The following days were a little chaotic. Tsunade-sama agreed to give them November 1st for their wedding, so they started creating the invitations to hand out to their friends and family. In the end, it turned out they had more guests than expected, surpassing 50 in total. Among their friends, Kakashi's friends, the clan leaders, the commanders, the Hokage along with her escort…
"Why do I feel like I barely see you when we actually spend so much time together preparing all this?" she gestured toward the small samples of invitations, floral arrangements, the different menu options, cake designs, and so on.
"Because we're together, but 'working,' you could say," Kakashi laughed, sitting on the couch. "Come here. Let's take a break."
Kakashi's idea of a break was lying down on the loungers in the backyard. Well, he lay on one and pulled her onto his chest to hold her close. She felt him stroking her loose, straight hair, which now fell well past her hips.
"Are you tired?"
"Nah. It's not that bad, but I didn't imagine spending the first days after my return like this. My dream was a bit more pornographic," she confessed. Kakashi chuckled again under her ear, "but we only have to plan one wedding for the rest of our lives, and it's not even that complicated or extravagant."
"Mhmm… Did your people get married the same way?" he asked curiously. "Or was magic involved somehow?"
"Not the same way, no. Similar, yes. And in purely magical weddings, yes, magic was involved. In fact, that's one of the reasons why divorce practically didn't exist in my dimension."
"Oh, really?"
The curiosity in Kakashi's voice made her smile. She nodded against his chest, burying her nose in his neck to inhale his natural scent, which reminded her of amber with a hint of cedar. If she'd still had the sense of smell from her previous life, she wouldn't have been able to detect the subtle notes of people's skin. That had its advantages and disadvantages. She tilted her head back to look into his eyes.
"Basically, the bond was magical. A union of souls, you could say. Contrary to what one might imagine, such a bond rarely went wrong because, unless one of you was a monster, souls didn't necessarily repel each other. That said, the more compatible the souls, the stronger the connection."
"Did you do it in your previous life?"
"No. George had a twin brother. A magical twin brother. By that, I mean they were one soul in two bodies. If I had tried to form a bond with him, I might have overridden his link with his brother, or it might have ended badly since I had a complete soul while he had a hole where his brother Fred had existed. Magic can be unpredictable sometimes. We thought it was better not to risk it."
"I see…"
"Do you want to bond with me like that?" she asked, noticing that he wanted to ask but didn't know how.
"Can we?"
"Of course. As long as one of us has magic to perform the bond. After all, you only need a little magic and a soul. And almost everyone has a soul, not just wizards and witches."
"Then yes."
"You don't even know the pros and cons!" she laughed again, seeing how he dove straight in without hesitation.
"From what I know about your magic, I can imagine it: we'd be more connected, probably able to sense each other at a distance, our emotions would be amplified… but if you died, I'd go completely insane, right?"
"Not completely, but it would be practically impossible for you to be with someone else because no one would fulfil you the way I have for years. Plus, my magic would probably take care of extending your lifespan after being… bathed in it for so long."
"As I said, I want to do it. Even without that bond, I'd still go crazy if I lost you."
"Alright. We'll do it on our wedding night. We just need to perform a ritual with runes."
Kakashi lifted her chin and gently pressed his lips to hers.
"I love you, Seina, and I want everything with you."
Shortly after, they finished creating the invitations, decided on the menu, floral arrangements, and practically everything else. It was as if they had a silent understanding in the garden, as everything went smoothly. Much to her regret, she left Kakashi to his physical therapy exercises while she returned to the Hatake compound.
She worked all afternoon setting up all sorts of protections, both on each house and around the grounds. She also managed to renovate all the houses, though without the runes, and shrank all the furniture to store it in a box, waiting for the day they might use one of those homes — probably for one of their children.
The Hatake compound was fascinating. It had an entrance gate in the middle of a wall that surrounded the entire area, made of grey stone covered with pink bougainvillea, which she had to trim because it had gotten out of control. Upon entering, you could immediately see the large, two-story main house stretching widely across the land.
