Epilogue: Till Death Do Us Part

Day ???: Till Death Do Us Part

"Are you sure you don't want to get married?" Ina asked Ryan over the phone. "I mean we're the last two."

"I'll pass," Ryan chuckled a bit. He and Ina had gotten closer since Calli proposed to Kiara, having something in common, despite how strange said thing was. "You headed there now?"

"Yeah, I'll see you there," Ina said, hanging up the phone. Ryan fixed his tie. He was happy he wasn't the best man this time because he felt like there was too much pressure on him. Kiara played around with the idea but decided against it. (AN: Ryan may or may not have had a say in that decision.)

"I'm glad to see you're alive," Ryan turned to see Suisei smiling at him. "You're a good man, Ryan Shade. I've figured that much out."

"How far we've gone," Ryan shrugged, smiling and shaking his head. "It's nice that I don't have to look over my shoulder every five minutes."

"That is a plus," Suisei giggled. "Honestly, I appreciate everything you've done for us."

"No," Ryan held his hands up. "You guys have done more for me than I can ever repay you for."

Suisei tilted her head, confused. "You really are an interesting one, Ryan Shade."

"I've heard," Ryan said. "Want to walk with me?"

"Why not?" Suisei smiled kindly as she hopped over to his side.

"Watch out, jackass. She's dangerous," Edhas said in his head. Ryan and Edhas started to pave the way towards a good partnership, but they weren't past petty name calling and arguing.

'I figured,' Ryan resisted the urge to chuckle to himself.

-

Ryan walked in, taking a seat next to Ina. Since Gura and Amelia were chosen as bridesmaids, Ryan wasn't able to meet up with them. "About time you show up," Ina threw Ryan a playful smile. "I was starting to get lonely."

"Whatever," Ryan grumbled. He noticed that Suisei wasn't anywhere to seen. He sighed. She probably went off to stalk someone. To Ryan's surprise, Suisei showed up with Miko to sing during the processional. Seriously, what's with his friends and getting idols to sing at their weddings? Ryan noticed neither of the brides were on the stage as well. The first pair to show up was Amelia and Gura, wearing yellow and blue dresses respectively, followed by Korone and Okayu, wearing brown and purple dresses, followed by Kanata and Coco, wearing white and orange dresses, then Botan and Lamy walked down, wearing gray and light blue dresses. It came to no surprise when Kiara picked Pekora as her bridesmaid, but he was a bit bewildered when he saw Rushia walk down next to her. Pekomama was the one to bring the flowers while Rushimama brought the rings. Suddenly, the song changed.

"It's called Shiny Smily Story," Kiara's voice rang in his head. He's heard the song once before when he heard Kiara sing the song while doing the dishes. "I love to sing this song. It makes me smile every time I do. No matter how bad things get, singing this song always makes me feel better."

Ryan forced his tears back. 'Damn, why am I getting emotional now?'

"It's okay to be emotional, dumbass. This is an emotional event," Edhas said.

'I rue the day when you give me emotional advice,' Ryan thought to himself, rolling his eyes. That's when it happened. Kiara and Calli walked down the aisle together, their dresses tinted purple and orange respectively. As they stepped up the aisle, they looked at each other, smiling.

This time, YAGOO stepped up as the officiant. "We have gathered here for a union between life and death today. The first to happen since the dawn of time. Today we get to see love that transcends blood and tradition. Today, we witness true love."

Honestly, Ryan spaced out throughout the readings. Pekora talked about all the fun times they had when they first met, Coco talked about how she teased Calli and Kiara for a few hundred years and how happy she is that they're finally tying the knot, and Gura talked about when Kiara and Calli were back when she as a "baby shark".

After the readings YAGOO turned to the couple. "Normally, I wouldn't ask this, but note that you two are immortal, making this contract much more impactful."

"I know," Kiara gave YAGOO a patient smile. "I'm willing to be with Calli until the end of time."

"Until death do us part," Calli smiled.

"Alright," YAGOO nodded. "Onwards to the vows."

"Calli," Kiara closed her eyes, bring her hands to the center of her chest. "I remember when I first met you millions of years ago. This is something that I rarely admit to myself, but I've loved you ever since I laid eyes on you. Just everything about you. The way you swung your scythe, the way you pouted and crossed your arms, the way you smiled. Ever since I met you, I tried to find every excuse I could to meet you. I remember it got to the point where Sensei would train me in the underworld so I wouldn't go running off every other day. Even when you scolded me and said mean things, I knew you cared for me. Over the centuries, I started to see the real you, and I only fell in love with you more. I don't think I've loved anything or anyone more. I know that however long I live, no matter what timeline or dimension I travel to or wherever I wind up, I will always find my way back to you."

"Kusotori," Calli said. "I know I was never good with feelings, but I am happy to finally express them now. When I saw you, I thought you as nothing but another one of those living beings. I never knew why Death-sensei made me interact with living beings, but after spending time with you, I finally learned. When I did, I hated it. I hated the way I felt and the way you made me feel. Only after hundreds of thousands of years did I realize that I was scared. I was scared that something would happen to you if you continued to hang with Death's Apprentice. I was scared that after a while, you'd get sick of me and leave. I was scared of getting attached. Now, I know that I don't have to be scared anymore. I know that we'll be together forever. Now I finally understand why Death-sensei wanted me to meet you. He wanted me to learn what it was like to love, and I am proud to say that I've learned."

