Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, and I hope you guys like it!
what do you guys think so far? Too rushed, too vague?
Chapter 5
Haku and Amaya reached the elevator, and Amaya shrunk into Haku's side as the spirits that were currently in the elevator stared at her with wide eyes. Haku nodded to them, and faced the doors as they shut, not once looking down at the sixteen year old girl who was staring at her feet. The spirits murmured to each other, and when Amaya dared to look around once more she found that one of them was still staring at her.
It was a young woman who looked not much older than Amaya, and she resembled the tall and willowy women from before, with webbed fingers and long shiny hair that hung to her knees – her hair was an unusual shade of teal instead of black this time – rippling slightly around her as if she was always submerged in water. Her eyes were the same, the irises filling up her entire eyes with no pupil. But instead of being black, this woman's eyes were a vibrant gold, and her skin was not a sickly translucent, instead glowing and healthy.
The woman smiled widely at Amaya, and moved so she was standing next to Haku, her golden eyes studying him unblinkingly.
"A human, Haku?"
"Yes."
The girl laughed lightly before gliding over to stand near Amaya – the sound of the girl's laughter was so reminiscent of the gentle sound of a river bubbling over the rocks that Amaya glanced around nervously, expecting a river to have suddenly appeared. The girl leaned in to whisper.
"Don't worry, he's always like this. Even when we stole all of his clothes and–"
"Enough, Kailani. Why are you here, anyway?" Haku asked curtly, his emerald eyes narrowing as the girl danced backward with another laugh.
"I'm sorry, Haku, but you've been gone from the river for a while now. My sisters wanted me to check up on you. I've been looking for you all day!"
"I am not a child, so I do not need to be supervised as such." Haku growled, and Kailani noticed the perplexed expression on Amaya's face.
"Oh, I never really introduced myself properly…my mother would turn over in her grave if she knew that her attempts at teaching me etiquette were kind of useless…"
"Yes she would…" Haku murmured, too softly for Kailani to hear. But Amaya noticed that Haku wasn't irritated or actively trying to shut Kailani up. There was a sense of harmony that hung between the two, but not in the sense of anything romantic. More like a brother and sister would interact, seemingly opposed to one another but in reality quite in-tune with each other.
Kailani smiled widely, and nodded her head in greeting. "My name is Kailani, and I am one of the river nymphs that were created by Haku's mother to watch over her son when he was born. We normally don't stray this far from the river, but this is a special case."
Amaya blinked as she stared at the young nymph, and she realized how impossibly old this spirit must be. The same age as Haku, who was thousands of years old – she knew this because her mother had taken her to Kohaku River once. They hadn't been able to swim in it, because of environmental reasons, and there was a plaque describing how old it was.
The Kohaku River was first discovered in the early 1200s, but current sediment analysis shows us that the river was formed nearly seven thousand years earlier.
If that was true, Haku was 7, 810 years old.
Amaya stared at the nymph, and slowly bowed her head in return.
"I'm, uh, Amaya. N-nice to meet you, Kailani." Amaya let out a breath when a brilliant smile appeared on Kailani's face.
"Oh! You're so cute!" Amaya felt herself being hugged tightly, and Haku sighed in exasperation.
"This is our stop, Kailani. If you would please–"
"Oh, but I'm coming too! I haven't been to the bathhouse in a while, and I want to get to know Amaya better!" Kailani clutched Amaya possessively, and Amaya smiled slightly, tugging away but quickly taking the nymph's hand.
"I'd like that." Amaya said, before Haku could say no. Haku huffed a little, but silently led the way down the dusty hallway that ended in a large door. The door was scattered with symmetrical bolts and screws to hold it together, as it was made of pieces of scrap metal. Pipes lined the walls, and there was a smell of burning coal in the air.
"Is Ruki still in the boiler room? What if she wandered off? She tends to do that…" Amaya asked nervously, biting her lip as she stared at the metal door. Haku nodded.
"Yes, I've already communicated with Kamaji, so he will be sure to keep her there."
"Kamaji…is that the boiler man who has six arms?"
Kailani grinned widely. "Yeah! He's kind of grouchy though. No wonder he and Haku get along so well…"
Haku sent a glare in her direction, but Kailani brushed it off with another dazzling smile, and Amaya couldn't help but smile with her. Kailani possessed a cloud of happiness and freedom that affected everyone she interacted with, and reminded Amaya of her friend Tora, who she was forced to leave behind in the move. Amaya was sure that if the two met, they would be wonderful friends.
