Spirited Away: The Wait [ORIGINAL]

Confidants

     The pair entered the bathhouse from the back, the way they’d snuck in the first time ever she’d visited. As much as Yubaba had become a nicer witch, she still wasn’t nice enough to allow them to enter from the front. “I don’t want any pesky, foul-smelling human disrupting my business. If you have to, throw her in a sack and then drag her into the boiler room so no one will notice,” Haku had quoted her as saying.

     Chihiro sighed. Some things never changed, though Haku said Yubaba was just too stubborn to admit that she had a soft spot for Chihiro. If it weren’t for that, she wouldn’t have been able to visit in the first place.

     They stood outside the boiler room, and Chihiro took a deep breath. For some reason, she was getting jittery. Haku knocked twice on the door, and from within, a gruff voice shouted, “Who’s that? Get gone, I’m busy!”

     Chihiro couldn’t help but grin. That was definitely her grandfather.

     They opened the door and she peeked in, making sure she was in his line of vision. “Well… since Kamaji’s busy, I guess I’ll have to come another time…”

     “Se- Chihiro? Is that you?” Kamaji looked up from his work and upon spotting Chihiro, his lips stretched into a wide smile. “Come in, come in! I thought it was some bored spirits playing around and trying to sneak in.”

     The woman entered, along with Haku, and she ran straight into Kamaji’s open arms. He smelled like burnt coal and smoke, as he always did. “I’ve missed you, Chihiro,” he said.

     “Me too. It’s been too long since I last came here.”

     When they pulled apart, Kamaji held her at arm’s length to get a good look at her. “You look better than the last time you were here,” he remarked. “That’s a good sign. Where’s the yarrow necklace I gave you the last time?”

     Chihiro motioned to her duffel bag. “It’s in here. I didn’t want to wear it in case something happened while we were coming here.”

     “Nothing would have happened; I was just there with you,” Haku indignantly scoffed.

     “It’s nice to see you again, Haku,” Kamaji said.

     “Same here, Kamaji,” he replied with a smile.

     Chihiro chuckled. “Where’s Lin?”

     “She’s still working. At this time, it’s probably very busy. I can call her in later after she’s done with her shift, but I’m warning you, she would smell after all that work.”

     “I think I can live with that,” she said with a shrug, imagining with a small shrug how Lin would probably be grumbling to herself for having to go to the boiler room when all she wanted was a bath and a good rest.

     “Oh, Kamaji? Do you happen to have any food with you?” Haku suddenly asked.

     “Pardon? Oh, right. Here you go, Chihiro.” The spider spirit reached a long arm over to her side, placing a small rice ball in her hands. She thanked him and bit into the snack. It tasted delicious.

     Just then, Chihiro felt something soft and fluffy on her feet. She looked down, to find a multitude of soot balls surrounding her like a bunch of fans. “Hey there! It’s great to see you again.”

     They squeaked and danced about excitedly, refusing to move away from her.

     “Get back to work, you soot balls!” Kamaji shouted at them, waving his fist threateningly.