A Tale Of Two Kingdoms
Chapter 10: And They Lived Happily Ever After… Or Did They?
"WHERE THE HELL IS MY WIG?! SOMEONE, I DON'T CARE WHO, BRING IT HERE IMMEDIATELY !" Umibozu's roar nearly shook the very walls of the room, as terrified servants scattered, frantically searching for their king's precious ornament for his shiny head.
"Oiya, oiya, Baldy, quit making such an uproar. We all know that you're totally bald anyway. A wig only emphasizes the fact, right Abuto?"
"Indeed, as your face emphasizes your stupidity, Prince."
"Shut up, will ya? As it is, it's almost time for Imouto chan's wedding! Baldy, you've got to walk her down the aisle, so better get ready. I can't believe I'm seeing the day when my idiot little sis gets married!"
"Prince, can you not be little less a siscon? Hey, Baldy, why the hell are you tearing up now?!"
"My Kagura chan is going to leave me for that extreme sadist… Even though I know she'll be happy, it's too hard seeing my only daughter leaving me…" Kamui sighed wistfully at that, his signature smile vanishing for a moment. Abuto looked at the father and son, a little surprised, before chuckling very softly under his breath. Looks like they still are as close as ever, guess you can never split a family apart, not even one of demons. Clearing his throat, he merely said aloud," Well, it's not as if she's going away completely. The little missy will be visiting often enough, yanno. So try to liven up a bit, why don't you?" Both Kamui and Umibozu looked at each other, small grins pulling up the edges of their mouths and inclined their heads in agreement.
In another room, in the opposite side of the palace, Tsukuyo, Tae and Tama bustled around their princess, straightening her dress, doing her hair and applying small touches of makeup. Kagura, for once, let them fuss around without complaining, partly because she knew that they wouldn't listen in the least and also because she could hardly believe what was happening that day. It all seemed like a dream to her, no matter how many times she pinched herself.
She and the sadist were about to get married. Baka-niichan and Baldy had given their blessings with comparatively lesser protest than she would have expected. Tsukky, Anego and Tama had at once taken charge of all arrangements, leaving her with nothing to worry about. Even the sadist had smiled, something very rare for him. While it was true that she had never really wanted to marry a sparkling, perfect prince of her dreams, she had also never imagined that she would be getting married to an extreme sadist who could fight on nearly equal footing with all her family, except her dad perhaps and who took immense pleasure in irritating and tormenting her. But at the same time, it was true that she felt something for him that she never had felt for anyone or anything else, except perhaps pickled seaweed. She denied as always, that it was love, as did he, but, as she glanced at herself in the mirror, all decked up in a snow white wedding gown with a sweeping neckline and dazzling pearls, she felt that even if it was a dream, even if was something she could never have imagined, it was also one of the best moments in her life.
Tsukuyo, who was going to be maid of honor, kissed her little sister gently, as did Tae and Tama. Warm tears trickled down their faces. After all, it was the last day that they were going to see her as the princess of Rakuyou, a few hours from then, she would become the queen of Edo. Kagura too cried a little, but she eventually smiled, a true, wide one, showing off all her teeth, saying," Well, even if I become queen of Edo or Princess of Rakuyou or whatever, I'll always be your little sister, Kagura! So don't miss me, okay? I'll visit every now and then, I'll go crazy if I stay alone too long with the sadist, uh huh." Everyone laughed, tears and all as the bride to be picked up her bouquet and gracefully walked out, followed by her equally beautiful maids of honor.
The Sun shone down on the swirling sakura petals that softly fell down on the immense crowd seated in the pavilion, awaiting the marriage of their King and Princess. A keen observer could spot Ikumatsu, seated by an extremely grumpy Zura, Yamazaki, chatting with Tama, all the members of the Shinsengumi from Saitou to Tetsu, many valiant knights which included Isao Kondou, Toshirou Hijikata, and the traveler Sakamoto Tatsuma along with his close aide Mutsu, who, incidentally was a cousin of Kagura, and many others. A beautiful symphony played as the bride's father took his daughter's hand and led her down the aisle, past the front row, where her brother stood, clapping and smiling, to her prince, who looked handsomer than anyone else in the crowd.
