Aishiteru Means I Love You

"You look ri-goddam-diculous!" yelled Dingo.

"Tomoko Hisakawa designated me as 'Pretty'." said Matrix. All three males of the former Redemption Squad were clearly uncomfortable in the wall to wall laces and ribbons dress shop. The one gender neutral member, Matrix, had put on a flouncy salmon and apricot bridesmaid dress.

"He looks like what he is." said Fang. "Like the T-1000 in a dress!"

"It is...unsuitable, perhaps." said Yama.

"Yeah." said Fang. "Maybe if ya had some tits to fill it out...." Suddenly, an impressive bust began to sprout on Matrix's chest. "Whoa. That is just disturbing."

"I have no gender." Matrix reminded them. "I could easily take either a male or female form. I could even be fully functional if required."

"Whoa, whoa! TMI, man! TMI!" said Fang.

"Still," said Dingo. "I think it'd be better for you to serve as a groomsman. Right, chaps, I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. What is it?"

"Your query is illogical, Dingo." said Matrix. "Without telepathic abilities, the answer would be impossible to calculate."

"Five." guessed Fang.

"Six." guessed Yama.

"It was seven." said Dingo. "Yama was closest, so he gets to be Best Man."

"What is 'Best Man'?" asked Yama.

"Oh, it's a great honor." said Dingo. "You stand next to me at the wedding. And you hold on to this until we need it." Dingo took a gold ring from his pocket and offered it to Yama.

Yama took the ring. "I will guard it with my life." he said as he pocketed it.

"Er, you really needn't go that far, mate." said Dingo. "It's just a tradition, is all. Used to be, some blokes would get a wife by going to a wedding and stealing a bride. Or maybe she had family who didn't approve. It was the Best Man's job to fight off any blighters what might try to kidnap the bride."

"I see." said Yama. "Then you have my word that no one shall steal Hunter from you as long as I'm alive to stop them."

Dingo had to laugh at the sternness of Yama's vow. "I think anyone who tries to kidnap Robyn is gonna have the Devil's own time."

"You think she'll wear a white holster to match her dress?" joked Fang.

"Anyways, Yama." said Dingo. "You won't have to fight. You're just an honored attendant. An assistant of sorts."

"Ah. Like a kaishakunin then." said Yama.

"Beg pardon?" Dingo was unfamiliar with the term.

"If a samurai can regain his lost honor through the seppuku ritual," said Yama. "He may choose someone to behead him. So that he does not suffer much."

"No, no!" Dingo said quickly. "No one is getting their head chopped off!"

"Well, if you ask me," said Fang. "Getting married ain't too different from suicide."

"No one asked you." said Dingo. "Bottom line, Yama, you just have to stand by me while I take my vows, give me the ring when I need it and...er...do you have a legal identity?"

"The existence of the gargoyles of Ishimura are a long kept secret." said Yama. "Not even the Japanese government is aware."

"Ah. So, that leaves out signing the certificate." said Dingo. "I'll get Hiroshi or someone to do that."

"You got another real important job, Yamster!" said Fang. "The bachelor party! You gotta make sure Dingo's last night as a free man is a good one!"

"Harry!" Robyn came out of the dressing room wearing the simple suit dress she had been wearing, but with a lacy white veil on her head. "Do you like this?" She held up two other bridal veils. "Or this one? Or this?"

"They all look fine." Dingo said with a shrug.

"Harry," she sighed. "I can only wear one of them to the wedding. Now, help me choose one."

"Anything you want is fine with me, love."

"This is the incident with the invitations all over again." Robyn sighed, removing the veil she was wearing.

"Yeah," said Fang. "And now everyone knows your middle name is Elvis!" Fang laughed and struck an Elvis pose. "Thank you, thank you very much!"

"How was I supposed to choose from all them bleedin' fonts?" said Dingo. "Sandweiss, Nuptial Bold, Old English...all the same to me."

"Harry, this the only wedding I'm going to have." said Robyn. "And I want it done right! You act like you'd be perfectly happy if we just had a barbecue or something."

"What's wrong with that?" asked Dingo.

"Face it, Robs." said Fang. "Men just don't give a shit about weddings. We don't care about frilly lacy things and flowers."

"I don't understand why she wants a white dress and flowers." said Yama. "White is the color of death and mourning."

"Well, most men don't care about this crap." said Fang. "With the possible exception of fags."

Quick as a wink, Yama had a katana point at Fang's throat, ignoring Robyn and Dingo's requests to "calm down". "Two of my sisters are mated as were two of my fathers." Yama growled, his eyes glowing. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No sir!" Fang quickly answered. Yama took the sword away. "So...Yama has two daddies?"

"I have 32 fathers and 30 mothers." Yama replied. "And I would defend their honor to the death!"

"OK, OK, you like honor, I get it." said Fang. "So...lesbian gargoyles, huh?" Fang grinned. "Which ones?"

"I should tell you so that you can bully and harass them?" Yama said with contempt.

"Nah, I like lesbians!" said Fang. "Lesbians are cool!"

"Harry," said Robyn. "Why is Matrix wearing a dress?"

