Disclaimer: I don't own Yami no Matsuei
Shout-outs:
jennamarie: Nasty? In what way?
"Little bout of self-torture"…yeah, that's accurate. "Put the past behind him…" HAKUNA MATATA! Tee-hee, sorry, that just reminded me of the Lion King.
(Snuggles Tsuzuki and Hisoka) I love that ending to pieces. Of course Tsuzuki is so understanding; that's why I love them! (Snuggles them some more)
Aacire: IMHO, the more angsty and emotional, the better.
I love your description of Hisoka's parents. As the author, I'm also glad he's never going to see them again. That doesn't mean he won't go back to Kanagawa, though…(Am shameless tease)
Here's the update! The wedding is next chapter!
Amethyst-eyed Koneko: AEK, you don't know how much I love getting your reviews. The fact that someone tells me that my writing effects them so much that they hold their breath throughout most of the chapter, and then actually start crying, makes me really feel like I'm doing my job, you know? Thank you—a lot.
Enough with the anomaly! (Grins) (SchnoogleGlomps AEK)
Amen to your postscript.
Eternity's Heir: (As an aside, I happen to love your penname.) Thank you very much! ("I've always relied on the compliments of strangers!" BTW, where is that quote from, do you know?) I'm so happy that you all…enjoyed (? Not the right word, but for now…) that second to last scene, especially because I keep telling myself that I could've done more/better!
About Tsubaki…believe me, I think Manga-Tsubaki is a mucking foron (purposeful letter switch) who kinda deserved it (Like Tomoe from Rurouni Kenshin), but Anime-Tsubaki was just so innocent and sweet, because unlike her Manga counterpart she had no idea what was going on. I'm glad that you're beginning to like her. Doubly glad that it's because of me. Y'all spoil me too much with your compliments.
Those lyrics at the beginning and end of chapter 10 are from "I'm Alive" by Heather Nova, which describes Hisoka to a T, I think. The lyrics in chapter 9 are from "Wash Away Those Years" by Creed, which was just a general theme for all the girls and Hisoka. And I wish I had thought of it sooner, but in the chapter where Tsuzuki sees Ruka again I should've incorporated lyrics from "Good-Bye" by Natalie Imbruglia. That song is perfect for him, and even more so for that situation.
Side Note #1: A picture of Wakaba's miko outfit can be found at "http/www. barthe.ch/jgallery/big/miko. jpg" if you remove the spaces. Also, traditional Shinto requires miko to be virgins or, in a less suggestive sense, be loyal only to the shrine. However, my research says that women with loyalties outside the shrine can still be miko based on strength of character. So Miko!Wakaba/Terazuma is still possible.
Also, the colors red and white symbolize human union with the gods. They're the traditional colors of Shinto miko.
Side Note #2: I had this really awesome YnM dream a couple nights ago. I was reading volume 11, and Hisoka was sitting with Tsuzuki and the Shiki. He was talking about his dreams to master a really powerful Shiki and Seiryuu proceeded to tell him he's an idiot. Hisoka stormed away and sat down against a cliff somewhere, and he actually started crying. Suddenly Tsuzuki appeared behind him. He kissed Hisoka's shoulder, saying, "I love you." They started talking—I forget what they said—and Hisoka somehow wound up sitting on Tsuzuki's lap. Tsuzuki kissed his cheek and said, "I love you" again. Hisoka kinda spazzed, and Tsuzuki said, "Not like that" (at first I thought, "Great, Matsushita's doing that 'they're totally in love but not really!' thing again, but then I figured that Hisoka's sitting on his lap so maybe he thought Tsuzuki was talking about…well, you know). Then they started heading back to the city. Hisoka asked why they weren't heading back to his hotel room. It cut to Tsuzuki sitting on his bed and Hisoka standing in the doorframe trying to leave. Tsuzuki said, "Hisoka" and reached his arm out. Hisoka looked at him, and then in the next panel Tsuzuki and Hisoka were sleeping, facing each other, looking so peaceful. And then my dream self stopped reading the book, went home with my father, and ate Fruit Loops for dinner (WTF?).
Needless to say, I woke up feeling very happy, especially since this was my first YnM dream (REM dream, not daydream, which I have plenty of and are usually self-induced). In the spirit of the SCUSA threads at Fiction Alley: TheirloveissoFruitLoops!
