Spirited

Chapter 2: To Summon an Apprentice.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, nor the places or names.
Digimon Tamers is owned by Toei Animation.Thoughts or non-vocal explanation.

"Speech"

'Quote'

Yubaba's Pov:

Yubaba paced her office, once again fuming over the trouble that Chihiro had caused her, "Drat that girl Chihiro, even after she is gone she causes me trouble. It's thanks to her meddling that Kohaku left, and now that he is gone almost everything in Aburaya is falling apart!"

Yubaba quickly regrets yelling since outburst wakes her son, the giant baby Boh, up and causes him to cry, Yubaba quickly runs to her young child's room, "There, there my darling, everything is all right, mama is here"

While calming her child, Yubaba internally broods on the events that have recently taken place at the baths, Now that Kohaku is gone most of the workers have become lazy and disobedient, parts of the baths are falling into disrepair while others haven't even been repaired since that girl CHIHIRO left. Her gaining her freedom has made the workers think that I have lost my edge, some even insult me behind my back! They are punished of course but if this keeps up I won't have any good workers left.

After making sure Boh is back in his dreamy sleep, Yubaba sits down behind her desk to think and to try to find an answer to here problems, "What I need is someone to keep the workers, including that lug of a supervisor in check, someone loyal and obedient and trustworthy, someone who would only answer to me, I need an apprentice."

That is when Yubaba realized what she needed to do, making sure to be quiet this time, "That's it! I need to find a new apprentice, one who I can truly trust to keep things in order, (under her breath) and it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace that buffoon of a supervisor with someone who wouldn't bend the rules for some gold or a roasted newt."

Yubaba then began to rummage through her desk for something, muttering to herself as she throws some odds and ends out from her desk, "It has to been in here somewhere, I haven't used it since I found Kohaku and this is where I left it last."

Yubaba continues to rummage for a few minutes they find what she was looking for, a old and dusty crystal ball, she quickly dusts it off before setting on her desk, "Here it is, I had forgotten about this a long time ago, if I had remembered it I could have been able to see all of that girl's secrets and have stopped her before she could go free. I wonder why I stopped using it?"

Yubaba then begins to cast the spell to activate the crystal, "Oh crystal ball that shows all, I have a job for you, show to me what I wish to see, then I will pay you."

The crystal ball lights up from inside, and begins to hum, "Good, you still work, now what I want you to do is find me someone to be my next apprentice, someone who is loyal, obedient, trustworthy, and won't just apprentice themselves to me just to get at my power."

The crystal ball hummed a little louder then began to search for the person that fit the description that Yubaba gave it, through it Yubaba saw many things until the crystal stopped on one image, that image was of Takato Matsuki, who at the time was fast a sleep in his bed, and Yubaba balked at what she saw.

Yubaba was shell-shocked, "You want me to apprentice a Human child, I think I am beginning to see why I stopped using you, If he is such a perfect candidate for my apprentice then show me one reason to apprentice him."

The last comment Yubaba said smugly believing that she had the crystal trapped, the crystal in response to Yubaba's arrogance began to show a crimson aura around Takato, "Oh, your going to show me the power he holds, huh, well it should do for…"

Yubaba stopped quickly as soon as she saw how fast the aura around Takato's image was growing is size and brightness, the aura had already filled the crystal and was bright enough to light every corner in the room and wake Yubaba's sleeping henchmen and Yu-bird, who squawked at the bright light in its eyes.

Yubaba waves her hand over the crystal, partially to block the light, partially to stop the ball "Alright, alright you made your point, the kid has a lot of power within him for a human, but he is still human, he probably has no idea about the power within himself, he would be more of a hindrance than an apprentice. How am I suppose to fix that little problem?"

The crystal then changed the image of Takato to one a certain spell book that Yubaba kept hidden in her desk's secret compartment, the book's image was open to a page Yubaba had never used before, "Ok, so you want me to cast a spell, the one spell in that book that almost cannot be done, on the kid to make him become a Spirit?"

The crystal answered her question by displaying a simple 'yes' then displaying a message that made Yubaba want to give the ball a neck just so that she could strangle it. The crystals message was an image of a memo stating '30 gold due for services rendered'. A part of the crystal slide open to receive its payment, "Now I know why I stopped using you, you're too expensive and cheeky for your own good."

Yubaba the deposited the 30 gold and the crystal shut itself off, "I'm too tired to summon that kid tonight, that stupid crystal tired me out, I'm going to go to bed and get him tomorrow", With that Yubaba turned off the lights in her room leaving her minions and bird in the dark, literally.


