"Daiki... How did you...." Hakufu questioned, the words barely escaping her mouth. He smile to everyone, Mai sighing in relief, clearly knowing what had just happened. He stated, "Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you...." He held out the locket for everyone to see, showing the newest and last symbol."The power of Hermes is the eighth power. Guess that makes me your last teammate."
“What the hell?!” Kaori gave him a look. “And you didn’t think to throw that in before?!”
“Yes. But I figured it’d be more of a distraction, then helping as we ran from the serial killer.” he smiled as Ryuichi growled as he got up, “You’ve always been a thorn in Hades’ side, Hermes.... Think you’re so clever. Well try to get your ‘friends’ out of this aliv--”
“Urgh!” Kei managed to wiggle his arm free as he pulled out a bright flashlight, dissolving the shadow tentacles.
“What?!” He said appalled as Kei got Yuki free and they began helping the others.
“Don’t worry about us~!” Rini called to her sister. “We can handle this! Take him down, you guys!” Kaori gave a relieved smile as Daiki said, “I told you. As long as we stick together, not only the Olympian powers, but mortals too. Together we can do anything.”
“Urgh, you're all becoming nuisances!!” he growled as darkness grew. The others tried to take control of it with their lights, but it wasn’t enough power. Hikaru called, “Ugh… guys!”
“Hakufu!” Daiki called as she nodded, flames growing all over her. Everyone shielded their eyes, from the brightness as the darkness began to wither away. "Kota!"
"What?!" Ryuichi gritted as roots began restraining him to the ground. He began to fight it, ripping the roots to pieces as Kota tried to stay focused, “A lil help here!”
“Stop resisting!” Rena sai strongly. “Don’t fight us Ryuichi! It’s inevitable!” He was struggling to fight the power of her voice as Yuto called, “Ryosuke!”
“I’m on it!” he replied, drenching Ryuichi in water nearby. Kota’s roots began to grow more tightly around him as Yuto then sent out an electrical ray. Ryuichi cried out in pain, “AAAHHH!!”
“Shirika, keep our energies up.” Daiki told her as she nodded, focusing on all of the powers. He turned to the others, “Watch our backs in case any of those tentacles get us.”
“We got it!” Satomi beamed, everyone with flashlights at ready.
“Kaori, I need you to give me some wind.” he said. “Follow my current.” She nodded, soon transforming into a bird as more appeared alongside her.
“This is why the Olympians are so powerful, Hades.” Daiki began. “Because they know how to work together. Time to say goodbye to your revenge!” He began to speed around him as Kaori and other birds began to flap their wings to give him more of a boost.
“No! I will not lose! Not when I’m this close!!!” Ryuichi screamed out in determination. He began moving, slowly as Daiki sped up faster, making it harder for him. Daiki then yelled, “Hakufu! On me!”
“What?!” she said. “You’re gonna get burned!”
“It’s won’t catch me! I need the flames in the cyclone! Hurry!” he ordered as she did, the cyclone of wind became a firey cage. Ryuichi screamed out in pain as they all soon heard, “Uhm, guys!” The mortals all turned to Yui who still had the locket around her neck as it started glowing. Daiki, who had glanced at it, quickly ordered, “All of you grab the locket! And shut your eyes! Powers, don’t stop! Whatever happens, do not stop!” They all nodded, focusing even more. Yuto and Ryosuke continued to electrify him, Kota’s roots and Rena’s voice kept him from leaving, Hakufu, Daiki, and Kaori kept the fire cyclone from the diminishing, and Shirika helped keep them from tiring out. The light from the locket grew brighter as Yui took it off and she, Kei, Satomi, Yuya, Hikaru, Keito, Yuki, Ryutaro, Rini, Chiharu, Mai, and Yuri grabbed hold of it, soon filling the entire area with brightness. Their eyes shut tight as they groaned from a powerful wind emerging from it, almost as if sucking them in.
“NO!” Ryuichi grimaced in pain.
“AH!” they all groaned as the wind stopped, only to suddenly push out, sending them all flying backwards. The light finally faded, leaving everyone weakly on the ground, including Ryuichi. Daiki, the first to slowly get up, groaned, “Urgh… damn… are you guys ok?” He got a few groans and nods in response as Rini shook her head, getting the headache out, as she asked, “What the hell was that?”
