Chapter Seven

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

I came-to and found myself lying on the soft sheets of a luxurious canopy bed. Haku had set me down and quickly coiled himself up on the floor, where he was now changing back to his human form.

He rushed over as I sat up. "Are you alright?" he demanded.

"Yeah," I said. "Just really, really sore… Where are Bran and Skylar?" I stood up and accepted his steadying hand, as I was still quite dizzy.

"Oh yes," he said, with a half-disinterested sigh. "Let me go get them. Feel free to explore the Bathhouse, Lin should be lurking around somewhere. Just follow the sound of her roars." For a moment we stood there, watching each other. Then, with a smile, he launched himself out the open doors and, using the balcony railing as a springboard, hurtled out into the stormy sky.

I watched him until he disappeared around a corner of the Spirit city. Then I turned began my search for the door out of this apartment.

As I went, I searched for answers to my questions, questions which sprung up just as quickly as I answered them. I learned that Yubaba had vacated the bathhouse soon enough, as when I entered the familiar office it was missing many familiar things. It had been cleared of jewels and glitz, and its reds and purples had been replaced with simple blues and grays. The desk had been changed into something less solid, with a glass tabletop; the lamps had been changed as well.

But there remained the three heads, and—as I learned through the shaking of the ground—Boh was still in residence here.

After a crushing hug from the large baby (who had grown into quite the chubby toddler since I'd last seen him), he led me by the hand out the door and downstairs into the hustle and bustle of a busy Bathhouse.

"Where's Lin?" I asked over the din. Boh pointed, smiling impishly, and that's when I heard the familiar…

"HEY! You there! Yeah you. What's the idea…"

I ran over to her and tackled her from behind. She spun around, her hair rising in the air with her surprise, and then she returned my hug. "Sen!" she laughed. "Sen, long time no see!"

"I know!" I said, grinning up at her. "How've you been?"

"Just great," she replied. "Come on, you're already starting to disappear. I'll tell you over some dumplings, 'kay?"

I moaned as I skidded across the slick, but quite dry, surface of the train—err, boat station. Bran landed somewhere to my right, on his feet. He sank into a crouch to keep his balance as he slid through some debris, and then he ran over to my side.

"Are you alright?" he breathed, his accent thick in my ear as he rolled me over and helped me sit up. "That was a nasty fall you took. Did you hit your head?"

I grimaced. "No," I said as he brushed some hair out of my eyes. "I'm fine."

"Thank God," he murmured, and then looked up not at the tunnel but at the entryway to the boat station. A shadowy figure stood there, with billowing robes and imposing height. I could see the outline of a katana at his hip, and as lightning flashed outside, his face was illuminated long enough for me to see that it was a young man, maybe in his late twenties, and he was clearly not quite human. His eyes remained bright in the darkness that fell upon the room, catlike in their largeness and luminescent green coloring.

Bran tensed against my side. His hands, on my arm and shoulder, tightened their grip and I winced.

"What do you want, Raiko?"

His lips hadn't moved, like before, but I heard his voice as clearly as if he had spoken aloud.

The man in the doorway tapped the end of his saya on the stone around the doorway. Clack… Clack… Clack… Three times he moved his wrist, moved the scabbard, and three times the sound rang out coldly through the room.

"You have three days, Storm Crow. Be warned."

There was another flash of lightning, and then the spirit was gone.

Bran turned to me, and his expression was unreadable. "Come," he said. "We should get out of here quickly."

"But what about the others?" I demanded, figuring I'd ask him about that entire scene later.

"They'll follow soon enough. But we should get out of the Boat House before the river fills, shouldn't we?" He helped me stand, and then he took my hand. His grip was firm and the warmth that spread from his touch lasted longer than usual. He glanced back at me as I hesitated, and gave me a small smile. "You alright, Cariad?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said.

"Good!"

And then we were off.

We ran across the swiftly filling valley, up the slick marble steps and into the Spirit World. We dodged shadowy shapes and threw ourselves along the dimly lit streets towards the looming shape of the bathhouse. As we neared, however, Bran slowed to a near crawl. He hummed to himself and his grip on my hand loosened. Almost instinctively, my fingers squeezed his, unwilling to let go.

Yeah. Like that was going to hide that I liked him. I forced myself to let go of his hand this time.

He didn't look at me, but his small smile grew ever so slightly. "Let's not go through the main entrance," he said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Do you think they'll all like humans as much as Haku and Lin do?"

