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As cliche as it could be, the day was beyond beautiful.
The town was wonderfully decorated (they really went all-out with the decorations).
The people were festive, loving, and happy.
The blooming cherry blossom trees made it all the better looking, letting everyone know that the spring season was in full bloom.
(A/N: pun? lol)
There was a slight sense of chaos in a certain home in the middle of all the happiness.
Roji nervously sat on a chair in the middle of the room; he peeked out of the window and saw that the sun was still rising. The shine of the Sakura trees really lit up the scenery of the town. It almost seemed too peaceful and wonderful. He wondered if he could convince Muhyo to have a picnic dinner in a park later. He was excited. He winced when he heard something crash, and he turned to look at the battlefield, which was Imai’s apartment.
Somehow, for some magical reason, everyone was managing to run around Imai’s apartment like chickens without their heads (literally, don’t ask how this is possible cause if Page can pull a full-size book from his back pocket, then its fucking possible) and not crashing into each other. Why they were running around was a complete mystery. Lili and Maril were the only ones not running around, choosing to sit next to Roji and laughing at everyone. They kept arguing with someone every time they threw a snarky comment around.
Busujima finally burst through the door and held up the hairpiece that Roji would wear. She trotted over to him and gently arranged the piece in his hair. She stepped back a bit and admired her work.
“Woah, Roji-kun, you look amazing!!!”
“Kusano…”
Roji felt his cheeks heat up, and he smiled at all of them. The two had finally decided to go with a Traditional Japanese wedding, temple and all (they also ended up choosing a well-known temple for the residents of the town that was known for doing traditional weddings). They were still incorporating Western themes, such as the two of them not seeing each other before the big moment. Henceforth, Roji was wearing the traditional shiromuku or the traditional silk white kimono. He had chosen to forgo the white hood and instead opted for a decorative hairpiece. Nana had applied a thin layer of makeup to bring out his complexion, eyes, and his outstanding smile.
(Roji and Muhyo had gone through a lot of arguments leading up to the wedding about the outfits…Well, it was more of Roji getting flustered and screaming that he wasn’t going wear the bridal kimono and Muhyo smirking at him and laughing.)
Umekichi was staring at the amazing transformation of his friend and then spotted the pile of the boxes in the corner, and he pointed them out.
“Hey, Roji, what is all of this?”
Roji hummed in question and turned to look at what Umekichi was pointing at.
“Oh, uhh, actually, those are presents that I prepared for everyone. As my way of saying thanks for everything.”
They blinked and looked at him, smiling warmly.
“There’s nothing that you need to thank us for, but thank you for the gifts. You’re really thoughtful aren’t you?”
Roji shook his head. “There’s actually a lot that I need to thank you for.”
Roji got up and slowly got on the floor, bowing deeply. They all started getting flustered but kept quiet.
“Nana-chan, thank you for being a good friend and always coming to visit us, even when we were arguing a lot. You’ve been really helpful all this time. Like, a lot of help and I’m glad to call you a friend.”
The brunette smiled, wiping the tears away. When Kenji first introduced the three of them, she was a little skeptical, but she’s glad that she got to call these boys her friends. She’s also made so much more friends through them. She’s glad that she gets to be a part of this amazing day.
“Page-san, thank you for coming to my rescue all those years ago and gifting me the tie. I would also like to thank you for inspiring me to become a practitioner.”
Page smiled as he felt a tear drop down his face. He looked at the wonderful young man before him and saw how the small child, with tears in his eyes, grew into this kind, loving, wonderful young man.
“Imai-san, thank you for your guidance during that time of the training camp/ testing. I didn’t make it any easier due to my insecurity, but you did help a lot, and you housed us for a bit. Thank you for that.”
Imai could admit that she was frustrated with the kid when everything went down after the fiasco with Goryo (the drama queen) and the Akagawa apartments (the biggest scandal in the MLS, it was talked about for days. Did not help the poor kid’s insecurities when people pointed at him). He’s grown a lot as a person and as a magic lawyer. Now, he was getting married.
“Lili-chan, Maril, thank you for your wonderful, infinite wisdom during the fight and with your help during the training camp. It was a lot of fun getting to hang out with the two of you, and I hope that we can do it again in the future.”
When Lili and Maril saw one-half of their latest experiment, they decided to talk to him and mess around with him. He was kind of like a spoiled brat, but when it counted, he was the person that you could rely on the most. While the small, insecure puppy was still there, the grown dog was fierce in his beliefs and in his loyalty to his master (soon-to-be husband, but whatever).
“Busujima-san, Umekichi. You two are the ones to whom I owe the most gratitude here, besides Page-san. The two of you accepted the job offer of a sketchy sleazebag, and you came to him with the request. If it weren’t for the two of you, I most likely wouldn’t be here right now, so I thank the two of you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for being a friend, and thank you for giving me the chance to marry the love of my life. There are just not enough words in the world to show how grateful I am for that.”
Roji’s voice cracked near the end of his speech, and Busujima and Umekichi cried and went over to lean on Roji’s kneeling body. They were grateful that they decided to take the job and that they were able to save their friend. Roji was someone precious to all of them, and they were thankful that they still got to keep him in their lives.
“There’s no need to thank us, silly boy. We’d do it over and over again if it meant we got to save you. You mean the world to everyone in this room and to everyone who’s with Muhyo. We’d do anything to see both of your smiling faces.”
Roji looked up and beamed at Busujima. He also looked away shyly and started fidgeting around.
“Uhh, there was one more thing.” The group looked at him in confusion. “If it’s not too much to ask…” He bowed deeply again. “Page-san, Busujima-san, would you take the place of my parents at the ceremony? I-i know it’s weird for me to ask, but the two of you… kind of feel safe like family figures. I…uhhh. No, can you forget I asked that? Haha.”
Roji laughed nervously on the outside, but on the inside he was embarrassed with himself.
‘Whyyyyy did I ask that? What the heck? Why am I like this?!? Muhyoooo, please save me from this embarrassment!!!’
He stopped to think about that. Muhyo would only call him an idiot and would whack him on the head with a book or something for doing and saying something so stupid. He shook his head a bit to clear his thoughts away. On second thought, he’ll take the embarrassment over Muhyo whacking him on the head with a book anytime.
Roji felt a hand on his shoulder, and the next thing he knew, he was pulled into a hug by both Page and Busujima. He looked at everyone in shock and saw that they had tears running down their faces. He felt a little hit on the back of his head, and he was a bit dumbfounded.
“You silly boy. It’s an honor that you would consider us for those important roles. However…” Busujima made Roji look her in the eyes. “Instead of a mother figure or something, I’d be there as an aunt or an older sister. Ok?”
Roji nodded and looked at Page.
“I am just as honored, and I am incredibly happy that you would consider me for the parent role in your life. Thank you, Kusano, no, Roji-kun.”
Busujima burst into laughter, and everyone soon followed suit. She heaved out a breath.
“Well, enough of this sappy stuff. Page, how about we go and get our boy married?”
Page nodded, and Roji smiled so brightly and happily that it seemed like the summer sun was in full mode.
“Yes!!!”
///
*Same Time, Biko’s Office*
The small place was filled with laughter, once again, no thanks to those goddamn hyenas. Muhyo felt a vein tick, and he reached into his robes for his Magic Law book, thought again, and grabbed one of Biko’s books. He honestly thought about his life choices and why he was still friends with these damn fools.
