Disclaimer: I do not own Hakuoki or any of its characters. Only the OC is mine.
Chapter 2: Arrival
Rin returned back to Nirvana from the airships in 10 minutes. She loved flying, riding the wind and following the updrafts. The seraph loved the feeling of the wind against her hair and wings, pushing her upwards. It was the one reason why she kept her hair so short. Combing the tangles out of long curly hair took forever but not if it was as short as Rin's. It also made her feel lighter and a whole lot cleaner after she bathed, which coincidently, was Rin's second most favorite thing to do.
As Rin neared Nirvana, she noticed the depth of preparation the other girls put into making the island as perfect as possible. 'The school looks more organized than it originally is, if that's even possible' Rin thought to herself. The white stone walls of the building looked to be even whiter and shined in the evening sun from the efforts of undoubtedly, a group of girls. The ivy witch crawled up one side of the building had been trimmed back and the windows polished. The flowerbeds were free of weeds and the bushes and trees pruned. The fountain in front of the entryway was scrubbed free of any dirt and there was no stray leaf in sight. Rin looked down and saw the landing dock had been cleared as well. Rin admired her view from above for a short time before she remembered that she was to report back to Headmistress Osen. Rin circled the building and landed on the balcony of her room, one of her many luxuries. 'It will be faster if I go from here' the young girl thought. Upon entry to her dorm, Rin noticed a small parcel placed with care on her bed with a letter carefully placed on top. Hands full with her new ceremonial clothing, Rin put them away in her dresser with great care before carefully opening the envelope addressed to her. She immediately knew who it was, recognizing Chizuru's neat handwriting.
Dear Rin,
I know that you don't have anything nice to wear for formal occasions so I took the liberty to make you a dress
which I hope will suit your tastes. It would be a waste if you wear black or dark colors everyday and everywhere.
I probably wont see you till before the banquette so I'll put your dress in your room where I knew you'll find it.
Madame Osen requested that everyone be dressed in appropriate attire so please wear it, I would love to
see it on you. See you in a few hours!
-Chizuru
P.S. Please don't get mad at Umi for breaking into your room while you where out again. I had to get into
your room somehow.
Rin quickly read over the letter again and set it down next to the parcel. It was rapped in brown paper and tied together with a red ribbon. "I've never had a dress or anything formal to wear before..." Rin said aloud quietly, touched by Chizuru's thoughtfulness. Sure, the young seraph did have ceremonial clothing which she received in the last hour but her own dress... Rin opened the parcel eagerly, untying the ribbon and undoing the folds. Rin had seen many beautiful sights from her flights before but, what lay beneath took her breath away.
A dress the color of the twilight sky. The soft silk shimmered in light, reminding Rin of stars. 'The effort that Chizuru put into this... She even remembered that twilight was my favorite time of day...' Rin pressed the dress to her body, admiring its length. It barely reached her knees and the color of the sleeves ended in an even darker colored lace which would reveal her pale skin. 'Chizuru really outdid herself this time' Rin mused to herself. She wanted to put the dress on right then and there but still had to report back to Headmistress Osen. Reluctantly, the young seraph put the dress down. 'I'll have to get Chizuru the flowers she always like from Gale Mountains as a thank you' Rin thought to herself, knowing that it would take a while to return her kindness to her selfless friend.
Rin quickly left her room and headed back to the Headmistress' room to find her door already opened. Knocking on the door, Rin called out ,"Madame? I've returned".
Rin heard a shuffle and Osen quickly called back, "Yes, come in". Rin entered the office and bowed politely. "How did it go, my dear?" the oni asked. Rin noticed that the headmistress was already dressed in her formal attire, a red and gold kimono with a violet obi. Her hair adorned with beautiful combs.
"Everything turned out alright, Madame. There were no casualties and the impurity was hardly anything notable" Rin answered respectfully. "The Headmaster seems to be in good health and his students seemed as disciplined as ever. The only thing that was unpleasant about the situation was the student council president"
This perked the oni's interest. "Oh, what was he like?" the Headmistress asked casually, careful not to revile any emotion.
"He had blood red eyes and spikey golden hair. For some reason, I got the impression that he thought himself the emperor or something" Rin answered quickly, not caring to talk of the man with formalities at this point. Osen took further interest. 'It can't be' the oni thought.
"Mind if I take a look at him?" the headmaster asked, seemingly innocent. Rin nodded and Osen placed a hand on the girl's head. Flashes of images went through Osen's head until she found the one she was looking for. "What a scary looking man. It would be best if you kept away from him during their stay, Rintoki" the woman warned.
"Yes, Madame. Please excuse me, but I must help with the preparations and get ready myself" Rin excused herself. Osen nodded and sent her away, a heavy feeling in her heart. 'Kazama is back' the oni thought with dread.
Rin did what she could to help everyone prepare for their guests be it heavy lifting, flying up and placing banners on the walls or giving the floor a final sweep. By the time she was done, it was already dark and everyone else had already left to bathe and prepare for the banquette. Rin looked through the window to the sky. 'It's already night and they still haven't arrived yet'. That of course was a given. The checkpoint where the airships made their stop for the inspection was at least 3 hours away going the fastest speed an airship could travel. Rin got back to the island in 10 minutes. Now finished with the preparations, Rin went back to her room to be greeted by two friendly faces.
"Rin! It took you long enough to get here!" Umi all but shouted. Chizuru stood behind her and gave out a soft greeting. Both of them had their formal attire draped over their arms. "Hurry up and get your things. We are going to take a bath before the banquette. I don't want to smell like the food I cooked all day" the rouge ordered. Rin nodded but before she went to pick up her article of clothing, the seraph walked over to Chizuru and hugged her tightly. For Rin, it was sometimes difficult to share her deep emotions with others but when she tried, they understood.
