Big Book of Writing

Bride of the Deep (Utsukane, DRA)

I got inspired by seeing fanart of Utsuro and Akane in traditional Japanese wedding clothes, so why not make this? It's a good concept!

Warning: Spoilers for DRA chapter 6 and the ending, death

***

The warm wind blew through the sakura trees, and sunlight shone down onto a stone-paved path. It was a beautiful spring day, where the quiet harmony was waiting to be broken by excitement.

Yes, today was my wedding day.

My heart raced as I waited for my time to join the procession. My classmates, my friends and family that I had made at Hope's Peak Academy, were going to be attending the ceremony. As I fiddled with my shiromuku to make it fit better, I heard a knock on the door.

Without an invitation, the door suddenly burst open and my three friends entered the room. The flashes of yellow, purple, and black hurried into the room and surrounded me, and I smiled as I turned to look at them. "Guys! Aren't you supposed to be joining up with the other classmates?" I asked them.

"Aw, is it bad that we wanted to visit the bride before her big moment?" Kiyoka fake-whined, making me giggle. "In all seriousness, we just wanted to check up on you, girl!"

"Ugh, you're makeup's smudged. Hold still," Kizuna fussed with a grumpy expression, picking up the makeup and a brush. I closed my eyes and let her reapply my makeup. I still wasn't good at applying it myself, even if I liked how pretty it made me look.

"We're all proud of you, you know," I heard Ayame tell me. "You're the first one of us to get married, that's a big step. Things are going to get interesting from now on."

I giggled, ignoring Kizuna's scolding about me moving. "Thanks, Ayame! Really, I can't wait for the procession to start. It's soon, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, we were actually supposed to come and get you, but we figured that we should calm your nerves first," Kiyoka explained, and I restrained myself from sighing at how this was just like Kiyoka.

Kizuna was forced to take her brushes off he as Ayame helped me stand up. "Are you ready now, Akane?" she asked, brushing her hand over mine. I smiled and nodded, grateful that my best friend was always looking out for me. "Good. Let's go."

Flocked by my three friends, I headed outside the small room and was guided to where the rest of my group was supposed to be. The shrine masters and maidens waited with their instruments, umbrellas, and staffs, but their faces were eerily covered in white cloth. 

But waiting there was also the one I wanted to be with most, my dearest master. I looked back, and noticed that my three friends had disappeared without a trace. Deciding to not think about them, I hurried to where he waited. Once I had taken my place, the procession began to march on, playing ancient court music.

"Master Utsuro. I can't believe we're finally here together, after so long too..." I mused with a smile, looking straight ahead and walking with the procession. "Now we'll finally be together, forever..."

Utsuro said nothing at first, but finally asked me, "Why did you find me again, Akane Taira? You were better off as a normal maid instead of following a guy like me."

Why did I find him again? That question was easily answered with the flashes of memories I saw. He saved me, gave me something to live for. "Why wouldn't I find you again? You changed my life, Master Utsuro. For better or for worse, my days with you were still the happiest of my life," I answered.

As the procession marched on through a torii gate, the ground beneath our feet began to look like white wisps. It was as if we were walking on mist or floating sand underwater. Little by little, the environment was starting to change. But I couldn't stop marching with the procession, my limbs lacked strength under my shiromuku.

"...If there is a next life for you, then you'll need to live on your own from now on. At the end of our mission, I never intended to keep the promise we made," Utsuro sighed. "I originally wanted to have you as the sole survivor, but then you started defending those guys."

"What are you talking about, it's our wedding day! A time where a couple are joined as one!" I quickly spoke up, but lowered my voice just as fast. "'Together forever...' That was our promise. And I always intended to keep it. Your will is my will, your wishes are-"

"Have I ever had a say in your decisions? Despite you saying that you can't live without me, you chose to pave your own path. I won't be escaping my punishment. But as for you, Akane Taira..."

The procession passed through a second torii gate, and the world around us began to get darker. My body felt lighter than air, as if I were floating. "Master Utsuro... You needed to live. You need to atone for our sins." I sadly chuckled out, "I can't escape 'punishment' either, I know the state my body's in. But why am I at a wedding, I wonder?"

"Perhaps that's your blessing of Fortune, giving you a happy dream," Utsuro replied. "But you've already realized that, haven't you?"

Yes, there was no denying it. I saw a wedding procession around me, but I knew that my real body was somewhere at the bottom of the sea, losing strength, oxygen, and blood. No matter what he says, I will keep my promise to him in the end. Neither of us will be redeemed. But I felt like I was floating upwards, and I didn't know where his body was.

Finally, I spotted a third torii gate ahead of us. After it was a pitch-black darkness, one that I couldn't see though. "Once we pass through this, it'll all be over. But even so, I want..." Utsuro looked at me for a moment, but then looked forwards again. It was like he had something else to say to me. "There's nothing left but for me to continue."

I felt tears come to my eyes as I smiled and reached my hand towards his. As we touched, a warmth began to flow through my body, and I became lightheaded as I took his hand in mine. Utsuro never said a word or turned his head, and I held his hand a bit tighter as we marched through the torii.

"I wonder, will the seafloor become our wedding bed?" I asked, a small joke despite my growing fear. He never answered me, but he started holding my hand back. That's right, we would walk into the abyss together. I wasn't afraid as long as he was by my side.

The warmth of his hand was the last thing that I felt as the procession walked through the final torii gate.

***

Art credit: Q3Q___oO180 on twitter