In the years to come, Daiki Yamato wouldn’t really remember his wedding day.  It was too busy, too many things happening one after the other.  What he would retain were moments.

    The ceremony at the Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine, with Athena in her white kimono and Aquila, Kasumi, and the Blue Lotus girls standing to her side in their own.  His parents and Captain Infinite standing to his side.  He and Athena sipping the three nuptial cups of sake representing the past, present, and future, each one larger than the last.  Daiki’s father quietly explaining to Cap the meaning of each part of the ceremony.

    Changing from their kimonos into their tuxedos and making their way to the banquet hall, where Daiki’s entire extended family was waiting, along with his friends from school.  Speeches from Daiki’s parents, followed by Daiki rising and giving his own, thanking everybody for coming.

    Athena, dressed in the radiant white wedding gown Kasumi had designed for her, telling Kasumi and Aquila as the meal was served, “For our honeymoon we’re going on a tour of Japan.  We’re going to visit all of the Home Islands.  And then we’re going to finish off by climbing Mount Fuji.”  Yukari looking down at her plate as she overhears it, deep in thought.

    At the end of the high table where the Blue Lotus girls are seated, Yuri saying to Sayori, “We need to find out how Americans date.  Could you ask Cap for me?”

    Sayori leaning back with a smile and saying, “No.”

    Yuri staring at her in shock, and saying, “But, you said you would help me!”

    Sayori replying, “And I am.  If you really want to date Cap, you need to get used to talking to him.  So go and ask him yourself!”

    As they finish the main course, Daiki handing Natsuki an envelope filled with thousand yen notes.  Natsuki looking at the envelope and asking, “What’s this?”

    Daiki replying, “It’s the money you loaned me back at Blue Lotus Academy...with interest.”

    As the dessert course is served, Athena turning to Natsuki and saying, “Daiki and I have talked it over, and we want you to be an honourary aunt to our children.”

    Natsuki blinking in disbelief and replying, “Wait, really?”

    Athena giving Natsuki a kind smile and saying, “Did it ever occur to you that what you said all those months ago to my husband about not having him in your future was wrong?  We like you, ‘Detective’ Natsuki – we want you to be a part of our family.  So when you’re done travelling and figuring out who you are, come back to us and spend time with your new nieces and nephews.”

    As the dinner finishes and the dancing begins, Aquila standing up in her beautiful maid of honour dress, the fabric the same light blue as her hair, and saying to Kasumi, “Well, it took you five years, but you finally got me into a dress.  So, time for us to dance.”

    Kasumi stiffening and saying, “I’m not really a dancing person...”

    Aquila grinning and replying, “Today you are!”  Kasumi protesting as Aquila pulls her up by the hand and leads her to the dance floor.

    At the other side of the table, Yuri stepping up to Cap, taking a deep breath, and asking him if he would like to dance.  Cap giving her a smile and replying, “Who am I to turn down such a lovely lady?”

    As the two begin to dance, Yuri asking, “So, how do you Americans date, anyway?  Do you do love confessions?”

    Cap looking thoughtful for a moment and replying, “I suppose you might have a love confession after a while.  Mostly, dating where I come from starts with both people getting to know each other while doing things like going to dinner or the movie theatre.  I think these days it’s traditional to start with a cup of coffee.”

    Yuri saying, “That’s not how we do it at all.  We start with a love confession, and anything before that isn’t considered dating.”

    Cap raising an eyebrow and saying, “That sounds nerve-wracking.”

    Yuri nodding as they sway to the music and saying, “I suppose it does.”  And as they continue to talk on the dance floor, Cap’s smile, for a brief moment, reaching his eyes.

    At the end of the high table, Sayori seeing the expression on Yukari’s face and asking her what’s wrong.  Yukari replying, “I was just thinking about what we’re going to do when we leave here...visiting those new worlds and being a tourist...and it all seems a bit hollow.”

    Sayori leaning back and saying, “You know, ever since we left our story, you’ve been focused on all the things you don’t want to do.  But what about the things you do want to do?  What do you want to do?”

    Yukari thinking for a moment, and then saying, “I think...I think I want to colour my hair!  Dye it pink, or green, or – I know! – purple!”

    Sayori smiling and saying, “And what else?”

    “I want to have adventures,” Yukari stating.  “Not just sightseeing, but actual adventures!  I want to ride horses, or better yet dragons!  I want to climb a mountain, just like Daiki and Athena are going to do!  I want to race cars, or...or mechs!  I’ll bet there’s somewhere where you can race mechs!”

    Sayori nodding with a grin and saying, “Then I guess we’d better start by getting you some purple hair dye and find you some dragons.”

    At the centre of the head table, as Daiki and Athena come off the dance floor followed by Aquila and Kasumi, Daiki asking what Aquila and Kasumi are going to do next.

    Aquila replying, “We’re going home...the long way around.  These Blue Lotus girls deserve to see the multiverse.”

    Athena saying, “That sounds exciting!”

    Aquila saying, “Most fun we’ve had in years.  And what about you?  What’s after your honeymoon?  Children?”

    Athena patting her belly and saying, “We’ve already got a start on that.”

    But in later years, as Daiki and Athena watched their careers flourish and their children grow up, the moment that would stand out most in his mind about this day was part of his father’s speech.  “Today isn’t an end, or a new beginning,” his father had said.  “It’s a transition – a transition from one stage of life to the next.  A transition from being part of one family to becoming the head of your own, while never leaving the first.”

    The longer that he and Athena shared their lives, the more he realized how true his father’s words had been.  It was a transition.  It was the day that he realized that his adventures in the world he had been summoned to were truly over, and that he had brought the best part of them back with him.  It was the day he discovered that Cap, Aquila, and Kasumi hadn’t just become his family, but had been so ever since they had helped him get home to Athena.  It was the day he took Athena’s hand in his own and started walking together down a new path on the ongoing odyssey that was their lives.

    It was the day he got married.

NEXT: “Anime Club.”