The procession began in the early morning. Jikouji had been as good as his word, and gathered some Shinto priests and shrine maidens to help out with the ceremony. There was no shrine nearby, so instead of holding the ceremony there, it was held in one of the many beautiful mansions of the city. This sat at the highest point, and if one were to be superstitious, they might say it was closest to the gods.
Akiko and Gengyo walked together side by side under a large red umbrella, as the procession slowly ascended the steps, and those in front played the traditional flute to mark their step.
Though the event itself had been rushed into fruition by the two eager parties - because of the circ.u.mstances that they were currently in - no effort was spared in making in perfect.
Akiko stood beautiful. The most awe-inspiring woman in all of the city, if not the entire land. Her hair had taken hours to complete. Ordinarily, one might wear a wig. But her hair was thick enough that it was able to be shaped and set by skilled hands. Over her hair, sat a gown-like white hat, and her body was layered up by a white kimono, and an intricate white coat that sat over it.
It was amusing for the two to see her like this once again, as they recalled how each of them met.
Gengyo had no trouble in getting his hair into perfect working order, since there was barely any hair in the first place. It was beginning to grow back, almost desperately, but there was far from enough of it to be able to style it in any way.
Due to the weight of all the layers she was wearing, Akiko had felt that her shoulders were beginning to hurt, but as she walked all those steps, ever so slowly, she did not show a single sign of discomfort, and continued to smile happily.
Gengyo stood beside her, in the grandest kimono that he had ever worn. As per tradition, there had been the crest of his house stitched into the fabric. That in itself posed a problem, for the Miura's were peasants and did not have one.
Jikouji had suggested that they assume the Niwa's crest as their own, but to Gengyo that simply wouldn't do. It was about time the Miura's had a crest. And so, he took two red feathers, and crossed them together, like swords, encapsulating it in a black circle. It was most fitting.
Their family and friends walked along with them, as they were led by the priests and shrine maidens. Morohira and Fuku walked directly behind, followed by Jikouji and Rin. All of the crew were in attendance. The members of the regular army would have come too, had the invitation been extended to them, but that would have made the affair too busy.
On this day, Gengyo stated, he would give his entire attention to Akiko, and her alone. He did not want to sully it wearing the mask of the commander for his men.
All who came did so with a smile on their face. There were many weddings across the world, and many attendees, but few wished such grace upon the newly weds as those that followed along today. They had won the hearts and loyalty of their friends for lifetimes to come. They felt their happiness as their own.
They ascended the final steps, and the luxurious mansion came into view, with its doors open in welcome celebration for the ceremony to come. A shrine maiden – dressed in a white and red kimono – waited for them inside, before something of an altar.
"Nervous?" Gengyo asked, smiling to Akiko as they ascended the final step.
"Happy!" She responded without pause, her smile so wide that it brought her cheeks high.
The procession in front of them began to split off and line the walls as they entered. Two cushions came into view, in front of the alter. Akiko and Gengyo walked up to them, one step at a time, without rushing, retaining the rhythm of the march here.
They kneeled down on the cushions, side by side, and waited until the others made it into the mansion too. The doors were closed up behind them, and the ceremony began.
The shrine maiden – with extremely graceful movements – manoeuvred a golden cup by a long pole, and submerged it in a large barrel of sake. With her free hand, she gave Gengyo a small bowl-like cup, on which she poured the sake.
With three sips – as per tradition – he consumed the sake, before handing the bowl over to Akiko. With the same grace, Akiko's bowl was filled, and she too drank the sake.
A second bowl was brought out. This one slightly larger than the last. This too was filled and drank in three sips by each of them.
And then a third, bigger than the previous two, was drank from in the same way.
And then, bowls were passed to their friends and relatives, and each of them held it out, as the shrine maiden went along the line to fill them. Each of them drank deeply, blessing the marriage of the two in front of them.
With a bow, the shrine maiden replaced her golden cup, and retrieved a sacred scroll. As one, Akiko and Gengyo rose, and bowed, accepting the scroll together. They opened it, with a single hand each, but it was the husband's job to do the reading.