(Enchu was let out on a special provision, given that it was a special occasion and that he would be watched by his guard at the prison. Roji had somehow convinced the higher ups to let him out as a damn surprise.)
“I still can’t believe Muhyo managed to snag someone and marry them.”
Yoichi snorted.
“More like, I can’t believe that he’s the first one of us to freaking get married. What the hell is that? That’s not fair.”
Biko tilted her head to the side.
“No, actually, it makes a lot of sense.”
Yoichi felt a stab in his heart at the betrayal.
“The betrayal.”
Biko looked like she now wanted to hit Yoichi across the head.
“Well, maybe if you weren’t such a womanizer and focused on one person, and then maybe you could’ve gotten married as well.”
“But, like, why are you sitting like that? Are you not going to wrinkle the clothes?”
Muhyo kept glaring at them throughout their conversation and finally had enough of their foolishness and flew the book at them. They all whined like babies and turned to look at their friend. Muhyo glared at them with the power of a thousand suns, but he looked a little ridiculous. He sat perfectly in a seiza style on one of Biko’s couches.
“If you idiots would care to remember, I am the heir to the clan and blah blah blah, decorum and all that fucking shit.”
The three of them looked at the Executor.
“Your height might’ve changed, but your language is worse than ever before!!!”
Muhyo narrowed his eyes at them and flipped them off. Biko’s three little pupils, who looked absolutely adorable in their formal clothes, looked nervously between the four of them.
“Biko-sensei...”
“Huuuu, I’m scared, you guys.”
“Rio-sensei, is it ok for them to be like this?”
Rio looked down at the three little munchkins and sighed, doing her best at trying to calm them down, but obviously, the three munchkin babies didn’t know about the four of them.
Rio sighed and clapped her hands, getting their attention.
“Alright, you guys, we don’t want to rile Muhyo up so much that he’d look like a haggard mess for the ceremony.” They snorted in laughter. “Plus, you know that would only make Roji-kun fret if he sees Muhyo looking like a right mess for their wedding ceremony.”
Apparently, if you wanted someone in their friend group to do something, all you’d have to do is mention that Roji would be disappointed in them. The three of them instantly sat down and looked like three picture-perfect angels…if she didn’t know that they were actual rat monkeys from hell, hell-bent on stressing everyone out with their weird friend dynamics (the idiots…). She smiled down at them, looked at Biko’s pupils, and gestured for them to sit down. Her phone let off a sound, and she smiled down at it.
“Muhyo, are your parents meeting us there?”
Rio was met with grumblings and she turned to see the annoyed Executor looking another way and grumbling to himself.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes, then.”
She typed something on her phone and got something in response.
“Alright, everyone. Shall we make our way to the temple?”
///
*Whatever Temple May Be There* (A/N: I have ZERO imagination for this, so you only get this.)
The air and the atmosphere surrounding the temple were charged with nervous excitement.
The day was finally here.
The day Genius Executor Muhyo and his reliant assistant Kusano tie the knot.
Roji was left sitting in one of the numerous rooms of the huge temple. He was waiting for Muhyo’s parents and he was nervous. His soon-to-be husband (holy cow, they were getting married!!!!) hadn’t spoken much about his parents, especially after Roji had divulged his things with his late parents almost eight months ago. He was glad that he had asked Busujima-san and Page-san to stand in for his parents. He looked up when he heard a voice.
“Excuse us?”
“Yes? Please come in.”
The door slid open, and two extremely good-looking people entered the room, not making eye contact with him yet. They honestly looked a little young. The couple sat in front of him and bowed in greeting.
“Hello, we’re Toru’s parents. My name is Makio, and I’m his mother.”
“And I am Aoi, his father. It’s a pleasure to meet you, and we’re also sorry for the late introductions. We wish we could’ve met earlier when everything went down, but clan business took us away, which is sad because we wanted to experience his growth. It’s almost a tradition in the family at this point, haha.”
They sat up, and the both of them could’ve sworn that they were hit with nostalgia and painful memories at the same time. They looked at each other, then at Roji again, tears welling in their eyes.
“Umm…are you Kusano Jiro?”
Roji blinked in surprise confusion. “Uhh…yes?”
The older couple looked like they had seen a ghost, looked at each other, then back at him, and smiled.
“We’re so glad that you grew up to be healthy, Sweet Boy.”
“Yes, glad and proud. Now, you’re marrying Toru. You’re amazing.”
Roji stared at the couple, wondering if they met somewhere.
‘Then, that would mean that I met Muhyo before, too, right?’
Makio-san smiled at him. “So, how did you meet, Toru-chan?”
Roji flinched out of his stupor and looked at the woman.
“Ah, actually, I’m his assistant.”
The two blinked in shock. “Really?”
Aoi-san looked in shock. “Then, how did the two of you start dating, and how did it end up in a marriage?”
Roji looked shocked. Even though he couldn’t tell you how he and Muhyo started dating (well, he could, but honestly, he couldn’t remember how or what it was about), he started going for it anyway. He talked about their times together, how he became Muhyo’s assistant, and the things that they’ve been through with Ark and Vector. He even mentioned the forbidden training arc.
Then he got to the part about the Headmistress wanting Yoichi to be Muhyo’s assistant.
Him failing the promotional exams.
Him leaving the office.
Then, Muhyo showed up at the train station, sentencing a spirit with the Hell Train, the vegetable market, and finally, the proposal as Roji was going up the stairs with the groceries in his damn hand. Then, he got to the part about the assistant’s switch and all of the things that he went through in the past couple of months and how the two of them decided that they couldn’t wait any longer and decided to get married the following Spring, and here they were.
Aoi and Makio looked at the boy in front of them in shock.
‘What the hell?’
‘The hell has that stupid son of ours been doing?!’
Roji, once again, got the shock of his life when the couple bowed deeply and started apologizing for their son’s behavior.
“We’re so sorry that you had to go through all of thaaat!!!!” Makio-san whined a bit at the end.
“What has he been doing?” Aoi-san looked almost…worried.
Roji quickly reassured them, not knowing that he even said something.
“Mother, Father, it’s alright. It was a bit of a hiccup in our lives, but it’s better, and we’re here today. There’s nothing to be worried about, and honestly, it’s kind of taught me to be better and stronger. That’s what I wanna do!!!”
The couple looked at their son-in-law and smiled serenely.
‘Kanae, Toshiro. Look, your son has grown so much. He’s the perfect embodiment of the two of you and filled with so much love and kindness.’
“AH!!!”
The couple looked at their son-in-law and watched as he scrambled for something behind him. Roji took the presents and presented them to his in-laws, bowing deeply.
“Mother, Father, these are the gifts that I have prepared for you. They may not be much, but I wanted to once again thank you for welcoming me into the family.”
The couple bowed back and accepted the gifts.
“Thank you, Jiro; we’re sure that it’ll be perfect.”
Roji fidgeted a bit and looked at his in-laws.
“If you’d like, you can call me Roji; almost everyone does so at this point.”
“Then, Roji-kun, welcome into the family.”
Roji nodded, a bit of tears in his eyes. “Thank you.”
They were sitting in peaceful silence until Roji could tell that the atmosphere had changed and that they were about to have a serious conversation.
“Roji-kun, if possible, we’d like to have a chat with you at some point during the banquet.”
“Yes, there are some things that we feel we must divulge onto you now that you are older and getting married.”
Roji tilted his head like a puppy in confusion and nodded, but he did look a little worried. The Muhyo parents quickly went to reassure him.
