AN: Holy sheepies, Batman! I'm alive! I'm terribly sorry, everyone for my unintentional hiatus. I was dealing with my senior year of high school, college stuff, and lots of work. Goodness. It's all done and over with now! So now I'm trying to get back up on my feet with this fic. All your reviews were much appreciated and read them all at least 10 times. I felt so wretched for not giving you all something to read, but fear not! This is a chapter to get the ball rolling again. I hope you all enjoy!

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Chihiro felt alone, but she held her head high. There was no time for tears. She had a purpose, and that was to…

Wait, what's my purpose?

She frowned a bit. She had hobbled outside, wanting to get as far away from the black marks. They made her uneasy. She walked the lone bathhouse hallways. She had not noticed before, but her clothes were a downright mess.

Probably from rolling on the ground.

Chihiro missed Hajime, but she had a feeling she needed to keep moving. She was strong enough to make it through this.

She pushed a door open, and there in the middle of the room, was a large bowl!
No… it was a bathtub. She wrinkled her nose involuntarily. A faint smell wafted by her nose. It was horrible. Like a giant dumpster, dead animals, and her grandmother all in one.

Chihiro slipped out of the room and into the hallway. She kept moving through the mess of halls, leading to rooms similar to the bathtub room. It only made sense. This was a Bathhouse after all.

Something scuttled across the floor in front of her. She froze. A soft scratching noise was heard. She rested against the wall and slid down to the floor. She saw two eyes peaking at her from a small mouse hole.

"H…hi, there…"

It flinched but did not run.

What is it…

She got on all fours and peeked in. A grey, fat mouse looked back at her. A shiver went down her spine, but she smiled and stuck out a shaky hand out toward it.

"Hi. You're harmless, aren't you?"

The mouse waddled over to her hand, and squeaked softly.

Chihiro smiled. She flattened her hand, and the creature slowly crawled into her hand. His girth made it difficult to move too quickly. She cupped him and lifted him to her face.

So familiar…

"Chu~" It softly kissed her thumb. This made her blush and bring it to her face to cuddle it.

"Thank you…"

This small being brought familiarity and comfort to her for reasons she didn't quite know. It looked up at her, and she softly asked, "Want to come with me?" She did not expect an answer from a mouse, and she felt a little silly for asking, but he gave her the smallest of nods.

Chihiro had not felt this happy since she came here. She smiled and rested him on her shoulder. He clung to her, and she scooted over to the wall again, rising.

It felt nice having another companion. She had gotten used to those who could not speak.