A/N: long overdue update means longer chapter. apologies

-xoxoxo-

Chapter 45: Parties

"Honey, could you water Sakuno-chan's plants before you watch?" Rinko's voice sounded from the kitchen which stopped Nanjirou from grabbing the remote control. He sighed in defeat before stepping out of the veranda. He boredly poured excessive water from the poor lilies and cactus, and when he decided that it was enough, Nanjirou settled in the living room with his feet on the coffee table.

They have been staying in Ryoma and Sakuno's place for almost three weeks now to help with the preparations and to deliver invitations to their friends since the couple were too busy with their respective careers. Rinko was delighted that Ryoma had agreed to them coming. In fact, it was her suggestion because the prince's credit card is a lot more useful than the owner himself so Rinko stepped in to help Sakuno, and Nanjirou had nothing to say to that. The reason why they didn't check into a hotel is because Sakuno insisted on letting them stay in their house since it's mostly deserted during the day, or most of the time.

"Honey, have you cleaned the bedrooms?" She asked while scrubbing the dishes.

"Yeah, that brat needs to buy more colorful clothes," Nanjirou waved a hand at Rinko's direction but his eyes were still glued to the sports channel.

"Don't go rummaging through other people's closets! I hope you did the right thing and left Sakuno-chan's drawers alone or else you will never see the day–"

"Of course I didn't! I vacuumed up the floor, that's all!" He laughed nervously, trying to calm Rinko's growing irritation towards him. The woman has always been a sweet person but she can be a monster when pushed the wrong buttons.

Nanjirou muted the television and watched Rinko finish cleaning the kitchen. He contemplated if he could tell her what he saw, but considering it's about their son, he would like to ask for Rinko's thoughts.

"Rinko… I found this on Ryoma's drawers," he held out a photo and laid it on the dining table. Rinko saw that it was their family photo from when they were still in America and the two sons were kids. It was perfectly preserved in good condition even after all those years.

"Maybe he misses Ryoga," Rinko smiled softly. She never knew this soft side of Ryoma, she was glad that he grew up to be someone who treasures memories and people he loves.

"Ryoga will come back. He just needs to take care of his relatives," Nanjirou said. He knew that he was the estranged husband of Ryoga's real mother, and her family might have hated him but still, they were Ryoga's relatives. It would be ideal to let him go to where he wants to be.

"Well, this touches my heart, dear. Put it back where you found it, okay? He wouldn't be pleased if it goes missing. I'm going to go to the grocery," She untangles the strings of her apron and gets ready to leave but Nanjirou still has something to show her.

"I also found this," he pulled out a paper bag of empty pill bottles. Rinko inspected them and they were all labeled as antidepressant medicines.

"Oh my, this is a lot! I thought he's all better? But why is he consuming too much of these? Does Sakuno-chan know about this?" Rinko's heart sank. They were aware that Ryoma was still seeing Miss Mao and that they were doing better, but how come he still gets double the prescription?

"I don't think so. These were in a locked drawer. I forced it open 'cause I thought he was hiding something dirty–"

"Nanjirou!"

"W-We might need to have a talk with his therapist," he said.

"Yeah, you might wanna sign up for a session, too, idiot," Rinko snatched the things and went into the bedroom to return them. Nanjirou scratched his head and went back to the living room to finish the game.

Sakuno heaved a sigh as she sat on the bench at the bus stop. After a twelve hour shift at the restaurant that day, she was exhausted. All traces of energy and light in her eyes seemed to be absent for more than a week now and she feels it was because Ryoma had been staying in America to train.

Of course, she would never let him know that she's lonely every time he was away. Tennis should be his number one priority and Ryoma would always let her prioritize her work as a sous chef. It's only fair and considerate that she should support him wherever he is.

It was almost twelve midnight and as she waited for the bus to come, her phone suddenly rang. Sakuno looked at the screen and saw that Ryoma was calling her.

"Hello?" she forced her voice to sound cheerful.

"Sakuno,"

A sudden wave of happiness drowned her emotions when she heard his voice for a long time.

"Ryoma-kun!" Oh, how she missed him.

"Are you home?"

"I'm waiting for the bus. How about you? Training is over?"

"Yeah, I'm about to go back. Training ended earlier so I have the afternoon to myself,"

"That's good. You can sleep all you want,"

"I can't sleep though,"

"Why not?" Sakuno couldn't help but think that his voice was sad and had a hint of loneliness in it.

