New Life : A Second Chance

Nitocris continued to ignore the snarling little puppy beside him.

"So, when's the wedding?" Kyle asked.

"We're not having any," Master Shifu said, "It's the second one for both of us and a simple registration at the Civil Bureau office with everyone as the witnesses is enough."

Rheia nodded, smiling softly, "Yes. I just want a quiet one."

Everyone nodded, understanding. The ones getting married were not them, but the ones in front of them so whatever Master Shifu and Auntie Rheia wanted, then they would get.

"But we should still have our own private celebration after that, right?" Kyle insisted, "I'll have dinner reserved so that we can celebrate."

Master Shifu agreed.

"So when is the date?" Kay asked.

Master Shifu grinned widely, "Tomorrow."

"WHAT?!"

"Why wait?" Master Shifu asked cheekily.

"Fine, fine. It's your day," Kyle said, getting up and taking out his phone. He had some things to arrange.

"Erm," came a hesitant voice at that moment.

Everyone turned to look at Hawthorne, who had started standing up.

"Erm," he began again, clearing his throat, "May and I ... well, we'd like to join Shifu and Rheia tomorrow."

"You mean..?!" Kay gasped.

"Yes," Hawthorn confirmed, "We'd like to get married as well."

Then May blushed and said shyly, "We'd like to give our baby a proper family."

It took a second for them to understand the implication of that statement before everyone started congratulating them. Master Shifu and Rheia were happy as well, with huge grins on their faces, not caring over the fact that Hawthorne and May's news far surpassed theirs.

It wasn't a competition, after all.

They were happy.

Their family was growing.

? Next Day ?

Two couples were sitting at the registration desk nervously.

One old couple and one young couple. Both were dressed simply.

Master Shifu was in his traditional black and white wedding outfit, known as the montsuki haori hakama. Though one say "simple", Master Shifu wasn't really in simple clothes by his standards. The outfit was the most formal kimono for men.

It was essentially a traditional formal kimono known as a mon-tsuki (a black formal kimono) that is adorned with the Kazo family crest. The material used is the highest class silk, known as the "Habutae".

There were five of the said family crest, two in the lapels in front and three at the back. If Master Shifu was to stand up with his hands up straight at the side, the three family crest at the back would be seen to be one at each wrist and one right in the middle below the neck.

Master Shifu wore a pair of striped hakama trousers (kimono pants), and a dark haori (kimono jacket).* The haori is not worn with a belt but is loosely tied in the front with a white pom-pom'ed tie (himo).

However, Master Shifu opted for a pair of black dress shoes rather than white square-toe'd zori sandals worn with a pair of white tabi socks. It was more comfortable to walk long distances with his shoes than the sandals.

There was no way Master Shifu would not dress up for his wedding. Even though it was only at the Civil Registratino Bureu, he did not want to dishonour his bride by wearing anything less.

Rheia was in a simple white long dress and a small white hat on her head, her face partially covered with a veil. She looked elegant and demure.

Hawthorne was in a white shirt, black tie and black dress pants with black dress shoes while May was in a flowing white dress that reached up to her knees. A slight baby bump could already be seen if one was to look closely, but it wasn't truly noticeable yet.

It was a simple process.

First, they had to submit their identification papers and fill in the forms. Then, they were ushered into a room that had a desk with an official sitting in front of it. Since Master Shifu and Hawthorne were in the same group, all of them were in the room watching the process.

They needed at least two witnesses, which actually meant they could be witnesses for each other. So that part was covered even if the others didn't come.

To ease the process, both couples sat at the desk, facing the official.

He looked at the documents in front of him, the left one pertaining to Master Shifu and Rheia while the right one was for Hawthorne and May.

He looked at Master Shifu and Rheia first.

"Are you both single?" he asked solemnly.

"Yes," Master Shifu replied, "I am divorced."

"I'm a widow," Rheia declared.

Both of them then submitted proof of their status. Master Shifu gave his Divorce Papers while Rheia submitted Kazuya's Death Certificate.

The official took them, did some writing onto a form while humming.

After that, he gave them the marriage certificate and told them, "Please check the details to ensure that they are correct."

Master Shifu and Rheia did so and nodded.

"Please sign here, here and here," the official instructed.

Once they did, he gave each of them a copy and kept one for himself.

