Okay, obviously, this chapter is about the wedding preperations. This is a little harder, because I don't have anything to work off of, so this is all stuff I made up myself. So...enjoy!
Preperations
A week after Tenkou had been defeated, the Suzaku Warriors were waiting for Tai-Itskun to give Jade the okay to go. The Creator floated in front of the Celeste Warrior, who was wearing simple dark blue robes. "Hmmmmm...Jade, fire a chi blast at that rock over there." The girl followed orders, shooting a blast at the designated rock. The rock shattered into tiny pieces. "Good...now, block all of the objects I send at you!" She sent rocks flying at the warrior, at varying speeds and angles, but she blocked them all easily with her sword. Tasuki snorted impatiently as Tai-Itskun checked his fiance's energy levels. "Hurry up, Grandma! We haven't got all year, ya know..." He recieved an evil look, causing him to fall silent. Finally, The Creator finished. "Okay Jade, you're good to go." The warriors transported back to the palace, waving to Tai-Itskun as they disappeared.
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After Jade had changed, she sat with the others on the porch to talk. "So, Jade, when Tenkou captured you...he said your name was Kokyu Kou. Why did he call you that?" Nuriko asked. Jade flushed deeply. "Well, he scanned my brain and memories, and he came up with the name, although he didn't know that was what I imagined my name was when I first met Tasuki, because I had a gigantic crush on him...stupid, huh?" Tasuki, who was sharing the chair with her, laughed softly before hugging her. "Why is that silly? It's goin' to be your name in two weeks, so get used t' it." Her eyes lit up. "Our wedding is in two weeks?! Oh Tasuki..." she gasped before hugging him tightly. Hotohori smiled. "While you were out at Mt. Taikyoku, I had the preperations started for you two to get married in the main throne room. As we speak, my attendants are cleaning it up and readying it. I didn't order anything else, because I know you want to plan things yourself. Oh, and I sent for some individuals you know..." Jade's eyes shot up to the doorway to see Tara and Amiboshi standing there. "Tara!!! Ami-chan!!! Oh my god!" She got up and ran over to hug them. Tara laughed. "Hey, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help my very best friend plan her wedding? Ami-sama came with me to help also. That okay?"
"Of course, you baka! Why wouldn't it be?" They both giggled and ran off, talking wedding plans. They all sweatdropped except for Nuriko, Amiboshi, and Tasuki. "Wow, that was scary...why are they so excited?" Hotohori asked. The purple haired seishi snorted, as if the answer was simple. "Girls love weddings! Even if it's just planning it. That's their dream, is to get married, duh." Chichiri turned to the two men near the door. "You two certainly have interesting women, daaaaaaa..." Tasuki grinned. "That's why I love her! She gets so excited, it's like watchin' a little kid. I don't know why, but I think it's cute. Besides, I'm horrible at this sorta thing, so she should be th' one to plan it. I trust her instinct." Amiboshi merely smiled as he nodded in agreement.
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Jade and Tara sat in the Suzaku Warrior's room, looking through Tara's very large collection of cds. "Ooooh, look at all the stuff we could perform at the reception! What do you think?" the dark haired squealed happily. Jade picked up the ATeens cd. (A.N. For those of you who are wondering, the ATeens are this Swedish band that does all the old ABBA songs, as well as some of their own.) "How about Dancing Queen? That's an easy one that you and I can do. We can even have Ami help or something..." She popped it into the cd player beside her. They listened carefully to the words, memorizing them, before singing along. They were halfway through singing it for the third time when Tasuki came into the room. (Remember, they share a room.) "Tasuki! Just the person I wanted to see. Help me pick out our song..." He looked at her, extremely confused. "Ehhhhhh?" She laughed, pulling him down onto the bed. "See, at weddings in our world, we have these things right after called receptions. They're like giant parties, with food, dancing, music, etc. Anyway, the bride and groom dance together first, to any song they want to. I was just wondering what you wanted the song to be." He glanced over the cds. "I don' really know any of your music..." She smiled. "How about this song? I really like this one..." She popped in a cd, and the theme from Titanic came on. (The one by Celine Dion) The redhead listened to the song, his fiance singing along softly. As it ended, he smiled. "Yeah, I like that one too." Jade took out a piece of paper and wrote it down at the top. "Now then...the next part will be hard. The dance after the bride and groom's is the bride and her father. This is also going to be a problem during the ceremony, since the father of the bride walks her up the aisle. Any ideas?" The bandit fell silent. "Wait, what about one of th' other seishi? Then the rest can stand up with us. I was thinkin' Nuriko, but that's up to you..." he said, cut off as she hugged him. "That's perfect! Thank you!" He smiled. "No prob, anything for my girl."
