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Blooming Clovers (Black Clover Geisha TF/MC)
🕑 Added 2021-07-21 14:33:46 +0000 UTCNoelle and Mimosa decide to visit an exotic beauty parlor for their own (definitely not Asta-related) reasons - the foreign owner seems quite nice, but she has her own standards of beauty...
Patron commission for Carmilla, featuring Black Clover once again.
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The beauty parlor seemed to wear it’s heritage on it’s sleeve. A large, beautifully drawn symbol in a foreign language sat above the door, and the whole thing was painted red and white. An equally unknown flag waved above the door, and exotic smells wafted from inside. From the doorway, paintings in a strange yet expressive style covered the walls.
Noelle Silva was a royal, with access to the finest education the Clover Kingdom could offer, but she’d never seen, or indeed even heard, of any nation that resembled what she was looking at. The Spade, Diamond, and Heart Kingdoms didn’t have anything like it, and that was about where her knowledge of the world ended. “This place is so strange…” she said to her present companion.
Mimosa Vermillion, a fellow royal and one of Noelle’s cousins, smiled. “Isn’t it interesting? I heard that the owner comes from the same land as the Black Bulls’ captain. Maybe they know each other?”
“Not everyone from a given country knows each other, Mimosa.” Noelle sighed. Why had she agreed to come again? Mimosa had heard about an amazing beauty parlor and was curious to check it out, and had asked for her to go with her for some reason…
“I wonder what sort of styles people from there have. It has to be different from here, right? Yami’s definitely not the kind of guy you see in the Clover Kingdom normally.” Mimosa continued. “I wonder if Asta will like it…” she trailed off.
Noelle stiffened at the mention of her… comrade, that was all. Asta was enamored with the Black Bulls’ Captain Yami, who had been the man to give him a chance as a Magic Knight. He thought that the gruff, thuggish captain was the coolest thing to have ever graced the world, and took pains to follow in his footsteps.
So it followed then, that in his pursuit of the Captain, he might be interested in things from Yami’s homeland… including perhaps, the fashions, hairstyles, makeup, and so on that women in such a country wore. Noelle could just imagine the young brute falling over himself for her new, exotic look-
She flushed bright red. “W-We should head in,” she said to Mimosa, startling the other girl out of her own blushing daze.
“R-Right!” Mimosa agreed, and the two women stepped into the parlor.
An exotic smell that neither could fully identify greeted them. Not long after they arrived, a woman stepped out from behind a thin paper wall. She was a beautiful lady to be certain, but also definitely not from the Clover Kingdom - her hair was midnight black, smooth and silky as it’s tips brushed against her hips. She wasn’t a tall woman, but her outfit - a red robe-looking garment, seeming to wrap around her body and be held in place by a white sash around the waist - complimented her figure all the same. She had a thick white layer of makeup making her already pale skin even moreso, highlighted with dashes of red around the eyes and lips.
“Welcome, friends,” she said, bowing respectfully - while her words carried a thick accent, she seemed quite fluent in the Clover Kingdom’s language. “I welcome you to my humble establishment, the Noble Lotus. I am… you would say it as Asami Yamamoto. Call me Yamamoto. I have come from far away to offer my skills to the women of the Clover Kingdom.”
Noelle was taken aback a bit - she was due some respect as a royal of course, but so often lately she’d been around either other royals who didn’t hold such obligations, or around the Black Bulls who broadly couldn’t care less about one’s birth. It was nice to have someone treat her as she deserved! “The pleasure is ours. I am Noelle Silva, and this is my cousin Mimosa Vermillion. I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but-”
“I have certainly been here long enough to know such grand names.” Yamamoto replied, deepening her bow. “I am truly honored to have royal blood grace my parlor.”
Mimosa nervously pressed her fingers together, blushing a bit. She was a very pretty lady, and a nice one. “T-Thank you, Miss…” she said.
“Now, what might this humble foreigner do for two beautiful nobles?” Yamamoto asked politely, straightening up.
Noelle nodded. “Of course, we’ve come to sample your services for ourselves.”
