well, here's another big chapter to 'The Love Angel and the Dark-Hearted Devil' which is worth a whopping four-thousand-eighty-three words of pure storyline, besides this beginning headnote and the disclaimer which I'm putting in as soon as I'm done writing this headnote. this chapter is based upon episode three of the 'Wedding Peach' anime, and it's the first chapter of the whole fanfiction that has even a little bit to do with the main storyline of the entire anime. that's right! this fanfiction is being told from Yousuke's point of view, but it's being told from Yousuke's point of view throughout the anime. now on to the disclaimer...
disclamation: I do not own the 'Wedding Peach' anime or manga in any way, shape, or form. I do not even own copies of the manga books or any DVD's or anything of the anime. I do not know for whom the rights of the series' ownership are reserved, but it's certainly not me. I am but a humble writer of fanfictions like this one, right here, and of other types of stories.
It was just another day on the soccer field at St. Hanazono Junior High School where the rest of the team and I were training for a big game and I had managed to catch the soccer ball just before it could hit the goal net. Captain Yanagiba came up to me following my awesome catch.
Captain Kazuya Yanagiba: Nice save. Keep up the good work, Yousuke.
I raised my head before I had responded back to him.
Yours Truly: Thanks.
I had then noticed that all of the girls on the bleachers cheering us on. Well, they were actually cheering on the captain because he was so popular with them. I know Captain Kazuya Yanagiba was my friend and that I should not have let it bother me, but I just could not help but feel kind of jealous of him being a real big hit with the ladies.
If that did not make me feel jealous enough of Captain Yanagiba, the girls from the newspaper club were there, too, cheering on him and him alone like a trio of lunatics. To make matters even more jealousy-fueling for me, even Momoko Hanasaki was there to cheer for the captain and him alone.
Momoko Hanasaki, Yuri Tanima and Hinagiku Tamano: We love you, Yanagiba!
Then, the girls beside the three of them turned their cheering into a competition in which the victor would be the group who could cheer the loudest for the captain.
Other group of girls: WE LOVE YOU, YANAGIBA!
The news girls were not willing to take it lying down.
Momoko Hanasaki, Yuri Tanima and Hinagiku Tamano: WE LOVE YOU, YANAGIBA!
Needless to say, it looked a bit scary if I had anything to say about it, myself. Apparently, the other group of girls thought so, too, and conceded the round to Momoko and her two friends.
A little later, after the soccer team was done with practice, Yanagiba and our coach both seemed to have an announcement.
Captain Kazuya Yanagiba: Everyone, this Sunday is the wedding of an old St. Hanazono soccer team alumnus, Susumu Shindo, and his new bride, Mimiko.
I had heard of Susumu Shindo before then, but just once during my time attending this school. What I heard about him was that he was the number one soccer star from back in the day who had really kicked off the soccer team's golden years at St. Hanazono Junior High School.
Coach Haruki Nakamura: Susumu Shindo was the St. Hanazono alumnus who'd really kick started this brilliant golden age for our soccer team.
Yours Truly: So an old soccer star's getting married. Big whoop. I don't see what we have to do with it.
Captain Kazuya Yanagiba: Yousuke, what we have to do with it is that we're gonna be putting on a huge exhibition during Susumu's wedding.
Well, that certainly enticed me about this upcoming wedding of our soccer team's most famous alumnus, Susumu Shindo.
Yours Truly: Really now? What kind of exhibition are we all putting on for Susumu's wedding?
Coach Haruki Nakamura: Well if you gotta know that badly, Yousuke, you kids are putting on a soccer ball dribbling exhibition as a show as soon as Susumu and his bride, Mimiko, have said their wedding vows.
That really got my blood flowing with excitement for Sunday of the following week.
Yours Truly: Well, I guess that we'd better practice our soccer ball foot juggling for when we have to take that scene on Sunday.
Coach Haruki Nakamura: It's dribbling, Yousuke, not foot juggling.
Yours Truly: Right, coach. I'm so gonna be there for sure.
When the Sunday of the wedding came, however, I found myself run into Momoko Hanasaki and her friends from the newspaper club again. I was practicing my foot juggling when my own soccer ball suddenly veered off course and out of the meeting hall. I saw it rush towards someone with familiar-looking cherry blossom pink hair. I called out to them.