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After all of the music had been picked, the two girls decided to talk food. For the main course, they chose traditional chinese foods, with sake as the beverage of choice. Then, for the cake, they were going to make a traditional wedding cake. Since that was the easiest part, they moved onto the clothes. "What do you want your dress to look like, Steve?" Tara asked, using the nickname she had for her best friend. If anyone else called her that, she beat them into a bloody pulp. "Well, Rob, I heard there's this special wedding dress that royal women wear, and I'm supposed to wear it, so that's covered."
"What about the other outfits, for the seishi and everything?" Jade sighed. "I don't know, Tara, Houki is taking care of that. Let's just chill, and if they need us, they can let us know, okay? Besides, we can plan the Bachelorette party awhile..." she said, grinning evilly. Tara smirked also, and they began planning right away.
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As the days passed, the wedding plans became harder and harder. After hours of writing a guest list the one evening, Jade took a breather out in the garden. She didn't even bother to open her eyes as she identified the footsteps coming up to her. "Hi, 'Chiri." she said, listening to the monk chuckle as he sat beside her. "You're getting better at that, no da. How are the wedding plans going?" She made a face. "Oh my god, they're horrible! Who cares how the silverware is supposed to arranged, or how many freakin' chairs we're gonna need?! I don't, so I don't understand why they ask me, of all people! The only fun stuff to plan is the reception and the Bachelorette party..."
"Bachelorette party, no da?" Jade sat up and grinned. "Yeah. Before a couple gets married, their friends of the bride hold a Bachelorette party for her, and the groom's friends hold a Bachelor party for him. It's supposed to celebrate their last moments as being single people. Usually, the guys go out drinking, and the girls hang out. Tara and I already planned a slumber party, but I can't find anyone to plan Tasuki's party..." Chichiri smiled. "I will, no da. Tasuki-kun deserves a party, and I'll get that bandit friend of his to help..." he said, trailing off as the Celeste Warrior started laughing hysterically. "K-Kouji, plan a party?! That's funny! Well, good luck working with him!" she gasped, as she went back inside, still laughing. Chichiri watched her, sweatdropping. "I'm afraid now, daaaaaaaaaaaa..."
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Three days before the wedding, a Nyan-Nyan floated into the engaged couple's room, where they were sleeping in. "Hi Jade!!!" she squealed happily. Tasuki sat up, bare-chested, grumbling. Jade slept on beside him, unaware of the little helper floating in front of their bed. "Whadda ya want?" the bandit yawned, laying back down. "Tai-Itskun wants to see you and give you her wedding present!"
"Tell her t' wait, I'm tired..." Tai-Itskun popped up beside him. "Is that so?" she smirked, scaring him out of his wits and causing him to fall out of the bed. Jade sat up groggily. "What's goin' on?" she mumbled. Tasuki stood up, glaring at the Creator, who was throwing an equally venomous glare at him. "I came to give you your wedding present, as did my sons." The Celeste Warrior looked puzzled, but her confusion quickly turned to horror as the Four Gods appeared in the room. "EEEP!" she squeaked, ducking under the covers. Suzaku chuckled. "Kokyu, what is wrong? You have been in my presence before!" She peeked out at looked at the four young men in front of her. The red haired one was Suzaku, she had seen him before, and whenever she was really pissed, she turned into a replica of his human form. The one with a disgruntled look on his face and blue hair was probably Seiryu. Next to him stood a man with white hair and golden eyes: Byakko, of course. And the final one was a man with black hair and a slight mustache, he had to be Genbu. They all stood in front of her bed, and she was absolutely mortified. Of course, most people would too if the Four Beast Gods suddenly appeared in their room where they were sleeping with their beloved and they weren't even properly dressed. She grabbed a nearby robe and slipped it on. "Uhm...hi..." she said, blushing furiously. Tai-Itskun smiled. "Good morning Jade, I hope we didn't startle you and your fiance too much..." she said kindly, ignoring the glares that were shot her way from Tasuki. "Nah, it's okay." she assured them. The Four Gods bowed in front of her. "Kokyu, we have come to wish you happiness for your marrige and give you your presents." Byakko said in a rich, slightly accented voice. (Work with me here! I'm making all this up!) She flushed. "Oh, you don't have to do that! I-I am just a Celeste Warrior, not even of royal importance! In fact, somtimes I wish I was getting married at Mt. Reikaku! I am not deserving of your wonderful gifts..." Suzaku laughed lightly and smiled at his Celeste Warrior. "You have been very loyal and brave these past few years that you have served me and my brothers, so you must accept our gifts for you." Jade nodded, finally accepting defeat. Genbu came forward first and pulled out