Hello, everyone! I'm back yet again.

Well, it took me longer than I'd like too, over 2 months after my last update... a lot has happened in the world during that time, but here it is!

I present to you the penultimate chapter of The World Kanon Only Knows!

Which is exactly 8000 words long (not counting the author's notes of course). :P

I hope this chapter will bring a smile to your faces in those uncertain times.

Also, I have a rather important announcement, but you'll find that in the author's notes after the chapter, so be sure to read it.

Now, let's get into it!

(* * *)

Previously on The World Kanon Only Knows:

Kaori Yūzaki abruptly joins the party. The group doesn't seem very welcome but after a speech from Keima and Kanon's faith in him, Kaori is accepted into the group. Kanon uses the opportunity to talk with Kaori. Kanon figures out it was Kaori who arranged her kidnapping, s suspicion later confirmed by Keima, and thanks Kaori for helping her and Keima get together.

After that, Keima and Kanon leave the party for a bit and go on a date in town, including a part and a beach. Finally, they arrive at the rooftop of Mai-High building where they first met. There, Kanon reveals she has too little time to waste it waiting and proposes to Keima, based on a scenario she smuggled into the sequel of the game they've been working on, using his own game logic against him. Faced with such offensive, Keima agrees to marry Kanon.

Let's see how our engaged couple copes with telling everyone the good news, shall we?

Enjoy!

(* * *)

It was only a few hours, but it seemed like weeks have passed when Keima and Kanon returned to the Shiratori estate. The darkness has already fully settled, but the city was still bright, illuminated by various lamps and neon signs, sparkling like the surface of the sea on a sunny day.

The estate was not that different. Most of it was dark, especially due to the surrounding woods, but the garden party was still going on as indicated by the glow produced by lights that were carried in during the time Kanon and Keima were absent.

The two of them went to the estate by taxi and Kanon didn't let go of Keima's arm the entire time, as if fearing he'd disappear if she let go. Her heart felt warm and her mind was fuzzy. She remained like that as they walked, not a care in the world around her until they have arrived back at the party.

"What the?" she wondered. Keima didn't need to ask what she meant. Most of their friends looked in various states between tipsy and wasted. And there were people that should be here, but the couldn't see them.

"Oh, you're baack," Chihiro approached the two of them, a sake-filled glass in her hand, her voice in a little slur.

"What is happening here?" Keima asked.

"Wha' does it look like?" Chihiro pointed to the garden. "We're havin' a drinkin' party like adults!"

"Umm, is everything okay, though?" Kanon asked.

"You bet it is!" Chihiro said. "You missed the best part of the party," she paused for a moment and then grinned slyly. "Though, mebbe ya two had even more fun... if ya know what I mean..." Keima did know what she meant, but Chihiro added a few elbow nudges to be certain.

"Have some modesty, you normal menace!"

Chihiro only laughed. "Good luck insultin' me, Otamega! I have never had so much fun doin' normal stuff before!"

"Go home, Chihiro," Keima said. "You're drunk."

"Yes, I'm drunk, but I'm not goin' nowhere!" she said. "We should have a drink together!" Chihiro flung one arm around Keima's shoulder. The gamer could feel a dark aura coming from Kanon, who clung even closer to him. He half-expected her to shout 'get away from my fiancé!', but nothing like that happened.

"C'mon," Chihiro said as she pulled, dragging them in the direction of the tables.

"Keima!" Mari waved to them, her glasses were off and her hair was down. Next to her Yukie Marui was looking more tipsy and was talking with Haqua, Keima couldn't make out the words, but from Haqua's face, it was something embarrassing. Grandpa Shiratori was asleep. Sumire was looking at her own glass, no doubt wondering whether it was a good idea to mix alcohol with rāmen.

"Yeah, the party has become quite interesting after you two have left," someone said behind Keima and Kanon's back. They turned around to see Tsukiyo and Mio. Keima scrutinized both of them.

"Why are you looking at me like that!?" Mio barked.

"You're both underage..."

"And I'm sober," Mio responded, her arms crossed over her chest, "thank you very much."

"Well, I've got a drink or two," Tsukiyo admitted, her nose high in the air, "but my 20th birthday is just around the corner, so no harm done."

"Anyway, some people seem to have a higher resistance to alcohol," Mio continued, "Ayumi and Kusunoki are doing well, considering they had a few rounds."

"They have more body mass and athletic metabolism, I suppose," Tsukiyo said, but flinched when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"What wazz that part about body mass?" it was Ayumi, who started to toss daggers at Tsukiyo before noticing Keima and Kanon. "Hey, Keima's back. Let's have a drink! Cheers!" she said as she raised her glass.

"That's doing well?" Keima asked. "Then who's doing unwell?"

Tsukiyo and Mio looked at each other and then pointed to one table, where Rimyuel was sleeping.

"She has drunk as much as Eri, but it seems she can't hold her liquor, especially when she was dared to drink."

"And Eri? Where's she?" asked Keima.

"She's in the toilet," Tsukiyo explained, "but she's okay."

Keima looked around.

"And Nanaka?"

"She's in the toilet too," Mio said, "and a bit less than okay... should know when to stop accepting challenges."

Keima groaned.

"It gets even better."

"What do you mean?" Kanon asked. Did someone actually got hurt?

Mio and Tsukiyo looked at each other.

"Well, Yui apparently thought she's got the resistance of a guy," the moon-lover said, "well, turns out she doesn't."

"She's in the toilet too?"

"Well, she went for it, but didn't make it," Mio grinned again, "the last I saw of her, she was somewhere in there," the blonde pointed to some bushes behind her.

Keima face-palmed.

"And Minami?" he asked. "Please don't tell me she's hurling somewhere in the bushes too..."

