Half way through the second week and still no one knew any more about Miss Tomiko's wedding than when Lady Tachibana first purchased the many yards of silk. Most of the girls had gone half wild to know more but couldn't do anything other than keep on laying down stitches. The first of the month was still a week away, but there was plenty of work to keep everyone busy up until the last minute. Perhaps more than that even, several more women were asked to come in and work on the kimono.

"Hello my darling little turtles," Mrs. Akiyama said to Chihiro's group while a rather thin girl about their age stood nervously next to her. "This is Kiyoko, she'll be joining us for the last week. Kiyoko, you can sit between Miss Kokoro and Miss Chihiro." The two girls scooted aside to make more room for the new girl as she settled into place and had everything explained to her.

Once Mrs. Akiyama had moved to correct another girl's mistake, Kiyoko turned eagerly to Chihiro and clasped one of the young woman's hands in her own bony ones. "Are you the Chihiro who was spirited away as a child?"

Chihiro slipped her hand disdainfully out of Kiyoko's grip and turned back to her own work. "So I've been told," she said after a prolonged silence.

"Why, don't you know if you were spirited away or not?"

With a sigh Chihiro began her explanation, "I was visiting Gram up the mountain side," she motioned in the genera direction with her head while Kiyoko nodded eagerly. The new girl still hadn't picked up her work, the others kept hard at their work though the silence was heavy in the air. It seemed everyone was eager to hear her version of the story. "I was playing outside in the forest when I noticed it had grown a bit late. So I went inside for supper and everyone made a big fuss over me. They said I had been missing for three days, but all I ever knew was I went outside in the morning and came back to a lot of upset people." Chihiro shrugged, it was hard to get worked up over something she couldn't remember. She just wished everyone else would forget too.

"That's it?"

"Everyone else was so worried over me that Father took me home that evening. When we got home there was little new born Haruki. He was so sweet and cute... until he woke up." Chihiro laughed a little, that about summed up her brother even now.

Kiyoko seemed to deflate as Chihiro finished up her story, then turned to pick up her needle and thread. "So you really don't remember being spirited away?"

"Not at all." Chihiro's statement had such a final note to it that the conversation simply stopped.

"It's too bad Chihiro's grandmother died a few months back, she tells the story much better," one girl whispered. And it might have gone unheard if not for the fact that everyone else was stone silent.

Hanae cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. "Do you think we'll have the kimono finished by next month?" Chihiro gave Hanae a grateful look for the change in subject.

"With the extra help brought in we just might," said one girl as a grin spread across her face. "Why, if we had any more help I don't think there'd be enough room for anyone to work!" A few giggles rippled through the group.

"I heard something very interesting from my cousin yesterday," cut in one girl after no one else picked the conversation back up. "She says the kimono isn't even for Miss Tomiko." Everyone gasped at the girl's words. Miss Masami, Chihiro reminded herself.

"Then who is it for? Who else would Lady Tachibana make a wedding kimono for?"

"A bride for the gods," Miss Masami replied in a gruesome voice. There were several gasps and protests against such a barbaric thing. "That's what Mei said, and she usually works over there with the grannies." The young woman pointed to a group across the room that mostly held little old ladies with white hair and a few middle aged matrons. "You know the grannies would be the ones to actually know what's going on."

The girls murmured amongst themselves, if anyone would be told anything surely it would be the grannies. And even if not, they always got their information somehow, that's just what grannies did. "How do you know Miss Tomiko isn't the bride? Changing the groom from a wandering monk to a god doesn't mean the bride has to be changed." That seemed to stump Miss Masami, silence descended on the girls as they pondered over this new piece of news.

Chihiro couldn't believe it, things couldn't have gotten as bad as all that. She was so sure the rumor was just hearsay that she didn't even bother telling her family about it at dinner that night. She talked about the new girls who had come in to help and some of the chatter about the Tachibana household and the goings on in the village, but no mention was made of grannies or gods that night.

The rumor spread even without her help, by the next morning it seemed accepted as a matter of fact and everyone was already speculating as Chihiro arrived to the mansion the next morning. "Really," she heard a man's voice as she passed through the hallways. "The Ogino girl?" Chihiro stopped in her tracks when she heard her name.

"You did ask me to pick who I though would be most likely," replied another man.

"No," said the first. "I said the prettiest. I'll grant you that she is pretty, but I wouldn't call her the prettiest."

"What you really meant was who I thought most likely and she's most likely, what with her history. A toddler couldn't have swum through that river, something had to have brought her ashore." A door opened and two men stood staring at Chihiro, both struck silent. It was like some spell on the young woman had been broken and she could finally move. She quickly rushed past the two gaping men, anything was better than listening to more of that.

Once inside the work room Chihiro breathed a sigh of relief, most of the other girls were already here and were gathered about their bolt of fabric. As she walked up to her friends she heard a pair of shrill voices rise over the rest of the room. "I tell you, only a girl of noble blood would be the fit bride for a god."

"And I tell you, the Ogino girl has been Touched. The gods want her back and if we don't give her this torment will continue." Someone must have noticed the talked about girl standing stock still, mid stride, halfway to her group of friends for there was loud shushing followed by heavy silence that pervaded the room.

Chihiro quickly found a spot to sit down, then turned to her neighbor and brightly said, "How is Etsuko's trousseau coming along? Have her parents started adding anything frivolous yet?"

A brief discussion followed, most of the girls agreed that nothing new had happened since the last time they talked the matter over. "What about you, Chihiro? You're old enough to be married, hasn't your father or mother picked you out a suitor yet?"

