spiritedaway!au >>> @infgodeater
There was a skip in the sound of footsteps that invaded the second floor of the bathhouse—steps that did not belong but were always there more than sporadically during the day. There was a low, pleasant humming of a song that accompanied the light footsteps and reverberated throughout the corridor, bouncing from one rice paper wooden door to the next. Kazumi quickly stepped to the side to let a female coworker speed-walking to her designated room, while carrying a tray full of food. The other spared her a knowing glance and Kazumi responded with a quick, embarrassed smile before the other continued to her destination.
It was a busy day at the bathhouse and the human host was for sure not needed on the second floor when there were more than enough guests and workers running from one end of the corridor to the other to keep the place active for the entire day. Kazumi was needed on the ground floor during what humans like her called rush hour (a lot of the spirits were still very lacking in understanding modern day phrases), until the swarm of guests eventually halted and have been situated in their respective floors. She was exhausted from the sudden wave of guests and decided to take a mere break inside the bathhouse that may or may not last for an extended period of time.
Kazumi eavesdropped on conversations that was not meant for her to be heard but were still loud enough to be heard from behind the wooden door if she tried. There was not anything interesting to note, however, just the usual gossip and small-talk between the regulars and new guests with the workers of the bathhouse. Reaching the end of the corridor, Kazumi heard a grouchy male voice, slurring incoherent words together. She tiptoed forward and tried to decipher what this guest was trying to say. He seemed to be heavily intoxicated and from the lack of shadows on the rice paper walls, he was alone. After a bit of listening, he called out for a waitress. Kazumi looked around the corridor and frowned at the lack of workers on the floor, knowing that they all must already be inside with their guests. No one but her is aware of the situation so she straightened her posture and fixed the wrinkles on her kimono before knocking.
“How may I help you, sir?” She slowly opened the door to find a man, but no guests of the bathhouse were an ordinary man. Kazumi immediately felt that something had gone wrong when the guest turned to look at her. The magic in air suddenly turned very threatening and quite frightening for the human host. She watched as the male started to shift into a different form. Perhaps his spirit form? She had absolutely no information on this man and what he really was, but she was taught that this was not a situation a human worker like her should be at.
Kazumi did not know what went wrong. From the slurring of his words, she caught a who are you!, you are not her!, and where is she! There was something preventing her from opening the door, running, and screaming for help. Magic—the one thing she does not have compared to the rest. “I-I’m sorry, I just wanted to help”. But nothing she could say would appease the guest from his intoxicated wrath. She turned back to face the door and closed her eyes, not wanting to face the terrifying spirit, and tried her best to pry the door open with frantic fingers to escape.
