"Yeah..."
Uchiha Byakuya responded.
At a time like this, he didn't actually feel nervous at all.
After all, they weren't some inexperienced young couple that were just starting to date, and Yoshimura Eto wasn't showing the slightest sign of shyness either, so naturally she wouldn't influence him that way.
However, after a while, Eto was still standing at the bathroom door, as if waiting for something.
"What are you standing there spacing out for? Come in, will you?"
At that moment, Eto l spoke softly.
Only then did Byakuya understand what she meant.
He also loosened his clothes and belt and entered the bathroom along with Eto.
They really were just bathing together, nothing else happened.
Newlyweds helping each other wash their backs, what's wrong with that?
Once they were washed clean, they felt completely refreshed, and the lingering smell of alcohol and all kinds of food brought back from the hotel was also gone by now.
Even though neither Byakuya nor Eto had drunk any alcohol, just being in that environment for a while naturally caused a bit of the scent to stick to them.
Afterwards, the two returned to the bedroom, still wearing their bathrobes.
"Should we turn off the lights? Or leave them on?"
At that moment, Eto was sitting on the edge of the bed, her little feet swaying, and suddenly asked.
"That... I'm not really sure, but I think it might better to leave them on."
Byakuya replied with slight embarrassment.
Because what was about to happen next would be a first for both him and also Eto, neither of them had any experience, and they hadn't exactly done much research either.
So both Byakuya and Eto were in a pretty clueless state right now.
"Then let's leave them on."
After speaking, Eto patted the bedding beside her, seemingly signaling Uchiha Byakuya to sit next to her.
"Now it's time to for something very important."
Eto Yoshimura lifted a small part of her sleepwear, placing one hand on her shoulder.
"If I remember right, you should know that, for us ghouls, this is our wedding ritual."
Eto glanced up at Byakuya, "Of course, if you're unwilling, just pretend I didn't say anything."
After all, she knew Byakuya was a half-human and although he had ghoul blood, he barely had any actual ghoul traits. Compared to a proper half-ghoul, he leaned even closer to a human.
And given Byakuya's life thus far, it seemed to her that he was even less likely to want to follow the typical ghoul wedding rituals.
"I'm not unwilling at all."
Byakuya sat down face to face in front of Eto, without even the slightest hint of hesitation.
"Then let's begin."
Eto immediately hugged Byakuya.
Then both Byakuya and Eto bit into each other's right shoulder with their teeth, more specifically, the trapezius area.
They both bit down hard, because this ritual required leaving a bite mark on each other's shoulder, one that would never fade, symbolizing that their love would never be erased.
Drawing blood was the bare minimum.
Even though Eto, as a half-ghoul, had extremely strong regenerative abilities, she could control that ability, to simply not let the bite mark heal completely.
Byakuya had to be careful about the same thing as his high physical attributes gave him automatic healing, so he needed to consciously suppress it as well.
"That should be good enough. It didn't hurt too much, did it?"
Eto asked with concern in her tone.
She had been bitten by Byakuya as well, but her pain tolerance was top-tier thanks to all the harsh experiences of growing up in the 24th Ward.
"It didn't."
Byakuya actually wanted to ask whether it hurt for Eto, but after thinking about it, he figured that such a question was completely unnecessary for her.
At that moment, Eto even licked the wound on Byakuya's shoulder, cleaning off the blood on top, as if that could somehow ease any pain.
"This bite mark has to stay forever, only then does it prove that we'll always remember each other. If one day this mark disappears, that means you no longer care about me."
Eto was still closely hugging Byakuya, and whispered in his ear.
"That will never happen."
Byakuya responded earnestly with a calm voice.
"I love you..."
At that moment, Eto Yoshimura pulled away from Byakuya's ear, but still didn't loosen her embrace. Instead, she looked directly into his eyes from close up.
Byakuya responded immediately, "I love you too."
Even though they had long understood each other's feelings, saying it face to face like this still felt completely different.
Both of their heartbeats quickened just a little in that moment.
At that point, Eto's right eye suddenly turned into a dark, crimson kakugan.
Eto looked at him, "Does this look ugly? Should I turn it back into a normal eye?"
"It's not ugly at all. On the contrary, I think it's beautiful."
Byakuya answered frankly.
In the eyes of most humans, kakugan like this were horrifying and frightening. The fundamental reason for it was, of course, that they feared ghouls.
But this was Eto, Byakuya's beloved. Besides, he never thought a kakugan looked ugly in the first place.
Eto immediately gave a soft smile, a rare, sweet and pure smile appeared on her face.
The next moment, Byakuya quietly pulled her into a tighter embrace.
And as if they were connected in spirit, at that exact moment, Eto leaned even closer and kissed him.
After a long while, their warm lips finally parted.
"So, about what comes next... do we just get right to it?"
Eto said it quite directly. "Honestly, I'm really curious, what kind of 'fruit' would come from the union of a half-human and a half-ghoul? I guess it depends on luck. But no matter whether our future baby turns out to be half-human or half-ghoul, being able to enjoy the food we cook with our own hands will be enough."
After that, the two of them began to slowly undress each other.
Eto's exquisite, adorable face finally revealed a rare trace of a genuine, faint blush. Coupled with her single kakugan, it made her even more breathtakingly beautiful.
Seeing that sight, Byakuya couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed himself.
The night passed..