Sorry about the delay in posting. Family time lasted a lot longer than expected and then I sort of saved a newborn kitten from euthanization. So now I got this 2 day old cat that needs bottle feeding every 3 hours around the clock meaning I'm not sleeping much and I still got my classes and full time job. This chapter is short, but the next chapter will be significantly longer. Please let me know if anyone would like to draw a cover image for this story. I have 0 skills in any sort of art making and it seems lame to borrow an image from the internet. Poll is at 10 out of 20 votes. If it helps you decide which one to vote for i have an entire plot arc written for the Skip Beat Western(which means writing occurs faster since I know where I'm going and generally how to get there), and I have actually written out eight long chapters of Time Forgotten. As usual, thanks and love to you my readers.
I hope to update on September 5th, but with the listed three factors above (cat,work,class) I'm not quite sure when I'm going to find time to write. It's not that I have writer's block either, I just simply don't have enough time to immerse myself mentally in my writing. So hope for Monday and if nothing is posted by midnight then you can presume the update will occur sometime before or on Sunday September 11.
Chapter 24:
Chihiro fidgeted uncomfortably as she stood beside Lin amongst the bathhouse workers. It felt strange to have her hair up in such a peculiar manner, but she already knew that that was the way things had to be until after the festival. Yui had spent the afternoon wasting precious practice time teaching her how to put her hair up around the hair pins that Haku had given her and reminding her that she could not wear them any time that she was practicing. By hiding them deep within coils of her hair, it kept the pins out of sight and in place to work if necessary. She found it ironic that doing her hair up in such a manner made it look as if she had ears, an unexpected bonus to her cover story as Lin's sister in town to visit for the festival. The nervous energy between Yui and Lin as they hovered around her repeating warnings to stay close and keep her nose to the floor was stifling. Once they entered the main room after the bathhouse had closed for the night, Chihiro realized that they weren't the only ones on edge. Many of the spirits waiting for the staff meeting were anxious and the smell of confusion was thick in the air. Haku briskly entered into the rumbling mess and took his place at the front of the room.
"If I could have everyone's attentions please," he started and the room fell silent instantly in anticipation of his words. Letting his eyes gaze around the room at his staff, Haku felt himself drawn towards the calm brown eyes of Chihiro. In a place full of scared spirits, she stood calm and ready for what he had to say. "I'm sorry to call this meeting on such short notice. I know everyone is busy preparing for the festival, so I won't take up much of your time. First things first, as you may have noticed many of our guests that will be staying through the festival are beginning to arrive. Many of them have heard rumors that there is a human living here in the bathhouse. There is no such human within these premises and there has been no human here since the departure of Sen."
Several of the spirits turned to look at Chihiro with questioning eyes. Of course she was a human what was he talking about? Seeing their disbelief, Haku decided to clarify his point before continuing.
"This is for Chihiro's safety as well as the sanctity of the bathhouse. Trust me in this decision and make sure you keep your mouths shut about her identity. Chihiro is now Lin's younger sister who has been staying with us for the past few weeks and will continue to stay through the remainder of the festival. Am I clear?"
An anonymous murmur of agreements spread throughout the crowd. Most of the staff had come to love the hardworking human girl in her youth, and appreciated her assistance now as a woman. Even those who didn't particularly care for her didn't consider outing her. The bathhouse staff was a family and family protects its own. A small bubble of warmth spread across Chihiro's chest as she saw the looks of solid determination on many of her coworkers' faces. Even if she really didn't belong in the spirit world, they cared for her deeply. It made Chihiro feel a sense of love and belonging that she had never felt before from a group of people.
The moment was interrupted as the door to the room swung open quickly and slammed against the wood frame beside it. Four large crab spirits entered in carrying a metal gilded palanquin atop their shoulders. As many of the spirits in the room openly frowned towards the unwanted intruder, Haku held back a sigh. Splitting the crowd, the palanquin came forward and water began spreading itself into puddle beside him. As it slid to a stop in front of him, the curtain slid open and a delicate fin protruded requesting acceptance. As Haku took her fin with a small graceful bow, Hana glided off of her cushion in her full glory onto the puddle of water beside him.
"My maids informed me that you were having a staff meeting to inform them about the changes in security. I thought I would stop by and lend my support," she said silkily as she moved her hand to rest against his forearm. The crabs lowered the palanquin to the ground in a place off to the side and kneeled with their heads to the ground waiting for her command.
"You have remarkable timing. We were just about to discuss that." Grinning smugly at him, she squeezed his arm a little tighter.
