-Faith, Love, and Forgiveness - Chapter Twenty-six: Infidelity-
Three months later
With only one month left until the wedding, Kouta was running out of time to find somebody to be his Best Man. Yuka's father agreed to do it, but only if there was no one else that could.
"A groom's best man is supposed to be somewhat close to his age." he said. This put Kouta in a bind, since he didn't have anyone closer to his age.
Then, Mayu had an idea so crazy, Lucy was positive it wouldn't work.
"Bando? Seriously, Mayu?" Lucy asked. "There's no way he's going to go for something like that."
Still, they decided to try it anyway.
Kamakura Beach - The next afternoon
Lucy and Mayu found Bando doing exactly what they expected him to be doing: cleaning the beach and threatening anyone caught littering with death.
"Hey!" Mayu called to him. He was happy to see her, but didn't try to hide his suspicion about Lucy coming with her. As they walked over, he stuck his hand inside his jacket, just in case his suspicions turned out to be correct.
"Bando, I... I know this is going to sound crazy, but Nyu really needs a favor from you." Mayu said.
'This oughta be good...' he thought in amusement. He had never seen the Diclonius look so flustered before.
"Ok, here's the thing..." Lucy said after a moment of silence. "I'm getting married next month. I've got Bridesmaids, but Kouta doesn't have a Best Man yet, and he doesn't have any family to fill the role. So, I was hoping you'd... possibly... be... willing to... do it for him."
Bando just stared at them in disbelief. When he heard she needed a favor, participating in a wedding was probably the last thing he expected to hear.
"Is she shitting me?"
Mayu shook her head no. "I know it's a strange request, but it would mean a lot to us if you'd consider it."
"What exactly does a "Best Man" do, anyway?" he asked.
"From what I can tell, he stands there next to the groom." Lucy answered.
"That's all? You don't expect me to make no speeches or nothin'?"
Mayu shook her head. "Please? I'll go on a date with you if you say yes." she smiled.
Lucy gaped at her in shock, while Bando just laughed. "Kid, you're about twenty years too young, but thanks anyway."
After a few seconds, he sighed. "If all I gotta do is stand there, fine, I'll do it."
"S-Seriously?" Lucy asked. She had been so sure he was going to refuse that she at first told Mayu it was a waste of time even asking.
Then again, that's what she said about having him take them to the Institute to save Kouta.
"I ain't doing it for free. You're going to give me something in return." he said.
"What do you want?" Lucy asked.
"Fight me."
The pink-haired girl just smirked at him. "Not tired of losing yet, huh?"
"Watch it, bitch..." he warned. "You want something from me? This is what I want in return."
"Whatever... when?" she asked.
"I'll let you know."
"You're not going to do this on her wedding day, are you?" Mayu asked. The mercenary just shook his head no. "Weddings are special days, kid. I won't intrude on something like that. I ain't that big of an asshole."
For the first time since he met her, he saw the pink-haired girl smile. She actually looked kinda cute... in a way.
"Thank you so much!" Mayu said gratefully. "I'll call you and give you the exact day and time in a couple of hours."
As the girls walked home, Lucy couldn't believe he actually agreed to do it. Kouta was a little more optimistic than her, but he still expected him to say no. Yuka thought she was crazy for even asking, and Nana was worried they'd start fighting again when she asked him.
Now that the Best Man problem was out of the way, there was only a few issues left to worry about. First and foremost being the Diclonius Queen's wedding dress.
Or more accurately, her LACK of a wedding dress.
With no idea of where to go looking, Lucy asked Yuka, who in turn asked her mother. There was only one bridal shop in Kamakura, and the selection offered was... less than impressive. They tried Ayase, but it wasn't much better.
So, after some online research, they agreed to try the city of Hadano. It was much bigger than Kamakura and Ayase, but not as big as Tokyo.
It was there that Lucy discovered anti-Diclonius sentiments weren't limited to just shopping malls.
Azidora Bridal - Hadano - One week later
Yuka's parents were starting to get mighty pissed off. Of the four bridal shops in Hadano, three of them had kicked them out the moment they saw Lucy.
"You're going to have to leave. We don't offer service to her kind." said Hojoyui's Bridal.
"I'm sorry, but she's not welcome in here." said Maziota Formals.
"Our company doesn't allow Diclonii shoppers, no matter how well-behaved they are." said Buri's Bridal Boutique.
