I'm sure you all have found that I have edited the other chapters. I'm sorry that I didn't check them sooner.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Seven: Elevators

-----------The Tea Room----------

"Oh wow…" Yoh said, jaw-dropped. The tea room was more than he could have imagined. It was wide and expansive with tatami mat floors and rice paper sliding doors. The wall opposite the door was all window and one could clearly hear crickets serenading (the first sign of life besides humans in the massive building--good to know creatures weren't avoiding the place). Despite the size of the room, there wasn't too much inside as far as furniture. Only a small table and some cushions for sitting on.

"Please have a seat." Opacho said, breathing in a sigh. "I'll have some tea prepared for us." With that she bounced out of the room through a nicely camouflaged door that simply pushed back and slid to the right. It was situated along the vertical wooden boards, nothing to distinguish it. Finally alone, the couple just sat in each other's silence waiting for the other to start talking. Even Anna, who had a million comments and questions churning about in her skull, could find no words. Yoh decided he'd start, finally being unable to take the silence. "This house incredible, I had no idea I was related someone who had this kind of expensive tastes!"

"…Its okay."

'Well, that didn't do it…'

"So, are you gonna tell me what's on your mind or do I have to spend all night trying to read it?" He grinned. "What's up Anna?" Yoh said, seriously, reaching out to place his hand on Anna's. "Hm?"

Anna sighed. "Well, its just this house, I can't shake that there's something plain wrong about it…Beyond the fact that a guy who's basically a stranger just gave it to us." She looked directly into Yoh's face. "Doesn't that bother you?"

Yoh paused, pondering his answer and then frowned a little. "Well yeah, I guess…I think I've got the same chill you and Morty do."

"Shorty's always got a chill."

"Ha yeah, I guess he does huh?" Yoh chuckled a little. "And about Hao…the thing is he-"

"Pardon, but the tea is ready."

Out from the back room, more than likely a kitchenette specifically for the tea room, came Opacho who promptly took a seat at the table. Following her was a dark skinned, fairly chubby woman. She was terribly homely and seemed to know it; her eyes were glued to the floor, her head hung in something like shame. Along with that, she seemed worn out, over worked, and tired with worry and stress. Despite her looks, her voice was oddly beautiful--so very full of youth. "It's so nice to meet you, new master, Mr. Yoh Asakura…sama…sir…san…" She placed the tray of tea down, a Victorian spread complete with fine white wares and lady finger cakes sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Anna raised an eyebrow "That was fast for tea." She said. "And a European tea set with a Japanese tea room…tacky."

"Ah! I'm sorry, please I'm so sorry!" The woman sputtered, waving her hands around before attempting to gather up the tray. However, before she could, Opacho placed a tiny hand on the woman's. "If you're implying that the Master has no taste, I'll have you know that the master does indeed have tea serving sets suitable for Japanese teas among Japanese décor. Along with that, there are multiple rooms modeled to replicate the glory of European designs." She glared. "The tea is mundane bagged tea, as I'm sure you guessed. I figured you'd prefer a fast snack…excuse me for being wrong." Opacho finished harshly still glaring directly into Anna's eyes.

"Mpf, dese hakes ere er retty good." Yoh said, his mouth full of light and airy cakes.

"Th, thank you sir. I'll be on call, Madam Opacho." The woman bowed and scurried back into the kitchenette. "Has she been working here long?" Yoh asked having gulped down the cake. "She seemed really nervous…"

"That woman is Delores. She's been working as a caretaker and maid here for a while." Opacho muttered, reluctantly breaking her glare. "In fact, there are a few people here--a modest staff…I'd like to talk to you, 'new master' about them for a moment."

-----------The Elevators----------

Humming and bouncing along to the music, Joshua and Hana road the rickety old elevator on its slow climb upwards. The elevator wasn't exactly something you'd trust to keep you from pummeling into the darkness of an elevator shaft; it was made of wood for one and secondly, it was crudely put together--you could see nails that hadn't been properly driven in. Regardless of which, the pair made it safely to their destination…another elevator. "What's all this?" Hana asked, confused.

"The room we're heading to is special, there's a special elevator that leads to it and only it. Thing is, it takes some work to find it. Just you wait Hana, you'll be amazed!" Joshua smiled, happily pulling Hana and the record player along with him onto the new elevator.

'At least this one doesn't look so bad.' Hana thought as the elevator began to smoothly move downwards. When Hana questioned the direction, Joshua excitedly told him to 'just wait' because 'it will be awesome'. The elevator began to grind to a halt and began to sit there, ticking quietly.

"HEE-HA-HA!" Joshua suddenly busted out laughing, startling Hana who jumped and stared at the giggling Joshua. Then, there was a click and a whining whir. With a sharp jerk, the small area began to swiftly move to the left forcing Hana and Joshua to slam into the wall--Joshua still mad with laughter. "What are you laug---Whoa!" Hana was interrupted by the elevator jerking to a halt. The doors slowly opened to reveal yet another elevator even more sturdy looking than the last.

"Hee, hee. Wasn't that fun Hana? THe oTHeRs arE eVen bETtEr!" Joshua said, standing and pulling Hana by the sleeve. "Let's go, let's go!" He bounced as Hana slowly got up and ran his hand through his hair. 'That wasn't fun. ' He thought bitterly.

