Chapter Text
"Stop fidgeting, I'm not done yet!" A pale hand slapped Mei's fingers, who was patting blindly at her hair.
"How long until it's ready? We've been at this for hours," Mei complained. Her handmaidens Shouko and Kaho had strode in that morning in all their Japanese glory, with an armful of fabric and accessories, mumbling through a mouthful of pins that today was the big day and they were here to help Mei get ready for her first festival.
She craned her neck, desperate to get a glance in the mirror, earning another pinch from Shouko.
"Hold still! You're worse than a country lad getting fitted for his first western suit!" The strict and orderly woman chided while bustling about the room, picking scraps of fabric off the floor and dusting them before placing them beside her little dressing table set up in the corner of the room. Mei's quarters had transformed into fitting room almost overnight, with a full length mirror and screen diving the space, hiding the three women from sight if one were to enter the room.
Once she finished tidying her surroundings, Shouko hurriedly resumed to her task of final adjustments of Mei's yukata, sticking pins here and there, never forgetting to insert a few remarks about her physique. "Suck in that tum — you're too thin! Have you not been eating your meals? If you don't eat, Honda-sama will be upset!" She smoothed the collar. "Chin up, shoulder back! You are a proper Japanese lady now, so you might as well start acting like one already. Honda-sama has been far too generous and understanding with your behavior."
Kaho, busying herself with Mei's hair, shot a sympathetic glance in her direction. As her niece, Kaho had first hand experience with her aunt's no-nonsense attitude, but had long since acquired the immunity to her fussing and fretful manner. She ran a comb through Mei's long locks, admiring the natural shine returning to her glossy hair. "Look on the bright side Oba-san, Mei's hair is healthy again."
"Humph". With a slight grunt under her breath, Shouka cast her scrutinizing stare over Mei's head, inspecting every feature of her upper body. "Take out the plum blossoms. This is an important event with Honda-sama, you need to show your respect."
Before Mei could protest, Shouko's swift hands plucked the flowers from her hair and swept them away from her grasp.
"Shouko please, let me keep them! They're the only thing giving me comfort right now and I need them for encouragement, especially tonight." Mei desperately grabbed onto Shouko's sleeve, and glanced at Kaho for help, who only shook her head helplessly.
"Hush! I will not tolerate such disrespectful behavior on this big night. Now, it is very important that you remember all manners Tanaka-sensei taught you and behave yourself. I will not be pleased if I hear of any complaints from Honda-san. He has waited very long for this day." Shouko spun around from the pleading girl and motioned to Kaho, as if reminding her of something. Understanding the signal, Kaho fumbled through one of the drawers and handed Mei something folded neatly into a square.
"This is for you, Mei-san. Shouko and I made it for you." She hid smirk under her hand. "Oba-san's just too embarrassed to present it to you personally. We spent hours on this little thing."
Mei extended her arms to receive the little bundle, and marveled at the gift in her palms. It was a dainty little handkerchief, made of a pale creamy white fabric and stitched with little pink petals that Mei took to be plum blossoms. "It's beautiful," she breathed out.
"Oh! There's more to it, look closely, on the right corner." Kaho peered over her shoulder.
Mei squinted and held the cloth close to her face. Sure enough, barely visible in the right corner, the Chinese character for plum blossom was carefully embroidered. Eyes brimming with tears, Mei smiled, touched by their little act of kindness. "Thank you both so much. I'll keep it with me at all times." She carefully tucked it into the folds of her yukata, suddenly appreciative of the complicated garment.
"Ah, silly girl, your tears will ruin the makeup!" Shouko said gruffly. The usual sharpness still remained in her tone, yet Mei could see the small glimmer of pride in her eyes as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, flustered by the show of gratitude.
"We wanted to give you something to show our gratitude to you, since you agreed to attend the festival with Honda-sama. We're really hoping that this will be a chance for him to relax and enjoy himself, even for just a night." Kaho smiled ruefully. "Oba-san really misses the old Honda-sama before the war, especially when he was a little boy." She laughed lightly. "She even said she'd rather change his diaper again than see him with that permanent frown on his face!"
