Chapter Three

Lin stiffened at the sound of the human's voice. It was soft and gentle, yet strong and certain. It reminded her of her friend, Sen and also her-. She sighed, wistfully. She hadn't told anyone, but she had grown rather attached to the young girl from the human world. But Sen was gone now. So was her- She winced.

"I thought I had stopped thinking about that." Lin muttered to herself. "I should be over it by now."

She forced her eyes away from the woman in her arms, only to glance back a minute later. The human had long, silky waves of black hair that grazed the hand polished floor of the bathhouse as Lin carried her to Yubaba's office room. It matched perfectly with her long, shady eyelashes, that now hid her bright emerald green eyes. The human was bringing back bad memories that she had locked away long ago; for a good reason. Nearing the corner, she halted.

Lin knocked slightly hesitantly at the door. Yubaba had been grumpier than ever since she'd lost her henchman, even though he still helped out most of the time anyway. The doors slammed open loudly, knocking into one of Yubaba's jumping heads.

"Yob, yob!"

It walked dumbly back into the wall, falling forwards.

"Silence!" The witch's voice cut through the air like a razor. "What is it Lin?"

Her eyes slid greedily to the woman.

"Ahh.. Another stinky human has got through the portal."

She inhaled, grimacing, then jumped angrily. Her eyes bulged whilst her hair raised around her, turning white.

"What are you doing, bringing that here!? It's sick!" Her hands slapped the desk, closing all the doors surrounding them. "Lin! You know how Bo feels about illnesses!"

"Sorry."

Yubaba huffed. "Sorry, shmorry! You can do the big tub again tomorrow!"

Lin groaned inwardly. "Sure.. But can you save the human?"

"Yes. For a price of course. Otherwise, she can die, it's not like it'll affect my work."

Lin wasn't amused. "I'll tell Bo."

The witch froze, hissing. "You wouldn't dare!"

Lin opened her mouth to call her precious baby.

"No! Don't!"

"So you'll do it?"

"Fine. I mean sure. Whatever. The human just needs a little 'spirit' in her." The corners of Yubaba's face creased with humour at her little joke. Haha. As if she would ever take orders from a little fox spirit.

Lin watched nervously as Yubaba took out a bright light from one of her dust covered jars and tore of a small piece of it, feeding it to the woman.

"What are you doing?"

Yubaba growled at her, enjoying herself. Lin had no idea what she was up to.

"Be quiet. You may have cornered me into doing this, but I can still turn you into a pig to stop you from telling Bo. I'm just getting a little out of doing this."

Lin stared back at her employer. "Pigs can still squeal you know! What are you doing to the human?! You said you wouldn't demand a price!"

"I said nothing of the sort. There is always a price. And yes, I just took it. Human children can survive in the spirit world on food. You know that. But human adults either have to manifest into something else or have to become a spirit. I figured you wouldn't approve of me turning her into a cockroach." Yubaba screwed the lid back on smugly.

"But you don't have enough power to turn her into a spirit!" Lin's hands flew to her mouth as Yubaba zipped her lips tightly together and sealed her ears so that she could not hear a sound.

"No, I don't." She leaned over to the human again. "What's your name?"

The human sat up abruptly, banging her head against Yubaba's.

"Ouch! Stupid human! You're almost as clumsy as Sen was!"

"What's going on?!" She looked around wide eyed. "Who are you?! Where am I?!"

Yubaba silenced her. "What is your name? Hurry up and spit it out girl!"

She human's face took a shocked expression. "Mei, but-"

The words drifted from her mouth onto the paper, shifting round to form: Aika.

"Aika. That's a pretty name." Yubaba beamed into her face, showing off her stained teeth. "Well, Aika, say hello to your new mistress."

"What?!" Mei, no, Aika, frowned. "What are you talking about?!"

"You're my new Henchwoman. Actually, I'm not entirely sure what you are now. But you work for me, and that's all that matters.. By the way, welcome to the bathhouse. The sanctuary for tired spirits.."