Epilogue
This chapter was translated by minib0ss and shizuumi, and proofed by kuririn, yuugs, and dei-hime!
(Version 1)It had been a month since Valentine's Day, and I was in my second year of high school.
Once I became a second-year student, my school days became more hectic than ever before, and the time flew right by.
My fourth spring since I'd enrolled at Hakuo Academy arrived, and I graduated. I'd been accepted into my first-choice university on a recommendation, and I would start in April. Since we confessed our feelings to each other on Valentine's Day, my relationship with Kazama-senpai had been growing slowly and steadily closer, and we started dating properly, too.
The more time I spent with Kazama-senpai, the more sides of him I came to know. In the beginning, I thought that he was just pushy and unpredictable… But he was really a thoughtful person who cared deeply for me, even if he'd never say as much himself. That was Kazama-senpai, the man who I'd known for three years. How could someone as wonderful as him love me the way he did? There were many times when I wondered why he felt so strongly as he did about me… But all the same, spending time with Kazama-senpai brought me happiness.
He was still my school senpai in my mind... but even though he was two years older than me, for some reason, we ended up graduating together.
Although he had also insisted at first that we attend the same university… He would one day have to take over the family’s business. In the end, due to his family's circumstances, he decided to give up on his university education and concentrate on the art of tea ceremony. Plus...
He had apparently already graduated from college once. Hijikata-sensei seemed to know something about that.
Anyway...
It was March, a few days after our graduation ceremony at Hakuo Academy...
It was a sunny, spring day, the sun shining like it was celebrating a new beginning. I was in a brand new chapel on a hill overlooking the city.
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
I slowly made my way down the crimson aisle, which was laid out towards the altar. The ceremony was to be performed with only a few relatives in attendance. My father, who had been away working on an outlying island, had come running back for the occasion. I put my hand on my father's arm, while he was even more nervous and tense than I was, and we walked the short distance in silence. With the dazzling, rainbow-colored lights streaming in through the stained glass windows and onto my back, what awaited me was...
Chikage Kazama: "I apologize for the wait, Chizuru."
The man who would be my partner for life. He took my hand gently. We stood in front of the stained glass windows that gleamed in the sunlight, and stared at each other.
(CG get!°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°)
My heart was beating so fast. My breathing was erratic, my thoughts in disarray. But the man who had welcomed me had a faint smile on his face, seeming indifferent to my tension.
Chikage Kazama: "...Beautiful."
He let out a satisfied sigh.
Chikage Kazama: "A spotless, snow white gown truly does suit you, my lovely bride."
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
His voice was subdued so that none of the attendees could hear what he was saying. The smile that came across in his voice just showed his typical composure.
Chizuru Yukimura: "Kazama-senpai... I..."
Chikage Kazama: "On that note, though, Chizuru."
Chizuru Yukimura: ?
Chikage Kazama: "I have been telling you since last year. I am not your senior anymore. I think it is time you call me something else― Specifically, you should refer to me by my given name. Surely, you wouldn't mind that much?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "I told you, though. You'll always be Kazama-senpai to me."
It felt kind of awkward to suddenly change what I called him.
Chikage Kazama: "Are you planning on calling your husband by his last name even at home?"
Chizuru Yukimura: "......"
Chikage Kazama: "I waited until we were wed."
Chizuru Yukimura: "............"
I felt an inkling of it, too. Taking on Kazama-senpai's last name was probably not something I could get used to, even after I got married. But, Kazama-senpai… I didn't think that he could make me even more nervous after this long...! As the piano played in the background, I softly whispered to him:
Chizuru Yukimura: "I look forward to being with you for many years to come, Chikage-san."
Chikage Kazama: "...... Say it again."
Chizuru Yukimura: "Chikage-san?"
Chikage Kazama: "I've found new joy again. How wonderful it is to have the woman I love call me by my name."
After he told me that outright, I couldn't help but be aware of how red my cheeks were getting. The ceremony went on before I could say anything back...
Then came the vows. When I was asked if I would pledge my love to him, the answer was nothing but a resounding 'yes'. We were finally able to place the rings we had made to order for today on each other's fingers. After we went through that… Kazama-senpai― I mean, Chikage-san delivered his vows as directed by the priest, and was to raise the bride's veil over her head. And then...
Chikage Kazama: "I love you, Chizuru."
I softly closed my eyes as I listened to his words.
We exchanged our vows through our kiss. The gentle touch of his lips melted all my tension away.
Chikage-san… I would continue to support him as his wife for the rest of our lives.
Kazama-senpai had supported me and helped me move forward more than anyone else in my life had. That was the kind of person he was to me. He'd given me so much happiness. He showed me so much, along with things I'd never known before that shocked me. He told me that I didn't have to do anything but to just be by his side, but… I didn't think so.
Chikage Kazama: "......"
His lips left mine very, very slowly, as if the last thing he wanted to do was to stop. While his face was still close to mine, I softly whispered, so that only he could hear me...
Chizuru Yukimura: "I feel like I shouldn't take the happiness you constantly give me for granted, Chikage-san… So, from now on and in the near future, I promise to make you happier than you've ever been. I swear it."
Chikage Kazama: "Chizuru..."
He looked a little embarrassed, and let out a smile that I usually didn't see him wear at all.
Chikage Kazama: "That's another thing I adore about you. I won't ever have enough of it."
We would always be together from now on as well. Just us two, and our happily ever after… The vows we made today would never change. Because Chikage-san loved me more than anyone else… And I needed Chikage-san more than anyone else.
On this blessed spring day. We were each other's future, and vowed to dedicate ours to one another. Really, so much had happened since I had entered Hakuo Academy. The three years of my academy life I spent there went by so fast… Even after I had graduated, I found myself wishing I could have stayed there a little longer. Although I was very happy to be graduating, I couldn't erase how much I'd miss it as well. In the days I spent there, the event that had the biggest impact on me was… Meeting Chikage-san. Nothing else came close. When I met him for the first time, he asked me to become his wife, which confused and troubled me so much… It was something I'd never forget, and now it made for a good memory...
Or, I guess it did, at least. He had changed a bit, but I could feel that his kindness and his feelings for me were genuine. He was also a man who did right by his family, and whenever I was with him, I could see the best in him, in all of his excellence.
After graduating from Hakuo Academy, I decided to attend university, but… I got married to him at the same time, so I'd been busy juggling both schoolwork and the newlywed life. I'd also joined the family, so I lived in Chikage-san's parents' house...or, rather, the Kazama family mansion. Chikage-san had told me that I didn't have to bother with doing any of the chores. But they weren't so tough to do. Because of my father's assignment to a remote island, I had basically been living on my own up until then, after all. Honestly, the Kazama family had a lot of servants, so maybe I was worrying about them too much...
There was still so much about the customs of a great tea ceremony family that I didn't understand. I wanted to learn more about them, little by little, so I could keep supporting Chikage-san as well. He recently invited me to join him during some of his tea ceremonies. It made me so happy to have the opportunity to drink tea he had brewed, and it was so enjoyable, too. I wanted to keep on living with him. The more days I spent with him, the more that sentiment grew. And it only grew stronger from there―
The End
(Kazama can be such a pain, but this ending CG practically RADIANT!)