The Wedding
The Grand Narukami Shrine was a beautiful, ornate structure perched in a pond of sacred water, atop a sacred mountain, and shaded by a sacred tree. The entirety of Narukami Island stretched out below on every side, granting any visitor a breathtaking view of Inazauma's capital island. But despite all these considerations, it was not an ideal spot for a traditional wedding.
Since the shrine was at a mountain summit, space was at a premium, with much of it already occupied by the structures of the shrine itself. All these buildings were generally thought of as the dwelling place of the various gods and spirits that inhabited the mountain and the island- Raiden Shogun being viewed simply as the most supreme of a multitude of lesser known and mostly unseen spirits. So there was very little room for an audience to witness a wedding.
However, Yae Miko did not intend a large audience. She invited only the most powerful political personages of Inazuma City: the current Tri-Commission leaders, a few of their second officers, and at least in the case of the Tenyrou and Kanjou Commissions- their disgraced and punished former leaders. This was a display of Shogunate power over the bakufu itself.
Watch closely as the Raiden Shogun changes your world, Yae Miko wanted the ceremony to say. Bow your heads and accept this new future, or be like those among you who have failed.
There was no additional decoration and since all of the guests commonly worked together, the shrine took on the aura of a tense political meeting rather than that of an impending wedding. Yae Miko, dressed in extremely impractical formal shrine wear, found herself in a small circle of the bakufu leadership. It was not what she'd wanted, but here she was.
Brother of the bride: Kamisato Ayato of the Yashiro Commission stood with perfect posture and a calmly pleased expression on his face that looked sincere. He was a hard man to read, even for Yae Miko, but why wouldn't he be pleased? His sister was getting her own commission seat, effectively doubling Kamisato political power in the Shogunate.
Next to him was the most inexperienced Tri-Commission head, Hiiragi Chisato of the Kanjou Commission. She was a pretty young woman with half-lidded eyes and a serene expression. Yae Miko was finding out that she liked to play the innocent but was slowly revealing herself as a devious political entity. Chiasto was actually an upgrade over her disgraced father.
Finally, there was Kujou Kamaji of the Tenryou Commission, who was not an upgrade on anyone in any respect. Yae Miko did not think that she would have ever missed the blunt and indelicate way of negotiation that Kamaji's father, Kujou Yakayuki, had always displayed. But his son was more like a porcupine in a dress shop.
"The Kadehara Clan was absorbed into Kujou Clan," argued Kujou Kamaji. "Should not this reformed clan be also under Kujou authority? There is precedent."
"No, Mr. Kujou," said Yae Miko. She was starting to get annoyed. She'd hoped to enjoy the atmosphere of the shrine during a wedding rather than listen to Kujou's desperate attempts at zero-hour political maneuvers. "Raiden Shogun observed that the Shogunate long ago operated with a Quad-Commission, and so it shall be again."
"Did the Raiden Shogun truly say this, or do you, Lady Yae Miko?" said Kamaji bluntly.
Yae Miko froze her smirk on her face. The two other commission heads standing with them went slightly wide-eyed. The new leader of Tenryou was blatantly treading on some unspoken facts of Shogunate life: Raiden Shogun spoke, and Yae Miko was her hand. Yae Miko felt anger, real anger bubbling in her for the first time in a long, long time.
Kamaji dared doubt her connection with Raiden Shogun? My, my, the man was surely losing his grip, or perhaps never had a grip in the first place. Perhaps that was why the man's father, Yakayuki, had clung so desperately to his position, knowing this brat was his only successor.
Before Yae Miko could frame an appropriate response, Kamaji continued his attack.
"And have we considered the character of these two participants of this wedding? The Kaedehara boy has no head for clan affairs, otherwise he would have prevented his own clan's default. Instead he fled, illegally, to other nations. After defying the Shogun, and he did so again only recently. And as for the bride: I have it on good authority that Kamisato Ayaka became the Traveler's tart!"
Yae Miko saw Kamisato Ayato stiffen slightly, his shoulders rise, and his jaw tighten. Which for that closed-off and impassive man was akin to screaming in rage. This was interesting.
Kamaji continued, undaunted: "She was seen with them in public and emerging from private locales without chaperones! Has such wanton behavior been advised to the groom? Surely, we cannot grant either of these unreliable children a new clan with commission vote.
Either Kujou had forgotten that the dour, thin man standing next to him was Kamisato Ayato, or he'd forgotten that Ayato was the bride's brother. In either case, this shamelessly audacious son-of-traitor Kujou Kamaji had just slandered the purity of the bride, on her wedding day, on the grounds of the Grand Shrine, before Yae Miko and the entirety of the current Tri-Commission council.