Side Note #3: I made up some dates for Wakaba, Tatsumi, and Watari. I made it so Wakaba was born in 1927 and died in 1945, and I made it so Tatsumi was born in 1916 and also died in 1945 (remember that as this will be a plot point in—I think—chapter 15). Matsushita says Watari was born in 1953, and I made him die in 1980. For anyone with fuzzy math skills, that means Wakaba is 18, Tatsumi is 29, and Watari is 27.
Side Note #4: OVER 4000 HITS FOR SECOND DEATH! W00T! YOU GUYS ROCK!
In And Out With The Old
"Wow, this thing's buried."
Wakaba was currently pawing through her closet, trying to disentangle a hangar from a large, entwined group of others. She had not worn her shrine outfit in decades; she had been desperately hoping that her chihaya hadn't yellowed with age. Her hibakama was fortunately the same bright red it had always been, and she had managed to stumble into the bottom half of her outfit while digging through the closet finding the top half.
Chihaya in hand, she posed in front of her full-length mirror on her bedroom wall, holding it up against her torso. When had she last worn this?…Oh yes, at the last wedding she had officiated at. The last wedding in Meifu, 55 years ago. The miko both in Chijou and Meifu, who had died regretting not finding her own source of happiness even as she sincerely congratulated the two who celebrated theirs.
The thought of a pointy-eared, Shiki-possessed, chain-smoking ex-cop crossed her mind briefly and she blushed to herself as she pulled her chihaya onto her upper body. Tying off her hibakama, she inspected herself in the mirror. She looked the part of the proper miko, that was for sure.
She squealed, almost involuntarily. Finally! It felt like it had been 10 long, quiet years since Tsuzuki and Hisoka had announced their engagement. But it also felt like 5 minutes since she had been asked to officiate. Once she had heard someone joke that the most nervous person at a wedding is the mother of the bride. Well, there was no bride at this wedding, but she had been somewhat of a maternal figure for Tsuzuki in the years she had known him, so did that count…?
"Kannuki! Are you building a bridge in there or something? What's taking so long?"
"Don't rush me, Hajime!" Wakaba yelled back, a little more snappishly than she meant to. "I need to be in a pure spiritual state and yelling at me is not going to help!"
Wakaba heard him slam the refrigerator door downstairs, the clinking of glass signaling he had smuggled a bottle of something from her stock.
"And be careful what you drink! Some of that is needed for the wedding, you know!"
Terazuma sent back an irritated grunt and Wakaba sighed. Terazuma was her escort to the wedding. She wasn't sure why; she could just as easily pass through the Suzaku gates alone, as she had done it thousands of times before, but he had insisted, so…
She cleared her throat and attempted clearing her mind. A product of all three major Japanese religions—Shinto from her father, Buddhism from her mother, and Catholicism from her aunt—meditation had been a part of her life since her memories began. Unfortunately, serenity seemed elusive to her at the moment, as the noises of Terazuma from downstairs and her jangled nerves were hindering her pursuit of peace.
Wakaba made a loud, frustrated noise and capitulated. She wasn't going to have any tranquility today; she just knew it.
"Kannuki, you're opening the Suzaku Gate, so shouldn't you be there first?"
"Hajime, if you bother me one more time I'm going to summon a fuda scroll and make you sprout horns!" Wakaba through back her sliding door and glared angrily.
"Wow."
Wakaba blinked in surprise as Terazuma took his cigarette out to stare at her. Nervously she looked down, making sure everything was on properly.
"It's just my miko outfit," Wakaba said, smoothing out the fabric. "And the red clashes with my hair…"
"Oh, uh, that reminds me." Terazuma coughed into his hand and fumbled in his suit pocket. "Red and white're the only colors you can wear, right?"
"Yes, that's the tradition," Wakaba said.
"Here." Terazuma unearthed a small cloth pouch and shoved it into her hand, putting his cigarette back in his mouth. "I knew you wouldn't find your own. I mean, you lose stuff so easy, and…so…thought you might, y'know, need this…"
Wakaba untied the strings and let the blue pouch open up in her hand. Lying in her palm was a white hair ribbon, red dyed into it in semi-diagonal stripes.
"Hajime!" Even her eyes smiled. "Thank you! You're right, I couldn't find my own." Wakaba pulled her hair off her face and expertly tied the ribbon like a shoelace, leaving a wide cascade of ponytail atop the under layer of her hair. "Oh, I could just kiss you!"
"Don't!" Terazuma jumped back, looking panicked.
