"Maki, Kotori needs to do practice doing your hair and makeup. Can you come here?" Eli called from the other side of the working room.

Maki strode over to Kotori. "Alright, I'm here. What are we doing?"

It was already the next day, and Nico was still on her overnight hike with Honoka, Rin, and Hanayo.

Kotori gestured to the chair in front of her. "Sit. Eli, we need to do the hairstyle the Princess has, in the beginning, right?"

Eli nodded. "Right, because the play starts right before a grand ball the princess needs to have an elegant hairstyle."

"But I thought we already did that hairstyle?" Maki asked as she took a seat in front of Kotori.

"Yes," Eli said. "But I have sketched out another version of it. Kotori, do you still have the pictures of the old hairstyle?"

Kotori nodded. "It's on my phone."

"Good. So we can compare the two later. Maki sit still." Eli held up a paper to Kotori. "Here it is."

Kotori rummaged in her bag of hair supplies and pulled out a bunch of bobby pins. "Alright."

"Wait, can I see that picture?" Maki suddenly asked.

Eli handed the sketch to Maki.

It was a sketch of an elegant twisted hair bun with a purple rose shaped pin.

Maki frowned. "It looks just like last time."

Eli sighed. "It's not the same, okay? This one will be easier to mess up for the later scenes."

"Where are we going to get the rose pin?" Maki asked.

"I have it," Kotori replied. "I made it last night. Let's just start."

Kotori brushed and sprayed Maki's hair; started braiding Maki's hair and did a combination of complicated twists and twirls to form a bun.

After what seemed like an hour, Maki's hair was complete.

"Here, a mirror." Kotori handed Maki a mirror. "Eli, what do you think?"

Eli studied Maki's hair, just as intently as Maki was looking into the mirror.

"Hmm..."

"It looks just like last time," Maki stated, annoyed.

Eli sighed. "Kotori, take a photo of this. And Maki, no, it's not the same. Kotori, show me the pictures."

Kotori handed Eli her phone.

"See?" Eli showed the old picture to Maki. "Last time your hair wasn't curled and didn't have the little braids. The curls would help make your hair a bit more messy for the later scenes so it's better."

Mako frowned. That's it?

Eli turned to Kotori. "Kotori, can you mess up Maki's hair?"

Kotori nodded. "For the imprisoned scene right?"

"Yes," Eli replied.

Kotori removed the rose hairpin from Maki's hair and gently loosened Maki's hair bun with a comb. Then, she messed up Maki hair slightly.

"How's this, Eli?" Kotori asked.

Eli nodded in approval. "Looks good. Take a photo, too."

Kotori snapped a quick photo. "I think it's a bit too messy, though. You said the princess has nice hair, right?"

Eli nodded. "That's true. Maybe we should brush it a bit."

"Like this?" Kotori ran a brush through Maki's hair a few times.

"Yes, yes. Ah, don't forget to take a photo."

Kotori took another picture. "Maki, what do you think?"

Maki turned to face Eli and Kotori from her chair. "Nico is definitely going to blackmail me with photos after this."

Eli chuckled nervously. "You don't look bad! It won't be blackmail material."

Maki sat down at the dining table. "Well, Eli, what's our plan after lunch?"

"Hm, let's see..." Eli scrolled through her phone. "I have a picture of our schedule in here...ah!" Eli showed her phone to Maki. "Dress hunt."

Maki frowned. "What's that?"

"To put it simply," Umi said. "Dress hunt is looking for the needed costumes. In this case, most of them will be dresses."

Kotori held up her notebook. "I already have the list of every costume we need, but today I want to focus on you and Nozomi."

Maki nodded. "I see. Well, um, do you want to have a look in my closet? I might have something you need..."

"That would be great!" Kotori said with a smile. "Let's go after lunch."

After lunch, Maki led Eli, Kotori, Umi, and Nozomi into her bedroom.

"My closet is here." Maki opened a sliding door to reveal a spacious walk-in closet full of clothes.

"Wow...You never fail to surprise me, Maki." Eli sighed.

The one at my actual home is much bigger, Maki thought.

Nozomi immediately began looking for Maki's underwear drawer. "I'm sure it would be here somewhere...ah!"

Maki grabbed Nozomi's arms and pulled her out of the closet. "Nozomi, stop it. Please."

Kotori chuckled nervously. "Well, uh, why don't we get started?"

Maki let go of Nozomi's arms and followed Kotori back into the closet.

"So I need a formal red dress for the first scene and a white dress for the wedding scene at the end..." Kotori trailed off as she scanned the closet.

Maki strode over to a rack full of dresses. "Will any of these work?"

Eli looked through the dresses and pulled out a long red dress. "How about this one?"

Kotori studied the dress. "Hm...it's a bit too simple but I think I can alter it and add some roses...Oh!"

Kotori turned to Maki. "These dresses are old, right? I'll have to alter them to fit you again."

Maki nodded. "And for the wedding dress...I have this old dress..." Maki rummaged through her dress and pulled out a simple white dress. "I don't really wear white that often, so this is the best I have."

Kotori scrutinized the dress carefully. "I think it'll be fine with a bit of altering...it's also a bit too short so I'm going to add more layers underneath...alright. Now for the last outfit, we need a black dress that's kind of short..."

Maki pulled out a knee length black dress. "How's this?"

Kotori nodded. "That's fine."

"Maki, just asking, but why do you have so many dresses in this house?" Eli asked. "Since, this is just your vacation home..."

"My parents often hold parties here," Maki replied.

"I see." Eli turned to Kotori. "Let's move on to Nozomi."

I know that this wasn't a very long update, and I apologize.

Anyways, we are nearing the show, and I will try to finish it by Sunday.

Please review!