Chihei walked nervously into the room where Kiori was getting ready

Chihei walked nervously into the room where Kiori was getting ready. The twins, Yana, Mikai, and Sachi, were all helping her to get ready. The very last thing that they did was braid rubies into her hair. Chihei was shaking. She was nervous, excited, happy, and sad. Not knowing what else to do, she embraced her daughter and gave her a kiss. "Whatever happens Kiori, I love you. I always will love you. You're going to make a beautiful bride, damn it!" Kiori laughed as they fixed the headpiece onto her head, the final touch, or so she thought. Kiori suddenly remembered the ribbon. She quickly got up and tied it onto her upper leg. Chihei laughed, "Well, I guess it'll bring you good luck later at least!" Kiori blushed at her mothers comment, and then prepared to walk to the throne room.

Meanwhile, Boushin was scrambling around his dressing room trying to keep himself under control. He was nervous. The prince wasn't used to this kind of nervousness… the kind that made him feel, well, excited. Not looking where he was going, he ran into Shinyuu, who fell back on the ground next to him. Hotohori yelled through the door, "Keep it down in there!" Boushin, before catching his words, yelled back, "I'm trying too but its just not working!" Shinyuu punched him in the arm. "Not like that!" Boushin walked over to his desk and sat down. "Nope, get up Boushin. You have to go to the emperor, remember?" Shinyuu said. Boushin nodded and got up. "Well, here goes nothing…Actually it's the biggest event in my life. Thanks for helping me through it Shinyuu." The two men embraced, and then Boushin went to start the ceremony.

The line-up for the women was fairly simple. Chihei and Sachi went first, two by two; they were to wait for Yana and Mikai, who were followed by Kiori, who was followed by the twins. They were in this position outside of the throne room. Inside, The statue of Suzaku was in its usual spot, above the throne. Taitskunn was in front of it with Chichiri and another monk on each of her sides. Directly in front of Taitskunn were the thrones of the emperor and empress, and then the red tile of the floor. Hotohori rose to speak, and everyone in the building sat. Kiori could hear what he said from outside, even once Yana lowered her veil.

"Today, you have all joined us in celebrating an event that has not been celebrated for 30 years: The marriage of a crown prince, my only son prince Boushin. Come forward, my son." Boushin stepped out of the doorway and came forward. He bowed low, letting his knee touch the ground. Hotohori's tone changed, getting a little bit more serious. "Crown prince, your job of the emperor may be short away or long in coming. You come now to seek a companion to share your life with. Do you swear by Suzaku that you will honor her and love her, and be true to her always?" Boushin's voice was deep, but gentle. "I swear by Suzaku… and by my own heart, soul, and life." The emperor nodded.

"Crown Prince, do you swear by Suzaku that you will properly share with her the power of your reign, never once taking advantage?" Boushin looked so very serious. "I swear it" Hotohori raised his arm, and said, almost shouting, "Then enter, future empress of Konan, and come take your place by the prince." The crowd stood, except Boushin, who, by the ceremony, remained kneeling at his father's feet. The doors to the room were thrown open, and Chihei and Sachi walked in. they stopped halfway into the room. Yana and Hajime walked to stand next to Chihei, and Mikai and Naru stood next to Sachi. Kiori was behind this wall of people. Two by two, they moved behind her, a semblance of leaving them behind.

Boushin wanted more than anything to turn around, to look at her, but he couldn't. He knew he was not supposed to. Not yet. Hotohori motioned for the crowd to sit, which they did. He remained standing and started speaking again. "Ko Kiori, daughter of Ko Shun'yuu and Ko Chihei, come forward." She walked up to where the seats ended. She was about 10 feet away from Boushin. Looking at him, she noticed what a cute butt he had. Tasuki then came from his place with the celestial warriors and priestess. Boushin remained in his position. "I give to the prince," Tasuki's voice wavered, "My daughter, Ko Kiori, to have as his empress, and reign over this kingdom of Suzaku when it comes time." He moved closer to her and raised the veil. Kissing her on her forehead, he said, "I love you Kiori… Suzaku knows, I love you. Get up there and marry him before I cry, damn it" She laughed and walked forward a step.

