They arrived around four in the morning and managed to sneak in a couple hours of sleep before they had to get up and get ready.
Madara had slept in the room he shared with Izuna one last time. All his stuff was already moved to his new house. Their elderly next door neighbor had agreed to sell them his house for a hefty sum and an apartment in the new district that was closer to the shops and the compound's garden. They had knocked down the wall, and both houses were now separated by only a large garden. The couple would still have their privacy, and space for their expending family, but Madara's siblings would still be close enough. Haruka knew that they had a really codependent relationship, but she didn't really care.
After waking the brothers and Tajima up, she bathed herself quickly and put on her outfit for the day. She had picked an elegant high-collar deep red silk kimono, with black silk-threaded hexagrams embroidered in a line that covered the entire eri. The same embroidery was on the cuff of her sleeves, and on the hem of the kimono. She chose a one color fabric, with no other patterns so as not to upstage the bride. She loved a unique look, and red was her color, but this wasn't her day. To keep up with her black and red theme, she choose a black obi that was held in place with a red obijime and the standard Uchiha crest obidome. Instead of the traditional tabi and zori, she chose to wear open toed black leather sandals with a heel. She felt more comfortable that way, and she would need all the comfort she could get with the hectic day she had coming. Her hair was all held in a side braid bun, except for two lose strands that charmingly framed her face. On her ears hang big black drop dangle earrings, and she wore no make-up other than her signature red lipstick.
When she stepped in the living room, the men were already dressed in the black and white haoris and Hakamas she had prepared for them. Once she laid eyes on the groom, who was stuffing his face with rice, she screamed. "Hell, no! Nii-san you promised me." She dashed into Izuna's room and found the special white silk hair tie she had prepared for him. Going back into the living room, she kneeled behind a disappointed Madara. He knew not to argue with her so early in the morning and just let her set his hair long hair in a high ponytail. At least he had combed it before.
Once it was settled, she sat down at the table too, and started eating while reminding everybody of their roles for the day. "So you all know what to do and when exactly you should be doing it right? Father, you are to make sure that the elders are ready, as well as the court envoy who is staying in guest-house n°1. Meet up with us at the shrine at 9:45 sharp. The other clan heads won't get here for the reception until noon, but after that it's your job to entertain them most of the time. Izuna, for now you're on bride escort duty. Head to her house as soon as you are done, and help around if can. And I don't care if she's not ready, you are to drag her to the shrine by 10:00. Madara, you go find the priest, and help him make sure that the shrine is ready. Everything you need has already been prepared beforehand, but the old crone refused to set up before this very morning."
Tajima just nodded, amused. "Just relax, we have been over this more than ten times. I have seen you sew back hearts of shinobi before, and you weren't as stressed as you are now. There's nothing left to do anyway."
Madara and Izuna looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Why the hell would he say such a thing in front of her? She started. "Nothing left to do? NOTHING LEFT TO DO? I have to run to the kitchen tent to make sure that they have everything they need so that they can prepare the meals in time. I have to make a complete lap of the compound to make sure that the horrible weather hasn't knocked over any of the decorations, flowers and tents we set up, or their content. I have to go help set up the three musician groups we hired for the occasion. I have to make sure that the waiters and attending staff are all in position. And that's all before I have to rush to the shrine to watch my brother get married. And after that I will be running around all over the place fighting small fires everywhere, while politely greeting our guest and entertaining them. And you say that there's nothing left to do?"
A very scared Tajima gave her a small apology, while the brothers made themselves as small as possible.
After their breakfast was done, everybody was on his way. The hours went by in a blur. She didn't have time to go check on Natsuki herself, but she knew that Izuna, her parents, brothers and cousins were all there to make sure everything went smoothly. Her friend had been worried about her kimonos not fitting, and about the old scar on her cheek, but Haruka had reassured her that she was going to be the most beautiful bride the Uchiha had ever seen.
By 10:00 a.m. they were all in the shrine, and they watched as a the happy couple drunk their wine and made their vows to each other. The ritual had lasted a full two hours, and the streets of the compound were already buzzing with life when they were done. Music was heard everywhere. People went from tent to tent either to eat and drink, sit with their friends and family, or participate in one of the many games that were taking place. Days where almost the whole clan could get together to celebrate were incredibly rare, and so Haruka had planned the day as a big festival so that everybody could have fun.
When the couple and their families got out of the shrine, they were escorted in a very happy parade all the way to the central square where a beautiful big and closed tent was set up. This tent was meant only for the higher ranked guests. While the rest had gigantic buffets they could dig into, here there was an organized seating area, and waiters kept coming and going while serving refreshments, as they waited for the bride and groom to start the real meal. Their group went from table to table to thank the guests for coming. The clan heads and heirs of the Hyuga, Hatake, Aburame, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka and Kaguya were all there, as well as four high ranked samurai, some of the nobles they had deep ties with and some Uchiha high ranked shinobi and kunoichi.
Once they sat, people started proposing toasts and eating merrily. Haruka pretended to be checking on the samurai and discreetly signaled them that the mission had been a success. They would get the second half of their payment later.
Sitting down next to Jinshi, she could finally relax a little bit. Everything that needed to be planned in advance had gone well. If anything went wrong, someone would come and get her, but for now she could sit down and enjoy the party. She smoked while flirting with a beet red Jinshi for a while, and joined some of the conversations with the clan heads or the elders. The Uchiha's pharmacological advancement over the years had intrigued the Nara, and so she had a very spirited conversation with their leader. Izuna had deceided that his next conquest was the Yamaka heiress, and she seemed to like him too. Madara was doing his job as an heir splendidly as he kept coming and going between guests, introducing them to his bride and future first lady of the clan. This was a networking occasion for everybody and they made full use of it, even if Madara didn't really like socializing. Haruka had trained him well. Hopefully if any of the people present had heard about that stupid rumor, such a warm and happy display would make them doubt it.
At some point, everybody started leaving the tent, and just mingling with the rest of the clan. Some of the clan heads were dragged into the gambling tent they had set up and lost quite a bit of money. The samurai got really drunk, and had to be escorted to their quarters earlier than expected. Around eight in the evening, when it was dark enough, they set off fireworks that everyone enjoyed. The party ended soon after that, and everyone tiredly went to pick up their already prepared gift bags, and went home. After Haruka made sure that the cleaning crew knew what to do the next day, and that all the guest were satisfied with the arrangements they had made for them, she finally went back home to rest.