Chapter 10: Teenage Wedding Rehearsal

6/12 8:30 AM At the Sakurami Police Station

Akise Aru had Saten, Uiharu, and Aiho in the conference room. The three girls were sitting at the desks in the room.

"Mr. Aru, we're curious why you brought us," Aiho said with a curious expression.

"I have plans to hang out with Yukiteru at the movie theater," Akise replied who was standing in the front of the room. "Though, I have other ideas, a wedding ceremony."

Uiharu and Saten were perplexed at this sudden suggestion.

Aiho wasn't expecting this kind of idea. "I presume you have some kind of plan, do you not?"

Akise smiled calmly. "Yes, I do, Yuno will joining Yukiteru on this while I handle some business."

Uiharu was a little curious. "What kind of business?"

Akise looked at the little middle school thermal esper. "Nothing for you to worry about, but, I have my reasons. This wedding ceremony is limited to 20 people, so, I can always add two more people into this."

Saten snickered with a grin like she had a brainstorm. "In that case, could you squeeze two more people?"

Uiharu realized who her friend was suggesting. "Saten...don't you mean..."

Misaka and Touma were in the waiting room at the police station.

9:00 AM Sakurami Waiting Hall

Misaka and Touma were sitting on a bench in the hallway of the police station.

"Why do we need to be here?" Misaka asked.

"You're asking me, I was hoping you'd know," Touma said looking just as puzzled.

Saten approached the two. "Kamijou, Misaka...heheheheh..." She had a sneaky smile on her face.

Misaka narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Saten, what is with that look?"

Uiharu showed up looking awkward a little. "Misaka, we have a favor to ask of you and Touma."

"We would like for you two to go on a wedding ceremony with Yuki and Yuno," Saten said casually with an excited look on her face.

There was a silence in the air until Misak and Touma broke it with flustered looks on their faces. "WHAT?!"

M

9:35

Itsuwa and Kanzaki were at the Sakurami shopping mall with Index.

"where is Tsubaki, I thought she wanted to join us." Itsuwa wondered.

"She's helping Akise with an investigation," Kanzaki answered. "Though, she didn't say what the investigation is."

Index was ready to eat. "Enough of the chatting, I'm hungry!" The two girls sweat dropped at the girl's hunger, but, weren't surprised.

"Where is Orsola?" Itsuwa asked.

"She's studying some new magic abilities she was thinking of trying out," Index answered her hunger expressions quickly vanishing. "Beside that, Uiharu mentioned that she overheard Kusuru being at the hospital."

Itsuwa and Kanzaki gasped. "Kurusu, at the hospital, what for?"

"Is he sick?"

"Kurusu has a son that's sick from what she overheard the other officers talking about." Index didn't turn to look at the others. "Though, it's clear that something must be wrong with Kurusu's son."

"Should we ask Yukiteru if he knows something or talk to Kurusu?" Itsuwa questioned her friends.

Kanzaki shook her head. "No, it's none of our business, at least not yet. What bothers me the most is that our new friend Hinata was the daughter of the Diary User known as 10th. Not only that her dad was able to control dogs with her old man's Diary."

"Yes, according to Orsola's report, the dogs went nuts even though Hinata claimed that she didn't give the dogs the order herself when the hounds resumed their attack." Index turned around putting her finger to her chin. "It's almost like they were being controlled by another force."

Kanzaki had the same exact thought. "Yes, Motoharu and Orsola mentioned that they felt the same magic energy in the area that night. It's clear that it must be the work of those creatures who were in those stasis pods."

10:32 AM Just outside Sakurami City

Yukiteru was at the bus stop waiting for Akise to show up for the movie theater. "This is so exciting, I haven't been to the movie theater in a long time." He looked ahead and a few yards was Yuno approaching him but she wasn't alone. Touma and Misaka were walking slowly looking flustered.

"Yuno, Touma, Misaka, what are you three doing here?" Yukiteru asked a little surprised.

