"Today's the big day!" sang Mugi as she twirled around the room holding a hair curler.
"Oh, please be careful, Mugi-senpai. We don't want to mess up her hair," called out Azusa.
"Yes, I know, but it's so exciting! I haven't had this much fun since the Romeo and Juliet play. I'm sure I'll be given quite a treasure to watch today."
"P-please don't say any more, Mugi..." mumbled a quiet voice. Both Azusa and Mugi looked down and smiled at the blushing Mio. Wearing a flowing white dress, her hair beautifully curled and adorned with flowers, Mio sat anxiously waiting for the moment to arrive.
"You look positively beautiful!" said Mugi, her eyes sparkling.
Azusa added, "Yes, you do, Senpai!"
"Oh...stop it guys, you're making me feel even more nervous..." Mio said softly, her face going a brilliant shade of red.
In the next room...
"How does this look, Ritsu?" said Ui, stepping back from the mirror.
Ritsu stared into the reflection, barely able to recognize herself. Gone were the yellow headband and bangs that she wore in her high school days. She had grown out her hair a little past her shoulders, and she had cut her bangs a little so that they weren't so long. Wearing a long white dress that flowed past her feet, she didn't know whether she felt like a princess or like someone wearing a tent.
Ui had just finished straightening Ritsu's hair, while Yui was in the corner playing Gii-tah. Ever since the London trip, Yui has been a little afraid of plugging things in, especially hair curlers and dryers, plus she was afraid she'd mess things up, so she decided to let Ui do all the work. Of course, Ui was happy to oblige.
"I-I-I..." stammered Ritsu. "I look so...different...You thing she'll like it?"
"Of course, she will, Ricchan!" said Yui from the corner. "She's always loved your hair, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember, but still..." said Ritsu absentmindedly, playing with one of her forelocks.
"Would you like me to try something different with your hair?" asked Ui.
"No, this'll do I guess. Let's try something with makeup" said Ritsu.
"Alright then"
As Ritsu sat there, the sounds of Gii-tah's strings ringing in her ears, it was all she could do to keep a straight face, to keep herself from smiling too wide.
*We're getting married!* Ritsu thought to herself. *We're actually getting married!*
An hour later, the door to Mio's room burst open, scaring everyone inside.
"Yoohoo! Your favorite teacher has arrived!" sang out Sawako Yamanaka.
"Sawa-chan!" cried Mugi, running to hug their former teacher. "How's the new boyfriend?"
"We're doing just fine," said their former high school teacher. "He shares my cosplay personality and we dress each other up all the time."
"How's the band doing?" asked Azusa.
"Death Devil is set to perform at a summer festival next month! It'll be awesome!" said Sawa-chan, holding up a thumbs-up. "But anyways, enough about me, I came to visit the brides-to-be! I already had a chat with Ritsu in the other room. So, how's everything, Mio-chan?"
"G-g-g-g-great..." said Mio slowly and nervously. Though she loved Sawa-chan as much as the other girls, having her barge in suddenly nearly gave her a heart attack.
"Glad to hear it. As your former teacher, when I got the invitation to attend, I was thrilled to know that two of my students were getting married, but even more thrilled because it was you girls. Sometimes, I miss my afternoon tea with you girls." she sighed. Leaving Mio to shake nervously in her seat, Sawa-chan turned to the two other girls.
"Well," she said, "I'd best be heading inside now. I am your guys's pianist for the ceremony after all."
"See you there!" said Mugi, as Sawa-chan left.
As Azusa shut the door, Mio started hyperventilating.
"Oh, Mio!" said Mugi, fanning her with a fan from her purse.
"Senpai?" said Azusa worriedly.
After several deep breaths, Mio was able to calm down slightly and take a sip of water from a water bottle.
"I'll...**gasp**...be fine... I think..."
Azusa thought, *Oh, I hope the other girls are doing a little better that we are...*
In Ritsu's room, things were starting to go downhill. Sawa-chan, being who she was, decided that it was a good idea to change up the bridesmaids' gowns at the last second, bringing out an entire set of super frilly, fluffy dresses that were not only hard to walk in, but looked ridiculous. Thankfully, she decided not to make any changes to Ritsu's dress, then left the rack of outfits there and went over to say hi to the other girls. As Ui and Ritsu were still trying to recover from that Sawa-attack, Yui had decided to dress herself and Gii-tah in the frilly dresses.
"Big Sis, don't do that, you'll catch a cold again..." said Ui, blushing as her sister was taking her clothes off to try on the dress.
"Aww, c'mon Ui, they're cute! And plus, doesn't Gii-tah look just adorable?" replied Yui, gesturing to the mess of frills and string on the floor that was her guitar.
"Um, I can't even tell if that's Gii-tah anymore, Sis."
"Hmph, well, I'm gonna wear this to the party later on." said Yui resolutely, putting Sawa-chan's dress back on the clothes rack.
"My question is, how the heck did Sawa-chan manage to drag that freaking dress rack into the place."
Yui smiled.
"Because she's Sawa-chan, of course!"
Ritsu and Ui looked at her.
"...That didn't make any sense." they both said at the same time.
Finally, the moment of truth arrived. Ritsu stood there at the door to the church. All the while she had been relatively calm throughout the preparation process, but now that the big moment has arrived, she couldn't sit still. As she was going in first, she almost tripped on the hem of her dress, but thankfully she made it to the altar without any other trouble. To her right, off to the side were her bridesmaids, Yui and Ui.
The doors opened a second time, and in comes the second bride, Mio. Eyes covered by a white veil, which concealed her bright red blushing face, Mio looked for all the world like a princess in her flowing white dress. She elegantly made her way to the altar and stood beside Ritsu, with Mugi and Azusa on Mio's other side.
As the ceremony began, Ritsu couldn't help but continuously steal glances at Mio. She was amazed, because the usual shy and scared Mio was looking confidently ahead, as if her nerves were made of steel. When it was time to exchange rings, Ritsu was the first. Mio held out her hand, and as they said the vows, Ritsu noticed that Mio's hand was shaking uncontrollably, and smiled.
*So she's nervous after all, as well*, she thought with a smile.
Mio couldn't control her shaking hands, and missed Ritsu's finger with the ring several times, putting it on Ritsu's pinky twice. Finally, she managed it in the end, and the ceremony proceeded.
Finally, after the longest time, they said their final vows. As Ritsu smiled widely, she turned and looked to Mio, who started shaking uncontrollably beneath her veil.
"Don't worry, I'm here for you," whispered Ritsu. "I'll help you get through this."
Mio could only nod, as the words couldn't come out.
Ritsu lifted Mio's veil, and for the first time that day stared into the eyes of the girl she loved. Mio looked positively beautiful, thanks to both her makeup and her blushing face. A smile formed on Mio's lips as she stared back, looking on and staring fully at Ritsu, who looked just as beautiful.
"...and you may now seal your vows with a kiss. Congratulations!"
The other girls threw flower petals into the air as Ritsu took Mio's hands.
"Together, forever?" asked Ritsu.
Mio laughed, then said: "Forever and ever!"
Their lips met, and their families began to applaud.
As they held hands and walked back down along the aisle, the nervousness that came over them was washed away, and they smiled with confidence, ready to start their new life together.