Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rosario Vampire. I am merely twisting the creator's vision into my own dream. If the supernatural, sexuality, or violence is offensive to you, than you should not read this.

Chapter 273

The site for the wedding had been carefully chosen and prepared. Just days before it had been an empty expanse in a secluded mountain valley. To the normal person the place was on the edge of a high mountain glacier, that somehow was never shown on maps or pictures of the area. If somebody knew the area, and knew where to look for it, a narrow road, little more than a trail, connected the valley to the outside world. The valley was usually used by the snow fairies for their livestock that helped them to live independently from humans.

Within that hidden place a building had been raised up. Made of pure ice, it sparkled like diamonds. The building was an almost palatial shinto shrine, and it included statues and reliefs that depicted numerous nature spirits as well as historical deities, and even notable residents of the snow fairies own village past and present.

The wedding was a remarkable one for several reasons. Usually when a snow fairy married it was a small ceremony at the village temple that was just a formal signing of a marriage contract and a blessing given by the priestess upon the newlyweds. The practice of arranged marriages was set in place because of of the rarity of a human wanting to marry a snow maiden, or even for a human and a snow maiden to come to know each other any more. That Jessie had chosen to marry Yuki in spite of knowing her true nature, was enough for her people to want to make the occasion a little more special. And with so many woman who never had a chance for a fancy wedding of their own, there was no shortage of hands willing to share a little in the occasion.

In truth, the wedding was an excuse to celebrate. As long as one reason had shown itself, other reasons were added on. The success of the inn in helping the snow fairies was also being celebrated. While Yuki was the only one getting married because of the inn, so far, two other women who had served as maids for the visitors had come up pregnant.

Another reason for the occasion to stand out was the guest list. Jessie's father and mother were attending the wedding. Both of them were human, so having them at a snow fairy wedding was a historic first. As friends of the grooms family, the Tanakas were also present, which added three more humans, and Ken who was a youkai but still stood out for not being a local. Officer Yamada from the village near the inn had been encouraged quite firmly to attend by a pair of snow fairies that were both interested in him. The fact that he knew Tsukune added a little to the luster of both men. Of course Jessie's best man was his best friend, James, a human whom most of the bride's maids were eying carefully.

Mizore was a guest at the wedding. Not only was she a village resident, but she was also a cousin to the bride, and a part of the events that had brought the happy couple together. With her were her mother, her two daughters, and her closest friends, Moka, Kurumu, Ruby, and Inari. All of whom were looking forward to the ceremony and celebration, but were less than happy about Tsukune's absence.

XxxxxxX

Tsukune felt the urge to growl. There he was, dressed in his riding gear when he should have been dressed for Yuki's wedding, responding to an urgent call for help from his friend. The call had been from Rin, and while it had been a surprise, Tsukune realized that he should have expected something like this sooner.

"I hate to bother you... But it is an emergency," Rin had said in his message. He had gone on to include an address and to repeat that he was in trouble and needed help. He had failed to define the trouble he was in, or what kind of help that he wanted from Tsukune.

The address had turned out to be a shady hostess club. Set below street level, it looked like it may have been part of a parking garage to the building above. The furnishings were cracked and patched. The mirrors were in need of cleaning, and the whole place smelled like it could stand to be hosed down.

The message had been six hours old when Tsukune had finally wandered into an area with signal enough for him to get it. Trying to call Rin back had not worked, Tsukune decided that the message sounded urgent enough that he should check out the address Rin had given. When he first saw the place he wondered if he should call the local police for backup. When he got inside and saw Rin, Tsukune was glad he had not. Because then he would have had to worry about witnesses to the violence he was sorely tempted to display.

Rin was sitting in the hostess club, looking rumpled and tired, but safe and unharmed. Sitting with him were two women and a man. When he saw Tsukune arrive, Rin smiled with a mixture of triumph and relief.

"I told you my friend would come," Rin said to his companion. "See, no problem. Let me tell him what's going on and..." Rin was talking as he moved to get up from the booth.

The man gave a small shake of his head and the two women restrained Rin. Each one took hold of one of his arms, holding him in place. Rin took on the look of somebody about to be sick while trying to keep smiling as if nothing was out of place.

Tsukune approached the booth while studying everything around him. He was aware of three other women in the cub. There was also the man at the door, a bartender, and a sense of violent intent from the direction of the back wall where a closed door had the sign 'Manager' on it. There was just enough furniture to make sure there could not be a straight line path between the booth and the exit.

"Alright," Tsukune said as he reached the booth. "Who would like to explain what is going on?"

"Your friend here owes me some money," The man in the booth said. "He said you would cover it for him."

"Rin?" Tsukune gave his friend a cross look. "What is going on?"

"It's not my fault," Rin began. "I was out with some friends from college. We were having a little celebration. Everything was going fine. Then I met Mina and Mia here, and we started talking... and drinking... And the next thing I knew I was out of money and the rest of the guys had left."

