A Slice of Wedding Cake

by Kiyutsuna and Lucathia

Disclaimer: The Legend of Sun Knight belongs to Yu Wo. No monetary profit is being made from this fic.

Notes: Co-written with Kiyutsuna! Odd chapters are hers. Even chapters are mine! Check out the illustrations that go with each chapter on AO3 or livejournal, drawn by Kiyutsuna!

Slice 12: Something New

Neo

If there ever were a huge commotion, you can bet that Grisia would be at the center of it. If he weren't personally part of the commotion, then he would be the mastermind behind it. Whatever the case, he was bound to involved!

He had always been the sort to attract attention, both positive and negative. How could he not with that personality of his, and that appearance? He has the sort of appearance that makes one want to bully him so that fewer people would fall to his charm!

Before he had even become the Sun Knight-in-training, I'd already known that he attracted attention. The other candidates loved to bully him. He was a weak little thing back then, his strongest skill being his ability to seek out those stronger than him to fight his battles. I still remembered the time when he and Roland had been surrounded by a bunch of bullies. (I only remembered because I'd been looking for him to ask him why he wanted to be the Sun Knight.) At the time, Grisia had found help to back them up. If memory served me correctly, the "reinforcement" he'd brought back was none other than Lesus, that child who had always had good swordsmanship.

Come to think of it, Lesus' fate must have been sealed ever since that moment in time! I really had to hand it to my student. He sure knew how to pick people from the start.

Then, on the day I took Grisia to find his "big sister," I discovered the shocking truth that Grisia was a demon king candidate.

Child, just how outrageous can you be? There's being the center of attention, and there's... this!

Grisia was definitely a special child, one of a kind. I, Neo, was not only raising the next Sun Knight. I was also raising the next Demon King!

But I didn't let that knowledge change how I taught Grisia. He would always be at the center of attention, no matter if he were the Sun Knight or the Demon King or just Grisia. That meant he needed to be able to withstand everyone's scrutiny! And protect himself! No falling drunk, no letting other people see his imperfections or exploit his weaknesses, no losing in a fight, and most importantly, no dying! If he dares to die, I might as well kill him myself to save us both the trouble!

"Aren't you afraid that Grisia will one day want revenge on you?" Chasel once asked after he'd watched Grisia practice "falling gracefully" for the hundredth time. At first, I'd only meant it as a joke, but who knew Grisia would actually be able to make falling look so graceful? Why was it that he couldn't learn swordsmanship, but he could learn this? It wasn't like learning how to fall wasn't an essential skill in fighting!

I'd laughed it off. "Revenge? He's too scared of me for that!"

Grisia was indeed scared of me, always wanting to run at the sight of me, but despite how I always treated him, Grisia still dared to fuss over me all the time. Was he the teacher, or was I? It was obviously not him!

To train him, I tossed him into all sorts of danger. Grisia always prevailed. That child who had been so scared when I left him alone in the forest that he actually cried and later threw himself into my embrace when I finally showed up... was no more. He'd grown up before I knew it.

Even if Teacher were not with him, Grisia would be fine.

I'd raised him into a tough man.

Grisia would be fine.

But before I left the Holy Temple, I still went to find Lesus. Why I had done it, I hadn't known at the time.

Now, I knew it was because of what he reminded me of. What he and Grisia reminded me of.

A pair of tired, dark eyes surfaced to mind.

Are you leaving, Neo?

Of course! I've been stuck here for the past thirty years. Now that I can leave, you bet that I'm going to leave right away!

Then what about...

What about us?

What about us? There never was an "us"! We were the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight! What "us"? It just wasn't... possible.

It wasn't.

But perhaps these two youngsters would not end up like us. Like me.

Perhaps they could make the impossible happen.

"Lesus, listen well, because I'm only going to say this once."

Serious eyes, so similar to another pair but much less weathered, stared back at me.

"Grisia is a demon king candidate," I said.

With that, I left Grisia in Lesus' care. He really hasn't disappointed me at all. Chasel indeed raised his student well.