"He was thinking of wearing it to the wedding." said Dingo.

"Well he can't." said Robyn. "That color is hideous. I thought we'd agreed on indigo and silver as the color scheme."

"Whatever." Dingo shrugged. "I told you, I don't care."

"You know what Dingo wants, Robs?" said Fang. "He wants you to come down the aisle in a nasty black teddy!" Fang strutted as he hummed the Bridal Chorus.

"I loathe Wagner." said Robyn. "We aren't playing that at our wedding. Harry, what music would you like at our wedding?"

"Anything you want, love...."

"Is fine with me." She said the rest with him. "Looks like I'm picking out bridesmaid dresses on my own."

"Talking of bridesmaids," said Yama. "Where is Sora?"

"She was trying on a dress last time I saw her." said Robyn, flipping through a catalog.

There was a tap at the glass door, though the windows had been drawn and the "closed" sign put up. The proprietor, a Japanese lady, cracked the door open. "We close." she said. "Come back tomorrow."

"I'm a reporter, ma'am." said an American man's voice. "My sources say the TV star Dingo is getting married here. Has he been here with his bride?"

"I not know any Dingo." she said. "Go way. We close." She started to shut the door only for the man to keep the door wedged open.

"This is the only bridal shop in town." the man said. "Don't try to obstruct the press, ma'am."

"Go way or I call police!" The door was shut more forcefully this time.

"Sorry bout that, Miss Hisakawa." said Dingo. "That blighter's been followin' me awhile, takin' pictures, askin' questions. Been tellin' him 'no comment' but he just won't take off."

"Is no problem." Miss Hisakawa said, locking the door. "We used to strange visitors trying to find secret of tengu. Secret of TV star getting married no different. You find dress you like, Robyn?"

"Narrowed it down to three." she said. "And I'm looking at bridesmaid gowns. I never liked the froofy, fluffy things bridesmaids usually wear." She smiled at a photo in the catalog. "But I like the kimono style! It's so simple, yet elegant."

"Hai, it is!" Miss Hisakawa agreed, striding to Robyn's side. "For wedding, bridesmaid should wear homongi with a fukuro obi tied in a nijudaiko knot."

"Maybe the groomsmen should wear kimono too." said Robyn. "Maybe something with hakama."

"I'm wearin' my tux, simple as that." said Dingo. "My shaman is flying in tomorrow from Australia with it."

"What the hell's an okama?" asked Fang.

"Hakama!" Yama corrected sharply. "They are trousers worn by men with the kimono."

"You want see picture?" Miss Hisakawa showed him a photo in the catalog.

"Oh no!" said Fang. "I ain't wearin' no skirt! Forget it!"

"It is not a skirt, it is trousers." said Yama. "They have seven pleats for the seven virtues of Bushido and are loose fitting so that the only alteration needed for a gargoyle is a hole for the tail."

Fang looked at the photo. "So...they're like culottes?"

Yama was about to come up with a scathing insult when he heard a voice that never failed to distract him. "I tried on that new dress you showed me, Tomoko-San." said Sora, coming from the dressing rooms. "Does it look good?" She wore a gown with a full, flared, ruffled, floor-length skirt of wine colored material. The top clenched in on her waist and bust. Her shoulders and a good amount of cleavage was bared and framed by frilly lace. Her arms were bared and she held a parasol. Her black hair was pinned up on top of her head, leaving her neck bared. Yama stared slack jawed. Fang wolf whistled and got smacked by Yama for it. "What sort of dress did you say it was, Tomoko-San?"

"Is called 'Southern Belle'."

"Do you like it, Yama?" Sora asked, turning about to model it. Yama gulped as his face flushed. "The design for the dress leaves plenty of room for my wings and tail, but I wonder if it's too revealing. What do you think, Yama?"

"I think..ah...I think...think....."

"I think he's thinking with his other head!" laughed Fang.

"You wear it well, Sora." said Robyn. "But, I'm thinking Kimono. What do you think, Harry?"

"Anything you want, dear, is fine with me."

"Oh, for God's sake, Harry! You are going to look at dresses with me!" She sat on the sofa with him and fairly thrust the catelog under his nose.

"Yo, Tomi!" said Fang. "You got a men's room? I need to go somewhere that doesn't look like Barbie exploded."

"Down hall, to left."

"I'll put this dress away for you, Tomoko-San." Sora walked back to the dressing rooms. She stopped at the doorway and caught Yama's eye by making a "come here" gesture. Yama followed her into the corridor lined with dressing rooms. Once in private, they spoke in Japanese.

"You were deliberately trying to arouse me!" he accused.

"Did it work?" she asked with a sly smile.

Yama took a deep breath. "I am in control of my body. My body does not control me."

"Lose control." she advised, pulling him into a dressing room with her. She embraced him and kissed him. "Yama, my dearest, I missed you so much!"

Yama stroked her hair. "No more than I missed you, my beloved." She pulled closer to him, her hands slipping under his garment. "Sora...we are not exactly in private."

"I don't care." She kissed him with passion. "I must have you now." One hand toyed with his hair as the other traced his pectorals.

