Remember My Name...
Moriko sighed as she gazed out the balcony of her assigned room at the top of the bath house. Everything seemed so calm and serene. The sun was still out and all seemed well, yet there was something in strange that seemed as if it were being carried by the air. She could smell it, but she couldn't tell what it was. Perhaps it was just her imagination. Moriko shook that thought out of her mind as she stared down at the nearby bridge where the spirits would cross each night to take a soothing bath.
Moriko has been living here for quite some time now. She has gotten to know just about everyone at the Aburaya bathhouse, becoming friends with each and every one of the workers. Moriko is currently the second apprentice of the owner of the Aburaya bathhouse, Mistress Yu-baaba... the witch. She had no memories of her past when she arrived to the mysterious town. Moriko could only remember her original name and she had come with unordinary powers. She could even turn into a dragon for crying out loud! Yu-baaba decided that she wasn't completely useless, so she allowed the girl to live. Moriko was extremely grateful and had no trouble learning from Yu-baaba, but she was a bit bothered by her first apprentice in the beginning of her stay.
Haku was always staring at her strangely, not in a bad way of course, but in an almost... interested and familiarizing manner. After a few days, the two began to get along with one another. Haku didn't seem so bad after all. Moriko just had to get to know him better. Even if he could be a bit cold at times, Moriko knew that he would never betray her. The two had tried several times to remember Haku's real name and soon Moriko had noticed that she had completely forgotten her own.
She sighed lightly, wondering if she would ever remember.
Moriko then noticed a figure coming towards the bridge, the hair on her neck standing up slightly at the scene. It was... a human? She appeared to be around ten years old with brown hair and light skin. Could she have wondered into this world with other humans? Moriko hoped that wasn't the case, but she knew that it was possible. The young girl was gazing down at the train that was driving just bellow the bridge. When she ran to the other side she turned... and there was Haku. Moriko's eyes were fixed on the two and she continued to listen.
"You shouldn't be here! Get out of here! Now!" Haku's voice sounded slightly harsh as he commanded the human to leave.
The human girl simply stared at him questioningly before managing to squeak out a, "What?"
"It's almost night. Leave before it gets dark!" Haku continued, his voice was urgent as he spoke to the foolish girl.
As Moriko stared down at them the lights began snapping on, signaling the beginning of a new night. Haku seemed to notice this as well because as soon as he turned to look back at the lit up building his eyes widened as if he had just seen something terrible.
"They're lighting the lamps! Get out of here! You've got to get across the river! GO! I'LL DISTRACT THEM!" Haku pushed the girl along before turning around and casting a small spell to interfere with the worker's usual wake up time.
Moriko watched as the girl disappeared around the corner, hopefully she would make it across the river in time, but Moriko knew that was nearly impossible by now. She bit her lip a bit before leaping from her previous position to the ground, landing gracefully on the stone entrance of the bathhouse. She ran towards Haku swiftly, who seemed to be surprised by her sudden appearance, and stood just in front of him. "She won't make it over the river, Haku. We must get her to safety before everyone knows that she's here. Who knows what Yu-baaba will do to her if we don't!" She exclaimed, a look of concern washed over her face.
"Yes, I know, but we must keep everyone busy until we find a way to keep her from being seen." Haku said, stopping to think as Moriko stared at him. "...That's it! We need to find her and somehow get her a job with Kamajii!" Haku stated, grabbing a hold of Moriko's hand. He pulled her along with air like speed as they headed towards the river.
"B-But how is she going to get a job with Kamajii? She doesn't look like the type to work a-and how will we get her across the bridge?" Moriko asked, blushing slightly as she glanced down at their hands every now and then.
Haku continued to look ahead as they reached the side of the river. "We'll just have to make sure she does. The last thing I want is to have her end up like us..." Haku replied once they arrived to their destination. He turned and noticed a small figure huddled up just to the side of the stairs. Moriko was once again pulled by Haku towards the child. They both sat down to her right and put an arm around her shoulders, startling the girl.
"Don't be afraid. We just want to help you," Haku tried to assure the girl that Moriko and him would not harm her, but it didn't seem to work at first. Moriko noticed that the girl was now transparent. 'She most likely hasn't eaten anything from this world,' Moriko thought to herself as she stared at the girl, her natural green hair shading half of her face.
"No, no, no!" The girl kept repeating as she shook her head, her arms shaking as she tried to move away from Haku and Moriko.
"Open your mouth and eat this. You have to eat some food from this world or else you'll disappear," Haku's words were rather calm and collected as he spoke. Moriko was almost certain she would have scared the girl even more than she is now if she were the one talking to her. Haku suddenly pulled out a tiny, crimson colored berry and held it up for the child to take.
"NO!" The girl cried out before attempting to shove Haku away, only to feel her hands go straight through him. She gasped and pulled her arms back, staring at Haku as he sighed lightly and held the berry to her lips.
"Don't worry. It won't turn you into a pig," He mumbled, making Moriko giggle, "Chew it and swallow," Haku continued as he and Moriko watched the girl chew the pea sized piece of food and eat it.
Moriko decided to speak up since she had remained silent most of the time. She crawled up to the young girl with a large smile on her face before speaking. "Wow! You look so much better now! Look! Touch my hand and see for yourself~!" Moriko exclaimed cheerfully as she held her hand up. The girl hesitantly touched the palm of Moriko's hand, a look of relief appeared on her face as she felt her hand hit the green haired girl's hand.
"I-I'm OK," The girl said as she stared down at her hand. Moriko nodded at the girl, smiling warmly at her while petting her head in a caring way. "Yes you are," Moriko remarked, turning to look at Haku as he tool the girl's other hand in his.
"You see. Now come with me you two-" Haku asserted, standing up to lead both Moriko and the young girl to the bridge before being interrupted by the girl.
"But where are my mom and dad? They didn't really turn into pigs, did they?" The young girl seemed frightened as she spoke of her parents.
'So, She wasn't alone when she entered this world...' Moriko thought to herself, not very surprised by this.
"You can't see them now, but you will," Haku assured her, but his smile was soon replaced by a frown as he looked above the roofs of the restaurants up ahead.
Moriko stared up at Haku confused before sitting up to look as well. 'Great... It's Yu-bird again...' Moriko's face scrunched up at the sight of the horrid bird. She backed the girl up into the wall, Haku shielding both the girl and Moriko as well.
"Don't move," He whispered to the two girls in front of him as he eyed the bird before it was out of his sight. "That bird is looking for you. We've got to get out of here," He spoke to the girl after he had moved away from Moriko's back side. Moriko stood up as well and attempted to help the girl up on her feet, but she only yelped and fell back down.
"Ah! My legs! I can't stand up! Help! What do I do?" She panicked as she stared up into Moriko's eyes and glanced back down at her legs.
"Calm yourself and take a deep breath, May?" Moriko spoke smoothly to the girl, managing to keep her quiet. The girl nodded and did what she was told. Moriko placed a hand above the girl's leg and began to recite her spell, "In the name of the earth and life within thee, unbind her."
"Get up," Haku ordered once Moriko finished her little chant. The girl immediately stood up when she was told to. Haku grabbed a hold of both of their hands, leading them to the edge of the bathhouse where Mariko and him would send the girl off to get a job from Kamajii.
The trio ran through a few empty allies and the pig stables as they headed toward the bridge. They're feet barely touching the ground as they sped across town. Moriko's heart was beating probably 1,000 times per second or at least that's what she thought.
'This is going to be the LONGEST journey I have ever had,' Moriko thought to herself.
AND INDEED IT WOULD BE...
TO BE CONTINUED...