"Of course I wouldn't, Hajime," Wakaba said, brushing her hair smooth. "Kuro's rather touchy like that. But, thank you. That was very thoughtful of you."
"Yeah, whatever," Terazuma said, taking a drag of his cigarette.
"Hajime, could you…?"
"What? Oh, this?" Terazuma pulled his cigarette out of his mouth. "Got no ashtray."
"…It's okay," Wakaba assured. "Just be careful where you blow your smoke, okay?"
"Yeah…I'll be careful," Terazuma promised.
"Um…sorry, do you mind?" Wakaba gestured apologetically at her door. "I really should try to get in some meditation before the ceremony…"
"Oh, yeah…you should. Wait…do you have any food in this place? All I saw in the fridge was a bottle of root beer…"
"Oh, it's all in the pantry," Wakaba said. "But I don't have much…my paycheck's not in this week. Hope you like Fruits Loops; that's basically all I have."
Terazuma made a face.
"I take it you don't like them?"
"I'll survive eating them," Terazuma conceded.
Wakaba giggled. "I can see it's a great compromise on your part, Hajime. Here, I'll share in your pain and eat with you."
"Shouldn't you…?"
"Oh, I won't be able to meditate; I'm too jittery," Wakaba said. "C'mon…you're already my date to the reception; be my breakfast date, too."
The tips of Terazuma's ears reddened, just slightly.
(A/N: Sorry. I couldn't help myself. TheirloveissoFruitsLoops!)
"Oi, Tatsumi!"
Tatsumi gave a sudden shudder of surprise and turned around. A certain blonde-haired scientist was bounding towards him with energy Tatsumi couldn't fathom himself ever having.
"How you feeling?" Watari asked, now safely beside Tatsumi and able to keep his voice down a little.
"Well. I'm feeling well," Tatsumi said, a tad uncomfortably. He and Watari had barely spoken since their impromptu talk in Watari's laboratory, aside from the usual work-appropriate greetings and Watari's more than occasional intrusions into Tatsumi's office, which weren't so much talking as they were Watari babbling and Tatsumi being distracted.
"I went to lots of weddings when I was alive," Watari continued, rambling. "They're always pretty emotional. So if you wanna cry on my shoulder, I'm right here for you."
"I'm quite capable of handling myself at public functions, thanks," Tatsumi said dryly.
"Yes, but I have a feeling you're a big softie inside," Watari teased, poking Tatsumi playfully in the stomach.
"Please don't do that."
"Speak almost obvious truths or poke you?"
"Both."
Watari sighed mock-ruefully. "I like you, Tatsumi, truly, but you're infuriating sometimes."
"Then maybe we should call off our little liaison tonight."
"Really, Tatsumi, you make it sound like we're having an affair," Watari said. "And there is no way I'm calling it off. You owe me a proper date after your little bout of anti-social behavior. Plus, I haven't seen anyone since 1980, and 20 years is quite a long wait, even for immortal Shinigami like us, don't you think?"
"I suppose," Tatsumi said musingly. "I've never dated, so I can't give any true insight."
"Eek! Never dated? Ever? Tatsumi, I feel sorry for you. To never have been romantic with anybody! I can't fathom it."
"So I suppose you're the expert, Watari?" Tatsumi asked wryly.
"As a matter of fact, Tatsumi, I had a significant other in…Chijou."
Tatsumi had to turn and look at Watari with his sudden shift in tone. Watari's eyes, eyes that one knew were looking at them even when they could not see the eyes themselves, had moved away from Tatsumi and cast themselves at the ground. The light of Watari's golden pupils seemed to have inverted into his mind, and his lips turned in on themselves in a frown.
"And what happened there?" Tatsumi asked.
"Let's just say it didn't turn out well," Watari said flatly.
"Were you that awful a boyfriend?"
"Tatsumi." Both Watari and Tatsumi stopped walking and Tatsumi felt himself compelled to turn and look at Watari completely. The death of mirth in his eyes sent a little pang of something like fear in Tatsumi's chest.
"Don't ever talk like that again," Watari said, his voice monotone, his gaze almost murderous.
"Watari?"
"I mean it. I won't associate with you if you ever say something like that again. What happened isn't something you joke about."
Tatsumi pulled back a little bit, his face a question mark. "Watari, what—?"
As if a spell was broken, Watari's eyes returned to their normal state almost with a snap. Watari pressed his fingers to his forehead and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. His lower lip was thankful not to be chewed into pieces.
