(no subject)

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[Even after all these years, Jyuushiko rarely tires of the crowd of family that constantly haunts Ugendo. She's actually been even more grateful than usual for the presence, right now - the children are a welcome distraction from ruminating over everything she has had to put aside for the moment, for the duties she is neglecting in Seireitei.

Not that she had much choice - 'indefinite medical leave', and Retsu had that look in her eyes that said she was perfectly willing to do things by force, if necessary. Here at least, she could do some things - watch the children, help advice her brothers, assist the cooks with dinner preparations. Nothing too taxing, but it was enough. Even if she did miss the company of her friends in Seireitei - there were visits now and then, but there was work to be done there, too.]

Comments

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[Now that things were starting to settle down, Retsu has a bit more time to relax. Most of her calls to Jyuushiko lately have been professional check-ups, but this time, it's a social call. Tanabata is coming up now, and she thought Jyuushiko could use the distraction, so she was coming to help pick out a kimono for the party.

One of Jyuushiko's many relatives--a cousin of some kind--met Retsu at the gate and took her inside. She rapped lightly on the doorframe to announce herself.]

Jyuushiko-san?

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[Jyuushiko looks up from the papers she's been pouring over at the low table - yield reports from some of the outlying farms, but after centuries of overseeing supplies for the Division, it's not unfamiliar. Hideo had asked her to check them, as a second set of eyes made it easier to catch errors, and she had agreed.

Her faces lights up immediately when she sees who her visitor is, and she stands up, trying not to disturb the somewhat precarious outlay of records and tea]

Retsu - come in, please!

Operation: Give Shun a Nosebleed is a go!

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

Thank you. [She was carrying several oddly shaped packages as she came in, all wrapped in paper.]

How are you this evening?

/approves of this plan

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

As well as can be expected - plus a little stiff from hunching over records all day. Nothing that can't be put down, though.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

Mm, that's good to hear. [slight smile] Especially since this evening is Tanabata, and I was thinking that if you were well enough, you might enjoy going to the festival with me.

[She leaves unspoken that she wants to be there in case Jyuushiko gets sick again, but she also does simply enjoy her friend's company.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

I'd love to. I offered to help shepherd the children as I had no other plans - but there are more than enough adults here to take care of that.

[And it's not often she gets some time to spend with her friend without the interruptions of work]

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

I brought along a kimono for you, as well as one for me--shall we go try them on?

[Retsu secretly enjoyed dressing up and dressing others up--something she rarely got to indulge, except occasionally with Isane.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[blink, blink] You didn't have to, you know - I have plenty of stuff in storage here...

[Still, it's Retsu. Her friend's taste is impeccable, and she's plenty happy to acquiesce with a smile]

We can change in my rooms - they aren't too far.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

I know, but...well, this one is something special, I'd say.

[She saw it in a store and had to have it for Jyuushiko.

Following Jyuushiko into her room, she produces the kimono. It's dark, sapphire blue, like the sky at dusk on a clear summer night, though there are clouds in slightly different blues cunningly worked into the blue. At the base, there's an ocean pattern, with waves cresting up along, from knee level to as high as her thigh level. In the water, there are koi--elaborately detailed in orange and gold.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[Jyuushiko just...stares, wide-eyed, as Retsu holds up the kimono.]

Gods, Retsu... It's beautiful.

[It reminds her of her own inner world, of the bottomless blue sea, and the equally endless sky above it. It's easy the most beautiful kimono she's seen, and far outstrips her own small collection of formalwear.]

That icon. THAT ICON.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

It almost seemed as if it had been made for you--it's even the right length. [She'd been looking at the shop where Isane usually found her kimonos.]

I LOVE IT

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[She's clearly still slightly awestruck by this particular find]

That was lucky - I usually have to have mine made for me. I hope I have an obi nice enough to go with this...

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[Aha, but she wasn't done. Reaching into the bag, she pulled out the obi that came with it--gold silk with orange koi embroidered on it.]

It came with one.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[She reaches out carefully to take it from Retsu, running her fingertips over the gilded thread lightly.]

I think... I am a very lucky woman, today.

[Not simply that Retsu had found the kimono set - though that was an incredibly feat of luck on it's own - but to have a friend willing to look out for such things for her. And while she knew first-hand captains' pay was quite good, it was obvious that the kimono had not been cheap]

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[Between the family money she had inherited and her own salary--which she rarely spent--Retsu could afford it, and it was worth it to see Jyuushiko's face light up as it rarely had since the War. She went to hug her friend lightly, being careful of Jyuushiko's injures.]

