A/N: Finally! Chapter Eight of this fic is here! And this one is a status quo changer! How? Read to find out, silly!
It was an early summer morning at school, and all of Class 1-3 is here… except for Tomo.
"Darn it!" Shouted a peeved Yukari, "The one day that my class has perfect attendance, and Tomo's not here!"
"Yukari-sensei," Chiyo raised her hand, "I-"
"CHIYOSUKE, DON'T 'YUKARI-SENSEI' ME!"
Chiyo then lowered her hand and turned her gaze to Yomi.
"Yomi-san," she called to the bespectacled girl, "Where's Tomo-san?"
"Oh, since today's the special day, Tomo's parents allowed her to stay at home for the day," Yomi answered, "But when Tomo's prepared, we're going to see her."
Meanwhile, in the Takinos' restaurant, Tomo was writing some kanji on her forearm when her mother shows up.
"Tomo," Rie said, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing Mom!" Tomo said, "I'm just copying down Chiyo-chan's notes to do my homework!"
"Tomo, you should really get started on studying and actually do your homework."
"I know mom! I should just stop slacking off and start studying if Yukari-chan won't hit me in the head."
"My darling little daughter, I know that Tanizaki-san is hitting you, but she's just giving you tough love. She's trying to encourage you to work harder. In fact, I like that Tanizaki woman. She's should be a good role model for girls like you." Mrs. Takino then looked at the clock in Tomo's room, "Tomo, we should leave right now. The matchmaker will see you in two hours, so we have to get you to the people who will doll you up!"
And with that, the two women went downstairs and outside to Mr. Takino and his car.
"Rie, Tomo!" Toshiyo shouted, "What took you so long to get outside?!"
"Toshiyo, I have to give Tomo some encouragement," Mrs. Takino answered, "Besides, this is her first time meeting her fiancee, and she needs to get ready for the matchmaker fast."
"You want fast, Rie? Well, I'll give you fast!"
And with that, Mr. Takino pushed the gas pedal of his Model-T, and the family was off, only leaving the other children behind to take care of the restaurant.
"Welp, it's 1914 all over again," Daisuke sighed.
"Except there won't be a chance for daddy to die," Tomoko added.
The Model-T raced throughout the streets of Tokyo, somehow avoiding both massive damage and the police at the same time, though the car didn't avoid a pile of hay in front of the entrance of the bathhouse, and then… the car and its passengers were covered in hay.
"Toshiyo!" Rie shouted, "Why did you crash at the hay pile?!"
"The hay pile was in our way, Rie!" Mr. Takino snapped back, "And besides, you're the one who-"
"SHUT UP, YOU TWO!"
The Takino couple turned their heads to see an old lady walk towards them.
"Is that-" Mr. Takino said.
"Yep, it is her," Mrs. Takino added, "My mom's here."
"Wait, grandma's here?!" Tomo shouted, "That's so-"
"Cool?" Granny Takino interrupted, "I know! Now you three, come with me! We got lots of work to do."
The three family members then followed Granny Takino toward the bathhouse, while the elderly woman explained her plans with Tomo:
"So, I hired the best bathers, hairstylists, seamstresses, and makeup artists to get my granddaughter ready for the matchmaker. Now Tomo, you must act prim and proper to the matchmaker so she can approve you. And just in time, we're in the bathhouse!"
The bather then came outside to check the dirty Tomo.
"This is what you give me to work with?" the bather said as she inspects Tomo, " Well ma'am and mister, I've seen worse!"
"So, what you're going to do?" Mrs. Takino asked the bather.
"Isn't it oblivious?! I shall turn this sow's ear," the bather answered as she shoves Tomo behind a folding screen, strips her down, and pushes her into a bathtub, "Into a silk purse!"
"God, the water's freezing!" Tomo said as shivering in the bathtub.
The bather then scrubs Tomo with shampoos and hair conditioner on her hair while singing a song:
"We'll have you washed and dried
Primped and polished till you glow with pride
Trust my recipe for instant bride
You'll bring honor to us all"
Rie then grabbed her daughter's arm and noticed that the notes are still there. "Mom, I have a feeling that these are not studying notes."
"You think so," Granny Takino said back, "Cause she's going to need all of the luck in the world."
After getting out of the tub and given a bathrobe, the hairstylists started to comb and brush Tomo's hair, styling it into a side bun and singing their own song:
"Wait and see
When we're through."
"Boys will gladly go to war for you!"
"With good fortune,"
"And a great hairdo"
"You'll bring honor to us all"
Rie and Tomo then go out of the bathhouse to the streets. Tomo then saw other girls her own age getting ready for the matchmaker and the townspeople started to sing their song:
"A girl can bring her family
Great honor in one way
By striking a good match
And this could be the day"
In the kimono shop, the seamstresses and Rie are fitting Tomo in a pink furisode kimono with a navy blue obi that has a red obijime, and the three women sang as they work on Tomo:
"Men want girls with good taste"
"Calm"
"Obedient"
"Who work fast-paced"
"With good breeding"
"And a tiny waist"
"You'll bring honor to us all"
"Mom!" Tomo shouted as she chafed, "This kimono is killing me!"
"Tomo, you need to have a tiny waist so the matchmaker can see that you're worthy of bearing children," Rie said back, "Now, tuck in that tummy."