With a hand gesture, Rushimama walked up with the rings. "With these rings, I wed you, Takanashi Kiara and Calliope Mori," YAGOO said, slipping a ring on each of their left ring fingers. "You may now kiss the bride."

Flashbacks of the first time Ryan caught Kiara and Calli snogging made themselves present as Kiara rushed up to her wife (AN: It's feels so good to finally write that), pulling her into a kiss.

"Man, your life was lowkey kinda fucked before you got your magic," Edhas said.

'As opposed to how normal my life is now?' Ryan thought back.

"Fair point," Edhas sighed.

-

"Congratulations on your marriage," Ryan said, walking up to the newlyweds. "It was only a matter of time, of course."

"Thanks~!" Kiara pulled Calli into a kiss, as if to flaunt her relationship.

"Guh! Do you have to do that every time someone congratulates us?" Calli asked.

"I can't help it~," Kiara winked at her wife. "I just want to express how much I love you~"

"I love you too, Kusotori," Calli rolled her eyes before pecking Kiara on the cheek. Who squealed with so much excitement, her hair caught fire.

"Does this happen often?" Ryan asked.

"Well, it started happening a lot yesterday," Calli replied.

"Heads up, you got someone watching you," Edhas said.

"Give me a second," Ryan turned around and saw a man looking at him, a sad smile on his face. His dirty blond hair was combed to the side to reveal his crimson eyes. The more Ryan looked into the man's eyes, the more he could see different emotions flashing through the man's eyes. Pride, Happiness, Sentimentality, Nostalgia, and was that Envy? The man gave Ryan a thumbs up before his body slowly crumbled to sand, tumbling away in a little cyclone.

'Who was that?' Ryan asked.

"I think I've seen him before," Edhas said. "The legendary sand bird was a huge help during the fight against the god of earth."

'Hold up,' Ryan almost held his hands up. 'Did you say god?'

"Told you my life was interesting," Edhas said.

'You never said that,' Ryan thought back.

"Bah, technicalities," Edhas said.

'Let me enjoy the damn wedding,' Ryan grumbled in his head before walking off.

-

"Did you enjoy yourself, dipshit?" Edhas asked. "You know, that Enma figure is a woman after my own heart."

'I know you did,' Ryan sighed. He was picking out people at the recession, fighting Ryan for control to fight them because "they seemed strong". 'And yes, you seem just about as muscle-headed as Enma-san.'

"Maybe you should hook up with her," Edhas suggested.

'I will fight you,' Ryan grumbled.

"Remember what happened last time?" Edhas shot back.

"Fair point," Ryan sighed. Suddenly, a black fire burst up in front of him, revealing a man looking down at Ryan. He was easily over six feet tall, towering over Ryan. His eyes burned with a crimson Ryan had only seen in the blood of his enemies. He wore a black cloak that was torn and tattered and carried a scythe that was rusted in multiple areas.

"Do you need something?" Ryan asked, more curious than aggressive. Calli taught him that not all strangers with scythes could be bad, so he might as well give the man the benefit of the doubt.

The man took a step, his gaze boring into Ryan. Ryan started to feel intimidated, even with Edhas and all the badass magic powers he gained in the past few days. The man put a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "You've done well," he said, his voice gruff but gentle. "Keep them safe."

Before Ryan could open his mouth, the man disappeared in a flash of black flames. "What the hell?"

"Heh, I never thought I would see the old coot again," Edhas chuckled.

'Who the hell was he? Why the fuck we he so scary?' Ryan asked.

"That's a story for another day," Edhas said.

'Whatever, wiseass.'

"Dipshit."

-

Ryan woke up the next morning, fully refreshed, which was something that hasn't happened in a long time. 'How'd you sleep, Edhas?' Ryan asked.

"I don't sleep," Edhas replied gruffly.

"What do you do then?" Ryan asked.

"I haunt your dreams and peek at women," Edhas quipped.

'You disgust me,' Ryan was going to shoot another insult, but the phone rang. Ryan smiled as he answered the phone.

"KIKKERIKIII~!!!" Kiara's voice exploded through the phone.

"Morning, Tenchou," Ryan said, his smile growing by the second.

"How do you deal with this every day?" Edhas asked.

'Shut up,' Ryan waved Edhas off.

"Did you really think that just because I got married yesterday you would get a day off?!" Kiara shouted.

"No, actually," Ryan said, holding his hand over his mouth. "I was rather excited to go to work today."

"Wait, really?" Kiara's voice dropped several notches.

"I know you, Tenchou," Ryan smiled. "I'll be there in five."

-

"Why does this walk have to be so long? You know can teleport, right?" Edhas complained.

'You know, I thought about that,' Ryan thought to himself as he stepped into the clearing, revealing the KFP in all its glory. Metal plates were still haphazardly slapped onto random parts of the joint from when Coco visited and the KFP sign was on fire (AN: Don't ask). 'But I get to see this every day.'

"Why would you want to see this horrid sight every day?" Edhas asked. "This shit looks terrible. Discount KFC, I'm telling you."

'It's not much,' Ryan said, opening the doors.

"Morning Ryan!" Kiara popped up from underneath the counter. "I heard you enjoyed coming to work! I guess that means more overtime for you!"

'But it's home.'

-The End-