Spirited Away: The Wait [ORIGINAL]

Don't Play With Fire/Betrayal

     “The Kaigo Shelter is 3 levels high, and these are some of the rooms that we provide for the spirits putting up here,” Shou continued, pointing to several open rooms and waving cheerfully to some of the spirits in there. Chihiro noticed with faint interest the young female spirits waving and giggling flirtatiously at them, though unable to discern who exactly they were waving to. Some of them were wrinkling their noses though, like there was something disgusting smelling in the air.

     Chihiro grimaced. So her smell had yet to go away. Where was the deodorant when she needed it? 

     The trio stepped into one of the rooms and she saw that it was a well furnished place to live in. The walls were the same cream color and there were 3 beds lying in the middle of the room for the 3 spirits living in there. Some of the furniture was different from Haku’s, but everything was more or less the same.

     Now that was a pleasant surprise. A smile played on Chihiro’s lips. She recalled how Yubaba would treat her workers with an air of superiority. The dorm that she had lived in along with Lin and the other female workers was extremely cramped and there was barely enough space to fit everyone. Her office, on the other hand, was lavish and spacious, clearly exhibiting the kind of employer she was.

     Or how she used to be, Chihiro corrected herself. She still couldn’t find it in her to believe in Kamaji’s words.

     But this was a stark contrast to the kind of person Haku was. Even though he had a room to himself, it was much smaller than the others’ and the designs of the rooms all looked similar to each other.

     Haku was probably a born leader. From what she could see, he treated everyone fairly and everyone seemed rather satisfied under him.

     “What’re you thinking about?” Her eyes snapped up to see that Shou had squatted down to her eye level and was grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat.

     “Nothing,” she lied, shying away from his gaze.

     “Oh, it’s something alright! Spill!” he exclaimed in a girly voice.

     “I-It’s really nothing.”

     “Come now, don’t be shy,” he insisted, nudging her playfully.

     “Stop wasting our time, Shou. Move it,” Haku said gruffly from behind the two.

     “Patience is a virtue, dear Haku,” he winked back before turning to Chihiro and continuing with the tour.

     “I know you’re thinking that Haku’s a good leader, aren’t you?” he whispered so only she could hear.

      “Huh?!” Chihiro sucked in a sharp breath, much to Shou’s delight.

     “I knew it!” He jumped for joy quite literally and she thought she heard a warning growl from the irritated dragon behind them.

     “How did you know?”

     “I read minds,” he winked cutely while her eyes widened considerably.

     “You do?”

     “No, he doesn’t,” Haku replied at the same time that Shou said “Of course!”

     “Aw, you just have to ruin all the fun,” Shou pouted.

     “I wouldn’t call tricking others fun, Shou.”

     Shou shrugged. “It’s just teasing.”

     “What’s that?” Chihiro had run up to the railings of the long corridor, pointing to the water body in the distance, obviously not paying any attention to the bickering pair.