Yours Truly: LOOK OUT!
It was too late, though. My soccer ball had already slammed into their face. And just my luck, the person that my soccer ball happened to slam into was none other than Momoko Hanasaki, herself. She walked backwards all dazed and stuff before finally falling backward when my soccer ball knocked her smack on the cranium, not that it would have caused any brain damage since she was already dumb enough as it were. She was so dazed and out of it. I went to check on her.
Yours Truly (continued): Hey! Hey, are you alright? Hey. Hey!
Then, she seemed like she had recovered from it when she rose up to look at me.
Momoko Hanasaki: Yousuke Fuuma, it's you!
I had to say that she looked pretty shocked to see me there. Hello! I was also a member of the soccer team just as much as the soccer team's captain, Kazuya Yanagiba, himself, was.
Yours Truly: Well, your head doesn't look dented or anything. Then again, you've got a pretty thick skull.
Momoko Hanasaki: What did you say?
Yours Truly: It's dangerous for you to space out in public places like this, you know. Besides, you're slow enough as it is, don't you think?
I did not know why I had expected Momoko to agree with me about her slowness, but whatever it was that made me think she would have must not have all that smart of me, either, especially considering just what she had to say to me following my comment.
Momoko Hanasaki: Did you say 'slow'?
Then, she got up from being knocked out by my soccer ball and began yelling at me for it.
Momoko Hanasaki (continued): I don't believe this. You hit me with that ball on purpose just to annoy me.
With that accusation from her, I just could not stop myself from rubbing my hand that I was not holding onto my soccer ball against the back of my hair.
Yours Truly: No, no. I didn't do it on purpose. I just screwed up while I was practicing juggling, that's all.
Admittingly, I actually was telling the truth that time. The only problem with my explanation and just what had happened between the two of us next I suppose was that all of her past experiences with me directly involved had told Momoko that I had actually meant to hit her in the face with my soccer ball.
Momoko Hanasaki: Well, you shouldn't be juggling in here, you dummy, you blockhead, you back-side player.
Excuse me! I knew I was not exactly gentlemanly with her in before then, but that did not instantly give Momoko the right to call me all of those names just to spite me for having hit her with my soccer ball, which, by the way, really was just a complete and total accident on my part.
Wait a minute. What was that last name the cherry-blossom-pink-haired girl had called me?
Yours Truly: 'Back-side'?
When I had muttered that last name-calling phrase she had hit me with, I actually had begun to wonder if hitting Momoko in the face with my soccer ball really had caused the poor girl to gain any additional brain damage, after all. Surely, she was trying to call me a back-up player, since that was exactly what I was, for the goalie player, anyway.
That was when I heard a guy's voice come out from beyond the area in which I was earlier before running into Momoko for the first time outside of school.
Guy's voice: Something wrong, Yousuke?
Of course, it was the captain of our school's soccer team. Momoko was far more than thrilled to see Captain Kazuya Yanagiba.
Momoko Hanasaki: My dear Yanagiba is here.
I had to get the captain's attention away from this girl. Still, I guess that she was not all that hurt, after all.
Yours Truly: Nothing. Nothing at all, sir.
Then, I turned myself towards Momoko if only to assure myself that she was OK, and to apologize further for hitting her directly in the face with my own soccer ball meant for the exhibition performance happening later at the wedding of our senior, Susumu Shindo.
Yours Truly (continued): Anyway, I'm glad you're not hurt or anything.
As soon as I had said that sentence, however, she started looking at me all weird. I wondered what she was thinking about.
Then, the possibility of her even being here for whatever reason suddenly set off alarms in my brain. Why was she even at this wedding at all? I guess I had no choice but to find out from Momoko, herself, simply by asking her about her reasons for being there.
Yours Truly (continued): Wait a minute. What are you even doing here today, anyway?
Momoko Hanasaki: Oh, I'm actually working for my father who's been hired as the photographer for this wedding reception.
So, she was helping her father out, then, was she? I guess it would have easily explained Momoko's reasons for even being in the Hakuun Meeting Hall. I never would have taken her for the type to help out her father. I could have sworn that she was nothing but a lazy, stay-at-home-on-the-weekends kind of girl who did little to nothing to help out even with the chores around her family's house.