"You'll find that I'm wonderful in many ways Kohaku-sama." Turning his attention back to the crowd, he could smell the unease in the air as poignant as that of a rotting corpse. Part of him wanted to remind them all of their manners towards guests, but he understood their fear. Hana was a piece of work and her presence in the bathhouse would make many of their lives living hell, but keeping her distracted and happy meant he wouldn't have to worry about her sending for her family. Keeping his eyes averted from Chihiro's he could feel her stare on him like a fire licking down his side.
"As many of you know, this is our guest Hana-sama. Her caravan was attacked this morning on her journey here. In order to provide better protection to the travelers coming in for the festival, I have made an agreement with the eels to expand the barrier to cover the other side of the river temporarily. In exchange, they will protect several of the roads so that our guests may arrive safely. With the barrier extension, there is a strong likelihood that the alarm will go off more frequently. Please be aware that the issues will most likely be on the other side of the river and not actual attacks on the bathhouse. The alarm system has been altered to reflect this. If the red lights continue flashing for longer than three minutes, then the situation is across the river. If the white lights activate, execute the protocols for defending the bathhouse."
An eruption of worried whispers swept through the crowd at his words. Leaning over slyly towards Lin, Chihiro asked her for a better explanation of who was that standing next to Haku. Frowning at the koi fish with unmasked hatred, Lin replied.
"That would be Hana of Deep Run River. If you have an inch of self-preservation within you, you will steer clear of her. Trust me when I say that you do not want to get involved with that fish." Cocking an eyebrow at Lin's response, Chihiro wondered what had happened to cause such an intense response in the normally laid back weasel.
"If she's so dangerous, then why is Haku letting her hold onto him?"
"Cause the dragon is a fool…in more ways than one." Chihiro quirked a levying glance towards Lin. Rolling her eyes, Lin ignored her inquisitive look. She wanted more information, but the weasel didn't seem to want to talk about it.
"She is very beautiful," Chihiro murmured as she admired the silver glean of her scales. Even from her spot in the back of the crowd, Chihiro could see every graceful movement the koi fish made. Her heart panged painfully against her chest at the way Haku smiled down at the beautiful fish holding onto his arm. As much as she hated to admit it, they looked good together. It made her feel all the more empty inside. She knew that she could never look like that or stand beside him as his equal in the spirit world, but it still hurt to see him looking at another woman in that manner. Had he not said that they shared mutual feelings? Why would he let this woman touch him in such a familiar manner? She knew she was supposed to be trying to move on, but that didn't mean the sight didn't hurt. He didn't seem to be having any trouble it seemed. Perhaps he had just been pulling her along so that she would stay obediently while he tried to find a permanent solution to safely send her back. Turning her back on the stage in hopes that her heart would stop aching, Chihiro decided to head to the infirmary. Grasping her arm and yanking her back, Lin stopped her.
"Don't go running off. It's not safe."
"I'm going to visit Hikaru in the infirmary."
"Hikaru no longer requires your visits Chihiro," Yui said as she walked up from behind and took the other side of her, "and you know I asked you to not go to the infirmary again." Frowning at the intervention, she let her eyes scald the floor. A giggle that sounded like a wind chime swept the room and it only took a moment to realize it was from Hana. It looked as if Haku had whispered something into her ear hole and her laughter could not be contained to a small chuckle.
"Let's go steal some meat buns from the kitchen and head back to my room. Watari-san will you let me know what is said for the rest of the meeting?" Yui nodded her head and the two of them walked off much to Chihiro's relief. Looking back at Haku, Yui frowned as she recalled the expression on Chihiro's face before she walked off. She needed to give him a warning or he was going to risk a lot more than he bargained for.
Yui bided her time as she waited for Haku to emerge from the emptying meeting hall. After the palanquin had left in a flurry of water, muscular crab, and bright silk clothes, the staff had visibly relaxed as they seeped back into the bathhouse woodworks. Tapping her toes impatiently, she spotted her target as he tried to quickly slip away. Closing the distance, she set pace to stay beside him as they began walking towards his office.
"I guess you have something to say," Haku commented as he noticed her steely gaze staring forward.
"It won't take long. I know you have other things you need to take care of." Grunting in response, they got into the elevator and rode in silence to Haku's flat. Stepping into the office, Haku leaned against his desk and faced her.
"Lin and I have made arrangements to have one of us with Chihiro at all times. I expect that you will be keeping an eye on her every night?"
