"Everything has been prepared for your departure, Lady Tomoe," says the butler, Hanzou, talking rapidly as he walks to the pool Tomoe Tachibana is bathing in.
Surrounded by the steaming water thundering down in front of her in a small waterfall, Tomoe doesn't even turn around to look at her butler in the face. No, all Hanzou gets is a look at her long black hair flowing freely down her back and being blown about by the gentle wind.
"Very good, Hanzou," says Tomoe briskly. "Go on ahead and wait for me there."
"As you wish." With those words, Hanzou departs the pool as Tomoe carries herself out of the boiling water she seems to be unaffected to.
Tomoe pulls on her traditional scarlet clothes, talking to herself as she goes. "By the eight million gods that exist to protect this world... I, Tomoe, daughter of Tachibana, shall heed the path of honor!"
Around her, white things fall, though if it's snow or feathers, it's impossible to tell as they blur around in an endless hurricane, surrounding the young doctor. Her kimono is pulled tight, with a white shawl settled around it.
"Let the heavens be my witness!" Tomoe shouts to the sky, her strange purple-colored eyes blazing strong.
As she heads for the wooden mansion her family lives in, an entire row of servants wait for her on the porch. As she walks through them, they salute her with their swords and all give graceful bows. She never lets her gaze falter. And like that, Dr. Tomoe Tachibana says her goodbyes to Japan and prepares for the ride to America.