"Oh dear," he murmured worriedly. "That was…I'm sorry, Tatsumi. You don't know…"
"What? I don't know what?"
Watari waved his hand, desperately dismissive of the topic. "Never mind. This isn't something for right now…this wedding's already got enough drama attached to it without me adding my tragic past to the roster."
"If you say so," Tatsumi said shortly.
"Come on, don't be like that," Watari importuned, tapping Tatsumi's shoulder with his fist. "Really, Tatsumi, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. It's not your fault, for what happened, or for not knowing what happened, for that matter."
"You can drop it at any time, Watari."
"Good, that's what I'll do," Watari said, shedding his frown and replacing it with a painfully forced smile. He pushed his arm through Tatsumi's, linking them together around the elbows. "I mean it, though, I'm sorry."
"It's fine…it's fine," Tatsumi said, the slightest bit unnerved but not allowing, never allowing, himself to show it. Awkwardly, the fingers from his free arm tapped the back of the hand Watari had curled around his wrist.
"You're too affectionate, Tatsumi," Watari teased with a purr. "Really, you must learn to behave yourself in public."
"I take it you want me to continue without you," Tatsumi said, making to pull his arm away from Watari's.
"Uh-uh-uh," Watari corrected, keeping his hold on Tatsumi. "I'm not letting you escape that easily."
"Suzaku-neechan, you look pretty!"
There was something decidedly cute when Tenko offered her sincere compliment.
There was something equally creepy when Byakko offered the same compliment, in an age mentality that matched Tenko's, and voice that seemed to be Tenko's tailor-made male counterpart.
"Thank you, Tenko-chan, you look very pretty as well," Suzaku said, deliberately ignoring the hyperactive white tiger who seemed to have consumed an amount of sugar double that of the average 5-year-old. Suzaku briefly wondered how Byakko would have fared as a diabetic.
"Um…" Tenko looked slightly nervous, bouncing as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "These are for you!"
Suzaku barely had time to think before Tenko was shoving a bouquet of flowers in her arms. She blinked, trying to regain her wits, as the otherwise gentle fragrance of each individual flower threatened to overpower her sense of smell as a group.
"Why…why, thank you, Tenko-chan. When did you get these?"
"Oh, they're not from me," Tenko corrected. "Well, that one is," she amended, pointing to the odd pink flower out of the dozen or so white ones. "But the rest of them are from—"
"Me."
"You." Anger, confusion, surprise, and plain reaction were all mixed in Suzaku's voice as her eyes beheld her self-proclaimed nemesis. Taimou floated eerily behind him, like a bad smell or a guilty conscience. "Should I be on guard with these? They're going to detonate and spray me with water in 5 seconds, aren't they?"
"No," Touda said, cocking his eyebrow at her. "Taimou thought it was a good idea that I act like we want to be here together, lest we set Tenkuu aflame. And a little bird let slip that you like those…"
Both Byakko and Tenko looked slightly guilty, and Taimou smirked. Suzaku couldn't tell which one deserved her patented Death Glare™ the most, so she cast her angry stare about the room in general.
"Calm yourself, Suzaku," Taimou urged collectedly. "We don't want today ruined."
Suzaku sent an annoyed squawk, like the bird she represented, at Taimou, and crossed her arms, the flowers rustling as she did so. "And what am I supposed to do with them, Taimou?"
"I can make a bracelet for you!" Tenko offered, snatching the bouquet out of Suzaku's hands and pulling a white flower from the bunch. Expertly she twisted the vine-like stem into a loop and curled it around the base of the bud for security. "Here!" She slapped the impromptu bracelet into Suzaku's hand. "Put it on, put it on!"
"Yes, yes, calm down, Tenko-chan," Suzaku assured, fitting her hand through the ring. Tenko tightened the bracelet around her wrist so the white blossom sat primly and firmly at the bottom of the back of Suzaku's hand.
"It matches," Touda commented, looking at the white of the blossom against the white of Suzaku's uniform.
"It does, doesn't it," Suzaku said shortly.
Touda, in mock—or was it a veritable attempt?—delicacy, took her blossomed hand and raised it to his lips, kissing where her fingers met her palm. Instantly she felt her blood boil.
"What are you doing?" she screeched.
"Being chivalrous," Touda answered, smiling smugly at her. "I believe that is considered appropriate…?"