“I had some friends who told me about this place, and we just had to try it!” Mimosa said excitedly.
The woman nodded, deep in thought. “I see, I see. I would be delighted to offer you my services, of course. I regret to inform you that I am understaffed at the moment; my assistants, it would seem, are a touch late this day. I’ll have to work one at a time until they return.”
“Of course, of course.” Noelle said, waving off her concerns. “I look forward to seeing what you can do.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry!” Mimosa said, “My friends said you do great work.”
“I will endeavor to satisfy my royal patrons,” the foreign woman said. “I will take the first of you now. Miss Vermillion, if you would please?” she waved towards a door.
“Ah! Ok!” Mimosa walked through the door.
“I thank you for your patience, Miss Silva.” Yamamoto said, before bowing once more and withdrawing from the room after Mimosa.
Noelle sighed, and sat down to wait. Well, no harm in letting Mimosa go first.
-----
The room was quite nice, Mimosa thought. Fancy wood furnishings, comfortable looking matts and pretty paintings around the walls. At one end of the room was a cabinet full of small bottles and pots and bowls of assorted materials she didn’t recognize, and of course at another was a mirror. In the center of the room was a chair and table where Mimosa suspected that the lady would do her work, along with a basin full of water.
“Please, sit, Miss Vermillion. I must get to work at once, so as not to keep Miss Silva waiting.” Yamamoto respectfully requested.
Mimosa followed her instruction, sitting herself down at the table and letting the woman tilt her head back into the basin. There were a few moments of waiting as Yamamoto rummaged around her cabinet for the appropriate materials, but it wasn’t long before she returned and got to work, beginning by styling Mimosa’s lashes. “The eyes are one of the most noticeable parts of a woman; if you emphasize them, they will enhance one’s beauty to a great degree.” she said in the tone of a professor teaching a student.
“I see, I see…” Mimosa said - she would have nodded if she didn’t have to keep her head firmly in place.
Once that was done, Yamamoto made sure to thoroughly wash Mimosa’s hair, before adding something to the water. Mimosa couldn’t see, but an inky black was spreading through the basin, seeping into her bright orange hair and staining it black. The darker coloration seemed to climb up the strands - Mimosa felt a strange, tingling feeling as it hit her scalp and seeped into the roots.
Once Mimosa’s hair was fully black, Yamamoto took out a brush and a comb and got to work. The royal’s hair was long and pretty, to be certain, but it hung free in a way that made the foreigner frown with distaste. It seemed a waste to let it free like that. It took time to tame her hair, but eventually she put in the last pin, giving Mimosa’s hair a great volume and raised style that in Yamamoto’s opinion fit better.
Mimosa, for her part, really wasn’t sure what had happened to her hair - it felt kinda weird to have it like that, and heavy too. But she wasn’t the beauty expert, so she tried to relax as Yamamoto returned, this time with makeup pads. “The first layer of makeup provides a stark backdrop against which the features can stand out, like a canvas on which a lonely flower is painted. Close your eyes.” Yamamoto said, before dipping one of the pads in a small bowl she’d brought, and beginning to apply it to Mimosa’s face.
It took some time, but Mimosa kept her eyes closed as instructed. The makeup felt strange, a tingling sensation covering her face wherever it touched. More than once she nearly opened her eyes, but she made it through - when she was allowed to open them again, her face had been painted completely white, like Yamamoto’s. Without another word, the makeup maestro got to work with another tool, shadowing Mimosa’s eyes and lips with red, and adding a touch of blush to each of her cheeks.
Mimosa was finally allowed to sit up, once her hair and makeup had fully dried, and was astonished to see herself in the mirror. It was like looking at a completely different person - everything seemed different, from the shape of her eyes to even the size of her jaw and cheeks. Her hair had somehow become a smooth black color, raised up and held in place with pins and a simple hairband, looking much like a less-fancy version of Yamamoto’s hair. If she’d seen that person on the street, she certainly wouldn’t have recognized her as Mimosa. “What- how did you do that with my face…” she said, raising a hand to her cheek. That was just the first of many, many questions…
“It’s a wonder what properly applied makeup can do,” Yamamoto said smoothly. Her voice sounded confident, reassuring. Alright, so this was normal then? Mimosa hadn’t seen such extreme differences on her friends, but maybe this was the ‘royal’ treatment where Yamamoto came from?
