"And with this...I take thee..."
Chapter 4
The wedding day dawned bright and clear, and Kagome was too nervous to eat the breakfast her mother had made. Sooner than anyone expected, it was time to go; and Mama, Grandpa and Souta came to the well to bid Kagome a joyous but tearful goodbye.
When she arrived in the feudal era, Kagome was met by Shippou and Sango. Sango muttered something darkly about Miroku being "unavoidably delayed" and was not particularly forthcoming with any additional details, but she reported that otherwise everything was ready to go. Kagome showed them the camera that her mother had sent with her, and was struggling vainly to explain the concept of photography when Shippou snatched the camera out of her hands. "It's magic—magic from Kagome's time!" he laughed gleefully. "If it's magic—leave it to me!"
Even Rin came. Everyone welcomed her warmly, but nobody knew just how she had found out about it (Kagome was overjoyed, all the same). Miroku was especially gallant in his greeting; it was the first time he had seen Rin in many years, and she was tall, regal, and radiantly beautiful. He couldn't help himself; he took her hands between his, and ignoring Sango's furious snorts behind him, he began to ask Rin the same question he asked every beautiful woman: "Would you do me the honor of..."
Rin just stared at him, but it was not with the face of a puzzled child: it was with the soul-piercing gaze that she had learned from Sesshomaru, powerful enough to crack granite. After only a second or two of that terrible stare, Miroku withered, and finished his question with as much grace as he could: "...of, er, of...of wearing this flower?" He hastily pulled a blossom from the grass at his feet, placed it in her hand, bowed, and quickly slunk away.
Sango hugged Rin with her prettiest, most grateful smile, then ran after Miroku, shouting angrily, "Don't think you can get away with it that easily, you perverted houshi-sama..."
Kagome was resplendent in a simple white Western-style dress, with a bodice trimmed in lace and pearls. A short train, held in place with a coronet of lavender and white roses, covered her rich black hair, and a delicate and diaphanous veil was over her face; and never had she been so radiant or so lovely. She was carried to her groom on Kirara's back, with Shippou walking before them both, strewing their path with flower petals. As a special surprise, Shippou had created an enthusiastic choir of mushrooms to serenade the bride as she passed through the forest; their gentle out-of-tune warbling was comical but sweet, and Kagome was very touched at the gesture.
Kagome, Kirara and Shippou at last arrived at the glade of the Goshinboku, not far from the very spot where she had first seen Inuyasha. A bridal bower had been built there, at the foot of the great tree. It was woven of green boughs and flowering vines, and redolent with the buds of early summer; it was crowned by a circlet of fox-fire, and the lush emerald turf underneath it was carpeted with sweet-smelling petals of every color. A circle had been laid in white granite stones, and a small candle had been set on top of each stone; and tiny crystals in the stones glittered in the flickering flames and the shimmering shadows cast by the Goshinboku's leaves as they fluttered in the breeze.
In the center of the circle stood Kaede, trying her best to look solemn but completely unable to hide her happiness; to her left waited Sango, resplendent in a delicate kimono of coral and white, belted with green silk embroidered with cherry blossoms and morning doves: a gift from Kagome's mother. Her hair was bejeweled with tiny flowers, and her eyes sparkled with tears of joy. To Kaede's right stood Miroku, a wreath of white and lavender orchids around his neck and a matching garland entwined about his staff; he wore a serene and priestly expression, concealing his heroic hangover with all the style and grace that he could muster. And standing before them all, welcoming his bride with right hand outstretched, was Kagome's beloved Inuyasha. He was dressed as ever in the crimson robe of the Fire-Rat, but over it he wore a beautiful black vest: a warrior's vest, a kataginu, regal and wide-shouldered, richly damasked in crimson and indigo, trimmed with silver and gold thread. He was belted with a satin sash of midnight blue and gold, and on the belt were embroidered signs that symbolized the joining of his family with Kagome's. There was a crescent moon rising over a lotus blossom, the crests of Inuyasha's father and mother, which Inuyasha had never worn until this day; and they were set under a temple gate, the emblem of the Higurashi family.
