It had been several months since the three stooges had left to start their new lives and new jobs.
Yuuto was still the number one host. He had been taking care of more and more of the club business.
The old man had recently gotten sick and entrusted Yuuto with the responsibility of keeping the club functioning along with Niko as an assistant for the female side allowing his wife to take care of him.
The reason Yuuto had been chosen to take over was partly that he was rank one but the other part was because the old man’s wife had picked the two of them saying that they were a good couple.
They entrusted both Niko and Yuuto with secret information on the club in order to keep it running smoothly.
While Yuuto took care of most of the important stuff, Niko had a lot of free time so she spent it with Misa and Kana most of the time.
The three girls had figured out who had caused Yuuto a lot of trouble a while ago and took care of the devious woman with their own plan. In the end, Niko and co. won the battle!
The girls went out to celebrate when Niko and Yuuto were finally engaged. The two decided to get married during the next spring.
They were both steadily working off their debt and hoped they would have all or most of it paid off by the spring.
***
Spring finally arrived.
Niko had been able to completely pay off her debt a month before Yuuto had.
They were now both debt-free. Their worries switched from their debt to being busy making all the necessary preparations for their wedding and the reception that would be held after the party.
They had decided to have a somewhat traditional Japanese wedding at a Shinto shrine and have the wedding reception at club Winter Night.
They had to create the list for guests and send out the invitations to family and a small number of friends.
There was the food and drinks that needed to be picked out for the reception along with the cake and the thank you gifts for the guests that had to be prepared as well.
It had all been a stressful few months leading up to the appointed day of the wedding as they constantly made sure everything was near perfect.
A decent-sized group of Niko’s distant family members had come, along with her younger brother and sister.
The only family member to come on Yuuto’s side of the family was his sister Maya. As a substitute for other family members Pretty boy, Motoki, and Rinji had been invited along with Kana and Misa.
The large group was all waiting for the bus they had rented to arrive and take the group to the Shinto shrine.
It arrived a few minutes after the last person invited joined the waiting group. Everyone began to board the bus eager to get to the shine for the wedding.
“Who would have thought that you would be getting married before us,” said Pretty boy jokingly.
Yuuto just gave him a smile and got on the bus after he was sure everyone else had gotten onto the bus.
They arrived at the Shinto shrine a short time later.
Both Yuuto and Niko split up and went to different changing rooms to switch into the clothing that they had rented for the wedding.
Yuuto changed into a dark blue kimono which was his family’s color. He exited the changing room and walked to the entrance of the Shinto shrine where the guests were waiting.
Yuuto fidgeted with the red umbrella made of coarse oil paper (a wagasa) that he was holding.
Several tense minutes went by before he heard a low mummer from the guests that had been relatively quiet until now.
He followed the crowd’s gaze and found Niko walking out of the changing room.
He was struck by how captivating she looked.
Her long black hair had been tied up in a bun and a large pink flower had been placed atop the bun.
She wore no makeup but for some gloss on her lips to make them shine.
Her kimono was a traditional pure white color representing absolute purity. It fit her so perfectly, she was making Yuuto fall in love with her all over again.
She walked up to Yuuto and stopped next to him without a word, with only a shy smile on her face.
The blushing Yuuto opened the umbrella and held it up above the two of them.
They faced forward and entered the shrine grounds, walking down the path leading to the shrine. The guests followed after them.
When they reached the shrine building they took off their shoes.
Everyone put on the slippers provided and entered where the Shinto priest was waiting for them.
Yuuto and Niko stood in the front of the room before the priest and the altar to the shrine’s deity, waiting for the guests to be seated on the cushions prepared for them.
When everyone had been seated and it became quiet, the Shinto priest stepped forward with his haraigushi and started the ceremony by giving a chant while waving it around them to purify Niko and Yuuto in both body and soul.
After that was finished, they both gave a few words of personal vows before the Shinto priest.
The priest stood up and walked over to the small table in front of Niko and Yuuto which held a ceremonial container with sake inside and three different sized sake cups called sakazuki. The first was the smallest whilst the third was the largest. Thus they started the San-san-kudo ceremony.
Sake was poured into the first and smallest cup. Yuuto picked it up and raised it to his lips and brought it back away, raised it again to his lips and brought it away, and on the third time took a sip. Then he placed the small sake cup back on the table where it was refiled and Niko repeated the ritual.
They did this for all three sake cups and in exchanging cups they were symbolically exchanging their marriage vows, expressing gratitude to their ancestors, and wishing for many descendants.
Normally after they had finished, the parents of each the bride and groom would also take sips from the cups. But since Niko’s parents were dead and Yuuto’s parents did not come to the wedding it was skipped.
The first three sips from the smallest cup represented the three couples, the bride and groom and their parents, the second three sips represented the flaws of hatred, passion, and ignorance, and the last three sips represented freedom from the three flaws.
