Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

A Different Beginning	By : Takeda Category: +S to Z > Spirited Away Views: 16070 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
Meeting Yubaba

Chapter 4

A waiting game was what this had
turned into, and patience was not her virtue. The soot balls carried coal to
the furnace, threw it into the gaping mouth and hurried back under the wall of
drawers to start the process all over again. How monotonous, was all she
could bring herself to think as the rested her chin on her hands, watching them
work. Her head was starting to pound, though, and she found herself growing
more and more agitated as the minutes ticked by, one soot ball after another.

When she followed the movements
of one of them racking back, she noticed another as is struggled out with a
lump of coal, moving slowly under the enormous weight above it. Then the little
soot ball stopped all together and the lump of coal fell the two or so inches
to the dirt floor. Its limbs writhed from below the coal, waving out and
struggling, squealing in its high-pitched voice. She looked to the others as
they carried their burdens or raced back to fetch more, but they ignored the
one that had fallen out. Then it stopped moving completely and she couldn�t
help but feel a little sorry for it, after all, it was just a ball of
soot, it didn�t ask to have to work the way it did.

Poor little guy, she thought, standing up from her position on the
ledge.

The other workers kept passing
the lone piece of coal, so she picked it up, surprised at the weight of the
mineral and they all stopped and looked at her. Holy crap, heavy, she
thought to herself, but looked to see if the squashed soot ball was all right. It
popped up out of the stain it had left on the ground, eyes wobbling and crossed
as it re-gained its bearing. Then it floated up around her calves and made a
mad dash to the space below the drawers.

Hey, she thought, taken aback at the critter�s sudden disappearance, little
turn-skirt.

Chihiro noticed the other workers
again, watching her to see what she would do. So she held up the coal, now
struggling a little with the weight, �Um� What should I do with this?� she
asked, holding it up slightly for them to see whilst she looked to them for any
indication of an answer.

Then, as if broken from a trance,
they continued on with what they were doing, either carrying the coal to the
furnace or rushing back for more of the same. Her eyebrows lowered in confusion,
she was tempted to just drop the damn heavy thing and sit back down, continue
to duke it out with Kamaji in the waiting game.

�Do I just leave it?� she half
wondered to herself, still standing up with the coal in her hands and watching
for a reaction from the workers.

Kamaji turned, looking at her
from his perch but continuing to work away. �Finish what you start!� he
demanded in a gruff voice, almost daring her to put the lump damn and ignore
it.

She started a little, surprised
that he would act like he was mad at her when all she had done was try to help,
but she squared her shoulders and looked at the weight in her hands. Well
damn me for trying to help, why don�t you? Asshole. And as she slowly made
her way to the furnace, the soot balls stopped again, watching her as she
struggled with the lump. They moved out of her way as she came up behind them,
followed as she passed them, and when she stopped by Kamaji�s box and the huge
jars of herbs to adjust her grip, they all started to move with her, as if they
had finally figured out that she wasn�t going to quit or try to push it off on
them.

Then she finally
came up to the furnace, the soot balls in front of her throwing their load into
its gaping maws just in time for the lid to slam shut again. The heat poured
out, pushing her hair back and sending sparks drifting closer and closer to her
face as she stood on the ledge. She scooted further up the ledge, watching in
awe as the noticed the bubbling liquid all around the huge metal structure. She
took a deep breath, almost suffocating on the thick air, tossed the coal in the
furnace and ran back behind the stone wall that extended out from Kamaji�s work
area, shielding it from the heat flowing out of the furnace�s mouth.

�Hot!� she
yelped, shaking her hands to cool them from the residing heat.

There came a
small thud from beside her and the sounds of a squealing soot ball and she
looked over to find just that. The little creature was wriggling and squirming
under the weight and a confused look crossed the girl�s face as both she and
Kamaji watched it.

Oh, you have got
to be kidding me.

She could almost
see the little light bulbs power on as the other soot balls caught on to what
the first was doing. Then they all started dropping their coal and squashing
themselves with it, waving out with their arms and legs. The other workers all
moved around her, dropping their coal, too.