"You are so full of it!" Suzaku snapped, wrenching her hand away. "Tenko-chan, come on, let's leave the horrid boys and their vile enabler." She shot a nasty glare at Taimou as she grabbed Tenko's hand and pulled the smaller girl away.
"I think the lady doth protest too much," Taimou murmured in a singsong voice, watching Suzaku march away with Tenko tripping along behind her.
"The means she likes Touda too, right?" Byakko asked from where he was batting his tail.
Touda snorted. "I disagree, Taimou. She hates me."
"That'll change," Taimou predicted sagely. "Get enough alcohol in her, and it'll change."
"Thanks, Taimou," Touda said sarcastically.
"Hm-hmm. You're welcome."
"Hello, hello! Is everybody decent? Can I entré?"
"I'd avoid the French accent, Tsubaki-hime," Hisoka said, opening the door to the small room Tenkuu had sanctioned off for him.
"There's the blushing…groom." Tsubaki smiled brilliantly and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. "It feels like I haven't talked to you since I gave you that reading, and that was weeks ago. How did it turn out?"
"So accurate that I really don't want to elaborate on it," Hisoka said flatly.
"Ooh." Tsubaki cringed. "Sorry." She pecked his cheek. "By the way, I saw Tsuzuki a few minutes ago. He looked nervous as all get-out. I tried to talk to him, but he seemed too jumpy to concentrate. It's very sweet." She crinkled her nose and smiled. "How about you, Hisoka? Are you feeling okay?"
"What do I look like?"
"Well, you're a great actor, Hisoka," Tsubaki observed. "So if this is anything like when you were pretending to be Azumi…you're shaking in your boots, as the saying goes."
Hisoka blew air upwards and sat down.
"Tsubaki-hime always knows," Tsubaki said, teasing and ironic, as she sat down beside him. "What is it? Stage fright? Fears of trouble in paradise?"
"No, not really," Hisoka said hesitantly. "Tsubaki-hime, it's…personal…"
Tsubaki reached over and mocked zipping Hisoka's lips shut. "Then don't tell me," she said reassuringly. "I'll just sit here and keep you company until it's show time."
"Okay."
Tsubaki disinterestedly fiddled with the fabric of her dress.
Hisoka very determinedly studied the wall.
"Is it something you should talk to Tsuzuki about?" Tsubaki blurted out.
"No," Hisoka said firmly.
"But if it has something to do with your marriage, shouldn't you discuss it with him?" Tsubaki pressed, concerned.
"He and I have already discussed it. I think me bringing it up would only serve to scare him."
"Well…is there someone you can send to go talk to him?" Tsubaki tried again. "Someone who knows about it?"
"No. There's no one else."
"Well, can you think of anyone that you wouldn't mind sharing the secret with?" Tsubaki offered, feeling herself growing slightly exasperated. "You're starting to scare me a little, Hisoka. There has to be some kind of go-between for you two. You shouldn't go through with this if there's something holding you back."
"I'm not holding back, Tsubaki-hime, I just…"
"What?"
"Look, I caught a whiff of Tsuzuki's emotions this morning, and I know what he's nervous about. If I bring it up now, it'll…it'll ruin what we planned…"
"Hisoka…" Tsubaki rested her hand atop Hisoka's. "Listen. You're my friends and I love you both. I'm not going to let you do something this important if there's anything that you're doubting. Believe me, Hisoka, when you haven't squared everything away with your lover, it'll come back and haunt you."
She swallowed very quickly. Hisoka felt her hand clam up.
"Now, is there anyone, anyone at all, that you think could act as a conduit for you?"
Hisoka looked away, his mind scuba diving into its recesses to try and surface a name, a face, anyone that Tsuzuki could talk to…
"I think…I know someone."
"Again, with this not responding to your sister. Really, Asato-otouto, where were you when they handed out the manners?"
Tsuzuki blinked, stared, and blinked again. She still was. Still young, still beautiful, still incorrigibly pushy. Still, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the girl he grew up with.
"Ruka-nee…"
"Ah-ah-ah," she said, wagging her finger back and forth. "Where's my hug?"
Impulsively, hastily, Tsuzuki pulled Ruka into his arms and strengthened his embrace around her. Her hands flapped uselessly at her sides; her arms pinned against her.
"Okay, okay, enough, enough," she said, squirming. "It's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm guessing by how handsome you look, the fact that this is a palace, and the fact that I can skim through the surface of my summoner's thoughts, that you're finally getting married today, huh?"
"Yes," Tsuzuki said, pulling back. "But what are you…?"
