The Return

[Raine.]]

Mae scurried towards the stairs where Kiira had indicated the day before. Her sneakers weren't as loud as her normal footwear, which was good, but she often ended up stepping on the laces every thirty seconds, which irritated her just as much. Staring at the stairs that lay before her, she felt an uneasiness bubble in her stomach -- the wooden steps seemed fragile and old, and the ground was far below. With a deep breath, she glanced up at the sky. The was still slowly climbing its way over the clouds; Mae had walked through the tunnel the moment the sun could be seen on the horizon. However, she'd truthfully left her house long before then, though, and had been arguing with herself whether it would've be a good idea or not to enter before the sun rose. She'd ended up leaving at first sight of the emerging orb.

Stepping carefully onto the first step, Mae's hands tightened into fists. With nothing to hold on to, losing her balance would leave her in a pretty dire situation. After slowly inching her way down, she at last reached a door. "This must be the boiler room," she murmured, opening it slowly. Walking in, she saw that there were already machines working. Steam hissed at her and she moved onward to find Kamajii. Tiny black puffs seemed to be running everywhere, carrying coal to a furnace. A man with a large mustache and six arms was working and multitasking doggedly. "Excuse me -- are you Kamajii?" Mae called over the loud furnace. He seemed to completely disregard her, and she pursed her lips together in frustration. Making her way to the other side, she questioned him loudly, "Where's Kiira?"

Kamajii turned his head towards her without pausing his work. He stared at her for a while. His arms were extending and moving this way and that, yet his concentration on her didn't seem to falter at all. "Kiira, you say?" The old man nodded his head towards a little sliding door. "Find her yourself. I haven't got the time to keep track of youngsters like her."

After standing for a while, Mae realized that Kamajii wouldn't be giving her any more clues as to where the other girl was. Taking off her shoes and socks, she left the man and his puffs to work. As she walked through the next room, an elevator shaft was waiting not too far from where she stood. She pulled the lever, quite uncertain of how she was going to find Kiira in a place as big as this. When the elevator came to a stop, she stepped off, looking around her. This was apparently the kitchen, judging from all of the food being made. Making her way through, she wondered where the spirit could be. A few times, while she walked through the bathhouse, she noticed people giving her strange looks -- and how strange the people around her looked. These must really be spirits, Mae thought, though she still found it rather hard to believe. Where the hell is she, though? It's awkward with all of these creatures around me. Once or twice, she came across a person who commented bluntly with a bit of a scoff, "You're new, eh?"

With a good bit of walking done, Mae began to pass rooms of bathtubs. Blinking at the sight of so many strange forms, she shook her head. It'd be best to find Kiira quickly. Finally, she spotted a familiar figure in one of the rooms. "Kiira!" She sprinted over to her with relief. "I thought I'd never find you!" She looked at the dirty bathtub Kiira was cleaning. "Are you working alone on this tub?"

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

The bathhouse was busy as usually today. I never slept. No, Yubaba had other plans for me last night. After making sure Mae got home, I went straight to Yubaba. As I figured, she chewed my out. I told her, however, that I knew the human girl was coming back. I also told her Mae was different and was stronger than the rest of the workers. Not necessarily physically, but spiritually. The punishment came anyway, though she went easy on me. Why? I have yet to figure that out. That night, however, I patrolled the bath house. I spied on the workers, heard gossip from the bathing spirits, and pried on the secret life of my friends--ex-friends is probably a more appropriate term. I didn't like doing this and Yubaba knew it. She says its for the better, so I don't resist.

After a sleepless night, I'm oddly awake. As I push the disgusting remains of a Rust spirit, I realize that I feel as though I had slept last night. This wasn't the first time it's happened before, but I've never really thought about it till now. Every night, my pendent glows faintly in the night. On a couple days each month I have to stash it away for it glows too brightly and gives my position away. On one day, a day of a new moon, it remains dull and lifeless. Those are the days I'm most tired. I thought back to when Mizu had changed forms. It had glow then, too. That was a complete mystery to me. I couldn't shake the feeling that my pendant is a secret to my past. I just had to unlock the secret. Unfortunately, this was my only clue. I didn't even have a lead as to where to go next. Then a thought hit me. There was that girl who found the pendant and went out of her way to give it back to me. Would she know anything? I tried to get a picture of her face in my mind, but I couldn't. Frustrated, I went back to focusing on my work.