Kamaji slammed
his gavel down repeatedly on the wooden box, waving a fist around in the air,
�Hey, you little runts! Wanna turn back into soot?!� Then turned on her, fist
still raised in the air, �And you, watch it. You can�t take someone else�s
job.� He waved the gavel at her, �If they don�t work the spell wears off. Got
no work for you hear,� and the old man glanced back into his shop, at the soot
balls. �Look elsewhere.�

Then the workers
all stood up with their respective pieces of coal, making angry noises with
their high-pitched voiced, and lifting their load up and down, as if they were
shaking them at her. They advanced on her, dropping the lumps around her feet
until she had a steadily growing pile around her legs. She wasn�t sure what to
do, she couldn�t very well swat them away, and then she�d have to carry all the
coal because she�d have killed all of the old man�s help.

�Hey,� Chihiro
exclaimed, trying to get their attention, �Oh, come on now. Is that really
necessary?�

�You soot balls
got a problem?� Kamaji grumbled, leaning over the edge of the box, �Get to
work! To work!� he yelled, waving his arms up in the air.

The sound of
wood sliding over wood barely registered to her as she stood, back flat against
the wall; the soot balls still piling their coal high around her knees now.
�Chow time!� came a feminine voice from behind where Kamaji worked and she
looked up, not knowing whether to ask for help or try and hide. �What? You guys
at it again?� and then the slamming of what she could only guess was a hidden
door, because she hadn�t seen one when she was over there before.

There were
footfalls that came closer and Kamaji turned to the other side, reaching for
something. �Cut it out. Where�s your bowl?� the voice asked as the old man took
hold of something with one hand and set an empty light green bowl on the tray
with another. �I keep telling you to leave it out.�

�Meal time!� he
yelled out, pulling on the tabs a few times before they flew back where they
came from. �Take a break!�

The soot balls
all jumped out from the coal pile, bouncing over to the ledge that she had
previously been sitting on. A girl maybe a little older than her walked up to
them as they gathered around, bouncing up and down as she threw what Chihiro could
only guess were sprinkles to them from a wooden pail. She had long, strait
brown hair, maybe a little longer than hers, and wore pink hakama and yukata
and a blue apron, bound back to keep out of her way as she moved.

The soot balls
grabbed up as many of the sprinkles as they could, squealing with glee as they
continued bouncing around. Chihiro laughed a little at that, not being able to
help herself because, come on, that was funny. Then the other girl glanced over
and saw her, and her face dropped into an expression of total shock and she
stopped moving completely. And suddenly she was on her feet, pointing an
accusing finger at Chihiro.

�A human! You�re
in trouble! They�re having a fit about it upstairs!�

It? She wanted to retort, Who�re you calling an �it�, sister?

�That�s my
granddaughter,� Kamaji told her, stuffing his face with a huge breaded shrimp.

Granddaughter? Chihiro almost got whiplash she
turned her head so fast to look at him, hardly sure whether he were seriously
going to try and pull it off or not.

�Granddaughter?�
the other girl asked her stance not quite as accusatory anymore as she grew unsure
of herself.

�She says she
wants to work,� another bite, �but I�ve got all the help I need.� Another bite
and then he looked back at the girl, �Would you take her to Yubaba? The girl
can handle her, I�m sure.�

The other girl
threw more sprinkles out to the soot balls, �Not a chance! And risk my life!?�

Kamaji extended
what looked to Chihiro to be a burnt lizard on a stick; she could see the
girl�s resolve waver. �Take this, then. A roasted newt.� He twisted it around
in front of her, �Real quality.� Then he turned back to Chihiro, �If you want
to work, you�ll have to make a deal with Yubaba. Might as well try your luck.�

The girl in pink
grabbed the lizard-on-a-stick from the hand extended out in front of her,
�Fine! You there, follow me.� She dumped the rest of the sprinkles out onto the
ground and the soot balls had a field day, grabbing up as many as they could.

Chihiro jolted
back, �Say what?� lifting her feet from the coal pile and sauntering over to
the other girl. Just who does she think I
am? �You there�, she thought, without the guts to say it out loud, lest she
resend her offer. What the crap, man,
what the crap.

The girl was too
busy collecting the bowl and tray to notice, though, and when she looked at
Chihiro again she put a hand on her hip, �Can�t you even manage a �Yes, ma�am�
or �Thank you�?�

Chihiro closed
her eyes and took a breath, This broad. Then
she just said it, for the sake of not being a pain in the ass just as she had
promised she would. ��Yes, ma�am.� Oh was this gonna take some
getting used to.

