Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi. Nope. Not mine.

A/N: Hisashiburi, minna-san! I've been very busy with my studies these days and I managed to make some time in updating my story. Forgive me for not being able to update, I promise, the next chapters will be good!

For now, please read and enjoy my next chappie!

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Chapter 14: And the groom said – NO!

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"It's nice to see you again, Hyuuga Neji."

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The brown-haired Hyuuga cursed inwardly as the newcomer's tall frame overpowered him in terms of height. Behind him, Lee sighed in relief and hurriedly addressed the person.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

The silver-haired literature teacher cocked his head to one side. Earlier, he was standing in front of an antique stall that was selling previous editions of Icha Icha Paradise when he heard a commotion coming from the Marriage Booth. He decided to check it afterwards and eventually saw Neji about to pound the living daylights out of Lee.

"Hmm…what do we have here? A fight in the middle of the festival?" Kakashi asked dryly. The festival was about to reach its end and now this kid wants to destroy everything? Talk about not being disciplined at an early age.

"This is none of your business, Kakashi-sensei," Neji answered cryptically. Great, he was going to be apprehended by a teacher. He gritted his teeth. Sakura would certainly pay for this humiliation.

The droopy-eyed ninja gave a dismissive wave. "I'm afraid this is my business, Hyuuga Neji-kun. As one of the coordinators of this festival, our main goal is to preserve order and keep the festival in its top shape. Capiche?"

Neji cursed inwardly. The least thing he ever wanted to do right now was to mess with a teacher. Bowing his head stiffly, he apologized, "I understand, Kakashi-sensei. I promise I wouldn't try to cause trouble again."

"All right, I forgive you. Now be on your merry way and enjoy the festival."

The brown-haired Hyuuga bowed his head again then turned to walk away from the stall. Kakashi sighed then turned to the cowering Lee. "Are you all right, Lee? You look like you're about to collapse from fright."

The bowl-cut runner shook his head. "Don't worry, I-I'm fine Kakashi-sensei. I'm just feeling woozy that's all."

"Mm…" Kakashi mused. He placed a hand on the poor boy's forehead. "You look pale. Why don't you drop by at the clinic and get some rest? Leave the Marriage Booth to me."

"Ah…but…" Lee hesitated. The literature teacher glared at him and he winced. "All right! I'll leave the rest to you, Kakashi-sensei! Just don't do anything suspicious around here, ok? I don't want Anko-sensei to kick my ass once she finds out that I allowed you to take over the booth."

"Nah. Don't worry about such nonsense! Now run along like a good little boy," Kakashi grabbed the boy's shoulders then pushed him rather forcefully out of the stall. Lee walked away all the while cradling his aching head. He developed a severe bout of headache due to the previous events.

After Lee left, Kakashi tapped a finger while looking around the entire stall. "Hmm…now what should I do first?" he asked himself. He caught sight of a white ceremonial robe hanging next to a bouquet of white roses. An idea popped inside his head. "I know!"

He grabbed the ceremonial robe and eagerly slipped it on. Twirling around in a circular motion, he let the lower hem of the robe drop in cascading waves. Afterwards, he took his place behind the stall.

"Now," he said while grinning. "Let's find some innocent couple to play with."

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"That booth should be around here somewhere," Sasuke said to himself as he and Sakura walked briskly, all the while surveying each and every stall they passed along the way.

On the other hand, the pink girl in front of him was walking noticeably slow. From the looks of her flushed face and hunched shoulders, Sasuke had only one thing in mind.

They're lost.

"Anou," Sakura began sheepishly. She was afraid to look at him in the eye. Sasuke sighed as he tried to keep a rein on his temper. Patience is a virtue… "We're lost…aren't we?" he asked slowly with added gentleness. There was no sense in letting Sakura see his impatient side.

Sakura stuck out her tongue in a sheepish yet playful gesture. "G-Gomene, Sasuke-san. I forgot to tell you that I'm a lousy person when it comes to directions."

Sasuke snapped. "You should have said so earlier! Sheeessshh…" Running his fingers through his hair nervously --- the gesture Itachi reminded Sakura of, he cursed silently. There was no other choice.

"All right, I'll lead. We'll just ask for directions," he said in a clipped tone. He was about to walk when he remembered something important. Quickly, he turned to Sakura. "On second thought, since I'll be the one to lead the way, why don't you'll be the one to ask for directions instead?"

The pink-haired girl looked at him with confusion in her eyes. Sasuke sighed and added, "If I'll be the one to ask for directions, there's a big possibility that we'll get mobbed by infatuated fan girls. Surely you don't want that to happen, right?"