"Sora, this room doesn't even have a door! Only a curtain." She slid the bodice of her dress lower to reveal her breasts. /As Fang would say,/ Yama thought. /Curtain Schmurtain!/ He grabbed her breasts, just the right size to fill his hands. She gave a small moan as he squeezed her breasts and kissed up and down her neck. "You must try to be quiet, Sora." he whispered, pulling her close and stroking her wing. Sora wrapped her arms tightly around him as he swallowed her moans in a kiss and flicked his thumbs over her nipples. She grasped him on each side of his tail and pulled him closer. He pulled up her skirt to find another one, this one white and satiny with yet another underneath. "How many skirts are you wearing?" he asked in exasperation.

"It's a hoop skirt." she explained. "With some petticoats. Here, I'll get it for you." She reached down and pulled her skirts up to reveal her bare sex to him. The sight and the sudden whiff of her musk made Yama's teeth chatter with lust. He quickly undid his obi and parted his garment to reveal himself to her, just before embracing her. He covered her mouth with his as he inserted himself She moaned into his mouth and grabbed him tightly as her skirts rustled between them. Yama leaned her against the cool, smooth mirror as he thrust against her.

They continued to moan into each others' mouths, hands caressing and grabbing. Tails thrashed until they found each other and intertwined. When Sora's tail flicked over the fin on Yama's tail, he was afraid he'd cum much sooner than he wanted. /I control my body. I control my body./ Yama mentally repeated like a mantra. He glimpsed himself in the mirror. /So that's what I look like when I'm having sex./ Sora gasped out his name. He pushed harder into her, trying to angle himself in a way that would give her most pleasure. When her talons dug into his back, her eyes started to glow red and her hips thrusted even harder against him, he knew she was nearly there.

Sora was gasping and panting, hooking one leg over Yama's hip. Yama braced himself against the cool glass behind her and thrusted faster, relishing the feel of hot, damp folds enveloping him. He was back. He was home. Rapturous joy Sang through his veins. Sora muffled her scream by biting Yama on the neck. Yama grunted as his essence squirted out of him and into her body. He whispered her name and hugged her close to me. "Never leave me again." she whispered to him.

"Never." he gasped. "Never again, Sora." He pressed himself close to her and stroked her hair as she stroked his. "I'm here. By your side. Forever. I love you, Sora."

"And I love you." She kissed his cheek. "It would not look good for us to be seen leaving together. I need to hang this dress back up for Tomoko-San anyway."

Yama nodded and gently slipped himself out of her, feeling a sudden chill as he disengaged from her. He refastened his obi and put his garment back in some semblance of order. Using the mirror, he arranged his hair in a way that would cover up the bite mark on his neck. Meanwhile, Sora removed the dress and underskirts and reached for her ordinary garment. With one last kiss, he walked out.

"Where the hell you been?" asked Fang.

"Ah, Sora needed help with her dress."

"Riiiiight...." Fang said with a smile.

"We are mated." Yama said flatly. "There is no dishonor in helping a mate disrobe."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Yamster."

Early the next morning, Robyn was awoken when her phone rang. "Hello?" she answered groggily.

"Am I speaking to Robyn?" a man's voice asked.

"Uh...think so."

"Think so?"

"It's six in the morning. I just got up."

"Sorry to wake you. I'm in New York where it's about eight at night. Should I call later?"

"Mmph, who is it?" Dingo asked, waking up in the futon next to her.

"Um...who is this?" Robyn asked.

"Oh, pardon me, we've never really spoken, have we? I'm David Xanatos. Your number was on the invitation you sent me."

Robyn forced herself awake. "Oh, right, right, the invitations. Are they coming?"

"I'll bring them on my private jet tomorrow evening, New York time."

"Robyn, who is it?" asked Dingo.

"It's David Xanatos. The gargoyles are coming!"

"Sweet." Dingo got out of the futon and started looking for clothes that didn't smell too bad. "I gotta go pick up Avery at the airport."

"Avery?"

"That's the Shaman's name." Dingo pulled on a tank top that read "From the Right The Dream Twinkle Little Star" and started looking for his shoes. "His name's Avery James."

"Oh." Made sense. The man had to have a name.

"Are you still there?" asked Xanatos.

"Oh. Yes." said Robyn.

"Do you have a web cam? We could have a live video feed."

"Yes, we do. What's the link?" She scribbled it down on her note pad that was already filled with notes, a guest list and a to-do list. "Thanks. Talk to you in a bit." She hung up.

"Well, tell Davey-Boy I said hi." Dingo kissed her cheek. "Gotta go to Tokyo and back." He left and Robyn went about dressing and putting her hair in some semblance of order.
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A/N: The Shaman needed a name, but he doesn't seem to have one. Since he voice was provided by James Avery, I just had his name be Avery James.
Dingo's tank top is borrowed from something I saw on Engrish.com.
http://www.engrish.com//wp-content/uploads/2010/03/from-the-right.jpg
Interestingly, the "Come here." gesture in Japan is like in the western world, only with the back of the hand facing up and all fingers are used. It looks much like a wave or a cat swatting at something. In fact, many stores in Japan will have a statuette of a cat waving in hopes of inviting a customer in.