Amaya suddenly noticed Kailani's webbed hands and pupil-less eyes once more, and she sighed.
Oh yeah, this was the spirit world. Tora and Kailani would never meet, because Tora was a human and Kailani was a nymph. It was funny how quickly Amaya had forgotten that.
Haku strode ahead of them, and opened the metal door with an ear-splitting creak that sent shivers down Amaya's spine. Kailani tugged Amaya along into the sweltering room that was filled with the scent of herbs and spices, and the first thing that Amaya saw was her little sister, who was lazily sitting against the wall with a serene smile on her face. Kamaji was ignoring her completely, his wrinkled face indecipherable as he moved his many arms to complete the tasks before him.
"Ruki!" Amaya wrenched out of Kailani's grasp, and rushed towards her sister, but was halted as she noticed the dust balls that were squeaking as they rushed towards her feet. They were bouncing up and down, and she could see their little faces alight with glee as the moved to make contact with her skin.
"Um, hello…" Amaya muttered, kneeling down to touch one of them on the head. Her finger sank into the dust, and she quickly pulled her hand away – her finger was now blackened – only to find that the dust ball seemed to enjoy the attention.
The girl looked up to see Kamaji staring at her intently, his head slightly tilted to the side as he studied her. After a moment, he shook his head and resumed his grinding, muttering as he went.
"Get back to work, and let the girl through." The dust balls hesitated, and then resumed their work. Amaya quickly crossed the area of dirt, and removed her shoes before stepping up to the wooden floor. Ruki ran towards her, and Amaya held her close.
"I thought you would forget about me, Amaya!"
Amaya laughed. "I couldn't do that, you're too annoying."
"What?!"
"I'm kidding, Ruki."
"Oh."
Haku, who was behind the two embracing sisters, looked up at Kamaji, who was watching the reunion with a frown.
Kamaji turned to Haku, and spoke so softly that the two humans had no chance of hearing. Kailani tactfully moved to examine the shelves, her golden eyes not flickering once to their conversation.
"She fell right through there," He pointed with one of his great hands to the ceiling right above the area of dirt, where there was a large hole. "and nearly scared the living daylights out of me."
"Was she injured?" Haku asked, watching the boiler man as he grinded the herbs.
"No. But…" Kamaji paused in his work, and turned to face Haku directly. "I do not like that girl."
"Who, the older one?"
"No, not her! I mean the other one. She's a bad one…I can feel it in my bones, and my bones never lie."
Haku stared at the younger girl, his emerald eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
"I do not sense anything amiss."
"It's not really anything wrong with her…just…" Kamaji threw up his hands in frustration, and attacked his grinding with a new fervor. "Bah! I'm too old to have to think this much, forget it!"
As if sensing the end of the discussion, Kailani bounced up and jumped up to hug Kamaji. The old spirit blinked rapidly, too shocked to react.
"Kamaji! You never change!" Kailani cooed, and Kamaji sighed as he recognized her. He continued to grind even around her embrace, and used one of his numerous hands to pat her awkwardly on the back.
"I was wondering when I would see you again, Kailani…it's been a long time."
"Aw, c'mon, it's only been a few hundred years…"
"I suppose you're right. But even so, the bathhouse is so much more…tolerable with you around, so stick around this time, alright?" Kamaji muttered gruffly, and Kailani laughed in delight.
Kailani reluctantly pulled away, but not before giving the old spirit a kiss on the cheek, which made Kamaji's face burn in embarrassment. Haku rolled his eyes, and quickly pulled Kailani towards the sisters who looked up at their approach.
Ruki stared at Kailani with wide eyes, her mouth dropping as the nymph approached, her golden eyes quickly scanning Ruki as she moved to stand beside Ruki, linking their arms.
"Hi Ruki. My name is Kailani!" Kailani grinned, and Ruki smiled widely at her, and turned to Amaya.
"What happens now?"
Haku stepped forward, and his emerald eyes remained on Ruki for a few moments before returning to Amaya. "Yubaba and I have made a deal. Unfortunately, this means that you two will be working separately–"
Amaya frowned, her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, we won't be together?"
"You two will sleep in the same quarters, but during the day Yubaba will have Ruki working, and though I will try to have you work with Ruki, Amaya…there are no guarantees."
Ruki began to cry, and Amaya glared angrily at Haku before rushing to comfort her. Kailani was glaring at Haku too, and if he had bothered to turn around, Haku would have found a glaring Kamaji.
"It's alright, Ruki. I'll make sure that we see each other a lot, okay?"
