For this arc of the story, my muse decided to take me on Space Mountain, blindfolded, upside down and backwards. In other words, it was a puzzle to figure out how I wanted to present this part of the story. I knew I wanted to have Shuya narrate to show the events that happened up until his wedding day, because I liked the thought of him giving his personal touch to it all. I originally thought to include the story of how he and Musashi met lodged somewhere within track 11, but finally decided that wasn't going to fit. Then I thought to make it the beginning of track 12, but that wasn't going to work either. So then I got the idea to make how they met into its own little "bonus track," which you'll see immediately after this page. Sounds simple, but it took me a while to figure out that it would be the best way to present the story! (My muse seems to have free passes to all the world's biggest and craziest writing rollercoasters.)

But anyway, my heart just about melted when I finally got to show the touching scene between Shuya and Musashi at the end! He's gonna be a daddy!!! ^ o ^ It's been a lot of fun for me as a writer to explore different types of relationships, between Yumi and Toshio, Yayoi and Miyabi, and Muashi and Shuya. I personally have always considered Shuya and Musashi to be the most stable couple in the story, and unlike Yumi and Toshio, they've obviously been physical in their relationship since the comic started. They have their own sense of what's right for them, just as Yumi has her own sense of what's right for her (wanting to wait for marriage). Every couple is different, and I hope I've been somewhat able to illustrate that through my characters. I'm trying to be unbiased and show real-life situations, even if I wouldn't personally agree with them. That and I'm super excited for them to start a family so I can draw Shuya with his cute little baby! ^___^

Speaking of which, there's been a bit of debate on the Shoutbox surrounding the pregnancy, especially regarding Musashi's smoking and/or drinking. While I found it flattering that people were so into my story and my characters, I want everyone to keep in mind that this is fiction. Smoking and drinking during pregnancy is never a good idea. Musashi had like one, maybe two cigarettes after she found out (the first probably just to deal with the shock of it all, the second on the beach after they got to Hawaii) and didn't have a drop of alcohol once she knew she was pregnant. In the real world, if you find out you're pregnant, you should quit both immediately. Likewise, if you're wanting to become pregnant, don't smoke or drink. I can't show every action of every minute of the characters' lives in the comic, but for the record, Musashi made the choice to quit both as soon as possible. Smoking is an extremely difficult habit to quit, but she has the motivation of her baby to keep her away from cigarettes. That said, I hope everyone will continue to enjoy the story for what it is and not read too into it. It's fiction, it's fun to create and hopefully fun to read.

And I do feel bad for Yayoi, don't you? The poor girl... :( I'm glad she's the kind of girl that in the end can't keep things from her father. They have a unique relationship in that they're the only family each other has. That implies a great deal of respect, trust, and love shared between them. So when he found out that his only daughter had sneaked off, lied to him, and lost her virginity to the moody and sometimes violent Miyabi of the band he had helped bring into stardom, it must have been crushing... infuriating. Punishing Yayoi by not letting her go to the wedding is perfectly fair, if you ask me. I still get shivers when I think about what Mitsuzuka-san said to Miyabi on the plane... I'm very excited to be able to explore more of that territory in the future.

But on the other hand, way to go Yumi!!! Showing some backbone! :D I had a ton of fun drawing the grocery store scene. ^o^ And Miyabi's a bit... err... unstable, isn't he? ^^; Such a crazy weirdo kid. I love him. So anyway, we've got ourselves a wedding coming up!!! I hope you all will look forward to it and enjoy what's to come! Thank you for your continued support and for reading my story. I appreciate every single one of the encouraging comments in my Shoutbox and emails!

And Miyabi isn't the only character with a Twitter account. Most of the others have one, same with formspring.me accounts so you can ask them your questions. :3