When they walked into Azidora's, Yuka's mother immediately asked to speak to the manager. When he came to greet her, she pointed to Lucy, told him she was a Diclonius, and asked if he wanted to make a sale, or lose one.
"Why would we refuse service for THAT?" he asked.
"We don't know about our competitors, but we're not turning away customers just because of their non-human status. We don't care about that here." a clerk added.
For the first time since arriving in Hadano, Lucy smiled.
"In that case, this young lady needs a wedding dress." Yuka's father said.
"Are you looking for something traditional, or modern?" the manager asked.
Lucy turned to Yuka's parents, who shook their heads.
"Honey, this is YOUR wedding. You decide, not us."
"I think you should go for traditional." Yuka spoke up.
So, Lucy decided to start there. The manager handed her off to a "fitter" named Liza, who led the group to the Traditional/Classic section. After an informal interview, Lucy was asked to go ahead and undress while she started searching.
One hour later
After the eleventh traditional wedding kimono was rejected, Liza suggested they head over to the Modern section and try there.
"Hold on, there were more kimonos on the other wall, right? Why don't you try some of them first?" Yuka spoke up.
"Honey, if you want to move on to the Modern section, go right ahead." Yuka's mother said.
Attempting to keep the peace, Lucy agreed to try a few more of the ones in Traditional. After almost another hour, the Diclonius decided to move on. When Yuka pressed the issue, Kouta told her they could always come back and try again if necessary.
Though clearly unhappy, Yuka let it go for the moment.
Two hours later
Judging from the size difference of the Modern section compared to Traditional, it seemed to be obvious which style was more popular.
She hadn't found anything that really and truly grabbed her attention yet, but there were far more dresses she liked here than there were over in Traditional. It didn't take long before it became obvious that Yuka was trying to persuade her to pick a kimono over a dress.
"This family IS a bit old-fashioned, you know." Yuka mentioned.
"This is HER wedding, you know." her mother countered. "When you get married, you can pick a kimono if you want to. If she'd rather wear a dress, that's what we're going with."
Despite almost another full hour of searching, Lucy was still empty-handed.
"You know, we DO have a few Western style dresses we haven't put out yet. Want to try a couple of those?"
Lucy agreed, and Liza led them into the back of the store.
There were a couple of them she liked, but not enough to actually go try them on. As they were leaving the back, Lucy caught sight of a dress she instantly fell in love with. This dress was an "off the shoulder" style with the upper part made of white lace, and the lower part made of several layers of sheer white fabric. It had short-sleeves with thin, sheer fabric on them that extended nearly to the wrist.
"Is that one for sale?"
"Technically, it's not supposed to be purchasable for another three or four weeks, but would you like to try it on?"
"I'd love to." Lucy smiled.
"For what? If it's not for sale, you're just wasting time." Yuka complained.
"If she likes it enough, I can probably work something out." Liza offered.
"You should have just stayed in the Traditional section. We could've been done here hours ago!"
Before Kouta had the chance to come to his wife's defense, Yuka's mother beat him to it.
Reaching out, the older woman painfully pinched her daughter's earlobe, eliciting a yelp of pain from the brunette.
"Ow! Mom! What the hell?!"
"If you think for one second that being a twenty-two year old college graduate will deter me from putting you over my knee, pulling your panties down, and blistering your bare butt right here in front of everybody, think again. This is KAEDA'S wedding, Yuka, not yours. Do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am..." Yuka meekly answered.
"Good."
Nana wanted to laugh, but since Yuka's mother had threatened to spank HER before, and she knew it was a threat the older woman would absolutely follow through on, she wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.
Twenty minutes later
When Lucy stepped out of the fitting room, even the manager was stunned at how beautiful she looked. The dress came almost all the way to the floor, and had a slit that reached nearly the middle of her thigh. The "sweetheart" neckline was low enough to expose the top of her breasts, but the manager assured her they could easily alter it to be more modest.
"I'm kinda shocked, to be honest. Most women your age want MORE exposed, not less!" he joked.
"Kaeda's a very unique young lady." Yuka's mother smiled.
"We'll do the alteration for free. The dress itself is going to be ¥470,000. I can drop it down to ¥450,000 though.
Lucy's jaw hit the floor. Almost half a million?! Yeah, there was no way she was going to go for something that expensive.
