Class had been dismissed early to allow people time to prepare for the major festival the following day. Normally Sasuke would immediately go and train, but he wasn't sure if he was required to help his family for the festival. Well… actually, he was pretty sure they could manage on their own, but he was curious about what they'd be doing, and he wanted to know what Itachi had planned for the day, being the adoring yet nosy little brother that he was.

Frowning, he walked through the front door, removing his shoes. No one was at home. Disappointed, he walked to the kitchen to get a snack before he went to the training field.

His ears perked up as he heard a floorboard above him creak. Wandering upstairs, he could see it was coming from his parents bedroom. Opening the door, he complained "Okaasan, where is everyone…" He stopped short. In front of him was Itachi, wearing his mother's most decorative kimono and obi, and looked as if he was in the middle of applying white powder to his face. He could see the purple eye shadow and dark red lip colour out on the dresser.

"Don't you ever knock, otouto?" said Itachi angrily. Sasuke blinked.

"I didn't know you liked women's clothes, aniki," said Sasuke a bit dazed, still reeling from the sight.

"It's not what it looks like!" protested Itachi. "This is for Shisui!"

Sasuke gaped. Itachi didn't like the way his little brother constantly talked to him to get attention, but he certainly didn't like it when Sasuke was shocked to the point of being speechless.

Itachi sighed. "Shisui's parents are forcing him to choose a bride this festival. Shisui doesn't want to marry yet. I've finished my duties for today, so I'm going to get approved by the local matchmaker and then Shisui will select me, and then I'll be so disgraceful afterwards that the wedding will be called off. Shisui should be safe for another year, because his parents want him to select a bride at this particular festival, for good luck."

Sasuke just stood there grinning. Grinning at the compromising situation Itachi was in, grinning because what Itachi was doing was kind of sweet, and grinning because it looked as if Shisui had Itachi under his thumb.

Itachi rose, and walked towards Sasuke with a cold look in his eye. He didn't like the way his otouto seemed to be enjoying this. Grabbing Sasuke by the shirt, he tossed him onto the main bed.

"Hey! What are you doing…" Sasuke protested, but he was cut short as Itachi landed on his stomach, pinning him down. Suddenly he felt a substance applied to his face. He kept struggling and tried to wiggle free, but it was no good. Opening his mouth to yell, he inhaled a bit of powder floating around his face and ended up spluttering.

Itachi leaned down with a deadly look in his eye. "I suggest you stop trying to move. You are going to the matchmaker with me, whether your makeup is applied properly or not. People will recognise you if it's not done well. Now I'm going to apply this godforsaken goop on both of us and if you know what's good for you, you will KEEP STILL."

That shut Sasuke up. Pouting, he allowed Itachi to apply the makeup, eye colour, lip colour and to add various decorative things to his hair to keep it back. They also picked out a kimono, with Itachi expertly tying the complicated knot in the obi. Looking in the mirror, he was pretty impressed. Neither he nor Itachi were recognisable, and Itachi had even softened his gaze to look more feminine.

Throwing a fan at him, Itachi said "Now, otouto, you are not expected to speak much in the matchmaker's presence. If you want to communicate, flutter your fan faster to say yes. If you have to speak, I suggest you make your voice high and extremely soft. All you need to do is demonstrate skills as the matchmaker asks you to. Got that?"

"Skills, eh?" said Sasuke, a competitive gleam in his eye. Sure, Itachi might run rings around him as a shinobi, but he might actually have a chance to outshine his brother given that both of them didn't have much experience in this area.

"Just put these on," said Itachi, irritated, tossing a pair of his mother's high quality black sandals at him. He didn't think that Sasuke was actually enjoying being forced to wear women's clothing, which somewhat satisfied him, but he didn't like that competitive look.

Walking into town, they received catcalls from the guys standing around. It was always part of the entertainment to watch the marriage brides at the festival, and the guys considered themselves lucky to see any girls who were getting approved at the last minute, since it was like a bonus.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it to the matchmaker's hall without running into anyone they knew. He didn't think that they would recognise him per se, but with people able to sense chakra and also taking into account his nervousness about being exposed, it was best not to risk it.

They lined up with the other girls waiting. Suddenly the door flew open and the matchmaker stalked out. She was a hard woman, constantly having an air of disapproval, and they could tell she wasn't going to make it easy on them.

Passing Sasuke, she said "You're a little young," glaring at him. Sasuke didn't know what to do, so he squeaked out a small "Hai."

"Do NOT speak unless spoken to, girl," said the matchmaker harshly. Most of the other girls jumped.

"But you just did…" said Sasuke, confused.

"QUIET!" shouted the matchmaker. "I've got you marked down." Giving Sasuke a particularly disapproving look, she continued walking along the line.

After she had given everyone the once-over, she walked into the building, expecting everyone to follow her.

She roughly assigned people to the different seats.