Yuno ignored the question and grabbed hold of Yukiteru's wrist. "Yukki, come on, we'll be late to get on the bus!" She said cheerfully.

Yukiteru then looked at his phone's entry and read it. "Wedding Plaza Sakurami. Wedding ceremony location Free Tour Limited to 20 People" He was taken aback by this. "Wait, what a marriage ceremony?!" He then looked at Touma and Misaka. "Guys, did you know about this too?"

Misaka was looking away like she was clearly embarrassed and nervous at the same time. "This was Saten's idea, well, hers to get me and this idiot to tag along."

Soon the four were on the bus.

Touma was too perplexed to speak and was sitting next to Misaka.

"Saten...Uiharu...this is so embarrassing, if my mother finds out I won't be able to hear the end of it."

"Index mustn't find out otherwise I'll be her chew toy for the rest of my life until my head comes off entirely.

Yukiteru was still puzzled at this opportunity. "Yuno, I don't understand, Akise wanted us to see a movie, not this." Yuno's cheerful attitude didn't leave her face but she did look at her crush. "Oh about that, he asked me to come along...that he sent me an email message."

Yukiteru looked at the message and read what it said. "Hello Gasai, this is sudden but you did know that this Sunday there is a free tour of wedding chapels? Actually, Yukiteru wanted to invite you, but he's really shy so why don't you take him? Touma and Misaka will be joining you both too"

Yukiteru was putting this together. "AKise invited me but invited the three of them then that means..." Realization hit him hard again. "This was a trap!"

Meanwhile in front of the Gasai House

Akise was taking a look around the deserted place. Tsubaki was following behind. "Now those two are on their wedding chapel tour. Time for me to investigate the overseas business trip that Yuno claims her parents are on." He saw that no power was on. "My feels like an abandoned house. This smells trouble."

"Yes, I agree." Tsubaki said. "To be honest, my intuition told me that girl could be the end of Yuki." Akise was silent the moment he heard that but didn't he look back at the other Diary holder. "Is that a fact, well, we should look around before deciding anything."

Vector was watching from afar. "Looks like the detective geek and 6th are working together." A small smirk was shown on his face. "This should get interesting."

A small iguana was watching the teenage detective while lying on the ground with one glowing yellow eye.

Yoshino was in his office at the casino and on his desk was a small handle mirror with a snake like statue on the handle. "So, that detective is trying to sneak into Yuno's house. No matter, I know where Yuno lives now, when the time is right, I'll ambush the girl."

12:00 PM Sakuram Police Station

Aiho was in the break room having a cup of coffee at the table in the back. "Nice a cup of hot coffee." Nishjima walked in carrying a brown paper bag and holding energy drink. "Oh Aiho, what's up?"

"Nothing much, but just hanging around the office." Aiho took a sip of her coffee. "Never mind about me, how are you doing?"

The inspector had a small smile. "I've been better. To be honest, I guess I still down about what happened...to..." He paused.

Aiho decided to share some comfort words. "I'm sorry about Natsuko. I never got the chance to know her, but she seemed like a serious person when it comes to her job." A light chuckle was heard from Nishijima. "Yeah, she was willing to catch the murder that was killing people in the alleys. Although, the killer was never found."

Aiho set down her coffee cup on the table. "Yeah, I heard about the recent murders before the incident with the terrorist lady Minene Uyruu. That chick was a tough cookie and seemed a little on the nutjob person."

Nishijima had a look of softness on his face. "Yeah, but, she seemed so lonely." That piqued the Anti-leader's interest. "You don't say, what makes you say that?"

Nishjima was quiet for a few seconds before he found his voice. "I met here while trailing down the killer in another town. She and I got handcuffed while tracking down the killer. Honestly, it got awkward by the minute." A flashback of Minene's cute side came to his mind. "However, she seemed to have a cute side whenever she blushes red."

