Chapter 9: The Winds And The Waters
The kitchen was quite spacious and it was always bustling with life, probably even more than the upper floors. Delicious meals were cooked every moment and Chihiro loved it here! After getting assigned to the kitchens, Chihiro's days went by quite peacefully. Since she was relatively new, she was tasked with mostly washing, plating desserts and other menial tasks. It was pretty repetitive but she found it quite soothing and therapeutic - there was something about the fragrant smell of cooked meals that warmed her deeply on the inside. For a moment, it felt as though she were home. Home? What does that mean…
"Chihiro san, thanks for helping me with the garlic and onions," Suki, a gentle mouse spirit placed a hand on her shoulder. "Could you help me transport this dessert to the top floors? We're a little shorthanded on servers tonight."
"Oh, sure, Suki san," Chihiro carefully took the tray from Suki's hands, "which room should I head to?"
"901, Lady Hisae's room," Suki replied and thanked Chihiro.
Lady Hisae? Chihiro recalled the image of the elegant spirit and felt a little nervous. "Oh…alright I'll send this over immediately."
Balancing the tray on one hand, Chihiro pulled the lever and waited for the elevator to arrive. 901… That must mean Lady Hisae was an extremely important guest, seeing that she stayed just 2 floors below Master Haku. The elevator door opened with a bing and Chihiro entered, her mind recalling what Rin had said a week before.
"Don't let Master Haku hear you say that!" Rin had been very against Chihiro pairing up their boss with the beautiful spirit and Chihiro couldn't figure out why. Master Haku was a kind boss - he didn't reprimand her even though she made mistakes on her first day. A boss like him deserved the most beautiful spirit in the world.
The elevator door opened and Chihiro was stunned to see that 901 occupied the entire floor. Master Haku must really like Lady Hisae to give her an entire level to herself…Walking towards the door, Chihiro balanced the tray as she knocked softly.
"Sorry to disturb you, Lady Hisae, your dessert is here," Chihiro called.
The door slid open and Hisae stood before Chihiro in a simple ivy coloured rob. Her long mossy hair was gathered over her shoulder, accentuating the fairness of her porcelain skin.
"Thank you," Hisae reached for the tray.
Chihiro bowed and turned to leave but stopped halfway when Lady Hisae called out suddenly, "I'm sorry, do you mind coming in to join me?"
Join her? "Um… I don't know, I don't think Master Haku and Mistress Rin would like that-"
"Oh come on, don't be a spoiled sport. I'll let them know I told you to come here." Hisae insisted.
"I'm sorry Lady Hisae, Chihiro can't join you. She isn't supposed to be serving you tea in the first place — she's a kitchen staff," Rin's voice rang urgently from the elevator as she ran towards the two.
"It's fine Rin, don't fret. I just wanted a bit of company. It's no fun having tea alone!" Hisae pouted playfully, trying to lighten the tension, "but of course, if Chihiro needs to attend to her duties, she should go. I'm sorry for overwriting your orders, Mistress Rin." Hisae apologised with a bow.
"Oh, no!" Rin shook her head profusely, "I'm sorry, Master Haku isn't able to entertain you today. He has a meeting."
"With Lady Kaeda, yes I'm aware of that…" there was an underlying tone of distaste in Hisae's voice.
"Chihiro, why don't you go back to the kitchen?" Rin turned to Chihiro and ushered her towards the elevator.
"We'll take our leave, Lady Hisae. Once again, my many apologies," Rin bowed deeply and left with Chihiro.
As the door closed, an uncomfortable silence passed between Rin and Chihiro in the elevator. When Rin went down to the kitchen to check on Chihiro, she was shocked to learn that the girl was sent upstairs. After the hooha on the first day, the last thing Rin wanted was for Chihiro to draw any more attention to herself.
"Chihiro," Rin broke the silence.
"Y-yes?" Chihiro was feeling nervous although she was sure she hadn't done anything wrong.
"Master Haku said he might want to see you some time this week," Rin tried to say these words as kindly as possible. She didn't want Chihiro to get the wrong message. Glancing over at the girl's stunned expression, it was obvious that Chihiro had already taken it the wrong way.
Internally, Rin heaved a heavy sigh before continuing, "don't worry Chihiro, it's not anything bad!" She lay a hand on Chihiro's shoulder to comfort her.
"Mistress Rin, do you know what it's about…?" Chihiro asked timidly, peering at her supervisor.
