Fateless

It was daunting standing in the peculiar room that was attached to the very back of the Hirano family’s main estate building. From the outside, it was assumably a large added-on storage room. But that did not seem to be the case.

The main Hirano residence was attached but not directly accessible through the villa. Even so, it looked beautifully furnished from the restricted glances Hana had managed to get in through the wide-paned windows. However, the room that Hana had been taken to was very bare. There was no furniture at all. No decor. No storage. Even the floor was just plain cold concrete.

There was a strong lingering scent in the air of incense being recently burnt. Hana wrinkled her nose at it. She had never much liked the smell of incense as it made her sinuses itch.

The walls were painted dark blue, which made the limited light bounce off of them with a dim presence. Having such a low light would surely be hard to take in all the intricate efforts of the girl’s attire.

And stranger still, the room was divided by a folding screen in which panels were made of mirrors.

Hana counted six other women lining up like pretty porcelain dolls. Following that analogy; there was no doubt Hana also felt like she’d been exaggeratedly dressed up like a child’s plaything. Yet she wasn’t keen on playing this game of matchmaker. If she had the opportunity to waver the consideration of the Hirano lord, she promised herself to take it.

As Hana had been the last girl to position in the lineup, the only other participant she could see undistorted by the blue hues was the one to the right of her.

She looked like a princess freshly plucked from a ball with her soft pink gown and dainty gloved hands. Her black hair was up in a stylish bun and she was decorated in delicate gold jewellery. Her earrings looked like little baubles from a Christmas tree.

Hana was momentarily amused by the comparison. But then felt hollow again as it reminded her of Tokyo, which was currently still heavily decorated in Christmas cheer from the festival only days ago.

The young ladies had simply been told to stand still and stare at their reflection. It was easy to discern the new from the seasoned entrants by the way they reacted to this simple task. Some confidently held their posture high, while others were nervous as they waited for something to happen or for further instruction.

Hana looked at herself bitterly in the mirror. But it was almost as if a totally different person was staring back.

Her dark eyes expressed the emotions she currently felt, yet they were lined heavily with makeup to change and exaggerate their shape. Her cheeks held a fake blush and evidence from staying up till late hours of the night; watching an anime series she had received from her friends for Christmas, was hidden by the concealed bags under her eyes. Even Hana’s lips, glossed in a pale pink, looked plumper than usual.

Hana was certainly not used to dolling herself up, and behind all this makeup she did not feel like a better version of herself. She just felt like a fraud.

Hana heard a door open and then saw light emit from the other side of the mirrored panels. There was a brief sound of muffled voices and then the silence returned. She nervously rocked on her heels, not sure what to expect.

As Hana spotted a shadow start to move in the small gap underneath the panels, the realisation hit that the folding screen she stood before was probably one-way glass and not intended as a simple mirror at all.

Starting from the beginning of the line-up at the opposite side of the room, Hana frowned as she watched the presumably dark footsteps slowly wander down.

The mass behind the dividers would linger briefly before each of the matchmaker participants, before moving to the next. Hana quickly understood that the alleged master of the house was not going to meet his guests face to face. He was simply browsing while the women he eyed remained unaware and blind to his presence.

Hana bit her lip and clenched the inside of the large sleeves of her kimono angrily. All this exhausting effort and the lord was not even going to meet his potential brides face to face?

Hana’s head snapped up as she noticed the shadowy presence under the frame had stopped in front of her. She stared at her reflection where she assumed the lord would be standing and purposely smirked as ugly as she could. Then, she pulled down an eyelid and stuck out her tongue.

To her surprise, a chuckle of laughter erupted from the other side. It was a low, smooth tone that caused all the other young women to instantly stare in the direction of the man’s voice, and in turn eye Hana.

Leaning against the door on the side of the building, close to Hana where all the ladies had initially entered, Tomi had been supervising the scene and cleared her throat unamused. She raised an eyebrow as Hana tried to return an innocent expression and will away the blaze of red in her cheeks.

A strange sensation that abhorrently felt like butterflies fluttering in Hana’s stomach only deepened her shade of blush.

Back in the Hirano Villa, Hana was scolded yet again as she knelt to eat at the low dining table. Her mother beside her whispered sharply in Hana’s ear insisting she watch her posture.

The dining room was a spacious open-style setting containing an expensive-looking wooden table and fancy decor. A long shelf along one wall featured some vases and flower displays, and the other wall featured a large scroll of a painted dragon.

Hana was fascinated by the lighting above the table. It was a line of lantern-shaped lights with adorable designs of plum blossoms printed on the lampshade.

The young woman seated on the opposite side of the table was exceptionally dressed and held an air of maturity and grace about her. The intricate designs stood out on her white and gold kimono. The gold accents glistened against the light hitting it.

Her makeup was simple but empathised her finely elegant features, and her glossy black hair was neatly tied back with a generously jewelled hairpin. She caught Hana’s staring, briefly glancing up from the delicate bites of her food to return an unfriendly smirk, before wordlessly returning to her meal.

The gleam of disgust she shot at Hana made her uneasy. Not simply from the action itself, but the strange glint of yellow irises from behind her hooded eyelids was eerily unnatural. Hana discreetly tried to confirm what she had seen, but when she looked for the colour again, all that she saw was a common, but still beautiful shade of brown.

Hana decided to look away to avoid any confrontation. She took the opportunity to take in the other ladies who had been subjected to the same torment as she.

The two girls who had been wearing gowns had now changed their attire into more traditional kimonos. They sat together and looked very alike, prompting Hana to conclude them to be related. The assistants that accompanied them also sat next to each other and occasionally chatted in very soft voices.

Another participant looked like she had attended with her grandmother. Or so Hana assumed. She seemed to be the youngest of the group and the old woman assisting her constantly beamed down at her proudly. She wore minimal jewellery and a basic silver hair clip, but her blue kimono had trims of beautiful detail that made her stand out without needing additional accessories.

On one side of Hana was her mother, but on the other was the girl with cherry blossom hair clips. As Hana met her eye, she offered her a shy nod before tentative looking away again. A rosy glaze remained on the girl’s cheeks.

The last matchmaking attendee was the tallest of the group. Her kimono was somewhat of a tropical mess. It was a design that incorporated reds, orange and yellow with a white sash. Her hair was now down and revealed to be a medium length that just reached her shoulders and she wore thin-framed glasses.

Hana could not fault the food that was prepared. It was exceptionally delicious having been served in small portions but multiple different varieties of hors d’oeuvres, boiled and seasoned dishes, grilled meat, along with white rice and soup. Everything was presented and garnished beautifully.

The silence throughout the meal was a bit peculiar for Hana though. Normally meal times, particularly dinner was loud. Much of the time it consisted of her father laughing at his own bad jokes and goofing around. And her mother telling him off for it or nagging about something amiss that had happened throughout the day. They were not a fine-dining family by any stretch.

The sun had well disappeared as the guests finished up their meals. Tomi returned with shrine maidens flocking in close behind so they could retire the matchmaking participants to their designated sleeping quarters.

Hana’s misery returned as all the guardians began to bid the matchmaker participants their farewells.

“Don’t embarrass me,” was Asuna’s final words to her daughter before Hana was escorted to her room.

Hana was expecting a long week.