"Maybe because you're not home yet," She heard him chuckle lightly. Ryoma was a romantic when he wanted to, Sakuno knew that too well. He might not realize he's talking smoothly today.

"Well, I'll be home soon, so take a rest," she smiled to herself and looked down on her shoes. Suddenly, it felt like they're back to their teenage selves in a long distance relationship.

"Okay, um…"

But Sakuno was quite sure that his voice was somewhat sad and unsure. Maybe he was worrying about his tournament.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Hn, yeah. I gotta go. Text me when you get home,"

"I will. Bye,"

When the call ended, Sakuno felt emptiness in her heart. It felt like that phone call didn't satisfy Ryoma. He was going to be back in Japan tomorrow so it didn't make sense that both of them were feeling lonely. Also, the fact that their wedding is only two days away made Sakuno feel stupid. She should be looking forward to the coming days and not moping around.

All of a sudden, her phone rang again. This time it was Tomoka.

"Tomo-chan, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Sakuno. Let's go on a girls' night out! Meet me in the Moonlight Lounge right now," her best friend excitedly said. Sakuno could hear the loud music in Tomoka's background which means she was already there. Sakuno wondered why the woman suddenly wanted to go party. Did Horio do something again?

"What? Wait, that's all the way to Kyoto! Tomo-chan, what's going on?"

The call ended without Tomoka answering Sakuno. The poor woman just sighed in defeat before hailing a taxi. She could never defy her best friend's wishes.

Sakuno had no other things to do than to relax in the backseat of the cab as the driver drove all the way to Kyoto. Along the way, she noticed the radio playing a familiar song she heard with Ryoma when they took a cab that night in Ginza.

This brings me back. She smiled to herself.

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and smiled, recognizing the same girl from seven years ago.

Ryoma massaged his sore neck while he sat limply on the bench. He was extremely exhausted from the training he did with his coach today and he was looking forward to going back to his hotel and taking a cold shower to ease his aching muscles.

He stood up and grabbed his tennis bag. He almost dropped it as he felt a sudden pain on his right wrist. It seems he may have overdone it today. Ryoma waved goodbye to his fellow trainees and began to make his way out of the center. He spotted a vacant cab leisurely parked on the side of the road and he immediately got in.

"To the Ritz hotel, please," Ryoma said in English. He saw the driver nodded before driving off to the road and he finally leaned back to his seat to relax. However, he noticed something familiar with the driver and his hair. His hat covered most of it but Ryoma could not be mistaken.

Ryoma chuckled to himself. Why would that person be in New York? He's busy with his job and girlfriend as far as Ryoma knows. Of course that information was five years old and it was from an unreliable source called Horio.

That reminds him, now that he's got social media thanks to Ryoga, he'd like to message his friends regarding his wedding. If he ever learns how to use it, though.

But this is really weird, this guy is really familiar, too familiar. Wait…

"Let's go for a drive thru. I'm kinda hungry," he yawned, making a side eye on the driver.

"Uh, are you sure? We should get you home as soon as possible–"

Ryoma smirked mischievously. Even the voice is spot on.

"Yeah, man. Right there,"

They drove to a famous burger place and Ryoma started ordering on the speaker.

"I'll have a double cheeseburger, some fries and a large soda. What'll you have?" he asked the driver and he flinched at the prince's sudden question. He scanned the menu and was surprised at how different it was from the fast food joints in Japan. His stomach growled and his eyes caught the most delicious looking burger set!

"I'll have the supreme triple cheeseburger, large fries, and a large soda! Thanks, Echizen!"

Ryoma smirked even more, and the driver had beads of sweat running down his chin.

Bingo!

"Too easy, Momo-senpai," he chuckled. Even though he doesn't know why he was here and why the heck he is posing as a taxi driver when Ryoma knew that he works at some company in Japan, he was still so glad to see him right now. Well, of course, he's going to see them back in Japan in two days, at the wedding. But it was indeed a surprise.

Momoshiro awkwardly laughed and turned his head behind him.

"E-Echizen, long time no see!"

"Momo-senpai, what are you doing here?" he narrowed his gaze on him suspiciously. Everything about his best friend Momoshiro is suspicious, Ryoma thought. He can't help but assume that the man has ominous plans for a prank.

"I kinda have to take you somewhere today secretly. But since you caught me, I guess I have no choice but to tell you," Momoshiro received the food and handed it over to Ryoma.