"Listen, ladies. I am an expert in all the feminine arts. Today is the day where you will be assigned a grade which will indicate which type of husband you will get. In other words, today is the day which will determine the rest of your lives. First off, we will have the tea ceremony. You, take the front." She pointed to some girl who looked scared out of her wits. When that girl was finished, she selected some others, not giving encouragement to any of them after their turn was completed. Sasuke was looking intently at each candidate, trying to memorise the steps. The matchmaker saw his distracted look, and said "You! Go." Sasuke ground the leaves, laid out the cups, held the teapot the correct way, and poured the tea. The matchmaker took a sip and then spat it out all over Sasuke's face.

"Bah! Too hot!" she yelled. "Next, you!" She pointed to Itachi.

Itachi rose gracefully and completed the required steps.

"Delicious!" said the matchmaker. "The temperature is perfect, and you have ground the leaves to create a very flavoursome tea. Good! Next." The final girl rose.

"Ok!" said the matchmaker after they'd finished. "Next is flower arrangement. Each of you, take some flowers here and put them in the vase in front of you."

She paced up and down, making sure that the candidates weren't looking at what the others were doing. Sasuke knew that he couldn't be caught watching anyone, so he relied on his own limited knowledge of flowers.

When the allotted time was up, the matchmaker inspected them. "Not bad… alright…." She passed Itachi's. "Good balance," she said. She came to Sasuke's.

"What the HECK is that? The weeds that grow in the gutter on the street look better than that." With that, she picked up his disjointed bunch of flowers and whacked him over the head with it. Not bothering to give feedback to the remaining candidates, she reached the end of the line and turned around with a displeased look on her face.

"Now comes the recital of the wifely creed. You! What is the eleventh paragraph." The chosen girl answered with the elaborate wording. Candidate after candidate was selected, and it came to be Itachi's turn. With fluttering eyelids that never opened more than half way, he answered the question correctly. Sasuke turned in shock because he had known it, and also because of the high, even pitch of his voice which was low for a female, but feminine nonetheless. He couldn't tell it was Itachi. Disapproving of Sasuke's reaction, the matchmaker said "You! What is the fourth paragraph?" and bent down to look him angrily in the eye.

Sasuke had no idea. "The fourth paragraph is…" He paused and looked around desperately for a clue, but wasn't really expecting to see anything. The matchmaker was grinning evilly. Sasuke glared at her. "… to not be a stuck up bitch!"

"WHAT!" she roared. Most of the other girls paled and turned to look. "I will see that you will not even be fit to marry a beggar! I will enjoy destroying your dreams, girl!"

Itachi was the only one who did not react to the outburst. He had continued to sit demurely, hands folded on his lap and head slightly bowed.

Exasperated, she stormed to the front of the room. The trial was over. Walking down the line, she said her opinion of each girl, and also their weak points. It was Itachi's turn.

"What a magnificent example! Always calm, always poised. Any man would be lucky to have her. This lady is the epitomy of gracefulness, serenity, femininity…"

Sasuke snorted a giggle; he couldn't help it.

With rage, the matchmaker stormed over. "And YOU!" She started laughing maniacally. "You're not even fit to marry my dog!" With a triumphant smile, she walked to the next person.

Finishing her rants, she dismissed everyone by opening the front door and walking out. Sasuke was receiving compassionate looks from the other ladies, but they also looked a bit relieved. Obviously he had taken the evil eye away from them.

"Looks like you need more training," said Itachi when they were on the open road.

Sasuke glared angrily at him. "And who should I ask? YOU?" he retorted, with a spiteful grin.

"I'm glad you came along, otouto," said Itachi coolly. "You made me look a whole lot better."

"Stuff you, Itachi!" said Sasuke with a scowl. "I need to get home quickly. This makeup is melting off with the tea that devil-woman spat on me." Itachi chuckled faintly. Glaring at Itachi, he threatened "If I go down, I'm taking you down with me."

"Don't worry, otouto, I don't want you to be discovered either. Even if I wasn't here, if you were found like this, it would still embarrass me to no end."

Turning away with a huff, Sasuke put his attention on watching for people who knew him.

They rounded the last bend and cautiously entered the house, trying to hide their crimes, and began to ready themselves for the next day.

"It was worth it, you know, to hear all those compliments you got," suddenly said Sasuke, giggling.

"Shut up, otouto," said Itachi flatly.

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Disclaimer: If you've read this fic, it should be painfully obvious that I'm not the original creator.

A/N: Crap… this is Japan… er… let's just say that what I know from the Disney movie Mulan about matchmakers applies to this as well, 'k? n-n;;; and I'm making the festival stuff up.

Okaasan – Mother. Otouto – little brother. Shinobi – fighting ninja person. Hai- yes. Kimono – the cloth that is wrapped around like a dress. Obi – worn by girls, the big tie around the stomach, usually tied in a decorative bow at the back.

Next chapter – the day of the festival.

Thank you to anyone who reviews! :3