Hotohori said in his commanding voice, "Then rise, crown prince, and face your bride." He rose slowly and turned around. Boushin nearly fell over backwards. This was Kiori, as he had never seen her. She blushed and bit her lip, trying to suppress a smile. Walking forward, she stood beside him, and Taitskunn came down between the thrones as Hotohori sat down. Boushin took her hand very gently, caressing it slightly, and Kiori could tell he was rather… well… turned on by the event. Chichiri and the other monk followed her, their hands folded in prayer. Taitskunn slowly started the prayers. They were all in ancient Chinese. Chihei only recognized a few words, such as pronouns and the words for "love" and "prosperity". After about thirty minutes of gibberish that no one could understand, she beckoned for them to rise. They stood facing each other, both holding one of each other's hands. "You have now made the eternal bond shared by emperor and empress. You shall be joined forever on earth and with the Gods. You may kiss." Boushin didn't need any other instruction. He kissed her deeply and tenderly… maybe a little to tender for a wedding kiss, but for Boushin and Kiori it wasn't enough. Taitskunn then said, almost yelling, "I now present to Suzaku, The crown prince, Boushin and wife Kiori!" At this a great red light filled the room. For Kiori and Boushin, time froze. Suzaku had approved of them.

The crowd moved to the reception, which was a feast to say the least. I'M A POET AND I DIDDNT EVEN KNOW IT!!! Kiori was beaming, and Boushin was… well, Boushin. As they sat at the table, listening to various people talk, Kiori felt a hand on her upper thigh. She blushed, knowing exactly whose hand it was. He kissed her lightly, then whispered in her ear, "Come on, Chichiri has something he wants to show us!" She nodded and got up.

Chichiri got up and said kind of loudly for himself, "Excuse me no da! For my gift to the prince and his wife, I have added the fourth and final part to the palace, which will make up for Kiori's chambers, and, well, any other inhabitants we might have sooner or later no da!" The couple blushed, and then someone shouted, "Get out of here guys! Don't let us keep you here!" Houki laughed, and then got up. "Here, the door to the addition is right here." She walked through Boushin's quarters and opened the door, then went back to the feast.

Kiori laughed and walked in. She had never seen such a place before, set aside Houki's chambers, and she was the empress! She walked into the next room, which was obviously the bedroom. Touching the cloth on the canopy of the bed, she felt Boushin come up behind her. "This is so great! I never thought Chichiri would do all this, I mean, it's absolutely Per--" She was cut off by Boushin grabbing her arm and swinging her into a deep kiss. Finally he broke it, and whispered so that she could feel his breath on her face, "Perfect." They fell into another kiss, then another, getting more passionate every second.

Boushin slowly let his outer robe fall to the floor. His heart was beating 100 times a second as she too let her outer layer of clothing fall. Another kiss came between them, and Kiori let the entire gown fall to the floor, now wearing only her "gift" from the prince. She picked the dress up and set it on a desk. Stopping by a mirror on her way back, she undid her hair from the ponytail she had put it in right after the wedding. She ran her fingers through her hair once more, and walked back to her husband. He lost his breath. For about ten seconds he just stood there, not moving. She smiled and did a little turn. "So you like it?" He nodded. "Hell yeah!" She giggled, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Taking advantage of the situation, he kissed her again, until he almost forgot to breathe.

Kiori looked flustered, and in the heat of the moment, Boushin picked her up where she stood, and moved her tenderly to the bed. Her breathing was husky and deep as Boushin kissed her mouth and neck. He was sweating, even though he was only wearing a pair of black pants. He looked deep into her eyes. "Kiori… I love you. I want to be with you like this… always" She was melting. "Boushin… I…" he cut her off by putting a finger to her lips. "Shh…don't worry. I'll have you in bed by 9, I promise." She giggled, and pulled him down next to her.

Kiori awoke the next morning before Boushin. He was lying on his back with an arm protectively around her, while she was on her stomach laying her head on his chest. She looked up at him, studying his face, which she found particularly handsome. She knew that the other girls had loved him… they were always giggling and fixing their hair when he came by. She laughed to herself, thinking about how lucky she was to have him all to herself. She decided to go back to sleep, seeing that he wasn't awake, and sleeping men aren't much fun… so she kissed his chest where she lay and put her head back down. "Taking advantage of me while I sleep I see…" he muttered to her, half laughing. Kiori looked up at him. "Yup Boushin, you're more fun when you're asleep anyways!" she joked. He smirked exceedingly evilly, and before she could say anything else, flipped over so that he was on top of her. "We'll see about that…. Wife" he said, lowering his mouth to hers.