(A/N: TBH is that I actually wrote alot of chapters today. Feeling stressed and bored!)
"Promise"
By: FanFictioner002
Chapter 7
Working for Yubaba eight years ago may have been difficult work, but at least it was never boring. Greeting people - you probably think that's the easiest job in the world… At first, it seemed like it. But some spirits are rude, some are entirely hateful, and none of them are nice. But Miyo and I have to keep smiling… All day long.
To be honest, I missed scrubbing tubs. Although it seems like it'd be twice as bad at this bathhouse when you have about two minutes to get them clean. That's what Miyo told me anyway.
Standing in front of the busy bathhouse was noisy, and I didn't hear one of the girls behind me yelling my name until she was right on top of me. "Hey! Shift change!" She screamed before Miyo headed inside, and I followed her bobbing black ponytail closely. Some of the spirits here were very creepy looking. Only Miyo and the others in our room looked human that I'd noticed. The other spirits were frog spirits, lizard spirits, or bug spirits, but I wasn't too sure about most of them. I could never get a good look at the others.
Sighing deeply, I followed Miyo down an employee hallway. In the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the chubby girl whose place I took. But wasn't she fired? The girl jumped when she saw Miyo and ran over quickly. She grabbed Miyo's arm, but Miyo shoved her away with a disgusting look on her face. The girl bent over on the ground and cried right at my feet. So I sighed deeply again. I was too nice.
"What's wrong?" I asked smiling down at her.
She spoke through sniffles, "I've been - been called down to meet with the boss. I'm afraid to go alone. People who meet with him down under the boiler room never come back up. I thought if Miyo came with me that I would be okay. Master Hideharu likes Miyo…"
I looked up, but Miyo had left me behind. I hadn't expected her to wait for me, but it still bothered me. Looking into this girl's eyes, I found myself saying, "I'll go with you."
"Real - really? Thank you so much!" She said as she grasped my hand tightly and pulled me towards an elevator.
The girl trembled the whole way down the elevator and never spoke. I didn't know what to say but assure her that the others that had come down here probably just left and that the worst, her being fired, was already over. Apparently, I wasn't very convincing.
The elevator stopped with a clunk, and I let her lead me to the next one. It couldn't be too much farther down. We were already so far that there wasn't a soul in sight. The mechanical chinks and dings of the elevators echoed, and I could hear water steadily dripping somewhere in the room but couldn't see anything wet.
I could tell the next elevator hadn't been used often. It started moving with a loud scratching noise, and rust fell at our feet. Now, I was suspicious.
Shivers spiraled down my spine as the elevator screeched to a stop. The girl didn't move. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye and made a pitiful squeaking noise. Gulping, I stepped forward. There was a large metal door at the end of a long hallway. Silence filled the hallway.
"I'm sorry," I said, clenching my fists tightly. "You're on your own from here. But there's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine."
She saw right through me. She saw that I was afraid, too. But she didn't say anything. She inched forward slowly. Her trembling worsened as she placed her hand on the door handle and turned it. It squealed open, and she stepped inside. The door closed behind her.
Then I turned to leave, barely making myself move. I'd gotten so worked up over nothing. So it was pretty creepy down here. That much was true. But it wasn't anything to be afraid of.
My left foot hit the elevator when I heard a scream from behind me. "No! Please! Help me, somebody!"
I wanted to run - to get back on the elevator and leave. But I couldn't do it. My legs shoved me forward towards the door but stopped as I reached it. What could I do? I wasn't a god or a witch. I was just a human girl, and I would probably be eaten or something. The best thing I could do was tell Kohaku about this and get away from this place. But what was I going to tell him it was exactly?
I summoned whatever courage I could find and pushed the door open just enough to see inside…
The girl I'd seen hung from the ceiling not far from the door she'd entered. But she wasn't the only one. Several other spirits lined the wall on either side of another long hallway. They were all unconscious. I opened the door slowly and hoped it would be silent. I stepped in when the opening was wide enough and left the door open. I didn't want to mess with it if I was running for my life.
Scratching my left wrist, I took a step forward. But I noticed that my left wrist went from itching to burning as I progressed down the hallway. I looked down at it. The bracelet that Kohaku had given me was glowing and tugging at me. It was pulling me back towards the door, warning me not to go any farther. At that moment I felt Kohaku's presence with me. But I pulled the bracelet off and shoved it in my pocket. Now that I'd seen these spirits held captive down here, I wasn't going to abandon them. They needed help.
As I tilted my head around the corner at the hall's end, I heard laughing and small clinking noise as the chain of imprisoned bathhouse workers scooted forward the length of one spirit exactly. I ran back to where the girl I'd come down with was tied and reached up to pull her loose from the slimy rope that felt like seaweed, but I couldn't loosen them.
