------------------The Dragon and the Glass Tower-----------------------

Disclaimer—Spirited Away and it's characters belong to Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. Copyrights are being infringed, but I, and all fans in every fandom everywhere, hope that no one minds.

Mr. Sato (Mr. Smith, if you will) would be mine, but I don't feel an overwhelming desire to claim him. The receptionist, however—she's fun.

--------Ch. 5—Eggshells on the Carpet--------

Kohaku awoke as soon as dawn lightened the sky. He flew over to the cross- path between the worlds. And hit a barrier, hard. He was knocked back with a growl of surprise. He felt along the unexpected barrier with his nose, examined it with his sensitive whiskers. He tried walking the barrier as a human. He banged against it, threw himself against it. He could not pass. He hurled his power and will at it. It was artificial, magic—Yubaba's curse. And he could not break it.

He paced impatiently up and down the barrier; for hours he restlessly tested it. Then, at exactly 11 am, the barrier dissolved. Kohaku immediately flew through the crossway and into the human world. He headed for the glass tower.

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The receptionist stood outside Chihiro's open door, and looked down the hall both ways. The hallway was empty. She leaned against the door frame and whispered loudly, "Hey, Chihiro!"

"Hum?" Chihiro looked up from her computer screen. "Yes, Yumiko! How are you?"

"Fine, thanks. How are you? Are you better?"

"Oh, yes, thank you," Chihiro said. "That was so embarrassing. I have no idea what made me sick."

"It was pretty sudden, huh?"

"Yes, and I had barely eaten anything yesterday. Oh well, I feel fine now."

"Well, that's good." Yumiko straightened up and checked over her shoulders again. "Chihiro! Girl, have I got something to tell you! Yesterday, a guy came in asking to see you."

"What? Who?"

"A Mr. Nushi. Don't remember his first name. Said he was an old friend of yours. Know him?

"No... I don't think so. I don't think I know anybody by that name."

"You don't? Huh. Well, take my word for it, you should get to know him as soon as possible. He was gorgeous! Oh man, girl, you need to see this guy. He was tall, with these major green eyes. Intense. Mmmmhmmm."

"I have absolutely no idea who he could be."

"Well, Mr. Sato said he didn't want anyone to disturb you, but he was going to send you over to meet him. But then you got sick . . ."

"Ugh, yes, it came on really suddenly. I'm sorry I missed him."

"Well, hopefully he will come back again today. He was really insistent that he see you, said it was important. In fact... it was the weirdest thing..." She quickly looked over her shoulder again. Mr. Sato was coming down the hall.

"Ack! I'll tell you the rest later, k? Bye!" Yumiko quickly turned and started down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Miss Mitsu!" Mr. Sato walked quickly past Chihiro's door and caught up with Yumiko halfway down the hall.

"Yes, Mr. Sato?" Yumiko turned sharply and asked.

Mr. Sato lowered his voice and leaned close to her. "I just want to remind you again that all calls and visitors for Miss Ogino need to come through my office. I truly don't want her disturbed."

For a split second an objection flashed in Miss Mitsu's eyes, but then she stopped herself and said, "Yes, Mr. Sato, of course."

"Thank you for your help, Miss Mitsu. And please, don't bother Miss Ogino with idle chatter today; we'll be working late into the night as it is."

Yumiko's jaw tightened, but she nodded her head and strode away quickly, opening and closing the door to the empty reception area emphatically. "Idle chatter my foot!" she riled through clenched teeth. "Possessive jerk!" she muttered under her breath. She moved behind her desk and rustled papers. "What she sees in him, I have no i--" she cut off, looked up sharply, and blushed deep red.

Kohaku stood in front of her desk. "Hello, Mr. Nushi! I didn't hear you come in!" she flustered. His gaze was piercing. "Good morning! Uh...how may I help you?"

"I would like to see Miss Chihiro Ogino, please," he said.

Yumiko quickly looked down at her papers and shuffled them some more. "I will have to go through Mr. Sato." She shuffled another pile. She glanced at him quickly. Kohaku said nothing; his gaze did not move from her face. "I, uh...I will call him up right now." She sat down carefully, avoided his eyes, flicked her hair back, and took the phone with deliberate movements.

"Mr. Sato? Mr. Nushi is here again to see Miss Ogino....Yes, sir..." Click! She jumped a little, and slowly set the phone back on its handle. The sudden, loud dial tone stopped. "Mr. Sato says that he is sorry, but please come back next week. They are behind on their case and will not finish before court time if they are disturbed."

