Gaara came out of his bedroom wearing an eggplant purple silk shirt, a black tie, and black pants, and carrying a suit jacket and a pair of black dress shoes.

"Oh, wow… Look at him….. he's sexy….. and I'm not even into guys…."

"Maybe you're bi, Sayuri." Matsuri stood up straight and bowed. "That color is amazing on you, sir. It really is.

"Thank you. I'm entertaining a dignitary from across the ocean this morning. I'm hoping to get a monetary donation from him to cover our compensation costs from the war, as usual."

"I've been so caught up in the wedding preparations I forgot about our village's problems."

"Yes. I hate taking advantage of people's kindness and playing politics, but it has to be done. We need the money, and as Kazekage, it's my job to get it."

"Do you think he will help us?"

"I hope so. I've traded emails with him, and he seems nice, but that could just be common courtesy."

He walked to the kitchen area and stood at the end of the protruding counter, his black jacket hanging from a finger over one shoulder.

"I'll see you at the marketplace this afternoon, ladies. Please feel free to use the space as you need."

"Yes, sir. Good luck."

"Thanks again, Matsuri."

Once he had gone, the girls sat on the couch in the living room and watched a daytime talk show. They drank the rest of their tea from breakfast and laughed together over the ridiculous political jokes made about some of the rich people of the Five Great Nations who couldn't keep their act together.

Then at noon, Aiko produced a yellow v-necked dress with a white jasmine flower and green leafy vine pattern from the closet in Matsuri's room. The skirt was knee length and full enough to twirl, and the short sleeves were softly draped over her shoulders. She had chosen to accessorize it with a white belt under the bust, a pair of white strappy low-heeled sandals, and delicate gold leaf-shaped jewelry.

"Please put this on, ok?"

Matsuri nodded and went to change. When she returned to the couch, Sayuri placed a hair-dressing cape around her to prevent makeup fallout on her dress, and pushed her hair back with a hairband.

"I'm gonna make you look bright and sunny today. You did your skin care this morning like we taught you, right?"

"Yes."

"Oksy. Then we'll start with a light-weight tinted moisturizer, an under eye concealer, and an eyeshadow primer. Your skin is beautiful by itself, so we're not gonna go too heavy. But this is a nicer shopping center we're going to, and there, they have beauty standards to uphold. Plus, you're looking kind of tired. It's probably from being so busy and emotional."

The moisturizer felt cool as she spread it evenly on Matsuri's face and neck with her fingers, and the brunette tried not to blink as she dabbed the concealer and primer around her eyelids with a beauty blender and powdered over them.

"Now….. what color should we use on your eyes? I want them to be the focal point today…."

Yuriko looked up from taking out a thin straightener from her bag with the intention of plugging it in to the outlet in the bathroom. "I think she could get away with a shimmery gold eyeshadow."

Sayuri lit up in excitement. "Oooo, yeah, I'm loving that for her! A pale gold right in the middle of the lids as a halo, and a soft beige and brown in the corners. It would make her black eyes pop, with one coat of mascara and a gold eyeliner on the lower lash line. But it has to be the right shade of gold or it'll clash with the dress. Let's do that. And I'm also thinking a sweep of bronzer under the cheekbone, a soft pink blush and pink lip gloss with a gold shimmer. We're going a little more colorful than normal today, since you'll be seen by everyone with Gaara-sama. I heard the press will be there."

As she applied the rest of the makeup, Sayuri told Matsuri about the marketplace; how many people they would see, what was expected of her as Gaara's escort once he arrived, and what kinds of stores would have lower prices for good quality products.

"You'll love the atmosphere. So many beautiful people to admire, and nice things to look at. And there's even a sweet shop we should visit to pick up some things for the party tonight."

She finished the last little touch of gloss.

"Just one more thing: I'm gonna put a tiny dot of highlighter right next to your tear ducts. It'll help reflect the light and make your eyes naturally open wider. It makes you look happy, which is what we want. And you never know: maybe he'll fall for you today, seeing you all dolled up like this."

"Gaara-sama isn't into women who-"

"Are overdone. I know. But I haven't overdone anything. I've simply enhanced your natural beauty as instructed. Don't worry. This is the brightest makeup we're doing this week. The wedding look will be sexy, but it's going to be sultry browns and dusty pinks, not bright rainbow colors." Sayuri removed the hairband and cape.

Matsuri still wasn't sure about it, but when she walked into the bathroom to look at herself, she had to admit it did make her look more like a woman instead of her usual bare and boring face.

"For hair, we're going to give you some waves. But not too crazy; just enough for some body. Yuriko-chan, you're up next."

Yuriko picked up the straightener, selected a small section of hair, and ran it through slowly enough to make it curl gently.

"Oh, wow. I'm loving this already, and it's just the first one. It frames your face perfectly. I'll spray it when I'm done so it doesn't droop later."

"My hair is always straight. I've never seen it curly before. You're right, it is pretty."

Yuriko smiled and finished within twenty minutes, spritzing on a holding spray that didn't feel crunchy and hard like Matsuri was expecting. She also massaged in a small dab of creamy solid perfume on her neck that smelled like sandalwood and vanilla.

"You're done. Grab your purse, and let's go."

"Okay."