And now, of course I would find Grisia at the center of all the commotion. A wedding between the Sun Knight and the Judgment Knight?

Only Grisia.

I'd smiled wryly.

"I'm getting married, Teacher," were Grisia's first words to me on the day of his wedding. I was sure that he'd shocked plenty of people into a faint with his intent to marry Lesus, and that there were people out there that hadn't believed the marriage would truly happen until it was actually happening, but what in the world was Grisia stating the obvious for?

"Come child, let Teacher take a look at you," I said, gesturing for Grisia to walk closer. Black looked sharp on him, giving him much more of an edge. The Divine Judgment Sword, on the other hand... I half wanted to snatch it away. Who knew what kind of abuse Grisia would put Chasel's sword through? Even I couldn't predict it!

When Grisia walked close enough, I whacked him on the head. "Duh, you're getting married! And you're holding that sword wrong. Tilt it up more."

The pain was probably enough to tell Grisia that yes, this was really happening. He grinned stupidly while rubbing his head.

I could only say, "Do you want to make a fool of yourself on your wedding day? Idiot child!"

He really was getting married, my child.

On the day I returned to Leaf Bud City, I crashed my student's bachelor party and drank through the night with him.

Both Aldrizzt and Grisia could hold their liquor, but if they ever had a competition, I had no doubt that my idiot student would come out the victor. For each bottle that I chugged down, Grisia chugged down two. We sat in the Sun Knight's wine cellar, surrounded by wine made by us. There were even a few bottles left from our predecessors that we took out to drink. Bright, colorful streamers hung on the walls, celebrating this festive occasion.

I lifted my bottle into the air. "I toast you for breaking tradition!" I told Grisia and knocked back my bottle. Then, I slammed the empty bottle down on the table and grabbed another bottle.

Grisia drank, but after he finished, he lowered his bottle and asked, "Teacher, you're not... mad?"

"Of course I'm mad!" I pushed another bottle of wine toward him. "I found out about your marriage through a letter!" And he wasn't even the one who sent it!

Grisia took the bottle. "But you're not mad about the marriage?"

"Child, I thought you manned up. Stop being so wishy-washy," I admonished. "Just because you drank a few bottles of wine doesn't mean you should get all sentimental on me."

"But I..."

"You're not wrong, idiot student."

My stupid student always put everyone else before himself. For the sake of his brothers, he would give his sight, his holy light, his identity, his everything. Just be selfish already, and do what you truly want to do, even if that includes stupidly letting yourself get tied down!

I knocked back another bottle of wine. Sitting here in this cellar brought me all the way back to a time when this room had been mine, and I'd had to make bottle and bottle of wine for a future student who I had no clue about. I'd often ended up drinking more bottles than I'd made, causing Chasel to roll his eyes at me. He never drank even when he came down here, but he'd keep me company, and we'd joke about our future students, wondering what our future students would be like. Never in my wildest dreams did I think my student would be someone like Grisia, stupid Grisia who couldn't even hold a sword right, who always nagged, and who always took everything upon himself!

Now, my student sat across from me with a stupid smile on his face.

"Does getting married make you that happy?" I asked, perplexed.

Grisia immediately nodded. "Of course!"

"Even if it means getting tied down? You're having the most world-shattering wedding of the century. There's no backing out of this," I warned Grisia.

Grisia laughed. "Teacher, why would I ever back out of this? I'm getting married to Lesus! Besides, how am I letting myself get tied down? I'm staking a claim on what's mine!"

I stilled. Staking a claim on what's his?

Then, I pounded the table in laughter. "Hahaha! Well put, child, well put!"

He and I were truly very different people, our choices altogether different. While I thought marriage to be a restraint, he saw marriage as another bond. He had always treasured his bonds no matter what form they came in. Even though I was the teacher, I had to hand it to him this time.

I grabbed a bottle and toasted him once more. "Teacher has been enlightened. Grisia, you have more guts than Teacher!"

