this locket to be a reminder of the fact that no matter where we are, you will always have my heart." He told her when suddenly Keiko felt herself starting to cry tears of joy.

"It's so beautiful Sasuke-Kun." She began. "I love it." She told him while she quickly placed it around her neck.

"And I love you." He told her before he wrapped his arms around her and tightly embraced her.

"I love you too." She told him while he planted a kiss on top of her cheek. Sasuke smiled at her before slowly letting go of her.

"Come on then, let's go back inside so I can go ahead and propose to your sister." He told her as he took her hand and walked her back inside. "May I please have everybody's attention?" he questioned while letting go of Keiko's hand and walking into the center of the room before turning around to face her as the music stopped. Keiko quickly grabbed her cellphone to videotape the proposal as Sasuke got down to one knee and pulled out the box out of his pocket that contained the ring inside of it. "Sakura Haruno, I love you more than anything in the world. And I've always loved your little sister like she was my own. So what do you say now that we make it official?" he wondered while he popped the lid open with his thumb. "Will you marry me?" he questioned her.

Sakura couldn't feel any words come out of her mouth as tears of joy silently rolled down her cheeks so she just simply nodded at him. Everybody else broke out into cheers and applause while Sasuke slid the ring onto her finger and then he wrapped his arms around her and tightly embraced her before placing both of his hands upon her cheeks and kissing her passionately. Meanwhile Naruto and Hinata grabbed ahold of each other's hands while looking at each other in the eyes and blushing.

…

The day of the wedding quickly approached. However as soon as he had gotten to the church, Sasuke found that he was having some last-minute jitters and refused to leave the men's restroom. That's when suddenly Naruto entered the room. "Sasuke are you alright man? We're going to be starting any minute now." He told him as he heaved a light sigh and slowly glanced up at him.

"I know Naruto, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm a bit nervous about becoming a brother again since I wasn't very good at it the first time." He told him but Naruto just simply shook his head at him.

"That's not what Keiko thinks." He told him. "And that's not what Itachi thought either. Didn't you ever read the letter that Sachi gave you?" he questioned as Sasuke quickly dug it out of his pocket and realized that he hadn't and that sure enough the envelope was addressed to him. "She told me all about it and I think that now would be the perfect time to read it." He told him before he turned around and left him alone once again.

Sasuke continued to stare at the envelope before he tore it open and let the letter unfold inside of his hands and read it silently to himself.

Dear Sasuke,

If you are reading this is it means that unfortunately I am no longer with you, and it also probably means that Sachi gave it to you. Yes, it's more unfortunate for me knowing that I'm about to become a father but I will never be around to see her being born or getting a chance to hold her inside my arms and tell her how much I love her. You see, as soon as my wife Aiko and I knew that she was going to be a girl we decided to give her name since it means fortunate and I hope and pray that one day that she will be fortunate enough to have you in her life. Please know that I am not angry with you for what I know that you are about to do. You have always meant the world to me Sasuke and I love you more than life itself and I always will. I hope that you will come to know and love my daughter as much as I love you both and be there for her like I really wish I could. Take care of her Sasuke.

All my love,

Your brother, Itachi

Sasuke suddenly felt himself tearing up before Naruto stuck his head in the crack of the door. "Come on Sasuke, hurry up! Everybody is already here!" he exclaimed as Sasuke sniffed, wiped away his tears, and then shoved the letter back inside of his pocket before racing back out of the restroom.

…..

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride." The minister said once Sasuke and Sakura had finished saying their vows and presenting each other with their wedding bands. The two newlyweds exchanged warm and loving smiles before Sasuke lifted her veil and then tossed it over her shoulders and then afterwards placed a tender hand to her cheek and kissed her lips while everybody cheered and applauded for them.

After the ceremony Keiko waited for them outside the church wearing her silky pink flower girl dress with matching ribbons tied up in her hair and of course her new locket around her neck. She smiled as she watched Sasuke and Sakura exit the church and then her eyes turned white as she made a light breeze blow and then with a snap of her finger all of the cherry blossom leaves from the trees started blowing off them and circling and spiraling around the bride and groom while they kissed passionately on top of the steps.

A few moments later they broke apart and Sasuke slowly started walking down the steps towards Keiko as Sakura grinned and then turned around before tossing her bouquet of flowers over her shoulders. Sasuke picked up Keiko and lifted her up in the air so that she could catch them and then he turned to smile down at her while Sakura started walking over to them as well.

"You know Keiko, your name might mean lucky and blessed and child,.. but I still feel like Sakura and I are the lucky ones." He told her with a grin before placing a kiss on her cheek and then all three of them started going back towards the parking lot happily knowing that they would be going to the reception afterwards and they were finally a family.

And they all lived happily ever after,… or did they? Stay tuned for part two.