WOW! More reviews! I am so happy right now I could break dance! But I won't because I sprained my ankle. Here are the reviewers for chapter three:
Rekka: Thank you very much for liking the concept! I promise not to let you down unless I get major writers block!
Dark Angel: Ok, does this count as a fast update?
Also, Haku and Lin play big parts in this story, but Chihiro doesn't show up until the end. Thank you, you two reviewers! Now, without further ado, the Yubaba scene of Bath House!
Bath House of Spirits Ch. 4: Yubaba's Deal
The knock echoed in the space behind the enormous door. After waiting for a few moments, Kurama knocked twice more when no response came. When he got no response from the other knocks, he turned to leave.
"What do you want, boy?" A voice asked, causing Kurama to stop in his tracks. Turning his head to look around, he saw that the door knocker he had used had twisted itself into a face. It had the most grotesque, cross-eyed face Kurama had ever seen.
Blinking in surprise at the method of greeting, Kurama was silent for a second before responding, "I came here to look for work."
"Why is that?" asked the door-knocker.
Thinking up a lie on the spot, Kurama settled on a story that was true years before and is partially true now. "There is nothing left for me here."
That seemed to do the trick. The knocker-face twisted back into its standard knocker form and the doors opened slowly. As the doors opened, a light flickered on in every hallway behind those doors. There were so many hallways Kurama thought his mind was playing tricks on him.
"Hurry up, boy. I don't have all day." The voice was now louder than it had been when it spoke through the knocker.
It felt as though someone had grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled as hard as they could. Kurama felt his feet rise to a centimeter off the floor and the sensation of flying forward at a very high speed. He watched several hallways flash by before taking an abrupt turn and going down one of them. The door at the end of this hallway opened and Kurama was pitched forward towards the floor.
Putting out his hand to help break his fall, Kurama flipped twice before landing securely on his feet. Standing up and brushing himself off, he began to observe these new surroundings.
It appeared he was in an office or den of some kind. There was an oversized armchair in front of him, a fire crackling in the fireplace to his left, and pictures on the mantel and along the walls. He was just about to move to the pictures for a better look when he heard a sniff to his right. Moving his head so he could see behind himself, Kurama got his first glimpse of the head-witch Yubaba.
Yubaba was sitting at an old-fashioned oak desk and her gaze was fixed on Kurama with an appraising look. Kurama now saw the need for that oversized chair by the fire. The witch, shorter than Kurama's six-foot frame by a considerable amount, was very wide. Her head seemed too big for her body and the gray and brown streaked bun that sat on top of it looked too large to be allowed. Yubaba's piercing, expressionless eyes held no depth and were almost as disturbing as the dot between them. Her nose was large, long and slightly crooked. she looked as though she could be a loving grandmother to any child so long as that child doesn't mind being eaten alive.
Not wishing to appear rude, Kurama bowed as low as he could. As he did so, three heads came rolling and bouncing across the floor. they butted up against Kurama's legs, as though they were trying to push him away from the room.
"That's enough, you three." Yubaba croaked, her voice now booming in Kurama's ears. It was not as muted as it had been when she spoke through the door knocker. Turning her attention to Kurama, she clucked her tongue in approval. "Well, well! A polite one, I see. I could really use you here. Now, why did you say that you wished to work here?"
Thinking off the top of his head, Kurama blurted out, "My real parents are dead. They died a very long time ago. After their demise I was sent to live in a foster family that I hated. The only reason I stayed was because my best friend lived right next door. when that friend died in an accident recently in an accident, I ran away. I saw the tunnel, went through it and saw this place. Seems it would be interesting to work in a place like this."
Kurama's mouth went dry. what he had just said was not a lie but a mostly true truth. His real family was dead and so was Kuronue. The only lie in the whole statement was the part where he said that he hated Shiori. That was not true in the least. Now, all he could do was hope Yubaba bought his story. If not...Well, he didn't want to think about that right now.
After a moment of silence, Yubaba said, "Hmm...I really could use a respectful and truthful worker like you around here. Alright, boy, you may join the Bath House staff." She picked up a piece of paper and gestured for Kurama to come over to her. "This is the contract that you must sign. Place your name here in this blank and then return the paper to me."