"Can you have the alteration done within two weeks?" Yuka's mother asked.
"Absolutely."
Lucy pulled the older woman off to the side, quietly telling her she couldn't accept her paying so much for something like that.
"Kaeda, you're part of our family. I knew from the day I met you that you were going to be a permanent part of our lives. You have no idea how happy it makes us... how happy it makes YUKA for that matter!"
"It... It does?"
Mrs. Hinasaki nodded her head. "We know the things you've done... we know what kind of life you used to lead. To see how far you've come since then makes us so proud of you." she smiled.
Lucy looked away, fighting a losing battle to keep her composure intact. Seeing this, Yuka's mother reached out and hugged the pink-haired girl.
"You're a fine young lady, Kaeda, and you are loved very much by us, never forget that."
The Diclonius Queen held it together by the skin of her teeth, smiling sadly as she shook her head.
"I don't deserve any of this."
"Well, I think you do. So, are we done protesting now, or should I start looking for ways to up the price?" she asked. Lucy giggled, smiling at the older woman as they hugged. A few moments later, the two went into the changing room so she could change back into her normal clothes (a simple, dark red knee-length skirt and soft, milky-pink, long-sleeve top).
There was a knock on the door a few moments later which turned out to be the manager.
"I apologize greatly for this, but our alterations expert is out sick, and I need to... um... have a look to see where alterations need to be made. I'm sorry, I know it's a bit unorthodox, but-"
Unexpectedly, the door opened, and a very naked Lucy invited a very embarrassed manager inside. As a matter of integrity, he asked Kouta and Liza to join him. With all five of them now inside the thankfully spacious fitting room, they got to work.
"Ok, how far up do you want this to come?"
"Could you make it about... here?"
"Yes, but that will make the rest of it fit incorrectly."
"What if we round the neckline a little?" Liza asked. "Like, change the angle of the "heart" so the downward slope isn't as pronounced?"
As Lucy patiently stood there butt-naked, the manager ran off and returned with a sketchpad, a black marker, scissors, and a rectangular piece of sturdy, white lace. He handed Liza the pad and marker, and she sketched her idea.
"If you increase the angle of the sides from forty-five degrees to around one-hundred or so, and round the tip a little like this... " she said. After she redrew the design onto the piece of lace, the manager cut it out and held it up to Lucy's chest.
"Damn! That actually worked!" he said.
Lucy turned around to face the mirror, eyes widening in surprise as she saw her reflection.
"That's perfect! Are you sure you can you do it?"
"Miss, I GUARANTEE we can do it. We WILL have to cut the dress in half to add the white fabric needed to raise the neckline, but with as many layers as it has, you'll never be able to tell the difference."
"Can you still get it done in under two weeks?" Lucy asked.
"We can."
Lucy looked so happy. It made Kouta's heart swell with affection to see how brightly she was smiling.
"You're going to look so beautiful as a bride." Liza smiled. "I know we kinda say that a lot, but this time, we really mean it."
Lucy blushed, quietly thanking her for the compliment.
"I must say, you're an unusual girl. You don't want even the slightest bit of cleavage exposed, but you have no problem with standing nude in front of total strangers. It's very... unique." the manager smiled. "Thanks for being so understanding about all this, we'll be going now."
The two employees left so Lucy could get dressed. Yuka's mother then excused herself to pay for the dress, leaving the couple alone in the empty fitting room.
"You looked so beautiful in that..." Kouta smiled at her.
Walking up to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gently kissed his lips.
"I think that's a bit exaggerated." she smiled. "But thank you..."
With Lucy already naked, it was only a matter of time before things turned sexual. A gentle kiss turned into a passionate kiss, then several passionate kisses, and before they knew it, she was on her knees, reaching for his zipper.
Then, the door opened and Liza stuck her head in.
"Hey, did you plan to wear a veil, or..."
For a few seconds, they just looked at each other in shock, all three of them visibly blushing.
"I... think I'll just take that as a no." the flustered girl said.
When Kouta tried to apologize, Liza just giggled.
"Don't worry, I won't tell... but since these doors don't lock, you might wanna raincheck the rest until you get home."
Understatement of the century.
Ten minutes later
As the horny couple left the fitting area, raised voices could be heard coming from the front of the store. Near the entrance was a couple of women having a heated argument with the manager, Nana, and Yuka's parents all at once.