To the right of the gate, there was a row of identical houses, each separated by spacious front and back gardens and stone paths. Parallel to this row was another, totalling 14 single-story houses. To the left of the gate stood a large two-story building where they had bred and cared for the dogs for the family business. Between the front of the main house and the breeding building, on the left side, there was a vast lawn where the clan's dogs could play freely, and beyond that, the forest surrounded all the houses within the stone walls, offering both privacy and protection.
It was incredibly beautiful and nature-inspired. Unlike the Uchiha clan, which was clearly more militaristic and orderly, like the Hyuga clan. The compound was located in the western part of Konoha, in a sparsely populated area full of forests through which the river flowed. Seina was happy to restore it, making it even more beautiful than before. The reason she hadn't asked Kakashi for help was because he trusted her taste, and she didn't want him there while she removed the painful memories embedded in the place. They both understood.
She glanced over the entire compound, dispersing more branches and fallen trunks her clones had piled into a mountain. She mentally noted to return the next day to place runes in each house and turn them into magical homes. It would take a couple of days to finish everything perfectly. Even so, she thanked her magic and chakra because, without them, there was no way she could have repaired a clan of this size in just three days.
When she returned, she saw Naruto and Sasuke arguing. She rolled her eyes just as Kakashi came downstairs in his pyjamas, freshly showered. She smiled as soon as she saw him and kissed his cheek.
"I'm going to take a shower. I'll be right down."
"And my kiss?" he whispered in her ear, grabbing her by the waist to stop her from leaving.
He grabbed her shoulder and turned his back toward her brothers in the kitchen to shield them from view. He buried his hand in her hair and kissed her. It was short but intense. She felt Kakashi's tongue sensually brush against hers, his teeth gently biting her lip, his nose brushing hers…
"Ew…"
Naruto's voice and the sound of a slap killed the moment instantly. For her, and apparently for Kakashi too, judging by the sigh he let out against her lips. They looked into each other's eyes.
"Come with me to the compound tomorrow. We need to finish furnishing the house."
"Are you moving out soon?" Naruto asked, pouting.
"I'm not surprised, dobe," she heard Sasuke say. "You ruin the mood for everyone."
"I didn't ruin the mood! You did!"
"Tomorrow, if I manage to finish everything," she said, ignoring their new argument.
"Tomorrow we have to stop by the seamstress," Kakashi reminded her, letting her go slowly, as if he didn't want to.
"I know."
She went to shower, and then they had dinner together. There was so much to do and so little time. Besides, she had to go to the Hokage's tower so she could supervise that combat she mentioned and review her data for the records. They went to bed shortly after, both exhausted. Even so, she savoured being able to sleep with Kakashi like the night before. That, and his goodnight kiss in the darkness, which left her breathless and her heart racing.
"About 100 centimetres for the bust," the seamstress indicated to her assistant. "Around 68 centimetres for the waist and 97 for the hips."
Seina let them measure her precisely, she wanted her kimono to be perfect. Kakashi was also being attended to in another room, so she could hear him. They made her try on several kimonos, using them to take notes on things she had no idea about. It only took about forty minutes, but it felt pretty short to her, especially when she saw the Hatake clan symbol. It was a black and grey diamond, square-shaped, divided by two diagonal lines from left to right and another two from right to left. Basically, it was like a sudoku square, but viewed vertically.
The wedding kimono, white, was not exclusive to the clan, so she had chosen one that wasn't too ornate. Elegant, with few folds, rather smooth. Even so, it was still a kimono, much more formal than any modern wedding dress. What she wasn't going to wear, not a chance, was the hat that some more conservative people used. She would wear her hair up, with a few traditional hairpins, and that was it.
"We'll have it ready in about ten days, you can come pick it up after that."
Seina nodded. They would have to pick up the clothes close to the chosen day of the ceremony, but in the worst-case scenario, she could transform a couple of kimonos herself with her magic.
"What do you want to do now?" Kakashi asked.
"I have to go to the Hokage's tower," she frowned.
"Do you want me to give the invitations to the jonin? For the clans, Tsunade-sama will have to call a meeting."
"That's fine, you give the invitations to the clanless colleagues and I'll talk to Tsunade-sama so she can call the meeting."
"Perfect, see you later."
Kakashi gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then left. Few people paid attention to them, so she headed toward her master's tower with a radiant smile. It didn't take her long to get there. The secretary made her wait a few minutes, but then let her in.