Aiho chuckled lightly. "I see, I'm not surprised, I met a lot of people that have a different side to themselves. Despite the tough act that some people put on, its clear that their life was a hard and tragic one."

The inspector was a little surprised to hear that from the other woman. "Wow, you sound like you feel a little bad for Minene." Aiho had a small smile on her face. "People go through hard times and sometimes people to learn to cope with their past. Someone's past shouldn't control them otherwise they might not find happiness in their life."

"Someone's past shouldn't control them otherwise they won't find happiness in their life." Nishjima repeated to himself.

The four teenagers arrived at the church.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Touma exclaimed in surprise.

Misaka was still speechless to imagine what position her friends put her in. "Crap, I'm glad that Kuroko and my mother aren't here to see this." She took a deep breath. "As long as I don't mention it to anyone, then things should go smoothly."

Yukiteru had a thought in the back of his mind. "Hinata hasn't returned to school since her father's death." One thing that Hinata's father mentioned lingered in his mind. "He mentioned 4th...Keigo Kurusu. What was Kurusu doing there? I mean sure the guy is a Diary User but..."

They went inside and saw how big the place was.

"Amazing! It's just like in my dreams!" Yuno beamed.

"To me, this is like a nightmare." Yukiteru thought still feeling uneasy especially when he declared at the watch tower. "Feeling this way is pointless I have to confess that this was a mistake otherwise..."

Bop

He felt someone's hand backhand his head. "C'mon, stop twiddling your thumbs, and let's get this over with." Yukiteru looked at the railgun girl with an unsure look. "I know how awkward this looks but, we don't have a choice but to see this through."

"I agree, besides, the bus won't be back until later this evening, so we might as well do this until the time comes." Touma agreed.

"Well, looks like your friends are ready to get this going," A woman in her 30s arrived with a smile on her face. "Welcome our four newlyweds."

"Damn, does she has to say with a straight face," Misaka groaned in thought feeling more flustered.

Yukiteru looked at her name tag. "Kusuru Naoko...that's Keigo's last name."

Touma noticed the name tag too. "So, the chief has family after all. Strange, he never mentioned him before."

"Yukki...let's go the food sampling first, alright!" Yuno pointed at a diner room.

Reluctantly, Yukiteru followed his stalker along with his friends.

"Wow, this is like fit for a king," Touma commented. "I'd better not mention this otherwise Index will kill me."

"Yeah, it looks expensive too," Yukiteru added.

"Let's stop chatting and dig in," Misaka beamed.

Yukiteru tasted a bit of meat and was fascinated by the taste. "Wow, this is a hamburger steak?"

"It's Foie Gras..." The woman summarized.

"What is this black and tiny thing?" Misaka asked.

"That's caviar..." The woman replied.

"This is delicious!" Touma beamed.

"Yeah, it's like this food is fit for royalty!" Misaka added.

"Sure is, we're like a prince and princess too!" Yuno beamed.

Touma glanced at Yuno's expression. "Wow, I never knew she could smile like that." His face became flushed when he saw her smile. "Crap, why am I gazing at her like that?"

Nearby were couples admiring the youthful chatter.

They later went to the fit room, meeting an old dress lady. "Hello, I'm the fit dress lady. What can I do for four young children like you?"

"I was told we could try on dresses here..." Yuno answered.

"Coming here without experience..." The old lady rolled up her kimono's sleeves. "Kids these days are here just to try on clothes only! Don't face problems until they get older only caring about appearances." She began to measure Yuno and Misaka.

"Geez, she's a serious type," Touma thought with a sweat drop.

Another dress-fit lady was helping Yukiteru and Touma pick out their suits.

Yukiteru was wearing a white suit while Touma wore a black suit with a black bow tie.

"My, you both like the lord of a manor." The other fit lady commented.

"Do you think?" Yukiteru questioned.

"Behold...you two young men the appearance of two women!" The old fit lady walked out of another dressing room stopped and looked back. "C'mon, you two show off your dress."