"First and last name?"
"Well, your choice. It doesn't really matter." She handed him the paper and a brush.
Kurama looked at the contract and thought about which name to put down. Kurama was his real name by birth, but most people who knew him used the name Shuuichi. Deciding that it would be safer for him to be Shuuichi here, he put that name down and gave the contract back to Yubaba.
"Shuuichi, is it?" she said as she read the paper. "Interesting name. It means 'excellence' if i am not mistaken. Well, I expect you to live up to that meaning. However, Shuuichi is not what you shall be called here." Yubaba hovered her hand over the signature and Kurama saw, to his astonishment, ink strokes flying up into her hand and altering his name. She even added a few new strokes to completely alter it. "From this point on you shall be called Cura. Understand?"
"Y-Yes, ma'am," Kurama said. Bowing low, Kurama began to wonder the purpose of altering his name. Shrugging it off to think about later, he merely set a goal to get used to this name quickly.
"Very good. Haku!"
"Yes, Yubaba?"
Kurama looked up and saw a small boy wearing the white and blue of an overseer standing in the doorway. His large greenish-blue eyes reflected the room as he gazed from Yubaba to Kurama with well-concealed curiosity. After catching Kurama's eye, he turned his head quickly so that his hair now concealed his face from Kurama's view. Haku said in a strangely deep voice, "What do you want, Yubaba?"
"This is Cura, he shall be working with us from this point on. Take him to his room and get him ready for work tomorrow." Yubaba commanded, reaching into a drawer and pulling out accounting books.
"Ma'am. Follow me, Cura."
Kurama thought his eyes were deceiving him, but he could've sworn he had seen Haku somewhere before. Shaking off the strange recognition, Kurama followed Haku to the lift outside of Yubaba's office. When his feet touched the floor of the lift, Kurama felt a sharp pang of pain in his head. Before he could touch his head, though, the pain vanished. Moving quickly so he wouldn't look suspicious, he stood behind Haku as the boy led him to the floor of the workers common room.
"Excuse me," Kurama asked quietly as the two of them began to walk down the stairs.
"What?" The response was sharp and annoyed.
"Do I know you? I feel like I've seen you before."
"Impossible. I don't mix with humans." But Kurama was sure that, for a moment, the boy had had a look of alarm on his face.
The common room of the Bath House workers was a crowded and noisy place, packed full of slugs and frogs eager to see the new arrival. Among them Kurama saw Lin, but he said nothing.
"This is the new guy. His name is Cura. If he doesn't work hard do as you wish with him," Haku announced to the room. Looking around for someone he asked, "Where's Lin? She messed up her assignment today and will now help train the new guy."
"I'm right here, but why me?" she complained, running up and grabbing Kurama's arm. "Come with me."
Once again, Kurama was following Lin through the Bath House. His head felt like it was in a fog, so he did not look which way he was going. He didn't even know they had arrived until Lin stopped him by poking him in the chest. Coming to his senses, Kurama saw they were outside a small sliding door.
"The men who work here get their own rooms," she stated, opening the door and crawling through it. Kurama followed her and saw the room was small, with one futon and a closet. Lin walked to the closet and got out a sage-green uniform. "There you go, you'll be working with the slugs tomorrow. I'll be by to pick you up, but I won't wait for you to get ready if I have to wake you up. Be up and about by the time I come, got it?" As she moved to leave, she added in an undertone, "I'm glad you made it kid. I stand by what I said before. About your death being a waste and all," and then she was gone.
Kurama collapsed on the futon. His headache just seemed to have gotten worse in the space of a few seconds. Various pictures of people flashed across his mind, and he assumed that he knew them. A short boy with greased back hair, a tall red head, a kind-looking woman with long hair back in a bun. Kurama knew their names (Yusuke, Kuwabara and Shiori).
But...Just who were these people?
MUST READ THIS:
From this point on, Kurama shall be known as Cura until that changes later on. Cura is Latin for 'care', not 'cure', and Kurama will be the care-giver of the Bath House. Also, he has begun the memory-loss process, as you can tell. Now, what will happen to him? Review and I'll tell you!
