The car pulled up to the front of the hotel, a footman approached and opened the door, waiting for the passengers to leave the vehicle.
Sakura started at the hotel bitterly, the same hotel where she was surprised with her engagement, she stared down at her left hand, the ring sitting on her finger, the diamond shining at her. She wanted to remove the ring and throw it away, instead, she got out of the car and stood to aside, waiting for her mother and friends to join her.
"Welcome," the footman said with a smile, "I hope you have had a pleasant journey."
Sakura raised her eyebrow at the man, tilted her head slightly and pursed her lips tightly.
"If… If you will follow me, I will take you to him," the man added hesitantly, his smile falling off his lips.
"Please, lead the way," Kizashi said with a smile as he stood next to his wife.
The man nodded once, turned, and made his way into the hotel, leading the party into the waiting room. He knocked once and opened the door, standing to one side to let the guests pass by him. He avoiding looking towards the bride, not wanting to face her hate filled gaze. He bowed towards Hiruzen and walked out the room, closing the door behind them.
"Sakura, you look magnificent," he beamed at her, "you make a beautiful bride."
Sakura forced a smile on her lips for a moment before letting it fall, "thank you."
"I take Kizashi, you will be walking Sakura down the aisle?" Hiruzen asked, turning his gaze towards the pink haired man.
"I will-
"I would like my mother to walk me down the aisle too," Sakura interrupted.
Kizashi looked over at Sakura, who was still avoiding his gaze. He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out and nodded, "both Mebuki and I will accompany Sakura down the aisle."
Hiruzen nodded once in acknowledgment and added, "the guests have arrived and are seated. Uchiha arrived a few minutes ago," he looked over at the family, "I will give you a few moments before you will be ushered into the room," he looked over to his assistant who stood quietly in the corner before he walked out of the room, softly shutting the door behind him.
"Sakura…" Kizashi started, thinking of something to say to his daughter, but no words came to him, his mouth drying up.
Mebuki turned to Sakura and smiled, "I know this is not the wedding you would have chosen for yourself sweetheart-
"No, it is not, and neither is the groom. I know nothing about him!" Sakura interrupted again, her voice laced with the anger that was bubbling under the surface, suffocating her from the inside. She sucked in a deep breath and forced it out and added resentfully as her eyes landed on her father's, "there is nothing anyone can say or do to stop this wedding, so can we just get on with."
She turned towards the young man stood awkwardly in the corner, avoiding everyone's gaze. "We are ready," she told him and watched as his head jerked up and looked at her.
He nodded and gave her a small smile, "this way," he said as he walked to the door and held it open.
Sakura walked out, followed by Ino, Hinata, Tenten and her parents. Quietly, they followed the man into the waiting room, the only sounds were of heels tapping against the floor and dresses shuffling as each step was taken. The man stopped outside the door and faced the group, "I will let them know you are ready." He gently opened the door and slipped in, and nodded at Sarutobi.
"Please can everyone stand for the bride," Hiruzen announced to the room.
"They are ready for you," the young man said as he walked back to the group and held open the door.
Sakura stood tall, held her head high and walked into the crowd filled room, her parent's either side of her. She grasped her mother's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers, silently asking for strength that she lacked.
Several eyes turned to face the group as they walked down the aisle towards the front of the room, where Hiruzen stood in the middle, with three men stood on the left. Sakura avoiding looking over at them, keeping her gaze in front of her.
They stopped as they reached the front, Mebuki squeezed Sakura's hand before letting go and kissed her cheek, she gave her a small smile and moved to sit down on the empty chair. Kizashi turned to Sakura and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, "you make so proud, darling," he whispered in her ear quietly.
Sakura clenched her jaw tightly at his words and bit her tongue at the angry words that threatened to leave her mouth. Instead, she gave him a tight smile and watched him move to sit next to her mother.
"You may all sit," Hiruzen called to the room. He waited until everyone was sat and began, "those of us in attendance today are present to witness a statement of lasting love and commitment between Itachi and Sakura. The ceremonial union of two people in marriage, in its primordial form, is as ancient as our very humanity and yet is still as fresh as each day's sunrise. The commitment between Itachi and Sakura speaks of their shared experience together and their dreams for the future, of the importance of each of them as individuals as well as the special bond they share, and of the importance of their community of family and friends."
Itachi clenched his jaw at the words spoken, at the falsehood of them. When he had arrived at the hotel earlier, his father had greeted him and had made it clear once again what he expected from Itachi and how the day should go. He had quietly agreed, not having the energy of the patience to deal with his father.
"Itachi and Sakura, please face one another," Hiruzen said and waited patiently.