"Oh no, she left some time ago," Tsukiyo said.

"Umm... not sure I want to ask," Kanon hesitated, "but what did you mean by daring and challenges before?"

"There you are!" Ayumi jumped away when two different hands landed on Keima's shoulders. The gamer turned around, already knowing what he would see. And just as he thought, Hinoki and Kaori were standing there, both with identical foxy grins on their faces.

"Hello there, Keima-kuun," Hinoki sing-songed, "care for a little drink with us?"

"I'd rather not," Keima said, sweat-dropping.

"How rude!" Hinoki faked offense. "There's no use avoiding it though. I won't leave this party until I get you drunk!"

Before Keima could say anything, Kaori put a glass in his hands. "You promised you'd play a game with me anytime, right?" she said slyly. "Well, drinking game it is!"

"I cannot understand why didn't you introduce Kaori-saaan to us sooner," Hinoki said as she threw her arm around the other woman. "She's really a good company."

"Mostly when you need an accomplice in crime," Mio chipped in.

"Crime? How rude" Kaori snorted. "I was just helping everyone get relaxed!"

"And loose-tongue," Tsukiyo noticed.

On the one hand, Keima was happy that Kaori seemed to, more or less, blend in, but on the other hand...

"Crime you say," Keima spoke and his eyes meet Kaori's. Unlike 13 years ago, when her eyes would remain cold even when she smiled, her eyes were now betraying mischief even when her lips held nothing but a small smile. Keima didn't have to ask anything more, what he could see and what Tsukiyo and Mio told him was enough, except...

"It's hard to believe Jun and Dokurō would allow it..."

"Oh yes, the teachers were a bit of a problem, so the three of us had to get them drunk first..."

"Three of you?" Kanon asked.

"Oh yesss, Nora wass with 'em," Ayumi explained.

"Was? Where is sh-"

"Toilet," said Mio, grinning.

"You should actually thank me," Kaori shrugged, "now everyone will know how they behave when they're drunk."

"Tell that to Tenri," Tsukiyo said.

"Yeah, she has it the worst," Mio nodded.

"What!?" Keima asked. He was certain if there was anyone Kaori was going to ignore in her quest to get everyone drunk, then it was Tenri. "What did you do to her!?"

"Me? Nothing," Kaori said before she pointed to the side with her head. "It's one of your pals who is the problem."

Keima and Kanon turned in the indicated direction only to see Tenri, looking sober enough, but next to her was Ryō Asama, who clearly was trying to court her.

"We have a bet going," Mio said, "whether Nora's going to kill him afterwards or not."

"Okay enough talking," said Hinoki, pulling on Keima's shoulder, "let's find out how the God of Conquest drunk mode looks like!"

"Okaay," Keima said, turning to Kanon. "Help!"

To his surprise, Kanon giggled.

"Actually," she said, "I think I should find out what my... boyfriend is like when drunk for... future reference," she winked at Keima.

"Nooo!" Keima cried out, but Hinoki and Kaori were leading him to one of the tables.

"I should go back to Shiori before she talks everyone's ears off," Tsukiyo said, "her mouth just doesn't shut when she's drunk.

With this, the blonde walked away, just as Sumire appeared and walked up to Kanon.

"Is there something I don't know?" the dark-haired woman asked looking at the gamer being dragged away.

"You've no idea," Kanon said and the cook looked at her in puzzlement, but the idol only giggled again.

Guess telling everyone about their engagement would have to wait till everyone was sober.

(* * *)

The party ended up being quite a fun experience, especially when Kanon got to observe Keima's antics when he was drunk. The best part, however, was when Kaori got the taste of her own medicine when others got her drunk in revenge. It was entertaining till the end, but the day after that most of the guests were in no shape to do anything.

Yui was drinking glass after glass of water. Nanaka, quite opposite, refused to drink anything for several hours after she woke up as if pure water was going to get her drunk again. Ayumi refused to believe what she had done when she watched the video Chihiro recorded with her phone. Jun was fighting a headache and Shiori slept for an entire day.

Thus it was only two days after the party when Keima and Kanon were sitting in the living room of the Katsuragi household, a cup of coffee in front of each of them.

"So what is it about?" the Katsuragi matriarch asked.

"Um, you see," Kanon started. She was the one who proposed, so she should be the one to speak, "me and Keima, kinda left the party for a few hours and..." she faltered, Mari's gaze making her nervous.

"..and something happened," Keima continued for her, clasping his hand with the idol's.

"Yes!" Kanon continued, founding her courage again. "B-but you mustn't tell anyone else, at least for now!"

Mari blinked once, then twice, then looked from Keima to Kanon, then from Kanon to Keima. And then out of a sudden, a dark aura started to ooze from her and before Kanon could react Mari was literally at Keima's throat yelling things like 'How could you do that to Kanon?!' and "I told you to use protection!'

"It's... not... like... that..." Keima struggled out as Mari shook him before Kanon could pull her off him.

"Stop! Keima-kun didn't do anything wrong!" the idol said. "It was me who proposed!"

It was quiet after that and everyone was unmoving, with the exception of Keima who pulled away from Mari's clutches and gasped for breath. Several seconds passed with Keima looking at Mari in anger, Mari looked at Kanon in shock and Kanon looked at her lap in embarrassment.

"Y-you mean that Keima pro," Mari paused to take a breath, "proposed to you?"

"No, she was the one who proposed," Keima said, "but yes, she proposed, I agreed to marry her and we're engaged."

Mari slowly turned to him. "My son," she said, "is engaged to Kanon Nakagawa?"

Keima and Kanon nodded and then slowly Mari's eyes lost their focus before she fell down backwards and landed on the floor, unconscious.

