Bleeding Hurts

Wedding Crasher

Shinobu straightened Maria's tie with a tight smile.

"Is something on your mind?" Maria asked, as he let Shinobu fuss over every tiny detail about his appearance.

"Well, it's not much," Shinobu said slowly, "But I've been thinking. You know this marriage won't technically be, uh, legal, right?"

Maria laughed, "I am aware. But I highly doubt that anything I'll be doing in the foreseeable future will be requiring a 'legal marriage'. Trust me." He turned to look at himself in the mirror before giving his uncle a smile.

"As long as you're sure," he said.

"I'm sure," Maria nodded, "Are we ready?"

Shinobu looked him over one last time before giving him a long hug. "I think your father would have approved," he said, "I'll see you in a bit.

They parted ways, with Shinobu going off to get seated and Maria heading out to where he would soon be waiting for his husband-to-be. He found his hands shaking as he reached for his door and reminded himself to breathe.

This was it, the point of no return.

Oh but who was he kidding? The point of no return had been the moment he'd laid eyes on that red-headed vampire all those months ago. Despite his initial resistance and better judgment, he'd been Bloody's from the first second.

Maria drifted through the first part of the ceremony in an almost trance-like state. Every person in the small crowd brought back memories of the chaotic time he'd just endured.

His uncle Shinobu , Lily and her grandfather, Takumi. Along with a select few others and of course, Hasegawa who was unofficially officiating the wedding.

He nodded along absentmindedly to the butler's words but his mind kept drifting back to Bloody, who he hadn't seen since that morning.

When Bloody did finally step out, Maria forgot how to breathe.

For the first time since Maria had known him, Bloody was dressed up. His cat-eared hoodie had been traded for a form fitting black tux and the more traditional white tie was replaced with a red one as a symbol of his uniqueness.

In stark contrast to the rest of the day, Maria was suddenly acutely aware of every little detail. The pounding of his heart, the stagger of his breathing, as Bloody walked towards him.

Bloody stopped before him and raised his head shyly, a mixed expression on his face.

Maria took his hand and to his surprise, felt Bloody trembling. He assumed it was due to nerves and the amount of people present. "Mary," he whispered but before he could get another word out, a piercing scream broke through the serene atmosphere.

In an instant, Maria dropped Bloody's hands and whirled around, rosary already flashing.

The crash of breaking glass accompanied a spray of crystalline shards as wedding guests began to run in every direction. Panic broke out as it became clear what was happening.

Vampire attack.