a beautiful red flower. It was different than any other flower, almost like a cross between a rose and a lily. She gasped with pleasure as he gave it to her. "Thank you, kami-sama..." she breathed happily. He smiled. "This is one of the Everlasting Flowers that grow on my country's highest peak. There was a blue one, a white one, and a green one, but I felt, since you are Suzaku's Celeste Warrior, you deserved the red one. It will never die, so it is everlasting, hence the name." He bowed slightly, and Byakko stepped forward. "Now, do not be embarassed by my gift, but my gift to you and your future husband is I am giving you both your virginity back." The bandits both turned a bright crimson. The tiger God continued "Don't worry, I haven't seen anything, I just know that you both aren't virgins, but I figured that you would want to be for your wedding night, to make it special." He put up his hand, and they were surrounded by a white light, and the engaged couple felt odd. The he finished and put his hand down. "Your turn, Seiryu." The dragon God didn't seem too happy, but he still stepped towards the pair. "I suppose I have to give you a gift. My gift is I will bring special guests to your wedding. Don't ask me who they are because I won't tell you, but you'll find out tomorrow." Jade nodded. Finally, Suzaku presented his gift. "As my gift, you two will have your honeymoon in the other world, and for those two weeks, I will take you to any destination or time in that world so you two can share the important experiences there..." he said, being cut off as Jade hugged him, something no one had ever done before. "Oh thank you Suzaku-sama!!! You're the best!" He chuckled in surprise and waited until she released him to speak with Tai-Itskun. "It's your turn, mother." She nodded in response. "Jade, I'm giving you two gifts. The first one is that I will slow down time in this world to match the time you're gone in the other world so that you won't be away for months instead of days. And your second gift is this Nyan-Nyan, so you have help with housework and such, but also for your dead friends to have a body to use when they visit you and whatnot." Jade's eyes shone. "Thank you so much Tai-Itskun! Thank you all very much!" The Four Gods and the Creator bowed before disappearing. The Nyan-Nyan grinned at them. "Is there anything you need, Jade?" Tasuki got back into bed, grumbling. "Yeah, let us sleep!" he growled. The helper laughed before floating away, leaving the two to sleep.
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The next day, Jade was finishing the decorations in the banquet hall when a servent came running in. "Kokyu-sama, there are people here to see you! Should I send them in?" the girl panted. The Celeste Warrior nodded and stood by the door, waiting for the girl to come back. She suddenly saw nine figures following the girl, talking happily. Jade ran out and hugged the nearest two. "OH MY GOD!!! THANK YOU, SEIRYU!!!" she screamed happily. Zach and Jordan, who were in the process of being choked to death by their sister's embrace, nodded and gasped out hellos. She released them, crying happily. "Keiko! Adam! It's been so long!" The other two siblings laughed and hugged her. Then, she saw that Miaka, Yui, Taka, and two unfamiliar guys were standing nearby. Tara, who had heard all the noise, came down the hallway. "Jade, what's all the screaming about-Yui!!!" she squealed, hugging her beloved Priestess. The Seiryu no Miko smiled. The other seishi had come to see what was going on, resulting in many happy reunions. Jade found out that the two other guys were Keisuke Yuki, Miaka's older brother, and Tetsuya Kaijiwara, Keisuke's best friend and Yui's boyfriend. They both shook her hand, smiling. Tasuki, on the other hand, was being swamped with questions from the four other Stevens. Finally, his fiance rescued him and dragged him to their room. They sat down on the bed and Jade sighed. "Tasuki, I hope you don't mind that my brothers and sister are here. They can sometimes be very protective, but I think they'll be okay with you. You can even invite your family if you want, since I never met them before..." The bandit became flustered. "Well, uh, ya see, I don' think that would be a very good idea..." he stuttered, but his fiance paid no mind. She quickly scribbled out a letter on a piece of parchment and attatched it to the leg of her hawk, Taran. He flew away, bearing the message. Tasuki, stunned, looked at her as if she was nuts. Then, his expression softened, and he took her hands into his and said quietly "Jade, ya gotta remember that I'm the only boy among six women, and they all look down at me because I was supposed t' be a girl. I'm not sure how they'll treat ya, but I promise, I'll make sure they leave ya alone, especially Aidou and my ma. I'm sorry I asked ya t' marry into such an awful family." She hugged him. "I'm sure it'll be fine, love. Just try to get along with them, I don't care what they say about me..." He smiled and kissed her forehead gently. "Okay then..."
There we go! Sorry if Tasuki's too ooc, but I wanted him to be loving, as well as his badassy self. That's why he's the way he is. Next chapter will be dealing with parties before the wedding! Yay! Ja ne!