We parted ways with Saki and Nao not too long later, all of us tired after a long day of walking around. Mai, as had become habit for her, came back to my house.

“You sure you don’t wanna spend tonight with your parents? It might be the last you’ll see of them for a while.”

“I know, and I have been making the effort to spend time with them when I can, but this might be the last night we get to spend together like this. I don’t wanna miss that chance” she wrapped me in a hug, putting her head against my chest, before speaking one more time, this time with a tinge of melancholy. “Hey, Shin?”

“Yeah? What’s wrong?”

“Do you… think we really stand a chance?”

I couldn’t answer immediately. In truth, I felt like we couldn’t be at any more of a disadvantage. The only reason we had a fighting chance was Baal Zebul’s desire to test our strength. The odds were undoubtedly stacked against us. That being said…

“We have to. There’s no other choice, Earth can’t survive if we don’t. If push truly comes to shove, I’ll have to use ‘that’ power.”

“Shin, you can’t…”

“What choice do we even have? I’d prefer to avoid using it if possible, but if we’re left no other options my hand might be forced.”

Mai nuzzled her head further into my chest, and I held her tight in my arms.

We were, of course, talking about the power bestowed upon me by God. When I told them about it, the girls were in agreement with me: it would be an absolute last resort, only used if every other option has been completely exhausted.

Not wanting such a good night to be spoiled at the end, I decided to change the topic to something a little nicer.

“Hey, we have to start thinking about how we want our wedding to be. We’ve barely talked about it since we got engaged.” My words made Mai’s face light up with excitement, overpowering the sombre air from before.

“You’re so right! We need to think about the guest list and the location and the food and the music and our vows and what we want the bridesmaids and groomsmen to wear an-“

“Slow your roll, there, hon. We should probably take this one step at a time, don’t you think?”

“Ack- sorry, you’re right. I just got excited because I’ve dreamed of my wedding day for so long. I forgot we kinda need to start from square one, heh…”

To tell the truth, the prospect excited me just as much as Mai. For a long time, I thought a normal life was something that had been snatched away from me, never to be returned. But here I was, planning to marry the girl I loved, living with two loving parents, surrounded by friends who truly accepted me as I was. It felt like I had finally begun to reclaim what the director had stolen from me.

“Well, let’s start with the location, since that’s probably the most important part. Was there a particular venue or anything you had your eye on?” I asked

“When I was young, I wanted to get married in a Christian chapel, but… well… I think that’s probably off the table now.”

“Yeah… after openly rejecting the rule of god I’m pretty sure we’d burst into flames if we ever stepped foot in a church, hehe…”

Now that it was pointed out to me, it was somewhat strange for us to get married in the first place, considering marriage was a religious ceremony and we had spent the last month planning to overthrow god himself. But then again, I didn’t need the approval of a deity to know my love for Mai was real, and I didn’t need the reassurance of the church to know she felt the same way.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

It was then that I recalled a place I had seen during my childhood that had always struck me with wonder, simply due to its natural beauty and independent of its religious significance.

“Hey, how do you feel about a spring wedding?” I asked

“I’d be okay with that. I’d much prefer it to one during the rainy season, at least.”

“Well, there’s a place I remember from where I lived before my parents were killed. It was a large outdoor shrine, with architecture that made it look like a real palace for the gods. And in the area where wedding ceremonies are done, the guests are surrounded by the falling cherry blossoms, blowing in the wind in the peaceful air. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to consider that as a venue.”

“Oh, Shin, that sounds beautiful. It’s the sort of fairytale wedding venue I dreamed of as a little girl.”

“Then do you wanna check it out together when we next have the chance?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

We continued talking about wedding plans well into the night, my heart set alight every time I saw the beaming smile on Mai’s face. Every time I looked at her I felt like she was too good for this brutal Earth.

“Hey, we also haven’t talked about what we want to do on our honeymoon yet,” I suddenly recalled.

“Well, I know what we’re gonna spend every night of our honeymoon doing.” Mai slung her arms around my neck as she said that, pulling my face close to hers. It was pretty obvious what she wanted.

“It’s pretty late already, y’know.”

“It’s the last chance we’ll get before everything kicks off. I want to feel your warmth one last time, to help me get through the coming trials.”

“…I think I’d like that too.”

With those words spoken, we passed our last night before the coming storm together.

***

Nao and I had split off from the girls a little while ago, and were now together in my room. Still upon our persons were the formal clothes we had worn for the illuminations, and Nao looked just as beautiful as she did the first time I saw her in that dress.

Nao raised her eyebrow as a smirk curled onto my face. The romantic atmosphere and the outfits we were wearing had given me an idea.

I bluetoothed my phone to my speaker and selected a playlist of slow ballroom music, before offering Nao my hand.

“Saki?”

“My dearest lady, might I have this dance?” I bowed dramatically, though I looked up enough to see Nao’s eyes roll and her mouth curl into a smile.

“It would be my honour, good gentleman.”

She took my hand, and I pulled her closer in to my body, our faces just centimetres apart. Slowly and gently, I took the lead, moving my whole body in step with the rhythm of the music. Nao followed my lead well, our step in perfect sync. I slowly started introducing more complicated movements, speeding up slightly as the tempo of the music increased. She continued to keep pace excellently, her sense of rhythm even surpassing my own.

As the song began to fade out, I had Nao bend backwards at my arm, and as the music finally came to its end, I sealed her lips with my own.

“What spurred that on all of a sudden?” Asked Nao as we broke apart.

“It felt like a waste to wear ballroom clothes but not dance with a pretty girl at least once. Besides, it gave me an excuse to steal your lips for a moment.”

“Idiot. You don’t need an excuse for that.” Nao blushed like fury as she dropped that uncharacteristically smooth line.

The day had been one to remember. Christmas shopping with Mai, seeing the Blue Cave with all my friends, and now sharing a dance with the girl I loved. Though I knew of the dangers on the horizon, my heart felt at peace. The rest-day had worked exactly as Hana had planned: my body felt refreshed, my fighting spirit was stoked, and my mind was rejuvenated. I was reminded of exactly what it was that I was fighting to protect, and that knowledge gave me the strength to face down any problems that came our way.

Of course, the main issue on my mind at that moment was spending the last free night before the war as best I could, and savouring the time I had with the girl in front of me that I loved so dearly.

“Y’know, Nao…” I pushed her hair out of her face with my right hand and moved in close again. “Since I live alone, there’s no one here who’ll hear us. We can be as loud as we want.”

“W-w-w-w-w-what do you mean by that?!”

“That we can talk as loud as we want all through the night, duh?”

“O-oh! Right! Th-that’s what I was thinking too!” Her face was so red at this point that she’d have likely been visible in the dark.

“Oh? You almost sounded disappointed there. Was there something else you were hoping I was talking about?” I stepped forward slightly, causing Nao to step back towards the wall. I planted my arm on the wall near her head and moved even closer than before, our faces almost touching.

“I-I-I just thought… since it’s our last night… like we did before… we could… y’know… we could maybe…” she put her hands to her face and shook her head slightly, before quietly saying “…please be gentle with me.”

If cuteness could kill I’d have been a dead girl walking.

“…I am gonna wife you up so hard.”

We both stayed up late into the night that night.