THE NEXT DAY:


The next day Yubaba spent most of her time preparing the spell she would use to lure the boy, Takato (she didn't know his name yet), to the spirit world and then have her plan to get him to her rooms in the Aburaya put into action, "Now you remember you flying feather-duster to grab that boy as soon as he steps into the spirit world, I don't want to take any chances of him being warned and escaping, if you fail remember that I can always have you plucked, stuffed, and roasted within the hour. Now move!"

Her Yu-bird quickly flies off, not wanting to remain with Yubaba and wanting to make sure that it does not end up someone's next meal, Yubaba snickers as the Yu-bird flies off and prepares her spell to lure Takato, she grabs some soot from her fireplace and a fan from one of her desk drawers, she then calls Kamajii and tells him to open the boiler's flue all the way and start using the smoky coal that he uses when he wants to make more sootball workers.

Kamajii grumbles a bit and says "Fine but you do now that this may scare off you clients if they think that Aburaya is on fire.", Yubaba just yells her response into her skull phone and Kamajii's ear "THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO HAPPEN RIGHT NOW YOU FOOL!"

Kamajii, down in the boiler room mutters something about "Yubaba has finally lost her marbles." but follows her orders anyway, As the smoke billows out from the boiler room Yubaba casts her spell, "Soot and Fan carry my voice to the one I seek and draw him to me here!"

With that Yubaba releases the soot and begins waving the fan, as she did the wind changed direction carrying the smoke and soot towards Takato and his friends in the Real world…

Tamers' Pov:

The tamers had just gotten out of school for the day and were busy heading home, they had eventually made friends with Chihiro and Kohaku but they were all still edgy around each other.

Since it was the last day before a break the Tamers had decided to take things easy as they headed home, Suzie wasn't with them since she still didn't go to the same school as them, which usually was a pain for her but today it saved her from a adventure unlike any before, one that the Tamers may never return from…

The tamers were just about home when Yubaba's soot reached them, Takato, who was enjoying the fresh air that day smelt it first, "Henry, Rika do you smell something?", His friends sniffed the air and smelled the soot…

Henry coughed a bit, "It smells like wood smoke, do you think there is a fire somewhere?", Rika scoffed as she pointed toward the forest,"Does that answer your question Einstein?" and pointed towards the forest where a plume off smoke rose.

That is when the other part of Yubaba's spell came into effect, Yubaba's voice sounding strained and far off comes to them carried on the breeze, "Help, someone please help I'm stuck."

"Did you guys hear that?" Takato asked as he began to walk a little faster towards the forest, Rika looked at Takato but picked up her pace to keep up "What are you talking about Gogglehead?"

Yubaba's Voice once again spoke, this time a little louder as the Tamers entered the forest, "Please help me, my foot is stuck and the fire is coming.", Rika heard Yubaba's voice "Now I hear it." She stated a little surprised that the Gogglehead Takato had heard anything at all.

"Whoever they are is in trouble, we should hurry if they can see the fire" Henry stated as they began to dodge trees while going down hill, deeper into the forest and towards the entrance to the spirit world.

They quickly ran through the forest dodging trees and rocks not noticing the carvings on them as they passed by, Yubaba's voice drawing them ever closer to the tunnel, the entrance to the spirit world. The Tamers, by this time too worried that they would be too late to help ran straight into the tunnel when they found it and heard that strange voice coming from it pleading for help, none of them even having a clue about what lay on the other side.

They ran right through the tunnel and the abandoned entrance without even taking one look at their surroundings, by the time they stopped they were on the top of a hill facing Aburaya, Takato was the first to speak as they all realized that they had been tricked, "Hey, there's no fire, just smoke from that building"

Rika, who was angry at being taken in so foolishly replied to Takato's remark "Gee, you think?", Henry turned around and said, "Come on, we should head home now." but as the others were about to turn around, the voice that had lured them so deftly here boomed about them.

"ABOUT TIME YOU GOT HERE!" Yubaba's voice stated, causing them to hold their ears shut, Rika who was thoroughly annoyed with the disembodied voice was about yell back when Takato was snatched off the ground before her very eyes by a strange bird, she grabbed Henry who hadn't heard the bird because of Yubaba and didn't see it as he was facing the wrong direction.

Rika yelled to Henry who appeared to be on the edge of losing his hearing, "Come on Einstein, we need to get Takato out of there and fast!", Henry who was disorientated by all of this managed a weak "Okay" before he was almost literally dragged all the way to Aburaya.

END CHAPTER 2

If you think I'm insane you don't have to say anything…

… I already know I am.