Kagome dismounted from Kirara and walked solemnly towards them, her eyes sparkling, her gaze fixed on her beloved's face. Miroku whispered quietly to Inuyasha, "My, Inuyasha—doesn't Kagome-sama look beautiful today?"
Inuyasha and Sango both leaned in to Miroku, never taking their eyes off Kagome or changing their expressions. Quietly, out of the sides of their mouths, they spoke in perfect in unison: "Touch her and I'll kill you."
It was a wonderful ceremony, simple and beautiful. Inuyasha not only managed not to spit out the ceremonial sake, but his expression never varied from one of rapt devotion, his eyes never leaving Kagome's. (Actually, he admitted later, he hadn't even noticed the taste.)
They solemnly vowed to love, protect, and cherish one another; then, Kaede asked Inuyasha, "What token do you bring to this woman?" Inuyasha brought out a beautiful gold ring, set with a heart-shaped ruby, which had been Kagome's grandmother's wedding ring. Grandpa had taken Inuyasha aside one day, muttered something that Inuyasha couldn't make out, slapped him on the shoulder, tearfully called him "son," then pressed the ring into his hand and ran off blubbering. Inuyasha had understood none of it, and he had to seek out Kagome's mother to explain what had happened and what it meant.
Inuyasha slipped the ring on Kagome's finger, and somehow managed to choke out, "And with this...I take thee as my beloved wife."
Kaede turned to Kagome, and asked her the same question: "What token do you bring to this man?" Kagome blinked; this wasn't the way they had rehearsed it, and the question took her quite aback. She looked downcast, and said almost inaudibly, "I have nothing."
Inuyasha smiled. "Yes, you do." He reached into the sleeve of his robe, then he pressed something into her hands. When she opened them, she saw his prayer-bead necklace, as good as new, except that one of the brown beads had been replaced with one of gold.
"Are you sure, Inuyasha?" she asked.
Inuyasha smiled. "Well, since we're making promises today..." he whispered with a sly smile, "...only if you promise to quit using it so much."
Kagome blinked the tears out of her eyes, and her voice broke as she said, "I promise." Then, tenderly, she lowered the necklace over his head, and she said with a proud and clear voice, "And with this...I take thee as my beloved husband."
Despite Shippou's professed familiarity with "magic from Kagome's time," his skill with a camera was questionable at best. When Kagome returned to her time and the film was developed, they found a terrifying hodgepodge of random images that included a disturbing number of extreme close-ups of thumbs, noses, and feet. One of the most unnerving contained only Hatchi's left eye, a dark pupil nearly filling the frame with a sinister glare.
The later pictures were significantly better than the earlier ones. By the end of the roll, Shippou seemed to finally have mastered the camera. There were several charming shots of Kagome being toasted by her smiling friends, and even one or two where Inuyasha wasn't glowering at something or someone. There were also a few truly incredible pictures that made Kagome's mother howl with laughter and Kagome blush hotly with embarrassment. One captured the magical moment in which a slightly tipsy Miroku was groping for Kagome as she bent over to pick a flower; the next, taken only seconds later, depicted that same Miroku flying through the air, having been dealt a mighty blow by an enraged Sango. Another picture taken later in the party depicted a very tipsy Sango giving a lusty double-handed clutch to the backside of a very surprised Inuyasha, sending him flying into the air while a thoroughly amused Kagome and a surprisingly jealous Miroku looked on from the background.
Fortunately for Kagome's mother, Kagome had had the presence of mind to shoot some pictures herself and pose some others for Shippou to take, so a good many memories of the day were successfully brought home. But somehow, in the midst of all the odd photographs that Shippou had taken, he managed to capture the one most important moment of all, and he got it absolutely perfectly: the bride and groom's first kiss as husband and wife, surrounded by their loving friends, framed by their beautiful bower with its crown of magical fox-fire; and enfolding and embracing them all was the great Goshinboku, sunlight streaming through its majestic canopy and warmly lighting the lovers' faces. It was a beautiful photograph, and anyone who saw it, whether or not they knew the bride or groom, was immediately suffused with the joy of that precious moment. A copy of that picture received a place of honor in the Higurashi household, and Kagome's mother revered it to her dying day as her most precious and beloved possession.
As for the honeymoon...well, that's another story.