"Ah, Seina. Finally, I get to see you again. How's Kakashi?" she smiled mischievously at her.
"Much better. In a few days, he'll be fully recovered."
She pulled out the Hokage's invitation from her pouch, the only one she was going to deliver in person, except for Shizune and Lee, who were not clan members. She handed over the pearl-grey envelope, along with Shizune's, who wasn't there at that moment. Her master took it with a calmer, almost pleased smile, and opened it right there.
"I'll be there," she said, lifting her cinnamon-coloured eyes above the invitation, "I'll give Shizune her invitation as soon as she gets back. You'll see her face."
"When could you call the clan meeting?" she asked before she forgot.
"Tomorrow. Tell Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke."
"Great."
"How are the preparations going?"
"Better than I imagined. We have similar tastes, and what matters most to us is getting married, so it's easy to agree."
"Mhm… Are you thinking about retiring?" Tsunade-sama asked, suddenly.
"No," she laughed, "at least not until I'm twenty. I'd like to enjoy my marriage for a few years, if possible."
"Oh? Have you two talked about having children?"
"Of course. It makes no sense to leave certain matters unresolved when we could turn out to be incompatible."
"And Kakashi wants to be a father?" her master asked, somewhat surprised, "I never would have imagined that. Well, actually…"
"Actually what?"
"I can't imagine him being a father with anyone else," Tsunade-sama admitted.
"That's exactly what he said. He says he wants three kids," she smiled. The Hokage choked, laughing in surprise, "I don't see why not. By the way, when's our evaluation going to be?"
"What do you think about tomorrow too? At 10:00, at training field 33."
"I'll tell the others. One more thing… How's you-know-who?"
Tsunade-sama smiled.
"He's fine. He'll come with me tomorrow, you'll get to see him."
Seina smiled upon hearing the news that they would see Itachi again, even if only for a few hours. She was planning to secretly invite him to her wedding, obviously, but it wouldn't be the same as seeing his face. Leaving the tower, she went looking for Lee. She found him with the help of her magic, at one of the training fields. He was with his team, except for Guy, so she took the chance to approach them, waiting until they stopped sparring.
"Hi, Seina," Tenten greeted, panting, "are you here to train?"
"Actually, I came to give Lee his invitation."
"Oh! We want to see it!"
"Seriously!? AMAZING!" Lee exclaimed, standing in front of her in a millisecond.
"Aww, it's beautiful, Seina."
Neji smiled as he watched his teammates gush over the invitation, as if they'd never seen one before. Maybe they hadn't. He gave her a friendly nudge, leaning over to speak to her.
"I can't believe you're getting married at sixteen, though I'm not surprised you're the first among us to do it."
"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, puzzled, "why do you say that?"
"Because you're a good catch," Tenten cut in, laughing softly.
"Fortunately, I'm not marrying Kakashi because he's a good catch, nor because I am."
"We know. You're lucky."
"Well, I've got a lot to do, so I'll get going," she said goodbye.
It struck her as ironic that Neji and Tenten talked about her being a "good catch" when years ago, people from her own village had tried to kill her. How things changed. Before she could leave Team Guy's range, she caught one last comment.
"Clearly, Kakashi isn't stupid."
"You can say that again."
Seina shook her head. Of course, he wasn't stupid, but he had only chosen her because he loved her. Nothing more. Just like she had accepted him because she loved him. Everything else… was secondary. She returned home past noon. Naruto and Sasuke had been spending their days training and exploring the village to see what had changed, but she found them already at home, cooking.
"Tomorrow at 10:00, we have to be at training field 33," she informed them.
"The evaluation?"
She nodded. When Kakashi came back about twenty minutes later, he looked radiant. Even in his jonin uniform, without having changed a thing, it was obvious he was happier than ever. She approached him to kiss his cheek.
"I'll tell you later," she murmured before he could ask.
"Tsunade-sama says she'll call the meeting tomorrow, probably in the afternoon since we have our evaluation in the morning."
"Finally. Where is it?"
"At 33, at 10."
They ate while talking, of course, about the wedding, but mostly about Itachi. Sasuke seemed happy to know he'd see his brother again soon. She could bet money he'd give his all-in tomorrow's fight knowing his brother would be watching.
