Promise of a River
By: LadyRainStarDragon
Chapter 4: Am I the Only Sane One Here?
Rain owneth not ye Spirited Away.
The little frog and I were currently busy scrubbing The Big Tub. He wasn't doing much good, as the encasing grime was caked on probably about four inches thick, and he was just a little guy. Just what or who had been this dirty, I didn't want or need to know.
It was just gross.
Attempting to lessen the tension that filled the entire bath house, he tried to strike up a conversation with me.
I wasn't in the mood for talk. This is the same place where HE gave MY Chihiro a gift. That's right, I said MINE, and right now I don't care if Lin finds this. Besides, if she so much as touches this scroll, her hair is going to stand on end for a week. I know how to set booby traps too.
But back to the issue at hand.
When I was anywhere else but right here, I could accept the fact that another dragon had given her something. It had saved my life after all, and he was probably old enough to be my great-grandfather. When I got stuck here, though, all that processed was 'other dragon, gift, CHIHIRO, awe' and that was enough for me. I won't even go into what the thought of another dragon touching my Chihiro did to me. Yubaba knew it too, as every time she was angry with me, she had taken to putting me HERE! ARGH!
"So, Master Haku, uh, why did you get stuck doing this? Shouldn't you be out on a mission or something?"
This time, I hadn't actually done anything to get put here. I had no clue.
"None of your business."
"Gee, I was just asking."
"Shut up in there! Can't you guys be quiet? Men!"
The outburst of the passing yuna shocked both of us, and we paused in our scrubbing long enough to take a peek over the edge of the tub. Being small, the little frog had to sit on my shoulder to see. Not being able to find why she was so snippy, we shrugged and went back to work.
Another yuna passed by, griping about yet another one. There seemed to be some sort of pattern going on here. However, as Yubaba was in a particularly bad mood, we kept scrubbing.
After a while, the Foreman popped his head in to look at us.
"Master Haku! Have you noticed something . . . strange?"
"Other than the fact that this guy got stuck with The Big Tub too?"
"Yes. Have the females seemed . . . more aggressive to you?"
"A little, why?"
"And has Yubaba seemed more . . . aggressive as well?"
"Yes. I didn't even do anything this time."
"That's what I thought. Finish up as fast as you can, all of us men are calling a meeting to figure out what's going on."
He then tossed a token at us, for soaking the tub. Whatever is going on, it must be important to him. Probably just paranoid though. He was always coming up with conspiracy theories. Some, like his belief Yubaba stole names, was correct. Others, like when he thought Lin and Kamaji were really bent on world domination, were WAY off. That one was Yubaba.
"So, what's your name?"
"Tomu."
The token made the work go a lot faster, and when we got back to the men's quarters, we were just in time.
"Oh, Master Haku, good. We were afraid you weren't going to make it."
"Master Haku can tell us what's going on! He can smell what's wrong with the women!"
That was some frog from the kitchen department I think.
After hearing what everyone had to say, I had some vague sort of idea what was happening. Really, hadn't any of them had any idea? They had mostly been around the women far more than I.
I at least got to hear from Yoruiki, who was now my assistant, that Lin had bashed him repeatedly with her bucket for some inane innuendo. Probably served him right knowing how over-the-top he could be in THAT area.
"Has there been any smells that are similar on them that aren't usually there?"
Kamaji, who was sitting in the corner, rolled his eyes. Clearly he had tried to maintain some kind of order before I had gotten here. Sadly, most of the workers here were young, many not even close to being fully mature.
"Most kind of smelt bloody, the ones who were normal didn't smell that way, but smelled like they were ripening somehow."
It was like I thought. Unfortunately for me, frogs didn't have this problem among their own, so they had no idea what was going on. The Yuna, having held a humanoid form for so long, were probably taking on more functions of women. As for the weasels and foxes in cleaning, they went through this at least once a year. Was this the first time any of them had actually noticed it?
"It is nothing to worry about. I just would not provoke them for a few days."
The uneasy shifting of the other males clearly announced their fear and discomfort. I agreed with them, now that it had sunk into their heads what was going on. Perhaps it just wasn't all that common for all of the many species to co-ordinate this. Females were not something to take lightly, especially grumpy ones.
Then it dawned on them what the other smell was. The grumpiness of those would no doubt be caused by the men running away fearing pain and torture. A few of them gained hopeful and eager faces, reminding me of a pair of teenagers I had once caught peeping at a bathing goddess. The others started betting on how many it was going to take to corner me.
'And they wonder why I am not interested in mating. Time to end this.'
"Break's over! Everybody back to work!"
The masses, stared at me like I'd just announced their death or something. It wasn't really that bad, honestly. The only ones who looked as if it was business as usual were the older ones.
"You heard him! Get back to work!"
The grumbling masses began going back to their jobs, muttering about slave-drivers and workaholic dragons. I didn't care, I was too irateat the triviality of the meeting interrupting the productivity of the establishment.
My work in the bath house was finished for the night, so I now needed to study. Yubaba had warned me that I would be facing a test soon to see my progression. I would pour over all of my notes, as supposedly she could test me on anything that I had learned in the entire time I had been here.
I made it to my room unaccosted, and had just barely locked the door, when to my horror I heard it. It was the wail of a banshee (which I dis not like when they went on vacation from their country), or maybe more like the mating call of a monkey. Or would that be nails on a chalkboard?
"Master Haku? Can I bring you something?"
'A normal life maybe?'
Of course, I didn't say that. I only wanted to share my emotions with one being, and that slug outside was not her.
"No, thank you."
"Not even some tea? I could fetch you the jasmine to help you unwind."
'Can't she take a hint? Besides, I don't like how she smells right now.'
"I'm fine, but thank you? If you'll excuse me, I've things to do."
"Very well, Master Haku."
After a few moments, I carefully unlocked the door and peeked out. It seemed that my hallway had become the new place for the women to come on their break. Understandably, I locked my door again, this time with more than just a normal lock.
All I wanted to do was study, not flirt.
Having taken a break from his studying, the beleaguered boy set down his day in his scroll. After finishing, he began to wonder if someone was torturing him for their own amusement, as it seemed he rarely got any peace. When he did get a rare moment, somebody had to show up and ruin it. Then again, maybe he was just being paranoid, and this was a result of being around too many entities at once. Dragons are easily overwhelmed by too many, too close.
Noticing that it was quiet, he situated himself on his futon, which invariably always ended up looking more like a nest. He would take a short nap before going back to his studies.
Tomu - Tom
Reviewer Corner:
Shinobi KazeKage: Glad you like.
Leshyaedawnfire: updated!