I'm glad you like it.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[Jyuushiko returns the hug, careful not to crush the obi between them]

Thank you - I'll have to make this up to you, somehow.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[eyes twinkling] You could let me dress you up--do something with your hair and your makeup. [Jyuushiko rarely let her, but Retsu rather enjoyed bringing out her best friend's feminine side. She was a good captain, but she was also a quite beautiful woman.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[She blushes a little - which she knows is appallingly obvious on her pale skin. She doesn't feel particularly feminine most of the time, and to her, things like fancy hairstyles and make-up just took up more of her limited time and energy.

But tonight is a special occasion, and it's a very fancy kimono. So this once, she just smiles, and inclines her head slightly in agreement]

Of course.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

Good. [teasing gently] I think we can safely say that Kyouraku-san will approve of the kimono, as well.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[That gets a much brighter blush out of her]

No doubt he will.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

Ah, would you like to see the one I brought for myself?

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

Of course!

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[She pulls out a kimono--sea green with a river image on it. White cranes stood in the river and flew up around it, while fireflies and water lilies were delicately embroidered on the sleeves. It had a matching pink obi with it.]

I'm quite fond of the color--it reminds me of my dear Minazuki.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[She reaches over to run her fingers across the smooth silk gently]

I can see how it would - it's gorgeous.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[smile] Shall we?

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

Of course.

[She carefully lays the kimono and obi down so they don't get crushed and wrinkled, and begins disrobing - they're in private quarters, and it's not as if it's something Retsu hasn't seen hundreds of times already. She's thinner than she was before the War, still - but not nearly as gaunt as she had been the first few weeks in Fourth, as her body burned all it could to stay alive. The scar was still there, pinkish and puckered edges against the lighter skin of her chest and back, but it's healed, slowly fading]

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[Retsu does the same, unbraiding her hair while she's at it. She too has her share of scars from years of service in the Gotei--the worst an old, long healed set of four parallel scars running from shoulderblade to hip from where a hollow clawed her during a fight when she was still quite young.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[It's quick enough work to slip the kimono on, carefully folding the front of it closed. The obi, however, is another matter - she favors simple obi generally, practical and easy to tie. The more formal ones are an art she had never quite managed to master]

Ah...could you give me a hand with this?

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

Retsu slips on her own kimono and then comes over to help Jyuushiko.]

Of course.

[She ties it expertly, and then does her own.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you.

[She stands back, and gives Retsu a good look over, and then grins.]

You look amazing - as usual.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

So do you, Jyuushiko-san. [smile] Shall we begin with your hair?

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

Ah...if you think you can do anything with it.

[She's been leaving it uncut in the months of her recovery - Shunsui had been pestering her for the last few years to grow it long again, and maybe, with the war done, she won't have to worry so much about long hair getting in the way during a fight. So it's shaggy, barely chin-length in the front.]

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

I think I can--but we should neaten it up a bit first.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

...What did you have in mind, exactly?

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

Just trimming the edges a bit--I probably should have done that before we put on the kimono--and then a couple of small braids near the front.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

Ha, probably. As long as it's not too much off, though - I'm trying to get it long again.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

No, just a bit to tidy it up. [She finds a pair of scissors and something to put around Ukitake's neck, over the kimono to catch the hair.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[She simply nods her assent and takes a seat, carefully tucking up the long kimono sleeves, and folding her hands on top of them. She trusts Retsu's work - in this, as in all things.]

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[She finds an old sheet and puts it around Jyuushiko's shoulders to catch the clippings and keep them off the new kimono. It's only the work of a few minutes to tidy up the ends of her hair and whisk the sheet away again.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[Jyuushiko let her work in silence - it was actually a little relaxing, to have the sensation of fingers running through hair, even if it was only a quick trim.]

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[She finishes and then gently goes to rub Jyuushiko's shoulders a bit.] You should be careful about hunching over your desk, Jyuushiko-san.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[She relaxes a little into the touch]

I know. I get a bit lost in the records sometimes though.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

Understandable. [She finishes and gets a brush and a couple of ribbons.]

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[Jyuushiko sits and lets Retsu do her work.]

It's a bit like being back at the division, really - paperwork and archives. More children around, though.

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

[She pulls the hair at the front and sides into two slender braids and ties them together with an arrangement of ribbons and combs.] There we are.

[toppedbyfishies.livejournal.com]

[She rises, and goes to a mirror up against one wall, craning slightly to admire the work Retsu has done.]

It looks wonderful! Thank you!

[mantarayhealer.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. Now then...

[She takes out a small makeup case, selecting colors that will bring out Jyuushiko's eyes and give her some color.]