Instead of answering, Sakura nodded fervently. Sasuke also nodded and together, they went on their way.

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6:45 PM

The festival was nearing its end and the school bell rang, indicating that the fireworks would be starting in a few minutes. As for the rest, Tenten and Naruto still continued their search for their missing friend while Neji and his band of bullies were also doing the same thing. On the other side of the school, Itachi and Kisame were surveying some of the stalls, looking for something rare and exotic to buy.

Meanwhile, Sasuke let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they were able to locate the whereabouts of the Marriage Booth. Standing in front of the stall, he turned to Sakura. "Well, here we are. Sorry if I led you earlier into a wild goose chase."

"N-no it's alright," Sakura answered. She ran a hand shyly along the hem of her wedding veil. Slightly disappointed because of her abrupt disappearance, she allowed herself a comforting smile. "The festival is nearing its end, so I…"

The raven-haired teen swallowed. "You know, I can see in your eyes that you're disappointed. Because your pretend wedding with Hyuuga was hastily stopped." When he saw the hurt in her eyes he sighed again. Hesitatingly, he put a hand on her shoulder. "I-I'm…uh…forgive me for being rude but…"

"Don't worry, Sasuke-san. I understand what you're trying to say," she smiled at him. She knew that he was comforting her in the only way he knew how. Never mind the rudeness, but if he changed even a slightest bit then that would no longer be him at all.

Sasuke gave a small smirk. "If you say so." He took a few steps away from her. "See you around, Haruno."

She gave a wave. "Thank you very much for everything Sasuke-san! And thank you for…"

"HOLD IT!"

Both teens stopped their goodbyes after hearing that sudden outburst. They turned their heads around and sweatdropped when they saw none other than Hatake Kakashi garbed in some fancy robe.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI?" they blurted out simultaneously.

"Wait! How did you know my sensei's name?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

"Well, he's my…I mean," Sasuke coughed. "He was once Itachi-nisan's homeroom teacher."

"Oh."

Kakashi grinned at them. "I'm quite surprised. It's been a long time since I heard from an Uchiha. And Itachi-kun's younger brother no less! And what's this," he gestured towards Sakura, "You even brought Haruno-chan with you! And lo! Is that an engagement ring on your finger? Perfect timing! Are you guys ready for a Las Vegas type wedding?" he asked her.

The pink-haired girl blushed. "Uhm…yes, Kakashi-sensei. Actually I was waiting for my boyfriend to come back here to continue where we left off," Sakura answered.

"And I was about to leave," Sasuke added. He spun on his heel and started to walk away when a hand latched onto his arm. "What the hell do you want now…" he glared at his attacker, "…Kakashi?"

Kakashi was once again grinning at him. Sasuke suspected that he was up to no good. "Well now, that's not a good excuse for jilting a bride on her wedding day! Shame on you!"

The Uchiha's eyes widened. "What? Who's jilting who? And I'm not…"

His teacher pointed an accusing finger at him. "Nonsense! You of all people should understand the sanctity of a ceremony!" He DRAGGED Sasuke back to where Sakura was standing in front of the altar. Kakashi placed the younger man right next to her then stood at the back of the altar to face them.

The silver-haired adult raised both of his hands. "Well then, shall we begin the ceremony?"

"NNNNOOOO!" Sasuke screamed in protest.

Sakura was still stunned by the events so only Kakashi paid attention. "What is it, Uchiha-kun?" he asked dryly.

The raven-haired teen threw angry looks at their teacher. "First of all, I'm not the boyfriend she was talking about! And secondly," he added with a hint of annoyance, "I don't want to get married!"

"And your point is?"

"My point…? Well I…"

"Then that settles it!" Kakashi patted Sasuke on the head in a sympathetic way. "It's alright, poor boy. I understand that you're experiencing pre-wedding jitters right now. Don't worry, it happens all the time."

Sasuke's cheeks tinged pink. "Pre-wedding jitters? NO! You're missing the point here old man! I'm not afraid of this scam of yours! It's just that I…"

Sakura stared at the deranged boy next to her. "Sasuke-san…I think that's not a good…"

"A scam?" Kakashi laughed, his voice imitating those of an old cackling witch. He hid his cackle behind his hand. "My dear boy, I'm simply not here just to earn money from your pockets. I'm here to spread the love in your hearts!"

Sasuke glared angrily. "This sucks. I'm about to leave this place and you come barging in here, forcing me to attend…no, participate in some sham wedding! That's it. I'm out of here." He turned his back towards Kakashi and Sakura and started to walk away from the altar.