"Okay, so where?"

The man glanced at the car's clock and was shocked to see that it was already night, completely behind their schedule. So, he prepared to drive faster so they can arrive at their destination soon.

"Sorry, Echizen! You'll see soon enough. Just keep eating, okay?"

Ryoma frowned at how confusing Momoshiro is right now. As much as he wanted to know, he was not the kind of person to force an answer out of someone. So, he shrugged and started to wolf down his burgers.

Sakuno slowly walked into the dark room where couples and party people were dancing wildly on the dance floor. It unwillingly triggered an embarrassing memory for her. While she was in the cab, Sakuno received a text message from Tomoka that said she needs to go straight to the rooftop and knock three times. It seemed like her best friend was planning something weird and she doesn't know if she should feel happy or nervous.

When she reached the door to the rooftop, she knocked three times and in no time, it opened.

The first thing Sakuno saw was a gigantic tarpaulin of her face hanging by the wall, then there was a tall white cake with a candle that was shaped like a man's… organ. With her heart beating fast, Sakuno couldn't help but take a step back. She had a bad feeling about this and she knew it was going to be more embarrassing than being drunk and dancing wildly downstairs.

Before she could escape, a hand grabbed her bag and pulled her out.

"Ack!"

"Surprise!" a group of women exclaimed. Then fairy lights instantly turned on and lighted up the whole setting. Now that she could see it perfectly, it was wonderful. Sakuno was aware of what kind of party it was, and she had to admit that it was so cool.

Sakuno saw Tomoka, An, Shiba, and a few classmates from her college. Nanako held a pink balloon beside Tomoka. She was surprised that she flew from America to be with her, but what was more surprising is that Sakurako and Kagome were there, too.

"W-What are you doing here?" she stuttered.

"Well, as soon as we saw the engagement photos, we kind of decided to make it up to you and help organize a party to send you off to married life," Kagome said.

"Yeah… Consider this an apology," Sakurako smiled shyly. Sakuno was touched by the two girl's gestures. She uncharacteristically hugged both of them. She didn't care that it was awkward, they're her friends now. It didn't matter how they treated each other in high school, and in college. She was too happy with what was going on.

"Long time no see, Sakuno-chan. Congratulations on marrying my cousin," Nanako said. Sakuno turned around and it was Nanako's turn to be embraced.

"Thank you, Nanako-neechan. I just can't believe you flew all this way to see me!" she chirped.

"She's not the only one who flew from America," Tomoka said with a knowing smile on her face.

"Really? Who?"

Just then, the door to the toilet opened and a blonde girl stepped out. Honoka flipped her hair away from her shoulder and smiled warmly at Sakuno while she held a bouquet of flowers.

"Sakuno-chan," she uttered.

Oh my God.

Sakuno's mouth flew open. She was too shocked to even say a word. To think that the person she least expected showed up in front of her.

"Y-You're…"

"This is my apology to you," she walked over to her and held out the bouquet. Sakuno mindlessly received the flowers and smiled softly.

"Thank you so much," The two girls hugged each other, signifying their long overdue reconciliation.

Ryoma has never set foot on a club before. He prefers a laid back type of bar with just jazz playing in the background and a silent crowd inside. Moreover, he's not one to be entertained with the opposite sex dancing around poles, that's why he grabbed tightly on Momoshiro's shoulder, nervously keeping his eyes forward, his arms tightly on his side, as they walked through the wild crowd, towards the elevator. It seems whatever Momoshiro had planned was at the rooftop of the building.

When they reached the top floor, Ryoma saw that there was a huge infinity pool cluttered with neon balloons, a mini bar beside it with a mountain of Ponta, and a dance floor with colorful lights beaming on the center. As the sun was beginning to set, Ryoma let Momo pull him further and his keen eyes saw familiar faces he had not seen in a very long time.

The former Seigaku regulars were complete as they stood around the tables on the other side, as well as a few faces from the opposing schools they fought back in middle school. He saw Tachibana, Yukimura, Dan, Akutsu, Sanada, Kentaro, and Kintaro, among others. The place was packed with all of his friends, namely, Brian, and Kevin.

"W-Why are you all here?" He managed to speak amidst his shocked expression.

Tezuka stepped forward and his glasses gleamed.

"I believe this gathering that Horio organized is called a Stag party for the groom," he explained.

