110 years ago
Main House, Nomiya Estate, Seireitei
...
"Your presence is requested at the Kuchiki-yashiki, Kazue-san."
Clamoring caught the maid's attention, urging a hand to the rice door's frame. Before she could open the door wider, a voice groggily mumbled from the room.
"First thing in the morning…? Hatori-chan, would you happen to know what the occasion is?"
Hatori helped herself into her retainer's room and closed the sliding screen. "I do not, Kazue-san. I believe the only ones who know would be Nomiya-sama and Kuchiki-sama. Were you up late practicing your calligraphy?" Sheets of paper with various characters and unsteady lines were strewn across the kotatsu Kazue slept under.
Met with a sheepish gaze, "Kazue-san, if you are experiencing difficulties with calligraphy, why not ask for assistance from Byakuya-san? It has been noted that he has excellent skills. Please do not give me that look. Now is not the time; you must be presentable within the hour."
Hatori shuffled quickly to the right-hand side of the room, sliding a wall partition which revealed the washroom. Urging Kazue to rise from the kotatsu, Hatori turned the faucets of the large basin so that lukewarm water filled the basin. Hatori's arms and legs moved expertly as she pulled items from a shelf on the left side of the washroom: towels of varying sizes, two bottles, a jar, and a brush into a bucket.
Mouth wide as a hippo, Kazue released a loud yawn while removing her sleeping yukata. Long red hair that covered her chest fanned about her once she sat in the basin. Water poured over her head, a small gasp escaped Kazue's lips, the small rivers running down the back of her head sending relaxing chills over her body. Goosebumps rose over Kazue's cool skin as Hatori applied rosemary-scented shampoo to her long strands while gently massaging her scalp.
The sharp but soothing scent of the shampoo was spectacular; Hatori was an expert in handmade cosmetics. The dark-haired maid was given free liberties in the Nomiya Gardens—after all; it was Hatori and Shigure, her father, who tended to the Gardens. Hatori had learned her skills from her mother, from handcrafted soaps to natural make-up. Kazue appreciated her attending's talent, making simple scents and makeup to bring one's beauty while also making use of aromatherapy to calm nerves, such as her own current worries.
Another wave of lukewarm water poured over her head, indicating the end of her bath. Kazue stood, shivers down her spine as the summer air cooled the water on her body. A long towel swept her hair into a twist, a loop holding it in place. Hatori held onto Kazue's hand as she stepped out from the basin and she quickly wrapped a shorter towel around her body. Kazue sat on the short stool next to the basin, her face then feet patted dry with different towels.
"Kazue-san, shall I pick the honey-colored yukata for you today?" Hatori questioned as she applied chamomile-infused body butter to Kazue's nape of neck, shoulders, collarbones, and forearms.
Kazue hummed in quiet agreement as Hatori administered a hand massage, allowing the cream to absorb into her skin. Walking to the left side of Kazue's room, Hatori pulled a changing screen into a corner and opened the closet next to it. Careful not to undo the towel wrapped around her hair, Kazue nimbly walked behind the screen. Slipping off the towel and it was replaced with an undergarment similar to a silk nightdress. Material light on her skin, Kazue lifted her arms as Hatori slipped the yukata robe on. As Hatori wrapped the uwamae (the left overlap) over the shitamae (the right overlap), Kazue spoke gently,
"Hatori-chan, do you suppose that I am enough for the Kuchiki-ke? Yes, I have the credentials, but what does it really mean? Is status just enough or more than enough?" Kazue confessed. Hatori slid her hands into the miyatsukuchi and neatly pulled down the ohashori, from the back then from the front. "It's just that… I do not know what is expected of me. I do what I am told, no complaints or inquiries from me."
Hatori pulled the senui with her left hand to create space at the back of Kazue's neck, adjusting it to display the top of her collarbone. "Kazue-san, the question you should be asking yourself is not your worth to others, rather what others are worth to you. In the end, it will be your decision to make—we are not in the archaic times where a woman has no choice in the matter." Placing the belt slightly below the chest, Hatori crossed both ends at the back and tied it in the front.
"I know you are comparing yourself to Yoruichi-sama. There is nothing to compare," Hatori sternly criticized as the folded a black obi in half and positioned it at the front center and placed the te-saki over Kazue's right shoulder. Moving to stand behind her, Hatori wrapped the obi twice around the waist.
"You are Nomiya Kazue, the future head of the Nomiya-ke. You are your own person; there is no need to compare yourself to others. All you need to do is focus on your craft that you have been working so hard on and it will reap you many rewards."
Tying the obi once so that the te-saki is on top, Hatori placed the te-saki on Kazue's left shoulder. She rolled the tare-saki inwards and formed two creases at the center of the roll. Bringing the te down and rolling the obi twice around the creases, she tucked the loose te-saki in the obi. Finally she adjusted the shape of the bow by holding the back of the obi with her left hand and pushed the bow in a clockwise direction. Hatori gently moved Kazue in front of the full body mirror next to the dressing screen.
"Hatori-chan," Kazue bowed slightly, "thank you."
"You can thank me once I finish styling your hair and finally get you to the Kuchiki-yashiki! You are going to be late!"
Untying the towel, Hatori untangled Kazue's hair with her fingers before taking a brush. She quickly brushed through her hair with not a single strand caught in the bristles. Kazue mindlessly traced her fingers over the white silk details of her yukata; winding rivers with outlines are various types of flowers. The slight tugging at the back of her head indicated Hatori was braiding her hair—she hoped to be able to put flowers in the braid, in particular the peonies in the Kuchiki gardens.
A click brought Kazue out of her thoughts—Hatori clipped her family's beads on a piece of hair on the right side of her head. Kazue quickly styled her fringe to her liking before Hatori urged her to move along to leave for the Manor.
- "...-yashiki," lit. "mansion"
- "...-ke", lit. "clan"
- miyatsukuchi, opening below the sleeves on both sides
- ohashori, the extra folded fabric underneath the waist
- senui, the center seam in the back
- te-saki, the end tip
- tare-saki, the tip of the other end of the obi fabric hanging down
