--- Enter the Beastly Beast of Beasts
Silence, steam and warm water enveloped him. He laid there for an hour or so, relaxing away. After some time, there was rustling in the bushes.
Sano sleepily opened his eyes. In the next second, he lay low in the water. The rustling continued, this time even louder.
He slowly turned to face the bushes as he still hid himself in the water. Moving slowly, so as not to make any splashes, he reached for the nearest object that could be turned into a projectile. His hands felt around the ground and came across a pebble. He readied his hand above the water and waited.
At the instant the rustle was heard, he threw the pebble straight at the bushes. All was quiet after he heard it hit. Feeling proud that he hadn't lost his touch, Sano relaxed once more in the steaming water.
Before he could settle in, another sound caught his attention. It was quite odd, and even more so, it came from the same place the rustling did. Curious, he went to get his robe. The slippers were left in his haste, but he had the lamp. A few moments were all he needed to see that he had hit an animal of some sort.
He watched it struggle to make the last, but a weaker sound comparing from earlier. The furry little body had stopped moving. Fearful of what might have happened, Sano quickly put on his sandals and hurried up to garden's level. He brought the animal to the staff room on the first floor. He quickly took a towel and made a sort of cushion for the creature.
It looked too small for the towels, but he had no choice. He ran to the front desk and asked for the telephone and the phone number for the nearest vet. The women in charge of the desk that evening looked at each other. While one went to look at the local pages, the other asked her boss why.
"I've found a wounded animal outside, right by the garden."
The long-haired woman could only gasp. She immediately called the operator. The other woman looking through the local pages stopped and then asked if there was anything she could do at the moment.
"The animal's in the staff room. I've already placed it in a pile of towels."
They both went to the staff room with haste. The creature was still there, lying in the towels Sano had placed it on. But there was a noticeable difference: the towels were stained a dark colour everyone was too familiar with.
The woman with her black hair in a bun and usual flower hairpiece took charge. She told her boss to get boiled water from the kitchen.
The cooks were busy as they had to orders to fill. One of their aids who just came back from serving the middle aged men was able to assist Sano. The staff member asked to why he needed a bucket of boiled water. Sano quickly said there was no time to explain, leaving the young man baffled. Before he could after his boss, one of the cooks called him over to deliver a tray to the upstairs.
He came back with a fresh face towel and the bucket of water. The bubbling had already stopped, leaving securely clean water. It seemed the woman has had experience with this kind of thing before. She dipped the face towel in the water and gently wiped the now bleeding animal. It wriggled little, feeling the pain, but it submitted to her gentle strokes.
Sano could only watch; he had never owned any kind of pet, much less hit any animal accidentally or this severely before. The first thought that came into his mind was that of Rinko. This looked incredibly bad on his part. Guilt piled up, but he was determined to help. He went to check on the other employee of his, the one on the phone for help.
Most of the guests were in their respective rooms or were eating in the multipurpose ones. None of them passed the main hall, so none of them saw, or heard the commotion. The person in charge of the souvenir shop, however, wanted to find out what was going on.
He approached the desk where his boss was waiting for the woman on the phone.
"Chief, anything happening that I should know?" his tone, coloured with curiosity and readiness.
Sano turned and faced his employee, and friend. Should he tell him? Thinking quickly, this person might know something that could be of help. Then it hit him; the girl already cleaning up the animal was someone the person argues with a lot, so he may not be of much help after all. But, after all, he was a friend.
He risked the argument that may ensue, "There's an injured animal in the staff room. Minoko is already looking into it, but we could use more hands."
The sound of her name was enough to make the man raise his eyebrow in annoyance. It complimented the frown that took place of his smile earlier.
"Please go find the-" Before Sano could tell him what to do, Yoshiro excused himself from the shop, putting a sign up saying he was on break. He stepped quickly toward the hall leading to the staff room. His face looked like he was going to explode.
Sano simply hoped nothing bad would come out of this as he went around the front desk to find the first aid kit.
The woman was still on the phone trying to get a hold of the operator. They made her wait a fairly long time. Sano was hastily rummaging through the drawers and cabinets of the desk. When he finished, he found Aiko tied up with the phone wire.
Apologies were made, and he spun her around to untie her. Good thing no one was around to see that fiasco. She was dizzy, but she still had enough balance to tell Sano what he could do to get help.
"Sir, if you're looking for a first aid kit ... (inhale, exhale)..., there's one in the... (inhale, exhale) ... upstairs." With that said, she leaned on the desk for support now. The dizzy caught up with her.
