The special day for the Miyuzaki's princess (or to be specific, their priestess princess) had finally arrived. Everyone who was invited was getting ready with what they were supposed to wear and of course, their gifts for the birthday celebrant. They didn't have any problem regarding their attire for that night since they were told that it wasn't really necessary to wear something too fancy. Though as much as possible, they have to wear sonething semi-formal. The invitations would be their passes to the hotel where the celebration was held since the security would be tight.
The celebration was held on a Saturday night. Of course, they wanted to look their best for their friend, and so they fixed themselves in a way that they would be comfortable and at the same time, presentable. The same goes for the gang. Surprisingly, Yumi managed to convince Hiei to attend the party but it only happened after one hell of an argument between the two. Kurama just devised an idea to make Hiei stay on guard outside the function hall since Yumi couldn't really make him enter the hall, though the three-eyed demon asked Yumi to give his gift to Riya.
As for the celebrant, she stayed at the hotel the day before the celebration with Ritsuko and Haruna. Riya even had a chance to play with her twin nieces Misako and Sachiko and her nephew Satoshi who also attend the celebration just to be with her. Mari, Yumi, Haruna, and Ritsuko helped her get ready. The gown she was going to wear for the night was something that the female Wielders had designed through their collaboration. It was a white and light blue layered, frilly-like gown with light blue translucent above-the elbow gloves. Her hair had two braids on the back of her head that held a small amount of her hair tied to a white rose barrette. Riya couldn't help but to smile at the sight of herself after she was done getting ready.
But at the same time, Riya couldn't help but to feel worried as to what Kurama might think about her outfit and looks. When the Wielders entered her room, they sensed those worried. Keiko approached her and placed both hands on Riya's shoulders as they looked at the mirror.
"I'm sure Kurama will love it, so you have nothing to worry about," Keiko said reassuringly.
Riya smiled before smiling. "I hope so."
The celebration started at 6 PM but the introduction to the celebrant was done at 6:30. All of the invited guest were there and everyone were having a good time, especially when the students of Class 2-C and Class 2-D got a chance to know most of the members of the Miyuzaki clan who attended. Kurama and his family were there early and they've been conversing with some of the guests there. But Shiori could see that Kurama was a little tense. And before she could even ask why, Yumi and Yukari approached him.
"Will it be okay if we take Shuichi-kun from here for a while, Shiori-san?" Yumi politely asked.
The said woman eyed the two girls with slight confusion that made Yukari approach her and whispered something to her ear.
"Shuichi-senpai is actually Riya-senpai's 17th dance," Yukari whispered.
It wasn't a secret to Shiori as to what was that meant since she had been to several 17th birthday celebrations of some female members of the clan. She smiled upon hearing that from Yukari and nodded.
"If it would make my son feel calm, then I wouldn't mind," Shiori said.
The two girls thanked her and pulled Shiori away from them. They ended up with the group of men on the northeast of the hall, among the group were Yusuke, Kuwabara, Soujiro and Noboru.
"Why am I here?" Kurama asked the moment the girls stopped dragging him.
Yumi faced him with a smile. "It's about time for the ceremonial 17 dances and in case you're forgetting, you're the 17th dance. The most important one, for that matter."
Kurama frowned a bit upon hearing that. But before could say something regarding that, the four boys approached him.
"Hey, Kurama. 'You ready?" Yusuke asked.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. I don't have any idea about how important the 17th dance is to Riya," Kurama said.
Yusuke and Soujiro exchanged glances to each other before facing him.
"Didn't Riya tell you about it?" Yusuke asked confusingly. Kurama shook his head.
"She just told me that it's a Miyuzaki family tradition for the female members of the clan turning 17. Until yesterday, she didn't tell me what that means."
Soujiro sighed before he spoke. "You're right. It's an important family tradition that has been around for centuries. But I guess it would be for the best if Riya-san explained it to you. Right, Yusuke-kun?"
The said boy nodded and just grinned. Yumi laughed at that while Kuwabara and Noboru eyed them strangely. Kurama chose not to say anything else with regards to that.
A few minutes more had passed before Riya appeared to the guests, marking the start of the traditional 17 Dances. All were amazed at the sight of the birthday celebrant's appearance that night and Kurama couldn't take his eyes off of her. Even Hiei who was watching the party from a tree outside was amazed, as well.