"Please," Kohaku said softly, catching her eyes, "it is very important." Yumiko didn't break away as she picked up the phone and dialed the extension again.

"Mr. Sato, Mr. Nushi says it is very important...Thank you." She hung up the phone again. "He's coming." There was silence. "Did you try to see her last night?"

"Miss Ogino did not return home last night."

"Oh?....oh." Yumiko hid the comprehension in her eyes by looking down again. Kohaku stared at the door, listening.

The door swung open with a bang. Mr. Sato strode forward and the door swung shut. Mr. Sato's average face was set with determined indifference, his unremarkable body drawn up to his full, medium height. He and Kohaku stared at each other with intensely calm faces. They bowed slightly, and Mr. Sato broke his gaze away to walk leisurely past Kohaku.

"Mr. Nushi. I am sorry to inconvenience you, but Miss Ogino is working on a case of vital importance to the company. She lost work time yesterday when she became unexpectedly ill, time we could barely afford to lose. Her valuable time cannot be spared for social calls." Mr. Nushi moved to the expansive window, and gazed out of it with his hands clasped behind his back. "The case goes to court on Tuesday. By Wednesday, if all goes well, she should be back to a normal, freer schedule. At that time, I'm sure if you still desire to see her, you can meet with her on her off times. I'm sure she'll be willing to sweeze in an hour or two for visiting with old friends between the hours of 6pm and 9am, when she is not on company time."

Mr. Sato's back was to Kohaku, who had not moved from the receptionist's desk. Yumiko watched them. Kohaku put his hand in his pocket.

"Mr. Sato," Kohaku said, "is there any way I can persuade you to allow me to see her today?"

Mr. Sato put his hand to his forehead. "Mr. Nushi, I seem to be unable to make this clear to you..."

Kohaku brought his hand out of his pocket clutching something round and silk covered. The high countertop of Yumiko's desk blocked her view of his hands. There was a soft crunch, and Kohaku hefted up the cumbersome box that had suddenly appeared in his left hand and held it in front of him. He glanced down at it quickly. He did not bother to try to decipher the enthusiastic printing on this new paper, plastic, and metal oddity. It did not matter what it was, as long as it worked. "Perhaps this?" he said, walking forward.

Mr. Sato turned around cautiously, and the receptionist stood and strained to look. No one noticed the blue eggshells that scattered across the carpet, or the piece of silk that fluttered to the ground.

"Humph, I already have one of th--" Mr. Sato began. But he stopped and stared in puzzlement at the shiny cardboard box in Kohaku's hands. "How did you--? That's not supposed to come out till May. They're still in beta testing..." He finally stopped and just said, "Whoa." Mr. Sato was speechless.

Yumiko tired of straining her neck, and ran from behind her desk over to them to see. "Dude!" she exclaimed. "That's a PS3! Ohmyga--! A Sony Play Station THREE!!" Both her hands and Mr. Sato's had come forward like they wanted to grab the box from Kohaku's arms. He held it tighter.

Yumiko stared harder, tilting her head to read the front of the box. "Wait, no way. Totally no way. Final Fantasy 15 included? Dude, have they even started working on that game?"

Both of the mortals in front of Kohaku appeared to be salivating. "It's slated for release in July," Mr. Sato mumbled through slack jaws. His eyes had glazed over.

Yumiko stared at Kohaku in awe. "How did you get that?"

Kohaku's eyes bore into the top of Mr. Sato's sparsely covered head. "Do you want this, Mr. Sato?" he said. His voice was low and calm. Mr. Sato's hands had closed around the edges of the box.

Mr. Sato looked up at Kohaku quickly, his eyes wide. He looked down at the box. He looked at Kohaku again. He looked at the box. The green-eyed stranger. The box. The overly handsome pretty-boy who wanted to take out his girl. The unimaginably glorious new graphic and network capabilities of the Playstation 3 and the most highly anticipated video game of the year. The currently unobtainable in exchange for a possibly minor threat to something almost obtained. Mr. Sato's mind raced. It was almost too much for him.

He licked his lips, and looked at the box. "Chihi--Miss Ogino is taking an early lunch."

"She is?" It was a deep, sarcastic, unfooled question.

"Yes, she is out currently. As soon as she gets back I'll send her out to you." Mr. Sato ripped the box out of Kohaku's hands and half ran, half stumbled to the inner door, threw it open, ran inside, and slammed it behind him. Kohaku stared after him, his face a stone mask.

Yumiko fidgeted. She went back to her desk. She did not dare look at the young man. Kohaku stood still as a statue.

