Chapter 12: The Kimono (duhn duhn DUHN)

Saturday, June 14th, 2005

I finally clean my five, yes, five plates of everything I ever wanted in my life, lean back in my chair with a contented sigh, and look everyone in the eye this time, feeling fully refreshed and brave. Those jackasses (that I can't remember the names of) really are right about thinking on a full stomach. Maybe this wasn't such a bad choice after all, staying here. I wouldn't get fed so well on the road.

"I'm glad you liked the food." Yukina squeaks. She still doesn't dare look me in the eye, because apparently her fingernails are so much more interesting.

"You made that stuff?" I ask her.

"Y-yes." She trembles.

"It was really good, thanks." Okay. Am I braver or stupider? Because, wasn't I just…hateful of these people? And now I'm being polite? I gasp in shock, realizing just what the only possible explanation could be. "You put something in the food!"

"She put a great many things in the food." Botan says happily. "There were eggs, and cornstarch, and salt, and pepper…"

"NOT THAT KIND! She drugged me! All of a sudden, I feel so much more trusting of you all when I just wasn't. And she won't look me in the eye because she's ashamed! I'm probably going to have heart failure in three seconds!"

"I told you she thought we'd poison her breakfast."

"AND NOW I KNOW IT'S TRUE! Look at you all! Seemingly a polite gesture—"

"Yukina's just shy…"

"THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!" I roar.

"Botan is rubbing off." The cone-headed boy has, well, materialized next to me, kicking Keiko out of her seat, who squeals indignantly and walks off to sit in one of the chairs next to Yukina. How does he move so quietly so fast? "I'd never thought it would be you she'd corrupt. When did you get so paranoid?"

"What?"

"You're freaking out over nothing. I mean, you know us, we're your friends. Why would we poison your breakfast?"

The rest of the group swallows, and Hiei's (THAT was his name) huge eyes narrow. I don't know what to say. Apparently he lives his life and memory by Botan's story too…

After a full moment's pause, he asks, "Is there something I don't know?" Whether accidentally or threateningly, his right hand begins to stroke the tip of the sword poking out of his cloak. "Is there something different about this one?" He looks directly at Kurama, who holds his gaze.

Botan bursts out, "OH, HIEI, THAT'S CRAZY! ISN'T IT? ISN'T IT?"

Hiei's eyes flip to Koenma, who returns the gaze evenly. Major tension flies through the air.

Then, Hiei seems to relax, and looks away back to me, his luminous eyes boring into mine. "So, Katrina, why are you back so soon? I didn't expect you."

Well, isn't he a gracious hostess. And why is he referring to me as a Human? Isn't he a human just the same as me? It's like laughing at someone because they have a nose. And doesn't he know I've lost my memory? Apparently not. Why is Kurama staring at me like that?

"Oh…I just wanted to…to come back…" I finish weakly.

"Because I would have thought you'd have wanted to stay with your—"

"WOULD YOU LIKE SOME TEA?" A cup is thrust in front of Hiei's face by Botan.

"No, thank you." He says coldly. He has a funny look in his eye.

Oh crap. He wants me to elaborate. "I just wanted to see everyone, and everyone that I was with before was okay."

Hiei looks at me for a long moment, and seems to buy it. "Then why didn't you just say that? Katrina, is something wrong—"

Suddenly, time freezes as Koenma, the baby, picks up a fried egg with his fork and flings it right in Hiei's face. It hits him square on the nose, and the white of the yolk drips down over his lips, trickles down his neck, and soaks his black collar.

I can see his face growing red. Oh shit.

"Enough." He says.

Keiko, Botan, and Yukina stand up all at once. "Breakfast is officially over!" They chime. "Katrina needs to go back to bed to get over her new disease."

Hiei still does nothing except unsheathe his katana sword, drawing it out from the folds of his cloak. "Koooenmaaaaa…" He hisses menacingly, with death in his eyes.

Apparently the girls are as eager to be free of the tension as I am. Leave the men to the latest edition of Death at Breakfast, right? Keiko and Yukina each grab a wrist of mine to pull me up. I snap my arms back (breaking their grip), hiding the insides of my arms against my body, lest he see the scars, pretending that the cloak was falling down, and smooth the ends of my hair nervously. To compromise, Yukina and Keiko yank me out of the chair by the shoulders and once I'm in front of them and standing, they and Botan use all of their combined power to shove me clear out of the room at top speed. They don't even give me the chance to open the rainbow door, and instead use me as the kind of log that you smash when a door won't open.

