Haruhi felt like she had only closed her eyes for a few seconds before she felt a long finger on her shoulder prodding her awake. Reluctantly she opened her eyes and waited for the blurry image of Nekozawa to focus.
"Get your things, we're leaving now."
Haruhi sat up and immediately clutched her head. Running about in the rain last night without drying off or changing clothes wasn't very smart, or healthy for that matter. No doubt she was in for a serious sinus infection. Cool, thin hands clutched either side of her head and suddenly the pain began to waft away. Haruhi sighed in relief and Nekozawa left her side once more to collect his packages and load them in his small wagon. Without asking he packed up Haruhi's items as well.
Now that Haruhi no longer had pain consuming her senses, she began to take notice of other things about her person, like how awful she smelt…or how her legs were caked with mud and her hair was tangled. It would take forever to brush the knots out of her hair.
By now, Nekozawa was already at the back entrance of the barn gesturing for Haruhi to hurry. She stretched a bit before standing up and taking a deep breath. She would not cry today; there was no reason to cry. Her mother is alive and her brother is a healthy newborn. She got exactly what she wanted…nothing more, nothing less.
She's also getting what she deserves, too.
This brought shivers to Haruhi's spine and her legs began shaking while she walked. They were going to Nekozawa's house, today. No one inside the village had ever seen it before, let alone knew where it was located; so, she was scared. Anyone would be scared, she reasoned, if she or he were inevitably thrust into the unknown. But that still didn't lift her unease.
She shuffled across the ground in her dirty – not to mention her last pair – shoes and followed Nekozawa into the faint shimmer of dawn. Upon exiting the back of the barn they were immediately met by the edge of the forest and began their journey through the muck. The path Nekozawa was leading her on was worn and surprisingly stable which meant that it was traveled upon often. They walked for a good hour or two, neither one talking to the other, when Nekozawa stopped pulling his wagon and set the break on it. He started shifting around the cargo and pulled up a small sack from inside another at the left rear corner. Then he passed Haruhi with the sack and sat down so that his back was supported against a tree. Haruhi watched him pull chunks of cheese and bread out of the sack and cut them up with the dagger that was always in his belt. He made two portions and handed the second one to Haruhi who hesitantly took it. Then, with just as much hesitance, she sat down beside him when he motioned for her to join him. They took a ten minute break which they used to eat and share drinks from the wine sac.
They started walking again, and kept going until the late afternoon. Haruhi had to follow Nekozawa on a special path as the forest changed into a more watery terrain, and they were soon traveling across the enchanted swamp. They stopped only once more for a bathroom break and they were soon closing on his house by the time dusk started settling in.
Nekozawa lived on a reasonably good-sized estate and much to Haruhi's ease, if only a little bit, it was upon solid ground. She had to remind herself that this was probably due to a spell, but right now that was the least of her problems…if that could be counted as a problem. She took her luggage from Nekozawa's wagon and picked up a few of his items, as well, helping him unload. She followed him throughout the grounds of his establishment as he put away all of his purchases in their proper places. Once that was taken care of Nekozawa lifted the burden of one of her bags and led her into his house. Haruhi followed nervously, afraid to take any more than baby steps. Nekozawa took the other bag from her and disappeared behind a blanket that served as a door.
"How about we get you cleaned up, now?" said Nekozawa when he came back. Haruhi was speechless. During his absence he had taken the liberty of removing his cloak, and Haruhi, having never seen him without his hood up, couldn't find a word that lived up to his physical beauty. If people had seen him like this, they never would have guessed his true profession…if you could call it that. His short blond hair framed his face perfectly and went along with his bright blue eyes and flawless, pale skin. Seeing him like this only made Haruhi feel at least twenty times as repulsive as she must have looked right now. She stayed silent as more than one shade of red tinged her cheeks and Nekozawa smiled and walked past her. He held up another blanket door for her and she walked in ahead of him.
The room was relatively small but it served its purpose. There was a free standing tub in the middle of the floor and surrounding it was a mirror on the wall, a basin and pitcher standing on a table in the corner, and shelves filled with perfumes, creams, lotions, soaps and other such products. On the right there was a water pump that seemed to be built right into the wall and the spout hung directly above the edge of the tub. Nekozawa only followed her in to light a few candles to aid what little moonlight shone through the window and he left with that same peculiar smile on his face. Haruhi wandered over to inspect the tub and found that it was a bit larger than what she was used to. She turned around and double-checked that she was only before circling around the tub and testing out the water pump. She filled the tub in ten pumps and was shocked to learn that the water was hot. This was definitely going to be a new experience for her.
She untied her apron and dropped it carelessly on the floor followed by her shoes and the handkerchief that covered her hair. She gingerly peeled off her dress and was now standing in her petticoat and pantaloons.
"Oh, I'm sorry," came Nekozawa's voice. Haruhi crossed her arms – which were still inside the dress – across her chest and turned her head to look at the doorway. Nekozawa said nothing as he crossed the room and placed two towels on top of the table which held the basin and pitcher. He avoided looking at her and left the bathing area once more. She waited a few more minutes before stripping completely and stepping into the tub. The water was still hot. Haruhi had never felt anything so wonderful in her life. The dirt came off easily and she was pleased to see clean skin once more. The hot water also helped with the tangles in her hair. Feeling brave she brought down a few of the mystery soaps and scrubbed away, loving the scents of lavender that wafted in the air. About an hour later she convinced herself to leave her piece of paradise. The water showed no signs of cooling down and she didn't need Nekozawa intruding on her privacy again. Tip-toeing over to the towels she discovered that he had also left her a nightgown. The nightgown was warm and long as she slipped it on and then proceeded to towel dry her long hair. Once she was finished she took a deep breath and started walking around and blowing out candles. Opting for one more touch of the magical water, she was startled when she found that the tub was empty again.
After all of her ministrations were finished, Haruhi shuffled out of the bathing area and found Nekozawa sitting in a rocking chair in the corner and reading a book. He looked up almost immediately when she re-entered the living area and another smile stretched across his face. "Feel better?" he asked. Haruhi slowly nodded her head and Nekozawa marked his book before getting up and striding over to her. "You've had a long day; I'll tuck you in," he said grabbing her hand and pulling her to the room he dropped her belongings in earlier. There were two beds: one in the far left corner settled in a vertical position, and another laying horizontally along the far right corner adjacent to the door. He led her to the bed on the right and pulled back the covers for her. Haruhi felt even more uncomfortable as she slipped into bed and Nekozawa pulled up the covers for her. All of her nervousness drifted away when her body settled into the most comfortable bed she had ever felt and sleep began consuming her senses even though she felt jittery and wide awake only seconds before.
"We'll discuss a few things in the morning," said Nekozawa in that charming voice of his, "Goodnight, Haruhi."
And that was the last thing Haruhi heard before she fell deep into sleep.