A classical song began to ring from just beyond the white taffeta curtain, behind which the whole of the bridal party was crowded.
“I think that’s our cue.” Yui offered her right arm to Kaito’s older brother Mikio, cradling a bouquet of white daisies in her left. The strapping gentleman adjusted his shoulders in his tuxedo jacket, hooking his arm around hers, and leading her around the curtain.
Quietly, Ayako counted the beats of the song under her breath. When twenty had passed, she offered her arm to her husband. “My love?”
Kage smiled warmly, taking her arm in his and patting the back of her hand as she collected her bouquet. “This brings back memories, huh?” He leaned over, kissing her cheek, and pulling aside the curtain for their departure.
Five seconds later, it was Mei’s turn. She reached out excitedly for Kaito’s best friend, Ichiro, who gladly scooped her arm into his own. The grin on his face made Ranko very curious how well they knew each other, and how much better they would by the end of the night.
Ranko blushed, looking down at Hoshi, looking dapper in his tuxedo. She was a little embarrassed to be escorted down the aisle by a seven-year-old, but she was the youngest girl after all, so she didn’t really have much room to complain. Hoshi held a white pillow, on which was perched a pair of rings.
“Looks like it’s you and me, buddy.”
Hoshi giggled. “Aww, again?”
Ranko smirked amusedly. “Listen, you. High heels or no high heels, I can still kick your butt. But, later. Right now, we gotta go make your mom proud.”
Hana craned her neck back to the curtain at the far end of the aisle from her seat in the front row. “So, do you think Izumi managed to tame your tomboy?”
Sitting next to her, Akane giggled. “I guess we’re about to find out. But there’s not much Ranko wouldn’t do for her sisters.”
The curtain parted, and Hoshi rushed out, careful not to spill the contents of his pillow. As he used both hands to carry it, Ranko held both of her hands on the stems of her lace-bound bouquet of white daisies as she stepped out behind him.
Akane gasped. “Holy…”
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Hana leaned closer to her, a proud grin on her face. She spoke quietly so as not to be overheard. “Shit. The phrase you’re looking for is holy shit.”
Akane took in the vision of the woman she loved, the woman who was once the man to whom she was engaged, stalking the pale blue runner leading to the altar where her sisters, Kaito, and the adult groomsmen waited with the officiant. She was positively aglow. Her hair was perfect. Her makeup was perfect. Her dress was perfect. Her smile was perfect. Her everything was perfect.
There were some eighty other people in the little flowery alcove, but Akane no longer noticed any of them. Forget the bride; she was going home with the true belle of the ball.
“Yeah. Holy shit.”
Ranko gave Akane a bright smile and a little wave as she passed the first row of chairs, and Akane was a little concerned she might pass out from the sudden blood flow to her face. She was well and truly flustered, and all her efforts to hide it were failing miserably.
Ranko took her place next to Mei, and everyone in the bridal party faced the rear of the alcove. The music changed to a different song and increased in volume, and everyone stood, turning to face the back as well while Izumi stepped out into the aisle. There was a smattering of gasps, and the constant snapping of cameras, as the bride made her way toward the altar. Akane watched her approach, not wanting to be rude, but in her mind’s eye, someone else was wearing that white dress. She hadn’t yet decided if it was her, or Ranko.
Everyone took their seats, and the officiant stepped to the center of the dais, between Kaito and Izumi.
“Friends, we gather here today because two people dear to us fell in love. There could be no better, no more joyous reason, for our coming together than to celebrate Kaito and Izumi as they take their first step into the rest of their lives not as two people, but as one family. We join together not just two people, but their families as well; Kaito’s parents and his brother, Izumi’s mother and all of her sisters, and Hoshi, the young man who has the honor of being their son. It truly is a day to celebrate.
“Kaito, will you accept Izumi as your wife? Will you care for her, protect her, and love her always? Will you keep her and her alone in your heart for as long as both of you live?”
The groom smiled up at his bride. “I will.” He reached down to the pillow his stepson-to-be held, carefully picking up a diamond wrap surrounding a smaller diamond solitaire, slipping it onto Izumi’s finger.
The officiant smiled. “And, Izumi, will you accept Kaito as your husband? Will you care for him, protect him, and love him, always? Will you keep him and him alone in your heart for as long as both of you live?”
Izumi giggled. “I will, and I can’t wait.” She turned, handing her bouquet of white roses to Yui behind her, picking up a thin gold band from Hoshi’s pillow, and sliding it onto the third finger of her husband’s left hand.
The officiant stepped back so as to no longer be between them. “Then, with vows and rings exchanged in accordance with the laws of Japan and in the presence of the gods and all of us who love and celebrate them, I now proclaim Kaito Sando and Izumi Konishi to be husband and wife. Kaito, you may kiss your bride.”
Kaito needed little encouragement.