Kii traced the characters of his name into Haku's hand. Ki. Oh. Ne. Haku was half asleep, arms and legs entangled with Kii's, watching him with heavy-lidded eyes. "Haku," Kii began, but Haku leaned in and kissed him, cutting off his words. He was unafraid, now, to touch Kii's soft, delicate skin; he lived for the moment when Kii cried out in rapture. Now, though, Kii squirmed and pulled away. "Haku," he said again, breathlessly. "I'm worried."
"Worried?" Haku murmured, kissing Kii's throat and then burying his face in his hair. "About what?"
Kii twisted around so he could look Haku in the eyes, and Haku finally let go of him to pay attention. "Yubaba knows I came here last night, and she's going to want to see the money I made. She's also probably noticed…" he averted his eyes. "That I've been here all night."
Haku sat up a little, running his hand through his hair so that it fell a little more neatly. "Yubaba," he said darkly, making the name sound like a plague. "All she thinks about is money." But he saw the pleading look in Kii's eyes and smiled. "I won't make trouble. I'll give you money to give to her."
Kii relaxed and pressed against him. "Oh Haku…" he sat up a little. "I should go."
Haku took his hand. "Don't. Leave them." Why did he feel that if he let go of Kii, he would vanish with the morning sun?
As though sensing his thoughts, Kii reached out to stroke Haku's hair, smiling slightly. "I won't abandon you, Haku. Now—" he kissed him sweetly on the cheek. "The gold, that I might give Yubaba her share?"
"Of course." Haku stood, then helped Kii to stand. He looked on in adoration as the pinkish light of the dawn glowed on Kii's bare skin. He watched as he knelt to gather up his kimono, his long black hair sliding over his back; before he knew what he was doing, Haku had pushed him back onto the futon.
Haku watched as Yubaba prepared to leave the bathhouse, to fly off into Lands Unknown as she did regularly. Before she wrapped her cape around herself, she paused to eye Haku, who was looking anxious. "What's wrong with you lately?" She demanded in her usual blunt manner. "You aren't planning something, are you? Real name or no, you're still under my contract, and I have every right to turn you into a lizard after all the trouble you've given me; I'm only keeping you around out of the kindness of my heart."
Haku carefully kept his expression bland. "I'm not planning anything." He thought of Kii waiting for him and fought the urge to run to him. Hurry up, you old hag.
Yubaba took her cape off and tossed it on top of her three Kashira. "I want to know what's going on. Why I have to ring twice for you at night." She thought a moment. "You know, Kii's been canceling important appointments lately, too." She shook her head and turned away for a moment, as if dismissing the subject, then suddenly whirled on Haku, snarling. "I should turn you both into lizards!! I should have known it. He's giving you freebies."
Haku struggled to maintain his calm. "I—they aren't freebies. I pay for them, just like everyone else."
Yubaba seemed to calm down considerably, but she still looked annoyed. "You're keeping Kii from his real work. He's got more important—" she poked Haku in the chest with one of her sharp fingernails. "—wealthier customers to worry about than you."
Haku thought of the ornate door. "Yubaba, who lives behind the big door on the fifth floor?"
Picking up her cape again, Yubaba snarled, "It isn't any of your business." Without another word, she wrapped her cape around herself and flew out the window, her bird following behind her.
Haku stared after her for a moment, then slammed the glass door shut, startling the Kashira. He ran out of the hall, through Yubaba's rooms, and down five flights of stairs until he stumbled to a stop in front of the huge ornate door, standing alone on a blank wall. He stood and stared at it, his breathing ragged, then threw the door open.
It was like stepping back outside. The room was actually a huge indoor garden, dominated by a circular pond in the center, which was nearly overrun with lotus flowers. Other flowers, sprouting as though wild but obviously neatly tended, grew around the pond.
Save for the flowers and the pond, the room was empty.
Haku took a few steps inside. "Hello?" He called. His voice echoed off of the walls. "Anyone in here?"
The pond rippled as something moved beneath the water's surface. Haku moved to the water's edge and leaned forward, searching the depths, but the lotuses obscured everything from view. He stared for a moment longer, then shook his head and walked out of the room. Kii was surely growing impatient, waiting in Haku's rooms; he could ask him about the ornate door and the room with the lotus pond.
((Many, many thanks to Chantal-Antoinette, who drew me an awesome fanart of Kii! Go check it out at my website. Thankies!))