"We're not going to stand here and let you degrade our customers, ok? She didn't say a single word to you until you started harassing her. Leave her alone, or leave the store!"
"Oh, my God... seriously?" Lucy groaned.
Japanese-Karen and Friend of Japanese-Karen took one look at Lucy, and then things REALLY started to go downhill.
"Why are YOU here?! A pink-haired junky slut like you has no right to be out shopping with humans! You can't afford a damn thing in here, so why are you even bothering?!"
"Not that it's any of your business, but I'm buying my wedding dress." Lucy responded.
"Wedding dress?! Why would you buy something like that?! Who's going to marry a skinny, drugged-out tramp like you?!" Japanese-Karen screeched.
"I am, and she's not a drugged-out tramp... bitch." Kouta retorted.
"WHAT?!"
"Liza, call the police." the manager sighed. "I'm not having this kind of drama in my shop."
Just like last time, Japanese-Karen decided to stay put rather than leave.
Also just like last time, it didn't work out for her.
Twenty minutes later
"Ma'am, for the last time, stop screaming... ok? We already looked at the footage, and talked to the other parties involved, including several bystanders. Everybody's story matches except for yours. This gentleman has asked you to leave, so you have to go now." one of the officers said as patiently as he could.
Dispatch originally only sent one officer, but ten seconds after arriving, he called for backup. Now, there were three more on scene, all of which were on the verge of hauling her ass off to jail.
While things continued to deteriorate, Friend of Japanese-Karen noticed the dress Lucy had picked out, and asked to see it.
"Isn't this the one your cousin Jin wanted?"
Forgetting all about the police, Japanese-Karen turned her attention to Lucy's chosen dress.
"What the?! You can't sell her this! It's not supposed to be for sale for another month!"
"So?" Yuka's father asked. "It's not a crime to sell a dress a little earlier than scheduled."
When the cops went into a huddle, Kouta knew instantly they'd just hit a snag.
"I'm so sorry, folks, but if the design hasn't reached it's release date, selling it early violates consumer law. It's classified as a breach of patent and trademark law because you're selling it earlier than the designer intended." one of the officers reluctantly said.
If Japanese-Karen had left it alone then, Lucy probably would've been forced to find another dress. Instead, her gloatingly cruel mocking and ridiculing of the pink-haired girl prompted a legendary act of trolling from the manager.
"What does that law specifically say?"
After a few minutes of searching on his smartphone, one of the officers found it.
"It is a violation of Section 352.84-149A of the Fair Consumer Practices Act for any merchant, shopkeeper, or authorized representative of the same to knowingly sell, trade, exchange or otherwise release any trademarked, patented, or otherwise copyrighted product before it's release date for purposes of profit or any other financial or material gain."
"So, it's only illegal if you get something in return?"
"Yes, Sir." the same cop said.
The manager turned to Lucy with an enormous snarky grin.
"It's on the house, Miss Kaeda."
"WHAT?!" Japanese-Karen yelled angrily.
"But... that's a ¥450,000 dress!" Lucy protested.
"It WAS a ¥450,000 dress. Now, it's free."
The police laughed their asses off as the manager bagged the dress and stapled a PAID tag to it.
"I promise we'll have it ready for you in time for your big day." he smiled. Lucy barely kept herself together as she tearfully thanked him several times.
"Well, looks like there's no crime here afterall." one of the cops remarked. "Time for you to go now, Miss."
"OH HELL NO! I want to speak to your policeman manager!"
"No. You have five seconds to leave, or we're arresting you for trespassing."
"I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL I GET T-"
"Times up! Turn around and put your hands on your head!"
As Japanese-Karen was removed, Lucy thanked the manager and his employees again for the extreme act of generosity/kindness/smartassery.
"You're the only bridal store in this whole city who even let her browse. The other three all kicked her out." Yuka's mother explained.
"Because she's a Diclonius? What the hell does that have to do with buying a wedding dress?" Liza asked. "They can legally get married, right? Then what's the problem?"
"They're afraid." one of the bystanders said. "They hear all the crap "experts" say about them on TV, and they just believe every word of it."
"My husband and I hired a Diclonius girl named Samaria to babysit for us. Everyone we know told us we'd made a horrible decision, but our kids LOVED that girl. She was so kind-hearted and gentle. She never got angry, she never complained, she never turned us down, even on short notice... she was just amazing. We cried when that girl moved away."