"Who do you think we're going to fight against?" Naruto asked.
"No idea. I guess some jonin."
A little later, they went to rest. She stayed alone with Kakashi, in their room. While brushing her teeth, she explained what had happened in the jonin department, where all the jonin hung out between missions when they weren't training or at home.
"You should've seen Kurenai's face," Kakashi laughed, sitting on the bed in his pyjamas, "she thought it was a joke, a bet from Asuma or Guy, but when Guy told her he already knew, she almost fainted."
"And what did Genma and Raido say?"
"They threatened to stab me, but nothing serious."
Seina laughed, spitting the foam into the sink. He told her how he'd received all kinds of congratulations after they interrogated him about how it had happened. Apparently, they were more surprised that he was getting married at all than by the fact he was marrying her. Ninjas… they were all crazy.
"So, did everyone take it well?" she finally asked, throwing herself onto the bed like dead weight.
"Yes. Better than expected, but I think it's because it's you. It's clear that you are, and have always been, more mature than the other girls in your class. If it had been anyone else… I imagine the response would've been very different."
She nodded at his words. If they could leave her in charge of surgeries at just twelve years old, it was obvious it was because she'd earned the respect of important people and because she was qualified to perform them. Why could she face death or operate on her own, but not marry whoever she wanted? That was something all ninjas understood perfectly. Civilians… well, that was another matter entirely. Even so, most civilians understood they didn't understand how ninjas or their customs worked, so they didn't interfere unless they wanted to antagonize someone of higher rank, which was practically suicide in a military ninja village.
She felt a hand caress her cheek, pulling her from her thoughts.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Would you laugh at me if I told you I want to move?"
"On the contrary," Kakashi replied, lying beside her and propping himself on one elbow so he could look down at her, "maybe I should feel guilty for taking you away from your brothers, but I know it's what you want."
She nodded again. She didn't think they could move tomorrow anyway, considering they had their evaluation in the morning and the clan meeting in the afternoon. They still had to furnish the main house in the Hatake compound and also talk to the Akimichi restaurant to arrange the catering. Ugh. Luckily, by the end of the week, they'd have almost everything ready. By then, there would only be three days left until the ceremony. She fell asleep in Kakashi's arms, thinking about everything she still had to do.
The next day, during their evaluation, the entire team got a huge surprise.
"You guys!?" Naruto exclaimed, seeing the Hokage, the perverted Jiraiya, and Commander Ryu.
"Got a problem, brat? Or are you scared to face us?"
Sasuke and Seina watched as Naruto argued with Tsunade-sama, leaning against the tree where Itachi was hiding. Kakashi, next to them, looked extremely amused. They weren't the only ones who had shown up to watch the fight, Shikaku, Yamato, Ensui, Yugao, Seichi, as well as Genma and Raido, were also there. Could they be any nosier? It was obvious how they'd found out, she thought, looking at the jonin and anbu commander. Honestly, she just wanted to get the fight over with and move on with her life.
She wouldn't be returning to work at the hospital until after coming back from her honeymoon, so for now, she only had to worry about missions outside the village that the Hokage or the jonin commander might give her, missions they wouldn't assign until they completed the evaluation to reassess their skills.
"Are we going to start or what?" Sasuke said impatiently, as if he'd read her mind.
Naruto shut up, stopping his pointless argument. They knew he did it mostly to tease people, to get under their skin. After all, deep down, he was a clown, and not only that… people made more mistakes when they were irritated or angry. It was a tactic Jiraiya used sometimes, so his brother had plenty of practice feeling irritated and exasperated, and he understood it was a strategy that worked very well.
Sasuke and she walked over to where the others were.
"Do we just have to fight?" Naruto asked, "or do we have to do something special, like Kakashi-sensei's bell test?"
"We were thinking of fighting until one of the two teams was unconscious."
"That's it?" she asked, surprised. That was easy enough for her to handle with her magic, and everyone knew it, "another question, can Kurama come out, or would that scare people too much?"
"And what about the full susanoo?"