It was true that Kamisato Ayaka abetted the Traveler's illegal movement around Inazuma. But: no one knew that it was Yae Miko herself who had ordered Kamisato Ayaka to do just that. The Traveler had been the perfect wild card to change the political game of Inazuma, allowing Yae Miko to break the long stagnation surrounding the Vision Hunt Decree. Honestly, that had all gone far better than Yae Miko had dreamed and she wanted more than anything to gloat in Kujou Kamaji's face about it- but that would reveal far too many of her cards.
But before Yae Miko could say anything, Kamisato Ayato stepped in:
"I'm pleased to see your father here, Mr. Kujou," said Ayato pleasantly, apparently changing the subject. "I know he's not the type to enjoy retirement, and I miss his expertise. But I'm sure he's gratified to witness his son so enthusiastically trying to follow in his wake."
Yae Miko blinked and parsed that statement, her frozen smirk thawing into a real one. Kamaji's father, Kujou Yakayuki, had been censored for his role in the Fatui infiltration of Inazuma. Raiden Shogun had personally administered his punishment, which was a rare event. The man had survived, but his mental state was in question. He was at times listless and other times childlike. Yae Miko still invited him to events due to precedent- and she found him a useful living example of what disloyalty paid.
So, in a rather polite and pleasant sounding small-talk statement, Kamisato Ayato had just highlighted the downfall of Kamaji's father while also calling him an inferior successor and taunting him with potentially sharing his father's fate. All with a pleasant smile on his face and with no trace of anger for the tasteless slander of his sister. A beautiful and elegant political knife right to the heart- from the front.
Yae Miko thought it was the sexiest thing a human man had done in her presence in about 200 years.
While Kujou Kamaji went scarlet in the face as he slowly parsed Ayato's statement, Yae Miko looked at Kamisato Ayato's placid demeanor out of the corner of her eye. He was a beautiful-looking man, with elegant androgynous features that did not betray what he was thinking or feeling. Yae Miko usually disliked that because it made her job harder, but suddenly in Ayato, it was alluring and mysterious.
Maybe it was time to take a human lover again… and Ayato's sister was about to move out of the house and he would be so lonely…
Yae Miko and the entire congregation startled when the clear sky burst forth with a lightning bolt from the blue. The crackle of electro energy faded away into rumbling thunder, and the Raiden Shogun was now reclining upon the shrine's altar- the normal idol which symbolized her divinity replaced by the Archon in the flesh.
"Ah, the officiator of the ceremony has arrived," said Yae Miko, seeing Kujou Kamaji's eyes bulge a little at the sight of god's appearance in the shrine.
That would certainly settle the question of who was behind this marriage that would shatter the current political landscape. Though, Kamaji was right, it had all been Yae Miko's idea; but, Ei was usually willing to be led by the nose when it came to human politics and public appearances, trusting Her familiar to guide Her with regards to the administration of humanity. But in this case, Yae Miko was confident this wedding was the first step on the path to Kazuha's successful repeat performance of blocking Musou no Hitotachi, so Ei had been unusually willing to participate.
As in most situations, the arrival of god signaled the imminent start of official activity. Yae Miko disengaged from the Tri-Commission huddle and hurried through the small seating area and towards the dais. She was already in her formal robes, but there was a rather large hat to wear and a few special sticks that she needed to shake and rattle to impress upon the humans that something sacred was afoot.
With a small hand gesture at one of her waiting subordinate shrine maidens, Yae Miko readied the sending of the groom to the dias. She stepped up before the altar and Ei gave her a steady, expectant look. To Yae Miko's evaluation, god seemed to be in a better mood today, likely due to certain positive reports this morning from their agents on Watatsumi Island.
"All is prepared, my Raiden Shogun," said Yae Miko, using the formal titles expected in human company. "Shall we begin?"
"Yes," said Ei.
Yae Miko bowed low to the deity and then turned her attention to the gathered audience. The ceremonial voice of a shrine maiden was akin to that of an opera singer, but such was tradition. It had been some time since Yae Miko had last employed it, but she'd been in this guise for centuries. Sing-song priestess voice was something one never quite forgot.
"We gather today under the auspices of the Raiden Shogun, Her reign eternal, to witness the joining of two souls in Her favor. Kneel, be silent, and witness the will of your god carried out! Bring forth the groom!"
Without fanfare, Kadehara Kazuha was released by his handler to walk down the aisle to the dais. He had no family and the only audience member in a good mood was probably Kamisato Ayato who was not a jubilant personality. So the youngish man walked in a sort of stoic, tense silence- but looking rather dashing in a set of extravagant black robes.
Kazuha bowed to Raiden Shogun at the end of the aisle, again at the step, again at the top of the dais, and again as he kneeled before Yae Miko's central position.
"Bring forth the bride!"
Politics took a side seat to the arrival of the bride on her wedding day. The tiny congregation turned, even Kamaji who saw Ayaka's walk down the aisle as a sabotage of his clan's political influence, even Kazuha who technically wasn't supposed to, but not even god Herself judged him for it.