Lucy and Nana both blushed in embarrassment. It was so nice to hear humans actually speak kindly about them for a change. It was really getting old running into people who watch one stupid documentary and suddenly believe themselves to be experts on the subject.
As they left the bridal shop, they headed a couple of miles down the street, looking for what was supposed to be one of the highest rated restaurants in the entire city.
"I don't know anything about this place, so don't blame me if it sucks." Yuka's mother said.
"Well, it was your idea, right? Doesn't that kinda mean it's your fault?"
"Nana, do you want to walk home?"
Unsurprisingly, the Sipelit was the only one not laughing.
Adekiohara's - Hadano - Thirty minutes later
"This is so much bigger than it looks from outside!" Yuka remarked.
Adekiohara's had large booths, private dining rooms, two levels of seating (the ground floor, then a smaller seating area a couple of meters above it) beautifully-designed Shoji screens, and a full liquor and sushi bar. As the seven of them were led over to their booth, Lucy once again turned the heads of every man she walked by.
Interestingly, she wasn't the only one getting noticed. As they were sitting down, a girl sitting with her friends on the opposite side of the room took notice of Kouta, and pointed him out to her friends.
"He's kinda hot!"
"He's kinda taken, too." one of her friends pointed out. The girls watched as Lucy sat next to him, smiling as he put his arm around her and pulled her closer.
"So? When has that ever stopped me before?"
The other girls just rolled their eyes and went back to eating.
Giving her friends an annoyed look, the girl turned her attention back to Kouta. Eventually, he turned his head in her direction, and she smiled and waved. When he smiled and waved back, she smugly informed her friends.
"Nori, he's probably just being polite."
The girls watched as Lucy cuddled against him and leaned her head on his shoulder, giggling at something the brunette girl sitting across from her said.
"Yeah, he's taken for sure." one of the girls concluded.
"She's a hottie, but she's probably one of those Di-colono-eus girls. "
"She's DEFINITELY one of them. See how weird her hair looks?"
"Why would you date somebody like that? There's plenty of normal girls, and only a few of them."
"How should we know?" a different friend asked.
Over at the other booth, the waitress returned with their drinks, and started taking orders.
"We've never been here before. What do you suggest?" Yuka's mother asked.
"Well, since there's so many of you, how about a share platter of Negima, Karaage, Sushi, and Okonomiyaki?"
"What do you guys think?" Yuka's father asked.
Everyone seemed content with the idea, so he turned to the waitress and nodded.
"Do any of you have any food allergies?"
"I don't." Kouta answered.
"Me either." Yuka added.
"I don't think so." Mayu replied.
"What about you two?"
Lucy and Nana both said no, as did Yuka's parents. Satisfied, the waitress left to get started on their order.
"I still can't believe that guy gave you a dress that expensive for free." Mayu spoke up.
"That was funny as hell!" Nana giggled. "The look on her face was priceless!"
"Do you guys know that woman? She seemed to know you." Yuka's mother asked.
"Remember that bitch I told you about that tried getting Kaeda and Nana arrested? That was her." Yuka answered.
"Seriously? God, no wonder she was such an entitled grouch." Yuka's father sighed.
As everyone started laughing, Lucy excused herself to make a bathroom run.
This didn't go unnoticed by Nori. After a few seconds of consideration, she smiled to herself and stood up.
"I'll be back in a moment." she announced. As her friends stared at her in bewilderment, she walked right over and sat down in Lucy's seat.
"What is that dumb bitch doing?" one of her friends sighed.
"This kind of shit is why I stopped hanging out with her so much." said another. "She does this almost every time we go somewhere."
Nori was one of those girls who loved to flirt. Whether or not the guy (or HERSELF) was dating somebody at the time didn't really matter to her. Even more than flirting, she loved seeing if she could get taken men to cheat. Even more than THAT, she loved making wives/girlfriends jealous.
This, to her friends displeasure, seemed to be her "hobby".
Turning to face him, she smiled in what could vaguely be considered a flirtatious manner and held her hand out.
"Hi, I'm Nori.
She was gorgeous, but the polar opposite of Lucy. Nori had short black hair, matching eyes, and a suntan that gave the impression she spent a lot of time at the beach. She wore a very skimpy top that exposed a great deal of her cleavage and midriff, along with a short skirt, both made of blue sequins.