And Okita Sougo also felt like he was happiest man in the whole world, as he watched his beautiful bride come closer to him, her face annoyingly veiled. China really looked wonderful then but he swore that he was never going to tell her that. Ever since his sister died, he never had someone he could call family or his own. And who could have guessed that would find her in a gluttonous, rude and loudmouthed China brat? But, boy, he was definitely glad that he had. And in a way, it was all thanks to his fish eyed godfather, who was currently his best man.
The wedding ceremony went wonderfully well. The couple said their vows, but not without adding their own interpretations as well, such as guaranteeing a lifetime supply of pickled seaweed and Tabasco sauce, fighting with, torturing and making each other's lives hell, till death did them part and of course, carrying out aforesaid activities in the underworld as well. The priest at first looked rather scandalized at their improvisations, before shrugging and continuing with a slight smile. Everyone in the pavilion looked happy, with the notable exception of Zura and Takasugi, who was handcuffed by Gintoki in order to prevent him from doing any mischief. Finally, the priest pronounced that the young couple could kiss each other, which they did, but not before clashing their weapons together.
Later, it was time to dig into the wedding cake. Kamui and Umibozu already had two whole cakes set aside for them, which they gobbled up in seconds. Smiling with a sadistic light sparkling in his eyes, Sougo sliced a piece of the special sukonbu cake and handed it to Kagura, who took it happily, but not without a definite feeling of unease.
Her instincts were justified moments later, when she felt the blaze of Tabasco sauce burn her throat and mouth. And then, as she was about to murder her sadist, she knew that she was definitely not dreaming and that today was the best day in her life. And it would be even better, after she had taught the sadist a lesson with her umbrella.
A few years later…
"Mommy, tell me a fairy tale!" Mitsu pleaded, pulling at her mommy's long red hair. Her mother smiled gently, patting her as she cradled her youngest son, Souichirou in her arms. Seeing that Mitsu looked like she was going to throw an unreasonable tantrum, her father came over, picking her up, saying "I'll be telling you one, how about it? This is a tale of two kingdoms and how the extreme sadist prince of one kingdom made the gluttonous pig of the other kingdom his masochistic wife forever- OUCH!"
Sougo glared at Kagura who had just chucked a paperweight at his head. "Sadist, just what story do you think you're telling Mitsu? Mitsu darling, your mommy will now tell you a story of how there was once an idiot sadist prince, who had to be rescued by a beautiful demon princess and was tormented by her forever- OWWW!"
For Sougo had just pulled her hair hard enough to yank it out. Mitsu and even Souichirou giggled as they watched their mother and father bicker for the millionth time. In fact, Mitsu felt that this was more interesting than any boring princess stories her bald grandpa told her. The stories her uncle told her were always filled with too much bloodshed, but she still enjoyed them. However, it was her dad's sadistic narrations and her mommy's food filled tales that she loved and always would love the most.
Later that night, as Kagura watched her children sleep, with Sougo's arms wrapped around her waist, she decided that her fairytale hadn't ended with a happily ever after, but had gone on with something much, much more thrilling and precious than that. She softly whispered the same to her husband, sure that he was sound asleep and wouldn't remember it in the morning. (Un)Fortunately, Sougo was still awake and heard every word, though for once, he decided not to tease his beloved wife about it. For it was exactly what he often muttered to himself.
A/N: So this is the tenth and last chapter of this fic! Goodness, I feel like crying, I really have become attached to this story. A heartfelt thanks to everyone who read this story, I'm really happy if you liked it and if you didn't, I promise I'll try to improve. I want to dedicate this last chapter for everyone who read, reviewed and liked this story, especially Akely, who wrote reviews for every chapter and also Bereftsoul, who always inspired me to update regularly. Lots and lots of gratitude too for the anonymous guests who left such beautiful reviews! I really love all of you !
And as ever, please feel free to send me reviews, criticism, suggestions, anything you like, I am always happy to hear what you think of it! See you again in a new fanfic!