Inside the TARDIS, Time Vortex

The Doctor grinned as he pulled a lever, hearing the time machine respond to the change in coordinates. This trip was going to be quiet; he was taking Rose and Jack to see the Imperial Chinese Court during the mid-eighteen hundreds. No aliens, no wars, just a peaceful sightseeing trip. At least, that was what the Doctor was hoping would happen. The last few times he had tried this sort of thing, the plan had backfired, and the group had ended up in several messy situations. But the Time Lord was confident that this time would be different.

Rose was in her room reading, and Jack was exploring the inner rooms of the TARDIS. Neither person was expecting a sudden landing, so the Doctor decided to surprise them with one. Chuckling, the man raced around the central control panel, pushing buttons and switches. The machine beeped, flashed, and whirred, it's owner grabbing onto a railing in preparation for a bumpy landing. As was normal until the machine gave a hard jolt to the right and suddenly stopped. The sudden impact had startled both of the other occupants, because the Doctor heard muffled yells as the TARDIS wheezed to a stop.

The Time Lord stuffed his hands in the pockets of his worn leather jacket, and gave a sly grin as Rose, followed closely by Jack, burst through the inner door. Finding nothing amiss, Jack stopped and returned the smile, catching on that the Doctor had meant no harm. Rose, on the other hand, was not so amused.

Striding up to him, his female companion gave him an angry glare and spoke. "What was that for? Couldn't you have warned us that you were landing? I thought something had happened!"

"Something did. We arrived." the man replied, his grin growing wider. He didn't usually play tricks on Rose, but her reaction could be quite funny at times.

"Well, at least one of us thinks that was funny." she muttered, still upset by the fact that she had fallen so easily for the trick. "Where are we?"

"18th century China. I thought it might be nice to take a short break."

"Only you could think that a trip to China counts as a break." Rose replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yep, only me." the Doctor responded, turning around to see what Jack was up to.

The younger man was gazing intently at the console screen, a frown on his face. Glancing up at the Time Lord, his brown eyes narrowed as he said, "Um, Doctor, I don't think the Chinese have topknots and wear kimonos…"

Trailing off, Jack moved aside to let the Doctor take a look. Mirroring Jack's expression, the man stared at the screen and sighed. Peering over his arm, Rose asked, "So if we're not in China, then where are we?"

"We are in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun. Checking his instruments, he added, "and about five centuries ahead of where I wanted to land."

"That's what you get for landing so fast." Rose shot back, looking curiously at the group of men on the screen.

The small group was composed of fifteen men, all wearing black chest armour over dark grey kimonos. Each man carried two swords on his left hip, the scabbards matching the armour. As Jack had noted, every man had a shaved plate and the remaining hair was tied into a small ponytail on top of his head.

"Those are samurai, Rose. Trained killers. Make sure to be very respectful if they happen to talk to you. Those guys don't need to justify killing you; any reason will do." Jack warned, following Rose's gaze. "Your best bet is to stay out of their way and be quiet."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Rose replied, looking slightly uneasy at the prospect of meeting them.

The Doctor nodded and turned towards the inner door. "We better go change then."

"Wait a sec…you're actually going to change clothes?" Rose asked, amazement in her voice. She had every right to sound surprised. The Time Lord usually never changed out of his main outfit, but he had a feeling that his current attire wouldn't sit well with the locals. Not that that Doctor was going to tell them that.

Shrugging, he replied calmly, "I just feel like a change, that's all. Don't worry, I'll change back when we leave."

"Alright…" Rose muttered, following he two friends to the wardrobe room.

- - -

As the trio made their way through the maze of hallways, doors, and rooms, Rose wondered why the Doctor was going through all this trouble. After pondering the thought for a minute, she could not really find a good explanation for it. She pushed the thought from her mind as the group reached their destination. The Doctor walked over to a large chest and opened it, sending up a cloud of dust.

Coughing, Rose waved away the dust and moved to peer over his shoulder. The old trunk was full of different types of clothing, most of which Rose had never seen before. Digging through it, the Doctor pulled out a pile of clothes and handed them to Rose.

"Go change into these. Call me over if you have any trouble."

Nodding, the teen strode over to one of the many changing rooms, leaving Jack behind to get whatever he was wearing. Entering the stall, Rose quickly changed out of her modern-day clothes, slipping on the smallest of the robes she had been given. It was a pale grey colour, with wide sleeves. The garment dropped down to her knees, and was held shut by a thin white sash tied around the waist. Over that, she put on a white kimono, looping it around her waist to keep the kimono closed. The sleeves were slightly longer than the inner robe, and this one went down to her ankles. On her feet, Rose put on a pair of sock-like items, the only difference being that the big toe was separated from the rest by a small gap.

She admired her new look in the mirror, adjusting several folds and tying her long hair back with a piece of white string. Hearing a light knock at the door, Rose called out, "Come in!", and turned to see Jack smiling at her.

Slipping inside, he shut the door behind him and paused to take a good look at his friend. Rose took the opportunity to examine him as well. Captain Jack was dressed in a kimono as well, but his sleeves weren't as wide and only went down to the elbow. Unlike hers, Jack's was decorated. The sleeves each had two vertical green stripes on a white background, with a matching horizontal on across the chest. Running her gaze further down his outfit, she stopped and stared. After a few moments of silence, she giggled.

"Jack, you're…ah…wearing a skirt." Glancing down at the forest green skirt, the man chuckled and explained. "It's called a hakama, but yeah, it's a skirt." Gesturing to the striped robe, he continued. "This is a yukata. Basically the same thing as a kimono, but with some slight changes. Men also wore them in this time period."

"Oh ok. Do you know what the Doctor's wearing?"

"Nope, he wouldn't tell me, but he did ask that I give you this." Jack answered, holding up a broad white belt. "It's called an obi, and you need to wear it. Here, let me put it on."

Nodding, Rose turned around and let Jack wrap the obi around her waist, positioning it over the belt that held her kimono shut. Giving it a final tug, he placed his hands on her shoulders and stared at their reflection in the mirror. Noticing his serious expression, Rose gave him a curious look and waited for him to speak.

"This is a dangerous place, Rose. I know the Doctor thinks that you'll be fine and stay out of trouble, but frankly, I don't share his optimism. When you travel with him, trouble finds you, not the other way around. That's why I'm gonna give you this." Pausing, he reached into a hidden pocket and produced a short object. Giving the top a gentle pull, Jack showed her that it was actually a small knife. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, the teen felt a small tug at the back of her obi as the man slipped the weapon between the sash and her kimono.

Wrapping his arms loosely around her waist, Jack gave her a quick hug, murmuring, "Use it only if you are in grave danger. And don't tell the Doctor." Nodding to show that she understood, Rose smiled softly at him.

"I'm sure the Doctor's wondering if I managed to strangle myself in all this fabric. C'mon, let's go find him.

Chuckling, Jack nodded and released her, following Rose out the door.

- - -

Notes

The small robe that Rose puts on first is actually a nagajuban. This is another kimono, usually shorter than the outer one, worn as underwear, complete with the long kimono sleeves, which are neatly fitted inside the outer kimono's sleeves.

The 'socks' Rose puts wears are called tabi. Ankle high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes, they are worn by both men and women with zori, geta, and other traditional thonged footwear.

A hakama covers the lower body and resembles a wide, pleated skirt.

A yukata is a Japanese summer garment that is a casual form of a kimono.

Obi are the top-most sash worn with various styles of Japanese clothing. Fans and small other objects can also been put here, and the fabric hides them from sight.