He was not a man of the gods. Or any god for that matter. But traditions were important, for reasons far beyond religion, and he would not dare question them.
"Oh gods," he began. "Look upon your humble servants with favour, as I, Miura Tadakata, and Niwa Akiko, join hands together in the hopes of marriage. Forever and always, we swear to love each other, just as we do now. Please bless our union, so that it might last until once again we return to Takamagahara."
He concluded, before once more bowing toward the shrine, in unison with Akiko.
Different shrines were pledged to different gods, and thus had different offerings. Since this was not a shrine, and was not dedicated to a god, the offering had been something that they had needed to ponder on. As it happens, it once more came down to the red feather.
They drew one each, from the folds of their obi, they placed it on the altar with a bow. A single pure red feather, from the elegant Japanese red crowned crane.
They clapped once, and then bowed once more.
The whole hall was silent throughout, though the priests occasionally whispered various religious lines, praising the gods, and the shrine maidens swept their hands and artefacts through the air, hoping to achieve the same effect.
After all these practises were observed, once more, they were led out of the temple by the priests and shrine maidens, under the spell of flute song. Silence reigned for a time, until just after they had left the building, and by then, the congratulations started.
"Congratulations son – be good to her." Morohira said with a grin, slapping him on the back.
"My… you look as though you're about to cry dear." Fuku commented with an amused giggle, seeing her husband act serious for once in his life. "I'm so proud of you dear. Welcome to the family, Akiko! Please be patient with Tadakata. He can be a little strange at times, but he's a good boy."
"He's the best of men, I'm happy just to be by his side like this." Akiko stated, her eyes dreamy.
Gengyo shook his head, but he still could not help smiling. All those years where he had been alone, and now he had a wife as beautiful and compassionate as her. "I'm counting on you to keep me in line."
"No worries Nii-san! I can do that!" Rin broke the formation of the line, just so she could run up and interrupt their conversation and congratulations.
"I have a feeling you might need to keep Rin in line more than me…" Gengyo whispered in his wife's ear, much to her amus.e.m.e.nt.
Since the line had already been broken by Rin, Jikouji took the opportunity to come forth as well. "Congratulations Akiko. Congratulations lad. I know Nakatane would have approved of this. You're a good lad, and I can't think of a better match for his daughter."
The mood turned a little sombre as thoughts went to their fallen master, but with a smile, Gengyo soon turned them back around. "He'd always be there to hit the back of my head should I do anything wrong. Well, even when I didn't do anything wrong, he used to hit me…"
"Haha, he was that type, wasn't he?"
Gengyo noticed Fuku's eyes turn cloudy, and he could tell she was thinking of Masaatsu. Rightly, it should have been him that was getting married off first, but now that wedding would never come.
He struggled to come up with the words to console her, but as it turns out, he didn't need to, as Rokkaku and Togashi also broke the line and barrelled forward.
"Congratulations boss! Congratulations Akiko! Heh, I said it first Togashi." He called his congratulations out quickly, before stating his superiority proudly over Togashi. The bearded man raised an eyebrow that suggested he was unsure they were playing in the first place, and practically ignored him, as he offered his own thanks.
"Congratulations to you both. You make a wonderful couple."
"Thanks, Togashi." Gengyo said with a smile. He was one of the first to find out about their relationship, and since then they had been through a lot. It was nice for all of them to see that the circle was finally closed.
Isabella approached as well, though somewhat awkwardly. Her own feelings were unclear even to herself. With all that she had suffered through, she did not know how to approach the idea of wedding and romance, she only knew that she held some feelings towards this man that was her commander. Feelings of respect and reverence. One day, she hoped, there might be another man for her that she could similarly respect.
"Congratulations…" She said a little quietly.
"Heh, Ishi said congratulations! She's just really quiet." Rin spoke up on her behalf.
"Thanks, Isabella."
"Thank you, Ishi."
Soon the rest of the crew were gathered round, all offering their congratulations to their leader. It was their single light hearted day before they would once more take to the field and head off to war, so they would make sure to enjoy it to their fullest.
Lots of alcohol, lots of conversation, and lots of fun. That was the plan, anyway.