“Don’t get relaxed so soon…” Ryosuke gritted as he stood up, glaring at Ryuichi moving up slowly. He glared angrily, “You all have been a pain in the ass. You’re all dead now-” He went to attack as all the powers quickly blocked him from the mortals. However, nothing happened. A surprised look appeared on Ryuichi’s face, “N-No… I-Impossible.”
“Heh, all out of tricks.” Kaori beamed. “Well you’re in for it-” She went to charge when she stopped. “What?”
“Kaori!” Yuto yelled as Ryuichi suddenly pulled out a knife and when to attack. She ducked with a scream as Yuto punched him in his face. “Are you alright?”
“...” she panted a bit in fear as she looked at him, worried. “... It’s not just him… Our powers are gone.”
“Urgh… that’s right…” Ryuichi gritted. “You took mine. But that sacrifices yours too. And now, you’re all puny mortals.”
“Well so are you.” Rena gave him a look as Hakufu gave her a look, “Except for the fact that he’s still a killer.”
“Oh, yeah…” Rena remembered as he smirked, “Now you all have no chance--” Another punch came to his face as police sirens echoed around. Akiyama stood over his uncle, “Not if I can help it.” He looked over as a few policemen came. “He’s over here.”
“No! NO!” Ryuichi tried to fight them off as they handcuffed him and began to drag him to their car.
“I was beginning to wonder where you ran off to.” Kaori gave him a look.
“I hate being in debt. It’s the least I can do.” he replied, looking at them all. “... Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. You have impeccable timing, Akiyama.” Rini beamed. “Any sooner, we would’ve been found out.”
“Yeah, I waited for the right time.” he said as the police finally drove off. “Well I’m off. Thanks again.” He headed out as Daiki smiled, “Well, there we go. It’s finally over.”
“Hold on, hold on.” Yuri questioned as he came over to everyone. “I’m still really confused. That’s it. We win?”
“Looks like it.” Yuya stated as Yuri said, “Well, what was that about? Ryuichi? The locket? The powers suddenly gone? Are we not gonna get the answers we’ve been looking for?”
“Actually. I think I have all the answers." Daiki beamed.
~
[Gaea sought out the help of the Gods as she heard of Hades plot oh humanity. Annoyed with their constant fighting, arguing, etc, Hades wanted to unleash his powers onto the Earth claiming all the humans. However, he was could not kill them himself as it would give the other gods a reason to stop him. So he sought to give his powers to a mortal, a mortal much like him, with the drive to wreck havoc on humanity. The Olympians knew the importance of humanity and as much as they hated the idea to giving their abilities to mortals, it was the only way without ruining the balance of humanity. They gave a portion of their abilities to Gaea and she locked them away within a locket, linked to be found at the same time as Hades find his mortal Protege. The Olympian powers, much like Hades, would find mortals similar to the Gods as it is what activated the powers, the being who will team up to stop Hades, not only just the Olympians but with the help of humans too. The Olympian powers will all meet, just like the Olympians, and unless all are together, they won't be able to stop Hades. Once gathered, there is only one way to stop Hades; take his powers. To complete this task, the powers must work together, using every single ability to bring him down. Every mortal carrying the burden of the Olympian power has a loved one supporting and with the support of humans, the powers are even stronger. By uniting their abilities means they are willing to sacrifice their powers in order to put an end to Hades. The powers, including Hades will return to the rightful God and peace will return to humanity. And the mortals will continue with their lives, before the powers had affected them.]
"Wow." Chiharu and the others read through the few copies of Daiki's report as they all gathered at World Cuisines a few days later. "How’d you figure all this out?”
“Hermes remember? The messenger?” he smiled. “I guess Gaea made sure the story got sent through his powers.”
“Okay there’s still one thing that hasn’t been answered.” Satomi said. “You. Why did you get your powers later than everyone else?” He shrugged, “That I’m not too sure of.”
“We are.” they heard as Mai beamed, “Yuki and I have been talking about it ever since we found out, Daiki.”
“Hermes is known for his cunningness, being clever.” Yuki began. “He’s the messenger of Zeus, not only that, he easily talked Zeus into giving him a throne on Olympus.” Ryosuke asked, “And how does that explain why he got his powers late?”
