"You look beyond great." Chisa smiled, holding Yui's hands. "Are you ready?"

Yui shook her head. "Not at all. Take my place."

Chisa laughed. "No way. He's your choice, not mine. Now don't be nervous; you look better than anyone else here." Giving Yui a thumbs up, not wanting to ruin anything with a hug, Chisa went to take her seat with the other few guests.

Her father, dressed in his best suit, took a moment to talk with her. "Yui..."

"No, Dad. Don't talk to me about this now. It's too late. I just..."

"Yui, I just wanted to say... I love you and... good luck. I hope you're happy with him." He smiled, somewhat awkwardly, and just looked at her. "You look wonderful; I'm sad to see you grow up so soon."

Yui sniffled before hugging him, not caring how it might wrinkle or muss her dress. "Thank you. This is the most important day in my life."

Patting her back, her father did his best to control his own emotions. "I should go sit down so we can get this underway."

"Okay, Dad."

The two maintained the hug.

If he had thought it possible, she was even more beautiful. The look on her face, one of mingled sorrow and joy, just added to it. When she walked by, giving him a small reserved smile, he couldn't help but smile back. Even if she was breaking his heart.

Sighing wistfully, Kozo leaned back as much as the chair would allow him. A small consolation was that it would be a short ceremony, something simple, but elegant, as Yui had demanded. One thing Fuyutsuki had to admit about Rokubungi was that he seemed quite willing to do whatever Yui asked of him.

And perhaps that was all he could expect because he would have been the same way. If Yui had been his. But she was not.

Fate. That's what it was. Things just weren't meant to be. Things weren't meant to go his way. He was, after all, just an old... No, he wasn't old yet; he just felt like it. He was certainly a loner though, nearly socially inept. And here went Yui.

A chance lost. An opportunity never to be regained.

He heard a woman weeping softly from somewhere off to his left, but when he spared a glance, there was no crying woman in the row. An odd thing, but the world was an odd place, full of mysteries and injustices.

Yui looked at Gendo, into his almost uninterested eyes, and could nearly tell what he was thinking. No doubt it was about the woman that had been crying non-stop ever since Yui had emerged for everyone to see.

And now rings were being exchanged, and she could almost feel the excitement emanating from Chisa in the front row. The moment was just like when he had proposed, her hand shaking so badly he had to hold it to get the ring on...

He smiled then and looked... so tired. Like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, the burden of every secret held by every person, even of life and death... So weary...

Before she could ponder the meaning of her thoughts, everything was over. The words had been automatic out of her mouth, a testament to her true desire to go through with it, and now... She was smiling, but it was restrained, a fact that the guests overlooked.

People surrounded her, Gendo holding her arm gently, always acting as her strength when she needed it, smiling and congratulating them both. Yui picked out a few specific faces: her father's, somewhat melancholy; Chisa's, a smile as wide as Japan itself plastered there; Professor Fuyutsuki, smiling gently, but not seeming all that happy.

She looked up as Gendo moved his hand from her arm and slipped his arm around her waist. He appeared quite serious, obviously uncomfortable with the crowd and unwilling to show his happiness. At least some things never changed, and with a warm feeling settling in his stomach, Yui put her arm around Gendo as well.

"You holding up okay?" Chisa managed to get close enough to ask.

Looking at the people around her, the house she had grown up in and the memories there, Yui looked at Chisa and nodded. "I think... I'm going to be okay."