"Oh please?" Joshua said, tugging childishly at Hana's sleeve again. "I promise that this is the last one I'll make you ride. I swear it." After a second, Hana sighed, agreeing.

"Yay! You'll see Hana, you won't be sorry!"

-------------On a Mysterious Hall---------------

Not too long after they began to talk with one another back in what was explained by Mari to be the infirmary, Tamara had grown comfortable with the odd girl Marion. The two had decided to walk together, aimlessly walking down hall after hall talking about their experiences as 'maids'.

"Yoh is always very cheerful! He'd say 'things will work out', or something like that and just grin!" Tamara said, smiling. "I'm so glad I got a chance to live with him and his family."

"You are very fond of 'him and his family'." Mari said, her voice still pretty much monotone.

"Oh yes, very much! I told you that I kind of served his grandparents and even his parents for a while; they're all such kind people."

"But you've never heard of the master…Mari expected as much." She paused. "But master Hao is also kind and cheerful. He was, Mari thinks."

Tammy stared down at the floor. "I'm so sorry for your lost." She said, not sure what else to say. Tamera couldn't imagine what she'd do if, all of the sudden, Yoh died. The thought itself was sickening.

"Master Hao found Mari and let her live with him. He found many people, and let them stay with him." Mari stared up at the ceiling. "He had a big heart…He was good…Your Yoh." Mari said suddenly.

"Huh? Yoh?" Tammy blushed at the idea-- 'her Yoh'---imagine that!

"Hm." The odd blonde nodded, her pony tails swinging. "He's the master's twin. Everyone is excited. It is because he's here." She stared at the ceiling once more. "The house dies…when the master isn't around. However…"

Mari stopped walking, looking up to the wall in front of her. Without even noticing it, Tammy had allowed Mari to lead her into a dead end. She supposed she was too wrapped up in finally learning something about Hao…

"Amazing…" Tammy said, the sight before her nearly taking her breath away.

"…Mari believes…its teeming with life again. All thanks to your Yoh."

-------------The Tea Room-----------

"Mm-hmm." Opacho said, drinking back some of the tea. She didn't seem too fond of the lady fingers; Yoh's apparent like of them seemed to revolt her. "As I said, it's a small staff, but a sufficient one." She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a photograph of what must have been 'the staff' standing with the Spirit of Fire. Anna leaned forward, studying each face carefully. She clearly recognized Delores, who seemed dead on her feet behind a lively looking young boy who Anna remembered as Joshua from the Halloween photo in the galley. Opacho was out in front, smiling widely, beside what must have been the mysterious 'master Hao'. He had long, flowing chocolate hair with deep brown eyes. 'He looks so much like Yoh…twins?' Anna thought to herself, searching for any and every difference she could find between the two brothers. "They even share the grin…"

"You think so?" Yoh said, leaning forward to get a better look. "Hey, I guess we do!" Yoh grinned, proving the point. "Hm." Stealing a glance at Opacho who seemed to enjoy Yoh's smile, Anna made a mental note: don't think out loud. She didn't really trust Opacho just yet; her Yoh wasn't a replacement for this Hao character and Opacho wasn't their friend. "You were saying…about the staff?" Anna steered back to the topic at hand.

"Oh, yes well…" Opacho shifted slightly. "I'm sure you all are looking forward to making this home much like your Inn. Pl--"

"How do you know about the Inn?" Anna interrupted. As far as she knew, Yoh had never contacted Hao or his little friend here--there was no way…Hao had been keeping tabs…

Opacho gritted her teeth. "I assure you that master Hao knows his brother. " She look at Yoh. "He did give you his home after all. I'm positive that the master had faith that you would not only take care of his house but also the people here. None of these people," She gestured to the photo. "Were hired, nor did they receive money for their services. These are all simply people the master extended a hand to; he was a generous man. In fact, even more people than this lived here at one point."

Yoh turned the picture towards him. Each and every person there seemed happy. "Where are they now?" He asked. "They left. The others were hired staff, hired to care for our little family here."

'Hm…' Anna thought to herself. As soon as she saw the picture, she'd got the feeling this group thought of themselves like a family. 'But then I guess Yoh's no different.' He does, after all, have a family of friends waiting to settle in with him here.

"You're asking if Yoh and I will allow these people to continue on living here?" Anna concluded.

Opacho smiled. "Well yes, that is what I'm asking. It's a big house, surely this small group won't get in your way. Also, they are such a kind group, gentle, polite…I'm sure you all will warm up to them soon enough."

----------The Elevator Maze---------

Still clutching poor Kororo and dragging her owner by her dirty blue locks, the horrible bulking man made his way onto an elevator. He'd gotten in the house via a small door located along the sides, unseen by any of anyone under the cloak of night. He road the elevators, one by one, standing easily despite the jerks and sudden stops of the elevator rides (not like Joshua and Hana who got tossed about). Soon, he found himself on the 'safer' elevators. It seemed that some elevators were new and sturdy while others where simply makeshift--made of wood and nails. After riding somewhere between ten and fifteen elevators, the stranger finally found what he'd been searching for: an elegant contraption made of wood and gold---a music machine on wheels--the record player.