Chapter 4: Work at the Bathhouse
Chihiro woke early in the morning to find Kamaji still asleep. She found a pile of assorted clothes, including work clothes and casual-spirit-wear. There was also a formal kimono, which looked very pretty indeed. A bento-box sat on the floor as well, and when Chihiro opened it, she found three dividers with three different spices. They were labeled as "work", "casual", and "formal". This looked like the handiwork of Lyn, trying to aid Chihiro in her disguise as a spirit.
Chihiro spotted a note on the floor as well saying:
Breakfast is in drawer 25.
Change into work clothes and take a whiff of the "work" spice.
Wear your hair differently just in case.
Clear up the sleeping stuff on the floor. Put it in Kamaji's cabernet on the 3rd shelf. Put the bento box and the other clothes in there as well.
Meet me at the entrance to the bathhouse at the hour of 10 (am).
Good Luck,
Lyn
She did as instructed, and went straight to the bathhouse after changing her appearance entirely. She had retied her hair into two small plaits while leaving the rest of her hair loose, to look like the other bathhouse working women. She no longer looked like a human trying to be a spirit, she looked and smelt like a spirit.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she saw Yubaba taking flight off the top floor, to do her daily inspection. Chihiro acted normally, pretending not to take notice, even though she felt Yubaba stare right through her disguise. She walked into the bathhouse, relieved she was out of sight from Yubaba.
Lyn stood waiting with a mop and a bucket of coupons and tokens. She and Chihiro just walked normally down the passageway, as if doing their regular job. They didn't say a word to each other, until they were in a abandoned passageway, where they slowed down their pace to talk.
"Now all you have to do is to stick to me and help around. I assume you generally remember how to work here?"
"I suppose so..."
"Good. Now today is busier than ever so we have to work extra hard if we want to be able to attend the festival." She eyed Chihiro, knowing what was on her mind. "In other words if you want to be able to meet Hakku you're going to have to work at normal pace, meaning extra-fast pace for a human. I'm not sure how much you've slacked off, but you should be able to get used to it in about ten minutes. OK."
They had reached an important bath, in fact none other than the one Chihiro had to clean for the stink-spirit four years ago. When they got down to cleaning it, Chihiro was slow at first, but got the general gist of it in around ten minutes. They worked for hours on end, moving from bath to bath without a break, cleaning them so thoroughly so that no speck of dirt was left.
At around five in the evening, Lyn returned all equipment to the store cupboard and they went back to Kamaji's to prepare for the evening. Lyn dressed up in a midnight blue smart casual robe, which made her appear very mature indeed. The sequined stars on her robe made her look like the night sky. She found Chihiro a similar style in a light pink-yellow colour. Chihiro ended up looking young and beautiful, compared to what she usually wore. She left her hair as it was so as not to be recognized just yet.