Ryumiko was reminded of why she hated mornings the next day. The sunlight of the Spirit World shone through the window of her new bedroom, and illuminated the white in her room brilliantly. As lovely as it would have been, say, on a sunny afternoon, it was hardly beautiful to Ryumiko, whose eyes were harshly blinded after a long night's sleep. Being unable to see, she stumbled out of bed, finding herself on her hands and knees upon the floor. Grumbling to herself she slowly got to her feet, squinting against the morning sun.

When her eyes had adjusted a bit, she looked to her left to see a pile of neatly folded clothes on her bedside table. There was a pale blue kimono as well as a pair of beautifully decorated hairpins. Setting aside the hair ornaments, she unfolded the kimono, seeing that the back of the skirt trailed along the ground and its sleeves fell as low as her ankles. The fabric was soft and flowed like water. Ryumiko stared at the clothing, wondering how she was supposed to 'lay low' if she was going to wear something so elegant? Shrugging, she changed into the long blue kimono and pinned up her hair nicely with the new accessories before walking out of her room.

It would be a lie if Ryumiko said she could pull off a graceful walk in the kimono, as she continually tripped over the hem and resorted to lifting the front of the skirt above her knees to allow for a clearer path for her ever clumsy feet. However it would have also been a lie if she said she didn't feel graceful, the kimono making her feel like an ancient princess.

Rin was cooking breakfast in the kitchen when her new guest walked in, dressed in her new clothes. Rin's eyes widened and she stopped what she was doing upon the sight.

"Where did that come from?" she asked, pointing at the kimono.

Ryumiko's mood dampened slightly, now confused, "D-Didn't you set this out for me to wear?"

Rin rolled her eyes, "Do I look like I could afford something like that?"

Out of politeness, Ryumiko didn't answer and instead shrugged, "Oh well, I can't say I stole it, because I didn't... and it's not like I'm getting out of this house anytime soon, since 'Mr. Stoneface' commanded me otherwise. May as well keep it."

Rin pulled a half-smile before handing the teen a plate of breakfast. She'd hardly taken a bite of the steaming food when Mr. Stoneface himself, aka. Haku, walked through the door, scaring the two women with the abruptness of his entry. His long green hair was in disarray and he looked tired as if he'd stayed awake all night, though his face remained expressionless, not appearing to reveal true emotion anytime soon.

"Geez Haku! Learn to knock will ya?" Rin complained, pointing a cooking untesil at him threateningly. "I thought you were that fat-headed witch or one of her goons."

Haku ignored her comment and sat down at a chair. Though his facial expression remained blank, he was surprised by Ryumiko's attire.

"How did you get that?" he asked her, indicating to her dress.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I woke up and it was just - there."

Without warning, he reached out to take hold of one of the sleeves, carefully observing the material. Ryumiko raised an eyebrow at him before snatching back the sleeve from his grasp.

"What is so fascinating about this kimono when you've got frogs that talk, people turning into pigs and anatomically incorrect witches?" Ryumiko asked impatiently. When neither answered she sighed, "Fine. Don't tell me anything."

"It's not that we don't want to tell you, we don't know anything about it to tell you. It just seems odd that it magically appeared in the night don't you think?" Rin said, pushing a plate of food in front of Haku as well.

Haku's eyebrows twitched downwards ever so slightly as he stared intently at the strange dress. Ryumiko noticed and put down the food she was about to take a bite out of.

"Look! If you're worried that someone followed us here, then you should be fine! I don't think I saw anyone follow us, and since you seem to be oh-so-meticulous, I'm pretty sure you know that no-one followed us!" she huffed, angrily taking a bite of breakfast. It had hardly been an hour since she'd woken, and already she was prepared to run outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun.

Haku's frown had disappeared, surprised by the human girl's outburst. She was right in thinking that someone might have seen them go to Rin's house, and her argument made sense, but they couldn't be too relaxed about it.

Ryumiko huffed, wanting to break the silence, "So why do you need Chihiro's help anyway? You never told me why. I'd be happy to help if I can, you know!"

Rin flicked a raised eyebrow at him, daring him to tell her the truth. The dragon sighed and ran a hand through his disheveled morning hair.

"Did Chihiro's 'story' ever come to an end?" Haku asked.

The raven haired girl nodded, "Uh huh, though it ended about three different ways. The one she told the most usually ended with her leaving the Spirit World behind after saving her parents and Kohaku... which I'm assuming is you?"

Haku nodded, "On the day Chihiro left, both Rin and I escaped from Yubaba. However when we'd told her we'd resigned, she flew into a frenzy, having lost two of her workers and her enslaved dragon. Enraged, she cursed the two of us before we escaped, in a foreign language. We eventually managed to flee the bath house and headed to Zeniba's, to work out how to remove the curse.

"Even Zeniba couldn't work out the whole incantation Yubaba had placed on us, however it involves someone who had lived in the Spirit World once, before returning to the living realm. The only human we knew that had done something like this was Chihiro. The only problem being that Yubaba had closed off the gate to spirits, so we couldn't ask her to help."

Rin continued when Haku remained silent, "Zeniba also thinks that this 'someone' who can remove our curse, is also able to finally bring down Yubaba. Since we've left, the old hag had been crueller to the other workers, and made it even harder for them to free themselves from her clutches. She's also gaining more power quickly, and we think she's up to something."

There was a short silence, before Ryumiko leapt to her feet, "Well then why should I be locked up here? I should be telling Chihiro to get her butt over here now!" She briskly made her way to the front door, the dress rippling behind her like a stream of water. She was suddenly picked up by one Haku before she made it to the exit.

"What are you doing? This makes no sense!" Ryumiko said, flailing against his grip.

He sat her back down on the chair with difficulty before he explained, "We still don't know if Yubaba knows if you're here or not. If she does, do you really think that she'd let you, a human, who also happens to know Chihiro and her whereabouts, to just walk in and out of the Spirit World? We can't take that risk and neither can you."

Blue eyes glared at green eyes before she gave up.

"Fine, I'll stay cooped up in here for the mean time. But you'd better find out how to sneak me out of here soon! I'm sure Chihiro has been waiting to see you for a long time now," the black haired girl grumbled, walking back into her room with her plate of breakfast.

Although staying indoors was a harder task than Ryumiko had ever imagined...

Hello again! Sorry it took forever but exams are coming up and stress levels are rising... although I wrote this when I was supposed to be 'studying'... ehehe

Thank-yous to:

Arcy911913

Karm

pepsipiggy

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967

.Crying

TheKeeperofKingdomHearts1

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