(* * *)

Mari's reaction was somewhat expected, but after her, it was time to tell Eri. Kanon and Keima had debated before whether they should tell the younger twin the news and when to do it. After a long discussion, they decided that they should tell Eri, but only after she promised she would tell absolutely no-one.

Kanon felt bad for Eri when she watched Keima make the girl vow and swear and promise over and over again. Finally, when the gamer was convinced Eri meant it and wouldn't babble it out on accident, he delivered the news.

Kanon expected Eri to be happy, but then again, back when Keima kissed Tenri, her happiness resulted in her passing out on the spot. Something similar happened with Eri. First, she seemed to not understand what she was being told... only to pass out a moment later. Unlike Mari or Tenri though, Eri didn't wake up quickly afterwards. They had to move her to her bed and even when she woke up, she was in a deep shock. It was only later when her mind fully caught up with the news, at which point her happiness at the thought of Kanon-chan being her sister-in-law seemed all but corporeal.

It wasn't the last of Kanon and Keima's worries though. Keima's parents repeatedly asked them if they were sure and were not rushing things (Kanon had to bite her tongue before pointing out how young Mari was when she married Keiichi), but after everything was explained, they didn't have any particular objections, especially considering Keima was 20 already.

However, Kanon's parents weren't so understanding.

Kanon's mother was not very supportive, but it was nothing compared to the idol's father. Keima said his piece, using the best logic, tone of voice and tricks he could muster. After this peaceful approach, Keima sat down and stayed away from the battle that ensued. He had always thought if there was anyone who Kanon picked up her yandere side then it was her mother (or Okada), but he had to rectify that statement now: if Kanon's volatile side had its source then it was her father.

"Absolutely not!" Mr. Nakagawa shouted. "How many times do I have to say this?!"

"Don't say it at all!" Kanon shouted back, her hands on the table. "This wedding will happen!"

"Not if I have something to say about it!"

"You're being unreasonable!"

"Me!? It's you who's unreasonable here! You're too young!"

"You said the same thing when I wanted to become an idol! And I'm not a stupid kid anymore!"

"I didn't believe that idol thing would last a month and it's completely different from marrying someone! You need to wait-"

"For what? Keima-kun is the one for me. What should I wait for? Till my youth goes away!? And don't talk to me about being too young, I've been living alone for a long time now! I had an equivalent of a job when my peers were still in middle school!"

The first battle ended without victory. Keima had to admit, the last time he had seen Kanon so angry and determined at the same time was back when she had confronted him after her birthday party. He decided it was best to leave for now, so he followed Kanon back to her apartment and let her vent her anger.

The second battle was largely similar, with both parties seemingly entrenching themselves. Kanon's father obviously wanted to turn it into a war of attrition. Keima wasn't exactly sure why Kanon was so stubborn about this. He thought that, realistically speaking, organizing the wedding would take a long time, thus it would have to either happen in winter (a notion he didn't exactly approve of) or during the spring when Kanon would turn twenty anyway. He thought that was her father's point in general.

Kanon was relentless though.

She seemingly backed down, but it was just a front. In reality, Kanon regrouped her forces and gathered more allies in the form of Kema, Mari and Apollo, where the first played the good cop, the second the bad cop and Apollo was there to just simply repeat "please agree" over and over to weaken the other party.

When Kanon's father thought nothing worse could happen, Kanon revealed her final weapon. Final boss. You see, there was a reason why, despite the obvious dangers to secrecy, Kanon decided to let Eri know about the engagement so early.

True to her nature as a weapon of mass destruction, the sight of Eri's innocent begging face was something even Mr. Nakagawa could stand unaffected. He couldn't just bring himself to yell at the girl.

Thus, a cease-fire was announced and peace negotiations started.

Kanon had to agree to continue studying and go to university. In turn, Kanon chose Narusawa for this. Her father wasn't thrilled she chose a local university, buy Kanon argued this would lessen the burden studying would have on her job as it was close and Keima would be able to help her handle some stuff and administrative issues. And after she graduated, she could attend another university in a decade or so.

Kanon also had to promise she'd move in with Keima's family, so the newlyweds wouldn't be left without supervision.

Finally, two weeks after Kanon had first broached the subject, her father had reluctantly yielded.

Kanon sighed a sigh of relief. But it was a brief one. After all, she and Keima had another long battle ahead of them.

The battle of making this wedding actually happen.

(* * *)

"Good day, everyone on this surprisingly hot September day. I hope you're all doing well," a male voice said. "My name is Itō Tetsuya and I'd like to welcome all of our listeners to our RadioIdol audition. Today my guest is Uiharu Sakura-chan, the winner of this year's Newcomer Idol Award. Nice to meet you in person, Sakura-chan."

"The pleasure is all mine," a young female voice responded.

"We've met today to mainly talk about your upcoming album and your career in general," the male voice continued, "but I'd like us to start with something else. Let's go down memory lane on a small nostalgia trip. It was a few years ago, but seems like yesterday when I had the pleasure of hosting another winner of the newcomer award: Kanon Nakagawa-chan."

"You try to give me too much credit Itō-san," the female voice said with some embarrassment, "I'm just a beginner. If I was in Kanon-chan shoes, all those years ago, I wouldn't be able to achieve what I had."

"That might be true," the host said, "but times are different now. There is a whole lot of beginner idols, some modern, but a lot of traditional ones too. Various-colored hair ribbons are definitely in fashion. Kanon-chan managed to do an actual ribbon revolution."

"Naturally," the guest agreed, "but not only that, Kanon-chan managed to show us that idols are still humans, being able to have a boyfriend and all."

"That's definitely something new for the industry," the host said, "moreover, this year it was Kanon-chan who presented the winner of the Newcomer Award. How was it to receive the award from Kanon-chan herself?"

