A worker in the crowd raised their hand. "I have a few sharp rocks!" Another worker raised their hand. "I actually have a box of matches!" A few grunts and shouts could be heard in the crowd. "Hey! I have a lit match! And it's right here!" A short worker came up to the front, holding a lit match. Everyone stared him down until he blew it out. "Is anyone going to make a suggestion that isn't stupid?" Ichigo asked. No one put their hand down. I sighed. "Yubaba, why don't you use your magic and get this over with?" I suggested. "Oh, fine. For the sake of my money," Yubaba went into the coal mine.
Chi and I were still next to Yubaba, and saw her cast all sorts of spells on the coal in the furnace. Workers were filling up every corner of the room, trying to get a glimpse of the witch's struggle. One spell she cast made the coal sparkle, but there was no flame. Another made it glow, still no flame. One spell made it turn different colors, and one just made it sizzle and turn into soot. The old sorceress cursed under her breath and tried again. No flame. "Excuse us," Haku said, coming out of the crowd. Tama, in her cloak, walked beside him. "It's about time you came!" Yubaba boomed.
"Tama insisted we try to apprehend the suspect." Haku said, looking at her. "I wanted your permission to take my cloak off, but you weren't in your office. Everyone told me you were here." Tama said in a low-pitched tone. "Catching the little girl isn't my main priority. You should've been here, ready to help me." Yubaba ordered. "Sorry, master." They said in unison, and bowed their heads. "Now is not the time for apologies! Help me get this fire going!" She scolded. Haku and Tama stood before the furnace. Haku grabbed one of the pieces of coal and held it in his hand.
He squeezed it. Tama also held a piece of coal and examined it. "It's as if you're trying to burn ice. You can only melt it." She said, as water melted off the coal. Some workers gasped. "She put an invisible layer of ice around each piece of coal. This isn't regular ice either; we must melt it using large amounts of heat all at once." Tama explained. "And where will we get that?" Haku asked. "We can concentrate energy into our palms and melt the coal one by one, but that will take hours and more if not done continuously." Tama yawned. "And I'm really tired."
Chi tapped my shoulder. "Don't you know kido?" He mentioned. "I do know kido…thanks for reminding me." I said. I raised my hand. "Yubaba! I think I can help!" I shouted. She looked at me. "How could you possibly help?" She asked grumpily. "I know a different type of magic, and it might melt the ice." I answered. "A different type? There's no such thing as a different type!" The old witch cackled. "Go ahead, show me this magic." She mocked. "Everyone except Chi, stand back." I said, putting a hand in front of myself. Yubaba looked at me suspiciously and then stepped back.
I aimed at the stack of coal. "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado Number 33! Blue Fire, Crash Down!" A huge surge of energy shot out from the palm of my hand onto the coal. The pile of coal made a cracking noise. "Hado Number 31! Shot of Red Fire!" A surge of energy shot out from my palm again, except it was hot. A small puddle of water was forming under the pile of coal. I was getting somewhere.
*~*~*
I know this must've been predictable, but it's necessary. I just want to say a few things:
1. I got the kido chant from Bleach wiki, thanks guys!
2. I'm just going to let Rukia say the kido names in English. What difference does it make anyways?
Rukia: A big difference! Japanese seiyu sound better than American voice actors!
Ichigo: Hold on, some readers might not share the opinion.
Keiko: I still think I'm right about you two!
Me: No one takes comic relief seriously.
Keiko: Darn it.
Me: Please review! Word Count: 818