138. Marriage?

(POWERSTONES)

"So, I really didn't expect to see you like this."

"Me neither," Kakashi admitted while looking in the mirror. 

The door opened, and Ino-Shika-Cho, along with Sasuke, entered. 

"Are you guys—ready..." Ino's words stopped midway as she witnessed the scene. 

Sasuke was gaping at Kakashi. 

"Wh-Why are you in that outfit?" Sasuke stuttered while looking at Kakashi, who was wearing a black kimono.

He really didn't think that one day he would see Kakashi in an outfit... that definitely looked similar to a marriage outfit in the Shinobi World. 

(A/n - Just check Naruto's outfit when he got married. Gotta take that as a reference. In that scene, Kakashi was wearing a black suit, but here it's a kimono, lol.)

"Are you really getting married?" Ino screamed, placing both palms on her cheeks. 

It seemed the rumours she'd heard were not baseless. 

They might have been an underestimation of the real situation. 

"No, I'm just going as the ambassador from the Leaf," Kakashi shook his head. 

Nobody believed him. 

The people present, apart from Kakashi, had only dressed a little differently. 

Actually, only Ino had gone all out with her dress. 

Sora and Shikamaru hadn't even changed from their normal outfits. 

Sasuke's outfit wasn't much different from his usual emo look. 

Choji was looking like... Choji. 

"If you say so~ You should've called me to help with your hairstyle and stuff. I have some experience with that—not that you did a bad job yourself," Ino said with a sly smile. 

She might've also gotten an opportunity to see how Kakashi looked under his mask. 

Kakashi rolled his eyes. 

"No... As I told you, this isn't my wedding." Kakashi was wondering why he'd even agreed to wear this dress.

He shouldn't have lost that bet with the soon-to-be Mizukage.

"So, you're saying I can help when you *do* get married?" Ino tried to grab whatever she could from this argument. 

"As if I would get married," Kakashi rolled his lone eye. 

"I wonder about that," Sora said while looking at Kakashi. 

"I also wonder about that myself. Anyway, let's go, and you guys behave properly," Kakashi said.

"We're not kids, you know," Ino wasn't really satisfied with the outcome of their argument.

"Last time I checked, you are. Also, don't steal anything, Sora—especially not that explosive sword," Kakashi warned Sora. 

"You're saying it like I have a habit of stealing stuff," Sora replied. 

Ino-Shika-Cho looked at Sora with judging stares. 

Even Sasera, who was lying on Sasuke's shoulder, looked at Sora. 

She jumped from her former position and landed on Sora's head. 

She then tapped her paw on Sora. 

"What?"

Sora didn't get a reply, as Sasera shook her head and took a nap. 

She really didn't want to spend time arguing with a lesser being like Sora. 

"She really is like you, Sasuke," Sora looked at Sasuke.

"I guess. She seems to understand that you're an idiot, so this cat really is smart," Sasuke countered.

Sora didn't rise to the bait and instead said, "So, you agree that you both are similar."

They headed toward the Fifth Mizukage's inauguration ceremony. 

Sasera had been chilling in an unknown place in the Mist during the coup d'état, so she wasn't part of the battle. 

Well, it wouldn't really be smart to let people know that a cat has the ability to traverse space-time and so on.

As they took the short path to their destination, they were escorted by Zabuza, who was also looking at Kakashi with judging eyes. 

"Do you know why Kakashi-sensei is dressed like this?" Sora asked Zabuza, who was in his usual get-up—a sleeveless top and shinobi pants. 

---

*Advertisement Plugin* – Shinobi Pants: Pants that are very stretchable and durable, elastic even during fights between S-rank ninjas! 

You no longer have to worry about losing your pants during an intense life-or-death battle. 

You might die first, but these pants definitely won't. 

So, buy these pants and protect your honour!

---

"Yeah, he lost a bet with our Mizukage."

"Oh, what kind of bet?" Sora immediately thought of Tsunade and Naruto for some reason. 

The former had a tendency to gamble a lot and lose almost every time. 