To most men, she looked sexy. To Kouta, she looked like someone off that trashy-ass reality show "Jersey Beach".
Kouta gave her a confused look, but smiled politely and shook her hand.
"Kouta." he said. "Umm... I'm sorry, but, do I know you?"
"Would you like to?"
Yuka's parents looked at each other. The girl was pretty damn brazen, but before anyone had the chance to call her out on her behavior, Nana beat them to it.
"Kouta, this chick seems like a hooker... or a scam artist... or a hooker who side-hustles as a scam artist."
Nori's expression faltered for a moment, but she played it off.
"So, what are you up to tonight?"
"Well, we came to buy my fiancé a wedding dress, and now we're having dinner, and when we're finished, we're going to go home."
"Oh? When's the wedding?"
"Next month."
"Is she cute?" Nori asked as she slid a little closer.
Nana looked over Kouta's shoulder to see Lucy just a few feet behind him with an amused smile on her face. She gestured for her to stay quiet and Nana gave her a slight nod. She had noticed the girl as soon as she came back in, but rather than get pissed at her blatant flirting, she decided to just hang back and watch.
"She's beautiful." Kouta smiled.
"More beautiful than me?" the flirty-girl asked as she leaned in so close, Nana thought she was trying to kiss him.
"Yep." Kouta bluntly replied.
Lucy had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing.
"I... see." Nori smiled. This was the first time she'd ever heard that kind of response from a guy she was flirting with. "What's her name?"
"Kaeda." said a voice from right behind her.
She turned around to see Lucy smiling down at her.
Now that she could see the pink-haired girl close up, Nori herself was stunned. Her skin was like milky-smooth porcelain, her waist-length hair was a beautiful shade of pink, her bright, ruby red eyes almost seemed to shine, her body was slender without looking scrawny, with perfectly sized breasts and hips.
Even to her, Lucy was easily one of the most beautiful girls she'd ever seen.
"N-Nice to meet you." she smiled as she held her hand out. "I'm Nori."
Lucy politely shook the flirt's hand. "Nice to meet you, too. By the way, you're in my seat."
"I am?"
"You are."
"My mistake." she smiled. Without a word she returned to her friends, and Lucy sat back down beside her fiancé.
"What was that about?" she asked.
"No idea, honey." Yuka's mother said. "If I had to guess, I'd say she was one of those women who love making other girls jealous."
And she was right. As soon as she rejoined her friends, she basically started sulking. Nori, like Lucy, was constantly praised and hit on by men. When she saw Lucy up close, it became crystal clear she was horrendously out-classed. The pink-haired girl wasn't going to get jealous if she hit on her boyfriend because her boyfriend wasn't going to take the bait.
And why would he? She had NOTHING on Lucy, and she knew it.
Her friends couldn't help but be amused by the girl's pouting and frustration. They'd watched her pull this shit before, and, until now, she'd always succeeded. Even if she couldn't get the guy to cheat, she could ALWAYS get a reaction out of the girl. This time, she failed miserably at both.
With an irritated huff, she turned her attention to the sake her friends had ordered.
Twenty-five minutes later
"Damn, that's a lot of food!" Nana exclaimed.
"Indeed, it is. Hope you girls are hungry." Yuka's father responded.
Their waitress added a large bowl of house salad to their order, along with a basket of lightly seasoned bread rolls. As they ate, Yuka's mother asked Lucy about the last two missing pieces of her wedding outfit: footwear and makeup.
Kouta immediately cut-in and told his bride-to-be that if she didn't want to wear any makeup on their wedding day, she didn't have to, and shouldn't let herself be talked into it.
"Kouta, brides are supposed to wear makeup on thei-"
"No, they're NOT "supposed to" wear makeup." Yuka's mother interrupted. "Some do, some don't. If she doesn't want to, I better not hear a single word of complaint from you."
Yuka nodded and dropped the subject.
"It's alright." Lucy smiled. "I was planning on wearing a little anyway."
"As long as you want to. Don't feel like you HAVE to." Kouta replied.
"Well, that just leaves footwear." Yuka said. "Are you doing sandals, high heels, or something else?"
Lucy thought for a moment. "Well, I was kind of leaning towards white high heels."
"That actually sounds pretty nice." Yuka smiled at her. When her parents and Kouta agreed, Lucy considered the matter closed.