Yuno was in her wedding dress and Yukiteru was astonished as his face became flushed. "How do I look, be honest."

"Uhh...you look beautiful.." Yukiteru replied.

Hearing that made Yuno happy. "I'm happy to hear that."

Misaka was wearing a honey silk Ivory Silk wedding dress. "Idiot...come on, how do I look?" She looked away clearly a little flustered.

Touma was too speechless to answer. "Wow, she looks better than ever back at the Tokiwadai Middle School dormitory Midsummer Festival." He quickly shook his head and took a deep breath. "I think it looks really cute on you."

Misaka let out a small gasp. "Cute..." She smiled a little as she looked away. "Thank you...you look nice yourself."

The two dress fit ladies began to whisper to each other. "Sounds like those two need work on their relationship."

"No doubt..."

The four took turns taking a picture.

Touma was looking at the photo he got. "Man, it's not too bad. Although I can't Tsuchimikado and Index see this, I'll never hear the end of it." Misaka was looking at her photo. "Wow, we look nice..." She realized what she just said as she shook her head in denial. "Damn it, I can't let this get to me. Not to mention I can't let Saten and Uiharu see this. They'll surely make a big deal out of it not to mention they'll gossip this to my mother!" Kuroko's image came to her mind. "If Kuroko finds out about this, she'll flip out!"

Yukiteru was looking at the photo he got. "Wow, we're smoking..." Realizing what he just said a nervous look took shape on his face. "Whoa, whoa, I can't get into this, we're far from a normal couple. I'm up a creek, if I don't say something then Yuno will think this is our life together." He looked over at Yuno, who was sitting on a bench. "Yuno, I-" He paused when he saw tears of joy in Yuno's eyes.

Touma noticed the tears too. "Is she crying?" He asked in thought.

Yuno realized she was being looked like. "Wait, don't look at me right now." She brushed her tears away with his fingertips. "I can't control myself." She stood up and kissed Yukiteru on the cheek. She walked away and went to talk to an old fit lady.

"Perhaps I don't need to drop the bombshell right now." Yukiteru thought placing his hand on his left cheek. "I mean sure Yuno is a crazy girl...but..." Images of the corpses flashed in his mind.

Misaka noticed the unsure look that the first diary holder had on his face. "What is his problem?"

The Wedding Planner lady entered the doorway to the dressing room. "Time for the main event."

"Main event...?" Touma inquired with a puzzled look.

"Yes, we'll conduct a rehearsal in the chapel, the four you can do at the same time."

Misaka was flustered even more than she was. "A rehearsal...seriously...?"

"Rotten luck..." Touma thought almost letting out a whimper.

Yukiteru wasn't ready for this sort of thing. "Well, honestly, we're not-"

"It's okay..." Yuno interrupted getting her crush to look at her including the others. "I had fun today. Eating with our friends was quite exciting, today was already perfect."

Touma wasn't expecting to hear that from a crazy girl. "Wow, she must've had fun."

Misaka was too speechless after hearing Yuno's words.

Yukiteru could see how much joy Yuno was having. "Well, it's just acting so, let's do this."

Touma shrugged reluctantly. "I suppose we have time to spare."

"Let's get this over with..." Misaka muttered her blush brightly red.

The chapel was big and it was sunset. The sun's rays were shining through the large windows.

"Touma Kamijou...do you take Mikoto Misaka to be your wife until death do you part?" The priest asked.

"Y-yes...I do."

"Mikoto Misaka, do you take Touma Kamijou as your husband until death do you part?"

"I-I...do..."

Then was Yukiteru and Yuno's turn.

"Yuno Gasai, do you take Yukiteru Amano as your husband?"

"Yes."

"Do you take Yuno Gasai as your wife?"

"...yes..."

"Perhaps, I should pretend it was nothing more than a bad dream..."

A short time later.

Yukiteru was sitting on the couch in the great hall. Yuno was asleep on his shoulder.

