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Genma sat down at the fountain, one hand twirling the waters of the fountain in front of him, the other resting by his side. He sat at the lip of the fountain, eyes on the water, eager to see the sights in the human world below.
Today after all, was an auspicious, special day: Sakura and Kakashi’s wedding day.
He heard movement behind him and smiled when Gai took a seat by his side.
“Ah, is it story time at your Shrine?” The god of success asked.
“Yes.” Genma relaxed, hand coming out of the fountain now. “I always do love this story.”
Gai huffed. “Yes, we all know how much you love your sister Genma. After all, you once ruined the Earth for her.”
“I didn’t ruin the Earth.” Genma clarified. “I was just sad and worried for her.” He heard someone scoff behind him, and turned to see Hashirama, the god of flora approach.
“Because you were so adamant about Sakura-hime and I getting together, you had to have her run away to live with Kakashi and then sulk for a long time afterwards.” Hashirama stated. “Do you know how stressful it was to make sure that you were still sustaining life?”
Genma shrugged his shoulders. “She came back.”
Hashirama and Gai exchanged tired, weary glances.
Chatter sounded from the fountain just then, and all three gods crowded around it eager to see the sight.
A young man led a group of children to one of the Shrine’s many halls. He made sure they sat down properly, in neat rows (of a sort) and then took a seat at the head of the room.
“Children,” the man began, “do you know why we are here today?”
“Of course we do!” A small girl yelled. “We’re going to hear the story about Sakura and Kakashi-sama and then go home to get ready for the festival!”
The man smiled and nodded. “Very good, Tenten. But, we should address her by her proper title: Sakura-hime.”
Tenten frowned. She was ignored though as the man continued speaking.
“As Tenten said, today we are here to talk about the wedding between Sakura-hime and Kakashi-sama. Now, long long ago, in a time far before now, Sakura-hime used to live in the sacred mountains near Konoha with her brother. They loved each other very much, and were very happy there. One day, Genma-sama thought that it would help Sakura-hime if she had some help with her tasks. Because, you see, Sakura-hime was always busy. Does anyone know why?”
Numerous hands shot up, and Iruka smiled approvingly. “Lee-kun, why don’t you tell us?”
“Sakura-hime is the goddess of life! She makes sure everyone is cared for. That the animals have food, that the humans can live, that the trees and flowers are blooming properly. She’s amazing! ”
“Very good, Lee-kun.” Iruka praised.
Up in the realm of the gods, there was chatter about the scene down below. “I like that kid, Gai.” Genma muttered, pointing at Lee.
“Of course, you would.” Hashirama quipped back, wanting to tease him. “Isn’t he Gai’s most devoted follower? And he’s also a fan of your sister. Why wouldn’t you like him?”
Genma glared at the other god. “I am your King, you know?”
Hashirama rolled his eyes at the attitude. “Yes, Genma-sama.” He sounded petulant. “Can we go back to watching the kids now?”
Genma opened his mouth to say something, but Gai clapped a hand on his shoulder, turning him forcibly back towards the fountain. Sighing, Genma followed his lead, turning back to look at the children being told the story of the events leading up to his sister’s wedding day.
“Anyway,” the teacher down below continued, “back to the story now. Where were we? Ah yes! Genma-sama noticed his sister struggling to work hard at taking care of all the animals and the plants and the trees. She seemed too stretched, too tired, so he thought it would be nice if Sakura-dono had some help. He searched long and hard, and finally found, right here in Konoha, a lonely gardener. After watching over him for a while and deciding that he did care for the plants and flowers he took care of, Genma-sama approached this lonely gardener named Hashirama.”
“He spoke with the gardener and bestowed upon him the power to bring life to trees and flowers, to help them grow and be nurtured. Hashirama-sama, all alone now that his family was gone, and eager to help his plants and flowers grow, agreed because he thought it was a wonderful blessing. And Sakura-hime, when she learned of what her brother did, was grateful for his help. But, there was more to this story now wasn’t there?”
“Genma-sama was gonna put her in an arranged marriage!” Tenten piped up, interrupting his storytelling. Iruka stared open-mouthed at her, and then paled as the torches and candles around them began flickering and surging.
From up above, Genma glared down at the tiny human girl.
“I did not put her in an arranged marriage!” He yelled down, heedless of the amused glances the gods were sharing at his actions. “I suggested it! I told her it would be nice if she got together with Hashirama; I didn’t force her to get married to him. But you humans always have to make things more dramatic than they should be, and Sakura just had to run away to fuel your stories.”
Hashirama scowled behind him, opening his mouth to argue, but an arm dragged him back against a solid chest. He looked up at Tobirama’s face. The god of wind, one of his closest friends up here in the Gods’ realm, simply smiled down at him.
“Let him rant.” Tobirama whispered. “You know he gets like this every year around this time.”
Hashirama sighed and relaxed, which meant Tobirama let him go. They watched their King continue to rant at the fountain, faces falling and eyes widening as he got more and more animated in his tirade. Finally, Gai-sama placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing once to pull him back to the present.
“Perhaps,” Gai-sama started, “we should let that teacher below continue with the story. And maybe you can rein in your temper so that your tirade ceases affecting the world below.
Genma stopped, eyes focusing again on the image in the fountain. Down below, in the shrine, the kids were all staring as the flames from the torches and candles in the meditation hall flickered eerily. A few of the more daring ones pointed to their fellows, daring them to do something outrageous like try to touch one of them.