Then I headed back down the hallway and turned the corner. Now I walked quickly. Around the next corner was a pool of water with a large octopus floating in the middle.
Hideharu's back was turned to a familiar face… At first I thought it was Yubaba standing before him, but as I tuned into their conversation, I realized that it was Zeniba.
"I think it's about time you quit all of this, Boh, don't you? Look what a shape you've taken!"
"Quiet! I won't hear this again! You're just mad that I've taken your power away like I did my mother, aren't you?" The octopus's voice shook the walls as he screamed. "Admit it!"
"I will admit nothing of the sort. But what is all of this for? Power? Is power everything to you now? Oh, how eight years can change a person…"
"The mumbling will cease. And you will leave. I have spirits to devour, and there is nothing that you can do to stop me. You are as useless as a human. Even more useless, actually. That human girl at least has a use."
"As bait, you mean. You're using Chihiro, your own friend, to bait Kohaku here! But you aren't powerful enough to take on a god. Surely, you know this will be the end of you."
"Maybe I'm not as powerful as a god, but I will be after the powers of these spirits are mine," he said motioning around him with a tentacle. "And I know his one weakness… The girl."
"Chihiro has a name. And be forewarned. She is not a weakness," Zeniba said turning to leave. "You will not be victorious."
I didn't pay any attention to the furious spirits I'd jumped in front of or pushed aside. I tightened my grip on Kohaku's bracelet as I ran towards the edge of town. I'd already walked this path many times as I explored the city in attempt to know my way around.
When I reached the hill that overlooked the town, I didn't glance back. I kept running into the empty wheat field on the other side. I yelled his name in my head and focused all my attention on the bracelet. I knew he was coming and that he could hear me. The green glow of the bracelet radiated his presence as I slipped it back on my wrist.
All the way to the cliffs, I ran with my eyes closed, and I would have run straight off of it if I hadn't run into something hard. I didn't look up at him. I just wrapped my arms around him. "Boh," I started.
"Shh. I already know. I saw everything in your mind."
"What do I do?"
Kohaku didn't answer me at first, but when he let out a long sigh. I knew what he was going to say. "I don't know," he murmured. I guess I was wrong. I thought he would send me home. "You can't go back to Yubaba's. If her power really is gone, then you won't be safe there. You'll come with me."
"I'm not going home?" I asked looking up at him. "That's what you want though, right? You've been trying to get me to go home."
"I gave that up already. I suppose it wasn't too hard to change my mind. In all honesty, I never wanted to send you home. Not even eight years ago. I just had to, and now I can't."
He bent his head over towards me and placed his lips gently on my forehead. Grabbing my arms, he pushed me away from him suddenly and grabbed my hands. "We have to leave now. I'll take you to the City of the Gods, the Imperial City. I'll face Takehiko. I've been putting it off, but it can't wait now. I need the full strength of my waters."
"I can't go there," I whispered. It surprised both of us to hear me say that. But I knew it was true. Those spirits that I had seen were going to die. Someone had to save them. Someone had to stop Boh. It wasn't about just bathhouse business anymore. "I was brought back for a reason! That bathhouse… I knew it had something to do with it. I was drawn to the thought of since I came. Surely, it's fate. I can make things right. I know it."
"No. I know the goddess of fate, and Minori is too proud to bring humans here on purpose. I spoke to her last time. It was my connection to you that brought you here, not Fate. The only difference this time is that I'm not your only connection to this world."
I didn't say anything. Of course, he would be unreasonable. Of course, he would refuse to even consider what I had to say. I supposed it wasn't entirely his fault. How many people stand around and argue with a god? I doubt there was many. But if he was going to be any near me, then he was going to have to get used to it.
"Fine," I said finally. Reverse psychology works on humans. Why not spirits? "Whatever you say."
"Okay. Then you should stay here. I'll be back soon."
"Where are you going?"
"The city. I can't just pop in with you and hope things go well. I didn't expect you to agree so easily… I have to have permission to enter. Just stay here, and I'll be back soon," he said as he turned away from me and launched himself off the cliff. My heart stopped for a moment as he fell, but he soon rocketed back into my sight and up towards the clouds as a magnificent white dragon.
"Kohaku!" I screamed at him. But he kept flying into the distance across the vast ocean. "I can't believe you left me here," I said to the bracelet as I slid it off my wrist once again.
I let myself fall to the ground. If I was waiting on him, it would be a while. Then it hit me. "Hey. He left me here."
Remembering the bracelet, I shoved it back in my pocket. As long as it wasn't touching me, I didn't think he would hear me. But he would notice that I wasn't wearing it. And that meant that I had very little time to get back across the river before he would be back. He'd probably be turning around right now.
I turned on my heel and bolted. If I was going to hesitate about going back, I could do it on the boat ride over. If I could catch the boat before Kohaku caught me, that is.
(A/N: Enjoyed? Please review!)
