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"Whoever's idea it was to have a wedding on the beach is a dumb-idiot-whore."
"Hiyoko I think you should be a little nicer to Chiaki on her big day." Mahiru says setting up her tripod. "I agree that sand isn't the greatest foundation but the dress code was casual. It's not too late to swap out your heels for something else."
"As if." Hiyoko snorts. "As if I'd be caught dead looking as trashy and stupid as everyone else. Except you Mahiru you look super pretty."
"Thanks." The redhead is only partially listening, the beach has great lighting and it's up to her to capture it perfectly.
Suddenly a large shadow shrouds the two women. Mahiru pulls away from her camera lens to find Nekomaru.
"Nekomaru, what are you wearing?" The photographer snaps.
"What? The invitation said casual."
"Yes but that doesn't mean you should show up sleeveless."
Nekomaru grimaces and covers one of his biceps with and equally massive hand. "I'm sorry, I was careless. While brining over Chiaki's wedding gift I needed to use more power than anticipated. The shirt was unable to contain my full power."
Looking closely Mahiru can see scraps of cloth caught on the man's arm hair. She sighs and plucks the remains away.
"I have jacket in my van." Mahiru holds out her keys. "Hiyoko would you mind fetching it for me."
"Of course Mahiru." The sweet tone and sparkling gaze vanish as the blonde turns towards Nekomaru. "You're lucky big sis Mahiru has lots of outfits. If it were up to me I'd kick you out of the wedding."
Hiyoko takes a few steps away before falling victim to the sand again. Spitting out a mouthful of sand she does remove her high heels and dashes down the beach.
"Dangit!"
"Hajime I swear to God if you-"
"It's not my fault." The groom whines from the changing room. "I need my shirts custom made, my chest is too big."
"Not even Akane is this bad," Fuyuhiko groans. "We're running out of clothes, so suck in your gut-"
"It's my chest."
"Whatever, suck in your massive tits and stop ruining my shirts. Goddammit. Listen, I'm going to find Peko, she brought some more shirts from our headquarters. Stay put and try not destroy any thing else."
Fuyuhiko leaves the beach hut with a slammed door and string of expletives. Hajime looks down at the latest victim, the top four buttons have popped from his shirt and are embedded in the bamboo walls of the hut.
What was supposed to be his special day has turned into wardrobe disaster. It wasn't like this during rehearsals and he made sure they wouldn't shrink in the wash.
The front door opens again. Right away Hajime can tell Fuyuhiko isn't the person who entered. There's a brief spike of anxiety when Hajime worries Nagito snuck back in. Peko kept him from harassing Hajime but since she left to get clothes.
"Dangit." A familiar voice murmurs softly.
"Chiaki?" Hajime opens the door a crack before quickly closing it. "What are you doing here it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony... also this is my changing room."
Hajime can almost picture his fiance taking a closer look at her surroundings. No doubt distracted by her games and wandering mindlessly.
"Oh...hey, Fuyuhiko looked upset. Everything okay... you're not having second thoughts-"
"What! No of course not! Chiaki I don't have a single doubt... I'm really excited to marry you."
Chiaki smiles softly to herself. Hajime has a bad habit of doubting himself, hearing how confident he is in this decision...
"That makes me happy. I'm excited to marry you too... co-op is my favorite way to play... but why did Fuyuhiko-"
"Promise you won't laugh?"
"Okay."
"None of my shirts fit. I've destroyed several shirts and even more buttons."
"Is it because of your boobs."
"Please don't say it like that...yes."
There's some shuffling from the other side of the changing room door. Curiosity gets the better of him and he goes to open the door.
"Don't look." The door is pushed closed by Chiaki. "If you look I'll have to kill you."
"Wha-"
"Face the wall, if you turn around..."
"I won't look I promise." He does as instructed. Facing the wall and getting a good look at the destruction he's caused. He counts 15 buttons in the wooden planks.
His door opens behind him and he hears the soft footsteps of his fiance. In a few hours she'll be his wife.
A blush invades his smiling face and he can feel his heart slam against his ribs. It's been almost 8 months since Chiaki proposed, 6 years since he first asked her out, but he still finds his breath taken away every time that wonderful woman pops into his head. Someone amazing like her sees something amazing in him...so he has to be special.
"Darn." Chiaki mutters behind him. "You destroyed the red shirt. If you had a grey jacket and matching pants it would have looked like I was marrying Kiryu Kazuma from the Yakuza series."
"Chiaki I love you."
"..."
"What are you blush-"
"If you turn around I'll kill you." There's an unmistakable pout in her voice. Another series of ruffling before the door closes again. "Okay you can look."
Turning around Hajime can't find anything out of place... oh that shouldn't be there.
"Ch-Chiaki." Hajime picks up the frilly white article, confirming that this is indeed a wedding dress. "You didn't- you're not- hey..."
"It's kinda chilly."
Hajime squawks and drops his fiance's wedding dress. Fuyuhiko could come back at any moment. Superstitions be damned. He grabs the nearest jacket and shirt before throwing open the door.
