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"Here, spin around so I can get the back?"
Rin obeyed, and carefully Luka looped the two ends of the fabric together into a bow. As she worked, she asked, "Not that I'm unhappy to do so—in fact, it's quite the opposite—but what made you ask me of all people to help you prepare for your party?"
Rin pondered her question in silence for a few moments. "Well, I didn't want to choose my outfit with Len. We already have so much matching stuff, and I'm sick of it. And I didn't want to go with my parents, either. They're, you know..." She leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper as if she were sharing a secret. "Old."
"...And I'm not?" Luka raised an eyebrow, trying to decide whether to be flattered or offended.
"Well..." Rin frowned, her mind still trying to wrap itself around its own logic. "I don't think you're that old. Plus, it's different. You're cool. You're fashionable. Especially compared to Dad—I wouldn't wear anything he picked out even if you paid me a hundred dollars. That sweater he chose for me one time and said was cute, just no—I feel sorry for anyone he's ever bought clothes for."
Hearing that, Luka laughed, half-flattered by Rin's description and half out of sympathy for Kaito. She imagined how he might react upon hearing such words come from the mouth of his own daughter, and privately she sent him an apology for all the times she too had caused him trouble.
Shaking her head in amusement, she gave the bow one final tug and circled back around to stand in front of Rin. She gave the outfit an appraising look, then hummed in approval. "Anyway, looking good, I'd say. Now then, all that's left is...your shoes?" She raised a questioning eyebrow.
Rin nodded, hurrying to retrieve her heels and slip them on. Experimentally, she wriggled back and forth about the ankle, then rose on alarmingly shaky feet. "All right, I think I'm ready!"
"Not like that, you aren't." Carefully, Luka took Rin by the shoulders and maneuvered her to face in the opposite direction. The neutral expression on her face morphed into a knowing grimace. "You've never actually worn heels before, have you?"
At that, Rin's ears turned pink, betraying the truth.
They were running out of time. Any normal person would give up here and have Rin wear her old dress shoes instead, even if they were scuffed and worn and peeling around the soles. Her parents certainly would. But Rin had been looking forward to this day for so long...
So maybe this wasn't a wise decision, but if anyone could pick up something on the fly, it was Rin. Thoughtfully, Luka pursed her lips. "Well, if you've made up your mind to wear these shoes... We're rather short on time, but we have maybe half an hour for me to walk you through the basics, at least." She spared a moment to chuckle at her choice of words.
Surprised by the sudden shift in topic, Rin's blinked. "Really? You'll teach me right now?" She sounded like she thought Luka's offer was too good to be true.
"Depends on if you're a quick learner or not."
Her eyes widened. Then, abruptly, her young face lit up in a grin. "Yes! Please! I am!"
"...Well, then. Let's do it." Keeping her smile to herself, Luka crossed her arms and gestured up and down with her eyes, instantly all business. In front of her, Rin snapped into position. "The first thing to keep in mind is posture. Chin back, spine straight. Don't look down. Try to feel your center of balance."
Rin nodded, her expression set into one of determination as she lifted her head, her stomach pulling in slightly to tighten her core muscles. Luka made a few adjustments to her posture until at last she was satisfied.
"Good. Next. Here, start walking forward? Try and keep your feet straight. And arch them a little so they press up against the contour of your shoes."
Her lips downturned in a half-pout, Rin took one step, and then another. She almost wobbled after the third, but thankfully caught herself in time. Sheepishly, she glanced up at Luka, but her face was as impassive as it was before.
"If that happens, what you want to do is adjust how you're placing your feet on the ground." She paused to fish for the right words. "See, instead of using your whole foot, you want to go heel-first and then sort of...roll your toes onto the ground. Yes, like that," said Luka as Rin attempted the motion for herself.
Rin took a moment to redistribute her weight before trying again. This time she made it halfway across the room before she landed unevenly upon a heel, and she would have fallen flat on her face had Luka not tightened her grip around her shoulders to provide additional support.
"Slower." Luka looked down and demonstrated the appropriate spacing between steps. "You don't have to hit the ground running—especially when you're first starting out, you want to take slower, more deliberate steps."
"Hm." Rin pouted, indignant. "But you run in heels all the time, Aunt Luka. I've seen you do it!"
"I," Luka said wryly, "have been wearing heels longer than you've been alive, kid. Patience. You'll improve with time." At the way Rin's scowl deepened, she added, "Besides, you give off a greater air of confidence if your gait is slow and measured while you're in heels. So nobody will think anything of it. Seriously."
Rin sighed. "Fine...I guess." Indignantly, she gave a small huff, then brightened. "Here, let me try again."
Luka returned her hands to her shoulders, and she began inching forward once more. As instructed, she kept her feet arched and her steps small and measured, and this time, miraculously, she didn't wobble.
"Steady...steady..." Keeping her eyes trained on Rin's form in case something went wrong, Luka released her grip and, for the first time, allowed Rin to stand on her own two feet. Rin, of course, kept moving. Her heels echoed against the flooring, her shadow slowly climbing up the wall as she approached the opposite side of the room. At last, she was close enough to touch, and she slapped a hand against the wall and let out a triumphant whoop.
"I did it!"
"You did it!" Luka agreed, applauding. "That was wonderful, Rin. I guess you're right. You are a fast learner, aren't you?"
Though her cheeks were pink, the girl beamed, looping and unlooping one end of the bow on her dress around her hand in a sheepish gesture. "Well, you're a pretty good teacher, too," she admitted, and Luka laughed. What amazingly straightforward, honest words. Now she was growing embarrassed, but she resisted the urge to avert her gaze and look away.
Clearing her throat, Luka glanced back across to the side of the room they had started at, brushing aside some of the hair that spilled over her shoulder as she turned. "Just to be extra sure, let's try walking the length of this room a few more times, and then we'll call it for now. I wouldn't want your feet to become sore before the party's even started, after all."
Rin nodded, removing her hand from the wall and walking back towards the other side, this time unaided. As she practiced, Luka watched thoughtfully. Though Rin had the shortest stature in her family, in some ways she had a larger presence than any of them—she spoke the fastest, smiled the widest, and laughed the loudest. And with the added few inches from her heels, she now had the height to match her energy and charisma. Rin was going to grow into an incredible person, Luka thought to herself, and she was fortunate indeed to be able to witness it happen before her very eyes.
When Rin returned to her starting point for the third time, Luka signaled for her to stop. Reaching up, she unclasped the necklace that lay by her own throat, carefully transferring it so that it was wrapped around Rin's slender neck. Since the chain was designed for a grown woman rather than for a girl, it hung low on Rin's chest, but in a way, it matched with the flowing fabrics and ribbons of Rin's dress.
"There," Luka said. "For you to wear tonight. It's quite lovely on you, don't you think?"
"It is! It's really pretty." Rin furrowed her brow, confused. "But why, Aunt Luka? Why are you giving me this?"
"Well," Luka replied, drawing out the end of the word, "this necklace, should you choose to wear it, is beautiful. And you don't need to look back at it constantly to know that's the case." She gestured down towards Rin's shoes. "Think of walking in heels kind of like that, too. Should you ever find yourself second-guessing and looking down at your feet and you see this necklace hanging here, then you're facing the wrong way. You need to turn your eyes forward instead." She paused to straighten the pendant so it rested evenly below her throat. "So keep your chin up tonight, Rin, and be confident."
"That's..." Rin swallowed, at a momentary loss for words. Then she beamed, and the two of them shared a smile of mutual understanding. "Yes, I get it. Thank you, Aunt Luka."