"There is a spell in place on the flat. If anyone tries to enter after we have gone to bed, I will be woken."
"Might want to change that to also notify you if she tries to leave," Yui warned. She wasn't ready to out Chihiro's visits to the infirmary yet, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Will do. Anything else?"
"Whatever game you are planning on playing with Hana and the other marriage candidates, I'd suggest you reconsider. Women's feelings aren't something to be trifled with."
"I'm not promising those women anything. They act upon their own interpretations of my actions."
"Yes, but you aren't explaining the situation to Chihiro either. She could easily be hurt by the misunderstandings you are creating."
"Last I checked Chihiro is fairly angry at me already and swore to spend her time at the shrine practicing. She should be fine until the festival is over and the majority of the danger is out of the way." Yui's quiet sad laughter sent chills down Haku's spine. Staring at the crane in question, she returned his gaze with a mocking sneer.
"Do you really think you are the only spirit interested in her? Haku, you may have started the bonding process, but that doesn't mean she will choose you at the end of the day." Yui turned around and fluffed her tail feathers before walking confidently towards the door. Stopping in the doorway, she looked back at him. "In fact, I am confident that he will sweep her away before you get your act together and court her as you should. Keep playing these games, Haku. You are going to lose."
Chihiro rolled out of bed and nearly toppled off at the sight of Lin sitting at her vanity fixing her hair into a ponytail.
"Took you long enough to wake up. I was preparing to get a bucket of water to dump on you." Giving her a leery eye, Chihiro went to the wardrobe to grab her uniform.
"What exactly are you doing in my room at this hour?"
"I came to get you for breakfast. Won't be anything left at the rate you're going though," Lin grumbled as she smirked at the sleepy human via the mirror. Rolling her eyes at the weasel spirit, Chihiro stumbled out of the room and went to the bathroom to get ready. Openly ignoring Haku sitting at the desk drinking tea, she hurried back to Lin. Glancing between the two of them with a cocked eyebrow as Chihiro dragged her out, Lin could sense his unease. The dragon was obviously on pins and needles about something. Shrugging her shoulders, she joined Chihiro in the elevator to go down.
"Not talking to Haku this morning," Lin asked trying to spark up conversation. The distant hurt look in Chihiro's eyes told her everything. As she had feared, last night had had more of an effect on her than she cared to admit.
"I need some time to think on things, that's all. I hope you aren't going to be showing up in my room every morning?"
"Bright eyed and bushy tailed," Lin replied with sarcasm as she leaned against the railing. The look of annoyance on Chihiro's face brought her lips up into a smirk. The elevator opened and they began to walk to the next elevator to continue down towards the kitchens.
It felt odd to be away from the infirmary all day after spending so much time there. Yui had not given her a moment of peace at the shrine and they had worked hard up until dinnertime when Lin had arrived to take her back to the bathhouse. Walking into the kitchen, they seemed to enter an uproar in progress. Staff scuttled about hurrying to prepare and send out the evening meals. It seemed that Chef was not in the kitchen manning the process as usual and as such, the staff was in a frenzy. Taking control of the situation, Lin organized everyone and stepped back as she watched order resume in the kitchen.
"I'm going to take Kamaji down his tray and pick up the lunch tray. See if you could be of any use here for a few minutes while I'm gone," Lin said as she picked up the tray by the door. Nodding her head yes, Chihiro headed towards the food line prep. The field mouse spirit running the line spotted her approach and her eyes brightened. Grabbing a tray from the line, she thrust it into Chihiro's arms.
"I need to this brought up to the silver room right now. Please hurry," nodding her head in understanding Chihiro grasped the tray. Turning on her heel, she headed to the nearest elevator and got on. The silver room was set aside for important guests and was considered the best quarters available, besides of course the master's flat. Smiling and nodding at the guests as she passed, Chihiro ascended higher into the bathhouse. Changing elevators, she remembered the first time she had snuck into the bathhouse and taken the elevators up to meet Yubaba. The ding of the elevator arriving broke her from her reverie and she walked quickly towards the appointed room. Sounds of muffled yelling could be heard through the door, but Chihiro knocked anyways. Instantly, the cacophony ceased and a call to enter was heard.
Sliding open the door, Chihiro was surprised to see Chef bowing in a dogeza on the floor before a padded shell. Sitting atop the shell, Hana looked back her with steely eyes. She felt like she had walked into a landmine, but it was too late to flee. Performing a deep bow, Chihiro brought the tray into the room.