After giving one more apology, he ran upstairs to find the first aid kit in the second floor. He looked through the cabinets where they kept the towels and the futons. Next he looked at the drawers of the wooden dressers in the second floor staff room. He left quite a mess. Nevertheless, he prioritized finding the kit, making a promise in his mind that he was going to clean up afterwards. He eventually found them and quickly came running downstairs.
He made his way toward the staff room.
The animal, he saw was being tended to very gently by Minoko and Yoshiro. In fact, these were the rare times they actually didn't argue. For that, Sano breathed easier.
"Here they are."
He handed the box over to Yoshiro. The young man with an orange bandana promptly opened the box and got out the bandages.
He swiftly wrapped the creature where the blood was coming from its body. He laid it down on the soft towels, stroking it gently. The bandages appeared to be just right, not constricting, and not too loose either. Yoshiro knew his paramedic procedures well. Minoko did a good job too; the blood wasn't staining the bandages yet.
Seeing the animal bandaged on its right forelimb, on the middle of its body, and right in the middle of its forehead, all the people in the room felt sorry for the poor thing. Even more so for Sano; he had added to its injury.
"Where exactly did you find her, Sano?"
Minoko's gaze never left the animal. She wasn't answered either.
Sano fixed his eyes on it. It was rich cream-coloured with brown markings on its ears, tail and all paws save its left one, that were almost an earthy red-violet, or maroon. Then again, it was difficult to tell because under the light right now, it looked reddish. Its face was small, its body lithe, and its paws, though not smaller than your average cat's, were dainty-looking. Its claws looked trimmed, its coat gave a healthy sheen, and its overall appearance was that of a fit, and well-groomed house cat. But he saw that there was no collar. This cat seemed out of place in the mountain. Its appearance alone might have passed off as a special breed. And that normally means that it belongs to a wealthy owner, who is usually keen on making his or her pet as safe and comfortable as possible.
"Agreeably, it's too small to be out in the mountain on its own. It must belong to someone." Sano concluded this in thought.
"It must've strayed from the village." Sano finally spoke.
After such a long silence, his voice startled Minoko and Yoshiro. Yoshiro, trying to hide the reaction, made a serious face and nodded quickly in agreement. Minoko smacked him on the back of his head. It was obvious he was startled too but he needn't hide it with a more conspicuous behaviour.
Before they could start another of their arguments, Aiko then came walking in, saying, "A vet can come this evening, Sir."
With that, everyone sighed with relief.
"Hear that? You're going to be all better, little dear." Minoko cooed the resting feline.
Yoshiro smiled pleasantly, as he fixed up the kit. Aiko joined them, even stroking the cat.
Sano watched his staff crowd around the cat. He couldn't help but smile along with them. He knew, though, that it may belong to someone else. That fact was enough to help restrain Sano from stroking the cat.
He called Aiko and Yoshiro out to get back to their posts, leaving Minoko with the cat. He then excused himself, saying he had to clean up the mess he made with the cabinets and the drawers.
He slowly walked up the stairs. He didn't feel, however, that someone was watching him.
Fixing up the futons and the towels were normally not supposed to take too long a while, but with the events that have happened tonight, Sano was slower than a snail over desert-dry ground. He was thinking and thinking and this slowed his pace in folding up the sheets. Luckily for him, he only messed up a few layers of what used to be neatly stored futons and towels.
In his mind, he thought about how to send word of the cat being found. In his mind, he thought about how much was going to pay for the vet. He thought about how he was going to tell the others about the cat's real injury. He also thought about his first chat with Kiro. All of these swirled in his head, like how cream would in coffee, except in this case, the cream didn't mix in with the coffee. Or maybe, it just hasn't. There may be a meaning to it, or maybe it was just coincidence.
He finished with the futon and towel storage cabinet, and went on ahead to fix up the cabinet in the second floor staff room. He was about to enter when he saw a couple of the staff already fixing up the place. Realizing he took longer than he planned, he went inside anyway, apologized, and thanked them. Being lost in his own thoughts, he didn't even notice a couple of his employees had passed by.
He came over to help them, but when one of them said that the vet had already arrived, he excused himself and made haste for the stairs.
Aiko saw the look on her boss's face and immediately directed him to the staff room.
He nodded to signify his thanks and headed for the room. Minoko was watching a man in a black shirt. The man sat on the floor with his back turned to Sano. Next to him was a small bag that was open. Nearby Minoko was a thick dark green jacket, most likely belonging to the doctor. Sano approached the waitress who also worked at the front desk in order to get a better view of what was happening.
The doctor looked up and saw Sano. As plain as day, the vet had just finished carefully removing the bandages. Amazingly, the cat didn't stir; it was still asleep.