�You sure are
slow. Hurry,� she said, walking back towards the little wooden door, pail in
hand.

�Yes, ma�am,�
Chihiro retorted, bound and determined to get on this girl�s nerves as politely
as she could. She slipped off her shoes and socks before hurrying to catch up
with the girl.

�What do you
need your shoes for?! Or socks!�

She narrowed her
eyes, her left twitching slightly. �Yes, ma�am.� The soot balls all gathered
around as she leaned over, perhaps to see if there were any more sprinkles, and
moved as she set her shoes down. They gathered around them tightly, looking at
them. Then she walked over to the door, ducking under the drawers to get to it
before the girl looked back out and stopped her.

�Did you even
thank Kamaji? He�s looking out for you.�

Oh, right. So she quickly turned back around,
smacking her head soundly on the bottom of the drawers and falling to her knees
as she put her hands to where she just knew was going to be a bump in the
morning. �Thank you very much, sir,� she said, bowing respectfully.

Kamaji gave her
a thumbs-up with one hand, another still holding onto his food. �Good luck,�
and he went back to eating.

She got up
quickly and followed the girl into what looked to be a wash room. They made
their way to a storage area with more of the hugs jugs covered with cloth and
surrounded by boxes just as big, if not bigger.

�Yubaba lives
way up at the top,� the girl told her, quickening her pace, �in the back.�

They moved
through a room full of gears and pulleys, which moved the elevators far above
them. Chihiro looked up at the weights as they counter-balanced the lifts
themselves, moving up and down on thick ropes.

�Get over here,�
the girl called to her, clearly growing agitated at Chihiro�s dawdling.

Go kick rocks, she thought, rushing to the
elevator that the girl was standing in. She pulled a lever and up they went,
passing frogs as they carried trays of food down the hallways of the lower
levels and slugs with sake waiting for the frogs to catch up. They hollered
yelled, �Get this�, �I need that�, �Guest such-and-such is waiting for
another�.

They went
further and further until the lift stopped and they came out across from a
hallway that looked to be nothing more than sliding doors with circles of
flowers painted on them. The other girl stuck her head out, making sure the way
was clear and then Chihiro followed as she waved her forward. They turned more
corners than she could remember until they came up behind a bunch of frogs
making dinners, putting different things into different bowls and moving them
on down the line.

At least they�re wearing masks and using chop
sticks,
she thought, otherwise I might just lose
my lunch. Who the hell decided on frogs, anyway? That�s really kind of gross.

Around another
corner they went, into an elevator that a slug carrying trays had just come out
of, and up they went again. �We�re almost there,� the girl told Chihiro, who
was hiding behind her, trying not to be seen by anyone.

�Right,� she
said, the there was light from behind her and when she looked she saw a lot of
steam and blotchy figures through the slats of wood as they passed.

�Here we are,�
and as soon as they stopped there was a very white, very fat thing waiting for
them, wearing what looked to be a red serving bowl on its head.

Too much to drink? Chihiro thought with a snort, I think so.

The girl stood
up very strait then and smiled, �Wel � Welcome.�

The thing let
out a noise which Chihiro could only guess was a grumble and pointed upwards
with a weird, thin, carrot-like finger. Radish!
And she mentally patted herself on the back for being ever so clever. Thousand yen says he�s the radish spirit.

�This elevator
is not in service, sir. Please use another.� Then she squeezed by him and
marched off, Chihiro not far behind, though still glancing back at the Radish
Spirit as it followed them. Down the balcony and over a walkway they went, and
below were the baths and all sorts of creatures, spirits, that had come to relax. They didn�t slow even for a
second, and Chihiro was tempted to stare at the baths full of the rubber
duckies she�d seen crossing the bridge when she and Hake had made their way to
the front door earlier.

�He�s following
us,� she told the girl, not sure if it was a bad thing or not.

�Quit gawking.�

She saw another
elevator not far ahead and hid behind the girl when she stopped to press the
service button, the radish walking right up to the doors to wait. The elevator
dinged its arrival and the doors slid open.