"Hmm?" Ryoma looked at Horio quizzically. The lad could only smile back.

"I'm not the only one, though. I had a lot of help from Momoshiro-senpai!"

Momo stood beside Tezuka, and flashed a wide and proud smile at Ryoma.

It was a bit flashy and cringey, how the place was decorated with a chibi version of himself plastered in cups, and glitters that littered the floor which Ryoma figured was all Kikumaru-senpai's idea.

"Alright, let's get this party started then! First of all, congratulations! In two days, you're going to be Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter's husband," Oishi said. It earned strange looks from all of them.

"Senpai, can't you just say the girl's name?" Kaido whispered in his ear.

"Er… Sorry, Echizen. Let me try again! Congratulations on marrying Sakuno-chan in two days!"

The whole crowd applauded Oishi's announcement, and Ryoma just nodded in thanks. Horio handed cold beers to them, and Ponta to Ryoma. Then the party started. Kintaro, Kentaro, and Dan were dancing on the dance floor after drinking a single bottle of beer. Turns out, they can't hold their liquor so three drunk men enjoyed themselves to Justin Timberlake's party song.

"Echizen, congratulations," Tachibana, together with Yukimura and Sanada, sat on the table where Ryoma and the Seigaku regulars were seated.

"Thanks. But how did you all know where to find me?"

"Oh, that's easy. Your manager was easy to get a hold of since he's always on social media posting pictures of you. I follow him, you know," Horio said as he drank his beer.

"Oh yeah. I always see your manager post things, too," Momoshiro chimed in.

"He follows me back, too!" Kikumaru said as he ate his burger and juice. He was never much of a drinker unlike his doubles partner, who was already on his third bottle.

"Tezuka, let's drink some more and dance the night away!" yep, the vice captain is already drunk. Tezuka could only sigh as he sipped on his tea. Who served tea at a stag party anyway? No one. The captain brought his own beverage.

"Wait, I don't see Kachiro and Katsuo," Kawamura said.

"Now that you mention it," Ryoma looked around and sure enough, the two boys were absent from his party. And here Ryoma thought he was all too important that all of his friends would surely show up.

"You all didn't know? There's a ninety-five percent chance they're in Japan at a different party," Inui commented as he raised his eyeglasses. He slowly pushed a glass of a green juice in Ryoma's direction in hopes to prank him before getting married, but Oishi blocked the table with his palm.

"What party?" the prince asked curiously.

"Oh, you'll know soon enough," Fuji smiled suspiciously with his eyes closed. As the other people danced, and the others wolfed down some food, Ryoma and the regulars eyed Horio, the party planner. For sure, he knew something was up and Ryoma got the feeling that it had something to do with the bride.

As the party started, Sakuno felt like a huge and heavy weight on her shoulders was lifted up. She was extremely happy with what Tomoka had done. Apart from celebrating her last days of being a bachelorette, this night was a gift of reunion, and friendship.

She watched the girls dance to Britney Spears' hits while she drank her cocktail. Tomoka stood beside her and hugged her waist.

"Thank you, Tomo-chan,"

"Did you like your cake? I chose that," she giggled.

"I figured," Sakuno laughed along. As they bopped to the music, the door opened. Sakuno thought she couldn't be more surprised, but apparently, there were more.

Katsuo and Kachiro entered the scene pushing a large, pink box with a ribbon on it. The girls were all jumping and giggling in excitement. Everyone knew what it was, but Sakuno was more intrigued that the two boys were present at her party. She ran towards them.

"Hey, you guys! Why are you here?"

"Oh, um, Osakada invited us," Kachiro said shyly. Sakuno couldn't help but notice that he was holding Katsuo's hand, and not just the friendly hold, but their fingers were intertwined.

"Congratulations, Ryuzaki. Who knew you were really going to end up with Ryoma-kun?" Katsuo smiled. Well, it was a given that nobody could have ever guessed she would be noticed by the prince, but it was a miracle.

"Thank you! Yeah, I–I guess it was fate," her face turned red at the thought of Ryoma being so in love with her.

"Okay, guys! It's time for the great big surprise for the bride! Sakuno, come here!" Tomoka pulled her and made her sit on the chair in the middle of the dance floor. The girls cheered, making Sakuno curious and nervous of the contents of the box.

She began to speculate the gift in her mind. But no matter how she wracked her brain, she couldn't think of anything that stood that tall and big! She could only wait in anticipation.