"It was surreal," the guest said, "you see, I never saw Kanon-chan in person before, so it was like a dream come true."

"Did you feel that Kanon was still a strong contender in the idol world?" the host asked.

The guest was quiet for a moment before asking back. "Is this about rumors about Kanon-chan ending her career? It's just a story cooked up by some tabloid."

"You sound really sure about that."

"It's true many of us dream of becoming Kanon-chan's successor, but her reign is not over yet."

"So you think the Newcomer Award ceremony was not her passing the baton down to you?" the host asked.

"Of course not," the guest responded, "it's far too early for any of us to take up her mantle."

"So you don't think her absence for the past two weeks and her sudden vacations are signs of her fading away?"

"No, it may look like that when you see it from a business perspective, but we, the idols, don't see it like this," the guest responded, "Kanon-chan had worked really hard for a long time and a little vacation was in order. She's only human, after all. That much is obvious."

"Well, it was what Kanon-chan officially announced," the host had to admit.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure she's relaxing on some beach right now, not a care in the world..."

(* * *)

"Nervous?" Keima heard someone speak and turned to see Chihiro looking at him.

"Not really," he answered with a perfect poker face, but he wasn't sure if it was enough to fool the normal girl.

"Well, that's kinda bad, right? You're supposed to be nervous... then again," she turned a bit, "your sister is nervous for the two of you."

She pointed at Eri who was looking as if she was about to pass out at any moment.

"Think she's okay? Or perhaps," Chihiro continued as she grinned, "I should take over as a maid of honor?"

"Eri'll be fine," Keima said, "if there's anyone she tries her damn best for then it's Kanon and me, I'm more worried about the best man."

"Can't blame ya," Chihiro looked at Ryō Asama, "that was the worst choice to make."

"That was our only choice to make," Keima said.

"Not having more male friends bit you in the ass, huh?"

"You know it's not like that," Keima fiddled with the sleeves of his tuxedo, "I could have asked one of my cousins, but the guest list was very restrictive.

"Well, you can blame the bride for that."

Keima didn't say anything, but he had to agree.

After all, while he helped to make it all happen, the date of the wedding, the setting, as well as most of the details, have been decided by Kanon.

He looked behind him. At the blue lake, its surface clear, not disturbed by even the tiniest breeze.

He looked at the altar, sitting on a small cape, decorated with white, pink and yellow ribbons and flowers.

He looked at the garden filled with freshly trimmed grass. In the middle, before the altar, there were several rows of chairs occupied by guests. On the grass, on one side, tables were placed, holding food and plates. On the other side, there was some cloth, covering what Keima presumed was more tables and chairs.

Finally, he looked at the sky. Despite it being September, the sun was quite strong and aside from a cloud or two, the sky was just a sea of blue.

Truth be told, Keima wasn't 100% sure why Kanon was so insistent on having the wedding happen so fast, but he understood that once she decided on that, and got his approval, she'd stop at nothing to have it happen. It was curious how she was a loving selfless girl in general but could be really greedy and selfish with some things, him included.

Keima chuckled as the cloudless sky reminded him of something. Today's weather was no accident. After all, Kanon's goddess was dealing with divinations, so the idol made sure to book the venue on the day when the goddess foresaw the best weather conditions...

...and after that Kanon literally begged the other goddesses to use their powers to make that outcome even more likely.

And, as surprising as it was, bending the laws of nature with magic was not the hardest part of this.

The hardest part was keeping this a secret from the press.

It was difficult to imagine a national idol like Kanon getting married in secret, but it wasn't unprecedented. And Keima clearly understood Kanon's reasons for such a decision. She had enough glamour and noise in her world already. She didn't want the flashes and paparazzi to interrupt the most important day of her life. Thus, instead of a big country-wide wedding ceremony, Kanon had decided for something much, much calmer.

A quiet place like this with no more than 40 guests. A place where she could live the happiest day of her life to the fullest with her friends...

...and Keima was hell-bent on making sure that this day, however good, won't be the best of her life.

That's why he tried his best to help organize this, which wasn't easy considering they wanted to keep the press and national media deaf about this. People liked to gossip, so Keima had to employ an entire array of tricks, from Kanon using disguises during some conversations with the owners of this place to magical help or regular bribing.

Unfortunately, the same secrecy also meant that the bigger the wedding, the less likely it would remain discreet. Thus, they had to limit the number of guests. That's why there were little guests from Keima's or Kanon's family. The rest of the chairs was occupied by Keima's former conquest targets. Somehow, for the past few years, without him noticing, they've become sort of like family to him.

Ayumi and Chihiro, who were like older teasing siblings. Shiori and Minami, who were like younger sisters Keima felt the need to protect. Tenri, who seemed to rely on him, but turned out to be like a motherly older sister, offering him psychological support during their "talks" and "reports". He seriously felt as if he had been a kid with a large number of siblings (mostly older sisters). The same went for Yui (even if Keima and Kanon decided to tell her last and made sure to have her watched during the wedding, just in case she planned to kidnap the groom or something).

Even Nora, as difficult as she was, seemed like a distant cousin now, one that annoyed you when she visited but was still a family nonetheless.

He watched them, sitting in their chairs and even if they had different personalities or hair colors, they had the same excited look on their faces. Well, two of the chairs were empty, but he knew where the missing girls were. One was probably sitting on the rooftop of the nearby building, invisible to normal people, while the other was leaning against one of the house pillars, staying mostly in the shadow.

A gasp from Eri brought Keima out of his musings. He looked where his sister, and everyone else for that matter, were looking and suddenly the other thoughts flew away from his mind just as he recognized the starting tunes of "Here comes the bride".

Walking slowly along a cobblestone aisle paved between the chairs and leading right to the altar, escorted by her father and showered by a gentle rain of pink sakura petals flying past her, there was the bride herself.