"See, this is where we are having our problems," The man said. "His friends all left him, sayin' he would pay their tabs. Now he says you will pay for his. We don't have a lot of trust in this."

"I see..." Tsukune nodded. "And how much money are we talking about?"

"Thirty eight thousand yen," The man said with a dark grin. "We can even show receipts."

Tsukune scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Look, I didn't want to call you," Rin explained. "But maybe you could help me out, and then we can work something out..."

"Have you asked if you could work off the bill?" Tsukune suggested.

"No!" Rin said quickly with a frightened look in his eyes.

"We offered him a chance," The man said. "He's not bad looking..."

"No!" Rin said again.

Tsukune didn't say anything for a moment. He knew Rin could have called his parents, but guessed that it would have been too embarrassing to explain what it was for. He also knew Rin had just graduated and was not working yet.

"Tsukune?" Rin asked hopefully when the pause went on too long for his nerves.

"I suppose I should be glad you're not calling me to take care of a parking ticket," Tsukune said with a sigh.

"You can do that?" Rin asked with a light in his eyes.

"No," Tsukune said with a stern look and a flat voice.

It only took a few minutes for Tsukune to get the bill taken care of. After that he gave in to his more base desires for a moment and pulled Rin out of the booth, and away from the women that appeared reluctant to part with his company, by the collar of his shirt. He did not let go of his friend until they were safely back out on the street.

"Thank you so much, Tsukune," Rin said with a relieved smile.

"No problem," Tsukune said. "Just be careful to stay out of trouble." He gestured back to the seedy club. "And you should stay away from anyplace like that. Tate no Kai has been causing problems, and I am sure you don't want to get beaten up just because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"That's not a problem," Rin said with a shrug. "I learned about them while I was waiting for you." He pointed back towards the club. "See that by the door?" He pointed out a little card with a red crest stuck to the door frame.

"Yes..." Tsukune acknowledged.

"It means this place is off limits," Rin supplied. "The guy explained it as a permit from the Tate guys. They paid for it so they would be left alone."

"This is fantastic," Tsukune growled with a roll of his eyes. He pulled out his cell phone and moved to take a close-up picture of the card.

"That reminds me," Tsukune said as he put his phone away. "Why couldn't I call you back after I got your message?"

"My phone died," Rin said sheepishly.

"Are you going to be able to get home?" Tsukune asked.

"Yeah," Rin said as he fought a yawn. "But about the money..."

"It can wait," Tsukune cut him off. "I have to get to a wedding or my girlfriends are going to be upset."

"Wedding?" Rin perked up a little.

"My girlfriend's cousin," Tsukune explained as he walked to where Hiru waited.

"You know..." Rin mused. "I've heard that weddings are a great place to pick up women."

"Rin..." Tsukune reined in what he was going to say. As tempting as it was to leave his friend in the clutches of Mizore's assorted kin, he suspected Rin would enjoy it too much, and cause too many problems. "Go home."

Xxxxx

Ross was not really a fan of weddings. He understood why they were important, especially to women, but thought everybody made too much fuss over them. In his mind all that was important was the couple getting married, a couple of witnesses, and whatever official that was going to sign off on the official forms. His son's wedding was something he would never miss, but a huge ceremony just seemed ridiculous.

While he thought big ceremonies were a waste of time and money, he had to admit that Jessie's wedding was worth seeing. Tsukune had told Ross what kind of youkai Jessie was marrying, so the large shrine made entirely out of ice not only made sense, it also explained how it had been made, and how it was kept from melting in the mid summer sun. While his wife was marveling over the ice sculpture and the fancy dresses, Ross was enjoying all the women. The younger women were often dressed in leg revealing yukatas. Almost all of the women had beautiful faces and nice bodies.

As an added bonus, women were thick around Ross and his wife. The younger women always admired and respected mothers. Additionally, the snow fairies had learned from Yuki's example. Even if someone like Ross or Tsukune was not available, there was always a chance they had friends that were. Ross was enjoying the pre-wedding action so much he almost missed Tsukune's return.

XxX

Tsukune had returned to the wedding quickly once he had finished with Rin. He made a quick stop at Mizore's house to change into his outfit for the wedding. While Tsukune would have preferred a suit, or maybe a well cut but simple kimono, Mizore had selected something else, and when she had shown it to Moka and the others, Tsukune's preferences had been out voted. Tsukune's outfit for the wedding consisted of a silk hadagi of dark red trimmed in black worn with black, silk hakama. Over both pieces he wore a quilted haori embroidered on the breasts and back with the same triple tomoe patern he had worn on Valentine's day.