"Thank you for the lovely dress, Chizuru. I will take good care of it" Rin said quietly in her ear. Chizuru smiled and returned the hug as best she could with her arms full and Rin's wings.
"Of course, Rin! I figured that I could make something nice that could fit you. I have been the one fixing all of your clothes after all" the young oni answered. Rin nodded in agreement, remembering the times where Chizuru salvaged some of her clothes that were deemed scrap cloth.
"Come on you guys! Hurry up or we won't make it in time!" Umi exclaimed, impatiently tapping her foot. Rin was a little surprised that although Umi was a very skilled rouge, she could be quite loud when she wanted to be. Rin quickly got her things together and the three girls left for the baths.
The baths were located on the far side of the East Dormitory and took up a very large portion of the second floor. It resembled a bathhouse; large open space, lockers, giant baths, sinks, polished granite floors and the room always seemed to be full of steam. To think that even with a large bath like this was indoors, a hot spring was just located right outside. The girls quickly undressed and washed off the dirt and grime from today's labor in the baths special herb treated water. Nudity didn't bother any of the girls living here. After all, they were all girls and with the bond that they all shared, they were practically sisters.
After bathing, the girls got dressed and left the room smelling like flora and wearing fine silks. They went back to Rin's room to finish preparing. Umi was busy styling Chizuru's hair and Rin was applying a little makeup to the oni's face. Chizuru wore a classic pink and violet kimono with cherry blossom patterns with a dark red obi. Umi was wearing a shimmering green corset dress adorned with ruffles on the edges. Her long black hair draped over her back and shoulders.
"There, all done" Umi said after she finished placing hair ornaments in Chizuru's hair. "You look beautiful! Rin, good job on the makeup. Now let's hurry up and gather at the entrance with the others!" the girl said with excitement.
"Eh? Aren't you two going to apply makeup and do your hair as well? It hardly seems fair for you guys to put all the effort on me..." Chizuru exclaimed, blushing slightly. The two other girls shook their heads.
"I only had enough makeup for one person and my hair is to short to do anything with it" Rin explained. She deliberately failed to mention that she didn't like the feeling of the paints and powders on her face. Rin enjoyed applying it on others, not wearing it herself.
"And I like having my hair down, Chizuru. Besides, it's so much fun dressing you up. You look a lot better in a kimono than an apron." The oni blushed again quietly saying thanks. The girls then left to join the other students who had gathered at the school's main entrance, excitedly chattering while waiting for the arrival of their guests.
Three hours earlier...
The men of Shieikan Military academy gripped the edges of their seats tightly as the ships were tossed around by the wind. 'It's like we are the ball, and the wind is the children' Saitou thought, glancing around at his friends. Heisuke's face was a little green and Shinpatchi was clutching his stomach for dear life. Okita had his usual grin on his face as though he was enjoying a ride and Sano sat rather calmly in his seat, his eyes closed. Yamazaki sat as stoically as himself. 'They are taking it rather well,' the man thought, remembering his classmates reaction to the hard turbulence, lightning, thunder and sudden turns. Some men had actually opened a window to throw up rather violently and others looked scared to death as if thinking 'I'm going to die. This ship is a deathtrap and it is going to fall out of the sky and crash'.
The ride lasted another three rather long hours and by then, lightning had struck the group's ship on five separate occasions. Luckily, airships were designed to withstand harsh weather and electricity. They had to be, as their original purpose was for war or transporting merchandise over long distances.
"It's too bad that Hijikata couldn't sit with us, isn't it? I would have loved to see his reaction" commented Okita, light smile on his face that for once reached his forest green eyes. "Too bad he was selected to watch another airship because they were low on staff". Everyone nodded in agreement, suddenly imagining the raven haired mans' possible reactions. Although usually a reasonable man, Toshizo Hijikata had a tendency to become rather pissy when he was worried or uncomfortable and lashed out at others easily.
"I bet that man will write another terrible haiku while here" Sano added smiling. This earned a light chuckle from the group when suddenly, the dark interior of the waiting room was brightened from the moonlight. They were out of the cloud cover at last. Saitou looked back at the enormous cloud the airships had just emerged from and his eyes widened. Let's just say that it looked really bad. For a lot of people, they never get a chance to see the wind, therefore it was always classified as something that was tangible, not visible.
They were wrong.
The harsh winds that surrounded the floating island looked like freshly sharpened knives that would tear anything to shreds. They twisted unpredictably and the clouds followed it, being formed into harsh shapes. The entire area crackled with energy, be it light or sound. 'If hell had weather, that's what it would look like' Saitou summed up.
'How in the world did that small girl get through all of that?' were the thoughts of everyman aboard when it was suddenly interrupted by Heisuke, who exclaimed, "Look!". The men turned to gaze to the area Heisuke was pointing at and everyone's, except the well collected few, eyes widened and jaws dropped.
What they saw was more like a floating continent than an island. For some reason, someone failed to mention that Nirvana was HUGE. There were forests and rivers that fell off the edges like waterfalls. There were even mountains behind the forest and a clear, pristine lake. Near one edge of the island was a cleared out area of land with a large, well lighted building, the school, and a well illuminated landing dock. From where they were positioned, the students in the airships could see a large group of people crowded around the entrance of the building and a ripple of excitement coursed through the men. They were finally here.
And that's chapter 2 everyone! I would like to thank you for reading and please review for any constructive criticism or ideas that you may have and I will take them all into consideration. Have a great day!
