Yay first Sekaiichi Hatsukoi story! Last two and a half weeks of school holidays so I may as well get some writing done. I've had FF for about 2 years and I've written A story in this span of time T_T man I suck.

Anyway this is the SIH version of Corpse Bride uhhhh ==" It's one of my favourite movies and if there's anyone who hasn't watched it, I recommend you watch it, it's sad but sweet :) Bittersweet? Haha I think so.

Updates will depend on my school schedule but I'll write as much as I can over my remaining holidays.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, all characters belong to Shungiku Nakamura.
I just found out he's male. O_O uhhhhhh what.

Anyway please enjoy and I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors/spelling mistakes/whatnot :)

Romancing a Corpse

Chapter 1

He was envious.

Envious of the blue butterfly fluttering out his open window, free from its captivity inside a glass jar. He had caught it a few minutes ago, intending to keep it in the jar until he had to leave, yet after realising the butterfly was becoming weaker, he quickly let it go. He watched as it circled his room once, before tentatively fluttering out his window.

Resting his elbows on the windowsill, Ritsu Onodera let out a sigh of defeat as he noticed a carriage outside, ready to escort him and his parents to his fiance's place. He shuddered at the thought. He knew this would happen since he was first told of his engagement months ago, and he accepted it due to knowing that his family needed this marriage to up their financial status, yet…

He detested it.

No matter how Ritsu looked at it, the prospect of an arranged marriage was sickening to him. Why would anyone want to marry someone they didn't love, it was a thought he couldn't even begin to fathom. Even if his fiancé was An chan, who was his childhood friend and someone he cherished very much, he never saw her anymore than a sister. He couldn't say the same for An chan however, who had been ecstatic when she first heard about their to-be-married status that she accepted without hesitation, complete with figurative love hearts in her eyes and a fully-fledged blush adorning her rosy cheeks.

Clutching his stomach with a groan, Ritsu felt a slight foreboding as he heard footsteps approaching his room. A moment later, there came a knock on the door followed by his mother's excited voice, "It's time, Ritsu!"
My stomach hurts.

Yes, Ritsu was envious of the blue butterfly's freedom.

An Kohinata looked over her reflection in the mirror, a satisfied smile on her lips. She was dressed to please, and a good idea it was since her fiancé was to be arriving any minute now. She couldn't wait to be with the man of her dreams, her Ricchan whom she had loved ever since they were children. Now, at 24 years of age, it seemed her prayers had finally been heard.

Turning to her accessory box, she dug out a small locket containing a picture of her and Ritsu in their childhood before fastening the chain around her neck. As she did so, the sounds of a carriage drawing up outside drew her attention.

Rushing to the window, she peered out and sure enough, the Onodera family carriage had stopped right at her doorway.

Suddenly, An felt extremely self-conscious. She smoothed out non-existent wrinkles on her dress and tucked in invisible strands of light brown hair that she thought had fallen out of its bun (there was actually not a hair out of place but the prospect of seeing her Ricchan had brought about a new wave of nervousness).

Glancing at her mirror one last time, she set for downstairs, taking one delicate step at a time, the voices of the Onoderas' drifting closer and closer as she travelled further down the staircase. At last, she reached the bottom, and there he was.

Her Ricchan, no, her Ritsu, her husband-to-be, standing awkwardly next to Mr and Mrs Onodera as they eagerly chatted to her own parents (Mr and Mrs Kohinata were less than pleased about having to marry An into a family of such low financial status, but they needed it to restore their family's wealth), who both had expressions of slight contempt. They hid it well, though, behind a façade of faux joy.

Ritsu could feel the tension emitted by his future in-laws. It was disguised well enough, but it was there all the same. His parents either noticed it and chose to ignore it, or didn't notice it at all, but knowing his parents, it was probably the latter. Glancing up from staring at one place on the polished, marble floor, he noticed An chan approaching him from the stairs. He had to admit, she was quite pretty in a gown of pale pink satin that lightly billowed at her feet as she walked. As pretty as she was, Ritsu couldn't see himself being married to this young lady. She gently smiled at him, a cute blush dusting her cheeks. Ritsu forced a smile back, which luckily went unnoticed by An chan, for her smile only grew bigger and brighter. She reached him, and gave a small curtsey to him and his parents.

Mrs Onodera was beside herself in seconds. "Oh my, An-chan!" she gushed, "You look gorgeous! I'm so glad my daughter in law is such a beautiful girl!"

An blushed a brighter shade of red, not only at 'beautiful girl', but also the fact that Mrs Onodera had called her her 'daughter in law' before she and Ricchan were even married.

She heard her mother give a snort, and her Ricchan gave a nervous chuckle. "Mother… we aren't married yet."

"Yet," Mrs Onodera emphasised, "but you will be, Ritsu, and that's why we're here for your wedding rehearsal!"

An beamed in happiness, but to Ritsu, the words felt like a curse dooming him to spend the rest of his life with someone he didn't love. As Mr and Mrs Kohinata reluctantly began to lead the way into the hall, closely followed by a jubilant Mr and Mrs Onodera, Ritsu and An remained behind.

"I'm so happy, Ricchan," An laughed, "We're going to get married! Just think, in a few years we'll have little children of our own! Won't that be exciting!"

"An-chan, isn't it a little too soon to be thinking of children…" Ritsu gulped, the wedding rehearsal itself already threatening to make him age 20 years faster.

"Nonsense, I've already decided we'll have half a dozen children, and I've even got names for them! Oh but, let's hurry, I want to get married as soon as possible!" and with that, An tugged Ritsu in the direction of the hall where the rehearsal was to be held. Ritsu winced, for An had tugged a little too hard in her excitement, and if she was this strong, well, Ritsu's future in his married life had obviously darkened a little bit.

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