As the gods looked on, the flames flickered down to rest still again. The teacher sighed, bringing his hands up in prayer and murmuring a quick sloka under his breath. Some of his more diligent students copied him in bringing their hands together, others just watched the teacher in boredom or curiosity.
“Now then,” Iruka brought his arms back down, “where were we in the story? Ah, and please Tenten” he said looking over at the little girl who had spoken up earlier, “keep your thoughts to yourself this time, okay?”
The gods watching started laughing at the teacher’s words, knowing what had caused the brief moments of supernatural behavior on Earth. Genma turned around and shot them all an unimpressed glare before bringing his attention back to the fountain.
“Now, let’s see…” Iruka leaned forward, and the kids nearest him mimicked his behavior. “So, Hashirama-sama and Sakura-hime were good friends who worked together and liked spending time with each other. Genma-sama noticed this too. So one day, he approached Hashirama-sama with a request.” Iruka looked around at the children, pleased to see all of them eagerly listening. “What did he ask? Well, Genma-sama asked whether Hashirama-sama would be interested in marrying his sister, and continuing to work together with her, this time as a married couple.”
The kids all faced Iruka with rapt attention, taking in every word. He smiled, pleased, and continued with the story.
“Now, Hashirama-sama was still a new god at this time, you see. He didn’t think Sakura-hime was too interested in marrying him, but he was too scared to say this to Genma-sama, the King of the Gods. So, do you know what he did?” Some of the kids nodded, others continued staring. “Hashirama-sama decided that there was only one thing he could do. He told Genma-sama he would agree to his request.”
“See, it was mostly your fault, not mine!” Genma yelled, glancing behind his shoulder at Hashirama who ignored him by looking pointedly away. Genma narrowed his eyes and waved his fingers. A small fire erupted right in front of Hashirama who yelped, jumping away.
“Genma!” Gai scolded, hands on his hips. “That was rude! You can’t just go around attacking the minor gods like that.” He shook his head sadly. “This is precisely why Hashirama never told you the truth about how he felt about Sakura-hime!”
Genma’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Gai stared him down.
“Fine!” He grumbled. “It was also probably my fault by not listening to her too.” The scenes below them were being ignored now as the teacher at the shrine continued to tell the story of Sakura-hime and Kakashi-sama’s wedding to the children.
The King of the Gods stood up from the fountain. He moved to Hashirama and stopped in front of the other god, placing it on his shoulder.
“I hope you don’t mind me taking my grumbling out on you today Hashirama. I’m just nervous and agitated as usual.”
Hashirama-sama smiled and bowed his head as Genma let go. “Of course not. I look forward to seeing you at the wedding later Genma-sama.”
* * * * *
A few hours later, Sakura turned to look over her shoulder at the knock on the door. Ino-hime, the goddess of wealth, tsked and nudged her head forward again, towards the mirror, as Genma walked into the room. He stopped behind the two of them, eyes softening as he took in the sight of Sakura, resplendent in her red wedding clothes, hair covered in fragrant white flowers.
“You look beautiful.” He told her as their eyes met in the mirror.
“She better!” Ino-hime stated, stepping away. “We spent a lot of time getting ready! Now don’t go ruining it!”
Genma shooed her out of the room with a wave of his hands. She rolled her eyes at him fondly and sauntered off, shutting the door closed behind her. When she left, Genma reached into his robes and pulled out a necklace made of pearls and coral, a large round emerald acting as the pendant.
“We do this every year.” Sakura told him, smiling as he placed the necklace around her.
“And we will do it every year for as long as time continues.” He answered, stepping away slightly. She fingered the necklace, emerald eyes glinting with love and emotion.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered. “That I ran away and hurt you.”
Genma looked away from her. “And as I have told you every year, you don’t need to apologize. I was too obstinate, and that’s why you ran away. And now that you are here, I can give you to Kakashi properly and bless your marriage the right way.”
She smiled, reaching out with a hand to tug at the sleeve of his robes and catching his attention again.
“Yes.” She blinked back tears as they coated her eyelashes. “You always were, and I’m sorry it took me a while to recognize it.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Ino peeked in again. She opened it wide, standing at the threshold. “It’s time.”
Sakura sighed, then stood, using Genma’s arm as support, and made her way to the door. They traversed the hallways of Genma’s large palace to the open courtyard where the marriage would occur. All of the other Gods stood around the courtyard, eager to see the marriage again.
Gai stood behind a white cloth, Kakashi’s silver hair barely peeking over it, and waved them over. The two minor gods, Asuma-sama and Kurenai-hime, looked on fondly and tightened their hold on the cloth.
Genma led her over to the other side of it, helping her sit down with Ino bending down to adjust her skirts as she did so. He sat down next to her, nodding at the Gods gathered around them. Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-hime, the ones who would conduct the wedding, approached next.
“Go ahead.” Tsunade-sama gently said. “Place their hands together in each other’s and give the kanya away.”
Genma nodded, looking closely at his sister again.
“I love you.” He told her, his hand squeezing around her right one.
Gai nudged Kakashi’s right hand under the cloth, the scarred, pale fingers laying there waiting. Genma turned it over to see his palm and brought Sakura’s hand over, placing hers in Kakashi’s.
“Take care of her, Kakashi.” He whispered as Jiraiya chanted the ritual words. “Like you have. I’ve trusted you with her happiness all this time. Don’t make me regret it now.”