Once again, the topic of Honda-san's past self was brought to light. Mei wondered for the hundredth time when the mysterious Japanese man would return to his former self, if ever. It seemed that the only time she was able to catch a glimpse was when he rode through the front door on his horse, with weary soldiers trudging after him, stumbling past Mei's window.
They never exchanged words; in fact, the only acknowledgement Honda ever gave to her was a brief nod every now and then, and he never made direct eye contact. He seemed to purposely avoid her, only sending Shouko to give the daily report. Mei was curious as to why he would lock her in his residence, yet ignore her presence.
Maybe Shouko was right; war does change people. It tears the humanity and emotion away, and manipulates them into something terrible and cruel, far worse from the unspoken actions on the battlefield. Betrayal, deception, indifference, depression; those were all the after affects and consequences one must pay of destroying their own kind. It made sense, if you thought about it. Exchanging safety, peace, and happiness for more land, money and power, only to gain less of the bargain and more of the bad, tainted by their own immorality of greed.
"Mei!" A gentle shake of Mei's shoulders jolted her from her thoughts. "Are you listening?" Kaho asked. "We said you can look in the mirror now."
"Sorry, I was just thinking of something." Mei apologized bashfully, embarrassed to be caught spacing out.
Shouko helped her to her feet, while Kaho pushed away the screen divider revealing the mirror.
Mei gasped. Instead of the skinny small framed girl she was used to seeing, the girl in the mirror was everything she had longed to be. Feminine, elegant, and dare she say beautiful, the figure in mirror was not a girl, but a woman.
Her long luscious locks had been combed back and piled atop her head, with loose strands framing her face. Red lips and rosy cheeks, Mei's makeup transformed her into a porcelain doll. Her usual pale pink kimono had been replaced with a beautiful yukata. Snow white fabric with a splash of light pink on the edge of the skirt, her yukata was the definition of elegance. Cherry blossoms decorated the garment here and there, and of course the look would not have been complete without the pink and gold sash, or obi, as Shouko had called it.
Mei stared at her reflection awestruck. "I'm..."
"Beautiful." Kaho finished for her. The young Japanese girl stood by her side with her hands clasped together in front of her chest. "This yukata suits you perfectly. Honda-sama does have a keen eye in fashion. I'm surprised he knows so much about women's clothing."
"Honda-sama used to ask me for advice when sending gifts to Akane-chan," Shouko added. "I'm glad to see he has improved in his taste in fashion. I remember the first gift he sent to her was a ghastly red shawl he had imported specially from Europe. He insisted that it would be fitting for Akane-chan due to her namesake, despite my warning that it would not look good on her pale complexion. Stubborn as he was, the boy proudly presented it to her." She smiled fondly at the memory.
"Did Akane-san like it?" Mei asked curiously. She couldn't imagine anyone with the graciousness to accept such a gift and have the nerve to wear it.
"Oh of course she did, although it was out of kindness and thoughtfulness of Honda-sama. The girl was too kind to wound his pride." Shouko shook her head. "After that, the boy got it in his head that he had a good taste in women's fashion. It was quite disastrous for poor Akane-chan."
It seemed that whenever Shouko spoke, Akane would always be mentioned. The girl must have been an important member of the household, to have such a lasting impact. Mei wondered if anyone would ever remember her the same way. It seemed that the only one who truly showed her kindness was Kaho, and even she had moments when loyalty to her master was greater than her friendship with Mei.
Kaho let out a short laugh. "Well I'm glad Honda-sama has changed since then. I'm sure Oba-san wouldn't have let you out in anything less than what you're wearing now." She sighed dreamily. "What a couple you two will make, walking down the streets. I can just imagine the looks on everyone's faces, they'll be burning with jealousy!"
Mei rolled her eyes and shoved her playfully. "It's not even a date, I'm just accompanying him to the festival. And remember, I'm doing this for you, not him."
Just as Kaho was about to open her mouth for another tease, Shouko interrupted their little game. "It's getting late now, Honda-sama should be there soon. If we don't hurry, we'll be late. You don't want to keep him waiting for long."
As Shouko slid open the screen door, Mei gave the plum blossoms resting on the dresser one last glance, before taking a deep breath and stepping out the door. *Jia You, she encouraged herself. You can do this.