Thank You all for reviewing...a longer chapter!..hopefully
Chapter 6-Zeniba
Sen has been at Aburaya for a few days now yet it felt like more home than anywhere else except maybe at the shrine yet she never forgot what her grandfather had told her 'never tell anyone what you are, Sen, some spirits will despise you and hate you, others will be in awe of you because of your talent'. She shivered 'if she told Rin or Haku, will they hate me or treat me like the same old Sen?' She has the night where she will become a demi-goddess to worry about and she has to be at Zeniba's house by then.
"Sen, Rin, come here, there's two mud spirit coming this way" shouted Yubaba
"Sen, you have served a mud spirit before and make sure you serve them well. Rin, help Sen serve" ordered Yubaba
Sen made her way to the entrance of the bath house where two mud spirits waited. They gave her two handfuls of gold to give to Yubaba and followed her to the big tub. They glided smoothly to the tub and Sen retrieved a few tokens before shutting the door to have some privacy. She put a token in the slid in the wall and water came crashing down a slide in the wail. When the tub was full of murky green water, she pulled the rope from entering the tub. Then she climbed onto the edge of the tub and felt the mud spirit and pulled a lever. The lever triggered a chain of events, the junk rolled down the side, crashing into Sen. Rin and Sen screamed, the workers gasped, the customers froze, the mud spirits jumped and Yubaba yelled.
"Why are you just standing there? Go pick up the rubbish and see if Sen's okay"
The workers lifted the junk away and found Sen had fainted. They poured water over Sen's head and woke her up.
"Sen are you okay?" asked Rin concerned
"Yes" murmured Sen
"Do you want to continue serving them? I can take over for you if you want to rest" said Rin
"No, I'm fine, it is my job anyways" smiled Sen at the spirits in the tub.
She stood up carefully leaning slightly on Rin and winced when she felt her knees buckle. Sen limped towards the other spirit and felt the lump of mess. She pulled the lever before jumping to the sideways to avoid the ball of junk rolling down the side of the tub. She jumped when she heard a voice in her mind "Don't be afraid, little one, I'm Kawa-No-Kami, the god of all rivers and spirit of the main river that flows through Japan, Kawa-No-Nushi. This is my lady, Kaishino, spirit of the Kawa forest. I know what you are, and you should know who I am. I am your uncle, the older brother to your father"
"I have come to relay you this message. A new foe has risen from the depths of the underworld, save those you love and hate, be mindful of your choices and be cautious every where you go, the foe has spies everywhere"
"Hai, Kawa-No-Kami san"
He dropped some of the river medicine on her hands before they flew around the bathhouse and out the door. When the workers finish collecting gold from the floor, Yubaba ordered Sen to rest. She needed to heal from the wounds and rest from the job.
The next morning, Yubaba called Sen to her office.
"You have done well last night, what would you like?"
"Yubaba, can I go to Zeniba's house for a few days?"
"Very well, of course you can, as a reward for your services last night" said Yubaba, her lips curling.
"Thank you, Yubaba. I'll be back in 6 days in time for the summer solstice" said Sen firmly
She packed her spare clothes including her miko outfit into a bag to carry to Zeniba's. Sen told Rin about her little trip and she walked along the train track to Zeniba's house. It took her 3 hours before reaching the Swamp. She walked to the door knowing Zeniba would know about her presence.
"Sen, welcome back child" said Zeniba to Chihiro warmly
"Zeniba, I have to ask for some advice"
"Have some tea first, and then we can talk"
"Zeniba, I haven't told Haku or Rin yet but I'm training to be a miko" said Sen as she ate a cookie.
"My grandfather is the priest to Haku, T Amaterasu and Tsuki-yomi, the goddess of the sun and the god of the moon and O-Wata-Tsu-Mi- god of the sea and Fukurokuju, The god of wisdom, good luck and longevity"
"However, grandfather told me he was really a god before he sacrificed his immortality for my grandmother"
"I have inherited at least half of their powers and that makes me a demi-goddess"
"Grandfather told me I will receive my powers in a few days or so and I have Yubaba's permission to stay here for a few days"
"Alright Sen, you can stay here until you receive your powers"
In two nights, when Sen least expected it, pain came fast and furious. She had many seizures and she screamed a lot.