She was dressed in a wedding dress, mostly white, but also with a hint of pink and adorned with several well-placed ribbons. Around her shoulders, there were translucent wings that, Keima knew, were a reference to Apollo's wings. Finally, on Kanon's head, there was a garland of flowers, placed atop the veil. What's more, Kanon was looking straight at him and even from that distance Keima could clearly look past her eyes and see the desire that was burning in her soul.

The desire to make him her own.

It was a very hot day indeed if the sudden perspiration on Keima's face and warmth under his collar was anything to go by.

Finally, the bride reached the altar and Mr. Nakagawa tossed one last glance at his soon-to-be son-in-law and he let go of his daughter and at that exact moment, Keima's hand grabbed Kanon's. She smiled at him. Keima smiled back. Both of them were good actors, able to keep their poker face up, thus Keima didn't know if she was as nervous as he was.

"Dearly beloved," the priest started, catching everyone's attention and silencing the whispers, "we are gathered here today in order to join these two young souls in holy matrimony and witness their union..."

As Kanon listened to the words of the priest, she wondered how was it possible that one could be so happy and so nervous at the same time. No matter how ridiculous it sounded, just standing still, being watched by a few dozens somehow made her more self-aware and nervous than giving a concert to tens of thousands of people in the dome (and God only knows how many in front of their TVs).

"If anyone of the present here knows why the bride and groom should not be joined in holy matrimony," the priest spoke, "then let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Kanon flinched slightly, unreasonable worry that someone or something, her mind jumping to Yui, would try to interrupt the wedding, but no, no-one spoke. Kanon was suddenly even more glad that none of her male fans were here. She wasn't looking forward to their reactions once this thing will go public... in a distant future, preferably.

She had no time to think about it anymore, as it was time for the vows.

"I, Katsuragi Keima," Keima spoke, following after the priest, "take you, Nakagawa Kanon, to be my lawfully wedded wife," Kanon couldn't help but shiver at that part, "to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

Kanon blushed noticeably, now literally pink from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, before she proceeded to say her own vow.

"I, Nakagawa Kanon," she started, fully realizing this was her most important live performance. But she managed to hold her cool and swallow the nervousness. If Keima could do this so calmly, then she, who proposed in the first place, should be able to do this as well. She was a singer, after all. She'd be damned if she let others hear her voice waver, "take you, Katsuragi Keima, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest said with solemnity, "you may kiss the bride."

Keima hadn't been able to fulfill that particular action to the letter, because as soon as he turned to the bride, she flung her arms over his neck and kissed him deeply. Keima immediately kissed back, pulling Kanon closer to him and wrapping his hands snugly around her waist, his senses tuning out everything else that wasn't Kanon.

Thus he didn't hear the thunderous applause the erupted from the audience.

(* * *)

"Nii-sama! Kanon-chan! Kanon-nee-sama!" Eri was crying. She had passed out when the ceremony was completed and had to be revived, but was now back to her senses, tears of happiness streaming down her face, as the newlyweds were walking back from the altar.

"Congratulations, Keima-kun, Kanon-chan!"

"My son's really married!"

"Take good care of your new wife, will ya?"

"You did it!"

"You're responsible for this dork now, Kanon-chan, so be sure to keep him in order!"

"Waaa! That was so beautiful, senpai!"

A plethora of faces and voices assaulted the newlyweds as they walked. Many people were talking at once, but both Keima and Kanon were used to multi-tasking, whether in games or on the stage. Keima seemed to be partially in a daze, though he was sincerely smiling and those close to him knew it spoke volumes of how happy he was at the moment.

With Kanon even total strangers would realize she was happy: her entire form was radiating happiness, her movements were energetic as if she was on a concert stage and singing to her heart's content. The way she laughed and smiled and talked, it was beyond what her business smiles and responses could ever produce.

People were looking at Keima and Kanon with smiles and amazement as the newlyweds passed them by. Keima looked at the rooftop and sure enough, he briefly saw Rimyuel dispel her invisibility and give him a look. Keima knew that even if she wasn't invited, the scientist devil wouldn't miss an opportunity to study human wedding customs. He was amused when he noticed the confusion in her eyes. She probably couldn't fully grasp what an event like a wedding entitled... well, he could explain it to her afterwards. Nonetheless, Rimyuel bowed her head a little, paying her respects, before she disappeared again.

Keima looked down and spotted Kaori still leaning against a pillar. He could swear she was wearing a satisfied smirk when his gaze fell on her, but when she realized he was looking, the smirk disappeared and she seemed to huff as if saying "whatever, I don't care". Keima shook his head slightly and continued to walk, his wife's hand firmly in his as Kanon Katsuragi walked with him, staying as close to him as possible.

After a short while, the newlyweds cut the wedding cake together, adorned with small figurines of Keima and Kanon. The figurines were made with astonishing detail, one of the guests noticed. In response to that remark, Haqua straightened herself and puffed out her chest in pride..

"Okay, let's all get some grub!" Nanaka shouted as soon as the wedding cake was sampled.

"I second that!" Sumire added. "It's food time!"

"And party time!" Chihiro added.

"Yeah, bring the booze!" Hinoki threw in her own two cents.

The latter two girls grinned, very similar smiles plastered on their faces, until a hand landed on each of their shoulders and Urara leaned in from behind.

"I'd like to kindly remind the two of you," the Shiratori heiress started with a way-too-sweet voice and her eyes closed, "that this wedding is a quiet-classy-banquet kind of party... and not the drink-until-you-land-under-the-table kind of party you did at my place!"

Chihiro and Hinoki sweatdropped.

"What do you expect us to do then?"

"Eat!" Urara said, ignoring the fact that the less she ate tonight, the better for her figure, "Talk! Dance!"