"Congratulations," he said with a beaming smile, "You are now officially married."

Master Shifu smiled and Rheia kissed him on the cheek shyly.

The smile on his face grew bigger.

"Auw," Kay gushed, as she hung on Kyle's arm, "Master Shifu looks so adorable!"

Kyle smiled as well, happy to see that Master Shifu finally put the dark past behind him. After the death of his son and when his wife left him, Kyle knew that Master Shifu had that emptiness within him.

The same sort of emptiness that Kyle had upon losing his spouse and children.

When Kyle thought about it, he realised that when he had started recruiting people, he had subconsciously chosen those who shared something with him. That emptiness, that sense of longing that could not be explained.

That was partly the reason why those working for Kyle personally were extremely loyal.

Take Team Zero/Lucka etc for example. He was not only the one that saved them from the slums and a bad future, they felt a connection to him that they could not explain.

How could Kyle, who grew up in such luxury, truly understand them, who grew up either in the slums or had experienced extreme hardship?

Yet, despite how ridiculous it was, the bond was there. A bond that only grew stronger when they witnessed for themselves how hard he worked and how he was willing to protect them.

The MIB people didn't have the same sort of connection but they had respect and loyalty for their bosses. Again, every single one of them had been saved by Kyle and Kay, thus, the bond was strong.

Kyle wasn't naive. He knew it wasn't perfect for human nature is like that. Still, he was also well aware of the fact that he had a good foundation.

Kyle focused back on the ceremony at hand.

The official asked Hawthorne and May the same questions, though this time they merely gave a sworn declaration that they were single. Neither of them had ever married before, thus the declaration (which was certified by a Commissioner of Oath) was sufficient.

"Congratulations, you are now officially married," the official said as well.

Hawthorne and May were smiling happily and he kissed her on the lips for a few seconds, then hugged her.

Kay and Xing Han cheered loudly, while Kyle and Nitocris simply clapped.

After the whole ceremony was over, Kyle guided them to the nearby restaurant for their private celebration.

They were ushered into the private VIP room, and everyone was having a really good time. The food was plentiful and certainly luxurious. When it came to food, Kyle wasn't that frugal. Since everyone there had various ethnic background, Kyle opted for a fusion style food.

Nothing too adventurous that no one would know what to eat, of course.

Just the normal and 'simple' dishes of lobster, seafood and rice. There was also pasta and Chinese style soup (thick with pieces of tofu and egg). There were no 'rules' or etiquette in eating so everyone was free to do as they pleased.

Which is, in Kyle's opinion, the best way to eat.

Just then, Nitocris leaned over and whispered to Kyle, "I need Ice tonight."

Kyle turned his head a bit, taking a piece of fish with a chopstick and putting it in his mouth before saying, "That's rather sudden, isn't it?"

"It just came up," Nitocris said nonchalantly, taking a piece of fish and putting it on Kyle's plate.

Kyle groaned, knowing that he couldn't refuse and stabbed the fish.

"This isn't quite compensation, you know," Kyle mumbled.

Xing Han, who was sitting on the other side of Kyle, pouted upon seeing this. With a huff, he took some lobster, peeled it and put a pile of lobster meat on Kyle's plate. Xing Han then looked smugly at Nitocris.

Nitocris saw this and gave a slow smile, just at one side of his mouth. He deliberately looked at Xing Han in the eye as he swirled some pasta, that was on his plate, on a fork then fed it to Kyle.

Kyle's attention had been distracted by the pile of lobster meat that Xing Han had given, but before he could turn his head to thank him, he felt something on his lips. Seeing that it was pasta, he obediently and instinctively opened his mouth, and had it shoved in.

'What the-' was in Kyle's mind.

Kay, on the other hand, saw this and was busy laughing like crazy. She almost choked and taking gulps of water, tears forming in her eyes.

[Congrats, dear brother]

Kyle, chewing the pasta and being utterly oblivious to the shenanigans of his brothers beside him, looked towards Kay in puzzlement.

[For what?]

[Oh, nothing much really. Just have to babysit and appease Baby Xing Han]

Kyle frowned and turned to look at Xing Han, who was now giving a silent snarl towards Nitocris. Kyle turned to look at Nitocris, who was busy smirking and ignoring the snarling Xing Han.

Kyle sighed.

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