Chihiro blushed and stuttered for a moment, not expecting the conversation to turn back on her like that. "Well... it's just... they haven't mentioned anything to me yet. But Father has been writing letters to his mother and relatives a lot recently, he might be trying to arrange a suitable marriage through them..."

"Oh? What's your grandmother like? Think she'll find you a nice, handsome young man?"

"I've yet to meet Father's mother. But I'm sure she wouldn't have her own granddaughter marry some horrible drunkard or something. And what about you, Shizuka?"

With much giggling and tittering the girls talked about their own beaux and whether or not their family was important enough to care about arranging a marriage for them.

Fortunately for Chihiro, the temperature suddenly rising as the first of the month drew ever nearer put tales of brides on hold. Instead everyone started telling stories and other tales of horror. Chihiro delighted in these gory stories along with the other girls, feeling a delicious shiver run up and down her spine when the tale of the mountain hag who disguised herself as a sweet little old woman before she devoured your flesh was told, or when one of the girls said her cousin said his friend, the son of a merchant, saw a ghostly hand beckoning to him through a wall in the middle of the night Chihiro happily shrieked and laughed along with the others. Ah, if only they could stay on safe subjects like this, she could happily finish her time working on the kimono and then go home.

It was the last day of the month, about half of the women working on the kimono had left because there were only so many pairs of hands to do the finishing stitches before it was too many. Chihiro was one of the last to stay, she had been told by Mrs. Akiyama that since she was so diligent and had proved herself useful she was specifically requested to stay on. That morning Haruki had been a little nightmare, he had become increasingly fussy as the temperature soared and Mrs. Ogino feared the heat was making him ill.

"Come, Chihiro, we don't want to be late," Mr. Ogino called as Chihiro helped her mother clean up breakfast.

"Father, shouldn't I stay home and help mother today? She's been overworked since Lady Tachibana bought the kimono and Haruki's not doing well. It's the last day, surely they don't need the help of one little 'turtle' to slow everyone else down."

Mr. Ogino paused as he thought it over, "Lord Tachibana did ask for your help by name, and I'm told you have been praised for doing good work."

"Yes..." said Chihiro a bit hesitantly.

"Your mother and brother will be fine for one more day, now come along."

Chihiro sighed, "Yes Father."

"Not wearing that you're not." Mrs. Ogino interrupted, grabbing Chihiro by the shoulders and steering her further into their home. "You go on ahead, darling. Chihiro will be along shortly and I'm sure she can manage the walk by herself." Mr. Ogino complied with his wife and left while Mrs. Ogino insisted on adding the extra layer to protect Chihiro from the dust. Haruki was boisterously running in and out of the room, bumping into either woman and just generally being a loud nuisance. By the time Mrs. Ogino finally managed to get Chihiro into a presentable state she was already sweating, but she put a smile as she finally bid her family goodbye.

"Do you have to go?" Haruki whined, clinging to Chihir's hand.

"Yes, you heard father. But today is the last day, I'll stay home with you all day tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Of course. Be good for Mother, okay?"

Haruki nodded as Chihiro gave him a goodbye kiss and pouted as she walked out of sight. The young woman set a quick pace once she was past her family's gate. The walk may be quick but not quick enough to suit her on such a hot morning with her mother insisting on extra layers. It was with relief she shed the scarf and thin coat on entering the mansion. Hopefully she wouldn't get a scolding for being so late once she arrived.

On entering the work room Chihiro saw the other girls left were already gathered in a tight cluster as one of the grannies leaned into the center of their gathered faces. She was about to call out a friendly greeting when what the granny was saying registered, "... three days everyone in the village searched the mountain side, looking for any sign of the missing little Chihiro. For three days not a trace of her could be found, it was as if she had simply vanished into thin air. Then, on the afternoon of the third day-"

"Oh, Chihiro! A bit late today, I hope everyone at home is doing well."

Chihiro turned at Mrs. Akiyama's voice, plastering on a wide smile in greeting. "Good morning Mrs. Akiyama! Everyone at home is fine, it's just some mornings are easier to manage than others. I'll be getting right to work." Chihiro turned, the other girls were all bent over their work, demurely silent as their needles dance through fabric. Chihiro strode towards them as a chill that did nothing to dispel the heat ran up her spine. She sat herself as far away from the grannies as possible, bending just as demurely over the fabric they were putting the finishing touches on today.

Her neighbor, Kiyoko, reached out and gave one of Chihiro's hands a gentle squeeze. "Don't mind them," Kiyoko whispered. "It's just silly gossip. A scary story to tell to drive away the heat."

Chihiro gave no response, she just wanted to get her work done and go home.

It was late afternoon when one of the servants came and called Chihiro away from the work room. He led her through long hallways and stopped outside on of the parlors, opening the door for Chihiro walk in alone. She stepped into the room and found Lord and Lady Tachibana standing on one en, the old family monk standing solemnly next to Lady Tachibana and a stranger dressed as a monk standing resolutely next to Lord Tachibana. Standing before the lord and lady was a man facing away from Chihiro. She though the person might be her father, he was certainly wearing her father's armor, but she had never seen her proud father look so hunched and defeated.

Lord Tachibana looked up as Chihiro entered, "Ah, and here is Miss Chihiro now. Come in, child, we have much to discuss." At the lord's comment the man standing before the Tachibanas turned at looked at Chihiro. He was her father, wearing such a sad, grim expression. Her fathered hadn't looked so sad and grim since Gram had died. Something must be terribly wrong now. As Chihiro stepped up to stand next to her father, the strange monk was saying something. Something awful. And then she felt her world drop out from under her feet.