Hey Readers! Here's a shout out to Adventure Skyward Girl, Patricia, Lala, Suzume Suki, Cybercorpsesnake, Melime 14, and all the others who have commented! It always makes my day! I'm about to start a pretty intense program in school, so I shall try to finish up the final three or four chapters before it gets too busy. Thanks for reading!

Iku stood, feeling uncomfortable.

Sure, she was constipated and nauseous and tired even though the Internet had told her that the second trimester was supposed to be far more pleasant than the first had been (LIES!). And yes, she was already sticking out further than she had expected to be at the cusp of labour let alone being only halfway through the whole ordeal. For the moment, however, all those factors paled in comparison to the task at hand: dress shopping.

If the idea of standing on her feet all day hadn't been alluring enough, Shibasaki had decided that they needed to power walk between numerous fancy dress shops on a day that was stiflingly hot. As Iku stood wearing about the eleventh dress she had been forced to try on, she hoped that she wasn't sweating as noticeably as she imagined. She sipped a green tea smoothie as she looked up at Shibasaki and realized why she was having such a terrible time. Despite everything, she probably could have attempted to enjoy the occasion had best friend's other choices of bridesmaids been anything other than those who stood before her. They perpetually annoyed every ounce of Iku's being. She quietly writhed in displeasure and wanted to drop kick all of them, if nothing else than for the fact that they all looked absolutely pristine and sweat-free and thin while she felt like a beached whale in a frilly tutu. She knew that was the hormones talking, which made it even worse.

Where Shibasaki had found these women was beyond Iku's reckoning. Since Shibaski's wedding had to outdo any other wedding that century, she had decided to have a whopping twelve of them. Twelve. Twelve supermodel girly girls who could imagine nothing better to do with a Saturday than argue about what kind of dresses they should wear to accentuate their perfection. It was as though their whole reputations hinged upon the event. Iku couldn't keep any of their names in order and had only ever met one of them previously. From what she could tell, they fit into approximately three groups. The first were relations that Shibasaki did not particularly like but had been obliged to invite into the bridal party as a matter of duty. The second were those who she was trying to gain as allies and who she tended to favor in any and all of her decisions. Shibasaki had tried to explain how useful these women would be to have as contacts, but Iku never could keep it straight. All she could tell is that they seemed absolutely vain and were completely dissatisfied that they did not hold her post as matron of honour. The third group consisted of women who were absolutely stunning but just under Shibasaki in terms of beauty and seemed to idolize her in all their interactions. These girls seemed to regard their being "chosen" as the highest and most serious honour and expressed their gratitude in every waking moment. They were constantly getting Shibasaki specialty drinks and offering to hand-make different elements that would bring her ceremony/reception to the next level. The majority of the eleven ignored or whispered about Iku and she was finding her patience was growing thin. To make matters worse, they were so whiny and indecisive that it looked like it would take a million years to find a dress that the majority would tolerate.

By this point in the afternoon, even the always controlled and decisive Shibasaki seemed to be shrinking under all the opinions that were being thrust at her. Trying to find a style that would accommodate their body types was challenging, especially since Iku would have just given birth to twins at the time of the wedding. They couldn't decide on a colour that would suit them all, let alone a price and a cut and a length. Iku could have marched up to a reasonably priced dress that looked half-decent and called it a day. This, however, was not the approach of the others.

Iku sat down and texted Atsushi: SAVE ME. TOO MANY DRESSES AND NOT ENOUGH SENSE.

He replied instantaneously and there they communicated, providing her only escape from the strenuousness of the situation.

Atsushi: You'll be fine, it's for Asako.

Iku: Is it too early to fake going into labour?

Atsushi: Is it that bad? Do you need me to come get you?

Iku: No, these girls just drive me nuts.

Atsushi: Well, after this is over, you never need to see them again.

Iku: I only had one bridesmaid. SOOO much easier!

Atsushi: Yes, I recall. I was there :p

Iku: I am so hungry. These women all had salad for lunch. I no longer like salad. I want to eat a platter of short ribs, but I'm already a million pounds heavier than these people. Ah!

Atsushi: Even while you are pregnant, they have nothing on you. We can pick up ribs on our way home. We will feast away in comfy clothes. You'll forget all this happened.

Iku: One of them is trying to convince Asako we should wear orange. ORANGE. My complexion would never work with that. Besides, I can tell Shibasaki hates it. I think she has her heart set on the pretty blue one…

Atsushi: uh huh.

Iku: You aren't interested in any of this, are you?

Atsushi: About as much as you are.

Iku: -.-

Atsushi: How much longer is this going to take?

Iku: Until the babies are two, I think. Maybe longer. If the girl with the crazy heels has any say, they might be graduated by the time I get home.

Atsushi: That would be unfortunate.

Iku: I mean seriously, how does a person walk in heels like that? I can't even imagine.

Atsushi: You just need the proper technique.

Iku: These girls aren't being fair. There is no way that Shibasaki can make them all happy. Also, I would pay good money for you to demonstrate this technique of which you speak.

Atsushi: never. These are secrets that are guarded with the utmost care.

Iku: Should I say something? I am matron of honour. I'm not really an expert in these things…

Atushi: If you think it would help…

Iku: They want to go to another store! L

Atushi: You should just leave if you are too tired. Just tell me where you are and I will get you. You are pregnant, there are a million excuses you could use. Including but not limited to the fact that you are pregnant.

Iku: I can't do that to Shibasaki.

Atsushi: She can come too, there's room in the car to save both of you.

Iku: I like the sound of that…

Just as Iku was sending this message, she overheard one of the second-group girls make a snide remark about Shibasaki and how tacky her wedding was going to look if she used the blue dress that she was set on. Iku could wait no longer. She stood decidedly and marched over to Shibasaki. The girls surrounding the bride seemed to regard the approaching female as though a raging bull were headed straight for them. "Excuse me!" Iku said, addressing with particular interest the girl who made the comment and then the others. "It doesn't matter what the heck any of you people think. This is Asako's wedding! She could make you wear tin foil pinned in place by chewing gum if she wanted and she could do it and it would look AWESOME because this girl has vision! Now, you can all just shut up and look pretty for Asako or leave but don't get any ideas about bad mouthing her or thinking your opinion matters more than hers! Otherwise you will have a very pregnant black belt to kick your skinny size zero bottoms back in their place! You got me? Now make up your minds fast because I gotta pee!" They stared at her in stunned silence and she finished her drink with satisfaction. Asako gave her a grateful glance and the confident Shibasaki stepped back into her rightful light.

Iku: We're going with the blue ones JCome and get me as soon as you can.