"Hmm." Ruka squinted her eyes, concentrating. "Looks like…there's something your groom-to-be wants me to talk to you about. Fairly important, but I'm just not picking up on what it is, exactly."
"Oh…wow," Tsuzuki murmured, taken aback. "Hisoka actually…"
"Well, what is it?" Ruka questioned, cutting him off. "I can't be here all day. You're going to be busy." She winked. "What's wrong? Are you getting cold feet?" She poked Tsuzuki teasingly.
"No, definitely not," Tsuzuki said categorically. "I've been looking forward to this ceremony from the second I first thought about it. I want more than anything to marry him."
"Then what's the problem?" Ruka asked, sitting down and gesturing for Tsuzuki to do the same. "If it's not the wedding you're worried about, what's making you look as nervous as the cat that stole the fish heads?"
Tsuzuki remembered that she had always liked that expression.
"It's not the wedding. It's what comes…after."
"You mean…?"
Tsuzuki nodded.
"Asato-otouto, all married couples—"
"No, no, that's not it…exactly."
"You're talking in circles, hon. Tell me what's wrong."
Tsuzuki bit his lip. "Do you…do you remember that girl who lived near us? Sonoko Madoka?"
"That poor girl who was ra-…oh. Oh." Realization dawned on Ruka's face. "Oh, no…and you've…you've never…?"
Tsuzuki shook his head again. "With no one."
"Great. A rape victim and a virgin. Terrific combination." Ruka looked ready to spit with anger at the thought. "I hope the rat b-st-rd's who did it's paying for it."
"It's not just that," Tsuzuki said. "It was his family, too. They were awful to him. He grew up thinking he was worthless."
"So did you."
"Yeah, but Ruka-nee, even if I thought the world hated me, I knew I had you, and Mom, and Dad. He never had that. And it's only been 4 years since he died…it's still so fresh in his mind."
Tsuzuki's fingers gripped the fabric of his pants. His hands threatened to shake.
"I've…I've heard him scream in his sleep from nightmares and…Ruka-nee, it makes me want to claw my ears off so I can't hear it anymore. He's…he's…he's gonna hate me for saying this but he's so fragile. He's like a dog that expects to be kicked. I feel like…I feel like…like if I touch him the wrong way or if I hold him too hard he'll…he'll just crumble up and…and I can't do that to him. He's been trying to tell me that's it's okay…I told him it was his decision and he said it was fine but…it turns my stomach—and you know how hard that is to do—to think that I might…even accidentally…"
"Okay, okay, don't upset yourself," Ruka urged, taking Tsuzuki's hand. "Asato-otouto, you listen to your sister now, okay?"
Tsuzuki swallowed and nodded mutely.
"You've gone through a lot in your lifetime, too, and I bet even more has happened since I died.But look where you are now. You're in love and you're getting married. Remember that this is consensual—you both agreed to this and neither of you are backing out. I think he sent me here to talk to you because he needed someone to remind you of that. And I think you have to do this. It's going to help you both move on. Isn't that what love's supposed to do? Help people grow? I think Mom told me that when Shinji and I got engaged…anyway. Look, I know Mom taught me this…did she tell you that Lao Tzu quote?"
Tsuzuki shook his head.
""To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage"," Ruka recited. "I want you to hold that in mind for the rest of today and tonight. Think about it—he's trusting you enough to do this to him. To do this for him. He's giving himself strength by loving you and you're giving him courage by loving him. And if he's doing the same for you, then you're the perfect match and the blessings of Heaven be upon you."
She winked again and stood up, brushing out her kimono.
"Helpful, I hope? You're never too old or too dead to learn from your older sister. Asato-otouto, I really have to go. I'm getting some "Hurry up and go back to Heaven" vibes from your fiancé here. He's gonna need time to recover from me possessing him before the ceremony, so any lingering of this spirit has got to end."
She reached out her hands for Tsuzuki to take hold off, and she pulled him to his feet.
"You keep in mind what I said, okay? You're going to be very happy and I'm so glad for you. I just wish I could stick around to see the ceremony…"
She cupped his face between her hands and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Ah, come on, Asato-otouto. You're making me cry again. And look, you're going at it, too!" Smiling through the glistening tears on her lids she moved her thumbs to wipe the moisture from Tsuzuki's eyes.
"Yeah," Tsuzuki half-choked, half-laughed, smiling and crying at the same time. "I can't get upset now. I'm getting married."