“Ok…” Mimosa said, “Are we done?”
“Nearly so.” Yamamoto said, drawing a file from the sleeves of her robes. It seemed such a simple thing, to do her nails, compared to the dramatic impact of the rest of the makeover…
Now that she wasn’t having her face being made up and risking a fashion catastrophe if she spoke, Mimosa had the opportunity to make some small talk. “So… what’s it like, where you’re from?” she asked.
“Oh, it’s a beautiful land,” Yamamoto said, “The people are most refined, and honor is held in the highest of regards. It is not a large land, but it is strong, and I would call it the most noble of nations…” Yamamoto sighed wistfully as she remembered.
“Really? I never would have guessed. There’s a man from your country who lives here, a Magic Knight Captain.”
Yamamoto raised her eyebrow. “Is that so? Is he a gentleman?”
“No… he’s very reliable, but he’s a bit loud and threatening…”
“Ah, I see. A commoner, then. Every land has it’s underbelly, I suppose, even one so grand as ours.” Yamamoto said. “To think, a commoner rising to such a high position… what is this country coming to?”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s that bad…” Mimosa said. “He’s scary, but he really wants to do good, I think.”
“Hm. That’s nonsense. A commoner-” Yamamoto continued speaking, but suddenly, Mimosa couldn’t understand what she was saying. Had she changed languages?
“Come again?”
She made the same sounds again, but they were even more gibberish to Mimosa than they had been the first time.
“What?” she asked again. The act of asking the question felt… strange, like her lips weren’t moving right.
“I apologize, I should have known you wouldn’t understand…” Yamamoto said with an apologetic smile.
Mimosa frowned. Something was… wrong. The words didn’t sound right, but she understood them now… “I… I’m sorry?”
“As I was saying. The commoners. Such beasts, masquerading as men. The Clover Kingdom is a pitiful place if it must allow them such high status…”
Mimosa shook her head. Her head hurt. That sounded wrong, insulting, but the way that Yamamoto said it sounded so right. “I… I suppose…”
“Of course. People from our land understand these things. There is a divine order, and it to upset it is to commit treason against the very gods.” Yamamoto continued, firmly. “Stand. We must dress you properly.”
Mimosa found herself moving immediately in response, unable to even consider disobeying the command. She stood, and immediately began to disrobe, until she was naked but for her undergarments before Yamamoto’s gaze.
The woman looked over her approvingly, and produced from apparently nowhere a gown - it looked much like her own, but a bit simpler, and only in red. “Dress yourself. I shall assist.”
Mimosa nodded, starting to put on the dress. It was of a fine material, the smoothest silk Mimosa had ever felt, and to be honest it did feel good on her. She wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to put it on at first, but as she did she found that her body seemed to know. But something still felt wrong. Intensely wrong, but she couldn’t begin to put her finger on it.
“You’ll be taking care of your sister soon. She’s forgotten her place, and we must remind her.” Yamamoto said. Sister? Which sister…? Mimosa had come there with Noelle didn’t she? She looked in the mirror, unable to recognize herself. Behind her, Yamamoto had a sinister smile. With a hearty tug, the older woman drew the sash around the younger’s waist tight. “Isn’t that right, Hanako?”
Of course, the woman in the mirror wasn’t recognizable as Mimosa because she wasn’t Mimosa at all. She was Hanako, loyal attendant to Lady Yamamoto. Hanako felt the tension leak out of her as the very idea of Mimosa fell out of her head - she hadn’t the slightest idea who that was.
“Of course, Mistress.” Hanako said, turning to Lady Yamamoto and bowing deeply. Of course, she remembered now. Her sister had spent far too much time in this foreign land. She’d forgotten who she was. She needed to be reminded.