God knows what it's about, even I'm in the dark about this whole situation. "Um… I'm sure Master Haku just wants to see how you're doing — it's just standard procedure! Don't worry your little head over this too much," Rin smiled.
"Oh and Chihiro," Rin whispered in her ear, "try to stay out of sight from the guests okay? And only take orders from Master Haku and myself."
Chihiro nodded quietly but as she turned away from Rin, a frown creasing in her forehead. A nagging feeling was gnawing at her and her instincts were telling her that something's up… but what?
A tangible heaviness could be felt in the room. The two did not speak for a few moments, seemingly unwilling to be the first to break the silence — it was a delicate situation. Sitting across Kenta, Haku took his time to finish his cigar. Leaning back in his armchair, Haku looked squarely at Kenta, a white cloud of smoke danced and dissipated as he exhaled. Seated in his private quarters while he took a long smoke, Haku exuded an air of assertiveness — exactly the kind of impression he wanted to give right from the onset of their meeting.
Kenta, however, was not new to the game of politics. He was not put off easily and Haku knew this just as well. Sitting tall across the master of the bathhouse, Kenta rolled up the sleeves of his navy silk robe and brought his cup to his lips. Savouring its light, sweet fragrance, Kenta let out a satisfied sigh and brushed his long silver hair behind his shoulder. The atmosphere in the room was heavy but like any royal prince, Kenta always carried himself with a sense of self-assurance.
"It's a pleasure to meet you at your bathhouse once again, Master Haku," Kenta decided to break the silence — both men knew that was a lie. Sitting up straight, Haku's emerald green eyes met Kenta's icy blues. The lamp hanging above their heads highlighted the prince's already fair skin and drew even more attention to his sharp features and cast dark shadows in the contours of his face. Despite his nonchalant demeanor, Haku knew this was the face of someone he had to be extremely cautious of. He needed to play his cards right.
"It's always wonderful to entertain guests like yourself," Haku returned the greetings. He knew these formalities signalled that it was time to discuss matters he wished he could avoid addressing. Waving his fingers, Haku motioned for the server to come in. A timid mouse spirit stepped in and quietly lay plates of exquisite handcrafted sweets on the table. Bowing lowly, she left the two and shut the door discreetly.
"Try them, these are wonderful," Haku motioned for Kenta to try the sweets on the table.
Bringing the hot tea to his lips, Kenta looked squarely at Haku over his cup, "thanks for your hospitality Master Haku, but I guess it would do the both of us good if we talked about the matter at hand in a more… direct manner. Forgive me if I'm being curt."
A small smile tugged at a corner of Haku's lips. So, the game begins. "Not at all, not at all, your highness," he paused, took a sip of tea before continuing, "I run a bathhouse. It's nothing like running the spirit world but I understand where you're coming from."
"Wonderful!" Kenta clapped his hands together and smiled for the first time. "Have you reached a decision for the proposition?"
Haku let the question hang in the air as he took an intentionally long drag of his cigar. He could feel Kenta's cold eyes on him and quite frankly, he enjoyed keeping the prince in suspense. "At this point in time," Haku shook his head and he brushed away stray strands of hair from his face. "Look at the volume guests we have — the bathhouse needs me to stick around. I can't just leave it and go to the north.
"Besides," he continued, "I'm sure there are plenty of other capable spirits who can do a just as fine, if not better, job than I would as a key minister of the spirit world."
Kenta maintained his position across Haku, unflinching. He had anticipated this response although he had hoped that the master of Aburaya would change his mind. Turning over to glance out of the balcony, he spotted passing ships illuminating the vast, still sea. The dragon before him was like these waters. No, he is the waters. Water, unlike ice, was unpredictable. A body of water could be completely serene on the surface but full of moving currents underneath. Just one misstep and water can swallow you whole.
"You're not wrong, Master Kohaku," Kenta pulled out a black fan from his sleaves and opened it with a flick of his wrist, revealing intricate golden details of a bamboo forest. Fanning himself slowly, he bought himself a few moments to decide on what he wanted to say next.
You leave me no choice, Kohaku. Closing the fan abruptly, Kenta made up his mind and continued, "spirits may be dying from pollution at a faster rate than ever but we're really not short of talent.
"What we're looking for isn't talent," he rested his chin on his hand and said the next words lowly. "If it were about wits and strength, I wouldn't be here personally inviting you to join the counsel."