I think my nose broke, as well as every other bone in the front of my body. I cringe and shut my eyes, and in their hurry they accidentally ram me in to the opposite wall on top of that. I yelp and cover my face completely, and they turn me the right way and start half running, half shoving me down the hallway. Botan actually takes out her paddle and to make me run harder she jabs me with the pointy end every 3 seconds.

It's over before I know it, and with only minimal injuries. I call that a success considering that it was Botan doing all the pushing (and cruel poking), and Keiko and Yukina doing most of the running. I can't be mad because I should be thanking her. Well, you have to give Yukina credit for opening the door to my room before they punished me again. I mean, why stop at breaking my face? Go the whole nine yards and make a me-shaped hole in the door.

Exhausted with a headache, backache, and nose-ache, I flop down on the closest bed, sprawling far over it. I pant hard from running so hard for so long and stretch. When my breathing returns to normal, I glance up at them to see if they're still there. They are, like some kind of weird nursemaids…several of which have considerably upset the person that dyes their hair. They're in height formation, the giant Botan, the middle-level Yukina, and the small Keiko.

I sit up, understanding that they're waiting for something.

Botan is the first to speak. She's unusually serious. "Katrina…you might have a few questions. No, don't interrupt. I'll tell you. Stay away from Hiei. As I'm sure you figured out, he…he doesn't know what you've forgotten, okay? We'd like to keep it that way. Don't ask why. You're not allowed to know—it might make some unpleasant memories resurface. He may have been your boyfriend, but…"

"Was I in an abusive relationship?" I ask, remembering the sword. "Oh, what the hell. What's going to make me believe you? I mean, sure, I'll keep the secret from him, but I'll tell you right now, I'm not going to stay here forever."

They all exchange a meaningful look. Keiko suddenly breaks formation with the other girls and starts rummaging through the dresser on the other side of the room. "Okay, Yukina, Botan, you can go now. I'll take it from here. All three of us might be making her nervous." She's talking about me like I'm not even there.

They nod and leave. Even their retreating backs suggest that they're sisters. Jeez. I'm just kind of afraid to ask them. What if it's touchy? What if Botan got pregnant at 12 and had Yukina? I guess that settles it…I shouldn't ask…

They shut the door, and I'm left sitting on the bed, wondering what she's doing over there. She seems to be collecting things—ah, there, she just turned around. And she's holding…?

"Are those clothes?" I ask, looking at the folds of purples fabric in her hands.

She nods, embarrassed. "I know, it's about time. Come on, out of that cloak."

"OH MY GOD, YOU REALLY ARE TRYING TO UNDRESS ME!"

She blinks. "Katrina, you're pretty, but not that pretty, you know? No, I'm here to help you on with your kimono. No one in the world can do it by themselves."

"My what?"

"Your kimono. You know the dress that Botan and Yukina wore?"

"For me? Why do I have to wear one?"

"Actually for protection." She comes closer to me. "It's actually more or less to prevent Hiei from seeing that scar on your wrist. I think that might lead him to suspect something is wrong."

I back away, scooting my butt on the bed. "And I need a whole dress for my arm? Why can't I just say I cut it accidentally?"

"Because it looks like it was done on purpose. It's too perfectly straight. And a kimono looks more natural than a cast or bandage. And we can't have you walk around in a sweatshirt the rest of your life. That's the kind of scar that won't heal, okay? Also, this way he can't…find incriminating evidence on you. Like, when we erased your memories, we had to hurt you…hahaha. So…"

Huh? When did they knock me out? Is the tranquilizer what she means?

"Stop fighting me. I'll help you put it on."

"You don't understand. This cloak is the only clothing I have. I have no panties or bra. So stay away for your own safety." A thought occurs to me. Was I wearing this cloak when they found me? Because it is sort of comforting…I like the herb scent…

"I have some underwear right here." She digs through the folds of cloth and comes out with the typical underclothes of a woman. She throws them on the bed space next to me, and the underwear almost touches me. I squeal and scoot away.

"I'm not wearing that."

"You have to."

"It's not mine."

"Go on. You have to."

"I AM NOT WEARING SOMEONE ELSE'S UNDERWEAR!"

"It's never been used! We got it for you!"

"OH, SURE, LIKE I'LL BUY THAT!"