The table was cleared and two branches of the shrine’s sacred tree, the Sakaki were brought out. Attached to each of the branches was a zigzag-shaped holy paper streamer that was used to adorn all Shinto-related objects.
Both Yuuto and Niko offered the branches to the shrine deity out of respect and placed them on the table in front of them. They gave a short silent prayer for happiness and then clapped two times and gave a small bow. Each of the wedding guests followed as they clapped and bowed along with them.
When they both finished, the priest walked up to the altar to the deity, knelt down, and announced the two to the deity.
And thus the traditional wedding was over.
***
The guests, the bride, and the groom all traveled back to club Winter Night where the reception party would be held.
When they arrived at the host club, Yuuto entered the main room and sat down at the square table that was set up on a small platform in front of the other tables.
Niko had gone to change into a blue kimono symbolizing joining Yuuto’s family by washing away her family’s color and wearing her husband’s family color.
She was also wearing a ceremonial uchikake, an elaborate silk robe covered with embroidered flowers and cranes that was meant to be worn over the kimono.
After she sat down next to Yuuto, the guests all came up to the table and offered gifts of money in beautifully decorated envelopes to congratulate the newlyweds, also representing a wish for happiness.
Niko and Yuuto gave them a gift bag to thank them for coming. Gifts for guests were normally either a more formal present of food or something that you could use in everyday life.
What Yuuto and Niko had chosen to give in the gift bags were folding fans and sake cups.
When the gift exchange finished, the guests gave speeches honoring Yuuto and Niko.
Then the food that was served full of Japanese cuisine.
After everyone had eaten some food, there was a sake barrel rolled out and a wooden mallet placed on top for the Kagami-biraki or “opening the lid” ceremony.
Both Yuuto and Niko took turns hitting the lid of the barrel until it was broken open and then the sake was served to everyone. The lid was a symbol of harmony because of its round shape.
When the main course of eating was finished Yuuto and Niko stayed on the raised platform behind the table while guests gave speeches and some did performances as entertainment.
“Well, I guess I have to get someone else now that Niko has snagged you, Yuuto,” said Kana, smiling causing everyone to laugh awkwardly.
“Niko, you are a very cute girl. Yuuto, you are still such a shy boy. Don’t think I will go easy on you now just because you got married,” said Madam Succubus who had joined in only for the reception.
After everyone had finished their speeches and performances, Yuuto and Niko both gave speeches thanking their parents for raising them.
Before it was time to cut the cake, both Niko and Yuuto left to change.
Niko changed into a party dress and Yuuto changed into a samurai costume with a sword.
They walked over to the cake with glasses of sake and toasted to their guests. Then Yuuto cut the cake that was twenty layers high with his sword.
Both Niko and Yuuto fed each other a small piece of cake. The cake was further cut by the waiters and served to the guests.
When everyone was finished eating the cake, Niko and Yuuto both thanked them again for coming to the wedding and the reception and told them they could leave when they wanted.
After a half-hour, the last guests said their goodbyes leaving Yuuto and Niko alone in the room.
“What an eventful day,” sighed Yuuto.
“Let’s get changed and go to sleep,” said Niko.
Eri and Tabito had been sent to stay with one of Niko’s hostesses friends for the night.
After changing, Niko and Yuuto went to Yuuto’s room and got into bed. He had the room all to himself ever since Pretty boy had moved out.
They were, unfortunately, unable to get any sleep that night due to stuff happening. A lot of it, a whole night’s worth.
They spent the next day sleeping until late afternoon. Where they were tempted to do more “stuff” but they were hungry so they decided to wash up and eat.
Thus they started their married life.
A week later, they sat at the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden under the sakura trees eating the wonderfully tasty food and barley tea Niko had made.
After eating, they watched the blossoms on the trees swaying in the wind and fluttering to the ground.
A vendor was going around selling different types of flowers to those gathered at the park.
“Let’s both get one,” said Niko.
“Alright,” said Yuuto as he stood up and helped Niko up.
They each bought a rose that had its petals dyed blue and exchanged them between each other.
“When we get back to our room, I have something important to tell you,” said Niko seriously.
“Alright when we get back I’ll listen,” said Yuuto seriously.
When they returned to their now shared room at the club, Yuuto decided to preserve the flower.
He picked up a large book and then found two pieces of printer paper. He put the flower between two pieces of paper, and then placed them within the pages of the book.
Niko saw him do this and then copied what he did with her own flower.
“So what was it you wanted to tell me?” asked Yuuto.
“Your…(mumble),” Niko mumbled the last part so he had a hard time understanding what she said.
“Sorry I couldn’t hear you. What was it you said?” asked Yuuto.
“Jeez you’re making me say something so embarrassing,” said Niko shyly and kicked him in the shin.
“Well I’m sorry that it’s making you embarrassed,” said Yuuto who reached out and embraced her and gave her a quick kiss on her lips, “So can you tell me now?”
She stared into his eyes and said, “The result of the test this morning. You’re going to be a father.”