Touma and Misaka were getting ready to leave but they had something to say. "Man, this day is over."

"Saten and Uiharu, I will kick their butts."

"Hey, guys..." Yukiteru called out softly. "Be honest with me, do Yuno and I make a cute couple?"

That was quite an unexpected question that was thrown at them.

Touma rubbed his head with his hand awkwardly. "Well, I'm not an expert on romance, so I can't give much of an answer...but...I think it's obvious that you two get along well despite what differences you may have in life."

"Same here, I mean sure Yuno is nuts, though, I've seen people that are just as crazy as she is," Misaka added rubbing the back of her head with her hand. "I can't put my finger on it, but, it is obvious that the girl has some issues. Not just being paranoid but trust issues too."

"I see..." Yukiteru said quietly.

"I can see you four kids had quite a day." There was the wedding planner woman.

"Oh, it's you, I admit the people here know what you're doing," Yukiteru commented kindly.

The woman was happy to hear those words from the teenage boy. "Oh, I see this place is your element after all. I felt the same way with my husband back in my youth but he's so wrapped up with work that I hardly see him."

Yukiteru tilted his head and was curious. "I see, what does your husband do for a living?" Touma and Misaka narrowed their eyes suspiciously at the woman.

"He's homicide detective..." The woman replied.

"She's Kurusu's wife..." Touma and Misaka thought in unison.

Touma and Misaka went to take a taxi leaving Yukiteru to carry Yuno home.

"Talk about a day..." Yukiteru thought as he began to reach for the door's handle. "I forget the door is locked." He was about to wake her up when his hand surprisingly opened the door. "The door is unlocked."

He walked inside Yuno's house still carrying her on his back. He turned the light switch. "Oh, I forgot that there is no power."

"Sure seems that way..." A voice was heard from the dark hallway.

Akise was walking from the pitch-black hallway. "I was thinking that there were corpses or something inside somewhere but, I came across this room." Yukiteru began to panic. "Wait, does that mean you arranged the wedding ceremony so you can poke around?"

"Now, that's not nice to say..." Akise said standing next to the slide door. "Anyway, I looked inside this room and found this...instead."

In the room was a massive hold in the wall which led to the backyard and there was a big hole in the ground. "You can't see the bottom of the hole. How was this hole made?"

Yuno was awake. "Hey, what's up guys?"

Yukiteru noticed this. "What happened to the corpses here?"

"Corpses..." Yuno questioned with a puzzled expression.

On the other side hiding behind the big tree was Tsubaki peeking her head. "So far nothing is found except for that hole."

"Hey hurry up and close the door otherwise bugs will get in besides that I was waiting for a long time for this, so let's not rush," Yuno said innocently. "Because this is the first time Yukki has come to my house."

Yukiteru was just speechless at the girl's innocent routine. "Wait, she doesn't remember, how can this be?"

"Is she still planning dumb?" Tsubaki thought suspiciously. "No...it's probably more than that."

Akise was eyeing the sixth diary holder motioning his head the left signaling her to sneak around.

Tsubaki snuck away around the other side as Akise motioned her to do once the others went back inside the house.

Yuno saw them off. "Have a good night you two."

"Same to you Yuno," Yukiteru turned his head with a smile.

Yukiteru and Akise went on their way down the street.

"I don't get what is going on," Yukiteru muttered trying to make sense of what was going with Yuno.

"There is a term that she probably falsified her memories so she wouldn't go mad. Mentally speaking, she has erased her memories using her mind to gain a stable condition."

"Does that mean she has mental issues?" Yukiteru asked curiously.

"Yes, without you, she would probably break. Simply put, you're a stable influence on her. That would probably also explain how you were able to reason with her when she a knife to Hinata's neck." Akise replied. "To be honest, I think it's possible that your friends could have the same effect on Yuno too."

Yukiteru had to admit Akise's words made sense to him. "I see...well, I'll think about it." He walked away and took out his photo then looked at it. "Yuno..."

