Arriving at the venue, Ken was greeted by the lavish decorations within the hall. Up at the altar, there was a display of white flowers, offset by the red carpet that ran along the aisle.
Chairs with white covers on them were laid out either side of the aisle. Since Ken did not invite many people, there were only around 15 a side.
In fact, the display looked rather extravagant for how little amount of people there would be at the wedding. However, Ken had no regrets. He wanted the day to be perfect for his wife-to-be.
“Kenny, you look so handsome…”
Ken turned to see his mother and father close by. Tears were already streaming down Yuki’s cheeks, but Chris was ready with tissues already. The two made eye contact and his father sent him a wink.
Ken chuckled, moving forward to hug them both.
“Yuki, how about me? Do I look handsome too?” Steve asked, like a child who wasn’t getting enough attention.
Yuki laughed, “Yes, you look handsome too Steve.”
Daichi joined in too, greeting his parents with a smile.
Ken was very popular today, getting pulled from pillar to post with the guests. His old coach Seiji Hanada was present, still sporting his stubbly beard. He was dressed nicely, something Ken had never witnessed before.
“Coach, thank you for coming.” Ken said, bowing slightly.
“Nonsense, I wouldn’t miss my favorite players wedding.” Seiji replied with a grin.
“You said I was your favorite player…” A voice called out from behind the coach.
Ken’s eyes widened in surprise, “Yusuke! You made it man.” He exclaimed, moving forward and giving the guy a hug. He hadn’t seen his old teammate in many years.
“Hehe, it’s been a while Ken.” Yusuke replied with a smile.
“Oh, I should probably introduce you.” Seiji said, waving down a woman not far away. She had long black hair and wore an elegant green dress which matched her eyes.
“This is Kana, my wife.” Seiji added.
“Wife!?”
“You must be Ken,” The woman said with a smile, bowing slightly, “Yusuke has told me a lot about you.”
“Yusuke has?” Ken blinked a few times in confusion. However, now that he looked closely, the two shared similar features.
“Haha, yep. My mom and coach got married…” Yusuke said, shrugging. “Even though I’ve graduated and am playing professionally, Coach still doesn’t let me slack off.”
“Wow, congratulations.”
“Ken, we need to get everything set up.” He felt a tap on his shoulder, pulling him away.
Ken nodded before turning back to the coach, “I’ll chat to you guys a bit later.”
He then made his way to the altar to speak with the master of ceremony, a man in his 30’s. This guy would be the one announcing their marriage.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Yama.” Ken said, shaking the man’s hand. Since they had been off on holiday for the past 3 weeks, they had only been able to talk on the phone and video call.
Yama smiled, “Are you nervous?”
Ken shook his head, “Not as nervous as I expected.” He said sincerely. Though there was some butterflies, no part of him was worried.
“Good. So as we discussed, the bridal party will come out one by one and line up here to my right. Then your bride-to-be will be walked down the aisle and handed to you by her father. Once that happens, I’ll speak for a bit and then we’ll go through your vows.” He explained patiently.
The man was very professional and thorough.
‘Ah crap… Do I still have my Dauntless trait on?’ Ken thought.
He had remembered back when he’d proposed to Ai, Mika had disabled it so he could experience the moment in full. There was no way he’d want his most special day to be muted by such a thing.
Ken felt a little bad, but he used the time where Yama was speaking to open up the system and head to his traits. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to disable the trait without Mika, but it was worth a try.
[Are you sure you wish to disable the Dauntless trait?]
[Warning: User will lose the benefits of the Dauntless trait while inactive.]
[Y/N]
Ken breathed out a sigh of relief.
‘Good, I’ll quickly disable it for now then.’
[Dauntless trait has been disabled.]
Instantly, Ken felt himself seize from nervousness, causing his pupils to shrink to the size of pins. Butterflies felt as if they’d tear a hole in his stomach the way they were rampaging.
His breath hitched and he suddenly turned pale.
“Whoa, are you okay Ken?” Yama asked with concern.
“Y—Yeah, I’m fine.” Ken responded, but it was fooling no one.
‘Why am I so nervous? What’s happening?’
It was then that he felt a hand upon his shoulder. “Looks like you’re about to poop yourself my boy.”
Ken turned and saw a familiar face. “Grandpa?”
“The one and only.” He said with a grin, pulling him into a hug.
Ken felt the strong arms of Mark around him and felt his nerves ease a little. “I thought you were stuck at spring training? How did you manage to take time off?”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Mark replied, “How could I miss my own grandsons wedding?” He added, patting him on the back.
“Santiago couldn’t make it though, I’m afraid. Please forgive him.”
“It’s fine, I never expected him to since he’s still finding his place on the main team.” Ken said, waving it off. He was too surprised that his grandfather was here.
Suddenly, the music began to play, causing Ken to flinch.
‘It’s not starting yet is it!?’
“Sorry, we’re just testing the speakers.” Yama said, waving to Ken.
Ken let out a sigh of relief. He was jittery ever since disabling the Dauntless trait, but he would just have to get used to it.
‘Once it’s all over with, I’m sure I’ll be fine.’ He thought, or at least he hoped.