“Oh, there’s nothing bad. It’s just that we need to tell you something after all these years.”
Aoi nodded, agreeing with his wife.
“There’s something that’s been weighing heavily on our hearts for the past 16 to 17 years, and it’s about time that we finally remedied a situation from so long ago.”
Roji noticed the weariness that appeared in the couple. It really must’ve been something big. They looked like they were carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. The blonde nodded to himself. If it would help ease their burden, he would listen to what they had to say.
“Mother, Father, please don’t worry. If there is something that I can help with, then I shall gladly help you. You’ve carried around a burden that many people don’t know about. Good work, the both of you.”
Aoi and Makio didn’t know that they wanted to hear those words from someone for so long. Due to the spell that was placed on them all those years ago, they were never allowed to say anything of the nature that would expose the secret. They made up their mind. They would contact their friends tonight, and they would reveal the truth. They nodded and wiped the tears from their faces, smiling at the wonderful person, their son-in-law.
“Now, I wonder what’s taking our sweet boy so long? Doesn’t he know that it’s rude to make the bride wait on their wedding day? Honestly...”
Roji laughed nervously. He was sure Muhyo would be starting an argument with his parents if he heard them talking about his mannerisms. He gasped as he felt the presence of a spirit. He quickly got up (and made sure that he wasn’t ruining the kimono) and went towards the door. When he opened the door the heavy presence of a spirit engulfed him, and it seemed like he was having difficulty breathing. He felt arms around his waist and was soon tugged back into the room. He collapsed to his knees and heaved in gulps of air as he tried to get his lungs working again. Aoi and Makio leaned down to check on the boy and wondered what was happening.
“Roji-kun!!! What happened?!”
‘Huh?’
Roji looked at them in shock and seemed to pale at the thought.
“You guys didn’t feel the presence of the spirit?”
They looked at Roji in shock. “You felt a spirit?”
Roji nodded.
“What the hell? Didn’t the Association didn’t take care of that spirit?”
It was Roji’s turn to be confused, but there was a hint of curiosity, too.
“We thought they would have since many people in the town use this temple for traditional marriages. There is a story about that spirit, though. A few hundred years ago, this temple was very famous and was the only place in the region where you could get married. A man, supposedly the spirit, named Zenitsu, was meant to marry his beloved here. However, something had gone wrong, and she was killed here in the temple on the day they were supposed to marry. Zenitsu had gone to the temple and higher authorities for help, but they refused. They said it was probably a misunderstanding and that the woman, Haruna, didn’t want to marry him. Since then, he had come to the temple for days either guarding it or making a fuss, and he eventually died outside of the gates, where his spirit is now tied to the place. It’s rumored that he only shows himself around the brides.”
Roji looked down at his attire and blushed. Dang it, he was a bride. He sighed and looked at his in-laws.
“Maybe we should settle this before someone gets hurt.”
And could they say no to that face?
///
No, they really couldn’t (as they were beginning to understand). They secretly hoped that their son would have an easier time saying no to his face.
(Spoiler: he doesn’t.)
Makio and Aoi worked together to put a protective barrier circle in place. Roji stood in the middle of the circle and waited for the spirit to show up.
“You know…if Toru-chan ever finds out what we’re doing…”
Makio let the threat hang in the air, and the trio swallowed out of sheer nervousness. Roji, because he had promised Muhyo that he wouldn’t get into trouble today (as long as Muhyo himself didn’t fight with the others) and he would stay safe for the ceremony.
“Well, there’s no chance of him finding out if we can do this—“
Roji collapsed to his knees and brought a hand up to his mouth. The dense pressure was back, but it seemed more intense. It made him nauseous, and he panted to try and get his body under control. He turned to see Makio and Aoi on their knees, looking at him and making sure that the spirit wouldn’t do anything to him. They were panting slightly but otherwise unaffected. Roji could hear footsteps coming in their direction, and he sighed.
‘Great… this just got a bit more complicated.’
“Roji!!!”
He turned back to see everyone looking at him. He made eye contact with his fiancé (very soon to be husband) and saw the shock and almost anger in his eyes. Roji sent a small wink at him, and he got a scowl in return. The blonde turned back to the spirit and jumped away when a menacing hand with elongated claws came towards him. He heard a lot of cursing, but he didn’t, and actually couldn’t afford to pay attention to them. He just hoped that this plan of his would actually work.
“Zenitsu-san?”
The spirit froze, and then it started screaming again, it was at a near high pitch this time. The pressure started becoming overwhelming again, and he hissed under his breath. The spirit charged towards him, but he managed to side-step the spirit at the last second. He heard their friends cursing under their breaths and sighed, knowing that he was going to get lectured for this later.
‘Did they get the identity of the spirit wrong?’
“Haruna-san?”
The spirit stopped again. Roji cautiously moved towards the spirit. He saw Yuri in his line of sight, and he nodded towards the envoy. It responded with a happy little spin (how cute). Once he was close enough, he placed his hands on either side of the spirit’s face. The tears gathered in its eyes as it looked at the boy before them.
“It’s alright now, Haruna-san. It’s not like before when they would allow people to come to harm in this place. You’ve protected this place for a very long time, and you’ve ensured everyone got the happy ending you wished you could have. It’s alright now, we’re safe and happy. Thank you Haruna-san.”
The spirit began to cry, and everyone watched in amazement as the outer exterior of the spirit melted away into nothing, leaving behind a beautiful woman in a wedding kimono similar to his own, minus the hood. The tears were still streaming down her face as she looked at Roji.
“Did I really do a good job? Did I protect everyone?”
Roji nodded, tears going down his face as well. Haruna bowed to him.
“Thank you so much and—”
She stopped mid-sentence and turned around. There was another spirit standing there, shock on his face.
“Z-zenitsu-san?”
“Ha—runa-chan?”
The two spirits ran towards each other and embraced fondly. Both started wailing at finally being reunited after all these years. They turned back to look at Roji again and bowed.
“Thank you…for your help. You were the first person to consider helping us out. Thank you.”
Roji waved away the thanks and tried to wipe his tears away. They bowed again as the two spirits started ascending.
“Thank you again, and happy wedding day.”
With the sound of a tinkling bell, the two spirits had finally left, and the drama was over for now.
But…
“GAHHHH ROJI-KUN YOUR MAKEUP!!!”
They all froze in shock and stared at the blonde who groaned loudly and only got laughter in response.
///
Roji sighed as he was once again subjected to Nana’s makeup brushes. Only this time, everyone was solidly in the room to ensure that Roji wouldn’t get into any more trouble, and Muhyo was firmly planted to his side. He sighed.
“Nana-chan?”
She grabbed onto his face to stop him from moving. He puffed out a breath and just stayed still.
“See? We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t gone and jumped in front of a spirit or something. You’re always doing something so recklessly, maybe Muhyo needs to keep an eye on you 24/7.”
Apparently, that was the cue for everyone to do their thing…
“Did you even have your pen and talismans on you? What if something had happened AGAIN?”
Roji puffed his cheeks. “I had Makio-san and Aoi-san with me.”
The parents huffed and looked away from everyone.
“As if we’d let anything happen to our son-in-law. We are Executors too, ya know!!! Besides~”
“Toru-chan did have Yuri guarding Roji so that nothing woulda’ve happened.”
The group looked at the Muhyo parents as the thick northern accent made itself known. They all grumbled and sighed.
“Only you, Roji.”
“HEY!!!”
Roji puffed his cheeks again but still hadn’t moved an inch. Muhyo was staring at him and frowned a bit.