Yours Truly: Really? That's nice of you to help him.
Of course, with that kind of information about her, I could not help but wonder what else I could have had pegged all wrong about Momoko. She only smiled graciously to me in response to what I said. That smile of hers from the time had to have been the very first genuine smile I had ever seen grace her lips and be given in my direction.
It was easily time to get back to business as usual with her, especially to protect myself from getting lost in my first time ever noticing those bright sky-blue eyes of Momoko's in addition to her first ever time really smiling at me. Believe me, I would have done whatever it took to keep myself out of that trance-like state. I had always frowned upon those who believed in love at first anything, and I wanted nothing to do with being compared to them.
Yours Truly (continued): Guess I'll see ya later then, Momo-pi.
Of course, that quickly put an end to Momoko blessing me with such a genuine smile. As soon as I had called her what I normally do, she grew confused about it.
Momoko Hanasaki: What? Momo-pi?
Then, Momoko became pretty upset with me for calling her it as I just started leaving her there.
Momoko Hanasaki (continued): My name is Momoko; Momoko Hanasaki, you lunkhead.
On my way back to the rest of the soccer team, I made sure to call out back in Momoko's direction.
Yours Truly: Right, sure thing, Momo-pi!
After a bit of banter from Momoko, I finally managed to rejoin the rest of the soccer team.
Captain Kazuya Yanagiba: Are you sure there wasn't any trouble, Yousuke? It sounded an awful lot like you made that girl pretty mad at you.
Yours Truly: Ah, come on, Captain. I was just havin' a bit of fun with her, that's all.
Captain Kazuya Yanagiba: If you say so, Yousuke. I just think that you could've gone a little easier on her.
Yours Truly: You see, Captain? This is why ya always get overcrowded by the ladies. It's because you set no limits for the girls that are able to be your fans.
Captain Kazuya Yanagiba: Well, it's not like I can just tell them not to like me at all. I just think that it's nice that I have their full support.
As jealous of my own soccer friend in the team's captain as I supposed I was, I could actually understand perfectly well why the girls constantly crowded the captain like he was the last rice ball on the plate. He was the only guy on the soccer team, heck even attending the very campus of St. Hanazono Junior High School, that had ever even been so considerate towards the girls' feelings. Of course, they would naturally find a character trait like that irresistible in any guy. I guess that the phrase about nice guys finishing last did not apply to the area of girls.
That was just around when Coach Nakamura came into the room in which his entire team was to tell us all that we were on soon.
Coach Haruki Nakamura: Just a heads up, my soccer stars; your exhibition performance in honor of the groom will be starting in five. So, you all better head to the meeting hall.
So, we all did as the coach had said and headed over to the Hakuun Meeting Hall just in time to be ready to start on our exhibition performance for the new bride and groom. As soon as the doors opened, I could have sworn that I had heard Momoko's voice scream out about the captain. Of course, she was not immune to his true nature as just a nice guy. The master of the wedding ceremony spoke up about our team's exhibition performance, and every team member that was there held a soccer ball.
Master of the wedding ceremony: And now, the members of the St. Hanazono campus soccer team, which the groom, Susumu Shindo, used to be an ace-forward for, are here to congratulate him on finally tying the knot.
The wedding attendants all applauded for both our senior and his new bride.
Master of the wedding ceremony (continued): Now, ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy the performance of the St. Hanazono soccer team.
With that, all the soccer team's members began juggling the soccer balls with our feet, or as the coach called it, dribbling. Well, that is that everyone on the team had already started on with their dribbling. Granted, I stayed focused on that at the start of the team's performance until the newspaper club girls that Mr. Hanasaki had brought along with him for his assistance in taking the pictures of the wedding had completely taken over his shots. Yuri, the chocolate-brown-haired and teal-eyed one, claimed Mr. Hanasaki's camera from him.
Yuri Tanima: Mr. Hanasaki, let me help you take some of these shots.
Hinagiku, meanwhile, had relieved him of his back-up camera.
Hinagiku Tamano: See ya!
Well at least, Yuri had the sense to be polite about it, while Hinagiku just basically hijacked it from her friend's father.
I suppose that Momoko was going to use her own camera to take shots of the team's exhibition performance.