Akise continued to watch Yukiteru disappear in the darkness of the lane.

"I admit that was quite a statement..."Tsuchimikado appeared from behind the teenage detective.

"How long have you been there?" Akise asked not looking back at the other teenage boy.

"Not too long, but, I have to agree with you say. Yuno has been on the nut case side, but, she seems to keep her stable mind in tact especially when it comes to Yuki." Motoharu had a sudden smirk on his face. "Honestly, I can't help but feel jealous. Not every day we guys would get a cutie that follows us let alone cling onto us."

Akise was silent for a second before speaking. "Anyway, I advise you and your friends to still be careful around Yuno. One wrong move could bring you and your friends to your end."

Motoharu chuckled lightly. "Yeah sure, but, since we're here, what is your reason of investigating Yuno?" Akise didn't reply but he looked tense at the moment that question was thrown at him. "I believe you said that you're interesting in cases and murder is one of them, am I right?"

"What is your point?" Akise asked.

Motoharu chuckled lightly again with a sly grin this time. "Never mind, you don't have to share any details...yet." He walked past the detective without looking back at him. "Have a good night."

Touma and Misaka returned to their apartment and as soon as they got to the fourth floor, they saw Saten and Uiharu waiting for them in the hallway. "How did you lovebirds enjoy your rehearsal?"

"Not now, I'm still getting over that," Misaka muttered feeling flustered.

A photo was seen in her pocket. "Ooh, what is this?" Saten snatched the photo away and was all cheery about what she was seeing. "Aw, you are both so cute! I wonder what your mom would say if she saw this."

"Knock it off!" Misaka barked annoyingly.

"Touma..." Index was behind her roommate and was holding a photo she snatched from his pants pocket. "Care to explain why you and the little loudmouth girl are dressed like this?"

Touma felt afraid as drops of sweat were dripping from his forehead. "Index...it was just a crazy idea that Akise and Saten had set up I swear!"

"I will kill you!" Index growled as she chased the boy down the hallway. "Cut it out! I'm sorry! I didn't want this in the first place! Rotten luck!"

Kanzaki and Itsuwa were sulking with envious plastered on their faces but didn't respond.

"I was hoping that this would be a quiet time for Touma and Misaka, not a comedy routine." Saten shrugged casually.

"Yeah, but this was your idea from the start," Uiharu muttered with a sweat drop.

"Anyway, we got something to discuss with you guys." Aiho arrived in the hallway. "And it's very important too."

Touma then realized someone was missing. "Hey, where is Tsuchimikado?"

6:00 PM Sakurami City Police Station

The conference room

Kurusu was having the police staff have a meeting. "I have to make an announcement about the killer of the culprit from the serial dog murder case. So far we have a lead to believe it was these two." Two photos of Yukiteru and Yuno are shown on the screen. "Yukiteru Amano and Yuno Gasai both are 14 years old, I want them brought into custody within 24 hours." The officers left on the room instantly.

Nishijima approached the chief. "Excuse me chief, what about Aiho and the others, should we alert them too?"

"No, I'll just give them the time off until this matter blows over," Kurusu replied looking down at the floor. "For now, do your job." Nishjima felt a little troubled by this but did what he was told. "Also, Nishijima...I'm sorry about Natsuko."

"Thank you..." Nishijima left the room.

Yukiteru, Yuno, Touma, and Misaka attend a wedding rehearsal planned by Akise Aru, who was revealed to be looking around Yuno's household with Tsubaki. Yuno was revealed to have a stable mind due to the positive influence that Yukiteru had on her. Once Touma and Misaka return to their apartment Aiho approaches them and the others to have something to discuss with them. In the meantime, Kurusu has announced to take Yukiteru and Yuno into custody due to being suspects in killing Hinata's father the killer in the serial dog murder case.

What is Kurusu hoping to accomplish by proving false information, find out next time.

End of chapter.