My Happy Marriage – 06 – That’s Not Me Anymore

Miyo comes to in a stress position, hanging from a length of rope in a storeroom. When the door opens and pours the light of the setting sun onto her face, Kaya and her mother enter, replete with ill intent. They only have one simple demand: that Miyo reject her engagement to Kudou Kiyoka so Kaya can marry him instead.

If Miyo doesn’t comply, well…Kaya and her mom don’t beat around the bush. First Miyo slashes Miyo’s new kimono with scissors. Then she holds the scissors to Miyo’s throat. But crucially, Miyo doesn’t revert to her old submissive self, even in the face of pure evil.

Even when her stepmother smacks her in the face with a fan, Miyo looks back up at her with a defiant look she has never made. I’m reminded of Kei in Classroom of the Elite going through a similar crucible and coming out firm in her resolve not to break or give in no matter what.

This defiance and strength was always there within Miyo, but meeting someone as good and kind as Kiyoka unlocked that power in her, the power that allowed her to  value herself as he does, and to hope that he’ll come for her. And come he does: when the Saimori doors are shut, he blasts through with his lightning. When both Miyo’s father and an increasingly unhinged Minoru attack him, he blasts through them.

Even when a desperate Minoru creates a maelstrom of fire that begins to burn the Saimori house, Kudou Kiyoka, confirmed as the strongest gift-user of his time, takes off the kid gloves and knocks Minoru out with a giant bolt of lightning. As Kouji says, it’s like an adult fighting an angry kid. Minoru never had a chance, which begs the question: shouldn’t he have known that?

Kaya has resorted to trying to choke Miyo into agreeing to cancel her engagement to Kiyoka, but Miyo doesn’t waver, even for a second: she’ll be Kiyoka’s fiancée until she breathes her last. Thankfully, that’s not today, as Kiyoka arrives and catches Kaya and her mother in the act of brutally torturing Miyo. When she realizes he came for her after all, Miyo declares she’s glad she fought, before passing out.

After her mom looks outside to see their palatial home in flames (thanks entirely to Minoru), Kaya tries a feeble last-ditch attempt to convince Kiyoka that she is better suited to be his wife, saying Miyo isn’t even fit to be a proper servant. Kiyoka doesn’t lay a hand on her, but shuts her up with both his words and his icy gaze, assuring her he wouldn’t marry her even if the heavens commanded it.

While unconscious, Miyo meets her mother, who mentions a “power” she has within herself. Miyo isn’t sure what that is, but this confirms that she’s by no means ungifted. It’s just that her gift is either incredibly rare, or entirely unique.

We see a grizzled old man give a younger underling his approval to begin an “operation” to prevent the “accumulation of power”—i.e. a Kudou marrying an Usaba—so the threat to Miyo is far from over, but it’s over for now.

When she wakes up to find a relieved Kiyoka and Yurie by her side, Miyo is again glad she didn’t give up in the face of evil. The old her would have surrendered to the storm, but now she’s someone who can weather it, and come out the other end herself.

My Happy Marriage – 05 – Forced Exchange

It fills Miyo with joy to not only learn that a kimono much like her mother’s suits her just as well, but that Kiyoka picked it out for her. The two are getting on famously, which is a big problem for Minoru. He shows Kaya a photo of the happy couple, and when Kaya sees that the hottie who was at her house was Kiyoka, she’s ready to dump Kouji for him, and thinks she can convince her dear father to cancel the engagement.

Meanwhile, Miyo’s life might as well be paradise, as she throws a dinner party for Kiyoka and his aide Godou as thanks for reuniting her with Hana. Kiyoka isn’t ready for how beautiful Miyo looks when she greets them at the entrance, marking the first time I believe he’s outright blushed. But Kaya continues to stew, considering it absolutely unacceptable for Miyo to be happy, let alone happier than her. Karma’s a bitch, bitch!

Godou is a very lighthearted, forward guy, so after a delicious meal and sake, he takes Miyo’s hands in gratitude and jokingly asks her to marry him instead of Kiyoka. Naturally, Miyo takes him seriously and apologizes, for she wants to be with Kiyoka. Kaya fails to convince her father, who tells her to go practice homemaking, so she takes another tack and tries to convince Kouji to swap fiancées with Kiyoka.

Miyo has another dream, which has me starting to think she actually does have a gift related to dreams. In their most intimate scene to date, Kiyoka holds Miyo as she awakens from her troubling slumber, and promises her that no matter what she’s going through, she’s not alone. She’ll never be alone ever again.

Kouji pays a visit to his father, only to find Kaya is already there, and things are already in motion to swap her with Miyo. While Kaya’s father isn’t on board, Minoru and Kaya believe he will be if it’s Miyo’s idea to leave Kiyoka. Of course, Miyo would never, ever want to do that, but we’re dealing with people with supernatural powers, so they may be able to force her to do or say things she doesn’t want to.

Miyo slips up when she fails to put the amulet Kiyoka gave her into her new matching pouch. She and Yurie walk to his work so she can deliver him a homemade lunch, but on their way back she realizes she doesn’t have the amulet, and not five minutes later she’s being abducted by an invisible man in a car.

While Yurie rushes back to tell Kiyoka what’s happened, Kaya takes her leave, and Kouji gets violent with his father. Unfortunately, even though he’s stronger than Minoru expected, Kouji is no match for his dad, who plants him on the floor and has him tied up. Fortunately, Kouji’s big brother is on his side, and unties him and tells him to go do what he needs to do.

Kouji does that, but he knows he alone isn’t enough to stop his father. So he pays a visit to Kiyoka, and begs him for help saving Miyo. It goes without saying that Kiyoka is going to rescue Miyo, it’s just a matter of how quickly and how righteously he punishes those who harmed her. But I’ll still admit, even though I saw it coming a mile away, actually watching Miyo be kidnapped sent my heart plummeting into my stomach.