Izumi and Ranko sat together on a plush blue loveseat, waiting outside a small cubicle, the former sipping a milkshake from the ice cream shop in the food court through a red plastic straw. Yui had told her and Mei that Ranko wasn’t feeling well last night and couldn’t work, but no details had been provided. At least physically, she looked fine, but their youngest sister had been uncharacteristically quiet today.

The little wooden cubicle door creaked open on its hinges, and Yui emerged. She was wearing a long off-the-shoulder gown made of a shimmery cerulean satin with a hip-high slit traversing the left leg. A matching wide satin sash cinched the dress around her waistline. The black cropped polyester shrug she wore over it hung unbuttoned at her sides, its full-length sleeves concealing her arms to the ends of her wrists.

As ridiculous as she felt being a part of this proceeding at all, Ranko almost envied Yui. As maid of honor, she was afforded a slightly more modest look than the other bridesmaids. Self-consciously fingering the silver dragon coiled around her own left wrist, she suspected it may have had more to do with Yui’s understandable aversion to short sleeves.

Izumi grinned at the sight of her sister. “I love it. What do you think?”

Yui gave a little shrug. “I don’t hate it. It’s comfortable, at least. Not really my color, but it’s not my wedding.”

Izumi rolled her eyes a little. “Look, I’ve got four different skin tones to work with, four different hair colors, I’m doing my best here, sis.”

Yui laughed. “I know. Deep breath, Iz. If you like it, I like it.” She stepped onto a little platform surrounded by three mirrors, looking over the dress from various angles. “Have you heard from Aya?”

The bride-to-be nodded. “Yeah, she called last night. She had some work thing in Sapporo this weekend and couldn’t make it. She’ll do her fitting next week sometime.”

Yui turned on the platform, looking down at the loveseat and checking on the youngest of her sisters. She really wished there had been another time to do this; she couldn’t imagine that being dressed up and commented on was really a great feeling for Ranko with everything she was going through. But, Izumi and the other girls didn’t know about what she and Ranko had discussed in her bathroom last night, and she didn’t think it was her place to tell them. Still, she admired Ranko for sticking it out and showing up anyway.

A slender woman in her mid-thirties approached the trio. “So, we’re going with this one?”

Yui shrugged with a smile. “What are you asking me for? I’m not the bride.”

Izumi smiled. “I love it. Ran-chan, what do you think?”

“It’s great,” the youngest girl replied flatly, barely even looking up at the dress in question.

Izumi turned to the sales clerk. “I think this is the one, then!”

The employee nodded with a smile. “Fantastic! Let me go get my measuring tape and we’ll start taking down alterations.” She scurried off.

Turning to her companion on the loveseat, Izumi smiled warmly. “Ranko, do you want to go ahead and try yours on too?”

“Sure,” came the hollow reply. Ranko stood, walking to a rack containing three dresses identical to the one Yui wore, finding the one in her size and picking it up. She had to hold the hanger over her head to keep the hem from dragging on the beige berber carpeting as she carried it into the fitting stall that Yui had just vacated.

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As soon as the door was closed, Izumi motioned for her older sister to approach, whispering to her. “Seriously, is she okay? She’s really being kind of a downer today.”

Yui nodded sadly. “I know, and I’m sorry, Izzi. She’s trying. I know she’s excited about the wedding, but she’s just having a really hard time with some things right now and it really wasn’t great timing. She’s here because she loves you and doesn’t want to let you down. I’m sure she’ll share everything with you when she’s ready. For right now, just try to cut her a little slack if you can, okay?”

The latch of the stall door opened with a little click, and both sisters looked up in time to watch Ranko emerge from the little changing room. While in the fitting room, she had taken her hair down from its ponytail, so it now framed her face like little cascading waves of flame crashing down onto her bare shoulders before being quenched in the deep shimmery blue of the gown.

Izumi let out a quiet little gasp. “Oh, Ranko, honey. You look…”

“Thanks,” Ranko said emotionlessly. She turned her back, stepping onto the platform and looking in the mirrors. She was acutely aware of every slight movement of the satin against her Cat’s Tongue skin, and it was all she could do to keep herself from shivering with every breath. The sensation across her full body felt good almost to the point of hurting just from its overwhelming and omnipresent intensity.

She had to admit - she did look stunning. She felt classy wearing the formal gown, a far cry from the opinion she’d had of herself most of yesterday and this morning. She looked up from her reflection, catching a glimpse of Izumi’s frown in the mirror. Ranko sighed guiltily. She really didn’t want to make this a bad experience for her. Summoning up a small reservoir of courage, she found a smile somewhere before she turned to face her sisters. “You like?”

Yui and Izumi both nodded, but it was the older sister who responded first.

“You truly are beautiful, Ranko.” The way she smiled made her statement feel like she was talking about a lot more than the dress. The younger girl blushed, shying her eyes away a bit.

Izumi grinned, encouraged by her sister’s smile. “I’ve picked you out some nice looks before, but damn, girl!”

Ranko had to nod. “You do good work, I can’t deny it.” She smiled sincerely for the first time all day.

The clerk, having finished with Yui, approached her younger sister. “So, what do we need to do with this one, you think?”

Ranko looked over to Izumi with an expression that clearly read, “help?”

The bride stood, walking over to the pair. “Let’s see… I think we want the hem maybe four or five centimeters shorter. Ran-chan, is it comfortable?”

The redhead turned suddenly, and one of the straps slid down her arm. She shivered slightly, trying to stifle it. “These strappy things are kind of loose. The middle feels okay, I think. Not too tight or anything.”

The clerk set to work, first pinching a bit of the strap on Ranko’s left arm together and fastening it with a pin, then doing the same on the right. “How’s that feel, honey?” While she waited for her charge’s answer, she knelt on the floor, measuring the dress against Ranko’s ankle. She lifted the skirt up slightly, applying straight pins.

Ranko swung her arms, careful to keep her legs still so as not to impede the attendant’s work. “The sleeves are better. Thanks.”

The woman finished pinning the skirt up evenly all the way around, standing. “There, how’s that? Bear in mind, it’ll be a little more off the ground on the day, since you’ll presumably be in heels.”

Of freaking course I will, Ranko thought. Balancing on heels wasn’t an issue, least of all for a martial arts expert, but they were so damned uncomfortable. “Yeah, I think it’ll work. Izzi?” The bride nodded in affirmation.

Yui, emerging from the fitting room in her own clothes, hung her dress on the rack. “You about done?”

Ranko nodded. “I think so?” The clerk smiled. “I’ve got everything I need, honey. You can go get changed if you want."

Yui smiled. “And afterwards, lunch. My treat.”