:B Here's chapter 7. Sorry it took so long to get such a short chapter, but that poem…. That took a while. So yeah……

"Nice to see you again, Sen. How are you?" the river spirit asked. Sen could tell that he was holding in his laughter the best that he could.

"Good evening sir, I'm doing fine. Yubaba told me that you wanted to see me," Sen replied as she slipped on a noodle that fell off of her head.

"Well I came here because I had heard that you came back and were helping Gyukudo with the fight against the Xovio Cartel. I wanted to let you know that my help and advice is always available to you if you need it, and I wanted to you know my real name, which is Bunzo Raikatuji. I also came here for some food and a bath, but having had those by now, I sadly have no more reason to stay."

Standing up and still grasping her head in pain, Sen said, "You want to stay longer, but you don't have any reason to? Is that what you mean?"

"Yes. I would watch some live entertainment, but I have not seen any here yet. So I think I should be on my way, since I would be a bother to be here without pay."

"Don't be silly. We can entertain you, Mr. Raikatuji," Haku announced, getting up onto a clear table. "Sen, put those other tables together so that they make a stage," he said, pointing to some unused tables in a corner. "You guys help too."

"Haku, what are you doing?! What has come over you???" Yubaba asked in a fit of rage. It was true though; Haku was being rather immature.

"I'm just making Mr. Raikatuji feel more welcome," he said grinning. Yubaba was the only one not in a good mood, but he wasn't going to stop having fun just because of that.

"Splendid! What sort of show are you planning? Singing? Acting? Dancing?" asked Mr. Raikatuji.

"Whatever you want, sir," Rin replied. "Unless you were already thinking of something, Haku." As she finished speaking, the tables were all in place, and she climbed onto them. So did Sen and Naomi. Every one of them was dripping with food.

"Stop this foolishness now! I forbid you to do this!" Yubaba shouted. Then, having been presented with a fistful of gold from Mr. Raikatuji, she sat down in a chair to enjoy the show. She then let the other workers pause to see it too, and they all came over to watch.

"Well I wanted to start off with a poem. I've already thought of one that I know, but I could make up a different one on the spot to make it more interesting," Haku said.

"Make one up!" shouted a member of the audience.

"Alright then," he said, stepping forward and raising his voice so that everyone could hear.

"They came to find a reason to come,

Which may seem pointless in the eyes of some.

But when I see it from this point of view,

I can understand it, you probably could too.

They were found by a man who had some things to give,

But it wasn't their reason, so the man they did forgive.

They went to the boiler room to meet some friends;

One big and many small,

But that was all that found in the room;

That was all, that was all, that was all.

And they climbed and climbed up to the very top floor,

Where they found some jobs, but nothing more.

They ventured into the kitchen that was through the lobby,

Where they found themselves a brand new hobby:

Starch, water, eggs and flour:

To mix and press these had taken almost an hour.

But the finished product came to be noodles, of all things,

Which were meant for lasagnas that were fit enough for kings.

And in dirtying the kitchen and risking the charge of treason,

I hope at least one of them has found their reason."

He paused, then added,

"I have found mine,

And I hold her dear 'till the end of time."

Sen wanted to cry. She knew, or at least thought, that Haku wanted to be the purpose for her being there. He wanted to let her know that he was trying to be a good enough reason for Sen going out of her way to visit the Spirit World again.

Meanwhile, the audience gave a long and loud round of applause as Haku bowed. His poem had even made Yubaba smile.

Mr. Raikatuji had stood up at that point, and he said, "Marvelous! Will there be more? I simply LOVED that one. You are very talented, Haku, to make something up like that on the spot."

"I have very good inspiration," Haku replied gratefully. "Well if you have any requests, then we can arrange another performance of some kind."

"Can any of you sing? I should like to hear some music while speak with Yubaba, and perhaps have another lasagna…….."

"We can play some music; there is no need to trouble them for it," Yubaba offered.

As a song began to play in the background, Sen, Naomi, Rin, and Haku were dismissed from their stage.

Still filthy, Haku said to the others, "I think I'll go wash up now." With that, he gave Sen a kiss on the forehead, staining her skin with sauce, and left.

"We should go and take baths too. Come with me and I will get you two set for one," Rin said to Sen and Naomi.

They fallowed her up to the sleeping room where they first got their uniforms and waited as she found some towels.

"The next room over is the room where the workers wash up. Come on and I'll show you how to work the faucets."

After Sen and Naomi finished, they went back downstairs where Rin, who had finished before them, and Haku were cleaning the kitchen. Since they had been involved in making the mess too, they started helping.

"I never got a chance to tell you Haku, but I loved your poem," Sen said casually as she gave him a brief hug.

"Your hair smells nice," he replied, blushing. Then he gave Sen the mop that he was holding and got another one. Gradually, but very conspicuously, Naomi worked her way towards Sen so that she could talk to her.

"Sen, was Haku always so………"

"Affectionate? Immature? No, but even still, I like him the way he is. Even if he did get a bit childish over the years, it seems to make him be more spontaneous and more eager to make me happy."

"Well I was just wondering. I just noticed that most of the things here are exactly what you described them to look and act like, except for him. I don't even know how you could bare to come back home the first time. It's so wonderful and different here……… Sen? What did I say?"

Sen started looking very glum at that point. She had never thought about going back home before. And after everything that Haku had done for her, how could she leave him? With everything rushing into her mind at once, she started not to feel so well.

"Sen, what's wrong? You don't look so good. Go to bed, the rest of us will finish cleaning," Rin said.

Sen lie in bed in a peaceful slumber deep into the night, when a thud woke her up. She looked around and saw that everybody in the room was still asleep, but the sliding door to the balcony was open. She could make out the shape of a person standing out in the moonlight.

"Good-night Sen," the shadow said to her. Then it moved, causing her to lose focus on it and it disappeared.