“Think about it. Daiki was a bit of a klutz. Even if he did see things we didn’t, it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t anything like Hermes. He barely had confidence in himself, he wasn’t clever, he wasn’t Hermes-like at all.” she continued. “But eventually, he started to gain that confidence, he began to look at the locket, this mystery in ways none of us did. As soon as that started happening the power with in started to activate. It was always within him, it just didn’t start working until he got in touch with his inner Hermes.”
“Huh… that sounds right….” Keito thought. “What caused that change in you Daiki?”
“Heh.” he smiled at Mai. “I met someone I wanted to be confident, strong, and the best around. I wanted to show her the best of my abilities.” Mai blushed a bit as he added, “And not to mention the rest of you. Just as it says in the report, together, we are stronger, powers or not. And just getting closer to all of you… helped me discover myself a little more.”
“I think we’ve all discovered ourselves more through all this.” Rini beamed. Yui then asked, “What are you guys gonna do with this report? You aren’t actually gonna publish it are you?”
“No. We’re gonna publish this one.” Keito said, holding up another paper. “Unfortunately, it’s already out that we’ve been researching Gaea’s locket so there will be a lot of questions in regards to our findings. In this one, we basically just talked about what we found according to the box and the locket and what we believed to be the reason this artifact was made.”
“... Which is?” Yuri wondered.
“A locket that was suppose to tell the story of a feud between the Olympians and Hades.” Daiki answered. “Not enough details on either the locket or the box to really see what the feud was about.” Yuki then called, “Kaori, you ok?” They all glanced over to Kaori who was sitting quietly at a booth. She sighed, “I know it’s weird… especially since I was so agitated by it at first… but since losing my abilities, I feel as if I lost a part of myself.”
“It’s not just you, Kaori.” Rena stated. “How do you think I feel? I can’t get guys to do my bidding… as much.”
“I’d think of it as, a super boost to your personality.” Shirika beamed. “Kaori, your powers brought out your full potential. Now that its out, you don’t need to rely on that ability anymore.” She sighed soon smiling, “Yeah, I guess.”
“... Now that this is all over… What happens now?” Hakufu wondered. “We go back to the way things were? Like the report said?”
“No. Not exactly.” Kota thought. “I don’t necessarily consider it going back. After all, before all this, barely any of us knew each other. I’d consider it more as moving forward.” Ryutaro nodded, “Yeah, we just go on with our lives. Learning from the experiences of this adventure and growing from it.”
“Aww, you sound so grown up Ryuu.” Rini teased him as she ruffled his hair. He glared fixing it as Yuki sighed, “Back to the boring old classroom then…”
“I suppose nothing will ever be as amazing as this adventure.” Kaori said to her as she thought, “Well, you never know what the future has in store…”
~Epilogue~ (7 years later)
“And viola!” Yui beamed as she added the bride and groom to the top of the four layer cake.
“Looks great, Yui.” Yuri beamed. “And the meals are all prepared, the servers can start serving as soon as needed.” Yui sighed, “It’s too bad we had to miss the ceremony. I didn’t think it would take so long to make this cake.”
“They understand why we couldn’t be there. At least Kei and Shirika were there to represent us too.” he stated as they soon heard, “I hear you two are talking about me again.” Yui giggled, “You know how the boss is about you, Shirika.”
“Yui!” he gave her a look with a red face.
“Heh, its nothing to be embarrassed about Yuri~! It’s adorable!” she beamed, giving him a quick peck on the lips. He smiled, “How was the ceremony?”
“Long, but good! Those two are just so cute together. I told you this day would come.” she stated. Yui laughed, “Yeah, you definitely called it.”
“Yui that cake looks so delicious!” she pointed out excited.
“Calm down Shirika. Bride and Groom first.”
“Hehe, those two are so lucky. Yuri, we should have her cakes for all of our anniversaries! The same cake she made for our wedding.” she pleaded.
“Now that’s just troubling her.” he sighed as Yui offered, “Tell you what? How about I tell you my secret recipe for that strawberry shortcake? Then you can make it whenever you want.”
“Would you?!” she lit up as Yui nodded, “Sure. One one condition. You make me a cake for my wedding.”
“What?!” she laughed. “That’s so much pressure Yui! I won’t be able to make you a beautiful cake like this in six months!”
