Kakashi: Gifts
Kakashi was supremely grateful to all the kami that the wedding ceremony went off without a hitch despite the disparate crowd of guests attending. The geisha present were invaluable, smoothly steering those parties who were not on civil terms with one another so that they were never required to make polite conversation. The copy-nin suspected that the various summons present had something to do with the polite orderliness of the human guests: while the lizards, owls, weasels, toads, dogs and crows are impressive, as are the snakes, swallows, badgers, horses and shrews, the three massive dragons coiled around the trees just outside the wedding pavilion are a more effective deterrent to those interested in causing trouble. There are other summons visible as well –geese, giant moths, cranes, bats, slugs and a water tank containing sharks, eels and piranhas– but Kakashi was convinced there were more he couldn't see as well. Ame-chan had been right to warn him; the feeling of being watched, even by neutral eyes, made his shoulder blades itch.
Once the ceremony was completed, everyone was ushered into the dining hall for the trickiest part of the whole event: receiving the wedding gifts. Considering there were two daimyos, three kages, numerous diplomats and dozens of nobles in attendance on top of at least half of the Elemental Nations' most powerful ninja, this part would take a lot of hard work to survive without accidentally offending anyone.
The copy-nin was just grateful that, as the bride and highest ranking of the two of them, Ame would be responsible for receiving the gifts and thanking everyone appropriately. He just had to stand there in his new and extremely formal Hatake clan kimono, hakama and haori and say thank-you or bow at the appropriate intervals. As his input was not required he let himself slide into automatic and blanked out the first dozen gifts –from the daimyos and various representatives of absent daimyos– and was only jerked back into reality by the chorus of whispers that arose after the Rain delegate –Konan– handed over a land deed. It wasn't the first land deed Ame had been given –Sea Country had presented her with an entire island– but there was something about the land the blue-haired kunoichi had just handed over that had shocked the gathered audience.
Thinking back over what he knew of the Land of Rain and its geography, Kakashi realised that the waterlogged swamp that the representative had just given his bride was the main breeding ground of the infamous black salamanders. Which did not fit in with the kind of message that Hanzou the Salamander would send; was the man who had named the Legendary Sannin no longer running Amegakure? If he is indeed dead, who is in charge now and why are they giving the breeding grounds of the most deadly animal in the Elemental Nations, for whose poison no antidote exists, to my koi? Never mind that Ame is not officially allied to Fire or any nation at all. I foresee many political headaches to come.
Ame simply smiled graciously, thanked the bluette kunoichi politely and moved on to the next gift-giver,a diplomat from Moon Kingdom who announced that his king had sent over a saber-toothed tiger for the bride. He was followed by a procession of civilian nobles who all presented Ame with paintings, statues, relics and other works of art ranging from shoji sets made of precious stones to bonsai trees. The last civilian in line was Taiyoumaki in his capacity of father of the bride, who headed a small procession of servants carrying packages. His gift to his daughter was an entire wardrobe's worth of kimono and other clothing suitable for a married woman.
There was a break after that, for which Kakashi was very grateful: he needed a sit-down and a stiff drink before the shinobi guests present started presenting their gifts. At least the Yuurei make good fetch-and carry minions.
The copy-nin was also inordinately thankful for the impressive quantities of high-quality alcohol being served, as it seriously reduced the chances of someone taking offence to perceived slights or –if it came to it– successfully retaliating to said slights and injuring any of the other guests.
Once all of the gifts from the first round had been removed and everyone had had a few drinks, chatted a little and sat back down again the hokage himself opened the second round, presenting to the bride a very old and ornate set of scrolls. Ame accepted them with a bow and a smile, handing the gift on to the masked minion to her left who placed them carefully on the table behind her for safekeeping. Next up was the raikage, who handed over an ornate wooden box. Ame opened the box, revealing a very fine piece of electronic equipment the purpose of which Kakashi was uncertain of. His bride however did not enlighten him, closing the box and thanking Ei for his generosity. Next up were the Suna ninja then the small party from Iwa, followed by the renegade Shou faction.
The Shou faction got everyone's attention by giving Ame what looked like a very old and beautiful sword case.
"You found it?" The night-eyed newly-wed asked Ao,tone somewhere between shock and wonder.
"Aa. Terumi-sama insisted," the blue-haired shinobi said enigmatically, fingering his eyepatch. "Had it tested, too; you're the best person to keep hold of it until a suitable wielder comes along."
"My humble thanks for the honour you do me," Ame murmured, bowing low in thanks and accepting the gift. After the Shou ninja had returned to their table individual ninja and clan representatives took it in turns to bestow presents upon the couple. Kakashi noticed that Konan came back, this time representing herself, and gave Ame a jewellery case. The silver-haired groom let his attention drift a little until a short, slender male with his face obscured by a subtle genjutsu stepped up to the front of the room and dropped gracefully to his knees before Ame.
"I, Uchiha Itachi, do in accordance with the laws of my clan place the governance of said clan in the hands of Hatake Amemaihana, born of the Genseisen and Junjosei clans and acknowledged eldest daughter of the head of the Tatsuteiou clan," the disguised nukenin said clearly above the rising buzz of outrage. Yuurei appeared here and there in the audience keeping people in their seats and out of the corner of his eye Kakashi could see the hokage signing to those closest to him to stand down.
"Also," the Uchiha went on, "in accordance with the kinslayer laws laid down by the Uchiha clan before the founding of Konoha, I place my life in the hands of my clan's caretaker and my talents at her disposal. Her I serve and her alone, as is required."