"Sir, I'll be in need of your help, so don't go anywhere just yet. I've already informed this young lady here of what needs to be done."
Sano was caught unawares when the vet had started to speak. Everything had been silent since he entered the room. He understood it, none the less.
"Alright." He then faced Minoko.
"The little dear just needs her wound cleaned properly, and since it was found that she had a broken limb, she will need to have a cast on as well."
"Understood."
The doctor instructed them to carefully hold the cat down until he finished rubbing an alcohol for cleaning wounds. He dabbed a piece of cotton with the medicine and proceeded to apply it onto the cat's side and head. He was quick, and since the cat didn't awake to scratch them for startling it, he was gentle as he was skilful (A.N. This is the autocorrect spelling; right now, I'm not sure what the right one is).
He rummaged through his bag for another bottle, and once more dabbed another piece of cotton. This time, he was sparing and carefully applied it on the wound's localized area. After taking a bandage that Minoko had brought out earlier, he wrapped up the wound.
"This will heal in a few days. Don't get her wet, don't let her lick herself, and don't let her move too much as it might open up the wound again."
"Thank you doctor." Sano spoke for Minoko and himself.
The doctor gently set the cat down. He sat more comfortably and turned his attention to Sano and Minoko.
"For her broken limb, I'm going to have to ask you to bring her to my clinic tomorrow. The more suitable bandages and the splints are there, in addition to a more adequate operating table."
As the vet proceeded to put a fresh bandage on the broken limb, Sano thought for a moment. It would be best to do what the doctor had said. The only conflict was that tomorrow was the day the spa house was closed, in preparation for the day after, the Moon Viewing festival.
It may sound strange, but these are some reasons as to why people book to come to the hot springs. The popularity of this particular hot spring spa house is that of your local mini mart to the locals, and seen as one of the many country-side vacations by the city folk in the valley seen below the very same mountain. When it was still a small renting and care-taking business, the first owner made it sure that when it was time to celebrate an important holiday, they close the day before to prepare the entire place in order to make the day really special. His explanation was that the guests would appreciate it more, there would be a good reason to demand a higher fee, and the day would be all the more special.
It was strange, but the first owner was right. The customers grew accustomed to the practice. And they did see that there was a noticeable difference than if it would have been any other day at the spa house. This increased their reputation for people who were after celebrating the holidays in the country-side.
"What time is best to bring her to your clinic, doctor?"
The vet had just finished wrapping the cat's limb. He didn't look at Sano, but he answered, just the same.
"The clinic opens at 9 am. I suggest that you bring her over there as soon as you are able to."
Sano then turned to Minoko. She turned to look at her boss.
He took a deep breath before starting to speak. "... I-"
"It's ok, boss." Minoko had already answered his question? "I can bring her there instead."
She smiled at him. He looked at her with a puzzled look. She noticed this and in turn gave him a puzzled look.
"Actually, I was going to ask if you could become second in command tomorrow, with Tsukima acting as the head, of course."
Minoko was even more puzzled. Her boss would go out of his way for a cat he just found? He knows his duties as the boss required him to be here more than the other staff members. He even lives here. Of course, she wanted to know why he wanted to do all the work himself. She put on her most questioning face for Sano.
This particular expression of hers, known among the entire staff, meant that there is little she won't do to find something out. Sighing in defeat, he knew he had to tell her the guilty truth.
In a whispered voice he said in her ear, "I'll tell you how I found the cat."
Minoko saw the look on her boss' face. She was exuberant on the inside because she was finally going to know, but because Sano's expression was like a child who is being reprimanded by a parent, she restrained her eagerness. She faced Sano to hear him better. He fiddled with his hands, and took another deep breath.
"I was in the garden, strolling around, minding my own business when suddenly, I heard a strange sound. I was freaked out, and I started feeling tense. I know I was supposed to be alone, but something was rustling in the bushes."
Sano stopped for that moment. Minoko waited in silence for him to continue, but she too felt the anticipation of knowing grow.
"I-", he began, making a sound one could've mistaken for a breeze blowing.
Minoko leaned in.
"...I-"
She leaned in closer. Sano was certainly stalling well.
Anyone could see that this was becoming too much for Minoko, as her eye began to twitch.
"...I-I..."
There was something he couldn't say. Minoko had just about enough of this game of his. Her face was inches away from Sano's. On it was an expression of exasperation, and her eyes wide with curiosity, complimented by eyebrows arched with impatience, cemented onto his eyes. He was in clear view enough to understand the 'get-on-with-it-before-I-hurt-you' look. No one could keep anything from Minoko, especially if she wanted to know what was going on.