Over at the girls' booth, Nori and her friends were nearly finished with their second bottle of Sake. Every now and then, she'd look over at Kouta, annoyed as hell at how happy he and his cotton candy-looking girlfriend were together.
When Lucy caught her doing it, she politely smiled and waved to the human girl, who did not return the gesture.
"It's not fair... why is she so much more beautiful than I am?"
"Nori, just let it go. She's more beautiful than us too, but you don't hear US crying about it."
The girl sitting next to their flirty friend flagged their waitress down to order a third bottle of sake. As much as she wanted to be sympathetic, she simply couldn't. Nori had caused several break-ups and divorces since she met her, mostly because the boyfriend or husband seemed receptive to her flirting, but a good number of them were because she actually got the taken men to cheat on their significant other.
Most of the time, it was by making out, but every now and then, she'd actually have sex with them. On rare occasions, she'd get them caught on purpose, then pull the old, "I'm so sorry, he said he was single!" card.
At an absolute minimum, she could at lease cause an argument between them. Women were almost always jealous of her looks, and even if they weren't, flirting with their guy in front of them worked every single time without fail.
Or at least it DID...
Then, she noticed the older man give something to their waitress. Right after that, she saw Lucy get up so Kouta could leave their booth. Most likely, this meant they were about to go, and Kouta was making a last-minute bathroom run before they did. As he walked out, Nori waited a few moments, then got up and followed him.
As she expected, he did indeed head to the men's bathroom. When he was finished, it came as a surprise when he left the bathroom and found her waiting for him.
"You leaving?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"No... just sad to see you go so soon. I'd have loved to get to know you a little better." she smiled. "I'd ask for your phone number, but I don't want to make Kaeda jealous."
"Don't worry, you won't."
'Grrrrrrrr! I don't fucking believe this shit!'
"Well, I also don't have a cell phone." she lied.
"Email?"
"No, haven't set one up yet."
Kouta nodded and held his hand out. "Well, it was nice meeting you."
The flirty girl wanted to scream in frustration. He was leaving, and she hadn't even made it to first base yet. No... she hadn't even made it inside the stadium yet... Actually, to be honest, she hadn't even reached the PARKING LOT yet!
"Really? All I get is a handshake?" she smiled. "Can I have something a bit more... intimate?"
"What about a hug?"
"I was hoping for a kiss."
Again attempting to be polite, Kouta leaned in to give her a quick peck on the cheek.
"Not there." she stopped him.
"Excuse me?"
"When I said a kiss, I meant on my lips." she smiled.
Kouta just laughed and shook his head. "Um... thanks, but I can't. Sorry."
"Why not?"
"Nori, you know why. I'm getting married next month."
"So? It's just a kiss. She won't know."
"No, but I would. Don't get me wrong, you're a beautiful girl and all, but I'm not a cheater, ok?"
Rather than simply give up, she leaned in and tried to kiss him anyway. Kouta put a hand up to stop her and took a step back. He wasn't sure what was wrong with the girl, but he wanted no part of it.
"Nori, no... ok? Seriously, we can't do this."
"Kouta, come on! It's just one simple kiss, that's all I want! She doesn't have to know, and you never have to see me again, so why not?"
"I already told you! I'm getting married next month, and I love Kaeda far too much to cheat on her! Sorry, but no. Goodnight, it was nice meeting you." he politely replied. As he attempted to walk past her, she abruptly grabbed him and forced her lips against his. It took a couple of seconds, but as soon as he got over the shock, he immediately pushed her away, and looked at her like she was crazy.
"What the hell is your problem?!" he yelled.
"Kouta..."
He turned around to see Lucy watching them with tears in her eyes. Nori had to struggle to stop herself from breaking into a smug smile. She'd had to play dirty, but she finally got her way.
Or so she thought.
Instead of dumping him, screaming, or storming off like literally every other girlfriend or wife who'd ever seen her kiss their significant other, she rushed over to Kouta and threw her arms around his neck, crying as she told him how happy she was.
"You're HAPPY?! You just caught him cheating on you!"
"No, she didn't."
She looked past the couple to see Nana standing there with an amused smile on her face.
"Me and Lucy saw you following Kouta, so we followed you. We've been watching since the moment he walked out of the bathroom, and we've heard every single word you two said." Nana informed her.