"I, Hatake Amemaihana, eldest daughter of Taiyoumaki, head of the Tatsuteiou clan, do accept stewardship of the Uchiha clan until one of proper blood, temperament and experience comes of age and the life-service of one Uchiha Itachi, former clan heir, in perpetuity," Ame said clearly, her voice carrying to the back of the room as she traced a design with chakra-infused fingers on top of the kneeling nukenin's bowed head.
"Witnessed," growled the raikage, slamming his fist down on the table at his side and nearly upsetting the sake cups.
The furor gradually died down with a flurry of further assertions that the transaction had been witnessed and the teenage former outlaw, his face now visible, scooted around so as to be kneeling at Ame's side and a little behind her. He did not even for a moment lift his eyes from scrutinising the polished wooden floor.
After a few minutes of further confusion the procession continued, though the hissing whispers from the civilian guests and fast-moving fingers of the shinobi present showed that the supposed perpetrator of the infamous Uchiha Massacre has effectively stolen the show. Not even Tatsuteiou Yorumaki's gift of half-a-dozen assorted domestic staff plus offspring or Zetsu's disturbingly aware-looking carnivorous plant managed to get peoples' attention back on the parade of treasures changing hands.
Kakashi's attention however snapped back to the procession of guests when Naruto stepped forward with a cube shaped, elegantly carved and lacquered box.
"For my foster mother, without whom I would never have achieved what I have or dared to even dream of doing so," the blond said calmly and clearly as he opened the box.
There was a collective gasp as the pearl as large as two clenched fists revealed within gleamed luminously. Ame accepted the gift to overloud mutters of hoshi no tama and kitsune, closing the box again as Naruto bowed and retreated. The copy-nin seriously doubted that more than a third of those present would ever be able to associate the sober, well-mannered and exquisitely dressed young man they'd just seen with the orange-clad prankster and all-round loudmouth who'd terrorised the village less than a year previously.
Next up was Sasuke, whose face was as still as if it had been carved in stone. There was instantly a hush as the assembled dignitaries waited with baited breath to see what the so-called Last Uchiha would do to the one who had made that title possible. Kakashi had no idea what was going on behind his student's facade, which was pretty impressive for a green genin. The feathery-haired pre-teen gracefully walked forward until he was standing in front of his sensei's wife, utterly ignoring his older brother's presence. Itachi could have been a smear of mud on the floor for all the attention Sasuke paid him.
All in all the younger Uchiha comported himself with dignity and aplomb, presenting to Ame an exquisite set of silk paintings that had been part of the dowry of Uchiha Izuna's wife: a priceless relic of the roving clans period. He then bowed as required and retreated to his seat next to Naruto. Once he was seated again Sakura came forward, moving a little stiffly due to recent training injuries and a brand-new formal kimono. Her gift to Ame was modest, as was appropriate for the only member of a newly-formed ninja clan: a pair of functional steel tessen, elegant in their simplicity and as suited for court as for the battlefield. Kakashi found it vaguely amusing that all three of Konoha's official one-person-clans were part of his genin team; hopefully within the month they would be his chunnin team.
His team having done their part, other miscellaneous ninja came forward to give gifts. Kakashi mainly ignored them –even the smartly-dressed and unusually quiet-voiced Gai– and focussed instead on the order of precedence his genin team had shown; it said quite a lot both about them and the ingenuity and tact of whoever had been in charge of the ordering of the guests.
Naruto had approached first as heir to a powerful but foreign clan and also as the son of a former hokage, though most people would have missed that. Foreigners always went first and the children of hokages ranked above clan heirs, if not clan heads. Sasuke had come next, as was proper for the eldest Uchiha who could legitimately aspire to the title of head of his clan and de-facto clan heir. The copy-nin thought it more likely that Inutaicho would eventually take over that position; Sasuke was a follower not a leader and would be perfectly happy as an ANBU captain following his Hokage's orders without question. The boy of course had no idea that he had a dozen cousins still among the living, at least three of whom were genin level. Inutaicho, Neko and Kame were all ready for a jounin-sensei but Ame had insisted they attend a full year at the Academy so as to integrate properly with their peers. Kakashi seriously doubted that Usagi, Nezumi and Tori more than one year in the Academy either; the Kamen-Uchiha children were dangerously bright and surprisingly well-adjusted.
Sakura had approached last, as the only member of a ninja clan so newly ratified the ink was still fresh. Her unique jutsu were what had afforded her clan status, since they were as dangerous and valuable as the Yamanaka mind techniques. Her clan was currently a convenient legal fiction but as soon as she was physically mature she would be encouraged to leave active duty and ensure her clan's continuation, thereby preventing her hijutsu from being lost should she die.
Kakashi did not doubt that the pinkette would live long enough to complain bitterly about her duties as a clan heir; her team-mates would make sure of it.
As the Kamen-Uchiha children came forward in a clump, Ahiru right behind them as designated wrangler, the copy-nin concentrated once more on the proceedings. Failing to pay attention to his foster-children would not win him any points.
AN: The wedding arc is over now folks! Success! Many thanks to Obakeinu-9.11 for the comprehensive outline that made everything possible!
Now we will return to the Chunnin finals/Invasion Arc and pick up were we left off with Naruto a few days before the third exam. Writing this has been nerve-wracking but your support and encouragement stopped me from giving up entirely. A round of applause for my lovely reviewers!
Though I wouldn't say no to hearing from more of my readers...