As Nanako dimmed the lights (with a shy smile on her face), Kachiro and Katsuo pulled the ribbon securing the box and let the walls fall apart.

Everyone screamed excitedly, with Shiba's camera flashed continuously, and An couldn't help but cover her eyes. Kachiro and Katsuo shook their heads and averted their gaze on the 'gift'. Sakuno gaped at the view she was looking at, her hand dropping the glass of wine and it shattered on the floor.

A man dressed in a police uniform stood in front of her. His clothes could barely contain his well toned muscles, and he started to flex them. The women screamed as he started to do a show for Sakuno.

"T-Tomo-chan!" Her face was so red that she looked like a stop sign. Tomoka laughed as she pointed the video camera to them. The stripper dances provocatively in front of Sakuno and his body was dangerously close to her. After a few seconds of keeping herself together, Sakuno finally stood up from her seat and ran behind Nanako. It was the only time she ever looked at another man's body like that and it made her feel guilty that she's cheating on Ryoma.

"I don't want anymore!" she squeaked. The woman giggled and let her be. Then, Shiba sat on the chair and the man continued his show with the people cheering for them.

"Sakuno-chan, it's alright!" Nanako embraced her protectively as she herself blushed at the scene in front of them.

"Gosh, Sakuno. It was Honoka's idea, anyway. Come on, let's go do some karaoke!"

As soon as Sakuno calmed down, the three began to sing a few songs and enjoyed the food.

"Is there a party for Ryoma-kun as well?" Sakuno asked Tomoka.

"Of course. My husband couldn't bear to lose after hearing the delicious details about your party. They're in America right now dancing and drinking their troubles away,"

"Oh… I hope there won't be a problem,"

"By problem you mean a stripper?"

"Well, he wouldn't care about that. What I mean is they don't get him too drunk or they won't like what's coming,"

"But the most amazing lad here is probably Horio-kun! He's been married to the feisty Osakada-san for almost three years, right? And you have a son! How do you do it?" Momoshiro cheered for Horio and the rest of the men laughed at how comical Horio stood on the table with his hands on his hips. Yes, they're all drunk.

"I have two years of experience, senpai! Hahahaha!" He let out a few hiccups before Oishi, who was drunk as well, assisted him off of the table carefully.

"You need water, Horio. Kaidoh, bring some water here!"

"Aren't you going to join them?" Tezuka walked over to the pool where Ryoma sat with his legs on the water.

"Captain. Thanks," he accepted the can of Ponta from Tezuka. The captain joined him and dipped his legs in the pool as well. Ryoma remarked that it was unusual for Tezuka to like getting his feet wet, but then again they haven't seen each other in so long that everything might have changed about all of his friends.

"What's the matter, Echizen? Why aren't you happy?" Tezuka removed his glasses to prevent it from getting wet.

"Hmm… I'm just not in a celebratory mood," He averted his gaze from Momoshiro and the others. He admired the city lights below, and the cars that zoomed past each other on the road.

"I feel like this foul mood has something to do with tennis, am I wrong?"

The prince looked at Tezuka and then he turned back to the city lights.

"It's been a long time since we played together, captain. I'm afraid my tennis has not been the same," he confessed regretfully. All night he tried to ignore the growing pain on his wrist but it was rather overpowering him.

"I'd known about that even before you said anything. The moment you stepped out of that door clutching your wrist," Tezuka sighed. "Echizen, don't feel discouraged. Tennis is not only about the physical capability of an athlete. It is connected to the heart and mind, which sets your resolution about it. The more that you feel defeated every time something hurts, the more you lose the will to be better. That can be solved in just as fast as two minutes, but if your heart and mind is in no condition to accept, I'm afraid there is no place in the professional world for you, Echizen."

"Wow, captain. Way to ruin the mood," Ryoma frowned. Tezuka panicked, he cleared his throat and thought of something else to say. He didn't mean to suddenly go serious on him. He was so used to giving advice, that's all.

"You know well that I don't mean any harm on that,"

"I'm kidding. Of course my eye's always on the prize. Just need to sort out my thoughts," he smirked at the captain who nodded in reply.

Suddenly, a helicopter flew by and a banner that displayed Atobe's face showed up. The door opened and a man jumped down accurately on the infinity pool. Ryoma and Tezuka were drenched instantly, and the rest of the guests were dumbfounded.

"What happened?"

"Captain!"