He averted his eyes away from the girl's stare and swallowed his nervousness. Taking a few breaths, he gestured for Minoko to stand back. He himself sat comfortably once more and looked at her squarely.
"I threw a stone right at the bushes. The rustling stopped, so I thought I did scare away what was making the noise." Sano sighed. "But then, there was another noise. This time, it was a wail of some sort. I noticed it came from the same place I had thrown a stone. I investigated and found her. That moment I did, she let out a very weak sound, probably the last she could make.
Minoko listened with great zeal. She realized that her boss must've felt guilt for being the cause of the injury.
"Then after that, she was silent and didn't show any signs of consciousness. I was glad her body was still moving to her breathing when I picked her up. I brought her into the house and into the staff room, as fast as I could. And there you have it."
Sano breathed a little easier. He had just let go the bothersome feeling. It lingered because he had most of the responsibility for it, but he was certainly more relaxed now.
Minoko understood, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something strange. Why would Sano throw a stone, when, knowing him for five years now, he would have approached the bushes? He actually got startled? If he did, it was too soon.
Her eyebrows, that softened when Sano continued, arched a little once more. "Just a question, wouldn't it have been more practical if you had approached the bushes yourself? It's not like you to be afraid that someone would be right there in the garden, even if it was your usual alone-time."
Her words struck like an arrow at the target. What she said had made Sano feel that the secret was weighing heavily on his head. He looked calm on the outside, but already, he put his mind to work on a valid excuse.
With no laughs, heightened breaths, or a change in pitch, his practiced lying voice told her this:
"I didn't want anyone to find out what I was doing, whenever I was alone. It's a private hobby of mine, and if you guys ever found out, I don't think I'll ever hear the end of it."
He looked as though he nervously held back what he meant to say. She took the bait, leaned in closer, looking more eager to listen.
"You? Sano Seiichiro, with a hobby? I didn't realize you cared for these things, Sano." Her tone was like a digger who had struck oil. "Come on, you can tell me, Sano."
"I, well, I don't know." His acting was convincing enough for her, it seemed. Her face beamed with excitement. He continued.
He claims to have been writing poems in secret. The garden is the most obvious place for inspiration, and he said that he organizes his thoughts better when he is there by himself. The rustling from the bushes he immediately thought was a stalker or someone spying on him. He said he was fearful of people finding out about it, and so he decided to throw a pebble in the possible perpetrator's direction, at least, just to scare him off. (A.N. The garden is dimly lit, having lights at the start of the path and at the bases of some of the trees. This was so the people could better enjoy the night sky.) He didn't realize it was a cat.
Minoko grinned widely. To her, it was news to find out more about the 'other side' of Sano. To him, he congratulated himself on a story well-done.
"I'll be in charge, since you're so worried about the cat." With that Minoko smiled and returned to her post. Sano relaxed. She popped her head back in the room and said, "Don't worry. It won't go beyond us."
This startled him a little, but nonetheless, he expected the exact opposite to happen.
The vet, it seemed, had finished packing. Sano and he exited the staff room together and entered the main hall.
"Thank you very much, Doctor. We appreciate you for coming all the way here."
The middle-aged man took the money Aiko had left out. She smiled and bowed to show her thanks. The vet then smiled back and returned her bow.
"It's my job, and besides, many of the folk who own pets around here keep them in good shape. I reckon that belongs in one of the villages nearby."
Sano bowed to the doctor to show his gratitude.
"What's the address of your clinic, Doc?"
The man handed Sano a small piece of paper. It was a business card, actually.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Doc. Thanks again."
"You're welcome, Sir."
The veterinarian went out the double doors (A.N. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, the entire wall for the entrance had those large windows and the double doors made of glass with the frosted decorations thing on them). Sano saw that he had parked his car right in front of the entrance to the house. Most likely in his haste, he didn't bother to park in the designated area.
Sano turned to Aiko who busied herself with the recent expenses.
"What time is it, Aiko?"
She looked at her watch. "About 9:30," she turned her attention to him, "are you turning in for the night already?"
Sano yawned as he stretched his arms outward.
"I think so. Please be sure to tell the guests, you guys. Thanks.... (yawn)."
Yoshiro shook his head. Aiko looked at him and nodded. They both wore the expression of knowingness: Sano was going to watch over the cat with the attitude of a mother bear.
Minoko hadn't told them about the incident, but from the way he was acting earlier, they understood that he felt responsible for the cat's well being, as he does for everyone around him. After being with him from when he began working here, it was reading an open book.
