Within the traditional gardens Hanabi waits, smoothing out her best robes - as final preparation. Not at all to calm her nerves. Not at all obvious.
"You haven't done anything wrong. They have no reason to persecute you."
Hanabi wishes it was that simple. Her aunt brushes the away the long, dark hair that covers her forehead, revealing the mark that all the Bunke are branded with. Her aunt hesitates and Hanabi tries to contemplate the look clouding her pale grey eyes but is not given the time as her aunt kisses her tattooed forehead and swiftly shepherds her to the council room without another word.
She breathes in slowly and enters, sliding the door closed behind her. Over a dozen blank faces and empty eyes stare back, their hair swept away and pulled back, not obstructing their clear foreheads. Her older sister is beautiful as always, dressed in an elaborate peach and buttercup kimono, a delicate magnolia tree embroidered along its length and tiny swallows flitting across her sleeves. Next to them she feels naked in her own plain, scratchy robes. Hanabi has a sudden impulse to run from the Souke and back into her aunt's arms just outside those paper walls. Instead she bows low to the ground, not daring to look up at the council's eyes. Limp locks of hair spill over her face, leaving the nape of her neck venerable to the scrutiny of the Souke. Hanabi briefly ponders why Hinata is the only other person there who grows her hair in front of her face.
She doesn't have anything to hide.
The hearing starts, but to her, it all seems like a blur. Her gaze is unfocused and hazy at the feet of the council and the single thing her mind processes is that Hinata is sitting uncharacteristically tall and unwavering. Hanabi remembers a time before the Bunke and Souke, before their parents passed away, before her sister, the heir, was forced to lead. An image of a young girl appears, kneeling, bent over in the dirt snipping buds off the young, green plants, while her little sister sits by her side tugging on her sleeve, giggling at the ladybugs toppling off the stalks. The eldest hums to herself softly, timidly, a tune about the river's flow, the glimmering silver scales of schools of fish and baby birds taking off in their first flight.
She is jolted back into reality as a wrinkled old man clears his throat and rises. She faintly recognises him as a distant great uncle and he circles her like a hawk swooping on its prey.
Hanabi cannot recall exchanging more than a few words with him in the past.
"She is obviously guilty, no doubt as anticipated from the Bunke." He forces the word out like it is poison, filth on the pristine of the clan. Murmurs of agreement follow in lead.
Hanabi keeps her eyes trained to the ground, opting to regard the whorls of wood ingrained in the polished floorboards. She waits, like a disobedient child awaiting punishment from her elders. Inwardly she wishes to speak, but her throat is rough and dry. Even so, she doubts she would be able to muster the nerve. Still silent, Hinata doesn't do anything but stare straight ahead, not looking any of them. No more than what Hanabi ever expects.
"No one will believe you." The elder states resolutely, face hard as stone.
"I do." Hinata's voice is quiet and does not carry, but cuts through the room sure and true, no longer stuttering like a little girl. She is long past that point in her life. All eyes in the room stare in bewildered disbelief that their impressionable leader dares speak for a mere Bunke servant. The silence is almost tangible. Hanabi can almost imagine that they can hear her heartbeat racing.
The Souke, who bare their faces for all to see, cannot conceal their crinkled brows. The elder turns tight-jawed to their leader, lips thinning into a controlled white fury, but evidently sealed shut.
There is no outcry, so Hinata continues.
"Hanabi is my sister." For the first time in years Hinata looks directly at her face, if only for a moment, and quickly averts her eyes. The corners of her lips are upturned. Sunlight shines on her through an open window and she continues to smile at the birds outside flying free.
It has taken her whole life, but at this moment Hanabi realises with a mixture of regret, bliss and something else she cannot quite describe, that shy smile has always been meant for her.