Itachi slowly turned to face his waiting bride, finding her standing as rigid as him, her eyes blazing with anger at the situation, her jaw clenched tightly.
Sakura looked up at the man in front of her, he looked just as excited as she felt about being here. His dark eyes reminded her of an endless pit that sucked away at all the happiness and her words from the previous night ran through her mind, he could be a sociopath or psychopath. She held up her head and squared her shoulders, never averting her gaze, showing him that she was not meek nor one to be messed around with.
"Itachi and Sakura, have you come here today with the intention to be legally joined in marriage? Do you pledge to choose respect, kindness, and compassion toward one another, to listen deeply to one other, and to speak to one another truthfully, today, and always?" Hiruzen asked.
Itachi wanted to scoff at the words, I was forced here to be wed, instead he bit out, "I do."
Sakura looked at Itachi for a while, before replying, "I do."
Hiruzen smiled at them both and continued, "the pledge you make today expresses your devotion to one another and to the love you share, and the words spoken here will support your marriage if you are able to sustain your commitment through the inevitable hardships you will face together. Today, in the presence of your families and friends, you pronounce your love for each other and make a commitment that will define the next phase of your journey. We celebrate it with you, and wish you well." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch and pulled out two rings, handing one to Itachi and the other to Sakura, "please repeat after me, I give you this ring as a sign of my vow to love and cherish you."
Itachi repeated the words and slid the ring onto Sakura's ring finger, he was not surprised to find the ring to be a perfect fit, like with everything else about this wedding.
Sakura followed suit, grabbed the ring from the table and slid it onto Itachi's finger, as soon as it was on, she dropped her hand away, not wanting to have any more contact than was necessary.
"Itachi and Sakura, since you have pledged yourselves, each to the other, and have declared the same in the presence of this company by the exchange of vows and the giving and receiving of rings, by the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may now kiss the Bride!"
Itachi clenched his jaw tightly at the words, he had hoped that he would not need to show any affection towards the woman who robbed him of his future, but here he was, staring at woman who glared at him, her eyes burning with anger and hatred. He took a step towards her, bent down, and captured her lips in a chaste kiss, moving away as quickly as he could. He watched as his wife rubbed her lips with the back of her hand, wiping away his kiss. He smirked slightly at the sight, glad to see that she too was suffering as much as he was.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you, the new Mr. and Doctor Uchiha." Hiruzen announced happily, a smile spreading across his thin lips.
The room was filled with cheers and applause, people shouting their congrats to them both. Sakura forced herself to smile at everyone, painting the perfect picture of someone who was so happy to be wed.
A few photographers moved forward and snapped several pictures of the couple, all shouting their names, trying to get the best picture of the day.
"I am sure the newlyweds would like a moment to themselves," Hiruzen announced to the room, causing the cheering to die down, "if you would all please make your way to the bar where refreshments await you." He nodded towards two of the footmen, who opened the doors to the room. Slowly, the guests made their way out of the room, leaving the Haruno's Uchiha's and their friends behind with Hiruzen.
With the room empty, Hiruzen turned to the families, "I am happy to say that the deal we had agreed upon is done, neither family will need to leave Konoha, unless they choose to do so. I hope that with this marriage, you will learn to work together without any issues, resolves any future matters amicably," he turned his gaze onto Itachi and Sakura, "you two are the face of this deal, create a united front. You will live together and hopefully create a family together which will only make the bond between the families grow stronger."
Sakura grit her teeth tightly at his words, several retorts filled her mouth, desperate to be voiced, but she swallowed them all done, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth, her stomach clenching in anger. She looked over at her husband, who stood stock-still, his face showing no emotions, while his eyes burned with them, before he blinked them away. Sakura scoffed quietly at the sight, great, I am married to a robot!
"I think we should give Sakura and Itachi a chance to speak, to get to know one another," he added with a small smile.
Everyone's eyes fell on Itachi and Sakura, watching them, waiting for them to either agree or disagree with Hiruzen's words. When neither moved or spoke, slowly, the families made their way out of the room.
Tenten, Ino and Hinata looked over at Sakura, speaking to her silently, asking whether she wanted them to stay with her, but Sakura shook her head slightly, enough for them to notice the movement. Unsurely, they made their way out of the room with the others, closing the door softly behind them.
Sakura looked at Itachi out of the corner of her eye, watching to see whether he would do or say anything. Sakura counted as the minutes passed by with nothing being said. She sighed heavily and moved to sit on an empty chair, her eyes taking in the room properly for the first time. It was decorated beautifully, with white and pink flowers arranged with lush greenery scattered around the room, a few candles in large vases stood in a few corners, adding to the beauty.