"Wear it. WEAR IT! STOP BEING A BABY! DO YOU INTEND TO WALK AROUND IN THAT CLOAK THE REST OF YOUR GOD-GIVEN LIFE?"

"…But you'll see me." I say in a small voice.

"No I won't." As if to drive the point home, she turns and walks right out the door, still carrying the kimono. It slams behind her

I just stare at the underclothes. They stare back.

And then, I sigh, giving in. I already promised myself I was going to be here for a while. And like she said, I certainly can't wear that cloak the whole time. Realistically speaking. I mean, how long is this knot going to hold? And I have to admit, the underwear does sort of look my size, so I guess…I guess I'll do it. It probably won't kill me.

Cringing and regretting it already, I slip off the cloak and pull on the underwear.

…Look at all those bruises. All down my chest, and arms…

I don't have long to marvel. Keiko knocks in like thirty seconds, and so I finish in a hurry and shove the cloak back on as she enters. I nervously pull it farther up. She has a maniacal gleam in her eyes, and it doesn't look like this will be fun at all.

I sigh. She's not backing down.

So, to be fair, I can't let her down either.

Forty Minutes Later:

"Is it good now?" I ask her for the 18 thousandth time.

"NO! YOU'VE BEEN ASKING THAT FOREVER!"

"NOW?"

"NO!"

"YOU'VE BEEN FUCKING TYING THE OBI FOR SEVEN GENERATIONS!"

"TRY FIFTEEN MINUTES! DO YOU HAVE ANY PATIENCE?"

"NO!"

"WELL, GET SOME! AND FUCKING HOLD STILL! I'M ALMOST DONE!"

"FINE! I WILL!"

"THANK GOD! THERE, YOU BITCH! YOU'RE DONE!"

I stop screaming at the stupid girl, as I was getting hoarse already, and look at myself in the mirror over top of the dresser. I'm in a soft purple cotton kimono, with a garland of dark green leaves decorating the hem. The sleeves come down the middle of my hands, perfectly hiding the wrists and my supposed wounds, as Keiko says its purpose is. The robe is held on my body with a blue obi and jagged white stripe running through the middle of it. It reminds me of the streak in Hiei's hair. And Keiko even gave me some wooden sandals with the strap running between the big and index toe. And of course the thin white socks and that god-forsaken underwear. I never would have thought that one single kimono required five under-kimonos. Keiko even warned me that if the temperature gets above 60 degrees, I'm going to overheat because of all the layers. Since the temp is only about 45 degrees, it's all pretty comfortable, even if the kimono feels like water, very heavy water. I feel like 200 pounds. It's going to take a while to get used to walking and acting natural in it.

And I must be the only person able to see my face from a stranger's point of view. My hair is really, really long, and thick and black (but it hasn't been washed for three years at least). My face shape follows the same pattern as Keiko's, yet I have green eyes where hers are brown. That's weird. My entire face is mismatched, and yet it seems to chime. Interesting. Am I a mixed blood?

"The purple matches your face." Keiko growls.

"Shut up."

"And the green matches your barf. A perfect set. Only you could manage to throw up when you're getting dressed."

I twitch. "Well, I could handle the kimono part, but that obi took forever! And you tied it so tight, the food in my stomach didn't really have anywhere else to go but up."

"Well, it has to be done in a special square knot, which takes forever, especially if the one being fitted is struggling like someone that's about to be murdered. A fish out of water is what you are."

"DAMN STRAIGHT! I AM a fish out of water! I've never worn a kimono in my life and it looks horrible on me!"

"You must be kidding. It looks great! I mean, other than your loose hair, which I am not going to even try doing for you…you look like a geisha."

(Unsure if this is a good thing.) "…What the fuck is a geisha?"

"Never mind. Just go to sleep." Before I'm expecting it, she shoves me down on the bed behind me. I can't even get up before she charges out the door and locks it from the outside. "I'll let you out in three years, don't worry." She calls, her voice fading as she leaves.

"HEY! HEY, LET ME OUT! KEIKO, YOU'D BETTER HOPE I NEVER GET OUT OF HERE! YOU JUST WAIT! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET TO ME! I'M GOING TO BE UTTERLY SILENT!"

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Author's Note: Katrina is a tad more difficult in this story, but wouldn't you be? If some random girl said you once knew her and tried to change you into 16th century Japanese clothing? Keiko has no common sense. But you'll see the purpose(s) of the kimono in due time…