Haku's jaw tightened but held his tongue. Kenta maintained his image but internally, let out a deep sigh. He never intended to coerce the master of the bathhouse to join the counsel this way but Haku was invaluable at this point and he wanted to try all means short of violence to get him to the North.
"We just… want your knowledge and experience," a smug look hung on Kenta's face. "It's exceptionally invaluable to us during this time of conflict." Haku raised his brow at Kenta's vague statement but waited for the prince to continue.
"As far as I can tell, no one knows… humans like you do." The words hit Haku like a sharp spear running through his chest. The image of Chihiro lying at his banks came to mind and he tried his very best to suppress the protective instinct rising within him.
"What are you getting at?" Haku demanded. A smile tugged at the corner of Kenta's lips. Dragons are so hot headed. It's perhaps their only weakness.
"We've agreed to keep this a candid discussion haven't we? Let's not play games, Master Kohaku," Kenta looked upon the tea cup and ran his finger along its rim. "You've crossed paths with a human — the same human. Twice. You'll know what exactly makes this weak, excuse of race so damned resilient.
"Join us. And end this stupid conflict. End them." Kenta's cold eyes shot up to meet Haku's, "in exchange, I'll break Yubaba's bond — the cursed tie to the bathhouse."
Haku could feel the dragon in him on the verge of surging at Kenta. He was filled to the brim with his protective instincts and a war was raging internally to keep these primal instincts under control. Bringing the cup to himself, he noticed his hands were shaking ever so slightly. He took a sip of tea and managed to compose himself.
"I beg your pardon, your highness. But does this mean that I will, in turn, be bound to the palace?" Haku's hard eyes stared at the prince. "This might come as a surprise to you, but between the bathhouse and the palace, I'd choose the bathhouse any day. In half a heartbeat." A heavy silence fell upon the two and the mood of the room was getting increasingly sombre.
"Forgive me, your highness, I thought we were having a candid discussion," Haku's jaw tightened. Slowly, he put the cigar back to his lips, took a long drag and exhaled deeply. A thick cloud of smoke filled the space between them.
Just as Kenta was about to speak, a light knock at the door interrupted him. He knew that this marked the end of his meeting with the master of the bathhouse.
"Very well, then. I guess that's it for our little meeting. Have a good night, Master Kohaku." Kenta promptly stood up, "I'll see myself out."
Kenta slid open the door unceremoniously, clearly in a dark mood, and almost ran into Rin. The weasel spirit was holding on to a large stack of papers and side stepped just in time to save the papers from scattering all over the hallway. Without giving her a second glance, Kenta simply brushed past her and disappeared into the elevator.
What's with that sour face. Rin shot Kenta a dirty look while he wasn't looking and stepped into Haku's private quarters. Slamming the reports on the table, Rin was about to rattle off about the numbers for the evening but stopped herself short. Something about Haku felt off and she could feel the energy he was emitting.
"What the hell are you doing, lizard?" Rin demanded. Haku had poured himself whiskey and downed three shots in a row. While he was about to down the fourth shot, Rin snatched the glass from him and downed that shot herself.
"Bad meeting with his highness of the North? What does sour face want?" Rin questioned.
Haku simply stood where he was, staring blankly at Rin. She always got on his nerves but he was glad he didn't need to put on a mask in front of her. Finally, he could let his guard down, emotionally exhausted from the meeting earlier.
"They're trying to recruit me on the grounds of my experience with humans," he muttered so softly, it was almost inaudible.
"Does this mean they know?!" Rin exclaimed, waving her hands dramatically in the air.
"Shh!" Haku pressed a finger to his lips.
"Oh… do they know she's here?" Rin lowered her voice.
Haku shook his head, no. He recalled the way Kenta referred to Chihiro's visit to the spirit world 16 years ago. It did not seem like the prince had caught wind of Chihiro's presence in the bathhouse at the moment.
"I… I don't think-" A strong, painful sensation was rising rapidly in his chest and Haku found it difficult to keep his composure. Holding on to the edge of his wine cabinet, Haku tried to steady himself. He opened his mouth to speak but instead, he began to throw up.
"Shit Haku!" Rin rushed over towards him. "Did the damn prince poison you?!"
Shaking his head profusely, Haku got back onto his feet. "It's Chihiro. Where's Chihiro?" His tone turned gravely serious.
"Chihiro? She should be sleeping. I let her off early tonight," before Rin could continue, Haku changed into his dragon form and flew out of the balcony. The gust of wind he left behind blew the papers on his desk onto the floor.