He nearly choked on his wine.

Soon after, Stone's student came to inform us that all the guests had been seated. After he left, Grisia and I prepared to enter the Hall of Praise as well. At a glance, I could see that all of the 37th generation had come, even the most elusive Hell, and Aldrizzt sat with them. Wen had come with his wife. Lanbi kept glancing at the entrance, but each glance meant he'd catch the gaze of several women, so he could only throw all of them winks and stop fidgeting. Archie and a bunch of royalty were also in attendance. Who would miss this huge event?

Grisia and I took our places to the left of the Pope while Fahr's student and the rest of the "good, warm-hearted" faction stood to our side. The "cruel, cold-hearted" faction stood on the other side. Then, the Bishop of Brilliance began playing the organ while the Bishop of Radiance opened her hymnbook. The clerics at the front of the ceremony hall began singing, making me feel like I had been thrown back in time and was attending one of the worship services, but thank the God of Light I didn't have to sing. Those worship services had always been a pain!

Holy light filled the front of the hall, which had already been very bright because of the sunlight shining in through the stained glass. While I hated how piercing it was, I'd always enjoyed how the light made my hair glow. I'd hold myself tall and grin as everyone watched me reverently. Today, Grisia and I stood among the light together, as if under the God of Light's embrace.

I could tell the moment Lanbi's student walked in because Lanbi nearly jumped out of his seat. He would've done it if Fahr hadn't pulled him back down. I didn't know what he was so worried about. His child pulled the dress off well! Just look at all the girls eying him with envy! I watched in amusement as Ceo threw the girls winks even while wearing a bridesmaid dress, his grin bold. Their envy immediately melted away, and some even began gazing dreamily at Ceo and the guy next to him - Roland, that all too solemn boy whom I had not chosen all those years ago.

I was not sorry to have chosen Grisia over him. I could not imagine anyone else as my student, my dumb child, but even though he was not my student, I was glad that he'd found a place for himself. Now, he even had a pretty girl, I mean, a pretty man, on his arm!

Not only were girls staring at them, there were also guys staring, though they mostly stared at Ceo. To my amusement, Roland leveled glares at them. With half his face covered by a mask, his glare was all the more piercing. With the Storm Knight winking at everyone and the Hell Knight glaring at everyone, they splendidly carried out the public image of the two factions.

Most of those who weren't staring were glancing at each other in disbelief.

If the Storm Knight really did go through with wearing a dress, did this mean the rumor that the Judgment Knight would wear a wedding dress was also true?

I had no doubt that Lesus would actually do it! He wasn't one to ever go back on his words. Just like how he had promised me he would look after Grisia, he'd decided to wear the dress, so wear the dress he would.

Following Ceo and Roland came the ring bearer and the flower girl. Those two brats that Grisia had picked up some years ago had been super happy when Grisia had asked them to be part of the ceremony. When the boy walked in, I could see several of the 37th generation begin to whisper among themselves. He had a head of short, wavy blond hair and a pair of blue eyes... Well, close enough to blue that the 37th generation was glancing suspiciously between him and me. Hayseth looked especially annoying with that raised chin of his!

Oh please. I already have Grisia. Why would I need any other brats?

The sister resembled me a lot less. With her long, flowing hair, she looked a lot more like Grisia. She was all dolled up in a pink dress with lots of frills and lace. I half wanted to point out to Lanbi that this was what a daughter should actually look like.

Then again, Ceo currently wore a dress that did not lose out to this little flower girl's dress.

When I turned my head, wanting to tease Grisia about having children before even getting married, I was immediately struck by the smile on Grisia's face. His face had completely lit up with a brilliant smile, and it wasn't one of the trademarked Sun Knight smiles either. As bright as those were, they couldn't even hold a candle to the expression Grisia currently wore. His smile was one of pure happiness, as if he were in the presence of a lifetime supply of blueberry pie or something!

Wait, come to think of it, Chasel's student was pretty much the equivalent of that. Well then, it looked like my idiot student did end up getting married to pie.

