**I was having some issues with coding copying into the fic. I think I fixed it. Enjoy!**
I went back to the bathrooms to shower to clear my mind and get a fresh uniform on. Everyone was still asleep, and when I passed by the room after I was clean there were still some sleepy stragglers stretching in the sunlight.
Most people didn't acknowledge me at all as I passed by them, which was normal as ever. It was quiet because everyone was just getting up, and as my colleagues wandered towards the kitchen area, the rest of the building strayed silent.
I walked straight through the front door, feeling the fresh sun blaze my pale skin, and walked across the bridge to the end of the gate to the bathhouse. A cherry blossom tree's pedals were cast out over the bridge from the wind and when they brushed my skin it tickled. The pedals were soft pink and delicate, and were easily discarded off the side of the bridge, quickly wisped up from their impending fall. They sailed out as far as they could reach until they landed on land safely, but temporarily.
An empty red bench beckoned me under the limited shade of the tree, and I took a seat as the spirit city slowly awakened.
Spirits were coming out of their homes on the beautiful day to explore new stores and eat unique foods. Children were running out of doors in a hurry to go on youthful adventures while their friends met up with them in excitement.
A shadow took form of a person from beyond the shadow of the tree. I didn't need to look up to know who it was.
"Haku."
"Sen," he acknowledged back.
We sat on the bench for what felt like hours without a word. He took deep breaths occasionally, and closed his eyes a few times. The bathhouse towered over us.
"Feeling okay?"
I looked at him for the first time since he had sat down. Even in the shade his eyes dazzled with light.
"I'm okay. It's nice to have some peace and quiet."
He smiled at me.
"Well, take your time then. They probably won't be done with the wedding invitations for a while. They went to meet with Yubaba upstairs to do them. Must be 'serious'."
He laughed a little bit, covering his mouth. He was the lighthearted Haku I remembered. I couldn't resist a smile back at him.
But then I started to laugh along. There we were; two people on a bench laughing at a joke that wasn't really that funny.
"Hey, Sen… wanna go walk around in town? It's a beautiful day, and I could show you around a bit."
He stood up and stretched his back before putting his hands on his hips. I stood up next to him, dusting the pedals off of my shoulders.
"That sounds nice, but wouldn't Ayako like it better if we stayed close? I know she doesn't like to be too far…"
Haku suddenly turned very stern and took a few seconds to think over my question. His body looked calm, but he seemed at war inside his head.
"Don't worry," he finally said, smiling back up at me. "It'll be fine. We'll just be back before they finish up."
"O-okay," I stuttered. "If that's what you think we should do…"
"Come on!" he walked forward. "There's so much to see."
We walked on road after road as Haku pointed to the best places to eat, and the best clothes stores. There was even a small cake shop with multiple colored fondant cakes displayed in the window. He waved to people who called out to him, and remembered many of their names, never introducing me. They all knew I didn't belong because I was human.
He pulled me along until we reached the river crossing over to the Spirit World. He looked at me curiously.
"Do you ever miss your parents, Sen?"
I squinted to try to make out what was beyond the vast waters.
"I do miss them. A lot."
"What's it like, to have parents?"
I looked up at him. The clouds above seemed to come in quick and were full of gray and black hues.
"I don't know. I suppose having parents would mean having people who love you and care about you. We didn't really talk too much. It was just the three of us. I was at school and they didn't really talk to each other much anyway. I was mostly on my own. My father was always very angry, and my mother tried to bare it. However, they fought almost everyday, so I decided to come up with a plan to get me back here. When I would leave and how I would get here… you know they didn't believe my stories of this place."
He looked back out at the water as a stronger breeze kicked up.
"Did you say goodbye to them?"
"No, I didn't. I didn't want to."
He looked up at the sky. Rain started to trickle down on his face. He became suddenly serious, and turned around to start off towards the bathhouse.
"We should head back before it gets bad."
He walked off without me and I trailed behind him, walking underneath as many shop awnings as possible to get away from being soaked. Haku trudged through it, and didn't talk to me until once again we were at the bridge. The lights inside the bathhouse were on to compliment the darkness of the cloudy evening, and beneath the bridge water started to flood the trench.
"Haku," I called to him as he quickly walked the bridge. "Haku?"
He turned around, immersed in water. His face was serious and he seemed disinterested in what I had to say.
"I need to ask you something."
He walked towards me and stopped a foot away, acting cautious. His eyes stared straight into mine, but there was no emotion behind them.
"Haku, do you love Ayako?"
He clenched his chest with his hand and hunched over in pain as he gasped and held onto the side of the bridge for balance.
"Haku!" I started towards him. He put his arm up, directing me to stop from coming any closer, and I stopped immediately. He didn't say anything, but struggled to stand up straight again.
"Haku, please. Tell me what's going on! This isn't like you at all."
"Sen, you-" he stopped to tighten the grip on his chest and yelled in agony. "Just stay away from me. We're not friends anymore. We can never be friends. Understand? Ayako is my life now, along with the future of this bathhouse."
"No I don't believe you! Haku, this is madness! Please, just look me in the eyes and tell me the truth."
I walked closer to him. He grunted and motioned for me to stay back but I continued to march forward.
"Sen I'm warning you!" He screamed. "Get away from me! For your own good and mine!"
Once I was arm length away, I placed my hand on his. It was cold, and he was trembling from underneath me. The rain, falling harder, dripped off of both of our bodies. No matter how much I tried to look at his eyes, he moved away and avoided me completely.
"Please. Just look at me and tell me what's going on. I want to help you."
"NO!"
"Look at me!"
"NO!"
I acted quickly and pulled his face to look at mine. His eyes were strained and I could feel the pulse from his temples in my hand beating with force. He started to struggle out of my grip, but he calmed once he saw that I wasn't going anywhere.
He reached his arms around me, crying, and leaned his head on my shoulders.
"There's a war of words going on inside my head, Sen. And I can't get it out."
"Who's saying them to you? What are they telling you to do?"
He broke away from me and locked his eyes onto mine. His face started to slowly turn more serious. His tears disappeared, and soon his face went from desperate to very stern.
"It's nothing. I'm perfectly fine."
Haku turned around, breaking the eye contact, and then went inside.
His eyes had given me part of the story that made all of the insanity between us start to make sense.
I looked up, and a window up above was angrily slammed closed
**Please review and the new one will be out as soon as possible. I'd love to know what you think!**