“Oi, Roji, where’s your tie?”
They all stopped pacing around and looked down at the Executor, who still hadn’t moved from the blonde’s side. Roji blinked.
“Oh, I tied it to my arm before everyone started dressing me?”
“Heh, was that a question or a statement?”
Roji stared at his fiancé in question. He put his hand up a sleeve, grabbed the tie, and pulled it out.
“Yeah, see?”
Muhyo hummed and clicked his tongue. He grabbed the tie and moved to sit in front of Roji, making the brunette girl stop what she was doing. The Executor reached up and tied the tie around his neck, he made it into a somewhat cute little bow and watched as it glowed in the light of the room. He nodded to himself and returned to leaning against Roji (Roji’s going to end up with back pain if his too-tall fiancé kept leaning on him) and read his…Jabin? Where and when the hell did he pull out a Jabin? Roji started pouting for some reason and looked at Page.
“So, how did it go on your end?”
Page and Muhyo started groaning while Busujima laughed, and that was all Roji needed to know about what went down. Page probably spent the entire time making sure that Muhyo wouldn’t murder Busujima on the spot.
“Of all the people, you asked Busujima? I understand Page, but why her?”
Roji huffed.
“There’s nothing wrong with my choices, and she said she was going to be like an older sister or an aunt, so why not? Plus we talked about this last week, didn’t we? You sure didn’t complain back then.”
Muhyo grumbled under his breath and went back to reading the Jabin. Roji huffed and looked at Nana, shaking his head lightly.
“Done!!!”
Nana leaned back to look at her work. She decided to apply a shade a bit darker than the first time, but it was still light so that Roji wouldn’t have felt weird about the makeup on his face. Roji looked as glowing as ever. The picture-perfect bride, actually. She looked down at her watch.
10:15 am
She grinned and clapped her hands together, gathering everyone’s attention.
“Well, how about we get our boys married.”
“HELL YEAH!!!!!”
///
The ceremony was perfect.
The boys did start protesting at the thought of a wedding photoshoot, but everyone started arguing with them and saying that they needed to take some pictures for the memories. Roji sighed and agreed as long as they could also get group pictures. The photographer was super enthusiastic about there being group photos in addition to the couple shots.
The photographer started crying when it was time to take the group photos. It was picture-perfect.
‘This was a couple that would stay together until the end of time, I just know it.’
The couple looked beautiful, surrounded by their friends and family. Still, they looked radiant at each other, especially in one photo where the two stood next to each other, where Roji had one hand on Muhyo’s shoulder, looking up at him with all the love in the world. Muhyo had his hand around Roji, and it looked like the world only had the two of them living in it. They only had eyes for the other, and it would take nothing short of a miracle or disaster to separate the two boys.
After the photos, they gathered at the entrance of the hall. Together, they entered. They did the necessary motions. The bows. They sat down at their places and waited for the ceremony to be over. Roji felt some sort of way as he watched Muhyo drinking the sake, and holy cow, I’ve never seen Muhyo down sake like it was freaking water.
When it was Roji’s turn, he swore he heard someone (most likely Yoichi) snickering at him as he tried not to make a face when he drank the sake. It was his first time drinking alcohol, and he’s still only nineteen, thank you very much. He’s going to make fun of Yoichi’s (and the rest of the MLS quad) twenty-two to his nineteen when all of this is over. He swore he heard a multitude of sniffling when they put the wedding bands on each other (he also could’ve sworn that he heard Nana’s camera, but he was too busy to actually care). The two of them had decided on silver-colored bands, so they didn’t stand out as much as the golden ones. They sat and watched as the temple workers danced to the traditional music.
At the end of the ceremony, Muhyo and Roji bowed to their friends and family for the first time as a married couple. They looked at each other and couldn’t help the sincere smiles that adorned their faces.
They were finally married.
*MLS Town*
The festivities were in full swing now that the ceremony was over and everyone was back in town. While everyone in the town was happily celebrating, back at Imai’s place…
Roji and Muhyo looked absolutely dead to the world. The newly married couple sat on the couch, looking as exhausted as ever. Whatever adrenaline they had going for them seemed to die out as soon as they sat on the couch. The boys were leaning on each other, and they looked like a light breeze would knock them over.
“Did they even sleep?”
They looked at Nana in confusion. Yoichi laughed and patted her shoulder.
“Haha, it’s ok, Nana-chan. I’m pretty sure Muhyo slept like the dead, as he always does.”
Nana tilted her head in confusion. She looked at the boys and noticed they had fallen asleep, their silver bands shining in the light. She shook her head.
“I…don’t think so.”
“Huh? But they were separated for way longer than that before.”
Nana hummed in thought. “But was that by choice or by force?”
“Huh? Is there a difference?”
Nana nodded.
“Think about it. When they were separated, that was by force. Because Roji-kun was at the academy and Muhyo-san was somewhere else. That would be an example of the ‘by force,’ so they were forced to sleep away from each other. Don’t know how well that ended up, though. Yoichi, didn’t you say Muhyo-san was extremely annoyed and more short-tempered then?”
Yoichi paused and thought about that. Yeah, he really was!
“Yeah, now that you mention it. I do remember that it was a little frustrating. The brat…”
“The brat who’s older than you?”
“Gehhh…”
Yoichi slumped over on the ground in depression, but everyone just let him go. Lili and Maril, who had thoughtful looks on their faces, also voiced in their input.
“With us, Kusano was rooming with us during that time. We don’t think he even slept. I think he was awake majority of the time and he kept checking on us. Force of habit from living with Muhyo probably or something.”
Imai looked a little a little thoughtful as well.
“Hmm, now that you say that, I don’t think he slept while he was at my place as well. Plus, when I woke up in the morning, he’d always be leaning out the window and asleep, but you could tell that he’d just fallen asleep or something. I used to tuck him in before I left for the day.”
The group stared at the Judge and the researchers in awe, then looked over to the newlyweds.
“Anyway, now, since the dynamics in their relationship has changed and, they’ve become more attuned to each other. It would make it harder for them to be a part for long periods of time. Like last night, for example. They knew that the other was surrounded by people who would help them, but they weren’t there to help the other. So it essentially meant they’d lose sleep 'cause they weren’t near the other.”
“Huh?”
They looked towards the couch and were surprised to see the weird position that they were lying in now. In the time it took Nana to explain everything, Roji had flopped over to lay in Muhyo’s lap. At the same time, the Executor had one arm thrown over the back of the couch, and his feet were on the table; his kimono jacket covered Roji like a blanket. They stared at the couple for a few more seconds before they had to turn away to avoid laughing and waking them up. They decided to let them rest for a while. With that, the group decided to walk around the town and to get a good look at everything that was set up for the occasion.
~
The newly wedded couple had finally woken up a couple of hours later, and their bodies were stiff. They groaned and sat up. The room was quiet. They looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what they were supposed to do now. Luckily, the apartment door opened, and their friends walked in.
“Oh good, you guys are awake. Let’s get the two of you dressed for this party. It’s amazing, and since it’s for the two of you. You have to go anyway. Now, let’s get you dressed in something else.”
As Muhyo was about to open his mouth to reject the idea of going to the town for a party, he peeked over to his right and saw the sparkle in Roji’s eyes. Meaning that Roji was now excited about going to the party and was going to ask Muhyo if they could go. Just as he predicted, Roji turned his wide puppy eyes towards him, and he sighed, knowing he had no choice.