Ayaka arrived before the aisle, resplendent in a brilliant white kimono, embroidered with floral patterns of silver thread, a large white hood over her head. She sparkled as she advanced on the arm of a stoney and serious Ayato. To Kazuha, the floral patterns seemed the shape of snowflakes and his bride some beautiful wraith of a mountain snowfield, eyes gleaming icy blue in the sunlight.
Ayato walked as far as the end of the aisle and let Ayaka continue on without him. He bowed low towards Raiden Shogun and returned to his seat. Ayaka advanced upwards, bowing in the same places that Kazuha had, and eventually settled near him like a gleaming diamond.
"You two kneel here before your Archon, the Raiden Shogun," sang Yae Miko, her voice going amazingly high in the traditional operettic ceremony singing. "In her observance, you are to join together in body and spirit. Your bloodlines, fused. Your families, united. Do you accept her divine will?"
The shrine was silent. Kazuha and Ayaka looked at each other at close range for the first time.
Kazuha looked into Ayaka's pale blue eyes. She was beautiful, yes- but he thought she looked kind, too. And a little sad. Which might be to be expected when marrying someone she didn't know. That would probably be more scary for her than it was for him. Yet she was here, bravely facing it. Kazuha wondered how different his own life might have been if he had not turned down Tomo so long ago. What if, instead of running, he had stood with his friend. What if he had tried to fight the downfall of his clan? What might his life have been then, if he had not run? And what might it be like soon, if he did not run away today?
Ayaka looked into Kazuha's calm and serious face. He was handsome. And only a little older than her. That was a mercy. His amber eyes gleamed with a character that she wasn't sure of, but it didn't seem bad, whatever it was. Kazuha had a family name, and with him, Ayaka would command her own house, becoming equal to her brother in power. She would be an important step closer to controlling her own life. And finally, the Raiden Shogun herself wanted Ayaka to marry this man, and Ayaka deeply believed in the core of her being that her duty was to serve and obey the Archon of Inazuma.
"I accept it," said Ayaka and Kazuha in unison.
Yae Miko felt relief and satisfaction. She'd done it! All that was left was mere formalities.
With an imperious wave of her hand, Yae Miko called in her maidens with the sake tray. The shrine waited in silence as the white liquid was carefully poured. A cup was first offered to the bride, the woman enjoying precedent in the ceremony- perhaps as a reference to the female appearance of the Raiden Shogun.
In her sing-song operetta, Yae Miko continued to narrate the ceremony. "With this first cup of sake, you acknowledge your past and remember all that has occurred to bring you to this moment!"
Ayaka drank quickly and without hesitation. The cup was refilled and presented to Kazuha. He looked somewhat pensive and delayed a moment before drinking. Yae Miko suspected that the poetic soul of the man was ironically impelling him to literally consider his entire past.
The second cup was filled, this one slightly larger than the first. Yae Miko sang out: "With this second cup of sake, you commit yourself to your partner and bind your life with theirs!"
Ayaka accepted this second cup and looked again at her husband. He was indeed handsome, as Yae Miko had promised, but there was a thoughtful kindness in his eyes that she found promising. She wished she'd the chance to know this man before this moment in her life, but alas, it was not to be. Ayaka drank the sake.
Kazuha accepted the refilled cup and again regarded his wife. She was indeed beautiful, as Yae Miko had promised, but there was a calculating quality in her eyes that he found intriguing. She was watching him, evaluating him, trying to take his measure. It made Kazuha want to challenge himself to be worthy of this woman. Kazuha drank the sake.
The third cup was filled, this one the largest. Yae Miko sang out: "With this third cup of sake, you pledge to live as one, fight as one, love as one! In service of the Shogun! For all eternity!"
Ayaka drank her cup slowly after a deep breath. Kazuha drank his quickly and without apparent concern or reflection. With the cup returned to the tray, the ceremony could approach the climax.
Yae Miko gave them both a toothy smile and began singing once more, nonsense syllables this time, gradually turning in a kneeled bow before the dais where Raiden Shogun was idly watching the proceedings, hand on her divine chin.
"Oh great Archon! These two souls have accepted your will! Bless us! Bless us! Bless us with your proclamation!"
Raiden Shogun stood. Everyone in attendance bowed their head to the floor once. Twice. Three times. Then kneeled in observance. Raiden Shogun raised her hand, palm down, vaguely over Kazuha and Ayaka's heads.
"Kaedehara Kazuha. Kaedehara Ayaka," said Raiden Shogun. "We restore your clan in authority. We replace your lands with lands in Kannazuka. We grant you the Shogunate structures there as your estate. Go forth. Prosper and Procreate. For all eternity."
Yae Miko, kneeling nearby in her most formal robe, lifted the wand charm of folded paper and straw. She shook it over both bride and groom, chanting a litany:
"Be blessed. Be blessed. Be blessed."
Only one thing left to be done, thought Yae Miko.