"You promise?"
"Of course!" Amaya grinned, and Ruki wiped her eyes slowly, her lips trembling. Haku moved forward, and smiled slightly at the two.
"Ruki, I'm going to transport you to one of the spare guest-rooms in the upper complex of the guesthouse, where I live. There will be bedding and food in the cabinet. Go to sleep. Your sister will be with you shortly. Tomorrow morning I will send Lin up to collect Ruki, and I will give Amaya her orders. Understood?" The small girl nodded, her brown eyes wide. Haku placed both of his hands on her shoulders, and closed his eyes.
A shimmering light slowly began to surround Ruki, who gasped as the light became thicker and thicker around her. Amaya smiled encouragingly, even though inwardly she was screaming her shock and confusion. She had to stay calm, for Ruki, so her little sister wouldn't see how truly frightened she was. Ruki could probably see through the façade, but it never hurt to try.
After a moment, Ruki was gone, and Haku slowly straightened, his eyes closing briefly before opening once more. Amaya bit her lip, and timidly spoke.
"How are we going to get home?"
Kamaji sighed from his place, and his gravely voice spoke in the short silence after Amaya's question. "After your mother left this world, the ancient gods of this world decided to close up the portal to the human world for good."
"The ancient gods?"
Kailani whispered. "They were the first beings to emerge, the very first spirits ever to exist. They have lived for…oh I don't even know how long! Before the world was created, before the concept of time and space…before everything. They are often called the Great Four, and it from them that life was made."
Haku went on in Kamaji's place. "They sealed the portal, but one of the gods – one who most often goes by the name Kaze – felt that total isolation was unnecessary, and convinced the others to allow the portal to open four times each year. Once in January, once in April, once in July, and once in November. They argued for at least a year about it, until finally they all agreed. And on each day, here in the spirit world, one of the gods is celebrated. In January, on that day, the god Daichi is celebrated. In April, the goddess Mizu is celebrated. In July, the goddess Himiko, and in November, the god Kaze is celebrated."
Amaya's head was spinning by the time Haku finished, and rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Okay…that's all interesting, but can you skip to the part on how my sister and I are going to get home?"
Haku sighed. "Since it is July now, with the day of Himiko already past, you and your sister will have to wait until November, on the day of Kaze, to return to your world."
Amaya blinked rapidly as he finished, and Kailani put an arm around her shoulders.
"I see. What about our parents? They–"
"I cannot alter time in your world, the power to do that is beyond me. But I can alter their minds so that they do not remember you or Ruki, and when you re-enter the human world their memory will return."
Amaya spoke quickly. "Is there a way to send them a letter?"
Haku pursed his lips, and Kailani touched his shoulder. "You could do it, couldn't you Haku?"
"I…am almost positive I could. The energy it would take though…"
"It's just one letter, and I wouldn't ask for anything more! Please…" Amaya pleaded, and after a moment of meeting the human's gaze Haku sighed, and nodded.
"Tomorrow, I will send your letter telling your parents of your situation. Is that agreeable?" Amaya nodded hurriedly, smiling gratefully. "I'm afraid Kailani will have to accompany you to the room…transporting people takes up a lot of my energy, and I have many things left to do before I retire."
"Okay. And Haku?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry that my sister and I have created so much trouble for you…and thank you for being so kind to us. I mean, you could've turned us into pigs like my mom's parents, but you didn't. And you tried your best to get my sister and I jobs that are together. So again…thank you." Amaya bowed for a moment, and then followed Kailani as the two exited through the sliding door that led to the stairs. Haku sighed, and Kamaji spoke once more.
"It's funny, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"You sent Sen away, thinking that that was the end of it all. And then, two of her daughters show up. Fate has a tight hold on Sen, such a tight hold that it even bleeds to her children."
"It is merely coincidence, Kamaji, and nothing more."
Kamaji cackled softly to himself as Haku began to walk away.
"My dear friend, if I have learned anything in my life, it is that there is no such thing as a coincidence, no such thing as luck or chance. Everything happens for a reason. The sun shines so that the plants can grow; the plants grow to provide food for others. Sen was sent here to help you find your name, and to find a piece of herself. You helped her daughters because you felt an obligation to their mother. Now that they are here, you just have to find the reason that they were brought here. Yes, they were brought here, Haku. No one enters this world without someone pulling the strings from being the curtain, just as no one in this bathhouse gets water unless I continue to grind these herbs."
Kamaji looked toward the door, only to find that Haku was already gone.