“Fine…” They all cheered. “But…” They stopped and looked at the smaller Executor. “You do not wander off with someone you don’t know. Make sure that you stay in someone’s line of sight. If you do wander off, make sure to tell someone or take someone with you. No ands, ifs, or buts, you understand?”
They thought that Muhyo was slightly crazy (and a little too overprotective) for letting Roji attend an event for them with so many conditions, but Roji looked as in love as ever. He nodded, leaned over, and kissed Muhyo on the cheek, a blush adorning his cheeks.
“This is their world; we’re just living in it.”
The boys seemed to finally remember where they were at, and while Muhyo threw a glare at them, Roji blushed so hard it looked like steam was coming out of his body. He looked at them and laughed nervously.
“So, what’re we wearing?”
///
Half an hour later, the boys were walking down the street in the early evening sunlit town, and they were congratulated by every person they passed. Roji was adorning a beautiful navy blue kimono decorated with shades of purple, blue, and gold flowers. The flowers adorned the left shoulder, both sleeves, the obi, and the bottom of the kimono (of course, Roji would look stunning in a female kimono). Muhyo was wearing a matching navy blue hakama with decorative pants. It wasn’t as elaborate as Roji’s kimono, but both looked stunning. Of course, Muhyo was trying to hide in the crowd of their friends (he towers over them now, as if), but they kept pushing him to stand next to Roji. Roji noticed the uncomfortable look on his husband’s (oh my god, they were married now!!!!) face and tugged on his arm to lean down. He did and Roji was whispering something in his ear. Muhyo nodded and went to stand in the middle of their friends. They were about to push the tall, stubborn male out again when Roji stopped them.
“Just leave him, it’s fine.”
Roji (ever the considerate and social person he was) continued to thank people as they passed through the town until they reached the center.
…where there was an elaborate setup. It was decorated in different shades of blue and yellow, with a reminiscence of the color of Muhyo’s eyes and Roji’s hair, and everyone present looked happy and seemed to be enjoying themselves.
“Well, then…let’s go!!!”
“YEAAAH!!!!”
~
After Roji had gotten Muhyo situated with enough food (it should be considered illegal with the amount of food for someone of like that; they were still figuring out he still ate like a horse), he searched the crowd for the one person he wanted to talk to right now. He kept his promise to Muhyo and always stayed in the sights of at least one person. He swore he could see Nana and Imai eyeing him as he weaved through the crowd. Before he found the person that he wanted to find, he spotted two very familiar faces.
“Ah! Goryo-san, Ebisu-san!”
Roji went over and jogged towards the two. The two of them looked up from the table they were sitting at and saw the blonde approaching them. Goryo looked a little smug.
“Oh ho. I’m surprised that the little puppy was allowed to so far away from his master.”
Roji laughed nervously as he pointed behind him.
“I’m supposed to stay within everyone’s line of sight.”
Goryo and Ebisu looked surprised. They turned to look at where he was pointing, lo and behold, everyone was watching him, but turned away to not look that suspicious.
“Really?”
“Che. Ain’t that a lil’ too overprotective?”
Roji scratched his cheek. “Haha, well after that trial last year against that one super abusive and creepy Executor, everyone has been a little cautious when it comes to me. Since I was subjected to the said abuse for three days. There was also that other time when I was almost killed by a creature, so... ahaha.”
Ebisu narrowed his eyes and looked at the blonde.
“I’m surprised that Muhyo even let you out of his sight after the Bellocent thing years ago?”
The two looked on as the blonde turned a bright red and looked around. Roji leaned over to the two of them.
“Ahh..hmm. He actually doesn’t know about that yet. So, if you could keep it to yourselves for a little bit longer? Heehee~” Roji giggled nervously.
The two looked at the blonde in shock as he stood there, scratching his cheek. It was the first time either one of them showed any sort of emotion in public, but only the blonde in front of them was privy to that display. The two snapped out of their shock and schooled their facial features.
“Well, my condolences to you for putting up with that and my congratulations for putting a low-life bastard in his place.”
Ebisu huffed in anger.
“Well, good riddance to a no-good Executor like that.”
Roji nodded. “Yeah. I hear that they’re still finding new things against the guy.”
Goryo hummed in thought. “So, where is the guy anyway?”
Roji tilted his head to the side in thought.
‘He really is a puppy!!’ This is the thought that went through both of their minds.
“He’s actually in prison now and should be rotting there. I mean, unless the Association decided to give the guy the death penalty for what he’s done.”
They hummed, and Roji looked over his shoulder and thought he had seen the person he was looking for. He quickly turned back to the duo.
“Well, I hope that the two of you enjoy the festivities. There’s someone that I need to catch. Bye, Goryo-san, Ebisu-san.”
Goryo sighed and watched the blonde run off.
“Those two are always getting into some sort of trouble.”
“Yeah. Oh well, let’s just enjoy the festivities. Come Ebisu.”
“Yes, Goryo-sama!!”
The two disappeared into the crowd and went to explore around the town and the numerous festivities they had planned to celebrate the newlywed couple.
///
Running throught the crowd, he finally spotted the head of silver and went over and grabbed onto their sleeves.
“Enchu-san!!!”
Enchu perked and swung around, bringing Roji into a hug.
“Roji-kun!!!!”
The two hugged for a second more before parting from the hug.
“I’m really glad you could make it, Enchu-san.”
Enchu smiled. “It’s all thanks to you. I swear you could probably pout at a spirit and it’d send itself to hell.”
Roji hummed and had a thoughtful look on his face. Enchu looked at him in shock.
“Don’t tell me you actually—”
Roji’s eyes widened and he quickly denied it.
“Oh no, uhh, I was pouting. But, like, Muhyo and I were arguing, or more like I was arguing, about the wedding outfits still, and yeah. So, when we got to the job, the spirit looked at us and stabbed itself into a machine, and then it went to hell. We were so shocked about it that we just went home and sat in silence for the rest of the night. Then, we called Page-san and asked if it was possible, and he said ‘no, but the two of you are known to pull off the impossible.’ As he so said.”
Enchu looked at him in shock before he started laughing, bending over and clutching his stomach.
“Page is right. Only the two of you can pull off the impossible.”
Roji laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head. He blinked when Enchu handed him a plate of soba noodles and meat.
“Let’s go over to a table and you can tell me why you were looking for me.”
Roji took the plate of food and nodded. They found (surprisingly) an empty table near the edge and Roji deemed it perfect for privacy reasons. They ate in silence for a bit, but Roji was getting fidgety and Enchu was noticing it all too well.
“So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”
Roji squeaked nervously.
“Uhh…well. I- uhh… Well, I kind of noticed how you kept looking at Yoichi-san throughout the ceremony. Do you have feelings for him?”
Enchu spit out the juice he was drinking and looked at Roji.
‘Dang, this kid is perceptive.’
Enchu sighed and looked down at his plate. Well then…
“Yes. However, I don’t think that he feels the same way.”
Roji tilted his head to the side, and…yup, Enchu was beginning to understand why everyone keeps comparing the blonde boy to a puppy.
“But…have you tried to say something to him?”
Enchu smiled at the sweet, innocent boy before him. He looked to the side, sighing softly and then pointed his finger in that direction. Roji followed the finger and looked in the direction it was pointing. His jaw dropped in shock. Of course, Yoichi-san was talking to a woman. What the hell was he doing?! He made a frowning face and dropped his head into his hands.
“Baka Yoichi-san…why is he like this?”