All of them rushed to the pool and were surprised to see Atobe's head bobbing on the water.

"Atobe! We have a door!" Oishi exclaimed as he handed towels to the two.

"And where's the fun in that?" He emerged from the pool dressed in only a speedo, and his assistants covered him with a gold bathrobe.

"Echizen, as the most valuable guest here, allow me to express my congratulations with my gift to you," they saw the assistants drag a big black box with a blue ribbon on it.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Ryoma eyes the large present in front of him. He was quite curious about it considering it was from Atobe so it must be expensive.

Atobe flicked his fingers and with one loud sound, the assistants pulled the ribbon and revealed a woman dressed in a policeman suit and was holding a toy gun.

"Who's been a bad boy?" she said in a sultry voice. Almost instantly, the men expressed their own versions of shocked reactions. The others' noses bled furiously, while the tougher ones got prepared to watch what show the woman will be presenting.

While the music of Christina Aguilera played, Ryoma, Tezuka, Sanada, and Fuji sneaked through the commotion by crouching down to avoid being spotted by Horio and hid by the bushes on the small tennis court.

"Hey, how about we just play tennis?" Fuji suggested with an innocent smile.

"You'd like that, won't you, senpai?" Ryoma smirked and got his red tennis racket. Fuji nodded and got ready on the other side of the court. The others settled themselves on the bench with cold drinks in hand.

"Whenever one loses a point, drink a shot of this!" Inui popped from nowhere and was holding a green slimy drink. They respectfully declined his kind offer and got themselves a bottle of liquor instead.

"Fine, I guess the effect's the same," Inui sighed defeatedly.

"You're going to be so drunk, Echizen," Fuji opened his eyes and started to serve.

"Just hit it, senpai," Ryoma smirked and returned Fuji's serve.

The few who survived the nosebleeds and had no interest in watching a woman dance around boys, had decided to watch the intense match between them.

Tomoka's phone suddenly rang.

"Oh, it's my husband. Hello? How's the party going?"

Sakuno and the others were eagerly awaiting the news about the other party. Tomoka noticed this and put Horio on speakerphone.

"It's a disaster! Echizen was all drunk and beat our asses on tennis after playing with Fuji-senpai!" They heard glasses smashing on the floor and a lot of laughter from the guys. They even heard Kawamura shouting 'burning' in the background.

When the call ended, the girls were giggling in delight.

"You were right, Sakuno. He didn't even look at the stripper,"

"He's not a normal guy, I tell you," she chuckled.

That concluded both parties. Ryoma returned to Japan the next day and got an earful from Rinko about drinking too much with the Seigaku regulars before the wedding. Apparently, she and Nanjirou watched a movie called The Hangover and she feared something similar might happen to Ryoma. Sakuno just giggled and hid her leftover cake deep in the fridge.

Before the wedding day…

Ryoma and Sakuno visited Sumire's tomb and they prepared a picnic and stories for her. The prince drank his favorite Ponta as he sat beside Sakuno, who was praying to her grandmother.

"Grandmother, I'm getting married to Ryoma-kun tomorrow. Ever since you were gone, he and his family have taken care of me, and when I was able to stand up on my own, I was given another chance to chase my dreams and live my life the way we wanted to. Only now, my life is even better because I'm with Ryoma-kun. Isn't life funny? Your old student is about to marry your granddaughter," Sakuno giggled in delight at the thought. Her cheeks were red and her hands were fidgeting on her skirt.

"Is that funny? Am I that weird?" a voice beside her said. Ryoma looked at her questioningly.

"No… because we used to be classmates and you never took notice of me,"

"Hey, I noticed you,"

"You did not,"

"Yeah, did not,"

Sakuno laughs, and Ryoma smiles. He put his arm on her shoulder and they stared at Sumire's tomb one more time before they decided to go back to the hotel where all of the guests are currently checked in, and where the wedding will take place tomorrow.

The villa for Sakuno and her entourage are on the east wing, and Ryoma's family and groomsmen's villa is on the other side. As they stood in the middle of the two mansions, the street lights lit up, the sun swam on the sea, and the moon rose up to the dark sky.

Sakuno held Ryoma's hand and tiptoed to kiss him on the cheek.

"So… I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked quietly.

Ryoma smiled and kissed her back on the cheek.

"For sure," he replied. They shared a soft laugh before they parted ways.

To be continued.

Next: Echizen-Ryuzaki Nuptial