“Hehe, I was just kidding.” she beamed.
“Speaking of which, how are the plans going? Do you already have your venue and decorations? Should I give you the number of my wedding planner?” she wondered as Yui shook her head, “No. Kei and I working on it. We have it under control.”
“Heh, let me guess, he’s gonna build the venue.” she teased as Yui laughed, “He tried to get me to agree to that idea!”
“No way!” she giggled. “That guy is just too into buildings.”
“Speaking of which…. the first branch of World Cuisines is almost done.” Yuri said. “Have you seen it?”
“Oh yeah. Kei’s designs are great!” Shirika nodded as did Yui.
“Well that’s good. Since you’re gonna be spending a lot of time in there.” Yuri said as Yui gave him a look. “You’re gonna be the new manager of the second World Cuisines in all of Japan.” She gasped in happiness, “Are you kidding me?!”
“Nope.”
“Yuri, you are the best boss in the world!” she beamed hugging him as he smiled, “You deserve it. You’ve been a huge help to the original world cuisines. We couldn’t have started our other branches without you.”
“Congrats! We should celebrate with drinks with the other girls!”
“Give me a few minutes. I’m gonna change into my dress!” she said soon heading out.
~
"Of all the places to have a wedding reception-" Ryosuke groaned as he was nudged in the stomach. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Would you cut that out? There's nothing wrong with this place." Chiharu glared as he replied, "Yeah, it's nice but not nice enough for a wedding reception!"
"It's where we all first met! It means something important for them alright?!" She gritted annoyed as a loud crying came. She sighed, "Great, you woke up Takeshi." She picked up the baby from the carrier, cradling him as his crying ceased. The two sat at their table as others mingled around the restaurant.
"Don't be blaming me. You were arguing with me just as much as I was." He gave her a look as they soon heard, "Keep arguing and lil Takeshi will just be begging to get away from you two."
"And where have you been?" Chiharu sighed. "You promised to look after him during the reception and you're half an hour late!"
"Parking is not easy out there." Rena said taking Takeshi from her with a smile. "Ryuu still out there."
"Yeah, Yuri really should expand that lot. With how popular World Cuisines has gotten in the last couple years, it's much too small."
"Well were all fitting in here just nicely." Rena told her brother. "So stop complaining. The wedding planner did wonders on this place. It looks more fancy than usual."
"It's a restaurant. It's not the bit fancy-"
"Ryuu!" Rena called as she spotted him. He waved him over as he took off his blazer, "Finally. I can relax.... That parking out there was worse than my final exam for economics and that took me the full two hours to complete."
"Anyways, where's the bride and groom? Shouldn't they be here by now?" Chiharu looked around. Ryutaro looked around, "Oh, Rini's over there. I'm sure she should know." He headed over as they soon heard, “Where’s Ryuu off to?”
“Kota! Satomi!” Chiharu beamed. “You guys made it! We missed you at the ceremony!”
“Sorry.” Satomi sighed. “Our plane got in late. I’m surprised that we made it to the reception.”
“Where did you three just get back from?” Rena wondered as Kota said, “America. Lil Miya had a good time, didn’t you honey?” He looked down at the little girl holding onto Satomi’s leg. She nodded, shyly as Rena beamed, “Aww, you’re so grown now Miya! How old are you sweetie?” She was quiet as she held up four fingers.
“Wow! Such a big girl!” Chiharu giggled. She moved her son closer, “I don’t think you met Takeshi yet…”
“Oh my god, is he yours?!” Satomi lit up. “He’s little cutie! How old is he?”
“Nine months.” she beamed.
“Oh, Kota. I knew we were gone too long!” Satomi sighed. “I don’t even remember you being pregnant!”
“Hehe, well I suppose being an environmentalist means traveling a lot. It can’t be helped.” Rena stated as she remembered, “Oh, yeah! I looked bought your book Satomi! It was amazing!”
“Oh, now that’s just embarrassing Rena!” she giggled. “Why would you be interested in a book like that?”
“To satisfy my curiosity.”
“What is this book I haven’t heard of?” Chiharu gave Satomi a look as Ryosuke said, “Well, while you girls talk, Kota and I are gonna have a beer with Yuya outside.” The two men left as Rena said, “Into the Criminal Mind. Satomi published it about five years after our little adventure with Ryuichi and it was superb! It was obviously based on Ryuichi and looking into his mind and background.”