Tomo and her mother then walked out once more into the town, and the townsfolk sang again:
"We all must serve our emperor
Who fends us from the Reds
A man by bearing arms
A girl by getting wed"
At the makeup studio, the makeup artist started to apply some white foundation on Tomo's face, then applying some ruby red lipstick and purple eyeshadow on her lips and eyes while she and Mrs. Takino sing in round:
"When we're through, you can't fail
Like a lotus blossom soft and pale
How could any fellow say 'No sale'
You'll bring honor to us all"
Rie then finally put a sakura kushi comb in Tomo's bun. "There Tomo," she said, "You're now ready."
"Not yet!" Granny Takino interrupted, shoving an apple in Tomo's mouth, putting a yin-yang amulet inside Tomo's kimono, and putting a jade necklace on Tomo's neck, "An apple for fertility, a pendant for balance, and jade necklace for wealth."
"Mom, is that it?" Rie asked her mom.
"NO! All's that left is Komori-kun!" Granny Takino then showed her daughter and granddaughter the bat in the birdcage. "I found him in the southern islands of Okinawa and decided to keep him as a good luck charm, and now I'm giving him to you, Tomo"
Granny Takino then shoved Komori-kun into the back of Tomo's obi. "Now, don't blow it, Tomo!" she said as Tomo left the building.
"Man, this is my only chance," Tomo thought to herself, "I know it goes against all I believe in, but I have to carry my country, no, my empire's pride!"
Tomo then sees the line of potential brides, and she joins the line, trying to copy their posture and movement. Soon, the entire town gathered around the girls, and they start singing and the girls did the same:
"Destiny
Guard our girls
And our future as it fast unfurls
Please look kindly on these cultured pearls
Each a perfect porcelain doll"
"Please bring honor to us-"
"Please bring honor to us-"
"Please bring honor to us-"
"Please bring honor to us-"
"Please bring honor to us all!"
The girls gather around the matchmaker's house of validation, and they bow down as the townspeople gather around these girls. In the crowd, Tomo's group of friends were checking at the future brides, trying to find the wildcat.
"Tomo-san!" Chiyo shouted, "Where are you?"
"Man, all of these girls look the same!" Kagura said, "Is there anything that could tell them apart?!"
"The girl who chafing over there," Yomi pointed out, "That's Tomo."
"THAT'S TOMO?!" the other girls shouted, "BUT SHE'S SO DOLLED UP!"
"Ah don't know," Ayumu chimed in, "She ain't that different from the Tomo-chan we know and love."
Soon, the matchmaker came out of the building, the future brides gulped.
"Takino Tomo!" The matchmaker called, "Come inside for your examination."
Tomo then entered the building and sits down seiza-style, looking at the matchmaker and feeling sweat on her brow.
"Takino Tomo," the matchmaker said, " You're now involved in an arranged marriage, so you must act like a proper Yamato Nadeshiko. And I'm here to assess you on that front, and alright you're showing a proper seiza form, very good."
As the matchmaker continued assessing Tomo, Chiyo, Yomi, Kagura, Ayumu, Sakaki, and Kaori are spying at the window.
"So, you think Tomo-san will survive the assessment, Yomi-san?" Chiyo asked the glasses-wearing girl.
"Hard to said, Chiyo-chan," Yomi answered, "To be honest, Tomo's the least feminine girl the matchmaker has to deal with, but Tomo's pulling some effort to be a housewife."
"Tomo's got a lot of gut in order to act like somebody she isn't!" Kagura noted, "It's like she's a different person!"
"Though, I'm more worried about the bat in the birdcage," Sakaki commented.
"And I'm more worried about these teenage brides' virginity!" Said Kimura, who was next to the girls.
"WHY IN THE HECK ARE YOU HERE?!" The girls shouted together.
After a long assessment, Tomo was about to know her fate for her future.
"Takino-san," The matchmaker said, "While you said some things that are vulgar, you have proven to me that you're ready to meet your fiancee and future husband. Oyama Masaki, come here! I had found your perfect wife!"
The door opens, revealing a boy the same age as Tomo wearing glasses on his face and is in a nice tuxedo. Tomo recognized the boy from somewhere, but she shrugs it off.
"Takino-san," Masaki said, "It's a pleasure to meet-"
"OYAMA-KUN, IS THAT YOU?!" Tomo interrupted, which caused the matchmaker to get so angry that she kicked the two future lovebirds out of the building.
"Mark my word, Takino Tomo-san," the matchmaker said, "Your crazy, unladylike behavior will spell doom for your marriage! You must change your ways in order to fit society's norms! Until then, good day, ma'am!"
The other girls gather around the fainted Tomo and Masaki, trying to wake them up. Thankfully, both of them wake up, and they giggle at each other before Kimura showed up before them.
" So Tomo," The creepy teacher said, "How was it?" Kimura then adjusted his glasses to see Tomo and Masaki, and then he mimics bells chiming the "Here Comes the Bride" melody.
"Okay, Kimura-sensei is weird," Masaki said.
"Truth me! Yomi and Kagura will be sending him in the air!" Tomo added.
And with that, Tomo, Masaki, and the other girls all got a good laugh.
One: Masaki Oyama, while being Tomo's fiancee, will make minor appearances in the fic! I'm a fan of Tomo/Yomi!
Two: I don't own "Honor To Us All" it's owned by Disney!
Three: Read and Review!