He had a point. "Lead the way," I said, and he nodded. Tugging me gently along, he walked boldly across the bridge, through the very midst of the spirits, and dodged the greeters and spirit women by hiding behind some bushes. We ran around the side of the bathhouse and down a set of rickety wooden stairs, some broken in places, but managed to avoid any falls or excitement.

When we reached the foot of the first flight of stairs and met with a stone outcropping beneath a kitchen window, Bran paused again. He looked down at me, and then took my hand and lifted it. My eyes widened when I realized I could see through our joined hands and meet his gaze through our interlocked fingers. "Let's get to Kamajii quickly," he said. "From there, we can wait for Haku and Chihiro."

"And get something to eat?" I said hopefully.

"And get something to eat," he agreed, and we set off again.

Soon we reached the boiler room, and Bran helped me leap over the mass of soot balls hard at work. "Kamajii!" Bran called over a loud boiler's hiss. "Kamajii!"

The spider-man turned and peered at us, two wet and nearly transparent human teens. "Ahhhh, hello there!" he said. "And what're your names?"

"I'm Bran," said Bran, "and this is Skylar."

"I see." Kamajii nodded to himself, and then he turned and rummaged around for something. "Food from the Spirit World is what you need," he said, "but I'm afraid all I've got here are some of the soot ball's last meal." He turned and grinned at us winningly.

I laughed, and Bran laughed as well, extending a hand. Luckily, he was still solid enough that the star candies didn't pass through his palm. He popped a few in his mouth, grimacing at the taste, and attempted to hand a couple to me.

"Oh dear." He managed to catch them before they hit the ground, and when he stood I didn't move away fast enough and my hand passed right through his chest. It felt strange, going through someone; even though I couldn't really feel anything, I could sense his heart, and his core body heat emanating from him.

He turned to me and, smirking, held one of the candies between his forefinger and thumb. "Open up," he said teasingly.

Mortified, shy, and feeling rather exposed, I opened my mouth and accepted the thing I had wrongly called candy. It was disgusting and tasted of chalk.

"Ugh, what is this?" I forced myself to swallow.

"You probably don't want to know," Bran said, and then held up his hand. "Testing, testing, one, two, three?"

I put my hand against his, and we watched as we both solidified.

"Ahhh, young love," I heard Kamajii sigh to himself, and I blushed. Bran didn't seem to have heard, or at least he had the decency not to show it. Suddenly, a cold gust of wind burst through the heat, stirring my hair and sending some of Kamajii's herbs flying. Immediately, his mood changed from grandfatherly gentleness to flaming ol' geezer. "Watch what you're doing, you insolent dragon!" Kamajii roared as he scrambled to pick them up before they touched the floor.

Haku came in, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Kamajii," he said. "I didn't mean to."

"Of course not," Kamajii grumbled.

Haku turned his dragon eyes to Bran and I. "I see you've already eaten. Good. Lin's taken Chihiro to lunch, so I guess I should show you your rooms while they're busy." He leapt gracefully across the soot balls' work area, and alighted beside Bran. "Follow me," he said, and opened the sliding door the servants used.

As I waited for Bran to crawl through, I heard Haku say, "I'll make sure to buy you some new spices, Kamajii, for you to keep your silence."

"That sounds about right," Kamajii said softly, "but I would like to know what plans you have ready in case they come after her."

"I'll tell you later." Haku looked down and saw me watching, and he frowned. I gave him an innocent smile and he sighed. "You human girls," he said, "sure are…endearing." He nudged me with his toe. "Move along, follow your boyfriend."

Even Haku knew.

"Follow me," Haku said once he'd straightened himself up, and he began leading us toward a nearby elevator. "Your rooms are up on the third highest floor, where only my most trusted friends and enemies are allowed. Chihiro's room will be beside yours, Skylar, and Lin's is on the opposite side of Chihiro's. However, all of our other rooms have been affected in the recent stormy weather, and your room, Skylar, attaches to Bran's via a sliding door. I hope that this doesn't offend you. If I could have given you more modest a setting, I would have done so, but Chihiro's room is small and crowded as it is."

"Why can't she just use your room and save you both some angst?" I asked, and Haku gave me an amused glance.

"That's up to Chihiro to decide, little matchmaker."

I returned his easygoing smile, and enjoyed the feeling of Bran's laughter resounding in his chest and reverberating through mine.