“Wow, so i guess you still did a lot of research on him despite him being put away.”
“Sure did. I actually had some help from the Watanabe kid.”
“Akiyama?!” the two said surprised. “So you kept in touch with him?!”
“Sure did. He ended up graduating from the same university I was teaching at. He worked with me for his independent study and he was a lot of help. I gave him a lot of credit in the book. Didn’t you see the bibliography?”
“No. I only read the actual story.” Rena stated as Satomi asked, “Anyways, enough about me. How’s the modeling job going?”
“Please. Modeling is getting old. I’m a spokesperson too now.” she beamed. “For Ryuu’s company.”
“Oh, yeah. He’s an advertising manger at some top chart company right?”
“Sure is. He’s loves it so much and just had to have me be his advertising spokesperson.” she beamed.
“So kinda like Shirika in a way… just mainly for looks and commercials.”
“Yup.” she smiled.
“Speaking of which, when did you and Ryuu finally get together?” Satomi wondered. “I know you two were dating for the longest time. Kota was always trying to get that boy to ask you already.”
“Hehe, yeah, he sure took his time with that. He asked me two years ago. The second he got his master’s degree.” she explained. “Turns out, he wanted to make sure he could support me before he asked me to be his girlfriend.”
“Aww, that kid is so cute sometimes!” Satomi then asked, “What about you Chiharu, still working with Yuto at that computer company?”
“Yes and no.” she stated. “Yuto and I left but we still work together at his new company, Olympus Inc.”
“Heh, I see what he did there.” she laughed.
“Yeah, I told him it was cheesy, but he liked it.” she explained. “Basically, he works with the new software, and expansions of it and I handle all the advertisements and graphics.”
“Wait, isn’t that where Shirika works too?” Rena remembered as Chiharu nodded, “Yeah, and Kaori. Yuto kinda made the new animation software for her and that’s kinda how it got started.”
“Heh, speaking of which where are those two? I haven’t seen them in forever!” Satomi said as they continued to chat about life.
~
"That dress is so beautiful Yui!" Rini complimented as she approached her by the bar. Yui got a drink as she beamed, "Thanks. Yours is adorable too Rini. It suits you." She giggled, "Thanks."
“Have you seen Shirika? We were gonna have a drink together…” she said as she nodded, “She said something about a crisis and rushed outside with Yuri.”
"Oh. Oh, well...So where's that beau of yours?" She asked looking around, taking a seat next to her. "Been awhile since I've seen him around."
"I swear Keito's rubbing off on him." She sighed. "He's been outside the last half hour talking to some client."
"Sounds a bit too familiar..." She rolled her eyes looking at Kei talking to some guest about the base of the building. "Kei just can't shut up about buildings and how they're put together."
"Heh, he has been getting good business lately." Rini smiled. "Did you see Yuya's and Hakufu's new workplace? It's so beautiful."
"Like I said, he wouldn't shut up about it." Yui giggled. "Yuya's new club was his favorite project and Hakufu's animal hospital was his first big project he got to lead."
"Speaking of which, where are those two?"
"Last I checked, my brother was outside having a drink with my lovely sister-in-law." She said as Rini squealed, “Aww, those two are just adorable together. How many years now? That they’ve been together?”
“Heh, well dating wise, around eight. But they did just get married two years ago.” she answered they soon heard, "Hey, sorry that took so long."
"Humph. I was starting to think you forgot about me." Rini teased as he laughed wrapping an arm around her, "No one in their right mind would."
“So, Hikaru, what do you do now?” Yui wondered. “You jumped from job to job all the time its hard to keep up.”
“Well that’s the end if it. I’m a headhunter.” he explained as she smiled, “Heh, that’s fitting. A guy who changed jobs every few months is now an official businessman who helps find suitable jobs for others.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.” he beamed.
"Rini!"
"Ryuu!" She beamed hugging him happily as he approached. "Been awhile!!"
"I know. Things at the office have been so busy. And I know you've had a lot of house calls." He sighed as Yui asked, "I didn't get to ask, Rini. What do you do now?"
"Oh I'm a animal trainer." She beamed. "Surprisingly I get a lot of calls. But I still do a lot of work at the animal shelter."
