Making his way through the Dragon Castle, Chisai was still feeling unsure about his date with Odayakana. Yes she was a very lovely girl and she must have found him a little bit attractive, even so, he had to admit that he was feeling a little nervous about the date. The fact of the matter was that he hadn't gone in a date in a very long time and he needed help.
Chisai walked through the halls of Dragon Castle until he came across Kiko, Mika, and Claudia who were all talking about something until they noticed Chisai walking towards them.
"Oh, hello Chisai, I thought you would have been ready for your date by now." Kiko slightly teased.
"Yeah uh, that's....actually why I'm here. Could you three.....help me get ready for my date?" Chisai asked feeling embarrassed.
Mika, Claudia, and Kiko all chuckled at Chisai's obvious embarrassment but agreed to help him. They went to Chisai's room where Kiko and Mika sat him down in front of his bedroom mirror and gave him a good look over. Kiko and Mika looked over the hair on his head and the fur on his body.
"Alright, I'll cut his hair and Mika, you'll trim his fur." Kiko said as Mika nodded in agreement.
"Wait, what? I don't remember agreeing to..." Chisai said as he nearly stood up but was pushed back down by Claudia.
"Sorry Chisai, but you asked for our help and you're getting it. Besides you're going to look really handsome for your date. Mika is excellent when it comes to fashionable looks. Just look at how handsome Mason and Aaron look in this picture she did of them when Aaron was in high school." Claudia said as she showed Chisai a picture of Aaron back in high school sitting next to Mason with a similar styled haircuts and outfits they didn't care for.
"Doesn't really look like they enjoyed it." Chisai commented.
"Oh, everyone thought they looked handsome and I make sure my boys always look handsome. Now hold still." Mika said a she trimmed some of Chisai's large fur.
Kiko had her hands full cutting the top of Chisai's hair and then giving it a good comb over. Chisai didn't want to say it, but he almost felt like an experiment to the girls as they fixed him up. Soon enough, Mika had cut just enough of Chisai's excess fur and his hair looked pretty nice. The only thing left was getting an outfit for him to wear. Mika searched through Chisai's wardrobe and found a nice looking formal hikama in his closet and had him put it on, but to their utter shock and surprise, the sleeves were too short because his chest was too broad, it's close to tearing in half and to make matters worse, he can't even tie it together.
"Fat guy in a little coat." Claudia whispered to Mika who quietly giggled before gently hitting her wife on the arm to be quiet.
"Hey I'm not fat," Chisai grumbled. "Would a fat guy be able to dead-lift a cauldron of molten steel? Would a fat a guy be able to swing a Warhammer that weighs as much as you Claudia?"
"Relax Chisai it's just a joke," Mika stated. "But you have to admit, the hakama is a bit tight."
"Sorry," he sighed. "I guess I get a bit sensitive about my weight. I worked real hard to to turn any flab into muscle."
"Why is that?" Mika asked. Chisai frowned, his eyes resting on his older sister Kiko.
"What," Kiko asked in surprise.
"You know what," the massive kitsune grumbled. "How many times did you tease me about my weight when we were kids. You went so far as to learn the tuba so you could sneak up behind me and play it when I walked!"
"No," Mika and Claudia gasped, stifling a laugh. Both women shocked yet impressed by Kiko's teasing of her younger sibling.
"Oh c'mon Chisai we were kids," Kiko stated. "And besides, look at you now. You're built like a power lifter."
"No thanks to you," he grumbled, the grey furred kitsune obviously perturbed at the mention of his size. "You remember the time you stuck at sign on my back that said wide load!?"
"Oh yeah good times," Kiko smirked. "But you seem to forget I was also the one who stood up to any bullies that picked on you in school. No one picks on my big little brother."
Chisai grumbled, attempting to fold his arms across his barrel chest. The pair had always been close. When Fukushu left and with the twins grown, Chisai and Kiko often found themselves left to their own devices. It led the pair to a love/hate relationship in their early years. Something Mika could relate to as she thought of her own brother Shiro. As Kiko now attempted to adjust Chisai's hakama, she paused.
"Chisai, this can't be your best looking hakama, why is it so small?" Kiko asked in surprise.
"Well, it....was my best hakama the last time I wore it." Chisai replied.
"Which was when exactly?" Kiko asked.
"Uh.....it was probably.....Takeo's.....100th birthday?" Chisai meekly replied.
"Takeo's......? Ugh, Chisai....." Kiko grumbled to herself.
"How long ago was that now?" Mika asked Kiko.
"His 100th birthday was 260 years ago." Kiko replied.
"What?! Oh....Chisai, honestly do you wear anything all day besides those leather aprons?!" Mika asked.
"It's not like I go on dates very often." Chisai argued.
"Ugh, Claudia, can you go find something else for him to wear? Mika and I will try finding something else in his closet." Kiko suggested as Claudia nodded and headed out of the room.
Claudia thought of who could possibly match Chisai in size. Obviously not Takeo, he was a lot smaller than his older brother.
She thought Fukushu's wardrobe might be more helpful, and began making her way towards his room when she ran into Tatsu.
"Oh, sorry Tatsu, I didn't see you there." Claudia apologized and began to run around her father in-law.
"Where are you off to in such a rush?" Tatsu asked raising his eyebrow at her.
"Oh, well.....Chisai actually has a date tonight and he wanted my, Mika, and Kiko's help getting ready. Kiko and Mika gave him a nice little makeover, but he doesn't have a hakama that fits him and I was going to go see if Fukushu was a better match in size for him." Claudia explained as she began to leave.
"You don't have to go to Fukushu's room, I have one just for him." Tatsu replied as Claudia gave a curious look and followed Chisai.