The latter seemed to be the exact opposite, as he somehow won most of the time. 

Thank the Sage the former didn't know about the latter's luck. 

The world wouldn't be the same if that were the case. 

"I don't know the details. It was kind of personal, from what I know." Everyone looked at Kakashi questioningly. 

"You guys shouldn't pry into other people's business," Kakashi refused to answer.

He never liked giving direct answers to people and loved annoying them. 

In this case, he would definitely do that. 

So, the others did a 'tch' or a pout. 

Who did what is a secret. 

The people cheered for the Konoha ninjas who helped them end the tyranny of the Fourth Mizukage and free the village. 

Ladies were also cheering for Kakashi, as various rumours had been circulating over the last week since Yagura's death. 

Rumours like Kakashi fought Yagura alone, defeated him, and then proposed to Mei. 

Or:

Kakashi saved Mei during a battle, and they got close due to the intense life-and-death scenario. 

Or:

'Kakashi's beauty when he removed his mask was what killed Yagura, as he was too hot to handle.'

These were the mild rumours. 

There were some outrageous or spicy rumours too, which were even more popular among the girls of the Mist. 

It was quite natural due to Kakashi's identity and his fame. 

Kakashi was not only the official ambassador of Konoha. 

Actually, that was his second identity. 

His first identity was as the unofficial ambassador or representative of *Icha-Icha Paradise*. 

He was so dedicated to the cause that he was even reading it while heading to the inauguration.

"Hmm, woah, why are you that popular? That seems too weird," Sora looked at the various onee-sans whose gazes were not pure. 

Their intentions were leaking through their stares. Unfortunately for Sora, he was a kid and was unaware of certain things. 

However, the part of Konoha 12 present here, joined by Haku a few minutes ago, weren't as lucky in their ignorance. 

So, it was quite uncomfortable for them.

"What did you do, Kakashi?" Sasuke was curious but, at the same time, didn't want to know the answer. 

He had the unfortunate circumstance of having so many fangirls. 

Being the last Uchiha, such things came with unique problems. 

He was scared of what would happen when they grew up.

Would they still be like this? 

Sasuke wouldn't be able to sleep properly if that were the case. 

"Don't worry," Kakashi patted Sasuke's shoulder.

Seemingly comforting the latter, just as a good sensei should. 

"You'll have it worse than this." Kakashi's eye smile felt like a smug grin to everyone present. 

Yeah, Kakashi and "good sensei"—those words don't belong in the same sentence. 

Sasuke swatted away Kakashi's hand and maintained his poker face. 

Internally, he was anything but calm. 

"That's... interesting, I guess," Sora didn't bother thinking too much. 

He didn't want to be the example of 'Curiosity killed the cat.' 

Just like Sasera, who was a dumb cat.

"Ouch, I didn't even say anything," Sora protested after being repeatedly pawed on the head. 

It seemed interspecial female instincts were a thing. 

Sasera huffed and went back to sleep.

---

They finally reached the public square.

Mei began her speech from the top of the tower, near the railing.

*(A/n: Just imagine something similar to how Konohamaru was addressing the crowd during the Seventh Hokage's inauguration ceremony.)*

The main part of the speech ended, and the crowd cheered.

No, there were no people from the Rebellion faction there to direct the crowd's reactions. People were genuinely happy as most of them would no longer be hunted due to the cruel laws of extermination against them.

"Now, I would like to thank Konoha's ninjas who helped us throughout this mission." Mei jumped from the top and reached the ground without making a sound.

The cheers grew louder.

"This marks a beautiful relationship between the two villages," Mei addressed the crowd while placing her hands on Kakashi's shoulder.

The physical closeness between the two didn't go unnoticed; in fact, it even riled up the crowd for some reason.

Kakashi was doing his best not to twitch his eyebrows.

He wasn't going to gamble again.

With that, Mei did a tour of the whole village with Kakashi within arm's reach, much to his displeasure.

***

Join my Patreon to support me and get up to 20 advanced chapters there

p@treon.com/Desire96

Also, check out my other works.