�Here we are,�
came a nasal voice from inside and a bunch of the Wild Things strode
out. �Your room is on the right,� a frog informed them as it followed. It
sniffed and turned around, �Lin?�

�Yes,� the girl,
now with a name, asked, pushing Chihiro into the open elevator before standing
indignantly before the frog with a hand on her hip.

�What�s that
smell?� the frog asked, a hint of disbelief in its voice as it sniffed at her.
�It�s human. You reek of human.�

�Is that so?�
Lin retorted as the Radish tried to squeeze into the elevator with Chihiro.

�I smell it, I
do. Smells mighty tasty, too.� A shudder ran down her spine at that, Oh, Kami, I�m going to be eaten. �You�re
hiding something,� it said, sniffing Lin again. �Tell me the truth, now.�

�This smell?�
and Chihiro could only guess that Lin had pulled out the lizard-on-a-stick.

The frog�s eyes
got really big and sweat pushed out of its pores, �Roasted � Gimme!� and he
grabbed at it.

Lin dangled it
up over its head, �Not a chance. It�s for the other girls.�

�I�m begging
you. I�ll settle for a leg!� and it jumped up at the treat as Lin teased it,
moving the fried lizard around in circles above its head.

Chihiro smiled
sardonically, Way to go, Lin. Maybe
you�re not so bad, after all.

�Anyone going
up, pull down on the lever.�

So she pushed
herself through the space between the Radish and the wall of the elevator,
grasping for the lever until she got it. Then the doors slid shut and saved her
from the frog�s strangely perceptive nose. She felt the elevator pulling the
two of them towards the upper floors and tried not to appear as uncomfortable
as she felt squished between the elevator and the Radish. The elevator stopped
for a moment and he looked around the hallway of sliding paper doors, shadows
playing over the surface, sandals lined up neatly in the hallway. He pulled the
lever again and resumed their trip ever upwards.

Chihiro dared a
glance up at him to find him looking down at her, appearing almost completely
ridiculous with the bowl on his head. She quickly looked back down, Freakyyyy.

Then the doors
slid open again and this time the Radish stepped out and Chihiro followed,
squeezing between him and the threshold of the elevator. On her right were two
sets of doors in a dimly lit hallway, above them was what looked like a bird
crest and all along the sides of the walls were enormous floral vases.

�This must be it,� she thought aloud, blinking
a few times to make sure it wasn�t her eyesight going bad.

The Radish
stepped back into the elevator and bowed lightly to her, she returned the
gesture and the doors shut again, leaving her alone in the incredibly
intimidating hallway. With a sigh, she walked up to the doors, still not quite
sure why she was being subjected to this kind of torture, she hadn�t been that bad of a kid � right? And as the
door got bigger she noticed that the bird crest was actually an insignia with
the outline of the strange bird-woman (the one with the hugely insane hairdo)
and a character in the middle. Closing her eyes and shaking her head to get the
image out of her mind, she walked up the short flight of steps and looked at
the red doors.

What a gaudy knocker, she realized
and reached for the door handle.

�Not going to
knock?!� the knocker nearly yelled at her as she pushed away from the entrance,
throwing her hands up in front of her face. Its eyes rolled up into its skull,
�What a puny girl.�

Then the doors
opened up all by themselves, all four sets of them, and the chandeliers
brightened along the way. �Come closer,� she heard a weird old granny voice say
and she felt herself starting to go into shock with all the weirdness that was
still inflicting itself upon her poor mental state.

Oh damn, she looked around in confusion, well that just scared the crap out of me.

�I said closer,�
she felt something pull her by the front of her shirt and she was being drug
through the hallways by an invisible force, the doors slamming shut behind her.
There was a sharp right, then a small blue door ahead of her opened of its own
accord and the force pulling her disappeared, leaving her to fall forward. She
ducked into a roll and came out of it, happily, landing on her own two feet on
a strangely simple rug for the rest of the d�cor in the apartment.

There was a
fireplace and two full wingback chairs next to it, and if she hadn�t known
better, she would have thought the place to be really very nice. But Yubaba
lived here and if that was any indication of how she should think of the room,
then she had a feeling that nothing here was what it seemed. She looked over,
hearing thuds and different deep voices making a weird �Oi� sound. There were
three green heads, full facial hair and huge eyes, bouncing and rolling towards
her and all she could do was stand there, a look of disbelief on her face.