Momoko Hanasaki: Wait a second.
Of course, what I meant by the team's exhibition performance was nothing but the captain's end of our team's exhibition performance.
Yuri Tanima: Oh, Yanagiba. Dear Yanagiba.
Meanwhile, Momoko was steaming at her two friends for stealing her father's cameras from out under his nose, though it was not for the noblest of reasons, and she was really only upset with them about it because they were getting clear shots of the captain.
Momoko Hanasaki: Hey, no fair! I'm gonna take some, too.
I guess that I was perfectly fine with Yuri and Hinagiku taking pictures of only Yanagiba. Momoko, on the other hand, was a different story… to me, anyway. As soon as the cherry-blossom-pink-haired one from our school's newspaper club came looking to get a shot of her 'Dear Yanagiba' as Yuri had called the captain…
Momoko Hanasaki: Oh, where's my Dear Yanagiba?
… I quickly got in her way of getting even just an adequate shot of Captain Yanagiba. The fact of the matter was that even without my interference, she was just nowhere even close to the captain to get such a good shot of him. I just showed up in her face grinning like a moron. Then, I placed my right hand atop my forehead and began talking to her like I was the one she wanted to photograph.
Yours Truly: You better make me look good in those pictures or there'll be trouble, Momo-pi.
Momoko Hanasaki: Momo-pi? There's no way I'm taking a picture of you now, loser.
So, she was not going to take a picture of me, was she? Was I just in a bad position for it? Of course, it was not like that was not something that could not easily be fixed. I decided I would try to fix her decision not to take any pictures of me by striking up a few different positions here and there for an absolutely perfect picture of yours truly. I started by holding my soccer ball up in the air and standing on one foot with my knee shooting upwards.
Yours Truly: How about this?
Then, I tried a position where I held the soccer ball tightly and had my fingers from my other hand on my forehead all darkly and mysteriously just like an 'Indiana Jones' styled treasure hunter.
Yours Truly (continued): Or this? Or maybe, uh…
Then, I gave her a cutesy face which looked a lot like it belonged on a cartoon character with an accent that sounded like it was from Texas in the United States.
Yours Truly (continued): Like this?
Needless to say, Momoko was not amused with my funny faces and picture-ready positions.
Momoko Hanasaki: You big dummy!
It was not long before Yanagiba had asked Susumu Shindo to join in with our exhibition. Unlike me, Yanagiba did not think he was all that worthy of being in photographs. The rest of the wedding attendants cheered for the groom to join the current team of his old junior high alma mater. After much encouragement from the attendants, Susumu finally caved into their requests.
Susumu Shindo: OK, I'll join.
To this this action from her new husband-to-be, his bride, Mimiko, only chuckled good-naturedly at her new husband joining in with students from his junior high alma mater. I suppose that to the bride, it showed just how Susumu was with children.
Master of the wedding ceremony: Watch Susumu real closely now, everybody.
Everybody among the wedding attendants cheered for Susumu as he kept on dribbling the soccer ball.
Master of the wedding ceremony (continued): You know, I heard the beautiful bride, Mimiko, fell in love with him the second she saw his incredible juggling technique.
I so knew that it was called juggling. In your face, Coach Nakamura.
Master of the wedding ceremony (continued): What do you say, Mimiko? Is that what happened?
Suddenly out of nowhere, the new bride suddenly started acting like she did not love the groom at all.
Mimiko: You've gotta be kidding. I can't stand that loser.
All the wedding attendants gasped in indignation and Susumu dropped the soccer ball he was juggling.
Mimiko: My fiancé has a list of faults a mile long. He's mean, selfish, stingy, ugly, smelly, dumb, and utterly rude!
That was when our senior, Susumu, tried to reason with his bride, Mimiko.
Susumu Shindo: Mimiko, honey, what's the matter?
The bride's only response was slapping the groom's hand away, though. Then, Mimiko responded to Susumu's concerns with words, and very hurtful words at that.
Mimiko: Don't you dare touch me, you moron. There's no way I'm marrying a fool like you.
Everyone saw the look in Susumu's eyes.
Susumu Shindo: What do you mean? But you and I are totally madly in love, aren't we?
Mimiko, however, only acted less and less like she loved Susumu at all.