"So much that she probably gonna be the new manager." They heard as Kei joined them. "As soon as he retires, he's definitely giving you the place."
"I'd love that so much." She beamed. Ryuu then asked, "Hey, so what's taking the bride and groom?"
"Beats me." Hikaru looked around. "But I want to get to this reception already. I'm starving!" Rini gave him a slight whack on the head as she asked, "Is my sister here yet? She has to know." They all glanced around in search of her.
~
“Oi, Yuto!” he heard as he walked to the side of World Cuisines where Kota, Ryosuke, Yuya, and Hakufu were having a drink. “We got an extra! Come join us!” He took a seat with them, grabbing the beer bottle as he chugged some down.
“Heard the news dude.” Ryosuke beamed. “Congrats.”
“Thanks.” he smiled. Hakufu smiled, “Yeah, congrats! It’s about time!” He gave Ryosuke a look, “Okay, who’d you tell?”
“Uh….” he thought as Yuto groaned, “Dude, come on! I told you not to tell anyone! Kaori’s gonna murder me!”
“Aww come on. She wouldn’t do that to her--” Yuya began as he suddenly stopped him, “SH! She’s in a really stressed out mood and when she’s stressed, she’s like superman. Super strong and super hearing. She will not only murder me, but you all too.”
“... I get the feeling we’ll be spared.” Hakufu teased as he pleaded, “Please just don’t say anything. Not until after the wedding.”
“Alright. Fine.” Kota sighed. “Well, keep quiet.”
“Thanks.” he sighed. “So what have I missed?”
“Nothing much. We’ve just been messing with these two about their love life.” Ryosuke grinned to Yuya and Hakufu. Yuya gave him a look, “And we told you. It’s none of your business.”
“Alright, I’ll change the subject. How’s the hospital business going, Hakufu?” Yuto asked as she smiled, “Thank you Yuto. And it’s going great. Despite the fact it’s only two years old, we’ve been pretty popular. I have a whole list of appointments lined up tomorrow.”
“Well, better enjoy this wedding while you can.” they heard as Yuto smiled, “Have trouble finding parking too?” Mai nodded, “Yeah. I didn’t realize there were this many people at the church.”
“Yeah, Kaori was so annoyed, she’s complaining to Yuri when I dropped her off.” Yuto stated. Mai then said, “Oh! Yuya, one of my first students visited me the other day and he mentioned your club!”
“Oh? That’s right. You’re still teaching kindergarten. Full-time now though right?” he asked as she nodded. “Well what’d he think?”
“They loved it. He said it was the hottest 18 and over club in the area.” she smiled. He beamed, “Well that’s good to hear.”
“If only we had a club like that in our days.” Ryosuke beamed as his smile then fade, “Well, damn. I never thought I’d hear myself say those words. I feel so old now.”
“Time sure has flown.” Kota sighed, staring up at the sky. “Can you imagine just over eight years ago, we all met for the first time. And now… half of us are married and starting families?”
“It’s hard to believe.” Yuto stated. “Seeing how much we’ve all grown in the last couple years-”
“Hey, hurry up you guys! The bride and groom are finally here!” they heard an angry voice call from the door as they quickly got up rushing inside as Ryosuke asked, “Yuto… is she ok? Kaori’s… kinda scary right now.”
“She’s the maid of honor.” he pointed out. “Of course she is.”
~
“Kaori, tiny problem-” Daiki approached her as everyone began taking their seats at their tables. She glared, “Daiki, so help me, if this is some stupid problem that can be taken care of simply, I will drown you in steak sauce and toss you in an arena filled with hungry lions.”
“.... Uhm….” he hesitated.
“And if you waste my precious time right now-”
“I lost my toast.” he said quickly as she groaned, “Well then wing it for crying out loud! You are the best man! You can handle a toast without your stupid notes!”
“But-”
“Too late. You’re on.” she said pushing a mic into his hand as she pushed him to the stage. Before he could respond, she put a smile on and said into her mic, “Alright ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us for this special occasion, the wedding of Mr. Keito and Mrs. Yuki Okamoto!” Applause went around as the couple held hands, glancing happily at each other. “Here’s the best man, Daiki with his toast.”