The 17 Dances started and most of those who had danced with the Miyuzaki miko hime (priestess princess) were family members. Yusuke danced third, Kuwabara was seventh, Soujiro was eleventh and Noboru danced with her fourteenth. Each of the guys who had danced with Riya gave her flower, each of which was differed from the other. For Yusuke, the flower he gave to Riya was the one that meant eloquence—-the white water lily. Beautiful was the meaning of the flower that Kuwabara gave to her—-cosmos. On her eleventh dance, Soujiro handed her the flower iris which symbolized faith, hope and promise. It also meant "your friendship means so much to me", in which the Water Wielder most likely thought about when he chose to give the iris to Riya. Loyalty—-the meaning of the flower nasturium that Noboru gave to Riya which symbolized his eternal servitude to her, not only out of repentance but also out of his own free will.
When it was Kurama's turn to dance with Riya, everyone had their eyes on them. Yumi was getting ready with her videocam while Yukari began playing the piano. Kurama approached Riya and looked at her lovingly and with admiration. He was greeted with a sweet gentle smile from the maiden and he then handed the flower he chose to give her.
Forget-me-not. A flower that meant true love and memories left unforgotten no matter how long it has been.
After that, Kurama laid his hand in front of her in which she took and both of them started to dance with Yukari's music. But while they were dancing, Kuwabara couldn't help not to ask about the 17 Dances tradition of the Miyuzaki clan.
Yusuke decided to answer him but he did it in a soft tone. The others from the gang who didn't know about the tradition decided to listen, only to have them left surprised. The 17th dance of a Miyuzaki princess actually meant of a chosen partner towards the future. In short, whoever was the princess' 17th dance was already the husband her heart had chosen to be with forever.
Meanwhile, the 17th dance of Riya with Kurama was done and then the guests started dancing while some began eating and having conversations. When it was time to blow the candles, Riya made a silent wish. A wish that had lived within her upon realizing her feelings for Kurama. She blew the candles with that wish engraved in her heart. Soon after, the guests began giving their gifts to her, though she decided to open them after the party.
"I'll give your present to you later. But would it be okay if I take you out of here for a while?" Kurama asked in a soft and slightly hopeful tone. Riya looked at him and smiled before nodding as she wondered what could it possibly be.
Kurama had a chance to pull Riya away from the crowd after several minutes more. To be exact, 10:35 PM. He led her to the rooftop garden of the hotel where the moon almost in full shape could be seen. Along with it were the stars that shimmer beautifully which gave her a surge of familiarity. This time, she chose not to ignore it. Now she knew why she was having those feelings for the whole three weeks, especially whenever she was with Kurama.
"What are we doing here, Shuichi-kun?" Riya asked after a short while of silence between them upon reaching that place.
"This is where I will give you my present," Kurama said that made her frown a bit.
"You could've given it to me a while back."
But Kurama just shook his head and looked at her seriously. "This is something I must give to you secretly." And then he took something from his pocket and gave it to her.
Riya took it from his hands and faced him confusingly before she looked at the gift intently. It was rectangular in shape wrapped in a blue gift wrapper and tied with a red ribbon. She sighed inwardly before pulling the ribbon's knot and started unwrapping the gift. But when she was finished doing so, she was surprised to see a silver rose inside that rectangular glass case.
Unconsciously, Riya dropped the gift wrapper and the ribbon to the floor as she stared at the silver rose in a daze. She brought it closer in front of her and looked at it intently.
"R-Riya?" Kurama hesitantly called out after a few more seconds of looking at the dazed Riya. He was beginning to get worried for her because of that.
Soon after, Riya inadvertently dropped the glass case to the floor as she clutched her head because of pain inside of it. The pain was too much for her to bear, causing her to collapse to her knees as she continued to clutch her head tight. Kurama rushed to her side because of that.
"Riya, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Kurama asked in a definitely worried tone.
But the answer he got was a muffled and pained moan as she continued to endure the hurt. A few seconds more, Riya tried to raise her head and faced Kurama who was getting worried before unconsciously uttering something that caused everything around Kurama to stop.
"K... Kurama...?"
After that, she fell safely to Kurama's arms unconscious.
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