Seconds later, Nori's friends showed up. They had watched Kouta be followed by their flirty friend, and then be followed by the two Diclonii. It didn't exactly take much effort to figure out what was about to happen next, so they followed Lucy and Nana.
"Nori, what the hell did you do?!" one of them asked.
"He... He forced me to kiss him!"
"No, Nori... YOU forced HIM, and we both saw you do it!" Nana countered. "He offered you a hug, you insisted on a kiss, and when he said no, you pushed him against the wall and kissed him anyway!"
Her friends just looked at her in disgust. They had seen her do some very underhanded things to get her way, but she'd never had to actually FORCE a guy until now.
Lucy looked at him and smiled through her tears. "I don't deserve a husband like you... but I'm so happy I have you anyway. Thank you so much..."
"Thank YOU." he smiled before kissing her long and deeply on the lips.
Nori watched the couple with a bitter look on her face. She didn't even have the decency to apologize for trying to destroy their relationship. All that mattered to her was Lucy was more beautiful than she was, and Kouta had refused to give in and cheat on her.
After a few seconds, Nana nudged them, telling them it was time to leave. As they turned to go, Nori got in one final parting shot by telling Kouta he could "do so much better than a freak of nature like her!"
"Hold on a second, Nana..." the older Diclonius told her. She wiped her eyes, turned around, and slapped Nori so hard, the girl's vision momentarily went white, and she dropped like a rock with a clearly visible handprint on her face.
If Lucy had hit her that hard using her vectors, it would have killed her on the spot.
"Damn! Nice one!" one of Nori's friends giggled. One of the other friends broke out in a fit of laughter, while the third girl just shook her head.
"Well, we told you one day you were gonna fuck with the wrong girl, so... don't say we didn't warn you."
Lucy smiled at Nori's friends, took Kouta's hand, and let him lead her back to the others.
Kaeda House - Late that night
When the couple were finally alone for the night, the first thing Lucy did was strip nude, get on her knees, and give her future husband what was possibly the best oral sex he'd ever had, followed by passionate love-making that started with her on top, but finished with her lying on her back with her legs wrapped around his waist.
As Kouta and Lucy cuddled naked in post-sex bliss, she thanked him again for being so loving and faithful.
"You really don't have to thank me, you know."
"Yes, I do." she smiled. "I'm so proud to be your fiancé, Kouta. So many men out there would have just given in and cheated."
And she was right. Even Lucy herself thought the girl was beautiful. The difference between her and most women was she didn't feel threatened by her "rival's" physical attractiveness. She wasn't jealous of Nori's looks, or even of her blatant flirting with Kouta. She wasn't even jealous about her kissing him.
That was what pissed the flirty little home-wrecker off the most. Lucy's reaction would have made sense if the two were in an "open" relationship, or if they were planning on breaking up soon anyway, but neither of these were the case. This made absolutely no sense to Nori, who couldn't understand why the Diclonius wasn't giving her the reaction she wanted. Even kissing her boyfriend right in front of her did nothing, and that ALWAYS got results.
What she failed to realize was this; Lucy wasn't reacting like a cheated-on girlfriend because she WASN'T a cheated-on girlfriend. Nori might have gotten a three-second kiss out of the deal, but Lucy got something even better: clear, undeniable, indisputable proof of Kouta's faithfulness.
Not that she doubted it in the first place, but it was deeply moving to see him so openly and adamantly rejecting her advances.
"For a second, I was afraid you thought I had... well..."
She shook her head and smiled. "Even if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have thought that. There's no way I'd have believed you cheated on me, especially not on her word."
Kouta reached up and gently touched her face, smiling as he gently kissed her lips.
"Thank you."
Lucy smiled back and nuzzled her face against his. Then, after a few moments, she playfully asked if Nori was a good kisser.
"Go find out yourself."
"Kouta!"
The lovers just laughed, holding on tightly to each other as they drifted off.
The rest of their four weeks flew by at light speed, and before they knew it, the day they both looked forward to for the last three years had finally arrived.
The night before the wedding, there was no sex. Lucy carefully set out her heels, dress, jewelry, makeup, and earrings. Kouta did likewise with his shoes and tuxedo. Just before going to bed, the couple shared a glass of champagne outside on the porch.
Then, they went to sleep in their separate rooms as boyfriend and girlfriend for the last time.
Next chapter: Matrimony