Tsukune had just barely entered the wedding grounds when he was sighted. He had not even reached the sculpted ice fence that marked the edge of the shrine when a pair of snow maidens closed in on him. Dressed in light yukatas, they provided him an escort to where Mizore was waiting with the others. Tsukune was not surprised to see Moka and Mizore holding Kurumu between them.

Tsukune greeted Moka first, aware that he was being watched. Mizore was his Winter Wife, but Moka was the one he intended to marry. He also took a moment to share words and feelings with Kurumu, Ruby, and Inari. After that, he embraced Mizore and took his place beside her.

Tsukune's return was reported to all the significant members of the village. Because of his recognized prominence among them, it was thought to be a good sign to have him present for the wedding. Likewise it was agreed that it would be a bad omen for the ceremony to be held without the man that had protected not only Mizore, but had helped to defend the village as a whole.

Once it was reported that he had returned, the final preparations for the ceremony began. The bride and groom, with their families, were called into the shrine. There were separate waiting rooms for each, keeping Yuki and Jessie apart until the ceremony. Each had a coach from the village reminding them of what was to come, and what was expected of them. In Yuki's case it was one of her aunts, Tsurara as a mater of fact, who had the job of helping the young bride to be patient and not rush over any of the details. Jessie's coach was actually a pair of matrons, who in addition to helping him be aware of what was expected of him, were also there to keep him from attempting to run away if he started to have second thoughts.

In due time the wedding ceremony began. Within the shrine was the village priestess, Jessie and Yuki of course, and their parents. Also present were Tsukune and Mizore, because it was through them that the happy couple had been able to meet.

Once again Tsukune wished he could have worn something modest. While his formal outfit was not uncomfortable, he felt over dressed. Ross for example was in a tuxedo. His wife was in a kimono of pinks, reds, and white, as if she was dressed in a single, giant cherry blossom. Jessie was dressed in a layered black and gray kimono. Yuki was wrapped up in a layered kimono of white and red, with a large head dress. The small snow fairy was almost lost in the silk folds of her wedding dress. Yuki's mother was wearing a kimono with a combination of sky blue and snow white. Her father, an old man in appearance, was in brown and black. The priestess of course was in her formal finery, complete with trinkets and ornaments of silver and gold. At Tsukune's side, Mizore was in a long kimono in her customary light blues, with splashes of purple added. Her red and black sash was tied to emphasize the rounding of her abdomen from her current pregnancy.

Of all the women present, Tsukune leaned in to whisper to her, he thought she was the most beautiful. Mizore rewarded him with a tiny smile and a bright, happy blush. He thought that it just made her look even cuter.

Of all the men present, Tsukune was the most fancily dressed. Not only was his outfit the most colorful, but it was the most detailed. The different layers had to fit together just right, and each piece had been designed, cut, and sewn just to fit him.

XxX

When the formal ceremony was over it was time for the reception. It was time to leave the shrine and go out to the wedding grounds where most of the village was gathered for the celebration. First out to be seen by the assembled party guests was the happy new couple. In there wake, as the nakodo, or match-maker couple, came Tsukune and Mizore. It was surprising, for a people that lived well apart from the modern world, just how many cameras were at the reception. As Tsukune followed Jessie and Yuki out of the shrine he walked into a storm of shutter clicks and flash bulbs.

Tsukune was looking forward to the end of the celebration. He wanted to talk with Tanaka and Ross about Tate no Kai. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen until the party was over. Moka was sticking close to Tsukune. Kurumu was holding on to him every chance she got. Ruby was hovering near by with Inari, just in case Tsukune needed anything. Even without his companions, Tsukune was never without someone ready to offer him food or drink.

In spite of his desire to take care of his responsibilities, Tsukune was able to share in the celebration. He danced with all of his lovers. He was pulled into a dance with Tsurara. He shared a dance with Yuki, and a string of other snow fairies. At one point he even managed to dance with Fumusume while holding Natsuko.

As usual Tsukune followed his heart without realizing who might be watching. At no point during the whole reception party was he even unobserved. Countless women watched him as he smiled and talked and danced with the women he loved. When he danced with his daughters, dressed in yukatas decorated with wildflowers, he had a happy smile on his face. The scene was very heart warming and captured the attention of many, including Moka, Kurumu, and Ruby.

Of course Mizore saw the whole thing. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of Tsukune with their children. While she was watching her mate and their offspring, she was also aware of the others doing the same. Her smile was more of a triumphant smirk as she looked at the others with longing and desire in their eyes. Mizore's friends and cousins alike wanted to learn what she already knew. As their biological drives stirred at the sight, they all longed for what Mizore already had. She caressed her abdomen, the swelling of her womb progressing faster than her first two pregnancies, indicating that her third child would be strong and healthy. It might even be a boy.

Mizore moved to join Tsukune and their daughters. She gave them all a warm and happy smile. As she enjoyed their company she thought to how proud he would be when his next child was born, and how jealous Moka, Kurumu, and the rest were going to be.