-----
Noelle was just beginning to get irritated at the waiting when someone opened the door. At first she thought it was Yamamoto, or maybe Mimosa, but she revised her opinion quickly - it obviously wasn’t Mimosa, as she had a different face shape and features, and while she might not be as good at telling apart foreigners, it was also clearly not Yamamoto - she didn’t have nearly so regal a bearing, nevermind the fact her robes and hair-pins were different.
Yamamoto came in after the girl. “This is Hanako, one of my assistants,” she said. “She just arrived. She’ll take care of you while I go back to my work; she does not speak your language, but she is quite skilled, I assure you. I will join you shortly.”
The younger woman said something that Noelle couldn’t begin to puzzle out, and Yamamoto replied. Then, Hanako bowed deeply, and gestured towards another door.
It was a bit odd, but Noelle wouldn’t complain; Yamamoto seemed confident in the skills of her assistant.
Noelle was led to a fancy room that wasn’t unlike the one Mimosa had been in, with the same array of cosmetics and the same furniture waiting ready for it’s new occupant. Hanako said something Noelle couldn’t understand again, pointing to the water basin and the seat beside it.
It took Noelle a few moments, but she worked it out. “Oh, you want me to sit.” she said, nodding. She undid her hair ties, letting her hair fall out of the twintails she usually kept it in, and sat down to let Hanako get to work.
Hanako was glad that the so-called ‘princess’ couldn’t understand her, despite herself. It was quite demeaning to have to treat a foreigner like her with respect - or rather, to act as if her sister in service were a foreigner in the first place. Oh, how sad it was that she’d forgotten her true self! Hanako resolved herself to wash the Clover Kingdom’s taint from the poor girl’s head, to return her to the way she should be.
Hanako looked quite serious as she got to work, Noelle noticed. She put something into the water that made Noelle’s hair tingle; was it some kind of special soap? Whatever it was, it felt kind of nice, and Noelle lay back and tried to relax as the dark soaked into her hair much like it had Mimosa’s.
The young geisha smiled as she saw it. As far as she was concerned, the hair was returning to it’s natural color; her mind saw it as rinsing out dyes that had stuck themselves to her sister, rather than rubbing in a new color. She worked to make sure the color got deep into the roots, changing the color that new hair would grow, before setting to work on styling.
A fold here, a pin there, and Hanako was happy with her work; now, her sister had the exact same hair style as she did, as she should. She gave Noelle a smile, before getting to work on the makeup.
This was where Noelle began to feel something was wrong. She’d used makeup before, but none that felt like what she was getting now. Her face felt warm and tingly, as the white caked her expression and started to remold it. She closed her eyes to let Hanako do her eyeshadow, but when she opened them they felt somehow strange.
It was only when she was allowed to look in the mirror that she saw what had happened. She wasn’t as trusting as Mimosa - when she saw what had happened to her face and hair, she knew no makeup could do that. She stood, preparing to summon her grimoire. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, “What did you do to my face!?”
But before she could threaten anything, she realized Hanako had already taken out her own grimoire - a familiar one. Vibrant green vines sprung from the ground and wrapped themselves around Noelle, trapping her. Hanako said something, but Noelle wasn’t paying attention - that was Mimosa’s magic! “What are you doing, Mimosa?” she called.
“Oh, you must be mistaken,” Yamamoto’s voice chimed in. The woman walked in, smiling at Noelle’s strife. “This isn’t Mimosa. This is Hanako. Or at least, she isn’t Mimosa anymore.”
Noelle groaned, trying to free herself, but Hanako’s vines locked her in place while the woman approached. “You can’t do this to royals! I don’t know how it is back home, but here, that’s a crime worthy of execution!”
“I don’t acknowledge any royalty but those of my homeland, those who have divine blood.” Yamamoto said sharply. “I had heard of the debauchery of the Western lands, but truly, if this is royalty, then they don’t even begin to cover it. You should be thankful that I am here to civilize you. Even the lowest of peasants from my homeland would be your equal; I am raising your status far above what it once was.” The foreign woman had taken out her own grimoire, and it glowed with power.
