Title: Advices
Author: monitorscreen
Fandom: Peace Maker Kurogane
Characters: Yamazaki Susumu and Ayumu
Rating: G
Word count: 446
Disclaimer: Peace Maker Kurogane is the creation of Kurono Nanae, not mine.
Summary: It is almost time to go to Masuya.
Author's notes: Fic #1 for LJ comm Ficlets on Demand's Fic a Day June Challenge. Request: Dressing up by ghost-whisper.
Advices
by monitor screen
-o-
The compound is boiling with activities. It is almost time to go to Masuya. Susumu removes his man's clothing, and starts to dress.
The first time Susumu wore a woman's kimono to public, Ayumu was going with him. Not on a mission, merely to a carnival. "For practice," she said, smiling slyly.
Put on the juban. Adjust the position of the collar. Hold the garment in place with a koshihimo. Secure with a datejime.
Ayumu picked his kimono for him. "No matter how much you have trained, you still don't have a woman's sense of fashion." She said that no self-respectable woman would go out in the colours he chose, "Those clash horribly."
Put on the kimono. It is still a little damp from the rain, but that does not matter. Tie the first koshihimo. Smooth down the fabric. Secure the lapels with the second koshihimo. Tuck in the excess length. It is troublesome in the back, but he manages with practised ease.
"Ew, what a mess you have made here," Ayumu had batted away his as yet fumbling hands then, and neatened the fabric with a few tugs. "This is how it is done."
Tie on the datejime. Check that the ohashori is lying straight. Smooth away creases at the back. Tie the obi.
Ayumu was silent until he was done with the obi, even waited till he had knotted the obijime. Then she moved him in front of the mirror, "Tell me, do you really think it is acceptable?" He passed her inspection only on the third try.
Finish with tying and tucking in the obiage. Check that the collars are in position. Start on the makeup.
"No, no, that is too much powder. You want to look pretty, not as if you are going on stage," Ayumu stroked his cheek and showed him the excess clinging to her fingers. "Go wash it up, try again!"
Susumu looks at the bizarrely familiar face in the mirror. He tries to smile like she did on numerous occasions. It does not look quite the same. Must be the hair.
Ayumu smirked at his frustration, "Your hair is not short either, how can a few extra inches be such a challenge?" He glared at her as he struggled with the wig.
Someone comes for him as he is finger combing the fringe. "Yamazaki, are you rea-" The Shinsengumi member reels back when he opens the door. Good.
"Remember, you want to stay away from water," Ayumu pulled him off the crowd around the goldfish pool in the carnival. "What if someone splashes you?"
It is raining. He picks up a shawl, "Let's go."
The time has come.
-o-