When we arrived at our destination, Haku stopped. "Excuse me for a moment," he said, and then closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. His hair shifted around his face in a nonexistent wind, as if he weren't quite here but not there, either, and somehow in-between.

When he opened his eyes, he sighed.

"I'll have to leave you for the night. Chihiro will be up shortly, probably to talk to you, Skylar, and I'll be sure to send up dinner with Lin. You must be starving, or will be soon. I have some pressing business to attend to, and can't stay to show you around any further than your rooms. Speaking of your rooms…" Haku raised his hand and moved it across the hall in a single fluid motion. Two of the doors slid open and lamps turned on. "Yours is on the right, Skylar," he said. "Now, good night." He waved at us, and then the elevator closed behind him and he was gone.

"That was rather strange," Bran said, and then poked his head into one of the doors. "I think I like your room better," he said, and I hurried over to see what he was talking about.

My room was quite the amazing thing. There was a bed, a real bed, with cream colored sheets and a quilt on top of it. The pillows were wonderfully fluffed, and the bed was just at the right height—it wasn't low to the ground like normal beds, but, pressed up against the wall it was about six feet off the floor. Underneath it was a desk, with a lamp and a stack of papers and an array of pens waiting for me to use. There was a dresser close by the loft bed, bringing the desk and bed area a feeling of coziness, and smallness. In the far corner of the room there was a couch, and a two person chair that I recognized as a love seat. There was a small round table between the two, and a bookshelf on the wall opposite.

The small room was more American than Japanese, and smelt of magic. Somehow I knew, although I didn't know how I knew, that it was magic that I smelled in the sweet perfume of the air. There was a balcony, with glass doors so that I could see out at the rain and the river, and for what seemed like leagues across the Spirit World.

"It is nice, isn't it?" I said softly.

"It is," he said, and closed the door to the hall. I went over to another door and opened it, to look into his room.

The room was much larger than mine, and the balcony on his was wider; his bed was King sized rather than Twin, and it was the classic four poster on the floor, with drawers beneath it instead of empty space. There was a writing desk as well, and a wall of bookshelves. There was a couch in the middle of the room, and some chairs, and a coffee table. Yet another room more western styled than I had found in a while.

"I don't know," I said. "Yours is bigger."

"Meh," he said eloquently, and closed the door to his room. "It'll be nice to sleep in the King size bed, but I'm not exactly feeling like heavy sleeping right now. Can I take a nap in your room?"

"Sure." I accepted my backpack from him and dumped it on the floor space beneath the loft bed, by the desk. After kicking off my shoes and taking off my jacket, I climbed up into my new bed and flopped down on it. "Mmm," I moaned under my breath, inhaling the scent of magic and cedar that was sent spiraling upwards around me. "This is so nice."

"I haven't felt a couch this soft in ages," Bran called from the corner of the room where he lay sprawled across the loveseat, his legs kicked over one arm and his head resting on the other. He used his toes to pull off his shoes—they clunked on the floor one after the other, and then his socks followed more quietly.

I rolled over to look at him more easily, and smiled. "Hey, Bran, what were those things in the forest? D'you know?"

"I think they were tengu," he murmured sleepily. "But I dunno. You should ask Lin or someone. Maybe she's told Chihiro already…" He yawned.

"Hey, Bran?"

"Yeah?"

I hesitated, and then shook my head. "Never mind."

He opened his eyes to gaze at me blearily for a moment or two, and then he yawned again and closed them. Soon I knew by his easy breathing that he was asleep.

I stood and walked over to him, picking up his shoes and socks and bringing them, grimacing, to his room. While there, I saw a note on the top of the blanket on the bed. Curiosity getting the better of me, I glanced at it.

My Lord,

News of your arrival has reached us, and your rooms are prepared, as well as My Lady's. Any further word from you would be welcome, and any other tasks you would delight in us performing will be carried out with our usual devotion. When we see you next, My Lord, we will tell you of a message your father has sent you. May the Western Winds watch over you, My Lord, until your safe return.

Your Faithful Servants,

Fintan, Şule, and Ilmarinen

I frowned at the paper and then glanced back out at the sleeping form of Bran. His earlier words, his question, rang anew in my ears and I wondered what he might be hiding. There definitely was something more to him, more than his strange complexion, more than his natural mystique… He was definitely hiding something more. I decided to ask him when he woke next. For now, let him sleep.

I went over to my desk and sat down, taking up a pencil and beginning to draw, waiting for Chihiro to return.