Her eyes finally fell on the other person in the room, her husband, who was looking at her. Sakura kept her gaze on his and raised an eyebrow, "so…" she started, "this is nice."
Itachi did not react to her words, he continued to stand still where he was, not wanting to engage the woman who he had to spend the rest of his life, instead, he watched her, waiting to see what she would do.
Sakura lost count of how long they had stayed silent and it had started to grind on her nerves. She cleared her throat loudly and stood up, "as nice as the silence is between us, I am going to go and get a drink. If you plan on being a mute for the remainder of our lives, that works just fine by me." She turned and walked out of the room, not caring whether Itachi followed her or stayed a statue in the room. She made her way into the bar and grabbed two flutes of champagne from a waiter as he walked past. She downed them in succession and walked over to the bar and ordered herself a large glass of white wine. She placed the empty flutes on the bar top and grabbed the filled glass and took several large sips, almost emptying it when someone called her name out. Her hand tightened around the glass; her teeth clenched tightly. She turned around slowly and faced several guests, all who smiled wide at her, all telling her how beautiful she looked and what an amazing ceremony they had witnessed. Sakura smiled at them all, finished the rest of her drink and turned to face the barman. She pointed to her glass and waited for it to be refilled.
"There you are," Ino said with relief as she, Tenten and Hinata walked up to the bar, all ordering their own drinks. "How did it go?" she asked as she stood next to Sakura.
"We stood in silence," Sakura replied as she drank her wine, watching as several guests smiled at her.
"What?" Tenten asked incredulously with a laugh, "you two were in the room for over half an hour."
Sakura nodded as she drank her wine, "if that is how the rest of my married life will be, I am fine with that." She placed down the empty glass, turned around, and faced the crowd, watching as people celebrated her big day, enjoying themselves on her behalf. She scoffed at the sight.
"Can I have a whiskey please?" A voice said from beside her.
Sakura looked over, finding Itachi standing there. "Oh look, you can speak," she said unashamedly, not caring who heard her or what they thought.
Itachi glanced at Sakura briefly before turning his attention back to the bartender who had placed down a glass with amber liquid. He picked up the glass, shot back the liquid, and placed down the glass, signalling for another. With the filled glass, Itachi walked away from the bar, disappearing into the crowd.
"Or not," Sakura sighed heavily as she watched her husband disappear, "suits me fine." She pushed away from the bar and walked into the crowd, making her way towards the large doors that led to the lush gardens.
As she neared the doors, she was stopped by her father. She looked up at the man she had admired all her life, the man who praised her for everything she did, big and small. Her champion. But now, all she saw in him was a man who stole her dreams and her future, forced her down a path she was not ready for. "Yes, father?" she asked, her tone clipped.
Kizashi gave her a small sad smile, "so much hostility for me?"
"What do you expect? You stole my dreams."
"One day you'll understand why I did this," he waved his hand around the room.
Sakura laughed dryly once, "sure I will." As she went to walk away from her father, the room was called to silence by the young maître d' gently tapping a glass with a spoon, once the room had fallen to a hush, he began, "ladies and gentlemen, please join us to celebrate the bride and groom by making your way to the restaurant for the wedding breakfast, followed by the reception party which will be held in the large hall off the restaurant."
Sakura groaned at the words spoken, the sight before her enticing her to come out, to enjoy the magnificent grounds, to hide away amongst the trees. She was tempted to ignore the words spoken, to walk away from the venue, but a gentle hand on her back stopped the thoughts.
"As much as running away sounds, you know you need to stay," Mebuki's spoke softly to Sakura. Gently, she guided Sakura towards the room where the guests were going. "Just see this night through with a smile."
Sakura sighed in defeat, knowing her mother was right. "How much longer do I need to stay?"
"A few more hours, hopefully."
Sakura nodded stiffly and walked with her mother into the dining room that was decorated in the same colour scheme as the ceremony room. Sakura walked to the front of the room, where her seat awaited her next to Itachi, who was sat stiffly, his face void of any emotion. Sakura pulled the chair out and sat down, and waited for the meal to be over and done with.
Soon after, the first meal was dished out, followed by the main and dessert. An hour and a half later, all the guests were ushered out of the dining room and into another room, that was set up for the evening's festivities, a large table in the centre of the room that held the wedding cake, a DJ with his podium in one corner, and a bar in the other. There were many round tables and chairs scattered around the room, most already occupied by the guests.
Sakura walked over to the bar in the corner and ordered herself another large glass of wine. She brought the glass to her lips and took three large sips, almost emptying the glass. She turned to the bartender, "you might as well hand over the bottle."
"Let us put our hands together for the newlyweds, Itachi and Sakura," the DJ said from his podium, "they will cut their beautiful wedding cake followed by their first dance as newlyweds."