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Mr. Sato rummaged frantically through his desk, and grabbed a bottle of sleeping pills with a barely smothered shout of triumph. He ran out of his office and slowed down when several people peeked up out of their cubicles. He stopped innoxiously in front of the vending machines, inserted some change, and pushed a few buttons. A few seconds later, armed with a styrofoam Cup Noodle and his pill bottle, he speed walked to the kitchen.

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Chihiro typed at her computer diligently. She occasionally stopped to look up a fact or two in the massive piles of books and papers that surrounded her. Mr. Sato tapped lightly on her open door. She looked up and smiled at his dear, plain face.

"Hey, honey," he said very low. "I know we don't have time for a lunch break, so I heated up some ramen for you. Chicken flavored."

"Oh, thank you." She accepted the steaming styrofoam cup from his hands. "I was getting hungry. How is your work going? Do you think we can get all this done in time?"

"It will get done, I'm sure of it. Everything will be ready for Saturday." He smiled at her. She smiled too at their shared secret.

"Are you sure we can afford to take Monday off? I want you to be focused and ready to defend this case on Tuesday," she said with a small frown of worry. He came in and leaned against her desk, standing close to her.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. With you at my side they won't know what hit them. With my superior reasoning, and your irrefutable scientific evidence, they'll have no choice but to protect that lake," he said.

"They'd better, or I'll divorce you," she whispered with a grin.

"Terrible threats, Miss Ogino, terrible threats! I won't be able to concentrate at all with that hanging over me!" he teased back. "Don't let your noodles get cold," he prodded. He watched her sideways as she took a sip of the broth.

"Heh, they're really putting a lot of chemicals in these things now," she said with a grimace. "I'll likely die of an MSG overdose." She took the chopsticks and ate some of the noodles. She tried not to slurp. "When I think of what I risk for you and endangered lakes..." She winked at him.

"All worth it, my dear, all worth it," he said. She smiled and turned back to her computer. He left her contentedly slurping.

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It had been 35 minutes. Kohaku had not moved from his spot in front of Yumiko's desk. His eyes stared fixedly at the door. Yumiko had given up straightening papers, and now filed obsessedly at her nails. She forced herself to put down the nail file before she ruined her manicure forever. She sighed. She fidgeted. Kohaku did not notice.

Eventually she could not stand it anymore. "Alright." She said. "Mr. Nushi. Mr. Nushi?" Kohaku turned his piercing gaze towards her. "Mr. Nushi, I'm not supposed to do this, but, well, you've obviously gone to a lot of expense and trouble to see Miss Ogino... Mr. Nushi, do you realize why Mr. Sato is being so...uh...weird about this? Do you know about them?" Kohaku said nothing; he waited for her to go on. Yumiko sighed. "Look," she said, "they're engaged. Their wedding is on Saturday. I'm not even supposed to know about it. I definitely shouldn't be talking about it to anyone...It's supposed to be a secret."

"Why?" Kohaku asked.

"Oh, eh," she laughed apologetically. "It's against company policy for employees to date each other. There have evidentially been too many problems with it in the past. Mr. Sato and Chihiro are definitely risking their jobs by seeing each other. But Mr. Sato figures once they're married, the senior partners will probably just give him a slap on the hands or just choose to overlook it. But that's why they aren't telling anyone. I think they've only invited their parents to the wedding."

"I...I see, thank you for explaining this to me." Kohaku stopped and looked up at door again. "Chihiro." It was a small, pain-filled cry. The pain and longing in his voice made Yumiko knock over her stapler and pen holder. Kohaku was suddenly at the door, his hand rattling the knob again. It did not move. He slumped and moved to a chair. He sat in it. His fists pressed into his eyes. Yumiko thought he looked like the weight of the world would crush him at any moment. Her fingers hovered over the unlock button.

The phone rang. She stared at it, nervous over the number displayed on the caller ID field.

"Hello?" she answered. "Mr. Sa--!...oh." Silence rang in the small waiting room. "Yes, Mr. Sato." She hung up. She looked at the dejected figure in the chair.

"Is she alright?" Kohaku asked without looking up.

"Um, well, it looks like she has collapsed. Mr. Sato said it was probably just stress, and that all she needs is rest. He said he was taking her home."

"Not very likely," Kohaku said. His voice was dead.

"Mr. Nushi, I'm sorry about this. This is weird, really weird. Something is up, and I don't like it."

"Thank you for your help." Kohaku stood up and walked out of the room.

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Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate it. Sorry, JessicaR, all of Mr. Sato's methods, whether of romance or of treachery, are very rooted in the mundane. :)