Mimiko: Totally in love? Grow up, will you? Love means nothing in the real world. Nothing!
It was then that Mimiko did the last thing that anyone at the wedding, even her own parents, had expected her to do. She punched Susumu upside the head and knocked him out with her punch. Out of all the wedding attendants, Momoko was the only one to say anything about it.
Momoko Hanasaki: Can somebody please tell me what's going on here?
Not long after Momoko's question about Mimiko's sudden one-eighty in both her behavior and her personality, the bride's parents were the next to ask their daughter about her sudden spike in unpleasantry.
Mimiko's mother: Mimiko, what are you talking about, dear?
Mimiko's father: We've never seen you act this way before.
The bride just ripped her bridal veil right out of her hair in response to her parents' concern.
Mimiko: Mama and Papa, shut up and get out of my way.
It was then that a couple of twin markings appeared on Mimiko's cheeks and her eyes began glowing red. With it, the air around her own parents instantly became thin as carbon dioxide up in outer space.
Then, everything around the bride turned purple.
Mimiko: Love is an illusion! Hate is real!
As soon as she spread her energy or whatever to the rest of the meeting hall, the air around everyone else became poisonous. The air in the Hakuun Meeting Hall suddenly became particularly poisonous to Momoko's friends from the school's newspaper club, Yuri and Hinagiku. Momoko sounded pretty worried about the two of them.
Momoko Hanasaki: Yuri! Hinagiku!
That was around when I went after Momoko to protect her from this new, ugly side of Mimiko.
Yours Truly: Momo-pi!
I wrapped my arms around her the second I got to her.
Yours Truly (continued): What are ya doin'? Hurry up and run!
Momoko Hanasaki: Yousuke, it's you.
'Yousuke, it's you'? That was all she had to say about the situation? I suppose that it meant she acknowledged me. That was when Mimiko turned towards our direction.
Mimiko: Huh? Get outta my sight, you two!
The bride that was acting crazy at the time then blasted us with the same kind of energy that she had been blasting every other wedding attendant in the Hakuun Meeting Hall with.
Just as it was about to hit us, I threw myself and Momoko out of the way of it as she screamed. Upon our landing onto the floor, Momoko suddenly questioned me about why I did that.
Momoko Hanasaki: What are you doing throwing me around like that, Yousuke? Can't you see that I'm a_
That was as far as Momoko got in scolding me before I covered her mouth. The crazily behaving bride, Mimiko, just continued unleashing that black energy on us and every other wedding attendant and taunting us with her laughter.
Yours Truly: Listen, Momo-pi, hold your breath and run.
Everyone else in the meeting hall was completely knocked out cold. Soon, I was knocked out, myself.
It was a while before everything went back to normal. For some reason, no one remembered anything, either. I knew that I was thoroughly confused as to why Momoko had suddenly pulled on the sleeve to my own soccer uniform and suddenly started talking nonsensically about me saving her from something or other. Granted, I would have been perfectly happy to rush to her rescue at anything.
Momoko Hanasaki: Um, excuse me.
I turned my head towards Momoko's direction following her tugging onto my soccer uniform sleeve.
Momoko Hanasaki (continued): So, uhm, thanks for earlier.
I did not know what Momoko was even talking about.
Yours Truly: Huh? What do ya mean?
Around that time, Momoko only looked completely confused at me.
Momoko Hanasaki: You know, earlier with the devils and stuff.
I did not know what in the world she was talking about, but it sounded pretty crazy, even for her.
Yours Truly: What? Devils? Have you finally gone and lost that mind of yours? Do weddings make you go wacky in the brain or something?
Then, Momoko gave me a look of complete shock.
Yours Truly (continued): Ha-ha. Go splash some cold water on your face or something, slow.
Momoko Hanasaki: How dare you call me slow, you loser! I may be a little spacey sometimes, but you've gone too far!
That was when she began beating me up with the wedding China plates and the goblets for the champagne and continued yelling at me like there was no tomorrow.
Momoko Hanasaki (continued): I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!
The rest of the team laughed at my expense fest against Momoko. She had even kicked me with both of her feet, thereafter.
Momoko Hanasaki (continued): Dummy!
Her father photographed me getting kicked by his daughter. I guess Momoko's old man was hardly the type of father to share his daughter with some guy.