Based off of Grisia's expression, Lesus must have entered the Hall of Praise. Everyone in attendance stood up. Or, at least, they tried. Too many were so shocked they couldn't even stand right away, including Lesus' own aunt and uncle.

I glanced back toward the entrance where Lesus had just entered. There he was, Grisia's bride.

He wore a modest, white dress. A very long, modest white dress. Did he want to accentuate his height or something? He was even wearing heels! I spared a moment of pity for my student, who had never been the tallest out of his generation. But other than Lesus' towering height, there was nothing all that unflattering about his appearance. In fact, I'd even say that his height was what made the dress work. Not very many people could pull off this look.

He'd exchanged his normal, billowy robes for a jacket with large, billowy sleeves. Instead of a sword, he held a bouquet of roses and what was that flower again, oh right, forget-me-nots. He did have the Divine Sun Sword with him, but if I hadn't been looking for it, I would not have been able to find it behind the folds of his sleeves and dress. On his face was a striking mask and a veil.

Chasel, who was clad in black, escorted Lesus by the arm, and together they slowly walked down the aisle. Lesus looked straight ahead, not at all paying attention to all the incredulous stares. He had a small smile on his face. Even when the stragglers finally managed to pull themselves up, they could not stop staring. Not only was the Judgment Knight wearing a dress and getting married to the Sun Knight, he was even smiling.

I snickered.

"Teacher..." Grisia said.

"Child, just look at their expressions! Don't tell Teacher you're not proud of shocking them senseless?"

Around us, the singing went on.

"I'll always remember this moment," was Grisia's eventual answer. He was still smiling that blinding smile of his.

It was definitely a moment to remember.

As Ceo, Roland, and the two brats reached the front of the hall and took their spots, the singing grew softer. Then, Chasel and Lesus reached the alter. Chasel shared a glance with me. I quirked my eyebrow at him and then eyed Lesus' dress that was definitely "new."

I'd heard that Chasel had gone with Lesus to purchase the dress. It was too bad Chasel hadn't purchased a dress for himself while he was at it! A long, flowing dress would have suited Chasel quite well.

Chasel rolled his eyes at me.

Hey, just because your back is facing the crowd doesn't mean you should roll your eyes at me in broad daylight!

The last notes of the song graced the air. The Bishop of Brilliance lifted his hands from the organ. The Bishop of Radiance closed her hymnbook.

All at once, the hall was quiet.

The Pope invited everyone to sit down. He introduced Chasel, who really needed no introduction. Chasel then brought Lesus' hand up to join it together with Grisia's, entrusting his child to mine. He didn't immediately let go but rather seemed to whisper something to both of them. I could see Lesus smile just a bit wider. He then clasped Lesus on the shoulder.

After he did so, Chasel stepped backwards, joining the "cruel, cold-hearted" faction in standing to the side. Left alone, the two lovebirds gazed at each other, as if there were no one around them. They were totally off in their own little world.

From where I stood, all I could see was Grisia's back.

From the other side, Chasel no doubt saw a similar sight, the back of his child who was soon to be married.

What kind of student will I end up having, I wonder?

Someone who we will raise and love.

And who will grow up before we know it.

We shared another glance.

Our two idiot students were just about to create an entirely new legend, tearing down tradition to make it their own.

Now that I had Grisia and Lesus as an example, our two stupid students who were so daring that our predecessors were probably all rolling in their graves, I could not help wondering...

Why have I run for so long?

to be continued

Kiyutsuna: Lesus is the most epic blueberry ever. *nods seriously*

Lucathia: The wedding, it's here~~~~. Somehow, I ended up with the Chasel-Aldrizzt-Neo chapters. Super lucky! XD

Check out the chapter on LJ or AO3 for an illustration of Grisia smiling like there's no tomorrow, the cute little brats, and Lesus in a wedding dress!

Anon named help, you can find this story on livejournal through my LJ fic masterlist or through the tags.