EE Chapter 3

# Chapter Three - "Picking Yukata"

    We hadn't been here long at all, but we'd been bouncing back and forth nearly the entire time, exploring our own rooms and excitedly sharing the secrets we'd discovered with those across the hall. Kanon almost immediately figured out that the kotatsu in our room was electric and disappeared under it, leaving just the tip of her orange hat peeking out from under the red blanket. We found the futons tucked away in the closets - four per room, so more than enough for all of us - and laid them out. Normally that would be the job of one of the inn's staff, but since this weekend the staff included Megumi we resolved to make things as easy as possible for her. It was during this step that Dam-Bi made a more grandiose discovery. Reaching under the kotatsu and feeling around, I found a leg and gave it a quick tug. The blanket grumbled, but soon enough Kanon joined me to go see what all the fuss was about.

    Upon entering the room across the hall, all three girls were gathered around the farthest closet, passing something around.

    "It's like they're made just for us! Do you think they're for us?" Chiyo stared starry-eyed into the dark space of the closet.

    "I think this is the kind of stuff you're supposed to wear here, isn't it?" Rinko had pulled one of the garments out of the closet and was holding it up over herself. The closet, once we got close enough to see past our friends, housed approximately ten finely made yukata in all sorts of colors and patterns.

    "I hope they're for us! This is even better than the time my family stayed in a Hanok for a week back in Seoul!" The ravenette lifted out two of the garments, holding one up over Chiyo and extending the other out toward me, giggling. "Juney, this one is practically screaming your name!"

    The offered yukata was midnight blue with bright swirls of white, like someone had poured milk into an ocean of ink. Along the dark tendrils were patterns and constellations of embroidered stars, moons, and comets in golden and silver thread. Dam-Bi was right. It was as if it had been made specifically for me, not least of which because it had my name on an envelope tied around the wooden hanger. The note inside read simply: "Ms. Junko, please instruct the rest to select proper dinner attire. I hope Mother's selections are adequate."

    Despite some embarrassment at how accurate Megumi's estimation of my sense of style was, I dutifully instructed everyone to do as she had asked, which was not in any way a hard sell. Whatever information Megumi had given her mom about each of us had proven to be remarkably in line with our likes and preferences. Dam-Bi quickly found a lovely royal purple robe covered in pale purple flowers with five petals. A lovely dark blue robe covered in white lily flowers complimented Kanon's unique hair perfectly, and Chiyo was overjoyed to stumble upon a cheerful, pale yellow yukata bursting with bright yellow sunflowers - because, as she was sure to share, "those are Momo's favorite treat!" That only left Rinko - at least out of the five of us here - which caused some small debate between Dam-Bi and I.

    "You'll look so cute in this one, Hanarin! It's pink! And look at those little koi fish!”

    "But you'd look stunning in this one. Red's your color, and sakura blossoms are classic. It's much more your style than… fish."

    The two of us debated for some time on Rinko's behalf, until she wandered back to the closet and picked a third garment - a pale rose robe swarming with bright blue and red dragonflies.

    "Bugs, huh? Couldn't find something grosser? Maybe an octopus?" Eimi had found her way back from wherever Megumi had taken her and had waded into the room, surveying everyone's choice of evening wear critically. Megumi stood in the doorway acting like she needed an invitation to enter until we waved her in to check out her handiwork. "Ah, who'm I kidding, somehow you'll make it look cute. You're infuriating like that." Rinko stopped listening to everything after "cute", giggling and hugging the yukata.

    "Eimi, you should pick one out too. You too Megumi. There's a couple left that I think you'll really like."

    "Thank you for thinking of us, Ms. Watanabe, but I've seen to it that Ms. Inagawa and I won't be needing those tonight."

    "Yeah, we… wait, why not?"

    "Never mind right now. We were just on our way to bathe before dinner, if any of you wanted to join us. I promise it's one of the more impressive sights in the ryokan. And not just because Ms. Inagawa will be joining us."

    After the long train ride, a hot bath actually sounded heavenly before settling in for the night. With all seven of us in agreement, it was time to get our vacation in Kyoto officially started.

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