"I'm sorry I'm not looking but..."
"Gotcha." Chiaki smirks. The woman is dressed in cargo pants and a t-shirt. "I haven't put it on, there's no pockets so I can't carry my games."
Hajime's shoulders sag and a he can't fight back the smile that grows on his face. Of course Chiaki wouldn't wear a dress unless she had to.
"What game are you playing?" He saddles beside his fiance to examine her Switch.
"Stardew Valley, I'm marrying Leah... I never really thought getting married was anything special. In some games it gives a buff or unlocks an achievement." Hajime wraps an arm around her. Chiaki briefly tears away from her screen to loon up at Hajime. Her sleepy eyes seem to glow with an adoring wonder that makes Hajime's stomach swirl. "I think games need to do a better job showing just how fun it is."
Hajime slowly leans down towards his future wife. Her lips seem to part and his land on... cold metal. Pulling back Hajime sees his kiss was blocked by Chiaki's switch. The woman hides her face behind it, a creeping red present on her cheeks.
"Hey, you can't kiss me yet, there's an important flag coming up later today."
"Can't I skip to that flag?" Hajime playful whines.
Chiaki shakes her head and grunts in defiance. "Maybe if you could stop destroying shirts I'd let you...oh." Chiaki's head pops out from behind the switch. "Maybe my dress could help."
"What?"
"Hajime." Chiaki bounces on her feet. "Let's trade."
"Bah." Gundham scoffs and folds his arms tight across his chest. "This is no mere shirt. This garment was woven from the fur of the fiercest if Wendigos."
"Gundham," Fuyuhiko can feel the blood vessels rupture in his temple. "I do not *care* if you killed God himself for that shirt."
"As if God is worthy to-"
"I'm out of options. Nekomaru blew off the sleeves while carrying am arcade cabinet. Akane's doused her shirt in grease when she ambushed the caterers. And now that badtard Nagito sabotaged the spare shirts.
"I apologize." Peko says wiping the last bits of tar from her glasses.
"Peko it isn't your fault." The gangster's tone softens as he lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"So the bleached demon still opposes the sacred union?" Gundham scoffs.
"Yeah something about 'a symbol of hope shouldn't be burdened by a cringey normal reserve corp student."
"It is a shame our high-school titles still carry weight with Nagito." Sonia sighs. "But why does this make Gundham's shirt important."
"Because." Fuyuhiko rubs his temples, trying to process what he's about to say. "No one else has a big enough chest..."
For her credit, Peko does a magnificent job not laughing. Gundham is too taken aback to respond. Sonia simply nods in agreement.
"It is true, Gundham is rather gifted."
"I refuse." Gundham makes some of his strange hand signals. "I have cast the ritual of modesty, these clothes may as well be fused to my body."
"Gundham I am fucking begging you..."
The door opens and Hajime looks up to find Fuyuhiko. The man looks several years older and dead inside. The life quickly returns when the Yakuza registers what Hajime is wearing.
Hajime adjusts the wedding dress so it doesn't slip down. Fuyuhiko stares in tentative awe.
"It's..." Hajime chuckles a little. "It's actually pretty comfy... you know it let's me breath?"
"Hajime."
"I have shorts on underneath and for the record-"
"You look bitchin." Fuyuhiko nods. "Chiaki's lucky to have you."
Hajime laughs and plays with the sides of his outfit. He gives an appreciative nod and finishes his preparations.
"So uh what's Chiaki going to wear?"
"Chiaki you should put that down." Mahiru says. "Kazuichi stop gawking and hold that reflector steady."
"I wasn't gawking." The mechanic says peeling his eyes away from the couple. "And I wasn't crying either."
"No one accused you of that." Fuyuhiko scoffs.
"Make haste, the harpies are ready to take flight." Gundham calls over the chirping of his doves.
"I'm trying. Hey!" Mahiru's stern tone pulls Hajime's attention back to the camera. "Stop staring at Chiaki, you'll have plenty of time time to do that after you're married. But right now you gotta focus on the camera. Chiaki you too."
"But I found a shiny Machoke."
"I don't know what that is-"
"It's a super rare type of pokemon. I need to focus, it's important."
"Is it more important than Hajime?"
Chiaki looks up, aghast. She quickly makes to pocket her Switch in one of the many pockets of Hajimes suit.
"Hey," Hajime says softly. "I know how hard it is to find shinies, go ahead and catch it."
Chiaki smiles and mouths 'thank you' before retrieving her Switch.
"Y'know Hajime, I think you're rarer than a shiny."
"No please that's so cheesey." He can already feel himself blushing.
"The chances of finding a shiny is one in 8000. But of all the billions of people on earth, you chose to spend your life with me."
Mahiru's eyes widen. She gives a shrill whistle. Gundham releases the two doves into the sky. She waits until the birds are above the couple and.
"Got it." The perfect moment that encapsulated the relationship Hajime and Chiaki share. "Okay come look at the photo."