“What are you doing? What did you do to Mimosa?” Noelle demanded.
“I am in need of attendants. Servants. Mimosa no longer exists; as far as she is concerned, she has always been Hanako. Soon, Noelle will no longer exist, too. In your place will be my loving servant Haruko.” Yamamoto said.
Noelle’s eyes went wide, as the magic of Yamamoto’s grimoire enveloped her. Yamamoto said something else, but Noelle didn’t understand it. “What did you say?” she asked. Then she clapped a hand over her mouth - what had she just said?
Yamamoto smiled. “You have no need of that uncouth language; I’ve given you the knowledge of a far more refined tongue.”
She had changed the very language Noelle could speak, could think in? What kind of magic was this?
“Soon, you’ll be back to normal, sister,” Hanako said serenely, “And we can serve Mistress together…”
This was bad! What she wouldn’t give for that anti-magic idiot and his sword just then… “Hanako, snap out of it-” Noelle blinked. She could no longer call Hanako anything but her new name, or even think of it.
“Such a foul tempered young lady. Imagine, calling yourself royalty!” Yamamoto scoffed. She waved a hand, and Hanako directed her vines as requested; Noelle’s outfit, her Black Bulls uniform, was torn apart, leaving her naked for Yamamoto’s inspection. “You’re far too coarse, in body and personality, for anything but the lowest rungs of society. I will assist you in this.”
Noelle was made to watch as the magic changed her body, smoothed away the scars of hard-won battles and left smooth, pale skin in their place. She wasn’t a fighter, so she had no reason to have such scars. Why was she being so rude? She must be respectful to those of Yamamoto’s station. She must be respectful to those above her.
Her head hurt. Above her? She was a royal, wasn’t she?
No, don’t be silly. She was simply the attendant of a noble. An honorable role, but not to be compared to the royalty.
Noelle shook her head. That was wrong…
Yamamoto smiled. Her voice in Noelle’s head grew more insistent. No, what was wrong was that name. Who’s Noelle?
Who’s Noelle? Don’t be ridiculous, of course she’s… who…? The former royal’s mind ground to a halt as she tried to remember who the heck Noelle was. She looked ill, her mind and body both rebelling against the change, trying to keep hold of her name, her family and friends, anything of her original self.
But whenever she reached, she found something else. The cherry blossoms of her homeland. Growing up and learning her role with her twin sister Hanako. The smile of Lady Yamamoto. Every memory she grabbed simply reinforced who she was not. She was not a royal of the Clover Kingdom. She was not a Magic Knight of the Black Bulls. She was not Noelle Silva.
She was Haruko. She was Haruko, the loyal, loving geisha of Lady Yamamoto. Haruko, the twin sister of Hanako. She had never heard of, let alone met, anyone named Noelle; Haruko hadn’t even been in the Clover Kingdom for more than a couple months.
As Yamamoto watched Noelle cease to exist, she gestured to Hanako. The attendant bowed respectfully, and had her vines set to work presenting Haruko with her kimono. This one was white, to match Hanako’s red. Haruko found herself putting it on automatically.
When she was done, she bowed deeply. “I apologize for my outburst, Mistress. I don’t know what came over me.” she said. Yamamoto could see it was true; there was no longer even a sliver of Noelle in Haruko’s eyes, and she truly did not remember what it was she’d been fighting for.
“It is of no consequence compared to your long service,” Yamamoto reassured her. “Hanako, Haruko, prepare my belongings. We begin the journey home tonight.”
“Yes, Mistress.” the twins said in unison; the only distinction between them now was the color of their kimonos, and that was the way they liked it. Lady Yamamoto need not concern herself with telling them apart.
The next day, the beauty parlor was gone, the building in which it had been situated empty without a sign of where it’s occupants had gone. Hanako and Haruko left their former selves behind without so much as a thought, glad to be leaving such a savage country; Lady Yamamoto smiled, pleased that her trip had been well worth the costs in these two lovely geishas.