After a half an hour of working on this damn tub, I caught a familiar scent. It was very faint, but growing stronger by the minute. Before I could figure out what it was, Mae appeared outside the room. Kiira! A smiled carved on my face as she ran over, obviously relieved to of found me. I thought I'd never find you! A pause. Are you working alone on this tub? Didn't see that coming. My mind raced for a reasonable answer. Uh, yea. Uhm, the--the other workers were too busy with other tasks, so I was assigned this one by myself. It's not a difficult job... My voice trailed off. It was almost obvious it was difficult. I was beginning to sweat from scrubbing so hard (not to mention also from the hot steam in the room). I knew it was because no one wanted to work with me. My eyes clouded over with pain as I though of how alone I was. I kicked myself mentally, then made myself smile slightly at Mae. A smile that somehow didn't reach my eyes.

[Raine.]]

A flicker of doubt crossed her mind as she watched Kiira. The bit of hesitancy in the spirit's words seemed to have caused a contrast between the truth and what was spoken, but this wasn't honestly quite certain. After all, Mae hardly knew Kiira at all. With her little knowledge of any and all others that weren't her own grandmother, she could easily be misunderstanding this stranger's emotions and meanings -- yet something prodded at her. A familiarity in a number of the expressions she'd seen from Kiira, a comprehensible mass of feelings she could sympathize rather well.

However, she dismissed this thoughts with a hand that swept her dark hair to the side. Stranger. That was the keyword that had to constantly be repeated. Without it, she could possibly fall in any trap of any cruel fellow who's got plenty of time and terrible intentions on their hands. She refused to be a victim; no matter who it was, no matter how they appeared to be, she'd never allow an act of such insolence to be sought upon her. Although she could feel a few questions tapping at her curiosity, Mae made the decision not to ask. Interrogating Kiira for information she shouldn't have been interested in, in the first place was pure nonsense. She wouldn't bother with such useless words . . .

Offering Kiira a returning smile that was small and uncertainly solemn, Mae walked beside her. "Well, you're working right now, and asking you to take me to your boss would probably be rude," she said, leaning against the tub as she spoke, "so how about I give you a hand? It'd be good for me to learn a few things about how stuff goes around here before actually starting, right?" She glanced at the surroundings of the bath room before resting her eyes on the tub, which had filth caked on to it. It looked like it'd be a difficult job -- and with the character Mae had seen so far, asking for help didn't seem like anything in Kiira's range of possibilities. This kind of way of asking was okay, though, right? Besides, she wasn't even asking. What Mae said was the truth, and it'd be better for her to experience how to do the work before actually starting the job, right? At least then, she'd know what she was putting herself up against.

[Midnight[x]Traitor]

I watched Mae with steady eyes as she leaned casually against the tub. Well, you're working right now, and asking you to take me to your boss would probably be rude, so how about I give you a hand? It'd be good for me to learn a few things about how stuff goes around here before actually starting, right? I scrubbed at a rough spot and used that moment of silence to collect my thoughts. I had to hand it to this human girl, she was smart. The fact that she wanted to learn about where she worked before jumping into it made me sure she was different. Most of the humans before were overwhelmed with the spirit world, so they trusted me from the start because of my human appearance. Mae, on the other hand, didn't seem that fazed by the fact that she was in a bath house full of spirits. I had a new found respect for her. That's what decided my next choice of action.

I turned from my work, a new light in my eyes.

Actually, I would love for you to help me. I said I walked over to Mae and handed her a scrub and a soap filled bucket. I can answer any question you have before you meet--my boss--for the job. After you meet her your going to have to start wearing work clothes. Get to know the other people as well. Your going to be working with them instead of me eventually, so you might as well get to know them. I didn't dare speak those last words. I pushed those thoughts out of my head, and soaked my scrubbing tool in soupy water. I knew I should enjoy working with Mae while I could. This time, however, I didn't regret the feeling that I was getting to know Mae more than I should.[/blockquote][/size][/color][/size]