�You�re making a
racket,� came the granny voice from a huge but small old woman with that
enormous bun on top of her head. �Keep it down.�

The three heads
bounced around her in a circle before rolling back to Yubaba, who was writing
at an ornate desk. The two behind her rolled right into the back of her knees,
making her lose her balance and almost trip. They kept right on going, though,
right to where the old woman sat, completely ignoring her. So Chihiro waited,
deciding that maybe patience would be the best approach. But as she finished
writing one paper, set it in a tray and moved on to another, she got the
feeling that maybe she should start.

�Um �� she
couldn�t remember what she was here for. So she thought for a second, trying to
recall how she came to be in front of this intimidating person and suddenly
grasped it. �Please let me work here.�

Yubaba looked up
at her with enormous brown eyes and drew a strait horizontal line with a single
finger ending in a long painted red nail. Chihiro felt like her mouth was being
zipped shut and she gripped at it, trying to keep it from closing. The woman
smiled lightly and looked back down at what she was doing.

�Stop babbling,�
she told her, resuming her writing, �You�re just a useless weakling.� She set a
bag of what Chihiro could only guess was coins into the chest sitting on her
desk, then closed it, �Besides, this is no place for humans.� Gazing back at
her she explained, �It�s a bath house, where eight million Kami come to rest
their weary bones.�

Yubaba pulled
out what was easily the largest cigarette that she�d ever seen and continued,
�Your parents had some nerve! Gobbling our guests� food like pigs! Just
desserts, I�d say.� A flame sprouted from her finger and she lit the end of her
cancer stick, �And you�ll never see your world again, either.� She inhaled
deeply and blew out a plume of smoke.

All the while
that the old woman had been talking, Chihiro was wriggling her mouth, trying to
get it to open again, but it just wasn�t happening. And when she�d mentioned
her parents, she thought, I knew that
junk was bad juju, but no one listens to me! But the woman had her
attention now, and she knew whatever was about to happen, it wouldn�t be good.

�You�d make a
lovely piglet,� she said matter-of-factly, bobbing her head from side to side,
not really looking at her, but when she did, she laughed. �Or maybe a lump of
coal.�

She couldn�t
help it, she was shaking. The woman laughed as she blew out another plume of
smoke and Chihiro was mortified. Maybe this woman was crazy, she didn�t want
her here, but she refused to let her leave. The old woman wanted her to suffer,
it didn�t matter how, it didn�t matter how long, but she wanted her to be
completely miserable.

�I see you�re
trembling,� she commented, �Actually, I�m impressed you made it this far.� She
glanced around as if she had just thought of something, �Someone must have
helped you. I must thank your friend. Just who was it, my dear?� Her voice
turned into something sickeningly sweet and Chihiro cringed at the sound of it.
�You can tell me.�

She flicked her
finger at Chihiro�s mouth and suddenly, it worked again. �Please let me work
here,� she immediately spit out, refusing to betray Kamaji and Lin to this woman.

�Not that
again!� Yubaba yelled, smacking her desk and her eyes going wide in
uncontrollable anger.

�I want to work
here!� she shot back, refusing to give in to this woman. She remembered what
Haku had said, If you don�t work, she�ll
turn you into an animal.

�Shut up!� she
said in an agitated voice, the papers on her desk and the curtains ruffling in
an invisible wind. Then everything flew off the desk as the woman was launched
across the room right in front of Chihiro.

�Why should I
hire you?� she demanded, shoving her enormous nose right into Chihiro�s ribs,
getting her eyes right in the girl�s face. Then she started circling around her
and poking at her with those long ugly fingernails. �Anyone can see that you�re
an unruly, unmannered, sarcastic pain, and you have no respect for anyone.� She
was behind her now, but she dared not move, determined in a small way to hold
her ground, but the larger part of her was just too scared.