"With who?" Chihiro asked back. "There's only Keima, his father, Kanon's father, that idiot blondie, your grandfather and like 2 more guys here! That's seven men for like... over two dozen women!"

"So?" Urara asked.

"So it's 1 guy per 3 or 4 women," Chihiro said, "and it's all because otamega forbade us from bringing our boyfriends due to this secrecy thing!"

"You can always ask Yui to dance with you," Urara suggested, "besides... you don't have a boyfriend right now," she pointed out.

"I'm not talking to you," Chihiro walked away, feigning the utmost offense, while everyone around her laughed.

(* * *)

It was difficult to separate Kanon from her freshly-wed husband, but the time for dancing came and after their first dance (which Kanon enjoyed very very much), Kanon let Keima dance with her mother, while the bride danced with Keima's father. The dance floor was not very big but was entirely sufficient for the few dancing pairs. Of course, given that the male-to-female ratio was like 1-to-4, Keima had little time to rest.

The party continued with small groups of people chatting, eating, drinking (Kanon was sure she saw some alcohol besides the one she sanctioned) and teasing the newlyweds at every opportunity. It wasn't very intense, though each group was fairly lively, when suddenly...

"Can I have your attention please?" a voice boomed much louder than anyone expected. Keima stopped his dance with Jun Nagase and turned with everyone else.

The mysterious cloth was removed, revealing that it wasn't hiding tables... but a stage and music equipment. On the stage, there were all 5 members of the former 2-B pencils, but Chihiro didn't have the mic. Instead, it was Kanon who stepped forward and was now speaking.

"I hope you've been enjoying the party as much as I have," the idol bride said, looking over everyone present, "because all of you gathered here are very precious to me."

There was a collective cheer.

"However," Kanon spoke again, silencing everyone, "that many of you have never seen me perform live on stage... thus I've decided to hold a small concert here, to commemorate this day with all of you here. This is for all of you, my fans, and of course, for my beloved husband!"

Everyone started to clap, while Keima wanted to slap his forehead.

How didn't he realize what was under that cloth? Kanon had (somehow) hauled heavy equipment to the rooftop of the Mai-High building before. Of course, she would do something like this!

"Please listen! It's All4U!" Kanon shouted as she looked at Keima, further reminding him of that day he had met her. "Here I go!"

And she started to sing. As always her voice was angelic and her movements were majestic, despite her dress. She sang, pouring all of her love (which she had a lot of at the moment) into her song.

After "All4U" it was time for "Your color love song", "Summer boy", "Do you remember love", "Rain rain thoughts", "Romantic love, "Happy crescent", "Please take care of my love!", "Darling baby", "Love call" and more, while the guests cheered her on.

Moreover, at one point Eri left her position as a bassist and stood next to Kanon with a mic on her own. Two sisters-in-law danced and sang together, the audience amazed how the female Katsuragi twin could mimic the sound and choreography of the idol.

The idol performed for over an hour without taking a break, singing a song after song. Finally, she sang "Love Kanon" for the finale and the audience sang with her and although the sky darkened as the sun was heading towards the horizon, no-one noticed it as Kanon was her own star, providing whatever brilliance the sun lacked.

(* * *)

When the concert came to a close, the audience cheered as if it consisted of not 40 but 400 people. Kanon was happy, but she was also winded, so she went to the house in order to freshen herself. By the time she was out again, the bottom of the sun disc was almost touching the surface of the lake, basking everything in an orange and pink hue.

Her eyes darted around, searching for what was hers by law and, sure enough, her husband was right now dancing with Mio. Kanon waited until the song ended and then went right to where the two dancers were. They looked too cozy together in her opinion.

"There you are," the idol said as she grabbed Keima's arm, "mind if I borrow him for a bit?"

"No, he's all yours in the first place," Mio said, respectably stepping back.

Kanon smiled at the blonde and then led Keima away.

"Are we going somewhere specific?" he asked.

"Yes, you're taking your wife for a walk," she said, "is there a problem?"

"No, but let's not stray too far away," he said, "we don't want to give my mother and your father any weird ideas."

"Fiiine," Kanon said, "in that case, let us walk along the lake's shore for a bit. We can watch the sunset."

"Of course, if you want."

"You don't?"

"There'll be many more sunsets, but I won't get to see you in a wedding dress again," Keima said as he looked at her with a smile, "so I'd rather watch you."

Kanon immediately blushed.

One of the disadvantages of having to go on without seeing Keima for a week or two on end was that she sometimes forgot what he could do to her with a single gaze or sentence when he really tried.

"F-flattery will get you nowhere," she responded, but Keima only smiled and leaned on, kissing her deeply. Suddenly, watching the sunset wasn't so important anymore.

She was brought out of her stupor when Keima spoke.

"What was that?"

"I was asking if you're really ok with it," he gestured to the place where everyone was gathered, "an international idol with millions of fans having a wedding party for like 40 people."

"Yes, I've told you it's ok. I'd gladly have this over paparazzi and interviews. It's my wedding, not the entire world's," Kanon reassured him, "trust me, I really have enough glamour and noise in my life."

"Hard to believe that after you go and have a loud concert with pop songs," he teased. Kanon didn't say anything but decided that some teasing back was in order.

And she knew just how to tease him...

"But you enjoyed my concert right?" she smiled sweetly as she turned to him and leaned forward casually. She stopped herself from smirking when Keima's breath hitched.

Looking back at it, back when they had first met, Kanon had been quite naïve and ignorant. It had been a miracle that their many rendezvous had happened without the press getting wind of them. The idol, plagued by her self-esteem and the desire to make Keima into her fan, hadn't been thinking about the dangers.

It hadn't crossed her mind that what they had been doing seemed a lot like dating...