Enchu giggled and looked in another direction, lest his heart break even more at the sight of his crush flirting with another person. Roji slammed his hands on the table and stood up, he was looking like he was on a mission (lord help you if you are ever on the receiving end of that look). Enchu hissed and quickly pulled him back to his chair (he had zero doubts that Muhyo would kill him if anything happened to the blonde). Roji frowned and looked at the other male. Enchu only shook his head pointed at the chair. Roji huffed and reluctantly sat back in his chair.
“That’s the thing about love. It can be a hit or miss sometimes. Some are blessed to be with the one they love the most, as if they were connected from birth. Others would need to work for that love, but sometimes working hard and putting in enough effort wouldn’t be enough for them to fall in love and stay in love.”
He looked over at Roji and was shocked to find him crying. He smiled warmly and reached out to wipe the tears from Roji’s face and hold onto his one hand.
“That’s why you must always cherish the love you share with Muhyo. It’s something that someone always wishes that they could have. Plus, as I told Muhyo before, you were meant to be together. You complete each other and bring out the best of each other.”
Roji could only nod, but he gripped onto Enchu’s hand and looked at him with a sort of determination. He brought out his phone and started furiously typing on it. Enchu was beginning to feel a sense of foreboding watching the blonde type on his phone. Roji set the phone down and huffed out proudly. Nope, not a very good look. He blinked and smiled sweetly at the boy.
“Roji-kun, what’d you do?”
Roji giggled and smirked, looking a little too similar to Muhyo at the moment (and wasn’t that a heart attack waiting to happen). The blonde just turned towards Yoichi and pointed.
“Just enjoy the show Enchu-san.”
Enchu turned and looked at Yoichi, wondering what was going to happen. His question was soon answered when Nana started running towards Yoichi.
Oh boy...that was not going to end well (for Yoichi).
They watched as the petite brunette tackled the Judge and held him in a chokehold. She bowed and apologized to the woman if that fool was bothering her. The woman only laughed and waved her off saying that it was fine. The brunette still apologized to the woman again and started dragging the still struggling Judge away. Roji started giggling and turned back to Enchu, a solemn look on his face.
“Even so, you mustn’t give up Enchu-san. I-i was the same way. I thought that there would be no way that Muhyo would have ever liked me back and I was content with being his assistant. I even felt envious when Yoichi-san said that you used to be in a relationship. I-i resolved to throw my feelings away and helping Muhyo with rescuing you. Of course, we started arguing about something, I don’t remember much about it now. Then I just blurted out that it sucked sometimes when I argued with the person I love. I realized what I said and ran away from the office, I was so embarrassed. I ended up at a park, sat on the swing for hours, and cried. Muhyo found me eventually and I was completely terrified. I couldn’t even look up at him, then he comes up to me and I am shaking at this point and he tosses my jacket at me and wraps my damn scarf around me, and tugged at it, nearly choking me with the stinking thing. Next moment I know, we’re kissing and I just about pass out on the spot. Then, Muhyo, being Muhyo, had to be cool and say something amazing, and then we were on our way home. It was reassuring that my feelings were reciprocated, but my heart still had doubts about it. I no longer think about the doubts, but they tend to manifest themselves, you know?”
Roji looked up and saw the confusion and tears in Enchu’s eyes.
“My point is, even if Yoichi-san were to reject you, you should at least honestly tell him how you feel about him. You might never know; he might surprise you. It may hurt at first with the thought of being rejected, but it’ll hurt you more if you hold it in. As I said before, I don’t remember the argument before I blurted it out. Please, promise that you’ll give it a try?”
Roji gave Enchu his best puppy-eye look and sighed heavily.
“You know, you could probably get away with murder with those damn puppy eyes of yours. Also...”
Roji only smiled and looked at him.
“We never dated...”
“Eh?”
Enchu looked at Roji with the most serious stare ever. Roji’s jaw dropped open in the shock of that revelation.
“EHH?! Then, why did Yoichi-san think that the two of you dated?!”
Enchu sighed and shrugged.
“Honestly, I do not know what goes on in that head of his.”
Roji sighed and nodded, looking at the silver-haired male. Said male had only moaned and groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Enchu sighed and looked at Roji.
“Hnnng, will…you be there?”
Enchu hesitantly asked the blonde before him. Roji blinked in shock for a few seconds at the question, but beamed happily and nodded.
“Of course!!!”
Enchu groaned and slammed his head onto the table. Roji jumped and screamed, wondering if Enchu was alright. He peeked over to the side and saw Yoichi looking at Enchu in concern.
Huh?
Enchu sat up and stood, slamming his hands on the table (Roji was pretty sure that they were attracting the attention of everyone there, but he needed to focus on his friend for his most important moment).
“I’m doing it now!!!”
Roji stared dumbfounded and stood up as well. He watched Enchu stroll over to Yoichi and talk to him for a bit. Yoichi nodded and went to follow Enchu to a somewhat secluded place, considering that everyone was lingering in the town and that Chief Guard Shigematsu was standing a few feet away from them. Roji quickly followed them (he was kind of hating it now that he was wearing a kimono. Why couldn’t he have worn his regular clothes?). He looked around and gestured for Nana to follow him. The girl was so confused but followed her friend anyway. They stopped near the place where Enchu and Yoichi were, but not too close where they were intruding on a private moment.
“Roji-kun?”
Roji hummed.
“Ohh, uh, I kinda convinced Enchu-san to confess to Yoichi-san.”
Nana stared at her blonde friend before she hid her face and silently screamed. Roji looked concerned and looked at her.
“Finally!!!” She whispered shouted. “I’ve been trying to convince that idiot that Enchu-san would return his feelings if he said something and stopped talking with other women.”
Roji’s jaw dropped, and whisper shouted back.
“I’ve just had to convince Enchu-san to confess despite the fact that Yoichi-san was flirting with women.”
They both groaned and sighed. Roji looked up and turned to look around the corner and found the two of them…kissing.
They were kissing.
Enchu and Yoichi were kissing.
Roji blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure that it was still there. Yup, they were kissing. He started silent-screaming and slapped Nana on the arm. She was annoyed that he kept hitting her and hissed at him. He pulled her towards him and made her look around the corner. She started silently screaming as well, and ( after Nana snapped a picture) they ran back to the town center and started hopping around, screaming and cheering. Everyone was looking at them now, but since the people saw Roji, they assumed he was happy about his wedding day. They looked around and found the group surrounding Muhyo and skipped their way over there. Roji looked down at his husband and boldly sat down in his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck and giggling.
“Oi!!! The hell’s the matter with the two of you?”
Roji and Nana giggled suspiciously, which kind of made the group nervous.
“What’d you two do?”
“Heehee, show them Nana-chan.”
Nana mock saluted. “Yes, sir.”
She brought out the picture that she took and presented it to everyone. There were a various mixed reactions from the group, but they had a familiar feeling of genuine happiness for the new couple.
“Right?!”
Suddenly, someone crashed into Roji from behind. The newly wedded couple and the person nearly tumbled to the ground, but they somehow managed to stay seated. Roji looked down at the person and saw that it was Enchu. The blonde smiled and stood up, and squeezed the older male tightly.
“Thank you, Roji. I did it.”
Roji beamed and started bouncing on the spot.
“Yeah, you did!!!!”
They both started bouncing around in circles, with their friends looking at them.
“See? Didn’t my advice work?”
Enchu nodded. “Yeah, it really did.”
