(POV: Takei Tanaka)

When I was just a little boy, I remember being told many stories by my mother who was an avid reader of books. She read to me all the classics and would have a very fun time telling me about all of the stories that she had read.

One of the stories that stuck out to me was a story about a girl meeting a monster. The girl was initially very scared of the monster, but she grew to love him over time because she saw how kind he was. Eventually, they got married and some other things happened, but that's not what matters.

I brought up that story because I really liked the ending of the story. When the two of them managed to overcome all of the obstacles in their lives, they were finally rewarded with a grand wedding.

As a kid, I thought that was the coolest thing in the world. Being able to officially tie the knot with someone you love was something I had wanted to do all my life. That was why I was so on board with dating Erika, which kinda sucked in the end since she did all of that stuff to me.

I guess what they say is true; love really does blind you.

Although, I am happy about Erika humiliating me like that and basically ruining my middle school days. No, I'm not a masochist. Due to Erika's nasty personality and actions, I was able to meet my soulmate that I love and cherish. Now today, I'm marrying her and officially changing her last name to Tanaka.

What a great time to be alive!

***

"Your tie is crooked!" Ryuto fixed Takei's tie for him. "It was slightly slanted at a 10 degree angle, so I fixed it for you."

"Let's not do this right now," Takei wryly smiled. "My nerves are about to give up and you're making it worse."

At the current moment, Ryuto was in the groom's dressing room as he tried to help Takei get ready for his wedding. Although Ryuto was trying his best to help, Takei couldn't help but facepalm at the sight of him flailing around.

Takei already was nervous about talking at his wedding, but the figure of Ryuto flying around the room was making him more nervous than he already was. Just before Takei was about to combust into a million pieces, the door to his dressing room opened and a small group of people streamed in.

"Hey hey, Takeichi!"

"Your best friend of many years is here~!"

"Sorry for my brother, I'll scold him later."

Helena, Eiji, and Rikka showed up to the dressing room to give their greetings to Takei who was finally getting married. All three of them had been waiting a long time for him to get married since he and Akari were so smitten with each other.

"Oh, neat. The whole gang's here!" Takei smiled until he noticed that there was one person missing. "Where's Arisa?"

"She said she's running late, but she'll make it to the ceremony," Rikka shrugged. "Oh hey, I just realized... We're not going to be able to meet Akari, right?"

"Yeah, she said she wanted to surprise everyone with her wedding dress, so we won't be able to see her until she walks down the aisle. Me included," Takei explained.

Akari seemed quite happy with her wedding dress as seen by Takei these past few days. Every now and then, Akari would take out her phone and unknowingly grin at the screen for a few minutes because of how beautiful her wedding dress was. She wouldn't let Takei see it yet, so he had no idea how destructive the dress was going to be to his psyche.

Although he was quite a bit older than when he first started to date Akari, he never did get better at handling his emotions around her. He was still as lovestruck as the rainy day that he met her. The amount of love that Takei had for Akari had only increased over time instead of going down like many other couples out there.

"Even after several years of dating her, you two still look like the ultimate power couple," Eiji laughed. "I've never seen two people be so entranced by each other before, so I'm excited to see what your kid is going to be like."

"He or she is probably going to have a big heart just like his parents," Rikka smiled. "Let's just hope that the baby doesn't turn out to be a heartbreaker like his father."

In response to Rikka's comment about him, Takei confusedly scratched his head since he didn't know what she meant. "Whose heart did I break?!"

"A lot of girls' hearts were broken by you," Rikka averted her eyes.

""Pffftt!""

The entire room erupted into laughter due to Rikka's remark. At this point in time, everyone knew about Takei's denseness, so they all knew how clueless Takei was about breaking hearts. Everyone including Takei.

"Ahahaha, you guys are a riot..." Takei laughed as he wiped the happy tears from his eyes. "Thank you all, really. I was a bit nervous to give my speech today, but laughing with you guys helped dispel all my fears and worries. So once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Takei bowed in his all-white tuxedo, which raised quite the frenzy with Ryuto who was trying to make sure Takei looked his best when he went out there.

Although Takei wasn't the most honest person when it came to his feelings, he was trying to do a better job at expressing his feelings. By thanking his friends with his genuine feelings, Takei felt like he was becoming a better person by improving at his weak points.

"I hope everyone will be there to support me at the moment I become a family with Akari."

Such were Takei's last words before he marched forward towards a bright future with his loved ones.

—

Wedding arc (2/4)

Tomorrow's chapter has the moment you all have been waiting for!

Serious-san: The wedding ceremony is finally here!

Sugar-chan: They're finally getting married in the next chapter!