�I�ve got
nothing for you.� Her nose was right against Chihiro�s arm now and she was
glaring at her with her right eye, �Forget it. I�ve got all the bums I need
around here.� She paused for a moment, moving to her left side and it was all
the girl could do to not fall over, �Or maybe you�d like the worst, nastiest
job I�ve got,� her immense fingers clawed up her arm and she felt like passing
out right then, �until you breathe your very last breath?!�

And right as
those fingers wrapped around her throat, the nails poking at her neck, a boom
came from where Yubaba�s desk was. Both Chihiro and the woman gasped and looked
over at the sound. There was another boom and another; the screen fell over,
the curtain rod was half off the wall, and the picture fell right onto the
floor. There were papers everywhere, books thrown astray and the chest was
somewhere in that enormous mess. Everything in the far end of the room where
they were came crashing to the floor, the clock, the candle holders, even the
pieces on the mantle. Then there was a cry that sounded something like a baby,
but a huge foot splintered the green wooden door beyond the curtains and she
just couldn�t take it anymore. Chihiro pushed herself into Yubaba, her skull
feeling like someone was dragging nails over it, not caring if the woman turned
her into an animal or not. Whatever this was, it scared her, and she wanted
away from it.

�Stop that!
What�s wrong�� the woman asked, hiking up her skirts and running over to the
foot in the door as fast as her short legs would take her. She gripped at the
curtains and leaned inwards, �I�ll be right there. That�s a good baby, now.�
Then she looked back at Chihiro, �What? You still here?! Get out!�

Almost
immediately, her reply was, �I want to work here!� because between Yubaba
running to the �baby� and asking her why she was still there, she remembered
that she really didn�t want to be turned into an animal, no matter what she had
thought before.

�Don�t shout,
the large, small woman hurriedly whispered. The enormous baby foot that had
earlier kicked through the door now kicked the woman in the face; and despite
how funny it was, Chihiro couldn�t bring herself to laugh just yet. �I�ll be
right there�� Yubaba said in that sickly sweet voice. Some wood from the door
lodged in her hair as it flew by again, �That�s a good baby, there, there ��

Then she caught
on, if she was loud and in danger of agitating Yubaba�s baby, maybe the woman
would quit threatening her and trying to push her out. Maybe this was the way
she could get the woman to give her a job. �Please let me work.�

And sure enough,
�OK, OK, just pipe down.� Score! She
thought as the woman looked back to the baby, �There, there, now,� and she
hurried off to settle the kid down.

I can�t believe that just worked, she thought,
blinking at the empty space the woman had left behind. A box with a stack of
papers lying a strew on the floor started to shake slightly until a single
paper and a pen fell out and floated over to her. The landed in her hands and
she looked down at the paper.

�Your contract,�
Yubaba told her, walking back to her desk, all the fallen items replacing
themselves where they belonged. �Sign your name,� she pulled bits of wood from
her hair and righted her bun, �I�ll put you to work. But one peep out of you
about anything, and I�ll turn you right into a piglet.�

She looked down
at the contract and back at Yubaba, �So I just sign here, right?� Somehow she
couldn�t quite believe that all it had taken was being loud to get the woman to
give her a job.

�That�s right.
Quite dilly-dallying and do it.�

�right on, then. So she turned to the fireplace
and signed her name under the last line.

�Unbelievable,�
she heard the woman say, followed by the ringing of a small bell. �That
ridiculous oath I took. To give work to whoever asks. Signed it?�

Well damn the luck, and here I thought I was being a
pain in the ass.
But she had finished signing, �Yeah, I�m done.�

The contract
floated up and away into Yubaba�s hands, the woman inspecting it to see for
herself. �You�re Chihiro, hunh?�

She blinked,
�Yes �� If I had spidey-senses right now
�

�What an
extravagant name,� the woman said in that voice that she was beginning to
detest. She held her hand over the paper and closed it over something, but
Chihiro couldn�t see what it was. �From now on, you�ll be Sen,� she informed
her, looking beck up at the girl, daring her to say anything otherwise. �You
got that? You�re Sen.�

Bullshit. This woman�s on a power trip, but she didn�t
want to be turned into an animal, so she kept her mouth shut.

�Answer me,
Sen!�

�Yes, ma�am,�
and she wanted to kick the old woman, but being a piglet or a frog � or a slug,
really didn�t appeal to her.

�Did you call?� came
a familiar voice.

She looked over
and there was Haku! He just stood there, waiting on Yubaba, not even
acknowledging her presence. She couldn�t tell what it was, but for some reason
he was different in the face of this woman, not as proud as he had been with
her.

�This girl�s
starting work as of now. Look after her,� the old woman informed him in a
dismissive tone.