Jiraiya looked on the verge of laughing, biting his tongue, while Tsunade-sama was clearly reconsidering whether it was smart to fight them. Commander Ryu, behind his mask, was like a lifeless mannequin, unmoving, waiting for orders. She heard a couple of stifled laughs and a cough behind them.
"Alright, no Kurama, no instant knock-out abilities," she gave her a look, then another at Sasuke, "and no susanoo."
Seina chuckled. Naruto, Sasuke, and she exchanged a glance.
"What if you put them all to sleep with your sharingan alone? Let's see what they do then."
"We'll cover you so they won't notice."
Sasuke nodded. The two sannin and the anbu commander got into position. The first to jump into the fight was, of course, Naruto. She focused on using her chains to protect her team while attacking the others at the same time. She dodged punches, kicks, and even a kunai aimed at her side. She sent a small wave of water toward their opponents, drawing everyone's attention. Sasuke molded chakra, and it was over. She let the water fade away, making sure no one drowned.
"The mangekyo sharingan is something else, man."
"Hn."
Naruto and Sasuke bumped fists, smiling, while she chuckled. As soon as she freed them from the genjutsu, Jiraiya groaned in frustration.
"I knew this was going to happen," he said, "I told you."
"I thought you were exaggerating a little," the Hokage admitted.
The fight had only lasted five minutes. It was clear, just as she'd thought earlier, that none of them had ever faced the evolved eyes of an Uchiha. Not to mention, they'd caught them off guard. Unlike regular genjutsus, those produced by the mangekyo were very difficult to overcome. In fact, now that she thought about it, she couldn't recall anyone ever escaping Itachi or Sasuke's genjutsu once trapped.
"Again. There's no way three teenagers beat us with an illusion," the Hokage muttered, a competitive glint in her eyes.
"The trick is to avoid eye contact," Jiraiya informed.
They kept fighting all morning. At first, three vs. three, but then three vs. one. It was obvious their whole team had an advantage over the other ninjas. For starters, she had her magic, Sasuke had his almost-perfect dojutsu, and Naruto had his senjutsu and massive chakra reserves. She was surprised to realize how relatively easy it was to fight against them. At that moment, she knew that if she wanted to kill them, she could do it easily, even without using her magic, as long as she fought alongside her team.
They knew practically all of Jiraiya's tricks after training under him for three years. She had Tsunade-sama figured out too, since she was her student and knew she just had to tire her out while dodging attacks before taking her down easily. The real problem was the anbu commander. Simply because she didn't know who he was or what abilities he had. In fact, both sannin seemed to realize the same thing and started acting as Ryu's reinforcements instead of attacking them directly.
The problem with the commander? Naruto and she could keep using ninjutsus far longer than him, she could counter his kenjutsu since she'd been trained hard by someone just as skilled as Ryu himself, and Sasuke could predict his attacks with the sharingan. All that, combined with their bond, meant he couldn't defeat them either. He could fight without being knocked out, reach a stalemate, but nothing more.
"I think we've seen enough," Tsunade-sama breathed deeply, cheeks slightly flushed from the effort, "damn, you've got stamina."
Seina stifled a yawn. Fighting Itachi and Kisame had been much tougher. Both were beasts and had way more endurance, especially Kisame, than the Hokage and Ryu. They walked over to where the others were, who were now quietly discussing what they'd seen. Kakashi was smiling, a hint of pride shining in his eyes as he watched them, observing their fight in silence with both eyes uncovered.
"You've become monsters," Shikaku said, shaking his head, "and we haven't even seen everything you're capable of, apparently. Your teamwork is incredible."
"Between Seina and Naruto's chains, Sasuke's genjutsu and sharingan, their connection, their stamina, and their ninjutsu arsenal, it's almost impossible to beat them," Ensui nodded, "all their abilities cover the few weaknesses each member has, so, fighting together, it's very hard to defeat them."
"At least you've gotten an idea of their new capabilities."
The Hokage's words made Shikaku nod.
"It's a shame you can't be promoted to jonin until next year."
"That's easy to fix," the Hokage cut in, "as of today, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, you're promoted to tokubetsu jonin. Anyone who complains can fight you, see if they enjoy having two chunin at an anbu level running around Konoha."
Naruto's radiant, oddly restrained smile and Sasuke's pleased, proud air made her smile too.