Sakura clenched her jaw at the announcement, another one that stopped her from escaping. She polished off the rest of her wine, turned to face the room and saw Itachi stood against the wall with a glass in his hands.
Itachi looked over at Sakura, waiting for her to make the first move towards the centre of the room. He was in no rush to play the happy couple, while at the same time, he wanted the night to be over and done with.
Sakura placed down the glass on the bar top hard and walked towards the large table in the middle, her eyes on Itachi, watching as he pushed away from the wall and made his way towards her.
Sakura reached the table, grabbed the small knife, and cut into the bottom tier while Itachi stood by her side, his arms by his side. With a piece cut, Sakura grabbed a fork and stabbed at the cake and held it up for Itachi.
He looked down at Sakura and unwillingly opened his mouth, letting her slip the cake into his mouth. He chewed it without tasting it and swallowed.
A few servers walked up to them and took away the cake to be cut for the guests and the DJ's voice boomed over the applause and cheer, asking the guests to make room for Itachi and Sakura to dance together. The first notes of a soft romantic song started to play as people moved off the dance floor. A woman's sensual voice filled the room, talking about eternal love with her one and only.
Itachi and Sakura faced one another and reluctantly placed their hands on each other and moved their feet, turning around in a circle. The whole time, they avoided each other's gaze, wanting this farce to be over and done with. As the song came to an end, they quickly let go of one another and stood side by side, leaving a gap between them.
"Let's get this party started!" the DJ shouted into his mic and the room was filled with upbeat music and several guests made their way to the dance floor, giving both Itachi and Sakura a reason to move away from one another and off the dance floor.
Itachi walked over to where Shisui was stood, holding a tumbler of whisky, which he happy took and downed the amber liquid.
"Steady there," Shisui laughed as Itachi winced at the burn.
"I'm getting another one," Itachi said and made his way to the bar in the back and signalled for the bartender to refill his empty glass. As he waited to be served, he watched Sakura walk towards him, he stiffened at her approach, his body coiled tight, ready to leave at a drop of a coin. She glanced at him briefly before asking the waiter to serve her a large glass of wine. Their drinks were placed down in front of them, Sakura turned to Itachi and clicked her glass against his, "to a happily married life, husband." She turned and walked away, leaving Itachi alone with his glass and thoughts.
Sakura walked over to her friends, all who gave her small smiles of comfort.
"I want this day to be over, I want to get out of this dress and go home," Sakura grumbled as she took a large sip of her wine. Her head had started to throb and she could feel the effects of all the alcohol she had consumed all day.
"It'll be over soon," Ino said softly.
"Not soon enough." Sakura finished off the rest of her wine and placed the empty glass down. She watched as the guests enjoyed themselves, dancing to song after song, laughing and celebrating. Sakura shook her head, "this isn't how I imagined I'd spend my wedding day, drinking stupid amounts of alcohol and sitting in a corner watching everyone else have fun." She walked over to the furthest table and sat down, hiding herself in the corner.
For the remainder of the celebration, Sakura and Itachi stayed away from one another, both grabbing more and more drinks until the DJ announced the last song of the night.
Shisui turned to Itachi, "I can take you and Sakura back to your house now, avoid being harassed by the drunk guests on how to spend your wedding night."
Itachi looked over at his friend, "leave her here and take me home."
Shisui laughed, "nice try, but you know she now lives with you."
"Great." Itachi uttered the word with contempt.
"I will go and get Sakura, meet me in the carpark," Shisui walked towards where Sakura was sat with her friends, her head in her hands. "Hey there, beautiful," he greeted with a wide smile.
Sakura raised her head and glared at the newcomer, one of Itachi's friends.
"If looks could kill…" Shisui laughed once, "I have come to offer you my services," he added.
"What services?" Sakura asked as she looked the man up and down, "I didn't realise my husband had friends who offered themselves up to their wives."
Shisui barked out a laugh, "I like you," he smiled wide at Sakura, "I came to ask you if you would like a lift out of here now."
"Can you take me to my house?" Sakura asked, a small bubble of hope filling her.
"Alas, I cannot, as much as I wish I could," his smile faltering slightly, "I can take you to Itachi's, avoid the last of the drunk guests."
Sakura thought about his offer, her eyes searching the thinning crowds. She nodded once, "fine," she sighed out and stood up, wobbling slightly. She grabbed her bag from Ino and followed the man out into the carpark, towards his car.
Shisui opened the car door for Sakura, and gently shut it behind her. He faced Itachi who was stood against the car, "let yourself in." He walked to the driver side, got in, started the car, and drove to Itachi's house in silence.