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‘I don’t want to be higher than anyone else…
I am not better than anyone else in the village…
I was just doing my duty as a shinobi in the village…
I didn’t even want to be the Hokage in the first place…
And to deal with the paperwork, or friends and enemies trying to kill me...
And most of all I never wanted to get married, but because of the elders I now have to…’
Kakashi’s mind was filled with all of those thoughts and he let out a sigh. His stomach was still twisting in knots, just as it had earlier when the counsel had asked him to meet them. He had thought it was because the emergency meeting was about his accession to Hokage. He should have listened to his instincts; there is something fishy going on here, and those instincts that had kept him alive this long, weren’t failing him yet.
Then they told him, that being the Hokage and the last of his clan; he had to do his duty and secure a family. He just stared at them in disbelief and confusion; then he just nodded because he wanted them to be finished. He was exhausted already; from the war, his responsibilities and now this? Hell he didn’t even know who his bride was! They said it was a daughter of one of those clans. It made him cringe in guilt and disgust, he was too old and broken for someone else.
Then the doors opened which revealed the bride of this sham wedding. Suddenly, he was caught by surprise who is walking to the aisle towards the altar.
Asuma’s female student, Sakura’s best friend. The new clan head of the Yamanaka’s. Yamanaka Ino.
Before the war had started, he had seen her a few times around the village. Her beauty was well known throughout Konoha. It was also known that she had several suitors as well. Though it seemed as if none had ever managed to impress her or her father enough to be allowed near her again.
During the war, he had heard several of the shinobi in his squadron remark upon her beauty. It had always just made him shake his head though. How the hell could they think about that, when they were literally staring death in the face? He supposed it gave them hope for a tomorrow. He had lost all of his hope a long time ago.
But even he couldn’t deny the beauty she had grown into. She was the epitome of a classic beauty. Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, soft and smooth skin, and a body that most would kill for.
It made his gut clench in guilt and self-loathing. He wasn’t suppose to notice her, or acknowledge her beauty. She, along with all of the rest of the younger generation of women, were untouchable. They weren’t supposed to be corrupted by the broken men like him.
‘How did she agree to this marriage?’ Kakashi thought curiously, and let his thoughts continue to wonder; ‘She was the new Yamanaka clan head. If anything, her clan should be questioning when she would marry someone within her own clan. Not me. But then she wasn’t the type to be forced into a marriage with someone she doesn’t have any feelings for.’
Maybe, she was forced by the elders of her own clan into this marriage, that could be the only reason that she was here. She didn’t love him, she couldn’t love him. But whatever the reasons for it being her; she must not have known that he was the one on the other side of the room. The elders of both Konoha and her own clan paired them up together because they believed it was a good political match.
As she walked down in the aisle, he observed her. She was as young as his former students; fourteen years younger than him. With over-protective teammates that fancied themselves as her brothers, and protectors against all who would cause her heart-break.
Her golden hair shined with the silver hair pins catching on the lights. Her high cheekbones were dusted in a light pink powder, and her lips were stained red. Her wide blue eyes had widened even further as she noticed him. So, she wasn’t aware it was him. Though she kept her expression calm and so mature, despite her youth.
She had this grace, different than other ladies and princesses in a imperial palace. The grace of domination, intimidation that he once thought as a stuck-up facade. A matured defiance to those elders who would see her break.
Confident in her stance as she tells everyone that…
‘ If you think you win by forcing me into this, that I will look submissive in this position. Well then, that will be your biggest regret in your life .’
And then, she looked him in her eyes with defiance in her eyes. One that told him, that she would still do her duty as a shinobi of Leaf. Even if it was something she would hate.
She took his breath away in just one look. He was just thankful that his mask had hid his own face from everyone else. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to control his emotions in the way she was, if he didn’t have that mask to keep the others from noticing.
He was too old, too broken for her. While she was so radiant, so young and full of life. And too beautiful for him. He did not deserve her.
When she took the final steps and came to a stop in front of him; she gave him a shadow of a smile. It didn’t reach her eyes, and he hated himself a little more for that. He knew that he could never make her happy. But her eyes filled with worried, anxiousness when she noticed the change in his demeanor.
He looked in her eyes with assurance. He would not blame her for their position, they were the two people trapped in this marriage. Instead he offer his hand and she took it in returned.
‘ Her hands were soft and small, the same ones she used for her village; interrogating prisoners, fighting enemies. These hands also used weapons, and were used in the war, fighting for humanity, fighting for peace.’ He contemplated as he held onto her.
Kakashi holds the same hands with as much gentleness and compassion as he can muster. He knows it’s not much, but for now, it’s all he can offer her. Ino must understand that, because in the next second, she lets out a small sigh.
He turned and led them to the front of the altar. Then the ritual finally started, and she never let go of his hand. Kakashi doesn’t mind though, he knows that it’s the only comfort he can provide her with. She let her thumb rub soft circles over the back of his hand as the ritual continued. Maybe she had picked up on his own apprehension about this travesty of a wedding. Their friends weren’t here, almost as if they had no clue this was going on either. So they couldn’t stop the wedding.
She kept rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand throughout the ceremony, until it came time to kiss the bride. Apparently, Ino, was good enough at reading him to understand that he didn’t want to remove his mask. So she instead leaned up and kissed him through the mask.
He would never admit it, but he had never been so thankful as to marry someone as thoughtful as she was. She was the true rock of this, and he knew then he would spend an eternity just trying to make it all up to her.