Summary: Manga Spoilers. "We're getting married." "Okay." Little did they know, they had just conceived the beginnings of insanity. Annoying friends and family are one thing, but when an outsider ends up in Konoha, it's a whole different story. SasuSaku.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

On the Contrary

Chapter One

.: Then Comes Marriage :.

For the first time after eight long years of being a kunoichi, Sakura's life had finally become fairly mundane. Once she had become a jounin, the burden of frequent missions had gradually disappeared. There was seldom need for A and S ranked missions, but that was something she wasn't going to complain about. Of course, living in a village full of shinobi guaranteed a hectic hospital, but Sakura had finally adjusted to a busy working schedule.

Sakura's best friends of the past were still her best friends of today, but there was a shift in dynamics over the years. She was still trying to figure out Sai, but had nonetheless grown accustomed to him. Tsunade and Kakashi were more of her equals than superiors when both respect and abilities were concerned. It was predicted that she would surpass the Godaime, so it was inevitable that after her teammates had surpassed the other Sanin she sought to do the same. Kakashi was still mysterious and impressive, but the young kunoichi had learned to use the plethora of tricks up her sleeve so he could meet his match.

Naruto was undeniably one of Sakura's best friends, and when she thought they couldn't be any better pals Naruto had constantly proved her wrong. Like he was with all of his precious people, Naruto was always there for her even when she was at her most insufferable. For a while in the past they had playfully flirted with each other, but neither took the other's romantic gestures seriously. It was natural, because although Naruto was more than Sakura's best friend, he could never be her lover.

Despite her large number of male acquaintances, Sakura had a few good female friends as well. Even so, Ino was major girl friend in Sakura's life in a surprisingly good way. Not the one who would steal her 'boyfriend' as she would have attempted when they were young, but the one who she learned she could talk to about things the men in her life just wouldn't get. Ino had a knack for trying to fluster Sakura, but that was really nothing new.

Sasuke was Sasuke.

He was her friend, but more than just a buddy. He was not her boyfriend, but arguably still The Man in her life. Sasuke was still as stoic and arrogant as ever, but his demeanor didn't keep his teammates from tolerating him. Even with Sasuke's adamant behavior over the years he had managed to graduate from holding Sakura's wrist to holding her hand. He sometimes went out to eat and take walks with her, alone, but it was not a date. When mid-March came around and he gave her a gift, it was not for White Day, but an early birthday present because Sasuke didn't believe in boyfriends, girlfriends, and whatnot.

Yes, Haruno Sakura's life had finally become normal, but the simplicity of her life had changed drastically in literally a matter of three seconds.

She and Sasuke were taking one of their walks—not a date of course—around the outskirts of Konoha. It was April, so the neutral weather was fitting for the mood of the two ninjas. Their hands were loosely intertwined until Sasuke had suddenly halted and spun Sakura in front of him.

It was fortunate for Sakura that the day's winds were not strong, as it along with Sasuke's force would have knocked her over. She waited in anticipation to hear the Uchiha's intention, because his sudden reactions were usually reserved for something extremely important.

"We're getting married." His declaration was curt, but his familiar intense stare seemed to be ceaseless.

"Okay," she responded, and they resumed walking.

It was to be expected, because that was just the way he was.

Little did they know, they had just conceived the beginnings of insanity.

Author's Note: This one story will be finished, and I already wrote four chapters (FYI, they are longer than this one) during the course of yesterday and today.

If you liked this, please review! I noticed that I always seem to get a lot of story alerts and few reviews. It would make me more motivated to write the other chapters, that's for sure.