They hugged for a while longer before Roji felt a tug on his kimono, and he nearly fell backward. He spluttered in confusion and turned to see Muhyo glaring at him. He looked at him in confusion, a finger on his lips and his head tilted to the side. He smiled cutely and leaned down to kiss his Executor on the lips.
“Aw, were you jealous?”
And obviously, Roji should know about what not to say to Muhyo at this point. The now very irritated male lightly hit him on the head with his book, and he pouted.
“Meanie~”
Roji turned his head and saw Yoichi looking at Enchu fondly. He made his way over to the Judge and smiled.
“Roji??”
The group could only watch dumbfounded as Roji whacked Yoichi (causing the Judge to yell and rub his arm) and dragged Yoichi a bit away from the group. They watched as Yoichi’s face turned from a nervous smile to pale and shocked, and then he nodded quickly. Roji gave him a pat on the shoulder and skipped back to the group.
“Enchu-san?”
“Yes, Roji-kun?”
The blonde patted Enchu on the shoulder and smiled.
“If Yoichi-san decides to hurt you, just send him my way, and I’ll take care of him.”
The group stared in shock at the cheerful blonde, not thinking that he’d actually sound threatening. Then, Muhyo felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Nana, a scared look on her face.
“You better be good to him, Muhyo-san.”
Muhyo could only nod. “That was kinda hot, though.”
Everyone in the group straight up judged the Executor. The male had only shrugged off the accusations and stuffed more food into his mouth.
“I have eyes and that is my wife.”
They all sighed. Exactly how many times were they going to hear that?
///
After the group finally got Roji to sit down and eat more than soba noodles, he went walking around. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be looking for his in-laws and went looking for them. He wandered around for a bit and finally found them talking to another couple. He wondered who they were but went over anyway.
“Mother, Father. I’m sorry that it took me so long to find you.”
The man and woman stiffened and turned around; it felt like Roji had been thrown into the past. The woman looked at him before tears spilled down her face and turned to look back at his in-laws.
“Is he?”
They nodded. The woman sobbed and stood up to hug him. He was confused about the woman hugging him.
“Roji, this is what we wanted to talk to you about. This is your aunt Hinatsuru, your mom’s younger sister. This is your uncle Kaien, your dad’s older brother.”
“They’re the heads of their respective clans. They’ve been looking for you for a very long time.”
Roji felt like the air was stolen from his body. He had a family? They were looking for him? Just what in the world was he supposed to say to that? He sighed and felt the tears in his eyes.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. I- my parents died when I was really young, and I didn’t think there was anyone else out there. I was- I felt so alone and scared of the ghosts until Page-san found me and gave me ‘The Swallow That Defies The Wind’ . I’m sorry. I’m really glad that you guys are here to celebrate my marriage with Toru, but I need a little bit of time to process this. I really do want to get to know you guys and hear stories about you and about my parents, but...yeah.”
Hinatsuru and Kaien could only nod in agreement.
“Yeah, it’s fine. We didn’t expect you to jump at it. It must’ve been a shock. Just write to us when you have the chance.”
Kaien nodded. “What Hina-chan said. Take all the time you need and when you’re ready. We’ll be here to answer any questions you have.”
Roji nodded and felt the tears in your eyes.
“Who do I need to address the letter to?”
“Kugisaki Hinatsuru.”
“Yukimura Kaien.”
Roji nodded.
“Thank you. Auntie, Uncle.”
The two had tears in their eyes and nodded at the boy. Roji then turned back to his in-laws.
“Mother, Father, is there anything else that you need from Toru and I?”
They were looking at their misfit family and perked up.
“Oh yeah, how about Kaien and Hina sit here and compose themselves, and we go look for Toru-chan?”
Roji nodded and bowed politely and left with his in-laws.
“It was really nice to meet the both of you, I promise to write soon.”
Hina sighed and wiped her tears, leaning on one hand.
“We really have a nephew.”
Kaien nodded. “We do.”
Hina looked at Kaien seriously.
“We have to protect him, Kaien. I’m hoping that Toru-chan can do it, but...”
“We don’t know how far they’ll go.”
The two sat in silence before they decided that they needed to leave and prepare.
“Good luck, Roji and Toru.”
The two disappeared, leaving their nephew in the hands of his new family, and went to prepare for the fight ahead of them.
///
Aoi and Makio made their way through the crowd with their son-in-law. They noticed that he stopped in the middle of the street and looked down. They looked at the boy and went towards him, sighing.
“Roji…”
“We’re so sor—“
“No!!!”
They stopped and stared at the blonde before them. They spotted the tears falling down from his face to the ground.
“Please don’t apologize for this. You found my family. I- I always thought that it would’ve been me against the world, but I have Toru and our friends. Now I have you as well, Mother, Father. You’ve also given me more family, and I-i’m so grateful. Thank you for introducing us and for telling me about them. Thank you.”
Aoi and Makio smiled at each other before they brought their new son into a hug. One that was a long time coming.
“Come now, dear. Dry your tears; it’s still your wedding day.”
Roji nodded and took the offered handkerchief. “Thank you.”
“Now, let’s go find our stupid son and send the two of you off.”
~
The trio could feel the moment when Muhyo’s gaze found the three of them in the crowd walking towards him. Yoichi, the poor guy, was so confused about why Muhyo was suddenly looking like a hawk stalking his prey. He turned around and spotted the trio and saw Roji’s red-rimmed eyes. The Judge looked at the blonde assistant with worry in his eyes. Roji waved him off with a small smile on his face.
“Ok, you two.”
Aoi grabbed something from the inside of his robes and pulled out a key, handing it to Roji. He was a little confused about why he was handed the key.
“This is the key to the family summer villa in Osaka.”
Roji jolted in shock and looked at his in-laws in shock and question.
“Whaaa?”
“Well, obviously, this is for your honeymoon.”
“Ehh?”
Roji turned a dark shade of red, and no one was going to be surprised if the kid suddenly passed out because of how red he had gotten. Aoi and Makio laughed silently under their breaths. They looked towards their son and found him just sitting there and staring at poor Roji. They’re pretty sure they could see him smirking, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. They did not want to find out what their son and son-in-law were going to do on their honeymoon. Nope. If they ignored it, then they’d be able to remain blissfully oblivious.
“Well, what did you guys think? Were you just going to go home and go back to normal life the next day?”
“Yeah?”
Both boys answered at the same time. Their friends and family blinked at them.
“Did you guys not close the office?”
The newly married couple (well, one of them at least…) were beginning to think that this was suddenly about to become a pain. They looked at each other, silently communicating through their eyes. Muhyo finally shrugged, but it was Roji who responded.
“We technically only closed the office for yesterday and today. We were going to go back tonight and just go on with our normal day?”
Roji had the distinct feeling that he shouldn’t have said that last part because everyone started staring at the both of them, deadpan expressions on display. He chuckled nervously and went to stand behind Muhyo for some sort of protection from their friends and family’s looming looks. Muhyo frowned and looked at them, and before he could say anything, the both of them were dragged from their spots and went to find a secluded place. The couple had only blinked in shock and sat there while Aoi drew the circle. After a few minutes, he stepped back and nodded at the circle.
“Fuuu, alright, this should take you directly to the Osaka residence. Just go there; we already had some of the servants go there and prepare everything for the two of you.”
Aoi swung around and pointed at the boys.
“The two of you are not allowed to come back for at least another week. If we find out that the two of you left early, we’re going to stuff you guys at the mansion in the mountains, where we’ll keep an eye on the two of you.”
