A/N: I know it's been forever, sorry about that! But I am leaving for Seattle in a week to visit my grandmother (we have to stay in a shrimpy little room in her retirement home, save me!), but I'm taking my computer so I shall escape her and write for a while. So, I hope to update again within two weeks. This goes slowly because I have to be very careful of what I say as the pieces are starting to fall together now. ;-)
Disclaimer: I do not own this, as I am quite sure you already know.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chihiro stormed back through Aburaya, for once not caring that she was making noise. There were sleepy mumbles of annoyance from the rooms that she had just passed, heels thumping loudly on the polished wood floors. She shot into the room she shared with Rin and all the others and dove under her comforter, where she lay, breathing hard with the effort. Her little white kodama friend came from where it had been sitting on the balcony and poked her nose to see if she was well. The human girl stroked it distractedly, still unable to get Haku out of her mind.
It seemed to take forever before anyone awoke. As soon as she heard the first person stirring and beginning to awaken, she jumped up and began folding her blanket and sleeping mat. Since most of the spirits were still asleep and she couldn't get over to the cupboards, she stacked them neatly in the middle of her sleeping space. The kodama sat atop he nearly folded pile, clicking at her. "I really ought to name you," Chihiro muttered, then turned and picked her way out of the room to go get breakfast.
The spirit serving it blinked at her sleepily and solemnly handed over two bowls of food. She nodded and went back upstairs, where she found, much to her annoyance, that everyone else was still asleep. Scowling, Chihiro stood in the doorway and surveyed the sleeping spirits. An insistent clicking from the balcony drew her attention. She set down the food and stepped out into the cool evening air.
The kodama was hopping up and down like mad, pointing down at the train tracks. Chihiro leaned out and stared down at the tracks, unsure of what she was supposed to be seeing. After a moment, she turned her head to the kodama, who had stopped hopping but still stared intenly down, its mouth a little 'O'. "What? There's nothing thereā¦"
The kodama began hopping again, and clicking in a way that somehow conveyed assent. Chihiro blinked, and turned to stare at the tracks again. After a moment, it finally dawned on her what the problem was.
The train came by, at exactly the same time every evening, tooting its whistle just loud enough to wake everyone up, or at least awaken the light sleepers, who proceeded to wake everyone else up. The train should have come by now. It was always on time, not a single day that Chihiro had worked at Aburaya had it been late. And it simply wasn't there.
The sound of a foreman's voice echoed throughout the building. "HEY! WHERE IS EVERYONE? GET DOWN HERE AND CLEAN, NOW!"
The spirits shot up out of bed, awakened suddenly but not yet awake. Chihiro hurried over to Rin, turning her back on the setting sun. "I have our breakfast, Rin. It's a bit cold, though."
Rin yawned hugely. "Thanks. Mmm, smells go-"
"NOW!"
They didn't even bother to put their stuff away. The spirits and human girl stood up as one and shot out of the room and down the stairs, Chihiro pausing only to grab the kodama and place it on her shoulder. When they got to the ground floor, they found a line of foremen glaring at them as they began cleaning.
"We're docking your pay!" one yelled.
"I can't believe we all overslept!" Rin moaned. "That isn't nice!"
It took them almost no time at all to clean that evening, especially considering they all had foremen leering over their shoulders the entire time. Pillows were set out; floors were scrubbed; elevators were checked. And once everything was acceptable, the workers of the bathhouse settled down to wait.
And wait.
And wait.
The spirits that waited outside the door every night glanced uncertainly back in at the rest of the workers, who had all gathered together at the door and were peering out. There was utter silence, though an air of confusion wound its way though all there. It was well past time for the patrons of the bathhouse to have come, and not a single one was in sight.
"Why is everyone grouped around the doorway?" a clam voice demanded. As one, the spirits turned around to see who had spoken.
Chihiro sucked her breath in as she laid eyes on him again. Each time she saw him her heart pounded all the more painfully, and guilt suddenly wracked her for running away from him earlier. She met his eyes only to see that he was looking at her even as he addressed the group of spirits.
"There are no spirits here, Master Haku," one spirit said.
"The train doesn't seem to be running either," another volunteered.
Silence reigned once more. After a moment, Haku spoke again. "All of you, come inside. If they have not come by now, it is highly unlikely that they will come this night."
The spirits of Aburaya wandered off slowly, confused to no end and unsure of what to do with their suddenly free time. Chihiro stayed right where she was, though they jostled her quite a bit. But she did not move, eyes set on Haku, who was making sure that everyone went off somewhere else.
"Wait!" one of the remaining spirits cried, staring out of the doorway. "Someone is coming!"
Those remaining dashed over to the door. Sure enough, there was a large group of spirits on the march. The beings that manned the restaurants that composed the town were acting oddly, closing their doors, though the lights still remained on. Chihiro squinted; she could just tell that they did not look like the spirits that normally came. There were forty, fifty of them there, and all bore sour looks on their unusual faces.
The few workers left stayed where they were and prepared to greet the guests, Chihiro and Haku included. The patrons were walking quickly, and reached Aburaya in very little time. "We wish to speak with the Master of this bathhouse," hissed the foremost spirit, a dragon with scales of a deep green color that shimmered when he moved.
Haku stepped forward. "I am the acting Master of Aburaya."
The dragon bared his teeth in a sneer. "Where is your master?" it demanded. "You are nothing but her apprentice."
"She has left me in charge of this bathhouse. State your business or begone." Chihiro had never seen Haku this snappy. He looked like he was ready to pounce on the spirits if they made one wrong move, though Chihiro could not figure out why. She wisely decided to keep her mouth shut.
"Then we shall take up our business with you," growled the spirit to murmurs of assent from all the rest assembled behind him. "You defy the ruled of the Spirit World and give refuge to humans," it said.
Haku remained silent.
"Humans never have been welcomed in our world, and for just reasons. They pollute our oceans and rivers, rape and defile our land, take what rightfully belongs to us, and kill us every instant that they live. To allow one to live here is unspeakable."
Chihiro shrunk back with every word that the spirit said, and Haku moved slightly so that he was shielding here. "You traveled all this way to tell me this, that I already know?" he asked icily, emerald eyes sharp as he glared at the dragon.
"No," the dragon said. "We come to kill the human and take you, who allow it to stay here, to appease the demon that is alive because of it and all of its kind, the demon that destroys our world."