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He was a few meters away from the stall when he heard Kakashi speak. "And there he goes, deserting a lovely bride on her wedding day. I can understand runaway brides but runaway grooms? That's kinda weird. And unbelievable if you ask me."

What the hell?

He then heard Sakura's response. "Sasuke-san is not like that, Kakashi-sensei. He came all the way here from Sunagakure just to attend our festival. And he only came here because I…invited him."

"See? Aren't you the nice girl! But you've got a pompous arrogant boyfriend in return. Ah, the shame! The shame!" Kakashi placed a hand over his forehead dramatically. "Youngsters these days. If he dumped you on your wedding day, then that simply meant that the boy's gay. No wonder. The youngest son of the Uchiha clan's a closet homosexual. I wonder what'll his older brother Itachi say?"

'Homosexual? Gay? Who, me? No fucking way!' Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance. Was that old slimy pervert branding him as part of the third sex? Was he crazy? Does Kakashi really want to get himself killed? Well, if he wants to get killed right now then that's no problem either. Insulting Uchiha Sasuke's masculinity was a low blow to his ego. And some moldy aged pervert caused it.

Irritated that his ego and sexuality was deliberately put on the line, Sasuke walked back to the stall. At the altar, Kakashi continued spouting ego-breaking words to Sakura who, on the other hand, was protesting weakly that their teacher was getting the wrong idea.

"You don't understand, Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke-san is not my boyfriend and we're not…" Sakura trailed off when she saw the raven-haired teen standing a few feet away from her. She blinked. "S-Sasuke-san? I thought you left already."

Sasuke flinched at the sound of his name. He marched stiffly towards the altar, stopping in front of Sakura. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "And what do we have here? Back so soon, Uchiha-kun? Or did you leave something?" he inquired idly.

To their surprise, the young man grabbed Sakura's hand. Staring at the emerald band on her ring finger, Sasuke sighed. It was just a pretend wedding. Nothing more. Nothing less. "Nothing bad will happen," he told himself.

"Let's do this," he finally said.

"What?" Sakura asked, confusion marring her face. Kakashi eavesdropped on the conversation and was grinning madly. Sasuke knew that their literature teacher was relishing on his discomfort that he decided to give up and go with the flow.

He faced Sakura and cupped her chin with his free hand. He angled it upwards so that she was looking straight at him. "Look, I don't want to repeat things over and over again. So listen up." Sasuke took a deep breath then spoke again.

"We'll continue where we left off."

"What? Do you know what you're saying Sasuke-san?" Sakura screeched.

Sasuke ran a hand through his black tresses. "Of course I know! That's why we're going to do this in the first place. And besides, I'm already sick of this perverted," he pointed to Kakashi, "sicko dictating what I should or should not do! And no doubt even insulted my sexuality!"

Kakashi feigned innocence. "Did I sound that terrible? Oh my."

Sakura shook her head. "But it's wrong! I-I don't want this to happen, I just want Neji-kun to…"

Sasuke yanked her hard so that she slammed not so gently against his chest. "What…so now you prefer Neji-kun over me? I don't think so."

She squeaked in protest. "But Sasuke-san!"

Kakashi coughed. "Oh well… Anyways, are we going to have a wedding or not kiddos?"

The raven-haired teen stepped forward, his hand clamped around the girl's forearm. His expression was defiant. "We're going to have the wedding. And please make it quick."

The pretend priest coughed again then proceeds to make the necessary arrangements for the ceremony. He adjusted his robe, smoothed his hair, and opened his bible to whatever page he wanted then faced the hesitant couple.

"Shall we begin?"

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A/N: There you have it the awaited Chapter 14! Now that the tides have turned, what do you think will happen? Please give me your response after you read the excerpts of my next chappie:

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"…So now I'm going to ask the two of you." Kakashi took a glance at Sakura who was blushing prettily underneath her wedding veil. 'Might as well ask her first. If I'm going to ask the bratty kid, he'll shower me more of his irritating refusals.' He coughed for emphasis then faced the pink-haired teen.

"Haruno Sakura-chan," he began and saw her girl jumped in apprehension. A smirk crossed his face as he asked her the question often highlighted at real weddings. "Do you take this good-for-nothing, pretentious, ostentatious, portentous and stuck-up brat to be your lawfully wedded husband so-help-you-God?"

Sasuke snapped. "For the last time, I'm not a stuck-up!"

"I…" Sakura faltered. She was beginning to have second thoughts. Am I supposed to say yes?

Am I?

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So my dear readers, what do you think? Is she going to say yes? The outcome of the next chappie depends on your answers. So please think and answer carefully! By the way, thanks for the reviews, I'll try to come up with longer chapters next time. Ja!