1
This bathhouse of Yubaba was vastly larger than the one she had back in Inuyasha's quaint little village. This one was several stories high, with a single lone room at the top: Yubaba's. A forest surrounded the one in Inuyasha's village; this one was perched on top of a cliff that over looked the ocean of the northern providences of Japan. Deep underneath the cliff, there was a cave that the ocean poured into. It was hear where the water was collected and made useable for the bathhouse by the Kappa, a species of cute little turtle-like creatures that Yubaba had enslaved. It was hear that Kitsune would end his tour of the bathhouse.
He led Kagome down a twisting stone stairwell to the cold damp cave under the bathhouse. It was not what she was expecting at all. It was not a cave, but an entire world down there. Houses had been carved into the walls, houses that the Kappa lived in. The water's edge met a few meters down into the cave, where the tide slowly and calmly washed in.
One lone Kappa was sitting on the cave floor, near the edge of the water. It got up and walked over to Kitsune and his guest. "Greetings, Master Kitsune," it said with a cartoon-ish voice. He looked at Kagome. "And who is this beautiful woman?" Kagome blushed and giggled.
"This is Kagome," Kitsune said. "She'll be staying here for a while."
"As a guest, I assume?" the Kappa smiled. But Kitsune's grave expression said otherwise. "Oh," the Kappa said, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry."
"That's okay," Kagome smiled. "It's nice to know that not everyone here is as mean as Yubaba."
Kitsune smiled. "Most of her workers are glad to lend a helping hand whenever it's needed, and they do it with a smile." He sighed and his own smile faded. "But it's just a front so that the guests won't get suspicious."
"I'm going to have to learn how to do that, aren't I?" Kagome said glumly.
Kitsune nodded, and then, from where the cave led back up to the bathhouse, a purple cotton scarf came fluttering down. It was the Ittan-momen, or cotton scarf. Yubaba herself had sent it down. A party of guests had arrived and she needed all the attendants immediately. "Of course, Ittan," Kitsune smiled as the scarf fluttered around Kagome and landed gently across her shoulders. It seemed to really like her. "Show time."
Kagome and Kitsune arrived at the main foyer to greet the guests. It was party of four demons: Karasu Tengu, the Laughing Woman, Nekomata and the Wizard of Furuido. Karasu Tengu, the storm-bringer, was humanoid in shape, but had the head of a crow. It wore fancy, old-fashioned Japanese clothing and a helmet made of pure gold. The Laughing Woman was a cute little woman with a rather enlarged head. Her face was very comical in appearance, as she absolutely loved to make people laugh. Nekomata appeared to be nothing more than a house cat upon first glance, but it was a little bit more than that. It had the ability to speak as well as conjure magic spells. And the Wizard was your basic wizard: old brown robe, pointy green hat, long thick gray beard, bushy eyebrows, that sort of thing.
Yubaba was sitting at the front desk, welcoming the party to her fabulous bathhouse. A trio of Tsukumogami, or old discarded items that had been brought to life, arrived to show the party where their stalls were. Kitsune and Kagome walked up to Yubaba. "You take good care of the guests," she instructed, "Do whatever they ask of you. Got it?"
"Yes, Yubaba," they said in unison, bowing. They departed.
Yubaba leapt off the stool hiding behind the front desk (as she was much shorter than the front desk) and began to walk down the hallway. She came to the elevators. They had red doors with golden frames on them. Painted on the left one was the Japanese symbol for up, and on the right was the symbol for down. She went in the 'up' one.
It took her directly to the top floor, which was dedicated entirely to her and her family. She went into her office and sat down in her chair. Her office was a massive room; bookshelves lined each wall except for the one opposite the door, which was a huge window that overlooked the ocean. She fiddled with some papers at her desk when suddenly her intercom buzzed. "I don't want to be bothered," she hollered angrily.
"I know you said you didn't want to be bothered," the voice on the other side said, "except if it's Soushinki. And it's Soushinki here to see you, ma'am."
"Soushinki?" Yubaba said in a whisper. "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Send him in!"
"Of course, ma'am."
Yubaba watched the doors to her office slowly swing open, and standing there was her dear old friend, Soushinki. He was a massive blue ogre, with bony horns coming out of his head and elbows, and long straggly gray hair twisting its way down his back from his head. His eyes were but one color: deep red.
"Am I interrupting you?" Soushinki said with a low demonic voice.
"Nah," Yubaba said cheerfully, "Of course not! Please, have a seat." Soushinki kneeled on the floor in front of her desk. "So, old friend, to what do I owe this honor?"
"I have heard that a halfling and a human are hunting you," the ogre said.
Yubaba laughed. "Oh, that. I wouldn't be too worried about the likes of them. They're just mad because I stole a girl from them."
"I hear they're pretty pissed."
"It's nothing to be worried about, my friend," Yubaba said with a cackle. "But I suppose if you're that worried, then why not give them a visit?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Soushinki said with an evil smile.
Meanwhile, Karasu Tengu stepped into the tub and sat down on the lip. Then he scooted into the water. Kitsune, who was standing near the door to the stall, asked if everything was to the demon's liking. It was. He left to attend to the other guests. Nekomata (ironic for a cat to be in a bathhouse, eh?) was swimming around in his little bathtub, happy as a clam. The Wizard too was pleased.
Kagome had offered to attend to the Laughing Woman as her first official guest, because she was definitely the least intimidating of the four demons. Kagome knew all about this strange demon and how all it wanted was to make people laugh. She really did need to laugh at a time like this, but she didn't think she could. "Is everything alright, Miss Woman?" Kagome asked as the demon sat down in the tub.
"Of course, dear," the Woman smiled. Kagome bowed and started to leave, but she was stopped. "What is the matter, child? You seem to be so depressed."
"Oh," Kagome said with a forced smile, "No, I'm alright, really."
"Are you sure?"
Kagome nodded and started back for the door. She was gone.
"That poor girl," the Laughing Woman said to herself, "She is obviously not happy." She laughed. "Well, I'm just the person to fix that."
2
The cave was much too cold, Kouga thought. He needed to warm up and fast. "Kogarashi," he said quietly.
"Please," she interrupted, "call me 'sister'." She smiled at him. He smiled back.
She was sitting on a flattened stalagmite with a vanity in front of her, combing her hair. The vanity had a big mirror with a golden lining. She stared into the mirror very hard, but she was not looking at herself. She was looking through herself, deep into the mirror's surface. Kouga didn't know why she was doing this, and she would not tell him either.
"I was just thinking," Kouga continued, "This cave is really cold and-"
"Don't worry, little brother," she said, still looking into the mirror, "We'll be heading out in a few minutes. There's just one more thing that I have to take care of." She finished combing her hair and placed the brush on the vanity. She stood up.
"What do you need to take care of?" Kouga asked as she walked passed him to the back of the cave.
"That woman," she said, "what was her name again?" She stopped to think and it came to her. "Kagura, that's it."
The name sent off all sorts of bells and whistles in Kouga's mind. "What?"
"We're going to go pay her a visit," Kogarashi explained. "I'm sure she'll be delighted to have you back." She turned around and looked him right in the eye. "Getting back together with her would make you happy, wouldn't it?"
He nodded. "Of course it would, but," he hesitated, "I have been dead for a long time now. What if she's moved on?"
His sister smiled. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" She turned around and continued walking deeper into the cave.