And that one time long ago when she had leaned forward as asked if her songs were good, Keima had gotten flustered... and she hadn't understood why... Only after she had received his memories and reviewed that particular scene from his point of view she understood...

She had wanted to show him one of her more skimpy idol outfits, which was fine for a stage, where the audience was on her eye-level or below... but when she had leaned forward... well, let's just say she had given Keima quite the view of her womanly assets...

That realization was quite embarrassing to be honest...

But now, a few years later, on this day, the best day of her life, wearing the wedding dress that left the top of her bosom exposed and with the intention to actually give him the view, the... event was far more potent. Keima did a very commendable job of keeping his eyes from going lower, at least up until the moment he failed.

She let the satisfaction sink for a few moments before she continued her teasing.

"Well?"

Keima's eyes shot up as if he woke up.

"What?"

"I asked if you enjoyed my concert tonight..."

"Y-yes," Keima stuttered out, "it was splendid!"

"Hmph, words aren't enough!" she said and smiled when Keima patted her head.

"Awww, you're so sweet," she cooed, "glad you enjoyed it."

"You enjoyed it too," he noticed.

"You bet I did," Kanon smiled, "it felt really nostalgic. Especially 'All4U'. Do you know why?"

"It's the first song you ever sang to me," he answered confidently.

"Precisely," Kanon said before her face fell a little, "but that also reminds me of less happy memories."

"Like what?" he asked only too see her look up at him with a determined expression.

"You," she said, poking his chest, "not recognized who I was! And twice on top of that!"

"Twice?" he asked surprised. "You mean-"

"Yes! When you time-traveled and had fun with all those new girls, I had to babysit you and you said 'who are you?' to me again!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he put his hands in front of him. He knew Kanon was playing with him, but he played along. "I know who you are now."

"So?" she asked, feigning disinterest. "Who am I?"

"You're Kanon Nakaga-I mean Kanon Katsuragi," he said and she shivered at the sound of that, "the greatest idol of this century, the brightest star on stage..."

"You're the one who made me shine so brightly," she reminded him.

"...you're a bit of a yandere..."

"You're the one who made me like that too," she stuck her tongue at him.

"You're my star and finally," Keima continued, "you're my wife."

Kanon grinned, satisfied.

"And you're my adorkable genius gamer, game designer, streamer, ex-classmate, ex-swimming teacher," Kanon said before pausing, "which reminds me... we should totally go for a swim soon... good thing we're going on a honeymoon to where's still warm," she digressed, "you're my drama kisser double, my savior and my dearest husband," she finished before kissing him and he kissed back, their lips melding against each other perfectly.

(* * *)

"You know," Kanon said a few minutes later just as they finished watching the sunset, "it is the autumnal equinox today."

Keima looked at her. "Of course, I know. I remember which date you picked for the wedding", he said.

"Well, we didn't have much to choose from, but this is kinda fitting," Kanon responded, "the two of us, joined together as equals and one. Between summer and winter. The day as long as the night."

"So I guess you're the bright day and warm summer and I'm dark night and cold winter."

Kanon shrugged. "Days can be too hot and overbearing, so the cool of the night can be soothing. Life needs both. Besides," she looked at him, "night is mysterious just as you are and I like that about you."

She made that motion Keima recognized again and he dipped his head to kiss her for the umpteenth time today, savoring the sweetness of Kanon's lips as she sighed contentedly.

"That reminds me," Kanon said when she pulled back, "of another thing that's good about the night lasting as long as the day does."

"Which is?" he asked. Kanon smiled.

Teasing round number 2, she thought, taking two steps back.

"How do these clothes look on me?" she asked, spinning slowly in place to let him see better.

"You look..." Keima swallowed, "divine."

Kanon giggled. "It's a great dress, after all."

"It's hardly a matter of dress," Keima said, "it's because it's you."

"Flattery will get you-oh who am I kidding" she laughed, "I love when you flatter me."

"Of course you do," Keima smiled, "but what does the dress have to do with you liking the night?"

"Oh, you see," Kanon said as she stepped closer again, "when the night comes I'll be able to finally get your opinion."

"Opinion on what?" he asked, looking honestly confused.

Instead of answering, Kanon leaned closer. Keima thought she was going for yet another kiss, but when he moved to intercept her lips, she pulled to the side, her hand landing where he least expected it, her lips next to his ear, as she whispered sweetly.

"On how what you bought me for the White Day back then looks on me without the dress."

She then pulled back, her eyes seemingly aflame, before she winked and moved past him, walking back to the party, leaving Keima to stare at her swaying hips with a single thought on his mind.

September night has never sounded so hot before.

(* * *)

[if you're looking just for the announcement, you can scroll down]

Ta-dah!

Keima and Kanon are finally married and at a very young age too! I look forward to hearing your opinion about the wedding style, with the altar, lake, outdoors and a small number of guests. Aside from some details, I have planned this setting for months and I'm glad I was able to pull it off.

As for the general idea of a secret marriage, I kinda got this idea from the real case of Asumi Kana (who's Chihiro's seiyuu/voice actress in the anime :P), as she got married at some time, but it's kinda not obvious to who and when she got married. :P

Also, for those of you who are confused, at one point in the story, Kanon had given Keima chocolate on Valentine's (14th February). Now, in Japan on Valentine's girls gives stuff (usually chocolate) to boys. However, on the White Day (14th of March) buys give something back. It can be chocolate (most likely white), marshmallows or some other gifts like jewelry and... lingerie. It isn't obvious in the story when or what Keima bought, but you can do the math. :P

As often with me, I've tried to put way too many references here and there. It's too many to list them all, but there's a lot of little stuff I wanted to mention or reference for a while, including a summary of sorts for Kanon and Keima, including their first meeting, Keima helping to save Kanon, their drama kiss, swimming lessons. And I'm quite happy with the end result.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. Please tell me what you think about this chapter, the party, the wedding and everything else in the reviews. :)

=== ANNOUNCEMENT STARTS ===

As you know I'm not posting chapters very often and this chapter was actually quite fast, considering the load of work I have right now. However, I've been improvising a lot here and there and it's not the best strategy, especially at certain times.