“Oh, uhm…” he stuttered as silence soon filled the restaurant. He took a breath and said, “I remember first meeting Keito. It was my freshman year of college and I saw this kid sitting next to me in class. He had that loner, nerdy vibe to him since he was in his books taking notes of every little details of it.” He scoffed a bit, “Seriously, his margin notes on the book could have been a book itself.” Small scoffs went around as he continued, “And when I first talked to him, yes he was a bit of a smartass, but when he heard I was also an archeology major, he got excited. It’s the same excited, happy face he gives every time we find something amazing on a dig. Honestly, I’ve been with this guy all throughout college and years after it… and never has he looked at something with so much love, to something that doesn’t have to do with historical artifacts… until about eight years ago.” Kaori gave him a small thumbs up as he smiled to the two newlyweds as they listened intensely.
“Now. I wasn’t there when the two first met, but I bet he had that look on his face. Yuki worked with us a lot during one of our deciphering of an artifact and I seriously felt like a third wheel a lot. The way these two worked together, has always been strong since then and as long as I’ve been his partner. I could never compare to the bond these two share.” he stated. “Yuki, you got a very good guy here. Please take care of him. And congrats to you both.” Applause echoed around as Daiki then said, “Now a word from the Maid of Honor.”
“So, I had completely prepared for this speech…” Kaori began as she stood up on the stage, besides the newlyweds. “But after that speech, all of my confidence has just gone AWOL.” She sighed, “Can you believe that guy came up to me in a panic not more than a minute before his toast saying he lost his notes for it?” Laughter emerged as she sighed, “But I’m not here to talk about that. Yuki…” She looked at her friend as she smiled, “I have never met a weirder person than you.”
“... what kind of toast is that?” she sighed as Kaori laughed, “Let me finish. When I saw weird, I mean unique. Original. I have never met anyone like you because you’re not afraid to show who you are. Your feelings are so easy to read because you let everyone read them, you don’t let people judge you and you stay strong and have confidence in everything you do.”
“... Ever since we met in high school, that’s something I’ve always admired about you. And I feel that ever since I saw you and Keito together at World Cuisines, your personality enhanced so much more.” she reminisced. “Going off of Daiki’s toast, it shows that opposites really do attract. These last five years you two have spent dating each other, I easily saw how you affect each others lives. Keito, you’re finally lightening up on your work, taking breaks to enjoy time with your girl- well wife now. And Yuki, you’ve become so much more stronger, confident, and just happier than I’ve ever seen you. You two really are quite a pair…. Congratulations.” Applause went all around as Kaori then said, “Now, enjoy your meals.”
“Kaori, that toast was beautiful.” Yuki hugged her as she walked over to her. “You have been the best Maid of Honor anyone could ask for.”
“Heh, as stressful as this last month has been. It was worth it.” she beamed. “I’m glad to see you so happy.”
“Kaori.” they heard as Yuto waved her over.
“It’s only a matter of time before you have your day too.”
“There’s still plenty of time before I need to start thinking about that.” she sighed. “Go ahead and eat. You probably won’t get much time for it later on.” She nodded as Kaori joined Yuto.
“Did you really make that toast up on the spot?” Yuki heard Keito say to Daiki as he nodded, “Yeah, I swear I had it at the church. I must have dropped it on the way out.”
“Impressive.” Keito said.
“It was great, Daiki.” Yuki added. He then asked, “So what’s the plans for the honeymoon?”
“... hehe, Greece.” Yuki said as the two glance at each other.
“Ha, really?” he stated as Keito nodded, “... It’s because of Gaea’s locket that we got to meet. It makes sense to go there for bringing us to meet.”
“Yeah, that does make sense.” Daiki smiled. “When do you leave?”
“The day after tomorrow.” Yuki replied. “And for three weeks.”
“Wohoo. Three week vacation for me.” Daiki beamed as Keito gave him a look, “Daiki, we still have our search in-”
“Our search in South America can wait.” Yuki said. “Daiki deserve a break. We can continue that when we get back.”
“But we’re so close! I can feel it!” Keito groaned as she said, “You said that two weeks ago and we still haven’t found anything.” Daiki said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll head back over there in a week. I was planning to bring Mai there since she has a two week vacation.”
“That’d be great.” Keito said as food was place before them. Yuki beamed, “Yuri, this food looks delicious!”