He went in his office first.
He sat down and took a pen. He then opened the nearest left hand drawer. From what anyone could see, it was a simple drawer with many post-it pads, a stapler, a few batteries scattered everywhere, little box of paper clips, and some unused envelopes.
"I have really got to fix this." he said to himself, as he closed the drawer. There was nothing in there that he was looking for.
He then checked the right hand drawer. This one had boxes and small cases. There was one that was full of business cards. There was another that had little pins from their earlier advertisement schemes. There was also a collection of brochures, neatly held together with a fastener, of the place from before up to the present. One smaller ornate box he took out and opened. This was actually a gift from a guest who was well known for his wood work skills in the local area. His shop sold furniture to figurines, and this was very popular with the city and local folk.
In the box there were hand-made bracelets, a set of sticker photos of Ueki and the gang, and he and his friends now, and a jingle bell. Taking the bell in hand, he placed the box back in the drawer. With the pen and bell in hand, he exited the room.
As he was on his way to the staff room, he ran into Minoko. She smiled and went to her place in the front desk. She didn't stop smiling at him, but he didn't stop looking at her. What was she doing in the staff room earlier?
He nodded to return the smile and continued into the room. He closed the door after him. When he turned around, he saw that the cat was surrounded by a bowl of food and a bowl of water. Sano was surprised.
"Minoko was able to convince the cooks to make this for the cat?" He silently reasoned with himself. "Or, maybe she told them already...?"
"Ah, what the heck; it's not like it won't spread anyway."
With that settled, he sat down near the cat. It was sound asleep atop the towels it lay on. It certainly enjoyed the softness. He smiled at the thought.
He got the bowls of the food and water. At his left and at his right, the bowl with food was warm and the bowl of water was cold, respectively. The food had its scent and steam rising from it. The cook look liked he prepared them with a special spice. The smell of the chicken made his stomach grumble, but reminding himself that it was for the cat, he dutifully placed it atop the small table pushed to one corner of room. The bell, he left on the same surface.
He got one of the futons that were folded and kept at the corner of the room.
The each member of the staff had their own futon, if they ever decide to stay in the house for the night. (A.N. Theirs was bought by themselves for themselves, but it was stored at the house.) All the house's futons for the customers were all in the same pattern and colour scheme, and were monogrammed with the house's name and symbol. These were stored in cabinets, while the staff members' were stored in the staff rooms.
The futon he took was cream-coloured, monogrammed with his name, and had a blanket with a plaid pattern made of different hues of grey and blue for the lines. He unfolded it and laid it on the floor. He positioned it in such a way that when he decided to lie down for the night or woke up, a turn of the head to the left and he would see the animal.
After preparing the futon, he quietly went to the sliding door of the room and listened closely for possible passer-bys. After double-checking things, he, with the utmost caution, made his way to one of the floor boards.
He removed it and placed it aside, taking care not to make any noise. He then removed something from the secret compartment in the ground. It was another wooden box, but it was plain looking and in fact, not wood. It only appeared wooden because of the design; this metal box was a graduation gift given to him by Ueki and his friends from the old days. It even had all their signatures on the inside.
He opened the box and took out the single thing in it: a journal.
It was plain-looking, but it held a great deal of experiences from when Sano began working at this particular place. The pen he took from the office he now took apart. Inside the pen, there was a small key. He then put the en back together. With the key, he opened the lock on the notebook.
He proceeded to the page where his last entry was placed, and began writing from there. He wrote about Kiro, he wrote about the cat, and the moon-viewing festival coming up. Once in a while, he glanced at the sleeping feline. He smiled, and then returned to his writing. He ended the account saying that there was going to be much work done for the festival. He closed the notebook, returned it to the box, and returned the box into the compartment. He placed the floor board back into position. He put the key back inside the pen and rose to place the pen next to the bell.
He laid his head down on the pillow and pulled up the covers. His gaze turned to the direction of the cat. Watching her body rise and fall to her breathing made his eyelids feel the weight of tiredness. If one listened hard enough from the outside, gentle breaths of a person asleep could be heard.
Hello! I don't know if the transition from the first to this next chapter is appealing or not. I'm not to write out a cliff hanger, since, well, I doubt this story will excite many minds (the fact that the genre isn't "Action" may already be a little more than enough to spell it out), and well, I don't the reader feeling too deprived, nor the Story chaptered in the wrong way.
Reviews help. I'll keep an open mind, if you keep an open heart (and vice versa ^^)
See you in the next chapters!
AAT* I will upload a picture of the staff in my deviantart account, once I get to installing the proper scanner.