Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its character belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 169: Speech Marriage
WEDDING DAY - 1 JUNE KONOHA YEAR 42
"Husband, please stop crying, today is your little sister's wedding day," said Mikoto softly, placing a hand on his arm.
Itsuki stood nearby, watching his father cry. For some reason, it reminded him of Uzumaki Amame, his youngest sister, who cried in the same way. The resemblance was so strong that Itsuki blinked and rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.
"Kushina is the only family I have left from before all of this," said Raiken, pressing the back of his hand against his eyes as tears still dripped down. "The thought of her marrying someone and starting her own life, I cannot help it."
Mikoto shook her head gently but stayed quiet. She understood better than anyone how close the two of them were. Kushina often visited their house for meals, and Raiken never complained. Mikoto could tell that these visits made him secretly happy.
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"Raiken sama," a voice called from across the hall at the podium. "It is time for the speech."
Raiken straightened up, quickly used a Henge to hide any sign of tears, and walked to the podium. As the leader of the Uzumaki clan and with his sister getting married today, he knew he had to look calm and strong.
He looked out at the guests, seeing tables filled with the Uzumaki Clan, the Uchiha Clan, and others. Minato stood near the front, looking like he still couldn't believe his luck. Beside him was Kushina, more beautiful than Raiken could describe, doing her best to hide that she was almost in tears too.
Raiken took a breath.
"Thank you all for coming today to celebrate my sister wedding," he began, his voice steady and carrying across the hall without effort. "There are many things I could say about Kushina. I could tell you she is loud, which most of you already know. I could tell you she is stubborn, which again, most of you have experienced firsthand. I could tell you that she once argued with me for forty minutes about the correct way to fold a towel and still insists to this day that she was right."
Soft laughter came from the audience.
"But what I actually want to talk about today is not love, because love is the easy part of some young adult with growing hormones. Love arrives on its own, and it does not ask permission. What I want to talk about is responsibility, because that is the part that does not arrive on its own. That is the part you have to choose every single day, even on the days when choosing it is difficult."
Everyone who had laughed before fell silent. They became serious, wanting to hear what he would say next.
"Marriage is not the moment you say yes to each other," continued Raiken. "Marriage is every ordinary morning that comes after that. It is choosing to show up for someone when they are not at their best, when the excitement of the beginning has settled down, and it becomes real. It is deciding, again and again, that this person beside you is worth your patience, your honesty, and your effort even when none of those things come easily."
Raiken looked straight at Minato.
"Minato, you have been my disciple for years, and I have watched you grow from a boy who could not confess his feelings without panicking into someone I am genuinely proud to call family. You are patient, you are kind, and you love my sister in a way that is visible to everyone around you, even when you are trying to be subtle about it, which for the record, you have never been particularly good at."
More laughter from the guests and Minato ears went slightly red.
"Take care of her," said Raiken, his voice dropping the humor slightly. "Not because she cannot take care of herself, because she absolutely can and she will be the first person to remind you of that. But because she deserves someone who chooses her every day without being asked, so be that person."
He turned to Kushina, and for a moment, the composed clan leader at the podium looked just like the older brother who had been her only family for so long, not the clan leader but just biological brother.
"Kushina," he said simply. "I am so proud of you. Not for today but for everything you have become. You are braver than you give yourself credit for and kinder than you let most people see, and I know without any doubt that you are going to build something wonderful."
He raised his glass.
"To Minato and Kushina," he said. "May you always choose each other."
The hall filled with applause. Near the front, Kushina pressed her fingers to her eyes for a moment, and Minato quietly took her other hand.
Itsuki sat at the family table next to his mother, watching his father step down from the podium. He quietly decided that what he saw today was something he would remember for a long time.
"You did a good job, Husband," Mikoto whispered as Raiken sat back down.
"Thank you," replied Raiken.
Even his grandfather-in-law, Uchiha Hikaku and Hatake Sakumo looked at him with smiles on their faces.
Raiken saw his sister start to cry, but this time he didn't go over to comfort her. Instead, Minato was the one by her side.
Even Maruku, her best friend, didn't try to comfort her. She was crying too, just from seeing her best friend cry.
Yes, these were tears of happiness.
Itsuki was still young and didn't understand why the adults were crying. He thought marriage was a happy thing, so he wondered why people cried during such a joyful moment.
[DING! 1000 Stars donated by Shipper]
[Message: Finally, they got married. Although some people hated this couple, I am not, I wanted them to be happy. Wuu wuuu wuuuu, I feel so sad]
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To be honest, started to feel this book have lost its spark. It didn't even have many patrons or someone who donated stones.
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Author Notes: There are 30 advanced chapters, and every support on my Patreon will help me write more chapters.
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