They blinked in shock at the demand and looked at each other, communicating silently.
‘We’re not leaving early!!!’
Roji shook his head. “Wait, what about—”
Before he could finish, Nana and Yoichi gave them an assuring look.
“Don’t worry. I’ll send Nana-chan back to the office through a circle, and she’ll go and watch over the office for the two of you.”
“Are you sure, Nana-chan?”
The brunette nodded.
“Of course, and while I’m there, I’ll book the appointments for the two of you if anything comes in. Plus, maybe I can get some work done without Baka Yoichi hovering around in my personal space every five minutes.”
Yoichi faked being stabbed in the heart and cried fake tears of pain.
“You wound me, Nana-chan. I don’t bother you that much.”
Nana gave him the most deadpan stare. Yoichi laughed nervously and went to hide behind Enchu, who hit him on the arm.
“Whyyy?”
“Don’t hide behind me. Take responsibility for your actions!”
Roji snickered at the Judge. “That’s funny.”
Yoichi eyed Roji and went over and ruffled his hair.
“That’s really bold of you, Judge Kusano!!!”
Yoichi blinked. “Wait, are you?”
Roji nodded. “Still going by our names for now. While everyone who’s associated with magic law is receptive to same-sex couples, Japan, in general, isn’t quite ready for that. We’re fine with it. Plus, it’ll help us not to get confused if someone just shouts at us without specifying who they need.”
“I guess it makes sense.”
“Ok, you two. It’s time for you to be off.”
Muhyo, who was still sitting on the crates, groaned and looked up at Roji, who was giving him a sympathetic look.
‘Well, I guess if Roji’s there…it’s not so bad.’
Muhyo groaned again, only louder as he looked up at the dark, cloudless sky. They knew that they had finally worn the Executor down.
“Fine…”
They cheered loudly, and Roji looked up at Muhyo with sympathy in his eyes, leaning his head on Muhyo’s shoulder.
“It’ll be alright, Toru.”
Muhyo smirked, and after making sure no one was looking (even though Roji sat in his lap earlier), he gave his assistant a kiss on the lips.
“Of course it would, silly assistant. I have you there.”
Roji nodded. “Always.”
Aoi clapped his hands. “Alright, boys, it’s time.”
The couple looked at the people gathered and bowed together one last time.
“Thank you for everything today, everyone. It was beyond what we were expecting. We really appreciate you.”
“What he said.”
They snorted in laughter at Muhyo’s words. In a rare display of public affection, Muhyo grabbed Roji’s hand, intertwining their fingers. That shocked everyone into silence as they looked at the couple, even Roji was shocked at the blatant display. He giggled and leaned into Muhyo’s side.
“Shall we get going?”
“Yeah.”
With that, the couple were off on their week-long adventure in Osaka. Hopefully, it’d be a good time, right?
^ Omake ^
After Enchu had confidently told Roji that he was going to confess to Yoichi right that minute, he stood up, looked for the Judge, and dragged him away to a somewhat secluded place. He says slightly secluded because Nana-chan and Roji-kun were sitting around the corner listening in on their conversation (maybe). Chief Guard Shigematsu was standing there looking as regal as ever. She kept a close eye on her charge (even if it was a special occasion). Enchu chuckled to himself and looked over at a very confused Yoichi.
“Yoichi.”
“Enchu...”
The two of them stared at each other. Neither of them was going to start this long overdue conversation.
(If one of them didn’t start this conversation soon, they were going to back out and never say anything.)
Enchu sighed and thought, what the hell? If it was going to go bad, at least he’d have Roji to cry to, and there were a ton of dessert stalls available (like so many stalls that it takes up two streets).
Enchu took the flower that he was holding (when the hell did he get a fucking flower?) and tossed it to Yoichi, and turned around, not facing the Judge.
“I-i like you, you idiot. You’re so dense, and you always flirt with every woman. Roji-kun somehow convinced me to confess and say something after he told me his sappy little love story. So there. I know that you wouldn’t feel the same way, so just toss the flower into the trash or something.”
Enchu turned back to look at Yoichi with a strained smile on his face. The Judge could almost swear that he saw tears in the corner of Enchu’s eyes.
“So, if you could just forget this conversation, and we can go back to the party, that would be great.”
Enchu turned to walk back to the party and was determined to look for Roji so that he could steal him and get a stomach ache from eating too many desserts and sobbing from a broken heart. Before he could take more than two steps, he was pulled back by the arm and felt something soft connecting with his lips. He blinked in shock.
He was kissing.
They were kissing.
Holy shit, he and Yoichi were actually kissing (he’s pretty sure he heard Nana and Roji squealing somewhere).
They pulled back away from each other, and Yoichi had a dark blush on his face as he looked away from Enchu.
“I, uh, really like you too,” Yoichi said bashfully, scratching his cheek. Then he sighed.
“Actually, Nana-chan has been lecturing me a lot over the past couple of days because she managed to see that I had feelings for you. She told me that I needed to do better and not flirt a lot. So, I haven’t. I’m glad that you were able to talk to Roji. He’s a super good listener, and he gives really great advice. It’d be nice if he followed his own advice, but at least he’s trying his best.”
Enchu laughed.
“That’s true, but at least he has Muhyo now. Maybe the two of them can confide in each other about their problems.”
Yoichi hummed and nodded.
“Wanna go back now? I can see you itching to find Roji and tell him.”
“Yeah. Let’s go find him. I can’t wait to show off my boyfriend.”
Both laughed as they ran back to the party to look for their blonde-haired friend. Behind them, Chief Guard Shigematsu looked at her charge and nodded, a slight smile on her face. This group of people was fairly interesting indeed.
(She made some money that she would put into a secret stash (from the bet with her fellow guards) about when the two were going to get together. Yoichi was, after all, the most frequent visitor besides Biko.)
^ Omake 2 ^
Roji was sitting in Muhyo’s lap and trying to ground himself with the presence of his husband. He may have been the more social one between the two of them, but even he gets exhausted after a while. Muhyo was sitting still and giving Roji the time to relax and recharge a bit. He brought his hands up and rubbed his back.
“You alright?”
Roji hummed and nodded against his shoulder.
“Mm, yeah, just a little overwhelmed with everything.”
Muhyo rolled his eyes and patted Roji on the back.
“I don’t know why you’re moving all over the place, stupid assistant. You’re supposed to be here, by my side.”
Roji giggled, leaning down and laying his head on Muhyo’s shoulder.
“If you’re that lonely just say so, you Tsundere.”
Muhyo growled and poked him hard in the side. Roji bit him lightly on the shoulder and stared at Muhyo, a smug look on his face. He saw Muhyo’s face and all of the color drained from his face.
“You better watch yourself. When we get out of here, you’re all mine.”
He was smiling sweetly, but Roji knew that look all too well. There was no way that he’d be getting any sleep tonight. He shrugged, there wasn’t anything pressing that they needed to do anyway. He wrapped his arms around his husband’s neck and kissed him.
“I’ll be waiting for it then. You better make due on your promise.”
Roji looked behind him as his name was called. He sighed and got off his husband’s lap.
“Well, more socializing for me, I guess.”
Muhyo smiled at him with all the love in the world, something that only he was privy to experience.
“Don’t worry. Once we get out of here, there’s no more socializing for us, for something of this scale for a while.”
“Looking forward to it.”
With that, Roji left his husband at his table and went back into the crowd.