“The best just for you two.” he beamed. “Now, if you don’t mind, my wife has been stressed helping out your maid of honor.”
“Sorry for the trouble.” Keito said as he shook it off.
~
“Can I get another scotch please?” Kaori asked the waiter as he nodded and left. Kei asked, “Kaori, don’t you think that’s enough?”
“No.”
“That’s gonna be your fifth and you barely started eating.” he pointed out as she replied, “So? I’ve been too stressed out with all the planning for this. I deserve to celebrate. I’m finally done worrying about it.” Yui sighed, “I suppose that’s one way to put it. Just take it easy.”
“Don’t worry. I know my limit.” she smiled.
“So how’s your work going? Since you’ve been so busy with wedding planning?” Yuya wondered as she sighed, “I had to postpone production for my latest anime.”
“Oh, you mean the one based on us?” Hakufu beamed. “I’ve been following that since it started. I was wondering why you haven’t aired the next episode.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s an anime based on us?” Yuya questioned as Yuto nodded, “Yeah, Kaori’s first production. Remember how she drew out sketches of our adventure with Gaea’s locket? She sent it in to a publisher and she got help to make it into a storyboard and now, it’s Olympus Inc’s first major anime.”
“Wow, that’s pretty cool.” he beamed. “I feel like a star.”
“Please. You’re a side character.” Hakufu teased. “I’m the star. At least one of them.”
“So what’s this production called? I gotta find it online.” he beamed.
“Prowess of the Gods.” Kaori said. “Don’t make fun of the title.”
“Not commenting.” he said as he pulled out his phone, trying to find it as Hakufu helped. Yui then said, “Kei, it’s almost time to bring the cake out. Can you help me with it?”
“Sure.”
“So…” Yuto said softly as Kaori gave him a look, “What?”
“When can we tell them?” he asked quietly as she glared, “If you want to tell them that badly then tomorrow.”
“What?”
“Yuto, if you tell them now it’s gonna take all the attention away from their special day.” she gritted. “And so help me, if you ruin the rest of this reception, I will give you a repeat of our first date skydiving except I will be pushing you out, without a parachute, over a desert filled with cacti.”
“Alright… I won’t tell them…” he said.
“Good.” she sighed as the cake was soon brought out and Yuki and Keito sliced in, handing out pieces to everyone.
~
“Alright, single ladies, time for the bouquet!” Yuki called as she got up from her seat.
“Come on, sis.” Rini began to pull her sister towards the other girls where Rena and Mai were heading with other non-married woman.
“No thanks. I think I’m gonna sit out.” she sighed.
“But why?” she pouted. “Come on. You do want to marry Yuto right?” She turned red as Yuto laughed, “Well? Do you Kaori?”
“Shut up, Yuto.” she gave him a look. “Why would I want to marry a dork like you?”
“Because I’m your dork.” he smiled, wrapping an arm around her. “And you know you love me.” She rolled her eyes as Yuki came over, “Actually, as you know, I’ve very unique. I do this differently.”
“What do you mean?” Kaori gave her a look.
“I mean, I pick who I think will be the one who will be giving a bouquet away next.” she winked. “And since everyone already knows about Yui and Kei’s wedding in the next few months....” She pushed the bouquet into Kaori’s hand and beamed, “Now everyone will know that Yuto proposed to you!”
“...wha…” she said surprised as everyone cheered, smiling happily at her as she glared at Yuto, “You told them we were engaged?!”
“I swear I didn’t!” he laughed. “I told Ryosuke and he told everyone.” She glared at Ryosuke as he gave a worried smiled, “Please don’t kill me… I’m the best man…” She groaned as Yuki giggled, “Don’t be so upset. You’re gonna be married soon too!”
“Yeah, and to compensate... You’re gonna be my Maid of honor.” she said as Yuki sighed, “Oh yay…”
“Heh, congrats sis!” Rini beamed. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”
“Because I didn’t want to pull away attention from Yuki and Keito.” she sighed. “But.. the cats outta the bag now.” Daiki smiled, “Well, we’re here for you if you need anything.”
“As long as I don’t have to spend another wedding baking a cake, I’m sure it will be great.” Yui said. Laughter filled the group as they continued to celebrate, a new chapter in many of their lives.
-FIN-
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