Kiko and Mika shook their heads in disappointment. They had gone through four outfits in Chisai's closet and none of them were a good look and it was obvious that Chisai needed to get a new wardrobe. Mika and Kiko were relieved when Claudia came back, but were surprised when Tatsu arrived with her holding a box.
"Chisai, Claudia told me you've got a date tonight. Now I know some children don't care for hand me down clothes from their parent, but.....I was saving this hakama just for you." Tatsu said as he handed him the box and he opened it to see a very beautiful looking hakama and held it up to his body, it actually looked like the right size and began putting it on.
"Wow, it's....it's a perfect match. Thanks dad, but why give this one to me? Why not Takeo or Fukushu?" Chisai asked his father.
"Oh, I have. I've given them both special hakamas, but I wanted to give you this one because it has a special meaning to me." Tatsu said as everyone waited to hear what it was.
"This....was the hakama I wore when I went on my first date with your mother. Think of it as a good luck charm." Tatsu said with a smile as Chisai now wrapped his arms around his father giving him a hug.
Kiko, Mika, and Claudia all found the moment very touching as Mika and Claudia held each other's hands tightly while Kiko had a few tears in her eyes.
At the same time while Kiko, Mika, and Claudia were all helping Tatsu prepare for his date, Kari and Haley were helping Odayakana get ready for her date with Chisai.
"Thanks again for helping me get ready for the date." Odayakana said thanking the two as Kari was helping her with her hair while Haley was trying to match what kimono would probably look best on her.
"Oh, it's really no problem at all Odayakana. Frankly, I think it's really nice you agreed to the date. Even before the civil war happened, uncle Chisai didn't really seem to really want to pursue any relationships." Kari said as she brushed the top of her hair as Odayakana blushed at the remark about Chisai.
"About that, don't you two think....maybe....you know it seems just a little bit....strange or awkward that I'm going out on a date with your uncle when I'm sort of closer to your ages?" Odayakana asked shrugging.
Haley and Kari thought about it for a moment before shrugging at the thought.
"If you really think about it Odayakana, our whole family is unique in some way. We have two moms, I'm a tiger, Mason is a wolf....sometimes, Kari's a kitsune, Aaron's a kintaro, our aunt's an elf, and Aaron, Mason, and I were all born under magical circumstances. So really, you being a little younger than our uncle isn't really all that weird." Haley said with a shrug.
Only a few minutes later did Kari finish fixing up Odayakana. There really wasn't much she didn't have to help her with, Odayakana seemed naturally beautiful to anyone, but still, even Odayakana was amazed how pretty Kari had made her. Kari had Haley go find Chisai and let him know that his date was ready and she would meet him outside the Dragon Castle.
Chisai was led by Claudia and his sisters outside the castle and waited a little impatiently as he rubbed his hands together while also wiping some sweat off of his brow.
"Chisai, don't be so nervous, you two will have a great time, maybe she'll even ask you for a second date." Kiko encouraged her brother.
"I....I just don't know, maybe this wasn't a good idea....I think I should just find Kari or Haley and let them tell her that...." Chisai was about to finish when he looked up and saw the most beautiful sight he had seen in a long time.
He watched as Odayakana was guided over towards Chisai and the moment she appeared, she couldn't have looked more breathtaking. Her kimono was gorgeous, and her hair looked perfectly brushed. He also saw that she had makeup on her and that just added to her already natural beauty.
Odayakana herself was astounded at just how well Chisai himself had been cleaned up. It was almost unbelievable that the same kitsune before her was also a blacksmith.
"Lady Odayakana, my....you look...well, you look uh....." Chisai failed to find the right word.
"Enchanting," Mika whispered into her brother's ear.
"Enchanting, you look very enchanting." Chisai complimented as Odayakana herself blushed at this remark and gave a slight giggle at his loss for words.
"Thank you very much Chisai and you look very...." Odayakana was almost at a loss of words herself as she saw Chisai's muscles through his hakama and his well combed hair.
"Striking," Kari whispered into her friend's ear.
"Striking! You are very....striking Chisai." Odayakana said loudly at first before continuing normally.
"Well...." Chisai said after a minute of silence from both of them. "I suppose I'll lead the way on where we're going." Chisai said as he let her walk beside him and the two of them walked off.
"That sounds nice. But just....where is it we're going?" Odayakana asked.
Chisai now realized that he hadn't actually thought that far ahead on where the two would actually go for the day and stopped realizing the position he was in.
"Oh....well, uh.....I was thinking that we could....go....." Chisai began to say.
"Chisai!" Chisai and Odayakana looked to see Shizen running over towards them with a piece of paper in her hands.
"I'm glad I caught up with you two before you left. My son almost forgot the spectacular planned day he had for you two." Shizen.
"He did?" Odayakana asked in surprise.
"I did?" Chisai said. "YES! He actually did, I saw him making the list himself." Shizen said loudly enough over Chisai and handed him the paper.
"Oh right, I did. Thanks mom, I can't believe I almost forgot this." Chisai said as he and Odayakana now proceeded on their way away from the castle.
Kiko, Mika, Claudia, Kari, and Haley all look at them leave with a smile as Haley looked over at Shizen.
"Grandma, did you just made up that list for uncle Chisai?" Haley asked raising her eyebrow at her grandmother.
"Maybe I did Haley, maybe I didn't. Maybe your grandfather told me what was going on and I knew Chisai wouldn't have thought of just what to do on his first date and wrote a list of suggestions for him to do. But I'm not saying that I did that." Shizen said with a smirk.
"Well, even if you did that or not, that was still awesome to give him that grandma." Haley said congratulating her grandmother with a pat on her back.