Chapter 178 - Eyes on Him

Also, if she really was like that, she wondered if there were more pieces of her out there, and where were they? 

Suzuki Ara hadn't realized she had spaced out and her friends were trying to get her attention until Rin flicked her on the nose.

"Hey, before you think about the wedding night, you have to get through the wedding day, okay?"

Eh?

Ara, of course, came crashing back to the present and was scandalized.

EEEEEEEEH?

"I was not," she countered indignantly as she glared at the laughing girls.

"It's alright, we understand," Midori winked at her as Miharu stepped forward and gave her a pat on the hand.

"It's okay, it's normal for brides to daydream about the honeymoon."

"Y-you –"Ara couldn't finish her rebuke as she had already blushed so hard.

She could only manage to glare at Sonoda who was quiet and watching the whole time. She was trying to tell him with her stormy eyes that he should help her stop the girls from ganging up on her. But the boy just gave her a knowing grin before turning away and whistled as if to say he had nothing to do with it.

Yayoi took pity on the bride, but not after chuckling first. She was definitely enjoying the show.

"Now, now, let's not tease our bride so much. She's already nervous as it is," the elderly said, making Ara look at her gratefully.

"Hey you guys, what are you still doing chatting there?" Suzuki Aki called as he approached the group.

"Good morning big bro," Ara and the others greeted as soon as he joined them. "You look dashing today."

Aki was wearing a suit and tie – something that he already normally wore daily to work. Still, he raised a brow at his younger sister as he did some poses.

"What are you talking about Ara? I always look good okay?"

"Yeah, right." Ara rolled her eyes at her older sibling. "Were you looking for us?"

Aki seemed to remember why he came to search for them. "Ah, that's right. We will all leave here together after breakfast. But we have to eat fast. We have one hour to finish our meal before we had to leave for the City Hall."

Huh?

Everyone looked puzzled by this.

"Big Bro Aki, we're not going to wait for Homura and Big Brother Kaze?"Sonoda asked what they all had been wanting to ask.

"No," Aki answered swiftly. "They will meet us directly at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at nine in the morning," he continued as he started to usher them towards the dining hall. "Quick, eat, eat – we have no time!"

Ara, however, exchanged smiles with Yayoi over the good news about her missing fiancé as she let her brother push her along towards the room to have breakfast.

Knowing now that Ryuu was alright, Ara ate her meal with a lighter heart.

Soon, all of them finished and the girls went back to their rooms to freshen up a bit and fix Ara's "look". The girls insisted they put some makeup on Ara for her special day, and she didn't protest at all when they dragged her back to her room.

Midori's an artist so she's really good at colors and it showed on her makeup skills. Ara had naturally amazing complexion already, and so she just put on some light makeup on her – a bit of kohl to make her silver-grey eyes pop more and nude lipstick. The end result was a beautiful natural look.

"Oh my, Ara, you're a very pretty bride," the girls cooed, so proud of their friend.

"Make babies already. I want to see how your kids will look like, "Rin added with a dreamy look earning her a bop on the head from Miharu.

"I thought no wedding night thoughts for now?"

"Silly. We're not going to have kids yet. I'm still going to university. I can't do that and be a mom at the same time."

Ara laughed, but at the same time felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of having children with Kou. She felt nervous again suddenly, but at the same time excited, and all the other feelings mixed together.

The plethora of emotions showed on her face making her friends tease her again. "Ara's having wedding jitters."

"Yep, totally."

"Kou's in real danger tonight."

"Totally shaking in fear of losing his man cherry."

What man cherry? 

"Ya! Stop bullying me already," Ara complained good-naturedly, laughing at her friends who talked about Ryuu's virginity until Sonoda and Aki appeared to scold them for being slow.

"You're already very pretty, little sister, but you look ravishing today," Aki complimented his younger sibling as they entered the waiting car.

"She does," everyone agreed as they drove away.

They arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in around fifteen minutes. However, they didn't get out of the car immediately. The others had noticed how nervous Ara had become, and they were sweet and considerate enough to let her gather her nerves before stepping out of the vehicle.

After ten minutes, Aki reached out to hold Ara's hand and gave her a soft squeeze of encouragement.

"Are you ready?" he asked softly, and Ara nodded her head, and gave him a sweet smile.

Soon, all of them got out of the vehicle with Ara getting out the last. Her silver-grey orbs looked up at the tall building and she marveled at the sight. Located in Shinjuku, the building was a creation of architect Kenzo Tange. It consisted of a byzantine of three constructions, each taking up a city block.

The tallest of the three was the main building, a forty-eight-stories tall structure that split into two sections on the thirty-third floor. The building also had three underground levels. The building was meant to take after a computer chip, while also evoking the facet of a Gothic cathedral. On the forty-fifth floor of both towers had observation decks that were open to the public and contained gift shops and cafes.

Well, this was it…

Ara took a step forward, and another, and another, and another...

Soon she and her group reached the place where she would register her marriage to Kou. She was wondering where her fiancé was, when she spotted him almost immediately a bit far ahead, as he spoke with some people that she thought might be from the government office.

Ara however only had eyes for the Koutaishidenka, taking in his appearance, making her heart skip in her chest as she noted how good he looked in his black suit. It was the first time she had seen him wear something like this.

Handsome like a deity.

Ara couldn't think of anything else to describe her future husband. Homura Ryuu looked too dazzling at the moment, and when he turned to look and their eyes met, her world stopped turning as she only had eyes for him.