�Yes,� was all
he said in reply, then he glanced sideways at Chihiro. �Your name?�

She spared a
look of confusion, unable to stop herself, �What?� It must just be a mind game. �Chi � oh,� and she couldn�t remember
why she�d forgotten her own name. �It�s Sen.�

He turned
towards the door they had both come in through, glancing back at her for a
moment, �Follow me, then, Sen.�

She did just
that, until they were alone in an elevator headed back down.� �Haku � um�� she started, looking over at him
as he stood stoically in front of the lever.

�No idle
chatter,� he told her as he slid a look her way. �Call me Haku-sama.�

Son of a � but she left it alone, because,
obviously, nothing was what it seemed
here.

Before she knew
it, they were headed down to the workers� quarters, frogs and slugs staring at
them both as they descended the stairs. They walked up to a frog sitting behind
a wooden desk and Haku explained to him why she was here. But, apparently, he
didn�t like her being at the Aburaya one bit.

�Even on
Yubaba�s orders�� it started, shaking its head.

�We can�t allow
humans,� the other beside him said.

�Her contract�s
signed,� Haku informed them.

�What?!� they
all seemed to ask at once.

Might as well be a pain in the ass while I can, and she bowed.
�Thank you, everyone.�

�The slugs
behind her all covered their noses, one even went as far as to complain. �Don�t
send her to us. Can�t bear that human stink.�

Ohhhh, somebody get me some salt and a magnifying glass,
this chick is ticking me off.

But Haku
countered on her behalf. �Three days of eating our food and her smell will
vanish. If she�s still useless then fry her, boil her, do with her as you
will.� He looked around for more complaints, but Sen was awe struck.

Traitorous little turn skirt, she wanted to
beat his head in for implying that she was useless, or even for giving them
permission to eat her!

�Back to work!
Where�s Lin?� he looked around for the girl who had helped her get to Yubaba.

Lin was leaning
against a doorway, arms folded across her chest. �What, don�t dump her on me!�

�You wanted
help.�

�That�s right,�
the head frog said from the safety of his desk, �Lin�s just perfect.�

�Go, Sen,� Haku
ordered, turning to her for a moment.

�Yessir,� and
she walked solemnly over to the other girl.

�What a pain,�
Lin exclaimed, hands on her hips as she turned to walk out, �You�re gonna pay
for this.�

�Off you go,�
the second frog told them, laughing a little at their shared misfortune.

Sen bowed as she
made her way out and followed Lin down the hall and around the corner until the
sliding doors turned to windows. She hardly noticed, though, too caught up in
her own thoughts, so when Lin stopped and turned on her, she almost ran into
her.

�You pulled it
off, huh?!� she asked, suddenly excited. �You�re so attitudal, I was a little
worried. Guess you�ll be all right here.�

Sen wasn�t
really sure what to say to that, so she cocked her head to the side, trying not
to look too confused at the sudden turn of events. What?

Lin popped her
hands onto her hips again, �This job�s pretty easy, but if you need something
just ask me, I�ll help you out.�

Sen smiled
despite her remaining confusion and nodded, �Right on.� She had the feeling Lin
was right, but getting her parents back and getting the hell out of this place
� she wasn�t so sure about that.

They went a
little further down the hallway until Lin turned and went into a room, pulling
the string to a hanging light. �This is our room,� she told her, walking over
to the closet. We�ll eat chow then go to bed, work�s not until sundown.� She
dug around through the clothes, pulling out another blue apron and handing it
to Sen along with a set of hakama that matched Lin�s own, �You wash your own
apron! Trousers!� She sized her up and looked back into the closet, �You�re
about my size � aha!� and she handed Sen a shirt, too.

�Hey, Lin, I
know this may seem strange, but is there any chance that Haku has a twin?� Sen
couldn�t help but ask.

�Two?! Of him? I
sure hope not,� she laughed, pulling out bedding now. �He�s Yubaba�s henchman,
watch out for him.�

Despite having
suspected that, Sen�s shoulders fell in defeat, she had kind of been counting
on him to help her out. Regardless, she helped Lin lay out the bedding on the
floor and changed over into her work clothes, wearing her apron and not the
shirt.

May as well try
to get some sleep, it�s going to be a long day.
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

A Different Beginning