As you know, I plan to post a story in between KanonNomi and ShioriNomi. I don't want to give exact chapter count, especially since I don't know how big one chapter will be, but this story will be a muuuch shorter one.

Also plot this story will be a part of the Nomi series and take place after KanonNomi and before ShioriNomi. Thus, I won't be able to start posting ShioriNomi until this intermediate story is out and complete.

Anyway, the first problem is that I cannot allow myself to improvise with this intermediate story, which means I have to it more-or-less completed before I start posting it.

The second problem is that I want to post the first chapter of the intermediate story directly after posting the last chapter of KanonNomi (when it happens you'll understand why).

Right about now you'd probably say "it's all very interesting, but what's your point?"

The point is: I will be unable to point the last chapter of KanonNomi until the intermediate story is complete so, unfortunately, you'll probably have to wait quite some time for the next chapter.

I plan for the last chapter of KanonNomi to be considerably shorter and I do have a lot of the intermediate story figured out, but still, you'll have to probably wait 3 months or more for an update.

I'm very, very, very sorry for that and I wish I could work faster on this.

Anyway, what I want to say here: I'm not going on hiatus, I'm not leaving this, I just need to write a lot before I can post it. I just ask all of yuo KamiNomi-lover that you're patient with me.

Also, if you're worried you can always checky my profile, I'll try to post progress on both the last chapter of KanonNomi and the intermediate story every week.

=== ANNOUNCEMENT ENDS ===

Moving on, I'd like to, as usual, thank you very much, my dear readers. Below are the responses to the latest reviews:

Big Bad Beowulf: thank you very much. Glad you liked the reverse proposal thing :). I always try to make my characters, well, in-character... though I have to make up their personalities sometimes too. Yup, Nanaka is the ice breaker :P. Yes, all hail Apollo, the patron of plot holes :P. Yes, we're almost there... I can... see the ending :P. See you next chapter as well. :)

William F Somebody: thank you very much. Lol, against 6 goddesses and 3 devils Kaori had a powerful weapon: alcohol and a powerful allies: Hinoki and Nora. Her mischief was successful :P. Yep, Kanon and Kaori kind of understand themselves. They're both yanderes. And yes, Kaori's accepted. Yup, Nanaka might not be the best socially, but she sure can break the ice quickly :P. Heh, Kaori could be Keima's associate for dirty jobs :P. Yup, bushes sound nice ;). Lol, Kanon is out of town a lot, so she doesn't get enough attention. Well, Kanon believed Keima was normal, while he was the younger version and she wasn't told about it either, so she felt cheated :P. Children probably thought Kanon is a weird big child :P. Lol, maybe Kanon'll be the idol and Keima wll work as paparazzi. I'm sure he'd get the best and juicy pictures :P. They're probably contacts :P. Lol, maybe she should tase him just for old time's sake :P. Yup, Kanon outwitted Keima with the reverse proposal :). As you see here, Kanon married in secret, so, for now, nothing changes for her career. As for what happens later, you'll have to see that next chapter. But yeah, Kanon's special and kinda changed the rules and marriage works with her traditional image.

Ghost Man: hello :). Thank you for the review :). Yes, Keima kinda did this and Urara's glad someone appreciates her :P. Heh, Kaori now learns what it means to be associated with that group of weirdos :P. Information trader sounds about right :P. Kaori and the orb? Ma~ybe :P. Lol, don't know about a love hotel :P. Yup, Chihiro's hilarious :P. Yup, Kanon conquest was about her chasing him, so it's logical she's straightforward. So she won that round :). Lol, about that rooftop thing, I guess Keima and Kanon will have to check it sometime :P.

Sir Sleep-a-lot: aww, fuzzies are good no matter how many times you read this :). Glad you loved all parts of the chapter :). Honorary member sounds good :). Lol, the party wasn't over and it got a little more interesting since you reviewed, you know? :P But, yeah, Chihiro's still hilarious :P. Yup, bang sounds about right :P. Anyway, glad you liked that "first meeting" callback :). You're right, Kanon could give him the game first and make him see for himself. Sadly, I didn't even think about it :(. Glad the part got you smiling though :). Lol, you see reactions of Eri and Kanon's parents... as for Kanon's fans... I guess we'll have to wait and see some other time :). Please, your pervy jokes are the best :). Lol, no idea why Kanon did that, the bushes sound like a grea-*gets tased as well*. Lol, Kanon is totally considering that ;). Thank you very, very much for your review :).

ZelgadisGW: thanks :). Yup, Keima measured everyone's reaction and Nanaka's good at relaxing people (sometimes :P). Kudos for "7?" btw. :P I wonder what "Kaori-like" even means right now :P. Yup, she did it. Even the God of Conquest didn't foresee it. The author was shocked as well, says he didn't know anything :O. And Keima was one-upped too :P. Yes, I'm glad you finally got all your relevant plot threads you once spoke about converge :). I'll be awaiting another review too ;).

El Sasori69: Lol, sorry, no-one interfering with the wedding this time around. Maybe, we'll see something like that in the future. Glad you're doing better now and thank you for the review. I'm doing more-or-less okay, a lot of work to do though -.-'. See you with the next review hopefully. :)

Okay, I think that's everything for now. Please stay tuned for the last chapter of The World Kanon Only Knows.

See you next time!