ᏴᎬᎪႮͲᏆҒႮᏞ ՏᏢᏆᎡᏆͲՏ • 𝗛𝗮𝗸𝘂 𝘅 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

𝟎𝟏|𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄

Nobody's POV

It had been 5 years since you came to the bathhouse. You had been serving Yubaba loyally for all those years. In the process, you met lots of spirits. Befriended most, but you had one enemy. It was more like a competition, though. Haku. He was a river spirit. He worked religiously for Yubaba. She would send him out on the most dangerous of missions. If you were handed a mission that was just the least bit of life threatening, Haku would take it from you. He stole every opportunity for you to make Yubaba proud of you. It was infuriating, to say the least. People called him 'Master Haku', nobody called you Master. It was just 'y/n'. You found it hard to deny your frustration. Venting to Lin helped, but sometimes it wasn't enough.

"Y/n! Where are you headed? I heard Yubaba is out right now. You should take a break," Aogaeru croaked. You had never been particularly fond of him. His greed always got the best of him. He would take bribes from customers and give them special treatment for gold.

"I was just wandering around. I suppose you could say that I'm waiting for something to happen." The frog scowled and jumped away. Looks like he wasn't fond of you either. Not that it mattered anyway. You had recently taken it upon yourself to spy on Haku. You wanted to catch him doing anything slightly unruly. If you could report that to Yubaba, surely she'd discard him. Resulting in your victory.

"Lots of guests tonight. I'll be so busy," some of the girls complained behind you. Your eyes trailed the long bridge and found Haku. He seemed... off. He was walking somewhat uncomfortably. He approached the bathhouse but was stopped briefly when Aogaeru jumped up to greet him,

"Master Haku! Where have you -" Suddenly, a girl was revealed. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail, and she wore unusual clothes. She reeked of human pheromones. It sunk in... Haku was with a human. It was the perfect report for Yubaba. Finally. At long last, Haku's continuous streak of mission completion was over. No more 'Master Haku'. You watched as he put the greedy frog into a bubble and sped through the crowd. He flew right past you, but you were smart enough to follow him. He led the girl to a hatchet, and the two of them crawled through it. He ran past the screen doors. People were already freaking out about the human. The stench was everywhere. Workers were calling out to Haku. You saw them hide behind a bush as he mumbled something to her. Regrettably, it was inaudible to you. So, you figured you'd walk closer. Casting a spell on yourself to make you invisible, you moved closer and closer.

"You did great. Listen. I'll tell you what to do," he started,

"I'll distract them. Meanwhile, you'll escape." The girl wore an anxious expression.

"No, don't go! Please stay with me!" Hearing her plead was as sickening as hearing the bathworkers scrub the dirty baths. You decided to reveal yourself. It was risky, and the thrill satisfied you.

"You're so done, Haku." You snickered. He turned to face you. The girl looked horrified. Haku gritted his teeth and stood up in front of the human.

"Y/n, you have to keep quiet about this." Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. He wanted you to side with him. Right when you caught him. Had he always been so selfish? Perhaps. Most likely.

"Why would I? This is my chance to prove to Yubaba that I'm better than you. Not to mention that I'm not a traitor," you spat. For a moment, you swore he gave you a sympathetic smile. No matter— it was still your time to prove your loyalty. In turn for Haku's.

"Please, Y/n. She needs our help. This isn't about me or you. This girl... you're really willing to sentence her to a sentence such as death or reincarnation as a pig?" You chewed on his words for a bit. He was right. You'd be a horrible person, letting an innocent girl go like that. She was no more than a child.